Katharina

[azurephoenix]

Katharina

A strong, willful blend with a soft, utterly lovely soul: white musk with a trickle of bright, sharp apricot and orange blossom.

In the imp - Nailpolish remover? >.<

 

Dry - I think the description of the scent is spot on.. this is a strong willed blend.. it's not dainty or delicate and it has "presence" or "weight" on me. I get the musk, the apricot and the orange blossom fairly well. I'd rate this as a mid-sweet smell. The orange blossom takes over with time though, and since I'm newish to bpal.. this blend is helping me realize that I'm not so fond of the scent of orange blossoms.

 

Katharina is not bad... just not me.

 

This is definitely the sister to Aglaea (which I like).

Edited May 31, 2009 by azurephoenix

[ljaylh]

 

Lovely - this is exactly what it says.. white musk, sharp apricot, and orange blossom. On me, the apricot is pretty dark though, not sweet, and the orange blossom is the least present of the three. I'd say this is a must-have for any lovers of apricot blends!!

 

[puellacaerulea]

Katharina is pretty much exactly what it says on the tin (in the imp?). It's very sharp and strong (as opposed to sweet) apricot and light musk, with a little bit of orange blossom as an afterthought. On me, the musk amps up fast, though it basically softens and balances out the apricot instead of overpowering it. What I get is basically a grown-up version of a fruity perfume. It has pretty good staying power, with maybe about 6 hours before I need to reapply. This is one of my favorite BPAL scents so far and has become one of my go-to scents in general. I'd recommend it to anyone, including those who are otherwise leery of fruit scents, and I'm definitely getting a bottle once my imp runs out.

[sylvanusurban]

In bottle: Mostly white musk.

 

On me, wet: Mmm, now I can smell the apricot and orange blossom. Quite pretty.

 

On me, drying: A nice apricotty scent with light wispy musk.

 

Verdict: A nice one. Ladylike apricotty goodness.

 

 

[annanwater]

This is my favorite BPAL scent so far.

 

Wet: Light and not very noticeable--mostly musk and apricot.

 

Dry: Apricot faded into the background, but didn't disappear entirely. Scent became sweet and floral. Very full and lovely.

[tajana]

Huh- I did not expect to like this at all. Apricot is a surprisingly pleasant note (for some reason I was expecting this to smell a lot like Fae, all over-sweet peaches and kind of yuck). It's bright and sharp, and also fresh, vivid, and tangy-sweet. I'd guess there's a dash of lemon in here, too. It melds well with the orange blossom, and this particular fruity-floral combo does indeed smell "willful" and "lovely", especially with the addition of the strong white musk component. I've become quite fond of BPAL's white musk: it's a light "skin" scent that's clean and airy yet a bit creamy-sweet, and here it really works to anchor the other notes. I'm not sure what to do with my imp yet because despite the fact that part of my brain says "hmm, no, too generic, I've smelled body sprays and shampoos like this", there's something strangely appealing about Katharina.

[rayvn1]

I was hoping for a strong dash of orange blossom as in Vixen, but instead I get a sharp white musk tinged with a citrus background. Not really for me, unfortunately.

[muteddragon]

Imp: apricot, soft.

Skin: Peach tea. Yes, I realize it doesn't have any. It's like a mellow Fae. Or maybe the Lab mixed my labels? I'm wearing this as autumn approaches. It isn't as light as a summer scent as I had thought it would be. Very nice.

[Venneh]

In the bottle, I get straight up peach. The only other fruity blends I've had have been Suck It, Hollywood Babylon, and the King of Hearts, and none of them worked well, but those were mostly cherries and strawberries. Marquise has some peach in it, but not so predominant like this.

 

Wet on my skin, the peach mellows out a bit, and there's a tang with it that might be the musk or the orange blossoms. She dries down to a peach teaish scent with orange blossoms in the background, and she has a real kick to her, just like her namesake.

 

Nothing I want a bottle of, but will be nice here and there.

Edited October 8, 2009 by Venneh

[saralaughs]

Coke. Apricot-y coke-a-cola.

[Sawasdee]

Oh, sweet nectar of the Gods! Out of three orders of imps, this was the one that I knew at first sniff that I needed a full bottle. The sweetness of this is so intoxicating, I can't stop taking deep whiffs of it. This is going to be perfect for spring or summer. A very warm apricot, surrounded by the most gorgeous orange blossoms, and the lightest touch of musk. I do find it only last a few hours, then needs to be reapplied. Definitely my favorite scent so far. I envision the orange blossoms drenched in the apricot nectar, and hot summer days where I want to lounge in a hammock.

[reynardine]

This will be a bit of an odd review. I got this bottle back in 2005 and never bothered to review it, so this is an older, wiser Katharina.

 

In bottle: Still the pretty smell of orange blossoms

 

Wet: Now the musk comes out. But it’s nice, not overwhelming. A touch of apricot here.

 

Drydown: Apricot is coming out more. So lovely! Touch of orange blossom.

 

An hour later: Apricot and musk! The orange blossom is just barely there. Medium throw. Beautiful scent. This one's a keeper, that it is.

 

[London]

Imp: I went to the spa this morning..and when I got back my imp was there. Yay! So I smelled it..and it smelled just like the drink they gave me after my massage. All sweet, and bubbly..and apricot.

 

Wet: Sweet peaches? and flowers.

 

Dry: The apricot toned the flowers down a bit. It smells lovely on me. Very girly but bright..and sort of relaxed. Love this one.

[levelek]

Got this as a frimp and I am testing it before passing it on. I dislike apricot scents so I don't expect to like this.

