The Nymphae Avernales

[Aldercy]

THE NYMPHAE AVERNALES
The nymphs of the Underworld: pomegranate, lilac musk, red rose, red sandalwood, honey, and frankincense.

When I sniffed The Nymphae Avernales right out of the mailbox yesterday I was skeptical-- it was screaming sharp, all pomegranate and high-pitched floral. However, testing it this morning is turning out to be a lot better experience.

Pomegranate and lilac are still the strongest notes at first, but then honey quickly leaps in. It makes a sudden appearance and kind of drenches everything in delicious, sunlit warmth. It actually rather drowns out the lilac (which is okay with me), but the fruity tartness of the pomegranate is still there. It's a pretty yummy combination and is kind of making me want to drizzle honey over pomegranate seeds now and see how it tastes.

I'm getting the tiniest hint of the soft sandalwood, which keeps this from becoming too foody. I also smell something else a little earthy, but it doesn't strike me as frankincense. More like oakmoss and/or fig, if I had to put words to it? I don't know what's giving me that impression, but it's very subtle.

The rose is subdued to the point of disappearance, though it is there. It's a velvety dark red rose, maybe a bit dry and crumbly. Not fresh, not cloying. In any case, it's pretty slight so those who are wary of rose could probably still take a chance with this, though of course YMMV.

I quite like this-- it's different from my other pomegranate scents and, as it dries, it really doesn't even seem like "a pomegranate scent" anymore... everything blends together on the drydown so individual notes aren't very apparent anymore. It's sweet, definitely, but "grown-up" at the same time. It's a keeper for me.

[distracts]

All I get from this is frankincense. Even my fiance was like, "whoa, you smell incensey!" Also, I am allergic to something in it - probably the lilac. I'm not too sad about it because it's way too incensey for me. I didn't get any of the other notes, and it was the same in the bottle as it was all the way through the drydown, pretty much.

[stellamaris]

Very very soft, and pretty, a real "lady" scent. I wore this to church today, very quiet...

[Dark Alice]

Am I the only person intrigued by this? Cause this is amazingly weird. Lilac musk (lilac is a death note) works on me...too bad I amp it to a million! But pomegranate keeps this grounded. So for the first 2 minutes these two scents are wrestling on my skin. Ultimately the Lilac wins and is so exhausted that it becomes a soft, close to the skin scent. Now the rose peeks out and this becomes old ladyish almost. I like it oddly. But this is definitely a once in a while scent. I think I will decant this out for others to share and keep a 1/2 bottle for myself.

[angelicruin]

Lilac musk and honey are the strongest notes right after application. As it begins to dry, I pick up the red rose note and frankincense, but no pomegranate at all. Dry, the honey note is strongest with lilac musk being second.

[dawndie]

Wet: chemicals

 

Initially on skin: light rose and dusty frankincense

 

Half-hour later: lilac musk has appeared, powdery and fancypants, with the rose and frankincense

 

In conclusion: this one was quite a morpher -- it seemed every sniff was something different. Light rose, a bit of honey, watery pom, then the dusty wafting of musk. Fades quickly too, like it's snooty and fickle.

[JLH]

I received a free sniffie of this via a decant circle. On paper, it didn't sound like something I would be interested in, especially since rose tends to go crazy on me, but in the vial it was a lovely fruity floral that was very intriguing.

 

Wet on my skin, this is definitely floral! It certainly is pretty "loud," and the pomegranate contributes to that. However, the musk, and frankincense round out the scent. As it dries, I detect more of the fruit and the lilac musk, plus a little more dusty frankincense. I'm sure the honey is making this sweet, but I can't pick it out. In general, this is very evenly blended and no one note stands out more than the others. This scent is very sophisticated and "perfumey," but in a good way. I would describe it as being elegant and classic.

 

ETA: After about two hours, there's the honey! How interesting.

Edited October 28, 2011 by JLH

[ami226]

On the skin: A light rose... with a bit more florals, pomegranate, and some frankincense. Very pleasant and pretty. Reminds me slightly of Crypt King actually only that one was quite a bit more masculine. A bit strong on the tartness for my taste.

[Little Bird]

I was expecting a loud, bright pomegranate and rose mix from this (two notes that tend to amp up on me), but I can't really pick out the pomegranate at all, and the overall scent is lighter & more quiet than I thought it would be. The lilac musk is like a more perfumey, clean, light, not-as-sweet version of lilac on me. The rose and honey mingle together and add more of a sweet floral edge to the lilac musk, and the frankincense is a hint of dry incense.

The Nymphae Avernales is like a sophisticated, perfumey floral that smells a bit exotic & sensual on me, thanks to the honey and frankincense. I don't think that I'll go through a full bottle of this, but I'll keep my decant. My husband is a fan of florals (on me, not on himself), and he really liked this one.

