Eclipse

[kerikeri]

All the glory, warmth and majesty of the sun – darkened. A delicious blend of bitter almond, vanilla, frankincense and heliotrope, with a drop of cinnamon.

In the imp: Buttery almond.

Wet: Sparkling almond, like an amaretto soda.

Dry: ...cinnamon soap. Not sure what's going soapy here-- almond blends have been hit-or-miss when it comes to getting along with my skin chemistry, though, as much as I love the smell of almond, so that might be the problem.

edit: used this again today (I really wanted to like it) and had a great flaming allergic reaction where I applied it on the insides of my elbows. And it still smelled like cinnamon soap. I should pass this on to someone else and spare myself further pain. Edited September 18, 2009 by Shollin

[redderz]

In the imp: Almonds! Whoooooa! And a hint of cinnamon.

 

Wet: Still almonds and a bit like marzipan. I'm not sure what heliotrope smells like, so I can't really say if I can smell that! My skin seems to be eating this as I type though!

 

Dry: It seems a little odd now. I'm not sure about this one. Might have to try it another time.

[Venneh]

In the imp, I'm getting this berry muffinish sort of scent like I did with Hecate, which I'm going to bet is the almond. On my skin, I get almonds, more of a muffinish scent, minus the berries, and with some vanilla thrown in, with another scent that I can't quite pin at this point. A few hours later I get what must be the frankincense (as I have no clue whatsoever what heliotrope smells like), as there's a slighter spicier undertone now.

 

This is predominantly vanilla and almond on me, with spices showing up late in the game. A nice scent, but, again, O and La Petit Mort make better scents along this vein for me to have bottles of. This'll be nice as an imp, but nothing more.

Edited October 8, 2009 by Venneh

[emily2531]

at first it smells just like Dr Pepper soda pop to me, but after it starts to mellow it becomes more almond and spices and vanilla. Doesn't last very long, maybe only an hour, but the lingering sweet ambery vanilla is very nice.

[tunedtochords]

In Bottle: Straight-up almond extract. Kind of marzipany, too.

Wet: Very almondy. Almost too much so. The almond extract feeling continues.

Dry: Ah, this is better. Other notes are starting to appear. The cinnamon becomes more prominent, and the vanilla is nicely in the background. The almond
remains dominant.

 

This was my first big bottle purchase, and I'm glad. I love how it's aged, and it's my favorite BPAL almond blend. It really does remind me of the sun, and I like to wear it on the coldest of cold days. It helps me remember that winter doesn't last forever.

[sprocket21]

So. Much. ALMOND!

 

Wet, this is screechingly cherry-almond. As it dries, it's improving for sure; the almond is calming down and I smell something akin to a powdery vanilla - very reminiscent of Antique Lace, one of my favorite blends. The almond/vanilla mix is very lovely and feminine; it makes me think of a proper Victorian lady enjoying some equally dainty almond cookies or something. The scent continues to smell more and more like Antique Lace as it dries. If I run out of AL, this may work as a sort-of substitute.

[Gwydion]

In bottle: Almond dominant, with vanilla support. It reminds me a popular almond pastry who’s name escapes me. The frankincense changes it up a little in a pleasing way. Wet: still mostly almond with a bit of vanilla and frankincense, but the heliotrope becomes more prominent as it warms. Dry: Wow, there’s the cinnamon, and the vanilla gets stronger as other elements fade. I am genuinely enjoying the evolution of this one on my skin.

[goblinshark]

this smells like straight marzipan and it is STRONG. wayyyyy too sweet for my personal taste.

[Amaroq]

Imp: HOLY JESUS CRANBERRIES.

 

Wet: HOLY JESUS CRANBERRIES.

 

Dry: UH, CHERRIES? Cinnamon and cherries.

 

Yeesh, I really wasn't expecting that. This is a super-foody scent. It smells like a Yankee Candle that I can't recall the name of. Once I get used to it, it's actually pretty yummy. I think the vanilla comes out to make it a little more complex. I don't smell frankincense, heliotrope, or almond at all, or at least I don't think I do. Probably not something I'd wear in public, but I'd wear it in the colder seasons at home.

