Ultraviolet

[eviltemptressdq]

Electrifying, mechanized and chilly -- the scent of crushed blooms strewn on cold metal. Lush violet and neroli spiked hard with eucalyptus and a sliver of mint.

Umm… wow. This is going to sound harsh: I opened the bottle and smelled mint. VERY strong mint. Which I love, so I put it on my wrist. I sniffed, and… omg. I was hit with something ELSE, very pungent, with the mint. I immediately had visions of that smell you get when you first open one of those things you drop into the back of your toilet? :-X Then I started to gag (I swear! I’m ridiculous), and thought about how I smelled like a urinal cake, and I HAD to get rid of the smell FAST. As a human being, though, I couldn’t possibly believe that it could smell like that… and kept sniffing it a few times after, just to be sure. Each time gagging. LOL. I’m an idiot.

Rushed to the bathroom and scrubbed my wrist… then covered it up with some Dirty (my favorite). Ultraviolet is pure evil on me!!

Can I give this one a negative numbered review? LOL. -100 out of 5

[Spastik_Kitty]

(Received as an extra from Graycat)

 

In the bottle: Eucalyptus, ozone and wet metal.

 

First on: Wow, this has quite the throw, the eucalyptus is there but the mint comes out stronger on me, a sweet spearamint, infused with ozone.

 

After a bit: It kinda reminds me of toothpaste and wet steel. The eucalyptus has almost completely faded into the background now. I'm not getting any violet or neroli from this.

 

A bit more: The violet is just peeking through this bitter scent.

 

This is very cold and hard smelling with a twang of sweetness. Like abandoned factories in the frigid days of January, where crystalized snow whips about and cuts at your skin.

 

This scent will be perfect to cool you down on those agonizing, hot, humid days.

 

A keeper for sure.

Edited May 18, 2006 by Spastik_Kitty

[Elrianra]

In the bottle, this is mint and eucalyptus with a spicy low-note of neroli and a high note of violets. It literally smells like bruised petals on cold metal! On me wet, this is a blast of cool mint and eucalyptus that is frigid and lovely, the violet hints of existance but the cool frost of the mint slathers over this and encases it in ice. The neroli is spicy but chilled. As this dries, the neroli and eucalyptus take the background, the mint and violet mix in a cool wet floral tone that reminds me of a garden just after a heavy rainstorm has passed: bruised florals and clear air that makes your nostrils tingle with how clean it is. This is a still scent, not that it doesn't morph but in that it insists that if you're going to wear it, you're going to be serene and calm. The throw on this is mild - not close lying but not a self projecting scent either, which I like! Just vague enough to risk a second whiff but clear enough to be pleasant if chilled. This is a scent I'll need more of for summer, most definitely!

[KieLocke]

For the first hour I get nothing but mints, strong and clear. Then I get a rather soapy floral. Not bad but not what I wanted.

[Melantha]

This was surprising. I tried it because I was sent a frimp, and I'm making it a policy to try everything I get at least once.

 

I can see this as a wake-up scent. The eucalyptus and mint blend far better than I ever thought they would, and the florals are in the background, exactly the way I like it. I don't know if I'll get a bottle, but I'm keeping my frimp!

[edenssixthday]

Ultraviolet - It’s cat pee!!! Well, for the first two minutes until it begins to dry down, it’s full-on cat pee. And wow, does this cat pee have some amazing throw! At about the two minute mark, it starts to smell like cat pee and mint. At about the 10 minute point, the cat pee fades away almost completely, and it’s 99% mint with about 1% of something floral. The throw is still incredible and overwhelms all three other BPAL scents that I’m testing out along with Ultraviolet. At about the 20 minute point, the “cold metal” aspect of this scents bursts forth, and actually hurts my teeth and is overwhelmingly unpleasant and definitely has a “cold” scent about it. At about the 45 minute point, it starts to stick very close to my skin, and I no longer notice what it smells like and soon forget about it. Then, about two hours after first applying, suddenly, it gets a second wind, and suddenly and unexpectedly, the air around me is filled with the soft, sweet, purple scent of violets and none of the unpleasant cat pee, mint, or metal. At this point, it’s so beautiful and surprising and unexpected. I’ve never had any scent gain strength after disappearing on me. How fun! I don’t know if the cat pee, mint and metal are worth the after-effects, however. I’m not a fan of cat pee and I’m not a fan of mint and I have discovered with this scent that I’m not a fan of metal in my perfumes. But violets are one of my favorite scents, so I’m a bit torn. I will probably just stick with Nocturne, which is all violets all the time.

[Diana]

Wet: Candied eucalyptus. Medicinal in that "vicks vapo'rub" kind of way, but with a sweetness to it.

 

Drydown: Minty violets--the mint replaces the eucalyptus, and the violets come out more strongly. The neroli adds a weird quality to the scent, keeping it from being as sweet, but it doesn't very long. this smells a lot like C. Howards violet candies, with just a touch of mint.

