Yvaine

[Delirium1009]

The high, crystalline scent of a star-filled night with blue lavender and lush magnolia.

This scent morphed quite a bit on me. When it was still wet, it was strong lavender with white flowers strewn around. Very pretty and pleasant, but a little strong.

After a little while this turned into a more unisex lavender scent... I couldn't smell any floral notes or any sort of sweetness in it at all.

I let it settle for another couple of hours and... sandalwood?!? Where the heck did that come from? It stayed that warm scent until it faded completely. VERY unusual!

[reenie212]

I was a little afraid to put this on my skin after smelling it in the imp. The lavender was incredibly sharp, and a bit scary smelling. However, once on my skin, it morphed in to a cool, crisp, lavender, which I quite like. I think this might a good bedtime scent. I also find it reminiscent of Bat-Woman (which I really should wear more often!). For now, I think I'll stick with the imp, but I may upgrade to a bottle in the future.

[anomie]

I just want to note that I wore Yvaine to go see the Stardust movie last night. I'm hopeless.

 

In the bottle it's just something sharp and cold that stings the nostrils. But once it's on, it's lavender - and metal! Reminds me of nothing so much as when I used to empty my piggy bank and sort all the coins, that same scent of a pile of cool metal. But it morphs very quickly into a delicate floral - I assume it's the magnolia, though I don't know that note very well, and the lavender's still prominent.

 

Overall, a cool and soothing scent, perfect for watching the stars shine.

[tristessa]

I went to the Bat's Day Out in Anaheim and snatched a bottle of Yvaine as quickly as I could! After loving the book and seeing the movie I was a bit obsessed over it. When I first smelled it- I totally hated it and thought it was way too harsh to characterize Neil Gaimen's fallen star. But I had to buy it anyways... I thought... you have to give it a chance!

 

Wet: It's kinda harsh and nasty. As so was Yvaine when she first comes to meet Tristan right?

 

Dry: Oh my god. I freaking love this scent!!!! It quickly fades to such a nice and sweet musky scent. Probably the magnolia. It is one of those where I keep smelling my arm over and over.

 

Few hours later: Pleasantly surprised it lasted this long on me. Nothing I've tried seems to last very long. I just love it. It just chills me right out.

 

I've been looking for the perfect scent to wear on my wedding day and it looks like I've found it! The lavender will even help to soothe my nerves... I can't wait to wear it. THANKS BETH!

[Keslynn]

Normally, BPAL lavender scents tend to behave the same for me. In the bottle and initially on my skin, it's all lavender. Then the lavender will step back, or more often disappear completely, to let the other notes come out to play. Yvaine was no different although the lavender seemed to take much longer to fade than most other blends.

 

In the bottle and on my skin, Yvaine is pretty much lavender single note.

 

A little while later, the lavender gets a slightly sweeter edge though it's still all lavender stealing the show.

 

Finally, after a few hours, the lavender has stepped aside to let the magnolia shine. Unfortunately, it seems I don't like magnolia. It's kind of soapy and a little to perfumey sweet to my nose.

 

Verdict: I will have to admire the twinkling Yvaine in the book because she doesn't work on my skin.

[storme]

In the imp: oh, that's a gorgeous soft sweet lavender.

 

On me, wet: mmm lavender - there's a slightly clean-cologney background to this, too.

 

On me, dry: wow, the magnolia has really come forward, and there's a brightness and cleanness to this otherwise soft, floral musk.

 

Verdict: it's beautiful - and the SO really likes it. I think I'll be keeping this around - and maybe grabbing a bottle at some point.

[JennyGardener]

Oh, Yvaine is so beautiful! It really is like a starlit night. So cool, and refreshing, and out of this world lovely! And it doesn't morph or turn to soap on me, so I am delighted and utterly enchanted. We are planning an astronomy night for a homeschool group, and I can't wait to wear Yvaine.

[filigree_shadow]

Lavender usually is a no-no note for me -- mainly because I don't particularly care for the scent but also because it tends to be VERY LOUD on me. Too strong. I feel like I'm walking around in a lavender cloud. Sometimes, if it's really gentle and mild and tempered by softer notes, I can sort of tolerate it. So far I haven't found a lavender perfume I like enough to wear with any sort of regularity, though.

 

I will say, with this one, it has a sparkly quality to it that is much more pleasant than that sharp herbal tone lavender can sometimes get.

