The Lady of Shalott

[rainbow]

The scent of calm waters just before a raging storm, limned with achingly-beautiful blooms, an icy scent, but somehow warm, and mirror-bright: bold gardenia, crystalline musk, muguet, water blossoms, clear, slightly tart aquatic notes and a crush of white ginger.

In the bottle- ginger and acquatics.

Wet on my skin- ginger and florals.

This scent is so watery. I can almost smell the flowing water when I sniff it. This is a scent that I find very difficult to pick out individual notes, and I don't really know what fresh gardenias smell like, so that could add to the problem. Even so, this remains a watery, slightly spicey floral as I'm wearing it. Like others, I get the images of green ponds surrounded by plants. And like another poster mentioned, I get the scent of celery as well- the result of the spicey acquatics, I presume.

This will definitely be a summer scent for me- it's got a cool, flowing vibe that screams hot weather to me. I'm not sure I'll get a big bottle, but I'll use up the imp.

[regyt]

I'm having a great deal of trouble picking out the individual notes here. That said, this blend is a surprise love for me.

 

More than anything, this perfume smells like tears. A light, lovely, salty aquatic. With just barely a touch of sweetness and a sharpness to it that make the tears wistful instead of sobbing.

 

This is seriously affecting my mood, and evoking memories I haven't thought of in years, melancholy and bittersweet. I appreciate the reminder of them. I am in [courtly, tragic] love with this scent.

[Redon]

Lady of Shalott is a beautiful watery floral. It smells like wet white flowers and a bit of crushed greens. Actually, it smells a lot like Estee Lauder's Beyond Paradise (in the rainbow bottle) except without the "perfumey" smell and with the greenery in addition to the flowers. They don't seem to have many notes in common but they're very similar in scent.

 

It reminds me of the trees in our yard that would get masses of white flowers in spring. Anyway, I LOVE this and bought a 10ml after trying the imp. I guess I really like gardenia, who knew? It's probably best as a spring/summer scent but I like it so much I'm wearing it now.

[darkling]

I desperately wanted to love the Lady of Shalott because it is one of my favorite poems and I have a framed print of one of the Waterhouse paintings hanging in my apartment.

 

The scent was very watery and bland with a hint of unrecognizable flowers. I could not pick out any hint of ginger.

 

I tried this blend multiple times, hoping for a change but it remained a limp aquatic scent that did not stand out for me.

[Spastik_Kitty]

In the bottle: Like water and foliage

 

First on: Fresh cut grass and some spice that is reminding me of tummeric, I think it's the ginger.

 

After an hour: On me this smells very similar to Dirty, but with tummeric added to it, which spoils the whole thing for me. Such a shame because the scent of the throw is incredible, just up close I get the other note that reminds me of an East Indian spice shop.

Edited March 16, 2005 by Spastik_Kitty

[Ancientgirl]

I'm another of those who had to try this scent because I loved the poem and artwork so much.

In the bottle: I am really getting the ginger and the musk, with the gardenia close behind.

First on: heavily ginger, and a bit green, with a lot of musk. My skin seems to pick up on the spicier scents in this blend, and ignores the soft floral that others are mentioning.

After an hour: the aquatic notes are coming out a bit, but the scent, though fading, is still very gingery. I like spicy scents, but this is a bit too intense for me.

I like the concept enough that I will have to give Lady another shot before adding it to the swap pile. Plus it's that time of the month, and that can throw things off a bit (TMI, I know).

Ancientgirl

[feline.by.design]

The Lady of Shallot has made me realise I hate gardenias. This is the note that is in so many of the Voodoo oils I disliked: Has No Hanna, for example. It's sweet and syrupy and just not my thing.

 

After ten minutes, gardeniarama is still prevalent, though they seem to be tempered only about a nudge by watery notes.

 

Swap!

 

-doreen

[LiberAmoris]

The Lady of Shallot is very pretty, to my nose a floral aquatic that has a lushness to it. I think on the right person it would be divine, but on me my skin brings out a banana note (?!?) that trumps the lovely flowers. In the vial, mounds of white flowers under running water. On my skin, banana cream pie. Many things about me are making sense at this point…skin chemistry is just damnable!

 

I think I’m going to send the imp to my mom, as this is one of those BPAL blends that seems like a perfect ‘gateway drug’ for the uninitiated. In some ways it’s a traditional floral…but it’s BPAL, so it’s an untraditional floral! I think this might be the one to get my mom hooked.

[grrrlennyl]

at first: light. a bit sweet. i may smell some cinnamon.

on: a sweet floral. pretty.

half an hour later: still sweet. a bit heavier. i still can't pick out any notes.

