Ephemera

[donnatron]

The scent of loss, love and the echo of time without end: sorrowful violet and chamomile with muguet, white geranium, calla lily and tea rose with a hint of autumn leaves.

Imp: Oh muguet. I can smell you coming from a mile away.

Wet: A festival of lilies. And a faint touch of chamomile.

Dry: There is a weird, sweet, heavy scent to this. It smells sort of like... bananas. Very ripe bananas. I think it might be the calla lily but I'm not sure. Otherwise it's just kind of a generic white floral scent. The banana scent is just weird and waxy. There's a slight green note in this (the leaves?) that keeps it from being a total cloying flop but it's certainly not one of my favourites.

Throw: Mild.

Overall: It's okay. Doesn't play the best with my skin but I can definitely see how it can be pretty.

[topazphoenix]

Violet..and yeah, I got bananas too. Reminds me of Queen Gertrude.

[Monster]

In the vial this smells like soft and pretty violets.

 

On my skin this is a big BURST of dark and somber floral notes. This is slightly sweet on my skin and the dominant floral note is still the violet (which is lovely).

 

This dries into a really REALLY pretty, soft floral blend. This isn't loud and screetchy like so many floral notes are on me, this is gentle and very polite. There's a clean, talcum powder feel to this (not powdery though, if that makes sense).

 

Ephemera is a pleasure to smell! A keeper!

[BuxomM]

It's very floral, violet with rose and another floral.

Edited August 19, 2009 by BuxomM

[rayvn1]

Muguet-fest '09 Not much else happening with this one. Much nicer while wet - sweet and fresh, so I may have to scent-locket this one since I amp muguet like a mofo.

[NoinHime]

The scent is very invocative of the name: a sorrowful, fleeting scent of flowers.

 

I primarily get the violets, lilies, and rose. I do sense the autumn leaves; they give the scent a stronger, darker undertone. There's a certain sweetness which I think is the chamomile.

 

Overall it's a nice floral, which I normally love but for some odd reason I'm not digging this one. It's kind of giving me a headache.

[furygrrl]

In the imp: Whew! That's some strong muguet! When you get past the LotV attack, the scent underneath is very bright and sweet.

 

On wet: Hmm, it's softly floral once applied. The chamomile is present as well, coming across as a slightly honeyed, grassy-type smell. I can definitely understand the banana references, though - I'm getting a hint of that, too.

 

Drydown: Sweet, almost jarring florals. Something vaguely dusty - usually I attribute this to orchids, but I'm not seeing any in the listed notes. Perhaps a sneaky mystery orchid? Or maybe there's another flower that gives off the same powdery-dusty vibe? The chamomile is working underneath the flowery jumble, putting out a smooth, sweet, almost golden calmness to ground the crazy. I'm sad to say it's not enough...

 

Overall: I'd always wanted to try this blend - I'm mad for chamomile, violets, and autumn leaves. The other floral aspects usually perform well against my skin chemistry, too. For whatever reason, this mix of notes doesn't want to play nice on me - it just wants to alternate between "bananas gone wild" and sweeet n' dusty floral overload. 2/5

[Juushika]

A frimp from the Lab which I would never have ordered for myself—I'm not a big fan of florals, but mostly it's that rose tends to amp to epic, horrific levels on my skin.

 

In the vial: Oh yeah, that's floral all right. Unfortunately I'm not very good at picking out individual floral notes.

 

On me: Because I'm not good at discerning most florals, this may be an entirely pointless review. My sense of this is largely fleshy white flowers, I suspect mostly the muguet and calla lily, which have a thick, almost cloying scent with a bit of sharpness. But the rose peeks its head out soon enough—a thick, pink, sharp scent, the rose never quite crowds out the lilies but it sure tries. As the lily and rose vie for supremacy, they combine into something fleshy and vivid pink, sharp and strongly floral—it lacks humidity but mimics the texture of tropical florals. I sometimes catch something a bit powdery (violet? chamomile?), and sometimes something a bit sweet, lurking in the background. Scent-color is pink; throw is moderate to low, and wear length is incredibly short—perhaps an hour?

 

Verdict: It's not unpleasant, but it's a little conflicted in its constant battle between lily and rose—and regardless, the florals in Ephemera just aren't to my taste. It also fades so quickly that there's little point in applying it in the first place. Neither my skin nor my nose much like this blend, so I'll send it on its way.

[DeltaCat]

Rose and lily of the valley. No autumn leaves. Huh. This is a very girly and light floral. A very happy scent. Perfect for spring.

[impolight]

:::EPHEMERA:::

 

A nice, wistful and contemplative fragrance.

This will have you indeed gently down the stream... Life is but a dream.

The blue chimes of the Chamomile joins fluidly with the Violets in this blend, making a crazed Indigo pattern that pans across the inside of closed eyelids.

The Rose and Lily in Ephemera are another divine duo; but these two harmonize in a manner which suggests the soft kiss of those morning mists and light drizzles that only arrive in Springtime.

Ephemera is the picturesque cloud formations you can pass an entire day watching, letting a storybook of your own design spill out vociferous creatures, rattling sabers, and fineries aglow...

Ephemera is a clean, blue fragrance; though this isn't aquatic blue, this is luminous blue... A Robin's Egg nightlight blue...

