Harlot

[theseagrows]

Based on a Romany incense blend reputed to induce sexual dreams: Somalian rose, Moroccan rose and Bulgar rose with a sultry dribble of cinnamon.

this is very rosy with a powdery undertone. roses + cinnamon don't seem mix well on my skin, which seems strange, but there it is. i think i'll hand this off to a friend who might like it.

Edited May 4, 2018 by theseagrows

[AngellicMystique]

This is a light, spicy floral on me. I like it, but none of the notes are distinctive enough on my skin to make Harlot a scent I'll wear often.

[olympia301]

 

A very simple and likable blend consisting of roses, roses, roses and cinnamon. They combine very easily and I think that Beth has taken advantage of the spiciness of the classic rose here. It is a sexy smell in a drawing room way, and I appreciate an almost edible backlash to it which makes it much nicer than the average rose smell. That cinnamon also keeps it from being boring (like Perfumer's Workshop Tea Rose which can cloy very quickly). This one may not be one of the Lab's newest scents, but it is a very well made presentation of an old concept...just when you thought nobody could say anything new about roses.

 

The icon is a piece of Hogarth's The Harlot's Progress, a cautionary tale for young ladies.

[Blueelm]

Never in my life would I have tried this, but since the imp was in front of me I decided to give it a whirl. Almost all I got was cinnamon, sweet candy-like cinnamon and maybe something creamy. Underneath the rose was dull, but it made my nose feel congested.

 

I'm beginning to think I'm actualy allergic to rose or something.

 

Actually this is a fairly brilliant blend.

 

Despite the fact that this is a rose scent first and foremost, it's much more wearable, spicy and sweet. I don't know if this comes across as sexy on me, sweet spicy floral, but it isn't bad.

 

I'll have to try again, but I don't imagine myself ordering this. It's a good scent, but not ideal for me. One caveat: lasting power is very very low on me. I guess that's good since the drydown would probably be all rose and I probably wouldn't like it at that point.

 

Edited to add:

 

I gave this a second try. I have to give this some kind of award for being THE mos wearable rose scent I have ever ever tried. The lab deserves a

Edited December 31, 2005 by Blueelm

[aedes]

These roses smell a lot like honey to me. Very sweet and golden with a floral scent. About an hour later I think I can recognize it as a rose smell, with only the tiniest bit of cinnamon working behind the scenes. What an interesting concept for a scent! Rose oils and cinnamon. But I think it works well. I like it!

[Chrysantza]

Received this in an imp swap with a friend.

 

In the bottle: Sultry spicy rose/cinnamon.

 

On me: It starts off gorgeous, but within five minutes I smell like soapy Red Hots. Worst, the cinnamon irritated my skin so I had to go wash it off.

 

This is so pretty in the bottle and before the drydown, however, that I think I might save the imp and use it as a room scent. I think it will be nice in the bedroom or bathroom. But I have been warned - no cinnamon-on-skin action for me ever again!

[gingersnapp]

The rose is heady and sensual and strong, not a delicate, pretty or wimpy little rose. The cinnamon lingers softly in the background, adding a little bit of spicy depth. But the rose... this blend is all about the rose.

 

And I really love rose. So this one works for me.

[sookster]

hot, dry, dusty rose mixed with sharp cinnamon......meh......this

doesn't go so well with my chemistry.....the cinnamon takes precedance and

the dusty rose all but disappears after awhile......i may have to try this

one out before bedtime and see how busy i can get and/or how many

wet dreams i can have

[Nadirah]

So after trying this on and not know exactly what was in it- I would've guess Clove and Roses. Now that I know it is 3 roses and cinnamon, it makes sense. This has that sort of brightness that you would smell with Sybaris. I guess thats why I thought this had clove in it. The cinnamon is very strong at first, but the roses bring out the Harlot in this after about a half an hour. The throw is decent, smells wonderful. I think I will keep the imp to see if a big bottle should be on order!

[Heretic]

In the vial: A spicy floral, not cloying.

 

On my wrist, wet: Some serious spicy going on with a hint of rosy floral that has some sort of memory attached to it (I love when scent acts as a mnemonic device). This could be drool-inspiring.

After 20 minutes: Cinnamon amps on me. Pity I don't like it. The way the rose is persevering in the background, though, I think the cinnamon will vanish and leave a spicy rose.

 

After an hour: This is nice and may be worthy of a bottle. Definitely strikes me as a winter scent, since the cinnamon never quite fades away entirely.

[Lizzie]

In The Bottle Cinnamon with a hint of a clean soapy fragrance, not at all unpleasant.

 

Wet On Skin Still just cinnamon and soap, but the cinnamon is getting hotter.

 

Dry Mmm, now I smell the rose. Rose isn't a favourite scent of mine, in fact I normally dislike it strongly, but with the cinnamon it's quite nice. However while I find it appealing, it's not really sexy on my skin, just nice. Sophisticated. Not something I'd imagine a Harlot to wear, that's for sure, but I like it. Still smells very clean and soapy, I don't get any hint of dirty rose as others have.

All in all, I think it's nice, and worth having the imp of but I doubt I'll ever get a bottle of it.

[slave1]

In Bottle: Spicy rose

 

On Skin: Well hello rose! And cinnamon! There is no hiding these notes, they are in your face! The cinnamon burns my nose right away, I am so sensitive to it! And the rose, it’s super tart and sharp... all 3 of them! Sexual dreams? Not so sure about that, I don’t think I can even wear this to ty it out. These are two of my least favorite notes, and together I dislike them even more. I would have to say, this is one of my least favortie scents yet. Sorry Beth.

