Tisiphone

[LiberAmoris]

Oleander with black patchouli, ylang ylang, and neroli.

Tisiphone is a blend I've sort of been putting off testing, as it contains ylang ylang and the double ylang is not good on me. But here I can really only smell it when it's wet----as it dries, the blend becomes a lush floral, slightly incensey and dark. The patchouli is truly an underpinning here, it's so well-blended that I'd never know it was one of the notes unless it was listed.

I enjoyed Tisiphone much more than I thought I would, but it's not something I need to try again. Even the fleeting wet ylang ylang stage is almost too much for me. Edited October 22, 2008 by Shollin

[niter]

Imp

Sweetened ylang ylang mixed with soft floral notes.

 

Wet

Ylang ylang is very strong on me and this is no exception. There are some rather heady florals as well and the mix is somewhat minty(?) medicinal--though not herbal medicinal. I am also getting a plasticky touch.

 

The neroli is quite pretty and the blend seems bright on my wrist and not at all dark. The patchouli is hiding so far--hopefully beaten into submission

 

Ack! The patchouli just snuck up and it is nasty. Ylang ylang does not like sharing the skin with anybody else that dominates and then the neroli is going from pretty to pretty funky on me. Pout. Go away patchouli.

 

Dry

This got really soapy on me. The patchouli keep trying to come back in but on my skin ylang ylan and patchouli are each to dominate to mix and mingle in a friendly way. I can see why some find this really pretty (it started out so suprisingly) but my skin chemistry is not working with it. Pity because behind the soapy/powder and being the patchouli/ylang ylang battle there are some really amazing scents begging me to love them (and I do). I just don't vibe with the entire blend.

[merebrillante]

In the vial: Honey and flowers.

 

Wet: White flowers and honey.

 

Drydown: Powdery flowers, like violets mixed with sweet pea or apple blossoms.

 

Dry: Oh, this is awfully pretty. The honey is rising back up to the surface now, not overwhelming the floral notes but rather enhancing them. Wow, looking at the description, I was off on everything except the white flowers. I never would've guessed there was patchouli in here. I swear, this is so redolent of honey to my nose (but I've got a cold, so I might not be the best judge right now). Whatever is in here, I love it. This was a frimp from the Lab, and I'm definitely keeping it. I might even spring for a bottle.

[Kittyflop]

She starts out very floral - kind of bright. Can it be - a patchouli blend I can WEAR?

 

Turning musky, heavy - as it dries, it gets darker. Must be the patchouli, acting like patchouli without actually smelling like patchouli. Yay!

 

It's still floral but with an earthy base. Good throw, good staying power. I think I like this.

 

*eta: damn this is getting stronger by the hour! A little goes a loooong way.*

Edited March 8, 2006 by Kittyflop

[Christine Daae]

Yay, frimp!

 

In the Imp: FLOWERS OMG. Denise said, "This is a Chrissy smell!"

 

Wet on skin: Whoosh, hothouse flowers. O-leeee-ander. And the ylang-ylang.

 

Dry on skin: The throw on this is amazing. It smells like...I don't know how to explain this...a New Orleans lady. It smells like sitting on a verandah surrounded by oleander blossoms on a hot summer night in the South.

 

Drydown: This has changed very little - and has not calmed down at all. I feel like I smell like Blanche DuBois. Very womanly and sort of dark...but sweet and heady. Summery, not springy. This is extremely strong on me - I'm not really one for Very Strong scents in general, but I like this. Feminine. Maybe I'm just not familiar enough with it, but I really can't smell patchouli at all.

 

Final Impression: No, you know who this smells like? Dark Persephone. I didn't care much for the regular Persephone scent (pomegranates make me queasy), but this is Dark Persephone as I've always envisioned her - Queen, lovely, remote, sort of sad, but her skin still smells of white, sweet, warm flowers. The one bit of brightness caught by Hades... And it lasts forever. A sometimes-scent, I think. ::keeps::

Edited October 19, 2006 by Christine Daae

[The_Merf]

In the imp: This is difficult for me to really get a grasp of--I guess I smell the oleander, because there is a nod to Hell's Belle here. I'm surprised that neither the patchouli nor the ylang-ylang are evident. I have no idea what to expect.

 

Wet: This blends very well. I can now smell the patchouli (but the patchouli here is not earthy on my skin, and the ylang-ylang is also coming out (Chanel No. 5 is my favorite commercial perfume, and I have tried few BPALs with ylang-ylang), which makes me happy.

 

Drydown and wear: I've tried this twice...the first time, the scent was a real []kicker, but this time, while it certainly remains robust, it isn't totally scary (I still think it's a good perfume for 'the Avenger of Murder'). The patchouli is more prevalent on the second go-around. I like this oil, and I will certainly consider a bottle. I also want to try Alecto ASAP.

