Fairy Wine

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

An ethereal vintage, steeped with dandelion, honey, and red currants.

I *love* the concept of Fairy Wine, but it's too sweet for my taste--like Wanda all hyped up on fairy 'roids. The dominant note, for me, was syrupy grape-cherry, although I can believe honey is in there. Well, I have Fairy Market, so I'm not too sad--and I do recommend that one if you're looking for a fairy fix but can't handle quite this much sweet.

[fairnymph]

In the bottle: Sweet, tart, a little spicy and floral. The red currant is quite apparent, as is grape.

 

Wet: Very similar; perhaps less sweet, and a touch herbal. Fairly weak and faint. Still, it reminds me a good deal of the Fruit of Paradise, which I love.

 

Dry: The dandelion is distinguishable and delicious. The honey is sort of a soothing backdrop.

 

Summary: After a few hours, it's dandelion and musk, with hints of honey and red currant. Overall, I love this. Very low throw, and it does fade at a fairly fast rate. *sigh*

 

Bought a bottle!

[etienne]

Mmm, this is delicious and a good candidate for becoming my summer scent. It smells a bit candy sweet but not foody exactly. I don't get much honey in this but I believe it's in the background adding it an all round softness and roundness. There is something ethereal and otherwordly in this so it definitely fits the fairy image.

 

This doesn't have much throw on me - but if I slathered more it probably would.

 

I like all the Stardust scents but this is probably the most wearable for me and I'm considering upgrading my decant to a bottle in my next order.

[Esmeria]

In the bottle- this smells, well, golden. Truely, if liquid gold had a colour than this would be it.

 

Wet- Mmm, honey and dandelions. It's so gorgeous, and reminds me of hot summer meadows.

 

A bit later- still that same goodness as before! It also kinda reminds me of the drink Dandelion & Burdock (which, I figure, must be the dandelion!). I honestly love this, I haven't stopped smelling my wrists all day.

 

Absolutely beautiful.

[naiade]

ahhhhhhhhh... love at first sniff!

 

it IS sweet, but not unbearably so. there's a but of delicious spiciness which tempers it. it's not foody, but it's fruity. it's sweet, but it's not candy. it is simply scrumptious!

 

if this were a color, it'd be a deep, bright, sparkling red-purple.

[voodoocatwoman]

I have to agree with Esmeria- if gold had a scent, this would be it.

 

In the imp: tartly sweet red currants with a touch of deep golden honey

 

Wet: Honey becoming more pronounced

 

Dry: Honey is still the primary note that I am sniffing... I suppose the dandelion is right in there too.

 

Fairy Wine is warm and sunny and just plain fluffy. I love it.

[porcelina]

i think i was expecting more of a red wine here, but this is like a shimmering, sparkling white wine, a little fruity and oh em gee *dandelions*! it is very pretty and delicate and sweet. i feel like frolicking through a green meadow with dandelions in my hair eating fairy candies when i wear this!

Edited March 27, 2008 by porcelina

[rconklin]

As the three notes in this are some of my favorites I had really high hopes. And Fairy Wine does not disappoint. In the bottle I get mostly currant and honey, but I can sense that sharp grassy-green hint of dandelion that I love so much. Wet, the dandelion blooms out of the mix, balancing out the currant and honey sweetness. As it dries, the wine-flavor really begins to come through. The currant deepens, and begins to smell a bit grape-y, but the honey and danelion keep it from going too far into the realm of grape-candy (grape likes to do that on me). It is light and lovely and reminds me of the homemade wines that a family friend would always bring to parties (dandelion was always my favorite). Beautiful!

[glass_cat]

I've always really liked BPAL's wine scents, and recently I've been really into Neil Gaiman, so when I found myself with a little extra money to throw at the lab after my birthday, I couldn't resist picking up a couple of the Stardust scents. Obviously Fairy Wine is one of the ones I picked. I was already fairly certain it would work well on me, and it sounded like it would be a very nice scent for spring.

 

I was right about it smelling spring-like and sunny, and I noticed that right away when I unscrewed the cap and took that first tentative sniff and proceeded to dab a little on. The dandelions are detectable right away. They make this scent feel very bright and warm. I can also definitely smell the wine right alongside something sweet and foody. Overall, this scent makes me feel like I'm sitting in a meadow on a perfect spring day washing down some angel food cake with a few sips of champagne.

