Agapē

[agnusdei]

Happy fifth birthday to the bpal.org forum! To commemorate five years of camaraderie, love, and unbelievable kindness, we present a scent comprised of notes that encapsulate the essence of friendship: carnation, apple, sweet pea, vanilla cream, passionfruit, sugar cane, tonka, and guava.

I'm getting over a cold right now & my nose is still kind of stuffed up, so I apologize for this not being the most detailed review.

Agapē starts out a blend of fruity & floral, very bright & cheerful. I'm picking up the guava & the passionfruit the strongest out of the bottle, with a bit of crisp apple & sweet pea coming through as well. At this point it is a lush & wet scent, almost a bit tropical in feel.

Once it has been on my skin for a few minutes the fruit mellows out & some of the other notes bring out a softer edge. I can smell the vanilla cream clearly now, as well as the tonka & sugar cane. There is a bit of carnation peeking out too, contributing a touch of spice. I think the apple has overtaken the guava & passionfruit in terms of strength as well. The feel once it has settled is rather different from the wet stage, the juiciness from the fruit has given way to a creamier, smoother scent with the vanilla cream as one of the strongest notes on my skin. Overall I'm getting a fruit slices dipped in vanilla cream sort of vibe, with a light breath of florals in the background.

[kelpsoda]

In the bottle, this smells like the most delicious vanilla cream, with fruits in the background. That foodiness disappears almost immediately.

 

wet, the sweet pea and carnation really come out. I'm not getting anything that's sharp or citrus-like, just a mellow, sweet fruit smell.

 

dry, I can smell more florals, vanilla and tonka, with a hint of some kind of fruit every so often. I'm glad the fruit is well blended with the other notes and not sticking out.

 

I'm quite fond of fruity-floral perfumes, so I absolutely love this. It's very youthful and happy smelling.

 

(The bottle art is too cute! there's a row of alice in wonderland characters across the top of the label. awesome!)

[willowtreeling]

I love the bottle, because it is the skin I use for this forum:)

The scent is gorgeous...it reminds me of Mouse's Sad and Long Tale--I guess that's the sweet pea and vanilla, but more fruity...when it's wet, it reminds me of a delicious fruit salad, with whip cream...the florals come out on the dry down and it is a very cheerful, friendly scent. I absolutely adore it! And, normally, carnation is total baby powder on me....so I am very happy!

 

 

Edited February 8, 2009 by willowtreeling

[femmefatale]

Yum!!! This starts out mostly sugared, sweet apple. As it dries though the sweet pea and vanilla cream come out, but somehow this isn't too sweet. I think the guava and passionfruit are there helping to balance out the sweetness but I can't quite pick them out. The apple stays consistant but no longer the primary note. Drying further the carnation starts to add just a touch of spice. mmmm.....

This is one of the most fun scents I've ever tried. I love apple and will wear Poisoned Apple when I want something darker, but I'll wear this when I want something sweet, fun, and pretty. This is Poisoned Apple's pig-tailed, rollar skating, just a little flirty, younger sister. I loooove it and will be ordering at least 1 more bottle.

 

ETA: This have good throw, so no need to slather!

Edited February 9, 2009 by Femme_Fatale

[Pottersville]

OMG, I almost didn't order a bottle of this because I was convinced it would be amazingly sweet (and I amp sweet like nobody's business)! Thank goodness I ignored that fear ... Agape is sweet, but it's a very soft, fullsome sweetness .... the sort of sweetness you get from sun-ripened fruits vs. candystore sweetness. It is fruity, but those notes also have a gentle, tempered sweetness that coexist wonderfully with the floral notes. The cream and carnation are there, but on my skin they exist as undernotes that give the rest of the scent a lovely foundation.

[scotchgrrl]

What I just emailed to scarletgenesis:

 

I know you didn't pick up this scent, but OMG!, it's lovely. To me, on me, it smells like a big bite out of a Fuji or Winesap or other heirloom apple with a hint of carnation and a teeny bit of sweetness from the guava. It's sharp, tangy, sweet and just so much smells like cool autumn. It's amazing!

 

I'm so glad I picked up 2 bottles of this one. It's a real splurge for me but this is oh so worth the extra bucks.

 

:wub2::wub2:

[lostluckkitten]

I'll save those waffling on this one the trouble and tell you to just go ahead and order a bottle

 

Delightful blend. Very bubbly (in the bright, cheery way, not in the "this smells fizzy" way), fruity, and happy. The apple is the most prominent fruit, with the tropical fruits lending it a juicy backup. Those that were worried about the guava/passionfruit being overwhelming, on me they are not. They're supporting notes, not forerunners. The sugarcane isn't burnt or too sweet - in fact, I don't really detect sugar at all. I don't really get the carnation on my skin, but the sweet pea gives it a sweet floral touch. It dries down to a warm, sweet, fruity cream. Just lovely. No plastic or rancid fruit.

[Suu4LC]

I almost fell over when I saw the notes for this because they are ALL notes I love. I normally wait to read reviews or to test at Will Call before ordering, but this one I ordered immediately it just sounded so good!

