Morgause

[phantasmmysteria]

Earth sorceress and mother of Mordred, she is, in essence, the harbinger of King Arthur's doom and the downfall of Camelot. She is a sister, or sister-self, to Morgan Le Fay. A bouquet of five night-blooming flowers deepened by dusky violet, purple fruits and the barest breath of medieval incenses.

In the imp: Sweet and sharp. I can smell the fruit and incense immediately.

Upon application, this smells exactly like incense I used to purchase from a shop in my hometown many, many years ago. For that association alone I love it! It's definitely rich and luxurious (violet incense, yum), but more of a nighttime scent because it is a little heavy. This would be amazing for the dead of winter.

The throw is definitely above average -- I opened the imp and applied just a smidge while sitting in my cubicle, and a coworker smelled it as she was walking in from the other side of the wall!

I think this requires a big bottle.

[furygrrl]

In the imp: Sweet, sweet flowers.

 

On wet: HOLY Florals! Like I've just tromped through a wet garden at night - a garden FULL of uber heady blooms. Nothing 'purple' to speak of - this is more a damp, greenish scent so far. It's somewhat overwhelming, but not wholly unpleasant.

 

Drydown: Jasmine. Maybe moonflower. There's a high-pitched sweetness - candy-like, almost - that usually means violets to my nose. I think I've located the plum peeking out from between the flowers - it's that same deep, more-crimson-than-purple sweet-tartness I got from Frumious Bandersnatch and Bathsheba. The light lick of incense underneath everything is almost nonexistent, but it's there when I inhale and concentrate, nicely grounding all those rioting flowers and swirly plum fumes.

 

Overall: Perfumey. Sweet. Rich. Heady. Definitely an evening/cold weather scent (for me, anyway). Floral-heavy blends are definitely not my bag, baby, but this one, thanks to the plum and incense, has quite a bit more depth than a typical, straight-up floral. There's a tempering warmth that adds both interest and a somewhat addictive quality - I keep huffing my wrist to seek it out! Not a fragrance I can see myself wearing, but a very classy, elegant composition, to say the least. 3/5

[MurderOfCrows]

In the Vial: Floral, purple. Lots of violets, hints of other things.

 

On Wet: Violets laced with incense. Very potent, with a sort of smokey undertone -- not like the smell of smoke, but I suppose tha's the incense wafting around the violets and other florals. It's a very womanly scent -- not old lady floral.

 

Drydown: I never once get a whiff of the purple fruits that are supposedly in this scent. It's all florals and incense, which is okay. It looses some of it's heady strength and tames itself a bit, turning into a gentler purple floral on me.

 

Not bad, but not as fantastic as I had hoped. I'll probably use the imp, but I don't know if I'll buy a bottle.

[Babylon]

Sharp, overpowering floral perfume. My skin mangled this scent!

[naiade]

I amp the incense, so I get the sweetness of the fruits / florals tempered by the dusty dry smokiness of the incense! <3

 

I wish I know what these incense notes are, though. They make me happy, and are perfect with the florals!

 

Big bottle on the way.

[ClareN]

This is a hard one to review. First applied, I get a weird savory-food vibe from it, with cucumber, cumin, and coriander, competing with some white floral (that's the night-blooming flowers). Then it's mostly sweet white floral - the dusty, papery white florals I can't tolerate (like half the people on this forum, it seems). It's a bit different from the typical BPAL floral though: there's a hint of dry spices underneath, with just a little bit of the violet and incense coming through to make it interesting. The incense gets stronger as it wears on. Take out the night-blooming flowers, and I might love it.

 

If you can do BPAL's white florals and you like incense, this is quite an interesting blend. I can't wear it, but do try it for yourself.

[CrazyPretzel]

In the imp: Sweet, clear, like the ringing of a bell.

 

Wet on me: This starts to get deeper straight away. There's some berry/plum blended with smoky incense, and a sharp green note. There's a hint of soap that might be jasmine in some form, but it's not overpowering. ...though as time passes, the florals begin to grow stronger and stronger...

 

After five minutes: I think I was smelling *violets* and not jasmine. The violets are strong now, quite sweet but weighted down by the incense. I realise that 'incense' is not very specific but I can't quite identify it -- it's not frankincense; it smells quite ponderous, like something a temple priestess would burn at night. This fragrance makes me think of heavy purple velvet -- it seems much more velvety to me than Velvet does. Still just a tiny touch of berry/plum that fades in and out.

