The Eternal Virgin

[hackess]

The keeper of the secrets that are hidden [AB3] at the moment that life begins. Her light is the veil that cloaks the spirit; she is the mediator between the supplicant and the word of the gods.

White carnation, cardamom pod, and honey milk.

WOW.

Bottle: Heady. Sticky honey and floral, just a hint of a green sharp or spicy edge.
Wet: A blast of cardamom milk, liquid carnations.
Dry: A little sweet, a little creamy. The carnation hangs out for a long time, on me. It's so comforting, I want to wrap myself in it.

This is honestly one of the most well-blended scents I've ever gotten, from BPAL or anywhere else, so complex and beautiful and evocative it's bringing me to tears.

[Ina Garten Davita]

Beth continues to evolve as an artist. This collection is unique, and beautiful, complex, and stunning.

 

This is the first scent I tried when I got my box yesterday. Absolutely gorgeous, feminine, and ethereal but not in that ghostly way. The carnation and cardamom is a magical combination, sweet, creamy, with just the suggestion of spice.

 

Honey and milk can be problematic for me, but here, they are barely a breath, grounding the scent. I love that I have nothing like it in my collection. Simply gorgeous!

[Casablanca]

Each of Eternal Virgin's listed notes is a win with my chemistry, so I had no worries with this one. The balance is different from what I pictured before putting it on, and it intrigues and lures me in...

 

First on, the cardamom is queen. Whee, I didn't expect so much cardamom up front. This is refreshing. With the cardamom, I keep getting a slight ginger impression, too, though none's listed.

 

But under those, carnation and honeyed milk! Yum. My skin likes milk and cream notes, and loves when they're combined with a floral.

 

During drydown, though, that ginger impression grows. And takes over. Where's this coming from? I know I can amp ginger something ridiculous, so while I like it in food, I tend to avoid it in fragrance. Come back, honeyed milk and other friends!

 

OK, it's dry and settling down. Whew. Now back to just a little gingery whiff, mostly hidden back in the cardamom. This is a pleasant spice balance, with now much softer carnation and honey-sweet milk behind it.

 

I loved the initial wet phase, and the fully dry one is nice. I'll see how this one settles.

 

 

ETA: I thought I would actually update this.

 

It's been about a month since I got this, and that initial shrieking ginger has calmed down into a balanced chai blend. I'm quite good with this.

 

Yay!

Edited June 28, 2018 by Casablanca

[donkehpoo]

Wet: Lots and lots of honey and carnation. Strong throw, too!

 

Dry: Pretty similar to the wet stage, only with the addition of cardamom now. The throw has calmed down a little, but it's still on the stronger side.

 

I'm actually not as crazy about this one as I thought I'd be. It's nice, definitely wearable, but something about it isn't really wow-ing me.

Edited June 16, 2018 by donkehpoo

[zankoku_zen]

Carnation, honey, milk and a whiff of cardamom. This is like if Dana O'Shea and Hod had a baby. A honey-milk with carnation blended baby. It's so good, and so powerful, and yet feminine. Comforting, and yet full of strength. Good throw and wear length.

[tarotgirl99]

Wet: I can smell all three of the stated notes. The most enticing dance. I want to live in this stage.

 

Dry: Carnation thrusts his flower face to the front of the pack and never steps aside. I love carnation but not as much as that aforementioned holy trinity. Occasionally the sweetened milk enriches the carnation, but mostly it stays in the corner.

 

Throw is sensational--I got unexpected whiffs on the regular. It lasted quite a long time (9 hours or so).

I am going to try this a few more times before deciding whether or not I need a bottle. If it stayed in its initial wet stage, I'd buy them all.

Edited June 15, 2018 by tarotgirl

[theseagrows]

i must be amping the cardamom in this...it smells like an indian dessert or kind of like authentic chai tea. it's got indian spices going on too. i don't seem to get any carnation, just a strong cardamom with hints of milk. after about 30-45 minutes i get some carnation and this gets less foody, but it's still there. i think the honey is balancing things out. however, i'm just not sure this one is for me.

Edited June 19, 2018 by theseagrows

[doomsday_disco]

In the decant: There’s lots of cardamom pod and honey milk. It actually reminds me of chai tea without the actual tea component and the other spices.

 

Wet: The cardamom pod and honey milk are the dominant notes on me, and I still get that chai tea association. Then, the white carnation emerges behind these notes. The cardamom pod is increasing in strength on me, and I’m not surprised, as I have a tendency to amp spice notes.

 

Dry: The honey part of the honey milk has soared to the front of the scent. I’m still getting a lot of cardamom pod, but the white carnation is also playing a bigger role than before, while the milk adding a nice creaminess to the scent. Eventually, it ends up being honeyed, white carnation with the spicy cardamom pod on me, with some creamy milk in the background.

