La Mort: Mon ironie dépasse toutes les autres!

[rivercitylizzy]

 

LA MORT: Mon ironie dépasse toutes les autres!

La Mort: Mon ironie dépasse toutes les autres!, Odilon Redon.

Pomegranate accord, red rose accord, opopponax, benzoin, champaca flowers, and star anise.

 

Pomegranate, red rose, and star anise? What the heck, I went ahead and got a bottle

 

In the Bottle: light, juicy pomegranate with a slightly bitter edge that reminds me of the taste of the seeds; it's not super sweet which I am thankful for. I also get a touch of floral but the rose is not overwhelming and there is a note of burnt sugar lurking in the background

 

Wet: Oh, my, it's lovely. The rose is coming forward and it is a velvety red rose, not a tea rose (which I also like, but this is very different) and it is fairly balanced with the fresh bittersweet pomegranate. I'm not getting much of the star anise but the champaca is coming out, adding more sweetness to the rose and there is a creaminess emerging that is not a milk cream--more like an almond milk. Very nice and quite ladylike.

 

Dry: pomegranate-rose cordial with a slight whisper of caramel (which I'm assuming is the benzoin & opopponax), and horchata (almond milk + soft sweet spice from the star anise). This is a beautiful, haunting skin-scent for me, as the throw is pretty light (within maybe 12 inches, similar to Muse of the Night on me in this respect); it lasted a good 6 hours before leaving the fragrance of nag champa incense (love it or hate it ) behind.

 

Verdict: It may not be one of my Top 10 but I like it and am glad I have a bottle.

Edited October 21, 2011 by rivercitylizzy

[Ghost of a Rose]

OMG, I am in love with Death!

 

In the imp: Clear, amber-colored oil. I don't smell anything in particular in the vial. There's mostly just an impression of sweetness. The scent develops when it is exposed to air, such as on the skin or if you hold the wand in the air for a minute and then sniff it again.

 

On me, wet: An absolutely gorgeous, sweet, half fruity and half floral, scent. It's neither too fruity or too floral, but a perfectly balanced blend of both. I don't detect any of the specific flowers - they just all meld together seamlessly into a beautiful (and yes, funereal) floral note. I don't know what either benzoin or opopponax smells like on it's own, so I'm not able to recognize those notes if I am smelling them.

 

On me, after 10 minutes: Pretty much the same, except that now I'm picking up a subtle undertone of the anise.

 

After 30 minutes: Most of the pomegranate fruitiness has evaporated and the anise has gained strength, so that now it's florals and licorice, together with something I don't recognize which is probably the resins.

 

After 1 hour: Now the primary scent is incense (the resins? or the champaca flowers?) and florals; with the spicy anise following close behind.

 

After 2 hours: Mostly incense, with florals.

 

After 3 hours: The scent has gone a little plastic-y, but it doesn't matter because it's barely there anymore.

 

Verdict: This goes beyond death - straight to heaven. I MUST get myself a bottle of it while it is still available! I especially love it early on, when the pomegranate and florals are at their strongest - so (reminder to myself) do wear some of this in a scent locket as well as on your skin.

 

My rating: 5 stars

[angelicruin]

Wow, this one is love on me.

 

Pomegranate balanced with light floral notes and a hint of spice. The rose is not at all overpowering and very balanced with the other notes.

[dawndie]

Wet: light rose

 

Initially on skin: lots of pomegranate and rose, nice!

 

Half-hour later: a bit more dark & dusty from the opoponax

 

In conclusion: I really liked this one, the pom and roses are great together. Light and pretty without being old-lady perfumey.

[Akurarei]

La Mort: mon ironie depasse toutes les autres!

 

This is a lovely rose & spicy pomegranate.

and that's all - nothing more, nothing less.

[Sangria2]

In the imp: Very sweet pomegranate, backed by an indistinguishable floral and slight spice. Reminds me of Persephone.

 

Wet: The pomegranate is definitely at the fore of this scent, but as it hits the skin there is a slight bitterness that tempers the sweet somewhat. The star anise pops out for a brief visit at this stage.

 

Dry: As it starts to dry the rose appears. It's a richer, darker rose than in Persephone, and there seems to be less of it as it's second fiddle to the pomegranate. The scent is pretty constant for a couple of hours, mostly fruit and rose with a touch of spice. After four hours it dries down to a slightly powdery incense that's still pleasant, but the throw has disappeared.

