Poisson d'Avril

[metaldog32]

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 wanted to get this because of the Lenten rose and bluebell/blue crocus. I am usually not a floral gal but I kind of have developed a soft spot for Beth's spring fragrances..so here I am with my 5ml to do some reviewing.

Initial sniff from bottle: Pretty soft florals'I can get some of the daffodil and a bit of the rose..but the rest of it is kind indescribable to me. Very soft and spring-like.

Applied wet on skin: Pretty!!! Daffodil and rose and the rest of the gang are still here..but I also get a touch of sweetness in the back..could that be the honey???

Couple of minutes on skin:Hmmm... not so much daffodil or rose anymore..so it's probably the iris/bluebell/phlox/crocus/tulip doing their thing. There still is a touch of sweetness in the back... but boy this seems to be fading fast on me.

Ten minutes later:Sweet floral still sticking around..but it is very softened.

Thirty minutes later:The florals are still there..peeking through..it's almost become a skin scent on me.

Drydown:Barely there sweetness...

Lasting power was about 4+ hours with throw soft.

Bottom Line: Poisson D'Avril is a pretty springtime sweet floral. I find it pleasant enough but it didn't wow me. That being said, I think it will layer nicely over some floral body creams I have laying around so this won't go to waste. A keeper

[bulletslc]

Wow! This is uber floral!

 

With a honey/sugar kick!

 

The throw on me is very strong and it looks to be lasting well.

 

I'm more a foody/resin girl, but I know what scent I will reach for now when I don't want straight rose...

 

Yum!

[LadyBug]

Sugared tulips! It's a cute smell if that makes sense. Good for spring...very floral. I wouldn't buy a bottle...or even another imp...but I will be keeping my imp!

[DifferentDances]

Wet: Uh oh, it's got that weird baby diaper feel that jasmine usually gives me. Odd, jasmine's not listed as a note. Heavy, heavy florals.

Drydown: Waxy chunk of flowers indistinguishable from one another. Erm. Could one note kindly either step to the front or the back of this jumble?

Dry: Waxy soap.

 

My rating: 1/5. Apparently not all flowers smell alike. *ducks rocks thrown for blasphemy* Something in here is not something I like, because I think one note is amping up. Sadly, the majority of the notes in this blend are completely unfamiliar to me, so I haven't a clue what to avoid in the future. Ah well, more adventures for me!

[alicia_stardust]

This is springtime indeed! I get a mishmash of springtime florals in bright, vivid colors. There's a touch of green stem in there, but otherwise it's all soft florals. None of them go perfumey on me, nor too strong, nor too powdery. Just right.

[Ishtar]

Oh this is one of the most wonderful florals I have smelled in a long time! Admittedly, I like florals, especially when they have character and depth - Poisson d"Avril certainly has both in spades!

 

At first, Poisson is like an intense burst of fresh flowers with a green, refreshing undertone - probably the crocus and tulip. There is a beautiful higher note that for some reason reminds me of honeysuckle, but I reckon it may be the iris.

 

After drydown, this blend mellows into a sweeter, very soft scent that is nothing short of gorgeous and uplifting. A very spring-like blend indeed, but so nice that I would wear it any time of the year.

 

I only have one decanted imp so far, but this is one scent of which I may well hunt down a bottle.

[Christine Daae]

There's not much that I can say about Poisson d'Avril that hasn't already been said, but here goes! (This is what I get for waiting so long to review!)

 

This is my go-to springy, happy floral. It is just gorgeous. Soft, light, clear and with just a hint of extra sweetness from the sugar and honey, it is absolutely stunning. It's youthful and bright and it lasts forever, with just a waft of throw surrounding me. I absolutely love this, one of my all-time favourites. <3!

[crazyredhead17]

I'm trying to remember what possessed me to get a decant of this when spring flowers give me bad spring allergies.

 

Wet, this is just like a headache inducing spring garden. I can smell a bit of the stems too, so it's almost like Spring in a cut flower case. It's very girlie and pretty, and it's giving me a headache, so off it goes.

[mspixieears]

I thought based on the notes that this would smell like Fairy Market and it most certainly does! But more floral – I can pick out the iris and maybe the bluebells and primrose. It dies down pretty quickly and then the rose comes out. The perfect springtime fragrance. I like it but it’s not remarkable though I think I will keep the decant I have. Now the sweetness emerges half an hour later – this is like a less sweet version of Fairy Market for certain.

[Northernskygal]

NOTE: I am not.. repeat.. not a fan of florals normally.. I like to smell like food.. not flowers Just throwing it out there, as I am sure that bias influences all of my thoughts of floral blends.

