Lady MacBeth

[olympia301]

 

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

 

Strong fruit right out of the imp. Blood being mimicked by berry juice? That's a thought! Starts off something like Jailbait without the sharp resinous undertone. Very attractive, if you smell it closely while it is wet, not only does it have berried in the topnote, there is a perfumy background which is subtle but charming. Maybe I imagine a soapiness here and maybe I don't.

 

As pretty as she is, Lady MacBeth doesn't seem to stay for long. Either my nose goes numb very quickly or she is more fugitive than I would have suspected. I can't help but compare her to Bordello,and on that comparison I can smell violets in Bordello which are definitely not in Lady MacBeth.

 

My final opinion says that though Lady MacBeth is a beauty, a red royal blend with a very sweet and full red fruitiness to her, Bordello is the superior red-blend for me. Same family, different souls. Not different enough for me to own a bottle of each, so I will punt on Lady MacBeth and stick with Bordello for its undertone of violets and over-the-top playfulness.

[Musamea]

In the bottle: Mmm, lots of berries and currant, very sweet and fruity.

Wet: Juicy, robust berries.

Dry: Still tons and tons of berry, with a background hint of currant. It's very sweet, but not overwhelmingly so

After 5 hours: The berry fades back a little and the currant comes out a bit more; has a ton of lasting power. This scent may claim to be the essence of ambition, covetousness, and manipulation, but it makes me feel flirty and carefree. I don't think I'll buy a larger bottle of this, but I will enjoy using up the imp.

[CLFilm]

This one is unfortunately not for me - soooooooooo fruity. That's all I get from it the whole time. And it's not really a sweet fruity, but a bright one - still, it's too strong for me.

 

And that makes me really sad, because I <3 the concept of a Lady MacBeth scent.

[turbojenn]

mmm.....smelling this I get the exact scent of these Japanese Muscat Grape gummies that I adore!

 

On my skin, I can still smell the full roundness of the grape, but its underpinned by a lighter and brighter currant. Its very sweet, and juicy, but fades very quickly on my skin. While I really like it, I think this one is better suited for a sunny, warm day in June, than a cold bitter day in October.

[Sistinas]

a review of Lady Macbeth

 

Vial ~ The smell of red wine wafts out from the vial right after I took the

cap off the vial, I didn't even have to bring it close to my nose either,

this is going to be a strong scent, I will have to see how nice it plays with

my skin.

 

Wet ~ on my skin, it is wine with berries and red currant. This scent is

brooding red and so far I am unable to pick out any of the thyme.

 

Drying ~ strong bordeaux with berries, sweet but yet every now and then I

get a waft of berries

 

Dry ~ After drying on my skin, I get more of the red currant and berries

and slight bit of red wine. I would have to say it played nice with my skin

but I am thinking this scent is a bit too much for me.

 

Fade ~ oH my this does have a strong throw and since I spilled some on

my couch, I am getting wafts of the berries and wine, stronger than what

is on my wrist.

 

Final thoughts ~ I am of two minds in regards to this scent. It starts off

smelling fabulous but after drying down on my skin, it is not the same. It

played nice on my skin, the scent is nice, but just doesn't seem to be me.

On a scale of 1 to 5, I would give it a 3.

[sparkydevil]

This is one I thought I would love. I mean the word "berries" was in the description. Here is the lowdown:

 

In Imp: Very strong grape smell with a touch of booziness. Kind of medicinal.

 

Wet on Skin: Eww. Grape Dimetapp. Not appealing. Kind of makes me sick and frankly is sort of disgusting.

 

Drydown: I didn't wait to find out. I washed it off pretty quickly.

 

Final Note: Definitely not for me at all. It smelled so strongly of grape that anything else was completely overwhelmed. Not very appealing to me, but someone must love it out there.

[Eros]

In the imp this is *very* similar to Strawberry Moon...A good thing!!

 

On skin it's more like Bordello & Strawberry Moon decided to hang out together. It's a field of a mixture of fresh berries, a touch of cream & a hint of fresh green herbs. Lovely!!

[oceandreamer001]

Oh, I love this. It rivals Bordello for my favorite.

 

On my skin: Berries, and I smell a small bit of thyme. It grounds it and deepens it. I love it, can't stop sniffing my wrist. (So much that I was late to work this morning.)

 

After half hour: The thyme has receded, I smell a little wine, but mostly berries.

 

After an hour: Just berries, it reminds me of childhood. The scent is how blackberries warmed by the sun tasted. A warm burst of berry scent.

 

It only lasts about 3 hours on my skin, but I love it so much that I can slather myself. (Actually, it just gives me an excuse to constantly reapply it.

 

I never thought wine scents would work with my skin, but the magic of Beth's blending works, and makes it one of my favorite scents!

[wingedcorset]

Ok, this is a decant, and maybe it's the wrong thing, but this smelled NOTHING like the reviews I read. Ok, in the vial it was sweet and juicy and all that. Too fruity, I was thinking, but I gave it a shot.

