Vampire Tears

[forspecial_plate]

Regret born from ceaseless longing: wisteria, white grapefruit, neroli, green tea, jasmine, white ginger, honeysuckle, iris, and tonka.

Both of the Shojo Beat scents have sort of bright colorful qualities (less so with Midnight Kiss but it's there), which makes sense considering their inspiration. Vampire Tears is a bright citrus-y scent, but there's something dusty about it that's turning me off a little. After about an hour, it starts to remind me of another bpal scent......I'm going to say Polyhymnia, I think. It smells like verbena to me even though that's not listed. I will probably try this one more time but I'm pretty sure it's just not doing much for me. I like Midnight Kiss, though. Edited October 30, 2007 by Forspecial Plate

[greymatter]

Very heavy, sugar-laden floral scent. The honeysuckle and wisteria wish to EAT MY FACE PLZKTHX. Had to wash this off. It threatened to kidnap me and stick me in a cupboard while it took over my life and conquered the world. It's . . .a little pushy.

[joojifish]

This is a strong scent in all stages. In the vial, I could sense similarities to Shanghai and Embalming Fluid, though the Vampire Tears was richer and rounder than either of those scents. Upon application, I got a refreshing grapefruit, which citrus-lovers should appreciate, and which the non-citrus-inclined may interpret as lemon Pledge. Then the blend got more perfumey as the florals picked up. Honeysuckle check, neroli check, jasmine check. In the end, Vampire Tears ended as a soapy floral on my skin. No thanks.

[steelxrose]

Vampire Tears

 

In the bottle: Upon first whiff, I get a blast of creaminess. I'm not sure where it comes from, exactly, because it smells foody. Almost like Misk U. (At this point, I was afraid to try it.)

 

On skin: Very grapefruity, not a sweet grapefruit. More like the sour ones I try to avoid getting. (ack!) I'm glad this stage didn't last very long. I was prepared for grapefruit, but not the power this one is packing.

 

Drydown: I think it's the tea and ginger at this point. It's very soft, and no longer tangy or creamy/foody. Unfortunately, it's not very powerful and faded over the course of my lunch hour.

 

Love it, but will have to cart the bottle (or one of my two frimps ) with me if I'm to wear it to work and want to smell like it all day.

[Brianne]

A very soft fruity floral - mostly grapefruit and jasmine. The jasmine is actually behaving on me, which is pretty rare (as in, it never happens). This is soft and girly and I could see this being a really great summer or spring scent. Simple, clean and a little fruity but mostly floral.

[n3m3sis42]

In the bottle:

This smells sweet and slightly thick. I guess I am mostly smelling the tonka bean?

 

Wet:

This is all citrus when I first put it on. Then it goes VERY soapy on me for a few minutes (I think this happens to me with honeysuckle blends sometimes). After that, it's back to strongly citrus. It sort of vacillates between the two for a while.

 

Dry:

The jury is still out on this one. I want to like it, but I'm going to have to slather it on and go out for a while to see how I feel about it.

[Blood onmy hands]

Vampire Tears starts off with a strong citrus jab on my skin. BPAL's grapefruit notes tend to go bitter on my skin, and this definitely has a bitter, sharp sort of citrus to it. I normally hate jasmine, but the jasmine here isn't too bad and seems to calm down the sharp grapefruit (I suppose it's the lesser of two evils, lol). I have a hard time pulling off citrus and florals, so this probably wasn't ever going to work on me. The mid stage isn't so bad with a sweet, soft floral tone and sharp grapefruit cutting through it, but it's still not me. In the drydown this goes a bit soapy, and then it's definitely not for me.

[Lyrical]

I was lucky enough to get this as a frimp.

 

In the vial: I smell ginger and it's a lot less floral than I the description led me to believe.

 

Wet on skin: very sweet - the main note is peppery ginger, with creamy citrus and pale flowers underneath.

 

Dry on skin: the ginger fades enough to let the other notes through, especially grapefruit. It's a delicately spicy citrus/floral blend and I like it! It's refreshing - perhaps a good scent for Monday mornings? Not much throw, which is probably a good thing because with the grapefruit and ginger it's powerful stuff!

 

After a while it goes just a bit soapy before fading into a smooth vanilla with the barest hint of orange!

 

This is lovely, but I wish it lasted longer.

[minnalavender]

From a decant.

