Lolita

[Lethran]

Bright, sweet and youthful, but swelling with a poisonous sexuality. Glittering heliotrope, honeysuckle, orange blossom and lemon verbena.

In bottle: This is utterly imposible with my skin chemistry, so I’m only doing in bottle. This appears to be a battle between the heliotrope/honeysuckle and the citrus factions. The citrus appears to be winning. The orange and lemon are balanced. The heliotrope is stronger than the honeysuckle. All elements are distinct.

[gniwle]

Wet: Fruit loops! Seriously, this is straight fruit loops to me.

 

Dry: Still reminiscent of fruit loops, but with a sharper edge. Very much a candy, sweet oil. Not something I'd wear out and about, but when I'm just at home it's nice enough on my wrists.

[Gin]

I had forgotten how much I liked Lolita. Lemon verbena is dominant, with sweet honeysuckle and sparkly heliotrope supporting it.

[Chelse]

Lemon! Smells like the hand soap in a truck stop bathroom. Wah wah.

 

Edit: lolita and pele together smell like a truck stop bathroom ...i was over eager in my imp testing, so i didnt really get a good clean sniff. Upon second try, its just super sonic lemon!

Edited June 29, 2011 by Chelse

[sparkleyturtle]

First whiff of this put it in the no pile due to the sharp scent, which was probably the lemon, although the verbena should have lowered that.

 

When I took the chance to try it on, the sharpness does fade out when it dries a bit. Now it is more floral. Not a serious dislike anymore, but not one I would buy.

[Diva Urd]

In the vial: Sharp citrus, but the florals on top soften it enough to where it may just be wearable for me.

 

On: The citrus takes over - I smell like lemon candy. Initially, there is just the tiniest hint of flowers, but the citrus screams them into submission.

 

Later: Now it's a relatively strong heliotrope/honeysuckle mixture. The citrus has left the building. Now it's actually quite nice, but I really didn't like the beginning. Swap.

[orata]

The imp smells kind of terrible to me: very strong, sharp, almost bitter lemon verbena drowning out everything else. This too-strong note lingers for a moment when the scent is wet, then almost immediately fades into something much more beautiful and light as the flowers emerge.

 

The citrus keeps the blend gossamer and airy while it lasts. It fades into a sweet white bouquet, very soft, feminine, not too strong or artificial. It's kind of a generic (but extremely pretty) floral once the fresh note of the lemon verbena wanes; more interesting while it has that lemony, herbal note to balance the creaminess of the heliotrope and orange blossom. It's lovely, if not unusual or sophisticated.

[Gateau]

In the imp and wet -- orange blossom, nothing but orange blossom.

 

Dry -- remained pure orange blossom, and never a hint of the lemon verbena. At

the tail end of what was a fairly fast fade, got a touch of heliotrope/honeysuckle sweet flowers. Still no lemon verbena.

[Incendiare]

My initial impression of Lolita in the imp was nothing but lemon verbena, but wet, I initially get a white floral more than anything else? That quickly changes though and it morphs to a more obvious orange blossom. I can smell a bit of the lemon verbena in the background but it is almost not even there. It's nice, especially for the spring and summer. I would never buy it but I'm sure I'll use up my imp eventually.

[mari4212]

In the imp and on wet: Sweet-sharp floral. I think the Heliotrope is dominating.

 

Initial drydown: The sharpness is fading, and a bit more honeysuckle is coming out to play. It's turning out rather lovely.

 

After an hour or so: Yeah, the citrus notes are Sir-Not-Appearing-In-This-Blend. I get a light, sweet blend of honeysuckle and heliotrope. Very pretty, and good for any time I don't want to be wearing anything too heavy or noticeable.

[boomtownrat]

This was a freebie, but since the novel is one of my favourites, I was happy to try it.

 

I used only a tiny bit to test it and found that it was a soft, slightly lemony floral. It's not nearly as sweet as I was expecting and I don't get any citrus from it. Since I'm not sure what heliotrope smells like, I can only guess that was the dominant note because it wasn't honeysuckle (unfortunately for me, because that's one of my favourite scents) or anything I could immediately recognize.

 

Lolita is not the sort of thing I would normally wear, but it would be good for early spring or possibly summer when I want something light.

[mxtine]

I remember Karl Lagerdeld's Sun Moon Stars had heliotrope as a note, as well as orange blossom. Lolita reminds me a bit of that perfume after the initial blast of verbena fades. I like the smell if honeysuckle, but since I don't like wearing florals I don't see myself wearing this. I will say that this is a very sparkly young smelling fragrance. Not for a child, but for a teen (or preteen) discovering her sexuality. Beth really nailed this one and I'll probably keep the imp.

Edited January 23, 2012 by mxtine

[milo]

Fresh, citrussy floral. This is almost a glowing blend. It reminds me of late spring when everything is so lush, and the scent of flowers are filling the air. The honeysuckle does take over after awhile, but still, this reminds me of spring, and I'll enjoy the imp.

[milo]

Very fresh, bright airy floral. There's a kind of greenness at first, and then the honeysuckle comes out. The blend is now predominantly honeysuckle, but I don't mind the headiness. It reminds me of a warm spring day.

[Innocuousmold]

I really love honeysuckle so I was super excited to try out Lolita. Wet, to me it smells like someone took a cup of orange juice, a few lemon slices and pretty spring bouquet then tossed them fresh and juicy into a blender. It does have a youthful feel to it, which would go perfectly on a sunny spring afternoon.

