Hellion

[Penance]

A scent for all rabble-rousing, nose-thumbing reprobates: black plum, champaca flower, dark musk, patchouli, narcissus and scorched sandalwood.

Origin: 10mL from a lovely lady on LiveJournal whose name is escaping me for some reason.

Preconceived notions: This sounds absolutely amazing. I adore plum, patchouli and sandalwood and the rest sounds like it could be gorgeous. I've got a torrid love affair going with black plum at the moment and I was absolutely heartbroken when I realized I couldn't afford to buy this from BPTP because I could only buy the statue and scent together ($50 is too much for my bank account to handle right now), so I almost literally peed with glee when said LJ user offered me her bottle. I'm desperately hoping this lives up to my expectations, even if hating it would be better for my bank account and my sanity (no desperate need to acquire more and all).

First sniff:

Mmm, Hellion reminds me of Queen of Spades mixed with Snake Charmer and a dab of Penitence with a tiny dose of little white flowers thrown in (very subtle flowers, otherwise this might be a very bad thing). This is everything I'd hoped for and more. This is perfect for me!

Wet on skin:

Whoa! That's a big change! Suddenly, I get a huge gust of scorched sandalwood (and I do mean scorched, that's absolutely the right description for it), powder and something almost astringently incense-like, which I'm imagining is the champaca flower. Why? No idea, but it feels right. There's no plum here, no musk, no patchouli...just a harsh, grating scent that's somehow destroyed smelling. I'm not sure how well this is going to work at this point. I often get weird scent stages, but this one's weird even by my standards.

Dry down:

Ahh, there we go. It's dying down now. Apparently my skin chemistry just knocked it for a loop. This smells like a sandalwood incense I used to burn when I was in my first year of college. Very dry and almost powdery with a nose-tickling side that makes me want to sneeze. There's a tiny touch of plum in the background - not an obvious touch, but one that I can smell all the same. This smells like incense in the most intense way...not incense smoke, incense. As in the little cones themselves, mixed with the slightest touch of dark purple fruit. This is good. Really, really good. It's not a sweet incense blend like Penitence and Cathedral, or a rounded one like Anne Bonny, it's harsh and dry and very intense.

The bottom line:

I had some doubts about this one once it hit my skin, but I love the drydown on this (and the way it smells in the bottle, so I can use it in a scent locket, too). I was hoping for more plum in this since I'm still mourning the loss of Queen of Spades (and King of Spades), but Hellion more than makes up for it in its intensity and uniqueness. This isn't just a recombination of BPAL scents, this has something different about it. Hellion has character. Edited February 7, 2006 by Shollin

[desu]

In the bottle: Ripe, juicy black plum with patchouli and what I'm guessing is the sandalwood brooding in the background.

 

On my skin: Sweetness, then almost nothing. Hmm.

 

Later on: I thought this was a disappearing act until I gave it another sniff. What I'm guessing is the dark musk, maybe something else as well, finally shone through the murk. It's a bit reminiscent of betadine for some reason, yet it's dark and attractive at the same time.

Edited February 7, 2006 by Princess of Mars

[sookster]

bottle #126 of 300...

 

sniffed from bottle this is superbly sweet with an almost grape-like quality!!

 

upon application the beautiful plum,musk and patchouli take forefront; then

the sandalwood.....lovely!!!!

 

after 30 minutes or so this scent is still going strong and all the notes

have swirled together in the most gorgeous way possible.....

 

thank you beth and puddin' ... i am thrilled beyond words that i was

able to get a bottle of this outstanding creation

[Fefferbella]

OMG... I *love* Hellion... This could be the most *perfect* "me" scent ever...

 

Black plum+ Nag champa+ dark musk+ patchouli +sandalwood= Perfection

 

This scent is so rich, warm and sexy... I'm resisting the urge to slather it on... After my heartbreaking experience with La Fee Verte, I'm tempted to *beg* people to swap with me so I can have *more* Hellion...

 

*sigh* What to do....

[sixthsentinel]

Hmmm....can't decide if I really like this or it's just "meh" on me. One thing is for certain, though -- to my nose, this is a lighter version of Hunter Moon (which I adore beyond all measure). Upon first try, it just seemed like there was something creeping around in there that wasn't jiving so well with my skin, but it *is* better since I've let it sit for a few days. I briefly toyed with the idea of letting it go, but I just know that some more aging will make this even better, so for now, it's not going anywhere. Who knows what magnificent thing Hellion will turn into a few months down the road? I'm eager to find out.

[maewitch]

After several months of steady (one might say obsessive) BPALing, I find I'm still learning what really works well on me. And surprisingly...dark musk is GORGEOUS.

 

This is initially a little sharp, with the woodsy bite of the sandalwood. Wet, it smells strongly of burning incense. I don't get any plum outright.

 

On drydown, it gets much softer and sweeter as the flowers start popping up and the musk emerges. At that point is a rich, and somewhat powdery spicy-sweetness.

