Pomona

[moon_lemming]

Azaroles, nuts, and apple blossoms with red apple pulp, mulberry, blackberry, and pomegranate juice.

Wow, this smells like scented nail polish remover in the imp. Maybe the apples and nuts combining weirdly? It sort of becomes the smell of spoiled apples after a minute or so, once I get past that ACETONE whiff.

Once it's dry, Pomona is those grainy red apples with a little bit of nuttiness. It is horrible on me. I've discovered I just do not like the Lab's nutty blends, but I do love apple notes, so I was hoping this would make the nuttiness work for me, but no. It's a lot better once it's completely dry -- I don't need to run and wash it off or anything -- but still, no.

(I am so glad other reviewers mentioned the acetone thing, too, I thought that was so weird and figured I was imagining it at first.) Edited March 30, 2010 by karen

[lunchboxmonkey]

In the imp and right when I put this on its supertart apple peels and something sharp and bitter. As it dries down it does calm down a bit into a juicy red apple, and I'm getting the nuts too. I'm not really getting any berries, its just a nutty apple scent on me. It smells nice, but... honestly, on me, its nothing that special. Unfortunately my skin chemistry seems to be eating up all the other notes, or just amping the apple, so thats mostly all I'm getting.

[killerklown]

I get nothing but apple in the imp. Wet it's pure tart apples with a small hint of nuttiness. Dry it goes to this delightful spiced apple with a backdrop of blackberry. Yum!

[yamiko]

Something in Pomona is very off-putting when I smell it in the bottle. Now that I read other reviews, it does kind of smell like nail-polish remover. On me, it starts out very nutty, then dries down to a nice, tart apple. It makes me itch a bit where I test it (I have a mild nut allergy), but usually when I apply things to my perfume-wearing areas as opposed to my testing areas, I don't get itchy. The back of my hand might just be a bit sensitive.

 

I haven't tested this since I got it when it was released because of the smell in the bottle, but I enjoy it now that it's on me. Hopefully I can remember that enough to get past the bottle smell. If not, I'll have to rehome it.

[Gin]

Eh, I wanted a stronger apple/blackberry presence but I got a lot of nuttiness.

[Balame]

In the Imp: Holy wow, this does smell like acetone. That's pretty off-putting.

 

Wet: "I'M THE MOTHER EFFIN' APPLE QUEEN, APPLE QUEEN, I SMASH YOUR NUTS!!!11 RAAAAAWWW!!" Uh, yeah. I kid not. Kind of sad since the poetry for this was so pretty...

 

Dry: Chemical to the point that it's giving me a headache. Tart apple in a chemical spill with dried out nuts.

 

Verdict: This one is strong with the force. The force to knock you on your bum and leave you seeing stars after stealing your apple cider.

[Viridian]

This was sharp and bitter on my skin. Apple can go unpleasantly sharp; I'm used to that - it needs something sweet to warm it up on me. I had hoped this would be hazelnutty with some apple, like Bilquis's almonds and apples, but instead I think I'm pulling the pomegranate note, which I'm starting to think doesn't work on me (SADNESS! I love pomegranates!) and the apple, and no nuts at all. Or maybe their dryness is contributing to how sharp this stays on me.

 

Aging didn't tone it down any - I held onto my bottle a while to see if it would, but it hasn't. Still looking for the autumnal scent I can wear!

[aleciarivas]

:cough cough hack hack: I REALLY wanted to love Pomona- in the imp it was sure pretty, and I'm trying to find some nice... not-fall scents lol! But after about 5 minutes of prettiness and me feeling pretty confident that Pomona might be a winner.... it turned into some sort of strange chemical-like scent that made my nose tickle and then it made me start coughing! Strange, very strange. Not sure what in this is reacting weird with me... but yeah. Ick! Time to go scrub it off...

[PumpkinGuts]

To my nose, Pomona is a tangier Hesperides. It primarily smells of apple, rolled in nuts, with a kiss of tart pomegranate. I get none of the chemical "acetone" smell. I see myself wearing this all throughout autumn and feel lucky to have come across a bottle.

 

Throw: Medium [3.5/5]

Longevity: Average [3/5]

Rating: Lovely [4.5/5]

 

[bpalscentsual]

Apple skin. This smells like apple skin. There's apple trying to get out from underneath, but it's been sprayed with pesticides. I suspect it's the mulberry interacting with everything else, because something in here is just bitter and astringent and off. This is a very potent blend, too, just a dab'll do ya. Great throw, for so little, and I've been smelling it all day, but this is very unlike some of the other apple blends I've tried from the Lab, so it's most likely the berries making everything sharp.

 

And, due to a clerical error on my part, I find myself to be possessing two bottles and not just one. Huh. Okay.

[neuilly]

On me there's a very faint apple top layer, but it's mostly overwhelmed by a bitter woody smell. I'm incredibly disappointed.

[Antoinette]

This is the 2012 version:

 

I get little to no morphing from the bottle to my skin. This is a deeply sweet juicy scent. It smells like a deep purplish red juice, I find the apple pulp, mulberry, blackberry and pomegranate juices well blended and smooth. It's decadent while being fruity and fun. I really like this.

[joyfulgirl]

in the bottle, this smells very much like some kind of candy that i can't quite put my finger on. my sweetie and several friends agreed...something cherry or berry or...something? like a cherry gummy or a sour cherry ball? in any case, it's completely mouth watering.

