Gennivre, L’Artiste du Diable

[zillah37]

A chittering buzz rises from a small crowd that has gathered around an opulent velvet-draped tent. Some are fidgeting impatiently; others try in vain to peep within the tent. Within moments, a slim, stunningly handsome man emerges from the entryway to the sound of gasps and scattered applause. His face is lit with fierce joy, and he bows almost smugly to the assemblage. Grabbing a flirtatious blonde from the mob, he kisses her in a rush of mad passion, his arm encircles her waist, and he leads her directly to a nearby opium den.The crowd disperses, and curiosity pulls you forward. You push open the fringed, beaded tent-flap and enter the dimly-lit room. A lovely, voluptuous redhead stands before an ornate antique easel. Her luminous alabaster skin and the phosphorescence emanating from her paintbrush seem to be the only source of light. As you adjust to the gloom, you see that the walls are covered with atrocities: an exhibit of dissolution. The myriad canvases show men and women in various stages of rot and decay, a panoply of indulgence, teeth set in fury, mouths leering in lust, hands grasping greedily.

The scarlet woman turns her gleaming sightless eyes towards you and, in a husky, compelling voice, she speaks:

“Why let the years tear at your youthful splendor? Why let the mark of your sins stain your fine features? Will you let the cold, creeping grasp of time and the toil of temptation mar your visage? Why should the pleasures of our flesh wreak such havoc?”

She leans in close to you and whispers, “Let me capture your soul on this canvas in oil and blood, and you will be beautiful forever.”

Hyson tea leaf, pale mint, sugar cane, orange blossom, lemongrass, and honey.

In the bottle: Mint tea and lemongrass. It's light and subtle. This smells like a cup of mint tea through and through. It's very calm and comforting.

On my skin: It's much stronger on my skin, but it's still a mint tea. The honey is coming out more and it's god, it's just a cup of mint tea with honey on my skin. I love it!

Final verdict: I'm not usually a tea person, but this is so gorgeous. It becomes a little more citrus the longer it's on, but for the most part it's just a beautiful mint tea scent that reminds me of nights when I was a kid and my mom and I would sip tea together and watch movies.

[korshka]

This one, too, goes through so many stages. For the first hour after putting it on, it smelt different each time I smelled it. In fact at one point, mint was all I smelled!

 

Now that it has steadied out - I can try to describe it. It is the perfect cup of tea. It is smooth and calming. It is a little minty, a little sweet, a touch of lemon. I get maybe a vague scent of orange but not as much as the others. The lemongrass does have a little sharpness to it, but it is barely there, which is good b/c usually that is all I get out of blends with lemongrass.

 

I like it. It is smooth, calming, with just the right amount of sweet.

[Scylla]

In the bottle: HONEY! And tea.

 

Wet, on my skin: The honey note is predominant, but my skin always amps up honey notes. Behind that is tea, then citrus, then mint. This is a refreshing yet comforting blend.

 

Lucky, lucky Macha to have such a wonderful scent made in her honor!

 

ETA: Gennivre has wonderful throw and lasts FOREVER! I could still smell it 18 hours after application. I also got several compliments on it at work.

 

Edited again to add: Gennivre has become my very favorite warm weather scent!

Edited June 1, 2007 by Scylla
Additional comments

[Taniwha]

This is blooming into such a wonderful scent. I haven't worn it all that long, but want to comment on it right away. It starts out very strongly of mint tea, as everyone's said. It then morphs for me into a gentle, lovely orange blossom, with just a hint of sweetness. The mint is almost gone, and I never got any lemongrass (which is ok by me). I'm wondering if there's a pale musk supporting it that's not listed - there's a depth I can't identify under the o.b. Maybe it's just the honey, but it isn't the honey I recognize from O or Jezebel.

 

This is so very pretty. It makes me feel contemplative.

[Macha]

So, under the circumstances it only makes sense that I begin my reviews of the new CD scents with this one, because...well...obviously it's a bit special to me.

