Ophelia

[dreadeddragon]

Wistful and vulnerable: lotus, water blossom ivy, stargazer lily and white rose.

In the bottle: A very feminine Ophelia. All lotus & rose.

First on: It's a very heady floral, but a nice belnd under that. If it calms down it might be nice.

After an hour: Another cloying floral. I'm just not meant to wear rose, lotus or jasmine I think.

Overall: A very sophisticated scent that is watery and sad in a way like Ophelia. I wish it contained more of her passion or insanity.

[neuilly]

A frimp from the lab!

 

In the bottle: Definitely rose. Not as overwhleming as rose can be though...perhaps it's because it's white rose? Definitely something more airy and even younger than normal rose.

 

Wet: Still mostly rose. A softer rose but all rose none the less. I'm starting to think my skin might just amp rose.

 

Dry: Still all rose on me. Rather discouraging because the other reviews make it sound so lovely. Curse my skin!

[valentina]

In the imp, Ophelia is beautiful and very evocative of all the pre-Raphaelite paintings of Ophelia, especially the one by Waterhouse, where she's sitting by the water, putting a garland in her hair, wildflowers in her lap, and blooming water lilies in the background. It's very much a floral scent that you'd find near a lake or a quiet, slow-moving stream. But when I put this beautiful scent on my skin, my body chemistry turns it into a scent that makes me almost as insane as poor Ophelia -- the combo of florals just overwhelms. I'm not especially able to wear a pure floral scent, and my body's reaction to Ophelia comes as no surprise. But because I find this scent so pretty, I plan to scent some potpourri with it, and if I ever get around to getting a scent locket, Ophelia is going into it!

Edited July 14, 2006 by valentina

[imabarbedoll]

From the Illyria collection: Wistful and vulnerable: lotus, water blossom ivy, stargazer lily and white rose.

 

I got an imp in a swap, but love the flowers listed.

 

In the bottle: a strong mix of rose and lotus hits my nose, very pungent.

 

On the skin wet: a pretty, girly floral bouquet. Like a wedding bouquet.

 

On the skin dry: The rose mellows and the lily and lotus comingle into the most amazing smell. I want to have a gorgeous spa type of bath room filled with this fragrance. Its very soothing and uplifting. I feel very "pretty" with it on. Not cutesy girlie pretty but PRETTY Pretty if that makes sense.

 

I will be buying a 5ml of this for sure.

[sookster]

straight sniff from imp is sharp rose

 

once applied that stargazer lily takes forefront...mixed with the rose...

 

this is a very floral blend...a bit too rosy for my liking....

i never get the lotus or ivy....too bad....gotta be a chemistry thang.....

[sofiaviolet]

In the imp: I just smell the rose.

 

On me, wet: This is still mostly rose, but now it's kind of soapy.

 

On me, dry: The soap is stronger now. I'm going to swap it as it doesn't get along with my chemistry.

[Babylon]

I'm getting the soapy note too, unfortuntely, and it kicked in within a minute of putting Ophelia on. Now that it's dry, it's a rose soap with a touch of lotus.

[fairy]

LOVE AT FIRST SNIFF. This is a gorgeous oil. She wowed me in Hamlet, and is wowing me in BPAL form. Soft sweet rose, some other florals in the distance, innocence, beauty and grace. Lovely~

[lilfaerywingz]

I was sad this didn't work out on me since I love all of the scents that are in here. The combination was way too much for me though!

 

in bottle: very sweet, lotus?

 

Wet: holy lilies! ACHOOO! A bit of the rose.

 

Dry: all white rose, almost too much. This reminds me of a VERY perfumey detergent.

[thraxyl]

My first reaction was "ugh". It had a note on my skin that reminded me of medicine without being medicinal-the fake sweet taste they put in children's medicine to get them to drink it. Unfortunately I think it was the rose...

