Les Fleurs du Mal

[Marie_Nightingale]

The scents of the blossoms of darkness, condensed into one perfume. Features a rose base, softened with lilac and wisteria.

I just got this scent in a swap (thank you Theseagrows!!) and I'm pretty excited to try it out. The description is promising!

In the Imp: The lilac is a very strong and the rose is hiding behind a green note. Like, flower stems or maybe even a little bit of grass. I'm not getting any wisteria so far.

Wet: The green note is completely gone and the rose has come out of hiding! I still not smelling the wisteria. The lilac and rose are trying to blend, but the rose keeps winning, lol. It’s a very powdery rose scent. (I know there some people who don’t like powdery rose scents, but it reminds me of rose dipped in baby powder. Which makes me happy. )

Dry down: Theeeeeres the wisteria. The rose has calmed down and the three flowers are playing nicely. Its equal parts wisteria, lilac, and rose. So pretty!

After an Hour: The wisteria has faded into the background again. It’s mostly lilac and rose. The powdery note has turned a bit soapy, but not in a bad way

All in all, the rose/lilac notes have faded so beautifully into a soft, floral scent that I don’t really miss the wisteria. It’s a very delicate, pretty scent.

[ianastar]

Mal is bad right? Cause this was true to it's name right away...BAD!

 

The final dry down was way nicer though, but all I can really smell is the rose. I'm not a huge rose fan, and most scents with rose really turn me off. I'm not a huge fan of this one, but it's not as overwhelming as some other rose scents. This will definitely go up for swaps.

[Juushika]

In the vial: ....floral?

 

On me: Goes on as a dusty, dull, pastel floral. The rose opens up during drydown and only continues to ampas rose always does on mebut the other flowers add a powdery note on top, which softens but never quite complicates the rose. Not at all dark, this has a pinkish old-guest-soap-by-the-sink feel, a little powdery, a little grandmaish.

 

Verdict: Rose is one of my death notes and predominant florals aren't my style, so of course this doesn't work. The other notes keep the rose from attaining screaming levels on my skin, but this is still all rose all the time. One for the swaps.

[Eliyetres]

Yellow colour. In bottle: smells very floral. No rose! Yes! Later: Hm I acutually don't get much rose from this, so surprised. It's a very feminine floral perfume, crisp and elegant! The lilac is there to bite me in the ass. Damn! Still a very soft beautiful floral. Recommended to try even if you, like me, hate roses, and my skin turns into cat pee.

[lohengrin]

In the imp: Generic sort of floral. Nothing special, nothing standing out.

 

On skin, wet: And my skin begins to amp the rose, like always. Lilac lingers in the background.

 

On skin, dry: Mostly rose. The lilac is turning a bit soapy, but fading under the onslaught of ROSE.

 

After an hour: Rose single note. I keep hoping... but no. Rose may not be a death note on me in the sense of smelling BAD, but it sure does take over.

[becca_s]

To me this is a very old fashioned scent, something I can imagine someone from the 1920's wearing. It's mostly rose on me, with a hint of lilac and wisteria. It's feminine in an old fashioned way. It has really good staying power and a little goes a long way.

[AnnetheCatDetective]

One of my favourites!

 

In the vial: Flowers! It's a very calm and not too 'perfumey' floral to me, though...

 

On me: Nice. Lilac first and foremost, I believe. Calm and pleasant and makes me feel oh-so-Victorian, but more feminine than my other old-fashioned favourite. So faint, though!

 

Dry: Suddenly, the scent gets a second wind on me. Lilac is still the top note to my nose, but I like lilac. It's got much more throw after a while than it did when I first put it on.

 

Couple hours later: Fading. I have to put my nose to my wrist to get anything, but I am getting all the flowers, even though the scent is barely there. Really nice.

[Saffrin]

Imp: Can't pick out any one note. Just... soft floral.

 

 

Wet: As soon as it hit my skin, it turned to strong, heady floral soap.

Really wishing more of the notes I loved would love me back.

 

 

Dry: Gains a bit of powdery warmth at the start of the sniff, but other than that, stays fully soap.

 

 

Not much to say about this one, because it just went to soap soooo quickly.

[Foodie]

Les Fleurs de Mal is, to me, exactly what it says it is. A dark mysterious floral. I smell all three flowers, rose and lilac especially. But these aren't spring flowers. They are flowers your secret lover brings you in the dark of night.

 

I don't get any powder or soap. Just a beautiful "old-fashioned sexy" scent.

Edited February 17, 2013 by Foodie

[Magpie]

In imp

 

Strong, old-fashioned slightly cloying scent. It might end up a bit old ladyish if it continues like this - it definitely has the smell of a classic Victorian floral perfume.

