Catherine

[Elizabethm]

Named for the ambitious, vengeful poisoner Catherine deMedici, who used perfumes to perform her dark deeds. A sinful blend of orange blossom, rosemary and rose... allegedly the exact perfume she utilzed in her work.

I love roses, orange blossoms and rosemary. So I was excited to receive this imp as a freebie in an order!

This is my first review. I admit to not having a very trained nose!

In the bottle: Mmmm rich lusty flowers.

Wet: A blast of orange blossom. Did I mention I love orange blossom? I can also smell the rose which is lovely. I can't smell the rosemary at all.

Dry: Very pretty still. What I smell predominantly (and almost exclusively) is rose. A sweet lush rose.

Throw: Fairly decent throw on me after a half hour.

My personal verdict: Very pretty rose scent. A little soapy but still pretty. Smells like a single note scent to me but that could be my uneducated nose. I wouldn't wear it often because I'm rarely in the mood to smell like a rose but I'm glad I have it for the occasions I'd like to.

[inurbanus]

I don't usually like herbal BPAL, so the rosemary in Catherines' description worried me a little bit. I wasn't expecting anything special from this one, but I'm happy to announce that Catherine is fantastic! As soon as I opened the imp, it was like walking into an Aveda store. I've been on the hunt for a good Aveda "smell-alike" for some time, and Catherine is it. The rose is fresh, but now overbearing, the rosemary adds warmth and depth, and the orange blossom "lifts" the scent. This one is a perfect "everyday" scent for me -- I'm definitely considering getting a big bottle.

 

4/5

[WillowWoman]

In the bottle: How... pungent. How... unappealing.

 

Application: Soap. Soap. Sharp soap and dear god, I think it's making my eyes burn. Is this possible? That's got to be the rosemary. I've never noticed that reaction before but it makes my head hurt and my eyes hurt and it's too strong and I must get it off!

 

Drydown: (I stuck it out, like a good newbie) Still soapy, but much less eye-shriveling. It's interesting, strong and strange. If this were something other than perfume, I might even like it.

 

Dry: After three hours of misery, it's settled into a lovely, near-divine scent. The rose is soft and mixed with something that might be the orange blossom. The rosemary is nowhere to be found. I would almost say that I can't stop smelling my wrists, but the catch is... I can only smell it if my nose is crammed against my skin! The scent finally settles into something that smells amazingly good, but it's barely there! I would have to swim in this stuff to get a lasting scent that would waft even an inch above my skin, and after the misery I went through while it figured out what it was doing, there's no way I'm doing that.

 

In summary: Catherine started out as a b*tch, and ended up as a tease. I wore my first BPAL scent yesterday, the glorious Dragon's Claw, and I put it back on tonight after a hard day. I think I'll be sticking with the sandalwoods and try rosy scents some other time. As long as rosemary is in no way involved.

[HatterRenoAxel]

I not a big fan of this one.....I didn't get any other note in this one on my skin but WHAM IN UR FACE! rosemary so to the no like pile we go!

[CrazyPretzel]

For someone (like, say, me) who loves orange blossom/neroli, this is absolutely stellar. I was in love as soon as I uncapped my imp and lucky me, it stays lovely on my skin

 

What I've got is at first sweet (almost candy-like) citrussy orange blossom with the rosemary adding just a little sharpness and the rose floating somewhere in the background. It eventually dries down to a soft, slightly powdery orange blossom scent that's more floral than citrus. I suppose, given the name, it's not really supposed to be so evocative of *nice* things, but it does make me think of the time I spent in Firenze. I would trust anyone who came at me smelling like this... and so I guess it does fulfill its purpose nicely!

 

Love. Love love looooove. Can I has 5ml now please?

[dirtytrip]

Hm. Rosemary triumphs over everything, and the effect is nice, but it's not what I was looking for. The flowers are lightening up the scent some, but I can't see me choosing to smell like this all day. Next!

[zankoku_zen]

Again, rose complicates everything. This is a very clean floral... but it reminds me to french milled soap. I like it --- in the same way I like clean skin. This would make a very pretty soap smell but not the kind of perfume I enjoy.

[coldandsleepy]

In the imp: smells like... candied rosemary? Huh.

 

On me, wet: still smells like candied rosemary. Little less sweet. Unusual, but pleasant.

