Melpomene

[Ishtar]

Melpomene is Tragedy, and the sound of Her voice is filled with beauty, power and strength. She is crowned in cypress branches, holds the mask of tragedy, wears the cothurnus and wields a knife or club. Her scent is rife with pathos, and inspires us with the ability to express our grief, loss, and the pain in our souls in a cathartic, creative fashion: dark cypress with mint, geranium, Bulgar lavender, orange blossom and passion flower.

The initial smell in the vial was quite nice, if a little on the sharp side. I suspect it might be the cypress, my nose is very sensitive to it.

Alas, as soon as I applied Melpomene, it turned into soap. Pure, screaming soap. No, make that shampoo. You know, those shampoos with a "fresh", "herbal" scent?
Not downright unpleasant, I definitely smelled very clean , but not what I expected from such a complex, layered scent in the vial.

I since realized that there is a common note in all the Muses that makes them turn soapy on me for a while. Melpomene is the only that never goes past the soapy stage. That's unfortunate, because it sounded like a beautiful idea.

[etherealchild]

Another one the I got from Hypothermya....... thanks darlin!

 

In The Bottle Woah. A bit strong. Cypress, lavender, and mint are screaming at me. I have to sniff and really try and grasp to make out the individual notes. They are so tightly intertwined. I think I smell the geranium but I'm not entirely sure.

 

Wet Cypress. Cypress. Cypress. Very herbal. I smell like a craft store

 

Dry Down Lavender has pushed the cypress aside. It is no longer quite so herbal, but now has taken on the nature of incense more, and has become much softer. It also has a slight musk........ mmmmm I like it. I can ever so faintly make out passion flower and cypress in the far background. No hint of orange, mint or geranium to be found at all...... and I swear I can almost detect civet, or something musky that isn't me.....It's got me listening to Beethoven and Dead Can Dance and I'm just kinda laying on my floor with candles lit writing and occasionally sniffing myself. This is a scent that is to be enjoyed alone. Just for yourself.

 

3 Hours Later This is interesting. It is still mostly lavender and the passion flower and cypress in the background.... but every once in awhile there is a shift in the notes and a small wave of cypress and mint softly rises over the lavender and kind brings a rolling sense of sadness with it...... it's quite beautiful.......

 

Verdict I like it..... but you absolutely have to be in the mood for it. It is several hours later now, and I smell faintly of lavender incense. Didn’t last as long as I thought it would. My skin seems to absorbed most of it. Very nice, none the less.

[rainbow]

In the bottle and wet on my skin I'm getting what smells to me like citrus and musk. It's very sharp- I'd guess that's the orange blossom/cypress combo. It's slightly jarring. On me it softens and mellows a bit. I get more geranium, still with wafts of cypress. This smells like men's cologne to me.

 

It pretty quickly becomes much harder for me to pick out individual notes, though I presume the increasted sweetness is the result of the passionflower. It's pleasant and a bit tropical.

 

Ultimately this goes rather soft and sweet on me when I smell it up close, but from a distance I still get those wafts of men's cologne. On the drydown it becomes a truly sweet floral scent.

[Damask Rose]

This one is lovely! It varies between an almond-floral smell and a lovely soapy smell. I keep getting wafts of both. It's strong too and lasts all day. It's a real shame that this has been discontinued as I think I definitely would have bought a full bottle otherwise.

[babykitty]

Now that it's been discontinued...I must admit I didn't care for this one. In fact, I was quite shocked when I first used it--I never came across a BPAL that wasn't unique, but "Mel" smelled so...so...so commercial. It's not offensive, but just meh.

[diabolique]

i can't say i cared for this one, either. i could've sworn i reviewed it. i wonder..

 

ah well. the mint in this actually made me feel a bit sick, as i've noticed mint (as well as aquatics and mosses) tends to do in a blend. i do wish beth would make more blends with passion flower, though, because it's a total aphrodisiac to my boyfriend.

 

my great aunt loved this one, though, so i passed it onto her.

 

this reminds me a bit of soap. not to say that it's actually soapy, but it just has that clean, minty smell. yeck. :\ poor melpomene.

[requieminblack]

First sniff out of the bottle- Bitter lemons.