 

On wet it immediately picked up a scary perfumey icky note. Like the caustic badness that many commercial perfumes have. I don't know what it is, but I call it the icky perfume smell.

 

It's now 11:50. I put this on at 10. It's completely gone.

 

So weird.

[Wench457]

ITB: Sweet berries. Yum!

 

On: Here comes the thyme, but I can still smell the berries as well. Nice!

 

Dry: Still sweet and berrylike, but now it's almost more of a rose scent on me. I don't get the wine of this scent at all, which is a pity, because I was looking forward to it.

[Meg]

In the bottle: Extremely sweet and synthetic red berry, very sharp. I don't like where this is going.

 

Wet: Very much like in the bottle, with a vaguely interesting moment where the wine comes out and disappears again.

 

Drydown: Yuck! This smells like bubblegum in the worst possible way. Very artificial red berry, with a vaguely boozy note to it. The thyme does nothing to cover it - in fact, the sweet/herby scent reminds me of cow manure.

 

Overall: Berry bubblegum in cowpat. This really doesn't agree with me, it smells exactly like candy and there's nothing elegant or frightening about it. The most frightening part, in fact, is its staying power. It just won't quit! Out, damned spot! *goes to scrub it out some more*

[Celogrl]

This is one gorgeous scent! What an inspired mix of herbs, berries, wine and other good things. This just makes me happy to even put it on. It's luscious, rich and very female (not the wimpy, crybaby female, but the powerful can-do one!) This is IMHO a very grown up fragrance in spite of the sweetness. I will keep this one around and definitely order more.

[desu]

In the bottle: I'm guessing the sweetness is from the Bordeaux, but it smells suspiciously like Kool*Aid. What's with things smelling like other odd things either on me or in the bottle today?

 

On my skin: Smells like everything it's supposed to smell like, thank Heavens. The wine, berries, herbs, etc. are shining in this one, although the throw isn't very good on me. This will probably be one of those scents my skin drinks up.

 

Later on: Although mostly gone, it still smells faintly of berries.

[AngellicMystique]

I get almost straight wine with hints of thyme and berries. It smells almost like a fresh wine, signaling impatience and a desire for immediate action. This smell doesn't help me be any more patient.

[blu°]

I tried this first quite some time ago, liked it, but wore it only about twice and then forgot about it.

 

Here's what I wrote then:

 

very sweet, pinkish-red sweet. Red candy.

Yes, like candy. red cherry candy or sth like that. Slightly fizzy, the thyme gives this some smokiness. Very girly and sweet. But nice. Maybe even a bottle.

 

on another occasion shortly after that:

 

When wearing this the last time, I found the tangy sweet fruit smell to be somehow too sharp and almost pee-like, but maybe that's body chemistry. I guess, I shouldn't wear this while having my menstruation.

 

So far. Later I never really felt myself drawn to check it out any more. I didn't dislike it, but guess, I didn't like it neither. I just dabbed some on about half an hour ago. Here's what came to mind:

 

Haven't worn Lady Macbeth in such a long time. Considering, whether I should swap it away. Out of the bottle it does indeed somehow smell pee-like. Or even like a carnivore's cage at the zoo. Sharp and pungent. Ubersweet. Maybe I should apply to make sure before giving it away.

 

Right then, a drop on the spot between thumb and whatever you call it in English: the neighbouring finger. Veeeeeerrryy pink-violet-red-black berries. Very many of them in a very small place. Somewhere there is something soft underneath. Vanilla? Strawberry?. But that's really far away. Fullbodied. No, it's not bad. Quite tasty but really strong. You have to get over that first, then it's ok. Maybe I shouldn't swap this.

Although, if I go close with my nose, I get that animal smell again. That's a specific animal. Not a rat, in spite of thyme (rats' fur, especially of male rats, does smell extremely like thyme to me, am so curious about the rat king!!). Any way, it makes me think of the zoo, that zoo in that city in our vicinity where I was taking care for some of the horses when still a kid.

 

The scent doesn't really convince me as a scent anymore, though. On one hand there's something ever so slightly off smelling to me, on the other, there are definitely way too many red fruit inside. There might be Brombeeren (bramble/european blackberry) interacting, I think.

 

To me Bewitched or Gomorrah are just so much more beautiful and multi-layered, more subtle, more interesting, that I don't see any need for Lady Macbeth with me.

 

Somehow I'm getting images of the circus. The circus round with smells of wild animals (big cats) still hanging in the air, and more than anything else a sinistre, plotting clown. Makes me think of the clown in the comic book/graphic novel "Herzfresser" ("heart eater"?).

 

Bright red colours, but false.

 

The animal smell has faded completely when dry. What I still smell is the slightly artificial candy berry from before. The evil clown's still here.

 

I didn't really smell wine at no point. That tanginess I get is probably part of the wine, but it doesn't turn more distinctively wine to me.

 

No, to put an end to this damned indecisiveness, I don't think this was made for me. Alas, I'm not that kind of person anyway. I love truth. Truth is my one and only principle even when everything else comes down. I love truth to the extent of dumbness. ("Sorry, I think you gave me too much change there!" oops, done it again! )

 

This was made for a different type of lady.

