L’Essence du Cœur Libéré des Ténèbres Extrait

[mxtine]

L'essence du Cœur Libéré des Ténèbres Extrait

Sweet vanilla orchid, red sandalwood, and ylang ylang emerging from a dark shroud of fossilized amber, East Indian black patchouli, black pomegranate, guaiac wood, Peru balsam, and oudh.

This is my first time testing an extrait. The first spray was a shock because I smelled a blast of alcohol. It burned off after a couple seconds and left the scent of fresh woods, balsam, and ylang ylang. Further drying revealed sweet orchid and fleeting pomegranate. As it dried completely, the sandalwood, amber and patchouli base notes shine through. The end result is a sweet, woody patchouli on my skin.

This is exquisite!

[tativa]

Mmm sexy wood. I love this. There is a sweetness from the pomegranate that is pretty prominent, but other than that I don't pick out any single note, its a woody smokey resin base. Kind of makes me think of 2010 Pom IV, cept with no chocolate (just something chocolate like) and less sharp.

[sharkdiver]

This is really beautiful! At first, I get the woods, sandalwood, and amber the strongest...but then further from the wrist, I am catching whiffs of the vanilla Orchid and the pomegranate I really like this a Lot!

[wishingwell]

On me, this isn't as sweet as others have said. It does start out as a really lovely, sweet woody scent, very well blended.. more vanilla orchid than pomegranate for me. But as it dries I lose the sweetness and it turns into something resembling dry clove and pepper. I'm guessing that's all the woods and maybe the ylang ylang (we don't always get along, Ylang and I) reminding me that I do best with simpler wood blends. Not that I'm complaining -- it's still a lovely scent. I'll wait a bit and test it again to see if maybe a little time will help me out on this one.

 

As an aside, though.. this over the Vanilla Bourbon bath oil is wow, amazing.

[ajansuz]

OMG. This is just divine. On my skin, the ylang ylang and sandalwood are the most prominent. Nothing else jumps out individually. It's not overly sweet, just extremely sensual, a little woodsy, and more sophisticated than a lot of ylang ylang blends tend to be on me. My husband adored this. It made for a very nice Valentine's Day.

 

Throw is medium. Staying power maybe around four hours or so before it mellows down to just a hint of vanilla close to the skin. My biggest regret is that there's not a lot of it. This is a fragrance I'd slather like there was no tomorrow if I had more of it. I will enjoy this while I can and probably use it all too quickly to see how well it ages.

[AmyO'Shields]

A forumite frimped me a tester of this exquisite stuff in my decant circle package. This is addictive...reminds me quite a bit of Crypt King (which is wonderful) and I wish I could do a proper review, but I just can't. It's gorgeous, and I am over the moon that I got to try it.

[Ghost of a Rose]

My imp is a decanted frimp from the most generous azurephoenix! It is a special offering and required special effort to get. I am so lucky that I got to try it, thanks to her!!

 

In the imp: The perfume is clear and a deep golden yellow with a tint of pink to it. It smells very perfumey - like a lovely expensive perfume; with pomegranate, patchouli, and ylang ylang predominating.

 

On me, wet: It is much the same, but with the addition of the woods and a hint of balsam. The pomegranate is the main player, but closely followed by the florals. Is it my imagination, or do I detect a faint whiff of vanilla? Does the vanilla orchid smell anything like the vanilla bean?

 

After 10 minutes: As it dries, I become more convinced that the vanilla isn't just my imagination. Much of the fruitiness has already dissipated, and it's now mainly florals and woods. Even the patchouli and ylang ylang (which tend to be divas) are peacefully and quietly blending in with the other notes. This is an elegant, formal, and sophisticated scent.

 

After 20 minutes: It has changed character completely! The florals have lightened up, which brings out more of the pomegranate again. But the main aspect by far is the woods, which now gives it a more casual, but dignified, mood that would be perfect for the office. It has an understated, professional kind of femininity.

 

After 30 minutes: Still primarily wood, with the pomegranate and florals about equal in the background.

 

After 1 hour: Same as above.

 

After 2 hours: This is not a long-lasting fragrance; it is already very delicate. Mostly sandalwood and amber, with a lingering hint of the florals and pomegranate.

 

After 3 hours: Faint powdery sandalwood and amber.

 

After 5 hours: I can still smell just a trace of it. It did last reasonably long after all, it's just soft and subtle after the first hour.

 

Verdict: Feminine, unusual, and very lovely. Also interesting in the way it goes through two totally different moods.

 

My rating: 4 and a half stars

Edited February 24, 2012 by Ghost of a Rose

[Incendiare]

It's cool that I finally get to try an extrait. Weird to smell alcohol in a BPAL blend! On me, it's very dry, as expected. Patchouli tends to hate me so I actually expected to hate this. It's not really that bad. I think the pomegranate and amber soften the blow a bit. The ylang ylang comes and goes every time I sniff. The red sandalwood is on the drier side here too. I can see earthy lovers loving this one, for sure.

