A Group of Pale Courtiers

[Ghost of a Rose]

It was in the eastern or blue chamber in which stood the Prince Prospero as he uttered these words. They rang throughout the seven rooms loudly and clearly for the prince was a bold and robust man, and the music had become hushed at the waving of his hand.

It was in the blue room where stood the prince, with a group of pale courtiers by his side. At first, as he spoke, there was a slight rushing movement of this group in the direction of the intruder, who at the moment was also near at hand, and now, with deliberate and stately step, made closer approach to the speaker.

A sycophants polished stench: green musk fougere, lime, and rose-tufted wig powder.

Bottle fresh from the Lab.

In the bottle: A cool fragrance somewhat reminiscent of a men's cologne, as I had expected from the list of notes. But hopefully not too much. No particular thing jumps out at me. I check the list and still don't pick out any of the notes. Maybe a bit of lime, but even that isn't definite. Maybe some lavender in the fougere? This is a well-blended perfume that really just smells like itself, not like specific ingredients. It figures that when I get a first review, it would turn out to be a scent that is difficult to describe!

On me, wet: Just like in the bottle, but cooler and sharper. Then a single lovely whiff of floral that is too quickly gone to identify it as rose.

At 5 minutes: The hint of floral is back, faint but there. It seems to have settled in to stay for a while this time. It still doesn't smell like rose, but is nice anyway. The lime and lavender notes are also tentative but pleasant. There is a sense of greenness, but I have no idea what green musk smells like, so can't tell if I am smelling that.

At 10 minutes: The overall scent is light, bright, and cool, very refreshing. Rather sparkly, even. Perfect for the warm day that we are expecting here today. It doesn't smell like a traditional men's cologne at all, yay!

At 20 minutes: It is getting even prettier. A bit more floral-ish and feminine, but not strongly so. Is that the musk starting to gain notice? The cool sharp edge has faded away, making it softer (in character, not in strength) and slightly warmer. Strength and throw are both light, but stable so far.

At 30 minutes: At first sniff, I notice that the sparkle is still there, although the sharpness is gone. The close-in scent is beginning to lighten.

At 45 minutes: This is a consistent perfume, not a morpher. The differences I mention are subtle, not distinct comings and goings of different notes. It still smells much the same as in the bottle, but without the sharpness. There is still a cool vibe. It is now becoming powdery, as musk does, in such a lovely way. It's a green powder. Well, that makes sense.

At 1 hour: Soft, light, gentle. Musky, greenish, mildly floral powder.

At 2 hours: Considerably faded. Otherwise, same as above. Still cool, which is unusual this late in drydown. That's probably what is making me think it is just a little men's-cologne-ish again. After wearing so many different BPAL oils for so many years, I have kind of lost my sense of "masculine" and "feminine" in perfumes, unless they are at either extreme end of the spectrum. I suppose that's a good thing, but it makes it hard to describe them for others!

At 3 hours: Faint men's-cologne. No trace of powder remains.

At 4 hours: Very faint plastic. No problem, it's time to reapply anyway.

Prominent notes: None that stand out

Character: Light, cool, blended. Fairly unisex. I agree with the description of it as "polished."

4 out of 6 stars: Not particularly exciting, but quite pleasant and pretty
Edited October 17, 2018 by Ghost of a Rose

[roseus]

Very gentle. The musk starts off quite vegetal, mossy in cool, clean way rather than foresty. As it dries it stays quite clean, and powdery (in a good way). As it dries it is less distinctly mossy, but clean, musky, and fresh. I never get rose specifically, but there is a gentle floral element. If I sniff deeply I get a bit of bright lime. But no note stands out, it is very seamless and subtle. Polished and mysterious. This a very office appropriate blend.

Edited October 31, 2018 by roseus

[Leopard403]

Over ten years ago, when I was a BPAL noob, I was strongly anti-musk. In my mind (and nose) it all seemed to be that hot red fusty scent, too spicy and weirdly animalic. Who knew there was more than one kind of musk?!

 

So far I find that blue musk is my favorite of the musks, but green musk is right up there as a close second. And coupled with the lime in this blend? Oh yes ma’am! This is bright, slightly sharp, a bit bubbly, and lots of fun. The blend could’ve swung too masculine, but that tiny tuft of rose wig powder (LOL) keeps that from happening on my skin.

 

This a surprise standout amongst my Weenie decants, so far my first plan for a full bottle!

[donkehpoo]

Wet: Green musk, lime, and slight-floral baby powder. (Not getting anything reading as "rose" to me!)

 

Dry: I'm left with a hint of lime, green musk, and a touch of that floral baby powder scent.

 

It's not bad, but I'll be okay with just a decant.

[annemathematics]

an elegant rose boutonniere wafting over warm and dusty fougere brightened by a discreet hint of lime.  this gets nicely mossily powdery in the drydown, with rose staying present in the shadows. this is downright cozy. I dig powdery unisex blends so this is right up my alley.  this would indeed be ok at the office, and it would transition well to the afterhours speakeasy soiree. 

[astarinel]

I'm not sure I get any rose, which is surprising because I am a rose-amper and it's killed many blends for me!

 

On my skin, this one skews fairly unisex. It's mostly a musky fougere to my nose, with a little bite of lime and a soft dusting of powder. This is a very soft, polished sort of scent, and it wears fairly close to the skin. I expected it to be a little sharper, but there's barely a hint of lime and the lavender I was expecting in the fougere is very well-blended.

 

Soft, powdery, unisex, inoffensive.

[zankoku_zen]

Cool fougere that dries down a manly rosy baby powder. Yup. That's what happened.

 

Sometimes things aren't as grown up as they appear to be. 

[mishi-bear]

Very powdery smelling with a hint of rosiness. There's also something cologne like, though it does fade. There's also just a tiny kiss of citrus from the lime. Very mild after it's dried, mostly just powdery.