Maiden

[magikfanfic]

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

In the bottle: Oh no. Carnation. Carnation and I have this habit of not liking each other at all, but I'm willing to give it a go. That must be the tea. Hmm...and something of a waxy smell. Maybe the Damask Rose. It doesn't smell like other roses, but it also doesn't smell like carnation. I suppose it could just be the tea itself. It's oddly sweet with this odd floral whang in the background of it.

Wet: Tea. Glorious tea. Kind of an odd tea, though, a combination between a black and an herbal. I've never actually gotten the chance to drink any white tea. I've been meaning to, though. This is very tea.

Dry down: Dries pretty fast. A lot of the tea scents just seem to be eaten alive by my skin. And the tea itself is mostly gone leaving this odd tea faint, floral smell. Carnation spicey with something else in there that must be the rose but doesn't smell like roses to me. At this stage, it reminds me of the way Alice gets on me, all carnation and nothing else.

Dry: Faint tea with a bit of carnation but most of the scent has vanished within...15 minutes or less. Maybe it's just my skin deciding to drink it up. It doesn't smell bad at all. Most of the carnation is gone or has mixed with the tea and rose in such a way to create a nice, very female tea scent that stays incredible close to the skin. I wish it had a little more throw, and stayed stronger longer. There's also an odd kind of wood smell in the background that I don't really like. This is another one to keep around for additional testing.

ETA: The longer I smelled the lingering fragrance on me, the more I liked it. I just reapplied and put it on my wrists and neck. Now I'm in this light floral tea heaven, and it's lovely. This is so close to hitting the "Need Big Bottle" list. Edited September 29, 2005 by Shollin

[Falathwen]

This was a light and bright floral. My skin tends to amplify both carnation and rose, so as a pair they balanced each other well. The carnation’s freshness kept the rose from going powdery on me, so the blend remained consistent and lasted a long while. The tea stayed in the background on my skin.

[Sheila]

Maiden is one of my top-ten scents.

 

The rose and carnation blend together perfectly, creating a floral yet spicy mix of scents that is beautiful. (I personally don't smell the white tea.) It's an innocent, rosy pink scent. Charming! Try it if you're a fan of Lush's Potion.

[shelldoo]

oohhhh ohhhhhh

 

i adore thsi one

in the vial the carnation is very present,

 

wet the crnation mingles beautifully w/ the rose, the tea softend this so beautifully, i def need a big bottle

 

dry is very true to wet, i am in love

 

 

eta the dry i hit enter too soon

Edited February 23, 2005 by shelldoo

[HappyLoveJoy]

Maiden This is such a lovely feminine floral and probably one of the few rose scents that I can wear well. It's tempered by the carnation in such a way that it smells like a fresh-cut rose. The carnation in no way shies into the background, but instead shares a dainty cup of white tea equally with the rose.

[Penance]

Origin:

 

Lagniappe from the Lab.

 

Fist sniff:

 

I'll be damned...is that spicy note I smell what people are talking about when they say "spicy carnation"? I've never encountered spicy carnation in anything before, so that's a surprise. I'm not particularly optimistic about this one, though, since I really don't care for rose and carnation has a nasty habit of making me sick if I'm around it for any length of time. In this I smell the tea and the spiciness that has to be the carnation (and which is quite nice provided it doesn't make me nauseous).

 

Wet on skin:

 

Spice, spice and more spice...this smells like cloves, actually, and if I didn't know better I'd swear that was what I was smelling. I think that the spicy variety of carnation may be alright since I don't feel sick yet. The only thing I don't like about this is the rose underneath it all. I don't like rose and especially not powdery rose, which is what's in Maiden.

 

Dry down:

 

I still smell cloves (they're related to carnations, aren't they?) and baby powder. If it weren't for the rose, there's a good chance I would really like this, I think, but unfortunately the rose ruins it.

 

The bottom line:

 

Maiden was actually a rather nice surprise, even if the rose keeps me from really liking it.

[kmasden]

I didn't read the notes before trying this so I was quite surprised to hear it contained rose and that people consider it a light scent. This is all spice on me. Almost clove spice in a way. Now that I am looking for the rose, I can smell it, but very well blended with the carnation and slightly sweet. The spice is the strongest note for me here. Very sexy.

[quimerula]

Wet it's white tea and rose.

A precious floral (Beth has a special touch with florals, wether she likes it or not...), light and transparent.

 

Dry carnation comes out, making it sexy but just a bit (maybe this maiden has someone in mind to be her first? ).

 

Really a maiden's scent, lovely but not too girly.

[wickedgoddess]

Origin - Free imp from Black Broom

 

Wet - carnation.

