Cupid Complaining to Venus

[slave1]

 

Cupid Complaining to Venus, Lucas Cranach the Elder.

Apple blossom, fig, white peach, honey absolute, red sandalwood, and wild thyme.

 

In Bottle: Sweet and tart fruits

 

On Skin: I smell the apple blossom right away, a sweet but also slightly tart floral. The peach is next, so delicious but not overly sticky sweet. The fig offers a darker fruit note that helps the scent from becoming too sharp and bright. The red sandalwood is another grounding note, giving a slightly woody earthy base for the other notes to cling to. The honey is very mellow, sweetening the scent but not making it cloying. Last the thyme adds a sharp green shot that balances the scent very well. Overall this scent is quite fruity and feminine in feel. Sadly it fades SUPER quick. It started out so strong but my skin just drank it up. I love this scent and just wish it lasted longer on me. Light to moderate throw and short wearlength.

Edited to add image - clover

Edited September 15, 2007 by Shollin

[edenssixthday]

Cupid Complaining to Venus - I didn’t have much hope for this scent, as most of the notes don’t generally work on me, no matter what other notes accompany them. However, this seems to be an exception to the rule. The apple blossom doesn't become overpowering on me, the honey smells sweet and not remotely dominating (although it is the strongest note), the red sandalwood is barely discernible, the thyme stays far in the background, and the fig and peach blend gorgeously with the honey and apple. This is a very sweet, fruity scent, but it's not juicy like many fruit blends. In fact, it's almost more like a fruit-and-honey-cream type scent. It's soft and gentle, yet fresh, sweet, and positively delightful. This blend has a moderate level of throw and staying power. I don't think it's really going to suit my winter scent tastes, but I could easily see wanting to wear this in late-spring and summer months.

[Heavenlyrabbit]

This is a more 'mainstream' blend reminiscent of the sweet fruity florals that I gravitate to in boutique blends. And this is praise... because sometimes I want a beautiful full bodied perfume oil like this.

 

The Fig definately adds depth to the sweetness.

 

For obvious reasons this is like a combination of Eden and Les Bijoux.

 

More like Les Bijoux at the opening and then more like Eden upon dry down.

[Little Bird]

This reminds me of Les Bijoux, which makes sense when looking at the similar notes they share in common. Cupid Complaining to Venus is like a darker and slightly more perfumey version on my skin.

 

The goldeny sweet, clean apple blossom is at the forefront of the fragrance. At first it’s a sweet fruity-floral blend. The apple blossom, peach, and honey all play nicely and remind me strongly of Les Bijoux. In the drydown, the woody fig and warm, slightly spice sandalwood come in to shake things up. The green herbal smack from the thyme comes in with a vengeance after 15 minutes or so of wear. It’s very strong and herbal on my skin for about a half hour and then seems to disappear.

 

Cupid Complaining to Venus is pretty… but I like the initial stage more than the herbal/woody drydown that it is on me… Les Bijoux is like a longer lasting version of the best part of this for me, so I’ll be content with my 10 ml of that one.

[filigree_shadow]

In the imp: Apples and peaches. Promising...

 

Wet: Sweet fruit with honey. Very becoming. I can smell just the barest bit of thyme in there.

 

Dry: This has become a sweet honey, fig, and sandalwood scent on me. Where did the peach and apple blossom go? I think this scent is pretty and light, and of course I like both fig and sandalwood an awful lot, so I'm not really complaining... it just didn't turn out to be what I was expecting.

 

This one deserves a few more tries, I think. When I first tried it, it was ever so faint. I could barely smell it. I swiped the imp wand across my wrist another couple of times and it was subsequently stronger and fruitier, but then I couldn't smell any sandalwood. I think I'll have to try it again another day.

[supremegoddessofall]

On me: Ooh, pretty! Honeyed apples. Touch of wildness that I'm pretty sure is thyme, and swimming lightly in sandalwood. Not really getting the fig other than a kind of "juicy" feel in the background.

[euterpe414]

Like others have said, this is a gorgeous honeyed apple grounded by a slight bit of fig and thyme. I don't really detect the peach as much, maybe it just sweetens the apple on my skin. This scent really seems to embody the painting, to me. The colors used in the painting are very much the colors i associate with this scent (i.e. if I hadn't seen the painting I would have thought of those colors). Yes, there is a similarity to Les Bijoux, but this scent is a bit more earthy to my nose, and also lasts longer on my skin.

 

To sum it up, this is a light, sweet fragrance that is perfect for spring wear, or even this unusually warm winter I suppose. I am glad I trusted my instincts and ordered a bottle of this one straight away. It's lovely.

