Gennivre, L’Artiste du Diable

[Aevalin]

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

I'm absolutely horrible at picking out notes most of the time. Ye have been warn'd

I really quite like Gennivre - but I have to admit I'm not getting the mint that most people seem to be picking up. I'm not aware of what hyson tea smells like, but from what I've read, I'm guessing it's somewhat green. I find this reminds me of a strong cup of green tea with a touch of lemon or citrus, plus there's this faint touch of floral something that I can't put my finger on. Over all it's really good smelling and a nice change from the usual tea scents (that I love with all of my heart mind you, but change is good).

Damn - I'm loving almost all of the CD - between this and the Mad Tea Party ::whimper:: my poor wallet.

[Naamah_Darling]

This smells like sweetened tea with a twist of lemon and a sprig of mint. Pleasant!

 

Once I put it on, the throw is immediate and fierce: mint and tea, the orange blossom's flowers, and the herbal twang of the lemongrass. Fresh, a little crazy, and very sweet, with just a hint of bite.

 

This is a light scent, cerebral and a bit outré, the open space between the mint and the sugar and the grass is filled with a resonant and almost bitter odor. This smells less like a perfume and more like an odd herbal concoction. Fans of clean, herbal scents like Absinthe and Mantis might enjoy this one. It's light, roomy, and off-kilter demeanor give it an eccentric vibe that's every bit as appropriate to an oddball artist's personality as it is to the dilettante librarienne's.

 

On me, it goes rather powdery, and I'm not a fan of light scents anyway, but this is definitely an interesting scent. It's feminine and kooky, but bracing enough that a brave man could wear it, I think, though it's only barely gender-neutral. Overall, it is notable more for its weirdness than its beauty.

[storme]

In the imp: minty sweet tea and orange blossom.

 

On me, wet: mint and orange blossom and over-sweetened tea with lemongrass. This is sort of nice but too honeyed and not really my style.

 

On me, dry: mrf, this has become one large gloopy mess of honeyed citrus, like a throat linctus. Not very appealing.

 

Verdict: Nope, one for the swap/sale pile. Even if I had a sore throat I wouldn't wear this.

[fiddledragon]

Wet, the mint is very strong. Unfortunately mint hates me; I'm glad I only swapped for a sniffie, as I'd forgotten about the mint. It goes all weird and sickly.

 

But as it dries, the mint goes away leaving an incredibly glorious honey-sugarcane scent. And somehow despite my skin's love of amping sweetness, it's not a cloying scent at all, but a wonderful clear sweet scent, like see-through glass sugar. The orange blossoms add a deeper, sexier note, and the lemongrass keeps it fresh -- I also don't end up smelling like Thai food, as I normally do with anything containing lemongrass.

 

The drydown is amazing, but I'm not sure I want to sit through the few minutes of minty death, especially since it's limited and expensive minty death. Maybe I'll swap for a decant. I now really *have* to try that new Salon with the honey and sugarcane!

[komalow]

At work, we have a chamomile citron tea that's really unusual. To me, it tastes like bubblegum and lemon. It's very sweet, but not cloyingly so. I like it, but only once in a while, and I'd much rather have a more traditional tea.

 

Gennivre = chamomile citron tea. It's the same exact scent, that bubblegum and lemon. It's refreshing and bright and has good throw. I'd like it occasionally, but it's not quite "me". If you like fresh, clean, bright scents, this is for you.

[azhure]

In the bottle: Mostly tea and some sweetness.

 

Wet: This is a strange, indistinct scent at first on me. Then the tea comes out again, accompanied by the lemongrass. Which is odd.

 

Drydown: This dries down into an indistinct scent. Meh.

[DangerInRed]

This is it! This is THE scent, and probably will be my primary scent until I run out (which, of course, won't be for awhile after I stock up)!

 

It's minty tea, but neither overpowers the other. I don't really get any honey, but it still smells sweet and fresh and absolutely perfect.

[Voleuse]

Tea with a hint of mint, a bit of honey, a bit of sugar. This is a very light scent on me. After a minute it morphs into what a tin of Moroccan mint tea smells like, except it's elusive and faintly astringent on me. Nevertheless, it's pretty. Too bad it doesn't match my chemistry. =(

[ilona]

I really really like this. Very minty at first, similar to Envy. Then it smooths down to the sweetest citrusy tea.

 

I don't get a fresh brewed tea from it, rather the warm, round tea like Dorian, but with citrus. And a honey that doesn't go sour! I love it!

[indicolite]

There is a heaviness to this scent that I did not expect. It is sweet, although not cloyingly so; perhaps it is just my skin chemistry that wishes to announce to the world when it gets some sugar. There is a bitterish top note as well that may be the lemongrass.

[shadow]

This is my favorite of all the BPAL tea scents. It just works with my chemistry, which can be freakishly finicky. I get a wonderful blend of most of the notes listed - tea, mint, sugar, and just a tiny citrusy twist (though I don't get any of the heaviness of honey). This will go back into heavy rotation when I'm longing for warmer weather.

[femmefatale]

Wow, this one took me by surprise. In the bottle, strong! Youch. On though it started mostly dominated by the tea, but as it dried it began to sweeten. I didn't really get much of the mint come through, though I did catch some of the lemongrass. Has a mild throw once it dries, although next time I might put a bit more on.

This really is a beautiful scent and I am so happy I got a bottle of it. I think it will become of of my regular scents, esp. once the weather begins to warm up.

 

ETA:

It smells even better after a couple hours. A perfect balance of flowers and tea, with a *very* slight powder scent. YUM!

Edited January 12, 2007 by Femme_Fatale

[dawna]

In the vial: strong, yet beautiful sweet tea.