Edited December 21, 2005 by blu°

[jasper17]

I gave Lady Macbeth a whirl today and since I've been trying out BPAL stuffs, I got my first negative reaction from someone. She thought I smelled like liquid Skittles and called it "icky."

 

I'm on the fence about it. I can smell sweetness and berries and candy at first. After about a half day, those scents were still there but they were slowly fading out and into something kind of powdery, though not overpoweringly so, and a lot more gentle than the initial spark. Pretty good staying power. After the comment from the person who didn't like it, I though I shouldn't like it, either, but as the day went on, it kind of grew on me. It's definitely not something I think I would wear all the time but for more fun times, this is perfect (at least for me). At the very least, I'll give it another test - just not around the woman who didn't like it.

[The_Merf]

In the imp: Children's chewable tablets.

 

Wet: Children's chewable tablets

 

Dry-down and Wear: This smells like truer fruit when it dries out, but there is still a medicinal undertone. I really can't believe this didn't work out on me--I love all these notes, but the combination doesn't work on me. A shame, as I really wanted to like this one, just for the name alone!

[Fefferbella]

I love this blend. Wine notes tend to love my skin, and this is no exception!

 

Rich red wine mixed with sweet succulant berries and a hint of wildflowers!

 

Sexy, feminine and gorgeous!

A top 10 blend for me!

[siddal]

Wow, you guys aren't kidding. This one really lasts. At some points during the day, I thought it had really softened down (which isn't a bad thing) and then I would be delightfully surprised by a tart juicy note ringing through the softness, as if I had just applied it.

 

Upon first smelling it I thought "grape Kool-Aid." And while I liked it, I wasn't sure I wanted something so super fruity (not quite as sophisticate or complex as some, KWIM?). But after wearing it for a couple of days, I think I have finally found my first BPAL love :-)

 

Edited to add: I didn't know until after I wrote this that their are two forumlations of this scent. I have no idea which one I received in the swap. Just an fyi.

Edited January 7, 2006 by siddal

[LiberAmoris]

Lady Macbeth smells like blood and tangy wine to me. It's one of the most aptly named BPAL blends I've tried. It's one of my 'indoor' oils. I wear this one at home when I want to feel more powerful and overt, as it strikes me as a very aggressive blend. I'm also not sure that I want my coworkers to wonder why I smell like wine.

 

On the drydown, this is a soft and powdery (in a good way) berry on me, with just a hiccup of wine. The transition always reminds of an argument that starts out strident and harsh and ends in a whisper.

[Rhowan]

*~ LADY MACBETH ~*

 

In the bottle: mmm! berries but it smells more like purple berries than red as in red currant.

 

Wet: Ahhh! There's the redness! I can catch the thyme too but in general, this smells like Smarties to me.

 

Dry down: I have lost the thyme and the ripe red berries. No hint of sweet Bordeaux or even Smarties. Just a red koolaid, in the package with no sugar. Very sour berry to me.

 

Conclusion: After awhile this did sweeten up just a tiny bit Like most others have said, and I have to agree that I am not ready to give up my Bordello.

 

 

edited because I cannot spell

Edited January 12, 2006 by Rhowan

[yamiko]

My first review!

 

In the bottle: Oh, the wine! Wine and berries, yum. A very fruity smell. Can’t really smell the thyme.

 

Wet on skin: I’m smelling a bit of the thyme, I think. It comes through a bit more. Still very wine and berry.

 

Drydown (3 minutes): Very berry to me. Everything else seems to have gone away. That makes me a bit sad.

 

Drydown (5 minutes): The thyme came back to play with the berries. The wine seems to be a distant note now, watching the thyme and berries from afar.

 

Overall Impression: A very sweet scent with a bit of an herby kick. I like it very much, as I favor sweeter scents. I may have to order a bigger bottle of this one.

[Miss Lynx]

Kind of like with March Hare, I want to like this one but it seems to be missing something. There are elements in it that I really like, but it's lacking depth and there's a kind of flatness to it as a result.

 

Initially, I was more worried about the wine note, and indeed it does start out with that aggravating grape-candy scent that BPAL's wine note seems to turn to on me, but that fades really fast. The currant-thyme combo is nice, like the apricot-clove in March Hare, but ultimately a little too simplistic, and also lacks staying power. It needs something more to give it depth, and particularly the darkness you'd expect from a character like Lady Macbeth. Some myrrh or oakmoss or something would have been nice. Oh well.

 

As it is, it's not bad, but not great.

 

Grade: B

[bellis]

Wine soaked berries! This is yummy, but a bit too intensely red and fruity for me to wear. It really does make me want to bake some sort of decadent tart, though...

[strawberry_star]

A definite parallel to another favorite of mine - Bordello. This however is much more berry-ish and instead of visions of debauchery, I get visions of refinery. In a nutshell it's berries and wine.

 

This is the scent of a Queen on her throne, with lips matching the rubies of her crown. A wine glass filled with red wine clutched in her dainty hand. Very elegant.