[Lorna Brigid]

I was really looking forward to this blend, because all the notes in other blends work splendidly on me.

Sadly, mostly what comes through is the sandalwood, rose and frankincense. I don't get any lilac musk or pomegranate. It may need a little more time, but it really comes off as a generic old lady's perfume. Slightly sophisticated, but still kinda generic.

[rivercitylizzy]

Still death-matchin' the Weenie decants to see what makes it into a "get 'em before they're gone" Lab order Last pair before bed are two from the An Evening in Hades trio; here we go with The Nymphae Avernales!

 

In the Vial: On initial sniff, this was the one among the trio I was most likely to enjoy skin testing. I got the lilac musk first and then the rose (seemed like a pretty soft, velvety pink rose, not as strong as a tea rose), with the frankincense grounding it and the honey & pomegranate kickin' it out back. Lazy bums.

 

Wet on Skin: A pretty blend, the pomegranate still takes a backseat--it's not a super-sweet or plasticky pom, as in the Green Apple of Venus (which so broke my heart!)--and the rose comes more forward to blend with the lilac musk and frankincense as this warms up to my skin. No sticky sweet honey/pom here and that's good news, but also not much sandalwood. Hm.

 

Dry on Skin: This blend has just a bit of throw and after about an hour the sandalwood is peeking through but not as strong as I'd like it. I've got Regina Erebi on the other wrist and as far as I can tell the throw on that one is kicking The Nymphae Avernales' ass. So I have to huff my wrist to get the rest of the drydown--soft and well-mannered rose with a touch of lilac in the background (TG it's not a super-sweet ickickick lilac, I kind of hate the RL stuff), a faint air of sandalwood, and slightly sweet resin. Not bad, but when I compare it to La Calavera Catrina I think LCC takes the win! I do think this would be a lovely blend for the rose-phobic though, as it's not overpowering at all

[V294]

Loving this one. Very gentle and sweet floral without being overpowering. Very clean smelling. Getting a lot of lilac with some honey and a bit of frankincense which I think it is grounding it. I think the rose is in the mix, but it doesn't stand out which is awesome, cuz that can be a death note for me. Well, this might be a bottle purchase for me....hrm, dangerous, might end up broke but smelling beautiful with these weenies.

[Ghost of a Rose]

My imp is a decant from schackjj, The Goddess of Decanters (to borrow a quote from another participant in our decant circle.)

 

In the imp: Oil is clear and the color is a light peachy yellow. I smell florals (not identifiably rose), musk (not identifiably lilac), and sandalwood; in that order.

 

On me, wet: Aha, here's where the lilacs come into play. At first, that's all I can detect.

 

After 15 minutes: Very delicate and ethereal, which seems appropriate for nymphs. Lilac and musk. I don't notice any fruitiness at all, which I would normally expect as a top note.

 

After 30 minutes: Ooh, now a lovely gentle rose has joined the lilac, with some soft musk in the background. It's a beautiful combination.

 

After 45 minutes: The florals have taken a back seat to the musk and incenses. But even the incense notes are delicate in this blend.

 

After 1 1/2 hours: The frankincense has come out a little more, and I can now pick up a whiff of honey. Otherwise it is pretty much the same.

 

After 2 hours: Not what I expected! I thought that the sandalwood and frankincense would dominate the scent in late drydown. But instead, it has gotten sweeter and softer, with the honey and musk dominating. The incenses have actually lightened up, which allows the floral notes to peek out again.

 

After 2 1/2 hours: The honey is the strongest note, with musk coming in right behind it. At this point, I don't notice any of the other notes.

 

After 4 hours: This is surprisingly long-lasting for a fragrance that started out so delicate. I can still smell the musk, sandalwood, and frankincense.

 

I never did notice any of the pomegranate. But I really love this anyway!

 

My rating: 5 stars

[tajana]

Honeyed frankincense and creamy lilac musk, with a little burst of glossy pomegranate juicing things up a little bit. I would've also guessed there was a touch of vanilla in here. This is the good kind of honey - neither baby powdery nor crotch-y, ahaha. I do not sense much in the way of rose, and I couldn't pick out sandalwood as a distinct note either. All in all I liked this a lot more than I expected, but the scent overall was somehow really... familiar. A scent memory I couldn't quite place, or maybe it just smells like perfume oils I've already tried! Overall this smells a bit sensual, but classic.

[angelmecha]

In Imp: Breathing in deeply I can tell that there's pomegranate, but it's honestly not the front-runner; I get much more lilac musk (strange note) and red rose.

Wet: Hmmm. A red, rosy scent with a splash of lavender (color) thrown in; it smells clean. I don't get honey or pomegranate at all at this stage.

