Katharina

[Galatea]

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: Sweet and light apricot/peach.

 

Wet: Very true to the imp. Still a sweet, light, summery apricot, with just a hint of the musk to make it stronger. The orange blossom doesn't do much more than hover a faintly flowery bit in the background. Like an apricot orchard in summer with one single orange tree growing in the midst of it.

 

Dry: Very lovely. The apricot, musk and orange blossom mix so well and work so well together. It's just an epitome of summer fragrance for me, at least as foodie scents go.

 

Throw: Excellant throw.

 

Overall: One of my top ten scents so far (I've only been trying BPAL for a couple of months). It's got pretty good lasting power, excellant throw, and smells like bottled apricots with a great quality light musk. This will be one I will alway recommend to people looking for fruity selections.

Edited June 22, 2006 by Galatea

[luna65]

Thanks to nursekins for the imp.

 

Imp: Very very bright apricot. A beautiful kind of sweetness that is playful without seeming to be overly immature.

 

Skin: The orange blossom appears and bolsters the apricot, to my nose it was strong but not overpowering. With each sniff I kept wanting to declare I smell so pretty right now!

 

Drydown: The white musk eventually tempers the fruit and embarks toward sophistication, a sweet warm golden kind of scent.

 

Unfortunately, as with some others, it did not last too long on me, three hours at the most. But I'm a fan of fruit/musk blends so I'm definitely a fan of Katharina!

[kunoichi]

From the vial, this smells like gorgeous fruit! I can’t quite determine what fruit exactly, so I presume it’s the apricot and orange blossoms, but it’s like rich, ripe, ready-to-eat, juicy nectar. On my skin the white musk starts to smooth down the juicy nectar smell, making it a calmer smell... while still bright, the scent is quieter but still lovely. After a few hours have passed, this is a sweet ever so slightly musky scent, with a breath of fruity nectar. The musk tempers the fruit, rather than revealing itself. It is quite a lovely, pleasant scent that ends up being rather subtle and uplifting.

[Spastik_Kitty]

In the bottle: Sweet, juicy apricot. Lets hope that this doesn't go the way of the labs other apricot scents, why couldn't this be peach?

 

First on: Dried apricots that have been rehydrated in simple syrup with a whisper of white musk coming up the rear.

 

After a bit: This is very pretty so far, it holds a child-like innocense for me. Maybe because I'm getting the orange blossom now and that reminds me of going to Florida in grade 3 and the bottle of orange blossom perfume that I brought home with me. The apricot is taking on a slight waxiness (typical of bpal's apricot for me) but the sharp freshness of the white musk and light floral of the orange blossom seem to be holding this together.

 

A bit more: It's sweet but not in a sticky way, it's fruity but not in a candied way, it also holds a slight creaminess to it (vanilla perhaps?).

[cybra111]

Katharina

 

In the bottle: Orange

 

On me: Apricot and I thought Patchouli, but not in the description. Apricot or Orange do not usually work for me, but in this it works. It must be because it is orange blossom. A juicy sweet blend. Nice!

[mountainwitch]

Got this fresh from the lab yesterday, and it does smell fresh . . . The apricot is juicy and perfect. After a moment the musk and the light floral of orange blossom catch up with the apricot, and the result is lovely and warm, totally unlike any of my other fruity-florals.

 

I love this stuff. My only problem is that I can't shake this irrational feeling that I should use the whole imp up now, while the fruit is still ripe!

[edenssixthday]

Katharina is one of my favorite fruity-florals. The apricot, orange blossom, and musk blend together to create a gorgeous, pale and fresh combination. The scent lasts for hours on my skin, but has a pretty low level of throw. This would also make a gorgeous room scent. This is most definitely on the list of bottles to buy.

[Eunice]

Katharina is orange Tang on my skin. No musk or apricot at all. Just Tang. I don't much like the drink and although this doesn't smell nasty, it is too orangy for me.

[neuilly]

The apricot smell in the imp faded very quickly once it was applied to my skin. I don't mind the orange scent but for some reason my skin makes it smell like there's a chemical undertone.

 

 

Reading everyone else's reviews I was really pumped for this one...but something turns bad on me. I just can't figure out what. The main ingredients are usually fine on me.

