The Perilous Parlor

[alchemilla]

A memory of pleasure passed. A ghostly rendezvous, delight beyond death. Faint echoes of laughter and the distorted music of a harp drift by, along with the scent of soft white pear and sweet vanilla.

 

Geez, I'm going to be what, the second negative review?

 

I agree that it's a lovely sweet vanilla pear, not like any of the other pears I've tried. But on me, it was very light, even though I applied heavily, and only lasted about an hour. After that, it was just detectable if I attached my nose to my wrist. No waft at all. *sigh* I couldn't possibly justify a bottle.

 

Since other reviewers have also said it's light, I'd suggest trying an imp first before getting a bottle if you have trouble with scents disappearing on you.

Edited September 28, 2007 by clover

[neuilly]

This actually isn't as light on me as everyone else. Medium throw.

 

On me this is O plus pear.

 

Unfortunately O didn't work on me, something in it turns and it ends up smelling like stale barbie head (if you've ever smelled the head of a barbie, it's a distinctive smell!). So this is pear stale barbie head.

 

Alas not for me...hoepfully there will be a winter pear scent coming out because I really LOVE pear and this one just doesn't work. I do love the pear it in it though

[alicia_stardust]

THE PERILOUS PARLOR

 

Wet: It smells sweet and almost fruit bubble-gummy. There is definitely pear in there. It's juicy and ripe.

 

Dry on Skin: On my skin the pear is less sharp and it blends with the vanilla to create a perfectly creamy, delightful scent. As this warms to my skin, the vanilla really starts to deepen. It gets richer and has a more decadent twist to it. I can't put my finger on what else I smell in this but whatever it is, it complements the pear and vanilla really well.

 

This is a delightful, foody, creamy scent that really lifts my spirits when I wear it. Even though they do not smell the same, my emotional reaction to the scents has grouped this scent with the likes of Kunstkammer and Pink Phoenix.

[grifyn_whiffs]

This is my favorite of all the Haunted House blends I've tried so far! On me, it's a SLIGHTLY spicy, fresh pear, and then the vanilla comes out.

 

This isn't the same pear to me as the one in Titania, which is a syrupy sweet pear, but a more true pear, peel and all. It's closer to the pear in Endymion, but I like this one more.

 

I agree that it's the same vanilla as Tokyo Stomp -- a warmer, creamier vanilla. Thankfully, this vanilla has behaved on me so far. The drydown just gets better and better, and the pear doesn't seem to fade on me at all! A bottle of this just might have to find its way into my collection.

 

ETA: Two subsequent tests found it fading on me, leaving just a whiff of pear after about half an hour. Damn, I really wanted this one to work for me.

Edited October 1, 2007 by Grifyn

[CrazyPretzel]

In the decant: super sweet and juicy pear!

 

Wet on me: Still excellent pear with a little bit of a perfumey note underneath that stops it being completely edible.

 

After a few minutes: The vanilla becomes heavy and syrupy; I can see why people have compared it to the vanilla in Snake Oil. The pear is still there providing a fruity edge but it's not OMGPEAR anymore.

 

Drydown: This is less foody than I expected actually. It's more of a classic perfume scent; there's definitely warm vanilla and sweet pear in there but I certainly wouldn't say it smelled like pie or anything. It's silky and very pretty, and I think I will need to pick up a bottle!

[Finny]

Sweet vanilla pears!

 

This one is yummy, I want to eat my hand off. Fresh pear, sweet vanilla, a bit creamy, and utterly gorgeous. Love it.

[edenssixthday]

Perilous Parlor - I love how this smells in the bottle - it's a sweet, creamy, and rich vanilla-pear. It's drop-dead gorgeous. And then it turns to the Stench of Death once it hits my skin. This blend and my skin chemistry = Really Bad Combo. When it sits on my skin, it becomes heavy, thick, and cloying. It makes me horribly nauseated and gives me a terrible headache. I tried it twice, and it had the same effect both times. Plus, whatever type of vanilla that is used in this blend is the one that smells like melty plastic on me. It's such a disappointment because in the bottle, it initally smelled so amazingly good. I'm glad to know that while I can't wear it, it really is getting lots and lots of love out there from other people.

[citharadraconis]

In the imp, it smells pretty good, if a bit medicinal. On me...

 

...Chapstick???????

 

Seriously. Fruit-flavored Chapstick. WTF.

 

On drydown, it mellows somewhat and is really quite pretty, if a bit faint and waxy. Maybe it's skin chemistry? I'll keep this around and retest, but really. Chapstick? Must be the BPAL vanilla--I've noticed it goes plasticky on me.

Edited October 1, 2007 by citharadraconis

[iriedanym]

I agree with requieminblack's review regarding Perilous Parlor. It is a must have for those that like foody/fruity scents. In the bottle, my first thought was "banana? No, wait a minute, that's...it's PEAR!" Insert a lot of squeeing, because I had forgotten it had pear, and I love that smell. It really is like a ripe bowl of freshly cut pears, with the softness of vanilla bean.

