Poisson d'Avril

[Blood onmy hands]

Not at all fishy; rather, quite Springy! Innocence spiked with a little bit of foolishness: Lenten rose, crested iris, Virginia bluebell, primrose, moss phlox, blue crocus, daffodil, and dewy tulip with a touch of sugar blossom and honey.

I keep trying floral perfumes in the hopes of finding ones that smell like real flowers. I especially cannot resist the daffodils; they are my favorite flowers and I love the way that they smell in real life. I like the smell of flowers, but I tend to hate the way they translate into perfume.

Unfortunately, Poisson d'Avril is more perfumey, chemical flowers on my skin. I cannot pick out any of the listed floral notes, I just get a perfumey, flowery mishmash of scents coated in toothachingly sweet something. It does somehow still give off the impression of being bright and springy.

I like this one more after a half hour or so on my skin, though it still isn't the sort of fragrance I'd personally wear. It lightens up on my skin and the sweetness calms down, taking on a sort of powdery quality. Powdery, light, bright florals.

[PilotKitten]

I've only had one out of the hundreds of BPAL scents I've tried go straight to soap on me but Poisson d'Avril is insane about it. Normally florals do so great on me too.

 

In the bottle, it smelled sooo good too. Like a light sugary floral and like the other posters said, "springtime!"

 

But on me... soap. Pure soap. Not a floral soap either (like the other BPAL blend that went to soap on me)... just the sudz. It's awful I was sooo hoping to have a pretty springtime scent (already have the other seasons covered but am still seeking out a good floral) too. I can't help but think what's the point of taking a shower and getting all soapy clean only to put on a perfume worth $17.50 that makes you smell like you just got out of the shower and smell all soapy clean?

 

I guess this is another one to test out in the oil burner... < sigh >

[ACVail24]

Poisson D'Avril:

 

I was SOOO excited about this one for some reason - there was no single note that caught my attention, so I don't know why I ordered 2 bottles right away.

 

In the Bottle:

Sugared flowers - definitely springy!

I think I can pick out the daffodil note right away - my BF gave me the Snow Maiden for Christmas & all I could smell out of that one was a frigid, snow covered, gorgeous daffodil.

 

On my Skin, Wet:

Amplified sugared flowers!

I can definitely pick out the daffodil - no question.

the rest of the bouquet starts to make itself known here and there - but on me, the daffodil is Queen.

 

On my Skin, Dry:

Hey, where'd my scent go?

Poof. Gone.

 

Verdict:

I'm glad I have two bottles so I can continuously reapply

[Aredhel]

Rating (on skin): 1/5

Summarised in a few words/smilie: Sour rose.

 

In the imp: Sugary roses and daffodils!

 

On skin, wet: Rose, daffodil, and tulip. A very soapy scent already, unfortunately.

 

On skin, dry: Rose is wont to turn soapy, and sour, and bitter on my skin; Poisson d'Avril is, unfortunately, no exception. Sour roses, and nothing more.

 

Conclusion: A lovely floral, before it touched my skin. After that, it didn't stand a chance.

[stellans]

Imp: Spring in a bottle (again)! I said this about Amsterdam as well, and the phrase is deserved by both. There is a fresh spring flowers, new season feel to this blend that makes one want to run around sniffing. The description lists many spring flowers, honey, and sugar but flowers are pretty much all I smell, at least wet.

 

Wet: True to the bottle, this blend stays spring-floral fresh, and is a pure delight to sniff. The wet throw is enough that lifting my wrist to my nose is unnecessary. There is a green note lurking somewhere in the background of this, at least to my nose. Perhaps some of the flower stems or leaves? It's very slight, but pleasing nonetheless.

 

Dry: The blend mellows only slightly upon drydown; the strong spring floral still rules, though a bit softer when dry. The honey never really shows up for me, but I don't miss it, honestly. The spring flower scent is more than enough for me, and I am thoroughly enjoying this.

 

Verdict: SO happy I sprung for a bottle! The two decants I got won't last as I will probably wear this blend a lot. It's a refreshing spring blend, perfect for warming spring days.

Edited March 20, 2009 by stellans

[jade_starlight]

This is an almost insanely strong floral on me; in fact, the floral is so strong that it's giving me a slight headache. Sadly, this one is definitely not for me.

[Ciircee]

Daffodils, primrose, tuilips...oh, I love those smells.

 

Sadly, I get instant, headache inducing soap out of Poisson d'Avril. And a bit of old-lady-at-church-who-stores-her-coat-in-floral-mothballs, too.

[storme]

In the imp: Sort of soapy-girly florals, though not actually soapy *yet*.

 

On me, wet: again, slightly soapy rose and sweet spring flowers - there's some greenness here that cuts through the soapy note. It's rather nice.

 

On me, dry: a faint green sappiness, but the rest of the scent appears to have vanished. Hunh.

