Lilith

[tallan]

Mother of Demons, Vengeful Fury, Darkest Seductress, Queen of the Djinn, Goddess of the Gate. Red wine, myrrh, black musk, and attar of rose.

Wet: My first experience with wine in perfume. I can definitely smell the alcohol, with rose in the background. This attar of rose (also a first-time experience) smells a lot more like actual roses (greener, plantish) than what I've encountered in other scents (Wildfire, Les Infortunes de la Vertu, Nemesis). The alcoholic note dies down pretty quickly, leaving this sharp and warm and floral.

Drying: A warm, spicy rose.

Dry: This changes completely when dry, the black musk suddenly appears and takes over the whole scent. Musk, musk, musk, perhaps a little myrrh, and a faint rose tint on the thing. I'm sad about the red wine, I would've wanted more of it than that initial booziness. Lilith's pleasant, but nothing spectacular, and if I want black musk I'd rather reach for Dance of Death, so. Not a keeper.

[calivianya]

I have to say this blend surprised me.

 

At first, this is all RED WINE! on my skin, which is okay with me because I love red wine in my perfumes. The other notes come out on the drydown, but this stays predominantly wine and myrrh with a little musk and rose on my skin. This is a total winner! It really is shocking; rose is a death note and most of the time black musk doesn't like my skin either. Lilith is a testament to how a little red wine can make anything better.

[Leafy Sea Dragon]

When I first put this on, I was brutally assaulted by ROSE. It was rather unpleasant!

 

But then about 30 seconds later it started to mellow out a little bit, and I was treated to...

 

Is that lotus!?

 

It's not actually lotus, but it sure does smell like it. While it was completely unexpected, it was very pleasant! It also lasted for quite a long time. I'm a fan of this scent even if it wasn't quite what I thought it would be.

[sabrebabe]

Lilith! A nice dark scent! I like dark...

 

In bottle, lots of red wine, something else, not an attention-grabber.

On the skin wet: roses! I smell roses! Not heavy, with a hint of red wine and smidge of musk.

Dry: suddenly settles down into something rich and sensuous. Rose and musk blend and the wine-y smell dissipates. Ever so slight hint of myrrh, smells delicately feminine and naughty. Not nearly as Dark as it should be though. Flirtatious, definitely.

Later: okay, now it’s gone flowery and powdery.

2 hours later, the scent is nearly gone. Still very faint, light, flowery and slightly powdery. Like something my grandmother wore, but not a “granny perfume”. It’s a happy memory scent, but it’s just not “me”.

 

Into the Trade pile. I"m sad to see her go, but perhaps someone else can do her justice.

[Woollyworm]

I tried this on a cool, clear day.

 

I didn't have high hopes for Lillith, because I was afraid of the rose note. Silly me; the glorious Spellbound should have taught me better!

 

Sniffing the imp: Dark, winey rose.

 

Applied: I applied liberally to wrists and clavicles. I still get the winey rose. I think the wine note is amazing, it blends with the rose to equal more than the sum of its' parts. This is not a dusty dry rose, it is wet, deep and sophistocated. I'm getting a dark, incensey hint of what is to come, and I'm loving it.

 

Dry: This? Is what it's all about for me. Such a lovely and unusual fragrance! The winey rose is still present, but muted by a gorgeous musky incense that clings and clings. I see what people mean by mentioning a powdery note in the drydown, but I think it's a great component of the fragrance.

 

It has good throw, I got a positive comment on it. It lasted a good three to four hours, with the drydown scenting the skin for eternity. I'm buying a bottle.

[GoddesShel]

Also my first experience with wine in perfume. I should explain that I can't drink any sort of alcohol due to an extremely oversensitive nose - the smell of it makes me want to hurl.

But I really wanted to try this, due to calivianya's recommendation, so...

 

Took the top off the bottle and got hit with what must be the wine, because I immediately wanted to hurl. OMG. But I thought, "Well, it'll probably dissipate as it dries", so I swiped some on my wrist. Luckily for me, the boozy note disappeared almost immediately, leaving me with warm spice, maybe a touch of rose? My wrist is on the computer keyboard and I can still smell this, despite the tiny amount I put on, so I can already predict that my coworkers will be commenting on this tonight!

