Vampire Tears, Shojo Beat, 9/07 Options

[filigree_shadow]

Regret born from ceaseless longing: wisteria, white grapefruit, neroli, green tea, jasmine, white ginger, honeysuckle, iris, and tonka.

Hmmm. I searched but can't find a review page for this one.

At first I get a big blast of white grapefruit. Definitely not pink -- it's not that sugary sweet kind of grapefruit. And underneath the grapefruit I can smell mostly green tea and ginger with a little bit of jasmine and honeysuckle.

I am not a jasmine fan; in fact, I'm more of a jasmine hater. However, it does not overwhelm in this blend. I usually like the tea + ginger combinations, and I think it's even better with the addition of grapefruit!

This scent is more mellow than refreshing, calm rather than excited... but it's also more cheery than I would have guessed, from the description. (I usually find tea scents rather cheery, so maybe that's why it seems that way to me.)

I've been on a grapefruit kick lately for some reason, and this will be a great one to add to the rotation. I like it a lot.

[Anna D.]

Not sure what I think about this one. (The label sure is cute, though - a black bat on a purple background!)

In the bottle, I get white grapefruit, too, and what I think is the jasmine. On, it's a citrus-y floral, with more of the honeysuckle and what I think is the wisteria. It's a kind of pale yellow-green scent (almost honeydew melon color? although it doesn't smell at all of melon!). It's quite a light, bright scent (tears in moonlight?) without being overly sweet - despite the florals, it's more dry than sweet (that's probably ginger and tea). On me as it dries it seems to turn a little dusty and a little soapy. Sadly, it's not all that interesting on me (and it doesn't last very long, either, though that's not surprising with all the citrus). I should probably wait a week or so and try it again, due to skin chemistry issues, but right now I don't think it quite works.

(Though strangely enough I do think it fits the idea of vampire tears!)

[purplemoonshoes]

Nothing but grapefruit in the bottle- it certainly wakes you up. On my skin it's fresh and green, but it also reminds me of Pledge. I think that's the grapefruit again. I guess I expected something darker- the name threw me off. I think I'm going to try to swap this, especially if I can get Midnight Kiss.

[puck_nc]

Origin: Straight from the Lab

Initial Thoughts: Honeysuckle and wisteria are two of my all-time favorite floral notes, and to have both in one blend meant I had to try it. But then I read some will-call reviews and it sounded like grapefruit is the star here. I don't care for grapefruit. So, forward with trepidation...

In the Bottle: Nose-stinging citrus and ginger. Very bright and crystalline.

Wet: A very intense floral blast. The grapefruit isn't front and center yet, but seems to be making the florals much stronger, much whiter. I feel like I'm smelling a cold, liquid light.

Drydown: The ginger and tea come out to play. The grapefruit is a bit more clearly grapefruit, but it's still very nicely blended with the florals and other notes. But the fact remains that on me this is not a soft and sweetly feminine floral. This is a floral that demands to be noticed.

Verdict: I think I need to hang onto this for a while and see if I use it. I don't see myself wearing it to teach, but perhaps there will be other opportunities.

[neuilly]

There's definitely a grapefruit coating to this but for some reason I get a lot of...sweet pea?! I think it's the tonka mixing with something. Sadly this made me feel ill...I have no idea what I'm reacting to.

Swaps.

I can see this working well on someone else though. It's refreshing but full-bodied (usually grapefruit scents seem watery to me).

[Kimbernunk]

In bottle: Mostly I think I’m getting the floral, but there’s something sorta citrusy too.

Wet: Mostly florals and something that smells quite a bit like baby powder.

Initial Drydown: Wow – suddenly the grapefruit came out to play. It’s really nice. And it’s starting to blend with the green tea and neroli and some of the florals.

Dry: It’s starting to go back to something resembling baby powder – it’s really powdery on me now. I’m not sure what my skin is amping up to make it like that, but it’s sort of sad. I want the green tea and neroli back! And then I do get that some sniffs, and some not. It seems to depend on how long I'm breathing in - if I just do a quick whiff, it's mostly powdery (probably something the jasmine is doing, when I think about it), and if I breathe in longer, it's more citrusy.

Color: bright light yellow green, then fades to a soft peach

Throw: not real strong. It’s fading fast.

Overall: Will have to retest to determine whether or not it’s bottle worthy, but it’s definitely a keeper as far as the imp goes.

[Akurarei]

Vampire Tears

In the Bottle:
Kind of a mix of sweet & bitter fruits...maybe some kind of incensy note in there too.

On my Skin, Wet:
Black Licorice? Hmm. Weird.
oh, wait - it's black licorice & gardenia.
definitely weird - really not what I was expecting at all!

On my Skin, Dry:
the licorice smell goes away now - I can pick out the neroli.
this is starting to remind me of The Raven but with Grapefruit or Tea or something other than voilets.

