Marquise de Merteuil

[Lucretia]

Stately, bold, aristocratic and cruel. Opulent galbanum and amber, glistening peach, and a bouquet of French florals, with a merciless undertone of jonquil and heartless vetiver.

My first first review!
anyway,

this my friends is awesome. If a peach could be the devil, this would be it. This is a juicy peach, not too sweet but just right, which a floral undertone and notes of vetiver. I for one have been waiting for a floral with vetiver for a long time, because it's one of my favorite combinations.
Out of the bottle, alcohol and peaches, smells like peach schnapps or something.
On it smells juicy, very peachy, with very regal, sophisticated florals. I don't know what a jonquil smells like, but I get sort of a lily scent. And then of course the vetiver which adds a hint of evil.

These peaches will suck your soul out!
I need a 5ml... !

edit to say that I got a bottle, and it's much less peachy, much more galbanum. Still fabulous, in fact possibly even better.

ETA: I still have this bottle almost 4 years later and it still smells awesome. It's aged beautifully. Especially the amber and the vetiver. Edited November 9, 2008 by Lucretia

[Fulltiltredhead]

OH. MY. EFF-ING. GOD.

 

That was my first reaction.

 

I have no words.

 

No, really.

 

Buy this for pure heady knock you down dead lush gorgeousness and if you think you can carry off smelling like a Marquise. This is a very beautiful, very fruity floral. It's drying down a little softer than its overture, but it comes out of the bottle full blown, announcing itself, makes you swoon.

 

If you love fruity florals, you will be ecstatic with this one.

 

If you don't, try it anyway. It's too good to miss.

 

Oh, and PS. This is a very good one to refer people to if they start talking about how BPAL is all headshop smells, because this one is pure French perfume.

[jj_j]

Marquise de Merteuil is peachy, yes, but it isn't really about the peaches on me. Between the peach note and the haughtily liquid amber, this is jonquil and luxuriant florals softened and emboldened at the same time.

 

If I really, really work at it, I can find the vetivert in this. It's a drop in the bucket, though, and not a major component of what's filling my nose as I type. More like a bit of dirt clinging to flowers that didn't break off at the stem, but instead came up out of the ground - a quiet reminder of where they came from, perhaps, but not what they're about.

 

This Marquise is a luxuriant, regal, warm (although perhaps not genuinely so), and very expensive-smelling creature. She loves beauty and quality, and this scent envelops her in a soft, sensual cloud of both. She's not all peach-fuzz softness and flower petals, and the dry-down of this blend reminds you she has power. It's power she'll use in ways you least expect, because she has the confidence to do whatever needs be. I have the Tarot of Prague, and the image of their Strength (bottom row, second from left) card came immediately to my mind when smelling Marquise de Merteuil.

 

I love FullTiltRedhead's comment about "if you think you can carry off smelling like a Marquise." I don't know if I'm qualified, but I bought a 10 ml. bottle to find out for certain!

Edited December 29, 2004 by jj_j

[shadow]

This is the very expensive perfume of a very wealthy, confident woman. Haughty and vivacious all at once. I loved wearing it today, but also realize it is not for me. I felt a little bit self conscious, like I was drawing too much attention to myself. For those of you who don't have those wallflower tendencies, I highly recommend this. Even if it's just for playacting.

 

It was a very heady floral on me, and the peach brightened it, but never really smelled like peach to me. The amber also never turned to powder, which is odd because generally it does.

[Caitfish]

I adore this blend. I also like fae, which is a glittering, playful peach.

 

The marquise is a mature (no really), grounded peach. The mossy vetiver grounds this blend, and I hate vetiver - but it works really well here. The amber makes it sweet and warm. It lasts and throws and struts. It's incredible.

 

*Gasp* So many blends this order that I adore. My bank account weeps.

[lorajc]

Well, this indecisive Libra can't make up her mind about this one. I'm not quite sure it's me. I love fruity blends and fruity florals, but there is something in here that, at times, seems to go acrid on me. It's mostly when I first put it on and then on the dry down it seems better. I've been going back and forth on this one all day. I get the peach and the undertone of florals (which may or may not agree with me) and the mossiness the other reviewer describes. I'm just not sure this is me. This is okay for a peach blend, but my mind keeps drifting to my beloved Imp (peach/amber goodness). I'll wear this once more before I finally decide. I also don't like vetiver, but it is hard to detect in here.

