I Died For Beauty

[Extispex]

The Venusian splendor of ylang ylang and violet stirred by hyssop, frankincense, and grave loam.

This arrived as a complimentary sample with a purchase. At first whiff, I was appalled and overwhelmed - way too flowery for me.

Upon application its still very floral, but so much more complex. The violet note is elusive and tricky, tends to rise up and dominate one moment, only to disappear the next, then surprising me again moments later. It reminds me of one of the most enjoyable jobs I ever had, tending violets in a greenhouse.

After drying, I Died for Beauty goes slightly powdery on me, but still very pleasant. Nothing to die for, but nice.

However, on my niece, this scent is glorious, heady and intoxicating, the florals gently balanced by the frankincense. A little to mature for her, but I bequeathed her the imp anyway. She loves it.

[Browneyes]

The boy is random. He liked the poem and ordered a whole bottle unsniffed for me didn't even care to ask about the notes. I guess he just doesn't realise that some things work on people and some things don't (although I do try to explain to him these very important things). Well, he was moderately lucky I guess:

 

Bottle: Parma violet and a mossy smell. So far so powdery (note: I actually don't mind powder if it is not too much)

Wet: Perfumey-powdery violet over sweet resins and mossy loam

Dry: Yeah, it's pretty. It's very sweet and feminine for sure. And soft and powdery. Powder. Pretty. Vintage-y vibes. No ylang ylang (at least not as I know it from EO's - this is my first perfume blend with it though). There's something dusty or smoky which gives it a slight edge, but not much.

Yeah I might wear it occasionally for him. But I certainly didn't need a full bottle! Although maybe it ages well, we'll see. In the meantime I need to get a decant kit so I can share some of this, because I don't need it all.

Edited April 14, 2007 by Browneyes

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

This is one of those scents that, barring any notes that really hate me, I had to have for the concept--a poem from the divine Belle of Amherst and just such an evocative title. So I'm hoping for somethng beautiful with an edge of emo to it. On me, I Died for Beauty is very soft and powdery with a touch of violet and very faint incense. It smells like a powder puff on Miss Havisham's dressing table--faded, wistful, with a lost remnant of beauty to it. I actually really like it, even though I can't imagine wearing it often. It captures a feeling so well.

[jiggahava]

The first impression I had of this scent fresh on my wrist was...baby wipes. It was super chemically smelling, and I wasn't sure I wanted it on my skin. Then after a few minutes it calms down to reveal the violet underneath. It's slightly dusty, but that's what violet always does on my skin. It's nice, but not my favorite floral. Then the hyssop and frankincense come out and ground the scent, making it richer and deeper. It's pleasant, but I'm satifsfied with just keeping the imp, but not getting a bottle.

 

Throw is strong at first, then fades quickly. I give this scent a B on my skin.

[Neely]

In the bottle: creamy blooms.

 

Wet: creamy blooms

 

Dry down: candy sweet florals. Uh oh, I was afraid of this. My chemistry likes to take florals and make them into candy, or powder. I was left to hope the grave loam and frankincense would ride to my rescue.

 

30 minutes: the sweetnes turned to honey, though that is not listed. Honey with light florals and frankincense and loam. Nice.

 

Conclusion: I like this more than I thought I would. It is lovely on me once the frankincense and grave loam temper the flowers. In fact this becomes a beautiful sophisticated womanly perfume. I am not sure about the dry down. Can I live with that stage until its loveliness is revealed?

 

Rating 1-5: inconclusive due to need for further testing.

[Jheya]

In the imp: Sweet, slightly powdery violet with an edge of frankincense.

 

On skin: The violet is a lot more subdued when first applied, which is a little disappointing as I rather like the note. Instead the frankincense comes through more strongly, making this smell a lot more incensey than it did in the imp.

 

The soft powdery violet combined with the frankincense gives this scent a muted, almost mournful air. I can detect a slight earthiness, but it's subtle and in the background.

