The Gaoler's Daughter

[brettashley]

Now the gaoler had a daughter, a pleasant wench and good-hearted, who assisted her father in the lighter duties of his post. She was particularly fond of animals, and, besides her canary, whose cage hung on a nail in the massive wall of the keep by day, to the great annoyance of prisoners who relished an after-dinner nap, and was shrouded in an antimacassar on the parlour table at night, she kept several piebald mice and a restless revolving squirrel. This kind-hearted girl, pitying the misery of Toad, said to her father one day, "Father! I can't bear to see that poor beast so unhappy, and getting so thin! You let me have the managing of him. You know how fond of animals I am. I'll make him eat from my hand, and sit up, and do all sorts of things."

Gardenia, neroli, and white peach with vanilla amber, cream, and honey.

I can't believe this doesn't already have a thread! I don't write really long reviews so hopefully somebody else can do this scent better justice.

Anyway, just received my package with this yesterday. It's a lovely, blooming floral & fruity scent. The label art is truly adorable - a young, saucy looking girl holding a tea tray before a jail cell.

Wet: Definitely getting that white peach and neroli

Drying down: The vanilla amber and cream are coming further to the forefront.

Overall, just a beautiful scent. Reminds me a little of Kat Van Tassel, but only in its gorgeous sophistication (the scents aren't really all that alike).

Will have to repurchase before Wind in the Willows leave... if I can scrape together enough money for it!

[angelicruin]

My order arrived today! In the bottle, I get a creamy gardenia scent. Gardenia is one of the few florals I really like.

 

Wet on my skin, I still smell the Gardenia (but it's not an overpowering floral scent) and I can smell the peach blending with the vanilla/honey.

 

It's a very subtle scent. Definitely something you could wear anywhere.

 

As it dries, I can pick out the amber, but it is a minor note for me, no overpowering amber-ness on my skin. On dry-down, it's just a beautiful creamy gardenia that is softened by the peach & honey notes. Even if florals are not your thing, it might be worth trying a decant of this, because it really is a lovely scent.

[hkhm]

bottle: this has that exact same super-sweet honey scent as cupid complaining to venus. this is all honey and sweet fruit.

 

wet: this is incredibly sweet and very sexy. gardenia is more prominent along with the peach and honey.

 

dry: honeyed peaches with a distant hint of florals.

[greenranger]

Wet, peaches, cream, honey and gardenia. Ah, the neroli is coming up now.

 

The neroli seems like it is attempting to amp...However, it seems that the honey and cream is keeping it in check! Yay! I thought there was a possibility for this working, if the honeyed cream in Katrina van Tassel could make roses work.

 

The honey is not really apparent on me past the flowers, fruit, and cream. However, this is a floral I think I can wear.

[lostluckkitten]

This one is mainly gardenia on me, at least at first. It's very fresh; not at all fake or perfumey. I didn't end up getting any peach, but the neroli was the next strongest note I could pick out. It threw some orange into the mix without actually smelling like the fruit - more the feel of oranges, rather than orange-scented.

 

The vanilla/honey/cream notes were difficult to pick out, but I thought they combined nicely to give a sweet creamy feel to the blend. Very nice. Coming from a floral hater, I thought it was very well done and would consider a bottle. I think gardenia may be one I can wear.

[Lycanthrope]

Brruuuh.

 

Each time I put this on, my brain goes 'Estate Bath oil!" It's a slightly twingy peach pulp with a hint of vanilla-cream, but not overpoweringly so. Don't really get much neroli, but it sits together quite like L'Estate does when I drip it into the bathtub. No marked supergardenia to me, it's pretty tame, sweet, innocent.

 

If you like Tamora or the Estate bath oil try this one.

[Czarina]

In the bottle: peach and gardenia. Interesting combination.

 

Wet: the two scents above are joined by the amber. Even more interesting combination.

 

Drydown: this becomes one of those indescribable BPAL scents that, for me at least, unless I'm sitting there with an ingredients list I can't really tell what's in it, other than that it just smells really good in a vaguely floral sort of a way.

 

What never really come out to my nose are the honey and cream. Also, rather than neroli it smells more like roses to me. Odd.

[Leopard403]

What is wrong with my skin??

 

In the bottle this is SO lovely. A creamy, fruity floral composed of so many of my favorite scents: Lush gardenia, juicy peach, soft vanilla and cream.

