Helena

[diamondstars]

Rose amber, calla lily, night-blooming jasmine, water lily, and white rose.

Wow, I actually hate this, and I love amber, roses, and lilies. But this is very sharp and ammonia like. You know the dreaded cat pee note? This is it, with a tad of rose and powder. Not a fan. This smells very much like the Miller's Daughter, a sharp, powdery rose... but I didn't like that one either.

I agree with this. I LOVE rose and jasmine, but strangely this one doesn't work at all for me.

(Edited to add Lab description). Edited March 17, 2009 by saracakes

[Kikkervisje]

Wet: Everything’s coming up roses. Actually, not quite. Rose is the most pronounced, but I am getting the lily and jasmine as well. As for the other notes, I’m not sure, as I doubt I could pick them out. We are talking floral here, though. With a bit of warmth–rose amber? The throw is very rose-y.

 

Dry: Essentially the same.

 

Fits Description?: Sure, why not. Helena can be floral.

 

Overall: I would call this a pretty normal rose floral. Being not-so-fond of rose (which is decidedly fond of me), it's not for me.

[anna1850]

The rose has gone funny on me again. I like rose smells but most of BPAL's blends with rose don't work for me. This is no exception. I know there's other stuff in here but I can mostly smell the rose.

 

2/5 Not for me.

[childdoll]

Imp: Clean forals, strong rose

 

Wet: Very strong rose

 

Dry: Predominately rose, with light powdery smell. I can't really make out the other notes. There is something else there, perhaps jasmine. Soft rose powder is the best way for me to describe it. Very delicate and feminine.

 

Verdict: I LOVE this scent. I'm a fan of florals, especially roses though. I have heavier, darker rose scents, but this one is so soft and innocent. This may be the signature scent I've been looking for.

[Diva Urd]

Vial: Rose with something slightly sour underneath

On: Rose Rose Rose... I don't get the other notes. Shame on you, rose!

Later: Rose Rose Rose. I should have known by now... Swap.

[flurry]

In the bottle it smells strongly of fresh roses.

 

On me it smells like rose soap. Fades into faint mellower florals, mostly lily.

[isisonearth]

Imp: Gorgeous sweet floral...strong on the jasmine and water lily.

 

Wet: The roses are much more pronounced on my skin. More like a florists cooler. Yet there is something rare and strange too nearly carnation spicy.

 

Dry: Dries down to a surprisingly simple rose.

[Venneh]

A really faint floral scent in the imp. On my skin, this is a really beautiful, delicate floral blend. Let's see how this goes. This ends up being a bit of an aquatic lily/rose blend, a really delicate scent. Think I'll get a bottle of this.

Edited November 28, 2009 by Venneh

[Stormslegacy]

Disclaimer: I hate amber on my skin with a passion, so I'm a bit nervous to see it's part of the blend. i believe in trying everything once though, so here it goes.

 

 

In the imp: Red candy roses. On a second sniff I get a lot of the lilly, which is a green candy-like note that what what I was smelling in the first whiff.

 

wet; I get a lot of the rose with a deepery green background. I'm not getting the powdery white rose, but instead a voluptuous dewey red rose. The lilly is in the midground, working hard to reel in the rose. I'm not getting the jasmine yet.

 

Drydown: after 10 minutes, the other florals are definitely having an effect on the rose. It's much more tied to the wrist now. I can smell the greenery of the lilly and I'm starting to get a hint of the jasmine. Sometimes the night-florals can powder out on me, so I'm glad this doesn't seem to be the case here. I'm really hoping that the amber behaves itself, because if it doesn't turn to sugared frosting in an hour then this is definitely a keeper.

 

Dry: Fades to bubblegum lotus within an hour, with a hint of rosepetals. no amber came to the surface for me.

 

Conclusion: I like it but this is not love. I think this is one I am putting aside to make something with, like soap.

[angelicruin]

Wet on the skin, lots of tea rose. As it dries, here comes the jasmine....and the cat pee smell. This one will be frimped to someone else in the hopes it works better for them than it did for me.

[Saya]

I don't like this blend, no surprise here though, I can always count of the rose note to ruin everything for me.

[hersphinxness]

Wet, strong roses. Luckily, I like roses.

 

Dry, the rose is by far the dominant note. I get some of the humid sweetness of the jasmine and lily, but they're quite faint. The rose is strong enough to almost be sharp but something, the amber (?), tempers it and takes the edge off.

 

This reminds me of Monna Vanna, but without that risky ambergris note (sometimes it just goes all wrong on me). A very womanly, elegant scent.

[Vega]

Sniffed: Gentle, green, dewy floral.

 

On skin: The lilies and rose are taking centre stage; I'm glad that jasmine is making itself scarce (for once!). Overall, Helena is faintly green and watery-white: it's light, delicate, romantic, feminine. A pretty, girly floral that's not high-pitched or pungent -- but it's rather nondescript as a result. Colour impression is a very pale, translucent leaf green.

 

Verdict: Very pretty, but like most pure florals, it's not distinguishing or substantial. I've already frimped it away, and won't miss it.

Edited October 19, 2010 by Vega

[hkhm]

imp: soft floral.

 

wet: soft, and slightly soapy rose.

 

dry: the rose softens slightly but it's still the only thing i can smell.

[Suu4LC]

Hmm...I can already fear based on the notes that is the kind of blend that will go powdery on me. Amber is a huge culprit of powdery doom on me...

