Liz

[Eutectic]

LIZ
A light, feminine vanilla floral perfume and a swirl of smoke and leather.

This is a difficult fragrance to quantify. It is soft florals with a spicy backbone that makes it not so much a soapy floral all softness and light but sharp too, a little like insense but not smokey.

Wet it is floral but has the bite of something more yet as it dries it softens and becomes better rounded.

I like it but I think it is a bit too much for the sudden hot weather we are having here. I can see this being quite beautiful in fall however!! Edited September 3, 2009 by Shollin

[parrot_suspect]

Liz strikes me as a blend of sweet florals and maybe a slight dash of fruits over a smoky vanilla background. On me this is kind of high pitched and perfumey, in the traditional sense of the word. Kind of like -- oh, I don't know, maybe Dior's J'Adore or Dolce & Gabbana's original fragrance (the one with the red cap)? It's sexy and sophisticated and well blended. It doesn't work well on me, because my skin amps complex florals beyond all reason, but I could see this being amazing on the right person. Very femme fatale.

[Lycanthrope]

I was sorta confused about Liz.

 

Sniffing and dabbed on, it's really really dry. Like, sucks the top of your mouth dry, dry. With it there was this very nice but unidentifiable flower. I think it's lily or hydrangea or hyacinth - not a common flower, something else that's of the bright and warm variety. But so dry.

[thekittenkat]

One of the Hellboy prototypes tested at SEWC. I really wanted to like this one, but was unimpressed by the prototype. It was a faint skin scent on me, some herbs and some plants. (However, this was tested late in the evening, so my nose wasn't working so good by that point. This is the one Hellboy scent that I really want to try again, though. )

[ivyandpeony]

Liz is my favorite prototype that I've tried recently. In the bottle and in all stages, I get lots of vanilla. There's just the lightest suggestion of smoke, not even as strong as a blown-out candle but like lightly charred wood. As Liz dries down, it becomes more complex and spicy - I get the impression of a slightly smoky vanilla combined with whatever perfume it might be that Liz wears. This is going to be a multiple-bottle acquisition for me when it goes live!

[stormcloude]

When I sniffed this, what I got was girlie leather. Not sure how to describe it more than that. Leather, but with something lighter and sweeter underneath, to make it less masculine.

[wintersmelody]

On this one I have to agree with Eutectic, in that it's really hard to qualify. First sniff, yes lovely! I seem to be getting mostly vanilla with some sort of light floral perfume. And maybe a hint, a hiiiint of light smoke. I think I need a bottle of this when it goes live. Oh yes.

[Sapphy]

Kinda golden, like the world looks when it's dusk. This is mostly an unidentified floral (not carnation, not gardenia, not jasmine, not violet..lol) over a smoked vanilla. I wish the proportions were reversed, and it was mostly the smoked vanilla and less the florals. I'm waiting to see if it'll calm down after some aging.

[RaeiNarcissus]

Liz started as a vanilla leather, and then over the course of the next several hours, went total leather, then vanilla, then back to leather, back to vanilla. She's a morpher, this one.

[Xanon]

Just got my bottle yesterday and wore it out to a party last night. So this may shift a little once the bottle settles down from its journey from the lab. I just was too excited to wait.

 

In the bottle all I could smell was an interesting vanilla with a smoke back drop. I had the urge to call it vanilla bourbon, but I think it was just a slightly different vanilla note then in other BPAL's mixed with leather.

 

Wet: for the first 10 minutes all I could smell was smoke. It was pleasant smoke though, not too intense. But as others have said - it was pretty dry. Had DH take a sniff and he thought it smelled like smoke and honeysuckle.

 

Dry: The Vanilla decided to make an appearance as I walked into the party (so about 15 minutes after initial application), accompanied by leather of course. It was love! Let me say, I am a big leather fan. I too had some morphing back and forth for which note wanted to be front and center of this overall blend. I think that it had to do with the leather. When my body heat changes the strength of the leather is directly effected. Hot = more leather and vanilla, cooler = more smoke. It was interesting.

 

Overall I really like this scent. I think I am going to have to let it sit for a week before I really make up my mind on getting a second bottle, but I am VERY happy that I got a bottle and not a decant of this. I have high hopes for this one when it ages as well. And besides, DH says that he likes it. An opinion from him at all is amazing.

 

8 Out of 10

[angelicruin]

Wet on my skin, this is a smoky vanilla. Not too heavy a smoke though. Oooh, the leather note comes out shortly after application. I'm just barely getting the floral note.

 

This is definitely something to try if you're a vanilla lover. I keep huffing my wrist as I write this review.

[capnlizaveta]

I get vanilla and leather with a teeny bit of smoke and flowers. It reminds me a lot of Western Diamondback, except much more feminine, and Boadicea except much more subdued. Vanilla and leather go really well together, I think, and this one is somehow simultaneously simpler than the other two oils I mentioned but somehow striking enough to stand out amongst two of my all-time faves.

