Hell's Belle

[gloame]

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.

In my eternal quest for a magnolia blend, I ordered an imp of this with my Lupers.

First sniff, it's tangy and brighter than I expected, although not exactly a 'bright' scent. I think that I just have to accept that mandarin (or any orange note) just overwhelms everything else on me and I need to stop trying. I can barely detect some oleander underneath, but it's mostly all orange to my nose.

This isn't my magnolia blend.

[lizabelle]

Surprisingly enough, this isn't terrible on me. The few times I've tried magnolia perfumes in the past, they have without exception turned into rotting fruit/flowers on me. This one isn't, and in fact it's kind of nice. The flowers have a fruity edge, helped along by the mandarin. The musk (red, if I had to guess) is very prominent, as is the spice, which I can't place but has the same quality as cinnamon/clove. I've never smelled oleander but the two florals are blending into a single, creamy pink scent. I'm not sure I like this quite enough to get a bottle, but I'm floored that I've found a magnolia blend that I can wear!

[Nikki Scarlet]

Received this as a frimp from the lab.

In the imp:
There's something about this scent that's reminding me of other scents I've tried and disliked, BUT somehow it's working in this one. I went into my first sniff of this completely blind (ie: no idea what was in it) and liked it. Now that I've had a look at the listed notes, most of them are scents I don't think I have much experience with, other than the sweet mandarin. I suspect that's actually what's making me like it on the whole -- I love citrus. It doesn't actually smell citrusy in the imp, though. It just smells sweet.

On me, wet:
Ahhh, the sweet mandarin is coming a little further forward. I like! . . . aaaand I've spilled a bit of my imp on my blanket. So, good thing I'm enjoying this so far!

On me, dry:
It gets a little more spicy and smokey as it dries, but on the whole this is a really well-blended scent. I'd say the mandarin is the dominant note, but that might just be mostly because it's the one I most recognize, and it seems well tempered by the florals. The musk and spice keep it nicely grounded and add a bit of sex appeal to the sweetness.

Verdict:
I think this may be big bottle-worthy! The throw is pretty low on me and gets even lower with time (not a lot of lasting power, methinks), but it's a lovely, sexy scent that I'd be willing to give a good thick slather if needed.

[Lucchesa]

Whoa, oleander! That was the dominant note on me, wet or dry. Not a problem - I don't adore oleander, but I like it , and if it's going to let a scent last a little longer on me, I'm all for it. Especially when there's mandarin involved, and creamy magnolia. (I couldn't identify any specific spices.) I applied it several hours ago, and although it's totally a skin scent now, my wrist still smells terrific. This wasn't dark or smoky on me -- I was a little worried deep musks would translate into problematic black musk, but they did not. It's sort of sexy and confident. Very nice!

[ianastar]

By the description I had high hopes for this.

 

Wet and right on the skin it reminded me of something from LUSH/BNever maybe like Cocktail? I couldn't place it but it was a lovely mix of floral, spice and something sweet.

 

However on the dry down more of the musk came out. On me its almost all musk with a little bit of spices right now. I really wanted to keep that initial scent when I put it on. Its not terrible, but just not what I had hoped for.

[achildoftime]

It's a creamy orange floral for me. It's really smooth, and a little sweet. I get a hint of spice I think is clove, but might be cinnamon. It's a spicy note, but it's there to act as a counterpoint for the sweet orange and magnolia. It's a little dreamy, and would make for a lovely spring scent. I was expecting more musk, especially if it was supposed to be a breed of red musk because that's one note that is usually strong on me. Either way, I still enjoy this even if I wouldn't think 'hellspawn' from sniffing it.

[lady_pandora]

This was a frimp in a recent order, and once again, the Lab knows me better than I knew myself! I might never have tried this, since the whole "belle" concept is just not something that really fits me, but wow, this scent is beautiful.

 

The dominant note is a creamy, just this side of edible, lush, hypnotic floral, I think mostly magnolia, though I don't really know what oleander smells like on its own, so it might be in here too. The mandarin manifests as occasional bursts of citrus, kind of effervescent, with a pleasant bitterness to offset the big big sweetness of the magnolia. I can't particularly make out musk or spice, but I'm sure they're playing some kind of role in this gorgeousness. Not much morph, lots of staying power. This is Top 10 material for me and a definite big bottle eventually.

 

Absolutely classic. I'm a nerd so this reminds me of Stella Mayfair drinking champagne, but this is classic enough that you could wear it to church with your grandma if you wanted to, and no one would know about the Hell but you. It's pure Belle.

[torischroeder9]

In the imp: The round, deep, sweet scent of oleander. I also get spice, though I'm not sure if that's from the oleander itself or if it's the separate spice note:

 

On my skin:

 

As I'm applying, the magnolia rushes to the surface, followed by the mandarin. In these moments, the oleander all but disappears. As it's drying down, the magnolia disappears, and the oleander starts to resurface -- so I get a lovely scent profile of bright mandarin with a spicy sweetness underneath. If this is where the blend stays, it's more "belle" than "hell."