Verdict:
Interesting, interesting.
I like it for some strange reason (I hate black licorice)
but this one morphs quite a bit in subtle ways - it's too interesting to be disappointing!

[gaai]

Funny to see how the dry down of some scents can vary so wildly from skin to skin!

For me, this also starts out as a full blast of grapefruity citrus......with some of the green tea and ginger adding their freshness to it. This stage doesn't really make me think 'Vampire Tears'...it's too cheery and light for that.
When it's drying, more and more of the flowers come peeking through making it a fresh floral scent.....still not really teary though.....
But then........when it's completely dry........it smells like flowers and salt water!! It's very very salty on my skin now and I happen to love me some salty perfumes! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wub2.gif)
*Now* I get the Vampire Tears reference.....this is beautiful!

[Dark Angel]

I got a frimp from the Lab with my recent order.

Although this isn't something that would usually grab me, based on the description & notes, I felt kind of an obligation to test and review it since it's an LE and people are probably anxiously awaiting reviews.

Unfortunately, I suck at picking out notes and often think things smell a lot different than other folks do, so I'm probably not the ideal test case. But here goes:

Right off, there's definitely something very bright and citrus-y in there. I would have said lemon, but knowing that it's grapefruit I can tell that it is that. It smells fresh and real, not like citrus cleaner or anything. It's a 'morning' sort of scent, if that makes any sense, not dark or sorrowful at all to me. Underneath the citrus, there's something else, an intensely sweet floral, neroli I think. It doesn't really blend with the citrus on me, they just sort of stand next to each other, although both are pleasant.

After an hour or so, the citrus fades completely, and most of the rest of the scent is gone too, alas. I can still detect a whiff of something sweet and smooth, but it's very faint. There's also a hint of something that reminds me of the scent of hand lotion--the plain white kind that is supposed to be 'unscented.'

It's not unpleasant at all, in fact I rather like it, but it's very light and fades really quickly. I would say it is a bright, sweet, young sort of scent, entirely work-appropriate. It doesn't contain any high, grating, or artificial notes and is quite nice, but not striking on me, not the style of scent I really prefer. If I ever get ambitious enough to post a swap list, I'll probably swap it.

[Queen Mab]

In the imp: Huh? I'm smelling very rich, very creamy, very thick creme brulee. Just incredibly, incredibly sweet and foody. *is confuzzled because no one else said this*

First applied: Okay, now it doesn't smell like that at all. Strange. Now it smells like lemons. Actually, kind of like a lemon tart instead of creme brulee now. That's probably the grapefruit. I can't really effectively identify any other notes.

Drydown: It's pretty and light, though tottering on the edge of becoming Lemon Pledge-like.

Verdict: A little bit later, and it smells like lemon mirengue pie to me. It turned into meringue pie instead of tarts because the sourness faded away into a powder. It's all right, but not my cup of tea. It's just odd how much this morphed on my skin.

[flutterby3]

In the imp: Strong sweet food...almost candy like...I think of the orange slices covered in sugar. The ginger jumps out at me as well as the floral in the background

Wet: Lemony. The floral scents become stronger and I get where others are saying lemon pledge. It no longer reminds me of food but more of cleaning products but a bit nicer...not as harsh.

Drydown: The florals stay with me and the green tea, ginger and grapefruit (maybe why I smelled lemon & orange) linger in the background taking on this unusual powdery smell

My opinion: A clean light scent that fades a bit fast but barely clings on with this powdery floral salty smell that hangs out and reminds me of cool fingers against my cheek.

I like it a lot but feel the need to reapply.

[mazikeen]

Thank goodness for freebies, as I never in a million years would have ordered something with this name (based off an anime mag, no less). Just not my cup of tea anymore. But, free is a whole other story!

It smelled very lemony on me. Logically, this would seem bad... but yet I liked it. Bright, clean and a little soapy. (Not in a cleaning products way... more in a fresh from a shower way.) Lemony soap may not be what I think of when I think "vampire tears," but I will be wearing this imp.



Added much later--
Ah, a change of heart. Upon further investigation, I won't be wearing this. The lemoniness is just too lemony. Also, it has in it an ingredient which I haven't pinpointed yet, but I don't like on me at all... something in this (and in a few other BPALs I've tried) has a weird lemon/powder/popcorn combo. It turns out that Vampire Tears is simply not for me.

This post has been edited by mazikeen: Jan 24 2008, 10:51 PM

[hologhost]

In the bottle: Wow - this one is tough. I'm getting a lemon candy smell with a hint of some other fruit. I know it must be the grapefruit, but it's not registering as grapefruit.

Wet: Still candy, but no longer lemon. This is going to make me crazy. It's plugging to some long ago scent memory of a real candy. But I can't identify it. Fruity, citrus - this thing has a lot of throw.

Dry: This is morpher. It's getting salty and a bit floral. The powder is coming out. I can't believe it, the throw is bigger. I only have a very small amount on my wrist and it is everywhere. It will be interesting to see if it lasts.

