Wicked

[jj_j]

A paean to all the Wicked Queens, Evil Stepmothers, and other misunderstood villainesses throughout history and lore. Lends an aura of majesty, refinement, strength, and a deep, brooding malice. A sophisticated, womanly scent: rich myrrh and jasmine draped in the subtlest rose.

Just a hint of rose, draped like a mantle over regal jasmine. Bitterness is evident in the snap of myrhh, and the whole picture is one of a strong, wealthy woman intent on revenge.

The jasmine never goes soapy, and the rose sweetens as a counterpoint to the bite and depth of the myrhh. In just a couple of minutes the individual notes disappear and the combination is locked together, radiating from my skin in epicurean waves. Edited September 16, 2007 by Shollin

[Shollin]

First sniff: Wicked is a very cool, ethereal scent – more than cool, almost to the point of chilly but not quite biting. I know it’s jasmine, but I don’t smell that bright sweetness jasmine usually has – this is much darker, very shadowy. It reminds me a lot of the evil queen from Snow White – that regal, haughty beauty as she sweeps out of the hall with her long cape billowing behind.

 

Wearing: Reminiscent of Twilight, but a very cool version, and darker. The drydown is almost exactly the wet green stage of Twilight, which I madly adore, and it lasts for ages – I can still smell it clearly more than 12-13 hours after applying.

 

I suspect I’ll be wearing this one a lot once I get through all my imps.

[Sarah]

Imagine a black rose with a core of jealousy. On the outside, it's beautiful, in a sinful and enchanting way, but strip it of its black petals and you're left with a bitter stem---the only thing that was keeping the petals together. Wicked was so bitter that I thought it was patchouli I was smelling (I'm not a fan of patchouli). It can be summed up in three words: crushed bitter roses. That scent clung around for a while and after 5 or 6 hours it mellowed out some, but not by much. I really didn't like it at all. The idea behind it was nice, and it's perfectly fitting of a villianess. Unfortunately, a little too much bite for my tastes.

Edited March 15, 2004 by Sarah

[JazzieCazzie]

Another one that didn't really work on me and I am starting to wonder if it's something about me and rose scents (even though I love them in bubble bath a la Amandopando and Softy and Tisty-Tosty) ...

 

When I first put it on, it was overpoweringly sweet like baby powder with a touch of bubble gum. Dried down much later I liked it more, kind of a wild rose scent. But overall, it just was too cloying for me. Again, one that could definitely work as a bath oil and that's what I'm going to try.

 

EDITED MARCH 21, 2005: I received another frimp of this with my last order and decided to try it again ... and this time I love it! Go figure ... NO bubblegum, no powder ... just a very comforting, warm and familiar scent sort of like the closet where we used to keep all of our soaps and medicinal supplies. It reminds me quite a bit of Spellbound ...

Edited March 21, 2005 by JazzieCazzie

[roisnoir]

In the bottle: hard-edged jasmine.

On: Rich. Dark. Has the same candy note that makes my teeth itch that Lust has. It must be the myrrh. I can see myself wearing this when I'm in one of my more sadistic moods.

Dry: Oh yes. Lovely. It smells like something I've worn recently, though I don't know which. Rosey and Jasminey and floral and good.

I don't know about a bottle, but I'm definately keeping the imp.

[TygherRayn]

In the bottle: Rosey jasmine. Floral, for sure. I remember the first time I sniffed this I loved it. Or so say vaniclion and salice. They remember me saying so.

 

Wet: Ew? What the heck did this turn into .. it's like bathwater into which roses have been macerated .. and it's not lovely at all.

 

Wearing: I won't be. I've tried this three times, and each time it makes me nauseous. Sadly .. despite me wating Wicked to be nice .. it remains perfectly, horridly wicked and cruel on my skin.

[twistygirl]

Wet, I didn't like this at all. It's my jasmine problem. Anything with a good amount of jasmine in it just smells rank on my skin - it reminds me of a very old woman who doesn't shower enough and puts perfume on to cover up the fact. It almost smells a bit urine-like on me.

 

HOWEVER... once this dried down, it's wonderful. The jasmine softens up into more of a deep, creamy scent, and the rose and myrrh blend perfectly. Not sure that I'd get a large bottle of this, because the initial jasmine stage is hard for me to get through, but it is very, very pretty when dry.

[allamanda]

Let me first of all say that myrrh, especially when combined with jasmine, can do some very strange and unpleasant things with my skin-chemistry.

