51

[reina]

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.

This is a beautiful scent, however I swear I smelled an exact designer perfume like this one several years ago - a big name.
I can't remember what it's called. But it's a perfect smell for those who want to introduce BPAL to people with somewhat more commercial tastes.
I like the imp, definitely a keeper, and one of the best choices for a summer perfume out of the entire BPAL catalog.

[Gin]

51

Well... I'm not sure what I can say about 51 that hasn't been said. It really is spectacular. What does it smell like? I don't know. It just smells good. It's kind of light green--like a cool, whitish light green, not a vile chartreuse. It's fresh and sort of floral, without really smelling like flowers. I think this will be in heavy rotaton now that the weather is heating up.

[liquidtrance]

In bottle, VERY melon-y.

On skin, it is MUCH brighter, and less juicy. Very perky scent. I think some of it might be attributed to the freesia. There's also a scent that really perks up your nostrils, not sure precisely what it is. Maybe the mandarin. As it's sinking in, it's smelling more like the melons and fruit, more distinctly, and much less generally than when it was in the bottle. The flower scent is still at the front, though. Overall, good choice I think. Uncharacteristic of me, but it's actually quite nice. Great scent for spring/summer.

[jwhxtna]

Okay... *rubs hands together and takes deep breath* This will be the first of many BPAL reviews after a night of intense SRS BPAL TESTING at my friend's house.

 

IN THE IMP: Very fresh and pale green. I don't always use color associations, but this one "pale green" was one of the first things that popped into my head the first time I sniffed it. It reminds me of cold honeydew just taken out of the refrigerator mixed with some florals, but it's somehow not that sweet.

WET: The blend gets a little sweeter, and it still smells like fresh honeydew. Very glowy and refreshing.

DRY: Still very soft, green, and glowy, with lots of sweet, fresh fruit. I think the neroli adds to the "glowy" feeling. Definitely a great spring/summer scent, and I'm really tempted to get one of my own!

[mineralgirl]

This was a frimp from the lab. It's nothing I ever would have thought I'd like and yet... I do. It may be bottleworthy even.

 

It's clean and fresh and just fruity enough for this floral-hater, has a nice non-sweet bite to it. I can get the woody smoke from it too if I look for it ... I'm sorta giddy with this one! I'll need to test it a few more times but I'm diggin' it

[milica]

I loved this one! Light, fresh, a bit fruity... until it became too salty and too soapy and it made me sick. Not for my skin chemistry...

Edited November 2, 2012 by milica

[bubblefish]

Straight from the imp it is definitely a glowy scent, but it really becomes alive on my skin and starts to shine. It's a complex scent that I can't pick individual notes out of, but I do get the vague sense of a pulsating glow. It's unusual and pleasant, though it doesn't stand out to me particularly like some of the other perfumes do, but I kind of like it. I think I need some more tries though before i come up with a final verdict.

[Suu4LC]

In the imp this is a mandarin/melon musky scent-very heavy on the white musk. Not as sweet or sugary as your typical melony scent. VERY musk heavy. Pretty in the imp, but I'm not sure how this will go on my skin.

 

Oh yeah, WAY musky on the skin-while it does give it a glowy kind of quality, it's a bit TOO musky for me I think. I really start to lose the mandarin and melon. There is something about this that does remind of commercial perfume, as another reviewer said. I can't recognize which one...but there's definitely a familiar quality to this blend.

 

Overall this is a nice musk blend, with hints of sweet light fruits-a bit more "traditional" than some other bpal perfumes. It did fade SUPER fast though-the fruits disappear very quickly and the entire blend starts disappearing shortly after, leaving me with a powdery amber scent. If you want it at its best, freshly applied and luminescent, you're probably going to have to reapply frequently.

[tajana]

Wet on my skin, it's light and heavy on that "green mandarin" note and freesia. As it starts to dry down I get more of the honeydew melon, contributing to a scent that does smell really airy, luminous, dewy and green. The other notes melt together, and it's hard to pick out one over the other, nothing really takes dominance. It's floral (freesia, mostly) and cleanly musky and a touch fruity, very light and appropriate for wearing during the summer. After an hour it's musky, a little sweet, and a little powdery: all white musk and amber with a touch of guava and wood. It smells nice, but definitely the most "commercial" out of all the BPAL I've ever tried! I'm not in love with it, but like a ton of other people have said, it would be good for enabling new people who do like department store perfumes.

[sylvanusurban]

In bottle: Soft white floral.

 

On me, wet: Still soft white floral, but the fruity notes emerge a bit, adding some moisture and greenness (and a nice sparing hint of sweetness). I wouldn’t call this “dry” or “biting” – it has a cool, moist breeziness to it. A pretty translucent pale-green scent.

