Libertine

[whitsunweddings]

Rosewood and chamomile with bergamot, violet, red sandalwood, primrose and Arabian musk.

I bought this in the hope that I would fall madly in love with it, and make a little icon thingy for it featuring Pete Doherty's beautiful (pre-serious crack addiction) face. I'm not quite that in love with it, but it's a nice scent nonetheless.
Wet: A boozy, spicy floral. Hey, appropriate!
Wet: Spiced, powedery rose.
Dry: As above. I've written "not very libertiney!" in my notes. Also, the throw is initially very strong - like, I was wearing this while my enjoying my weekly bowl of porridge, and I could taste this scent as I was eating. I was understandably a bit peeved at this, as eating my bowl of porridge is pretty much the highlight of my week. The rose fades quite a bit after an hour or so, and Libertine becomes more of a spiced bergamot that sticks quite close to the skin.

[mymymai]

In the Imp (ITI): Although my nose is a little stuffy, I smell the sweet fragrance of violet with the pungent qualities of bergamot and sandalwood. On second sniff, I can smell chamomile, which I find interesting showing up in this note.

 

Wet: Lovely violet infused with primrose and musk. Oddly the bergamot and sandalwood are nearly undetectable at this stage.

 

Dry: After 15 hours, the scent is uber faint. However, I get faint traces of violet and rose. After reapplication, there is a powdery aspect to the musk , but the primrose is lovely and dominant. The violet is still a strong secondary note, though. There is just a little spiciness from the sandalwood, but I have to really concentrate in order to detect it.

[donkehpoo]

Wet: GAH. In-your-face-rose with chamomile.

 

Dry: Yep. What 90% of the blends I've tried with rose in it do... mega powdery, with a soapy background.

 

 

1/5

If rose works well on your skin, I'd give this a try. Rose just happens to be one of my notes of death.

[ShadesOfFree]

This is a super familiar smell. Like, the first time I tried it, it reminded me of going into an attic and opening a box (some nice, wooden chest) and finding some old dress or something that's sprayed with an old perfume, and being hit with instant familiarity. I have never done this, but, that's the mental image that this gave me on the first try.

 

I mostly get rosewood/chamomile. There's something sharper there, too, but it's lurky. More herbal and green.

 

The only quirk this oil has is that if I wear it in my hair, the scent turns to legit DILL. Which then reminds me of having pickles in my hair or something. So this is not the best hair scent. It is, however, a good rainy day scent, and is my go-to for those delightfully gloomy stormy days. ...The kind of days where you can't go outside, so you get bored and go clean out the attic. Proverbially.

 

It's also a nice work-friendly scent.

Edited January 19, 2013 by ShadesOfFree

[ccelaya]

Wet - In the bottle I get Chamomile and violet and a little musk and bergamot.

 

On Skin - I get even more of the floral scents. It reminds me of an old antique shop. Old vials of rosewater. A very feminine scent.

 

Dry - The violet is overpowering on my skin. This usually happens with my skin type. Wish the sandalwood was stronger.

 

If you like florals, this is the scent for you. Particularly violet and rose.

 

 

Out of all the notes listed the rosewood and chamomile notes are the strongest on wet. As it dries the violet seems to overpower. 15 minutes later the Musk is strong. Its a nice scent just not my favorite. Red Sandalwood is the prime base note.

Overall this scent is very mild and soft. All the notes are very well blended. This has three notes in it that do not work for me; Rose, Violet and Musk. All three are very mild and harmonize well together.

[Magycmyste]

Rosewood and chamomile with bergamot, violet, red sandalwood, primrose and Arabian musk.

 

In the imp: This is a very interesting mix of scents. I think what I'm getting the most of is sandalwood, but mixed with something sweet, like grape - except a grape about to ferment into wine. Maybe?

 

Wet on skin: Wood. Pretty much pure wood.

 

Dried down: It dries down to what seems like a one-note sandalwood on me. I like sandalwood, but it's taking over everything here.

 

Throw: I'm getting almost nothing on this as I type. My nose knows there's something in the air, but it's not really picking up what. If I sniff my wrists, I still get pretty sandalwood, and that's it. After a few minutes, the throw gets a bit stronger - it's still pure sandalwood, though. Maybe even sandalwood powder.