Drydown: It's well blended and I don't get much in the way of individual notes; but that also is making it kind of hard to describe. It's warm and clean, wearing a flowy white dress and floating around in a flower field. It's quite floral and I am sad that I really don't get any honey or sharper notes. Even the pomegranate is almost like a suggestion in it. Like... a bunch of intact pomegranate pods sitting in a garden. Not juicy or vibrant. Just kinda pom-my.

Verdict: Hmm. I don't really know if this is for me. There's nothing wrong with it or putting me off, it's just not remarkable to me. I'll give it a 1/5. ETA: Scratch that. After about 10 minutes of drying it's morphing into something quite nice. A more dry, fruity red blend. Hmm. Ok, 3/5 and I'll try it again in the future.

[edenssixthday]

The Nymphae Avernales - Wow, this is a weird and oddly beautiful scent. When I first apply it, the dominant notes are the lilac and honey, and somehow they work really, really, amazingly well together on my skin, which surprises me to no end. As it warms up on my skin, the frankincense comes out, giving the scent a bit of a dry, incense-like base, although the scent is still mostly lilac and honey. As it dries down, the red sandalwood comes out a tiny bit, giving the scent a hint of woody resin. I never do smell the pomegranate or rose. This is one of those scents that shouldn't work on me, but it works amazing, gorgeously well. I'm going to have to put this on my list of possible bottles to order.

[angelamaria]

In tester: lilac musk, frankincense, and sandalwood. The flowers are only hints--I wish they were more apparent. No pomegranate that I can capture.

 

Wet on skin: lilac musk, and sweet red rose that is turning powdery--well, both of them probably are. Pomegranate is very subdued here, which is a surprise and makes me think that maybe this has a chance! Somewhat ethereal in feel, but still fairly full-bodied. Oh, oh, the rose is suddenly out--and the whiff I got is freshly cut and young red rose. Oh, really, really nice! This is a nice, beautiful rose. ...oh wait, I just sneezed.

 

Dry: the red rose is actually holding its own here! It stays true to the rose note I got during the wet phase--fresh and young and very beautiful, not overwhelmingly floral, almost green.And there's also the lilac powder and faint incense. No pomegranate. The lilac does turn more and more powdery as time goes by.

 

Verdict: sadly, the lilac does ruin this. Drat, and I thought I might have a nice red rose scent now. The rose does turn powdery after a good while too.

[zankoku_zen]

This one is way more floral than I anticipated. I get pom on wet, with hints of roses and lilac. The roses and lilac get stronger as it dries, and I get a touch of frankincense and honey. The rose note is a 'green' rose, almost sappy. I like the lilac whiffs I get.

 

Dark, sophisticated, heady.

[taramarie]

In the bottle, The Nymphae Avernales is lilac with maybe some pomegranate way in the back. Wet on my skin, I'm getting lilac, sandalwood, and frankincense. The frankincense is strong with this one. Drying, dry pomegranate starts to come through. This is lovely.

[Heavenlyrabbit]

This is one of my favorite 2011 Halloween blends.

 

It somehow reminds me of Jane Austen.

 

Incense wafting from a country chapel in the English countryside surrounded by blooming late Spring flowers.

 

On me, this is perfection. It smells incredibly gorgeous in a very classical way.

[Miss Lynx]

Just received a decant of this, and wow - I really like it! I was a little unsure if I would, because rose can really amp on me sometimes, and I also wasn't sure if "lilac musk" referred to musk blended with lilac scent, or if it was just another in BPAL's long line of colour-themed musks (i.e. red musk, black musk, white musk, purple musk, green musk, etc.).

 

But it's really not very floral on me at all. There's a bit of floral in it, mainly rose - I can't really pick up any lilac as a separate note - but mainly it's all pomegranatey musky incensey goodness. Fruit notes for some reason tend to be really nice on me, though I wouldn't have guessed that before discovering BPAL, but the darker fruits are best, and they do need to be mixed with other not-so-sweet notes. And this scent works perfectly in that regard - pomegranate is one of those luscious dark fruits, and the other notes balance it beautifully. It's a bit reminiscent of Mme Moriarty, but if anything I like it even better than that one.

 

Overall, this is heady and sexy and a little dark, but not overpowering. It really does evoke some kind of underworld nymphs, but in a subtle way. I think I may have to hunt down an actual bottle...

 

Grade: A

[milo]

Kind of soft floral at first, then turns into a musky perfume, but not really that strong. After a bit, it does gain in strength, and is more musky. This is kind of department store perfume musk to me, not a fan.

[brilliantcat]

Ok rose, I see you there. You be nice to me and I'll be nice to you Oh dang, it smells heavenly when wet! Mostly lilac musk and honey. This is what I was hoping for! And... then it all goes to hell and smells like deodorant and roses. DAMN.