Grief

[Lunasariel]

Inconsolable: lily of the valley, hyacinth, calamus, muguet, hydrangea, and elemi.

 

In the imp: Soft florals, dominated by what I believe to be lily of the valley, but I'm not sure - the florals are rather omnidirectional. It feels like a soap or air freshener that was designed to be pleasant, yet inoffensive and unobtrusive. Or maybe I'm just getting a soapy vibe because that's where I've mostly encountered lily of the valley before?

 

Wet: At first it's about the same as ITI - a soft, inoffensive floral soap - but now with an interesting aquatic element. But after only a minute or so, the soap comes out in force. Alas!

 

Dry: It softens up a bit over time, and the soap does dissipate eventually, but it never reaches anything other than "soft inoffensive floral." To top it off, the wear time is also far from impressive - five hours tops, and my skin usually hangs onto florals for 6-8. Meh.

[Veronica]

This dries down to a powdery, sweet flora. Something in it is a little too sweet and saplike. Pretty but not outstanding for me.

[Soupy Twist]

A perfect rendition of hyacinth, from beginning to the rather brief end. Great for the beginning of spring when the hyacinths are blooming and I just want to smell like one all day.

[DiesMali]

In the imp: Very faint, watery flowers.

 

Wet on my skin: Strong, dewy hyacinth and white lily.

 

Dry: As this dries, it's exactly what the notes are - soft, feminine, green-white mourning flowers. A little soapy, as floral-only blends tend to do on my skin. I actually really like the hyacinth and lily combination, and while I wouldn't wear this on its own, I might try layering it with something woodsy or foresty and see what that does to it.

[freyasfae]

I love when BPAL captures things like salty tears in a scent. At first, I thought this was a soapy floral, but there was something in the background that reminded me of salty tears which I think may be the elemi. The florals are very pretty, but the lonely, somber type. And it is very light.

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: Wow, this is one of the prettiest aquatics I have ever smelled. I generally don't like them, but I am loving the lily of the valley in this! And then it turns to soap.

 

 

Dry: The most lovely lily soap, but soap nonetheless. It was really pretty for a few mins though! Darn skin.

[FeralFae]

This is so pretty. It's very somber and light, dewy, aquatic and a bit salty. I would have to be in a very specific mood to wear this, but I do see myself reaching for it. I love the name and the description, and the perfume is very evocative.

 

Edited to add that I currently wear this quite a bit. It smells clean yet sorrowful, and very fresh. I love it and I'll be needing a bottle once my imp runs out.

Edited December 18, 2016 by FeralFae

[Casablanca]

Grief smells mixed on the wand, partly soft white floral, partly something a little off. Wet on my skin, it gets worse: this smells to my nose like the whine of a mosquito sounds in my ear. Something has gone wrong with this on my skin. I'm not sure how to describe the icky part of this: like a bland vegetable left in a baggie to get slimy, but not yet rotting?

The odor settles down before long, turning into a cleaner green, like grass. I wonder if that is the calamus. It isn't very friendly with me.

There's little throw to this and it's mostly gone in an hour.

[gloame]

This is going all soap on me! I am so hit or miss with white florals. I can't even pick out anything specific in this blend - it's just a lot of, "No, Gloame".

[milo]

Very pretty, light floral. Comforting, almost. Sweet, a bit of greenery thrown in. It reminds me of a large, domed garden or conservatory in the middle of winter. A bit of brightness among the cold.

[ramblingrambler]

Got as a Lab frimp in a recent order and slathered without reading notes. I expected it to be an aquatic (salty tears of grief is where my mind went), but I can see why it's actually a floral now that I've "read" the scent on and read the notes here. Not gonna lie---I'm not an aquatic or floral fan (on me; I love these on the right chemistry, but that's not mine!), so that's going to come out in my review.

 

Wet, it's a bunch of flowers in my face. There's something extremely sweet in here too.... not foodie sweet, but just... florally sweet. Since I rarely wear florals unless mixed with other heavier notes, I couldn't tell you what it is.

As it begins to dry, the flower-power fades some (oh, you can tell it's floral still, most definitely, as those are the predominant notes), but it isn't as... in-your-face. There's a green note that comes out and makes it a million times more wearable for me.

Into fade-away, the florals high-tale it out of there and leave the greenery. I'm okay with this stage. If only it were this stage all the way through.

 

Floral lovers will be pleased with this, I'm sure. Stay away if flower aren't your thing.

[Lucchesa]

If Grief were a color, it would be a very pale, silvery lilac shade. If it were a sound, it would be a whisper. I love lily of the valley; here it is perfectly blended with the hyacinth and the other floral notes I'm not familiar with (though hydrangeas are blooming all over Seattle right now, so I will have to take a huff next time I pass a bush). Light, pretty, gentle floral -- very like what in my grandmother's lexicon would have been a toilet water, or eau de toilette. A skin scent perfectly appropriate for all those springtime occasions when you're not actually supposed to be wearing any perfume.

[achildoftime]

This is one of the loveliest lily of the valley scents I've tried. It smells like the whole plant, green leaves and all. It's really what I smell the most, perhaps because it's what I'm most familiar with. I'm very grateful that it doesn't turn to soap on me. I'm completely tickled, because I have such good scent memories with the note so Grief is a clear and definite winner for me.

[roseus]

In the imp this smells like tears, salty and aquatic (but a soft one). As it dries the florals become easier to pick out. Cool-toned, reserved, and lovely. A little salty and sad.

[dementia_divine]

In the imp: Sweet, white flowers mixed with a bundle of more astringent ones that do seem representative of salty tears.

 

Wet: The astringent floral notes are the most prominent on my skin. Beneath them, I can smell the soft lily of the valley and sweet hyacinth.

 

Dry: The lily of the valley and hyacinth notes are playing a bigger role now, and the scent smells sweeter and less tear-soaked than before.

After a while, I still get lily and hyacinth, but with a soft aquatic vibe.

 

Verdict: The scent is evocative of its name. I think it is pleasant, but probably not something I'd choose to wear over other florals in my collection.

[wickedcookie]

Sweet white floral lovely, when first applied.

 

Quickly became a little soapy in a rich expensive kind of way. Simmered down and hovered warm floral most of the day. I know at one point it wafted past and I thought "Oh! There's the hyacinth"

 

About 8 hours after application, I got home from work and hubby buried his face in my neck and said "You smell like summer."

 

This morning, probably 20 or so hours after application, it still lingered, something sweet and light, a little different than the day before, right at skin level.

 

I love how it changes throughout the day.