Florence

[lokelani]

The pearl of the Italian Renaissance. Elegant iris, bright berries, gilded amber and velvety spices.

I loved Florence at first sniff and continued to love it throughout the day. The berries are very strong on me, but their sweetness is softened and balanced by the amber and the spices. The iris is very much in the background for me, but it makes a nice counterpoint to the other scents. Florence is light-hearted and sophisticated at the same time, which is appropriate, because that's how I feel about the city. And it has great staying power on me -- if I put it on before work I can still smell it at the end of the day, without any need for reapplications. I adore this scent and definitely plan to buy a bottle. The only problem is that when I wear it I sniff my wrists all day long and I think my co-workers might fear for my sanity.

[isyche]

wet: BERRY sweet, augh.

drying: Spicy powdery berry. The powderiness makes me think of SweetTarts, but the spice makes it less like candy.

a bit later: The berries have backed off, now it's a lovely, warm spicy-amber-iris mixture with berry in the background.

 

After it dries, Florence has the same swirling rich golden-purple feeling I got from the discontinued Carnivale. I quite like it.

Edited April 14, 2005 by isyche

[Rheliwen]

Mmmmm!

 

Wet: This smells like berry soda. It's bright and cheery.

 

Dry: It takes on an almost white chocolate, nutty smell. The amber is rich and creamy and the spices are so yummy. Don't be fooled, this is no christmas potpourri blend. The longer it lingers, the more the berries fade into the spice so I'm left with something rich and seductive.

 

Yum, yum, yum!

[olympia301]

 

Love from the first, mad-passionate-forever hot love. I love Florence with its suave iris, mannerly spices and its charm. So sophisticated. Utterly beautiful. Another scent that is just at home on your wrist at a State Dinner or at your favorite diner. Always lovely. I am incoherent over this one.

 

Remarkably enough, when you put this on the smell of iris is so strong it smells like peanuts. Yes in the wacky world of scent, that can happen! This olfactory illusion only lasts for a second, but it is a really funny side effect of it all. I love that. Like a great Italian lover, he makes you laugh then he seduces you.

 

This is just a beautiful perfume. It begins as irises, then turns into berries and does that gracefully. Finally it becomes itself after the fanfare and prelude. Like the entrance of the Grand Florentine.

Edited June 24, 2005 by olympia301

[paperdoll]

Initial Sniff: Warm and spicy iris. Very nice.

 

Wearing: Uh oh. Iris - apparently not such a hot idea with my skin chemistry. Thi quickly becomes a warm, spicy, acrid chemical smell. Blargh.

 

Final Impressions: I want to smell this on someone it works on, because this is just gorgeous in the vial.

[magikfanfic]

In the bottle: Get on the spice train, spice train. I cannot find any iris or berries by smelling the imp. The amber and the spices rush out and try to engulf me, though, so I'm more than a little nervous about testing this one. Yet on it goes.

 

Wet: Um...amber and burning. OMG. Burning. I hate when they burn. Slightly fruit smell in the background of the amber and burning.

 

Burning = washing off.

 

[harlequin]

Initially, I was a bit dissapointed that I got absolutely no berry from this scent at any stage, but once I actually started paying attention to what it was and not what it wasn't, I'm appreciating it much more.

 

The Scent:

 

In the imp, I can defnitely smell the Iris... and I get the Pine scent from it, too.. like standing amid the bows of a pine tree, thankfully nothing like cleaning-supply-pine..

 

The amber starts to come out pretty strong once it's on my skin. When I first put it on, I'm not sure it was really me, but It's growing on me quite a bit, actually. The Pine and Iris are still there, as well.. so it becomes a piney-irisy-soft-spicey incence that is absolutely fascinating.

 

Once it dries down and the scents start to blend together more, the pine, though it wasn't initially that strong or sharp, softens down, and the mental associations I've developed with this scent are even stronger. I don't much think of Pine when I think of Florence, but once it's less noticable, It definitely adds something to the scent that I can't imagine it being without.

 

I wasn't thinking so initially, but this one is going on my Bottle Wishlist.

 

The Imagery:

 

As for representing Florence goes... I think it totally does.

 

It's been more than a decade since I was there, but I still have pretty strong mental images of the city. First among these is standing in the plaza above the city where the reproduction of the David statue is, viewing this gorgeous expanse of old buildings with gorgeous orange tile roofs. The Duomo of Santa Maria del Fiore rising prominately in the air. Even the color of this oil matches that perfectly, and It's kind of synchronous... catching that first view of the city and the first experience of the oil.

 

My other strongest associations are of wandering around the old stone streets and and browsing through endless leather stores. Florence, the scent, somehow catches the experience of this, without trying to replicate it. It's got a warm dusty feeling, like walking about the city streets on a bright spring day, and at the same time, it smells like walking into a leather store.. As far as I can tell, there's no actual leather in the scent, though.

