Catherine

[strahlend]

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.

 

In the imp I smell the orange blossom and something I can't identify. I've been on an orange blossom kick, so I'm excited to try this out.

Skin testing. It smells like something has soured on my skin, I think this is the rose - it very seldom works for me. There's something herbal in a medicinal sort of way, I usually like herbal scents but this seems to be clashing with the florals in an odd way for me. The orange blossom is far in the background.

After a while the rose pushes forward and hogs the limelight. Sadly, this is a typical scenario with me and rose. The rosemary has mellowed out at this point and seems to be blending with the orange blossom to form a musky-floral base.

This is my mother's name and I wanted to like this or to give it to her to try, but I can tell right now this is way too much rose to work for either one of us. Darn!

[OctoberGwen]

Ye Gods, how I love orange blossom, and rosemary is one of my favorite herbs. This blend is fabulous, and the above two keep the rose nicely in check. Lovely, I will reach for this during the warm months when I want an interesting floral to wear.

 

This smells like my backyard, growing up. Love.

[rhubarb3point14]

This is so odd. I opened this imp once before and was like, "WHOA ROSEMARY!" But this time, when I opened it (a mere week and a half later), I just smelled orange blossom.

 

On my skin, it's a very pleasing blend of pink rose and orange blossom. I hardly smell any rosemary at all, although I sense that it's there keeping the mix from becoming overly sweet.

 

Rose is usually bad news on me, but in this case it behaves very nicely. This is a more feminine scent than I would usually wear, but I'm definitely hanging on to the imp. I smell pretty.

[whitsunweddings]

In the imp: Rosemary!

Wet: Astringent, dark green rosemary. Very clean and fresh.

Dry: Surprisingly masculine - the rosemary is quite coloney - but with sweet orange underneath. Eventually fades into a sweet, herbal orange blossom.

I like the simplicity of this scent, but it's gone after a few hours on me, and I need something that will last me the day. Oh well!

[detritius]

I was a little anxious to try this scent, because my skin amps rose like woah, and it can easily become sickly and overpowering. The last rose scent I tried, I ended up having to wash it off and gave my imp to a friend who doesn't have my rose troubles. Happily, this one worked out better for me. The rose still came out strong, but the other elements held it back enough for it to be not only wearable, but enjoyable. This is a very sophisticated, feminine blend, not the kind of thing I'd wear every day, but definitely something I'd wear when I need to feel grown up and confident.

[melrose]

This is without doubt the worst BPAL I've ever worn. It smells like hair dye in a beauty salon. It didn't fade and it didn't morph.

[Floria]

This one's interesting. I see how it could be very dependent on skin chemistry, because even on me, the backs vs. insides of my wrists amplified different parts of the scent.

 

The rosemary has the most throw, and at least on me was pretty strong, although it's also the first to fade. The rosemary's interesting and assertive, but when combined with the sweetish undertone from the orange blossom, slightly medicinal. Not in a way that brought back any unpleasant associations of the "urgh, cough syrup" variety for me, but I thought it was worth mentioning. This might be a scent to keep in mind if you're dressing up as a medieval herbalist.

 

After the rosemary has time to come out (it's not super strong immediately after application) it goes through a period of dramatic throw - which made the room in which I first applied it smell like Italian food for a while.

 

Because of the strong herbal component, I'd classify this as a potential unisex scent, depending on how your skin treats it. The floral dry-down is quite a bit sweeter, but also sticks close to the skin.

 

ETA: Retesting one year later:

 

Before I start, keep in mind that two of the three main ingredients have a history of being unreliable on me. Despite this, this wasn't wholly bad.

The early stages of this were oddly unisex, almost cologny. Neither of the florals really register as sweet at this stage, since orange blossom always takes time to sweeten up on me and this is the sharp kind of rose. I like the rosemary (which, oddly, my mom's nose registered as patchouli incense), but unfortunately, it's the first aspect to burn off. While the drydown sadly lacks rosemary, at least by this point the orange blossom has mellowed a bit and acquired some sweetness.

It's an odd scent, but I'm not too disappointed, as I mostly bought the imp for historical interest.

Edited March 30, 2013 by Floria

[ami226]

On the skin: A floral with a greenish/fresh tinge. Must be the rosemary. This one does not smell good on me at all.

 

I love the concept though! I just wish it smelled better on me.

