Love-Lies-Bleeding

[Muse]

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

In the bottle: Roses and Candy. Too sweet, too rosy.

Wet:

On the wrist: No roses, no candy. Heady and floral with musky undertones. A little spicy. I get whiffs of innocence with naughty undertones.

On the crook of my arm: Same scent but the floral is definitely more defined here.

Initial Dry (wrist) : This scent kind of reminds me of my grandmother. Floral and powdery but with enough underlying spice to not be an "old lady smell". A bit of cocoa or nutty scent lies just under the florals. I can't QUITE smell it full on, but it's peeking out.

Initial Dry: (Crook): The cocaoa/nutty smell isn't at all evident here. The florals are the background, and there is a sweeter smell at the forefront that reminds me of fresh orange blossoms and HINT of sugar.

Initial Dry (waft): I keep randomly smelling hints of cocoa and lillies.

About an hour later, all I could smell was "Overpowering Old Lady" That combination of floral bathroom spray, talcum powder and 1930's perfume.

I kept hoping it would go away, fade into a better scent, or into something a bit more manageable, but the scent I disliked so much just kept getting STRONGER!

At first, while I wouldn't have sprung for a full size, I was planning on keeping the imp for occasional use. Unfortunately, this is not an imp I can keep. Into the trades!

I had such high hopes for this scent based on the description and the reviews here. I never thought it would smell like Grandma's Bedroom, lol. I was expecting much less flower. Edited December 6, 2006 by Shollin

[theseagrows]

this is quite an interesting scent, at first i get a strong earthy-cocoa/chocolate note mixed with some sort of floral. i can also sense a slight dirt scent way in the background. as it dries, the cocoaness calms a bit and this scent turns into a beautiful powdery-musky-cocoa-y floral. definitely a keeper and possibly a bottle

[supremegoddessofall]

Kind of indistinct. I think I'm getting ylang ylang. This is not a "red" scent at all, which is what I was expecting - red and florals. It's soft. Think I'll retest before making a final decision.

[ChupaChup]

I too detected something like cocoa in the vial but when Love-Lies-Bleeding hit my skin, I could tell it wasn't really cocoa but some combination of notes that gave that effect. I don't detect anything like rose, it seems much more like dragon's blood. So much so that I'm surprised this blend isn't in the Ars Draconis category. Besides the dragon's blood, I get something herbal and soapy. To swaps with ye!

[maijasu]

On me, this smells like candy and powder. Over time, the candy dissipates and the powder takes over. The scent is really nice in the vial, sweet and floral, but it just doesn't agree with my skin.

[Voleuse]

This comes across as very dark and sensual at first sniff, like chocolate and dragon's blood, but not exactly. On second sniff, something lighter and brighter whips around the base, orange and fresh green. This is a lovely balance of the two extremes, settling into a morning-bright floral, sweet, darkly luxurious, and beaded with dew.

[Eleri]

I had high hopes for this one, it sounded like it'd smell nummy. But a whif out of the imp gives me this dirty, mouldy smell, like something that's gone bad. :/

[Miss Lynx]

I wasn't originally drawn to this from the site description, but the reviews made it sound interesting... Chocolate floral? Sure, I'll try that!

 

And indeed, that's a pretty good description of it. It's fairly light, and gentle, and definitely has some kind of flowers in it along with cocoa, and maybe something slightly citrussy or otherwise tart.

 

It actually bears a fairly strong resemblance to 13, though a bit less complex. Which 13? Hard to say... It's almost like a middle ground between the two. The gentle, creamy chocolatiness is more like the original, but the slightly sharp floral edge is more like the Fall 2006 reformulation.

 

As it dries down, though, the chocolate fades and it becomes more predominantly floral, and a little on the powdery side. Stil not bad, but not as interesting as it was earlier on. All in all, I'll stick with 13.

 

Grade: B

[abejita]

This is interesting and not at all what I expected. In the vial, I smell dry cocoa powder and something elusively sweet. Rose, but not. On my skin, the scent takes on a deep texture. It's almost like sinking your feet into very expensive shag carpet. The cocoa-y note turns richer and creamier (though not foodie) after it dries. The sweet-tart note (again, not foodie or candylike) has settled. It's very evocative of the plant itself, very red and nubby. I haven't delved into Rappacini's Garden much, but this is a good one.

[zankoku_zen]

Sometimes, I wonder if I got the same scent.

 

On me this pretty much smells like Hollywood Babylon without the sweetness. I get a mix of red musk, something a bit spicy, a bit floral. At the very beginning I had a definite "coconut" smell going on... as well as a slight plasticky kind of smell to it.

 

Interesting, but when it comes to "red" scents, I'm sticking to Hollywood Babylon.

[PixieSkull]

Vial: Strong and earthy and slightly wet.

 

On: A dark and dirty plant with a green stem and "lush" and "thick" scent. Nice combination between an earthy blend and a floral blend, leaning on dirty.

 

Overall: Not something I'll wear, but I can appreciate the artistry of it.

Edited February 7, 2007 by PixieSkull

[nikkoblue]

Wet, in bottle: fresh dirt with rotting leaves after rain in spring. i'm a gardener...this smells like my flower beds in February with an extra dose of bitterness.

 

Wet, on arm: cold, dirty, and musty......teeny tiny faint hint of cocoa.

 

15 minutes: cocoa. dusty flowers.

 

1 hour: Dry cocoa with just a hint of sweetness. This is the second time I tried this; first time it almost ended up in swaps but now I'm starting to like it. It's very much that bitter cocoa smell you get from baking unsweetened chocolate with a tint of floral. nice!

[grrrlennyl]

at first: a sweet, red scent. lovely.

on: gorgeous. this is hard to describe, but it's lovely.