 

Very different from my normal light florals and greens, but definitely not a complete loss.

 

EDITED TO ADD: I'm apparently training my husband. Almost the first thing out of his mouth tonight was, "What did you wear today?" and he didn't mean clothes. He liked it (hey Mikey!!) so I guess it's a keeper. I'll just have to hold my breath til the wine dissipates.

Edited October 13, 2011 by GoddesShel

[wishingwell]

Received this as a frimp, and I wasn't really sure if I'd like this one. I was worried about the black musk.. really wasn't sure at all how that was going to work for me. Normally when I want a floral, I want a rose like Helena or Touched Twice, or even just pure rose oil.

 

Tried it on a whim this morning, though, and.. in the bottle, it smelled like boozy fruit. Wet, on my skin, it smelled amazing! Like a very rich, dark, complex rose. Felt very sexy, like I should have been sipping wine or wearing something slinky and dark. As it dried, it started to get sweeter.. and now, it smells like honey. Exactly like the bottle of local wildflower honey in my kitchen. If I go nose-to-skin, I can pick out the rose in there, and she's beautiful.. but the throw is entirely sticky, dark, wildflower honey. That's not a bad scent, mind you.. just not what I really want to smell like.

 

Throw seems average and wear time.. probably long. It's been three to four hours and Lilith hasn't faded on me yet. I may wash her off and try something else for today, though.

 

I am sad.

[symphonyinsilence]

To me, this is sensual and sinister and has lots of red wine, but only at the beginning. I wish the wine notes lasted a little longer. It just becomes a generic girly rose at the end (much like Rose Red and Peacock Queen on me, which I've since presented to a friend of mine who is better able to wear such scents). I only like my roses if they've been tampered with something dark. Otherwise there's not much character for me to wear. For that reason, I have to keep re-applying it. Irksome.

Edited February 9, 2012 by symphonyinsilence

[Lady Midnight]

In the bottle and for its first few minutes on my skin I was overpowered by the smell of roses. I like bold, strong perfumes but this was too much. Then, after a few minutes, I couldn't smell anything at all. I even had a friend sniff my wrist and he couldn't smell anything either. In sum: Lilith is not for me.

[icekat]

I got this as a frimp, but I looked up the notes. All I can say is I must have weirdest skin chemistry.

 

In the imp: Wine and musk

 

Just applied: HONEY!

 

2 mins: Honey and caramel

 

5 mins: Honey with a hint of rose.

 

10 mins: Rose soap with a hint of honey.

 

15 mins: Stongly rose with a hint of wine.

 

1 hour: Overpowering rose with a musk undertone.

 

 

All in All a definite no. The honey is nice at first. But I really don't like any kind of rose scent.

[milo]

I'm getting wine at first, though not a heavy red, very light, almost a white wine vibe. Dry, the rose comes out, and it's quite sweet, but melds very nicely with the wine. Some resins show up, and it all balances very nicely with the wine/rose combo. Though I'm not a big rose fan, this is extremely well blended, and a different take on roses. A bit like Rose Cross, though that one is more incensey. I like this, and may use it from time to time when I'm in need of a rose fix.

[mymymai]

In the Imp (ITI): Heady red wine and musk with a touch of rose otto. Hmm, the red wine is really strong here.

 

Wet: Overly sweet red wine, thick and sultry musk with subtle hints of myrrh and rose otto. If the red wine dies down, this scent will go on the keeper list, but red wine always turns to cough syrup on my skin.

 

Dry: Wow, the wine hasn't gone all cough syrup on me. Instead, the scent is dominated by the myrrh and musk, whereas the red wine and rose meld together to add a palatable and alluring sweetness.

[Aromantism]

It somehow managed to be both perfumey in the early 1900s way, and girlish. Not my scent.

 

My favourite aspect was the almond, cyanide scent upon application. Pity that it didn't last long. I would stick to Snake Oil myself.

Edited January 15, 2013 by Aromantism

[JazzieCazzie]

Received an imp of this as lagniappe in a sale from another forumite. I admit when I read the notes I was POSITIVE this was going to go right into the swap box. Red wine is one of my worst enemies (ON me but not IN me), myrrh goes wonky sweet on drydown and most rose notes are just too too too rosy.