 

Moving on.. Poisson d'Avril is very pretty. It smells.. clear. To me, it is not a vibrant garden but.. if you had a smell for like.. a glass etching of a garden it would be this to my nose. It smells.. perfumey. Which I know sometimes around here has a negative connotation and.. it's not bad exactly.. just.. I don't think this blend will mingle with my skin and be just.. subtle pretty. To me, this wears outwards 100%, it doesn't cling at all. I only wish that I got a more.. sutble, actually walking through a garden floral blend here, instead of a.. really fancy department store floral perfume. It does smell like that perfect spring/summer day though.. maybe taking a road trip with a friend.. driving around with the windows down, singing along to your favorite song at the top of your lungs.. maybe stopping by a gorgeous field of wildflowers and stretching for a bit.. this is like the more mature, complex cousin of say.. Roadhouse.

[zankoku_zen]

This is such a mish-mash of florals --- like a big, bright springtime bouquet. I can smell the roses and the daffodils, but there are so many other floral smells swirling around at the same time with a touch of sweetness. Bright, sunny and happy.

 

It's like being in the middle of a wildflower garden on a nice sunny afternoon.

[inurbanus]

This smells like a flower garden warmed by the sun. It's surprisingly light on me, so I'll have to take measures to intensify this. I can't pick out any individual flowers, but together they are sweet with a little bit of green grass here and there. I can't wait to try this out in Spring, but until then this is a nice reminder of warm weather. I wear a lot of florals, and Poisson d'Avril isn't my absolute favorite of them, but it is quite lovely in its own right.

 

3.5/5

[SmileCat]

Oh! This is pretty. Big, squishy armful of blossoms and flowers in your hair. While you run through a field of flowers. With honey-coated sunshine.

 

This scent makes me laugh, it's just so happy and springy.

 

It's not floral, it's FLOWERS! And sweet, sweet honey. I get different flowers at different times in the drydown and through the day but it's always pretty.

 

Not a very comprehensive review, but I <3 Poisson d'Avril.

[fairnymph]

In the bottle: Sharp, fresh green floral; iris, I think?

 

Wet: Definitely the dreaded iris, which smells to me a helluva lot like lily of the valley. It's amping incredibly so I can't smell anything else. Powdery-heady overkill.

 

Dry: It's turned all sweet and sugary, on top of the heady powder, BLECH.

 

I ran off to the sink with this one.

[evenstar]

I received this as a "freebie" from Ahania. She knew I was looking for a "springtime" scent and this is dead on!

 

In the vial: it smells so "springy-sweet". Can't wait to try it on!

 

On the skin: loving it...loving it! Makes me smile as I anticipate spring.

 

Dry down: on me, it becomes almost TOO sweet. I lose the BEAUTIFUL florals it had at first.

 

I really can't make up my mind about this one. I was suprized it has no orchid notes, as on dry down, it seems to "match" B&BW's newest, "Enchanted Orchid" fragrance. Anybody else notice this?

Edited March 8, 2008 by evenstar

[Jheya]

In the vial: A springtime scent, delicate and reminiscent of being outdoors in the countryside.

 

On skin: A mingling of delicate floral notes. It's quite a faint scent and I can't really pick apart the individual components. Now that's it's on skin and I can smell it more clearly it no longer seems as true as it did in the vial. Instead of smelling like spring in the countryside it now seems more artificial, like a laundry detergent trying to smell like the outdoors but not quite managing it. A pity.

 

~30 mins: The blend has morphed and no longer smells as fake. There's a sweetness to this, and a touch of fruit even though I don't see any listed in the notes. The floral notes are rather subdued, and there's a dustiness which is almost but not quite like hay.

 

~1 hour: The dusty note has faded, and I'm left with a mix of gentle floral notes with a smooth, sweet, fruity undertone. Pretty and feminine, but not really my cup of tea.

[DARKBEAUTY28]

This scent to me is sweet, pink, pretty, and just "fluffy" lol. I really like it. It also reminds me of baby dolls for some reason, maybe because the scent is so girly.

[maika]

In the bottle, floral, but "difficult" (and I know that description makes no sense but bear with me).

 

Wet...springtime! Lots of flowers!

 

Dry, the mixed floral theme continues but an earthy note becomes apparent underneath.

 

Later on, the odd distinct floral note is coming out...I can smell violets, and violet leaves - real ones, not a powdery version..and daffodils? While spring is a long way from springing here, I found my first daffodil of this year in flower in my garden, and I can smell the same thing here.

 

Ultimately though, this is gorgeous! Must get my hands on more!!!

 

After looking at the notes though, I'm wondering where I get violets from? Unless it's a little wishful thinking, because the next sign I get that spring is coming is that the violets in my garden go nuts...and I'm so very sick of winter...

