Hell's Belle

[DraloreShimare]

Sweet, smoky and sensually wicked. A thick, steamy scent, truly sinister in its voluptuous sexuality. The perfume of a demon's favored consort, or of the devil herself. Oleander with wet, sweet mandarin, lush magnolia, a rush of deep musk and a touch of spice.

I thought I had a full review with this one, but I don't. It boils down to this:

Just, no. Turns to funky musk on my skin.

Musk obviously does not like me, so I need to learn to stop playing with it. But I keep thinking that maybe a different musk will work...

[FathomBelow]

From start to finish, Hell's Belle is like Scherezade - the same strong spices, but with florals instead of red musk in the supporting role. For some reason, the combination of these particular spices and florals just doesn't seem to work for me, so I'll pass on a bottle and stick to Scherezade.

[Suu4LC]

NGL, I had to look up what oleander was :x One of the most poisonous garden plants you say?

 

In the imp this is an mmmmm-worthy sweet/spicy floral musk! Rawr! Smells great in the imp!

 

Mmm...this smells totally delicious on my skin-it's a bit hard to describe-sweet and spicy and musky and rich-the floral here is hard to explain-I just can't put my finger on it...unnghhh this is such a sexy scent though. Just the right amount of everything. Even that touch of mandarin...it's all there, so well blended.

 

You know what this weirdly reminds me of a little bit? Pothon Meter...not sure why exactly...just has the same rich depth.

 

This does dry a wee bit powdery, which is prolly from the musk. The longer it's on my skin, the more powdery it gets tbh. I would have to do some reappylying to keep this vibrant and yummy. But it IS such a sexy scent-I could definitely see myself getting a bottle of this.

[icekat]

In the vial: heavy magnolia, something green and bitter, and a hint of mandarin

 

Wet: mandarin and magnolia.

 

Dry: Creamy magnolia with a backdrop of mandarin

 

An hour later: magnolia, mandarin and something spicy?

 

Overall: I really like the mandarin, and I sort of like the magnolia, but I'm not so in love with the way the two blend together.

[symbiosis]

Hell’s Belle

In the imp: Spices and mandarin swirled with a touch of an antiqued flower. The musk has aged in this bottle .

 

Wet: The flowers are very prominent here, especially the magnolia on my skin. It reminds me vaguely of gardenia, but without that summertime-sweetness.

 

Dry: Gone a little bit powdery, but still retains almost all of the scent of the flowers. It’s a very fresh but sweet floral, and I think if I was into smelling like sweet flowers I would really like this one. Alas, I’m just not a fruity, sweet, flowery girl. I need white, light scents, white musks, sandalwoods, and about the only flowers I can pull off are lavender and sweet pea.

[Rhian]

This scent began as strong magnolia with a hint of spice and heat. After about half an hour it bloomed into a serious case of musk, with the smooth sweetness of the magnolia blended in. I didn't notice the mandarin. It's now sweet, smoky musk, but not very steamy or heady - in fact, it's pleasant and smells well-rounded rather than thick. On me, it's a toned down kind of sexiness, and I really like it. I think I could get away with wearing it during the day, with perhaps a slightly heavier application for a night out (as it doesn't have a huge throw).

[Ramen]

When I first put this on earlier, it was kind of faint and indescribable but definitely warm. The oleander and magnolia dug their way out after a little while, but then everything went to flower powder pretty quickly. Even though I'm pretty sure I never smelled anything like it at her house, it sort of reminds me of my paternal grandmother: an old Southern woman who may have left behind the full wildness of her youth but who still has the personality it sprang from.

 

Hell's Belle will work as a stopgap while I look for floral scents more suited to me, but after that I'll probably pass this little imp on to a more appreciative home.

[subtlesiren]

Hmm, not sure what went wrong with this one, but as Hell's Belle dries down, it just turns kinda funky. When wet in the vial and on my skin, it is a nice blend of foody spice with barely a touch of floral. Not much throw at all, but still a nice scent. But after a few hours, the scent turns somewhat bitter. I will keep my imp and see if aging helps.

