Terpsichore

[feline.by.design]

The Whirler! She is the Muse of Dance and the Dramatic Chorus. She holds both a lyre and a plectrum. Terpsichore is the mother of the Sirens by Achelous, the River God. Bright, joyful and expressive, her scent is kinetically charged, graceful, and an inspiration to all dancers: vanilla and carnation with neroli, iris, stephanotis, sweet pea, apple blossom and palmarosa.

 

Oooh.

 

Yep, the neroli is pretty strong, but neroli isn't a very heavy note, so this is all right with me so far. Juicy-juicy! The smell of citrus is a scent that will have me interested, and so far, Terpsichore is holding my attention well.

 

It's beginning to morph slightly now after about maybe a minute, once my skin chemistry goes, "Hey, we've got a live one," and thus begins to fiddle around with Beth's genius. Terpsichore doesn't smell as lush as earlier, getting a light powder note which is likely due to the vanilla. The light powder in turn gets a bit more momentum, and now my knee (yes, I applied this to my knee) smells like a box of fragranced chalk.

 

I was interested in trying Terpsichore anyway, as sweet pea notes intrigue me and work well with my skin. This fragrance isn't breaking precident much, although the chalkiness of the oil on my skin after five minutes or so is a little bit of a deal breaker. A further exploration in the drydown may reveal a really wonderful stage after about thirty minutes, as Polyhymnia, so I'll have to test this again to really decide.

 

As it stands, it's not bad, and I can already smell the oil getting out of the uberchalk stage and into a warm sweet pea stage. See? I don't think I'll be getting a bigger bottle of Terpsichore, but I might keep the imp, especially for any of my friends to see if they like it or not for informal Meet n' Sniffs.

 

-doreen

Edited June 17, 2006 by Shollin

[Shollin]

First sniff: Mmmm. Another “inhale until my chest hurts” scent. Terpsichore is boldspicysweetfloral in brilliant colors – no pale pink tutu and pointe shoes for her; she’s more into the jewel-toned unitards, or maybe hot pink leg warmers and an electric blue sweatband.

 

Wearing: Flashdance is this scent’s soundtrack! (And I happen to really like that song, so it’s a good thing.) It’s flashy and strutty and just plain awesome. Take your passion and make it happen, baby!

[sookster]

i love how this smells in the imp....a bit sharp and green floral....

applied this is a heady, thick womanly fragrance...i never get any of the vanilla or sweet pea...mostly neroli and other florals...nice but most definitely not for me

[Diana]

Wet: Neroli, mostly.

 

Drydown: Wild. I can't nail down a specific scent, but a combination of sweet, floral, and fruity. I thought neroli & carnation were the two most obvious, but now it seems to be apple blossom and some of the sweeter florals. Sometimes I really like it, sometimes I am more ambivalent; it changes with each sniff.

 

I really can't tell if I like this one.

 

After a bit more time passes, a vanilla-iris scent comes out. It is creamy-sweet-floral now, and gets better the longer it sits.

 

I think I could wear this, even though it confuses me.

[kunoichi]

In the vial, this is a sweet, spicy scent with the florals giving the sweetness and, one would guess, the palmarosa herb producing the spice-like scent. On my skin, the florals amp up, and the spice fades, to leave a clear, if ever so slightly cloying with a dark scent in there, smell of flowers. After maybe half an hour, it starts to soften as the vanilla changes it and another floral comes to the fore. The whole scent then seems to fade quickly after a few hours (due to the sweet florals fading) though at a closer sniff there is a very gentle whisper of floral vanilla still lingering on my skin.

[edenssixthday]

Terpsichore - I was unsure whether or not to try out Terpsichore because of the iris note, as iris always turns bitter on me. But the other notes drew me in, and I ordered an imp. During the course of the two months it took to receive my order, I forgot what was in Terpsichore. The moment I put it on, the ever-offensive iris immediately smacked me in the nose, and I knew, without looking it up, exactly what was in this blend: iris. And lots of it. None of the other notes come through on my skin -- my skin ramps up the iris scent to the point that I can hardly believe this is not a single note and that there really are other (very pretty) notes in it. This blend is not for me. It is bitter and acrid on my skin. It has great throw and moderate staying power, and in the dry-down, the iris takes a few steps back and a soft, powdery sweat pea is able to get center-stage for a few minutes, but then it turns soapy. Based on its throw and staying power it gets a few points, but based on initial scent alone, I'd give a huge warning to stay away if you and iris don't mix well (too bad, because irises are such incredibly gorgeous flowers, but the iris scent is just awful!) This imp is in my swap pile.

[fairy]

Well, I don't know what neroli smells like...or even what it is. But after reading what this is supposed to smell like, and being familiar with most everything listed, I'd have to agree that it must be mostly neroli because I really dont smell the vanilla, iris, sweet pea, apple blossom etc....although I am catching sniffs of carnation here and there.

 

It's soft but something doesn't agree with me. It leaves a weird taste in my mouth for some reason.

[theseagrows]

i'm not sure what i'm smelling. i'm not too sure what stephanotis and palmarosa smell like, but i am getting a soft powdery herbal-floral. not what i expected at all. usually carnation goes all spicy on me, but that's not happening here. i kind of like this, despite the powderiness. it reminds me of the way that violet goes powdery, in a good way. not baby powder.

 

hrrrm i may have to try this one again to give it the final analysis.

 

eta: it reminds me of my grandmother, who wore oscar de la renta perfume.

Edited September 2, 2006 by theseagrows

[sofiaviolet]

I can't identify any of the notes! I think I might be able to recognise either neroli or carnation. This is a very sweet white floral on my skin. I can tell that the apple blossom is there, but I'm not sure how I know that. I think I must also be able to smell carnation at the very edges, because this is kind of spicy.

