Bernardino Dotted Blue

[absinthetics]

Lily of the valley, patchouli, copal, violet leaf, ambrette seed, Cyprian bergamot, chocolate peppermint, and tobacco absolute.

Ooh! There's the bergamot! Bam! Next come patchouli and violet leaf. After this assaults your nose with citrus, you get the ghost of lily in the valley, fluttering haphazardly by just like a ...Bernardino dotted blue butterfly. The chocolate and tobacco may round this out to give it a slightly earthy-etheral feel to it, but that original tang in the bottle really gets you. I'll post a wet review for this one because I really want to know where it goes next.

[Invidiana]

I almost thought I wasn't going to like this, because in the wet stage it was just a sharp blasting confusion of bergamot and violet leaf, but something amazing happens after a couple minutes. The bergamot and violet leaf all but completely disappear, and taking their place is the most wonderful lily of the valley backed by soft patchouli and an uplifting spark of that chocolate peppermint. The resins and tobacco waft up through the background to add a summery warmth. What I assumed I was going to completely disagree with turned out to be love.

[Rho]

I decided to try this because I pretty much always love lily of the valley.

 

Bernardino Dotted Blue opens a bit harshly with strong violet leaf, a bergamot that's on the bitter side, and just a hint of mint. There's something "herb garden" about this stage, and while it's not offensive, it's not my favorite part of this scent.

 

I like it much better once it settles down. On me, that's a process of about an hour, during which it morphs and changes. New notes start to bloom on my skin and they envelop the bergamot, toning it down. Much better!

 

After the hour mark, I'm left with a perfectly lovely perfume. I finally get my lily of the valley, a light hint of chocolate peppermint, and a mix of other earthy things playing in the background. It's really pretty, and reminds me of Belle Epoque, which is one that works particularly well on my skin.

 

All in all, I wish it'd settle down faster, but once it does, it's a keeper.

[ModderRhu]

This is the only BPAL that turned into baby powder on me when it wasn't listed as an ingredient. bad luck with this round of bugs…

[Monday]

Awww this is such a cute butterfly. Out of the blue butterflies this year this one is the winner for me.

On my skin wet: Bergamot! A lovely fresh earl grey-like bergamot entwined with violet leaf. Definitely violet leaf and not the flower which goes iffy on me sometimes. Violet leaf has also surprised me in the Vampire Bride, it's nicely light and aromatic.

Dry: There's a bit of powder amping I think it's the lily of the valley. It's not as powdery as Two Barred Flasher though, the bergamot is still on top of all the notes. The patchouli comes through as a hint of wood when it's fully dry. I'm not getting any chocolate.

Obviously this bergamot works better for me than the one in Two Barred Flasher. Bernardino Dotted Blue is slightly unisex, I would wear it but I can also imagine a very sophisticated man wearing it. It's a pretty red oil in the vial.

[Blood onmy hands]

When I first read the list of notes for this one, it just sounded like a jumbled mess of everything to me. I can't pick out most of the listed notes, though. It's mostly a powdery, sour floral and incense smell on my skin. The floral part reminds me of jasmine more than lily or violet, and the copal and tobacco seem to be giving it a smoky incense undertone. As it dries down, something in this goes very baby powdery on me.

 

It's like baby powder, sour jasmine and bergamot, and a whiff of incense smoke. Gives me a headache after a while

[Dark Alice]

Super duper fancy bar soap with a pinch of patchouli. *sigh*

[zankoku_zen]

This one is an effervescent, sort of furry, blend. It's got tendrils of violet and bergamot, anchored by patchouli and ambrette seed. I get a whisp of tobacco and chocolate peppermint. On wet, it's much lovelier and cuddly, but that sort of burns off quickly.

 

Sadly, this sticks close to the skin and two hours later, I can't even tell that I applied any as my skin just eat this up.

[Gateau]

This reminds me of both Belle Epoque (lily of the valley, citrus) and Donna con Ventaglia (bergamot, violet leaf). It's a very classic perfume, in the Chanel No. 5 vein. Very well blended and sophisticated, with a certain sharpness.

[milo]

Harsh and biting at first, then fades into a lily soap. Not really what I was hoping for.

[whitsunweddings]

In the imp: Bernadino dotted PATCHOULI.

Wet: ... Blending with the violet leaf, incense and citrus.

Dry: The violet leaf is nice, but overall this is a pretty soapy and old ladyish scent.

[thekittenkat]

In the decant: Patch, choco mint, tobacco. Promising.

 

Wet: The florals come zooming along! Note: the oil is very reddish in colour.

 

The dry-down: Strangely, it's all calmed down and blended together in a faint, slightly sweet floral, that's not terrible but really isn't my style. Morphed like nothing that I have ever smelt and tested before!

[stellamaris]

This is excellent, resiny, very much like the Zebra, but a bit more "boy".

[filigree_shadow]

I like copal and it doesn't show up very often, so I always want to try it. I thought it might be good with those notes -- sounds good on paper! But on my skin it smells like a very high-pitched floral. Lily of the valley often smells waaaay over the top on me. High-pitched to the point of almost smelling astringent. So this poor little guy isn't for me.