Blackberry Bling opens with sweet berry notes. It is a scent that I would characterize more closely to blackcurrants than blackberries, though. Never heard of blackcurrant? Don't worry - it's not well known in the United States. Why is this? Let me tell you.
Well over a hundred years ago blackcurrants were all the rage. These berries were eaten, grown, and enjoyed by the American populous. This was until the US federal government banned growing them in the early 1900s. Blackcurrents were known to carry a fatal fungus to the white pine tree, which in turn posed a threat to the lucrative logging industry. This ended the life of the blackcurrant in the United States.
That is, until 2003 when a horticulturist in New York was able to get the ban lifted (in New York only). He began growing these ill-fated berries and they are now being introduced back into the American fruit bowl.
At this point you might be asking yourself, how does Scents n Scentsibility know what a blackcurrant smells like? See, while the berry is virtually unknown to the American consumer, it never fell out of favor in Europe (almost quite the opposite). It is a common fruit there and it's a popular flavor for products. Two examples are crème de cassis from France and blackcurrant squash (a concentrated fruit syrup for flavoring water) in the UK.
Enough of the history lesson, let's get back to Blackberry Bling! It opens with a distinctly blackcurrant scent (a light, sweet combination of blueberry and raspberry). Once on the lips the scent morphs to become sweeter, almost candy like. Oddly, though, there is that same Trident Bubble Gum scent that was in Glittering Cola and Sparkling Soda. It is sitting way at the back, but it is still there.
As Blackberry Bling sits on the lips the berry aroma is lighter, the sweet-candy-blueberry hints are nearly indistinct and the Trident Bubble Gum scent is dull. I can't smell any of the base underneath, but there really is not much left of the scent.
I have to say that while the packaging for the Lip Jewels range is attractive (bordering on tacky), the gloss itself doesn't live up to its $8 price tag. If you're going to spend that much money, I would recommend forking out the extra $2 and getting yourself a philosophy lip gloss!
