Megaera

[Firewaver]

Orris, black amber, bergamot, plum and grapefruit.

this is nice, if a little unremarkable.

It smells a tad bit like kitsune-tsuki, and a little bit like bordello. Unfortunately I don't like it as well as either. It's sweet and light; quite light, actually, since I haven't been wearing it for more than half and hour and it's fading rapidly.

Also, sweet scents like this tend to go a little "off" on me, like rotting fruit, so I try to steer away from them. This one is awfully sweet, and it doesn't have any floral or grounding notes to keep it from going south.

Nice in the beginning though!

[darkitysnark]

Megaera

 

I've tried this one a couple times now and am still undecided...

 

In the bottle:

Juicy, dark, tangy fruit. The plum and the grapefruit must be fighting it out because I don't get a strong impression either way other than: juicy, non-berry fruit.

 

Wet/drydown:

Overwhelming fruit mixed with a sweet, light floral (the orris? I'm not familiar enough with flowers to pick them all out). Very, very sweet. Too sweet! I seem to always regret putting on however much of this I did... hindsight always tells me to go lighter with this one. Very strong!

 

Later:

Still extremely strong. I'm not sure of my throw, but I'm wafting like a fiend. The amber has warmed up enough to be noticed, but it's almost drowned in the fruity, floral fisticuffs going on higher up.

 

When I sniff directly from my wrist, I get plum sharpened by tangy grapefruit, that pugnacious floral, and in the background, lovely amber... and some sort of sharp feral note at the very end, right at the edge of smelling. Ouch.

 

Sounds like I don't like it, right? But oddly enough... I feel really outrageously feminine right now. Like I have discovered the power of my sex and aren't afraid to use it. Suggestion? Probably. Still.. I'll most likely hang on to this one for days when I need a little oomph.

 

Just gotta remember to use half-a-swipe next time.

[angharad]

Oooh. Amber and grapefuit. Neither one likes me separate, and they still don't like me together. When I first applied this, it was a sharp, bitter grapefuit. After drydown, the amber turned it to a sharp, bitter baby powder. I didn't get any other notes out of this one. It's definitely not for me.

[sookster]

sweet, warm, citrus

lovely...stays ever so close to my skin and morphs into one of the

savviest scents i have ever encountered!!!

after a time the amber comes through brightly and mixes with

the citrus making this an utter joy to wear .... astounding ....

i adore megaera ....

[inkstone]

A freebie from the Lab.

 

In the imp: Citrusy fruity.

 

Wet: Very strong grapefruit. Wow.

 

Drydown: A purple grapefruit, which I think is the result of the plum blending with the citrus.

 

Final thoughts: This reminds me of Aizen-myoo in many ways, though without the strong black tea note. Not for me though, but I think I know someone who'd like it so I'll pass it along to her.

[lookingglass]

The orris is a mysterious shadow over the piercing grapefruit and sweet plum. Quite interesting. It makes it the darker, sultry sister of Aizen Myoo. I thought the drydown was a bit anise-like. It is fresh without being soapy, green, aquatic or sunny. Quite delightful as a sexy summer scent.

[WidgetAlley]

A frimp from the generous Lab.

 

Wet: That dry orris I remember from Dragon's Bone, mingling with wet juicy plum, grapefruit and high bright bergamot. I can't detect the amber, but then, I usually can't, until I get the oil on my skin and the initial chorus starts to quiet down a little bit. I really like it so far, though!

 

Wet: Oh, no! I just knocked over the Imp while applying it! My first BPAL spill. It was only a drop, but still... I rubbed my favourite jacket all over it, though, and my papers smell delicious now. Anyway, right, wet, on my skin, the plum comes to the forefront. It's very sweet in almost-candy, almost-wine sort of way, but it's kept from being too sugary by the orris, which lends it a dusty sort of dignity. Grapefruit and bergamot are hovering on top, making this quite a clear sort of blend. The amber is softening the edges of everything, and doing a fine job of it. This is similar to Florence, only with plum wine instead of berries.

 

Dry: An alcoholic note emerges, possibly from the coupling of the orris and the plum. It smells a good deal like my uncle's blueberry mead... but in a wearable form. It's not overpowering, and is still fruity enough to be very pleasant. It's bubbly and yummy, but still grown up. There's some throw, but just enough to be tantalizing: you want to lean in closer for another sniff. After a while, the amber starts to dominate. That glowing, your-skin-but-oh-so-much-better smell, topped by the wine. This one's a deep rich purple colour, all the way.

