Gennivre, L’Artiste du Diable

[ankhfangirl72]

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

Mmmm... mint tea with honey. A lovely fresh scent, perfect for summer

[Sunshine the Werewolf]

This is moroccan mint tea with a bit of honey stirred in to sweeten it up. It is very true on my skin, not changing at all from how it goes on. It is absolutly beautiful and I think I might need more already! I got masses of complements at work today too, all hail Gennivre!

[Czarina]

In the imp: OMGMINT!

 

Wet: Lemon mint, with honey and tea notes coming up.

 

Dry: Honey and tea. The lemon and mint are gone within half an hour.

 

Below-average throw and staying power on me.

[sweetcoma]

A warm old fashioned floral scent which is slightly powdery and somewhat blunt. The honey and lemongrass are the main players, with bits of tea and a hint of the rest, except i don't get any mint at all. This scent looks like a classical autum oil painting to me.

[AEris]

Oh yes yes yes!

 

This is a beautiful sweet mint tea scent! I love the hint of warm honey and the clean tea note.

 

This is just gorgeous! If you like honey in your tea for a little treat, do NOT miss this scent!

 

Embalming Fluid is a fresh, bright green tea; Gennivre is more low-key and drizzled with honey (but still a green scent).

 

I will wear it in the spring and summer. My kind of tea! ; -)

 

4.7 out of 5

 

Edit to add: I finally got a 5mL because I love this scent, it grows on me more every time I wear it. Fresh and sweet and warm and green, I'm really taken!

Edited February 20, 2008 by AEris

[Torrain]

In decant: lemon candy! With a bit of bite from the lemongrass. On my skin, the orange blossom comes out fast and pretty thick.

 

5 min: Damn, that orange blossom means business. I'm getting a little lemongrass on the side, and maybe a hint of honey.

 

10 min: still the orange blossom and the side of lemongrass. Not being a huge fan ATM—the orange blossom is definitely floral (and not soapy or baby-powdery at all), but on me it's coming out as a very thick, heavy floral indeed, with a faint impression of orange skin. Will see how this settles out. 15 min: same.

 

30 min, 40 min: the lemongrass is rallying a little, but it's still mostly a heavy floral. Faint echoes of playdough. Still holding out faint hope.

 

1 hr: Plastic orange blossom with scent sprayed on, in a room where lemongrass was dropped on the floor.

 

1:45: plastic orange blossoms, with a touch of honey. I don't think this one's gonna work.

 

2:40: lemongrass and a little honey on plastic orange blossoms. Phoo.

 

It's a shame, because all the other notes--tea and sugar and lemongrass and honey, and even mint-that-never-sticks-around--are ones I love and will wear for hours. But the orange blossom just pounded them all into the dirt.

 

Love and coffee,

Frances

[ravenfeathers]

in the bottle soft, damp mint and tea. just like my beloved moroccan mint tea (which i've been unable to find in a decaf blend that tastes good; i can't have caffeine anymore )

wet on skin the honey rises up and sweetens this and the mint tea is gorgeous!

dry on skin this doesn't morph at all, staying pretty constant in notes and intensity. after about five hours, though, the orange blossom is lurking around, trying to pick a fight. i loathe orange blossom and hoped that it was being held down tightly enough by the other notes. it's not in my face, but it's there. at least it hasn't gone plastic. the throw is very light, which is a real shame.

 

eta the orange blossom decided to go ahead and kill this for me. i passed it along to my mother, who was coveting it.

Edited March 4, 2008 by ravenfeathers

[heathercaley]

In the bottle I get herbal mint tea... and mind you.. Mint tea is my favorite drink in the entire world. So i really just want to drink this.

 

When I put it on I get the mint tea, but almost immediately, my chemistry goes "BAM" and amps up a minty orange blossom. Did I also mention that my body hates orange blossom? Thought not.

 

As it dries down.. I get a minty sweat orange blossom. This actually isn't all the crazy orange blossomy on me *Plus points!!!* But.. it's still orange blossom, no matter what. Orange Blossom is just... orange blossom and I'm just not crazy about orange blossom.

 

 

Once it's dried I get a minty sweat tea with orange blossom. It would be great to drink, but its on the same grounds as foody scents.. I wanna eat them rather than wear them. Same with this one..I wanna gulp it down rather than wear it.

 

Off to sales!!!

[taramarie]

On me, Gennivre is simply sweet orange tea. It's nice but I'm not sure if it's a keeper. I'll have to try it again later before I decide.

