Persephone

[angelamaria]

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

My first BPAL sniff

In imp: definitely floral, very rosy, and very sweet--almost cloying, but not enough to be overpowering. This reminded me of swapping scented stationery with friends in my childhood. Very nice scent.

Wet on skin: smells the same as in the imp, a bit softer, rounder, but overall the same.

Dry: the sharper, juicier smell of pomegranate is coming out, but much later it's going mellow again, soft and very womanly. I sometimes smell pomegranate, sometimes rose, so it's a good balance of scents. Sadly, it turns kind of soapy to my nose very faint, and wears off far too soon.

Verdict: I'm not giving up on this yet--I'll give it another shot and see if slathering it on more will help. Not getting a bottle yet, but the scent is definitely very, very pretty--no, beautiful.

- edited to add scent description Edited May 6, 2011 by angelamaria

[toku]

I received Persephone as a frimp in a forum sale and, without having read the description, gave it a try the other day. Um, wow. It's just utterly delicious, noticeable but not overpowering, sweet and juicy but not cloying, delicate but long-lasting (5 hours so far today). In short, I can't imagine why I haven't tried it before now! I guess my past choices of rose blends were not such great picks!

[kirsten]

I wasn't all that ecstatic when I smelled this in the bottle, since it smells a lot like cough syrup to me, but I wore it yesterday and I'm actually really enjoying it. My skin amps rose like crazy, but in this blend the pomegranate is strong enough to balance it out. It's much less fruitier than I would have expected from my imp-sniffing, which is good. And the rose is far more interesting---juicy and sweet.

 

Not sure if I like it enough to get a bottle, but I'll definitely use the imp!

[Alethia]

Wet: This had me honest to gods swooning. It's a beautiful blend of sharp pomegranate and soft rose (and I could have sworn I got a whiff of lemon).

 

Dry: Persephone doesn't morph on me but stayed the same beautiful blend. I was ready to propose to Persephone and be (nearly) monogamous for the rest of my days. But unfortunately, my skin ate it and within 45 minutes it was gone I mean, nose pressed all the way to my wrist and nada. I will definitely be trying it again (in a different pulse point, maybe) and as a room/linen spray, because it really is a gorgeous scent.

[milo]

Wow, uber fruity floral!! Pom and rose as described, with the rose ending up being the more dominant note on me. I think the pom is helping keep the rose from going sour on me, as this smells like the kind of rose that does that, a deep red, velvety rose. I would say, wear this oil if you want to get noticed, it just screams, "look at me, I'm feminine and flirty and available". That being said, I don't think it's a sexy blend, just an attention getter. I'm not sure how much I'd wear this, as I'm not a big rose fan, but for a rose blend, it is pretty darned good.

[Klolly]

In bottle: Rose scented nail polish remover, with a juicy cherry scent that appears in the back of my nose when I pull the bottle away.

 

Wet: Still a bit like nail polish remover, then it changes to a red lifesaver type scent. The pom is most likely the juicy candy part, the rose must be the nail polish remover smell which quickly is taking over.

 

Dry: I don't know, smells nice, but not quite as I expected. My time of the month chemistry could be affecting it. As I write this the pom is emerging more, these scents work well together. I might like this. It's definitely juicy and rich. It almost has a faint cinnamon smell hiding within. Okay, really starting to like this . I'll have to update once I've worn it awhile.

 

The next day: I had everyone telling me I smelled good yesterday. My daughter came down the stairs and was all the way across the room and said, "did you get a new perfume?" And kept sniffing me and saying it smelled so good. In the car her friend kept saying, "what smells so good" and my daughter told her, "it's my mom!" My son even told me several times, "you smell beautiful." (he is four:)) So persephone is definitely a win for me. I love it. It makes me feel womanly and happy and luscious. I figured out what the wet smell of it reminds me so much of too; green apple jolly ranchers, only better!

Edited July 3, 2011 by Klolly

[Vega]

Sniffed: A red rose touched with sweet pomegranate.

 

On skin: Persephone is exactly as she's described: a full-bodied red rose at the heart, surrounded by pomegranate's bright, light juiciness. A clear and sweet fruity-floral scent, deepening with drydown. Persephone is quiet, steadfast but self-assured womanliness, a paragon of femininity without being excessively blushing or bold. She seems like a more grown-up version of Lucy's Kiss, which has the same red rose. Colour impression is shades of rosy-red: pinkish at the centre, darker and more intense at the edges.

 

Verdict: A lovely, balanced showcase of rose and pomegranate, solid GC goodness. I do like Persephone, but her scent is a bit too simple and as a result I don't think I'd wear her much.

[KittyHawk]

My review for Persephone will be as short and fleeting as she was on my skin.

 

Super sweet in the imp; I don't get pomegranate per se but the vibe is there. It's very lovely.

 

Soapy McSoapface on skin. Within 30 minutes, she was gone. Nothing. No soap, no pomegranate, no rose.

