Wanton

[mochi227]

Feminine sexuality in its rawest form. Palmarosa, red sandalwood, attar of rose, patchouli.

in the imp: thick rosy sweetness with a tinge of dust/powder/dirt

on the skin: totally different than in the imp. something harsh & green, like branches of a rosebush, torn and shredded. very sharp.

upon mellowing: yet another facet of this fragrance. now Wanton is powdery and soft again, with rose and sandalwood lingering close to the skin. it does not project (except for maybe the first 20 minutes, in the violent green phase), and it has gone somewhat dusty/powdery again. if body heat increases, so does the scent, but now it's dry rose peddles, trampled underfoot in dry, blanched dirt.

longevity is average, at best. this one hides in the eaves rather quickly, not one to be obvious or attract attention...

the name implies "wanton lust" but I am getting something far more innocent and/or self-conscious from this scent. it stays close to the skin, and it has an old-fashioned quality to it. word associations: attic, lace, petticoat, dirt, mary jane, dirty white...

for me, there are better blends, but on the right person, perhaps someone just a bit fragile, with milky white skin, this could be very good.

edit: i found some interesting information on palmarosa for all those who wondered about it. I would say it is definitely the palmarosa that gives Wanton its green tinge...

Native to the Indian subcontinent, Palmarosa is a wild herbaceous plant, growing to a height of nine feet (three meters). With long, slender stems, fragrant grassy leaves, and flowers in ‘terminal’ clusters Palmarosa is a member of the Cymbopogon (formerly Andropogon) genus of aromatic tropical grasses. Palmarosa has a soft, lemony-fresh green scent with hints of geranium and rose. Considered a “middle-note”, Palmarosa essential oil is extracted by steam or water distillation of the fresh or dried grass.

Also known as (Indian) rosha, Palmarosa oil has been distilled since the 18 th century. Featured in the Indian Materia Medica, Palmarosa essential oil and the dried herb are both used in Ayurvedic medicine. Palmarosa essential oil is recommended for neuralgia, lumbago, sciatica, and rheumatic pains. The herb is used to (treat) fevers, dyspepsia, and colitis.

In terms of traditional oriental medicine, Palmarosa oil is cool and moist in energy. Like both Rose and Geranium, Palmarosa clears heat and strengthens yin-energy (the body’s calming, moistening functions). It is thought beneficial to the skin because of it's moisture balancing effects.

Palmarosa essential oil may be beneficial for candida, the cardiovascular system, circulation, digestion, infection,, nervous system, and rashes. It is valuable for all types of skin problems because it stimulates new cell growth, regulates oil production, moisturizes and speeds healing. Palmarosa’s most common application is in the treatment of skin challenges as well as in general skin care. Its ability to tonify the yin gives it a superb hydrating property. Palmarosa is helpful for dry, undernourished skin conditions. Palmarosa is cooling and anti-inflammatory making it applicable for wrinkles, dermatitis, eczema, and psoriasis. The oils anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, and anti-viral properties make it indicated for a wide variety of skin infections, including acne, boils, shingles, and mycosis (fungal infections).

ADDED Sept. 8:

An imp from my first order with BPAL.

In the bottle: pungent, strong. Spicy and also sweet.

Wet: I am getting "Christmas." I tried to guess at the notes and couldn't. I thought bayberry, holly, hemlock? I get a potpurri type of scent. It really smells red and like something for cold weather. I'm really not getting rose at all.

Dry down: Now I get the rose. Wanton has gone floral and much softer. The incensely quality comes out in the dry down, but unfortunately this one doesn't last on me! From its initial pungency, I thought this one would stick around. Alas, not so! Unlike O, which I put on last night before bed and it was still kicking this morning

Verdict: minimal throw, shorter than average wear length. I like my imp but I will probably not buy again since it didn't last on me

Edited September 10, 2008 by Shollin

[Czarina]

Interesting. This mix of scents smelled to me like sweet jungle gardenia.

 

I thought I hated rose perfume. This is why I test these scents before I read the descriptions (and why I buy batches of imps from people without caring whether I think I'll like the scents).

 

This is a very disjointed review to say that I can't really identify any of the notes, and thank Goddess, because I would hate the individual notes, but this is made of awesome on me.

 

Oh, and despite the patchouli, I do not smell like a dirty hippy.

 

Average or above throw, so-so wearlength.

 

ETA: Gave this another test drive without looking at the notes. On first sniff it was immediately rose, sandalwood, and patchouli. Still made of awesome but the notes are no longer mystifying.

Edited September 17, 2008 by Czarina

[synestheticheart]

Wet on skin: Roses with a slight hint of patchouli.

Dry after about three hours: The rose is still going strong, but now there are strong notes of sandalwood and patchouli, as well. It's a nice, incensy blend of scents!

Edited December 1, 2007 by synestheticheart

[xibalbagrrl]

Here's what I get on my skin, wet and dry:

 

Rose, rose rose rosy rosy rose rose rose. That is all....straight up rose.