 

If this is what Vampire Tears smell like, I want to find a really emo one. Mmmm - gingery, tart grapefruit - the tonka and green tea give this a slightly Asian lunacy feel. It's all candy sweet and bright, refreshing topnotes and a delicious cakey bottom note. I don't smell any of the White Flowers of Doom! All the notes are behaving their very best with my skin chemistry. I'm so happy! White flowers can turn any scent into an aggressive migraine trigger for me, but they just smell lovely in combination with the other notes, not overwhelming them at all.

 

My only complaint is that I'll have to slather it to appreciate it for more than an hour - my skin devours this scent. Gotta hunt down a 5 ml when I'm flush again!

[jewelbug]

A surprise imp from the lab!!

 

Imp: Initially, I smell citrus and a dark foody note (tonka?) that reminds me of shub. Maybe its the tonka combining with the ginger? On deeper inhale, I do get a whiff of my jasmine nemesis. On even deeper inhale, don't laugh, but I swear I smelled Old Bay crab seasoning? wtf?

 

Wet: Surprisingly foody, still like a light floral shub to me...i think it must be the tonka/ginger. Over that buttery foody base note are some sharper tart citruses and florals. Something is akin to necco wafers, with that sort of necco spice, if you know what I mean? On the very outskirts I can smell jasmine, but its not going satanic on me like usual.

 

Dry: The necco backs down. I have effervessent citrus/floral with hints of mown grass and that buttery shub-like basenote. Its a bit floral for my tastes, and I do get hints of jasmine, but its very pretty. About 10 minutes in, the sweet citrus foodiness is joined by that old bay smell form earlier. Ever so slightly, but its there. I have NO idea what's doing that to me. Luckily that old bay thing only lasts for 10 minutes or so, and then this settles into a sweet floral with a hint of citrus.

 

Overall: Thrilled I got to try this, even more thrilled that the scary jasmine is understated. Its light and green and pretty, but still manages to be sweet and creamy. It is, however, still a bit to floral for me--not my normal fare, so I think I'll pass it on. Not too much throw, fades in 3-4 hrs, despite the fact that I put a fair amt on the skin.

Edited November 4, 2007 by jewelbug

[Juushika]

This was a frimp from the lab, and I don't think I would have tested the scent any other way—neither citrus nor predominant florals appeal to me.

 

In the imp: Pure citrus, which is bright but very strong.

 

On me: After the ten minute drydown, I get, immediately and without morphing, floral soap. It's actually pleasant, as soap goes—creamy white, just a little dusty, scented with graceful florals. But it's still soap, so while I'm not rushing to wash it off, this isn't a scent that I'd ever wear.

 

Verdict: Nopes, not my notes, not with my skin chemistry.

[ladybird]

Thank you, steelxrose!! I thought I was going nuts when I thought this one smelled like Misk U in the bottle I'm not sure if it's the honeysuckle that's giving it the creamy/sweet/foody scent, but it smelled exactly like Misk U to me too - and that made me Very Afraid, since Misk U didn't work at all on me.

 

Fortunately, the creaminess didn't last. On the skin wet, it smells much more citrusy, but still with that honey sweetness; as it dries, the honey/cream/sweet fades away almost entirely, leaving only citrus. It's interesting, and as always I admire the complexity of the lab's scents, but I don't think this one is for me.

[maribouquet]

This smells like a grapefruit carmel in the imp, and on my skin the grapefruit really amps at first, plus sort of a candy powder floral note - the wisteria? And then comes that sort of mid-tone green tea note that always smells sort of like a green tea sherbet powder on me. Hmm. Where are you honeysuckle?

 

Light, evocative citrus floral that ends up too bitter on me. But that's appropriate for ceaseless longing, no?

[euterpe414]

This one's a very juicy citrus floral on me. Somehow the grapefruit and other flowers keep the jasmine in check, and it only goes musty/sour on me for a minute or two when it's wet (it was a couple of very scary minutes, though!!). This is a really nice jasmine blend for those who like jasmine, and would be great for spring and summer- it reminds me of those citrus/jasmine tea coolers that you can get in the summer from fancy coffee shops It has good throw and lasts for quite a while- unusual for a citrus blend on my skin.

 

I am glad I got a frimp of this b/c I might not have tried it otherwise, and although I am unsure I need a bottle of this, it's nice to have a little bit around to sniff anyway!

[stasha]

I got this as a frimp from the lab and it's definitely not something I would have sought out. In the bottle is a creamy white grapefruit with hints of other citrus in the background. I enjoy citrus but it can so quickly enter house cleaner territory that I'm scared of it!

