Et Lux Fuit

[Eemia]

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.

First of all, I love the William Blake image.


Nice, warm, subdued lemon covered in the most wonderful creamy amber. The ylang ylang is perfect---I love ylang ylang. It always smells like something round to me. I smell it and get an image of a literal round object...like little liquid filled yellow beads.

The florals are freshly stark and slightly bitter...not the heavy perfumey quality of roses, gardenias, or violets. They smell like a real bouquet of flowers from someone's yard--the kind you encounter in everyday life. Everything is touched by the vanilla and musk, so it has a nice musky sweet drydown too.

[LadyBug]

This is a beautiful floral warm sunshine scent! I can also smell a little citrus which is a very pleasent surprise! I bought a bottle of this off the forum...first EVER BPAL perfume! And I was very happy! This scent is pretty strong and lasts a while! I actually spilled a little on the desk and it smelled like Et Lux Fuit for about a week! I give this two thumbs up!

[Jilara]

Wet, this was amber and light background florals, mostly ylang ylang. Interesting, but no depth. Amber sometimes just goes "meh..." on me, and I was afraid this one might.

 

However, as it dried down, the strong notes of vanilla and heliotrope and a hinting of honey came up, and reenforced it solidly. The flowers never really were more than a hinting, though. It's an interesting blend, and I definitely got hints of neroli and citrus in the middle dry stage. However, it's been almost four hours, and they and most the floral have faded out. It's now amber/heliotrope with a little bit of carnation, and gone very faint. Methinks it needs a refresher.

[alicia_stardust]

The light at the end of the tunnel appeared in my life (after a rough 2 years), right when this scent was released. It's meaningfulness to me was not altered by the scent. It is perfect and I was not let down! This scent is all about celebration, comfort, well-being. It is light and sparkly. It makes me feel hopeful.

 

As far as actual notes go, they seem to morph together into one gestalt. I know if I worked at it that I could pinpoint the individual notes but no single one jumps out and me and so I am content to let this be an overall scent about well-being, hope, and the emergence from hardships.

[Styx]

Et Lux Fuit (pale yellow oil)

 

Decant: Smells alcoholic, and reminded me of an aftershave my dad used to use.

 

Skin: This is so beautiful. Warm, sweet and sunny. It smells golden! The feel is not light or heavy, the weight is just like sunshine on your skin. The honey and vanilla isn't yummy yummy gourmand, but adds a sweetness to the florals thats so comforting. There is a musky undertone in it, so its not what I'd call a "clear" scent, but it very well may be - you know how a ray of sunlight shines through an opening in your curtains, and you can see flecks of dust dancing, making the light look almost opaque? Thats how the musk acts. (I hope that didn't make my room sound dirty...)

I am not sunny enough to wear this without it wearing me, but I will treasure what I have.

[CrazyPretzel]

OK, my review needs some editing in light of the drydown.

 

At first it still smells like citrus and heliotrope, but then when it dries it becomes dusty lemon peel, not very strong, and something sort of nutty. My brain thinks it's sunflower seeds but that's probably just because of reading 'sunflower' in the description.

 

I was thinking of swapping this one until about 20 minutes into the drydown, when it warmed up and became the loveliest carnation-heliotrope-vanilla-amber-musk. With bells on. Seriously, it's gorgeous. I'm going over to swaps/sales now to see if I can scrounge up any more.

Edited September 8, 2007 by Baitu

[Nidaba]

Wow, this is a complex one. Very hard to pick out notes.

 

On me this is very spicy, a lot of carnation, amber, and general flowers. This is a very flower heavy blend, yet it doesn't strike me as most florals do. The amber, musk, and honeycomb really keep it from being one I would even classify as a floral.

 

Case in point- My boss just walked in and asked what smelled like cinnamon. So the spiciness is definitely what my skin carries in this blend.

 

ADDED 1/7/09:

 

I'm not sure if I reviewed this before, but when I first tried it, it was too strong on me, way too much floral coming out for my taste. I received a scent locket for Christmas though, and decided to give it another shot, and wowza!