 

On the skin, the pear is still evident, but it is softened by the vanilla. It is rather soft, not cloying, and I honestly think this would be a nice unisex scent (assuming your guy doesn't scream at the very idea of wearing perfume oils).

[puck_nc]

Origin: decant from eviltemptressdq's circle

 

Initial Thoughts: I will try almost any vanilla scent that doesn't include a deal-breaking note. I like pear very much in Juliet.

 

In the Bottle: Wow, a pear so sweet I think several of my teeth just developed cavities.

 

Wet: If Jolly Rancher or other candy-makers used pear as a flavor, this would be it. Pear, positively singing with sugar and sweet vanilla.

 

Drydown: Hm. I see what others are saying about not much throw. But even close to the skin it remains a beautiful sweetly fruity blend.

 

Verdict: I think I'm gonna need a bottle of this one.

[Little Bird]

In the vial this is a hypersweet pear, almost like some sort of pear candy that was rolled around in extra sugar crystals. It's a bit sickeningly sweet to me. My boy loves candy scents and even he said it was too sugary. However, on my skin, the pear instantly vanishes without a trace. No matter how much I slather, the pear does not translate over once the oil touches my skin.

 

On me the vanilla obviously takes over, but it's incredibly light and turns to baby powder. It entirely disappears within a half hour. For a powdery scent, I actually don't hate this, but it's too light and disappears too quickly for me to splurge on a full bottle of it. The Perilous Parlor is lacking any actual pear, but it's an okay vanilla powder fragrance.

[zankoku_zen]

I hate to be a negative reviewer but...

 

the plastic vanilla doom gets me. It smells like pear plastic on me.

 

It really does bum me out. I was hoping for sweet fruity pear. No. I get evil instead. WAH!

[filigree_shadow]

The pear in this one is strong and very noticeable at first. That's just fine with me because I happen to love pear scents. But it doesn't take long for the pear to fade into the background, leaving mainly a lovely soft vanilla scent with some sweetness I'd be unable to define as pear unless I knew that's what it was.

 

Soft and delicate, and very, very pretty.

 

It was a given I'd love this, since I love both pear and vanilla, and the Perilous Parlor does not disappoint.

[elphaba]

I think I could spend a long time in the Perilous Parlor.

 

It's definitely pear-y, especially fresh on. Although, I just picked up a fresh pear out of my fruit bowl and this smells nothing like that. It's more like a poached pear, sweetened and mellowed. the vanilla is also there from the beginning, warming things up and adding to the sweetness. As it dries, it stays mostly the same, maybe mellowing a bit more.

 

Contrary to what others have experienced, I'm getting fairly decent throw from this one. I keep catching whiffs of it as I move around. I've had it on for about 6 hours and it's still going strong.

 

I think this would work well as a bedtime scent. It's warm and comforting and not so distracting it would keep me awake.

[Gale]

I am so incredibly disappointed--I was on the verge of hoarding, but now I'm glad I didn't.

 

Wet: Yum! Pear, and sweet creamy vanilla.

 

On: As soon as it hits my skin, the vanilla turns into the vanilla from Snake Oil that I cannot wear. Yes, plasticky is how it's been described, and that's what my skin does to it.

 

It stays this way for the duration.

 

Disappointed? No, I'm crushed.

[deleahrium]

Jelly Belly's Juicy Pear + cream = LOVE!

 

This is pear ice cream. PERFECT scent for spring and summer, but I think it's equally wearable in the dead of winter.

[Mamacat]

Darn!! This is the first vanilla that hasn't worked on me!

 

Wet: creamy pear syrup

on: sweet, sweet vanilla candle

Dry: uhhh . . . this smells like the interior of our '89 Corolla. ? The first vanilla to turn on me!!

[Brianne]

This is one of those scents that is really very straight forward on me. It doesn't go through any wierd morphing stage or periods where one note is stronger than the other. It goes on like a softly sweet vanilla musk, and that's how it stays. It actually reminds me a great deal of Antique Lace. This stays close to the skin also - it sticks around but doesn't have a lot of throw. Definitely a skin scent. Beautiful though - simple and pleasant. Definitely need a bottle

[delicate_fangs]

in the decant: Pear! PEARpearPEARpear! And vanilla. And a little bit of sugar. But mostly PEAR. Not sure this is going to go well, since pear single note immediately went to rotted pear on me.

 

wet: pear bubblegum. Weird pear bubblegum. The vanilla goes all... pink on me, smell-wise, and not in such a good way. Darn skin chemistry.

