Blood Countess

[Thaleia]

... Corrupted black plum, smoky opium and crumbling dead roses covered by a deceptive veil of Hungarian lilac, white gardenia and wild berry.

The description of Elizabeth Báthory sounded so deliciously evil, and the description of her scent sounded so deliciously good, so I just had to pick up a bottle.

Yummy plum and grapes in the bottle. Blood Countess is a banquet table adorned with flowers and overflowing with fruit, with an immaculately dressed lady sitting behind it, lounging and eating and watching the handsome young men walk by, checking them out. I think Countess Elizabeth and I are going to become good friends.

The second it hits my skin, I get a sharp berry sweetness. God, that's good. And, predictably, the rose peeps out and says hello. Berries and roses, what more could I ask for? It pretty much stays that way through the drydown. I think I'm in love. Don't take this as an endorsement of what she did, but I love this.

Must ... not ... chew ... on ... arm. 4.5! Edited February 7, 2006 by Shollin

[Rhowan]

My friend Gigi sent this to me to try. I have been dying to try this but I guess I had subliminally blocked out the "dead roses" as rose notes hate me - and I do mean hate me.Also, my skn amps gardenia so usually it is the overpowering note - but! I have learned to never!say never to any of Beths creations because you just never know! So...

 

In the vial and wet on my skin, I get mmmm! Fresh plum and berries! At first I am reminded a bit of Lady Macbeth but these berries are an almost reddish black compared to the bright red of the naughty Lady M.

 

The longer this sits on my skin, the more well rounded it becomes. It's not just all about the berries any longer. The lilac is peeking it's head out and becoming a great counter part to the berries. No gardenia, just a hint of roses, and opium is nowhere to be seen.

 

In conclusion, this is a wonderful scent! Blood Countess has taken my virginty in the rose catagory. In fact, Blood Countess has held a lot of firsts for me. First rose note I have been able to wear, first opium that hasn't gone awry, and fist gardenia that hasn't over-amped and taken over as primary note.

 

This is a beautiful, feminine, somewhat springy note. I don't catch the "darkness" of it that is hinted at in it's description - this just made my 5ml list!

 

 

edited for spelling

Edited February 7, 2006 by Rhowan

[undream]

Ohmygod, yum. Dark, spicy, with a sweet throw. Very seductive. And somewhat elegant? Deep, deep plum, both scent & colour (not of the actual oil, but if it were a colour . . . )

 

I am all kinds of distracted in love with this one . . .

[strawberry_star]

So glad the rose didn't put me off, I can't even smell it in this. That is good! Instead I smell spiced fruits. Not overly fruity and it almost smells like a candle shop, but not in a bad way. Mmmm plum. I can definitely smell the plum and berries in this primarily but it's so grounded by the other notes that it makes it complex. Very hard to describe, it's gorgeous.

[urraca]

It starts off with tart fruit and berries, very much an autumnal scent. The tartness fades and a sweetenss comes through. I can'tidentify any of the florals --- the rose, the opium, or the gardenia. I like this, but I feel it would work best as a soap, or in my bath.

[ajcj213499]

This is amazing.

 

I got it as a frimp from the lab (I never would have ordered it) and I LOVE it! Floral with a hint of plum and delicious spice- that might not sound like the best thing ever but it is.

 

This has to be one of my favorite new BPALs, and it's even more amazing because fruits usually go weird on me. You MUST try this!

[sookster]

straight sniff from imp is plum and berries...

 

upon application the plum turns sharp, almost acidic...after 30 minutes

i get some floral action going on; it must be the gardenia and lilac....then

some spiciness....such a morpher this one is

 

not sure if i want a big bottle but i will keep my imp and love it a few

more times....

[MissMorbus]

Blood Countess

 

I have been using this scent for a year now, and I am just getting around to writing a description.

 

This is my absolute all time favorite scent. I have loved it from the moment it hit my skin.

 

In Bottle: I smell gooey, wet, ripe plums and berries, maybe just a tiny bit of flowers mixed in.

