Belle Époque

[urbanruralferal]

“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.

I don't have this scent anymore but I was dancing today and a few associations came up for me around Belle Epoque.
Element: Air
Time of Day: Dawn
Music: Cocteau Twins, Pandora

All that but slightly corrupted. All that but tired, like it has been out all night. Edited June 9, 2006 by urbanruralferal

[neuilly]

Oh, I love the idea behind this perfume! I'm a little leary of the Sandalwood, however. Well, we'll see how this goes...

 

In the bottle: Oh yeah, there's the sandalwood. Definitely teh dominant scent for me. I do catch a bit of mandarin and lily of the valley though...a subtle softness in teh background. Like a young girl trying to hide her innocence. I know, odd description but that's what came to mind.

 

Wet: Lots of sandalwood...and vaguely pine scented which is very odd. And a little lily of the valley in the background.

 

Dry: The whiffs I keep getting are much more floral and fruity then when I smell from up close. I rather like the scent without the sandalwood...but I still can't decide how much I like it. The sandalwood is still there although it's moved to the background. I'll have to wait and see if it stays that way until it fades away or if it'll turn to incense on me. *crosses fingers* Overall though it's a lovely scent and it fits it's titles perfectly.

Edited May 25, 2006 by neuilly

[kakiphony]

Application point:

Left wrist.

 

Wet:

Perfume. Horrid, horrid, sneeze inducing, grandma-wearing perfume.

 

Early dry down:

Complicated florals. I think I smell lily of the valley in there, but it's too overwhelming to be sure.

 

Late Dry Down:

Gone. One hour later I can't smell a thing. In my world, I guess that may be the best floral there is!

[Taniwha]

Wet, a crisp floral, very elegant. I'm not noticing sandalwood - perhaps I don't recognize red sandalwood?

 

After I wear it for awhile it becomes solely opium. Nice, but not me - too spicy. I'm sad that the lily of the valley is missing - I wanted it to linger.

Edited June 6, 2006 by Taniwha

[kunoichi]

This is an unusual one. It's all sweet and fruity in the bottle, with a depth behind it when I sniff it from the vial. On my skin a spiky, slightly bitter scent starts to come through the fruity sweetness, backed by the sandalwood that gives the scent it's depth; but perhaps it fights with the citrus of the mandarin too much and that's why it's slightly bitter.

 

After a few hours on my skin, I the spiky smell has faded, and I can detect the vanilla through the other notes and it softens the scent down into something more rounded and gentle. It goes through so many changes!! I'm just not sure about that spiky, bitter stage though it's gorgeous when it's been on my skin for a while.

[HennaFairy]

bottle:

not much scent in the bottle, slightly floral

 

wet:

an incensey floral… vanilla and sandalwood, light lily of the valley… I don't know what opium smells like

 

dry:

yummm. Really nice, only slightly floral, my favorite notes and yet a new twist. The lily of the valley comes out more later on, but still a great blend!

 

overall:

enchanting! A new favorite I think!

 

rating: 8/10

[mirutai]

This is too conventionally "perfumey" for my tastes - in the imp it's a very complex, heady floral scent. I dabble a little on, dubiously...

 

... Aaaaand, as sandalwood scents seem to have a wont to do on me, it dries down to straight powder and soap. Nope!

[filigree_shadow]

Very sweet, very pretty, but also very light. I like the scent a lot, but it just doesn't last one me. I once spilled a whole imp on myself and could barely smell it 30 minutes later. Phooey.

[edenssixthday]

Belle Epoque is full of scents that I love and one that I don't usually care for. Fortunately, the seductive scent of opium and the serene scent of lily offset the red sandalwood and manage to tone it down, leaving little trace of it but the slightest red bit of spice. The vanilla swirls through the blend, smoothing it out, and the mandarin compliments the spicyness of the red sandalwood perfectly and serves to brighten up the scent just a touch. It's a gorgeous blend, very complex, but unfortunately, upon drydown, the scent almost completely disappears on my skin. It's modicum of throw matches perfectly its poor staying power. I may try it in a scent locket because it is such a pretty scent and I'm not quite ready to give up trying with it.

[indicolite]

At last, a scent among my frimps that I actually rather like. It is floral, and at first had a lot of mandarin a-bloom: orange scents seem to go early on my skin. Now it is growing more subtle, and heading towards sandalwood at a brisk pace.

 

Not a love-love-love, but quite an interesting imp that I may use up (laughs at herself, since she has not actually used up any imp yet except when spilling, and it's been a long time since the first imps of March). It hasn't got the deep character of some of the others, but it is not unpleasant.

[Melantha]

Yummy. When I first applied it, the florals were almost citrusy they were so strong, but almost immediately it warmed up, and the vanilla smoothed it out, and the sandalwood gave it roundness. I don't know if a big bottle is in the future, but oh, I'm keeping this imp!

[strawberry_star]

In the imp I smell opium, lily of the valley, and mandarin. (I can never smell sandalwood no matter how much I try. And the vanilla isn't very strong to me.)

 

When I put it on, I could swear it contains musk even though it doesn't. It must be the opium. Then the lily of the valley starts to come out, which I'm not as fond of lily of the valley as I am of other types of lilies. Then again I'm not very fine tuned when it comes to florals.

 

This is the 2nd time I am trying this and from what I remember from the first time, it eventually fades and turns powdery, so I'm waiting to see if it does that again. Meh. It's one of those scents that I'm right on the line between keeping and swapping out.

[Ryvre]

In the imp: Sweet and floral, with a bit of citrus.

 

Wet: Very fresh citrus, with a floral and sandalwood underneath.

 

Dry: Sandalwood and citrus.