 

While I didn't like it, I can see how this fits Ophelia. It is wistful and vulnerable, indeed. While it didn't work for me, it was still spot-on.

[PhedrenoDelaunay]

I was very disappointed by this one. In the bottle, it's a lovely floral... and I usually like flowery, rosey scents alot. But on my skin, something really strange happened. I started to smell the soapy, watery scent, and unfortunately, it reminded me inexplicably of a (clean, well-kept) public restroom. o.O

 

Damn, I really wanted to like it! Hamlet is my favorite play in the history of ever. :-( Boo.

[porcelain72]

In the bottle: strong floral, but not at eye-watering strength (hi, Sea of Glass).

 

Initial application: the rose is really coming through, softened only a bit by what I'm guessing is the ivy. I'm definitely getting a "watery" feel with this, if that makes any sense. There's nothing faint and dusty about it.

 

Drydown: vibrant rose-scented soap. I really have to go easy on this, on second application I just applied it to my throat (as opposed to wrists and behind ears) and it's still pretty strong around me. Nice, but best avoided by those who aren't fans of florals, this one'll kill ya.

 

Smiley rating:

[steffanina]

Ophelia-

 

In Bottle: Floral but also a little herbal. Nice blend!

 

Wet: How pleasantly sweet! I smell the rose but it's not at all overpowering, at least not yet.

 

Dry: I can't believe how much I like this floral! There's rose but there's a huge amount of lemony smell to temper it, and it's feminine and pretty without being wussy or cloying. Often I like a stronger, more masculine scent to give me a sense of confidence, but this scent tells me to go put on a frilly nightgown and just enjoy it.

 

Overall: I like!

[klavierbarrette]

imp: WHOAH SWEET FLOWERS

 

skin, wet, aquatic flowers, which fits ophelia very well. i think i am smelling the lily and lotus the most. but this is a very pretty, feminine perfume. i'm not sure if i'd get a bottle of it as i'm not really into the whole floral scene much, but it's lovely.

[Neely]

In the bottle: an aquatic floral, light on the aquatic, heavy on the floral.

 

Wet: citrus? I don't remember anything in the description saying this has any lemon, oh yeah, and floral.

 

Dry down: florals with a hint of citrus. Maybe aquatic water blossom is registering as citrus.

 

30 minutes: a bright, sparkling lightly citrus floral. This is very lovely as floral scents go. None of that stanky funk I sometimes get with florals.

 

Conclusion: this is a very lovely, clean, beautiful floral. I am not a floral gal though, so I will never reach for it. There are very few floral exceptions where I do, and all of them are BPAL. But this isn't one of them. I think this must go to my imp pimp Mandragora.

 

Rating 1-5, on my skin and for the scent itself, this is a 4, but a 2 for me personally.

[supremegoddessofall]

Soft florals. The rose is staying relatively quiet and allowing the others to come through. Not getting as much aquatic from this one as I would have thought, which is good because aquatics tend to be awful on me.

[jasmine]

Wet, the majority impression I receive from this is all flowers -- a high-pitched, dizzying floral blend. Still, there is something beneath that strikes me as fruit; I would think there was white grape in this, except that the lab description says there isn’t. Hmm.

 

As it dries, I think the predominant note is lily, but it really is quite a swirl of scent. I can’t find the bubble-gum scent that I’ve come to expect from lotus, and I’m honestly not sure what “water blossom ivy” smells like. The rose is subtle enough that I can’t pick it out precisely.

 

For all of the note confusion, this is a powerful blend with a broad, fierce throw. For real beauty, however, it needs something to provide underpinning -- everything in it is high and pale and bright, and I think it may be giving me a headache.

 

More time passes, and I can pick out the lotus, though the lily is still loudest. (This scent is far too powerful on my skin to strike me as either wistful or vulnerable.) As it starts to fade, it becomes prettier, but it fades at a terribly slow speed.

