Et Lux Fuit

[GypsyRoseRed]

At last, the light at the end of our three-month tunnel of misfortune. To commemorate this momentous occasion, we present a big ol' bottle of sunny, happy, bounciness -- a golden blend with a celebratory feel, promoting joy, peace, and a sense of comfort and well-being: golden amber, heliotrope, vanilla musk, carnation, daisy and sunflower bouquet, neroli, lemon peel, ylang ylang and honeycomb.

This is liquid, late afternoon sunshine, and lovelier than I could have imagined prior to sniffing it. This is a warm, rounded, slightly creamy golden scent that's so smoothly blended I can't really distinguish any of the notes. There's citrus in there, but without any of the sharpness or fake-citrus that you might expect - no orange oil or dusty lemon Pledge here. Also, the ylang ylang and neroli don't hijack the loveliness and jump out at me, thank god. There's also something here that reminds me of an Avon solid perfume pin I had when I was a little girl, in the shape of a daisy.. That olfactory memory is one of my strongest and most precious and maybe that added to the gentle warmth and delicate sweetness that makes it very special to me. It's somehow distinctive and very pretty while remaining subtle and comforting.

This is such a beautiful blend, it really is. Edited September 13, 2007 by Shollin

[shelldoo]

in the bottle: powdery soft amber sunshine. definitely can detect the ylang ylang.

 

wet: very much the same, this is definitely a bright cheery scent giving me a pale yellow buttery impression.

 

as it dries i can occassionally get a waft of carnation, it has a honeycomb background that can be smelled when i put my hand up to my nose, but it is not detectable in the throw, i aslo get a bit of vanilla musk after complete drydown. the powdery amber note makes a soft fuzzy edge to this beautiful smile in a bottle.

[portalkat]

It's really pretty and smells just like the description, bright, happy and sunny. It reminds me of the golden late afternoon sun that breaks through the leaves of a big tree. It definitely is a feel good, happy scent.

 

That is what I wrote elsewhere on the forum as I attempted to describe this blend. I decided to copy it here because it summed up exactly how I feel about this. It really is a ray of sunshine breaking through.

 

I can tell the spiciness of the carnation and the creaminess of the musk and the amber, but it is difficult to identify the other notes because it is so well blended.

[Melantha]

In the bottle: The lemon peel and honeycomb stand out. I'm not one for strong citrus, but this isn't bad at all.

 

Wet: Ooh, carnation! It's fruity, but not overly so.

 

Dry: Amber begins to show, and a touch of vanilla.

 

This is quite lovely. I might pick up another bottle before it goes poof.

[neuilly]

In the bottle: Light and soft. Sort of smells like lemon cream to me, but it's a soft citrus.

 

Wet: The lemon picks up a little more tang, no more of the cream, but it's still not an acidic citrus. (Definitely lemon peel, not lemon) The other notes are blended very well and it's hard for me to pick out individual notes. It makes me feel like I'm sitting under tree on a summer's day just before noon. The sun isn't blazing but it's definitely there helping me to relax as I soak up the surroundings.

 

Dry: That golden feel everyone has mentioned really comes out(mostly due to the subtle emergence of amber). The title is just perfect. It definitely feels like a radiant light (but completely different the sun...in spite of how I described it in the wet stage). The vanilla and nerolli have come out to play although neither is particularly strong. Very nicely blended...a happy and comforting scent.

Edited July 20, 2006 by neuilly

[requieminblack]

My skin chemistry is doing a number on this one. I'm not getting any of the amber, vanilla, honeycomb, ylang ylang or carnation. On me this is all daisy, sunflower and heliotrope. It's a bitter floral. I'm really baffled because amber and carnation are some of my favorite notes, which usually are dominate on me.

 

I'm sad. I really wanted to like this but it just was not meant to be.

[coulrophobe]

In the bottle: faint lemony-floral

 

On: This blend amps up quite a bit on my skin, into a perfumey floral with a sharpness to it. This smells very similar to a commercial fragrance I'm familiar with... but I can't put my finger on which one (since discovering BPAL, I haven't worn ANY commercial perfumes, so I'm out of practice). As it dries down I can smell the daisy, and I think the ylang ylang - but not any of the notes I was hoping for (amber, carnation, musk). I end up with a heavy floral that's a bit too commercial smelling for me... curse my chemistry.

 

It's driving me crazy that I can't put my finger on what this reminds me of. It's so familiar smelling!

