London

[joseybird]

Venerable Victorian Tea Rose… twisted, blackened and emboldened with wickedness.

A sweet, perfect tea rose definately dry. My skin gives this a slightly salty note in late drydown, but it's done that with some other tea notes too, so that's just my skin I guess

[yeahbutnobut]

London

 

I have high hopes for this one as I am a Londoner, so I hope the scent inspired by my home lives up to expectations.

In the imp: oh I say, gorgeous gorgeous pure English rose! I looove that nostalgic and romantic rose smell. This smells identical to a 'Tea Rose' perfume my godmother has. I think this is going to be a good one!

On skin: pure rose, gorgeous rose, this is a fresh, crisp rose-beautiful. And oh-so English. It's also got a nice dry undertone, like fragrant pot pourri, but with out the artificial smell that most pot pourris have these days-so it’s like a bowl of dried rose petals with nothing else added. Very sophisticated and stately.

Half an hour later: the gorgeous crisp tea rose lingers, and I swear there's a hint of violet too.

Verdict: this has got to be one of the best rose perfumes I've ever smelt. It makes me feel all cosy inside, this nostalgic yet youthful crisp tart rose smell-it's the quintessential English rose, this is. I will definitely consider getting a bottle of this!

[olympia301]

 

I wasn't so very wild to try this one. As someone else mentioned previously, this does not seem to be a spectacularly adventuresome BPAL. But, Beth does such a great job with old favorites, I had to see what she would do with straight on roses.

 

Wet-I smelled the rose, but I also smelled some disagreeable plastic, quasi-volatile smell in the background. I have learned to stop myself right there and let the scent bloom on to drydown before making judgments. This might be a prelude to something spectacular.

 

Semi-wet-A glorious thing is emerging now. That plastic background is turning into the licorice-like note which haunts me so well in Alice. Slightly volatile in the most scrumptious way, this is a scent which is similar to some part of the very fine roses BPAL uses, and so it has a hook to the rose scent while being a licorice like scent. There has to be a similarity to make me believe that this is part of the rose deal, not just some interloper thrown in the keep it going.

 

Dry-I smell leather subtly backing the roses, as well as the lovely licorice-like smell. This is glorious, always victorious...God Save The Queen! It is the pinnacle of rose goodness, handled by a genius. I would never have imagined the leather and licorice notes would be such a perfect backup for scent roses.

 

It also lasts and lasts, all of it in perfect concert. This is a triumph and a classic.

[slave1]

In Bottle: London: Pure rose. Old London: Also pure rose.

 

On Skin: I am not smelling and differences between the two… seriously. Very tea rose, and sadly… I'm not a fan of rose, it just screams old lady. I wanted to love this since London is my favorite city… but oh well. I don't think of roses when I think of London… England maybe but not London… so I would have made this scent differently but that's just me.

[k00kaburra]

In bottle: Rich, strong rose. Rather like dried rose petals in a potpourri sachet.

On me: This is quite true from bottle to skin. Dried rose petals all day long.

[urraca]

What they said.

This is a beautiful, sweet rose that stayed true from the moment it went n my skin and lasted a long time. I didn't detect any powderyness but I do agree with those who spotted a bit of sandalwood at the base of the scent. It works very well. I think I like the crisper roses of Penthus better, but I will enjoy every bit of this imp!

[Luleh]

I'm a BPAl newbie and ths is the first scent I'm trying. I love rose scents. This one is like a dried rose. Not very heavy at all. Pretty light. I don't know if I'll order a bottle because I'm awaiting other rose scents but this is very nice for my first try.

[magdalene]

This is the world's most perfect tea rose.

I am in love.

 

Nothing else to say, oh wow!

[OdetteOdile]

London

Roses. That's pretty much it.

I waited for the wickedness to start, but all I ever got was roses. Really nice roses, in fact. Pretty and exceptionally assertive tea roses.

I'm not much for single-note florals, but if I'm ever in a strong rose mood, this would be a great scent.

 

4 hours later - still just roses.

[misfitroxy]

London is fresh and sweet in the imp. Lightly rose-y, but very clear like its color.

