London

[steffanina]

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

 

London-

 

(A rose scent. Let's see. Rose scents are conditional for me.)

 

In Bottle: Hellooo, rose.

 

Wet: Rose is rose is rose. Not too strong or cloying so far.

 

Dry: Oh, dear, oh, dear, this one is going a bit sour on me, after just a few minutes. Too bad, it was starting out as a nice pleasant version of a rose scent.

 

Overall: Not good with my chemistry.

Edited October 2, 2006 by steffanina

[LiberAmoris]

London is something I've been meaning to try for so long because Beth's roses kick my ass. And this is bright, lush, heady roses--- the kind that are like little cups brimming over with scent. Backing that, there's something very subtle that smells a little like leather. It makes the rose feel darker.

 

London's an uncomplicated blend, and there are days where that really appeals to me. It's like a beautiful rose single note with minute crosshatchings and shadings. I'll definitely keep my imp. This is like the shadow Rose Red casts.

[Mollywogger]

This oil is pure tea rose -- I don't know what exactly is in it that the Lab claims makes it twisted and emboldened, because it smells like pure tea rose to me.

 

I find it lovely -- and I'm generally not a fan of the BPAL rose scents. This one's just so clean and sweet. Since I usually wear spicier, richer scents, I'm starting to think about what this one would smell like with a touch of Snake Oil or Malice. Now THAT would be twisted!

 

Also, it lasts for hours and hours.

[Cariad]

Ah, London. I've had a love/hate relationship with this city for most of my life so I was intrigued by the perfume...

Being a cynical miss, I still think that it should smell of tea and roses with an undercurrent of grime and stale beer. Instead, it smells exactly like a tea rose - not a single note, but an actual bloom, with all the depth and body of the scent straight from the flower.

This the rose scent I've been waiting for. It doesn't smell cloying or powdery on my skin, and it's neither girlish nor old-ladyish. Whatever wickedness it's emboldened with, I *like* it!

I would feel equally comfortable wearing London in the British Library or in a bar in Camden. It epitomises the "love" part of my relationship with the city. My first candidate for a big bottle order...

[nancybridget]

Crazy cherry and ragin' roses. Nice, bold.

[BrightRedScream]

This on me was tea rose, more tea rose, and even more tea rose...

I dislike tea rose a great deal

 

*sighs*

 

I can't even give an in depth review for this imp - simply because it's just rose from the time I opened the vial, until the time it dried down. I don't really see the twist that the lab mentions to make it less of a rose smell?

 

Bye bye London.

[prettypinkkitty]

In the bottle, London is a tea rose.

 

Wet, London is a tea rose.

 

Drying, there's something at the edge of it that smells slightly different from tea rose, but it's pretty much pure tea rose. It's got pretty strong throw, actually. Eh. It reminds me of my mother's weekend perfume, Penhaligon's Elizabethan Rose.

 

To me London smells of smog, exhaust, the human dust and sweat of the Tube, dodgy corners where people pee when they're trashed, and beer. This is the ABSOLUTE opposite. It's pretty, but not me. (Not that I want to smell of beer and pee.)

Edited November 15, 2006 by prettypinkkitty

[Druby]

This was lovely, smelt lightly rosey in the bottle, but on me it came out. Definately able to smell the tea rose the whole way through, and wasn't sweet, sadly it didn't last on me as long as some have, but it wasn't overpowering at all. This is going to be something I get.

[maribouquet]

At first this is ROSE ROSE ROSE! But dries down into a soft, sweet rose. And a hint of something spicy...nutmeg?

 

I think it's too tea rose for me, but it suits my image of classic, wicked London to a T.

[phedre]

In vial: lovely pure rose!

 

wet on skin: sweet roses and carnation maybe? Something spicy.

 

drydown, 10 minutes: haughty English rose presiding over an elegant parlour. This reminds me of peacock queen without the green notes.

 

An hour later: Pure sweet rose. I love it! I'm a rose fanatic, and this is a true rose scent. This might turn into a bottle

[Voleuse]

This is a light, sweet rose on first application. It's clear and blossoming, not green as some rose blends have turned on me. It's delicate, but not fragile.

 

As it dries, the rose becomes more refined, somehow. It makes me think of creamy stationery, teacups, and pale light spilling through a window. It's not complex, but very true to itself. Rose, rose, rose. Beautiful.

[mmmitchell]

Like many of the other reviewers, I get pure tea rose here....I don't get any of the "blackened" or "twisted" notes, this is a very fresh scent. Elegant tea roses, straight from the florists, with the slightest bit of chill clinging to them from the refrigeration.