 

After 10 minutes- This smells like a men's cologne I have smelled before...something my Dad wears. Yep. Smells just like Aramis. Like a lemon that has been left out to dry in a box made of bamboo.

 

After 30 minutes- Blech. Now it smells like cheap lemon scented furniture polish.

 

Summery- Now I know why this one was discontinued. I had to wash it off my hand it was so nasty. Furniture polish city.

[shelldoo]

very strong, sharp, irish spring soap. off to swaps

[dreadeddragon]

In the bottle: Orange rind soap

 

First on: Orange, with a bit of flowers. The only thing I can smell from the ingredients is the orange. Wierd, since my skin amps up mint.

 

Drydown: Pure soap. Like liquid Dawn.

[Aredhel]

Rating (on skin): 2/5

Summarised in a word or two: Foresty.

 

In the imp/bottle: Sharp, very heavy cypress and mint.

 

On skin, wet: This is minty and foresty. It reminds me of one of those pine-scented car fresheners.

 

On skin, dry: As this dries, the mint becomes more prominant. I still can't discern anything but mint or cypress.

 

Conclusion: This would be, scent-wise to me, Black Forest's cousin. I'm not crazy about mint, so I'd hoped the cypress would overpower it. No such luck.

Edited December 17, 2005 by Aredhel

[zankoku_zen]

In the Bottle: I smell something fresh, and a little floral and a little sharp. Makes me think of children's cologne

On Skin: There's something very herbal and sweet, it smells like sage. I can also smell hints of mint. There's also something almost citrusy.

On Drydown: This such a complex scent. I keep sniffing it trying to decide if I like it enough or if I dislike it enough. I smell something floral and I think its the geranium because it doesn't smell like lavender, its floral with a trace of bitterness. In the end, this is a very clean scent for me, however there is a lingering soapy kinda whiff. Yes, it does kind of smell like... Irish Soap...

 

Verdict: The mint is very present in this scent which leads to a very refreshing smell. Underneath the florals are really pretty. But it smells like an old lady perfume before turning into Irish soap. Off to the swap!

[pensive]

Citrus, flowers, mint.

Imp: Sharp, bitey.

On me: Hm, minty florals?

Drydown: Mint goes away fast, but something still smells off. It might be the geranium.

Verdict: Glad I got to try it, don't care to keep it

Edited July 4, 2005 by pensive

[OriginalWacky]

Bottle (Imp): Mint and fresh air.

 

Just On: Fresh air with mint in the breeze.

 

An hour or two later: Minty breezes.

 

Around 6 hours: Very faint miny breeze.

 

12 hours: It's left now.

 

Overall: I really like this one. It stays fresh and breezy throughout, and has decent lasting power. I'd buy more of this if it were available.

 

After reading other reviews: Wow, I certainly didn't get any sharpness out of this at all. I guess I see why it was discontinued, but I'm rather shocked that more people didn't like this one.

[malanna]

I remember really not liking Melpomene the first few times I tried it. I put it away after it was discontinued and pulled it out to test it after it was resurrected. It starts out strongly lavendar with orange blossom and geranium (I'm assuming it's geranium--um, I'm not entirely sure what geranium smells like ). It was quite harsh smelling and a bit astringent. However, after less than an hour, it's softened to a lovely floral. It's hard to describe the notes, although I can detect some mint making this a cool scent, but I can say that it smells like one of those Clean or Fresh Spring scented air fresheners, and it's not heavy at all. This is rather pleasant. Perhaps Melpomene just needed a bit of aging.

[Little Bird]

Melpomene starts out sharp and cutting on me. The mint is a loud, herbal sort of mint, and the cypress is green and bitter. A bit of orange blossom comes out for a few minutes on me, smelling citrussy and way too harsh on my skin.

 

Then after about 15 minutes this has completely morphed into a generic soapy smell on me. The sharp first application and the drydown of soap... is just not working for me.

[Hawke]

In the vial: Citrus and gren, along with something brown. Faintly bitter. I feel like I should recognize this scent.

 

Wet: Grapefruit and juniper? Okay, the notes are wrong, but the scent is the right idea. I get the bite of the mint and sting of the citrus and boy is that an odd combination. Sinus-clearing, cleaning fluid but not a *bad* smell. Just not sure I want to smell like this. So much citrus in this that it makes my mouth go dry. If that makes sense.

