Privilege

[Miss Lynx]

Polished party-girl sleaze. This is a shameless scent, devoid of caution, regret, or introspection. This perfume reeks of tabloid glamour, and has no substance whatsoever. Armoise, tuberose, white citrus, rose absolute, oakmoss, tiare, tuberose, vanilla, linden, and lemon tree blossom. ...

Oh, Gods... I got this as a frimp in a decant circle, and while I very much appreciated getting a rare-ish LE that way, I can't even bring myself to open it, let alone allow it to touch my skin!

It's not just the Paris Hilton connection -- I sniffed it in the closed imp, through the cap, before I was about to try it, and -- yikes! Death by Florals! There have been a very few other scents that I sniffed that way that scared me too much to even open the imp - Pride and Eve were the others, I think.

I will say that as far as I can tell it certainly succeeds in capturing what it intended to -- overwhelmingly sweet killer perfume! Run away! Run away!

Grade: F for wearability, A for accuracy!

[Czarina]

OK, call me vapid. I actually like this one on me.

 

In the bottle: Death by Florals. Agreed.

Wet: jasmine, tiare, something else I can't identify.

Drydown: The something else I can't identify comes to the forefront. It smells kind of like Sweet Tarts. It's sweet, it's not floral, and it's very appealling to me.

 

Below-average throw.

 

ETA: Dang, I still really like this months later. I guess I'm still shallow.

Edited August 16, 2008 by Czarina

[edenssixthday]

Privilege – This opens up with a very green and bitter note. It’s a strong floral blend, but one of them is highly bitter and green on me – I’m unsure which one. I think that without that note that overpowers the rest of the blend, it could be a very pretty floral on me. I can’t wear this, however, even though the bitterness does mellow out a bit upon drydown.

[purplemoonshoes]

Empty of meaning describes this well. It lacks the depth of most BPAL blends. Green floral in the imp, white citrus, oakmoss, and sweet florals on my skin. I don't find it especially commerical. Lasts a while with okay throw.

[twilighteyes]

In Bottle:

Floral but NICE. I don't like florals and this is somewhat compelling.

 

Wet on skin:

Sweet heavy darkish floral. Still nice.

 

Dry on skin:

Wow, I didn't think I would like this, but it's actually wearable. It's not something I would normally wear -- not a sweet floral type of girl -- but yeah, I like it. Sadly I don't think it's one I would wear but I'm glad I got to try it.

[sadtomato]

though this has more of a traditional perfume smell than most BPAL oils, i still am liking it.

 

in the bottle it's all light florals.

 

on my skin i get the florals mixed with something oddly peppery when it's wet.

 

peppery fades when it dries and is a light, clean, crisp aquatic floral. doesn't last long, but it's a lovely scent!

[LadyLuckDoubt]

Okay, I bought this because I was curious. I wanted to know if it smelt like the original Paris Hilton perfume, which I actually like. The notes sounded similar, and I thought the concept was a good one: good causes benefitted from the sale of the perfume, and while I don't have any major beefs with Ms. Hilton (except her irresponsible attitude towards pet ownership) like Beth said, the idea of her being able to get off scott-free because she's rich made me sick.

 

So I've been wanting this for ages. Thankfully, I got it through DirtyPrincess on the forums-- thankyou!

 

In the Bottle

Dry, dusty florals and a sour note.

 

On Me

Initially, this is quite vile. It has this old-lady-perfume smell to it, musty and kind of gross, with an undercurrent of fine florals and a hint of something woody. This is sort of how I imagined The Atrocious Attic would smell only there's a plastic note which reminds me of the Jennifer Lopez blends.

 

On dry-down, and it does take awhile to dry down, it's quite pretty. The dusty old-lady edge is still there, but it's not dominant any more and actually adds something to the blend. I'm getting-- I think-- ozonics of some description, oakmoss, what smells like orange water, and YES-- I was right! There IS tuberose in there. And that vague-arsed woody note-- like cedar or something...

 

The throw's reasonably good, and the life-- well, I've only been wearing this for a few hours, but it's still there.

