The Lady of Shalott

[Niniel0205]

First impression: very watery, aquatic light blue scent. 

 

And then I forgot I was wearing it, could not smell it on myself when I remembered I was...no staying power on me and did not make an impression. Smells nice in imp but not for me for wearing.

[roseus]

Gorgeous airy aquatic. It's clean in a non-soapy way, very light and bright. The gardenia is very soft, not very heady. It blends with the soft sweet water blossoms (hyacinth and sweet pea like) very well. Cool and ethereal. Something about this makes me think of a very early summer morning, when the air is still cool and there is a wash of dew over everything.

[feyofthefellwood]

One of my favorite aquatics, which I tend to be picky about, and one of my favorite gardenia perfumes so far. It makes me feel like a water nymph. This really smells like a pond covered in water lilies, to my nose, and the ginger gives the water a bit of sparkle. The florals are a little sharp at first but gentle down very quickly. I have always loved the poem this scent is inspired by, and I think this lives up to its namesake.

[alyelle]

In the imp: Ginger over white lily, the salty tang of river soil

 

Wet: Lily, with a splash of spice

 

Dry: Sweet, but thankfully not powdery, which lily of the valley/muguet tends to do on my skin. A hint of spice on the top notes. So light I forgot I was wearing it.

 

I had planned to retest this at some point but ended up using it to make an atmos instead, which I suspect was a far better choice than attempting to wear it. Ginger never seems to add much to blends for me, aquatics are very hit and miss on my skin, and with the muguet being the dominant note (insofar as I could call such a light scent 'dominant'), I just don't think this would ever have been a showstopper. If the gardenia had been a little stronger, maybe. It makes me think less of the Lady of Shalott and more of a very particular type of genteel lady, powdered and pale, in a long 20's style sleeveless dress and a set of pearls.

[Miyabi]

I had high hopes for this, but from application to drydown all I got was GARDENIA. No aquatics, no ginger, just GARDENIA blasting me in the face. 

 

Guess Sea of Glass remains my number 1 BPAL aquatic...

[tinyvulture]

An aquatic floral. I put off trying because I used to really dislike the “aquatic note” on my skin, like 10 years ago. But I received this as a frimp and it’s actually just fine with the gardenia and muguet being prominent. I am not really noticing the ginger at all. The aquatic note is definitely there but it just is what it is, no weird reaction. Yay for changing skin chemistry!

[sprout]

Gardenia!!!!!  This starts a one note gardenia diva note on my skin.  As things go along, I get the ginger, it isn't candied, its cool if such a thing is possible.  Then I get generalized aquatic floral.  I think there could be some hyacinth in here.  No idea what the Lab uses to get aquatic but it smells like fine mist on the grass before the sun dries everything.  I imagine sprites and fairies dancing in mushroom circles.  Somehow it avoids going dryer sheet or air freshener while still evoking airy aquatic.  This is really lovely when the day is too hot for any resins or sweet scents.  When I started with BPAL back in the aught sevens, I loved their aquatic scents.  This remains a favorite and I am shocked I never reviewed it but I got an order and this was a frimp so I had to retry it.  It's perfect for its namesake.