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The scent of loss, love and the echo of time without end: sorrowful violet and chamomile with muguet, white geranium, calla lily and tea rose with a hint of autumn leaves.


in imp: tangy floral

wet: a whiff of spicy carnation.

top notes: soft roses.

middle notes: soft floral...very light and sweet. Like a spring morning when a field has gone into bloom. I know that seems maudlin, but that's what it smells like so...deal.

base notes: more of the soft floral, but it's getting very weak.

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In the bottle, this is a soft whisper of chamomile and tea rose with a faint geranium or violet overture. Wet, this is violets and lilies and tea roses, there's a vague touch of autumn to this but not leaves... more like the smell of autumn rain. Yes, to me the rains smell different but again, it's something so perceptual (is this a word?) that I can't actually sit down and describe it to somebody else because they don't GET it. It stays light and delicate once it has dried and warmed , lots of slight chamomile an violet moments with a good balancing dose of the other florals mingle over the autumn smell which has turned to red leaves still on the tree, before they've quite lost their life. This is very pretty and very sweet and innocent. Which makes me think it's just not for me. I don't see the somber side of it so much as I get the image of a shy girl hiding behind a tree with her most beloved book, too afraid to join in with the other kids on the playground at school. This is very pretty but not at all me because I tend to be more robust or boisterous, my "quiet" scents are the sultry, sulking, stewing and brewing mayhem kind. Still, I'm glad I got to try this. This isn't a wet scent, as it dies down, but from the start was faint and dry... like dried flowers really. I think that's what makes this so interesting is that to me it smells like loose leaf tea in the bag still. It's quite pleasant and swirls around your nose like a good tea should, kissing my skin goodbye in a whiff of rose and violet.

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Ephemera - I had really hoped that the violet in Ephemera would be the dominant note – or at least be somewhat present, but I couldn’t smell it at all. Upon first applying it, the tea rose and chamomile were the dominant notes, but upon dry-down, Ephemera became an incredibly subtle and light scent. It’s very pretty and softly floral, but incredibly faint and sticks closer to my skin than almost any other BPAL scent. If I didn’t know I was wearing it, I probably wouldn’t notice it at all. I don’t care to wear it on my skin due to how quickly it fades on me, but if I can get a little more scent strength by using a scent locket, I’ll definitely keep it around.

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In the vial: Something sweet with a hint of lemon.

 

On me: I have to sniff really hard to smell this on me. It is actually a rather nice scent, but it's so incredibly light and is probably not something I'd wear often.

 

Verdict: Off to the swap/sales pile.

 

Rating: 3/5

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this is really pretty, at first. i think the calla lily and tea rose come out most on my skin. i dont sense the autumn leaves at all, and i am not even sure about the other notes. this turns to a shampoo-y scent on me, similar to that 'clean' perfume they have at sephora. so i get a hint of aquatics, or perhaps it is the lily, i'm not sure.

 

not really me so i'll probably swap this.

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Bottle: lovely - violet and lily and rose. soft-edged.

Wet: the translucency of the geranium plays with the darkness of the violet, the lily and rose remain at the top, but are counterbalanced well by the other two notes.

Dry: well, here we go - the tea rose is, as I feared, starting to turn soapy, and the lily is amping every so slightly.

Later: uber lily..soap. GAH!

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A generous frimp from the lab!

 

In the bottle: Strong floral scent, mostly lily.

 

Wet: There's something in there with a tang that I just can't place. Otherwise it's very floral. Lily dominates but the rose and gerenium is definitely there. Very good throw.

 

Dry: The flowers seem to be in constant play, sometimes blending, sometimes standing out individually. The throw has died down a bit but the scent is very nice.

 

 

 

It's just not a "me" scent. I could definitely see some of my friends wearing it though. I do like it.

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I was pleasantly surprised to discover that this blend had violet in it, since wet this was a delicious interplay of sweet, slightly fruity floral notes, and violet is always soapy-bad on me. It did become more apparent as the oil dried, though, and had a little of that dreaded, slightly sweaty "old lady" scent about it. This is really light and sweet and pretty, though, and I would almost keep it...but it faded fast, and I really can't imagine myself reaching for it anyhow. I think Ultraviolet will remain my only violet blend.

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Ephemera, in the imp, is very violet and floral to my nose -- I rather like violets, so that's not a bad thing. I associate violets with the dark and brooding side of the Victorian era, and also of being a little kid, because my mom always had violet bubble bath. Once it hit my body, the lily and geranium really went to work with the violet. When it dried down, it started smelling like violet-scented soap, which again, isn't a bad association with me -- perhaps not my favorite way to smell, or in keeping with the image I want to project, but not unpleasant. Then, after a couple of hours, it really calmed down into a very delicate, soft, violet and chamomile scent. Chamomile is a favorite herb, and a very delicate scent, and after the stronger components of the blend burned off, it came into bloom. Again, to me, it's a Victorian scent that is very girly and delicate.

