Marie

[Scarlettfish]

A blend of sinuous violet and elegant tea rose: the chosen scent of France’s Demigoddess of Debauch: Marie Antoinette.

I think I have found my ultimate violet scent. The violet in Marie mixes beautifully with the rose to create a soft, pretty floral scent - the violet loses the sharpness I have noticed in other BPAL violet scents, and becomes kinda lush and decadent. This is a sophisticated, sexy, very strongly feminine scent. Edited December 28, 2005 by Shollin

[AngellicMystique]

This is a concept smells for me, beauty with ugliness underneath, gilding over cheap junk, and excess over the have-nots.

[Stumbeline]

A soft, powdery floral that reminds me of grandmas and bathrooms. Florals and I are just not meant to be.

[rinoastar]

In the bottle: Wow, nail polish remover. Ew.

 

Wet: Violets. Violets, with a touch of rose and a healthy dose of sharp old-lady scent. Yuck.

 

Dry: Thank GOD this one faded fast! Ew, ew, ew. Here's hoping I can find a home for it. I'm sure it's lovely to someone else, but this is exactly what I have always hated about rose perfumes: sticky, cloying, and oversweet. It's like straight rose oil, but worse because it has just enough violet to give it serious throw while it's going.

 

Summary: This is exactly what it advertises as. Had I not gotten this as an imp, I would never have tried it, and for good reason. Ew.

[judas_kiss]

This one was from the Lab.

 

In the imp: Rose, with a slight undertone of sweet violets.

 

On: ROSE, but a crisp, young rose which has just been watered. This is an absolutely lovely scent for rose-lovers! If you are looking for a crisp, sweet (not foody, though) rose, this is it. The violet does not show up enough on my chemistry to really come forward at anytime, unfortunately.

 

Dry: Still rose, still no violets. Pretty, though.

 

Overall. This is a VERY strong one with a LOT of throw. I had one teeensy swipe on my hand and it lasted well into the evening and stayed pretty true. I'm not too into roses these days, so I will be swapping this one away, unfortunately.

[grrrlennyl]

at first: a really beautiful combination. a simple rose and sweet violet.

on: wow. just gorgeous. sweet violets and damp tearose.

1.5 hours later: sour and a bit soapy. not good.

4 hours later: some soft, powdery violets, but this is fading fast.

overall: i have other violet oils that i like better.

[AlaskaSnows]

Wet: Juicy rose, and a fruity light lavender.

 

Dry: The rose takes on a sweet almost fruity note and the lavender gets sharper and herbier. These two blend well. Not really to my liking though, somehow. A bit too sharp and tangy for me.

[Shollin]

First sniff: This is a seriously heavy floral that smells like an expensive-bath-stuff store. It reminds me of Crabtree & Evelyn.

 

Wearing: A heavy, oppressive floral that very quickly went powdery. I’m not terribly surprised, as violet hates me.

[storme]

In the bottle: hmm, violets, roses, I love both of those. Violets hate me, alas. Oh well...

 

On me: ah, there we go. The violets become cloying and overpowering, a morass of sticky sweetness, and the roses are nowhere to be found. The scent sticks around all day, and it's very strong. Urgh.

[yellowrose]

A frimp from the lab. Thanks!

 

Violets and roses are promising. Let's see.

 

In the bottle: roses.

 

Wet: rose, but a soft, one dimensional rose.

 

Drying: Softens to Parlement of Foules type of rose. Violet never makes an appearance. I'm beginning to wonder what's going on with my skin chemistry, because it seems lately that a lot of notes in any given blend get amped to the exclusion of others. And no violet?

 

A nice rose, but there are plenty of other roses in my collection (Black Cat, LitA, Moon Rose, Parlement of Foules) that I enjoy. This frimp should find a good home.

[Brianne]

In the vial:

soft rose with a green tang to it

 

On me:

This scent is pretty straight forward - it's a soft tea rose with tangy green leafs around it, combined with violet. The violet is really soft in comparison to the rose - the rose is definitely the lead here and this IS a rose scent. But you can smell the violet too.

 

Final note:

Not bad, since I'm not into florals I don't really care for it, but I can say that it's a very nice rose scent.

[moon_lemming]

While the sweet soapiness that I've come to associate with violets is the main thing that stands out when I sniff the imp, Marie turns into a beautiful almost-too-sweet pink rose when I first put it on. I love how all the BPAL rose scents seem different. I was afraid Marie was going to end up being way too strong to wear, but even while I was thinking that, it was calming down and becoming a little powdery (in a good way).