 

On wet

 

I can smell wisteria and violets. It smells severe and formal with a distinct soapy edge that will hopefully fade. On the other hand, it isn't your typical lab floral.

 

Dry

As it dries, the severeness lessens a bit, though more on one wrist than the other, and some subtler florals come out underneath, like the rose. It is also blending better as it warms up and dries, without so much of single notes standing out. I'm always surprised how this scent starts out and then ends - it never fills me with confidence at the beginning, but by the end it is really nice sophisticated floral.

[alyelle]

I don't try many florals and every time I do, I'm reminded why that is.

 

Imp: soft, powdery lilac with a hint of wysteria

 

Wet: very sweet - mainly lilac, with an undercurrent of rose and something that smells bizarrely like sunblock.

 

Dry: rose, mainly. Unfortunately most BPAL rose scents smell like potpourri or powder on me. This one's on the potpourri side, which I'm grateful for, as I don't really want to have to wash it off. The lilac fades almost to nothing after ten minutes and after about three hours, the wysteria makes itself known. It's lovely but very delicate, and I rather wish it didn't take quite so long to arrive; I'd be more inclined to put up with the wafts of rose if the wysteria were stronger. Alas, even when it does come out, it's generally overshadowed by the rose.

 

A very pretty scent for someone, but that someone isn't me.

 

Stars: ★★

Edited February 4, 2014 by alyelle

[aquazoo]

Soapy flowers. I definitely get the lilac.

[JuliskaMarie]

In the imp: Lilac, a little wisteria & a hint of rose - but they're all darkened somehow. This isn't a light, happy floral scent, it's actually rather dark & creepy.

Wet on skin: The lilac is the standout here. There's a little wisteria too, but neither of them are bright, daytime scents. It's like being under a lilac tree (which is near a wisteria vine) at night, after the dew has set in. Pretty & floral, but also a little spooky. There's a hint of rose, but not fresh rose - like you have some rose oil on your hands & it's mingling with the overall scent.

Dry on skin: The flowers aren't fresh anymore, the smell is now more like a very old (antique, even) perfume.

After a few hours: Very faded potpourri &/or old lady perfume. Disappointing.

Verdict: I like it... but my skin doesn't. Maybe it'll work if I get a scent locket?

[GoddesShel]

I don't know why I didn't review this, but apparently I didn't. Received a frimp of this, and Chris went nuts when I tried it, insisting it was "the perfect scent for a librarian - it smells like old books!" At the time I laughed at him, because I got what the description says, "rose, lilac, and wisteria".

 

But then I swapped for an aged bottle of it, and when it dried down today, - yep, old books! It's still a floral, but it's like stepping into an antique library that's been closed up for a few decades, and the main smell is books, with a tinge of an antique perfume lingering in the air.... maybe a haunted library?

[Teaker]

Soap. Generic floral soap.

[Hystrixia]

"Perfumes there are which through all things can pass
And make all matter porous, even glass;
Old coffers from the Orient brought, whose locks
Grind sullenly when opening the box,

Or, in an empty house, some ancient chest,
Where time and dust and gloom were long compressed,
May yield a flask where memory survives,
And a soul flashes into future lives."

- Le Flacon, Charles Baudelaire

In the Imp: The sweet and heady scent of fresh lilacs and wisteria. It smells amazing, like a humid evening in late spring.

Top Notes: On the initial application, the lilac and wisteria take a dark turn from their sweet demeanor, especially as the rose makes its introduction.

Middle Notes: The wisteria has faded into the background, leaving the lilac and rose. On my skin, the rose is fairly dominant but the lilac can still be easily distinguished and tames the harshness of the rose. It is a deep, lush rose that reminds me of the times my mother would leave some freshly cut 'Mr. Lincoln' hybrid tea roses in my room as a child. The roses were a dark red against the sugary pastel purple paint on my bedroom wall.

Base Notes: Only the rose is left, which has become a soapy and clean smelling ghost of its former self. It whispers of yellowing lace, old perfume bottles, and powder puffs sitting on the vanity of an aging beauty.

Overall Impression: A very mature, old-fashioned perfume that reminisces on spring nights long past. Colorwise, it comes off as a soft purple, crimson, and ivory scent.

Final Verdict: I love florals, especially rose, but unfortunately Les Fleurs du Mal is too much an old lady scent for my tastes. I will, however, be keeping the Imp as wearing it gives me a nice trip down memory lane.

Edited December 8, 2015 by Hystrixia

[Veronica]

Wet, this is a crystalline, yet slightly powdery floral. As it dries, the sharpness of the lily tones down and the rose comes out. This rose is soft and gentle--Belle Vinu's rose vs. The Rose's rose. A pretty light floral, but too much lily gives me a headache so this is not for me. It's primarily a bouquet of lilies with rose wrapped around and wisteria--very pretty--lurking in the background.