 

Hormones, maybe? I'll have to try this again when my special visitor takes her leave.

[mari4212]

On wet: I agree with reviewers who say this is very wet and juicy. There's definitely a strong berry-fruit tang to this, with the very rich and wet rose scent secondary.

 

Initial drydown: Both scents calm down, and the rose becomes more prominent. When my wrists are away from me, there's almost a vanilla undertone.

 

Later: As with most rose scents, it fades down fast, leaving mostly the pomegranate scent in its wake. Need to try this in my scent locket, or on my friend that loves rose scents.

[RedRoseMaze]

In the bottle: I smell mostly rose... ‘lots of it... I miss the juicy sweetness of the pomegranate.

Wet: I still get a lot of rose, but it’s already much sweeter, and fruity.

Dry: It is better, but... I still get so much rose! I don’t get that decadently juicy pomegranate other reviewers have smelled.

Verdict: Either Persephone loved the smell of roses beyond imagination, or this blend is still too fresh, and scents haven’t blended as much as they needed. Maybe I should let this one “age” for a few months, to see if it improves a little bit, it seems to work sometimes.

[OctoberGwen]

One of the few rose scents that I actually love. Perfection! A juicy, soft, feminine blend.

[killersandliars]

I like Persephone well enough, but to me it smells exactly like the essential oil that Garnier Nutrisse hair color used to come with. It is crisp and pretty, but all I can think of is hair color. Unfortunately, I don't think this is something that I would want a full bottle of.

[becca_s]

I am starting to realize that fruity florals from BPAL work well for me

 

I love Persephone, in the imp it smells sweet - like roses and candy, but in a grown up and classy way.

 

On my skin it doesn't change much. When first applied it smells like a rose in full bloom mixed with the sweet, fruitiness of the Pomegranate. It lasts quite well and stays like this for a few hours, after that the fruitiness fades and the rose stays. I find it quite an energizing scent, one that would be great for a hot summer day but I can imagine it would be great all year round.

 

Overall, very nice and I am seriously considering getting a bottle.

[hellok80]

In the imp and wet I'm picking up hot Kool-Aid. On my skin it calms down to strong, bright, fruity rose.

I tried it layered with a softer floral spray and it was nice but still much stronger than I prefer.

[vertine]

Beautiful balance of sweetness and rose. It's a soft womanly kind of sweet. Love this!

[persephonehazard]

Full disclosure: I really, really, really want to like this. I've been using the names Persephone or Seph for the best part of a decade now, and if I got to choose my signature BPAL from theme alone...well, she'd be a shoe-in. But anyway. Time to open the imp. The pomegranate smell is very strong and surprises me - it's sweet and juicy and slightly more artifical-smelling than I expected. It's overpowering enough that I'm not getting any rose at all yet, which I actually rather like. My first impression of it when on wet is actually, of all things, acetone. But I'm determined to give this one a good long go, even if it does mean spending the day smelling of nail varnish remover. So I get splashing it on liberally - I always do, even on a first test - and try my very best to ignore the paintstripping tang.

 

And then - joy of joys! About five minutes later, the acetone smell is gone and now everything is screaming ROSES at me. ROSES ROSES ROSES. It'd be nice to get some pomegranate back, but I'm not particularly averse to roses. This is a clean wet youthful juicy rose, and I quite like that. It smells a tiny bit soapy, though.

 

I've now got into work and it's settled down into a strong, young rosy scent with good throw that doesn't seem like it's going anywhere any time soon. If anything changes I'll update the review, but I think this one might be done developing. I do quite like it for what it is, but I really did want more pomegranate :-( Ahh well - I shall hang on to it all the same, and go through the GC in search on a more pomegranatey and less rosey scent.

 

ETA: A couple of hours later, and it's still all rose but it seems to have grown up a bit - it's older, drier, darker, spicier. It's lost that juicy youthful bloom. I can't decide if I'm pleased or not! On a base level I think I prefer this scent, but the former was more what I expected of Persephone. Though bah, where's my pomegranates...

Edited January 12, 2012 by persephonehazard

[calivianya]

Persephone is really true to its description right after application - it is a juicy pomegranate with rose. I get the chemical smell some people mentioned a few minutes after I put it on. The chemical smell does resolve on the drydown, and Persephone ends up being mostly rose. Despite the love of the scent name, I wasn't expecting much from Persephone, and I'm glad. It's just not for me.

[alyelle]

This was an imp I bought specifically in the hope that I would love it. Persephone's basically my Greek myth totem, how could I go wrong? Alas, it wasn't to be.

 

Imp: A sweet, cloying scent. The pomegranate is at its strongest here; you can barely tell there's rose lurking in the background.

 

Wet: The second this touches my skin, the rose comes rushing up to greet me. Were I the sort of person BPAL rose notes worked on, I imagine the effect would be lovely, because it's tempered the sweetness of the pomegranate down into something far less sickly than it smells in the imp. However, rose and I don't get on - at best it turns soapy on me, at worst, it induces nausea and headache. Sadly, I think this is going to be one of the "at worst" scenarios.

