Belle Époque

[yeahbutnobut]

Belle Epoque

“The Pretty Era”, France’s Golden Time: an age of beauty, innovation and peace in France that lasted from the 19th Century through the first World War and gave birth to the cabaret, the cancan, and the cinema as well as the Impressionist and Art Nouveau movements. Sweet opium, Lily of the Valley, vanilla, mandarin and red sandalwood.

 

In the imp: mandarin and lily of the valley. A combination of citrus and white, soft floral.

Wet on skin: so pretty! Lily and mandarin with a hint of dry, dark opium wafting underneath.

Dry on skin: lily of the valley and opium! This is a very pleasant scent. The mandarin adds a little bit of sharpness to this lily of the valley dominated scent, and I like the way the opium deepens and adds it's smoky touch to the scent without overwhelming-I think the sandalwood adds that incense like feel to it even more. I can't smell vanilla yet but I think it will come out and sweeten this scent even more.

After a while: eventually this scent fades into pretty much all lily of the valley, with just hints of sandalwood, opium and vanilla. It's very faint now. the flowery scent is very pretty but I wish it had more throw and that the other notes were stronger…the lily also does almost veer into soap territory, but thankfully doesn't become totally soapy.

Eventually the vanilla bonds nicely with the lily and makes it very nicely sweet. But it's still too faint for me.

Verdict: this is a lovely scent but I wish it was a bit stronger. It's a pretty, feminine, romantic and graceful lily of the valley scent supported by a gentle waft of opium and sandalwood and sweetened slightly by vanilla. It's such a light scent and I like the way the opium isn't too heady like it can be. The only problem with this scent is that it's very faint on my skin, and also, despite it's notes, doesn't seem to have much depth on me-it seems to evaporate fast and doesn't stick to me very much, surprising for a scent with opium and sandalwood. It's nice but I think I'll swap it.

Emoticon rating:

If you like this, try: Come To Me, Languor

Edited September 28, 2006 by yeahbutnobut

[Fury]

The first time I'd tried this particular fragrance, I scrubbed it off before I could write a review. Curiosity lead me back to it, and very pleasantly so.

 

The initial note to me, is dandylion. This is the fate of most florals upon my skin, that reedy, dry, irritating sort of scent that I avoid at all costs. After a few minutes it tones down, still a bright floral, the lily all enveloping. Within, literally, ten minutes of wear the mandarin and sandalwood appear with the lily evening the lot of it out, reminding me of a very light and chic fragrance, possibly the sort you'd sniff at a department store counter, romantic and very feminine.

 

Though, it really doesn't last very long, lovely as it is when it does.

[grifyn_whiffs]

IN THE BOTTLE: Hmmm. Tang. I'm smelling something lemony, but with cream instead of citrus. I've smelled all of the other notes save for sweet opium, so I'm guessing that's the note.

 

WET: Not sure about this one so far. It smells almost like a cleanser. "Synthetic" is the word. I'm smelling that lemon again, like Pledge. Please, I say to my wrist, don't make me smell like I've been dusting.

 

30 MINUTES LATER: Okay, now we're getting somewhere. This is really nice. It smells bright and airy. The sweet opium and Lily of the Valley are right out there. The remaining notes are so thoroughly blended that they make the scent, as a whole, more evocative. That's artistry.

 

ONE HOUR LATER: This one goes very subtle and feminine. This is a fragrance you wear to tea, or a garden party. Or, if you're more like me, you wear it to a good, low-key burger joint and the zoo, but it's refined and doesn't turn powdery the way I associate with "old lady" perfumes like the many samples I nabbed in my youth from unguarded make-up cases.

 

THROW: The throw is low on this one, but that's not a criticism. This is a lean-in close scent, the one someone catches a whiff of during a hug (or an "air kiss" if you're at the aforementioned garden party). I would say that this is explains why my husband was sniffing my ears, but he tends to do that anyway, so the indictment would be if he didn't sniff my ears.

 

COMMENTS: Floral, sweet, subtle and hard to hold on to, the scent equivalent of a fluffy meringue melting in the mouth. When I woke up the morning after wearing this one, it just smelled SO DAMN GOOD, if faint.