 

I definitely feel like the wine is champagne because, as someone above already said, there is a definite effervescence to this. It really smells fizzy... somehow. That aspect of this reminds me of another BPAL scent I love wearing in the warmer months... Bon Vivant. However, it isn't as undeniably sweet and fruity as that one. Fairy Wine still has a pleasant sweetness, as well as a hint of foodiness, but it feels "grown-up and fun" as opposed to "young and fun", which was the impression I got of Bon Vivant. This might be a nice scent to try both for those who loved Bon Vivant and similar scents, as well as those who almost loved it, but found it just a bit too sweet for them in the end.

Edited March 31, 2008 by glass_cat

[tartchef]

Woo! This is fun! Totally not what I'd wear on a daily basis, but it would be perfect for a summer's eve party... festive & bubbly but most certainly not girlish. In the vial, it's a tart, juicy sparkler - Asti & cranberry, with a slosh of something a bit heavier... As it dries, the initial fruity blast fades to a deep red currant wine with a lovely astringent green note... the honey is barely perceptible, adding a touch of sweetness without being in the least bit cloying.

 

I'd pegged this as a novelty scent only, but the longer I have it on, the more I like it... it makes me feel like dancing barefoot in the grass under a spreading elm tree, lit with fireflies

Edited June 4, 2008 by tartchef

[grashopper8]

In the imp, it smells like white wine, almost a bit medicinal, like Cherry NyQuil or something (ew!)

 

Total skin morpher, though! Like all BPALs, it has to be on the skin to develop its actual scent.

 

Fairy Wine dries down to the notes listed exactly - berryish currant wine, with a strong sweetness enhanced by the pale, subtle white honey, and the fresh, greenish dandelion adds a hint of a green/herbal note.

 

When I opened the imp and smelled it wet, I wasn't too excited, but after testing a drop on my skin, it's more agreeable.

 

It's a bit too fruity, sweet, and well, bright to be something I wear regularly, but I'm glad I tried it!

 

3.8 out of 5

[rachel2205]

Sweet, effervescent, like elderflower cordial. Very pretty and good for a summer evening!

[soonyi]

i was most looking forward to trying this one for the dandelion and sadly, i was disappointed. i havent yet found a grass note that has real meat to it--they all seem too soft and floral. in the same vein, there are so few bpal dandelion scents, of the few i've encountered they are brightened or floral-ized by other notes that i am not getting what i am looking for...

 

wet, mostly sweetness in the vintage vein. this is possibly the honey but there is no dandelion here the fruit note that is here reminds me of noche buena. i agree with previous reviews finding an effervescent note. medium to weak throw for this one and the good part of the scent doesnt last more than 1.5 - 2 hrs.

 

dry, this dries down weird on me..it turns to something like penny dreadful on me. hmm, good thing i only got a half-imp of this.

[gchris]

In Vial: Sweet garden with a hint of green

 

Wet: Light, sweet and fresh. This smells so juicy, like biting into fruit and the juice runs down your chin.

 

Later: This fades fast and is better wet, it is really wonderful wet. On drydown this just sort of goes blah and there is not much to it.

[Lyrical]

In vial: I'm so glad someone else said elderflower cordial, because that's just what it is - a very fruity elderflower cordial! Or perhaps elderflower wine, but I've never tasted that.

 

Wet on skin: sweet and fruity elderflower cordial.

 

Dry on skin: stays fresh and fruity, with a touch of honey and a decent amount of throw. Not at all boozy. This is the perfect scent for a hot summer day, and conjures up images of sitting under a shady tree, wearing a big hat and sipping home-made elderflower cordial, sweetened with honey. Short wear length.

[trollgirl]

In imp: Lovely honey scent, but it's balanced, so not overly sweet. Like mead. Very yummy.

 

Wet: Honeyed fruit, with a hint of some floral which probably is the dandelion. It's so light and breezy. I don't think it has a very good throw. I feel like I could apply a lot of this and not be sick of it. I can't stop sniffing myself when I wear this.

 

Dry: Floral is coming through. The honey has faded into the background somewhat and it's now very well-blended on my skin. Several hours later it's faded leaving a warm, golden honey skin scent.

