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BPAL Madness!
Ina Garten Davita

Poisoned Apple

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A perfect, lovely, gleaming red apple whose sweetness masks a swirl of narcotic opium, oleander, and hemlock.


I came into this with reservations. Generally I do NOT like apple scents, ever. I remember when Poisoned Apple first came out and lots of people got very excited- I had less than zero interest, I had negative interest. I guess what I'm trying to say is, this was a frimp. :P But there is no BPAL I will not try once!

So anyways, I was SHOCKED by how good this smells. I recently tried the Hemlock blend, which I liked, and I'm pleased to see it in here, too. Most everyone here is right, this is RED RED apple, not sweet or fake or even fruity. It's almost earthy. I have mild citric acid allergies and smelling this actually makes my throat strain a bit, it's that real. The opium makes this swirly, potion-like. The first moment on my skin is the best. It's raw aple, sinister flowers. Then the smoky opium clouds up.

Eventually, the apple fades and it's mostly hemlock, opium, and orchid. I must say, the ending notes made me decide against any further pursuit. The best is the beginning. Still, this is a work of art, and I always enjoy being taken away by the least likely choice.

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This is gorgeous and crisp, an apple with bite.

There is a bitter note when wet on my skin, but this dries into a crisp red scent.

I can practically hear the snap of Snow White's teeth in that forbidden fruit!

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In Vial: Red Delicious Apple and something sour

 

Wet: Straight apple. The sour note is getting stronger.

 

Drydown:This is the same apple note from Ladon, which I really liked but was too sweet for me. This blend is not as sweet and has added tangy-ness. The sour note went away and morphed into a mild sweetness. This is a nice apple scent.

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In bottle/imp: Soap and apple incense.

 

Immediately on skin: This is a smoky and soapy scent on me. As I smell this, it almost takes a moment of inhaling the scent for it to feel like apple… almost like it was something I’m drinking and it needs to sit in my mouth for a moment to get the feel of it. It’s a little sharp, bitter, and smoky, with a very distinct apple undertone.

 

After a few minutes: This is a chilly apple… more like a cold apple vapor than the fruit; something tempting but sinister drifting on the wind perhaps. It’s a dark, corrupted, cold scent, but crisp at the same time. It is still going through stages with every sniff, which I love. It’s not your average apple scent, but it is lovely all the same.

 

Overall Impressions: This is a very unique, sensory type of scent. It’s like it changes as I sniff it. It goes from smoky to apple and then drifts away to something almost bitter and quite sinister. It’s a corrupted, dark scent, but it’s still very pretty and wearable. It has a very airy quality to it that really makes it a great perfume scent.

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In the imp and first on the skin, this smells like a true apple. Not that sickly apple scent that's mass-produced in almost every store that sells "apple" scents.. but what you smell when you have a freshly pealed apple up to your nose. It's delicate and juicy.. not overly sour or sweet.

 

On the drydown, the other notes peak out, and it goes ever-so-slightly soapy-sweet on me pretty quickly. :P Stupid skin chemistry. Another swap.

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In the imp: Juicy red apple, spot on. Not fake at all, just... apple. I get a hint of opium if I really huff.

Wet: The same juicy apple, quickly dirtied up by the opium. There's a dry, bitter note - the hemlock? After a bit, the apple gradually becomes sweeter, in a strange marshmallow-y way.

Dry: You know those fruity incense sticks you get in Spencer's? Yeah... that's what this smells like. :P I liked the wet stage, but I guess the Lab's apple note just doesn't like me.

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In the imp this is apple. Straight apple. Almost frighteningly red apple. Very juicy. Maybe just a tiny hint of something more ominous underneath the shiny red exterior.

 

It stays pretty much the same on initial application, but those faint whiffs of darkness (the opium and hemlock I presume) become a little stronger as the blend dries. I actually thought the opium and hemlock and oleander might ruin the blend for me, but I actually think they give it a lovely complexity that make it more interesting than simply apple. I don't think of apple as a "sexy" scent, but this is a very sexy blend in my opinion!

 

Unfortunately, when it completely dries, the apple is completely lost and I'll I am left with is the poison! Boo! How disappointing!

