Black Hellebore

[Undine]

Also called Melampode. In witchcraft legend, this is one of the components of the notorious flying ointment, and is used in rituals that summon the Devil. In Greek mythology, Melampus of Pylos used hellebore to save the daughters of the king of Argos from a Dionysian Maenad-like madness. In Christian myth, hellebore was born from the tears a little girl shed onto the snow because she had no gift to give to the Christ child. In low magick, it has been used by farmers to protect their livestock from the evil eye. Court magicians have used it in martial invisibility spells, enabling spies and assassins to infiltrate enemy camps. Hellebore resembles the wild rose, but does not belong to their family. The scent is a pale green herbal, darkly rooty, with a faint rose and peony-like overtone.

Borage and hellebore fill two scenes,
Sovereign plants to purge the veins
Of melancholy, and cheer the heart
Of those black fumes which make it smart.

Oy, am I the first one? This is my first first review. The pressure...

Well, I have to say I really like it a lot. It makes me think of roses and green, and in that regard it makes me think of my (failed) hopes for The Apothecary and Rosalind. I've never smelled a peony scent (and I remember someone bemoaning the lack of BPAL peony scents in the Suggestions forum), but this is an absolutely glorious smell, only lightly sweet, much more truly floral than others on me. The rose is dry and very light and not juicy, a wonderful supporting "pink" scent. In the middle there are herbal but fresh green scents--not medicinal at all--and underneath something sweet, wet, and distinct, though still quite light. I think it is orris. And possibly even a tiny little bit of the same orchid that's in Shadow Witch Orchid? Or lotus? So it's "rooty", but I wouldn't really call it dark--more warm, or golden.

I unfortunately do get some soap, but it's not too bad. I tried layering on a little Shadow Witch Orchid to see if it might alter the soapiness, but no go--SWO is too strong and over-rooties (hee!) the Black Hellebore. I guess I wish it had just a little bit more of the greenery. But if you are a person who does a little better with florals, this scent would probably be fantastic on you. And, to tell the truth, I still like it so much that I will wear it anyway, and continue trying to find green layering items that might make it work better.

A lovely addition to Rappacini's garden. On my scale, a 4 out of 5.

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

Rose + peony = swoon. Two of my all-time favorite notes right there, and besides, as a witch, how could I not order this one? And it is indeed lovely--an unexpected variation on rose--the peony is a faint, lovely whisper, and there is also a dry, warm, woody note underneath, plus a touch of herbal sharpness. Very hard to pin down, but I think that covers it--the branches, leaves, *and* blooms of a lovely but wicked little plant!

[LiberAmoris]

Love Black Hellebore. The gorgeous peony is supported by that herbal root note that almost has a touch of anise to it. The rose is so faint here it's just barely a pink breath.

 

This one goes on the big bottle list for the springtime. So pretty without being a flat-out floral. I really like the root note which makes it grounded and slightly earthy.

[shelldoo]

in the vial: light florals w/ a hint of herbs

 

wet: peony and lightly herbal

 

 

this is a very light scent. hint of roses, bunch of peony, and a twist of dried sweet herbs. not really green sharp herbs, more sweet, no bite. this is a gorgeous soft scent

[Thorne]

Unusual and lovely! This is a light, fresh, herby green scent. It is similar to peony, with maybe a little bit of fruity roseyiness. It had a very strong soapy wet stage on my skin, but once it dried, I kept putting my wrist to my nose to huff in the scent. I don't think I'll need a whole bottle of it, but I will enjoy my imp.

Edited November 8, 2005 by Thorne

[coulrophobe]

In the imp: I can barely smell this - just the faint hint of green herbs.

 

On: It's stronger now - for me, it's still very green and herbal, but now with a hint of florals. Usually, rose not only blooms but runs rampant on my skin, but it uncharacteristically stays in check in this blend, just adding a bit of sweetness without being overtly rosey. It blends well with the peony, adding a pink tone to an otherwise sharp herbal scent.

 

This blend sweetens a little during drydown on my skin, and some of the sharpness dissipates. I end up with a very light, pleasant, and not too sweet floral scent, with all the notes well blended.

