Rapture

[naeelah]

Sensual ecstasy, the blinding red fire of the apex of sexual pleasure: Moroccan rose, Sumatran rose, mandarin, Egyptian myrrh, night-blooming jasmine, bergamot and neroli thrust into Arabian musk.

So far, this one doesn't seem to morph very much for me. The strongest note is, by far, rose. Rich, red rose, like Mata Hari and Peacock Queen. The myrrh and musk seem to blend together, to my nose, forming a rich, lightly smoky, resiny base. With the rose, it's a sumptuous combination. Not too delicate, but not dark and heavy.

Neither the jasmine nor the mandarin is really standing out for me. I think I can smell just the lightest hint of mandarin and bergamot in the background, and perhaps some sweetness from the jasmine, but the core of this scent is definitely the roses.

The throw is on the good side of average. It's definitely noticeable from a distance. Don't know yet about wear life.

I think this is my favorite rose musk blend, so far. It has more of a traditional rose oriental perfume quality, and it doesn't go funky on my skin chemistry. It's rich and sophisticated. Definitely try this if you like Mata Hari, Peacock Queen, Rose Cross, Coco Chanel (or classic orientals in general), or just if you're fond of roses! Edited January 15, 2008 by naeelah

[Emerrific]

Goodness! This is just lovely.

 

Rose works well with my skin, Jasmine however (even though I love it) is sort of hit or miss. This blend is rosy and warm, with the sort of Jasmine that does not go too sharp on me. The myrrh and musk give it a bit of depth, while the citrusy notes lift it up. All in all this blend is gorgeous warm, and feels golden.

 

I feel sexy with it on...not the OH MY GOSH super sexual-sexy I feel when I wear 'O'...but just a warm pretty, sensual sort of sexy. It is very very nice.

 

I can imagine wearing this often. I'll use my imp gladly, and may even purchase a big bottle.

[taramarie]

On me, Rapture is rose, jasmine, and a little neroli. It's pretty but I was expecting more. Maybe age will improve it.On me, Rapture is rose, jasmine, and a little neroli. It's pretty but I was expecting more. Maybe age will improve it.

[fairnymph]

In the bottle: Jasmine-floral, perfume-y, hint of greenery.

 

Wet: Here comes the musk - it's warm and sexy. Jasmine amped as well, and I can smell the roses coming out. I can smell a hint of neroli, but no bergamot.

 

Dry: Jasmine, musk, and soap (neroli always does this on me), with a hint of rose.

 

Summary: Without the soapiness, it'd be quite a lovely jasmine based scent. I'll have to give up on neroli - combined with jasmine, it goes to powder-soap.

Edited April 13, 2008 by fairnymph

[butcherbaby]

i am so happy with this scent, it's beautiful, and a total winner!

 

in the bottle, the rose, jasmine and myrrh are predominant. it's a lovely combination, very sweet and inscensy.

after i slather it on, i get the smell of...baby oil? but not the cheap johnson's kind. this is high end baby oil imported from france or someplace equally snobby & refined, and seasoned with a lovely blend of floral and spices. it is deceptively light and soft, but slowly strengthens and gets spicier as it warms & dries. the musk is warm and sweet without being too strong (not like that is possible for my musk loving skin, ha.) the throw is steady but not overpowering, and it doesn't get eaten by my especially scent hungry PMS-ing skin. also, my skin does not amp the roses into the sharp screeching medicinal pungency that a lot of the lab rose oils tend to. it lasts for a good five or six hours before i wash it off to try another scent in my huge pile o' imps.

 

this ends up being a beautiful resiny/insence/musky floral, very 'harem-y' without being too overpowering, which will be awesome for the warm spring & summer weather. going on the big bottle list for sure!

Edited May 1, 2008 by butcherbaby

[SarahScent44]

In the imp, this is a blend of the roses and the orange-y scents of the mandarin, bergamot, and neroli - there's a sense of layers.

 

On my skin, however, it's almost entirely jasmine - weird.

 

When it dries, it's mostly jasmine still, with a hint of musk - very subtle, but not for me.

