Two, Five & Seven

[Leda]

A huge bouquet of squished rose petals: Bulgarian rose, Somalian rose, Turkish rose, Damascus rose, red and white rose, tea rose, wine rose, shrub roses, rose, rose, rose…

…and just an itty bitty bit of green grass.

Two, Five, and Seven was the first BPAL I bought a bottle of, unsniffed.

And at first I thought I made a mistake. Sugared Roses? Grass? I didn't get any of these. What I got, in the bottle and wet on skin, was the same scent of a hair dye I used before. Perfumy, but something else there that wasn't so pleasant. It was dry, not sweet, and definately had a fermented odor (beer, someone said?) in the background. I was afraid it was destined to be my first swap.

BUT! I tried it again, and boy am I glad I didnt pack it up and send it away. I don't know what changed, but now its glorious. Goes on a little like a rose-flavored wine cooler, but brightens and sweetens into a "better than your own skin" skin scent. Skin, light roses, sugar (from the grass?), and its a teeny bit creamy. Reminds me of my favorite part of Alice amplified. Perfect for an everyday scent.

Definately worth getting to know

[silverlilac]

Boozey! Or boozy, depending on which way you might spell it, but this creation smells like booze on me like no other. I can barely smell the rose beneath that overdominant smell on my skin, which is unfortunate, since I do love roses, and all the different varieties. It doesn't smell like wine or liquor exactly, but more like beer, after it's been spilled on your clothing and has set in the fabric.

 

The boozey scent isn't altogether bad or anything, but not one for me.

[bellis]

I was mystified by this in the bottle. It smelled very VERY fruity and boozy, like a wine cooler, and I could barely smell the rose at all. Like, a wine cooler that had been exposed to radiation and had grown into a self-aware being who threatened to jump out of the bottle and strangle me at any given moment. Honestly, it took me a few days to get up the nerve to actually put it on. Today, however, I decided to throw caution to the wind and slathered myself in it.

 

I'm terribly glad I did. At first, this is ROSE. As another reviewer mentioned, I was reminded of a rose perfume I had when I was a little girl. I think it came with a My Little Pony. Anyway, after five or ten minutes, the green grass came out and the rose matured, for lack of a better word. It's still crazy, bright roses, but the grass balanced out the sweetness. This is absolutely lovely; I felt like I was going to a garden party all day at work. About ten hours later, I can still smell it on my wrists, but it has faded into a warm, almost musky rose. Very sexy. I love this, and am so glad I've got a bottle of it.

[yeahbutnobut]

Two Five and Seven

 

In the imp: rose wine? That's what it reminds me of. Roses and wine.

Wet on skin: omg rooooose! It's less like wine now and more like pure rose. This is a warm, juicy rose, slightly tart, and so genuine, it's exactly like the roses in my garden!

Dry on skin: this is gorgeous! Sweet roses, fresh roses blooming in a summer garden. I can smell many roses here that remind me of the ones in the garden-the tart, crisp tea rose, the slightly lemony peach coloured rose, the richly scented red rose…I can smell the sunshine on the roses, it's a warm blend that encapsulates the pleasant summer days. There's even a hint of wine or honey or lemonade, it makes me think of picnics in a rose garden. I can't really smell the grass, but I can smell the summer warmth.

After a while: the predominant scent is of a mature, sun warmed and quite fruity, almost wine like rose scent, but there are other rose scents flitting through here and there. It's like a blend of all of BPAL's rose blends, and then some! This, to me, reminds me of the wonderful rose garden in Regent's Park which I used to visit when I was younger. Now I have the urge to go there again! (and I did!)

After an hour, something strange happened-a fruity smell, like sun warmed ripe fruits-probably strawberries, plums and bananas, came through for a while and I was scared it would smell like overripe fruit but then it changed back to good old rose and stayed rosy until the end.

Verdict: another beautiful rose blend from BPAL. This one is absolutely perfect for summer and it brings back the most wonderful memories…as a child, I would visit the Regent's Park rose garden every June when the weather was nice, where roses of all kinds, all colours and all fragrances bloomed. This is the smell of Regent's Park rose garden. So many different roses touched by the warm sunshine-some are sweet scented, others are tart, some have a slight fruitiness, some have a dry scent-all those roses are here. It smells warm and freshly bloomed. It's so perfect for this time of year, for those pleasant June days. I want a 5ml!