[sidhenecromancer]

Firstly the rosemary jumps out at me, followed by the rose that tempers it somewhat. Spicy and a little bitter, then they find a balance. Suddenly a couple of minutes in the orange blosson comes out to play, and the rosemary backs down, leaving this a prefect balance of bitter herbs and sweet floral.

[Ilex]

I like rosemary, I've made peace with rose, and I adore orange blossom. So, I had hopes. But no.

 

In the imp: Soap

Wet: Soap

Dry down: Rose soap

 

Yeah, soap. Bummer.

[Saffrin]

Imp: Mainly rosmary. Not as meh smelling as I find the fresh, actual herb.

 

Wet: Rose coming out along with it. I'd say they're fairly even. I'd personally like a bit less rosemary at this stage.

The orange blossom is underneath it all. Need to get really close to smell it. Finding it decent at this stage.

 

Dry: Rose, rose, rose, rosemary, rose.

Didn't turn soapy, but again too far one sided for my liking.

 

 

 

Really temperamental. Will keep and use my imp, but won't seek out more.

[boomtownrat]

The Lab generously included an imp of Catherine in my last order and I'm testing it today. Hello, Rosemary!

 

I didn't read the notes right before testing, so all I knew was that it smelled green and spiky for the first couple of minutes on my skin. Rose took several minutes to show up, and even then it played second fiddle for at least half an hour. The rosemary and rose combined in an almost foodie way for a while until settling down into a soapy blend. The orange blossom is as faint as if it's coming from another room. This smells okay and doesn't offend my sensitive nose or give me any head pains the way some florals do.

 

Catherine is strange in that rose and orange blossom are usually loud and dominant on my skin. It seems they're no match for rosemary, which I had never worn in a fragrance before this. I don't see myself wanting to wear this unless I'm in a certain mood when I'm going to the renaissance festival, but I'll probably keep the imp and see how it ages.

[becca_s]

This was a frimp from the lab

 

Catherine starts out with alot of orange blossom, as it dries I get hints of the rose & rosemary. Orange blossom generally doesn't work on me because it turns sharp and soapy. It takes a while for it to get this stage, there were actually a few moments here where I could smell the wonderful orange blossom that other people love ... but due to my unfortunate skin chemsitry this ends up smelling soapy and the rose also turns powdery. The initial stages of this were really nice and I think that it would smell good on someone else, but it doesn't really work on me. Interestingly, someone told me that I smelt nice when wearing this so perhaps it's just my nose

[miishanyan]

I ordered this imp aaaages back and today is the first time I've gotten around to trying it!

It's really sharp and green in the imp, not that keen on it first sniff, but slathered some on anyway, and straight away it turns to rose, horray!

Have had some trouble recently with rose turning powdery on me, but this one sits so nicely. The orange blossom and rosemary are hanging out in the background, but this is beautifully blended. There's something almost familiar about this scent, but I can't pick it at the moment.

Will use this imp up, without a doubt.

[lavenderfrost]

In The Imp: Sweet rosemary

 

Immediate Application: The rosemary sharpens a bit, and the rose comes out a little. Alas, the orange blossom is so subtle I can't really tell it's there...and then it starts to stink. Like, stink stink. DAMMIT.

 

Dry-Down: Didn't last that long. Had to wash it off. I don't think there's any individual note in this that dislikes me. Orange blossom and rose are lovely on me when they're in the right blend, and rosemary has worked for me in other blends, it's more that this particular mixture of notes just doesn't agree with me. I'm sure it'd be lovely on others, though. It was certainly nice enough on me before it started to turn.

 

Mental Image: You really, really don't want to know. Seriously. I'm trying to avoid thinking about it myself.

 

Verdict: Definitely a big giant NOPE. This leaves me sad, because I'm still searching for a nice floral orange blossom scent that's not ruined by patchouli. I had such high hopes for this one.

[brilliantcat]

At first, a nice sharp herbally rosemary which very quickly becomes nothing but dusty, stinky rose. Oh rose

[tinyvulture]

Straight out of the imp...ROSEMARY! The piney, herbal, lemony, outdoorsiness of rosemary smacks me in the face and it's refreshing and awesome. Then a soft rose note appears and dims the herb's brightness. Next, the cloying sweetness of orange blossom makes me sigh and place it in the swaps pile. But it was lovely while the rosemary lasted! Maybe a rosemary single note is what I'm after.

