Night's Pavilion

[UltraViolet]

I worship you like night's pavilion,
O vase of sadness, o great silent one,
And love you more since you escape from me,
And since you seem, my night's sublimity,
To mock me and increase the leagues that lie
Between my arms and blue immensity.

I move to attack, beseige, assail,
Like eager worms after a funeral.
I even love, o beast implacable,
The coldness which makes you more beautiful.

Not the desperation, desolation and anguish of unrequited love, but the distant, chill and pitiless scent of the object of that doomed desire. White musk, osmanthus, Nile lily and frankincense.

In the bottle
More bright and fruity than one would imagine. Thusfar this smells sort of like Blue moon meets..I dunno... Neo-Tokyo maybe a bit. The Lily, osmanthus, musk and frankincense blend together so well that the no one thing really sticks out as primary...yet.
On
Still smells the same as in the bottle (thank God). The lily and osmanthus are primary now. I can't pick out the frankincense nor the musk any longer. Very pretty blend, somewhat perfumey, and similar to an aquatic. There's a cucumbery mintiness to this underneath the perfuminess.
30 minutes
The dry down is even better because it becomes a bit powdery, but this slight powderiness only adds to the loveliness of this white floral.
Throw:
Yes it does have more than average.
Scent category:
Floral/Animalistic/Incense
Summary
To me this doesn't smell like a incensey floral. It smells more bright white floral, aquatic blend. I'm not even able to pick an existing blend to compare it to. I would say a Jasmine Danube or Tulszcha but no, this is not getting at what it smells liek exactly. So pretty and different. I bet some would imagine Snow White to smell like this. It's that kind of scent. Greatest throw of the Lupercalia blends and the longest lasting of the bunch as well
Purchase again?
Yes. This is beautiful.
1-5 rating (5 being best)
4.5

[ivyandpeony]

I was concerned about this one because frankincense tends to smell soapy and sharp on me. But all my needless apprehension melted away the minute I sniffed this glorious stuff in the bottle. I really don't smell frankincense in this blend - perhaps it complements these florals so perfectly, or maybe it is a different type of frankincense than the ones I've tried in other blends. On me, Night's Pavilion becomes a beautiful, white floral with a smooth white musk base. The avatar that Ultraviolet made evokes the perfect visual for this scent - a romantic, exotic locale viewed in the moonlight. Swoonworthy!

[paradoxicaljlb]

Cool and aloof. Aquatic. White bouquet with a herbal, fruity edge. The florals dominate all. Blue. Just a touch of resin. Most definitely feminine. Lots of throw; you can certainly smell it from a distance as the lab description implies. There are powdery and soapy associations with some of the notes in this blend, I'm just not sure which ones are the culprits. Night's Pavillion stays true as it fades away (for me it was completely gone about 2.5 hours after application).

 

In Night's Pavilion it's impossible to discern where the earth ends and the sparkling night sky begins. Breathtakingly beautiful.

[LiberAmoris]

Night's Pavilion strikes me as definitely a nighttime blend, a combination of both velvety darkness and scintillating, white stars. It smells much more complex than the four listed notes led me to believe.

 

In the bottle, it's a peppery frankincense with just a hint of the osmanthus (which to me resembles freesia). On my skin, I smell the 'starry' notes---the white musk and the osmanthus. The frankincense doesn't overwhelm in this blend or even come across as itself. It's almost as if the frankincense lowers a veil over the florals and blurs them, tones down their strong 'white' scent, and makes them glimmer duskly.

 

In feel, this reminds me a bit of Gypsy Queen. It doesn't smell anything like GQ, but both are mysterious, dimmed florals that are deeply sensuous.

 

Truly beautiful and an utter surprise. I'm definitely going to pick up another bottle before the VD blends are gone.

[gingersnapp]

This started out crisp and brightly floral, a very bright white scent. As it dried, my old friend lily took over as it always does, and this has softened considerably into a delicate and powdery floral. I think it's the white musk that is giving me the impression of "powder," or perhaps the frankincense.

