Christmas Rose

[alicia_stardust]

Bruise-tinted hellebore blossoms pushing through snowdrifts.

WET: I smell a light effervescence.

DRY: I am unfamiliar with the scent of a hellebore blossom. What I do know is that this a beautifully gentle floral scent with a dusky, almost musty effervescent bite to it and an uplifting, bright sweetness that sits on top of everything else. It smells mostly white and cold, but there is an element of pale yellow light to this as well, and it sits over the darkness of winter. There is a familiarity to this scent that I can't quite place. After a couple of hours, I get an almost violet-snow sort of scent just before it disappears.

Despite my lack of experience with the scent of hellebores, I have always been aware of many stories about hellebore and most of them involve tears. In Greece, Melampos of Pylos used hellebore to save the daughters of king Argos from a Dionysian madness that had set them running about the city. There is another old tale that says the Christmas Rose sprouted where a little girl who had no gift for the Christ Child wept into the snow.

One thing that this scent successfully pinned is my own personal understanding of the flower. It is said that the hellebore bloom can be frozen solid in the deepest winter snows, but when the ice melts away, dripping from the petals like tears, the flower beneath is still alive. It remains supple through its trials. It is strong and patient, yet gentle. This creation of Beth's is an amazing representation of that.

[CiCi]

This was the first new Yule I tried this year!

 

In the bottle: soft, light floral

 

Dry: I mistakenly thought it was going to be a rose scent because of the title. I don't like rose at all. After smelling it, I did a little research and learned about it like Alicia did. It is mainly found in Europe and blooms from November to April. It has poisonous properties, which is strange (or not) because of the beautiful flower. After blooming, it has vines that seem to reach out towards something. A very sad tale for a beautiful looking plant.

 

The scent is very beautiful on my skin, very soft and gentle. I can smell a little of the green leaves of the plant. It is very clean and fresh smelling too. I really love this one and purchased two right away. I'm glad I did too because I didn't realize that the lab made two different labels-one parchment and one with the Hellebore flower one it. I received one of each. I only realized that it was the Hellebore flower when I looked it up on google. This is sure to be a favorite~I know it is one of mine!

[RaTheCat]

Wet: Light floral and green. Not a heavy herbal green, but a leafy green.

 

Dry: Exactly the same as wet. There is a hint of powder, a hint of herbal, but mostly it’s a light floral with fresh leaves. It's absolutely lovely.

[Eemia]

Piercingly fresh. There is a crystalline quality that is very transparent and light. More like ice than snow.

 

I expected a floral scent from this that I would readily recognize. But this does not smell like anything I am familiar with or recognize. There is a greenness overall that smells new and pristine. It further presses a sensation of sterility into my mind. Nothing grounds this or provides a base. This just seems to be completely without atmosphere to contain it. And above all else that cold, cold fragrance of ice and snow.

 

This is beautiful. I just want to hold this one with me because it suits me so well.

[sookster]

straight sniff from bottle is rose water seltzer! how cool!

 

once applied a super, soft floral; almost dusty...quite delicate and enticing!

 

this does not morph much with me; a light, bubbly floral...

 

beth certainly hit the nail on the head with this artistic beauty...

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

i, too, ordered two bottles of this, unsniffed... and got the two nifty labels. LOVE the parchmenty one b/c it has the scent description on it!

 

to note, i LOVE the Black Hellebore blend.

 

sniffed from the bottle: styrofoam and celery? oh this does not bode well at all...

 

on skin: the suffocating bitter smell you get if you inhale whilst either pouring or drinking from a cup of club soda or sparkling water, plus styrofoam and celery. so maybe it is a freshly poured celery soda in a styrofoam cup.

either way, not for me!

[emzebel]

This is a beautiful chilly mossy fresh blend with just a touch of floral. This is my perfect winter floral - cold and icy, but not watery, with a breath of softness that is not overly perfumey. Perfect for people with a light case of floraphobia, but who like the Lab's winter scents.

[Silverstrike]

Just applied I really liked this, but about twenty minutes later after it had dried down it didn't smell as pretty to me and something a little sinister came out. Cold and sinister. I'd almost wear this on a regular basis, but it makes me feel like I need to look over my shoulder.

[savage_rose]

I had no idea what to expect, and although I still don't know exactly what I'm smelling, it's nice. It smells like natural cola, light and bubbly. A little rooty. It's the kind of light, vaguely herbal scent you could wear every day. It's very refreshing and just a little sweet.

