Calliope

[furygrrl]

The eldest of the Muses, she is Eloquence, and thus, governs heroic and epic poetry, and her eloquence has served to calm quarrels even amongst the surliest of Gods. She is crowned in gold, and holds a roll of parchment or stylus and tablet. Hers is the scent of creative inspiration, and it is a boon to writers, poets and arbitrators: lavender and bright mint with bergamot, verbena, thyme and a touch of sweet orange and warm almond.

In the imp: Almond and a touch of sweet, almost effervescent citrus.

On wet: Pure citrus - sweet, lemony, sort of powdery, too. Very bright and candylike!

Drydown: The citrus has faded almost completely, and all I'm left with is a touch of thyme.

Overall: This blend started out quite nicely - I'm a fan of citrus, almond, and various herbs - but it faded within minutes! And I didn't get anything beyond lemon and thyme - no lavender, mint, or even the usually dominant almond. So, yeah...a bit of a disappointment. 2/5

eta: scent description Edited March 25, 2008 by Shollin

[bristlecone]

This might be what Utrennyaya would smell like if you took out some of the mint and replaced the violet with almond. No wonder I like it (Utrennyaya is one of my favorite General Catalog scents). The almond is a bit unexpected and you wouldn't expect it to work with the other notes, but somehow it does. There's just two things I could do without:

 

1) There's a brief stage in the early drydown where it smells like men's aftershave or cologne. If I had to guess, it's due to the lavender, the verbena, or some combination of the two.

 

2) It fades pretty quickly (after two or three hourse, I have to hold my arm against my nose to smell it).

[taramarie]

Strangely enough, all I got from Calliope was Lemon Pledge. Then the mint burned and I had to wash it off. Hopefully, it'll work better on someone else's skin.

[Ilex]

The bergamot steals the first act (wet, dry down and a little after- its all lemon) and thyme steals the second (this stage gets bitter- which is exceptionally odd as no other BPAL really has done that on me, most of the BPAL I've tried has gone sicky sweet). If it had been rosemary in the later drydown, with a bit of the bergamot sticking it out, we'd have had a winner. I like thyme, but not that much.

 

I guess it is not off to the swaps as I thought it was. The hubby has declared it "on the right track" towards a scent he might like. That has only happened about 3 times of the many times I've made him sniff test BPAL. I'm really surprised. I think its the "not going sickly sweet" factor at play.

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: I can smell the lavender and mint very strongly, and warm almond peeking out.

 

Immediately on skin: This scent is very astringent. The lavender is the main note, but mixed with it I can smell the mint, verbena, and thyme.

 

After a few minutes: This is extremely herbal on me after a little bit. The lavender has faded, and now I can smell the thyme quite strongly. There’s also a very light touch of mint.

 

Later on: This is still very herbal and sharp… the lavender is barely there but adds a “high” note to the scent. It’s like taking a pinch of thyme, grinding it against my skin, then sniffing… it’s very fresh and herbal.

[mirofool3]

In imp: smells of lemon pledge

 

On skin: more lemons.

[dnagirl]

Calliope is my first BPAL review ever...

 

In the bottle all I could smell was lemon.

 

Wet on the skin, it smelled citrusy and herbal. Sort of like lemon thyme.

 

After it dried, it smells like musty herbs. It sounds strange, but this scent reminds me of my grandparent's basement when I was a kid. I don't mean that in a bad way at all, it's very nostalgic for me. The citrus definitely goes away, leaving nothing but herbs behind...drying herbs...musty herbs, and the thyme is at the forefront.

 

I like it.

[Lunaratu]

This is very light, clean. I have to admit I was a little scared to try this one because lavender usually hates me with a passion. Thusfar the lavender in this is behaving itself. As it dries the orange comes out a bit and adds to the clean quality of it—yet this still remains very light, very airy with some sweetness and depth.

Rating: 3/5

[breezefaerie]

Calliope is bright and sharply citrus in the vial and on my skin. It stayed citrusy with a slight herbal depth on my skin. I never got any of the almond which surprised me.

Unfortunately this faded within minutes and an hour lated I can barely smell it on my wrist.

Perhaps in my hair or in a locket it would have better staying power as it's such a sunshiny fragrance.