 

This is very calm and very beautiful. I don't know how or why, but this gives the impression of nighttime as opposed to daytime. Serene and delicate, like shadows from the moon.

 

Just lovely!

Edited February 7, 2006 by Shollin

[lysithea]

On my skin, this was a muted crystalline floral.

 

It seemed to have some elements in common with Utremmyaya from the Zorya collection. It must be the osmanthus. As it settles on the skin, I can detect the lilly, but only if I press my nose to my wrist. Mostly, it ends up as a slighty dampened musk/frankincense scent. It is chilly and serene, with noticable "twinkling" effect from the musk. I can see making this a bedtime, fresh from the bath kind of scent.

 

Throw is moderate. Longevity is medium to low.

[Macha]

Ever had someone hand you a glass of coca-cola when you thought they were handing you root beer? That first sip is horrible -- not because the coca-cola is necessarily bad, but because it's not what you were expecting. Your mind was geared up for root beer...it didn't quite know what to do with the taste of kola nut.

 

This is very much like my experience with Night's Pavilion. I opened up the bottle and inhaled and spent the next ten minutes trying to figure out where I had smelled that before, because it was very familiar, it was reminding me of something in specific, and to my nose it was neither chill nor frosty or reminiscent of night....it was tea.

 

Yes, tea.

 

Not just any tea, but loose yerba mate tea, unflavored. WTF? I had a jar of it in the office, so I wandered over to compare: an exact match.

 

So I was a little weirded out by this. Certainly this was not what I was expecting, nor does it really match with any of the other reviewer's impressions so far. But...tea. There was no getting around it: I tried it on to see if it would change on my skin.

 

And wet, it does not. It's straight yerba mate, drying down into a soapy note that I associate with some white florals in reaction to my skin. It has fair throw and is a bit light on the staying power side, but mostly I was expecting one thing from the perfume, and got something so totally different that I'm still in a bit of shock from it. As such, I'll probably pull out this perfume again in a few weeks and see if I change my mind, but right now I suspect it's just not meant to be.

[Blood onmy hands]

In the bottle... this manages to smell spicy, sweet, and aquatic. A strangely delicious combination. I was intrigued at first sniff, though I put off trying this blend originally. It didn't sound that exciting out of all of the Lupercalia blends, but I am really happy with Night's Pavilion. It is a definite winner for me, and I'm so glad that I purchased two bottles.

 

Wearing this is like being in the house on a hot summer's night and feeling overheated and restless... then you walk outside and a cool breeze refreshes you as you look up at a starry sky and feel rejuvenated.

 

Something about the floral mixed with frankincense and creamy musk is just perfect. It is as refreshing and enchanting as a cool breeze on a stifling summer night. I wouldn't really smell this and think that it is floral, though it's what I expected after reading the notes. Night's Pavilion smells very exotic and musky (musk usually gives me a headache, but I'm loving this), with the frankincense and sweet floral dancing around in the background, and an almost black peppery spiciness to it.

 

Love it.

 

ETA: I have the 2006 and 2011 versions of this. The 2006 bottles I own haven't changed much at all with age, and the 2011 smells *nothing* like the original. The 2011 version smells like pink, creamy roses and lemonade on me (wth?) and lasts about a half hour before it disappears.

Edited February 22, 2012 by Little Bird

[desu]

In the bottle: Ooo, pegged. Nothing nice (emotionally) about this one at all.

 

On my skin: The lily and osmanthus are definatly out to play in this one. Not really detecting the musk or frankincense in this one.

 

Later on: Like most floral scents on me, this dissapates fairly quickly on me. It was nice while it lasted.

[Rheliwen]

To me, osmanthus smells weird and soapy, and I definitely get this smell on initial application. Overall this is a citrusy, powdery musk. It reminds me of the bamboo and tea scents out there. Something like Sudha Segera, but more floral.

 

I can't really smell frank, but I think he there holding down the floral ropes. This is very quiet, but up close can be a bit sharp. A perfect spring blend when the flowers are gettting ready to bloom but the icy wind hasn't yet gone on its merry way.