 

 

Got this as a frimp...I love it and will be buying more. One of my favorite florals....can't wait to try Harlot!

[DifferentDances]

Imp: Sandalwood --raw woods in the back of a furniture shop. And patchouli.

Wet: The red sandalwood meshes with the patchouli with a throw of sour bread.

Drydown: Wood polish.

Dry: Stale wood polish.

 

My rating: 1/5. Not for me.

[Mieren78]

Gooo! Not for me thanks. Rose Soap with Incense. I will pass along this imp to whomever would like it. Email me at Mieren78 at hotmail dot com if you would like it.

 

Gracias

[djsiberia]

this one is interesting. i keep sniffing my wrist. it's a softer/lighter rose scent. yes, it is different from other rose scents and the patchouli is only slightly amped up.

 

i think this is a definite bottle order

[dirtytrip]

I haven't been this happy with a GC in a while. It starts out quite rosy and that joins forces with the sandalwood and patchouli, making this a red, rubbed wood scent with gentle rose overtones. There's enough green to balance, from the palmarosa I take it, and the green doesn't override and sour everything up. It's got a good incense vibe that doesn't smell like a cheap or ill-informed throw-together from a head shop (like some of the BPAL GCs do). Quite good, bottle worthy.

[terrenity]

Oh no, there's rose. I love rose, but anything with rose in it tends to become a SN on me as I amp it so much.

 

In the vial: There's a blast of something sharp, then mostly patchouli. As a general patchouli-hater, this makes me nervous. There's some sandalwood too...also not one of my favorites.

 

On, wet: Yup, there's the patchouli! BPAL patchouli, I'm discovering, is much nicer than the other varieties I've smelled. Still not my favorite, but not awful either.

 

Dry: ROSE. ROSEROSEROSEROSEROSE. As promised, this one did the same thing as Baghdad and became a SN on me. Don't get me wrong, it's a really GORGEOUS rose... but between this and my imp of Baghdad I think I have all the single note rose I need.

 

Overall: A beautiful rose scent, and I'm sure I'll use up the imp for that reason. I don't think I will need a bottle though... it seems that every frimp with rose I get smells like this on me.

[sinistress]

I love, love, LOVE this one. I usually steer clear of florals and rose just reminds me of old lady perfume but I wanted to give this one a try and am so glad that I did. This is an incense, spicy rose smell...it is gorgeous. My husband couldn't quit smelling me! I need a big bottle of this one.

[soonyi]

wet, mostly a weak, sour rose that is intensely sweet--i am close to a sweet headache from it.

 

dry, the sandalwood gives this an unattractive flatness, slightly spiced by patchouli, although i would not have called that spice patchouli had i not known it was there.

not a winner in my book

[donnatron]

Imp: A gift shop on Salt Spring Island. Sort of incense/patchouli/general idealized hippie scent.

 

Wet: WHOOSH! ROSE! SANDALWOOD! PATCHOULI! They all amp, and they all amp fast. But they amp nicely. This is a really gorgeous blend once it hits the skin. I don't know what palmarosa smells like, but it sure is shy.

 

Dry: This rapidly became one of my favourites. It's a soft patchouli-sandalwood spiciness, with a touch of sweet rose and an almost powdery saltiness that just adds the perfect hint of flushed, alluring skin. It's classic in an exotic way; it makes me think of spice markets and desert sun.

 

Throw: Brilliant.

 

Overall: I was wearing this the other day when one of my friends turned around and said "It smells like LUSH in here." He then assured me it smelled good, but I understand where he's coming from. It's a pretty complex scent and if you're not prepared for it, it kind of slaps you around. But it's very gorgeous, and with judicious application it definitely screams femininity to me.

[greenranger]

In the imp, it smells green.

 

Wet on me, I think I smell the woods. I don't feel very informative on this one. There is to much I just don't recognise yet.

 

Drying, I can pick out rose? Maybe sandalwood. It seems a fairly well behaved scent to have a name like "Wanton?"

 

I'll need to try it again I think. I tried too many different fragrances this morning to know for sure if the rose is from this or another.

 

ADDED May 16:

 

In the imp, rose and something else.

 

Wet on me, almost all rose.

 

Drying, maybe the patchouli and sandalwood are coming out to play in addition to the rose? Still mostly rose.

 

ADDED Dec. 9:

 

In the frimp, rose and sandalwood.

Wet, on me, palmarosa and sandalwood.

Drying the rose kicks into gear...and doesn't start screaming. It just blends with the palmarosa and sandalwood. I haven't found the patchouli yet.

 

For something with rose in it, very nice. Surprising, even.

 

Not strong. I did think maybe my nose wasn't working properly, but, then I sniffed something else and all is normal.

 

Rose, palmarosa and sandalwood, nicely blended.

Edited December 15, 2008 by Shollin

[cranberry]

At first I smell roses. Lots of roses. And some resins or wood in the background (these are fairly faint though). The rose is by far the strongest thing I can smell.

