Hope

[Heretic]

A huge crowd mills in front of the next stage. You hear the din of their voices, chattering in a Babel's fall of languages, laughing and buzzing with a strange anticipation. As you get closer, you notice that they are wearing a motley mix of clothing from ages past... all rotting, all in shreds. In the sea of faces, all bearing a similar chalky pallor, some stand out: there is a woman in a threadbare Burgundian gown, a young man in torn breeches and sagging slops, a maiden in a dagged-sleeve houppelande that is splattered with cruor, a snarling Victorian rogue with a battered silk top hat, and a vacant-eyed man in a shredded Confederate uniform. As you make your way through the crowd, you feel cold fingers pluck at your clothing, and the hard, almost glassy skin that you brush against radiates an unnatural cold. You hear tittering sighs as you push through the gathering, and your skin prickles as you feel icy breath upon your neck. Abruptly, someone cries out, and the strange congregation begins clapping a steady rhythm. Their voices rise in a tintamar of ghastly cheers as torches flare to life on the stage. The firelight illuminates a gargantuan, shining black stake in the center of the stage. It is festooned with black ribbons, drooping moss, and viciously-colored poisonous blooms in a playful, grotesque mockery of a Maypole. Two women, clutched tightly in a brutal embrace, spin onto the stage, shaking a tambourine and clacking a hembra in time with the clapping. One is clad in violet, with violet tresses to match; the other is a vision of swirling rose. Their long, waving hair whips in manic arcs as they twirl, stomp, and pirouette around the onyx shaft. The crowd becomes more and more frenzied as the dance reaches a mad crescendo, and suddenly you realize that the two are one: they are conjoined, identical twins, bound eternally at the ribs. The violet sister, caught in the throes of the ritual's passion, throws her head back and moans. She bares a set of gleaming white fangs and bites deeply into her sister's neck. The rose maiden screams in joy, and returns her sister's violent kiss as the crowd explodes into Corybantic mayhem.

Simplicity and innocence, gleefully despoiled! Hope is sugared rose, Faith is sugared violet. The sisters are inseparable, and may only be purchased together.

In the bottle: Soft, sugared rose, a little light muskiness underneath.
On my wrist, wet: Like her sister scent, Hope has no sharpness and the sweetness is not overbearing. Hope's rose is a bit bolder than Faith's violet. It reminds me of a cup of sugary rose tea.
After 20 minutes: The rose note lightens up a little and that same familiar light muskiness that is in faith begins to emerge. The creaminess is here as well, but slightly less pronounced than in Faith.
After 40 minutes: Like her sister, Hope ends up being a gorgeously feminine scent without being overbearing and cloying. The sugary, candied notes dry down completely to a sweet, creamy floral, reminiscent of a rose touched Antique Lace. As is the case with her sister scent, if you don't care for rose, you will not like this. I happen to love rose (as well as violet), and to have Hope on one wrist and Faith on the other is just sending me into blissful fits. Talk about an oilgasm. I will buy at least one more set of the twins before they disappear.


PLEASE NOTE: When they were first posted to the Lab's Web site, the twins' descriptions were accidentally switched. I've fixed the description here, but there may still be some reviews that reflect the incorrect description. --Shollin

Edited to change Hope to Faith.

[blueskiesinside]

In the bottle: YAY! Tea rose!

Wet: Sweet tea roses. Pure rose scent. Not sharp hot-house rose like Rose Red, a softer tea rose, like in Ephemera and Haunted Palace.

Dry: This fades pretty quickly on me, like most roses tend to. I got about an hour of beautiful rosey goodness and then it just fades out.

 

Switched --Shollin

[Iceblink]

Tea rose, but not like the tea rose in Marie--this is stronger and sweeter. It smells a bit sharp at first but softens quickly. We'll see how long it lasts--BPAL rose blends tend to fade on me after a couple of hours, but hey, reapplying is easy enough!

 

Switched --Shollin

[blueroses]

I have been looking forward for Hope and Faith since they were described as "sugary florals" at a long-ago Will-Call. I love sugary scents, and even though I'm not really a floral person, I love both rose and violet.

 

In the bottle (which was labeled Hope, by the way): Soft, sweet rose. A wearable rose - I can't do the heady rose blends.

 

On: I can discern the difference between the sweet and the rose - the rose becomes sharper and fresher, and the sweet just tinges the scent, as if the rose petals were edged in sugar.

 

Later: Faith lasts a fairly long time on me. After a time, the sugar is less apparent, but you can still catch it if you sniff a little more carefully.

 

Faith is a little less sugary than Hope, but I do love rose so. This might edge out Havisham as my favorite rose scent, and that's a good thing, because I can get more of it! I will definitely have to get at least one more set of the twins before they go away.

 

Also, I wanted to mention that I love that Hope and Faith are relatively simple blends. I love the complexity of BPAL, but with these I won't have to worry that a certain component will come out more on one day, or that other people will smell something completely different. Hope and Faith will be great everyday scents for me, and will go well with many others.

