Beatrice

[Scarlettfish]

A scent inspired by Beatrice, Rappaccini’s delicate, beautiful, innocent and deadly daughter. A fragile, winsome, poisonous blend of rare, precious and graceful flowers, rich blossoms and spicy perfumes that passes heavily, as a broken heart, across the borders of Time.

This is everything I wanted from Beatrice, plus more.

Beatrice is a sexy, sweet, but kinda dangerous floral scent. On me, it is predominantly spicy roses, with hints of carnation and other florals. I can't really identify all the flowers in here, because it is blended so well, but it is definitely very feminine. It dries down beautifully on me...the spiciness of the florals really comes out and kinda blossoms on the skin. Absolutely gorgeous.

It is so evocative of the story, too - the beautiful, innocent girl trapped in the deadly garden, full of beautiful and poisonous plants.

[arabella]

First Impression: A wispy, ethereal, haunting, faint floral.

 

Dries down to: One of the loveliest florals yet, but I don't recognize any of the components. The mental image I get is of walking along a high, stone wall in a garden and smelling flowers on the other side and wanting to pick them, but when I get to the end of the wall and look on the other side, there's no flowers to be seen. This is what I imagine addiction feels like - constantly reaching for something that is just out of reach.

 

Additional Comments: I am totally stunned by this one. It's very faint and while I normally prefer much stronger scents, this one was an instant love. I can't get enough of it. It disappears and reappears at will, I can't pin it down but it definitely has a hold on me. I'm surprised at all the reviews that mention rose, though. Rose, normally, amps up incredibly on me; yet, in Beatrice, I don't detect it at all, which is a very good thing.

 

Lasted: Several hours.

 

Rating: 5 out of 5

[grrrlennyl]

at first: soft flowers.

on: lots of flowers.

half an hour later: this is much sweeter now.

2 hours later: floral and warm.

overall: this is pretty, but didn't leave much of an impression on me.

[hepkitten]

I must add a rave here.

 

The story on which this is based is one of my all-time favorite short stories in the world. And I'm a big ol' English geek, so that's not an easy honor to achieve. It got me hooked on Hawthorne in a big way...so I had to order this scent.

 

It's everything I dreamed it would be; somehow I'm absolutely sure that this is the exact scent that wafted from Beatrice and "her sister," the large, dangerously beautiful plant at the heart of the garden. The scent is dark green with a fuschia core, like a pitcher plant of fragrance. You want to drown in this.

 

To be slightly more concrete, there's rose and thick greenery in this. It's rich and feminine, but in no way "girly" or cute. It's sexy as hell...my Halloween costume last year was Poison Ivy, and I wish that I'd had this scent then. Somehow, I'm sure that it's her favorite perfume.

[Reinaluna]

Beatrice: This is a very nice lighly spiced floral. When first applied it is almost streight rose, then is mellows down to a soft amberish rose with a little carnation. I dont know if those notes are in it but this is a beautiful blend. Im glad I have a bottle.

[laochodia]

In the bottle- very elusive. Spices...roses...and a note that keeps slipping away.

Wet- Creamy vanilla, dark roses and spices.

Dry- A bit more spicy and a bit less roses. Spicy rose-y vanilla. This is the daughter of Queen of Clubs (in fact, the first sniff made me check the bottle again to make sure it was Beatrice.)

 

This brings to mind a dark purple flower with poison dripping off it's thorns. A wonderful scent (and this coming from a rose hater!). Dark, rich, sweet and sexy without knowing it.

[Chrysantza]

I ordered Beatrice as part of my very first BPAL order. I can't pass up an LE, and normally I do florals very well, but...

 

In the bottle: Sweet face powder.

 

Wet: Face powder + gramma's perfume

 

Dry: Still face powder, alas! Now with added hand lotion and Tums.

 

Two hours later: I smell like the bottom of my gramma's purse. The same inimitable blend of face powder, Tums, hand lotion and powdery-smelling perfume. I loved her very much but do not want to smell like her!

 

Verdict: Swap-a-roonie. Normally I love florals - Moon Rose is great on me, for instance - but Beatrice, alas, broke my heart and turned to old-lady juice on me!

[violetblue]

Powdery rose goodness!!! And what's insane is that it smells like my Grandma always did (even more than Rose Cross), and her name was Beatrice. I think it's a really lovely scent and one I'll treasure always, though it makes me feel extremely nostalgic and makes me miss my grandma even more. I feel so lucky I was able to buy a bottle from someone as I couldn't when it was for sale. To me, the spice is light and the florals more potent.

