Bess

[harmonyfb]

Inspired by the tragic, ill-fated love of Queen Elizabeth I and the Earl of Leicester. This is our modernization of a 17th-century perfume blend favored by British aristocracy: rosemary, orange flower, grape spirit, five rose variants, lemon peel, and mint.

Oh, my god. ::wrinkles nose:: It smelled vile in the imp. It smelled worse on my skin. It did not smell of rosemary (which I love), or orange peel, or mint, or any other note listed above. It smelled acrid, a bit like cleaning fluid. Ugh. I couldn't even let it dry. Edited September 30, 2007 by Shollin

[jena]

I just got my very first imps ever and one of them HAD to be Bess, between the description and the ingredients.

 

In the imp/fresh on my wrist:

I can smell rosemary and mint, mostly. Very very quickly, though, it transforms and the lemon comes through, then the orange flower.

 

A few minutes later:

Roses roses roses, with a very clean smell on top of it. Not "old lady perfume" roses, but more the smell if you were in the backyard sitting between a rosebush in full bloom and a clothesline with fresh clean laundry on it.

 

A little bit later than that:

The orange flower is back along with the roses. Wow. This is just DIVINE.

 

 

What a great first experience with BPAL! I'm hooked... I think I definitely will order at least a 5mL, if not a 10mL, of Bess.

[grrrlennyl]

at first: very tart to my nose. a different sort of a scent.

on: very grapey. there's also some bitter lemon and something minty. interesting.

1 hour later: very soft. floral and a bit fruity.

2.5 hours later: soft and pretty, but mostly gone.

overall: this is ok, but it isn't something i'd wear a lot.

[Lizzie]

This one is not for me!!

 

In The Bottle Smells pleasantly of orange flower. Very nice, feminine and soft.

 

Wet Smells like Dimetap Cough Syrup!!! Uuugghhhh.

 

Cry Well it smells like grape and mint and rosemary now, but still slightly like grape flavoured cough syrup, atleast enough to make me not ever want to wear it again. I really wanted to love this one too. Into the swap pile it goes!

Edited January 28, 2006 by Lizzie

[FireInCairo]

I find this to be very light and citrusy. A perfect blend for the first inklings of summer. Very fresh..clean..free-spirited.

[jazlyn]

From Bess I mostly get lemon. There’s also rose, a bit of mint (makes this interesting), and florals (the five different rose variants and orange flower… funny, this doesn’t strike me as a rose scent because it’s not soapy really). After it’s been on a while, the lemon isn’t as strong and blends in more with the other notes. I don’t think I like this one enough to keep the imp.

[girlmadasbirds]

i think this would be rather pretty if the mint weren't ruining it for me. i don't really care for mint, so of course my skin amps the hell out of it.

strong mint aside, it's a nice fruity scent with a hint of the rosemary and roses. but the mint smells like candy cigarettes or joint pain ointment o.O

 

p.s. this actually feels cold on my skin.

Edited February 10, 2006 by angel sixgun

[AlaskaSnows]

This for me is mostly rose and rosemary with an overlay of sour orange. The rosemary comes out almost like lavender, somehow. And it's also very, very faint. I think I like it though, and will definitely try again. Bess deserves a plethora of chances to make good.

[MistressTera]

Fresh From The Imp: Mmm, lemons. And just a touch of spice.

 

Wet On My Flesh: The lemon peel is very potent here.

 

Drying Down: It's a bit like lemon candy at the moment, though not quite as sweet.

 

Hour To Integrate: Still mostly lemon. Luckily, I like lemons. Just not enough to wear it constanly.

 

End Of Day/Final Report: I'll keep it for now, since it and I got along.

[sookster]

this is some incredibly powerful stuff

 

burnt/bittery orange; potent as ever

 

sorry to say bess does not work with my chemistry at all so

off to the swap pile for loving from someone else *sigh*

[Thaleia]

A friend of mine said that she liked this, and I love the story of Elizabeth and Leicester, so I'm glad the Lab gifted me with one in my last order.

 

Very herby and green in the vial, very sharp. It's not something I'd say "oh, I love this!" to right away. On me, it turns even sharper from the lemon peel, with the mint peeking through just a little bit, and the rosemary giving it that herbal edge. Strangely enough, I don't smell any of the five rose variants, even though my skin loves rose and tends to amp it. It softens on the drydown to a lemon-tinged floral (I guess there's the rose after all) and then just goes away leaving a faint trace of lemon.

