Wisteria Blossoms

[Seajewel]

Bourbon vanilla, smoked bamboo reeds, lilac blossoms, wisteria, indigo, sweet oakmoss, and a drop of red velvet musk. 

[LavenderCoffee]

Oh what a wonderful wisteria composition!

 

On the wand I get the smoky bamboo, on my skin the florals (predominantly wisteria) open up. I'm not sure exactly what indigo smells like on its own, but there is an earthiness here working in cahoots with the oakmoss and adding depth to the wisteria/lilac palette. Truly just a drop of red musk is present, and not much of a distinct vanilla note either. More of the smoked bamboo comes out on the drydown, softening the sharper tendency of the wisteria without becoming smoky. Lilac pops back up in the dry phase as well.

Moderate/low throw - not a floral that will take over the room.

[VetchVesper]

Very pretty!  Wisteria can go a bit screechy on me, but here, it's both present, prominent, and well behaved.  Something also smells lemony on my skin at first.  I thought maybe magnolia, but I'm not sure what it could be.  I see lilac mentioned in the notes, and I can detect it, but I wouldn't call this lilac centric.  I assumed "indigo" would be indigo musk, and I think it is in here, probably more so than the red musk.  I don't really get much from this besides the florals and musks, but there's enough complexity that I'm sure the other notes and are adding to the whole. Overall, this is very floral and purple smelling: creamy, semi-sweet, very feminine and luxurious, without smelling old-ladyish, prim, or perfumey.  It becomes a pale, translucent purple smell as it dries down.  

 

ETA: This really is gorgeous.  Strongly considering a bottle, even though strait up florals aren't usually my jam. 

Also, wanted to address @Poenari's review. 

Spoiler

 

Certainly, no disrespect was meant to old ladies anywhere. I, myself, am not exactly a young lady, and ladies of all ages can smell both delightful or disgusting depending on preference and circumstance. That said, I understand how the description could be viewed as insulting, and I shall strive to be a bit more sensitive in my reviews. 

 

I would like to add a bit of context though:  I've used "old ladyish" in multiple reviews as a catch-all describing a certain stereo-typical "old lady" perfume - an aggressive, heavy, generic floral that leans toward soapy or "perfumy" and comes across as old-fashioned.  But I've also described perfumes as smelling motherly, vintage, mature, queenly, or like a grande old dame. So, two sides of the old lady coin, if you will, because I do believe, scents can convey a certain sobriety or maturity level. Youthful vs. juvenile has also come up in my reviews, as a positive vs. negative.  While I would never wish to be described as smelling like a "hoe," I would love to be described as smelling like a Parisian courtesan.  Olfactory aesthetics, it seems, are not particularly rational. 

 

Perhaps the lab could put out an "old lady" fragrance line to buck the stereo-type, in honor of all the old ladies who have made the world fabulous, while smelling equally fabulous. I would be down for it.    I am also happy to smell like Miss Forcible or Miss Spink any day of the week - both fabulous old lady smells I highly recommend.  

 

 

Edited May 13, 2022 by VetchVesper

[Lucchesa]

Aside from a couple of weeks each spring, I don't really wear florals, and they have to be dirty florals to interest me.  Wisteria Blossoms interests me.  It's built around the wisteria and lilac notes, but there's a lot else going on.  Bamboo can be high-pitched on me, but this smoked variety is calmer and darker.  There's a fruitiness that may be the red musk along with hints of darker musk and some earthiness from moss and indigo.  As VetchVesper says, it's floral and purple without being old ladyish.  In fact it's kind of floral, sexy and mysterious.  I'm hanging onto my decant.  

[Poenari]

I'm cautious about any florals that I order and wear. It's taken a long time for me to find rose scents that don't turn soapy, and white florals tend to screech into my sinuses and cause instant headaches. But I'm immediately drawn in when I see lilac as a note. It's always been one of my favorite flowering trees/bushes, and I adore the scent. Lucille's Room perfume and atmo spray is my #1.  Wisteria Blossoms has entered the room, and is a strong contender to bump LR! 

