The Unheavenly City

[500ml]

Unheavenly City is easily one of my most favourite blends. Creamy floral and a tad peppery/spicy on my skin, I just love the way it smells. After a while a light green note also appears (and takes the place of the peppery note) which makes this blend even better, I love how it morphs ever so slightly. The only downside is that it doesn't last that long on me, but it's gorgeous nonetheless.

[AEris]

I knew I would love this, and Surprise!

 

Delicious red blend - it's Dragon's Blood without cloying smokiness, just smooth, juicy sweetness. There might be red fruits in here, I saw people mention cherry. And, the creamiest pretty gardenia, ooohh!

 

As it dries, the sweetness mellows and the incense quality comes out a bit more. It's absolutely freakin gorgeous, I wish I could get more! Maybe I will try layering Dragon's Milk with some gardenia and cherry.

 

However -

The longer I have this on, I do have to echo sentiments that I wish the opening stage lasted longer. The juiciness and gardenia fade awfully fast, and all that lingers is faint incense and a hint of sandalwood. Not awful, but not what grabbed me in the beginning.

It's like a flash of red hot passion and it's so good and so completely delectable and then all of a sudden - it's low-key and lazy. Nice, but not making-me-drool-good-times.

 

The opening stage is a 4.8 out of 5, the dried-down scent is a 3 out of 5.

[VioletChaos]

thanks again to the lovely copyshopclerk, for including a full imp of this precious elixir with my order!

 

in the imp: sticky-sweet, without being cloying, if that makes sense. there's a fruity note, but it's not quite foodie.

 

wet on skin: the sweet dies down slightly, and i'm getting something like...watermelon and sugar candy. yum!

 

dry down: a subtle mix, i can't really pick any one thing out! it's like a bit of gardenia, rose, watermelon jolly ranchers and a splash of Water of Notre Dame. i've never smelled anything like it!

 

in all: i will cherish this imp as long as it will last me and will hopefully find some more!!!

[moonstonemama]

omg, this is surreally beautiful!

 

in the bottle: I get the jasmine and gardenia and something kinda sharp. I don't get any rose at all.

 

wet: wow, that's musky and floral. it really does smell remarkably like Hell's Belle (which I loved from first sniff)

 

30 minutes later: creamy sugary candied violets and a hint of sexy musk.

 

 

 

this is truly gorgeous, I can't stop smelling myself. I can't smell any rose, jasmine, or gardenia after drydown, which is almost sad since those are my 3 favourite florals, but I find I don't miss them at all in this blend. It's such an amazing scent. 5 out of 5, and I must acquire more.

[rhapsody13]

I have this bottle of French Love that is positvely ancient.

When I first opened Unheavenly City and sniffed, I immediately thought of it. I swear, to my nose, they are almost the same..

 

On the skin, I definately get a squishy floral - which I assume is the gardenia.. on top of French Love. Heh.

 

Maybe I'm just strange?

[whisperingmachines]

Well, this is unusual.

 

Wet/immediately on skin is SUPER floral- gardenia I believe. I'm really not a florals girl at all, but gardenia I can tolerate in small amounts.

 

Dry, after wearing it for a few hours- it's almost cakey in its sweetness. A foody floral? I'm very curious as to what notes are in this blend. Pretty, but I'm not sure if it's something I'd wear too often.

[butcherbaby]

in my experience it doesn't smell anything like the pervious reviews (skin chemistry? aging? not sure). i get a quick burst of sweetness that quickly fades into the green/white notes of gardenia, in a much stronger background of dark, wet greenery....not light and fresh, but probably how a new orleans garden smells in the warm humidity of summer.....not quite swampy, but close. it's much too green for my taste!

 

glad i had the chance to try it, but i'll be passing it on.

[zankoku_zen]

Oh god, this has the gardenia of DEATH. Wet wool sweaters. Blegh.

 

And then, the gardenia and jasmine come out - and it smells like someone upchucked on my wrist. EWWW.

 

And then after half an hour, it calms down and I get the spicy dragon's blood and the florals are nondescript and in the background.

 

Yeah, not for me. At all.

[ElinaMakropulos]

I was lucky enough to get this as a frimp in a swap because I'd been dying to try it for ages.

 

First sniff: cloyingly, disgustingly sweet. Gardenias, but spicier. Not the straight "pot of boiling sugar" scent that I associate with real gardenias. Gardenia and dragon's blood, likely.

