Beltane 2005-06

[AngellicMystique]

... It doesn’t matter where your faith lies, Beltane is sacred to us simply because we’re human. It is a celebration of new growth, rebirth, of the fertility of our land, our spirits and our bodies, and is a reminder of the joy in simply being alive. Celebrate life! Wind some flowers into your hair, dab a little oil behind each ear, toss the first petals of springtime onto your yard, and bless your garden the old fashioned way!

I get fresh spring greenery. It is rebirth and the first petals after the thaw. All wild, this has never even glanced at a hothouse. Edited December 29, 2005 by Shollin

[clover]

Beltane

 

I've had this bottle since it was first released, but never got around to reviewing it...but recently I've fallen SO in love with Beltane, that I figured it was about time for a review.

 

Sniffing from the bottle: A regal yet fresh floral.

 

Upon application: The first thing that jumps out at me is a bouquet of spring florals - I'm pretty sure I sniff jonquil, maybe buttercups, hyacinths. Pretty spring flowers. And a hint of greenery.

 

After a few minutes: A sweetness starts to appear - I think maybe it's benzoin? And the freshness fades, which makes me happy because I'm not really a "fresh scent" kind of girl. The dominant notes are a beautiful floral (I think it's jonquil), a light wood and maybe a hint of light musk. It's just wonderful.

 

Conclusion: Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. Beltane has climbed into my top ten!

[tarotgirl99]

I just got around to this one. It made me think of the Van Morrison lyric, "Making love in the green grass behind the stadium with you..." Flowers and grass and sunshine and love.

 

I wish Beltane had more endurance--it seems to have disappeared after two hours--and I liked it best on drydown and first blush. But I will be ordering a bottle if it comes around again, so I can slather it on if necessary.

 

This is lovely. And while I like florals, they can be tricky for/on me. This one is a complete winner.

[ktesedale]

On me, this is a very wet floral. It's not quite an aquatic note, but the flowers that come to mind are soaked with water. It's like going out to a garden after a strong storm and some of the flowers have been damaged by the wind, releasing their scent into the air, with the smell of fresh rain overlaying everything.

 

It's lovely, but not for me - I'm more of a sweet floral girl. I'm glad I got a chance to try it, though. As a side note, I don't think there's any 'grass' in here, though there are certainly herbals - but on me, grass overwhelms everything else, and this scent doesn't do that.

[ABrokenAngel]

In the Bottle: I’m not sure what’s in this but it’s faint and reminds me of summer camp and eucalyptus trees.

 

Wet: Again I have no clue what’s in this but I truly don’t like it. Which is unfortunate.

 

Drydown: Spices and eucalyptus. I deffinately dislike this.

[alasindocs]

In bottle: Floral with a definate herbal tone.

 

Wet: Sweet Jesus is this floral, exactly what I needed on this windy overcast day...if it is jasmine in here (I cant really pick one predominate floral) thank heavens my chemisty is not amping this up

 

Inabit: Yumm a warm heavenly wild floral, this is definate not delicate, it smells like being outside on a Spring day..some wild flowers, damp grass, and something definately herbal in there...very relaxing and centering for me...

 

I love it..my son gave me a hug and told me I smelled like "Spring... but spicier"

[Naamah_Darling]

In the bottle, this is floral and sweet – apple bloom (and a little fruit), with a whiff of cinnamon and rose. There's a green scent, not like a "cut" green but like a "still growing" green; like a garden just after the rain when the air is still cool but the sun is warm.

 

On my skin, that apple smell nearly vanishes under some sharper floral note I can't identify. Jasmine, perhaps? I still smell rose, but these aren't store roses, these are real, fresh roses, green roses, and it's not overpowering. There is a fruity tone to it, but nothing cloying or sweet or foody. This is a very clean scent, without being soapy.

 

On drydown the rose comes out a little more. The rest is . . . lilacs and violet? Can't be, because those hate my chemistry, and this is nice. There is no undertone, nothing woody or smoky, no base note. Very light. Once it's all dry and starts to fade, it does go a bit dusty/powdery on me, but it's not unpleasant.

