Love-Lies-Bleeding

[naeelah]

The velvet flower. A lush, thick, luxuriant bloom, bold and red.

This is very nice! It's chocolate, cherries, dragon's blood, and roses, with just a hint of greenery. (Who knows what's in this, but that's what I get.)

This one doesn't morph on me, except in the minor way that all scents do over the hours. The cocoa, cherries and dragon's blood are strongest at first, and it's a very succulent, gourmand effect. There's definitely a hint of greenery offsetting it, and it's a great combination. The cocoa scent evaporates first, but it lasts much longer here than it does in many other blends. After about 5 hours, I can smell a trace of it, but it no longer dominates the blend.

After it dries, after about 10 minutes, the chocolate is a little richer and the greenery is less apparent. Some of the sweetness calms down, so the florals come through a bit better. The rose blends surprisingly well with the other notes. It's the next thing to fade, so after 5 hours, I mostly smell dragon's blood, colored by cocoa and rose.

The throw is about average -- definitely noticeable, but not so strong -- and the wear life is very good. Dragon's Blood based scents always last a really long time on me.

This is a fantastic and unique blend, definitely worth trying if you're a chocolate fan, or if you want a different sort of rose. I think it smells sort of like the wet stage of Midnight Kiss, only without the red musk. So if you loved the sound of Midnight Kiss but can't wear red musk, give this a try. (You'd need to layer something with patchouli, though, to completely copy Midnight Kiss.)

It also reminds me of Libra, only the other way around. Libra is roses with cherries, this is (chocolate) cherries with some roses. Edited December 19, 2007 by naeelah

[Lisa7907]

This is another one of those scents that I opened, sniffed, then closed again, completely convinced that it was NOT the scent for me.

 

I opened this one a second time and applied it quickly. Oh... my... goodness. A yummy sticky sweet scent when wet. I can't keep my wrist away from my nose! As it dries, it is still sweet, but not as sticky. Still liking it. When dry, however, I am getting an almost chocolatey smell, which I am NOT a fan of. Why, oh why could it not stay sweet and yummy? Unfortunately, this one will likely go to swaps.

[MaeKitty]

In the Bottle: Very dark, earthy and herby. Wasn't sure I'd like this one at first.

On me: You know, like I say above, I didn't think I'd like this one, but I was wrong. It is very velvety, red and kind of chocolatey. You can almost feel the softness of the petals in the scent. I really like this. It's a nighttime whispering scent. It's a little buttery, with maybe the faintest orange.

 

[faded_stranger]

In the vial, and initially on my skin, this smells like chocolate. Not a genuine chocolate scent, though--more like a tootsie roll inspired perfume. Then the chocolate fades, and for maybe twenty minutes after, this doesn't smell like anything at all. After that it gets floral--very rosey to my nose, though I've never actually smelled a love-lies-bleeding. This floral stage is very soft and pleasant on my skin, and underpinned with a little bit of dirt and just a hint of the chocolate from the beginning. This one was soft enough to slather, and had a pleasing but not overpowering throw. Overall very wearable, though not something I'll be tempted to buy again when the imp runs out.

 

I agree that this would be a great oil for Valentine's Day.

[Ginspu]

I got this as a frimp. For me, it smells of two distinct things. First I smell dirt - not "dirty" dirt, but the nice rich loamy smell you get from a freshly turned garden in spring. And then, it smells like cafe mocha, but not the drink, the smell you'd get if you'd stuck your nose in a bag of mocha-flavored coffee beans. Neirther scent is unpleasant, kind of nice even, but not really something I'd want to smell like.

[Dracoo9]

Form: Frimp from the lab.

 

In the imp it smells a lot like Strangler Fig yet..different if that makes any sence.

On it smells syrup-y sweet with a cherry smell like medicine. Luckily that medicinal note dissapears for a bit before popping up for a moment later on and so forth. Other then the medicinal moments it smells like chocolate cherries with a woddy sort of tone to it. I cant tell what I think of it..I like it but I dont know if its bottle worthy. And those medicinal notes it has....is rather unpleasant. i'll hold on to it and see if that note will dissapear for good.

[azhriaz]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who got chocolate cherries from this. I think I smell some almond too, but that could just be that bizarre thing where cherry and almond perfume have a similar vibe even though actual cherries and almonds smell nothing alike.