 

I actually quite like it. No, it's not really like the original Paris Hilton blend-- it's more like a classier, natural version of Just Me and Heiress (and I can't stand them because they just smell musty and plastic-ish and boring-- really synthetic... and this ISN'T) combined, and I wouldn't say this is particularly youthful and girly, either. It's quite sedate and almost conservative, with an arcane sense of humour, though. The sort of perfume I can imagine one of those Katharine Hepburn types wearing.

[fairnymph]

In the bottle: Strongly sharp and green.

 

Wet: Sweeter, more floral, but still green and fresh. A little soapy, ahh the dreaded tuberose, but it's bearable. I'm getting both the rose and linden, and some other pale green-white feeling flowers. There is a bit of creaminess coming out underneath too, the vanilla I believe.

 

Dry: Strong, sharp, slightly sweet and citrusy floral. The tuberose mostly behaves itself. I actually quite like this, except for the sharpness - I think due to the armoise. Even though the sharpness mellows, it is a note that puts me off this blend.

[donnatron]

Bottle: It smells like... jaeger. Or chartreuse. A for accuracy so far.

 

Wet: White floral explosion! It actually smells incredibly good. Sort of tart and floral with a hint of foodiness.

 

Dry: It dries down to a sort of hollow floral. Very pretty and feminine, and surprisingly beautiful considering the namesake. The strongest note I'm getting is tuberose supported by lemon verbena and a touch of rose.

 

Throw: Average.

 

Overall: I knew I'd like this the second I saw the notes. It makes me feel a bit dirty for doing so, but I don't care, it's a great, unusual floral that's perfect for business or school situations. I'm glad I acquired a bottle; it's good stuff.

[Indigo78]

Voila - so this is the vapid waft of "I'm special" that has assaulted my nose countless times on campus!

 

I get lots of floral in the imp. This does smell expensive, but in the way that says "I am expensive, therefore I am.." *shrugs* whatever. No denying the external beauty of it, that's for sure.

 

Wait, I know - it's a little like Estee Lauder's "Pleasures". It is also burning the skin on the inside of my elbow a little, and I wonder if this isn't a glimpse of "fire crotch"?

 

Pretty good throw during the dry down, which is actually lengthier than I thought it would be on my skin.

 

Frivolity and baseless self-worth definitely come to mind. I got this one out of curiosity on an Ebay win. Not a disappointment, & without regard to who it represents - - - it is pretty enough to keep.

Edited June 2, 2008 by Indig0

[grashopper8]

Smells like a drugstore aquatic scent. Bleh.

 

Fresh, floral, soapy, and altogether unremarkable. Certainly, this was created with fine essences but blended with an eye-rolling sarcasm. Although it's kind of "nice" smelling, it's also completely empty. Hilarious, Beth! I'll frimp it along so others may experience Eau de Celebutante.

 

2 out of 5

[smallvoice]

I agree with so many others, in that this smells generic and empty. It is a perfect execution of the idea. I also must add that I do NOT get along with tuberose, so this was especially awful on me. I love the label. I love the humour that has been infused into this blend.

 

So, that's the short of it. I'll get into some more details: It's heavy florals on me, with an overwhelming feeling of a generic perfume in a drugstore. It's a little too high class for all that, though. There's a phase it goes through on me where the citrus makes it "sparkle," but that doesn't last long enough, and there's still the tuberose to contend with. I think the citrus actually turns on me and goes sharp after that. It's just not good on me. I'm glad to see it getting some love lately, though!

[jentifer]

First hit- oakmoss, quickly followed by tuberose and linden. Epitome of "perfume", without being a lovely perfume. Sort of what you smell at Perfumemania when you first walk in.

[kawaiiferreto]

Wet: Milkweed. Eww.

 

Dry: Much better! I don't know where that bitter nasty milkweed smell was coming from. This is very "perfumey". It's pretty, but I definitely see the shallow feel to this.

 

The throw is very light and the scent is pretty and non-offensive so I could probably wear it to work. There's something about it that keeps drawing my nose.

 

I never do get to where I can pick out the notes, but I'm not super familiar with some of them anyway. Either way I think I'll be hanging on to my decant for a bit at least. (I've come to like florals so long as they aren't too strong, and this is nice and light and wearable.)