[neddykapoozle]

of all the imps in my latest package, i wanted to try calliope first. i love to write, have been working on a paper for a few weeks but had gotten rather stuck, so i was hoping this muse would inspire me!

 

in imp: bright and kitcheny. i'm getting a herbal lavander that is being beaten with a sack of citrus fruits. in my mom's herb garden.

 

wet on skin: much the same as in the imp, it's kindof nice, very much a wake up but still comforting blend from the herbs, but the citrus keeps it awake. as it dries i'm getting more of the sweet almond, which is scaring me as all of the almond blends i've tried have not ended well, but it quiets down in a few minutes. i'm still getting the brightness, but it's calming down and the herbs are coming to the front, especially thyme and a touch of verbena. very well blended.

 

dry on skin: and poof! i'm left with a lovely thyme with some faint lavender. not a very strong scent, but i applied it at 7:30 AM and it lasted close to my skin for a good 8 hours.

 

mid wearlength, low throw, very nice. i don't think it will become a big bottle, but i will certainly hang onto my imp. thyme always makes me think of my mother's herb garden, and rubbing my fingers with thyme and smelling them for hours after. but the almondy note isn't my cup of tea, and the citrus is too astringent. i prefer scents to have just a touch of sweet. but very nice, and everybody seems to be amping different notes.

[MaidMirawyn]

Got a frimp with today's order!

 

Wet: Whoa! I don't think these notes are playing well together... It's too jumbled for me to pick out the individual notes.

 

Wet: Thyme! I can smell that one, but the rest is still a jumble.

 

Two minutes later... Is this the same fragrance? It's all lemon!

 

Drying: I can smell verbena and thyme playing in the background, but it's still mainly lemon!

 

Morphed again. Lemon is almost gone; thyme now, but it's not overpowering. It's blending with other notes... Maybe lavender, almond, and the orange?

 

Thyme is coming to the foreground again! And it seems to be staying that way: I can't smell anything else now.

 

 

Ah well. Guess this one doesn't like me... But that just gives me swap material, right?

[CrazyPretzel]

Fresh on, Calliope is a blast of almond and sharp lavender.

 

After it warms up, citrus comes to the fore, lemon predominating, but sweet and candy-like. It's kind of a tango between honeyed lemon and biting, herbal lavender. I think it smells a little like Santa Eularia des Riu, but sharper.

[rhiannonsanchez]

Calliope was really herby and interesting in the bottle, but when it touched my skin it turned into lavender and orange scented disinfectants mixed together. I smell like a well cleaned school bathroom. I dont tghink this one is gonna be wearable for me.

[stardreamer]

This goes on very sharp and almost camphor-y, but quickly fades to an undistinguished light floral. Individual notes don't make themselves obvious, though I suspect that I'm mostly getting the lavender. Staying power seems about average, but the throw is very weak. Bottom line: swap pile.

[maribouquet]

This is a lovely, unique mix of verbena and almond on me. I was really into it, but as it dries down something smells funny on me - I think my skin is doing odd things and it smells like it's clashing. I think it might be the thyme and the bergamot together. My skin is throwing Calliope out of whack.

[DifferentDances]

Imp: Faintly sugared water.

Wet: Bleach. It smells like bleach. O_O

Drydown: Hey, there are actual notes coming out now! Mostly the verbena, bergamot and orange, but it no longer smells like I spilled cleaner on my arm.

Dry: And it's become mostly verbena.

 

My rating: 2/5. It's a softer lemon than usually appears on my lemon-amping skin, but it's still lemon. And that bleach stage is just bizarre.

[ClareN]

Not a fan of this one; it's all lavender when freshly applied, and after it dries I smell a kind of "off" lemon-lavender scent. I think the combination of citrus with thyme could be what's making Calliope smell...wrong, although I'm not a fan of lavender or lemon as a primary note in the first place. This is one discontinued scent that I won't miss, I'm glad to say. (Unlike Asphodel. I'm still in denial about that one.)

[bryghtrose]

Wet: orange & lavender. I don't have a good feeling about this. These two can be so strong and so overpowering.

 

Dry: It's citrusy/minty, and ends up smelling just of lemon verbena.

