Beltane 2005-06

[riddel]

Beltane

... It doesn’t matter where your faith lies, Beltane is sacred to us simply because we’re human. It is a celebration of new growth, rebirth, of the fertility of our land, our spirits and our bodies, and is a reminder of the joy in simply being alive. Celebrate life! Wind some flowers into your hair, dab a little oil behind each ear, toss the first petals of springtime onto your yard, and bless your garden the old fashioned way!

 

Dew-covered flowers and fresh greenery. I'm almost certain I'm smelling jasmine. Now, I admittedly loathe jasmine. Loathe it. Yet... it actually kind of works in this blend. At the very least, it doesn't take over. I think I can pick out some honeysuckle(!) and lilac, and I'm pretty sure this shares a note of some kind with Venus. It just smells... alive. Just fluid and growing and alive. I feel connected when I wear this, connected to the earth, to the very pulse that many believe all living things share. Very pretty, Beth.

Edited May 10, 2006 by riddel

[JazzieCazzie]

I totally adore this and am sorry I only got one bottle of this and Pink Moon, while buying two Hexennachts which ended up really not working for me at all ...

 

Maybe posters here are right about the jasmine being the dominant note, but for some reason I keep thinking hyacinth or possibly lilac ...

 

This is a very lush floral, a purple floral or maybe a white one, as opposed to, say, Tarot: Strength which to me was a green floral.

 

On a scale of 1-5, I would give it very close to a 5.

[quimerula]

Wet: something between floral and green, with a bit of orange on my skin.

It's optimistic and invigorating. I get happy feelings from this one.

Dry it goes a bit greener, but it's sitll very fresh.

[Muppetk]

In the bottle: interesting...green and floral and a touch of spice, but kind of a dry grass or sweetgrass spice, a subtle one.

 

Wet on me: pure floral. All the nifty other scents from the bottle have been eaten by my skin. Does nothing for me.

 

Dry: The scent doesn't morph at all, and has mostly disappeared after 30min.

 

Phoo.

[PhoenixAscending]

In the bottle: Happy lush bouquets of spring flowers - tulip, dahlia, lily of the valley, sprigs of greenery.

 

On my skin: Wow, this is a potently strong floral. Almost smells like an incredibly indulgent spring wedding bouquet. Lots of lily and heady orchid.

 

About 1 hour later: Oh my, this has turned into a very astringent lye soap scent on me. Too bad

 

Final analysis: I'll imp some out to swap but I really love the exuberant floral so I'll try it out as a oil burner scent.

[storm the legion]

I received a decant of Beltane this morning from the lovely grrrlennyl.

 

First Sniff: Wow. Very sharp. It smells like incense, sort of. VERY clean.

 

Wet: Not as sharp now. Is that jasmine I smell? Mmmm, jasmine. I can smell more of the jasmine than the green floral that everyone else seems to smell.

 

Dried: Beltane has definitely has leveled off now, not as sharp on my nose. It's very spring-in-your-step-ish. Also very light; it's not very overbearing. I keep waving my hand in front of my face and I have to get sort of close to smell it. It lasts for a decent amount of time.

 

Overall: When I set down the imp, a little bit spilled all over my Annotated Alice book. But I really like Beltane, so my favorite book smells like my favorite BPAL scent, heehee. It's subtle and very soft. I bet this would work very well in the summer; if I'm wearing something heavy in the dry heat, it tends to choke me a little. I'm very happy with this one; Beltane is 5 mL-worthy.

[Entwined in Ivy]

Oh, blessed spring in a bottle! I wear this, and have people come up tp me and ask what gorgeous scent I am wearing....or where the flowers are!

 

I actually had someone tell me I smelled like a field of flowers....but a really natural light, billowy scent...thanks goodness 5 bottles and counting....has to last a whole year!

 

One of my signature scents.

[Rheliwen]

Every time I wear this I think of dandelions. You grab one from the grass and that smell from the broken section is wafting through the breeze. You tuck the flower over your ear and go prancing away like a giddy little girl in your soft, floral sundress.

 

Beltane is not the normal floral you see from BPAL, or anywhere else. It's sharp and a little soapy. To me, it's fresh cut greenery and dandelions.

[sophia_helix]

In the bottle:

 

Sweet, floral. Damn, I really need to get better at picking out individual notes.

