Iambe

[blackfelicula]

I got my imp of Iambe secondhand, so it's likely aged.

 

In the bottle: I can smell the gardenia. I used to have gardenia candles, so that's a familiar note. Though, with a second whiff, I can smell the amber and the tea. A third and I get an undertone of a mild patchouli.

 

Wet: This warms up right away. More of the amber and patchouli are coming out. The rose isn't noticeable at all, which for me is a good thing. I like roses, but not rose oil.

 

Drying down: This scent is golden, in my opinion. I think this balances the florals nicely with the amber. It's sweet without being cloying, spicy without being incense-y, and floral without being overly perfume-y.

 

Dry: My skin amps up the amber and patchouli, though the florals are still there. The florals are quieter now. It is a cheerful scent, and a pretty one. Definitely on the feminine side, but grounded by the patchouli. Ooo, getting sweeter now. Mmmmm. I like it.

[sofiaviolet]

Amber and gardenia, my BPAL nemeses! Even though I usually have a hard time smelling blends with amber, I like this in the imp. The patchouli is pretty strong, but the amber obliterates everything else, even the burnt plastic of gardenia-on-my-skin. After a couple of minutes, some nice florals come through. I'm shocked that Iambe has worked this well, but I still don't like it enough to keep it.

[outofrhyme]

In the bottle:

Something in there is really sweet. Not in a vanilla or sugar way, but I think in a floral way. It's vaguely familiar, but I can't place it... it might be the gardenia? It's almost floral-candy-sweet in a Persephone way.

 

Wet:

Good, it lost the nasty candy cloying edge. Very floral, very fresh. Maybe too floral... in any event, I can definitely smell the gardenia. Not sure what gladiola smells like, but maybe that as well. Not so much of the other stuff.

 

Dry down:

Still very, very floral, and very fresh. I'm not getting the non-floral notes at all, but they might be contributing to the impression of a well-balanced bouquet.

 

Final thoughts:

I definitely agree with the "beauty" and "joy" in the description - the scent itself is relatively heavy, but the tone is light. It reminds me of a celebration where there are flowers everywhere, particularly one taking place in the spring. Honestly, it might be just a little too floral for me, at least at this time of year. Maybe it'll be a little more "me" in another several minutes, since my skin tends to sweeten everything, and I like sweet scents. Regardless, it is definitely a springtime scent, so I'll probably at least try it again in another couple of months.

 

Actually, in the time it took me to type this, it calmed down a little and reminds me vaguely of Queen Mab (but I still prefer Queen Mab). I think the non-floral notes are starting to peek out a little. I'll put it on again after my shower and I'll update about its continued evolution in a few hours, or maybe tomorrow.

 

Later:

okay, so I took enough time before showering for this to mellow out a little more, to what I presume is its final state for me. It is a little sweeter, a little more powdery, and a little softer, but it is still very floral and perfume-y. It smells fine, but doesn't really suit me at this time for year - if it will ever suit me, it will have to be in the spring.

 

02/09 Update:

Iambe is one of the several scents that I am re-trying, as I prepare for my first sale. I liked it previously, but I've decided that it's definitely a keeper. It's a very content scent - a fresh, creamy, sweet floral with a little bit of extra umph added by the white tea. It's not as blatantly pollen-floral as others. The notes are subdued and intertwine beautifully. Iambe will stay in my box for now

Edited February 9, 2007 by outofrhyme

[supremegoddessofall]

Yay, it's the rose that's not chemical hell on me! Getting mostly rose here and a touch of gardenia, but none of the other notes. Pretty, but nothing special.

[Babylon]

A sticky sweet floral (is this the gardenia?), with some nice warm amber and patchouli underneath. The floral part is so sweet it's almost fake smelling, and when dry, it smells a bit plastic-y. This blend isn't really working on my skin.

[nancybridget]

Unfortunately, on my skin all I can smell is rancid watermelon.

[blueskiesinside]

Simply gorgeous on me.

