Pele

[Ice]

Whimsical, temperamental, radiant and ravishingly beautiful Goddess of Volcanoes, Fire, Lightning and Dance. She is the Mother of Eruptions and the personification of destructive power. Volcanic eruptions are said to be a side-effect of her jealous rages and her epic quarrels with her siblings are legendary. This perfume embodies her gentler, benign aspect as the capricious Goddess of Dance: muguet and Hawaiian white ginger enveloped by warm, damp tropical blooms.

I fell in love with Pele the first time I opened the imp (it was the first BPAL I ever sniffed, and it was a wonderful way to start).

On first whiff, I thought, "It smells like Hawaii." There's something really special about the air there. Maybe it was that I'd just gotten out of the stale airplane air, but it was the first thing I noticed. The air there is damp and heavier than I'm used to, but not unpleasantly so, and it smells like flowers. While I was waiting for the luggage, my mother bought a beautiful creamy yellow-and-white flower lei for me. It lasted a few days (with some help from the refrigerator), and I remember exactly how it felt around my neck.... very soft, damp, and cool, and with a beautiful clean and creamy scent.

Pele is just like that, and I get a mental image of the yellow and white lei every time I sniff the imp. It stays true, but it does fade pretty quickly on me. It's beautiful while it lasts, though, and I'm hoping it'll help if I put a little more on next time. Driving in Beltway traffic was a lot more pleasant with Pele wafting in and out. I introduced my mother to it, and she loved it as well. I've now got two 5 mLs on the way... one for me and one for her birthday.

[TheDarkMother]

I got this one from a swap. hugs and kisses

 

In the Bottle: It smells light and airy like a tropical paradise on the brink of winter.

 

On Me: Pele is very light ginger, not the extreme ginger scent of the orient, but a light, airy, ginger scented breeze. Tropical flowers that I can’t pick out easily are in the background, but it isn’t in that normal heat sweltering way, but very lightly, as if just carried on a faraway breeze. This blends so well together that I really can’t tell what the individual scents are. Maybe Hibiscus? I really can’t tell. They stumped me! I’m definitely slathering in this today and buying a bigger bottle when I use up my imp!

[isyche]

Pele was a gift from the lab, and I was curious about it, so I'm glad I got to try it. On me, it's a very nice, very light, white tropical floral. I do find it reminiscent of the one time I went to Hawaii, and it's certainly pretty, but it's really not me – I'm not a tropical scent girl. I'm giving the imp to my mom for Christmas because I think she'd like it.

Edited December 22, 2004 by isyche

[amunnefret]

On first sniff (and for about half an hour after) - reminds me of pleasantly scented hairspray.

 

Which goes to show with all BPAL scents you have to give them time to develop.

 

By the time an hour had passed, was enveloped by a delicate (but not weak) prettily feminine fragrance that leaned slightly towards "green".

 

Beautiful and calming. I see myself wearing this a lot over the hot sticky days of summer.

[etherealchild]

I was unable to do my usual bottle/wet/drydown/2hours blah blah review

 

The moment it got on my skin it went sour. Ewwww amber gingery sour. And it got STRONG. I had to wash it off. Apprently my skin does not like muguet.

 

And it had smelled kinda pretty in the bottle, a faint kind of tropical warmth.

 

I am kinda disappointed

[voodoobaby]

In the bottle: Light and floral. Nothing too special.

 

Wearing: Hmm. I remember when I was really little, my older sister had a Hawaiian Barbie doll that came with a little bottle of perfume. This smells almost exactly like it, only more organic, and oddly that's not a bad thing. It's very tropical and floral. I know there's supposed to be white ginger in this, but I can't pick it out. In fact, I can't pick out any single notes, except for maybe hibiscus.

 

Later: The only change is a large amount of fading. After two or three hours, it's faded to just a wisp of what it was originally. It's a very, very pretty blend, very full and ripe, but as a rule florals are just not me. I hate to part with it, but I know I won't wear it very often, if at all. I will pass it on, either in a swap or to a friend.

[autumnviolet]

Pele is the volcano Goddess, but She started out as the water goddess until she saw fire and liked it better. She gave the ocean over to her sister, with whom she fights.