 

Wet:

 

Uh-oh. Same thing as with Pink Moon -- sweet, but with a chemical edge that curls my tongue and makes me think of Sweet n' Lo or children's toothpaste.

 

Drydown:

 

Well, as usual, my-mother-the-flower-nut sniffed me from afar and said "What's that? Smells like sweet peas!" So the throw must be decent, and I think it probably blends well away from my skin.

 

Up close, though, it's just that soapy sweetness I loathe. For a while there, about an hour in, something more real and flowery-smelling broke through -- what flower, I can't say -- but then it was right back to the artificial scent.

 

I think this has got something to do with my nose and how I perceive smells, as other people don't always get that saccharine scent when I'm wearing this type of oil. But I think I'd better avoid anything that screams spring flowers in the future.

[Rackham's Vanity]

Normally, I can't get along with florals but Beltane is so yellowy, sunny, springy cheery, it's hard not to love it--even for a grumpy girl like me.

 

Here are the best and brightest of the spring flowers: I get honeysuckle, perhaps a lily or two, buttercup, jasmine, and a touch of rose. And it's light and pretty on me, unlike most florals.

 

Oh Beltane, you have wooed me well...

[silver_springs]

I just received this (5ml) one today from an eBay purchase. I was a little worried that I woudn't like it but I must say, I had no cause for worry!

 

This is a a heavenly floral. Very green and earthy. I'm loving it. I can see myself putting this on for lazy, hot days.

 

It was worth my money and I'm very glad that I took a chance and got it.

[VorpalBunny]

I was gifted an imp of this by a certain very wonderful fairy. I haven't gotten around to reviewing it because I can't seem to formulate a description.

 

Florals are always hit or miss, so I wasn't sure, but Beltane is definitely a hit! I do get a jasmine-y smell and maybe a lily scent as well, not sure. It's a strong yet airy floral, if that makes sense. The scent is definitely not subtle, but it's not cloying or overpowering. And it has great staying power too. Some florals turn sour on me over time, but this one stays lovely the whole time. It really makes me think of new spring, when all the flowers are in blossom and the air is just starting to warm up.

[Little Bird]

I've worn Beltane a few times now, and it seems different every time that I try it. In the imp I get an herbal sort of green smell that I like. On me, sometimes I smell mostly jasmine and I hate it. Sometimes it smells sweeter and softer like honeysuckle and sweet pea. Sometimes I get more of a sharp/green dandelion smell. It's always very floral for a few hours before going soapy on me. My nose is pretty untrained with florals, so maybe that's why this blend is so hard for me to pin down.

 

Sometimes I like Beltane, it smells very feminine and pretty... other times it gives me a floral induced headache and I have to wash it off. I'll keep experimenting with my decant of this one, but I don't think that I'll be lusting for a full bottle.

[Em-]

I was gifted a partial imp of this by a wonderfully generous forumite as part of an ebay purchase. Alas, it is really not me...I am starting to really like some floral blends but Beltane is too heavy duty oh-wow-jasmine for me to be able to wear it. It is a very pretty blend that would work well for someone who likes serious florals, but that person is not me or my brain chemistry.

[klowey]

OK, I'll admit that I got this when it originally came out, and though I wear it on occasion, I haven't done a review yet.

 

In the bottle: There's something sharp and sneezy lingering behind the flowers

 

Once it's on the skin: It softens to an enveloping floral and the sharpness goes away. It's daffodils and sweet, green florals. It's a very whole-garden scent. Not just blossoms, but the greenery and a hint of black earth, but very little of it. I also get an association with a deep, almost orange-yellow colour which may be why I think daffodils and tulips.

 

Well and dry: Now it's almost closer to a lavender fougere. Very soft and retreats to the background, but the sweet floral is still there.

 

Thumbs up, but it doesn't last exceptionally long.

[Miss Lynx]

My very first limited edition, received as a freebie in an LJ purchase!

 

But alas, it doesn't seem to really suit me. At first whiff, very strongly floral! Almost overwhelmingly so. Eventually, a bit more of a woody note begins to emerge, and a touch of bitterness almost reminiscent of the bitter edge to Belladonna, but these never really seem to blend with the florals or balance them; they just replace them. And then the whole scent proceeds to fade away, fairly quickly. I can hardly smell it any more and it's barely been an hour.

 

It smells like it could have been nice if the different notes had actually melded together instead of just taking turns and then all pulling a disappearing act together, but as it is, it never really comes together, at least on my skin. If I had to pick a scent to express the feeling of Beltane, I'd be more likely to go with Dublin.

