Parker Lily

[Tramp]

Before I knew how rare this was going to be I had decided I needed multiple backup bottles as I liked it so much. It reminds me of some of my favorite bpal blends yet is like nothing I have smelled before. It is smut without the smuttiness, Hellion only with melon, Hunter Moon 07 but with fewer musks. I love this blend. It is resinous without being dark, musky without being overwhelming, melony with out being all about fruit. If you have a change to get your hands on a bottle I highly - HIGHLY - recommend it. Just beautiful

[Eutectic]

This is an AMAZING scet and my bottle is highly cherished. I think it is one of the best blends Beth has done. Very even, very balanced. As Tramp has said it is fruity without being specific, amber without being too heavy. Floral without a noticable floral note.

 

The movement from wet to dry is stunning and a wonderful transition from a bright sweet wet stage to a subtle slightly herbal/floral dry stage. I have loved this one all the way through and with love my bottle!

 

Thanks lab!!

[Lycanthrope]

As I am local to Eutectic, I got to sniff (and dab!) a coveted drop of this wonderful blend.

 

On first sniff, It's a very well blended slightly wet floral, no particular dominating essence. There's a hint of a bright aura of some sort. This, I warn, is a blend you should not try, for you shall covet it. On my skin, there's again that interesting sharp brightness, which I can't put my finger on. There's a swirl of vampy flowers, like lilies and maybe a hint of rose or possibly a little... oh, I dunno. It's just a very striking, dangerous floral. And over it all is that brightness... and a hint of a wet, sweet fruit...

 

Oh. Is that cognac? It's a beautiful note if present - I can smell a deep grape-y wine aroma that isn't too super strong. Peeking past the skin scent is just a tingle of honey - like a tickle - nothing overpowering. Overall, this prototype blend is remarkable in how many subtle scents it holds - and it gradually transforms over wearing time. Even this one small drop shows off so many gradations of aroma that I'm floored.

 

Over time, I'd say this retains a touch of honey sweetness magic, and a dangerous floral.

 

I think it's like Black Lily on steroids, if steroids caused explicit awesomeness.

[The_Witching_Hour]

Tramp totally nailed this review *spot on*!

 

It does remind me of some of my favorites but yet its like nothing I've had the privilege of huffing and/or owning.

 

There's a melon aspect that comes to surface in the beginning but it doesn't "own" it. Just enough to give it a fresh vibe and lead into the stage of "gingered lily" that I so much adore in this one.

 

I also agree with Lycanthrope to the reference of cognac. It has a sweet/boozy feel in addition to the fruits, without the addition of honey. I can say this reassuringly because honey is a disaster on me in most forms, although I adore sniffing it (honey)..... I just can't "wear it".

 

Another bottle winner for me and truly a masterpiece!!!

[thekittenkat]

Tested this at SEWC. Had heard the hype, but I wasn't expecting to like this, as I don't like lilies and they don't like me, so I had no hopes of this one. Lots of lily and also brown musk, which is a musk that doesn't work on me, as I have just found out this past weekend. I didn't get any fruits or any sort of a bright feeling from it. I think that the brown musk and the lilies just overpowered anything else in the scent. In fact, I had to wash it off rather quickly. So I'm glad that I don't like this, as it will be mostly impossible to obtain.

[ivyandpeony]

I am not the best at picking out notes without a description unless they are super obvious or impossible to ignore, so I am glad that I read a few reviews before adding my own! I did pick up an elegant floral note immediately that made me think of Casablanca lily, deep and a tiny bit spicy. I was having trouble identifying this rich, sweet undertone and have to agree with the previous speculation that it's cognac. It isn't really boozy, it's nowhere near as fruity as a true grape or a red wine note, and thinking back to The Imp of The Perverse (which is cognac to the extreme) I do find this similar. There's a little something heady and smoky about this scent, maybe a drop of opium or poppy offsetting the sweetness of the lily and the cognac and there also seems to be a rich, darker musk anchoring it as it dries down.

 

This is a very sophisticated and gorgeous perfume - not one to wear to work every day but a special occasion perfume, one to put on when you are feeling beautiful and sexy and want to feel even more so, dressing up for a date or a celebration. I would be hoarding bottles if this one wasn't so scarce and expensive!

[cinderfallen]

This is easy to review for me as it went straight to a spicier Snake Oil with lily (as in Black Lily). The very creamy, almost waxy floral base note is still lingering after my shower. Really.

 

I know this was a lovely fantasy floral in the bottle, a bit faint, and quite nice on others--a subdued floral with an aquatic tinge, very proper and pretty, but...I wonder where the heck that went on my skin?

 

ETA: This definitely has a base of golden amber as I've discovered *ahem* that my skin loves to amp this. Which is why it smells like Snake Oil, et. al.

