Persephone

[Meg]

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

In the bottle: Tea Rose with a fresh, red and slightly bitter scent that recalls pomegranates.

Wet: Still very strong rose with a sharp, slightly bitter and tart smell... like pomegranate pips or peel. Unfortunately during drydown this gets way too aquatic for me (the "juicy" part) and smells really rancid - I need to wait at least half an hour until I can get it to stabilise. My nose hates aquatics. *sigh*

Drydown: When the gross phase is passed, this becomes a juicy rose, with a hint of something tart to counterbalance it. It sort of goes back to the smell in the bottle, tea rose and pomegranate.

Overall: A very nice, shiny and juicy rose blend, quite girly but enticing. I'm a bit ambivalent about this one, because while I really enjoy the blend when it's settled, the aquatic note during drydown keeps on coming out and punching me in the sinuses if I sniff it too closely, and it doesn't smell good at all. But after complete drydown, it's a very pretty scent, ideal for the summer. Edited March 23, 2006 by Shollin

[sideviewhotel]

I am very upset. I lovelovelove pomegranates and really wanted Persephone to work well with me. But, damnit! She smells JUST LIKE hair dye chemicals on me. You know the smell (well, maybe you don't).. it's chemically with that overly sweet juicy/floral smell over the top. Woe.

 

I might give her one more go before giving her up to swaps, but I am so disappointed.

[jazlyn]

"I really wanted to like this one!" Haha I just find it interesting how quite a few reviews have said that... and it's true! I really wanted to like Persephone.

 

Persephone tickles my nose/would probably give me a headache (and makes my sister want to sneeze). It also doesn't smell right on me... The pomegranate makes it sweet and it's a good combination with rose, though just not on me! Persephone is a young, innocent and carefree Greek goddess eating a pomegranate in the midst of... numerous rose bushes.

[lookingglass]

Sweet and sour roses.

[Fefferbella]

Frimp from the lab:

 

Ack roses and sour berries? I guess that's the pommagrante, but it smells off/sour.

 

 

Rose notes hate me.. they tend to turn into soap or urine scents. *yuck*

[tinyvulture]

soft, dry rose with a touch of sweet, tart pomegranate. i think the juicy tartness of the fruit is a great contrast to the prim and proper rose note, and the result is quite seductive and sexy.

[Caletara]

In the bottle: Pomegranate and rose, more juicy fresh pomegranate than rose at this point. Very juicy and fruity. I really loved this in the bottle, it smelled so juicy and fragrant and beautiful--just how I would have imagined Persephone to be, if you could bottle her.

 

Wet: Quickly turns into rose on me, very little juicyness.

 

Dry: The rose stays but lightens a bit. And the juiciness of the pomegranate comes back strong too, softer than it was in the bottle, but enough so the scent isnt a pure rose. Its very nice. Seems like a beautiful scent for a nice summer day.

 

My body does tend to eat up this scent pretty fast though. I only got a couple hours of it. But its a keeper! I definatly like it enough to put it in a roller bottle and keep slathering it on!

[Victory]

Persephone smells really musty on me. My guess is that it's the pomegranate that's causing it because, although my body doesn't do really well with rose, it's never smelled like that. Luckily or unluckily, Persephone really didn't stick around. I'm glad the Lab gifted me with this, because I had wanted to try it. It's disappointing, but not everything will work.

 

ETA: Two years later, whether through aging or body chemistry change, I find that Persephone is so much better. When the oil goes on, I can smell the sweet, red pomegranate, then the rose and pomegranate come together and now I see why people enjoy this scent. Very nice.

Edited December 30, 2007 by Victory

[Chrysantza]

Got this as a gimp in a swap.

 

In the bottle: Fruity rose

 

On me: A juicy, fruity rose. Thankfully, not soapy like some roses. It's not quite "me" - I prefer a more sophisticated rose a-la Black Rose or Peacock Queen - but this is very pretty, sweet and springlike.

[yamiko]

In the bottle: The rose and the pomegranate are perfectly balanced; neither one is stronger than the other. A little sweet, a little sharp and tangy, a little flowery.

 

Wet on skin: Kinda faint on my skin, but everything is still in balance.

 

Drydown (3 minutes): I smell the pomegranate more than the rose now, and the scent is stronger on me now than it was initially.

 

Drydown (5 minutes): Well, this one hasn’t really changed much since I put it on...

 

Overall impression: A scent kinda like me: shy at first, doesn’t want to say much, but once it’s settled down, it really expresses itself. A soft scent, to be put on when I’m feeling girly. I can’t even work of the ambition to express any masculine traits while smelling this. I was afraid this was going to be relegated to room scenting, since it started out so faint, but it surprised me. It also didn’t really change at all on me when it dried.

[Rhowan]

I got this as a frimp this week. I would have never chosen it for myself because rose hates me and usually turns into powder or grandma smell or sometimes playdough...

 

In the bottle: Pomegranate more than rose

 

Wet: The pomegranate is still very much dominating luckily!

 

Dry Down: it took exactly 2 minutes for this to become a really stinky old lady rose....

 

Conclusion: I think if you can wear rose, this would be a very lovely scent but for me... well, this goes to the swap pile.

[rhubarbbear]

in the vial this smells like candied roses to me. i think i'm getting the grenadine side of the pomegranate. hmm.

 

on the skin i get the juicy roses very breifly...and then they turn soapy. curses! foiled by one of the random soapy roses!

[brownbear]

Juicy it is! It is swank with some fresh rose dipped in it. I like it a lot. Anyone who likes rose scents, swank, or fresh, juicy notes will probably like this one a lot. I will however, probably put this up to swaps as I already own a bottle of swank and don't have the space for similar imps. I'm trying to pare down the imp collection.

