Lady MacBeth

[Ina Garten Davita]

The essence of ambition, covetousness and manipulation: sweet Bordeaux wine, blood red currant, thyme and wild berries.

First Impression: Ooooh, it's smells like the Sangria the girls and I were sipping in the pool yesterday.

Second Impression: Juicy berries, sweet and ripe crushed into a bowl of a light red wine. This wine isn't shiraz or cabernet. Lighter, like a white merlot or juicy pinot noir.

Final Analysis: Fruity scents don't thrill when on my skin. This one is nice enough to use up the imp, but not enough to inspire an additional purchase.

[Effluvia]

in the vial: Bright! Juicy! ...Sangria!!!

 

wet, on my skin: Juice, juice, juice...bright red, mindbogglingly delicious juice! I smell currant, berries, apples and wine. Collectively, it smells like sangria. I really adore this. It's just sweet enough, and it has an irresistable tartness to it that keeps it from being too sweet.

 

drying on my skin: This sticks around...(yay)! It hasn't really morphed a lot...it's stayed pretty consistant so far.

 

dry, on my skin: Light, soft, insanely pretty berry/fruity note. Sigh. I wish I could drink this.

[Ms. MSGirl]

In the vial, this was pure black currant, winey, ribena-smelling to me; but I put it on, and oh my god!!!!!!! It is so beautiful!! The sweetness of the black currant disappears into something so soft and tart and lovely -- I have no idea what the note is, I wish I did cause I've never smelled anything like it. I want to say it's some soft, clean floral like apple blossom, or orris, or jasmine, or violet.... like I said, I have no idea. I even smell maybe a touch of sweet grasses. It is just lots of juices blended together, apple and wheatgrass and aloe and I don't know what else. It gets faint very quickly, but this is absolutely gorgeous on. I might need a big bottle.

[leslie260]

The Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire takes place at the Mount Hope estate where they also sell wine and put on really cool interactive productions that focus around the works of Edgar Allen Poe and Charles Dickens. They sell a Concord Grape Wine which is sweet and wonderful in the fall. Lady Macbeth smells exactly like this wine! Everytime I put it on, I think of the Mount Hope estate with it's dark and lush Victorian room furnishings and Poe stories and Fall. It's brilliant.

[Shollin]

First sniff: Grapes grapes grapes. More red than purple – this scent and the scent of Caterpillar are almost the same colour. Lady Macbeth is somewhere between Concord grape juice (very rich and tangy) and red wine – it reminds me of the scene in Fantasia with the centaurs dancing and stomping grapes in a huge wooden vat.

 

Wearing: When wet on my skin it still smells like grape juice – not the grocery-store Welch’s sort, but the really good kind they sometimes have on hand at wineries so the kids can get in on the tasting too. (Random tangent: the Biltmore House has amazingly good grape juice. I’m actually rather glad I was underage when my family went, because I’m not a huge fan of red wine, and that juice was darn good.) It deepens immediately, shifting away from brashness. I’m enjoying this more than I expected to now that it’s calmed down a bit – it reminds me of the deep fruitiness I liked in Bewitched, though the Lady is much warmer. When it dried completely it was very like port wine, Communion wine – rich and deep and round. I was expecting a candy-sweet scent from the reviews, but on me, it definitely isn’t. Fruity, very much so, but not too sweet.

[malanna]

I tested this a long time ago and I can't quite decipher the notes I made, so this review may be a bit inadequate. This is tart berries at first, with the wine coming out later. This is definitely a rich purple scent. This scent sort of evokes the same tone that Bordello does. While Bordello is the satin of a dress that a saloon girl back on the Old West would wear, Lady MacBeth is the satin of a Shakespearian dress--longer and more elegant, but still very tight.

[k00kaburra]

(Note: Some time ago Lady Macbeth was reformulated slightly. I think it became more wine-y? Anyway, my bottle is pre-reformulation.)

 

In bottle: Mmmm, it's so sweet and fruity. I love red currants and the blend with wine is perfect!

 

On me: PERFECTION! This is my favorite fragrance of them all. To me, currants smell like a perfect mingling of cherries and berries, and this scent retains itsf ruitiness without straying into cherry medicine or bubblegum territory.

 

--

 

Reformulated version:

In bottle: The alcohol/wine note is definitely more potent in this reformulation. Overall, the fragrance is less sweet; the berry notes dominate in the previous version but are in the background here.

