Ophelia

[jolarocknrolla]

Wistful and vulnerable: lotus, water blossom ivy, stargazer lily and white rose.

Camay soap. I get a soapy, watery floral. The floral is not as stong a rose as i expected, the other florals are nicely blended, but i'm afraid something in there gives the floral a creamy and soapy taint.

[spiralmissy]

Ophelia smells in the imp, and at first on my skin nice and lightly floral, with the aquatic background blending in nicely with the flowers. It wa so light, it smelled like flower water rather than perfume oil.

After 15 minutes, it became the rose scent of doom - dusty, soapy, old lady rose scent.

 

It was as if the perfume took me from the sad watery depths of Ophelia's tragically beautiful (or beautifully tragic) death to her cheap funeral parlor burial in 15 minutes.

 

I an pretty devastated - Ophelia is one of my absolute favorite of Shakespeare's characters. I am surprised that her scent was not more representative of what flowers she was carrying when she was first going mad:

 

"There's fennel for you, and columbines: there's rue

for you; and here's some for me: we may call it

herb-grace o' Sundays: O you must wear your rue with a difference.

There's a daisy: I would give you

some violets, but they withered all when my father

died: they say he made a good end."

 

All in all, unfortunately for me, Ophelia needs to get herself to a nunnery -

[alicia_stardust]

OPHELIA

 

On my skin, Ophelia is mostly white rose with a tinge of sweetness from the lily. It has an overall sort of water-drowned feeling without being too aquatic. It's more like the flower petals have been pulled off, wounded, and then smattered around and covered by water. I think that might be the water lotus' contribution to this scent. Ophelia is a very pretty, feminine, and melancholy sort of floral blend.

[amyw]

I'm often a little wary of florals as I've found only one that works well on me, but this one is pretty well-liked, so I thought it might work.

 

Unfortunately for me, one of the notes really doesn't work on me. I don't think it's the rose; I think it's either the ivy or the lily. It becomes a very green, almost acrid scent. It's more like smelling the stem than the flower itself.

 

Ah well, I'm sure someone will want this lovely! It's just not for me and my particular skin chemistry.

[lilirose]

Ophelia, in the imp- Rosy floral.

 

On my skin: This turns into a deep, heady, darkish floral; mainly rose, with the lotus adding sweetness. I don't smell the stargazer lily at all (I grow them in my backyard, so I know the scent well).

 

This scent is lasting longer and throwing further than most florals do.

 

I like this, though- it's clean without being soapy, and does have a foreboding, wistful, sad quality that suits me well on certain days. I'll keep the imp and seriously consider a 5ml.

[prettybird]

I… can't say I really care for this. It smells a whole lot like Helena to me; maybe it's just because I've smelled them right in a row, but it's sort of non descript. Very, very rosy, but not in a good way. It's not that it's a bad scent, and on the right girl it could be a very good thing, but it's not for me.

[suki]

in the imp: rose and something darkly violet. so far, so good

 

wet on skin: much of the same. there's a candy-quality to it, like candied flower petals. not bad.

 

dry down: the candy aspect goes away, leaving a perfect, exact 50-50 balance between the violet and the rose. like hope and Faith mixed together, minus the sugar.

 

in all: a lovely floral for anyone that loves those two main components.

 

 

[Miladygrey]

I'm probably reading the watery scents into it, but I swear they're there. A soft, pale floral, mild and pleasant on my skin, with just a hint of white rose mixed in with lily and lotus. So mild, in fact, that slathering had to occur.

[Leopard403]

This is a clean, aquatic floral; lots of flowers with watery green notes, and a hint of sweetness that lingers on the skin.

I am always amazed at the Lab's ability to capture something so perfectly: This smells delicate but full of longing and mystery, just like Ophelia herself.

[jentifer]

Disclaimer: I am nowhere near as good as most of you at breaking down notes w/in the blends, but I can give my thoughts to a certain degree

 

I think it must be the stargazer lily in this that is off-putting for me. The real flower makes me sneeze and gives me headaches. The scent reminds me of those little bath cubes that my grandmother used to have, and would let me use one whenever I stayed over. That aspect makes it comforting and familiar, but is not enough for me to like it on it's own. I wish it were, as I like the other notes listed.

[MaeKitty]

Bottle: A wet collection of florals

On Me: This one has aged quite a bit, so I don't know how much it has changed. I think this was one of the first imps I ever purchased, about 4 years ago. I think I'm mainly smelling the lily and rose here. On dry down, it gets quite lovely and the rose warms up, killing a bit of the perfumy tang. This is definitely a wistful blend. It's very pretty and very floral.

[coldandsleepy]

In the imp: w-hoaaaaa, woah. I'm being whacked in the face with a floral stick. Lots of sweet lotus and sweet rose, not unlike the rose lurking in Versailles. Hmm.

 

On me, wet: ah. This is opening up beautifully. The rose and the lotus are still going strong, but the lily has popped up here too and is adding a nice creamy touch to this. I'm also starting to get something... reedy? Or some other plant that grows by rivers? Seems appropriate, anyway.

 

On me, dry: definitely has a strong touch of a smell i associate with river reeds. It's a pretty consistent smell in that the other notes (lotus, rose, lily) are almost the same as they were on me wet and even in the bottle. Quite nice.

