The Lights of Men's Lives

[TheOnliest]

The wax and smoke of millions upon millions of candles illuminating the walls of Death’s shadowy cave: some tall, straight, and strong, blazing with the fire of life, others dim and guttering.

I don't get any smokiness (I wouldn't mind some, but it's not there for me). It's waxy and sweet and warm, but not heavy like some scented candles smell; it's like the scent of an unscented candle. I'm assuming that's the beeswax. As of this test it doesn't have much throw but I'm not particularly warm and I'm not moving around much. In fact, I'm doing little more than sniffing my wrist over and over. I think, shortly upon application, it's a little coconut-y but it doesn't last if that worries you or thrills you. I find this scent very comforting, like the smell of hair grease, something I haven't smelled much of since I was a kid. It's very evocative. I'm getting a bottle. And maybe some beeswax candles. And possibly some hair grease. Edited May 30, 2010 by Shollin

[girasol]

Wonderful! This is one I ordered unsniffed because I was confident I'd like it... I've been doing that a lot lately In this instance, it paid off - and then some. This is the loveliest scent... sweet beeswax candles, bottled comfort. It reminds me of the kind of shop you wander into by chance in a small town, the sort of place that sells natural, locally-produced things and makes you feel instantly at home.

 

I don't really get any smoke from this, save a very faint whiff of that slightly acrid smell you get when you've just blown a candle out. Mostly it's just creamy beeswax. A wonderful scent for Autumn or Winter to make you feel cosy and comforted.

[lunchboxmonkey]

I'm not getting any coconut at all (which is a good thing, to me). This is just lovely, sweet beeswax. Its warm, and sweeter than I expected. Its a very comforting scent though, it makes me think of the warm glow of candles made of beeswax, flickering in the darkness. Not just one, but many of them. I love it.

[Venneh]

I'm definitely getting wax and smoke, eager to see how this is on me. On my skin, really faint wax and smoke, please don't let this fail on me, please. Well, either this or Enchanted Wood Florist got me a compliment, so, onto a second test it goes!

 

Still not quite sure of this on the second test, may have to do with the goddamned heat. Going to hold it for a few weeks and try it out again.

Edited May 25, 2010 by Venneh

[ModderRhu]

The Lights of Men's Lives

 

I knew I would love this. I wore it on my birthday. For me, it evokes a childhood hobby of mine. You know those little beads of bath oil that would come in various shapes, scents, and colors? I used to collect those. To me, The Lights of Men's Lives smells a lot like this particular bead that was golden and shaped like the sun. Warm, comforting, sweet, and a little smoky. I love it!

 

ETA: These are the bath beads I was talking about!

Edited May 27, 2010 by ModderRhu

[Eemia]

I didn't know what notes were in this one when I randomly picked it up at the last Will Call. I just liked the name and wanted to try it. Right away I loved it and ended up buying a bottle. It reminds me of skin coated in plain cocoa butter, or some sort of scentless body butter. Or a scentless body oil. Thick and sensual but in an unexpected way. Even though I can barely make out any sweetness there's something in there that reminds me of the natural sweetness in a blanched almond. Not that this is nutty at all, but it reminds me of that anyway. The nearly imperceptible hint of smokiness is gorgeous. It doesn't show up for a long time, only after I've had it on my skin for a few hours.

 

This is not overly strong, but it is heavy and stays on my skin for hours. I love wearing it at night especially. it's almost become a sort of sleep blend when I need something neutrally comforting. So it's been special to me in that way.

[meredevachon]

This was a frimp from the Lab with my most recent order, and I knew nothing about it when I pulled it out of my untested box to try it out.

 

In the imp: Sweet. Sugar, maybe? No, honey. Almost. And a hint of something that I hope isn't going to turn coconut-y.

 

Wet: Oh, that's where the honey and the please-don't-be-coconut came from. It's beeswax. Creamy, soft, warm beeswax. Still sweet, but not sticky.

 

Drydown: I just had to come read the Lab's description, candles now seems so obvious. Hints sometimes of vanilla, and other times amber. I love both, so you won't hear me complaining.

 

Dry: Beeswax candles and flickering warmth. It stays close to the skin, and like it belongs there. There might be a skin musk in there too.

 

Overall: It's a subtle warm-sweet scent that I probably wouldn't have tried if the Lab hadn't gifted me with it, but I am so so so glad they did. It's lovely.

 

ETA: One night I put this on shortly before bed just because I was in the mood for another hit of bpal. I've worn it to sleep every night since, and am just hoping I have enough to last until my 5mL arrives.

Edited August 6, 2010 by meredevachon

[ralenth]

Sweet, creamy beeswax with a hint of vanilla. As it dries, it cans a subtle soft skin musk, reminscent of Tamamo-no-mae, but creamy instead of fruity. I will need a bottle of this for sure.

