Three Brides

[Analise]

Moroccan rose, king mandarin, red sandalwood, Egyptian amber, orchid, carnation, benzoin, tonka, calla lily, vanilla flower.

I'm getting something a little milky, a little spicy and it's currently my favorite, "what I want to wear when nothing else is calling my name." I have an imp of it, I think I may need a bottle.

[jiggahava]

Wow. Unique and hard to pin down. I'm definitley getting something sweet here. I think it's the tonka and vanilla flower that are doing that. It smells honey-like. I'm getting alot of the Moroccan rose as well, maybe some orchid as well. I feel like I'm a very refined middle eastern palace. It's a sexy scent, yet a refined one as well. Light throw.

[juniperus]

bottle: wow, complex. I can't pick out any notes but it seems as though I'm smelling them all at once all at the same volume.

wet: the amber is more clear, now, as is the carnation, and something...maybe the benzoin. it's present and up-front, but not being obvious about it.

dry: right now it's carnation, tonka, amber, orchid and sandalwood and very pretty. no rose, alas, but it doesn't give the impression that it's missing anything.

later: I can catch the feel of the mandarin but it's not citrusy per se, and the lily isn't amping as I feared it would. outstanding, the complexity mellowed so it feels less overwhelming to my spirit (if that makes sense).

[Shollin]

First sniff: It seems like all the Salon scents feel incensey to me even when they shouldn’t. This one is sort of a figgy, plummy, ambery incense.

 

Wearing: Hello, rose! It’s poofy-powdery at first, but the other notes quickly rein it into a lovely deep spicy floral.

[CrazyPretzel]

In the imp, this smells much more subtle than I'd imagined. Can't get too much from it.

Wet on me: Amber for sure, very smooth. The rose is there as well, but it's still a surprisingly quiet blend -- with the mandarin in there I thought it would be punchier. Lily and carnation peek out.

Dry on me: Hmm. I want to say this is 'incensey' but to me that implies a certain dryness, and this scent is not dry. Floral, but definitely not overwhelmingly so; I can imagine avowed floral haters really enjoying this one. The amber is really the star of this blend for me -- it doesn't take over but lends smoothness to the whole scent.

 

Makes me think of a naked courtesan draped in silk on a velvet couch in a room with soft red lighting. This is a seductive scent, but not overwhelmingly sexy, probably because it has sandalwood rather than musk.

 

Very intriguing. I don't know if I need a bottle of this, but I will certainly use the imp, probably when I'm all dressed up...for a night in.

 

ETA: Tonka and benzoin come out after about 10-15 minutes and make this suddenly very sexy indeed. You've been warned.

Edited August 16, 2007 by Shollin
Removed Lab description

[bulletslc]

Good LORD this is a beautiful floral!!!!

The rose and carnation harmonize perfectly with each other on my skin....I think I can even scent the orchid playing balance in the middle.

 

And the amber and sandalwood are perfect incesnsy backdrops to these three main floral notes.

 

Mmmmmmmmmm.....I'm thinking big bottle here!

[TheOneTheyCallLuna]

The best few words to describe this blend are "beautiful", and "blushing". I agree with the first poster that in the bottle this does smell vaguely like a department store oriental blend, but on the skin it transforms into something entirely unique. I feel Beth has done an outstanding, nay, genius job of capturing the image upon which this blend relies as its basis and inspiration. This blend is so beautiful that it's something I could easily see myself wearing on my wedding day. It's a pretty spicy floral with tonka and rose, a very innocent smelling eastern blend...this is uber classy and I absolutely am in LOVE

[hkhm]

imp: orange and carnation with a sweet, creamy amber.

 

wet: rose has crashed the party. again. this is all soapy, nasty rose on me. and i didn't even catch a hint of rose when i was sniffing the imp.

 

dry: the rose has finally cleared somewhet and i can catch hints of other florals but the rose is still a disaster on me.

[zankoku_zen]

This is sweet creamy amber and rose. The amber is a little on the powdery though.

[MaeKitty]

In the bottle: Rose and orchid

On me: Rose, Carnation and orchid. The florals just jump off of my skin screaming for attention. I was really hoping to smell more of the vanilla, amber, tonka and sandalwood, but so far, no. I'll give it more time and come back to it. Right now, it's too soapy for me.

