51

[storme]

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 imp: ooooh. lots of honeydew and pale musks and ozone, very watery and light - and another lopsided imp base, if not to such a crazy degree.

On me, wet: aquatics and melon and ozone, very like Sea of Glass.

On me, dry: very ozone-ish. Very much like Sea of Glass with some extra melon lightly wafted over it.

Verdict: Yeah, not different enough to be worth keeping around, I think.

[eleventhousand]

This smells like Clinique Happy.

 

[empi girl]

A little sharp at first, this settles into a soft, slightly powdery floral with a hint of citrus and woods wafting up. The musk is lovely, and slightly resembes the tea note, I think. I've reached for my imp several times, and will probably have to get a bottle.

[PilotKitten]

Huh? This *does* smell like Clinique Happy. Clean, aquatic, with a nondescript sweetness. It's not bad, but there's nothing really interesting or catching about this one either.

[minnalavender]

ITA w/PilotKitten & eleventhousand: 51 does remind me of Clinique Happy! It also reminds me of Prescriptives Calyx. Not surprisingly, those are the only two commercial perfumes I like, and can actually wear without getting a headache or feeling ill.

 

I can't really add much to the previous reviews other than that 51 is a sophisticated, adult, bright and refreshing scent that I could wear anywhere, for any occasion. Just absolutely gorgeous - I love it! It's the perfume equivalent of a LBD & pumps. Brava, Beth!

[Bagfish]

51 starts out bright and gleaming and exciting in the imp and freshly applied. The freesia is very noticable at first, if only it stayed that way. Unfortunately 51 dries down in a musty/ozony/aquatic sort of way and sweetens up too much and just smells a bit fake on my skin which is a real shame as this was lovely in the imp.

 

I'm glad I tried it though!

[euterpe414]

Bah...I thought this would be great on me but I am getting...the dreaded hotel soap smell.

 

I don't what is doing it, perhaps the combo of freesia (which is iffy on me anyway) and ozone/aquatics. At least I didn't buy a bottle unsniffed like I wanted to...

[poisons_sanity]

A very pretty green and floral, but a touch of something mysterious. Gives you the impression of talking to someone who is hiding a secret. Hiding maybe the fact that they aren't really human...

[Nyx]

I opened my bottle as soon as I got it in the mail, and I think the oil was a little 'shocked' from the travel and temperature, so it smelled kind of off. I left it a bit to settle down, rolled it in my palms, and then took a tentative sniff.

 

I knew I would love it, astronomy obsession aside.

 

In the bottle: It smells green and sharp. My very first impression was that it was really masculine, and it reminded me of commercial perfume or cologne, but so much better without the alcohol additive.

 

Wet on my skin: I can't pick out any specific notes, but it smells amazing. Light, crisp musks and dry wood. It has a pretty good throw -- while I was dressing for work today, I could smell what rooms I had left and entered again.

 

Dry on my skin: No more light musks, except very very faintly. Putting my nose to my wrist I can smell the dry woods and a faint bit of amber. The throw is limited to me waving my arms in front of my face, which is good for work.

 

Mm, this is definitely a keeper. I might even try it on my fiance to see if he likes it and if it really could be a neutral scent.

[Miss Lynx]

Strange and interesting (suitably enough!). This is a very light, ethereal scent... When first applied, it was a bit unpleasantly perfumey, but now that it's settled in a bit it's starting to smell rather nice. It's an unusual scent, and I'm not sure I can adequately describe how, but at the same time it's soft and light enough that you could probably wear it at the office without getting weird looks.

 

Despite the fruit and floral notes, it's not overly sweet -- the wood and musk notes tone it down a little, but without adding heaviness. The "night air" element made me nervous since that usually means ozone and ozone usually equals cheap drugstore perfume and/or chemical air freshener on my skin, but that doesn't seem to be much in evidence here. I think there is a bit of ozone, but thankfully it's fairly minimal.

 

No one note really predominates here -- they all blend together, but in a way that comes across as ever-shifting and is never quite the same from one sniff to the next.

 

It's not terribly long-lasting, but it stays nice, and intriguing, all the way down. On the whole, I think I like it. Not a top favourite, perhaps, but I think there will be days when I want to smell like this.

 

Grade: B

[flyingpizza]

I agree with others that 51 has that vague commercial perfume smell. To me, it smells like a Brazilian perfume called Accordes by O Botacario, but it makes me sneeze less. It's very nice, a universal sort of catch-all scent, but it doesn't have the unique flavor of other BPAL oils.

 

Nice, but not terribly exciting to me.

[smallvoice]

This is really a scent where the payoff doesn't happen until it's had a chance to settle on my skin. Initially it smells sort of fake and a tad commercial and quite masculine- that darned seaspray note, I think. I never quite get the lovely, dewy fruits that other people are getting, but it does get softer and sweeter on my skin after a bit. There is fruit, but I was hoping for more melon, and it fades like woah on me- I haven't reached a decision on whether I like it a lot or not, but I am sooooo glad to try this one!