 

Bon Vivant, Magaera, and Florence all strike me as being in the same family: Bon Vivant is the playful, just-old-enough-to-be-tempting youngest, Florence the sophisticated, wiser elder sister, and Magaera the stunning, dark-haired, witchy middle child; experienced enough to be seductive, sharp enough to be witty, withheld enough to be mysterious. I have a short plum-coloured velvet dress and a pair of strappy stiletto sandals that will go great with this!

[foxroses]

i got an imp of megaera a while back, and upon opening it, i LOOOVE it. it's such a gorgeous, rich, spicy-sweet grapefruit, just delicious. i'm not sure if it's orris or amber i'm smelling that adds to it, but i know there is bergamot mixing in. i don't really recognize plum, but there's something fruity that isn't grapefruit, so i'm not sure if i see purple, or just white, really crisp white. but purple too. hm.

 

the first time i tried it on, though, after about 30 minutes it turned into slightly grapefruit tinged baby powder.

 

trying it again.. so far so good but it hasn't been long

 

10 minutes: so far.. still good. maybe i was having a bad day before :}

 

25 min or so later: kind of baby powdery. ugh. i think i need to layer this with something to tone down the babypowderness. it's like all the bergamot and plum and spicy go away, and i get light, fluffy, grapefruit scented babypowder. it smells good but not really what i had hoped for.

Edited January 3, 2006 by mitsukai

[Meg]

In the bottle: grapefruit and iris with a touch of plum. Weird combo.

 

Wet: The iris comes to the foreground with a touch of something tangy and bitter which is probably the grapefruit. It's quite a rich scent, probably rounded out by the amber.

 

Drydown: Hm, plum and iris with a touch of grapefruit, and amber to warm things up. It makes me thing of a glycerin soap - it's not soapy per se, but I think we had a soap that smelled like that. Actually it's slightly powdery because of the iris.

 

Overall: Oh, it's so not me. It becomes very much iris and amber, and it smells like a run-of-the-mill commercial fruity perfume on me. All the zest of the citrus is warped, and it mostly smells sickly sweet and powdery. Nope, I was hoping for something much stronger and zesty, this just doesn't suit me. *off to the swap pile*

[Mountaingrrl00]

This one was love at first sniff, and I think this is going to be a lasting love. The bergamot-grapefruit zing, the plummy-amber spice, and the amber-orris powder are all lovely and well-balanced. It makes me feel energetic, womanly and absolutely delicious. It is long-lasting but stays close to my skin. I've been sniffing my wrist for hours!

[desu]

In the bottle: Grapefruity plum. I love grapefruit of any sort, so I've been looking forward to trying this one. And for something named after The Jealous One, this really smells like a lot of fun!

 

On my skin: The grapefruit just brightens on application. There isn't much in the way of support from the other notes, it seems, but I really do like it the way it is: bright, shining, and eye-opening.

[jazlyn]

Megaera is interesting. I can identify the grapefruit (mmm) and I think the black amber and plum, but I'm not sure what the other notes smell like. Later on, the grapefruit is less pronounced and everything seems to be blended together very well. This is a pretty scent and feminine too, but I'm not sure if I like it enough to wear it regularly.

[Voleuse]

The grapefruit hits me first, but the plum takes over soon after that. This is a round, sweet, mellow scent, but it's cool and dark as well. As it dries, it stays sweet, but I get a drier note as well--the orris, I presume. After a while, the musk kicks in, but it's not very strong on my skin. I like this.

[Chrysantza]

This came as a frimp from the Lab.

 

In the bottle: Very fruity

 

On me: Oh no, it smells like my mom's HORRID "Green Apple" dish soap! The fruits hate me and have gone all vinegar-y and chemically. Almost always, citrus + my body chemistry = bad.

 

Verdict: Swaparoonie.

[Celogrl]

This is a new latest favorite- I have a thing for grapefruit anyway, and the balance of the sharp citrus mixed with the sweet plum is exquisite. I like the bit of orris in it, too. This is a fragrance that mellows and becomes even more lovely as it blooms on the skin. Lovely job, Beth and lab!

[jidabug]

Wet: Citrusy w/ a bit of floral underneath.

Dry: Soap! Going very soapy, probably because of the grapefruit. Can detect a bit of the bergamot underneath.

Final: It most definitley went soapy on me. Expensive, fancy guest soaps that you put out for special occasions, but soap, nonetheless.

[Wench457]

Very nice indeed. Pretty much if a scent has grapefruit, I'm guaranteed to like it. This one may even have toppled Aizen-Myoo from the top of my list. The plum is making this remind me a lot of Midwinter's Eve. I'd like to compare the two side-by-side to see how similar they actually are.

