Belle Vinu

[stefrand]

Red sandalwood, vanilla, rosewood, osmanthus, and white peach.

ITI: A sweet, woody, astringent floral.

Wet: The peach is more noticeable, causing a wood/peach smell.

Dry: Not much vanilla or peach at the moment...mostly woods and flowers.

Drydown: Starting to sweeten up with more vanilla and peach. Still very woody...overall, "peachy wood" describes it for most of the drydown. A bit fruity, and a touch sour. Nice enough, but it's not quite for me.

Final Thoughts: Sweet, woody peach, but not something I'd wear. Edited December 28, 2008 by Stef

[Dark Alice]

Why do the scents that sound like they would appeal most to me...always turn out to smell the strangest on me?

 

Florals with peanut oil....from the imp to the drydown...I smell lightly floral and peanutty...I am guessing that is the wood note....sadly this is not for me.....oh well...off to the swaps/frimps pile with this one!

[Eemia]

Just a small bit of peach in the beginning. I can smell it so strongly in the bottle but it disappears on my skin in a few minutes.

 

Overall though this is very soft and innocent, almost like it would be a body powder rather than a fragrance. Maybe because it stays so close to my skin. It seems clean too, without that clean/soapy scent that I usually associate "clean" with. Probably the least sweet vanilla I've ever smelled, which is so awesome. Really, really nice.

 

Later I get more of the sandalwood, and it's got a depth and heaviness now that is such a surprise considering how it started out. It's like a completely different scent. More sophisticated than the girly/powdery feeling I got from this before. The sandalwood is just tipping me over it's so beautiful. Not overly woody or masculine.

 

I would have been SO disappointed if this hadn't been completely wonderful. I had my heart set on it. I'm dancing with relief that it's just as pretty as I hoped.

[gchris]

in vial: the scent of fresh outdoor blooms. Light and softly sweet

 

wet: sweet and fresh still with a hint of wood. Becoming a tiny bit sweeter with a hint of lemon and fresh fruits. There is a bit of greeness to this that is a tiny bit pungent. Overall getting stronger.

 

Dry: Much calmer now pungent green is still there but not overwhelming. The hint of lemon is peeking through and now I smell peach, lovely fresh peach. That is a good word to describ this blend in general - Lovely.

[kjirstiben]

This scent is mellow, primarily wood with some fruit and vague sweetness underneath. While not unpleasant, it also was not outstanding to my nose. I may wait a while and see if aging and another scent test makes it seem more outstanding in character to me.

[filigree_shadow]

This has a lovely, very light peach overtone at first, but it's overpowered fairly quickly by the osmanthus. The rosewood and sandalwood in it are rich and dry. It smells like a pretty floral. I think I'd like it better if the rosewood were stronger... I think I'll stick with Seance'. I was hoping this would be more rosewood and peach and less osmanthus and vanilla. Didn't work out that way for me, though.

[Little Bird]

I usually enjoy peach, red sandalwood, and vanilla scents, but all three of those notes seem to die a horrible death on my skin. Belle Vinu is all sharp, perfumey, strong white floral on me (the osmanthus?). I can smell hints of vanilla and rosewood underneath the perfumey floral, and they're gorgeous, but I can't stand the overall sharpness. I don't get any peach or fruitiness from this.

 

After a half hour, I had to scrub this one off. It's such a strong, aggressive floral on me

[voodoocatwoman]

I see that Belle Vinu is strong on some folks. Do I ever wish that were true for me. It is lovely. A true peach, with sandalwood and vanilla. I don't get the screaming floral that some did. The problem for me is that in 5 hours, it is gone. Finito. Vamoosed.

 

But it was sure purty while it was here.

[Ajila]

In the bottle – Sparkling white peach with just a hint of vanilla

 

Wet on me – The peach sits on top of smoky green osmanthus and the slightly pencil shavings scent of the sandalwood

 

Dry on me – The peach remains the dominant note, with a dry airiness behind it

 

Overall – A nice, if slightly anaemic in the dry down, peach blend

 

[dorothy humbird]

First on my skin, strongly smells of sandalwood. I'm reminded of Anne Bonny, with less spice. Can vaguely tell there is some floral element at work, too, softening the wood a little bit - it doesn't smell as sawdusty as Anne Bonny (which I don't mean in a bad way, but the splintery woodiness is less prominent.)

 

On my finger I can smell a lemony element that, not having looked at the notes list in a while, I am surprised to detect. It's a little peachy, too -- osmanthus?

 

I guess I shouldn't be too chuffed with myself for calling that, since I did read the notes description at some point. But yeah - the osmanthus and peach are making themselves evident now, and I think the vanilla is smoothing things along, too. Peaches and cream served in a delicately carved rosewood dish. I'm glad the other notes are giving the woodsy notes more competition. Let's see what'll come with further drydown....

 

I'm really liking what Belle Vinu is doing on my skin. Comparisons I keep wanting to draw are to Harikata (but less sharply powdery), La Vague (but mellower), and still Anne Bonny - the sandalwood remains prominent, but I like how it is lulled here by the softer golden notes. I can't predict whether I'll end up reaching for this all the time, but I'll certainly be hanging on to the imp to find out.

[lunaticana]

oh no.... I forgot this has peach so CORSE it wasn't gonna do any good on my skin

too bad, the other notes are interesting and it was worth to atleast try

but there is only peach and osmanthus on me now!

