Amsterdam

[jidabug]

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

 

When I was younger, my grandparents used to take me and my cousins to Skagit Valley in Washington every spring when the tulips were at their peak, and so I've always had a love affair with the delicate little beauties. So I had to try Amsterdam. Boy, did this every capture the essence of spring and its associated flowers.

 

To begin, this was a light floral, very fresh and green. Upon drydown I could definitely smell the tulips and a crisp, sweet, watery scent. Alas, like most delicate flowering bulbs of the spring, this had a very limited life and quickly vanished.

[olympia301]

 

Very aquatic, I smell a related scent to Sea of Glass here without the grapefruit but with flowers. I find it to be medium strong and with a green undertone of cholrophyll coming through. On drydown there are more flowers than the other components. It wears close to your body and I would say it is a great candidate for a scent locket if you fancy the aquatic beginnings. This one I would put in more than one scent locket because it is that delicate.

[harmonyfb]

Actually, it smells like...grass. Green, fresh grass (except this doesn't ping my allergies! Yay!) As it dries, there's the hint of tulips, all springy and beautiful. I really like this one - it's perfect for springtime wear. It's not precisely me, but I like it, all the same.

[fiddledragon]

Scent in bottle: TULIPS! I had forgotten what tulips smelled like, but that's definitely tulips. Also, that wonderful fresh-grass scent. *prrrrrrrrrrrr*

 

Scent on me:

Wet -- (dried too fast to tell -- this one's very light)

Dry -- It's mostly grass and a lurking warning of that horrible marine note. Meh.

 

Conclusion: This will make a phenomenal room scent, but the "water" note takes over the lovely tulips on me. While I dislike marine notes, they like me entirely too much.

[mirutai]

Sweet, delicate flowers - peony and tulip, I presume - planted on a grassy bank, the scent wafting on the breeze across a crystal-clear stream. Very springtime, very pretty...

 

... aaaaaand gone within an hour. Have to press my nose right to my wrists in order to catch even the faintest whiff. A shame, because this is gorgeous! But I'd need a 10ml to slather/douse a scent locket in order to get any staying power at all.

[joiedecombat]

My initial impression of Amsterdam was lovely - sweet flowers and clear running water and a fresh green hint of grass, which soon faded and let the flowers take prominence. Unlike many florals, it never went at all acrid on me.

 

Unfortunately, it had no staying power at all. Very soon after I'd applied it, it was simply all but gone. A little too light and subtle for me, I'm afraid.

[juniperus]

Bottle: Peony! How lovely! And grass.

Wet: Backyard, springtime, peonies in bloom and the grass freshly cut. So light for me, but I'm liking it - I have a soft spot for peony.

Dry: Very, very light. Some of the tulip peeks forth. I'm still in my grandmother's backyard..grass smell passing some as a light rain opens the scent of the peonies but not so much rain that the damp earth comes to the fore...can catch a whiff of the tulips only if I'm standing right next to that planting bed.

Later: Very pretty floral. Light, lovely.

[jolarocknrolla]

ah, Amsterdam, one of my favorite scents. It always reminds me a bit of Estee Lauder's Pleasures - it has a wonderfully clean and springy scent, and the floral is very clean and clear instead of sweet. You might like it if you like Roadhouse and the Unicorn (it's more like Unicorn or like Roadhouse without the booze). It's a very uncomplicated, almost childlike scent.

[Rhowan]

Ah! Amsterdam! I am not going to write my usual review with this because Amsterdam is so unique.

 

Amsterdam is very aquatic with the florals ( FRESH tulips and peony) and a dose of fresh green grass. That is the way it stays on my skin until I wash it off. I have been trying to find the perfect aquatic scent and I am thinking that Amsterdam is it!

[eviltemptressdq]

Opened the bottle, and was hit with a GORGEOUS green grassy smell! Love this SO much. I got a little fearful that I may end up allergic (i sneeze when people are cutting the grass). Ah well, I put it on my wrist anyway...

 

This smell of flowers and grass is SO perfect for me. Very fresh... the only problem I had with it was that, with working at a computer for work, it wore off my wrist (from the mousepad, wrist pad thing) pretty quick. I should've brought it with me to re-apply!!

