Persephone

[Saya]

Beautiful, radiant daughter of Demeter... her loveliness was so exquisite that even Hell itself could not resist her. Pomegranate and rose.

In the Imp
This is a fruity rose blend. Unfortunately for whatever reason rose evokes the ‘yuck, old lady smell’ reflex in me, but I’m going to try this one anyway.

On My Skin
Rose. Yuck.

After a Bit
This blend doesn’t have huge throw so it’s not too bad, but every now and again I get a sniff of rose - belch. I love what the pomegranate is doing, but I just can’t deal with rose.

Rating 1-5 (5 being best)
Scent - 1.5 Throw - 2 Longevity - 3
Overall (not an average) - 1.5

Final Thoughts
This imp needs to find a more loving home.

Edited to add scent description. Edited January 9, 2009 by Saya

[Juushika]

In the vial: Why hello there, rose—but it's a sweeter, smoother version of rose than I'm used to. The pomegranate is not as tart as I expected, and rather rounds out the scent into a very rich, warm, sweetened fruity-floral.

 

On me: Ah, there is something of the missing tartness—which amps at first and then fades a bit during wear. Pomegranate and rose indeed: the rose is velvety, lush, and thickly floral; the pom is full, rich red, and fruity. The touch of tartness makes the scent more unique and less Glade candle. It's not particularly complex, but this scent is pleasant, lush, feminine, and full. Scent color is crimson. Throw is moderate to high.

 

Verdict: Persephone is pleasant, but it's a bit too simple and too floral for my tastes. I don't love it as much as the other pomegranate scents which I've had the pleasure to try lately. I do like it more than I expected, so don't necessarily let the rose scare you away—but this is without doubt a feminine fruity-floral blend. I'll forgo this for my other, darker pomegranate loves, but I'm glad I had the chance to try it.

 

[TheOneTheyCallLuna]

This is, as previous reviewers have suggested, juicy. In the imp, to me, it smells just like a grape nehi and brings back some pretty vivid drunky memories for me, since I distinctly remember the first time I had one of those when someone bought it for me right after I turned 21. It's extremely effervescent and very brightly fruity. On my skin, the pomegranate and rose finally make their appearance and then I really become enamored of this one. Sweet, bright, juicy, and bubbly. Good times...

[CynicalPink]

I love roses and I love pomegranates. I'd *really* like to find a non-old lady rose scent

 

Imp: Tartness of pomegranate is holding back the powdery old lady vibe

 

Wet: Pomegranate and rose. Hand in hand, neither overpowering each other

 

Drydown: Well hell that didn't last long. Rose rose rosie roseroserose. And not a particularly nice one, either. Oh well.

[LadyLuckless]

Roses are my favorite flowers, Pomegranate is my favorite fruit, and Persephone is one of my all-time favorite deities, so I didn't even want to think about this not working! Thankfully that wasn't an issue- this is beautiful! It's rosy and juicy and sparkly sweet, just wonderful. It's maybe in the same family as Hope, if you swapped out pink rose for red and sugar for juice. It felt like a scent I always should have had, and I stepped into it like a pair of bunny slippers from the Underworld.

 

So glad I swapped with the lovely Catwoman30 for a (cobalt!) bottle! It's lurve!

Edited March 6, 2009 by LadyLuckless

[tapestry]

I got into BPAL back in 2004, bought a bunch of imps, did not appreciate them for what they were and shoved them in the closet (literally) for four years. Last spring I got back into the company and Persephone was one of the six imps I ordered to test out. As someone who loves Greek mythology, loves pomegranate and likes rose, it seemed like a win.

 

In the bottle, untested, this is a simple but lovely scent. It's bright and vibrant and inescapable -- you can see why Hades would have become obsessed with his niece (oh, you zany Olympians...). The rose is vividly present, but it's prevented from becoming cloying by the tartness of the pomegranate. I reminds me of spring, of rolling fields and bare legs stretched out while running for the joy of running.

 

Persephone works fairly well with my skin chemistry, because during wear it's not much of a morpher. This in itself is like a gift from the gods, because I am the lady who turns most BPAL blends into straight-up vanilla. A deep vanilla, but the point remains. Persephone, thankfully, is exempt from this -- on me it's the warm afternoon sun shining down on roses dressed with pomegranate juice. The first time I wore this I got some serious compliments, and though other blends have since replaced Persephone on my top 3-5 spots, it remains a gorgeous and simple perfume I'll come back to when I need a pick-me-up.