 

I can definitely under the Misk U references because it smells like it has the same note as the dusty book representation. Yikes, I'm really having trouble both describing this as well as even deciding if I like it. It's very.. sharp yet sweet?

 

This is definitely one to hold onto and make a multiple wear decision.

[PersephonesChild]

I got this frimped from the lab-- wow, an LE frimp? Oh, labbies, I love you!

 

On me, this has an odd, foody note--like a whiff of cake. It must be the tonka. Aside from that, the clearest other notes are grapefruit and and maybe a subtle breeze of floral from jasmine and honeysuckle, but they seem very distant.

 

So it kind of smells like grapefruit cake. Not what I was expecting, but not bad... maybe a little too foody for me, it makes me kind of hungry.

[yeahbutnobut]

Vampire Tears

 

In the imp: lemony green tea, verbena and sugared grapefruit. Smells bright and fresh.

Wet on skin: it's not listed, but this definitely smells of verbena, not just tea and grapefruit.

Dry on skin: now it smells more grapefruity, but it still reminds me of verbena. This is quite nice actually-it's a crisp citrus tea, with astringent green tea, a bite of ginger, some tart citrus notes and just a hint of something sweetly floral. It reminds me of the likes of Phantasm, Baobhan Sith, and Kumiho. It's not bad but for now it is very heavy on the verbena or lemongrass-I know it's not listed but that's what I smell here.

After a while: I still smell lemongrass but it's not as powerful as it was before. Now I smell more of the tea itself, the ginger is a lot more prominent now, it smells slightly spicier now thanks to that note, it smells of dried ginger root or ginger powder, reminds me of Asian food. I also smell the iris, and the jasmine and wisteria-thankfully the last two notes aren't turning to evil acrid stank on me like they can do. There is a dryness to the flowers though, like they are no longer freshly bloomed, but they also don't smell wilted. This isn't a strong as it was before. I smell a hint of tonka and honeysuckle at times.

The scent gradually becomes dried ginger and hints of lemony dried petals and dry tea leaves. It's a very Asian scent, I think, with that dry ginger and tea aspect.

Eventually it turns into just dry ginger and green tea. Not bad, but it's not very complex…it's a little bit flat on me. There are whispers of floral notes but it's mainly just a dry ginger tea mix. After a few hours it turns a little bit bitter and green, the reaction I get with the lighter jasmine/honeysuckle/wisteria scents, but it's not as bad as usual, maybe because of the ginger or tonka?

Verdict: this one is pretty, and nicer on me than I thought it would be, but not a scent I truly love. First it starts with a burst of LEMON that to me smells more like lemongrass or verbena, along with grapefruit…this lasts for a while before the flowers and the ginger tea come out to play. The ginger here is a strong one, but it's a pale, dry ginger, hot, but dusty and parched, brings to mind dried ginger powder. It turns into a nice ginger and green tea scent with a hint of floral, which is not bad, but it does fade fast. It's also a little flat on my skin too. The good thing about this scent is that the flowers in this scent didn't turn horrible on my skin. Jasmine and wisteria tend to do this…maybe the tonka was calming them down? So whilst it's not spectacular, it's not a wilted, bitter, flowers-turned-evil mess on me either. It reminds me slightly of Mi-Go, but I prefer that one because of the fruit, this one is a little bit bland on me despite the spiciness of the ginger. not my thing really, so I didn't keep my bottle.

Emoticon rating:

Is it a keeper? not sure. I like it but it's not wow-inducing.

If you like this, try: Phantasm, Yuki Onna, Baobhan Sith, Gennivre, Kumiho, Embalming Fluid, Mi-Go

[Miss Lynx]

Tried this one at the most recent meet'n'sniff, but it was very, very much Not My Thing. A bright sharp citrussy-floral that put me in mind more of cleaning products than anything I'd want to wear as a perfume. A bit like a more aggressive version of Embalming Fluid.

 

I very much love its sister scent, Midnight Kiss, but this one is not for me.

 

Grade: D

[theGreatMissJJ]

Another one who received this as an extremely generous frimp from the Lab. Oh, Beth & Co. I love you!!!!

 

In the imp: Citrusy. I smell the grapefruit and neroli straight off, with a white floral-ness that I suspect is the jasmine. Beautiful. It's light and rather summery.

