Hell's Belle

[supremegoddessofall]

Catalog says: Sweet, smoky and sensually wicked. A thick, steamy scent, truly sinister in its voluptuous sexuality. The perfume of a demon's favored consort, or of the devil herself. Oleander with wet, sweet mandarin, lush magnolia, a rush of deep musk and a touch of spice.

 

 

Whether I'll like this or not will have a lot to do with how strong/prominent the mandarin is - I don't do orange. *sniff* The orange isn't that strong, but I'm not liking this one too much. It has a candy-like quality to it, but not in a good way for me. The magnolia is probably what I smell the most.

 

Later on, it's mostly spice. I have no idea where the other notes went, but now it smells like cinnamon.

 

Score: 2 out of 5

Edited September 30, 2006 by supremegoddessofall

[columbus]

In the bottle, this is bright and fruity! Magnolia and mandarin.

 

On the skin its much more complicated. The sweet side stays, but it gets musky and a little bit darker. As time goes by I still get a sense of “sweet,” but can no longer pinpoint the fruit or floral notes.

 

Unfortunately this blend doesn’t last very long, which is a shame because I really like the dichotomy between the sweet and the spice.

[sofiaviolet]

I smell citrus while it's in the imp, but the second it touches my skin, everything but the faintest hint of spice goes away. It's way too understated for me.

[outofrhyme]

In the bottle:

YUM. Exotic florals, touch of citrus, touch of spice.

 

Wet:

Spicy, heavy, heady florals. A touch of diabolical sweetness.

 

Dry down:

This scent is very, very confusing. I can't tell whether it's floral, or fruit, or spice. I don't think I like one of the notes, which vaguely smells like rotting flowers... I think it's the mandarin mixing with something.

 

Final thoughts:

It was SO GOOD to start with, and now it smells like dying flowers. I can just TELL that it's something gone a little funky on me, because the notes smell great when I focus on them in isolation, but my skin is amping some of them strangely. Such a pity. I'll try this one once more, in the future, before I swap it.

 

02/09 Update

My opinion is unchanged. There's something about this that is exotic and good... but on me, it smells too much like cloying, dying flowers. Maybe it's the oleander or magnolia combined with the musk and mandarin? Into the swap pile it goes!

Edited February 9, 2007 by outofrhyme

[Elemcee]

Hell's Belle is sweet but with something darker laying underneath.

 

It's warm and sexy. This is the perfume worn by someone confidently alluring, in curve clinging silk or velvet, spiked heels and a sultry red smirk.

 

She will lull you into a false sense of security, until you are hers.

[Jenesis]

This is my chosen "signature" scent. It begins with a strong rush of spices, and after about twenty minutes it mellows to a gorgeous soft, dark red floral, with just enough "bite" to be interesting.

 

I find that, when I first put Hell's Belle on, all I can smell is spice and "perfumey" smell. It fades away quickly to the warm, mellow scent mentioned above. The staying power of this scent is pretty good - I can still catch a whiff after I get back from my last lecture.#

 

Verdict: Only works on my skin for me, so I can't use it as a hair or clothes scent. But when it's on my skin: Wow!

[eleventhousand]

This smells EXACTLY like Blood on my skin.

EXACTLY.

I don't think they share any notes...

 

[filigree_shadow]

This is a discreet floral on my skin -- the floral notes don't jump out at me, they stay in the background. Mostly it seems to be musk and spice (clove, I think), but it's sweet. I think it's quite sexy and sensual.

 

I really like Hell's Belle a lot. It's been on and off and back on and back off my "to buy" bottle list for nearly a year now. It seems like whenever I put it on I'm reminded of how much I like it, but for some reason when I haven't worn it in a while I forget that I liked it so much. It's more of an understated sexy than blends like Sin and Vixen, and I'm guessing that when I am looking for something sexy I reach for the ones that are rather in-your-face about it.

 

The more I smell this, though, the more I like it. I'm putting this back on my bottle list, and dammit it's going to stay there this time.

[asciident]

Got this as a frimp on my order from the Lab.

 

Wet: Whoa! A rush of deep musk is spot on. The moment I open the imp, a rich floral musk comes pouring out!

 

First on: Spicy, musky, exotic florals. This actually smells like something my mom would love.

 

Dry: The musk mellows a bit, leaving a spicy slightly citrusy (I smell you mandarin, peeking out!) floral blend. Something's keeping the flowers in check, preventing them from getting too sweet. What a sensous smell. I love it, but I think my mom would like it even more.

[Sashan]

Imp: Magnolia and mandarin. I love magnolia! My two favorite main stream scents contain magnolia and I was disappointed when Black Dahlia didn't work on me because of the rose.

 

Wet: Spicy, creamy, magnolia. I could hardly smell anything at first and had to put a bit more on.

 

Dry: A very warm and sensual scent. A little earthy and not my usual style. It's becomes quite musky, with only a hint of mandarin. The sweet magnolia remains in the background.

 

I'm still undecided. I like this scent but wish the magnolia and mandarin would stick around a bit longer. It's the type of scent I'd wear out at night or to bed but not during the day.

[bulletslc]

The first bpal scent I've ever applied....so....here goes.....

 

In bottle.....Woah! I smell dragon's blood but there isn't any in the description! Must be the citrus and spice combining.

 

Wet....Strong. A lush floral is coming out but the spices are still dominant.

 

1 hour...more creamy/musky less floral....still a hint of citrus as a top note, but it is blending well with the musk scent...I smell like a sexy dreamsicle! Oooooo!

 

Well....pretty sure this will have some serious staying power (hoping so as I'm going to a party tonight and want to WOW the guests)....but I'll have to come back later to give the final results.