 

drying: Uh-oh. Here come the plasticky note that ultimately killed Midway for me. (See also: darn skin chemistry.) Pear receding, oddling enough. Strange creamy note with a little ozone coming up. This is kind of interesting, actually. Not what I'd choose to wear, and probably not what was intended (sing the chorus: darn skin chemistry!) but interesting in a mad science kind of way.

 

later: plastic pear? With butter, apparently. On me, this goes to buttered plastic pears. With sugar and vanilla and a little ozone. How odd.

 

I bet somebody else will love this. I'll have to read their reviews for the vicarious pleasure, then.

[Ohmaude]

In the vial: Well after all the other reviews, duh, sweet pear. I love pear scents. I love pears!

 

On my wrist: Woah. That is very, very sweet. This isn't fresh pear, but canned pears, like my grandma makes. This is finding a beautiful golden jar of canned pears on the pantry shelf in the dead of winter, and that first waft of pear when you break the seal.

 

Within a minute, the vanilla kicks in, and this for me, is where it takes a little downward turn. I love vanilla, and love many of the BPAL blends with vanilla, (I LOVE Snake Oil, for example) but this is the vanilla note that was in Tokyo Stomp. For some reason my chemistry makes this overly sweet and burned-plasticky.

 

Luckily, a few minutes later, it calms down a bit, and I get a more vanilla fruit scent, but there is still a little of that burned-plastic edge to it. That continues to fade, and later in the day and what I am left with is a pear brandy vanilla desert smell.

 

My verdict? An interesting scent indeed, but I don't see a bottle in my future.

Edited October 6, 2007 by Ohmaude

[melange]

Wet on my skin, it's juicy fresh-cut pears with a little vanilla. As it dries, the pears stay as a lingering sweetness and I can only pick them out when I know what I'm looking for, much like the vanilla musk mentioned earlier, which makes me think that a scent locket is called for. As to the dreaded plastic issue, it's nowhere near the plastic that Snow White was on me, but it still has a little whiff of plastic when I get my nose too close. It smells so good wet, though, and very nice at 3/4" of throw; I have this hopeful feeling that if it ages it will blend and fit together even better. So, if the budget allows, I'll get a bottle and let it age, but first I'll see what the other Haunted House decants do on me!

[Lunaratu]

Mm, fresh, green, juicy French pear with the vanilla flowering underneath. This reminds me of this lotion I loved when I was in high school. I usually hate scented lotions but I loved the scent of this green one because it was such a nice pick me up after swim practice and the overwhelming stench of chlorine. This is warming into a clean, vanilla-esque scent—and I say vanilla-esque because it’s warm, sweet, and has a feeling of a lightened vanilla. The pear is still there working its magic somehow underneath making this feel softer and not like the alcoholic, weird sticky vanilla that can sometimes happen on my skin.

Rating: 3.5/5

[nevarra]

In the decant: Sweet, ripe pears with a bit of that tangy bite. My initial thought just in the decant was "Bottle!"

 

Wet: Very, very sweet, but not sickeningly so. It took me a second to get "pears" out of it with the sweetness.I don't think I've ever naturally smelled pears like this though, canned or otherwise, whereas in the bottle it was more realistic. The sweetness isn't cloying though and although it was *very* sweet, it wasn't overpowering.

 

Quick-Dry: It took a bit for the vanilla to come through, but there it is warm and blending with the pears to make a creamy sweetness that doesn't turn (for once) powdery on me. After a bit the pear pretty much disappears but the sweetness of the vanilla is still there without smelling like a vanillorama tree. It has a pretty weak throw for me.

 

Dry Down: I'm bummed. The vanilla didn't turn plastic on me like it did the others, but it got...sharp. The pear is pretty much gone completely and now it's sweet without being creamy. My initial draw to The Perilous Parlor was that it was sweet and creamy but delicate at the same time. Not so much anymore. We'll see what it does later on, but I think I'm going to pass on the bottle. Maybe in would work in a tart burner?

[Emma2403]

In the bottle: strong pear with something a bit boozy, like strong liquor, maybe.

 

On my skin: OMG, this is lovely!! Vanilla and pear, all creamy, not nauseating at all (please note I am NOT a foody lover!).

 

After a while: sugared fruity vanilla.

 

Verdict: I wish it was stronger, but hey, I'll just have to slather!! It's a new love.

[gwynethr]

This was everything my vanilla and pear-loving heart had hoped for. But also a little less, in some ways.

 

Wet: Bright, sweet pear to the max, with a hint of vanilla behind it.

 

Dry: The pear has completely disappeared on me. If I stick my nose to my wrist, I can get a faint whiff of it, but it's mostly gone. I get light vanilla. Eventually, after it's almost all gone, I get... honey. Which is odd, but since honey's one of my fave notes, I can't complain.

 

There's so little throw that I can't put enough on to smell without putting my arms toward my face. But it's still a wonderful scent, just doesn't last much in either direction. I have a feeling this may mean I'll be going through a lot of bottles.