 

I love this one! Definitely bottle worthy.

[tajana]

This is the best pomegranate scent and the best rose scent I've ever tried from BPAL. Most of BPAL's rose scents are a total miss for me - either acrid and sour or powdery and stale. There are a handful of exceptions, and this one is at the top of the list now. "La Mort" is a surprisingly lively scent. To me it smells flirty but sophisticated. Juicy, ruby red pomegranate stands out most but as it dries down, a lush red rose blends into it, along with a kiss of spice. It is bright red and mouthwateringly tart for a while, but within an hour it starts to feel darker and more substantial as the champaca and opoponax round out the base, with just a hint of creamy benzoin. Even though I have several fruity rose fragrances from other sources, I definitely need more of this one in my life! It makes me feel positively vivacious.

[Dark Alice]

This starts out as a beautiful light pomegranate scent with the barest hints of rose.

 

As it dries the pom disappears. The rose steps in and is absolutely gorgeous and soft. But it has a generic feel to it. I think I will keep my decant....but I won't need more of this. I just wish the pom note lasted a bit longer.

[stellans]

I like this in the decant, but it changes strangely a few minutes after application into something I don't quite recognize. Gone is the lovely fruity pomegranate and the equally lovely rose. I'm afraid the star anise is making this not behave for me, unfortunately. I will hang on to the decant just in case it's a temporary anomaly, though.

[Little Bird]

I was looking forward to the anise and benzoin in this one, but I don't get either of those notes, and the rose amps up on me (as usual). I get a tart pom + rose at first and then this dries down to a perfumey red rose smell with a dark and slightly spicy/incensey edge to it. But mostly perfumey rose on me. It lasts about 2 hours on my skin, fading into a perfumey-clean sort of smell.

[angelmecha]

In Imp: A soft, spicy blend; I can pick out the rose, oppoponax, and benzoin... pomegranate seems to just be hovering around the edges, and anise isn't anywhere to be found.

Wet: Mmm. Bright and spicy. Almost a little cologne-ish. I'm surprised the rose isn't getting too gritty or cloying on me yet.

Drydown: I get a sweet, slightly floral blend. The anise seems to lend a little bit of bitter spice now that it's drying that wasn't there before. It's red and rosy and stays close to the skin. It's not really remarkable to me, but it is quite pretty. I wish the throw was a little better.

Verdict: An interesting rose and pom blend. The blend of spices in this is quite nice, but the throw is really short and it's not really notable, unfortunately. I'll keep my decant. 2.5/5

[edenssixthday]

La Mort: Mon ironie dépasse toutes les autres - This is a very pretty scent, definitely a fruity-floral. The topmost note is a very tart, bitter pomegranate fruit juice. It's softened up by the red rose, which is the same rose note used in the Yule Red Rose scent. I don't smell the star anise at all. It's mostly just pomegranate and rose, and it's very, very pretty, even with its slightly bitter edge. It doesn't last very long on me at all. After 30 minutes, it sticks very, very close to the skin and is mostly an indecipherable floral at that point.

[zankoku_zen]

Bitter pomegranate and rose. It dries down to a rose with anise tinge. Interesting, but not for me.

 

Womanly, dark, powerful.

[Poenari]

Thankfully, I can smell the pomegranate more than the rose, and after about an hour I can still detect pomegranate, but the scent has softened to a a basic floral. Overall this is just another floral that doesn't work on me. It's not bad or anything, just not a "me" scent.

[milo]

Wet, juicy pom. Fifteen minutes later, dry, cheap soap. Sigh.

[endlessrains]

I thought this was going to be the absolute, no-holds-barred winner of the 'Weenies for me, but alas.

 

In the bottle, it smelled..medicinal? But not in a cough syrup way, just kinda funky. Undaunted (as lots of blends smell strange before they touch skin), I continued.

While wet, the pomegranate was light and juicy, which isn't my favorite way to smell it, sadly. There was a little background shuffling of other notes, but no rose at all (my skin eats rose, no surprise there).

As it dried, the champaca flower (also known as 'the note that ruined Anubis for me') amped up to an insane degree and took over everything else, including the wimpy pomegranate. Great. I almost had to wash it off so I would be able to eat lunch, but the champaca nightmare faded mercifully before I reached my breaking point.

