Pride

[thesibylqueen]

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

Bottle: Rose. Big time rose. It reminded me of being in the foyer of a theater during intermission or at the symphony, surrounded by older women with money.

Wet: Still big time rose. I love rose, so this made me happy, but my girlfriend said it was very 'grandma'.

Dry: Mellows out when dry, and the girlfriend enjoys it from a distance.

Later in the morning: Finally, the narcissus comes out! Rose lingers, but now you can smell a more rounded floral scent.

Overall: A very moneyed scent to me, sophisticated. I like a lot although I think its defintely an evening scent--I felt very overdressed with this scent on and wearing my business casual at work!

[quimerula]

Precious and perfect blend of roses and narcissus.

 

Strong, not to be overlooked, captures the atention without any doubt.

 

Narcissus gives it a dark tone, balancing the rose's acid point and with a smoky bit.

 

Lovely, not girly and quite personal.

[Tournesol Noir]

This smells lovely very true to its description while in the bottle, but turns a sickly laundry-detergent scent on me. If I wanted to smell like laundry detergent, I'd shorten the rinse cycle on my washing machine.

 

Into the swap pile it goes.

[Aredhel]

Rating (on skin): 0/5

Summarised in a word or two: Cat pee!

 

In the imp/bottle: Narcissus, and a very strange rose.

 

On skin, wet: Mostly rose now, lying over a strong narcissus.

 

On skin, dry: The same dry as when wet; Very, very strong. A heavy rose, with an unflattering narcissus (and something vaguely smoky, or spicy).

 

Conclusion: I don't really care for this scent. I still had it on when I went over to my mother's (from the testing), and she told me I smelled faintly of cat urine (I washed it off right then!).

Edited December 20, 2005 by Aredhel

[arabella]

First Impression: Gasoline soaked flowers. The mental image I get is of flowers/weeds, which grew up through the cracks of the pavement in an unmaintained city parking lot and were dripped on by the gas leaking from a dilapidated, abandoned car, drying in the hot, summer sun minutes after the heap is towed away.

 

Dries down to: An oily, creamy, non-descript scent which turns very faintly "rose-y" after a while.

 

Additional Comments: After reading the description, I can't believe there's no musk or civet or something in this. I get such an "oily" feel from it. I'm not that familiar with narcissus but I don't remember hating it and I can barely detect the rose; it only came out after about 15 minutes and never really asserted itself.

 

Lasted: Too long

 

Rating: 1 out of 5

[nineveh]

I liked the rose in this, but the narcissus made the whole blend go soapy. I'm not a fan of pure floral scents, however.

 

In the imp, it smells formal, old-fashioned, and elegant. If those are qualities that you're looking for and if you like florals, this might be a good bet.

[Abbie]

In the imp: Not too promising, actually... I'm getting a scent I would describe as "lilac" which is probably the narcissus, and a strong acrid undertone. No roses.

 

First on: Um, yeah. More of the narcissus fragrance, but there's a really nasty undertone to this. Some other people have said "cat pee" and "gasoline", but neither of them seem to quite be it on me. Oh, lord, it's isopropanol. (aka rubbing alcohol) I can pretty much guarantee that's not in there unless it was used as an extractant so I'll just have to chalk this one up to body chemistry.

 

Dry: More of the same. This one is just not a winner. It's a shame, too, because the lilac smell is quite nice, there's just this ick underlayer. Swap pile!

[OriginalWacky]

Bottle (Imp): Hmm, musky.

 

Just On: Musky and sweet.

 

An hour or two later: Mostly kinda musky.

 

Around 6 hours: This is musky, not necessarily a bad musk, but also not something I would wear often.

 

12 hours: It's pretty much gone now.

 

Overall: Not something I would wear often, but not that bad all in all.

 

After reading other reviews: The narcissus is probably the sweet, and the rose is what gets musky. I think. I don't mind musky roses, it's the ones that go soapy that I don't care for.

[HoneyHoneyNY]

In the imp, I get a strong sweet lotiony-ness that reminds me of jasmine. I was expecting it to be more rosy.

 

On my skin, it's very floral, but still not rosy, but some kind of flowery smell that reminds me of...Sand and Sable. My best friend in Jr. High wore Sand and Sable. I guess it's the narcissus. It's not a bad smell, but it's not my cup of tea either.

 

As it dries, I am starting to smell that rosy skin scent that I like, but overlaid with that lotiony narcissus that I'm not sure I like.

 

The longer I wear it, the more the flowery overtone starts to smell sharp to me, it's giving me a bitter taste/feeling in the back of my nose.

 

I rescued it from the swap pile to try it on, but it's going back.

