Libertine

[Court Analyst/Strategist]

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

When first applied: sharp bergamot, chamomile, and flowery 'mainstream' perfume. I was thinking it smelled like *good* potpourri for some reason after about a minute...

Drydown: Rosewood (I would bounce up and down now if I was wired for it, I love rosewood that much ) comes out to play. Amazingly, the bergamot is actually staying pleasant (and not turning strange or making other notes turn strange as it often does on my skin chemistry), through strong. I'm starting to enjoy this one, but I really do wish the bergamot was not so dominant. If there's violet in there, its very light and staying poised (I have bad luck with violet, so I'm still keeping an eye on her). The herbally chamomile is a much milder note but a nice additive, and the musk is barely noticable, way in the background. I was hoping red sandalwood would show up but I don't get him at all from Libertine. There's still a dry hint of 'floral potpourri' quality somewhere in this (perhaps the primrose, I'm not sure), but all in all the blend is doing better than I expected on my fickle skin.

6.5/10 (Overall Rating). I enjoy Libertine contrary to my skin's usual disappearing /or mutating treatment of citrus notes, but its really not wearable for me. The rosewood smells so good with bergamot, though.

Court

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

in the imp: i can't really smell anything at all. just vaguely "clean" smelling. which is a relief, because i was so afraid of the almond. evil, eee-vile almond.

 

on my skin, after a minute or so:

very strong brewed chamomile tea. with lemon. violets in a vase nearby. sandalwood & rosewood incense.

 

very pretty, lovely blend.

never would have figured i'd like this very much, but i do.

 

still smells very clean.... and not so different from liquid Tide the more i think about it...

if Dirty smells like fabric softener, then Libertine is the detergent.

 

.... three hours later, and i really like this. whoda thunk it?

 

ETA: for some reason, a few minutes after i posted this, i realised the top of my hand (where i'd sampled this, for easy sniff-testing) was beginning to smell like Rose Cross -- which i have neither worn nor touched in well over a week.

freaky. but yummy.

Edited July 5, 2006 by TrailerTrashPrincess

[Rhowan]

In the imp and wet on my skin - fresh!! Rosewood and Chamomile are the first two notes to hit my nose!

 

Drying down and oh! this is absolutely beautiful The bergamot is happy and joyous with the violet supporting it so it doesn't get over powering!

 

Completely dried down and I have to say this is joyous, and beautiful. I cannot even begin to describe it. At first the violet hits your nose, along with the woods and the chamomile, and primrose. Then back to the violet and bergamot all supported by a smooth and non intruding musk. Good throw, good wear! This is definitely a 5ml!

[Celogrl]

I received this in a swap and was so glad that I did! It is lovely, and I was glad it was such a soft and subtle scent on me. Lovely violet and rosewood were all I sniffed. Gorgeous!

 

However...Have any of you had a scent that completely seemed to disappear once applied? Your skin just eats it up? This is what happens with Libertine for me. It's so pretty, I will happily keep it, but I think I need a big, big bottle.

[edenssixthday]

Libertine - Chamomile is the strongest note on my skin. Somehow, the various elements of this blend combine together to leave me with something that smells distinctly like tea, despite not having any actual tea notes. Tea and violets is what it smells like, actually! It's pretty, and I'm crazy about the violet background, but tea is just not my thing. It's a subtle scent, but it's got good throw, and as I go about my daily business, I catch whiffs of the blend when I least expect it, and I keep thinking what a nice tea scent that is. I may choose to use this in my oil burner because it is really pretty despite the fact that I don't personally like smelling like tea.

[ajcj213499]

I really like this.

 

It's very smooth. I smell the chamomile the most, but it has a bit of herbal rose peeking out from behind it. It reminds me quite a bit of Rome (from Wanderlust).

[indicolite]

Libertine: a very nice scent, I thought at first. Now I can hardly smell it. All I get is the niceness - possibly rosewood. I will go reapply him and see what happens.

 

There we are: a very very lovely blend of floral and something more interesting: musk and sandalwood, I love you guys. I do not get any chamomile, though, which is fine by me - chamomile tea is good, smelling like it all the time isn't my, um, cup of tea.

 

Libertine, you are like those men that you see across the street and go "Ah, what gorgeousness!" No long and persistent seduction for you.

 

Alas, you do not perform so long, which may or may not apply to such men...