[Sweetie666]

This is such a beautiful soft, blue scent. It's not powdery...but very close. I smell a lot of bluebell, I'm so in love with this! Has amazing stay power too!

[TheOneTheyCallLuna]

I can totally see how this would be lovely and swoon worthy on the right girl, but I'm here to tell you that it just ain't me. This is just way too sugary sweet and innocent of a floral for me to wear. This is another one of those spring bottled flower blends that while I might love to catch a whiff of this fragrance on the breeze out on a leisurely walk this April, is just not something I can rock on my skin.

[sprocket21]

I have to admit that while I'm great at picking out fruit and food notes, I'm terrible when it comes to florals. I am working on remedying that - I have recently discovered, for example, how awesome hyacinth smells - but pretty much the only floral I recognize scent-wise in Poisson D'Avril is the rose.

 

That said, I can't really detect the rose in this scent - again, if I was a bit better at identifying the other florals I could give a better idea of what this smells like, but I mostly come up with sweet, nondescript floral. It's lovely and very evocative of spring, but definitely for floral lovin' gals only.

[donnatron]

Bottle: Unremarkable. There are florals. I smell iris and rose.

 

Wet: Poisson D'Avril just blooms on the skin. The honey and sugar blossom lend this great grounding note and each note really uses them as a springing board. Unlike like a lot of honey/floral blends this doesn't have a sour or gritty phase on my skin. It just immediately becomes lush, full blooms witha gorgeous and sultry honeyed background.

 

Dry: It doesn't change a lot on the drydown. Becomes more skin close and in a weird way more alluring. The wet phase is basically like "HI! ARE YOU TEN FEET FROM ME? I BET YOU CAN SMELL ME LOUD AND CLEAR!!!" (Mixed metaphor notwithstanding). The dry phase is so much closer to the skin and so much more like the type of scent you want to whiff from your partner's neck while you dance at a backyard party. Very feminine and interesting. Not sleazy or cheap in any way.

 

Throw: Excellent. I've got a few different blends on and although the others are theoretically stronger this one is definitely the dominant scent.

 

Overall: I really like it. I'll admit I don't really wear it often because I kind of forget about it but every time I put Poisson D'Avril on I remember how breathtakingly gorgeous it is. Writing this review has triggered my memory and hopefully I'll get a lot of wear out of it this summer.

[ouch!]

Wow so many florals yet not overpowering and headachy. This blend makes me feel clean and fresh and I really really like it! Not one I would ever go for straight away for the amount of floral but this works.

 

Not really able to pick things out individually, but this is a sweet, fresh...not too overpowering floral, I think this would be perfect for a hot day. Makes me think of summer dresses and picnics and summer straw hats with bown on. Hehe.

[HamletsKeeper]

I'd just put on Amsterdam today when my swapped bottle of this arrived. How karmic then that I should just be thinking whether or not to order a full bottle of Amsterdam when this turns up at my door. To put it short and sweet, this is Amsterdam with a fuller bouquet, longer lasting but the same beautiful aquatic quality. If you are a floral aquatic lover this a good one.

 

Bottle Sniff - same as Amsterdam it smells like handcreme\shampoo in the bottle. My nose never picks up many notes from a bottle sniff. It needs to warm up on my skin to bloom.

 

Wet On Skin - rose comes up first, then greens and something powdery, reminiscent of white musk without the edge. There are many unfamiliar notes in this bottle so I can't really guess at what that is. The rose in this isn't a lush cultured rose, it smells more like the wild rose in Her Voice, slightly green, woody and not at all sweet.

 

Dry Down - I get a fuller bouquet that has an ever so slightly powdery edge but never goes to powder. It's sweet and warm where Amsterdam is cool and green. But the aquatic base it sits on is identical. Many notes have the same appeal here, they are both tulip heavy, and the rose in this one is just slightly warmer than the peony in Amsterdam. The iris is a minor player in this one so if iris turns to soap on you this may be a fragrance you can wear. For some reason I keep smelling a soft white musk here, which is fine because I'm fond of white musk.

 

Overall

I love Amsterdam but it's inability to last or throw on me has prevented me from buying a bottle. And just today I was wondering if I could find a scent similar to it with more lasting ability. Hello! I've got a bottle of that in my hands right now. I've decided I love tulips and aquatics in the same bottle. Wonderful swap for me and I'm so glad I decided to take a chance on this one. I will be wearing it often, possibly daily.

 

 

 

[Venneh]

In the decant, I'm getting a combination of florals and a sharper sort of honey. Hrm. On my skin, it's pretty much florals. We'll see how this goes. Light, springy floral, not anything I'm particularly interested in.

Edited March 6, 2010 by Venneh