Corinna

[joyfulgirl]

White amber, mimosa, orris root, osmanthus, labdanum, Siamese benzoin, and jasmine sambac.

very white-smelling to me. a lovely, light, floating scent, with the jasmine leading the charge on my skin. this reminds me of easter, april showers and the first blooms of spring. it's absolutely lovely...even though i'm not a fan of florals, i may hang on to this one, as all these appear to play nicely on my skin. i would definitely wear this one on the occasion that i want a girly, floral scent.

for me, it stays true from bottle to dry down.

[Balame]

This one is a little hard for me to pin down. I do pick out the powdery sweetness of orris, osmanthus and a touch of jasmine... it's a very white floral and pure scent. "Easter" is definitely spot on, especially if you know what churches tend to smell like when they have the lilies lined up around the altar.

 

Despite the sweetness, this is quite airy and carefree. Most definitely a spring scent. There are too many florals here for me, but I'm not recoiling from it like I do with some of the stronger oils.

[stellamaris]

This is absolutely glorious...I can't wait to wear this one, it's a lovely sweet floral, reminds me not in actuality but in feeling of Leanan Sidhe, and it lasts forever.

 

Oh no...the horror, the horror...I did not notice this the first day I tested it, but today I smelled that watery note others had talked about, there it was, bleech, just ruined it for me, all that jasmine loveliness, drowned. Fortunately my best BPAL pal loves those aquatic thingies, and now she has a new Luper...sigh...

Edited February 17, 2013 by stellamaris

[Lycanthrope]

Smooth, white floral, like a wedding bouquet, in the bottle.

 

On the skin, jasmine comes rushing out at me. This is a cold, cool jasmine, not spicy or golden, and reminds me a bit of the one Grindhouse lady with the green underwater hair (oh, jeez, sorry lol). I'm hoping that the jasmine calms down, because this is all I'm detecting at this moment. There's a bit of the costus/labdanum, giving this some warmth, and if I snorf just long enough to get used to the jasmine, I can get a hint of the orangy-citrus mimosa and dusty orris. Sadly, this is definitely becoming the jasmine show on my skin, and I have to really work to get the other notes. I can't detect the osmanthus as a single note, it's probably what I'm confusing with the mimosa.

 

Has a throw like a very elegantly dressed elephant. Wowzers!

 

Not for me, I don't think.

[lady_pandora]

In the bottle: a floral blend whose notes I can't pick apart.

 

On me: JASMINE JASMINE JASMINE JASMINE JASMINE

 

I guess I've finally settled the question of which I amp more, amber or jasmine. Jasmine has dispatched all the other tributes and stands triumphant in the arena. Jasmine jasmine jasmine. To give you an idea of how much I amp jasmine, here is a list of the notes Corinna has in common with Peitho, other than the jasmine note:

 

---

 

Yet they are nearly identical on me, if memory serves. I think this is that same bright, slightly fizzy jasmine note I got from Peitho. I haven't worn Peitho in years and now I want to test them together to see if my scent memory is accurate.

 

I actually do like it, for what it's worth. It's just that I wish I could get more of the complexity out of it. I thought there were enough other notes in this, including amber (which usually loves me), that jasmine would take a back seat, but no.

[Dark Alice]

From wet to dry down: Jasmine sambac and orris root. Light gorgeous Jasmine and orris root. This will need to age a bit so the jasmine smoothes out and the benzoin kicks in. But I really really like this. It's very pretty and ethereal.

[theseagrows]

damnit, unfortunately i am amping the jasmine in this, which often smells kind of funky on me, as it does in this scent. besides that, i think i'm getting the osmanthus and orris. maybe mimosa? there seems to be some other floral in here that is not working for me. i was hoping this would be a more amber-resiny scent with hints of the florals, but alas it is a strong, sweet white floral on my skin primarily. off to swaps.

[SophieCedar]

I mistook the mimosa/jasmine combo for magnolia on 1st application, but everything separated out on the skin after a minute. Wet phase is a bit Origins/plug in air freshener type of clean (I think Orris is not my friend after all). Dry phase is way better, but I still can't shake that Origins tuberose + something smell. Not for me, but watch.. I'll be needing a bottle in a couple months.

[crebbsgirl]

Yup, on me this was screaming jasmine. I had been hoping the other notes might tame the jasmine for me, but no such luck. My skin just does not want to play when it comes to that note.

[zankoku_zen]

Sharp jasmine, orris and mimosa. It's a very white floral. The amber and benzoin make a REALLY late appearance. Meaning, three hours later this is a slightly less high pitched white floral, and slightly warmer.

 

On me, this smells like some really nice soap.

 

Meh.