 

Verdict: **** I'm thinking a 4 might be a little high for this one, but I do love sandalwood. Dried down, this reminds me of sandalwood talcum powder, which I used to love. Still, I think this is going in my second chance pile, instead of my keep pile. I'll need to try it again before deciding what to do with it.

[lucycat]

This was a frimp with my Yule decants from the lovely malibusunny.

 

In the imp: Citrusy bergamot and chamomile, very fresh-smelling.

 

Wet: The same.

 

Dry: As this dries the rosewood emerges. It gets more floral as it dries; there’s a little bit of violet, but mostly the rosewood. I was afraid this was going to get too soapy, but it doesn’t.

 

I recently tested Old Scratch and Libertine feels somewhat similar to me, though with bergamot instead of lavender. They both have rosewood, a note my skin amps. I could have sworn I detected tonka in this—there’s a slight creaminess as it dries—but it’s not listed in the notes.

 

Libertine is very well-blended and lovely in the drydown. The throw is decent, and I keep getting whiffs of this herbal-citrus-woodsy-floral and thinking, “What is that? Oh, it’s me!”

 

Because this has a fresh, herbal scent (yes, that sounds like a commercial for dryer sheets or something, but Libertine is so much better than that) it feels like a spring blend to me. I think it would work equally well on a man or a woman.

 

After many hours, Libertine is primarily rosewood on me, but that’s due to my all-woods-all-the-time skin chemistry.

[Veronica]

This is so pretty! It's a beautiful rose, well tempered by the warmth of rosewood and a slight green note from either the chammomile or violet (no misbehaving violet here!). It reminds me of Belle Vinu, which I also love. I will have to test them side by side.

[doomsday_disco]

In the imp: I can smell the rosewood, chamomile, red sandalwood, violet, and just a touch of the bergamot. The rosewood is the strongest note in the imp.

 

Wet: The rosewood is still the strongest note, and the chamomile note is rather strong as well. I'm getting more of the bergamot on my skin than I did in the imp. The violet and sandalwood are still present and aren't light by any means, but they aren't as strong as the aforementioned notes.

 

Dry: This is still rosewood dominant, but the chamomile has a lesser role. I'm smelling more of the violet now, and the musk is present during this phase. The sandalwood note deepens the scent. The bergamot note hasn't faded away, but I have to inhale really deeply in order to smell it now. I'm not able to pick out the primrose.

 

Several hours later, the musk rises to the front, making it a very musky rosewood and violet scent.

 

Verdict: I'm not really feeling the combination of the rosewood and violet.

Edited February 20, 2016 by dementia_divine

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: Sour violets. Sometimes rosewood goes sour on me, and I amp violet like crazy, much to my annoyance.

 

 

Dry: Still sour violet. Not for me!

[agirlnamedfury]

This is light and quite a pretty, unusual floral -- I usually despise most florals but I don't completely hate this one. I guess it's the rosewood in it, since I do like woody scents. Still, I'm pretty indifferent towards it.

[reynardine]

Mostly florals, but getting the rosewood in there, too. My sandalwood allergy acted up, though, and I just don't like musk scents. Not for me.

[monocainsheresy]

My all time favorite BPAL, which I have yet to get my hands on a bottle of (damn you, In Memorium!)

 

This is so much lighter and airier than you would expect from a scent with sandalwood and musk. Sweet, pale green bergamot and chamomile, with a slight floral undertone and a grounding powdery-ness from the rosewood, sandalwood, and musk.

Oddly enough, this comes across as very much a boy smell for me. It could very much work on most people, but I get major "fancy 1850s youth" vibes (probably my history nerd brain latching on to the bergamot, which was extremely popular in the 1840s-1850s in Britain).

[quantquill]

If I loved floral, this would go in my top 10. On my skin, chamomile and violet are distinct and complementary. Bergamot adds a bit of sweetness. I can't pick out primrose, rosewood or sandalwood, but the musk is adding a hint of "clean skin" without being at all soapy. It's a beautiful scent.

 

Since I prefer gourmands, sweet fruits, and spicy-spicy and can't see myself reaching for this, I'll pass along the imp to someone who appreciates florals. 

Edited July 30 by quantquill
fixed a typo