Les Fleurs du Mal

[AEris]

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

I did not get any rose from this scent, not even a hint....strange, considering most of the reviews, and the scent description itself.

I must agree that this smells the same in the imp as it does on my skin, which is to say:
Ylang-ylang, jasmine, wisteria, and lilac.

I know that ylang-ylang and jasmine are not listed as notes in this fragrance, but this blend is so evocative of those notes that I can't help but detect them, even if they are false impressions.

I really like this scent, not head-over-heels 5mL lurve, but I will keep the imp for when I need a sweet, heady, spring bouquet.

Edit to add: I'm trying it again today, and now I smell a balanced blend of rose and lilac and wisteria to round it out. I don't smell jasmine or ylang-ylang at all this time. What the hell was I on the first time I tried this? : -P

It's a little too powder-poofy for me, I hope it wears off soon : -/

3.0 out of 5 Edited June 23, 2008 by AEris

[erraticprophet]

Initial Impression: rose

 

On Wet: rose with a hint of lilac

 

On Dry: this is not good. It smells like perm solution. Ugh.. Going to wash.

 

Final Impression: I had high hopes for this because I love rose and lilac, but this went very, very bad on me.

 

Rating (on a scale of 1-5): 1

[lilirose]

In the imp: generic floral

 

On skin, wet: very very quiet rose, and not much else

 

Drydown: As usual the rose slowly amps the longer I wear this, but it's still a very pale and quiet rose with just a faint touch of lilac. Somehow it manages not to go soapy like floral blends tend to do on me.

 

Still, it's not really "me"- much too soft. I could see it being wonderful on the right person, but I'm not that person.

[zankoku_zen]

I don't really get a rose from this. This is a soft, soapy, clean kinda of floral.

 

Did I mention soap?

 

Really, it does smell like nice expensive soap.

 

*sigh*

[melrose]

Mal is the operative word in the title. This is so incredibly nasty on me - I've had good luck with rose and lilac before - perhaps I can't do wisteria?

 

On, wet, it's a dead ringer for White Shoulders, a perfume I liked for about 5 minutes in my youth until I realized how sweet it was.

 

Near drydown is very bad - it smells like someone boiled herbs in a pot of water, then left it on the stove for days and the concoction turned rancid.

 

Far drydown - a powdery note comes in - it's not as offensive, but I still get a whiff of the evil underneath.

 

A big no.

[MaeKitty]

In the bottle: Wisteria, lilac and tangy rose

On me: Wisteria and Lilac, with Ross in the background. Honestly, way too soapy for me. I don't think florals and I get along.

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Warm rose and soulful wisteria… it’s a warm but deep scent.

 

Immediately on skin: This is a little bitter and powdery on my skin… but there’s definitely some rose in here. There’s a deeper flower note (the wisteria perhaps?) and it’s interacting with the rose to create a deep but almost plastic scent. Very odd…

 

After a little while: This smells like a powdery mix of rose and wisteria… it’s very dry. It’s slightly sweet and very floral, but it has an annoying amount of powder going on.

 

Overall Impressions: I like these floral notes separately, but there’s something about the combination here that turned to powder on me. It’s a perfume-y blend… very wearable as well. It’s on the slightly colder side, and it’s a melancholy fragrance for sure.

[JennyGardener]

Faerygirl says, "Flowery, leather? beautiful". I got a strong hit of gardenia. I found the scent ok, but boring - it's just not my type.

[sadtomato]

i love this scent.

i think it's very elegant, ladylike and sorrowful.

the three florals mix together beautifully.

normally i'd never wear lilac...i love them on the trees in my yard, but they can be overpowering and too sweet and it's not a scent i'd want chasing me around all day.

but combined with rose and wisteria, it's just lovely.

mysterious elegance.

like a proper lady hiding her dark side.

i need a bottle!

[voodoocatwoman]

Beautiful, but not terribly long lasting. The lilac in it is just gorgeous.

[maribouquet]

I also think there is jasmine in here, because it went to instant funk on my skin. Boo, jasmine!

[fairnymph]

Sniffed in imp: Rose and lilac; very faint wisteria, and other florals - quite well blended. Very feminine, and soft. A little powdery.

 

Wisteria goes to absolute powdery hell on me, and this smells generic and a bit old ladyish, so I'm going to forgo even trying it on my skin.

