Slippery Poppy Tincture

[Little Bird]

Poppy flowers, acai berry, and honey.

ETA: I recently ordered a second bottle of this scent and it is not the same fragrance that I liked and reviewed back in 2009. I don't get any honey or berry from this new blend. The new 'version/variation' of this blend smells like soapy green apple and crushed dandelion stems, very green and sharp, with no berry or honeyed sweetness. Comparing my 2009 bottle with a 2012 bottle they are basically completely different fragrances with the same name, so ignore my original review if you're going to buy a bottle of this 'new'... as it is now a very green fragrance.


My original review:
I hate poppy and don't normally like honey, but I love the acai berry note in Australian Copperhead, so I thought I should give this a try.

Happily, I get the same acai note here as I do in Copperhead. It's a tart, juicy, purple sort of berry with a green edge to it. Exotic, dark, and fruity. Poppy is usually unbearably sharp and perfumey on me, but I'm loving the floral aspect here, much to my surprise. It's like green stems and papery, clean, white petals with a drop of honey in their middle. I normally hate white florals, but this isn't turning sharp & musky on my skin. I think of white tissue paper whenever I wear this. Delicate, clean, papery floral <3.

This doesn't have any of that crazy, cutting sharpness that I associate with poppy. It's a soft, sweet, pretty, clean floral. It makes me think of spring, and I'm seriously missing spring at the moment.

Much to my surprise, I really like this. I don't wear a lot of floral scents, but I find myself reaching for this one quite a bit. It has tons of throw and a little bit goes a long way, but it's an amazingly unique fruity-floral with a touch of honey. Edited December 18, 2012 by Little Bird

[arabella]

 

First Impression: Airy, green, medicinal, dry - mostly poppies.

 

Dries down to: The acai berries add a brightness and tone down the poppies. It's very fresh and the honey is just a nuance. Gets better with time.

 

Additional Comments: I'm very pleasantly surprised that I can't detect much of the honey which usually amps up horribly on me. This is lovely - a gorgeous summer evening scent.

 

Rating: 4 out of 5

[faylie]

In the bottle found this, as many others have, to be rather a sharpish red scent. Initially on application this is the same, but now a good 4+ hours later it is really a lovely red honey smell. It is the same honey as in O. To begin with I was mistaking it for vanilla but now that I can name where I have smelt it before it is definitely the honey. The poppy isn't a big feature in this, more of a supporting role and the berries lend a bit of redness. It's kind of like O having sex on a warm spring day in a poppy field with a breeze wafting over from a berry vine.

 

I will be getting a bottle when I can. It's only downfall is not much throw but my skin has been eating oils lately and minimal throw is not always bad as the DH isn't a perfume person so it only matters if I can't smell it.

 

Thank you Brian, you almost seem to tailor make oils for me without me knowing it is what I want.

[djsiberia]

berries and poppies. berries and florals. it's extremely berry scented to me and poppy kicks in making it really floral.

 

[Jupita]

I was really expecting to love it, because of the notes in it.

Poppy, Acai berry and Honey... what can go wrong with that?

 

Well, I can't say it goes bad... actually, it's a nice, sweet, honey blend, that I find to be probably lovely for late autumn.

 

It starts with the red fizz of berries, I guess the fizziness commes from the poppy, that I can hardly smell... it almost has a hint of strawberry popsicle to me.

Then, the berry starts desapearing and the honey comes to the front. He's lovely, and it's deffinetly a he.

This honey isn't feminine at all, it's deep yellow honey, with just a sligtly floral edge...

 

This scent is strong, and has a long staying power on me... at least, the honey does.

I can't say it's a bad scent, I like it... but I'm not ordering a bottle of this... too darn sweet for my taste.

[sylvanusurban]

In bottle: Sweet and “grassy”

On me, wet: Mmm, how nice! The grassiness grows stronger, and is joined by a freshly-sliced green apple scent (I guess this is actually poppy, but I’m not as familiar with the way poppy smells). The scent of a fresh, summery field.

 

On me, drying: It gains a bit of warmth, a bit of sultriness, and the honey begins to make an appearance. Still a very “outdoor” scent, one that evokes growing things.

 

Later: Now it’s getting spicier, more floral and warmer still.

 

Still later: A darker, slightly bitter scent – like the black seeds of the poppy

 

Verdict: I like it.

 

[revinn]

In the Imp: Mmm, delicious berries! Wow, that's so nice. Super sweet but still tangy. It smells the way sangria looks, if that makes sense.

 

Wet: Hmm, reminiscent of Strawberry Moon 09, if you can believe that. Yummy berry with a touch of greenery from the poppy and a dash of sweetness from the honey. I'm so surprised that I like this. The throw is insane!

 

Dry: A slightly less sweet SM 09. Very unexpected, but a pleasant surprise.

