Flor De Muerto

[lilwhiterabbit]

The orange marigold, or zempasúchitl, has been one of Death's symbols since the pre-Columbian era. The yellow and orange petals are believed to represent the rays of the sun, bringing joy and light to the souls dwelling in the realm of the dead. These flowers surround Day of the Dead altars to guide the spirits to their offerings.

Unlike a lot of other people, I don't get a single floral note from this one. There is definitely a bouquet at work here and it is very lovely and mysterious and sophisticated. I have to say, Flor de Muerto is probably my favorite of the 'Weenies for 2010 and it's one of the more elegant floral blends I've seen from the lab so far. Maybe it's because it works so well on my skin, but I knew from the moment I tried it that I had to have more of it.

Not knowing what a marigold note is actually supposed to smell like, I get a blend of florals instead of a single floral note, with just a hint of spice and the subtle smokiness that a few other reviewers
mentioned. This is a nighttime bouquet to me and there's something almost... sacred about it. It strikes me as a lot more serious than the "sunny" feeling a lot of other people got from it and there is something heavy and lush to the bouquet. The poster above me described it as "velvety" and that's an excellent adjective to explain the sense of fullness I'm getting. Just a beautiful blend all around.

[thekittenkat]

In the imp: It's a nice and pleasant golden scent, and nothing like the peppery marigolds that a neighbor used to have around her house when I was growing up.

 

Wet: Still a golden note, but turning a tad sharp on my skin.

 

The dry-down: Now the sharp feeling has faded away, still leaving the lovely golden scent. In fact, it may be turning a tad sweet. Never thought that I would like a scent based on marigolds. May have to upgrade to a bottle. In fact, Flor de Muerto could make a gentle layering scent.

[Ryokumuji]

Little backstory: The big reason I bought this scent was because someone who I was very fond of, but who I no longer speak with, had a habit of calling me "Marigold". My birthday is in October and marigolds are the birth flower for that month. So when I saw BPAL had a marigold scent, I had to have it.

 

I'm so glad I got this. In the bottle, it's a lovely, bright, and sweet smelling floral. The sweetness at first made me think "fruity" but it's definitely more like "nectar". On my skin, it gets a wee bit powdery, but still stays true to the scent in the bottle. The vision this scent evokes is a field of lovely orange flowers on a cool clear autumn day. Absolutely love this.

 

Edit for 2013 Version: It smells exactly like the old version actually! Unfortunately, my intial love for the scent has faded away. The sweetness I talked about intially has become very cloyingly sweet to my nose. The sweetness gets worse as my 2010 bottle ages, and it's not quite as bad with the brand new one. I think my skin chemistry has changed a lot in the past few years, I seem to make a lot of scents that were only a little sweet into uberly sickly sweet.

Edited October 8, 2013 by Ryokumuji

[pandorasmuse]

In the decant: Straight up marigold, even with that bit of an edge the flowers have. Impressive!

 

Wet: JEEZ this is pretty. This is what I want my flower perfumes to smell like!

 

Drydown: Still amazing. (Please stay amazing, please please please!)

 

Later: It stays amazing! It’s warm and sunny and lasts all day. Love it, and I've purchased a bottle!

[saralaughs]

Definitely not a 'regular' marigold on my skin.

 

This is sweet, sunny, orange, and very clean smelling. Not soapy at all but clean. The bouquet in this is stunning. There is the floral element (honeysuckle definitely, maybe a bit of the actual marigold as it gets a bit dusky on drydown, maybe lily of the valley) is gorgeous and true while there is a bit of sweet greenery apparent in this blend as well. I also get a clean, cold, flowing water vibe from this; same as in Amsterdam from Wanderlust.

 

Beautiful and perfect for summer!

[Honey]

Marigolds are among my favorite flowers. We used to have them growing in our front yard - in both yellow and orange - and I have always found them so lovely. I also have a hand lotion with marigold that smells so amazing! I simply HAD to try this one.

 

 

Bottle: Smells "greenish orange" to me. Like unripe mangoes. Fresh, yet the hint of fruitiness and juiciness is there. Slightly floral and sweet.

 

Wet: Green mango, bitter orange and the green stem of a flower. Very fresh and lovely.

 

Dry: Unlike sickly sweet roses, this is a "fresh green flower" scent. It doesn't make me go YAYOMG but it is nice and not iffy or anything. I can imagine layering this with a more creamy "white and greenish" note that goes will with the fresh fruitiness in this one. I am not good with roses, so this is a great flower alternative.

