Hilma

[diBenjamin94108]

Honeysuckle, Bulgarian rose, night blooming jasmine, sweet clove, cedarwood, black tea, and nectarine.

 

It is sharp and cedar-y in the bottle.

 

When I put it on, I smell the cloves, and after a minute, it becomes fruity on me. That must be the nectarine. I don't smell rose at all and the honeysuckle and jasmine blend into the fruitiness of the nectarine. And the cloves are still there but it is in no way autumnal.

Someone else said it is very womanly and I agree with that. This was my first BPAL scent and I didn't know what to expect, thinking maybe the oils would be like the perfume oils in the health food store. This is more like a perfume, it is a womanly smelling perfume.

Part of what is so intriguing about BPAL is the story associated with each scent, and I especially love New Orleans, so I like imagining the world of Hilma Burt, who inspired the scent. This perfume is like a very sultry decadent but sophisticated night--lush, like a soft cushion of luxurious feminine charm. If I were to assign a color, it would be a reddish orange.

Edited to add: Hilma has really grown on me. I like it a lot. If you are looking for a complex, fruity, womanly scent that might make you think of steamy nights in old New Orleans, go for it.

[FelicityTwitchell]

Wet: floral strong, clove, nectarine not sure about the others

 

Transition: nectarine and clove, bitter

 

Dry: clove dominates with a fruitness next and only the sweetness from the floral, very bitter almost sour too and clovy with the sweet, blahh

[animalcule]

in the (brand-new) decant: cedar and florals. Smells really good - like soap. Uh-oh. I'm beginning to think that anything with jasmine or other 'heady' florals just smells like soap to me!

 

wet: mmm. Cloves, cedar, and fruit.

 

dry: Spicy floral soap. Nope.

 

 

This would be a fabulous room scent and I will use it as such.

[SophieCedar]

Wet: I love honeysuckle, but can't smell any here. This is frustrating. The bulgarian rose, night blooming jasmine, clove, and nectarine are turning this into a pouf of rancid fruit on a bed of roses. I'm upset (and whiny apparently).

 

Drydown: oh whew. Much better! This dries out well. The cedarwood develops nicely and I can distinctively smell the honeysuckle now. The sweet clove and nectarine twine and make for a great spicy sweet background for the wood and florals. Rose is still there but not being obnoxious. This scent might be better in summer. Need to come back to it.

[Jupita]

This is such a disappointment.

When reading the notes, it seemed like a total win.

Sadly, in the imp and wet on me, this smells of Chanel N°5.

And to me, Chanel N°5 is a scent for a women in her 50/60ies. Obviously, not for me.

 

I can smell the cedar in the back and it's the only appealing note in this mix of floral hell.

I love floral perfumes usually, but the fresh type.

This is overpowering, aggressive and old.

 

There is just something that makes me think of cat pee. I don't know what it is, but I suspect it being the honeysuckle.

Gosh... this makes me soooo sad.

 

And no, I smell no nectarine nor tea.

[stellamaris]

Gosh I love this, another hit for me from The District. I am not getting any wood at all yet, but gorgeous flowers and faint nectarine. This is a real lady blend, I almost love it as much as Zarita the Doll Girl. almost.

 

Edit * There is something sharp in here that I can't put my finger on, the same feeling as the sharpness of a leather note. It's not at all unpleasant, it just adds depth IMO. Might be the honeysuckle. This is one of my favorite BPALs, it's sophisticated without being stodgy. It's really a perfect scent for anytime as well. I don't get the Chanel no.5 feeling at all, although I do love Chanel no.5.

Also I don't get rose from it. It stays pretty consistent, not a morpher, and has great lasting power. I also don't find it overwhelming or aggressive, rather just perfect, not too strong, not too faint.

Edited August 29, 2011 by stellamaris

[Ghost of a Rose]

In the vial: Jasmine and honeysuckle first, then some black tea (yay! I've been ISO a true BPAL black tea scent, unsuccessfully until now) with a little nectarine.

 

On me, wet: At first, I just get the strong florals. I love florals, so that would actually be fine with me. After a minute or so, the nectarine and black tea notes come in just a little. Which makes this even better - a bit of complexity and interest added to the florals. I can barely detect the rose - it's getting swamped (pun intended, haha - this is a New Orleans blend after all) by the stronger jasmine and honeysuckle.

 

After 10 minutes: Honeysuckle is strongest, then jasmine, rose, and nectarine; in that order of strength. I'm not noticing the tea anymore. No clove or cedarwood so far.