1 hour later: still the same.

1.5 hour later: i'm getting the ginger and some watery notes.

overall: this is pretty, but it isn't something i'd wear often. my imp will have to find a better home.

[tsarina]

The first breath was limpid, fresh water and greenery. Like lily pads, or some other dark, thick green leaf. Then the florals would poke out briefly, mix in the water and vanish. The green scent was almost spicy, so I suppose that might be the gingery note.

 

It's elegant and clean, a beautiful spring time scent.

[paperdoll]

Initial Sniff: Watery ginger and gardenia.

 

Wearing: This actually stays quite true to the bottle scent on my skin. The gardenia is spiced by ginger and is floating over a watery base.

 

Final Impressions: I've loved the Lady ever since I read Anne of Green Gables - inspiring me to seek out the poem and later a poster of the Waterhouse painting. Aquatic scents don't normally work with my chemistry, though. Anyway, it works! This is a beautiful, everyday sort of scent. I do not find this to be sad or wistful... it is a little more like Anne Shirley playing the part of the Lady, with her bright red hair and leaky boat.

[shelldoo]

bold gardenia, crystalline musk, muguet, water blossoms, clear, slightly tart aquatic notes and a crush of white ginger.

 

 

hmmm in the vial: melon??

 

wet gardenia and water melon

 

as it dries this is a light watery gardenia and melon type scent, i must say i usually dislike aquatic notes on me, they get sharp and bite my nose, this however is soft, sweet, and gorgeous, and i need a big bottle

[joseybird]

Sharp, sharp (but not strong) ginger notes and sharp gardinia do NOT go together sadly. There's definately something aqatic or ozone in here--I recognize a note from Storm Moon or Tempest--but it's of the bold variety, not soft and sweet, unfortunately =( I just can't understand the ginger...it just prevents the scent for relaxing into gentle meditation.

[quimerula]

Wet it's a strong floral-aquatic perfume, with gardenia, aquatic notes and muguet.

 

Dry it goes softer and the water blossoms come out along with the musk... but it looses strength, almost fades away. Not good lasting power in my skin.

[mmcfa2]

in the bottle it's a soft glorious aquatic floral.

 

On wet, ack there's that celery note, I can't figure out what it is, but it smells like celery seed, but it also smells wet and green. I like this much better from the bottle

 

I wish it had stayed true to the bottle, while it dries better than the celery, that note pops up again at intervals and makes this harsh in a way it needed't be. some of the voodoo blends do this to me too, paticularly has no hanna.

 

I KNOW this is a skin chemistry issue, and from a distance the throw is awesome, but when you get close to my wrist? celery seed. slaw anyone??

 

edit to add: after half an hour the celery( herbal scent) goes soft and I'm left with a cleanly blended soft aquatic floral that is just lovely

Edited April 30, 2005 by mmcfa2

[Dolly Dimple]

Now, this is weird. Aquatic notes are usually hideous on me - sour, sharp, like fresh sweat on the turn. So this was one I'd have avoided like the plague, if the Lab hadn't chucked it in as a freebie. Surely by now I should know to trust the Lab's unconscious instincts?!

 

Wet: Melon? Pear? Something light and fruity, definitely. Pleasant, but not really my thing...

 

15 mins later: oooh, there's that celery note from Wings of Azrael! Could it be...?

 

45 mins later: OK, evidently my nose or skin is wonky, because this now has the same dark sexy note I love in Wings of Azrael, which I was sure was myrrh. No longer really sweet, no ginger, still mildly floral (the gardenia?), but definitely myrrh. And definitely gorgeous. The two scents don't appear to have any notes in common, but they smell so similar that I'll need to try one on each wrist and play them off against each other.

[Ailine]

I too bought this because of my love for the poem and the paintings; the Lady is the sort of archetype that holds great power over me.

 

Sadly, this turned into gardenia-palooza on my skin. In the vial, I got all the lovely crisp wet green notes, and the gardenia was just a lovely floral wafting along a crisp breeze., but on me it turned into a bully and sent all the other notes running.

 

Really and truly, I don't like gardenia that much. I like it in small doses, which I had hoped this oil would give me, but my skin decided to amp it up to 11.

 

It's a lovely scent, and several people remarked on how much they liked it, but it is just not for me. I do love how it smells in the vial, so I might try using it as a room scent and see if that works better than on my skin.

[Sistinas]

a review of the Lady of Shallot

 

Vial ~ tart citrus and ginger scents scream from the vial

 

Wet ~ more aquatic smelling, but after awhile the ginger comes back out along

with the water blossums.

 

Drying ~ the ginger hides in the background and the water blossums are

still in the foreground, but they are fading.

