Bathsheba

[L-z_Empress]

The Seventh Daughter, Daughter of the Oath. She was King David’s lover, and the mother of King Solomon. Her scent is breathtakingly lovely, exotic and powerfully sensual in its innocence: carnation, sensual plum, and Arabian musk.

I think Bathsheba is one of the most slept on BPAL scents. Either that or my skin chemistry just does amazing things with this scent. When I first apply it to my skin, there is almost no scent at all. About 5 minutes in though, I am surrounded by this gorgeous, sexy, womanly scent though. I would say it's a juicy, spicy, floral blend.

Quick scene (this is true): I am standing in the bedroom with all the windows open. The sunlight is coming through and the blooms planted around our bedroom window are all drooping down so that you can see them. I put on some Bathsheba and the air around me fills with this amazing scent. My husband walks into the room and sniffs. He says "those flowers smell different than usual". Then he walks closer to me and sniffs. Then he says "that's you that smells like that?!?! YUMMY!" okay, end scene. you know what happens after that... Edited September 28, 2005 by Shollin

[Sheila]

I love carnation so much that I want to have its babies. Plum and musk are also both favorites of mine, so I knew I'd love Bathsheba.

 

Bathsheba is a soft, sultry, deep blend. It's like a lovely plummy musk, with the carnation adding spiciness and sexiness. Yet it's also very comforting and warm. It's a soft scent, but very lovely. Another one for the big-bottle list.

[sarahjay]

oooooooooh nooooooooo - both bathsheba & midwinter's eve were in my recent order, and sadly I have learnt that plum does not like me

 

I love carnation and had high hopes of this, but it's just not me. I'm going to give it a couple more goes, but I feel that I may have to swap/give this away.

 

oh well, it's a learning curve.

 

edit - well I tried it again today (after using some lovely new lush products I'm testing) and it was still PLUM PLUM PLUM. disappointment. then after 20mins or so I sniff my wrist & oooh, it's morphed into a lovely carnationy-slightly plummy-powdery (from the musk) mix. very nice. I don't think I'm going to run & order a bottle, but I'll be hanging onto the imp now

Edited March 5, 2005 by sarahjay

[rhubarbbear]

i've recently rediscovered carnation, and so was most anxious to get a hold of bathsheba!

 

in the vial and wet it's plum, plum, plum! very fruity and juicy. as it dries the carnation peeks out, but just a bit- spicy plums. the musk comes out last, and lends fullness and depth.

 

i really, really, like bathsheba, and am considering a bottle. i'd hoped it would be carnation wtih plum (rather than plum with carnation), but i'm still very pleased! decent staying power, too.

[shelldoo]

oh my oh my oh my

 

 

this is a carnation, & plum, i wouldn't go so far as to say sweet, it is incredible, the musk slithers around in teh background, and deepens this i love it, i dn't know if i am starting to pick better notes for myself or if i am being brainwashed to love every scent, this is just a lovely incredible gorgeous blend!

[tempete]

Bathsheba mixes almost equal portions of sweetness (from the plum and Arabian musk) with soft spiciness (from the carnation and Arabian musk). It's pretty but rather bland and non-descript, partly because Arabian musk smells like dryer sheets to me. I guess that I prefer my spiciness to be more overt, and paired with an incense, a resin or a stronger, bolder musk.

[ChupaChup]

I got tempete's imp of Bathsheba . It was a risk, with the plum, but I was so tempted by the carnation and Arabian musk. Blech, I only put a tiny dot on the back of my hand and instant headache! It's very sweet, a fruity floral, but I never got the spiciness of the carnation. This reminds me a lot of Dior Poison, very femme, but way too overpowering for me. Off to swaps.

[paperdoll]

Initial Sniff: This smells like fresh green soap in the vial. After dedicated sniffing I can identify all of the elements, but it is very well blended.

Wearing: Fresh green soap on my skin with an almost astringent quality - I seriously thought that grapefruit was a major component of this blend until I reread the description. This fades to a lightly sweet musk. This does not have great staying power.

Final Impressions: I had high expectations of this oil, but they were not met. The creamy peppery gorgeousness of Beth's carnation was nowhere to be seen, and the delicious fruity sweetness of the plum never came to life on my skin. I would love to smell this on someone whose chemistry makes this blend sing!

[oatmealneko]

Vial: Carnation & a bit of plum.

Wet: Carnation & plum, with a bit of musk.

Dry: Same as above, though when it completely dried out, it was all plum.

 

I love plum, but this scent doesn't become heavily plum like any of the others I've tried. I've noticed that carnation holds back any note that likes to go wild on me (ie: Alice - rose is not overbearing). Plum normally goes wild & has tons of throw, this one it doesn't. It's a light scent.

[Macha]

Sometimes it's hard to review a scent. Sometimes that's because you hate it, and can't think of anything nice to say about it, and sometimes, like with Bathsheba, it's because you love it so much you have no clue how to describe it in a way that will do it justice.

 

In the vial: Sweet, but not obnoxiously so. It's a little fruity, a little sweet, very creamy, smooth, lovely. This inspired a swoon response.

 

Wet, on skin: This is a sexy, sweet, luxurious scent, and for something that in theory is relatively simple in composition, it’s almost impossibly beautiful. It’s very subtle too — not really a fragrance that I would expect to receive a lot of compliments about, as its power is almost subliminal.