 

On skin: I still smell the plums and berries, although they are not as gooey and wet anymore. This scent dries to a very sweet scent, but not foody. I can smell the undercurrent of the flowers now, which are keeping the fruits from being too fruity. Overall this is a very happy scent for me. No matter what is happening in my day, if I get a whiff of this, it automatically makes me smile.

 

Throw: It has a decent throw. I only use a little, because I feel like if I really slathered, it would be overpowering. It last for ages. In fact if I skip a shower, then I can still faintly smell it in the morning from the day before. The hubby says he likes it best when it is a day old.

 

Rating: 5 of 5

Edited March 12, 2006 by MissMorbus

[LittleGreyKitten]

I like most of the notes in this but not all. It's a little fruity for my taste, but it is evil fruit at least! Dark, poisonous, blood red berries is the fruit scent I get. The opium is in there- it's a deep veil hazing the whole scent. The roses, gardenia and lilac are being pretty quiet on me. This is like 90% evil fruit and 10% spicy smokey opium. Good stuff. Will definitely keep the imp and play with it; so far I've not grown to love the fruit enough to need a bottle though. It doesn't morph much, and it's got some serious throw. For me, 3.5 out of 5.

[Miss_Trisha]

Blood Countess is

 

I can't get enough of it. The Countess is so elusive with her smoky floral blend and voluptuous red fruits.....I adore it! So perfect!

[brownbear]

The color of this scent is deep burgandy. It is very rich. I get deep berry wine from this. When it is wet there is something sweeter and lighter there, i think it's the gardenia. I really like this a lot.

[Miss Surreal]

In the vial: Fruity and very floral. God I hope this loves my chemistry because I have a feeling this may be one of my favorites.

 

Wet: The berry is really sticking out and im definitely smelling plum and rose.

 

Dry: Dark, damp rose. Still somewhat fruity, but the floral has taken over.

 

30 mins later: I cant stop sniffing my wrist, the rose in this is wonderful. I think im getting Gardenia too, but I cant be too sure.

 

Hour later: Who knew rose could smell so wonderful! Great throw on me as well.

 

Closing thoughts: Yep, 5 ML bottle of this in my next order. This oil was darkly satisfying. This is a very non traditional floral scent, nothing my grandmother would wear. Definetly will end up on my top 5.

[SpinnyRoses]

I had a feeling this would not be an absolute favorite. I knew it would be nice, and I'd definitely use the imp up, but not a 5 mL bottle for me.

 

So I swipe the imp on and smell. And I smell... pears?! What?

 

I don't understand why, but this goes straight to a pear scent with me and stays that way. I will it to morph into a note that's actually listed, but no, stubbornly pear.

 

Of course, on my mother, it's far more balanced and wonderfully dark roses. I don't understand body chemistry.

[Eunice]

This is the first time I have really noticed the plum and not had it be too sweet. This plum pairs nicely with the gardenia and lily. Not too sweet, not too flowery. This is mature youth. Blood Countess gets more heady the longer it is on my skin. There is a bit of spiciness and smokiness now that is the saving grace for me. This is a fruity floral I could wear!

[silverfishee]

This scent is amazing! It reminds me of "sweet" death.... like a funeral procession through sweltering summer streets with flowers in full bloom and a faint breeze to mingle and carry the smells of flowers, sweat and grief....

Definitley a somber scent, to me, and absolutely wonderful!

[elfmaiden]

Straight from the imp and on my skin wet it's really a very dark juicy scent. The plum is really strong and I don't think I've ever smelled anything like this before!

 

As it dries it's getting much more floral and heady, the plum still has a strong presence though. I found it's going ever so slightly soapy but not enough to make me stop wearing it.

 

It's a very pretty scent!

 

Jenn

[cranberry]

Juicy, luscious dark red fruit, slightly spicy. When I first applied this I got a bit of the opium haze but that receded pretty quick leaving only the rich, jeweled fruits. This is how I imagined Frumious Bandersnatch would smell like. Yum! From my memory of that scent, they are pretty similar. As it wears it stays pretty true, not changing much. It’s all juicy plum with a touch of spice. Wow, this is a delicious scent!

