Libertine

[lapillus]

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

In bottle: yellow medium liquid, sweet citrus and florals

Wet: undefined, non-foody sweetness with something dry underneath. Very nice!

Dry: The dry underneath comes out, but the sweetness remains. I like it a lot and hope it stays.

Later: goes faint very rapidly.

Summary: I need to try again more heavily. If I can’t make it work with more layers or with a locket I’ll trade what’s left despite really liking the scent

[goth_huntress]

I expected this to be more masculine than it was on me. But I do LOVE it. It might become my everyday scent. A bottle must be bought.

[The_Merf]

In the imp: This smells strongly of violet and what I'm going to assume is the primrose. When you breathe deeply, you can pick up faint hints of the rosewood and sandalwood.

 

Wet: This smells very much like tea; I'm going to assume that's the influence of the chamomile.

 

Drydown and wear: This is mostly chamomile and primrose (or rosewood?) with some dusty violet in the background. I do not smell anything citrusy, nor do the woody notes come out on my skin. It's relatively light, and there's an edge of rose on the drydown that I find faintly soapy, so I'm going to swap this one.

[luna65]

Thanks to princessbeena for the imp.

 

Imp: The rosewood and bergamot are the strongest here, providing a interesting green/floral combination.

 

Skin: Eventually the violet comes out, and it's not too sweet. I don't really sense any other elements, though I can discern that the musk is keeping all the other notes in check.

 

Drydown: This settles down to a nice powdery floral. It's not really me, but it's lovely for those who enjoy that sort of thing.

[captainoats]

In the imp: A mixture of light florals with some sandalwood. I can definitely smell the primrose, too. I have a feeling this will smell powdery on me.

On, wet: The florals are somewhere here, but I smell some type of bright herb, and definitely thet rose-y powdery smell.

Drying: It doesn't smell minty, per se, but there is still some type of herb that's bright and sharp almost the way mint is. It's definitely heading towards a powder/rose soap smell on me. Still nice, if not what I was expecting.

Dry: Rose soap. Nice rose soap, but still soap. The herbal smell is almost gone, and there's no more sandalwood.

Verdict: I wish the sandalwood had stuck around. It's powdery, but still nice - I like powder, even this is not what I was hoping for with Libertine. I'm pretty sure it's the rose doing that. I'll use my imp, but I won't buy more. I'd give it a 2/5.

[sedona]

In the imp - A sweet floral

 

Wet - Oh yes, rose and a certain green feel.

 

Drydown - This dries to a very soft, definitely pink rose, but with a wood foundation for strength. The musk joins the dance about an hour in and makes this a very surprising winner for me!

 

I don't normally mesh with the lab's rose and wouldn't have tried this if it hadn't been a frimp!

[neuilly]

This turns into a very dainty and pretty rose on me. I know rose and primrose are not the same thing but...well, that's what I smell!! But light roses are really my mother's scent not mine. Perhaps I shall surprise her with an imp!

[minasena]

In the imp: Uh oh. This smells really strong and sharp. Not exactly what I was expecting. I’m not sure if I’m going to like this.

 

Wet: It’s not as sharp as in the imp, and I can make out a woody, herbal scent though I can’t pick out any specific notes. Hm, I think I like the smell, though I’m not sure I like it on me, if that makes any sense. I can smell the sandalwood now, and that’s pleasant but for some reason I get the image that this is more of a masculine scent. I’m not sure if it works on me.

 

Dry down: Maybe not such a masculine scent, because now I’m getting rose and sandalwood. This is a very intriguing scent because it seems to be morphing very quickly, doing away with each impression I had before. Oddly enough, now it smells softly seductive and beckoning.

 

Conclusion: Wow. This scent changed my mind several times, and now I’m not sure how I feel about it. It’s fading quickly now, but still strong enough to capture my attention when I pass my wrist near my nose. It’s a good scent, but I’m not sure it works on me. The seduction and sexiness just doesn’t seem me, though I can imagine this scent being amazing on someone else.

[DifferentDances]

This is a marvelously blended floral/rose scent that stays true from imp to skin to drydown. No noticeable morphing, though I suspect after a few hours it may acquire a more powdery texture, which is fine because most florals do that on my skin, given enough time.

 

I don't know if I like it enough to ever indulge in a bottle, though. Hm...