 

After the first few POW! minutes, I have to get pretty close to my arm to smell it; the final scent it gives off is half soapiness/violets and half soft pink rose petals. Yum.

 

I can see why this is too "much" (too rosey, too grandma-y, too powdery) for the majority of sniffers, but my chemistry eats up enough of it that it's pretty subtle. I lurve it.

[Naamah_Darling]

I'm pretty sure that this one isn't going to work on me, but I'll try it nevertheless because, well, I'd love to find a violet that didn't HATE me.

 

I pop the imp open, and I smell . . . violet, rose, and a slight whiff of something else I really can't place.

 

On, the roses come out a little more, but there's that freezerburn blast of violet that hits me with a recoil like a .44. Violet always smells so artificial and cloying once it's on my skin. Dry, it tones down and is really pretty for a couple of minutes until . . . I smell something sour, like mustard. Or . . . yes, that's pickles.

 

What. The hell. Is that about?

 

I smell like my favorite burger joint, if it were staffed entirely by aged nuns. There's a fierce old-lady element to this that just isn't working on my skin. I don't think of violets or roses as being old-lady scents, and on other people maybe this would come across as elegant and a little depraved. On me? Pickles.

 

After a while, the pickles are gone, but it's still incredibly violet and not me in the slightest.

 

You know, this is a fine smell. Nothing wrong with it. I just don't like florals. And they don't like me.

[Mary Mayhem]

I don't know what it is with me and these sour roses. I smell the roses, and it's nice, but there's this tart.. sour smell going on with it. Once on, the sour scent fades away some and I'm left with a nice, light rose smell. I can still smell the sour under there, though.

 

I'm wondering if Violet is the culprit, but I have no idea.

[emzebel]

Marie is very very pretty and feminine perfume.

 

But I don't really *do* pretty and feminine all that much. It is a very nice blend of roses and violets, both of which I like when blended with other notes, but together it is just a little too much pretty flower for me.

[gwyllgi]

The first time I tried this, I wasn't terribly impressed; the tea rose overwhelmed the violet and left my nose burning. Tea rose and I aren't friends. Trying it again, the tea rose is less dominating, so I imagine it was something about my chemistry at the time.

 

Now that it's not the tea rose at center stage, this is a lovely, winsome violet scent. It's violet playing dress-up, swaddled in fur, elaborately coifed, and with a perfectly-placed beauty mark. The tea rose adds a hint of sharp that perfectly embodies a spoiled, selfish nature that simply doesn't know anything else.

 

I may have to give this one a few more tries before deciding whether or not to get a big bottle; if it stays primarily violet, it'll be a definite, but if I end up with more instances of the march of the tea rose, I think it'll be a pass.

[feline.by.design]

The initial reaction to the first sniff of the oil on my skin: "Whoa... smells like bubble bath."

 

Actually, it doesn't, though this is a sweet floral without being too cloying or heady for me. There is a sort of bubbley note that seems to make the whole oil giggle, but it's quite a feminine scent.

 

I like the way it smells, but I don't know if this is a fragrance that would suit me. It reminds me too much of bubble bath for some reason or another. However, I do have a friend who loves rose scents, and I think this might be her cup of tea. I'll pass along this imp (which was kindly passed to me) to see if Marie and she will make friends.

 

-doreen

[Spastik_Kitty]

In the bottle: TEA ROSE!!!!

 

First on: Tea rose with a hint of violet. The rose in this reminds me of the parts I like about Ace Of Hearts

 

After a bit: For some odd reason this impression comes to mind, a dainty whore. It's mostly tea rose, but slightly sour, with a candied sweetness from the violet.

 

After a bit more: Yup, I smell like a victorian prostitute about to turn her very first trick. Before the eye khol is streaked and hair is awry. It's staying very true to the initial application.

 

I'm not sure what to think about this one. In some ways I like it, in other ways I find it quite appauling.

[midnight_aeval]

In the vial I get violet, oh it smells delightful!!

 

After I applied it I got a deep rose scent. Ugh. Rose. Not my favorite in the least.

 

10 min later...still rose.

 

30 min later...rose.

 

1 hours later... you aren't gonna believe this... ROSE.

 

Ah well, pick your battles Miss A.