 

I will definitely be buying a bottle of this soon! 5 out of 5 thumbs up for me. LOL.

 

p.s. Oh, and no sneezing! HOORAY!

Edited May 2, 2006 by eviltemptressdq

[neuilly]

In the Bottle: Light, fresh, not really grassy as some say but more...yeah, definitely tulip. Lovely!

 

Wet: Ok, wow. My mom has a scent from bath & body works that she sprays around the house to make is smell better...it's called absolute tulip and it's exactly the same scent...at least to my unsophisticated nose. It's nice and fresh, but I'm not sure I want to smell like my house!

 

Dry: Hmm, the throw is sort of dying. The beautiful tulip scent is still there but there's something daker underneath that's nto particularly pleasant. I think it's my skin chemistry (it's almost a rubber smell). Too bad, I wanted to like it!

[Alchemy21599]

I received this as a gift from my lovely Switch Witch, Atthis

 

In the vial: tulip, peony, green leaves and the aquatic/ozone smell from a brief spring rain shower.

 

Wet: all of the notes blend so well. Tulip may be slightly dominant.

 

Dry: this does not change from the wet stage. The throw is light enough to wear to work. I love this scent and have added it to my Top Ten. Definite Big Bottle purchase for me!

[moon_lemming]

In the imp, Amsterdam is a grassy floral. Smells like tulips, or what I think tulips smell like.

 

On my skin, some clean water peeks out. The floral's still there, but subdued, and the grass is almost gone after a minute.

 

It's very good, but I wish the grassy floral notes stuck around a little bit longer. And the scent overall vanishes pretty quickly, too, like others have noted.

[moonarcana]

A frimp from the wonderful Rhowan!

 

This was my #1 wanting to try scent from my wishlist - and now that I have an imp and have had the chance to wear it a couple of times, it's moved to my #1 wanting to get a 5ml bottle of spot!

 

This is a perfect harmony of tulips, peonies and grass - all very REAL and natural smelling too. As somebody who favors floral fragrance, this one makes me very happy.

 

From the imp as well as on the skin wet, it's a very heady bouquet - I smell more tulip from the start. As it starts to dry down, the peonies and green start to poke out a bit. It does get noticibly lighter as time goes on - I reapplied after about 4 hours so I could marinate in it's florally goodness some more, but before I did I asked a coworker if she could still smell my perfume...I was standing about 3 feet away from her and didn't shove my arm in her face or anything...and she told me that she could and it smelled very nice. Of course that didn't keep me from putting on a bit more - for purely selfish reasons!

 

I have to agree with jolarocknrolla's review (a few back up the page) that Amsterdam smells very much like Estee Lauder's Pleasures. I've worn (and loved) Pleasures for years and think that the comparison is quite apt.

 

My rating for Amsterdam is 5/5

 

A bottle will definitely be ordered along with the Hungry Ghost a few days from now!

[Eunice]

Deelish! I've become a big fan of peony lately and here it is in Amsterdam! Peony and tulips and greenery. There aren't any surprises with this scent. From the moment it goes on to hours later, this is all about peony, tulips and green. Amsterdam is a keeper!!

[AliBabble]

this reminds me of a flower stall, or a greenhouse full of flower bulbs - it's like my nose is inside a flower - the petals, the pollen are very real and present. it's like rain-freshened tulips! and i guess peonies too. fresh-cut stems and flowers. after some time, this scent does get a bit thin and soapy, not bad, but not as realistic-flower as the intitial stage. very pretty though.

[HennaFairy]

bottle:

tulips and grass!!

 

wet:

same - smells like my yankee candle in tulip scent!

 

dry:

still the same - really nice fresh floral! There is a bit of an aquatic note too but it blends well with the floral

 

overall

I knew I loved this one. Why did I wait so long?? Lol

 

rating: 9/10

[storme]

In the imp: mmm, green watery peony. Yay peonies.

 

On me, wet: wow, that is very crisp and green, but very faint.

 

On me, dry: man, if this wasn't incredibly faint I would like it a lot. Soft gentle pink peonies and crisp greenness.

