Marie

[Veronica]

A blend of sinuous violet and elegant tea rose: the chosen scent of France’s Demigoddess of Debauch: Marie Antoinette.

 

A lovely, soft rose--not as strong or as liquid/cold/ozone-y as in The Rose or Peacock Queen for me, but the violet turns slightly off, it's usual soft powder is there but stale(?). Does not work for me.

[VetchVesper]

I quite like this. I get soft, slightly powdery violet in the imp, the same note that's in Sybaris. The rose blooms on my skin though and reminds me of London, but I like this more. London was a bit too strait forward ROSE for me. Marie blends the notes well and does seem elegant. Prim and perfumey in the best way possible. I would definitely recommend it for violet or rose lovers.

[Anna Marina]

This is lovely violet on my skin, which lasts for hours. It was actually my first FB order from the Lab, in October, as I was looking for a violet fragrance.

 

I don’t get any rose out of this, which I was looking forward to, but it’s still quite beautiful. It's a single note violet on me.

 

A word of warning to those who dislike powder, violet is one of those florals which drys into powder; however, it’s quite luxurious and not a baby powder type.

[roseus]

In the imp: sweet, candylike violets.

 

Wet: Sweet violet and rose.

 

Dry: powdery sweet violet with a little pink rose. This is one of the better violets to me, but still is not for me.

[Spaztic]

I get a sweet powdery violet and a soapy tea rose

Rather pretty but a little too much like soap for me to want to wear as a perfume

[torikitty]

My only other experience with violets is Solstice Scents Violet Mallow, which is very soft and comforting.

 

On the skin: the violet comes through very strongly with the tea rose lurking in the background.

Drydown: the violet continues to be the prominent note, but it is softened by the rose, which does come forward more. Definitely reminds me of the french bathroom powder my grandma used to have.

 

Dry: Reminds me too much of "old lady smell". The violet is dry, and the rose ends up overpowering. It does smell clean, though.

[Casablanca]

On the wand, sweet and heavy violet and rose. A little powdery, a little candy-like. It’s like an overwhelming powder room floral.

 

On my skin, it’s much, much lighter. Still sweet. Leans toward soap, but isn’t exactly that on me. On me it goes thin, and closer to violet dishwater?

 

Marie also just happens to be the sort of floral that makes me think I don’t like florals as a whole, which isn’t true. This one isn’t for me.

[achildoftime]

This one just isn't for me. I'm not really into traditional florals, but I want to try everything so here it is. It is a beautiful blend of violet and tea rose. It's very traditionally feminine. The violet and rose intertwine almost seamlessly and smells very elegant. I just happen to not prefer the over-the-top, old-fashioned florals, which I find this to be.

[doomsday_disco]

In the imp: A bouquet of violets with some tea roses mingling right beside them (although they are not nearly as strong).

 

Wet: The violet note reigns, but I am getting more of the tea rose on my skin than I did in the imp.

 

Dry: This ends up being a pretty even mix between violet and tea rose. Normally, violet isn't my jam, but the rose in here complements it really well, and it seems to be keeping it in check.

 

But after a while, the violet does manage to take over, and the tea rose remains in the background.

 

Verdict: I enjoyed this more than I thought I would, given that violet is a main player here, but the violet in this ends up being too strong on me in the end. I won't hold onto my imp, but I am glad I got to try it.

[torischroeder9]

In the imp: Mostly violet with a touch of rose.

 

On my skin:

 

While it's first drying, rose makes a power play to become the dominant note (which my skin chemistry is usually only too happy to let rose do). After a few minutes, however, the violet starts to make a comeback. A few minutes more and while the violet does start to go a bit powdery, the tea rose comes back stronger, keeping the "powderiness" of the violet scent in check. The result at this stage is a blend that has the softness and depth of violet along with the brighter and fresher scent of the rose.

 

The resurgence of the rose also increases the scent's throw for me. Although the scent itself is light and floral, its throw is solidly "medium plus." (The scent's only applied to my inner elbow. I have no trouble smelling it without raising my arm to my nose, but it's also never too strong or overpowering.)

 

As time passes, the two notes remain teetering back and forth near a center point: Sometimes rose is ever-so-slightly the dominant note; other times, the edge goes to violet. Both notes remain clean, true florals on me, so this works well. I don't often prefer pure floral blends, so my imp should be plenty -- but this one is done very well.

