Bess

[steffanina]

Bess-

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.

 

In Bottle: Grape, spice...this is fascinating!

 

Wet: Citrusy and I think I still smell the grape. I wouldn't have been able to call that spicy smell rosemary if I hadn't known.

 

Dry: Hmm! Not a lot of staying power but I think I like it anyway; not too strong, not too cloying or flowery. The fruit and rosemary is an interesting combination.

 

Overall: Pretty, interesting; I'll give it another try.

[souporsunny]

In the bottle: light and citrus

 

Wet: very citrussy and clean scented

 

Dry: whoa baby! soft/sweet warm grape ...

 

 

This scent was not at all what I expected, intially when I put it on I was disappointe but it got better as it dried and within 30minues I was in love. Had a pretty good throw on me and lasted almost 5hrs. Definitely tempted to get a bottle.

[maijasu]

This is a nice fruity floral, and I think it would make a great scent for enabling people new to BPAL who are used to "regular perfumes." I might even wear it myself if the rose didn't turn soapy. Why, oh why, do roses hate me so?

[salamandrina]

I can't believe I haven't reviewed this one yet. Somehow, I have 3 imps of this - 2 lab frimps, and a swap frimp.

 

My older imps have a much stronger herbal smell than the newest one, in which I can detect the grape very strongly.

 

I really enjoy this scent - it's herbal and fruity, with a lovely feminine floral underneath. It's nice and understated, perfect for some of my days at work.

 

I think my imps will hold me for a while, as I don't go to it as often as it derserves, but it's truly lovely.

[birdiefu]

I got Bess as a frimp and it was a nice suprise! Wet, it's lemony-mint with an herbal background. As it dries, the sweet grape comes out- not a cough syrup grape, but high quality grape juice. I can *just* barely make out the roses and they compliment the grape beautifully (never thought that would go together!) and I'm happy that this rose doesn't go rotten on me. Fully dry, this is a well-rounded and soft fruity/herbal blend with no one note taking over.

[Iceblink]

I get lemon drops from this, with the barest hints of rosemary and orange blossom. It's very refreshing and energizing this morning, and I like that the rosemary doesn't leap out and pummel me into submission like it did with Catherine.

[Dinerdulcinea]

imp: interesting herbal smell...

wet: uh...I don't know about this one...

dry: interesting herbal,got very lovely, but not my favorite.

Verdict: nah. I'll save myself for something I love more.

[niobe]

in the bottle: sharp but fresh, with strong citrus and rosemary

wet: immediately florals bloom, but are nicely balanced by a hint of the citrus/rosemary/mint

drydown: smoooth and lasting, even seven hours later. orange flower comes forward a bit, as do grape spirits, softening and sweetening the blend.

 

overall impression is VERY favorable. it's a mature, sophisticated and bright scent. it speaks of intelligence, good humor and cleverness, but with a dash of wistful longing.

 

oddly enough, this is actually what I expected of Acqua di Parma when I first read about it on a duty-free card coming back from Europe a few years ago; I bought some based on the description, but it smelled NOTHING like what I'd imagined.

 

Bess does, exactly.

 

Here's from the Neiman Marcus web site about Acqua di Parma:

 

"The fragrance's composition—unchanged since its debut in the '30s—includes lavender essence, vervain, rosemary, and Bulgarian rose."

 

Bess fulfilled my dashed hopes for Acqua di Parma. I really dig it and will grab a few more 5mls for gifting! Beautiful Bess!

[Ilex]

This is very floral to me, in the bottle and after. I never caught the rosemary note at all, and the grape was subsumed to the orange flower. It reminds me of walking into an orangery, but with less humidity. Its a very airy scent.

 

The first time I wore it there was a soapy dry down, which was sad. But the second time it didn't do that. Which is nice.

 

Bess definitely has old world, old-fashioned quality. On the rare occasions I have a hankering for a floral scent, I could see wearing this to work, its not overpowering.

[supremegoddessofall]

Minty orange. The rose is hiding behind everything else. No grape, no rosemary. Too citrus for me, and it kind of smells like toothpaste.

[slave1]

BESS

 

In Bottle: Sharp herbs

 

On Skin: This is super dry and powdery in tone, it made my nose get all twitchy. The herbs are very strong and sweetened slightly by the grape spirit. The rose provides a sour yet bitter note and the sourness is amped by the lemon peel. I don’t get any orange flower from this… All in all this scent is much too powdery and sharp for me. It actually gives me a headache so sadly I had to wash it off. Medium throw and not sure of the wearlength since I washed it off.