[Isuke]

I wasn't exactly certain what to expect, when I decided to order this scent. While the name says 'Rose', I have no idea what Hellebore smells like.

 

Sniffing it straight from the bottle, I get something slightly sharp and bubbly-mossy from it. There's something about the scent that I can't quite put my finger on, like I've smelled it before. Immediately, it makes me think a grandparents and Christmas, in a very good way. It's a very comforting scent, even if it isn't usually the kind of thing I like.

 

There's just something about it, warm and kind of comforting. Maybe that's just me and some long-forgotten association. I'm sure I'll be going inside until I can make Mom sniff it.

[taramarie]

I'm not familiar with the scent of hellebore, but here goes. Christmas Rose is a light, greenish floral mixed with cold. It's the feminine counterpart to Archangel Winter. I like it but it's not really me so I'll pass it on.

[steffanina]

Christmas Rose-

 

In Bottle: Something a little mint-menthol and a touch of pine. Not very floral at all! And a hint of smoke, maybe.

 

Wet: Pine and sweetness. Ooh, it's a lot like other pine blends I like, like Skadi! There is something powdery-sweet in it.

 

Dry: This really does put me in mind of Skadi, with its pine and sweetness. It stays true on the dry-down, very little morphing. Lovely blend!

 

Overall: I like a lot!

[angelfish323]

I'm so glad someone nudged me and said "hey, angelfish, dummy, Christmas Rose isn't rose, it's what they call hellebore . . . "

 

Oh, really?

 

Because otherwise, I wouldn't have tried it!

 

It's probably not something I need a bottle of, but it is quite pretty. I have no idea what hellebore should smell like, but this is cold a green, a bit herbal, a musky floral. Mossy. I definitely get that effervescent note some people are mentioning - it has a bit of that effect champagne sometimes has on my nose. it's not strong in terms of throw, necessarily, but there is something strong, and pleasantly pungent.

 

It reminds me a bit of ginger ale, which is an odd association, but it comes to mind. Not a bad association, by any means, as I love the stuff!

 

It's also making me think of another BPAL blend, I swear . . . but I totally can't think of what it is. Hm.

 

Ooh . . . that pungent quality fades on me after a few minutes, which makes this even nicer.

[DenMother]

For those of you afraid this would smell like roses rest assured it doesn't. This is interesting, I feel it needs to rest a bit and age, it is sharp, green with a touch of something almost smokey. After dry down this is rather lovely. I do get a sense of lime for some reason at the wet stage

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Cold and slightly spicy green floral.

 

Immediately on skin: This blend is floral, but the hellebore is different than any other flower I’ve smelled. It’s green but slightly creamy with a spicy edge to it. It’s a cool scent, and refreshing.

 

After a few minutes: This scent has sweetened a bit now that I’ve worn it for a little while. It’s a nice soft, green floral but it’s calmed down a bit since I first put it on. It’s slightly creamy, green, and smells very cold. It has a slight earthiness to it, and I rather like the feeling I get from the blend.

 

Overall Impressions: This blend was a nice surprise. I was expecting floral, but not something so pretty. It’s soft, green, and slightly creamy. The scent itself is also very cold and really does give a “pushing through snowdrifts” feel. It’s refreshing on my skin without being too sharp and I will definitely need at least one bottle!

[cabinwench]

I tried this before I read the reviews, and had forgotten the Lab description, so, while looking at the label that said "Christmas Rose" I thought I got a hint of rose, but very soft--then the herbal and snowy notes jumped in.

 

This makes me think of meeting a lover in a stand of pine trees after a snowfall, and he surprises me with a small bouquet of sweetheart roses.

 

This scent stayed pretty true, and was uplifting and refreshing for hours. Not a lot of morphing on me. I could see using this in a warmer as well as wearing it.

 

I should be ordering bottles from the update first, but I had to add a bottle of Christmas Rose. This really is lovely.

[rainbow]

I am absolutely, positively, 100% adoring this blend. It smells very fresh, slightly floral, slightly woodsy, all mixed together in a beautiful soft blend that's decidely wintery. I can't really tell what any of the individual components are, but it's beautifully blended, soft and cold. I just looooooove it.

[Blood onmy hands]

BPAL's roses are often either love it or hate it on my skin. The Peacock Queen is one of my all time favorite scents and I cannot stand Rose Red, for example.

