Berenice

[ocicat]

A cerebral scent, dry, and white. This is a perfume of thought, not heart, and of unforeseen pain and sudden obsession, touched with uncertain twilight and ambiguous horror. Stargazer lily, white musk, clear aloe, blonde amber and winding-cloth linen.

Arg. ARG. Why do I always fall for the LEs????

Berenice = divinity.

It's the only scent that actually makes my boyfriend's eyes roll back in his head. On two separate occasions, he's buried his nose in my neck and said "What *is* that?". The only one he likes to the same amount would be Pink Moon (another bloody LE!).

Even my mom likes Berenice, and my mom wrinkles her nose at anything that isn't pure lavender.

Berenice just gives me the shivers. It's such an evocative perfume. It's high tea with a twist. It has claws, but they're hidden.

I know this isn't the most helpful review, but it's all I can do to not type something like:

"JEORUIJFISDKJFSDKLJF".

Because Berenice reduces me to a place beyond literacy.

[jidabug]

This was completely medicinal and sharp, with the aloe coming out strong. After drydown it smelled like the stuff Mom used to put on burns and cuts to numb and clean them. Bactine? Something like that. Anyway, it's very clinical and dry, with a bit of powder to it.

[Voleuse]

This is definitely a "white" scent, clean and pure and faintly sweet. It's lovely! The lily and linen are the predominant notes at first, but it dries, they fade into the aloe and musk.

 

Over time, the musk becomes the predominant note, one that's close to the skin. It's unassuming and a little brittle. I prefer the initial smell to the one I end up with, but it's a pretty scent nonetheless.

[QueenFae]

A very clean, white scent! Before I read the ingredients, I was sure there was green tea in it, but I think it must have been the aloe I was detecting. The top notes are green, herbally, and fresh; a little bit sharp, but in a good, energizing way. The lily and the amber are a soft, lovely undershadow to the greeness. The linens rest gently underneath all the other notes, barely there, but they add to the complexity of the blend. A very lovely blend, I think I will definitely be purchasing a 5 ml before Maelstrom comes down.

[GemmaCat]

This instantly made me think of very fine, very expensive cologne. It has an almost cucumber-cool note, which i suspect is the aloe, but I didn't really get the linen scent, more a masculine cologne.

 

Very nice and fresh, but not for me.

[Ajila]

In the bottle - White musk (just like the old body shop range). Dry and perfumy.

Wet on me - At first lily and then a kind of soapy cleaness.

Dry on me - This is very much a scent of the moment, the snow is thawing and the snowdrops and crocus' are showing again. In feel it's very similar to Prague. It fades very quickly, leaving a sweetish musk tail.

[GypsyRoseRed]

The best way I can describe Berenice is "pure". It's a clean, white, pure scent that isn't neccessarily floral or fruity, or anything I can put my finger on. I can say that it's unlike anything in the general catalog, so if you're a lover of fresh, clean perfumes, this is an absolute must-try.

[malanna]

I tried this at an Austin meet up and rather liked it, so I put it on my wishlist. This is a frimp from the lovely dpoulsen21.

 

Berenice starts out gorgeously. It's all soft and white; it smells like white musk and stargazer lily single note. I say single note, because while I love, love, loved the single note, I haven't been so into the stargazer lily in some BPAL scents. It definitely smelled like Antique Lace without the linen, which for me means that it wasn't sickeningly sweet vanilla, a very good thing. So yes, I really loved this stage. After an hour, the aloe really comes out and only gets stronger over time. It's not bad with the aloe, but I really liked Berenice in the first stage. Ah, well. I'm happy to have gotten the chance to try it.

 

Thanks dpoulsen21!

[eleventhousand]

Clean and cool and pure and elegant and absolutely not me at all.

I was hoping for more warmth and more lilies.

[girlmadasbirds]

this is really pretty! i love stargazer lilies and this doesn't disappoint. the musk and amber keep it from being floral overkill and the aloe and linen give a nice "clean" fresh smell. definitely a keeper.

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

As luck would have it, this was a scent I didn't order because the story squicks me the frack out, but then the reviews made me realize my Mom might love the notes. So I have an imp now, and will be tucking it in with the Mother's Day gifts. Berenice is completely clear in the vial. On me...uh-oh, maybe I should order a bottle. Mom will love this, and I'd be glad to keep the imp for myself! Clean, calm, aquatic with softest white musk, a *tiny* touch of floral, and the lovely linen note from White Rabbit and Dirty. Yep, this is closer to White Linen than any BPAL I've smelled, and that's Mom's signature scent. Good thing there's still time to order!

[Mary Mayhem]

Bottle: Bubbles. Wha?

 

This smells like light and airy bubbles to me. Not too much different than Morella. A bit of floral. Not for me.

[gingersnapp]

This was very slightly sweet and almost aquatic, like others have mentioned... almost like an aloe water. It wasn't floral in the sense that it smelled like a bouquet of flowers, but it was soft and feminine and almost like a fancy soap... without smelling soapy, if that makes any sense.

 

It was delicate and fragile, and the white musk made it very ethereal.

[themerrybaker]

Yes, this is lovely and a good example of the "dry white" description from the Lab.

 

 

 

I love the crispness of the scent for most of the day, but Berenice does need a reapplication because when it's done it's vanilla? Which is OK in itself, but not at all like what you started out wearing.

[LiberAmoris]

Berenice does definitely smell 'pure,' as other reviewers have mentioned. It's perfect for the springtime due to that lovely lily note which really smells like fresh and budding flowers. And the aloe gives it such a green tone, green and almost aquatic.