 

Really quite nice, but I wonder at the depth that will emerge with aging. We'll see in a few months.

[alasindocs]

This does not love me.

 

My chemistry amps everything in this up so high..I smell like a mean and nasty biker chick that was doused in Patchouli then lit on fire..and allowed to smolder down to her battered engineer boots.

 

I am hoping with aging that some of this edge will mellow.

 

Because I want to kick my own ass when I wear this.

Edited February 16, 2006 by Finnoula

[yeahbutnobut]

Hellion

 

In the imp: ooh, this is like a darker Snake Charmer! I smell plum here, possibly with musk and sandalwood.

Wet on skin: now I smell the sandalwood even more-and it is scorched, indeed. It smells like smouldering sandalwood incense with hints of nag champa, patchouli and juicy plum.

Dry: whoa. This stuff is incredible. This is, to me, Snake Charmer’s evil twin. Dark, fiery, smoky and with a smidgen of rebelliousness, this scent is predominantly the scent of incense, burning and smouldering away, giving off clouds of fragrant smoke. Dry, burnt sandalwood with a dark musk and hints of nag champa and patchouli incense, with the juicy sweetness of plum and a hint of narcissus adding a lighter touch to an otherwise blackened and brooding scent. I love the way this smells just like good quality incense in the process of burning and filling a room with scented smoke.

After a while: the incense scent strengthens more, the plum fades away, so now the scent is sharp burning incense with a hint of bonfire, but the musk adds a smooth layer underneath it all. I think this will be a great autumn scent.

Then after an hour, or so, the scent smoothes out into that wonderful ‘smoky autumnal fruity musk’ drydown I have smelt in a few other, totally random, BPAL scents (even scents without smoke/incense, musk or fruit notes). Only this time, this fruity musk is smokier. This reminds me somewhat of Hunter Moon, only more incense like, darker, and with hints of plum. Then it reminds me of Hunter Moon meets Snake Charmer, but without SC’s vanilla sweetness.

Verdict: this is Snake Charmer on fire! Another one of the Lab’s wonderful incense/plum scents, this is a dark, smouldering, smoky scent of burning sandalwood, dark musk, patchouli incense and a juicy plum note softening it all out. Then for a while it smells blackened, charred and almost like a fragrant bonfire, before going into that fruity smoky musk stage that I get in a lot of BPALs…this scent will be really nice in the autumn. Whilst I still prefer Snake Charmer as my favourite in this family of ‘exotic, incense, musk and a bit of fruit/sweetness’ scents, I really like this and will treasure the decant I have.

[summer]

Yummy, deep, plummy incense. Rich, smokey, sweet head-shop resin. That is Hellion. And I love it.

 

[tartsquid]

I got an imp of this to test before deciding whether or not to buy a bottle and statue.

 

When it's first on me it smells strongly of burning wood. It gradually dries down to a spicey plum mixed with smokey incense that smells very rich and deep. I liked the scent a lot but it seemed too heavy for me - just a little dab was strong enough for my roommate to ask "what's that smell?".

[jakey]

Yecky incense. This is not good on me at all.

 

I know it's a crappy review thus far. Maybe aging will improve it?

 

I'll update if I have any revelations...

[mandragora]

In the imp: Sandalwood, patchouli and champaca flower.

Wet on me: Not much different from the imp.

Drydown: Musky, earthy yet floral smelling at the same time. The black plum giving it sweetness and depth.

Verdict: Wow, a very complex and interesting scent. Sweet, feminine yet dirty around the edges . It's a keeper.

[GemmaCat]

I managed to snag an imp of this from a lovely lady on LJ.

 

This is foody and spicy, and very rich. My first thought was "Ooo, sweet and complex".

 

Once on this reminds me a great deal of Beth's pumpkin notes, but whereas true pumpkin scents make me feel violently ill, this is all the lovely rich sweetness with none of the nausea. Hurrah!

 

There's also a hint of ripe-to-bursting fruit, and that spicy foodiness remains right through to the drydown.

 

The throw and staying power of Hellion is very impressive, and only a small amount is needed for a lovely cloud of scent to envelop you.

 

As much as I loved this scent, it's a little too rich for me, so it went to a new home where it could be properly appreciated as it so richly deserves.

[astridclaire]

On me, Hellion smells just like PURPLE in the most amazing way. I absolutely adore this!!!

 

However, 30 minutes later and it's gone.

[Reinaluna]

Hellion:I got two decants of this from the lovely AngelicMistique. This is a more sinister version of Queen of Spades. I love it. I hope to get my hands on a little more.

[Jettcat]

Got an imp of this from LJ and yet another Limited I need before they disappear

A sort of smoky resin scent without the high perfume smell I get from another love Midnight Mass

 

Somehow I believe there's a statue in the not too distant future, before the lil devil buggers off!

[Medici]

Origin: A decant from shay on livejournal from a few months back.

 

In the imp: Musky, smoky, woodsy, spicey. I'm afraid this might be a bit too boyish for me.

