Languor

[ipb]

An opiate torpor, soporific, trancelike, and sublimely languid. A poet’s morphine dream, a listless journey into a gentle dream and the precipice of intoxicated madness. Paperwhite and black narcissus, three lilies, black poppy and tuberose and a hint of hypnotic opium den haze.

all i can pick out is the poppy and some smoke and the narcissus... gentle, and not very strong. definitely a lazy scent. the lilies don't turn all soapy on me like they tend to do with this one, but i can smell them in the background.

[Gemini noir]

It is so fucking beaufiful. The narcissus and black poppy give this an incredible spiciness that makes it so ... well, intoxicating. Without that, it would have a lovely, smooth, sort of creamy floral scent. With it, it's a just such a perfectly-blended spicy floral. The narcissus must be a powerful note, at least in Beth's hands ... I can almost see how one might lose interest in others smelling like this. I can barely tear myself away from smelling my wrist to write this. I would just love to bask in this scent ... It is so gorgeous, and I just love it ... creamy, spicy, perfectly-blended ... what I don't know yet is how long it lasts, and whether it changes over a long time ...

[FireInCairo]

Oh this scent is nice. It is the kind of scent that makes you want to be lazy and just stay in bed all bloody day. The scent it true to its namesake...hazy...lazy...dazed..confused...goregous!

[Unseelie]

i wanted to like this one from the description and past experience with opium notes; unfortunately it just *didn't* want to play nice with my skin. i got the strange boozy-turning-to-plastic odor that i got from Bordello. if Bordello works for you, and probably O and Swank, this one will probably work out.

 

ah well, one more 5ml for the swaps!

[Ina Garten Davita]

First Impression: "Perfume-y".

 

Second Impression: Smoky and sultry. I'm not overly keen of the opium notes on my skin. As I sniff it on my wrist, I think it smells nice but smells wrong, if that makes any sense.

 

Final Analysis: I can appreciate the complexity of this scent, it's a perfect fit for the name and description for not a fit for me.

[ebonykawai]

Oh. Oh my. Ooooooh my.

 

This is incredible. It reminds me of a smokey Noir, but much darker. OK, this is what happens when Noir meets Darkness.

 

Oh, goodness. This is my new OMFG scent. WOW.

 

[isyche]

On me Languor is like white lily petals and opium, sweet, waxy, dense.

It's a bit like a daytime, not-so-bitter version of Noir (Blanc?). It doesn't smell dark to me, it smells very white, but it's a heavy, lazy whiteness, definitely languorous.

 

It's interesting, I like it.

[tsarina]

It would be hard to describe this scent without wanting to use the name. It is startling how well it fits the word.

 

It began with a breath of white lillies, so real that I almost expected to close my hands on waxy petals. The florals grew more complex, a bit darker and then I could smell the almost smokey note of opium haze. The poppies come out and give a sexy, subtle allure.

 

This scent is so relaxed and indolent. It was an excellent late evening note for me.

[paperdoll]

Initial Sniff: Bah! It is all lillies and paperwhite! Curses!

 

Wearing: Bah! The lovely black poppy and opium notes are trying desperately to make their presence known, but are failing miserably in the face of the evil lily-paperwhite alliance. After a few hours this scent becomes gorgeous - the poppy and smoky opium loveliness finally triumphs.

 

Final Impressions: You know, I'm not even sure why I wanted this. Just looking at the list of notes - there is no way that the love I feel for poppies would overcome my torrid relationship with lillies or my out-and-out hatred of paperwhite. What was I thinking?

The final stage is gorgeous, though.

[tesao]

languor was a freebie from beth and the lab. muito thank you!!!

 

and that is interesting, because this isn't something that i would have ordered for myself. even pre-BPAL (BBPAL), i didn't like floral sents. but this was a FIRST: flowers that i don't dislike intensely on my skin!!! it has GOT to be because of the black opium.

 

languor is my first experience with opium SANS myrhh. yum. another first!!!

 

in the bottle: floral, the narcissus and the tuberose are most prominent, although they are reeeeeeeeeally smoky, and there is something else in there that just defies description.