[edenssixthday]

Tisiphone is a dark, powdery floral. The scent is heavy when first applied, but as it dries down, it manages to gain a soft, powdery facet without losing its depth. The sweetness of the oleander is balanced by the dark, dry patchouli. It’s a fascinating scent, but unfortunately, it reminds me too much of the scent of my great-grandmother’s bedroom – a scent that I haven’t forgotten since I was a tiny little girl. It’s not an unpleasant scent, but since I associate it with my great-grandmother, her bedroom, and her bedspread in particular, this scent isn’t going to work for me as a fragrance. Too many old memories are wrapped up in it. One last note – it has really nice throw and staying power.

[PurringPulsar]

Tisiphone

 

In the imp: patchouli with a dry-ish floral note I'm not familiar with.

Wet on skin: lots of patchouli, ylang and a camomile/rose like scent…

Dry on skin: hmm, intriguing. I'm amazed by how patchouli-heavy this is, it's just so obvious in here. And yes, I know it's almost a cliché about patchouli but this scent really does remind me of a new age shop! It's the combination of patch and a dry flower note that makes it so-I'm reminded of a shop, probably in Camden (I think?) and the scent of patchouli and dry floral incense…it's almost like camomile but it's not. Maybe it's oleander? I do smell ylang here too.

After a while: the oleander flowers I smelt in Greece had a faint, sweetish scent, and the more I smell this the more I can pick that up, only the scent here is like dry oleanders. It's very unique. It's a lot stronger now and mixes and becomes equal with patchouli. It still smells like a new age/occult shop though, but that's a good thing…though now it's mixed with warm, sun dried flowers.

Then I get…old-fashioned pot pourri. Yup, that's right. It smells like really old, dusty pot pourri or a bouquet of dried flowers that has been stashed in the attic for about a century and still smells strong, only now more aged and faded with a scent of the dust that clings to those petals and the musty scent of the attic. A very 'antique' smell, nostalgic, it's not bad, but not something I want to smell like.

Verdict: this was an odd one. At first, it was pure Eau de New Age Shop. Normally the BPAL patchouli scents aren't too headshoppy and that note is quite subtle, but here it is very strong, and there's another note-maybe ylang-that makes it even more like the incense scent of a new age shop. but I wasn't keen on the drydown which smelt like a dust covered old bouquet of dry Victorian flowers, or a really strong old fashioned pot pourri mix stored in an attic and gathering the scent of nostalgia, dust and decay from it's surroundings. Evocative, but not something for me, in this case. I think I'll swap this.

Emoticon rating:

If you like this, try: Urd

Edited September 28, 2006 by yeahbutnobut

[Ryvre]

In the imp: Ylang ylang and something dry and earthy.

 

Wet: Sour. I can pick out ylang ylang and poppy.

 

Dry: The ylang ylang and patchouli are duking it out for dominance. It's a very strange mix.

[Alchemy21599]

In the vial: sweet floral

 

Wet: *strong* powdery floral. I don't smell patchouli at all.

 

Dry: very strong powdery floral. This blend made me sneeze. Off to swaps!

[juniperus]

Bottle: neroli and ylang ylang. oh fear.

Wet: the oleander is making a strong statement, but only accompanied by the neroli and ylang ylang - no patchouli yet.

Dry: oh that ylang ylang, sweetening and souring. *grumble*

Later: the patchouli is wonderful, but the neroli and ylang ylang are just strangling it to death on my skin.

[supremegoddessofall]

I'm pretty sure neroli is the source of the "tampon" scent I get from some BPAL scents, so I suspect this one will suck. *sniff* I think I smell a bit of tampon underneath, but mostly I get a light patchouli. Sweetish, but not sickly so.

[steffanina]

Tisiphone-

 

In Bottle: Something pretty and floral and with a hint of violets.

 

Wet: Floral, a little bit musty in its first bloom.

 

Dry: The dry-down on this was pleasantly floral, but it just didn't really send me.

 

Overall: Not for me.

[klavierbarrette]

imp: white flowers, ylang ylang

skin: omg patchouli. and BLACK patchouli! i thought i couldn't stand black patchouli, but the other scents blend with it really well and i like this scent. it's a SWEET earthy scent. i'm not getting any neroli, however. but the ylang ylang is enough!

[jasmine]

I smell some note in this that reminds me of the first smell of Morgause. To be more specific, as soon as I smelled it in the vial, I thought, “Toilet cleanser!” Not an auspicious beginning. With that said, I have no idea what it is, as their lab descriptions are so different, and it may just be a quirk.

 

This is an awkward blend for me to describe because I don’t know what any of those notes smell like, save possibly ylang ylang (and I don’t think I could pick it out reliably in a blind scent test.) Consequently, this may be fairly useless to anyone else. Still, my impression is one of medium complexity. (The toilet cleanser note has faded.) Tisiphone is a dry scent in and of itself, without any sweetness, striking me as neither floral nor spicy, neither hot nor chill. It’s a smooth, dark scent.

