London

[fairnymph]

Venerable Victorian Tea Rose… twisted, blackened and emboldened with wickedness.

In the bottle: A slightly sharper version of Peacock Queen 2007.

Wet: Same, but sort of oddly plasticky-artificial, though that note is extremely mild. It doesn't have the noble purity of PQ.

Dry: That plasticky note must be leather, and it's amping over time. This oil dries very slowly. There's a very faint lemon/citrus note, which adds to the freshness of the rose.

Summary: Fresh, citrusy PQ-like tea rose, with a very faint hint of leather underneath. Quite lovely on the whole, but I like my PQ 07 more and have plenty of it. Great throw, good lasting power. Edited May 2, 2008 by Shollin

[savage_rose]

Is wickedness powder? Because that's what this smells like on me...tea rose powder. No more, no less. Eh.

[Indigo78]

In the imp this smells of tea roses and salt. Yes, salt. There is something blatantly sharp and quasi playdough about it, and as soon as it is on my skin I detect that even more.

 

Five minutes of wear - I smell leather, but it isn't the buckskin leather I am used to. This is more like new car leather, replete with treatment chemicals.

 

On my skin, the rose note in this blend is nice enough, and the weirdness of the leather becomes a bit more "traditional" smelling - like well worn kid gloves.

 

Not quite for me, this one...I like the roses, but not enough to deal with the weird things my skin chemistry does to it overall. Will try again in a few weeks, just to see if I'm having an off nose day.

[heathercaley]

Mmmm.. LOVELY tea roses... I get a mental image of proper english ladies having tea in a garden surrounded with tea roses.. gossiping about who soiled their reputation lately by not having a proper escort during a buggy ride in Hyde Park with an improper gentleman. Tea roses with a damaged reputation.. the best kind there is....

[Leopard403]

Mmmm, I love this. It evokes scenes of Victorian London's petticoats and cobblestones, and the desperate attempt for women to remain "proper." The rose is sort of dry and dusty, as if it longs for just a sip of sunshine to bring it to life. It isn't a very "deep" scent: It isn't a perfume to be worn out on a hot night out, but it would be perfect the next morning, underneath sexy cotton sheets with brunch and a mimosa.

[Myrrha]

Wet: Not at all a fresh rose scent but more like potpouri, a dusty scent that tickles my nose.

 

Dry: The nose-tickling element lessens as it dries down. On me this is perfume-y, perhaps that is the leather note that others have posted about. I like the reserved attitude of the scent but is too dusty for me to wear.

 

 

EDIT 10/08: Another BPAL that I've changed my mind about. I tried London again and liked it much better. It isn't all that dry and dusty, just not a sweet rose scent. It is sweeter and fresher than Black Rose, at least on me.

Edited October 21, 2008 by Myrrha

[couscous]

London is strongly tea rose, very potpourri-like and very powdery. These are pink roses, not fresh, green ones.

 

It's a very old-fashioned scent, and it's obviously for fans of rose. Very proper, very nicely done. Not for me, but nicely done.

[diamondstars]

Roses! A bit too strong for me though..I prefer something like Parlement of Foules with the incense etc.

[tinyvulture]

i’m not sure how tea rose differs from other roses. this may be a stupid observation, but i don’t smell any tea here. i smell a very sharp, strong rose. no stems or greenery, just straight rose. crisp and intense rather than sweet or powdery like some rose scents i’ve tried. there’s almost a tartness or sourness to it that i wasn’t expecting. if you want ROSE in capital letters, try this. it’s a little too strong for my taste.

[stillalive]

oooh. It smells smoky and floral at the same time... it makes me think of someone burning a rose-scented candle. absolutely delicious! I hope it smells just as good when it's not shark week. This makes me think of a wet autumn evening, maybe around dusk, with some sort of outdoor fire. Like stepping on wet brown and yellow and red leaves, I think.

[plunderparlour]

This is so wonderful on my skin. Leather and roses. spring rain or cool fall night, i can't remember what it reminds me of but i feel nostalgic.

[Brighid]

Big, gorgeous, rained-on rose.

 

 

Also known as "how I got my mom hooked on BPAL". Gotta love it.

[jehrichardson]

In the Imp: Rose! High and clear and sweet. Like roses in the garden, faded a bit by the sun with blowsy blooms that have been blown open.

 

On the Skin: Very consistent, rose. Rosey rose.

 

After a While: I'm almost starting to get a deep tone of wood in there. Just a tiny bit, as though it's grounding the rose.

 

Verdict: Delectable! I want a big bottle, but first I've got to get imps of all the other roses to compare. This is going to be fun!

 

(many aeons ago when I was a soapmaker, one of my favorites was to make a vanilla patchouli soap. people never figured out what the two notes were, they blended perfectly and awesomely into a delicious rich fragrance. I'm getting the sense that I'll be able to do this with this rose. next time I get something too bitter, too deep, then I'm going to layer it with *this* rose, sit back, and wait for the magic. can't wait!)