 

Dry: Within an hour all hints of pomegranate have vanished, and all that's left is a very strong, almost single note, rose. I was right about the headaches too.

 

Overall: This is the the second or third time I've attempted to wear Persephone, whether alone or layered, and each time it's failed hard. I long to be one of the people who get a crisp, fresh, "juicy" fragrance, but on my skin, Persephone is much closer to the Turkish Delight scent that amazonqueen and VioletKitten mentioned on page one (and not even a pleasant Turkish Delight at that). I'm now fairly certain that nothing with rose will work on me - unless it's a very, very minimal amount in a blend heavily dominated by incense or earthy scents. Blood Rose is the only notable exception and I still haven't made my mind up that I actually like its morphs.

 

So rating, 1/5. This is definitely going in my gift/swap pile. Luckily I have a very good friend who smells wonderful in bpal's rose. I'm sure she'll appreciate this a whole lot more than I do.

[aentee]

In the imp: Sweet, sweet rose.

 

On my skin: Still more juicy rose, though I can see this going powdery. For now it's behaving, what I get is mostly rose with a just a ghost of a pomegranate. Decent staying power.

[KatharinaNordh]

I like this - Rose scents aren't among my usual favourites (cause they give me a headache and turn to dust, powder or stink on me)

 

This one is juicy and Round - a bit close to my skin, perhaps.

 

The fruity aspect is there and while I Can differentiate between both the rose and the pomegranate, I can also smell what they do Together - well-blended, inviting and delicious.

 

Keeping the imp, we'll see what happens after that

[burymestanding]

In the imp, Persephone was a very sweet scent, with something that vaguely reminded me of cough syrup.

 

On the skin (wet, dry, and forever, unfortunately) this was like dried roses dipped in Lemon Pledge. It's making me feel a little queasy. Florals aren't my thing in general, so I figured this wouldn't be a winner, but the lemon-scented wood cleaner smell is super-weird. Maybe this is what my skin does to pomegranate. This is the first scent I've tried with that note, so I suppose further research is required. I'm like a scientist. A lemon-y, rose-y scientist.

[Dani87]

Imp/wet: sweet roses, it doesn't makeme think of dark deep red roses though. It's more like light colored roses, yellow, light pink, or peach colored roses maybe.

Drydown: the pomegranate comes out more making it juicier. It still has the sweet rose.

Dry: pretty much the same, roses, and pomegranate.

Overall: this is a very fruity floral, kind of flirty, and very girly. I don't like pomegranates so I didn't think I would like this, but they play well with the roses. It is awesome for a spring/summer day, or night, and makes me want to head to the park with a picnic basket, and sip pink lemonade. I like it a lot, and will use up my imp, but don't think I will need a bottle just yet.

[bellumed]

Well, I now see that some of the stinkiness I attributed to narcissus in Pride was actually coming from the rose, because I get it here too. Persephone is dominated by a powerful, wet, smelly rose and supported by a juicy round pomegranate. It seems like something I could only wear when I’m in a hyper-confident, don’t-give-a-damn-what-you-think mood, which doesn’t come around too often. Bold and very long-lasting, not a perfume for the faint of heart (or nose).

Edited June 28, 2012 by bellumed

[Scorianelle]

I didn't get this for myself, I picked it out for my sister. I normally avoid rose scents like the plague, finding them way too sweet and overpowering. I'm not a rose fan, but this was delicious. I Can't say what possessed me to make me try it, but I'm glad I did. A lot of other reviewers had a 'juicy', experience with this, I'm assuming from the pomegranate. Well, as I got absolutely no pomegranate from it juicy is the last word I'd use. Word of the day for Persephone is 'Dusky'.

 

First Sniff: Grape. Grape lollies, grape cordial, grape gum.

 

Second Sniff: Still grape, but there's a citrus-y orange tang behind it.

 

Wet: OHMYGOD this is turkish delight. This is absolutely turkish delight. Indisputably a rose scent, but soft and not sweet.

 

Dry (30 mins): Lovely, soft, dusky rose. Turkish delight still, with a little bit of bite somewhere.

 

Dry (1.5 hours): Brighter, less rosy.

 

Dry (3 hours): still that dusky rose, with something sharp like a stem or greenery.

 

Throw: Very mild.

 

Colour association: Baby Pink.

[WidgetAlley]

Imp: Sharp, fruity rose and pomegranate.

 

Wet: Oh hey there soap and Sweet Tarts, what's up? Pleasant, soft, soapy rose and that lovely juicy pomegranate. I can already tell it's not going to work on my skin but it's so damn cheerful it's hard not to like it.

 

Dry: Soft rosy soap and lovely fruity, gritty pomegranate. Nice, but not my thing. I might dump it in my homemade fabric softener, though, since it is a lovely fresh fragrance!