B340

[The_Witching_Hour]

(no scent description given)

 

B340 - This scent reminds me of violet candies, absinthe, dried crackling rose petals (not straight up rose or I couldn't wear it), scented dusting powder of the era, lipstick tubes from days gone by, boutonniere waiting to be pinned....

 

The final resting point on this one is violet candies, complete with the powdery film they have on them in the tin. It really does give me imagery of a 1940's dressing room where the woman is getting ready for a night out while her partner waits in the sitting area sipping an absinthe martini.

Edited July 25, 2009 by The_Witching_Hour

[ami226]

In the bottle: A very pleasant, Victorian-feeling perfume. Definitely some floral, possibly violets? Maybe a hint of roses? There is something else in here, as it is not entirely floral. Very lovely and sophisticated!

 

On the skin: Mmmmm, becomes a bit sweeter! It does not have too much of a throw or is overpowering like florals can be. Instead, it is nice and sweet. Definitely an "I feel pretty" blend.

[VioletChaos]

in the bottle: i get a very light violet and a sweet mint, like spearmint.

 

wet on skin: the violet is still the dominant note, though "dominant" might be the wrong word- this is the *lightest* violet i've encountered in ANY BPAL scent i've tried- and given my SN, you can assume that i've tried quite a few.

 

dry down: violet without being soapy, minty without being overpowering. this is a lovely perfume in the true olde sense of the word.

 

in all: a perfect summer scent for an enchanted, timeless evening out among the stars. i will cherish my bottle for always.

 

 

 

:wub2:

 

 

[Ondine]

I definitely caught the violet and the mint, and they're blended well and play well together. The mint is never overwhelming and it's a floral violet rather than the sweet candied violet of something like Faith or White Chocolate and Sugared Violets. Rather than sugary, it smells like the lingering perfume of an old-fashioned woman getting ready for the evening.

 

Bonus: I had my husband sniff my hand after I'd applied this and he simply said "It's a keeper!"

[angelicruin]

In the bottle, this smells of violets, something sweet, and a bit minty.

 

On my skin, violets are the strongest note, although it's a soft violet. There is also a dusty rose quality to the scent on my skin. A sprinkling of something sweet over the delicate floral and mint.

 

The descriptions of it being reminiscent of Victorian times are spot-on. It's so very difficult to describe this scent and convey just how lovely it is. Definitely my favorite from Convergence XV. Even if you don't normally go for the floral scents, it's worth trying a bit of it. I will be keeping this and looking forward to how it ages.

[femmefatale]

I don't usually like florals.

I never like violets.

Anything that smells "romantic", "timeless", etc usually will not work on me. My skin normally likes it down and dirty.

 

 

But I *love* this one. At first I can definitely smell the violets, but they aren't overwhelming. There is also a slight sweetness to this and a wonderful mint note (though not peppermint, more like an herbal mint) that balances everything wonderfully. There is a brief stage where I get a dried rose scent (which somehow doesn't smell stale) but that fades quickly.

 

Once it's been on for a couple hours the violet note is almost gone and there seems to be an ever so light sugared booziness to this, or a boozy sort of vanilla. It's not heavy at all and quite beautiful.

 

I must say that this was the biggest surprise for me out of the 3 I tried. I really really love this.

 

 

[Eros]

I don't usually like florals.

I never like violets.

Anything that smells "romantic", "timeless", etc usually will not work on me. My skin normally likes it down and dirty.

 

Same here :]

 

Definitely floral, stronger at first then lightens considerably after a few hours. Starts out very much like Canels Violet gum to my nose. Similar to what Crow Moon did on me, sharp, sweet floral. I also get fleeting hints of tobacco, somewhat like that in Midnight Kiss. There's also a *very* soft touch of vanilla that peeks through.

Lovely blend!

 

(Thanks again, mm! )

[Seismogenic]

I am least familiar with the concept behind B340 out of the whole set of Convergence oils. Google is telling me that people can't stay in this cabin of the Queen Mary anymore because of the sheer volume of paranormal weirdness, and it's also telling me that someone was murdered in there, but it's not telling me much about what the victim was like. I have to wonder, but at the same time, the idea of being told a ghost story by way of scent is very intriguing.

 

In the bottle: Lightly sweet herbal mint and violets. I can tell there are also other things, but I have no idea what sort of other things. They're pretty backgrounded.

 

Wet on skin: Still a definite focus on the herbal mint and violets. These particular violets seem less strong than some of the others I've run into.

 

Drydown: Freshly dry, there isn't much of a change. It's still a pretty equal balance of light violet and fresh herbal mint. The sweetness I was getting when the oil was wet seems to be solidifying into something that's hinting at being rose. It's a subtle enough rose - if that's what it is at all - that I'm not worried about the other notes being drowned out, at least not at this point. By one hour in, I'm wondering whether or not my earlier impression of rose was accurate, since I only get hints of it occasionally. There still hasn't really been much change overall - sweet delicate violet and mint, and maybe something a little soft and powdery behind it.

