Wisteria

[jj_j]

Sweetly perfumed, like the branches that drooped over the entryway to my piano teacher's front door.

 

This wisteria note starts out with a decided tang, almost to the point of resembling a cleaning fluid of some sort. Within a couple of minutes, though, it's settled into a fading lavender scent covered by the vibrant, almost stifling sweetness of wisteria in bloom.

[spark]

As it's now January, I haven't smelled the wisteria at my front door in almost a year, but the single note doesn't really bring back the memory for me. I don't know if it's because of the concentration or what, but single-note Wisteria has a distinctive "pee" note on my skin.

[shelldoo]

hmmm this is the sharp noet i have found in a few blends and not been able to place my finger on what it was, very intresting not what i was expecting for sure it doesn't smell "floral" in the traditional sense.

[JazzieCazzie]

I had an out-of-control wisteria vine at my old house but it never smelled as good as this does. A lovely white floral thatsings of spring ... A perfect summer night scent. Though it does every so often send up a hit of "slightly wet paint" ... anyone else get that??? Oh well ...

 

On a scale of 1-5, I'd say a solid 4.

[k00kaburra]

In bottle: Very astrigent, cleaning-fluid sort of floral. Whitish in color.

 

On me: It's definitely a white floral; I'm starting to recognize it from other blends I've had it in. Very creamy; rather like gardenia but with a lighter, more of a summer-night fragrance. Smells pretty icky after it's been on me a while - someone else said pee and I've got to go with that.

[Lori]

Well, since I am about to part with all of my much sought after and hard won Single Notes from BPAL, I thought that before they go, I would do some reviews.

 

Imp: Tarted, won in Ebay auction

 

 

I had never smelled or even come close to a Wisteria bush for the first 40 years of my life, as I lived in the Prairies, which is labeled a Zone 3 for gardening. However, I always wanted to grow it, and Magnolias, and Bouganveillia and all of the beautiful southern blossoms that only grow in a Zone 9.

 

So, imagine how delighted I was when I moved to Salt Spring Island, on the west coast of Canada, 5 years ago, to find myself staying at the Wisteria Bed and Breakfast! It was early May and soon the Wisteria branches that covered the front of the house were in full bloom. I don't remember them smelling quite so divine as this does, but that makes it even better. Happy times associated with beautiful scent...one can't go wrong. :-)

[Little Bird]

Wisteria is not one of my favorite florals. It has a harsh, herbal astringency that I find rather unpleasant. The singlenote is very strong on me, and it did remind me of cleaning fluid. After about an hour on my skin it mellowed out considerably, but still had a strange chemical undertone that made my throat burn a bit. It is a cool, waxy floral with an herbal background and an overall feeling of harsh chemicals and cleaning fluid

[Shollin]

First sniff: Super-light, super-soft and very sweet. I tend to think of wisteria as this crazy purple plant that tries to take over the universe – I’ve seen it growing rampant over old buildings on the Eastern Shore, and my mom had a vine that was hellbent on eating our house, thwarted only by the siding – so it strikes me as deceptively soft and sweet.

 

Wearing: Oh yeah, watch out for this one. It’ll lure you in with its alluring soft sweet scent and seduce you into its plot to rule all of Metropolis. (Yes, wisteria is very pretty, but I still think it’s evil. Or at least overly ambitious.)

[edenssixthday]

Wisteria - Whenever I smell blends with wisteria in them, I always think I’m smelling lilac, until I read the scent description. I was so excited to get to swap for an imp of Wisteria! I was especially excited to get to compare Wisteria and Blue Lilac side-by-side, but here’s what a dumbass I am: I swapped the Blue Lilac for the Wisteria! Ha ha! Anyway, it turns out I don’t need to compare them side-by-side, after all. While it reminds me a lot of lilac in BPAL blends, on it’s own, I can definitely tell why I find it similar to lilac in blends, but when it’s flying solo, it totally has that bad breath/cat pee scent that civet has. It’s the floral equivalent of civet. It’s incredibly pungent and heady. However, I must say that I only smell that nasty aspect of it when I’m sniffing my skin up close. When I let the scent waft around me (and it does because it has really strong throw), all I smell is the part that reminds me of lilac. No, I would not wear this by itself due to that cat pee odor, but it’s been great to test it and to understand why I always confused wisteria and lilac, and now I know the difference and hopefully won’t mix those two up anymore.

[supremegoddessofall]

Very soapy floral. Stinging my nose. 2/5.

[puck_nc]

Origin: Won a decant on eBay

 

Initial Thoughts: One of the things I adored about springtime at the apartment complex my husband and I lived in for several years was walking to the bus stop past the waterfalls of wisteria growing in a wooded area. It's a scent I love, that I associate strongly with spring and renewal.

 

In the Bottle: Definitely wisteria, but a perfume-y version of wisteria. It's sweeter and heavier, more soapy than the scent of the fresh flowers to my nose.

 

Wet: On my skin a green edge appears, a bit more like the real thing. The soapy element is still there.

 

Drydown: The soapy element gradually fades and I get a gorgeous bright noseful of pink wisteria, just as if I'd buried my face in a branch full of the flowers.

 

Verdict: If ever Beth decided to bring back the single notes for a limited run, I'd so snag a bottle of this in order to wear it regularly. As it is, this precious will join my few other SNs in the special corner of the imp box.

[Em-]

Wisteria is not a flower I could identify independently - like many floral notes to my educated nose, this smells, well, floral. In this case, it is a powdery sort of floral.

[zankoku_zen]

Soft, powdery wisteria. It smells like a mix of white florals and wisteria, but on the drydown turns a bit sharpish like jasmine. HARD PASS.