Ephemera

[Silverstrike]

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.

This smells a lot like laundry detergent or scented dryer sheets on me. I don't smell violet in this at all--at least if what I smell from Numb is violet, which is the only comparison I can make to BPAL violet. What I think I smell a lot of is rose and lily--I don't know about the chamomile or the autumn leaves. The scent was pretty strong for the first hour, then it started fading. Even though this one didn't work out for me, I'm always glad for frimps from the Lab since they give me the opportunity to try something I wouldn't have necessarily picked out myself. Edited December 13, 2005 by Shollin

[Sheila]

I was very excited to try this, since I love all the notes listed. Then it appeared as a giftimp--thanks, lab!

 

This is a very pretty floral. I get mostly lily, with a light rose and violet in the background. It's a bright scent, at least on me--the chamomile and autumn leaves don't make an appearance. (I wish they would come out a bit more.) However, it's very soft and ephemeral (groan), and faded very quickly. Lovely, but not extraordinary on me. Off to swaps.

 

ETA: I really love the name!

Edited December 13, 2005 by Sheila

[Shollin]

First sniff: Just powder. Violet generally waits until it’s on my skin to go powdery, but this seems to be making a preemptive powder strike.

 

Wearing: Powder, powder, powder. Maybe one of these days I’ll find a violet scent I can wear. The image of soft flowers and autumn leaves is really beautiful.

[sookster]

gorgeous!!!!!

violet, lily of the valley and crisp fall leaves....maybe a touch of apple blossoms....

this is just soooooooo pretty!! i love how well blended this perfume is and

beth never ceases to amaze me with her violet concoctions.....they are among

my favorite in the world....lasts forever on me and after 30 minutes or so i get a slight

boozy or winey component that melds with this.......

another big bottle order ..... no doubt

[Blueelm]

Oh this is pretty. If the geranium and rose were less present this would be a favorite.

 

The violet note in this scent is so soft and sad. This is a beautiful traditional floral boquet with plenty of emphasis on violet and lilly.

 

But I get the usual nose tingle from the rose, and the geranium cuts through most of the first two phases.

 

The chamomile is really present on me, giving this a honeyed herbal quality that is really lovely Wow... I should look into more chamomile scents.

 

After the drydown the scent becomes a lot more lovable, violet quieted by dried leaves.

 

But the overwhelming floral notes at the beginning (my inability to tolerate rose and geranium) make this more of a near miss than a hit. Too bad because the drydown is pretty and oh so romantic.

[malanna]

Ephemera is hard to describe, other than being a soft cotton dress scent. It starts out being mostly tea rose and geranium (I'm assuming that's what the sharp floral is), but then it settles into a stage which just smelled like detergent powder (scented "Breezy fresh" or "Clean" or something like that). When I smelled it, it was a "wow!" moment because it really didn't smell like liquid detergent--I really felt like I could smell the granules. Powdered detergent smells different from liquid detergent. This isn't to say that Ephemera is a powdery scent.

[Ajila]

In the bottle - Bright, lush florals, it's the lily that grabs the attention most.

Wet on me - Slightly warmer and spicier than in the bottle. Lush and soothing.

Dry on me - It fades quite quickly and becomes muted. A softness remains, but no specific scent that I can identify.

[sarada]

I am not good at telling flower notes apart so I am glad some are listed for this blend -- it helps me figure out what I like! I don't generally wear florals but I sometimes like to sniff them anyway, and on nice spring days they sometimes even suit my mood.

 

Ephemera is a pretty, yellow floral to me -- it reminds me a little of Asphodel, but less cloying. While I saw that as a murky, yellow-grey field of flowers this seems like a daytime grassy field full of pale yellow blooms.

 

It's a little powdery -- that would be the violet and possibly the tea rose -- with a bit of a dusty, herbal edge -- that would be the chamomile. Like most florals it vanishes on me. All in all a very pale, lacey scent -- something with which to scent a handkerchief, a doily or a letter. Motes of dust in fading sunlight. These are the sorts of impressions that violent and chamomile usually give me, but the white flowers make it glisten a bit. I like to sniff this a lot though I don't think it likes my skin.