[ljaylh]

I received this as a gift from my beautiful friend stargirl

 

This is the third extrait from BPAL/BPTP that I've tried (the others being Snake Oil and White Pumpkin), and it's by far the most subtle and soft - interesting colour too, it's a lovely reddish-golden orange. I did one spritz on my arm at first, but could barely smell it, so I layered another spritz over the top.. that worked. And this one is quite delicate and transparent - I don't get that hit of fragrance like I do when an oil hits my skin. But that's what makes the extraits interesting - you feel more immersed in the fragrance rather than having it focused on one particular spot on your skin

 

So yeah.. delicate and transparent, which was a surprise considering the notes - I've never really known black patchouli and balsam and oudh to be 'delicate'! And it's somehow quite refreshing, invigorating. The black pomegranate here is beautiful - unlike regular pomegranate, which usually smells like raspberry candy on my skin, this one is much less fruity and works beautifully with the earthy/woodsy tones of the patchouli and guaiac wood. There's a definite duskiness, which would be from the sandalwood and amber, but I'm not getting much in the way of sweetness from it; I expected some tropical type sweetness from the vanilla orchid and ylang ylang combo but I'm not getting that at all, I only noticed it when I was spraying it on me - I could hardly notice either the vanilla orchid or the ylang ylang once everything had settled on my skin for a few minutes. Balsam is the missing ingredient for me - I'm not picking that up at all.

 

This really is quite lovely - sadly, it doesn't stick around for very long at all on my skin, and the subtle tones of the individual notes flatten down and lose their vibrance after a while - I would need to be re-spraying this every couple of hours to really enjoy it through a whole day. It actually lasts longer in my hair than on my skin, and the vanilla orchid/ylang ylang sweetness is more noticeable in my hair than on my skin. But it has a smooth, dusky, fresh and alive vibe about it that in my mind goes perfectly with du Cœur Libéré des Ténèbres - being free from the heart of darkness - it's beautiful, and I would buy a BIG bottle of it if I could

[zankoku_zen]

Sexy woods. I get vanilla orchid, sandalwood, and patchouli. It's dark and potently sexy. It was odd to smell alcohol in a BPAL blend, but it dissipated quickly.

 

Smooth, dusky, woodsy.

[Missy_killer]

There isn't really any "to my nose" here, since it's in a spray bottle I couldn't smell a thing when I got it.

On me: Starts of really heavy and dark, with an alcohol notethat burns off quickly.

I don't really get any notes, but it makes me think ofa garden. After a while this really has potential of being something I like:smells like really deep red fruits (I suspect the pomegranate). Both sweet anda little sour. Unfortunately that part only lasts for a couple of minutes, thenthe ylang-ylang takes over and crushes this scent for me. It turned into somethingvery heady and headache-y.

That being said, this is NOT a perfume for me. I get a headache just looking at the bottle, and will probably never wear this. Off to a better, loving home it is!

[milo]

I can tell right away this is a different kind of bpal, as I'm getting the cooling effects of the alcohol right away. Scentwise, I'm getting a tart pomegranate laced with something musky and dark, with a bit of a 'bite'. It's been awhile since I smelled Crypt Queen, but it seems vageuly familiar to this one, though Crypt Queen smells dirtier somehow. This is fresh and dark all at the same time, and I would definitely purchase more if I could. For now, it is nice to just get to try this.

[theseagrows]

at first spray there was something kind of funky smelling-maybe the woods and patchouli, but after a few moments that disappeared and the amber and orchid came out more, making it smell like a dry, woody floral. it gets sweeter and the pomegranate comes out more. at this point it's a resiny-pomegranate-orchid scent i think. it's kind of nice and unlike any bpal i recall trying before. once it's settled into my skin, it's mostly vanilla, orchid, amber and pomegranate. very pretty.

[Monster]

This is one of the most gorgeous perfumes I have ever had the pleasure of smelling. There is no end to Beth's talent!

 

At first application I'm getting mostly guaiac wood and Peru balsam. As it warms to my skin, it's a melange of resins and woods with smallest bit of orchid flower. Dry, it's resinous woods. This is classy, sexy, totally gorgeous and reminds me of an incredibly expensive boutique perfume by Tauer or Bois 1920. This could easily be a sister scent to L`Air du Desert Marocain. I wish I could get my hands on more of this stuff. <3

Edited February 13, 2014 by Monster

[Monday]

This smells so vintage. Very fruity and a bit floral. Maybe it's aging badly but I get no amber or patchouli at all. It's a bit of a jumble of notes, pomegranate is the most prominent then the wood and a bit of orchid. This isn't working for me.

[ih8perfume]

Oh my! This is lovely! It has aged amazingly well.

 

This is one of those "never say never" scents. I haven't had success with pomegranate, but it lends a dark, juicy undertone to what is otherwise a somewhat masculine, outdoorsy scent. The other "never" is Fossilized Amber, which I was not find of as an essential oil. But it is a standout in this blend and I enjoy it here immensely. It adds a luscious dry mustiness.

 

The soaring beauty in this, though, is the balsam. It is absolutely magical. It is both the light and the shadow of the forest. Sunshine, green leaves and fir needles and evergreen sap and mouldering leaves.

 

And while I am usually not a fan of alcohol based perfumes, the alcohol in this makes the scent swirl around me in a heady cloud and that seems less personal scent and more mobile personal atmosphere.

 

I so wish this were a regular scent because I could smell like this for ages.

[tinyvulture]

Well, I don't know what makes an extrait an extrait. But this is a gorgeous, fruity blend. The pomegranate is ripe and juicy to bursting, and the guaiac wood and peru balsam woodsy notes support the pomegranate beautifully, as does the warm amber. After a minute, the patchouli comes out, also blending in perfectly. I'm not really getting any floral from this. I'd call it a distant relative of Florence (which is amber/red berries, while this is amber/pomegranate.) I love what amber does when mixed with fruit! So sparkling and elegant. And I especially love this amber/fruit combo thanks to the addition of woods and patchouli. Just perfect.