Forbidden Fruit

[femmefatale]

As light and innocent as your first time should have been. The fresh scent of lotus hidden behind lightly scented flowers, amber, and citrus.

hmmm....I agree with the previous poster who said jasmine bumblegum. That's exactly how it starts out. As it dries...I have no idea. I'm still getting jasmine for some reason, plus fizzy candy and perhaps gardenia, with just the barest hint of fruit. It strikes me as being a tropical, summer scent. Very pretty.

This reminds me sooo strongly of something from when I was a kid, but I can't place it. It's making me feel very nostalgic though.

I'll keep the imp for summer and we'll have to see about a bottle.

ETA: That's what I get for reviewing before it's sat for a while. Now it's going somewhat...rank. Not pleasant. Off to swaps. Edited January 31, 2009 by Shollin

[kbrighton]

The description of this scent is what made me place my first order with BPAL. I love lotus as a single note, I love amber as a single note also. I thought this would be magic. Alas, no. Not on me.

 

It starts out fruity and gives me a strong feeling of innocence and naivette that seemed inappropriate for an older woman like me. I felt uncomfortable knowing I smelled like this. Which is funny because that sense of innocence is just what "Forbidden Fruit" implies. I just didn't think it through, that scent and my age.

 

As it dries down the sense of inappropriate innocence departs (thank goodness) and it settles down to an innocuous sweet scent, I can detect the roundness I associate with jasmine, and the wateryness of lotus. Wish there was some amber showing through. Iwant to like this one, so I'll leave it till spring and summer, and try again.

[CynicalPink]

Imp: No idea what lotus smells like, but this is fun. Very cheerful

 

Wet: BUBBLEGUM! Yes the ALLCAPS are justified, trust me.

 

Drydown: Okay this is really fun. I still don't know what lotus smells like, but if it smells like bubblegum it's got my vote. Nothing going sour, just sweet and a little kitchy.

 

Overall: I complain about stuff smelling "too young" for me, but this just jumps right of the bell-curve in to funny and enjoyable. I'll put the imp in to my "bottle audition" pile for now and let's see where it goes from there.

[Dominique]

In the vial: The oil is a very pale yellow, almost with a green tinge. The initial whiff is a clean floral, with a citrus behind it. I don’t quite catch the amber, but it’s not a scent I’m very familiar with. It’s a pleasant smell, though a little more girly than I typically wear.

 

On me: Applied to backs of hands. I’m smelling what’s probably the amber. It’s still wet on my skin, and the scent is noticeably different. I know some people’s skin reacts to the perfume, but I haven’t had such a dramatic change before. The citrus vanished, replaced by the amber and a faint floral. Not a bad smell, but I’m not entirely certain what to make of it.

 

After a while: The citrus hasn’t made a reappearance, but the amber has mellowed some over time. The florals are still a faint note, definitely not the main scent, but it’s still a pleasant perfume. I can’t identity any of the flowers (though I don’t notice rose or jasmine), and it’s more of a mellow perfume than a ‘notice me now’ kind of thing.

 

Verdict: Forbidden Fruit is a kind of soft, gentle smell. The lotus and amber are the primary scents, so if that sounds appealing I’d recommend it. Not something that I’m overly fond of, if only because amber and florals aren’t my favorite, but it’s a well balanced scent. I never really got the bubble-gummy scent that other reviewers did, so that seems to be based off of prior-experience or skin chemistry, maybe.

Edited August 5, 2009 by Dominique

[Argentwolf]

'Lotus bubblegum' is a good descriptor for it. It's a very sweet, lush scent, though on me it doesn't have a lot of throw, and wore off quickly. Definitely recommended for those who like lotus, as this is the predominant tone.

[ouch!]

Lotus..mmm. This is the first time I think I'm getting a proper feel of what it's all about. I've had balck lotus before but that went so weird on me I lost a bit of hope.

I must say quickly though..the first two/ three times I tried this, when I smelled up close I got a really bad whiff of something that smelled like bad breath/rotting fruit. Which made me think..oh gosh..lotus is just plain weird.

 

When this oil dries off a bit from the wet stage of weird fruit and a few flowers with a hint of citrus, it turns into such a bouncy soft sweet scent that I'm starting to adore!!!! It's more in the throw of the oil though. If I smell up close it's a bit more fizzy. From far away if I wave my wrist *waves wrist* It's gorgeous!!! I've never smelled something so....(how do I describe it?) fluffy?? I dunno.