 

Like a lot of florals, it doesn't last long on my skin.

 

This one works well, though, and I'll be keeping it for days when I need a pick-up. It's a very cheerful, calming scent, without being overwhelming or cloyingly sweet.

[WidgetAlley]

I got a 1/3 bottle of this as a freebie in a faboo swap with... I think it was cool_chick. Might've been dawndie. Now I don't remember! I feel so bad. Thank you so much, whoever it was.

 

In the Imp: Whooooooaaaa. Overwhelming, leap-out-and-punch-you-in-the-nose spring greenery... like green flowers, not green leaves or shoots, if that makes sense. Jasmine, maybe some rose, something else GREEN GREEN GREEN! I'm pretty sure the oil is is even coloured a strong yellow-green (hard to tell, with cobalt glass.) It's... not what I was expecting, I'll say that. Not sure if I like it yet. Er. Yeah.

 

Wet: The same powdery floral I get from Bearded Lady-- must be a certain variety of rose-- and strong jasmine! Not quite as scarily sharp as in the bottle, much lighter and more floral, although still fairly earthy for a floral... not in the sense that it has earth notes, but it's not very airy or aquatic like most florals. It's grounded. There could be a touch of apple in here, too... it's still quite green, but a lot sweeter and more pleasant, now. There could be tulips, here, too. Pleasant at the moment but fairly unremarkable.

 

Dry: A good deal quieter now... I can detect jasmine, grass, rose, some other kind of heavy floral (tulip, lilac, carnation... I don't even know), and something faintly lemony. Black amber, perhaps? Maybe real lemon, although it's fairly sweet. I also get a vague impression of tea from this. All the flowers are definitely freshly cut; nothing antique or subdued about this one!

 

Verdict: Unfortunately, this one ends up smelling like soap and a tinge of rubbing alcohol on me. Woe! *sighs* Beltane is my favourite Sabbat, too. I will just have to make do with the florals that behave on me when May Day rolls around... off to swaps.

[wyldeflower]

In the bottle and wet on the skin, Beltane smells like fresh florals/herbs. Once it dried, I kept getting wafts of nail polish remover and thought where's that coming from? Oh no! That's Beltane! I hope I can find a more loving home for this one.

[Meg]

In the bottle: Flowers... but which ones? I don't recognise any, but they smell soft and herby. Very fresh.

 

Wet: Same as in the bottle, but subdued. Then bubbly flowers start coming out makes me think of white flowers.

 

Drydown: Jasmine and gardenia, and possibly wild white flowers that I can't quite pinpoint. It's all very subtle, and it's all mixed with some rather sharp herbs, possibly a bit of mint. It becomes rather powdery and bubbly, which is probably the type of jasmine in it.

 

Overall: A pleasant springtime blend, it does have a happy, flowery Beltane feel to it. Unfortunately there's a slight bitterness and one of the herbs smells like feet to my nose. So while I find it very representative, there's something that doesn't quite work out on me. Pity, it's generally nice.

[Medici]

In the bottle: A pleasant surprise! Nice, subdued floral - reminiscent of House of Night (which is a long running favourite of mine). A little bit of greenery below that.

 

Wet: Fresh floral. Night-blooming jasmine and lily (I think, truthfully, they're extremely familiar but at the same time I can't place them) being the most predominant notes to my nose. There is something distinctly green below that - like vines. It's not a herby green at all.

 

Drydown: The drydown is fairly consistent, though gradually it begins to sweeten up. It is floral floral with my chemistry, though; fresh and bright.

 

Verdict: I like it. This is my type of floral floral, so I'm not about to complain. For a springtime scent, it gets two very high thumbs up.

 

4.5/5 on Medici's Scale o' Lurrrve

[GypsyRoseRed]

Hmm. Reading the other reviews in this thread, I'm not sure whether any of them are for the 2006 version, but my experience of Beltane (06) was very different..In the bottle, it comes across as very natural and fresh, slightly sweet and reminds me of freshly cut blades of grass and some kind of small flower.. chamomile, maybe? That doesn't really change on the skin, it just becomes softer. If I can sum up Beltane, it's as a warm breeze over a newly mown lawn of green grass, with just a few little flowers..