[Janie]

No doubting this one - rose and narcissus indeed. Although I could swear I caught some jasmine - that indole note was lurking in the background, or so I thought.

 

Strong. Good throw. Not for me, as I'm not a rosy sort, but interesting to try. If you like roses, this could be for you.

[magdalene]

in the bottle: very strong floral, with a slight sweet undertone.

 

wet on skin: hmmm. This would probably be the first rose scent I didn't like. It's probably the narcissus that I'm not liking, I reckon. It's just too much for me.

 

dry: more of the same. Away to the swaps!

[olympia301]

Pride comes on STRONG, just like the real thing. I can only smell rose geranium here. Perhaps there is some regular rose in this blend, but I smell one thing, and only one.

 

Here is another of Beth's masterful interpretations. This is about as proud a scent as you can imagine. It leaves no room for anything else, just consumes all around it. You could call it egotism, and surely Beth injected a bit of narcissus here, a joke in scent (Narcissusism, you know...haughty companion to Pride). I don't particularly like this scent as a personal perfume, but I love Beth's ability to present a portrait of one of the Seven Deadlies in smell. Well done, artistic target achieved.

[inkstone]

This was a freebie from a recent swap.

 

In the imp: Powdery roses. Oh, well then!

 

Wet: Rose, rose, rose.

 

Drydown: Rose powder. Bah.

 

Final thoughts: This is a very straightforward rose scent. And as such, goes straight to powder on me. Le sigh.

[Little Bird]

I have no real idea what narcissus is supposed to smell like. Pride to me is just a very interesting (and lovely) rose blend.

 

It's definitely rose, but the rose somehow manages to be soapy, smoky, wet, and sweet... all at the same time. For a few minutes before it dries, it is sharply acidic, almost to the point of making my throat burn. As it dries it takes on a sweet powdered quality that I really enjoy though.

 

I'm not much of a rose or floral person, so I'm not sure that I'd wear this one very much, but it's one of the better floral/rose blends that I've had on my skin.

[judas_kiss]

I got this from the lab as a freebie a while back, but was unable to handle the florals due to sensitive preggers nose. I tried it again today as my quest for finding a rose BPAL to replace Goutal's "Ce Soir" continues...

 

In the Imp: Rose. Not the wet, juicy roses from Persephone or the sweet boozy ones from Blood Rose, very crisp and to the point. There is something a bit sweeter underneath, which I believe to be narcissus, as this always takes on a sweeter note to my nose.

 

On: Very crisp rose. Not red, more of a white rose freshly cut from a lady's prize heirloom rose garden. This lady wears spotless gardening gloves and has "people". This fragrance is for days where you are feeling a bit full of yourself, or when you want to.

 

The rose took over completely after the wet phase and pretty much amplified itself to the point where I needed to wash it off. It was just too strong for me today. I may want to try this again at a later date when I am feeling rosey. It is still not what I am looking for, but I am going to keep trying. Very great scent, especially for those who are looking for a scent that makes you stick your chest out and say, "Here I am, deal with all of me!"

[Muppetk]

Wet: Rose enriched by what I guess is narcissus. Very rich rose scent. Nice!

 

Drying: Bandaids! Bandaids with a hint of floral. (I swear! It smells exactly like bandaids! Bizarre!) Let us hope that this one changes!

 

Just barely dry: Bandaids & roses are evenly matched.

 

Dry a while: Roses with something sharp. At least it's not bandaids, but it's not me.

[gangstaknitta]

In bottle: A very sweet floral. The rose is much sweeter than the other rose blends I've tried. Very "rich" smelling, in all of it's many connotations. It is an appropriately named blend.

 

Wet: Holy candied narcissus, batman. That stuff is sweet. The rose is...oh no...don't do it...

 

Dry:...ARRRRGHH! It went powdery. Stupid rose.

[Hanyaan]

In the imp: Roses, with a slight bite that may be the narcissus. Very crisp and proper.

 

On me, wet: Slightly medicinal. Ew. But...

 

On me, dry: The most expensive-smelling, extravagant, haughty rose I've ever smelled; sweet and bitter at once, and totally screaming "look at me!" Absolutely lovely.

 

Verdict: I'm a rose addict, and this one really works on me. Plus it smells exactly like I imagined Howell Jenkins (my favorite character of all time) as smelling like, except it's on me and better. Big bottle time.

[dreadeddragon]

In the bottle: Rose, narcissus, and something almost citrus-y, like tangerine or orange

 

First on: The citrus scent is getting stronger. It's been a while since I wore anything with narcissus in it, but I don't remember it being this citrusy. The rose is getting old on me though. For some reason in the last year or so all rose oils just start to get a rotting smell on me.