 

On the skin: The tea note is a lot stronger but the honey blossoms on me very nicely. This is gorgeous.

 

On drydown: This one is a keeper. Its a more straightforward tea on me. It fades a bit after a while but I still am getting wafts of a beautiful honey tea scent. This is definitely a keeper.

[monsteralice]

Wet: Thin Mints. A very fresh scent, a little cold and breezy.

 

Dry: Slightly sweetened mint tea.

 

Finish: A faint breath of cool air.

 

Duration/throw: I used more from the bottle than I would have from an imp, which must have affected the duration and throw because it was still wafting at 7.5 hours. This is the longest I have gotten waftage after application.

 

I love this scent. It works great in chilly weather, which matches the effect, but it should be grand on hot days when you need a cooldown.

[zankoku_zen]

This is something very light about this scent, despite being mostly honey, sugar and what smells almost like orange blossom. There is something almost powdery on my skin about this.

 

I don't get tea or mint from this.

 

I'm not having much luck with the CD scents in general. Sad.

 

It doesn't have much throw either.

 

Not a standout for me. Apparently Gennivre and I don't get along... which is a shame since there are many things about her that I do like.

[Em-]

Mmm...a very light honeyed tea scent with a hint of mint and something richer.

 

On me this is a light sophistocated scent with enough throw that I know it's there, but it is unobtrusive enough that I wore it to both of my interviews for my current job.

[Meg]

In the bottle: Honeyed mint and tea. Yum!

 

Wet: Very herby, in a good way. I smell something lemony, mint, lush orange blossom (which I know will promptly turn foul on my skin *sigh*) all sweetened and brought together by honey. Finally the green tea gets untangled from the rest of the notes and dominates.

 

Drydown: A complex blend of various herbs and flowers and sweetness. I get a brown sugar scent that I'd never had before, because sugar tends to go burnt caramel on me. Mint has evaporated mostly, it still hangs around but quite discreetly. Orange blossom has disappeared into the background, and I'm thankful because when it turns, it smells horrid on me. The blend is mostly fresh soothing tea with hints of mint and sugar.

 

Overall: This is my favourite of the first two Acts, a very refreshing and comforting scent, which would be perfect for summer. It has three components that I usually can't wear, lemongrass because I don't like it, orange blossom and sugar cane that generally go very wrong on me at drydown. Yet this is beautiful. Unfortunately it doesn't have all that much staying power, 30 minutes then it's gone. *cries*

[Jenesis]

Bottle: Very bright. My nose is very sensitive to citrus so it's picking up the lemongrass like a searchlight!

 

Wet: Ahh, that's better. Green tea with lemon and a hint of mint.

 

Drydown: As quoted from my BPAL database: "Ooh, how nice!". The honey comes out a bit more on me now and goes well with the slightly bitter tea and bright citrus and mint.

 

Dry: It gets a little sweeter and a little less "wakey-wakey!". This is really nice, first LE bottle I bought, and I love it!

 

Final verdict: I've actually gone a little less crazy for this, but it's still one of my favourites. A nice light scent that doesn't smell like it's trying to clear the sinuses.

 

Rating: 4/5

Edited May 16, 2007 by Jenesis

[filigree_shadow]

Oddly, this smells quite perfumey on me at first. But then the tea scent starts to come out, with a startlingly sweet orange blossom too. The mint is very soft -- exactly the way I like mint. (The only way I like mint, to be honest.) Lemongrass is a dreaded note for me, but it doesn't even come close to ruining this blend for me. It seems to be giving the scent a slightly herbal feel, which I don't object to at all. I like this. It smells classic and elegant, clean and pretty.

[Ciircee]

Oh, this is wonderful! Normally I'm not a fan of mint but this blend makes it work for me! I think because it's a complex scent; on the surface it's all mint--very cool and sharp but there's something warm about it and fresh and almost floral (and almost tea and almost a lot of things) that keeps it from being 'mint' to me.

 

Lovely!

 

 

I love Growwild for giving me this!

[jiggahava]

This is all lemony astingent mint on my skin. No trace of tea. This scent was underwhelming on me. I'm sure on the right person it would be lovely, but I guess I'll have to look for my tea fix elsewhere.

[kat15lee]

In bottle/wet: grassy lemony astringent

 

Drydown: Mmmm.. this is when it gets good... the tea becomes prevalent, along with the lemongrass. A soothing scent. I really like it!

 

I'd give it 3.5/5 because it wears for a long time and I really like the drydown.

[Shollin]

First sniff: Now this is an odd one. On the surface, it’s light and fresh and minty, but there’s a weirdness to it that makes you think it’s up to something.

 

Wearing: Oh, this is beautiful. Minty citrus tea, wonderfully light and refreshing.

[Spring Snow]

It's a very light, very herbal sweet green tea. I'm not picking up much citrus, but there is a waft of sweet honey that rounds out the grass and herb part of the sent. Not too sweet, though... it will be great for springtime, although be warned, it is very faint.

 

ETA: You know, I had to edit this review because the more I wear the blend, the more I love it. It's very complex and morphy, but after getting used to its strange tea/herbal/orange/sweet combo, I have grown to adore it. I'm very glad I bought a bottle.

Edited April 9, 2007 by Spring Snow

[Jilara]

Wet: a faint mintiness, with an undertone of Really Good expensive gin.

 

Drydown: mint drops out, and the really good gin predominates, with a hint of a soft floral coming out, probably the orange blossom.

 

Dry: subtle herbs and soft florals. It's like Noctisca has a sweet baby sister (who has good taste in liquor). This one is pretty yummy .