[purestmaiden_]

Normally I tend to stay away from violet scents, but I've made it my goal to test every stray imp in my house while I'm working from home for the foreseeable future and I grabbed this one at random today.

 

In the imp: Smells a bit like violet candies 

 

On my skin: A slightly sharp, non-powdery violet.

 

On drydown: Pretty much a single-note sharp violet.

 

This scent didn't match up with my expectations (I was hoping for more tea rose), but I still like it! The violet is not powdery on my skin and instead has a slightly sharp, metallic scent that I can't quite put my finger on- if I had to describe it, I'd say it reminds me of the "mercury" note in Shelley, Byron, and Keats. I may have to upgrade my imp to a full bottle!

[pommelo]

a very even blend of violets and tea roses for me. although I do think the rose has a greater sillage, I keep catching whiffs of rose throughout the day. the violet stays more muted, sweetening and rounding it out.

this is a really delicate perfumey floral, but not at all like commercial perfumes, this one just feels pure. like pure rose and pure violet, nothing more and nothing less. it's exactly how I imagine the French aristocrats in the 18th century would smell like. typically I'm more of a musk gal, but this one was just exquisite. 

 

it took quite a few wears for me before I started to like it. my bottle is a second hand one, and I think about a year old. the first week or two after I got it in the mail, it was sooo powdery on me, the scent was literally Marie Antoinette powdering her nose, very reminiscent of an old French grandma kind of perfume, and i thought i hated it! 

 

but persistence paid off! after a couple of days of wearing it, one day I noticed it stopped going powdery on me. It turned into a really dewy and pure scent. It's the smell of springtime and freshly bloomed roses with the dew still hanging off them, against a bed of violets.. 

 

I'm a huge rose lover, but I'm very particular about my roses, and most rose perfumes are just too harsh for my taste. Even Rose EOs, too somehow smell a little chemical to me. But Marie is one of the best true rose scents I've ever smelled (beating other roses like Diptyque's Eau Rose by far) I haven't come across another rose like this in my BPAL collection, not Spellbound, not Jezebel, not Alice, not Black Rose. Marie is absolutely the purest. 

EDIT ONE YEAR LATER: 

so i just got another bottle & this confirms it: MARIE NEEDS RESTING u guys give it a good long chance

Edited June 20, 2022 by pommelo

[myrrhmyrrh]

In the vial: so sweet, demure even – I don’t get the debauchery at all. If this is the namesake at all, this is innocent Antoinette the dauphine exchanged at the border before Versailles affected her. So much for the character- for the scent itself, it’s as though rose and violet grew upon the same vine, one twining round the other, again very very sweet, in both senses

 

On me, wet: that same sweetness and intertwining rose and violet that seems to form its own scent, more than the sum of its parts

 

On me, just dried: an old scent, but not an old lady scent as it’s too young, just a perfume from another era. I don’t get Marie Antoinette out of it (- would need orange blossom for me for that), for me it would be more Gigi as she is learning without realizing it how to be a demi-mondaine, though perhaps too shy, still, for Gigi.

 

After 15 minutes: the florals begin to come into their own, individualize as they grow up a bit, becoming more sensual, now violet, now rose, by turns, telling a tale of time gone by, of something graceful and slow, douceur de vivre

 

After 30 minutes: no real difference from the last phase, still that tantalizing twin talk of the violet and the rose.

 

After 1 hour: It doesn’t really morph, I find, on me at least. But it’s just as lovely as when I put it on. I am infatuated.

 

After 3 hours: for a dainty thing she holds on, for a shy thing she makes herself heard, though fading into something faintly powdery

 

Verdict- this is a regular big bottle purchase for me and something of a signature scent, as much as you can decide on anything as a signature scent in the embarassment of riches that is bpal …. In reviews above it has been called an “old lady perfume” but, as far as I’m concerned, this is applicable only in the sense of that Parisian apartment found locked for seventy years that had belonged to a courtesan, and even that, something she wore when she was much younger.

