Despair

[zenvodunista]

Soft and melancholy, a poignant blend of Roman chamomile, rosewood, cypress, Rose Otto, lavender, sandalwood and ylang ylang.

this is fresh and pretty. it also reminds me of Libertine. if you are missing this scent, i think you could easily substitute Libertine and still be pretty happy.

n. Edited February 7, 2006 by Shollin

[PurringPulsar]

Despair

 

In the imp: rose, camomile and lavender. Reminds me of Lush’s In the Nude.

Wet on skin: Dream Cream! That’s what this smells like…it smells just like Lush’s Dream Cream with it’s lavender-camomile-rose scent.

Dry: still slightly Dream Cream-ish, but now the rose note is much more noticeable, and the lavender has gone down. The rose note is deep and dry, and the camomile is also there (this camomile sometimes smells a bit like Helping Hands). I also get the wood notes-rosewood and sandalwood add a nice dry base to this scent.

After a while: this scent is very dry…it’s pleasant though. I like the rose in here, very traditional, and the camomile still lingers, but I think the woody notes are a bit stronger now-especially rosewood, which enhances the smell of the rose.

After about 30-45 minutes, sandalwood and rosewood are the strongest scents in here. This fragrance is also very faint-I have to go right to my wrist to smell it. It’s a dry, empty scent with a hint of something old fashioned and sadly nostalgic about it. However, the sandalwood adds a slight hint of reassuring warmth.

Soon after, the rose note returns to the scent. It’s like dry rose petals scattered on fragrant wooden planks with a hint of dust.

Verdict: at first, this scent reminded me of a lot of Lush products! It smelt a bit like a fusion of In the Nude, Dream Cream and Helping Hands. However, when on the skin, it moves away from those scents into something drier and more sombre. Wistful hints of floral notes like dry rose and camomile give way the dry, dusty scent of sandalwood and rosewood. It’s one of those traditional, nostalgic scents evocative of faded memories…but the unfortunate thing is that it’s very faint on me, and doesn’t seem to last long on my skin. I like it, but there are other rose/sandalwood scents that I prefer to this, so I may swap my decant off.

[sarada]

This is my favorite of the Resurrected scents and it had been on my initial list of scents I wanted to try, back when it was a catalogue scent.

 

It's a bit more floral than I had expected (I thought the sandalwood and herbs would be more prominent) but the chamomile quickly takes over and this reminds me of a lovely herbal tea...being drunk in a garden. I mean, the tea is being drunk, i.e. sipped, not me. You know what I mean.

 

The rosey parts of this scent are a little bit on the side of too perfumey for me. It makes me think of my grandmother's dresser at first, covered in doilies and perfumes, at moments like that...but the presence of chamomile, lavender and sandalwood make that just a fleeting image.

 

In the next stage it reminds me of an Impressionist painting of a garden done all in misty pastel shades. No one note really dominates and some are lost alltogether (I don't smell ylang ylang at all, thank goodness). As it dries down some of the soft, powdery woods come out. Nice springtime scent or nighttime scent...or, not to be too morbid but it would be appropriate to wear to a funeral in warmer weather I think. Stately, distant and strangely sympathetic.

 

And it would be great as a bath bomb.

[slave1]

Resurrected 2005

 

In Bottle: Lavender and sandalwood

 

On Skin: The lavender and rose scream out. They have a sour tart note. The sandalwood is next, slightly smokey and woody… it gives a depth to the scent. The chamomile is light, I wish it stood out a little more to help soften and sweeten the scent. This scent reminds me of linen spray and makes me slightly sleepy, maybe a good bedtime scent? I think the sour notes turn me off a bit though. Not a scent I’d wear as a perfume, but I’m going to put it by my bed to use as a sleepy-time scent.

[zankoku_zen]

From resurrected 2005!

 

I'm very excited to try this scent!

 

In the imp: I can smell the chamomile. It smells sharp and herby. Very green... although the perfume oil is clear...

 

On Skin: On application, I get lavender all in my face like when she's part of one the Somnium blends. I love Oneiroi so this is vaguely comforting... despite the name.

 

After about half an hour it gets very floral, the rose is starting to peek out although the lavender and chamomile remain.

 

Verdict: The name is a total misnomer. This is a pretty, quiet and comforting scent. Perhaps a tad melancholic but nothing worthy of inducing a massive suicidal watch.

[puck_nc]

Origin: decant bought in a circle

 

Initial Thoughts: It sounded like an unusual blend of florals that might be pretty.

 

In the Bottle: A sweet lavender-heavy floral. Very sorrowful, appropriate to its name.

 

Wet: Strongly lavender, with an undertone that is almost dirt.

 

Drydown: The florals warm up some, but it remains a cool scent.