Edited October 15, 2005 by violetblue

[QueenFae]

This one doesn't quite have the bite I was expecting. I was thinking something like Belladonna with a floral edge. It actually goes on very soft and delicate, and it's a bit powdery on the dry down. It reminds me a bit of Numb. I'm picturing "snow princess" instead of "deadly beauty." It's a nice scent, but since my collection has grown so large I probably wouldn't ending up wearing this one enough. I will find my bottle a more appreciative home.

[Diana]

Florals are usually a 50-50 chance gamble for me. Barring that, I ordered up some Beatrice, which doesn't really have notes listed.

 

This smells pretty much the same all day from the bottle, to wet on the skin, to drydown.

 

I don't really get spices from this at all, though there is something in there that might be carnation, but I can't really tell. I can't detect any specific flower, but I wouldn't be surprised if there was orchid & rose & lily & iris in there. I wouldn't describe it as creamy, either.

 

It isn't offensive, but it hasn't really got any OOMPH behind it (for me anyway). It does remind me a tiny bit of Bearded Lady, but I like the sweeter florals in that one better.

 

It's a fairly innocuous scent, kind of reminiscent to a floral scent I get from shampoos & conditioners I tend to use. It's nice, but I like my scents to have a bit more bite to them. I do think my mom would love this, though. She likes delicate, soft blends like this.

[joseybird]

A lush bouquet of deep, dark blooms greet my nose as I dabbed Beatrice on my finger for testing. There's a *slight* Belladonna-esque poisonous undertone to the blend, as well as a distinctly powdery overlay.

 

I can really imagine "Madame X" wearing this! It's old-fashioned without being old-lady-like...like a elegant older woman's scented powder. Not sure I'll be keeping Beatrice (although I love the label!) but I do appreciate her

[PurringPulsar]

Beatrice

 

In the imp: a sweet, light, fluffy, powdery floral. Very pink!

Wet on skin: oh wow, now it's blooming on my skin, floral notes pop out, making it smell richer, darker, less fluffy.

Dry on skin: mmm! this is gorgeous! This is a fresh floral scent with a sweet background. I think the dominant note is rose, with possibly some honeysuckle and jasmine behind it, and maybe vanilla as well, and lily? I'm not sure, but this is a beautiful scent of flowers which to me is a dark magenta-purple with velvety crimson petals sort of scent. Sweet yet darkly floral, and quite subtle. It smells like both freshly bloomed flowers and womanly floral perfume, and I like that.

After a while: this now becomes very soft, dry and powdery-but in a good way. It's like a gentle sweet floral powder against my skin. It does have a sense of the old fashioned about it, but not in a bad way. This is like a sophisticated floral perfume with a nostalgic feel to it. It's very very subtle, but that's also a good thing.

However-after an hour or so, the fresh, dark floral scent returns, making the soft powder a bit more interesting.

Verdict: another wonderful floral scent from the Lab. First it starts out all innocent, fluffy and powdery. The moment it hits the skin-bam!-it blooms. All the flowers come out and blossom into a rich mix of rose and honeysuckle, and possibly jasmine and lily, it has a fresh, yet dark and slightly venomous feel to it. Flowers with a dark side. But after about 30-45 minutes, it reverts back to it's sweet powdery scent-which also happens to be very nice. But then it starts to shift back to it's darker floral mode…it shifts back and forth from innocent to deadly, it seems. Fantastically evocative, I am pleased to have a bottle-and the label is amazing!

[sarada]

Another one that I didn't order because of the floral notes. I've had one too many headaches to risk any floral blends these days unless they have something else in them that sounds too good to pass up. But a kind swapper decanted me some and I'm glad I got a chance to try it! While it's definitely floral it's in the camp with Ingenue and Flower Moon as florals that are mostly notes that I find pleasant, and which don't become perfumey. As for what those specific notes are I don't think I can distinguish them except to say that violet might be in there somewhere, and that it does remind me a bit of what I remember from Ingenue...and has sweet undertones (daisies? wildflowers?) like those that were in Flower Moon. It has a bit of a powdery quality but not enough to make it actually smell like you're wearing dusting powder. Perhaps that's violet or maybe there is some lilac in there as well.

 

This is too much of a floral for me to wear outside of testing it for fun and maybe saving for the spring -- there are a few weeks where I can wear a few florals successfully and this would definitely be the kind that goes well on my skin on those fragrant May walks in the woods that I like. If flowers like gardenia, jasmine and lily give you a massive headache and all just smell like commercial perfume to you, then this might be a better floral for you. I remember recently trying Bearded Lady and it mostly smelled like a Vogue magazine full of perfume samples to me. This smells like a misty bouquet of fresh flowers in the spring. Basically, I'd say try it out if you liked Flower Moon or other gentle floral blends like that.

