greenranger Report post Posted August 5, 2008 (edited) Russian rose, mimosa, gardenia, bois du rose, parma violet, calla lily, red currant, ambergris, and bourbon vanilla. I was interested to see what this scent would do on me, because of three notes. Rose, usually amps up to ROSE! on my skin. Ambergris usually kills the entire scent of everything on my skin. Vanilla usually really likes my skin and hangs around a looong time...In the imp, a very expensive smelling floral scent. On me? Rose. Well behaved rose, but, only rose. Apparently, the amping potential of the rose is balanced by the vanishing potential of the ambergris. Unfortunately, nothing else survives.And, when the rose fades, there's nothing left. ah well. Ambergris has vanquished all. Edited August 5, 2008 by Shollin Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
heathercaley Report post Posted August 29, 2008 Oh how pretty!!! In my decant, it's a lovely violet/rose.. but once I spread it on my skin, the rose pops like crazy. This isn't just a regular rose, this is a super big fat red rose at the height of bloom. Perfect in every way. The vanilla sweetens it up just enough... not enough to be picked out, but I smell a sweet lovely rose so I know vanilla is in there calming that rose down and making it behave as a royal rose should. No other notes pop at me.. I just get a gorgeous rose which is fine by itself cause it's super lovely. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LauraB Report post Posted October 11, 2008 I was terrified that gardenia would ruin this but it doesn't! Yay! I don't get vanilla at all, but I do get a pretty rose and white flowers scent and it does seem in keeping with the "feel" of the painting. So glad I tried it - there are lots of fantastic BPAL roses but even so I may be looking for more of this. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Leopard403 Report post Posted July 12, 2009 Sadly, this is a BPAL scent that goes "perfumey" on my skin. It's that generic commercial smell most mass-produced, alcohol-based perfumes have; and I buy BPAL to avoid that. It's a shame, too, because in the bottle this is a lovely and sophisticated rose-based blend. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Elfbait Report post Posted October 22, 2010 Monna Vanna, how I love you. I love you enough to not be able to really achieve the distance I find necessary to write about things I love. You are just the most beautiful rose blend I have ever smelled, period. It's the smell of a very sumptuous rose wearing a crown of perfect flowers, all picked in their prime. The scent doesn't scream, but it doesn't whisper either- rather, it murmurs. It also comforts and inspires- the scent of a muse, indeed. It is also so old fashioned that it feels utterly new again. Long-lasting, timeless and full of womanly beauty. Yeah, this scent really spoke to me, I have to say. I love the scent of a rose, and for a long time, I wore a single note rose oil for my "fix", and as beautiful as that simplicity is, Monna Vanna is a perfect example of how much a particular note can be enhanced, even exalted, by the presence of other notes. This is my new rose scent, and perhaps a signature scent for me, for as long as it is made. Phenomenal, and thanks for making it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SophieCedar Report post Posted March 4, 2011 (edited) Wet: whoa. something extremely sharp and powdery races up my nostrils and dissipates instantly. Bizarre. Maybe it was the bois du rose running for it's life. Ok now it's sweet deep warm rose, slight bit of violet..this fades fast, bubbly girly sweet mimosa flower, wet currant, and bourbon vanilla. oooh! This is like a grown up, multifaceted Hope. I can't smell the gardenia through everything unfortunately. Calla lily? there a bit if I stretch my imagination and have the notes in front of me. Color impressions are true to the painting's composition. drydown: the rose continues to dance harmoniously with the rest of the notes (whew). Still mostly a very sweet floral with rose, ambergris and bourbon vanilla twining, mimosa, currant, and calla lily. It has more of that distinctive ambergris smell that gets lodged in my nasal cavity. Kinda gives me the impression of shoving my face into overly sweet sugar dripping pastry and heady flowers. whoa again. This is conceptually what I would say is the perfect scent mate for me. But when the Fairy Godperfumer created & presented, I questioned my deepest desires and started scrapping the schematics. I need to go contemplate human nature for a while. Edited March 4, 2011 by SophieCedar Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dybael Report post Posted July 16, 2011 I'm horrible at pinpointing floral notes unless they fail spectacularly on my skin chemistry. All I can really say about Monna Vanna is that it is Very Floral, and not in a skin-chemistry-fail way. Creamy, fresh-petaled pinkish-whitish floral. The flowers don't morph at all on my skin on the drydown - the vanilla gets a bit stronger as it goes, but that's about it. It's very elegant and regal and not something I'd wear every day, but quite nice for a Very Floral scent. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stellamaris Report post Posted October 3, 2011 This went right up to a big bottle. My favorite of the III series so far. Rose haters stay away, this is a sharp beautiful rose, it reminds me of the sharper rose that is in Dawn, not the rounder sweeter rose. Love this. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LizziesLuck Report post Posted August 16, 2016 Wet: Initially it's a bit like bug spray, but as it warms it gets better. Surprisingly, I can't detect the violet yet, which usually amps like crazy when it touches my skin and then turns horrid. This is very light. It actually still reminds me of bug repellent, but the somewhat pleasant Skin So Soft variety. I can barely smell it. After slathering on some more, the violet creeps in...but still, I can't help thing of Skin So Soft. Maybe the lily? Dry: I smell bug spray!! (And roses) Once I got that association stuck in my head, I couldn't get past it. Stupid nose....clearly, this one is not for me. Lol. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lucchesa Report post Posted June 16, 2018 (edited) Monna Vanna is absolutely lovely. I don't generally wear straight florals; the ambergris, fruit and bourbon vanilla keep it interesting for me, though it is predominantly a rose blend. The violet and lily creep in and make it powdery around the edges after a couple of hours. This is the kind of scent that made me fall in love with BPAL, but my tastes have changed somewhat, towards darker more unisex blends mostly, though I also find myself loving those sugary creamy florals; this is somewhere in the middle. It definitely reads feminine on my Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Monna Vanna, 1866, Tate Gallery Edited June 16, 2018 by Lucchesa Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
