Persephone

[hypothermya]

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

Last night I just recieved a shipment of 16 imp ears, and after opening up about 7 for quick whiffs, I decided to not flood the room with a cacaphony of smells and wait until the next morning (today) in order to try my first scent.

I decided on Persephone.

First Impression

Oh, this smells lovely... The rose is a bit strong, but I can smell that sweet pomegranate underneath. The pomegranate isn't too distinct, but more fruity/sweet.

After Wearing It

The scent has settled into my skin, and for the first time I catch a whiff of a scent I despise: baby powder. The lovely fruity smell has all but vanished, and the only thing that's left is a heavy fragrant rose scent (like tea rose) and an almost equally powdery scent.

Just to be certain, I go ask my sister and mother what it smells like to them. Sure enough, baby powder and rose are the only scents they're able to name. My sister says it's sweet smelling, but that's as close to pomegranate as it comes. My mother, meanwhile, has started to tell me what a dignified "lady's perfume" I've got, and how it's so much better than anything at the department stores. I have to agree -- the perfume is lovely, way above any of the floral scents that I'm accosted by at Macy's, for example, but I'm not partial to rose perfumes, and was really dissapointed that the pomegranate hadn't picked up.

I wore it for the rest of the day, since it really was a nice smelling, dignified, lady's perfume; but I've decided that it is not at all my type of scent. It remained strong for the first 3 hours, and faded into a tolerable light floral smell which lasted another 4 hours before I washed it off.



Since I did smell the pomegranate in there, I'm pretty certain that my body chemistry just didn't pick it up, and instead probably caused the rose/powder scents to pick up... But it's a pity that this one didn't work out too well, but I'm content to try out the rest of my treasure hoard.

[plumlicorice]

oh my! persephone is utterly delicious. i've never smelled anything so fab before! it's just gorgeous, i can't stop sniffing myself. i feel radiantly feminine, and i cannot get the words ripe, wet, and luscious out of my mind. i want to drink this stuff, it's that incredible. it's like a sort of intoxicating sugared elixer, much like dragon's milk. they don't smell similar really, but they have the same amount of sweetness.

beautiful persephone, where have you been all my life! i want to bathe in you. :D :D

[AmberBreathing]

Very pretty but I really don’t see why everyone loves it so much…rosy and kind of dry to me; unremarkable on my skin.

[Dispatcherbert]

This started out quite strong on me. Everyone will think I'm a freak but I swear that I could smell underlying chocolate (on myself at least). I guess in a way I was expecting the pomegranate to come across on me more like Swank did. Alas, it was the rose that eventually won out on me.

 

Overall, a very delicious scent that I really enjoy!

[Gothabillywench]

Persephone + Inga = Bad combo

 

This is a very juicy & fresh sweet girly scent. The two main scents- pomegranate & rose shine through in a great balancing act. One prob? Pomegranate is fun to eat but I don't want to smell like one. Any scent that has a sweet scent as it's base goes feral on my skin. Dragon's blood resin, pomegranate, some vanilla scents- I turn them to bubble gum.

[Mitzy]

well I love pomegranate, I want to eat it, smell like it, bathe in it. Unfortunately, as I am slowly learning, anything I put on that contains rose is just ROSE.

 

wet: this was juicy and bold and it bites you in the nose - I have never smelled anything like this and I was very intrigued.

on: the pomegranate was bright and sweet for all of 10 minutes, once the oil was dry it was rose perfume. a little bit sweet rose, but not much.

 

After Persephone died down after about 3 hours, I could smell the sweet fruity pomegranage coming back, but it never got strong enough to smell unless I press my nose to it.

 

I really, really like this scent, but it doesnt wear well on me and my family wrinkled their noses as I walked by.

[isyche]

I was all excited to try this after reading about it, but on me it just smelled super-sweet and candy-ish, like a sticky red lollipop. I could smell the pomegranate when it was in the vial, but never the rose.

[Jenmaha]

Well, I'm sad to say I'm a little disappointed with this....my favorite mainstream perfume is Babydoll by YSL, and I was expecting something a little similar....but Persephone is just baby powder on my skin...and I'm not a big fan of powder. I can smell the rose, but it seems masked in baby powder.

[shriekingviolet]

Initial Impression:

A sharp burst of red juiciness over a quieter floral base.

 

After Wearing It:

I have a pretty iffy relationship with rose scents, so even though I'm quite fond of pomegranates, I put off ordering Persephone for quite a while for fear it'd be too rosy. So when I first got my imp of it I was pleasantly pleased, for while I could smell the rose, the scent was dominated by a rich, juicy pomegranate note. Delightful

 

Wet on my skin, Persephone smelled pretty much like it did in the imp. The pomegranate was so ripe and red, bursting with flavor that was neither too tart or too sweet. The rose was definitely there, but unlike with most rose scents, it didn't bind with my chemistry and leap out and conquer the entire scent. It made a soft, regal background for the pomegranate, keeping it from turning Persephone into a mad fruit scent.

