Ave Maria Gratia Plena

[VioletChaos]

A pale, delicate, truly angelic blend. A scent created to emulate Adonis' halo of beauty: fragile, distant, and radiant. Rosewood with Sicilian lemon peel, red Mysore sandalwood, pale musks, sweet mountain sage and a dusting of lily, night-blooming jasmine and orris.

in the imp: floral, in a very 'perfumey' way. hmmm...

wet on skin:i get jasmine, but the other notes are pretty cloying, and actually making me feel like a head ache coming on

dry down: ok, the cloying this has settled out a bit. i get a tiny bit of citrus, lots of jasmine, a bit of wood, though it doesn't smell like sandal or rose variety. it smells like cedar and tobacco flower.

in all: an ok floral/wood mix, not my thing, but a nice perfume for someone else.

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Dry and extremely powdery with a touch of lemon.

 

Immediately on skin: This smells very dry and powdery. There’s a bit of blonde woods and a hint of jasmine and lily. This almost smells exactly like baby powder on me however; the notes I’ve described are barely there.

 

After a little while: Dry, musky, and lemony… that is what this smells like. There’s a hint of lily, but no other floral notes. This is almost plastic-y on me.

 

Overall Impressions: This was a huge disappointment all around. It’s super powdery on me and rather dull. The lemon peeks through, but I wouldn’t say this is really a refreshing blend… it’s too “thick” smelling for that.

[Argentwolf]

In the imp I could smell musk and a hint of lemon. It was a very elegant mix.

 

As it joined with my body chemistry, the lemon grew a little bit stronger. Unfortunately, it grew faint and wore off really quickly. Just not for me.

[bellacalla]

I had almost the same exact experience with this as Delirium1009. It is extremely powdery on me. Not really baby powder, but like an old fashioned pink powder puff powder (if that makes any sense). Like a really generic floral powder. Not good at all.

[veronicafranco]

In imp – I can barely smell it. Faintly woodish.

On – quickly develops into a nice, warm white floral – like the love child of estee lauder’s white linen and knowing, both of which I always liked. Pretty and soft, will wear it again.

[fairnymph]

Sniffed in imp: Sandalwood, lemon, sage, and jasmine. Dry, herbal, citrusy floral.

[Coldfire]

This was received as a imp in a newbie pack from Mary:

 

Imp:Pretty. Nothing jumping right out at me

immediately.

Wet on me:Jasmine peeking out first, then the

lovely rosewood, then the sandalwood. Each taking

turns by sniff

Drying Down:More jasmine at first, and then the lily

shows up and gives me a headache. Then the woods take over

Dry:Now powdery woods. This is nice once you

get past the lily.

Overall: Not bad as an imp. Probably won't get a bottle though.

[Suu4LC]

This is rather nice in the imp. A very pretty, wispy white floral with a touch of wood. I don't know if this will work on me, because I always amp woods to an obnoxious degree, but in the imp, this does live up to it's description as a pale and delicate blend.

 

This is alright on my skin. Nothing goes 'off' about it. To my nose, it's a bit of a dusty, earthy jasmine scent with a touch of musk. The wood is actually behaving, which is surprising.

 

Overall, on full drydown, this a pleasant, underwhelming, slightly woody floral. All the notes behave themselves quite well. This isn't something I need to run out and buy a bottle of, but if you are looking for a nice subdued jasmine then I would absolutely recommend this blend.

Edited May 31, 2008 by Suu4LC

[taramarie]

On me, Ave Maria Gratia Plena is mostly lemon with lily and jasmine over musk. It's nice but it's not what I'm looking for.

[coldandsleepy]

In the imp: doesn't smell like a whole lot. Oddly, I get a little bit of a sweet incense smell, maybe frankincense.

 

On me, wet: goodbye, incense smell. Hello, roses.

 

On me, dry: goodbye, roses. Hello, MUSK.

As this dries on my skin, it segues from being a very pleasant mild rose and incense scent to be a big bucket of musk with tiny floral hints in the background.

 

Throw and duration: throw is thankfully not very huge; duration was at least 6 hours.

 

Overall: If you're into big buckets of light musks, this may be a real winner for you. Me, I didn't care for it. It's not just that it's really musky, it's just that there's NOTHING else in here when this dries on me. It's not just not to my tastes, it's flat out bland on me. Alas.

[Andrea912]

Smoky floral; might be nice for someone else, but not me.

[savage_rose]

A sweet lemon floral. Really nice! It's a pale, sweet floral, with just enough dry herbs and lemon to cut the sweetness. Very beautiful and somehow comfortably comforting. This is a great scent for summer!

[isisonearth]

With the imp still closed I get a lovely waft of jasmine. Opened I smell the woods and a touch of the sage.

 

On my skin it continues to become more complex...there is the tart note of lemon and a powdery musk tempering the sweet jasmine.

 

As it continues to dry there is a fresh breath of lily. A gentle, angelic scent...fragile and beautiful.

[secretstars]

i got this as a free sample in my order. thanks, beth!

 

this did to me the same thing as Ouija did. the only notes i seem to find in common is rosewood, so maybe i should be staying away from that. but as soon as i put this on, SOAP. SO MUCH SOAP.

