Versailles

[Meg]

Grand, courtly and robust: a glittering, golden scent that would do Louis XIV proud. Gilded red and gold citrus with amber, ruby roses, jasmine and orris.

In the bottle: Very fresh amber. Unusual!

Wet: Lovely citrus, at first, I'm guessing orange and lemon. Florals appear, a dusty jasmine with roses in the background.

Drydown: Jasmine comes out over the lemon. It's quite a tart citrus blend, and I don't particularly get the amber. There's a hint of green, a bit bitter orris. I know that rose is in here somewhere, but for the time being it's staying discreetly hidden. I think it adds sweetness and depth to the blend.

Overall: It smells regal and tart, a little bit pompous, even. I can easily see a lady of the court wearing this to a ball, it's a little bit bitter, a little bit tart, but mostly sensual and rich. It's pretty, but not something I would wear. Edited August 15, 2006 by Meg

[Dandelion]

Jasmine. Boo. Hate jasmine.

 

Shame, as I think I would have loved this without all the jasmine. Underneath it I catch whiffs of a sunlit garden. Amber and roses. Gorgeous. It's definitely a grown up sort of scent, though. Nothing innocent about it, and nothing of the sweet, sexy Snake Oil-style blends we all know and love. It's the perfume of a very poised and confident person.

[gloom bear]

This is a very womanly floral. I can't pick out individual flowers, but it's more of a perfume bouquet of flowers. It's pretty strong, not sweet, and it lasts well. I like floral scents, and this one is ok, but it's definitely not an everyday scent.

[steffanina]

Versailles-

 

In Bottle: Orange is the dominant note; I can't put a name to anything else.

 

Wet: I wish I knew what to call what I'm smelling.

 

Dry: The lack of words to describe this wouldn't be so distressing if I were smelling anything I liked, but this is completely unexciting on my skin; like the memory of perfume only. As if someone opened an old empty perfume bottle, waved it over my arm and said, "There, how's that?" o_O

 

Overall: Dull and nondescriptive. A swapper, sigh.

[Luhtarian]

Hmmm... I like it, and I agree with what the other's have said: it's mature, womanly, and very floral. It has a 'perfume-y' edge that I don't like, but overall it's quite nice. I'm having a lot of trouble identifying notes in this one, it's very well blended.

 

Edit: I was much too quick with this review! It hadn't dried down fully. Sinced then, it's lost the 'perfumey' edge and is now softer, very pretty. I like it a lot!

Edited August 19, 2006 by Luhtarian

[fairy]

This was a frimp and one I would have never tried. Thank goodness I did...this is amazing! It smells like it has a slight mint undertone, a slight powder overtone, and gorgeous amber and flowers in between. I can't stop smelling my wrist and must upgrade this to a bottle. I'd put this in my top 10 for sure

[PilotKitten]

Mmmm... a very juicy citrus. Not at all tangy or sour... just wonderful and sweet. Roses and citrus are a great pair... of course I love everything with BPALs rose in it, so this isn't surprising to me. I can catch a faint hint of jasmine wafting about but it doesn't seem to want to come out into full bloom, it's content to dance serenly about the citrus fruits and plump roses.

[Ajila]

In the bottle - Amber and furniture polish.

 

Wet on me - Warm and slightly spicy, but indistinct sitting just off my skin.

 

Dry on me - Soft powdered floral with just a hint of amber.

 

Overall - Nice, but not me.

[gingersnapp]

This is a creamy floral. Actually, it screams jasmine because that's what my skin always amps up to the nth degree. I don't know what's making it "creamy," per se. Maybe the orris? I really don't get either of the citrus, and can only barely detect the amber.

[cameroncrazed]

Imp: JASMINE! Jasmine, jasmine, jasmine, jasmine. And just a tinsy bit of amber.

 

Wet: Whoa, sweet powdery ambery musky rose. Roses dipped in sugar, almost.

