To Helen

[Eemia]

Electric ozone, opaline notes, moonflower, white amber, beeswax, and three roses.

This is perfumey and sharp in the beginning. Not an unattractive sharpness, just something that jumps out a little. It smells like a sheer, feminine floral. It's a pale version of flowers....it feels bleached and colorless. But it's still unexpectedly alluring. It doesn't seem heavy or overly luscious. More like a thin glaze. With the roses in this I thought it would be much more rich. Maybe even cloying. But this was a surprise.

I can't distinguish the notes very readily. I just get an overall transparent flower feeling. The sharpness fades quickly and when this dries it smells more dry and musky. There's a sweetness that comes out at this point too and makes it seem a little thicker.

Unusual and very pretty.

[circeramone]

This is a sweet perfume-y scent in the imp, but once it dried on my skin, it turned into a heavily perfumed baby powder smell. Not my cup of tea at all.

[nicoleh]

Bottle: Mixed floral and powder, a lot of powder.

 

Wet: The floral is gone. I smell baby powder. I can't smell any ozone at all.

 

Dry: Still ozone, the floral is still gone, and the baby powder scent increased to the point that I had to remove it asap.

 

Later: I only kept it on an hour. I couldn't deal with the incredibly heavy baby powder scent.

 

I wanted to try this one due to the three roses. I couldn't pick out anything resembling a rose.

 

This one is not a keeper for me. I don't think I'll touch the imp again, other than to give it away.

[LadyLuckDoubt]

I bought this on the forums from Mrs. Black... I came SO close to buying it when it was released, but just didn't have the fundage and went for some of the others.

 

Well...

 

In the Bottle

Sweet, sugary prettiness, almost like pink, yummy fairy floss-- and the good stuff with that almost creamy taste to it. But there's a dusty sophistication there, too. Mmmm.

 

On Me

Wow. Excellent throw, and a beautiful collection of florals-- dunno the specifics on the roses used-- it's not standard rose though (it doesn't strike me as a tea rose or that dewy Peacock Queen rose).The beeswax is a lovely addition, and a prominent note on me, and I love it. (I don't detect that one much in perfumes, and I find that disappointing because it's such an innocent, natural scent.)

 

But, yeah: we have unidentified roses, and beeswax, and what I'm thinking might be gardenia. This is utterly gorgeous, and unlike a lot of florals, it hangs around a bit on my skin.

 

Don't know how I'd describe it. It's feminine, but it's not "girly" or "sexy" or "strong," and it doesn't seem categorisable by age-- it's not something I'd choose for, say, a 20-something or a teenager or an older woman. It's it's own perfume. There's something slightly distant and ethereal about it, in the same way as there is about Yvaine.

 

Ultimately-- I love it. It's sweet and pretty, but quite elegant at the same time. I'd also recc it to anyone with hesitations about rose or beeswax or ozonics-- it uses all these things yet throws the preconceived notions of how they're meant to work right out the window.

 

I have no idea why this wasn't the huge star attarction out of the 08 Lupercalias.

[LiberAmoris]

I have no idea why this wasn't the huge star attraction out of the 08 Lupercalias.

My thoughts exactly. I got one sniff of this, dotted myself all over, and was happy all day long just luxuriating in the creamy glow. It has the same feel to me as an old favorite, Chaste Moon. Like CM, it feels like a 'white' blend, clean without smelling like soap or flowers.

 

I can pick up on the moonflower if I concentrate, but I can't detect any rose to speak of. I get a smidge of ozone, and lots of white amber and beeswax, and then of course the 'opaline notes', which are indeed similar to the notes in Black Opal---lush mineral tones that manage to convey both a glassy surface and fiery depth.

 

However, the opal here is definitely white opal, and that is the persistent impression I get while wearing this---it smells like a glorious white opal, full of fire and the water that the faint smell of the ozone seems to suggest.

 

It's ridiculously gorgeous both on its own and as a blender. It makes everything it touches rich and dreamy.

[jessu]

All the notes except the beeswax sounded *perfect* for me, so I decided to give this a try.

 

Sadly, this was BEESWAX all the way. I wanted rich creamy flowers and I got horrid rotten stinking beeswax. My moonflower, my roses, my ozone... all overpowered by the vile stench beeswax becomes when it touches me.

[windbourne]

Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous. I didn't try this while the Lupercalias were still live, and I'm kicking myself over that now. It's got the same luscious beeswax that Her Voice does, but in a warm, sensual base instead of a brilliantly floral one. I was really expecting a much cooler scent from that description, but this is cool on me the same way Snow White is -- which is to say, not at all!

 

The rose lends a very mellow floral aspect to the overall perfume, and the white amber is probably what I'm reading as warm and musky. Actually, I think that's how I'd describe the overall color that this makes me think of -- it's very white, and very amber, somehow at the same time, like a chunk of amber in moonlight.

