The Ecstasy of True Love

[little_galaxie]

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

I agree, a very "classic" perfume, patchouli and spicy peaches. Unfortunately, I don't like patchouli, but I'm sure I'll have no problem finding this a good home!

[chrisann]

I got a chance to try a decant of this, and am glad I did not get a bottle

 

Now, I can wear Patchouli. I LOVE Luperci, Schwartzer Mond, Passion, Vodoo Queen etc.. but, this Patchouli is acrid and dirt smelling on me. I make faces, and the faces are not one of pleasure and happiness. My squishy "oh, no!" face, does not change with the dry down either. I am almost temted to say this is one of my least liked bpal smellies. Off to swaps for this decant!

[maijasu]

Wow, it's amazing what different skin chemistries can do with a scent. I'm certainly familiar with the acrid, dirty, getitoffmenowomgpatchouli that others have mentioned, and there are some BPAL blends that I cannot wear because of it. But in True Love, the patchouli I'm getting is very smooth and well-behaved, just enough earthiness to keep the honeysuckle from becoming too sweet. It's really nice and very sophisticated and classy-smelling.

 

While I do like it, I prefer Trick #1 for my patchouli-floral needs, so I'm not sure how much I'll use it. I may keep it around for a while to see if I use it, or it may end up being imped out or swapped.

 

Regardless, though, this one is worth trying, and I wouldn't want anyone to be scared off by the dirty-patchouli descriptions, because it definitely doesn't do that on everyone.

[Nidaba]

This one makes me a little nauseous. =s

The combination of scents doesn't work on me. The peach and patchouli combine into a weird sickly sweet smell that dominates the rest of the blend. It also has a weird menthol vibe on me. oO

 

ETA: I think it was the honeysuckle, not the peach. I had the same nauseous feeling come from Aries.

Edited March 28, 2007 by Nidaba

[jessiesquash]

Sniffed in the bottle, I get something really interesting. I mean really like nothing else I've ever sniffed. I couldn't even place it or break it down into notes. It was slightly unpleasant but sometimes the most gorgeous blends offend my nose straight out of the bottle.

 

On it went instantly to dryer sheet of doom and stayed that way until I washed it off. I was wary because of the frankincense but it didn't even have a chance to be evil. *sob* Damn dryer sheets!

 

Off to the swap pile with ye.

[cybra111]

Ecstasy of True Love

 

Peach, peach, peach!! My skin just amps up peach. And not a nice, juicy peach either. No, a plastic, artificial peach. Too bad, because I love carnation and patchouli.

[edenssixthday]

The Ecstasy of True Love – This is a strange scent that I am not initially fond of. When I first apply it, it’s very heavy on the patchouli. However, as it starts to warm up on my skin, the patchouli fades and the strongest notes become the frankincense and peach (smells like actual peach, not a blossomy floral) with a hint of bright mandarin and sweet honeysuckle in the background and far, far beneath that is the patchouli. I never do smell the carnation. The patchouli does lend a weirdness to the blend, and even though I really like both frankincense and peach, I’m not sure I like the way they work together. It’s a very unique fruity-floral scent that is rough around the edges. It’s a very nice gender-neutral scent. The throw and staying power are both moderate.

[storme]

In the imp: sweet peachy resin!

 

On me, wet: mm, green carnation and honeysuckle and sweet, rich dark resin. Yum!

 

On me, dry: peachy resin with a warm spiciness from the carnation and a sweet tinge from the honeysuckle. I can smell the frankincense being weird and acrid in the background too, but it's not overpowering.

 

Verdict: this is nice, but hmm, I don't know that I'm going to want to wear this. I just don't like the idea of peach scents, I think.

[supremegoddessofall]

In bottle: Heavy florals.

 

On me: Very strange. I can't decide what I'm smelling, really. I get some florals, but it's not super-floral. I think there's some citrus? Not really getting patchouli. Can't decide if I like it or not.

[Naamah_Darling]

Well, that is certainly unusual! Take a rough patchouli and add a twist of orange peel, with a frothy haze of sweet, sweet florals in the middle. This is earthy and fruity, sweet and slow and sanguine. The carnation is the top floral; it has a unique fleshy, powdery note that I enjoy if it's wet and not actually touching my skin, but the fact that I can smell it doesn't bode well for what it will do once I put it on.

 

Still, I'm a big girl.

 

Oh, my. My. My. I had not expected this; the frankincense comes up, crystalline with citrus overtones, and it fills in the space between the patchouli and the mandarin. The florals are behind it, and all I smell of them is a sugared sweetness that seems to flow like sugar-water. This is melting, glorious, golden, a perfectly-arranged combination of its notes that somehow transcends them all.

