Eclipse

[brilliantcat]

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 bottle: Cinnamon and spice. It reminds me of Christmas, oddly.

Immediately after application: Cinnamon with hints of floral and spicy notes. Very little almond or vanilla that I can tell.

Warming up: Sharply, spicily cinnamon. It's not a food-type cinnamon smell either. It's bordering on a masculine smell but I like it. I may splash some on the husband see what happens.

Fading: Cinnamon with frankincense undertones and is that the bitter almond? It makes me think of hearthfires.

Faded: Mellowed to a soft cinnamon with hints of the frankincense and heliotrope... I think. It reminds me of another perfume or smell, I'm not precisely sure. It's triggering something in my scent-memory receptors in my brain though but I can't think of what. It's something good though. I like this more as it's warmed and faded.

Overall: Fairly strong cinnamon at first but mellowed nicely. I like it! I may try it in an oil diffuser to scent the room rather than as a perfume.

[calivianya]

I get the almond, vanilla, and cinnamon most strongly from this blend. Some blends with almond are too sickly-sweet for me to wear, and unfortunately Eclipse is one of them. It is actually a dead ringer for the smell of some cinnamon almond nougat I ate once. Way too sweet for my tastes.

[yakiguri]

Warm spicy almonds, that's what I get, and that's a GOOD thing. Almond is one of my favorite notes, so I'm inherently biased, and thus the first blast of WHOA ALMOND neither bothered me nor went cherry on my skin. I couldn't stop sniffing my wrist. The frankincense grounds it all and keeps Eclipse from getting almond-foody, the vanilla and heliotrope sweetens it, and the cinnamon gives the blend an awakening kick that continues through its long drydown. I definitely smell the light and dark duality in this, but Eclipse (on me) is ultimately bright, warm, and uplifting, more evocative of dawn after a bad night. Will need a bottle of this pronto!

[Unauthorized Cinnamon]

In the imp and wet, this had an interesting blend of bitter almond, frankincense, and a touch of floral.

 

Once dry, though, this was all cinnamon, all the time. No other notes at all. In this case, my name is very apt.

[Honey]

Sounds lovely!

 

 

Imp: Interesting. Smells like bitter almond with a dash of cinnamon and.. stale bread?

 

Wet: Very yeasty, bread-like. Odd.

 

Dry: Better. Still bitter almond and cinnamon (reminds me very much of a tame, non-fiery version of Inferno) plus something.. fresh and green, a floral note (must be the heliotrope then). Vanilla and frankincense appear after a while. But the blend.. well, it doesn't really work for me.

[mari4212]

Almond. This one is a very almond scent, going slightly cherry-ish the way some almonds can, There's a hint of cinnamon in this, but otherwise this is a relatively straightforward almond scent.

 

Definitely a keep-the-imp scent, but not a bottle purchase for me.

[Monday]

On wet: oh yes almonds, with a hint of cola? As it dries the heliotrope comes forward and the almond recedes. This sticks very close to the skin and is barely there after a couple of minutes. It ends up smelling a bit like the Lion on my skin, light fruity cinnamon amber.

I would have liked this better if it stuck around longer.

[dreamingjune]

In bottle: The usual cherry/cola note that indicates almond is in a blend, along with subtle spice.

 

Wet: The cherry note screams for a bit and then settles down into a lovely almond with a background of vanilla and cinnamon.

 

Dry: Have I finally found an almond blend where the other notes do not ruin it or the almond fades away in 2 minutes? This is really quite nice. The almond and vanilla stand out the most, with something almost light or fresh mixing with the spice. Is suspect this is the heliotrope and frankincense. The longer this wears the more the heliotrope comes out, yet the blend remains a light vanilla and spice blend.

 

Overall: This may not fulfill all of my hopes and dreams for an almond blend, but it is still pretty fabulous. Also, I could see this as a much lighter, more almond version of something like Pickled Imp. Definitely a comforting sort of blend with some sensuality to it as well.

[a_llb]

In vial: Strong almond & cinnamon. As I tend to have reactions to cinnamon if too prevalent, I am testing this very lightly.

Wet: The almond bursts forward before fading in a flash of cinnamon. I am getting gleaming heliotrope, sweet and light.

Dry: Ultimately it settles into a sweet vanilla-almond, creamy and not too foody.

 

Verdict: I like it more than expected, but I usually associate this particular conglomeration of notes with soap, homemade soap in particular. Not interested in it as a perfume, unfortunately.

[OctoberGwen]

Normally I do not like cinnamon at all, but the "just a drop" here is perfect. It lends a beautiful warmth to this scent, which on me is a lovely blend of the vanilla, frankincense and heliotrope with a whisper of almond. Really wonderful. I'd bet money on my husband liking it, too. We'll see.

