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`I never saw anybody that looked stupider,’ a Violet said, so suddenly, that Alice quite jumped; for it hadn’t spoken before.
`Hold your tongue!’ cried the Tiger-lily. `As if you ever saw anybody! You keep your head under the leaves, and snore away there, till you know no more what’s going on in the world, that if you were a bud!’
`Are there any more people in the garden besides me?’ Alice said, not choosing to notice the Rose’s last remark.
`There’s one other flower in the garden that can move about like you,’ said the Rose. `I wonder how you do it — ‘ (`You’re always wondering,’ said the Tiger-lily), `but she’s more bushy than you are.’
`Is she like me?’ Alice asked eagerly, for the thought crossed her mind, `There’s another little girl in the garden, somewhere!’
`Well, she has the same awkward shape as you,’ the Rose said, `but she’s redder — and her petals are shorter, I think.’
`Her petals are done up close, almost like a dahlia,’ the Tiger-lily interrupted: `not tumbled about anyhow, like yours.’
`But that’s not your fault,’ the Rose added kindly: `you’re beginning to fade, you know — and then one can’t help one’s petals getting a little untidy.’
Violet petal, violet leaf, osmanthus, orris, mint, and opoponax.
Mad Tea Party
The Dodgson Collection.
Scents inspired by the madness of Alice’s sojourns to Wonderland.
The Garden of Live Flowers
This time she came upon a large flower-bed, with a border of daisies, and a willow-tree growing in the middle.
PERFUME OIL BLENDS
Presented in an amber apothecary glass vial.
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I promised her my eternal love, and I actually thought that for a couple of hours.
Rake, scoundrel, demon in a frock coat. Devilishly seductive, ultimately tragic; a villain undone and redeemed by love. Based on an 18th century gentlemen’s cologne: ambergris, white musk, white sandalwood, Spanish Moss, orange blossom, three mints, jasmine, rose geranium and a spike of rosemary.
You whom Haggard holds in thrall,
Share his feast and share his fall.
You shall see your fortune flower
Till the torrent takes the tower.
Yet none but one of Hagsgate town
May bring the castle swirling down.
Beyond the town, darker than dark, King Haggard’s castle teetered like a lunatic on stilts, and beyond the castle the sea slid. Drinn stopped him as he raised his glass. “Not that toast, my friend. Will you drink to a woe fifty years old? It is that long since our sorrow fell, when King Haggard built his castle by the sea.”
“When the witch built it, I think.” Schmendrick wagged a finger at him. “Credit where it’s due, after all.”
“Ah, you know that story,” Drinn said. “Then you must also know that Haggard refused to pay the witch when her task was completed.”
The magician nodded. “Aye,” and she cursed him for his greed – cursed the castle, rather. “But what had that to do with Hagsgate? The town had done the witch no wrong.”
“No,” Drinn replied. “But neither had it done her any good. She could not unmake the castle – or would not, for she fancied herself an artistic sort and boasted that her work was years ahead of its time. Anyway, she came to the elders of Hagsgate and demanded that they force Haggard to pay what was due her. ‘Look at me and see yourselves,’ she rasped. ‘That’s the true test of a town, or of a king. A lord who cheats an ugly old witch will cheat his own folk by and by. Stop him while you can, before you grow used to him.’” Drinn sipped his wine and thoughtfully filled Schmendrick’s glass once more.
“Haggard paid her no money,” he went on, “and Hagsgate, alas, paid her no heed. She was treated politely and referred to the proper authorities, whereupon she flew into a fury and screamed that in our eagerness to make no enemies at all, we had now made two.” He paused, covering his eyes with lids so thin that Molly was sure he could see through them, like a bird. With his eyes closed, he said, “It was then that she cursed Haggard’s castle, and cursed our town as well. Thus his greed brought ruin upon us all.”
In the sighing silence, Molly Grue’s voice came down like a hammer on a horseshoe, as though she were again berating poor Captain Cully. “Haggard’s less at fault than you yourselves,” she mocked the folk of Hagsgate, “for he was only one thief, and you were many. You earned your trouble by your own avarice, not your king’s.”