 

Out of 10: 7

[jayla]

Super juicy and green. Plenty of throw. I hardly need a drop and I can smell it for ages. If you like Amsterdam then you'll probably love Slippery Poppy, too.

 

My nose agrees with Leopard403, cranberry, maribouquet, and Mamacat! This smells like a juicy tulip and a tiny bit of its stem. I love Amsterdam, and I love Slippery Poppy too!

 

[kohimame]

Hmm, I got an imp of this from Alterosen (thanks!) today, and currently have it slathered on the left portion of my right arm. (So many imps, so little skin.. )

 

In the imp, the mixture smells very flowery and green. I definitely get the tulip vibe that everyone else gets. When I snap the imp shut, I splatter the oil everywhere, including my nose. Great. Going to be one of those days...

 

Going on wet, the oil smells green. You know that smell you get on your fingers after you've picked flowers? That's it. Gradually the smell softens into a light floral, with green undertones. There's a light sweetness in the background that I'm guessing is honey. Overall it's a light, green scent. I don't get any of the heavy floral vibes that everyone else seems to have gotten.

 

I like it, mostly. It's one of those scents that I enjoy much more once it wears on my skin. It's interesting, but I don't think I need a large bottle of this.

[quigza]

imp: It's a tincture! a green, herby tincture with honey for sweetness. I remember making medicine like this smell when I was in my hippie phase. Good times.

 

wet: mmm, the poppy note is coming out & melding with the honey, sweet poppy, almost candied for a second, the the honey mellows. the herbs remain constant.

 

dry: poppy, herbs, no more honey. It's tending more towards a spring day in the poppy fields than medicine now.

 

I definitely like this one.

 

 

[Voleuse]

Berries and flowers, but to my nose, in a strongly generic sort of way. Coldly bright, I think. Over time, the florals get more complicated--the poppiness of it gets clearer as it dries, and lush greenery lies underneath. I actually lose the berries completely, though I think the honey keeps it sweet instead of totally green. This ends up being...a heap of freshly sheared poppies, still damp with dew. It's not unpleasant at all, but it's definitely quite different from "floral perfume," as we might conceive it. Herbal flowers, maybe, but not.

[HamletsKeeper]

So this is poppy? It's green, astringent and furry in the way that plants are when they're covered in those big hairs that keep the insects off. Can't say I smell any honey or berry which is surprising because I usually amp both. I would describe poppy as green floral in the same way that calla lily is a green floral. There's no sweetness nor pollen and it dries down strong and perfumey. I don't hate this style of floral but I've got no love for it either. I think poppy is something I would have in a blend and be neutral to it, but it's not something I would seek out.

 

Poppy, calla lily and orchid are all in the same category for me. Meh florals that neither make nor break a scent.

 

This was a good one to try to get straight up poppy but there's nothing about it which I particularly enjoy.

[benthic]

I didn't really expect to like this, but I do. It reminds me very strongly of Roadhouse; I guess the poppy note is similar to the dandelion note. The problem I had with Roadhouse was that it was so true to life that it made my throat close up a little when I'd wear it, but so far that's not happening with this one, and I hope it stays that way. It would be nice to have a substitute for Roadhouse, which I've been missing lately. It's a weedy, green, herbal floral with just a hint of red juice and honey. I usually amp honey, but that's not happening here, and I'm glad; I don't need yet another O. So far this is a keeper, which really surprised me! I love coming across new loves in unexpected places. It is fading quickly, though, which saddens me.

[fairestrocza]

In the Imp: slightly sweet, stem-y floral

 

Wet on Skin: a lovely scent dominated by poppies

 

While Drying: hmm, poppies are amping

 

After a Little While: Ugh. This has become too heady, bordering on cloying. I can't pick out the acai or the honey, but they might be to blame for the bad turn the poppies are taking - almost rotten/musky… that is probably the honey being difficult.

 

Later: Much later this settles down a bit, but it retains the rotten/musky tone that happens periodically with honey on my skin

 

Final Thoughts: Poppies have worked well on my skin in other blends, so I am not sure if it is their prominence, or the interference of the other notes that is making this turn on my skin. Fortunately, I have a friend with neutral skin chemistry who adores poppies. I think this will end up living at her house.

Slippery Poppy Tincture earns a 2/5 on my skin.

[lilwhiterabbit]

I will start by saying this is one of my top ten scents. Hell, it may even be one of my top three.

 

In the bottle, Slippery Poppy Tincture smells sort of overwhelmingly floral to me, to the point of being almost too sharp. On me, though it's just beautiful; a sweet honey scent with just enough poppy and honey to balance it. It is, admittedly, very, very sweet, but I particularly like sweet scents, so this is a good thing for me.

 

This is just a happy, happy scent. Very few scents have an actual emotional effect on me, but this one will brighten me right up the instant I put it on.