 

Verdict: This one is nice! Not something I feel the need to obtain more of, but I am glad that I decided to try it.

[Lucchesa]

If I were a little more financially secure right now, Eternal Virgin would have been a no-brainer blind bottle - a variation on my first love Alice with the addition of a favorite spice. Tragically, my skin was having none of it. I can smell in the decant how lovely this must be on others, but it just isn't right on me. Maybe white carnation hits my skin less favorably than red or pink. Maybe the milk note goes a bit off, which has happened with some cream notes. Either way, this was a near-miss on my skin. Sigh.

[VioletChaos]

In The Bottle: WHOA. That is delicious. The white carnation is definitely a different experience than the Spanish Red I've encountered in past Lab mixtures (plus one of my favorite SNs of all time!) But just in the bottle, it's not the only note in the mix. The honey lends sweetness right out of the gate, but at this stage, doesn't present itself as the honey configuration we all typically know from such Lab favorites as "O". I am way intrigued, regardless!

Wet On Skin: Sweet, creamy (hey milk note heeeey!) and, as others mentioned, comforting.

Dry Down: The carnation reads slightly more like carnation I've met before, but still lighter, definitely a 'white' variation for sure. The honey and milk are holding strong. I personally don't get any of the cardamom, but that's not surprising, since my skin tends to eat that notes unless it hits me over the head in a OH HAI I AM ALL TEH CARDAMOM ALL TEH TIME kind of way. I have a SN if I feel like it needs ome, but this scent is just lovely right as it is.

Glad to have a bottle- it feels like sacred hope, which is needed in these exceptionally dark times.

[spookyumbrella]

This one is nice and potent! It's pretty much perfectly split between all its notes - the carnation, cardamom and honeyed milk are all distinct and noticeable, but they come together to create something gorgeous! It reminds me a little bit of Alice, but spiced as opposed to sweet.

[mari4212]

Wet on: Carnation! Sweet and mildly spicy.

 

Initial drydown: Still mostly the carnation, with perhaps an extra touch of sweet from the honey and spice from the cardamon. This is essentially carnation accentuated with more of itself.

 

Later drydown: second verse, same as the first: this doesn't mutate much on me. Not a super-strong throw, after the first five minutes, but it's present and lovely.

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: Oooh that's pretty. Reminds me of something. Can't put my finger on it. It smells like none of the listed notes to me, it's so well blended it's become a Thing Of It's Own. Spicy, sweet, perfumey. Sweet, but somehow dry at the same time. Lovely. I don't have anything that smells like this.

 

 

Dry: Mmm. I honestly can't pick out the carnation from the cardamom here. It's sweet and creamy, but I also don't think I could pick out honey or milk as a note either. If you didn't tell me what was in this I would be seriously stumped. But I would love it. I can't describe it, but if you like sweet, creamy, slightly spicy and perfumey indescribable scents, go try it for yourself!

[galahad]

In the Bottle:

Cardamom and a slight creaminess

On the Skin:

Initially a beautiful cardamom cream but the cardamom isn't overpowering. There is a slight carnation spiciness peeking through

On the Drydown:

There is a slightly uncomfortable period as the carnation and cardamom cross over with the cardamom moving to the background and the carnation coming to the front but that doesn't last long. This is a glorious beauty. The carnation cream backed by the cardamom is stunning. I did a full day wear and I got wafts of carnation all day.

[roseus]

In the imp: Dry, spicy cardamom. Makes me think of a desert market scent.

 

Wet: This reminds me of Dr. Pepper. The honey milk gives the spice just the right kind of toothsome sweetness, and there is something buoyant, not fizzy but bubbly enough about the blend to remind me of soda. I mean this in the best way possible of course.

 

Dry: Still that rich spicy sweetness, but creamier and more subdued. Getting that distinctly airy floral-spice of carnation. Lovely.

[Aveya]

Preconception: I love Carnation. I love cardamom. I like honey - but it amps. I'm hoping for a spicy warm creamy thing.

 

Initial Skin: WHOA hi there Honey. You're super flippin' sweet.

Drydown: Super super quick I get spices with my honey. Artisan spiced honey. SUPER rich sweet honey. My blood sugar is rising smelling this. But then the carnation & cardamon add their beautiful beautiful warmth and tang. I'm in love with it. I wish I amped cardamom more. I usually amp carnation,but the honey has WON OUT. Honey is Queen. She is also cloyingly sweet to me. Not in a sugar way, not in a creamy way, but in a raw syrup honey.

 

Late drydown: Raw. Honey. Comb.

 

Verdict: Disappointed that the honey won out in this battle. I had high hopes for a spiced beautiful blend. It's really beautiful, except for the queasy sugar-induced edge it adds to me personally

[Happicuppa]

In the bottle: SWEET. Hello honey. Just a little green around the edges.