 

Throw and duration: throw was overwhelming at first but mellowed down after about 30 minutes into a noticeable but not nauseating level of smell. Duration seems very good so far, and florals tend to last on me, so i predict Ophelia's in for the long haul.

 

Overall: this is one of those scents that's perfectly evocative on me. The florals are all sweet, innocent, almost candylike-- very appropriate for a girl like Ophelia. But the reedy smell is kind of sad, kind of sinister, and really seals the deal for me. Perfect.

 

As an aside, i thought i hated floral perfumes prior to trying out BPAL; turns out that florals actually work really well on me and i love quite a few of them. On me, Ophelia's a good example of how a floral perfume can be more than just a pile of flowers or something that smells like old ladies.

 

I really like this, and someday when the magic BPAL fairy comes to grant all of my wishes, i'll be asking for a big bottle of it.

 

Edited to add: the "reed" smell i'm getting here may be the ivy in the description. Makes sense!

Edited February 11, 2008 by coldandsleepy

[binaryfaerie]

Overwhelmingly floral. The only note I can pick out is the lilies. I love lilies, but this is just too much!

 

I agree with spiralmissy, I wish the notes were more related to Ophelia's little speech at the end.

[Verilita]

In the Imp: a soft aquatic floral, maybe the "watery" smell is the lotus...

 

Wet: BAM! the rose smacks me right in the face, not a good sign as most rose scents don't smell very good on me.

 

Drydown: The rose is still strong but not "punch me silly" strong.. The aquatic scent is back and theres something sweet in the background (the lily maybe?)

 

Dry: I am pleasantly suprised by how this is. It's a very strong rose scent but it's tolerable. The lotus and lily really reel it in and keep the rose in line.

[maribouquet]

Sweet, wet flowers. Smells like a fruit I can't put my finger on. After about five minutes, something starts smelling like sour hay? Is there lily in this? Now it's going sort of doughy. This really doesn't play well with my skin, so I'll have to swap it.

[fairnymph]

In the bottle: Soft, citrusy and powdery-sweet floral.

 

Wet: Rose and lily. Lotus is usually terrible on me but it's quite nice in this. Something is still powdery-soapy. I'd almost swear it's tuberose.

 

Dry: The lotus amped for a while and was lovely and soothing, but then faded, and the lily was fading from the start

 

Summary: I have rosy powder-soap. Sigh.

Edited March 28, 2008 by fairnymph

[savage_rose]

Some flower in this is amping above the others, and I mainly just smell a lilac-y, violet-y fabric softener smell. I can almost smell the rose, it's very faint. I like florals normally, but this is just not one for me.

 

Edited to make sense.

Edited April 23, 2008 by savage_rose

[SilverSerenity]

I adore this scent - it's a very light, sweet floral scent, not at all overwhelming. It seems to last quite a while for me, too - I'll put some on in the morning and 12 hours later I can still detect the scent of it. Definitely a favorite for me.

[Catmint]

I amp rose like crazy, and not in a good way, so the results were fairly predictable.

 

IMP: lovely watery floral, with a fair amount of rose

 

WET: ROSE, ROSE, and more ROSE. Screaming rose and not much else.

 

DRY: Cloying, overwhelming, old lady dried rose potpourri.

 

 

Oh, and it lasts forever, and doesn't wash off no matter how much I scrub.

[theauth]

This was great! This is the only scent that smells rose that I've liked. My mom and my sister both liked this one also, which is a plus. I didn't really pick up on any specific notes but rose, and it was a very familiar yet unusual rose smell - something I know because I've sniffed them before, but I don't run across them very often. Delightful

Edited May 30, 2008 by theauth

[voodoocatwoman]

Ophelia is a raving card carrying ROSE on my skin. Just rose. All rose. All the time.

[heathercaley]

at first it's a super harsh red rose... but as it dries down it gets sweeter and sweeter. The lotus really pops as it dries to make a perfectly sweet bubblegumish rose.

 

A bit later I notice that it morphs between super red rose and sweet lotus rose. It lasts quite awhile too. I'll keep this imp close at hand!

[undream]

ophelia is not at all what i expected, but oh, this is just so beautiful. breathtaking, really. a gorgeous watery floral, so lush and heady. it has the same lush, full, almost soapy quality that the queen of hearts has (but not at all in a bad way, i love the queen of hearts!), so i am guessing it's the lily that i am picking up the most? i can also detect the rose, however, and rose for me is just LOVE.

 

in my mind i'm seeing big soft white blooms entangled in vines along the water of a crystal clear, softly moving river.

 

this is just intoxicating.

 

ETA: as the hours wear on, this becomes more and more a single solid, gorgeous rose, and i am coveting a big bottle of this so hard that i could cry. ungh. THANK YOU, BETH.

Edited July 13, 2008 by undream

[lady_pandora]

This is a light, kind of delicate fragrance, and it's just what the BPAL doctor ordered for this hot weather. Rose is the dominant note on me, but the other notes add a "greenness" and a "wetness" to the scent. Strangely, I'm not really getting lotus, unless this is a different kind of lotus than the one in Undertow, Blood Lotus, or Forbidden Fruit; there is none of the note that some find "bubblegummy".

 

It reminds me a little bit of Penthus except without the saltiness, and a little bit of La Belle au Bois Dormant before the plumeria nomnomnommed the other notes into oblivion.

[Heeroluva]

In the bottle it's almost overpowering floral. Wet and dry it smells like baby wipes to me. Second scent that has done that very odd.