 

On me, dry: oh, i see. The sweetness before was the rose, which separates itself out a little bit when this is dry. So now i've got a nice, savory rosemary smell mixing with a sweet, light rose.

 

Throw and duration: both average-good. I'm happy to report that i don't seem to be out and out amping anything in this, so the scent's not overwhelmingly strong.

 

Overall: This is really a pleasant surprise. I'd worried that the rosemary would smell medicinal on me, and it really doesn't at all. Smells very pretty, very clean, and kind of playful on me; it's not entirely unlike how Versailles smells on me.

 

I'll definitely be keeping the imp, and I'd consider buying a big bottle some day. (Sooome day. )

[suki]

in the imp: pure neroli

 

wet on skin: more pure neroli. the esential oil $100-a-bottle-type.

 

dry down: that's all i'm getting from it- no rosemary, no anything else.

 

in all: if you love orange blossom / neroli, you will adore Catherine.

 

[alicia_stardust]

For me, this is mostly orange blossom at first. As time passes, the orange blossom remains dominant yet the rose and rosemary add a lushness and green bite. Something about this is both beautiful and yet sinister. =)

[waternight]

To be honest, I was very wary of this blend, as orange blossom usually ruins every blend for me and turns into horrible horrible stank. When I first put it on, it was a blend of orange blossom and rosemary, very herbal and dry, which I like. Amazingly, the orange blossom behaves itself. When this dries, the rose appears and blends with the other two notes. This ends up as a herbal, floral blend, with rose as the dominant floral. In a way, it almost reminds me of Zombi.

[Electric Maenad]

[frimp from the Lab - danke schoen!]

 

Wargh - really strong, sharp, herbal-smelling rose. Not my bag at all, and I can't even smell the orange blossom at all. Catherine and I are unsuited for one another, so I will bid her adieu.

[seamor]

Wet: Smoky, herbal, and somewhat sharp, like a sharp incense.

 

Dry: Primarily a lightly musky orange blossom, maybe some rose (but not the one I'm allergic to - yay!). No rosemary that I can find.

 

Not much throw as far as I can tell. A very nice orange blossom scent. I continue to get a faint incensy note now and then, which keeps it from becoming too sweet. Could that be the rosemary? It doesn't smell on me like rosemary - more like a whiff of burning myrrh in the distance. It blends in so well that I can only catch the separate incense note every now and then.

 

A surprisingly pleasant scent for a murderess, but I suppose the ability to appear pleasant and innocuous would be a a primary requirement for long-term success.

 

It doesn't look like this will last long on me. After an hour, it's fading fast. If it suddenly resurrects (as a couple of Beth's scents have done on me), I'll update.

[Lethran]

In bottle:Rosemary over chalky flowers. Wet: The citrus really comes out, pretty much overpowering the rest. My skin amps orange, so this is not really a surprise. Dry: This goes to a citrusy rose. Not my thing, but not awful.

[fairnymph]

In the bottle: Rosemary and orange blossom.

 

Wet: The rose is coming out strongly, and the orange blossom is already turning a bit soapy. The rosemary is fainter.

 

Dry: Rosemary mostly gone, and the orange blossom-rose combo has turned powdery on me.

 

Summary: Powdery soap - sigh!

[persianmouse]

In my spreadsheet, my review for Catherine says simply "smells like a deadly baby".

 

I'm trying to figure out what I meant.

 

It went kind of baby-powdery on me, but it retained some kind of sharpness and depth to it as well. The rose was the most predominate note.

[SilverSerenity]

I actually don't smell any rose in this at all.

 

It ends up kind of soapy on me, but not a bad soapy, if that makes sense. It's rather sharp and herbal, thanks to the rosemary, but there's a hint of sweetness around the edges from the orange blossom. Not much of a throw, though, really. Definitely a sinister scent, though

[taramarie]

Wet on my skin, Catherine smells like rose and rosemary with maybe a hint of orange blossom. Drying, the rose is gone. The rosemary and orange blossom are nice together, but very light. Dry, the rosemary is stronger, but the orange blossom is gone completely. This is nice, but I'm hoping aging will make it stronger.

[grashopper8]

Wet, Catherine smells like sharp neroli, like bitter orange rind.

 

It takes a couple of minutes to sink in, but it softens into more gentle orange blossom after a short drydown.