[filigree_shadow]

This is the 2006 version.

 

Beltane is like a gentle romp through a meadow. It smells playful and ... I want to say "hopeful," but that sounds kind of weird when talking about a scent. It actually does smell like that to me, though.

 

It's mostly a fresh green scent and smells very clean. It has a slight floral quality to it, but it's like when flowers are just budding, not like when they're in full-bloom. I see what the previous reviewer meant about smelling something like chamomile -- the herbs are soft and gentle, not at all sharp or astringent. It becomes slightly powdery on me after about an hour or so, but not a lot, and certainly not enough to bother me.

 

It has excellent throw, too. It's not going to bowl anyone over, but you don't need to have your nose right next to it to smell it.

 

This one is a keeper for me. Total success.

[candygirl]

2006 Beltane smells fresh and herbal in the bottle, but not like cooking herbs or even a walk in a garden. It smells fresh, clean, and green.

 

On my skin, it still smells fresh and green, but a fruity note comes forward. It isn't an overwhelming fruit note though, just gently sweetening Beltane from the background, giving it a fullness and complexity. I wish I could figure out exactly what fruit scent it is, but it's well blended and elusive. It's not a berry or citrus note. It's less bright and more subtle than that. More like a slice of mango that snuck into a smoothie.

 

Overall, this is a very nice spring scent. Hopeful and playful, as filigree_shadow said!

[brownbear]

mmm It's fresh, pink and yellow garden flowers with a lot of green. I'm not sure what flowers specifically they are. They are sweet flowers, but I don't think there is jasmine. Usually jasmine goes weird on me, but Beltane isn't doing that. Very nice.

[cuervosueno]

2006 version.

 

I like this better than the 2005 version, though I'm still not sure if its a keeper or not (though certainly I'm glad to have it for the Sabbat).

 

In the bottle, and when wet, this is green, very slightly astringent. Very herbal, though I'm not having any luck at pointing at what herbs it might be. the newly mown hay/grass analogy works well here--it has that kind of green freshness. The BF said it smelled like the milky sap of dandelions, and thats not quite right, but not too far off either.

 

There is a hint of floral as well, but also, nonspecific to me. Definately not something I recognize immediately, like Jasmine or Rose.

 

What I note most is under the greenishness, there is a slightly sweet milky smell, not too different from what shows up in some of the lunacy blends. A bit like Chaste Moon, for example--though its not like that scent at all, but it does have some of that soft, sweet, milkiness.

 

And this, folks, is where it begins to unravel for me, because I thought I enjoyed that milkiness, but lately....very much not. What's left of Beltane is a very light, very close to the skin scent of soft milk, and I don't like that too much. I realized the final faint lingerings are a bit like DSH's Formula X on me, which I really DON"T like.

 

Luckily for me, the milkiness comes out late, and I'm still teetering between enjoying the fresh greenness of this, and waiting dubiously on the final stages.

 

Glad I got to try this!

[shelldoo]

in the bottel 06 is a soft almost fuzzy green scent. very fresh grass like.

 

wet: a bit more floral, but a watery floral, and still very green.

 

as it dries it is soft, skin clingy, very soft skin type floral, yet the floral is just a sigh of flowers, not at boquet like. it even has a sweet edge to it. this is a gorgeous spring scent, i loved last years, and i think i will indeed love this years also.

[slave1]

In Bottle: Moist blooming garden

 

On Skin: Wow! This wakes me up! It starts as a vivid bright garden but also has a nice calming velvety base that soothes and makes me want to sleep in the flowers. I smell some beautiful waxy flowers… hmm… lily and maybe jasmine, strong and elegant. This scent is floral through and through, but I also get a slight wet aquatic note, like morning dew or a light April shower. Very colorful… all the different flowers in the garden plus their gorgeous greenery. This is an amazing showcase of Beth’s blending powers, all these notes mixed to create a perfect “feel” of Spring. This would also be a great room scent since it would brighten anyones mood. I don’t get fresh flowers as often as I’d like, so I think I’ll be reaching for this scent whenever I need a floral pick-me-up. Heavy throw and above average wearing length.

