Glasgow

[etienne]

The rich scent of wild blackberry breezing over gentle rosy heather.

This review comes with a disclaimer: I got this as an extra in a swap with just a tiny drop of oil in the vial. Reading these reviews I'm thinking it must have been old/contaminated because what I smelled was nothing like others are describing.

For me this was actually the first BPAL I've tried so far that I really disliked. The smell reminded me of something chemical - the closest I could think of was one of the chemicals used for perms. Glasgow to me smelt really overpowering to the point of making me feel ill.

[suki]

in the imp: fruity and floral, but it's not pleasant.

 

wet on skin: it's cloying, and is making me slightly queasy.

 

dry down: the cloying goes away a bit, but it reminds me of something unpleasant, like a chemical coverup, like embalming fluid at the funeral home with fake rose on top to try to mask it.

 

in all: a surprisingly dreadful experience :sob:

[Nightroad103]

It's very heather, both in the imp and when I first put it on.

 

After it dried, it's turned somewhat powdery. We'll see if the powdery thing stays all day or if the blackberry comes out later... Then I'll determine whether this is keeps or swaps.

[iheartbooks]

I purchased Glasgow in my first imp pack from the lab. I don't know what heather is supposed to smell like so I can't really comment on how true to heather it smells (I bought the imp just because it was named after a Scottish city).

 

I put on Glasgow several weeks ago when I got the package from the lab and I liked it, but I was too busy sniffing the other imps to really enjoy it. I wore Glasgow all day today, and it's this wonderful floral but not very sweet smell (I'm assuming this is the heather). It's a flowery herbaly smell, if that makes sense (but not too floral or too herbaly). The only downside is it only lasts acouple hours, so I have to either really slather it on or keep applying every 3 hours or so.

 

I think this will be my first bottle purchase... I can't stop sniffing myself!

Edited March 9, 2008 by iheartbooks

[rconklin]

This is such a fresh scent...there is certainly a sharpness to it, a chill breeze whipping through a too-thin sweater. It isn't a scent that I can describe by note, so much as one that is evocative of a mental image: a chilly day, warmed now and then by the sun peeking through the overcast sky. Fields of heather, a picnic lunch. It smells like...nothing that I can place, but at the same time it is familiar. There is a bit of sweetness, but it is offset by a jarring sharp note. Not being familiar with the precise smell of heather is probably detrimental to my ability to place this one, but I do smell the blackberry--not berries so much as the plant itself.

 

It is somewhat haunting due to my lack of ability to pin it down--one moment it wants to be sweet, one moment sharply bitter, and then the next it is a soft and delicate blend of the two. Very interesting.

[donnatron]

Imp: I barely know what heather looks like, let alone smells like. But it doesn't smell like berries so I'm going to say this smells like heather.

 

Wet: A bit of berry peeks out but the scent from the imp mostly stays true.

 

Dry: Soft spicy floral with a touch of berry. Normally berries amp to high heaven on me, so it is a unique experience. Really pretty and soft.

 

Throw: Minimal.

 

Overall: It's nice and quet and a really relaxing scent. I could see wearing this to bed or to write papers or something similar.

[marared]

I got a whole batch of imps today, about half of which were out of Wanderlust, and this was by far my favorite out of the bunch. I wasn't too sure about the blackberry when I placed the order, and it's not nearly as sweet as I was anticipating, which is a good thing - it's a subdued sweet, like walking past a wild bush on the street, rather than the manufactured, unrealistic, new plastic doll sweet.

[fairnymph]

In the bottle: Slightly soapy fruit, flowers, and herbs.

 

Wet: Similar. Less fruity, more herbal. It does have a berryish scent, but I wouldn't know it was blackberry. It's quite faint on me. The heather is delicious - very faintly sweet and herbal.

 

Dry: The berry has come out a lot more, as has the heather - amazing! It's definitely blackberry now. It's quite fresh though, that soapy-cleanness. Also much stronger than it was wet.

 

Summary: Fresh, sweet meadows of rose and heather in the early summer, with a hint of blackberry fruit to come.

 

Quite nice, but not compelling enough for me to buy a bottle.

[Emerrific]

The first time I wore Glasgow I thought 'Oh, that's nice', the second time I wore it I thought "oh...that is VERY nice". The third time I wore it I thought 'Oooooh, Yummy!!!' now I am almost ready for a bottle (or at least another imp).

 

On me, it starts out as fresh fruity blackberry, but not an overly sweet fruit or one that is too cloying. It smells like actual berries, not 'berry scent'. After it has been on for a while a nice floral scent that I think is the heather (not that I know what heather smells like) comes out. The fruit and the flower play nicely together and I smell sweet-but-not-too-sweet and floral-but-not-too-floral. The throw is not strong on me, but I can smell it on my wrists all day, and a little bit of this transferred to my t-shirt will make it seem fresh after the sweatiest day!

 

I've never been to Glasgow, but this definitely does capture the feel of a cool breeze over fields of heather and blackberry and every time I wear it I like it more.

[prrrplegrrrl]

This is a lovely clean-laundry scent. It's similar to Rosalind, but greener, and I think it's more accessible than Dirty, in that it could work well on many people.

[Mamacat]

I don't get any of the lovely berries on my skin at all!! This is the blend in which I leaned that heather smells (on my skin) the way soap tastes. Yep. Pure soap.

[Coldfire]

Finally testing the first imp I ever ordered from my first virgin BPAL order

 

 

Bottle/Imp: Sweet but not that cloying sugar sweet smell.

 

Wet on me: More floral/heather than berry. So glad I'm not smelling commercial berry over this. Bless you Beth.