 

ETA:

I can't believe I never came back here to edit my review! Hell's Belle went from bitter to the most gorgeous floral scent I own.

Edited January 25, 2012 by subtlesiren

[angelicreprieve]

This is like, a perfect sexy darker musk. I'm not getting a lot of floral from this, and I like that's its a more feminine and sexy dark scent (read: no vetiver)

For what it is, its a very good version of 'sexy musk perfume oil' and definitely one I'll reach for from time to time ...

[OctoberGwen]

I am a very recent BPAL convert, and OMG do I love this scent! I smell delicious; sweet but not too sweet, creamy, luscious, slightly spicy, rich, and sensuous. My first BPAL experience is everything I hoped it would be and I can't imagine ever going back to flat commercial perfumes.

 

Hell's Belle is floral, but in the most lush and complex way possible. I would wear this every day.

 

 

ETA: I should probably add that I'm wearing an aged version. I sure hope the current one smells the same, because I want a BIG bottle of this.

 

Edited June 23, 2011 by OctoberGwen

[invisible iris]

A complimentary imp from the ever-generous Lab.

 

In the imp, it smells spicy sweet with a hint of floral musk. Freshly applied, I get warm spices (cinnamon and ginger?), musk, a hint of mandarin, and one of the flowers showing up is rich and almost creamy.

 

The spices (cinnamon, ginger, and definitely clove) and musk dominate this blend, and the musk here smells to me like red musk, which always becomes addictively sweet on me. The next most prominent note is the mandarin, but it is not overwhelmingly sweet or fruity, it just gives a slight flavor to the spicy red musk. It’s a spicy red musk with a hint of orange and flowers. The overall effect is surprisingly light when it completely dries. This reminds me of a couple CD blends.. like a less sugary, slightly more spiced version of The Grindhouse.

 

Verdict: If I were looking for a spicy red musk floral, Hell's Belle would definitely be a contender. But I'm not a huge fan of florals, so... I'm not sure.

[achromance]

In the vial: Oh this is gorgeous! It's like a thick whiff of tropical air with sweet fuit and lush flowers, except there's that extra touch brought in by the musk and the spices. Yummy!

 

On my wrist: Sadly, it turns powdery on me. I can't pick up much other than a faintly floral, powdery scent. It seems to stay that way. Reminds me of Highwayman somewhat. Such a shame; if it had stayed similar to the initial scent, Hell's Belle would've gone to my bottle list.

[Honey]

Mandarin. Oh, I so want to love this..

 

Imp: Very sweet. Mandarin (a bit too artificial and plastic) and magnolia (on the soapy side).

 

Wet: Too sweet, too chemical. Alas, not a juicy mandarin.

 

Dry: A slight bitterness from the mandarin. Still, very soapy. Soapy is not bad, but.. the whole scent.. it smells like plastic on me and I just.. no.

[yakiguri]

Wet, Hell's Belle is all mandarin, magnolia, and something sharp and green (I'm assuming it's the oleander). I'm surprised at how well the mandarin is behaving, it's usually a note of doom on me. On dry down more of the spice and musk waft to the surface, smoothing the oleander and warming the mandarin and magnolia. I'm surprised this is described as sinister as to my nose it's more of a creamy, innocent blend with just a kick of naughtiness. Grabbing a bottle for sure!

[jkfagtongpun]

A frimp from the lab and I so wanted to love it. In the imp and whilst wet, it's a really gorgeous, creamy, heady mix. Oleander, musk and spices. It was heavenly. Drying down - powder! Darn that magnolia. I left it for a bit and the husband said 'ew, you smell like an old lady'. I've not tried it again.

