The Perilous Parlor

[Deiicide]

A memory of pleasure passed. A ghostly rendezvous, delight beyond death. Faint echoes of laughter and the distorted music of a harp drift by, along with the scent of soft white pear and sweet vanilla.

It's very juicy pear on me with soft vanilla on the background, and as it dries here's the wierd part; a hint of dustiness comes forward and a tiny bit of musk I think. It's really nice sleeping scent and good on cool autumn days. Edited March 26, 2010 by Deiicide

[Venneh]

I'm getting pear and vanilla in the imp, absolutely sweet and wonderful. On my skin, the same sweet vanilla and pear, love it. Probably going to a full skin test.

Edited May 20, 2010 by Venneh

[ralenth]

Soft, creamy pear with quite a bit of staying power! I put it on in the early afternoon and I could still smell it the next morning.

[claudia6913]

This has to be the very first BPAL scent that smells the same on my skin as it does in the bottle. Yummy vanilla slathered sweet pears. It's delicious and comforting, warm and smooth and just oh so wonderful! I'm insanely pleased with this scent and glad I was able to get my hand on a bottle even though it came out before I got into BPAL.

 

I wish the throw was a bit stronger, but I don't mind huffing my wrist for this one. LOL

[Penance]

Origin:

 

5mL bought on LiveJournal after I developed one of those random, spontaneous instant obsessions with a scent that never caught my eye before.

 

Preconceived notions:

 

I'm not normally a fan of fruity perfumes (March Hare is the exception to the rule and was the very first BPAL scent I developed a random obsession with, and BPAL's plum and blackberry scents often find a loophole, but that's about it). But I did really like the pear in Juliet (which was shocking). I do love vanilla if it's done right (i.e. not cloying or too foody), so there may be some hope for The Perilous Parlor yet, especially since I trust my instincts on these "spontaneous obsession" scents. They almost always end up working out beautifully for reasons I don't understand.

 

First sniff:

 

That's the pear note I like in Juliet! Yay! I was afraid it might be a different pear and that I wouldn't like it (especially since I really don't care for the smell of pear as a general rule), so this is a good start. I'm smelling a little bit of sweet, almost boozy vanilla in the background, but what I'm mainly getting is juicy pear with a hint of syrup to it.

 

Wet on skin:

 

For the first few seconds after The Perilous Parlor hits my skin, I get a strong, juicy pear note. It's not crisp, it's more like a combination of canned pears (with just a touch of light syrup) and fresh, soft, ripe fruit. Then the vanilla starts to really show itself and it quickly overtakes the pear to the point where it smells like vanilla ice cream with little swirls of fresh pear mixed in. There's also something that smells almost like brandy here. Maybe a touch of brandy syrup drizzled over the ice cream? It's not as sweet as I feared, in spite of the ice cream vibe. It's more creamy and cozy smelling than cloying. I like this!

 

Dry down:

 

A mix of soft, almost poached pears, with creamy, almost boozy vanilla and still a hint of something that smells like brandy. The whole impression is of poached pears over creamy, smooth ice cream with a light drizzle of brandy glaze overtop. And yet, strangely, it's not really foody...it's just sweet and cozy and comforting.

 

The bottom line:

 

I don't think you have to be a foody fan (I'm not normally, although there are several notable exceptions to that rule) to enjoy this one. This will be beautiful for wearing around the winter holidays. Another winner picked by my subconscious, which apparently has good taste. Go id, go!

[juniperus]

Bottle: soft pear, almost a hint of a scent rather than the scent itself

Wet: pear is no longer soft nor merely a hint--this is a pear that wants my attention

Dry: the vanilla has a muskiness behind it, now, and the pear is no longer 'O HAI I M PEAR!1eleventy!11!!!', although it's gotten sweeter.

Later: you know that sort of sharpness fo the skin of a bosc pear--not the smell of the flesh, but the not-quite-earthy undertones the skin has? this is now that--plus a s*hit-ton of vanilla, because I'm amping it to high heaven.

[Honey]

This is one of my first scents from BPAL. I had ordered it because I once had a vanilla-pear tea that smelled and tasted just delicious. Alas, this scent couldn't make me just as happy.

 

Bottle: Very faint pear. Not ripe, juicy pear.. more green, clean pear. The vanilla is simply too sweet. Smells a bit chemical.. like something medicinal. A bit like plastic or cheap vanilla candles that give you a headache.

 

Wet: I get a waft of pear. Never noticed that before, but now that I pay close attention for my review - it's there.

