Ave Maria Gratia Plena

[niter]

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.

Imp
Vintage.

Wet
Extremely light and "older." I feel like I was hugging my husband's grandmother. The musk is superfluous in my case...my skin amps it to the point it occludes every note I was excited about experiencing!

After a bit of time, the musk eases up and a very dusty, soft, and traditional floral bouquet emerge. It is very pretty, just not me.

Dry
The florals are kicking the musks butt. I am still not sold on this, but I am intrigued to find out what next.

WHOA! I felt kinda weird wearing this, then it started to itch, then burn. Weird!

[AlaskaSnows]

In the Bottle: Soap and neroli, and a little floral.

 

Dry: Pretty much the same but subtler and weaker. Little throw. This is pleasant, but unexceptional.

[LyndaM]

I can't get enough mysore sandalwood, and I love musk, so I was hoping this would work. But the lemon peel goes all 'lemon pledgy' with my chemistry as usual, and I can't ignore it. Then the jasmine comes out and does it's headache thing, so this one isn't a keeper.

[malabar]

On me, this is incense and more incense, with a golden heart like Aureus or Umbra. I couldn't pick out any citrus at all. I really like it, though. I guess it's a men's scent because of the sandalwood, but maybe my chemistry isn't very girly because it loves me long time.

[theseagrows]

when i first put this on- it's a STRONG floral. all i can smell is jasmine, and i'm not into jasmine so much, so i find it very overpowering and headache-inducing. now that it has faded a bit i think i can smell, jasmine, musk, sandalwood, and sage. since jasmine and sage dont work well on me, i dont really like this scent.

[Abbie]

In the imp: I'm getting lilies, a tart scent, and jasmine. Sigh... I love jasmine, as does my skin, and probably it will overwhelm what seems like a nice light floral in the bottle.

 

First on: Actually, this isn't too bad. Maybe that's the trick... if it's only a hint of jasmine I can wear it without the OMGWTF Jasmine thing happening.

 

Dry: It's faded fast to something sweet and floral.

 

Overall: Good but not a top pick.

[herongale]

preconceived notion: I had my own personal Adonis that I fell in love with in eighth grade: he was a boy with blue eyes like slivers of sky and silver-gold hair as brilliant as the sun and whenever I was out doing my paper route on a lovely day I would take peeks at both and feel deliciously naughty, because it seemed like even the heavens were conspiring in my crush. I still love the idea of hair that is as beautiful and floating as spun gold, and although that kind of hair belongs best to a choirboy I'll pretend that it is possible to find perfect child's hair on the head of a man. This is, after all, the hair I dream for Edward Elric.

 

/end TMI hair talk.

 

in the imp: Holy Mary, Mother of God, the Lord is With Thee! *suggestive leer* This is a lovely beautiful gorgeous (aye, RAPTUROUS) sweet scent that has the same golden beauty of Tamora, only sanctified-- and de-peachified. I haven't had any kind of inspiration for layering with BPAL yet but somehow I think that the two of these together would create a beautiful and irresistable time bomb, and so after I review this one "straight" I'm going to swipe some Tamora over it and let you know (in three words or less) how this works as a combo. A Sacred and Profane Love Machine, if you will. (The fact that I am now making gratuitous Iris Murdoch references should give you all a hint to my current zen state of BPAL reviewing).

 

wet: This is basically Chiroptera without the headache, a lovely blend of night-blooming flowers led by the jasmine. Lush has taught me to respect the jasmine, for it is a perfect flower that sinks nicely into my skin, and I'm having visions of using this with my Fairy Jasmine bath ballistic and AM GETTING CHILLS. OMG jasmine, where have you been all my life? I adore you. I want to marry you. Run away with me (and Scar) and have lovely flower-scented children with me.

 

drydown: jasmine and a smart incense blend. HEAVEN IN A ONE ML PLASTIC CONTAINER.

 

Tamora plus Ave Maria Experiment: OMG ORGASM YES.

 

verdict: FOREVER MINE. If BPAL ever discontinues this I will cry.

