Swan Maiden

[maribouquet]

Silent, 0 Moyle, be the roar of thy water;
Break not, ye breezes, your chain of repose,
While, murmuring mournfully, Lir's lovely daughter
Tells to the night-star the tale of her woes.
When shall the swan, her death-note singing,
Sleep with wings in darkness furl'd?
When will heaven, its sweet bells ringing,
Call my spirit from this stormy world?
Sadly, 0 Moyle, to thy winter-wave weeping,
Fate bids me languish long ages away;
Yet still in her darkness doth Erin lie sleeping,
Still doth the pure light its dawning delay.
When will that day-star, mildly springing,
Warm our isle with peace and love?
Call my spirit to the fields above?

White gardenia, white iris, sandalwood, calla lily, French magnolia, muguet, jonquil, and orchid.

Swan Maiden is a divine floral, with the lush, wet feel of Bayou or Pele, and the quiet gravity of Silence. It's a smooth, regal floral with orchid and magnolia predominant at first (and the lily does not overwhelm me, which is a nice surprise!), and as this dries it settles down and the sandalwood emerges along with the other flowers to beautifully balance out the blend. Lightly, tearfully sweet.

My skin eats it up, but it's so lovely I don't care! The swan label is very pretty. A must for floral lovers.

[eleventhousand]

I try so hard! This sounded so lovely and perfect, but I cannot wear the lab's gardenia which is a crime because I LOOOOOOOOOVE gardenia, it is my favorite flower. The lab's has a buttery note that tramples everything else to pulp. Something in this also has a smokiness that reminds me of opium. Weird. Weird and tragic, for I am a swan maiden that adores gardenia.

[purplemoonshoes]

It's amazing! Very white floral and green, which balance each other nicely. Reminds me of Garden Path with Chickens with Gardenia, and it's everything I wanted Estee Lauder's Tuberose Gardenia to be. Plus I love the label!

[dronzeka]

Hey, I think I can actually wear this! (I was so apprehensive about this one.) In the bottle, I get primarily gardenia and lily (I think the calla and muguet are blending here). On, the white florals blend and balance beautifully, and I can tell that the iris and orchid have come into play. Thankfully, the muguet seems to cancel out the calla lily - I can wear (and love) muguet but calla lily usually turns to sharp soap on me. But it doesn't here! I don't really get any sandalwood (which is good, for me), but I think it might somehow contribute to the green vibe that purplemoonshoes describes.

 

This is definitely a white scent, but a warm kind of whiteness - the softness and smoothness of swansdown - not at all cold. It is sweet, and soft, and while it lasts on my skin it has very little throw. But it is quite lovely. I wouldn't say it's in my top 10 or anything, but I'm just thrilled that it's pretty on me because I love the concept so much. And I really don't have anything that smells like this. A keeper!

[puck_nc]

Origin: Straight from the Lab[/b]

 

Initial Thoughts: I'm a floral fan. Magnolia is a favorite, as is jonquil. It must be tried.

 

In the Bottle: Chilly, ethereal florals. Very gentle.

 

Wet: Oh, this is beautiful! Cool, haunting florals that blend beautifully. I can pick out some gardenia, lily and orchid as well as my favorite magnolia.

 

Drydown: This fades into a very soft light floral, full of the chill of the end of winter and growing warmth of early spring. It's definitely a perfume one wears for oneself, rather than to be noticed.

 

Verdict: I can wear and love this. The question is whether I will reach for it often given my box full of floral blends. I must wait and see.

Edited October 12, 2007 by puck_nc

[bryghtrose]

Gorgeous

Such a beautiful white floral, with a hint of green. I love muget and orchid, and the sandalwood adds a richness and depth to the whole perfume. It's reminiscent of White Moon, with a more sensual, serious note. I am so glad I got two bottles of this

[303marlena]

I bought this on a whim, because I like the story behind it. Unfortunately, as I predicted, these white floral notes of doom do not morph well with my skin chemistry. Its sad, because I truly love Calla lily, Magnolia and Gardenia, but as usual the lilies amp on me and become soapy. The wet stage is nice, though.

 

I can't really pick out any of the notes individually, it just smells like well blended white florals. It lasted on my wrist about 4 or 5 hours, was pretty much gone by morning after I applied the night before.

 

To the swaps with ye.