 

Just like Pele the Goddess, this scent is whimsical. It fades. I had to reapply after 3 hours.

having said that, WOW! Lush jasmine with a hint of ashes. Seriously, if you go to Hawaii and visit Pele's home with an offering lei of jasmine, the air will smell similar to this. tropical flowers with a tint of ashes in the air.

Nice.

[anshara]

In the imp: Oh my word!!!! Oh that's beautiful!!!!!! The soft aquatic quality of creamy white ginger moistening the gentle powdery scent of lovely tropical blooms.... Beautiful!!!

 

Swiped on wrist, wet: Oh this is beautiful.... Whisper quiet, not a bit of throw, a very feminine close to the skin scent... Beautiful tropical blooms warm and wet, with a hint of creamy sweetness from the ginger....

 

Drdown, ten minutes: this isn't morphing much... It's perfect, but it's fading so quickly..... I don't mind re applying this, it's so lovely..... another future 10 ml :D

[sarahjay]

this is a very lovely floral, beautiful and light. I tried it out on my arm and the DH and both daughters really liked it. my only hesitation would be that it's so light and other comments have been that it fades fast - I think the answer to that is that I need a bigger bottle rather than an imp

 

it's on my list as a summery scent. lovely.

[VelvetSky]

Pele was a gift from fairywingmaker.....thank you ever so much, Bernadette.

 

This is an absolutely gorgeous tropical floral, surprisingly light and understated (which is something I usually don't anticipate with tropicals). Fresh, yet ever so slightly powdery. I'm definitely getting the muguet, and something a bit spicier which I'm assuming is the Hawaiian white ginger flower.

 

This is a blend that I'm definitely going to be testing again and considering for a big bottle. It's just beauteous.

[enantiomorph]

having grown up in southern california, 20 minutes from a number of beaches, pele reminds me of home. I smell soft, warm, sand (not dry sand, but somehow sweet sand), and tropical suntan lotion. it's a scent that instantly brings a smile to my face. unfortunately, after an hour pele is GONE. not a trace left. I'll probably swap my bottle for something more lasting.

[Morgan]

In the vial: Very light and crisp. I can't pick out the ginger, just pure flowers.

 

On my skin: Still very faint tropical flowers. After about 5 minutes I am picking up some of the ginger.

 

After 1 hour: When I first tried Pele it was non-existent after the first hour. That is no longer the case, it amazingly stays with me for almost half of the day.

The ginger is definitley there...mixing in perfect harmony with the floral.

 

Final verdict: I really didn't think I would like Pele, and I didn't at first. But this turned out to be such a beautiful, tropical scent. I love wearing it during the winter months, it reminds me of Hawaii

Edited February 8, 2005 by Morgan

[MilkAndSugar]

I knew I'd love Pele after reading the reviews, but I had no idea how much!

 

Oh sweet Goddess! This is the first BPAL that made my eyes roll back in rapture.

It's so clean and gentle, lightly powdery and comforting. The flowers are like nothing I've ever smelled before and yet I know them so well. Gods! This is a once in a lifetime blend.

A jewel. I love it to bits!

 

The only negative thing about Pele is her fleeting nature. Here today, gone in 60 seconds. Yet, strangely, every now and then I get a whiff of the scent, but when I try to smell it again, it's gone.

But I'd rather re-apply every five minutes, than have Beth change one thing about this lovely, lovely blend. I'm going to go through this bottle in record time.

 

All of you who absolutely hate florals, try an imp of Pele. Take it from someone who can't do florals - this is an amazing blend. Amazing.

 

-Milk

 

 

ETA: Oh joy! I put some Pele on today, quite liberally as the scent is so fragile, and I was completely taken by surprise when I noticed the scent was still going on two hours later, and hadn't faded one bit. How strange. Not that I'm complaining!

Edited February 15, 2005 by MilkAndSugar

[phoefromelsewhere]

In the bottle: flowers galore. Very nice.

 

Wet: Whiff of flowers...no, it's gone now. There is nothing here. Seriously, it just smells like my skin.

 

Drydown: Nothing.

 

Later: Nope. Nothing. This is the second time I have tested this and both times there is the faintest hint of flowers for a few seconds and then it’s gone for good. Bum.

