Belladonna

[Aredhel]

The devil's herb, which he cultivates with skill and pleasure. According to lore, the spirit of this plant may take the form of a breathtaking, achingly beautiful woman, deadly to behold. This scent is a tribute to such a dark and magnificent plant: a rich green and floral blend, earthy and haunting.

Rating (on skin): 1/5
Summarised in a word or two: Green!

In the imp/bottle: How...green. It smells as green as it looks. It almost has a medicial smell, and I'm really not fond of that smell. I'm almost dreading putting it on my skin.

On skin, wet: Still medicial, but even greener. I almost notice something that reminds me of leaves. I get floral notes, though under the green I can't place what. It's terribly bitter on my skin, and doesn't show much promise of changing.

On skin, dry: Nope; smells the same dry as it does wet. I was really hoping to like Belladonna. Oh well -- off to the swap bin it goes!

Conclusion: Too green and plant-like for me to want to wear as a perfume. Edited June 2, 2008 by Aredhel

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

Another poison scent! :bounce: Yes, I'm a wee bit morbid. Hopefully this one will wear better than Hemlock on me, although they are the same bright green in the vial.

 

Whew! This one goes on so bitter it's a little scary. I love green florals, but I'm not getting floral nor earth here. Hmm. There's a teeny hint of floral on drydown, but it's like the "achingly beautiful woman" has smeared Vaporub all over her chest...I'm sure she's lovely, but it's a bit too, er, distracting. Drat. I was so hoping it would evoke the Stevie Nicks album of the same name. I appreciate getting to try it, but I think it'll be a re-swap.

Edited August 29, 2005 by clover

[Brianne]

In the bottle:

VERY green and strong, a bit sharp

 

On me:

This is a little hard for me to describe because I can't really pick out one scent over another. It comes off strongly medicinal on me, maybe just a tiny hint of mint in there, and there's something warm and a tiny bit sweet laying under that medicinal smell.

 

Final note:

Unfortunately, that's all I can really say about this one, it does stay smelling medicinal on me, not something I think I'd wear. For those that would want to, I should note though that it did fade awfully quick, within a couple hours I could barely smell it anymore.

[theshapeshifter]

In the imp: Eye-opening, almost a eucalyptus smell.

 

Wet: Not quite as 'zingy' as it seemed in the imp, but a very fresh, energizing kind of a scent. It's a deep green that somehow smells dark and yet vibrant at the same time.

 

Dry: This had GREAT staying power, morphing into a slightly floral deep forest-floor-undergrowth green scent, very natural and comfortable and strong.

[Gin]

Green in the vial and green on my skin. This is potent! On my skin, I can smell something off-puttingly sour under the green eucalyptus scent. Too bad.

[rainbow]

In the bottle- the oil is a lovely pale green adn it smells sharp and biting, like bitter herbs.

 

Wet on skin- stronger bitter herbs. The undertones are almost minty.

 

As the scent develops it gets more complex and starts to smell like being caught deep in a forest. The description says earthy and haunting, and it is absolutely both of these things. This scent takes me places. It gets woodier and spicier the more I wear it.

Edited May 26, 2005 by rainbow

[zankoku_zen]

In the Bottle: very sharp. very green. there is also something very sweet.

 

On Skin: it still smells green and i can still smell the sweetness. its a very odd mix.

 

On Drydown: the hint of sweetness is gone. it smells very earthy and after an hour, almost peppery on me.

 

Overall: this scent turns very masculine on me and i like the smell, but i rather have my boy wear this.

 

this gives me the impression of being a very powerful scent and not one to be trifled with. as it is, i don't think its me. if the sweetness had remained, i might have liked it better.

 

i'll probably be swapping this. nuts.

[QueenFae]

Every time I sniff this one the words "wicked bite" come to mine. It's enchanting, it's the plant-y, green smell I'd expect to find on a sorceress or dryad. This is one of my favorites, it has the same pure, raw, sharp plant smell that attracts me to Mistletoe. I wear this when I'm feeling strong, attractive, and naughty. Already got my 5 ml!

[Krista]

From the description of this, I thought I might like it.

 

In the bottle: I got a very strong eucalyptis note.

 

Wet: Wow! Vicks Vaporub. Very stong pine. It reminds me a lot of Jabberwocky

 

10 minutes: The sharpness has mellowed a lot, though it's still a very green herbal scent that's really not for me.

 

This is very nice and calming, but definitely not a keeper. I just couldn't imagine wearing this out. Perhaps I will try it again and wear it to bed.

[quikslvr]

Sharp, sharp, sharp in the nose at first. Fades to a soft green eucalyptus, with an almost sweet undertone. It's nice once it settles down, but not really me.

[Orodemniades]

Well say hello to Greenie McGreen!

 

At first this is very green with a bitter, smokey undertone, After a few minutes a floral note comes out, maybe jasmine?

