Bat-Woman

[slave1]

 

Bat-Woman, Albert Penot.

Ratkirani, calla lily, moonflower, honeysuckle, night-blooming jasmine, French lavender, verbena, grey amber and nighttime air.

 

In Bottle: Fresh light floral

 

On Skin: This smells like a garden at night. I can actually see bats flocking to this beautiful floral. While the picture that inspired it is quite dark and grey, this scent captures the beauty and subtle power. The Cala Lily comes forward first… drool… I love it!! The ratkirani fits the scent perfect, here's the description of it: An Indian flower related to the jasmine and sacred to Ratri, Lady of the Night. I get jasmine but it isn't overwhelming like it usually can be on me. The honeysuckle is also quite light, not thick or syrupy at all. To me the lily, moonflower, verbena and nighttime air stand out the most. The "nighttime air" is slightly cold and crisp, stark and clean. The grey amber adds to the moodiness of the scent and also adds softness. The lavender gives a calming sleepy effect and I actually like it. This scent is so well blended, wow. I get a white grey tone from this scent. Absolutely gorgeous. It has a light throw but the wearlength seems to last quite nicely. I smelled it on my wrists the next morning after sleeping in it. By the way, it's a lovely sleeping scent.

 

edited to add image - clover

Edited September 3, 2009 by Shollin

[edenssixthday]

Bat-Woman - I simply cannot get over how stunning this scent is. It's one of the most beautiful and complex BPAL scents I've encountered. It's very faint on my skin when I first apply it, and doesn't really smell like much at all -- perhaps slightly floral air. About 20 minutes later, after it's had a chance to warm up on my skin, the scent is simply astounding. It has definitely "picked up the pace" and all sorts of incredibly gorgeous, light florals swirling through it. I just happened to be testing out Calla Lily single note on my other arm, so I immediately identified the calla lily in Bat-Woman, and when I read the scent description, I wasn't surprised at all to see it listed toward the beginning of the ingredient list. I also see I was correct about the "air" aspect of the scent, which even after dry-down is still a significant facet of this incredibly complex blend. The other notes are difficult to detect, but it's obviously a floral blend. I can't smell the jasmine at all, which thrills me since I almost didn't order this because of the jasmine note. The scent sticks very close to my skin, but it lasts a lot longer than I expected. It starts to fade after about 2 hours, but slowly, and it's gone at about the 3.5 hour point. Overall, this is quite possibly THE most complexly-blended of all of Beth's amazing blends. It had me thinking it might be time to start getting rid of most of my "inferior" BPALs and just spending my life with this lovely creature. Seriously, try it. You'll be absolutely amazed. It's truly phenomenal.

Edited July 7, 2006 by edenssixthday

[AliBabble]

bat-woman is very airy, and very fresh. it does remind me of night air, spiked with sharp night-blooming white flowers. i like it, and can see wearing this one to bed, with the summer breeze blowing through the window. one other weird association i get is clairol herbal essence shampoo, and i can't figure that one out, but i get a touch of that, when it's on my skin. it's really very evocative of floaty, sheer night-things. summer night air, and strange overgrown white blossoms. reminds me of sleepwalking out into a moonlit overgrown garden.

[VenusFlyTrap]

Wow! I am swooning over this!

 

This is an absolutely, stunning and gorgeous white floral! It does not resemble *anything* that Beth has created before.

 

Very feminine and lovely but not headache inducing.

 

Most of the flowers in this beautiful scent bloom at night and, as such, we diurnal mammals miss the glorious blossoms at the peak of their fragrance.

 

For those of you who aren't into jasmine, the jasmine here is the night blooming variety. It's actually quite delicate and plays well with the other flowers Much less heady and/or overpowering. Also, the grey amber and nighttime air ground the florals so they aren't merely a bunch of flowers. They are more like a symphony where each one has part and performs it beautifully; not overshadowing the others and in harmony.

 

This reminds me a lot of the glorious scent of the Queen of the Night orchid cactus in my garden. Each one of its beautiful and fragrant flowers opens and closes in a single night. Ah, such transcendence...

 

If you love light, white florals, you MUST try Bat-Woman!

 

Edited July 9, 2006 by VenusFlyTrap

[bristlecone]

Bat-Woman is amazing. I don't know what else to say about it other than that I agree with the first reviewer that it smells like a gorgeous garden at night. It also reminds me of Ides of March (I think of IoM as the warm morning version of the scent, while BW is the cool evening version). I think Evening Star has a bit of competition for its title of My Favorite BPAL Floral.

 

I must say, though, that I originally assumed this wouldn't have much throw, and it's proving me wrong. It's one to use lightly at first, until you know how it reacts on you. I could see it becoming a bit too heady if it's slathered on.