 

In the bottle this smells mostly like orange blossom with a little mint. A little sweet, maybe. It does not particularly smell like tea to me. It's only after it's on the skin that it starts to sweeten, and starts to smell like the minty tea for which I have a notable weakness.

 

I was leery of the honey note, because honey can often go very bad with my skin chemistry, but happily that is not the case here. It's just a lovely, sweet fragrance, which I have decided I adore completely.

[pekeana]

Shiiiiny. Gennivre is just shiiiiiny.

 

My skin chemistry eats mint, so what I'm left with is a deep, rich, beautiful floral tea with honey. It's strong and not particularly sweet on me, just very mellow and beautiful. (On my skin, it's the perfume equivalent of this fall's "tea & honey" by Yankee Candle, which is just peachy keen jelly bean with me!) Definitely multiple bottles of this one!

 

(edited for spelling mishap -- I was too excited and should learn to type)

Edited September 1, 2006 by pekeana

[SoapyRN]

Cute bottle.

 

In the bottle, wet, I smell a citrus, the orange blossom and lemongrass. On the skin wet, I got a lot of mint, not a huge huge fan of mint unless it is a sweet mink, like in Lick It.

 

It stayed very bright for a very long time, 'green' if you will. I went grocery shopping, cleaned my kitchen and resmelled my arm. What is left after the dry down is the honey and tea, through and through. I like it. I think I would love more sugar and will be experimenting with some layering. Great work though.

[blueroses]

In the bottle: Mint-lemon-honey.

 

On: The mint doesn't even make an appearance. Poof, it's gone. This is lemony green tea with a dab of honey. Somehow, the presence of the honey doesn't make this blend sweet. It's all pure tea.

 

The honey grows a little stronger as the scent fades.

 

I like this because it's different from the usual sweet or citrus tea blends.

[Diana]

In the bottle: mostly green tea, and a hint of mint. Reminds me a bit of some of the

Asian-themed lunacies we had at the beginning of 2006.

 

Wet: This really smells like something to drink. Sweetened tea with mint. A bit more of the lemongrass & orange blossom are coming through now, making it a bit sharper.

 

Drydown: the orange blossom has become more floral now, and is the major note, with a hint of mint tea in the background.

 

A pretty sugared-floral-mint! I really like this one. =)

[shelldoo]

in the bottle:green mint tea

 

wet: green mint tea and honey

 

dry: minty, sweet, tea w/ a hint of floral and lemongrass. just a light close to the skin blend. very fresh, very green

[LiberAmoris]

Gennivre is so refreshing, like drinking down an iced green tea that's been embellished with mint, honey, and a sprig of orange blossom. It's a 'light' blend, but it has great staying power and throw. The honey gets stronger and stronger the longer it wears, and it's wonderful, like touring an apiary surrounded by wildflowers.

 

The tea slowly wears off on my skin but infuses the blend with a green edge that melds with the honey. Love this one. Macha, you smell good!

[lorajc]

Oh my....the drydown on this is sooooooooo lovely. I didn't really care for this at first, as it had something in the top note that was rather sharp....so I imped some of it out and now I'm thinking I might need to order more. Wow...what a transformation. The honey is very soft in this. I can't wear a lot of Beth's honey blends, as honey amps on my skin.....but not in this expertly blended piece of art! Wow......soft, slight sweet scent that could be Dorian's younger sister! Smother me in this gorgeous cloud of goodness!! This series is going to be very costly!!

[Brianne]

In the bottle:

Oh my goodness, fresh mint!! *takes a big whiff*

 

On me:

Wow, that mint and tea are so apparent right off the bat. And they smell FRESH, as if you're standing right in the midst of fresh tea leaves and fresh garden mint. Fresh is definitely a key word here. The orange blossom and honey and sugar cane just offer a slight sweetness to this, but it's very faint so it doesn't make the tea and mint too heavy. The orange blossom also offers some faint floral note, but again - very faint! It's mostly mint and tea on my skin and I AM IN LOVE WITH IT.

 

Final note:

I love this one the most of the CD scents so far and I will definitely be buying at least ONE more bottle, if not more than that. And I am so not the kind of person who buys several bottles of an LE (aside from Buck Moon).

