Amsterdam

[Julilla Regina]

Tulips, peony, fresh flowing water and crisp green grasses.

I'm going to be terrible at picking out the notes in this one. On first sniff, I just closed my eyes and smiled. Soooo good! It's so pretty, pretty, pretty. It's gorgeous, lovely, a mildly aquatic floral. Almost a little waxy at first, probably the tulip? My skin devours this, which is a fabulous excuse to get a big bottle! If you like florals, you *have* to get this one. There aren't words.

[herongale]

pre-conceived notion: this was one of two 5-ml vials I ordered from the lab a few months ago, based purely on description and reviews alone. I had such a lovely time the one day I spent in Amsterdam; it was the first time I'd navigated bus systems and a train system totally on my own, without extensive prior counsel, and it was ALSO the first time I'd tried to do those things in a place where English is not the primary language. Without Dutch OR a Dutch-English dictionary, I, a mere car traveler, braved the hazards of a totally alien transportation system. And not only survived, but triumphed! (I am still afraid to ride city buses or subways, however).

 

in the vial: strong green tulips... pure and freshcut.

 

wet: I don't quite understand what is meant by "fresh flowing water" as invoked in the original description. Totally fresh water has no scent, of course... but the scent of water from a stream, lake, river, or ocean... those are all very particular outdoors scents that I think can only be honestly replicated in a fragrance that is not tainted by anything stronger. Flowers overwhelm whatever sense of water I might get out of this... but these are cool flowers in the mid morning of spring, after a rain. Thus, this is a much more positive watery experience than R'yleh... clean tulips still reek of girl, after all.

 

drydown: I'm reminded of the tulip bulbs I bought at an outdoors stall next to one of the canals, and how I carried them to the Rijksmuseum and wandered the exhibits, followed by an afternoon reading Haruki Murakami with my feet dipped in the nearby public fountain (where kids were allowed to swim, and dogs could splash around freely) while people loitered or biked on by... and the meandering walk where I allowed myself to get lost in the city, simply to have the pleasure of finding myself again. That was a good day. And this is a good scent to evoke those memories: it is light and floral and reminds me of flowers from a greenhouse which have been cut and placed on the table of an outdoors cafe. Pretty, formal, and archly European.

 

post-conceived notion: I'm not sure that tulip is a scent that is very "me." But this scent is very Amsterdam, no question.

 

verdict: I have the 5ml! I don't know if this is going to be something I will need to own forever, but I will definitely use it all.

[Em-]

Amsterdam is definitely floral, but it is a light, breezy floral wqith a definitely herby/grassy tone that keeps the floweryness from being too overwhelming.

 

I actually like this. !

[wickedgoddess]

Wet - a fresh, green floral.

Dry - this remains green and fresh and lovely. It smells like being outside in a field of flowers; a very Springtime scent. I like it, but personally it's a bit too…wholesome for me.

 

On the wickedgoddess scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being best, this rates a 3.

[Ankhet]

(Old) Amsterdam:

In the bottle: I smell the peony and the grass... but it's VERY light.

Wet: Wow! I smell that grass!

Drydown: Hm. I can now actually smell all of the notes listed (tulips, peony, water, green grass), but I don't think this is something I'd wear. It's just too light and airy and white-flower-y

Conclusion: Sell

[theseagrows]

ooh this is very pretty and fresh. i mostly smell the grasses and peony, i think. not sure what part the tulip plays. it is a fresh floral scent, but a little too fresh n' floral for me personally. but pretty nonetheless.

[SeaMonkey]

Tulips! This is so fresh and light. Definately a summer scent. The grasses come out to play once it dries. Its very much like rolling around in the grass on a summer afternoon

[Orodemniades]

Um, a light and powdery floral with a nice green background. Good for spring, but not something I'd reach for on a regular basis.

 

Oro

[sookster]

springtime in a bottle!!!!!

if you are a light floral lover, this is so beautiful!!!

the tulips and peony and fresh spring water fragrance

is positively refreshing and this beauty will be a

spring favorite for sure~~~~

[Katinka]

My first BPAL review!