 

Grade: C

[Phaedra]

I bought an imp of this on the forum recently. I didn’t order it when it was released because no specific notes were listed. This smells like sweet and warm magical spring flowers! There is some warm note in this that smells like an oil I have from another company called “Fairy Ring”. I don’t know what this note is but it is warm and moist, almost like dew. This is a very joyful and happy blend. It makes me think of bright pastel colors, warm sunshine and spring flowers. This one is really lovely and does match the description perfectly. This fades fairly quickly on me though. I will enjoy wearing my imp of this in the spring or on winter days days when I’m missing warm weather.

[anmorata]

Beltane:

Wet: Very green.

Drydown: Still very green. There's a crisp note in the background that's similar to Prague on my skin.

Longterm wear: A little too green for me, but still lovely.

[herongale]

in the bottle: clear yellow. The scent is sharp, a kind of buttery green. It's the way tree roots smell when unearthed and scraped until they are bleeding, plus a collection of new spring flowers. I definitely see why this is considered a gender-neutral scent... for some reason the first whiff altogether comes off like men's shaving cream. Possibly Old Spice.

 

wet: whatever that green scent is really amps up. I suspect that there is something "aquatic" going on here, if aquatic means "vaguely astringent" (which is my new impression of the term status post R'yleh exposure). But almost instantly, this scent disperses, and I am left with clean florals that are really pleasant to experience. The green remains as an under-note, but on top of that is a mess of wildflowers such as trillium and lily of the valley, or bleeding hearts (I'm mostly just guessing here, but these are some of the flowers I detect).

 

dry: stays pretty but fades very quickly. I think there may be some lavender in. Until it goes, it becomes increasingly refined and subtle. The effect is fascinating, and hard to explain. Gone in less than an hour.

 

verdict: probably very beautiful on the right body. For me, it's nice... but it seems wasteful for me to use up this imp when it will likely do better on someone else. Swap pile!

 

(edited for minor grammar issues)

Edited September 19, 2005 by herongale

[Kittyflop]

A very green floral. It’s crisp and not too sweet. Lovely clean flowers – I really like this! It’s perfect for this warm overcast rainy day. (I often wear scents that are the exact opposite of the weather….)

 

After 2 hours it has faded quite a bit but is still lingering. I may have to replenish a bit more often than normal, but it’s worth it.

[sideviewhotel]

Beltane smells like dandelions and daffodils in the imp but once it goes on my skin it gets this soapy note and within the hour (very early in that hour, btw) it fades very quickly. I have to sniff deeply to get anything and I'm really not getting a wafting scent.

 

It's not ew-inducing but it's not omg-must-have-more either. I might give it one more run before letting it go to the swap pile.

[AlaskaSnows]

In the Bottle: Florals, probably jasmine... lilac? And soap.

 

Dry: Jasmine and some other floral, a gentle soft warm floral perfect for summer. I like it very much. There seems to be something warm and very slightly spicy back there. Delicious.

[quikslvr]

Courtesy of the random LE swap circle.

 

Very yellow floral at first. Syrupy, bright. Jasmine? Ylang ylang? Honeysuckle? I'm so bad at identifying florals. A bit later, a tinge of spice appears. Carnation or sweet pea, mayhaps? Hmm. Those are notes that don't always like me--we'll see how this turns out. At this point, it's lightened up from the syrupy start, and gone much more green. The spice is pretty stable, though, so I don't think it'll turn on me.

 

It's pretty, but much too bright and floral for me personally.

[Alchemy21599]

I picked up this bottle today at Alternate Realities.

 

In the bottle: green, white floral and sandalwood. Surprisingly masculine.

 

Wet: green, lush dewy lily of the valley, tulip, lilac, sandalwood and white musk. Very nice!

 

Dry: Lovely floral blend and white musk with a hint of sandalwood. The fragrance is that of a beautiful spring garden with some flowers in bloom and other just beginning to open.

 

After three hours it is still here.

 

Conclusion: Wonderful! I had to pay a bit of a premium for this bottle, but it was worth it!

[malanna]

This starts out rather green, with something in the background that is dry, woody, and makes me think of cardboard. Not a pleasant thing, that's for sure. However, it ends up being a herbal, green floral, perhaps with a bit of tea. More green than herbal, since it doesn't have that astringent undertone that herbal scents seem to have.