 

Verdict: It's interesting, but I think I prefer richer florals overall and when I want a more chilly floral I want a sweet one. This one went to the swaps.

[Rhowan]

In the bottle and wet on my skin, the first note that hits my nose is the chamomile and ylang ylang. Nice.

 

As Despair dries down, the lavender, rosewood and Rose Otto are beginning to come out and mingle With the chamomile - the ylang ylang has faded slightly into the background...

 

Completely dried down and Despair has become a complex scent. Shifing from herbally to woody with a hint of citrus as the end note.

 

My conclusion? Despair is haunting and beautiful. I wish I could have smelled the sandalwood but it just never really appeared for me. I do get a slight woodsy note but note enough to say "hey that's sandalwood or rosewood, or cypress" Never the less, that doesn't spoil Despair at all -it just makes it all that more intriguing.

 

Despair is too light of a scent for me to really want to find a bottle of it but it is beautiful all the same. The throw isn't your typical throw, rather an aura that envelopes you that is haunting and intriguing. The wear for me was about 4 hrs before it faded to skin although my husband could still smell it at 7hrs.

Edited June 6, 2006 by Rhowan

[HennaFairy]

bottle:

dark floral/herbal - may bother my throat

 

wet:

very dark herbal… piney and herbs

 

dry:

pretty much the same - not bad, doesn't seem to bother my throat like I thought. Herbal with a bit of a sinister/dark side.

 

overall:

another that gets better as it dries.

 

rating: 7/10

[Spastik_Kitty]

Emu Nymph sent me a drizzle of this to check out, she rocks.

 

In the tarted bottle: Lavender and chamomile, very herbal and green.

 

First on: The lavender is really strong in this, with the chamomile making a shot through it.

 

After a bit: I don't know why, but it's just turned to powdery roses on me in the most unpleasant manner.

 

I'm not waiting longer, I've got to wash this off.

[edenssixthday]

Despair - When first applied, all I smell is the sandalwood and rosewood. It’s a very dry and arid scent. As it dries down, the chamomile and ylang ylang blend in with the woods, and it takes on a slightly herbal/floral quality. It’s not what I’d call a “pretty” scent, but it’s soft, serene and calm. It sticks very close to my skin and has virtually no throw. Unfortunately, at the 20 minute point, the scent has disappeared entirely from my skin. There are some scents that I like enough that I don’t mind reapplying throughout the day, and while this isn’t a bad scent, I don’t like it that much.

[Galatea]

In the Imp: Very astringent, sharp. The lavender and chammolie i'd guess.

 

Wet: The lavender is strongest at first, followed closely by the rose otto. I'm not so fond of rose otto, it always smells old and potpourri-like to me.

 

Dry: Oh my, the rose otto is taking over. I can't really smell anything else now.

 

Throw: Pretty good, out of 1-10 i'd say it's about a 7.

 

Overall: Starts too astringent, ends with too much rose. *blech*

I'm beginning to despair of ever getting rid of the smell of rose otto out of my nose...

 

[themerrybaker]

Despair is mostly fresh appleliscious chamomile and very soothing. On drydown, there is a bit of wood; the rose behaves. Good as a calming sleepytime scent (I prefer it to Sleepy Moon), not my thing as a perfume.

Edited July 8, 2006 by themerrybaker

[sofiaviolet]

Most BPAL smells like perfume, but Despair smells like essential oils. It's a weird distinction. Despair smells like a mixture of essential oils from Whole Foods. I mostly smell lavender and rosewood, two notes I'm very familiar with on their own. The rose peeks out after a moment. This is really floral and pretty.

[dierne]

In the bottle - Something soft and round and potentially resinous. This may not be a good thing, resin has been making me feel ill so far ...

 

Wet on skin - Resin fades and leaves me with a odd floral note. I think I found some ylang ylang in there ...

 

Dry on skin - Is a pleasant sort of scent. Not grabbing me overly at the moment but a pleasant rounded, warm floral. Not at all what I expected.

 

Later - Softer and more woody but a warm well rounded floral keeps grabbing my attention in a very understated way. Definitely not at all what I expected from Despair but I like it none the less.

[supremegoddessofall]

Mostly roses with a touch of "herbalness." Kind of indistinct.

[Shollin]

First sniff: It’s a big, enveloping scent, but it’s much lighter than I expected. The scent is quite strong from the vial, but the overall impression is lightness. I’m not explaining this well.

 

Wearing: Oh, don’t go soapy right away! Give me a couple hours’ enjoyment, at least?

 

No?

 

*pout*

[metaldog32]

I received this decant from a generous forumite…many, many months ago. I was overcome with her generosity…thank you sooo much for giving me the opportunity to try this.