 

Dry: It's actually not bad on my skin when it's dry. It's still primarily orange with the coolness of the mint. It'd be a good hot weather scent, probably, but not something I'm like to reach for.

[Voleuse]

This is sharp and slightly bitter on first application, herbal and dark. I smell the mint and cypress, and a bit of lavender, but they're darkly green and brooding. Definitely a scent for tragedy, and a violent one, at that.

 

As it dries, the scent mellows a bit, but it retains a muddy, herbal feel that doesn't really go away. The florals peek through, but they never take over. This isn't something I'd want to wear, but it does fit the description perfectly.

[desu]

In the bottle: Dar, herby florals.

 

On my skin: Mostly cypress, but with the mint, lavender, and possibly citrus poking out here and there. Even with the sharpness of some of the notes, this is very brooding.

 

Later on: Mellows out, not so bright anymore.

[ABrokenAngel]

In the Bottle: Oh this smells sumptuous in the bottle but it has danger notes for me…lots of them. Lavendar, cypress and mint? I’m scared. It brings to mind the image of a greek goddess bathing in a natural spring on a winter’s morning.

 

Wet: Cypress and lavender. I knew that was going to happen.

 

Drydown: Yep…..Cypress and Lavendar.

[kilobytesprite]

Wet and in the bottle - cypress and lavender with a smidge of mint.

 

On me - cypress with floral notes. It's not as ... strong as it is in the bottle. It's nice but not as 'tough' a scent as I like.

 

Mack? Mack will lick all around my hand and -around- this. He's not put off like he was with Death but this is not delicious to the dog.

[rhubarbbear]

very lemony. very soapy. bits of lavender.

 

i have very little reaction to this perfume...i don't like it, i don't hate it. i doubt i'll reach for it again, but there's nothing offensive about it...

[bodegaselkie]

Melpomene smells almost entirely soapy in the imp... and even moreso when I put it on. It isn't unpleasant, but none of the actual notes come out, it just smells sharply soapy. It makes me sad and feel tragic about it, but probably not in the way the Lab intended. *smirk*

[medvssa]

This is my first review ever

 

Bottle: Sharp and dry.

 

Wet on skin: Slightly turpentinish at first. Draws the air out of my lungs, astringent, very dry. Medicinal. Calms down in a minute.

 

Dry down: In the beginning it is a bit stranger to my skin, but after a few minutes it "melts" and starts smelling beyond my wrists. It comes to my nose, very subtly. It evolves and changes. The cypress is always there, grey and cold and also peaceful, the geranium comes out and blends perfectly, later on the orange blossom, subtle and sooting, bringing a dot of life and hope to this cold and grey, pensive scent, balancing it. On me, the mint is really subtle, and I can't place the lavender. It works really well with my chemistry, evolves to a very beautiful, evocative and most of all, calming scent.

 

Overall: This scent is VERY evocative in me. I get a lot of images and feelings from my childhood, when I used to walk in silence and peace with my father in a hill/park in my hometown, which is rich in cypress and was pretty wild and abandoned at that time. It has made me write a lot of personal reflections on my private journal, it is so catarthic and so calming, that I am very grateful this scent was ever created, and more so that it has been resurrected after being discontinued, because I am gonna order a bigger bottle for sure, I so need inner peace and silence at this moment, but anytime it is very welcome. I hope it doesn't get discontinued again, because for some reason most people don't seem to like it

[nancybridget]

Melpomene is a lemony/herbal scent. This reminds me of a type of balm you would rub on your chest to alleviate congestion during a cold. Like a Fisherman's Friend mixed with vicks. Not for me.

[storme]

In the imp: whoa, lavender and sharp orange blossom. Makes me think of the kind of soap my grandma would use.

 

On me, wet: still orange blossom and lavender. I think the cypress is making me think of pine, too, since now it smells like grandma-soap in a thoroughly-bleached bathroom.

 

On me, dry: Whoa, the sharp orange blossom faded down, and the lavender backed off a little and, oh, hello, there are some other florals in here. They're hiding behind the cypressy pine-bleach, mind you.

 

Verdict: Not a success. It's evocative, mind you, since it's making me think of houses where bleached-and-scrubbed cleanliness is used to mask (or at least to compensate for) extreme poverty, which is pretty tragic.