 

Drydown: Clean but still heathery/ It's a delicate floral but not artificial at all

 

Dry: Huzzah! It did not dry down to powder on me! Has a nice floral sweet scent, but not quite as delicate as say La Belle Au Bois Dormant. And a lil more throw than La Belle as well.

 

rating: bottle worthy for sure. *notes that on bottles to be ordered list*

 

 

Coldie

[savage_rose]

There's an astringent, herbal quality to this...is that the heather? Paired with the berry, it smells like a very clean, unisex toner-type scent. Ooh, there's something completely sexy about this...there's an almost smoky note popping up as well. Mmmm. I smell so hot right now!

[charshark]

In the imp: Medicinal

 

Wet: I smell faint berries, but mostly the overpowering scent of heather.

 

Dry: Heather

 

Overall: Not my cup of tea.

[Suu4LC]

Hmm, I don't get much blackberry from the imp-just the heather. It's pleasant, but not nothing to wow over yet.

 

This is alright. For me, the lab's description of this is pretty spot on. I get pleasant wafts of sweet blackberry over a base of heather. It's nice, but I think heather is just a teeeensy bit too green for me. And as it dries I lose that yummy blackberry sweetness to a strong green scent that is totally not my thing.

[ErinZ]

Wet (in imp and on skin): fruity evergreen

 

Dry: I smell the heather, and the berries are sweetening it.

 

 

I think my chemistry may have turned this a bit more masculine than I prefer. It smells like something I'd like my grandfather to wear - not unpleasant, just not me.

[miri]

On my first try, I thought this might be a bottle-worthy one: it was a reasonably even mix of berry and heather - I couldn't work out which was stronger - but it worked very well! It struck me as a pretty purple, gentle scent - perfect for spring/summery weather.

 

However, it doesn't last long, and I almost found it a bit soapy at stages in dry-down, so I decided to try at a different point in the month.

 

When I did, I was quite disappointed to find that it faded quickly and was quite soapy throughout. I didn't recapture that pale purple beauty that enchanted me on my first try.

 

I can see it really working well on some people, giving the scent I pretty much had first time round, without the hint of soapiness, but it isn't me.

[DoomSayer]

Oh yay! My first review!

 

I actually got this scent about a month ago so I've got some good experience with this scent now. This smell stays pretty regular on me, not a lot of morphing. The blackberry is less sweet blackberry on me and more of a watery sweet, blueberry/mulberry scent. The heather (which is a scent I'm not familiar with) is a very soft, herbal rose. I can't decide which note is more predominant and the two tend to fight for attention throughout the day. Occasionally, I'll get a weird soapy smell, like most florals do to me, but it only last the duration of the wet stage when that happens.

 

Overall, I love this scent. It's dove grey, midnight blue, sunrise yellow, and lavender-colored and it makes me think of Heathcliff and Catherine walking the moors before a heavy rain, or of picking berries barefoot on a dewy, misty morning. Ahh...

Edited June 19, 2008 by DoomSayer

[writergal969]

On first sniff I was like "UCK! What IS this?!?" I promptly threw it in the toss pile...but then I sniffed it again.

 

In the imp I get more earthy/herbal/plantlife than fruit. On my skin, I get sweet, but not overly sweet blackberries and greenery.

 

I don't like any 'berry' scents really, but this one is bearable. Not wearable on me, but I'm thinking about the oil diffuser. Overall, I'm glad I gave it a second chance. 2.75/5

[isisonearth]

This is a very straightforward blend to me...blackberries and heather. It is pretty and evocative. Nice for when I don't want to think to hard...usually I like something with a bit more challenge to it.

 

It wears close to the skin and fades fairly quickly.

[galahad]

In The Bottle

Cool and breezy (!) and slighlty sweet floral

 

On Application

Dry, sweet floral. Still has the cool sensation

 

Dry Down

Floral and herby. No blackberry notes at this stage. Waaay to sharp floral for me. It's pretty but doesn't have enough depth and i the kind of floral that gives me a headache.

 

Rating (0-5)

1.5

[nali]

When I popped open the imp, I got cough drops, sweet and medicinal. Not a promising start, but not horribly offensive, either.

 

What was medicinal in the bottle was more of a proper berry scent on, luckily. I thought I smelled rose ("rosy heather"?) underneath, saved from being overly sweet by something grey-green (for all the sense that makes). I loved that the floral has something of green leaves to it, making it feel alive rather than plucked.

 

The blackberry gots progressively sweeter as Glasgow dried, turning more to jam than fresh berries. There remained a living flower scent underneath that increasing sweetness. I've worn it a few times since my initial test, but I like the wet phase better than the jammy drydown.

[elinox]

First Sniff: Very strong berry scent! It almost smells like a berry pie!

 

Wet: The blackberry comes through nicely and it's a clean scent on me.

 

Dry: Fruity; I'm definitely getting the blackberry although there's something else there, perhaps the heather? Reminds me of cheery spring nights. It's fresh and invigorating!

 

My Reaction: I liked this one and thought it worked well on me. Neutral and a "happy" scent in my opinion. And even though I've never been to Scotland, I sure hope that when I do it smells like this!

[kittycatpurr]

In the imp: I'm really digging this. Surprising, because I thought the blackberry would be a no. All other fruits are disastrous for me.

Wet: A sweet, dark blue smell, with a warm woolen wrap. Heather is magic for transforming sweetness.

Dry: The blackberry wine is still quite sweet, but attractive woven into the cloak of heather.

Later: This really is beautiful, and I usually can't handle sweet at all.

 

Dooblie doo, looking for more heather . . .

[yewberry]

I wanted to like Glasgow, but on me it was the "granny's parlor" scent others have mentioned. Generic flowers and fruitiness with little depth. Wear length is excellent, though...couldn't wash it off...