[parrot_suspect]

If you like jasmine, you need to try this. It is the uber-jasmine. The jasminator.

 

Upon application, it smells like a very strong jasmine single note. Wet and loud. As it dries down, the orris and amber kick in and help soften the jasmine, so it is less intense.

 

But still, this is predominantly a jasmine fragrance. It's sweet and strong, but not sharp or headache-inducing. I'm not sure how Beth manages to pull that off, but she does! It's pretty enough that I am almost considering getting a bottle, even though I am an avowed floral hater. I think this oil would be brilliant with a colorful sundress and sandals on a hot summer day.

[ljaylh]

I was sent a tester of this from my decanter, otherwise I would never have tried it because.. jasmine, jasmine, jasmine.

 

Ayup - it's jasmine. Stinky, nasty jasmine. It's really all I can smell, which is a shame because I like a bit of labdanm and benzoin, but.. jasmine.

 

Yuk - my skin just hates this. I envy those of you who can make this one work, because it really does smell lovely in the imp. But unfortunately my skin does horrible things to it.

[surlygurl]

In the vial, this smells simply evil. Not like anything specific, just evil. But then I tried it on my skin (expecting evil), and all the notes blend together to smell like Powdery Violet(!!???!) Seriously? Yeah. As it dries, it morphs again into a very mild jasmine with other light florals. Not bad.

[Blood onmy hands]

On me, this is a perfumey, slightly soapy smelling jasmine (I think the osmanthus is making it sharper than usual). The drydown is a bit sweeter and powdery thanks to the amber and orris, but it mostly smells like jasmine soap and perfumey, sharp floral.

[OctoberGwen]

All I get from Corinna is jasmine. It's the nice kind, not the stinky cat pee one, but still...just jasmine.

 

I don't usually amp jasmine, but...yup....still just jasmine.

 

On someone else, this is probably very pretty. On me...let me check...

 

Yeah. Jasmine.

[Monday]

Very sweet and pink. I get almost all pinkish mimosa out of this when the oil is wet, there is some jasmine but it's very faint. The jasmine amps considerably when it dries down but it stays a girly pink scent. Nice but not for me.

[mymymai]

ITI: Powdery orris root with jasmine sambac are the most dominant notes in the imp. It's a bit perfumey here, but that may change on application.

 

Wet: It's similar to the ITI impression, but there is a little roundness now, I think from the amber.

 

Dry: This really doesn't change much on me. It's still orris root and jasmine sambac with a hint of amber.

[angelamaria]

In the decant: ooh! Lovely, cool, juicy floral. This is very light and almost playful, I am loving this right from the decant.

 

Wet on skin: this is a really lovely floral: is that a mix of mimosa and jasmine? It's light-feeling, almost white; a very gentle floral but with a bit of presence. I can't really pinpoint the amber or the benzoin, but I am assuming it's adding to that presence and supporting the floral notes which would otherwise be lost.

 

Dry: oh drat. That orris root ruined it for me--I'm definitely getting that grandmothery orris now that it's dry, and then that lovely, beautiful airy floral. If orris plays nice with you this shouldn't be a problem.

 

Verdict: I was quite disappointed with the orris in this blend; I really liked it and was hoping for a win here, right from the get-go.

[milo]

Bathroom, air freshener, or urinal cakes. Sorry! Over-the-top fake, heady floral. I'm getting a bit of dustiness from the orris, but that's the only recognizable scent here, besides the awful jasmine floral. I will say that the jasmine doesn't go sour on me...Blech.

[theredshoes]

Miracle of miracles, this is one of the few BPAL "high" white florals I can wear without an insta-headache, so I like it a lot for that alone.

 

 

In the bottle: Very sweet, light and feminine floral. I really liked the comparisons to a wedding bouquet and Easter lilies. It's maybe not that sweet, and slightly sharp.

 

Wet: Sharpens a little bit more, but it's not soapy or perfumey. This is definitely the All-Singing All-Jasmine show. I get maybe a little of the orris root or the amber, which seem to be weighing down the florals a bit and adding a powdery note. This is slightly girly and "juvenile" for me -- it feels like perfume for a young girl. Pretty, but simple.

 

Drydown: More of the same, maybe a little more powdery. This warms up into a nice juicy strong jasmine scent. Fades rather quickly. I doubt I'll ever get my hands on the BPAL Jasmine SN, so this appears to be a nice substitute.

 

Verdict: If you like jasmine, this is for you. If you despair of ever finding a BPAL white floral you can wear pain-free, this may also be for you. I'm keeping this, but might try it in a scent locket to see if it lasts longer, or layering it with a resin to see if I can bring out the other notes more. This could be a nice BPAL starter scent for someone (someone who doesn't get that cat-pee effect, needless to say).