 

I love this one, and am going to have to find a bottle, which is faintly disgruntling, but not entirely.

[evanescence]

To Helen goes straight Lush's Silky Underwear powder on me. Very powdery, not unpleasant, but not what I thought it would be given the notes. Not a disappointment, really - more of a surprise?

[Magnolia69]

Bear with me, my nose is not good at picking out notes.

 

To Helen turns to a lush rose and deep honey scent on me. It reminds me a lot of

Al Araaf and how it acts on my skin. Maybe a bit more musky but I've

found a new love.

[taramarie]

On me, To Helen is rose and moonflower plus a note that I can only describe as "brittle." I assume that's the opaline notes. I don't get any ozone at all. This is a lot like Moon Rose, and while pretty, I prefer Moon Rose. Someone else can have this.

[edenssixthday]

To Helen – Wow, this is one crazily high-pitched floral. It’s so sharp and white that it gives me an instant headache. I’m surprised there’s no lily in here, as it smells to me like there’s a ton of tiger lily in it. I don’t smell any of the ozone, beeswax, or amber notes in this. To me, it’s entirely white, heady, sharp, high-pitched floral.

[gchris]

In Vial: Sweet and mellow perfume

 

Wet: Butterscotch perfume. Kind of carmel-y but not foody because of the light perfume which seems to be the main event in this blend.

 

Dry: Creamy perfume. Smells similar to Black Opal.

[Emera]

IN THE IMP: Sweet moonflower; creamy, honey-like beeswax; fresh white rose. Sweet, smooth, bright, a bit perfume-y, perhaps from the ozone and/or rose.

 

ON SKIN: Deliciously sweet, golden, and creamy, thanks to the beeswax (and possibly the amber), but not overwhelmingly so, as the moonflower adds floral freshness. In general, beautifully blended; all of the smooth, glowing elements go together so well. It actually reminds me quite a bit of how Selkie smells on me – I think the beeswax is acting like the "honey-touched grass" in Selkie – but a touch headier, and as mentioned above, the sharp ozone definitely adds a perfume-y edge. As a side note, something in it is burning my skin almost imperceptibly, but I can't guess what it would be.

 

LATER: This is very, very pretty! Unfortunately, the throw is pretty low, but the blend is lovely throughout, with minimal morphing after application. And this definitely has the same honey/beeswax note as Selkie – yay!

 

SUMMARY: Creamy, near-foody beeswax and amber with soft white rose and hints of fresh moonflower and ozone. Very young, sweet, feminine, and warm, extremely well-blended. Low to moderate throw, medium wearlength.

[eatingthesea]

i agree with the reviewer that this calls to mind al-araaf. it's a powdery slightly-honeyed scent (care of the beeswax, i assume) that is reminiscent of black opal. whereas black opal is a vanilla-opal scent, this one is a beeswax-and-flower-opal scent. it's hard to describe the "opaline" note that beth uses, but i think it's divine. i wish it would come around more often! the roses are way in the background, but the scent does have a floral touch to it. for the floral-challenged, this is still worth a try. the ozone isn't really even that present, other than giving this scent a little "lift," if that makes sense. it's pleasant and inviting (whatever that means, lol). and, on me, it's long-lasting. me likey

Edited October 24, 2008 by eatingthesea

[Coldfire]

Imp: overpowering rose

Wet on Me: more overpowering rose

Drying Down: Rose gets softened by the white amber with hints of the beeswax

Dry: baby powder now. Which to me, since I amp rose in a bad way..is not a bad thing.

[Suu4LC]

Ah, this is quite lovely in the imp-soft creamy rose and beeswax. Light and pretty.

 

On my skin, the rose amps up a bit-I don't really get any ozone from this, and I'm not sure what opaline notes would smell like. I am just getting a pleasant rose, softened in a good way by the beeswax. Rose can sometimes go sour on me, but this seems to be behaving quite nicely.

 

Overall though, this was kind of a meh blend to me. Dried down to a sweet but VERY powdery rose-way too powdery for me. Thankfully, I won't have to try to search down a bottle of this!

[kahmiel]

I was very happy to get this in the mail today, as i LOVE LOVE LOVE the poem (not as much as the Passionate Shepard, but almost). I didn't even remember what the notes were, but I went for it anyway, because I am rash and I wanted it. Anyway, i opened up the bottle, and smelled roses, lovely beautiful roses, white floral, and something else...it might be the ozone and beeswax. When i put it on i get no beeswax, and the roses come out as well as the moonflower, yum! Its a little soapy, but roses do that on me, and it isnt sharp or irritating. The soapyness rounds off as it dries (yay!!!) and it sweetens to a beautiful sweet rose with moonflower. I dont smell the ozone, and theres something in the background leveling it that may be the beeswax, but its really beautiful.

