Belladonna

[voodoocatwoman]

The devil’s herb, which he cultivates with skill and pleasure. According to lore, the spirit of this plant may take the form of a breathtaking, achingly beautiful woman, deadly to behold. This scent is a tribute to such a dark and magnificent plant: a rich green and floral blend, earthy and haunting.

In the imp: Acetone! I smell fingernail polish remover.

Wet: Still quite sharp, but there is a sweetness beginning to hover.

Dry: Interesting how this is changing... sweet, almost cloyingly so, with a hint of pickle juice and a stong pine afternote (is that a word?).

I think I will let this age for a few months and see what happens to the arrangement.

[Suu4LC]

This was lab frimp. Never would have gone for this on my own-green and earthy aren't generally my thing. Green and earthy is exactly how it smells in the imp, with a bit of incense and spice. The green color of the oil is SUPER cool though

 

This is interesting on the skin-a spicy/sweet earthy blend. Like dirt mixed with sugary sticky plant sap and spices. This is actually quite nice as it melds to my skin-the dirty dirty note has faded, now it is mostly just fresh greens and sap.

 

On full drydown it actually becomes a bit soapy-sweet earthy sappy soap. This was an interesting blend-it was fun to sniff all of the transformations. Not my thing, but I can imagine this being GORGEOUS on others.

[Ajila]

In the bottle – Menthol

 

Wet on me – Dull and earthy, but still with that menthol edge

 

Dry on me – A dark, green, slightly musky scent with almost an after scent of violets

 

Overall – I liked it more than I anticipated but it’s still not really me

 

[sassenacch]

i love botany & herb lore, so this was one of the ones i wanted to try the most.

 

in the bottle: super sharp, green. a bright green, though, lime green & plant-y.

 

on me: at first application, it stayed the same sharp scent, that doesn't have a lot of throw, but stays strong at the same time.

 

 

after the drydown: this was weird - i put it on my wrists, the crooks of my elbows & behind my ears. my wrists now smell...floral? i don't know what, exactly, but definitely floral. the crooks of my elbows are all pine though! (i like pine, so it's all good) how can this be??!! The pine is sharp & intense - the second i sniff, i get christmas, that cold, sharp scent in the air when you go to buy a christmas tree! snow, & clean, & pine & woodfires...

 

i really like it. i'm only unsure how i manage to get floral on my wrists & pine in my elbows...

[hkhm]

imp: herby, with a light pine-ish scent in the background.

 

wet: light eucalyptus, light pine, maybe a hint of sweet lime and something herbal i can't quite pin down.

 

dry: huh... this has dried far more woody that i would have expected. more like pine wood than pine needles.

[sirensea]

In the bottle: Pine sap and the ethereal smell of a forest at night.

 

On my skin: It fades out to something woodsy and herbal. It's a comforting scent, one I'd want to wrap up in like a blanket. I'm very glad to have a bottle of this!

[WidgetAlley]

Imp: Pale green oil, which, I'm not gonna lie, is pretty cool. Upon first sniff I get strong pine, fir and cypress with possible overtones of rue or mugwort or maybe chamomile. Something bitter and herbal, anyway.

 

Wet: A sticky, whip-sweet smell, like pine sap and soap. Oh my God-- it smells just like the Simple Green eco-friendly soap cleanser detergent stuff we use at my parent's house! Definitely trees and sharp flowers.

 

Dry: Almost gone already. Only the faintest hint of bitter herbs and sweet sap is left. Oh well, I didn't really want to smell like soap (environmentally conscious or not) anyway.

Edited April 14, 2009 by WidgetAlley

[dirtytrip]

It is a beautiful pale green oil, like envy in a vial. On my skin wet, it is an acrid green, almost medicinal. I didn't think I was going to like it at first, but it has mellowed into my favorite green scent of all BPAL. Somewhat pine-y and fern-ish, soft and fresh, with something like sage or tarragon in the background. A bottle should be purchased.