 

It has decent throw from the locket, it is easy for me to smell without having to lift the locket at all. It is blended amazingly well, it's hard for me to pick out the individual notes. I can smell the lemon, vanilla, carnation, and ylang ylang if I concentrate, but overall it is just a very warm, bright scent with a touch of sweetness and joy. I was having a bad day and wanted to wear something invigorating yet comforting and this was the perfect choice. =]

[ravenfeathers]

in the bottle pale golden and cologne-y without being sharp; very warm

wet on skin increasingly warm and the golden-ness deepens to a vibrant orange-y gold. it holds on to the cologne-y aspect, but... it's not a typical cologne. it doesn't have a speck of acridness or sharpness or heaviness. it's buoyant and glowing and quite feminine

dry on skin i think this is going to require a retest in a week or so because dry this vacillated between golden and definitely fuzzy smelling to metallic, like wet copper. the metallic phases weren't off-putting, they just sort of interrupted my enjoyment of the overall warmth of et lux fuit.

[greymatter]

I didn't intentionally seek this one out. It came with some other scents that I was seeking. But I am so glad it did.

 

This is a sweet, gentle, golden, warm, happy scent. I can't describe it any better right now. It's definitely a feel-good scent for me. I'm very happy to have my 2 imps.

[agnusdei]

I had been curious about Et Lux Fuit for a while, but for some reason it never seemed to make it onto my wishlist... so I was very pleasantly surprised when a BPAL purchase from ebay showed up and it was graciously added as a frimp. It couldn't have been a better time for this kind of scent either, it's been freezing and raining like crazy for days so something sunny and happy is more than welcomed right now.

 

In the imp Et Lux Fuit smells sharp like chemicals, in fact it smells almost exactly like acetone nail polish remover. Thankfully as soon as it hits my skin it becomes what it should be, a completely cheerful and radiant blend. I recognize the carnation immediantly, backed by honeycomb and smooth amber. I don't know if I would have been able to pick out the lemon peel if I didn't know it was there from the scent description, it's not sharp at all and only adds the barest edge of fizz. The heliotrope and ylang-ylang are noticable as well, but the rest of the notes are so well integrated that they simply unify into a warm golden glow.

 

After some wear the lemon burns off and the vanilla musk starts to come forward. The blend has become lighter and creamier now, almost translucent yet still substantial. The longer I wear it the more it reminds me of Judith & Holofernes, which was honeyed carnations and skin musk on me while Et Lux Fuit is honey and carnations with vanilla musk and a base of amber. They both evoke the same kind of feel, luscious and powdery and strongly golden.

 

I don't know how Et Lux Fuit slipped under my radar for so long, but I'm so happy to have it now and be able to use it in this tempermental weather. When I wear it I'm taken to a place where a beaming yellow sun blazes above fields of flowers, away from the sound of the rain pounding outside.

[Lyrical]

In bottle: fresh, spicy cologne.

 

Wet on skin: beautiful! Sweet, golden, a little spicy and delicately lemony. Gender neutral.

 

Dry on skin: rich, smooth and golden, with a slightly spicy, smoky edge. It's very well-blended. The last note to come out is the vanilla musk, which takes over as the lemon fades away, but the end result is still smooth and yellow.

 

I have no idea what the label art is supposed to be, although I've spent some time viewing it from all angles!

[pinkstardust420]

I absolutely adore this scent, and I am not big on florals..this is a cheery, bright, sweet scent almost. I can definitely note the ylang ylang & amber. Very uplifting and VERY hard to describe. A great spring/summer scent that certainly makes you smile!

[hkhm]

bottle: neroli and honey with a hint of amber.

 

wet: this is sweet and golden once applied, all amber and musk and honey...

 

dry: this goes honey-sweet once dry with only a touch of lemon and musk while the amber is quite creamy.

[SarahScent44]

In the bottle, I smell neroil and lemon peel, but very subdued - underneath there's a hint of amber.

 

On my skin, it's very bright and ... I wouldn't say cheery exactly, because to me that has a connotation of bouncy obnoxiousness, but content, smiling, happy with the world - small hint of the lemon peel with ylang ylang and heliotrope.

 

When it dries, ... it's powder.

[suki]

in the imp: liquid sunshine! i pick out citrus, heliotrope and something beautiful, delicate, sweet but not cloying. lovely!

 

wet on skin: mmmmm. more of the same. like a lemon pie served with mixed fresh berries on top at a picnic

 

dry down: the same. this hasn't morphed on me at all.

 

in all: ooooohhhhhhh it's so goooooood! more! more! more!!!

 

 

 

 

[fairnymph]

In the bottle: Sweet; fruit and spice over florals.

