The Black Swan

[tehriaz]

Water lily, peony, seaweed absolute, lotus, Spanish moss, violet leaf, and marine accord.

mm... this is what I wanted selkie to be.

it ends up drying down the same way ophelia did on me... but I think it's different enough.

I'll be hunting modestly for a bottle...

[mgrazulis]

In the Bottle: deep pond water, sharp lily, spanish moss

 

Wet: seaweed, intense violet leaf

 

Dry: More florals appear but begining to dilute and blend together, still mossy and a bit salty with murky dark greens and blue. Very cool aquatic--similar in atmosphere to Black Moon. The blended florals are strong with a long throw. Just gorgegous!!!

 

[AEris]

Mossy, dark-green floral. The notes that stand out to me are the floral notes, the moss, and the seaweed.

 

It starts out more harshly green, then as it dries the peony and lily come out more.

 

It's pretty, but it's a bit too high-pitched to be something that appeals to me personally. I'm super-picky with aquatic blends.

 

3 out of 5

[gchris]

in vial: grassy, perfumey

 

wet: green floral

 

dry: i think this has gotten stronger, yet is a soft powdery scent. it makes me think of a black swan gliding over moonlit water, just like the picture. I would say dead on scent for an olfactory description.

[hlinspjalda]

In the vial: Blue-green impression, very astringent; mostly I get violet leaf.

 

Wet: Aquatic but also more floral now. The lotus is ramping up, which is warming the blend. It is sweeter than before, too, but still quite tannic.

 

Half an hour: This is very aquatic on me now, even though the lotus and water lily are in charge. I like it in the abstract, but the idea of me smelling like it is kind of weird to me.

 

One hour: Really very aquatic, salty, with strong florals over and strong astringent notes as well. It's a fascinating scent, but I don't think it works on me.

 

Two hours: It's a lot calmer now. It's lightly aquatic, salty, tannic. Much of the floral has diminished, which is surprising for lotus on me. I think this will be going into the trade pile.

 

Four and a half hours: Still a salty aquatic, only gentle now. The florals were surprisingly quick to fade on this one. What's left is a bit bitter, with very blue overtones.

[stellans]

This is one of the prettier of BPAL's aquatic style blends, because the choice of floral notes is so wonderful. I was also surprised at how strong the violet note is, as well, because I love violets and totally expected the other notes (lotus, water lily, peony) to overshadow it. In any case, this blend works wonderfully with my skin chemistry, and doesn't turn into aftershave as so many aquatics do. Love, and I give it 3 stars.

Edited December 10, 2010 by stellans

[Stormslegacy]

In the imp: Greenery and white florals.

 

wet: ZOMG fresh greens with random whiffs of lillies.

 

Drydown: Salty, the seaweed accord is aptly named. Very perfumy, but not particularly floral.

 

Dry: Green. Reminds me of a pond, like the one pictured in Ferngully. It's very soft and vegetable-full. I agree with the person that commented that this was like women's deodorant. It really is.

 

Conclusion: Very fresh and green. I was expecting something more aquatic. I get a pond smell from the plants rather than any ozone note in the fragrance. It faded very quickly on me.

[DeltaCat]

Very aquatic on wet. On drydown the aquatic mellows out and the peony takes control. Now it is mainly peony, which is good but not exactly what I was wanting. Oh well. It still smells good!

[filigree_shadow]

Very pretty. A deep aquatic floral with an extremely appealing moss. It smells both soft and watery at the same time. The florals really come out when it's dry, and they're lovely florals. (I like peony.)

 

Normally I don't wear scents like this much, but I like this one quite a lot.

[rayvn1]

This is a sweet, extremely faint aquatic floral. Very pretty and smooth. It started out with a worrisome trend towards a generic "ocean" bath salts smell if that makes sense, but it quickly transitioned to a gentle and fairly complex blend. Lovely, but not something I amp very well.

[DiZZysTARdust]

So i was terrified of this in the bottle. Coming out it smells very soapy. Strong lilies verging on a single note. It honestly smells like a bottle of hand soap. As a floral lover i have come to accept that multi-flower blends sometimes turn to soap, but i took a chance and tested this today.

 

On wet this is still strongly lily and STRONG throw. Then happily as it dries the lilies fade and let the beautiful green vegetalness described in so many reviews shine through. It's hard to pin down but there's like a syrupy sweetness to it. I think it must be the moss giving it like almost a resinous feel. The sweetness maybe comes from the lotus, it's def a bubble gum vibe without being too effervescent or cloying. There's a little powderiness but never verging on baby powder. I was a little afraid of the marine accord cause that sometimes goes cologne on me, but that def doesn't turn this way on me. 

 

Throw decreases a bit as the lilies fade but that's okay, i love sniffing myself (lol sentences i never thought i'd write before bpal). If i really huff i still smell their soapiness underneath everything else but it's v understated. Good wear length.

 

 

Edited July 11, 2020 by DiZZysTARdust