 

I'm not a rose fanatic, but I like this well enough to keep my imp. While I'm not sure I want to smell of single note rose, I think it might be lovely to make a linen spray from my imp.

[Browneyes]

Two words: tea rose

 

Fine with me because I like rose. Very pretty. Good throw too, actually

 

ETA: Smells alot like the Crabtree & Evelyn Rosewater Hand & Body lotion that I have. This is pretty straightforward. I wouldn't get this if I didn't like rose.

Edited February 9, 2007 by Browneyes

[cinderfallen]

I thought it was a very humdrum rose, like a lotion my grandmother uses that smells like rose. Maybe as a layering note?

[cosmia]

This scent lived up to its description. Rose, but roses in a vampire film. Dark and ancient smelling. Rose is one of the only florals that can hold up to that. It was sophisticated and just ever so slightly masculine, which I think makes it so appropriate for London. Very nice, especially as a room scent. Very atmospheric!

[Iceblink]

Straight up rose, and this actually is very evocative of London--one of my favorite scent memories is the smell of Queen Mary's rose gardens in Regents Park, which you can smell before you can even see in the summertime. Beautiful. Not much staying power, but that's par for the course with me and roses.

[ariosa]

I knew London was a rose scent, and I'm just not a rose kind of girl. At all. Except! I like this scent! It's nice and light and crisp, and not obnoxious at all! I don't think I'll be ordering a big bottle of this one, but I'll gladly use the imp. I'm going to London this summer, so maybe I'll save it to take with me on my trip!

[flco]

I love rose, so I ordered a whole bottle of this unsniffed. In the bottle it reminds of going to the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens once and say that the roses in the rose garden were beginning to wilt. I think it was at the end of spring or the beginning of summer, but I'm not 100% sure on that. It's a sad, poignant, and beautiful fragrance. I'm a major fan.

[The Perfumed Ferret]

I'm not the biggest fan of tea rose because of the powder potential, but I thought "hey, I'll give it a shot".

 

 

 

This is the tea rose that I have been hoping for; sharp and bright with out being right in your face this is lovely. No old lady scent here!

 

Dry: A feel a sharp and dry backnote, something floral.

 

All in all a very well put together blend.

 

 

Due the fact that I just don't think I'll wear this that often it gets a 7/10 on the ferret scale of goodness.

[sh1mm3r]

I usually avoid rose notes for two reasons - one, florals aren't great on me. Two - my Mom's perfume my entire life was Joy, and as much as I adore her, I don't want to smell like her.

 

What I like about this blend is that the rose is not very heady - it is as if you can smell the green parts too, and it really is like a fresh rose. I do like the rose in Dublin more (it is greener to me), and I will probably swap it, but I appreciate getting this as a frimp to finally try.

[Electra]

My experience with London was the same as that of a lot of other reviewers. I love the concept, but the scent as it wore on my skin didn't match the concept. It's not a bad scent on me, per se, but unfortunately it's a very strong tea rose soliflore and I don't really care for tea rose. I didn't get any of the "blackened" or "emboldened" or "wickedness," just bright tea rose. (And then it turned into a dryer sheet, but roses tend to do that on me.)

[Nia]

In the imp it felt as if something very sinister was hiding behind the roses.

 

On me it smells a bit different, but the general imnpression is the same: something bitter and spicy hiding behind _loads_ of roses.

[taramarie]

London on me starts out smelling like a pale pink tea rose then it slowly turns dark red. It's like a Victorian lady who goes to high tea in the afternoon dressed in a pale pink, ruffled dress with a high collar then attends a high society ball in the evening dressed in garnets and shoulder-baring red silk. I like it, but I think it would smell better on me layered with something else.

[500ml]

This is another easy one for me, I'm afraid. I've noticed that most of the rose blends all work for me and this isn't an exception. Beautiful rose, delicate and sophisticated with a good amount of throw. There's definitely something spicy hiding behind all the rose, but that makes this scent even better.

Edited June 14, 2007 by porcelain

[alicia_stardust]

London smells of soft tea roses. Piles and piles of roses. But underneath the rose I get something else. As this blend dries on my skin, the rose starts to smell watery, drowned. On top of that, ever so faintly, sits a dark shadow of something. I can't pinpoint what that note is, but it definitely makes the blend. Just roses wouldn't have been right, and whatever is in this is perfect.