[Melantha]

Now, normally my skin amps up lemongrass like nobody's business. And mint doesn't like me much, either. But here, they blends into a complex, pleasing scent. I can really smell the honey, too, and I like this.

 

It might be a big bottle purchase.

[PennyPretty]

In the bottle Gennivre smells strongly of mint and lemongrass. Once on the skin the lemongrass comes out to play and over powers everything else, but fades rather quickly, leaving behind a sweet, slightly floral tea scent. It doesn't have much throw on me but that might be because I applied lightly to test. Really lovely.

Edited September 6, 2006 by PennyPretty

[gloom bear]

The first note I got from Gennivre was…chocolate. I wasn't prepared for that. A few more concentrated sniffs of the wrist and I could get a bit of mint but barely. And also a slight smokey smell. Both the mint and the smoke scents faded in 10-15 minutes leaving something I don't know how to describe. It's not floral or fruity or fresh. It's something not very perfumey, but a nice subtle scent that seems to mold to your skin. And every once in a while I get a whiff of tea and chocolate. Very cool.

[sh1mm3r]

I knew I had to order this because tea + honey? My two top bpal notes!!

 

When I first put it on, I could smell a strong shock of mint, but it quickly went to the background. It developed into a sweet, rich, honey-orange scent with perks of lemongrass and tea.

 

I love and adore this. I might love it more than Honey Moon. I might love it more than SN Honey.

[savage_rose]

In the bottle: Tea and Flowers.

 

Wet: The tea and florals make way for the mint...and the honey! Honey usually gets lost on me, but this honey is very assertive, and very sweet.

 

Dry: Creamy, sweet tea, with an slight herby, minty smell. It smells like iced tea and springtime...very light, fresh and new. This is one I cannot stop smelling!

[slave1]

In Bottle: Tea

 

On Skin: I think I need to give up on any scents with tea I them because my skin amps the tea and that’s pretty much all I get. I’m not a tea fan at all, but other notes talk me into it. For instance in this scent, I was won over by the sugar cane and honey. This scent becomes a very Aisian feeling tea scent. I already have a bunch of those scents so I’m not sure if I’ll be keeping this one unless it really morphs. Let’s see… the tea is very strong as I have already said. The lemongrass adds to the Asian feel and the mint gives a light yet sharp herbal note. The honey is not syrupy like in O or other heavy honey scents, but it combined with the sugar cane does sweeten the scent. And the orange blossom is present but very much in the background. Overall, this is the most strightforward “cup of tea” scent I have smelled. While other blends are more creamy or floral or go other routes, this sticks to a warm cup of tea at teatime. Tea lovers must try this scent since it is so realistic. Light throw and short to average wearlength.

[Bagfish]

Gennivre is strong, spicy tea. On first application it reminds me slightly of a tea that I drink that has chillis in, but dries down to be slightly more subtle than that.

 

There is an element of Shanghai to this oil, but it is less sweet and simple and has more of a savoury herbal quality than Shanghai which is suprising given that it contains honey and orange blossom. I can't actually smell the mint or honey either. All in all, this sits rather oddly on my skin, and I think for a tea scent I will stick to Shanghai as Gennivre is too hard to wear.

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

I am predisposed to love Gennivre, not only for the notes (which sound lovely) but also because I have the trading card! This is a strong herbal tea blend--it smells just like a fresh pot is brewing. There's a light touch of honey peeking out from underneath, and it smells specifically like wildflower honey (similar to a note in Litha). Gennivre is delicate and elegant; I would say she belongs in the same general category with Embalming Fluid and also the LEs Berenice and Honey Moon (quite different scents, but similar "mood"). A little more distant and reserved than I expected, but very pretty. This one will get lots of wear in the winter and early spring--perfect for fresh, clear days; it suggests the colors pale green and white to me. I may need to go order more of this; the longer I wear it, the more I love it.

[ereuyi]

I'm not normally one for light, clean sorts of scents, but there were so many appealing notes in this that I got a decant of Gennivre to try out before going for a bottle.