 

Or rather, I'd wear it on my clothing in the colder seasons at home, because it actually irritated my skin. Not too badly, but damn, I've never had that reaction to cinnamon before.

[lucyboo21]

First applied it smells like straight up Amaretto. WHOA ALMONDS! Very sweet and foody.

Once dried it calms down nicely. The cinnamon and frankincense really takes over and the almonds become more of a backdrop. Not sweet or foody once dry. Nice, but I don't know if I need a big bottle of this.

 

3.5/5

[SophieCedar]

In imp and wet made me go "blaech!".. but of course I will always try any bpal once. Glad I did.

 

In imp and wet: cloying candy almond and heliotrope. Very much like corn syrupy candy heated to a boiling point.

 

Drydown: smooth almonds and heliotrope. no cinnamon really. vanilla skipped out (thankfully.. it hates me)

 

Hang in there because this burns off reaaall fast.

[personaldna]

Sniffing Eclipse wet, I wasn't sure how I would fare. The almond note is very present, yet I could tell something else was in there, so I slathered my wrists. In a short time, the vanilla mellows everybody out nicely. The heliotrope peeks out just enough to keep this from being too foody for me. It really does feel warm--like a nice, close to the skin scent. I don't get any of what I would call darkness from this. It's more of a sensual, uplifting fragrance.

 

Nice, and I wouldn't throw it out of bed. Unless Hand of Glory was around.

[lunchboxmonkey]

Whoa! On me this is super almond! All I am getting is the cherry like almond with a bit of bitterness, but also a little vanilla. This is... intoxicating. And not in a good way. More in an overpowering-your-senses kind of way. I wish this had played nice on my skin, but into the swap box it goes!

[animalcule]

imp: almond-y goodness!

 

wet: almond.. cinnamon.. like it so far... oh, wait. Hello, frankincense.

 

dry: faint, vauguely cinnamon-y incense. I have learned my lesson, I just can't do frankincense/myrrh/amber/resins.

[ami226]

Okay, before reading the list of notes, I seriously thought this scent smelled like spicy cherry syrup. I definitely get a bit of spice and almonds, but I really thought there was cherry here. It smells quite tasty and I would like to eat it!

 

This scent really isn't for me though. The smell of almonds kinda makes me feel ill...

 

Wouldn't mind trying this one again in the future! Does remind me of a baked good of some kind...

Edited June 26, 2010 by Catseyes

[CitizenBree]

In the imp, this was cherry cough syrup. I didn't want to try it but almond and vanilla are notes I like so I know I need to skin test.

 

First putting it on, it burned my more sensitve areas like my cleavage (neck and wrists were fine). once the burning wore off a bit, the cinnamon came out...the culprit!

 

It turned into a light and delicate cinnamon after a little longer. Throw was not very powerful and it didn't last very long either. It served its purpose for the midnight showing of Eclipse but I'm not to interested in trying it more.

[plainjean]

In the imp, this was like, "WHAM! ALMOND!" Seriously, it smelled identical to very strong almond extract. It scared me a little bit, haha.

 

I finally got up the courage to try it out, though, and it wasn't nearly as scary as I originally thought. It starts out as pure almond, like in the imp, but then starts settling down. What does it settle down into, you ask? Juicy Fruit. The gum. Yeah.. Also it burned a little. Not enough to cause any redness on my skin, but enough so that I noticed the sensation and thought I'd better go look in a mirror to make sure my skin wasn't burning.

 

But then! After about five or so more minutes it changes into a perfectly lovely soft, slightly floral cinnamon, and the burning is gone. It's very feminine, and very "not me". It was nice, though, and I think it'll work well for a bedtime scent.

 

So, overall, it's nice, but not nice enough to warrant a bottle purchase.

Edited August 16, 2010 by plainjean

[widdershins]

As other reviewers have stated, Eclipse starts off as an in your face pure almond extract. I almost washed it off before it got to the drydown because my head started to pound. I am so glad I didn't! In about five minutes the almond recedes and becomes softer, and vanilla cinnamon warms up the blend. It smells like a cozy bakery. Quite nice on a cold snowy day.

 

ETA: I didn't experience any cinnamon burning my skin and my skin is quite sensitive. I lucked out!

