Brisingamen

[tziporra]

The amber necklace of Freyja, Norse Goddess of Love, Sex, Attraction and Fruitfulness. Her magnificent necklace was bough from four Dwarves [Alfrik, Berling, Dvalin and Grer] at the price of four nights of her passion. When Brisingamen graces your throat, no man can resist your charms. A glittering mantle of rich golden notes: five ambers, soft myrtle and apple blossom, myrtle, and carnation.

Oh man, this is spectacular. Thanks to Shollin for enabling this sniff!

Didn't get much from the imp, and wasn't really expecting much since I'm finding that although I love the scent of flowers (and some outside floral perfumes), lots of the florals from the lab just aren't working on my skin.


But what's this? Spicy carnation! Gorgeous! Amber! Lovely! Something juicy that is probably the apple. Yum yum yum!

I'm not read to commit to a bottle yet, but I've already ordered my own imp from a swap so that I can dither on it a little more. For "feel" (not for notes) this reminds me a lot of my beloved and discontinued Bath & Body Works Peony scent. Maybe I'll dump my imp into a bottle of lotion and make my decision then

Best,

Tzi Edited January 15, 2008 by tziporra

[Sheyona]

oh i can smell the amber it makes a musky scent to me. on my skin it wafted and made me hold my head up as if to show the necklace that wasn't there. at work since there was no airflow it got a wee bit strong so i watered it down. it still made me smile randomly through the day as it wafted past my nose. no one at work commented on it though which makes me sure that i had it on at an acceptable level.

 

vedict, yeah i'ma keeping this one. but only for those days that i need to feel like a queen

[Emerrific]

On me this is a lovely soft spicy floral skin scent. Totally warm and very very very pretty with the carnation giving it a little delicate spice. Wet the carnation is the most prominent, on drydown the amber is there doing a yummy second skin thing.

 

It is subtle, but definitely has an effect, when people get within about a foot of me they compliment me and that makes me smile!

[MaeKitty]

In the Bottle: Amber, carnation and myrtle

On Me: Glorious and beautiful amber, with the floral background. This is one of my all time favourite blends. LOVE.

[galleywest]

Wet, in the imp: very strong. I can smell the myrtle but also something kind of...antiseptic. No, that's not exactly the right word. It's not a perfume smell, though, more like a no-frills lotion kind of smell.

 

Wet, on my skin: still very strong--I can smell the myrtle--but there is something sweet in it too. The amber is very powerful, but it smells like perfume now for sure.

 

Dry, on my skin: much sweeter. I really do like this. It's not an everyday perfume, though. I could picture myself at a high class cocktail party or museum opening in this. It's very grown-up, very sophisticated. A scent for a confident woman.

 

Overall, I like it! I don't think I'll get a bottle, but I'll definitely use the imp. If I had more of a social life with high class outings in it, I might get a bottle, but alas, I don't. I'm glad I have it, however, because I can see wearing it to feel more self-assured. It's a "dressy" scent.

[donnatron]

Imp: Myrrh and amber.

 

Wet: Amber does this weird sour thing when it first hits my skin. The carnations amp up. The other notes are just like "whatevs... let them do their thing."

 

Dry: Soft musky amber with spicy carnation and a touch of apple blossom. Very soft and dreamy.

 

Throw: You have to be pretty close in to smell it.

 

Overall: It's pretty and I'm glad I've tried it, but it doesn't immediately appeal to my senses. I'll finish up the imp and see if my impression changes.

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Pine? But soft, warm pine.

 

Immediately on skin: Ok, now this is making a bit more sense… the pine I’m getting is actually a mix of the amber and something floral—probably the myrtle since I’ve never smelled that before. This is a warm but slightly dry scent with some soft floral notes blending in.

 

After a little while: This has turned into a very faint, warm amber scent. There’s still a hint of florals, but they’re not very identifiable. I’d say carnation, but I usually love carnation and I don’t really care for this one. It has a slightly plastic edge that I seem to get from some of the lab’s ambers.

 

Overall Impressions: This is a very soft scent and hard to break down, so I guess I would say it’s well blended. But overall this isn’t a very impressive or strong scent on me.

[soonyi]

apparently, i am 'blind' to this one, as all i smell is a vague sweetness. not much else to this one for me....