 

I'm a little disappointed as it seemed promising to begin with, but it's dried down to be powdery incense combined with a melancholy cool violet. Pretty enough, but not one that wows me, and I can't really see myself wearing this. I have other predominantly violet blends which I love, so I think this one may end up in my swap pile as the others work better to sate my violet cravings.

[forspecial_plate]

This is an unusual floral scent. I had fun testing it because I didn't have the description or notes onhand, so I was just winging it.

 

Basically I got a soft, slightly powdery floral, indistinct as far as what flowers I was smelling. I didn't guess violet, although if I wear it again, I might pick that out. There was some unusual note waaay in the background that I couldn't identify, it kept dancing away, but it may have been the grave loam.

 

More than anything this was just well blended with no notes standing out. After a while, it reminded me just a little of hairspray. Also, it kept reminding me of one of the 'Heroines' scents, but I can't remember which one. The odd thing is, I really like how this smells on my skin, even though it's not my kind of thing at all, and even with the hairspray undertones. My wrist kept wandering back under my nose so I could smell it more. I like it but I probably will pass it along to someone who will actually wear it more than I would.

[SmileCat]

A dried bouquet of violets lain upon the forgotten grave of a loved one.

 

This is the only 'dirt' scent I like. Soft violets and loam, definitely loam not dust or dirt or anything else dirtish. Wistful, melancholy, and heartbreakingly beautiful. Once-bright colors faded with memory.

[tinyvulture]

i’m surprised at how much i’ve come to appreciate florals thanks to BPAL. not all of them are for me, but now i know i should at least try them out. i’m often pleasantly surprised – like now. this is gorgeous. sweet violet and spicy ylang ylang and combine perfectly. is there vanilla in this? it’s so sweet. i guess it’s just the frankincense resins amping up the sugary violet. i don’t smell grave loam at all. this really reminds me of an old fave, Morgause. i’m realizing how much i like violet!

[hellomoonglow]

In Imp: Reminds me of the perfume counters in an expensive department store. Lots of heady smells, swirling into one, pleasant conglomerate mass.

Wet: Already I love this! Strong perfume but not over kill. The darn Grog is too close and I’m getting some rum, too.

½ hr.Dry Down: The ylang ylang is very prevalent and mixes quite nicely with the frankincense. I don’t smell anything that jumps out at me as grave loam, so I’d be interested to smell another scent with loam as an ingredient. I like it but probably wouldn’t buy a bottle till the imp is gone. It’s not one I’d die without, but definetly a must-have.

[ClareN]

In vial: Sharp citrusy floral/resin with a hint of violet.

 

Wet: That powdery Pez candy smell. Citrusy resin and flowers. Makes me think of some kind of baby product - baby wipes?

 

Drydown: Sweet, soft, powdery floral with a little violet. Baby powder-ish, not in a bad way, but not terribly interesting. There's not much to say here. If you're looking for a good violet scent, I'd steer you to Queen Gertrude or Sybaris first.

 

Verdict:

Nothing to die for, but nice.

Ditto.

[aquazoo]

Ooooh, pretty! Warm and dry without being dirty and dusty. The florals are not overpowering the spices. This is a nice mix!

[zankoku_zen]

In the imp: Shrill floral

 

On Skin: Very shrill floral. My immediate reaction was ... what is this and why does it smell like a byproduct of a feline digestive system?

 

On Drydown: It's less shrill, slightly more soft, less pungent. I can smell some of the dirt.

 

Verdict: This just doesn't work on my skin. At all. I think the violet is way too sharp (I haven't had good luck with blends with violet as a component) and the BPAL dirt note smells just 'dirty' on me.

[MaidenGenevive]

I Died For Beauty

 

In vial, heady headache-inducing florals. Wet, a dizzying mixture of aggressive notes, sultry and commandingly feminine. This is so strong, I'm having trouble peeling the notes apart.

 

[2 - Dislike] This smells like a slutty college girl.

[eleventhousand]

Mr. Bubble!

...anything with violet smells of Mr. Bubble on me.

 

[maribouquet]

Mmm, frankincense and something a little bit fruity and mossy. I don't smell any violet (yay!) and the ylang-ylang is behaving...