[Miseraya]

In the imp: A heavy perfume note, mixed with something I recognize from Eden. Slightly "musky" smelling.

 

On the wrist, wet: Spicy. Getting the carnation. Fiesty floral.

 

On the wrist, dry: Copal? Definitely getting something resinous. This turns into a heavy sweet resin smell on me, perhaps the combination of vanilla and carnation?

 

Final Analysis: In the end this turned into an expensive old fashioned soap smell on me, so I sent her to the swaps, to dance for someone else.

[neuilly]

This does indeed smell like expensive soap, but not in a bad way. There's something soft and comforting about it. It's really rather lovely!

[indicolite]

I love to dance, so I was hoping for Terpsichore to be a wonderful scent.

 

But she is not me. She is a pretty spicy floral, but she dries down into just wet...pea, I guess? And not sweet pea either.

Edited August 23, 2006 by indicolite

[salamandrina]

This starts as a sharp floral scnet, but as it dries, I get more carnation and vanilla. It's very light and sweet, almost springlike.

 

I like this a lot, surprisingly, since it's not one I would have ordered on my own. It's great for work - I feel like I smell very clean and feminine, but not perfumed.

 

It's blending really nicely with the scrub that I used this morning, too, which is a plus.

[steffanina]

Terpsichore-

 

(What's neroli?)

 

In Bottle: A musty smell on top of florals.

 

Wet: I don't like that initial mustiness I get here, but I'll see if it fades. A violet-like floral.

 

Dry: The mustiness goes away almost immediately, and, hey! I like this! It's a floral, and it's got just a touch of aquatic to it--it smells like a less girly version of violets. This scent is the sort I would wear if I wanted something the essence of feminine strength. It's a queenly scent.

 

Overall: I like!

[supremegoddessofall]

Tried this at a meet and sniff. Not sure what to make of this. I actually get an overall herbal feel. Not getting florals at all - think I need a retest later.

[Chrysantza]

I like most of the ingredients that go into this (except maybe neroli!) and thought I'd try the frimp I got.

 

Wet: very sweeeeeet floral

 

Dry: Surprisingly light, and not as heady/sweet as I thought it would be (not nearly as heady as Euphrosyne for instance). This is a light, springtime floral. The one disappointment is that the carnation, which I love, is not a more dominant note, but overall this is in the category of sweet florals that I like. A keeper.

[juniperus]

Bottle: ack ack sweet floral ack OMG what am I smelling?

Wet: carnation is clear here, and sweet pea, and that murky floral that really hit me at first is calming considerably.

Dry: still very sweet and heady, but the layers are separating and becoming distinct on their own.

Later: neroli, why must you ruin everything? amped, amped, amped. bah. ouchie sinusy neroli.

[Eros]

Jasmine and soap. Not good. Poo.

[Joke]

This scent is really too heavy for me. I can't devide much from it, except that it's a super strong floral.

[alliekat13]

Wow, it's surprising that so many things are in this scent, because all I really smell is the sweet pea and carnation. To my nose this scent smells exactly like Desdemona but with a teensy bit of vanilla. I was hoping that the apple blossom and vanilla would come out more, but this scent is mostly dominated by carnation.

It's pretty, but generic. I was expecting more from this blend.

[lapillus]

In bottle: sweet and sharp

 

Wet: carnation and something lighter and sweeter along with something dry and powdery. Smells very much like a late spring garden in full bloom but before the heaviness of summer flowers.

 

Dry: Similar to the wet smell but something dry comes out from underneath keeping them from being soggy.

 

Later: Dried flowers, pale and powdery (in a good way). A very feminine scent.

 

Summary: So far the muses like me and I like them (although, Melpomne is perhaps more my speed both as scent and generally) and I’m definitely keeping.

Edited March 6, 2007 by lapillus

[filigree_shadow]

While this was drying I liked it a whole lot and was surprised because I usually don't like anything this overtly floral. It's more heady than I usually like, but it's soft enough that it didn't bother me. But when it was dry it started to smell strange -- sweet but kind of ickily floral at the same time. Like when you're surrounded by flowers and you feel like you're being smothered by their heady scent.

 

I think the sweet pea is too strong. It's making the scent too sweet. There's a teeny bit of vanilla underneath the scent... to be honest it seems more like a vanilla bean than vanilla. I can't smell any carnation or apple blossom -- those are usually strong notes on me. Not smelling any neroli, either. It seems like everything but the sweet pea is blending together... which is disappointing because sweet pea is my least favorite note in the description.

[belegwen]

I think the dominant scent I got out of this one was the iris, with the apple blossom and carnation. I didn't notice the vanilla at all. It smelled very springlike to me, in a dancing barefoot on ground that's damp and still slightly cool from winter kind of way. Definitely appropriate to the muse of dance. I liked it quite a bit and can definitely see myself wearing it again.

[mspixieears]

This has the orange blossom/neroli scent I’ve been dreaming of wet! It dries down into something more floral and perfumey, and the vanilla isn’t really all that evident. I think the floral might be the stephanotis – it’s heady in an orchid-type way (which I love). I also get a hint of that perfumey powdery drydown – it’s a warming scent rather than pure powder. Beautiful.

[Extispex]

Light floral in the imp, but gosh does it rev up on the skin.

 

Wet, I'm getting a sharp floral that I think may be the carnation. I'm not very familiar with a lot of the floral notes, so its hard for me to pick out individual ones. This is very vibrant and glittering. I like it.

 

On the drydown, powder. In fact, its so powdery I find it uncomfortable to sniff.

 

Well it was pretty while wet, but there are so few florals that my skin can carry off. I think for those who can carry off a floral, this is really lovely and unusual and certainly worth a try.