 

I'd suggest this as a good blend for someone who likes floral perfumes and who is nervous about dipping their toes in the BPAL waters.

[Thaleia]

This is on my wish list and since the Lab loves me and I love the Lab, they sent me a frimp with my order, so thanks, guys!

 

I love all of the notes listed for this scent. In the vial, I can pick out violet, muguet/lily of the valley, chamomile, and rose. I'm guessing that my skin's going to pick up the rose over everything else, because that's just what it does. It's very evocative of loss and the transience of time, hence the name, obviously, so I should stop stating the obvious and try the scent already.

 

Ohhh. I really like this. It's a pale white floral, similar to Ode on Melancholy, only a bit sharper and less sad. I'm guessing this sharpness comes from the muguet (my mother would be so pleased - lily of the valley is her favourite flower), like it's saying 'remember ... ' about the things that have come before us. It's clean, fresh, and innocent - while those who cannot remember the past are doomed to repeat it, it just goes to show that nothing lasts forever, bad or good.

 

4.5. It may very well become a favourite soon.

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

I admit--what drew me to this was the autumn leaves. Violet tends to be "meh" on me, and white florals can go either way; can be great or not, depending on the blend. But I always want more scents to add to my ever-growing hoard of autumnal goodness--why is autumn the most evocative, mysterious season? Just thinking about it, I want to go jump in a big pile of freshly-raked leaves. Anyway, on with the review!

 

Hm, Ephemera is very light on me--I detect chamomile, which I do find comforting. I have to *really* slather to smell much of anything at all, though. There is a touch of something fresh which may be the leaves. I can't believe how faint this is; it's a clean, neutral scent, moreso even than Dirty. A good one for those who dislike smelling too perfumed, but I have no problem with that! I'm glad I tried it, but I think I'll re-swap.

[Celogrl]

Oh my! This is so beautiful and evocative it can make me cry. It makes me think of love lost, and is very poignant. Although that's my first response to Ephemera, somehow it is also comforting in the end, too. It's a lovely, somehow 'old' floral- something a sweet elderly lady would wear for her husband. It makes me think of my late Mom and Dad. It's powerful in it's ability to conjure up feelings of the past. When I wear it, I think of loved ones, and loved ones lost. Beautiful.

[terrierhead]

I really liked this in the imp, particularly the lilies and what I think is violet. ::is new::

 

Unfortunately, the second this touches my skin, it turns ultra soapy, to the point that my thought on smelling my wrist was "wow, that's the soapy scent that somethimes pops up in reviews." It's really too bad, since it's lovely in the bottle and I love the sentiment behind this scent. It's joining its friends in the swaps box.

[The Perfumed Ferret]

This was gifted to me by a lovely wood fairy!

 

 

 

 

I noted no changes between the bottle, on and dry, so I won't waste time with seperating them.

 

Calla Lily, Dry leaves, earth, violet, rose, and tea.

 

This is a scent I would wear to a formal tea. It's beautiful, stately, and elegant, in a victorian kind of way.

 

 

edited because I can't spell

Edited February 7, 2006 by The Perfumed Ferret

[harmonyfb]

Eh. It's a nice, light, kind of dusty floral - if you like that sort of thing. It lived up to its name, though, as it was quite short-lasting.

[crazyredhead17]

My first impression was that this was a sharper floral than some of the other florals I've sniffed.

 

Wet on me.. the violet goes off into it's usual soapy/baby powder tantrum that makes the scent turn into floral handsoap. This smells strikingly like Numb did on me, and I think it's the violet not playing nicely with the others.

 

But at least I'm learning which notes I should avoid, so this was a good imp to try.

[QueenFae]

This is a very wispy, white, fleeting scent. It reminds me a bit of The Unicorn. I can definitely detect the lily and geranium, and there is a hint of tea rose in the background. Luckily no violet, as violet hates me. I really do like these light, feminine floral type scents, they just never last on me. I just applied this one about 20 minutes ago, and it's already almost gone. I guess this is one designed for the gorgeous new scent lockets from the Trading Post!

[Medici]

In the imp: Oooooooh hello tea rose! Hello lily! I LIKE you!