[abberlaine]

Bang. Plum. Dry smoke. Gardenia. Sugared pear? A wreath of acrid roses.

 

Do I smell the scent of an alluring woman? No. The Elizabeth Báthory I'm getting is indeed brutal, savage, and a wild, crazy bitch. She would work her way up to grotesque murders, shutting peasants in the iron maiden or disfiguring her victims with a silver claw attached to a whip.

 

The scent dries down to a smoky, sour plum and rose protected from persecution by the royal veil of flowers set above. It's too sour, too murky for me, and I believe it's ultimately destined for the swap pile.

[miharu]

This is sweet, floral, light and very feminine; not usually my favorite qualities in a scent. I know that there's no cherry, cherry blossom or green tea in this, but on drydown it smells almost exactly like the Spring's Mind (green tea scented with cherry blossom) by The Tea Republic.

[indicolite]

Plum and berry go kaboom together!

 

Dear Blood Countess, you are indeed giving me visions of redness (my visualisation of scents gets much better after about 11 pm), and sweetness, but generally I do not care for non-citrus fruits, unless, like with Al-Shairan or Yerevan or something, there are extenuating circumstances. With you there are not. Meaning no disrespect to you, you have no redeeming features for me. I put you in the Find-a-Better-Home box.

[Bagfish]

Shrieking metallic fruit - I can fair smell the blood and darkness. Blood Countess makes me want to do this which is probably the best reaction!

 

Blood Countess and I will NOT be acquainted again after I have washed her off and imprisoned her in my imps-to-swap pile.

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

in the imp, i mostly get GARDENIA... .and other small white blossoms.

 

on my skin, i get white flowers and still with the gardenia.

drying down, maybe some small yellow blossoms mix in with the gardenia -- with a wierd, bitter, almost grapefruit/overripe citrus type note hovering just somewhere in the air nearby.

overall reaction: ick.

and i try to ignore my hand for awhile, as i was at work and couldn't go scrub like the dickens to get it off...

 

about an hour later, i wondered why i kept smelling roses. glorious, full-bloom florist roses... so i cautiously sniffed my hand .... and boom. rosier than Rose Red.

lovely, but not worth the first fifteen minutes of ick.

[filigree_shadow]

Blood Countess is one of the blends I knew for sure that I would like -- the plum, opium, lilac, and berry sounded wonderful! The only listed note I don't get along with is gardenia. (I wore a gardenia-scented oil in the 90s and got burned out on the scent.) And guess what Blood Countess smelled like on me? Yep, you guessed it. Gardenia. A fruity gardenia, but still gardenia.

 

I tested Blood Countess at least three times because I kept hoping that this time it'll be just plum and opium. You'd think I would have given up after three tries, but I refused to give up my imp hoping that one day my skin would play nice. And I am happy to announce that TODAY is that day!

 

Today this is definitely a plum and lilac scent on my skin, and it's lovely! I'm thrilled that this finally worked on me. Now I can relate to the comparisons to Queen of Spades and Frumious Bandersnatch. I have discovered that this particular oil is affected by my hormones -- now that I know when to wear it and when not to, it's officially a keeper!

 

Also, three hours after application the scent is still going strong. It's got some good lasting power!

[Shollin]

First sniff: Rather unfortunately, this smells like nothing but cherry cough syrup, right down to the sharp edges.

 

Wearing: There’s a very strong cherry-almond edge, but fortunately the center is less sticky than it was in the vial. It’s bright, bright red and just this side of sickly-sweet. And it didn’t stick to me for more than a couple of hours, so the drydown never really got a chance to redeem itself.

[neuilly]

In the bottle: Cold spiced plum.

 

Wet: I'm liking the plum but the spices are....well, they remind me of the Yankee Christmas cnadle. I've had this reaction to one other scent before and now I'm starting to wonder what that is. It's not a bad smell it's just that it's hard to disassociate with the idea that I smell like a candle.

 

Dry: Smells a bit like mulled wine, but with plum.

 

 

Interesting, not me though.