Erato

[mandragora]

The Lovely. She is the Muse of mimicry, and inspires both erotic and romantic poetry. She is crowned in roses, holding a lyre. Her scent inspires creative expressions of love and lust: a crush of roses with sweet pea, myrrh, ylang ylang, orris and stephanotis.

In the imp: Roses and sweet pea with a sour note.
Wet on me: Sour smelling rose scent, the ylang-ylang and myrrh step up but is beaten back by the sour-smelling rose.
Drydown: This reminds me of the sour milk association I got with 2, 5 and 7 but not quite as pronounced or as off-putting.
Verdict: Should have read the description first and stayed away. Roses and I don't see eye to eye. Buh-bye Erato.

[bodegaselkie]

Erato came as a free imp with my most recent order. I'd tried most of the other muses, so I was glad enough to give her a whirl.

 

On me, Erato is almost identical to Eve without the tanginess of the apple blossom -- it's all fresh young rose, sweetened and warmed by the ylang ylang. It's gentle and pretty enough, but almost cloyingly warm and sweet in that way only ylang ylang can be. I suppose that can be erotic, in the sense that it's like being close and naked with someone who smells flowery... but it's not the deep fiery passionate sexuality that drives my erotica inspiration.

[Shollin]

First sniff: Powdery soapy flowers, ahoy! I was trying to remember why Erato was the one existing Muse I hadn’t gotten my hands on before the rest of the sisters arrived, and looking back at the notes I understand. Roses – very hit-or-miss. Ylang – usually bad. Sweetpea – ruins everything. Orris – tends to the powdery perfumey side of things. And given all that, I’m still going to try it on, ‘cause I’m just a masochist that way.

 

Wearing: The first breath on my skin is, astonishingly, quite nice. It’s a very quiet, restrained, sweet floral, and it stays that way. Just lovely. I don’t understand it at all.

[Rhowan]

In the vial and wet on my skin, I am getting roses, lots of roses. Bad start. Roses always turn to powedery old musty grandma smell - ick!

 

I am very suprised at the dry down! The roses fade into the other florals and the myrhh just rounds it all out. I am left with ia soft sweet light floral scent with maybe a hint of Ylang ylang and orris.

 

The throw is pretty good and the wear is forever - maybe it is because I am so sesitive to rose smell. I don't think this will be a 5 ml but I will hang on to the imp and see if maybe I will fall in love with it down the road. I am half way there though as Erato is very lovely.

[medvssa]

Hmh, flowers, some rose, pretty sweet in fact, a bit girly. I don't get the myrrh yet, though, but it is still wet. I get some acid smell now, as it dries. Green and sharp like leaves.

 

Some minutes after, it mellows, the myrrh appears (lovely!) and I like it much more. It is still pretty flowery and girly, very pale pink/white. I seem to recognize the stephanotis that seems to smell a bit like jasmine (or is it ylang ylang?) the roses have blended with the rest and I can't appreciate the note anymore. It is pretty nice, but still now and then I get this sour smell... I think something in here doesn't like my skin...

 

Many hours later:

I have to reconsider. The myrrh comes out to dance, as it always does with me, and it is lovely. I don't feel a terrible urge to get a bottle right now, but it certainly goes into the list!

 

I have tried it several times afterwards, and I didn't get that kind of sour smell again... muct have been weird chemistry of the day.

[Eunice]

There is rose but there is something else clinging to the rose. I think it's the orris. I want to like Erato but something inside is just working for me.

[Poenari]

This was a frimp I received with an order in March, and I finally tried it today.

 

In the bottle, very floral rose scent. I like florals, but don't usually care for rose. But I love trying new things, so here goes. It smells very nice on my skin... still a strong rose scent, but surprisingly, I like it!

 

Has excellent staying power. I caught some mild whiffs of it this afternoon when I bent over to pick something up (yes, I applied it between the girls ) It wasn't too strong, but one of those "hmmm what scent am I wearing today that smells great oh yes Erato how funny since I don't care for rose scents" ways.

