Annabel Lee

[eleniangel]

A soft, innocent blend, touched with a funereal, gloom-filled air: wild peony, sweet pea, cucumber and white sage with sea lilies and moss.

In the bottle: A little overpowering, something vaguely "cleaning supplies."

Wet: Musky and sweet, so much better.

Dry: The cucumber doesn't come out very well but I can smell it as well as the peony and sweet pea. Only lightly musky, thank god.

Throw: Slightly more than average

Overall: I love it. It's a light, clean scent that's still romantic and dreamy. I wish I'd gotten my imp soon enough to buy a bottle from the site. Darn USPS.

Rating: 4

Buy Again?: God yes. Edited January 23, 2006 by Shollin

[Chrysantza]

Got this as a decant in a swap.

 

In the imp: Light, sweet and girlish.

 

On me: Cleaning supplies! Alas, this reminds me of the Method stuff I use to clean the bathroom - it's cucumber/melon. When the flowers try to come out and play, the cucumber smacks 'em down. It gets better and more floral as time goes by, but this isn't really "me." Floral and green lovers will adore this, however.

[Katinka]

Of all the times to discover that Annabel Lee smells *fabulouso* on me... *sigh*

 

The florals are sweet and crisp, the cucumber is cool and soothing, and the soft, muted moss note balances everything out. Absolutely lovely, and I must track down a bottle.

[Mary Mayhem]

Everytime I get a floral blend I almost always have the same reaction. "oh, that's nice, that's pretty, I like that.." You know, I'm not overly excited, it's just pretty. Flowers are good. I like flowers.

 

Then I got Annabel Lee.

 

First reaction. Oh, this is odd. It's not really floral in the bottle. I don't know the note, and I'm not going to try to figure it out. It's light as air.

 

When I put it on the oil is like silver. It's a very light oil, most of my oils (like Stardust) go on like gold. They're thick. This is silver.

 

So I put it on, do my sniffs. Yep, floral, different stuff going on. It's nice. It's not tripping my buttons or anything, but hey, it's not hamster ass.

 

Then I start feeling something deep in my gut. It's wrenching. I get mellow, and I mistake this for a sort of happy mellow, and I keep going back to smell my wrists. I'm so happy this is a different floral!

 

And then, I just get soooooooo sad. This oil is heart wrenching. I went to the sink and found myself washing it off before I even realized that was what it was doing. (which of course, as we all know, does nothing, the oil's going to stick.)

 

There's a sweet saddness to this oil. I do like it, as it's one of the few oils I have that instill a gut reaction, and I don't know where the sadness is coming from, but it's there. It's like a sad lonely hot summer night with no date, and the one you're pining for doesn't know you exsist. I'm 15 all over again. Dreaming of how things will be when I grow up, when will anyone ever love me, where is my white knight upon a fiery steed.

 

Oh, the meloncholy.

 

I do love this scent, I just have to make sure I have my beau close to me when I wear it, so he can smooth my hair while I rest my head on his chest. He will coo to me that all is ok. It's a special occasion scent.

 

Gut wrenching lonliness. Wow.

[grrrlennyl]

at first: lots of sweet pea.

on: lovely. very wet and sweetly floral.

half an hour later: pretty and sweet. lovely.

1.5 hours later: very soft. mostly sweet pea with a hint of moss.

overall: this is very pretty, but the sweet pea doesn't really let the other notes get much of a chance.

[mandragora]

In the vial: Light and sweet floral. Pronounced sweet pea and cucumber notes.

 

Wet on me: Quite lovely florals and clean smelling.

 

Drydown: Here comes the musk, it rounds out the floral and cucumber scent very nicely. Innocent-smelling yet haunting at the same time.

 

Verdict: Very dreamy, romantic scent. I this.

Edited January 26, 2006 by mandragora

[malanna]

Annabel Lee is a very ethereal scent. It starts out mostly cucumber and sweet pea, but I the lilies definitely come out over time. I wonder what the difference is between lilies and sea lilies? After several hours, the sage and moss come out a bit more, and this gets to be a slightly spicy and woodsy scent.

[arabella]

First Impression: Ozone, floral, pale green.

 

Dries down to: A haunting whisper of lilies.

 

Additional Comments: The cucumber gives this blend a green, airy feel and the moss grounds the florals. This is, yet, another lovely oil. DiMV is turning out to be a great series for me. This would have warranted ordering a bottle if only it lasted longer.

 

Lasted: Barely a couple of hours.

 

Rating: 4 out of 5

[The Perfumed Ferret]

In the bottle: Soft green, aquatic, and something floral

 

On: The cucumber shows up, followed by somelight floral...liliy perhaps?

 

 

Dry down: This one doesn't last on me, what a shame.

Edited July 22, 2006 by The Perfumed Ferret

[k8tey]

oh! this is beautiful!

 

This smells sweet and floral in the imp, but turns into a warm spring stroll through a flowering garden on the skin. Clean and fresh. I don't smell the cucumber specifically, and my skin usually amps cucumber.

 

I can still smell this yumminess after about 4 hours. I'm so glad I ordered it!

[Magda]

Origin: Brienze was kind enough to send me an imp of this.

 

In the bottle:

Fresh, delicate floral with a resin base--so good, I want to eat it

 

Wet: Immediately there's something sharp and biting, but it softens down quickly into peonies. What I thought was resin is turning into a light herby green.

 

15 minutes: It's simultaneously a wet and airy floral. I think it's the cucumber that gives it a wet feeling without being aquatic.

 

30 minutes: My nose is starting to twitch. Is that the sea lily? When I raise my wrist to my nose and inhale, the scent is so sharp that my tongue goes slightly numb. That, of course, means I have to keep sniffing my wrist over and over again to see if it's just as bad each time.

