Melisande, The Puppet Mistress

[Suu4LC]

Jasmine sambac, dark musk, violet water, vanilla bean and mimosa.

 

In the imp this was straight, strong, heady jasmine. On my skin, the jasmine was still the dominant note, but the violet water note became much more prominent. This is a strong, sweet floral. The jasmine and violet went well together, though this is one I would steer clear of if you are a jasmine hater. Overall, it was a bit too jasmine heavy for me personally. I also found it did not last very long on my skin, and went a bit powdery.

[mymymai]

ITB: I can pick up jasmine, mimosa, violet (very faint), and vanilla from the bottle.

 

Wet: It's jasmine sambac - a sophisticated version, although it hints of baby oil as well. I can pick up a little of vanilla bean and a touch of musk. It's complex and strangely innocent at the same time.

 

Dry: The jasmine sambac is just gorgeous once dried - compelling while not dominating, and when paired with the vanilla and musk, it brings out a strongly feminine quality to the overall scent.

[Aviatrix]

I was looking forward to the violet and the mimosa the most, but this is pretty much straight up jasmine on me

It's not an unpleasant jasmine, but I am disappointed that that's all I can smell.

 

If you love jasmine, though, you will probably love this one!

[MonkeysInk]

In the imp, I got jasmine and other flowers. On my skin, I got all powdery jasmine. It's okay, just not for me - especially the powdery part - but it's a really pretty scent that seems like it would be just as at home in Neiman Marcus as at BPAL.

[doomsday_disco]

2015 version.

 

In the decant: Of course, I end up smelling two notes I was worried about: jasmine and violet.

 

Wet: Violet and jasmine are the first notes to greet my nose. I'm also getting some of the mimosa. This is a sweet, heady floral scent. I am still getting the violet and jasmine more than anything else, with the violet being stronger than the jasmine on me.

 

Dry: Violet reigns, followed by the jasmine. There is more mimosa during this stage, but the vanilla bean and dark musk are still nowhere to be found... unless the musk is just making the violet stronger.

 

Verdict: I am not fond of violet, and jasmine can be iffy on me. There's just too much of both of those notes in this blend for me to enjoy it... especially the violet, which is really strong on me.

[VetchVesper]

BPAL keeps rewarding my gambling habit with full sized, untested LE's. This is fantastic. I have been wallowing in it for the past few days and enjoying myself thoroughly. If you aren’t familiar with mimosa, it’s a soft, creamy, candyish floral. In this, it blends with the jasmine to make a lovely, sweet, floral with a bit of edge to it.

On my skin, a definite smokiness blooms in the scent, I’m guessing from the musk. This dies back after a while, leaving me with well blended florals. The violet becomes more prominent, but it doesn’t go powdery on me (which it sometimes does) and in the last stages of dry down I get the vanilla bean, but it’s faint. It’s more like a lady wearing intoxicating perfume is sitting near you while eating a bowl of ice cream than a vanilla perfume.

This actually reminds me a bit of Mata Hari, not because the notes are the same, but because their throws are similar and both are dark takes on classic florals with unusual background notes. I like this much more though. My mom and best friend both huffed my arms for uncomfortably long periods while I was wearing this. My mom actually smelled BOTH arms, just in case they were different! My only caveat is that my skin seems to soak this up after a few hours, but on my clothes it lasts all day.

Overall, I would say this is a jasmine floral, but a dark, complex one with a sinister edge. An evil beauty in plum colored taffeta. Mmmmmmm… 5/5 stars!

Edited October 4, 2015 by VetchVesper

[milo]

Jasmine sambac must be different than regular jasmine, as I'm not getting sour cat pee. I also tend to like night-blooming jasmine too. Melisande is strong floral jasmine (no cat pee!), and turns into a sweet, honeyed jasmine with a touch of vanilla. i really like this, a sexy, tropical floral. If you've smelled Lush's Flying Fox, this is very similar. After a bit, some violet. I'm not sure I'd wear this much, as I like Faiza The Black Mamba just as much as this. I may hunt down a decant though...

[zankoku_zen]

2015 version

 

Melisande 2015 is almost entirely a jasmine SN. Except for that violet intrusion every so often. But yes, floral jasmine and a touch of violets. I can't do jasmine but that's just me.

 

There's something darkly musky in the back, that smells almost leathery. I have no idea what it is. But it adds a dark cast over the jasmine SN.

 

Sultry, ominous, jasmine.

[stellamaris]

Beautiful beautiful, jasmine, with violets. It's like Beth was inside my head...

157 stars.

It's like a classic BPAL jasmine turned up to eleven.

[LadyLuckless]

I had a bottle of the original but foolishly swapped it away, then discovered too late I loved it. Every time a BPAL jasmine crossed my path I'd compare it unfavorably to Melisande, which was my perfect jasmine. I finally got around to getting another bottle and remembered why I wanted this sophisticated lady back in my life! She really is my favorite jasmine of all time and the delicious duo of the jasmine and violet is so darkly, deeply, royally PURPLE! The other notes lend a lot of sweetness and sparkle, and make the scent really sing. Very dramatic, elegant, and substantial.

[Cali]

2015 Version.

 

From the imp this is old ladies' perfume to me. On my skin it seems to go stronger, and there's this warm undertone comparable to an undertone in the old version of Mme. Moriarty. On me this just amps and amps and amps up the jasmine, with that sweet vanilla undertone and a heady dark musk in the background, plus something I can't put my fingers on. (I'm not sure what mimosa is supposed to smell like anyway). But it's mostly jasmine.

I don't hate it, but I wouldn't wear it.

[Zorra]

From the bottle and wet on the skin Melisande seems to be just jasmine. But after a while the jasmine has used up her initial enthusiasm and gives space to the mimosa and they get along very well! The violet makes the blend darker, the vanilla gives some sweetness to it and the musk adds some mystery. I have had this bottle for a year now and time definitely has added depth to it. It has  become a scent I want to wear again the next day.