[twilighteyes]

In the bottle:

Mm. Sweet sticky honey. Maybe a tiny bit of mint?

 

Wet on skin:

Tea with honey. Orange blossom. Lemon. Smells like the rinds from the little itsy bitsy oranges and lemons that our indoor trees produced. Or maybe it's reminding me of my Mock Orange bush when flowering. A nice orange-lemony honey.

 

Dry on skin:

Yum. This is almost foody with the sweet citrus. It's still pretty much honeyed orange blossom with a teeny tiny bit of lemon.

[heartlilly]

While wet this is delicious minty tea. Once it dries the minty quality leaves and it is the most lovely orange blossoms, like driving by an orchard of them in full bloom. After a while it becomes more of a sweet lemony orange. Very fresh and light. Really nice.

[YoakeNoKami]

Bottle: Spicy-sweet wildflower honey with a clean hint of citrus.

 

On/wet: Hi, lemongrass! I see you're throwing a party with damply minty honey and ...flowers? Oh, dear...

 

Drydown: *nom nom* The wildflower honey regains a bit of the spicyness that it starts out with, and the mint dries down and becomes a sort of sweet background note. The flowers are mostly gone, though, and the lemongrass sweetens a little and sort of floats on top of everything else. It doesn't have as much throw as some of the other blends, but if you want a scent that stays pretty close to your skin, it's very nice. LOL it puts me in a strange sort of creative mood, though...

[UploadedLobster]

I guess I'm really in the minority here. Gennivre was nothing special. There's mint and green tea to start but they're faint and soon gone, and then there's a vague faint sweetness and the unmistakable whiff of posh guest-bathroom soap.

 

If it lasted, I might like it--even with the soap. But it doesn't. Gennivre is a weenie little whatever on me. Nuts.

 

 

Lobster Rating

better than: getting ripped off at the drive-thru window

[BelovedOne]

in the decant: I didn't detect any mint. just strong lemongrass and honey. I honestly thought it was definitely not for me at first.

 

Wet: yup, still lemongrass and honey. a hint of something almost floral perhaps?

 

dry: this has faded super fast on me. Perhaps I needed to put more on? Now it's mostly honey with a hint of the lemongrass.

[scarletgenesis]

In the decant, I did not like this at all. I can't articulate why, I just didn't like the scent.

 

Once applied, I got mildly fruity, flowery notes. Nothing specific for about an hour or so, then I get honey, orange blossom, and maybe sugar cane.

 

This is actually turning out to be a very nice scent. I think I'll hold off on a bottle until the weather is warmer. This seems to be a summery scent, so I'll see if it still smells light and nice.

 

Weird, it's like a very light version of Teenage Cannibal on me. Less fruity and sweet, but similar.

[SarahScent44]

In the imp, this has the sharpness of lemongrass over sweet mint tea.

 

The orange blossom comes out on my skin, undercut by the mint and honey.

 

When it dries, it's a calm, subdued blend of tea and orange blossom - it's really lovely, but not for me.

[fictiontragedy]

It always surprises me when I think I've reviewed something and I have not. Then again I took a brief hiatus from the board for awhile so that might be why. Aside from that I've had Gennivre, L'Artiste du Diable for quite some time so I'm a little shocked to find I've never reviewed it because I wear it quite often. It's really lovely.

 

In the bottle: It smells like tea, mint and lemon grass.

 

On my skin wet: Much the same although the honey becomes more noticeable.

 

Dry: honey and tea take the fore front and the lemongrass, sugarcane, and orange blossom seem to all blend perfectly in the background making it slightly sweet but not unbearably so. It doesn't last as long as a lot of my other perfumes but it is a really nice day scent and I find it's very mellowing much like a good cup of tea.

[rachel2205]

This is basically a sweet, musty mint on me. The mint has a vaguely spearmint edge to it, which is a shame - I'd love it if I got the Moroccan tea vibe from it. Ah well!

[arabella]

First Impression: Tea with lemon - lots of lemon.

 

Dries down to: A bit of mint appears, then the honey starts to amp up until it's screaming at me. After a long while, it does settle down but then the blend becomes bland and muddy.

 

Additional Comments: I think this is buckwheat honey. It's grabbing at the back of my throat and making me gag. I have issues with honey stemming back to when I was given hot milk with honey and butter in it as a child, whenever I was ill. Over the years since then, I've learned to like it in small doses where appropriate - baklava, lemon tea, sticky chicken - but it needs to be kept under control and that isn't happening here.