Ephemera lights upon the skin with an infinite, almost musical swell; the Violets in Ephemera are likely some of the best to be encountered at the Lab.

Stunning, otherworldly, unisex.

5/5!

[musichappens]

Wow, the geranium and muguet are really strong! I was practically slapped in the face with both of them the moment I opened the imp and it didn't change once I applied it. As it begins to dry down the chamomile emerges to try to tone down the intensity, but it fails and it ends up turning into soap.

[CitizenBree]

Let's see: I love violet, i love lily, I love rose, and I love autumn....of course i'm going to try this one! I bought this imp from the lab.

 

This starts out as a LOT of violet. yay! Seems like that is a note that really gives me a high. I figure I'll wear it throughout the day and see how it differs from my other violet scents like Le Serpent Qui Danse or Nocturne.

.

.

.

Well that was fast. After about 5 minutes, it turns into lily.

.

.

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Another 5 minutes...I think that's the chamomile? very light and delicate.

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.

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Another 5 minutes...poof! gone! Such a strange blend to me. I never smelled rose or leaves. Everything came in waves. and lasting power was sooooo short.

 

It's worth a try on your skin if you like any of these notes. think it would depend on the chemistry to see which one comes out and how long it lasts.

[ami226]

Geranium and leaves? I think? A very green scent.

[antihero]

I got the leaves and a blast of cala lily at first, but it's calming down and I'm getting some of the violet and chamomile now. I like it, but it seems really similar to The Ghost on me, and isn't holding up that well over time. Might have to do some comparisons.

[animalcule]

imp: fresh florals, a bit soapy

 

wet: LILIES with a clean undercurrent

 

dry: On me all I can detect is Lily-of-the-Valley as I remember it from my childhood (they grew all around my favorite house). I like it so much, but I'm not sure yet it if it's something I will wear much. I'll see how it ages.

[reconditarmonia]

Starts out floral (violets? lilies? muguet? I don't know, but it's not the tea rose) and dries down to a very faint, less sweet, different floral (violets? lilies? muguet? I don't know, but it's not the tea rose - maybe some chamomile and leaves). Wet it's nice enough, though I'm not mad about whatever it is, but I like the drydown less. Sorry I can't identify very many florals...

 

(This was a frimp from about a year ago that I just got round to reviewing.)

Edited July 3, 2010 by reconditarmonia

[raisin]

Definitely violet, definitely tea rose, definitely some lily. Perhaps a little chamomile, but not enough that I would have picked it out without help. This is exactly the kind of floral I wish I could like, because it's just so pretty and delicate and feminine but not "old lady"; it makes me want to go and visit gardens, wear frilly skirts, and have tea parties with gorgeous china. But alas. Florals and me, we just don't get along.

Still nice to visit now and again, though.

[plainjean]

I really wanted to love this one. But wow. In the imp, on my skin, in the air around me..it's pure, dusty tea rose. Very soapy, very "not me." If you can pull off florals, this one would be beautiful on you. It's so pretty, but not for me. Sigh.

[bloody sore]

Nasty. Old lady smell in the extreme. I cannot stand this one.

[HerbGirl]

I didn't think I liked this one...but a few days later, I tried it again. The first time it smelled a bit too "floral" on me, as in mish mash floral. The second time, however, I fell head over heels...what a perfume! If you were a fan of Gucci's Accenti (as I was), give this a shot...it smells ALMOST identical to accenti on me...amazing.

[hkhm]

imp: sweet, creamy, floral violet.

 

wet: very powdery violet, i'm a violet lover but this is a little too much for even me.

 

dry: this fades pretty fast, becoming a lovely soft violet scent. i get faint whiffs of the chamomile too.

[SophieCedar]

Wet: tea rose, white geranium, and calla lily with a slight violet. Color impression light lilac and flashes of pink and light blue with misty white. Very fragrant, strong.

 

Drydown: same. I was hoping for more muguet and chamomile but they're up against some serious competition. It is a very pretty scent, not quite as sad as I was expecting. On the right skin, I could see this being perfection. However my skin isn't the right mate. Keeping to try again in spring/summertime.

[countessmouse]

Started off very nicely with the lily but, sadly, it has morphed into old lady perfume. Not unpleasant, but not what I was hoping for here. Meh.

[OctoberGwen]

When I put this on it smelled just like rain (which I love the smell of outdoors, but not at all on my wrist.) Just a very aquatic scent that didn't change much at all. I can detect a vague floral smell but mainly it's just watery. Not my cup of tea.

 

I should probably note that this is a well aged version - 2007 or earlier, so perhaps it simply hasn't aged well.

Edited June 29, 2011 by OctoberGwen

[surlygurl]

Wow. Ok. I'm trying not to read the replies above, but it's hard not to. I don't know what they were smelling.....

 

My decant is probably 4-5 years old, and I don't think it has changed much*. On me I get incensy fruit. The fruit is festive but there is something somber and heavy to it. Not sour, which is what heavy sometimes turns into. It must be the florals everyone is talking about. Whatever it is, it's very pretty on my skin. I don't do fruity scents, but I could see wearing this. Too bad my lone imp is all I have.

 

 

* I say "I don't think it has changed much" because the little cap label I put on when it was new-ish looks festive & colorful. Yeah. I'm weird.