Zarita, the Doll Girl (2006)

[fairnymph]

Soft, yet sociopathic: white carnation, iris, orange blossom, and sugared cream.

Sniffed: Golden oil. Creamy, floral, a little spicy and a little sharp, with a faint sweetness. The cream is a little buttery (like Chaste Moon's cream note), the iris a little rotten, and the orange blossom a little acrid.

Wet: Richer, creamier, sweeter. The sugar-cream reminds me so much of the honey-cream of Chaste Moon. Much more carnation now, too, and it's a slightly sharp, greenish-fresh, sappy sort of carnation, with a generously spicy kick. The orange blossom and iris are a bit less apparent now, but both still a little unpleasant to my nose.

Dry: Less sweet, but even creamier. It's a bit less buttery, thankfully, but the carnation now adds to the creamy feel. In fact the carnation is perhaps the strongest note now, with the cream just behind. While I can see how it is a carnation note, it's not like any carnation note I've tested before; it's clearly distinct. Clove-like in its spiciness, it still has that almost-bitter green sappy quality as well.

Later: Fading on the whole - already, and it's not even been an hour. Less sharp and less spicy carnation. Still extremely creamy and now veering towards creamy, rich and 'soft' in feel - it really IS soft yet sociopathic. Very tiny bit of soap. The iris has almost completely faded except for a bit of slightly rotten smelling powder.

Summary: Heavy, slightly nauseating, faintly sugared cream a la Chaste Moon - foody, almost with spicy, sappy carnation, slightly powdery iris and sharp-soapy orange blossom. Good throw & longevity. This fits the concept perfectly, but it doesn't work on me at all.

[topazphoenix]

This one is really...creepy. Carnation is kind of innocent smelling, like Alice was. But in Zarita, the orange blossom contributes a sort of high, grating aura, and the cream in combination makes for a rather cloying heavy sweetness. Zarita has all the right parts. Perfectly innocuous notes, unassuming description. And yet somehow, something more the sum of the parts isn't really there. This scent begs for attention but it doesn't have any synchronicity. It's jerky, artificial. Mechanical. Erm...sociopathic. *runs away*

[NoinHime]

This one is interesting. At first in the bottle I thought it smelled like a slightly peppery caramel. Sweet cream doesn't bode well for me so I wasn't sure about this one.

 

Wet on me I am smelling nothing but florals. Once the scent dried and warm the sweet cream came back but not in a bad way. Just enough to give it a touch of sweet. The florals that are predominant are the carnation and orange blossom.

 

This is very nice but I think it might be a little too sweet for me.

[Monster]

Mmmmm sugared cream (light on the cream, this isn't too milky) with a gorgeous carnation note and a hint of orange blossom.

This isn't an overly floral blend, just pretty and slightly sweet.

 

As this dries my skin amps the spiciness of the carnation...wow, this is really good! As it settles into my skin some more it becomes even sweeter! Generally scents with a lot of sweetness make me feel sick (especially burnt sugar or caramel notes) but this one is working really well for me. This is something I could wear every day, any time of the year or layered with some other oils. I'm thinking this would work well with Lady Lilith.

 

A keeper!

[Frills]

At first, this has a weird kitchen-spice smell on top of iris and orange blossom. I got this mostly for the orange blossom, so I was disappointed...but then after I put it on for ten minutes the spice goes away and it's fresh, sweet, and happy with a depth lurking underneath. Mostly, though, it's sugared orange blossom with a hint of iris. I don't smell any carnation.

 

This fits the bottle art, and I'm kind of disappointed that I like it so much. Now I need a full bottle instead of my partial.

[fireflower]

When this is first applied, it's soapy as heck, but I vaguely detect a spicy, sweet floralness under it. So now I'm waiting to see if the soapiness will go away and if whatever is underneath will come out some more.

 

Okay, ten minutes later, and the soapiness is gone. Now it's just that spicy, sweet floral that was underneath in the wet stage. The scent really matches the concept.. it has a sort of duality with one aspect of it being spicy and dark and the other being creamy and sweet. I thought it was funny that I've wanted to try Zarita since I started BPAL in 2007 but never got around to testing it, and now I find that I quite like it. Will probably end up getting a bottle.

[swtlilqtk]

Wow, I'm really liking this scent! It is def. true to description with the sugar and orange blossoms and the floral notes and there too tucked away in the background. Every once and awhile I'll get a strong wiff of floral but it's mostly a carmalized sugar smell. Not like Sugar Skulls though, this sugar smell is very soft...more refined in a way. Sugar Skulls can be overpowering where as the sugar in this scent is just enough and the orange blossoms and carnation balance it out well. Not sure if this is a bottle scent just yet but I will surely enjoy my imp. This is a good all year round scent and very soft so I am going to keep this on my maybe list. Has a lot of positive qualities but there are a few scents I just like slightly better....