 

You're in the imp box to carry with me. Whether I love you enough to get a bottle remains to be seen, but I give you a chance.

[lookingglass]

Femme and earthy fresh, this is very floral, but a little masculine, too. Definately has that "natural" perfume smell. It reminds me of an old Victorian sitting room with fresh cut flowers. I know just the man that needs to wear this.

[juniperus]

Bottle: foppish. am I allowed to say that? violet and primrose and rosewood, primarily, at first sniff.

Wet: bergamot coming from behind. violet less prominent.

Dry: there is some note here that is setting itself apart...not in front of the other notes, but simply not blending well to my nose. how very odd. not sure which it is, the rosewood, maybe..it's like I'm only getting part of the note, if that makes any sense.

Later: well that odd phase ended, but I still don't think this likes me overmuch. A shame, I really loved the immediate violet in the beginning..

[cranberry]

Motivated to try my imp by the GC Swap.

 

In the Imp: chamomile and rosewood

 

On the Skin, wet: this reminds me of my beloved Sleepy Moon. Must be the chamomile. This is a bit more herbal but I’m liking this.

 

Dry: After it’s been on a bit, it’s predominantly rosewood, the chamomile is still here, with touches of primrose and violet. It’s not so much Sleepy Moon but I still like this. The sandalwood and musk support the herbs and rosewood.

 

Overall: This is a soft, clean scent, understated and natural. It would smell good on a man or a woman and is perfect for those time when you want to smell good without the scent being overpowering or in your face.

[thespring]

This is a beautiful rose fragrance. I'm not so much a fan of roses but that doesn't change how well made this is. I smell a citrus rose with woods adding depth and a powdery violet in the backgound. It smells like a garden and it smells perfumey.

 

It smells like a very well behaved woman to me. A good girl.

[Gladtobemom]

I bought this because of the violet and rosewood.

 

Wafting out of the bottle--wonderfully soft floral with that rosewood nose filling feeliing. Smells rich but not overpowering.

 

I applied it and was pleasantly surprised that the woody notes didn't take over. The Chamomile is clearly there and the violet also. It's sweet and rich, but not overpowering. Very nice.

 

After 4 hours. I am still smelling it and my husband says it's very nice. He seems to think ist is pleasant but not "girly". I think this is a nice daytime scent.

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I mixed it with 2 parts of perfumer's alcohol and made a spray. After forty-eight hours. It works faboulous. This is a great body spray scent for daytime.

 

I applied London to my pulse points in the evening--they mix fabulously well (the hours old Libertine and the newly applied London)

----------------------------------------

This one is a keeper. I'm going to order more.

[PixieSkull]

I tried Libertine a while ago and forgot to post my review.

 

Review: I found Libertine to be a powdery and dark floral. I could definately pick out the violet, which I don't think I get along with very well. The rosewood and red sandalwood and arabian musk were nice, but drowned by the floral, sadly. It was an okay blend, but bad on me.

Category: Dark Floral

Rating: 1.5/5; my skin amped the florals too much, they were too bright.

[Eros]

This starts out as a semi-sweet herbal in the imp. On skin it quickly turns into a lovely, sweet floral incense-like scent. Within 20 minutes it's more of a soapy scent and threatens to bring on a big sneezing fit. The incense phase was nice, if only it stayed that way...

[buzz23666]

wet - rosewood, bergamot and musk

 

dry - I am sort of surpirsed that I like this one as much as I do. I wouldn't have thought this combo would work on me.

 

It melds into quite a lovely scent. It pretty much stays true to the wet version as I don't get any of the violet or chamomile that some others are getting.

 

Not great enough for a full bottle - but I'll keep the imp.

[supremegoddessofall]

Florals that are chemically. I think the bergamot is chemically on me. The violet is too heavy.

[Emma2403]

In the bottle: rose (not rosewood, rose!) immediatly followed by violet. I say "wow"!

 

On my skin: violet mostly, and also bergamot (the rose scent disappeared). It's light, sweet and delicate. You know what? I like it!

 

After a couple of hours: delicate and sophisticated. A lovely purpled-rose colour!

Violet, bergamot, camomile and rose (rose's not listed but I swear it's there!).