 

At that point, the rose arrives, swirling in harmony with the orange blossom and smelling pretty and sophisticated. However, at this 5-minute stage, it becomes very soapy.

 

After it mellows little longer (10 min total), I am also picking up on the soft incense note that others have mentioned. The soapy edge calms down and makes way for the powdery final stage. It smells absolutely lovely at this point, I'm glad I kept it on long enough to get there! Very feminine, it makes me feel like wearing a delicate sundress.

 

I was wary at first, but the longer it's on, the better it gets, and the more I like it. I think I'll be holding on to this imp, it may become a favorite!

 

4.4 out of 5

[rconklin]

In the imp, this is very much a strong rosemary essential oil...Wet, it starts out like bitter potpourri (rose and my skin warring again). It is a very intense, very bitter scent on me. Very...patrician and completely unyielding. I at once hate it and am intrigued by it.

 

It is not at all one of the scents that makes me want to run screaming to the bathroom and pour bleach over my skin (Midnight Kiss, Milk Moon), but I don't think I could ever wear it as a perfume--far, far too bitter (orange blossom does that)--And yet, the green of the rosemary and the soft dustyness of the rose are quite lovely...

[brsis]

Initial Thoughts: Rose. Crap.

 

Now, that's not fair - rose CAN behave itself on me. Sometimes. Maybe. Not often, that's true - but still, I sniffed this at a friend's house and decided I needed to try it, probably because of the orange blossom. I love orange blossom.

 

In the imp: Potent orange blossom and rose. Not cloying or sickly, just WUMFF! Hello, I'm Catherine, welcome to Los Angeles, I'm here to hit you [/stupid cross reference]. If this works, I might be quite pleased with it - there's a tone to it which reminds me slightly of a more mature, slinkier Marae, which is my floral blend of choice at the moment. Unforunately, rose and I have a history.

 

On the wrist, wet: The rose... is behaving itself! On the other hand, maybe it's because the orange blossom is smack-you-in-the-sinuses overpowering. And sharp. This is wearable but not very 'me' at the moment, but I'm quite looking forward to the dry down.

 

Twenty minutes later: My skin's drunk this up quite well, I think - it sits very close to the skin. The rose is behaving itself, and the orange blossom has settled down nicely. I'm even getting some of the rosemary. This is a nice, simple, well rounded floral - not youthful, but not overly mature either.

 

Verdict: Not sold on a bottle, but I'll hang on to the imp.

 

Tl;Dr: A subtle blend of orange blossom and a well behaved rose with a hint of rosemary.

[innocent]

Catherine: A Cautionary Tale of Skin Chemistry

 

 

Friend: Oh! What’s that nice smell?

Me: Is it… me?! *sticks wrist under Friend’s nose*

Friend: Yes! What BPAL is that?

Me: Catherine.

Friend: No it’s not. Catherine smells like bug spray.

Me: Hmm… let me check. *fumbles for imp, checks label* Nope, it’s Catherine.

Friend: Huh. Maybe there was something wrong with my imp.

Me: Try mine.

Friend: *applies daub to wrists, rubs together*

Me: *leans forward it inhale lovely light floral…* Ack! It DOES smell like bug spray.

Friend: Told you so.

Me: *sniffs own wrist, still yummy* Your skin is evil.

 

 

On me Catherine was a lovely light floral, mainly rose tempered by what I guess was orange blossom and given a professional edge by the rosemary. On my friend? Herbal bug spray.

[Kimbernunk]

Wet: ROSE. Rose rose rose rose rose.

 

Once it dries, it's ROSE with a hint of orange blossom in the background. The orange blossom makes it sort of bearable. Overall, I can't stand rose, so this is off to the swap pile.

[Iceblink]

Loved this wet--orange blossom is always great on me. As it dried the rosemary came out more and more and it's a very bitter, sharp rosemary--green and herbal and STRONG. I love that smell in food but on me, not so much.

[marared]

Wow, a rose that ALMOST works on me! It's arguing with the orange blossom and the orange blossom is winning, but only just barely. I do love me the orange blossom, but this is just a little too much rose. Maybe I'll save it for the Renaissance Faire this fall!

 

And as I remarked with regard to Bess, I never smell the rosemary in any of these blends - either it's drowned out too easily by other scents, or my skin sucks it up.