 

I'm sending a decant of this to a friend in a swap, and I can't wait for her to smell it. I hope she likes it as much as I do.

[LittleGreyKitten]

Mmm. I like. This reminds me, slightly, of Chiroptera... which makes sense, as they have a similar theme, though Bat-Woman is lighter and airier. I love Beth's moonflower note very much, and it's noticeable in this blend. I've always loved the description of Yog-Sothoth, though I sadly didn't love the scent, and I always think of it when I run across a blend that smells the way I think Yog should have: air and darkness. That indeed describes Bat-Woman pretty well, though it's definitely a floral, it's spiked with something lighter, airier indeed, but not ozoney or otherwise jarring with the flower scent. I really enjoy this blend, but I have been ignoring floral blends almost entirely of late, so we'll see if Bat-Woman gets much attention. It may because it is beautiful, but it may get ignored since I've been kind of doing that with even some florals I love. Though Bat-Woman is lovely I do think it comes in behind Chiroptera, Evening Star, and Beatrice... those are my very favorite white, light florals from BPAL. I'd give Bat-Woman a 4 out of 5 at this point.

[Aredhel]

Rating (on skin): 3/5

Summarised in a word or two: Good! Then... not so good.

 

Hopes & Thoughts: I'm a little wary of the calla lily, lavender and verbana, but the moonflower, jasmine, grey amber and nighttime air sound promising.

 

In the imp: ...Wow. Very floral, but unlike any floral scent I've come across.

 

On skin, wet: Jasmine, lavender, honeysuckle and amber, with... well, it smells like nighttime air. Very floral and strong, but a very pleasant, beguiling, beautiful floral -- and this comes from the decidedly anti-floral girl.

 

On skin, dry: I also have to agree with slave1: this smells like a garden at night. However, after about an hour, the lavender becomes stronger, and the calla lily appears. This is somewhat new, as when I originally tried this (before buying a bottle), I didn't notice this after the dry-down. Unfortunately, after further tries at getting BW to cooperate after it dries, it's just not working.

 

Conclusion/Notes: I tries this in my Salome locket, but it smells much different — much warmer somehow, with a very prominant lavender note from the very start. I'll try again, but if she doesn't get her act together, I might have to swap her off.

Edited September 3, 2006 by Aredhel

[shelldoo]

in the bottle: airy floral. slightly green edge.

 

wet: very soft floral. definitely can get the lily, also can smell the lavender. no jasmine, which is hell's flower on me. it overpowers and makes me smell metallic, so having it go mia is a good thing.

 

as it dries it softens even more, and the amber is very obvious. this is a very subtle, gentle, sophisyicated scent. not my usual fare, and yet i am still loving it. it is very complex, well blended. and "dressy"

[blackheartedangel]

Out of the imp, this smells like an airy white floral with a green edge. Beginning to drydown, a hint of sweetness (honeysuckle) becomes apparant as well as the calla lily. I'm so glad that the jasmine and lavender didn't take over the blend, which is what I was worried would happen. They are there, but sitting in the backround behaving . When it's completely dry, I get more of a sense of the night time air, and the grey amber. Overall, I love it. It's a cool white floral, not too sweet and not cloying at all. The grey amber and nighttime air really ground the blend, and I find it very elegant yet slightly dark. As others have mentioned above, this really smells like a garden at night. Bottle please!

[parrot_suspect]

Yet another Salon blend that perfectly captures the essence of the artwork. Bat-Woman is cold, slightly floral, slightly musky. Dark, but not dusky or powdery -- it really does bring to mind a nighttime sky, with plenty of stars -- but no moon. Just crystalline night air. Almost soapy. I never thought I could wear florals, but this, I could pull off. Elegant, remote, and a little disturbing -- it would be the perfect scent to wear with a black cocktail dress.

[tarotgirl99]

Night garden? Check. Mysterious, light, but powerful? Check. White florals, soft and milky? Check.

 

Complex? Check.

 

Enchanting? Check, check, check.

 

Need a bottle? Check.

Edited July 20, 2006 by tarotgirl

[quikslvr]

Undoubtedly floral. Calla lily and something else very light and airy at the forefront.

 

As it dries, it gets even more airy and remote, but sweet and still barely grounded (I'd blame the grounded on the amber--and I'm glad it's there, or this would float off into nothingness!). It's a gorgeous floral, but it's undeniably floral, and I'm not so hot on them.