 

In the bottle this smelled powdery-sweet, almost like pixie stix. I'm not really sure that I would ever guess that there is even rose in this. Reading back over the reviews, I do get that bubbly, champagne like twist that other people have mentioned. Champagne with pixie stix powder thrown in?

 

In the drydown the sweet powder gets a bit more baby powder-esque, but it's so sweet and odd that it makes me sort of nauseous.

 

I had to wash this off after 15 minutes. This is so cloyingly sweet on me that it really made me feel like I was going to throw up. I could almost smell a soft woods and colder notes creeping in, but I can't handle whatever notes are in this blend as top notes.

 

I was hoping for something like The Peacock Queen with snow notes for a Christmas Rose scent, but this powdery, overly sweet mess is a definite no-go for me.

[slave1]

CHRISTMAS ROSE

In Bottle: Winter florals

On Skin: Very light and gentle. A sweet floral blend that is just an echo in the chill winter air. Remember this is NOT a rose scent, some people are confused by the scents name, but it is a hellebore scent, not rose. A fragile scent, just peeking out and hiding away from the cold. Powdery and white in feel, like a soft blanket of snow. It smells quite sugary, like a candied bloom. It has the creaminess of gardenia without being overwhelmingly cloying or overly sweet. For anyone wanting a subtle floral blend, this scent should be perfect for you. It’s very light and has the “come in close to smell me” effect. Several people have mentioned a effervescent note and I too smell that. Quite interesting. Like a sweet floral champagne. Very light throw and average wearlength.

[zankoku_zen]

This is a very light green and chilly floral on me. I have no idea what hellebore smells like, but definitely nothing like rose, and something that must be akin to a slight earthy, creamy, light floral smell I've got going on.

 

Unfortunately, after a few hours, it disappears from my skin.

[puck_nc]

Origin: decant from eviltemptressdq's circle

 

Initial Thoughts: Like most others, I have had little to no experience with hellebore. But I enjoy many florals.

 

In the Bottle: A light zingy floral, cool and almost citrus-y.

 

Wet: A creamy floral with a strong hint of orange to it.

 

Drydown: The citrus-orange backs down, leaving the floral to bloom. There's the slightest tinge of snow-scent and evergreen in the background. The floral isn't something I can put my finger on; it's got that creamy quality and the impression is of a sweetish white flower.

 

Verdict: This one has possibilities; I'll see how much I reach for the decant before the Yules come down.

[fabricdragon]

darn skin chemistry!

 

out of the bottle:

A crisp, chilly wintergreen scent, with a hint of floral.

 

sadly on me it turned into a bitter, wintergreen, medicinal, "vicks vap o rub" scent, that only by putting my nose on it could i tell it had any floral.. and the floral was thin and reedy. ah well, not for me.. i generally do better with stronger florals or warm scents anyway, but i was hoping this one would work out on me.

[hkhm]

bottle: a sweet, bubbly scent like that of old time soda pop.

 

wet: the sweetness fades while a dark spiciness emerges. this smells very dark and mysterious on me.

 

dry: this dries to a deep, dark floral with a heavy undercurrent of spice. this does not stay light on me at all. i this scent.

 

(edited for spelling idiocy)

Edited December 8, 2007 by hkhm

[edenssixthday]

Christmas Rose – This is a very green floral that becomes more and more of a cool powdery scent the longer I wear it. The powder is a pretty, feminine floral, yet nothing like your grandma’s talcum powder. It has excellent throw and is highly feminine. I thought I needed an additional bottle of this, but the more I wore it, the more I realized that it’s not really an “everyday scent,” so my one bottle will serve me well. Very pretty and a great scent for those who love the scent of soft, powdery florals.

[Tulliver]

In the bottle: I'm one with the "wintergreen floral" assessment. This is lovely LOVELY hellebore and very little else. It's wonderful and highly evocative of the season by grace of its purity of scent.

 

Wet on skin: Still wonderfully green, but not quite so much as in the bottle. The floral comes out more on the skin and it has an incredible throw while it's drying.

 

Dry: This actually dried really quickly on me which tells me it's not one of the thicker oils. But the scent doesn't diminish even slightly when it's dry. It's beautiful. A real, true hellebore with just a HINT of perfume, but no more than it needs to make this perfect.

 

This could very well earn itself a backup bottle. I'll take the next week or so to think about it.