 

Wear time is three to five hours, which could be a heck of a lot worse. Drydown is a hair more rose than juicy pomegranate, meaning that the scent sweetens up and loses some of its tartness. On someone who doesn't turn non-vanilla scents into vanilla, this probably won't be an issue.

[MCS4096]

One of my favorite stories from Greek mythology!

 

In the imp: Super sweet! I'm not sure I'd have guessed pom. though-- probably juicy pear. Juicy fruity scents generally make me think "pear" though for some reason

 

Wet: Wow.. candy sweetness. Bubblegummy!

 

Drying Down: rose starts taking over fairly quickly and it kinda smells like hmm.. herbal essences shampoo Fruity aspect pretty much gone completely.

[teamilk]

Beautiful juicy rose scent. I really loved this. It's gorgeous! The pomegranate doesn't make it too sweet, but it's not bitter either.

[svelterose]

I finally got around to trying Persephone and I have to say, it does not disappoint. Of the 6 scents I ordered and 8 scents I received, both this and Marquise de Merteuil were the ones I anticipated wanting to experience the most. The Marquise wasn't exactly what I expected as the floral notes were super strong on me but that doesn't mean I won't give it another shot in the future. In Persephone, I was expecting the worst since it had rose and I tend to avoid rose scents as it has the side effect of nausea and headaches for me.

 

Regardless of how my skin picks up on floral notes, it seems that the pomegranate is really balancing out the floral scent! Don't get me wrong, I can still smell the rose as clear as day but goodness, I can also smell the sweetness of the pomegranate. Some people have reviewed this to be too sweet for them but for me, I think it's just the right amount.

 

The best part is that it has remained pretty true to how it was in the bottle and then on my skin. Albeit, it may have been a tad bit sweeter in the bottle but like I said, it's pretty nice on my skin.

 

I'm so happy that a fruit note is actually staying on my skin! The only problem I have with this scent is that it disappears pretty early on. The other scents - especially Fenris Wolf - stayed on at least 4-5 hrs. This one only remained for at most, two hours. That's fine, the imp should last me and if I run out, I can always get more. =)

 

I have so many other imps to go through and have no severe dislike for that I'm not sure I'd have the need to buy a bigger bottle just quite yet. I admit, I'm somewhat frightened for my bank account; I saw pictures of people's BPAL collections and damn, I am a newbie at this.

 

I sort of like that aspect, I'm still exploring all my options at BPAL. =D Not to mention, a super awesome forumite (I think that's what they call them...) sent me a lovely package as she was cleaning her collection out and I have to tell you, the Saw-Scaled Viper smells absolutely divine. It's got vanilla and cinnamon in it too. Two notes I generally dislike due to over exposure in my youth.

 

I'd like to leave all with this final note...this is what Persephone smelled like just before she gave into temptation and bit into the pomegranate. Honestly, I think Hades is quite the romantic fellow - kidnapping and cohercion aside. =X

Edited April 11, 2009 by SvelteRose

[catattack]

Imp: Very strong red fruit

Wet: Strong fruity blend, but has something plasticky in the background.

Drydown: Hello Rose! Wow! She appeared with a bang! After a few minutes, the rose went funky and sour.

Overall: In the imp, it smelled promising, but on my skin, blech.

[coraline]

In the imp, Persephone smells pretty, youthful, and well-balanced--the sweetness of the rose combined with the tart juiciness of the pomegranate.

 

But on my skin, the rose amps up like the Hulk and goes on a rampage, while pomegranate flees for its life. So I'm left with SN rose.

[mhickle]

Received Persephone as a frimp with my order last week. Should have checked the notes before putting it on this morning. Of course, I expected pomegranate. But what I got was ROOOOOOOOSE. Bigtime rose. Okay, to be fair, maybe there's a little fruity pomegranate sweetness to it. But rose and I do NOT get along, so this will be heading to a happier home.

[Suu4LC]

Very pretty in the imp-basically just as described-juicy red pomegranate and delicate rose. Rose is always hit or miss with me, so we shall see how this goes on my skin.

 

On my skin, the rose is definitely coming to the forefront...I would have liked more of that red pomegranate smell, but the rose isn't letting up in dominance.

