Chypre

[PurringPulsar]

Chypre

Violet, neroli, lavender and white musk. A late Medieval European blend, based on a formula allegedly worn by Charles V.

 

In the imp: strong violet and lavender. A pale purple scent, slightly dusty/powdery.

Wet on skin: reminds me somewhat of a milder, lighter Bluebeard. I like it.

Dry on skin: the violet scent darkens a bit, the lavender still goes strong, white musk is pretty much bonded with the violet note. I don't get much neroli, which is surprising, since that note usually amps up on me like crazy. The overall scent now reminds me of Peace or something from Lush.

After a while: still the same, except I think the lavender fades, making this scent predominantly violet with maybe a smidgen of white musk. This musk is the remaining note on final drydown.

Verdict: this is a pleasant violet scent. It reminds me of Peace and Bluebeard, and also something from Lush, probably a cross between WnD and Gratuitous Violets. It's nice scent, very violet-y and with a complimentary musk note, and it's also one of the few scents where the neroli isn't that prominent. Not bad, but not something I'd pine for.

Edited December 28, 2005 by Shollin

[desu]

In the bottle: A bizarre lavender smell. It's definately lavender, but there's something else there I can't quite make out.

 

On the skin: Lavender, lavender, lavender! Like I just got done rolling around in some French lavender. Eventually, as it dries down, the violet shyly makes an appearence. Violet has a tendency to go powdery on me, but not this one -- yet.

 

Later on: The lavender is fading away, leaving behind a lavender-tainted violet. The musk also starts to become more discernable now.

[cupide430]

Chypre

 

A dear friend kindly surprised me with some of this to try.

 

Looking at the notes for this: Violet, neroli, lavender and white musk, I'm already worried as the first three are usually not very good on me. This is all lavender on me. Strong, totally goes wrong on me, lavender. Oh, I wish bpal lavender worked better. I'm happy for the opportunity to try it though.

Edited February 5, 2006 by cupide430

[edenssixthday]

Chypre - As with many BPAL lavender blends, the first scent I’m bombarded with is the scent of a really “gamey” lavender and it’s so horrible that I consider washing it off. Fortunately, within about 5 minutes, the lavender mellows out and fades into the background. This is when I can smell the beautiful, sweet scent of violet, and it really is lovely. Beneath the violet is the soft, subtle scent of white musk, which I don’t usually care for, but which blends gorgeously with the violet. I don’t detect the neroli at all in this blend. It stays a violet-white musk blend for the entire time it is on my skin. It has a somewhat below-average level of throw and sadly, it doesn’t last on my skin for very long. It’s faded noticeably at around 45 minutes, and by the 90 minute point, it’s virtually impossible to tell where I applied the oil. White musk always fades on me quickly, and as much as I love violet, it’s a rare violet note (BPAL or other) that lasts on my skin for very long. With the exception of the full-blown blast of gamey lavender when this is first applied, Chypre is a beautiful scent and it’s very sad that Beth had to discontinue it. I hope she decides to re-release it someday.

[Shollin]

First sniff: Very big on the lavender, the sharp herbal variety.

 

Wearing: It pretty much smelled like pure lavender on me, and I have Somnus for that.

[goth_hobbit]

In the bottle: Very sharp and aromatic. Lavender, fern, and more lavender. (Huh; fougere isn’t listed in the blend, but I’d swear I can smell it.)

 

Wet: The violets bloom almost instantly. I was a little worried, as my skin usually grabs on to the heavier florals – like neroli. Instead, they’re all playing very nicely together.

 

Dry-down: Mmm. This starts to take on a more masculine nature as it matures. It’s almost aquatic, and very herbal. It reminds me of a post-shaving balm that someone very dear to me used to use, only without the musk. Despite the violets, there’s a very boy-scented feel to this blend. Yummy boy fragrance.

 

Mature: As it matures, this chypre takes on a wonderful late spring rainstorm quality. You know; late May, blooming violets, burst of fresh greenery, and the warm rain that makes it all smell so wonderful. Aquatic and herbal; just a touch aromatic with a woody bottom note. Light throw. After a bit more time, the musk comes out and softens the scent very nicely.

 

The bottom line: I love chypre-type fragrances. Buried somewhere in my possessions is an unopened bottle of Chypre from the 1900 Exposition Universelle in Paris that predates Coty’s famous offering by nearly 2 decades. Beth’s interpretation is the best I’ve ever smelled of the traditional formulas. The only problem with having an imp of a discontinued fragrance like this is that I know that getting my hands on more is going to be difficult at best. It’s not an everyday perfume for me, and that’s a good thing, because I’ll be able to make the most of what I’ve got. If Beth ever resurrects this one, I’m grabbing some.

[scourgeotheseas]

Chypre - from the DC imp circular swap.

This is not a list of my favorite things, but here goes...

 

In the imp: Overpowering lavender.

On me/wet: Lavender, but not insanely overwhelming. Softened by the white musk, I'm sure. I'm not getting any distinct violet or neroli yet.

Drydown: This one softened into a subtle blend of lavender and white musk with a hint of florals. It reminded me of a very nice dryer sheet.

[cranberry]

Only a sniffer courtesy of the Discontinued Swap Circle, but in the imp it smells mainly of violet and lavender. I like what I’m smelling and I would love to try this and see what it does on the skin.

[slave1]

CHYPRE

 

In Bottle: Lavender

 

On Skin: The lavender amps on my skin, wow! This is a bit to much for me, especially since I am not a fan of lavender. This scent is very sharp and bright, the violet provides a sweet soft background combined with the lightly soapy feel from the white musk. The neroli is present as well but very much dominated by the lavender. This is a very strong scent, and if you’re a fan of lavender, this is for you. I’m not sadly, so this scent isn’t going to work for me. It also fades rather quickly. Strong throw but short to average wearlength.

[Em-]

DC Circular swap -

A very strong shot of what I suppose must be lavender from the other reviews, but what to my nose is coming off as pine. Odd that.

 

That's really all I smell from this. It is a fresh scent, but probably not one I'd wear much.

[faded_stranger]

On me, this scent is all lavender and light musk for a long time. If I hold the bottle cap under my nose I get occasional whiffs of neroli, but that never shows up on my skin. On dry down, there's the faintest scent of violet underneath the lavender, slightly powdery, but in a good way. This is my default spring scent at work, because it's so pleasant and also so decidedly neutral.

[filigree_shadow]

I've been wanting to get my hands on this for a long time because I suspected I would like it. A generous BPALer let me try her imp, and I was happy to discover that I do like it. It has quite a lot of lavender in it, but it's a soft creamy lavender rather than a sharp herbal lavender. I'm REALLY picky about lavender, and this is the kind I like. It blends nicely with the violets. I don't like lavender enough to wear it very often at all, so I'm not too sad about not having any of this oil. But I'm glad I got to try it.

[stellans]

Wow. This is something I would love to find a bottle of, because the violet and the lavender are in perfect harmony, and the neroli is just barely there to make this wonderful. The dry-down is just as wonderful as the scent wet, only with a bit of an incense note, at least on me. This could possibly be the white musk, but it doesn't normally affect me quite this strongly. Love!

This is a very old imp, the kind the lab first put out, with the hand-lettered tag tied on with black fibers. Therefore, this blend ages not only well but very well, and a bottle of this would absolutely join my personal Top 10. Yum! Edited August 8, 2009 by stellans

[zankoku_zen]

Oh god. This was horrible on me. Sour yellow florals - like sour lemon, and sour jasmine. I am surprised that it doesn't contain either, but that's what it smelled like to me.

 

EPIC FAIL.