Drinn opened his eyes and gave her an angry look. “We earned nothing,” he protested. “It was our parents and grandparents whom the witch asked for help, and I’ll grant you that they were as much to blame as Haggard, in their way. We would have handled the matter quite differently.” And every middle-aged face in the room scowled at every older face.
One of the old men spoke up in a voice that wheezed and miaowed. “You would have done just as we did. There were crops to harvest and stock to tend, as there still are. There was Haggard to live with, as there still is. We know very well how you would have behaved. You are our children.”
Weed-strewn oak, opoponax, wet stone, creaking redwood, and desolate olibanum.
Named in honor of Vlad III, Tepes, of the Order of the Dragon. Black musk, tobacco, fir, balsam of peru, cumin, bitter clove, crushed mint, and orange blossom.
Damascus rose, jasmine, myrrh, opoponax, white sage, and patchouli.
Claire –
Fantastic scent for anyone who likes violets! And irises. This is the perfect blend of violets and irises. It’s a deep, clean, purple scent that lasts a good, long while.
Sophie Kornmehl –
This is one of my favourite bpal scents and I’m definitely going to buy a full size.
It is warm and complex yet simultaneously clean and breezy. I agree with the other review saying that it smells like a fairie’s lair. It is a beautiful unique scent that smells beautiful straight from the bottle and after it has settled on the skin. I mixed mine with unscented body lotion and got lots of compliments when I wore it and hugged people.
It makes me feel sexy and mysterious but not in a standoffish way.
Gloame –
A bowl of powdered violet, with a side of black-green leaves. This is like the fairy queen’s lair, the last thing you smell right before you hear an evil cackling ring behind you and then everything goes black.
Where I’d wear this: On a suicide mission to save Sookie Stackhouse from evil fairies
Kathleen –
I received this in my first order, and this is the first oil I’ve tried from BPAL. I promised myself I would review the first one I tried, so I shall, but I’d like to point out that I actually ordered Bruised Violet Compound and received this instead. The two scents do not have similar ingredients besides the violet, so I was a little disappointed, and that might be coloring my view of this oil. Just something to keep in mind. (You may want to leave a note with your order specifying exactly which violet oil you are ordering, from which line, as a reminder). I will try to be fair here.
So, here I go:
In the imp: The violet, osmanthus, and mint really pop out to me right away. This is a very clean, almost bath oil like smell. It smells very girly, and has a fresh out of the shower scent.
Wet: Flowery and a bit powdery. My mother and I both tried this, and it immediately took on a “baby powder” scent on her, but took on an almost fruity sort of minty smell on me, along with the violet and orris coming up pretty quickly. I do like mint, and if I was going for a clean smell, I think I’d like this more. Unfortunately, I was hoping to try a more mossy, earthy violet, so I was a little disappointed. This smell reminds me of mint and sweet pea soap I tried that I bought at the farmers market once.
Dry: Still a very clean and flowery smell. Innocent, and sweet.
1 hour mark: The smell has faded significantly on my mother, and she can’t really smell it unless she puts her nose to her wrist. It smells like very light violet and baby powder. On me, the scent actually became stronger and I can smell it like an aura of scent around me. Mind you, we both only dabbed a little. I’d say this oil has light to medium throw, and creates a very pleasant and flowery aura. The osmanthus has come back up for me, and is mingling with the orris. The violet is actually about as equally present as the other flowery scents, if not less, at this stage. The mint is also still mingling in the background, giving this a bright, green, and sweet smell.
In conclusion: I do find this scent pleasant and pretty. I enjoy flowery, girly smells, so I liked it. However, when it comes to violet, I do like it mixed better with fruity or earthy smells, and no other flowery smells interfering. I love the smell of violets, and I was disappointed that this scent did not hold on to the violet smell well on me.
If you are looking for a clean, bright, innocent, girly, and flowery smell, then this might be for you. If you want something with a stronger violet kick, or something a little “darker” or “earthy” then I would suggest checking out other oils.
Like the flowers in Alice in Wonderland, this scent is giggly and sweet, so the literary reference definitely fits.