Libertine

[tartchef]

Rosewood and chamomile with bergamot, violet, red sandalwood, primrose and Arabian musk.

Phooey.

Libertine was in my very first Lab order, several years ago. I loved it for all its herbal yumminess, but ended up swapping it away... When I got another imp in a recent sale, I was so happy to have it back...

It seems, however, that the body chemistry shift that now allows me to wear vetiver has bumped Libertine into the Off NOW realm... the bergamot & rosewood amp to the screeching, soapy oblivion of all the other notes. Bleck.

That said, it would make a delightful addition to some bath salts... Edited April 14, 2008 by Shollin

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Very warm, sweet musk with very uplifting myrrh and a good helping of ylang ylang.

 

Immediately on skin: This is very sweet. There’s a light musky base, plus some very sweet myrrh and the smooth ylang ylang. This is very sweet and resinous, though also a little dirty. It almost has a waxy feel overall.

 

After a little while: This has morphed into a very smooth skin musk scent with a spicy creaminess from the ylang ylang and myrrh. The myrrh isn’t heavy at all in this and actually smells more like really heavy-duty Morocco-esque carnation than the thick resinous scent I usually get from it. This is still a sweeter scent, but it’s a very close-to-the-skin sweetness.

 

Overall Impressions: This scent is warm and sensual. It has a nice creaminess to it, and a close warmth. The myrrh is controlled well, and the scent is blended very well. Like Smut, it smells of sex, but this is more of a nuzzling scent to Smut’s all-out raunchiness.

[savage_rose]

This is a nice, well-rounded floral. It doesn't really do anything for me, the earth does not move, lightning's not striking again ("and again and again and again!"), but it's okay.

 

And as I say that, it seems to be turning into a fabric softener sheets smell. Sigh.

[whiffenpoof]

Wet: Hyper masculine, to the point where I was ready to wash it off, but got busy & neglected to do so

Dry/later: OMG, heavenly roses w/a bit of chamomile.

 

So glad DS wasn't around to catch this in the wet phase. He wouldn't want to smell of a rose garden whereas I am only too happy catching whiffs of roses.

 

Very little throw to this particularly in the dry phase, so will keep the imp, but probably not a bottle. My niece wants a bottle so will probably order her one in my next order.

[voodoocatwoman]

In the imp: Rose Rose Rose... primarily rose and nothing else

 

Wet: More of the same

 

Dry: The rose fades a bit and sandalwood moves to the front. The final scent is powdery but not unpleasant. Slightly sweet but not overpowering. Nice.

[alicia_stardust]

This is a sweet but gentle rosewood and the chamomile lends a soft, calm, and slightly astringent quality to the rosewood. The bergamot brightens the blend and the violet adds some dusky sweetness. Only after it has dried on my skin do I get a bit of the sandalwood and musk. I really love the rosewood in this! The blend has a very refined quality to it. Lovely.

[Browneyes]

I can't really distinguish the notes in this one... maybe some light rose and unobtrusive musk. It's pretty. But it really does smell a bit like a nice fabric softener on me. Which is a nice smell, but nothing too exciting perfume-wise

[mgrazulis]

In the imp: Violet, bergamot

 

Wet on skin: sandalwood begins to peek through sweet herbs

 

Dry: Warms nicely--the Arabian musk pushing the primrose through, the chamomile and rosewood still giving it a bit of green

 

This is a great concoction!!! I'm seeing Johnny Depp as the Earl of Sandwich, dousing his hanky and linens in this. Very aristocratic with an edge! The musk keeps this from being just so prim and proper. Just a hair of decadence!

[Indigo78]

Bright, dashing Bergamont is at the front of this blend, from imp to nose. Wet on the skin it only gets brighter, and has an "expensive" vibe to it as well. It smells serious from the woods, but not uptight. Everything is blended so well in that no single note screams, they all whisper to make one voice. Beautiful.

[thelaurenator]

In the bottle, this smells like a man's cologne (oh, 'sup bergamot? you're pretty manly). But on, it immediately transforms into a sexy, very womanly, full bodied woody rose smell. Intoxicating. The violet just makes the rosewood "headier" and fuller, and the musk yet again is playing nice. Me like. Me like VERY much!

 

This is definitely a big bottle scent for me. Will need to purchase a 5 mL. Great sexy, going out in the dead of autumn/winter smell.

 

Great throw on this, too. It really just EXPLODED when it hit my wrist!

Edited July 16, 2008 by thelaurenator

[thegirlisonfire]

:[ the description sounded so nice, but on me it smells like .. unhealthy urine.

[innocent]

I got Libertine while in search of the perfect violet scent, but on my skin the primrose is more prominent. That's fine by me! In earlier days I used to wear a plain rose oil as perfume and I still really enjoy the scent of roses.

 

In Libertine the roses are strengthened by the violet and tempered by the other notes. The rosewood and bergamot aren't very prominent on me, but I get all the other notes. To my nose the chamomile adds an almost vanilla sweetness - but is not quite as strong as vanilla can be. The sandalwood and musk add an enjoyable spicy / dusty feel to this.

