The Agony of Longing

[Heavenlyrabbit]

Attar of rose, violet, white pear, Queen Elizabeth root, and freesia.

This is a Wedding bouquet, IMO. florals wrapped with a white silk ribbon. This is wafting off me and making me long for spring.

At turns I can pick out the Rose and the Violet. Somehow the Violet seems to blend most into the Pear.

The Queen Elizabeth root seems to add the slightest touch of sweetness.

Divine but a bit 'old fashioined' and that's a compliment coming from me.

Yet another Classic. Edited September 12, 2007 by Shollin

[clover]

Sniffing from the bottle: Sweet, smooth pear. Sometimes pear can be nausea-inducing to me, but this isn't at all. It's almost a pear syrup kind of smell, with the flowers tempering the sweetness.

 

Upon application: It's funny that Heavenlyrabbit mentioned a wedding bouquet, because that's the first thing that popped into my mind, as well. Actually, the *very* first thing that popped into my mind was "Havisham". It's been quite a while since I've worn Havisham (like, years), and yet my first thought when I put this on was: Oooh, Havisham lovers are gonna go wild. It's got that same vintage, white, rose-y bouquet feeling, without the iciness. This is a little bit softer, a little bit more gentle, not quite as bitter, but still wistful.

 

Drydown: I don't get much of the violet, the rose is definitely the strongest floral of the bunch. It combines really beautifully with the pear, and the other sweet florals.

 

Conclusion: Really lovely. I have to admit, along with the Ecstasy of Passion, this was the Inquisition scent that caught my eye immediately, and I'm really pleased that it works on me.

[mountainwitch]

I've never had a pear scent I liked . . . But this could be the one! It doesn't scream "PEAR!" Or, for that matter, "ROSE!" None of these notes steals the show for me. Instead, together, they become a wonderful rich blend. I was afraid this scent would be pure fruitiness, and I didn't want another candylike blend . . . And Longing isn't. It's just this perfectly sweet, sexy fragrance that just makes me want to melt. Now that's a Valentine fragrance!

[Thursdae]

When I smelled Longing, the first thing that came to mind was my gentle, beloved Queen of Hearts. But with Longing, rose replaces the cherry note. I agree with mountainwitch, I don't find this blend to be fruity. I can't detect pear as an individual note.

 

Rose is often a nonstarter for me, going spiky on my skin, but it's soft and beautiful here.

 

Emotionally, I'd say Longing is too wistful to be a wedding bouquet, unless we're talking about a flower from the bouquet that's been pressed in a book.

[shelldoo]

in the bottle:rose and violet.

 

wet: yup yup. rose, violet and pear. very soft faint pear.

 

as this dries the pear becomes more prominent, and the rose/violet combo steps back. it still however is primarily a floral blend. but the pear smooths it in to a seemless blend. it is all at once sweetly floral, and yet juicy fruity. a springy blend that is quite fun to wear.

[Brianne]

In the bottle:

delicate florals

 

On me:

Heavenlyrabbit compared this to a wedding bouquet and I have to agree. When this first goes on, the first thing I think of is my wedding flowers (I was married in October so the memory is quite fresh!). The rose is surprisingly not headache inducing on me - and I say surprisingly because I seem to only very rarely be able to avoid rose giving me a splitting headache. This one is gentle though, and so well complimented by the soft fruity notes of the pear of the freesia.

 

Not long ago someone was asking about freesia scents in BPAL and I said that I don't really recall any scents that smelled of freesia to me from BPAL. Well, I can take that back now because I definitely get freesia in this one. The rose and freesia and pear just meld together so beautifully and this scent is delicate and slightly sweet while maintening a very mature, sophisticated aire.

 

Final note:

I am utterly shocked that I like this one. I really and truly dislike florals - ESPECIALLY rose - and yet somehow, this is beautiful to me. And make no mistake, this is floral. There's just something about it though that makes me love it (perhaps that it does smell like my wedding bouquet). I don't wear florals, I don't really like them and I find myself debating on keeping this one instead of swapping it for another Agony anyways lol. THAT'S how pretty this is. If you don't like florals, this may very well be worth a try anyways. If you love florals, you are gonna adore this.

[Little Bird]

(Thanks for decanting this one for me C ). The Agony of Longing was the inquisition scent that I was looking least forward to. Strong floral blends are not my thing. This one isn't really bad though. It's a soft blend that doesn't go hyper perfumey or sharp on me. It's also something that I would classify as a sweet blend.

 

In the drydown, the florals here go a bit dry to my nose, and yet there's also something clean, sweet, and breezy about the whole thing. I'm horrible with picking out flower notes, but this doesn't exactly smell like rose, violet, or freesia to me. Longing is a blending of flowers that equals out to a clean sweetness on my skin. It does smell like floral perfume, but without the negative sharpness that I usually recognize from such blends.

 

A soft, pretty, clean floral (almost like a sweet floral dusting powder on me after a while as it goes a tad powdery). I still wouldn't find myself wearing this sort of fragrance, but it doesn't bother me and I am kinda fond of it.