 

on my wrist: omg. omg. OMG. i loved this smell on me. the opium smoke is predominant on my skin....i feel like a cat in a warm ray of sunshine, sultry and sloe eyed, drowsing, stretching. i honestly don't know how beth DOES this perfect naming thing. languorous. it is how i feel.

 

dry down: the flowers are still there, but more subdued. the scent, however, is ANYTHING BUT. i have no idea how, but this scent makes me horny. REALLY horny. it could be used as an aphrodisiac on me. how did beth know to send me this??????

[UltraViolet]

In the bottle

sweet, bright, floral

On

Oh this is fun. I expected a straight floral blend, this is brighter then I thought. There's almost a minty, spicy, absinthe like quality about this particular note that I'm having trouble identifying.

30 minutes

Wow, this turns darker as it dries. Darker feeling. And the floral is getting really strong now.

Ooh, now it's turning nicer. Hate to be so cliché but there is something addicting about this new note coming up.

It brings almost a woody earthy note and a creaminess is setting in now.

Throw:

medium

Scent category:

floral

Summary

This is a perfume-y, lightly sweet, medium strong floral that has something kind of fun bright and clear, then creamy and languid about it and it lasts a better then average amount of time.

Purchase again?

yes, and imp

1-5 rating, 5 being best.

3.5

[quimerula]

Wet it's opium and narcisus.

It's hipnotic and obscure, quite toxic!

 

Drying down the tuberose comes out, making it sensual too; I can also feel the poppy, but it's very subtle. It remembers me Gaultier's Fragile.

 

Sexy and narcotic indeed.

[Celogrl]

I can see this being an end of the day, evening scent for when I want to be really mellow (which, funnily enough I am right now even without it).

[JazzieCazzie]

Just have to reiterate what others have said, in that this may be one of the most aptly-named scents in Beth's catalogue ... Languor really does describe this sexy, sultry scent ...

 

VERY hothouse floral ... but I think for my own purposes, when I want something like this I'd be more likely to reach for the Black Dahlia. This isn't really "me" ... it might be the lily, which always goes just cloyingly soapy on me.

[Shollin]

First sniff: Aha – that’s what smells so strange. Paperwhite narcissus has a very odd nonfloral scent, almost earthy, and it’s definitely dominating this imp.

 

Wearing: Languor is much more floral on my skin, a laid-back, lazy floral. Something in here reminds me of jasmine, though I know it’s not – lilies, maybe. Yup, definitely floralicious… but not quite my kind of floral.

[slave1]

In Bottle: Lillies and resin.

 

On Skin: The lillies stand out in this scent along with the other florals. The opium, or whatever resin note that is emulating it, is secondary but gives a nice fluid depth. The flowers meld togther perfectly so it’s hard to pick out each note other than the obvious lilles. Beautiful but a bit too floral for me.

[Spastik_Kitty]

In the bottle: Narcissus and lillies

 

First on: This smells like perfumey florals with notes of civet for some reason. Very Chanel.

 

After a bit: Very much a more traditional and classic perfume scent, I'm not sure why I keep smelling civet seeing as it's not in here, maybe the combo of the opium with the lillies is doing that. Reminds me of a Chanel or Jar perfume.

 

A bit more: It's become softer, more delicate, but still has that classic perfume smell.

 

This is a little too traditional for me.

[helarctos]

Sadly, on me Languor is a nondescript commercial-smelling floral. Off to someone whose body chemistry may bring out its complexities.

[Witch's Dagger]

Languor

 

Preconceived notions: I don’t remember. I had to look up my impressions on the update thread (thanks again to VelvetSky for those!), but by then, they had changed to, “I probably shouldn't have ordered this - I forgot that narcissus and black poppy do weird things, and the rest of the notes are really light.”

 

In the vial:

Strong. Harsh. Medicinal, herbal, and somewhat burnt smelling. I like it!

 

On me:

Band-aid - that’s it. That’s what it smells like at first. Pink, rubbery, and... well, it smells like a Band-aid, with some smoke around it. Hmmm... I’m not sure if I like this.