[klowey]

The interesting thing is that when I concentrate I can smell the florals and the white ginger. But when I just let it drift into my mind, all I get is warmth. Warm skin, warm tropical breezes wafting through the forest, warm air hovering above rock.

 

I don't know if it's a suggestion from the name, but it really brings to mind pumice or lying out on lava rock heated by the sun.

 

ETA: Might not have made it clear, but I absolutely adore this scent.

Edited February 20, 2005 by klowey

[yaluna]

On me, Pele is a very strong white floral - jasmine maybe? The floral is all I smell, it's pretty heady and tickles me nose. This isn't quite for me, though I'm sure someone else would love it. To the swap pile!

[blaqpearl]

I love this so much. It reminds me of the Carribbean. It reminds of the flowers I smelled at night growing up in S. Florida and Santo Domingo, because Pele behaves so much like them. You can only smell them when a warm breeze passes thru. And then you say, "Mmmm, what is that?".

 

This is definitely on my top 5. I just received my 10ml bottle of this and I so glad I did, since you have to reapply often. I also want to use this to make a solid lotion bar, in the hopes that I can make this scent last longer.

[girlmadasbirds]

i got a sweet ginger scent and humid blooms. i can see myself lounging on the beach wearing this. my mother called as i was testing them and *she's* interested in it. dear me, have i gone and got my mother hooked too?!? *laughs*

[dcmo]

Very light, clean, watery tropical flowers. Beautiful scent, but too light for my taste.

[LiberAmoris]

When I was 8 or 9, my aunt and uncle went to Hawaii and brought me back a plastic lei, a grass skirt and a neon green and yellow-trimmed bikini top--- all happily reeking of pikaki.

 

Pele is like a grown-up version of my little hula costume, an incredibly faint tropical scent that sticks close to the skin and seems really intimately luxurious. I’ve had this imp for a while and use it when I need a shot of something summery and beautiful. Not something I absolutely need a bottle of but very, very nice.

[wickedgoddess]

Wet - a light ginger scent.

 

Dry - a very, very light floral. As it dries, the ginger begins to fade. In fact I can barely smell anything any more. Pretty, but too light for me.

 

On the wickedgoddess scale of 1 to 5 (with 5 being the best) this rates a 2.

[shelldoo]

in the vila, and wet i can hardly detect anything. just a ery very faint clean scent

 

as it dries it became a very strong floral, most plumeria, w/ a teensy touch of ginger.

[mandalyn]

This smelled much different than I expected...heady almost. Heavy like the air after the daily rainstorm in Florida in the summertime...humid with the scent of tropicals in the air.

 

I put this on about 5 hours ago, and I still can smell warm ginger on my wrists.

[LunaSea]

Oh, Pele - I am not sure what to make of you! In the vial and wet on my skin, I was sure I'd found the perfect summer scent. It is fresh, lightly floral, tropical, clean (a touch soapy, but not in a negative way. Just clean smelling!) Absolutely beautiful - I was in heaven. But I am another one whose skin seems to eat this scent right up. I re-applied, putting the oil in the hollow of my throat, behind the ears, elbows, I even ran the tips of my fingers through my hair, although there wasn't much left on my fingers by then. And after only about an hour I can bury my nose in the crook of my elbow and hardly smell a thing. Did I apply too much and numb my nose, or is the scent gone? I think I will try mixing some Pele in lotion and see if that helps the scent last, because it is truly a perfect scent for summer, if only I can convince her to stick around!

 

ETA: with regard to the Mystery of the Disappearing Scent, after taking my daughter out to dinner, then returning home and going to sort laundry - Pele was back! This was some 4+ hours after I couldn't smell anything, and without any reapplication. So, verdict is that my nose was overloaded.

 

As an added bonus, that night when I showed my hubby some flowers I had planted earlier that day, he said, "And they smell nice too." I said, "I don't think they have any scent - maybe it's me." It was me.

Edited May 23, 2005 by LunaSea

[requieminblack]

First sniff from the bottle- Smells like awapuhi shampoo.

 

After 20 minutes- This smells almost exactly like Machu Picchu. Like awapuhi shampoo. It has that fresh clean out of the shower smell. Like tropical flowers and soap.

 

Summery- This is a bit 'perfumy' for my taste.