Pele

[mspixieears]

... This perfume embodies her gentler, benign aspect as the capricious Goddess of Dance: muguet and Hawaiian white ginger enveloped by warm, damp tropical blooms.

Oh my gosh, totally not what I was expecting judging from the description! This is Philosophy’s Amazing Grace! I thought this would be fantastic to test on a really hot, humid day and it truly is, its lasting power is unusually long and it works a treat with my body chemistry! I ordered a 5mL of this practically instantly – that is how much this scent has captivated me. I can definitely smell the Hawaiian white ginger and muguet. A wonderfully relaxing scent and highly recommended for those who are fans of the aforementioned Philosophy (which I adore!).

[storme]

In the imp: hmm, this smells slightly like wisteria to me. But very very very faint.

 

On me, wet: faint wisteria - actually, it might be plumeria, I guess. Very light, barely there.

 

On me, dry: Still very faint, very pale scent - white flowers barely bloomed.

 

Verdict: Enh. Baby wipes leave a stronger (though similar, now I come to think of it) scent on my skin than this does. Pass.

[CiCi]

I love Hawaiian white ginger and tropical blooms but I am not getting either from this scent. I get dusty baby powder and commercial perfume scent. This smells almost like White Shoulders to me. It does not go well with my body chemistry. It is so pretty in the bottle too!

[CrazyPretzel]

In the imp, it's a softer, creamier ginger than Sudha Segara was; on me, it starts to do something absolutely amazing: big lush colourful tropical blooms...

 

...and then nothing. It vanishes in about two minutes. I'm so peeved. This was going to be a new number one favourite for sure! Sadly it disappears even if I go back and slather on a second layer. I'm going to hang on to the imp anyway; maybe on a really hot day I can get a little more life out of it.

[bryghtrose]

Very pretty.

 

While wet, I can smell the muget (lovely) and the tropical blossoms. As it fades, I can smell the ginger. Unfortunately, it fades quickly and I have to reapply often.

[greencat03]

in the imp: bright fresh tropical flowers! Maybe a hint of the ginger

 

drydown: still primarily a floral, a very beautiful tropical floral, witht he ginger adding a soft spiciness to it. There's something else here, but I can't put my finger on it.

 

dry: Mmm this is so warm and soft and smooth and pretty! I figured out what it is! It's like flowers dropped in tropical honey! There's still a whiff of fresh blooms there, but now they're enveloped in a softer, honeyed version of themselves. mmmm. This is a perfect scent for a relaxing tropical vacation.

[ralenth]

I grabbed this lovely lady out of my box o' frimpage and decided to give her a go, thinking I'd get something spicy and naughty. Of course, it would have helped if I read the description first.

 

Pele is soft and lush, like rolling around in a bed of tropical blossoms covered in morning dew. Gentle, sweet and insistent, she lingers. Hate to sound trite, but boy, do I smell pretty now.

 

I love this one and will be coming back to her again.

[Naamah_Darling]

This is floral, sweetly and fleshily floral, with a faint spicy undertone that only serves to accent the perfumey, flowery nature of this scent rather than offset it.

 

Tropical blooms are damp, and sit firmly in the forefront of this scent, with the sweet ginger note enfolded within it – really only there if you know to look for it.

 

Overall this is a warm floral blend with a faintly creamy, waxy overtone, like candles. It has some subtlety, but it's still a floral perfume, and not much is going to change the fact that florals are perhaps the least subtle of all perfumes.

 

This isn't overwhelming or yucky, in fact, as florals go it is quite polite, with only moderate throw. It gets extra points for behaving itself. I'm not a floral fan but I would willingly wear this.

[ClareN]

Lily of the valley (muguet) is the prominent note here and it's very pretty. It doesn't go jasmine-y and doesn't seem fake or air-freshener-y. Before I was into perfume, I used to think muguet was one of my favorite scents, but since I've opened my eyes to other things, it doesn't interest me so much. I would have liked it better if the scent was stronger overall - it's one of the more faint and short-lived BPALs, on my skin - or if I could pick up any ginger. I also would have liked it better if it contained red musk, woodsmoke, cloves, leather, and opoponax, but don't mind me. This is a great choice for floral lovers.

 

ETA: I said that Pele was very faint on me. I just read elsewhere on this forum that there was a weak batch of Pele a little while ago, which I suspect is what I have since my imp is second-hand. If you're buying directly from the Lab at this point or your oil is not from the weak batch, you might get a much stronger scent. Now I almost want to get a new imp...but it would probably still be not my thing.

Edited August 31, 2007 by ClareN

[sheridankm]

Ohhhhh. This is what I came to BPAL for. Pele is just gorgeous, light, musical, and deep -- this is my new favorite for sure, and I can see it cheering me up in the winter with its summery flowers.

 

I went swimming in a forest pool in Hawaii, and white ginger was growing along the edge of the water. Pele smells like that swimming hole to me, blended with muguet and (maybe imagined) fragrant plumeria. Throw is minimal, close to a skin scent, and it fades fairly quickly. More of an excuse to apply often!