[Mordath]

Have you ever walked into a department store and been viciously attacked by three or more different pushy perfume-weilding salespeople? Privilege is what you smell like in the aftermath as you try to figure out where you went wrong.

[milo]

Well, this wasn't as nearly bad as expected. In fact, I really don't mind it too much though I definitely wouldn't wear it again, though as I only like to wear oils I love. I've sought after certain oils, gotten them, and really didn't like them at all, whereas this is probably a "C". Right away, I smell roses, and it dries down to a popular perfume that my daughter wears. Maybe Fantasy?? Anyways, I got her to smell it, and she does love it, so off it goes to her, or maybe I'll wait for Xmas and put it in her stocking.

[galahad]

In The Bottle

Aromatic herbal but with a smoothness

On Application

Dirty socks!! Wonder if this has valerian in it

Dry Down

I don't like this one at all. The initial herbiness fades pretty quickly to be replaced with what I suspect might be calla lily which I can't stomach.

 

Rating (0-5)

1

 

[jewelbug]

Bottle: Bitter (like bitter greenery and pith), fizzy and commercially “perfumey.”

 

Wet: A little sweeter with some fruity tones. There is still a bitter greenery note to this, almost jungle-y. But the complete picture is that of a green “perfumey” floral blend, and remains quite commercial feeling.

 

Dry: Within an hour, this fades a lot, the sharp greenery note is significantly less and, I’m left with a sweet, watery, slightly green floral. By ~3-4 hours its just a wisp of vacant perfume.

 

Overall: You know when you walk past an Abercrombie store in the mall and you’re hit by a wall of “oh God, that perfume is STRONG,” and you speed your step to escape its nauseating preppy-slut aura? This has that feel to it—vapid, commercial perfumery and ill-fitting clothes in poor taste. Except that this smells better because Beth made it. But boy, oh, boy, did she capture her inspiration. And it fades quickly. But not as quickly as I can high-tail it past A&F.

Edited July 2, 2009 by jewelbug

[Babette]

To be quite honest, I rather like this perfume. My skin amps up the herbal note pretty strongly when it's wet and when it dries down, the herbal-ness is still there but softer and sweeter, almost pillowy-like. I can't associate it with other commercial perfume because the ones I am familiar with do not smell like this. Instead, Privilege reminds me of shampoo, like Herbal Essences, but not quite because this is sweeter. However, like the shampoo, it gives off a clean vibe for me and I quite like that. This is something I'll wear on days when I can't decide on which blend to dab on and have to stay indoors.

[Nia]

Out of the BPAL blends that resemble commercial perfumes, this is my favourite. It does seem simple, flat, as the description says, "without substance". Still, it is very pleasant and sometimes I just want a perfume that won't make my coworkers say that the staffroom smells of churchy incense....

 

It has a perfect blend of freshness and floral. I swapped for an imp because I love tuberose and tiaré and I was curious about how they would mingle. Tiaré is generally much sweeter than this perfume, where it is nicely balanced with the citrus and the lemon tree blossom.

 

It's a pity that this is a LE. It's like the BPAL equivalent of white shirt and blue jeans.

[lizzyshoe]

Privilege:

In the bottle: sweet herbs

 

Wet: the scent becomes both sweeter and herbier, with more bite to the herbs and more cool sweetness. Tasty!

 

Dry: Ahh, there are the flowers. Sweet light flowers, very gentle and very girly!

 

Overall: I love this scent. It's very spring-timey, green and flowery like a flowery field on a cool early spring day. Like other reviewers have said, it smells more like a commercial perfume than most BPALs, but it doesn't have the sharp overdone bite that most of those have. It's pretty, sweet, green. Beautiful.

[Gin]

I'm surprised to find that I like Privilege. It's a little spicy, in a green way, and really floral. Not much to say about it, really. It's pretty, clean, kind of like something I'd expect from Estee Lauder or Calvin Klein. (And I don't mean that as a slight. It just fits into that endorsed-by-Gwyneth-Paltrow-in-a-wedding-dress type of category.)

[KittyHawk]

Ugh, all I get is sharp, herbal green. No florals at all. I was hoping based on earlier reviews that the sharpness would burn off after awhile and the florals would come out, but I'm having no such luck. I'm so disappointed in this blend and my skin chemistry for making it so horrid.