Les Fleurs du Mal

[Damask Rose]

The scents of the blossoms of darkness, condensed into one perfume. Features a rose base, softened with lilac and wisteria.

I'm not so keen on this on, which is a shame as I rally wanted to like it. It smells like a very strong "old ladyish" floral perfume in the bottle and doesn't really change when you put it on. It also fades really fast. I really like rose so thought I would love this, but I can't really smell any rose at all - just a general floral smell.

[jj_j]

I had the same issue with this scent the first time I tried it, so I waited a while and tested it again. Completely different results, and much better staying power.

 

White roses and lilac make this a definite sweet-crisp floral. It doesn't take long, in fact, for the lilac to move to the top, but the roses stay just beneath the surface and really bolster the lilac; this is much creamier in texture because of it.

 

I waited and waited for the wisteria to show up, but either my chemistry or the other two, much stronger florals, kept that from happening. Lovely nonetheless.

 

Not a standout, but easy to appreciate.

[Ina Garten Davita]

First Impression: A more mysterious version of Queen of Hearts and Endymion. Gorgeous, elegant flowers.

 

Second Impression: Oh this smells lovely on me. It's a womanly floral smell. A woman who looks completely different than what she really is.

 

Final Analysis: This is another beauty. I love what Beth does with flowers.

[Witch's Dagger]

Preconceived notions:

Before Ordering:

This was on my big list of scents I wanted to try, and when I got around to ordering, I picked it solely on the name without reviewing what was in it. I love Baudelaire!

 

Then: Hmm... I'm kind of worried about this. I don't really like lilac, and I'm not sure about rose or wisteria either. This doesn't sound like Baudelaire at all to me. Then I was kindly given a sample of The Raven (which I had also ordered) and discovered I really didn't like it. This made me worry even more about Les Fleurs du Mal.

 

Upon testing:

In the vial: Oh, this is floral, but it's a sharp and complex floral, with some green notes. I really like this!

 

First impressions on me: Nice. A heady bouquet of florals with sharpness and complexity.

 

5 minutes later: Oh no! It's doing that powdery thing that the Raven did, and it's really rosy. I like rose, but not this powdery rose. Ugh - I hope it gets better.

 

An hour later: Nope - still powdery rose.

 

Final opinion: Why oh why do I get all this powder? It's happened with every single scent except Satyr (with which I had civet issues) and Mystery (which I adore). Can I trade in my body chemistry, please? Not for me, alas.

[Faerykin]

Swiped across wrists and along collarbone.

 

Initial Wet (8-8:30am): This really is exactly what it says it is … rose, lilac and wisteria. The lilac and wisteria are competing for the top note, and I think the wisteria is winning – barely. Meanwhile, the rose softly brings the scent together. Very feminine.

 

Initial Dry (8:30-11am): This really didn’t change or morph at all. The wisteria has certainly won the battle and moved to the front, with the lilac and rose lying underneath.

 

Throughout the Day (11am- 4 pm): The rose slowly begins making its way to the surface, while the wisteria and lilac begin to take a back seat. All are still present, which makes for a very beautiful bouquet.

 

The scent nearly dissipated by 3:30-4pm. I still catch very fait whiffs, as it is still present on my collar.

 

I fear I have not given this scent its due review, what-with my allergies going haywire lately. But, I just couldn’t resist. Even though I’m stuffed up a bit, I can still appreciate its loveliness – I can only imagine what my experience will be once my nose is working at 100%.

 

Definitely keeping the imp … though this may win a place on my Big Bottle List.

[VelvetSky]

Les Fleurs du Mal goes on, and stays, slightly soapy to me (and I mean that in a positive way). The rose, wisteria and lilac in this blend complement each other perfectly, nothing nudges the others out of the way for attention on my skin.

 

Gentle and sad, those are the impressions I get from this scent. Mysterious and lovely, like a woman who's beauty is fading.

[Shollin]

First sniff: There’s an undertone of dust, or decay, or something seriously funky around the dying white flowers of Les Fleurs du Mal. It’s an unsettling scent.

 

Wearing: Blast o’floral! Not me.

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

A delicate, feminine scent--the wisteria and lilac are prominent, though I suspect the rose will appear on drydown, as is the way of Beth's lovely roses. It smells softly purple, with a faint touch of sharper green. I don't know that I will wear this very often, but I do know I will be wearing it when the film of A Series of Unfortunate Events comes out, in honor of Violet Baudelaire. Yes, I am a dork. Yes, I have read the real Baudelaire as well.

[zapevaj]

Exactly what it says it is- rose, lilac, and I even smell the wisteria! Unfortunately, I don't like unmitigated floral, so this one'll be a Christmas present.