[GoddessChaos]

In the bottle: Heavy cinnamon scent, with a note of almond and a hint of something that I think is the frankincense.

 

Wet: CINNAMON ALMOND.

 

Drydown: Still spicy, but the almond is becoming more pronounced.

 

Fully dry: WOW. The throw on this is AMAZING. I had my coat on and my hands stuck in the pockets, and I could still smell waves of Eclipse coming off my wrists. It smells mostly of almond, with a warm, almost foody glow behind it. It's lovely.

 

After a while: It's calmed down on the cinnamon front a lot. The almond has faded from the spotlight, mingling much more quietly with something ambery or vanilla-y. It's very warm, almost comforting. It's nothing at all like I expected, but I think I need a bottle of this.

[detritius]

Mmm. This is a lovely scent, very warm and sweet and mellow. A little foody, but I like foody scents, especially ones with vanilla or cinnamon, so this was great for me. I think this will have to be one of my cheer up scents, for days when it's cold and gray.

[becca_s]

This is really nice Starts out with the almond and cinnamon and dries into a lovely, spicy vanilla. I can smell the frankincense in the background but it does't take over. I am so happy that I have found a vanilla that actually shows up on my skin, because in most other vanilla scents that I have tried there is always another note which dominates the vanilla. This does fade on me quite quickly though, but I am still considering getting a bottle and I am also wondering how this is aged.

[whitsunweddings]

In the imp: Cinnamon and almond.

Wet: A sweet, spicy mixture of cinnamon and frankincense.

Dry: Cinnamon and vanilla. This reminds me a lot of (in fact, it's almost identical to) this ChiChi cinnamon & vanilla perfume I wore in high school (it was park and had sparkles, truly a classy dame was I). And I don't react too badly to the cinnamon for once, yay! I think I'm going to need a bottle... or five.

[Akurarei]

There are so many notes that just shouldn't work in this blend.

Yet, once it's on for at least 2 minutes, it is a very warm & comforting scent, that is also somehow clean & clear.

Usually almonds give me a headache when they turn sharp & cloying, but they behave themselves in this blend for me.

I really like this one, and just got a full bottle from the Lab.

[symbiosis]

Eclipse:

 

In the imp: almond, with a backing of cinnamon. The vanilla adds something nice to this imp, which has been aged about one year.

 

On my skin: The almond bursts through at first, and it's a little intense for about 20 seconds, until that note calms down and the cinnamon kicks in, warming the whole thing up and telling the almond to relax for a bit and hang out with the vanilla.

 

Overall it's a nice scent, and I think I'd like to layer it with something a little more earthy for wear in the summer. In the winter, this might be nice just by itself. It reminds me of a hot spiced drink during the holidays.

[alyelle]

Frimp from the lab. I was very hesitant to try this, as anything with even a hint of cinnamon makes my skin rise up in welts. But today was delightfully hot, and the description sounded like just the thing I was looking for.

 

Imp: something sharp and almost cherry-flavoured. If I was guessing blind at ingredients, I'd have guessed a bark - willow or oak. It's similar to the way The Hesperides smells in its bottle.

 

Wet: a fair bit more than "a drop" of cinnamon - this is basically cinnamon sugar on toasted almond bread. I was extremely light with the application and after getting no immediate reaction on my wrists, I dabbed some on the inside of my elbows and behind my ears. (Big mistake there; my ears immediately flared up into an itchy red rash. Not as much of a reaction on the elbows, but I had to wipe it totally off my neck, so if I keep this, I won't be putting it anywhere but my wrists.)

 

Dry: the cinnamon fragrance almost vanishes after about ten minutes. It's replaced with a warm, spicy vanilla, that lingers quite well throughout the day, and eventually becomes a very soft, sweet fragrance.

 

Were it not for the reaction, I'd probably keep this in my collection all the time. Even at its most cinnamon, it's not too foody, and the end result is lovely, especially on a sunny day like this one was.

 

Stars: ★★★ on me; ★★★★ for the blend itself.

Edited February 4, 2014 by alyelle

[MCS4096]

I get a LOT of almonds, followed by frankincense, with the other notes rounding it out (I'm not really getting a ton of cinnamon). It's very nice.. mild and pleasant, the throw is almost a baby shampoo kind of smell-- a clean skin scent.

[ziggystardust13]

This is so much softer than I thought it would be. That being said, I really love it though.

 

Sniffing out of the bottle and wet on skin it smells of Cherry Almond. Very sweet. As it dries, it begins to warm up. I get a slight incensy scent (must be the frankincense) and barely any cinnamon. I do smell some vanilla and though it isn't listed, amber. It gets a little powdery on my skin as it dries, but not baby powder the way snake oil does to me. I might also add that for me, this one is a slatherer because it is on the lighter side! It's extremely comforting to me. I wore it to bed last night and slept like a baby. And I'm wearing it to work today! May need a bottle

[JazzieCazzie]

Eclipse is a great example of a scent, on my at least, that patience was a virtue. I know I had an imp (maybe a bottle) of this way back in my early-ish BPAL days (probably took me a little extra time to jump on the bandwagon because I was not brave enough to try almond, but once I got frimped I bought a bottle IIRC).

