La Petite Mort

[kamikat]

Seduction, sensuality, the Act, and the aftermath all in one. The scent of warm, damp skin flushed with the glow of passion, touched by the luxuriant potency of ylang ylang and myrrh.

After reading the first page of reviews, I was convinced my imp was mislabeled! I don't get an impression of Snake Oil at all! On me, this is nothing but super sweet floral. This will be traded ASAP!

[odalisque]

In the vial: soft and sweet, lowkey and subtle. Is that patchouli? It would be a really "clean" patchouli. Oh, I see now it's myrrh, it's a very "clean" myrrh, not spicy at all, smooth.

 

On skin: surprisingly fresh and even a tiny bit sharp. This is really hard to pick separate notes out of, it's really well-balanced. Rounds out & blooms quickly. I thought I smelled honey, like in Hetairae, but now I see it's the ylang, which has a hint of green to it and is really blossoming.

 

Dry: the ylang picks up a whiff of apple. It's such a light floral, not flowery or complicated, and grounded by the myrrh. Not spectacular or OMGMUSTHAVE but very, very pretty and probably a good choice for layering.

 

[NeWorryPas]

Well, not only is this my first review, but it's the first bpal oil that I have ever tried. This is a moment in history, ladies and gentlemen.

 

In the vial: Wow. BPAL scents are something else. Do I like it?... I get a fizzy, fruity sort of smell, mixed with something headier which I can only presume is the Myrrh. Yep. I like it.

 

Wet: I still get the almost cola-bottle smell, but it has a slightly soapy undertone which I wouldn't expect to be as pleasant as it is. It really does give the feeling of the afterglow.

 

Drydown: The scent deepens into a spicier scent, and I agree with the person who said that it's similar to the scents of a man and a woman, mingling. Fruity, and slightly heady.

 

Overall opinion: I really enjoyed this scent, and I found it to be a lovely way to deflower me of my BPAL virginity. Beautiful.

 

 

Oh, also. The description gives the sense that this is a pretty seductive oil. I didn't think it would be my boyfriend's thing- he usually comments when I wear citrussy and simple scents, whereas this one is fairly complex. He didn't make any comment at all, but proceeded to tell me that he wanted to kiss every inch of my body... Now was that the scent, or the fact that I opened the door in a towel?... I think the scent. I like the fact that it feels like a part of my body that smells delicious, as opposed to a 'perfume'. I'm hoping this is apparent with lots of Black Phoenix oils! =]

[pinkstardust420]

Uh oh. POWDER

 

Wait! Waaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiitttttttttt.

 

Oh...is this vanilla I'm smelling? Maybe thats the glow? Ohai, myrrh! Thanks for stoppin' by

 

This is really pretty, I likie!

 

 

[aquazoo]

This is pretty! It warms up nicely with the heat of the skin. This is a nice one that is exactly like the description.

 

 

[copagirl]

This was a pleasant surprise for me. In the imp I smelled ylang ylang first, then almond, vanilla, a little spice. On wet it was more almond/cherry almond, ylang and even a faint sweet tobacco smell. Dried down into a soft ylang ylang with soemthing else that I presume would be the myrrh. Very nice.

[Allumina]

Very baby powdery and floral, sticks close to skin. Girly!girl and soft and kind of gross, actually. All of the "sex" scents don't work on me at all, which makes me sad.

[alyssredfern]

This smells nearly exactly like the powder my great grandmother used to keep in her bathroom when I was tiny. I love it, but it doesn't seem to love me. It gave me a headache after a few minutes.

[angelicruin]

Sniffing the imp, this is a sweet baby powder-ish scent.

 

Applying it on my skin, it's creamy myrrh after initial application, but dries down to that acky sweet baby powder scent I sniffed in the imp.

 

Sadly, not for me.

[fairnymph]

Sniffed: Golden oil. I get skin musk, with some honey, almond extract, and ylang ylang. Much sweeter than I expected.