 

In the imp this is very pretty-I mostly get the rose amber and white rose-maybe a teensy touch of water lily, but I actually don't really get any jasmine, which is odd, because I feel like jasmine is usually a very in your face, hard to miss note. Super pretty and soft in the imp.

 

It goes a bit sharp/salty on my skin (water lily, I'm looking at you) but is still mostly the rose amber/white rose notes. Smells much stronger on my skin than it did in the imp. Rose sometimes goes weird on me, and this one does go a little weird.

 

The weirdness fades pretty quickly though, and I end up with a lovely rose amber scent/white rose scent. I don't notice the water lily anymore and even more surprisingly, I swear I don't smell any jasmine in this at all O_o Just rose amber/white rose. Light pink and pretty to me.

 

Pretty much stays the same on full drydown. Maybe get a touch more ambery/powdery. This is a very nice rose/amber scent. I have other bpal gc rose scents that are higher on my wishlist, but this is a very lovely blend. Jasmine haters shouldn't worry-I seriously id not get jasmine in this at all. O_o And jasmine lovers, this is probably not going to wow you if you are looking for jasmine!

[grrrlennyl]

Helena

 

On: This smells oddly like wood on me. However, there is a healthy bit of rose, which I'm hoping cancels that out.

2 hours in: Lily, jasmine, and rose. Nicely blended.

4 hours in: A sweet floral blend.

Overall: This particular floral wasn't great on me.

[calivianya]

I knew I wasn't going to be a fan of this, but I skin-tested anyway.

 

I get ROSE! ROSE ROSE ROSE! with a little something off-smelling in the background - maybe the jasmine? Either way, as I am not a fan of rose scents this imp is going in my sale box.

[TheFrenchWaffle]

Received this as a frimp, and thanks be to the sender. I was a tad nervous because I had had bad experiences with Jasmine in the past (Salome).

In the imp: pretty florals, but is it too matronly? No, too green for that.

Wet: Oh hi there rose! Hi there lily! Where's jasmine? Oh you say they are running late. Ah, there you are jasmine we were wondering. I like this so far, perfect for this sunny spring day.

Dry: A very nice sedated rose that doesn't seem old lady at all on me (My great aunt uses rose hand cream, hence the old age connection) along with a soft bouquet of florals. Very lovely.

 

Final verdict: This has defiantly changed my mind about florals, I am a fan. Helena is a nice soft light scent that dwells somewhere between green and white, absolutely wonderful. Today was a very nice warm and sunny day and Helena seemed to go so well with it.

[lavenderfrost]

I have better rose blends (like, say, The Rose) - something in this makes it a bit too sour on my skin.

[WidgetAlley]

Imp: Strong, sweet floral: mostly night-blooming jasmine and water lily with some sweetly powdery rose.

 

Wet: Bitter, green powder with strong celery overtones. I think it's the calla lily/water lily combo? Wish I got the white rose and rose amber from this!

 

Dry: Slightly green-smelling powder with a sweet rosey throw. Lovely but not for me.

[Dani87]

Imp: rose

Wet: rose, and lily, mostly rose though.

Drydown: rose, lily, and jasmine. I thought I smelled sweet pea.

Dry: rose, lily, jasmine, and water lily.

Overall: this is mostly rose, with the other florals in the background. I would not recommend this for someone who doesn't like rose, or florals. It's very pretty, but I have other florals I like better, so off to swaps.

[yakiguri]

I love jasmine and lily, but rose can be hit-or-miss on me. Unfortunately in this blend it's definitely a miss, as it has a sour powderiness to it that utterly dominates this scent. There has to be a rose blend out there that agrees with me, else I'll have to move rose into the death notes category.

[mymymai]

ITI: Strong lily and rose are most prominent, although there is a dark undertone of the jasmine. All together it reminds me of the thick petals of a magnolia.

 

Wet: The rose is sweet and innocent and the amber melds nicely with it. There is an aspect of the amber and rose combination that turns just sweet enough to remind me a little of Loli.Goth. While Helena is warmer, there is the same “tone” to the scents. As it begins trying, the jasmine peeks out a little, but the lillies are oddly absent.

 

Dry: After 15 hours, a faint, powdery, slightly floral scent remains. It reminds of of lightly scented baby powder.

[KittyHawk]

I LOVE the Lab's white rose note, but for some reason I never thought to try Helena. A Midsummer Night's Dream is one of my least favorite Shakespearean comedies, though, so that doesn't help matters much either. Still, I should have paid more attention! I found a stray imp of Helena languishing in my "get out of my house" imp bag; I must have thrown it in there by mistake, because I am loving this lady.

 

It is a bit sharp at first, what with all the high-pitched florals and all, but it dries down to a really lovely white rose with a hint of lily (the same lily in Juliet, I think). I guess the amber is the foundational note here, but I don't detect it. This really toes the line between a beautiful, full floral and a soapy, headache-inducing disaster, but it stays in the right territory for me. I wish it were a bit creamier, but it's beautiful nonetheless. If you're a fan of big, lush, in-your-face florals, you have to give this one a try. Well done, Beth.

[becca_s]

I get alot of white rose and water lily in Helena. There are times when I smell the lush white rose and it is so pretty and there are other time when I get whiffs of the waterlily. The other notes seem to stay in the background, I don't get much of the rose amber but I think that the jasmine and lily may add something kind of sharp to the blend. This is quite perfumey to my nose. I would describe this as a watery, aquatic white rose scent. It's quite pretty and I will keep the imp and re-test again.