Les Fleurs du Mal

[Lunasariel]

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

 

In the imp: Soft white florals - I would have said a very subdued tuberose or ylang ylang, with some violet for wispiness. No rose so far.

 

Wet: Lusher and very capital-W Womanly. I don't have a great scent profile for pure lilac or pure wisteria, so my first thought was "jasmine? maybe with some violet sprinkled overtop?"

 

Dry: Dries down very quickly into what I would swear is sugared violets. A very soft, sweet floral that wears close to the skin.

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: Pretty lilac for a second, then wisteria socks me right in the face. Woo! Not a fan of that at all. I don't think I knew what wisteria smelled like. Now I can tell you, not a fan. Blarg.

 

 

Dry: Lilac with icky wisteria undertones. There's something sharp and unpleasant about the wisteria on me, I just can't enjoy it, despite how much I adore lilac. The rose never showed up. This one is not for me.

[queenshaboo]

Weird. Out of the bottle and wet, I don't smell roses, lilac or wisteria at all, just jasmine and gardenia (or maybe tuberose?). After a few minutes I imagine it starts smelling of slight rose and lilac and wisteria except it's not like any wisteria I've ever smelt (irl wisteria reminds me of purple sweet pea but lighter and less exotic) and the lilac lacks that clear piercing sweetness that the fresh flowers have; so it remains reminiscent of gardenia/ tuberose drugstore perfume to me.

 

I've always thought of myself as a floral girl but I'm starting to think maybe I'm not because I really don't like this floral. I don't smell much real rose or lilac or wisteria at all.

 

Even In the dry down all I get is incense and overripe gardenia. I only bought this because I expected it to be more rosy and if it smelled like it's constituent ingredients are supposed to I would love it but the more I smell it the more objectionable it gets

Edited February 25, 2017 by queenshaboo

[Lucchesa]

Where is the evil? This is a lovely summery floral, something my mother would have worn, whereas from the name I was hoping for something my mother would have been slightly unnerved by. I love Baudelaire and was expecting a little more "mal" from Fleurs du Mal, something deeper and debauched.

[achildoftime]

Soft and feminine flowers. It's mostly rose and lilac. I don't get any of the wisteria at all. Just the sweetness of the rose being tempered by the soft lilac. If you like florals, this feels very classic and traditional. It has moderate throw and wear length. As far as I'm concerned, it's a fresh and functional middle-of-the-road perfume.

[VetchVesper]

Sooooooo floral, like, soapy perfumey floral. I'm not getting much rose, lots of lilac and wisteria though. If you like potent, old fashioned florals, or wisteria in particular, this might be too your tastes. Too much for me though. :/

[InaraRedCloak]

Age Unknown: Date: November 2016

In the vial: The wisteria comes out first. Then lilac and the rose on deep inhale. I knew I would love this blend based off its components. I was right.

Wet on Skin: Everything blends beautifully. The rose and wisteria feel like they are on either end and the lilac ties them together. This is so very floral yet gentle, not a single note overpowers the others. This is surprising because all three are strong. I'm really liking this.

Dry 30+ mins: I missed my timing to record this blend. My friend said it smells like "baby powder".

Worn 3+ hours: a really mellow, faded wisteria. The rose is still gentle and mellow, the lilac is slightly sweet. This is one of my favorite floral scents. It's lovely. It brings to mind ballroom dresses waltzing in a beautiful twilight garden.

[follis]

I had a bunch of forgotten imps never reviewed that I'm now returning to. Aged imp 2009. The colour is a pale amber. 

 

Wet: Strong, florals, rose. I don't really know what wisteria and lilacs smell like, but goodness a little swatch is strong from this aged imp. 

On: yep florals, quite strong. I wonder if aging the imp has anything to do with increasing the throw on this one. 

Drydown: hmm warm. I'm enjoying it more now that it's settled. It's not overpowering and doesn't seem to be any specific floral. It does however fade quickly. I have to sniff quite close to the skin. 

A couple of hours later: This has disappeared completely from my skin. Age doesn't seem to increase its lasting power. 
 

[spookyumbrella]

Like breathing in the air of a florist's fridge - cold, cold flowers.  Very refreshing and pretty. It's not groundbreaking, but not everything has to be. Rose, lilac and wisteria are equally represented here. Overall, its classic, beautiful and fresh.

[Dancing Raven]

I want to give a huge thank you to the lab for including this with my order. When they send things, they are definitely paying attention to what you purchased. I strongly believe that there are no casual toss ins. Everything is something they think you will like. I appreciate that kind of customer service and thoughtfulness. On to the review...

Wet: fresh, sweet & pollen-y lilac. I thought I detected lily with fresh cut stems. Shortly after, a tart lemon joins in, so it may be the rose that my nose interprets as a lily. This smells like liquid sunshine and happiness. No doom and gloom here!

You know how when you were little, and you would pop the top of a dandelion off? The smell on your fingers from the milky, green sap from the stems? There's an undertone of that. This blend is summery and refreshing. It reminds me a lot of Hope is the Thing with Feathers. I wonder if there is jasmine in this.