 

Too bad, cause it looks like this one is not currently available.

ETA: I must have looked it up wrong, because I found that it is still available!

Edited June 16, 2006 by Poenari

[gloom bear]

This was one of the first BPAL imps I ever sniffed, and I had an immediate gut-level blech reaction…couldn't stand to sniff it long enough to describe it better than that.

[Diana]

Wet: soft, smooth roses & other flowers. The roses remind me of something I can't quite put my finger on.

 

Drydown: The other floral notes fade slightly and one of the other notes comes into play. I'm not sure which specific ingredient is doing this, but it has almost a clay-like scent to it now, which later adds a dryness to the scent (it must be the orris). I really do like this type of rose used in here, but I think in conjunction with the other floral notes it vascilates between really pretty and a bit too cloying. However, the longer this stays on, the more it seems to be growing on me. It smells like dried flowers and fresh flowers all put together in one bouquet. An interesting blend; if you're a fan of rose scents, this one is really worth a try.

[edenssixthday]

Erato - I love most of BPAL's rose scents. So I wasn't surprised when I put this on, and the deep, pulsating, and uber-sexy red rose was the first note I encountered. As Erato dries down, the Sweet Pea moves to the forefront and the scent takes on a lighter, sweeter tone. The white floral scents dominate and the rose serves as a filler of sorts -- plumping up the scent. Lovely scent, but it's so incredibly similar to my favorite Whip that I don't believe I'll buy again.

[SmileCat]

Oooh, what a pretty floral blend. Not a dry floral, but dewy.

 

On my skin: ROSE! Rose rose rose! I've never had rose amp quite like this. The other flowers take a backseat to this full bloom rose. Still nice.

 

An hour later: Myrrh and nothing but myrrh. Where did the pretty flowers go?!

 

 

Too bad this couldn't stay just like it was in the bottle. I might keep the imp around for use in a burner or a scent locket, but on my skin it just turns to myrrh.

[sofiaviolet]

A light floral. The rose isn't as strong as I had expected and I can't smell ylang ylang at all. The sweet pea is the strongest note on my skin. This has very little throw.

[Meg]

In the bottle: Heady roses and myrrh, whoo!

 

Wet: Roses and myrrh, a really delicious, nearly bubbly mixture.

 

Drydown: As it dries, the sweet pea starts to come out, a fresh smooth sweetness over the hot rose and myrrh mix. I also start getting hints of spicy ylang-ylang, but everything is covered with the smooth sweet pea. And I think the orris catches up with me and fouls up the whole blend, because it hates my skin.

 

Overall: It smells like Wicked with sweet pea, a gentler but still very sensual blend. I'm not a huge fan of sweet pea in general, and here it tends to put a sort of waxy cool scent over warm, sensual flowers. It's a pretty blend, sensual and light, but I've smelled others that are similar and that I like better. Besides, orris seems to always turn sour on me.

[PixieSkull]

Imp: This is a floral and my first thought is a jasmine floral, which is probably the sweet pea. I thought there was some tonka at first but now I see the orris and stephanotis blend turning a bit powdery and sweet.

Wet: The orris and myrrh and sweet pea are predominant, seconded by the ylang and stephanotis floral. It seems a bit plasticy but not too much.

Dry: It seems like a wierd floral blend but it's not too unpleasant. Erato seems more like a love-based blend and kindof ignoring the lust aspect.

 

Category: Lovely light floral

Rating: 2/5; doesn't seem too innovative but it's pleasant enough.

Overall: There wasn't a strong throw or anything but it was okay. I might wear this again or burn it for the muse aspect, otherwise it would not be a scent for me.

[Phaedra]

Wet this is sweet, dewy roses. When first on this is soft roses. After about 30 minutes it develops a powdery note- maybe this is the orris. It doesn't change much on me but I can smell the myrrh on the dry down. This is a soft, feminine rose blend and is similar in feel to Psyche. Very nice but probably don't need to keep it.

