Dionysia

[marared]

Wild plum, pomegranate, raspberry, Siamese benzoin, plum blossom, patchouli, frankincense, and mahogany.

Dionysia has officially replaced Glasgow as my favorite BPAL scent. I knew I loved it from first whiff. I don't really consider it "earthy" (except in an ooh-la-la sexual earthy) - it's a wonderful dark and spicy fruit. It's a pretty equal mix of plumagranate and spice right out of the imp, and the fruit gradually fades into the background after a couple of hours, leaving behind a rich incensey smell.

Me gusta.

I discovered that a little goes a LONG way, though - I just swiped it on my wrists, elbows, and neck before work, and it was still discernible 9 hours later.

[angelfish323]

This is the first of the handful of the new acts in CD that I may be adding to my bottle purchase list.

 

Right away, Dionysia is rich and juicy - bursting with plum and pomegranate notes, with a touch of raspberry. Just delicious. Not cloying or too sweet, just true deep red and purple fruits. As she dries, a really subtle woodsy note sneaks into the background. A touch of something earthy. Whatever those other notes are, they ground Dionysia so she's adult, provocative, actually quite sexy. All the while allowing the plum and other fruits to stay in thr foreground. She reminds me a bit of Lady MacBeth, actually, but richer. So far, I'm in love . . .

[darharper]

In the imp: sharp fruits with patch

 

Wet: Very sharp and definitely woody. A bit of woody sweetness peaking through. There is a smokiness underneath. Incense, I think, but, I am not sure. I am not smelling any fruits at this point. My skin always amps anything earthy and woody, so, those fruits may have to fight to get to the surface.

 

Dry: There are the fruits! This is wonderfully blended! The BPAL fruit scents constantly surprise me. I never thought I was a fruit girl because they usually smell so horrible on me; however, Beth has changed my mind. Her fruit blends, particularly berries, smell amazing on me! Especially when there is a grounding element of earthiness or wood. Dionysia isn't too sweet or too bitter. Instead, she is the perfect balance. Feminine, but, earthy. She is perfect! She has a lovely waft and up close scent. Dionysia is fresh, sexy, and extremely provocative. I LOVE this and have to get a bottle.

 

5 out of 5

 

 

ETA: After trying her out for two days, I am still in love; but, my skins eats Dionysia. After two hours of wear, she is just a soft hint left on my wrists. However, I put some on my shirt and she lingers all day surrounding me with her lovely scent. The complexity is still there even when not on my skin. She will be worn in my scent locket once it arrives.

Edited July 8, 2008 by smallpaws

[alicia_stardust]

Dionysia is THE ultimate blend for plum lovers, or for anyone that likes deep purple-red blends. There's a strong vein of juicy plum and pomegranate and red raspberry that is sweet and dark and red. It is only offset by the weight and depth of the patchouli, resins, and wood. I especially love the way the patchouli peeks into all those fruits.

 

This definitely has an indulgent, sultry, wine-like feeling to it... a perfect blend for a Dionysian lady.

[Lycanthrope]

I have discovered that my body chemistry enjoys pomegranate just as much as I do.

 

Which, is unfortunate, as whenever a pomegranate containing oil touches it, I become One.

 

One, with the pomegranate.

 

Oh, the seediness.

 

Oh, the multiparous inverted raspberryness.

 

Dionysa started patchouli on me, but after just a few moments, it became on my skin identical to any other pomegranate BPAL I've attempted to try, with maybe just a little dirty whiff of something trying to break through.

[Monster]

Out of bottle: This isn't as fruity as I thought it'd be! While I DO smell fruit, it's not as juicy as you'd think, the first note I'm really getting is plum BLOSSOMS with an earthy background of patchouli. The smell of the blossoms is that dirty, sticky baby diaper smell that I associate with most floral blends. Lets hope it goes away when I apply it to my skin.

 

On my skin wet: Ahhh there's the fruit! It's still not as juicy as I originally thought it would, instead it's just PERFECT, well-blended and compliments the other notes oh so well...and the stinky blossoms smell is gone! Whew. The patchouli completely dominates this right now. I have to say, some of my favorite Bpal blends involve some sort of fruit mixed with patchouli.

 

Dry: Dionysia really gets better and better as it settles into my skin and dries down. The berries sweeten up a bit more while the earthiness of the patchouli, frankincense and mahogany leave a nice, warm resinous, incense-like scent dancing in the background. This is absolutly gorgeous! I can't stop sniffing my hand.

