Yvaine

[Belladonnastrap]

She was sprawled, awkwardly, beneath the hazel tree, and she gazed up at Tristran with a scowl of complete unfriendliness.

She hefted another clod of mud at him, menacingly, but did not throw it.

Her eyes were red and raw. Her hair was so fair it was almost white, her dress was of blue silk which shimmered in the candlelight. She glittered as she sat there.

The high, crystalline scent of a star-filled night with blue lavender and lush magnolia.

The first Neil Gaiman book I ever read was Stardust. I was at Gen Con & my ex boyfriend was in one of the game rooms playing Bob, Overlord of Evil. I decided to go sit outside and read this book called Stardust that was written by the guy who wrote Sandman. I liked Sandman so I figured the book would be pretty cool. I sat for about...maybe 5 hours in the bright Wisconsin sun, enthralled. I had always liked fairy tales and this was a fairy tale..but done with bite. There was humor and lust and laughter and creepiness. It was about two people who fell in love almost accidently and it quickly became my favourite book of all time So imagine my shout of joy when I found out that there were gonna be BPAL scents based on it!


First sniff:
Effervescent with bite. The lavender isn't really prominent on me (unlike say Oneiroi) and I can barely smell the magnolia. Its a very cool sort of scent, very fitting.

Wet
Awful sweet now and it reminds me a lot of Urania (hah!). I was really worried Yvaine would turn into a floral sort of mess but it's very very subtle yet sweet with a sharp tang to it.

Drydown
Maybe it's me, maybe it's this heat but Yvaine completely disappears on me in strongness...yet if I turn my head I get faint wisps of it. It's not a balls in your face scent (well in the beginning it is. Fitting again since Yvaine pretty much gets all up in your grill) but very subtle and fleeting and..twilightish. Completely and utterly on the ball.

Buy if if you're a fan of Moon Rose, The Unicorn, Urania and all the lovely twilight ethereal scents Beth does.

[alicia_stardust]

Yvaine! I cried when this update went live. Stardust really means a lot to me. I love Neil Gaiman, I discovered Stardust at a pivotal point in my life, and I also really identified with Yvaine and the magic of the fairy tale. Beth is a goddess. She has made my entire year.

 

YVAINE

 

In the bottle: I smell a soft, slightly astringent lavender with a slight bite.

 

On my skin: The scent immediately spreads out into an amorphously soft nighttime scent. The lavender jumps right to the top of things and is fairly strong for about 10 minutes. It gives it that glittering quality that reminds me of stars in the night sky.

 

After a while: The lavender softens up and blends with the magnolia and whatever other notes might be hiding in there. The magnolia is soft, magical, heady. There's almost a sweet, pungent quality to it. I expected the lavender to swallow this up but it absolutely does not! It's intoxicating without being overpowering and as it settles it gets almost a sweet twist to it.

 

Final thoughts? It's perfect. So perfect.

 

 

Edit: Wear time seems to be just over 3 hours on my skin, at which point it sits very close to the skin then fades off completely.

Edited July 19, 2007 by alicia_stardust

[edenssixthday]

Yvaine - When I first applied this blend, I was so very sad because the lavender was loud and obnoxious and stinky. (BPAL lavender and I are not exactly known for getting along well.) I was absolutely delighted when the scent started to dry down and the lavender, while still noticeable, backed off significantly, and I could smell other facets of this blend, such as cool night air and a note that almost twinkles. The lavender becomes really pretty and blends gorgeously with the rest of the notes. I really don't think I smell the magnolia at all, which is odd because my skin usually amps it. This is a truly gorgeous scent. It represents Yvaine so perfectly that I want to pull out Stardust and read it again (but can't because I loaned it to my sister last week!) Maybe it's because of the lavender, but I can see this becoming a bedtime fragrance. Likewise, I see it being worn well on a romantic evening out. The scent is strong initially, has about average throw upon drydown, and sadly on me, the staying power is pretty short -- 90 minutes at most.

[tarotgirl99]

Normally, Beth's lavender scents do not work on me. But the magnolia note sweetens what is normally astringent...and I guess blue lavender is more mellow than the norm. All I know is I love this for summer--it's refreshing and cooling, a calm lake of repose. The perfect scent to wear if you're going to be in a pressurized situation.

[olympia301]

This is a beautiful use of lavender so that it performs it's smoothing and cooling magic and does not take center stage. I love a musk thing going in the background, too. This one is real typy and real good. I love it.

[puck_nc]

Origin: decant from eviltemptressdq's circle

 

Initial Thoughts: Magnolia is one of my favorite springtime scents and there just don't seem to be many perfumes where it's a dominant note.

 

In the Bottle: Almost pure lavender to my nose, but a very cold lavender.

 

Wet: Very, very lavender. If there's any magnolia in there at all, my nose can't find it yet.

 

Drydown: It takes quite a while, but the magnolia finally fights to the surface. It doesn't really stand out on its own, but takes the egde off the lavender, making it sweeter and gentler.

 

Verdict: I can see using this as a sleep scent and may be getting a bottle if I use the decant up fast enough.