 

After about an hour or so, the lavender is barely noticeable, and it seems like it's mostly magnolia with a hint of soft lavender. It smells like a nighttime scent. I like it better at this stage, but not enough for it to become a favorite.

[mspixieears]

Immediately one is greeted by the smell of lavender. As the oil begins to dry the magnolia comes out to play – it’s very fresh and uplifting. Not sure that it is to my liking as the magnolia isn’t strong enough for me. Generally, too muted a fragrance to what I’ve come to expect from BPAL but it is nice and very inoffensive.

[cinderfallen]

This scent encapsulates the character quite well, I thought. Usually, the descriptions are hit or miss for me, but I could see it perfectly this time. The perfumes opens with notes of lavender, and it's a cold, high note; as the description says, crystalline. It smells like that whiff of cold night air. Then the perfume almost abruptly softens, and the magnolia comes into the mix on drydown; it smells almost completely different: softer and more feminine, sweet, almost aquatic with the slightest sugar. It almost smells fruity/citrus(!) and reminds me a bit of Chance by Chanel. Huh.

 

I quite like this.

 

Edited to add that on subsequent wears, this shot to my absolute favorite list, along with Black Lace, Mme. Moriarty, and Belle Epoque. This is lavender for the lavender-doubters, floral for the floral-fearers. It smells expensive and multi-faceted, and I adore it.

 

PPS!: I was cooking today, and I realized that hey--the opening top notes smells exactly, exactly like crushed basil: that slightly high, crisp note, the underlying, slightly watery sweetness, that crunch of herbalness.... I feel a little weird now knowing I love the scent of basil as a perfume. *g*

Edited May 27, 2008 by cinderfallen

[euterpe414]

Yvaine starts off as pure lavender on my skin. Very high pitched and sharp. Later the magnolia appears when it has dried, and it becomes very sweet with a hint of the sharp lavender in the background. There are other notes in this, but I am having a hardtime picking them out. Possibly a sugary note and some light skin musk as well... Normally I do not like magnolia, but I really find myself sniffing the spot on my arm again and again. It's such a soothing, sweet and feminine smell without being cloying or old lady-ish.

 

Yvaine is definitely a perfect scent for the character, and I will be adding this one to my bottle wishlist asap. Lovely!!

[siriusstar]

Easily my favorite BPAL so far this year!

 

It has the same clear and cool quality as some of BPAL's other 'starry' scents, but is a bit lusher. I don't smell the lavender, except as adding a cool, herbal quality to the lushness of the white magnolia. I love lavender, but it dissappears on me in an hour or less. This sticks around for a long time with good throw. It is a midsummer's garden beneath a starlit sky. I LOVE it!

[Mamacat]

Wet: It's very lavender with something fresh underneath

After a few minutes: The lavender fades a bit and I start smelling the fresh floral underneath. It's almost grassy, clover. If that's the magnolia

then I'll be hunting down more blends with magnolia

Dry: What a sweet, fresh, clear, flowery blend. A fresh floral, I suppose. The lavender is just a background note now and all of the other notes are shining through. Gorgeous. I think I'll need another bottle soon.

[n3m3sis42]

In the bottle:

To me, this actually smelled like ozone when I sniffed the bottle. I didn't remember what notes were in this blend and could not place what the smell was. Even though I had been looking forward to trying Yvaine for a while, I was kind of scared by the first sniff.

 

Wet:

Still a little ozone-y, but mostly strong lavender, and no longer off-putting. And a sweet floral underneath. This is very pretty.

 

Dry:

On the drydown, this has an almost aquatic note. It's very pretty, and I think it's going to work well for me.

 

ADDED June 25:

 

This blend smelled so sharp to me in the bottle that I couldn't bring myself to try it when I first received it, which would be months ago now. I don't have any problem with lavender, but in the bottle, this smelled... acrid, I guess. I was scared of it and then I sort of got distracted and forgot to go back and try it later. My husband bought me some shelves the other day on which to store and display my BPAL, and I now have a better view of all of my bottles, which reminded me that I'd never gotten around to trying poor Yvaine.

 

Yesterday, I was brave enough to apply this blend, and I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised. It has a sharp, almost gingery tang to it, but it's beautiful. It really didn't smell floral or lavender-y on me, but maybe "crystalline" is a good description. It is sort of ballsy and aggressive (in a feminine way, though) at first, but backs off a LOT within the first 30-60 minutes of wear. This scent was actually fairly calm on me after that point, and I did pick up both floral and "spicy" notes for the next few hours after that.