 

Edited to add that it has similar vibes to Luperci for me, a scent I dearly love.

Edited April 17, 2009 by dirtytrip

[WickedQueen918]

Well...I've had an imp of this for awhile now, and although I vaguely recall trying it after I first received it in the mail, it was somewhat forgettable, so I decided to try it again today and realized why it was so forgettable.

 

The first thing that came to mind when I put this on was that it smelled exactly like Insect Repellent. Very green, herbal and summery. A rather generic smell which didn't change at all from its time in the vial to its time on my skin. Not a fan.

[milica]

this is a big morpher on me.

 

it starts as something fresh and sharp, like some kind of medicine, very green. then it gets floral and light, it reminds me of The Ghost, this smells white and clean to me and I love it. but the next stage is soap, and after an hour something a bit sour and then it's gone.

 

too bad...

[angelicruin]

Sniffing the imp, it's strong eucalyptus. Lovely light green color to oil.

 

Wet on my skin, eucalyptus and floral. I agree with the prior reviews that compare it to medicine.

 

Starts to go soapy as it begins to dry.

 

Dry it's green herbs and floral.

 

 

[Jupita]

If you ask me why I ordered Belladonna, I'll just blush at first... and then, still blushing, blurp - because of William Petersen, or if I'm totally honest, because of Gil Grissom...

I had this dream, while thinking of what to order, of myself, walking in the woods, on a small path, talking with Grissom, when suddenly, he fell to his knees behind me, and started sniffing my inner tights, telling he smells Belladonna...

 

I didn't hesitate... even knowing I probably won't like it...

 

At first, its very strong, poisonous, green... like crushed stems of a highly toxic plant...

Then, it starts becoming softer, still green, still toxic, but a little less harsh on my nose...

I can smell the pine in the beck, it makes this scent colder than it could be... a little less intoxicating...

I don't like it... it's deffinitly not me.

But I'll see if I can wear it in a few months time, in winter...

 

ETA - Ok, I should have waited a few hours before writing the review... it morphs, and becomes a beautifull soft floral, somewhat like Datura blooms (Thorn-Apple).

This explains something about my dream... in it, I saw dried thorn-apples on the sides of the path we were walking on...

 

Edited June 27, 2009 by Jupita

[bubblefish]

I love the pale green color of this oil, though the smell is anything but pale. It's this green scent alright, but there's something darker and sinister there that's not afraid to make itself known. It's like greenery that's not so much lush, as it is starting to die, if that makes sense, but I mean that in more of a visual rather than olfactory way.

[mgrazulis]

Holy changeling...starts off very strong and medicinal---very lysol-ish. After 20 minutes it becomes woodsy and sweet, with an aromatic pine undertone, a light creamy opium floral lurking about. Now I can't stop sniffing my wrist...definitely a witch's herb. Seductive!

P.S. Finally it occurs to me what this reminds me of~Annick Goutal's Mandragore...

Edited July 8, 2009 by mineralfairy

[tragedy]

Pine sol. A lemony pine with an acrid twinge

Starts that way, ends that way.

Not for me.

[caffinatedangel]

Wet in imp - fingernail polish remover. Shew.

Wet on skin - Green. So very very green I dont even know the notes. Thankfully that acidic whatever is gone.

Drying- Twiggy. man sweat? o_O Acidic something turned into a more vile, green, natural poisounous something. My initial reaction is "eek", despite it actually smelling acceptable. I've just gone into nature-hike mode and scared of it. lol

Drydown- Wood. Really light pine? It's kind of freakishly beautiful. But the path to getting here was bizarre.

 

Overall- Interesting scent. Definitely poisonous, earthy, green, and alive. Creepy. the throw was good, and the base note of something woody lingered a long while.

 

[Aldercy]

I think my favorite thing about Belladonna is that the oil is actually green-- transparent apple green. Never seen that exact color before!

