Flowering Chrysanthemums

[Usagi]

Chrysanthemum, marigold, golden sandalwood, vanilla, cinnamon, and amber incense.

Bottle:tangy floral with a creamy background
Wet: sandalwood, the tanginess of mums--but not the full scent-- and something almost like citrus rind. Very spicy and sharp and green. Sapful. Nice.
Dry: dry and spicy with a hint of green.


This is a perfect fall scent; spicy, rounded and delicious. It doesn't scream out to be noticed, but instead kind of dances in the air. Also, it seems pleasantly unisex.

[forspecial_plate]

Starting out, this smells almost fruity on me. It reminds me of ginger blossom or vanilla flower....sweet and floral, and a touch fruity. At this stage it reminds me of Opuhi. Then later, as it dries, some drier notes come forward and it takes on more of a grass or hay aspect.

 

It's a very golden scent, from start to finish. Starts out with a 'roundness', if you know what I mean. But as it dries it becomes just a little flat on my skin. I think I'd like more cinnamon, more amber incense. I think it's the vanilla that goes just a little flat on me. I don't hate it, but I admit I was a little disappointed. I wanted something sultry like Mum Moon, and to me this is more like Hay Moon.

[milo]

Oooh, this is a good one! First impressions are a light, musky floral with glowing amber. The florals smell fresh, though not dried, which makes this blend unique to me. There is a bit spice, but not spice, if that makes any sense. Fresh Chrysanthemums actually smell a bit spicy to me, and there is supposed to be cinnamon, but it really is quite muted. I love this, and glad I got two bottles.

[eatingthesea]

oh holy hell! flowering mums is INSTANT love for me. in fact, after this review is finished, i'm heading to my "top 10" list to update it to include this baby. this one may even rival my beloved chrysanthemum moon as a favorite.

 

hokay...let's see...this definitely falls under the classification of "spicy floral," which defines BPAL amour for me. i don't find the floral note fresh, however. it definitely has a dry, musky quality to my nose. the usual dustiness of mums is sweetened up by the vanilla but deepened by the incense. cinnamon doesn't usually agree with my sensitive skin -- and i don't care for its hotness -- but here it merely acts as the spicing agent and is very much a supporting character. on the whole, this scent is not like mum moon at all other than giving the impression of "antiquity," which i suppose is how i'll forevermore identify the scent of mums. this scent lasts and lasts on me, too. it remains rather uniform in scent throughout, though the spiciness recedes just a tad. but this is perfect for me. i adore this scent and only wish i had stocked up!

[kikithepirate]

Out of my rather large March order, this is the bottle I was the most excited about.

 

The cinnamon here is much more of the sweet variety, as opposed to the burning sort found in Inferno (which I cannot wear). It's certainly not an overpowering floral -- it goes on as a very golden scent, almost foody.

 

After awhile, it gets the tiniest bit soapy/powdery, but not enough that I don't like it. Vanilla and amber scents both seem to get better with age (I couldn't stand Inez at first, now it's one of my top favorites) and so I think that this bottle is going to be magnificent in about 6 months.

[ImperatrixMundi]

I love chrysanthemums and bought a bottle from the lab unsniffed. Woe is me. Somehow scents that other people describe as warm and golden dont work out on me, I get the same problem I get with Inez. Maybe golden sandalwood hates me? The scent simply does not bloom on my skin, instead of a rich scent of wonderful notes all I get is a hollow and indistict scent dominated by vanilla There is some strange undertone that reminds me of the mushroom scents from Rappacini's Garden, but all too real. None of the notes except vanilla stick out and I can not pick out the chrysanthemum at all. This makes me so sad, it just sounded so perfect but no.

[catattack]

Wet: Green floral. Something "cool" in this, but it's not mint. Just a "chilled" note. Like cold marble. There is something in this that reminds me of Mole.

Drydown: The "coolness" fades. The scent sweetens. There's a slight tartness. It could be the sandalwood, as it's sometimes "tangy" on my skin. The sweetness is not distinctly vanilla. It's more a musk'y sweetness. Maybe the incense?

Overall: I really like this. It's floral without screaming "FLORAL"! This has enough depth to wear in the cooler months, but it'll be great in hot weather, as it's not too sweet or smoky.

 

[Juushika]

In the vial: Golden, creamy citrus. Yeah, I don't understand that either—but it's my first impression.

 

On me: The scent is still golden, but the tangy citrus edge is balanced out a bit by something a bit more dry and earthy—probably a balance between chrysanthemum and marigold, but I'm not familiar enough with mums to know for sure. As the citrus tones down, there floral competent grows stronger. The scent is smooth but slightly powdery, a touch of sandalwood; there's a bit of sweetness from the vanilla, but never cloying; it's a very golden, warm scent. I don't get anything of the cinammon or amber incense, however, and the marigold's earthiness remains subdued. Scent color is golden. Throw is moderate to low.