On me: On the skin, the blend mellows quite a bit and becomes very very similar to the original. There isn't enough difference to scream about; but the difference is still there, and noticeable. The newer formula, as I said of the bottle, is much stronger with the wine and alcohol, and there is much less influence by the berries. But the red currant is still rockin' strong, so I'm happy.

Edited June 14, 2005 by k00kaburra

[sarahmarie]

I like this a lot! It's very tart and red, and it almost smells juicy. It makes me want to lick my arm.

 

This scent seems both grown up and playful to me. It's very sweet at first, but then it turns into the sort of tart that makes your mouth water. It doesn't seem to last very long on me, but only a couple of oils have so far. This is going on the list of big bottles I want!

[inkstone]

I received a decant of this from the lovely Fairywingmaker.

 

In the vial

Sweet berries and wine. The only other blend with wine that I've tried is Nosferatu and that didn't go over so well. But that's not necessarily because of the wine note. Let's see how this goes!

 

Wet

Wine layered with herbal -- I assume that's the thyme? -- and currants playing around. I've lost the berries, so it's not sweet anymore. Boo.

 

Drydown

But just as I'm about to lose faith, the berries come back and sweeten the wine on my skin. The thyme fades, so it's just berries and wine. It's not as sweet as it was in the imp, but it's sweet enough for me.

 

Final thoughts

This blend is a deep, dark burgundy. It's sophisticated and a little tart. I like it! Oddly enough, it also made me crave a steak. I don't know if that's the wine talking or what. Definitely a keeper. I'll have to give it a few more goes before I decide if it warrants "bottle."

[NoirRosaleen]

I had such high hopes for this! It came as a surprise add-in from Oubliette (I think).

 

Unfortunately, though Wanda*s wine works on me, Lady M*s turns immediately into Grape Otter Pop mixed with Grape Robitussin. BLECH! Treacherous lady, indeed. I wish it had gone winey on me and not grapey...*sigh*

 

I had the same reaction from Bordello, actually. Maybe it*s the berries that turns into grape ickiness on me.

[ivyandpeony]

I have loved every BPAL oil I have tried with red wine notes, and Lady MacBeth is no exception. Out of the bottle and wet on my skin, I get bright, luscious red wine and fresh berry notes, like a beaujolais nouveau or a light red wine you enjoy in summer - with just a hint of something herbal/woody. Unfortunately, my skin seemed to guzzle this blend like nothing I have ever seen before! Within an hour, I can scarcely smell anything on my wrist where I slathered L.MacB., just a very faint memory of perfume there. I will have to try again after putting some unscented shea butter or an unscented body cream on first, to see if that will give this gorgeous scent some staying power.

[isyche]

In vial: a lot like Wanda, except a tiny bit more boozy and a brighter, bolder red. I don't usually like fruity notes, but I love wine notes, so we'll see which way this goes.

 

On: Sweet soft berries, where'd the wine go? Lady Macbeth just got very meek all of a sudden. Hmm. I swear my skin eats red fruits. I can barely smell this now after a couple minutes, there's just a faint sweetness on my wrist. Weird. Maybe I'll try it with lotion or something.

[stardreamer]

In the bottle, I can smell the berries all right, but also something sort of sharp. Once on -- berries and citrus! Very tart, very sharp, but still with the sweet undertone of berry. I am much with the liking of this! It's like Bordello's snarky, wise-assed younger sister.

 

Hours later, it hasn't changed much -- a bit less citrusy, perhaps. R. didn't register objections to it in the car, so I'm going to assume it's safe to keep.

 

I notice that the description also notes "New Formulation", and to be honest, this doesn't smell much like the description; I don't pick up any winey or herbal note at all. Is there any chance that I've gotten the older formulation? It's important information, because if this is the older model, then that's what I need to look for in swaps, while if it's the current one I can confidently order a larger bottle. I just placed this order back at the end of October, if that helps.

[Theravada]

Lady Macbeth is such a deep, bold scent. Beth did a wonderful job capturing the spirit of this famous Shakespearian female. This scent is dominated by the ripe, juicy scent of currants and a deep river of red wine adds a wickedness to the mix. I would sum this up as wine-soaked berries, very rich and red. Unfortunately, red wine is one of those notes that just does not work with my skin chemistry. It turns really rancid after the dry down phase But if red wine works on you and you like fruity, red scents, this would be lovely.

Edited January 7, 2005 by Theravada

[FireInCairo]

This smelled of grape jelly to me. I couldn't make out the wine smell- just grapes unfortunately...

[diabolique]

o, my lady, i've been waiting for you so long.