[Venneh]

I'm getting all the notes in the imp, and the acai berry is very reminiscent of Australian Copperhead, but the poppies and the honey add some wonderful underlying notes. On my skin, the poppies and acai berry blend wonderfully, and the honey smoothes everything out. Oh, I like this.

[HappyLoveJoy]

This is a surprise hit! I normally don't care for green scents unless they have that certain something and this has it. I can't deny the strong green note in this but to me it's like taking a sassafras leaf and crushing it. The smell of a crushed sassafras leaf is somewhat tart and fruity like lemon-sugar; nothing too bitter or sour. Then comes the red berry scent so then I get crushed leaves and tart-sweet berries. I smell the honey only when these two notes are nearly gone so by then the honey is really mild but it's pure honey nonetheless. I see I never mentioned the poppies...I just don't get flowers out of this but then I'm not familiar with the scent of poppies, either. Overall I like this very much and will use up my imp.

 

edit:

 

I tried SPT again this morning before putting on anything else and I can smell something that reminds me of the way red apple peel smells plus I'm getting a mild sweet flower that makes me think of how honeysuckle nectar tastes. The flower stage is fleeting for me and the oil transforms superquick on my skin so I get to the clean, sweet honey rather quickly. It's fresh, pretty and feminine.

Edited May 24, 2010 by HappyLoveJoy

[moon_lemming]

I don't know what acai berries smell like or what poppies smell like, so I can only guess what I'm smelling until I have more experience with both. That said, I love Slippery Poppy Tincture in the imp! I can smell something that is like cranberry but sweeter and deeper, and something that smells like the very bottom part of a flower petal, where it attaches to the stem.

 

It goes a little too powdery for me once it's dried, especially once the berries fade away, and what honey there is is too thin to balance the powder. I did love this one in the imp, though.

Edited May 30, 2010 by karen

[Truelove]

I put it on, washed it off almost immediately with soap and water. After that, it smelled pretty nice Just too sweet & floral for me to handle.

[Vega]

Sniffed: Dark berries with touches of spice and sticky honey sweetness. A hint of fizz, perhaps?

 

On skin: The Tincture is initially light, but darkens and becomes stronger over time. Fizzy, zesty berry sweetness, with a slightly green and spicy touch that must be from the poppy flowers. Honey tends to be sickeningly sweet to my nose, but it's playing subdued and discreet here, adding a rich, smooth sweetness and grounding the other notes. It does stray into nauseatingly-sweet territory now and again, however. A light, dark-berry blend, actually feels a little effervescent. I've also tried Nostrum Remedium, and it has a similar uplifting fizziness as Slippery Poppy Tincture. Nice to smell a common theme in these two Pharmacopoeia blends!

 

Verdict: Intriguing and uplifting, and a really evocative addition to the Pharmacopoeia. But I don't see myself wearing the Tincture often, and the honey, while well-behaved here, is a dealbreaker. For swaps.

[Incendiare]

In the imp, sharp berries that aren't that sweet. Very tart. Wet, Slippery Poppy Tincture deepens. I can't pinpoint the honey but the berries are very much alive. The poppy note is definitely palpable and is a perfect match with the acai berries. This one is even better than what I imagined. I'll definitely use my imp, no problem.

[yewberry]

On me? This is Lightning with a warm, delicious honey dry-down. Very pretty and surprisingly nice on me (pretty and I don't usually get along).

[grrrlennyl]

Slippery Poppy Tincture

 

On: Super sour berries.

2 hours in: This has an oddly woody scent to it.

4 hours in: Sweet and almost musky.

Overall: I thought this was interesting at first, but the drydown on me wasn't great.

[frecklestars]

In the bottle: bright red scent, although it's unfortunately reminiscent of a nasty sharp cherry cough syrup. I think the honey is what's making it too sweet, and the acai berry makes it sharp/tart. there's a delicate tart-but-sweet floral underneath the cough syrup that I assume is the poppy, because I know I like poppies, but it's overwhelmed by the cough syrup vibe.

 

On my skin: the poppy comes out more on my skin, which is nice, but it's still kinda like a cough syrup. the sharpness turns a bit green and fresh, like you bit into a pine needle or a stalk of strongly flavored grass, which grows stronger as it wears on. it's almost soapy. I quite like the green-ness of it, mixed with the honey, but that cough syrup phase isn't redeemable.

 

Last thoughts: the unfortunate cough syrup stage of this doesn't go over well with me. it's bright and red and a little sweet, turning to a fresh green later.

[Gin]

I'd ignored Slippery Poppy Tincture because the name was so unappealing to me. When it came my way, though, I felt obligated to try it out. What a surprise! It's actually really nice. I mostly smell acai at first, and flowers that smell rosy. No weird honey note, just a a berry-floral drying down to a lush floral. I probably won't seek out more, but I'm glad I had a chance to try it. SPT is really, really pretty.