 

But since I am midway through my project of reviewing and revisiting every single BPAL scent in my collection, from A-Z, to prepare a final and exhaustive swap list and wish list, I soldiered on. With trepidation.

 

IN THE IMP: Sour wine and roses.

 

Dabbed cautiously on one wrist.

 

WET: Wow. Upon application, this became surprisingly sweet (probably the myrrh) and even more surprisingly VERY pleasant. None of the stinky cherry/grapeness that wine tends to become on me, and the rose is subtle. The myrrh, usually too sweet, sweetens the other notes to the perfect degree with my chemistry. I smell like candied flowers.

 

DRYDOWN: I am just really, really glad I tried this despite my misgivings. Everything that usually doesn't work for me somehow combined to be a keeper. What a great pleasant surprise ... A little bit of rose, a little bit of powdery sweetness (the myrrh), and just enough tanginess to work, plus the sexy resin of the musk.

 

OVERALL: This is not something I'd make my signature scent but it is absolutely a keeper as an imp when I want something a little different.

 

On a scale of 1-5, I'd give it a strong 3.5.

[Circaea]

Red wine usually goes so wrong on me (Halloween Las Vegas on my skin is wine barf ). Roses can smell like stale beer. And myrrh often seems thin and sharp. I would normally have steered well clear of this one but I'm on a mission to try all the GC's (or as many of them as time and finances allow).

 

At first Lilith smells vegetal and pickly, like a pimento. But before I have a chance to be disappointed, the red wine swirls up, mingled with rose. But it's lovely, not in the least sour or off. And then something smells sweet. Someone else said it smelled like honey. And then the end stage of powdery lemony black musk. I quite like Lilith. But then I almost always like black musk. I'm not sure when I would wear this, but I imagine I will find an occasion sometime. It's sweet and warm, and morally ambivalent. Nice.

 

 

 

[Balaclava]

In the imp, it smells like grape candy. I still got the grape candy smell when applied to my skin, but the rose and myrrh started coming out. On the drydown, the grape smell finally disappeared, but it took the rose and myrrh with it leaving just a faint dry spice. <strike>I guess I just can't wear wine scents.</strike><br><br>EDIT: Turns out I <i>can</i> wear wine scents, just had to apply on a different pulse point (inner elbow instead of wrist). I'm glad I gave Lilith a second chance.<br>

Edited January 26, 2014 by Balaclava

[Deliciousness]

In the imp: Sweet, dark muskiness with a hint of rose

 

Wet on skin: Ahh, the wine really comes out now. It's a little sour, but not in a bad way - I kind of like it Then there is the musk which deepen the blend and the myrrh just lends a lovely sweetness. I'm not really smelling any rose right now.

 

Drydown: The wine, myrrh and musk combo stay pretty stable for a while. I find it gets sweeter and then a little wine will come forward to make the blend a little more "bitter". It's an interesting sea-saw of a scent. Anyway, toward the middle of wear, the rose comes forward. It's such a pretty, green, living rose, not the dry and powdery type. Anyway, this blend has more a rose forward scent till the end-of wear.

 

I found that this one is a morpheme on me, but I really liked all the stages. At first it's all wine and sweet musk. Then the rose comes to play and stays till the end.

I think if you like wine scents or rose scents, you may want to give this one a try.

[Amber Tears]

I bought this with my first BPAL order. I’m very excited to try this, my first perfume with a wine note:

 

In the Imp: Pomegranates? To my nose it smells of rosy pomegranates.

 

Upon first application I smell the attar of rose. Not a powdery old lady rose, but a voluptuous red rose straight from the gardens. This fresh floral is paired with a sweet myrrh note, sun-warmed fruits and slight boozy-ness. Since I’m under 21 years old and not allowed anywhere near alcohol, I’m not totally sure what red wine smells like. I do like the smell of wine so far. The second I turn 21, I’m sniffing the nearest wine bottle.

 

After wearing this blend and receiving compliments from my classmates, I determined that I love this scent. It’s sweet and floral yet has a foxy, mischievous undercurrent to it, like something a villainess would wear. Throw is good and lasted about six hours until it needed reapplication, which is good because my skin tends to eat up blends with myrrh. If this scent were a color, it’d be a devilishly dark ruby.