 

Given that it's not a crave-want-need scent, I'm going to have to rate it a 4/5. Very lovely though.

[Wildbriar]

Libertine

Source: Lab frimp

 

In the imp I smell the bergamont with a light hint of sandalwood and something that reminds me of orange blossom.

 

On my skin Libertine becomes sweet and somewhat powdery and I lose that lovely citrus altogether. When dry I can smell the florals and sandalwood but the florals are a bit too strong for me. I'd love to have more of that delightful bergamont and sandalwood I got from the wet oil. I might try this one in my scent locket but as a wearable scent its not for me.

[swilde]

I gave an enthusiastic "Mm!" when I opened the imp. Something that smells like the inside of an old, well taken care of bureau and what I thought was lavender, but must be violet and musk.

 

On, it remained woody and slightly floral. Fresh, like the aromatherapy soap in a luxury hotel. The sandalwood hovers, but politely, and the chamomile is subtle enough to put me in mind of a roaring fireplace.

 

It's fading to a pleasant, soapy violet/sandalwood. I'm going to try it on my man, too. Definitely getting a big bottle.

[zankoku_zen]

In the imp: Floral

 

On Skin: Soapy deodorant

 

On Skin On Him: Toiletries (he can't make up his mind if it smells like deodorant, shampoo or soap) and Vick's. He asked me if it had menthol.

 

On Drydown: Rose attack! The rosewood is very prominent, as well as the violet. Oddly enough, it's kinda like a soapier version of Whip. Whereas Whip's leather component keeps the rose smell from being overpowering, violet is rose's evil sidekick in the domination of my skin.

 

On Drydown on Him: Several whiffs afterwards, "soap". Mountain, foresty soap. It would be called "Spring Glade" or "Mountain Glade" or any other kind of permutation of a combination of it. But still soap.

 

Verdict: A no-go for either of us. I suppose that neither he nor I are rakes at heart. Or rose lovers.

[taramarie]

In the imp, Libertine smelled like ... something I can't even describe, I just know it was bad. But, I've read enough reviews to know you can't judge a scent before you try it on. Wet on my skin, the smell was the same. I decided to wait it out and was rewarded by the scent changing to musk with a hint of woods. I'm not sure if Libertine is a masculine or a neutral scent, but I do know it's not me.

[ceiswyn]

In the bottle: A woody scent; strongly rosewood, backed by the citrus of bergamot. There's the sweetness of flowers somewhere in the background, but the rosewood-citrus strikes me as strongly masculine.

 

On the wrist: I love rosewood. I used to use it as perfume, and bergamot to calm my skin, and together they remind me of summers when I was younger... And this is rosewood and bergamot, with the violet and primrose strengthening on the skin as an afterscent, and the musk and sandalwood nowhere to be seen. It's gorgeous.

 

One hour later: Ah, now I can smell the musk and sandalwood. They're there up at the front, alongside the rosewood, just before it tails into bergamot. The right wrist is muskier, the left more strongly citrus. There seems to be no trace of the violet or primrose now, and to be honest I'm rather relieved. This perfume has a good throw - I've been smelling it for the last hour - and I'm keeping it. Though I think I'd be happier if they'd left off the musk.

 

Over the next few hours, the musk gradually takes over; but as it begins to fade again the bergamot and chamomile come through on my left wrist, and the primrose on my right. After twelve hours of wear, it's as if I'm wearing two different perfumes! Fortunately, I like both

[TereFaerie]

In the imp I smell the bergamot and a very sharp floral.

On my skin Libertine changes to become more floral and somewhat powdery and the bergamot never comes out. Once dry it is mostly rose.

 

Apparently my skin amps up the rose scent and I can barely smell anything else. I like it, it is a soft, powdery rose, but I have plenty of rose scents already.

 

3.5 stars out of 5

 

edit, I've been wearing it all day today instead of just testing it for a few hours, and I like it much better. It is very soft, but after a number of hours mellows to a light rosewood scent that I really like. I reapplied after about 10 hours and the second layer is much woodier and I even smell sandalwood. This is a great oil that really comes to its potential on my skin after a few hours and then reapplied. I even get a whiff of bergamot in the crook of my elbow.

Lovely.