 

Dry - I get all three of the notes, carnation, rose and white tea. I didn't think I liked carnation, but this is lovely. The notes stay true and this lasts a really long time, which I didn't expect from something so light. This is absolutely beautiful; it feels young and innocent and oh so pretty.

 

On the wickedgoddess scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the best, this rates a 4.

[dreadeddragon]

In the bottle: Light floral & herb, very clean

 

First on: It smells like a light summer day. Almost like a laundry detergent but without the detergent smell if that makes sense.

 

Drydown: From white tea, damascus rose, & carnation, I somehow get strong citrus. This is what I expected Cheshire Cat to smell like. The rose is peaking out, so I wonder if it'll take over when it's a few hours on.

[Ailine]

When I received my imp order from the Lab, I absolutely could not remember ordering this oil. In fact, when I went and read the description, I was totally confused as to why I had ordered this in the first place.

 

Well, I guess my subconscious knew what it was doing, because this is wonderful. Wet, I get the white tea, with just a hint of the spiciness underneath. As it dries, the tea drifts to the background (but never totally fades), and the carnation and rose linger for a surprisingly long time. I think this is going to be excellent for spring and summer wear because it is light and fresh while still having a presence about it I find lacking in a lot of intentionally light or summery perfumes.

 

This goes on the 5ml list.

[RainyDayGrey]

In the bottle: It smells soft and femenine, with a hint of sweetness. Nothing really jumps out at me and says "I smell like this".

 

Wet: Upon first sniffing maiden on my wrist I about started crying. It smells so perfectly like carnation. Carnation has a tendancy to make me weepy because the smell reminds me so strongly of my late grandmother.

 

Drydown: The rose and tea come out on the drydown, but carnation remains the dominant note. The damask rose is a softer rose than I'm used to, it's more subdued and subtle. The tea kind of makes me think of flower stems in this blend.

 

Overall: The name fits the scent perfectly. It is definatly a softly sweet feminine perfume just oozing with innosence. This is the second BPAL I've tried that reminded me of someone I love, and the first to remind me of someone I've lost. This definatly won't be an every day scent, or even one that I'll probably wear out of the house, but when I'm feeling nostalgic and am missing my grandma I will definatly pull this one out.

[voodoobaby]

In the vial: Spicy, earthy rose. Very light and lovely, but not ditzy, if that makes sense.

 

Wearing: Wow! OK, let's get one thing straight: I am not a floral fan. It takes a lot--a LOT--to get me to like a floral scent. This blend, however, has it. Gorgeous! The rose is first in command here, light pink with the long green stem still attached. Still spicy and exotic from the carnation, and the white tea balances it out and keeps it grounded. It's also quite creamy. I imagine this would be lovely in a bath.

 

Later: Ah. This has turned oddly foody, but absolutely delicious. Again, I'm not typically one that loves foody scents, but again, this is an exception. At this stage it smells like a fancy dessert--creamy, spicy (I swear there's clove here), and sugary. Yes, sugar. There's something in here that smells suspiciously of powdered sugar. Mmm.

 

Overall: Love it! It embodies everything beautiful about feminine sophistication. Charming, kind, gentle, yet level headed. I could see a young Victorian lady wearing this. With all the deep leather and incensey scents in my collection, I could use something light and innocent to add a little balance. Definitely keeping the imp; I might even contemplate a big bottle.

Edited May 27, 2005 by voodoobaby

[olympia301]

Very similar to Alice with the carnations and roses. It is a lot simpler than Alice in that there doesn't seem to be too much more in here. It's an artless scent, which is fitting for something called Maiden.

 

I really like Maiden and if I had not smelled Alice it would have gone to the top of my list of BPAL's I love. However, I miss the licorice snap of Alice here, and its white musk, which means that Maiden doesn't last as long as Alice. Also, I don't detect tea in this mix as much as I do with Alice.

 

A very very good scent. If you are wanting something simple and beautiful, this one is for you.

 

The icon is a detail from the "Unicorn Tapestry" at the Cluny Museum in Paris. It shows a virgin entertaining a unicorn by showing it its reflection in a hand mirror, which is a symbol for Vanity. Could that be an ironic twist on 'the vainglory of virtue'? Interesting concept.

Edited May 29, 2005 by olympia301

[lokelani]

For me, this is the *perfect* scent. I love carnation, but sometimes find its spiciness a bit overwhelming, and I like rose, but it can go a little too sickly-sweet on me at times. But this scent strikes the perfect balance between the two. Sort of like Beth was saying, "Okay, Nature. You did a good job here, with these flowers. I love your work. Now let me show you how it's *really* done."

 

If I had to pick just one BPAL scent to wear forever, it would probably be this one.

