51

[Saya]

Luminescent, glowing, and otherworldly: green mandarin, neroli, honeydew, white amber, guava, freesia, white and green musks hovering over desert scrub, smashed wood, and the dry, biting scent of night air over the Groom Lake salt flats.

In the Bottle
A very green scent with citrus mingled in. So far, so good.

On My Skin
It’s a ‘fresh’ scent, reminds me of laundry sheets right out of the dryer. There’s a lot going on in this scent but for right now the mandrin is the dominant smell. It’s really lovely, I like it a lot.

After a Bit
Faded after a couple of hours. If this scent would last then it would be a keeper. Too bad for me.

Rating 1-5 (5 being the best)
Scent – 3.5
Throw – 1.5
Longevity – 1
Over all – 2.5

Final Thoughts
I really like 51 when it’s first applied to my skin and for a couple of hours afterwards. That phase is pretty short lived though. I just wish my skin wouldn’t eat this up! I'll keep the imp to see if aging it changes anything, but I'm not going to spring for a bottle. Edited August 7, 2008 by Saya

[mazikeen]

The words that spring to mind are: bright, clean, happy, bold, confident, summery

 

If I had just put on sunscreen, I'd slather some 51 on too, because I suspect that it'd munch up that scent and sort of mask it. This is just a theory, though-- I haven't tried it.

 

After the initial bright blast of it wears down, the greeniness lingers. I'm glad I have the imp, but don't think I'll go through it fast enough to warrant a bottle. Nonetheless, recommended.

 

 

ETA--

I dunno.. my impression has changed. It doesn't seem "green" anymore, just lemony/flowery. It's in my "meh" pile. In other words, "fine but nothing awesome." Several times I've generously dabbed it on the paper filter inside my vaccum cleaner to make the house smell nice.

Edited January 26, 2011 by mazikeen

[vikitty]

All I have to say about 51 is that for me, it's the first BPAL that smells like a EDT/EDP I'd spray on at a department store. I like it because it's not "weird", which is ironic given the theme behind it.

[Rocannon]

My skin eats most scents, so this one's strength was a delightful surprise for me. It's flowery, fruity, and warm -- and a bit strange, but I was expecting that. I really enjoy the fruit in it; it's not melony at all. Most fruit smells fade out very quickly for me, but not this one. It's not the most extraordinary scent I've gotten from the lab, but it is one of the ones I kind of want to roll around in. Overall, very nice. Definitely on my list of bottles to buy.

[Caerphilly]

I have to say, from my last order, this is the only imp I'm missing right now!!! I just put the last drop I had on my wrist, and I am very sad! Big bottle for me!!!!

 

In the imp:Can't tell a single note from another. Everything is perfectly blended. Lightly sweet, a bit fruity, a bit floral, definitely green, some citrus in there. Gorgeous! Masculine or feminine. beautiful

 

After 5 minutes:This radiates with my pulse. It's strange. I can't smell it for a second, then it fills the room.

 

After 30 minutes: The musk comes out. I don't like musk, but it isn't the only note I smell. Everything else is still perfectly rounded, blended. Light, clean, refreshing. I feel beautiful in this.

 

Overall:I want a big bottle now!

[sirsaber]

This reminds me of shampoo or body wash. Its very clean smelling and borders on fruity. Its ok....but something I'd prefer to enable someone with.

[charshark]

In the imp: Crisp honeydew and little musk.

Wet: Definitely can detect the guava and the honeydew blending with the musks with a light floral background.

Dry: Mostly, I still detect the honeydew, but the neroli lets its presence be known. The amber comes into play after it's been on me for awhile.

Overall: It's a nice, pleasing combination of scents. It reminds me of fresh laundry drying in a sunny, windy backyard on a spring day.