[ariosa]

I got this imp off of one of the lovely forumites at the BC Meet and Sniff -- and I'm wondering if it is from the batch that was weak, because this is almost non-existent on me. It started off with excellent potential -- so I think I'm going to eventually have to order another imp from the lab to try it out again. It seems really nice... but I can't really be sure

[sfo4]

This is an amazingly fresh scent. Like beautiful sunlit blossoms bending over in an ice cold blast of wind. Absolutely beautiful. There is nothing heavy about this. This is, in fact, the first tropical flower fragrance I've ever tried that isn't heavy. I can seriously smell sunshine and a cold wind coming out of this bottle. There's even a slight suntan lotion undertone to this oil that makes it even more believable as a "Hawaiian beach on a cold, yet sunny, day in autumn" scent. LOVE it.

Unfortunately, it doesn't last long. *pouts*

Edited September 9, 2007 by lianri

[modernsaints]

So very faint, but sweet and floral and OMG IS THIS MY MOM'S BUBBLE BATH? Yes. Yes it is. She had something when I was just a kid - Tahiti something-or-other - and it was this EXACT floral blend and oh my do I ever need a bottle. Not even to wear, just to keep it in the bathroom & pour it in the tub sometimes. Almost an edge of something candied (like violets) but not quite; just bright tropical goodness.

[RogueBelle]

This one's very nice. Not spectacularly striking, but it's another good everyday wear. The florals aren't too over bearing. It feels very active, very lively. Really good summer scent.

[hkhm]

imp: very faint, like sweet, honeyed flowers.

 

wet: this is so very soft an faint, it is perfect if you just want a hint of perfum on your skin, just a lingering afterthought of a scent. this is very soft, feminine and pretty.

 

dry: still faint. still breathtakingly beautiful soft, sweet florals. this is a very close-to-the skin scent and would be nice for a romatic date with lots of snuggling.

[erraticprophet]

Initial Impression: pale flowers

 

On Wet: pale flowers, ginger, musk

 

On Dry: smells exactly like The Body Shop's White Musk

 

Final Impression: Light throw, but very lovely!

 

Rating (on a scale from 1-5): 4

[nightchild80]

In the Imp (wet): A hint of cleansing rain and promise of a warm tropical sun in a scent. This is a fresh white floral scent.

 

On facial cotton (dry): What else can I say but that this scent embodies summer and all the lush greens, florals and sun? Think sunblock and sea breezes, with the hint of fire.

 

On me: This scent makes me yearn for warm fine beach sand to dig my toes into. There is a warmth that's clean and sensual, but not demanding or complicated. The florals are white and golden, and what dampness there is is from the promise of a fresh rain.

[zankoku_zen]

This is white tropical blooms --- and dryer sheets. Something about this scent ends up smelling like dryer sheets on me. Fantastic smelling dryer sheets. Honestly, I would love it if my laundry smelled like this. But I do not fancy smelling like clean laundry myself.

[jwhxtna]

IN THE IMP: So pretty! Soft and lush flowers blooming by a beach. Very fresh, and makes me think of Hawaii. Or vacation brochures to Hawaii or other pretty exotic islands.

 

WET: My goodness this one fades fast.

 

DRY: Pretty much just how it was in the imp. This is such a gorgeous summer scent, I'm really liking it.

[DifferentDances]

Imp: Pure florals.

Wet: Floral combined with a mild suntan lotion scent. Oddly soapy.

Drydown: Sweet florals still with that California glow.

Dry: Faded, salty flowers.

 

My rating: 2/5. Not bad, just definitely not me.

[taramarie]

On me, Pele is a very light though long-lasting floral. She's pretty but not me, so I'll pass her along.

[galleywest]

In the bottle: ooooh, pretty! Beautiful tropical flowers. Very straightforward.

 

Wet, on me: exotic, tropical--very similar to the imp, which is nice!

 

Dry, on me: it hasn't morphed much, which I'm very pleased about. The only downside is that it's very light on me. It goes away far to quickly, but it's such a lovely scent that I'm willing to re-apply throughout the day (or get a scent locket or something similar). It's exactly as I hoped it would be, a gentle, beautiful, exotic floral.

[fireflower]

That's odd.. I don't really get tropical florals. I get more traditional florals. I can't really explain what I mean by that.. but this is reminding me of a perfume my mom has been wearing for years though I can't put my finger on which one since she has so many. I also agree that it smells like there's a lot of White Musk in there.. which I like only in small quantities. This is kind of musty on me and it fades really quickly. I'm going to have to swap it away. =\

[NatCatz]

Normally florals amp on me, but not this one.. I can hardly smell it.

 

Pele is soft and feminine and is worn very close to my skin.

 

All I get is soft, exotic tropical flowers. Lovely but not really for me. Deffinately pass this on to those that like florals though

[iheartbooks]

I can barely smell Pele in the imp. Very very faint, and perfume-y; can't really describe well what it smells like. But when I put it on my skin.... wow. It smell like I'm standing in a tropical rainforest in Hawaii and wearing a lei. Makes me want to go back to Hawaii, actually. I'll be wearing this scent in the summer when it's hot. I'll definitely be keeping my imp but I don't know if I'll buy a bottle. Pele fades fairly quickly, unfortunately.