Prunella

[Ravenclaw79]

There was once upon a time a woman who had an only daughter. When the child was about seven years old she used to pass every day, on her way to school, an orchard where there was a wild plum tree, with delicious ripe plums hanging from the branches. Each morning the child would pick one, and put it into her pocket to eat at school. For this reason she was called Prunella. Now, the orchard belonged to a witch. One day the witch noticed the child gathering a plum, as she passed along the road. Prunella did it quite innocently, not knowing that she was doing wrong in taking the fruit that hung close to the roadside. But the witch was furious, and next day hid herself behind the hedge, and when Prunella came past, and put out her hand to pluck the fruit, she jumped out and seized her by the arm.

'Ah! you little thief!' she exclaimed. 'I have caught you at last. Now you will have to pay for your misdeeds.'

Ripe purple plums, wildflowers, and cream.

Ooh, my first first review!

Wet: Sharp and plummy ... my only point of reference for plum so far is Midwinter's Eve, and it's like that, but less resiny and more bright and sharp.

Drying: Dishsoap? Oh, drat. Waiting...

Settled in: Plummy in a sweet, pleasant, not overpowering way. It faded awfully quickly, though. It's like a spring version of Midwinter's, really, lighter and brighter but still plums.

[angelicruin]

Of all the new Marchen oils that debuted last month, this was my most anticipated.

 

In the bottle, it's vanilla and plums.

 

Wet on the skin, a bit more floral than I normally like...I seemed to be amping the wildflower note.

 

Fortunately, the more it dried, the more the floral note was suppressed and I am left with creamy plum berries with just a hint of floral.

 

I really like this & believe it will be a keeper, especially as it ages.

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Plum with a hint of creaminess, and something green and herbal in the background.

 

Immediately on skin: This is a girly mixture of plum and something that reminds me a lot of the fool’s parsley note in April Fool. This smells fruity and sweet, but has a definite green, herbal twinge to it. The cream isn’t very strong, but it tempers the plum from being too sharp.

 

After a little while: This gets smoother as that green note fades and becomes more of a slightly floral plum scent with the cream smoothing out the sharp feel that plum can sometimes have. It’s mostly a fruit scent, but has enough of the other notes to make it more complex and not JUST a fruit scent, if that makes any sense.

 

Overall Impressions: This is a girly, slightly flower, slightly creamy plum scent that is very nicely blended once it settles. The throw isn’t that strong, but I do get light hints of juicy plum from further away. It isn’t until I’m right up close to it that it really blossoms, however. This is lovely, and very feminine and fun.

[Jadys]

Wet: Yummy Yummy Plum

 

Drydown: This mellows into a juicy, soft, delicious plum (which is basically all I get out of this scent). This is what I hoped that Midwinters Eve would be (that was way to sweet and candyish to me). Maybe not a sexy scent per se but I think it will join Persephone as being my go to summer scent.

Edited November 6, 2008 by Jadys

[iiinterstate]

Wet: wildflowers and cream on me, with no plum in sight.

 

Dry: There's the plum! And the wildflowers have mellowed a bit, but they're not overpowered.

 

Overall: Beautifully blended and very feminine. I like it a lot and I may need a bottle for spring. Floral haters, do not fear this blend. The longer it's on my skin, the more I love it!

Edited November 9, 2008 by iiinterstate

[greenranger]

Sweet, light, and smooth. The cream helps the plums last on me, because usually, fruit fades fairly fast. The wildflowers barely even show up. I will need to apply it with a slightly heavier hand, since it was light, but, it lasts fairly well.

[samarablackcat]

I was frimped with Prunella from the fabulous Maidenhell. I would not have normally tested this, as I am not a fan of plum in any fashion.

 

In the imp, it smells green...fresh, not-to-sweet wildflower scent wafting from a field by a gentle wind.

 

Wet, creaminess mixes with a tart, refreshing, soft aroma. As it dries, the cream smell dissapates, leaving behind a fruity smell, not quite ripened.

 

As it dries, the scents meld together so well it's hard to discern one from the others. A scent of early summer, with bees buzzing, flowers nodding their heads in the breeze and flowers kissed with dew in the morning, before the heat of the day sets in and the world becomes enclouded in haze. As the scent wafts around me, I feel peaceful and serene.

 

Yep, bottle for me, the plum hater.