 

NEEDED TO BE REFRESHED: This one invites you to slather it on. Once I discovered I liked it, I ended up refreshing it. For the rest of the day, however, I left well enough alone. At day's end, when I sniffed my wrist, I was officially won over.

 

PURCHASING: This goes on my 5 ml wish list.

[thecaitycat]

In the bottle: As with several others, I smell Lily of the Valley and sandalwood in the bottle. Together they're neither floral nor woody. There's a little touch of sweetness to it.

 

Wet on skin: Lily of the Valley, sandalwood, and a small hint of citrus and opium. I really catch the vanilla when my wrist is farther away from my nose; up close it's sharper and less sweet.

 

Dry on skin: On my skin this dries into opium with a touch of vanilla. It's not very strong.

 

Verdict: I went ahead and bought a 5ml bottle of this after enjoying the imp. It changes many times from in-the-bottle to dry-down, which keeps things interesting. Very nice.

[crazyredhead17]

In trying to get the top off my imp, I managed to get this all over my hand.

 

In the bottle, I smell a whole lot of nothingness (which is apparently the vanilla, because everything vanilla registers as nothing to my dumn nose) with some sandalwood.

 

Wet, I get a load of sandalwood, and as usual, my skin amps up the florals. It's a very pretty scent, but it's not very me. But I don't care for florals in general, as I work in the floral department of a garden center and smelling like flowers smells like work.

[charmingdetails]

A rich, complex blend of soft citrus, sweetness, and sandalwood, this is a very elegant, womanly scent that definitely evokes a bygone era. I don't typically enjoy citrus scents, but I find the mandarin here to be so soft, not sharp at all- I love it. After a while, the sandalwood fades, leaving only that wonderful mandarin coupled with a heady sweetness which I assume is the opium and vanilla. The floral in this is very subtle on me. The scent seems to get headier after the first hour or so, and the staying power is decent- it still has a gentle presence over four hours after application. Overall, this is a delicious scent. I may need a bottle!

[Medox]

Spicy wood on bottom, lily dancing lightly on top. One of my absolute favorites.

[porcelain72]

In the bottle: light, delicate floral

 

Initial application: the floral gets a bit creamy, presumably from the vanilla. I'm not getting anything citrusy.

 

Drydown: fading fast, alas, but this is very pretty. The citrus eventually comes out a bit, though very subtly. I thought that opium would smell spicy, if it does I'm not getting it. This is a beautifully feminine scent that does evoke a feeling of modest but playful charm. Very nice.

 

Smiley rating:

[Loligo]

As usual, I cannot smell the lily of the valley AT ALL. This note might as well not exist for me. But the rest of this blend is lovely and elegant even without it. At first, everything smells sharp and separate, not well-blended at all, but it soon settles down to a warm, dry vanilla-sandalwood, with hints of opium and mandarin adding roundness and piquancy, respectively. It makes me think of Art Nouveau furniture and textiles.

[maijasu]

Belle Epoque is very sophisticated and feminine. It also has a hint of sweetness. It's a happy scent, but it's a restrained kind of happiness. All the notes blend together so well that it's impossible for me to pick them out. Very pretty, although I probably won't get a bottle, just because there are so many others I love more!

[arcticwolf]

ITB: Sandalwood, and some vanilla. It's very elegant.

 

Wet: Mandarins all the way, with just the tiniest hint of the sandalwood underneath. I think this scent is too complex for my uninitiated nose to tell what all the goodness is.

 

Dry: The sandalwood is making a bit of a stronger appearance, but the mandarin is still there. As it dries, the other notes are fading enough that I smell the lily of the valley. I can't smell any opium in this or vanilla, and I really like opium, so I'm kind of disappointed.

 

Gorgeous, all in all, but the lily of the valley is a little strong on me. I just associate Lily of the Valley with my Grandmother. Still very elegant and womanly feeling. The way everything blends together is quite nice. I will keep this as an occasional wear.

[steffanina]

Belle Epoque-

 

In Bottle: Very clean and light--gosh, that is pretty! What is it, tropical flower? Strawberry?

 

Wet: Abrupt musty-dusty floral smell. In my experience that usually gets better on me.

