Helena

[lilirose]

Rose amber, calla lily, night-blooming jasmine, water lily, and white rose.

Considering my username, I had no choice but to try this, and it's my favourite BPAL rose scent so far.

In the imp, rosey, but very natural and soft.

Wet on skin- Rose. Real rose, not air-freshener rose. Quite quiet and soft, as rose often starts on me.

Dry: Continued to be rose for a couple of hours, then the jasmine and lily began to creep in slowly. The scent seemed to get stronger as the hours passed. Now, a full nine hours after applying, it's sweet, rosy floral- mostly jasmine, but clear rose, and a touch of lilies in the bright summer sun (I guess that's the amber?).

I like this very much, and am just on my way to add it to my 5ml wishlist.

[blacklacestatic]

In the imp: A very pretty floral

 

Wet: Ugh! There's something that's not working here. It smells to me like a nursing home-sanitary and sterile, but with decaying bouquets of flowers throughout. My skin is not taking to kindly to the rose. It's a little heavy for me, and it's pretty much all I can smell.

 

Dry: Morph city! It's calmed down, turned sweeter, softer, it's the very pretty floral from the imp once again.

 

Most Bpal scents take a little while to warm up to my skin, and once this did, it was lovely. However, getting there was tough. I'd give it a 2 out of 5.

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

I'm very wary of the jasmine here, but I love the other notes so much that I'll give it a try--besides, I couldn't order Hermia without Helena; best friends should be together!

 

Mmm, I am happy to say that the white rose and water lily bloom on my skin and are just beautiful; those are two of my favorites notes--the only thing better would be to add some ivy. On the drydown, the jasmine tries to peek out, but is mercifully squashed by amber. This is a much softer, more romantic, less "feisty" scent than Hermia, and I like it for different reasons. It has something of the same wistfulness as Ophelia.

[topazphoenix]

I received Helena as a frimp from the lab. And did a double take sniffing my wrist. This smelled exactly like Amsterdam with a little rose added.

Edited July 10, 2009 by AmandaKay

[prettybird]

It's very rosy, which is usually a bad thing. But, for some reason, this works for me. I think it's the lilies coming through. It has mad crazy INSANE throw, so it is not to be taken lightly, but I quite enjoy it. I wouldn't buy more, but I'll definitely be using my imp.

[VioletChaos]

in the imp: lots of rose, but in a gentle, non-cloying way.

 

wet on skin: rose rose rose. like being in a rose garden- it's really natural, not perfume rose at ALL.

 

dry down: gorgeous rose! anyone that knows me knows that i'm not big on florals, but man oh man is this a keeper.

 

in all: not only do i love this, but i think THIS is the one i've been waiting for, to enable my best friend with!

 

 

 

[fairnymph]

In the bottle: Rose, lilies, jasmine, amber! Heady floral.

 

Wet: The rose is definitely strongest, with the warmth of amber behind it. This is a powerful, womanly scent. The jasmine is playing nice, so far.

 

Dry: Pretty much the same. Very little morphing, and a lovely deep, complex blend.

 

Summary: After an hour or so, it goes a bit powdery as amber tends to on my skin. It's still a rich multifaceted floral with rose dominating, but too strong and warm for me.

[savage_rose]

The rose is very well-balanced with the white floralness of the lily and the jasminosity of the jasmine. Lovely, light, beautiful. But it fades way too quickly...sigh.

[theseagrows]

i often love rose, but there are times when it misses, and this is one of them. as others have said, helena makes a sharp, sour rose on my skin. i detect wateriness, so that must be the water lily. other than that, i can't pick out any notes. this just doesn't work with my skin chemistry, so i'll have to swap it.

[donnatron]

Imp: Something like hair gel. Nice hair gel, of course, but something reminiscent of hair gel.

 

Wet: This smells like a rose bush. Not the roses themselves, but mostly a heavy green scent with the faintest breath of roses. It's a bit sour and I'm unsurprised, as I remember that white rose hates me with the fire of a thousand burning suns.

 

Dry: The white rose is still a little "And your mother, too" but it calms down into a light white flower scent. The jasmine hasn't even bothered to peak out, but the lilies are happy to do their thing. A very obviously lily scent with an undercurrent of fresh water. I can smell the faintest hint of spice--I think it's the amber.

 

Throw: Average.

 

Overall: A very pretty and flirty lily blend. Nice and light for summer with florals that keep smelling like florals after application. I like it, but I won't be hankering after it once I finish my imp up.

[aestien]

Bottle: a lot of rose, jasmine and lily

Wet: this is a surprise, the rose is actually playing nice with the jasmine. Usually jasmine rose combos are baby powder on me, but no, the rose is staying forefront, this is a very rose-centric blend on me, but the jasmine and the lily give it a nice lightness

Dry: Still mostly rose, but a very nice rose, with the lovely white florals and a great warm amber base

 

This one really surprised me, I wasn’t expecting to like this one, but I think the lily and the amber save this one from powder doom, and the rose really is a very nice rose. I’ll continue to wear it to see how I like it as it gets warmer, but I’m very pleased.

[Caerphilly]

This was my first big bottle and it's my favorite BPAL scent so far!