Edited October 20, 2009 by cinderfallen

[ami226]

Wow! I just tried this scent at Cobwebs, and it just breaks my heart!

 

On my skin, this is the perfect lily scent. It is perfect, sweet, white lilies with no greeness whatsoever. This scent is truly wonderful for my floral loving self, and I wish I could snatch up at least 3 bottles of it!! Also, as of now I can still smell it, even though I dabbed it on around.... 5 hours or so ago.

[stormcloude]

This reminds me of some of the more sohisticated commercial perfumes I've sniffed-- Poison or Chanel, things of that nature.

 

I'm really glad I got to try it and just as glad I don't love it.

[wintersmelody]

Oh damn. I was hoping to absolutely hate this like I do another rare (I'm looking at you Storyville!) So that I could safely dodge the bullet. But unfortunately this is gorgeous.

 

It seems to be a mix of floral and fruity without too much of either, but it's just so beautifully blended its super hard to pick out exactly what it's composed of. My poor little tester won't last long but I'm sure I'll keep the vial for ages just to huff.

[evanescence]

a stunning scent, not much more that I can add to the other reviews!

[fairnymph]

Sniffed: Red musk, slightly spicy, deep - as in dark, lush, but not bright or sharp at all - floral. Mild tinge of sweetness, mostly from the musk I think. Not sure I would have pegged it as a Lily. No soapiness. Mature, sophisticated, complex.

 

Wet: A little more floral, almost greener, feels 'lighter' in colour, more green-white, less deep red. The slight spicy edge makes me think some sort of carnation, and it has that lush sort of velvety feel too. It's almost fresh now, but still very 'womanly'. It's a more subtle, refined variation of traditional oriental-ish perfumes. So maybe some amber in this, too? A golden rich, not powdery, amber.

 

Dry: The red musk is surprisingly well-behaved (not bothering me at all and I hate red musk on principle) and there are definitely other musks at play here, maybe Indian? Very deep and sexy and 'full' yet close to the skin. This is a strong scent but it doesn't have tremendous throw. It's also extremely seamlessly blended in all stages, making picking out notes near-impossible.

 

Later: Not a morpher once on my skin, really. It deepens and becomes more musky, so most of the lighter slightly green-white top notes burn off, leaving behind a softly sweet, rich feminine musk with a spicy edge. It has a lightness to it, and yet it's a very deep scent, a close-to-the-skin scent that seems like second nature. I do not think anyone could find this scent offensive.

 

Summary: As others noted, I find this extremely difficult to describe precisely and while it has the BPAL trademark feel/smell all over it it, it's not really like anything else BPAL's made. But the complexity and cohesion of the scent do recall Storyville & Voodoo Queen though it's not at all foody and much less sweet than either, and has no smoky or boozy qualities. The base blend of musks - definitely the dominating notes in this scent - remind me of Smut. It does NOT strike me as a floral primarily by any means. The throw is lower, but still decent, and this has tremendous holding power. I can still smell it faintly on my arm 24 hours and a shower later!

 

Happily, this is not a scent that fits my personality or scent preferences, but it is stunningly gorgeous and absolutely well made. I hate to say it, but it shall be coveted for eons by many.

[midnight_aeval]

I don't even think I can do a proper review on this scent... it's like it's unreviewable

 

When it first arrived I opened up the bottle and got the scent of baby powder, soft, white florals, and possibly a touch of amber. The baby powder is like the generic, every-day use stuff - a la Johnson & Johnson - not the same baby powder note that's been used in other BPAL blends (Stinky, Gladdener of All Hearts).

 

I put it on and it is the best 'clean/floral' scent I think I have come across. Being a fan of neither yet finding this blend to be absolutely wearable to me is definitely saying something. The floral is NOT soapy or cloying, and neither is the clean aspect. It's innocent, but with an edge of sophistication/class. It taunts you to come closer, but then shys away and leaves you wondering what that smirk is all about.

 

I really love this scent and will use it sparingly for years to come!

[zankoku_zen]

I got a testable sniffie of this rarity. I WUB YOU. You know who you are.

 

Okay, I do get the red musk, perhaps a touch of melon, lilies. In general its got that white/floral lily top note, red musk as the base (possibly some other musk). On wet, I definitely got a fruity vibe to the floral, and it made me think melon.

 

Overall, it's a 'cleaner', 'sweeter' and 'fruitier' version of the red musk SN. The words that come to mind, are clean and sophisticated. Very well blended.

 

However, on my skin, its got an almost 'fake plastic baby doll' smell to it.

 

ETA:

The prototype of this is definitely lily, musky, and with light green stems. Doesn't go the plastic, but stays sweet, true and beautiful. I much more enjoyed the prototype.

Edited February 4, 2010 by zankoku_zen

[tarotgirl99]

A dear friend sent me a tester of Parker Lily. One sniff and it was total love.