[sorciere du marais]

This is a fantastically blended scent; it reveals new complexities each time I smell it. I'm not usually interested in violet in my perfumes and although this isn't a "me" perfume, I will say Marie captivates. There is something sinister about it, and I can't quite pinpoint why. It's floral-soft, of course, but with an edge. Reminds me of The Infant Kiss by Kate Bush. At this point I've decided I'm going to pair each scent with a song, most likely Kate Bush. Smells and sounds have a way of pairing up organically and translating for each other.

 

 Ooh, how he frightens me
When they whisper privately (poor, stupid girl)
Windy-wailey blows me
Words of caress on their lips
That speak of adult love
I want to smack but I hold back
I only want to touch
But I must stay and find a way
To stop this story, gets too much

[Claire-of-the-Valley]

I really love both violet and rose, so this scent was almost guaranteed to work for me and I'm glad to report it did! On me it really feels like a perfect balance of violet and rose. The rose layer is sharp and sweet while the violet rounds it out and makes the whole scent deeper, a few steps away from being a musk. It doesn't ever seem to be especially powdery, but it is somewhat heady. Has good staying power and doesn't transform. It maintains the same scent quality through and through.

[tinyvulture]

I received this as a frimp. It's been around since 2004, apparently! A combination of violet and rose, where the violet is the stronger of the two notes. It's simple but elegant. I honestly figured if I hadn't gotten around to trying it by now I probably wouldn't care for it, but it's quite nice.

[skyturtles]

I have an imp of unknown age. This is quite a simple scent in theory, but very pleasant and well-blended. I think I like violets? As long as they don't turn soapy. I like that the rose is just an afterthought here.

This makes me feel fancy in an tea and crumpets sort of way, lace doilies and all. I don't think I'd wear it regularly but I am excited to try out more scents that feature violets.

[theoryslut]

To me, this smells almost identical to Sixteen92's Bruise Violet. To the extent that I immediately said "BRUISE VIOLET" aloud to myself the first time I sniffed it on! It's a candied rose and dominant violet scent, with surprisingly fantastic longevity and sillage for such a floral scent. I had to make an account to post this in case anyone else thought it smelled identical wet! Dry there's a difference but wet it's just the most lovely violet rose combo in both. It really is a lovely scent, I'll definitely be using up my imp.

Edited June 2, 2022 by theoryslut

[ittybitty]

It started off as a very fresh rose with a hint of powder. As it dried down, the violet started to come through, but quickly turned soapy on me  It's not terrible like some soapy perfumes, where I can taste the soap, but it's still not wearable for me.

[MolyH]

This is so pink and pretty and feminine! It's violet and tea roses, like what it says on the tin, both scents distinct enough to immediately pick out, but also complements each other so well. Honestly, this brings to mind expensive dresses I bought for my daughter, with soft pink cotton lace. I don't know if I'll ever be in a girly enough mood to wear this

[Lecter]

A bizarrely clear oil in the imp! The first clear bpal perfume I have seen. A sweet soft rose perfume, with the initial whiff being violet 

[bellumed]

In the imp, florals with a strong, stinky rose. A little soapy when wet, but still, it's surprisingly sexy, not my usual association with florals.

 

Is it possible there's some narcissus here? I swear that's what I'm smelling on drydown. But maybe it's the indole in tuberose instead. Either way it's a note that tends to read unpleasantly to me, faintly like urine.

 

I had some hope for Marie for a moment there, but I think this one is just not for me. 

[ShadowEtienne]

In the vial this reminds me of the little French violet sugar candies I sometimes had as a kid with a faint hint of rose. It was intriguing but concerned me with its potential sweetness. On my skin, I can smell the rose a bit more strongly, but it really needs something to balance the sweet nature for me, and the blend seems like it needs a sharper or warmer note. There's nothing wrong with it, but I'm not excited.

 

I've liked it better when layered with either citrus or spices, but it's not really an imp I find myself reaching for.

[Cali]

I like the idea of this, but violet always amps on me 'till it just gets too much for me. A shame, because this is a lovely feminine, soft fragrance. There's a milkyness to it, a very soooft tea note that mixes in with the roses. No green on these roses! Just the soft redness of 'em. But yeah, violet overpowers on my skin, which in the imp gives it this interesting, purply silvery edge that really makes it stand out!

[Assimbya]

It seems I have a very similar experience of this one to others - very sweet, candylike violet. I hardly get any hint of the rose, which was a disappointment to me! The violet is pretty and distinct, but so sweet that I found it unwearable.