Bess

[smgudan]

Inspired by the tragic, ill-fated love of Queen Elizabeth I and the Earl of Leicester. This is our modernization of a 17th-century perfume blend favored by British aristocracy: rosemary, orange flower, grape spirit, five rose variants, lemon peel, and mint.

smells like a generic grape candy, and completely faded on me in about 3 hours. it would be a nice scent for a younger girl, it's very sweet and youthful. not for me though. off to swaps or sales it goes!

[girasol]

In the imp: This really took me by surprise - it smelled very herbal to me. I'm assuming this can be put down to the mint and rosemary.

Wet: More of the citrus coming through, but with the greenish tang from the peel and herbs.

Dry: When dry, this smelled like Chinese tea to me, herbal and fragrant. Not sure exactly why as obviously there are no tea notes or jasmine in the blend, but there you go.

 

Verdict: Unusual and intriguing. Bottle possibility.

[aquazoo]

Starts with a little wine. The mint and rosemary are next. The roses creep up behind. It's discordant on me, not good.

 

[Invidiana]

My actual name is Elizabeth, so how could I not try this right away? The mixing of rose and grape is what's coming out strongest on my skin, and it's actually quite sweet and pleasant; there's also a softer floral in the background, which must be the orange flower. However, I'm also detecting something sharp and herbal, which must be the rosemary; I don't like the stuff in food and in scents it's usually a deal-breaker. It's not extremely strong, but it's detectable enough that it makes my nose wrinkle. Not really getting much lemon peel; I get a hint of mint when it's completely dry, which lends a bit of a sharp edge to the rose. I think I would have liked this a lot better without the rosemary and mint but hey, apparently people like that combo since Aveda's been making rosemary-mint stuff for years.

[SophieCedar]

Yyyyuummm! This is so tasty smelling.

 

In imp and wet I smell berries orange blossom & grape. that's it.

 

Wet the berries/grape burst and an herbal smell starts to come out (rosemary). lemon peel pops out for a minute but subsides. No menthol mint however I think it had something to do with the herbal poof upon application.

 

Mellows to a soft cloud-like sweet herbal mix.

[animalcule]

In imp: concord grape juice and rose.

 

On, wet: GRAPE JUICE!

 

After drydown: Much better.. I can smell herbs, and rose, and citrus now. But it's just too grape-y on me. I wore it a few times and it's not so much grape occasionally (and when that happens, it's really lovely) but usually I smell like a lollipop. I love fruity, floral, sweet BPAL but this is too much candy for me.

 

If only I could have this without the grape! As is, it will be swapped. Unfortunately it's too much grape juice for my RL BPAL buddies too.

Edited June 8, 2010 by animalcule

[Lysi]

I couldn't completely separate any of the notes on me. I got whiffs of vague citrus-ness and just a general happy/clean/bright scent. I liked it very much, but my nose never did pick out one single thing and nothing in particular amped on me (which is weird, because with FIVE ROSES I figured that would be all I could smell, but I never got any rose at all), just a well-mixed bouquet of scents.

 

Unfortunately, 2 hours later I couldn't tell I had even put perfume on. It had completely faded that quickly. I liked it while it lasted, so maybe I'll use it as a room scent or keep it mind should I ever get a scent locket.

[DraloreShimare]

In the vial – Herbs with a sweet undertone.

On the skin - Rosemary and citrus, esp. orange blossom.

Dry – Orange blossom! Which is actually nice. If it was like this wet, I might buy a bottle.

[Vega]

Sniffed: Minty lemon. Hmm, smells like cough drops...

 

On skin: Bess is initially lemon and mint, two notes that tend to dominate the blends they're in (at least to my nose). I'm really getting a herbal-cough-drop scent here. Thankfully, mint disappears pretty soon, and now the other fruity notes -- orange flower and grape -- are starting to emerge and mix with the lemon. Bess becomes a very light, airy, ethereal, fruity-herbal blend with a lemon overtone, and remains that way. Neither rosemary nor any roses make any appearance. Colour impression is pale lemon-yellow with swirls of light orange and maroon. (Yup, orange, grape and lemon!)

 

Verdict: Not impressive. Bess is a light, pretty fruity-herbal blend, but sadly it also has this cough-drops vibe that I don't really want in a perfume. While I'm glad that lemon and mint are playing nice with the other notes, the absence of rose is quite disappointing. I find Manhattan a similar light herbal-floral blend, and more interesting besides. I don't think I'll miss Bess.

[Altaira]

Bess is more traditionally perfume-y than I usually go for, but it is a classic, non-floral perfume that I actually quite like. The grape in this is strong and true, nicely complimenting the rose. The grape is not candy-like or childish at all to me, but more straight up concord grapes.

[nightchild80]

In the Imp (wet): Heady, sharp herbs and more reminiscent of a stuffy old cupboard filled with Nanah's vintage clothes. Not impressed yet.

 

On me: Such sweetness is coming through, revealing a more regal yet mature Queen Elizabeth. This is a woman not to be trifled with, yet is gracious is every way. The citrusy orange flower and lemon peel are soft, and I'm actually digging Bess now.

[GodivaSyndrome]

Bess

 

In the bottle: Fruity with something bitter underneath. Do I smell anise?

 

Wet: There has got to be anise in this. Still fruity with that anise smell. I think the grape is taking over, giving this scent an odd sort of perfumey quality.

 

Dry down: The grape spirit has taken over completely. Mostly fruity grape, a little boozy. No other note seems to be able to stand a chance.

 

Conclusion: It's nice in it's own way, even though my skin chemistry amped the grape up to 11. It all faded to a whisper pretty quickly though. I think I'll probably need a retest.