 

In the bottle, the strongest notes are the vanilla, passionfruit, and apple! Like their respective fruits with a dollop of sweet cream on top. Sweet, but not super sugary.

 

On my skin the carnation and guava start to come out and I kind of lose the vanilla! Noo! Sort of turns into a dry green apple skin scent O_o Not as sweet and creamy as I would have hoped!! I am going to see how this dries, but right now it's sort of losing that bottle smell that was so delicious! It reminds me a bit of Snow.Glass.Apples or La Vita Nuova.

 

Hrmph...this also fades SUPER fast so that all is left is a barely noticeable dry apple/guava scent with a hint of vanilla. Darn!! How could something that was all love notes turn out to be so incompatible with my skin *pout* I think I will hold onto this and try it again later, but right now it isn't something I would need to hold onto.

[wl552]

Just received my bottle. Under the lid is a luscious, rich creamy fruit 'n thick cream, (or maybe homemade vanilla ice cream!), smell that makes me wish for late summer's bounty. It's very delicious without being sticky sweet - like fresh fruit and cream should be.

 

On skin, the fruit... it has to be the apple - a super tart green apple like I like... really steps up. No, it leaps up off my skin. The creaminess is just there in the background to keep me from smelling like an orchard stand in fall. If I huff, I can pick up the lovely florals dancing merrily amongst the fruit. It's a very cheerful scent that is making me happy.

 

Drying down a bit, all of the above have swirled together in lovely bowl of fresh fruit on a table graced with a spring bouquet... the homemade ice cream machine is churning out a super rich vanilla treat to dollop on the vibrant fruit. The vanilla keeps the fruit from being too juicy, while the fruit keeps the vanilla from being too sweet.

 

I am completely enamored of this scent. I think I feel another bottle coming on, because wow! I can really see myself indulging in Agapē quite frequently and I would be very sad if I ran out.

[Reenah]

This is a must-have for any foodie. It's definitely nom-able. Upon opening the bottle, I got a heavy, sweet vanilla, like butterscotch and bright fruit. Immediately apparent is the same juicy green apple in Snow, Glass, Apples. That note is amped on the drydown, sticking around for a good, long time while the other fruits pop in and out, leaving various droplets of juice behind. The carnation also makes an appearance, keeping everything from becoming too sickly-sweet by adding a sharp greenery which is simply heaven. It makes me want to frolic somewhere spring-y. The sugar remains close to the skin, while the vanilla cream, tonka, and sweet pea are more apparent in the throw, which is much less fresh-feeling that the nose-to-wrist experience, but no less lovely. Overall, Agape is dreamy. I have a feeling it will become my first two-bottle purchase.

[GardenCat]

Beautiful scent! Light apple & cream are what stand out to me. Very nice throw and a subtle dry down to a smooth fresh apple.

 

Most certainly a keeper - maybe even worthy of another bottle!

[hkhm]

bottle: creamy apple. this smells terribly yummy.

 

wet: this remains creamy apple once applied. i'm not really getting anything else but that is fine by me.

 

dry: still creamy, yummy, crisp apple. i will be buying another bottle of this incredible scent.

[CrazyPretzel]

This is a really super scent! It's not very heavy on the florals - wet, I can smell predominantly fresh crisp green apple and vanilla cream, so it's a bit more foody than floral, but very light and playful with none of the heavier sugars that often play into BPAL gourmand blends. I find it lasts under two hours on my skin, but it has wonderful throw while it lasts.

[Dark Alice]

This. is. perfect. Fresh green apple with a hint of cream...oddly this is all I am getting from this. I love it and the label art matches my bpal skin...and a little of this stuff goes a very long way so I will be able to get alot of use out of this bottle.

[sookster]

straight sniff from bottle is creamy fruity goodness...

 

once applied this is just delightful the carnation note in this is remarkable and

combined with the sweet pea and apple is am whirling with happiness

better than average sillage this is a bright, spring-time scent...

 

friendship, indeed!!

[sofaking6]

In the bottle; mmm fruit salad!

On wet: Creamy Xanthe! Slurpy vanilla guava! Now THAT is what I'm talking about.

Slightly less wet: Creamy Xanthe with apple. Juicy green apple and guava and passionfruit with cream poured over them. Very, very delicious.

 

Looking for: Sweet pea. Where are you? 6 want sweet pea.

 

Dryer: spicy...spicy...oh right carnations! OK bye guava...oh bye apple...oh bye vanilla!

 

Creamy carnations, spicy/sweet, and very faint. Really interesting drydown but I wish it held on longer in the wet fruit salad stage.

 

But...Agape is delightful, fun and gorgeous and I will go through a bottle, no doubt. Awesome.

[naeelah]

Although you can pick out the individual notes here if you look for them, everything here blends well into a single effect, and I think this works best to take it as a whole.

 

Wet, crisp, watery, freshly sliced fruit is strongest, and the apple dominates. It's a juicy red apple. None of the fruit smells syrupy, fake, or tart -- it's just like sniffing a bowl of fruit salad. Along with the fruit comes a light flower, but they blend together almost seamlessly.