 

Verdict: I wasn't sold on this before it vanished, but that'ss the clincher - swap pile.

[purplemoonshoes]

In the imp: Green, light, soft floral; hard to pick out individual notes (but I'm not good at that anyway)

 

Wet: Roses softened by other florals

 

Dry: Very powdery florals, especially rose

 

Later: This one hangs in there, especially for a floral; it turns greener as time goes by

 

I really like this- not my fave floral, but a good basic. Nice for events where you don't want to overwhelm or offend those around you, but still wear something BPAL.

[LiberAmoris]

Poisson d'Avril is one of those springy bouquet blends that makes me feel as though I have cut flowers all over my apartment, when in fact it is just my perfume. There are so many flowers in this that it's difficult to sense them independently, but the overall feeling I get is of a complex floral that smells like it has blue flowers in it. Sometimes I catch a hint of something that smells like lilac, but it must be the bluebell or crocus.

 

Definitely in the vein of Flower Moon or Beltane, and other blends crammed full of pretty posies.

[alliekat13]

wow, how can all the other reviews of this scent be so much different from what I got??! To me, both in the bottle, and on my skin, it's a rather generic floral that I'd expect to find in drugstore lotions and cheap perfumes. I can't really distinguish any of the notes and it just smells rather fake, generic, and perfumy. I'm just so dissapointed with this one, and I was looking forward to it so much.

[euterpe414]

I can barely smell this one in the bottle. Strange. On my skin, though, it is a light breezy floral with an almost aquatic feel to it. I definitely smell the lilies but the rest of this blend is a giant floral mishmash (like others have said- reminiscent of a fresh cut bouquet). Thankfully it doesn't go totally soapy on me. The first few minutes were scary but after that it really mellowed out and I could smell the lovely flowers again. This is a surely a winner for summer, and I'm glad I took a chance on ordering this one.

 

ETA: well I thought there was lily in this blend but I checked back and it isn't listed as a note. Strange because I am so sure I smell it...

Edited May 23, 2007 by euterpe414

[charmingdetails]

I wanted to like this so much more than I actually did. I was hoping the honey would have more of a presence, but instead it's a cool floral without a lot of sweetness. No particular note comes to the forefront for me. Not my cup of tea. Ah well!

[supremegoddessofall]

In bottle: Sugared flox and iris.

 

On me: Crisp purple and white florals. I don't usually do too many floral scents, but this one is very pretty!

[Bagfish]

In the vial Poisson is very springlike indeed I can smell the daffodils, and there is also a smell similar to the vase of hyacinths and tulips that is sitting on my table as I type. Like a spring garden or a bouquet of early spring flowers.

 

On my skin Poisson is VERY strong to start with, but fades really quickly. After a couple of hours all that is left is a faint hint of daffodil.

[harmonyfb]

On me, this is just a generic floral, which starts out soft, and ends softer. ::shrug:: Not really my thing.

[theseagrows]

smells like a pastel bouquet of flowers with a hint of sugar. very springlike! i definitely smell the phlox and daffodil but the other notes are so well blended, i can't pick them out. i can't even smell rose in this. very pretty, i will definitely keep my imp.

[asciident]

Wet: Flowery, sweet, a bit overwhelming. Mostly picking up iris and daffodil, I think.

 

First on: Intensely sweet flowers. It's hard for me to pick anything out. I'm still getting a lot of iris, maybe some tulips and rose.

 

Dry: Rose and iris soap. Much more mellow than before, but it went powdery in the process. Eh.

[girl_android]

In the imp: It's spring flowers ! I don't know what all the individual notes smell like, but the general impression I get is sweet spring flowers.

 

Wet on skin: those spring flowers are still going ...

 

Dry: there's a hint of green in the flowers, it's all very pretty, but I don't know that I do pretty much justice. This makes me feel like I should be lightly made-up, wearing pearls and a twinset. I'm more likely to be in 20-up doc martens, skirts, shirts, and armwarmers, no make-up in sight! Or ... jeans and a t-shirt. With armwarmers. Lovely, but not for me.

Edited June 6, 2007 by Girl Android

[lushlovely]

First sniff from the bottle: This is pink and yellow flowers! It's oh so lovely and I can hardly wait to test it on my skin. It's so very springy and airy.

 

On my skin: More of the same bouquet of happines. This makes me swoon. But wait...... something's starting to shift.....

 

15 mins later: I'm gutted. The spring bouquet that was there earlier has now morphed into a cloud of old-fashioned hairspray and old-lady perfume. Noooooo!!!

 

If I could just keep the scent from the first 5 minutes, but alas the old lady doused in hairspray and perfume is way too overpowering for me. Fortunately i have a friend who likes it, but I'm not sure I want her to have it because then I would still have to smell it.

[Nidaba]

I really wanted this to work on me. I have liked all the sugared floral blends I have tried so far. I'm glad I just went with a decant rather than a bottle.