[hkhm]

imp: herbal and orange. very pretty.

 

wet: this is pretty sharp once applied, the rosemary is a piercing screech and the orange is a citrus howl.

 

dry: the orange is less sharp but the rosemary and rose are battling it out.

[angelicruin]

On my skin, I get orange and citrus notes with mint. Very herbal on me.

[Floria]

I really liked the herbal-floral aspect of this, but unfortunately with my chemistry the grape juice took over.

[ajansuz]

This was a lab frimp.

 

In the imp: Astringent lemon and strong herbs, not promising.

 

Wet on: Still very sharp and astringent, and the rosemary shows up in a cooking herb, not at all flattering way.

 

Dry down: Now it's like grape juice and rosemary with a twist of lemon. This doesn't like my skin chemistry at ALL unfortunately.

[Gael]

Ah, Bess. Heartbroken and it's spring at Hampton Court. Now way for a Queen to be.

 

This was an imp and it became a bottle. It would not be my usual blend at all, but it's very transporting and in this case the written imagery matches the scent beautifully. That mint hits hard, but once you walk into the sunlight garden there at Court it's a romance that lingers right into the moonlight. Absolutely lovely feminine scent for spring and summer. It's medieval England in it's glory. The right blend to capture that culture and time.

[callmepenelope]

mmm, i love this. bess reminds me a lot of catherine, as some others have noted, but on the dry-down this smells a lot more grapey on me than catherine does. it's a delicious, fresh, feminine summer scent and is one of my stand-by fragrances.

[angelicruin]

This is strong herbal mint on my skin. Would definitely clear my sinus passages if my allergies were acting up or I had a cold. Does soften a little as it dries to a minty grape scent, but not really something I'd wear as perfume.

[WidgetAlley]

This probably won't work on me, sadly, since most rose blends don't, and grapes tend to be baby aspirin on my skin. And I'm very unhappy about it because the notes sound incredible! Ah, well, let's test anyway.

 

Imp: Sharp, zingy citrus, mint, herbal rosemary and candy-sweet grape. Not getting a whole lot of rose, actually-- just a sort of powdery background that registers as generic floral overlaid with the other notes.

 

Wet: The grapes immediately go Sweet Tarts on me, the roses soap, but the mint, lemon peel, rosemary and orange flower combine to attempt an uprising of deliciousness. I'm not sure if the 'spirit' part is meant to be alcoholic but this does almost have a boozy note on it, like very sweet grape liqueur.

 

Dry: Sweet, powdery, herbally soap, with a fresh splash of citrus. Lovely but sadly not working on me.

Edited October 3, 2011 by WidgetAlley

[Gateau]

In the imp -- orange blossom, floral, herbs, grape

 

Wet -- still getting the floral-herbal grapiness, but lemon emerges

 

Dry -- Totally grapey, and surprisingly not much rose. Ends up pretty nondescript and fades away quickly.

 

I was disappointed in this one, because the notes sounded like they'd add up to something pretty and complex.

[lohengrin]

This is a review of an aged bottle.

 

In the bottle: Grapey, just a touch boozy. The orange flower and an herbal note that must be the rosemary (though it doesn't smell like rosemary specifically, to my nose) are strong as well, but there's no trace of rose, lemon or mint.

 

On skin, wet: Super grape! It's like crushed grapes with an herbal undertone, maybe a very faint hint of orange blossom.

 

On skin, dry: The grape and herbal notes are still very much predominant, and any trace of florals has completely vanished as far as I can tell. It's a really strong scent, and hard to pick up anything else under the grape and herbs.

 

After an hour: It stays pretty true to the initial drydown. Not at all what I would have expected from the scent description, but this is a really lovely blend.

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

A generous frimp from the Lab with my Yule order. In the vial, I get an odd blend of herbs and grape juice! On me, Bess has considerable bite--I can detect the roses (a favorite of mine), but they are hiding under a deafeningly sharp blast of rosemary that does not want to fade. The grapes wander in and out but don't help matters. Bess is like Wanda's way bitchy sister on me.

[mymymai]

In the Imp (ITI): Impressive - menthol plus the distinctive woodsy herb scent of rosemary are the first notes to hit me. It's rather astringent, but it a wake-you-up-in-the-morning kind of way. When I concentrate, I get a light boozy note, which must be the grape spirit. I'm not smelling any of the other notes as the top ones are so strong.

 

Wet: I'm still getting mint and rosemary as the strongest top notes. There is an odd under scent that my brain is just not picking out. It almost reminds me of an herbed pizza. Odd. I think there is lemon buried under all of this, but I'm not getting the rose, which I was interested in smelling.

 

Dry: AS it is starting to dry, I get a little of the orange and the lemon peel - a tangy citrus muddled with the strong herbs. The rose has come through to some extent, but now it's getting just a bit soapy on my skin - this does not bode well. After 2 hours, the soapiness has died down completely and I'm left with rose, orange blossom, and just a hint of herbal notes from the rosemary and citrus. I'm much nicer now it is completely dry, however, this isn't something I'd reach for on a regular basis.

[Juushika]

In the vial: Lemon, with some background notes I can't pin down.

 

On me: The sharp oils of lemon and orange; mint hiding beneath, I thinka sharp, citric scent. The sharpness wears off during drydown, revealing something sweet and familiar beneathgrape and florals, soft, sweet, and almost frosted; a pale, slightly powdery scent. There's a hint of rose, but surprisingly it doesn't overtake everything else in the blend (I usually amp rose).

 

Verdict: Nicer than I anticipated, but not at all my style. A sweet, cool fruity floral, Bess is unusual and I suppose palatable, but I washed it off and will trade away my imp.