Edited December 12, 2010 by widdershins

[Soniadevi]

Beautiful lingering warm blended smells. For those who understand a little basic perfumery, you get almond or cherry scents using a lot of benzaldehyde. Benzaldehyde is a very strong top note that dissappears almost immediately (well, say about 30 seconds to a minute depending on your skin), leaving behind the soft almondey scent that plays nicely with a lot of other ingredients.

Eclipse is a perfect example of how this "almond" note hits you when wet, but then adds something extraordinary to a very beautiful mixture of scents. The heliotrope and vanilla soften and round out the spiceyness, and the frankincense gives a richness. When I catch a whiff of this on my arm, I am addicted. I feel enveloped in a beautiful warm dusky light, a warm breeze swirling around me, softly and richly fragrant.

 

Throw: good

Staying power: good

Star rating: 5/5 - this is because I can't help loving it, and I want to buy a big bottle!

Edited December 30, 2010 by Soniadevi

[Geminirubyshoes]

I've had this in imp form for over a year and haven't paid much attention to it. Something compelled me to use it this morning and wow! What a beautiful, warm, inviting scent!

In the imp it just smells like almond and cinnamon, but when it's on my skin the frankincense comes out and turns this into a smoky, soft sweet small. The heliotrope makes it a bit bright and I can pinpoint the vanilla but I'm sure it's in there somewhere!

Oddly enough, this is almost a dead ringer for my favorite conventional perfume of all time, Dior's Hypnotique Poison. I'll save myself $30 and just get a bottle of Eclipse!

[pandorasmuse]

In the imp: Sweet and syrupy, with an ominous edge.

 

Wet: Marzipan. Almond tends to swamp all other elements on me. I can smell vanilla in the back of my nose when my wrist is about 2 feet from my face.

 

Drydown: Mmm. Warm and cinnamonny. Cinnamon becoming stronger and stronger as this stays on.

 

Later: Ehh… Fireballs candy. Don’t think this is gonna do it for me.

[Larinessa]

I bought this one because I had gotten an imp of Inferno, and while I liked it, I was lusting after the almond note that was lurking underneath. I was delighted to find the reverse in Eclipse. This is a warm, spicy almond on me, and it blends fabulously with my skin chemistry. It layers wonderfully over Kabuki.

[curlygrrl]

I tried this recently, and loved it - of course, I love almond and incense and all things spicey, so I wasn't really surprised by that. However, the next day I had a nasty blotchy red painful rash on my neck. I couldn't for the life of me figure out what could have caused it until I was putting on the day's scent and almost touched my finger to that exact spot. I suppose it was the cinnamon, but I've used cinnamon oil in other ways, and it never caused a problem. The other pulse points where I applied it didn't seem much affected, though I think the skin of my cleavage was a little irritated. But that blotch on my neck was painful and itchy for days. I think this one is going to have to be admired from afar. Sigh.

[Gold Dust Kitten]

IMP: Incredibly sweet marzipan

WET: Fake cherry

DRY: I'm starting to smell the cinnamon now

 

I needed to wash this off before further testing. My skin reacts badly to cinnamon and I'm not a fan of marzipan scents.

[arrow]

Wet:

 

This is EXACTLY like almond extract for the first minute or so. It's nice, but I don't want to smell precisely like my favorite secret baking ingredient.

 

Now the cinnamon is coming out. I'm nervous about this because I am possessed of quite sensitive skin, but so far no rash or anything. Just a bit too much ZING for my nose... will wait until it dries to see if the vanilla I normally amp like woah will come out to temper it a bit.

 

Dry:

 

I'm still mostly getting cinnamon at the moment, unfortunately. It's not really my thing. Happily I'm going to a bakery right now though, so I'll blend in a bit while I let it settle even more!

 

After 4 hours:

 

Hmmmm. The vanilla did come out a bit so the blend is a lot mellower now... but I'm not really feeling it. The cinnamon seems a lot less like the cinnamon in my kitchen and a bit too much like cinnamon-flavored candy.

 

Not a bad blend, just not my thing. Might try it again some other time. Oh, and no reaction on my sensitive skin so far, so hurrah for that!