 

I would agree with those who said that this scent is a very good interpretation of the character it represents. All bite at first, calm and soft and beautiful later, until it eventually fades away.

[zankoku_zen]

I originally shied away from this scent because magnolia and I don't get along.

 

I have to say that this time, she and I play nicely together. At the beginning, this is a slightly ozoney, lavender sort of blend without the lavender being too much. It softens a little but retains that same sort of airy quality. The floral nature of it changes from lavender to some other floral, which I assume is the magnolia.

 

In short, this is pretty, airy, crystalline and just a bit haughty. Very much like Yvaine herself, with a core of warmth but wrapped in coolness.

[crimescenecleanup]

Something has happened to my skin chemistry in recent weeks that causes BPAL scents to stay pretty much the same throughout the whole drydown process. I really like this change and I hope it sticks around.

 

Anyway. Yvaine was a scent i was really looking forward to. I've never been a fan of lavender in perfume or florals in general, but I loved the character, and I thought, if anyone pull it off, Beth could.

 

I wasn't disapointed. Yvaine is very true to the description - cold and crystalline. The color it evokes is dark blue or indigo. I'm really curious what species of lavender was used, because unlike the usual biting, weedy astringency I get from lavender this is very clean and cool and ethereal. I want to say there's a hint of lilac in there somewhere, but I'm not sure. The magnolia is very gentle and just sort of rounds it out, and has that almost medicinal (but not unpleasant) scent I usually get from magnolias. This is a floral without any sweetness, mysterious and sparkling.

 

At first it was super light and airy on my skin, which has been devouring BPAL lately never to be smelled again so I slathered it on my pulse points and hair hoping that some would survive, and totally forgot the awesome throw and staying power of lavender essential oil.

 

I spilled a couple drops on the counter while I was doing this, and my partner came rushing in saying "what on earth is that? an air freshener or something? It's very floral...only...not? I can smell it from the opposite end of the house.

 

Woops. So, yes, this does have immense throw and staying power, as I can testify that it was still very true and very pretty twelve hours later.

 

Luckily the overwhelming scent of Yvaine dissapated quite a bit when I opened a window and cleaned up the spilled drops. Also, either I completely lack the ability to throw or amp scents anymore or Yvaine mellows out a bit on the drydown because my friends could only notice the scent when they came close to hug me, and everyone liked it.

 

So all in all - a unique beauty, cold, feisty and totally lovable - just like Yvaine from Stardust.

Edited October 22, 2007 by crimescenecleanup

[ziggystardust]

Preconception: Love Yvaine, love lavender, entirely terrified of magnolia. I gambled on it anyway, hoping that this would be a surprise blend where a note I don't care for turns into one that works.

 

From the imp: Astringent lavender. Sharp, wet, cold, and reminiscent of my precious Oneiroi. Happy was I!

 

Wet: Pretty much true to the imp. Joy, joy, etc.

 

Dry: Pretty much what other people here have experienced - after a couple of hours, the lavender calmed down and and the magnolia went to party. Sadly, this was exactly what I was afraid of, as my skin amps so many florals. Still, it's quiet enough to be tolerable, and I felt no particular need to wash it off. Plus it wore off after about a couple more hours.

 

Overall: While Yvaine and I got off to a great start, she dumped me in the end - guess I'm no Tristran. ._. To be fair, the floral didn't make me run screaming, so it was an amicable breakup. We may get together for an occassional fling, though - I figure if I use her as a sleep blend, I'll be out by the time she gets her clothes and leaves.

 

5ml Purchase Possibility: For the scent, no - I'd be happy with the imp I've got. But for the utterly gorgeous label art? My bank account is sad due to sheer possibility.

[CrazyPretzel]

This is the most incredibly *blue* scent. Blue is my favourite colour. Yvaine and I get along very well together.

 

This is the deepest, sexiest, most enticing, most downright expensive-smelling lavender I have ever been acquainted with. Absolutely exquisite. Lavender is so simple, and yet I can't imagine any situation where this wouldn't be formal enough. This is something I'd seriously consider wearing on my wedding day.

[akiko]

(First imp, first review!)

 

In the bottle, I smelled mostly lavender. Very strongly. I was nervous to apply it, because strong florals don't agree with my sinuses, but I did it anyway.

 

Wet on my wrist, it still smelled mostly lavender, fairly sharp.

 

Once it dried, I picked up more of the magnolia smell, which made me happy, because I love magnolia trees.

