Black Hellebore

[ajodasso]

... Hellebore resembles the wild rose, but does not belong to their family. The scent is a pale green herbal, darkly rooty, with a faint rose and peony-like overtone.

This both sniffs in the bottle and wears like a darker, greener, earthier version of Christmas Rose.

After a few hours, I've just got the enigmatic sweetness of the blossoms on dry-down.

[Missy_killer]

To my nose: I smell roses and a sickly sweet and heavy floral together with it. It's kinda like some dishsoap, but it's dark and "dirty".

 

On me: Super heavy sweet floral, but mixed with some greens. It's really sweet and almost thick when you smell it. The longer I'm letting it sit on my skin the more powdery it gets. It does remind me though of some fancy soap that my grandmother used to have. But No, heavy sweet and powdery florals are so not my thing.

[ObliqueRed]

Really pleasant on me, a dry green floral with a little warmth as it fades.

[ferocissima]

In the imp: crushed stone, earth, medium clear bitter wood with an herbal note

 

On my skin, 5 seconds: This is the first scent I've ever tried from BPAL that smells exactly as I imagined it from the description. Sweet peony and rose at my wrist, a sharp note of powdery floral mixed with damp, earthy notes at the elbow. It smells very familiar. I'm trying to put my finger on the scent similarity, is it some kind of clean linen detergent? Febreze maybe? My skin amps the sweetness and it has morphed into mostly roses. I wish the herbal would be a little more prominent, but florals have a tendency to get pungent/powdery on my skin.

 

On my skin, 20 minutes: This has a nice medium throw and settles by 15 min or so. The rose dies down and the results are sweet, light, and green-smelling without being citrusy. From a medium distance, the green notes are stronger. My overall impression is of a classic elegant women's perfume, simple and clean with strong rose notes and a nice base note of earth. I would wear this on a formal date.

[brilliantcat]

Imp: Green, herbal, a little floral, and a little sweet. This doesn't smell at all like I expected! It's a lovely floral, must be peony as I amp rose and I don't smell any rose. It's very definitely a floral perfume and reminds me of a commercial perfume but I can't remember which one. Not for me.

[Ajila]

In the bottle - Quite perfumy with an air of something like black musk in the background

 

Wet on me - Dark bitter green with a soft powdered floral just breaking out from underneath

 

Dry on me - Weirdly for a floral this strikes me as a traditional masculine blend, in fact part of my brain says this smells like my dad after a shower

 

Overall - I quite like it for the association, but it's not something I would wear

[Veronica]

Surprised at how much I like this one--not at all what I imagined from the description. This starts off with a slightly bubbly note over a warm floral base. The bubbly note fades as this dries down, but it stays very warm, almost amber like, with a slight herbal/incense note and a floral background. I would describe this as warm, floral, incense.

Edited April 20, 2015 by delighted

[LizziesLuck]

What an interesting scent! I instantly like it, and it smells to me EXACTLY like a garden. The whole garden. But then something starts to go a bit plastic on my skin, boo! What a neat scent though, I can tell it would be amazing on someone with different skin chemistry. Really glad to have gotten to try it! But I will pass it along to someone who will hopefully have better luck with it.

[milo]

Very floral, but kind of a 'pretty' one, not overbearing or heady. There is a bit of a herbal vibe, like a green, herbal, slightly floral blend. It actually smells quite a bit like Herbal Essences shampoo, which goes for a pretty penny on eBay now a days. This is quite nice, and I'll maybe throw it in the diffuser or wear it on a spring day, if spring ever comes.

[doomsday_disco]

In the imp: Very green. I'm getting this green, almost medicinal balm-like herbal, followed by the dark, rooty aspect of the scent, and the floral overtones.

 

Wet: On my skin, the rose and peony overtones are more apparent. The rooty aspect of the scent is somewhat waxy on me. I'm not sure why, but this has happened with the last few scents I've tried with roots involved. It is primarily an herbal, green scent, with a bracing aspect to it when I inhale deeply (but isn't mint and isn't present on my skin).

 

Dry: Now it's definitely a pale green herbal with peony and rose overtones (I am now getting more of a peony vibe than the rose now) with the waxy, rooty aspect in the background. It's not as dark or green as it was originally, and the bracing aspect has disappeared.

 

Verdict: I don't think I'd ever reach for this, but I'm glad I had the chance to try it.

Edited March 11, 2018 by dementia_divine