 

As it settles further, though, it gets just gorgeous--almost musky in its sultriness. I suspect it's the interaction of some floral and the amber--or perhaps the ratkirani which I'm not so familiar with, but I'm really impressed, and this is from someone who doesn't like florals. It goes gentle, soft, soothing, with an edge of sexy.

[urbanruralferal]

My skin is notoriously cruel to florals, so I am just popping in to add my one cent worth, and to say that

Bat-woman smells like diamonds to me. Very brilliant and very rich. I could never wear a scent like this, but if I could, I might be tempted to choose this one over some of the others.

 

...or maybe that was a half-penny's worth...

[Blood onmy hands]

Bat-Woman is very, very light on me. I have to press my nose up against my wrist to smell anything after about a half hour. That said, this is still a lovely fragrance, even with my hatred of jasmine (which I thankfully do not detect).

 

This one actually reminds me of a slowly blooming flower. It starts off all soft lavender and hints of citrussy verbena, then the sweet honeysuckle comes into play, and it finishes off with a gorgeous moonflower and crisp air sort of smell. I love moonflower, it's such an airy, cool, elegant floral with a slight sweetness on me.

 

I'm not sure if this is full bottle material, because I don't love it (none of The Salon blends have been major hits on me, sadly)... but I like this one a lot. It's just not something that I would normally wear, with it being so light on me.

[yeahbutnobut]

Bat-Woman

 

In the imp: sweet lavender with dewy night florals…slightly soapy, in a nice way.

Wet on skin: the floral notes blossom gorgeously on my skin, broadening out…

Dry on skin: interesting! After an odd, slightly sour note at first reminiscent of Ides of March (I think it's grey amber, as both blends share this note-this fades within the first 30 seconds which is good), I smell a beautiful, sweet mixture of floral notes. Soft lavender, crisp moonflower, dewy jasmine, and a wonderful honeysuckle that is so much like the stuff currently blooming in the garden, all anchored by a sweet, nectary note-is this ratkirani? Whatever it is, it's beautiful. There's a lovely, dewy, sultry summer night feel to it all-an airiness which isn't ozone but it's definitely night air, reminiscent of Chiroptera (but better) and Midnight. This is the perfect tropical garden at night smell.

After a while: something slightly lemony surfaces-is that the verbena? It's a much nicer verbena than I'm used to. There's a lovely soapy feel to it-now there are good soap scents and bad ones but this is good-it brings to mind bubbles and gentle froth. It's a warm, clean, steamy scent. It makes me think of taking an outdoor bath in a luxury bathtub-probably with jacuzzi-with the finest floral bubble bath, in a warm fragrant garden at night, moonlight and candles, petals of jasmine and honeysuckle falling in the bath and floating all around.

The scent eventually becomes like the faint scent of dry lemon-herbal-flowers lingering on clean, warm, freshly bathed skin.

Verdict: this is definitely another scent to add to my collection of night scents. I love the night time scents from BPAL and this one is breathtaking. This is what I hoped Chiroptera and Twilight would be on me, and then some. I love the new honeysuckle note used in recent scents like Litha and in here…it smells so much like real honeysuckle and doesn't turn acrid after a couple of hours. Ditto with the verbena. I love the way the notes mingle and merge so nicely to become one and yet there's still complexity and uniqueness here. There's a pleasant soapiness here, reminiscent of luxurious bubble baths, steamy scented night air, bathing by moonlight with flower petals floating in the frothy fragrant water. Needless to say, I adore this scent and need a bottle soon-this scent is perfect for those sultry summer nights where the scents of honeysuckle and exotic blooms linger in the heavy starlit night. Beautiful.

Emoticon rating:

If you like this, try: Nuit, Buck Moon, Urania, Midnight, Twilight, Midnight on the Midway

Edited September 28, 2006 by yeahbutnobut

[juniperus]

Bottle: floral, floral, floral

Wet: I can smell the honeysuckle and lavender most clearly.

Dry: moonflower really taking off, but no jasmine yet, so I suspect it's one of the non-amping blends (it's either/or for me) for that note, at least.

Later: the moonflower hasn't amped any more, thank goodness, and I can catch a bit of the damp night air. I don't think it's me..but it's complex, haunting, and lovely.

[Alchemy21599]

In the bottle: OMG. This is fantastic! A wonderful floral blend. The only note that stands out to me is lavender. IMHO, lavender is a good thing.

 

Wet: Glorious!

 

Dry: I am not eloquent enough to describe the beauty of this scent. I have a bottle and I plan to order more. This is my new #1 BPAL scent.