Drydown: it remains fairly linear throughout. Throw is very good. I like this more than HITTWF because of the lemony rose which uplifts it.

Later, vanilla adds to the base of the true- to- life florals. Just like someone else said - it's like walking into a florist's fridge. At this point, it reminds me of Lines Written in Early Spring (which I adore). It's different enough that I will definitely be keeping it. LWIES had more of a creamy, almost milky note, whereas Les Fleurs has a sweet nonfoody vanilla.

On me, this is lilac, wisteria, and rose. I don't get a rosey or powdery scent, just crisp and citrusy. They are intertwined perfectly. Nothing stands out above the rest. There is nothing old ladyish about it. These are fresh flowers. The lilac and wisteria remain crisp and sweet throughout, and the rose is there to support and keep it from becoming cloying. If you love floral scents, this one is superb. 

5 out of 5 stars.

[Laughing Seagull]

Received as a lab frimp.  In the vial, I mostly smell lilac.  I don't know what wisteria smells like.

 

After putting it on my skin, it remains mostly lilac until the dry-down, at which point rose wanders in.  These are fresh, wet flowers.

 

It's grown on me.

Edited March 25 by Laughing Seagull

[myrrhmyrrh]

 

In the vial: oh YES, yesyesyes, heady headstrong, headspinning – rose dominant and something else powdery (if you like that kind of thing, and I do) – I could follow Baudelaire’s order to be drunk on this; let's see if it inspires:

 

On me, wet: a darker, lower note, I don’t know what, comes to anchor the heady Rose and her floral accomplices: this is the Mal, then, after the original bouquet drew you in and seduced you. It’s in your flesh now, and there’s no escaping it. I understand now that this is in Ars Moriendi

 

On me, just dried: what has entered your flesh is now part of your soul, and it is not a shy thing (no powder now), it will make you its own. Rose, yes, but a rose close to the earth, a rose close to rotting, though still deeply sensual. The other flowers are there, I can sense them but they don’t announce themselves, are content to bear witness to the Rose’s sins.

 

After 15 minutes: The powder is back but cannot absolve the Rose. Still, she bears her head proudly, Wisteria and Lilac whisper consolations, but behind her back

 

After 30 minutes: Wisteria and Lilac come forth to defend the Rose; they speak but their words revolve around her, echo her deeds.

 

After 1 hour: Powder now, a rosy powder: the rose herself has absconded leaving only her memory, but what a memory, all the low notes underneath the powder

 

After 3 hours: The legend of the Rose and her deeds will be spoken of by Wisteria and Lilac’s descendants, echoing dowsn through many generations

 

Verdict lovelovelove – will definitely order a big bottle again.

[alyelle]

In the imp: Heavy on rose, with a soapy lilac.

 

Wet: I had this once, years ago, and didn't like it then - rose simply refused to behave on me. These days it's a lot better, and is often pleasant - which is the case with this on initial application. A full-blooming pink tea rose, almost-but-not-quite Penhaligon's rose note, which would be perfect but for the soapiness of the lilac.

 

Dry: Sadly, the rose wilts under the lilac, and this ultimately becomes the same grandma talc scent that I remember from my long ago tests. A shame, because it really is wonderful to start with. Very short-lived, and not a winner on me at all.

 

Stars: ★★

[MolyH]

A mild, soft, but very generic floral. I can identify the rose, because I'm very much a rose-aholic, but it's not very forward--like the description says, this is very much a background rose. It's not unpleasant, but it's not really something I'm crazy for either.

[ShadowEtienne]

This is a lovely, mild floral that is fairly balanced between rose, lilac, and wisteria on my skin. I can smell all three flowers about evenly, and they smell true to themselves, though perhaps cut and not quite fresh, there's a soft dryness to the scent.

 

However, while there is nothing objectionable about the scent, I rarely if ever find myself reaching for it. None of the scents are lighting up on my skin or doing much terribly interesting. I have other florals that I'm more excited about with most of these notes (I love wisteria, but have not found it in something that excites me yet). I think that for me to properly appreciate this one, it would have needed a brighter note of something, or some spices to round it out. There are pure florals that work for me, but this isn't really one of them, despite there being nothing wrong with it.

[Assimbya]

This is a beautiful, gentle floral. As others have pointed out in their reviews above, the notes are impressively balanced - I distinctly get rose, lilac and wisteria throughout wear, though the balance of the three shifts over time. It starts with rose for me, then wisteria takes over, then I get a more even balance of lilac and rose.

 

The first time I wore this I liked it but wasn't particularly impressive - I think I wanted a more intense rose. Subsequently it's really grown on me, particularly as I've come to appreciate the wisteria note more. There's something smooth  and quietly elegant about this scent without being fancy; it makes me feel like a nineteenth century woman in her dressing room in a chemise and petticoats, not yet fully dressed to go out. I'm not sure yet whether I'll get a full-sized bottle of this, but I'm considering.