 

I do not enjoy carnation or mandarin scents, and patchouli is hit or miss at best, but this . . . the notes balance out one another's flaws, make this perfect. The florals are harmonious and tightly-gathered, just verging on overripe, but held in by the mandarin on one side and the frankincense on the other. In its middle phase, the patchouli is hardly noticeable at all.

 

I expected this to be horrible. It's not. It's beautiful, absolutely beautiful. There's a persistent keening sweet note somewhere in the middle of this that is at once floral, sweet, and fruity, and I have no idea if it's the honeysuckle mingling with something else, or the peach blossom. I suspect it is the latter. Whatever it is, it's divine.

 

At this stage, it lasts and lasts. The drydown is powdery, typical of carnation scents, but it's not offensive. It has a bit of patchouli in there, a little resin, which fix it quite nicely just before it goes powdery.

 

This is an unexpected gem, a scent I would not have expected to like, but I do. I very much do.

[asciident]

Wet: Juicy peach and patchouli.

 

First on: Same as the bottle, except some spicy carnation comes out.

 

Dry: This is really light on me. Fruity incense.

[DangerInRed]

I , along with many others, was really nervous about the Patchouli in this, hence why I hesitated so long to try it out. By some chance of fate I managed to score some (thanks Ah Xia!) and I am so happy I did! The Patchouli in this behaves the way I had hoped it would in Agony of Heartache. It disappears a few minutes after application, leaving a wonderful peachy-mandarin with just a hint of soft florals. This is very nice! So sweet and juicy, I may need to get more.

[tarotgirl99]

I have gone back and forth on this scent a few times--I have been told I have scent ADD and with this scent, it was sadly true.

 

In the bottle, it is so astringent I am sure I hate it.

 

Like edenssixthday, it starts out kinda rank on me but then the patchouli fades. It sweetens up and becomes totally warm and fruity. When that happens, it reminds me of Mama-ji, but maybe better.

 

Now I want more of it.

 

Throw and sillage are average.

Edited May 30, 2007 by tarotgirl

[yeahbutnobut]

The Ecstasy of True Love

 

In the imp: patchouli and peach, like Imp, but with a little citrus too.

Wet on skin: patchouli and peach, and a little more of a floral note, probably honeysuckle.

Dry on skin: this is very pretty! It smells of peach, patchouli and honeysuckle with a hint of mandarin and frankincense, maybe some carnation too. It smells earthy and dark but with a fruity-floral brightness on top, which makes for an interesting contrast. The patchouli with fruit smells almost like that 'fruity autumn musk' scent I get in a lot of BPALs, come to think of it, there's usually patchouli in those, it is very nice and rich, and reminds me a little bit of the patchouli-plum/musk-plum combinations as well.

After a while: the patchouli becomes a bit stronger, a little drier and reminds me of autumn leaves, earthy and crisp, but also with a burnt smokiness like incense or a hint of bonfire-though the frankincense may be what's making this a bit like incense. The fruity-floral of the peach and honeysuckle are still strong though, rich and plump and juicy smelling and resting on a base of autumn leaves. This really is an interesting scent blending summer and autumn together.

The scent becomes rather musky as it dries, and oddly, I smell honey and figs on the drydown, like a mix of dried peaches and figs with honey and patchouli and autumnal musk. It's a much dirtier scent at this point, very earthy and deep, very much like Depraved, there's a slight sexual quality to it. It also reminds me of Lot and his Daughters without the lemon and heavy resins, or of Hellion, the peach seems almost like plum now…and the drydown after about six hours is patchouli-musk and honeyed figs and peach, like a darker version of Cupid Complaining to Venus.

Verdict: this is a very pleasant fruity-patchouli scent, dark and deep, like a more complex version of Depraved or Imp. A lovely mix of wet, juicy and fruity peach blossom with darker patchouli, and floral notes of honeysuckle and warm carnation, to me this smelt like a very pretty mix of summery and autumnal notes, a floral-fruit scent with a grounded patchouli aspect. The scent became a little dirtier and muskier over time, with that lovely 'fruit-patchouli-musk' drydown becoming stronger and dominant as the flowers faded, it became more and more like Depraved. The most interesting stage was at the end when I started getting some musk, moss, honey and fig notes coming out, making this a very earthy, dirty scent, with a touch of something sexual to it and a hint of incense. Whilst Passion was a more sophisticated aspect of ecstasy, velvet and jewels and silk sheets and all, this is a more raw, natural, spontaneous expression of love, a quick naked rough and tumble outdoors, with that feel of 'fertility ritual' that Luperci had. I like this but I was hoping for more frankincense, and the scent was very similar to a few other BPAL scents with patchouli and a fruit note, which I do prefer. It's a great scent but I'm not as smitten by this scent as I thought I'd be.

