Clarimonde

[jeanette_culver]

CLARIMONDE
(La Morte Amoureuse, Theophile Gautier)
I do not know whether it was an illusion or a reflection of the lamplight, but it seemed to me that the blood was again commencing to circulate under that lifeless pallor, although she remained all motionless. I laid my hand lightly on her arm; it was cold, but not colder than her hand on the day when it touched mine at the portals of the church. I resumed my position, bending my face above her, and bathing her cheeks with the warm dew of my tears. Ah, what bitter feelings of despair and helplessness, what agonies unutterable did I endure in that long watch! Vainly did I wish that I could have gathered all my life into one mass that I might give it all to her, and breathe into her chill remains the flame which devoured me. The night advanced, and feeling the moment of eternal separation approach, I could not deny myself the last sad sweet pleasure of imprinting a kiss upon the dead lips of her who had been my only love. . . . Oh, miracle! A faint breath mingled itself with my breath, and the mouth of Clarimonde responded to the passionate pressure of mine. Her eyes unclosed, and lighted up with something of their former brilliancy; she uttered a long sigh, and uncrossing her arms, passed them around my neck with a look of ineffable delight. "Ah, it is thou, Romuald!" she murmured in a voice languishingly sweet as the last vibrations of a harp. "What ailed thee, dearest? I waited so long for thee that I am dead; but we are now betrothed; I can see thee and visit thee. Adieu, Romuald, adieu! I love thee. That is all I wished to tell thee, and I give thee back the life which thy kiss for a moment recalled. We shall soon meet again."

Her head fell back, but her arms yet encircled me, as though to retain me still. A furious whirlwind suddenly burst in the window, and entered the chamber. The last remaining leaf of the white rose for a moment palpitated at the extremity of the stalk like a butterfly's wing, then it detached itself and flew forth through the open casement, bearing with it the soul of Clarimonde. The lamp was extinguished, and I fell insensible upon the bosom of the beautiful dead.

Pallid skin musk, white roses, and a languorous vapor of Oriental perfume.

Oh man my first OP ever! And only my second review ever too. Boy am I nervous.

The first thing I notice upon placing this on my skin is the white rose. It seems like a more restrained, slightly dry kind with a very slight sharpness and delicate sweetness, to my nose at least. Generally I love roses, though I find sometimes I am put off by the sharpness some varieties have. The barely there edge to this one is really nice, though! It’s an almost youthful, pure rose (after I read the story this was based on that is almost ironic, but it 'fits' the idea of Clarimonde to me). I can smell the “oriental perfume” aspect floating just behind the rose. I am debating what it might be, still. I could be totally off the mark but there may be amber in there. It reminds me of the “idea” of oriental perfume from a bygone era, actually. Is that you amber...? It's perdy. The skin musk note is floating around vaguely in the forefront now it's warmed up, it’s my first experience with “skin musk”. It comes off to me as a light, slightly fragile musk. There is something antique and lady-like about this blend that is pleasing in it’s simplicity. Not much throw for me. A very "pale" scent.

Overall; I am afraid that this may translate as the “old lady rose perfume” to some! But if you are into scents that evoke the elegance of bygone eras, this may be one to look into. I certainly am! Now I have the urge to design something… I dunno… maybe Victorian inspired to wear with this.

UPDATE Sept 16 2009: I have been wearing Clarimonde to death and will have to break my #1 rule and let myself get backup bottles for the first time EVER I am already 1/3 of the way through the bottle I received last month, and this is coming from someone who makes a single bottle last a several years.

Edited January 17, 2015 by LiberAmoris

[topazphoenix]

Rose...rose..and rose....but this is the most undead rose I have ever smelled. It's not dusty, or even well preserved in some long forgotten keepsake chest.....not spicy, but not fresh either...it just has some eternal quality...and pale...