[euterpe414]

Bess is a very dignified blend, indeed. On my skin, this is definitely an herbal blend, but all of the notes are very well blended and equally represented. The rose actually does not go sharp OR soapy on me, which is fantastic. I hate to always compare blends, but this reminds me of a sweeter, more complex version of Catherine. This is a womanly blend, and I can't really picture anyone young (re: teenager or even me in my early twenties) wearing this. I like it, but it is so mature that I feel out of place wearing it (I don't want to grow up, haha!) Anyway, this is an extremely well done blend, but I do not see myself wearing it often, at least not anytime soon!

[Deiicide]

When I tried Bess at the Meet n Sniff, I have never heard of it before and I was surprised. Then I took a better look at the notes, and I nearly bowled myself over. 5 roses? Roses? Roses normally go ultra soapy upon me and I was left with a fresh, dignified herbal citrus scent. It kind of reminds me of Litha in a way with less of a honey overtone that is matched with the citrus. If when, I run out of Litha I will be definately replacing it with a bottle of Bess.

[melrose]

First on: rosemary and a hint of mint. I don't want to smell like rosemary, I just discovered.

 

Near drydown: herb garden, but very sharp-smelling. Antiseptic.

 

Far drydown: Herbs and an ozone/aquatic thing going on that's making me nauseous. I never got the roses, lemon, or neroli.

 

ADDED 5/21/09:

 

From start to finish, I get rosemary and play-dough. I truly think my skin is holding a grudge against me - probably because of that one time I got a blistering sunburn in college when I was laying out in the quad in my bathing suit, trying to impress construction workers. It's the only thing that makes sense.

[filigree_shadow]

Ah, Bess. She and I kind of have a love/hate relationship.

 

I really, truly do not like any of the notes in Bess (except for orange flower, which is iffy). I avoid all those notes like the plague, particularly rosemary.

 

I have an imp of Bess, and sometimes I put it on, remembering that although I dislike the notes there was something about it that worked on me.

 

Sometimes I hate her because of the grape spirit (which smells good, I just don't like it as a perfume), and sometimes her rosemary hates me (the herbiness takes over). But some days, I catch myself sneaking sniffs of my wrist and thinking, "Wow, that smells so elegant and regal. Why don't I wear this more often?" And then I think, "No! No! It's Bess! All those notes I don't like, remember?!" But I keep sniffing, and the more I sniff the more I like it.

 

It's like I'm trying to convince myself that I don't like it, but in spite of myself I often like it quite a lot.

[Firiel]

Oh, lovely. In the vial it is just the right mix of fruity-floral and sharp (almost spicy, but I know it comes from the lemon and mint). On me, it stays neatly balanced and blended, no one scent overpowering the others. If you think about it you can pick out the individual layers, but the overall feel is "Mmm, nice." Just warm enough without being heavy or too spicy-sharp. I really really don't get along with rose scents, but that doesn't come out much at all on me. You would think five roses would be overpowering or at least stand out, but this scent is so perfectly balanced among the elements that I don't pick it out quickly and (most importantly) it doesn't bring on the hate the rare times I do. The sharpness of the lemon fades after a while, leaving a nice, floral, faintly sweet herby scent that is feminine without being girly - that giant lace ruff hides nerves of steel and a good deal of savvy.

 

With no guy to test on right away, I'm guessing how it would smell on one. The fruitiness isn't necessarily girly, but has a pleasant freshness. A warm feel, someone pleasant, interesting, idiosyncratic. (Also says "I can spell 'idiosyncratic' without using spellcheck.") Not for every guy, but if you can talk yours into trying it, it could to be worth the effort.

 

I can see why this was popular in ye olden days, and it's a good thing BPAL has revived it. I might treat myself to a bottle for my birthday. This is something I can see myself wearing regularly, as opposed to something to match a mood or occasion. Good if you're looking for something very wearable but different from normal perfume. I may have found my favorite in my first imp order!

 

If anyone knows what the original of this was called, I'd love to know.

[GoldenRubee]

Very nice! This is a light, fresh citrus blend that just wafts around my skin. The lemon is so crisp and bright and never once starts to turn medicinal. It stays lovely and fruity. The grape is delicious too! I don't notice the mint as much, but there is a sweet and mellow herbal quality that keeps me sniffing my wrists for awhile. I wan't certain that I would like rosemary but it is vibrant in this blend. I may get a full size of this because I'm really enjoying it!