 

On me, drying: Mmm, something almost grapefruity is coming out now. The green mandarin? I don’t know, but it’s lovely.

 

Later: Morphing again! It’s gotten warmer and more fragrant, and “pinker.” Still beautiful and light. I really like this.

 

Verdict: This could be a bottle candidate. It’s beautiful, fresh, and infinitely sniffable.

 

 

ETA: Hmm, though it continues to do some morphing that I don’t like as much. Gets kind of cologney and slightly harsh. Wah!

 

[caffinatedangel]

It's a very refreshing, wet (in a freshly showered sense), uplifting scent. It reminds me a bit of laundry (moving from washer to dryer ) take that as you will. Neither negative or positive. It's got a slight green feel to it, like crisp lettuce. Faintly green, not an overwhemling have-some-grass vibe. Splashed over with something citrusy.

 

It ended up mostly being soap-like on me. Like liquid handsoap. In a very good way, mind you. It's just that I'm not a huge fan of that. It had a sort of tartness to it that reminded me of more commercial brands, as well. It was also very unisex to me. Reminded me pleasantly of aftershave (I mean, after the aftershave, licking a guys cheek sort of vibe) yet also would be acceptable on someone girly. Maybe for the more "metrosexual" men out there.

 

I lump this as a "laundry" scent. As I'm a foody fruity patchouli gal, it'll be swapped. But it wasn't unpleasant. It didn't have insane throw, but it lasted.

Edited July 11, 2009 by CaffinatedAngel

[devilot]

In the Vial: CITRUS! Fruity. But something sweet. (Looking at the notes, I can't figure out what smells so sweet to me-- freesia? I dunno!)

 

Wet: Sharp and fruity. Definitely get the mandarin and loads of honeydew. Smells very green on me now. Perhaps the green musk? A very clean scent.

 

Drydown: A little less soapy clean, now, and softer. Probably the musks softening the rest of the blend. I think I can get the subtleness of neroli now, just a hint, though. Wish there were more neroli.

 

Verdict: A nice, clean, citrusy green scent. But nothing I'm in love with.

[biocarolyn]

I like 51. A lot. I wish my skin would stop amping the freesia, since flowers are the only thing that scare me truly, but it is still shockingly nice. I get citrus and a bit of musk, along with some melon. Its light, and I could definitely wear this to work. Its a nice summer scent.

 

I can see the comparison to Clinique's Happy, which is one of only two commercial perfumes I've ever enjoyed. (The other was Prescriptive's Calyx.) This isn't a bad thing, as Happy definitely has that commercial perfume alcohol undertone, whereas 51 does not.

 

This is also the only scent my husband has commented on unprompted.

[Seismogenic]

I'm not going to lie - I'm drawn to this one because there is desert involved, not because of little green aliens. The idea of using soft green notes to represent the aliens against said desert is also very appealing to me, but I'm actually a little apprehensive of some of the more floral members of this scent. I'm hoping they don't kill it for me, and that I can smell the desert, or at least smell more than extraterrestrial flora with possibly-malevolent intents.

 

In the imp: There's an indistinct and decidedly green fruity sweetness, but despite the fact that those notes are listed first, I actually smell much more of the dry wood and desert scrub, not to mention a pinch of something saline.

 

Wet on skin: Fruit and flowers are still there, but they're still melded enough together to be indistinct from one another, aside from being very very green indeed. It's a green that's pale in hue but strong in intensity. I still smell a lot of desert around this all.

 

Drydown: This dries quite quickly, and as it does, the pale musks start to come out. They meld more into the sweet green fruity thing than to the deserty backdrop, however. The green aspect is more prominent now than when the scent was wet, but I still definitely get dry air, scrubby plants, and a bit of salt behind it all. At one hour in, the glowy green aspect is still extremely homogeneous, considering how many of the listed notes must be involved in it. The green aspect is also, however, now quite faint. There is still quite a lot of desert left, however, in the form of dry plant matter, something a little stony, and a bit of salt.

 

Five hours later: All desert! The green aliens took off after about two hours, in fact, and they seem to have left the landscape intact. I get wood, stone, a bit of salt, and a hint of musk. This is all still very evident, despite the quick fade of the other notes.

 

End of the day: Dry wood and a hint of ozone.