 

Wet: Woods, cinnamon, toppling over the narcissus. It's kinda raunchy, but its fading as it dries.

 

Drydown: Where did you go? Well, damnit! It smelled great for all of thirty seconds!

 

 

Hmph.

 

4/5 on Medici's Scale o' Lurrve for the scent

1/5 on Medici's "My arm just ate you!" scale for longevity

Edited April 26, 2006 by Medici

[dawndie]

In bottle: astringent with a tiny bit of fruit

 

On skin: dark fruit and wood. This wood isn't overpowering though, like Cathedral where the wood overtook everything. I wish the fruit was stronger, but I love the fruity-foody blends, which must make me a froody

 

Half-hour later: slight spicy cinnamony with the wood in the background

 

In conclusion: a nicely blended scent, which reminds me of other dark favorites like Morocco and Perversion. Those blends last all day for me, and this one is not as long-lasting which makes me sad. Oh, and Seamus is adorable

[joseybird]

Dark, very spicy, slightly fruity, and murky, Hellion is a fierce, agressive scent remeniscent of scents such as Wrath (it has a similar dry, "hot" quality). Not sure what champaca flower smells like, but it might be what's lending the scorched quality to this scent (haha I thought of "scorched" before reading the description to refresh my memory ). This is a black and deep red scent; very World of Darkness (love that game setting).

[Muppetk]

Oh well. I had hopes. Very very tiny hopes mind you, but hopes. My skin usually devours fruit. It also turns narcissus into bandaids. Still, it sounded yummy.

 

While it was still wet and smelling somewhat the way it seemed to, the plum was the dominant note with the patch & a touch of champaca underneath. (well, plus loud bandaid smell, but I kept hoping that would go away.) It started out nice. Then my skin warped it beyond recognition. No plum, blenty of bandaid, and a touch of patchouli & sandalwood. Feh. Probably not for me, but I'll still try it on my hair at some point before trading it away.

[malanna]

Hellion starts out being all dark musk and scorched sandalwood (seriously, burning rotting wood), so it was a pleasant surprise to sniff it a half hour later and find that the wood was gone. Instead, it smelled like musk, a bit of plum, and a flower that sends you in a haze, like being in a poppy field (or so I imagine that's what happens when you're in a poppy field). It's not my sort of scent, but it's very sexy. It smells like the slinky woman in with the wavy coif that the detective is wary of in a film noir (the woman you see on TV, so she's black and white).

Edited May 5, 2006 by malanna

[zankoku_zen]

Another lovely gift from jewelbug... although this one has me confused since she raved about how much she loved this... maybe she is just THAT generous...

 

In the imp: It smells like a plum. Like when you're right up to the skin before you take a bite, and you can smell the plum as you're biting into it... Yup, that's the smell.

 

On Skin: I get some sort of green flower... and then it warms up. After 10 minutes, I still have a tinge of that green flower smell (which may be the narcissus, since in my mind narcissus smells like lotus... whereas lotus turns into bubblegum on my skin) and in the background is this fragrant mix of plum and incense.

 

I don't get so much plum out of this. I do get a warm, spicy, incensey sort of floral.

 

After a while, I can smell the plum again.

 

Verdict: Very interesting. This is a very mature perfume. I'm not sure that its necessarily rabble rousing for me. I feel very sophisticated wearing this perfume though.

 

I don't think I like this as much as jewelbug did...

[brownbear]

I get a warm, sweet, spicy, incense from this. I get a tiny bit of the plum, but it is mostly just the sweetness. This doesn't smell especially dry to me like I expected it to. There's a little juice and some sugary booze mixed in with the floral and incense. Very nice.

[edenssixthday]

Hellion - Wow! I honestly wouldn’t have thought that an oil blend with both patchouli and sandalwood could possibly ever work on me; yet somehow, it does. In fact, I love it! The black plum and dark musk are the dominant notes on my skin. The patchouli and sandalwood aren’t identifiable in the least, although they undoubtedly serve to give flavor to this blend. There’s something sharp and spicy in it when I initially apply it that distinctly reminds me of the spiciness of Blood (the BPAL scent, not the bodily fluid!), but that fades upon dry-down, and Hellion is a warm, musky scent with just the slightest hint of sweetness, which I’m sure is from the plum. It’s a complex scent, and ultra-sexy. I split a bottle with a friend, but we decided to order more, and I’m so glad I’ll have 10 ml of this! It’s going to be worn a lot. And I also have to add that it layers beautifully with Coyote.

[Melantha]

Wow. This is like Bordello, with kick.

 

Fruity, incense-y, warm, and luscious. Who would have thought I'd be a patchouli kind of girl? But I am! I have an imp, but I foresee a purchase when I have the money for it! Oh, I hope Seamus will still be there!

 

ETA: Half and hour later, and it's gone! I'm hoping it's because my skin was rather dry, not because it doesn't work for me....

Edited June 18, 2006 by Melantha