 

The drydown went all powdery on me, and then about 20 minutes later it mellowed and became this slightly wet and sweet green scent, like when you're standing in a glade in a forest at twilight.

 

I think I'd probably wear this for ritual work, or when I'm in the mood to smell of something with neither florals nor spices.

 

I like it.

 

Oro

[tempete]

Whee! I've never had a green BPAL before!

 

On me, Belladonna is a strongly ecalyptus scent with a slight hint of mint and the faintest touch of florals. It reminds me a lot of Ultraviolet, except the florals in Belladonna are so light that I can barely detect them. I would have kept my imp of Belladonna if I had not met Ultraviolet first, but Belladonna is nice alternative if you can't wear violets or neroli.

[Galena]

Pure Rosemary on me. but really lovely and bitter/fresh.

[Sara]

Wet and fresh on my skin this is very woody/herbal and reminds me of a gutted pine tree..it's kind of nice and I like it.

 

However, I applied it shortly before going to sleep, and when I woke up in the morning it was completely and utterly a different scent. It was....well...I can't really describe it beyond "ick." Very pasty powdery old woman almost playdohy stuff. Didn't smell a damn thing like it did initially, and if the odor wasn't coming from the exact spot (and only the exact spot) I'd swear it was something else.

 

Damn.

Edited June 17, 2005 by Sara

[telesilla]

I had this on the list because I figured if I was going to try a floral I wanted it to be a green one.

 

Wet: OMG pine! And something bitter/sharp and rather unpleasant.

 

Drying down: It's not as bitter or as piney, but it smells medicinal. Or more accurately like the inside of a first aid kit that's been sitting in a hot car. There's something that smells like band-aids going on here and I really don't like it. It's not giving me a headache so I'll give it more time.

 

Later: Well it's gotten a little sweeter, but it's still oddly artificial smelling. I'm assuming that this is a body chemistry thing, so this one's going in the swap pile.

 

It's a real pity too as it had one hell of a throw on me and enough staying power to last though washing a sink full of dishes.

[parrot_suspect]

This is one of those BPAL scents that morphs quite a bit as it dries down.

 

At first, it smells a lot like Vicks Vapo-Rub. It's a strong, medicinal kind of note.

 

Within an hour, this note is gone and is replaced by a pine-forest type of scent...like a bayberry candle you'd get from Yankee Candles.

 

An hour after that, it smells like pine mixed with sweat. Ugh! I felt the urge to wash it off, but I persevered to see what would happen next.

 

Much later: The sweaty note is gone, thank goodness. Now it's sort of a sweet, soapy floral.

 

Overall, not a bad fragrance, but I don't think I'll get a large bottle. I really don't like the "sweaty" stage.

[OriginalWacky]

Bottle (Imp): This is interesting. It's almost minty, but not mint; almost medicinal, but not quite antiseptic; almost green but not quite herby.

 

Just On: A bit antiseptic-like. Almost like mouthwash.

 

An hour or two later: Hmm, a touch of a bandaid scent in there. Kinda neat really.

 

Around 6 hours: Cough syrup?

 

12 hours: Dank cough syrup?

 

Overall: Not really a keeper for me.

 

After reading other reviews: Yep, medicinal, which unfortunately stayed for pretty much the whole time.

[Miss Lynx]

This caught my eye before anything else in the new pack of imps I just got (thank you, Minouska!) because of its colour - as others have commented, it's very, very green. In an almost luminescent sort of way.

 

In the bottle, it smelled very herbal and woodsy and a bit spicy, very enticing. I didn't get any of the Eucalyptus/Vaporub scent others have commented on. I liked the way nearly all the imps in this batch (all but Malediction, to be precise) smelled in the bottle, so it was hard to decide what to try first, but I ended up deciding that this one appealled to me most (which probably means I have very strange tastes).

 

On, wet: balsam fir seemed to jump out the most. At least, I think it's balsam fir - a sweet, resinous, piney scent. But there were all sorts of other scents vying with it, too, coming forward and dropping back so quickly it smelled different from one sniff to the next, even seconds apart. Some kind of flowers, but not too overly sweet. And some really acrid, bitter undertone that came out for a bit, but then mercifully dropped back into the background. Various kinds of herbs. I had a really hard time identifying the different notes in it, but it seems like there are a lot of them. It's a very complex scent.

 

On drydown: the different notes are all blending together nicely now instead of jumping all over each other. There's definitely a strong floral component to it, but it's well-balanced with other things so that it doesn't overwhelm the scent or make it too sweet. And the balsam fir-ish scent is still there, a bit like Black Forest, but more... bittersweet, somehow. I don't really find it earthy as the lab description said, but haunting... yes. I think I've sniffed myself about 50 times in the past hour.

 

Overall, I think I like it, though I could definitely see how some people wouldn't. I would have to say that this is not a scent for the unadventurous. I will have to wear it a few more times, though, before I know for sure if it's a keeper. Right now I could see it going either way.