 

This however didn't last! Overtime the rose reasserted itself, but in a rather unusual way. Rather than making the scent all about rose, it turned it very powdery which took any sharper, tart edge off the pomegranate. The result was a mixture of expensive talc powder and candy that lasted and lasted and lasted. So disappointing!

 

Final Thoughts:

While Persephone ended pretty badly on me, its opening act was grand enough to entice me to give it another chance before completely giving up on it. It's also kicked Swank to the top of my wishlist, since it made me really eager for a good pomegranate blend now!

[fallow deer]

Mmmm!!!

 

Out of the bottle, Persephone smells sharp and biting, with only a hint of rose. It was so sharp, (kind of like walking into a greenhouse full of geraniums) that I wasn't sure if I could wear it.

 

However, dabbed on my wrists, the rose comes out and melds beautifully with the pomegranite, making this a really deep pink, luscious, wet scent.

 

Its the perfect fruity floral I was looking for in Fae, without a hint of the mustiness that I got from Fae.

 

I'll definately order a larger bottle of this for the summer!

 

-fallow deer

 

Edited to add: after a long hot day of wearing Persephone, I wanted to be surrounded by the smell and made the imp into a body spray - perfect!!

Edited June 15, 2004 by fallow deer

[malanna]

Very bright and bubbly. In fact, it reminds me of my current avatar (in case I change it: it's a pair of pretty feet and legs in rainbow high heels)--sort of giggly and bubbly, but sexy all the same. It maintains my initial impression of something incredibly juicy, but the rose comes out to temper the pomegranate. However, I don't like rose and it sometimes gives me a headache. It has a bit of that plastic-y feel that I got from Katharina (I seem to be the only one who gets this, though). Objectively, I really can see that it would be quite sexy in a bright way, except I just don't like it. *sighs*

[Ms. MSGirl]

This scent makes me wish I had waited to make an order of 5 mLs, so I could have ordered this one. When I smelled Alice, I thought I had found the sweet candied rose that would be my most-wanted scent. But this proved me wrong; this is the sultry come-hither vibe of Blood Rose combined with the sweet aquatic innocence of Ophelia to me. It really smells a great deal like Blood Rose + Ophelia -- all the sweet fruity candied rosiness, with some sultry purple fruitiness thrown in there too. I really want a bottle of this. So the drydown is a bit powdery, so what? It is beautiful, and I don't know what I will do now that I've used almost all my imp. If anyone has a 5 mL of Persephone they would like to swap, I have several 5mL's coming in the mail, watch for my swaps post!

 

Edited after wearing for a full day: I actually have come to think that I may in the end prefer Blood Rose to this one. It had good staying power, though not as great as Blood Rose's, and it might have been a little too soft and Ophelia like and not quite enough juicy rose-like for my tastes. I would still love a 5 ml but I think I will definitely get a 5 ml of Blood Rose first/too.

 

Also, I don't even remember writing this post! is drunk reviewing a problem for anyone else on here?!

Edited June 18, 2004 by Ms. MSGirl

[shadow]

This one doesn't blend into my skin like some of the other ones. It stays a little sharp and has a candy feel. Like sweet tarts or some other sharp sweet tangy candy. I seem to assign colors to scents, so this one is a deep rosey pink, softer than fuschia, but still bright and vibrant. I do like this on Fridays when I need a little help feeling Friday-y.

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

Ms. MSGirl, that's hilarious! Drunken BPAL...yeah, I found myself feeling waaay too excited about the whole thing after a little too much wine the other night. Anyway, I decided to wear Persephone yesterday for Litha...it seemed the most appropriate of my imps. I got the pomegranate all at once, up front...very, very wet-smelling. Then the rose came out and it was mostly rose, just slightly fruity. I think I liked it best wet, but would have to keep re-applying often to maintain that scent, since my skin tends to DEVOUR these oils and they fade fast on me. Overall, Persephone is lovely but I wish she hung around longer (hm, it suddenly struck me that that's pretty appropriate, given her mythology...).

[iris]

Ohhhhh such a gorgeous smell.This was the first BPAL scent I really fell in love with!

The smell is fruity,but is carefully balanced with rose.Smells subtle when dried.

[babykitty]

I didn't smell any rose at all--out of the vial, wet or dry!

 

Very sweet like Smarties candies (which I LOVE), but on me Persephone morphed into a powdery playdough smell & was completely repulsive. How sad...