As time is going on, the throw is toning down a bit. (Or maybe my nose is burning out.) The ginger is coming out to play, but it's faint.

I'm really not sure if I like this or not. But it's definately interesting.

[Naiade]

I smell like toilet cleaner. I hate life.

I'm keeping, though, in the hopes that aging will cure some of the citrus sharpness.

[angharad]

Straight-up generic florals on me, with hints of grapefruit and tonka trying to sweeten them up but failing. As it dries the tea makes an appearance, which is when I washed it off. Tea scents and I do NOT get along.

[jules of denial]

I got a frimp of this with my Pirate Moon order, and I gotta say, I'm kind of baffled by it. A lot of these are notes I frequently like- tea, jasmine, ginger, neroli.. but I'm not really getting any of those from this. I would've expected something more heady, whereas this is sugar-sweet. The grapefruit's strong and citrusy, and doesn't immediately die on my skin as it tends to with other blends. And somewhere underneath there's a REALLY strange undertone.. something almost rank, or sweaty. I have no idea what that's about, and it's surely just my own skin chemistry being bizarre, but it's never happened to me with any other blends before. After a bit it dies down to a very soft floral, something of a blend of the honeysuckle and wisteria. It's odd to me that normally strong notes like jasmine and neroli didn't completely take this fragrance over. In fact, on me it seems to be so soft that I have to really work to even find it on my skin. Weird. May have to give this a try at a different time of month- perhaps some mysterious hormone is just doing the wacky with my skin chemistry today.

[zankoku_zen]

BWAH! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/mecry.gif)

This one is like bitter grapefruit love. And I do mean bitter... and yes, I get something that is a tinge salty. I also think I smell wisteria and wisteria and I must not be friends....

Bitter grapefruit and sharp florals. Bloodless? Oh yes. Sad? Very. Breaking my heart? Indeed.

So hard to love a vampire these days....

[Emu Nymph]

For me this one smells WAY too foody and sugary. It gives me a headache like no other. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon_sad.gif)

[sookster]

straight sniff from bottle is a buttery fruit...slightly frightful... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon_eek.gif) ...
hey...ain't that some sorta nursery rhyme (IMG:style_emoticons/default/00000288.gif)

once applied this is amazing....the green tea and jasmine come 4front....and
are so gorgeous....lurve it to pieces....thanks beth!!

This post has been edited by sookster: Oct 19 2007, 11:49 PM

[squirrelmonkey]

Wow, and another surprise winner! Wet, it's all grapefruit and green tea with a hint of ginger -- it's like a lovechild of Cheshire Cat and Kumiho at first. The grapefruit settles down and gets cold -- I get a distinct sense of coldness from it. In about an hour after drying, it warms up with wisteria and reinvigorated ginger. And at later drydown, only hints of grapefruit remain in the soft florals.

A very interesting blend, morphing yet always pleasant. Amazingly, jasmine never visits -- perhaps it learned where it's not welcome.

[themerrybaker]

At first this one smells like lemon buttercream frosting which of course brings to mind a vampire crying because he can't have any cake. (Well, maybe he can HAVE cake, but eating it is another matter).

It then does something weird - it's sugary, powdery, and bitter all at once.

But dry your Tears!! It finally settles down to what will be a great predominantly citrus summer scent with sublte floral.

[hepkitten]

Well, crap.

I knew that I amped tonka, but...WOW. All I get from this is tonka, with a whiff of grapefruit at the back, jumping up and down like a kid who wants to get picked for the sports team, but just ain't gonna.

Now I do love tonka, but that little whiff of grapefruit keeps it from working. Darn.

[alicia_stardust]

VAMPIRE TEARS

Wet: Jasmine and tonka.

Dry: On my skin this starts out very bright and candy-like. Strangely enough, I think the grapefruit, neroli, and jasmine combine to make this smell like lemon verbena for the first while. As the scent settles further into my skin, I can smell a swirl of wisteria and grapefruit, the tea and ginger, and then the honeysuckle and jasmine. Mmm, the tonka is ever present but not dominant.

Overall this has a sweet, bright quality with a sharp pang of sadness to it that is expressed perfectly by the bite from the grapefruit, ginger, and neroli. The honeysuckle, jasmine, and wisteria add hauntingly sweet tone to this.

This is different than I expected, yet I love it. I will definitely keep this on hand. Medium throw, average wear-length.

[lapetiteflower]

i got a frimp with my midnight kiss and decided to give it a go...

wet in the imp? sweet, cake-y, foody.

on the skin? lemon furniture polish.

do. not. want. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/thud.gif)

[sarahmarie]

The grapefruit/jasmine blend is decidedly awesome, actually - the jasmine gives the scent depth and roundness, while the grapefruit keeps it from being too heavy and floral. It's brilliant, and it smells very nice. I don't know, however, if it's me. I'll hang on to the imp and see how my skin chemistry plays with it over time.