 

Verdict: Lovely, but my skin chemistry devours it. Off to the swap pile.

[edenssixthday]

Amsterdam - This reminds me not of Amsterdam, but of the fields outside of Amsterdam full of tulips, long green grasses creating rolling waves across the horizon as the wind blows them, and windmills. The instant I put it on, I saw big, Dutch windmills in my mind, and I can’t help but think of Bruegel’s paintings of the Dutch countryside. This is really pretty, fresh and full of springtime greenery, and unlike most fresh, green scents, my skin doesn’t eat it up and it actually lasts a reasonable amount of time. It's very much a springtime scent.

[nerdcraft]

in the imp:

Lovely, lovely floral. Very pink, bright and wet smelling.

wet:

This is so pretty! It does smell a lot like a fresh-cut tulip. It's a very springtime scent. I can see how it shares the green grass note with Rosalind - both are very light and fresh scents, although Amsterdam is much more floral and not quite as much grass. It reminds me of something I would have worn in high school, because it's very pretty-smelling and innocent.

dry:

It gets slightly more aquatic as time goes by - I get more of that little tingly-feeling watery note. Other than that, it doesn't change much. Fades into a soft, pink and green floral.

 

season: spring

office-friendly? yes, light and soft

 

 

I fell in love with this one right away. Like Rosalind, this is very "me". It's a light, fresh floral that is unique enough to stand out, with the tulip scent, but would definitely appeal to traditional department-store-perfume wearers. The only issue I had with this blend is that it fades prety quickly. Other than that, it's lovely!

[sofiaviolet]

In imp: I smell the water and the peony. Very aquatic.

 

On me, wet: I don't actually know what tulips smell like, but I think that's what I smell behind the aforementioned notes.

 

On me, dry: It's mostly peonies. Like a GC version of Peony Moon.

 

Verdict: I'll keep my imp.

[valentina]

I love flowers, I love tulips and peonies in particular, but with my Smutified body chemistry, I wasn't sure Amsterdam would work on me. However, in the world of BPAL, I'm always surprised, so I perservered and tested it out. In the imp, the scent is a very bright floral, not terribly sweet and cloying, from what I would guess to be the tulip and aquatic grass notes. Once it was on my body, the scent turned not terribly sweet, but instead a little pungent. It's a grassy-floral-aquatic smell that tends to bloom quickly on me and fades away, not unlike tulips. It's a very sunny, springtime smell that would be wonderful for anyone who loves a crisp floral fragrance.

[Babylon]

Well, it doesn't smell like weed.

 

Actually, Amsterdam smells like Easter!! It's so fresh, clean, and reminiscent of a blooming, green spring.

 

When it's wet, it's pure tulips and dryer sheet. But when it dries, I'm suddenly standing in the garden outside the house I grew up in. I can smell the peony bush that grew every year, and a scattering of tulips. Beside this is the crisp green of the other garden plants and our yard.

 

This is a bit too fresh-light-flowers for me, but I might try making it into a lotion.

Edited July 31, 2006 by Babylon

[Shannihilation]

Wow. I adore this in the imp but had never worn it because I was afraid it would be too floral. I am determined to work my way through all of the imps I have now and start weeding out the ones I love and the ones I don't. I've gotten rid of the ones that I just outright didn't like. Now it's time to wade through the rest. I was so afraid that Amsterdam would disappoint me on my skin. But it's gorgeous. It is a floral, but it's very soft. The tulips and peonies blend perfectly, and since they are two of my favorite flowers this just thrills me. And the aquatic note is just perfect. It's so clean and fresh...

 

It's like sitting on the dock on a sunny spring day with my feet dangling in the water. This scent makes me feel happy. I am so impressed.

[PilotKitten]

Oooh... this smells a lot better than I expected it to! I mean, I knew it would smell good but not this appealing. It's a very fresh and clean scent. I really feel like I'm sitting next to a stream and smelling the scent of "fresh flowing water" as it goes rushing past. Wet, on my skin I caught a faint hint of an herbal green grass note but after the drydown it's not anywhere to be seemingly found. This is a wonderful summer fresh scent and I'll probably be putting a bottle of this on my wishlist.