[Electra]

Oh, this is so pretty.

 

In every other BPAL lavender blend I've tried, the lavender has been bold and aggressive. Not so here. This is a quiet, pretty skin scent. It's slightly spicy (lavender-spicy, not kitchen-spices-spicy), and as noted above, the magnolia acts more to take the edge off the lavender than to stand out as an independent note.

 

I really love this one. It smells like a simple but sophisticated classic perfume. Very elegant.

[LadyMedb]

I really like the idea of this scent - the lavender is very clear and sparkling, and the other flowers add a good deal of depth to it. As always, I really like Beth's magnolia note. However, Yvaine still goes kind of sharp on me, and while it's well-balanced, it does not seem to go very well with my chemistry. I'm going to have to swap.

Edited July 28, 2007 by LadyMedb

[tindome]

Oh this is perfect. It makes me think of sparkling and playfulness. Meadows under the moon and fireflies. This meadow is all lavender lined with magnolia, only this lavender doesn't overwhelm anything. It blends with the magnolia accenting rather than overpowering. There is a chiliness to it that does invoke the pale glow of stars.

[GirlDetective]

After looking at the notes, I thought this was going to be a high-pitched floral that I would mostly wear to church or when I meet my boss's wife or something. I don't know, I just thought, "magnolia," so Steel Magnolias, so southern ladies with big hats.

 

And man, I was completely wrong. When I first put it on, there was that burst of lavender everyone got, but it faded after two minutes, leaving me with something fresh and green. Then the magnolia, and it's not powdery or stifling, it's just really fresh and bright.

 

But the best part is after about an hour, and I think Olympia301's right, there's some kind of soft musk in there too, because something started to really blend the magnolia into my skin, so that an hour in I got this casually pretty scent, somewhere between that low-key floral and my-skin-but-better.

 

This is so lovely yet non-chalant. I could wear this with khakis or a sundress, anytime I want to smell pretty but not seem like I'm trying too hard. Definitely something I'll always want a bottle of.

[dronzeka]

LOVE this - it's so pretty and sparkly!

 

Initially I get the blast of lavender some people are talking about - which is fine with me, as I adore lavender - but then the floral (which I'll assume is magnolia, am not sure I've smelled it on its own before, except perhaps walking by an actual tree) begins to come out, and the two blend into something very pale and clear, but (amazingly) not sharp. It's a cool scent but not a cold one, and as someone said above, great for summer and for a variety of situations.

 

Of course, I could also wear it at bedtime, happily.

 

So glad I got a bottle!

[SeaLady]

This is quite lovely!

 

I am not a wearer of "perfumey" scents, but this is perfumey and ladylike and beautiful!

 

It's vanilla and lavendar and :shock: a little floral, and I like it very, very much. I shall have to wear skirts and lace and delicate heels with it.

[abejita]

In the vial: Hrm. Sharp lavender. Medicinal and scratchy. I'm not so sure about this.

On my skin wet: Lavender, stop chewing on my ass, please. I usually dig the lavender, but STOP ALREADY.

Dry: Whoa. This IS Yvaine. I can see it (smell it) now, finally. The magnolia is creamy, sweet, and pure. The lavender has scaled back and gives a twilight feel to the blend. There is a crystalline, airy feel to this, without being fabric softener or anything like that. How does she do that?

[eleventhousand]

Strongly bright silvery lavender....& then *poof* in moments it is gone.

 

[Iceblink]

The lavender in Yvaine is so sharp at first it could cut you. I love lavender, so this was fine with me. The magnolia then comes out and it's quite subtle but calms down the lavender too. Really really pretty and soft and "cool". This might make a great bedtime perfume.

[yeahbutnobut]

Yvaine

 

In the bottle: clean lavender with something airy-ozonic to it, but in a gentle way.

Wet on skin: lavender and a cool, clear scent. maybe a hint of magnolia.

Dry on skin: now something almost smoky arises, not sure what it is but it now smells like lavender incense burning on a starry night. This is a gentle lavender for now, with that softly smoky scent of a summer night behind it-a clear, almost dewy, airy scent. This is lovely! Once the lavender fades I'll probably smell the night air notes much more but for now it is very lavender-y.

After a while: as the lavender starts to retreat, this now reminds me of Lurid, the same lavender-ozone combination. I really liked the ozone in Lurid, it was an airy scent as opposed to a stormy one, and that's what the starry night air is like in here. It also reminds me of the night air in Bat Woman and Urania. It's a clean, fresh, bright and breezy scent, it seems to sparkle gently. The magnolia is also there, adding a hint of lush floral to the scent, but it is distant, like the air is scented with flowers. This has an almost herbal hint to it that reminds me of summer holidays in places like Italy or the south of France.

The freshness of the night air gets stronger but never turns soapy. The lavender lasts a surprisingly long time in here-it did that in Lurid too, maybe the ozone is preventing it from fleeing? It still has that lovely lavender incense smoke to it, wafting in the starlight. The scent is ethereal but not as wispy, cold and fragile as some of the other night scents, this one has warmth to it, herbal and rich, and soothing. A summer night scent.

