Belle Époque

[gangstaknitta]

"The Pretty Era", France’s Golden Time: an age of beauty, innovation and peace in France that lasted from the 19th Century through the first World War and gave birth to the cabaret, the cancan, and the cinema as well as the Impressionist and Art Nouveau movements. Sweet opium, Lily of the Valley, vanilla, mandarin and red sandalwood.

In Bottle: This scent is pretty sweet, undercut by the sharpness of mandarin.

Wet: Mandarin dominates my skin, with the lily coming out. The sandalwood is prevalent as well. The sweetness is not so strong on my skin.

Dry: Mandarin does not work on me, sadly. Neither does the lily. I can't smell the vanilla at all. But it did last a fairly long time and became rather faint. It smells really good on my friend (how I wanted it to smell on me!)

[zankoku_zen]

In the Bottle: I can smell the sandalwood. I can't pick out the vanilla but it smells warm.

 

On Skin: Smells like it did on the bottle. I don't get the lily or the mandarin.

 

Drydown: It fades fast on my skin. I agree with the assessment that you can slather this one on.

 

Verdict: It smells wealthy and opulent in my mind. It makes me think of wearing long gowns, going to the opera and drinking martinis in a sophisticated soiree. I like what it evokes but I'm not sure I actually like the smell. It may just not be for me. It will probably end in the swap pile.

[dreadeddragon]

In the bottle: Almost a generic perfume scent. I think it's because of all the lily.

 

First on: Mmm...I like this one. I get all the notes listed, in order of strength they go opium, lily, sandalwood, mandarin, vanilla. The generic scent is long gone, and it's a lovely blend of those notes.

 

Drydown: It's faded away mostly, I can barely smell it. I like it, but it's a similar style to Anathema, so I doubt I'll be getting a bottle soon.

[tinyvulture]

the fresh, summery lily of the valley and the exotic opium make an intriguing combination. the vanilla adds a light, pleasant sweetness. the sandalwood comes and goes, and i don’t detect any mandarin. very feminine and energizing.

[ChupaChup]

I got to try my friend's Belle Epoque. I mostly get mandarin and sandalwood from it, not vanilla and it's gone in about half an hour. She loves it though and it smells much better on her and lasts a good, long time. Still, we can't smell any vanilla on her either.

[urraca]

To me this is the belle epoque in Madrid: lush, beautiful, and optimistic but darkened by a hint of tyranny and despair.

 

In the vial I smell a vibrant floral with no single note dominating. Wet on skin the lily of the valley jumps out first but, oh this is wonderful, I feared with lily of the valley is was going to be all Diorissimo/Muguet des Bois but Beth has managed to restrain the lily so it does not dominate at the expense of the rest. I can smell the mandarin just behind the lily and as it dries down the sandalwood and vanilla come forward anchoring the scent.

 

It is just gorgeous and the only problem with it, as several have said, is that it fades to quickly. Maybe I need a big, big bottle so I can slather or figure out a way to extend it.

[quikslvr]

Lily of the valley first, then sandalwood. Very pretty, very light, but virtually all sandalwood on me. Fades fast.

[Witch's Dagger]

Belle époque

 

Preconceived notions: Sophisticated, yet decadent, with an exotic edge.

 

In the vial: sweet, honeyed, floral amber

 

On me:

Carnation? Spices? Flowers! But this is very golden and elegant. The belle époque indeed. I definitely get ladies in gowns dancing at balls filled with crystal chandeliers.

In 20 minutes:

Ooh - amber and vanilla coming out and sandalwood, too - very warm candle-lit halls of mirrors. Wonderful!

 

In 30 minutes:

Where am I getting this smoky amber? The smoky, I get – sandalwood. But there’s no amber mentioned in the notes of this blend. The opium, maybe? I did the review without looking at the notes, and here’s what I wrote at this stage: “This is one of the most glorious amber blends I’ve tried.” What’s with the amber?

 

In 50 minutes:

About the same, but beginning to fade.

 

Overall:

I think I need to keep this “glorious amber blend” and figure out what’s going on. It sure is gorgeous.

[Eris]

My first impression of Belle Epoque on was that it was like smelling a sweeter version of my beloved Penitence. Or perhaps Hymn without the rose. When I went back and re-read Belle Epoque's ingredients, I discovered the tell-tale lily of the valley, also in Hymn. This made me happy, as that works well with me.