 

Five hours later: Much fainter now, and sweet in a less plant-specific way than before. Still getting a touch of violet, but the mint has left the building. The sweetness has matured into something like a very light dusty vanilla, and it's possible that there's a light musk of some sort back there as well. I'd even say that, to my nose, it currently falls somewhere between the parts of Dorian that aren't tea and the parts of Black Opal that aren't rocks.

 

End of the day: Very faint, slightly powdery, sweetness. I am pretty certain this is related to the presence of a light musk, though it's still also vaguely vanilla-y.

 

Overall: This scent is, on the whole, light and ethereal. It's sweet and floral and herbal, but not in an overwhelming shade of any of those. If anything, it's like the recollection of a sweet floral perfume in a larger space. To my mind, the lightness of the scent against the pale background that remains late in the drydown makes sense for a larger room that was once occupied by elegant ghosts. And it's because the florals are subdued and ethereal that I like them in here. I don't like smacked-with-bouquet sorts of scents, but this is very gentle and pleasant and fresh, even if it's representing the perfume worn by people dead long enough that they themselves sure don't smell so fresh anymore. But I digress. I am not entirely sure if I can personally get away with wearing this, since it is pretty feminine, but that doesn't change the fact that I think it smells really good. I'm going to hold onto this and contemplate how to best make use of a lovely scent.

[Dark Alice]

This is gorgeous. Like I can imagine a woman getting ready for a night of dinner and dancing. It's just that I imagine that the woman getting ready is from the 1940s. This has an old perfume feeling to with hints of violet, vanilla, and what my nose wants to say lilac and sugar. I really like it. I can't wait till it cools down for me to be able to wear it.

 

 

[fairnymph]

Sniffed: Cream soda and root beer? Or maybe a vanilla ice cream root beer float, but not nearly as sweet or foody as any of those sound. Light and almost effervescent.

 

Wet: Stronger, sweeter, but also tart - almost fruity? But still with a sort of herbal root beer edge. Somehow a little medicinal, but not unpleasantly.

 

Dry: Sweeter and more and more herbal over time. Definitely some type of fruit, maybe an orange citrus, as well, but it's faint.

 

Later: Huh. It's all tart-sweet fruit, but there's a hint of some evil floral (I suspect iris, because I get faint rot and soap). Definitely citrus of some type, but not a type that likes me. Much less sweet than earlier, and all the root beer and fizz has gone.

 

Summary: I can see how people would get absinthe and powder from this, and maybe a little mint. Candies, definitely. I don't get rose, though. Poor throw and fades fast.

Edited August 11, 2009 by fairnymph

[Lunaliquid]

Ooooh! This is lovely. It reminds me of the old perfume Chloë, but much more sophisticated. A Chloë for the grown-up, accomplished woman who doesn't take BS from anybody. Slight incencey and fruity, but so well blended that it's very hard to pick out specific noted.

You'll have to pry this bottle out of my cold, dead hands, cuz this one is a keeper!

ETA: because the poster above me says it fades fast, it's quite the opposite with me. I've been wearing it for a few days now and can smell it faintly the next day even. Wow!

Edited August 11, 2009 by Lunaliquid

[hlinspjalda]

In the bottle: Hmmm. Floral with an anise note, maybe?

 

Wet: Definitely something anise, maybe absinthe? And herbal, possibly lavender.

 

One hour: Stronger herbal now, but still with that anise overtone. It has gone sort of powdery too, the powdery of amber rather than honey. There seems to be a touch of musk in what I'm getting, too. It smells very old-fashioned to me, but I couldn't say why.

 

Two hours: Much more together now, a powdery amber-based scent with musk and something herbal. It is sweet, too, and maybe that's a bit of violet I'm getting? Not sure. I quite like it, but it's very old-fashioned on me and still reminds me a bit too much of Victorian matriarchs.

 

Six hours: This blossomed over the day, turning into a very nice amber-floral that worked well on me, with a fair amount of throw. Of the four Convergence scents from this year, I wound up liking it best.

 

[Suu4LC]

Out of all the Convergence blends, this is the one I am most excited about testing!!! The other reviews totally make it sound like it is up my alley!

 

In the bottle I get soft watery violets and fresh mint.

 

Ok, on my skin...I can definitely see where other reviewers were getting an absinthe-y anisey vibe. There is definitely that there as well...I can't decide if this is olde timey or old lady...

 

I really wish I had a note list for this! I am dying to know what is actually in it...olde timey is winning out the battle-this is a sweet bouquet, definitely not just violet-in a way this is the kind of perfume I was hoping l'huere verte would be...while the bouquet was more indistinct when it first hit my skin, it definitely feels mostly violet now. Like violet water, a bit of absinthe/anise, sugar, mint, and maybe a touch of something herbal or lavender?

 

Man, this one is such a morpher, as it finished drying down down I get sweet violet powder and something...weird in a not good way...it just goes funky! Noo! How sad! It's not horrible from far away but up close it's all yucky ]:*sigh* Will have to find a new home for this one!

[stellans]

This Convergence 15 was the release I looked forward to the most, and the one which disappointed me the most as well. I love violets, love them almost as much as I love roses, and this sounded so wonderful. When I first sniffed it, it was love: pure violets, not overly sweet, but lovely. However, upon application, the mint came storming out at me and had to be washed off immediately. B340, I hardly knew ye...

