Passion Butterfly

[absinthetics]

Red mandarin, mimosa, pink grapefruit, copal, petitgrain, and black amber.

The mandarin was the first thing I smelled in this. And it's true, there is a redness to it I can't really explain other than putting it exactly that way. There is some grapefruit, like from baoban sith. All of this is made just a touch darker by what I assume is the black amber. I'm not that familiar with petitgrain so I couldn't tell you if that was the note in there. I do see some mimosa to it. This is a fun, but grown up fun scent =)

[orata]

Intense heavy citrus scent--the strongest note to me is the somewhat green/herbal-smelling petitgrain, with mandarin and grapefruit also brash and out front. It's a fairly bitter scent. A little bit of creamy amber and copal emerge as the perfume dries down, but the petitgrain remains as the key player. I grew up in California, and it reminds me of the smell of fresh lemon tree branches with the shiny leaves and fruit on them. Green and bitter from the bruised leaves, but citrussy and fragrant from the fruits.

 

If you like orange blossom, you'll probably like this. I was hoping for more of a juicy sweet citrus rather than a neroli-like citrus, but it's still really nice.

[zankoku_zen]

Giant blast of citrus, which then becomes mandarin, with creamy amber and copal, and a bit of petitgrain coming through with some herbal freshness.

 

Sadly, I don't think the petitgrain is working for me.

[Klepz]

On wet I thought I would hate this. It hit me in the face like a bright green blast of citrussy grass. Thankfully it tones down rather quickly!

 

It's a sweet mandarin scent, brightened by grapefruit. There's a whisper of something very feminine and pretty, but I'm not familiar enough with mimosa to say if that's it, and has a certain depth to it that has to be the amber and copal - it's creamy, a bit woody, and very, very pretty. It's fruity, creamy, deep and oh so gorgeous!

 

Dry it smells like Werepuppy got smacked by Plastic Pink Flamingo at Lady Una's picnic.

Edited May 28, 2012 by Klepz

[astarinel]

Wow, this is really, really herbal and bitter on my skin.

 

I was expecting more of the citrus and hoping for the sweet/juicy type, but all I get is apparently the petitgrain, all the time. Bitter, faintly citrussy, kind of woody as it dries.

[ModderRhu]

Too sweet. Saccharine sweet sort of plastic. I think I'm pretty much only getting mimosa. No resins. Strange because those usually stand out the most in blends for me.

[Monday]

Passion butterfly starts out with a lovely comforting scent resembling bergamot. At this point it reminds me of The Butterfly from The Last Unicorn which is quite fitting I guess.

As the first blast of mandarin, petitgrain and grapefruit calms down the blood orange makes an appearance. Not a lot of mimosa in here. It's an astringent but uplifting and bright scent.

[KittyHawk]

Nerds candies, in the cardboard box. Weird. This had very strong scent memories for me, but it's not something I want to smell like.

[jkfagtongpun]

On wet and in the imp it's a sort of delicate citrus.

 

As it dries it is petitgrain, grapefruit and mandarin, no copal, amber or mimosa for my sniffer.

 

It's a nice smell but I was really hoping for lots and lots of mimosa.

 

I don't think this is my kind of scent

[Ilex]

Wet I get a load of citrus and not much else, a powdery sweetness with it perhaps. The grapefruit is a very pithy grapefruit, and overwhelms the orange a bit.

 

Wow. That is the fastest citrus has ever been eaten by my skin. Gone without a trace by the time it dries. Leaving a powdery generic "perfume" which I can't really distinguish notes in.

 

Kind of a sophisticated grown up baby powder, or a drawer of old gloves with an ancient perfumed handkerchief tossed in. Sort of old lady Victorian somehow. If I had a blowsy dress with lots of bows I could see wearing this with it, maybe. Its a little incense-y, which is what I was hoping for with the copal. But unlit incense, so powdery.

 

If the citrus had stuck around it'd be a little more interesting, but as it is its a little to dull and powdery for my tastes.

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

I think I'm most excited about this one of all the butterflies/moths, maybe because I can pronounce it. Wet, Miss Passionfly is not as juicy as I expected--she is a rather dry amber. There's a subtle hint of grapefruit, but of the sour kind not the sweet I expected from "pink". Then a faint hint of bubblegum, which must actually be the mimosa. Sort of like Shattered crossed with Haunted, but lighter than that might sound. Meh. Not bad, but not as good as it sounded.