 

At first this was freshly brewed, minty herby tea. It actually reminds me a bit of Celestial Seasonings' Tension Tamer--it's not creamy or rich per se, but something about the herbiness and the mint makes you feel like it is.

 

Not something I'll be reaching for enough to justify a bottle (I'm far to attached to my dark scents), but I'll be hanging on to what I have for certain.

[midnight_aeval]

This was all mint herbal tea on me and I was hoping to get more honey/sugar in it- yes, that's how I like my tea It's a refreshing alternative to Dorian... but I just can't break away from the lovely, perfected sweetness that is Dorian.

 

And then.. it vanishes. I've never had that happen :\ ah well, doesn't work for me, but Gennivre has plenty of fans!

[PurringPulsar]

Gennivre, L'Artiste du Diable

 

In the imp: sharp lemony green tea with a hint of mint.

Wet on skin: the bittersweet tang of orange blossom comes out and joins the lemongrass tea. The mint isn't that strong but I can feel it cooling my skin.

Dry on skin: now I smell the honey, and the scent has sweetened nicely. This is such a lovely scent. it's predominantly tangy tea with just the right amount of lemongrass to add a citrus touch without taking over. Delicate orange blossoms float in the tea, with a little bit of cool mint, and delicious honeycomb. I can't smell the sugarcane yet but I think it may come out later to sweeten the scent even more. this is a light, fresh, nicely balanced scent of tart and sweet notes.

After a while: the honey grows stronger over time. It's not the sweetest honey, it's actually a tart honey similar to O and Honey SN…but it's lovely. The sharper side of the honey works well with the tea note.

The drydown after a few hours of wear is even lovelier-because now the sugar cane comes out! It adds a totally different sweetness along with honey, a lighter sweetness, very true to real sugar cane, and it's wonderful with the honey but despite these two sweeteners, this isn't 'cavity inducingly' sweet at all. And then the honey changes into the same honey note from Honey Moon! And I love that!

Verdict: Beth, you are making me broke with CD, because I love this delightful light tea scent. Whilst this doesn't smell like Moroccan mint tea on me, this does smell like the most exotic green tea infusion ever! A delicious and refreshing tangy lemon green tea with orange blossom and honey and the subtlest mint. The honey note in here is nicely sharp, reminiscent of the honey SN and honeycomb, a pleasant addition to this light, bright tea fragrance. Then the sugarcane comes out and sweetens the scent even more, softening the tea's sharpeness, and rounds the scent out nicely. I need a bottle (or more) of this one as well-this also seems like a good scent for the warmer months but is perfectly wearable any time. this is one of my new favourite tea scents! (And at this rate, it seems like I will need an Al-a-ca-zam pack!)

Emoticon rating:

If you like this, try: Dorian, Hungry Ghost Moon, Shanghai, Usher

Edited September 28, 2006 by yeahbutnobut

[zenvodunista]

THis is a fascinating scent. I'll be honest, I read the notes and thought, "Yawn. Another light tea scent in the Embalming Fluid/Spirits of the Dead family. How many do you really need?"

 

But while Gennivere is in the family for sure, she morphs in an interesting way. I'm not sure yet if I'll wear her -- I tend to go for more spicy/earthy/oriental (in the perfuming sense) scents, but it's very interesting and very very pretty.

 

Right out of the bottle it is all tea. But it hits my skin and everything blends together to create a completely *different* scent that reminds me a little of Sea of Glass, or Snow White sans creme, or .... It becomes something utterly else- one of those scents where it's a description of cool and calm, but no actual mention of notes!

 

In a lot of ways, I think this scent, for me, summons up the Alchemy in Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab. It's transformation from cup o' tea to indescribable beauty is alchemy indeed.

 

Sea of Glass is one of those scents that I think is gorgeous but not very me. I don't know yet if that's what Gennivere is. I could see myself wearing it more on warm days than now, and so I'll see perhaps if I have the patience to keep the bottle until spring.

 

But it is gorgeous, and if you like scents in the SoG family, do get Gennivere. I think you will love her.

 

n.