[Lauren McCully]

I got this imp as one of a few freebies with my order of the Fae Forest home and linen spray, and although I'm not a huge fan of rose scents, I do love lilac and Charles Baudelaire, so I gave it a try before leaving for work.

In the imp: Very floral, and very lilac dominated. Kind of soapy.

Wet on skin: Lilac at first and then an almost immediate punch in the nose with rose. Rose is definitely the dominating scent right now. I can't really smell anything besides it.

Drydown: The lilac is starting to peek a bit through the rose, but it's still overwhelmingly rose scented. I kind of get a hint of the wisteria as well at the end of the drydown.

Dry on skin: Warm rose soapiness. Not unpleasant, but very strongly rose. I can just very faintly detect some other kind of floral scent in the background as a blend of the lilac and wisteria, but it's just mainly a warm soapy rose.

After 10 hours: I can still smell it on my wrists but I have to put my nose pretty close to my skin. It has a warm, powdery rose smell, with very faint hints of the lilac and wisteria together in the background. The lilac and wisteria are not really distinguishable to me as separate notes, but the rose definitely is.

Final thoughts: Absolutely a rose-dominated scent on my skin... not in a way that smells bad (although it is a bit powdery in a warm way), and certainly old fashioned and feminine, but it does unfortunately remind me of old lady perfume. It's not a "me" scent for sure, but if you like old fashioned feminine florals dominated by a rose note, you'd like it. It's just not something I'd buy for myself.

[DiesMali]

In the imp: Dark, heavy flowers.

 

Wet on my skin: Same as in the imp:

 

Dry: I like the individual notes in this as parts of less heavy-floral blends, but unfortunately, this is too floral for my tastes. It's very strong and rose-heavy, with the wisteria and lilac giving it something of an old-fashioned, moody quality. It would probably make excellent soap, though, so I will pass it on to a friend who enjoys making soap out of BPAL fragrances.

[freyasfae]

I don't get a strong, clear rose from this scent - it mingles with the other flowers into a heady, floral scent. I think Hystrixia described it best:

 

like a humid evening in late spring.

 

I will keep the imp and wear this, but probably won't be ordering more.

 

Edit 12/2: Interestingly, this is has turned out to be my partner's fave scent on me. I think I will peruse the forums for some similar recommendations cuz I am not quite crazy about it, but I like that likes it.

Edited December 2, 2015 by freyasfae

[roseus]

The Lab generously threw this in with my last order, and I totally thought it was going to be perfection! In the imp I get a lot of fresh lilac and wisteria, a very springtime feel to it. Once on, all the florals get bigger and darker. There definitely was a musty, old lady phase on me. Then that sort of goes away, there is a lovely rose in here for sure. But it stays dark, and as another review mentions sort of creepy.

[doomsday_disco]

In the imp: Such flowers. Much wow.

 

Wet: This is sour on me. I figured it would be. I haven't had much luck with rose and lilac when they're paired together. This features a fresh, Rose Red-like rose note.

 

Dry: The rose has calmed down, so it isn't clashing with the lilac and wisteria as much anymore, but that sour twang is still present, even though the scent is smoother during this phase.

 

Verdict: This one just doesn't work with my skin chemistry.

[russetfox]

Quick test before taking a shower to see if I will wear to work tomorrow. This is the one imp that somehow missed details, I don't know where it came from or how old it is...

 

Application: Quick rub of the imp wand,

Wet: major strong florals, not sure which flower is which, this smells awesome of flowers. Major throw

Dry: tones down a little, but still flower so much flowers.

 

Wow, I am starting to figure out what people are saying when they talk throw. I have tested so many of my collection and reviews talk about throw and on me it is a skin scent, but what little I put on, I am sitting here in a flower cloud and it is an amazing cloud.

 

Will update with work review tomorrow after work!

[Cali]

I'm not crazy about this. It's not very intricate to me, just lots and lots of undefiable flowers (or does that actually make it intricate? A flower for your thoughts?) It's got a dark twist I'm not a fan of and I can't put my finger on what it is. It's kinda old lady perfume but almost like an evil grandma.

I tried this several times though because man do I want to love this, but my skin turns it into a sour mix with the heavy flowers and that dark note. I don't hate it though.

[Casablanca]

In my 20s I loved Baudelaire's writing, but these listed notes don't have me excited. Dedicated florals aren't my sweet spot.

Wet on my skin: Urf. A pure, heady, clashing floral. This smells like rose and lilac in a bitch fight, with at least one of them using a sharp green note as a bladed weapon. Terrible.

Once Fleurs has dried, the wisteria blooms alongside the green note. The greenery has gone dry and seems to approach bitterness without quite reaching it. I still smell rose and lilac, and they're still fighting, but more quietly in the background. This is a mess on my skin. Pass.