A Wonderful Light

[Iceblink]

Three radiant ambers with honey, linden blossom, bourbon vanilla, and orange zest.

In the vial this is so piney--how bizarre! Once on my skin I get a LOT of linden blossom--usually linden is so fleeting but it's very strong here. The drydown is the familiar BPAL honey, but still with a lot of linden. Very much like a lot of the apiary blends on me. I'm wondering if a bit of aging would amp up the ambers here and calm down the linden and that odd pine note. I may try this again in a few weeks.

[crebbsgirl]

On my skin this is exactly like O plus orange. And I love it!!!

[ami226]

Whoa! This one is awesome! I accidentally spilled a bit of this one on me while decanting and I was happy! It smells like.... musky honey with a bit of sweet orange. Exactly as crebbsgirl said! O plus orange! O isn't one of my favorites, but this one is awesome!

[coldandsleepy]

I have no idea why I ordered a decant of this other than that I like the image-- this is basically all death notes for me. Three types of honey? Three types of yuck! Vanilla? Ewwww. Okay, I do like linden sometimes, and orange zest, and I love amber...

 

Very sweet and honeyed. It reminds me VERY strongly of Blood Kiss and I had to check the notes to make sure there wasn't cherry in there. My nose is swearing up and down that there's cherry but...

 

Also brings O to mind, though this does much much better on my skin than that did.

 

I actually think it's rather beautiful but not the kind of scent that I'd personally enjoy. However, if you like the other two I mentioned, I would advise you to give this a go.

[astarinel]

I definitely agree with the reviews that say this one is reminiscent of O. I personally love O, but I find it a little too sexy and assertive for daily wear.

 

This has the same soft amber honey combination of O, and I get only a faint orange. The linden is surprisingly strong while wet -- I normally think of linden as being kind of a soft and wispy floral note, but it's definitely dominating the blend for a little while here. As it dries, the linden fades a bit and I get more warm vanilla amber, tempered a bit with some bitterness which I suspect is coming from the orange zest.

 

It's actually quite pretty, but wears a bit similar to other honey scents that I have. I'll have to give it a few more trial wears to see if it wins me over.

 

Edited to add: As it dries and I give it a few more tests, it starts reminding me significantly of Et Lux Fuit (my favorite!). It's that same warm blend of honey, resin, with gentle florals. I honestly don't get much of the orange from this, but YMMV as usual!

Edited January 7, 2012 by astarinel

[surlygurl]

First on, this is very pretty. Vanilla, honey, and something bright. I don't get orange anything or obvious amber but the linden blossom comes out and gives it a freshness. So far, so good.

 

As it dries, the linden goes into hiding, orange peeks out, and the honey says "HI!! I'M HERE!!". And, yes, it's the honey from O, which which does not work on my skin. The other elements of the scent sort of dance around the honey as thought it were a bonfire. Let's hope the honey fades away, because it has potential.

[zankoku_zen]

O plus vanilla and orange. It's the same honey note from O that occasionally does funky things on my skin, and ends up smelling sort of 'musty' on the drydown.

 

Boo.

 

I can see this being wicked popular though.

[Juushika]

In the vial: Warm, citric amber.

 

On me: It goes on as orange zest—the bright, volatile, almost bitter oils of orange peel—over amber. Much of the orange, in particular its brightness, dies off with drydown; what's left behind is a faint, warm amber, slightly powdery and slightly vanillic, perhaps a bit floral, touched by orange. It's a pale, light, warm scent, glowing rather than shining; it has almost a white cocoa sense to it, a more-than-skin-scent atmosphere of gentle and pale but distinct sweetness. (Bourbon vanilla usually goes dark and dirty on me; if the sweetness is just vanilla, it's much whiter than I'm used to.) Scent color is opaque, pastel orange. Throw is gentle but surprisingly high.

 

Verdict: A Wonderful Light is reminiscent of Khrysee, but drier and more pristine than Khyrsee's fleshy amber; it's also reminiscent of a white chocolate Gelt, sweet and powdery and dry. It's perfectly pleasant but doesn't move me—the scent texture is too dry, and it's a little too sweet for my taste, and I don't need to own it.

[sarandipitee]

First initial sniff of the bottle is pretty much Elf V5, mixed with a little 0. Wet, it does this weird thing with the orange zest and smells like I mixed the Second of the Three Spirits with Elf V5. Drydown is pretty much the same, but with pine/eucalyptus.

 

Not sure if I like this one, the notes don't really blend all that well on my skin.

[stellamaris]

Fantastic. Sweet, floral and citrus, and candle wax.