[telesilla]

Why I tried it: A friend gave us a bunch of imps she was looking to get rid of so I figured I'd try it.

 

In the bottle and wet: Fruity and rosy.

 

Drying down: It's a really fresh clean rose scent and the pomegranate compliments it nicely.

 

Dry: Ah rose. My soapy old nemesis. *sighs* Too bad; I hope Nancy likes it on her.

[fiddledragon]

Scent in bottle: Ooooo...a glorious, fruit/rose combination! Tart and sweet and floral. I want to eat it. :-) This might be nice as a room scent for when I'm in a really bad mood.

 

Scent on me:

Wet -- lush, sweet rose. I can no longer identify the fruit as pomagranate, but it stays as a nice tart fruit background. I love this rose scent!

Dry -- As it dries, some of the sweetness fades, leaving tart, juicy rose. It feels very me.

 

Conclusion: Bottle. Big bottle.

[ladynoah74]

I'm joining the "I wanted to love it" club. Pomegranate and roses, two of my favorite Lab scents. Unfortunately, in this one, the pomegranate disappears and the roses go oh-so wrong on my skin.

 

In the bottle: it was all sweet juicy pomegranate without a hint of rose, but that wasn't necessarily a a bad thing.

 

Wet: The rose piped up, but once mixed with the pomegranate, it went to an acidic bite.

 

Dry: Aaalll roses, but not in a good way. The acid left, but the roses never got any better. Into the pile.

[Wench457]

Persephone ITB: pomegranate and rose. Very clearly so. Smells quite wonderful, light and fresh.

 

On: A strange musty smell on me, what a total transformation, and I really hope it gets better, as it was lovely in the imp.

 

Dry: The rose finally came out, but unfortunately not the good kind of rose on me. This was sour roses, which is sad.

[jewelbug]

Imp: Red Juicy Pomegranate and slight rose. Very pretty.

 

Wet: Very strong rose!

 

Drying: Rose Soap.

 

Overall: Poor pomegranate never had a chance. My skin amps rose too much. And then it turns it to soap.

[sthenno]

Sweet and juicy. This is much fruitier than I expected. I don't smell much rose. The fruitiness makes me think of apples more than pomegranates.

 

I wish the rose had come out more on me. This is way too sweet on me all through drydown, so I won't be keeping this one.

[konekoshadow]

In the bottle, I can smell roses and juicy fruits. On me, the rose goes away and never comes back. Which is odd, as my skin usually amps rose. It smells of pomegranates. I like it well enough, though I'm going to try layering it with one of my other rose scents to see if that brings out the roses more.

[marzstar]

(my 2nd review ever)

 

i like this a lot . . . in the bottle.

a really simple and balanced blend of pomegranate and rose, just as the description says.

i wish it stayed that way on my skin

the moment i put it on all the pomegranate disappeared and all i was left with was rose

a nice rose, mind you; great great for rose lovers;

(though my fav rose so far is blood rose)

though not what i want to be wearing

 

i think rose is a just note that totally punctuates with my chemistry

and i don't like smelling all flowery so

no thank you to this one

 

though i do wonder what will smell on me as this smelled to me in the bottle . . . a fruitier thicker smell with only the faiiinnnttest hint of rose . . .

i'll have to let y'all know if i find that blend.

 

xo

m*

[Missmoonlight]

liquid: rose with something else, an oil scent that I can't recognize

on my skin: rose. Nothing more.

 

after 5 minutes: a very little honey, but very little, I mean 5% honey and 95% rose:) Mom says there is also something stingy, maybe pepper. Good, stronger than "London", but unfortunately not for me, I have already traded it!

[Clare-Dragonfly]

In the bottle: Kinda perfume-y and strong. I think I can smell the rose and pomegranate, but they don’t seem to be dominant.

 

On me: Ooh, the rose is much stronger on me. It’s a little bit of a soapy Victorian rose, but I like it a lot—probably because it’s not pure Victorian rose. It’s a little darker than that. Doesn’t smell perfume-y anymore, which is a huge relief.

 

Mmm, it’s getting yummier as it dries. Oh wow, I keep sniffing my wrists. This is delicious. I have no idea if I’m smelling the pomegranate, but it’s clearly not just rose. It’s very juicy.

 

A few hours later: It’s faint now, but still quite tasty, and it seems to be lasting, though it has little throw. I didn’t adore this as much as I expected to, but I am pleased with it, and it may grow on me.

[Ryvre]

I really wanted to like this. I love the smell of pomegranate, but this just doesn't work on me.

 

In the imp: Perfumey, and not in a good way.

 

Wet: Same. The rose comes on strong and doesn't let go.

 

I went to wash this off after 10 minutes. The rose was so strong I couldn't escape it. I scrubbed and scrubbed, and it wouldn't come off. I put Katharina on over it, but I could still smell it. Hours later, the Katharina was gone, but Persephone was still hanging around. This has some serious throw to it.

[harmonyfb]

In the imp, the candyish scent of pomegranate was very strong. I was afraid that it would be overwhelming, as it was in several blends. Well, it wasn't the pomegranate I had to worry about.

 

Wet, the rose and pomegranate married to become a sharpish, womanly scent. It really put me in mind of an Alphonse Mucha painting. Definitely out of my fragrance comfort zone, but as I felt like being adventurous, I applied more.

 

After it dried, I was enveloped in a cloud of heady roses. Persephone has some serious throw to it. I felt like I was trailing clouds of scent behind me as I walked, and the rose smell was nearly suffocating to me.

 

That was at 5 pm yesterday. It's now 6:30 am, and my wrist still smells of roses. That's some strong stuff, there.