[LyndaM]

A creamy, somewhat spicy floral that dries down to a sweet ambery base. A memory of the florals lingers into the drydown, with just a touch of the sandalwood, grounding the scent so it doesn't fly away. Well balanced; none of the notes really steal the stage from the others. The rose is barely a whisper, the carnation, lily and orchid blend with it to make a single outstanding floral accord. The mandarin isn't really noticeable, it just adds a delightful juicy sparkle.

 

I combined this with a good quality perfumers alcohol to make a spray parfum, and was rewarded with much better sillage. A spray diffused the scent very effectively, opening it up and highlighting the complexities. I recommend it for all BPAL fragrances. The only negative is that I spray more scent than I would apply in oil form, and go through bottles more quickly!

 

This is classy and timeless, pretty and wearable. Suitable for all ages. It is more similar to a commercial perfume than most of the lab's offerings, but SO easy to wear. This would take you anywhere, excellent for every day (though you might want to go with something a bit darker for night). I can't say enough good things about Three Brides, and I have been wearing it so often that I will soon need another bottle.

 

This would be a good gateway, a seductive introduction to BPAL for friends who wear commercial perfumes and fear the lab is too 'dark'. I think it is the best of the Salons I have sampled so far, and a new BPAL favorite overall. This would find success in the mainstream market.

[inurbanus]

Hmm... This is a bit too powdery for my taste, but I can see why others like it. It's got the same kind of soft sweetness that Alice does, which would account for its shy, innocent vibe. I guess I was hoping for more "oriental" -- there's a little bit of smokiness in the background that I wish could come to the forefront of this. As it is, Three Brides is nice, but not really "me."

 

3/5

[greenranger]

With nine other notes in it, hopefully the rose will behave.

 

 

Rose with a background of florals. I can tell the tonka, carnation and calla lily are there, at least.

 

The rose isn't screaming, which is good. I can tell the other notes are there, which is better. There is hope.

 

 

It may not be my favorite salon. I may not get a bottle. However, it is still nice enough to use, and for a rose scent on me, that's not easy to find.

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Perfume-y rose with touches of amber and lily.

 

Immediately on skin: This smells like a very traditional perfume type of scent. The strongest note is the rose, but I get some nice amber and sandalwood in the base. There’s also a light soapy lily note and soft vanilla flower peeking through.

 

After a little while: This is slightly warm and spicy rose and lily perfume. It’s very pretty and feminine with the rose blending nicely with the amber and sandalwood and the lily adding a soapy clean floral note. The vanilla flower adds something soft and creamy but floral to the background.

 

Overall Impressions: This strikes me as a beautiful and feminine scent, but it’s very perfume-y to me. The rose blending with the sandalwood and amber is really gorgeous, and the other notes (mainly the lily and vanilla flower) add a floral complexity to keep this from being too warm and spiced. This seems like it would be very wearable and I can appreciate it even though the orchid, carnation, and tonka (some of my favorite notes) didn’t come through for me.

[GalaxyLei]

Given the notes listed, I can't see what could go wrong...except all I get from this is craft store potpourri. Sadness.

[hlinspjalda]

In the vial: Rose, orchid, lily, and something tangy.

 

Wet: It smells mostly of alcohol. This is an old-looking half-imp I got as a trade frimp; I wonder if it's been diluted? But I also get rose, and there's something else, strong, a bit bitter.

 

Half an hour: Floral blend dominated by rose. Very pleasant but not spectacular. If this were a mundane perfume, I'd be thrilled.

 

Two hours: A very pleasant rose blend, subtle.

 

Three hours: Beginning to sour. Still some pleasant elements, but I think this is a fail.

 

Six hours: Only a sourish remnant. Definite fail.

 

I'll probably try this one again some day, just in case that old imp was contaminated.

 

[pinkstardust420]

@*!#%

 

All I get is soap. Pure, soapy soap. Sigh.

 

 

[Monster]

I love all of the salon scents, every one I try surprises me, I think this is by far, Beths best line-up of scents

 

Three Brides smells like a very expensive, rare perfume you would smell in a small boutique in Paris. This is what (I imagine) perfume used to smell like.

