Blood Countess

[lohengrin]

Elizabeth Báthory, also called Erzsébet Báthory in Hungarian and Alžbeta Bátoriová-Nádašdy in Slovak, was the Bloody Lady of Hungary. In order to preserve her youth and loveliness, the brutal and incomparably savage countess captured, tortured and slaughtered innumerable young women and bathed in their blood as part of her beauty regimen. Ah, vanity. Corrupted black plum, smoky opium and crumbling dead roses covered by a deceptive veil of Hungarian lilac, white gardenia and wild berry.

In the imp: Sweet... definitely smell the plums and the berries.

On, wet: Fruity goodness! Plummy and sweet. Mm.

5 minutes: Now I can smell the light floral in there, too. It's like... Aizen-Myoo, despoiled somehow. Not like rotting fruit, but yeah, corrupted is the right word for it. Not smelling any smoky anything, though. It's very heady, thick. A nighttime smell, for sure. I like it. A lot. ^__^

[BelladonnaBarbie]

This is pretty much a combination of two things on me - Tazo Passion Tea (a yummy, sour, dark red passionfruit herbal tea), and the spices of Bathsheba. First I get the plums and roses and then comes the spice, but everything works so well together that nothing seems to jump out above anything else. I would definitely get a bottle of this, but with so many others on my list and the similarities I get with Bathsheba it may be awhile.

[BlackDahlia]

In the Imp:

 

Berry. Berry. Berry.

 

Wet:

 

Berry with slight, old flowers.

 

On the drydown:

 

Smells slightly like an old cherry cough-drop that one finds stuck to the bottom of their purse.

 

In closing:

Not for me. Off to sale or trade.

[arabella]

First Impression: Smoky plums.

 

Dries down to: After a while, rose comes out tentatively and is then joined by lilac. Still later, the berries join the party.

 

Additional Comments: This is another one that surprised me. The rose didn't tromp on everything in sight like she usually does and I couldn't detect the gardenia at all. The opium seems to control the fruit and flowers handily; nothing seems to be "over-the-top". I probably don't need a bottle, but I'll really enjoy the imp.

 

Lasted: A couple of hours.

 

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

[carolinachiquita]

This was quite a bittersweet scent on me, it wasn't horrible but it wasn't outstanding (on my skin anyway). I think I might make this one into a body lotion though as it is too nice to swap!

[atthis_uk]

Vial: Strong, slightly boozy plum, musky floral, a hint of something earthy.

Wet: Very similar, more strongly floral.

Drying: After a bit the rose comes through - a deep, deep red rose, with dark berries in the background. There's a pungent, sweet but not sickly-sweet smell that might be the opium?

Seductive and powerful. I like this more than I expected to, although it gets less interesting as it dries.

[em_h]

Wet: Fruity floral, with a faintly disgusting plastic undertone (that'd be the opium, which always seems to go plastic on me).

 

Drying: Right now there are remnants of Snake Charmer on my jacket, and I keep getting little whiffs of that and thinking, Oh, this is nice, and then realizing it's not the perfume I'm actually wearing. The one I'm actually wearing is plum, spice, and plastic. If I could get only the first two notes without the third, it'd be okay.

 

Dry: Sometimes the plastic turns to soap. Sometimes it stays plastic. Sometimes it goes away for a minute, and then I like what's left, all plummy and spicy and juicy; but it never stays away for long. Such a shame.

 

I don't think anything with "blood" in the name ever works for me.

[malanna]

I initially thought I was smelling cherry, because of the "blood" in the title, but it was plum. A rather red plum, though. The plum and berries are rather shrill (if that makes any sense) in the beginning, but then it becomes a mostly sour plum scent. I'm not picking up any florals. It continues to be plum, just less sour and lighter over time. I was expecting something redder, but I guess it's a good thing that I didn't get any rose, since I'm not a rose fan.

[olympia301]

 

I got Blood Countess at the same time I received Blood Kiss. Countess is far more floral than Kiss. Very temping almost bitable sweet and berry-like and juicy and plummy and I smell gardenia in here, too. It is for the floral person in the group. I prefer the resinous twang of Blood Kiss and I think that was an unfair handicap on the Countess at our introduction.

 

If you are a fruity-floral person, this could be your Holy Grail. It has great throw and staying power and should be investigated by hopelessly feminine folk, floral folk, and the curious. Once again I would categorize this as a BPAL classic and think everyone should try it at least once.

 

The icon is from a painting of a countess by the incomparable Gainsborough. What a great artist!

[Fefferbella]

Finally a rose scent that doesn't go gross on my skin!

This is sweet and very feminine! The richness of the opium mixes perfectly with the rose petals and combines to make a lovely, sexy blend.

 

deffinatly a big bottle scent!

[herdivineshadow]

My first reaction to this was "Oh my, it's horribley fruity!". I am not a fan of fruit at all. After a while, a more floral note comes through - mostly roses. On the whole though, this smells a bit like some kind of fruity soap on me. To the swap pile I think.

[SeaMonkey]

Maybe I'm on crack, but i smell creamy grapefruit.

 

In the vial, its berries and gardenia. A creamier version of Jester. This has many stages. Citrus fruity, then its berries and gardenia...........then a little bit of roses come out.

 

The roses don't take over, they compliment.

