Lolita

[roxyhead]

Bright, sweet and youthful, but swelling with a poisonous sexuality. Glittering heliotrope, honeysuckle, orange blossom and lemon verbena.

This is who you're gonna call if you need citrus. I can't pick out any floral notes specifically, but I imagine it's what's adding a bit of sweetness to the tartness, making it less like other citrus smelling "regular" perfumes I've tried - it's creamsicle orange sweet, but there's no cream in it, and fizzy lemon candies. As it's drying, more bubblegum and the sweet flowers are coming out. If it doesn't mutate too much, this could be a surprise favorite, though more of a summer thing. This came in a lot of imps from eBay, I'd probably have never ordered it on my own, my dad's friend's ex-wife is named Lolita, and somehow we moved to the same block she lives on now!

ETA: Well, that was a rather short lived love affair. Turned soapy not long after posting the review...slightly bubblegum scented soap, but still mostly soap. Ugh. Time to get a scent locket. Edited January 29, 2007 by Shollin

[ForeverSweet]

I was quite excited about this scent. I love citrus and honeysuckle, as they are some of the scents that I remember fondly from being younger. I am completely weak for honeysuckle and orange blossom, having lived in Florida most my life.

 

From the bottle: Lots of citrus. An extreme amount of lemon! Like lemon candies and flowers. I really get the "sharp" side of lolita here. The dangerous side of innocence. I can catch the slight hint of the orange blossom and just a little tiny bit of honeysuckle, but the lemon seems to be predominant.

 

Wet: Still very lemony but it sweetens up and this makes me happy. It becomes a bit more candy like and the orange blossom starts to flourish more. However this gives it something of a bitter smell that I am not sure if I enjoy. I'm not getting much floral or honeysuckle which makes me sad.

 

I love that this scent is strong on me. Most scents tend to fade quite quickly on me, however this one is surrounding me. Its sweet and light and delicious. Everything I would expect lolita to be. I am starting to smell the honeysuckle come into play with its sweetness from the heat of my skin and it is becoming all sweet and lovely and soft. Very feminine. Perfect for bright, warm days. On my skin directly, I cant say I really enjoy the smell as much. It is all lemony and burnt and sour like lemon pledge. However it lifts around me and surrounds with an aroma where the flowers are finally blending in and taking over the citrus and giving it a very soft, sweet, honeysuckle smell. Heaven.

 

I think this will be perfect for those bright, happy days. Or the ones that I am decked out in lolita style.

[Ciircee]

Oooo! I have a new favorite 'light' scent. It really is bright and sweet--floral but not cloying and the orange gives it a sparkle with the lemon giving it an edge.

[bombus]

I pretty much only smell the lemon verbena and maybe a bit of the honeysuckle. I wish the orange blossom showed up more. I think it is too sweet and lemony for me. Reminds me of a tart lemon candy, not something I want to smell like.

[theseagrows]

this starts off as a bright lemony scent with a slight creaminess. later on i get a sort of woody-floral from it, which may be the heliotrope, since i am not too familiar with it? this part sort of turns bad with my skin chemistry, so i dont think this one will work that well for me :/

[black_and_bloom]

In the vial, Lolita is all sharpness, not sweet. As soon as I applied it, the sharpness defined itself and whoa, the lemon verbena and the orange blossom made themselves noticed. As it dried, it softened somewhat and sweetened a bit too - there is a definite floral background to the citrus, and I'm pleased that it never turned soapy on me. I'm sure I'll be reaching for this once the weather turns warm...

[modernsaints]

Lolita is such a wonderful book - I can quote the first line off by heart, and it's inspired me on lots of my own stories - so I had super-high hopes for this one!

 

Sadly, in the imp, it was LEMON VERBENA POW. I have faith! I tried it on anyway!

 

The lemon did settle down - my skin seems to be very friendly, it doesn't amp anything I really loathe - but the floral just seemed kind of... off. Instead of the lemon going all sparkly, it went a bit sour. It got nicer, no question, but never quite nice enough to make me stop going :| at it all the time.

 

My mum described it as "spicy floral" - not sure what she was smelling, haha. But she liked it, so if it's still not playing nice in a couple weeks, maybe I'll get her own little collection started.

[andhowever]

If I didn't actively hate this scent, I knew I was keeping it no matter what, Lolita being my favorite book of all time. Fortunately, I think I love it. Wet on my skin it's a little herbal for my taste, but it dries down to a sharp, bright lemon. I can almost see Dolly Haze, demanding and slippery and tragic, when I smell this. I am thinking of aurochs and angels, the secret of durable pigments, prophetic sonnets, the refuge of art. And this is the only immortality you and I may share, my Lolita.