 

As it settles, it becomes more floral, though the overall impression I have is still one of darkness... the darkness of a steel grey twilight. This is not an unpleasant scent, but it’s not a pretty one, either. It’s alone, but not lonely... a scent of solitude and strength. It has its virtues, but it didn’t particularly impress me.

 

After four hours, Tisiphone actually blossomed into something that seemed more floral. Too long for me to wait, though.

[talula_fairie]

It smelled fresh, clean, with a hint of darkness in the imp.

 

On my skin, it smelled sharp, piercing, bitter, and acrid. It gave me a splitting headache. I was really hoping this would work for me -I do like ylang ylang in small doeses sometimes, and I love all things patchouli. But my darn skin amp'd up the florals to the point where they were sickening, and they were all I could smell. Sadly, this was washed immediately. Onto the swap pile for you!

[brownbear]

The neroli and the patchouli are standing out the most specifically with a general flowery note mingling in there as well. As it dried it got a bit of a soapy note. I think ylang ylang does that on me sometimes. Then it goes a bit dusty on top of the soapy. Here and there the patchouli comes back, but overall my skin changes it too much for me to be able to wear it.

[Victory]

Tisiphone really surprised me. When I saw it in my mother's imp collection, I picked it up to check the notes before trying it on, and the mention of black patchouli was almost enough to scare me off. I tried it anyway, and it's nothing like what I'd thought. I don't smell any patchouli, and the ylang ylang and neroli don't stand out. All I can smell is oleander, and it reminds me of Hell's Belle in feel. A thick, heady, strong floral, which I actually enjoyed (I'm really not a floral girl)! I'll enjoy Tisiphone while I'm visiting my folks, but I won't seek it out- as nice as the oleander is in this, I really am not a floral lover.

[Voleuse]

On first sniff, this makes me think of incense, but I don't think it has any actual incense-y notes in it. Oleander is the strongest note, sweet and waxy. Combined with the patchouli, however, makes it smokier, almost. A little dangerous, and the subtle appearance of ylang ylang doesn't dissipate the feeling. This is both sharp and seductive.

[Gladtobemom]

I got this as a free imp.

 

I put it on this morning and I can still smell it on myself. That said, it is NOT an overpowering scent.

 

It went on as a rich floral, very nose filling with a little bite.

 

After a couple of hours there were water notes coming on and the floral had smoothed to a very pleasant rich glow.

 

This is a very romantic scent with real staying power.

[CrystieSC]

This one is all floral to me - the Oleander just comes on strong and doesn't let up! It's a very heady, strong floral. I could smell even after washing my hands, with a washcloth and extremely hot water, for hours. It did not want to let up. Which would be great if I liked strong florals, but they always remind me of older women. It's not my kind of scent, so this one needs to go on the swaps list.

[little_galaxie]

Tisiphone. This is the scent of the "Avenger of Muder?" That said, I really do love it. It smells like soft velvety lining of a tender bud just waiting to unfurl in the morning dew, surrounded by a crush of sweet herbs and buttery florals. Absolutely gorgeous, only I wish it wouldn't go powdery on me after the dry-down.

[cranberry]

This oil smells dark, slightly floral. Wet, I can smell the patchouli, but there’s the richness of flowers. It smells like incense to me, despite it not having any traditional incense notes. As it wears the patchouli melds really well with the other notes while still being present and quite prominent. I’m not sure what oleander smells like, and I’m having a hard time trying to describe this scent or link it to the listed ingredients. The best way I can describe it, once dry, is that it’s slightly sweet, heady, rich, dark, and softly floral. A fine layer of powder is present and adds an old fashioned air to this scent. The dark oils almost smell hot (physically). This is an unusual scent and one that I’m glad to have tried.

[Rock Geisha]

In the bottle and wet: Hellooooooo, neroli!

 

Drydown:

 

Rock Geisha: Neroli, are you still there?

Neroli: Yes, ma'am!

Rock Geisha: Ylang Ylang? Oleander? Patchouli?

"Mmmfmmsmmmf."

Rock Geisha: Neroli, are you--are you sitting on the other scents?

*teensy cough*

Rock Geisha: Ylang ylang!

 

Straight version: Very sweet floral, heavy on the neroli, not for me.

[Medici]

In the imp: patchouli and neroli. Dark, dusty and sweet.

 

Wet: It smells like my local occult shop, dust included. Neroli has a tendency to dominate with my chemistry, blotting out everything else, and I'm afraid that's what's happening here.

 

Drydown: All neroli, no oleander, no patchouli. Woe.

 

Nice, but not a favourite.