Xanthe, The Weeping Clown

[moon_lemming]

Guava, orange peel, white pepper, spun sugar and apple blossom.

 

Ah! I was trying to put my finger on what the smell of this in the imp reminded me of. Sobe makes a piña colada-ish drink that smells pretty much spot on to this.

 

Xanthe fades FAST on me. Three minutes after application, it's almost nothing but ghosts. The guava is the strongest on my skin, with apple blossom peeking through. It's good and fruity while it lasts, but it's gone before I can really appreciate it.

Edited November 20, 2006 by karen

[grrrlennyl]

at first: sort of odd. definitely sweet and citrussy, but with a hint of apple blossom, pepper, and sugar to it.

on: mostly guava. very pretty.

1 hour later: a sweet, light, floral. this reminds me of a solid perfume i had when i was really little.

5 hours later: soft and faintly fruity.

overall: this is a nice, soft, fruity scent. it's definitely not something that's in your face. i'm going to hang onto it and see how often i reach for it.

[jasmine]

First impression: this is good stuff. Of course, that’s not very eloquent, but it’s accurate.

 

Initially, it’s a wave of pale, spiced fruit. The orange peel comes rolling out on top a moment later, but the guava and pepper are more dominant. The apple blossom is there, too, curling mistlike around the spicy guava. Spun sugar is listed, but this doesn’t seem like a sweet blend to me -- it has a distinct dryness despite being so heavily fruit-based. I think it’s the pepper.

 

The orange peel settles down, leaving the spiciness on top to get a better grip on the scent. I like it at first application, but I like it better with this peppery, staticky tingle filling my nose. (The tingle makes me think somehow of TV static -- pinpoints of black and white flashing, only in scent. It’s not a bad thing.) It’s a highly distinctive scent.

 

The pepper is fading back again, and the fruit is coming out stronger. This is a surprise, since I wore it once before my “I’m going to review this now” wearing, and I could swear the fruit quieted almost into nothing the first time around. This time, it’s quite fruity.

 

A bit more time with some patient sniffing convinces me that, rather than being static and fading, Xanthe is in a slow state of metamorphic flux. As soon as it goes too far toward fruit, it settles back toward spice, and vice versa.

 

In either state, Xanthe is a distinctive scent with strong identity. I really like it, and I look forward to wearing it more in the future.

[Ajila]

In the bottle - Sugar and I smell banana, but I guess that's the guava

 

Wet on me - Apple soap, with possibly a bit of pepper

 

Dry on me - Very faint, slightly sweet nectar

 

Overall - Gone in a flash, pretty but so brief

[Voleuse]

On first application, this is all Juicy Fruit to my nose, but in a good way. Sweet and thirst-quenching and bright. There's a hint of pepper behind it, but mostly it's fruit and warmth. Yum!

[cranberry]

In the imp, this is super sweet guava bubble gum.

 

On the skin, wow! Guava bubble gum indeed. This smells like candy, the spun sugar is really making itself known. There’s a sharpness here that could be the pepper - the scent has a bite. This is a light hearted, fun, fruity scent that brings to mind sunny, summer days, warm breezes and lush green grass (but there’s no grass smell here).

 

This does remind me of Fruit Moon or Kunstkammer.

[gwynhwyfar]

In the bottle, this smells almost overwhelmingly sweet. Candy sweet. I like sweet, though, so ... I put it on.

 

For the first 10 minutes or so that this is on my skin, this smells like bazooka bubble-gum.

 

Thankfully, that overwhelming 'gum' scent fades and it turns into something amazing.

 

To me, this smells like a combination of Angel and Hypnotic Poison. I get the sweet candy/vanilla/sugar scent that is one of the primary aspects of Angel for me, and along with that, I get something that smells like the bitter almond/fruit from Hypnotic Poison.

 

Since those are two of my favorite commerical perfumes, I love this. I never would have thought of combining those, but now I'm going to, just to see what happens.

 

This, however ... this I'm going to pick up another bottle of, if funds and my lust for other things permits. Because this is absolutely delicious and something that I can easily see wanting more of after this bottle is used. I'd also like to see how this will age, because I can see this getting even better with age.

 

Yum!!