 

Initial sniff from decant: I get the chamomile…and then either the rosewood or cypress..which is quite soft. The rose and lavender are there as well..but again..they are very much softened and blended together…no one note is sharp.

 

Applied wet on skin: Soothing chamomile…with the rose and lavender soft, soft, softly beating in tandem together.

 

Couple of minutes on skin:Interesting…the chamomile kind of went to the back and now I get more of the soft rose in front..the lavender is indeed subtle on me but I think it’s there. The woods are really understated…almost invisible on me and I can’t say I could find ylang ylang yet.

 

Ten minutes later:Soft rose..with the chamomile and lavender backing it up in a very understated fashion. Sandalwood/rosewood/cypress…they are at the tail end…just a wisp of them giving this blend a bit of structure..but overall the feeling of the notes together is soft.

 

Twenty minutes later:Crap..it’s almost gone. Again..my stupid skin chemistry basically devoured the fragrance…if I sniff hard enough I get a wisp of rose..but that’s about it.

 

Drydown: Nothing but the faint floral with the herbal.

 

Lasting power 1+hours…with hardly any throw.

 

Bottom Line: Despair…it is truly a very quiet fragrance..through frought with much to bear. The delivery on my skin was extremely light handed and unfortunately terribly brief..but what I did get to experience was very appropriate. It seemed to be laden with much sadness..but of a kind that is very self contained. I think it would work in spring but it’s much too evocative a fragrance for me to wear personally. That coupled with it’s poor staying power will have me frimping it; but I am so grateful to have had a chance to try it. It is beautiful..in a sad and mournful way.

[Limelight]

The rosewood really has it in this one, backed up by the chamomile. Reminds me of sweet, plentiful tears, the kind you might shed over the lover you know better than to run to, but for whom every fiber of you longs. A fragrance worth experiencing!

 

Edit: Sure doesn't last long, like most everyone has said! On me, like 30 minutes.

Edited April 23, 2007 by dirtytrip

[catattack]

Despair

 

This smelled like "perfume" in the bottle. On the skin, initially, it smelled of flowers with a sharp edge. After a couple of hours, it smells fresh and clean, yellow flowers and the tiniest hint of sandalwood and rose. This is a clean daytime floral scent. It is a nice unassuming scent to wear when you don't want to "offend" anyone. But I like it none the less. I'll keep this imp. (Received decant imp from forumite).

[alicia_stardust]

This is sort of melancholy and has a low vibration to it. I almost get the color gray from it, but not quite. I can mostly smell a nearly medicinal chamomile and lavender mixture, with a touch of the rosewood and cypress. The rosewood is a touch sharp and it brings the sandalwood to my attention whereas I couldn't initially smell it. This blend isn't exactly "me", but I am glad to have tried it. It definitely hits the concept on the mark.

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

this was one of the very, very first BPAL decants i ever bought.... but i never reviewed it. since it is moving on to a new home, i thought i should jot down my impressions:

sweet tears. not sure why i get something salty out of this, but i do. faintly woody, faintly sweet (like lavender or roses, not like candy) and really.... sad.

 

had this been available, i'd probably wear it regularly, but since it isn't... i treasured this vial and brought it out to sniff occasionally. but as i said, now it is going off to a new home.

[Gwydion]

In bottle: Rose, cypress and lavender on top. It’s mostly rose those. Given the things my skin does to rose, I’m not skin testing.

[nightwing]

Unsure as to the age on this one. It was sold to me as the 05 resurrected version, but it's in a cobalt bottle with the standard GC label.

 

ITB: One sniff I got lavender, the next chamomile. Soothing and somber.

 

Wet: Hi rose. At least you're not squashing all the niceness of the chamomile and lavender. There's an odd, slightly sour sweetness that I think is ylang ylang, which is amplified a bit by the herby feeling of this blend to make it slightly BO/Cat Pee like, but that only seems to last for a moment, and quickly fades.

 

Drying: The throw seems to be all rose and floral, but when I get close, I get this really heady and wonderful herby and woody underlay that makes this rose dominant scent really wonderful.

 

Dry: Oh no...Rose of doom. This is now single note rose. It's a nice, sweet and slightly dry rose, but it's also super generic. The herby feeling that made this rose unusual and thus my style, is completely gone and I am left with an unobtrusive old lady rose soap scent. It was so good for about half an hour and then it's settled right into rose like I was afraid it would. There is a wee bit of kick from the lavender as it continues to dry, but this is very much a rose show.

 

Assuming I keep this (which I might just for the sake of having a cobalt bottle in my collection), I'd probably want to get a scent locket for it, or maybe turn it into bath salts. I adore the way it smells in the bottle, and would love to find a way to get more of that scent and less of the rose.