 

Verdict: I keep retesting this scent, ever confused about the citrus I get from it. I had such high hopes, and I wish that there were more marigold, more cinnamon, more amber incense to make the scent earthier, spicier, and less like orange and cream. As it is, Flowering Chrysanthemums is nice but doesn't capture me. It's creamy, golden, floral, just a touch powdery—a pleasant scent, and I may like it more if I divorce it from my expectations of what it could have been. Regardless it's not my new favorite, and I'll be content with just my decant.

[Jammies]

I love the spicy smells of chrysanthemums and marigolds. Sadly, on me, this was a vanilla floral with no spice at all. I found my imp a good home, though!

[rayvn1]

I get a sharp, almost alchoholic smell of of this at first then the marigold and chrysanthemem starts coming through. What saves this from being all floral is the vanilla that really only came out on my wrists (where it might have mixed a bit with some leftover Tiresias). When that note comes out it's absolutely lovely!

 

[Ajila]

In the bottle - A little chrysanthemum, mostly incense

 

Wet on me - Warm chrysanthemums and the tang of the marigold

 

Dry on me - Faint, slightly sweetened incense

 

Overall - A little bit bland really

[SlySionnach]

Bottle: Definitely something spicy in here, and I can smell the flowers underneath it.

 

Wet: Whoa, hello cinnamon with tinges of incense floating around. Mostly cinnamon right now though.

 

Dry: Marigold! My god, I forgot how this smelt but the minute I took a sniff, all the memories of my grandmother's garden came back. Mums are right there too. Smells absolutely delicious, still a bit spicy in the background. Yum.

 

Definitely a keeper.

[fisharescary]

In the bottle, very green and spicy. Makes me think of bunches of marigolds and chrysanthemums, but ones that still have like 3 feet of stem with lots of leafyness on them.

 

Wet on me, this was a sweet smoke wafting through bright flowers. Lovely, and quite strong. After about fifteen minutes, the whole thing dies down a lot and a stroke of green comes through. I'm not familiar enough with the notes to know what was what, this is just literally what I smelled.

 

After about an hour: green has died down too. This is closer to a warm, gently-spiced vanilla now, I think, but one that still has floral and green to it. Not so much throw, still, but not wimpy either.

 

2 1/2 hours: Just a light, sweet trace is left, only really detectable from about 6 inches away. Pleasant, but not very distinctive or exciting. Liked that first smell best.

 

Not sure if I'm gonna chase down more or not. Two decants in a bottle might be enough.

[Venneh]

Got a decant of this from skyleric, thanks again! In the imp, this is chrysanthemum and marigold and a bit of cinnamon, I think. On my skin, this is mostly chrysanthemum and marigold with the golden sandalwood and maybe a hint of amber incense? We'll see what this does. Ends up being similar to Kaidan but with more spicy florals, not quite for me, but glad I could try it.

Edited June 22, 2010 by Venneh

[surlygurl]

This is a lovely spring/summer scent on me. It's all creamy sugared yellow florals with a bit of green stem. Glad I have a bottle.

[HerbGirl]

Chrysanthemum, cinnamon, vanilla, amber, sandalwood? Wow - sign me up! I don't know how I missed this one, but I was lucky enough to find a bottle and it is pure love! This isn't strong on me, but a perfect blend of some of my favorite notes. It's interesting to smell the cinnamon amber and vanilla taking turns up front while the mum provides a nice backdrop. I love this. The final test? I just shoved my wrist under the boyfriend's nose and he looked up and said "That's GOOD!". YAY! yet another winner...

[grrrlennyl]

Flowering Chrysanthemums

 

On: Wow. This smells AMAZING on me at first. Lots of chrysanthemum and vanilla, with other flowers and a bit of sandalwood underneath. So lovely.

1 hour in: Smooth and sweet. Lovely vanilla and amber. Definitely a little incense-y. Very pretty.

2.5 hours in: Pretty. Mostly sandalwood.

4 hours in: I'm getting an odd vegetable note.

Overall: I hate it when my skin messes up an otherwise nice blend.

[Invidiana]

I am really happy to have finally gotten a bottle of this because it's so pretty. It does stay close to the skin as others have mentioned but it's a warm and sensual skin scent. I get lots of sweet golden amber and sandalwood backed up with creamy vanilla and slightly spicy florals. I can sometimes amp cinnamon like nobody's business but there is just the barest hint of it here. The florals are warm and dry in an autumnal way and add to the overall golden feel of the scent. Lovely.