 

This review is really for Hope, as you can tell from the bottle label. Moved from Faith's review thread. --Shollin

[theseagrows]

i love this one just as much as faith, which i was pretty much sure of. this smells like rose candies. i think the rose stands out here more than the violet in faith, which i think is more creamy, whereas this is more sugary. it smells gorgeous, i definitely have to get another set of these in the future!

 

Switched --Shollin

Edited February 8, 2007 by theseagrows

[olympia301]

 

I wore Hope in bed last night and its creamy goodness was a great way to sleep and wake up with a happy scent all about me. I swear that I think my bottle of Hope smells more like the rose one and Faith like violets!

 

This is the beautiful smell of roses (to me) and the Antique Lace kick that I love so much. My only problem with Hope is that she dries down almost completely on my skin and does not broadcast as much as I would like. However, putting her in a scent locket does the trick. This one is made for a scent locket! It's a great perfume and if you haven't done so, give it a try and then buy it. It is definately worth the price of admission!

[sookster]

straight sniff from imp is sweet, bountiful roses ~~

 

once applied the sweet note kicks right in...combined with the rose it is

just so beautiful; and i agree this is a touch less sugary than hope's companion, faith...great throw, too...

 

oh yes, i will need at least one set of the gals....a real winner!

[PilotKitten]

The rose in this is actually very reminiscent of Whip while wet. After the drydown it becomes "brighter" somehow and more full bloom. Definitely not a tea rose (they ALWAYS leave me headachey), which is good... but not the end all, be all of roses either... < sigh > Hopefully Rose Moon will WOW me because Hope is just not doin' it, and I was so hopeful for the past 6 months for this to work well!! :D ... I guess I'll stick with my cheaper GC rose loves.

[edenssixthday]

Hope - I love rose, so I was really hoping I'd love this scent...and I DO! Other reviewers noted tea rose, and while I smell tea rose, I am positive there are other roses in this. I smell a hint of the soft, round rose used in Venus. I also smell the deep, bright rose of Rose Red. Likewise, I'm almost positive that I smell the sweet, white rose from Havisham. I love the way the rose and sugar interact. The sugar gives the rose a beautiful, soft creaminess that I've never encountered with rose before. It does feel like the rose overpowers the sugar more than I'd like, but it's still just gorgeous. It lasts for a nice long time on my skin, and the level of sillage is absolutely impeccable. This smells beyond amazing when layered with her lovely sister, Faith.

[Blood onmy hands]

Hope & Faith just aren't really standout blends for me. I was hoping for a strong candied violet and a strong sugared rose. They're both incredibly light fragrances though, clinging close to my skin and only sticking around for about an hour tops.

 

Hope is a light rose on me, but with something of a sour edge. I actually don't get a ton of sweetness or much of a sugary vibe from this one. Faith was a sweeter blend to me.

 

I have pretty good luck with the lab's roses (Marie, Peacock Queen & Parlement of Foules being my favorites). Marie is more of a strong, sweet, sugared rose (in its drydown) on my skin than Hope's light, sour rose.

Edited February 3, 2007 by Blood onmy hands

[prettypinkkitty]

In the bottle: A gorgeous sugar rose! Not the cake sort, but the candied sort you put on fancy cakes.

Wet: It's like I'm inhaling a cloud of rose-flavored cotton candy. I kind of want to lick my arm.

Dry, some three hours later: It's like rosewater, with a little talc, and slight sugar. The talc has only recently appeared.

 

I love all things rose-flavored. Heck, I make my cookies rose-flavored. TONS of love for this. I can't wait to try Faith, or layer the two.

[QueenFae]

This is the most gorgeous rose scent! This is the perfect pink rose covered in sweet, pure sugar. It is almost cavity - inducing it's so sweet. This reminds me very much of pink sugar rose scent that many of the e tailer bath and body stores have; I got some shower gel from Scentual Pleasures once that smelled just like this. This is the pinnacle of femininity and pureness. Just gorgeous. I'm not so big on Faith, so I kind of wish I could buy just a bottle of Hope.

[savage_rose]

I had high hopes for this one (er, any punning is inadvertent here). I love roses...I had rose soaps as a kid that I never used...I kept them in a glass jar and would just lift the lid and smell them, I loved that scent so much.

 

Definitely a tea rose, as others have said. I was expecting more of a fresh rose with sugar, and this smells more like a rose perfume with sugar, if that makes any sense. But, what it lacks in realism it makes up in wearability. It really warms on your skin, and is really lovely in its own way. It's really growing on me.

 

And I tried layering it with Faith...and they smell amazing combined. Both are nice on their own, but really, really play well together. As one might expect they would .

[Ajila]

In the bottle - Fresh, lush rose petals, with a hint of sugar.