 

Aaaand... no sooner do I type that than a shadow of musk starts to creep into the blend. It starts off as just a tiny undercurrent, dampening the mandarin's brightness just a touch. Gradually, it creeps up to become a main player, eventually eclipsing the mandarin and even rivaling the oleander. Fortunately, this works well with my skin chemistry, and I'm left with a sweet and spicy musk with just a hint of mandarin. The result is sexy in a sophisticated kind of way.

[RoseThornAndOak]

This might sound weird but this smells like a vampire who is comfortable enough with her vampirality to wear cat eye glasses and drink a mai tai in a tiki bar in the tropics (only going to the beach at night, of course). Its sexy, vampy musks on top of a tropical drink and reminds me a lot of Upa Upa, which I sadly destashed recently and regretted it. This is spicier and muskier, but a nice and welcome substitute.

 

Basically a sinister, tropical, demon chick who you might have seen driving a lipstick red '69 Mustang hitting up Florida death metal shows like Morbid Angel and Deicide.

 

It has great throw, I could catch waffs of it throughout the day, so my little frimp will carry me for a while, but I may get more imps/partial, maybe a full at some point. I can't wait to wear this more in summer. Well done! 

 

Yeah skip it I'm getting a bottle.

Edited March 6, 2020 by RoseThornAndOak

[puellacaerulea]

In the imp: Heady, steamy florals. Yup, that's magnolia. Once it's on, the musk (it reads like red musk to me) and spice amp up a lot -- I never quite pick out the mandarin. The spice is a little heavier than I'd like, but it doesn't overwhelm the florals. It has more of a classic perfume vibe to it, but the florals are lush in a way that evokes hot, humid summer nights. Going to pass on a full bottle since I can only see myself reaching for this on rare occasions, but will keep my imp.

[Rayleigh]

This reminds me of Florida in October, where it rains regularly in ten-minute downpours, and the heat hangs in a haze and swelters in between. Damp, lush, vibrant flowers. The musk here seems like it's the same one in Wanda, which makes this a slinky, playful scent -- summertime Wanda, when it is too hot to wear her leathers. I get barely any mandarin -- citrus rolls off my skin like water off a duck, as usual. Most sniffs are musk and damp petals, but there are little sparks here and there -- I don't know how else to describe it. It's almost like the olfactory equivalent of pop rocks? Little jolts of fizzy brightness. It's weird and hard to explain, but I like it. Very good wear time, and it stayed consistent. Moderate throw.

 

For being so humid, it's actually refreshing. It complements hot weather rather than being overpowering. It has interesting depth, a balance of sweetness and fierceness, and it's just fun. With this godawful endless heat wave, I've been reaching for this one a lot recently.

[Laughing Seagull]

I purchased this as a fresh lab imp and it is amazing.

 

It's an orange cream soda whose sweetness is tempered perfectly by lovely blossoms.  Somehow, this belle has managed to dodge all of the gripes I tend to have about perfumes: not too sweet, not too incense-y, doesn't get violently taken over by a note that I dislike, not powdery, not so strong that I get sick of it, my skin doesn't instantly obliterate the citrus note, doesn't go through any horrifying intermediate phases, etc.

 

The "spices," whatever they are, gently breeze in after the drydown, darkening the orange just a touch.  The scent reminds me of allspice.

 

The only downside is that this one fades relatively quickly (about 2 hours).

[fairybites]

This took me by surprise. Initially it smelled like some fruit punch, but with some drying it has turned a slightly powdery fruity floral. Barely getting any spices from this, but it is there and may be more prominent on someone else with different body chemistry.

 

A very citrus scent with oleander is what appears the most on me. Really digging this, maybe enough to get a bottle, but that won't be for some time.

[Thuy]

Again, not my typical scent but I'm on a "let's try all the frimps" mood. I'm pleasantly surprised by this one. In the imp I get a sharp tang (mandarin) with some heady florals and a hint of spice. Not convinced but I wore it anyway and it dries down to being deliciously dark and lush??? Yes! I do like dark and/or red musks, so this vibes about right for me. The mandarin is there but fades the quickest. I'm glad that I don't overly amp the spices. Downside is that only lasts a few hours at best.

[skyturtles]

This is one of my recent favorites for sure, despite it being florally-based. Things in the orange family always seem to surprisingly be lovely and dareisay sexy on my skin, and this is no exception. That musk balances out the oleander beautifully, and the spices do not overwhelm. Seriously, this is kind of a combination of my favorites: sweet orange, musk, and spices. No hint of powderiness the handful of times I've worn it. Mmmm yesss I'm a fan. 🧡