 

In the end I really like Libertine and if I use up my imp I'll consider getting a 5ml (I don't use florals too often so I'm not sure I'll ever finish the imp). I wouldn't reccomend this one to people who dislike rose - despite the lovely base notes the rose is still quite prominent.

[Iceblink]

Primarily musk and violets--clean and floral. The laundry comments others have made are fitting! Doesn't strike me as overly manly.

[OhioSky]

This is one of few scents I've tried that I didn't care for at all. I even tried to let it sit and age for a few months, but it still just smelled like soap to me.

[skepticism]

Vial: Violet, chamomile heavily accentuated by primrose and rosewood

 

Wet: Chamomile is barely calming down the florals. Also a bit sour.

 

Dry: Light trace of musk, but still smelling sour.

 

Not for me.

[inurbanus]

I have a hard time reviewing things that I LOVE because I usually am so focused on how good I smell that I have a hard time picking out notes. Such is the case with Libertine, one of my favorite BPAL florals. I thought I would make the effort, though, because I don't see Libertine crop up very often on people's favorites list, and every bit of attention helps, I guess.

 

An accurate description of Libertine (at least to my nose) is that it's a sweet floral. However, this description does not really get to the heart of what makes Libertine so great. It's a very opulent scent, and I remember the first time I smelled it, when I was just beginning to get into BPAL (Libertine was one of the first couple of frimps I ever received from the Lab), I went "Whoa! Now this is perfume!" Because it doesn't read to me as a naturalistic scent, even though it smells like sweet flowers and herbs, but something specifically blended for someone's adornment. The two most prominent notes are the chamomile and the primrose, with just a touch of violet in the background. The notes mingle and form a cloud of scent that's enveloping and welcoming.

 

My only complaint with this is that it used to have such great throw -- this was, for a while, the strongest BPAL scent I've tried, but I put it on yesterday and it was significantly lighter. I hope aging doesn't weaken it too much!

 

4.5/5

[Brianne]

I am so surprised after reading the other reviews that I am getting so much rose out of this. I mean, my body amps rose but in this, it amps it to the point where I never would have guessed any of the other notes. It does dry into a slightly muskier scent, but still very much rose.

[emily2531]

Rose definitely dominates this fragrance, but I think the chamomile and violet soften and round out the rose, and the woods and musk give it an earthiness and nice complexity. After about 10 minutes, much of the initial rose has faded and Libertine seems to become one with my skin.

 

If you like rose, give Libertine a try. It's definitely rose, but better, softer, sweeter, sexier.

[crebbsgirl]

Unfortunately on me this was a fairly harsh violet scent. I was hoping to get more rosewood or chamomile and sandalwood but I didn't. I got a lot of violet rose. And I am not a florals person.

[Electric Maenad]

Me: Huh, you know, this is kind of nice. Woody, with a bit of citrus, and a hint of foppish florals, but really a lot more manly than I was expect--

 

Rosezilla: STOMP STOMP STOMP

 

Me: AAAGH! RUN AWAY!!!

 

After the initial ten minutes of sexy dandy smell, I get nothing but fancy little bathroom soaps of doom from this.

 

DOOM, I tell you!

[cymbeline]

Smell alike: smells like an old boudoir to me -or a room where *Marie*-Antoinette was in (I guess because of the rose/violet combo)

 

Color impression: witty pink

 

On me: It just screamed "Hi! We're Roses! We're here to stay! Banzai!", and then quickly disappeared leaving just a soft trace of unwashable violet and lingering rosewood

 

Wearing: Definitively not for me

 

[awesomeoverlord]

In the imp: mostly citrus, with some of the herbally florals coming through. Ok...maybe...

 

Wet: GAH! pickles????

 

Dry: blegh...I don't know what happened here...I'm still getting pickle brine and...vegetable soup??? Bizarre...obviously there's something in here that my skin just hates.

[Ravenclaw79]

In the imp: Red musk? It smells sorta Smut-y.

 

Wet: More floral now, rose-y.

 

Drying: Darn you, rose. Rose tends to amp on me, and it's drowning this one out.

[Lyrical]

In vial: an odd jumble of the listed notes, which don't seem to go together!

 

Wet on skin: strange.

 

Dry on skin: still strange. I was not impressed by this scent.

[donnatron]

Imp: Florals and rosewood. I'm on a rosewood bender so this is a good thing.

 

Wet: Immediately on the skin I get a nice warm rosewood with a hit of chamomile and then a warming musk underneath. There's something a bit sharp here--reminds me of the cosmetics/personal care area of a health food store.

 

Dry: So I discovered something interesting about myself today: I amp primrose like CRAZY! I can smell the rest of the scent and it seems like it's a nice, classical men's sort of scent but it is underneath this really high pitched and unpleasant primrose scent. It smells a lot like a shampoo I used to sell when I did work at a health food store and it is making the scent really, really cloying. Definitely a wash off.

 

Throw: Not great, luckily.

 

Overall: It was worth a try. I don't think I've tried a primrose blend and now I know to avoid them. Libertine has a lot of potential but unfortunately it just doesn't jibe with my chemistry.

Edited May 24, 2009 by paperrose