 

Wet on me - This is a slightly green, slightly spicy rose, made sickly by sugar.

 

Dry on me - Ashes which is odd, because that's what happens to cream and butter notes on me. It does after several hours dry down to a lovely candied rose scent.

 

Overall - I'm not really a rose lover, but after the glories of Faith I had high hopes for Hope. Sadly it was killed by my skin chemistry.

[blu°]

I like this. It's soft, dreamy, lush, juicy rose wrapped up in a powdery sugared fluffiness. Kind of like a whitened Antique Lace and quite a part of what makes Alice. Huge amount of white musk, though, I'd say. White musk sometimes turns a bit bitter on me. I like this more than Faith, quite naturally since I don't usually like violets, but I also think, that this is more complex and interesting. I guess there might be orris in both twins, and: orris + rose is more interesting to my nose than orris + violet.

I'm tempted to get a set, though.

[minnalavender]

This is a simple review, as Hope is the same on me from application to drydown: pure, sweet rose. She's not as sugary as her sister Faith, and that's good - rose in and of itself is so sweet. Throw is good and she lasts for hours.

 

If you love rose, you'll love Hope. I love all of Beth's roses, from the aggressive, powerfully green Rose Red to the sweet resinous rose of Parlement of Foules. Hope doesn't disappoint! She is a sweet, sugary pink rose in my mind's eye; beneath the sugar I can faintly smell the greenery and cut stem. She's a soft, relaxing, very old-fashioned scent and one I'll reach for often in the summer.

 

I'm really, really glad I gambled on this set. Beautiful concept and execution. Scents like these make me glad I'm a woman.

[emzebel]

Rich, sweet rose - I like rose notes, but I like there to be something else going on with them, and Hope does not disappoint. This is a rich, heavy rise, slathered in crisp, almost vanilla sugar. Quite the winner.

[The_Witching_Hour]

This is a beautiful, light rose.....not in its throw but the 'sugared' part somehow tempers and rounds the rose so its smoother.

 

It never wavers from its scent and carries ALL DAY.

[puck_nc]

Origin: decant from eviltemptressdq's circle

 

Initial Thoughts: I have grown into a careful relationship with rose, which has always been one of my favorite scents. Rose that is melded with several other notes often smells divine on me. Rose that is front and center can take the hint of green stem and run with it to the point that I get 100% cooked collard greens instead. So warily, I take a step toward Hope...

 

In the Bottle: Strongly rose, complete with green stem and very little sweet. Uh oh...

 

Wet: Ugh...sugar-coated collard greens...

 

Drydown: Um, yeah. No morphing to this one. No rose, all stem.

 

Verdict: Alas, the sisters are not for me.

[dronzeka]

This is just lovely. It's exactly as described - sugared roses. The roses are sweet, and the sugar is creamy, and it dries down into a sweet sugary vanilla-ish rose. It's not an especially complex scent, but beautifully done. There's decent throw on this one, too. I may have to get a bottle of this!!

[grrrlennyl]

at first: a lovely, heady rose.

on: a gorgeous rose with a healthy dose of sugar. lovely.

2 hours later: powdery, sweet roses.

5 hours later: powdery, sweet roses. still.

overall: this is definitely bottle-worthy.

[darkophelia]

I purchased a set of decants so I could test this without buying the bottle because rose can go funny on me.

 

In the vial: I couldn't get much from just sniffing the vial---it seemed, though, that as soon as I started putting it on, I could really smell it. . . .

And wet: It smelled just like rose flavored cremes! I love rose flavored candies, and wet this perfume smelled just like my favorite rose cremes I discovered in London.

Alas, on the drydown: The rose went sort of funny, as if it couldn't decide if it wanted to stay that delicate candy rose scent or go straight to rose perfume. It's hard to explain, but as the afternoon passed, I could taste rose perfume in my mouth, it was overwhelming to my nose.

 

However, despite what I said above, I think it is a beautiful scent, but I may need to put it in a scent locket. It may also be just a matter of timing---sometimes my chemistry works, sometimes it doesn't. I may also need to wear it on my wrists, and not up on my throat.

[juniperus]

Bottle: sweet rose

Wet: more rose than sweet, not the fresh blooming rose of Rose Red, but this reminds me of that scent.

Dry: the same

Later: Hope is a sweet rose, but not cloying or candy-like..not quite my beloved Rose Red, but a very wearable rose for me.

[astridclaire]

Hope is a pretty sugared rose but it's just not special enough for me to wear. There are so many other BPAL rose blends that I adore that I can't justify keeping this one around.

[rainbow]

Yup, this is definitely sugared rose. In the bottle and on me I get a very, very sweet rose. This is a nice perfume, but it's not my favorite BPAL rose scent. I tend to prefer fresher, colder rose scents (like Rose Red, London, Delirium, etc.) and this is neither cold nor fresh. Rather, it's sweet, almost candy-like.