Hell's Belle

[teza]

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.

At first, it is all sharp, sweet spice that cuts at the back of your throat. It slowly mellows and loses the edge, being sweeter and more herbal without any pronounced floral notes. A soapy floral begins to come up as it continues to dry and the sharp incense scent has faded to blend with the background. It is still present, but no longer overpowering. It's turning rather soapy on me, though.

This is the first time a scent has done that on my skin. It smells like sweet floral soap. Damn. I wonder if that's the magnolia doing that. It was working to be a really nice scent before it went all soapy. I didn't get a hint of the mandarin, unless it was adding to the initial sharp sweetness. Into the swaps!

[anaethema_x]

omg....this smell made me remember something i had forgotten...a summer long ago in California, underneath the lush darkness of the Magnolia trees in the side yard. It was where i was told that Darius (a friend from school) had been killed in a drive by shooting that day. He was one of my only friends when I lived there.

 

Its a sweet, sad scent for me. Im so keeping it to not forget him again.

[Lady Ravenglass]

Hmmm... This is a lot like Black Dahlia, due to the magnolia note, I suspect. Unfortunately, I've discovered that it's the magnolia that I don't like in Black Dahlia after all. This is a sweet, smokey heavy floral with a hint of incense that only comes out when close to the skin; on me the throw is magnolia through and through. It is quite strong as well, and doesn't seem to fade fast. It's a lovely blend, but the florals are a little overwhelming to my nose. It's dark, heavy, and adult. I'd put it in the same mood/style group as Noir and Black Dahlia - a kind of 40's Gothic.

[ChupaChup]

I got Hell's Belle in a swap and I'm not even sure why I had it on my wishlist. I'm not much into heavy florals but I guess I was intrigued by the promise of smoke and spice. The way things turned out, I should have liked it but I didn't . Hell's Belle is very floral at first and quite pretty. But quickly, the smoke and spice come out and they don't blend well on me with the florals. I end up with a smell very similar to Laudanum, that medicinal band-aid smell, but wheras I enjoy it in Laudanum, it's a little too sweet and sickly for me in Hell's Belle. I know poppy and myrrh aren't listed in the notes for this blend, but that's what I think I'm detecting here.

Edited February 4, 2005 by ChupaChup

[dcmo]

I have to agree with everyone's previous postings that this is a very sensual scent. It's softer than I would have expected with a name like Hell's Belle which brings to mind some little wildcat firecracker woman

 

This is beautifully floral, but also very creamy, and just lovely. I could see this being an everyday scent.

[MilkAndSugar]

I wonder when exactly I'm going to understand, that the Diabolus blends don't agree with me. At all.

Knowing myself I would say that it's not that I don't understand, it's just that the curiosity killed the cat.

*sigh*

 

Hell's Belle was very strong from the bottle, a sweet tropical floral scent that for some reason reminded me of green bananas! Go figure. Too bad I really don't dig bananas.

The second I applied some on skin, it warmed up and became a heady, sweet, lush floral with musk and spices underneath. There's also a definate dash or coconut under the florals, and that was very nice and exotic. I usually don't go for florals (except Rose, which I love like a madwoman) because most of them scream Ylang and Jasmine, and I can't stand those two, but I have to say, Hell's Belle was one of the nicest strong florals I've tried so far. Not a little old lady scent at all.

 

However, I found the scent too strong for me in the wet phase, and yet, it died down too fast. The floral-coconutty goodness disappeared on me and left a caramelly "fudge" scent on my skin. That wasn't bad either, but a bit dull. It wasn't deep enough to be yummy like the drydown on Snake Oil.

The sexy part never really came out on me, or maybe it's just that I didn't consider the scent sexy.

I also got a mild headache from the scent.

 

Off to swap it went.

 

So Hell's Belle pulled a Loviatar on me, and reminded me that I really need to try imps from the Diabolus collection before buying a bottle. That's the moral of the story, kids. Nighty night!

 

-Milk

[JazzieCazzie]

Ordered as an imp based on notes.

BOTTLE: Spicy and delicious! WOW!!!!!!!!

WET: Oh, this is divine. Spicy and floral at the same time, the initial throw also has a little bit of woodsmoke but I don't smell that when I sniff my wrists or crooks of my arms ...

DRYDOWN: Upon drydown both the magnolia/oleander and the mandarin are more apparent. But it's NOT a floral and it's NOT a fruity scent ... it just has traces of both. It is a beautiful amber gold color in my mind with a trace of orange ... I think this would be a great summer scent and I bet it would make a marvelous lotion as well ... this will be a big bottle purchase for sure.