 

And 9 hours since I applied it, my wrist still smells like a giant magnolia blossom. I think I like it, but I'll have to try it again

 

Edited to add: I tried it again today, and I used a teeny drop - the tip of the wand-cap. I think I got way too much yesterday morning, because it's not aggravating my sinuses nearly as much, which makes it a lot more pleasant. It smells similar, just not overpowering, and I like it. I don't think it's going to be an every-day scent, but I think it's a keeper.

Edited November 17, 2007 by Winterwind

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

I so adore the character of Yvaine that I was inclined to put her on my wishlist right away; however, the notes made me pause. I like lavender very much in all its sharp herbal glory ( ), but its "mood" is really different from soft, sweet magnolia. When I got to test Yvaine, that was indeed my impression--really sharp lavender, with the magnolia fading out and going rather powdery. The notes didn't really "get along" very well for me. So, I will always think of Evening Star as Yvaine's scent--it's one of my all-time OMG-Loooooove scents, and the name is just as fitting.

[suileach]

Oh, Yvaine! I was not anticipating loving you this much.

 

So delicate, soft and, indeed, crystalline. It's like a whisper on the night air. The lavender is quiet in this, subdued and hushed by fallen magnolia blossoms. There's a light, light musky hint to it as it dries that reminds me vaguely of a white musk blend I used to have.

 

Wearing it is like being enveloped in a soft, fluffy purple blanket. It is stunningly calming and relaxing... I think I'm going to put on some more of this and go to bed feeling comforted and loved.

[TereFaerie]

This one is definitely in my top 10. First, let me say that I love magnolia and I find this note in Yvaine to be very true and comforting. It smells like June. The lavender is not too sharp for me, and it fades fairly quickly from prominence, but not altogether.

 

In the imp I smell very strong lavender, but on the skin, that lavender warms up, fades and sweetens. Then the magnolia comes through and both meld into one beautiful scent. I love this one right before bed, since the lavender is so comforting and relaxing to me.

 

I really love lavender, but it has been a while since I smelled a lavender smell that I like that isn't a LUSH Cosmetics scent or that generic lavender bath salt smell. This scent is so unique and melds with my body chemistry perfectly. It is a floral, but an herbal floral. I will probably go through an enitre bottle next spring alone!

[binaryfaerie]

I looove the sharp lavender scent in the bottle. It smells very similar when wet, but after a few hours, it softened to a very faint scent that reminded me of dryer sheets. I suppose the sharp and then sweet thing is fitting with Yvaine's character, but it's not for me.

[Emerrific]

The first order I made was last summer, it was a bottle of Tristan for friend that I had found myself in crazy-mad-confusing-accidental love with. When I blurted at him I found out that he was in crazy-mad-confusing-accidental love with me! The second order I made was a bottle of Yvaine for myself. The first thing we'd done together as friends was see Neil Gaiman speak, and Stardust was one of the first books he loaned me. When the movie came out we went to see it together and sat close in the theater and I was so happy that I thought my chest would explode

 

So Yvaine holds a special place in my heart...Anyway

 

THE REVIEW:

 

Crystalline is the perfect word for this scent. The lavendar is herbal and floral and a little sharp, but the magnolia adds depth and headiness.

 

This lavendar is nothing like the fresh bright scent that I associate with bright stores decorated in a classy french-country sort of way...you know the ones that sell fluffy white towels and lavendar sachets, and large pale bottles of light lotions and eau de toilette. This is not the lavendar scent of one of those stores. It is darker, heavier, and a different sort of luxuriant.

 

Lavendar generally means a light bluish purple, but this is the scent of a deep soft blue violet pierced with crystal white... It smells exactly like a velvety-blue-black night studded by bright twinkling stars. It is cold, and warm at the same time, like the light from a star. It TWINKLES!

 

In summary, beautiful and bold and EXACTLY Yvaine.

[Suu4LC]

In the imp this is very sharp lavender. Almost a little too sharp, but I have learned that imp/bottle smells tend to be much sharper than the actual scent on the skin.

 

Ahh yes, it immediately mellows on the skin. And now I get something more than lavender, which must be the magnolia. Lovely. It's still sharp and bright, but not in an off-putting way.

 

This is the kind of scent that I had hoped Long Night Moon would be like! *sigh*

 

On full dry-down I am in love. I can't stop sniffing my hand. Beautifully captures the essence of Yvaine. Elegant and sparkling. I will definitely need a bottle of this in the future.