Zarita, the Doll Girl (2006)

[milo]

Soft, yet sociopathic: white carnation, iris, orange blossom, and sugared cream.

I barely get any carnation, and a whole lot of foody and a touch of orange. The combination just doesn't do it for me and is giving me a bit of a headache. For some reason, this kind of reminds me of MU. Very glad to try this, however!

[vegasblueblood]

To me, this is a sugared carnation dipped in orange juice. It simultaneously sugary sweet, spicy and fruity. The sugar is really coming out on me, faintly reminiscent of the sugar in Sugar Skull, and it is becoming quite foody. I love the foodie blends so this a good thing. It's very creamy with just enough bite. Another beautiful blend from Beth.

[whimsitini]

Wet: Carnation and orange blossom. It's a little sweet...sugared cream now coming in more strongly. If you've smelled fresh carnations, there's that touch of green.

 

Dry Down: Very sweet but not the nauseating sweet that I usually get from orange blossom. A keeper.

[tinyvulture]

creamy caramel and fizzy, happy, citrusy orange blossom. i keep waiting for the carnation and iris to make their appearance, but zarita remains strictly a “foody” blend. although the scent description lists sweet cream, i’d recommend this for fans of burnt sugar and caramel as well.

[PersephonesChild]

I swapped for this from AmyW, who said ti was too sweet on her. After reading all the other reviews comparing it to Alice, it seems that my skin chemistry is the odd one out-- I smell orange blossoms and pepper! It's faintly spicy and a little sharp, and not a bit sweet, although it does seem to be layered over a creamy base. I love that the orange blossom doesn't smell like air freshener, and that the carnation doesn't smell like... well, like carnation usually does: spicy, certainly, but over a slathered slice of sugar. This is pricking, instead! Definitely more sociopathic than soft on me... and I quite like it that way!

[Kabooki]

I knew I was kinda wacky to think this in the first place, but I was hoping that this would be close to the smell of an Orange Julius, or something nice and sweet and Orange, but sadly I got something that reminded me of the inside of my mom's black hole of a purse ;D, which is a mixture of Orange tic-taks, tabacco, leather and certs. Which is strange cause most of these things aren't mentioned as an ingredient. My husband said I smelled like an old woman

 

Needless to say she just didn't work for me no matter how much I wanted it to

[livingdead71]

I love Zarita! The cream note is a really nice balance to the carnation. After a while, I also noticed that candy like Froot Loop smell of the orange blossom. This scent is just fabulous! It's very feminine and pretty. I love the way it's creamy, sweet, and foody and at the same time soft and floral. I got tons of compliments on this one today. One person said it reminded her of pie crust. I am in love!

[auburnette]

Zarita, the Doll Girl

 

In the bottle: Soapy orange.

 

Wet, on skin: The creaminess comes through as it dries down.

 

Dry, on skin: I'm a bit ambivalent about this one. Something about the combination of the cream and the orange isn't quite working for me...it smells sharp and I can't get past that to the delicious creaminess underneath. Having said that, the scent I get from the throw is very soft and sweet...it's only when I put my nose close to my hand that the sharpness comes through.

 

I like this much more as the drydown continue and the sharp stage passes. Mmm. As long as I don't put my nose too close to my skin, I get wonderful wafts of creamy orange. It actually reminds me quite a bit of a solid perfume I have - L'Occitane's Les Orangiers. I've got compliments on that many times, so I'm sure this will be very popular too.

 

Hmm...I am wavering as to whether I want a bottle or not, now! It's odd, because this isn't the sort of blend that I've been going for recently, but I do really like this once it has settled down and the notes start to work together properly. A very pretty scent, which is soft without being a pushover - the sharpness which stays really helps keep the scent fresh once the screaming-sharp stage has passed. Looking back through the reviews, I also get the 'doll-head plastic' that has been noted by others, but it's only apparent when I've got my nose right up to my wrist. This is one to enjoy in wafts rather than sniffing closely anyway.

 

A definite contender for a bottle.

[obsidienne]

Oh my goodness but I love this scent! Soft and sociopathic indeed!

