Dalliances by Candlelight

[mmcfa2]

Beeswax, white patchouli, and honey.

Smells exactly as you would expect, except the patchouli is lighter than usual and does more to anchor, rather than overpower the scent. I like it, and I like all the ingredients, so this one is easy to wear and enjoy.

[Casablanca]

Dalliances opens on me as beeswax dominant, and the beeswax is beautiful. I'd been picturing it having a White Bees Swarming sort of honey, but instead I get a saucy, caramel-toned honey that isn't at all gourmand or candy-like. This opening is gorgeous.

 

Within a couple minutes, the white patchouli ghosts in, dry and a little dusty. I like this stage, too.

 

Before long, though, the beeswax and caramelish tones burn off my skin, leaving a white patchouli dominance with a backing of sweet honey. The blend is much less striking then, but still pretty.

 

I'm glad I bottled this! But because my favorite phases are so far short-lived, I think I'll stop at one.

[DianesTulpa]

In the bottle: sweet honey and beeswax

 

On skin: mostly beeswax with a hint of warm honey in the background. Not getting any Patchouli yet.

 

Dry down: still mostly beeswax, which I dont mind...reminds me of birthday candles that were blown out a few minutes ago. As it continues to settle, honey is coming out more and more to play, and its soft and amber-y, not too sweet. The Patchouli is not strong, but its presence is faintly grounding this scent and adding a smidge of earthiness. Thiis really pretty, reminds me of a warmer, less floral Hanerot Halalu.

 

Glad I opted for a bottle. I think this will be a nice scent for the evening. Its cozy. It will also likely blend well with vanillas and light florals.

[archaesophilia]

This is almost a dupe for Flickering Lantern from the 2017 Lupers, except it has the dusty patchouli instead of purple rose. I found that Flickering Lantern was aggressively sweet initially, but a year of aging made it my favorite shunga from 2017. I'm hopeful that Dalliances by Candlelight's honey will also mellow to bring the patchouli out more. Definitely a winner! If you were scared off Flickering Lantern because of the rose, you should give this a shot.

[megank4]

This smells very nice. A bit of an inky scent, reminds me of a Shunga from many years ago, Calligraphy Practice?

I'll have to look through the scent descriptions.

 

ETA: Yes, it reminds me of Calligraphy Practice, though I wasn't able to compare them.

Strongly reminds me of Lights of Mens' Lives.

Edited March 26, 2018 by Megank4

[Mountaingrrl00]

Smells like a yellow-brown beeswax candle, sweet as autumn honey as first, then more of a beeswax smell coming in as it dries. I swear I get a whiff of a candle being extinguished -- I don't know how Beth does it -- and then the smokiness disappears and I'm left with a sweet, slightly incense-like beeswax. I'm not familiar with white patchouli but whatever it's doing here really works. This is a wonderfully evocative, sexy, almost single-note skin scent. Love it!

[starbrow]

This is extremely potent stuff on me. I've enjoyed beeswax and honey notes in other scents before, although white patchouli is new to me, so I was expecting to love this one (almost bought a blind bottle, in fact). I'm glad I got a decant because OOF the white patchouli is dominating on my skin with a strong, overwhelming fake-leather smell that's heightened by the sweetness of the beeswax and honey. This one almost seems to get stronger the longer it's on my skin; 3 hours later, it's still going hard with a prominent throw. Six hours later, it's thankfully quieted but is still definitely there. This is a case of where the most lingering scents are the ones you wish wouldn't.

 

If white patchouli is your friend, I can recommend this as a scent with great throw and sillage. It's unfortunately not for me, a scrubber in fact.