 

If you're not a fan of fruit blends, don't let this one scare you away! The fruit scent is very subtle and only sweetens up the patchouli and wood notes. This is a sexy earthy blend you can wear without smelling like you haven't showered in a month and put something on to cover up the stench. This is the slightly less hippie-smelling cousin of Urd LOVE!

 

Let me add this as a new favorite. I'll be wearing this one A LOT.

[tarotgirl99]

I like this much more than Crypt Queen (which I didn't like very much at all). It's a dark incensy fruit that comes on strong and then burnishes into your skin. Brown plumminess.

 

It's dead sexy. For mature audiences only.

 

I am hoping I don't need a bottle, but I may have no choice.

[sprocket21]

In the imp: A little bit fruity, a little bit...chocolate-y? I think the wood notes are pretending to be chocolate.

 

On me: Wow, this is really good! As it dries, the fruit, namely the plum, comes out and dominates the patchouli and other earthy notes. If you took Bordello and replaced the amaretto with patchouli, you would have Dionysia. Bordello is bright and sweet, Dionysia is juicy yet earthy. I'm not sure which I prefer, they're both good. If you like fruit scents that don't smell like candy, you'll love Dionysia.

[akiko]

Oh poo, I wanted this to be awesome, since pomegranate is so very me.

 

Imp: Sweetly floral - like Shadow Witch Orchid.

 

Wet: Fruity floral, mostly plum - which generally goes candle/plasticy on me.

 

Dry: Fruity? Seems to have faded.

 

*sad* I wanted to need a bottle of this, but I guess I don't, really.

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Woody, sweet earthiness with a hint of red fruits.

 

Immediately on skin: This is a very low scent to me. The majority of this scent is very earthy and smooth with hints of patchouli and wood, but I think the main scent in this is benzoin, which I’m not so great at describing. It sort of smells thick and oily, but earthy and woody at the same time. Blending into that are light amounts of fruit. The strongest is the pomegranate, but the plum is there as well. The fruit scents sort of sit above the earthy scent, but don’t blend in much.

 

After a little while: Wow, the fruit really blooms in this after just a few minutes! This morphs into a bright pomegranate, plum, and raspberry scent with hints of light plum blossom and a bit of dry dirt and wood.

 

Overall Impressions: This starts out sort of odd on my skin, but it blooms beautifully into lots of tart fruitiness. This blend has a very nice complexity going on with the plum blossom, patchouli, and mahogany lurking behind the fruit notes. Overall, I think this is a gorgeous scent and is complex enough to make in not just another fruity blend. I love smelling it, but I’ll have to see if it’s something I’d actually wear, too.

[tartchef]

I was all ready to slather on Dionysia with wild abandon, but when I opened the imp, there was a note buried in there that made me hesitate... something faintly soapy & woody. Even on my skin, that funky something dominates - where are all the lovely fruits? I'm left with a strangely muddy scent - bone-dry pomegranate, something almost chocolately, and what must be the mahogany driving things into soap territory.

 

Eventually, a trace of spice emerges from the benzoin, & the plum & raspberry peek out, but not enough to banish the overall feeling of weird murkiness.

 

What a disappointment I'm not much for fruity scents, but I was looking forward to a rich, decadent scent for special occasions... instead, I got a very mouldy jar of pomegranate tea.

 

ETA: Something about this felt familiar, but slightly wrong... Dionysia is really similar to Lunar Eclipse on my skin, but missing the rich base notes that made it so yummy.

Edited July 10, 2008 by tartchef

[herbhealer]

Dionysia has some of the same notes as my favorite CD, and like Madame Moriarty, I think she will benefit from some aging to allow the patchouli and fruits to blend smoothly. I look forward to it!

[furygrrl]

In the imp: Rich n' fruity, sweet and dark - YUM!

 

On wet: Very sweet - almost a "high-pitched" sweetness, for lack of a better description. The fruit is kinda hanging in the background, as is something vaguely peanut-patchouli and...something else I can't quite identify - maybe the Siamese benzoin? Maybe the mahogany? Hmm...not sure. Whatever it is, it's coming across as almost...fuzzy? Weird!