[msbcozad]

Clairmonde reminds me of the dressing room my Aunt Trish had when I was a kid. When I sniff the oil on my wrist, it feels like I've sneaked into her room to look at her perfume bottles and cosmetics. The smell of hairspray still hangs in the air because Trisha and Mom were doing their hair only a little while ago. There's a little bit of powder and a green-floral scent which is the mixture of aromas from Trisha's perfume collection plus a little bit of humid Floridian air.

 

I got this for the white rose as that's the BPAL rose scent which usually works on me. It's too bad the perfume is turning to powdery death on my skin. I loved those few minutes of being transported back to childhood.

[ami226]

Oh, my! This scent is a beautiful, sophisticated rose. I really like this one! The strong floral does give me a bit of a headache at the beginning. Might just be because I am sniffing it too much. It doesn't change much on the dry down.

 

Skin musk is one of my favorite notes, but sadly I could barely discern it in this blend.

[Heavenlyrabbit]

Had to rush onto this Forum to review this, it's so wonderful.

 

It's a gentle whisp of a long-ago spicy Rose perfume. It's a quietly sexy Rose perfume that could drive men insane.

 

It's been a long time since a Rose perfume has worked this well for me.

[edenssixthday]

Clarimonde - GORGEOUS!!! Based on the scent description, I didn't think it was going to be anything special, but it's stunning. I actually didn't pick up rose from this at all -- if there's rose in it, it's not the typical BPAL rose. It smells more like Egyptian musk than skin musk, too. It's rich and warm and wow, I'm still just amazed to read there are roses in this. I wouldn't be surprised to find out if there's some amber in it, too. Just lovely, truly stunning.

[theseagrows]

this is a soft powdery pale rose with maybe a hint of grey amber (?) it really amps on me, as compared to in the imp. it's kind of like a cold, sophisticated rose scent, which certainly supports the description. i don't get much skin musk, but it definitely seems musky and ambery, but in a very soft pale way. i will have to try this again...i like it, but don't love or hate it.

Edited September 17, 2009 by theseagrows

[angelicruin]

This is one of the best rose blends I have ever tried. It's a very soft unobtrusive rose skin musk. It doesn't go powdery, as a lot of rose notes do on my skin and has just a bit of sweetness to it.

 

Makes me feel so pretty wearing it.

[TheIceMaiden]

I did not like Clarimonde when I first tried her because it was a mix of a potent, powdery musk (black I think) with some powdery amber. This is the Oriental perfume stage I assume, and I did not like it at all! But then it dried down to a lovely white rose and musk scent. So I held on to the scent and after a year of aging, the Oriental perfume is more tolerable (although I'm still not crazy about it) and there are more roses and musk. Much better!

La Morte Amoureuse is an enjoyable story so I'm glad to have Clarimonde's scent to go with it.

Edited October 9, 2010 by TheIceMaiden

[empi girl]

A light sweet candied rose. It smells almost fruity at first, then as this dies down it becomes a soft, clinging sweet rose with the incense in the background. It's a lighter, sweeter version of Parlement of Foules, on me. Very pale, feminine and delicate. I like it, but I like other roses more.

[Molls]

I wanted to like this one but it just didn't work for me - the Oriental perfume and the skin musk combined to give me quite the headache

[papermaker]

This is a really pretty rose scent. The wisp of oriental perfume adds an air of sophistication, and a smidge of sweetness to the rose. It clings close to the skin, and dries down to a candied rose and skin musk.

[Dark Alice]

Wet in the imp: Cheap dry red wine.

 

Drydown: The rose is barely here...and the oriental perfume makes this smell like a cheap rose perfume with hints of wine. No thanks!

 

ETA: Final drydown: This is skin musk, with a barely there rose and oriental perfume. It is quite lovely...but I just can't get past the wet stage to justify a bottle or to keep the decant.

Edited September 23, 2009 by Dark Alice

[Iceblink]

This is a wonderful "perfumey" blend--the skin musk and rose give it a classic feel. I'm not sure what the Oriental perfume is exactly but I get a bit of amber/resin from it. Very ladylike and a bit spicy.