[gingersnapp]

Wet, this was an explosion of apples. As it dried, it maintained that bright fruitiness, but became... fuzzier? I don't know if that makes sense, but it evokes the soft fuzziness of a fresh peach. And an angora sweater. This blend is very like Les Bijoux in that respect. Softly fruity, very feminine, lightly floral.

[noumenon]

I won the genetic lottery when it comes to skin chemistry and this scent is all WOAH PEACH on me. And it's throwing itself around the room like crazy - I've been wearing it for three hours now and I only put it on one wrist.

 

Wet, I get sweet, gooey body-shop peach, but as soon as it dries and warms up, the fig and honey float all the way up to my nose and keep coming hour after hour. When I stick my nose against my wrist, I can smell the softest, gentlest, most nonthreatening and inoffensive sandalwood ever.

 

I don't think my nose is smart enough yet to pick up the thyme and Apple blossom, but whatever they're up to in here, they're doing a heck of a job. It's very deep and almost musty....almost like a bouquet that's gone right past dry and is starting to decay...but that's not a bad thing. Just trying to paint a picture of what this scent's "musty sweetness" is like.

[themerrybaker]

I love the name Cupid Complaining to Venus, because it seems as if everybody complains about something. Why should my perfume be any different?

 

CCV doesn't have a lot of throw on me, but is a very sweet fruity scent with lots and lots of honey.

 

I haven't made up my mind whether Cupid is the bee's knees or too sweet of a little angel yet ....

 

But no complaints here.

[laslibres]

I _knew_ I would like this when I heard honey and apple blossom...those two notes tend to love me. The honey is very natural-smelling, not phony at all, and you can almost smell the honeycomb itself, and the beeswax. As it dries, the peach comes out, and a bit of a woody base...the sandalwood and thyme keep it from being too cloying.

 

It finishes as beautiful honeyed fruits...actually, what this reminds me of? Flavored honeys. When I lived in Arizona, all the touristy souvenir shops sold little tubes of honey that had different flavors to it, and you can just eat them like candy. So this is like fruit-flavored honey. And it's AMAZING!

[indicolite]

I was wary of the honey, but then sniffed it on my skin, and said, "This is pretty!"

 

And then my skin ate it. Unnoticeably. Didn't even go smack-smack-yum - just ate it all. Not a trace I could smell.

 

Maybe that's for the best.

[Emma2403]

In the bottle: bright, red, ripe, juicy apple comes first… the honey is there too (I hope it won’t amp up like crazy on me), and some sweet fruit that might be peach.

 

On my skin: the apple is still very strong, but honey is growing and growing… arf, I’m afraid it gonna kill everything else as is often does on me.

 

After a couple of hours: honey single note. And as usual it has a huge throw on me…

 

Verdict: ah, the apple, peach and fig would have been so lovely, it’s a pity honey had to ruin it all.

[PurringPulsar]

Cupid Complaining to Venus

 

In the imp: honeyed peach. Sweet and sticky golden honey over sweet white peach.

Wet on skin: this is gorgeous, like Thaleia with peach instead of apricot.

Dry: this is so good! It’s peach and honey, with hints of thyme and fig and apple blossom, maybe a touch of sandalwood but mainly a herbal honeyed peach scent. It is very similar to Thaleia (the peach smells a bit like apricot), and also reminds me of my beloved Honey Moon, but with peach replacing the flowers and with a touch of sharper honey, like the one in O. this scent is very pretty indeed.

After a while: now this smells like honeyed figs and peaches! The fig note has crept in and it smells less like the usual green fig note, and more like a sweet dried fig soaked in honey, and served with peaches. The honey also smells a bit sharper, and more crystalline now, not as nectar-like or sticky. And there’s a gorgeous undertone of sandalwood to it all.

This gradually fades to the scent of honeyed fruit and sandalwood-but with more honey and wood now. It’s like fruit flavoured honey (but not an artificial scent at all) smeared all over sandalwood. It’s a warm and golden sweetness, and there’s a very mellow, relaxed feel to this, like chilling out in the afternoon sun. It makes me think of summer holidays even though it doesn’t contain the usual ‘summer holiday’ notes. It seems that the sandalwood and dried apple blossom petals seem to come out more after a couple of hours.

Verdict: this is a delightful honeyed fruit scent which really took me by surprise. It’s like Honey Moon with peach, a cousin of Les Bijoux, or Thaleia’s older sister. The scent is of golden, translucent honey drizzled all over peaches and figs (the figs come out more at drydown) with a hint of thyme and a lovely background of sandalwood. It’s warm and sunny and laid back, yet delicious and cheerful. The ‘honey absolute’ here is one of my favourite BPAL honeys (I think this a note extracted from real honey) which is the perfect balance of sweet and sharp, and the fruit notes are lovely-the scent is sweet but not sickeningly so. This is a very relaxed scent and brings to mind lazy summer afternoons…I have no complaints about this scent, I love it more than I expected, I’ll get a bottle once I finish my imp.