 

Anyway, this is foody! After a while it kind of verges into being a bit more floral, but mostly it's just sweet and delicious. I would get a big bottle if I had anywhere to put it.

[VioletChaos]

in the imp: chocolate covered cherries!

 

wet on skin: chocolate, patchouli, and red fruit in the distance. wow.

 

dry down: it remains the same.

 

in all: unusual, sweet but not *too* foodie, i may need a bottle of this!

 

 

 

 

[Tilby]

In the imp, it smells like a yummy slightly green, slightly floral chocolate. On, it becomes more soft velvet floral, with only a hint of that cocoa and earth smell. I love it and cannot stop sniffing at my wrist and hands.

[glass_cat]

Count me in for another "chocolate cherries" impression. This smells exactly like those wonderful chocolate-covered cherry cordials to me. Exactly. As a matter of fact, I can practically taste one right now just from the smell.

 

I'm not really picking up much else, although I think I might smell a little dragon's blood in there. Normally if dragon's blood is in a blend on me, it amps up to the point of drowning out everything else, but this is not so in this case. It kind of hangs out in the background, keeping this from being a scent that's 100% foodie for me. Overall, I really like this blend and am pleasantly surprised but it. I've noticed it in the general catalog before, but nothing in the description really jumped out, grabbed me by the throat, and screamed "try me". I suppose that's why I love frimps! They're my chance to try things I otherwise wouldn't.

 

Love-Lies-Bleeding smells like something I would want to dig up to wear on Valentine's Day. It is sweet, pleasant, a little playful to my nose, and very pretty all around, but it's not quite like any of the other BPALs I have. It doesn't morph on me at all, staying fairly constant from the time I apply it. The more I smell this, the more I really think I do like it, actually. It's quite possible that this will wind up on my bottle list one day soon. We'll see how attached to it I become.

 

This scent is definitely worth a try if you like fruit-and-chocolate scents in any way shape or form, however this seems like the type of scent that might appeal to even those who don't if they're not put off by sweetness in a blend. It's really different and intriguing. Definitely at least worth a try.

[puck_nc]

Origin: Lab imp sent as a freebie in a swap

 

Initial Thoughts: I love me some flowers.

 

In the Bottle: Dusky, a bit orange, musky. If there isn't dragon's blood in there, there ought to be. Very heavy and mysterious.

 

Wet: Something smells amber-y in there, which means that amber is all I can smell at the moment.

 

Drydown: Now I get hints of flora, but it's a sour, poisonous floral. There's just a hint of stems and leaves in there as well.

 

Verdict: Definitely fitting as part of Rappaccini's Garden, but not something I would wear.

[Katherynne]

From this I get velvety chocolate and an almost astringent herbal scent when it's wet. As it dries the herbal smell fades out, leaving a smoky chocolate smell lingering on my skin. It doesn't have much throw or a very long wearlength, but I really like it. It's too foody for everyday wear though, unless possibly mixed with Red Lantern in the middle of winter.

[CordeliaSeduced]

This scent confused me greatly--I hesitated to try anything from the Garden, fearing it would be too floral (and florals and I simply can't be friends). But then this came as a lab frimp, and it blew my mind. The imp is filled with a rich, juicy chocolate-cherry, with a rosy pink colour to match. Now, I've never sniffed a love-lies-bleeding, but if it smells anything like this, I think I need to replace my entire garden.

On my skin, this warms to a dripping, hot cherry with just a touch of chocolate and possibly some dragon's blood underneath. It's sweet, sticky, and seductive.

Oddly, this has a dry-down similar to Queen of Sheba for me: a sweet almond with hints of spice, though love-lies-bleeding still has a healthy helping of cherry. It seems to get stronger and throw farther the longer I wear it, and I'm loving every minute of it. This definitely warrants a bottle.

[SheCreature]

Oooh.

 

At first, this is a touch of marzipan and then cocoa cocoa cocoa. I despise chocolate and the smell makes me nauseous, but this doesn't, probably because it's a 'clean' chocolate smell and not fatty like real chocolate. After about ten minutes, the cocoa takes a backseat and a beautiful floral takes centre stage. The description is perfect, it really is a red velvet flower, and it's absolutely beautiful.