 

Drydown: The citrus smell is mostly gone, and the scent lef tin it's place is just a floral blend. I can't tell if the roses will go sour on me in another hour or so, so I'm still undecided on this one. If it stays like this I'll like it.

[puck_nc]

Origin: Swapped for it on LJ

 

In the Bottle: Lots of rose with a crisp edge from the narcissus

 

Wet: Whoa, lots of narcissus and just a little rose! A sharp, high scent.

 

Drydown: Well, I don't think I care for narcissus, but it certainly swells like pride does. A good olfactory portrait of the sin.

 

Verdict: Definitely not me. Back to the swap pile!

[PurringPulsar]

Pride

 

In the imp: a dry, crisp rose. Can't really smell the narcissus.

Wet on skin: a lush and warm, yet tart and dry rose scent, with a citrus or geranium like scent to it.

Dry on skin: I'm not too sure what narcissus is like, but I have a feeling it's the other light floral note I get from this, it's a greenish-white sort of scent. Other than that, it's all about the rose. A warm, fruity rose scent with, bizarrely, a hint of lemon! I get something like rose geranium in here as well.

After a while: now it really is rose and nothing else. Tart and tangy, this rose has bite! It reminds me of 2, 5 and 7, but more aloof and haughty as opposed to sunny and playful. There's also a sharp greenness which is a tad astringent, and the lemony note now reminds me of citronella!

Verdict: this is another unique rose blend from the lab. This is a rose that does indeed seems to reek of vanity, a sharp, crisp, biting scent that seems to give a feeling of slight self-centredness. It's a rose that shamelessly takes centre stage in this scent. This isn't an open, friendly rose here…though it does have a warmth and fullness, and something rather fruity to it. The narcissus is very elusive in here, but it seems an apt ingredient for a blend based on narcissism! Though I do love BPAL rose scents, I do have others that I prefer to this. But it is a great representation of pride in scent.

[quikslvr]

Haughty rose. Sophisticated and sneering. Way heavy on the rose. Not really my thing, unfortunately.

[herongale]

pre-conceived notion: Was I wanting to try Pride? I don't really remember... probably yes. Not for Dante's sake, though. Even though he is the epitome of Pride sometimes, he is NOT the epitome of rose. Rose is more of a "me" thing. Narcissus, though? I don't have any conception of how that might smell. All I know is that I got this as a freebie imp from the lab, and I'm grateful, because roses and me click. We're best buds. I love roses so much I want to marry them. If the scent is predominantly rose, it will most probably predominantly work for me.

 

in the imp: Mmm, yes. *satisfied, cat-like stretch* This is a rose alright. As roses go it is a fairly interesting one, a deep red rose, but not one of those velvety cheap kinds of roses that you can buy off the streetcorner. This is a giant rose, a growing rose, one that (were it cut) would cost dearly for a single stem. For me the rose chases away whatever other subtle floral scent this might have, but instead creates a kind of rose that is subtle and unique in its own right.

 

wet: delicious. All rose, a glowing dewy gorgeous rose in full bloom.

 

drydown: Wow... this is a crisp rose that has some surprisingly harsh edges. I can see why it's listed as gender neutral, although with roses I would think that would be almost impossible... this rose is serious. It is not fucking around with you. It will drive a thorn through your palm without any mercy whatsoever and will probably enjoy getting blood splattered on its petals. Honestly, this must be the narcissus talking, even though I still can't tease it out individually. As roses go, this doesn't have the playful juicy sweetness of Persephone or the remote garden feel of Rome (which I have not yet formally reviewed)... this is a savage cultivated rose, breed to be ruthlessly perfect in every way.

 

verdict: yes. I really enjoy this. One of these days I'll have to do a rose showdown, however, just to see what comes up tops.

 

post-conceived notion: I might try this on Dante after all. I am not confident it will work on him, but the temptation is irresistible now. A part of me worries that I am reading too much into the scents based on the names, but even when I try to be as objective as possible, all too many of the scents just seem to belong with their name, as a perfect fit. I have to admit I never thought that a rose could come off so perilously arrogant, but somehow this totally does.

[cuervosueno]

I'm working my way through the sin and salvation frimps I got with my samhain order. I know I have on hunger and wicked and rage, but my fingers smell like something familiar but unpleasant...what is it?

 

Rose? Why?

 

The I get it--I opened up Pride and closed it back up in horror.

 

Yep, its on my hands. Rose. Sharp rose. And awful (for me) dirty-sock scent of narcissus. This is definately not me! Mostly rose tho, to my nose.

[urraca]

On me this is all narcissus, except right when I first put it on when I can detect a little rose. This is too bad because while I like rose I find narcissus a little intense. It is the perfect combination to evoke this particular sin, however. It even feels haughty when I first have it on.