 

Walking into a leather store in Florence isn't even in the same league as going to Wilson's at the mall. The smell.. the ambience.. it's much warmer and-- muskier? I can't quite come up with the right word for what it is, but I think the Amber/Spice combination in this oil caputres it *perfectly*...

 

Well done, Beth!

Edited May 11, 2005 by harlequin

[Ishtar]

Ma che bella!

 

Florence, oh, Florence! You seduced me right off the imp...

 

I was very much looking forward to this scent as I love all the notes in it, but this is far better than my wildest expectations.

 

Right after applying, the berries are immediately recognizable, but they are not the bold, juicy, almost over the top berries one gets from, say, Bordello or Jester. This is a subtler, mellower fruit note with a grown-up, sophisticated feel to it. It blends perfectly with the amber and a wonderful woody note that is present from the onset. My skin greatly amplifies woodiness so this note might not be as noticeable on other people. I am basking in this glorious fruit / wood combination.

 

It is only after complete drydown that the iris comes through, adding a very nice spicy/earthy accent to the blend. Woodiness is still the most prevalent note on me, in an Intrigue meets berries meets iris sort of way.

 

Florence is refined, sophisticated and sensual at the same time... seriously beautiful may be a good way to describe it. Another stunning creation

[pensive]

Preconceptions: Well I do like irises.

imp sniff: Yup, iris.

Wet: VERY floral.

Dry: It certainly is neat, but I don't know. I'm not getting berries either. Doesn't seem very me.

Impression: Floral, floral, floral.

Verdict: Decided to give this the old scrubby and toss on the Raven for today (which gives me a nice velvety purple feel). Definitely try again before putting in the swap pile... berry, huh. I'd like to get berries out of this.

[Sienamystic]

I'm not a fan of the very spicy scents, and unfortunatly, that's what Florence turns into on me. Although there's some berry around when it's still wet, the second it starts to dry the spices (especially a clove scent) come out and drown the rest into nothingness. The end smell is a very old-lady sachet / bath powder one, and it's not working for me at all.

[anmorata]

Florence:

Wet: Spicy/musky. Hints of something floral start wafting up after a few seconds.

Drydown: lightly spicy, the resins are starting to waft up. I'm starting to get that weird taste in my mouth that I get when I wear amber scents..

Longterm wear: after about an hour, Florence went powdery on me. Off to the swaps bin!

[slave1]

In Bottle: Spicy berries.

 

On Skin: The amber is strongest on my skin… followed by the juicy berries. The iris seems lost in the sea of spices… I love amber scents so this one is quite pretty. The scent remains the same on my skin after quite some time. I like it…

[Phaedra]

This goes on sweet with a bit of resin- pine maybe? There's also a bit of spice, possibly cinnamon. After a few minutes it develops an almost aquatic note. The spiciness in this doesn't last long on me. After about 20 minutes it smells like violets and is very nice at this stage. Overall this has a sense of timelessness and aristocracy. I'll enjoy the imp and might buy a bottle at some point.

[empi girl]

Thanks to the lab for sending this along as an extra...I might never have tried it otherwise, and I LOVE it!

 

Florence stays pretty consistent on me from start to finish, just stronger at the start for the first 15 minutes or so.

 

The amber, berries and spices blend together, with only a hint of iris at the very beginning. Then it is a dead-tie between the amber, berries and spices, each contributing equally to create the most beautiful softly spicy, slightly sweet, powdery in the best way imagineable scent. And for those scared off by the word powder, I hate smelling like baby powder, and this is nothing like that. This powder would be like the body dusting powder of this scent, only incorporated into the oil itself. It is warm, a woman's perfume (not a girl's, not an older lady's), yet not perfumy or overbearing. If it were a woman, it would be a lovely Italian (painted by Raphael), serene, confident, beautiful and comfortable in any setting.

 

And it stays for quite a few hours.

 

A definite big bottle purchase.

[Abbie]

In the bottle: Sweet. Toothachingly so. I'm pretty sure I'm not getting any of the iris, but there's definitely a berry smell. Slightly overripe huckleberries, I think. I'm not too sure about this one, now.

 

First applied: The floral iris comes out, but it's still a background scent. This is REALLY freaking sweet. It's not a fresh sort of sweetness... it's still sort of presque pourri. Which is the french way of saying "ripe" but literally translated means "almost rotten".

 

Dry: Dang it, so much sugary overripe berries. Why?

 

Overall: This is the first BPAL I've tried that I actively dislike. It's a shame because I had such high hopes for it. I also kind of had this excessive sweetness with Bordello. Maybe this is a valuable lesson for me: no non-citrus fruits. One for the swap pile.

[Cagedflame]

My first impression is of powdery spice. In a few minutes the berry starts coming out, spiced berry, warm but not foody. I think I smell some iris, and I think it might be the amber undertone keeping it unfoody. I can't decide whether I love or hate this just yet. I suppose I'll let it stay on a bit longer, see how it develops.

After half an hour a similar note to one in Laudanum comes out... the one that reminds me of the smell of latex gloves. Ack. I'm thinking something doesn't like my skin. Pity. If it had just stayed spicy warm berry, I'd probably have liked it.