 

Wet: The same, with perhaps slightly stronger ylang ylang. Still no myrrh present. It definitely fits the post-coital feel - rich and languid and a little sticky.

 

Dry: Slightly soapy and heady ylang ylang, but not unbearably. The honey and skin musk are in command, and most of that almond has faded. It's much nicer than I expected, and still no myrrh.

 

Later: Rich, sexy skin musk like whoa, with lots of honey and ylang ylang. Fairly simplistic, but nice.

 

Summary: Definitely a scent to wear on a date when you anticipate sexin'. I adore the honey and skin musk, but ylang ylang is just too prominent here for my tastes. Low throw & great longevity.

[tragedy]

After seeing all the comparisons to snake oil and O ... neither which I have tried I know now I must get them both now...

This is divine!

It starts out all skin musk and honey which is so very sexy, on the early drydown I get a bit of the ylang ylang, which I thought would ruin it cause I amp that a great deal but it stayed back and stayed incredibly sexy. The ylang ylang fades to the initial skin musk honey combination.

Yes, it does smell orgasmic... says hubby playing on the name... which is unusual as he never comments on my oils unless theyre foody.

[cinnamonster]

It's strongly musky honey, and I don't really know what else to say about it, it's very simple on me.

 

In a side by side comparison with O, they ARE similar but O is super sweet, and I prefer O. La Petit Mort has a more masculine feel to it, and there's a drier feel with a suggestion of something almost fruity. It'd be nice on a guy.

[gypsyjolie]

I wish this smelled like honey on me, but my nose knows myrrh and thinks it smells slightly rancid. Off to swaps.

[Brianne]

Count me among those who do not get honey from this Definitely myrhh and ylang ylang, which combine to a vaguely powdery scent with an sort of old fashioned warmth to it. I tend to associate myrhh with being kind of old fashioned so it makes me think of perfumes that my grandmother wore. It's a nice scent, but definitely not very "me" unfortunately and though I think it's pleasant enough I keep getting "old lady perfume" flashes every once in a while when I sniff it!

[melrose]

Soft and sweet, but fades faster than the speed of light. I guess my skin likes to drink ylang ylang and myrhh.

[Aldercy]

I heartily approve of this. I haven't tried many scents with ylang ylang, but I do not get much in the way of florals from La Petite Mort (old-ish imp; I don't know how much difference that makes). This is mostly a humid honey and sheer, clean myrrh blend on my skin. There's really only a light misting of musk for me.

 

It has a similar mood to The Lion, but not as spicy or feral. Also a bit like O, as many have mentioned.

 

[Venneh]

Got this as an frimp in the order that arrived today, and trying this out now that Summer's Last Will + Testament doesn't appear to be working.

 

In the bottle, I get a really tangy scent, mellowed out by an undertone of baby powder.

 

Wet on my skin, I get a baby powderish sort of scent, with what I think is honey underneath.

 

EDIT: This has dried out to a baby powderish sort of scent with honey mixed in. This seems more like a summerish scent to me, would probably work more on an incredibly humid day. Probably not going to wear it on a regular basis, will keep the imp, but no bottle here.

 

EDIT EDIT: I lied. It's grown on me; need bottle.

Edited October 10, 2009 by Venneh

[teamilk]

I had really high hopes for this! I've been looking for something that could be my "naked perfume" and I thought that this would be perfect. It's definitely an intimate scent and it's sexy, it smells beautiful, but it's a little too powdery on me. I'll keep my imp and try it in a little while, but so far, I'm not really leaning toward a big bottle.

 

My BPAL naked perfume quest continues!

[Graphica]

in the bottle: Something a little fake and plastic-y. A blast of sweet almond. Musk, not overpowering. Overtones of ... ? I don't know. Something that puts me in mind of just-dried sweat. Not unpleasant. Maybe the initial musk (or a second musk).