[slayheim]

Decant: Something sweet, light floral. Smells sort of like magnolia to me, laced with cotton candy!

On: I still am not getting anything really orange, but the floral seems to fade a bit more and a sweet, whipped cream, white chocolate smell is coming out. It blends really well together.

After an hour or so: I think I get the orangey, creamisicle smell that everyone's raving about now! There's still a tinge of floral to it, but it's really nice.

 

Overall: do want more, please.

[damonkitty]

I think I came to the conclusion today that the note orange blossom does not work on my skin. I had an orange blossom scent from Starring fragrances that I had to sell off because it did something horrible on my skin. I like Zarita a lot more, but that same strong overbearing scent comes out on me from the orange blossom part of the scent . I wore it to work today and as it changed during the day it did mellow out at some point to a more creamy blend. I may have to sell off the oil in decants, but I love the bottle too much to part with that.

[devilot]

Zarita, the Doll Girl

In the Vial: Sharply perfumey.

 

Wet: Whaddya know? Sharply perfumey still. Super in-your-face, make-you-sneeze floral. Oooh, split second of carnation! The carnation and sugared cream is what made me wanna try this. I wish the strong non-carnation florals would back the eff down and let carnation and sugared cream come out to play. *pouts*

 

Drydown: Get a hint of something sweet-- might be the orange blossom. Still, super strong floral (and not in the good carnation way).

 

Verdict: What a real bummer. I was really hoping for a yummy carnation and sugared cream thing going on, but instead, it mainly stayed too-strong floral. Pass.

[reynardine]

In bottle: a touch of carnation?

 

Wet: Creamy with a hint of blossoms, but also a nutty smell?

 

Drydown: Okay, now it kinda smells like honey with orange blossoms.

 

Later: Quite the morpher, this scent. Ends up as a soft, creamy floral (as described) but with a bit of a strange tinge to it. I’m still trying to decide if I like it, but The Man really liked it a lot on me.

 

[PixieSkull]

In the bottle: Creamy carnation with a backdrop of orange blossom. A little sharp with the spice.

 

Wet: The spice is light, the orange blossom is amped as always, and the creaminess of the sugared cream enhances these. The floral is a little more pronounced without being super-sweet.

 

Dry: Soft, delicate orange blossom with a creamy white floral. Very nice scent for me but not a lot of throw or lasting power.

 

2.5/5 (for now) = I'm neutral on it right now since it's so light. I'm planning on trying it again a few times throughout the next few months to get a better picture. I may not have had the best timing for trying it, either, I drank quite a bit last night.

[starfish327]

for whatever reason zarita really smells like marshmallow fluff fudge. it smells like my mom's kitchen at christmas. it wasn't bad but not what i was expecting at all.

[Caerphilly]

In the bottle: Strange burned candy smell. Very spicy, but a floral spicy, not cinnamon or something like that. Doesn't burn,

 

Wet: Similar to in the bottle. Still spicy. I think that's the carnation.

 

Dry: Creamy carnations. I'm also getting lemon rind. A crisp, crisp citrus scent in the background.

 

Overall: Not really what I expected, but I wasn't really expecting anything. I liked the concept so I got a bottle. I'm glad I did. Love the creaminess, but it's not too tooth achingly creamy because of the carnation. A well balanced blend!

[voodoocatwoman]

I haven't made up my mind about Zarita. Wet, it is atrocious. It smells like a sharp burnt wood. But after it dries, the carnation comes out and is very spicy. Mixed with orange blossom, it turns mildly sweet. I just don't know if the end result is worth the drive through Gag City.

[fetish911]

After reading all the reviews of this one, I was sooo excited to try it. I dug through my imps and found it & promptly applied some to the back of my hand. Here we go-

 

wet- spicey carnation and burnt sugar scent. I am not a lover of carnation so I am hoping the cream and sugar come through on this for me. So far not so bad.

 

dry down- Ummm.. spicey carnation. that is it.... where are you other lovely notes that everyone else talked about?? I love orange blossoms and they are no where to be found. =(

 

later- this had definitely mellowed down I am happy to say. almost a soapy/ sweet floral with a little hint of the carnation in there.

 

I don't think this is bottle worthy for me, but I can see how it would smell great on other people.

 

edited- I think I have really fallen for this scent. I woudn't wear it constantly (I am more of a foody/fruity) but its quite alluring and an nice change of pace. I think I'll track me a bottle down after all!

Edited May 16, 2010 by Fetish911

[Shollin]

First sniff: Soft cream and slightly plasticky sweetness.