 

As for the scent, this starts out smelling just like lemon-lime soda. Then it turns to menthol and dusty, leathery acid. Venomous and harsh, this one.

[Usagi]

Imp: sharp,bracing,sappy; maybe juniper, cedar, or tea tree

Wet: eucalyptus, pine; vyc's vapor rub type freshness

Dry: medicinal; a soft, sinus-clearing, sappy scent.

Way Later: some dark, heady green floral joins the medicinal to very interesting effect.

 

Maybe this would work better in cooler weather. The later drydown is kind of good, but it takes a while to get there. I might actually go for this if I had a cold, because it has that comforting freshness which makes your nose feel better.

[ClareDeLune]

Astringent.. harsh... medicinal. After 2 hours or so, it calms down to an indiscernible creamy scent with hardly any throw. Not for me.

[quigza]

It's grean in the imp. I mean, the oil is actually green. I'm afearded.

 

imp: whew! I'd say nail polish remover, but I just mopped yesterday. So I know this scent. Name brand pinesol. Not simple green, but pinesol.

 

wet: Herbal essence shampoo. Not the new line, but the old one with the hippie lady in the water on it. There's a strong woody scent here too. less pine, more cedar

 

dry: cedar & some green

 

aftermath: cedar

 

Not that cedar isn't a pleasant scent... It's just not my thing. This is what I'd like my winter sweaters to smell like. Not so much my skin.

[Venneh]

In the frimp, this is green and astringent; it honestly kinda smells like cleaning solution. ...Yep, that's wood polish, all right. Some kind of citrus, green, and a bit of maybe dirt? It went pretty quickly from that to near nothing on me, but not before giving me a massive headache. Not for me, to the swaps so that someone can love it better.

Edited October 13, 2009 by Venneh

[Stormslegacy]

In the imp: green, herbally and medicinal

 

Wet: Er..is that menthol? It smells like a medicated cough drop.

 

Drydown: There is something very familiar about this scent. It's like, something just below the surface. Once the medicinal smell fades it's replaced by something sweeter and fruit-like. Still herbally, but no longer "fresh cut"

 

Dry: Fresh, like just laundered cotton. It smells nice.

 

Conclusion: Perfect scent for a sick day. I'm lying on the couch high off percoset from getting my wisdom teeth out, I swear this scent makes me feel a little better about it.

 

 

 

[skylarkza]

In the imp: Wet, green and sharp with a camphor edge.

 

Wet: Camphor and menthol. Green and biting.

 

Dry: Herbs - including camphor. A little eucalyptus. It is dark and moist smelling.

 

A while later: Like vegetation. It has lost a good portion of "herby-ness", so just a tinge remains. It is dark and green. Certainly different.

[SophieCedar]

The previous poster took the words out of my mouth on this one. Camphor edge with juniper.

 

This stays pretty much the same on me from imp to drydown. If I was grouchy and wanted to revel in it until my blood boiled, I would lean towards this. Not a favorite.

[fairestrocza]

In the Imp: hmm, a lighter, slightly floral version of Hemlock?

 

Wet on Skin: initial blast of strong medicinal disinfectant, with a background that reminds me of Hemlock (bright, piney, slightly lemony)

 

While Drying: the medicinal smell is sticking around, and is now being joined by something nasty and sharp

 

After a Little While: the camphorous smell is lingering… I would much rather have eucalyptus than camphor. This must be revenge for the 30 or 40 nightshade plants I ripped out of the garden last summer.

 

Later: The camphor tames after a while, but this comes nowhere near being as wonderful as my Hemlock. By the time the camphor dies off, the throw is extremely minimal. I get a faint lemony scent in my elbows, and nothing on my wrists.

 

Final Thoughts: I imagine this is what I would smell if I were to put on Hemlock and then go to my mom's house to help her polish silver (she has those little camphor blocks that are supposed to prevent silver from tarnishing while in storage).

Belladonna earns a 2.5/5 on my skin.