 

and then when it went dry, i began to smell like a french brothel (my friend's words, but i agree with her, at least how one stereotypes such a scent, lol), which i suspect is the white musk. and soap. oh my. D:

 

yeah... i don't think i could ever wear this.

 

[edit 05/08/09] take two of this scent proves to be a much more pleasant experience!! i like it a lot, now. it smells like lemon peel, jasmine, and musk... but not too heavy. it was a bit powdery at first and much sharper, but then the powder went away and the sharpness went away after that... although it was nice when it was sharp, even!! yay!!

Edited May 8, 2009 by Lorelei

[skepticism]

In the vial and during wet application I get a lot of jasmine that's sweetened by the other notes (probably the comibination of lily and sandalwood). It's a very feminine scent. As it dried the sweeter notes became more pronounced and the jasmine totally disappeared. The musk is very soft and compliments the sweetness well. I like this scent but it's on the cusp of too sweet for me. I think it's a nice blend for people who are indifferent to jasmine but still want to make it work.

[sparkybish]

Ave Maria

 

Imp: smells like a new age shop.

Wet: lemony, with a hint of baby wipe. But better than that makes it sound. Something in it is quite biting though. Random association: Lionel Ritchie "All Night Long" Also the shop at my childhood Catholic church where you could buy rosaries and prayer cards. I think this is the rosewood.

Dry: gone a bit powdery. Despite the very interesting word association and memory tour it has taken me on, I can't see myself wanting to smell like this. I might keep it around for the trippy memory factor though. Wow. Is that Dr. Lieberman's office I smell? Maybe it reminds me of my mother or something. THAT'S what it is. It's gone a bit White Shoulders on me and that's what my mom wore when I was little. I searched the thread, and i see someone else was reminded of White Shoulders too!

[Iceblink]

Mmm...lemony sandalwood. This is quite sweet and musky. The lily and jasmine aren't going all icky on me, either. The lemon is getting a little stronger as time goes on, which is odd for a citrusy note. Nice and fresh--I wasn't expecting to like this so much but I do!

[milo]

If you like Lush's Silky Underwear, you'll like this one. It is almost a dead ringer to me and probably one of only two jasmine scents that I like. The other one is Flying Fox. I definitely get the jasmine, but I can't seem to pick out anything else. Well maybe they'll come out later. This would be really nice for spring, a very light, pretty floral.

[milica]

this smells nice and musky and lemony, to the point when it becomes too floral on me, I get strong, sharp florals out of nowhere and I'm begining to think that orris is one of my death notes. This isn't the first scent with orris or orris root that was ruined for me, even when it is one of the last notes on the list.

[rayvn1]

Started out very promising with the dusty spice of sandalwood and some musk. Unfortunately it dried into powdery lilies - those pesky buggers really love my skin. Too bad

[melrose]

Doesn't change from first on, wet, to drydown: pleasant, nice, not the least bit exciting or engaging. I could wear this anywhere without fear of offending - even to visit someone in the hospital. I will very much enjoy the imp, but not bottle-worthy.

[maika]

In the bottle, I get a clean herbal scent, with wisps of wood peeking through.

 

Wet, oh my! I'm amping jasmine again! It's all good though, because I LOVE me some jasmine! It's not overpowering though, because while I'm not generally a citrus fan, there's enough here to lift the jasmine into something exquisite.

 

Dry, this is gorgeous. Kinda crisp and very femme. It's definitely a summer time scent, and one I fully intend to take advantage of while it's so hot here.

[Juushika]

In the vial: A great deal of sharp, bright, light lemon over a light-colored floral perfume.

 

On me: The lemon calms on the skin, turning into a glowing yellow brightness cast over the other notes. The florals are white, perfumey, and a touch sweet. Something, probably the pale musks, has come out to provide a slightly deeper and more solid grounding. Over time the rose of the rosewood amps on me, as it is wont to do, pink, velvety, and a bit cloying. It reminds me of similar blends in the catalog which feature lemon and pale florals, but this blend is particularly pale and glowing. Scent-color is gold-tinged white light.

 

Verdict: This is perhaps the antithesis of everything I look for in a blend, so it's no surprise that I don't like it. But, were my tastes different, perhaps I might—this is a light, gently radiant, slightly masculine, perfumey-floral blend of bright lemon, white florals, and just the hint of a solid background. It's not unpleasant, it's just not something that I'd ever want to wear. I'll pass on my imp.

[MCS4096]

In the Imp: Mmmm beautiful jasmine, orris and the pale musks. Maybe a tiny bit of lemon peel.

 

Wet: Becomes a bit more woody, and yes, powdery. The jasmine here is really beautiful IMHO.

 

Dry: Dry powdery jasmine and orris (orris is very very dry to my nose) with fairly strong (but clean) musks, and only faint woods. No lemon peel really. The throw is almost exactly that of traditional baby powder. I kinda dig that though. I'll have to wear it a few more times, it might grow on me. It's extremely feminine, and some days you just need that

[Ceri]

In the vial: Beautiful soft floral with lemon.

 

Wet: Here I get a strong mix of rosewood, sandalwood and baby powder.

 

Drydown: Baby powder.

 

Overall: Sneezed a lot when I was sniffing it. Not for me.