 

On my skin (please note that I slathered my decant with abandon) this is a blast of sweet spring blossoms... TBH I have never smelled wisteria, only seen it in photos. This scent is just gorgeous, all soft sweet purple lavender blooms. I can detect the lilac, but agree with someone above who mentioned magnolias... It does remind me of them too. The musk anchors this and keeps it away from my sinuses, and all together this is blended together and melds in a way that works so perfectly. 

 

Ok, addressing the "old lady" references made above, which I hate. I'm literally a senior citizen... An old lady, if you will. And no matter which BPAL I wear, I smell fucking fabulous. It really does bother me that people use that term as a negative connotation, even the way it's used elsewhere... As if the fact that this doesn't smell old ladyish is a compliment. If wearing Wisteria Blossoms makes me smell even more like an old lady, then good for me! 💖

 

[supreme_c0rt]

If you snagged the Honeysuckle and Wisteria duet, you will recognize the wisteria note from that. This is a complex, breezy, light purple floral that has a floaty quality on the waft like the sweet promise of spring, but on deep inhale reveals layers of dusky-purple velvet (there's a soft toothsome quality to it), and a skin-musk base. If that's red musk, it's more delicate than any I've encountered from the lab. This is so well blended that no single note dominates, however the lilac and wisteria are certainly at the forefront. It's much lighter than I was expecting, and I'm almost getting an ozone/watery/yuzu/citrus blossom element to it that I cannot identify but lifts the whole thing up into a lighter strata. This is a lilac bush after a rain, or touched with early-morning dew. I don't tend to reach for these types of florals often but I'm still enjoying this decant. If you've been following BPAL for long enough to experience several luper seasons, this is a classic Shunga. Complex, dimensional, wistful, sophisticated and elegant. Much like the duet, it's springtime in a bottle.

Edited May 16, 2022 by supreme_c0rt

[patina]

it's like going outside and being hit by a blast of spring florals and rain right in your face. It's like having a bucket of lilac water dumped on your head. It's a lot, but it's perfect for summer. I'm not getting strictly red musk here because the bamboo and the oakmoss do a lot to deepen and hide it. Still, the musk is giving this a powerful base note that stop the florals from being too screechy. This is more of a sophisticated perfume than a natural scent. And as always, the wisteria is a bit wistful.

 

 

[Llanval]

Wisteria blossom soap, tragically. Stupid skin chem. The smoked bamboo reeds are a no-show and the rest gets trampled by the indigo musk. Sometimes my skin cooperates with BPAL's range of musk types, and sometimes it simply refuses. I'm sad about this one as I really love many of the other notes, especially lilac and oakmoss, which is usually really well behaved on my skin.

[Seajewel]

This was a standout of the Lupers for me, BUT the downside being that it fades away fairly quickly and becomes almost soapy at that point. It's a beautiful floral with that hint of velvety red musk and oakmoss that deepen it into something incredibly sexy during the wet phase/initial phase. If I could just reapply all day it would be perfect. Every time I put it on I marvel, and then as it dries down I decide I don't need to upgrade after all.. it's a struggle.

Edited August 29, 2022 by Seajewel

[DiesMali]

In the bottle: Heavy PURPLE flowers. 

 

Wet on my skin: Heavy PURPLE flowers and a little bit of musky smokiness. 

 

Dry: The lilac and wisteria in this, along with the vanilla, are so well-blended as to create their own new flower with characteristics of all three, and all of the other notes are this supporting haze of red-grey-purple musk with threads of silvery smoke and fragrant oakmoss. BPAL's indigo (especially indigo musk) note is gorgeous on me, and I specifically seek out new blends using that rare jewel, because they're literally always just beautiful. This is no exception. It's a "classy classic" sort of dark floral with that uniquely BPAL edginess to it. Picture an ancient mother-daughter vampire countess duo played by Dame Helen Mirren and Cate Blanchett; Helen Mirren's classy-classic vampire countess wears this perfume, and Cate Blanchett's edgier vampire countess wears A-Rovin' from last year's Anniversary series. 

 

Also, this might be the most PURPLE scent I own. 

[zankoku_zen]

Smoky wisteria, and a touch of musk. Great throw (thanks wisteria) and wear length.