 

So far....in lust with this! (But be warned! VERY potent when wet!)

 

*edit.....

 

The party was very smokey and incesney so I'm not sure if anyone got to smell the goodness or not. But when I woke up this morning I could still smell some musky caramel scent on my wrists.

Edited March 4, 2007 by Bulletslc

[luna65]

Thanks to Rheliwen for the imp.

 

Imp: The magnolia is entirely dominant to the point where I can't smell anything else.

 

Skin: This is a BPAL that for me has an incredible throw, it's almost a little too much. But the initial impression I get is one of a very classic floral.

 

Drydown: After a time I can discern the musk and the spice. but I never really sense the citrus. It's very heady and seductive, but I don't think I can live up to Her reputation.

[Victoria]

this is one i thought i would like because magnolia and oleander make me think of the South, but this and Black Dahlia i fear, are scents I prefer in a more subtle form, wafted by a warm summer breeze in New Orleans. just too overpowering on me.

[phedre]

In vial: mandarin and magnolia.

 

wet: Oh pretty! The mandarin's staying crisp, and the magnolia and oleander are sweetening this nicely. The musk is gorgeous.

 

drydown: This is well balanced, with tart mandarin and sweet magnolia. The musk is wonderful! I really like it.

[Trish]

I really like this a lot when wet and in early drydown, it's a musky floral with a hint of fruit and spice. However it gradually gets more floral when it's dry and the mandarine becomes more prominant, threatening to turn sour as citrus sometimes does on me. I could wear it occasionally though, and the imp would probably have been a keeper. Unfortunately however someone decapitated the imp when he decided he wanted to wear some Bpal when I wasn't around. Why he decided to try an imp from my "to be tested box" I have no idea.

[steffanina]

Hell's Belle-

 

In Bottle: Mm, something floral-sweet like honeysuckle. That must be the magnolia.

 

Wet: Spicy, with the florals underlying.

 

Dry: Hmm, after a while it's just unremarkably floral, quite warm, but not really anything that works for me.

 

Overall: Not for me, though a nice scent in its own right.

[wikkidraven]

hell's belle to me is an unremarkable floral--none of the spice or mandarin really became apparent on my skin. it's quite strong, though, and a bit sharp.

 

swaps.

[jasmine]

Hell’s Belle is a high floral on the wand, but it settles down into something a bit more dusky on my skin. This catches my attention much less than the fact that it burns my skin. The burning is faint, but never my idea of a good time. I’m going to give it a few minutes and see if it backs off.

 

The stinging is continuing. However, the scent has backed off. It’s a subtle aura that smells a bit of sour sweat, only in a perfumey sort of way. Some of that musk must be skin musk, too -- it’s teasing at the edge of Play-Doh saltiness.

 

All right, my skin is starting to welt in reaction to this, and it still smells really unimpressive. Time to wash off and avoid this in the future.

[eatingthesea]

a frimp! someday, i'll understand what this "oleander" is all about :/ alas, this scent is all mandarin and spice on me. no musk. not that this is a bad thing necessarily. my skin isn't usually in agreement with citrus-laden scents, but somehow it is accepting of mandarin here. i was hoping to extract more of the magnolia with hell's belle but perhaps that's what black dahlia is for. this one is definitely spicy-sweet on me and the description of "sweet, smoky and sensually wicked" certainly applies. i'd like to layer her with a clove-infused scent.

 

ha! just as i was writing this, my co-worker said, "someone smells good around here...kinda powdery-sweet!" it was moi. sad i thought i could avoid the dreaded baby powder effect with hell's belle. oh well. she shall remain imp-bound for me.

[Naamah_Darling]

Musk, spice, and a sweet fruity note; I'm not familiar with either magnolia or oleander as a smell, but this goes on as a spicy, sweet floral.

 

It is, indeed, wicked. The musk is skin-soft and yet dark, the florals are humid and sweet, and the spice is fast, peppery, frisky. I love it. As it dries, it becomes a spicier, richer musk, as the floral fades. This is deeply sexy, and deeply wild. A wicked scent to layer over body heat and slow sweat on a hot summer night, or the perfect scent to warm up a cold winter one.

[wolfwynd]

Very flowery, didn't get any of the spice which is what I bought it for.

 

Not unpleasant but not me. Off to swaps.

[cvelis]

In the vial

Spicy floral!

 

On me

Gorgeous spicy floral! I can smell the mandarin and magnolia. Very nice, pure sexiness in a bottle.

 

Final verdict

I'm going to wait until it's completely dry and see how it behaves. This may become a bottle.

[500ml]

Amazingly fruity, both in the vial and wet. Dry I can definitely smell the flowers, especially the magnolia (which truly smells good here). Dry it also becomes much heavier (thanks to the musk) and even though I don't get any spice at some stage I do start to get some creamy vanilla. Quite a charming scent, frisky and slightly naughty.

[prettybird]

I don't think you can help but feel a little sexy wearing this. It's like a rule.

 

The magnolia is particularly.. realistic? Maybe it's because I'm Southern, but I can't help but think this smells like my mamaw. It's a very complicated, almost meditative scent, evocative of sitting on the porch in the summertime (except with not nearly enough honeysuckle to be a true Mississippi night).

 

Surprisingly for such a heavy scent, it doesn't last very long on me. I don't think this is a bottle scent for me, but I'll probably end up picking up another imp.

[savage_rose]

Magnolia, and what I swear is the "spiced pear tea" candle scent from Pier 1 Imports about a decade ago. Lovely and sexy, but in that enthusiastic young way. It smells like new love, and spontaneous displays of affection. Fresh and sweet, and not innocent, but not jaded either. Lovely.