[djsiberia]

wet: floral and apples

dry:carnation, apples and myrtle

 

amber? there's amber in this? i am amping the apple and myrtle.

 

i think i'll have to let this one sit a bit longer and then try it again.

[Gwydion]

In bottle: Fresh amber scent with florals. Wet: Inauspicious. Something vaguely earthy and wet under flowers. Dry: Boring light floral with amber underneath.)

[WidgetAlley]

First review in a long time.

 

In the Imp: Generic green foliage, I guess the myrtle, and spicy carnation. I can never smell amber until it's on my skin, so it makes sense that this one doesn't smell like much to me. Kind of an aquatic. Eh.

 

Wet: Smells like a carnation soap I used for some time, and just a hint of fresh tingly myrtle. The amber is backing it, but it's very faint, sweet and watery. Apple blossom is edging the whole thing, just a tiny tiny hint of it. Oh, there's the amber. Smells a lot like the ambers in Jacob's Ladder.

 

Dry: Soft, powdery amber, with faint cool myrtle and a little apple blossom. It almost smells like one of those girly "powder fresh" scents, but of course much much nicer. Smells like white and pink lingerie. It's pretty, rich and feminine, and exactly the sort of scent I don't generally wear.

[anardana]

This scent is full of glorious amber. It also contains a floral element. On me, the floral is as strong as the amber. The floral makes the scent perfumey and pretty, which is not my style. I have a feeling The Lion is more my amber style. To the swaplist this goes!

[stardreamer]

This goes on a little more floral than I was expecting, but after about 1/2 hour most of the floral notes fade back, and what's left is a mix of sweet amber and spicy carnation which is very nice indeed. That stays stable for quite a while; late in the game, the carnation fades too and the amber is the last lingering note. Staying power is excellent -- after 14 hours, it's still faintly present on my wrists. As to its mystical potency, I couldn't say; my partner isn't here, and I suspect he'd be immune anyhow, since he hates most fragrances. :-) But I don't need that to classify this one as a keeper.

[fairnymph]

Sniffed in imp: Honey coloured. Slightly spicy carnation and sweet, heavy, powdery amber. Rich, golden, cloying. A dusty, slightly bitter herbal undertone.

[maribouquet]

Oh, dear. Can't recognize any notes; this is just super, super powdery on me.

[heathercaley]

*SQUEE!*

 

I love being frimped... and I did I did!!!

 

I love this!! I smell spicy carnation and amber and holy god I LOVE Carnation and have a soft spot in my heart for amber (its a note that is lovely but I find it generic sometimes) But combined is pure spicy bliss!! As it dries down it gets a bit powdery (from the amber I suspect) but it keeps that carnation undertone that makes a nice combination.

 

Very very purdyfull indeed!

[veronicafranco]

hmm. this one is weird, yet undeniably compelling. wet, the myrtle is medicinal and offputting - but only right next to my skin. the throw is immediately of soft, sweet amber/carnation, which i quite like.

 

if i'm average temp, not much more happens as this one dries. it smells pretty but kind of bandaidish (also in "color," to me - it's kind of pale peachy pink, matte and opaque. not golden. i'm a weird one, what can i say?).

 

but if i'm warm, like right after i get out of bed, when i'm going to exercise (or today when i knew it was gonna be 100%, so i slathered a bit), it's sweeter and spicier and happy second-skin-ny ahhhhh. when i reapply over a preexisting layer of this, the second round is sweeter, faster. as i'm on my quest for The Perfect Everyday Amber, not sure i need all the amber ones i like just now, i will hold off on a bottle for the time being, but this really does smell good on me when i'm toasty.

 

eta - later that same summer.... my 5 ml should be arriving today!

 

 

eta - january, 2010 - typical fickle bpaler, i have fallen in and out of love with this one and just not worn it for a while. tonight i got a whim to put some on and see how it had aged - sniff... that smells like the brisingamen i remember. but hey, what's this new sweet/bright floral (i see why some posters have mentioned rosy)?! i think it's the apple blossom and i am a fan of it. i'd considered parting with this one.... today i am considering not.

Edited January 29, 2010 by veronicafranco

[greenranger]

On me, wet, soft...quiet myrtle and very soft flowers. I can't pick out the individual blossoms.

 

Drying, the amber is warming up.