 

Zarita smells all gentle creamy orange blossom, sweet and lightly peppery white carnation and sugary cream on me. It's both a [lightly] spicy white floral and a creamy light foodie at the same time, in a very sensual, delicate way. LOVE.

 

I had to put on a fair bit; the first time, a few daubs faded to nothing but sugared cream. After a generous reapplication, it now has some throw and it's just intoxicating; and lasting power is a couple of hours before I'm back to wanting to reapply.

 

LOVE.

 

Edit: the one thing about the blend is that the overall scent is a bit... surprising, or unexpected. It smells a little bit... weird. But when I say weird, I mean that in the best sense: it has that slightly removed from reality carnival feel, which is why I think it works so well and fits in with the concept of the CD.

Edited November 1, 2008 by obsidienne

[angelicruin]

In the bottle, sugar-slathered orange blossom.

 

Wet on the skin, creamy Iris and Orange Blossom

 

Dry on the skin, I almost detect incense along with creamy, musky orange blossom and Iris.

[Lyrical]

In bottle: the lab's brown sugar note and orange. The combination reminds me of other scents I've found boozy/cakey, such as Mr Nancy and Sugar Skull, but I don't think it's actually boozy - that's just an association.

 

Wet on skin: orange, like the orange fondant you get in chocolates, with white florals and sugar. So far I like it a lot.

 

Dry on skin: This morphs very quickly to a sweet, light, slightly sharp, floral orange over a boozy/sugary base. Not much throw. Slightly spicy. Not sure about this. After a while it softens and become rather nice, although it's subtle and hard to pin down. It remains orangy. Short wear length, but lingers pleasantly on clothing.

[unlaced]

In the bottle this is all floral. Like sniffing some sort of white flower full on.

 

Once it got on my skin it sweetened up a bit but still very floral-y... kinda disappointing as I was hoping for more of the cream aspect.

 

It reminds me of something that I can't put my finger on. I've seen people compare it to Alice, maybe that's it (I've only tested Alice once so I'm not really sure).

 

eta: I've figured it out... It's the carnation I'm smelling so much. My skin amps carnation like nobody's business so that's pretty much all I can smell. And it reminds me so much of Alice because the carnation in that was so strong on me.

 

Zarita smells amazing on me for like 5 minutes. beautiful sweet cream and orange blossoms then the carnation goes RAWR! and completely takes everything over. I want exactly this without carnation!

Edited February 8, 2009 by unlaced

[aviva]

in the bottle it reminds me of a pale sugar skull.

 

on, it gets rather dirty...i dont really smell florals just something...sinister?

[Fury]

Zarita on me begins as a very brown sugar smelling scent. No cream, just sugary, delectable sweetness, maybe a little dark and dirty like the end of a carnival's run when the dirt's been kicked up all day, the sweet stands are shutting down, and someone somewhere burned a funnel cake and it's all wafting pleasantly in the air. To me this smells an awful lot like Sugar Skull, the exact same buttery sweetness to it.

 

Unfortunately then the Florals of Doom emerge, but instead of spicy delicious carnation like in Alice, I get a soapy, sharp, venomous floral.

 

Very, very sad this did not work on me!

[MCS4096]

In the Imp: This smells really dry and dusty to me.. I'm not sure what notes are combining to do that.. might be the iris and carnation, because the other distinct contribution is definitely sugared cream and orange blossoms. I actually find it really weird due to that intense dustiness.

 

Wet: The carnation comes forward, and things get a bit spicier. The orange blossom also amps.. haha, totally like fruit loops as someone above said.

 

Dry: I get a lot more iris and orange blossom, not as much carnation (unfortunately since that is why I wanted to try this blend). But fortunately that dustiness went away a bit, and the sugared cream note is very pleasant. It's not exactly what I expected (I have a hard time imagining iris in blends for some reason)-- it's rather sharp (sociopathic I guess ) I was going to buy a bottle unsniffed before I got this imp.. but I think the imp might be good enough for me.

 

ETA: Ive actually got this on my "bottles to buy" list Its a great, STRONG floral with a nice unique edge. I get a similar vibe (from the white carnation, which I initially didn't recognize as such because I was used to the red carnation in Morocco) as is in Metal Phoenix.

