Poet's Hearts Break So

[Jenjin]

The shuddering beat of a poet’s heart ―filigree-fair, diaphanous:
bourbon vanilla fougere, violet leaf, iris root, Italian bergamot, porcelain accord, and a trickle of red musk.

 

 

Well, if my heart must break,

    Dear love, for your sake,

It will break in music, I know;

    Poets’ hearts break so.

 

But strange that I was not told,

    That the brain can hold

In a tiny ivory cell

    God’s Heaven and Hell.

– Oscar Wilde
 

[VioletChaos]

I'm a fan of violet, (if you couldn't tell from my screen name) and that alone grabbed my attention here. The addition of vanilla and bergamot plus the intrigue of..."what exactly does porcelain smell like?!" and I knew I had to snag a bottle.

the scent in the bottle is deceptively floral, with that iris singing lous and clear- don't be fooled, she runs off upon contact. That's when the changes begin.

First, the trickle of red musk here seems to be the same variety that stole my heart in Random Brothel, and I'm definitely not mad about it. Second, that violet leaf is more violet flower from what I can tell (the leaf tends to be quite 'green' smelling, whereas I'm definitely getting violets in this mix. The bourbon vanilla bites back the acrid note of the musk before it can get too intense or stuffy.

And the porcelain? Well, several minutes after application, I kid you not, there was a moment where the scent smelled mostly of...wet clay. Yep. Straight up, 'throwing on the wheel' clay situation. It was strange and, as an artist that has played with ceramics, strangely comforting. And then it was gone, to be replaced with the violet / musk combination. Chalk it up to one of Beth's genius "how does she DO that?!" moments, and marvel for a moment. 
Then enjoy the rest of what the scent has to offer  

[ghoulnextdoor]

Sun-leached bitter citrus, vanilla dust motes trembling in fractured light – lace curtains, cobwebbed and frayed. A single wilted violet bears witness to the fleeting nature of affection; a shattered porcelain angel weeps tears of melancholic orris-tinged grief; the air is thick with a euphoric effluvium of malefic ecstasy, the intense overripe sweetness of red musk and ravaged souls, beauty tinged with madness, a poet's overwrought breakup sonnet forever immortalized in a single, gleefully melodramatic, flamboyantly maddening scent.

[lady-logistikon]

Of all the red musk oils I've tried from BPAL, this is my most favorite blend. It's light--still musky, of course, but not so dry (raspy?) or heavy as other iterations. This scent actually reminds me strongly of a perfume gifted to me by an aunt when I was eight or so. It came in a vial shaped like a heart, and my aunt told me it was a patchouli, like she wore. Fitting that this memory would come up, as I know porcelain as a note comes up in things like Young Edith's Bedroom. There's a definite youth to this, swirled in with the sensuality. 

 

I get the bourbon vanilla, but not AS bourbon vanilla. If I didn't know that was what it was, I'd never guess. For brief flashes I recognize bergamot, but on the whole this is a perfume that is greater than the sum of its parts. It's sexy, but it's not weighted down. It doesn't feel dark and gritty. Neither does it feel overly innocent, or blushing. It's... pure like art is pure: not naive so much as... intentional. Sincere. Passionately focused. Mm.

[feyofthefellwood]

This is beautiful. Red musk can overpower a blend on me, but here, the (non-foody) vanilla and porcelain win on the dry down. I love the porcelain note. I agree the (lighter) red musk and violet combo is similar to that in Random Brothel, which I also love. I'll definitely be upgrading my decant to a bottle in the future. 

[theredkilt]

Poet's... echoes strongly Zorya P. I think Poet's is a bit more transparent, fluffier and easier to wear. If i didn't own Zorya P., I'd gladly bottle this. 

[s feral]

opens with fougere & powdery violet & iris. sweet red musk bleeds into the powdered florals- the shared powdery quality & seamless transition is fascinating. the scent settles into powdery vanilla with a soft belly of violet-tinged red musk, the fougere & bergamot lending a subtle brightness, then smooths out to include the porcelain vanilla note. the transitions in this scent as it moves from from phase to phase are really well executed- each note shares an aspect of the next. this scent may be too powdery for me to reach for often but it’s very intriguing- i hope the porcelain becomes more prominent with age as i think it would make this more wearable for me. fans of alkemia’s black iris or pulp’s come to the circus should check this one out.

[samanare]

Fougere is the strongest on me. It is particularly sweet, though I cannot pick out the vanilla on its own. If I concentrate, I can pick out the violet and iris notes, though in general they blend together with the fougere. I cannot pick out the other notes, but I can tell there is a fair amount of musk in the scent. And in combination with the florals it does remind me of porcelain. Overall, a relatively complex scent on me that's centered on the fougere, hints of lavender and something slightly oud like, among other, stronger floral notes and background musks. I get he inspiration, but the strength and depth of the scent brings to mind something more sturdy than broken porcelain 

[DiZZysTARdust]

this is all about the violet/bergamot in the bottle and freshly applied. definitely evokes a cool "porcelain" type of vibe. the vanilla and red musk bloom on the skin. as others have noted it's not really a foodie vanilla but more so that the blend take on a vanillic-red muskiness as it settles on the skin. the red musk really is just a trickle but enough to add a lovely complexity to the violet-bergamot combo. 

[Brianna Gemini]

This my favorite red musk to come along since She Sauntered Slowly Downward & A Demon and Her Unholy Basketball.

 

If you love bpal violet & red musk... just get Poet's.  It's not even a question. 

 

This is not foody sweet, but it does start out with a lovely sweet (but not sugared) violet.  

 

The Porcelain note definitely hardens to last year's A Doll's Doll, another surprise sleeper hit for me.  It's such an interesting utterly Beth evocation. 

 

The dry down brings the red musk and it unfurls in a beautiful rolling almost smokey wave, staying all the way to the very last notes. Medium throw, the musk is still on my skin 19 hours in.

 

This is a wonderful surprise, with all the fabulous Lupers this year I almost overlooked it and boy would I have been sad.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[roseus]

I definitely see the affinity with Zorya P! Where Zorya P is silvery moonlight, this is soft golden morning light. It's warm airy and musky. I get mostly the vanilla fougere, orris, and porcelain. There is a hint of violet leaf (definitely not the flower on me). Orris and violet flower tend to go wonky on me, though sometimes I get lucky with orris as I do here. I'm getting Renaissance vibes from this, very elegant and well blended.

[OxfordComma]

Delicate porcelain violets, wispy vanilla and a decidedly airy red musk. I'm not usually a huge red musk fan, a lot of times it pulls too grapey-sweet for me, but this is a beautiful rendition. A sheer voile veil of red musk. The dry vanilla fougère and red musk linger after the more floral notes fade away but it's very pretty from start to finish.  Longevity isn't astounding, but it lasts better than I'd expect for such a delicate scent. Throw is low-mid, but it has improved.

 

I ended up full sizing this, it's just so pretty and airy and wearable. 

[becca_s]

On me this is all about the violets and the porcelain. To me the porcelain smells cool and clean and gives the scent the impression of being cool-toned. I also get a hint of red musk and the vanilla fougere. They add sweetness to the other notes. It is a delicate and pretty scent.