 

Overall: So. Much. LOVE. Top ten, for sure. Even my perfume-hating boyfriend says it's "nice". I consider this a resounding success.

[jwhxtna]

IN THE IMP: Sweet and fruity, with lots of berries. Honeyed.

 

WET: Still very sweet and fruity. It's actually distinguishable now as currants and dandelions with honey.

 

DRY: A bit softer, becomes less outright fruity wine and more fruity wine perfume. Definitely currant wine with honey and dandelion. This is so cute! It's bright and pretty, definitely something I can see fairies sipping on.

[nekogrrl]

Yum, I love this scent.

 

In the bottle it's bubbly wine with a foody scent and a touch of bitterness.

 

Wet: HELLO BOOZE. Booze with currants and again a bit of bitter greenery courtesy of the dandelion.

 

Dry: The drydown has taken with it the OMGBOOZE scent and left a bit of alcohol with currants and a stronger dandelion.

 

I likes it.

[Leopard403]

My boyfriend gave Fairy Wine its best compliment: He is a very logically-minded man, all business and numbers, not really into "fantasy" or any kind of serious fiction, but the first time I wore this, he loved it. I said, "It's new, it's called Fairy Wine." And he buried his face in my hair and said, "It SMELLS like Fairy Wine!" So very unlike him.

 

But he's right! This is a delicate sort of scent, very ethereal. A little floral, a little sweet, a little like fresh sunshine amidst the pixies. Good stuff.

[naeelah]

Wet, it smells like a more candy-like Mead. Sweet, syrupy, boozy honey. The red currant adds a tart undertone. The dandelion feels like the whole plant -- just a little bit of dry weediness, along with a gentle, buttery floral quality. It has kind of an herbal effect, and it reminds me of the florals in Fairy Market.

 

It's very strong at first, but it quickly burns down to a very light, ethereal, and, well, fae kind of scent. It's still sweet, but now the currant and dandelion are a bit better balanced with the honey. It's still very boozy, which I like, because the booziness adds a more astringent quality that helps balance the honey and bind all of the notes together.

 

I've really loved all of the Stardust scents so far, and this is no exception. Compared to Lady Una, it's less fruity and creamy, and compared to Fairy Market, it's less floral, but it's in the same general family of scent. I think it's lighter than Lady Una, so if want a honey scent but found her too heavy or cloying, maybe you'll like this better.

[Andrea912]

Wet: Whoa! Yup; that's a dandelion I smell...

 

Dry: still dandelion, but lighter and sweeter; honey is now present...kind of nice

[twilighteyes]

So far my least favorite of the Stardust scents.

 

It smells just.. like... wine... and I don't really like the smell of wine.

 

Reminds me of the wine note in The Chapel.

 

Turns my stomach.

[nellieburger]

In the imp: Red currant is definitely the prominent note - completely engulfing the dandelion and honey. I think I detect the slightest hint of honey trying to balance the powerful fruity smell, but dandelion is completely absent. It smells like a sweet piece of hard candy!!

 

Wet: There's the dandelion!!! It comes as a pleasantly surprising after-taste to the fruity red currant.

 

Dry: An even balance of dandelion and red currant playing nicely together!

 

This scent is very yummy! It's a pleasant blend of fruity and floral, neither being too strong or dominant over the other. It's very sweet both in smell, taste, and nature.

[changeling]

In the bottle: Currents and sunlight and juice, a lovely blend of red and green.

 

Wet: I am trying this two ways: on bare skin, and over a carrier oil. On the bare arm: FRUIT. On the carrier oiled arm: A more complex scent; the dandelion is evident, as well as something...something I can't quite put my finger on...honey! That's it.

As time wears on, the fruit note tames down on my bare arm and the honey starts to come through, along with a fine warm note I can't quite place.

 

Dry: Faint, fruity and fun on both arms. This scent is a little lighter than I prefer but I think it will mix in well with other scents, allowing me to 'lighten' up a darker scent for brighter moods.

[isisonearth]

Imp: Honey, juicy red currants and dandelion greens! Utterly evocative.

 

Wet: Honey and fresh green with a tart red note from the currants. It has something of the tang of red wine.

 

Dry: Whimsical and boozey, this is potent stuff...a swirl of gold and green and red.

 

Overall: Another winner for me.