Passion Flower

[JazzieCazzie]

SINGLE NOTE: PASSION FLOWER
An elegant botanical sigil representing the crucifixion of Christ, this plant is said to grant blessings of peace and love (philía and storge) to a home, especially when grown around the door, gate, or fence.

While I have tended to straddle the fence on buying floral single notes, I've found that the ones I waffled about and didn't get, I really regretted ... and Passion Flower is a scent that, to me, has been a rarity. Coupled with the mystery of whether this is the last offering in the SN series, I had to bite the credit card bullet.

IN THE IMP: Very light (reflected by the color, nearly clear) and hard to pin down. Slightly floral, but not the lush tropical floral I would have expected from this. And very slightly fruity. Also surprisingly fresh.

I admit it was hard to find a spot to apply this but I didn't have the patience to wait ... I was already test-driving two other scents, one on each arm, so I dabbed this on one upper arm and the opposite mid-arm.

WET: Once it hits the skin, the fresh floral definitely rises to the surface. It's still very light and very clean. It's somehow a cross between floral and fruity to me. I wouldn't call it "green," but it's light and springlike. It's also got the sexy happening but in a subtle way.

DRYDOWN: The drydown is sweet, subtle and very lovely. I am looking forward to trying this again when I can test it without any other competing notes elsewhere on my skin, but my basic read on it is that while it is not what I had "expected" from passion flower (having tried the old Lili Bermuda passion flower note way back when), it's a floral that is not "in your face" at all.

OVERALL: I think this is the kind of note that could play well with others ... other florals, greens, spices. I'm not sure it's something I would wear alone (a la Wisteria, Ylang Ylang, Lavender, etc,) but I hope the Lab will use it as a component in other blends more often.

I'm holding out on a score until I get a chance to give it my full attention without distractions. It's definitely a keeper, though. And I am so thankful to the Lab for releasing it.

[Shirel]

I wasn't quite sure at first about buying this SN, I did remember what passion flowers looked like (pretty!) but had no scent memory of them whatsoever.

But as I'm not too picky about florals and I was ordering anyways I thought why not?

 

In the bottle this is a bit more lemony then floral. Or at least a very fruity floral, if someone blindfolded me and told me it was a flower only I probably wouldn't believe them.

 

Wet this is still very citrusy on me, I'm testing it in the crook of my arm because that's where scents warm up better, and for now it smells just like lemons. Very nice and tart but still lemon rather then floral. After giving it a little while to work it's still very much a lemon party (hehe) but with something a bit... musty? It's the kind of musty you get off flowers that have been sitting around a bit too long. Not sure what to think about it.

 

Well, once it's totally dried down that hint of musty-ness has gone but it's still very much a lemon SN on me... nice tart lemon so I'll keep it but not what I was expecting even when I didn't know what exactly to expect. I think I may have to retest this one to see if it might just be my chemistry turning it into a lemon overload.

 

In short: Fresh tart lemons without a flower in sight.

[amanderinorange]

In the bottle this is a slightly lemony, slightly floral sort of scent. There is also something underneath that I can't quite place that reminds me a bit of the tropical blends, like Obatala.

 

On the skin, it becomes a bit more lemony, which goes a little sour. There is still that Obatala like scent underneath it all, but the lemon dominates. The throw on this is rather strong and I keep getting whiffs of it, which is nice in a way as I normally have to slather because my skin eats scents.

 

Overall, it's not something that I would wear often, but it's a good scent for the summer.

[puck_nc]

Origin: Straight from the Lab

 

Initial Thoughts: The Single Notes are back to an extent. I'm gonna be trying any floral that isn't rose or violet.

 

In the Bottle: A floral, but a floral with a very, very decided lemon-citrus tone to it.

 

Wet: Extremely lemony, but for once it's the scent of a true fresh lemon and not the chemical-ish Lemon Pledge. It's pleasant, but definitely not what I was expecting.

