To a Woman

[Kayah]

Benzoin, cassis bud, patchouli, rose otto, and petitgrain.

It starts off distinctly rosey, with a hint of the patchouli.. Eventually the other notes come out and round themselves out against the rose.. it becomes a dirty rose, with a bit of sharpness and smokiness, yet somehow smooth and very nice.

I enjoy this scent very much.

[mymymai]

In the Imp (ITI): Benzoin, rose otto, touches of cassis, and a roundness from the petitgrain. It's not super offensive, but I'm reserving judgment.

 

Wet: Stronger rose otto, which I like, followed by benzoin and just a trace of peitigrain. It's behaving so far...good.

 

Dry: The petitgrain rears its head, causing the whole scent to turn soapy. Poor rose otto is drowning it its suds.

[Quillifer]

This scent takes no prisoners. I find it strong, assertive, and irresistible. It's a business-woman in a beautifully-cut suit, expensive high-heels, glossy dark hair, with a plan in her briefcase that will carry all before her. A city scent, to me, for either high-powered business (I'd wear just a little), or a killer little black dress.

[Esperwind]

The last time I used a rose-scented lotion, my best friend told me that I smelled like a little old lady, and I've been excessively paranoid about anything rose-y touching my skin since. I never would have picked this out on my own, but it came as a frimp with my first order, so I had to give it a try.

 

In the bottle: Barely anything. Certainly nothing I can identify.

 

Wet: To get revenge on my older brother once as a kid, I liberally sprayed his pillowcases with a perfume I later found out belonged to my great-grandmother. I have no idea what it was called or what it contained, but the overwhelming scent of it was my mental prototype of perfume for years. To a Woman is smelling like the baby cousin of that right now. But after a few minutes, I'm getting the rose and it is wonderful, making the arcane, powerful note/s from my childhood a lot less terrifying. They don't seem to want to blend much at all, but they're getting along pretty well anyway.

 

Dry: Just the rose, soft and dusky. I'm sorry I was wary of that smell for so long. I could see a little old lady wearing this perfume, but I bet she'd be pretty BA.

[yakiguri]

Welp, now I have a reference for petitgrain since that's all I get from this blend. It starts off with a blast of sharp woods almost to the point of being acrid. Eventually orange pokes its head in, but leaves no room for anything else but it and the persistent dustiness. Oddly enough it reminds me strongly of this bergamot black Russian tea I have. An interesting scent, but I'll pass on a bottle.

Edited January 13, 2013 by thatbrownelf

[serin]

Wow this is a morpher on me. I absolutely hated it in the bottle - it reminded me of an old art teacher from when I was a kid, who was slightly hippie-ish and reeked of cigarette smoke - but I decided to try it anyways.

 

Initially on my skin, it was only slightly less gross... I'm not experienced enough to tell the notes apart, but overall it was much too bitter and spicy for me.

 

But it all changed after a minute or so! I definitely get the rose otto now, in fact it's almost all I smell, apart from something dry and incensey lurking in the back. It's actually really nice, but I'm not sure if this is what it's supposed to smell like - I tend to amp rose, and all the rose blends I've tried so far (London, The Rose, Wanda) all smell the same to me. Boo.

 

The verdict - it's nice, I guess, if I can overlook the horrible beginning. But it's probably that icky bitterness that prevents the later stages from becoming just boring old roses. I'm on the fence with this one haha

[JazzieCazzie]

Getting into the homestretch of my journey through my BPALs, A-Z, and already starting to prep the swap list that I will finally be able to post once I finish ... um, W. I have no X-Y-Zs. This was an imp I received as lagniappe in a forum swap/purchase.

 

IN THE IMP: Sharp and clean and unusual. Not something I could put my finger on.

 

Dabbed cautiously on wrist and in crook of arm.

 

WET: A very "white" scent. Not rosy at all at first though that is usually a note that amps on me. I expected not to like this but I don't DISLIKE it. It's clean and sharp and slightly acerbic. Not resiny, not woody, not floral. Just ... sharp.

 

DRYDOWN: Aaaaaand here comes the rose. Not in-your-face rose but more like tea rose. The other notes fade to the background but this isn't strong enough to be a washoff.

 

OVERALL: I don't dislike this. I could keep it but probably would never wear it so instead it's off to the swap list. I think this would make a great bath oil, though.

 

On a scale of 1-5, about a 2.8.

Edited April 14, 2013 by JazzieCazzie

[batsy]

In the vial: That was my face upon sniffing.

 

On the skin: I'm not as familiar with the notes in this one, but it's very herbal-ly and burns my nose. I would guess it's the cassis bud or the benzoin, but it might be the petitgrain. Overall this blend smells like the inside of the local feed & supply store and that's not something I want to smell like! The rose otto struggled to come out after the dry down but the throw of the rest of the notes is so strong it's making me sick.

 

Verdict: Swap!

[IambicDearie]

The patchouli slammed straight into me and didn't stop. I got a little of the cassis bud and and the rose otto, but for some reason it turned into something acrid and not-entirely-pleasant on my skin.

 

This one's not for me, alas!

[batsy]

In the vial: Apparently I cannot escape patchouli tonight.

 

On the skin: The patchouli disappears (yay!) and leaves the cassis and benzoin to play. I think the petitgrain gives it a woodsy flavored note. Not cereal grain, but grain-y. It's not until nearly full dry down that the rose otto comes out. This is very woods-y, grain-y, and not at all what I expected. I honestly can't see myself wearing it.

[agirlnamedfury]

Sour and acrid. Not sure what the note is here that I dislike, but it's overpowering.