 

Dry ~ Woah, Ginger!!! No I am not referring to our Gin. Whatever happened

to the florals and the tart citrus? Everything except the ginger has

disappeared. I at least have to say that this smells better than the

Lush Ginger range. *Ducks from throwing tomatoes* This is the scent that I

expected Gingerman soap to smell like. Spicy, yet so alluring and yummy.

 

Fade ~ Ginger has gone away and faint floral.

 

Final thoughts ~ This is a really nice scent. Not sure if I would pick it

as my one of my top ten. It faded, but not as quickly as some other scents

have. I did wonder why it was considered a fresh ozone scent, but the fade

finally gave that away. I would give it a 4 out of 5.

[em_h]

In the vial: Lovely fresh wet grass and spring flowers scent; one of the nicest smells in the vial yet.

 

Wet: Quite a bit the same, but the grassiness is stronger. I really love this, but I fear that it is very likely to fade. Such a gorgeous wet springy scent, though. After a minute or two the ginger emerges, which is a bit of a surprise, but it blends nicely with the others.

 

Drying: Ginger ramps up quite a bit as it dries, but the grassy scent is still there too; still liking this one though it made me sneeze at one particularly gingery moment.

 

Dry: Overall a very fresh green gingery springtime scent which I really like a lot. I want to try a few of the other aquatics before deciding which one is my aquatic, but this one's quite fine. As I expected, it is not the longest-lasting, but it's not the fastest fade either.

[Diviana]

Initially, this was all gardenia. Wet gardenias. But after a few minutes, I could smell the musk and the ginger, and it balanced out the gardenia very nicely. I like it!

 

Unfortunately, it seems to be fading fast. I'll probably wear a little more next time and see if that helps it stick around longer. ETA: Hmm, it's making a comeback. Let's see how long it actually lasts. [...] Six hours and counting, although it has faded significantly. Not bad!

Edited May 15, 2005 by Diviana

[absinthe21]

Wet on skin: WHOA floral city! lol

 

Slightly dry: Okay, much better, it starting to warm up and becoming much more friendly...smells very aquatic and almost forlorn in a way...can't quite describe it...but I am getting a whiff of the ginger.

 

Dry: it seems still watery, but in a warm way, thanks to the ginger....it's not cold at all, and I rather like it, but it's already fading fast...you should see me rubbing my nose all over my arm...lol

 

This will be a keeper, but I might not order abig bottle of this......not sure

[ashtonrose]

When I opened this bottle I was waiting for the aquatic notes to jump out at me and I got gardenia. As it says bold, it definitely is. I had to put my feelings aside on the gardenia and tested it. The gardenia was prevelant from wet to dry.

 

Off to swap!

[emz83]

Translucent and clear, like river water with the tint of moss; there's the sharpness of ginger with some smooth flower scents, quite lovely.

[ephemera]

Lady of Shallot:

 

In the bottle:

Very floral, almost overpoweringly so. The gardenia is prevalent, with something that smells like a shallow stream in the cool morning air.

Wet:

The throw on the gardenia is huge. I can’t smell anything else right now.

 

Dry-down:

The water notes are coming through now, although the gardenia is still the strongest note. It makes me think of opening your eyes under water.

 

Dry:

It’s slightly musky now, but it’s not working on my skin. The gardenias start to smell crushed down and old, and the scents are jarring together on my skin. It’s a shame, too, because I liked it in the bottle!!

[Witch's Dagger]

The Lady of Shalott

 

This was a freebie from the lab. Thanks!

 

Preconceived notions: Too floral?

 

In the vial:

Instantly, I get the same gardenia as the one in Sacred Whore of Babylon: fake watermelon. And aquatic notes of some kind.

 

On me:

Spicier. I can detect some other flowers. It’s very innocent and watery.

 

In 10 minutes:

Even spicier, and thankfully less watermelony. I don’t know what does that to gardenia, since Crossroads wasn’t like this.

 

In 45 minutes:

The same.

 

In 2 hours:

Spicier and definitely floral, but this is like what you’d think of if you ever thought of tasting petals. Kind of sharp and bitter.

 

In 2 hours 30 minutes:

I’m reviewing, and I never washed this one off, so I have more to say. It’s rain. I mean, it smells like rain at this stage. The real thing. In front of the rain is something green and those bitter petals. This is much better than it was. I guess scents do sometimes change on me in longer periods of time. Most of the time, they fade in an hour. This is rain falling on white flowers with large green stems.

 

Overall:

 

This is my aquatic. I’m keeping it. May get more. I wish it didn’t have that whole first hour, though. Way too watermelony. But I love the fresh garden rain smell at the end. Amazing.