 

Drydown: Rich, dark flowers; incense and just a little bit of purple fruit.

 

Ultimately I don't really know what to make of this one! At first whiff the violets are a bit off-putting for me, but then if I sniff again the incense and fruits are just wonderful. I think I'll hang on to the imp.

[aquazoo]

Nice heavy floral! This stays as what it starts as. (Is that a sentence?) Steady and consistent.

[filigree_shadow]

I'm pretty sure there's night-blooming jasmine in this, because that's what I smell. Maybe a little bit of violet, but not much. I'm not really getting fruits or incense, mostly just the jasmine. That's too bad because I probably would have liked violet and purple fruits. When it's totally dry it seems like I can smell the violet better, but it's still not strong enough for me to like this. I just don't get along with jasmine.

[JenM]

In the imp: a strong, heady floral wit, as it says, a breath of incense.

 

On the wrist: How strange. I get almost a pine scent. That must be the incense. It’s the same on both wrists.

 

On drydown, I get a strongly jasmine-y scent. There are other, more haunting echoes, but I can’t identify them

 

After a couple of hours, it’s still there. On the right wrist I get the faintest hints of fruits; on the left, a violet/jasmine combo. The violets are heading towards a powdery direction.

 

After three hours: very faint, and the incense has come to the fore. It’s not unpleasant, and it’s violet-scented. Like Parma violets on the right wrist; more airy floral on the left.

 

Eight hours later and there’s still a faint waft! Longest lasting BPAL scent on me ever! I’ll keep it just for that!

[Lethran]

Very Green, very floral. It's okay, if you like that sort of thing, but completely unremarkable, perfumey, and quick fading.

[bryghtrose]

Wet: lovely floral incense, with a hint of rose.

It dries dusky and mellow, but it fades too quickly.

[hkhm]

imp: lots and lots of florals. i don't catch a hint of violet so let's hope this one works out on me (fingers crossed).

 

wet: the violet does rear up in this a bit but stays a bit subdued thanks to all the other florals. i still think the violet is ruining it for me.

 

dry: the violet faded a bit but i'm still catching it as a jarring note. i love the scent of violets so much, why can't it smell good on me?

[RogueBelle]

I thought this one was nice but not spectacular, but I happened to be trying it out for the first time when the Boy was visiting, and he really went wild for it. I don't know what it was he found so appealing, but I'll have to wear it again to find out. I don't usually go for overly floral scents, but somehow this one is dark enough that I rather like it. Not cloying at all, like I often find florals.

[ceiswyn]

In the imp: The flower sweetness of jasmine or honeysuckle, with a drier afterscent that could be a faint touch of sandalwood.

 

On the wrist: Honeysuckle/jasmine. Did I mention honeysuckle/jasmine? The throw is all rich, sweet flowers; close to the wrist it's much drier, with some kind of dry flower-scent such as orange blossom inextricably blended with a trace of light wood or musk that must be the incense.

 

One hour later: A dry, dusty jasmine/honeysuckle. I think they were just lying about the violet and fruit.

[Czarina]

There must be something wrong with my body chemistry, or this imp is stale (or perhaps too new). I catch a faint whiff of aldehydes, and that's about it. It had little throw or wearlength.

 

Strange. And very disappointing, because I want scents with violet in them. I love violet.

 

But I can't smell violet in this. Meh.

 

To the swaps wi' ye, lassie!

[Juushika]

I purchased this while in search of a purple scent. Generally, florals don't do much for me. I've had limited experience with plum and grape, and good experiences with incense.

 

In the vial: Vaguely unpleasant, and I think also vaguely medicinal. It's smoky, a little bittersweet, and might smell like ... grape cough syrup, but less sugary.

 

On me: The medicinal smell disappears almost as soon as the oil goes on, and the scent warms up into a very distinct coupling of rich, slightly sweet purple fruit and heavy incense. The purple fruit has the decadent sweetness of fig, but, unfortunately, that's where the goodness ends. It's purple, flat, and the sweetness is almost cloying or fake, reminding me again of grape cough syrup. The incense is smoky black and very strong. The two elements aren't very well blended on me, and instead almost seem to compete.

