Time Does Not Bring Relief

[brilliantcat]

Remembrance: Parma violet and leather accord with beeswax, Egyptian musk, orange blossom, white tea, lavender, myrrh, and copal.

In the bottle: Lavender, something sweet, either the orange blossom or the violet.

Immediately after application: Lavender and white tea. A slight touch of sweetness.

Warming up: Lavender, orange blossom, beeswax.

Fading: Lavender and beeswax.

Faded: Average throw, average wear.

Overall: Where were you hiding, leather? Too perfumey of a scent for me.

Edit: 2013 version. Imp: Sweet violets and orange blossom. Wet: Violets, lavender, and dare I say, leather? I also get hints of the beeswax, which is lovely. Dry: OH WOW this is heavenly! I get mostly soft beeswax with hints of violets and lavender. Much different from the previous version. I definitely need a bottle

[Twiggy]

I bought this out of purely sentimental reasons - it was discontinued but I had to have it this year so purchased it from a forumite.

The poem is something I read every couple of days lately, because my son's birthday is coming in a week - then a month later will be the second anniversary of his death.

He was, by the way, a big fan of how mom smelled thanks to BPAL...it was kind of a thing we did together - he loved sniffing the little bottles and vials with me.

So, this was purchased mainly to put on his little shrine I keep and I really didn't care how it smelled.

So when I received the bottle today, I was very pleased and even a little teary to discover how beautiful this scent is - and how perfectly it embodies the poem by Ms. Millay.

 

In bottle, it is very strong, the violet and lavender with a bit of sweet musk leap out.

 

Wet, it is nearly overwhelmingly violet-lavender-beeswax.

 

Dry...oh, lovely. Soft, lightly sugared violets and beeswax with just a hint of something that calls to mind the "aged", old-fashioned feel of the Lace scents. It definitely has a rather vintage feel. Ever so slightly powdery in a good way, just lovely.

 

I think my son would love it, too. I'm happy to give it a place of honour by his ashes.

[rhubarb3point14]

There is a wonderful punch of greenness at the beginning of this that I think is the Parma violet. Then during the remainder of the wet phase, it’s mainly orange blossom and beeswax. Finally, it morphs into a blend that is mostly myrrh and spicy furry musk and leather, with a smidgen of the orange blossom left in it. It's fantastic. Absolutely fantastic.

 

My only complaint is that my skin absolutely gobbles it up, and it doesn't have much staying power on me.

[stellamaris]

So good, violets are here, no nasty leather, take that Ricardo Montelban...

 

Bottle please.

[Katlyntje]

In my decant this blends beautifully. It's difficult to pick out individual notes . . . except for the orange blossom and a touch of myrrh. Wet on my skin the tea jumps out into the lead role with the beeswax, myrrh and florals in support. As this dries the florals become more dominant, but not in an overwhelming way. The myrrh, musk, and copal mingle with the florals and gradually overtake them, asserting their own dominance in the dance.

 

I need to get a full bottle of this

[Dark Alice]

Wet: Fresh medicinal lavender....and something sweet. As it dries, the lavender stays true to form the violet comes out and swirls around with whatever is sweet in this imp. This is so pleasant and intoxicatingly relaxing. I adore this and will have to buy a full or partial bottle stat!

[kashmira]

This is a poignant-smelling scent for me. While the violets mostly dominate, they have a darker undertone that keeps them from going too floral. This scent reminds me of days gone past and ethereal moments that have ended all too quickly. It is the embodiment of memory eternal. I'm so glad I have a bottle.

[mymymai]

ITI: It's dark and incense-laden, which I love. I can pick up a little of the violet and leather, which adds some complexity to the scent overall.

 

Wet: The lavender is strong on my skin, overshadowing the incense a little, but enough enough so that I cannot make out the myrrh and copal.

 

Dry: The lavender has softened and sweetened, as has the incense It reminds me of an apothecary shop with a breeze blowing though it while beeswax candles burn in the back. Delicious and soothing!

[milo]

Mostly beeswax on me. I really like this and wonder why I sold my bottle from the previous years rendition. This reminds me of other honey blends, so maybe thats why. Particularly Blossoms in Springtime, which I have a full bottle of. Very nice, understated honey blend. Not cloying at all.

[tinyvulture]

Sweet violets and rugged leather together, creating something lovely. This blend gives me a calm, serene feeling. It's quiet and understated. After a minute, the beeswax is noticeable. It smells like church candles, which adds to the restrained, almost somber feeling I get from this perfume. I think I could do with a bottle, for days when everything is a little too chaotic.

[aphrodite]

(2013 version)

 

This is one of my favorite scents. I amp parma violet, which is fortunate because I looove it. The copal and beeswax (and maybe something else) mix in a way that smells like beautiful vanilla on me. Everything else is sort of quietly humming in the background, so that at first sniff it's violet and unique vanilla, but you can still tell there's something more going on.

 

The only problem I have with it is that depending on the day, I could put this on and eight hours later still feel like I smell too strong to be in public, and other days it almost immediately becomes close to the skin and within a few hours is barely there at all. I have a similar problem with The Governess, so I guess my skin chemistry is fickle about how to handle its love of violet smells - to devour or to disperse?

 

ETA: Today I feel like the leather is more present than I'd noticed before. I think it blends into the magical vanilla combo in a way that makes it a bit rougher, which is really lovely. Gods, I adore this perfume.

Edited September 17, 2013 by aphrodite

[filigree_shadow]

I have the 2011 version, so it's a bit aged at this point. It smells to me like a soft, powdery musk. The beeswax seems to make it just a little bit creamy, but none of the notes are particularly loud. I might maybe be able to pick out violet, but not really. This seems like one of those good skin scents, when you don't want a strong perfume, but you want to smell good when someone's close.

[Atrous]

2011 Version:

A decant from a friend.

 

This has aged to where none of the notes overpower. They all swirl around together into a beautiful powdery, resiny musk. I get hints of lavender and orange blossom. Even though I describe this scent as powdery there is a creamy quality there too. It's quite unusual and quite lovely. A light scent that's perfect for a summer day. If this comes out in a future Luper update I'm definitely snagging a bottle.

[ramblingrambler]

2011 Version from a blind swap:

In bottle, it smelled... interesting, to say the least. I couldn't begin to describe what scent was occupying my nose, but it wasn't a good or bad one---it just was.

 

Wet, I thought it was horrible. I was SO SAD that this blind swap didn't work out for me in the slightest (it was a four-bottle blind swap, and none of them seemed to work! Dems da breaks with a blind swap though!). I decided to keep it on just to see if it would dry down into something better. Not gonna lie, wet it smelled like an old, musty, urine-filled parking garage stairwell, and I wanted to immediately remove it. Persevering was a good call because fifteen minutes later (an interminable fifteen minutes though....), this ungodly scent morphed into full bloom. I still don't LIKE it---it's not my type of fragrance profile---but it isn't a "bad perfume."

 

Tl;Dr: This is a musky lavender with some copaiba and myrrh. I get no orange blossom at any point in wear. Not bad but not good (on me. You might have a completely different, heavenly experience. ).