[olympia301]

 

Acacia...that is what I get from Night's Pavilion. It starts off as a melange of almost oriental components which I expected to "gather together" and appear as one unified note. The opening remained swirly and non committal, but Night's Pavilion dried down to almost pure acacia on me, with a good and pretty incense playing coyly in the background. I smell an aquatic part as well, and the white musk is evident and helps it last after it is dry. So, I would highly recommend Night's Pavillion to anyone who loved the acacia in things like Chaos Theory and Red Phoenix.

[Diana]

I got scared when I read a lot of "aquatic + lily" type of reviews. Thankfully that is not how it wears on me (I dislike lilies and most aquatic notes).

 

This goes on sweet. Not like candy or honey or sugar, but just not heavy or brooding or overly floral... with something else lurking. I think mainly on me this is a musk blend with just a hint of sweet frankinscense resin. It is sweet to the point that the musk smells more like the Egyptian variety rather than the White type. I'm sure there are flowers in here, but I'm not really picking them up at all (yay!).

 

This is cool and fresh and a surprise for me! I can see how someone would call this "aquatic," but it's more in the way it reminds me of water rather than how it smells. If that makes any sense!

[synique]

My skin chemistry has a love affair with white musk - and it loves Night's Pavilion, turning it into a lovely lovely lovely white musk with very minor floral and aquatic accents with a gilding of frankincense.

 

I think LiberAmoris described it best:

On my skin, I smell the 'starry' notes---the white musk and the osmanthus. The frankincense doesn't overwhelm in this blend or even come across as itself. It's almost as if the frankincense lowers a veil over the florals and blurs them, tones down their strong 'white' scent, and makes them glimmer duskly.

 

I wasn't too sure on ordering this one with the frankincense, but I'm utterly glad I did. Another gorgeous one!

[yeahbutnobut]

Night's Pavilion

 

In the bottle: a slightly sharp and slightly spicy/smoky aquatic floral…it seems to veer towards something gardenia like, which worries me as many gardenia and gardenia-variant notes are my skin's nemesis! It's lovely in the bottle though.

Wet on skin: ooh wow, this is lovely, it is a gorgeous 'blue' floral scent now, with the almost pine-like resinous scent of frankincense. And nothing gardenia like in here, of course.

Dry on skin: this is beautiful! The sharpness is gone completely now, and I'm left with a wonderful scent of 'glittering deep blue'. That's the only way I can describe it. It has the same 'feel' as the Evening Star, but is different in scent-this is a gentle, soft powdery white musk, with a gorgeous aquatic floral note…is that Nile Lily? If so, then it is such a wonderful note! And yes, it does bear a slight similarity to Pacifica Candle's Nile Lily and to that Egyptian lotus perfume I have, and also resembles hyacinth meets waterlily/white lily with a touch of smoky incense (that could be the frankincense though) with a gentle powder scent accentuated by white musk. I can also smell the sharp bright scent of osmanthus here, I recognise that note from Ouija. There's a nice contrast of watery coolness and also a background of warmth. I agree with other reviewers that this is the scent of a summer night, warm yet with a cool breeze, and a night sky glittering with stars. I also think this scent evokes the image of a still pond at night, full of blue waterlilies that bloom like stars as the water reflects the glittering heavens above.

After a while: after a while this settles into a delightful scent that reminds me of a combination of Nuit, Urania, Evening Star, Dreamland, and my Egyptian Lotus perfume. At times this really resembles the latter, which must be due to the Nile Lily. (also still resembling the candle of the same name!) I also really get the osmanthus here, which lends a slight perfume-like quality, but in the best way possible. I'm impressed at how 'blue' this scent is-in fact it brings to mind lapis lazuli, deep blue flecked with starry speckles of white and gold. That's what I smell in here.

After about 2 hours, the scent becomes almost all osmanthus with a hint of smoke, but then it seems to settle back into fragrant lily with hints of musk and osmanthus after that stage.

The drydown is a nice mix of all the notes, the frankincense strongest (probably osmanthus too) with musk and lily lingering in the background.