This is a bouquet of spicy florals, I really can't pick out any one single floral note...they all mix together very well.

As this starts to dry I smell something that resembles violet mixed with the warm scent of sandalwood.

The final stage of this is a soft, spicy floral mixed with sandalwood.

I can see myself wearing this on special occasions, it's a very grow-up, womany sort of perfume....very pretty! I didn't think I'd like something with so many floral notes but this is fantastic.

[magikalbrownies]

as a fan of carnations im always in love with a new carnation scent that comes my way, this is by far, no different.

 

in the bottle: it smells of amber but the rose and carnation mix to an indescribable mix that, if not told, i'd probably wouldnt have been able to pick them apart. they're blended equally

 

on my skin: heaven, this easily rivals all of my favorites by far. its the perfect mix of spice but on the same token soft and not loud. the amber is far more pronounced. and DONT be deterred by the mention of rose, I WAS, and not once did i detect something that smelled like grandma's sock drawer.

 

overal: thank god i have a bottle! this is going on all over.

[crebbsgirl]

After the initial ROSE blast, this dried down to a pretty, resinous scent. The amber and sandalwood were wonderful here, beating back the rose to prevent it from overtaking the blend (which 99 times out of 100 it does). The calla lily was pretty faint here too, so that I didn't get a soapy floral like I usually do. I could very barely detect the carnation, which gave this blend a pretty nice floral spice kick. The tonka and benzoin lend a creamy vanillic sweetness. Overall I liked it surprisingly more than I thought I would, given that rose is a major player here.

[sirensea]

At first, this was pure rose. As it dries, I can detect more of the tonka, which gives it a nice variety that keeps it from being too floral. I really like this one! It's a good wedding (of course) or major social event perfume.

[Venneh]

Got this as a frimp in a recent swap; thanks again, Robin! In the imp, this is a floral blend, and there's definitely some rose in there. On my skin, it's mostly rose, with the other florals in the background. Way, way in the background. It's predominantly a rose blend on me, with maybe a bit of richening from the mandarin, but nothing special. Someone else will probably love it more.

Edited November 20, 2009 by Venneh

[Lyrical]

In vial: a rich, well-blended scent with lots of vanilla and resins swirling seductively around modest florals and mandarin.

 

Wet on skin: wow! I can't even pick out notes here - it's just one, beautiful, grown up (but not old lady) perfume! I was scared of the rose, but it's barely there. I can make out orchid and mandarin and vanilla, but mostly this doesn't even smell of perfume - it just smells of awesome! Like I'm not wearing scent - I just smell this good naturally!

 

Dry on skin: the rose is coming out now, along with a slight hint of soap and a touch of creamy spice from the carnation. It's still very elegant and lovely. Very smooth and balanced. It's hard to imagine anyone disliking this scent - all the notes are so gentle and warm!

 

It lasted all night and into the morning, but by that time the fruity-floral aspect had faded somewhat and it was more soft, creamy amber and the faintest hint of sandalwood.

 

Second day slathering: this has definitely passed the all day wearing test. It's really pretty, and also totally inoffensive and suitable for formal occasions. Wearing it makes me feel confident and womanly.

 

I was nervous about buying such an expensive bottle unsniffed, but now I'm really pleased I did!

[SophieCedar]

In imp: unmistakable rose, amber, sandalwood, orchid, and carnation.

 

Wet: stays that way and a citrus note pops in and out of the picture. Smells like some department store perfumes.

 

Drydown: rose softens a little, carnation as well. amber becomes more pronounced. No citrus at this point. vanilla flower and tonka reveal themselves and become the last to leave the party.

 

This is nice. Not really something I would consider buy a bottle of because I'm sensitive to rose. I can see this being the signature for others however. I think someone with deeper musky skin would really benefit from this rich scent.

[moon_lemming]

To my nose, Three Brides is a ~~floral perfume~~ in the imp, and I'm no good at picking out florals, so I will just say it smells like a classy floral perfume.

 

On my skin there is a HORRIBLE FLORAL DEATH NOTE, probably the lily, although some spicy carnation kicks through. So it ends up being a soapy carnation blend. Not for me.