 

As it dries, sugared vanilla cream slowly oozes in and rounds out the scent. It's exactly like fruit salad served with whipped cream. It's a sweet, pink, happy kind of fragrance.

 

After an hour or two, it's already fading away. The fruit has lightened up enough to me pick out the florals, but they still blend. I definitely wouldn't call this a floral scent. This is all creamy vanilla with fruit and some light, sweet flowers for balance.

[stellans]

I ordered this blend because on the whole the Lab's apple scents do very well on me no matter what the other notes are. I must admit the vanilla cream note gave me a bit of pause, because the Lab's cream notes tend to turn sour on my skin (Milk Moon, I'm looking at you!) but there are exceptions (hello, my lovely Chaste Moon!). I was hoping Agapé would also prove to be an exception...and I was right!

 

In the bottle, the cream note is hanging out with the juicy just ripe-enough apple, the spicy carnation blossom, with just a bit of deepness -- the tonka, I think. I swab some on my arms, and apple immediately announces its presence with UH-THOR-IT-EYE! But there's also the spice, the sweetness, and the deep underlying tonka...but no cream on me! w00t! The sweetpea also starts to peep out more and more, which I'm glad to smell because I do love me some sweet pea.

 

After a couple of hours, the scents have all melded together in a delightful fruit-floral amalgam (with a smoothness I will credit to the cream note) which still totally delights the nose, and doesn't require deep huffing to smell, either. The waft is still excellent, despite the passage of time.

 

All in all, this is a definite keeper...and I'm not a big foodie, but I do love apples!

 

ETA: And besides, who could resist a bottle label like that, anyway??? I mean, Alice is the skin I use just about all the time!

Edited April 10, 2011 by stellans

[Cheri]

Agape is one of those scents that should be edible. It's that good. On me it smells like a cross between Teenage Cannibal and Snow, Glass, Apples, only better. I just knew this was going to be pretty, and it seems like the perfect scent to celebrate the forum's birthday.

 

The one problem I can see is needing a few more bottles to slather because it seems to fade quickly. It's a shame that it can't be a GC scent that we could get whenever we want to.

 

I can smell apples, fruit, and something creamy. It's sweet, but certainly not to the point of being sickeningly sweet. Another LE love.

[jillybean]

Apple is not a good scent for me. Every scent tends to go potpourrish on me and this was another one of them. I amp the apple big time and it's not a good scent for me to amp. Seems we amp the scents we like the least!

 

Apple lovers will love this. It's apples with a touch of vanilla and a bit of floral which I assume is the sweet pea.

[dixiehellcat]

In the bottle, light and floral, not much fruit action. On, though, the fruit and sweet-sugary notes come on. Not overwhelming though, thankfully! Altogether, the blend is really nice. Kind of like this board, where all kinds of people mix and mingle to create a wonderful harmonious (okay, usually. hehe) whole. Well done Beth!

[Persephone76]

First of all, I LOVE the bottle art, and I would keep it for that reason alone. Agape starts off very apple-y, and I agree with above reviewers who note that the apple is much like that in Snow Glass Apples. It quickly, calms down into a creamy, fruity bland that is sweet but not overwhelmingly so. I was very scared of the tropical fruits, as they have a tendency to go rancid on me, but I am happy to report that is not the case here. It's fresh and not too foody. I really don't smell the carnations, which is a bummer, but I still like it a lot. This is a very lovely late spring/early summer scent.

[LauraB]

Ooh! Pretty!

 

This starts of as a tart, juicy apple. Gradually the vanilla cream (a sweet, creamy vanilla rather than a cream note as such, which is a good thing because cream goes sour on me and this doesn't) and the sweet pea come forward and take the edge off the sharp apple note. It is very "girly" - mine was travelling with an imp of Juliet and I can see the similarity, but Juliet is pear and a bit more aquatic. I'm another one who doesn't actually detect carnation, but maybe as it ages

 

I like apple scents, so this is a new favourite

[greenranger]

Wet, it's fruit and sweet pea. The apple comes to the forefront fast, so now it is apple and sweet pea, and becoming mostly apple. I can just detect the guava. Now I am finding a bit of the sugar cane. The vanilla cream, carnation and Tonka are not apparent yet.

 

Sweet and fruity, with just a little bit of the sweet pea as a floral tint.

 

This lasts forever on me, but, it changes. A few hours in, the vanilla and sugar become the dominant notes, and over the course of the afternoon it beomes mainly a warm sugared vanilla cream. Very nice.

 

 

Edited February 16, 2009 by Aerinha

[angelicruin]

In the bottle, it smells like like sweet fruit and cream.

 

Wet on my skin, I pick up the apple and guava notes more than anything else. Occasionally, I do get wiffs of carnation and the sweet pea, but it's not constant to the throw.

 

As it dries, I can smell more of the passionfruit along with apple & guava. The vanilla cream is really trace and hard to pick out on my skin. The floral notes are little more noticeable the more it dries down and the scent does go a bit powdery, but it's still mainly sweet fruit.

 

It's a very light-hearted scent and makes me feel happy when I sniff. Definitely a "cheer me up" kind of scent.