Melpomene

[gingersnapp]

... 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.

When I put this on, it was all cypress and lavender; but as it's dried it has, well, dried. It smells almost like parchment on me for some reason. There is very little floral to this as I wear it. I say I get a tiny hint of the mint, but only when I press my nose to my skin. The throw is mostly lavender, but a really dry one. Almost like the sachets that you can put in your lingerie drawer.

[Meg]

In the bottle: Lavender, possibly orange blossom and mint.

 

Wet: Lavender and orange blossom, and geranium, I think. The mint comes out, but it smells more like dill than anything else.

 

Drydown: I get orange blossom and... other flowers, something white I think, maybe the passion flower. The lavender hovers in the background and possibly a bit of cypress. It's rather perfumy, with flower notes becoming a complex blend where it's hard to pick out particular notes.

 

Overall: It starts out as a very pleasant, summery blend with lots of flowers. I didn't like the geranium phase, so I'm pleased it went away and became a very pleasant, creamy scent with some tartness from the lavender. And then... the orange blossom turns, as it invariably does. My skin hates all things orange, apparently, and this ends up smelling like little old lady perfume on me. Damn!

[Diana]

Wet: Neroli is most evident.

 

Drydown: Oddly floral, with another note that kind of disrupts it. After a bit it smells like a floral-scented olive oil soap. Not to say it smells bad, but it's just unusual and unexpected. After a while, it does become more of a sweet floral, which is pretty, but not really my type of blend.

[peppermintgum]

In the imp, it smells like flintstone vitamins - i think it's the orange blossom.

 

on my skin it turns into minty oranges so far, which is weird to say the least. it's very fresh and clean. i like this one a lot, it's very unusual.

[edenssixthday]

Melpomene - yet another of the muses whose scent disappointed me. I used to drive down Melpomene Avenue in New Orleans every day on my way home from high school. I must have had some subconscious preconceived notions about what Melpomene was going to smell like, because when I put it on, I think I expected to be whisked back to those drives home through NOLA. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. The cypress was the strongest scent on me, followed close behind by the mint, and both are notes that I don’t like. The lavender was dry and gamey, and there was definitely something spicy in the blend, as well. The first time I wore it, I placed a drop in my cleavage, and for hours I kept getting a strong peppery scent wafting up toward my nose. It wasn’t the worst BPAL scent I’ve tried, but it was a far cry from anything I’d want to wear again.

[CelestialNM]

Melpomene is the muse of tragedy, and this is apt, because that's exactly what it is on my skin: a tragedy.

 

In the imp: I've heard others say cutting, sharp, cold, biting, etc-- VERY much so. A wee bit scared of this one.

 

Wet: Not so sharp, smells rather pleasant, but...!

 

Dry: Pure soap, within five minutes. Soap for hours (going on 7 now). I wanted to like it.

[jarvenpa]

a generous across the great seas gift from serafina p., who has my thanks.

 

My Greek being mostly forgotten, along with the names of the Muses, when I put on Melpomene I had no idea what to expect.

 

What happened, beyond the scent, astonished me. As the waves of sharp lavender and mint and something--green--first hit me, I felt overwhelmed with sorrow. This is the anniversary of the accident that took the life of a dear friend, many, many years ago. It was a life changing point for me.

 

The grief was almost unbearable back then--my first real experience of it--and today I was in flashback upon smelling this fragrance on my skin.

 

Wrenching pain.

 

But I went with it. The pain started to ease: you can't always keep your griefs tidily tucked away.

 

The fragrance bloomed with gentle flowers.

 

I may not work with this one much, but I will work with it. Very powerful and healing.

[sofiaviolet]

Cypress and orange blosson smell awful together. They don't improve on my skin, either. It's very off-putting, and I'm almost nauseated by Melpomene. Ack.

[neuilly]

It actually smells like lemon to me and nto orange blossom. It's a fairly sharp scent. Some dry lavendar in the background. A suitably sad scent.

[PurringPulsar]

Melpomene

 

In the imp: mint, lavender and orange blossom.

Wet on skin: orange blossom gets tangier, and I get a little hint of geranium.

Dry on skin: tangy orange blossom cologne! This really does have a fresh, zesty, citrus cologne scent to it, with a hint of darker cypress wood, and a little bit of geranium. It's not a bad scent, and it's a lot more 'happy smelling' that I expected the muse of tragedy to smell like…

After a while: soap. That's right, soap. I don't get cypress, mint, lavender or passion flower, just orange blossom soap-now usually most orange blossom scents don't soap out on me but this one certainly has-it's a citrus soap reminiscent of the stuff you get at hotels. Not something I'd like to smell like. it continues to smell like hotel soap all through the scent…

Verdict: this is, I'm afraid, my least favourite of the Muses. It smelt ok at first, a bright mix of orange blossom and herbs, pretty and surprisingly citrusy. But then it turned quite tragic on my skin-it smelt like soap. Citrus soap, and nothing else…I'm wondering if the orange blossom did this but usually I have no problems with this note, but in here it just went to all-consuming soap. One for swaps.

Emoticon rating:

If you like this, try: Santa Eularia, Calliope

Edited September 28, 2006 by yeahbutnobut

[Jerre]

Melopomene:

 

A very mild lemon/grapefruit based scent. Normally I hate lemon, but his one is almost sweet: lemonade perhaps? Pineapple? I can't decipher the other notes: they are very quiet...

 

Summary: A summer special: a soft, citrus-based aroma that clears the head.

[shellyshells]

Melpomene:

 

In the vial, a slightly dark and minty lavender.

On my skin, thank goodness the mintyness doesn't linger for too long.

It becomes flowery, perhaps the geranium & orange blossom, but the lavender stays constant.

