Pride

[MaritzaCardona]

Vanity in extremis. The scent of rabid hauteur: Moroccan rose and narcissus.

This is basically the kiss of death for me. I know my skin isn't a friend with BPAL flowers but I still try everything I can. From the imp and onto my skin it was too strong and sharp. within minutes it gave me a headache. After I washed it off my skin had a strong powdery smell. If you really like florals this is for you. I do imagine a strong-willed, confident woman wearing this.

[orata]

I got whiffs of a strong alcohol scent upon applying this. I ignored that until I realized this was an oil and shouldn't have that alcohol note at all. I guess it's the smell of super-strong rose essence? The alcohol smell burned off after a while and this just ended up smelling like ROSE ROSE ROSE, drying down to a powdery faint floral. I didn't really smell narcissus in this at all, so I guess I'd say it was pretty, but a bit boring since it read like a single and not very unusual note to me.

[bellumed]

Well I’m surprised how much this doesn’t smell like cat piss!

 

Okay, that’s probably the least complimentary way I’ve ever described BPAL, but it’s true. The first time I cracked this open, I got pure urine (apprently somewhat common with narcissus), so I was pretty bummed out about this one. After waiting a couple weeks, though, I decided to try it again, and it has definitely changed.

 

In imp: Very strong (STRONG) florals.

 

On me: Florals and something that smells almost… burnt? Not in a bad way, a bit like a campfire, but I’m a little bewildered as to what my brain is interpreting as smokey. And just a tinge of cat pee, for good measure. Very long lasting, of course—isn’t that always the way?

 

Glad it wasn’t as bad as I thought, but I feel no need to wear it again.

Edited June 28, 2012 by bellumed

[maika]

In the imp - almost pure rose.

 

Wet - pretty much just the narcissus - spooky

 

Dry - both notes are there, and it's lovely, but on me the roses are very sweet - so it's wonderful, it just doesn't fit with the description. That doesn't matter though.

[JazzieCazzie]

Purchased an imp of this in a recent impapalooza buy from the Lab, not really sure why since rose is so iffy on me, but took the plunge.

 

IN THE IMP: SOOOOO simple. Rose lit up by a bright complementary flower.

 

Dabbed on wrist and in crook of arm.

 

WET: I don't think I'd ever be able to identify the scent of narcissus but whatever it is, it works beautifully with this Moroccan rose. It asserts itself in a way I can only describe as a bright vermilion. Neither note is all "in your face." The rose is one of the most perfectly subtle roses.

 

DRYDOWN: I am so glad I got this. This is by far one of my favorite "rose" scents and yet it's so much more. For whatever reason, this scent, especially on drydown, is more evocative of images and impressions that specific notes. I get the image of two strong and assertive (but not pushy) women in fashionable suits, warm and vivacious and working together to bring out one another's best traits. It's two strong flowers that co-exist beautifully, not competing but co-existing peacefully and seamlessly.

 

OVERALL: I could see one of the awesome strong women characters on "Mad Men" wearing this. Maybe Joan.

 

On a scale of 1-5, a surprising 4-plus.

[mymymai]

ITI: Strongly pungent narcissus is tempered by the rose, making this a floral I would consider wearing outside of a test (so far).

 

Wet: The rose is much stronger on my skin, making the narcissus behave so it's not overpowering everything as it tends to do for me. If this is Pride, it's a beautiful pride, like that of a peacock.

 

Dry: Fully in-bloom roses with a little musk and light narcissus. This turns into something very alluring once dried.

[Erinofhere]

Pride is a rose I can live with. This is so pretty smelling, long lasting and strong. This smells like a summer scent to me.

 

Someone also said that it does smell stuck up...and yeah it sort of does. It smells refined, but not the subtle way refined usually smells. This is classy and showy. Nouveau riche comes to mind. You like yourself when you wear this and you want everyone else to smell you too.

 

My only problem is about an hour into it, this blend takes on a stringent aquatics feel to me. On bad headache days I would not be able to wear this due to that, but it didn't induce a head ache, it would only make one worse.