[Ah Xia]

Bright citrusy lemon, with a rich undertone. This on me smells *exactly* like lemon curd, or a delicious lemon meringue pie. Mmmmm.

[terrierhead]

In the bottle, this is an amber floral with a bright overtone. There's definitely the impression of golden light.

 

On me, the amber comes out, which is a little unfortunate because amber turns to baby powder on me. It's still very pleasant - a powdery bouquet of carnations with no lemon in sight. I was worried that the honeycomb and vanilla musk would overpower the scent and make it too sweet, but they stay nicely in the background.

 

ETA: An hour later, all I detect is powdery amber. Uh oh. Darn skin chemistry! I'll try the scent again, but if I have the same results my bottle will be finding a new home.

Edited July 21, 2006 by terrierhead

[Nekomata]

Soft and bright! In the bottle I smell Amber, musk and florals. As it dries I get more of the sweet honey scent and lemon and the musk gets stronger. It's definately a light hearted scent, warm and sunny.

[Eunice]

Et Lux Fuit is a very bright yellow scent. I mostly get the daisy, lemon peel, neroli and sunflower but there is just the littlest bit of honeycomb, musk and amber to give this some sweetness. This is light in every sense of the word. A perfect scent for celebrating new beginnings!

[filigree_shadow]

On me: carnation and amber with a little bit of musk. No lemon peel at all, thankfully.

 

Golden. Glowing. Warm. Womanly. Powerful. Smooth. Rich.

 

 

Beautiful.

[grrrlennyl]

at first: sweet, light, and floral. a very happy scent.

on: the sharpness of the lemon peel comes out, along with the sweet musk. lovely, lovely stuff.

1 hour later: sweet and floral. very pretty.

2.5 hours later: soft, warm, and summery. still sweet. the notes really blend together well, so i'm just getting a nice, yellow/orange feeling from this.

4 hours later: sweet, soft, and musky.

overall: this is really, really pretty, but i'm not sure about it. i might need to test it out a few more times.

[edenssixthday]

Et Luxe Fuit - This blend is chock full of notes that I just love…and a few that I don’t. Naturally, the lemon and the honeycomb, which aren’t usually too good on me, were the dominant notes. I couldn’t distinguish any other specific notes, despite knowing what is in the blend. It is definitely a bright, sunny, happy, and joyous fragrance, and it wasn’t entirely a negative experience, but the lemon and honey are so strong and those are two notes that just don’t appeal to me that much. Thankfully, the lemon smells bright and citrusy, and not at all like lemon Pledge or a Lemonhead. While the overall scent is subtle, I would occasionally catch a waft of the scent swirling around me, and I really felt torn as to what I thought of it. On one hand, it really is so bright and cheery, but on the other hand, the lemon and (even more so) the honey were just a tad bit too strong for me. I’ll have to give this another shot, but even if I decide to keep one of my bottles, there’s no way I’m going to ever go through the second.

[themerrybaker]

Et Lux Fuit: light lemon honey with bright floral. It's something of a departure from the more syrupy honey offerings. Covered with honey but still clean. ELF goes into the love at first sniff category.

Edited July 23, 2006 by themerrybaker

[olympia301]

 

This one is very long lasting, full, and quite a perfume. It also has a really well defined personality, you won't confuse it with anything else. So, it either suits you or it doesn't. If it does, then grab as many bottles as you can before it disappears because I suspect this one may be The Holy Grail of honey/amber sunshine.

 

When I first got this one, I really did not care for it at all. But like a bottle of fine wine (and quite a few of BPAL other creations) you really have to discover this. It may need air to breathe to shake off the doldrums of being in the bottle on that long journey to the East.

 

I can smell something very familiar in here. Of course there is the lemon/citrus part of it, that is in evidence without question, but there are (or is) an accord which I have smelled before, is very pretty and very familiar. I wish I could name it but I can't. It's been in other BPAL's and I like it a great deal. *argh* That wasn't much help but...I'm only human. *sigh*

 

So I will wrap up this rambling and incoherent review by saying: don't just give this one a sniff and make your decision and close your mind. It does blossom and get better as the air hits it and as you get used to it and start to unravel it's combinations. It's new but familiar and intriguing. It's just hard for me to come down on the side of "I like it" or "not me but it's well done indeed".

 

Let me just say "it's well done indeed" and let you decide.