[calivianya]

I don't know why I never reviewed this. o.0

 

I'm not a huge fan of florals, but I decided to try this anyway because I received it as a frimp. I'm not exactly sure which floral it was that went bad on me, but this was spicy nasty floral that turned powdery on the drydown. It just was not appealing on my skin.

[WidgetAlley]

Imp: Amber and light florals, but strangely I can smell very little.

 

Wet: An almost peachy combo of magnolia, oleander and mandarin, along with some red musk and a swirl of resins. But it's still really faint. Strangely the whole thing has a sweet, lush, but surprisingly tropical-fresh vibe.

 

Dry: This one dries down to a smoky, resiny floral with a lovely sexy musk, but it's simply so faint it's hard to catch. Weird.

[Morsigne925]

In the imp: To me this actually smells a lot like Snake Oil does also right out of the bottle/imp - I get a lightly sweet, musky, almost woody-spicy scent that reminds me of some incense; don't get any of the flowers yet, but I do think I smell some of the mandarin.

Wet: The mandarin is immediately more prominent, as well as a spice that smells to me like cinnamon, so it kind of has a sweet cinnamon-orange vibe to it right after I put it on; a couple minutes later the flowers are starting to come out - I don't know what magnolia and oleander smell like on their own, but the flower smell I'm getting almost reminds me of gardenias, though not nearly as overpowering as gardenias can be. I'm quite liking this right now - on me it smells a bit like Scherezade or Snake Oil if one of those had floral notes.

Drying (~1 hour): As time goes on, this is smelling more and more like, if spiced cider were made into bread pudding (which, in my opinion, would be an epic win). I am *quite* enjoying where this scent is going. I think there must be cloves in here, and cinnamon, both of which I endorse enthusiastically - they go quite well with the mandarin, and though the flowers are taking more of a backseat in this one for me, they also go quite well. This is a very sexy scent to me

End of the day: The flowers are getting more prominent on me as time goes on, and the spicy-sweetness seems to be here to stay; loving this scent! It is a very naughty spicy-floral I could definitely wear going out on a hot date with the BF, or just in general whenever I want to feel devilishly sexy :3 5 stars! Oh dear, my big bottle list seems to get bigger with every other imp I test...

 

**Edit Aug 2014: Finally logging back in after escaping the void of graduate school. Most of what I said before still holds true, but I think I like the way this smells on more right after it's been applied than when it has dried a bit. Some scents I find too strong to keep smelling my wrists, but this one remains pleasant and I find myself sniffing my wrists throughout the day. Definitely a sweet floral, with a bit a musk/spice. I do enjoy this - I will probably amend my previous review to 4 stars, just given that I have other scents I like even more. But this remains one I would definitely wear out and about.

Edited August 19, 2014 by Morsigne925

[Mokiefraggle]

This scent is definitely one of my favorites so far (even if I'm still relatively new to BPAL, and have very far yet to go with it), and yet it's nothing like I expected. I was expecting flowery citrus, but what I got was so much better.

 

In the imp: here, I get the sharp scent of the citrus--that smell that comes not from the flesh of the fruit, but the peel. Orange oil, and a trace of something sharpish that almost makes it smell like alcohol. Not booze, but an alcohol-based perfume. It almost turned me off the first time, but I'm glad I did try it on.

 

On my skin: the alcohol-like scent goes away pretty much immediately, and the orange oil smell likewise seems to fade out. I get a little of it, but it's not the sharp, crisp snap of it that was there in the bottle. As it starts to dry, I get a bit of musk and magnolia, along with the spices. It ends up making this thick, creamy scent that's a bit like a coconut scent with a faint hint of caramel sweetness, with just enough spicy and flowery scents to keep it from being totally foody. I think if it weren't for that, I'd smell a lot like my favorite Girl Scout cookies, which I don't think I'd want. I might like them, but smelling like them is a bit too much!