 

Wearing: Powdery on top of plasticky, and unfortunately fakey-sweet. I really wish iris liked me more.

[Antoinette]

I get mostly the carnation and iris out of this. It's a very spicy floral. The orange is just a background character here and the sugared cream sort of ties it all together. Very interesting blend. Not my favorite but a definite keeper for those days when I want something spicy. Like A LOT but not love.

[Icekitten]

From the imp: Hello flowers !! a lot

 

Wet: Turns into cookies??

 

Dry: A lot of flowers served with cookies

 

Overal: For me this smells like to many flowers, the cookie part fades a bit but i cant really call it creamy atm.

Will be keeping this decant to try it a other time again.

[Gin]

I want to love this. I get a spicy-floral-cream, which is awesome. It's almost pancake syrupy. However, it makes me feel sneezy. Whyyyyyyyyyyyy?

[stellamaris]

First impressions, starts cakey, then off to creamy orangey blossom. Very light, sweet, soft, good for nighttime (as in bed, not going out) or for day time touch ups when you don't want to kill other people with perfume. I have been layering it (different arms, not together) with Illustrated Woman, they hang out nicely.

 

Today I did an all day with the Doll Girl, very nice. She is sweet, very caramel sugary, rich, round.

 

Yes this one is deeply good, after day 3 with her. I did mix her up with Illustrated Woman at one point, that worked well too.

Edited June 23, 2011 by stellamaris

[n3m3sis42]

In the bottle:

Cream and something fruity

 

Wet:

I'm mostly smelling cream and oranges with a hint of something softly floral. Orangey notes never seem to last on me, so we'll see what this dries down to.

 

Drydown:

As this starts drying down a bit, the orange fades mostly into the background, as I expected it would. I'm left with something sweet, creamy, and vaguely floral, with just a hint of citrus.

 

Dry:

This is sweetly creamy and floral, but very faint on drydown. I'll give this another try with full-on slathering before I decide whether or not to swap it away.

[Twiggy]

I purchased this from the very sweet ScaryDoll.

Mmm, Zarita. Why oh WHY do i always seem to fall in love with the difficult-to-find ones? Perhaps it's the challenge.

 

In the bottle, i mostly get the orange blossom and vanilla. Smells promising...it is definitely a strong scent. We'll see if my skin eats it up.

 

Wet: Now i get a bit of the Iris, which is pretty - but slightly soapy but i'm hoping it will go away as it dries, like it usually does. Also a bit more creaminess. No carnation yet. Crossing fingers.

 

Dry: Ah...this one is complex and morph-y on me. I definitely smell carnations and cream now, with the orange blossom adding a bit of a juicy-sweet element. The spiciness of the carnations is very nice, and this has dried down to a spicy, creamy, gently floral-vanilla.

Hard to tell about the throw because the iris makes me feel a bit sneezy from the iris (which i blame in large part to the season - pretty much EVERY smell makes me sneezy now). But when i move, i get really cool little wafts of cream, then orange, then vanilla-floral, almost as if the scent is ambivalent as to how it wants to smell. This lasts a while on me, and the longer i have it on the lovelier it seems. I put it on last night and can still smell it this morning. Granted, i'm a slatherer, but that's because i'm a greedy little beast and also because during this time of the month my skin seems to eat scent.

 

Love this. Le sigh.

[angelamaria]

In bottle: creamy carnation and orange blossom. Dainty and soft, yet the orange blossom has that citrus bite to it at the end.

 

Wet on skin: this starts out as quite a faint blend on my skin. Carnation and a touch of iris, sweet and creamy. I can't seem to get any orange blossom out of this at this stage, which is a shame

 

Dry: sweet and creamy vague white florals with a faint touch of orange blossom. Beautiful, soft and almost childlike--the cream reminds me a bit of milk--but not innocent, no. As it stays longer on my skin, a soapiness starts to develop, and the clove note in the carnation (which always amps on me) starts to turn this blend a bit weird on me--but maybe it's not altogether unintended, because this combination does smell like a plastic doll. I wouldn't call it "plasticky", but it smells like a plastic doll, from my memories of childhood (or, well, spring cleaning old toys when I was older).

 

Verdict: an interesting scent, but no, not for me.

[Atrous]

I know better than to try scents with floral notes but hadn't tried anything with Iris or orange blossom and hoped that the sugared cream note would mellow out the florals.

 

This is the most disgusting BPAL I've tried. Sickly sweet and intensely bitter all at once. Add to that rotting wood underneath...Huh? The only scent that's ever made me feel like I want to throw up. Worse yet, I can't scrub my wrists hard enough to get the stink off.