[storme]

In the imp: whoa sweet sweet flowers. That's like every sweet floral ever in one imp.

 

On me, wet: mrf, that's a very.. perfumey scent. Sort of acridly sweet florals.

 

On me, dry: stale floral talcum powder. Very sweet and dry and catching in the back of my throat ickily.

 

Verdict: Blech, no. Somehow I'd managed to overlook the orris in this blend when adding it to my wishlist, but it came back and bit me. Swaps pile!

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

this is more of an impression than an exact review.

 

this is the bastard chid of Alice and Two Five and Seven.

 

Rose and rose and rose and rose and a little milk and grass.

[nancybridget]

Faint violets and baby roses. Maybe an almond drop. Not quite for me...

Edited October 15, 2006 by nancybridget

[Bagfish]

Ylang ylang and white florals which is not a good thing on me. The impression in the imp was of heady overwhelming florals which just became more intense on my skin.

 

This was headache material so I had to wash it off within 15 minutes of application. I really would love to appreciate true "floral" perfume, but I don't seem to be able to

[steffanina]

Erato-

 

In Bottle: Floral. A very yellow floral. Not so much rose in the bottle as I had expected--which is pleasing to me.

 

Wet: Very rose.

 

Dry: This dries down to a kind of lemony rose on me, not quite sour-bad but not really anything that sends me.

 

Overall: Not for me.

[zankoku_zen]

In the imp: Smells like Nivea's cream, like the kind my mom used to slather my face in when we went out in the beach so I wouldn't burn.

 

On Skin: Rosey... but very much still like Nivea's cream.

 

On Drydown: The rose subsides a little. There is a very clean smell as an undercurrent in this. And yes, this is a sweet floral (must be the sweet pea and the roses).

 

Verdict: This scent is really nostalgic. I used to love how Nivea cream smelled... and the association with it is sun, beach and waves. It's a little perfumey and rose is just, well, I've found out it's utterly overwhelming. This is a really pretty scent though. Just... not for me. I feel weird, because I've been saying this alot lately...

 

ETA: This one must have a little more of something that smells sharp to me, because it doesn't smell like Nivea cream. I have a tiny contained of Nivea Cream and it doesn't smell at all the same.

Edited February 15, 2008 by zankoku_zen

[The_Merf]

In the imp: Florals--roses and sweet pea and stephanotis. I'm unsure, but there is orris. Orris is such a great note. I picture a little O wearing a superhero's cape.

 

Wet: Yeah, orris is going to make this a knockout. With each sniff of the wrist, I can catch one of the different florals, and the orris just grounds them all and takes the bite off the rose.

 

Drydown and wear: The rose and the sweet pea are the longest lasting florals, and the orris is there with them. This is "The Lovely" indeed, so feminine, so demure. I just adore it, and I want a 5mL as soon as I can work it in!

[supremegoddessofall]

Chemical rose that is obliterating everything else. None of the sweet pea I was hoping for. Also getting a bit of something metallic.

[theseagrows]

this reminds me of a less floral and sweet version of the mouse's long and sad tale. strangely enough the only similar element is the sweet pea. this is a great deal more powdery than that scent, however. i think orris and perhaps myrrh can become powdery on my skin. i kind of like this one, i'll have to try it again and see if i like it more. i wish the roses came out more, but my skin eats them right up.

[oh_the_horror]

In bottle: Clean, sweet roses, something kind of perfumey and sharp.

 

Wet and drying down: Really strong and sharp at first. This reminds me of Black Rose and Lucy's Kiss, so it's probably the same rose. I think one of the florals is turning bad on me but there's only a tiny bit of it in here. This probably would be a lot better if it was aged for a good while and diluted some. Either way, I think the other two rose blends I mentioned are more interesting.

 

Dry: Kind of powdery, but clean and pretty. There's something sweet and musky underneath which is nice. I wonder if it's the myrrh. I'm going to set this aside to age, and hopefully the bad floral will go away, and the myrrh, orris and rose will get richer.