[sagitare]

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

In the vial:a sharp violet mixed with rose. An almost sickly-sweet smell with both scents kind of rolling around each other, never quite settling on common ground.

On the skin: the violet comes through very strongly with the tea rose lurking in the background.

Drydown: the violet continues to be the prominent note, but it is softened by the rose, which does come forward more.

Overall: I was intruiged when I first put this one because I'm not familiar with violet type of scents. As I was putting on the second dab the violet scent was wafting around me and I thought, "oooh, sexy." And this is a sexy scent, sexy in a naughty sort of way, rather than slinky/sensual sexy. This is a somewhat softer, feminine scent but with a bit of an edge to it - it's definitely purple but with a shot of chrome or steel. There's a crispness to it I like. It's different. It's definitely a strong scent - a little will go a long way and it certainly has staying power, which I like.

This scent put a grin on my face and I had a lot of fun wearing it.

[jj_j]

I've been impressed with all of Beth's violet scents so far, and this one is no exception.

For me, this never gets cloyingly sweet, although I was a little hesitant about combining sweet tea rose with already-sweet violet. Instead, the tea rose lends a crisper, more enduring strength of character to the violet, and they blend in a decadent and somehow taut fragrance.

To give you an idea about this in relation to some of the other violet fragrances Beth's been creating - Veil is softer and smoother, Wings of Azrael is sharper and more intense, and Marie is glossy and rich.

[Ura]

Violet and rose; an initial cool but sweet floral which softens after time.

[Ishtar]

This one really took me by surprise: when I ordered it, I thought I knew what it was going to smell like. When I wore it, I was quickly reminded of how many nuances Beth manages to create with just a couple of notes.

While I imagined it to be a fairly straightforward and almost frilly floral, Marie is definitely on the darker side of the spectrum. Much stronger than expected, deep and sultry. I can clearly see why this is in the Diabolus category. It is wicked and debauched. Interestingly enough for a floral, once it settles down I cannot smell any fresh or high notes. If I had to provide a visual association for this oil, I would say it is a "matte" scent- nothing glossy, sparkly or bubbly here.

I like it a lot, but I have to be in the proper mood to wear it.

This post has been edited by Ishtar: 19 July 2004 - 06:07 AM

[magpiedee]

If Bordello wore a purple satin dress, it would become Marie.

I agree with the previous posters-- Marie plays the saucy violet to the comforting, sleepy Veil and the sharp, staunch Wings of Azrael.

When I picture these three scents in my head (please excuse the long, drawn-out simile), I see them as a family in an old-timey English tintype.

Veil is the mother-- she's still sensual and pretty, but she's gotten comfortable and gained a little curvy weight, and she spends most of her days in laudanum dreams.

Wings of Azrael is the father-- he's got a stiff backbone, wears his starched collar so high that it digs into his chin, and would say "but, my good sir, that's preposterous!!" several times a day. Yet underneath his English staunchness, you can tell he's still dark and powerful and debonair and dashing, and you can tell how he and Madame Veil provoked a good deal of gossip in their day.

Between them is Marie-- an impish nymphete who dresses in bright purple satins and wears rouge, even though her mama beats her for it. She's the sort of girl who kisses boys on the playground and might have shown Jean Claude her ankle once on a dare. She's going to grow up to take Paris by storm, as soon as she's had her debut. She has white, porcelaine skin, pitch black hair and startlingly violet eyes, and she knows she's a little Lolita and uses it to her advantage, sitting on the laps of her father's rich friends and wiggling while she admires their medals and mustaches.

So, there's my random metaphor for the violet family. I love Marie for the exact reason listed above-- when Veil is too sleepy and Wings is too sharp, Marie puts a bit of mischief and beauty and sensual energy into the mix. I love violet scents, and this one would be wonderful for going to a costume tea party or playing Spin the Bottle.

[octopusgrrl]

In the bottle: totally violet, but not with that false too-sweet scent that so many violet perfumes have - this smells like real dewy violets.

Wet: fresh violets - I sensed the sweeter tea rose underneath, but the overriding scent is violet. Delicious!

Dry: a gentle violet floral fading to powder, but never becoming cloying.