Edited February 22, 2009 by MCS4096

[Dracoo9]

Zarita...Zarita, Zarita, where to begin with you? Reading off the notes I thought this would be a real winner for me but alas. When I put it on I couldnt really pick any notes out. Maybe a little bit of iris but other then that nothing. I think some cream notes may go whacky on me because after putting it on for a little it had this sour, really heavy floralness to it. If you are wary of cream notes you might best avoid the doll.

[poisondove]

She may be a doll to some, but as I had set my hopes to high with visions of Orange Creamsicles in my head...well it as not to be.

I think I was whacked over the head by the carnation, and I can see there is a bit of Alice to this girl. And now there is the faint tickle of

orange...but that's all. No hot summer popsicle memories alive...but then she never really promised this to me

[magikalbrownies]

carnation, carnation, where art thou?

 

geez seriously its all orange blossom. no bueno, people. and not even a sweet orange slice orange, its like a soury sort of blend on my skin. HEY Maybe it'll work on you but this dermis is not havin it.

 

a couple people above said fruit loops, funny you mention that, friends! because now all of the sudden it smells like that to me.

 

official verdict: the bottle will stay half full like it was received. i'll save it and get some decants and fill it just for peace of mind but i dont think im using this anytime soon.

[CynicalPink]

Imp: Iris and orange blossom

 

Wet: The carnation spice is giving this a weird, artificial feel.

 

Drydown: Quite heady. A bit old lady-ish. It's pretty much just iris right now with some sugar and cream

 

[TheOneTheyCallLuna]

This is...strange. The description is so appropriate - this is sweet and sociopathic! I don't get any cream at all from this one, which is a huge bummer for me because that's what I was really after...I have a bit of an obsession going with the lab's cream note. You could say that it's a creamy blend, but I don't get that wonderful cream note that I know and love. The carnation in this is nice, as is the orange blossom, but something is going a bit sharp and sour and high-pitched. It smells like plum, though I know there's no plum listed in here, but this is exactly what happened on my skin with the plum blossom from Peony Moon. Anyway, I wanted to love it, but it's not to be.

 

ETA: I had to edit this, because after trying it on today I am IN LOVE! This scent is so awesome, all sweet cream with carnations soft spice and an eery undercurrent of floral. It's absolutely amazing. I tried this on the first time when I was really sick and had just regained the usage of one single nostril. I thought I had Zarita pegged, but either my sense of smell was wonky or my skin chemistry was all screwy due to illness. In any case, let it be known for the record - I adore this!

 

Edited March 31, 2009 by OneTheyCallLuna

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

two notes i like, two i don't : but overall this turns into orange-blossom & carnation. not for me.

[Andrea912]

At first this is way too flowery; the carnation and iris rules overall, with a touch of sugared cream and no orange blossom. Really not liking this. Reminds me of stinky fake white pearl beads that are found in toiler paper rolls/dispensers.

 

But then, after the drydown (about twenty minutes) the sugared cream and orange blossom takes over; this is sweet and soft and lovely!

 

ADDED Aug. 4:

 

This is so intriguing. I think the dominant floral is white carnation, which I dont normally love, but its really gorgeous here. The orange blossom and sugared cream is heavy, and that's fabulous. I actually detect something like pink pepper!

 

I don't know if this is bottle worthy, but I might try to get a second decant

[sirensea]

In the imp: Sugar and flowers.

 

On my skin: As this one reminds me of Frumious Bandersnatch, it's safe to say that the carnation is coming out strongly. I also detect a hint of orange blossom. This is a very sugary floral, and unfortunately, my skin drinks it. But it's a very sweet scent while it lasts!

[rayvn1]

This is very pretty, but better in its early stages on me. After a few hours I get a vaguely orange cream scent with very light throw. A little too sweet and the flowers brightened it up earlier. Pretty good staying power though.

[Katherynne]

my love of this is shocking.

 

on me it is very floral, lightly spicy, and the cream isn't heavy. that must be why I am okay with it being there t all!

I wanted this for its carnation, and while it's not the spiciest carnation in bpal's repertoire, it still has some spice. and I'm a fan.