[edenssixthday]

The Agony of Longing – This is one of the Inquisition scents I was the most excited about, as I adore violet, rose, and freesia. Turns out, I am not disappointed in the least. I love this blend. I mean, I love love love it! It is so pretty! The violet and rose are the most dominant notes on me initially, and the pear is not juicy or fruity at all, but seems to give the florals an almost sugared appeal, much like the result of layering Faith and Hope. However, there’s a dry, rooty type scent underneath the florals, that complicates the overall blend – but in a very good way! Upon drydown, the rose is most definitely the strongest note, and I’m struggling to determine what type of rose it is. At times, I catch a whiff of strong, florist’s rose like Rose Red and other times, it seems very dry and brittle, like tea rose. The rose scent lasts for hours and hours on my skin. When I first put this on, I met up with someone for dinner about 30 minutes later, and they told me I smelled really, really good. I really love this one and am just delighted that I was granted a bottle of Longing by the Lab imps.

Edited February 13, 2007 by edenssixthday

[Eemia]

oooo.....I'm so glad I got this one! Rose, violet, freesia, and pear--there could not be a combo more suited for me. This is a completely over the top girly fragrance and I love it. Perfect for all those days when I'm feeling feminine and sweet.

 

In the wet stage this is mostly pear and a tinge of fresh roses (I'm sure the freesia is there too but I can't be sure. I love this kind of pear because it's thick and warm and (like someone else mentioned) almost syrupy. The rose is so pretty too.

 

As it dries more of the violet and appears. It's not as strong as the violet in my favorite Marie, but it's gorgeous all the same. Very light and soft.

 

My boyfriend actually noticed this one right away and said that I smell "so juicy." I have to agree.

[midnight_aeval]

Being a very non-floral girl, I was expecting that this one would go up for swap if I received it. But, it's actually not the heavy floral that I was anticipating! It's a sweet scent; I agree with the "syrupy" description. Must be that the pear is overtaking the florals in this. The rose and violet are there, but are not the stars of this blend.

[slave1]

THE AGONY OF LONGING

 

In Bottle: Fruity rose

 

On Skin: I am very excited for the pear in this but very worried about the rose. The sharp and sour rose is strongest by far. It screams out so those of you who love rose, this should be to your liking. The pear is sweet but very light in the background. It’s sweeteness melts with the violet and I like their mix. The other florals are also faint in comparison. It is also slightly earthy. Overall this is a floral scent for sure and very heavy in the rose department which means it doesn’t work on me. Rose just makes me feel like I smell like an old lady and I hate that… Still, I am happy I got to try this scent. Heavy throw and long wearlength.

[PurringPulsar]

The Agony of Longing

 

In the bottle: a soft, gentle sweet rose with drops of pear juice all over.

Wet on skin: roses and sweet sugared pears, now with freesia. This smells like Ace of Hearts.

Dry on skin: this is very, very pretty indeed. In fact, it's quite gorgeous! It's mainly the most delightful rose sweetened gently with pear syrup, just like sprinkling sugar on a pear and pouring the sweetened juice on rose petals. The violet and Queen Elizabeth root (I think it's orris?) adds a delicate powdery feel, and the freesia note is so good, sweetly fragrant and recognisable. This is reminiscent of Ace of Hearts, but whilst that (sadly) sometimes turns to air freshener on me, this doesn't. It's almost traditional and old fashioned as a scent but not 'granny-like' or 'frumpy'.

After a while: the violet never takes over this scent, it never threatens to make the scent a little too old fashioned for me to pull off. In fact, after an hour or two, the freesia becomes the star of the scent, and as freesia is such an underused note in BPAL, I'm glad it's so noticeable. The rose isn't as strong as before but it supports the freesia beautifully, and the pear note here now smells very true and fruity. Over time, the balance of power switches to the rose once more and the scent ends on a slightly more melancholy scent of dry rose petals.

Verdict: this was the Agony scent that appealed most in terms of scent and especially concept-longing certainly applies to my relationship situation right now (or lack of it) as I am longing for a lover, so I found it rather apt that this was my Inquisition offering. And it's a lot nicer than I expected. I totally agree that this is a wistful scent, nostalgic, emotional but not heartbreakingly sad. It brings to mind a young woman from a Jane Austen-style romantic novel, waiting expectantly for her loved one to return, or longing for love to come in to her life, a feeling of yearning with a sweet hint of optimism. The scent itself is a delightful scent of rose, pear and freesia with a hint of violet. The scent is slightly traditional but not musty and old and granny-like at all, there's a fruity sweet wet freshness from the pear. But it's the freesia which I love most about this scent, it's nice and strong and smells just like a bunch of those fragrant and colourful flowers, and I'm so glad to smell this note in BPAL. It's such a touching fragrance and I do love rose scents-and this is a new favourite, thanks to the freesia. I'm not sure whether to swap this or keep it-but I'd be happy if I was destined to keep it. It really does capture the feeling of longing for love in a scent.