 

Anyway..the throw of this perfume is so so soft and light. It reminds me of those pretend candy cigarettes you used to get as a child that were white and sorta crumbly. I will be getting a bottle for sure!!

 

[cymbeline]

Smell alike: hyper chemical jelly candies

 

Color impression: juicy orange and sticky neon pink

 

On me: in the imp, Forbidden fruit was already obnoxious and overwhelming... but as soon as it touched my skin, this blend loudly yelled "Pleaaaase, be merciful for your SO! Wash me off!!!!"

 

Wearing: too sweet and synthetic for me. I get no flower or citrus, only something alike strawberry (?!!!). Too bad because the shy watery edge set by the lotus was quite interesting!

Edited March 7, 2009 by Cymbeline

[mhickle]

In the imp and at first dab, it's fruit punch with a little kick to it - not all light and sweet. As it dries, it softens considerably, and now it's just a very light, floral citrus. It fades so much on me that there's really not much more I can say about it!

[sadtomato]

far more floral than fruity on me...there is only a hint of the citrus on my skin.

still quite pretty, though.

[Bluestocking]

In the imp: Light, fruity floral, sort of gauzy and pale. I actually don't get a lot of the lotus at first sniff (it's just sort of soft and sweet in the background), but I'd swear that one of the "lightly scented flowers" is night-blooming jasmine. After a few sniffs of the imp, though, the lotus becomes more obviously the heart of the scent, with a subtle streak of lemony citrus to cut the sweetness. It is very fresh and subtle and innocent, sort of the anti-Lolita.

On, wet: A light, very sweet, pink-tinted cloud of bubblegummy lotus, with bright, rich hints of the citrus and amber beneath (which together smell just a touch like Aelopile). It's a very springy, soft floral, definitely an ingenue's perfume. Huuuuuge throw, even though this remains a very gentle scent; I've had a ton of comments about it, even though I only dabbed it on the wrists! (Luckily, the comments are along the lines of "Ooh, that smells nice," and not, "Ewww, what is that?") The peanut gallery has repeatedly told me that this smells like a garden filled with the scent of heady, just-bloomed flowers.

On, dry: The lotus is less obvious and "OH HAI, I'M LOTUS," blended pleasantly with the citrus and amber. This isn't a scent that morphs on me, but it has developed into a lovely perfume, much better balanced between the sweet lotus, rich amber and (very slightly) tangy citrus. There are hints of round fruitness and other flowers, but they're very light and difficult to pick out.

Later: Again, basically unchanged: lotus and amber, with a citrus tinge. If the Lotus note from Paris and the amber-citrus combo from Aelopile had a baby, it would smell like this.

Overall: Innocent, sweet, gentle and soft. There isn't a single sharp edge in this perfume, as least not once it's on the skin, but there is a ripe, humid sweetness here that does make this fitting for the concept. Even though citrus and amber can be assertive on me, they're very well blended and subdued here—almost as if that sweet, airy lotus has wrapped everything up in a shimmery haze. It's a dreamy and romantic sort of scent, and I like it. However, the lotus is the star of the show here, so if you hate lotus for its sweetness, then it's unlikely this blend will change your mind. If, however, you (like me) love lotus and are looking for a blend that really shows off its potential, then Forbidden Fruit might be just the thing.

 

 

[rheherem]

In the imp: It has a rich, fruity tang to it, like a mandarin orange. Not sure about this: fruity scents usually turn sickly on me.

 

Wet: There's something I can't identify. Some strenge fruit. I guess that would be the forbidden fruit It's sweet, but not overly so, and still tangy. It makes me think of fairies playing in a sunny orchard.

 

Dry: This didn't turn sickly at all. Instead, it stayed fresh and clean, with just a hint of sweet. it has all of the gentle innocence, paired with the tang of loss that I expected. I will definitely wear this again! ^^

[angelicruin]

Sniffing the imp, it's a kind of nauseating bubble gum scent to my nose.

 

Wet on the skin, it's lotus and orange with the orange being a little stronger. Much better than my original sniff of the imp.

 

As it dries, floral note comes out & this goes a bit powdery on my skin. Dries to mostly citrus floral on my skin.

[tragedy]

Wet: bubblegum, strong bubblegum

Drydown in the beginning: Theres an air freshner somewhere that smells like this, one of those automatic ones, cant place where... not unpleasant, but not what I want to wear.