 

Dry: Sweet rose with the faintest hint of amber and jasmine. I'm getting no citrus at all.

 

Overall: 9/10 overall, 10/10 for the rose scents. This is the best rose I've ever tried. I'm not even a fan of rose, and I adore this scent. It's not a fresh-cut rose but neither is it one of those rose scents you'd expect an 90 year old woman with blue hair to wear. Whenever I need something for a formal event, fancy-shmancy dinner, or a seduction, this will be the imp I reach for. Great throw (but not too much). I ordered it for the citrus, but I can't get even the slightly whisp of an orange/lemon/grapefruit/whatever - but that's fine. It's still an absolutely amazingly lovely scent.

[maribouquet]

imp: citrus

 

wet: amber & oranges

 

drydown: Bleh, cloying dark amber. I blame my skin. The jasmine is behaving herself on me for once.

 

This eventually dries down into a very pretty, warm, golden scent. Regal and a bit playful. The amber is a bit much at times, but not bad - this is just not to my taste, I'm afraid.

[supremegoddessofall]

Jasmine is the predominant element here, as it so often is on me when it's in blends. Going slightly sour, as usual. Not really getting citrus - this is mostly a floral blend that's somewhat warm, but still smells like chemical flowers.

[The_Merf]

In the imp: I picked this up from a friend, and I'm pretty sure that it's an older imp. I don't know about fresh, but I picked up on the citrus notes here and could barely detect the jasmine. I also smelled the rose.

 

Wet: This is a citrusy blend, but the orris works to mediate and ground it, making this by far my favorite citrus blend so far (not counting the grapefruit oils, which are in their own little grouping).

 

Drydown and wear: Orris and citrus, with a little bit of rose around the edges. Maybe there's some jasmine here, but it's not front and center. I haven't quite made up my mind on this one yet, but it is certainy glittering and opulent. It's a bit lighter than Florence, but still in that bright vein.

[hbrogan]

I got this as a frimp, and it wasn't on my wishlist, so I first sniffed it cautiously in the imp to see if I should even attempt to put some on.

 

In the imp: Hmm...this seems okay. It's sort of light and floral and the rose isn't too overpowering.

 

Wet on the skin: Still pretty nice. It's a little powdery, but then again Versailles probably smelled of powder because of all of that powdered hair.

 

Dry: Ugh. Now it smells just like Love's Baby Soft. The boyfriend doesn't like it either...it reminds him of "old lady."

[talula_fairie]

I expected to violently hate this. It was a frimp, and not one I'd ever have chosen. Not a big Jasmine fan, DEFINITELY not a rose fan either. Florals, in general, are NOT my thing. I fully expected it to turn to Rose Soap on me. I was so sure I'd hate it, in fact, that I had thrown it in my swap pile without even a sniff. But something made me pick it up again, sniff it, and read some reviews. I decided it was, at the very least, worth a shot.

 

I'm really glad I tested it because I do like it. In fact, it's a similar to Gypsy Queen (which is quickly becoming my very favorite BPAL). Not quite as soft, and definitely more floral/strong, but it has that same musky/creamy flowers scent. Very very nice. A little bit strong for me as a usual perfume, gives me a touch of a headache, but it's certainly tolerable. It does get a bit rose-soapy on drydown (damn my chemisty!) but not too bad. I will probably keep the imp but will not likely be investing in a bottle. I perfer my gypsy queen

Edited December 21, 2006 by talula_fairie

[Deiicide]

Versailles was a frimp given to me by the lab and I was surprised. I went to the city before and by looking at the notes it gives the golden city a nice ring to it with all the gold and poshness hidden there in! But like the walks to visit everything, at the beginning it's just raring to go and behaving (yum with the musks and the citrus!) but by the end of the day your feet are just too sore to know what to do anymore (the florals go soapy! cry!) It does have a nice posh french feeling to it and I think it would do well in a room burner.

