Maiden

[aquazoo]

A gentle vision of purity, goodness and virtue: white tea, carnation and Damask Rose.

Starts with lemony lilac. Maybe there is lemon in the tea? Now the lemon appears to be the sharp end of the rose. It's a nice floral, but with that lemon overtone not the greatest on me. Edited April 11, 2009 by Shollin
fixed BPAL tags --Shollin

[Victory]

Maiden reminds very strongly of Alice, at least while wet. Alice has a very very short wear length on my skin, so I was hopeful that Maiden would last longer, and it does. However, while Maiden was interesting while wet- the carnation was somewhat sweet, the rose behaved very well, the tea was creamy- dry, it lost my interest. While I was wrestling the darn imp cap open, the oil spilled and I wiped some up with a tissue, and that smells really good, so Maiden would be a good scent locket choice for me, but I don't know that I'd drop Alice for her.

[TheOneTheyCallLuna]

The truest BPAL carnation blend I've smelled yet. Glorious! If I concentrate I can pick out the Damask rose and white tea, but they blend together really well and seem to serve to amplify the spicy, pretty carnations! Spring incarnate!

 

[RedRoseMaze]

In the bottle: This certainly smells soft and feminine! So far, it’s mostly a blend of flowers, but the white tea is a sweet touch.

 

Wet: Carnation, carnation, and more carnation, with a little bit of rose, and a tiny little bit of white tea.

 

Dry: It does stabilize during dry down, but it’s still a lot of carnation! There’s still a little bit of rose, and what I believe is a trace of white tea, but it’s very subtle.

 

Verdict: Overall, Maiden is a nice spring/summer scent, but you really have to love carnation to fully appreciate this one; therefore, it’s just not for me. I know white tea tends to be tasteless, but I expected more of it. But still, it’s a nice floral scent.

[alyssredfern]

Maiden was sort of a spicy rose mixed with citrus on me. Definitely not my favorite.

[Suu4LC]

There really aren't enough carnation scents-this has been on my wishlist to try forever! I'm not sure about the rose (totally hit or miss) but tea and carnation sounds heavenly!

 

Ooo! Lovely in the imp-light lemony tea and carnation! Very pretty!

 

The rose comes out a bit more on my skin-this is just too pretty! Light and delicate and dainty! Very classic feeling. The rose is soft and understated-I can see why this one is so popular!

 

Yep, this is totally win! Soo gorgeous! I love the smell of rose, I just usually don't love the way it blends with my skin chemistry, but in this blend it stays completely true-as if I was sniffing a soft pink rose right in front of me, combined with a lovely lemony white tea and carnation! Brilliant!

[Leopard403]

Someone once described this to me as Alice's more sophisticated older sister... which I guess would be true, if she were a sour old maid. Sadly, Maiden is very bright but VERY sour on my skin, the top-note-tang of a fruit basket past its prime. I'll stick with sultry Alice, thanks!

[ouch!]

Spicy carnation tea!

 

It's light...bright...feminine and fresh. The tea and carnations are most prominent. The white tea makes the carnations very fresh and sparkly, but they still retain some of their spice!!! This is really nice for a floral, I'm not too fond of them that much unless they are really special. But this one is cool.

This would be nice for summer, as a maybe a body lotion or a face spritz. A clean crisp tea with a slight spice of carnation.

 

[thestrangeheart]

I'm normally afraid of carnation, but a good experience with Queen Alice made me try this one. . .

 

Wet: Carnation, carnation, carnation! Too much spice for my tastes (I definitely love the sweeter florals). Can't get much rose or tea at all. Deep breath and waiting it out.

 

Drying: While drying it's pretty easy to pick out the different notes in here: there's carnation, which is still squashing everything else, but now I can smell the rose and definitely the tea. . . the tea is nice while it's drying. Definitely white tea, a little bit sweet, but I'm still not loving this. Too much upfront carnation.

 

A while later: Okay, that's much more up my alley. The carnation fades and the rose comes out, and it becomes a slightly spicy rose tea. The sweetness of the rose begins to appear, and the carnation is actually quite nice. Not an absolute favorite, but I'd put it on again.