Wet: Still honey, but some spice is already peeking out.

Drydown: honey and cardamom with a floral carnation edge but it's mostly honey. I don't even get creamy honey with the honey milk, just real, raw honey. It's pretty f'kin good but I'm not sure I'm going to wear it enough to justify my blind bottle.

 

 

Overall: So much sweeter than I expected, was hoping the spice would pipe up but it seems that honey is queen today.

Rating: 6/10

Edited July 25, 2018 by Happicuppa

[Alethia]

Thoughts before testing: I haven't made a BPAL order since last year's Anniversary scents as I've found my small stable of perfumes that work perfectly on me every time. But when I saw the notes for this, I had to try it. Carnation, honey, milk, and cardamom are all part of my top ten love muffin notes list and so I had to give it a whirl.

 

Wet: Yowza, the honey and cardamom are mixing to create this almost raisin-y, chewy sweet scent. I'm not sure I'm feeling this wet stage at all.

 

Dry down: Thankfully after 30-ish minutes the chewiness dies down and the whole thing morphs into a sweetened spicy carnation.

 

Dry: The carnation is sweet and spicy and lovely. This is really pretty, really feminine, really me.

 

Verdict: Keeping!

 

Edited to add: the throw on this is mild but lasted for roughly 7 hours before I had to really try to smell it. My husband says he likes it but prefers Stekk or Paper Phoenix to this.

Edited August 20, 2018 by Alethia

[Ghost of a Rose]

Bottle fresh from the lab.

 

In the bottle: Without looking at the notes, I get caramel loud and clear. More sniffing reveals other things in the background: spice, something vaguely floral. The caramel and spice combination is warm and delicious and very sweet. Like caramels with extra sugar and a touch of spice that goes so well with the caramel. But I hope this won't be too foody for me.

 

On me, wet: The first thing I notice is cardamom, much more defined than in the bottle. It's realistic and wonderful. The caramel - which I know now is milk and honey - is right behind it. This is also much less sweet than in the bottle.

 

At 10 minutes: Hot milk sweetend with honey and flavored with chai spices. It makes me want to drink some. There's an odd black note, too, like licorice-y anise. No carnation that I can perceive.

 

At 20 minutes: The honey is more distinct, less like caramel now. Otherwise it's the same as before.

 

At 30 minutes: Ah, there's the carnation. Baclava! The carnation is very delicate, just like the rose water in baclava. With a touch of anise. Is that really in this, or is it my skin chemistry doing something weird? It's intriguing in any case, and makes this just a tad less foody. I know, that doesn't make sense. But that is my impression.

 

At 45 minutes: Cardomom is the star (sorry anise, LOL.) So now it's chai tea. In spite of all these food associations, this doesn't annoy me as foody perfumes usually do. It's all the spice.

 

I do like spice perfumes, as long as there's no ozone to turn it into men's cologne. Probably because spice has many other associations for me besides food: candles, air fresheners, pomanders, potpourri, camel caravans, the open-air markets of Marrakesh, and yes, men's cologne (which is nice enough, just not what I want to smell like. Same as with food.)

 

I'm the same way about honey. I rarely eat it or use it in cooking, only in recipes where it is blended with many other things. So I don't think of it as a foody scent. I think of expensive beeswax candles, and I love BPAL 's honey note.

 

After 1 hour: The cardomom has made a sudden hasty exit, but left its shadow behind. Which allows the sweetness of the honey to show its face again. Together with that mysterious black note which has taken on a sharpness that now is more like black pepper than anise. A faint smidgen of anonymous floral. None of the notes are very realistic anymore. And my skin has definitely done something weird now. Along with these other things, I smell . . . toothpaste. This is no longer foody, but better that than toothpaste. If I were out in public I'd wash it off. But I'm home alone, so I'm leaving it on to see what it does next.

 

After 3 hours: Toothpaste, with a breath of honey and spice.

 

At 8 hours: I had stopped sniffing my wrist, so I don't know when the toothpaste went away, but it did. The fragrance is still there, and it's beautiful again now! And not at all foody anymore. Soft powder with forals and a gentle touch of spice.

 

Verdict: For the first hour, 4.5 stars out of 6. I love the cardomom and honey notes, but overall the oil is a tad too foody to make it into the 5-star category. I wish the carnation was stronger and lasted longer.

After 1 hour, it's a disaster. I'm not going to rate that, because I'm pretty sure the problem is my skin, not the perfume.

And the final drydown is generic but lovely.

 

I'll wear this in a scent locket, where my skin chemicals can't get at it. It will stay very nice that way!

Edited September 1, 2018 by Ghost of a Rose

[neuilly]

This is so unique to me. I'm not sure how to describe it except that it is exactly what the description is and yet I'm not sure I would have been able to list any of the notes without looking. Carnation chai tea? Not very Chai, but in that family. Definitely milky in a pleasant soothing way.