[Violetluv1]

I love melon scents, so this and Yemaya were the first ones I tried out of my latest order. Unfortunately, I don't get even a hint of honeydew with 51...instead I get the dreaded (at least to me) commercial perfume smell. It's so strong in the imp I seriously had a moment of wondering if someone had poured some department store sample into the vial instead, only because I've never gotten this impression from any bpal. Regular perfume makes me sneezy and headachey, but I have faith in the lab, so I dabbed a little on anyway. That was a little under an hour ago, and now when I sniff my wrist all I get is the faintest hint of soapiness. Sad! It was gone so fast...like a UFO secretly landing in the night and taking off again before anyone can find them. Oh well, I'll hang onto the imp and try it again next Spring when the air starts heating up again.

 

Yemaya, on the other hand....

[shoogaqube]

Another one of my first scent samples from BPAL.

 

I love that I can wear this one to work, and I feel like I am above all the drama and drear of the day. 51 takes you to a place that's floating just above the surface...here and yet, not from here. Aware but with another purpose.

 

The bf said it smells like soap, but to me it's not even close. It is fresh though. A really good one to try out.

 

Edit: I got this and Yemaya as well in my recent order, and Yemaya is completely sweety sweet melon, while this sweetness is held down with a little more balance.

Edited September 23, 2008 by shoogaqube

[NeuroticaGirl]

I have to agree with the person above's boyfriend. 51 smells like a very nice soap. Clean and fresh. Great for soap but just not for me. This went right back in the trades.

[Dybael]

Mmm! Fresh and light and tidy and fruity-floral clean, 51 makes me want to lick my wrists. It smells like the juice left at the bottom of the bowl after you just finished eating a fruit salad outside on a warm spring afternoon. I'm new and not so good with notes, but I'm definitely getting lots of honeydew and... I think it's the freesia? And there's a hint of something woody way in the back to tie things together.

 

This definitely has a 'commercial' vibe to it, but without the powdery cloying artificial nastiness that goes straight to the "commercial = bad!" center of the back of my brain.

[jewelbug]

Imp: Clean, slightly salty aquatic with a greenness to it.

 

Wet: Its light and clean and watery. Vaguely fruity, but I can’t pick out any specific fruit. DH says, “Clean soap fruit.”

 

Dry: Sadly, as this dries, one of the components goes to an extreme burnt synthetic smell. I really didn’t expect that from this list of notes—its usually some of the butter/sugar/rum blends that do that on my skin, and none of that is listed here. Anyway, what I get is a clean aquatic over a burning synth ickiness. I wonder which note is responsible, since none of the usual suspects are listed?

 

Overall: Ah, well, we weren’t meant to be, 51…I’ll find you a new home!

[milo]

Wet, this is very fresh and fruity, not really a great start for me. The musk and tea is coming out as it dries, which I like as a rule, but the fruit combination is just not my thing. This kind of reminds me of an expensive cologne, but I can't really place it. I was so into this kind of scent about 10 years ago, and would have been all over it. As it dries, it smells like Secret deodorant. Luckily, it doesn't last long, two hours and it was gone. Definitely not for me, oh well.

Edited October 21, 2008 by milo

[carriesmom]

This is a fresh green scent. I definitely smell the melon but the musks are in there too. It kind of reminds me of Tempest but more fruity less salt water. It is very light so I would expect to have to reply often.

[obsidienne]

In the imp this is a bright and interesting citrus scent with some bite.

 

On me, it settled quickly into a strong, sour orange peel and that's about it. Blergh.

[zomathesadist]

in the imp, it smells good. fruity, and green, with a spookiness to it that I like.

 

wet on skin: pretty much the same. mostly fruit, with green florals and citrus. Quite sweet, too.

 

drydown: SCREAMING MIGRAINE AND NAUSEA!

 

d'oh.

 

don't know if it was the 51 that caused the headache, but I'll be damned if I'm not reminded of it every time I sniff it. So I gave it away, which is a shame, because it was a lovely, fruity, inoffensive smell.

[tinyvulture]

a very fresh, green scent, warm and summery. i'm usually not big on anything too citrusy, but mandarin is my exception because of the intense sweetness of it. to me, it's a very cheerful note. although i have to say, i have no idea what green mandarin might be! little green oranges eaten by alien hands? the guava and honeydew add more sweet fruitiness. the honeydew is so realistic! the musks and amber are crucial to the gentle warmth of this scent. there's also a slight tang of ozone. i stay away from ozone-heavy scents, but it's so slight here and it blends really well with the other notes. it's not the right season for me to wear this but i'll hang onto it and see how it ages until next summer.