[kscha2017]

Wow, I got a decant of this because I already have honey and wax scents and thought a little would be enough. I dabbed a bit on and was immediately overwhelmed by the scent of a roomful of hot, sputtering, smoking candles. I smell such realistic candle smoke, I can barely believe my nose. I smell hot pools of wax and can almost hear the moment each candle flame is extinguished in a pool of wax and creates a stream of black smoke, one by one, around the room. It's as much an image, an atmosphere, a feeling of heat, as it is a scent. It was hot pools of wax and smoke for about 30-45 min on me before it tamed down to warm beeswax with a hint of smoke. I could smell it wafting around me the whole day at work. I love this so much. It's like a bigger, stronger, hotter, smokier, less holy, more horny/sexy Hanerot Halalu. Very suggestive. I don't know why I'm getting such strong candle smoke - it must be the white patchouli on me??

[zankoku_zen]

Honeyed beeswax. This reminds me to a softer version of the Light of Men's Lives. Medium throw and wear length.

[ramblingrambler]

I’m typically a patch and honey fiend, but the beeswax is very dominant in this blend and unfortunately does not work on me. It absolutely reminds me of a dalliance by candlelight, however... dripping, waxy candles, some just blown out, witnessing... well, you know.

[theseagrows]

i think this is mostly beeswax with some earthiness from the patchouli. the honey is subtle, it's like a dirty beeswax on me. i like it, but it's not a love. i have other beeswax scents i prefer, perhaps it's because the patchouli is too strong for me...

[Balame]

A very sedate patchouli with BEESWAX in all caps. Just a dribble of honey that makes itself known after it's been sitting for a time. This isn't like the white patchouli in This Wan White Humming Hive, which was sharp and aggressive, so if you're worried about that dominating I'd still give it a go. It's definitely similar to Lights of Men's Lives but has that touch of woodsiness.

 

It's a simple scent, but pretty. Like others have noted, I have blends that use these notes in more interesting ways so it's not bowling me over, but it's solidly in the "nice" category.

Edited April 5, 2018 by Balame

[LizziesLuck]

I cannot resist beeswax dominant scents. Or honey dominant scents. But patchouli and I aren't getting along well lately. Though white patchouli works for me in a few things, including Wan White Humming Hive, which also features beeswax. Hoping I love this as much!

 

Wet : Honeyed woody patchouli and beeswax. Gorgeous. Instant love. It's a really warm scent. I always find beeswax so comforting, I reach for it all the time.

 

 

Dry: Beeswax heaven! Beeswax with honey is magic on my skin. The patchouli just gives it a bit more depth once dry. I adore this. I will likely snag a back up - I really do reach for my beeswax scents most, and the thought of running out of them is painful. I am so grateful to Beth - aromatherapy really works for me, and beeswax is a big part of that!

[mishi-bear]

Let it be known: I pretty much hate patchouli. I can tolerate it in some blends where it may as well not exist, or is far in the background, but if it is at all strong or god forbid the 'star' of a perfume, I'm out. It's a rare patchouli that doesn't smell musty, moldy, and like water damage. Sniffing the decant of this, I was shaking in my little girl boots. 100% patchouli. Nasty, stinky, mildewy patchouli. But... I had read other reviews. So many people raving about beautiful beeswax and honey and no patchouli! But some people saying it was all patchouli! It was late at night and I figured I could take a shower if I really hated it anyway, so I took the plunge... and I'm glad I did. The patchouli vanishes almost instantly on skin application and I'm left with a lovely smooth, sweet, creamy, waxy beeswax, and a sweet, powdery, almost polleny honey. I only get the barest whiffs of patchouli and when I do, it is behaving itself, lending only a touch of earthiness. As this perfume dries it honestly starts to smell like bit-o-honey candies on my skin, which I don't mind at all. Medium throw and long wear length.

[Juliamon]

In the imp and wet: Beeswax coated in honey. Intensely sweet and filthy with patchouli. I had my mom (who used to roll beeswax candles) have a sniff and her verdict was "Ugh, yup, that's beeswax candles that have just gone out."