 

If I had to pick any color to associate with Amsterdam, it would be a deep salmon pink. My brain does say, "Ew, old lady bath toiletries!" at first whiff, but the scent soon morphs into a bright, crisp, pretty floral. It makes me think of crocuses breaking through the soil and little girls in Easter dresses.

 

One drawback -- it's not particularly long-lasting on me. I only get about 90 minutes worth. Still, it's a very lovely and calming scent when my kids are driving me batty throughout the course of the day. I also like to dab on a bit before bed. I'd like to try more oils before I commit to a big bottle, but Amsterdam was definitely a nice intro to BPAL.

[ice queen]

I absolutely love this scent - so light, clean and fresh and how could I not love it with peonies being my favourite flower

It is just so beautiful - spring into summer in a bottle !

Only bad thing I have to say about it is that it doesn't last very long on me

[empi girl]

In the bottle, this smells incredible. I kept sniffing my imp yesterday and anticipating the same scent on me, and an immediate big bottle purchase. But it doesn't stay glorious on me. The verdict is out, because the sweetness fades, a perfumy green (as in not quite bloomed yet green, not herbal green) floral emerges... This gets replaced by grassiness and an aquatic in the background. I have to try it again when I don't have the preconceived idea of sweetness.

[terrierhead]

I got an imp of this from malanna and it is fantastic. In the imp, it smells like tulips and greenery, which stays the same when it's wet. As it dries down, I lose most of the floral scent and it turns to freshly mown grass. It really is like Spring or early Summer in a bottle. Unfortunately, my eyes have begun to water. I think I may be allergic to this. Arrrgh!

[cantabile]

Amsterdam made me a sad panda. I was hoping to love it based on the description, but, well...

 

in vial: Dew-covered grass! The flowers are there, too, but definitely in a supporting role.

 

just applied: WHOAGRASS. I'm not even kidding.

 

drying down: Unmistakably the scent of a freshly mown lawn.

 

dry: ...with a couple of crushed flowers strewn by the wayside.

 

verdict: There's something undeniably charming about this one, but I think my chemistry did a number on it, and it's just not for me. Ah, thwarted hopes. *cries* Already been swapped out to a loving home.

[Fefferbella]

Fresh cut grass and tulips... this is lovely!

 

Amsterdam really captures the scent of springtime perfectly! Very light, feminine and pretty.

[ABrokenAngel]

In the Bottle: All I can smell initially is the water I’m assuming and the grasses.

 

Wet: Oh no……those grasses have already gone awry. It smelled so good in the bottle and now I wish I had just left it in the bottle.

 

Drydown: Yep…..deffinately not something for me. The florals never came out to play on me.

[Miss Lynx]

I had to try this given that I'm part Dutch and really enjoyed the one trip to Amsterdam that I'vehad, but I was worried this scent would be overly floral, at least one me. But I didn't have to worry -- it is a floral, but a very light, gentle one, and not overly sweet. I think it's as much herbal as floral -- I suppose that's the grassy element. And yes, I could definitely see tulips here.

 

As others have said, this does have a springtime feel to it. It's very light and breezy and soft, not an aggressive scent at all. Really, its only down side is that it's perhaps a little *too* gentle - and thus lacks character. It's pleasant enough, just not very interesting. It also disappears fairly quickly -- it's been less than half an hour since I put it on and it's virtually gone.

 

Overall, not too bad, but probably not a keeper.

 

Grade: B-

[theling]

Rating: 10/10

 

In the bottle:

Another one of my favorite BPAL blends... also the first one I every LOVED. In the bottle this has a nice floral scent but a bit soapy .

 

Initial Scent (on skin):

Very fresh and clean with a watery floral grassy smell. Luckily the soapiness I smelled in the bottle did not translate into smell on the skin. I dont really get much peony from this. More white flowers with a hint of fresh cut grass. To me this smells like LUSH Tiptoe Through The Tulips.

 

Staying Power:

This usually only lasts an hour or two on my skin but dries down to a nice light and crisp floral. Reminds me of springtime sunny days!