 

-Rae

[TheDarkMother]

In the Bottle: Le Fleurs Du Mal smells more strongly of a thick rose with lilac, with just a hint of wisteria to put an edge to it. *shiver*

 

On Me: Very much like an old, Victorian purfume. The lilac is just subtly changing the rose, and once again I get a vision of a small room papered in golds and reds, with beads on the pillows and a small table with a large crystal ball in the center of it. There is smoke around the room, and the scent of roses from the clarvoyant's purfume and the roses on the table are heavy, to entice the dead back in order to speak with the living. And the heaviness of the rose is like bread crumbs to follow back home with. The spirits come, following that scent, and speak with their loved ones and leave again, only to be enticed once more, again and again, until the mystic herself is spirit with them.

 

Oh yes....big bottle for me.

[surf-tormented]

Smells like the lesbian antics of two older women. Maybe like The Hunger.

 

But seriously, there is something "old lady" about this oil. When I think of Les Fleurs du Mal, I think of the Baudelaire poem, "Women Damned - Delphine and Hippolyta". An older sexually experienced dark haired girl with a young naive blonde haired girl. That is always the vision in my head. Like Carmilla. The Victorian metaphors for virture and vice, oh, and vice wins. Imagine that.

 

"May I in your deep bosom be annulled,

Find on your breast a cool necropolis!"

 

Which is neither here nor there because that poem wasn't in Les Fleurs Du Mal anyway, but I see those girls as The Flowers of Evil. Not being real flowers. Even so, I would think Black Rose would be the scent of these sinning creatures, not rose, lilac and wisteria. I would think the scent of dying roses, dark spices and dark stony places, like on the steps of a tomb. Ok, maybe that is a personal memory...but I need the stony crypt smell there, dammit. Maybe even the salt of skin after it has become hot with unnatural passions. Oh, I love the Victorian mindset...everything was oh so naughty!

 

I am not too keen on floral like this, I tried Lucy's Kiss and this one at about the same time and the spicy tones in Lucy's Kiss were much better for me.

 

I hate to say those four words but AIRS' Hearts of Rose. This reminds me a lot of that, but LFDM has lilac going for it. I enjoy lilac, but I can layer AIRS' Hearts of Rose over Angel Dreams (their lilac oil) and get about the same thing.

 

I have to stay away from the rose oils. After while, they all smell the same to me.

 

I was hoping for a lot more va-voom-voom from this oil. Those who like rose oils, will love this. Those who dislike rose, stay away.

Edited January 8, 2005 by Madame Nyx

[quimerula]

I really wanted this one to work well on me, but sadly a nice bouquet in the flower shop doesn't smell quite the same on the skin.

 

It's complex and none of the notes develope completely... Oh sadness"

I'm going to blame the wisteria.

[Muppetk]

Initially: Pure roses, and lovely fresh ones.

 

20 min later: 2/3 Rose to 1/3 lilac. And with those notes, it should remind me of Dragon's Eye, but it doesn't. It's softer, warmer. Dragon's eye is definitely more "piercing," as described. Love both of them.

 

Overall: very nice! Lovely! To my nose, it's very similar to some others though... maybe Endymion is the one I'm thinking of? I know the notes aren't the same, but the fragrance seems similar to my nose. I sometimes wonder how smart my nose is though.

[shelldoo]

huh, i think i am allergic to this one, which is my first reaction to one of beth's blends. i have horrible allergies to almost all mass produced perfume, but to my delight found i could wear all beths...until now.

 

when first on it is lilac i believe taht is swatting me in the sinuses. i can't detect anything else. as it dries it becomes almost all rose w/ a breeze of lilac from down the road. like standing in a rose garden on a breezy day and the neighbors lilac bush is tresspassing.

 

bummer i really wish it didn't feel like my eyes and nose were set aflame....now i must figure out what is in this that did this.

[yummysushitoo]

Ohhhhh, lovely. My favorites: rose and lilac, plus wisteria.

 

I did smell all three, perfectly blended. Very light and prettily feminine.

 

This is perfect for either day or evening, and it's a nice Springy/Summery scent. Never overly-sweet or cloying. LOVE.

 

Will order large bottle of this. Yay!

[sarada]

In nature, my favorite flowers are lilac, wisteria, and rose...but I know that in perfumes they mostly turn into bathroom spray and baby powder. Still, I've had a few work out for me...

 

This is a very humid and languorous white floral at first, and I think first about walking through Pere Lachaise cemetery in the spring -- okay, I don't remember if there were actually any flowers like this there, but it's appropriate, oui? They are cloyingly sweet and a tad powdery but it still smells somewhat natural.