[djsiberia]

crisp, clean light florals. this is quite pretty. i can smell carnation and tea with a smidge of rose. carnation dominates the scent and the tea adds a nice touch to it.

 

[septima_pica]

This seriously smells like crashing through a florist's stand in a subway station -- carnations, roses, and I'd swear there are daylilies or chrysanthemums in here somewhere. The thing is, the leaves are there as well as the flowers (possibly from the tea?), and nothing is too white or heady or sweet, the way flowers so often are -- instead, it's all spicy and green and yellow.

 

Maybe I'll hang on to this. I'm not sure I'll ever wear it, but it's drying down to a really nice pure carnation, and I can see possibly layering it with Blade of Grass or Yorick or something like that.

[childdoll]

Imp: I don't know, it's weird but I detect a strong citrus smell with I think carnation lingering in the background. It's an interesting mix, but I am very wary.

 

Wet: The citrus/lemon scent fights with the carnation and comes off as a rather unpleasant fragrance on me.

 

Dry: Okay, it looks like the fight is finally over. Carnation won out. As others mentioned, it does remind me alot of Alice. It sits like a more subdued Alice, not as sickly sweet... more florals hiding in the background, but still with that powdery Carnation smell.

 

Overall Impression: I have heard alot about this scent and was eager to get an imp to try out since from everything I have heard, it seemed like this would be the perfect fragrance for me. And indeed, it seems to be a mix of my two favorites so far - Helena and Alice - the sweet powder and carnation of Alice with more feminine floral notes that I love about Helena. However, it takes a long time for the lemon-citrus scent I first get to fully fade on me and transition into the carnation. I think this is great for those who find Alice just a bit too sweet smelling. It's a tad softer and more manageable, but still gives you the same impression. However, I think I will be stick with my Alice to avoid the unpleasant citrus notes that fight when first applied.

[Monster]

In the vial: Gorrrrgeous white tea note!

 

Wet: I love love love this white tea note, it's the first thing I smell and pretty much overpowers everything in the wet phase. This is reminding me of something...I can't place my finger on it though. Hmmm

 

Dry: The final drydown phase is pretty much ALLLL tea! I'm sniffing a bit of carnation and NO rose (which is surprising seeing as how I usually amp it).

 

Overall: I love love love this.

[verbranden]

In the Vial: Carnation like woah.

 

Wet on Skin: Carnation is still strong, but I can also pick up the rose faintly.

 

Drydown: The carnation is still strong and rose has really come out without being heady. The tea sits just underneath, which is what seems to keep the florals delicate and not overpowering. There's a bit of spice to it, but very little.

 

Overall: It smells wonderful and beautifully floral. It is a very delicate, feminine smell. I love it, and while it is not the best fall or winter scent, I will definitely be getting a bottle of this come spring time.

[undream]

this was so uniquely lovely while wet; a very potent, wet rose and a subtle citrus note (what i am guessing is the tea!). once on me, though? it becomes very powdery, eventually morphing into a dirty rose scent. carnation usually does very well on me, but i think in this combination it is the very thing tricking me into thinking this smells dirty. i'm crushed, too, because i REALLY had high hopes for this one. alas.

[Stormslegacy]

In the imp: spicy, spicy! If I didn't know it was carnation I would say dry pepper

 

Wet: CARNATION. Just in case you didn't catch that, I will repeat CARNATION. It doesn't whisper, it doesn't tiptoe, It bursts in on the scene in a white blaze of spicy glory. There might as well be nothing else...this is not the same carnation as in Pink Moon, (one of my top, 3 favorite scents) this is a much dryer, almost mouth-wateringly dry carnation.

 

Drydown: Carnation with a tinsy weensy hint of rose, that slowly grows stronger. This is a rose similar to the one in Atrocious attic, nothing like the rose in London or Peacock Queen. It's a very light petaled, dry rose that prefers to let carnation take center stage. After about a half hour the two become perfectly blended. I'm not getting any tea, but that's fine. It's a little soapy, but the dryness keeps that from killing it.