[theredkilt]

I was looking forward to testing this scent and i had high expectations, but it just didn't go well with my skin chemistry. I got this weird, bitter and plastic smell and at a later stage it gave out some sweetness.

 

Update: Just tested it again and it smells completely different and so much better: i can smell the orange rind and the honey and the linden blossoms. I'll give it another try

Edited January 7, 2012 by theredkilt

[Gateau]

This one is basically Pussy plus orange on me. They share a honey note, and it's a sort of warmly dusty honey that puts me in mind of dust motes in a beam of sunlight. That dusty sense is amplified by the ambers (and by tobacco leaf in Pussy). Vanilla here, instead of tonka. The orange zest smells like when you squeeze a rind over a candle -- there is a fruity slightly burned bitterness that makes this more wintery to me.

 

Definitely considering a bottle.

[Missy_killer]

In the bottle: It's sweet. But not in any way cloying or overwhelming. It's careful and snuggly, a bit warm and comforting. I can't really pick out any notes because they are all mingling in there, very well blended!

I do want to say I get some orange. Not zest really, more of the sweet meat. And there might be some vanilla.. Can't wait to put this on!

 

On me: Woooooh! Amber and vanilla! I smell like a dollop of amber that has been dipped in liquid vanilla, and then rolled in vanilla sugar! It's now really sweet and almost giving me a headache.

When I went out for a walk with my dog, I had to put mittens on, and my mittens are kept in a drawer with Lush's Lady Catrina soap which smells very citrus-y. And the mix with those two were amazing! Like slices of citrus gently powdered with vanilla sugar.

It's a good scent for when you're feeling blue or cold, it is warm and glowy!

 

After two hours: It is mellowing down now, I'm getting a teeeny tiny bit honey now, and it is glorious!

 

Three hours later: Oh. My. God. This smells SO good! SOOO GOOD! This smells like Lush's Butterball, Ex Factor or Honey Lumps! It's not strong, I have to press my nose against my arm to really smell it..

But I don't want to ever lift my nose from my skin again! Yummy!!

 

ETA: I wish I would get more orange in this, to take the edge of all the sweetness, but I'm perfectly fine with layering this over some citrus-y soap and just wait for the glorious, yummy finale!

Edited January 9, 2012 by Missy_killer

[Little Bird]

I'm really surprised that there's no pine or snow listed for this, because I get a really strong pine scent from A Wonderful Light. It's like sharp, cool pine covered in golden honey. I'm not getting anything like O or orange zest, which is making me wonder if my bottle is wrong somehow (I seem to keep getting 'off' bottles like the Beaver Moon variations lately)

 

A Wonderful Light is like a blast of pine and chilly snow note with a vein of sweet honey, and dries down to clean, dryer sheet-esque snow note and honey. Soap and honey for about two hours before it fades. I'm getting nothing like amber, vanilla or orange from this at all. My bottle is pine, soapy snow/ozone, and honey...

Edited February 7, 2012 by Little Bird

[het4377]

In The Bottle/Imp: citrus honey over white florals. quite pretty.

 

Wet: LOVELY sweet amber and honey (so it's just slightly powdery). Warm vanilla, beeswax and just a touch of floral. I say again, lovely!

 

Drydown: yum, this is almost foody - the amber is taking the forefront over a gooey base of honey. I'm also getting a distinct beeswax note, as well as a touch of citrus to the blend, and definite white florals (but in a very fresh flower kind of way). I almost feel like there's some kind of warm musk at the base to.

 

Changes as Time Elapses: This doesn't morph at all, stays true to the citrusy honey and beeswax stage, and stays pretty strong for a number of hours.

 

Rating: 4/5

 

Similar to: Hanerot Halalu, Light of Men's Lives, Candles Moon, O, Unveiled, Summer's Last Will and Testament

Edited January 9, 2012 by haley

[theseagrows]

the only iffy thing here was the honey, but everything else i was really excited about, particularly linden blossom, which i love but rarely (if ever?) see in BPAL scents. hmm at first this smells almost piney or fir-like on me. it literally smells like a christmas tree. to the point of, i am wondering if i was possibly decanted the wrong scent? this does smell very yule like but not how i thought this combination of notes would be. after reading some above reviews, i think a few of us are in the same boat...

 

ETA: now that it's dried down, it smells completely different and quite good! it's a honeyish scent definitely, with something almost vanilla-almondy scented but it's definitely not almond.now this is very pretty! just not sure i can wait through that pine-forest part in order to wear it, but i will try it again.