 

Verdict: Love this blend! I instantly went and bought a full bottle.

[Pumpkinn]

I rarely get nauseous of fragrances, but the opening of Lilith grosses me out. I wonder if it’s the pungent combination of rose attar and black musk. Eventually this calms down and the wine makes a brief appearance before being almost totally dominated by rose-scented baby powder.

 

I wouldn’t describe this as being an excessively strong and cloying fragrance, but it’s still one of the few I’ve experienced with the capacity to give me a headache. Lilith settles into a stuffy/musky rose faintly edged with wine (which I was hoping would eventually become more prominent)—and then, rosy potpourri.

 

I guess I just can’t appreciate rose scents.

 

EDIT: The portion of Lilith which stuck to my sweater for about a day now smells much more pleasantly like dusty wine and rose water. However, I still stand by my original statements.

Edited May 2, 2014 by Pumpkinn

[PetiteLune]

Lilith

As a huge fan of mythological/biblical characters, I was quite excited to try a scent called Lilith! I wasn't sure what to expect, perhaps something poisonous and a bit childish.

 

First impression : sharp and sweet at the same time, it reminded me of a cake with booze and orange or candied fruit in it. Almost marzipan-like. There is definitely something fruity about this scent, but it is not poisonous at all. The red wine smells the strongest, on my skin.

 

Later : The wine gives way to a little myrrh. It stays very sweet and a little floral. Not bad, but I won't be buying a bottle.

[Lunasariel]

In the bottle: a fruity floral (leaning more towards the former than the latter, which is worrying, as I amp fruit like nobody's business), with an undercurrent of sour wine or port.

 

Wet: Wow, is this one a morpher! Back when I lived in California and I first got this scent, the fruit and roses took an immediate backseat to a lovely musky myrrh. The wine and roses only appeared as a subtle sweetener for the musk/myrrh blend. However, now that I've moved to Washington (state, not DC), for some reason (could it be that humidity never drops below 80% and routinely tops 90%? XP) it's morphed into a musky rose. Pretty enough, but I already have several similar scents, so I don't think I'll be springing for a full-sized bottle anytime soon. I'll hang on to my imp, though, and see how it ages. Who knows, with time, maybe that lovely musky myrrh will come out again?

 

Dry: fairly linear both times; I'd say more so now than previously.

Edited January 3, 2016 by Lunasariel

[Veronica]

In the bottle, something sticky sweet over a sweet musk background. Dry on me: still sticky sweet red wine, with a slightly spice-y, faintly floral background. Not for me.

[DiesMali]

In the imp: Lush rose and sweet red wine.

 

Wet on my skin: This is wine-drizzled roses on my skin, absolutely gorgeous.

 

Dry: Still wine-drizzled roses, but now there's a beautifully dark undertone of musk and myrrh. There's something almost beeswax or pollen-like at the top of this scent's throw, and I'm thinking that must be something in the myrrh. This is a scent that I can only describe as "tempting." Literally like something a fantasy temptress might wear to try and seduce the hero. And if she wore this, she'd probably succeed. The wine in this is sweet and fruity, the roses are luscious and red, the musk is...pardon being a bit crude, but the musk is downright sexual. I'm almost wondering if there are pheromones in this. Then the myrrh tops it off, giving it an exotic bite. It's pretty strong and does not need more than a swipe or two of the imp wand to fill the air about you, and seems to be fairly long-lasting as well. Mmmmf, maybe bottle scent at some point.

[freyasfae]

I really wanted to like this because Lilith, c'mon, but it ultimately just didn't work on me. That being said, it most definitely turned me on to trying some more red wine scents especially if in combo with rose. It's probably the myrrh as my skin often doesn't like that, but still really love the red wine and rose combo.

[roseus]

The wine was very sharp at first. Then the rose gets very heady with the wine as it smooths out. It dries to a rich wine-rose and I get a bit of myrrh underneath, and a little black musk to dirty it up. I thought this would be a lot like Obsidian Widow, but the rose is more prominent here, and the black musk (and lack of sandalwood) really sets it apart.