Edited May 29, 2005 by lokelani

[FireInCairo]

I love this blend. It is very bright and rosy. On my skin- it softened and went all powdery rosey. It's a super feminine blend. Very girly...and sweet. I might have to get a 5 ml of this.

[elphaba]

This is a lovely, girly scent. I feel like I'm doing it a disservice by wearing it with cargo pants and a tank top. I should be wearing a light, floaty dress and a flower in my hair. You would think that with only three listed notes, it would be easy to pick them out, but I'm not good at florals at all. I just know it's light and pretty and I'm happy the lab gave it to me as a frimp.

[tempete]

I've actually had Maiden for a while, but never got around to writing a review for it for some reason. Every so often I pull out my imp and wear it, and my enjoyment of this simple yet lovely scent has slowly grown. Maiden seems to be a very variable, changeable scent on me - sometimes I get just carnation and rose, sometimes it's white tea and one of the florals. Pretty but unpredictable seems to be an appealing combination for me !

[Shollin]

First sniff: A tentative sniff… “Oh,” I exclaim wide-eyed, dipping the wand back to sniff again and again. “Oh, that’s really nice.” Florals don’t do this to me, people! I know a tea rose is a specific type of the flower, but I swear I smell white tea in here. Um, yeah, so I look back at the description and the reason I smell white tea is because it’s the first note listed… I must have been thinking of London with the tea rose. Yes, so… tea and flowers, apparently, make my nose ecstatic in a way that flowers by themselves don’t.

 

Wearing: I never expected to like Maiden as much as I do. It’s a very gentle scent, but with the tiniest kick of spicy carnation. The tea seems to be dominant. It’s very pretty, and very feminine – without being too girly.

[Ailine]

Carnation and I seem to have issues. I absolutely love this wet, but the drydown is a ride on the icky carnation train, and I just can't get on board.

 

Good news, this oil has shown me that tea scents are fabulous. Severin, here I come.

[McPagangrrl]

This one originally reminded me of Alice. So much so that I chose not to buy a 5ml because I already had Alice. D'oh! I wore it to bed one night as an Alice substitute and I couldn't stop sniffing my wrist. At first, it seems very carnation-esque. This is fine by me as I LOVE carnation. Then, in the very next sniff, it smells like a greeny rose scent. I think it is the tea that is making me think green. They all meld together in a most wonderful, non Alice-y way.

 

I'm buying a 5ml of this.

[PurringPulsar]

Maiden

 

In the imp: dry, crisp rose tea. Not tea rose (although that may be the case) but rose and white tea.

Wet on skin: yup, still roses and white tea. The rose here has a slightly lemony scent, which is accentuated by the tea. This is a very refreshing and bright rose scent.

Dry on skin: this is lovely! I've noticed that with many rose BPALs, the rose note warms and strengthens on my skin as the oil dries and mingles with my chemistry. This is almost like a crisp rose like Rose Red, but warmer and with a strong tea note. I can't smell the carnation yet, but I think it is just about there.

After a while: oh, the rose note gets better and better! This is a lovely rose scent, warm and full bloomed but the tea's still there giving it a nice tart edge. And now I can smell the carnation underneath it all-it's a very subtle note, but it's there.

Verdict: if London is tea rose, then this is rose tea. There's a lovely crisp rose note and a strong white tea scent which is slightly astringent in a pleasant way. This is a lovely, light rose scent which is warm and fresh, a perfect scent for summer. I'm not sure if this is a favourite, as I still prefer Alice as my rose-carnation scent, but this one is another one of those amazing rose blends that Beth excels at.

[zankoku_zen]

In the Bottle: I smell carnations and something kinda sharpish, which would be the white tea.

 

On Skin: I smell the carnations, and another floral, which would be the rose. It's still very sharp, I thin the carnations have a tinge of bitterness on my skin.

 

On Drydown: A very clean scent. It reminds me of something but I can't remember what it is. It does smell very pure. I can smell more of the tea now. The bitterness has disappeared but there is still that sharp aftertaste.

 

Verdict: Pretty. But not me. I'll trade this imp to someone who will like it more than I.

[L-z_Empress]

I got this as a freebie from the lab. As almost always (the only one that doesn't do this to me is Kali), the rose ate all the other scents and then started to smell like a dying rose. It's too sweet and giving me a headahce. Too bad the tea didn't come out because tea is one of my favourite notes.

[k00kaburra]

Sounds heavenly.

In bottle: Beautiful fresh carnations! There's also the delighful hints of white tea and rose.

On me: Carnation is by far the strongest note. Gorgeous; I am glad to have finally come across this; it may be able to fill the void left when Carnivale was discontinued. The delicate rose and teamake this a lovely blend celebrating the virtuous fairy-tale maiden, who is always sweet and innocent and fair.