 

The white musk and the amber are perfect together, balancing each other out. The amber warms up the blend and gives it a bit of sweetness, while the musk gives it a slightly ethereal quality. And if you like the linen note in White Rabbit or Dirty, it's here as well, although it's not quite as prominent as in those blends.

 

In a way, Berenice strikes me as being in the same 'family' as House of Mirrors. Maybe it's the combination of the amber with a slight aquatic (or what my nose reads as aquatic).

 

Berenice is definitely a keeper. I'm going to decant some of my bottle for a friend who has yet to succumb to BPAL, as I think this is the kind of blend that will finally win her over.

[Jettcat]

In the bottle: I can't even identify what that is, smells odd tho...

 

Wet: Wow! What a transformation, oh god LILIES!! Oh yum, every scent that has a strong lily note, I love.

 

Dry: Morphs a bit and I'm getting some the amber and linen notes. They are a mood enhancer, I'm nice and relaxed. Ah Aromatherapy!

 

1 hour later: I'm SO glad a managed to get a bottle of this before everyone realizes what a treasure it is and it becomes ridiculously priced.

 

This smells so completely different from bottle to skin that I'm sure some probably wrote it off without getting past the sniffing stage.

[summer]

Berenice is lovely. A cool, elegant perfume, like I imagine a young, stylish French woman would wear. It is sophisticated without being flashy or stodgy. That's why I think of France, where sophistication is often evidenced by the most simple, natural, subtle things of impeccible quality. That's what Berenice smells like.

 

I smell a clean white musk laced with a slightly dewy, aquatic perfume. It is smooth and demure, slightly sweet, and innocent in a classic, classy way.

 

Very subtle, and I can see wearing this at work when I want to be "appropriate," but also wearing it, say, at the beach, when I want to wear something relaxed, fresh, and pretty.

[dancink]

In the imp: Egad, aquatic floral! ::sneezes::

 

Wet: I persevered in testing this because of all the gushing reviews, and whilst I'm still fighting the urge to sneeze from the lily top note, there is a lovely base of amber and musk that's making me sniff my wrist again and again. As the lily dies down it becomes less aquatic and more warm, and I can see the comparisons to freshly laundered sheets – it's a bit like ducking amongst sheets drying in the sun on the washing line.

 

Dry: Still a fair bit of lily but not as overpowering, and the musk and amber is more pronounced. It's very pretty, but not really me at all, and it's still wreaking havoc with my sinuses so I'm thinking it'll be going into the swaps pile. A pity – I think I'd love this without the lily note.

 

2.5 out of 5

[Eunice]

This is so lovely and light! The white musk is very faint and plays well with the aloe and lily. I had imagined this being more floral but it is much more clean and light. I don't really get the amber until this warms up on my skin. Berenice smells so wonderful and I missed out on getting this in a large bottle.

 

ADDED June 7:

 

This is so incredibly elegant! I'm not sure I can begins to describe Berenice accurately. This is very green and floral at first. There is an edge to this that I can't quite place. It works nicely to keep Berenice from going too feminine and floral. This smells very much like a hot summer day. This scent is tied together so well. I am so happy I have a bottle!!

[Rusalka]

This is such an unusual scent. In the bottle, it's lemon-scented linen: more clinical than comforting, with an edge that's pale and merciless. My skin magnified that hint of lemon into a monster; it wasn't until some time after drydown that I could catch a hint of the lily, and usually my chemistry will amplify it very well. I spent several hours sniffing at my wrist, not particularly pleased by the whole thing, and remembering very belatedly that amber really doesn't generally work for me --

 

When all of a sudden, the whole scent transformed; a subtle sweetness began to spread through it, smothering the lemon's harsh edge -- is it aloe? The white musk? I have no idea, but it feels like very pale honey to me, and the end result is delicate and quite delicious. What a surprise!

[gwyllgi]

Berenice for some reason makes me think of outdoor parties, where the women are in stiffly-starched dresses and the men are in waistcoats - the kind of party where 'outdoor' is a technicality, and everything is as perfectly orchestrated as the stuffiest indoor function.

 

It's a pretty scent, but cold and distant. It's actually a cooling scent - the aloe, I think - as though you're sitting in a draft, no matter how hot the day. The lily dominates early and keeps the lead, the other notes merging beautifully in its wake.

 

I'm rather sorry I only picked up one bottle of this, really.

[brownbear]

Wow I love this combination of notes. The linen, the aloe, the white musk. It's very crispy and light. This will be very nice for summer. Mmm I want to roll around in it.

[grrrlennyl]

at first: a fresh, clean, and light floral.

on: very spring-like. this is also quite aquatic, while still being floral and fresh.

1.5 hours later: sweeter. the musk is coming forward. it's much less aquatic and more of a light floral/musk blend.

2.5 hours later: sweet, powdery musk. very pretty.

5.5 hours later: faintly musky and floral.

overall: this is a really, really pretty oil, but i don't think i'd gravitate toward it often.

[eviltemptressdq]

i love this scent...

 

at first, in the bottle, i smell that "linen" smell it boasts in the description. Very much like a laundry detergent (my favorite!).

 

on me, it is the linen, with some floral in there...

 

after a while, though, the musk completely takes over... which is disappointing. it isn't BAD, per se, I just love the first part so much more! LOL.

 

[dragonryder]

Musky floral, great combo. This is light and airy, love it!