 

When wet I’m getting a scorched effect from the myrrh. I can just smell the rose and jasmine which is reminding me of Delight.

 

Once dry the jasmine is slightly more apparent but still backed with a faint acrid scorched note.

 

After about an hour the scorched note has more or less gone, but during that hour this didn’t do well on my skin. I tried this perfume on three separate occasions, with the same result each time. The final dry-down wasn’t unpleasant but also wasn’t special and the overall effect means this one is not for me.

[Donnababe]

First Sniff

 

Stinky jasmine.

 

Drydown

 

Smell number one - Soot

Smell number two - jasmine and a little rose

Smell number three - Allamanda's 'scorched' note

 

After a While

 

Rose and a touch of myrrh. Much nicer.

 

Final Verdict

 

The early stages of this are not enjoyable for me. Pretty towards the end but not nice enough for a big bottle.

[Miggins]

I really wanted to like this. Really I did.

 

I was hit by a dark acrid burnt scorched (ty, Allamanda) smell - hellishly smoky and bitter. During the dry-down, the jasmine and the rose were fighting their way through the myrrh, but lost every time. It smells like our local "hippie" shop, Gone Potty - a 1001 different smells ranging from incense (which is always burning) to wooden carvings to perfume oil. I liked this part but the black burning smell just took me over.

 

One to swap, I'm afraid.

[inkstone]

In the vial

Jasmine with a bite. The faintest whiffs of rose & myrrh.

 

Wet

I'm getting the acrid scorched smell that's been mentioned previously. I'm assuming that's the myrrh. The roses are drowned out and the jasmine is valiantly trying to come out, but the myrrh clobbers it.

 

Drydown

Myrrh backed with jasmine. If I sniff my arm, I can smell the roses but they're clinging to my skin. Truthfully I feel like I'm surrounded by a cloud.

 

Final thoughts

This is appropriate for its namesake, but I think it's a little too womanly and old for me. Plus it reminds me of a co-worker who wears way too much perfume and makes everyone gag when she walks by. It's an unfortunate association, but it's there. I'll be swapping this.

[Unseelie]

woooh.. in the vial - jasmine, ready to kick and bite.

on wet - jasmine, rose peeking through, but a hard jasmine overall.

 

dry - the rose is trying hard to beat out the jasmine, but i think i'm tuned to recognize jasmine and that's coming out on top. the rose smells like powdery rose, harried by the constant tang of jasmine.

i'm not getting a dark or subtle effect, just the wrestling florals.

 

dry, half hour - the mate says, hesitantly, "magnolia?" i sniff again. "nope, jasmine, and powdery rose" as it seems that's going to be the final result of the war.

 

it's a very nice floral mix, if you need a jasmine without its hard tangy edge the rose does a wonderful job of taming it durning the dry down. i smell good. i don't smell goth-club good, or scare the people at work good, but generically florally good.

[tempete]

I tend to go for myrrh scents because when it's mixed with the right notes, the scent will resonate on my skin. For this reason, Wicked has been on my wish list for a while, so when the Lab threw it in as a freebie with my last order, I was ecstatic...

 

Wicked started out promisingly enough: the myrrh note tamed the rose and jasmine notes, creating a faintly floral blend with a resinous backbone. Unfortunately, over time, the jasmine note turned soapy on my skin. It was lovely while it lasted, though.

[xoe]

I didn't read the description before doing my review, so didn't realize that this had Jasmine. But Jasmine is always weird on me and this may be why things turned out the way they did. That said, here're my thoughts on Wicked.

 

Floral, herby, slightly soapy. Becomes soapier on drydown. And somehow a sort of thicker smell emerges. I don't know if the thicker smell is what others have described as "sooty" or what they have described as "scorched" or if it's something else entirely. Definitely not me.

[TheDarkMother]

I love the description of Wicked! I'm literally bouncing in my chair about it!

 

In the Bottle: Delicious jasmine. Lovely jasmine.

 

On Me: A slight musk scent with the jasmine, with a tad of rose in the background. A very haughty and regal scent, a scent that makes you want to turn up your nose and look down on the rest of the world as subjects to your every whim. Its very powerful, so I might want to put on a little less next time. Regardless, I love the scent, and plan on getting a big bottle of it soon.

[surf-tormented]

"Exit signs, burning red

Paying fines, move ahead

 

Oh, I am the wicked one"

 

Can't use Wicked without thinking of that Switchblade Symphony song. Wicked brings up thoughts of my wicked stepmom, Disney villains and trip-hopped goth tunes.

