Aurelia

[Lycanthrope]

Wild strawberry and red currant squished into a deep green blend of oakmoss, crushed mint, green tea leaf, mastic, petitgrain, Terebinth pine, and cypress.

Good God, Lemon!

Actually, I only mean that in the 'Good God, Liz Lemon' way phrased by Alec Baldwin.

It's a very weird mishmash wet, it smells like pine trees and care bears (pink ones). There's lots of 'airy green' elements to this that I can get the sharp edges of, such as the petitgrain for certain, and the sour sharp green tea note. I'm sure that part of the leafiness I'm detecting is 'crushed mint,' although by no means does this have the sweet peppermint aroma.

On the skin, Aurelia blooms with cypress and pine needles supreme, with an extreme rush of lime green mint leaf madness. You can feel the coolness of the mint, even though still there's no severe overpowering peppermint. The strawberry/currant combination is doing its magic to provide the world's most strangest basenote, probably trying to find the oakmoss (which is lying dead in a gutter since mastic sicced the Greek mafia on it). As it starts to fade I get mostly the top bits of berries, and pine, and tea. It's certainly pretty and a strong whiff pulls in all the leafy leafy green.

It smells like Christmas!

I think because this has only a few supporting, deep strong notes, this is a super light, airy, herbal berry. It has very little staying power on me, and I feel a little Christmas in July right now. <it's beginning to look a lot like Christmaaaaaas>.

[SadariEvenstar]

Interesting! This is a very light perfume, but lingering. It's been about an hour and a half since I put it one and it's still there, but very quiet.

 

It reminds me of walking into my local garden shop in the winter. We always go there for a Christmas tree and while I wouldn't say it's christmasy but it does remind me very much of that shop. The strawberry is more of a tart (I don't know if tart is exactly the word I want, but it is a slightly green strawberry) strawberry that lingers around the edges of the scent especially as it dries. It sweetens a when it is completely dry, but it's never super sweet. There is a dusty quality about this, kind of like garden soil that has crumbled off of flower pots and dried out. It's got a lovely green herbal feeling to it and the peppermint is there, but it doesn't really smell like peppermint, it just smells cool.

 

So yes, just like the garden shop in the winter. Shelves that held plants in the summer are now empty and covered in a fine layer of dried soil. Other shelves are full of an assortment of dried herbs and strawberry candles. The cold from the outside comes creeping in every time the door is opened.

 

I like it! It's not really like anything else I own, but it's going to be a nice gentle perfume to wear in the summer.

 

eta:Several hours after I put it on it is a soft herbal strawberry, all other notes have faded away. It's very pretty, but very light.

Edited July 11, 2013 by SadariEvenstar

[KawaiiKai]

When I first opened the bottle and smelled it I thought, "Oh no!" There's this sour almost vinegar based sauce smell. However, that doesn't stay on my skin and fades almost immediately. I also get the Christmas/winter garden shop. It's almost herbal on me but more of a bit of moss with the scent of nearly ripe strawberries. Those two notes are the ones that dominate, this doesn't morph on me and it lasts longer on me than many bpal oils. I can still smell this by 5 hours after application, after that I can only smell it if I put my nose to my skin. The scent and throw are both pretty light. I enjoy this one and it is very nice as a hot weather scent.

[Deliciousness]

Sweet and ... peppery? Something in this blend is reminding me of a sweet hot chili pepper sauce (Mae Ploy), but I know it's just my nose playing tricks on me. Once I look at the scent description, I do believe the "peppery" note is actually the combination of pine, petitgrain, mastic and cypress. After realizing this, I can now smell the balsam quality in this blend - and it smells very much like the other reviews have said - Christmas!

I can also smell the wild strawberry and currant which sweetens the entire blend, and envelops the pine notes. This seems to help make Aurelia, somewhat less holiday-ish.

This blend, at least on my skin, has a medium throw. I can detect a sweetness coming from my arm, but I'm not really noticing an actual distinctive scent. This blend is ethereal and somewhat understated, it doesn't say ... "Hey there! I'm strawberry and pine and currants and mint! Nice to meet you!"

Glad I got to try this. I do believe it needs more testing to decide if it's a bottle or not. Probably, not, but you never know

[rhubarb3point14]

Love this one. It's strawberry, but cool and green and herbal instead of sweet. Very refreshing for summer.

[stellamaris]

Why did I even bother to get a decant of this? Clearly I was going to buy a bottle. What was I thinking?

