Faith

[Lorelai1945]

Simplicity and innocence, gleefully despoiled! Sugared violet.

When first on the skin, this is very sugary violets- it smells exactly like the violet flavored gum I get after eating Mexican food. The longer it stays on the skin, the more the sugaryness and sweetness comes through and pushes the violet back. It has a VERY similar feel to Antique Lace's drydown on me. Closer to Antique Lace than any other Bpal I've tried, actually. It is a tiny bit powdery, but not in a bad way. It is sweet and sugary violet powder. I like it much better than I like Hope- they are similar, but Hope was watery to me, where this is more dry. The powdery-ness gives it an old-fashioned feel. I do have to say that it seems to be fading on me pretty quickly, but I like it nonetheless.

[Venneh]

Just what it says on the tin - gentle, sugary violets in the imp. On my skin, turns into a gentle, almost sugary... vanilla? oO No, seriously, this is a florally sugary vanilla, a vague scent cousin to XCDL13 and Antique Lace. We'll see if it makes any changes, but if it doesn't, I'm gonna need to find a bottle before she leaves town.

[Alethia]

Faith was my first true BPAL heartbreak. I absolutely adore violets, and in the bottle this was a beautiful violet candy scent. But it did not play nice with my skin chemistry because for the whole 90 minutes I wore this all I could smell was grape Benadryl

 

I'll try this again layered with Hope; if that doesn't work, I'll let it age. But I have a sinking feeling that Faith and I were just not meant to be.

[calivianya]

I had recently discovered that violets could sometimes be okay on me (Violet Ray) when I found a partial of this for sale on the forum. I thought that since the Lab's sugar notes work so well on me and violet sometimes works, that this just had to be full of win. Sadly, it smelled like grape cough syrup on me like it has on so many other people here. The bottle has already found its way to a new home.

[kirsten]

I love that this smells purple to me, haha. Maybe a little synesthesia kicking in.

 

I'm quickly learning that I love candy/foodie scents over pretty much everything and Faith definitely delivers. Delicious and decadent!

 

ETA: Upon a couple more wears, as much as I like this, it gives me a serious migraine. ;_________;

Edited July 18, 2011 by kirsten

[jizatt]

I tried this bottle, mainly because of how much I loved her sister Hope (which gave me hope coincidentally enough, to try rose in a few more things). I don't enjoy violet that much, generally I wont wear it at all... so back story aside:

 

This is stunning. The sugared note in Hope was what I really hoped for here, and it does not disappoint. The violet is pale and shimmery, and I smell what might be smoke or something musky underneath. I never really paid attention to the part of the description that said "Simplicity and innocence, gleefully despoiled" -- I think that's where this very wispy undercurrent comes from.

 

Anywho - I do adore it, and its taking a permanent place in my box, as one of only two violet loves

[Mae]

Before BPAL, I would have never, ever thought I would wear violets.

 

Thanks to this, and the Bruised Violet Compound, I have found something wonderful.

 

Violets turn sweet on me! I had no idea. The sugars in Faith make it even more pronounced and I smell wonderful. There's no powder smell, no green smell, just sweet, sweet flowers.

 

It does seem to fade a little faster than her sister, but I just put a little more on.

 

Mae

[angelamaria]

In decant: sweet violet, like candy, but not an airy sort of candy; the sweetness is full-bodied.

 

Wet on skin: sweet violet. Honestly? I wasn't expecting a lot from this, I actually started to test the twins as I expected to just set them aside. But--I actually like this. Sweet and beautiful, simple but not plain, and slightly vanilla-ey, creamy. Amazing. I've never really had an opinion on violets before, but I might have to revisit this note.

 

Dry: someone early on made an allusion to this one being a "violet Antique Lace", and I can truly get that. It doesn't quite trump Antique Lace, but it's fairly near--there is that vanilla-ey feel to it that is similar in feel, with violets instead of linen. Lightly sugared vanilla violets! Soft and creamy, not foody, maybe an understated candy, although this isn't a candy I would eat. The decant I have is relatively fresh; I wonder how this does with some aging?

 

Verdict: this is quite an unexpected bottle keeper. Love it!

[Incendiare]

Faith is, without a doubt, the sweetest deep purply violet in the bottle. On me, it is even more sugary. It reminds me so much of violet-flavoured candy pastilles. This smells just like the taste of them, if that makes sense. Faith also has excellent throw. I can catch whiffs of it throughout the day but it isn't too overpowering either. It is such a simple blend, yet so classy and beautiful. I automatically feel better when I put this on. I really hope the twins will be back when CD returns so I can pick up another bottle.

[Verilita]

In the Imp: ZOMG violets. It's all I smell, it reminds me a bit of the violet water my grandmother used to use.

 

wet: Not too strong, but I can see now why some reviewers suggest violet flavored candies, it smells identical to the violet mints I get from the local world market!

 

drydown:awww...my skin just eats this up Now it smells like violets and baby powder, which I am not that upset by, I just wish this had more throw!

 

after 5 minutes: very faint violet scent, no throw at all though (I had to put my nose on my wrist to smell it). Despite how my skin eats this up I really like it. It's a very classy scent I could see wearing for an occasion I would be around a lot of people.

[n3m3sis42]

Re-reviewing this due to a major body chemistry change.

 

Very, very sad... where once this was pure creamy, sugared-violet love, it's now the cloying scent of artificially-scented Kleenex tissues. Predictably, my skin amps it quite a bit, too. Boooooo. Oh well, I was at least halfway through my bottle, and now I won't have to worry about scoring a new one.