 

Lasted: A few hours.

 

Rating: 1 out of 5

[tartchef]

In the bottle, Gennivre is all tea - fresh & bracing, but with a healthy dollop of sugar... When I first apply, there's a moment that makes me hesitate - I can't really articulate it, just a fleeting impression of "whoa, something's not right..." I think it's the clash of the mint & lemongrass - neither are notes I wear very often, so it's likely my nose isn't quite on point... As it dries, the honey comes out, along with an oddly musty floral - akin to hyssop, but it must be the orange blossom & sugar cane... it warps what should have been a lovely summer scent into something slightly off & decaying. In concept, this is very, very cool, but as a perfume, alas, it's missing the mark for me. I'll try this again in a few weeks & see if things shift...

[gchris]

In Vial: Fruity Sweet

 

 

Wet:Faintly sugared lemons and fresh fruit.

 

Later: Sweet lemony floral. The lemon in this is not citrusy but light and sweet.

[alsatia]

Expectations: This is probably not for me. I don't hate any of the notes, but I also don't particularly like tea leaf, mint doesn't work well on me, and lemongrass, while I like it, tends to send the scent too far into the herbal range.

 

In vial: Tea served by someone who doesn't particularly love tea and is trying unsuccessfully to mask the taste. I got the lemongrass right away, and the mint showed up soon after. Plus there's a faint sweetness.

 

On skin, wet: I have no clue how, but this is doing that thing that reminds me of toilet paper holders. Tea is still the predominant scent, and the rest started blending together pretty quickly.

 

On skin, dry: Tea. Lots of tea. Blech. The mint isn't as bad as I usually find it, but that may just be because there's something worse to cover it up.

 

After time: 35 minutes have passed, and I see why other people like this. It's a very nicely blended tea scent, but as someone who does not drink tea it's just not the thing for me to wear. I never noticed any orange blossom, and the honey/sugar cane combination only added the slightest sweetness.

 

Conclusion: I don't mind this, but if I kept it around I'd never put it on.

[fairnymph]

In the bottle: Fresh, bright, minty with some fruit and sweetness. Totally reminds me of peppermint patties!

 

Wet: Less minty, more fruity. I can smell some citrus. I wouldn't have identified it as lemongrass but that must be it. The orange blossom (and other floral notes I can't pinpoint) is coming out more. My skin seems to amp floral, I'm beginning to realize. There must be some musk too - also amped by my skin. Nice and light though.

 

Dry: The honey has really come out. Wow. I can smell it clearly. I'm pretty sure I can smell the sugar cane too. The orange blossom is NOT going to soap on me. Only a hint of mint left - this has mellowed alot. I can't detect the lemongrass anymore.

 

Summary: I'm sad (as usual) that some of the fresher notes have faded, but this is still delicious. It primarily smells like honey after time, with hints of musk and floral notes, other sweet things, and a sliver of mint. This is a really wonderful honey scent - my favourite bpal so far. It holds reasonably well, but not fabulously.

 

Had to get a bottle of this one!

[megank4]

Hmm. This smells like the hot sugary Morrocan mint tea that is served in a glass. Unfortunately, I am not much of a mint-scent loving person. Also don't like lemongrass and honey, so if they show up, I'm outta here.

[kakiphony]

In the imp: A deep, very dark mint, against a backdrop of lemon. Surprisingly, I get a sensation of dry from the combination.

 

Wet on skin: This blooms almost as soon as it hits my skin, and the scent becomes rounder and fuller. The first impression is of lemon balm and a hint of something flowery/herbal that I can't quite place.

 

Early dry down (10 minutes): As usual, my chemistry is giving me two different scents on my right and left wrists. The left wrist is dry, hot tea with a hint of lemongrass. It's a bit sour, but there is also something bright in the background. The right wrist is sweet and light. It is amping the honey and orange blossom, with a hint of mint grounding it. The right wrist is wonderful, the left is so-so.

 

Half hour mark: This is fading very quickly on me, so much so that this may well be the latest dry-down phase I can accurately assess. The left wrist has begun to amp the lemongrass while the right continues to be a delicate balance of honey and orange blossom. The right wrist actually reminds me of the very late dry-down phase of Hetairae on me -- the barely there sweet, delicate floral that is grounded enough that I don't sneeze.

 

This is a very gentle scent. More pleasant than I expected and it never gave me the sneezes the way some herbal and floral blends do. It would make an excellent scent for shampoo and conditioner. However, I think that I can forego a bottle.