Edited June 21, 2005 by yeahbutnobut

[catiebloo]

2, 5 & 7 -

 

 

Roses Roses Roses and more Lush Roses. This isn't the smell of the typical valentines "closed" roses, this is the scent of large open blooms . Picture this if you can.....It's night time, there's a garden. The Garden is as gloomy as can be. All the plants are dead or dying, curled up leaves the colour of old teabags are everywhere and the smell of decay hangs heavily in the air. Suddenly, out of nowhere a smell so tempting wafts under your nose almost as if it wants you to search it out...you go an explore.... You search and search but find nothing, until you come across a wooden door in a wall, curiously, you open it, and it's like Dorothy opening the door onto "Oz" Behind the door, there's a garden filled with bright sunshine and wild blooms soooo plump, luscious and colourful that, if it wasn't for the Bumbly bees flying lazily between them, you could almost swear they were false. To me, this is the scent of 2, 5 & 7

[pensive]

This is for a friend of mine, so while I don't like it, and I know I don't like it, I wanted to confirm that while a singular rose may be cool with my skin, a pile of roses stands up and shouts no no don't think so.

 

In the most awesome looking vial/imp: Mmm, it smells like a bunch of roses, which is a smell I can appreciate in small doses.

Wet: Entirely overpowering on me.

Drydown: More grassy. But still too rosysweet.

Verdict: I'm awfully glad I got to smell this. The lady I know who likes roses should, if I'm not mistaken, love this. At best, I'll gain a convert, at worst I'll get the imp back with a "well it smelled nice".

 

In which case I could see this in a burner easily, to get the rose smell without having to go out in the heat to the store and buy flowers for the apartment.

[minouska]

Two, Five, & Seven was the first catalogue scent I ordered a 5ml of without trying an imp first. Unforunately, this was a mistake. I *love* Beth's roses (two of my all-time favorites are Spellbound and Whip) so I had high hopes but this just did not work. It was candy sweet, fake sweet, no rose, no floral, just sweet. Like the pink version of Sugar Skull. In the bottle, I smelled rose and sugar; on my skin just sugar.

[grrrlennyl]

at first: wow! sweet roses, sharp roses, soapy roses, powdery roses. this is amazing!

on: can roses be juicy? if so, then these are some juicy roses. this is divine.

1 hour later: sweet, powdery roses, but still juicy. i love this.

2 hours later: sweet, and still a bit juicy. these are the fruitiest roses every. there's a bit of dustiness to it, too. very nice.

5 hours later: this is lasting really well. still a beautiful bouquet of all sorts of different roses.

overall: although it isn't as green or fresh as rose red, i think it will be an excellent compromise when i run out of that. it's just very simple and lovely.

Edited July 22, 2005 by grrrlennyl

[shelldoo]

in the vial, yup roses.

 

wet, huge boquet of fresh roses, very strong throw, but not in a bad way.

 

as it dries it does become a tad bit sweeter, but not sugary sweet, just a mellower sweet rose. it is simply gorgeous and i must have more

[oakmoss]

When I was growing up in Southern California, my mother had a rose garden in our backyard, with 100 different rose bushes. One of these was always much smaller than the rest, a single silvery lavender rose with the most profoundly perfect rose scent on its rare blooms, only one or two at a time. Two Five & Seven is lying on the grass and burying my face in a bouquet from all those rose bushes, with just one of the intense lavender roses nestled among them. Not overpoweringly rose-scented or powdery or headachey or sneezy -- just velvety petals against my face and the grass and the birdsong and the empty hours of childhood...... and maybe a game of croquet later when it cools off.....

[bodegaselkie]

I was hoping to really like Two, Five, and Seven, but I tried it after I tried Kurukulla, and well... I have to say I like Kurukulla better. The three roses in K. don't go weird on me, but the grassy smell in Two, Five, and Seven, combined with the fact that at least one of the roses in it goes all soapy on my skin, makes it the runner-up. I liked it quite a bit, but it was just a bit green and acrid and soapy, not just fresh rose, which is what I was hoping for. Alas. It's lovely, but not lovely enough to compete.

[starrykitten]

Candy covered, green Easter basket grass and sugar egg roses!

 

It goes on very strong at first and has lots of throw so it carries well, but then fades somewhat quickly. I feel very girly in this, and I like it. It's a perfect Alice in Wonderland scent!

[dcmo]

Bought a 5 ml unsniffed based on the description and the fact that I love everyone of Beth's rose blends that I've tried. 2, 5 & 7 did not disappoint. This is gorgeous! Feels like I'm having a bath filled with rose petals on a hot summer day and then getting out of the bath and spritzing myself with rose water. These are sweet, sugared petals that are just lovely. So glad I got a 5 ml!

[AngelFireHeart]

Two, Five & Seven,

 

I love this scent. I remember watching Alice in wonderland when I was small & this scent is exactly right. Sooo many roses! Wow! I love it, & the roses really do stay rose like on my skin.

 

At first sniff in the bottle it does seem to be very herbal-y but after application & dry down I can smell nothing but roses it's like being in a field surrounded by roses it's actually gorgeous & these are no wishy washy roses these are voluptuous dark red roses, perfect perfume for valentines day (as well as the other 364 days of the year!)