[Floria]

There's something about this that reminds me of Easter candy, if Easter candy came in violet flavor, or maybe the "Silver" perfumes from Possets. It's definitely a sweet scent, but not a syrupy sweetness, so it's not overwhelming. I like this, and I'm glad I had a chance to try it, but I think that overall I prefer the greater complexity of Sybaris.

[The Planet Queen]

I love it. Actually more than her sister Hope which would usually be my pick of the two seeing I love rose. It smells just like sugary purple goodness. I can't explain it. If it was edible it would be a favorite candy. Perfect!

[ChristineFury]

In the bottle: Candied violets and something dark underneath

 

Wet: Soft, sweet, flowery and a tad wicked. The violet is warmed by the sugar.

 

Dry: Delightfully feminine, floral, but warm- florals usually turn baby powder on me, but the sugar keeps it from going that route! WONDERFUL for when I'm feeling particularly coy <3

[GoddesShel]

Perfection, sheer perfection - sugared violet all the way on me, and I LOVE IT.

[kscha2017]

2016

 

Whereas Hope blooms on my skin and fades rapidly, Faith blooms big and warm with almost a cocoa butter undertone, and lasts without fading. It actually feels warm on the skin as well.

[Hattress]

2016 Version

 

Sugared violet with an emphasis on the sugared. It's very sweet, but it's not so sweet that it's cloying. After it dries down, there's a little more of a warmth that comes out, tempering some of the sweetness. It has pretty good throw on me, enough that some other people I was around could get a whiff of it, but it doesn't last as long as I'd like. After about five hours, tops, it's usually gone.

[Emily Iscariot]

Oh Faith 2016, how I love thee! The sweetness in this reminds me a lot of Candy Phoenix, and I'm getting the cocoa butter underneath too. Then the violet is warm and delicious and this has a much better throw on me than a lot of other florals I've tried. I'm totally in love and will I definitely need more than just my decant!

[Haltija]

Powdery, airy, sugar candied violet from beginning to end. Faith is so simple but she is absolute perfection. I love her immensely <3

[LizziesLuck]

2016

 

So I don't like the scent of violets. It's not that I don't like BPAL violet, or that it doesn't work with my chemistry, I just simply don't care for it. HOWEVER I was getting a decant of Hope, and I just felt like I should try her sister.

 

I must say, I dislike this violet scent the least of any I have ever smelled. It might not sound like a great compliment, but truly it is. It's not giving me a headache, or making me nauseous. It's sweet, but not overwhelming. I still don't want to smell like it, but in Faith, I can appreciate violet and see why others love it so much. I am glad I tried both sisters, it would have felt strange not to. (Hope is pretty amazing, btw). Forever in awe of Beth's artistry.

[Teamama]

2016 Faith, lab purchase with her twin Hope.

 

Alone, Faith is a delicate, dry violet fragrance. Not a lot of throw. I go along with the reviewers who have compared it to candy. If Necco Wafers came in violet flavor, they'd smell like Faith.

 

I'm not going to wear Faith alone. Firstly because violet is pretty far down on my list of notes I love, and second because Faith + Hope = WAY better than either one alone. I wore Hope on one arm, Faith on the other, and was surprised and seduced by the interplay between them. I'm much fonder of roses than violets usually, but I'm going to wear these together, every time.

 

I wish there was a way to review H&F together. They're "nice" by themselves, but together they're exponentially better! I encourage everyone who gets H&F to trust Beth on this one, and test them together before deciding to re-home one of the twins.

 

Edited to add: worn together, H&F are REALLY long-lasting. 10 hours.

Edited June 28, 2016 by Teamama

[zankoku_zen]

2016 version

 

Yup, sugared violets with a nice white sugar crust to be honest. I like the current violet note that BPAL is using much more than its previous incarnations, but still. If you wanted to smell like violet pastilles, give Faith a whirl. Decent throw and wear length.

[Kay Torres]

I normally love violets. I don't love Faith. With her sister, I get candied rose petal. Faith, on the other hand, smells like someone has done something medicinal to the violets. It smells sort of like a violet tincture. Not pleasing to my nose. The alcoholic violet smell of it actually made me nauseous. I layered liberally with Hope. I'm glad that I did. Because while I may not be able to stomach the smell of Faith by herself, with Hope they both blossom into something far more beautiful than either one could hope to be alone.

[Convallaria]

(2016 version, never sniffed the old one.)

It's very sweet. It felt cloying for first few seconds, but that might be because it was "fresh" out of delivery truck and it's nearly summer. Afterwards, the violet comes through. I think the sweetness is amber-y. The last stage of drydown loses the floral and goes pleasantly powder-y (in old school perfume sense, not "clean" powder sense). But the main, pretty much equal blend of flower and preserve syrup, remains steady for a long time - longer than I expected. I should probably hate it, but I love it. I think it's the violet. If it was just fruit or spice or flower that smells sweet to begin with, I would probably find it off-putting, but the violet makes for an interesting contrast. That said, it's still a bit uncanny valley to me - I guess because while I'm used to foodstuff that uses rose, I've never actually eaten candied violets so I don't have the association. But I think it might be a part of what makes it so interesting to me.

 

Despite being what it says on the tin - flower+syrup - both Faith and Hope felt complete to me on their own. That said, layering them gives a more than pleasant end result too. If you find Faith too cloying, the rose note in Hope is slightly "cleaner" than Faith's violet and it might help elevate it a bit.

Edited June 21, 2016 by Convallaria

[PeculiarHeroine]

Now I didn't expect to like Faith as much as I liked her sister, but Faith has proven to be ever inch the equal of hope.

This is gorgeous. A sugared violet that fades so gracefully over the course of the day into a delicate, sweet yet still floral haze. Neither the sugar of the violet wins here, they just sing together in perfect harmony.

Ahh, the Twins have been a complete and utter win.