[theseagrows]

i wasnt too sure about this one, as i'm not a fan of fruity or foody scents. i got the decant and it smelled of sickly sweet bubblegum. i put it on my wrist and still got the same bubblegum, but then after a few minutes it faded a bit and i got a beautiful, soft sugary scent. i can hardly make out any notes because this is blended so well. i do think the orange peel and pepper temper the sweetness. it definitely is a sugary scent, but not all that foody. i love this and may have to get a bottle.

[filigree_shadow]

This smells exactly like pink bubblegum to me at first. I don't mean sort of like bubblegum, I mean that exact scent. When it dries it smells more like fruits, but not juicy fruits, kind of acidic fruits. The pepper isn't really helping.

 

I think my skin must have some trouble with certain fruits -- it turned both Migo Brain Canister and Fruit Moon into an acidic fruit scent. It's messing up this one, too.

 

Although this doesn't work on me, I bet it smells fabulous on other people.

[ForeverLastcXs]

To me, Xanthe smells like Jailbait's older, more mature, more worldly sister. The sweet bubble-gum scent is light, and I can definitely smell the fruity influences of apple and guava here, as well as a spicy undertone that I can only guess is the pepper. It's gorgeous on the dry-down...I think I might have to get myself a bottle of this before CD leaves town for good!

[Shollin]

First sniff: Sad cherry bubblegum.

 

Wearing: I completely understand the early “cherry blowpop” reviews from Will Call. And I’m trying to figure out where the hell it’s coming from. There’s no cherry in here. There’s not even a sneaky almond note that always makes me think it’s cherry. And yet.

[evilbee]

I've been trying a lot of "chewy" scents lately - scents so round and sweet and smooth that it feels like they could get stuck in your teeth (or hair).

 

Now, keep in mind I love guava - I wish I could walk around every day with one tied to my face, in fact. It took me a long time to try the Clown because I didn't want to be disappointed. And I kindof am. Yes, it's sweet and bubblegummy and fruity and juicy, but not the guava I was desperately hoping for. I've worn this a few times in hopes that it will grow on me and that I'll catch some magical whiff of guava fruit, but the only thing that's happened is my husband turning his nose up at me telling me I smell like Hubba Bubba.

 

Oh well.

[Lunaratu]

When this first went on this smelled a lot of guava--but I love guava! I happen to drink those cans of guava juice when I can find them so this was a happy scent to me. I don't sense a weeping clown at the moment in this. xanthe is more like a bright summer day.

 

and then it settles into something so brilliant and wonderful. the spice comes out and the sweetness of the guava and the sugar rounds out with the pepper to become sensual yet bright. there is also a hint of freshness that is coming out with the sugary-spice that uplifts this which I think is the orange peel.

 

I love this and I will definitely be upgrading it to a bottle because it is fabulous on me! wow, i expected to like this but not love this the way I do. guess me and the vampiric clown really get along here

 

Rating: 5/5

Throw: Light to low--it's a little more than a skin scent but it still also has a very close bubble of throw.

Edited October 9, 2007 by Lunaratu

[Jenesis]

Bottle: WHOOF of bright sugars and lemony scent. Thoughts: Uh-oh. (I can't do citrus at all!)

 

Wet: Chopped banana (I guess this is the guava?) covered in sugar.

 

Drydown: Still the sugary banana/fruit milkshake, but the blossom, just enough to ground it, comes into play. Wow!

 

Dry: Mmm, I can't stop sniffing my wrists! Surprisingly sexy fruit, rounded off with the sugar, and grounded by the apple blossom. If I had to pick an image it would be a pina colada (as someone earlier said), with bananas and fruit and sugar, with a few blossoms on the top.

 

Dry (after 20 mins): This has gone more mellow and less bright than before (not a bad thing!). Still sexy and warm and sweet. A complex scent.

 

Throw: I can smell it on my neck if I put more than a dab on, but I'm not walking in the middle of a cloud of scent when I wear this.

 

Final verdict: Gorgeous sweet fruity scent grounded by the blossom. So glad I got two bottles of this!