 

It doesn't work for me.

[gchris]

In Vial: medicinal

 

Wet: I smell the lavender, orange, bergamot, verbena and thyme. It's partly sweet and partly medicinal.

 

Drydown: Faint smell of the orange and bergamot. Has a creamy scent.

[steelxrose]

I'm afraid I got none of the notes promised out of Calliope. Quite frankly, she smelled like wet sneakers.

[MissMercurial]

Ordered from the lab just before it was discontinued.

 

in the imp: Whoa! Thyme! Very much agreed that it smells like a kitchen while making coq au vin. It was almost a put off how strongly it smelled of sharp, fresh thyme; maybe it was the verbena making it sharp.

 

on skin: It started sweet and rather citrusy - verbena/orange goodness! - which was fleshed out with a sweet, milky scent (almond?). Hooray! Then, in a few minutes, it started smelling like...Playdoh . Boo! I blame the bergamot, since Alice went funky on me too, but in a different way. I like lavender and mint a lot, and was sad that I never smelled them .

Edited February 24, 2008 by MissMercurial

[tartchef]

Oh yes, this is a proper chef's scent - not baked-goods foody, but kitchen-garden-in-the-sun foody... Wet, there's lots of lavender & thyme, with the verbena, bergamot & orange zest jockeying for position - it's a sharp, zingy, nearly medicinal scent, prodding my to get off my duff & do something. Once it dries, the roundness of the almond comes through, and the wet herbs give way to a drier scent, like an herbes de Provence bouquet hanging from the beams of an old farmhouse kitchen... there's a mortar & pestle on the bench, with orange zest & blanched almonds ground to a chunky paste. This is a scent of focused industry & creativity - Calliope makes me want to turn off the phone, open the windows & spend the day poring over recipes & making a riotous mess in the kitchen.

Edited March 4, 2008 by tartchef

[mhickle]

I received this as a gift from the lovely strangemodegirl when she noticed I was lamenting the disappearance of the muses.

 

So I felt really bad when, the first time I tried Calliope, I didn't like it.

 

I was determined, however, to give this muse another try, and I am so glad I did. This time, I gently rolled the bottle in my hands before applying, letting things mix up. And what a difference it made. Or maybe my body is just responding differently today...whatever the case, I take back my dislike.

 

For a moment, Calliope is all lemon on me. However, it quickly becomes sharp and herbal, and that is where it stays. This is what didn't agree with me last time - the sharpness was almost acrid. But today it is just asserting itself, mostly thyme, a hint of lavendar on me.

 

I find this scent rather invigorating, and am sorry to see it go.

 

Thanks, strangemodegirl!!

[twilighteyes]

In the bottle: Lavender and verbana. Bottom note of mint.

 

Wet on skin: Still a nicely blended lavender and citrus. Still bottom note of mint. As it dries down the lavender comes to the front, the lemon verbana dies down a little, and the bergamot comes up. The thyme comes out as a bottom note. I'm getting imagines of french cuisine! I can feel the mint tingly on my skin.

 

Dry on skin: Now that it's dry, it's mostly lavender and thyme with some citrus-mint in the background.

This disappears really fast on me. I put some on before work the other day and I did not get whiffs all day like I usually do. And I don't put things on sparingly -- I do inside inside wrists, elbows, and both sides of the neck. I wore it again today hoping it would stick around. Nope, gone again. Put it on after my shower around noon, it was gone before 2pm.

 

A very nice herbal scent. Worth reapplying if you're a lavender thyme fan.

[donnatron]

Imp: Sweet almondy citrus with a herbal green scent laced through it.

 

Wet: Sweet citrus candy.

 

Dry: The candy scent remains. A really lovely blend of citrus and almond. The greenery has disappeared and if the lavender's around, it is not having me.

 

Throw: Pretty good. Definitely detectable from a few inches away.

 

Overall: I had the experience of going from a delectable candy scent to unwashed armpit in the course of two hours with Nanshe earlier in the week. I've had this on for the better part of an hour and it's holding strong. If it retains the candy scent, I'll be happy. I'll just enjoy the imp while I can, seeing as how the GC has waved goodbye to Calliope.