 

on my skin: even more cloying and sickly. It's both lovely and oppressive at the same time, like funeral flowers. I suspect the cloying aspect is due to lotus, which I simply cannot abide.

 

I never wear sweet scents, and this is something that I can't tolerate on my skin or anywhere near me, really. I don't know that I want to swap it though because I love the concept and because I find myself taking a whiff of the imp every now and then - it's somehow compelling even if I can't wear it.

[milo]

This is all Dragon's Blood Resin and Gardenia, it is quite reminiscent of Tiki Queen. These two combinations are probably the worst notes on me in preferance and skin chemistry. Very glad I did get to try this sniffie, though.

[Shollin]

First sniff: A very rich, sweet and slightly spicy floral. It’s cozy-warm and velvet-soft.

 

Wearing: Sweet and strong and wild, a passionate woman who knows her own heart and goes her own way.

[pinkstardust420]

First sniff: Ack! Flowers. No! Please...don't do this to me.

 

After 5 minutes: Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm WOW! Morph much, dude? Um....I am going to pick out the notes I think are in this....vanilla, powdered sugar, cherry, and gardenia. Thats what I get out of this. Creamy, a tad floral (so glad that calmed down..whew!) and sweet, but not super sweet. I love this blend!

[hlinspjalda]

I bought this lab-donated bottle in a charity auction.

 

In the bottle: A rich sweetness with heavy florals above.

 

Wet: Fleshy florals come up first over a base of musk. It's warm, heavy, sweet, like a July night in Tennessee.

 

Twenty minutes: Musk and fleshy florals. It's not quite as sweet as before, but still quite nice on me.

 

Hour and a half: I'm getting a musk-vanilla thing starting to happen now, with the fleshy white florals above it. I like it very much, it reminds me of home.

 

Two and a half hours: Wow! This has settled down into sweet musk with tinges of vanilla and a top note of luscious, understated magnolia. I've wanted a magnolia scent, and I think I have just found it. Oh, how wonderful!

 

Four hours: Still there: warm and sweet vanilla-musk with magnolia. I like this; it has a more soothing vibe than most of the musk-florals.

 

Ten hours: Still noticeable musk-vanilla.

 

I am so glad I have a bottle of this!

[heathercaley]

I'm torn. I kinda like it... Kinda don't. It is subtly sweet creamy and floral... but lying demonically underneath I feel like it's got some dragons blood in there. I'm not so fond of dragons blood (though some blends do smell nice) but the lily of the valley-esk scent (sharp!) that wafts towards me really turns me off.

 

The top notes are lovely. Sweet and juicy florals. It's just that pinch of something in there that's screaming at me that it's off just a smidgen. Not too noticeable unless I huff the ol' arm. But overall, it is very very lovely... as long as I don't huff!

[Tracelina]

I managed to snag a bottle of this from someone on lj. I was really excited about it, because I've been having an across-the-country love affair with Portland...sadly, it seems we weren't meant to be.

 

This smells cloying and alcoholic in the bottle; when I put it on, the alcohol went away, but it stayed cloying. I don't know if it's the gardenia or the magnolia, but this reminds me of floral fabric softener. I agree with the posters who've said it's creamy and floral but almost foody; sadly, it's really not for me.

 

Off to the swap pile for some lucky other BPALer...

[fairnymph]

In the bottle: Deep neon pinkish-red oil. Strong, heady, white florals and artificial fruits.

 

Wet: Citrusy - probably the magnolia. Definitely some jasmine and gardenia too - it's a very strong, traditional floral blend. I also get cherry - red, sort of cough-syrup artificial cherry. Oh hi, dragon's blood. :\

 

Dry: With all the strong florals you'd think it'd be a mess...but it's actually pretty gorgeous. There's a creamy quality to this - not foody creamy, but floral creamy. Very lush.

 

Later: Slightly soapy, and sweeter in a floral way, not sugar or fruits. I don't get much red musk in this, although there is an odd mentholic quality, which I get with red musk as well.

 

Summary: Creamy, rich, and almost foody-sweet florals with hints of soap and fruit. Heady and feminine, it's a very unique, complex, and well-blended scent. The gardenia and magnolia take centre stage on me.

 

The fruity-floral musk drydown actually reminds me a LOT of Kitsune-Tsuki, which is one of my favourite scents - but that hint of dragon's blood ruins the blend for me. As usual.