[charshark]

In the imp: Roses with a hint of lilac, but sort of bitter.

 

Wet: Spicier than I thought it'd be... I thought it'd be more girly. I was wrong, heh. I can definitely smell the roses and it smells soapy.

 

Dry: It balances out a little bit better and I can now smell this wisteria. Still soapy, though. =(

 

Overall: Not my kind of scent. I got it because I really like lilacs, but I can't really smell them on me in this very well. Darn!

[taramarie]

Les Fleurs du Mal seems to be just wisteria and rose on me, no lilac. Not that I'm complaining -- this is a perfect spring and summer scent, so feminine and pretty. I may need a bottle of this.

[savage_rose]

A-ha! It's lilac that amps on my skin and ends up making me smell like a fussy old lady! I had often suspected, but never confirmed this. In the imp it's a beautifully maudlin floral, introspective and lovely. And on me, it's "Hyacinth Bucket" ("Boo-kay!") from Keeping Up Appearances.

[Suu4LC]

Rose!!! That's what I smelled when I sniffed this in the imp. I LIKE how rose smells in the imps whenever I've had a rose based bpal blend, but it always goes sour and stinky on my skin. I am hoping this will be the exception, and maybe the lilac and wisteria will soften it up.

 

Guhhhhhh yeah, I am only getting rose from this. Strong strong rose that just does NOT go well with my skin. Bleh, yeah, total rose overload, this is not for me!

[lunaticana]

yes! the soay one is was looking for!

so flowery and real blossoms, reminds me a bit of the Limited Lehua scent from Villainess, which I totally like btw

Rose, Wysteria AND Lilac.. what could a girl want possibly more )mayb new pair of dance§ shoes but that s another story )

perfect for hot summer§eves in Barcelona!

 

 

§NEED BOTTLE§

[alicia_stardust]

This is a spring-like floral to me because it is soft and gentle and sweet. It reminds me of a chill night after the flowers have started to bloom... lilac, rose, wisteria. The wisteria always smells like a watery floral to me and I really like the way it mingles with the other two.

[Heeroluva]

In the bottle it's all wisteria. Wet the rose and lily comes out to play. Dry it turns to soap. Another floral I can't wear. It smelled lovely wet.

[hkhm]

imp: very light wisteria. sort of sweet and sad.

 

wet: gah! all soapy, terrible rose.

 

dry: still soap. oh well.

[vikitty]

This is another of my fave rose blends from the Lab. It's a lot softer than Persephone, which I really like. I do smell the lilac as it dries down. It's a bit soapy for me but I actually quite like it.

[Iceblink]

A nice floral, but something in this made my skin itch almost instantly upon application, and I'm not sure what--I don't have trouble with rose or lilac or wisteria in that regard. Had to wash it off fast.

[tacey]

Unexpectedly, I don't care for this rose. It's the first one I can call a powdery rose -- very soft and dry. Definitely mostly rose with random whiffs of wisteria and occasional lilac.

[DeathBlooms]

I'm not so keen on this on, which is a shame as I rally wanted to like it. It smells like a very strong "old ladyish" floral perfume in the bottle and doesn't really change when you put it on. It also fades really fast. I really like rose so thought I would love this, but I can't really smell any rose at all - just a general floral smell.

 

 

I agree.I'm a little disappointed because I really like lilac but the rose and wisteria just drown it out.This perfume has a very strong floral scent which doesn't mix with me, it literally gives me a headache when wearing it. It's been a couple hours since i applied it, and I didn't apply that much and it's still going strong.

All in all, it's not horrible, but it's not for me.

[blacklacestatic]

I was excited about this frimp because I love Baudelaire, and had never gotten around to ordering an imp of it.

 

In the imp: This has potential. Very strong floral, but I am a fan of rose scents so this could end up very pretty. Whenever I smell a floral scent in an imp or bottle, it changes drastically when it hits me skin.

 

Wet on skin: This does change a whole lot, but not in the best way. The lilac takes control, which is bad news for me. I get that kind of cat pee thing from lilac and spend a little while in a gross-out phase. Then I get the pickle thing from this, which sometimes happens as the rose morphs, but is usually a sign of things getting better.

 

Drydown: The rose comes out a little more, but not strong enough to make me really enjoy it.

 

Overall: Not so hot. There is a kind of darkness to this, which is appealing, but I don't think I will wear this often.