Edited February 15, 2005 by JazzieCazzie

[Mofo]

Bottle. Even floral smell and I can't make out what it is and their is something berry-like about it. Nice

 

Wet. Smoky VERY smoky. This made me wonder if i'd like it.

Dry. After a few minutes the smokiness fades in to something warm and floral, not light floral but something rich and sensual. Makes me want to curl up somewhere comfortable or should that be with someone.

[Dinah]

Hell's Belle is a real trickster. It morphs from a sharp floral to something very smoky, seductive and sweet.

 

At first I get pure magnolia, but gradually the mandarin turns the scent into something sweet and soft and creamy. The spices give it that smokey twist that other reviewers have also mentioned.

 

I like Hell's Belle a lot, but I think it is a scent better suited for hot, sweltering summer nights. She's also one not to be trifled with - I have a mild flu and that belle is giving me a headache right now. Still, definitely one for the big bottle list.

[Witch's Dagger]

Hell’s Belle

 

Origin: This was a gift from the lab. Thanks!

 

Preconceived notions: It sounded indulgent and fiery, but perhaps too fruity.

 

In the vial: This is a very soft and sensual scent that reminds me very strongly of Sand & Sable. Very promising!

 

On me:

Watermelon. And not real watermelon, but the watermelon “flavor” you get in candy, gum, etc. Too bad I don’t like that scent at all. It’s beginning (in the first minute) to gather some spice, which might save it, but I fear this is going to be fake watermelon on me. It can’t seem to make up its mind between Sand & Sable and fake watermelon, but there’s more of the watermelon than the Sand & Sable.

 

In over an hour: It’s changed to a soft spicy scent, which I like.

 

Overall: Though I liked the end “soft spicy” phase, most of the time it was the fake watermelon. I have better options for “soft spicy” scents, so this one will be swapped.

[bellis]

So I recieved my first order today, and as I'm carefully opening up all my imps to sniff them and decide which one I want to try on first, Hell's Belle leaps out of my hand and spills on the floor. I of course had to wipe up the oil with my wrists, and now both my room and myself smell like pepper and magnolia. In the bottle it's a little greener and sharper, but now it's all just spicy magnolia. I don't get any of the mandarin at all. Lovely, and I definitely don't mind my room smelling like this. I probably won't buy a larger bottle, but I'm glad I didn't manage to spill all of the imp.

[requieminblack]

First sniff from the bottle- Yummy! Magnolia and something spicy.

 

After 10 minutes- This one smells almost exactly like Sacred Whore of Babylon, one of my favorites. This one is a bit tangier, having the mandarin in it.

 

After 30 minutes- I want to say that this smells like pear now. Is that the oleander coming through? Pear, spices and magnolia. What's not to like? This is YUMMY.

 

Summery- Hell's Belle is so much like Sacred Whore I can't help but love it.

[Reinaluna]

Hell's Belle, Well when first applied it is a lot like SWOB but a lot lighter and im glad because I did not really like SWOB. I get stong spice at first but then it mellows down into a soft floral. Im going to keep this one for a while to see how it works out , It smells a lot better on me today for some reason.

Edited March 8, 2005 by Reinaluna

[shelldoo]

man this one is divine

 

smokey, floral, spices, creamy

 

wet it is all magnolia on me but as it dries it becomes this complex blend that would be very hard to disect. this is surely a big bottle for me it is creamy, spicy, smokey, floral, what possibly could eb disliked

[Penance]

Origin:

 

I got an imp of this from kmasden.

 

Preconceived notions:

 

Let me start off by saying that I have no idea what possessed me to try this. Florals are (as anyone who knows my taste in perfume knows) not my thing and I don't normally wear fruit, but I wanted to try this (for whatever reason) and try it I shall.

 

First sniff:

 

Huh, I'm not quite sure what to make of this. The musk and spice and mandarin are htere, no doubt, but there's an almost syrupy sweet, vaguely floral note in the background that I'm not so sure about. Somehow this smells very southern to me, like cornbread and molasses, as strange as that sounds.

 

Wet on skin:

 

So far, Hell's Belle is holding steady. If anything, it's a tiny bit more floral now than before, but I still get that initial impression I got before. I have no idea where it came from, but it's unshakeable. If I had to pick out notes in this I'd be hard pressed to do it. All I can say is that I smell syrupy sweet florals and musk of some sort and a hint of spice. This really is much nicer than I'd imagined, but I'm not sure it's me.