Edited October 2, 2007 by TereFaerie

[MaidenGenevive]

Libertine

 

At first, this is predominately violet, but it's not long before I notice a musky sandalwood and the other notes rising up. This is mostly a round, strong floral with a musk undertone.

 

[3 - Like] Nice, but not for me.

Edited October 9, 2007 by MaidenGenevive

[KassiK]

On me this is a predominantly herby scent with bergemont balancing it out. It smells much more herby on than in the imp. It doesn't have much throw, though. It also seems to me like a scent that isn't gender specific. Bergamont is one of my favorite notes, so this might turn into a big bottle.

[YoakeNoKami]

Imp: This one is very violet and rosewood in the imp, interestingly enough. There's a sort of fresh-cut smell to the violet.

On: Violet all the way, baby! There might be a bit of the rosewood lingering, or a bit of the chamomile peeking through, but other than that, these smell like my favorite violet pastilles.

 

 

 

_{Edit cuz I intitally typed up my notes on the wrong thing!!!}

Edited November 16, 2007 by YoakeNoKami

[ravenfeathers]

in the bottle fresh, herbal floral

wet on skin STRONG SOMETHING! actually, it's screaming LILAC, LILAC! but there doesn't appear to be lilac here. hm.

dry on skin the whatever-was-screaming-lilac backs off a little, but not enough to stop overshadowing everything else, which is freshly herbal. must retest this on myself, as it's quite pretty in the imp and i think my daughter amps some florals (she's guinea pigging for me). when she's wearing ultraviolet, i can smell her across the house.

[coraa]

Vial: Rose! The rose hits me right away, and then the violet. Backnote of something sharper, sweet-lemon. Smells very sweet, almost candylike.

 

Wet: The rosewood is very strong on me, the violet coming in second. This isn't surprising -- rose really stands out on me, which is just fine because I love rose scents. And there's another note, something sharper and cleaner, almost like lemon, coming up...

 

Drydown: The lemony note becomes more prominent... and now I can recognize it as the bergamot, probably, backed by chamomile. Still very much a rose scent on me, but I can smell the sandalwood now, too, and the chamomile and the violet. Mmm. A lovely mix of herbal smells, like a garden.

 

Dry: Sweet mild rose and lemon. The violet's almost entirely gone, but there's a very mild backnote of herbs -- I can't pick out individual herbal notes, though. Lovely, not-too-sweet floral.

[megank4]

When reading this review before applying it, I thought for sure someone mentioned that it smelled like dandelions. Oh well, guess it was another. But this is exactly what it smells like to me. For five minutes before it disappears completely. Anyway, don't want memories of being forced to weed the garden as a teenager, so off it goes.

[binaryfaerie]

Wet, I can smell the sandalwood and bergamot very strongly. After a few minutes, the sandalwood begins to blend with the violet, chamomile, and rosewood. The bergamot fades away but lingers in the background. After wearing it all day, it has really begun to smell like Marie to me, but perhaps slightly more woody and herbal. I love Marie, but sometimes it's a little too sweet for me, so Libertine might be a good alternative for the days where I don't want to smell so sugary. I'll have to test them both out at the same time to compare them better. I was expecting this to be a masculine scent, so I'm really glad that it's not!

[hkhm]

imp: violet softened with chamomile and primrose. very feminine.

 

wet: this all goes horribly wrong once applied. the florals are all jarring and a bit soapy and this ends up smelling like some horrid store perfume.

 

dry: a little less horribly wrong, but the notes are all wrong on my skin. oh well.

[bryghtrose]

The imp smells of Old Spice/ generic men's cologne. On the skin it becomes more of a ladies' perfume, with the rose and sandalwood dominant. It goes a bit powdery.

[fairnymph]

In the bottle: Dry woods, flowers, violet, chamomile.

 

Wet: Violet, primrose, and chamomile with a hint of citrusy bergamot. Slightly sweet. Planty and floral. Warm, dry rosewood and sandalwood.

 

Dry: There's a sharp green note that has been slowly growing, which I really dislike. The flowers (now with rose) have gone a bit powdery, but are otherwise pleasant. The woods stay softly in the background. There's musk, but it's very light. Regardless, I can't tolerate that sharp note, which now that I think about it, could be a urine-y blackcurrant scent.

Edited April 14, 2008 by fairnymph