[PumpkinGuts]

Egads! I had to close the imp immediately after catching a whiff. Needless to say, it didn't make it to my skin. Hands down, my least favorite BPAL.

 

 

It smells like hair dye in a beauty salon.

 

An accurate description. That is some sharp rosemary. I also intensely dislike orange blossom, so this was never meant to be.

[Aviatrix]

The orange blossom is the strongest note on me, which I certainly don't mind - I love orange blossom! There is also a lot of rose coming in from the background, and a touch of herbalness from the rosemary. It doesn't have major throw on me, but I kind of like it that way - it's not super close to the skin, but has a sort of medium throw.

The orange blossom and the rose play well together, combining to make a slightly sweet and rosy, slightly spiced citrus-floral atmosphere.

It doesn't smell diabolic to me, haha! But it has a certain regality to it for sure.

 

Overall, it's a slightly "zingy", spiced floral with a teensy bit of herbal to it. It is one of the most orange blossomy blends I have ever tried from BPAL, although Vixen remainds my favorite of those.

[petrichorandleather]

I'm not going to lie, this smells horrid in the bottle and I really didn't want to skin test it...

but I did and I'm glad!

 

In imp: Straight up bug spray, that's all I'm getting.

 

On skin: Lemony sweetness pushes through that bug spray scent and melds with it to create

something interesting and not altogether unpleasant.

 

It reminds me of an old fashioned perfume, very familiar from childhood, not for me but oddly

sentimental, I keep sniffing my wrist and just don't know what to make of it!

 

Dry down: A warm lemony-ness just stretches it's arms out languidly and envelops my wrist,

the more it melds with my skin chemistry the more I think I actually like it. At dry down I could

actually wear this occasionally.

 

Verdict: Vintage perfume, bug spray and lemonheads.

 

EDIT: Ok, so now it's rose with a hint of lemon. What a morpher, but so fun! I still like it.

Edited January 21, 2015 by petrichorandleather

[Veronica]

This is a powdery, elegant floral. I get primarily powdered rose--not in a bad way, but an old-fashioned, understated way, like a little girl trying on her mother's perfume and feeling glamorous. Very pretty, but if I'm honest with myself, not something I would buy or reach for.

[joopjoop]

This is my first BPAL review!

 

I've been testing scents over the past week, and Catherine is the second one that has really 'clicked' for me (the first is Pele, but I want to wear it again before writing a review).

 

In the imp and first on Catherine is pure rosemary - not a complaint! I love the smell of rosemary and find it very relaxing. As it dries down the rose comes out, but it is beautifully balanced by the rosemary (and perhaps the orange blossom although I can't pick it out).

 

Dry - the balance between the rose and the rosemary (and the orange blossoms?) hums along beautifully. The rose smells light and fresh and not cloying or powdery (I'm looking at you Wicked!).

 

It stays pretty consistent throughout and lasts a good long time.

 

I find this scent very nostalgic for some reason, and it is invigorating and relaxing at the same time, strangely. I put it on about an hour before bed last night and slept wonderfully.

 

Ordering a big bottle soon.

Edited January 15, 2016 by joopjoop

[lizabelle]

I thought the orange blossom would kill this for me, but I actually...like it? It starts off sharp and herbal, with some powderiness from the orange blossom. It smells a bit soapy, but really expensive soap. I could almost swear there's some orange fruit in here, too, or at least a peel. The rose shows up later, a soft, powdery floral that's really pretty and unexpected after the opening. I love the concept of this scent, and the execution matches up (and works on me!). I'll be getting a bottle.

Edited January 26, 2017 by lizabelle

[freyasfae]

I'm one of those people who will walk by a rosemary bush then stop and rub some of the fragrant leaves in my hands, so I have been trying to get my hands on this for a while. I suspected the rosemary would dominant, which it does, but the rose and orange blossom soften it a bit and also make it less fresh and more...well, maybe it's the description, but sinister.

[achildoftime]

Rosemary is typically my least favorite of the herbs. There's something about it that I just can't get past. That being said, I really enjoy this scent. It starts out pretty herbal with a little orange blossom, and it dries to be a rose scent with a little bit of orange blossom and a touch of rosemary. It's simple, but it's still very pretty. i like it well enough to keep, but probably won't hunt for more.