In the bottle: I get an almost fruity floral, smells like apple blossom. I'm guessing that's the combo of gardenia and tea.

Wet: Mmmmmmm soft tea and amber florals. I can't stop smelling myself.

Dry: This turns to amber on me. Smells like O.

[brownbear]

This one starts out so pretty and girly. It's light and floral and sunny. Amber tends to go a little bit dusty on me, but otherwise it's really nice.

 

My frind Kat says it smells "old fashioned romanticy kind of smell. A little woodsy. Like lace and roses. Maybe some vanilla? It's definitely girly. I like it a lot actually."

[theseagrows]

i get amber, white tea and some sort of floral that i dont immediately recognize, so it must be the gladiola? i loved picking gladiolas in my grandmother's yard as a child, so they have great associations. the more it dries the more the gardenia comes out though. i like this one a lot, not an absolute favorite, but i think it'd be very pretty in the spring.

[filigree_shadow]

Hm, I wonder why I haven't tried this one before. I bet all the flowers were scaring me off... but this is a very pretty scent. It's doing that slighly sour thing that rose does on me sometimes, but I don't really mind it in this. The tea with amber and patchouli is a lovely combination, deep and earthy. The flowers give it a more feminine feel than the earthy scents usually have.

 

Very intriguing. I like this one.

[femmefatale]

Wow, something with rose in it that doesn't immediately go old lady on me.

 

At first it's mostly warm gardenias but as it dries, I catch a hint of the tea and perhaps amber? I'm not getting much of the patchouli or rose (thank god).

 

This is a very warm seductive floral. I think I really like it and I will definately be keeping my imps of it. Not sure on a bottle yet.

[zankoku_zen]

In the imp: Fruity floral

 

On Skin: Fruity floral. I get more of the amber.

 

On Drydown: Gets funky. Floral and sharp. The fruityness and amber disappear.

 

Verdict: When I waved it in front of the husband he went "EWWW... that smells like cat pee!", I knew that it really really didn't work on my skin. Even when he doesn't like it, he'll say it's "interesting" and let me decide if I want to keep it. I thought it smelled funky on me, but he thinks it smells REALLY bad. So it's a no winner.

 

On the other hand, patchouli didn't take over. Yeah! But the upside of it, it's still not something I can wear because of my wonky skin chemistry.

 

Again, I think it might be the gardenia.

[indicolite]

Goodness gracious.

 

I am really sorry, Iambe.

 

I put her on - and I went to wash her off almost immediately. She just smells so bad.

 

And most of the stuff in her I actually like.

[Nia]

on the imp: melon or watermelon. Seriously.

 

Wet: that's it. melon and a flower.

 

Then the melon goes away (not surprisingly as it was not supposed to be there in the first place) and a lovely, gorgeous floral remains. No amber, no patchouli.

 

I need to try more gardenia blends, definitely.

[PurpleHeather]

Not the most complimentary of reviews initially - sorry if my honesty offends!

 

In the bottle: Smells of Wee.

Wet: Wee, flowers and an acidic sharpness. Gardenia + Gladiola + me = bad.

Later: A long time later this is actually not too bad - the amber & patchouli have warmed up, giving this a deepness, and the florals have gone pleasantly powdery. Not a big bottle, but I may keep the imp; 6/10.

[aquazoo]

Flowery. You know, perfumey. It’s nice, seems to have several different flowers. Keep.

[CrazyPretzel]

In the imp: a really ripe aroma of dirty diapers. EEK!

 

Wet on me: Gardenia warring with the smell of catshit. Man, I hope this dries fast.

 

After a few minutes: Gardenia and some juicy roses. Still a faint fecal/cat pee odor...

 

Drydown: You know what? I know there are some nice things going on in here (mainly floral things) but I just cannot get my head round that poo 'n' wee note.

 

Rejected!

[hkhm]

imp: there is something intensely sweet in this blend but i can't pin it down.

 

wet: whatever the sweetness is from, it's being gobbled up by rose because i'm turning soapy.