 

In 25 minutes:

Okay, this is better now *grins*! Now we have dark, potent smoke! I know there aren’t any resins in this, but it has a resinous kind of scent to it with a definite smokiness. Now, why couldn’t Darkness smell more like this and less like chalk? I guess the poppy is a good addition. I don’t get any tuberose at all. It’s very unique, very dark and lovely. It smells very much like what I’d think Darkness would smell like: “smoky, sexy, mysterious”. Now, I just need to deal with the Band-aid prequel.

 

In 45 minutes:

It’s getting a little sweeter, but I wouldn’t call it sweet. Like the difference between bitter chocolate and 88% dark chocolate. I love this.

 

In 1 hour 30 minutes:

About the same.

 

Overall:

I really like this. I think the Band-Aid beginning is a worthy price for the end result, but I’m not sure I need a whole bottle of it. This is definitely what I wanted from Darkness, though, so we’ll see.

[aidenraine]

Well, I thought the ingredients list sounded nifty in a brief daze during which I forgot that I don't enjoy florals- they make my nose twitch and my head ache a bit.

 

So *sniffles a few times*

 

This is very perfumey - all I smell are lilies and narcissus and I'd like it better if the opium notes were stronger. On me this just smells generic like every other floral perfume. It's overpowering enough that I cannot pick out any subtleties beneath the blast.

 

Must... get this.... out of... house.... yech!

[nineveh]

This was part of my first order because I liked the concept; I hadn't tried any BPAL and had no idea what any of the notes smelled like. I've since learned that lilies go soapy on me, and that opium kind of scares me.

 

When I first put it on, the opium is most apparent. As it dries, the opium fades behind the florals. The lilies are actually working in this blend and not turning soapy. That's a pleasant surprise.

 

Now a spice is showing up, and this is becoming a spicy, smoky floral. It doesn't make me feel energized at all, so it's definitely a good embodiment of its concept, but I'm not sure that I like the particular floral scent that I'm getting out of it. If you're into lilies, however, this is one to try.

[cupide430]

Languor

Light almost citrussy incense. Really light though. I put some on, could barely smell it, slathered more on and can still barely smell it. Weird. Its still fairly light but I can smell it a bit better. I can't pick out any of the notes at all. Its just warm and incensy. Now it almost smells like a lighter version of the Living Flame to me.

[klowey]

I should mention that I put this on yesterday before a tour and couldn't stop yawning. I'm sure it was just a coincidence...

 

This was definitely a luxurious scent. Deep and rich; red and enveloping. There is a wonderful pepperiness, especially in dry-down, that I absolutely love.

 

Few scent leave me with a distict image associated with them. This one is burgundy sheets on a large bed or the field of poppies from The Wizard of Oz.

[Yagathai]

In the bottle: Sweet, cloying, floral. There's lily predominating, and maybe I can pick up a hint of poppy and narcissus. Definitely supporting floral notes, anyway. I can smell some other sweet-but-not-floral note in the background, thick and resinous. This smells like nothing I would ever want to wear, but like a good reviewer, I soldier on.

 

On my skin: Sweet, cloying, floral. The character doesn't change significantly at first. I get the same overwhelming flowery smell. But as it dries, and over time, some other note slips in there. I don't know if it's the opium or what, but suddenly my wrist smells like... plastic. Like burning plastic, specifically, as if someone wrapped my arm in a grocery bag and lit it on fire. Ugh.

 

I let it sit for an hour, hoping the character will change, but it doesn't. Overbearing floral power with a distinct undertone of burning plastic. I try to wash it off, but it's clinging to me. Great. It's also got some pretty powerful throw, so I all I can do is hope that it lacks lasting power.

 

Final verdict: Maybe it's the hangover talking, but I hate, hate, hate this oil. It reminds me of when I'm riding the bus, and an overperfumed senior citizen sits down in the seat in front of me. You know the kind I mean. Soon the insidious odour takes over the whole bus, so no matter how far back move you can't escape it, and it lingers in your nostrils well after you've gotten off. Plus, it's clearly a traditionally feminine scent. To the swap pile, and good riddance!

[Elemcee]

This is not a scent for going to work, nor is it a scent for when you are feeling ambitious or are really trying hard to do something. It is exactly what the name says, a scent for when one feels lazy and mellow. It is both floral and spicy, but there is a floral tone in here, somewhere.

It is rather a musty smell, like some back room where you might retreat to where you can totally relax.