 

Drydown: Still so incredibly sweet - like candied fruit syrup's been poured over my arm. There's a tinge of sourness every now and then - perhaps from the pomegranate? It usually doesn't like me, so that's my guess. Could be the raspberry, too - I've only ever experienced it in Akuma (not a winner on me, sadly), so I'm not that familiar with how it might play with my skin chemistry. The patch/frank/benzoin/wood are just kinda letting those crazy-sweet fruity notes go wild while they cling close to my wrist. Sniffing up close is a bit overwhelming for my nose (yes, it's that sweet and busy), but waving my arm around *in front* of my nose, letting the scent sorta drift together in distant harmony - wow. WOW. Just gorgeous.

 

Overall: If you haven't already guessed, this is a *seriously* uber sweet blend (according to my sniffer), and not a scent to be slathered willy-nilly! It's a beauty, true - but a *potent* beauty. Very reminiscent of my favourite, Ms. Moriarty, and full of plummy goodness, so will likely be snagging a bottle before CD's departure. Mmm...can't wait to smell her after she's aged for a few months. 4/5

[fairnymph]

In the bottle: Deep orangey red, the colour of carnelian stone. Dark, incensey, woody with deep ripe purple fruits. Not as sweet as I expected- much woodier and almost smoky. Red musk is that you?

 

Wet: Even woodier and more incensey, the frankincense especially. Patchouli (rooty-dirty) and dry-deep mahogany just behind. Consequently this has a 'churchy' feel to me. I can smell a bit of benzoin, but it's overwhelmed by stronger notes. Fruits are even weaker on my skin.

 

Dry: The frankincense is SO strong and the patchouli has amped further and is that dark soily type I don't like. The mahogany - this is the most distinctly I've smelled it in a blend - is third strongest, and verging on cedar-dry, but has a beautiful depth - I think I do like it. The benzoin is more resiny than usual, less vanillic - and light. Hint of artificial raspberry but otherwise fruits are still GONE, and this has lost much of its sweetness.

 

Later: Frankincense still very strong and dry mahogany (it's become more cedar like)has amped, while everything else has faded, other than the raspberry and benzoin which are holding, and some sticky plum and pomegranate have returned. It's almost dusty at this point. The sweetness has increased a bit.

 

Summary: Frankincense rules with dry and dusty yet still dark mahogany just behind. Very incensey, woody and slightly dirty in overall feel with mild plastic sweetness; the fruit definitely plays second fiddle. In the second layer are rooty patchouli, syrupy plum and a bit of tart pomegranate, artificial raspberry candy, and resiny benzoin. Decent throw and lasting power.

 

Wow, the new CD I thought would be best failed epically (as did the runner up, Eisheth)..and two I thought wouldn't work did. Just goes to show I should never presume.

[gwynethr]

I had a feeling this would be a favorite, and I was right. This has shot to the top of my list, right under Mme. Moriarty, which it reminds me of in some ways because of that divine plumminess. And the gorgeous mahogany of The Red Queen! Divine. The patchouli and frankincense round it out with more favorite notes, giving a nice ground to the tart raspberry.

 

This one is above and beyond. Carnavale scents have had most of my favorites since I discovered BPAL back when it opened, and it continues to offer the most magical scents. I'm going to have to get multiple bottles of this one.

[nekogrrl]

So far, this is my favorite of the Grindhouse Ladies. It's a lovely fruity scent grounded by the green notes. Definitely a bottle purchase.

[tastycactuar]

From the notes, I would have assumed that this would be my favorite of the Grindhouse ladies. Unfortunately, it's not. It smells like fruits, yeah, but fruits layered on something rotten. It's the patchouli and frankincense, I guess. Even sniffing the bit on my arm makes my head hurt and my stomach roil.

[astarinel]

I liked this blend, but ultimately didn't love it. The entire time I was wearing it, I kept sniffing my wrist thoughtfully and thinking "huh, this smells like something I already have, what is it?" and after I few hours I figured it out: the plum in Dionysia reminds me of the plum in Frumious Bandersnatch.

 

The plum is by far the most prominent note on me, backed up by a bit of spicy woodiness. This is all about wet, purple fruits, and it's quite sweet. Ultimately, however, it ends up being a bit too simple on me and I prefer FB for my plummy needs. A nice scent, and I may keep the imp, but definitely not a bottle purchase.

[athirat]

I was greatly looking forward to trying Dionysia, having enjoyed other plum blends like Kitsune-tsuki, but in the end it just didn't work out.