Once the lavender goes altogether, the drydown is a beautiful, delicate airy pale floral/pale musk, like a classic fresh perfume scent. I think there may be some blue musk, as it reminds me of Nuit and Kindly Moon without as much floweriness, and it has that scent of 'good ozone' to it.

Verdict: I love the starry night scents, and I love Beth's night air note, so it's not surprising that I love this one. It is very beautiful and evocative, it brings to mind being somewhere in the Mediterranean, the warm-yet fresh-night air scented with herbs and lavender and a touch of flowers, on an August night filled with shooting stars. It's not as fresh as Urania, not as floral as Nuit, this one is warmer, balmier, with a soft lavender note. This isn't a 'herbal chloroform' lavender that knocks you out cold with it's heady punch of scent, but a lavender that gently soothes without overwhelming. It's also unusual because despite it’s softness, this lavender sticks around, staying on my skin for about an hour before fading to give a gorgeous, haunting, sparkling blue musk and floral scent, which is sophisticated and glimmering, but also evocative, airy and ethereal. A new favourite of mine-this works well both as a lovely 'evening out' scent, and as a sleep scent.

Emoticon rating:

Is it a keeper? of course! Another delightful starry scent to add to my collection.

If you like this, try: Lurid, Bat Woman, Psyche, Urania, Nuit, Twilight, Gemini 07

[bryghtrose]

In the imp, it's crisp and slighlty astringent, and lots of lavender. Wet on my skin, it's soapy, stinging, eye-watering magnolia. As it dries, it smells nice at a distance, as the perfume diffuses and wafts around me.When I smell my wrist it's dry, soapy, strong lavender. I don't really like it, so it's off to the swaps.

[empi girl]

In the imp this was quite lavender-y, but on it lost it's astringency. It stayed lavender when wet, then over a 15-30 minute period lost the lavender, gained the magnolia, and stays soft and sweet and beautiful for hours. It is 6 hours and 1 sweaty 3-mile walk later, and it is still there. A close-to-the-skin scent, but lovely. I keep sniffing, so I might need a bottle.

[LadyBug]

When I first smelled this it was a colder smell and the lavender is a very sharp scent. I can smell something else but my nose is not trained enough to pick it out. When I put this on my skin it seemed to stay the same smell and lasted a VERY long time.

 

I just smelled it again and I think it's more like a dirty lavender smell.

 

I would not buy a whole bottle of this (not because I don't like the smell...because it is very pretty) because it's not a very unique scent. I have smelled a few different lavender scents that are very similar.

[black_and_bloom]

Like everyone else mentioned, lavender practically bursts out of the bottle at first sniff. I happen to like lavender, but just get tired of its bullying ways. But Yvaine is different - the lavender calms within minutes and is softened by an absolutely gorgeous creamy magnolia scent. It doesn't even really smell like any other BPAL magnolia that I've tried, so seamlessly it blends with the lavender. And it lasts for hours - and count me as another who detect a delicious skin-musk note too.

 

Truly, a stunning and beautiful scent.

[supremegoddessofall]

In bottle: Pure lavender.

 

On me: A softer, very innocent lavender mellowed by magnolia. Lovely.

[TheIceMaiden]

Stardust is my favourite Neil Gaiman book, Yvaine is my favourite character in it, and I love lavender. So needless to say, this scent had a lot to live up to.

 

And its beautiful.

 

Yvaine starts out with a strong lavender note, a bit more potent than the other BPAL's lavenders I've sniffed. Magnolia joins in next. It dances around the lavender and softens it out. As Yvaine dries, the florals tone down and soften, and are joined by musks and something faintly vanilla-esque. Gorgeous! Yvaine has morderate throw and staying power. Its one of my top five BPAL scents.

Edited April 11, 2010 by TheIceMaiden

[aine]

The words 'high' and 'crystalline' in the scent description for Yvaine worried me a little, particular about ten minutes after applying it when it looked like it might develop a sharp 'white musk/ozone' kind of note. I loved the lavender and got some magnolia, but I got a sense that something was threatening to spike.

 

I needn't have worried though, it quickly softened to a very serenely beautiful fragrance. I wouldn't describe this as a lavender scent (it's definitely not herbal) or a magnolia scent (not pow-in-your-face). It's absolutely a starry scent, and these are twinkly stars rather than sparkly stars.

 

One to wear when you want to smell ethereal.

[Blood onmy hands]

I love lavender, so I was excited to try Yvaine. It starts off a sort of sharp, astringent lavender that I'm not fond of, but it quickly mellows into a calming, sweet, smooth, cool lavender. I do get a hint of something perfumey in the background that I'm guessing is the magnolia. In the drydown, what I think might be a sharp ozone note starts to dominate. It's a cool and airy scent that's not really unpleasant, but I think it goes a bit too sharp with my skin chemistry. I probably will swap away my decant of this one.

[jade_starlight]

Hmm, it's clean and cool, with a sharp bite when first applied. The strength fades fairly quickly, though it somehow never seems to quite lose its bite even as the strength fades. Sadly, it doesn't seem to like me that much.