[nineveh]

At first, I can smell the iris and berries, which smell like strawberries to me. Then they fade. I never get the amber or spices, which is what most appealed to me in the description.

 

This is a nice enough scent, but unfortunately on me, berry scents tend to go dusty.

 

This is sort of like a lighter Bordello.

[cupide430]

Florence

 

Woodsy and earthy with just a touch of fruity sweetness. I'm getting something like patchouli overlayed with fruit. It's a fairly gentle scent but quite earthy. I just looked at the description, it must be the amber that is smelling like patchouli to me. Its getting sweeter as it dries but remaining earthy. As it settles into long drydown, a powdery note begins to come out.

[magdalene]

Received this as a freebie imp, I believe.

 

in the bottle: Very strong iris, with a bit of fruitiness.

 

wet on skin: The iris has moved aside for the fruity scent, which I'm guessing is coming from the berries mentioned in the description. Amber warms it up a bit, dimming the sweetness. But, no spices so far.

 

dry down: The amber has taken center stage, with a slight hint of the iris and berries giving it a bit of a twang. No spices, sadly enough. I like it, but wish the spice made an appearence.

[OdetteOdile]

Florence

Opens with a strong red sandalwood or cedar type note - something I think of as being classically BPAL.

Mixed with amber and berries, there's a sweet fruitiness that I like, although it conflicts slightly with the woodiness.

20 minutes later: cough syrup with cedar.

1 hour later: cedar chips with a cherry lollipop.

The cedar has a bit of a fresh pet cage smell, but just when I'm ready to dismiss this as one for the swaps pile, the amber note surfaces faintly and I get interested in it again.

I'm not sure about this. I think it would smell great on someone else, and might smell great on me too if the amber was stronger. I may try adding some amber oil to my arm to see what that does to the other notes.

 

1 1/2 hour later - all of a sudden, everything came together into a warm, sweet, slightly syrupy desserty blend. A sort of candy amber scent. Interesting!

2 hours later - I'm liking this one more and more. I've found that amber scents take a while to develop on me (Brisingamen was another one - I didn't like it especially at the begining, but two hours later I'd put it on my "bottle" list.) This might be especially nice in cold weather.

[Muppetk]

Wet: Ack! Sharp! Sweet berries & sharp dry vertiver/cedar! (noo, it's not listed. Yes, my nose is on crack.)

 

Dry: Still a nice sweetness, and a hint of dry icky. I think the sweetness is the iris, not berry anymore. Lovely scent. But WHAT it making that dry, bitter, vertiver/cedar scent? I guess one of those "velvet spices" disagrees bitterly with me. It's a drop of ick in the middle of the pretty!

 

Dry later: The sweet is still there and lovely. The sharp/dry has faded some more but is still there. Sigh. I must look for other blends with Iris to try out. 'Cause I think that note at least works nicely on me.

 

Phooey. So close, but... not.

[PennyPretty]

I am really not sure what Iris smells like and I don't get much of a floral feel from this. On me it is spicy berries and amber. I this blend. I can close my eyes and sniff and suddenly I'm in Florence eating a gellato while browsing the leather and paper shops, enjoying a glass of chianti in a piazza, hearing shouts of "ciao bella" from cute Italian street vendors, wandering into an incense filled church or through the gardens of Pitti Palace. Florence dries down to a wonderful slighly spicy, amber skin scent. It is sexy and foreign and makes me want to do bad things with a dashing Italian man (but don't tell the BF I said that! )

 

Another big bottle to add to the must have list.

[~AmusedMuse~]

My Impression: It is truly a lovely scent, but there is a candiness to it that is kind of overpowering to me... Although lovely, I can't warrant keeping it when I won't wear it often enough.

[dcmo]

I didn't really like the smell of this in the imp, but once on, it's much nicer. It starts off with iris as the main note but as it dries down, the amber and spices kick in. I don't really get much of a berry scent, and I'm not getting the pine scent others mentioned (which is a good thing!) This seems very light and while it does last quite a long time, there isn't much throw and I have to sniff my skin directly to pick up the scent.

[voodoobaby]

In the vial: A little floral, with a lot of candy-like berries. Very sweet and almost wine-ish.

 

Wearing: Almost immediately, the iris leaves the picture. It's replaced with amber, which couples with the berry note to make one of the most gorgeous berry scents I've smelled so far. Mmm. It gets a little baby powder-ish in the way that fresh, unaged Snake Oil did, but it's much more bearable in that it doesn't make my stomach feel funny, and the powder scent isn't as strong.

 

Later: The spices come out a little more, but not much. I can't put my finger on what they are. I think I detect a slight touch of clove in that it smells almost dessert-like mixed with the berries. That's another thing--usually all berry scents smell the same on me, but this is totally unique.

 

Overall: Beautiful. An instant favorite. I'm so glad that Cranberry threw this in as an extra in a swap.