Liberty

[portalkat]

LIBERTY
Liberty was created for the CBLDF, inspired by Eugène Delacroix's Liberty Leading the People: frankincense, beeswax, olive blossom, chamomile, sampaguita, magnolia, apple blossom, gunpowder, and smoke.

This is a charitable, not-for-profit venture: proceeds from every single bottle of Liberty go to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, which works to preserve and protect the First Amendment rights of the comics community.

My Fairy Godmother picked up a bottle of this for me at Comic Con.
I wanted it for the beeswax, smoke and frankincense, but I was worried that it would come across as mainly a floral because of all the floral notes. When I first tried it, I found the strongest note to be the beeswax and I waited for it to dry and for the other notes to come forward. Well, they did, but just ever so gently and they stay in the background. I find that the florals just help to support the beeswax, just like the way that edible honey will take on the flavor of the host plant nectar. This is not at all a floral blend on me, but mainly a beeswax scent with the resin,smoke and florals mixing together in the background. This is gorgeous and I am so glad that it is available during the latest update so that I can snag a backup bottle. This is my favorite beeswax blend so far.

[cfrancesca]

This is a lovely complex smokey beeswax scent with a very light floral background. It reminds me a little of Litha and the smokey beeswax in Hanerot Halau.

[bookandbroom]

When I first put this on, it was all frankincense, all the time — I'm beginning to think I must amp the stuff, which is kind of a bummer as it's not totally my thing!

 

It was an oddly clean sort of frankincense, though, maybe brightened by some of the other notes that I can't pick out on their own. Now, about 25 minutes later, my wrists are wafting rich, heavy beeswax — a note that here smelled almost like honey, if a confused sort of honey, until I checked the note list.

 

I'm not getting gunpowder or smoke except as a sort of harsh background note that twists the softness of frankincense and beeswax, and the florals are barely peeking out. (The chamomile puts up a decent fight, rising to the top now and then, and then fading away.) Here and there I catch a whiff of magnolia, like the darker notes have blown away for a second and a spot of light is shining through. Liberty is interesting, complex and evocative, but with the first two notes dominating, it's sadly not a scent for me!

[angelicruin]

Mostly frankincense and beeswax on my skin. Light floral, but no smoke or gunpowder for me either.

[Lethran]

In bottle: Complex and interesting. The florals are almost foody in affectwith the chamomile and smoke woven all through. It makes me think of sweet cakes. Weirdly, I think that’s the beeswax playing with the flowers. They are different flowers, but it also reminds me of Dia de les muertos. Wet: Less foody. The apple blossoms and beeswax come into their own when warmed. I’m not a floral person, but I can wear this. I think it works because the florals are not classic florals. Dry: Wood shavings with a halo of vaguely floral sweetness. Not as exciting as I’d hoped, alas.

[edenssixthday]

Liberty - This is a pretty floral. I don't smell any of the gunpowder or smoke at all. It's mostly magnolia, chamomile, and the sweet, silky smooth scent of olive blossom. The beeswax and frankincense are present behind the more dominant notes, wrapping a ribbon of a gritty sweetness around the florals. As it dries down, something in the blend goes off and begins to smell a little dusty and odd, and based on past experience with apple blossom, I'd finger it as the culprit. It's not wonky enough to ruin the blend, but it smells odd up close. I'm a little on the fence about this one because overall, it's very pretty, but between that odd dusty note and the trace of magnolia (which is a note I usually dislike), I'm not sure I'd ever choose to wear this over some of my other similarly pretty florals. The throw and staying power are both fairly light.

[claudia6913]

In the imp: It's hard for me to describe because I cannot pick out any one scent, but the blend is nice.

 

Wet on skin: Chamomile comes out, as does a bit of smoke. I expected more of an apple scent to come through. I am getting a "leafy" sort of scent out of it - perhaps the blossoms?

 

Drydown: It's a much softer scent than I thought it would be, but lovely nonetheless.

 

Dry: It's a sort of floral - or more like walking through an orchard while it's in bloom. A little bit of smoke comes out, and I think some gunpowder. Thankfully I didn't get any frankincense (not a scent I like).

[Ravenclaw79]

This smells like a bathroom on me. It's a clean bathroom, with air fresheners and new rolls of toilet paper, but it's still a bathroom. Bummer.

[noumenon]

I just loved that this has magnolia in it - it's one of my favorite trees, in part because I grew up with one in my yard. I think it's my favorite kind of tree, and to have such a revolutionary and patriotic scent include smoke billowing past giant magnolia blooms just bowls me over with pride.

 

When I first put Liberty on, I got a burst of flowers. Though I couldn't pick magnolia out of the bunch, I still liked it. They smell full and natural and really pleasant - neither cloying nor dry. Then the smoke came out in force, and now it has dried down into beeswax and smoke. The whole thing is fascinating, and though I somehow turned into a foody person, I just love this. It's completely wearable and tells such an amazing story through scent.

 

I wish I had this when I took my AP US history exam!!