 

Dry down:

 

Nothing new to report. Hell's Belle is a very steady scent, not a quick change artist like some BPAL scents I've tried. I'm still standing on my previous impressions on this one, as odd as they may be.

 

The bottom line:

 

I'm going to have this give this one some thought before I decide if I want to keep my imp or not.

[Northernminx]

Musk and mandarin and oleander were the predominant notes in this for me. This was feminine but sexy, a girl who knows what she wants and isn’t afraid to chop off a few limbs to get it. Lots of slinky warmth and heady spices.

[helarctos]

On me, Hell's Belle is sweet, and syrupy and nutty. Karo syrup and macadamia nuts. No floral at all.

[quimerula]

Wet it's oleander and spices, a bit sweet in a caramel way.

Something in the spices reminds me of Snake Oil, maybe there are some in common.

Drying the magnolia comes out just a bit, and goes less sweet.

Smoky, interseting and sexy, it's better when dry.

We don't get along well, but again it's my skin's chemistry fooling me (I guess).

[VelvetSky]

Hell's Belle: I was very much anticipating this scent, because the name is so fantastic.

 

This is a sophisticated, non-girly blend...very sexy, mature, and unisex.

 

Although Hell's Belle is sweet, it is not particularly flowery. It's more spicy/foody, like warm sticky buns. Yes, it's smoky but not like an incense smoke....more like clouds of scent coming from an exotic bakery.

 

The middle accord of this fragrance is very buttery and mellow. Perhaps that's the creaminess of the magnolia. I don't get the oleander at all.

 

This scent really hangs in there for a long time; it's quite strong and doesn't fade out to the final basenote for hours.

 

I'm not a foody scent-wearer, so I'll probably swap this, but I think this is a very interesting and lovely scent.

[any_old_actress]

FIRST SNIFF: sweet & creamy

 

WEARING IT: it's becoming more sweet as i wear it, when i first put it on i faintly got a spicy, creamy and ginger quality to it - but now the ginger is gone and there's definitely more sugar. it reminds me of cerberus, but lighter, prettier, spicier and smoother.

 

VERDICT: a little too sugary on me, it's too bad though, i really wanted to like this one!

[oatmealneko]

Vial: Either oleander or magnolia with a sweet mandarin.

Wet: Probably magnolia with a sweet & juicy mandarin, plus lots of musk.

Dry: The musk has toned down, & mixes in with the magnolia & mandarin, which still smells juicy & sweet.

 

I don't love it or hate it, it's in the middle for me. It's not an overpowering floral for once (yay!), but it's also not very fruity. I wanted to try this because I was curious, but it doesn't do anything for me.

[Electra]

Magnolias, burnt sugar, and a bit of spice. Not bad at all, but doesn't blow my doors off like Black Dahlia did. Off to swaps.

[paperdoll]

Initial Sniff: Magnolia and cinnamon with a mandarin twist.

Wearing: Oh magnolia, how I love thee! Smoky and spicy and long-lasting...

Final Impressions: This is the perfect "going out to the bar with the girls" scent. It is smart, sophisticated, beautiful, and just a little bit bad.

It is good to live in the Deep South.

[anmorata]

Hell's Belle:

Whoa. This is so white floral that I couldn't handle it. After about an hour, I had to take it off. Whew! I didn't get anything creamy or sugary about it.. just super-white floral.

[Rosabella]

I absolutely LOVE this. So gorgeous!

In the imp and wet, glints of citrus-orange top notes over musky white magnolia petals, and a subtle touch of spice.

On the skin, everything blends and warms to a deep creamy sultry spicey floral; sensual, sexy, husky and languorous. It makes me think of film noir femme fatales: Lauren Bacall saying "You know how to whistle, dontcha Steve?" would have smelled like this.

The magnolia is lush, heady, almost waxy, with a hint of vanilla, combined with and grounded by a perfect second-skin musk; the spice (don't know what kind; not cinnamony) and an incensey note develop and deepen to create a smokey/powdery feeling as a base or background. The oleander and mimosa remain to freshen the magnolia and keep it from becoming too sweet or cloying, yet they're so well blended they don't stand out as separate notes to compete with it. All the notes, really, are expertly combined so this comes across as a unified scent. The most beautiful new perfume I've tried - BPAL, oils, commercial - in years. Lovely throw, stays true and lasts all day.

And, it melds so well with my chemistry (the first BPAL where someone asked to sniff my wrist!) I ordered a bottle just days after receiving the imp because this has to be my new signature scent! Thank you, Lab!