[Zorra]

This is the third Metamorphosis scent I am testing and so far it's my favorite. It's a warm citrus scent, much more red mandarin than pink grapefruit. I can smell the petitgrain, but it's not as sharp as it can be in more aerial blends. I think the copal and black amber give it a sweeter and softer foundation. I don't really get the mimosa, but I'll concentrate on it the next time I wear it. Right now it has faded again. It is indeed rather short-living. Just like the scent t reminds me of, Enraged Orangutan Musk. That one too I keep reapplying.

[Little Bird]

Passion Butterfly mostly smells like a slightly bitter, citrussy, lightly herbal orange blossom on me (which I think is the petitgrain?). As it dries down, the amber gives it a baby powdery base, but it's mostly a citrus, blossoms, & herbal smell that really does remind me of butterflies. A creamy and delicate scent that doesn't have a lot of throw on me.

 

I like this, though I prefer Tweedledee for a stronger, sweeter orange blossom scent.

[ami226]

On the skin: Grapefruit, mandarin and pepper? Really interesting and different! Hmmm, it kinda starts to take on an herbal feel after a bit. I could definitely see this being a citrus herbal garden where butterflies like to congregate!

 

This is the perfect citrus scent, only the herbal/pepper part throws me off a bit. It fades after a bit, but I just don't find the early stages to appealing.

 

Off to the swaps.

[angelamaria]

In decant: mostly fruits--citruses--and copal. The pink grapefruit is most prominent; the overall feel of this blend is fruity floral.

 

Wet on skin: sweet citrus, pink grapefruit, copal, and almost-creamy black amber. I wonder if black amber also goes oily on me (like some white ambers)--because I'm getting a grandmothery/oily feel from this as well.

 

Dry: yeah, something in black amber is giving me that same experience with some of the lab's white amber notes. Ignoring that overtone though, this is mostly citrus and creamy amber, pretty but definitely on the fruity side of the spectrum. That said, I do amp citruses so YMMV.

 

Verdict: altogether too fruity for me. Pass!

[milo]

This one is very faint when applying, but it's like a slightly citrussy floral. Seems to gain strength as it dries, though into something unremarkable. Basically a dusty orange, not very strong or vibrant.

[Invidiana]

I had high hopes for this, and the sparkle of citrus at the beginning helped contribute to that, but unfortunately I just amp the petitgrain too much to enjoy it. I think this scent would have worked well on me without it; bright, sunny citrus perfect for summer. However, the extent to which I ended up amping the petitgrain just gave it a bitter herbal edge that was hard to ignore.

[neuilly]

Well humph! I had high hopes for this one but it's pretty much petitgrain single note on me and disappears in a flash. I do get just a hint of cream right before the scent vanishes. It's a bit more bitter and less juicy then I imagined, and I've never had my skin eat a scent so fast in my life! Off to swaps!

[thekittenkat]

In the decant: Amber dominates the citrus notes.

 

Wet: Citrus notes, mostly.

 

The dry-down: Now the notes are blending together in a musky medley ( the "musky" note is probably coming from the amber. ) Certainly a morpher!

[whitsunweddings]

In the imp: Bitter, almost greenish cirtus.

Wet: A bit sweeter and incensey, so I guess that's the amber and copal coming out.

Dry: A complex and not-overly-sweet citrus blend. I like it!

[Veronica]

In the bottle, I get amber (the strong rich kind that's typically too much for me), copal (resins), and a hint of grapefuit/mandarin tartness. On me, the mandarin comes out more, combined with the petitgrain (bitter orange tree), and it's a lovely orange herbal citrus scent tinged by spice, with a faint musk in the background to blend the two scents.

Edited February 19, 2015 by delighted

[PumpkinGuts]

I've had my decant since this batch of butterflies was in its prime, but never got around to reviewing it. 

 

Passion Butterfly is a warm ambery mandarin for the first hour or so. Then, the mandarin recedes and makes way for big daddy petitgrain, so much that it's almost a single note. This petitgrain lacks the sharpness most orange blossom scents tend to have that makes it a death note for me. Mimosa only ever made itself known during the wet stage, and I never noticed any grapefruit or copal. 

 

Surprisingly long lasting for having so much citrus. Not my kind of scent, but I don't dislike it.