[yeahbutnobut]

51

 

In the imp: oh, this is so pretty. A soft fruity floral with white amber and fresh musks. It is quite ‘perfumey’.

Wet on skin: fruity floral notes, sweet nectar, white musk and amber.

Dry: this is gorgeous! It smells more perfumey than most of Beth’s stuff, but this is a little more delicate and refined, without any heady alcohol. The white amber is lovely and sweet, a cleaner, lighter variant of amber, and the freesia note is fantastic. Mandarin adds a touch of sharpness, guava and a little bit of melon add a delicious nectar like sweetness, and the musk notes bind everything together. I don’t smell the herbs or woods, but there may be a hint of ozone to this. This is so good, very fresh and light, and very much like one of the nicer ‘perfume counter’ scents-I haven’t smelt Alien (or Happy, for that matter) but this does smell like a designer perfume (in a good way). This also reminds me of a lighter, more floral Mantis.

After a while: eventually the florals and fruit calm down a little bit, and I smell something woodsy, a nice solid wood base for all the lighter notes. I also smell more of the night air-I love Beth’s night air note-and it does have a slightly salty scent to it. It smells dry and cool, and I also smell something almost herbal to it…now I get that ‘glowing green’ feel to the scent. But the mass of glowing, iridescent floral-fruity amber never really leaves the scent, the freesia and white amber still apparent, though I smell more neroli now.

The scent eventually becomes a wonderful, well blended and stylish scent of soft light musk and sweet flowers, with some amber, woodsy notes and a little hint of almost metallic, slightly salty ‘spaced out’ ozone to it. This smells like a bit more like Mantis now, but more ethereal.

The notes really merge into each other over time, leaving a gorgeous musky-floral-amber drydown with an airy, floaty, glowing feel to it. It really is luminous and otherworldly, and I love it.

Verdict: I think I've found a new favourite for summer. I never thought I'd really fall in love with a BPAL scent that's a little more 'designer perfume-y' than usual, but this is just stunning. Yes, it does remind me of something and expensive, but this is quality stuff. It's a beautiful, shimmering mix of flowers, fruit, amber (the white amber in here is delightful), light musks, a little bit of woods and herbs, and a hint of out-of-this-world ozone to it. This is what I hoped Intergalactic would be like…and thankfully this one is easy to acquire! It is sweet, fresh, light, cooling, complex but effortlessly blended. It works on two levels-as a scent which does seem to have an otherworldly feel to it-a very 'iridescent' scent, a glowing mass of gold, white, pink and green scents, and also as a classy and high-end scent which feels modern. It is a great everyday scent and a perfect BPAL to enable people with, especially if they are very used to the more commercial scents (alien associations aside, it has a very smart minimalist name, or number…also good for enabling newbies into the world of BPAL). I think I need a bottle of this fabulous scent asap.

Emoticon rating:

Is it a keeper? Yes! This is a perfect summer scent-want bottle now!

If you like this, try: Shoggoth, Mantis, Xanthe, Urania, Kindly Moon, Silence, Hungry Ghost Moon

Edited April 21, 2007 by yeahbutnobut

[sookster]

i have read all of the reviews; some stating that this smells similar to calyx, happy and even alien but my schnoz cannot begin to compare 51 with any of them...and thankfully so!!

 

straight sniff from the bottle is very aquatic and musky...not unlike buck moon...

 

reminds me of a cool crisp night in the desert air most definitely...Groom Lake here i come

 

this scent is absolutely gorgeous and i am thrilled i scored a bottle!! perfect for the upcoming warmer weather, i will be wearing this often!!

[Electra]

51 is probably the most commercial-smelling BPAL I've ever tried, and I've tried a lot of blends. This would be a good non-scary starter blend for someone with mainstream tastes who you're just introducing to BPAL.

 

It's pretty much what everyone else has said it is -- vaguely fruity-floral without really being either fruity or floral. Light and glowing. The "color" of the scent is an ethereal light green. It's pretty boring on my skin, actually -- but not at all offensive, and I certainly wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to someone.

 

One point in its favor is that the lasting power is *incredible.* I applied 51 to my right wrist at 7:30 this morning. 15 hours later and after a morning shower (during which I specifically scrubbed down my wrist) and post-shower application of Dublin, I can still smell 51 clear as day on my wrist, even though Dublin is long gone. Wow.

[lyricalwaters]

I loooove this. It immediately reminded me of F5, which is my one true love, and I was SO PLEASED to find something in GC that works for me the same way. And the fact that it does makes me want to track down everything that has white musk and citrus in it.

