Pontarlier

[alicia_stardust]

The legendary birthplace of the Green Fairy. Swiss ferns, lilac, blackcurrant, Gallic rose and lavender with a dollop of sugar and absinthe.

I get lilac and layered green leaves and ferns over a hint of lavender and herbs. This is very evocative, wild, green. Lovely!

[isisonearth]

In the imp, rose and lilac with a bright green note of fern. I imagine a lovely bouquet. I think the roses are pink.

 

On my skin the green note intensifies along with a dry woody smell I assume is wormwood. The sugar note I love in Pink Moon is there too. The florals are still there but very softly. The bouquet has been left in the other room.

 

The dry down is a lovely lavender but still with that ferny green note and just a touch of tea rose. Deep underneath I still get a whiff of absinthe too. The black current never made an appearance.

 

Overall I love this. It has so many things going on, fresh, floral, green, airy...yet there is a sophistication too due to the bitter wormwood and sugar.

[ErinZ]

Starts out as a strong floral, then turns to powdery, old lady floral.

 

I'm sure it's fabulous on some folks… just not so much on me.

[Iceblink]

Powdery lilac and rose over a background of green (ferns?). Very fresh, very springy--reminds me of Amsterdam and Prague! (The oils, not the cities.) Lilac lovers would adore this one.

[furygrrl]

In the imp: Lightly sweet, herbal greens.

 

On wet: Lilac, green things touched with mint, a smidge of sugar

 

Drydown: Hmm...the lilac (or the rose?) has gone a bit powdery. The floral contingent is quite strong, and more prominent than the fresh, green base (which is slowly disappearing the longer I sniff), the lavender, or the currant (it's finally decided to make an appearance - yay!). After about 10 minutes, it's become this really interesting, multi-layered scent - it's still pretty floral around the edges, but almost warm and lightly spiced at the center. Reminds me of a complex, high-end perfume now - but a really, really nice one.

 

Overall: Not a usual scent for me - it's a bit too classy/perfumey for my taste - but it's lovely all the same. 3/5

[goth_huntress]

Too much lilac for me.

[quigza]

Wet: This starts out very green & ferny

 

Drydown: Lily, lilac, and tons of ferny greenery. Very flower shop in spring

 

After a while: It dulls down to a faint amount of fern, & a powdery lilac

 

overall: It's not bad. But, it's not me.

[mgrazulis]

A frimp from the lab...

 

In the imp: Lilacs, dewy ferns

 

Wet on skin: sugar, absinthe, rose

 

Drydown: The rose and absinthe take on telltale underbite of currant, the lavender and lilacs closeby with the dewy greenery. Freshly herbal and springlike. The ferns and lilacs take me on a bicycle ride in the French countryside. Fabulous cool green overlay. Pontarlier is quite pretty and not as herbally sharp as Absinthe. Once it is dry, it stays true green/floral with a bit of wildness. A keeper for the lilac note alone...

 

[kjirstiben]

Pontarlier starts out as strong, sharp, bitter florals and greens. Almost immediately after application, this initial bitterness starts to mellow. However, at the same time.... the florals begin to amp.

 

Over the course of a few hours, the lilac and rose battle it out for who can be the most headachingly overblown floral in the land... and they both manage to overdo it for at least my nose!

 

Sadly, the absinthe, which I loved in the fragrance Absinthe, is completely eclipsed by the twin giants of lilac and rose as they scuffle for prominence.

 

After it turned into painful, bitter, burnt-plastic screaming FLOWERS, I knew that this one could not be for me. Sigh.

[obsidienne]

Frimp from the Lab; thank you! I'm extra grateful for it, as I'd never have tried this on my own, and I really like it a lot. It smells even better on my boyfriend than on me.

 

In the imp: musty slightly sharp, bitter green herbs; I can't make head or tails of anything at the moment.

 

Wet: similar to the above, but add in some blackcurrant, lilac, and rose and sugar. I adore lavender and keep a pure bottle of essential oil on hand at all times, but I can't detect it at all in here, unless only the pungent aspect of it is making itself known here. Is that sharp smell the absinthe?

 

Dry: the lilac and rose really come to the forefront here, with the sugar, blackcurrant and the green bits (absinthe, ferns (?)) still there, but more in the background. It's sweet but those elements seem to keep it all in check. Again, the lavender blends in so that I can't pick it out, but I'm sure it's helping out somewhere. This is very complex.

 

Far drydown: somehow this comes across as a sweet & slightly herbal springtime floral when all is said and done. It's unique! I like. The lilac really shines, with rose coming second, sugar third; something maintains a slightly woody, bitter note throughout, which keeps this from going too sweet and too floral on my skin.

 

This scent evokes images of a small, bright green island caressed constantly by soft breezes, somewhere on the ocean. Weird, I know.

 

Throw: pretty good. It lasts a decent amount of time, which isn't saying much on me (my skins eats perfume for breakfast).

 

I'd buy another imp of this if I ran out, although I don't know if it suits me enough to be 5ml worthy.

Edited October 18, 2008 by obsidienne

[auburnette]

Pontarlier

 

Wet, in imp: GREEN. Incredibly green.

Wet, on skin: Smells hot and wet, lush, like a rainforest or the inside of a butterfly house. Not sweet; there's a bitter (but not unpleasant) green note stopping it from being sweet. This doesn't smell like perfume, but like the crushed stems and leaves of plants.