[violetblue]

Like everyone is saying, this is a lot lighter than expected, throw not crazy. It smells incensey on me - pretty, almost sweet, but not swoon worthy. Much better smelling than I thought it might be (and better on me than Tombuer which shocked me), as I took a chance with some of the notes in it that are usually death for me. I think I may see how this one ages, it may just get better with time. For now, 2.5/5.

[Venneh]

In the bottle, I'm getting the olive blossom, the chamomile, the magnolia, and I think a hint of the smoke. On my skin, chamomile, olive blossom, and just a hint of sharpness form the frankincense and gunpowder, but not overwhelming. Get a pretty even balance of soft florals and smoke, going to give this a further skin test to see what it does.

Edited August 15, 2010 by Venneh

[kikithepirate]

This actually has quite a strong throw on me, but other beeswax and apple scents tend to be the same way. It's a gorgeous springtime scent, definitely very floral, and slightly powdery. I especially love the slightly creamy quality that's added by the olive blossom.

[Antoinette]

Oh my, Liberty is pretty!

I took a chance on this one, unfamiliar with some of the notes but sold on the concept. My chance paid off! Not only is this a really pretty scent on me but it also evokes the painting it is inspired by quite magically. I don't know how Beth does it! If this scent were a color it would be all the muted blues and yellows of the sky and the creamy color of Liberty's bare skin. Amazing. The gunpowder and smoke notes, although faint and in the background, lend a feeling of authenticity to this blend. I feel like I can close my eyes, sniff my wrist and experience what it would have smelled like to be in that scene, standing next to that woman. Magical! A prime example of why I love BPAL so much.

 

In the bottle: Smells complex and I can't pick out anything specific.

 

Wet on my skin: Frankicense! There's a smooth sweetness to this scent which is offset by the smoke and gunpowder. I love this! It's emotive and complex, more than just a pretty scent, it's a concept of a moment slathered on my arm. Love. The beeswax and olive blossom are also noticeable and I guess the magnolia and apple blossom are what's lending the sweetness. Not sure if I'm picking out the chamomile or sampaguita.

 

Drydown: Beauitful, creamy beeswax comes to the fore. Everything else is still there but the creaminess amps up. Gorgeous and soft.

 

I am so glad I bought this and will probably feel the need to pick up a back-up bottle while it's still available. I can't say enough how wonderful this one is!

[Vega]

Sniffed: Floral, gentle, honey-like. The olive blossom is quite obvious.

 

On skin: When wet, it opens up into something quite attractive. I'm not familiar with most of the notes, but I can smell olive blossom amidst flowers, a touch of smoke, and a honeyed flavour that must come from the beeswax. However, Liberty loses its complexity upon drydown: the flowers and beeswax disappear, and all that's left is olives and peppery smoke/gunpowder. The beeswax occasionally makes an appearance to sweeten the scent, but overall, all the other notes are drowned out by smoky olive. Tzadikim Nistarim and Tabella had a similar scent, so I suspect my skin is amping olive blossom, much to my annoyance.

 

Verdict: Liberty began so promisingly, but it ended up disappointing. Darnnit, why does olive blossom dominate the blends it's in? and I don't even like it. I doubt my bottle will be staying.

Edited August 23, 2010 by Vega

[Blood onmy hands]

I wasn't sure what to expect from this. I love frankincense, beeswax, and olive blossom. I'm iffy about magnolia and smoke. And I usually hate bpal's chamomile (bitter), apple blossom (soap), and gunpowder (rust).

 

In the bottle, this smells like a pretty mix of the three notes that I love. I can smell a clean olive blossom, honeyed beeswax, and resinous frankincense. It's rich & incensey and clean at the same time. It smells very golden and pretty.

 

On my skin, unfortunately, this morphs into a mess. It's perfumey floral, soapy shampoo (thanks apple blossom :/), and sharp smoke. There's also a weird, sickly, rusty sweetness from the gunpowder that turns my stomach a bit.

 

After a half hour I just washed this one off, because it was giving me a headache... Liberty smells nice in the bottle, but everything just goes terribly wrong on my skin.

[ljaylh]

This is more light and soft than I was expecting - the gunpowder and smoke never really come out on their own, but they do provide a nice blanket for the sweetness of the magnolia and apple blossom. The frankincense and chamomile are quite noticeable on my skin, and together with the beeswax they're making this slightly waxy and dusty.

 

I let this settle for a while before giving it my final verdict - I wanted to wait and see what the notes would do.. but ultimately everything melds together in a way that makes it difficult to pick up anything in particular. It ends up being kind of a waxy floral that's kinda flat and unimpressive on my skin.. very light, and it's a touch soapy. Not for me, which is a shame because magnolia and apple blossom should be a gorgeous combination but my skin is just amping the chamomile and beeswax too much for the more delicate notes to come through.

[heleng]

Wet-light florals with wax polish

Dry- resins, wax and frankincense, very light incense.

This combination is not a winner for me.

[milo]

This ends up being a sweet, beeswax/honey blend with a bit of resins. It kind of reminds me of Sarah Pezzini and Banned in Boston, though not as sexy as either of those. Since I have both SP and BiB, I really don't need any Liberty, though I do kind of like this.