 

After another hour, it’s further faded, and now I really rather like it. However, two hours seems a bit long to wait for a scent to reach a point that I actually enjoy.

 

...and then it went soapy. Ophelia, my dear, you are definitely not for me.

[blackfelicula]

This frimp's label got soaked by a leaky Lady of Shalott, so that might influence how it smells in the imp.

 

In the bottle: A sharp scent greets my nose, floral but almost vinegary.

 

Wet: Rose comes out right away. I get an undertone of other notes, but not strong enough to identify.

 

Drying down: There is definitely something sweeter in there, but the rose is drowning it out.

 

Dry: This is the kind of rose blend I try to avoid. It tingles my nose, threatening sneezes and makes the other notes go hide.

 

Later: This is definitely too floral for me.

[Ryokumuji]

It starts off pretty much all rose on my skin with an undertone of lotus. As the day goes on, it turns pretty much all lotus on me with a slightly watery, almost soapy type of undertone. These types of scents usually give me a headache since they can be a bit sharp but, luckily for me, Ophelia didn't. Very pretty scent, I just wish the rose had stuck around.

[nancybridget]

Ahhhh, Ophelia is a sharp affront to my nasal passages!

 

Slightly bitter and green, it reminds me a bit of bic pen ink - oddly.

[Naamah_Darling]

Sweet, light flowers – a dusty rose, layered with lotus' sweet candy bubblegum and the dampness of lily. It's a pretty scent, very feminine and frilly, the olfactory equivalent of a multi-layered crinoline skirt and fussy little gloves.

 

It goes on thick with rose and lily, very white and pleasant, and at the same time wan and a bit thin. I can see the Ophelia-ness of it. This isn't a powerful scent. It's weak and uncertain, too sweet for its own good, and just a little overripe. I don't care for it close up; lily has a bitterness on me that is truly foul, and this rose is chalky and sour. But the throw of it is wonderful; a lotus-inflected rose that has just the faintest tinge of color to it. The little whiffs of it I catch as I move are very appealing, sweet and gentle and girlish.

 

Still, it's not a very "me" scent, and I think only people who really enjoy lily and pale rose scents should try this one. It's not one for people who can't wear florals or who prefer heavier, more authoritative scents.

 

Beautiful from a distance, but only up close do you realize that this scent is pretty dead in the water.

[little_galaxie]

Mmmm, on me, I smell all lotus and rose, with a tinge of the ivy to give it a slightly aquatic tang. It's a very sweet, light floral, maybe not as "special" as we've some to expect from BPAL but lovely all the same.

 

And I don't smell any lily at all, which makes me glad, because I hate lily and lily hates me

[ForeverLastcXs]

The rose is the dominant scent given off by my skin with Ophelia, but it's not overwhelming. It's nicely backed up by a light, aquatic base, replete with the scent of water lilies. This scent is very reminiscent of Ophelia, and I love it! It dries down to a very subtle, feminine, delicate scent, and it seems to agree with me very well. It's on my tentative list for future 5 ml buys.

[Ciircee]

Got this as a frimp from the ever-lovely Growwild.

 

In the imp this is a beautiful scent--all water and lilies and roses. On me? Nothing but rose. Nothing. And while I love roses this is just too powerful. Oh, curse my skin and it's rose-worshipping ways!

 

Edit: It makes a really lovely, light room scent, btw.

Edited January 31, 2007 by Ciircee

[Eemia]

I never thought I'd say this but.....this is too much rose. It's all rose, all the time. And it's a dry, withered potpourri rose scent that is too reminiscent of room spray. I prefer a more fresh, wet/dewy type of rose note.

 

Unfortunately this never developed as it dried and faded. It remained a single note rose. My skin usually amps rose up a bit but this was overwhelming. I'm sorry I missed out on the other lovely notes in this one.

 

Also, there was a sharpness to this that wasn't quite right. Even though this seemed to be a dry rose, it had a chemical quality to it that was so odd and bitter.