Persephone

[LiberAmoris]

Beautiful, radiant daughter of Demeter... her loveliness was so exquisite that even Hell itself could not resist her. Pomegranate and rose.

When I first smelled this on my skin, I got the same nail polish remover scent that others have noted. However, after that initial swath, it was all roses and pomegranate. I concur with the adjectival leaning towards ‘juicy’…it was almost like nectar. Citrusy and rosy and pithy, with just enough rind to keep it from being too simple.

In short, it’s very pretty, and perfect for the myth. It really captures that balance between the earthly rose and unearthly pomegranate, and manages to divide its attention equally between both notes, as Persephone divided her time equally between worlds.

I’ll need to order a big bottle of this for those days when I feel similarly complicated.


ETA: I got my big bottle. I applied it this morning at 9AM and it's still going strong at 6PM. This one lasts and lasts!

[k00kaburra]

In bottle: Crisp fruity pomegranate with rose aftertaste. Something about the pomegranate smells strange to me. I guess it just isn't a fragrance I'm used to.

 

On me: The rose is much stronger but doesn't overpower the pomegranate. They blend together well, although the combination reminds me of green grapes for some reason. I like it but I don't think I love it, so I probably will just use up the imp and be done with it.

[Faerykin]

Swiped across wrists and along collarbone.

 

Initial Wet (8-8:30am): This is a very powerful rose scent, more potent than I’m used to with BPAL (Harlot, Les Fleur Du Mal, Nyx). At first, there was a slight tangy, fruity, semi-sour note. But, that quickly dissipated, and now all I smell is rose.

 

Initial Dry (8:30-10am): Thankfully, the potency of the rose calmed down. That is still all I smell, though … rose.

 

Throughout the Day (10am-4pm): Finally, there is something juicy popping up behind the rose. Of course, the rose is still the most prominent scent, but at least the pomegranate is finally starting to show. The only way I can really describe it is by using the same words quite a few others have used – fruity floral. The pomegranate blends so well with the rose to make for a very nice feminine, without being overly feminine, scent.

 

4pm and I still catch faint whiffs of sweet, fruity rose. So, this is another long-lasting scent. I think Persephone is going to replace Nyx as my ‘when I wanna feel feminine’ scent (so placing Nyx in my Find a New Home Pile). Definitely keeping the imp, with the possibility of adding this to my Big Bottle List.

[Northernminx]

The tang and fruitiness of the pomegranite is most evident in the bottle with the rose making this almost bitter at first. It mellows into a nice rose scent, dry and powdery with an overlay of sharp and tart pomegranite. This is an unusual buit lovely combination, however it doesn't last on me and I don't really adore it enough to be a keeper. Into swaps!

[metterklume]

I love Persephone for not being a powdery dry rose – while I probably wouldn’t have been able to identify pomegranate juice as such without the description, it does wonderful things to the very red rose scent. Surprisingly long-lasting for a rose scent on me, this stays pretty consistent from bottle through wearing – wet, fresh, luscious rose.

[tempete]

My experience with Persephone is pretty similar to everyone else's. Wet, Persephone smells most strongly of a luscious, not-too-sweet fruit which must be pomegranate (I've never had it before). The rose note slowly emerges and mingles with the pomegranate note as the oil dries down. Several hours later, the rose note dominates the fragrance, but the pomegranate note makes it a fabulously non-powdery floral - this is the wet, juicy rose phase that other reviewers have mentioned. I'm undecided as to whether I'll buy a bigger bottle - since my favourite phase of Persephone is the pomegranate-only stage - but I'll enjoy using up my imp.

[sihaya09]

In the bottle-- bubblegum? So odd! But on, it was a very light, refreshing rose scent slightly sweetened by fruit. Very fresh-- floral without being cloying. I liked it a lot and may want more once my imp is used up.

[georgiamagnolia]

So very yum! This is the first BPAL scent I have gotten a 5ml of, scent unsmelled. So it is a good thing I ended up liking it.

 

In the Bottle: Cherry Cough Syrup (and I thought 'oh my Goddess, what have I done?')

 

But then...

 

On me it smells nothing like cherry. It drys to a very warm and not terribly sweet scent, but still edible smelling.

 

And long lasting, oh wow is it long lasting.

 

My verdict is that I made a great guess at getting goodness for my first purchase ever.

