Female Nude, Three-Quarter Length, Beside Her Left an Apple Tree

[AnArtfuldodger]

Mahogany, rosewood, and red apple.

I was super excited for this blend! Apple + wood?! YES PLEASE!

Wet on wrist: I get the faintest hint of apple, and a sort of floral-y sweet overtone.

On the drydown: The wood is slowly coming out to play, but the apple and floral hints still are predominant. The apple is coming to the front, but it's a very light sweet apple, not crunchy, not mulled/mushy, just....a plain little apple. With a little hint of a floral and wood.

Throw: low

I think I might need to let this sit some more, and maybe age. Right now, it's just very faint on my skin, but I want this to work and become a little heftier so badly, so I'm going to give it another try in a few days (it's been sitting for a day now, but maybe that wasn't enough).


Edit on 2/7/11: I tried this blend again today, and it's still basically just a light sweet apple blend on me. Very Valentine-y and light and sweet.

[HerbGirl]

This is beautiful! Even though it is straight out of the mailbox, it is very well blended. Nothing screams...it's like a chorus.

 

Gosh my reviews suck.

 

Anyhow, I don't smell APPLE per se, but more of an apple blossom and apple peel vibe wafting getly over the GORGEOUS Mahogany.

 

Mahogany is such a wonderful smell...who would have thought Apple and Mahogany?!

 

I'm not normally a fan of Rosewood, but here it is playing nicely. I ALMOST think I smell a hint of Oak.

 

Very nicely done, and I am certain this will age beautifully.

 

4.5/5

[Athenae]

Out of the bottle, I'm wondering if I got something mislabeled. This is HEAVY floral, thick and oppressive. I don't smell apple, or woods, at all, and I double-checked the description to make sure I ordered correctly. I amp florals and so rarely wear them.

 

Wet it's the same heavy floral smell, and it only gets stronger as it dries into kind of a powdery floral. It reminds me of an old-fashioned French flower perfume my grandmother had on her dressing table. My husband likes it, but after half an hour I had to wash it off as it was giving me a violent headache.

 

No apple, no woods. Bummer.

 

A.

[Dark Alice]

Wet..apple blossom and gorgeous fabulous mahogany. Dry...it morphs between appleblossom and apple. Green apple. Final drydown...soft wood with soft green apple. Not sour or tart...just fresh and green. I am going to keep it as I do enjoy the wood notes and with a little aging I think the blossom note will stop screaming at me!

[cherrycherry]

Before discovering BPAL, I would never have worn an apple perfume. I would have instantly screwed up my nose and gone 'ehhhh, no thanks' just at the thought of it. Blends like this one prove to me just how gorgeous apple perfumes can be. The apple blends seamlessly with the rosewood and the result during the drydown is a slightly sweetenend, woody, fruitful mix that has me closing my eyes and just slowly inhaling, totally beguiled. I don't think I'll need another bottle, but this one will certainly be treasured.

[cfrancesca]

I get strong mahogany and a hint of apple.

[strahlend]

Call me crazy but this is reminding me a bit of a less sweet/powdery and more woody Samhain. In the imp it's a bit sweet and fruity but on my skin the mahogany comes out right away. It's mainly a rounded mahogany scent with soft musky apples. It's quite lovely. I appreciate how the apples don't jump out and yell fruit, they blend beautifully with the wood.

[sunshinedaisybliss]

This is one of the few Lupercalia blends this year that I took a chance on buying a bottle without testing first. I just had a feeling it would be a good one

 

The oil here is a rich, golden honey brown colour - I'm starting to recognise that as a good sign in my BPALs! When I first applied it to my skin, I thought I could smell patchouli but no.. there's no patchouli in here! But when the oil is wet, it has that lovely warm/earthy tone to it. It reminded me of blends like Panther Moon, WILF, even Lucy, Kissed a little bit.. Female Nude has the same dark, sumptuous lusciousness that I enjoy from those blends.