[maewitch]

I love me some peony, and this smells like the prettiest peony ever. There's that bit of rose supporting it, but it must be a white rose because it's not standing out and apart from my skin at all, just this sweet and wispy floralness. There is something a little green here too, but it's very light, a little dusty, like something dried and herby. It's all pale pink and light silvery-green.

 

LOVE this.

[cupide430]

This is a medium strength floral with a touch of a boozy fruity edge. After it dries for a while, I get a gentle rose every now and then from this. It is fading a bit quickly, but it is nice.

[sookster]

fresh lovely peony

oh this is just gorgeous......

after awhile a rooty essence comes through that

makes this blend fantastically delicious!!!

 

love this a lot.....

[Finny]

Definitely a pale scent when applied.

 

I don't smell anything at first, then...

 

A light dusky floral aroma comes up, it is sweet and watery. Peony, perhaps? I like it. And there is a green under layer, reminds me of earth when it is damp. As it dries down, it becomes a wonderful light floral blend, with a earthy base.

 

Lovely. I don't know if I would wear it a lot, but I am holding on to it, as it smells like spring to me.

[wickedgoddess]

Wet - green and peony.

 

Dry - a indistinct soft, greenish floral. Not much to say about this, except it's another floral that's not for me.

 

On the wickedgoddess scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being best, this rates a 2.

[AlaskaSnows]

Wet: amorphous fruit notes (melon?), alcohol, flowers of indistinguishable variety.

 

Dry: Almost exactly the same. There is a mixed flower bouquet, coexisting hand in hand with a juicy sweet fruit, possibly melon. There is also a sharp stem note. This is very fresh and airy, in fact the fruit note could be that dryer sheet sweet note. In fact as time goes by it almost entirely becomes the smell of a sheet of Bounce. This smells a lot like Dirty to me.

[Blood onmy hands]

With Black Hellebore, I cannot pick out any one note in particular. It smells like an overgrown garden to me. A mess of vines, ferns, and greenery, with delicate little pink flowers poking through here and there. It gets more sweetly floral after an hour or so, and loses the green herbal edge.

 

Soft, girly florals are not my thing (this one gave me a headache after a while)... so I'll be swapping my imp.

[QueenFae]

With a name like Black Hellebore I expected this one to be a really ballsy, in your face scent. But, it's really quite soft, feminine and lovely. The peony is definitely on top, and is very girly and perfumey. There's a pretty pink rose note there as well. I'm not picking up much of the dark green herbal notes, but there is a hint of plant-like undertones. This actually reminds me of a fragrance you would find at Bath and Body Works in a glittery lotion. It's really beautiful, though, and I don't have anything that smells like this so I will surely enjoy my imp.

[SeaMonkey]

This is so interesting. I didn't think I would like any of the Rappaccini's Garden scents because I don't like florals, but I can't stop smelling this one. Its dark, green, and sweet at the same time. Its like finding 1 sweet flower in an overgrown garden of weeds. I might have to get a bottle of this one

[oceandessa]

I think Beth has outdone herself with the latest selections in Rappacini's Garden. Like Shadow Witch Orchid, Cobra Lily and Blood Lotus, this is very unique. In the imp, it is a cool green - not a sharp evergreen, not herbal green, but a liquid teal-tinged green. The peony note wafts in and out but never quite settles. Absolutely wonderful! I think it's my favorite BPAL peony scent.

[Orodemniades]

First sniffs smell of alcohol, a bit soapy, a bit woody, dark green.

 

Upon drydown it becomes quite acquatic, but in a nice way, a green way, and becomes medium sweet with hints of 'high'ness. Nice, but I doubt I'll buy a big bottle.

 

Oro

[Blueelm]

Oh this smells like Spring to me. Like a still-cool damp spring night with a garden full of vines, herbs and slightly hoary branches.

 

I would call this a soft herbal floral, but any rose is invisible on me. This is an incredibly tight blend, I don't get any single notes.

 

At first: In the vial this smells too floral for me. Then, on my skin it opens up with a greenish scent (I think of tomato plants), and a soft aquatic floral.

 

Later: Fresh, dusky, a gentle whiff of peonies. It has a bite though, a slightly nose-twitching peppery note that I think is effective since real black hellebore is poisonous and rather acrid smelling like milkweed.