 

This blend dries down and starts fading super fast-it is a very light rose scent (the rose is well behaved!) with a whisper of tartness and juiciness from the fruit. Very soft and pretty. I wouldn't need a bottle of this-a bit too light for my tastes, but this is a lovely delicate rose blend!

[BuxomM]

It's a sweet rose sent.

[NightingaleRB]

Oh Persephone. You so crazy. (Thank you labbies, it's a lovely frimp.)

 

In the bottle, this smells Divine with a capital D. Once it hits my skin though, all rose. Maybe there's a little pomegranate in the background thickening it up... that gets more pronounced as it dries down. It's not the same pomegranate that was in the bottle though. It's almost... bitter? Gets better later as it wears off...

 

^ I wrote that the first time I tried it, a few months ago, and it's pretty much the same now. A burst of rose at the beginning, followed by an almost sickly pomegranate (overripe? or slightly bitter? I can never decide), followed by the two eventually blending together and playing nice. I'd love to try this in a scent locket as I think it'd be very nice without my skin chemistry mucking things up. ;p

 

I use this when I want: a wake-up-and-pay-attention dark fruity. I don't think I'd wear this out and about... the bitter is a little too pronounced for that.

[redderz]

In the imp: Exactly what it says - pomegranate and rose! The pomegranate is the most prominent though.

 

Wet: Turns completely rose on me, with no sign of the pomegranate whatsoever! Darn rose.

 

Dry: Yup. Just rose. Boo.

[kohimame]

This was definitely one of those scents that I wanted to work on me. I mean hey, I like roses and pomegranates, and Persephone is my favorite Greek deity!

 

So when I opened my imp, I was more than pleased. There was mostly a juicy rose (don't ask me how a rose can be juicy) and a hint of fruit.

 

Then I put it on.

 

And suddenly the juicy fruitiness morphs into Rose. And nothing but Rose. It reminded me of a scent that I later figured out was Cassis Rose from The Body Shop. Not a bad scent, but fairly one-dimensional.

 

So, I'm not destined to smell like Persephone, but at least I don't have some crazy old guy dragging me into the underworld to be his wife!

 

 

[aquazoo]

Fruity pomegranate right away! As it dries, it fades back so the rose comes through.

 

[London]

Sweet, juicy, and red. Tart at first, but it went away as the oil dried.

 

The rose wasn’t floral at all on me, it was there..just more like the smell of sugared rose petals. It was subtle.

 

It's a gorgeous scent. Very little throw on me.

[muteddragon]

I like it, slightly fruity, rosewater. But my SO says it smells like his old aunt. Hm, guess I'll wear it when he's not around.

[undream]

wow, at first whiff? this is a gorgeous juicy, tart berry! the rose is very faintly there, but my first impression is without question all about the pomegranate. already i am in love, but then the rose comes through more strongly, and just. mmmmm. i don't think this one could be any more perfect?

 

it does fade to become a mainly rose scent, but fortunately i adore my roses, so it's absolutely a good match, and a definite keeper!

[Sawasdee]

I adore the mythological story of Persephone and love pomegranate scents, but was a little worried about the rose in this scent, because it's hit or miss on me. This turned out to be a perfect balance between the two scents, with the tartnes and sweetness of the pomegranate complementing the deep rose well. It has very good throw and lasts for a good five hours. A little goes a long way with this scent. Full bottle worthy.

[verbranden]

In the imp and wet on my skin, it's equal mix of both rose and pomegranate, and a very heady mix at that. I amp the rose during the drydown, but this isn't so bad as I like rose. It doesn't last very long on me either, it's a powerful, heady scent that vanishes quickly.

 

I am undecided about buying a bottle of this, but I will keep the imp.

[Veronica]

Wet, this is all rose, heady and strong. Later, the pomegranate comes out, giving it a warm fruity scent. Very pretty, but just too floral for me. It's juicy, like some have mentioned, but the rose is still too strong for my liking.

[donnatron]

Imp: Pomegranate and rose. Pretty simple.

 

Wet: Slightly sour rose and fruit. The pomegranate fades into the background.

 

Dry: A soft, sweet, perfect pink rose. Little to no pomegranate. Mainly a soft, sweet, womanly rose scent.

 

Throw: Mild.

 

Overall: A simple, pretty floral. Not my favourite but I will use up the imp.