 

post-conceived notion: now, if only I used this with Snowcake soap.... *dies*

[Phaedra]

Wet this is roses and lemon. When first on this is full bodied roses. After about an hour it develops a warm and powdery base. This is very soft and feminine, quite lovely. It has a similar quality to Psyche. I'll probably use up the imp but might not need more after that.

[The_Merf]

In the imp: This is a soft scent, and I'm having a difficult time picking out anything besides the lemon. Maybe the sage?

 

Wet: This is very sharp. The lemon is very strong.

 

Dry-down and Wear: This is one of three BPAL scents that have gone a bit soapy on me (the other two are #20 Love Oil and Water of Notre Dame). It's not dishsoap or body soap, but a bit of an astringent cleaner smell. This one is headed for the swap pile.

[wanderingredhead]

This was a frimp from the very generous lab.

 

this comes across as a very well blended scent: light, fresh, and slightly woody.

 

 

Final Verdict: Fairly pleasant, but a little TOO light and fresh for me.

[Silverstrike]

I'm afraid the musks did me in.

 

On me, Ave Maria Gratia Plena smells like something between a church and an incense store, something kinda subtle, but it goes powdery on me. And not in a good way. It's not even an offensive smell, I could wear this, but I don't want to because it's not me. And there are so many other BPAL scents I could wear, why wear one that doesn't make your heart sing?

[LiberAmoris]

Ave Maria Gratia Plena does indeed remind me of Venice, as many other reviewers have noted. Like Venice, it's an 'ensemble' floral, like a bouquet of flowers all competing for attention and prominence at once.

 

I love the first ten minutes of this when the lemon is in the foreground. Once the citrus burns off, I'm left with jasmine and musk, like an expensive and posh soap. It's pretty, but it's not really speaking to me.

[Thaleia]

Thanks, Lab! I received a frimp of AMGP and was so glad I did, because it's on my wishlist and have wanted to try it out for a while.

 

In the vial, I smell a sharp, pale floral deepened by woodiness, which is probably the Mysore sandalwood and quite possibly the rosewood. The sandalwood goes away on my skin, though, initially; I've got a citrus floral, which probably comes from the lemon peel and mountain sage ... definitely citrus and herby. It doesn't take long for the citrus and sage to back off and let the flowers come out and play, but they still stay in the background to remind us that they're still there. Jasmine's the predominant note for me - my skin does that - and while I can't pick out any of the other floral notes, I know they're under there somewhere. It actually reminds me of Luna on the drydown, which is almost pure jasmine on me. Very angelic, indeed. I may have to pick up a bottle of this once my imp runs out. 4!

[LadyWilde]

In the imp, all I could smell was lemon. On my skin, the jasmine immediately jumped out and took over (surprise!). However, it wasn't the loud, obnoxious, I'm-just-hear-to-give-you-a-headache-then-turn-to-soap jasmine. Instead it was anchored and reigned in by the sandalwood and rosewood. . .a soft, understated jasmine atop a subtle, woody base. The white musk lends its smoothness and the sage and lemon keep it clean and fresh-smelling. This is a jasmine that recognizes and utilizes the talents of her supporting players. Well done, jasmine.

 

After a few hours, it fades to a very soft, subtle, barely-there no-name floral, but I'm okay with that. It's a fair trade for a jasmine scent I can actually wear.

[jena]

In the imp: Very balanced... almost every note was evident, with the musk and sandalwood clearly detectable.

On the skin: It smells very nice, but I'm having a hard time pinning it down to any particular notes. The sandalwood is probably the only one I can discern.

Dry on the skin: A nice balanced smell, a little bit masculine if you sniff closely, but in a very pleasant way.

Reminds me a bit of a classic aftershave, but very subtly.

[Caltha]

Ave Maria Gratia Plena

I got this for a christian friend, it's nothing I would have bought for myself. As expected, it's floral, generic, soapy and perhaps vaguely herbal. I get "resins", something sharp like that, but the sharpness dissappears as it dries and instead of getting more soapy as usual it gets milder and sweeter, a quite pleasant sort of powdery floral.