[Myrrha]

The cardamom is strong in this when first applied, a greener, sleeker spice than ginger would be. I absolutely love this note and want to try some other scents with cardamom. 

 

The carnation blends with the cardamom and is really lovely but in a very light way. It is a restrained carnation.

 

The honey is gorgeous, delicate. This is not a warm roaring kind of honey. After an hour the carnation is not as easy to make out and the scent is a creamy-sweet with  an overtone of spice.

 

I don't usually like wearing honey but this is so well blended that I might wear it for the beautiful cardamom and carnation.

 

EDIT - after reading the previous reviews I can make out the anise note mentioned by Ghost of a Rose. I think it is the white carnation part of the scent that has a very faint anise aspect.

 

 

Edited April 5, 2019 by Myrrha

[torischroeder9]

Received in a swap a few days ago, so it's had a chance to rest. 

 

In the bottle: Very rich, deep honey, spiced by cardamom. I can't detect any carnation in the bottle, but I'm not surprised. It's very honey-forward right now. 

 

On my skin:

 

Wet, I'm first surprised at how thick this oil is, kind of on the order of aged Snake Oil. Scent-wise, it's very dark, spicy honey. It's evocative of cinnamon-flavored honey that's produced locally to me. Ever so slightly different though, which is probably because it's cardamom. And there's something that's neither honey nor spice. I imagine this must be the carnation, but right now, I'm reading it as a tea note -- though this may simply be because honey + tea paints a complete and coherent scent experience in my brain. On the drydown, the carnation/tea note fades back, and the heady, cardamom honey goes gangbusters. (That is not a complaint, BTW. Not at all.) 

 

It sort of continues this way, with the cardamom honey very dominant and the carnation-tea flitting in and out of detectability. It may settle down in time, but it's been going this way for over an hour. It's quite heady and strong on me -- sort of in the way that Judith and Holofernes is (different scent but similar feel). I'll probably have to be careful and sparing with its application, but this is definitely a keeper!

[feyofthefellwood]

This is the spiciest honey scent I've tried so far and I'm here for it. I love all the listed notes, although as another reviewer mentioned I notice a ginger scent here - maybe it's the mixture of carnation and cardamom, or maybe it's an unlisted note - but with the creamy honey in the background, yum. I do wish I got a little more cardamom, but maybe my nose is mistaking it for ginger. For a perfume with such a serene name, this scent seems fierce to me; warm, but assertive. It's honey with a sharp sting. 

Edited July 9, 2020 by feyofthefellwood

[Seajewel]

This blend sounded perfect for me, but on me it's a green scent with a lot of cardamom. I'm not getting honey, milk, or much carnation, except maybe a very green kind of carnation. A testament to how much skin chemistry and "nose" matters--feyofthefellwood, who reviewed above, sent me the tester and it looks like we are getting very different scents. I really wanted to love this but it just isn't working on me. The hunt for the perfect cardamom scent continues. 

[ka hulu]

I blind-test parts of my scent collection a lot, just unzip a random case and sniff-test bottle after bottle until something asks to be fully looked at and known by name. This morning I lingered eyes closed with a compelling scent that, once I identified what I was getting from it, turned out to be The Eternal Virgin.

 

Bottle: Fruitcake. Old-school, rummy, candied fruit, Christmas with grandparents when you were five, fruitcake. Or maybe a grocery-bought panettone, if you like, but that’s too light for what this is. Really that old-school heavy dense rummy chewy kind that kids (maybe sensibly) turn up their nose at. More booze and candied fruit or fruit peel, more than any spices; no flowers at all.

 

Wet: Chewy, heavy, boozy fruitcake. So much that I write the wrong date in my journal. Warm December cozy winter kitchen vibes, disorienting in nearly mid-July. 

 

Dry: Somehow this is where all the booze, fruit, and sugars recede, and now The Eternal Virgin is all clean sharp spicy pure carnation. A white carnation for sure, and somehow only one. Every so often, a hinted nutty element, so still getting Christmas fruitcake vibe.

 

I wouldn’t have guessed fruitcake from scent description, at all, and yet maybe there is some valid leap from Virgin to Christmas to fruitcake? Soooo unexpected. Also truly joyous.

 

I blind-purchased this one because of the notes; I like carnation, *love* cardamom, and my go-to drink at cafes or coffeeshops has always been steamed milk with honey. But I don’t detect even a pinch of cardamom or drop of honey milk (or even just honey, or just milk, or any kitchen spice), in Virgin. She is first and for a long time boozy fruitcake enough that now I am looking up traditional recipes, and then She is entirely a single perfect redolent white carnation, very sharp and flower-spicy and strong. Great throw, too, really lovely. I don’t need a backup bottle but am so glad I’ve got this in my collection.