Maenad

[SarahScent44]

Orgiastic mayhem in the extreme: sweet strawberry and orange blossom distorted by carnation, black poppy and hibiscus.

In the imp, this is almost bubble-gummy somehow - is it the strawberry? There's some carnation, as well.

On my skin, the fruitiness of the strawberry comes out a little more - with the poppy backing it up.

When it's dry, it's sweet - but also powder-y and sort of fake-y. Sad times; I really wanted to like this one.

[isisonearth]

In the imp: strawberries, orange blossom and syrupy poppy

 

On the skin: poppy, hibiscus and something that is a bit smoky...a bit musky...and a touch of juicy strawberry

 

Drydown: soft carnation and orange flower

 

Locket: I get mostly strawberry here. There is something just a little sour too.

 

I feel like this has had better days on my skin. I have a memory of it being sharply spicy and sweet at the same time.

[ladylavy]

This is the first imp that I recieved and I had to try it on, since i know that all scents change once on the skin and you can have some pleasant surprises.

 

Opened imp: I got a horrible whiff of almond (I hate almond...) but after a second sniff I realized it was a very twisted strawberry.

 

Wet: it felt like a strange and juicy strawberry but with a darker background note, which could be the poppy or the carnation.

 

Dry:I could only smell the strawberry, all the other notes were gone.

 

I cannot associate this scent with the name; it's a very young perfume to me, something that a teenager might wear. I cannot feel the madness, extasy and wilderness.

 

It's not bad but it's definetly not a perfume for me.

[Salsa Shark]

At first this is almost exactly like Akuma - bright sweet fruit and dark woody orange blossom - but without the powdered candy fakeness that blood orange turns into on my skin.

 

The other floral elements start to become stronger, although they're blended so well I don't think I'd be able to pick them out without having seen the notes before hand. There's an element of spice from the carnation, and I'm fairly sure it's the orange blossom giving the strawberry it's tart, bitter edge.

 

I really like this, and luckily it doesn't go to fake plastic strawberry on me at all, which a few other strawberry blends have done. Even better, after a few hours of dry down it has that dark, peppered fruit feel of my beloved Xanthe.

[AlarmAgent]

In Bottle - Smells very much like strawberry incense, with a hint of pine and/or pepper, something sort of spicy and earthy. Lovely so far...

Wet on Skin, First Applied - Suddenly and quite inexplicably becomes lemon and pine on me, nothing but lemon and pine. Would probably be a very refreshing scent for a household cleaner, but as for wearing? Maybe not as much, unless I'm looking to give the impression that I just finished cleaning up. Maybe it would make me seem a bit more industrious, can't be all bad...

 

Dry, On Skin - After about ten minutes this started mellowing out on the more astringent notes and becomes the lovely strawberry incense it was always meant to be! I don't get any strong florals, but I'm starting to think perhaps what I interpreted as pine is actually carnation. Truth be told, I've never even smelled a fragrance that included carnation in any capacity, so I have no clue how it should smell. For shame! In the end, it's a lovely and unique fragrance, 'twisted strawberry' very much the fitting description. I'll wear it on warm, rainy days. It's the sort of refreshing yet grounded scent that I always imagination-smell along with such weather. So far, it's stayed at the same rate of loveliness and note-intermingling for a good two hours. It stays close to the vest, I definitely enter the room before Maenad does, and that's just fine for me, especially with a fragrance that if too strong could easily be taken as syrupy and a bit muggy, if that makes any sense.

 

Goes back to weather, I suppose. A warm spring day, the air feels heavy and is near raining. As for the person walking through this scene, I suppose I picture the teenage child of a new-age shop owner. She wears a light strawberry perfume, but it blends with the heavier scent of her mother's incense that sticks to her clothes. Light and simple, but with a deep background. Simple, but it's what I see. A lovely image, all together, and a lovely fragrance. My first BPAL experience, and a wonderful impression!

[mgrazulis]

A fresh imp from the lab...