 

Dry: Alas, the pear only lasts for a minute. Now I mainly smell plastic vanilla, sugar and something green (like grass?) in the background. I wish there were more notes to it.. something that would give this smell a spicy or a clean attribute. Pear and vanilla just seem a bit.. bland to me. I could imagine this scent in a revisited version with white or green tea, calla lilly, honey and/or ginger. Somehow Perilous Parlor seems like a "white and green" scent to me, so these would fit in there quite well I think.

Edited July 10, 2011 by Honey

[kirsten]

Simple and gorgeous. I love the balance between the juicy pear and the soft vanilla. This may be worth sniffing out a bottle.

[Alethia]

Thoughts before testing: I've been looking for a good pear scent since I joined the forums, and since I have a strong love of all things vanilla, I have high hopes for this one!

 

Wet: Wow! This really does smell like pear ice cream, but not in an obnoxiously foody way. It's quite lovely.

 

Dry down: I'm getting less ice cream, but the pear and vanilla are absolutely beautiful together.

 

Dry: The pear fades away after about 2 hours and leaves behind a beautifully creamy and full bodied vanilla.

 

Thoughts after testing: This stayed close to my skin, which I appreciate, and the staying power was pretty decent (around 6 hours).

 

Verdict: Love this! I probably won't kill myself to find a bottle, but will be on the lookout for one.

[Invidiana]

This is a pretty perilous scent for me alright. I turn it into a sickeningly cloying pear candy on steroids for quite a while, and finally when that aspect of it has had its fun a soft vanilla musk comes into play and the ubersweet pear finally starts to recede. I can now see the comparison to Antique Lace but since I already own that and so many other vanillas with which I don't have to put up with a torturous wet stage, I don't think I'll be hunting any more.

[neuilly]

I wrote a review a couple years ago, but this has definitely changed on my skin!! The vanilla used to hate me but now it's delicious! It's like a giant vat of authentic vanilla ice cream with a pear scent gently hovering over it. So glad I still have my decant!

[jenpo]

Halloweenie 2012 Description

 

A memory of pleasure passed. A ghostly rendezvous, delight beyond death. Faint echoes of laughter and the distorted music of a harp drift by, along with the scent of soft white pear and sweet vanilla.

[Numanoid]

A very nice vanilla smell in the bottle...it is just right to me, not too soft and not too strong as some vanilla can be for me. However, applied...it stays vanilla, but I get a strange, almost floral cologne scent that is lingering around..could that be pear? I don't know, but doesn't smell like pear to me...it is like a slight florally vanilla. Has a good throw but I am not a floral fan at all, so this will have to go to a better home!

 

Adding...this is a 2012 Weenie bottle!

Edited September 13, 2012 by Numanoid

[Lucretia]

I can't really figure out the pear either, I'm just not smelling anything that my brain identifies as pear. To me it smells a little like the vanilla in Dana O' and then the scent of ink. It's OK, I think I just need to get used to it and maybe age it a little.

[miss_rynn]

2012 version!

 

There is a hint of sweet, stewed pear. It feels a bit like the way that a pear extract for cooking would smell. It does have a floral feel (which I think is a bit like how apples can smell like roses), but it's mostly a thick, drippy, musky vanilla. If this reminds me of anything, it's Antique Lace. Take that with a grain of salt, however - the vanilla/foral thing of AL was never something I much enjoyed, so my memories may be a little sketchy. Regardless, it smells like an old-fashioned lady's vanilla perfume - very Victorian in feel.

[Mechanical Death]

(2007 bottle)

 

I loved you Perilous parlor, but you didn't love me!

 

I died when I smelled it in the bottle. YES! delicious. The perfect pear-- juicy ripe, slightly spicy, perhaps warm and cooked with some brown sugar and butter or pear cobbler. Mmmm! The vanilla is strong too, blending deliciously and mouthwatering in the bottle.

 

On the skin, at first-- oh my yum! I'm loving it.

 

But soon, on the dry down-- oh god. Plastic-- no, chapstic. The pear vanishes and leaves me with vanilla chapstick. D:

 

Same thing on the second try-- maybe just spicy vanilla chapstick. I could honesty scream and cry.

 

*edited to fix the year

Edited September 25, 2012 by Mechanical Death

[RosesAbsolutist]

2012 version:

 

I am very bad with identifying individual scents ...this to me in the bottle and wet on me smells like a candied floral, very soft and sweet but not cloying, quite sophisticated really.