This is the perfect storm of summer stuff. The pine is glorious, and I am so happy because I have almost used down my bottle of Whirling Wind Moon. The strawberry is subtle, not the Attack Strawberry of Strawberry Moon, but just a great accompaniment to the piney mintyness.

[ReallyZeb]

I feel like I have a different bottle to everyone else - I get no strawberries, no currants and certainly no lemon.

 

When wet all I get is a pleasant laundry detergent sort of smell, slightly herbal. Once it's dry I can barely smell it at all - I get a tiny bit of pine, a tiny bit of green tea and a little mint but it has no throw on me and vanishes really quickly

[BoneBone24]

Wet: Fresh pine and some sort of peculiar fruit. Ignoring the note list, I’d guess starfruit.

 

Drydown: Robust evergreens with a hint of something tart. Very christmas-y, but with a sour undercurrent.

 

Dry: Sour pine. Aurelia and me just weren't meant to be.

 

 

 

 

4 out of 10 bones

Edited July 24, 2013 by BoneBone24

[zankoku_zen]

On wet, its cool strawberries and red currant with a hint of minty green. As it dries, the red fruit aspect dissipates and I'm left with a giant hit of oakmoss, pine and cypress.

 

Green, woody, cool.

[SophieCedar]

The pine and cypress take waaaayyy over on this one. Petitgrain is super blooming on this too. Its a medicinal purifying blend on me. I mean, if I had a hangover or I was sick, I would grab this immediately for a green jolt. I might have gotten a decant of a bottle that is heavier on these 3. Its a hard fight to smell the strawberries and red currant. Even during drydown, the green blend is in reverse prominence on my skin. I <3 oakmoss and never mind mint and I've learned to love green tea too, but unfortuntately they're pushed back in the shuffle.

Edited July 25, 2013 by SophieCedar

[Katlyntje]

In the imp I am getting lots of pine and cypress sweetened with tea and strawberry. I really like this strawberry note, a lot more than the note from White Chocolate and Strawberry. Wet on my skin the strawberry gets a bit stronger but the rest is mainly sharply green. As it dries the green softens a little and the strawberry steps back as well. Now the red currant and tea leaf make themselves evident as the pine and cypress fade out even more.

 

While I do enjoy the strawberry note here I wish the pine had stuck around longer. I am such a sucker for a good pine blend.

[beakerwill]

The first five minuets or so are.. different. Very green and peppery (presumably the pine and petitgrain) with an underlying sweetness, intriguing but not extraordinarily "wearable". However, after about five minutes to settle, it smells of real strawberries, and greenery, and amazingness. This is wonderful!

This is the first BPAL strawberry or strawberry-like scent that hasn't ended up smelling of 80's plastic strawberry shortcake dolls within seconds of application. I have acquired several strawberry scents in an attempt to find one that worked.. I think I can destash without fear now

Sadly, it fades fast, but that isn't unusual for me.

This has turned out far better than I would have expected from the scent notes; definitely a big bottle!

[Magycmyste]

In the imp: Wood, wood, lots of wood, with maybe a touch of pine sol. I also get some sweet strawberry, but only if I don't hold it up to my nose.

 

Wet on skin: Sour wood. i'm getting the faintest hint of the mint and tea leaf, but it's pretty much overwhelmed by the woodiness. I think I'm getting more of the pine than anything else.

 

Dried down: Well, the strawberry has come out to play. Unfortunately, the game is hide and seek, and the woods are "it." I can see where others would call this a more herbal strawberry, but I feel more like the strawberry is trying and failing to sweeten the woods, rather than the woods bringing an herbal note to the strawberry. The woods are very.... Pine-Sol-y.

 

Throw: This has some decent throw. I don't have to sniff my wrists to get some good scent here. The funny thing is, the throw is almost completely strawberry. Like a fresh strawberry just rinsed in water, without sugar or any other sweeteners. It's too bad I like sniffing my wrists so much.

 

Verdict: *** I love the "throw" scent. If that was what I got when I sniffed my wrists as well, it would be a definite keeper for me. As it is, though, I don't think I'll be reaching for this too often, and a decant's enough for me. I just don't like the wet stage or the scent directly on my wrists very much. I may give it another test before deciding to swap it. I hope I find another scent that can replicate that strawberry, though. It's really beautiful, and I don't know if I have another one like it. I know I've got the sugared ones, but fresh, sweet, ripe strawberry with no additives? That would be divine.

[thekittenkat]

In the bottle: Fresh but not overly strawberry, red currant, and something green and fresh and natural.

 

Wet: Sweetening up as the red fruits come into more dominance.