 

The coconut quality seems a bit fleeting, though; I only smell it some of the time, but it blends with the creamy qualities of the scent so nicely that after a while it seems to disappear entirely. Eventually, I just have a soft, creamy scent with just enough musk and spice to stay interesting, and give me a warm feeling. And apparently, my fiance enjoys it on me; every time I've worn it around him, he turns into a clingy cuddle-bug, though it also seems to relax him right into a nap, as well. Still, it's a nice, cuddly smell that will probably stay on my big bottle list for when the time comes that I have money to throw around.

[becca_s]

At first the citrus and spices come through really strongly, and I thought I wasn't going to like it. Then after about 10 minutes it completely changed into a musky, magnolia with a few spices in the background - and maybe a bit of the Oleander in there too. I wore this to my driving test because it has quite a comforting scent and it helped with my nervousness and to feel more confident too.

 

Overall, I really like Hells Belle, it will probably end up going on my bottle list. I really like Magnolia

Edited January 25, 2012 by becca_s

[Dark Angel]

My imp is well-aged; at least two years old (I'm just returning from a BPAL hiatus). On me, this dries down to a floral--I was hoping the spices and musk would come out more, but no, mainly floral. I don't recognize it--could be either magnolia or oleander, or a mix of both. (In the Pacific NW, we don't have those things...) Definitely a lush and 'humid' sort of floral, not high or screech-y. It's rather elegant, in a southern belle sort of way. Nice, but not my thing--I'm just not a fan of floral perfumes. Also, I think my sinuses are reacting badly to it, so I won't be hanging on to it any more.

[KatharinaNordh]

Wicked and sinister?

 

Oh, not at all.

 

On me, at least, it is naughty and playful.

 

Warm room like a cave, reddish light. Small female creature with pointed ears sticking out of messy, shoulder-length, bloodred hair. Pale copper skin, small, smooth tail - she's crouching, smiling and whipping her tail. She has very small, almost silly, fangs and a slightly protruding spine, skin soft as silk, and as fur, and she smiles like teasing before she either dashes away and hides - or jumps you and tumbles round and round, to end up on top of you, hands on your chest, still smiling with her eyes glittering and her tail stroking your thigh.

 

Playful, naughty but innocent in that she is really just playing - she isn't seeking effect or pretending any moods - the perfect little hellish imp and you will love her.

 

Ehm, sorry, I know some people don't like the whole visual part - but I so rarely have them in relation to perfume - and whne the name is as perfectly suited as now as well - and so when I do, I like to tell them

Edited February 6, 2012 by Asinya

[milo]

I was sure I reviewed this, or at least tried it, but it has disappeared into lost post land. This is rich and bold, lush, and a touch spicy. It does go quite heady after awhile, which is not really my thing, but it is enjoyable in that it reminds me of somewhere warm and lush.

[detritius]

From the name, I didn't expect this to be so sweet and light, almost tropical. It's so bright and lush, without ever edging over into sickly. I'm not generally big on florals, but BPAL seems determined to convert me, and this is one of the scents that might be able to do it. This is also the third Hell scent I've fallen in love with, along with Hellfire and Hellcat. I wonder what that says about me. :0

[Jilara]

I got a frimp of this with my last order, and the notes listed would not have really appealed to me. But it's not like that at all! Oleander smells oppressively sweet to me, and mandarin and magnolia evoke citrus. I like the smell of magnolia, but it smells very lemon-freshened laundry soap to me...

 

Anyway, I put this one, and was dazzled! It's a light floral with a slight musk. I keep thinking tea rose (real tea rose, not hybrid tea, not the "rosey" scents), with a refreshing undertone that must be the mandarin and magnolia. Musk makes it sexy. I think the spice might be giving the slight hinting of carnation. It doesn't seem to morph at all, from wet to dry. It's gorgeous from the first. There aren't a huge lot of florals that really inspire me, but this one is a wonderful musky floral. (I notice others have said that they aren't much on florals, but they like this one.)

 

I will be getting a bottle, when the imp runs out.