 

on wet: Plastic and almond with overtones of musk and powder. The fresh sweat smell is gone. So far, this is staying remarkably close to my skin.

 

drydown: Powdery musk. Something a little resinous and/or smoky. Powdery, mostly. Some catch-in-the-throat smokiness coming through, but just barely.

 

one hour later: Powder, dammit! Why do so many things end up smelling like powder on me?

 

end of day: I've tried this oil twice now and haven't made it to the end of the day with it. What I mean is, I lose interest, forget about it, then end up remembering a few days later that I never did my final assessment. I wanted to like this, so it bothers me a little to say this: it fails to make an impression. Quite literally. Can't say it's good or bad. Just ... meh.

 

compared to official description: No idea what ylang-ylang smells like.

 

notes: Oddly, the cap of the imp (on the inside) smells overpoweringly of plastic and almond. The liquid in the vial is more fresh sweat and musk. I'm guessing some separation happened, but I can't seem to get it recombined. I think there's too little space in the vial to get a good shaking action going. I'll stand the vial on its head for a week or so to see if that makes a difference. [edited to add: I did this. Made a little bit of difference, but there's still a sense of separation.]

Edited October 3, 2009 by Graphica

[fairestrocza]

In the Imp: hard for me to pick out individual notes (not super familiar with these)

 

Wet on Skin: spicy, slightly powdery, vaguely flowery (more in the way that DB goes flowery as opposed to actual florals), something almost plasticy under it all

 

While Drying: warm

 

After a Little While: light incensy smell, stays close to the skin; one wrist smells like the lilac drydown of Dragon's Blood

 

Later: eventually get a slightly acrid, sweaty skin sort of smell (less afterglow, more time-for-a-shower) smelled this on M too; doesn't seem to last very long - on one wrist… other wrist kept it longer, and ended up with just the faint vixen wannabe

 

Final Thoughts: tried because reviews said this was similar to snake oil but lighter. Kinda like vixen, but w/o the WOW factor (no vanilla?)

La Petite Mort earns a 3.5/5 on my skin.

[Deiicide]

Patchouli and the Ylang Ylang make themselves known during the wet phase. Can't really smell the skin musk, or the sexiness that folks are talking about just the ylang ylang with the patchouli. Now that it's calmed down the ylang ylang is mixing with the skin musk but it seems to disappear too quickly at about an hour. I'm glad I got to try this scent but not for me.

[Evilynn]

 

in the vial: ylang ylang and myrrh

on the skin: O-like, it smells like strong honey, but it might be the ylang ylang and the myrrh

drydown: Quite strong and sweet, but I think I prefer O, and I already have a bottle of that.

[summertimecrime]

In the imp: floral saliva

 

Wet: another sweat tinged skin scent, with a floral incense smell in the background

 

Drydown: this literally smells like dried saliva and dusty flowers.

 

Not impressed.

[Gwydion]

In bottle: This seems well blended, The skin musk, myrh, and ylang ylang mix beautifully, with the ylang ylang strongest. Wet: My skin morphs this in weird ways. The ylang ylang starts way too strong, then gives way to the skin musk, which in turn flares out in favour of the myrrh. Given time it does settle make into a balance similar to in the bottle, though softer, and reminding me vaguely of jackfruit. It’s a little odd on me, but ultimately okay.

[cherrycherry]

This was another one that I bought with it smelling it first, but thankfully we get along very well

 

It is powdery on me, but not that dreaded baby powder scent. With Jezebel, it was out-and-out Johnson's baby powder and I was so dissappointed as I really wanted to like it. Le Petit Mort is sweet, subtle and helplessly sexy. I imagine Maggie Gyllenhaal wearing this in 'Secretary'. It's not the sort of scent that commands your attention (I'm thinking Snake Oil or Smut here), instead it is the sort of scent that reaches inside you and turns you on without you even knowing it.

 

If innocence and sexuality were blended in a 5ml bottle, it would smell exactly like Le Petit Mort.