[seamor]

First out of the bottle: I can hardly smell this at all. "Delicate" is not the word – it's almost nonexistent.

 

15 minutes later: The scent has blossomed into a pallid version of Dove’s Heart, but without the comforting effect.

 

Something in it is burning my skin a little. It’s gotta go.

 

[Miyabi]

Unfortunately, the musks did me in too. It wound up smelling a lot like Chanel No. 5 when I had the chance to try it on, and it wasn't too pleasant. This one's off to swaps.

[Wench457]

ITB: Baby oil.

 

On: Dry and vegetative - like straw.

 

Dry: grassy, with just a hint of sharp florals. Really, I almost think I have a mis-marked imp, because I get no lemon, musk or sage whatsoever. Perhaps just the sandalwood, though not as strong as usual on me, and the jasmine going sour. Did not work on me at all.

[ayelienne]

This is a very lovely white floral scent on me, very high-end "traditional perfume" -- unfortunately, traditional is not my thing. That said, if you were already wearing white musky florals pre-BPAL , then Ave Maria Gratia Plena is definitely worth checking out.

 

I can't picture this on a guy at all, but I'm getting very little woods out of mine.

 

ETA: I have to mention that while I'm not that thrilled with it, my husband likes it a lot.

Edited February 19, 2006 by ayelienne

[Rhowan]

In the imp this is delicious! I am getting the rosewood, sandalwood adn lemon peel right off the bat - wonderful.

 

When first applied to my skin, I am still getting the original notes but the other note join in to make this almost the twin of Bewitched but without the berry - must be the sage.

 

The longer this sits on my skin the more I start amping the lilly and the jasmine. The musk is coming through very nicely but the lily is really starting to overpower everything

 

Conclusion? Not a keeper - that's for sure. In the end it turned out to be too "perfumey" It is definitely the overpowering lily that is affecting the overall make up. If this would have kept the woody,lemony, sage smell from the beginning - well, I would have to order a life time supply. I guess it is a good thing this didn't work.

Edited February 24, 2006 by Shollin

[abberlaine]

At best, Ave Maria Gratia Plena convinced me that men can and should wear florals. It was all there, well-blended but with dimension -- beautiful white blooms; long curls of lemon peel; a sprig of sage; warm, sweet rosewood and covert musks to hold the blend together. This is the scent of a man who's beautiful: a muscular, mouthy Adonis?

 

The other two times I tried it, though, I got... artificial jasmine and lemon all the way through. It dried down to a ho-hum red sandalwood mixed with a little musk.

[Miss Lynx]

I should be used to this by now... Even though the description mentions only a couple of florals in passing, and a lot of non-floral notes that sound nice, it's floral overkill on me. There are a couple of softer notes smoothing out the jasmine a bit, but mainly this is just a really strong floral on me.

 

As it fades down, the jasmine does become a bit less overpowering, and the sandalwood and musk come out a bit more. At that stage, it's a little reminiscent of Peitho, the one jasmine scent that does come close to working on me. Of the two of them I think I like Peitho better. But there is some nice complexity to this one and on someone whose skin didn't amp florals so much it would probably be lovely.

 

Grade: B-

[juniperus]

Bottle: The white florals (esp the lily) are immediate

Wet: florals, then the woods appear quietly from behind

Dry: Musks show themselves after a bit, rounding out the layers nicely.

Later: This is pretty. No better word, delicate and pretty, like Raphael's Madonna in a chair. Not much of the peel or sage. I normally don't like stuff like this, but it's just complex enough, and the woods round it out enough to not feel too flowery. Very feminine.

[QueenFae]

This is true to its description; truly angelic smelling. The jasmine is overwhelmingly the top note on me. The rosewood follows closely behind along with the lily. The undertones are predominantly rosewood smelling, but they are also complimented by the white musks. I can barely detect the sage, and this is a very floral blend on me. Just beautiful; feminine in the extreme. Not much sticking power though.