It's kind of a dark & melancholy scent to me.... not very uplifting.

It's a nice scent... I just don't want to feel dreary when I wear it.

I really like the Bulgarian lavender in it though.

[supremegoddessofall]

A soft floral with a hint of evergreen. I'm also getting more orange out of this than I would like. Not really getting mint at all. My skin's eating it pretty fast and turning into soap more or less. I think I'll need a retest.

[Monster]

Eeeee I won't be putting this on my skin either >< This one was a freebie from the lab.

 

Reading the notes in this blend make me cringe, and the whiff out of the vial made me feel sick for a moment.

This is sharp lavender with bitter cypress in the background and a bit of something citrus.

 

Another masculine smelling scent...and............it's off to swaps

[Katinka]

It's so much fun to discover a great scent among the GC, just when you think you've exhausted your GC wishlist.

 

This is what I wished Santa Eularia would have been like on me...here, I get soft orange, a gentle whiff of something herbal, and a soft lavendar. I'd resisted trying this before, based on reviews, but it's quite nice. This will be quite nice for early summer, I think.

[Ajila]

In the bottle - Dirty, murky lavender with just a hint of orange blossom

 

Wet on me - Muddy herbals with the lavender sitting on them

 

Dry on me - Slightly sweet earthy blossoms

 

Overall - A pretty blend, but not something I would wear

[oh_the_horror]

In bottle: Lavender, sweet pretty orange

 

Wet and drying down: Nothing but lavender. More lavender. It smells kind of sharp and sour. Something reminds me of urine. I want to like it but it smells so sour.

 

Dry: Weird sourness and lavender. Ehh. It smells so nice in the bottle.

[theseagrows]

this is a very strong herbal at first-i mostly get lavender and orange blossom with the cypress in the background. it dries to a soft floral-orange blossom that's pretty innocuous. amazing since it was so sharp and herbal in the beginning. this scent is also really familiar, but i just can't place it. i like this on the drydown, but am not sure how much i would actually wear it, so i'll probably swap it.

[Brianne]

In the vial:

woah lavender

 

On me:

There is no denying the lavender in this blend. It is POTENT. So potent, that it's almost all I get. In a minute or so after applying this, I start getting some orange blossom which - strangely enough - smells like fruit loops on me.

 

That's about it from this blend. Strong lavender + fruit loops

 

Final note:

I don't have anything against either point there - I sometimes enjoy lavender and I think a fruit loops scent would be fun. But together here, this smells bitter and funky. This scent is just "off" on me

[lapillus]

In bottle: sharp light green with something round and fruity behind

 

Wet: Now getting wet green florals. Very nice Head clearing (although not as much as the Carpathian Mountains.)

 

Dry: the moistness goes away and things get rather faint.

 

Later: but it stays nicely at the fainter level, still fruity green and pleasant. I like it on me but I suspect I’d love it as room/linen scent.

 

Summary: Definitely a keeper, but I’m not sure about a big bottle . I like it on me but I suspect I’d love it as room/linen scent.

[Victoria]

received this as a free sample with a purchase at Scarlet Garden

on me: grassy, powdery, faded quickly

nice, but a little too generic for my taste

[The_Merf]

In the vial: very sharp and metallic, but I'm not surprised given the mint and cypress

 

Wet: Wow, this is really sharp--the three harsh notes of cypress, mint and lavender are all strong. This starts off very soapy on me.

 

Drydown and wear: The soapiness actually shifts into orange blossom (a note that I hate, but that my skin amps) and the orange becomes one of the more dominant notes, though I can still smell the cypress in the background.

[alicia_stardust]

I smell orange blossom in this the most. There's a slightly herbal, powdery essence to this and I get hints of the mint, cypress (oh so light), and geranium.

 

Overall the wear length is longer than average. It is definitely a floral scent but it's not overly cloying. There's a slight sharpness to the orange blossom, and that note dominates the blend for me. Something in this goes powdery and that sits just underneath the orange blossom.

 

This is pretty and it captures Melpomene perfectly, but the scent is not "me".

[Extispex]

In the imp, I barely smell it. A light minty scent.

 

On my skin, this smells just like hymn to pan - lavender and mint! I love the smell of Hymn to Pan on me, so its nice to have found a non-TAL approximation. I kind of wish I got more cypress out of this, but I like it as it is.

 

After a while, the other florals begin to assert themselves a little more, but they play nice with my skin chemistry. No soap or powder. They stay pretty true. As it dries the scent becomes a little more feminine. Hymn to Ms. Pan, I guess.

 

I definitely like this.

[hipslike___cinderella]

Melopeme is one of the most unique blends I've tried in a while, and the most memory-provoking.

 

Initially, it's green and herbal, and sort of "wet" smelling. Cypress and lavender are the most prevalent to me, but there is a hint of sweet florals. The mint must be blended so intricately that I wouldn't know it was there without a description. After testing on my skin, this goes through some stages, somewhat rapidly. First it's strong cypress, green and foresty, and it's tough to pick out the notes; like everything came together. Shortly after it sweetened up quite a bit and become very feminine; very soapy and familiar.

 

(Much later, after compulsive huffing and deep thinking, I realized what it reminded me of- the pink liquid hand soap from the dispensers at the AMC theater that was by my house, that I frequented constantly in middle school!! Okay, really weird, and it sounds like a total turnoff, but that's EXACTALLY what it reminded me of, and it gave me a cozy feeling. And yes, it smells pleasant.)

 

It stays soapy and floral till the end, all the while fading pretty fast. I wish this blend wore longer... it's really interesting, and I usually don't like soapy florals, but I need more testing to ground a better opinion of it.