 

1 hour: This is turning too bright and sweet on me. I suspect it's the lily. It's not making my tongue numb anymore, but it's so sweet that I'm a little dizzy.

 

Verdict: I so wanted to love this one, but I think it's a little too white floral for me. I prefer heady, bowl-you-over-with-lusciousness florals to delicate, ladylike ones. I'm going to try this again in a week to see if I like it better then. If it doesn't work then, either, I do know of a good home to send it too so that someone can love it the way it deserves.

[slave1]

In Bottle: Tea?

 

On Skin: Hmmm… I get the oddest first whiff from this one. It’s sweet but slightly off. A spring scent for sure, crisp and fresh, floral and planty as well. I was so excited for the cucumber (one of my favorite notes) but with the florals and sage it just turns a bit funky on me. The peony and sweet pea are sweet, a nice dainty pink floral. But then the sage and moss give a strong green and herbal note. They just aren’t jiving on me, I’m pretty sure it’s those two notes that just don’t “work”. Very light and a medium throw. I am so sad! It’s interesting but not me. Too bad…

[harmonyfb]

On me, it was a sour floral with a bit of an aquatic edge. I assume the sourness was the moss. I didn't like it at all.

[Caltha]

Annabel Lee

Annabel Lee smells just like scented erasors or bubble gum. If I try hard I could say it's a cool, watery scent with notes of melon and cucumber, but honestly, it's just perfumed erasor. Definitely not for me.

[brownbear]

mmmmmmmmm I was afraid that the sweetpea and sage would do something like aeval did on my skin. But they didn't! It didn't change very much at all on my skin. It is so pretty and springy. It is light yellow-green and pink. It is sweet and floral with a bit of light greens. It does fade a bit on my skin. I must get more!

[Shollin]

First sniff: Er. Pungent. Quite pungent. And looking at the notes, it seems sweetpea has struck again, because the rest of it looks lovely. But something in here gives the whole blend a sharp soapy weirdness.

 

Wearing: Well, on my skin it’s soft soapy rather than sharp soapy, but it’s still soapy. Stupid soapy. The rest of it is a soft, peaceful floral, and quite lovely, but that soap note just won’t bugger off, and I can’t ignore it.

[HennaFairy]

bottle:

fruity floral

 

wet:

light sweet floral, slight ocean/marine scent. Soon the sweetness dies down slightly and the herbal notes come out - an interesting mix of masc/fem notes.

 

dry:

dry, the notes oscillate between a marine scent (almost too masc.) to an herbal scent with a hint of floral. Less girly than before, but still a really nice blend! A cross dresser of a scent that doesn't know who it wants to be at any given time.

overall:

love it!

 

rating: 8/10

[eviltemptressdq]

i smell honeysuckle, but well... there is no honeysuckle in this. But it is divine! sweet fruity floral... I'm telling you, though, it smells JUST like the honeysuckle handmade soap I bought last month that is in my bathroom making it smell yummy in there. *random*

 

i want more!

[ajcj213499]

I REALLY wanted to like Annabel Lee because I've always loved the poem, however the sweet pea ruined it for me, turning it kind of plastic smelling. Alas!

[puck_nc]

Origin: Frimp from the wonderful OriginalWacky

 

Initial Thoughts: I'm not sure why I wasn't more interested in this when it was released. Maybe the sage or moss or general Poe atmosphere had me thinking it would be a graveyard scent.

 

In the Bottle: Chilly. Green. Floral. Mossy. OK, a graveyard on a spring day.

 

Wet: I get the flowers. Lily and sweet pea dominate, with a crispness that I think is the cucumber.

 

Drydown: The sage deepens it a little, into a cool, very springlike scent.

 

Verdict: Much prettier than I was expecting. I might wear this a bit on the days I'm not feeling joyous enough for Frumious Bandersnatch.

[mirutai]

In the bottle: Sweet and fresh, with a herbal edge.

 

Wet: Cool, refreshing, and playfully sweet, but with a herbal note grounding the scent.

 

Drydown: There’s a stage where the scent becomes rather musty as the sweet florals die down, but then the cucumber asserts itself and rescues it. Phew!

 

A lovely fresh springtime scent. Interestingly, this is the scent that I get the most complements on when I wear it, in a "wow, you smell nice" sort of way rather than an "OMG, what is that sexy scent?" way.

[Miss*J]

It was in a brown padded mailer that she came to me,

along with a 5ml and another imp, my Annabel Lee.

I had such high hopes for the girl,

buried under the willow tree.

I loved her, but she didn't love me.

 

I opened the vial, which smelt wet and floral-ly,

A sweet, ozone-y garden was Annabel Lee.

I swiped it on my skin with dreams of southern swamp and thee,

But she soon smelt just like a funeral parlor lily.

Damn my body chemistry!

 

I am still searching for my true love,

and so is Annabel Lee.

I'm going to go make a swap post now,

so if she's the one that you adore,

Please PM me.

[Syzygy]

So they put poor Annabel Lee in her sepulchre, and they must have put all the cucumber, sage and moss in there with her, because I certainly can't find them here. Instead, I get whacked with a bunch of cloyingly sweet flowers. Drat! And I was so looking forward to the cucumber and moss!

[edenssixthday]

Annabel Lee is soft and pretty and incredibly subtle. It is a light floral mixed with something that is a bit more early -- perhaps the moss scent. It has no throw whatsoever and I can't smell it unless I'm actually sniffing my arm. The scent is pretty, but it's too subtle for me. It also disappears completely after 2.5 hours. I was really hoping I'd like this one, but I am afraid it's going to most likely end up in the swap pile.

[dragonryder]

Soft and pretty. Springtime, makes me long for home....