 

As the scent settled more deeply into my skin, the resiny backing started to fade. That lily of the valley top note stayed, along with some else greeny and floraly. Mandarin? I doubt it's the opium. Regardless, the overall effect reminded me a bit of Amsterdam. Further play on the skin finally made Belle Epoque walk--but not quite cross--the soapy line. And there it stayed.

 

Like so many BPAL blends, I enjoyed tracking its morphs and was pleasantly surprised by all its nuances. In the end, though, this one doesn't 'do it' enough for me to keep.

[quimerula]

Wet it's lily of the valley, opium and a drop of mandarin.

Dry it's almost the same, a fresh and nice perfume that I would like to wear in the summer.

[renaissancerouge]

Dios mio. Wow. This is so much more amazing than even I expected, and I'm eternally optimistic about scents. Belle Epoque is gorgeous and perfect on me. After reading reviews calling it "soapy" and "light" I was a little apprehensive, but it does exactly what I wanted it to.

 

In the bottle: Hard to detect.

 

Wet: Opium, lemon, oranges, musk, sandalwood

 

Settled down: Opium, more citrus, lily-of-the-valley

 

Up to three hours later: Soft but still evident lily with opium and a hint of citrus

 

 

I ordered a 10ml unsniffed for the name alone, and I love it. It smells sunny, Mediterranean, sophisticated, and just plain happy. Perfect for summer.

[Dark Seraphim]

This scent reminded me of a perfume called "Beautiful".

 

Bottle: Strong lemony scent. Not quite lemon, but I couldn't imagine anything else.

 

Worn: Reminded me of a lemon and clean sheets. Lasted a couple of hours.

 

Burnt: Much better and stronger here. Lily of Valley is smelt here too.

 

Generally, I like the scent just fine, but I think it's better when it's in an oil burner then worn. It's not a scent that I would buy a bigger bottle of, but it's still a decent scent. 7/10.

[OriginalWacky]

Bottle (Imp): This smells like some sweet flowers.

 

Just On: Astringent. It starts to settle down right away, but the first blast when put on is astringent. I am thinking this is yet another flower blend that my skin will ruin.

 

An hour or two later: Ugh, my skin turns it to soap. How is it that I do this to the most gorgeous scents?

 

Around 6 hours: I'm left with a vague scent of soap.

 

12 hours: It's all faded away now.

 

Overall: Yet another beautiful scent totally ruined by my traitorous skin.

 

After reading other reviews: The vanilla never really came through on me, or if it did, my skin overpowered it by turning it to soap because of the flowers.

[grrrlennyl]

at first: this was a freebie from the lab. very pretty in a traditional sort of way. very floral and soft.

on: very floral. it's hard to pick any particular notes out. i'm also picking out a hint of sweetness and some citrus.

2 hours later: powdery and a bit sweet. reminds me a bit of antique lace at the moment, but is more floral.

5 hours later: powdery and sweet. soft.

overall: this is nice, but i'm going to let my antique lace keep me company. i may nab a bottle if i'm in a supremely / sweetly feminine mood.

[Stumbeline]

On first impression it smells very department store-perfumey. All lily of the valley and vanilla. I can smell the sandalwood after 15 minutes or so, and it's fairly strong. This scent lasts a good long while, and I like it. At the very end though, right before it vanishes, it smells a bit old-ladyish. It's very feminine and girly, something I would wear out with my friends. Not a big bottle for me, but I like it enough to use up my imp!

[paperdoll]

Initial Sniff: Sniffing the vial, I can't pick out any notes except mandarin. This is very citrussy.

 

Wearing: Citrus goes poof! and the lily of the valley comes on in. I can smell a nice sandalwood base, but mostly this is the white floral show. Eventually the vanilla turns all baby powdery and makes this lily and baby powder.

 

Final Impressions: So why can't the lovely opium and sandalwood dominate this blend? Because my skin chemistry is whack. Boo.

Edited July 4, 2005 by paperdoll

[phoefromelsewhere]

My brain has been sidetracked by this. I can't remember what is in it at all, only that it is unspeakably beautiful. Soft, feminine but not girly. I'm in love. 5ml for me!

[QueenFae]

A lovely, smooth feminine scent. The most prevalent notes on me are the lily of the valley, the vanilla and sweet opium. The mandarin and sandalwood fade into the background. I like the fact that this one's a floral, but it has a lovely creamy, foodiness to it as well. It's scrumptious, I've waited so long to try this one, and it was worth the wait!