Emoticon rating:

Is it a keeper? this is so beautiful but as I have a decant of this on the way, I'm still considering doing a swap for a bottle of Passion (ha ha, yeah right!)

If you like this, try: Marie, Ace of Hearts (if you can find it!), Maiden, Moon Rose, Bess, Kurukulla

[tempestteapot]

Oh I'm in agony of longing. I've only got an imp of this one! The freesia and pear with a hint of rose. Lightly floral and sweet! I will horde this one!

[prunesnprisms]

Rose really doesn't work on me, at all. I liked the hint of freesia I got in the wet stage, but it's far far gone, now. Hello, ROSE.

[eviltemptressdq]

well, I was part of a decant circle for all 6 Inquisition scents (run by my Enabler, the wonderful HennaFairy), so I will review them all!

 

Longing: I'm a fan of the notes in this one, but I guess it doesn't really smell "special". If that makes sense. It was rosey with other flowers... on my skin, the same. Turned bland on my skin after a minute or so. boo not TOO sad, though, as I dont' have to track a bottle down, and that is always good. hehe.

[blueroses]

In the bottle Longing reminds me strongly of Hope and/or Faith: there's a definite sweet floral vibe. Here, it's syrupy (due to the pear) violets and freesia. I love freesia, and this is the only BPAL scent I've come across that has this note.

 

When I put it on my skin, it goes through a brief weird stage. Pear and grape do a funny thing on my skin where they smell like baby aspirin - sort of a medicinal fruit smell. Luckily, this fades very quickly (about five minutes) and then I'm left with the most lovely sweet rose-and-violet scent, with a touch of freesia. (I don't get the orris root, but I use a couple of scents that combine rose and orris, so my nose might just lump them together at this point.) It's a much better rose/violet scent for me than Marie, because they don't compete like the latter scent seems to do on me, but has more of a layered effect.

 

I really couldn't be more happy with this scent. I also think it's a good candidate to use in a scent locket, due to the funny pear stage.

[spanishviolet]

I was hoping for the lavendery one, but this was a close second hope, and I'm so glad I got this instead! It is so beautifully old-fashioned, so lightly floral with the balance of pear juice ...

 

It's me in a bottle! (But nicer ...) I haven't identified this strongly with a scent right out of the box since Bearded Lady. It does fade a little quickly on me, but I have a scent locket & I'm not afraid to use it!

[melissadragon]

The Agony of Longing:

 

Imp: Violets and pear - sweetly interesting - applied to back of right hand

Wet: Ack, roses! Still pear, some violets.

Dry: Mainly roses and violets.

Verdict: Not a keeper.

[little_galaxie]

Oh, this is my absolute favorite. Not just out of the inquisitions, I think it might have jumped to the Top 10. It actually reminds me a bit of Persephone, my #1 scent EVAH, in that it's a very juicy floral. Yum.

[storme]

In the imp: freesia and white pear.

 

On me, wet: sweet rose and dusty orris-and-violet threatening to swamp it.

 

On me, dry: old lady talcum-powder. Blech. The SO doesn't seem to think it too bad, but even he describes it as talcum powder.

 

Verdict: Wah. Hopefully someone will trade me one of the other inquisition scents, one that works better on me.

[Nidaba]

Quick review, basically so I don't forget how lovely this is.

 

Pear! So much lovely pear on me, with just a touch of rose to my nose. I wore it to an appt and another woman asked what smelled so nice and if it was rose based though, so I guess the rose might be in the front to other people's noses.

 

I wish I had a full bottle of this and not a decant. =[

[supremegoddessofall]

Florals, florals, and more florals. Not getting the pear at all, and violet is the predominant floral note. Not really working for me.

[djnevermore]

Florals don't usually work on me but this one is soft enough that I can wear it!

 

Pale, delicate and slightly sweet rose is what I get. It's like Rose Red but with sugar added.

 

Dry, it reminds me ever so gently of Alice, but much better. Longins is less powdery, less strong and more sweet.

 

It's really lovely.

[tarotgirl99]

I love this. My first whiff in the imp was Rose Alba essential oil and that's mostly what I get with drydown as well...but occasionally I get a whiff of the usually dreaded violet--in combination with this, it's wistful and not too sweet. Even more rarely I get the pear scent and that's when I just keep inhaling...

 

I can see (smell) the Ace of Hearts comparison, but I like this much better. It seems more vital to me--and a little less sweet.

Edited April 4, 2007 by tarotgirl

[QueenFae]

This is lovely, light and feminine. The top note on me is a pale pear, but it is closely followed by the rose note. On the drydown, the pear relaxes and the rose and freesia dominate. I can detect a hint of violet in the background, but it's not enough to ruin the blend for me. This is a very white, wispy, haunting scent. Although the pear note dominates, it's not a traditionally fruity scent. Usually fruity blends are uplifting to me, but this is certainly a melancholy scent. This unfortunately has very light throw and does not last long at all on me.

 

I like it, it's lovely.