[Sycorax]

Harlot? Oh, I don't think so! This is far too genteel a blend for a harlot. I believe that it would be better suited to a nice Edwardian courtesan; an outwardly refined lady, who brings out her wild side behind closed doors and heavy curtains.

 

That said, I really like this. Rose and cinnamon are both notes that tend to come out with guns blazing, so I was happy that neither note got the upper hand in Harlot. I suspect it has something to do with the types of roses Beth used. Harlot is light and refreshing, without being sweet.

 

I'll have to ponder getting a bottle. It's nice to feel feminine attractive (not sexy, but attractive) without having to use a heavy musk or honey based blend.

Edited February 8, 2006 by Sycorax

[empi girl]

I love cinnamon, and have discovered that some roses work really well for me, so was super curious to try this.

 

Wet: Freshly grated cinnamon, and lush beautiful red roses. Both are equal in intensity. The two overlap really nicely, and the combination works.

 

Then it dries, and unfortunately a very plasticky note comes in. I don't know what does it, I just know it stays and never leaves, and ruins what would otherwise be a lovely blend.

[jena]

In the imp:

Strangely, I'm getting the smell of baby wipes. I'm sure that's just my nose being strange.

 

Fresh on the skin:

This is much more subtle than I expected. Both notes are clearly there, cinnamon and rose, but with a perfect balance. It is a sweet cinnamon, not the fire that I anticipated.

 

After a few minutes:

I can't stop sniffing my hand. It's such a light smell, flowery and pretty but not at all boring. The cinnamon seems to have faded a little bit and is now just punctuating the rose.

 

My only concern is that the spot is a little bit warm now, most likely from the cinnamon. I'm not bothered by it, but I certainly wouldn't slather it on without caution.

[Sheila]

This is very nice, and exactly as advertised: it smells like roses and cinnamon! The cinnamon adds a nice spicy quality to the roses. This is softer than I would have expected, but very lovely.

[harmonyfb]

Beautiful. The cinnamon keeps the roses from being cloying. I might actually hang on to this one. Sadly, no sexual dreams resulted from its use.

 

I was pleased to see that I didn't have any adverse skin reaction to the cinnamon (the woman who passed it on to me apparently had a very bad reaction to it.)

[Rhowan]

Okay, so anyone who has read my reviews know that rose and I have a hate/hate relationship but never look a gift horse in the mouth - and this was a frimp from the lab so....

 

I have to say that this turned out to be not half bad! Maybe it was the combination of roses, maybe it was the cinnamon that kept it from being overpowering rose? Who knows but this didn't dry down to smell like most rose scents I love to hate.

 

What this did dry down to be was a very exotic, warm rosey scent. I think if any of you reading this who want to wear rose and haven't been able to, you should definitely try this. As for me, it's still rose and rose isn't for me.

 

 

edited for spelling

Edited March 8, 2006 by Rhowan

[nancybridget]

Smells like Valentine's Day Red Hots with a dash of rose. Cinnamon is the dominant note by far.

[moon_lemming]

In the imp, I thought this smelled fruity. I totally forgot about the roses, but now that I know they're there I can pick out a light rose scent. It still smells mostly fruity though, with a bite that I guess comes from the cinnamon.

 

Wet, the fruit and roses turn powdery but the cinnamon snaps up deliciously. Dry is the same story albeit a little more powdery. It's interesting and I like the cinnamon, but the powder is a bit too much for me. I'm also curious as to why my chemistry doesn't pick up on these roses, as BPAL rose blends usually work well with my skin.

[bpalblogger]

(this is from my blog, which is why there's a link to this board in it)

 

Preconceptions - I seem to remember something about roses in this one.

 

In the bottle - Sweet, powdery, rosearific

 

Wet - Goes a little warmer, drier, but still very rosey/diapery. Maybe cinnamon? Not a scent I like at this point. Will have to give it some time.

 

5 minutes in - Has gone very green/woody. Weird, like a pile of rose stems left out over night, with Cinnamon on top. Still not my cup of tea, but I better than the rose/diaper it opened with. I checked the BPAL Madness Board Harlot review thread at this point, and this “waterlogged/soil” smell they speak of, I think that just reads as spoiled to my nose at this point. I like broken green scents, like Glasgow and Vinland, but Harlot just isn’t coming together for me yet.

 

15 minutes in - Now the green wood is coming forward with the powder/very dry cinnamon. When I lean back it sort of morphs together into rose, and it’s drifting up nicely from the inside the elbow test. Hmm. If I liked rose, I might enjoy it, but I find the flower cloying and old ladyish. It’s interesting, but still not for me.

[Meg]

In the bottle: Various rose petals and a spicy cinnamon, perhaps also amber?

 

Wet: Red hot cinnamon with rose in the background.

 

Drydown: Rose and cinnamon don't mix well. It's a very soft rose actually, I'd say a white rose, and it's rather pale and watered-down. The cinnamon has gone from red hots to quiet but spicy, fortunately. Still, it's a rather faint scent on me.

 

Overall: It smells a bit like faded cinnamon chewing-gum in rosewater. I don't feel any special attraction to it, it's too quiet for me. The rose is really too soft for me, I like my rose bolder. Here it doesn't really stand its ground with the cinnamon, and it's a pity. Not my thing.

[Nekomata]

Wet this is red hots, sweet cinnamon.

 

It dries to a spicy rose.

 

Could stand to be stronger as a scent, but good if you don't like overpowerig cinnamon or rose.

[Concupiscentia]

Where is the cinnamon, where is the sensuality?

It smells like soap on me. a nice rosey soap, but still soap.

More housewife than harlot. Might make a nice roomscent, cause I like the name too much to swap this.

[dragonryder]

Roses with a bite! The cinnamon really comes out in my chemistry, but it only enhances the roses. Great scent, but probably not a bottle for me.