[edenssixthday]

The Lights of Men's Lives - This is lovely. It's so pretty. It's predominantly a vanilla beeswax scent when I first apply it, but as it warms up on my skin, the honey note comes to life, and thankfully, it's the honey that smells good on me. For a few minutes, I'm a bit worried that this is the vanilla that turns to plastic upon drydown, but thankfully, it's not. It's a soft, sweet, and creamy vanilla. There's definitely a hint of smokiness about the scent, but it doesn't smell like a bonfire, it just gives the scent a little complexity and depth. It's really pretty and the type of scent that you could wear and people might actually think you naturally smell that way. I'm putting a 5ml of this on my wishlist.

[verbranden]

This on me is a creamy, rich but non-foody vanilla very reminiscent of the vanilla note in Antique Lace, and just enough wax to carry the idea of candles without smelling overly waxy. There's a warm smokiness deep in the scent that you pick lightly under the more present, wafting vanilla. I don't get much if any honey, which I read from other people is a note, but it might be hidden by the vanilla which my skin tends to amp.

 

Throw is light, but the vanilla does carry and it has great staying power, lasting several hours.

 

Overall, a very lovely scent and after just one testing from my imp, has found its way into a priority spot on my "Bottles to Order" list.

[megank4]

I got this because I was hoping it would be like Candles Moon.

This is much more of a soft, creamy beeswax and honey than Candles Moon, but it is still really really nice. I can't stop smelling myself.

 

ETA: This is really nice as a perfume for falling asleep, or else when you want to smell sweet and innocent. I just ordered three more bottles of it.

 

I think if I were faced with the task of picking only one GC to save from discontinuation, this would be it.

Edited April 6, 2013 by Megank4

[brettashley]

I got a bottle of this unsniffed because I was certain I'd like it. And when I opened it, straight from the mail - I reeled. It was nothing like I was expecting, and it actually made me feel sick. I put some on anyway, just to try it - no go. Too sickly sweet and creamy. I had to wash it off.

 

However, something was telling me not to trade the bottle away immediately. I held on to it, maybe because I liked the concept so much? Anyway, I kept it for about... a year? And, as I was going through my bottle collection, I decided to put some on today.

 

 

This. Is. Gorgeous.

 

Wet: Sweet, creamy beeswax, and a soft vanilla note. I'm smelling a bit of the coconut that everyone's talking about, but I love coconut so that's okay.

 

Drydown: I'm starting to get a hint of smokiness, but it's not sharp; it accentuates the softness of the scent. The coconut fades, and I'm smelling a really great blend of beeswax and vanilla.

 

Dry: Gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous. Sweet (but not too sweet) and comforting!

 

I want to give this a whole day trial tomorrow, but I think I've smelled enough to declare this one a winner! I'm so glad I didn't swap this away!!

[fairestrocza]

In the Imp: is that almond?, something sweet, a tinge of alcohol, and a totally unexpected floral note

 

Wet on Skin: not at all what I expected; perfumey and slightly sweet, no wax to speak of

 

While Drying: the floral note is riding up on top - is that jasmine? Maybe not… it is developing the sourness that is usually characteristic of lilies on my skin.

 

After a Little While: Sweet, slightly spicy throw; skin scent is a sour floral note.

 

Later: Throw has died down considerably. Scent is buttery-sweet, very slightly waxy, a little bit acrid. Many hours later, there is a faint, sweet wax smell that I imagine is what this is supposed to smell like from the get go. Nice, but no oomph by then, and not worth the wait.

 

Final Thoughts: I much prefer Athens if I want a waxy scent. I just looked through ALL the reviews, and very few people mention anything even close to what I got out of this. Odd. The skin musk people mention might be to blame for the FAIL of this scent, and the late stage acrid smell.

The Lights of Men's Lives earns a 2.5/5 on my skin.

[Gwydion]

In bottle: sweet and heady. Foodie the way a lot of candle scents are foodie. I like it even though it smells a bit like pudding. Wet: My core scent is a bit overwhelming for it. The foodie edge goes more warm and waxy. Once the initial battle of the scents is over, it settles down to something halfway between the bottle and the initial skin scent. I like it, though it’d likely be better on someone less naturally musky. Dry: Powdery, warm, sweet, gentle. It is still pretty, though less intriguing.

[tealeaves]

Beeswax, beeswax, beeswax. Sweet, honeyed beeswax with baker's vanilla and just the tiniest hint of smoke to cloud this otherwise bright scent. It's almost too sweet for me, and I wish there was a tad more smoke that came through, but overall it's a lovely warm scent.

[thelaurenator]

I agree with most of the other reviewers that The Lights of Men's Lives smells like very very sweet vanilla-scented candles in the bottle. But, when I put it on my skin, I get a REALLY strong smokey note, which is weird because most reviewers aren't getting much smoke. I think I amp smoke usually, so I'm not surprised... but I'm really loving the creamy warmth of the beeswax with the smell of smoke.