 

Wet: Lily and tea rose rock my socks. It's a nice, sweet touch to a floral that usually finds a happy home in "colder" blends. I am a huuuuuuge calla lily fan, OMG.

 

Drydown: Violet peeks through, blending nicely with the aforementioned, and followed quickly by a very calm chamomile. It gets a bit sterile at this point, as lily usually does with my chemistry, but that's something I particularly like. The question is, will this usurp The Ghost as "the lily blend?"

 

Verdict: Oh dear, I don't know. I quite like this, actually. I'm going to hold onto my imp for a stretch - its the sweeter, more innocent sister to The Ghost on me, and without the greenery. Very nicely done.

[sh1mm3r]

This scent somehow does remind me of loss, and I'm not sure why. I really get bright geraniums at first that quickly change into wet leaves. I'm not a floral person, but this was a freebie!

[Abbie]

In the bottle: Mostly geranium, oddly, with violet and lily lagging behind. I have such a weird nose. It's a sharp, wet floral, with a very fresh feel... it makes me think of a rainy day.

 

First on: Violet and chamomile come up strongly. Still a pretty nice scent, but going a bit bath salt-y. I much preferred this in the bottle.

 

Dry: Yeah, the bath salt fragrance is pwning me. I just can't do these violet scents. I'll hang on to it for room fragrance, though.

[blanket]

this is beautiful in the imp, i can't smell the violet really, but i do smell the geranium and lily and the autumn leaves, nice and fresh and crisp

 

on my skin it became a bit sweeter and a bit deeper, the rose came out a bit and the autumn leaves faded. after about an hour though, the whole scent started fading

 

i'd love this if it were more long lasting. i'll finish my imp but i don't think i'll get a bottle

[angharad]

I can't pick out a single specific note in this. It's just flowery and, as much as I hate saying it about any BPAL blend, generic. Of course, I'm very picky with my florals, but when the Lab threw this in as a frimp I hoped that I would smell the calla lily, tea rose, and autumn leaves since I think I like those notes. Unfortunately they just never showed up. I guess not being able to pick out individual notes means that Ephemera is very well-blended, but it's just not my style at all.

[opaleyes]

Uh oh. Eau de Cat Lady. I loved the description on this one, but I don't get loss so much as generic dusty dried flower smell, with (maybe it's just me) a hint of cat pee. Yes, I am serious. It makes me very sad. My boyfriend didn't pick up on the cat pee, but he did say that it reminded him of his grandmother.

 

That was the clincher. Swap!

[gwyllgi]

The first time I tried this, it was autumn leaves, autumn leaves, and more autumn leaves; it was as though the other notes were piled under them.

 

Trying it again, it's still got a healthy dose of autumn leaves, but now they're autumn leaves over violets and lilies, with a breath of muguet. (I'm certain that the other notes are there, but I can't quite separate them from the rest.) It's much more subtle than my first application of it, although it does seem to need a bit of time to settle. It also fades fairly quickly, but it's a lovely, brisk scent until it's nothing more than wisps of scent.

[jenleigh]

In the imp: violet dominated. It actually reminds me a lot of Gratuitous Violets soap from Lush, just in the imp. This is a good thing, I love violets!

 

Wet: Still predominantly violet, but there's some rose peeking through.

 

Drydown: roses and lilies, with just a little violet peeping through. I'm definitely getting a leafy hint, too.

 

I'm not completely in love with this, but I'm most definitely keeping my imp. On a scale of 1-10, this is a 7.5.

[themerrybaker]

I have just about despaired of finding a true violet or muguet scent and Ephemera not helping things much.

 

 

 

However, after getting past that disappointment, I notice that Ephemera smells a lot like skin with a faint "generic BPAL" floral, and a bit of leafy dustiness. The overall impression is damp, leathery Victorian gloves/skin!! Not that there is any leather here.

 

 

 

I think that it was a feat to keep the chamomile from making this puckery, that Ephemera is really well blended, and that it is really interesting scent. Other than that, I'm not sure what to think - maybe 7.5/10?

 

Darn. Why do I never get the Cat Pee?

Edited May 31, 2006 by themerrybaker