 

This is a pretty, fruity, floral

[BlueStar]

I am bummed judas_kiss doesn't like this scent because it is Hot, hot, hot! She doesn't really get along with rose scents.

 

This is a smoky syrupy darkness. When I smell it I am willed and compelled to serve.

 

Wet: smoky,very smoky and dried flowers, plum and berry.

 

Drydown: This dries into a very dark sinister sexuality. I imagine this is very close to how the countess would have smelled. It is macabre and it is engaging and deliciously evil.

[Victory]

The first (and only thing I smell for a while) is the lilac. I love lilac, so this is great. Then the scent fades down into a mustier sort of scent, which I assume is the opium. I don't do well with florals, but this is nice for the two hours or so that it hangs around.

[Wench457]

Blood Countess: Sweet and fruity, but with a sour bite. Smells a bit like pomegranate in the imp, must be the berries.

 

On: Um. Strange actually. It's still sweet and fruity, but with a musty undertone, like berries moldering on the vine.

 

Dry: pretty much the same, just a bit fainter. Not my cup of tea, I'm afraid.

[Meg]

In the bottle: Overripe plum, berry and lilac. Hmm... smells sinister yet seductive.

 

Wet: Lilac and plum, really realistic... there's also a white flower in there, I'm guessing gardenia, but mostly I'm smelling the plum. And it's delicious.

 

Drydown: This dries down to an absolutely fascinating scent. The plum is dark, rich and juicy, you can nearly taste it. It gives a really dark, extremely sensual base, over which comes the very light, elusive smell of lilac and white flowers. It keeps a greenness from the plum and berry which stops it from going overly sweet. It's light and smells wet even on drydown.

 

Overall: A sumptuous fruity floral, that gives the impression of smelling an unknown tropical fruit, one that you just want to bite down in, even if it's poisonous. I have no doubt that Elizabeth Bathory would have wanted to smell just like this, it's a very vain, womanly and powerful perfume indeed. I bought this one for a friend, but I am going to have to buy some of my own. Absolutely beautiful.

[The_Merf]

In the imp: Berries, berries, berries. Perhaps a hint of the opium.

 

Wet: Lovely, creamy berries. I'm surprised I like this as much as I do.

 

Dry-down and wear: I can smell the berries and plum (and I think the rose and opium in the background, but they are faint). This is quite pretty--another perfume that doesn't seem to be my usual, but is up on my "keep it in mind list."

[vyola]

Come to mama! I love florals and they love me. The sweeter and headier, the better -- rose, lilac, violet, gardenia. Blood Countess is all heady, juicy sweetness on me, ripe and dark. On my skin it gives me some of the plum and a spiciness that must be the opium along with the floral/berry notes and I keep getting wafts of the most wonderful juicy berry. It's like a dishful of bruised and over-ripe red and purple fruits with just a bit of sugar to sweeten and draw out the juices.

 

Somebody described this as a feminine Tintagel and I can see/smell the resemblence. It doesn't have the golden, candle-light feeling but it's lush and rich and very happy-making for me. Not powdery at all as some of the white florals get on me; rather, this is ripe and drenched. I get the imagery of the name, too. I feel like I'm leaving a scent signature behind me, seeping into tapestries and velvet hangings, waiting to tease passers-by and remind them of my presence.

 

I feel great. Sometimes slaughtering all those virgins is totally worth it.

[girlmadasbirds]

juicy plum and berries...and opium. the florals are staying in the background (where i like them). this is much prettier than i expected it would be.

[roguechick]

I really wanted to like this one. The name alone made me want to try it. When I first put it on, the plum and berries were really noticeable. No problem, since I'm more of a fruity fan than floral. Then, the gardenia struck and overpowered me. It gave me a terrible headache. With sadness, I will put this aside to give away or trade in the future.

[Silverstrike]

Blood Countess is a very pretty perfume, and there's not much I can add in terms of the different notes noticed in it. What I will say, however, is that it's not me--I feel like I'm wearing someone else's pretty perfume, so this won't be going on my big bottle list.

[darkkat]

In the imp, this almost seemed too strong to wear - strong florals and fruits with an undertone of sharpness that I can't quite place.

 

When I put it on, the fruits (berries and black plum) were the strongest scent, then the lilac and roses. There was also that strange sharpness or spiciness, which kept everything mixed up.

 

After a few hours the scent has barely faded, and the gardenia has started to come out. It reminds me somewhat of Eris - albeit a somewhat darker version. I like this scent a lot.

[elphaba]

I am happy to report that Blood Countess smells nothing like one might smell after bathing in the blood of virgins (at least, not as far as I know.) It does have a juicy sweet berry scent that I somehow associate with bath products, though. At first, it seemed like it would be all berries and flowers--a regal womanly scent--but the opium comes out to darken it eventually.

 

It reminds me a lot of my beloved Bordello and of Lady Macbeth. More distant than Bordello, more vainly beautiful than Lady MacBeth. I don't think Blood Countess warrants a 5mL on her own, since Bordello has become my signature scent, but I'll keep the imp at least for now.

[sophia_helix]

Nicely sweet and fruity at first, and then it amped up to soapy levels on me. Not a surprise, since rose almost never works.

[kourika]

In the imp, I got a whiff of lovely dark plum with some other lovely notes. However, a few weeks later when I put it on my skin, the plum turned to a sort of sour rotting scent. When my dogs like the perfume better than I do, I know that it's not the right scent for me.