[asciident]

Wet: Spearmint? So strange.

 

First on: Same on my skin.

 

Dry: A bit of peach coming through, but mostly mint. Weird.

[fairnymph]

In the bottle: Extremely pale yellow, nearly colourless oil. Sweet, soft, and floral. I get loads of slightly citrusy osmanthus with a bit of white peach and slightly sharp rosewood.

 

Wet: Still very heavy on the osmanthus. It almost has a greenness to it - very fresh and bright, not like typical osmanthus - maybe something else? A little bit soapy, neroli-like. No vanilla or sandalwood.

 

Dry: Reminds me sort of the lab's nectarine - it's not the syrupy sweet peach note I'm used to. A lot like peach skin, specifically. Still a lot of planty/floral sharpness. And a powdery edge.

 

Later: Oddly mentholic? Must be that sharp green herbal note I can't identify. It's also more soapy, and powdery from the rosewood. The peach has come out a bit more, and this loses a bit of its bitterness.

 

Summary: Slightly sharp & soapy green herbs and strong osmanthus with lighter hints not-quite-ripe peach and powdery rosewood. I don't get much sandalwood or vanilla. Low throw, fades quickly.

 

Much sharper, greener, and soapier than I was hoping for, alas. At least it wasn't sticky sweet! I can vaguely see the Ebisu resemblance. Also vaguely reminds me of the Cup of Death and Eisheth. But it MOST reminds me of Les Bijoux.

 

[megank4]

This doesn't really appeal to me. A light peach, like white peach, plus some other odd note, maybe the rosewood? Which is too bad because normally I really like rosewood. I think the sandlewood is maybe what is making it strange for me.

[donnatron]

Bottle: Predominantly sandalwood and rosewood. A touch of peach.

 

Wet: The peach is the star of the show for awhile and I can smell the vanilla starting to creep out from underneath the woods. There's a soft hint of floral. Must be the osmanthus although I must admit I don't really know what osmanthus smells like.

 

Dry: I love this blend. A gorgeous medley of sandalwood and rosewood with a delicious golden, juicy peach. The vanilla is the sort of warm, sticky sweet vanilla I associate with Snake Charmer. The longer this sits on the skin the more beautiful it becomes. The vanilla warms through the entire scent and really pulls it together.

 

Throw: Good.

 

Overall: I love this one and I'm so glad it's part of the GC. It's so unique and pretty and feminine and seems to transition seemlessly from winter into summer. Although I have vague scent associations with it it seems so unique and self contained that I can't actually think of another scent in either the GC or LE that even comes close to Belle Vinu. This is such a beautiful personal power scent.

[marared]

Powdery peach. It's a very nice fresh peach, not loud and artificial, and I can smell the vanilla behind it. The sandalwood, not so much. I think the powdery aspect must come from either the rosewood or the osmanthus, as none of the other notes have that effect, and I'm not especially familiar with those two. This is a very nice *girly* scent, something to wear with a floaty dress and cute sandals.

[hkhm]

imp: rosewood, vanilla and a hint of fruit that is likely peach. it's that same wonderful rosewood scent as in séance.

 

wet: rosewood and sandalwood. this is rich, yet dry, and woodsy.

 

dry: much more peachy as it dries. it's not a syrupy peach though, more like the peach in the cup of death. very lovely.

[London]

I smelled the peach and rose in the bottle. It smelled wonderfull..

 

 

But once on, it was all osmanthus on me at least, a pitty..I love that fairytale.

 

edit: after it fully dried.. it smelled almost like cologne, something in it didn't agree with my skin :/ maybe the rosewood?

Edited June 19, 2009 by London

[tinyvulture]

here we have the joyful summertime scent of golden peaches sweetened by vanilla, combined with the delicate floral-fruitiness of osmanthus. also, some extremely rosy rosewood is present to give this airy concotion some backbone. very “peaches n’ cream,” very sweet. just wish it were stronger - it’s such a light whisper of a scent.

[Gin]

Belle Vinu - Very flowery at first. I dabbed it on my forearm near my elbow and kept gettng wafts of rosy-ness. There were other notes, too, but nothing I could decipher. Now, well into it, I can smell the vanilla-peach over a light sandalwood. This seems very fitting of the character. Not a very 'me' scent, though.

[BuxomM]

It's a bit sweet, wood, with a bit of floral and a hint of peach at the end.

[topazphoenix]

This has surprisingly grown on me. Sandlewood and peach, but there's a slight hint of vanilla and something that could be the rose. It's unique and evokes the character very well.

[muteddragon]

Sharp. Older. Sandalwood. Very warm. Disappointed. I wanted peach.

[Argentwolf]

I get a lot of peach from this, though this perfume is in general a very light scent. There may be some other florals hovering around, but they never really seem to take anything over. The faint aroma lingers all day long. This reminds me of the Gaoler's Daughter, but Belle Vinu is braver and possesses more personality.

[crebbsgirl]

Wet the peach and rose (my skin turns rosewood to rose - don't ask) were standouts. As it dried, the red sandalwood came out more and provided a bit of depth here. It's not overly floral on my skin, and the rose(wood) behaves nicely here. I'm not getting much in the way of vanilla here. The end product is mainly peach with flowers and sandalwood.

Edited December 7, 2009 by Shollin