 

After it's been on an hour or so, the scent has softened considerably. The rose has taken on a soft, powdery sweetness. The resins and woods are still pretty quiet.

 

All in all, this scent is very soft and pretty.

[HeavilyArmedPixie]

I smelled the rose RIGHT away. The patchouli came out later, on my skin as it dried. I love this scent, it's awesome.

 

The boyfriend says it it smells "kind of like pickles".

 

 

Considering he thought Twilight (I think that was the one) like urinal cakes, I'm not sure I trust his sense of smell.

 

 

EDIT: I take it back. Apparently he likes it enough that good things happen in the bedroom. Whoohoo.

Edited June 23, 2008 by HeavilyArmedPixie

[Kabooki]

I got this as a frimp and this would have never been one I would have gotten myself since I do nothing but amp rose to the point of a headache each time I put something with rose on, but it was free and I don’t want to just toss is away without at least trying it once…

 

That being said,

 

Wet: It smells like a rose garden, but not an overwhelming this is rose! It’s like you are walking in a botanic garden, stopping here and there to smell (heh) the roses and just the overall floral scent in the air as you wander through.

 

Drying down: Sweet rose water with a touch of wood, and huzzah it still hasn’t exploded on me yet, but the day is still young…

 

It never became over powering rose like so many roses in the past which made me very happy. This is totally a feminine and romantic scent, sadly this just isn’t one I need a bigger bottle of, if only because its not something I would wear more then on a special occasion.

[AthenaRose]

I got this one as a frimp and it's lovely.

 

It doesn't really change much on me from wet to dry, just fades a bit and gets softer until it's gone. It's a nice, sweet rose. It doesn't go soapy or old lady on me like most florals do. It's nice to have a floral i can wear that doesn't turn gross. My fiancé described it as a soft, tender flowers. It will be good for days when i feel like smelling extra girly and innocent.

 

3/5

[jizatt]

My first thought on smelling this on my skin was that it smelled alot like Marguerite, which I personally did not like, but everyone else said was an elegant rose. What I smelled was a sour, weird version of rose that I didn't recognize, but that made me wrinkle my nose. I checked the two and what they have in common is palmarosa. I'm guessing I don't like that note AT ALL, so I can't give this a very fair review. But, if you liked Marguerite check this one out, and vica-versa.

[Iceblink]

Roseroserose drying down into patchouli-scented rose with a lot of sandalwood. Reminds me a lot of Rakshasa, which I liked but didn't really work on me. Faint and not too long-lasting.

[ErinZ]

Wet in imp:

wood and patchouli, primarily

 

Wet on skin:

I don't know what palmarosa smells like generally, and I can't quite pick out something here. That might be it.

 

Drydown:

increasingly smells like something my Grandma wears and I've never particularly liked… I think it's the red sandalwood

 

Final impression:

I dont like it, unfortunately.

[maika]

In the vial, all I can pick out is the palmarosa and the sandalwood...but that's not a bad thing.

 

Wet, mostly just sandalwood, and an incense note.

 

Dry - YES!!! The rose is here, in a really dusky way, which given the attar of roses thing is perfect, and it's earthy (the patchouli?) and woodsy and spicy and just plain to die for!!!

 

Love, love, love...

 

5 minutes on, it's morphing again...it's switching back to the sandalwood, but I love sandalwood, so that's more than okay...am looking forward to seeing what it does next.

[suki]

in the imp: a luscious, sexy watery rose.

 

wet on skin: reminds me of the candy-like gardenia in Unheavenly City.

 

dry down: yup. all i'm getting is that sweet candy gardenia, although that is not a note listed in the description.

 

in all: sweet but not cloying, extremely feminine- this is a seriously girlie-girl scent, perfect for the femme fatales among you!

 

 

 

[crebbsgirl]

It took me two days and multiple wearings of this to actually sit down and write this review. This was possibly the oddest scent experience of my life. Let me first say that when I put this on, all I got was ROSE! (You can see from my other reviews that roses and I tend to have a general dislike for each other.) It settled after a few minutes. And when it settled... wow. I kept sniffing my wrists all evening. And not purposefully either. I didn't even realize I was doing it. I'd just look down suddenly and realize that my wrist was to my nose. I honestly thought I didn't like this scent, but obviously I was wrong. The sandalwood and patchouli really give it an earthiness that cuts the cloying-ness of the rose. Surprisingly I think I may be keeping this.

[angelicruin]

Imp: Ugh, rose and patchouli again. This combination never works for me.

 

Wet: smells same wet on skin as in imp

 

Dry Down: does not change much dry on skin.

 

This is a no-go for me.

[galahad]

In The Bottle

Soft rose

On Application

Attar of rose, primarily. Dusty rose

 

Dry Down

Quite nice and musky/dusty rose. If I hadn't found Othello a while ago, I might have considered a bottle of this.

Rating (0-5)

3.5