 

This is as close to an actual mainstream perfume as BPAL gets. Very matrony. I could imagine an old proper bordello madame wearing this. It's thick and unwaivering. I smell resins and rose, perhaps more.

 

(Note: I never look at other people's reviews or the Lab description before I sample, so my outlook is not tainted by words.)

 

Incense and rose, royal and worn by a woman not afraid to use a whip when needed. Yeah, this is the oil the Evil Queen in Snow White wears as she talks to her mirror. This is the fairest in the land, don't let Snow White fool you.

 

I like the imp, but getting a bottle of this wouldn't be my thing. I don't like floral enough to buy too many of them.

[harlequin]

This one stays pretty much the same wet and the entire time I have it on. There is just the tiniest hint of rose, and the mix of jasmine and myrrh is very interesting.. The jasmine, as usual, is soothing but the myrrh adds this interesting kick of spiciness to it. It definitely has two faces in one, as I imagine most of those wicked queens must have. Unless they're born into it, how else would they convince some prince/king to marry them? hehehe.

 

It's a very nice "darker scent" this isn't *too* dark.

 

I'd give it :heart: on the tabitha-o-meter.

 

 

ETA: oooh, at the very end of this one's life, i thought I detected a tiny bit of apple.. how very snow white's [step]mom..

Edited February 7, 2005 by harlequin

[Ina Garten Davita]

First Impression: Roses, but only for a moment.

 

Second Impression: This is all thorns, it reminds me of when Morticia Adams would cut the heads off the roses before she would make the arrangment of the thorny stems. After it's dry Wicked is all myrrh.

 

Final Analysis: This scent fits the description perfectly, it's Cruella De Vil, Maleficent, the Evil Queen and the Wicked Stepmother all rolled into one. It's a lovely scent, but it's not for me.

[misfitroxy]

In the imp, I definitely got a big whiff o' jasmine. And on my skin, it's not straying far from that initial impression. Though I can detect the rose now. I like the way the two florals blend together. They create a distinctly "mature" fragrance. Definitely something I'd expect on someone more old-fashioned leaning, as I envision women in pearls sitting down to tea in oversized ornate hats and pastel suits. This is surprising, as my skin normally grabs hold of musks like nothing else. But I'm simply not receiving any darker tones from this in the least.

 

I might try layering this with something overtly spicy to see if I can vamp it up a tad. Overall, it's pleasant just not love worthy on me.

[ismene]

Dark, sultry rose. I was quite fortunate that this blend didn't give me a headache at all, since rose and jasmine are often culprits. However, it didn't do it for me. It didn't turn bad or cloying as florals often do on my skin; it just didn't quite work for me. After a few hours, Wicked had faded out to a sweet myrrh, but the first hours were just too rosy for my tastes.

[Renny]

Wicked smells very gingery to me. I didn't pick up alot of rose at all. It reminded me of something warm and sweet, almost crystalized. I like it alot

[evil_laugher]

I mainly smelled roses in this, but maybe I just don't know what jasmine is like enough. It reminded me a lot of Black Dahlia, but Black Dahlia is sweeter. It certainly doesn't smell wicked, but it is really, really lovely.

Edited March 8, 2005 by evil_laugher

[ccdoodleme]

LOVE it! LOVE IT!

 

In the Imp:cold, sharp and intoxicating, I keep sniffing it in deeper. I agree with the ginger note I had read in another review.

 

First application: ginger, sharp green floral note

 

Dry down: amazing, hard for me to describe, warm, yet sharp and sweet.

Sooooo womanly.

 

I sooo need someone to sniff me

 

 

 

 

I was getting concerned if I would find another scent that would grab me. So far I have purchased about 20 different imp's, tried about 15 of them and this will make the 3rd one I really like.

I sooooo envy ppl that write glowing reviews of scents that just did NOT work on me Although on the up side, when I do find one that works with my chemistry I find myself wanting to bathe in that particular oil Wicked being one of them!

[shelldoo]

i so wanted to try this i love rose and myrhh so had high hopes

 

wet : sharp biting jasmine, ugh why did i not notice the jasmine note in the description

 

 

dry: jasmine ugh ugh where is the rose??? all is get is jasmine and myrhh

[Splendid Molerat]

Wicked is a very womanly, feminine cloud of jasmine, trailed by ashy bitterness.

 

There is a bruised rose scent, imagine nearly black petals, and a touch of something clove and cherry -- like blood spilt at her direction, but never touching her lily hands.