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BPAL Madness!
Naomi Kelsey

Cascading Blossoms

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White gardenia, frangipani, rose peony, plumeria, and vanilla orchid.

On first whiff, straight from the bottle, this was VERY perfumey, in an "Avon fragrance" way. I think it's the peony and plumeria, combined with gardenia that gives it a very feminine, floral edge.

 

Almost old fashioned, and a bit unexpected for BPAL--almost a commercial, traditional fragrance, although with most fashion houses today going to either very aquatic stuff or gourmand fantasies, this harkens back to an earlier age, like that of Elizabeth Arden or Estee Lauder fragrances.
Very feminine and dainty.

 

Dry down is a creamy, refined white floral.

 

Overall, a nice scent, but not one I'm blown away by. A solid 3 out of 5.

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Cascading Blossoms reminds me of that part of your Hawaiian vacation where you realize you need a scent that you can take home and sniff every once in a while to remember your trip, so you go to a local bath and body type shop and start sniffing all the lotions and before you know it you are covered in heady tropical florals. Pretty much exactly like that.

 

It is really pretty, both bright and luscious, and will be a hit with those who like heady tropical florals -- or who want a reminder of their trip to Hawaii.

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Origin: Straight from the Lab

 

Initial Thoughts: I know I love four of these five flowers. I'm hoping the peony doesn't live up to the rose in it's name.

 

In the Bottle: Guh...fresh, lush florals with a tropical bent. Definitely hearkens back to classic floral perfumes from the past, in a very good way. I'm not sure that any one floral stands out other than maybe the frangipani.

 

Wet: I agree with heady floral, although something is producing a trace of greenery that is keeping it from being too sweet.

 

Drydown: The green fades, but the scent as a whole veers into fresh floral more than sweet floral, which is where I thought it might be headed. A really well-blended mix of floral notes, rich and clean.

 

Verdict: This might wind up being my favorite Luper of the year - we'll see what the rest smell like first. But I definitely see myself wearing this on formal occasions and when I want to feel classy.

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I was very curious to try this one, because the only GC BPAL with frangipani is Delight, which was bad on me due to jasmine. I wanted to see what frangipani smells like blended with notes I can wear, and the answer is: it smells great! This is a rich, creamy white floral that is so lush it's "chewy", in the sense that some wines are described that way. It's tropical and feminine and I absolutely love it!

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Cascading Blossoms is an interesting blend, in that I really love the smell of it but I don't like the smell of it *on me*. It reminds me of a long ago trip to Hawaii, so much so that the nostalgia is a little painful. The blend of florals starts out as a bit high-pitched but it quickly mellows on the skin, and there is something almost vanilla-y in the background that keeps this from becoming too soapy. It is a lovely and evocative scent, but it is also a little too girly for me to enjoy on my own skin.

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Old fashioned womanly perfume nostalgia right here.

 

This is very perfume-y and heady, borderline tropical on me but not too much. It's thick and lush and smells very classic. Lovely, but I can't see myself wearing it too often.

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Wet: wonderfully prominent frangipani and plumeria (I have the dumbest spellcheck ever by the way... it doesn't recognize these 2 flower names)

 

Drydown: as per usual, the white gardenia takes over on me and pushes all other florals (oh great, spellcheck..florals isn't a real word either?) to the background. I do wish I fared better with the lab's gardenia note. Oh well. Someone else who's skin wrangles it better will love this blend and get more complexity from it.

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I was kind of hesitant to get this one, cause WHOAH that's a lot of floral, but I was curious because I'm unfamiliar with some of the notes. I am SO glad I gave in to temptation on this one. Cascading Blossoms is heady and exotic, almost fruity in its sweetness, but I get no artificial or soapy smell. Just pure, luxurious blossoms - perhaps attended by jeweled bees and cavorting nymphs in some sacred paradise.

 

This is the first time I have truly understood people's need for a back up bottle. I do not want this smell to go away - ever.

Edited by VetchVesper

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Cascading Blossoms really is like a tropical vacation. The gardenia, frangipani, and plumeria stack up to something that smells like heady, warm, night air and white blossoms. The rose peony and vanilla orchid round out the high notes of those flowers with lower chords that can hold their voice a bit longer. This is absolutely coming with me on my next beach getaway, and I also think it would be fantastic at the height of summer in NYC, paired with a comfy linen dress and cool glass of Sancerre. :D

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On me, this is mainly a creamy gardenia scented soap. The orchid makes it kind of perfumey/musky smelling on me in the drydown, where it's a mix of tropical floral (definitely gardenia as the main player on my skin), perfumey white floral, and creamy white soap scent.

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I wanted to try this because some of the florals are loves for me (rose and peony, though I'm not familiar with "rose peony", and vanilla orchid) but I am a bit worried that it will be too overpowering with the strong white florals. I thought frangipani and plumeria were the same thing -- maybe two different species are in this?


In the decant: Yeah, definitely floral, but I don't have that overpowering heady blast like I sometimes do from gardenia. There's almost something astringent about this. I sometimes get an almost licorice-like element from peony, and I am smelling that here.


On my skin: Still no white floral blast -- this is promising. I was wondering if it would smell tropical, and it does a little bit, but it's on the lighter side. It's kind of a light, springy floral scent with a tropical edge. I like it; it's a nice variation from the more rose/lilac/fruit blossom-dominant spring florals I already have many of.

Edited by sunlitgarden

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Cascading Blossoms is a giant Hawaiian bloom of creamy gardenia, sweet white orchid and a touch of fragipani. It's gardenia goes on a giant tropical vacation. Huge throw and wear length.

 

It's a little too much gardenia for me.

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In the bottle: floral, bright, soft, hopeful

 

wet on the skin: not really getting what I think of as gardenia, but very floral, a little soapy, but not powdery

 

dry 10 minutes later: so much floral soap - I mean, like I smell dish soap bubbles. *weeps*

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If I could have a house full of gardenias, I would be happy. I love gardenias so much, but I'm struggling to find a gardenia perfume that works for me. I thought for sure with the plumeria this one would be a winner, but it's just going all messy floral on me. Beautiful on the right skin chemistry; not my skin, though!

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Cascading Blossoms

 

In the Bottle: Creamy tropical and white florals with a hint of coconutty dryness

 

Wet: Creamy gardenia and plumeria, light pink florals, and perfumey, musky vanilla orchid wafting around it. It’s a very perfumey floral, that quite heady, in that there is a cloud of Hawaiian florals surrounding me which have clearly manifested and can evidently smell- but also quite soft, in that it is not offensive, not overpowering and not in the least bit cloying.

 

Drydown: The resulting drydown is a lovely bouquet of white florals and tropical blooms with a vanilla orchid musk that reminds me a little of a cross between Pele and Regan. I can easily appreciate this, it’s different to a lot of my other florals but it’s so beautiful on skin and in bottle.

 

TL;DR: Tropical white florals drenched in a sweet orchid vanile musk.

Edited by celestia

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