 

dry: this is primarily soapy rose but there is still that faint hint of something else that is quite sweet.

[AEris]

Gardenia, tea, and rose.

 

It's nice, but a little old-ladyish on me. Just something about it is a little....off.

[Northernskygal]

In the imp I get a cloyingly sweet gardenia, a warm amber and a tickle of patchouli

Wet on my skin this smells like candied gardenia.. if that makes sense to anyone else.. it is floral, no doubt but also somehow.. edible..

I get only a breath of rose from this, which I actually was expecting, as my body tends to really amp gardenia like woah so..

Overall this very lovely, it seems to have a pretty decent strength and throw, though on me it is really a... foodie (I blame the amber, I love the scent of it but.. it does tend to be a more.. edible smell to my nose) gardenia, which is pretty, just not something I would really drench myself in. I will keep an imp on hand, though I don't think a big bottle would be needed.. I am just not girly enough to wear this all the time

Edited December 13, 2007 by Northernskygal

[Christine Daae]

Wet, this is a little soapy, and I mostly get the gardenia.

 

This has some note in common with Sacred Whore of Babylon, probably the gardenia - it's so lovely and white and almost-fruity. Gardenia is one of my favourite notes, especially BPAL's. In combination with the rose, it's so pretty.

 

As it dries, it gets warmer and the amber comes more to the forefront. Whatever patchouli is in this, I can't really smell it, I get mostly the fruity gardenia and the sweet rose, backed by amber and grounded by a bit of tea. The Lab's white tea note is so gorgeous.

 

This is really pretty. I'm definitely keeping the imp!

[MaeKitty]

In bottle: Cantalope and Amber

 

Wet: A bit more smokey on the skin (I think that's the patchouli), and a bit more floral (definitely the gardenia). The fruitiness of it has died down almost completely.

 

After dry down: Lasted a couple hours. Dried more floral with the rose bcoming more prominent, with just a hint of patchouli and amber in the back ground, giving it a slight resin weight behind the soft flowers. Definitely feels like a beautiful womanly scent. I kind of see summer and pretty dresses, drinks at night and faerie lights.

[odalisque]

This was so pretty in the vial and immediately on that I thought I was in trouble. Sweet but not cloying, ever so slightly fruity, complex florals. I was already adding a bottle of it to my mental list, to have on hand for those super girly moments.

 

Good thing for me it dried down smelling exactly like Burt's Bees strawberry lip gloss Swap pile.

Edited January 9, 2008 by odalisque

[Torrain]

In imp: egh. Much too strong. On my skin: gardenia. Possibly with gladiola. Please god that mellows soon.

 

5 min: mellowed. Getting some of the white tea, and either amber or patchouli warming it; I think it's the amber. Still something floral as a background note; will give it a little longer to calm down.

 

20 min: flowers are rallying: rose, clean and sweet, with amber and patchouli warming it. Not sure if I've lost the white tea or not. Still, a mad improvement over the imp and the first two minutes.

 

40 min: the flowers appear to have disappeared. There is the faintest scent of amber and patchouli. I'm very confused. Perhaps I insulted it, and it packed its bags and snuck off while I wasn't looking?

 

1 hr 25: hmh. Very faint, but it smells sweet and soft (my guess is rose and amber) and I'm getting a hint of white tea. Perhaps it's rallying.

 

2 hr 20: very faint rose and white tea.

 

At three hours, faint rose, with even fainter hint of white tea. At six hours, very faint roses.

 

It's nice to have a rose scent that doesn't go to floral soap on me, and I always like white tea. Bit of a rough introduction, but it's worth hanging onto as a pleasant light floral scent.

 

Love and coffee,

Frances

[arsenicsauce]

In the imp: Do not want. D: Strong and fruity, but not in a pleasant way. Kind of a meaty overripe scent. I really like a lot of other patchouli blends, so I try it anyways.

 

And... no. Resin (I guess that's the amber), rose oil and a little of that dank fruity smell that fortunately fades as it dries. Still, I hate rose, this one's getting swapped.