Edited April 13, 2011 by stellans

[Lamia]

This smelled gently floral in the bottle. Applied, it smelled faintly of peppermit - so faint that I had to repeatedly sniff and wrist until I could say "oh, peppermint!"

 

This is so faint that it was as if I didn't apply ANY perfume today. I have never had a BPAL smell like ... nothing? before.

 

Very straaaaange.

 

Trade bag. Surely there is someone for whom this will be the holy grail.

[pinkstardust420]

Hrrrrmmmm....... MINT?! Why am I amping the mint in this? Grrrrrrr.....

 

10 min later............Okay..mint has calmed down.....more candied violet coming out....very interesting and I likie poo!

[hlemonds]

Only tested a tiny drop because i'm already wearing Morocco + Antique lace, didn't want to go too 'fume crazy. Even with just the couple of droplets on my inner arm i can still smell the lovely sweet violets wafting and blending with the vanilla of the antique lace. I don't get much mint, just a hint in the background, and perhaps a touch of powder under that. Overall i would say this is very lovely, feminine, and soft. With a full application i think this will have a decent throw on me. It is old fashioned and quite traditional without smelling old lady-ish.

 

Edited to add: A more generous application made the mint and a delicate hint of Absinthe come forward to blend with the soft, sweet candied violets. All the notes blend so beautifully, just so pretty! The dry down is so soft and girly! Must have MORE!

Edited August 26, 2009 by Hillary

[zankoku_zen]

Hrm, I am guessing this has violets, mint and sassafras. It's got that violet/mint edge, on top... but as it dries, I get a 'root beer' quality coming out.

 

And that means sassafras.

 

It's an odd mix really. The minty/violet top notes and the heart of root beer. Like dropping Altoids into your root beer soda.

[parrot_suspect]

This is redolent of a bygone era. As previous reviewers mentioned, it has a "vintage" feel. You can imagine an elegant lady in the 1930s or '40s sitting at her art deco dressing table and applying this, along with dusting powder and red lipstick, while styling her bobbed hair into crimped waves. It's a "pearls and patent leather heels" type of fragrance.

 

I don't know what the notes are, but there are definitely florals and powdery notes, and some soft woods in the drydown. it is not extremely powdery, though -- it's just that you can imagine expensive dusting powder smelling like this. I believe there is some rose, but this is not an "OMG! rose!" fragrance (I can't wear rose fragrances, so if this were too rose-y, I wouldn't like it). All the notes blend together beautifully to create a lovely fragrance with retro appeal. It has medium throw and longevity -- I did have to re-apply it after several hours, but I wouldn't say my skin "eats" this. It's great for wearing to work or a night out. It is soft and smooth and easy to wear.

 

If you like older commercial fragrances such as L'Heure Bleue, Arpege, Normandie, etc....give this a try. I wish this were in the GC...I would repurchase it often.

[devilot]

B340

In the Bottle: Minty floral. Odd, but intriguing, draws you in.

 

Wet: Definitely minty somehow. And again, as others have noted, the powdery violet makes an appearance.

 

Drydown: Still incredibly subtle, mint has evaporated leaving behind a ghostly, barely-there floral.

 

Verdict: Lovely, classy, but just too damned subtle on my skin from wet to dry. It's gorgeous, but if given the chance to swap this for an oil that has more presence on my skin? I'm probably a-swappin'!

[Little Bird]

This used to smell like minty toothpaste and perfumey white floral on me, but now it smells sort of harsh and like lemon floor cleanser. I never did get the violet that others have mentioned, and this one has gotten sharper with age. It is headed to my swaps pile.

Edited July 25, 2012 by Little Bird

[milo]

This is a sophisticated violet. It really doesn't change much from wet to dry, just a beautiful violet mint. I can imagine a woman wearing this who knows what she wants and goes after it. It is 'mature', but not in an 'old lady' kind of way. Just an all round confident scent. I really like it, but it's pretty similar to Violet Ray, and I really do have enough violet blends right now.

[crebbsgirl]

Ok, let me first say how shocked I am at this blend. I had arranged a swap for this, thinking that it wouldn't work because violet and I are NOT friends. Boy, I am so glad I was wrong.

 

This is a wonderfully creamy violet blend. It starts of a little sharp on first application, but almost immediately settles down on me and I get violets and a tiny bit of powder and something a little vanillic. This is incredibly evocative of a different time, with a vintage feel to it. (Which, incidentally, is why I swapped for it - I had a 30's themed wedding and I'm completely in love with anything vintage). I really like this alot, and I'm so very glad I was lucky enough to get my hands on it. It does leave a bit of a wafting air of mystery. And I should note that on me, this is not heavy or cloying in the slightest.

[reynardine]

At first, I thought I was getting ginger or something from this. It was almost fizzy-smelling. But then it settled down into a bright mint with a touch of violet. Quite unlike anything else I’ve ever tried. Quirky and fun. I like it!

[sirensea]

The main notes I detect are mint and violet. Gack, it does not work on me at all. Too cloying, too heavy... it has a thickness to it that leaves a bad taste in the back of my mouth.