[Iceblink]

Spicy orange/lemon candy at the start (sort of like spiced jelly beans or gumdrops). Then it fades down to a straight citrus, mostly orange. Unfortunately, I've tried this imp twice now and both times it's made me itch, so...farewell, my Lo!

[maijasu]

On me, Lolita is a sweet, fresh, slightly green floral. It's very springlike, and not soapy at all. I'm not getting the lemon verbena, but I have no idea how old my imp is, so that may be why. Overall, it's very beautiful and feminine. Nicely done!

[ankhfangirl72]

This is a sweet scent, but quite citrusy. It actually reminds me of candy necklaces. When I wore this, it lasted all day, and I kept sniffing my wrists and elbows. People must've thought I was crazy, but I just couldn't stop myself!

[rockchickie]

Wet: Lemon drops! Nothing but lemon drops.

 

Dry: Kinda soapy. The lemon's faded and I can smell some honeysuckle but there's not much left. No throw at all.

 

Fiance's commentary: Smells like a candle. Not very memorable.

 

Side note: After trying this scent I did have "Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows" stuck in my head for a bit. It's a happy scent, it just didn't work for me.

[brit_brat100]

Imp: pungent floral, right off the bat. A couple more whiffs and I get something citrus, but not in the bright, clean, and soapy way, something more scandalous.

 

Wet: similar to the imp form, only less pungent and more perfumy.

 

Dry: perfume like, and fairly floral, but not overpoweringly so.

 

Final Thoughts: It's alright. I'm not craving more, but I'm not scratching it off or hopping in the shower - just pleasant. I'm sure whether I'm keeping her or not...

[sashers]

I'm... confused about this scent.

 

In the imp it smelled lemony and I could smell a lot of flower notes, I wasn't really getting the bubblegum smell people keep mentioning.

 

On my skin, I thought it smelled like very heavily spiced oranges (which sounds like a tasty dessert) with a honeysuckle overlay. My friend, however, when smelling my wrist, said it smelled like someone's kitchen (I guess she got lemon pledge out of it, and I can see that too, but more like someone wiped a counter with it and then dumped a container of cinnamon on top).

 

Over the day it smelled freshly like citrus and flowers and cinnamon but whenever I bent down to smell it closer, it was so sweet that it almost made me nauseous. Then suddenly, within five minutes (but almost 8 hours after initial application) it turned into a really faint flower garden smell, which was sorta nice.

[bristlecone]

Interestingly, I get only a little lemon verbena in the vial, and none on my skin. It's an unmistakable note and usually quite prominent, so I'm surprised about that. I do get plenty of orange blossom and... something else. I couldn't tell you what heliotrope smells like, but I think Maenad has it too, and there's definitely something common between them, so there you go. Orange blossom and heliotrope. And maybe a little honeysuckle. There's something slightly plasticky about the whole thing, but I couldn't tell you which note is doing it.

 

I figured I'd like this, but I have other orange blossom scents I like much better. This isn't bad, but it's not doing a single thing for me.

[Mia M]

boohoo. i was really disappointed in this one, since i had really high expectations for it... i'm all about the schoolgirl/lolita look! (hey, i'm japanese! i can't help these things, haha!) sadly though, this smelled like a slightly candy-ish lemon pledge from start to finish on me. grrrr... i wanted to like this so badly!

Edited May 3, 2007 by Mia!

[captainoats]

In the imp: Pepper. WTF?

 

Wet: Oranges, yesss. Where did these oranges come from out of that pepper? No cherry lollipops yet. But there is a candy-like element to it.

 

Drying: Orange candies and orange oil. I know this smell, but I can't place it. Still no cherries, but I on't really mind. There's a teeny tiny bit of something darker underneath.

 

Final verdict: I will definitely use my imp, and I may order more in the future - it's juicy and sweet and lovely. It does smell young, but I am young, so I don't mind.

[La Soldier]

boohoo. i was really disappointed in this one, since i had really high expectations for it... i'm all about the schoolgirl/lolita look! (hey, i'm japanese! i can't help these things, haha!) sadly though, this smelled like a slightly candy-ish lemon pledge from start to finish on me. grrrr... i wanted to like this so badly!

ugh, I feel exactly the same way!! I was going for the coquette properties and hoping it would work well because I'm definitely along those lines. (not japanese, but I'm 4'11" ). but it's just lemon candy on me.

