The Ecstasy of True Love

[ivyandpeony]

Patchouli, carnation, peach blossom, frankincense, honeysuckle, and Spanish mandarin.

Wet, it's hard to identify any single note, but once applied, this is drying down to a gorgeous resinous blend with just a touch of fruitiness. I'm surprised not to be getting much honeysuckle, since it's a note that likes to amp on me, but it may be melding with everything else and just adding some sweetness to the blend. I'd definitely characterize this as sweet as opposed to dry, yet nowhere as sweet as things like Sugar Skull, Anaconda, Snow Angel, etc. It's really lovely.

[Heavenlyrabbit]

Ohhh... Ahhh....

 

Peachy, Incensey, Slightly Spicey.

 

Patchouli, very laid back tinged with honey (though not too sweet). Almost refined which isn't an adjective I'd use for patchouli normally.

 

Yes, there's the Mandarin. I almost think there's also something boozy?

 

On opening I could identify the notes listed but within about a minute they all blend into an Oriental par excellence.

 

Great sillage. Not too 'girlie'. A gentleman could wear this.

 

The word that comes to mind is Classic!

 

 

sort of Al Shairan despoiled Tamora and they had a love child?

Edited February 13, 2007 by Shollin

[QueenFae]

Wow, this is an exquisitely bright blend! It's very strong upon application.

 

First impression: Honey suckle and carnation ahoy! The florals throw themselves at me, and they are gorgeous, yellow and pure. There is a sweet, mandarin undertone, and a hint of patchouli in the background. Strong, bold and just lovely.

 

On the dry down: Oh, here's where it gets good! The patchouli has moved to the front, with the beautiful peachy/mandarin note close behind. This has become more of a fruity blend now, instead of a floral. God, just gorgoeus. Very youthful, fun and inspiring.

 

I love this!! I'm thrilled with this and The Agony of Heartache, the trading post imps picked the perfect scents for me!

 

[eviltemptressdq]

*sigh*

 

Evil evil skin chemistry seems to have doomed me on this blend, unfortunately! It smells nice and resin-like in the bottle. A little sweet! I put it on... and this turns into a sour carnation... herbal. the patchouli + carnation just doesn't work for me. How sad!!!

 

[RaTheCat]

In the bottle: Whoa, peach blossom and mandarin. I also detect something green (herbal?), but not sure what it is.

 

Wet: Mandarin, honeysuckle and a bit of carnation spiciness.

 

Dry: Soft patchouli, slightly sweet floral with touches of vanilla and fruit.

 

It doesn’t have a lot of throw, but I tested very lightly. This will be one to slather. It’s lovely, and as Heavenlyrabbit said, classic.

[alicia_stardust]

In the bottle this has a bright but dark smell to it, if that makes sense.

 

On my skin the mandarin amps up and it has a bright, resinous, and spicy (whoah carnation!) smell to it before drying down. Unfortunately it's only nice for about 20 minutes on me before the patchouli takes over the entire scent and turns into dirty hippy (thank you, skin chemistry).

 

I'm really sad about this since patchouli is almost always a deal breaker and, even worse than the skin chemistry, it gives me a horrible headache. Off to swaps for me.

[shelldoo]

in the bottle: patchouli and peaches. interesting combination....

 

wet: strong strong patchouli and some frakincense.

 

as it dries it sweetens a bit and i get more carnation and a hint of another floral which i am not sure of, could be peach blossom or honeysuckle, or even a combo of the two that i just can't quite nail down. but it remians an incensy resinous blend sweetly scented w/ light florals. and i adore it.

[cabinwench]

At first the patchouli scared me, as it is usually a deal-breaker. Within a few minutes of trying it, though, the patchouli simmered down to a calm herbal/wood note, with the peach and mandarin saving it from head-shoppiness. There's some spice (the carnation?) coming through, as well. Don't know that I need a whole bottle of this, but it is much nicer than what I expected when I saw the patchouli.

 

This might be worth trying on my True Love--there is enough herbal-green to be nice on him, as well.

[cuervosueno]

this is the one I most wanted--and lucky me, I got it!

 

Unfortunately, True Love doesn't seem to work well with me..... And I shouldn't be surprised by that at all!

 

In the bottle, it is bright, sweet but not too sweet. Peach blossom or honeysuckle maybe and the sweetness of the mandarin.

 

When it hits my skin, the golden scent amps, and I can smell the initial sweetness, but also the soft golden scent of frankincense. Well, perhaps saying I can smell it is overstating it. I can't smell much at all unless I press my nose to my wrist. Then I get that faint waft of golden floral and resin, and yes, it is almost honeylike.

 

No patchouli at all, which is too bad, because it is a favorite of mine.

 

This faded fairly quickly--in about the time it took to watch the Westminster Dog Show (about 2 hours). After an hour, it was the powdery gold note of amber.