 

Rating: 4.5/5

Edited May 14, 2007 by Jenesis

[LadyCrow]

I got a sniffie of this with some other imps, and tested it without having read the notes recently. I think I might have glanced over it in here and gone, "Ooh, not for me." Let that be a lesson! If you have preconceptions against a particular scent category or note (that you're not actually allergic to), forget them when it comes to BPAL! Very much like Mi-Go Brain Canister (another fruity, peppery scent), Xanthe is a scent I never would have dreamed would be so good on my skin... but it is.

 

In the imp: Sweet and fruity, with a bit of spice.

 

Wet: Banana bread? Seriously, is this banana bread?

 

As it dries: Can't stop sniffin'. This isn't a scent with major throw -- I've found that if it's pale in the imp like this, it's not going to pack the wallop of, say, a dark red Ars Draconis blend. Xanthe is definitely a skin scent, but one that gives me pleasure as I move around, smelling like something sweet -- simultaneously that indulgent, childish sweetness of the guava and something more sophisticated. With Xanthe, although I can seriously smell the cotton candy on drydown, the floral notes and the pepper remind me that there's more to the "world" of this scent than just the sweetness. The guava is kept from having the tropical-sticky feeling of the actual juice (which I love, but wouldn't want to smell like on its own unless I really wanted to attract bees). Deftly blended, definitely summery.

[modernsaints]

hsdfkjsdf SO GOOD.

 

In the imp and wet, this is BUBBLEGUM. Lots and lots of it; sort of reminds me of Joy Mojo, but not QUITE that bad. (Joy Mojo was the bubblegum from hell on me, though.)

 

However, this dries down into a lovely, sweetly sugared guava. I work with a Colombian girl who likes to bring me little blocks of guava paste (which by the way are DELICIOUS and highly recommended) and this smells kind of like that, but with a bit of a fluffier, cotton-candy sugar tint. I am going to love the hell out of this decant and seriously consider a bottle. (Especially because I want to slather this, like, all over my entire body.)

[Brianne]

In the vial:

Umm....bubblegum?

 

On me:

This is strangely bubblegummy on me, it makes me feel all innocent and girly - smells like the bubblegum that comes in the middle of blow pops Despite the fact that you may go, "Eww I don't want to smell like that", it really is very pleasant! Slightly sugary and absolutely delightful. After a while a little bit of guava kicks in - it's faint and adds a slight... bitter zest to it. Hard to describe. This is definitely a candy scent though, I can't believe how much I love this and I almost passed it up!

 

Final note:

I am utterly surprised by this one. It's a candy/bubblegum scent with a twist and I adore it. I want to roll in this stuff!

[catattack]

I received this imp in a swap and it sat in my drawer for at least a couple of months. I tried it today and was pleasantly surprised. By the description, I wasn't terribly thrilled about it, but when I sniffed the imp, it was really nice. It smelled slightly sweet and fruity. Once on my skin, it showed a powdery bitter side which cut the fruitiness a little and balanced it out. The only disappointment is that it's a light scent and faded quickly. It's a keeper.

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: I get tropical fruits, very sweet florals, and a hint of something almost medicine-y.

 

Immediately on skin: This is just slightly spicy, but sweet. I can smell the guava and apple blossom, and the pepper adds a spicy kick to it.

 

After a few minutes: This has lightened up quite a bit. The guava is still shining with a sweet fruity note, and there’s a subtle fruity floral bite from the apple blossom. It’s sweet, but not too sweet. I’m loving it so far.

 

Later on: This scent is very pretty… it’s soft and sweet with lovely light fruit notes and a touch of the apple blossom. It’s sweet, but the pepper seems to ground it a bit.

 

Overall, I really like this and it's definitely bottle-worthy. It's a soft sweet scent where no one note seems to be overpowering another and are complimenting eachother very well!

[alicia_stardust]

Xanthe is sweet, pale, fruity. It has a sort of ethereal pink/orange scent to it and it almost reminds me of Kunstkammer, not in exact scent but in scent family.

 

I really love the way this wears. It has a sort of uplifting yet mellow mood to it.

[Mimosatique]

Wet: Light cool-ish citrus with plae, sugar-like florals dancing around. Like a piece of fruity chewing gum!