 

It does not smell as good on me once it dries as it does in the bottle so I may have to invest in some kind of scent locket to wear it. The floral amps up a lot and becomes like... okay this is going to sound dumb but it smells like bathroom air freshener like at a place to eat or a movie theater or somewhere. Industrial air freshener. It's not bad, it's just not the sweet yumminess that it is in the bottle. -sighs-

Edited September 29, 2012 by RosesAbsolutist

[jolarocknrolla]

This is the 2012 version that I'm trying and if anything i'd say this new blend has more of the pear note. The old version has a wee bit moure of a sourness to it and this version seems more up-front with the pear note and a soft, sumky sweetness. Very pleasant and unusual!

[stellamaris]

2012 Version : Not crazy for this, seems a bit flat. I prefer The Vine, this one may have to go...

 

OK, this was much better yesterday, more of the very fresh pear, I still think I will usually prefer the Vine.

Edited October 5, 2012 by stellamaris

[cherrycherry]

Testing the '12 version. I thought this would be nice, but it's a lot, lot nicer than I expected. The pear is a different one to the one in Juliet (I think) as it doesn't seem as crisp. The blend is wonderfully creamy and sweet and comforting. I need another bottle, pronto.

[tawaen]

2012 version here!

 

Definitely getting the vanilla. A LOT of vanilla. It seems kind of dusty? But there's also something kind of sinister and almost menthol to the blend which makes it somewhat sharp. Not really minty, just kind of a sinus-opening something-or-other behind the vanilla. Not a clue! I know that's contradictory with the dusty-vanilla comment before. Just go with it. I did really slather it, though, as a first time trial. Anyway, the pear is barely there at all on me.

 

My roomie is more of a vanilla lover, and she's definitely more in favor of this blend. So, if you like vanilla you will probably appreciate Perilous Parlor more than I do. I hate to be all negative on it since I knew vanilla was involved, but I was really hoping for a more balanced pear/vanilla scent.

[OctoberGwen]

This is very pretty, slightly creamy and sweet - not cloying sweet, but gentle and faded sweet. It's what I imagine you might smell in a little old lady's front entry: a whiff of the delicious baked goods she took out of the oven hours ago, and a sense of her sachet that she keeps in her clothes drawer as she greets you.

 

It's not something I would wear, but it's very nice.

[MtMoonKitty]

2012 Version

 

I could hardly smell this in the bottle but kinda picked up plastic. Uh Oh.

 

Wet on the skin all the way to 2 hours later (now) I smell both the pear and vanilla. Unfortunately, the vanilla has turned play-dough on me. It's not a horrible smell. It is similar to a body lotion, but not a high quality one.

 

The combination also seems more of a summer scent, so I think I might let this one age until spring before I make a die hard choice whether to keep it or not.

 

After two hours the stay is pretty strong. I can't say whether it has throw. I can smell it sitting here, but seems like it's close.

[zagadka]

Smells a lot like an Atomic Luau scent, the one that was all banana. Its very sticky and tropical, I do not get any pear from this, nor do I get much vanilla.

 

Much too syrupy for my liking, but if you like fruity or foody scents, particularly of the sweet variety you will probably love this!!

[Dovahkiin]

This review is for the 2012 version.

My initial impression was of banana saltwater taffy. VERY sweet. If I sniff it and think that it is meant to emulate the scent of pears, it smells more like pear... But honestly, it comes across as pure banana taffy to my nose.

 

On my skin, it doesn't seem to change much. It's a bit softer, but still powerfully sweet. Still, all it smells like to me is taffy, though it's not as assertively banana taffy as it was in the imp.

After a few minutes, it is very reminiscent of the sweet syrup left at the bottom of a sliced fruit cup or can of fruit cocktail. The sweetness of light corn syrup mixed with various mild fruit juices. I want to emphasize that despite it being very sweet, it's not hyper-sugary. Those who have described it as "syrupy" are spot-on.

The words that immediately come to mind are smooth, mellow - and of course, sweet. It smells like corn syrup and fruit juice and taffy.

 

It changes a bit when it has sat a while longer on my skin. There's something behind the fruitiness that's very nearly powdery, but not quite. Like an almost-powdery vanilla. I'm not getting the "kindly older lady" sort of vibe from this scent that other people seem to get. To me, this smells more like a young child's scent - like a little girl who just ate a fruit cup and still has some of the fruity syrup on her hands, mixed with the scent of clean skin and hair. It's sweet without being cloying, syrupy without being sticky. It's nice and calm. However, while I find it a pleasing scent, I don't know if I want to smell like it myself.

 

For moms out there who have kids curious about your BPAL, I think this would be a great scent to let your little one try out. Something about this scent is so evocative of the calmer moments of childhood... it's really very pretty.