 

it is very soft. Just sweet enough. But not, alas, spicy enough for me--I never get the patchouli or my beloved carnation.

 

This might age well...and perhaps get stronger?

 

Guess I'm just not made for True Love. Perhaps I can swap it for Passion? Now that's more to my taste, I bet...

 

eta: hmmm....I was wrong about the fading. Perhaps I just hadn't put enough on. I put more on around 11 when I was writing this, and this morning I can still smell it, faintly golden, slightly fruity. Still not my fave, but it does last quite a long time.

Edited February 13, 2007 by cuervosueno

[Jettcat]

I got True Love, now we see if it will survive the retrograde!

 

In the bottle: Herbal with a touch of sweet spicyness in the background, probably the peach and carnation mingling.

 

Wet on skin: the patchouli immediately takes a backseat and it becomes almost too sweet.

 

Drydown: It's morphed into sweet incense, like All Souls and bits of soft fruits and florals

I was originally hoping for Passion, but True Love it seems....wins overall!

[siddal]

Wet, it's hard to identify any single note, but once applied, this is drying down to a gorgeous resinous blend with just a touch of fruitiness.

 

Had to quote ivyandpeony here as this is exaclty what I am sensing. This really is pretty! I love the fruitier notes and the honeysuckle. But sadly, the patchouli predominates on me and I am just not a fan. If you like fruits and patchouli, though, this is lovely!

[Brianne]

In the bottle:

a green patchouli

 

On me:

I'm going to second (or third or fourth) the notion that this is a soft, fruity floral resinous blend. It's all melded so well that it doesn't seem like it specifically belongs in one category over the other.

 

The fruit is definitely there, but it's very soft and doesn't become overpowering. Same with the florals - I get them, but it's like you're standing downwind of flowers and are just catching a whiff of them on the air. The resinous part of this blend is soft and green - kind of a mossy resin if that makes sense. The end result is that this smells like the outdoors in a romantic, forest garden kind of way.

 

I will say that when I first put this on and even more so as it stayed on my skin - I thought of my local Ren Fest (renaissance faire). The smell is just like the smell of that place - soft florals, fruits and spices and incense carrying on the wind with the damp moss and earthiness around. It's so beautiful. It is the same kind of scent that made me love Hunter Moon. While they do not smell exactly the same, I find them to be rather similar.

 

Final note:

Finding this to be like Hunter Moon's sister on me, and finding that it conjures up great memories to boot, I love this one. It is simply a beautiful blend and I love it so much that I almost want to swap off other stuff just to get MORE. Amazing.

[slave1]

THE ECSTASY OF TRUE LOVE

 

In Bottle: Dirty floral

 

On Skin: The patchouli comes out full force in this and it’s the patchouli that is not my friend (not the type of patchouli that’s in Schwarzer Mond that works on me). This is the patchouli that smells like dirt on me. Second in line is the florals, they’re heavy and sweet which luckily help balance the dry dirty tone of the patchouli. The mandarin is a light orangey note, not too strong. I finally start smelling the peach blossom and that is my favorite part, so sweet and fresh! But sadly the peach blossom is trumped by the carnation which finally along with the patchouli take over the scent. Carnation is very bitter on me and combined with the dirtlike patchouli, this scent just doesn’t do it for me. Medium throw and average to long wearlength.

[Blood onmy hands]

This was my most coveted of the Agony/Ecstasy Inquisition and so far none of the others have worked on me.

 

In the bottle this smells like sharp, perfumey florals and I can pick out a hint of sweet, zesty mandarin underneath. I'm hoping my skin doesn't amp the florals.

 

I wonder if this has black patchouli in it. The patchouli here smells like the black does on my skin, very dark and earthy in a black soil and leather sort of way (which I love). The earthiness is sort of the grounding note underneath the splash of bright citrus. The flowers pop up more as this dries down and the blend becomes more smoky and perfumey.

 

I really wanted to like this (I really want to like at least one of the Valentine's blends), but it's really not for me either. The honeysuckle is the strongest note on my skin, and the lab's honeysuckle is strangely sharp on me. The mandarin also goes sharp and bitter on my skin while the parts that I love about this (the patchouli and frankincense) fade away to the background.

 

The Ecstasy of True Love turns into a sharp honeysuckle-mandarin scent on me, with bare hints of resin and patchouli teasing me in the background, but never fully coming out. Boo

[filigree_shadow]

This is lovely! Not overly floral, but a bright, happy scent. I love the mandarin and patchouli combination that I smell when it's wet. On me, usually mandarin is pretty strong at first and then it fades out completely, but it seems to be sticking around in this one. The honeysuckle threatens to become too loud at times but it never quite gets there, and the beautiful peach blossom really blooms when it's dry. It ends up being mainly a patchouli and peach blossom scent, kind of dry, bright, deep, and sweetly pretty.

 

I had been hoping to get Passion but I am inordinately pleased that I got this one.