 

This blend really shines in the wet on skin phase as it dries down. It's a fun olfactory experience, being tempted by the apple, taking that delicious first bite, feeling woozy and intoxicated by the poisons within the apple, and then falling completely prey to this devilish and unpleasant poison!

 

I'm glad I tried it, but will be swapping the imp to someone else so they can share in the experience :P

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This is certainly a red, ripe apple. However, you can also smell the darkness lurking just beneath the tantalizing surface. I can easily imagine Snow White contemplating the apple right in her hand.

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This is apple with a heady background to it. Opium and hemlock, enough to make the eater's head spin and then she falls into a swoon. It's a really nice interpretation because although it starts off simply as apple, it does morph poisonously into something quite different. The APPLE top note doesn't last all that long (20 minutes or so) and then the opium comes out to play in the foreground. It certainly isn't a comfortable scent to wear and I'm not sure I'll wear this much, but I do appreciate the artistry of the scent.

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I am so in love with La Vita Nouva that I want to try all of the GC apple scents to find one that works for me. Poisoned Apple was the first one I could get my hands on.

Wet: Lovely red apple. It smells exactly the way a good fresh apple smells when its cut, along with some sweet undertones.

Dry: The apple fades and the opium comes out to play, and opium and I do not get along. :P I just don't like the way it smells.

Verdict: The sheer mutability of this scent is fascinating. It goes through one of the biggest scent stories of any BPAL I've tried. I'm happy to have gotten to try it, and I'll be just as happy to pass it along. The quest continues . . .

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Poisoned Apple couldn't be better named. It was crisp, apple with a hint of something rotten. Not a scent I can wear sadly, but it did smell great.

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Expectations: This could be awkward to review, as I've worn it several times already. My original expectation was sweet apple being eaten in a room full of incense smoke.

 

In vial: Ripe, juicy apple.

 

On skin, wet: Much more tart than in the vial, and there's a leafy undertone.

 

On skin, dry: What? Why am I getting that floral that reminds me of toilet paper roll holders? I've worn this half a dozen times and gotten nothing but a delicious apple cider scent out of it. I do get that now, if I just let the oil be and don't try too hard to analyze it, which may be an argument against doing these reviews.

 

After time: 15 minutes and it's turning into the apple cider, yay! In that case, I think it's safe to assume that it will act the same as when I've worn it previously, which means I'll have a light cider scent wafting around me, and it will be strong enough to satisfy my nose for at least 2 or 3 hours.

 

Conclusion: I love this scent. It's a better cider scent than the ones I've tried which actually attempt to smell like cider.

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In the imp, Poisoned Apple smells very apple-y. Dry, it smells like apple cider that's fermented a bit that has a nice, sharp tang to it. Every fall I buy fresh apple cider from a local apple orchard, and Poisoned Apple reminds me exactly of what the apple cider smells like. I LOVE this! I don't think I'd wear it much, but I'll definitely keep the imp.

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Smells like sparkling apple cider to me...very appley, with sharp effervescent notes that really bring out the juiciness. Really nice.

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A frimp from the lab.

 

In the imp, apple.

 

Wet on my hand, apple. Wet on my wrist, apple, and...something else behind it. Yay for the clue that perfume applied to wrists sometimes doesn't smell the same as elsewhere. On my wrist, I am getting much more of the other notes in addition to the apple, so far.

 

 

Drying, on my hand and elbow, still mostly apple. Nice and sweet, not candy or cloying. On my wrist, there the smell if incense with about the same amount of apple. If it is mostly my wrists that amp the incense and resins, that will be very nice to know. I'll have to test a few other scents again to find out for sure.

 

Sniffing again a bit later.

 

So far, the apple on my elbow is still sweet and fresh, like an early morning farmer's market apple display. The bit on the back of my hand is warmer, like those same apples after the sun has been out a while. It is also fainter, I expect the skin is dryer and soaking up the scent faster.

 

My wrist is amping the incense notes. Maybe this is the kitchen the apples are taken to after they are purchased, and the smell of the apples is mixing with the burning incense in the next room.

 

This wasn't an imp I would have picked on my own. Apple didn't sound as exciting as some other things, but, I am liking this best of the frimps tested so far.

Edited by Aerinha

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Lab frimp.

 

In the imp: apple.

Wet: apple, very tart.