 

I probably wouldn't have been interested otherwise, but there was no way I wasn't getting an oil that literally had my name on it. And I'm really happy I did. I have a feeling I'm going to wear this a lot.

 

[gingiemay]

This is a really gorgeous leather, vanilla and floral masterpiece. The leather is tough yet girly at the same time, as it is sweetened some by the vanilla and florals. I can't place what flowers are in this bouquet, but I don't think its jasmine or rose as I amp both to powdery, cat pee heaven. The smoke adds a bite on to the leather and vanilla and is just perfect. I am definitely getting a bottle for sure!

[midnight_aeval]

Oh Liz... When I sniffed you at the Cobwebs III event and Convergence I couldn't wait to get my hands on you. I'm thinking I didn't skin test you because as I'm wearing you today I feel like you're trying to choke the life out of me with your floral notes. Ack!

 

I get little to no leather in this one which shocks me because my skin LOVES leather - loves as in amps it, not eats it away. All I smell is a cloying floral perfume that is very, VERY strong. This little girl is not subtle.

 

May not swap away quite yet, but she is facing the chopping block soon if she doesn't straighten up.

[Dark Alice]

My skin amps leather. I am not a fan of it. Where is my vanilla goodness to balance all the badass leather. I am going to age my little decant and see what happens. *sigh*

[mejuxtaposed]

Oh Liz, I luff you.

 

First applied it smelled like smoke over vanilla.

 

Dry down and ever since (for the past few hours) it is a smoky leather. I want a little more vanilla so I might try layering it with something, but it is quite wonderful as it. I never thought I would want to smell like straight smoky leather but its gorgeous.

 

Anyone have any ideas on what to layer it with to get a little vanilla back?

[rayvn1]

Liz is a curious kind of lady. Sweet floral with a hint of vanilla comes through wet, but when I dry I'm amping leather all over the place! Leather and smoke with a hint of vanilla flowers. The odd thing is that while that combo sounds amazing to me, the notes don't seem connected to each other. It's like I'm wearing two different scents on one arm that aren't blending together. Interesting and I'll definitely try it again after it's had some time to settle.

[LizzyLies]

I am in love with Liz, no joke. There's very little change--to my nose--from the bottle to skin. The leather and florals take a backseat to the smoky vanilla and they just blend together so well. This is something I could wear on a daily basis and never get tired of, I smell a back-up bottle order soon!

[ClareDeLune]

I get floral, vanilla, smoke, and leather, in that order. I love, love, love this. It's blended beautifully and is something I'll enjoy wearing on work days and weekends alike.

My ONLY gripe is that I wish the throw were bigger so everyone would know how awesome I smell.

[Molls]

When I first put Liz on, I get a lot of leather. Not a strong, masculine leather, but still leather. When the vanilla starts to come forward, there's a moment or two where it teeters on plasticky - but thank goodness, it eventually morphs into a beautiful, wearable lovely scent for me. Not many of BPALs vanillas work on me, but I'm so glad this one does! I think the florals and the smoke and leather balance it out for me.

AND - as my b/f and I were going up some stairs yesterday, he sniffed and sniffed, and finally said "Hey, that's you I'm smelling". This is the 2nd BPAL scent that he's told me I should get a bottle of!!

[rachilde]

The florals just make this vanilla sparkle. I can imagine a type of vanilla champagne from this! It's so bright and twinkling! I can also smell smoke. But no leather--alas!

[Schmoozy]

 

 

Oh wow. Beth just keeps pulling the scent punches. Liz is stunning. Soft, wispy florals, mingles with touches of vanilla and then Liz toughens up with some leather and smoke. It doesn't get any better than this.

[lilacea]

First thing that hits me is that unmistakable vanilla flower note, it's crisp and light and fresh, yet alluring. Slightly sweet florals, but very light. It smells like there's a pale soft resin, like copal or benzoin. There is a definite wisp of white rose here. Dry down changes to a creamier, earthier vanilla, with a resinous backing and the softest smokey edge. I'm not getting any leather at all. Super close to the skin. I think this may wear a little differently once the bottle has had time to rest and settle.

Edited October 12, 2009 by lilacea

[astarinel]

I wish I were getting the vanilla more, as I love vanilla and that's what made me try a decant of this one, but I don't really get any of it.

 

Wet, it's very smoky, and like previous reviewers have mentioned, it's a dry smoke and different to my nose from the ones in St. John's Eve and Devil's Night (which strike me as sweeter).

 

As it dries, the leather comes out more, and this honestly seems like a kind of masculine blend, to me.

 

For a wearable vanilla leather, I prefer Bow and Crown of Conquest.

[starwild]

This is soooo good.

 

As it moves through the drydown, the feminine floral perfume switches places with the smoke and leather. Overall it's a smoky, leathery floral. Goooorgeous! Total bottle purchase. Sadly, it's very light and fades quickly on me--maybe I'll try it in my clocket.