Madame Tracy

[Mrs.Black]

Newt had been amazed to find that Madame Tracy was a middle-aged, motherly soul, whose gentleman callers called as much for a cup of tea and a nice chat as for what little discipline she was still able to exact.

A coquettish blend of tea rose, ume blossom, geranium, lily of the valley, violet, and heliotrope.

I only smell the tea rose and the lily of the valley. There is a little of the drier sheet effect that many people abhor but I don't really mind. This is a pretty and wearable rose blend but, of course, with BPAL we are spoilt for choice when it comes to rose. Because of the blinding glory of the likes of Rose Red, Moon Rose, London and Whip, Madame Tracy is only average in my rose repertoire. I don't know if I'll keep my bottle.

Edited to add: I WILL keep my bottle. Madame Tracy is a beautiful clean musky rose, somewhat reminiscent of Moon Rose but different enough to hold its own. PersephonesChild below is right, this is similar to China Rain as well. A winner. Edited December 31, 2007 by Shollin

[PersephonesChild]

This was more astringent than I'd expected-- when I first smelled it, I was surprised by how clean it smelled. Then I remembered the geranium and ume blossom, and once my nose was expecting that smell, it all clicked into place.

 

I get very little tea rose, just enough th lightly sweeten what is a very clean, light floral blend. I really like this-- and people who are fans of china rain will, as well, it has that same ethereal dampness to it.

[alicia_stardust]

MADAME TRACY

 

This is a sweet, comforting sort of floral blend. It actually reminds me of my grandmother in a good way; it envelops me in a floral hug and kiss from a motherly figure. The rose sits on top but the lily and geranium are not far behind. I do get some of the violet; it sort of softens things and blurs the lines between the other notes. This is clean and light but it has a strong throw and an almost perfumey aspect to it. It fits Madame Tracy well.

[Little Bird]

The only note that I'm not really familiar with in Madame Tracy is the 'ume blossom,' but something in this goes very high pitched, fakey, and chemical on my skin, like soap and cheap hairspray. It reminds me a bit of the sharpness that I get from opium poppy.

 

I smell hints of a sweet, lovely tea rose but it's smothered by something very bad. This really smells like the metallic twang, almost alcoholic, that I find so suffocating from cans of hairspray.

 

On me this is a soapy, sharp, chemical-laden, bad floral. It's not light on me either, my skin chemistry seems to amp this up into a horribly perfumey mess. Not good. Maybe this is just more floral than I can pull off, but I usually really love tea rose, heliotrope, and violet...

[taramarie]

On me, Madame Tracy is tea rose, violet, and a hint of lily of the valley. The tea rose has a slightly soapy edge and the violet is powdery, but it's still a lovely scent. It can only improve with age.

[edenssixthday]

Madame Tracy - So many of my favorite florals are in this - violet, tea rose, geranium, heliotrope, and lily of the valley. I thought this was going to be stunning, but instead, all I get is a strongly powdery floral - something that reminds me of an old lady's floral-scented talcum powder. I'm so sad that I can't wear this one because it feels like I'm betraying long-time floral friends (although I should keep in mind that in reality, they're betraying me. Ha! I don't feel bad anymore. The throw is really, really strong and overpowering and I'm not sure how long this scent lasts on my skin because I took a shower before it faded much at all.

[ladybird]

Wet: ROSE!! and VIOLET!!

 

And when it dries, it gets powdery, and...well...old-ladyish. I suppose if there were any scent that smelled like old-lady perfume, it should be the one named after an old lady

 

I suspect that my skin's tendency to amp up rose is partly to blame for poor Madame Tracy's failure. But still, this one is not a keeper. Alas!

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

sniffed from the decant: this smells familiar but i can't quite place it. not BPAL, but just something from my life, but a very long time ago.

in BPAL terms, it is sortof like Hope and Faith -- but mixed.

on skin: the geranium and lily bloom stronger than they seemed from the imp... but the violet and something else are mixing to blend into something almost bitter and medicinal.

FYI: ume blossom is an Asian plum that is "more closely related to the apricot"

which all makes sense, because on me plum turns bitter and i HATE apricot.

 

overall? kinda nice when wet, but nothing i'll ever reach for again.

[slave1]

MADAME TRACY

 

In Bottle: Rose

 

On Skin: Yep, the rose amps full force on me in this blend, rose tends to do that on me. Of course it’s one of my least favorite notes. This scent is very sour and sharp and causes my eyes to water. I don’t smell any of the other notes at all… I was hoping the violet would sweeten the scent but the tea rose really does drown it on me. I’m going to have to wash it off, because rose is just not me, sorry! Very strong throw and not sure of wearlength.

[alhbooks]

I'm not picking out any single note in Madame Tracy, but overall, I'm finding it quite delightful...old-fashioned garden blend, I'd have to say, with a hint of cool fog rather than hot sun. Not especially long-lasting, but very comforting.

[ivyandpeony]

Madame Tracy reminds me a bit of Marie, as the tea rose and violet are dominant on my skin. But Madame Tracy is more complex and sophisticated than Marie, with more depth, a different sweetness and a hint of green. I can't pick out the geranium, but I think it anchors the blend and provides that hint of green and some spicy depth under all the sweet blossoms that Beth chose to include in this one. It's very much like Madame Tracy herself: younger and sassier than meets the eye (although I don't see any signs that it's possessed).

 

I like the comparison to an old fashioned garden with a bit of damp instead of bright sunlight - that's a great description!

 

My feeling would be that if you don't like rose and/or violet, you will not like this - but if you are a fan of the two, you'll want to add Madame Tracy to your floral line up.

[PurringPulsar]

Madame Tracy

 

In the imp: traditional rose-violet perfume…it’s a little bit sharp.