Verdict: this seemed the most underrated of the Lupercalia scents, but I had such high hopes for it, mainly since I was intrigued to know what BPAL's Nile Lily note smelt like. And thankfully, this lives up to expectations-it really is as good as I thought it would be! This is, in my opinion, a sister scent to Evening Star and Urania/Nuit, as in it is a beautiful pale floral that evokes images of a star filled night sky. It's also the BPAL that, to me, evokes the colour blue more than any other scent. Deep royal blue with slivers and ripples of white and gold, like a lapis stone, or a blue diamante gown. There's a lovely blend of notes here, such as lightly smoky and resinous frankincense, a downy coat of white musk, sharp bright osmanthus…and the enigmatic, watery, gorgeous lily note. This lily is a light, gentle and slightly aquatic floral scent with a hint of something hyacinth like and something slightly smoky and incense like to it. It's a complex note, and at times it smells very similar to a perfume I have from Egypt, funnily enough. The overall scent is cool yet warm at the same time, a lovely and unusual contrast and feeling that only can be found in scents as well crafted as Beth's. It's like standing by a pool of luminous waterlilies on a summer night and looking up at the stars whilst the scent of incense mingles with the smell of the flowers and wafts by on a gentle breeze. A truly beautiful scent, haunting, ethereal and breathtaking, yet very wearable, sophisticated and refined-it would be perfect for classy nights out when you want to surround yourself with an air of mystery. I adore the label of this bottle-deep blue with swirls and constellations of stars-and this label fits perfectly with the scent.

Edited February 10, 2006 by yeahbutnobut

[Scarlettfish]

I love Beth's night-time, musky scents like Nuit, Urania and The Evening Star, and as the review above says, this scent belongs to that category. The Nile lily note is awesome - like a soft, delicate, lily floating peacefully in water. The white musk is gorgeous and soft, and the frankincense adds a certain element of darkness to the blend. Night's Pavilion is gorgeously blended, and smells of the night sky, flowers, and a still pool of sparkling water. It's sad and mournful, but beautiful at the same time. I really love this, and I have to agree that it is the underrated star of the Lupercalia blends.

[Astburygrrl]

In the Bottle: Ugh. It smells chemically..like rubber cement?

 

On the skin: I dont think i can stand this..it still smells like rubber cement and i can detect a very faint rose leering in the backdrop...? This is too much to handle and I feel sick to my tummy(hasnt happened since Black Dahlia)

 

I had to wash this off..i'm so sorry this didnt work out for me! I dunno what went wrong? I think i'll try it again in a week or so..maybe its just my frame of mind lately. <le sigh>

[kmasden]

I'm having a love/hate relationship with this one. I love white musk, lily, etc. so have great hopes. It smelled nice OTB. For the first 30 minutes i'm getting something i like, a sharpish lily, slightly aquatic even to me, but also a background of ....cumin....perhaps the frankinsence. I don't know if it is me (after all, when i tried bess, i got nachos!) but i get a lot of cumin type smell from this.

 

After 30 minutes that cumin is gone for me and i do like the way this smells. It's soft, slightly perfumy, very feminine i believe....i just need to figure out if i'm smelling cumin and if that part will go away.

 

I think the lily in this is very nice and I always love osmanthus. I really am liking the dried on scent.

[grrrlennyl]

at first: a sweet, wet, and slightly sour floral. interesting.

on: white, cold, and floral. it's a bit damp and a bit sweet, with a hint of something incensy.

1 hour later: a light musk and lots of flowers. very pretty.

3 hours later: very, very soapy.

4 hours later: softer, but still soapy flowers.

overall: this just didn't work out on me.

[shelldoo]

in the bottle: light, fresh, florals.

 

wet: did i say light? as in barely there. interesting, i am not a "huge" lily fan, sometimes they are ok, sometimes way not ok. these r ok, not slapping me around and not going funky. the musk backdrop makes for the perfect scenery for the play to unfold.