 

In the imp: sticky sweet strawberry, hit of black poppy

 

Wet on skin: carnation dwarfed by strawberry overload

 

Dry: the carnation and poppy have drowned in strawberry, a momentary peppery note attempts to resurface, but goes back under. The sweetness of the strawberry is akin to Hollywood Babylon...cloying and way too young for the post bubblegum generation.

 

As much as I look forward to trying this one, I can't get it off fast enough. There is a one sided battle. An orgy in strawberry...no one else gets to enjoy it or even play.

Edited August 27, 2008 by mineralfairy

[Suu4LC]

Whoa! This is very very sweet in the imp! I mostly get the sweet strawberry, darkened a bit by the poppy. Not as much carnation. I am very curious to see how this will work on my skin.

 

Hmm...this is weird. It's got this very sweet sugary candy strawberry scent mixed with the dark black poppy...it's kind of an odd combination. I think I would have preferred this without the poppy and with more carnation to spice it up, but not give it that heavy feel that poppy leaves me with.

 

In the end, pretty much everything else fades, and I am left with a sort of generic strawberry candy scent. Kind of powdery and totally meh. Will pass this one on.

[djsiberia]

wet/in imp: strawberries and orange blossom...makes my teeth hurt. odd.

 

dry: very sweet smelling. it reminds me of strawberry cupcakes.i can also smell the carnation. thankfully this isn't overly sweet and over powering. the strawberry dominates the mix.

 

not sure if i want to use this up or not. it's not bad, but as far as something so girlie, i think i prefer lolita - i can see my skin eating this up in 5 minutes. though i might just keep this for that one time when i'm in super lolita form in my bodyline dress and all.

 

eta: i got a whiff of banana???? boooo

Edited August 31, 2008 by djsiberia

[vinylwitch]

Open imp/wet on skin: Sickly sweet floral, yuck. I wanted to like this!

Initial drydown: Surprise! Big juicy mouth-watering strawberries and orange blossom, yum.

Final impression: The candy sweetness mellows out and something more sensual and slightly spicy blends with the strawberry, perhaps the carnation? This is Hollywood Babylon without the red musk, which just doesn't work on me no matter how much I want it to. Love this!

[obsidienne]

A naughty-girlish, sweet blend: evil strawberries and crushed orange blossoms with a floral undertone. Yummy! It would be a good winter scent to chase away the grey skies and cold snow (this smells like full-blown 30C+ summer, but in summer, this would be cloying and extreme).

 

Throw is good, intensity good.

[femmefatale]

In the imp it's a very sweet fruity smell. Wet on my skin though it is a very dark, evil green scent with just the barest hint of a floral. This is a very strange scent and reminds me so much of something from my childhood, I just can't place it.

As it dries it does start to sweeten up, but doesn't become overly sweet. I can catch some of the strawberry and orange blossom now, and the black poppy calms down a bit. I think I'm getting more of the carnation also.

This is not at all what I expected. It's very interesting and I love how it morphs. It makes me feel mysterious and playful at the same time. I can't stop sniffing my arm and I can't wait for Mr. Fatale to get home from his trip to see what he thinks.

[cymbeline]

Smell alike: This one is dangerously close to *Akuma*

 

Color impression: sticky dark red

 

On me: Irk! über super sweet! I can only smell very chemical strawberry and something like a wicked carnation in the bottle. On my skin, it's just a really sticky scent -a bit like an old sweet medicine forgotten on a shelf (dustiness =thanks to the poppy ?)

 

Wearing: Not for me that for sure. But as it has been said, it could do the trick on a teenager

 

 

[kohaisama]

In the imp: bubblegum syrupy strawberries

 

Wet: sweet strawberries and something spicy

 

Dry: pepper poppies KA-POW! Sharp, deep poppy with hibiscus tang

 

It started out real fun and then became too spicy for my nose.

[crebbsgirl]

I got almost all strawberry here. The orange blossom came out in the drydown, as did the hibiscus and opium poppy. I couldn't detect any carnation at any point of the wear time here. It was very sweet, and youthful. This would make a really great summer scent I think. Sweetly berry floral. Nice, but ultimately, not for me.