Wet on skin: now I smell the geranium and a little bit of lily.

Dry: not bad! This is a very pretty, if a little bit traditional, rose-violet perfume warmed up with gentle geranium. The lily of the valley isn’t turning too soapy yet, and it’s not as sharp and biting as Marie when it comes to rose-violet scents. It’s quite lovely but maybe a little old fashioned for me?

After a while: now this gets soapy (the lily of the valley, I think) and a little bit too dusty and stuffy for me. There’s a floral note here I can’t identify (ume? It’s the only one on the notes list I’ve not smelt before) which is turning to something disturbingly like potpourri on me, and it’s very strong and sharp and dusty and old-smelling. And it smells a bit like public toilet soap. The violet is also overtaking. This perfume is mature, but a little too mature for me to pull off-I much prefer Atrocious Attic, which has that gorgeous creamy sweetness softening the dusty flowers. It then turns into a dry, thin scent of potpourri and dry rose petals with a spritz of air freshener…not the kind of floral I like.

Verdict: this was really bad on me, sadly. I thought the rose, geranium and heliotrope would make this at least wearable on me, but something in here goes really bad and fake-smelling on me. it’s not the violet, even though the violet here is not the sweet version I enjoy but the dusty-musty one I don’t like…but there’s something in here that turns to really bad soap on me, I’m guessing the lily of the valley. It smells like air freshener, an artificial and cloying floral scent with a dusty potpourri scent to it. And it’s a shame because I really like the character it’s named after! Oh well, it could be worse. It could smell like Brussels sprouts!

Emoticon rating:

Is it a keeper? No.

If you like this, try: Atrocious Attic, Marie, Victoria, Hymn, Monna Vanna

[SarahScent44]

In the imp, this is strongly floral, especially the violet.

 

On my skin, it's a very well-blended floral - I can't pick out anything specific.

 

When it dries, it's very, very floral - too much so for me - sort of conjures the old-lady-living-room potpourri on my skin. I'll pass it along to someone that will appreciate it more.

[fairnymph]

In the bottle: Classic, feminine, slightly powdery floral. Definitely getting the tea rose, violet, and heliotrope.

 

Wet: This reminds me alot of Marie! The violet and tea rose really amp on me. But this is drier from the heliotrope.

 

Dry: Fast drying. It's getting more powdery. I like the geranium in this - it's subtle and fresh. The lily of the valley is coming out and it's not as overwhelming as it can be on me, but I'm still not a fan.

 

Summary: Sweet powdery floral with rose, violet, and heliotrope dominating. I don't like how this sweetens and turns to powder on me.

[theseagrows]

in the imp this smelled like a slightly sour white floral with rose, so i figured it wouldn't work on me. of course, this is bpal, so i was wrong. it smells beautiful on me. i definitely smell the tea rose and a floral-spiciness in the background which actually reminds me a lot of jean paul gaultier's classique. luckily the lily of the valley stays mellow and doesn't turn sour on me. the violet isn't all that powdery either, it's subtle in the background. very nice, i will keep my imp but probably won't get a bottle.

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Strong lily and tea rose. Very much a clean floral scent.

 

Immediately on skin: This is very floral, but it smells like a floral scent you’d find in soap, or something like that. The lily is very strong, and the tea rose comes in behind. This is a very heavy fragrance.

 

After a few minutes: This isn’t floral anymore… it’s FLORAL. It screams out LILY and TEA ROSE. Those are the two strongest notes, and they may as well be the only ones because they’re all I can smell.

 

Overall Impressions: This is a strong lily and tea rose perfume scent. They’re clean, girly, and screaming, quite frankly. I know these notes are supposed to be lady like and demure, but they’re so strong in this blend that they give the feel of someone not so lady like putting way too much dusting powder on to try and seem proper. This smells to me of traditional perfume but amped up quite a bit.

[zankoku_zen]

This was a very soapy rose on me. None of the other florals came through on me. Sad.

[TPOD]

Pah. My stupid skin turns rose (especially pink and red roses) into nasty, sour rotten dead things.

 

Why are florals so difficult for me?

 

It was pretty in the imp - and there it will stay.

[voodoocatwoman]

Not so terribly impressed with this scent. While I do like rose scents, this one just reminds me of Lux soap. Not for me.

[lunaticana]

I adore geranium and violet so I had to try this

honestly, with these ingredients listed

I could have easily went for a bottle

but I didn't so I tested first and GOD. I love it, it's simply gorgeous!

very feminine and also very delicate, my mum could wear this ( and offcorse maybe she will )

I can also smell the tea rose which is I think the delicate part

 

oh wait, no it's going it's turning powdery and I LOVE that

Edited January 22, 2009 by lunaticana

[rayvn1]

Lovely tea rose and lily of the valley. Goes on a little sharp, but dries to a very sweet and claming scent. Good "curl up with a book and a cup of tea" blend.

[asciident]

Wet: Smells like wine.

 

First on: Not much wine anymore; just flowers.

 

Dry: A fresh garden full of flowers. Not really my style, unfortunately.

[angelicruin]

Inside the imp & initially after application to my skin, it's a strong tea rose. After a few minutes, the geranium note emerges, but the rose still dominates the scent. This really isn't for me...reminds me too much of old lady perfume on my skin.

Edited June 13, 2009 by angelicruin

[Eucatastrophe]

I was a little wary of trying this because my skin tends to amp roses to the extreme and florals can trigger bad headaches, but so far everything is balanced so perfectly that I'm really liking it.

 

I'm not really getting anything old ladyish so far. To me it seems more like a young girl walking through a misty morning garden.

 

So far it's my favorite of the Gaiman scents.

[topazphoenix]

This is mainly rose on my skin, but there are some other wet florals that balance it out a bit. Smells like a flower garden.