 

After 20 minutes: The overall scent is gentler, and the florals are blending together more equally. And I'm just starting to detect the teeniest hint of clove.

 

After 30 minutes: Even more beautiful. The florals are now perfectly balanced into an elegant classic-style perfume, with a bit of nectarine. The clove is still barely there.

 

After 1 hour: Same as above. There might be just a faint whisper of cedar in the background, but it's not really a definite note, more just a nuance.

 

After 2 hours: Quite faded, and now mostly a generic classic perfume scent.

 

After 3 hours: Same as above, very faint.

 

Verdict: I wouldn't call this either a rose-based or a black tea-based blend, as neither have a strong presence. That is a little disappointing since those are my two favorite notes in this. But it's not a huge big deal, as this is a lovely and elegant floral perfume anyway. I want to try it in my scent locket to see if it would retain the black tea note longer.

 

My rating: 4.5 stars (rounded to 5 in Stash Manager)

Edited November 27, 2011 by Ghost of a Rose

[LizziesLuck]

Received this as lovely frimp from a forumite.

 

I like all of the listed notes except jasmine, which I tend to amp, so this could really go either way.

 

In the imp, I for sure get a lot of jasmine, which scares me, but I really want to try it anyway.

 

Initially there is a bit of jasmine, but it burns off and I get sweet rose and honeysuckle, two notes I adore.

 

Unfortunately, the sweetness in this just keeps amping and amping, and there's nothing to cut it, so it becomes overwhelming.

[roseus]

I get a mix of heady florals, if I had to pick one that sticks out the most it would be jasmine but just by a hair. I definitely get a little clove as well, and a little juicy nectarine. It's nice but it doesn't stand out with my skin chemistry.

[joopjoop]

I really love Hilma and I am surprised she isn't more popular.

 

Honeysuckle and little rose to start, and the jasmine is in the background. The rose comes forward a little bit and then surprisingly, wonderfully, the other notes come out - the cedar, the sweet clove, the black tea - all clearly present! - and the nectarine is there too, adding a hint of sweet fruitiness. Once dry, this is gorgeous. Honeysuckle & rose, tea and nectarine, with a cedar base and hints of sweet, almost syrupy, clove. Super well-blended. Definitely, unabashedly old-fashioned but I love that about it - it is a big part of the appeal for me, in fact. I feel like this is something my grandmother would have worn in the 1950s and since my grandmother had great style, that's a ringing endorsement.

 

To me Hilma and Lily from Pretty Deadly are in the same 'family' in terms of the construction of the scent. They don't really smell alike at all, except for perhaps the cedar in both of them is similar, but they are florals that are complemented beautifully by wood and other more earthy notes.

Edited October 7, 2017 by joopjoop

[dementia_divine]

In the decant: I'm mostly getting the Bulgarian rose with some nectarine and clove.

 

Wet: Fruity and floral. I'm getting the Bulgarian rose, nectarine, and clove still, but the nectarine isn't as prominent as it is in Alcie. Then, the jasmine note emerges. I was hoping to get honeysuckle from this, as I adore that note, but it seems to be hiding at the moment. I hope it decides to make an appearance later! The clove note is light in this, just adding a bit of spice.

 

Dry: Okay, I do get the honeysuckle now, but it doesn't really get to shine on its own because of the other florals in the scent. The clove note has increased in strength now, and I'm still getting the nectarine. It remains a fruity floral and clove scent with the rose being the strongest of the floral notes.

 

Verdict: This one is pleasant. It is not something that I feel the need to obtain more of, but I am glad that I was able to try it.

[goblingrin]

In the imp I was hit with a strong whiff of cedarwood with a hit of clove. On my skin the clove starts to amp but after a while the florals start to come out. In the end, it has a nice throw but it's more clove-wood than I desired and the sweetness is a note I only get if I get in for an up-close sniff.

[DiZZysTARdust]

I’m comparing the two rose dominant blends in the district series. I’ve got Emma on my left side and Hilma on my right. Hilma is definitely the more complex blend. In the bottle it is as candy-like as Emma. It strongly reminds me of Maenad and the bubblegummy poppy sweetness. On my skin the sweetness disappears almost instantly and is replaced by an herbal bitterness. I’m thinking it’s the black tea and honeysuckle here. No rose or jasmine popping out to make this a traditional floral. The longer it’s on the more the cedar comes out. It turns a little soap reminiscent but more of a luxury lotion bar not so much the anti-microbial hospital soap imo. Pretty low throw