[Ina Garten Davita]

First Impression: Peaches.

 

Second Impression: I, of vetiver hating, could not find the vetiver in this, much to my delight. This fragrance is peachy but there is nothing girlish or playful about it. It's like the evil-stepmother of Katharina (Beth's peach and apricot notes are interchangeable on me). Bold, commanding, slightly sinister but tricksy with that peach note. The amber and florals come later in the drydown after the peach settles a bit.

 

Final Analysis: I'm impressed by this fragrance but don't feel it's me at all. I feel more at home wearing Katharina.

[isyche]

Marquise de Merteuil is very fruity, frilly and floral, but not girly. It's a sophisticated, womanly peach, and the floral and amber keep it from turning to candy. Happily, I get zero vetiver from this.

 

It's over-the-top feminine on the surface (like an elaborate 18th-century gown - I picture the orange one she wears in Dangerous Liaisons), but strong underneath, perfect for the character. It's also one of the rare fruit scents that have worked on me, and I really like it. I want to smell like a Marquise .

[Cedar]

I think I'm broken. There is no almost no peach here, no amber, and no vetiver, which is disappointing because those are three fragrances I love. I'm getting a very sophisticated floral blend, probably the jonquil, but I like my florals, um, childish. It's spicy, and there's a little bit of peach on the drydown, but it's definitely not me. Guess I'll have to wait until I grow up to appreciate it

[quinkel]

no vertiver(luckily) but also no peach

T

his smells a lot like ...perfume. Very generic perfum. It smells good, that's for sure but I miss the uniqueness here. Will use the Imp for occations I want to wear parfume but not be noticed.

[HappyLoveJoy]

Marquis de Merteuil- This goes on like a thick and fruity serum with a bitter flavor. It's not agreeing with me at all, even with the passage of time. The made up word that comes to mind is "zoingy". It's sharp and peppery. This would take quite a while to mellow into something agreeable. I envision a bruised peach with a tiny forest of benign mold inhabiting it.

[Splendid Molerat]

Marquise de Merteuil is an older woman's fragrance, beautiful with a hard center.

 

There is a definite air of luxury, indulgence, and darkness. The peach appears, goes cold, and fades, the way a powered rouge reveals true age when worn off.

 

The galbanum lingers warmly through the day -- fans of the Lush shampoo Big could find this very complementary.

[LiberAmoris]

The Marquise de Merteuil is fantastic. I immediately recognize the galbanum and amber from one of my favorite blends ever…the Queen of Spades. The Marquise is like a peach version of the Queen of Spades to me, not dark and sticky-berried, but elegant and suffused with a somewhat menacing peachy lusciousness. There is so much going on in this blend that it seems to have a kind of intelligence, if that’s not too weird a thing to attribute to a scent.

 

I had the same experience as some of the reviewers above---the vetiver was not prominent at all (yay!) and the florals were extremely well blended. There is something mature and fully-realized about the Marquise that I really adore. I only hope I’ve lived enough to carry off this blend when I wear it!

[fathom]

Shockingly sophisticated-- this is a French perfume of the old regime. I love Les Liasons Dangereuses and was hoping a scent named after the Marquise would smell like this. Very floral, but not in a lighthearted way: just the thing for manipulating naive youth. Wearing this, you would be at home walking through the formal gardens of a Loire Valley chateau on the eve of the revolution.

The peach, for me, blended well into the overall floral scent, and didn't really stand out very distinctly. I didn't pick up any shift in the scent from the imp to my wrist, or during the drydown either. It is a really lovely, heavy bouquet aroma that lasts forever. I could still smell it on my wrist the next morning when I woke up.

[Ajila]

I couldn't smell the peach in this at all at first, but on me it came out. Oddly it smelt to me like the juice you get at the bottom of a punnet if one of the peaches has been damaged and is rotting slightly, which is actually a smell I quite like. As it dried there was an almost crystalised scent around the peach, which I can only assume was the jonquil and vetiver, very nice. Sadly this lasted less than an hour on me, a trend that seems to be following the amber scents I try.