 

On my wrist: Parsley.

 

 

 

 

 

[Lyrical]

In vial: so soft and gentle - neroli, peach and gardenia over a smooth base of vanilla, amber and cream. Can't wait to try this!

 

Wet on skin: so very soft and sweet and creamy and light! Definitely neroli and peach with cream, amber and honey! The gardenia is faint. Fruity and delicious!

 

Dry on skin: this becomes more complex, almost a little spicy. The orange and cream remind me of Zarita, but this is fresher and creamier and fruitier, with a gorgeous peach note as well as amber and honey.

 

If you love O, Fae or Zarita you should try this. On me it's not floral at all.

Edited November 30, 2008 by Lyrical

[Hawke]

Fruity in the imp, but I'm not sure if that's the neroli or the peach. Peach, I think, because it's a little fuzzy around the edges. I think I'm getting the gardenia too. We'll see if this is too floral for me.

 

Wet on my skin, the neroli was very bright and very loud, but as I like citrusy things, it was good. Even this early in the drying, though, the gardenia has taken over, which does not bode well for this scent and I being friends. Oh, but then the gardenia backs off a little and the peach returns with an extra dollop of honey, which is nicer. So, maybe I was hasty. I'll keep waiting.

 

Dry, the gardenia thankfully quieted down. Someone in the thread mentioned Tamora and I'll admit, I was thinking there was a similarity here too. I should probably test them side by side, but this strikes me as Tamora's more floral sister. I'll keep the imp, but since it's so close to a GC, I don't think I need a bottle.

 

ETA: Now that I've checked my (much aged) Tamora in comparison, Gaoler is definitely more floral which makes it seem a more feminine and demure version of Tamora, who is very strong and full of sandalwood.

[galahad]

In The Bottle

Gardenia and peach (the peach is delicious!)

 

On Application

Floral with some peach

 

Dry Down

The gardenia amps up to start with. The neroli muddies the scent (not my favourite note). The creaminess comes in to tone down the high florals and allow the peach back in. I'm a little disappointed in this one. Smell like a peach potpourri. Will retest.

Rating (0-5)

3

[blacklacestatic]

In the bottle: Sweet honey with a bit of a fruity twist.

 

Wet: Pretty much the same, but the honey and the peach stand out the most for me.

 

Drydown: Sweet golden amber/honey goodness!

 

Overall: LOVE!!! I must really know what works for me now, because every Yule I bought this year worked amazingly on me! Honey and Amber are two favorites of mine, and this is a perfect representation of what Bpal can do with them. I can see myself needing a 2cnd bottle, and this becoming a great everyday scent. This is the honey scent I have been waiting for.

[SurrealReality]

In the Bottle/Imp: neroli, gardenia, white peach, honey

 

Wet on Skin: neroli, gardenia, white peach (a little stronger), honey, and a little vanilla in the background

 

Dry: mostly neroli with a little white peach and honey. But after about a 15 minutes - gardenia (has shown up again), neroli (much softer), white peach, honey, vanilla, and a little cream

 

In the Bottle/Imp: 3 out of 5 (pretty, but nothing special)

On My Skin: 3.5 out of 5 (very nice, but because of the neroli, it's still too green for me)

Edited November 23, 2008 by SurrealReality

[kelpsoda]

Wet: Peaches, a bit of gardenia and neroli, and something dusty in the background. The peach is very juicy.

 

Dry: I get some vanilla and honey, but the peach is fading, and leaving behind gardenia. Too bad, as the peach was so good. This is more a floral than a fruity perfume.

[Brianne]

d'awwww a disappointment I thought I was going to be in love with this scent because of the peach, vanilla and cream and honey. But the gardenia totally mucks it up (sorry gardenia, no offense) and makes this far more floral than I anticipated. The peach is so faint against the neroli and gardenia and the honey sweetens it all up a tiny bit, but the vanilla and cream never show up. The result is a pretty enough scent, but a little too floral for me.

[innocent]

I must admit, I was hoping for a peachy version of Katrina von Tassel. Unfortunately the neroli and / or gardenia in The Gaoler's Daughter amps on my skin, turning this one into a piercing floral with pleasant fruit, cream, and honey undertones.

[steffanina]

The Gaoler's Daughter-

 

In Bottle: Grass and a little must and some honey.