 

Over time: I've tested this blend three times. After about an hour, it's dried down twice to unpleasant and unnatural flat sweet purple fruit, and once to a pleasant smoky purple/dark gray/black incense. I don't much care for the fruit drydown, but the incense drydown is pleasant. All told, the scent has a pretty substantial throw and is very potent close to the skin.

 

Verdict: I wanted to like this scent (Shakespeare geek, looking for a "purple" blend, and I like the incense drydown), but I'll pass on this imp. Not an easy decision, and I did have to test it three times--if my body chemistry were more predictable, I'd feel better about either keeping or passing on this imp. As it is, the overall blend is too strong for me, and the purple stages and drydown aren't to my style, even though I rather like it when it goes black incense on me. I don't want to take a risk with the fake purple fruit each time I wear it.

 

For those that are curious, Phantom Queen is my current pick is a purple blend, but I'm still looking for more.

[Elvena]

I'm very new to describing but this scent is just perfect!

 

Out of the bottle, incense and something woodsy kind of makes me think of running through a dew damp garden at midnight in the summer after standing at a bonfire.

 

On the skin it is heavenly. I smell the violets and the incense....But then it's alarmingly like grape kool-aid.

 

On dry down this has turned absolutely heavenly on my skin. It's like dark dark purple velvet. I still feel like I'm standing in a summer garden with violets and plums and it's just fantastically wonderful. I am seriously in love. I'm going to use the imp a few times to make sure but I truly believe I want a bottle of this!

[rachel2205]

This surprised me by being very light on me - delicate florals with a very faint touch of violet, plus a slightly herbal note which I think is the incense (not really the kind of incense I expected!). Quite pretty, though I don't reckon this one's a keeper.

[fourspecialgirls]

Floral, but not in a headache inducing way...I love the incense in this and I get more deep dark fruits, like wine, that florals.

 

good stuff.

[laforetnoire]

In the bottle, it's very floral. I cannot definitely tell where are the violets into that bouquet, but it's well mixed and balanced with the other scents.

 

When I applied it, it reminded me of something very familiar but I can't remember what. The scent is strong, and like every one said before, its very sophisticated.

 

A couple a minutes after, I remember! Its smells exactly like jasmine incense! I really love is scent. I will definitely buy a bigger bottle.

[suki]

in the imp: a dark, musky floral.

 

wet on skin: the amber comes out a bit, and something sweet, like lily of the valley.

 

dry down: there's something vaguely violet about this blend, but it's gone quite powdery and dusty, like finding your great grandmother's scented hanky in the attic.

 

in all: if you are fond of powdery nostalgic florals, you'll love this. me? i'm swapping it out!

 

 

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Jasmine and violet.

 

Immediately on skin: This doesn’t smell very complex… it’s a smoky mix of jasmine and a hint of violet on me. The violet seems to give a watery feel to the jasmine, which is usually very thick on me, so that’s nice.

 

After a little while: I was so afraid that the jasmine would become very strong in this, but that’s not what happened at all. Other floral notes seem to have come out and joined the jasmine and violet, as well as a hint of the “purple fruits.” This is a very light floral scent now with hints of jasmine, violet, some other bluer feeling flowers, a hint of berry-like fruit, and something a little soapy.

 

Overall Impressions: This is a nice light floral. The jasmine behaves itself, and the violet blends in nicely (I tend to have problems with those notes overtaking other blends). It faded very fast though… within an hour and a half or so, it was so light I couldn’t smell it until I put my nose right up to my skin.

[fairnymph]

In the bottle: Green, fresh, and white-floral.

 

Wet: Way more floral, but still some of that fresh-greenness.. Maybe a HINT of soapiness, in a clean not yucky way. Very classic-purefumey to me, feminine. Maybe that's the violet? I think my skin likes violet. I'm not getting any fruit or incense.

 

Dry: The fruit is coming out now - weird! The floral is still strong but has become less overwhelming.

 

Summary: White floral with hints of purple fruits. Quite nice! Very strong throw.

[ariosa]

Sharp, overpowering. Mostly violet, which sometimes I like on my skin, and sometimes I don't. After a while it settles, and more of the incense comes out. I admit to feeling disappointed about it, though because I was hoping it would be more night blooming flowers, and less violet. I'll pass this on to a friend that I think it will smell lovely on! It's beautiful, but just not me