 

On the skin, it’s bright and fresh. I can see English roses in a little vase sitting on a side table in someone’s frou-frou parlor. It strengthens a bit as it warms against my wrist, but stays rather true to its rose notes.

 

I don’t really sense the “wickedness” referenced in the scent’s description. It does seem more bold the longer I wear it (though that doesn’t necessarily reference its throw, more its depth), so that’s an interesting juxtaposition with the delicacy of these particular rose components.

 

I’m uncertain as to if I’d wear this or not. I think it would be ideal for layering. But it’s a tad too straight-forward rose for me on its own. It’s very enjoyable, though, and I appreciate it as a classic scent for more simplistic days.

[Aredhel]

Rating (on skin): 0/5

Summarised in a word or two: Dirt.

 

In the imp/bottle: Dark, twisted roses, and something earthy.

 

On skin, wet: This reminds me very much of Zombi; they have a similar earthy quality.

 

On skin, dry: Rosy Zombi! I think there was something I tried that reminded me of rosy Zombi, but what it is escapes me. But this reminds me of that.

 

Conclusion: Not my bag -- earthy/dirt scents never are, nor are rose scents.

Edited December 24, 2005 by Aredhel

[Brianne]

In the bottle:

Yup, that's tea rose.

 

On me:

After wearing this a while, I'm not sure there is much to say about it other than it's definitely tea rose. I don't sense anything else in this at all. The tea rose gets a little sweeter the longer I wear it, but in a really pleasant way.

 

Final note:

I'm not a big fan of florals, and especially not rose - but if I were going to wear rose, it would probably be tea rose. I am going to keep my imp of this just because of it's lovely, slightly sweet drydown phase

[Athena's Owl]

in the imp: roses. roses and dust, with sunlight filtering through a tenement empty of furniture, but the lady who cleaned it used everything rose. she smiled when she hadned over the keys, and her teeth were dark with the sugar she held between her teeth for her tea.

 

wet: roses. but this time a bouquet of welcoming roses, the kind that hold multiple blooms on a stem, filling a cut-glass vase standing in the sunlight. red roses and pink roses and flame tipped blushing roses and white, and the window is open and so I smell mowing and someone smoking a cigarette just outside my window, waiting for the thump of my handbag and the clunk of my shoes on the floor before climbing the fire escape to knock.

 

He'd better have another one of those smokes. I don't care if they're Gauloises.

 

20 minutes: so I cooked, with that cadged cigarette clamped between my teeth. and I milled pepper into a dish with cayenne, and the dust blew up and got in my nose. I sneezed mightily, and my fire escape lurking stray offered me a handkerchief of linen, pressed and only a little scorched.

 

He didn't need it back just now, but brought me a stem from the vase to soothe the pepper away. the sausages are on now, and we're pronouncing our box wine as "Shy-razz" because we're so Swayve and Dehboner. He's picked up the guitar and has tuned it, politely saying nothing about the 7th fret that buzzes or the strings that really should be replaced, and sits in the window playing White Stripes songs and serenading the back alley garden with his West London accent. I snort with laughter, and get pepper and cayenne up my nose again.

 

Later: just roses, and my visitor is gone, along with the memory of our dinner. only roses, and dust, and an ash-blond hair on my pillow.

 

If I need a rose scent, I'd say this one would be it. But it's not exciting enough to make the we needs it, my precious list.

[diabolique]

There is absolutely nothing wicked about this scent. I'm not sure what I expected, but I'm in love.

 

The package I got this in smelled wonderful, and I realized that's because the imp leaked about half-way, but I suppose that's just incentive to buy a bottle as soon as I can.

 

It smells the same in the vial as it does on my skin. It's a pink rose garden with the sun shining down on it after a rain storm. It's dewy, sweet, and very, very pink. The rose doesn't smell "oily" or sharp on me, like the rose from Blood Rose and Harlot does. The scent doesn't have much throw, but it's so delicious.

 

This quickly rose to the top of my favorites list. Er, no pun intended. Seriously.