[Gardenia]

I normally do not order bottles of a floral scent without trying it first. I normally stay away from flowers totally.. they all just turn to baby powder, often sour. Still, there's gardenia in it.. and I was still looking for my gardenia scent, just something that didn't go awful on me.

 

Swan maiden is that scent.

It is all gardenia on me, nothing else.. maybe a wisp of sandalwood at times, a small hint of lily.. but mainly, it is gardenia.

I'm in love.

[naiade]

Love at first sniff. It's becoming my daily, most reached-for scent. It's soft, chilly, gentle, perfect to wear to class an unique enough to keep me interested.

 

It makes me happy. yay BPAL, for making another winner!

[alicia_stardust]

SWAN MAIDEN

 

Wet: Gardenias. Lovely, intoxicating.

 

Dry: This dries into a lovely, heady gardenia scent. It smells cool and white-blue in color. There is an almost aquatic tone to the florals, not in a standard aquatic way but more like all the white petals are smattered with dew. I can smell the iris and lily just behind the gardenia and I'm sure the other flowers are there but I can't pinpoint them directly. The sandalwood only becomes apparent to me after the scent has settled into my skin for an hour or more. It's a lovely finale to this heady, soft, intoxicating, sweet floral scent. It is hauntingly beautiful.

 

Edit: This really reminds me of Dreamland.

Edited October 20, 2007 by alicia_stardust

[crushedstars]

This is beautiful - floral and sweet, a very "full" scent. It smells like a bouquet of luscious flowers in springtime, without being too overpowering. Definitely a must-have for floral lovers, and a new favourite of mine

[sookster]

straight sniff from bottle is the most heavenly floral perfume

 

once applied orchid and lily of the valley come forefront with magnolia and gardenia

following right behind...reminds me of a fresh springtime morning; grass dewy,

sun shining and flowers in bloom...

[Eemia]

My first memory of flowers, and the first type of flower I could identify, were gardenias. We had this big bush of them right next to our front door at the house I grew up in. They always smell so strong and so heady. I love how velvet the white color is and how distinctly shiny the leaves are. I like being overwhelmed by the scent.

 

This overwhelms me in gardenias. The flowers are so fresh. All of the florals are at the front, most prominently the gardenia and the orchid. It feels like a pureness that is being pulled into seduction. Part of this is appealing innocent, and the other is seductive. The fragrance is very full, almost smothering.

 

The sandalwood is such a pretty support, adding depth and earth. I can smell more of this after it's been on my skin for awhile than I can when it is in the fresh stages. It's extremely feminine---a floral paradise. I love how ripe it is, even as it fades.

 

Absolutely beautiful.

[xoe]

Swan Maiden is beautiful, and this from a person who generally isn't fond of florals. You may be thinking, "if you aren't fond of florals, why did you order this?" Well. I do love Orchid. and Gardenia.

 

But with Swan Maiden, I can't tell what is what. I love it. Sweet floral. Beautiful, pretty, gentle. Perfect for daytime.

[waternight]

In the bottle: Wheeee white florals! But beautifully blended and sophisticated.

Wet: I can usually pick out gardenia, and it's definitely here, but this really is a masterfully blended oil. No one note really whacks me over the head, and the sandalwood is more of a grounding presence rather than a separate note. This blend makes me think of old sophistication, like old money families in the South, sitting on the porch of an old family plantation in the spring or summer. It's a very classy scent.

Dry: Unfortunately, this scent doesn't stay lovely florals. Rather, it does, but it takes on a strange synthetic tinge, and dries down to something unremarkable. It's nice, but there are other BPAL floral blends that I like much better.

[QueenFae]

A very sweet, feminine, lovely white floral. This is honestly one of those florals that is so meticulously blended that it is sort of hard to pick out individual notes. I think on my skin it smells primarily of magnolia and orchid. As soon as I sniffed the bottle, I thought, "yum, this is gorgeous." Honestly I thought I smelled honeysuckle in there, but obviously my nose decieved me.

 

I really do like these lady-like white florals, they just do not last on my skin. This one has started to fade after only about a half hour, boo hoo. This is very beautiful, and if you are in to very girly scents, this is definitely for you.