 

It's much more natural and gentle that the perfumey blends but still a bit

too girlie and powdery for my tastes. I think I'd like to keep this for the

spring though!

[Orodemniades]

Hrm. This starts out almost non-existent, a very slightly sweet watery smell, but once on the skin immediately starts developing into a soft floral which I really liked.

 

Unfortunately, Beatrice eventually turned into powder, powder like this particular perfume that I used to wear ages ago. Actually, it's not just 'like' that perfume, it is that perfume...which I wasn't terribly fond of. Can't remember what it was called, either.

 

So, yeah, this is nice, especially in the wet and initial drydown stages. However, I don't really like the ultimate drydown, and I'm really bummed about that, because I don't think I'll be keeping either bottle.

 

Oro

[Wench457]

Oh wow, this is gorgeous! I also get the scent of violets, but for a wonder it doesn't go all wonky on me. As it fades, which takes several hours, I get a warm, almost vanilla feeling from it, which of course I adore. So glad I scored a bottle off of ebay, and I may need to get another.

[Phaedra]

Wet this smells like sweet vanilla, floral and a bit fruity. When first on this is a classic floral blend but it's hard for me to pick out notes. After a few minutes a deep rose comes out. After about 30 minutes a spiciness develops- lovely! On the dry down it is a creamy vanilla. This is a complex and beautiful blend. I would recommend this to rose lovers in particular. Thank you Beth

[theseagrows]

another spicy/vanilla-y oriental, so i like this. it reminds me of a subtler love in the asylum. it starts out sweet, but once it settles down smells like soft roses with spice added. its lovely, but i like the strength of love in the asylum better.

[Fefferbella]

Normally florals and I DO NOT get along, but then Beatrice came along...

 

She's lovely, feminine, floral, spicey and sweet. I'm deffinately going to have to chase down a bottle of this.

 

Beatrice is so clean, refreshing and delicate I could wear it every day.

[carolinachiquita]

I adore this blend - I got it on my scarf and I keep getting whiffs of this amazing scent. I have always shied away from the floral blends for some reason but the more I try the more I like. This is predominantly rose on me ( I think!) and I couldn't even begin to pick out any of the other notes in it. I got this of another forumite and wish I had bought several bottles of it as I like it so much!!

[Kaerusatori]

I don’t really get the spicy rose that other reviewers are describing. To me, Beatrice smells like rose with a fresh scent that smells almost like watermelon. Pleasant, beautiful rose, but I’m not getting any of TEH EVILLE FLOWERZ that some of you got…chemistry, what can I say? *shrugs*

 

Having said that, it is still a very gorgeous, “deep” rose scent, and I usually don’t get along with florals so this is something special. Keeping the preciouss, yesss.

[amberdulen]

Light, spicy floral, not at all overpowering, feminine but not girly, and not "perfumy" either. This would be a good scent for going out in a skirt on a spring day.

[SeaMonkey]

Spicy floral with a hint of vanilla.

 

Its pretty, but fairly faint once it dries. The rose isn't blaring like it does in other scents. It kind of has a sinus clearing affect when I sniff it too close

[Merlu]

I hate rose. I've always hated rose. And every rose scent I've ever tried has strenghtened this opinion.

 

And then came Beatrice. Love at first sniff.

 

Wet on my skin, I could smell fresh, dewy roses. Not unpleasant, but roses still.

 

Then as it dried, warm, light spices appeared, along with soft, berry-like sweetness and a hint of vanilla. Gorgeous.

 

At first, it was faint and I thought it would disappear very quickly. But it stayed for a whole day, never overpowering, but still very present... it's as if I was surrounded by a cloud.

 

I can't say anything that would describe Beatrice better than the story "Rappaccini's Daughter" itself. This is exactly what Beatrice would smell like. Innocent, feminine, intoxicating and poisonous, with a soft breath that smells so delicious you could die...

 

Wow. I need a bottle.

[Shollin]

First sniff: I’m so bad at distinguishing different types of flowers. Beatrice is a rich, round, soft floral, and that’s all I can figure out.

 

Wearing: Soft. Bright. Alluring. And utterly mysterious. Please don’t go powdery, Lady Beatrice – I want to love you! Ooh… OK, this is good. Getting sweeter and richer – almost fruitier – as it dries. No powder in sight, bless her heart!

[Nox Eterna]

In the bottle I can't really pick anything specific out. I can bearly smell anything.

Once it hits my skin it slowly starts to develope into a soft spicey floral,this is very nice. I really like Beatrice and will wear her often.