[Northernminx]

I love rose scents and I wanted to really adore this but its a bit wierd with my chemistry. I get a lot of green grass and a touch of powdery roses as this is in its last stages of dry down, but overwhelmingly I get the lush, wine-soaked rose that comes out in Blood Rose for me.

 

Very wierd, and not that I don't love the scent of Blood Rose which is one of my favorites, but I've no need for two of them. Off to swaps for someone that it works better for than me

 

Edit: Tried again out of desperation. Now it's sweet. What the...???

Now I adore this. Hrm.

Edited July 15, 2005 by Northernminx

[Lit Chick]

Got this one with the faint hope that somehow and ultra-rose scent might work. Rose and I, not really the best buddies.

 

Sniff - sweet roses. So pretty.

Swipe - acrid, nasty soap. Horrible, lye detergent, awful.

BUT - that only lasts for the first few seconds of wetness, thank goodness.

Initial dry - slightly soapy rose, with bright grass. YAY!

Full dry, roses and grass. ROSES!!!!! Not soap, not old-lady perfume, just roses! SQUEE!

 

I finally have a rose that works! And DH thought it was lovely on me. On sad thing is it fades pretty fast. It's future performance will determine if I get a bottle or not.

So happy - yay!

 

ETA - Got a bottle. It's incredible. I made a spray with it, with eliminates the (short) soap phase, and increases it's staying power. 8 hours later and I still smell like sweet roses. Faintly, to be sure - but it's there.

This might just be my favorite floral. It is at the moment!

Edited October 20, 2005 by Lit Chick

[Astarte]

Unfortunately one of the roses absolutely hates me in this, and it turned somewhat soapy Before the metamorphysis however, I definitely see the why the analogies of candied rose have been made, however on me it wasnt so much sugar but rather crystaline delicate candy merged with rose.

 

I am thoroughly jealous of the people this blend works on.

[puck_nc]

This HAD to be tried! I cannot walk by a rosebush without stopping to take a sniff...it's categorically impossible.

 

In the bottle: Rose heaven!!!

 

Wet: Sweet, lush and heavenly. I close my eyes and I am in a rose garden on a bright hot day.

 

Drydown: Fades just enough to be there and not overpower, with the tinge of grass coming out to balance the sweet. I sometimes get a whiff of soap on the right wrist, but the left stays true and floral.

 

Bottle, here I come!

Edited August 3, 2005 by puck_nc

[xoe]

I do not remember what are the components of this blend. It smells a little boozy. Like it would be really great to wear to a great keg party. That sounds weird, but it's what it reminds me of.

[darkling]

Two, Five & Seven reminds me of the freshly cut roses that just arrived from the florist. It is all sweet, pure blooms. I love it!

[gravity_always_wins]

Definitely smelling the roses but it's difficult for me to identify any of them in particular. Not sure if I'm picking up the green grass, but there's a chemical-like scent which I think may be the same as the alcohol note that some others are noticing.

[Fulltiltredhead]

Well, I have been grouchy and moody all day long, probably caused by not enough sleep the past two nights, and disappointment over cancelled plans, so I was really not in the mood to like anything this evening, but I came home to a BPAL box and thought, well, maybe this day's not a total loss. I don't know how, but BPAL always comes when I feel the worst, hooray for BPAL. Lessee, here, what did I order? OH! Two, Five & Seven! Smart me, I have been wanting a rose!

 

And then it smelled just exactly like Robitussin cough syrup with a dash of Mr. Clean floor cleaner.

 

Which much intensified my grouchiness. Fine, not my day, but getting on with it, I go out on the balcony to water the plants and it occurs to me after a few minutes how good my rose geraniums smell. Must be because it recently rained. Really nice! They're really very rosey ... except I came back in the apartment and realized it wasn't my rose geraniums, it was Two, Five, and Seven. The miraculous BPAL morph took place within about 20 minutes and enveloped me in green grass and rose after rose after rose.

 

I love Beth.

[Lorencita]

I love roses... 2, 5 & 7 is a perfect replacement for Rose Red. This is just sweet, where RR is crisp & clean. I love the sweetness mixed with the roses and grass all around. Just beautiful, I am so glad I bought a bottle instead of just a little imper

[Reinier]

I bought a 5ml of this for my Mom as she adores rose scents. I couldn't resist trying it myself though It smells more green than rose int he bottle but on my skin and dry there is just an explosion of fresh cut roses with the tiniest green the background peeking out. This is amazing, I can close my eyes and breathe deeply and picture a huge bouquet of lush roses in front of me. I may have to beg Mom for an imp of this

[QueenFae]

I loooove this one. Rose is my favorite floral scent, so this is perfect. It's like a giant bouquet of a dozen different types of roses has been put through a blender, stems and all. I can smell little snatches of white, red and pink rose, but it changes with each sniff. It's actually rather complex. Lovely, rosey, divine. I may need a 5 ml..