 

in the vial, on first sniff, lady macbeth is sweet tarts! yay! same sweet tart smell i get from all of the wine blends. i rolled the bottle a little bit because, along with the sweet tart smell, i did get a very distinct whiff of wine that seemed separated from the other smell i got, almost as though i was sniffing two bottles at once.

 

this is absolutely stunning on my skin. it wafts well, and it does smell genuinely like wine. i'm going to make the classic comparison here and say that i think lady macbeth is related to the women who run bordello. perhaps lady macbeth is the owner of bordello; bordello is a very sweet, creamy, sexy wine, charming in that voluptous, wet way. lady macbeth is the regal, proud, and aloof woman who you would love to approach, but you're too intimidated by to stand near. she's rigid and her face is placid, with her chin turned up and her eyes coldly scoping those around her.

 

i love this a lot. this is definitely my kind of scent. decadent and lush, but oddly distant and untouchable.

[surf-tormented]

Mmm...grape soda in the vial. I used to love grape, well, Welch's Grape Soda. Do they even make that anymore?

 

Powdery grape goodness. Very berry. The scent is layers of berry, grape, maybe red wine, something darker under it to stop it from being too sweet.

 

I normally don't like real fruity scents, but this one might, like Bon Vivant and The Red Queen, win me over to the fruity side.

 

I want to lick my hand!

 

I am not really sure if I have the old version or the new version.

 

I am trading the imp, but enjoyed the experience of Lady MacBeth a lot!

[friendthegirl]

All I can really smell with Lady Macbeth is strawberry flavored bubble gum. The other notes don't seem to come out or they are barely there. I'm hoping that it will morph a bit and smell a little deeper soon.

[Donnababe]

Lady MacBeth

 

In the bottle - sharp, juicy red fruit

 

On the skin - Much sweeter with the addition of herbs.

 

This hardly changes from start to finish. This is extremely sweet on me with the occasional tart note catching my attention.

 

If you want to smell like jam this one is for you!

[shelldoo]

in the vial it is way way fruity.

 

wet: still very fruity ike tutti fruity

 

drydown: awe much nicer, the wine is the front runner right now, i am thinking a berry wine not a grape wine. but I also am picking up a resinous smell? hmmm i love resins am i projecting it? i keep sniffing and i definitely get a berry wine, resin smell. simpley beautiful. this is a summery scent to me.

 

eta: i got it...this scent was doin so mojo w/ my mind and i knew the smell was something pleasant that i remebered...hawaii it smells like my trip to hawaii, no clue why but that in itself is enough to get a big bottle who wouldn't want hawaii in a bottle...now to figure out why hawaii?

Edited January 31, 2005 by shelldoo

[Andromedii]

Wow. I this one. I smelled a fruit-heavy mixed-berry sweet French wine, especially just upon application. I love that it lasted a long while, drying down to a red grape punch scent a couple of hours later.

 

This is a truly fun scent. I have to have a 5 ml of this.

[Morgan]

This scent is so red and ripe, it smells absolutely delicious. The wine balances out the sweetness quite nicely. It seems to change throughout the day, from sweet berries to red wine.

I really like this scent. I don't know if I'd buy a 5 ml. but I will definitely finish off the imp.

[dreadeddragon]

To me, Lady Macbeth is more of a deep reddish purple scent, rather than jsut red. Almost burgundy.

In the bottle: Holy crap that's a lot of berry!

 

Wet: I remember when I used to buy blackberry or boysenberry oils to get this scent. There's definitely some raspberry too, but thank goddess I don't smell any cherry.

 

Drydown: There is definitely something behind all the berry. I can't distinguish it as wine or thyme singularly, but it does give the berry a kick and a darker image.

 

I need to try this one again to truly know how I feel about it, but I think it's another that I'll love the imp of on occasion, but probably won't need a whole bottle.

[tempete]

Unlike most BPALs containing wine, Lady Macbeth doesn't smell like grape juice on me. The sweetness of the wine and the berries are reined in by a green note, presumably the thyme mentioned in the description. Unfortunately, this note gains power during the drydown and eventually overwhelms the scent with a dry, dusty odour. How fitting, though, for a scent named after Lady Macbeth.

[pekeana]

Mmmm, Lady Macbeth, how bloody though art!

 

Wine and berries, thick, potent, sweet. The wine is almost floral in its tone as it dries, and the berries are thick, juicy, succulent vine-ripened berries. I don't smell the thyme, however, at all.

 

This reacts so well with my skin that it's a big bottle for sure.

 

 

ETA: Lady Macbeth is similar, but not identical to, Midwinter's Eve.

Edited March 9, 2005 by pekeana