 

This is really nice. I love sweet violet scents, and I think this will be awesome for summer.

[karengypsy]

In the vial: Eucalyptus and violets.

 

On me: This is mostly eucalyptus and violet, but there's also neroli and mint. I think this scent is alright, but it's very weird.

 

Verdict: I like it, in a way, but my husband does not like it at all ("Eucalyptus," he said. "Eucan-suck-it!"). So it goes into the swap/sale pile.

 

Rating: 2/5

[jarvenpa]

Hot, humid, exhausting day here, up at dawn for a noble but boring meeting at my clinic, and then hours & hours of randomness, and then

 

PACKAGE IN MAIL..lovely gifties from Olympia301

 

Without even looking through the generous assortment I take the first imp out and slather it on my wrists, and it is

 

ULTRAVIOLET!!!

 

and boy is it. I would never have ordered this one on my own because a couple of the violet scents I thought I should have adored (I thought I loved violets before trying any) were total disasters for my skin.

 

First rush is sweet mint and flowers, very cool, with lots of throw. It is like being splashed with cool mint scented water. My soul revives.

 

(also I smell pretty good). It dries down to a floral that yes, is violet in nature, though not violets as they grow in my garden--more sugared violets, or the tiny pastilles I used to buy in Paris. I can almost taste them, the lavender crunch, the tiny aniseed at the core. Heavy flashbacks of spring in Paris when I was so young, so in love, so innocent.

 

Well, you can't beat that. Nice stuff.

[forspecial_plate]

I already know I'm not going to try this again, so...

 

Sharp out of the bottle, I don't remember much mint but did get the eucalyptus in a big way, but that faded after a short while. Pretty soon, all I could smell was an emphatic soap smell, very much like a commonly used commercial soap but I couldn't remember which one (I want to say Ivory, but maybe not)...turned up to about 11 (you know, the dials that only go up to 10). After that it didn't change much and I just had to wash it off! I really wanted to like this one but it's actually the first bpal that I just can't get along with, I'm afraid. This will be a good addition to my budding swap pile!

[m13]

This was a frimp from the lab. (thanks!)

 

I think Ultraviolet is beautiful -- a really interesting take on floral blends. The only problem is that it's just so *not* me that everytime I got a random whiff of the scent while I was testing it I wondered who was wearing the grown-up perfume.

 

There's something in this blend that reminds me of the sort of perfumes my mom and her GFs would wear out for a party or night on the town back in the 60's. I also kept thinking I smelled Chanel lipstick. So -- very nice, but it never felt like it was a fragance I should be wearing (since I kept looking around to try and figure out who was wearing the pretty perfume, something I've never had happen with a BPAL oil -- I'm always aware that the scent is on my skin, no matter whether I like it or not). This fresh and light floral will be passed along to someone who can give it the love it deserves.

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

impsniff: smells like those little buttermints you put out around fancy dinners... the kind that dissolve sorta instantly?

 

on skin: EUCALYPTUS. and ViOleTs.... and mint.

 

an hour later: Violet and toothpaste-mint...with the powdery/chalkiness of the orignial sniff-from-the-imp (buttermints) returned.

an unclaimed cousin of the rose family, it seems.

 

an old-fashioned (while still being perfectly acceptable as current) sort of scent... i imagine you could take this back in time a hundred or three hundred years and it'd be perfectly accepted (good to know, should you plan any timetravel!)

 

possibly also a nice introductory BPAL scent .... for a MiL or gramma or coworker?

 

for some reason this makes me think Yardley -- but i don't know that they've ever put out a violet?

[Seanan]

In the bottle, it smells like a eucalyptus grove. Wow, that's strong.

 

Wet, the smell of mint and violets quickly overpowers the menthol -- this smells COLD on me. It's amazing, and it keeps smelling cold cold cold as it starts to dry down, the mint and menthol running rings around each other all through the process.

 

Dry, the smell of violets is dominant, over a freezing cold note made by the marriage of menthol and mint. It smells like frozen violets in a forest at twilight, it lasts eons, and I adore it.

[sofiaviolet]

I smell mint. And something purplish, the violet. I think I smell eucalyptus, too. On me, the mint and eucalyptus are dominant. The mint isn't all that wonderful, and it gets worse and worse as it wears. Alas.

[Miseraya]

In the imp: Holy pointy mint! All I'm getting out of this so far is sharp, sinus clearing mint and eucalyptus. I can almost smell the violet....

 

On the skin, wet: Dinner mints and violets. Definitely a brisk, sharp and invigorating scent. The violet prevents this from being a big minty slap in the face.

 

On the skin, dry: As it dries the violets come out more and more, becoming the prominent note, with mint still very much a presence but muted. This is a very clean violet scent for me, I never got the neroli or for that matter, anything but eucalyptus, violet and mint. Although I am not great at identifying scents yet, so that may just be my fault.