[madelf]

In the imp this is all sandlewood. The sandlewood pushed everything else to the background.

 

On, this was sandlewood and opium. The lily was a nice background note, and the vanilla warmed things up just a little. I never got the madarin, which was disappointing, but this was still a lovely perfume. Very sophisticated and multilayered.

 

I don't think this is for me, but I will enjoy the imp.

[Scarlettfish]

This faded quite quickly on me, but it was mostly sandalwood on me, with a hint of flowers and just the faintest suggestion of mandarin. As it dries down I can smell the mandarin more. I can't really detect the vanilla all that much at this point. Nice, but I will probably just keep the imp and not get a bottle.

[arabella]

First impression: Intriguing - I can't pick out any particular notes, but the overall blend is very elegant.

 

Dries down to: I keep getting a mental image of a crystal perfume bottle sitting on a vanity with the stopper left out and laying beside it when the owner rushed off so as not to miss the opening curtain at the theater.

 

Additional comments: Another perfectly balanced blend. I'm familiar with and really like most of the notes, but couldn't pinpoint any of them - which, especially, surprises me in the case of the LotV, vanilla and mandarin. This would be a perfect oil for special occasions on summer evenings; it makes me feel elegant and pretty. It's one I would wear for others to smell on me not for me to keep "sniffing" on myself.

 

Lasted: Quite well on me - I put it on at night and could still faintly smell it the next morning.

 

Rating: 3 out of 5

[cindyrella]

From the imp:

Sweet florals, but these are florals that I like. They are fruity, not soapy.

 

On me, wet stage:

Yes, definitely florals, but the sweet fruity ones. I have to see the description to know what’s in it. I’m not very good at detecting notes.

It’s very funny to compare the description with my experience. On me, this isn’t that heavy, it smells like long faded perfumes. I wouldn’t guess there was opium in this, I mostly find opium rather heavy and dominant, but I guess that makes it perfumy.

And the florals are Lily of the Valley, which turn very soapy on me, most of the times, but this time they don’t. That’ll probably be because of the mandarin (there’s that fruitiness...) and vanilla (... and sweetness).

I found out that I really love Beth’s vanilla, and this will probably be another winner.

 

On me, dry stage:

This is the echo of the wet stage. It’s kind of the same, but it has faded into a whiff of perfume.

As I said before, this does smell like long faded perfumes, it’s very light and it really does live up to it’s name. It evokes the image of beautiful women wearing lovely dresses reading romantic novels. It’s very nice.

[magikfanfic]

In the bottle: Sandalwood and mandarin. Mandarin and I have a troubled past. It hates my skin or my skin hates it. But things with mandarin have a history of not working in big ways.

 

Wet: Mandarin and sandalwood. I have no clue what opium smells like so I won't be able to detect it. Maybe it's that odd herbal note I smell, though. This is very gold. Very classy and cultured. And a lot more subdued than I thought possible.

 

Dry down: Only now it smells a little too herby, which means it's bordering on medicinal. The mandarin is there but that herbal smell is cloying and somewhat overpowering. Yeah, not liking this too much. The sandalwood is also out of control. I usually like sandalwood as long as it's not too prevalent. This is mostly sandalwood and that herbal smell that reminds me of the smoke that comes from the legal herbal cigs my dad used to smoke on occasion.

 

Dry: Sandalwood and an off herbal smell. Not interested. Washing off.

[theseagrows]

this one was way too floral for me, or maybe the florals involved just are not to my liking, because i DO like some florals. it smelled sickly sweet and floral in a way i just don't like. of course, it could be some of the other notes that i am disliking, like sandalwood, as i am not as familiar with single notes.

[Brianne]

In the bottle:

vaguely sweet floral

 

On me:

I wish I was getting all that vanilla sandalwood goodness here, but I'm not. It's mostly just a generic floral smell to me, it's not bad, it's soft and a little bitter to my nose. Later on, that opium kicks in and it makes this smell really incensey. Again, it's kind of a general incensey floral smell, so I can't really be more descriptive than that. After several hours, I get a little bit of sandalwood, and it seems to be predominantly that after wearing this that long. Just a very soft, light sandalwoody smell in the end.

 

Final note:

It's not bad, but it also doesn't strike my fancy unfortunately