[bellis]

In the bottle this is very green and sharp florals. The peach and amber show up and soften the scent when I've put it on. I'm going to echo a lot of the other reviewers, this is just gorgeously blended and very,very refined. I feel expensive wearing this. I got this on a whim, and I'm terribly glad. It's absolutely lovely and elegant.

[Shollin]

First sniff: Flowers and grapevines. Marquise de Merteuil smells like the sort of French countryside you see in travel calendars.

 

Wearing: A wonderfully colourful riot of flowers all crowding for attention. I don’t know where to look first.

[quimerula]

Wet it's amber and peach, the rest of the notes are mixed so well that it's very difficult to pick just one.

Peach is leading and voluptuous, not hidding, not girly, not cloying. Just bold.

 

Dry the floral touch comes out, and so does the galbanum.

The bottom line is peachless ending as an elegant floral bouquet.

Good lasting power.

[Nepthys]

I wouldn't have tried this if not for the tempting reviews here. At first I was very excited - this went on as a feminine, expensive blend of amber and peach that was just perfect as the scent of a seductive, dangerous woman. I was thinking I'd found my next big BPAL love. Alas... as it dried down, both the peach and amber evaporated and I was left with a chilly and matronly floral. It's pretty but a bit too formal and fussy for me in the end.

[Northernminx]

Primarily peach on application this smooths out with a solid dose of amber, smooth and elegant. This is feminine without being overly floral, although the jonquil and other flowers make an apparance as this dries down. There is very little vertiver showing up in this, something that is more stiff and grounding, giving this a backbone along with the florals. Feminine but packs a punch!

[olympia301]

I was expecting wicked wicked things from the Marquise. I wanted an unforgettably witty and clever scent which would mark my days and announce that I was to enter the room. Alas, I got a basically sweet and honorable young matron who was more interested in fashion than passion. The Marquise is positively Junior League! She's conservative to a fault, more the minivan type than sedan chair; and I think the only whippings she gets into consist of egg whites in an all-copper bowl.

 

The is apricot in this blend as well as jasmine I think, and she does stick around well. This one won't offend anyone in the boardroom or the PTA. It would be a nice gift for someone whom you want to introduce to BPAL but I am sorry to say that for me, the Marquise is neither fish, flesh nor fowl. She is just nice.

Edited May 21, 2005 by olympia301

[darkling]

The Marquise smelled the same on my skin as in the vial: a harsh floral undertone mingled with artificial peach and a hint of plastic.

[voodoobaby]

In the bottle: Mmm. This is that deep peach smell that I love so much. It's layered over something darker, but is mostly peach.

 

Wearing: Hmm. Still very peach, but also smells of something deeply resinous. There is a slight amber mustiness that combines with that resin smell to make something entirely indescribable. It's...sweet and earthy, I guess, but very deep. I don't really get the florals, luckily. It does smell kind of cruel, but I guess you could call it a sincere cruelty? That makes no sense, but it's the impression I get. This is indeed a good companion to Imp, which I loved to begin with.

 

Later: The peach kind of goes ditzy, which is odd. The resin smell fades away and I'm left with a very faint smell of a soft air freshener. Like walking into a fancy ladies restroom that is well kept up, with a few scented candles. I don't care for this too much, but considering it's so faint at this point, it doesn't bother me.

 

Overall: An interesting blend. Very lovely for the first couple of hours. Will keep the imp.

[blaqpearl]

This one smells really nice. I thought I would had the vetiver, but to my surprise it didnt overwhelm this. This one is blended superbly. I envision myself wearing a power suit and being the CEO of my mass enterprise. I can hear the clacking of my 3 inch heels as I strut down the marble floor. This scent emits power and I am rather shy.

 

Although I like it, not enough to buy a bigger bottle.

[sarabeth]

My only criticism of M. de Merteuil is that BPAL doesn't offer it in a bigger size--I LOVE this stuff! It reminds me of YSL "Y", Balmain de Balmain, and Deneuve, all green florals I love.

 

Plus, I love the character of the Marquise in Les Liaisons Dangereux.

 

Tres bien fait, Beth!