[porcelina]

this was the surprise hit from my recent order. tart, juicy plums with a scattering of wildflowers for sweetness (hurray- a floral note that doesn't amp to insane proportions on my skin!) smoothed by a base of rich cream. prunella is seriously great and has really good throw. a 5ml for sure!

[innocent]

I was afraid of the cream note in this, since milk / cream sometimes goes to latex on my skin... fortunately it behaves here. Prunella smells just how I hoped it would - the notes are well-balanced. It reminds me a bit of Bandersnatch (though Prunella is not spicy), but without the craft store smell that Bandersnatch sometimes has.

[Leopard403]

Smells purple. I don't know how else to explain it. Slightly floral, but mostly ripe plum, and something sort of grape-y smelling; though a wine grape, not fake purple bubblegum grape. I don't get any cream, which is probably good because too much of it tends to be salty on my skin. On me this is juicy as well as flowery, and definitively girly.

[ChloeKEvil]

First off I get flowers- purple flowers, but still too floral for me. However, they start fading into juicy, creamy plum almost immediately until the plum is very dominant and delicious.

[windbourne]

I had to wash this one off. Which is really weird -- plum is often fine on me, and while cream usually isn't good, it doesn't usually offend my nose like that. I'm guessing something in the unspecified 'wildflowers' is responsible. Very mysterious.

 

Either way, I thought it was a really lovely, plummy-pretty scent until it hit my skin. I think I'll keep it and maybe try it in a scent locket or as a room scent.

[neuilly]

I feel so pretty!! Nice juicy plum but it's not too strong - balanced by a light cream and subtle wildflowers. A light, beautiful scent. The fruit lifts my spirits and the lightness means I can wear it at almost any time. Definitely getting a bottle!

[SurrealReality]

In the Bottle/Imp: green flower stems, hints of plum and cream, and a general floral feeling way in the background

 

Wet on Skin: green flower stems and a hint of wildflowers (where did the plum and cream go?)

 

Dry: it takes about a 1/2 hour, but the green note finally fades, the plum and cream notes return (and are more prominent than they were in the imp), and the wildflower note becomes stronger

 

In the Bottle/Imp: 2.5 out of 5 (too green for me)

On My Skin: 3.5 out of 5 (pretty, but too floral for me)

[Hawke]

Reading through the reviews, I was beginning to think I was the only one this hadn't worked on. O.O Fortunately? Fortunately I'm not.

 

I wanted to try this, as I thought it might work, and I'm glad I did, but it really isn't good on me. I could smell the mysterious wildflowers right from the imp, already overpowering the plum and anything else, but I gave it a try anyway.

 

And I was right to be wary. Whatever those flowers are, they completely took over. I'm not a floral girl as I've said a lot of times, and though sometimes I got pleasant cream and fruit, mostly it was just too much flower, which means I'll be sending my imp away.

[Dandelion]

In the bottle and wet on skin, it's sharp, tart plum with a bit of cream and grassy wildflowers to tone it down. Once it's on my wrist and dried the plum lets up a bit and the cream and flowers come through more. It's lovely - sweet and girlish, but there's something about those plums. They don't smell like a BPAL plum note I've tried before. This note seems deeper, sweeter, maybe even a bit spicy. They're magic witch plums! Love this scent! It reminds me a bit of La Bella Donna Della Mia Mente, one of my go-to early summer scents. They both have the same dark fruit-floral thing going on.

[Schmoozy]

Juicy, sweet but tart plums with soft wildflowers. I detect a herbal scent which I

attribute to the mix of wildflowers which could be from the leaves and stems. After

drydown the cream softens the sweetness of the plums and helps control the wildflowers

from taking over the entire scent. Overall this is playful purple oil in which the flroals play nicely

and the cream adds dimension to the tart plums.

[Dark Alice]

plums....definitely tart and white florals (wet on skin)

 

Drydown: light floral plummy goodness...with a little bit of cream...but not so much. That's it...I am in ....beth might as well have my paycheck now...cause this will require backups in the long run!

[jencallisto]

In the imp: Sweet and fruity, with maybe something green or very light floral behind it.

Fresh on the skin: Whoa, herbal. This is a very green, pinpricky floral. I can tell the plum and cream are there, but they're currently drowned out by astringent green floral.