In the imp: A little fruity, but devoid of sweetness in an oddly dry way. Intriguing.

Wet: This was mostly sweet fruit and florals, with some slight resiny undertones and a smell that I believe was the mahogany (I'm still iffy on notes). I was pleasantly surprised to find that the patchouli and frankincense stayed in the background and let the rest of the notes come out and shine.

Dry: After a little while, the fruit got a little funky on me. I'm not sure if it was the pomegranate or raspberry or some combination of notes, but I was suddenly getting a childhood flashback to the generic fruity/rubber smell that was on childhood toys. Specifically, what I've mentally labeled as the smell of My Little Ponies. While nostalgic, it's pretty hard to get a sexy vibe when you feel like a big plastic pony.

Once the whole blend started to fade, it lost that plastic smell, but the damage was done. Alas, it was not meant to be.

[Leopard403]

Funny how things work, as in my two-bottle order I expected to love Dionysia but be wary of Clemence, and as it turns out this is opposite day.

Is it the benzoin that does it? The frankincense? This smells like a perfumey grandmother to me, all impostor Opium and Chanel No. 5 (neither of which I like). I get no fruit. I get no wood. It is all cheap perfume and sadness. This goes up for swaps.

[Blood onmy hands]

In the vial, this smells weird. It actually smells at first like nothing and then I'm hit with a sudden whiff of something like rotten bananas and earthy woodiness

 

On my skin, I'm not sure what in this smells so awful on me, though it might be the mahogany (some darker wood notes like teak go dank and funky to my nose). It's rotten bananas, a hint of rotting fish, and bland wood...

 

After fifteen minutes, this is a lot better, thankfully, though it's still not very good on me. It's mostly clean smelling, perfumey floral on me with a hint of sharp, soured fruits. I might be able to pick out some bitter pomegranate, but mostly this is blending together into something unappealing for me.

 

This isn't the sweet, dark, fruity blend I was expecting. It's not sweet or juicy at all. It's sharp and a bit suffocating, really. Clean, sharp, perfumey, dry floral and a bit of sour, unripe, hard, unidentifiable fruitiness? I'm glad I resisted a full bottle of this and went with a decant first, because it's not working for me.

[Dark Alice]

When I got my package yesterday, the first thing I noticed and asked myself was, what smells so good? It turned out to be the imp I have most wanted to try, Dionysia!!!

 

Wet in imp: Berries and incense

 

Wet on Skin: Fake berries and incense candle/potpourri from the yankee candle fall collection.

 

Dry on Skin: Whew....that yankee candle scent has passed. Now it's lovely frankicense with a light berry lilt to it. The two notes are gently dancing together in a gorgeous swirl on my skin.

 

Must own bottle before CD leaves!

[hepkitten]

Thankfully, I seem to be in the minority here...this scent hates me. HAAAATES me.

 

The rounded fruits are cut sharply by the patchouli; on my wrist it's very sharp and there's no blending.

 

Thank goodness there are many ladies of the Grindhouse, because Dionysia and I are not getting along.

[tinyvulture]

i’m instantly struck by this blend’s similarity to one of my favorite GC blends, Urd. to me, Dionysia is a more complex and sophisticated take on Urd’s winning combination of juicy purple fruits and patchouli. it will also please fans of Bordello -- BPAL’s plum note is always so lovely! the raspberry is mouthwatering as well. more raspberry scents, please! the benzoin and plum blossom add sweetness and a touch of floral. this is such a pretty, feminine scent.

 

10 minutes later, it’s mostly plum – yum!

[Saya]

In the Bottle

Mmmmm....this smells yummy! This is my first BPAL oil with plum in it, now I’m wondering why I waited so long, in the imp this is great!

 

On My Skin

Dionysia is fruity without being too sweet. It smells great but when I take a big whiff I get almost a medicinal smell in the background, almost like berry flavored cough drops.

 

After a Bit

It hasn’t really changed much since I first applied it. The fruit smells are still going strong and sadly, the medicinal smell has stuck around too.

 

Rating 1-5 (5 being the best)

Scent – 1.5 Throw – 3 Longevity – 3

Over all – 2

 

Final Thoughts

I really wanted to love Dionysia, but it’s just not mean to be. Maybe I’ll try the imp out again in a few months to see if aging will help it at all.