 

 

[djsiberia]

somehow i can barely smell jasmine. finally 1 scent that has jasmine and it's not morphing into the old lady plastic band-aid smell. this is mostly gardenia and red musk. its a lovely scent and the husband likes it.

 

[ami226]

In the bottle: Wow! A high sweetness. Bit fruity.

 

On the skin: Whoa, what ever fruit is in here is just about the only thing I can smell. Plum? Maybe a tiny bit of florals as well.

 

Overall: Not really my thing sadly. Very nice though.

 

-ETA-

Definitely fruity. I still want to say plum. There is a bit of a musky/incense quality to this as well. Not getting much spice at all. This is actually kind of a light scent on me.

 

Still, not a scent for me.

Edited August 26, 2012 by Catseyes

[Invidiana]

Yes, I do believe I detect a *hint* of white rose but it just blends so harmoniously with the rest of the notes there's no trace of Grandma in this whatsoever. It's just what the titlie implies by "unheavenly"--a "heavenly" sweet, creamy blend with a dash of sweet spices corrupted by a haze of some sort of smoke; makes me think of a beautiful city full of majestic Gothic marble buildings and ornate storefronts that appears otherworldly from a distance, but upon closer inspection the visitor realizes this place is actually full of brothels and disease and general madness. Reminiscent of the moral price attached to luxury in Dreiser's Sister Carrie. Beautiful!

[benthic]

Augh, nono. I was so looking forward to this blend because of the reviews describing it as sweet and creamy and juicy with a hint of spice. I don't get any of that out of this at all. All I get is the death note that I've always thought of as "black pepper" (because it's the same death note that's in War and Hand of Glory, and that's the only note they have in common). It might not actually be black pepper (it could be dragon's blood, although I didn't think I disliked that so much), but whatever it is, it's in there and I amp it and it's all I smell. No sweetness, no cream or floral. I am so sad about this one.

 

ETA that looking at it again, War doesn't actually list black pepper, just "black spices." It has red musk too, but Hand of Glory doesn't. So I have no idea what is in all three blends that is so offensive to my nose.

Edited January 7, 2010 by benthic

[angelicruin]

I'm getting plum, dragon's blood, and something floral--possibly gardenia. I like it and will definitely keep my 1/2 decant generously frimped by fairnymph, but it's not anything I feel compelled to get a bottle of.

[patina]

Portland? This doesn't smell like Portland OR the infernal realms. With the magnolia and gardenia, the deep red musk and spice, this smells of straight-up southern belle. I normally amp gardenia and jasmine, but the musk keeps it from getting *too* sharp.

[calivianya]

I received a tester of this from a very generous forumite.

 

...I think I should have checked the notes before putting this on my skin, though. I immediately recognize gardenia, which is a sudden and immediate death note. It's not quite killing this blend as badly as it kills most things that hit my skin, but there is definitely a little nastiness going on. I cannot pick out any other notes as the gardenia is quite overwhelming. Oh well, I will happily pass this on.

[Gold Dust Kitten]

I'm a floral hater but I tend to like rose with musk or resins or waxy white blooms in tropical scents. This perfume is all over the place: Sugared gardenia, magnolia, jasmine and rose in red musk and/or dragon's blood. It's a very sweet, lush, creamy scent. I don't get "foody" at all, but there's a lovely sugary musk on the dry down that makes up for the WHOA FLORALS in the beginning. It goes against what I usually like but I think this is a keeper.

[distracts]

Wet on me this is keenly reminiscent of Estee Lauder Pleasures, one of my longtime favorites. Except it's like Pleasures' muskier (sexier!) grown-up sister. As it dries, the red musk deepens the scent, and it becomes even more divine. It's sweet, but, like most red musk blends I've tried, not TOO sweet, which is good. Completely dry, it gains a slightly marshmallowy aspect. I agree with LittleGreyKitten, who said that it's like MB: BiggerCritters in that it's a "floralbutnot." Though this doesn't smell like MB:BC, I would definitely place it in the same foody/floral/sexy category.

 

As well, it is the only perfume that my fiance has loved on me so much he can't stop commenting on how AMAAAAAAAZING I smell. So I'll definitely be needing a backup bottle (or ten... if I can find them).

 

In coincidental "this is like MB:BC" territory, the only perfume that inspired that reaction in my ex-boyfriend was Monsterbait: BiggerCritters.

 

Foody/florals: A hit with the men?