Edited November 15, 2008 by tinyvulture

[toomuch]

I was surprised how much I like this one. I keep going back to it. It absolutely makes me smile. If you picture breathy Irish songs wafting across the heather along with ghostly wisps, that's what 51 is to the desert. The amber and musk really tone down the fruit and flowers. It smells a bit odd, alien even, but very interesting. After a while I can really smell the desert dust. Well, I can go outside and smell that any time, so I have to reapply and get the interesting scents back. A delightful interpretation of Area 51.

[Kakokoritsi]

In the Bottle: This is really good. It smells CLEAN.

On the Skin: Very nice. It still smells very clean and definitely feminine. I actually left this on all day, and night. I applied and reapplied, trying to get the scent down to see if I like it. I was a little scared at how strong it is. But even so, I see myself putting my face back in my wrist and smelling it again. It's very good.

[TheOneTheyCallLuna]

My jury is still really out on this one. On the one hand, it is exactly what the lab description claims: "Luminescent...otherworldly" is the perfect way to describe this scent, and that is what I was hoping for. However, on me it does get a little bit too perfume-y...and I keep changing my mind about how I feel about that every time I sniff where I applied it. At the end of the day, it is a glowing, sweet, lime green fragrance, but I can't help but feel like a ladies magazine perfume insert has accidentally rubbed off on my arm. I see a lot of positive qualities about this fragrance, but it's just not me.

[missrini]

I got this as a frimp and would never have ordered it myself (isn't that why frimps are great?), but I'm loving it right now

 

I've been busily testing out tonnes of imps (one a day) and I was just thinking how they all seem to smell similar....definitely not the same, but similar. I know now it's because I'm ordering from descriptions with notes that I think I like and I'm not considering the blending.

 

The blending! And the blend of the notes in 51 is AMAZING. It's a totally different scent for me and I just love it. Perfect for the hot Australian summer! My official tester (my husband) loves it too. He thinks it is sharp but feminine and I have to agree. The florals that I love are there, but it also has a freshness which stops it going powdery/soapy and keeps it smelling modern and sexy. I've only had it on for an hour or so, so will have to see how long it lasts on me.

[rayvn1]

Luminescent indeed! Glowing, fresh and slightly salty Great scent and I'm very grateful for my frimp!

[undream]

51 for me is nearly indescribable. true to my recent habits of trying out different bpal oils i have on hand without reading a reminder description, i slathered this one on blind. my first impression was that it was a very heavy scent, yet fresh, clean, almost like a heady white floral perfume. i wasn't certain what to make of it at first, but as the night wore on i fell more and more in love with this gorgeous scent.

 

it just. silkily and calmly wraps you up in its thick, heady gorgeousness. i get no fruity notes, for me it seems to be all musk and florals; clean, sweet, musky, innocent, sexy. it reminds me of my high school days when i religiously wore jovan white musk, only better.

 

i love it. love love love it.

[Kimbernunk]

Y HELLO THER FREESIA WUT ARE U DOING TO MAH NOSE?

 

I'm really sad with this one - green musk is one of my favorite notes, and I can't smell it at all. Actually, I can't smell ANYTHING except freesia. This is my first attempt with a BPAL containing freesia, and I'm learning that I apparently amp freesia to the exclusion of EVERYTHING else.

 

I'm going to save the imp and let it sit for a while and see what happens. At the moment though, I have to say that I was hoping for a lot more green musk and anything resembling citrus. I'm a bit weirded out that I'm not finding any of this!

[anna1850]

I really like this at first. It did smell a bit traditional perfume-y, but I quite like normal smelling perfume so that's not a problem.

 

Unfortunately, after about 30 minutes the wood starts coming out and I don't think wood likes me and the woodiness gets stronger as it dries. Really nice to begin with though and at first I thought I'd get a bottle, but unfortunately the wood kills it for me and I'm not even sure I'll use up the imp.

 

2.5/5 Oh smashed wood, why did you have to spoil everything?