Lily, the prostitute

[Balame]

LILY, The Prostitute

Heady blossoms of jasmine, white gardenia, and magnolia sharpened by neroli, given a voluptuous depth by red patchouli, oakmoss, and cedar.

WHOOSH, JASMINE.

Piles and piles of juicy, lush jasmine. I do like “wet” (rather than powdery) jasmine so it’s not too bad, but then the richness of magnolia and gardenia make an entrance. I smell a tiny bit of cedar and patch behind all the flowers, which grounds the floral overload slightly, but no oakmoss or neroli.

If you love jasmine, get this. If you love white florals, get this. Way too many petals for me! I will say that Lily surprisingly doesn’t give me a headache like a lot of other white floral blends. Somehow it’s not as cloying - more like standing in the middle of a beautiful garden.

[Monday]

Lily reminds me a bit of Vain Sorceress.

Jamine, the bad kind...but it’s followed by magnolia, gardenia and red patchouli. I especially like the use of the patchouli in this blend it pierces through the florals and lifts them. After a while the jasmine blends into the other notes until it’s barely there. This is a very versatile scent. It’s heady and voluptuous but at the same time the woodsiness makes it smell adventurous. Quite fitting.

[theseagrows]

this is all jasmine at first but it smells more like ylang ylang to me, which is probably due to the waxiness of magnolia and gardenia. it smells creamy and yellow, and then it blooms onto my skin and it's a gorgeous, heady summer floral scent. the non-floral notes do add a depth but they are subtle and don't overpower or anything. i honestly can't even really pick them out. i like this for summer, but it's probably the only time i would wear it.

[milo]

Very sweet and heady. Lilies are not really my thing, sometimes they are too cloying, and this is definitely the case here. Not for me.

[zankoku_zen]

Lush luscious jasmine with a patchouli base. As it dries, I get some of the magnolia and gardenia peeping through - which means occasionally I get whiffs of wet wool.

 

PASS.

[stubbornfire]

I wanted to like this - as it starts to dry a bit I can catch the oakmoss and red patchouli trying to rein in these loud ass florals some but they are just not tough enough to do it. They're not even tough enough to properly co-star. I don't get a distinct cedar smell at all, so white-floral lovers if you were worried, you may not need to be.

 

It's very much jasmine, but there's plenty of magnolia and gardenia too, just...not enough of anything else!

 

It's driving me up the wall because it's just so goddamn PRETTY, but it's also just very not "me". I'm wondering if a bit if aging will toughen up the patch and moss' game a little...

 

Despite everything I've said, I can't bring myself to put my decant in the pass along pile. Maker preserve me I might even need a bottle....

[Blood onmy hands]

On me, this is waxy gardenia, perfumey white floral magnolia, and loud, slightly sour jasmine. I can't even pick out the earthy notes under all of that floral.

[joopjoop]

Lily is a white-floral lover's dream (well, she is this white-floral lover's dream anyway).

 

A rush of jasmine and then a beautiful balance of the jasmine, magnolia and gardenia. The oakmoss gives depth to florals but surprisingly it is the cedar that makes it all work. I tend to amp cedar, and so often have to avoid it, but here it provides an excellent counterpoint to the flower show. I don't get patchouli, except perhaps as the tiniest bit of spiciness in the background.

 

The throw on this one is lovely but not overpowering. It wafts around me in a gentle cloud. Despite the tropical florals, Lily is ultimately a melancholy scent to me. It seems insubstantial; a dream-like moment that you want to preserve under glass but that is always on the edge of slipping away.

 

I"m ordering a bottle.

[Aveya]

Source: Lab

Preconception: NOPE. NOPE. Don't make me wear this, self. Magnolia? Gardenia!? JASMINE?! You know how I feel about jasmine. YEAH BUT TRY IT YOU HAVE IT. TRY EVERYTHING RAWR

 

Imp: Florals. Yeah. Yeah I know.

Skin: ....

PUT IT ON YOUR SKIN.

...

 

Ahem

Skin: Florals. Imagine that. OOoh but patchouli!? See there's reasons we try everything.

Drydown: OK so this is a floral that doesn't do that perfumey dusty in-your-nostrils thing that Jasmine very specifically does to me all the time. Instead this stays... behaved. Heady, for sure. But instead of powdery grandma it feels full bodied and well rounded. That depth from the patch and team is very very lovely.

 

Beginner's floral. Floral for those that can't quite. Has an edge to it that feels oddly western - cedar? Woody patchouli for sure. It's sweet and full, floral but tempered from taking over the world. Actually worked really well on me.

 

Verdict: That backup bottle the tom-boy female keeps for those occasions when she has to put on a dress and go to a wedding and pretend to be a girly bridesmaid for your sister in law. It passes as feminine but doesn't completely abandon you.

Edited May 19, 2018 by Aveya

[VetchVesper]

Stinky jasmine blast of DOOOM. Sometimes I like jasmine, and sometimes it comes of as acrid, like urine or burning plastic. That's what this is doing, but I'm gonna wait it out and see if it calms itself the hell down.

 

Ok, after about 10 mins, it's decided to behave itself. Now it's pretty white floral. Sweet and somewhat creamy, with a backing of soft, dusty woodiness that reminds me of sandalwood even though I know it's the cedar and red patch. Cedar generally does not like me, but it's pleasant in this. I LOVE gardenia, and I can smell it here, and it's nice, but there are other gardenia blends that set me more agog and don't suffocate me with jasmine for ten mins first.. I can see what Aveya said about it having a western feel though. It's sort of a rustic gardenia. Shabby chic, if you will. Worth the sniff, but not something I need more of.

 

ETA: It occurs to me that this makes me think of Anne Bonny with white floral floating over the top. I'm not too keen on AB, but I know she's very popular, so perhaps Lily would appeal to quite a few BPALers out there.

Edited July 2, 2018 by VetchVesper