Edited January 10, 2012 by theseagrows

[milo]

Lovely amber with a sweet waxy feeling along with some light vanilla. There is something here that makes this blend feel like Christmas, but I'm not sure what it is that is making it so. I'm not getting any orange, but maybe that is what is what is doing it. Just looking back, and seeing that some reviewers smell pine, and indeed, I kind of get that in the background. So right now, it's like Jacob's Ladder with a pine tree in the distance and a touch of vanilla. I like this, but I have other amber blends that I like better. Will see how the rest of the wear goes today.

[calivianya]

This is one of the two Yules I was the most excited about. Let's see if it was worth the excitement.

 

In the vial: BITTER! orange with other things lurking in the background. This is very astringent. It is extremely orange-y and bitter, which I wasn't quite expecting. On my skin: It stays in the bitter stage for about five minutes, then it morphs into an orange-honey smell. I don't really get the other notes. Dry: The orange FINALLY recedes to the background, thankfully. I get mostly sweet vanilla honey with the vaguest hint of linden and orange. I like it, but not enough to warrant a full bottle. The orange stage is way too hard to get through.

[sunshinedaisybliss]

Oh honey, honey you fiend, why do you hate meeeeeeeee?

 

This would be beautiful, if only the honey would GTFO. Combined with the amber overload (I love amber, but there's a LOT of it in here), the honey is powdery and cloying. I can barely pick up the other notes because they are being smothered by the honey, but they are beautiful. BEAUTIFUL.

 

Damn you, honey.

[Amaranthus]

A comforting scent of beeswax and amber. There is a hint of pine, as others have mentioned.

 

I do not pick out linden blossoms or orange zest distinctly, but occasionally I get wafts of fresh orange blossoms, which I imagine is my brain morphing those two scents in to one.

 

I love this, it is cozy on the bitterly cold days of winter.

[CiaoBonefish]

In decant/wet on skin: Zing! That is honey alright! But the honey I can wear! It is thick, creamy, sweet, and just wonderful. The kind of honey in Womb Furie and just wow. Pretty. I get a hint of orange at the back without any evidence of anything else.

Dry on skin: This retains a lot of honey while adding a touch of powdery amber to the mix. The orange gets stronger but it is really more of a citrus than straight up orange and isn't quite as sweet as I'd like. The overall combination is actually quite stunning, and on the dry down the honey isn't quite as sweet as it was wet. The more I wear this the more amber I get, and the honey also gets a touch sharp and powdery.

Overall: This is really pretty, even despite all the powderiness I am getting the more I wear this. Honey has never been a favorite note (I much prefer the sweet creamy-ness of beeswax) but in this blend it works well with the fresh citrus and amber. I'll keep the decant but for personal preferences and skin chemistry I won't be getting a bottle!

[lohengrin]

In the bottle: Amber, and something almost... musty? Possibly one of the ambers?

 

On skin, wet: Essentially the same as in the bottle.

 

On skin, dry: This is not morphing on me at all.

 

After an hour: It stays the same dusty sort of amber smell the whole time, and never turns into the "O plus orange" scent I was so desperately hoping for. Boo.

[angelamaria]

In bottle: orange zest! And then amber and vanilla, nicely honeyed. Oh where are you, linden blossom?

 

Wet on skin: oh, there it is. Orange zest and linden blossom, amber and vanilla, in that order. Quite creamy, and so far the ambers are playing nice with my skin. This is quite different in "flavor" compared to the other blends I've tried with linden blossom, with the exception of Privilege: this is quite "present" and grounded. I'd say it's in the middle of Privilege and The Unicorn, for example. Quite full-bodied, with a hint of mintiness that is almost like pine--but it may just be the orange zest playing with my nose.

 

Dry: I was sort of hoping the orange zest would play it down a little, but this is definitely an orange zest and friends sort of blend. That's not too bad, since I like orange notes, but I will admit to expecting something slightly different from this. It doesn't morph on me--the ambers behave--but really, I keep going back to the orange zest and thinking, "why are you so prominent?!" Creamy orange and linden blossom. Much later on, the vanilla starts to strengthen, very similar in feel to Celeste's bourbon vanilla.

 

Verdict: I didn't quite expect this, but I love this! I especially love how the vanilla came out in the end, I loved the vanilla in Celeste but eventually that wasn't meant to be. I'm happy it's here and with such nice friends, even if the orange zest is being a bit of a bully.

[Gwydion]

In bottle: Mostly orange zest and vanilla. It’s a creamsicle with a smooth amber and honey undercoat and a touch of linden blossom. If creamcicle is your thing, this is clearly the way to go. As I amp orange like mad, there is no point in skin testing.

[thekittenkat]

In the decant: Honey, not too sweet, and linden blossom.

 

Wet: There's that pesky orange zest.

 

The dry-down: The orange starts to fade, but there's the ambers going all powdery on me. Yet another scent locket scent.