Beauty, the Aggrieved

[Balame]

BEAUTY, The Aggrieved

A white rose draped by a delicate, pale, sheer veil of vanilla, the depth and darkness of her black lace embodied by tobacco absolute, Indonesian patchouli, Bulgarian oakmoss, frankincense, white sandalwood, and myrrh.

Rose is hit or miss with me (usually miss), but this was a big win. Color me impressed.

Unlike 98% of other rose blends, the rose doesn't dominate. It's pale and soft while the patchouli does a great job of keeping this from being all floral, all the time. The patch brings its rich, foresty scent to the blend (along with the sandalwood). Frankincense and myrrh darken it up while the moss makes it dry and elegant. The vanilla is pretty understated but there’s a delicious creaminess here that I can attribute to it.

This is one of those oils where you can pick everything out individually, but the notes are layered so well that it comes together in an ideal way. I can actually imagine a mature Red Riding Hood smelling like this. It’s lush and womanly and evokes a forest – but lingering under the pretty exterior is a touch of the wild side. Someone who can hold her own against the Wolf.

[Monday]

Starts out as a deep floral with something like elderberry in the back. Then rose unfolds together with oakmoss, the patchouli is there but it's nice and muted.

Beauty ends up smelling like an old-timey rose-scented cream with the slight sourness and powder of oakmoss the patchouli is reclaiming some space. Very victorian, very evocative.

[theseagrows]

this starts off a bit like pencil shavings which is most likely frankincense, sandalwood or both and white rose, which tends to sour on me. I should've known! most of these are "death notes" but sometimes in lesser amounts are ok, i guess that's why i took a chance that, and i love tobacco, vanilla and oakmoss but they aren't enough to make this work for me all the way. later on I sense the vanilla and tobacco come through which helps temper the leadlike/sour scent a bit, and the vanilla becomes more prominent and I like it more, but there is still an underlying something that is just "off" with my skin chemistry. too bad, because the vanilla-florals are really lovely.

[zankoku_zen]

Vanilla, white rose, tobacco. It's a pretty white rose floral and yet rugged, and sort of Western.

 

This is the smell of a lady that is able to pistol whip you if she has to. Don't make her do it, because it ain't gonna be pretty, pardner.

[OctoberGwen]

Balame and zeezee kind of nailed this scent with their combined reviews, so I'll just say that my nickname for this one is "The Disquieting Rose."

 

On me, this is mostly white rose and oakmoss but I can sense all the other components. It absolutely smells like a Victorian gunslinger; Beth's magic at work once again.

[milo]

Rose and resins. Not sweet. The only rose combination I like is rose and resins, and this one does not disappoint. A bad ass rose.

[JasminDreams2010]

This one was a surprise winner on me! I was expecting total dust or little-old-lady rose. Worries were completely unfounded.

 

On me, Beauty is completely incense, but a rose incense with a sweet vanilla drydown. Myrrh makes it feel solemn. But the vanilla/rose combo keeps it from being too heavy. It's a good summer scent for those who aren't in the mood to douse themselves in tropical punch. It's deep and rich and warm. I usually like to rock all the autumn scents, so this is great because it almost has an autumnal feeling but translates just fine to summer.

[Monster]

Out of the vial this is straight up white rose and resins. The resins have almost a cedar-like quality to them. I'm probably going to love this one.

 

On my skin, this is GORGEOUS. It's mostly tobacco and smoldering rose resins. Beauty is smoky and dangerous smelling.

 

The final dry down stage, it remains unchanged. A perfect rose incense with tobacco.

[alterosen]

I had a very similar experience to theseagrows. This scent ended up super woody on me - I thought for sure there was cedar in here & not just as a supporting player. Sometimes patchouli & sandalwood do that to me. I was looking forward to a rosy vanilla tobacco fest but it was not to be. For the record, I tend to like rose & resin blends but this just didn't work.

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: A deep dark smoky rose. Hints of oakmoss. Something almost crystalline. Really interesting.

 

 

Dry: Oh wow. This might be it. This might be THE ROSE that I've been searching for. It's sweet and feminine. It hasn't gone powdery or soapy. I will need a full day test, but this is glorious.

 

 

ETA: So I somehow list/frimped my tester of this away, and totally forgot that at one time, I had thought this was THE ROSE for me. THEN someone frottled it to me.

 

Now I am retesting it.

 

It's darker than I remember, in a good way. I love the combo of patchouli and rose, but have yet to find a BPAL perfume that combines the two, that works on my skin. This may be it!

 

Once dried, I really love this scent. It feels comfortable, and familiar somehow. It's likely one of my favourite florals I have ever smelled. So so grateful to the kind person who sent it to me, since I had totally forgotten about it, but am so happy to have it now!