[TPOD]

I got this as a frimp. Thanks!

 

Too bad I can't give a positive review.

Wet: An overpowering floral that I think is the ylang-ylang. YY is not something I'm familiar with though.

 

Dry: Oddly this seems to come and go on me. After a short time, I think it is almost entirely gone, and then I get a few moments of very pleasant, soft, violets. So lovely. They fade away too quickly and then I'm left with really strong paint thinner or turpentine smell. This is strongly evocative to me of my grandmother's china painting studio. The only other thing that has (so far) reminded me of that was a single note of Red Mandarin - though only when wet.

 

I have trouble with florals in general. sigh.

[AEris]

Wet, it smells just like the description - violet and ylang ylang, backed up by an incense note of frankincense, with a soft mossy scent creeping around way in the background.

 

As this dries, it turns powdery and a bit soapy, and the mossy/earthy scent comes out a bit more.

 

I like it at the beginning, but after this chicky dries, she starts rotting away and complaining about how she wasted her life.

 

Cleverly orchestrated, and fitting for the poem, but I won't be wearing this.

 

2.7 out of 5

[Czarina]

In the imp: violets (thank goodness).

Wet: violets and moss, but not wet moss, as in Saturnalia.

Drydown: achingly complex. I smell the violets, the hyssop and the resins, and the graveyard loam. I'm just not picking out the ylang-ylang on me.

 

On me this is a mature and sophisticated scent. The throw is good, I'm not sure about the wearlength because I went to bed fairly soon after I tried this.

 

After so many disappointments this could be my Holy Grail of violet scents.

Edited January 19, 2008 by Czarina

[Shollin]

First sniff: Funeral flowers with an edge of bright sweetness.

 

Wearing: Hello, violet! You always turn to powder on me, and you’re staying very true to your nature. Ah well.

[erraticprophet]

Initial Impression: powdery floral

 

On Wet: violet, frankincense, something that smells vaguely grassy

 

On Dry: ylang ylang, moss, violet, hint of frankincense

 

Final Impression: I'm shocked that I love something that smells so sweet, but I do.

 

Rating (on a scale from 1-5): 4.5

[Ajila]

In the bottle – The candyish sweetness of the violets

 

Wet on me – It’s all a bit muddled but the frankincense dominates over some soapy florals

 

Dry on me – Soap. Occasionally the violets peek through, but mainly it’s just soap.

 

Overall – I was expecting not to like this because ylang-ylang doesn’t really work on me, but in the end the soap killed it instead

[hkhm]

imp: violet and frankincense.

 

wet: there is a creamy scent here that is mixing with both the frankincense and violet. i wish this had more of a dirt scent from the grave loam, it really smells like a dessert scent on me.

 

dry: this dries to a super-sweet, creamy-thick frankincense with a light hint of violet. i think a bottle is in my future.

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: A deep and resinous (though not overly sweet) floral and lush moss scent.

 

Immediately on skin: This is a very dry scent on my skin. The ylang ylang and violet mix creates a very interesting sweet but deep and smoky floral feel, while the frankincense in the background adds a resinous depth to the blend. There’s a sharp top note in this… I can feel it in my nose as I sniff. I can’t really tell what it is, though.

 

After a little while: This transformed after a few minutes into a very perfume-y fragrance. It’s very floral with hints of resin and a deep and sweet smokiness. The ylang ylang and violet are identifiable, but blend together almost totally.

 

Overall Impressions: This blend very much surprised me. I was expecting something a bit more unisex, but this is actually quite feminine on me. The ylang ylang and violet blend together beautifully, and mix well with the other notes. It’s mysterious, dark, slightly sweet and floral, and a bit smoky and resinous. I don’t get any moss from this after it dries, but it’s still a nice fragrance.

[fairnymph]

In the bottle: Sweet, slightly earthy floral. Violet hits first, followed by ylang-ylang.

 

Wet: Ylang ylang takes over on my skin. The violet and hyssop are delightful but hidden. I can tell this will go powdery, sadly.

 

Off to the sink!