 

This is a subtle one, but one I think I'll be requiring a full size of. After the initial cocoa blast, it is truly beautiful.

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Very smooth, musky cherries.

 

Immediately on skin: This is a very faint, almost powdery scent. At first I smell a bit of cherries, then that fades into more of a dragon’s blood scent. There’s something very smooth and almost plastic about this.

 

After a little while: This deepens a bit but still stays that powdery or plastic dragon’s blood/cherry scent. This smells bitter to me, but floral.

 

Overall Impressions: This scent is odd to me… almost fruity and musky and flowery at the same time, but hard to pin down. My husband sniffed it on me and the first thing he said was “chocolate” like most of the other reviews, so my nose must just not want to identify it for whatever reason.

[heathercaley]

cherry chocolate with a dash of something nutty.

 

...but at the same time...

 

..not foody?

 

 

As it dries down, I'm noticing a slight floral in there.. which is why it doesn't seem too foody :whew!!:

 

It kind of reminds me of Turkish Delight!

 

 

Nice.. not a big bottle purchase, but it truly is nummy

 

ata: dot my eyes and add some ohs.

Edited September 16, 2008 by Purrsnikety

[hkhm]

imp: cocoa with someting fruity and woodsy.

 

wet: cherry hazelnut cocoa powder.

 

dry: this has bretty much dried to a pure cocoa scent.

[mooncityminx]

In the vial: chocolate?

 

Wet: cherry, chocolate, mmmm.

 

Drydown: Chocolate cherry and almonds? *waits* Marzipan. Maybe I'm just weird, but this is like marzipan candy to me. Tasty.

[Champagne]

On the skin it`s immediately alcholic cherry mixed with a somehow sweet note. It stays alcholic for a while to turn floral and then a chocolate drydown appears. It`s nice but the boozy wet stage it`s too long and intense for me.

[FallDaze]

Imp -> It has a slightly medicinal quality. Reminds me of liquid cold medicine.

 

Wet -> It's a heavy, floral perfume. Still has that slight cherry medicinal scent to it.

 

After a while -> The medicinal quality has died down. Lef in its place is a rich, velvety, voluptous floral. A rich red color association is what I get with this one. Definitely very intense.

[masquedbunny]

In the imp: spiced chocolate ()

 

Wet on the skin: chocolate and cherry liquor, underlying floral quality--and, so far as food goes, I try to keep chocolate separate from fruit; but as a scent, this is quite lovely.

 

Dry, several hours later: bitter cocoa--and nuttiness. Probably not a good idea to wear when I'm hungry.

 

Received as a frimp with my first order, and really pleasantly surprised. I might not have chosen it for myself based on the official description. Of the scents I've tried so far, this might be my favourite; it really makes me want to check out other scents featuring the chocolate note.

 

 

[othelloperrello]

On first application my impression was mulch, but Having read the other reviews, I have to agree: It's dark chocolate, with maybe a bit of a floral in the background but the cocoa really dominates.

 

After about 1/2 hour the dominant chocolate starts to share the stage with dragon's blood, and it turns more musky. Still chocolat-Y, but more balanced. Very natural.

 

I think it's a great blend if you like the darker scents, like I do.

Edited April 24, 2009 by othello

[laslibres]

Cocoa? Why do I smell cocoa? In the imp, this is pure cocoa with some kind of red berry aftertaste...er, after-smell, I guess. Red currant or something. And on me...yes, it is still cocoa, and dirt. Not unpleasant dirt, just a dry, earthy smell in with the chocolate, and a little bit of nutmeg or something spicy. Still a hint of red berries, but mostly just cocoa and no flowers whatsoever to be found.

 

I really like it. It's unique and gourmand-ish, it's just...unexpected, given the lab's description and its place in the Rappacini's Garden section. I was expecting fruity florals, but cocoa? No flowers? Ah well, I'll just go with it.

[mhickle]

In the imp, I'm getting dark cherries, chocolate, and....coconut? None of the rose people have talked about here. Or any floral, for that matter. I'm actually really surprised by this scent - wasn't expecting it at all!! As it dries, what I think is coconut pretty much goes away, and I'm left with a rich cocoa and cherry sort of blend. It smells like it should be sticky on my wrist. It's rich and thick. But utterly unexpected!

[asciident]

Wet: Such a strong floral that I don't want to put it on.