Drydown: sweetens...the hemlock comes out. I can get the opium as well. I can't smell the oleander, which has a distinctive smell I remember from my girlhood.

 

Low throw and wearlength but genius while it lasts.

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In the imp, it's red shiny apples, dripping with dew.

 

On my skin, it's darker, a dark red, almost black apple. Dangerous. The opium and something wicked swirls beneath the apple. I can see why Snow White took a bite.

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This smells like bright, sparkling apple juice made from gleaming red apples. As it dries I get a touch of the opium and it gives it an almost incense-like bite to it. Lovely.

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In the vial: Apple skin, just bitten-into fresh juicy apple real deal!

 

Wet: Juicy! Whoa, something tangy and then something not apple. What is that? Something unnatural and unsettling.

 

Drydown: Something perfumy has mingled with the apple. It's tangy and still a real juicy authentic apple, plus something else. I think it's a floral but I have no idea what it is or how to compare it.

 

This strikes me as a holy grail for apple lovers. Also, it's a nice year-round feminine fun fragrance. The apple makes it almost carefree and youthful, whereas the floral is womanly and sophisticated. This is the best of both worlds. Also, apple does not always work on me. I usually avoid fragrances that list apple as a note, but this I got as a frimp and it is really wonderful.

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In vial:

 

Wow! The top notes are definitely apple, but with more of a wicked kick. It reminds me of bitter apple cores or something much more smokey and pungent. Very strong in vial, nearly induced a wicked headache.

 

On skin:

The top note bothers me. I'm more of a fresh, crisp apple kind of girl, and it just doesn't do anything for me. The drydown, however, is lovely as it slowly fades into crisp apples mixed with light florals (smells like lilies on me, although I can't say I know my flowers too well).

 

The drydown is perfect, but I'm debating getting a full size since the top note is to strong.

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On me, Poisoned Apple is mostly juicy apple with a hint of something else. It's very nice, but I think this one needs to age a bit before I wear it again.

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YES YES A THOUSAND TIMES YES.

 

I was worried about this one. The first time I tried it, it seemed to be teetering on the edge of too sweet, cloying, reminding me of why I got sick of Bilquis. I must have been having some kind of weird nose or chemistry issue, because I've worn it a gazillion times since then and never had that effect again.

 

This is just amazing on me. The apple is juicy yet tart, with a bite, a true enough note that I can almost feel the pulp of the fruit between my teeth, and the hemlock and oleander provide a fresh, cool, herbal note. The opium manifests as a subtle sweetness.

 

This scent became my signature "everyday" scent of this entire spring; every time I went to choose a BPAL for the day, I would spot this one and realize it was what I really wanted to wear most of all. I get lots of compliments with this one too!

 

ETA: The very best moment of this one is actually after it's been on for hours and hours (as opposed to some oils that dwindle down to something less than their initial awesomeness). A bit of the apple still lingers while the opium goes smoky and musky. It's sexy as HELL.

Edited by lady_pandora

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In the imp: Oh yes there is apple here and definetly not the green granny smith kind, no this has nothing of that tang. This is sweet and moist.

 

Wet: Lots of apple, I get nothing of the darkness behind it in this stage.

 

Dry: This is disappearing fast :P I can smell it if i stick my nose to my wrist but no further away. Will try re-applying.

 

...later: Well, reapplying didn't really help. I asked the hubby though and he said I smelled like fabric softener in a good way without me putting my wrist under his nose, spring scent I think he said. Maybe it is just a scent I get used too quick... in any case. I wanted to love this but unfortunately it does not really work on my skin. I will try to use it as a room scent though cause I think it might be excellent for that.

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Bottle: Red apples, but with something herbal. Or maybe more green apple.

 

Wet: Mmm a big juicy red apple. While drying, something smoky covers the apples.

 

Dry: Very appropriately named scent. Up close, I get a cider scent, something that reminds me of Halloween. The pure apple scent's gone. But from a distant, I get occasionally surprised by a bit of more candy/red apple wafting up. A more innocent scent.

 

Verdict: When the smoky-ness covered the apples, I was afraid I wouldn't like the scent in the end. But once completely dry, I like being surprised by the scent. It's not as "dark" on me as I expected. Love it! Definitely getting more!

 

5/5

Edited by gnl

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