[Phaedra]

Persephone was number one on my very first imp order. This one is really wonderful!! I don't have much else to say that hasn't already been covered but here are some of my thoughts on it. When I first put this on I get a top note of melon I think- sort of like cantalope and then almost a pineapple smell. That fades after a few minutes. Then it's a lush, fruity, sweet rose smell. I think of real pomegranate as being tarter than this is. This dries down to a very soft rose. Persephone is a very feminine scent and one to wear to make yourself feel pretty. It's interesting to compare this with Moon Rose. They are both rose scents but are very different. Persephone is like a dark red or magenta rose and Moon Rose is like a very pale pink or white rose. I really really love this and it's at the top of my big bottle list!!

[everstar]

In the vial: Smells like... liquor? Like good liquor, but liquor.

 

On me: Smells ooh, much fruitier. It was described further up thread as a deep rosey color, and that's precisely right. It's like deep rose velvet. I'm not sure where the pomegranate smell ties in other than -- oh, of course, it's pomegranate-colored velvet. It doesn't seem to carry at all; I have to plant my nose on my wrist after putting some on to smell it. But I like it that way.

 

I'm feeling kindly about this one; perhaps a bottle? Hmmm.

[phoefromelsewhere]

Aw bum. I REALLY wanted to love this one but alas, my skin hates rose to the point of making me feel ill.

 

In the bottle: ooh, red rose and fruit

 

Wet: Ooof, it got everywhere. (Anyone have a technique for NOT getting oil everywhere when opening imps?) Quickly run to bathroom. Got all the excess off now. *sigh* slightly less oooh fruit and rose. Mainly rose.

 

Drydown: The pomegranate disappears completely, leaving me with a horrid rose smell. Smells like those smelly flower dolls they had back in the 80s or cheap rose bath beads.

 

Later: I’m gonna cry. This is AWFUL on me. It’s given me a headache and makes me feel ill. I washed it all off and put a bit on a cotton ball to see if it retained it’s fruitiness…nope. Just awful nauseating rose. I am sad now, I wanted to adore this on me.

[magikfanfic]

In the bottle: Strong. A blast of fruit. I do not comprehend why everything smells so damn strong in the bottle. Although, thinking about it, that's probably due to the highly concentrated nature of being in the bottle with all that oil. Stupid me.

 

Wet: Yummy. Sugary dark red fruit. I'm not sure it really smells like pomegranates because I don't recall what they smell like, but it is definitely a dark, red, lush fruit smell covered in sugar. Like, I could eat my arm.

 

Dry down: This got sweeter on me as it initially dried. After about 30 minutes, I really wanted to lick myself.

 

After a while: I'm getting the faintest hint of roses after about a hour and a half. It's not the real fragrant rose that's in my Libra, but a light, sugar coated rose.

 

After another hour: That dark red fruit smell has surfaced again with just a hint of the sugar. This is simply marvelous. It fades down somewhat quickly but doesn't disappear like The Unicorn.

 

As soon as I make another order, I'm throwing a 5ml of this in.

[Gin]

This scent is red, red, red. Red pomegranate, red roses. I smelled sweet, dark berries in the vial. When first applied, it was just a thick, heavy maraschino cherry-type sweetness. Then the rose became apparent. After that, it seems the two components are equally matched--neither one overpowers the other. The pomegranate lends a juciness to the rose that prevents it from being too powdery. This is my favorite rose scent yet.

[Scylla]

In the vial: Very tart and juicy pomegranate!

 

Wet, on my skin: Darn it. I forgot that this had roses in it when I tried this one out this morning. The pomegranates have been obliterated by the roses. It reminds me of a cheap generic bubble bath I bought when I was a poor college student!

 

On drydown: Hmmm...there is something weird going on with this one. Not only does it smell mostly like roses but it smells weird/funky/musky. Must be my body chemistry. *sigh*

Edited November 19, 2004 by Scylla

[tart]

Persephone is one of the best BPAL scents I've ever tried. Unfortunately, rose tends to "wilt" on my skin after a few hours and I couldn't wear it anymore. I'd recommend this for anyone to try, just to experience it, even those who don't necessary like fruit or floral scents. If my skin chemistry didn't bring out the rose so much, I'd have bought a 5ml of this.

[pekeana]

*siiiiigh*

 

Persephone is horrifically monsterously atrocious on me -- it has such promise and delightful sweet rosiness in the bottle, but...

 

On me, it's all rose and it's overpowering. And then around the edges creeps the pomegranate and is then drowned out again by the rose.

 

I love the smell of roses, but they hate me.

 

 

 

ETA: Almost two weeks later, I tried it again. And instead of being horrible, it was incredibly good. I'm not sure what transpired between the two time periods, but I'm keeping this one for when I want a good floral.

Edited December 5, 2004 by pekeana

[Julilla Regina]

When I first put this on, I thought there might be too much rose in it. I love rose, it's probably my favourite scent. But too much can cause the nose to ache a little and ends up killing bystanders.