Verdict: I loved it, but my man thought it smelled old lady-ish (this happens a lot with us - I adore the old-fashioned scents of lavender, rose and violet, but my husband can’t get past the grandmotherly connotations!) I will wear this one for myself :P

[madame royale]

I find violets to be too sweet for me, but Marie’s violets are quite fresh. The rose gives it a spicy kick, while the tea adds some dimension. This is a surprisingly straightforward scent, from start to finish. According to Antonia Frasier’s revisionist biography “Marie Antoinette: The Journey,” MA was a fiend for flowers and liked to wear floral essences as opposed to the musk everyone else at court wore. This is definitely Marie Antoinette at the height of her reign at Versaille—languidly playing her harp, enjoying her garden at Le Petit Trianon—not the little Hapsburg girl growing up at Schoenbrunn under Maria Teresa’s iron fist. I’ll reach for Marie whenever I need a little sweetness. Oh, read the biography, it’s great. It will debunk all of the myths surrounding MA and give you a more realistic and, hence, engaging picture of a much-maligned queen.

[Larila]

Marie from Diabolus, notes are violet and tea rose.


On the violet was a little stong at first the rose was coming along trying to keep up.

drying the violet calmed down and the rose was there waiting, the blend was amazing, the violet wasn't over powering at all, this is a lovely soft floral scent, lasted on a hour and half, needed to reapply I didn't mind at all very beautiful! I couldn't wait, I ordered a 10ml bottle hope it gets here soooon! :P

[AnnetteL]

Pure violet on me, from imp to skin to drydown. I would have guessed this to be single-note violet if it wasn't labelled :P Quite sweet, but not artificial. It lasted a *long* time on me, and stayed strong - light application required!

I already own another violet perfume, so I won't be buying more of this right now, but I will consider it when/if I use that up.

[isyche]

Marie starts out as a cool soft floral, a lavender-colored smell; if I try, I can detect the tea rose backing up the violet in this phase. Then it dries down to heavier violet, darker, less innocent, somehow capricious.

I really like it – I think violet is good on me.

[leslie260]

Mmmmm....I love Marie. Pure, sultry violets, with a touch of rose. It's definitely not a subtle scent, so I wear it when I want to get attention.

[k00kaburra]

In bottle: It's a delicate bouquet with roses and violets and hints of something fruity. It's a sweet, bright spring scent.

On me: This is so feminine and pretty! This rose is light and airy, and not the least bit overbearing. The violets, too, smell freshly-picked and brand new. This is such an innocent scent; I expected Antionette's fragrance to be more heady and decadent, but I am so delighted to be wrong.

[Damask Rose]

This is not what I expected at all. I thought it would be a very "Victorian" floral scent - really light. But it's actually a heavy sweet scent.

The rose and violet are really well blended but for me the violet is the dominant scent. I love rose perfumes which is why i wanted to try this but the violet is so dominant I can't make my mind up about it. At first I thought it was way too sickly but then it kind of grew on me. It really lasts too - this is one you can still smell the next day.

I think I'll have to give this one another try before I can make my mind up. I think I either love it or hate it!

[Azrhiaz]

Almost entirely violet on me-- I couldn't get more than the tiniest whiff of my beloved rose. That said, I like violet, and this was so very period I halfway felt I should be curtsying today. I do really like it, but I don't think it's quite love-- it's a little more delicate than I prefer.

However, it *did* last. Along with Regan, it's the scent that's lasted longest on me. Marie made it a good eleven hours, no joke. That alone might make me give further consideration to a big bottle.

[ivyandpeony]

Normally, my first thought upon reading that a perfume consisted of violet and rose would be, "let's just skip that one so the old ladies won't run out of it." But BPAL has changed many of my scent prejudices, and Marie really blew me away - I have it on my big bottle wishlist now!

I have always loved the scent of violets when it's married to the right elements (like with a spicy note in Lush Skinny Dip), and I adore the scent of real roses although it is hard to find in a perfume. I didn't think the two florals together could really add up to much more than a powdery, Aunt Louise's sachet-type smell. But in this tiny imp, these two somehow combine to create something that is so much more than rose and violet. Something that seems powerful and delicate at the same time. I'd really recommend an imp of this to anyone who continues to suffer from those preconceived, ageist ideas about these two florals - Marie just might set you free!

[Splendid Molerat]

Marie makes an interesting progression from sweet innocence to cruel depravity. I'm amazed at the stories Beth can convey with just a few notes.

In the vial and fresh on the skin are the dewy soft tea roses, sweet as a child. As the violet warms up it seems to overtake the roses, they dry and decay in a matter of minutes. The violet remains, very pretty, but with a hard, metallic quality.

This would be a scent appropriate for when you want to convey precisely how little you think of someone.

[Sets the time machine for New Year's Eve 1998...]

[silverangel]

This is sweet in a very tainted way. Like defiled innocence. It's pretty in a wicked way. It's not me. I think it's the violet that overpowers, that seduces and destroys. It's interesting, but not one I'd wear.

[JazzieCazzie]

Received as a lovely gift from the labbies ... not sure I would have ever gotten around to ordering this on my own, but I like both notes so I am happy to give it a go ...