 

Dry: This did not stay unpleasant, but it never really turned into anything striking for me. Kind of went into generic floral hints but mostly faded. Too bad.

 

Overall: Not for me.

[fridythirteen]

I got my very first six-pack of imps today, and unfortunately one of them dribbled in shipping! And of course it was the one I was looking forward to trying most - Belle Epoque! And with every imp label heavily doused in the stuff, it's tiring out my nose! So sharp and perfumey, not at all what I was expecting. But lord knows my skin is weird and often responds well to weird smells, so here goes nothing:

 

In the Imp: ...and on the labels, and all over my hands...this is very sharp. I smell a hint of sandalwood, but mostly tangy orange and some green, somewhat heady flower. Lily, maybe?

 

Wet: Okay, now I smell nothing but jasmine. SO MUCH JASMINE. Ech. It smells like the incense/medicinal herbs corner of an Asian grocery store for a minute or two...but then I'm starting to smell the sandalwood, and the lily and orange are coming back again, too. Perhaps I judged you too soon, Belle Epoque?

 

Dry-Down: Oooh, so complex now! The sandalwood and opium are playing very nicely as the base note. There's a gentle breeze of orange, vanilla, and light white florals that drifts across it. The overall scent is simultaneously young, flirty, sensual, and mysterious. Florals are hit-or-miss on me, but my skin is amping up the sweet and warm notes so that the floral simply becomes a nice counter-note.

 

Conclusion: I might need to get a big bottle of this, especially as I tipped over my poor, already half-empty imp while testing it! (BTW, this stuff'll strip the stain off your table, a bit. The Belle's got bite!)

[supremegoddessofall]

Lilies with soft opium and minimal sandalwood. I barely get the vanilla at all, and the mandarin is completely absent.

[Faeried]

Sweet, but sharp green notes and citrus. The green notes make this one a maybe for me, because often they go sorta icky on my skin.

 

So I'm sitting with it, maybe this one will turn out lucky for me.

[mmmitchell]

Initial impression: Definitely all about the mandarin orange, very upfront, with a vague "spiciness" that is most likely the opium/sandalwood duo.

 

Wearing: As this warms on my skin, I'm reminded of both "Vixen" and "Ravenous", as this smells like a sandalwood, rather than patchouli version. I never do get any lily of the valley straight out, but there's a "fresh" aspect to this that I suspect IS the lily of the valley, brightening this blend considerably. Fortunately, this is grounded well enough with the sandalwood (and perhaps the opium, was well) that it doesn't go all weirdly soapy on me.

 

Verdict: I like this very much, and could definitely see wearing it.....however, it fades fast on me. I don't mind slathering for an exceptional scent, but that does put Belle Epoque a little further down on my wish list than it would have been otherwise.

[Ajila]

In the bottle - Wood, a hint of lily and oats?

 

Wet on me - Warm vanilla, with hints of mandarin and just the tiniest suggestion of the sandalwood and lily

 

Dry on me - Warm softly spiced vanilla (a less aggressive Snake Oil)

 

Overall - I like the dry down of this, but it's very faint. Definitely a blend that I'll come back to.

[luna65]

Thanks to Sidonie for the imp.

 

Imp: Very green and fresh, but more in a fresh-cut flowers sort of way, I suppose, which I attribute to the Lily of the Valley accord.

 

Skin: There's an interesting sense of effervescence when I first put this on.

 

Drydown: After a time it develops a creamy quality, and there's a different type of sweetness coming through. I'm glad the lily is more of a top note in this blend, otherwise it would end up much the same as other BPALs with lily on me. The opium takes time to come to the fore, but it's wholly familiar when it does. I don't really get the sense of the mandarin at all, unless that's what I was smelling during the initial application. Although there is a kind of "tangy" quality later on, so that may be its' reappearance.

 

This is very interesting in that it smells like nothing I've ever tried before; and it is "pretty" in its' way, but it vascilates between descriptive states so it's difficult to commit to one single impression.

[Miss Lynx]

This is one I never would have tried based on the catalog description - it sounds like it would way too floral. But I tried it at a meet'n'sniff where we didn't have the scent descriptions handy, and found it pleasant enough to swap for so that I could have a more thorough try of it.