[Miss Lynx]

Alas, this was kind of a disappointment. Not as much so as Masabakes, but still not really what I was expecting. I didn't think anything with amber, bergamot and plum could go wrong, but I hadn't counted on how much my skin might amp the orris.

 

It smelled really nice in the imp, warm and fruity and ambery. But on my skin, the orris kind of took over and it became really sweet and perfumey (for lack of a better word. Not what I was hoping for at all. It wasn't bad, exactly, but it wasn't great either.

 

Oh well. It would probably be lovely on someone with different skin chemisty...

 

Grade: B-

[gingersnapp]

There is a bright citrus to this, and yet it's not perfectly citrus.... almost a melon quality to it. So I'm guessing that's a combination of the plum and the grapefruit. Very juicy and bright. Just a touch of orris for the slightest hint of a floral quality to the blend, but overall this is fruit fruit fruit. I don't get too much of the black amber, but something is darkening this slightly as it dries down, so it must be that or the bergamot.

 

Very lovely and springy.

[lysistrata]

In vial: Very sharp and sweet grapefruit and citrus.

 

On me, wet: The sweetness continues, but with a bite to it. It's a lovely round citrus smell, and gradually the purple plum emerges to add a little more juice to it. There's still a squeaky greenness to it, and a little gold which must be the amber.

 

On me, dry: The squeaky green gets stronger and the sweetness fades a little, and it becomes primarily plum. Smells fresh and green, like dew-covered leaves and fruits, and not too sweet.

 

Verdict: Yummy but not too sweet, green but not too grassy, and a nicely rounded scent with a little light and a little dark. I like it a lot. I think it'll make a good summery scent.

 

EDITED TO ADD: Later: After wearing this several times, I notice a peppery, bitter flavor that I didn't notice the first time I tried it. It may just be because of that time of the month, but it completely dominates the plum and grapefruit and makes it very hard to enjoy the scent. I guess I will have to get my fruit elsewhere. Maybe Bordello will satisfy my plum fix.

Edited May 11, 2006 by Lysistrata

[Phaedra]

Wet this is a mix of berries and violet. When first on it's a bit powdery mixed with sweet citrus-mmm grapefruit. This is an earthy, sweet blend. The powder fades after a couple of hours. It's not very long lasting on me but it is nice. I will probably use up the imp.

[gwyllgi]

This is the first BPAL blend with grapefruit I've tried, and it does nothing to lower my high expectations.

 

I adore plum scents, so this one was a given to try. It is everything I wanted it to be and more, with grapefruit adding a sweet tang to the plum, while the other notes (which I can't quite separate) ground it, keeping it from being too fruity.

 

I can't even pin down the words I want to use to describe this. As such, I'll just say that it makes me happy, and I absolutely love it.

[Mayati]

Well, this scent is my first BPAL order's raison d'etre, so I hope I'll like it. I have never been a perfume person, so my nose is still untrained. Aside from the plum and grapefruit, I don't really know what any of these notes smell like on their own. So I'll just try to convey my general impression.

 

In the bottle: Tangy, sort of a hybrid of incense and citrus. I suppose the main thing that I'm smelling must be the grapefruit. It's perhaps a bit sharp for my taste.

 

Wet: On my skin, I smell a strong grapefruit aroma with something sort of hard and medicinal underneath. I can see what other reviewers mean about the "soap" smell.

 

Dry: It's becoming sweeter. It doesn't seem to have much of a range, but I didn't put a whole lot on. From a distance, I get sort of a mild, vaguely sweet and pleasant whisp of scent. If I sniff my wrist up close, it smells like the lovechild of citrus candy and liquid hand-soap.

 

Sadly, I'm not sure that this is exactly my thing. But maybe I'll give it another chance before I send it to the land of swappage.

 

EDIT: Well, after wearing it for a couple hours, it is starting to grow on me a bit. It has faded down to a mild, pleasantly sweet, somewhat undefinable scent.

Edited May 22, 2006 by Mayati

[eviltemptressdq]

i smell a sweet candied fruit... i like it, but i'm not sure I'd wear it again... It must be the grapefruit

[cranberry]

Tried via the General Catalog Swap.

 

I've been wanting to try this one for a long time so I'm thrillled to have gotten the chance.

 

On the skin wet, it smells like a dark red fruit - pomegranate, fig, or plum. It has a slight soapy note, and I’m getting a whiff of ozone. It’s a fruity, clean fresh scent. After it’s been on for about an hour, all I’m getting is a fig or plum note, the same one that I find in Queen of Clubs. My overall impression, is that it’s a strong, plum scent. I like it a lot - very nice!