 

The only way I can describe this is it's like a golden lily. There is a wisp of ambery honey and some straight vanilla and the combination is sophisticated without being sterile.

 

It lasts for hours. I took a nap and it's still going strong.

 

This is a scent I'd wear when I wanted to feel devastatingly, intoxicatingly female...which fortunately doesn't happen very often.

 

Still, I'd love an imp of it just so I could know I could feel devastatingly, intoxicatingly female any time I wanted.

Edited September 5, 2009 by tarotgirl

[heathercaley]

I spied this bottle at will call tonight and couldn't resist slathering a healthy dollop on my arm so that I can get the full effect! Upon application, it was actually very light. It smelled nice wet, but not "OMG YES!" good. Once it dried down though, that's when it opened up and bloomed! It's ambery, but without going powdery. It's not bubblegummy at all either. It's a sweet lick of lily touched by the warmth of amber and maybe some other musks. I'd love a bottle of this!

[voodoocatwoman]

Nope. Not terribly impressed. I sniffed and got generic floral. Pretty but not anything to flip over. I think I'll stick with my beloved Vixen and O.

[lilacea]

Thank you to ifenia for the generous sniffy and enabling me to try this.

 

This is lovely. I am not normaly a floral person, I like light florals when they are in combination with other elements I like, but favourite florals of mine are few and far between. I was expecting something very heavy on the lily of the valley, mainly just becasue of the name, but this is not, infact, it's not terribly floral at all. Mostly what I get is a gorgeous creamy musk, of the light exotic type. It's one of those scents that melds beautifully on the skin to become somthing soft and gorgeous. The florals here are light white breezy and airy blossoms, there's a light orange blossom top note which reminds me of Khrysee, but a lot, lot, lot lighter and softer. There's possibly a touch of white amber here, lending that sensual skin scent, and a super clean and soft vanilla. This is so nice, and one I really would love to track down more of (although I really don't like my chances of that). Delightful.

Edited November 10, 2009 by lilacea

[Venneh]

Got this as a tester from a wonderful fairynymph; thanks so much again! In the tester, I wasn't really sure what I was getting. On my skin, it's a fruity ambery honey muskish sort of scent. Hmm. This is a nice enough scent, but not anything I really need to track down more of, I think. Plus, there's probably somebody out there who wants to test this really bad.

Edited December 17, 2009 by Venneh

[samarablackcat]

By the time the Cobwebs III box arrived, this was just a sniffie . I get honeyed musk with pale florals behind it. Resinous. Elusive. Damn.

[grrrlennyl]

Parker Lily

 

On: Sweet and melony, but not syrupy or cloying.

Half an hour in: This is starting to smell like a melon that's spoiled on my skin. Underneath, there's a powdery, sweet scent, but it's barely there.

1.5 hours in: Still slightly-off melon, but even sweeter.

2.5 hours in: There's still a bit of a spoiled feel to the melon note, and that's mostly what I smell.

Overall: I don't know what happened, but my skin just killed this one.

[cfrancesca]

I get creamy red musk, honey, and soft, slightly sweet florals. It dries to mostly creamy red musk on me...this actually reminds me of a more feminine version of The Infernal Lover.

[Little Bird]

I only had a tiny amount of this one to test, so I couldn't properly slather, but I'm not really blown away by this scent. I'm not great with a lot of floral blends, and this just smells like a vague fruity-floral blend on my skin. I usually amp up red musk, but I couldn't smell any red musk here. And I usually like lily, but this scent is a bit more perfumey than lily usually is on me. It's like creamy lily + sharp, perfumey white floral muskiness. I get a bit of watery, clean, fruity sweetness as well. And the drydown is clean fruity-floral plus baby powder on my skin. It only lasted about a half hour on me, but that might be more because I had so little of it to actually wear. Parker Lily smells more like a classic drugstore floral perfume to me, and thankfully not something I'll need more of.

[saralaughs]

Why do I have to like florals?! WHY? And why must every other lily I've tried go to soap on me but this? WHY?

 

This is beautiful. Not gorgeous or hawt or pretty or cute but hauntingly BEAUTIFUL. Lily and green stem, realistic and sweet smelling but not sugary. A bit of honey (like the honey in Ov5 or Half Elf v5, but NOT O or Autumn Moon on the Mirror Stand) with some musk (possibly brown and red, definitely not black or white though).

 

It's clean and fresh, sweet and warm. Gah. LOVE.

 

[milo]

At first, this is a non-heady lily, (if that is possible!), that smells somewhat 'green' to me. Dry, still lily-like, but with a bit of musk and dark fruit thrown in. So this ends up being sweet lily musk, with a dark fruit. Sounds simple, but really quite beautiful. I'm glad to have an imp, and will treasure it!