 

For a citrus fragrance it really has lasted quite some time on my skin too. What a refreshing pick!

[cosmia]

 

I am not crazy about this scent. At first it is very sweet, but not a vanilla sweet, more like one of those hard candies you see at extremely old people's houses. Eventually you do get some grape essence. After a little while, the sweetness does calm down. On my skin it did get a little warmer, but the grape began to get more and more like Welches, which some people might love, but not me. All in all I would say that although this is definitely not my favorite, I have a feeling that a lot of people would love it.

[maribouquet]

I like orange flower, and I enjoy Bess for that - it dries down into a sweet grapey orange scent. On me it's too sweet for my tastes, and takes on the powdery Sweetarts cast that I also get from Akuma. I think it's very pretty, but not for me unfortunately.

[Musamea]

In the imp: grape, lemon, and orange -- very juicy, fruity kind of scent

 

wet: the grape lifts off a bit and leaves the citrus notes and just the faintest hint of rose

dry: the roses come out more and more -- very light and sophisticated, and tempered by a sweet, almost liquidy sort of grape

 

overall: this is absolutely lovely… I'm not sure it's a big bottle scent -- very different from my usual foody or resiny oils, but I can definitely see myself getting a lot of mileage out of the imp when the weather gets warmer

[monsteralice]

Wet: Intriguing - makes me think of a cordial or a stillroom.

 

Dry: Honey-like. The rose, which normally pops out on me, was quite well-behaved.

 

Finish: Herbs and honey

 

Duration/throw: Bess fades back to the wrist fairly fast, but once at that intensity it stays for hours. It was still good until about the 9 hour point.

 

This one's a keeper.

[Carmencita]

In the vial: Lemon so fresh I literally had to stop myself from licking the rim of the vial.

 

Wet: Lemon drops and ice. Wet fresh cut lemons glazed with sugar. This is bright, fresh and distinct.

 

Dry: Now a floral comes through, something like buttercups, very unobtrusive, like buttercups if they smelled of lemons. Still with a piercing lemon. The piercing part must be the rosemary?

 

I want a bottle of this someday, but it's not a priority.

Edited April 14, 2007 by Carmencita

[Miss Lynx]

This and Anathema were frimps with the Bakeneko I got through a shared order with a friend. Of the array of frimps that came in that order, those two were the only ones that I at least hadn't tried yet -- finding GC scents that I haven't tried and really want to is getting harder. But I thought these might be worth an experiment, at least.

 

Of the two, I had lower hopes for this one, and mainly picked it because I have a friend who I know is looking for it, so I figured I could pass it on to her after trying it an (inevitably) finding it overwhelmingly floral. And yet -- surprise of surprises! -- it's actually not bad at all.

 

I don't get it -- normally my skin amps rose beyond all belief, but not here, for some reason. There's definitely a floral element, but the scent comes across overall as more citrus-herbal, even on my rose-amping skin. It's fresh and light and a bit tart, and smells like something that might be nice in the spring. I don't like it quite as much as some of the others I've tucked away as spring scents, like Belle Epoque, Titania and Maenad, but it's not bad at all.

 

However, it fades away quite quickly on me. Within less than an hour, there's barely a trace of it left. The faint trace there is is nice, but I wouldn't want to have to reapply it every hour on the hour. So I probably will pass it on to my friend after all.

 

Grade: B-

[Lyzz13]

In the imp: This is a very herbal scent. Almost medicinal. It's all rosemary and mint.

 

Wet: The citrus comes out. It's mostly orange/mint with a hint of florals in the background. Tea rose mostly.

 

On drydown: The roses have come out to play. This is a gorgeous scent. It's a complex floral, with the mint and orange keeping it light, and not overpowering at all.

[sashers]

This is... intriguing. And good.

 

In the imp this was really strong on the herbs, almost medicinally so. But not in a bad way, almost like you walk into a new-age apothecary and get washed over by a mix of all the smells in the store.

 

On my skin, it smelled like rose (my mom said that it smelled like rose oil) but I thought it was a bit bitter (this really has or shouldn't have no negative connotations), I think I was smelling either the rosemary or the mint. If it's the mint, for me it smells like mint that you taste when you drink mint tea, not the mint that you smell, if that makes any sense. It was tasty either way.

 

I'm not getting much of the lemon or orange flower that people are talking about, but right now, maybe 3 hours later, all of those scents are gone and there's a light floral remaining, so that might be it.