[grrrlennyl]

at first: the lab included this as a freebie in my order. i smell roses. that's all.

on: very pretty. rose, but...a dark rose. like the darkest red rose you've ever seen. interesting.

1 hour later: soft beautiful roses.

overall: this is going to be a short review because, as i've said this many, many times, i love beth's roses. i'd love to keep this, but i have enough rose oils at the moment. however, i'd definitely consider buying this in the future.

[theseagrows]

i have a love/hate relationship with rose, but i LOVE london. to me it's very sexy in a repressed, victorian sort of way. i imagine a girl from a merchant ivory film wearing this. its a warm, wet, sexy rose with a touch of spice, like the description says.

[QueenFae]

Very crisp, bright rose when first applied; beautiful. On the drydown there is a bit of...corruption that begins to come out. It's hard for me to identify the culprit, but something definitely darkens it up. This one is lovely, bold, classic pink rose with a little kick. I'll certainly enjoy my impie!

[swordlily]

delicate petals

 

pressed and dried in an old book

 

dusted with sugar

[Chas]

Clean, perfect rose. Resist the urge to slather, because this has the potential to be a little cloying if you overdo it. If you want an untainted rose, this is it.

[aidenraine]

Well hello there London. This was a lab frimp, and one I might not have otherwise tried as I don't love rose on me.

 

This smells like old Victorian rosewater toiletries. It's a much... pinker rose than most. It reminds me of dried rose petels, actually.

 

It's a bit too much at first, but settles into a very nice soft rose. It's not bad, for a rose scent. I can see mixing this with an unscented hand lotion.

 

A great rose-scent, one of the better BPAL roses.

[tempete]

London is pretty much a straight rose scent on me. I kept waiting for something twisty and wicked to pop up, but no such luck. While London is lovely, I like my rose notes to have company (even if it's just white tea and carnation a la Maiden) so this imp is headed to the swap pile.

[feline.by.design]

Whoa!

 

Okay, I have a dodgy track record with roses, but lately it's been very good...

 

However London in its wet state smells plasticky! I didn't expect that one bit, actually, so that was very surprising for me. When it begins to dry down, the smell of fresh-cut roses comes out more, but the plastic note seems to stay there, taunting me.

 

Five minutes into it, and London still seems to emit some weird, rather "artificial" fragrance along with the agreeable scent of the rose. I'm not sure what to make of it, but at this point, I'd be eager to swap my imp away.

 

Ten minutes into The London Experience, the plastic fragrance morphed into a sort of dewdrop spice that is better accepted than its plastic predecessor. Giving my arm another whiff, it really does suit the whole concept of a diabolical, wicked rose. It isn't dark by any means, more of a sneaky sort of evil that seeps into your subconscious and suggests inappropriate behaviour like chewing with your mouth open. The rose itself isn't really subtle, like Love in the Asylum, but moreso "rose.... with a kick."

 

All in all, I could do without the first five-seven minutes of the oil meeting with my skin, but the rest of it is suitable. I can't say that this is one of my favourite rose blends, but its freshness has convinced me to at least hold onto the imp for formal rose moments.

 

-doreen

[Phaedra]

I got this one in a swap. This is pure tea rose!! Bright and pink. It’s old fashioned and classic. It reminds me of a very old rose bush in the garden at my parents house that always blooms in time for my birthday at the end of June. After about four hours this softens into a lovely close to the skin scent- warm and almost like honey but not as sweet. This is a sure hit for any rose lover!!

[Miyabi]

In the imp: A sharp green rose. Not very sweet.

 

Wet on skin: Where'd it go?

 

Drydown: Ah, there it is. The rose needed time to bloom, and it's staying on my skin so far, even now, when it's beginning to fade, I can tell it's a rose.

 

Along with Sea of Glass, I might need a big bottle of this.

[13bodies]

London proves that I should try all BPAL scents twice before giving up on them.

 

When I first tried this it was acrid and sharp and dried down to a thick, heavy sour rose. Ick.

 

Since I'd bought a 5ml, I tried it again before putting it up on the swap board and what a change! It was a perfect tea rose with a bit of a twist--just like the description. It also lasted for hours. Perfect!