Bette Noir

[talula_fairie]

Benzoin, wild plum, smoky amber, bergamot, orange blossom, myrrh, and dark berries.

Someone else said "fruity hairspray" and that's exactly what it smells like to me. It's overly perfumey, in the drugstore kind of way. I knew I probably wouldn't like it when I sniffed it in the bottle, but the notes sounded ok so I tried it. Not for me.

[Schmoozy]

I too thought this would be an instant winner, but unfortunately something in this makes it quite unbearable. It's really smoky, spicy and then a blast of generic plum and berries hits my nose and it all goes south from there.

[milo]

This starts out as a dark, musky traditional floral, among the likes of Black Butterfly Moon and Giallo. Half an hour in, a lovely spice and fruit comes out, (cassia maybe?). It's not overpowering at all, and the dark perfumey musk is still there, but more subdued. This is definitely better dry, but still not really my thing. The musky cologne that is present throughout just bothers me and makes me think of alcohol body sprays. The plum and spice kind of reminds me a bit of Hellion, but there is just that cologney edge that just ruins it for me.

[whisperstilled]

A dark floral with plum? I am there.

In Imp: Plum and something strangely acrid. Maybe the amber and the orange blossom? I definitely smell citrus.

Wet: Hairspray is right, that's all I'm smelling. No luscious, juicy plum and dark berries, just slightly fruity acridness.

Dry: Doesn't morph, doesn't improve.

Edited August 4, 2017 by Whisperstilled

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Mostly myrrh, with a warm creaminess blending with fruit.

 

Immediately on skin: This smells of amber and plum, equally balanced with a resinous undertone and a hint of orange blossom (which smells a tiny bit like corn chips to my nose).

 

After a little while: This scent is a bit sweet fruitiness mixing with amber and resin. It’s dark, a bit fruity, and a little warm and sensual as well.

 

Overall Impressions: This smells of mostly plum and amber with resin, and the other lighter notes floating about adding a lightness to the overtone of the scent. Pretty, but a bit dark and dry for me.

[mxtine]

Imp: Floral

Wet: Orange blossom=stinky jasmine sometimes. I can't smell any smoky amber goodness, plum, benzoin or dark berries.

Dry: As it dries, it morphs into a sweeter, fruitier scent. It's very light and pretty at this point. I can pick out plum and myrrh and berries.

 

After the stinky floral phase, this gets sweeter. I can't say that it's anything but generic "sweet floral" perfume.

[countessmouse]

This one started out very strange at first because all I got was "Off" bug spray and it was very acrid. Then it went a ittle crazy - morphing every five minutes as the notes started to come out -- before finally settling on a musky floral plum that is really quite nice.

[Gin]

Bette is a gorgeous, sweet plum in the bottle. On my skin, it gets a little muddled--the plum recedes and a floral emerges. The floral could be orange blossom, but it doesn't smell like orange blossom, just a sweet floral. Then the berries come out and bring the plum back, too, and they all swirl together to create a pinky-plum colored berry-plum-amber-floral that's stunning.

[filigree_shadow]

I thought I would love this because of the notes listed, but something in this is going wildly stingingly perfumey on me. I like the plum and myrrh, but I don't really like the overly perfumey bit. It smells dark and haughty, and that's not really my kind of scent.

[theseagrows]

now me and plum have a difficult relationship-it usually turns plasticky on my skin, but in this scent it behaves! there must not be very much of it? however, all i seem to get is berries and plum. this is straight up sweet-fruit on my skin and nothing else. i like non-fruity scents for the most part, or fruits as accents in darker scents, but i don't get any smoky amber, benzoin or myrrh from this at all! it actually reminds me of the smell of my mom's house, if some sweetly scented candle she has. this will be going in the swap pile, because sadly, it is not me.

[gingiemay]

Benzoin, wild plum, smoky amber, bergamot, orange blossom, myrrh, and dark berries.

 

Lots of bergamot, orange blossom, benzoin and myrrh for me, unfortunately, whereas I was hoping for more plum and dark berries. It's very "perfume-y" as people have said and powdery to boot.

Edited January 6, 2013 by gingiemay

[tinyvulture]

Orange blossom has the strongest presence, with amber and something herbal competing for second place. Reminds me of a fruity/herbal shampoo. I didn't expect a film-noir-inspired blend to smell so...clean? I love the lab's plum note and was hoping the plum, and berries, would be front and center. Also, where are my resins? I'm really not getting any benzoin or myrrh. There's nothing offensive about it; I was just expecting something sexy and dangerous.

[BetteNoire]

I actually had no idea until BPAL that there was already a superhero named Bette Noir - I had come up with an idea for a heroine by that name after learning the term bete noir for a vocab test in high school.

 

Given that I use the name so much, I pretty much had to buy this. After I read the notes, I wondered if it was coincidence that it read like a list of my favorite notes. Anyway, on to reviewing.

 

Sniffed from the lab-fresh bottle, I get hints of the beauty this sounded, but sadly poor orange blossom had a traumatic journey from the lab and won't stop screaming. She's scaring the others and annoying the crap out of me. I put the bottle in the back of my box for a month going she'd calm down and adjust to her new home.

 

A month later: Nope, orange blossom is still shrieking. But she can't scare me away, this blend and I were meant to be. I left the cap off the vial for 15 minutes so orange blossom could cry it out. And it worked! She calmed the eff and the berries and plum came out of hiding.

 

Wet, on skin: Man, this is interesting. All the notes come out like a musical chord - orange blossom as the highest pitch, benzoin as the lowest. Beautiful and intense and... deep purple. From the berries and plum, no doubt.

 

This doesn't morph from that initial impression. The amber and benzoin warm up, but that's it. And the amber is indeed smoky, adding a touch of badass in a way that amber had never done for me.

 

Bette is strong, as she should be, but be warned that the tiniest of dabs is the best way to go, otherwise my head feels like I've gone a few rounds with a marital artist. :-\

 

Overall, Bette will be a great night time scent, especially for dates or if I'm needing a jolt of femme fatale.

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: Mmm, dark fruit and Myrrh, hints of bergamot. Interesting. A bit medicinal, but only faintly and not enough to make it unpleasant. Hoping it'll settle a bit more on my skin though.

 

 

 

Dry: This is much lighter than expected on me. It's a fruity floral, but there's something in it that just doesn't agree with my skin chemistry. It's kept that medicinal edge that's keeping me from really enjoying it. It has no throw to speak of on me, and is very faint after less than an hour - I have to really huff my wrist to smell it. Too bad! It's amazing in the bottle.

[sarandipitee]

I tested Bette way back when the Irredeemable line first debuted (and if you haven't read it, you should - so good) but was a silly pants and didn't bother with a review. I decided to try it again since my tastes and body chem have drastically changed. Sadly, this isn't for me.

 

Drydown is pretty much a faded fruit and floral shampoo. I get zero throw which is good, since it's sorta headachy. Imp is off to be rehomed.