[Donnababe]

First Sniff

 

Juicy, red, fruit pulp.

 

Drydown

 

When it hit my skin initially it was just rose. Now the fruit is gradually peeking through.

 

After a While

 

Sweet rose and dribbles of sharp fruit juice.

 

 

Final Verdict

 

Very nice, but not 'stunning' enough for a big bottle.

[summer]

Persephone is a gorgeous red, wet, dripping, tangy rose fragrance. I hardly ever wear rose-based fragrances, but Persephone just bursts with that slightly sweet and tangy edge that the pomegranite gives it! It smells sharp and fruity on first sniff, and dries down to a sweet rose scent. The overall effect is absolutely brilliant, because rose usually smells dry and musty to me, but Beth has made it soft and wet and juicy in this blend. Thank you Beth, for bringing roses to life for me! I plan to get a 5ml bottle.

[Effluvia]

in the vial: This seems to be pretty consistant on everyone who wears it...bright, wet, juicy pommegranate and rose. Almost painfully beautiful.

 

wet, on my skin: Fresh, feminine, innocent and achingly beautiful. Weirdly, though, on my skin, it has a tinge of that vegetable smell flower petals have....(a few minutes later) but that goes away pretty quickly, and I'm left with pure, fresh, wet, juicy rose (no powder AT ALL). The pommegranate's gone completely.

 

drying, on my skin: Just fresh, juicy rose. This is more or less how I imagine Rose Red smells.

 

...This one REALLY LASTS! It wafts all around you and you're surrounded by this beautiful, soft but vibrant rose. You really have to love roses to fully enjoy Persephone. I *adore* roses, so this is heavenly for me.

 

dry, on my skin: It dries to an almost second skin rose on me. Lovely, lovely, lovely.

[grrrlennyl]

at first: a simple and balanced scent of fruit and flower. refreshing and interesting.

on: this is going to be a favorite. i love pomegranate, and the rose gives it more of a base and more fullness. i hope this lasts.

1 hour later: this is much softer, more rosy, than when i first applied. the tartness and the brightness of the pomegranate aren't as pronouced, but it is still present.

overall: this is just a fantastically beautiful and simple scent. it vascillates between the tartness and brightness of the pomegranate and the softness and warmth of the rose while wearing it. i'm so glad i have a 5ml of this, since it's definitely one i see myself going back to.

[Emu Nymph]

I REALLY wanted to love this one because I love pomegranite. In the bottle it smells like pomegranite huice with a few rose petels floating through it. On me though it turns to roses sprinkled with pomegranite. I may have to try swank. I just ordered pure pomegranite and will be happy with that. Sadle this doesn't have that much staying power in me either. It fades. It fades nicely mind you. But just not what I was looking for. But I will so use up the whole imp.

[Witch Baby]

 

First Sniff: Wow! This is very very fruity, it kind of smells like the L'oreal kids Strawberry Shampoo I have only . . .I don't know, a bit sweeter and more candy like. Candy Apples come to mind, though there is no apple scent to it at all.

 

Wet: *sigh* This is heavenly! A perfect Fruity-rosy blend of yumminess. . . .the rose really comes out on my skin, but there is also the distinct smell of pomegranate to it that is gorgeous.

 

Dry: As it dries down, the rose become a little bit more powdery, but still essentially the same. It’s a lot gentler than it is when it's wet. I like both versions a lot!

 

Big Bottle for me!

[asa805]

THis was way too sickly sweet for me. I don t feel like the rose and pomegranite blended that well once it was on. I tried to hold out wait for a nice drydown but it never came and after about 2 hours i scrubbed this off. It was really strong and i was constantly getting wiffs of it and it was making me sickly. For rose i prefer alice, spellbound and eve.

[Falathwen]

I wore this twice and had two different impressions.

On the first wearing I was outside on a very fine day. The fragrance was luminous - rose well-balanced with a slightly musky fruitness of pomegranate. It made me feel very aware of being female. It dried and faded slowly to a soft powdery scent which lasted a long while.

On the second wearing, I was inside on a grey and oppressively warm day. The rose scent was overpowering the fruitiness when wet and was catch in your throat strong until it faded once more into the soft powdery scent.

I am curious to try this a few more times before forming a final opinion.

[Ina Garten Davita]

First Impression: Tart and juicy. Where are the roses???

 

Second Impression: The tart and juicy pom fades off and the roses take right over, glorious wet roses.

 

Final Analysis: I'm weary of anything fruity and I feared this would be, but I'm so glad I had the chance to try this. The roses are just crisp and lovely. For those of you haven't been able to get ahold of Rose Red, try this lovely lady. The drydowns are so very similar.

Edited August 12, 2004 by andrabell