Edited September 2, 2010 by milo

[Tracelina]

Like many, I bought this hoping that the beeswax would dominate and be enhanced by the accompanying florals and smoke. Sadly, it was just not meant to be. I think I've now pinpointed the note that makes certain blends go to baby's butt on me: apple blossom. Oh well, it was worth the learning experience. I'm off to send this to a more loving home.

[brettashley]

I actually ended up with a bottle of Liberty through a (very fortuitous) mistake - the lab sent it to me instead of the Tiki Princess I ordered! They let me keep the bottle, while they sent Tiki Princess later on, so I ended up getting it for free. (The lab is )

 

But anyway, as I don't have much money to spend on BPAL, I probably would never have chosen this scent for myself. Nothing about it called out to me at all - I'm not a fan of florals, and I had little hope that the beeswax and smoke would overtake the scent. After dismissing it out of hand, I basically paid no attention to reviews, etc, so when I opened the bottle, I had no clue what to expect.

 

In bottle: Very floral; reminds me of something I would pick up at a commercial perfume counter in the '50s - an older lady atomiser of perfume or something. (I wasn't too excited to try it, at this point.)

 

Wet, on skin: Burst of flowers! I guess it's the chamomile and apple blossom and magnolia and whatnot all kinda coming on at once. (I can't tell florals apart too distinctly beside, say, jasmine.) Definitely getting the older woman floral perfume vibe.

 

Drydown: The scent is getting much sweeter, much creamier now. The beeswax is actually tamping down the florals! Ah, it's actually really lovely at this stage. It's still floral, but it's grounded by something much creamier, and that gives the scent more... substance. I couldn't stop sniffing my wrists at this stage.

Hours after application: Here, it's pretty much frankincense and smoke dominating the blend. There's a hint of something floral, but it's almost gone by now.

 

Overall: 8.5/10 This blend was a surprising winner for me! I loved it most in its drying down floral-beeswaxy stage, but the smoky finish is pretty nice too. Every now and then, I'll catch a whiff of it and be like "What smells so good? Oh! It's me. "

 

Basically, Liberty fulfills a gap in my perfume collection I wasn't even aware I had! It's a bit more conservative, out of the bottle, in its resemblance to a conventional floral perfume, but the beeswax and the smoke actually subvert the florals and turn it into something altogether quite different. I can wear this scent in more formal settings (when I don't want to wafting Antikythera or something similarly distinct), but it's got a lot more depth than other floral perfumes one could pick up at a cosmetics counter. It's a more toned down way to stand out, and I like it.

 

Plus, I like how the scent reflects the painting it's based on so accurately. We begin with a burst of crisp flowers, giddy and light, and then there's the grounding of the beeswax (and olive blossom?) - and we end with the smoky finish of gunpowder, like the first shot of a gun. The scent works for me thematically, and would be wonderful for certain occasions. I won't be needing a backup, but I'm so glad to have the bottle, and am seriously entertaining the possibility that the labbies may, in fact, by psychic.

[obsidienne]

I got a half decant of this in a swap, and had wanted to try it because one of the reviews in here remarked that it dried down to an amazing beeswax scent. The gunpowder and smoke notes scared me off, along with the chamomile. Which all proved to keep this scent from working for me. Yes, it does dry down to an exquisite and slightly spicy feral beeswax. Love that stage! But to get there, it's a long wait, and for me, an unpleasant one. I just cannot appreciate notes like "gunpowder" "smoke", and things of that nature. Off to swaps.

[zankoku_zen]

Smoke, olive blossom and beeswax. It's an amazing beeswax scent. On the drydown, I get more of the chamomile peeking out and it's the kind that you find in Sachs, and it turns the beeswax into something slightly herbal.

[tacey]

First impression: sweet and perfumey. Does this have bourbon vanilla?!? [Ans: No, it does not. Perhaps the olive blossom? It also has chamomile, which is paired with vanilla in Sachs, so I might have that scent association going on.] I think the 'perfumey' part may be the apple blossom. Very nice, but I really can't pick out any notes.

 

Sweet (not overtly floral, to my nose) and gently smoky. This is not a literal battlefield. It's not gentle or soft - the colors are quite hard-edged, but it's not harsh. I think the frankincense, beeswax, apple blossom, and olive blossoms are dominating, but I'm not deeply familiar with any of these notes.

 

Very nice, a little dreamy - not in my usual style, but I think I'll enjoy it.

[filigree_shadow]

No smoke and gunpowder for me, or much of anything except beeswax and olive blossom. A hint of magnolia. On me it kinda smells like a rather sacred scent. Maybe that's the combination of frankincense and beeswax and I'm picking up on, I'm not sure. Not the type of thing I wear as perfume, but I like the scent of it. It's the sort of thing I like my room to smell like but not necessarily my person.

[porcelina]

i love love love the scent of beeswax, so naturally i had to try liberty. it's very prominent here! there's also frankincense and smoke, which gives it a nice incensey quality. unnnnfortunately, the florals have to come out and ruin everything. they kind of take over and make it hard to smell anything else. i blame the magnolia!