 

Every day that I can, I walk in the woods behind the place where I work for a little while, where wisteria and lilacs are in bloom right now, and the scent wafts down the trails when you enter the woods. This captures that smell -- though only for a moment. It wants to turn to bathroom spray on me, but I do enjoy it in the bottle and I enjoy it while it is drying.

 

This would be very nice to scent things with -- lotion, or body spray perhaps, a locket or a doilie in your dresser drawer. It is a very romantic, Victorian scent but with a touch of the corrupt and decadent...it's a bouquet of pale flowers in a funeral parlor, and the heady aroma of spring flowers in a cemetery.

[Aredhel]

Rating (on skin): 2/5

Summarised in a word or two: Powder.

 

In the imp/bottle: Rose and lilac. A very light, fluffy floral.

 

On skin, wet: Very rosy, with a bit of lilac beneath. My skin amps rose, so I'm not surprised that this is mostly rose. I am a bit surprised that this isn't darker than it is.

 

On skin, dry: Hmm. This turns into a very strange powder. It reminds me of dried, dead, wet flowers. I definitely catch the wisteria, which, sadly, doesn't work with me with this scent. There's something very green -- in a good way -- beneath everything, but it's too faint. Like the stems of flowers.

 

Conclusion: This started out very well. If this smelled as it does in the vial on my skin, I might have fallen for it -- the rose is light enough that I like it, and I do like lilac every now and again.

Edited December 24, 2005 by Aredhel

[misfitroxy]

I get a big ole burst of flowers from this in the imp. I can definitely catch the lilac. It’s a lot stronger than the floral blends I’m used to. But I'm curious enough to proceed.

 

On my wrist, it turns into a complex bouquet. I don’t smell rose distinctly, but I know it’s there. Something of the bright petals presents itself in the background.

 

In addition, the lilac is still very distinct. Though sadly it seems to be doing the same thing that other lilac blends (Marie comes to mind, off-hand) likes to do on my skin – turning into a chemical, perming solution kind of smell. It’s sharp and unpleasant to say the least. I guess this proves it’s not a note I’m meant to wear.

 

I’m glad to read that this worked on others (though color me all sorts of jealous!). As far as I'm concerned, though, off to the swaps it goes!

[Tesseljoan]

Les fleurs du mal was a gift from the lab.

 

As much as I would like to love flowers, I just can't. I wish I could be sophisticated and not always use those foody scents..

 

alas.

 

I just smell a generic white flower smell. My chemistry doesn't turn this into a funky razorsharp flower blend, but it's not something that stands out in my mind.

[k00kaburra]

In bottle: This is a very strong 'French-milled' soap scent ot me. Roses and lilac, bright white florals, especially collected for a 'clean' fragrance. While this is given quite a unique name, it's hardly the most unique fragrance in BPAL's catalog.

On me: This is very true to the bottle. It's a very soapy, commercial sort of scent; the sort that I always expect older women to buy. It isn't a fragrance for me; it is more for a faded Southern belle who once picked posies in the garden and now relies on things within the house to bring the scent of the garden to her.

[ismene]

Les Fleurs du Mal is a very feminine, very old-fashioned floral. It reminds me of what would happen if the floral waters of the nineteenth century were turned into a perfume oil. Lilac is the most prominent note on me, with a faint hint of rose. The wisteria doesn't really show up at all on me. After an hour or so, the scent starts to turn powdery. It's a pretty scent and I don't have allergy problems like I do with most florals, but it's really not my style.

[FireInCairo]

I am so in love with this fragrance. It is deeply rich and floral...very French smelling. It lasts on my skin forever. Just beautiful.

[inkstone]

A freebie from the Lab!

 

In the imp: Florals.

 

Wet: Roses and lilac. I don't get much wisteria at all.

 

Drydown: Roses, roses, roses. Even worse, it's the powdery roses that I despise, not the wet, lush, drooping roses that I love.

 

Final thoughts: I really like the smell of wisteria so I'm bummed that it didn't come out on my skin at all.

[QueenFae]

Sort of like an aged bouquet. Rose is the top note, but its a smoky, dark, smouldering rose. The wisteria is soft and creepy, with that anitique edge to it. Absolutely makes me think of old decaying bouquets af flowers on long lost graves. It goes a bit powdery on me, a little bit of old lady effect. Nice, but probably not for me.

[Dustbunnyxox]

LES FLEURS DU MAL:

 

From the bottle:

sweet roses. mmm. like a dried bouquet. very potporri -y. I like it.

 

On me: Nice sweet dried roses. I love it. just like in the bottle but a little stronger.

 

Two hours later: it faded really quick. but it was sooo nice. i'm definately getting a big bottle!