1.5 hours later: interesting. still sweet, but now with an wood-like base.

2.5 hours later: still about the same. this is really rich and deep. very nice.

4.5 hours later: musty wood with a bit of floral.

overall: i adore this when wet, but it just ends up sort of wood-y and bad on me.

[ForeverLastcXs]

This one is all chocolate and roses, and a very nice blend for this time of year, even though I hate Valentine's Day. Nothing about it made me go "wow, this is amazing," but it's a soft, warm scent that smells very pretty on my skin. Who would have ever thought the scent of chocolate and flowers could be captured in a bottle? I'm not sure I'll be getting more of this in the future, but I'm keeping my imp, because it's a lovely, creative creation.

[Rouge]

My first review for a while.

 

In the bottle - Rich, dark and chocolately. It reminds me very strongly of Penny Dreadful, although this seems slightly more mature, somehow, and has a metallic note to it that smells more than a little sanguinary.

 

Wet on skin - Incredibly dark and sensuous. There's a deep sweetness to this blend that reminds me of marzipan, for some reason. If Penny Dreadful is a coquettish Dickensian harlot sashaying through a low-rent theatre or seedy casino, this is an elegant black-clad courtesan reclining gracefully on a red velvet chaise longue amid huge vases of dark red roses, drinking a deep red wine from a cut-crystal glass.

 

Dry down - Unfortunately the throw is extremely light, almost on a level with Blood Pearl. Nevertheless, it's a beguiling, seductive scent that I'll be keeping for rather special occasions...

[kmasden]

I am totally shocked, i love this scent and think i need to put it on the wishlist for big bottle purchase...at first i thought simply ylang ylang and chocolate, then lotus and chocolate, then reading the reviews while sniffing i could see the correlation with florence or the possibility of some very small bit of berry or wine, definately a little wood to round out the chocolate...but yeah, i love it...i don't pick up roses per se, but if it has roses, it smells to me like they do in kurukulla or versailles, the type of rose or the ingredients mixed with them that make them no longer smell like rose. I like it...i'm off to slather it! In some ways it even smells to me a bit like the snake oil soap LOL

[The_Merf]

In the imp: something floral...and chocolate?

 

Wet: Berry and chocolate...this is quite nice...there is a candyish edge to the berry, but the chocolate keeps it from being obnoxious.

 

Drydown and wear: I'm a big fan of most of the Lab's chocolate blends (as long as they aren't along with 800 other foody notes), and this is no exception. This would be a real nice spring/summer scent...a foodier companion to Blood Rose or some of the other red florals in the RG category.

[pekeana]

I love it.

 

It has a bit of the same quality as Strangler Fig down at the very bottom, then it builds orris and floral (I'm not good with IDing flowers, alas) on top of it, and somehow, the entirety of it ends up coming off as a nutty chocolatey floral. Very complex, very sensual, very inviting.

[Jilara]

Hmmm, wet and drying down, it's cappuccino with myrrh, and a backsplash of cherry. I also feel like there's a note of red velvet cake in it.

 

Dry, it's more like Swiss Miss hot cocoa, with a shot of black cherry syrrup. There is a distinct resin bloom in the background now, but I can't i.d. it. It's mingling with the black cherry, giving it a rich and decadent quality. There is still something in the background making me think of red velvet cake, with a kind of sweet stickiness hovering.

 

I certainly don't have it conjure up the actual plant (an amaranth with trailing red floral bracts), but there's a certain gothic darkness to this scent that conjures up a woman in red velvet, quietly sobbing in a dark garden...

[Browneyes]

This is like sweet nothing on me. I can hardly smell it - imp, wet, OR dry, and I did give it a proper little swipe with the imp wand. I do catch a very very faint floral with a nutty/marzipany grounding note, which on other people (above) seems to translate as earthy/candy/cocoa/etc.

Anyways, unfortunately this is extremely unspectacular on me

Edited March 30, 2007 by Browneyes

[neuilly]

Sort of smells like dirty merchino cherries (I'm sure I spelled that wrong). I get the earthy and sweet bits that others have mentioned. And it does feel red, if more of a bright fake ref, than the deep lush red I was expecting. As time goes on I get a really nice floral which I think is Orris coming to the forefront. But the other notes remain strong. I can pick out the chocolate note others have mentioned but it's not terribly strong on me. Definitely a unique blend and rather lovely but it's too sweet for a blend I'd actually use.

[taramarie]

On me, Love-Lies-Bleeding is a heady mix of dark chocolate and roses, with a hint of strawberries. I think it would be perfect to wear to a romantic dinner. It's competing with Persephone for my favorite.

[portalkat]

Oh, this is lovely, a soft rose-type floral, strawberry, chocolate and a wood note, like rosewood, perhaps. At first sniff, it was more foody and reminded me of one of the original Monster Baits. After about half an hour, the chocolate backs down and the other notes get stronger. It still retains that soft quality, but on me, the throw is fairly strong. I bought a decant on the forum, but I definitely will need a bottle because this is so beautiful.

[steffanina]

Love-lies-bleeding-

 

In Bottle: Whoa. Very odd. Sharp and alcoholic--almost like benzoin? But not quite.

 

Wet: A little more flowery now that it's on my skin. Still sharp, and now a little soapy.

 

Dry: Whoa. This is bizarre--there is something like chocolate on my skin now. Chocolate flowers, if there can be such a thing.

 

Overall: Highly interesting!

[Phaedra]

Wet this is a sweet floral with an earth/dirt undertone. The floral note is similar to one in the Dark Delicacies blend- like almonds. When first on it's sweet almonds, somewhat "heavy" with a hint of sharpness in the background. This softens quite a bit after a half hour. Now it is a close to the skin honey scent. This is nice but not one I need to keep.