 

Wet on skin: More florals come peeking through. I can now distinctly smell the wisteria and iris. Oh, this is absolutely lovely. Beneath the top citrus-floral impression I think I can smell the honeysuckle and tonka, which lends a sweetness to this blend. It doesn't really smell as "vanilla-y" as I thought it would based on the tonka, but I don't mind; I'm a florals type of girl anyway.

 

Dry on skin: Mmmm, ginger and green tea. Oh Beth, your artistry never fails to astound me. The citrusy notes have faded and linger wistfully in the air and what's left is a beautiful sweet white jasmine, made slightly bitter from the green tea and with just the teensiest bite from the ginger. White and cool: just what I imagine a vampire to smell like.

 

Throw and wearlength: This doesn't have much throw to it, but I suspect it's because of the "lighter" notes that comprise most of it. Wearlength is medium-ish, but perhaps a bit on the shorter side.

 

This is a scent my mother would LOVE, but the name would probably throw her off. "What? Vampire tears? Haven't I squashed your inner goth YET?"

 

Damn, do I have enough money for a bottle? Why must you break my bank account, BPAL?

[Torrain]

This started out smelling sweet and lemony--not like candy, more like the filling in a lemon danish or a lemon custard.

 

In ten minutes, it was sweet lemon-y Pledge.

 

And in twenty minutes, it had faded to nothing and never came back, which is a shame. (It had a bit of the same oddly "pinched" smell as Absinthe, which seemed odd, since they don't share ingredients.)

 

Oh well. I gave the imp (acquired in a grab bag at the recent Abney Park show in Toronto) to a friend, and called it good. Hopefully it'll work out better on her.

 

Love and coffee,

Frances

[Reenah]

In the imp: Hello grapefruit! This is citrus perfection. The flowers, particularly the wisteria, make it a bit more grown up. There's a spice peeking from the side which really, really perfects it, probably a combination of the neroli and ginger. None of the cream or vanilla people have been mentioning..

 

Wet: The grapefruit begins to go lemon and the wisteria's freshness is all the more prominent.

 

Dry: Strongly reminiscent of an Israeli lemon oil my friend had when I was a kid. There's no more spicy depth, sadly, but I still like this a lot. It's very spring-y, a barely-ripe yellow-green. Someone called this "bright" and it's a very apt description. I can see how this was made for a cartoon.

 

Overall, this is invigorating, but not just a bland citrus, "fresh". It's emotionlly complex: wistful and dark, but smiling nonetheless.

[arabella]

First Impression: A citrus smack in the face.

 

Dries down to: A soft floral on a base of citrus with creamy accents.

 

Additional Comments: This is absolutely gorgeous. The neroli is first out of the starting gate but quickly fades and joins the white grapefruit to form a base for the soft florals (I mostly pick up on the wisteria and iris). The tea and ginger give it a hint of intrigue and keep the florals in line. The honeysuckle and tonka give it just a pinch of creamy sweetness. I usually amp jasmine horribly but I can't really detect it in this blend at all. This is one of the nicest surprises I've encountered from BPAL in a while.

 

Lasted: A couple of hours.

 

Rating: 4 out of 5.

[Apple]

Ick! A gross bubblegum scent mixed with something unpleasantly spicy... almost musty, like gum being chewed by someone with very bad breath. Very artificial, sweet, and nasty. I just re-read the notes, and I can't imagine what would be causing it to smell this way. I only wish it would have smelled like lemony cake on me!

 

Ordinarily I would give Vampire Tears a second try in a week or two, but this is the first BPAL scent that I feel I just can't bear to try again. It was stomach-churningly repulsive to me; even the memory makes me shudder.

[erraticprophet]

Initial Impression: fruity tea with a hint of vanilla (tonka?)

 

On Wet: grapefruit, neroli, tea, tonka, jasmine (it's not amping on me? amazing!), iris

 

On Dry: it's becoming more blended and harder to discern. Wisteria is amping, the fruit is blended, some tea, but it's very light.

 

Final Impression: OMG! So good!

 

Rating (on a scale of 1-5): 5! I wish this were GC. Please?

[arcadelane]

i got this imp free with my last order. out of the bottle it smells like citrusy cotton candy. and i love it. then once its dried down on my skin the grapefruit becomes more prominent and the wisteria and honeysuckle come out. it never loses that sticky candy smell underneath and boy does it last a long time on my skin. this is what i was hoping Jail Bait would be (i like jail bait, but it doesnt have as much depth as this one). i ordered a 5ml right away. hope it gets here soon because this is a great scent to wear to work, keeps me in a really good mood all day.