 

as it dries i agree somewhat w/ macha, there is something here that is reminding me of tea, or something greenish as in green tea but not green as in ivy or herbs, but the lily keeps it from going so clean that i can't wear it. and the frankincense mellows the lily keeping them from going soapy floral, which lilies tend to do on me. this plays out gorgeous and slightly innocent two things i usually can't pull off.

 

final thoughts: i am pleasantly surprised as lily, and waxy type scents very rarely work w/ my chemistry. they tend to be soapy, clean, and sometimes chemical on me. this is none of that. it is a light fresh smell grounded by lovely frankincense i actually think this will be wonderful in early spring for easter or family gatherings during the early spring times.

[AlaskaSnows]

Musky, definitely frankincense, and a floral that blends nicely. It's very pretty, but also very like "perfume". Sure it's BETTER than most perfume, but it still is enough like your average stuff that I don't need a bottle of this. It's pretty and sophisticated, though, very womanly.

[Thaleia]

I love the idea behind this scent. It's great for when I want to play hard to get, smell sophisticated, and be enigmatic (or at least try). This scent is cold and aloof, a floral sharpness with an undercurrent of woods. The incense isn't evident - I'm mainly getting a pale, moonlit aquatic/floral and a distinctive sandalwood note. It actually reminds me of something I smelled in England while on study abroad. It's kind of what my room smelled like, so it brings back all of those nice memories. 8/10.

[slave1]

In Bottle: Hay and incense

 

On Skin: Hmmm… this is an odd scent on me. I smell hay. Seriously, like barnyard hay. After a few minutes the florals bloom, very strong, white and crisp. I also smell a tea note and the hay scent is still there, but lighter. I expected the frankincense to dominate the scent, but it actually lays low in the background just giving a slight incensey note. About 15 minutes later the hay has faded (thankfully) and it is mostly elegant white florals, the lily being the dominant note. It is a pretty scent and I love the description and mood it creates, but it’s not quite me.

[Chrysantza]

Wet: This smells just like...miso broth.

 

Dries down to: Note to self - "Cold" scents and your skin chemistry do not mix. It starts off really pretty but then there is an odd wet-cardboard tang. After a while, the frankincense and musk start to battle it out for supreme ruler of my wrists. Not really me, alas.

[LittleGreyKitten]

What. The. HELL. I have not a clue what makes this absolutely awful on my skin, but it's woefully horrid. It smells exactly like some sharp, pungent kitchen herb I hate. It's not remotely sweet, I get no lily or aquatic or resin or musk anything. It's just pungent unsweet herb scent. Salty smelling in fact (miso soup, not precisely to me, but I do see where she's getting that association). Very very very weird. It doesn't smell sweet in the bottle either. Boy, is this going to swap like what. Dang. I absolutely adore the label though! Of all the BPAL blends I've tried this is the one that works the worst on me, hands down.

 

For me, 0 out of 5, or possibly -1. I have to say I like 95% of all BPAL scents, and love probably 90% of the ones I get in bottles, and I'm pretty good at guessing what I'd like by description.

 

Edit: It's just bizarre how mixed the reviews are here. Some describe a scent I believe I would love, but then there's a few like me who get something very different: miso, yerba mate tea, hay, etc- I'm sure it's the same weird scent I'm getting. I wonder if there's something in there that is like cilanto: about a third of people smell & taste straight soap, whereas others don't. At first I wondered if there were some bottles that smelled different, but after swapping a few imps around I've never smelled anything other than that weird pungent unsweet scent, and the girl who got my bottle, we swapped in person, and she thought it smelled OK to her.

Edited May 10, 2006 by LittleGreyKitten

[allidavie]

This just disappears on my skin and has no throw at all.... It's a lovely white floral with a bit of spicey musk thrown in there, and seemed like it would be one of the few florals I could wear, but it literally had no smell as soon as it dried. To check I just reapplied one more drop and sure enough, no more smell once it dried. Oh well. On my 1) swap it 2) put it away and mull whether to swap it and probably eventually swap it 3) keep it and use it 4) hoard it and hunt it down all over the universe scale, this goes into category 1, as I'm sure someone else will enjoy it more than I.

Edited February 17, 2006 by allidavie