 

when i put it on, i find that i amp the apple a bit, but the berries keep it juicy and it's overall a nice, fruity tart blend without being over the top. i haven't gotten any nuttiness at all, but my bottle only arrived a few days ago, so it could very well develop more nuttiness with age.

 

unfortunately, after only 3 or 4 hours, it's faded to the point that i can barely smell it at all (even in my hair). but i like it enough that it may be worth carrying an imp around with me for touch-ups throughout the day. it's a gorgeous late summer/early autumn scent. we'll see how it ages and how i start feeling about the duration...if it's a slather + reapply often type scent, i may snag another bottle before it goes away.

[Gwydion]

In bottle: Pomegranate dominant with a strong cider bite. I am not sure I am liking the mulberry which is a strong third. (I am classing Azaroles and apple blossoms in with the apple pulp as my understanding is medlers are like apples). The blackberry is soft and supporting the mulberry. The nuts are soft and delicate as is often the case and are mostly tying the rest together. I like the pomegranate/cider concept and they are strong and delicious together. Wet: Mulberry is now coequal with the pomegranate, pushing the cider down and making me a sad panda. The mulberry may be too much, but I’ll see if it improves once it settles. Dry: Better on the dry down, as the blackberry has a bit more stay than the mulberry and the pomegranate ends up dominant with blackberry and apple support. I like the dry down, but it was disappointing compared to the in bottle glory.

[opheliatrey]

This wet was not much to tempt me but after it dried........ I kept looking around for an apple food baking in my house. I thought my cats must have turned magical and made me something. And then I smelled my wrist again ahhhhhhh. I can taste the apple with how good and true apple this is. It is the exact smell of cutting into the perfect apple and the juice sprays into the air. I dont get any of the other notes just APPLE and I am good with that.

[WidgetAlley]

Bottle: Sharp apples, pomegranate, and something that smells like boozy nuts (heh. Boozy nuts.)

 

Wet: Green apples, strong pomegranate, and... candle wax? No, seriously. There's a strong waxy note that reminds me of unlit candles. Behind that, nutmeat and rich, fermented berries. Smells like a really, really nice autumn-scented candle.

 

Dry: Apples, nuts, berry wine and something sweet and a little sharp, all accompanied by that same wax note. This is nice, but I think Mabon 2010 fulfills my summer/fall APPLES! scent niche. I may find this one a new home.

[mymymai]

ITI: I get apple blossoms and pulp, mulberry, juicy pomegranate juice, and some other fruit that is not as sweet, which might be the azaroles.

 

Wet: Apple pulp pomegranate (although smells slightly synthetic), and some mulberry tinged with blackberry.

 

Dry: It's berried and fruits, but paired in such a way that they are festively autumnal.

[bellumed]

In imp: there is something weird in this, not quite chemical, but almost there. It’s making me nervous. If I had to point a finger, I’d lay the blame on the pomegranate, but I can’t be sure.

 

But, hey, happy ending! The longer it’s on my skin, the better it gets. Just the right combo of sharp apple, sweet berries, and waves of apple blossom, YUM. I can’t think of many blends that would be more perfect for September. Maybe not the greatest wear length, but eh, not the end of the world.

[milo]

Candy-like apples at first! Very sweet, but a lovely, juicy apple all the same. After at bit, the blend becomes dusty, must be pomegranate here. *checks*. Yup, I can't do pom most of the time, and the nuts probably aren't helping matters. Boo.

[Quillifer]

I received a decant of this recently but I'm not sure which year it is - probably this year's (2012)? Anyway. I didn't like it at all when it was wet - smelled of something rotten. I very nearly washed it off. As it dried down it began to smell nicer, of nuts and roots and autumn. It reminded me of something else and after a while I realised it was Intrigue, for some reason. But I don't think I like it enough to want more.

[brilliantcat]

2012 version

 

Imp: Pure, fresh apple with a hint of nuttiness.

 

Wet: Gorgeous, crisp, just-took-a-bite apple backed by nuts, perhaps some hazelnut in there? In any case, it's delicious and redolent of fall.

 

Dry: Fall in an apple orchard. Bottle, please.

[ianastar]

Very fruity and juicy, but with some warmth and woodsy tones. Im not sure yet if I completely love this or not. I am not finding myself reaching towards it, so it might wind up in swaps.

[thekittenkat]

I seem to remember having an issue with the hazelnut note in the previous version, but can't locate any possible review of it. At any rate, this is for the 2012 version.

 

In the decant: Fruits with sharp nuts.

 

Wet: Ah, much better so far. Mostly the lovely fruits.

 

The dry-down: Mostly the apple, but there's hints of pom and blackberry. Fruity-sweet. May upgrade to a bottle.

[megank4]

Hmm, it took me a long time to come around to this scent.

I don't get much nuts or mulberry/blackberry/pomegranate, just plain apple, slightly boozy/sparkly.

 

A light, pre-autumn scent, when the days are still hot out but the nights are starting to get cool.

[Missy_killer]

To my nose: This smells like cherry almonds/marzipan and nothing else. I love to eat marzipan, hate stuff that smells like it.

On: Artifical cherry candy. I've always hated cherry-flavored things becuase they all taste like some kind of dishsoap. Eeew. After a couple of second it changes. It smells like the skin of apples and has some strong soapyness about it. Apple scented soap! The cherries are gone, thankfully. I think the apples are more green than red actually. Red apples are sweeter, and these are more tart.

After an hour: Still smells of apple scented soap. But it has already started to fade I'm afraid.

Edited to add that this is for the 2012 version.