[yakiguri]

This is chock-full of win notes for me, but unfortunately Flowering Chrysanthemums falls a little flat. It starts off as a nondescript light floral that's easily forgettable, but as it dried it bloomed into a very soft (and unfortunately very subtle) pretty golden-spicy floral. Disappointed that the cinnamon and chrysanthemum didn't make more of a statement.

 

I like Flowering Chrysanthemums, but I don't love it, and its lightness really makes me iffy on investing in a bottle since I'm not a slatherer. I'll keep my decant for sure, and if I ever see a partial bottle I'll probably snag it, but I probably won't go out of my way to find one.

Edited August 2, 2011 by thatbrownelf

[filigree_shadow]

This smells FABULOUS. But it's so soft. I can barely smell it. Believe me, I'm trying. I've slathered it on from the vial twice, and I still can barely smell it at all. Ten minutes later I'm not even sure where I applied it. I am very, very disappointed. With those notes, this one should have been a knock-it-out-of-the-park winner for me. Instead it's just barely there.

[neuilly]

I don't really know what Chrysanthemums or Marigolds smell like, so I'm going to do this based on what the scent feels like...someday I will learn all these individual scents! There's a very slight creamy note in the background but the front has a little more tang. I want to say there's *almost* a fruity note but not quite. It's very light and has a green quality, but not quite as astringent as some green notes can feel to me. I think it's quite pretty but my skin absolutely eats it up!

[mistressfizz]

Sniff: Golden florals, very faint

 

Wet: This is all amber and molten gold, with a dusty background and slightly spicy floral. It reminds of me dried mums in a summer wreath. I wish it were stronger, this is barely detectable on my wrist, even when I tip the bottle right over my skin

 

Dry: Still very faint. Under a lovely haze of golden flowers is this odd plastic odor, like melting vinyl. If it weren't for that sickly note, I would like this much more.

[WidgetAlley]

Bottle: Amber, strong incense-y vanilla-ish amber, sandalwood, and a slightly plasticky vanilla. No flowery notes just yet.

 

Wet: Ah, there they are! Cool green leaves, like crushed grass, and a strongly perfumed amber. I get very little cinnamon or vanilla, but there is a decent whiff of sandalwood. This smells very femme, very cool, and very, very sophisticated-- like a really striking traditional perfume.

 

Dry: Cinnamon and amber incense, which is gorgeous, but unfortunately the vanilla here is the kind that turns into burnt plastic on me. I can imagine how this would be amazing on the right skin chemistry, but it's definitely not for me.

[JazzieCazzie]

Test-driving a few new scents and this was one of them, purchased as a 5 ML from the wonderful world of the Lab Etsy (oh Labbies, how I adore your Etsys ... if and when I ever land a new job I will SO reward myself with a more few unsniffed and untried new wonders).

 

I was intrigued by the list of notes -- a few major favorites (amber, sandalwood, cinnamon and incense), one that I've never tried as a note but love for its spiciness (marigold), one that can be good or bad on me (vanilla) and one I was clueless on (chrysanthemum).

 

IN THE IMP: A sweet, light, spicy floral and offered abundant possibilities for fresh springy goodness.

 

Dabbed on wrist and in crook of arm.

 

WET: I thought it was my imagination but the first thing I thought when it hit my skin was AQUATIC! AQUATIC? and I double-checked the notes for something like lotus. I confess that while I love few things more than being at the beach, aquatics do NOT like my skin chemistry at all. And I thought I was totally crazy until I read the reviews here to find that LunaLovegood (great name, BTW) had the same reaction (maybe we're skin twins).

 

DRYDOWN: So so sad that this just does not work on me at all. On drydown all I have is aquatic-smelling powder. Maybe it's the mums? I don't know what they're supposed to smell like. Am thinking the powder is the vanilla. But NO amber, NO incense, NO sandalwood and NO marigold.

 

OVERALL: I am sure this would be divine with someone else's body. But for me, it's not a washoff but it's a swapper.

 

On a scale of 1-5, for me it's a 2.

[Alethia]

Thoughts before testing: I don't believe I've ever smelled chrysanthemum or marigold in a perfume before, but everything else here are good notes for me. I'm excited to see what this smells like!

 

Wet: Spicy sweet floral! I can't really pick anything out, but it's beautiful.

 

Dry down: It does a pretty dramatic morph into a fabulously smoky amber and cinnamon incense that has a strong dash of vanilla and just a hint of floral. It's rich and smoky and lovely.

 

Dry: This stays true to the amber incense but loses a little of the cinnamon after several hours.

 

Final thoughts: This is lovely and beautiful but I'm trying to be pickier with what gets to stay in my BPAL box. If the box was bigger, it would be a keeper but I have so many floral-incense blends and this one doesn't wow me enough to get a place.

 

Verdict: Passing.

Edited September 26, 2013 by Alethia