 

The dry-down: I was a little afraid that the green notes would overwhelm the red fruits. They are tending to be a little stronger the longer I wear it, but the red fruits are still there. A little heavier for early summer, but good for later on, for an early evening date. Perhaps still more femme than masculine. No notes here I don't like.

Edited August 17, 2013 by thekittenkat

[milo]

Very 'green' at first, in a weed-like sort of way. Dry, totally different. I'm getting mostly mint and something tart, must be the red currant. This is so well blended, not what I expected at all. I thought that this would be a fruity blend, but not so. It's a fresh, minty, tart lovely blend. It kind of reminds me of a mojito. I really like this, I may upgrade to a partial.

 

eta: Whoops, I'm detecting fungus after a bit. Sometimes certain bpal blends do this to me. No upgrade necessary.

Edited August 24, 2013 by milo

[astarinel]

Mostly woods and greenery, unfortunately, with the red fruits fading into the background. They're not completely absent, but the balance in this one was the opposite of what I was hoping for, and it ends up being a piney, herbal blend with touches of fruity sweetness.

 

Like others mentioned, the balance gets a little better as it dries, but it never tips over into something I'd wear.

[IambicDearie]

I was a bit nervous about this one, in all honesty! My luck with cypress and pine has been minimal, but I was pleasantly surprised by Aurelia.

 

The strawberry and currant balanced nicely with the sharper notes (even overwhelming them at the start), but upon drying down it turned into something quite pleasant and sweet.

[BlueberryPie]

Like everyone else said, this is very green and fresh. I think out of all the Songs of Nature scents, this is my favourite. It's not just green, but also somehow juicy and wet. I was scared of BPAL's strawberry note at first, because I'd tried Hollywood Babylon before, and it just did not work on me. But I was very pleasantly surprised by this. It's very natural and not artificial at all, and there's none of that plastic-y note that Hollywood Babylon produced on me. That might be because the strawberry and currant here is a base note, which is certainly very unique. But the greens and woods hold it back, so it's just this subtle, deeper sweetness in the scent.

 

Sadly, this doesn't have much staying power on me. It's almost gone by the 3 hour mark, and also somewhat limited throw. Like someone above me said, this is a very subtle scent. It doesn't go, "HEY, LOOK AT ME. I'M STRAWBERRY AND PINES!" It's just baaarely there. But I do love getting the occasional whiff of this on myself.

 

Unlike other people, though, this scent stays very consistent on me as it dries. It pretty much finishes off smelling exactly like how it started, which is great. I'm so glad I got a bottle of this.

 

 

SCORE: 7/10 (If only because there aren't many occasions I can wear this to. If only it had more staying power, I can use it as an everyday scent for summertime).

 

 

[mymymai]

ITI: It's really bitter and green. I was expecting super sweet and fruity, though. I do pick up on the strawberry, and mint, but they are covered by the mastic, cypress, and pine.

 

Wet: It's still bitter, but now that the strawberry is stronger on my skin, it's not as bad. I still get the mint as well, and when paired with strawberry, reminds me of some of the new flavors of fruit gum that Trident is producing.

 

Dry: This one vanishes on my skin rather quickly. I've reapplied it twice and tried to assess it after 5 hours, but it's virtually non-existent each time. On third reapplication, I get strawberry Smarties and oakmoss with a touch of petitgrain. It's okay, but I'm not thrilled with it.

[Soupy Twist]

I was afraid I was going to hate this because I don't like oakmoss, but it's lovely. Pitch and currants in the bottle, but it goes on as a crisp cypress. There's a tiny bit of mint briefly, then more cypress. After a few minutes I can smell the little wild strawberries. In the drydown a smoother, quieter pine returns.

[d0gbones]

In the imp: It smells like tomato leaves, planty, like a greenhouse. I'm guessing this is the squished berries, I get that from everything with "squished berries" as a note.

Wet: Red currants are coming out more now.

Dry: Strawberry and a touch of mint. I'm not one for fruity scents as perfumes, so may put this in a room diffuser because it's too nice not to use.

[gloame]

BNNU bottle from the forums. Wow, way greener than I anticipated. The oakmoss is very forward. Green tea and mint are next. I expected this to be a very strawberry-heavy blend, but it's really not. Light and fresh and definitely "green".

 

Where I'd wear it: Getting the seeds ready for sprouting

[rachelos]

This is sparkling strawberry leaf to me. Aurelia is also the name of a book by one of my favorite authors, surrealist/symbolist Gerard Nerval, so it's been on the back of my mind to try. Thank you Usagi for frimping this. All the other reviews sum it up, so I'll leave it at that!