 

After it dries down the honeysuckle and heliotrope comes out more while the lemon/orange qualities fade. I do like the floral smell it gets after an hour or so, but it does become a little generic. I wish it would stay smelling like it was wet. All in all it's a very wearable scent. Probably no bottle for me, but I wouldn't pass up another imp in the future.

[detritius]

I wasn't sure I was going to like this one. When I applied it, it had a sharp, bitter topnote, but fortunately, that faded down after about five minutes. Dry, it's honeysuckle with a little touch of lemon. Bright and sweet and very, very summery. This scent makes me long for the warmer months.

[lauriebeth]

At first when I tried this, I was so disappointed. In the bottle, it smells like cheap disinfectant and that awful handsoap you get in petrol station bathrooms *shudder*

 

However, it calmed down really nicely on my skin. This was perhaps the BPAL GC scent I was looking forward most to trying, and I suppose it was always going to be a slight letdown as Lolita is my favorite book of all time. However, it's sweet and girly and it seems to like my skin chemistry, so I think this is going to be a keeper! (despite the fact that I think a more bubble-gummy scent would have matched up with Lo a little more nicely)

[starfish327]

oh this is nice. this is a bright sharp....powerful? citrus blend on my skin. i could have sworn that there was rose when first applied, but it settles down to an admittedly young but strong (though not overpowering) citrus. there's a slightly candied edge to it and the white floral feel that vampire tears has.

 

this actually reminds me a lot of vampire tears on my skin, enough so that i would be satisfied to use this as a gc equivilent. it reminds me a lot of crib girls too, just without the honey- so if you can't handle the honey in that one, this one may work.

 

i worked a little with freya today, and i really do feel like this is a good female/feminine energy blend if you're looking for something not traditionally feminine- namesake aside.

[stellamaris]

Hmmm, I thought I reviewed this, maybe it was a dream...

I just ordered a big bottle of Lolita, I find it a most wonderful perplexing scent. It starts out with a pink bubblegum blast (one of the flowers?) but then it turns into a pink bubblegum with sweet lemon. Somehow this really works.

[lolcat]

From reading the description of Lolita-- orange blossoms, lemon verbena, honeysuckle, etc. I anticipated having found a signature scent. And in the bottle it smells promising, like candy. However as soon as it starts to dry, it undergoes a strange transformation. I get a lemon verbena supernova (good thing I love lemon verbena) and then afterwards this fruit punch bubble-gum smell that so many others have mentioned, but it doesn’t seem to have much throw. And there are bitter Humbert Humbert undertones where I think tart undertones would be more appropriate.

 

Definitely a unique scent that I want to like, but so far it’s not doing much for me. I appreciate a perfume that replicates the scent of bubble-gum through florals. I wish the lemon verbena were balanced with the other ingredients in continuous harmony rather than eclipsing them briefly and then fading away completely. Lolita needs a little more *zing* to live up to its name.

[sar.mar]

Oh Lolita, how I'm loving you.

 

In the imp - Smells wonderfully delicious, like something I'd to eat.

 

On me (wet) - Still smells delicious. A minute or two after I put it on the lemon verbena comes out. Really like how a hidden note comes flying out.

 

On me (dry) - After a few minutes the lemon verbena fades away and I'm left with this wonderfully fruity/flowery scent. I think what lingers the most on me is the heliotrope.

 

Verdict - Initially, I was a little disappointed that the honeysuckle didn't come out much on me, but then I fell utterly in love with heliotrope. So far this is my favorite BPAL scent. Will definitely be a full bottle purchase.

 

 

And then I looked up the heliotrope plant and found out it can have purple flowers. Win. All around win.

[BoneBone24]

Vaguely fruity with a touch of spicy soap. There's a decent throw that smells musky, which I'm guessing is from the honeysuckle. It's very very light and doesn't morph at all. My imp actually leaked a bunch as I opened it and even with it all over the place it's still incredibly light. The paper that it dripped on smells the same as it smells on my skin minus the soap part. I keep waiting for one of the notes to amp but it never happens.

[bellumed]

In imp: Oh no! How disappointing. It’s like someone took a chemical/artificial scent (I can see the Pez comparison) and tried to mask it with my beloved citrus. Do not want.

 

On my skin: Thank God, that’s better. Lemony, still a little candy-ish, but nice now. Over time, becomes less candy-scented and more flowery. It’s frustratingly light, though. My skin ate this a little bit.

 

I'll keep this, at least to give it another test, but Lolita could have been much better for me.

[mymymai]

In the Imp (ITI): That’s rather pretty. I get lemon verbena and orange blossom. It strikes me as innocent initially but the verbena makes it a little less innocent.

 

Wet: Honeysuckle and heliotrope are dominant, followed by orange blossoms and a touch of citrus from the verbena. It starts getting a little soapy as it begins to dry down.

 

Dry: It’s faint and lovely once dried - honeysuckle and orange blossom.

[Withjoy]

My new love. I canNOT stop smelling my wrist. Every few seconds I lift my arm to take another whiff. I've ever understood those reviewers who say they want to eat their arm, but now I do. This is going to be my "bright mood, feeling happy, good weather" perfume.

 

Or perhaps, like today, a "life is horrific and I need to wear a stark contrast" scent to remember that there is good in the world. There is. (The killings at Sandy Hook Elementary School were yesterday.)