[Little Bird]

In the bottle, this smells like intensely dry, sour roses. These roses are long dead, dusty, and left in an attic to rot.

 

On my skin, the rose sweetens and loses its sour edge. It smells like men's shaving cream (reminds me of the blend Numb), sweet, pale roses, and a creamy, smooth musk. The second that I put this on, the scent seems to sink into my skin so that it's barely there. I can't smell this at all unless I press my nose directly against where it's been applied. It winds up smelling clean and a bit masculine on me. As the scent dries down, it turns rather powdery/dusty, which makes me think there's amber in here somewhere. It's pale rose with dusty powder and a hint of soap.

 

Nothing about this scent is really bad, but I find myself not really caring for it or wanting to smell like this. I think the drydown is just too powdery for me, and it's a little soapy on my skin. It just doesn't smell like anything special or unique to me.

[obsidienne]

Clarimonde is kind of an on-the-fence blend for me. I love white rose, but the skin musk and "Oriental perfume" do give it a slight soapy effect. It's not strongly soap, but it's not like "omg the greatest white rose blend evar" either. Skin musk always smells like soapy-musk to me, though. It didn't last very long on my skin (although that's not unusual).

 

I don't entirely mind this blend, but there have been (and are sure to be) more beautiful white rose blends in the BPAL lineup. I'm still on the fence about a bottle...

 

Edit: I just have to say that the "vapours" element is very spot on from the description! The Oriental perfume is very much like a vapour, coming out of the skin musk and white roses. Cool.

Edited September 30, 2009 by obsidienne

[Lyrical]

In imp: a soft, sweet, pale musky rosy perfume, perhaps similar in character to Under the Harvest Moon?

 

Wet on skin: mmmm - definitely Oriental perfume, and of the best sort! It's not as rosy as I expected, but the musk is beautiful.

 

Dry on skin: unfortunately, as the rose comes out, this gets a little soapy, but it's very posh soap!

 

[Suusje]

It smells nice but like a pretty ordinary rose scent. It's not really special enough considering there are more extraordinary rose scents in the land of BPAL.

[amandette]

Clarimonde is pretty good. I get a bright rose, tempered by something a little powdery and also a bit sweet. It smells classic, or antique, in a good way. It totally evokes a classic vampire. I don't know how this is possible, but it is. BPAL is amazing.

[Lamia]

Soap. Early on, the skin musk thickens the throw, but it's soap.

[thekittenkat]

In the imp: There's something sweet, and then there's the white roses.

 

Wet: Now we have a grounding of the skin musk, but the lovely roses are still making a large presence known, and there's also some spice from the oriental note(s).

 

The dry-down: I like white roses, and skin musk, but I might like this better w/o the oriental notes, but they do give a certain poignancy and indeed a certain languidness. Because I love the Lab's white rose scent, I've ordered a bottle, and will age it for the springtime, or for use in winter when I want a hint of spring.

 

 

[hellomoonglow]

I really, really love this! Strong rose that shifts into a rosy powder. Stays about an hour on my skin.

[aquazoo]

A little woody and orangey to start. Oooh, that's nice! The rose is light, the musk is warm and the rest of it is a light exotic spice. This works well!

[zankoku_zen]

Guh... this smells like a white floral soap.

 

Pass.

[medvssa]

A soft and warm musk like that of Ivanushka, sweet pale amber, something spiced, that actually reminds me of carnations... it must be some spices with the rose, but I wouldn't have been able to tell it is rose, it is so soft and pale. In fact I would describe it as something between Ivanushka and Brisingamen.

 

The general impression is pale, delicate, femenine, lightly sweet and languid. To me it has a dusty, peachy, muted color, like that of silks discolored by the sun, but the scent itself is not too powdery. Old fashioned, but not musty. I really like it, I am going to get a bottle of this one.

Edited October 24, 2009 by Medvssa