 

This isn't my ideal smokey scent, but it's still really, really pretty.

[Suu4LC]

Got this is as a lab frimp! The description would never make me think this would be a ME scent, but it just sounds so interesting! I remember being fascinated by it even when it was first released, so I am looking forward to trying this.

 

Beauuuutiful in the imp! A soft, sweet smoky scent. I agree with the other reviews that smell a sweet honeyed beeswax. Absolutely lovely, with just the right amount of soft, gray/golden smoke. But honestly, I find it to be more of a creamy/sweet/beeswaxy scent base with the smoke overlaying it.

 

Wow, this is lovely on my skin as well! A sweet creamy honeyed beeswax scent with just a touch of smokiness.

 

Overall, this is an amazing blend I did not think I would love as much as I would. Mostly sweet creamy honey/beeswax. The touch of smoke keeps it from being TOO sweet or cloying. If you are scared off by the smoke, don't be! However if you are looking for a really smokey or incensey type blend, this blend is probably not what you are looking for.

[Ajila]

In the bottle - Slightly sweet wax

 

Wet on me - Soft, sweet beeswax

 

Dry on me - A soft warm, wax scent that holds and envelops you

 

Overall - I didn't expect to like this, but I did very much

[grrrlennyl]

Lights of Men's Lives, The

 

On: This smells like candle smoke and wax, mostly, which is pretty amazing. However, there's an odd buttery note I'm getting, too.

Half an hour in: Yeah, butter.

1.5 hours in: Smoke with something sweet and buttery. Is this how my nose is reading beeswax?

3 hours in: Smoky and sweet.

4 hours in: There's more of a smoky scent to this now. The butter isn't super-salty and in my face anymore; it's more of a creamy, milky scent.

Overall: This isn't me at all. I think it's really pretty and interesting, and would love if someone else was wearing it, but I know I wouldn't choose to smell like this.

Edited December 7, 2010 by grrrlennyl

[CreamyJade]

In the imp: Beeswax, honey, it's slightly smoky though not much

Wet on skin: Beeswax, light honey, warm vanilla, a bit of smoke

Dry on skin: Vanilla, light honey and beeswax.

Final thoughts: Less agressive than O, the Light of Men's Lives is a very nice light comforting honey, vanilla and beeswax scent. It doesn't finish as powdery as O (you can blame the amber), which is why I like it on my skin a bit more than O (I find it also more wearable, at least during the day). I get no smoke whatsoever when the blend is dry, which is a shame. It's on the bottles to get list.

Try if you like: O, Womb Furie

Edited December 8, 2010 by CreamyJade

[kallixti]

I put this on 15 minutes ago despite disliking how it smelled in the bottle. I bought it hoping for the warm-skin, beeswaxy accords others described; so far all I'm getting is an artificial perfumey wave of sweetness, like some sort of scented face powder or something. Hope springs eternal, but if the beeswax doesn't start emerging for me my loss could be your gain.

[lookingglass]

Delicious, waxy honey. This smells both green/floral fresh/honey, and smoldering/sweet/creamy. It's like Hand of Glory "light". I'll wear it to bed (snuggle, snuggle).

Edited March 4, 2017 by lookingglass

[calivianya]

This is all gorgeous sweet beeswax. It is definitely one of the more interesting perfumes I've smelled from BPAL - you don't really expect perfume to smell like beeswax. This is such a cool company.

 

I can't decide yet if it's a bottle purchase or not since I'm not sure if I'd wear it much - I like my scents to be more noticeable and this is very subtle and light. I might have to buy a bottle just to sniff it over and over again, though. It really is that pretty.

[Ishtar]

Honey and beeswax - very pretty! This is much softer and comforting than I expected.

 

Much to my relief there is no smokiness to speak of, which is a very good thing as smoke makes me queasy both IRL and in perfumes.

 

I can see how some reviewers got coconut, especially right after applying, but on me it's more like an evocation of coconut (and a fleeting one, at that) than a true note that makes you wonder whether there actually is coconut in the blend.

 

As it dries, The Light of Men's Lives becomes creamier and even more comforting - really, this is proving to be the perfect snuggly sweater, stay at home on a cold day kind of scent. I initially thought I may not find much use for such an unusual blend, but it may well earn a spot on my list of everyday favourites.

[levelek]

Sugary beeswax. Smoke in the background, when smelled from close up - inobtrusive. And now, a strong floral blossoming over the beeswax! I can't identify it but it's warm, almost heady. Very interesting - a floral that is not turning to soap on me.

 

Now the sugar is turning more into vanilla. I like it better this way. Wait, it's becoming buttery, and creamy, a foody scent, with the beeswax and the flower playing second fiddle! What a morpher! And now the flower is disappearing.

 

Pity that I am amping the sweetness, as usual.