 

So ten minutes in, and I have this gorgeous, soft and plump fragrance on my arm - the mahogany and rosewood together are such a beautiful combination. Sometimes mahogany can be a little bitter on my skin, but not here - it's just gorgeous with the slight sweetness from the rosewood. And the apple is really barely there - I only start to notice a hint of apple after it's been on for about an hour.. and even then, it's really barely there, but it's definitely a red apple.. a hearty soft apple, rather than a crisp/sweet/fresh one.

 

Another thing I've gradually figured out about BPAL is that often the more 'simple' blends - those with only three or four notes - are the best ones for me, and Female Nude is a perfect example of that. This really works beautifully on my skin - it smells musky and warm, really cozy and intoxicating - like cherrycherry said.. I find myself wanting to close my eyes, lean in to my arm and just inhale it. Lovely!

[edenssixthday]

Female Nude, Three-Quarter Length, Beside Her Left an Apple Tree - This is the perfect example of why I like to leave no stone unturned when it comes to BPAL. There is absolutely nothing about this scent that appealed to me. Rosewood? Ewww, no. Mahogany? No thanks. Apple? Probably not. Yet somehow, put them together, and they work together with amazing synergy to create something absolutely spectacular and really impressive. What blossoms on my skin is a beautiful, warm wood scent with a hint of apple and something else -- maybe oak or tonka, something that's warm and golden. Apple is not a note I typically enjoy, as it's just a bit too crisp and juicy for me, but in this blend, the apple keeps the woods from being too dry and flat and the woods tone down the brightness of the apple and they compliment each other perfectly. I really adore this scent and I'm so glad that I didn't completely disregard it based on the ingredient list. It's such a pretty fragrance that I imagine would be perfect year-round for any type of situation, whether it's wearing to work, on a date, out on the town, skiing in the mountains, shopping at the farmer's market, or wearing to enjoy during a relaxing day at home.

Edited February 24, 2011 by Edens Sixth Day

[Little Bird]

I love apple scents, so I was excited to try this. Unfortunately, I don't get apple from this blend at all. I get dark, dry, slightly bitter, and slightly powdery wood notes, what smells like a hint of very dry patchouli, and a touch of sweet, perfumey floral rather than fruity apple.

[Iceblink]

I get all three notes here, although the apple is more of a floral, perfumey apple blossom than the fruit itself. The mahogany and rosewood are both soft and not overly WOODWOODWOOD, but the apple fades quickly and a light, slightly sweet rosewood is all I get in the final drydown. It's nice but a bit boring.

[Aldercy]

The wood is coming off as a bit cologney, but in a pretty light and inoffensive way. They're sweet, cool, well-blended wood notes, and I actually don't get any rosewood (which I can usually pick out easily) specifically. The apple is, to me, a mixture of blossom and fruit, but more the former. It ends up a pretty, clean floral with thin woodsy undertones. I like it, though not as much as I'd hoped. The decant is definitely enough.

[Invidiana]

This is very woody; not the kind of cabinet-store woody I got from the original Bony Moon, but more of a soft, inoffensive perfumy wood, reminiscent of something antique and wooden, with some sweetness from the red apple. I do tend to amp red apple but I also amp woods strongly and the woods are winning out over the apple here. I can appreciate the concept but it isn't personally my type of fragrance.

Edited March 7, 2011 by Invidiana

[femmefatale]

Sadly, no apple (which is what I really wanted), instead it smells like a rosewood cologne on me. It's heavier on the cologne part for the first 30 or so minutes, then the rosewood is more apparant.

Nice and sophisticated, just not what I was looking for and not really me.

[milo]

This smelled nice in the imp, but on, it's pretty much a female version of Axe on me. Very overly musky wood with a touch of apple shampoo. I'm certain the oils are not to blame, but rather my skin chemistry. I love me a good wood scent, but I can't believe how cologney fake this is on me. Sad.

[thekittenkat]

In the decant: Woods, faint roses, and apples.

 

Wet: Bit more roses, but still with woods and apples.

 

The dry-down: The blending of the notes results in a lovely woody scent that is brightened by the apple note, but somewhat dimmed by the rosy note. I like this, but not sure that I need anymore than the decant.

[midnight_aeval]

I was so excited to see Mahogany in a blend given that Mahogany Hall is one of the most fabulous smells EVER. Unfortunately this is mostly that weird pickle smell I get from some wood notes I blame you, rosewood.

