bellumed

Wet, Alice is carnationcarnationcarnationcarnation. But she gets more complex during the drydown. Now it’s tea and florals, with a drop of honey creeping out. Maybe a little baby powder as well. Too spicy to be described as “clean.” The entire impression is very discreet: “girl on her best behavior at afternoon tea” rather than “girl lecturing her stuffed animals at a tea party.” I’d be surprised if anyone commented on this perfume; it’s only a teeny bit noticeable to me when my nose isn’t right against my wrist. Interestingly, after three hours the rose really starts to come out (smelling much cleaner now) and creates a very sinus-clearing “taste it on your tongue” scent. Not really sure if this one is for me, I have mixed feelings. I might just wear this when I want to wear perfume without smelling like I’m wearing perfume.

At first, it’s warm, spicy musk, just the slightest touch of mandarin. The florals become stronger as it dries. Reminds me of being outside on a thick, humid summer night and putting your face right up in the flowers so you get a headrush from that heavy scent. For me, wearing Hell’s Belle is putting on a costume and pretending to be someone else, because I feel like this is someone’s signature scent. Not at all an everyday perfume (or even one I’d want to keep re-applying all day), more for when I’m trying to create an effect. Hell’s Belle isn’t sexy in any traditional manner, rather by way of mature, unwavering confidence. It says “I am a fully developed woman… in every sense of the word.”

Sweet brandy, dark rum, heavy cream, sugar, and a dash of nutmeg. Egg Nog 2011 is the first BPAL that I've ever tested, frimped to me by the very kind BuxomM! I could definitely smell the cream and the spice, and maybe a tiny bit of the alcohol. I did get Play-Doh every now and then, but it's not consistently there (and for some reason it only showed up on one wrist). Egg Nog smells sweet and yummy but very subtle. I think it'd be pretty hard to notice unless your nose was right up near my skin. For the moment I would say it's just a "nice" scent. I'll put it away until December and see if it gets any richer by the time it's in season again.