Emoticon rating:

Is it a keeper? Definitely-and I may get a bottle once I’ve finished my imp.

If you like this, try: Thaleia, Tamora, Les Bijoux, Imp, Lilium Inter Spinas, Strangler Fig, O

[maribouquet]

When this is wet, I smell peach and apple blossom beneath a honeyed fig glace and a baby-bite of thyme.

 

But BPAL honey is not usually kind to me, and Cupid dries down syrupy and a little sour. Not a keeper for me, unfortunately.

[Ajila]

In the bottle - Peaches, thick sweet honey and rich dates.

 

Wet on me - Very sweet, almost burnt honey, with just a touch of thyme in the background.

 

Dry on me - Soft rounded fruits all the while focused on the deep honey absolute pulsating at the centre.

 

Overall - The honey makes this a very sensual blend, a sensation heightened by the fact that it's only detectable in very close proximity. If only i had more occasion to be sensual.

[siddal]

In the imp it is definitely apple and honey for me. Usually I don't find apple blossom to be this fruity, but to me, it is. The honey is rich and strong like the honey in Litha. Wet, I get mostly the same notes. Perhaps the fig is amping up the fruitiness. On the drydown, I smell what seems like actual beeswax and honey and some fruitiness. I really like this! It shall be mine :-)

[dronzeka]

Wow, I really like this - it has a kind of heady perfume-y-ness that I'm beginning to associate with the Salon blends (thinking of Lucretia and Penitent Madgalene). I can smell the apple blossom, which has a hint of apple-y flavor but thankfully is NOT apple, because apple goes nasty on me. The honey wafts up in a beautiful curl of scent, but especially when I sniff my wrist, I can get some of the fig. The peach is lovely, and in evidence without being too foody-fruity - it's a very perfume-y peach (which works for me, as fruit-y peach can be too much). Sandalwood often amps on me and turns unpleasant, but here the sandalwood and thyme just add a little savory grounding to what is otherwise a very sweet and heady blend. This is so lovely! If you like the sweet complex headiness of Lucretia and the Penitent Magdalene, you'll like this.

[mooncityminx]

In the Imp: Applesauce, peaches and honey with a fragrance that is like a fresh blossom that is very faint and gives the impression of newly formed plant material.

 

Wet: Apples and some sort of heavenly perfume. Tart and sweet with some sophistication. Fresh just bitten into apples.

 

Dry: Fruity notes amp as this starts to dry. Apple skin and fresh peaches just sliced. A green plant material note comes to the forefront again. And the honey which I suspect is the perfume note that I am noticing wafts in and out of range. This scent is so lovely. I think it disapears too quickly on my skin, but in a scent locket this stuff would be the most wonderful spring scent. If I had known about this one at the time I would have worn it on my wedding day.

[maijasu]

Mmmm, this is absolutely delicious smelling. It may even be my favorite fruity floral ever. I smell the peach blossom, apples, and glorious honey, while the other notes blend in seamlessly and make it more complex. I'll be needing a bottle for sure.

[Selenite]

Another poster told me that it's similar to Ginestet's Botrytis tarted up in fruits and I somewhat agree.

 

This is much more elegant and subtle than the tacky fruity florals you find crowding shelves in Sephora and most department stores. The fruit notes are sublime and subtle, not loud and overbearing. They also blend well with the honey absolute and, red sandlewood, and wild thyme.

[Em-]

This is a sweet, light floral apple scent - very pretty, very spring like. I can see how there are other fruits in here, but I immediately read them as apple. Odd that.

[tarotgirl99]

Peach Honey love. It is magnificent in all its stages.

 

I understand the comparisons to Les Bijoux, but for me, the skin musk in Les Bijoux mars its beauty on me.

 

I like Les Bijoux.

 

I love Cupid Complaining to Venus.

[rhubarbbear]

i love les bijoux, and i love this, too. bpal honey often goes awry on me, but it works here! soooo beautiful....i'm just loving this scent! it's somewhat sweeter and deeper than les bijoux on my skin, but very very similar. i love apple blossoms!

 

all in all, incredible. very wearable, want to hang out sniffing my arm!

[readiness]

I loved this! I tried it at the will call and was like a light floral version. Grant it I'm horrible at figuring out notes and the like. The honey and apple blossoms exploded on my skin - it was great!