 

 

Edit: Apparently I'm a big liar and just didn't wait long enough. As time went on this turned very musky on me. Orange tinted musk!! Yummy! And no more chemical smell!

 

I need to go take my imp out of the swap pile now.

Edited July 18, 2006 by neuilly

[Seanan]

In the bottle, this smelled sweet and fruity, leading me to thoughts of apples and of pears. Since most BPAL apricot dries down to pear on me, this seemed reasonable.

 

Wet, the fruit note was even stronger, and surprisingly apricot-y, settling quickly into itself and remaining that way as the drydown continued.

 

Drying, and then dry, this was a dusty apricot scent, lacking the complexity that others seem to encounter, and lacking the spicy bite that makes March Hare such a joy to wear. I wound up somewhat disappointed in this scent, which didn't wear long on me, and never achieved the pleasant complexity that I've come to expect from my fruity BPAL.

 

Alas.

[circe_blue]

In the imp: wet, juicy apricots with a hint of something else kinda sharp (orange blossom?)

 

Wet on skin: bright apricots. Reminds me of eating fruit on a sunny summer day actually. The orange blossom scent magically disappeared on my skin, leaving just the fruit.

 

Dry: I love this scent so much when it dries. The fruity apricot is balanced by the white musk that comes out, making it smell playful but a tad more sophisticated than just a fruit scent. (It also saved it from smelling like regular ol' Bath and Body Works Peach Body Spray..not that there's anything wrong with that.)

 

Overall: An unexpected like for this one . I love fruity scents but apricots/peach don't normally do anything for me. I think it's the white musk that makes me like this. Small to moderate throw, I can catch a whiff of it on myself every once in a while.

[smallvoice]

I wish I could remember who sent included this as a frimp in a recent swap, because Katharina is so very wonderful.

 

I had my doubts, I must admit. In the imp it smells sharp, and almost candy-ish. I was apprehensive about it being like Grand Guignol, which also has apricot in it. I applied it, and wasn't too impressed. Then I sniffed at my hand again, and... woah. I love this.

 

It allowed me to identify white musk as a note that I adore, as well, which was exciting.

 

I can't stop sniffing myself when I'm wearing this. The awesome thing? It lasts forever! I can't express how delightful this is. It's light and fruity and just... perfect. It knocked Whitechapel out of my number one favourite slot.

 

If you're considering trying this; do! It is gorgeous. It's also convinced me that I need to try many more Illyria scents.

[porcelain72]

This is the first overtly fruity scent I've tried, and I had reservations because many fruit scents, as much as I enjoy them in the bottle, tend to go cloying and artificial on me after application. I'm pleasantly surprised at Katharina so far, however.

 

In the bottle: apricot syrup. Oy vey, that's sweet. Perhaps a little too sweet?

 

Application: still sweet, but toned down a notch, and while I'm not getting the musk I am getting a creamy note to it--coconut? Vanilla, perhaps. Regardless, it softens the sweetness of the apricot nicely.

 

Drydown: still apricot-mystery note, no musk yet. I can taste this when I smell it, not a chemical taste, but an actual faint taste of sweet fruit in my mouth.

 

So far...I'm enjoying this, it's an excellent warm weather scent. I can smell it lingering lightly around me, it's quite pretty. I don't know about it being a "youthful" scent, I'm 34 and I don't think it's inappropriate for me.

 

ETA: a couple hours in, I'm finally getting a light musk mixed with the apricot. This is lovely. **adds to favorites list**

Edited August 7, 2006 by porcelain72

[ikura]

This was much sweeter than I expected, I had hoped that the musk would tame the fruit. The scent was just too bright for me.

[fairy]

MMMMMMM Happiness in a jar. I smell fruits, apples, mangos, oranges, and sunshine. This is the PERFECT pick-me-up blend I've smelled so far. I'm keeping this for sure and will wear it on those days were I'm dragging my butt

[Clementine]

On me, Katharina is all bright and sharp apricots and peaches. It's very sweet. I love fruity scents, but this is too fruity for me. It has great lasting power and decent throw. I will use up my imp but will not repurchase.