 

Final Analysis: This is a great scent for mornings and pick me ups. It would also make a great room scent for studying or any activity that demands alert concentration. It's a great violet smell foor those who are fans of clean scents. Despite all that, I know I wouldn't wear this frequently enough to justify keeping it, so it's going to the swaps.

[Scrangie]

In the imp: EUCALYPTUS!! and violet.

 

On the skin: The mint surfaces and quickly disappears. What's left is violet: sweet, sharp, powdery.

 

After an hour the violet kind of fades into soap.

 

I really love it in the strong violet phase.

[Meg]

In the bottle: Violet and very strong mint and eucalyptus. The fumes went right into my throat, like Vicks Vapo Rub.

 

Wet: Mint, mint, mint and sweet violet in the background. This certainly wakes you up!

 

Drydown: I get sweet violet, menthol, and something leafy and green, possibly a side-effect of the mint. Behind the mint it's really VIOLET, no doubt about it, very sweet, nearly candy-like. If there's neroli in there, I can't smell it. Just an opening note of mint and then pure violet, which dries down into a bittersweet powdery soap smell.

 

Overall: Well, this really works in two phases, like most mint blends. First it's extremely volatile menthol over violets, which seriously attacks gets to your throat. Then it's pure violet. So if you dislike either component, it's not for you. I'm not overly fond of violets, and as the blend name spells out, this is really ultraviolet, violets spiked with mint. They're flashy violets, but end up still being just violet-soap.

[Emma2403]

One of my first Bpal true loves.

 

In the bottle: mint (first) and violet. There's something medicinal in there.

 

On my skin: heavenly! The violet is prominent, but I can smell mint and eucalyptus too. It's girlie in the good way.

 

After a couple of hours: it fades away a bit too quickly for my taste, but the violet still there lightly.

 

Verdict: I'm in love, I use it very, very often.

[buzz23666]

this one was a shocker.

 

Wet - soooooo peppermint. No floral at all. Nothing

 

But dry this is a whole other story. When the mint finally decides to release its Kung-Fu grip the violet comes shining through. This is what I envision a "green" violet would smell like. It is violet alright, but with a green edge.

 

I am not sure if a full bottle is in the cards for this one because I am a full on VIOLET sucker, but as a daily scent in this hellish humid climate I think this would work out well.

 

hmmmmmmmm...

[juniperus]

Bottle: mint! eucalyptus!

Wet: the effect of the neroli with the violet gives me the impression of one of my violet mints in the package in my desk drawer at work. C Howard, I think, is the brand.

Dry: violet mints, and the eucalyptus in the background. I use a eucalyptus mint linen spray often, as I find it very relaxing, and this is, to me, that spray with sugared violets strewn across the pillows. the neroli isn't doing it's usual thing, and for that I am grateful.

Later: this both sweeter and cooler (temperature-wise) than I usually wear, but I find it such a relaxing scent..I might save the imp for bedtime until I can acquire a larger bottle.

[steffanina]

Ultraviolet-

 

In Bottle: Eucalyptus at first, but then a buttery mint is more prominent.

 

Wet: Ooh, I smell the violets there too! And then the tea-tree oil pushes behind it, all hard-edged. Very interesting! A little sinus-clearing, but neither eye-watering nor sneeze-inducing, which is good.

 

Dry: Ultimately the violet of this wins out. It's a strong violet scent, and I'm pleased to have something that smells strongly of violets as I find violets one of the most interesting florals. This is a conditional scent for me, but I do like it.

 

Overall: Conditionally like.

[Iceblink]

I haven't been disappointed by a BPAL violet blend yet. This one starts out as strong strong mint but fades very quickly to a cool, mossy violet with maybe just a hint of the mint remaining. This would be great to wear on a warm spring day, or on a day when you need to wake up quickly but not smell too overpowering once you're awake. Beautiful and very aptly named.

[supremegoddessofall]

Ultra-violet, indeed. I was pretty worried to start with, because it went on smelling of awful medicine-y stuff, but it settled down. It's still pretty pure violet. Hint of the eucalyptus underneath. I'm not really getting the mint at all.

 

Score: 3 out of 5

[fiddledragon]

At first, this was candycanes of spiky doom on me. Very wake-up, but still too sweet -- peppermint goes sweet on me regardless of what the description claims. Then the violets came out. Unfortunately, violets almost universally do this truly distressing thing on me where they end up smelling like blood. I can definitely see how this would turn metallic on some people, but on me it just ends up being minty-fresh blood.

[shellyshells]

Ultraviolet:

 

Oooh this has been on my wishlist for awhile.

I finally get to try it (a frimp from the lab). In the imp, it smells gorgeous.

I smell mint & flowers.

On me..... ehhh it goes a bit weird. I think the violet smells weird on me but I can pick up on the neroli and that smells really good. Errr, that darn violet!

I'll keep it around for the summer though.