[zankoku_zen]

For me, this was essentially soft rose and apple. I tend to amp up rose, so I am not surprised. The apple note and rose combination is reminiscent to certain Rose Red variations, making the rose very fresh.

 

Not my type of blend, but very pretty. I can also see this being appropriate for a young, teenage girl.

[mistressfizz]

Sniff: Very light, faintly sweet.

 

Wet: Oh, she is nice! Soft woods, not at all like the pencil shavings you sometimes get with cedar. No pinesol, no dirt, no orangey furniture polish (as you can tell, I've been disappointed by some other wood blends). Instead, a rich ambient smell, like walking into an antique furniture store and sticking your head into an ancient mahogany warddrobe. There's a tartness which I attribute to the apple, though it doesn't really smell like apple. I am truly enjoying huffing my wrist.

 

Dry: The drydown is gorgeous! Gentle woodsy glow that borders on resinous, but without the heaviness or smoke of resin, tempered with a trace of rose and apple blossom. A wonderful blend!

Edited April 30, 2011 by mistressfizz

[Diva Urd]

In the vial: Woody apple!

 

On: Apple tree. Beautiful ripe, red apples and a sturdy trunk.

 

Later: An apple tree next to a patch of roses. Quite enjoyable! It reminds me a bit of "Ladon" though. If you don't like DB though, this might be just the thing!

[brilliantcat]

In the bottle: Sweet with a hint of woody notes.

 

Immediately after application: Woods with a tinge of powder. No apple to be found.

 

Warming up: Woodsy with a hint of sweetness from the apple.

 

Fading: Bleh, not loving this at all. Washed it off.

 

Faded: Average throw, average wear.

 

Overall: It seems like a simple enough blend, but something about it just didn't work for me. I rarely feel the urge to wash stuff off, but dang.

 

Rating: 0/5.

[ralenth]

Bottle: Aged since release. Woods, and bright sweet apple blossoms.

 

Wet: Apple peels over a bed of crushed apple blossoms.

 

Drydown: Candied white floral.As it dries, there are slight hints of woodiness, but mostly it's an apple blossom melded with Rose Red on my skin.

 

Dry: Woodsy, and soft. It's understated, feminine, and romantic.

[torischroeder9]

In the decant: Soft rosewood with another light, sweet note. It's almost floral. If I didn't have the list of notes, I'd be more apt to say apple blossom than apple. 

 

On my skin:

 

Rosewood is the main note I get when the scent is wet. I can still smell a light, sweet note -- but again, I'd be more likely to call it apple blossom than apple. As it dries, the scent even takes on that airy quality I associate with orange blossom -- not that it smells like orange blossom, just that the quality of the sweet note is very light and dry, not like I'd expect apple-fruit to be. The mahogany is also coming out a little more as well, so that the woodiness of the blend is a little more prominent. It's still utterly smooth, gorgeous wood, though. 

 

This is a very pretty scent. It's simple, clean, and grounded. I read it as feminine, though the woods in it could play very differently across skin chemistries. 

 

Alas, I have a tester decant with not enough in it, probably, for a full day's wearing. But there's probably enough to send it to someone else to test. Super glad I got to try it, though!  

[Lucchesa]

Female Nude, Three-Quarter Length is really surprisingly beautiful, besides having one of the all-time great BPAL names.  I don't generally do apple scents; they tend to go fake on me.  I was the beneficiary of the above reviewer's tester imp, just enough to skin test, and dabbed a bit on about 90 minutes ago.  Morning plans went awry and just now I was sniffing my wrist thinking, wait, wow, what did I put on? 

 

In the imp I didn't smell apple much at all but mainly rosewood, and now the apple has bloomed but is perfectly entwined with the woods.  Looking at the above reviews, I don't find this girlish at all -- of course, it's 8 years older than it was back then, and it has aged into something quite elegant.  Not fruity and not rosy -- the apple has become understated, and the rosewood and mahogany are polished woods, and a lovely and grown-up combination.  (Mahogany on my skin always strikes me as classy.)   This is perfectly boardroom appropriate but in my opinion could go out for an intimate dinner and drinks afterwards.