 

Dry: Florals die down a bit and the cotton candy like spun sugar amps up..still a light/pale scent but gimme spun sugar anytime!

 

Verdict: I LOVE IT. It's pale(airy quality) & it smells gorgeous. The dried down reminds me of the ever so popular pencil box frgrant decoration seeds I used to use as a kid! The frosty transluscent fragrant "peas" and fragrant pens were POPULAR in Asia(if you grew up there you know what i'm talking about!!! "Shung shung dao"! Wow, i took a walk down memory lane with Xanthe! Reminds me of my innocent, lazy childhood summer days!

 

eta: i cannot spell!

Edited August 15, 2007 by Mimosatique

[Miseraya]

In the imp: Getting the cherry blow-pops that someone else mentioned. Not getting anything else.... *crosses fingers*

 

On the wrist: Wowza, the pepper pops up very quickly once applied. Now it's peppery blow-pops. The blow-pop scent fades away rather quickly, replaced by a more adult sweet scent. That pepper really tempers the sweetness in this blend, killing off the overly sweet cherry lollipop note.

 

Drydown: This is a gorgeous sweet spicy blend, not foody, not candy, but sweet and spicy just the same. Love, love, love it!

[workedtodeath]

In the bottle : very sweet smell, smells more like flowers than fruit to me

Wet : The flowery smell goes away slightly and it smells more like fruit

Dry : it gets a little spicy, and the fruit smell goes away a bit.

 

This one is way too sweet for me. It makes my head hurt when i sniff the bottle. I think I'm going to swap it off.

[Catmint]

IMP: Juicy Fruit gum (which I love!)

 

WET: slightly flowery Juicy Fruit.

 

DRY: Gets a bit more powdery, less fresh, but still quite nice. After half an hour or so it gets a bit warmer and spicier, I don't get any pepper but there is something faintly warm and sweetly spicy under there. I wish there was a lot more orange peel to sharpen it up, but I still like this a lot. Maybe I will try layering it with something sharp and citrusy. I bought a bottle unsniffed and I will definitely use it!

 

ETA: I have been reaching for this more and more lately. This morning I was in a hurry and didn't roll the bottle, and it made a big difference to the scent. It was all juicy guava and sweet apple blossom, just gorgeous. Whatever makes it go powdery must settle to the bottom of the bottle.

Edited October 19, 2007 by Catmint

[metaldog32]

Yes…so I bought Xanthe because I like the idea of the clown crying while having sharp objects in it’s grasp…it seemed jarring and I was intrigued.

 

I am also a bit fascinated with clowns…having had a bit of an uncomfortable run in with them when I was younger…being forced to take a picture with them when I was very sick..feeling a bit anxious and a bit fearful because behind the greasepaint and silly costumes I could smell sweat and cigarette smoke..they weren’t as jovial and candy sweet as they seemed I remember..and this made me squirm.

 

Fast forward to today; my fascination with them is centered around my desire to wonder why a person would want to be a clown..the whole idea of it..to “seem” happy and jovial while all along..carrying a persona..one’s real persona under a layer of makeup and frivolity…quite interesting really..what does that clown think of..what is he/she REALLY like????

 

So..yes..Xanthe appealed to me…and the white pepper sealed the deal.

 

Initial sniff from bottle: Umm..Juicy Fruit anybody??? Wow..is that sweet and umm…Juicy Fruit. Where’s the pepper??? Seems just like what a clown should smell like..at least to the little girl inside me.

 

Applied wet on skin: Yup..it’s Juicy Fruit gum alright..with a soft tinge of pepper on the very end..I kind of like the sugar sweetness of it..and then the little bite of pepper.

 

Couple of minutes on skin:Hmm…fruity guava/spun sugar has now coupled with the pepper. The pepper is not aggressive but it seems to pair nicely with the sweetness.

 

Ten minutes later-Same players..wafting together softly.

 

Drydown-Almost cotton candy sweetness…with that little nip of the pepper.

 

Lasting power-3+hours with throw soft.

 

Bottom Line: Xanthe is indeed sweet but with a bit of a bite. Not something I would gravitate towards but the clown did win me over. I like it for when I want something seemingly innocent that carries a bit of an edge. It’s subtle enough to straddle work nicely