5 minutes later: Okay, we're softening down and sweetening up a little. This is turning into the most gorgeous light creamy plum with delicate wildflower scent.

10 minutes later: This has a bit of candle/potpourri feel to it, but not in a bad way.

30 minutes later: It's basically like a spicy plum candle has adhered itself to my arm -- the flowers disappeared fast, and there's a sort of thick warmth to the scent that makes me think "candle." It's quite nice, though.

45 minutes later: A slightly waxy plum hard candy.

1 hour later: Throw is not huge, but I get occasional whiffs while I'm typing.

2 hours later: Plum candle, faded and lightened.

3.5 hours later: Faded to a kind of generic, slightly waxy sweetness.

4 hours later: Oh. Basically gone, my arm is just faintly sweet if I press my nose right up to it.

 

Verdict: It was quite a nice scent, though a bit too much like candle and not enough like skin fragrance. Sort of one-dimensional, and with a relatively fast fade. I wish the florals stayed around more. I really wanted to like this one -- it looked the most promising out of all the Marchen scents. I'll probably try it again at some point.

 

One phrase: plum candle.

[Mimosatique]

Wet: Greenish-leafy plums, hint of wild flowers, shimmery opque cream like undertone with the plums and flowers.

 

Dry: Less leafy green but a ripe, bold, glistening dewy plums. The wildflowers are less scattered now..more refined and they are tie together by the ever so sultry shimmering light vanilla-like milky scent. But it isnt milk scent per se.

 

Verdict: plum lovers rejoyce!!! Got that sugar-plum vibe without any spicies in the blend. It started out fresh-fruity then fresh-creamy..then it matured into the most mouth watering violet plums that beg to be bitten!! Beautiful, even more so than MIdwinter's Eve! And it's a GC, how wonderul!

[Christine Daae]

First impression: yummy!

 

In the imp, this is pretty and plummy. On my skin, it is very plummy and flowery indeed. It's got a vaguely strange undertone, something a little odd under everything. I suppose that might be the cream, but it doesn't smell anything like cream...

 

I'm not really sure what it is, but something in this is a little unpleasant to me. It might be the plum - it's tart, almost sour. I don't get any cream, unless that's the sour note, and the wildflowers give this a little herbal/floral edge to the plumminess.

 

All in all, not my favorite of the new blends that I have tried lately (but probably very pretty on someone whose chemistry agrees more).

[zomathesadist]

in the imp: very fruity, with the cream mellowing it out.

 

on me: the cream takes that familiar butteriness, which becomes almost cloying. I smell like...plum pie.

 

drydown: buttery note fades a bit, but still very sweet. It's nice, but not very me.

 

rating out of 10: 6.00

[Victory]

Plum's one of my favorite notes, so I considered buying a bottle of Prunella unsniffed. Luckily for me, I didn't because the plum is unpleasant. The only other plum that I haven't liked was in Midwinter's Eve, and this is the same one, or at least the plum + unknown flowers in both blends produces the same ick. It's somehow stemmy and planty and wrong. Wet, it's all the unfortunate plum. Dry, the cream flirts in and out of the blend, and a yummy plum peeks in occasionally. I like the dry stage, but I have such unhappiness with the wet that I can write Prunella out of my wishlist. Mimosatique is right- if you're a fan of Midwinter's Eve, you really should try this.

[Blood onmy hands]

In the vial, this smells clean, creamy, and a bit sweet. I don't know if I'd pick out any plum, but I can pick out the soft cream note and a clean floral.

 

On my skin, the florals instantly amp up and overtake anything else that might be in this blend. Sharp, perfumey, clean florals. Also, something that smells odd and a bit nutty. I love the beautiful cream note, but it's no match for the wildflowers. After about an hour, I can finally smell a hint of dark fruitiness and some sweetness under the flowers, but it's too little too late.

 

Prunella is way too much floral for me, so I won't be keeping my imp.

[Iceblink]

A very strong, sweet plum that's gradually calmed down a bit by florals. But I have trouble with plum blends--I love plum but most of the oils that feature it tend to smell like candles on me, unfortunately, and I don't think this is an exception. The wet stage is a fabulous fruity explosion but the longer it dries the more mundane this becomes. If you like plummy blends like Frumious Bandersnatch or Bathsheba this might be a winner, though.