 

Verdict…3 out 5. Maybe a big bottle.

[Sammy Heikkila]

To me, this was terrible.

 

I'm thinking that rose just isnt for me, it turns sour and putrid.

[LizziesLuck]

I love Rose. I will try anything with Rose as a dominant note.

 

I wasn't entirely sure how I would feel about Narcissus, I don't have a lot of experience with it.

 

Initially, I get something quite sharp and bitter from this, and I do think it may be the Narcissus, but I can't be sure. It fades quickly either way, and I'm left with just Rose. It's not as sweet a Rose as I like, and does eventually go a tad soapy on me not so much in the throw, but nose to skin there is for sure some soap happening there.

 

There are already a lot of Rose blends I've tried that I like much better, so this one is not a win for me, and I'll pass it along.

[freyasfae]

I had suspected this, but this confirms it - I don't like narcissus.

[achildoftime]

The rose here is very soft and supple, but the narcissus is a little sharp. I'm not a big fan of rose as it is, but the sharpness of the narcissus isn't doing me any favors. It's just not for me.

[Lucchesa]

Pride goeth before

me, announceth my presence:

overweening rose.

[doomsday_disco]

In the imp: Rose and narcissus. Both are pretty strong, but the rose is slightly stronger to my nose.

Wet: This one is very heady, with the rose and narcissus both vying for the throne. The rose note ends up with the crown.

Dry: The rose still reigns, with the narcissus sulking behind it.

Verdict: This one certainly fits its name, but it is far too heady for me.

[Zorra]

The first thing I smelled when I tried this from the imp, was neither of the notes, it was jasmine! Once on my skin it disappeared, but after a couple of hours the jasmine returned, not a screaming jasmine but a soft and well-behaved one. I wonder if the jasmine I smell is part of the narcissus note. In the early stages I smell a crisp green rose, but like the jasmine it is well-behaved and shares the stage with the other flowers. This is a very floral scent, and the different flowers blend with each other perfectly so that none of them is trying to steal the stage. Seeing what I have just written that doesn't sound much like pride, not trying to steal the stage? But it is what I smell. Pretty non-competing flowers. 

[torischroeder9]

In the imp: Rose and another floral note. I know from the description that it's narcissus, but my nose can't identify it in the scent. 

 

On my skin:

 

Wet, the rose jumps up to the front, but narcissus -- clearly identifiable -- rushes to join it. As it dries, it gives off the same "warring notes" vibe I get from Marie, only in this case, it's rose and narcissus that compete back and forth without ever blending. Unlike Marie, however, the rose does end up dominating, giving me a scent that's fairly reminiscent of Othello in its rose dominance with echoes of other floral behind it. 

 

Edit: As is typical for rose scents on me, the wear length is quite long. 

Edited December 18, 2020 by torischroeder9

[ShadowEtienne]

In Bottle: A slightly sour, spicy rose (in a good way). Tart and a little dry.

 

Wet on skin: Oh if this stays this way I think that I've found my rose! It's got the good sort of sour tartness and it's not too juicy but not powdery either. The narcissus brings this lovely spicy flower kick to it, and it's a very rich smell for only really having two notes.

 

On drydown: Pride has changed very little from application to now. It's maybe a tiny bit sappier, like the rose was cut and the sap has welled up to the cut in the past 10 minutes adding to the scent, but overall, yup, I think that I've found my favorite rose forward scent.

[Lunasariel]

In the imp: My brother walked by while I was uncapping this and said it smells like "old folks' homes and death." Thanks buddy! But really, it is a very strong, perfumey rose, with the narcissus coming across as kind of wet, green, and aldehydic or alcohol-y.

 

Wet: Yup, that's rose! Still very aldehydic and traditionally perfumey. And it packs a HELLUVA punch.

 

Dry: Gets less aldehydic and wet/green over time. The throw also decreases to something much more manageable. It settles down into a fairly straightforward rose SN, and stays there for the next 10-12 hours, which is about average length for me.