IN THE BOTTLE: I expected, based on the two notes listed, a very sweet and slightly sharp scent so I am surprised to find something, as K00Kaburra said, vaguely fruity and tart upon sniffing the imp ... because of that, I dab it on more sparingly on my wrists than I might were it strictly violets and tea rose ...

WET: Upon application, whatever the fruit was disappears completely and we have, voila, violets and tea rose. One thing that is interesting about this blend is that if I set my mind to it I can SO clearly smell each individual note, almost as a single note, yet they blend so well together ...

For me, Tea Rose is SO evocative that it's hard for me to separate it from this memory ... I grew up in midtown Manhattan in the 70s and at some point, early high school, Bloomingdales came out with a hugely popular tea rose scent ... I can't remember who made it ... but instead of spraying it on unsuspecting customers as they walked by, they would spray it on little slivers of wooden sticks (very common now but almost unheard of then) and give it to you and we'd stick it in our shoulder bags and we'd all smell like Tea Rose for weeks.

To this day I can't smell it without thinking of high school ... and this great shoulder bag I had made of recycled jeans and lined with corduroy. I should try to make one like that now ...

Oh ... right ...

DRYDOWN: Just really nice and light and floral. Probably not something I would wear on a daily basis, but definitely an imp that will get worn up ...

[TheDarkMother]

Violet and rose. It sounds good. Try #2 for today on my imps. Hopefully there isn't any civet hiding in this one.

In the Bottle: Violets and roses, a clean, crisp scent. Lovely.

On Me: These two go so well together! The violet scent goes a little soapy on me, but I actually like that. The rose helps to balance it all out and sweeten it up. This isn't too overpowering at all, and actually something that I would wear everyday.

Of course, and please do forgive me here, I would most like to wear this around my Dad. He has a habit of telling me that when I wear purfume I smell like a "French Whore". I guess its a Southern thing. I would love for him to smell this and like it (because I know that he would), so I can tell him that I'm wearing something that Marie Antoinette wore. In essence, this is what a "French Whore" would smell like!

:P

[Madame Nyx]

No, my mom used to say a person smelled like a "French whorehouse" and we lived in Michigan, so it isn't just a Southern thing!

Wow, this one was SWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET out of the vial! Icky sweet. The sweet that put diabetes patients into a coma.

But it does settle into a New Orelans Lady of the Night scent. Girl in the Big Easy. I like the violet in this but the rose tries its best to overpower it. Wow, this is really unabashed.

Smells like Magdalene in Sacred Whore Mode. Hang onto your husbands, girls!

It's a little too juicy pink for me. On the right person, this could be fab.

[Julilla Regina]

Oh, dear, I thought I had reviewed this!

I love this! There is something about the BPAL blends with violets that rock my world, and this is no exception. It is exactly as you can imagine, violets and roses. It smells wicked and charming at the same time. This is amazing, and I adore it. :P

[shelldoo]

hmmm in the vial: violets

on: per solution....violets tend to go a bit perm solution one me i am wonky i guess it smells faintly of roses yet a rosy perm solution...learning violets r not my friends :P

hahahahaa how times have changed violets are my love

this is a violet and tea rose combination that encapsulates the best of both, it is light, summery, and floral perfection


cheers to trying something again and loving it

This post has been edited by shelldoo: 18 April 2005 - 02:20 PM

[bonnyread]

Ah, my lovely Marie, you are what I have been searching for. A pure and true violet scent sweetened and made youthful. Poor Marie, locked away in the Diabolus section -- to me you smell like springtime and innocent young ladies.

[misfitroxy]

From the imp to my skin, this is exceedingly floral.

Once it starts to dry, it smells exactly like perming products to me. Very sour and almost glue-like. Clearly not a blend intended for my skin.

Beyond that, the violet stands out above any rose notes. The florals aren’t dark or deep. If it weren’t for the chemical smell I’m getting, I’m sure this would be a light perfume that’s soft and pleasant, if not a tad naughty. Unfortunately, I need to wash it off as Marie and I weren’t meant to be friends. :P

[diabolique]

VIIIOOOOLET! tons of it. lots and lots of violet.

after a while it starts to get more resinous, and i was surprised to find that this blend didn't contain any wood notes. i expected to see "rosewood" rather than "tea rose."

this is nice and it's definitely something i like to smell once in a while, but it's not me at all. on one hand, it smells very innocent, but on the other, i can't picture a child wearing this. in fact, i can't picture anyone young wearing this. this is the smell of the naive, sweet-tempered old lady across the street who always bakes you cookies.