 

Layering: OK, I have this coffee spice that contains chocolate, rock sugar, orange peel, cardamom, cinnamon, orange blossom and marigold blossom. It tastes awesome! So I though, huh, I should choose a BPAL scent that has many of these ingredients because it should blend well with the marigold. So I used the tester of Boomslang that I have and, bam! - instant love! I think that chocolate and vanilla go great with Flor de Muerto because the freshness in it works well with the sweet richness of the other two. I think orange and orange blossom should also blend well with FdM, just that you'd get a fresher (maybe tarter) mix then. Spices like cinnamon and cardamom are what I'll try to find in a scent next so I can layer it with FdM and see how that will turn out.

Edited July 22, 2011 by Honey

[biocarolyn]

This is so pretty! I was frimped a decant, and I never would have tried it on my own but I really like this. It smells like marigolds, of course, but very true to life. Golden and almost...sparkly somehow. It has edges, but they aren't sharp; they are refracting light. It definitely brings to mind the sun. Along with the marigold note (which am I hallucinating? is it also in the Harp of Cnoc I'Chosgair?) there seems like the barest hint of something sweeter- orange blossom? It's faint, but it sweetens it up a bit. I can also smell a hint of the greenery and earth underneath the florals. This is so nice, and really sunny and bright but still feels like fall. Seeking out a bottle....

[fufu_berry]

Hmm...I really want to love this because marigolds are my favorite flowers and Dia de los Muertos is a really special holiday to me. I get some sense of the pepperiness of marigolds, but also a lot of sharp soap smell, which seems to always happen with floral scents on me. :/ Maybe layering this with something will be helpful? I want to make it work, but just not sure this is going to be for me.

 

ETA: Layering Mad Meg over it seems to have toned down the soapiness tremendously (and brought out the sage note in MM, which is awesome), so probably going to hang on to this for now and try more layering experiments.

Edited September 25, 2012 by fufu_berry

[ObliqueRed]

I don't like the scent of actual marigolds much, but this scent was a surprise hit out of my Weenie decants - a gorgeous, fresh, sunny, sweetly fragrant golden floral. I adore it.

[tziporra]

I have a very specific idea of what marigolds should smell like, and this is not it (you may take this as a good thing if you were worried about somewhat skunky spicy marigold).

 

Wet, this is a strong straightforward floral. It's very flowery, but it's a perfumers floral rather than a gardeners floral. Definitely bright and sunny, but much more aquatic than I expected. More of a pale yellow than the full on spicy orange that the word marigold evokes for me.

 

This doesn't smell bad at _all_: it's quite lovely in fact. But it is definitely not my style. This is what I would think a flower fairie might smell like, but probably not Marigold - it's just too sweet for her.

 

Definitely no bottle for me.

 

 

Best,

 

Tzi

 

ETA: 2013 version

Edited October 16, 2013 by tziporra

[Magycmyste]

So, I'm guessing this is what a marigold is supposed to smell like (I know what they look like, I just don't usually stop to sniff them). I've never really been all that fond of marigolds - they're pretty enough, but I tend to gravitate towards other flowers.

 

In the imp: Sharp, kind of sour floral, at first - like a really dark rose.

 

Wet on skin: Same as before. There is a hint of sweetness, but it's on the very edge of the floral.

 

Dried down: The sharpness is still there, but the sweetness is coming forward more.

 

Throw: A little bit.

 

Verdict: *** This isn't bad by a longshot, but it's nothing I'm going to rave about or keep sniffing, over and over. I think it's headed to the swap pile.

[milo]

I had marigolds this summer, and this doesn't really smell like the ones I had. This is lovely and fresh, bright and sunny, green and yellow at the same time. My marigolds smelled like good pot, though I hear its supposed to keep the bugs away. I accidently spilled the whole half imp on me, and in spite of this, it was almost totally gone in half an hour, so a fast fader. I'd hunt down more if it lasted longer!

[Aevajohnson]

This came to me as a frimp on a purchase from another Bpalista.

 

I'm surprised because this is basically a single floral not but I actually like it! (florals and I do not tend to play nice).

 

on me this just clean sweet marigold. There may be a touch of soapy-ness to it but I don't mind a soapy note if it's a clean note and not anything chemical or super strong.

 

 

[Naomi Kelsey]

I agree with most posts that say it's a single, albeit complex, note fragrance. On me it's warm, floral, and "golden", with a bit of a fuzzy amber/powdery dry down. Bright and floral without being too sweet, which I like, or too heady. There is a bit of spice to it, as others have noted, and just a hint of vanilla or amber.

Overall, a 3.5 out of 5. A solid fragrance that performs well, but not something I'm in awe of.

[Soupy Twist]

A generic, vaguely pretty floral, kind of reminiscent of TAL's White Light. Absolutely not marigold in any way, shape, or form. And it's gone in 45 minutes.

[Casablanca]

As simple as it is, I'm fond of this one. It smells predominantly golden-orange, like a mango turned floral, and also greenly spring-like, like dandelions given larger, bolder flowers. Despite being a fall-themed scent, it makes me think of Easter, from American Gods.

It changes little on my skin, and sadly doesn't last long.