 

In the decant: too floral for me, I can't pick out any specific notes, but it is very green.

 

Wet: Ack no! It is making me sneeze! Too many flowers all jumbling together on my arm. No sweetness at all. This is starting to give me a headache. It's nowhere near as bad as honeysuckle gets on me, but it is not wearable.

 

Dry: Now I can smell the honey. It has actually calmed down and is a nice scent now. Still very floral, but not overpowering and the honey makes it more of something that I can wear.

 

I am not sure if I am keeping this or not. The wet stage is horrible, but I do like it dry. Hmmm, I'll have to think about this one.

[impadua@aol.com]

Lushlovely has it just about pinned.

 

Wet on skin, I am cursing that I only have an imp.

An hour later, not cursing as loudly, grumbling now.

2 hours later, grandma's perfume and aquanet?

Say it ain't so!

 

I have to say, however, that it gives me a warm feeling from grandma's scent.

Maybe the imp will age well. I will hide it awhile and see.

[yeahbutnobut]

Poisson D'Avril

 

In the bottle: a crisp, dewy, and bright spring floral. Smells like lilacs and wisteria, even though those aren't listed notes.

Wet on skin: lilacs! I know, it's mad, because it's not listed, but I smell lilac in here, along with daffodils and bluebells.

Dry on skin: this is very pretty! It smells like a whole host of pretty spring blooms and their leaves scenting the air. I smell daffodils and bluebells, and also wisteria and lilac. I have no idea what most of the other notes smell like but I don't smell the rose, sugar or honey-for now this isn't sweet at all, but very crisp and fresh, sharply green, but mainly a mix of bright and lightly fragrant spring blossoms and crushed leaves. It reminds me of Ostara without resins, or a less sweet Flower Moon.

After a while: the sharpness does tone down a little but the honey and sugar don't seem to show up. the floral notes seem to have merged nicely into one soft white damp petal scent, reminiscent of spring blossom notes, with still that lilac/wisteria note in the background. However, it seems to be veering close to soapy territory. I just hope it doesn't cross that line.

The scent does seem to become a tad soapy as feared…although it's more of a waxy petal scent. Now I am reminded very slightly of the drydown of Possets Cambienne (the early spring versions), there's that same yellow-pink spring blossom scent to it, but it doesn't have that fresh rainy-earthy scent. it fades fast as well, leaving a trace of bluebell and tulip behind, with a hint of soapiness. Then the scent turns to a waxy white lily scent, like calla lily, with lilac on top.

Verdict: this was surprisingly disappointing on me. I really wanted to love this-I love spring scents, I'm an April girl, and I absolutely love Beth's sugared flowers and honeyed flowers, I was hoping this would be a little bit like Al Araaf or maybe Flower Moon. But I got nothing remotely sweet or honeyed, and no rose either. I got a lot of flowers, but not what I expected. I didn't know what half the floral notes in here smelt like but I was very surprised to get lilac and wisteria. I also got a lot of greenery, like the leaves and shoots of spring plants. It wasn't bad and I really quite liked the just-dry stage, even if it was a little too sharp for me at times. I was a bit let down by the drydown though-it turned to bitter lilac/wisteria, waxy white petals, and even that dreaded hint of soap that I was hoping wouldn't show up in this scent. And still no sugar, honey or rose. What a bummer. I don't hate the scent but I do prefer a lot of other spring scents-such as Ostara, and notably Possets Cambienne-to this one.

Emoticon rating:

Is it a keeper? It's pretty, but I think the bottle will be passed on. It's not as nice as expected

If you like this, try: Ostara, Orpheus, Melancholia, The Ghost, One to Tie Two to Win, Arkham (Revisited), Garden Path with Chickens, Asphodel, Temperance

[CrazyPretzel]

Sweet, pretty, dewy spring florals. I can smell some daffodil in there; the rest is too well-blended to pick out individual notes. It reminds me of Blue Moon without the mystery -- given that I do have Blue Moon, I think I might swap this bottle...

[LittleGreyKitten]

This is one of those that I'm kind of at a loss as to what inspired me to order it. Maybe it was the daffodil, or the idea of sugared blossoms or something. However, I rarely do well with the "eleventy billion flowers in a bottle" types of scents. Every now and again, though, the mix is just right for me. Poisson is actually pretty nice on. There's no one major scent sticking out- it's just a lovely mishmash of FLOWERSANDMOREFLOWERS. Yet it isn't too strong, or headachy. And the daffodil, which I often loathe, is noticeable but pleasant. It is very sweet, indeed- the honey and sugaryness are probably what make the daffodil nice. This really isn't a very "me" scent, but it's way better than I expected (what was I thinking when I ordered, again?) I adore the label, too, and the name is of course great. I would say I'll wear this every now and again. The biggest drawback is that it fades really, really, really fast.

 

3.5 out of 5.