[slave1]

SWAN MAIDEN

 

In Bottle: White flowers

 

On Skin: This is a floral scent for sure, very white and bright in feel. This is the most “white” scent I’ve ever smelled. I smell the creamy gardenia, and the iris and orchid for sure. The other florals blend quite well and form a perfumey wave. The sandalwood is also clean and softens the scent slightly. Still, it is quite sharp and extreme floral. While it’s pretty, it may be a bit much for me. I would like to tone it down a bit and wear it as a diffused spray maybe over a white musk. Fans of florals must try this without hesitation. It has a medium to strong throw at first but mellows out, and an average wearlength.

[Elizabethm]

I'm a white floral fan. I love the scent of real gardenias. I can definitely smell that in this blend it's pretty dead on. I'm also getting the usual clean smell I associate with white florals (almost but not quite soapy) that I enjoy.

 

This reminds me of one of my favorite commerical perfumes Marc Jacobs only in a creamier more organic version (because it's an oil )

 

I am kicking myself that I didn't buy more bottles.

Edited October 24, 2007 by Elizabethm

[Nightgaunt]

I have waited all year for a swan maiden scent, and it was worth the wait. This is the perfect white floral--

pure, lush, elegant. It really does give the feeling of a proud white swan drifting on a lake full of water lilies.

[Lirion]

In the bottle, predominantly gardenia, with perhaps some lily and orchid.

 

On my skin, wet it's all gardenia. In a good way. I can sense other notes underneath giving it some depth, but the smell itself is all gardenia. Late in the dry down there is the duskiness of sandalwood and finally some magnolia peeking through in the final stages.

 

Gorgeous and I'm so glad I decided to grab it.

[monkey1123]

I was just a wee bit worried that this would be a thin white floral, but it's a lovely lush floral, and I'm so glad I went for a bottle! I can't really pick out the notes, but I can smell definitely smell gardenia. This the the perfect full-bodied white floral and I'm delighted with it.

[steelxrose]

Swan Maiden

 

I looooove gardenia. Much to my luck today, that is all that came out in her. Unfortunately, my skin eats her up like it's going out of style. It lasted about an hour and a half, but definitely no where near the expectancy as some of my other favorites. Overall, still a wonderful, light oil that I'd wear on a regular basis.

[Kimocean]

I initially decided against buying this scent based on the description. I thought it had too many white florals and would be too much "old lady perfume" for me. Boy was I wrong. Luckily I tried it on at will-call and found out that I am so in love with this scent. When I first apply it I get a strong gardenia and a blast of orchid that reminds me of Vasakasajja (Beth's orchid is one of my favorite notes). As it dries the sandlewood becomes more evident giving this scent a rich base that somehow reminds me of smooth wood--like a banister that has seen thousands of hands rub over it until it is smooth and soft. There's no wood smell, but just this strong smooth feel that I adore. The orchid dances around the edges and the other florals all blend together to hint at a lush evening garden. I swear I also smell a touch of skin musk in this though it's not mentioned in the description or the other reviews. It's very light but along with the sandlewood it seems to ground the scent a bit and keep it from being heady. Overall this scent has a gentle sophistication with a warmth and sexiness that I don't usually associate with white florals. It's going on my top ten and will get lots of wear. I wish I'd bought a few more bottles!

[Blood onmy hands]

I love the bottle art and story behind this scent, but all of the white florals swirl into something awful on my skin. Iris is often a floral kiss of death for me, smelling insanely sharp and perfumey. Calla lily just goes to soap on my skin. Most white florals give me migraines. This morphs into a scary, perfumey floral with hints of soapy dryer sheets, but it isn't quite as loud and aggressively musky as I thought it would be. Orchid makes it a bit juicier and sweeter while the sandalwood kind of smooths it out, I think. It's too perfumey and goes a bit soapy on me, but I do like some of its other qualities. I'm trying not to hate on it entirely, because I think this would probably be lovely on someone else, with someone else's nose, lol.

[Medici]

In the bottle: Orchid.

 

Wet: Orchid, magnolia and gardenia. This is a very strong floral. I definitely don't associate the colour white with this, though. More like a lush magenta and bright yellow. It's tropical and heady. (Something tells me I'm going to regret this.) Where is my dear, my darling calla lily? Come out, come out...

 

Drydown: Gardenia and a hint of lily. It does calm down quite a bit from the onset, but I think this may be too powerfully perfumy floral for me to consider wearing.