Emoticon rating:

Is it a keeper? it's not bad, but it's not 'true love' either.

[GypsyRoseRed]

This blend is based on a great contrast - the peach and patchouli complement each other very well, and if I'd read the notes in this I probably wouldn't have tried it. It doesn't have the cloying sweetness I would have expected of True Love at all, instead, the sweetness is more natural and tempered by the dark smokiness of the patchouli. Very well balanced and once it's well into the drydown, the peach is hardly discernable, it's so well blended. This *is* a surprise! Definitely wearable, distinctive and a staple for ladies of mystery and intrigue. I don't know how well it suits my personality and typical preferences, but it's great nonetheless.

[jolarocknrolla]

Where the heck is the peach everyone is mentioning? where are you peach? ::peeks under the bottle::

 

The initial impression i get when wet is SHARP patchouli like is S Mond, it's almost too strong for the first 2 minutes but it fades just enough afterwards to be well behaved. Then it sweetens up (a floral sweeteness rather than a fruity one - probably the honeysuckle) as it dries down and the final scent is a lovely blend of sweet patchouli that is more like Dark Delicacies (only without the fruity-ness). Remarkably well bahaved and not hippy-smelling on me

[Keslynn]

In the bottle, True Love is a burnt bitter patchouli smell with a little bit of peach on top. Weird.

 

On my skin, TL starts out with that odd burnt smell (probably from sharp patchouli or the frankincense), and I'm not really getting much of the peach. As the scent dries, it loses the burnt smell (thank gods!) and the patchouli and peach take center stage in a lovely duet. The peach is rich but also sweet and sticky. The patchouli is deep and resonant. Together? Heaven!

 

Verdict: TRUE LOVE! This scent is amazing and has rapidly become one of my favorites.

[khiseer]

Wet - Yep patchouli and peach, just like everyone else said... no that bleh overly strong patchouli that ussually scares me away but it is very prominent..

 

Dry down is almost incense-y with the peach sneaking around just to keep it different and sweet. The honeysuckle is here but it's just a hint and it's a really nice nice note that i'm wondering why i was ever scared of it. This has a nice string throw and when you aren't sucking it from your wrist it's not easy to distinguish notes. It is musky and almost dirty like some people say but the peach hangs around trying to pretend that true love is all about purity and innocence I don't get much carnation but that may be because i am too used to pink moon 07..

 

Very glad to have some... This whole inquisition is gorgeous so far!

[greymatter]

I dunno. I passed this around a group of friends and the only thing we could agree on is that this is not what we think of when we think of "Twu Wuv."

 

It's . . . dirty. But not in the good way. It smells like feet and sugar. Not a <3 for me, I'm afraid.

[grashopper8]

This smells like body odor to me. No thank you!

 

Edit to add: Hmm, weird, I tried it a couple months later, and Now I can smell the peach blossom thing. I think the patchouli is a little out of place, and maybe that's what smelled like Eau Bo the first time around.

 

I still don't like it though Such is life.

Edited April 29, 2008 by AEris

[twilighteyes]

Peach!!!! Lovely peach top note and a patchouli bottom. Honeysuckle lurking. A little spicyness I'm guessing from the carnation.

 

This ones turns all deep and dark on me, yet retains a tiny bit of sweetness. I bought a bottle from the lab (ebay) as soon as possible!

 

One of my top ten favorites.

Edited July 31, 2008 by TwilightEyes

[fairnymph]

In the bottle: Patchouli, frankincense, mandarin. Sweet and earthy.

 

Wet: Lighter, cleaner, less sweet; frankincense and patchouli still reign, though. The spicy carnation appears, as do the delicate peach blossom and dulcet honeysuckle.

 

Dry: Err, this is making my hand itch - that's a first with ANY BPAL oil ever, and I've tried about 200 at this point. It's spicy patchouli-carnation-frankincense. The mandarin has completely evanesced. Some faint honeysuckle if I really strain and stick my nose to my skin.

 

Summary: Spicy, dirty patchouli. Strong throw and good lasting power. Alas (or perhaps thank god?), I am not in love with this.

[Dark Alice]

I smell patchouli and spanish mandarin with a light touch of frankicense. On the dry down, the frankincense and patchouli doesn't mix well with the mandarin and turns peppery. It's lovely on someone else but not on me.

[zankoku_zen]

I get a jammy dirty peach. Take Depraved and Imp, add a swirl of additional patchouli and that's what I get.

 

Yeah, so not for me.

[portalkat]

I got this directly from the Trading Post way back when, but never took the time to review it. For me this is really True Love. I love the lab's deep, nutty patchouli and it is really evident here. Then you add in the interesting combination of florals and fruits and it turns into something magnificent. It is very elegant, but in true BPAL/BTPT fashion.