[bookofblues]

Lemon verbena predominates in the imp. Not much else. Sharp, strong, and very sweet.

On the skin, the sharpness dies down quickly and sweetness amps up like crazy. It's actually giving me a little bit of a headache.

As it continues to dry....lemonaid powder. No honesuckle, no nothing.

This one was a frimp, so off to the swap pile!

[belegwen]

Smells like too long in a stillroom. The verbena is powerfully lemony herbal and the honeysuckle is simultaneously cloyingly sweet. Maybe diluted, I'd like it better, but . . . definitely not a favorite.

[erraticprophet]

I really wanted to like this. It had all of the elements: honeysuckle, orange blossom, lemon verbena.. Though, I'm unsure what heliotrope smells like. I was sure I'd love this..

 

First Impression: Spicy orange. Very spicy. I almost didn't try it.

 

On Wet: Orange lollipops and flowers. Very sticky sweet and floral. Almost sickeningly sweet. I'm really feeling unsure about this now..

 

On Dry: Less orange-y now. It smells like sickly, cloyingly sweet flowers.

 

Final Impression: It's spot on for the character, but I'm afraid it's far too sweet for me. Something about it was off-putting, almost disturbing. But I guess that makes sense as well, considering the character.

 

Rating (on a scale of 1-5): 2

[theGreatMissJJ]

I don't quite know what I was expecting with Lolita. Nabakov and I have a bit of a love affair going on, first when I was a sixteen-year-old Catholic schoolgirl in love with her English teacher and second when I was a little older and realised how hilarious Humbert is (oh, black humour. I love thee).

 

I wore it when my subletter gave it to me and I spent all day deciding whether or not I liked it.

 

In the imp: Citrus! I love citrus! Growing up in sunny southern California, I surrounded myself with oranges and I love the clean "bite" citrus notes add.

 

Wet: Where on earth did the citrus go? On my skin it's almost overpoweringly sweet, without any of the "clean" or "bite."

 

On the drydown: The overpowering sweetness has faded and now it's a lovely balance of sweetness and tart.

 

Lasting power: Lolita is very strong scent on me. A little goes a long way. I dabbed a little of it before I went to work and I could still smell it when I went to sleep. Every ten minutes or so for the first hour I kept smelling it as strongly as though I had first applied it.

 

Overall impression: Normally I'm a lighter scent type of girl, especially with lighter fruit or floral notes. Lolita is heavy, but not cloyingly so. A little bit on the vampy side, but very fitting with my darling and sympathetic Dolores Haze. A scent for humid, sticky, lazy summer afternoons wearing shorts and heart-shaped sunglasses. I'm definitely keeping the imp and contemplating buying a bigger bottle, but only for days when I'm feeling childishly sultry.

[fireflower]

When I first opened the bottle, I immediately thought of orange sour patch kids. When I had my brother's girlfriend smell it, she said that it smelled like candy, so we were in agreement there.

 

When I first put it on, it still smelled sort of bitter. I smell mostly the orange in it, but a really sour orange rather than a freshly cut orange.

 

If it was a little less sour, and the honeysuckle and heliotrope shined through a little more, I think I would like it. Perhaps the lemon verbena is what's making it slightly too sour - I'm unsure.

 

Overall, I will be giving my imp away to someone who will appreciate it more than I did.

[porcelina]

i vaguely smell the heliotrope, but the orange blossom (more blossom than orange) and lemon verbena take over. it smelled good at first but after a while, lolita began to remind me of kitchen cleaner or wood polish or something like that. ecchh.

[missnightshade]

Usually I despise citrus but I decided to give this one a try...

 

In the imp: Ahhh! Lemon Verbena! It's all sharp sour citrus!

 

Wet: There is a certain sweetness to it on my skin, perhaps the orange blossom or honeysuckle, but the strong lemony smell is still there...

 

Drydown: The lemon verbena note is fading a bit, and the florals are coming out more. It's beginning to smell like a sweet, honeysuckle sort of floral, with a bit of a tart punch. It's like an extra sweet lemon candy...

 

Dry: The lemon has thankfully mostly faded away... It left behind a sugary bouquet of summertime flowers. Very innocent and cute feeling, but somewhat playfully seductive and teasing, just like the girl in the novel.

 

I like this one better after it has dried down, the first notes of lemon bothered me x_x;;.... Overall this one isn't bad. I think I rather like it.