 

Also, my husband loves it and was very sad to discover that he is too late to try to get another bottle of it from the Lab. The patchouli is much stronger on him, and it really doesn't smell floral at all on his skin.

[wikkidraven]

I get straight up peaches and patchouli from this...and I agree with Slave1, it's the dirty hippie patchouli. My boyfriend seems to like this in the drydown, there is something in there that sweetens the blend, but to my nose I still smell like an incense stick.

 

I hope my decants arrive soon, now I'm very curious about the other valentine's blends.

[tempestteapot]

I really didn't think I was going to like this one because Patchouli like to turn into corkboard. Which it kind of did...but the other notes have pushed it in the background and I have to hunt for it.

Yum.

 

 

Thank you imps...you knew I had my true love

[prunesnprisms]

This is a spicy peach blossom on me. It's nice, but doesn't make me need to seek out a whole bottle of it.

[blueroses]

In the bottle: peaches and patchouli. On, it's a very earthy patchouli, peach blossom, and frankincense scent, with little random flashes of mandarin. It smells good at this point, but it's also a bit confusing because I'm not sure how to categorize this scent, with so much going on.

 

I like the scent of True Love best when it's faded a bit. The citrus goes away and it's a very distinct patchouli floral. The frankincense sticks around and makes it sort of dramatic.

[myoubi]

Disclaimer: I'm sick and don't have the greatest nose in the first place. HOWEVER...

 

...it's hard to identify any single note in this scent, it's very well-blended; the only thing that comes out strongly is the peach blossom, with the patchouli behind it. Everything else just forms this slightly resinous, rather sweet warm haze. It's warm, and slightly fruity, and sweet in a non-sugary way. I like it, and I'm glad I managed to snag a couple of decants, but it's not really a 'me' scent. As lovely as it is, it's just a bit too warm and fruity for my personality.

 

We'll see if I can swap for some Infatuation...

[sarada]

Oh yes, this is the one for me, all right!

 

I swapped for True Love since the imps gave me Infatuation, but this is definitely the true love for me out of the Inquisition blends.

 

It reminds me a bit of the GC scent Masquerade, but a deepened, amped up, more complex version. My favorite earthy rich dark brown gritty patchouli, moistened by juicy, appetizing peach and orange blossom. I love incensey blends and this reminds me of burning some very high quality patchouli and orange blossom incense, but more than that, it is rolling around on the ground in the summer with your own true love, in an orange grove or a peach orchard.

 

And the carnation -- oh, the carnation!! Patchouli, carnation and orange together are brilliant. The carnation adds its strange gritty-floral deep red spice, and underneath it all there's the sweet liquid resin frankincense carrying it all forward and amping it up.

 

This is definitely a true love for me. I had a feeling this might be my perfect match: earth, resin, fruit and a touch of spicy floral. Oh god yes!

[jesvet]

Patchouli is so hit or miss for me. I wish I could give True Love the love it deserved, but alas...

 

This is straight up red patchouli on me. The carnation is very sharp. No peach or honeysuckle or mandarin to be found to take the edge off, just kind of sour and bitter. Such a tragedy. Ironically, I love Heartache, so maybe I should jsut switch the labels and call it a day.

[abejita]

I was very nervous when I opened my BPTP box and saw the True Love label. I like the scent of peaches/apricots/peach blossom, but unfortunately they tend to amp and sweeten on me until it smells like I've just opened a can of generic peaches in that horrible sugar syrup, like they serve in school cafeterias (or used to, at least).

 

Lucky for me, that didn't happen at all. This scent remained very natural and bright. I get primarily the patchouli, which isn't a dirty patchouli on me at all. I am not really getting the frankincense note, but I think it is part of what is reining in the peach blossom and making it not go all too-sweet fruity. The carnation is really, really, REALLY beautiful. It works so well with the peach blossom and patchouli. The honeysuckle and citrus aren't so distinct, I think they are just adding a bright, clear feel.

 

Based on the notes, the instant comparison would be Depraved, but this doesn't smell at all like Depraved to me. The patchouli notes are very different. I have Bakeneko on right now, and I would consider True Love to be in the same scent family. In fact, smelling True Love has made me appreciate Bakeneko more. True Love is so not what I would have chosen for myself, but not only will I hold onto it, I'll actually wear it. I think it fits its name well in that it's happy and bright, but has a mature earthiness to ground it, and spice to keep it interesting. Kind of like, well, real love.

[melissadragon]

The Ecstasy of True Love:

 

Imp: Yum, sweet spices. - applied to middle of left forearm

Wet: interesting, got more fruity and sweet - where's my patchouli??

Dry: More carnation and frankincense. Sweet spice indeed.

Verdict: Keeper.

[dronzeka]

Oy. This was lovely for about half a second, and now all I get is patchouli. Which is not my favorite. Very sort of burnt-smoky smelling. Sadly not for me!