 

(Edit: about 6-7 hours later, it's dried down to kind of a smoky sandalwood with just a faint bitter herbal edge to it. Very nice.)

Edited August 3, 2005 by Miss Lynx

[dubh_ceol]

First sniff: Sharp. Maybe a pine smell, but nowhere near as strong as Nocnitsa.

 

Wearing: Nothing really special. Smells like pine nuts and Skin-so-Soft.

 

Hour later:Doesn't do anything for me, and is starting to give me a headache. Pity. *adds to swap pile*

[grrrlennyl]

at first: this was a gift from the lab. a pungent, pine-like scent.

on: this smells like the pine needle page on this scratch-n-sniff book i had when i was little. exactly like it.

1 hour later: softer. this has the saltiness that i smell in that scratch-n-sniff book, too. it's like a combination of the pine needle page and the dill pickle page. odd, but i like it.

2 hours later: even softer. this is nice and cool. i like it.

overall: i don't think i would ever buy this, but i'm going to enjoy using my imp. it brings back some fun childhood memories.

[~AmusedMuse~]

My Impression:

Green herbal and somewhat bitter pine. I am not sure if the scent actually matches belladonna however, I would have to say that I can't see it as a perfume that I would wear, and wouldn't you know I spilled the imp all over myself and rushed to wash it off quickly. I agree with grrrlennyl that this reminds me of a pine scratch and sniff card from a book from childhood. Odd that it is, it is so.

[Lori]

Oh..I have really,really HIGH hopes for this one! We sell "poison" rings at work, and when I explain to people what they are and what they were once used for, I often joke that I would choose Belladonna to carry around in mine, if I were to wear one.

 

Plus, Stevie Nicks is my heroine and fashion icon, and I want to wear a scent that is named after one of her signature songs, as well as after the poison herb.

 

So...I open the imp of lovely limey green liquid and take a first sniff...Hmmm! This smells neat! Sort of pine-like...oh, and there is that Vicks smell that others have mentioned! Cool!! If it doesn't get better than Vicks, I would gladly wear it each night to bed! The smell of Vicks gives me the feeling of being cared for.

 

Wet on wrist...oh Wow! There is dirt/earth underneath this baby!! I so wanted to love Graveyard Dirt (but alas I did not), as I love the smell of fresh earth and used to eat dirt as a kid. Vicks and Dirt - This getting better and better!

 

Wow, this is morphing into a walk in a pine forest...no...a Christmas tree sale lot! Cool!! I love that smell, too! Christmas is my fave time of year! There is a faint smell of berries...this reminds me of Skadi a bit somehow, at least at this moment.

 

Dryer now...it has a bit of a sting to my nose when I press too closely. Mmmmm...it is a nice, soft Christmasy smell, like a big wreath of Pine and Holly Berries. Oh, I am in LURVE!!! I want MORE of this!!

 

Who knew poison could smell so good?! No wonder it could be slipped to people without them caring. Heheh.

 

I am definitely getting a poison ring, now that I finally have poison to put in it! And this Christmas, I am going to decorate the tree, while singing along with Stevie (rather than with the standard carols) and I will be wearing Belladonna!

[Scarlettfish]

This was the first scent I ever tried, but I didn't get around to reviewing it because I couldn't pick out any notes or say anything besides 'this is nice'. But I tried it again today and I think I can be slightly more eloquent. This is a very, very green scent on me. In the imp, it is quite medicinal, but this settles down on the skin to a pleasant piney, herbal scent. I am not getting as many flowers as I would like, however. Not something I can see myself wearing regularly, but it is a very fresh, evocative scent, so I will use up my imp.

[Nachtwulf]

In the bottle: Pine? o.o Or at least, highly evergreeny. (Kind of a shock after Blood Kiss, I'll tell you.) It is indeed, 'green' though... green green wet and green. In fact, I daresay it strikes me as more wet-green than even Burial or R'lyeh. It seems a bit clearer and sweeter than either, as well.

 

Wet: Mmm. Very wet, clean, and still green. It becomes more floral, but not overwhelmingly so. Frankly, this is what I was hoping both Burial and R'lyeh were. Wish I knew what flower note that was in it. I wouldn't say it was 'earthy', though, but more aquatic... fresh streams with rocks covered in soft green moss.

 

Dry: Dries down to something very similar to Black Forest, if a bit more 'leafy' and still aquatic. Over time, though, it seems to go kind of powdery.

 

Final Opinion: I do like it, but not really as a personal scent. I haven't decided if I'll trade it, or if I'll keep it for burner use.

[Lycanthrope]

Even the oil is green!

 

Spruce. Then eucalyptus. Then lavender. It may have a kiss of jasmine, and a hint of pepper spiciness.

 

Very herbal and plant-earthy.