 

Wet: Honey and a strong sharp floral. I think that's the neroli. A little soapy note too.

 

Dry: The sharpness recedes and the peach comes out a bit. I already love the oddness of neroli and if I liked florals more I'm sure I'd love this.

 

Overall: A very pretty and interesting floral!

[Schmoozy]

I have to admit I was worried about the honey note, but thankfully the honey only serves to make this blend creamy and thick. This starts off screaming gardenia, but it only lasts a few seconds before vanilla amber, neroli and peach appear. The honey sits in the background along with the cream note to make Gaolers' Daughter warm, golden and comforting. This definitely has sweet wriiten all over it, but not in a cloying way. The reference to Tamora only more floral is bang on. Funny how a scent like Gardenia can be quite a strong floral. This is beautiful and I thank the heavens, that honey did not ruin it for me.

[amyw]

This one in the bottle smells a bit sharp and medicinal, starts out on skin as a bit non-descript but strongly floral, but on drydown is a pretty scent. I can smell the cream, the honey, and the gardenia in particular, but if I think about it, I can smell the rest as well.

 

It definitely works on me and smells very good, but I'm not particularly a floral kind of person, so it's not very me. I usually prefer my scents a little darker, I think, and I took a chance on this hoping it would be more vanilla cream and honey than floral. It's a sweet, innocent girl type of scent, for sure, and althought it's certainly not overwhelmingly floral, the florals are definitely there. If you like all these notes, I think they definitely work well together and blend well.

[livingdead71]

I like this one a lot. I mostly get peach and honey. The gardenia is more apparent when the oil is first applied, but is still pretty subtle. The creamy honey dry down reminds me of Katrina Van Tassel, which someone already mentioned. Overall, a very pretty scent...I may pick up a bottle before it goes away.

[sookster]

straight sniff from imp is peaches and cream...mmmMMMmmm

 

once applied vanilla combines with the vanilla amber and this is just dreamy....superbly creamy with lots of white florals; gardenia is elegant...just elegant! ...... i adore it!!

[Little Bird]

Sniffing this in the bottle, I can definitely smell the soft, clean peach, neroli (which smells almost like tangerine to me), and a tiny bit of honeyed cream smoothing everything out. It also has a bit of green leaf type smell to my nose, and reminds me slightly of Eden.

 

On my skin, unfortunately, this starts to go plastic-y. I recently had an issue with another company's peach oil turning to clean plastic smell on my skin, and that same thing is happening here. The other notes try their best to round out this scent for me. I can smell and love the honeyed cream and the sultry gardenia, but they're wrapped around a base of clean plastic . The gardenia here is gorgeous and strong, but my skin chemistry ruins the peach and gives the whole blend an odd, plastic smell that doesn't go away.

 

I'll keep my bottle, because I love the label art for the Willows series, and hope that this ages a bit better for me.

[GypsyRoseRed]

This is all peach and gardenia on me with no honey, so the only sweetness is coming from the fruit note and with my body chemistry, pretty much all I can smell after half an hour is OMG!gardenia! Such a pity because if this ended up anything like the way it smells in the bottle, it would have been pretty. As it is, it ends up a one note wonder.

[wolfie13]

Imp sniff: I get mostly peach and floral, but the floral I'm smelling most at the outset is the neroli, not the gardenia.

 

Wearing: I really like the initial wear. I get mostly peach, with a touch of honey and the cream note, and a light floral overcast (the "floral" is more of a blend of the gardenia and neroli now). I am not generally a floral person and I still like this - the floral aspect never becomes overbearing on me.

 

Late drydown: Now I get a lot more amber. It's mostly amber, light peach and light gardenia at this point. (I usually amp the hell out of gardenia and while I love the scent of the flower itself I can rarely wear it, but this scent has been totally fine on me for some reason.)

 

It's very nice, though I think I like the initial wear phase best. I do wish I got more of the honey and cream notes in the mix overall - that might have pushed this into the potential bottle realm rather than the I-think-I'll-keep-the-imp realm.

 

I love testing peach scents for some reason. Belle Vinu is next on my list!

[gwynethr]

Dang. I think my decant is mislabeled, because I smell nothing like any of these posts make it sound -- good or bad. I can barely smell anything at all, in fact. I may have to hunt one down because it sounds like a perfect scent for me, but I can't pick up much of anything from the decant I applied. Even in the sample bottle, it's barely discernable.