 

Verdict: I'm very tempted to get a big bottle

[Briar]

Scent: Libertine

Bottle: Something sweet, a sort of floral powder. I swear there's a hint of leather under it. Something very, very faintly cigar-like, but not overwhelmingly so like Black Annis.

Wet: Much more powdery - a very sweet sort of amber smell. Leather lurks behind it. This scent is awfully complex, and my nose doesn't seem to be up to separating the scents this morning...

First Break: Now it's dried down to a really strange mix of sandalwood and amber. Or something. It's very light, slightly exotic, and lots of powdery.

Second Break: Now it smells like candy and baby powder. How weird.

 

. . Aha! The candy scent is chamomile and the powder is violet! Chamomile always smells a bit like candy apple to me... I would think from the list of notes in this that I would like the scent more than I do. I'll have to give it another go later.

[jasmine]

A round, slightly fruity smell when just applied. Something about it makes me think of strawberries, but without the innocence. It settles into a warm, woody smell that still has a hint of fruitiness to it. It’s a multidimensional smell -- maybe a bit thinner on the bottom than would be best, but it’s still layered.

 

...or it was. It’s started fading away into something very soft and subtle. It’s not bad, but it’s nothing more than a low, subtle, red woodiness on me now -- how unanticipated. (And to think: here I had feared it would go completely masculine!) I’m catching a faint soapy edge under the wood, too, which is also a great surprise. It keeps it from being cloying, and it isn’t actively unpleasant, but it’s very strange.

 

This grows more soapy as it settles further in. I think it’s the chamomile. There’s still a faint hint of wood, but it’s on its way out. Whatever Libertine is supposed to do, it doesn’t do it on me.

[Koumori]

This is a sweet, decadent scent, with the musk and sandalwood tying the rest of the notes together on me. It feels like a more feminine scent than the name would suggest; overall it comes across as a dark blue/green floral, with the resinous notes underlying. Not too strong, but doesn't fade away immediately as some similar scents have done on me. Nice, but overall not something I can see wearing enough to justify a bottle.

[sofiaviolet]

Ooh, this is lovely! Light on the bergamot. Some rosewood, plenty of violet, not much musk or sandalwood, maybe some chamomile. Very delicate.

[Babylon]

Roses and powdery violets, with some warm sandalwood. If I sniff my wrist hard, I smell... pickles. Now that I've noticed it, I can't smell anything *but* roses and pickles now. Off to the swap pile in hopes that it works better on someone else's skin!

[phedre]

In the vial: Tea, which must be the chamomile. And something sharp, though I can't figure out what. Sweet primrose and a touch of bergamot and musk to smooth it out.

 

Wet: Tons of bergamot, which I adore. Flowers and sandalwood come out and play.

 

Dry: I really like this. It's soft and lovely, reminding me somewhat of Dorian. It's supposed to be gender neutral, but my skin amps the florals and bergamot into a very feminine blend. It disappears after a few hours on my skin. I applied this at around 9 AM and at noon it's completely gone, except for the slightest whiff of florals.

 

Verdict: I love this; I just wish it would last longer.

[euterpe414]

This one smelled really sharp in the vial. eep!

 

Thankfully, on my skin it softened a bit and turned into a nice herbal tea smell. As it wafted up I felt as if I was sitting in bed sipping some nice herbal tea and reading a book...kind of weird since the description of this led me to think that this would be an energetic blend. I find it pretty calming and clean feeling.

 

The rose isn't too prominent, but it makes the blend have a certain slight sharpness on my skin. hm.

 

Personally, this is not a blend that I see myself wearing often. It seems that my imp would best be put to use in an oil burner though, on some lazy afternoon.

Edited January 4, 2007 by euterpe414

[waternight]

In the imp: Very light, I can hardly smell anything. There’s a faint citrusy, herbal odor. Maybe the slightest hint of rose.

Wet/Drydown: Mmm… bergamot with a nice herby chamomile. A light touch of primrose wafting around, and the musk warms and sexes it up. MAN, this smells amazing.

Dry: Unfortunately, the rosewood and/or primrose quickly take over, drowning out the herbal/citrus/musky/woody notes and turn this blend into pure rose. While I love rose, I have other BPAL rose blends that I like more, so this will likely be swapped.

 

I'm so sad the rose took over! I LOVED the wet phase, so complex and lovely. Hopefully I'll find a home for Libertine that will appreciate it.