Harlequin and Columbine

[thekittenkat]

HARLEQUIN AND COLUMBINE
French vanilla, red currant, sage, balsam, rosewood, mandarin, lemon peel, pomegranate, and cedar.

In the bottle: This is such a well-crafted blend that it's difficult to pick out individual notes. But the sweetness of the French vanilla and balsam are most obvious, with hints of the pome, the cedar, and the sage underneath.

Wet: The sage, the rosewood, and the cedar all combine for a heady, woodsy aroma. But slowly the vanilla and balsam re-assert themselves and twine gently throughout.

The dry-down: This has become a sweet, but not too sweet, wood and herbal blend, tempered by the fruit notes. Luckily, the currant does not try and stomp all over the scent, but hangs back with the other fruit notes.

Later: The lemon peel and mandarin are coming forward now to give this a brightness which it did not have earlier. Citrus notes don't work on me as well as they used to. Still a nice scent, but I may wear this in the scent locket so as to escape the citrus note issue. Would have liked this better without the citrus.

[Heavenlyrabbit]

I wouldn't argue this is not well-blended but the words that came to my mind were "jumbled" and "muddled".

 

This starts out more Harlequin and masculine with the woods, herbs and evergreens on top.

 

It ends up, an hour later, as more Columbine and feminine with the Currant and Vanilla coming forward.

 

Lasts a long time on me and the dry down is wonderful but it takes too long to get there on my skin.

Edited November 19, 2010 by Heavenlyrabbit

[Aldercy]

Well, I was considering an unsniffed bottle of Harlequin & Columbine, but I'm really glad I didn't go for it. It smells like the candle aisle the craft store at Christmastime and someone just finished mopping the floor with industrial cleaner. And then threw sawdust down for some reason.

 

In terms of real notes, I suppose I'm getting almost all lemon and cedar with some sort of generic "fruit and spice."

 

Damn, I wanted lots redcurrant, sage, rosewood and pomegranate, but it's a lost cause almost from the beginning. It may do something in the long-term dry-down, but this is pretty hateful to me right now. Too bad!

[Marblemeadow]

In the bottle this was absolutely lovely - fruity and wine smelling to me. Wet it was absolutely gorgeous - the pomegranate seemed very prominent but as it started to dry, the woods and spices started coming out. I'm not much of a woodsy or herbalesque kind of girl. I'm very much hoping for a re-emergence of the other lovely notes. As it sits for a few minutes I'm starting to get the vanilla and what is probably the balsam but the cedar is still prominent.

 

Where oh where did those lovely top notes go? =(

 

About ten minutes after application I'm getting the french vanilla, soft cedar, and the beginnings of mandarin. The mandarin is throwing me off big time. I love citrus scents so I'll wait awhile and see what emerges.

 

Later the citrus notes definitely dominate. Long lasting citrus - lemony mandarin for sure. Its very bright and very "summer". I can still smell the sage, the cedar, and a bit of something else... perhaps the rosewood. Though this blend is beautiful in its initial stages its just not one that I would consider a signature scent. I wouldn't want to get through the dry down stage of woodsy herbalness to reach the citrus ending, and the initial beautiful stages are lost almost immediately.

 

Sad but not for me. =(

[edenssixthday]

Harlequin and Columbine - This is so incredibly pretty! It opens up with a bright blast of red currant backed by the citrus notes and and juxtaposed against the sweet, bright fruit notes, the woods have almost a spiciness about them. The sage is quite strong and blends beautifully with the other notes. I can't smell the vanilla at all when I first apply it, but as the scent warms up on my skin, the almost-spice scent fades a bit and a warm, creamy vanilla comes out and helps mellow out the enthusiasm of the fruit notes. It turns into something really, really pretty, feminine, and did I mention that it's really pretty? It's got great throw while it lasts, but sadly, this doesn't last more than a couple of hours on my skin, but granted, I didn't slather, either. I've tried it twice and applied fairly lightly both times. It's just lovely -- next time, I'm gonna slather.

[filigree_shadow]

It smells mostly like a woodsy pomegranate scent when I first put it on, and then it brightens up a little with the lemon peel and red currant. The sage and balsam in this make it a little too harsh for me personally (I don't usually like those notes), but it's pretty nice.

[SurrealReality]

In the Bottle:

Balsam, sage, & lemon peel with hints of vanilla and pomegranate

 

Wet on Skin:

Whoa! Something in this is turning incredibly powdery on me! Sweet powder, lemon peel, balsam, sage, & a hint of pomegranate

 

Dry:

It's mostly sweet powder with hints of lemon peel, balsam, sage, & pomegranate

After about 1/2 hr, the balsam and sage disappear leaving tons of sweet powder with hints of lemon peel and pomegranate

After about 1 hr - pomegranate (stronger than before), red currant (can finally smell this note!), & sweet powder (considerably less prominent); the lemon peel has disappeared

After about 1 1/2 hrs - pomegranate, mandarin (it's about time you showed up....), red currant, & a hint of sweet powder

 

It was too masculine for me in the bottle, and while it was much sweeter and more feminine on my skin, it was also far too powdery during the first hour or so. Pass

 

Edited because I can't spell....

Edited December 2, 2010 by SurrealReality

[dawndie]

Wet: sweet white floral

 

On skin: creamy vanilla with a citrussy zing

 

Half-hour later: smooth blend of vanilla, light woods and citrus

 

In conclusion: this is like a Salon blend, lots of ingredients blending seamlessly with no "star" standing out. The vanilla and light woods combo is luscious. Smooth and sophisticated.