[gloom bear]

I'd say Katharina is more like an apricot/peach scent with a trickle of white musk. It gets a little sweeter after sitting on the skin a little, but I don't get any floral notes from it. Knowing that orange blossom is one of the notes, I can almost imagine a whiff of white flowers in the background...but not really. It's definitely not the neroli type orange blossom scent. On it's own it's a bit too sweet for me as a perfume, but I think it might make a nice fruity lotion. I like layering it with another orange blossom perfume that I have, and it adds a nice fruity component to that perfume and adds a bit of variety, but keeps the sweetness of Katharina from getting too much to bear.

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

the lab's obsession with Apricots does not go over well with my skin.

 

in the imp it smells like dried apricots.

 

and i imagine on someone with friendly chemistry it might smell lovely on.

 

for me, however... no.

[RaeiNarcissus]

Katharina is by far the best apricot scent i've found in BPAL. The orange flower makes it not as sickly sweet as March Hare, but sweeter than Grand Guignol, which is like apricots that have rotted slighty.

[Tess]

I really like orange blossom and I ADORE white musk, so it'll be up to the apricot to see if this works. I know the note doesn't stick around on me for very long, but we'll see if it overwhelms.

 

In the vial - It smells like a Jolly Rancher. Only, not nearly as sweet. It actually reminds me of a vase of orange and peach blossoms.

 

Wet - Light, so so light.

 

Drying - This really isn't sweet on me at all! And it's just barely there. BARELY. No throw at all and just... barely around at all. From what I can smell, it's mostly the apricot, but the barest glimmer of the orange.

 

Dry (45 minutes) - Seriously, this is just the palest non-sweet apricot ever. It's clinging for dear life onto my skin, but it takes me pressing my nose to my wrist to smell it.

 

Overall - Well, what can you say to something you can't really smell?

[tempestteapot]

In the bottle light and sweet apricots

 

I smell the orange and musk as it dries, but it retains the lovely apricot scent as well.

 

I LOVE it!

[Meg]

In the bottle: Very tart apricot.

 

Wet: Apricot under white musk. It's a nice apricot, very fresh. You can nearly smell the velvety skin.

 

Drydown: The apricot stays put and becomes rather sweet, with all kinds of shades of apricot - sometimes juicy, sometimes sweet, sometimes velvety. And then... it goes soapy. Classic white musk reaction, it goes too tart and soapy.

 

Overall: A very simple blend, pretty much and apricot single note, with some white musk to ground it. Fortunately the orange blossom doesn't come out, because my skin makes it turn rank very fast. Unfortunately, I still find it too soapy and shrill from the white musk. For apricot lovers, it would probably be good for layering.

[Babylon]

Katharina has two *very* well-defined stages on my skin.

 

The first: (wet) It's my bathroom. An apricot-scented Glade plug-in (though I definitely think it's the orange blossom that's making it smell like a generic fruity air freshener) and.... the cat pee smell from the litter box. wtf! Well, this is vaguely horrific.

 

The second: (dry) Now it's completely flip-flopped around. I smell like a juicy fresh apricot, with a touch of light white musk, which is barely noticeable except to make the fruit a little "deeper".

 

While it smells wonderful dry, the beginning cat pee smell really turns me off. I prefer Grand Guignol for an apricot scent.

[supremegoddessofall]

I like this more than I thought I would, given that it has orange in it. The orange is very sugary and sweet, which is probably from the influence of the apricot. Not very musky at all. However, orange is still not one of my favorite scents, so I think this will get passed along to someone else.

[blackfelicula]

In the bottle: Katharina is sweet, fruity, and slightly spicy. I smell the apricot most strongly.

 

Wet: This smells like a sparkling mimosa: apricot and orange, warmed.

 

Drying down: A little perfume, a little spice: this is a spirited, mischievous scent.

 

Dry: It is sweeter and richer now, almost purple to my nose. It is more perfume-t but the fruit balances that nicely. It gives the blend stubbornness and makes it more grown-up.

 

Later: This blend makes me smile. Like in Imp, the fruit gives it playfulness and life. For situations where I would like the energy of Imp but want to smell more adule, Katharina would be great. It fades more quickly than I would like, though.