 

There is certainly a floral component to it, but it doesn't dominate the scent as much as you might think. It's strong at first, but settles down fairly quickly into a more balanced scent, where the florals are offset by the mandarin, and softened by the vanilla and sandalwood.

 

it's very pretty, with a faintly decadent/intoxicating edge, suitably enough for its inspiration. More conventionally perfumey than most scents I tend to wear, but not in a bad way. There's a powdery aspect to it, but again, not in a bad way - more like a very nice, probably expensive, French body powder.

 

It falls somewhat into the same general ballpark as Gypsy Queen, Desire, Jezebel and Magdalene for me, all of which are basically florals balanced with enough non-floral elements that I can actually wear them. Compared to those, it's a bit lighter, and less overtly sexy -- you could wear it to the office without anyone thinking you're trying to seduce your co-workers. It will probably be excellent for spring.

 

Grade: B/B+

[Baudelaire]

Oh, I am in love!

 

In the vial: Opium, Sandalwood, & Lily of the Valley; beautifully blended & soft.

 

Wet: Ah here's the mandarin with a hint of vanilla! But I can still pick up the other notes in the background.

 

Dry-down: The notes have all melded together into a gorgeous, lightly floral & smokey fragrance! None are overpowering the others. Surprising to me because my body chemistry usually latches on to vanilla like no tomorrow.

 

24 hours later: I'm still catching a faint whiff on my hands from touching my neck...mmm! There is certainly a full bottle or 2 of this in my near future!

[Sashan]

This is nice.

 

At first Belle Epoque is a very sophisticated light floral warmed with a hint of mandarin. Aside from the mandarin I'm not able to distinguish any of the individual floral notes. It's quite lovely but possibly a little too 'grown up' for me.

 

After a couple of hours the florals start to fade and the vanilla takes over. The vanilla reminds me of Antique Lace, which doesn't work on me either. I'm finally left with a very faint soapy vanilla scent. This one doesn't last very long on me.

[rttgirl]

My first review!

 

in the bottle: heavy on the orange/citrus vibe, but somehow richer, almost buttery (if that makes sense)

 

first application: sharper citrus, but gets more powdery. vaguely reminds me of what the "popular" girls wore in high school (Opium?), but only remotely

 

dry: much more of the floral & vanilla are coming through - balances out the powder nicely.

 

this lasted me about 8 hours all told - it's a good, balanced "every-day" type of scent for me.

[Eros]

At first it's a very light & airy floral, ACK. Fortunately, the opium quickly shows up-a sweet, spicy opium. I can't seem to find the other notes although I do get a bit of a baby aspirin powdery thing going on after about ten minutes.

A bit too light for me but nice nonetheless.

[Medici]

In the imp: lily and vanilla, with a hint of citrus

 

Wet: The mandarin peeks through first, warmed by a very soft, sweet vanilla. Wow, this actually glitters a little. It's a shiny scent!

 

Drydown: I'm really surprised by this, actually. I was expecting a very strong floral, but the vanilla and opium notes really balance this out. With that light kick of mandarin in the background, the scent remains consistent and sparkling. It's really true to its name.

 

I don't think I could wear this regularly, since it strikes me as the sort of thing that deserves refined attire and a glamorous nightlife, but it's definitely surpassed my expectations.

 

Really beautiful.

 

4/5 on Medici's Scale o' Lurrve

[dorothy humbird]

Mm, Belle Epoque. So, so lovely.

 

In the imp I pick up mostly the mandarin; it's light and sweet, but not overpowering -- something's taming it, and keeping it soft and slightly soapy (but not in a bad way). I'm guessing this is the sandalwood and lily of the valley, but my nose isn't trained to pick those out.

 

Once on my skin there is some dissipation of the syrupy-mandarin smell. The mandarin blends with the other notes into a liquid golden warmth. I can smell the vanilla keeping things nicely balanced and smooth in the background, but playing on top there is a faint floral quality from the lily of the valley.

 

Belle Epoque doesn't last forever on my skin, but while it does it's heavenly. One day when I'm not stupidly poor I may pick up a 5ml.