 

At least I know to avoid champaca flowers at all costs now (including waaay too many 2011 Yules in the process), but I'm still disappointed.

[patina]

I get some kind of strange, sweet red rose-powder. It's lovely, but the rose smells crumbled. Along with some juicy pom, there's the merest suggestion of some sort of woody spice, which I believe may be the sleight bitterness of pomegranite combined with star anise. I wouldn't have guessed star anise was in this if I hadn't seen the description, though. Oh, and there are wafting clouds of champa.

 

Lovely as this scent is, it diminishes quite a bit with time. Maybe I'll have to pass on a bottle.

Edited November 17, 2011 by patina

[thekittenkat]

In the bottle: That's a beautiful red rose accord--very rich, like smelling a freshly-cut rose.

 

Wet: The rose is being tempered by the pom and the anise.

 

The dry-down: Mostly rose and anise. Not sure where all the other notes scampered off to. I like the cold sniff the best, so this will go in the scent locket.

[filigree_shadow]

I got this one because all those notes sound great except pomegranate. Aaaaaand guess what it smells like most strongly? Yep. See, the thing is, pomegranate smells like bathroom air freshener on me. That's not something I'm looking for in a personal fragrance. I keep trying oils with pomegranate in, though, just in case at some point it's so soft I can't really smell it. Not this one, though. I can tell it smells nice underneath there, but I just can't do the pom.

[brilliantcat]

In the imp, it's rose and pomegranate, which smell oddly nice together. On me, the rose is amping of course. It's a fresh rose petal sort of scent so I'm not hating it. Yet. The tart bite of the pomegranate is keeping it in my tolerable zone. And then... rose, all rose, all the time. Too bad I don't love rose like it loves me.

[Balame]

I tested this oil no less than 6 times before finally biting the bullet and swapping it away. It's a gorgeous, well-blended and womanly scent. In the end, the rose was just too much of a main player to make it a match for me (I'm almost never compatible with florals).

 

What initially attracted me was the pomegranate. It was the pom I always dreamed of - rich, juicy and full, with just the right amount of tart bite. The opopponax and champaca lend it a dark, incense-y background that contrasts perfectly with the fruitiness. But then, the rose hits.

 

It's a sumptuous, velvety, fresh red rose in bloom. It's beautiful, but again, for me strong floral components are usually deal breakers. What almost made this one of my favorites is how perfectly balanced it is. The rose is right in your face, but so is the bitter pom and sweet incense. A lovely mix of contrasting notes.

 

For anyone who enjoys fruity florals on the darker side, this is definitely a must try. I never was able to pick out the anise very well, which is probably for the best as it normally turns into gross licorice on me.

[roseus]

In the imp: There's something clean about this, not in a soapy way though. It's light and breezy.

 

Wet: It gets warmer and more of a body to it. Less breezy. Soft, almost dusty rose petals. I think this is from a combo with the oppoponax. A little bit of soft fruitiness from the pomegranate.

 

Dry: smooth and warm benzoin, with soft rose petals, and champaca. I don't get any pomegranate or star anise (thankfully). Very pretty vintage feeling rose.

[Kefliss]

This is a 2021 review of a 10-year aged bottle. 

 

Wet: Surprisingly this goes on 'powdery' when wet, very champaca incense forward, likely from the oppoponax/benzoin resins. There's a touch of the pomegranate but staying within that dryness so it's not a juicy fresh fruit, more of a dry, sweet fruit scented smoke. I don't love especially dry scents so luckily this fades pretty quickly. 

 

Dry: As it dries and the 'smoke' settles it gets a bit wetter (not to the degree of having any kind of watery scent) but the moisture rich petals of a rose still on the bush rise as the resins relax. The dryness/sweetness of the champaca/pomegranate fade but the essence of their scents stay to enhance the rose. I can't smell much of the anise seed, but if used with a light enough hand I've found that it acts like salt, underlining and enhancing everything without standing out much as an isolated note. There's a real depth to this scent with all the layers, they merge well and it takes some heavy sniffing to really isolate individual facets. 

 

Overall this has the energy of a really expensive Royal Someone's perfume that is handmade by pulping fresh rose petals with imported incenses and resins and kept in some kind of fancy crystal decanter. I don't usually love roses or incense but there's something incredibly classic and elegant about this one without coming across as 'old fashioned'. I imagine there's Tolkien elves that smell like this.