 

Hm. This is definitely interesting, and different. It's 'okay' for now, but it might grow on me. 6/10.

[Miyabi]

When I opened the imp, it smelled a lot like herbal fruity gum, but it's changed a lot since I put it on my wrist. I can smell the grape, still, but it's not too overly fruity--the herbs do a lot to soften it. It's sweet, but also clean and soft, so I think I'll keep the imp for now.

 

I was thinking it'd be some odd herbal scent, and I'm glad it didn't turn out that way!

[rhubarbbear]

grapeyness. grape gum? with something antiseptic, probably the rosemary, maybe the lemon peel. i dunno...

 

on: skin is amping up the grape gum smell like mad. that plus the antiseptic smells kinda like a porta potty. i feel kind queasy.

 

5 min later: so much stronger! ack!

 

too bad, the notes sounded really cool in this one...my skin just hates it! off to swaps...

[theshapeshifter]

Wow! I never would've ordered this, given my fear of roses, but it arrived as a generous frimp with my latest order, so I gamely gave it a try.

 

In the imp: Aggressively, eye-wateringly herbal - sour rosemary. I was almost afraid to try it on.

 

Initial application: Oh! Citrus! I hadn't yet read the scent description when I first put it on, so I was confused for a while, although vaguely reminded of the lemon-mint candies I liked as a child. (Makes sense now.) Suddenly, this seems much more promising. It's a bit medicinal, with the lemon on top and the herbs and a winey tang beneath, but surprisingly pleasant. I only get the roses as a faint hint in the background, just enough to make the scent a little more feminine.

 

Drydown: Several hours later, it's still just barely present if I sniff my wrist. It doesn't change a lot in the drydown, just mellows and gets less sharp. It's an unusual scent, and still does remind me somewhat of herbal cough drops, but I don't mean that in a bad way. There's something very energizing and upbeat about the scent. I'm glad I got to try it!

[QueenFae]

Very unique! The rose is on top, followed closely by the rosemary and the lemon. It's a clean, commanding, refreshing rose scent; it has a lot of balls for a floral. There's definitely a fruity undertone, like a light purple grape note. There is something decidedly sinister about this blend, which is inexplicable to me since the ingredients list is so sweet. Very nice, I like this one very much

[elspeth]

When I saw this perfume I thought I would love it because after all I love Queen Elizabeth. Unfortunately this did not work at all. The first thing I smelled was the rosemary. But after I put it on it turned kinda acidic. I don't know if it was just my skin. After awhile it calmed down and I could smell other hints like possibly citrus. I think Bess and I need to come to an understanding so I am going to give it another go.

[themerrybaker]

Another happy discovery. From the notes, you’d think you’d want to chug some grape Kool-Aide and pop yourself into the oven. But the scent is actually nothing like that. It’s hard to describe, but a no-nonsense regal scent might come close, medium throw. Bess gives you an audience of decent duration. I think I’ll pop an Earl into the dungeon instead.

[batsy]

In the vial: rosemary orange mint... hmm...

 

On the skin: This is a crisp scent... quite a mix of notes really. Strong rosemary for a long time. A very "wide awake now!" mix. It wouldn't be something I'd normally wear, but I can almost imagine Queen Elizabeth I's court being obsessed with this scent!

[fiddledragon]

Scent in bottle: Department-store perfume.Interesting department-store perfume, but I was expecting rosemary goodness.

 

Scent on me:

Wet -- It keeps morphing and is sharp and sweet and attacking my arm and make it go away... *waves arms frantically*

Dry --Bitter citrus perfume.

 

Conclusion: Not actually bad, but drastically not me, and the wet phase is just painful. This might work on someone significantly older.

[sarahj]

Bess

 

in vial: rosemary and mint...smells like some of the Aveda products used at my salon

 

wet: lemon blends with the rosemary and mint...a very refreshing scent

 

dry: gone!! this lasts less than 30 minutes on me

 

verdict: fades too quickly

[Medici]

In the imp: Bouf! Who spilled the wine?! It smells distinctly boozy, nevermind the fact that there's no booze in the blend. I'll call that grape note here.

 

Wet: Grape and rosemary, sharp herbal undertone kicking in.

 

Drydown: Kinda sharp, herby-floral, a little too white and too "perfumy" at the point for me to jump for joy. If asked for a colour association, I'd give it a white green, but a hard white/green since the sharp underside isn't tapering off quickly enough for my liking. I do detect the barest hint of lavender, though.