[oh_the_horror]

It's nice but the jasmine just ruins the blend for me. And then it starts to smell like a yummy coconut? The jasmine is gone pretty quick, but I don't think I'd want to wear this one much even still.

[Miss Lynx]

This is quite pretty, and I would probably like it a lot were it not for my skin's tendency to amp rose and jasmine so heavily. The citrus adds a nice touch of tartness and lightens the scent, and the amber mellows it a bit, but still, on me, the rose and jasmine are very aggressive, and throw everything a bit out of balance.

 

It's a shame because, as with a lot of blends of this type, I can smell just enough of the other notes to get a sense of what it probaly should smell like -- on someone with different skin chemistry than mine.

 

As it is, while I certianly don't dislike it, and can admire the artistry of it, I'd like it more if my skin didn't amp the florals so much. As it is, I guess this another case of "Nice, but not for me."

 

Grade: B-

[sookster]

straight sniff from imp is an effervescent jasmine...

 

once applied the rose and amber notes round this out nicely with the jasmine...

 

a very womanly fragrance and i envision one of those hoity toity, high society

gals dousing herself liberally with this one

[phedre]

In vial: rose, amber, and candied citrus peel.

 

On skin: lots of candied citrus with some rose.

 

drydown: this is pure citrus peel with a floral edge. Nice, but kinda Mr. Clean-ish.

[Sashan]

This is lovely! It's so warm and golden. A very elegant and regal scent.

 

At first I'm getting amber, jasmine and citrus. It's quite strong and a little sweet but very beautiful.

 

After a couple of hours the the rose comes out and the scent becomes more musky. The citrus and amber are still there but they've mellowed.

 

I quite like this. I don't think it would be an everyday scent but possibly something I'd wear every now and then

 

EDIT: After a couple more hours I was left with nothing but rose. Not a pleasant rose, a very musky almost incense like rose. I had to wash it off.

Edited January 31, 2007 by Sashan

[ForeverLastcXs]

First thought: Wow! This is intense, and it has some amazing staying power and throw. At first it was a little too sharp-edged for me (stinging florals), but now that I've had it on for a few hours the scent is much softer and prettier. I'll keep my imp but I don't think this will be a future 5 ml purchase.

 

Side note: I've actually been to Versailles, and despite the fact that I'm not positively in love with this blend, it's an absolutely GORGEOUS place and this scent really does bring back my memories of it - the intricate gardens in the sunshine, glittering gold fabrics in rooms preserved over time as they were years ago...in my mind's eye I can also see the Versailles of long ago. This scent encompasses the poise and elegance of the society Versailles was home to, and its preservation to this day.

[elfmaiden]

At first the scent has a very noticable and fresh citrus note. It warms up on me very quickly and the amber picks up slight, with the florals definitely becoming the main note a few minutes in.

 

The smell is bright and floral, very proud and definitely not subtle. It does seem to be a perfect compliment to the Palace and the people Versailles was known for!

 

Jenn

[Browneyes]

Imp: Oh no, the amber note is sharp like in Bastet

Wet: Citrus fruits (I'll also guess at blood orange and lemon) come out. It's a very lovely citrus!

Dry: Hm. The florals come out, and the citrus falls back. It's pretty but I get a "generic" feeling from it. Will maybe test again, but otherwise --> swap.

[lapillus]

In bottle: pale yellow, medium-thick liquid.

Light, honeyed sweetness, and something a tiny bit spicy in the background also some “generic perfume” floral in the back.

 

Wet: more sweetness but more depth too.

 

Dry: stays pretty true on me, but is fading relatively rapidly.

 

Later: (note to self: do not taste. ) plateaus on the scent level relatively rapidly and stays nice and warm and sweet. Pleasant but I think I’d like it better if it had a bit more of a backbone.

 

Summary: pleasant, but a little sweeter than I most like. I wonder how it would layer with something musky/incensy. As is, not quite enough umph to make me want more than an imp.