Dry, on skin: Now there's lilac. I like lilac, and enjoy Brisingamen and Ashlultum. I don't really get any anise (which is a minor disappointment as that's what I ordered it for), but this is a very unusual and lovely scent. I'll definitely keep my imp.

[themerrybaker]

At first sniff: Ah... Rose that doesn't drive me crazy!! The ensuing mixed floral stage is also nice, and finally a bit of deep anise. Pontarlier is my type of perfume: floral, "clear", and complex. I like it very much.

[Indigo78]

In the imp and first applied, this is a melange of herbs - sharp and prickly. Lavender AMPS like the dickens about ten minutes in, but I never do catch any lilac or black currant. Shame, since berries and lilacs are dear favorites. The rose comes out shortly after the lavender, and together they destroy the possibility of a good relationship between us. Absinthe and sugar are absent as well. This one may be a retest, but more than likely it's a swap.

[femmefatale]

This starts out very fresh and green and just a bit...watery? As it dries it sweetens up and I catch a bit of the rose and lilac and eventually lavender. It becomes a lot less greener and more floral. There is still a slightly watery feel to it, but I'm not sure why. It makes me think of a beautiful old house on a hill with a lush garden overlooking the ocean.

 

I do not typically like foral scents, but there is something about this I like. It's very pretty and makes me want to put on a sundress and straw hat.

[crebbsgirl]

Wet, this is an incredibly green scent. I can almost smell a grassy-like note, I think it's the fern. The lavender is pretty prevalent here as well. As it dries though... oh hello ROSE!! So nice to see you again. Oh, you're going to elbow all the other notes out of the way, as per usual? Well, that's a little selfish of you ROSE don't you think? You know ROSE, you're kind of mean, and I don't know how much I like you. Yeah, I said it, it's out there. We're not friends ROSE. In fact.... you're dead to me.

[Monster]

In the imp: Sharp florals

 

On my skin: I'm smelling ferns and lavender right away...a whole whopping ton of it! I think I may smell a whiff of rose in there somewhere but whenever it gets close to me, the lavender body slams it away. Geez...lavender....why you have to be so mean?! As this dries the lavender gets tired of it's attention seeking dance and settles down a bit, it still has total control of this blend though.

 

Dry: The lilac is poking her lovley head through a bit more...sort of taking place of the ferns I smelled initially. This is now all lavender and lilac on me. I never got any absinthe, sugar, or blackcurrent. The final stage of this is a soft, powdery floral. Very dusty and pretty smelling....slightly reminiscent of English lavender guest handsoaps.

 

Overall: It's pretty, but not something I would wear.

 

[Suu4LC]

Hmm-this sounds interesting...I love black currant, lavender, sugar and absinthe...but I don't know what to expect from the fern note and rose and I don't always get along. I like this in the imp-a fresh green scent with lavender and a touch of absinthe. A light green floral, not too heavy.

 

Lavender haters take note-it is noticeable in this blend for sure. I like lavender and I actually like this blend more than I thought I would. The rose seems to be behaving. It is mostly a green ferny/lavender blend to my nose. Very pretty and feminine.

 

While I can't see myself needing a bottle of this, I think it is a gorgeous, lovely blend. Fern will get added to the list of green scents I like. It mixed perfectly with the florals, a very well behaved rose and lovely lavender. The rest of the notes aren't quite as noticeable but the sugar/currant help sweeten and girly up the blend and the absinthe gives it just a bit of an edge. Beautiful!

[rayvn1]

Mmm this I like! Sweet and fragrant lavender evened out with the sugar and absinthe. Very pretty and almost herbal. Wore off fairly quickly, but I won't mind re-applying it. Not sure if it's a long term keeper, but I'm liking this alot

[liquidtrance]

In bottle, quite ferny. At first touch to skin, green, a little funny powder (like.. Like..) Really weird. Similar to something I tried recently (weird note)..From a distance it's a little green and sweet-ish, up close it's headache inducing. Something sharp and aggravating, powdery, then rotten. Gets a little fern-ier and less rotten...small hint of rose in the background. Now, mostly entirely just rose. Meh.

[djsiberia]

floral, green and lavendar. its a very sharp green scent.

 

[ami226]

In the imp:

 

On the skin: herbally lilac. Kinda strong... As it dries down, it becomes pleasant. Still a bit herbally/green for my tastes though.

 

Overall: Don't like the strong green of the fern even though it eventually dies down. Not my thing at all.

[anna1850]

A slightly weird and manly smell.

 

2/5 Not for me.

[aquazoo]

Is it the lavender that makes it smell dirty? Just not working on me.

 

[Venneh]

Got this as a frimp with my eBay winnings, and just looking at the note list, the lavender makes me nervous, as it has a tendency to wipe a blend to nothing on me. In the imp, I can definitely smell the lavender. Uh-oh. On me, the other florals appear to be fighting the lavender, with a vague floral/greenery scent on me. I'm pretty sure that I'm getting lilac and rose here first and foremost, with the other notes lurking underneath. A nice scent, but not anything that I need more than an imp of.

Edited October 26, 2009 by Venneh

[Coldfire]

 

 

Imp: lavender and lilac...and the green of the ferns

Wet on Me: ROSE! The roes and lilac have already begun their domination only moments after application

Drying Down: The ferns are trying to put up a valient fight against the mighty amping rose and lilac.

Dry: Rose and Lilac won. The other notes never had a chance. If I could have something like this without the rose and lilac I bet it would be lovely. I'll re-home.