[zankoku_zen]

Tea and roses. It does smell very Victorian and Londonish and proper. This is the kind of scent you'd associate with a lady that wears corsets, eats tea and crumpets and is scandalized by nudity. Well, maybe not. It bears a certain similarity to Lucy's Kiss, like it's from the same time period.

[Caerphilly]

In the imp: Sweet rose, whith something dusty or smoky behind it. Like dark and dirty rose. Think two, five, & seven, but dark.

 

Wet: It's all rose now. No dark behind it. Exactly like 2/5/7. A bit sweet.

 

Dry: It's fading quickly. It's delicate rose. I love rose blends, but I don't really like rose on its own.

 

Overall: Too much rose, not enough of anything else. And I love rose. And there is no staying power or throw. I used up the imp but I won't buy a big bottle.

[mylogicsaysburnsendmeaway]

On me, this was a crisp, clean, soapy rose. Nice enough, but not something I would wear.

[kjirstiben]

London is a clean, sweet, lovely, pure tea rose.

 

This is very reminiscent of a scent that I used to wear back in my early teenaged years, a tea rose perfume (I still remember its clear pinkness in the bottle!). I've had rather hit-or-miss luck with the Lab's rose notes, some of which work on me, others which amp to a screaming level and drown out other notes.

 

London works. It is a lovely, pink, full-bodied, dewy full-blown rose... I like it quite well. (Note to self: tea rose goes into the "safe" category!)

[themerrybaker]

How rosy is London?

 

It is so rosy that in the Battle of the Famous Wicked Roses it makes Peacock Queen smell a bit like wine.

 

Holy Japanese Beatle - this rose scent is wicked strong!!

[eee]

I tried London as an imp a long time ago and fell in love. This is THE rose scent that I'd been looking for. At first London is nearly overpowering in its rosiness, but as it calms down after mixing with my skin it becomes an absolutely lovely scent. It's not a cloying scent, or girlish. On the contrary, it seems to be a more "mature" rose scent, and there's something a bit off which lends to the mature feel of the rose. It's not bitter or musty, just not sickeningly sweet like some rose scents are.

 

After trying it only once, I had to order a big bottle of it. So far this is the best rose scent I've ever worn, and I get nothing but compliments on it.

[stefrand]

ITI: Rose with a hint of musk. It is definitely rose, but not at all cloying. I like it immensely.

 

Wet: Rose. Soft, sweet, surprising true rose. Oh, I really like this. I am putting more on RIGHT NOW. It's what I wanted all my rose scents to smell when I was younger.

 

Dry: Perfect blend of rose, dryness, and sweetness. I love this. I do not feel sneezy or headachy at all.

 

Drydown: This scent has some throw! It is my rose HG. Must stop huffing my arm.

 

Final Thoughts: Love it! I will keep my imp, and I will ponder getting a bottle!

[RedRoseMaze]

In the bottle: Roses, yet dried, sour, bitter and intoxicated.

 

Wet: A sweet and elegant rose, but still dark and bitter.

 

Dry: Same, with subtlety. It blends well with my skin and becomes quite sweet. However, it doesn’t last very long (at least on me).

 

Verdict: It’s very elegant and womanly, with an interesting wicked twist. Unfortunately, this perfume smells older than I am. It’s something I’ll want to try again in a few years.

[Bamels]

I just bought Rose Red 2008 and fell in love with it, so I feel a tad sorry for London which just don't win!

 

In the bottle I smell a beautiful and soft rose with a mixture of warm powder.I don't mind powder smells.

 

When wet the rose is very strong, it's almost perfect, like an evening version of Rose Red.

 

However when dry it's just too light on me and doesn't last long enough. I probably need dipping it! This is such a shame because it really had the potential to be gorgeous.

[thelaurenator]

I smell the full-bodied Rose from Peacock Queen and a lemon-y, citrus note. That's about... it. It's nice, but I like Peacock Queen better, and they're VERY similar. Smell identical upon drydown.

[papermaker]

Tea Rose, citrus and leather combine to make a really pretty scent which seems evocative of a London from the past. I will keep my imp, and wear it in my locket to make it last.

[Prism]

I may have been having an "off" nose day when I scented this, so I'll be trying it again in a few weeks for sure.

 

Wet and In the imp- roses + an odd organically bitter/sour note that I pick up as something like vinegar.

Dry - it takes a long time for the vinegar esque note to fade, but then it's a pretty rose scent with a bit of a citrus note underlying.

 

The vinegar like scent is what really makes me go, whut? That and every BPAL i've tried in the past week has done something super-strange while wet.

So, i'll hopefully revisit this later, right now it's borderline non-even-likable.