 

Wet: Much the same, but spicier (carnation and maybe cinnamon?) and more floral. Still very sweet. Warmth - must be the amber. The vanilla musk is lovely and quite strong. The blend of florals evokes a field of wildflowers on a sunny autumn day. I'm not really getting any ylang-ylang which I'm thankful for.

 

Dry: The honey really amps on me over time, but the other notes stay too. This is one of those complex, well blended oils. Great throw and lasting power.

 

Summary: Honey, amber, and musk, touched with carnation and wildflowers.

 

Alas, amber and spice make this not for me.

[bulletslc]

This is THE summer scent for me! I'm an "amber" girl....almost all amber blends adore my skin (with the exception of The Lion which vanishes.....go figure!) And I also love carnation, ylang ylang, honey and neroli.

 

I finally found a bottle of this at a really decent price (had been longing for it for several months now) and have been wearing it non-stop for about 5 days since I've received it in the mail. My bpal loving best friend commented on the throw and loveliness of it this weekend.

 

Starts out with a heavy lemony-citrus bite (neroli)...which mellows quickly into a soft golden (the amber/honey) , yet spicy floral (carnation)/amber-resin warmth. In a way it reminds me of La Fee Verte which also starts out with a citrusy kick and then mellows. I like Et Lux Fuit more than La Fee Verte though.....Lovely, lovely warm, golden summer scent!

Edited June 12, 2008 by Bulletslc

[kawaiiferreto]

Vanilla musk, carnation, honeycomb, daisy. . . So many awesome sounding notes. Unfortunately, pretty notes blend to an unfortunate consequence. I was graced with a familiar scent, not unpleasant, but not particularly pleasant either.

 

Finally it dawned on me: GREEN OLIVES! Pimento stuffed briny green olives - one of my favorite foods, but not something I want to smell like.

 

I wonder if it's in part due to the lemon; I haven't really tried any BPAL lemon scents so I don't know how that one plays on my skin.

[ealasaid86]

Wet: Wonderfully sunny & warm flowers

 

Dry: The flowers have disappeared and all that left is the ylang ylang and neroli

 

Verdict: I had high hopes for this but unfortunately my skin amps up either the ylang ylang or the neroli completely hiding the florals, vanilla musk and honeycomb.

[stillalive]

Angel food cake crossed with suave clarifying shampoo (yech) and avon skin-so-soft. Kind of makes me hungry.

[hlinspjalda]

In the vial: Tart, sharp floral with a spicy undertone and something faintly citrusy.

 

Wet: Floral, maybe the heliotrope? Warm musky amber underneath and maybe a hint of carnation.

 

Twenty minutes: Slightly bitter floral (heliotrope?) over a warm sweet carnation-y base. But there's a sharpness to it too, not at all the rich sweetness I expected. I think this needs to age more.

 

One and a half hours; Amber-musk base with some penetrating florals above. The blend is sweet, but a little too pungent for comfort. That odd bitter note continues to sound.

 

Four hours: Entirely gentle now, but still with that bitter edge.

[CynicalPink]

Imp: Sweet

 

Wet: Bright and kinda fizzy! It's a fun scent so far.

 

Drydown: Creamy and sweet and nice! I can really get all those yellow flowers. This is so pretty!

 

Overall: I got a half imp of this as a generous frimp from a swap and I love it. It's so cute! I'll use this imp till the end.

[catattack]

Bottle: sweet floral

Wet: slightly sharp fruit, subtle florals. I get an image of a sunflower in my head. The sharpness begins to smooth over. The fruity note is becoming slightly sweeter. I can smell the carnation.

Drydown: it morphed into a musky floral. I can smell the amber as well. After a couple of hours, I smell only the musk and amber It's not overly sweet. After another couple of hours, it has becom slightly sweeter and fruitier.

Overall: I can't categorize this as floral, musk, resin-y, sweet, or fruity because it is all of those things at some point. I hadn't used this in about a year, and like it much better now than I remember. This has minimal throw, but lasts.

[unlaced]

In the bottle and wet on my skin this is a bit perfume-y and floral for my tastes. As it dries it the throw morphs into a lovely golden vanilla amber scent. If I sniff too close it's still a little perfume-y and slightly headache-inducing but the throw is worth it... I can see why this is so popular.

[evil_laugher]

Great summer scent! I've rediscovered it after several years, and I'm glad of it.