Extreme drydown: Ahhh lotus, there it is... nice, but it takes a while to get to this phase.

[melrose]

In imp, and on, wet: bubblegum, gardenia and motor oil - could that be the lotus? It smells great, even the motor oil part.

 

Drydown: soft and sweet, which is not at all my thing, but this smells so fresh and natural. I'll reallyenjoy the imp.

[juniperus]

bottle: candy-sweet - no floral

wet: same, some hints of floral behind

dry: still very sweet, but less candy-like. more florals.

later: the candy is gone, replaced by a light amber and the florals (which are not overpowering). it's still rather on the sweet side for me, but it's lovely.

 

[Lamia]

As expected, Bazooka bubblegum and bad breath.

 

DAMN YOU AMBER!!!

 

(shakes fist)

[septima_pica]

Musky, funky fruit punch. I tried this before I realized that it had amber in it. Not for me, I'm afraid.

[Babette]

Another amber that doesn't turn into powder! Yay! The first application literally had me gagging because it had such a strong chemical smell to it. After a few seconds, I got a powerful blast of bubblegum -- *sour* fruity bubblegum -- that drowned all the other scents I have on my arm (I am scent-testing today). There is definitely something flowery peeking underneath, almost jasmine-like but not quite. The reason why I think there could be jasmine is because the flowers smell like those normally sold outside of Indian temples and in fact, there is something almost Indian-like about this scent. It's making me think of jasmine necklaces (easier to drape around the necks of gods), water tubs of lotus and chrysenthemum flowers, incense smoke in the air, chanting and ringing of bells.

 

I really like this scent and if it had a decent throw, I would definitely get a bottle. But because it stays close to my skin, I am happy to keep the imp just for the memories the scent invokes.

[aquazoo]

Starts with candy, fruity orange candy. That fades to let out the flowers, bunches of flowers warmed by the amber.

 

[crebbsgirl]

I swear there's jasmine in here, but that may be my nose interpreting gardenia (it does that sometimes). On me, this smells like a lighter version of Hony Mone. Sweet, with a bit of a fruit-like vibe to it. The lotus isn't very predominant here either. I like it, but it's a little too girly for me. Also, this has throw like woah!

[hazakaza]

I'm trying to train my nose, so I did this totally without the notes. Whoo!

 

In the imp: has a funky note that makes me worry. But I test anyway!

 

Starts off as kind of sour, overripe fruit, then dries up into a floral rich plum. Moonflower, lily? It's potent stuff, very sweet.

 

Dries down to soft, warm florals. I feel like wearing too much of this would make me smell too traditionally perfumey. The sweetness dries up a lot. It's nice, but this imp is probably all I really need of the stuff.

 

Weirdly, at the end, the citrus comes out to play! Typically citrus burns off quickly, but this just floats out at the end.

 

Once I read the notes, I realized lotus is right there, front and center, and the amber probably was making it funky in the bottle and warming it up and keeping the flowers warm and not overwhelming. Nice, but not stunning--I don't see myself reaching for this imp.

Edited November 17, 2009 by hazakaza

[jennythereader]

Date first tried: 8/14/2009

 

In the imp: A very bright, sharp fruit. Citrusy

 

At application: Slight spice note, still very citrusy fruit.

 

When dry: Dries to a unpleasant sour fruit smell.

 

Rating: 1 - Get rid of. In fact, I've already traded this one away.

 

Comments from me: I really like how this smells when it's wet, so I may give it another try after I get around to getting a scent locket.

[Caerphilly]

In the imp: Smells like rotting fruit in a dirty, smelly shoe. Um.... I guess I don't like lotus... I do love Amber and citrus, so I'll try it and see if the lotus fades.

 

Wet: Sweet fruity shoes.

 

Dry: I have to wash this off.

 

Overall: I'm sure I would have loved it if it wasn't for the lotus. I love, love, love amber and most floral scents. And citrus makes everything smell better on my skin. But, darn that lotus.

[distracts]

There is something in this that is very funky and sour to me. I don't know what it is but I can barely process this beyond "ew! I don't think I like that!" I guess it kind of smells like rotting lotus and gardenia obscured with cigarette smoke. dnw.

[rayvn1]

Gah! This one was a "dear god, wash it off!!" scent from the get-go. Sickening-sweet fruit punch and floral overload I kept it on for several hours trying to see if it would morph, but alas, I finally had to jump in the shower to get it off.