 

Belle Epoche is utterly gorgeous, especially after it dries. I think I might need a bottle of this.

[sofiaviolet]

In the imp: It smells like it's gone off.

 

On me, wet: It still smells odd. Just fainter.

 

On me, dry: Now it's sweeter, but still... off, is really the only word for it.

 

Verdict: Obviously, it's popular. Either I got a bad imp or I am weird.

[Dinerdulcinea]

In the bottle:

My first thought was "mmmm...spicy fruit!" Upon closer examination, I can smell the lily of the valley, the opium and the mandarin most strongly.

 

Wet:

The strongest scent on me is lily of the valley perfume. Not like the flower itself (which has a lighter, less alcohol scent), but like a perfume made from it. It is practically all I can smell. Nothing wrong there, as I like lily of the valley perfume. It reminds me of my childhood. We'll see what the dissipating alcohol smell leaves behind as the oil dries.

 

After a few minutes...the opium comes out very strongly now and pushes everything else into the background. Also fine with me, as I apparently like the smell of opium. : )

 

After about 20 minutes:

Now it is opium and sandalwood. Very nice! I like this spicy smell! It is lighter now, but not soapy at this stage. MMMMMMM!!!

 

After about 2 hours:

I am surprised that after being so nice for so long this one is starting to get a little powdery/soapy on me.

 

Summary:

I never did get vanilla on me at any stage. TOO BAD, because I love vanilla! I liked it for the first hour or so, but now I am not so sure I would wear it. I'll have to ponder that and see if I can think of any circumstances in which this particular phase would be a scent I would want to have on me.

[Nemesister]

wet - this had a floral scent. couldn't pick anything out, but it was light, white florals. didn't change for me once it dried i'm afraid, and i could barely smell it at all 3 hpurs later, even shoving my wrist up to my nose didn't work.

 

i should like this from the description. i might look for another imp just incase my one was defective/old/stale...i want to like this one!

[Emma2403]

In the bottle: vanilla and some citrus... mandarin, yes. It's lovely.

 

On my skin: mandarin and sandalwood... boy, I like it. Oh wait, I can smell lily of the valley too. That's so nice!

 

After a couple of hours: unfortunately, it's all gone. It's a very light scent and it didn't want to last on my skin.

 

Verdict: I'll have to try it again, maybe one day my chemistry will be better... it was so feminine, it made me smile, but I wish it wouldn't fade away so quickly.

[margravine]

This didn't really work for me, but I'm sure that others would love it. I just can't like sweet Vanilla in scents. It was very sweet and had a nice old fashioned quality to it. Just too sweet and vanilla-y for me. It did smell less overpowering after a few hours but it was still very sweet.

[Clementine]

Mmm, yum. This is spicy, flowery, warm and lovely on me. All of the elements come together for a pretty and sexy blend. Great scent!

[valentina]

In the imp, Belle Epoque is sharp and complex, although I'm mainly pulling opium and citrus from the blend. Once on my body, it starts out as opium and floral (lily of the valley), but dries down to a very muted opium with some vague powdery undertones that must come from the lily of the valley and sandalwood. Since my body amps opium rather significantly, that is what I continue to smell as time goes on -- a powdered opium. Because of that, the blend isn't especially "crisp" and gets muddled on my body chemistry. However, I would imagine that on the right person, this scent might be wonderful, especially if all of the sharpness and complexity of Belle Epoque would stay in place. I really do enjoy the wonderfully contradictory elements of this blend, if only it would hold on my body!

Edited August 21, 2006 by valentina

[illyriajem]

A scent of sophistication. All the notes seem perfectly balanced in this blend. Sandalwood I think stands out slightly more, followed by the opium and vanilla. Thankfully I can barely detect the Lily of the Valley. I don't care for overly floral scents.

 

Makes my so far tiny top scents list! lol

[Meg]

In the bottle: Sweet mandarin.

 

Wet: Mandarin, something a little soapy that could be the Lily of the Valley, and opium.

 

Drydown: A very pleasent sweet scent, I think most of it is the sweet but green opium, underscored by a rather soapy Lily of the Valley. I get hints of mandarin but it's mostly faded into the background. There's also a spicy element coming out, and that's from the red sandalwood, I think.

 

Overall: It smells very perfumy, in a good way. It's feminine, light but sophisticated and deep,. This completely confirms that opium is a note I like. It's maybe a little too soapy to my taste, though it smells pleasantly clean, I tend to prefer Anathema, which is it vetiver-grubby counterpart. And it becomes a little bit sour after a while.

[columbus]

In the bottle: Mmm.... oranges! But ooh! Vanilla and Lily of the Valley are right there too. I am really enjoying this!

 

Wearing / drying / dry: That great citrus is still there... Delicious. The Lily... too. Definitely resembles a fruity Wings of Azrael. As it dries the opium does become a bit more noticeable, as does the vanilla.

 

ETA: When this is finally dry, the orange does fade away almost completely (awww), but vanilla and Lily of the Valley are a stunning combination. Very smooth with just a hint of spice... This is definitely a “full bottle” scent.

[lilfaerywingz]

bottle: pretty smell, can't put my finger on it, but floral.

 

Wet: still very pretty, then I smell the lily of the valley and maybe a tinge of the sandalwood.

 

Dry: Still smelling LoV and sandalwood, but finally smell the mandrin

 

I never smelled the vanilla in it. This is a really pretty fragrance, but not so much my "style".

[nancybridget]

This is a pretty, if slightly ordinary, floral scent on my skin. It has a bit of zest from the citrus. I adore the name, and because of this, I feel that my expectations were too high. Perhaps thats why it didn't flesh out for me.