 

On application: it's apricot all right. It's not nauseating like March Hare, much lighter and more graceful. Makes me think of a '50s swing dress and its owner moving lightly across the house towards the spring sunshine. Pretty straightforward, with the musk lending warmth, and the orange blossom lending it more interest and elegance.

 

I'll still be happy to pass it on.

[donnatron]

Imp: Apricot. Like Depraved but something I wouldn't feel embarrassed to wear around my grandmother.

 

Wet: Apricot. Strong, STRONG apricot. Apparently I amp apricot. Who knew? Certainly not me.

 

Dry: Apricot and the faintest hint of white musk. No orange blossom which is odd because orange blossom is normally quite prevalent on my skin. Although most fruits work on me I have a general ambivalence towards them and rarely wear a lot of my fruitier scents. This is a fruity scent I could wear a lot. Although I don't smell the floral in it there's a general kind of floral feel from it. Very youthful and fresh but not drugstore body spray-ish.

 

Throw: After the initial "THEY WILL NEVER TAKE OUR APRICOT!!!" wet phase the dry phase is quite polite.

 

Overall: I like it. It's unusual and pretty and not overbearing. I don't really think I need a bottle but I say that about a lot of things and lo and behold, two months later I need a bottle. Bottleworthy, just perhaps at a later date.

[skyelyric]

my first wear-all-day test yesterday

 

In the imp and wet it's lovely, a sweet fruity floral. Oddly, it reminds me of a salon shampoo....Biolage maybe? On the drydown it gets sweeter and sweeter and less fruity.

 

And after a day of 'Oh gods, what have I done?!' I realize this is not a blend for me. After the first hour, maybe hour and a half, none of the apricot or floral remains and I'm left with a cloud of pure perfume-y sweet that lasted all day. I didn't put much on at all, but it was so strong that I kept being afraid my customers were going to get headaches from dealing with me. It finally got faint after about 7 or 8 hours.

 

***

 

I tried a couple imps at home last night, and after comparing reactions on my skin and note lists, I can safely say white musk is the devil on me.

 

/sigh

 

 

[Victory]

Wet, this is all apricot. I love, love, love peach, and the apricot is quite similar so this makes me happy. As it begins to dry, there's a sort of skin musk-y note that comes out that I don't care much for- I think it is the orange blossom + white musk muddling together to make a sort of orange musk. The muskiness swallows the apricot and the orange blossom steps forward. Orange blossom is a floral yes, but I tend to think of it as a skin scent rather than a florally one. Later on the musk peeks its head up, although it doesn't smell like a white musk to me. Pale maybe, but not white. Finally, the apricot comes to the fore again, delicate and lovely. I wish there wasn't that skin musky stage because it dampens the whole experience for me. I will keep the imp and hope that putting some age on it will help. Fortunately, even if it doesn't I have Aglaea, which is one of my favorites and is a cousin to Katharina.

[DeltaCat]

Oh apricot yum! This is so good. I agree with skyelyric that I do get a tinge of Biolage shampoo from this. Fresh apricot from the tree. Yum!

[krazyanjel]

Lovely, just lovely.

Sparkling, fresh apricot...that dries down to a smooth peach. I agree with the above poster who's said peach tea. This makes me drool for spring.

I couldn't even wait out the whole drydown. I had to run back to my box and reslather for more of that delicious apricot. Not that it had even faded to needing it. It was a mental "I need more!!!"

Oh, this is going to be an addiction. I can tell already. Love.

[moosue]

I didn't get any floral orange blossom here. Maybe a tiny hint of musk, but start to finish this is sweet apricot/peach. Juicy and bright, I really liked it.

Doesn't wear for terribly long, but has decent throw. As it wears, I agree that the apricot turns more peachy.

[musichappens]

White musk with just a hint of orange blossom. This blend is extremely faint on my skin, so I think I'll try it with my scent locket before I decided whether or not I need a bottle.

[sparkleyturtle]

This scent has really hit my nose as sharp in the beginning. From the descriptions, I would take this to be the apricot, although the mention Schnapps description seems to fit in nicely. I also definitely get the white musk, but I am not catching the the Orange Blossom at all.

 

This seems like a pretty sophisticated scent. Not really my style.

[fetish911]

This smelled so nice in the imp. Fruity & shampoo clean kinda. So I slathered..... BIG MISTAKE. Apparently either white musk or orange blossom is the devil on me. The fruity clean scent fades pretty quick and I am left with a floral perfumey stench. This morphed on me sooo badly I wanted to cry.

 

I guess this is why skin testing the imp is the golden rule. So glad I tested this first instead of jumping on a bottle. I tend to jump the gun a little too quickly.

 

 

1/5

[SophieCedar]

I'm starting to think the lab has psychic abilities, like some non-denominational Santa... or something stranger than that. Someone suggested this as a match for my wedding dress. (btw.. getting married this Friday) I replied woe-ing about how I had just placed an order and was upset I didn't notice this one! Weeeiiirrrddd..

 

Wet: the combo is making the apricot smell very fresh. I mistook it for peach before looking at the description! First impression without looking: white musk and peach with a touch of orange.

Drydown: nice blend. reminds me of LaVague a bit. The notes stay the same. Not long lasting however.

Edited March 19, 2011 by SophieCedar

[KakashiMorph]

Frimp (one more to go!) from my first order.

In the bottle: White musk, mmmm.

On my skin: I smell the white musk and a bit of apricot (which makes me want to start eating peaches for some reason >>). It reminds me of some musk incense sticks that I have, but I like it.

Cooldown: The apricot either fades away or just blends in with the musk, I am not entirely sure. Anyway this is a wonderful scent, and something I would imagine a "good" person would wear.