 

The scent is very hard to describe, it's just very light and green, with a bit of a coolness that... yeah, really does make me think of the metal of a spaceship. With some very light green aliens sitting in it. :-p

 

And it LASTS. And lasts. Waaaay more than F5 does on me.

 

This bottle is going into my next lab order definitely.

[dixiehellcat]

I put an imp of this in my very first lab order, mostly because of the name. But after trying it I find (strangely for me, lol) that I agree with a lot of what other people have said! Yes, it is reminiscent of some commercial fragrances. Not necessarily a bad thing, either. Yes, it's light, and green and cool. And yes, it lasts like a mutha! I like it a lot.

[Dinerdulcinea]

I agree with the fact that this blend does resemble some commercial blends.

 

It was VERY shocking to me that it smelled like that, but in a wonderfully GREAT way! It is an incredibly well-balanced and beautiful light floral. It does not turn soapy or aquatic on me at all like many things (commercial and otherwise) are wont to do...in fact, it even gets the tiniest bit woody toward the end.

 

I was very amazed and pleased by this blend, as it is not something I ever would have chosen for myself...and thanks to my great Switch Witch, themerrybaker, I got to try something great that I otherwise would have missed out on!

Edited May 3, 2007 by Dinerdulcinea

[rien]

In imp: very clean one. Super clean. Unnaturally clean, you might say. Actually, it reminds me of a French parfum I have called "Eau Fantastique" - fantastic (literal, not 'wow' meaning, heh) water.

 

Wet, on skin: it's insane! I just keep huffing my arm and don't want to stop and miss anything to type!

 

Drydown: the honeydew is the first one that grabs my attention, then - oh god, it's so good - um, the mandarin and it actually does remind me of cacti! Thankfully, I smell no freesia; if it's there, this is so perfectly blended that it's gently overshadowed by the more prominent whites and greens. this will be a great morning pick-me-up, or to cool down and clean off after traipsing around the dirty, busy city on my summer lunchbreaks.

 

Dry: the musks are coming through more now, which is actually kind of perfect because the initial OMG clean would make a girl dizzy if it lasted too long; once it mellows out, it's REfreshing rather than in-your-face fresh.

Edited May 8, 2007 by rien

[somnambular]

An crisp, glowing, electric scent. The sweetness of the honeydew and guava is especially apparent when wet. As it dries, the tartness of neroli and mandarin come through. After a few hours, the musk takes center stage, but it's all very balanced. This is my new signature perfume. I really can't say enough good things about it.

[fireflower]

I just got 51 today in my first set of imp orders, and it's my favorite one. Yes, it is commercial smelling, but I really like it. Personally, it reminds me very much of Body By Victoria from VS. It's really well-blended. I have a tough time picking out any individual notes because of this. But I can say that I agree with those who say it's a very clean and fresh fruity-floral. Sadly, this is the only fragrance that didn't remind me of potpourri or what my house smells like at Christmas. =\ I might be ordering a big bottle of it.

[batsy]

In the vial: honeydew melon, with citrus. It's like green in a bottle.

 

On the skin: It's a dry aquatic, which is totally an oxymoron but true for this blend. You can feel the scoured san all dry and the twisted trees surrounding an oasis of green. The freesia stands out on me, with a backnote of neroli and honeydew. It is alien in nature. Quite smashing!

[QueenFae]

This is very clean, bright, and perfumey; a light ozone - floral. Very innocent, feminine, reminds me of spring time. I can definitely pick out the honeydew and the freesia, and it's a lovely combination. This does smell like something you would buy at the perfume counter. This is very faint on me with almost no throw.

 

Very pretty, but not my cup of tea.

[RemAkimichi]

My friend in jr. high stole a hat from her boyfriend that he had sprayed his favorite cologne on. This was like 7 years ago. I remember being in love with that scent, and seeking to find it myself, but I never did, so I was content to steal the hat from her and sniff it dry of that. I don't have the hat anymore (I gave it back) and I don't remember the name of his cologne (or, indeed, HIS name even), but whether or not this actually smells like that scent, it gives me the same feeling. It makes me happy to smell it. I think of summertime and friends and feilds and the college swimming pool that we all went to during the summer. I think of blue and green and grass and the sky.

 

Overall, it's not a remarkable scent. I'd probably be hardpressed to point out the differences between it and another, more commercial perfume besides the lack of overwheming alcohol that those have. And really, it's not something I'll wear myself often. But it's definitely worth having an imp of. Lovely scent.

[gwynhwyfar]

In the vial ... this is a light, slightly sweet fruity scent. Kinda ozoney, kinda aquatic ... all around lovely.

 

On my skin, it's yet another train wreck. In this case, I get something that I have no desire to smell like. Lemon Pledge. I'm not sure how it happened, and I had to sniff the vial a few more times after it turned, but it's pure furniture polish on my skin.

 

Go figure ...