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From the GC Circle Swap.

 

Ephemera: This is incredibly evocative...I hadn't thought a scent could be sad. I get the violet and chamomile, with a hint of rose and leaf notes. This is a masterpiece, but I don't actually want one; I'd never wear something this wistful.

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In Imp-strong floral, white and sweet

 

Wet- chamomile and something else- geranium?

 

Dry- Reminds me of an idealized version of walking down the country road I live on with my best friend and smelling the wildflowers in the unmowed field.

 

Later: Nice, but not me.

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This is a soft scent of florals with something perhaps astringent behind it, perhaps from the autumn leaves fragrance in the scent or one of the florals I’m unfamiliar with. On my skin, this is a very soft blend of gentle florals that are balanced between sweet and sharp. After a few hours on my skin, this is an almost undetectable scent on my skin as it’s so very soft and faded – it is exactly as the name suggests – an ephemeral and fleeting scent!

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in the bottle it smells a little wintergreen-ish. On it powders down quite a bit. After about 30 minutes it smells kind of sweaty. That said, I'm still not discounting this one for some reason. There is something about it I am drawn to...

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I'm not big on florals. I can smell some rose, and what I think is lily. There's also something green here I can't put my finger on...

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On me this smelled completely medicinal. I have a lotion called Sarna that has camphor and menthol in it, but that's a good medicinal whereas Ephemera was just bad. So I dumped the whole imp in the burner and it made a pretty decent room scent. It's very light so it barely fills the one room it's burning in. Nothing medicinal about it at all as a room scent so it must be my chemistry that ruins it.

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I think this scent would have been lovely on me if I didn't have some sort of anti-rose curse going. It's tragic. Otherwise lovely though. It was very floral and the violets were beautiful, but the rose was just going all wrong on me.

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Rating (on skin): 1/5

Summarised in a word or two: Rose.

 

Pre-review thoughts: Violet? Calla lily? Rose? Eep. Big eep.

 

In the imp: Rose and cally lily! Not good.

 

On skin, wet: Dry rose and that evil, evil calla lily, ruiner of blends and choker of Shannon.

 

On skin, dry: Nothin' but rose and calla lily now. The rose, as it's wont to do, has become a little acrid and sour, and very strong.

 

Conclusion/Notes: I get no violet from this, but the rose more than makes up for its absence. Le sigh. My skin just can't handle rose.

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wet: heavily sweet florals, slight fruit note?

 

Dry: the florals aren't as cloying as I thought they'd be. It's soft & light; quite pretty. Even as much as I love violet, they aren't detectable enough on their own for me in this particular blend. If you're into soft florals, you'd probably like this. As it stands, this is really not my style.

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Wet this is dewy, mossy and misty- very fitting for the name. When first on this is a very faint floral with possibly some citrus mixed in. After a couple of minutes it has that "old lady floral powder potpourri" smell. After about a half an hour it smells like roses and is much nicer. I can also smell some violet too. This is a soft, feminine blend. Nice but not one I need to keep.

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In imp, and on, wet: Tea, and nothing but.

 

Near drydown: Violets, tea, and sharp, green herbs.

 

Drydown: Sweet tea and flower stems. Not so great.

 

No far drydown: it disappeared within an hour. I applied half the imp.

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I like this one very much - I give it a 5 out of 5. Very floral, reminiscent of a secluded Victorian garden or something. Rose is fairly predominant, but I smell the other flowers, too. Mama like.

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In the bottle: Ephemera is very floral. This smells like something my mother would wear and enjoy.

 

Wet: The rose is amping on me. I think my nose is not well tuned to picking out floral notes. I cannot pick out any of the others.

 

Drying down: It warmed up, pushing into the realm of soapiness. My husband thought it smelled like a lot of women’s perfumes.

 

Dry: It is still a bit on the soapy side, but the rose faded into the background. I do not mind it as it is now. It still reminds me of my mom’s taste in perfumes.

 

Later: Ephemera has acquired a stale-floral dusky undertone. My skin does not do well with most florals, and this is no exception.

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I mostly smell chamomile. This is a really well-blended scent. I wouldn't have had even a guess as to what's in it without looking at the notes, and I can't really pick them out even though I know what I'm looking for.

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If I hadn't gotten this as a frimp, I'd never have smelled Ephemera. I'm just not a floral girl. But I like this. I really smell the muguet (which may be because my mother had a lily of the valley perfume I would sniff occasionally). It's a whitish scent to me and soft. Ephemera is definitely a different scent experience for me- not one I'd wear often, but I'm glad to have the imp.

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This is very floral. I think I'd like it better without the rose, which turns it kind of soapy on my skin. It's very pretty in the imp, and I love BPAL's muguet note, but this will need to go on to a better home.

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