[valentina]

I waited until today to write this one... since it's Beltane, 2006!

 

This scent is green, green, green spring! When I first sniffed it, it was very evocative of Night's Pavilion -- a green, cool fragrance. That would lead me to guess that there's a little bit of lily in Beltane, but there's more of a soft, green, gentle floral touch in Beltane 2006. I catch a whiff Lily of the Valley in the mix. It's pretty, it's fresh, it's very much springtime and alive. It's the perfect springtime greenery garden smell and I love it.

[Diana]

'05 formulation

 

Bottle: floral concoction

 

Wet: very wet, fresh cut flowers. slightly zesty, like there is a bit of lemon balm in there. it's very green and lush and yellow. Bright, happy floral notes. I can't pick out anything in particular, though I think I can smell jasmine & honeysuckles.

 

Dry: I can smell the jasmine a bit more, but it's still not overpowering everthing else (score!). It's still very floral and happy and wild and totally appropriate for today. It smells even better in the sunshine!

[seamor]

I have had a 5 ml. bottle of this for some months, saving it for the right day. Finally, the moment came...

 

Wet, there is a kind of spicy greeness to it - can't quite identify it, but it's great.

Dry, it becomes a light, gentle floral with just a hint of green.

Perfect! I will be using this whole bottle, no doubt about it.

 

Thank you, Beth!

[jolarocknrolla]

I get a very clean, green and floral scent (the floral has no sweetness), very similar Amsterdam, and to a lesser degree to the Unicorn. IT's more complex than Amsterdam and the background is more like green grass which makes it slightly more piquant. it's a very young, clean and innocent sort of scent.

[Macha]

I'll let you in on a secret...

 

I didn't like the 2005 Beltane.

 

I really didn't like it. I gave away or sold my bottles. It was floral, sure, but a headache-inducing sort of floral that agreed with me not at all. After a few months, it had calmed down enough to wear, but was not a favorite and certainly wouldn't be the first thing I reached for.

 

So something to keep in mind when I say that Beltane 2006 makes me absolutely swoon.

 

There is a grassy/aquatic edge to this, which I appreciate since it often keeps florals from running away from my particular skin chemistry, forming their own union and and immediately demanding better pay and benefits while shouting their little heads off. This yea'rs florals include something like gardenia or tube rose, perhaps star-gazer lilly — sweet florals, rather than powerfully strong. The combination creates a fragrance that seems to me to be the absolute distillation of Spring; the light, sweet, fresh smell of flowers, enjoyed on a beautiful sunny day with the clouds of Spring rains fading in the distance.

 

This is a joyful, beautiful Spring blend, and I expect to be wearing it a lot.

[Merlu]

On my skin, Beltane '06 is green and watery, but still very sweet and warm, with a little spice.

 

Wearing it is like lying down in a beautiful garden.

It's a hot and sunny day, a light breeze keeps you from being uncomfortable. Birds are chirping, there's still a little dew in the grass.

You don't want to think about everyday life and its worries, and you wouldn't be able to even if you tried. It feels as though time has been suspended, and all you can do is smile and feel serene.

Edited May 9, 2006 by Merlu

[PetaledSoul]

This is my first actual writing of a review, so be patient with me!

 

Wow, Beltane.

 

I'm in LOVE with this scent.

 

In the bottle it is sharp - green, with a lemony edge and some florals if I sniff hard. I have to admit that on my initial sniff, I told my friend "it smells like air freshener."

 

Then I put it on. My skin loves this stuff. The notes are so well-blended that I can't really pick them out individually.

 

Wet, it is still green, but the sharpness is gone. It's just fresh, like recently mowed grass.

 

As it dries down, the freshenss fades and it becomes the most amazingly soft, lovely floral. This is saying alot, because florals normally freak out on me. There's a hint of sweetness that stays close to my skin.

 

I wish I woke up smelling like this naturally.

 

I only wish it didn't fade so fast - I'll be stalking the sale threads for more bottles, though I doubt I'll find many.