 

It takes about three minutes to soften, and my skin to gobble it up. I'm left with plastic flowers.

 

Verdict: While I like foral/herby, usually, Bess and I were not meant to be.

[Shollin]

First sniff: Complicated and chilly. I can pick out a bit of mint and orange blossom, but that’s the only part I can figure out.

 

Wearing: It’s very sophisticated. It’s not an old-lady scent by any means, but it’s much older than I am, and I’m not sure I can wear it convincingly. It feels rather like I’m insisting, “I’m a grownup! I know what I’m doing!” while toting my teddy bear around by one arm. But it’s a lovely scent, and I’ll hang onto it for those times when I need to feel like I know what I’m doing… or at least fake it.

[tinyvulture]

an orange/herbal scent. the acidic citrus and astringent rosemary combine to make a fragrance that is quite tart -- not sweet at all. there is some powdery rose in the background that mellows it out just a little. bright, bold and not overly feminine. a good, energetic spring scent.

[oakmoss]

I've sniffed this in the bottle a few times, but last night was the first time I wore it, in honor of the wonderful new HBO mini-series Elizabeth I, with the magnificent Helen Mirren and Jeremy Irons. I didn't come back to read the notes, so I wouldn't be too influenced by preconceptions. I wanted to let Bess herself come through...

 

The scent was faint in the bottle, herbal, clean, and I hesitated to put it on, afraid it would be too perfume-y and sharp. Applying it to wrists and heart, I was pleased to note an immediately change to something sweeter, subtly fruity (grape) and a mixture of herb/flower essence I couldn't separate, just a lovely grown-up perfume that did indeed feel very old and evocative of times past. I was just settling into liking that very much when the neroli made its presence known, piercing the fruity softness with a bittersweet beauty -- ahhhhhhh, now THAT is a perfume that evokes Elizabeth! Complicated, alternating between charming and fierce, approachable and commanding. The other notes made a lovely perfume, but the addition of orange flower was a stroke of genius, as no other flower is so romantically yearning, endlessly yearning for something that is unattainable.

[yeahbutnobut]

Bess

 

In the imp: sweet grape and citrus (orange flower and lemon) with a herbal bite, the mint adds a bit of freshness without smelling outright minty.

Wet on skin: bittersweet orange blossom and lemon peel, rosemary and grape.

Dry: this is lovely! I get a lovely lemony herbal scent with orange blossom and hints of rose and grape juice in the background adding depth and sweetness. This is a warm, sunny scent, sweet and refreshing yet grounded by a hint of rosemary. There’s an almost sugary sweetness to the scent, giving the fragrance a light hearted and joyful feel, but with that rosy backdrop making the scent more grown-up.

After a while: over time, the sweet grape juice note becomes a drier, crisper wine note, and the rose note blossoms beautifully, but the herbal-citrus scent is still there, hovering over the wine and roses. At times, the scent takes on an effervescent quality. This is gorgeous, there’s something almost traditional and mature about this scent, but it’s also youthful and bright and almost contemporary as well-not an old fashioned scent at all. I like the way the rosemary adds an interesting herbal touch to the scent.

Ooh, what’s going on here? After an hour or two, I get this lovely smooth fruity musk thing going on. I get a similar drydown from a few, random BPAL scents, usually in fruity or sometimes floral scents, but it’s a gorgeous, and almost creamy and musky fruit drydown I’m getting now, with hints of rosemary and rose around the edges.

A few hours later, I get a lovely light almost musky fruit scent with a hint of grape and orange blossom on top. It reminds me of a lighter, softer version of another fruity BPAL (probably Cairo? but without the incense.)

Verdict: this is a delightful fragrance! It is fruity, warm, cheerful and with hints of rosemary and rose. I really like the way the notes interact in here-the rosemary adds a definite herbal accent but doesn’t overtake, the orange blossom is very nice indeed (not too tangy, not too sweet), the grape note is sweet, yet also has a wine like dryness, and the rose adds a lovely depth to the scent. The scent is sunny and pleasant, almost sugary at times but also quite grown up. It has a traditional feel to it but it’s not old fashioned or stuffy at all, there’s something fresh about this scent. And then it goes into that lovely, smooth, creamy fruit musk drydown that I’m very fond of. I’m not sure if I need a bottle yet but this scent is very nice indeed and took me by surprise and I’ll be using up the imp-it seems such a lovely scent for summer.

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Edited April 23, 2006 by yeahbutnobut