Unseelie

[sh1mm3r]

The wicked, malicious dark side of the Court of Faerie, Unseelie literally translates to ‘Unholy’. The Unseelie Court is ruled by Titania’s corrupted twin sister, the Queen of Air and Darkness. The Court rides the nighttime winds spreading chaos and miscief; woe be to any mortal that crosses its path. A misty, otherworldly scent laced with ethereal florals, crushed herbs and soft, dew-covered grasses.

I received a mysterious package of BPAL from someone in Georgia, and included was an imp of Unseelie. From the description I wasn't expecting to like it, because typically the word floral is a huge sign of disaster.

I'm just not sure I have the words. For me, who wears Snow White and SnowFlakes almost exclusively all winter, this is like if Snow White were an icecream that you eat outside in the summer. The same grassy elements, and definitely some vanilla in there, but it is all much fresher and warm somehow. It does go powdery but not in a bad way.

[myoubi]

Unseelie lives up to its name -- wispy, ethereal, dark. It smells something like a vintage perfume, it's older in style and definately a sophisticated scent. While I can't sort out notes at all, such that I won't even try, I will say that it's a beautiful, beckoning scent with moderate throw. I don't understand the Snow White comparison at all -- there's none of the clear whiteness or creamy coconut quality of Snow White to Unseelie, but perhaps that's just skin chemistry doing its thing. There's something in here that reminds me a little of Brisingamen, although Brisingamen is a much brighter clearer scent. They both go a little powdery on me after a bit -- fortunately I'm a fan of powder.

 

Verdict: a lovely scent, and if it were GC I'd have a bottle in an instant; and if someone offered up an imp, I'd probably swap generously for it. It reminds me a lot of Dark Delicacies -- not in actual scent, but in tone. And since I love DD and have a lot of it, I'm not dying for more Unseelie.

Edited April 22, 2007 by myoubi

[wikkidraven]

this scent reminds me of a whole lot of OTHER bpal scents!

 

very much wispy and floral, like snow white, but exchanging the playdoh of snow white for the powder i got with la fee verte. this also smells old, and reminds me a bit of antique lace.

 

none of those are scents i wear regularly, so this will probably be swapped.

[chrisann]

I cannot believe I have my very own bottle of Unseelie

 

This is one of those perfumes that evokes so many scental memories... There are "classic" warm, spicy, and floaty amber notes to this perfume. In general, honey, Myrhh and amber have a way of turnig a bit powdery on me, but this is actually a GOOD thing! It's the sexy warm skinscent powder version vs. the bland Johnson's baby powder variety. There is just the right amount of green and herbal florals mixed in with this "powdery" accord that make it unique. Hard to peg down, but not hard to put on.

[savage_rose]

In the imp, it's a light, resinous floral. On, it turns to incense and baby powder. I'd love to have an evocative memory or visualization about this one, but...baby powder and incense. It's pretty, it's nice, but it's definitely not one for me.

[Persephone76]

Oh how I love Unseelie. It was my first BPAL love (I realized this unfortunately AFTER it was DC'ed, because I let my imp sit around for ages before testing it).

 

It definitely smells ethereal and otherworldly. Delicate florals on top of light incense, fading to a vaguely powdery incense with a hint of sweetness and dried grasses. I have yet to find a comparable BPAL.

 

Since I have been holding onto my one precious imp for years, I rarely break this one out--but I can't tear my nose away from my wrist when I do!

 

For what it's worth, and since the scent IS DC'ed with NO hope of resurrection, I want to let other Unseelie devotees know that on me, this smells almost exactly like CREED's Angelique Incens (the drydown anyway). My boyfriend couldn't even tell them apart on me. Of course, Unseelie is still superior in my mind...it's a tad softer. And of course, skin chemistry being what it is, YMMV. But I thought I'd throw that out there for my fellow (shattered) Unseelie lovers

[zankoku_zen]

Again, light resinous floral. On me however, the wispy ethereal florals (the part that I liked) burns off almost immediately and I'm left with an incensey resinous blend. Which is very pretty, but not what I wanted from this blend.

 

I dodged the bullet?

 

Yeah, I think so.

[theseagrows]

hmm, this smells kind of like elmer's glue in the imp, but when i put it on my skin, it blossoms beautifully. funny how sinister the description is, because this scent is anything but that! it is very misty and otherworldly, though. it's soft and a bit powdery, very subtle and the color that comes to mind is white. i can't really make out any notes at all, actually, it's just a very soft, powdery floral, but not in the way that violet is powdery. the closest thing i can think of is stephanotis, but i'm not sure that's what this is. this is very pretty and i will definitely keep this.

[stellans]

This decant has been in my storage box for so long I've forgotten when and from whose hands it came to me, but since I declared this "Wear the Rares: Imps/Decants" week, it was time for an outing.

Well. Let me just say some rares shouldn't be hoarded, and --sadly-- Unseelie is one of those.

This one didn’t age well; the florals/herbs/grasses seem to have deteriorated into something plastic-like, which finally turn into something vaguely baby-powderish -- with something rather unpleasant underneath. Jasmine, is that you?. *sigh*

Well, cross that rare off my List of Hunting. Edited June 5, 2010 by stellans

[fairnymph]

In the bottle: Golden oil. Sweet, herbal, and floral with a sour astringent note - sour rose, perhaps? There's a sugary note that reminds me of the candies in Fairy Market. This is almost foody.

 

Wet: Very faint on my skin, even though it's not faint in the imp. Still that sweet candy note, as well as a little incense - slightly smoky and resiny. Less floral and less green, but still tangy.

 

Dry: A little bit of grass, but it's not the fresh-mown note, it's more like hay. Actually, I bet that sour note is hay absolute - yes, yes it is! The florals are going a bit soapy. I also find this to be a very warm scent, and a bit powdery - amber?

 

Later: It's stronger now than it was wet. The florals in this are so subtle and well-blended that I have difficulty picking them out, but I believe I get jasmine and rose.The incense note is also hard to place, it's very DARK - maybe opium? Some rich black musk, too.

 

Summary: It becomes quite balsamic on drydown - some sort of benzoin and/or vanilla that in part gives produces the 'candy' smell, along with sour hay absolute, dark incense notes, sweet, heavy musk and slightly powdery amber. The florals are muted but classic, and slightly soapy. Abysmal throw.

 

Someone mentioned that is smells like Aveda products - and it TOTALLY does smell like Aveda's underlying base scent (which is quite resiny). It also reminds me of expensive, sophisticated 'traditional' perfumes - of the oriental-vanillic type - that I've smelled. It has that sort of glamorous, older lady feel (not old, but mature).

 

[crebbsgirl]

This one went to baby powder on me pretty quickly. It's beautiful soft flowers and herbs in the bottle. On my skin, not nearly as enticing.

[saralaughs]

A very powdery perfume. After applied, it really is powdery, but it is a very smooth 'powder', not sharp in the slightest and way late after drying, it turns to something that is very resinous and ambery with a hint of floral and herbs. Very beautiful and I'm so glad I got to try it.

[freyasfae]

This has a sharp quality that really does not work for me at, but then that settles into more of a traditional oriental floral perfume. I was expecting it to be more silver than gold in its royal quality, but it is golden courts with malicious fae, enticing you to eat their food and place their poisonous floral crowns on your head.