[juniperus]

Bottle: lovely not-quite-open tea rose. I hope this continues to be lovely - tea rose has a habit of soapifying on me.

Wet: the darker violet apparent, now, this is slightly haughty but lovely.

Dry: ooOOoohhh...there is goes. ever so slightly soapy - please stop. *sigh* please?

Later: lovely rose...soap. I love violet and rose, I had so hoped this would work!

(and it's my middle name, so, damnit, it should have been miiiine! all miiine!)

[PilotKitten]

Yup, violets and roses. Both of an equal magnitude and scent depth. As already stated about a million times, I love BPAL’s rose blends and this is no exception. I’ve never really thought of violet being all *that* great but this blend might be changing my mind. After drydown, this is a powdery rose on me and it’s absolutely delightful. Hmm… powder and roses…. I think I might end up ordering this combo in a dusting powder from one of my many e-tailers I have bookmarked… I think it’d be a lovely combo.

[Merlu]

In the imp: Violets and roses. The violet is stronger than the rose, which is a good thing as I love violet.

 

Wet, on skin: Violets and roses again, but equally balanced. The rose becomes stronger as it dries.

 

Dry: Rose scented soap. It really smells like artificially scented cleaning product. The soap scent remains even after a few hours.

Edited July 11, 2006 by Merlu

[valentina]

In the imp, I knew Marie had rose in it, because it was all that I could smell. I tested this scent without reading the description, but once it hit my skin, I did correctly guess that it was tea rose, because it's a smaller, spicier rose scent. I could also smell something darker lurking around in the blend, and that would be the violet. Normally rose becomes overwhelming on my body, but tea rose, when paired with violets, actually works.

 

I know several people think this smells soapy-bubble bath, and perhaps it does just a bit, but to me it's a very comforting scent. It breaks my "I can't wear rose" rule, and it really quite lovely. It's also a scent that I think would be very nice for a little girl -- it's not too complex or overwhelming. I'm thinking about going off and layering it with O to naughty it up and see what happens , but I do think that it may be a scent that would layer very nicely.

[yeahbutnobut]

Marie

 

In the imp: rose and sweet violets.

Wet on skin: rose and violets.

Dry on skin: rose and violet, pure and simple. The darker, richer, full-bodied scent of red rose contrasts nicely with the soft, pale, powdery and pretty scent of violet. This scent really does have an old fashioned feel to it-it's a fragrance that does seem to belong to the era of Marie Antoinette. The powdery aspect of this scent does bring to mind her powdered wigs, and the rose is haughty and and full of itself.

After a while: still rose and violet. This scent doesn't morph much-maybe the violet is a little bit more powdery, but this is an uncomplicated scent which is very stable on me.

Verdict: another simple and effective rose-with-one-other-note scent. Rose and violet, the two notes blend very well, both equal and contrasting nicely. This really does seem a scent straight from the 18th century, this grandiose and proper scent is sophisticated and traditional. It really seems fit for Marie Antoinette-but if there was a bit of cake (as in, let them eat cake) and the metallic sharpness of a guillotine, it might have been even more appropriate and maybe nicer smelling on me. It's nice, but I have many other rose scents I prefer, this is a little bit too old fashioned for me though-it's a nice scent but I feel too young to pull it off, unless I were going to a French Revolution themed party or something and even then I'd choose Versailles as my scent. Swap.

Emoticon rating:

If you like this, try: Versailles, London, Lucy's Kiss, Peacock Queen, Pride

Edited September 28, 2006 by yeahbutnobut

[theblackcloud]

Marie

Diabolus

"Let us walk through the garden, I have something most wondrous to show you" said Marie in her most soft and sultry voice. As we passed the gate, just beyond the bend were rows upon rows of beautiful, purple violets blowing gently in the wind; my eyes were amazed and my heart was seduced... at that very moment I wanted to tell her all of my deepest secrets. Instead I just smiled and we laughed. We continued to walk for a while when we came across roses, just opening for the day with water dripping from the tips. I remarked that I never had any luck growing them and was always envious to see others with such magnificent blooms, she said I could have my pick and enjoy the beautiful fragrance all day.

 

Hubby was not around for me to ask what he thought, so I may add that later.

 

I will be quite happy to buy a bottle of this in a future order, as it seems like the perfect fragrance to wear when I am out with the girls.

 

Once again, a big thank you to emzebel for including this in my newbie imp pack!