 

Swapped or sold it at some point and then decided to try again and buy another imp ... not that recently, since label is slightly stained and imp is half-empty, but it's not 8 years old either LOL.

 

So, hitting my Three Es today as part of my scientific "try or re-try and review or revisit every single scent I have" project.

 

IN THE IMP: Almondapalooza but not, like many people have mentioned, BITTER almond. Maybe it's the aging process or maybe the vanilla has aged because to me it's sweet almond, not unlike those yummy "hot nut bags" they sell at the local crafts fair (hey, I think I've been called a "hot nut bag" once or twice myself).

 

Dabbed reasonably generously on wrist and in crook of arm.

 

WET: A sweet and only very slightly spicy almond. I'd say about 85 percent almond-vanilla and 15 percent cinnamon. I am getting ZERO heliotrope or frankincense as far as I can tell ...

 

INITIAL DRYDOWN: This is where it lost me, temporarily at least. It went a little soapy (may have been the heliotrope?) and a little plastic (probably the vanilla). It was pleasant, still, but not as good as it was when wet and in fact I placed it in the swap box (not full enough to swap but enough to add as an extra lagniappe).

 

LATER DRYDOWN: Just went and moved the imp out of the swap box and back into the keeper box. An hour later, the soapiness and plastic are all gone. What remains is a very light and sweet scent, reminds me of marzipan as many others have noted. It's a clean scent (which I think is the cinnamon) and a comforting one ...

 

OVERALL I think this would make a great "signature scent" for a teen who wants something different, something that not all the other girls are wearing -- something sweet and unusual and lovely, not suggestive or sexy but still unique. I often hesitate buying BPAL for people because it's such a personal thing, but this is one of those scents that I think would make a terrific gift, a great soap/bubble bath/perfume package, etc.

 

Overall on a scale of 1-5 I give it a 4. Not something I'd reach for all the time but something that I would absolutely wear out the imp and probably buy or swap for another one on a large purchase.

[Incendiare]

Eclipse is your typical super almond extract-heavy blend, but dusted with frankincense. It's not an obvious frankincense but it lends a dusty, almost woodsy backdrop to the almond extract. No heliotrope, but as this dries, the cinnamon comes out, like cinnamon red hots. Not something I'd really wear.

[elinox]

First Sniff: Bitter cherries and harsh perfume.

 

Initial Wet Application: Red cherries with some biting cinnamon. This is definitely coming across as a ‘burning red’ scent so far.

 

Beginning Dry Down (first 15 minutes) & Dry: As it began the dry down, I can detect vanilla and warm almond rounding this out. The vanilla, almond and cinnamon blend nicely to make this warm smelling so far which is yummy. Although after about 15 minutes I think the almond has turned to a lite, dusty wood with the vanilla still making the cinnamon soft.

 

My Reaction: The initial wet smell was appealing, but after it dried completely I was getting more of a light plywood scent with only a small taste of vanilla/cinnamon which is disappointing. I wasn’t expecting to love this one but wanted to give it a try anyway. No harm, no foul.

 

Rating: 2

[Joyleaf_]

The first thing I smelt when opening the imp was sticky sweet almonds. Almost a marzipan smell. On my skin, the almonds intensified, and got a rather burnt sugar smell. I couldnt smell any of the vanilla, frankincense, or cinnamon. Apparently my skin just soaks those scents up. Such a shame

[welcometothefamily]

Frimp from the lab!

 

In the Imp: Oh no...almond of DOOM! I hate the smell of almonds :/. This is not looking good...

 

Wet: Almond, and something floral...must be the heliotrope.

 

Drydown: As this dries, it loses the almond note, and I'm left with something reminiscent of...baby wipes? I think it might be the cinnamon turning this to baby wipes :/. It's still golden smelling, sweet and slightly floral, but reminds me of baby wipes unfortunately :/.

 

Verdict: This was just not to be. It's pleasant enough that I'll keep my imp, but no bottle for me, and definitely not one I'll reach for often.

 

2/5

[Anaire]

Got a Imp of this to try out BPAL perfumes.

 

In the bottle: Almond and vanilla.

 

Wet: Mostly almond with a hint of vanilla and spice. I smell like Marzipan!

 

Full Dry Down: Almond gone I get a hint of spice but that's about it.

 

 

Love but just wished it stayed around a bit longer. I get a almond scent for around an hour before it disappears entirely and I get a basic spice smell.