 

So far, this is such a quiet scent that I can see wearing it on days when I don't want anyone to know I have any perfume on at all. No throw that I can detect; it is all right next to the skin. I like it, which is good for a floral(I don't like many) but it is so very soft.

 

 

The imp is a keeper, I think, but it is so very soft!

 

~edit~ It isn't quite as soft now, and the carnation is coming forward. I still like this one. It has potential to be a long lasting scent as well, since many scents that have amber tend to last and last on me.

 

~second edit~

So, I first tried this in July of last year. Now it is March, and I dug out the imp to try again.

Is this even the same scent? Wow!

Amber and I have issues, sometimes. It is wonderful and lasts, or it goes wonky...and still lasts. Aging seems to really really help. Now that this is over 7 months old, this imp is amazing. Myrtle and carnation and a nice stable base of amber. It is still quiet enough to do well in situations where I don't want to hit people over the head with my perfume, but, it is now strong enough for me to smell without sticking the back of my hand directly under my nose.

Edited March 14, 2009 by Aerinha

[Iceblink]

Loved the ambery beginning of this one but after a while the carnation took over and was way too overpowering. Carnation, you and I just are NOT going to get along, ever. Sorry!

[hlinspjalda]

My first BPAL scent, and still one of my favorites. Lamia chose well when she gifted me with it!

 

On me it's almost entirely amber, with some myrtle. I don't know what it is about carnation notes, but some of them just plain don't read on my chemistry.

 

This is a gentle amber on me, not nearly as strong as many of the other resin-based scents I've come to love, but it makes me feel more feminine than any of the others. I think that's because of the myrtle -- and the associations to two love goddesses (Freyja and Aphrodite) in one scent!

[tacey]

Brisingamen

 

So that's what amber smells like! It's gorgeous! This glows, enwraps (enraptures?), and transforms. I don't detect any florals, but the amber alone is so layered and beautiful it doesn't need anything more than those 5 ambers it claims. I did think I could smell something else, a little beside the amber -- a touch of sharpness and the occasional waft of incense -- myrrh? Surely not myrtle (I don't know what that smells like, though).

 

Perhaps a bit powdery right at the beginning, but so smooth and warm right afterward. I'm going to be wearing a lot of this one.

[madeleine]

Creamy and golden. If this were lotion, I think I'd probably love it, but on my skin it's just too flat. I like perfume to have more nuance, especially when amber is involved. Seriously, amber is my favorite note but my skin really amps it up. So I need something more than sweet amber if I want to stay interested in the scent.

 

It's really nice - a smooth scent. I don't know about glittering, though.

[Juushika]

Cross-posting this ancient review over from my LiveJournal...

 

Wet on skin: Rich, spicy, and decidedly amber. It's a little too heavy, but lightens up quickly.

 

Drydown: The spices step back, the scent becomes warmer and rounder, and the apple blossom start to weave in and out—sometimes I can smell it, sometimes not. This scent starts to smell wonderful on me after about ten minutes, and is at it's best from one hour onward. From then on, it remains largely unchanged. It's a warm, rich, luxurious amber—no question about it, that's the dominant note and the soul of the scent. More beautiful than sexy, it even makes me just a little lethargic. The carnation adds spice and the apple adds sweetness, so all the additional notes balance each other out to make an even-handed, slightly complex blend. Decent throw, and lasts about five hours before dying down to skin level for a few more hours.

 

Verdict: I like it, the boy likes it, this definitely fulfills my amber desire. I love it both for going out and for snuggling up to read and nap. Definitely a keeper, and a wonderful first BPAL experience. (So said two years ago! This was the first BPAL I ever tried, and I loved it then and still wear it now.)

[modillian]

At first it reminded me a lot of Sri Lanka with the sandalwood, cedar, and incense. I can only assume it's the myrtle coming out on me weirdly. Huh, I guess I just found out myrtle by itself doesn't work for me. There is a soft carnation singing in the back, a couple determined ambers, one hard and one powdery...and that's about it. These "golden" notes are completely flat on me. Too bad, too bad. The ambers don't shine at all on my skin, which is a huge surprise since amber usually loves me.

[sqwook]

On drydown: Floral powdery amber. On me, the flowers are winning the battle over the ambers. I wanted to love this, but alas, too floral forme. It must be the myrtle/apple blossom, because carnation is one of the florals that's usually a winner.