 

When it dried though, it dried to real magnificence. It was a perfect kind of red rose, and the sharp tang of the pomegranate pushed through it. I couldn't believe it. I kept sniffing myself all day. It lasted a good eight hours and all I could think of was "Pretty!" It was perfectly pretty-for a pretty girl with pretty pink cheeks and red lips. A woman in a pre-French Revolution Boucher painting would wear this, I imagine.

 

I think this will be my first bottle.

[inkstone]

There's not much I can add at this point, but here I am anyway.

 

In the vial: Roses and ripe, juicy fruitiness that can only be promegranates.

 

Wet: Wet, juicy roses mingling with something dark that I think might be the promegranate seeds. I can smell the promegranate trying to come out, but the rose is stomping all over it.

 

Drydown: The roses mellow and blend with the juicy promegranate. It's very pretty and sweet.

 

Final thoughts: This is a nice scent and I think I'll keep the imp, but in terms of rose scents I think I prefer Blood Rose and Kurukulla more.

[larkredblade]

I wasn't too sure of this one in the bottle -- it did have that nail polish remover smell others spoke of.

 

Once it was on, I could not get enough. I kept applying it to places until I was completely covered with it. It is exactly what it says -- pomegranate and rose. Neither one of the scents overpowers the other on me. I've been sniffing myself all day!

 

I love that it is both spring and autumn at the same time -- fresh spring roses and juicy fall ripened pomegranate. Delicious.

[darklorelei]

The pomegranate in Persephone is definatley the most prominent note. When I first put it on, it was still too sweet/girly for me, but the sharpness of the rose was definately there. I like it less as it ages. The rose utterly disappears, and the pomegranate begins to strengthen and lose it's sweetness. I'll definately be passing it on.

[luxuria]

Starts out, like others have said, much like nail polish remover..however, it fades to a predominantly rose scent. Roses that sparkle a teeny bit, but roses nonetheless. I love pomegranate, and I think a more strongly pomegranate smell would have been more suitable for Persephone. I guess it's just my body chemistry acting up This is my favorite of BPAL's roses so far but i'm not a big rose fan so I'm not too thrilled about this one.

[Rosabella]

I love the smell of real roses but in perfumes as a dominant note they don't work on me. Still, in my first order I wanted to give the BPAL versions a try.

 

Started off smelling just like red Kool-Aid! Super fruity and strong. That settled down quickly to a more tart pomegranate juice, and the rose started to come out. A nice unusual mix at first, fresh wet rose mingled with the fruitiness. I thought it just might work but ultimately all the fruit disappeared and I was left with a dried rose potpourri scent. Fine for potpourri but not something I'll wear.

[Suntrails]

This is the second time I've worn this and I still can't decide if I like it. I hadn't read the description in a few months when I swiped this on. I immediately smelled a heavy floral which I was concerned about, since florals often turn sickly sweet on me. But as it was drying, the pomegranate came out in force. Mmmm yummy pomegranate.

 

Unfortunately, now that it's dry, the scent slightly resembles the smell of someone getting a perm. Burning hair and chemicals. If I put my nose right up to my wrist, I can smell the roses, but none of the yummy pomegranate. Up close, it's not so bad. But every time I catch a faint whiff, I remember being a receptionist at the Great Clips in high school when the little old ladies would come in for their perms. *shiver*

 

The ironic thing is that this is the only BPAL that my boyfriend has actually said "Hey, you smell really good." So I guess it doesn't smell like perms to everyone. I'll probably use up the imp (and maybe learn to appreciate the rose smell) but won't be ordering any more.

 

Hopefully my Swank keeps more of a pomegranate smell to it.

[Splendid Molerat]

My initial few tests of the sample, all I could get was a very sticky rose fragrance.

 

Now that the vial has been hanging around for a while, I'm guessing the magic of oxidation has made for more balance.

 

Currently the oil is an initial burst of pomegranate, followed by a dewy tea rose. It is very much like the Turkish Delight fragrance I got from Black Cat (minus the catnip).

 

Roses tend to become cloying and sugary on me, but I can see my wearing this as a femme-y, juicy floral by adding a dab of Swank to cut the sweetness.

[judas_kiss]

This is beautiful. At first whiff and application, all I got was rose. A very wet, dewy bright red rose. Then, the sweetness of the pomegranate came through and made this a very lovely fruity-rose scent. It's bursting with joy and life. I think of Persephone running through the gates of Hades, and up into the spring morning to the sunlight of her mother's waiting arms. But, this isn't me. This is going to go into the gift pile.