 

Drydown: The lemon fades quite a bit, but unfortunately what's left in its wake strikes me as a very faint, wilted and muddled version of what violet does on my skin. It's not the acrid stank of violet, but it's not a pretty flower or a pretty fresh lemon.

 

Verdict: Pity I can't capture the wet stage and keep it forever, because it is truly lovely at that point. But my chemistry will not play nicely with it.

[zankoku_zen]

Lush tropical, edged with lemon. It's citrusy, white, and very tropical white flower. It sort of makes me think of sitting underneath a palm tree.

 

Oddly enough, it does remind me a little to passion fruit. With that tart citrus zing.

[milo]

Quite fresh and citrussy at first, most like a grapefruit(?) I think along with a bright floral. Stays pretty much the same throughout, but fades pretty quickly. Although they don't smell very much alike, it has the same 'feel' as Eight-Petalled Lotus, gentle and bright. I like this, and glad that I have a decant, but probably don't need any more.

[Ondine]

This didn't smell very lemony on me at first, but as it dries down it's becoming more and more like a citrusy floral. The floral is definitely there, and it occasionally walks close to that laundry detergent line, if you know what I mean--a floral that smells a little soapy? But mostly it stays sweet and in the background a bit, letting more of the lemon scent come to the forefront. This is a very gentle, light scent on me. I could see it being a good before-bed scent. I'm glad I picked it up.

[Caper]

I love this. I get a lemony floral too, but where the idea if a tropical floral screams gardenia or lush hothouse nastiness, this is just pleasant light flowers.

 

it has a slightly sweetened base to me, but it maintains a brightness that is sometimes overcome by sweetness.

 

I think this is my favorite after king mandarin. well, maybe tied with red patchouli

[porcelina]

passion flower smells kind of like a lush store to me! it's a very sweet floral and right away it smells very soapy with a citrus edge. that's basically it.

[mystery213]

This starts off as a fresh, clean floral with just a touch of background sharpness and greenery under the tart sweetness. It smells a little bit like expensive shampoo. It dries down into an unusual lemony floral.

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

my bottle of this is going to a better home. i wanted to like it, but on me it only smelled like Laundromat. ... like the Demeter scent. which isn't necessarily bad, but a little bit confusing.

[Ghost of a Rose]

Bottle straight from the lab, aged about 4 years.

 

In the bottle: A beautiful floral that I don't recognize. We used to have Passion Flower vines growing in our front yard, but I don't remember noticing any fragrance from the flowers. I probably didn't stick my nose right into them, though.

 

On me, wet. 7:08 pm: The same. Utterly gorgeous. 💖

 

After 5 minutes, there's an undertone of lemon. It's pleasant enough, mostly buried beneath the flower.

 

But oh no! After 10 minutes, it has strengthened to dominate the flower with the smell of lemon hard candies. I can't fathom any reason why I would want to walk around smelling like candy. The gorgeous flower is still there, but fighting for its life. I get that the lemon adds brightness, but it could do that with a whole lot less.

 

At 20 minutes: It's mostly lemon candy. The flowers haven't completely died, but they are decidedly wilted. I have to work to smell them. Hopefully the lemon will butt out soon. Citrus notes don't usually hang around very long on my skin.

 

At 35 minutes, it's very strongly lemon-scented dryer sheets. Well, that's an improvement over lemon hard candy anyway.

 

At one hour, the scent is much the same, but weaker. The lemon is not quite such a bully, which helps reduce the dryer-sheets effect as well. But it's too late, little remains of the initial floral beauty. Now it's just the generic mixed florals found in hundreds of cleaning products.

 

Verdict: This had the potential to be a 6-star perfume, but the lemon spoiled it for me. I wish it was a true single-note oil. I'd rate it 6 stars in the first 5 minutes, deteriorating to 3 stars when the lemon seizes control at 10 minutes and thereafter. I'll have to try it in the scent locket - hopefully that will preserve the heavenly top note longer.

Edited August 30, 2018 by Ghost of a Rose