Edited December 24, 2016 by LizziesLuck

[DiesMali]

I don't know HOW I haven't reviewed this yet, because I've had this bottle for a while and it's one of my absolute favourites.

 

In the bottle: Cigar tobacco and rose.

 

Wet on my skin: Smoky, resinous rose. Deep, rich, enticing, and just gorgeous even at this stage.

 

Dry: This is one of my all-time favourite BPAL scents, and definitely my favourite GC rose blend. This is a blend of a bunch of my favourite notes, and it works absolutely gloriously on my skin, combining to make a rich, sexy, smoky rose-resin blend with wisps of vanilla sweetening it. The rose is unmistakably sweet, white rose, not the deep red or even juicy pink used in other BPAL perfumes. The tobacco in this is the other primary standout note, and it's the sweet, smoky cigar tobacco that so many of us resin/incense lovers rave about. This entire scent is so well-blended and beautifully harmonious on my skin that I hardly even want to pick the notes apart, even though I can sense them all in there and I know they're all playing their part in making this scent so intoxicatingly gorgeous on me. Beautiful. Just...the best. Unnngh.

Edited February 29, 2016 by DiesMali

[Blood onmy hands]

Beauty is the only fragrance that I like out of the Pretty Indulgent series. It reminds me of the Trading Post's "Red Rose" fragrance from a few years back. The rose smells deep red, dry, and of an expensive rose oil absolute. Myrrh, tobacco and patchouli further darken it and give it a thick, earthy-resinous sweetness. I usually don't like earthy roses, but the sweet myrrh and spicy tones to this one are really attractive to me. I keep thinking that there's clove in this for some reason.

Dark red, dry rose with a clove-y spiciness to it, sweet myrrh, earthy tobacco and patchouli... a very resinous, dark, beautiful rose.

[nolifeking]

A rose I can actually wear!!! OmG.

On the back of my hand, Beauty is a dry but light rose with note of frankincense, oakmoss.

On my wrist, it's more an eartly( patch) smoky( remind me too of cigar) rose with a subtle creamy touch from the vanilla.

Resins and rose lover, this one is for you!

Just beautiful ♡

[lizabelle]

Beauty is, well, a beauty! This is the dry, sawdusty sandalwood in several other BPALs (I always end up comparing it to the cedar note, and I apologize, but the cedar is so easy to recognize and they do have a similar character). The vanilla and tobacco are similar to the blend in Pediophobia, but not as sweet: very perfumey and a bit boozy. The resins are thick, warm, and lovely, and probably the most prominent aside from the sandalwood. The rose does not overpower in the least but gives a touch of sweet powderiness to the whole thing. It totally smells like the "desert rose" type of heroine in a western. I'm very glad I swapped for a full bottle of this, and think I will get a lot of wear out of it.

[ralenth]

Wet: Dark dusty resins with tinges of sweetness.

 

Drydown: As it dries, cedar dominates, but then the rose sidles out. She is a classic red rose, which turns green and thorny with my skin chemistry.

 

Dry: Beauty smells like a more feminine take on a Western. Tobacco and cedar sawdust on the floor interplay with the rose.

[Aveya]

Source: Lab Buy (for a decant circle)

Preconceptions: Expected to hate it - assumed heavy florals gone awry. Hopeful best case - Rose with a patchouli drydown.

 

Bottle: Dusty rose

Initial Skin: This was much more developed of a scent than I expected. Rose is there, sure. It's dominant but it's not overtaking. It's dark and woody, maybe even dusty. Feminine but strong and badass.

Drydown: Mid-way, rose amps up and overpowers into a floral hot mess on me - All I can smell is ROOOOSE. Then this vanishes from my skin in about 2 hours. Just, sucked up dry. Super disappointing. I'm wondering since this was a fresh lab buy if there's any shot with some aging she'll have more staying power? I was really hoping the sandalwood and patchouli would give it a long-lasting cozy hum, at the least.

 

Verdict: Dusty Rose, amps to Rose single note, then vanishes. So depressing for me ;_;

[samanare]

Fresh wood chips and tobacco, with a touch of rose. Very western and true to the inspiration.

[Lucchesa]

I continue to be impressed by how well the Pretty Deadly blends have worked for me. I was worried about the rose in Beauty taking over or going sour, but it did neither. Instead, it was a lovely backdrop for the tobacco and resins. Despite the presence of the vanilla, there is not a lot of sweetness in this blend. It's like the toughest possible rose, with outdoorsy woody notes (both frankincense and sandalwood in their drier incarnations often read as cedar to me) and tobacco. A capable, six-shooting woman, whose modern incarnation might be wearing a business suit or prospering in a male-dominated profession.