 

In the bottle it smells exactly as it does on me, which is not usually the case. Roses, waterlily, and jasmine. The smell stays on my skin and doesn't change all day. The combination of the florals mix well enough together that one doesn't really overpower the other, but I can tell that they're all there. It's a clean sweet scent.

 

It's powdery, but not too strong and overpowering. Not sickly sweet, but nice and delicate. I put it on in the morning and can smell it all day into the evening.

 

It's beautiful. Not for everyone, but it's a smell I love and have been looking for!

[greenranger]

A frimp from the lab. =)

 

Roses. They start off sweet and then intensify as they amp. If there's anything left after they burn off...

[Kabooki]

This is one that doesn't change at all on me, it starts off as a nice clean Rose WAter and thats how it stays, and let me tell you when I say this stays, this STAYS its been nice a strong all afternoon long. Such a pretty scent

[skepticism]

Helena smelled a lot like Eos, Nyx, and Nuit in the vial but with a strong note of freshly cut rose in the foreground. Jasmine is such a dominating scent to my nose and on my skin. The only difference between Helena and othe jasmine blends is the lighter air of sophistication I felt while wearing it. I think it parallels Eos well, but a bit less dominating.

 

As it dried it became slightly powdery, but not too much (powdery drydowns are a dealbreaker for me). I like this scent, but I'm still waffling about it. I really like how green and sour it stays on before complete drydown. Might have to stow it away and see if it passes a second test run.

[innocent]

Rose and I get along.

Lily and I fight sometimes (esp white lilies).

Jasmine goes to soap on my skin.

 

That being said, Helena stays pleasant. It's more lily than rose on me, which is too bad, but the jasmine is kept in check. It's a bit sharper than I usually like my florals, so it won't be displacing any favorites, but its still quite nice. An imp to keep around for those days when I feel like wearing a white dress.

[milo]

Helena has great throw. Just a little dab will do you, and silly me slathered on a first try. The rose really is overwhelming and seldom works on me. I smell a whiff of honey, which is not good on me as well. My husband asked me what smelled so good, but too bad for him I'm not going to be wearing it again. Ah well.

[Iceblink]

Ooh, this is so rosey and nice wet (as a Black Rose lover, amber + rose is always going to have my love) but the lily and jasmine turn into soap in the blink of an eye. The nice expensive kind of soap, but still...rats.

[steffanina]

Helena-

 

In Bottle: Pale, pale rose. Wan, even. Something thin and watery and base is trying to cling to it, like baby's urine or chamomile tea.

 

Wet: Same pale rose and chamomile tea feeling.

 

Dry: I just can't get anything more from this one than that pale, wan rose. And now the base smell is more like urine. My chemistry hasn't done anything good for this, I'm afraid!

 

Overall: Not for me.

[obsidienne]

Helena is overall a soft and quite fascinating lily-rose blend on me, with a hint of amber (which is always a little sharp to my nose, but here it keeps this blend from going too sweet and provides some interest), and with a hint of jasmine. Normally I loathe jasmine and find it overpowering, but here it's working quite well, producing a depth to the lily-rose. The perfume just doesn't smell like I imagined, but in a good way.

 

It reminds me of Ophelia a great deal, but sans the lotus note, which I am liking less and less.

 

Helena has mild throw and fairly short staying power. I put it in a scent locket for that reason, and it doesn't smell as good as on my skin (I notice the amber and metal from the locket a lot more), so I keep applying it directly on my wrist despite the locket.

 

3.5/5

[mgrazulis]

In the imp: watery, soft white rose

 

Wet: a strong tea rose and gentle aroma of white lilies, a beautiful bouquet!

 

Drydown: Rose is still in the forefront with the lillies holding it up. None is cloying--these are clean, fresh white flower scents. Later, a resinous warmth from the amber and a whispery note of nightblooming jasmine. Nothing very complex. Wonderful sillage.

 

A blend that will please white flower lovers...I like whites with a bit more resin than is here. Next, will try in my scent locket.

[inkaddict]

In the imp: soft, delicate floral, with something green in the background.

 

Wet: mmm, rose! After the heartbreak of 2,5,7 and my skin eating up all the rose in Zombi I'm so happy I'm literally squeeing. It's still soft and lovely.

 

Dry: I started squeeing too soon, this is turning into soap. Yup: cheap floral soap with heavy, smothering rose. there's still a faint trace of greenery in the background, but not enough to lighten this up. Sigh.

 

*off to try another rose blend, I will not give up!*

[Lyrical]

In vial: rose and amber is pretty, but jasmine is lurking and threatening to ruin it for me. (Jasmine is not my friend.)

 

Wet on skin: quite similar to The Presence of Love (rose-swirled amber and jasmine), but tamer and less fresh. A soft bouquet of flowers in muted colours.

 

Dry on skin: very floral and not me at all.

[asciident]

Wet: Rose and jasmine. Super floral. I can already tell I'm not going to be a fan...

 

First on: SOAP! Eugh.

 

Dry: ...Completely gone. I can't say I'm sad about this.

[thelaurenator]

Wow, I actually hate this, and I love amber, roses, and lilies. But this is very sharp and ammonia like. You know the dreaded cat pee note? This is it, with a tad of rose and powder. Not a fan. This smells very much like the Miller's Daughter, a sharp, powdery rose... but I didn't like that one either.