 

Yum.

 

[HelenHighwater]

I have no idea why I ended up with a bottle of this. It was clearly a Stupid Impulse BPAL, for which I have no excuse... looking at the notes it really is an utter mystery- not one of those, except possibly beeswax, sounds like a note that would work on me and it actually has several that are rarely ever good (lots-o-roses, and ozone). I actually have no idea if I even *tried* it which is kind of embarrassing- could be I sniffed the bottle, thought *Meh." and that was that. One way or the other, it ended up in the Sock Drawer Graveyard of BPAL, where the duplicates and not-so-loved ones languish until called upon.

 

Anyway I finally tested it. It smells sweetly nondescript in the bottle but blossoms into this amazing gorgeous thing on skin. Huh. It really is nothing like the notes suggest. It smells like a creamy version of O- very sexy-honey, but without the ick that I get from O. Roses? If they ever existed, they're not showing up on my skin. I definitely get the lovely creamy-warm amber. Opaline? Ozone? Moonflower? No. It's a very golden-warm, sexy sweet creamy-honey scent on me. It gives me a warm fuzzy. For sure an overlooked lovely, probably because the description is so *vastly* different than the actuality. And that would be a GOOD thing, IMO!

 

Very good throw, and it smells almost better at arms-length than up close, even creamier. I suspect the amber is what some people get baby powder from when it hits their skin. I would bet that's a hit-or-miss skin chemistry thing. On me there is no powderiness, it's all creamy gold yum; ambers aren't always great on me either, it's a bit random. Definitely going to put this into rotation.

Edited April 6, 2010 by HelenHighwater

[cyanidenoir]

I expected to love this with the ozone note being the first listed in the description but indeed I did not.

On me, it smells like a cheap rose-scented candle.

Edited June 22, 2010 by NeonGreen

[reconditarmonia]

Luckily, the beeswax didn't turn to cologne in this one, like it did in other beeswax blends I've tried. Instead, I get a lot of amber with a sort of foody beeswax undertone, which the ozone and the opaline notes act on to give the impression of a sort of rich amber dusting powder. No rose.

[JazzieCazzie]

I got an imp of this as part of a small (and ridiculously cheap, not sure how it slid by!!!) lot on eBay which I had bid on specifically for another imp and a BPTP goblin squirt. But the anal-retentive part of me insisted on test-driving even the scents that I had not actively sought, and even though I suspected they might not work. What we do for love and science.

 

IN THE IMP: Not unpleasant (I say this because honestly, of all the notes, ONLY the amber is one that I consider a "me" note). Floral, rich, complex, rosy, creamy.

 

Applied just to my wrist (test-driving both of the unknown quantity imps from this purchase and didn't want to go all-out with crooks of arms in case they really were disasters on me).

 

WET: The immediate reaction was ugh. The second was blerg. I got an immediate queasy reaction and was SURE there was something fruity in there though nothing was listed. Perhaps it was one of the unspecified "opaline notes"? Definitely smelled the rose but it wasn't super strong. I couldn't place the ozone. I got no amber at all when wet. It screamed "wash me off" but I held out. It's complex and confusing ...

 

DRYDOWN: I'm glad I held out because it definitely improved as it dried. Whatever the note was that was making me physically queasy evaporated quite quickly. And in its place, the amber amped up and did a nice job, for me, of evening out the sweetness. Dry, I'd assess this as primarily rose and amber.

 

OVERALL: Definitely goes onto my swap list, but it was NOT, in the end, a strict wash-off (though I did wash it off since I just showered, LOL). Still haven't figured out the mystery fruity note.

 

On a scale of 1-5, a 2ish. But when wet it would have been a 1 so that's not that bad.

[Veronica]

Can't believe I haven't reviewed this one yet--To Helen was my first-ever Lupercalia bottle and one of my first loves. I had completely forgotten about it until I was sorting through my collection and happened upon it. On me, this dries to a creamy, warm amber with an underlying powdered sweetness--maybe the beeswax(?)--and just a vague hint of something floral. The ozone and opaline notes don't come out for me, but I do feel like this scent clears my head/nose the way ozone often does, so it's hidden in there somewhere!

[freyasfae]

I am surprised by how sweet this is! I love moonflower for its fruity floral qualities, but it seems the rest of the notes in this one are amping the sweeter qualities of the moonflower rather than the floral, but as it dries, gets more floral and much headier white florals, its like a rather sudden change of direction from this girly, saccharine scent to a grandmere white floral! But then finally mellows out into the sort of moonflower scent that I have come to know and love from BPAL. After that, it finally settles into a sweeter white floral and the moonflower isn't as prominent in this one as it is in some other BPAL scents with moonflower, but it is still a stunning floral, especially as the beeswax moves into the picture as it dries.