[Aredhel]

Rating (on skin): 4/5

Summarised in a word or two: Grassy!

 

In the imp: Grassy!

 

On skin, wet: Ooh, very green and grassy, without being soapy in the least. It's also a bit watery, but not really aquatic -- kind of like dewy grass.

 

On skin, dry: Fresh and bright and clean. I'm surprised that this didn't go soapy on me. However, it has no throw or staying power. I have to struggle to get anything after the first hour.

 

Conclusion: Absolutely lovely, but doesn't last. I'll give this another go after the Trading Post releases (and I buy and receive) a scent locket.

Edited February 7, 2006 by Aredhel

[slave1]

In Bottle: Floral ozone

 

On Skin: Now this is pretty. It is so delicate and the lovely water note reminds me of elegance and purity. It smells so clean and bright white, a little soapy though and a bit sharp on the nose. Not exactly what I think of when I think of Amsterdam… giggle. The florals are light and sweet. The grasses are dominated by the ozone note, I wouldn’t call this a planty or grassy scent. I think this scent should just be called Holland because I think more of the countryside with this scent than of the Red Light district that comes to mind when I hear Amsterdam.

[graycat]

i recently went on a trip to amsterdam so i ordered a imp to bring along with me, i normally don't wear florals but i thought it would be fun to have and put on once or twice.

 

then when i got here and tried it on, it was perfect, light sweet floral and green tulip stems. it's kinda clean smelling in the bottle but that didn't last long after the dry down. it's staying power was actually good for me, not on my skin but i keep getting little sniffs on my coat lapels and scafs (winter time in holland is cold) and everyone told how lovely i smelled.

 

it was wonderful to have a new scent to wear on a vacation that i can wear at home to feel nostalgic.

[Wench457]

Amsterdam ITB: a sweet, faint floral with an aquatic edge to it.

 

On: Definitely an aquatic scent, but still sweet. I can't pick out any of the notes in this yet.

 

Dry: very faintly floral and aquatic, faded quickly to almost nothing on me, and was gone in a half hour.

[PurringPulsar]

Amsterdam

 

In the imp: a clear, fluid, bright aquatic with a hint of green.

Wet on skin: now the grass note comes out in full-and it’s such a realistic grass note, like freshly mowed lawns.

Dry: this is lovely. A crisp, fresh, tart mixture of green grass, watery notes and hints of gentle flowers in the background-I think I get a hint of tulip here. It reminds me of a perfume I’ve smelt elsewhere…I can’t really remember but it does remind me of a designer perfume I used to wear (either from Gap or Next), and that’s not a bad thing.

After a while: the scent stays the same, still that lovely fresh and tangy watery scent reminiscent of one of my old perfumes. I think this is fabulous for spring and summer.

After about 2 hours, the tulip note peeks out a bit more, and I can make out a soft background of peony under the grassy aquatics.

Verdict: this to me is one of BPAL’s more ‘perfumey’ scents, ie it wouldn’t smell out of place in a department store. This isn’t a bad thing at all…in fact, this reminds me very much of one of my old perfumes-I think it was a Gap or Next perfume-which was fresh, light and tangy with green and slight floral notes. but of course, even Beth’s more ‘commercial perfume-like’ scents have something special and different about them-in here, there’s a delightful watery scent to it, and one of the most realistic grass notes I’ve encountered so far, as well as a faint hint of dewy floral to round it off. The result is a light, fresh, tart and tangy scent which would be lovely in the spring. I also recommend this to anyone who is weaning themselves off designer perfumes and onto BPAL, and fans of fresh scents, be they designer or not…I won’t get a bottle yet but I’m keeping the imp.

[batsy]

In the bottle: That's tulip.

 

On the skin: Water and tulips. Reminds me of th tulip fields in Washinton state. We'd always end up there when it was raining. I smell fresh cut grass in there too...

 

Not for me.

[nancybridget]

A flowery, aquatic blend. Not for me, but if you like the watery ones, maybe for you!