 

Drydown: The vaguest fresh scent on my skin.

 

Fans of green florals and/or clean scents might like this. This is probably not going to be a favorite of mine, but overall Black Hellebore really is pretty and very wearable. A fitting tribute and a lovely clean scent. Too bad it doesn't last long.

[grrrlennyl]

at first: a sweet floral with lots of green herbs.

on: very green and sweet. berry-like, with sweet flowers.

1 hour later: still green, but more fresh. the sweetness is gone. this is very pretty.

2 hours later: floral.

overall: this is very pretty at first, but i didn't really like the drydown.

[urraca]

In the imp this smells just like the kind of alcohol the doctor rubs on your arm before you get a shot. Weird. But that vanishes immediately to be replaced by a green herbal scent that gradually smells and more flowery. The scent is green and vegetal, with only a few flowers, like a witches herb garden. It is subtle, but present. I'll need to try it a few times to see if I want more, but it is a keeper.

[darklorelei]

To me, this smells like that commercial "melon" scent that BBW had a while and all the girls at my hs were constantly using. But it is a bit deeper, but I can't quite figure out the base not.

 

It's very sweet, but there is a faint green scent to it. It smells quite nice, albeit not for me. Also, my sinuses are screaming, so I'm off to go scrub my arm.

[astrid]

This is such an interesting contrast...a poisonous plant with a most gentle, soft frangrance! I had no idea that peonies actually smell like anything really (I'll have to see what mine smell like when they blossom this summer), but I can see where someone might think this has a bit of roseyness to it. Overall to me, this is just a baby soft floral scent that is smooth and unabrasive. I'm not sure how much I will wear this right now though. I may hold off on really wearing it (as opposed to a bit rubbed on my wrist) until the gentle weather that will come in a few months when I want something breath-y and whisp-like. Pretty and very demure!

Edited January 23, 2006 by astrid

[Thaleia]

The second Rappaccini's Garden scent I've gotten to try, and the one I've most wanted to receive as a frimp! So, I'm really excited. The description sounds wonderful, and sounds like something I would love (as I'm a huge fan of rose and peony). Rose and peony, alright, with a green scent underneath in the bottle; the floral comes out more on my skin, as I expected it to. Very soft, pale pink-and-green scent, not so much like Venus, but softer and more unobtrusive. There's a soapy quality to this one, but not in a bad way. So pretty! I may have to get a 5ml of this, especially now that I've tried and liked it. 9/10.

[Lit Chick]

This is impressive. It starts of as a sweet, traditional floral, but with a juiciness. Wet and full without being fruity.

As it dries, I get more of the rose in the form of soap. There's enough herbal aquatic to keep it from being acrid soap, though. I do not smell like my great-aunt's powder room, yay!

Fully dry, the soap is gone and it's a delicate, clean, floral. It smells like fresh spring air, with just the hint of blossoms.

Excellent and unexpected!

[Ciircee]

A freebie with my order of Red Lantern...I the Labbies. I love hellebore (the green are beautiful, in case anybody is curious).

 

In the imp: Lightly green and wet, but sweetened with florals.

 

Wet: It's very green, a wet garden smell. Damp peonies nodding in their beds.

 

Dry 5 minutes: Sharply herbal but sweetened and softened with a drift of roses and peonies.

 

Dry 20 minutes: It's a very damp scent...almost aquatic. Green and coolly wet, like the rain-damped, dimmness of the woods. There's a drift of florals, like from a nearby garden.

 

Dry 1 hour: Mr. Circe asked me if I spilled fabric softener on myself. Upon questioning, he DOES like the way it smells--clean and fresh and 'you know, with flowers and grass and stuff'.

 

Dry 3 hours: And it's fading fast. Like a lot of light scents, my skin just eats it.

 

Notes: A pretty good throw on it, without being overpowering or even 'hey! look at me!'

 

Overall: I loved it. I can't say that I'm getting a big bottle (because of the eating thing) but I'm going to love the hell out of my imp. I'm tempted to slap this one on Mr. Circe, too, and if I do I'll let you know how that goes.