[aedes]

All things golden and glowing seem to be jam-packed in here, and it pops out like a candle flame in the darkness. If you like Sundew, but want the theme explored more, then, who'm I kidding, you probably already got, like, 5 bottles of this. As it dries, I think the vanilla musk comes out the most on me, making it feel surprisingly soft and woodsy. Like an angora or fur trim on a totally Alexis Carrington gold silk dressing gown. With little, high-heeled, fuzzy slippers! Glamorous, dahling! Glamorous!

[Tramp]

Holy powdered florals batman - jeez I want this scent off of me right now. It is overwhelmingly sweet, and perky, and happy. This really is liquid sunshine. Amazing - just not me. What was I thinking? LOL Well, I guess I was thinking that the honey would be dominant - stupid of me really. The florals really amp up on my skin - ick. I imagine that it will turn more powdry on the drydown when the amber comes out more. Eek - off to wash my wrists...

 

Ok I had to wash this off without even waiting for the drydown. So sad...

[AliBabble]

wow. this is a great one - it really does give me a sunny, happy, calm feeling as soon as i sniff it. out of the bottle, it smells quite rich and luxurious, not sharp florals at all, but delicious ones..i'm thinking it's the heliotrope i detect most, but who knows...the lemon peel is definitely there, but mixed so well with the vanilla-musk, which comes out fabulously on my skin, making this wonderful honey-lemon-vanilla sweetness. the florals in this are just so pretty, too. i'll be using this a lot. (pretty label too!)

[Blood onmy hands]

In the bottle this smells like perfumey florals and lashings of musky vanilla. A bit too sharp and perfumey for my tastes.

 

On my skin... the same. Then it starts to dry down to a slightly powdery sweetness that really reminds me of La Fee Verte. The same musky powder and sweetness.

 

And Et Lux Fuit stays that way. I can't pick out any one note, but it's a sweet powder and musk on me. Too much powder and too much musk for me, sadly. This one gives me a headache

[eggplant]

This one smells very similiar to something else I recently tried but I can't place it. I get mostly honey and powder with a hint of daisy. It's not a bad scent, per se, but I don't like it.

 

After looking through recent reveiws, I realized that it reminds me of blood kiss. Honey is definitely a dominant note on my skin, and I just don't like the scent. But I know there are lots of honey lovers out there, so I'm sure this is going to be a popular blend.

Edited July 23, 2006 by eggplant

[Shannihilation]

This is a morpher. In the bottle the amber, sunflower, and honeycomb really stand out. Once I put it on though, it's all honey. So beautiful! I do love me some honey. I've had it on for about two hours now and it's gone to a very soft amber with just a touch of the neroli peeping out to keep it from going powdery. It's very light and seems to have faded quite a bit. It has a moderate throw still though which is impressive since it's so light. It really is a very pretty, delicate scent. I'm not sure though that I'll need two bottles of it. I might sell or swap my other one that is coming with my Harvest Moon order.

[dawndie]

In bottle: light grapefruit

 

Initially on skin: lots of citrus, then here come all the stampeding florals. Look out! I’m not a big florals gal, but I'm not overwhelmed.

 

Half-hour later: amber and honey warm up, hooray! But it’s a tug-of-war with the spicy carnation.

 

In conclusion: ELF and Litha will always be linked in my mind, as they are both sunny summer florals released closely together. Litha has a slight edge as the carnation in ELF amps on me and it's not one of my favorite notes. All in all, a nice warm floral blend.

[ladykitara]

In the bottle: spicy and very citrusy, with a hint of.. honeycomb, I think

 

On skin, wet: citrus. and something I don't care much for, not sure what it is, but that same spicy note that's in the bottle. I don't like this very much, it's just TOO citrusy

 

On skin, dry: OMG, where did the citrus GO? This is pure vanilla musk and honeycomb, and it's lovely. But alas, it fades so quickly, and I'm not sure the wet scent is worth putting up with to get to the drydown, for me.

 

Further testing is required.

[valentina]

Et Lux Fuit is a very complex blend, and it's delightful to read how its various notes bloom differently on each person! In the bottle, ELF is so complex that I can't really pull any note out except to say that it's an amber and floral blend. I really don't pick up a lot of citrus. Once it's on my skin, I get amber and vanilla musk with the spice of carnation. That's the top three notes that I can detect at first, but after an hour or so, there's also a nectary, almost pollen-like undertone that comes from the honeycomb and the sunflowers.

 

It's a lush, warm scent -- I associate it with bumblebees and honeybees moving drunkenly around a heavily floral, pollen-laden flower garden, and hummingbirds hovering over blossoms. It's very beautiful and intriguing, and I really love it.