[cranberry]

In the imp: lavender

 

On the skin: Wet, this is not lavender at all like I expected. Instead, this is all soft, sweet florals. I can’t pick out any notes, identifying florals has never been a strong point. Some of the other reviews say this strong on moonflower. I don’t know what it is but I like it and I’ll keep my eye open for other moonflower scents. I never thought I was one for white florals but this is really pretty. I’ve always gone for leather, vanilla, resins, wood, incense and musk. So, even if you think Bat-Woman may not be your thing, give it a shot. You might be surprised.

 

It is indeed airy and brings to mind a cool, dark night, glittering stars and an open sky.

[aine]

I got an imp of this as part of a decant circle and immediately put it aside. I knew it would be awful on me, honeysuckle is my 'so bad I want to chuck' scent.

 

Curiousity got the better of me, and I armed myself with a wet cloth and a slice of orange to whisk that baby off if things started to get ugly. I swiped a little on my wrist and braced myself.

 

How is this so good??

 

No really, I avoid honeysuckle at all costs. I overlook florals in favour of dirt and wood fragrances. This should be a disaster. And yet it is not.

 

Bat-Woman is a masterful interpretation of a nighttime garden. It is pretty and elegant. Floral without being sickly, or sinus-clasping, or overpowering. A stylish floral.

 

I have never worn a fragrance like this before. I have just ordered a bottle, so that will change!

[Meg]

In the bottle: A fresh, sweet floral with a dash of ozone.

 

Wet: Moonflower and other creamy flowers with ozone. Er, it smells like a toilet deodoriser at this stage.

 

Drydown: A sweet soft floral, flowers that I don't recognise very well. I don't get lavender or jasmine, I mostly get creamy pale florals, with a sprinkling of dust (from the jasmine?). It gets very sweet from the honeysuckle, and the flowers do smell like something you'd smell at night. At some point it gets a bit greener, at last.

 

Overall: It's surprisingly perfumy and very sweet overall, with flowers that smell white or grey and hints of ozone that pop up now and then. It's really not my kind of scent and it's much too sweet on me, with the freshness of ozone that smells more like a deodoriser than fresh air. Give me Chiroptera instead any day!

[this machine]

Yep, the ethos of this scent works well with the painting. It is, as various others have said, floral, light, airy, not too terribly cloying as far as white florals go (though i dabbed the tiniest bit on my arm, not being a white florals kind of girl). I can see the "dressy" aspect someone mentioned too. I don't really get the jasmine or lavender or really anything green to my nose. I can get a wee hint of the amber every once in a while, but i have to really sniff through all those florals. This is not for me, as i knew it wouldn't be, but i had to try it anyway because damn...i love that painting.

[BrightRedScream]

Another one from SevenSins decant circle.

 

This is by far one of the lightest that I've tried so far in The Salon series..it's a very light floral..and does smell like a garden in the evening..I can picture a really nice mild summer night - outside, with flowers in full bloom surrounding me.

Sadly florals and my skin - usually don't go together, and the more this sat on my skin, the more I felt like I had a very strong soap blend happening.

It's too bad - because from what I had smelled in the imp, and what I had originally smelled on my skin - I thought I would have loved this.

 

Another Salon impie to send away to a loving home.

[empi girl]

I like this one a lot! It is a light, transparent floral but not sharp, and has a beautiful sweetness to it that isn't heavy, perfumy or overpowering. The florals blend so smoothly I don't really distinguish them, and the airy note gives it "clearness" if that makes sense. It does to me...it isn't a sharp ozone at all, it's a whisper of dew, I guess. Anyway, like I said, I like this a lot, it is beautiful, and possibly a bottle.

[grrrlennyl]

at first: lots of sweet honeysuckle with a hint of something soapy.

on: gorgeous. this smells like a heady, sweet floral soap, heavy on the honeysuckle, and not too sharp.

1 hour later: fresh, sweet flowers.

2.5 hours later: softer and more powdery, but still sweet.

6 hours later: much sweeter, but i can't pick out any notes.

overall: this is a nice, pretty scent. i wish the honeysuckle would have hung around longer.

[Medici]

Item the first: I cooed at the bottle as soon as I tore it out the box that just arrived. It is a beautiful piece of artwork, and the presentation is absolutely stunning.

 

Item the second: I cooed even louder when I cracked this baby open. I am a calla lily fan, through and through, so that initial whiff of light white floral with a subtle green edge already had me sold before I even applied it.

 

Wet through Drydown: The green fades after about five minutes, and the blend sweetens progressively, becoming less clean and more floral, but the initial impact is the exact thing I look for in my BPAL favourites. It's light, it's airy, it's white and fresh smelling - I LOVE THIS BLEND! I LOVE IT I LOVE IT I LOVE IT!

 

Instant winner. 10/5 on Medici's Scale o' Lurve.