 

Final Verdict:

All I can express is:

<3

 

not in my top 5, but probably in my top 10 or 15.

 

 

[mari4212]

There might just be something weird going on with my noise. In the vial, and when I first put Maiden on, I don't get white roses, or carnations.

 

Instead, I get lily. Almost a single note lily scent that lasts for a few hours. Not sure where that is coming from, maybe it's the concept of white florals that's tripping my nose up there.

 

After the first few hours, the scent dies down a lot, and it's in that second stage that we start getting into a creamy soft rose scent, with maybe a touch of carnation.

 

Both stages are nice, but I vastly prefer the second stage. I could wish that the first stage died off faster, or that the second stage was a bit stronger in terms of throw, but this is still very pleasant.

 

It's a calming scent for me, and a good one to use in situations where some of the stronger/more unusual perfumes BPAL offers might not be appreciated.

[melrose]

Hello, carnation (with just a hint of clove)!

 

That's it throughout - I get no tea nor rose.

 

It never morphs, but the carnation is lovely.

 

I'll enjoy the imp, but it's not complex enough to be bottle-worthy. At 57, I'm hardly a maiden, which most likely is part of the reason it doesn't resonate with me.

[Saya]

Spicy rose. I'm not a rose fan, but if I was, I'd be all over this blend.

[raisin]

I got this one with my order, and I think it's a winner.

 

I do not love florals, rose usually gives me headaches, and I generally don't go in for the girlier scents, but I love Maiden. The carnation is spicy and fresh enough, and the rose is sufficiently subdued, that I am very unoffended by this one. I don't get as much green or citrus as I wish I did, but it's certainly more complex than simply "carnation"... I kind of get that "sophisticated innocence" thing myself.

 

It's not something I would have ever picked out for myself, but as soon as I use up my imp, I think I'll be getting a larger bottle of this one, for the days I'm feeling more feminine.

Edited March 10, 2010 by raisin

[angelicruin]

Right after application, it's carnations and tea, but as it begins to dry, the rose note surfaces, but does not overpower. The carnation, rose, and tea notes are perfectly balanced on my skin. Very pleasant and wearable. Medium throw.

[FathomBelow]

In imp and wet on skin: nice, pure, dry rose, like in London.

Drying: Still rose, but with a faint something light and green (but not sharp at all) behind it, from the white tea and carnation, that puts me in mind of The Dormouse.

Dry: The light, green component turns spicy - to be specific, it turns to cinnamon. It's not the dusty-sweet powdered cinnamon you get in jars in spice racks, and not like cinnamon sticks; it's closer to very, very old and faded cinnamon-flavored chewing gum. Very odd. Over time the cinnamon gets stronger and blends into the rose until I can't tell where one stops and the other begins. It might be like Harlot, but I've never tried Harlot myself.

 

I find the rose too light to stand up to the cinnamon/spices, but it's still a tolerably nice scent. Maiden is a variation on rose that I'm happy to have tried, but which I don't know if I'll wear that often.

[theasylph]

Received this as a frimp from the lab. Probably never would have tried it because ALL of the other roses have been problematic for me - too dirty - too sour - too rose geranium-esque - This one is awesome

 

I tested this without even reading the notes and then wrote down my scent impressions :apple skins, fresh berries, rain in trees, white rose, grass, meadows, crystalline sugar, rose otto, lipstick, magical and transportive like a powder puff. dewy and so so nice.

 

Ha yeah i love this

[voodoocatwoman]

Wow, this one is so interesting. On first sniff, I smell sweet rose. Then the carnation comes thundering in, followed by tea with lemon and clove. It's sweet and spicy and powdery and citrusy, all at the same time. As it dries down, it is becoming more of a carnation powder scent. There is still a touch of citrus, but now my arm smells like pickle juice.

 

Pickle juice? WTF?

[reconditarmonia]

A very fresh, rather juvenile carnation-rose. Dries a bit warmer, but not very strong or exciting.

 

EDIT: "Fresh" note identified (from Kumiho) as the white tea.

Edited June 1, 2010 by reconditarmonia