[cinnamonster]

Weeeeeeellll, funnily enough the opening blast of this is...lavender??! Which soon dissipates into a yummy fizzy fruit, reminds me of my old blackberry musk moisturiser, I really like this and am sad that this is not my bottle!!

[countessmouse]

This one has disappointed me. I had really hoped for more of the French vanilla (which I usually amp) and the woodsy tones, but this is all lemon and pomegranate. I smell like a slightly fizzy sweetart. Completely and utterly...meh.

[CitizenBree]

Starts off as a nice balance between fruit, floral and foodie. Calms down to a sweet powder. Upon a full day test, it takes on more of a spicy woodsy while still being foodie. Like a cinnamon, clove cake or something like that. Unfortunately, I didn't find it to last very long. Maybe about 4 hours.

[Incendiare]

Very fruity at first. The pomegranate and red currant jump out at me, but then I can also smell the balsam doing its thing right behind. The sage sort of hasn't decided yet whether or not it wants to be there. I have no idea where the rosewood and cedar are. The only sweetness I can detect is from the fruits, and there is no trace of french vanilla. This blend makes me think of Christmas, and I do appreciate it, but personally, it isn't something that I would wear.

[Champagne]

the first blast is definitely the currants with pomegranate and the mandarin. it`s zingy and delicious and it morph into a very holy and churchish balsam in the drydown. No vanilla for me too but I`m confident it will go out with ageing. I like it vey much!

[Blood onmy hands]

I was excited for this scent, because I love the lab's French vanilla note. Unfortunately, I'm not getting any vanilla from this blend . It goes on smelling like sharp, bright evergreen and then dries down to lots of sour fruits on my skin. Bitter, dry, slightly powdery, artificial fruitiness that reminds me of sweet tarts candies. After a half hour, this is like sweet tarts and wood chips, which I'm not enjoying at all...

[Iceblink]

This is just beautiful! Creamy, smooth French vanilla with a blend of zingy fruits, with the lemon peel dominating them. I tend to amp cedar like CRAZY, but the wood notes are soft here and very much in the background behind all those fruits and the vanilla. I do pick up a little sage, just barely. Very zippy and perky!

[Schmoozy]

Hmmm, at first I thought there was too much going on when first applied. Once it has the chance to dry down, this is stunning. Creamy vanilla mingles with tart fruits and citrus with the just the lightest hints of woods underneath. It's juicy, creamy, slightly woodsy, and has a very small medicinal vibe runnign through.

[SophieCedar]

In imp: I almost ordered a bottle instead of a decant. So, when I received my decant package, I rushed to smell this one. In imp, all I could describe it as was "utterly cute" with a hint of blue chamomile.

Wet: something that smells like china berry or kiwi notes typically used in oil format. That was the biggest surprise. Must be the lemon peel pomegranate and sage? french vanilla pops in and out but generally stays tucked underneath.

Drydown: same but weaker. Totally bizarre!

[Invidiana]

This works on me against all odds. I expected the cedar and lemon peel to amp, but for some reason they stay very subdued. It's really the red fruits/mandarin and vanilla, in that order, that are most evident in an even balance of sweet and tart. As it dries down further I get a little bitof the resinous balsam and a hint of woodines from the rosewood and cedar. I expected the lemon peel to scream VERBENA! but surprisingly it contributes to the tart quality without overpowering everything.

[greenranger]

The mandarin and lemon peel seemed the strongest at first, at least on me.

 

When it settled down, I smelled mostly vanilla, sweetened by fruits. If there's wood or sage in this I'm not smelling them yet.

[Dark Alice]

This started out beautifully...fresh bright red currant and french vanilla. Then something went horribly horribly wrong! Cat Pee! Cat Pee coated pencil shavings. Yeah...it was a sad day in D-ville as I wanted to love this scent...I really did!

[angelicruin]

This scent is :love!: on my skin. It's a beautiful blend of vanilla, red currant, and a bit of citrus tempered with sage and cedar.

[surlygurl]

OH YUM RED CURRANT!!!! Yup - my first sniff. On my arm, same thing only softer. And sweeter, like red currant candy. I'm guessing that the french vanilla is the thing 'gentling' the currant. There's no wood to speak of, but as it dries, the currant / vanilla combo becomes clearer and brighter. Very pretty, a little tart, not too complex. This would be perfect for my friends teenage daughter.

[cherrycherry]

Pretty, soft, woody. I enjoy the lighter woody scents and this blend fits the bill perfectly.

 

Also, the label art is adorable <3

[zankoku_zen]

Warm, fruity vanilla. I get hint of the mandarin, and red currant. Not my favorite type of scent... I guess I don't like to combine fruits + vanilla.

 

Pretty, warm, floral.

[puck_nc]

Origin: decant circle

 

Initial Thoughts: This was just a shot in the dark. Several of these notes are love, a couple are iffy.

 

In the imp: Currants, dusted with sweet spices and a citrusy zing in the background. Festive and pretty.

 

Wet: Rich and fruity and sweet, with a suggestion of chill that may be the cedar.

 

Drydown: The spices come to the forefront, but the currant and fruits continue to lurk underneath.

 

Verdict: This is a surprisingly nice combination on me. I'll play with the decant a little more and then decide if I'll use a bottle or not.