[PersephonesChild]

I really wasn't sure what to expect from this scent, and I was a little nervous, because a lot of strawberry notes in other perfume smell really fake.

I can render judgment on this strawberry note, because it's so mixed with other scents. I smell the splashy brightness of orange blossom, and some edge of hibiscus, but there's a strong herbal part that adds darkness to the whole riot. I think it conveys its name very well, and I think I like it.

[FeatherQwill]

I got a similar gummy-bear/fruit smell that I got from Serpents With Glittering Eyes and Forky Tongues, but somehow I don't like it as much.

[milo]

I knew this was a berry scent, but I didn't know it was strawberry. Most strawberry scents go corrupt on me because they are too sweet and plasticy. This is blended with something darker, so it doesn't go all waxy lip balm. I love poppy, so maybe the incense is what is saving this blend? It KIND of reminds me a bit of Hellion, but with strawberry and not as much incense as Hellion has. I'll definitely keep the imp!!

[catattack]

Imp: Bitter, peppery floral

Wet: Bitter floral. Slightly tart

Drydown: This became syrupy sweet, fruit and floral. The orange blossom is now identifiable. I think it was just "bitter" when this was wet.

Overall: I think I agree with some of the other posters who said that this scent might be too young for them. I think I'll keep the imp and wear it on the weekend when I'm not going anywhere with my teenage son.

[Lyrical]

In vial: nail polish remover! No, wait ... *sniffs deeply* ... yupp - nail polish remover with a hint of strawberry!

 

Wet on skin: bright and fruity - the nail polish remover departs to leave a sweet, fruity blend. Carnation and poppy give it body. This is a happy scent!

 

Dry on skin: darker and spicier now as carnation and soporific poppy push the bright fruits aside. The contrast of dark and sultry with sweet and bright really appeals to me! I love this!

 

Sadly, the next time I wore it, all I could smell was bubble gum!

[sirensea]

In the imp, the scent is fruity and slightly astringent, like strawberries dipped in rubbing alcohol. Reminiscent of Bon Vivant. On the dry-down, it turns to more of a flowery scent, and the alcoholic edge disappears. It's very soft and pretty, good for special occasions where you might need something light and close to the skin.

[sylvanusurban]

 

In bottle: Gyah, substantial oil spill when I open the bottle. It smells like chemical strawberry.

 

On me, wet: Sharply sweet strawberry candy.

 

On me, drying: The scent gets really faint. What I can still smell, smells like plastic.

 

Verdict: Another one for the scrap heap.

 

[Monster]

In the imp: Stright up strawberry and orange blossom.

 

Wet: The orange blossom keeps the strawberry from smelling too much like candy. This is really nice. There's just a squish of spicy carnation in here, but not too much. This is definitely a fruity blend. Thankfully I'm not getting any poppy in this phase. Usually poppy smells like plastic diapers to my nose, I'm not smelling anything like that in this at all.

 

Dry: This just gets more gorgeous and sweet as it dries. The orange blossom and strawberry work so so well together. Poppy hasn't showed up on me at all...this pretty much stays the same from top to bottom on my skin (the strawberry and orange blossom creating a nice steady crescendo with their love affair)

 

Overall: Oh yeah! This imp isn't going to last a long time. If you like fruity scents, you've gotta try this one!

[topazphoenix]

In the imp: nail polish. On wrist: Fruit and something floral and spicy. There's almost something like clove in there. Not bad, but too sweet and cheery for my tastes.

[biocarolyn]

In the imp, Maenad smelled all Strawberries for me. Sweet, but real strawberries, not artificial plasticky at all. Wet on the skin, it changed drastically, with the carnation coming out immediately. I actually like this better- it's more complex than straight fruit.

 

Unfortunately, my skin strike again, and eats all the berry. I smell exactly like carnations. Not unpleasant, just not what I hope for.

[voodoocatwoman]

I can't make up my mind about this one. On application, it is sweet ripe strawberry. The instant it dries, it goes into platic mode and stays there for about 10-15 minutes. What emerges is atrawberry with carnation. It's sweet and peppery at the same time. I can't decide if I like it or not.