 

Overall: I'm fairly sure this isn't how it was supposed to work. Unless you want to argue that the quick departure of the green stuff is a parallel to the aliens not sticking around on Earth for very long, I'm guessing this was supposed to be green glow plus desert for most of the time. However, my skin seems to push green glow away, and I'm left with just desert. Aaaand, I'm not complaining! I do like the green stuff, but I'm also a huge sucker for desert scents, and what's left over is this awesome desert-at-night sort of thing, with the heat of the day being stored in the sand but not in the air. I'm also impressed by the presence of discernible salt flats here! So, 51 not doing what it should have was a good thing for me, since I was drawn to it for the desert aspect anyway. Definitely keeping the imp.

[Diva Urd]

Vial: Fresh fruit, just a tad citrussy and surprisingly not super-sweet

On: Fruit, bittersweet (the bitter bite being similar to grapefruit, but not exactly like it - this is much less astringent), with a musky background. A bit soapy when on first, very reminiscent of shower gels I've used before. The soap might be the "night air" - I expect there's a hint of ozone. Thankfully, there isn't enough ozone to be irritating to my nose - it starts dissipating as it's drying.

Later: Bittersweet fruitiness. I actually enjoy this quite a bit. This is a fruity scent for people who like their fruit non-foody and not too sweet, and a scent containing ozone that confirmed ozone haters-and-ampers like me can still enjoy. Going on my "possibly reorder list".

[kerikeri]

Wet, this is all freesia and melon. Dry, it's freesia and melon offset by a biting, oddly intriguing metallic note. I only get the metal if I get close and sniff deeply, but it's there. It's pretty effective for a scent that's supposed to be reminiscent of aliens (which is an idea I love, being a huge horror/sf nerd), even though it's not really my usual style-- it's still kind of traditional-perfume-y even with that weird metallic note.

[voodoocatwoman]

Fresh and green and springy and bouncy and sneezy and sniffly and don't put more than a tiny dab on ever again...

[Schmoozy]

 

 

Soft pale musks, sweet melon, amber and a hint of woods. Somehow all the notes inside blend together to produce this wickedly feminine floral perfume that is stunning during the summer. It is cool and refreshing, but most definitely a seasonal blend for sure.

[amandette]

51 is a little loud when it's wet, but as soon as it dries it's very nice.

 

It has a hint of fruitiness and a hint of floral but it's not only fruit/floral. I don't know what else to call it, but there's some neat notes that must be the salt flats and air. It's definitely a creamy bright glowing green.

[loubric]

51

 

This scent makes me feel like a wealthy socialite, not sure why!

Smells sweeter in the bottle and I got worried for a second I thought it was going to be too powdery on my skin, but it isn’t.

 

When I smell this on my skin, it reminds me of lazy days lying on the beach, soaking up the sun.

 

I can smell the musks slightly more than the other ingredients … but the honeysuckle sneaks up every now and then.

 

I like it!!!

 

PS a few people said “honeysuckle/powder” I agree but add some musk and that’s what it’s like on me!

 

PPS it also reminds me of my Granny, something I think she would have worn when she was in her 20’s!

 

[mazaru]

I found it impossible to pick out individual notes for this one. In the bottle and when wet, it smelled very fresh, wet, and oddly salty - almost aquatic. On the dry down it softened a little, and became a more rounded VERY BRIGHT NEON GREEN smell, a little ozony, a little fruity, very sharp and glistening. Dry, though, it turned into a sort of generic cologne smell – quite manly and nice to smell, but not something I'd wear.

[strahlend]

This is a beautiful blend. Normally I prefer scents that are either darkly patchouly, incense like, or perhaps sometimes foody but 51 shows me once again that with BPAL there are always surprises.

 

51 is lightly fruity, lightly floral, lightly musky, and then some herbal/cucumber is thrown in for good measure. It makes for a perfect (non-soapy) clean scent that would be appropriate for use any time of year. 51 also reminds me of my visits to a friend's beach house, and it seems like other people have picked up similar feelings from it - a sort of salty, fresh, sea air quality. It's a surprise favorite and I will be keeping my eye out for a bottle or ordering one soon.

 

[ellebelle]

I smell mostly the cirtusy things - I get the guava, the mandarin, the honeydew. I even get the freesia. I don't get the salty, woodiness which is too bad since that it what this scent needs for me to take it out of the realm of soapiness. Oh well.

[MCS4096]

Fruity and bright upon application, but drying to an aquatic musk. I really really like it in the imp, but its not as complex to me once on. It reminds me a lot of a cooling cucumber body spray I used to have from bath and body works.. so I'm taken back to hot summers in middle school when I kept that in the fridge to cool down with Kinda a nice memory to bring back..

[Venneh]

In the imp, this is a really light citrus scent; on my skin, there's a more aquatic glowing note that comes out with the citrus. We'll see how this goes.