 

Dry: The patchouli vanishes and the beeswax/honey mellows out. It's quite beautiful (mom even says it's her favorite of the dozens of BPALs I've tried) but it is a very simple scent. Good throw and wear length, and probably good for layering. I'm good with just my decant though.

[Jenjin]

This takes me to a roomful of huge, white honey, creamy candles all drippy with flickering flames making heat. Not sure why I waited so long to pick this one up, but i'm so glad I grabbed it before lupers came down. I have several other beeswax scents, but the addition of patchouli here makes it earthy and just a little bit chewy with a tiny wiff of smoke. This has all the floral subtleties of expensive honey, alongside the muskiness of the waxy comb combined with sticky vanilla patch. Dare I say, something about this seriously reminds me of Banshee Beat. Of course, BB is heavier on the patch, but the wax and patch combo is reminiscent of the BB vanilla patch. So cozy and warm, it smells like toe curling ecstasy~ YES YES YES!

Edited May 12, 2018 by Jenjin

[milo]

I love a good light patchouli scent, and this one is quite pretty. I'm getting slightly sweetened lighter patchouli, which must be the 'white' version. I wish the beeswax came out more for me, but I'm hoping in time it will. For now, the imp is enough, but if the beeswax were more prominent, it would have been an upgrade.

[LiberAmoris]

Dalliances by Candlelight is a satisfyingly simple and affecting blend of white patch, beeswax, and honey. White patchouli smells to me like patchouli stripped back to something nearly translucent, like the idea of patchouli without overt earthiness. It has a nutty edge to it that's pleasant and nearly gourmand on my skin. Blended with the beeswax and honey, it becomes sweeter and more foody, like Platonic caramel (and by that I mean it smells like the idea of caramel, like if caramel had a pure and essential state, not that it smells like straight-up caramel). Candle wax, the sweetness of skin, the gentle tang of patchouli—definitely a sexy blend.

[Madame Mew]

I didn't get much patchouli on this one, and it was a rather sweet, extra honeyed beeswax that dominates. I think this would be very sensual on someone else!

edit*

I decided to try this again, and can smell the patchouli more now. The patchouli  gives this a slight woodsy note. Somehow less “warm” than Light of Men’s Lives still and I assume that LoML has amber. Super pretty soft, with aging the honey is less sharp, and almost a smokey warmth. 

Edited January 6, 2021 by Madame Mew

[undeadrainbowdash]

It is a very sweat, bees waxy and slightly earthy scent. It is veryyy sweat to sweat for me personally but still very good to sniff from time to time.

[Lucchesa]

Candle scents are one of my favorite categories, so I do not know how I missed this one.  It's gorgeous, with unusually good throw on me.  Lots and lots of beeswax with a soft, dry patchouli grounding it.  This is reminiscent of Lights of Men's Lives plus very well-behaved, non-gnarly patchouli.  But the patch is not the star here; the beeswax is.  Gorgeous.

[SophieCedar]

This has aged wonderfully. When I tried it fresh, 2 yrs ago, it was too much honey and poufed into a powdery mess. 

Now? The white patchouli and beeswax are more dominant and its like this gorgeous oriental perfect for this time of year.

[saralaughs]

From my decant:

 

Beeswax is still the star right out of the gate but not for long. The patchouli in this is very mellow and further adds to the chewy quality of the beeswax.

 

As it dries, everything deepens; I can see @LiberAmoris call out on caramel; yet it's not caramel; it's just the thickening of each note. The beeswax is rich yet airy, the patchouli is chewy and woody.

 

Sweet, sexy, sticky.

[LavenderCoffee]

Ooh I thought I'd reviewed this one, but I must have mentioned it on a different thread or have misremembered. When I first tested this from a decant, it went a little too funky for me and I thought I was safe. But then I regretted passing the decant along, and decided to find a bottle. Now I love it, especially the way the elegant white patch and beeswax funk play off each other. It's a different sort of musk quality than honey does on its own. A sensual, personal sort of scent.