[gchris]

In Vial: Whew! Strong perfume

 

Wet: Powdery, probably the rose, it always does this to me. Still strong perfume.

 

Dry: Very powdery and still strange, with rose in the background.

 

ADDED Aug. 17:

 

In Vial: Whew! Strong perfume

 

Wet: Powdery and still strong perfume

 

Dry: Still powdery and strong with rose.

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Jasmine, musk, and soft, wafting citrus.

 

Immediately on skin: The jasmine just jumps out at me mixed with a little resin, but following behind is light musk and a very soft, sweet citrus note. The rose is sprinkled over the whole blend, smoothing it all together.

 

After a little while: This is a very smooth, smoky floral scent of jasmine blended with rose and a hint of sweet neroli with a base of subtle musk. The resin note disappeared completely upon drydown.

 

Overall Impressions: This is a cooler, sweeter and very smooth jasmine blend. The other notes do well to tone it down, and the little hints of rose, citrus, and musk blend in nicely. It’s a nicely complex and well blended scent that changes subtly as I sniff it. A very evocative blend for sure.

[diamondstars]

Rose and jasmine! This is lovely. I can wear this and pretend it's a proper Summer!

[skepticism]

A really strong floral on my skin. The jasmine calms down the rose note's sweetness, thank god. I think I have a penchant for jasmine, especially the night-blooming kind (there was another night-blooming jasmine blend I liked...either Nuit or Nyx...). Throughout the the day more rose and bergamot began to surface and sweeten on my skin, which was sort of a bummer for me. I had hopes that maybe the mandarin would add a clean, citrusy scent to balance the sweetness, but no. Still not sure if I'd buy a bottle of this, since the drydown ended up being a little too sweet on me. It's lovely as a sniffie, though.

[maika]

In the imp, musk (obviously) but an incense musk. Very interesting.

 

Wet, I realise where I'm getting the incense note from...all my favourite incense scents are all here - rose, jasmine, myrrh - which to my nose is always smoky in it's own right anyway. This is amazing...

 

Dry, this is ridiculously sexy - but that's not really a surprise, is it? This is gorgeous, so many gorgeous elements, and none of them are doing weird things on me. I'm definitely going to be needing LOTS of this. And I know just the person to wear it with, too...

 

The only downside is that it seems to disappear very quickly (like an hour)...but I love this enough that I must have it, even if I have to keep applying it...after all, I don't necessarily want it for an every day perfume.

[Iceblink]

Strong, STRONG jasmine taking over everything. A bit of rose and a bit of fruit (mmm, mandarin) but mainly just jasmine. Very floral, very perfumey. If you love jasmine you'll love Rapture.

[arithmetock]

This is the scent that made me realize I love jasmine. I think Rapture is absolutely wonderful, and I'll definitely be getting a bottle. It's fresh and lovely, and a total confidence booster.

[sleepflower]

In the imp, soft jasmine.

 

Fresh on skin, it blooms to a dark rose, a little powderiness, and wood? I do not know where the wood component is coming in. It is a beautiful, dark scent, though. More seductive than outright carnal, if that makes sense.

 

After a while, well, it does not morph all that much, just gets softer, but I do not mean fainter. It turns from a little powdery to a little sweet, but it is overall a dark, seductive scent. Perhaps a very womanly, mature coquette?

 

I have no idea how many rose scents I will end up with, but so far I think I love every BPAL rose scent I have tried.

 

I just wish the throw were better. It smells beautiful but it seems that my skin just eats it up. Perhaps when I get a bottle I will be a little more liberal in its application.

[zankoku_zen]

This one was a musky rose with a light jasmine. Sexy, pretty and very close to the skin.

[stillalive]

Rawr, I forgot that I'm not a rose person... ah well! I'll have my friend sniff it and if she doesn't like it I'm sure someone will buy it or swap for it.

[rayvn1]

I was surprised that the rose didn't come out until dry. This is a beautiful, calming blend for me considering that I usually amp rose and jasmine to nuclear proportions

[crebbsgirl]

Another blend that went ROSE!! on me. Although this one went through a drydown of ROSE!!! Then ROSEY JASMINE!! Then ROSEY JASMINE woods!!! and that was it. If rose is a predominant note, I can't wear it.

[Lyrical]

In bottle: a floral with rose and jasmine. Not bad in the imp, but jasmine doesn't usually start to work its evil until it hits my skin, so I'm not optimistic!

 

Wet on skin: rose, jasmine, not all that bad!

 

Dry on skin: inoffensive rose and jasmine, with lovely Arabian musk. The other notes aren't distinct, but deepen the scent.

[blacklacestatic]

In the imp: Sharp floral

 

Wet: OMG Jasmine! This is a problem I have with most anything containing jasmine. It amps like crazy and smells too sharp, kinda like someone sprayed too much heavy perfume in a public restroom. Jasmine and I are not friends.

 

Drydown: Luckily, the jasmine tires out and the rose gets a chance to make itself known. Now it's actually kinda pretty. I do very much like Bpal's roses. It's a very sexy, sweet rose. If it only didn't take a few hours of yuck to get here.

 

Overall: It's a shame, because the drydown is gorgeous, but the initial hours of this on me are kind of agonizing. Stupid jasmine.

[jencallisto]

In the imp: A delicate rose-based floral, extremely soft and sweet.

Fresh on the skin: Perfectly candied orange peel and a bit of heady, powdery floral.

10 minutes later: I think this may be too heady and powdery for me. And suddenly my nose is stuffed up and I want to sneeze. It's quite close to something I'd really like, but something about it just doesn't still well with me.

30 minutes later: Soft, heady, powdery floral, rose and something else more yellow that I assume is the jasmine. Still not exactly me.

1 hours later: This has softened down to a quite nice light heady floral, mostly a kind of pink rose and an ethereal yellow jasmine. Powdery in a way that flirts with soapy, but doesn't cross over the line.

1.5 hours later: Faded and powdery and actually rather lovely, though there's still hints of the headiness of yore.

3 hours later: Wispy powdery sweet floral, barely there.

6 hours later: Totally and completely gone.

 

Verdict: Enh. I'll try it again and see if I haven a different reaction, but it wouldn't surprise me if my thoughts didn't change one bit. A fast burn, with the beginning being way to heady for me and the end because a bit more powdery than I'd like. It was never terrible, but also never more than moderately pretty.

 

One phrase: heady, powdery floral.

[FallDaze]

In the imp - rose, jasmine and just a hint of mandarin. A lot nicer than I was anticipating! I was expecting the musk and myrrh to jump out at me, but this is very pleasant!

 

Wet - Ahhh here we go, the spicy musky myrrh has brutally pushed it's way to the front. Spices and musks are definitely amped on my skin.

 

Eventually this morphs into a sandy rose. Dusty, musk drenched roses in the desert! Nice, but musks are not too good for me.

[awesomeoverlord]

Wow! Lots and lots of floral -- I can't even begin to untangle this. Sharp perfumey floral, and it pretty much stays that way until it disappears on me

[NeWorryPas]

In the vial: I smell neroli and sweet orange oil or mandarin quite strongly... It almost smells like the mandarin in Lush's HAPPY 4 SAD showergel. I can smell the Jasmine too, but it's not a Jasmine blend that I'm familiar with.

 

On the skin: I'm not keen on this on my skin. Something is making it turn into a very 'perfumey' smell. Maybe it's just too complex for my feeble schnozz, but the Jasmine sticks out for me, whilst I love the initial neroli and mandarin smells. It's a sophisticated scent, perhaps nicer on someone a little older than myself (18).

 

I'll probably find a mood for this one, but I won't be buying a 5ml, just a touch too floral and mature for me I think.

[magikalbrownies]

at first whiff - it smells like a full bouquet of a gazillion different types of flowers but slightly soapy - im reminded of my bounty laundrey softner

 

applied - roses. lots of them.

 

wet - it smells so much lighter but still smells like fabric softner to me.

 

all in all, this will stay an imp. it gave me a headache for the time i had it on.