 

Dry, on skin:: Have I mentioned how pretty this is? As the plum dries down a bit, more of the carnation and Arabian musk come up, and they’re just gorgeous beyond all expectation. The musk is subtle, and although I can’t say for sure as I’m one of those people whose skin adores musk, I suspect that even people who aren’t normally musk fans might like this one.

 

Conclusion: What can I say? It’s on my bottle list. It’s just beautiful, and I highly recommend it.

[Julilla Regina]

I know everyone keeps saying "spicy carnation", but really, if you can imagine that with a lovely light musky base, that is this scent. I do wish I had a little more plum, but it pretty much vanished on me. What is left is a very nice, light floral. If it was any type of carnation, it would be the pink and white ones, with the pink on the curly edges.

 

This is pretty and fresh and quite ladylike. Plum would sex it up a bit more for me, but others got more plum out of it than I did, it sounds like. Maybe I'll just slather it on next time...

[Donnababe]

Bathsheba

 

Whoa, PLUM! Hang on, here comes a touch of carnation.... Oh dear, IMO these scents do not go together at all. I can't exactly say what has gone wrong here but this isn't working. I may attempt it again just in case my skin chemistry was misbehaving but until then this is such a shame. It sounded so lovely...

Edited April 7, 2005 by Donnababe

[LiberAmoris]

I’ve had an imp of Bathsheba kicking around for a while---after trying it immediately when it first came in and not being overly impressed, it hadn’t received another wearing. My loss. I tried it again this morning while desperately looking for the right scent to capture the fact that we’ve now had three straight days of springtime weather. I dabbed a little Bathsheba on and ran out the door.

 

This time, Bathsheba blew me away. It’s one of those so simple it’s brilliant blends, with the three notes working together effortlessly to give a sexy, second skin kind of glow. My skin almost hums with this stuff on. I love the plum in this and the Arabian musk is divine. It’s almost too sexy for a work day---I feel a little bit conspicuous in the office with such a tumult around me in the air. But I adore it. Big bottle for sure.

[grrrlennyl]

at first: this is very nice. i can definitely smell the carnation, musk, and plum. wonderful!

on: i can smell all of the notes, but the plum is most prominent. it's juicy and fresh.

1 hour later: way more musky. i can just barely pick out the plum and carnation. lovely.

3.5 hours later: a bit powdery, and still mostly musky.

4.5 hours later: a powdery musk. i don't smell anything fruity or floral.

overall: i don't know if i'll be getting this again, but i think it will be a nice, light scent for the summer.

[inkstone]

In the imp: Musky plum.

 

Wet: A sweet musk. Interesting.

 

Drydown: Vaguely spicy plum -- I assume that's a result of the carnation -- against a background of musk. There's a slightly "oiled" quality about this blend.

 

Final thoughts: This is a very pretty, sensual blend. I'm not sure it's very me though. I'll have to test it out a few more times to figure that out.

[scarlet]

In the vial: Spicy and earthy carnation with a touch of fruity plum.

Wet: Warm and fruity. The plum is more pronounced than in the vial, but the carnation is still the stronger of the two.

Dry: The longer it's on the skin the plummier it gets.

30 mins: Oh, wow... this is gorgeous! The carnation has mellowed a bit and everything's settled in nicely. Fruity and spicy, so beautiful, unique, and fun. The drydown has some faint musk on me, but I honestly didn't even notice it until I read the description and sniffed a bit harder.

 

Many thanks to the Lab for knowing me better than I know myself. Bathsheba has replaced Bordello as the must-have plum, and is very high on my 5ml list. To top things off, I'm reminded of mom because she, just like Bathsheba, is the 7th sister. Mom, Labbies, fellow Bathsheba lovers... scooch closer for a group hug. Aww, can you feel the love?

Edited April 18, 2005 by scarlet

[babykitty]

O. M. G.

 

If you like carnation, just buy this, dammit.

[Cegirls]

This is simply stunning. As stated above, this blends into a sensual second skin scent that quietly exudes loving sexuality... I love it!

[tart]

On first sniff of Bathsheba, my nose is confused. I smell something fresh, slightly sweet, kind of fruity or floral, I can't tell. It smells to me exactly like the hyacinth flowers my dad grows in the springtime -- a fresh flower with green stems. Oh, is that the carnation then? I can recognize the plum now, which is always like sugared juice to me. The musk adds a powdery haze to the whole blend. I think I like this -- I so wanted to like Bordello, but I've only worn it once because it's so strong to me. I think Bathsheba will be my wearable plum.

[Aredhel]

Rating (on skin): 2/5

Summarised in a word or two: Plastic.

 

In the imp/bottle: A very nice floral -- cold and spicy -- and plum.

 

On skin, wet: Quickly turns into a warm, floral plastic. I'm not digging this change at all.

 

On skin, dry: Still a floral plastic. It's a warm plastic, but plastic nonetheless. This reminds me of something my older Aunt would wear. It's perfect on her, but just not my thing.

 

Conclusion: This is another one of those scents that would be great to scent a room with, but not something I like once it touches my skin.

Edited December 19, 2005 by Aredhel

[Chimera]

This was an imp freebie.

 

In the bottle: Spicy fruit. Very nice!

 

On, wet: Musky spice.

 

On, dry: The spice is gone instantly. I have to type the rest of this from a prone position on the floor because the musk in this blend just whacked me up side the head and I'm feeling a little dazed. It has only been about 3 minutes and I miss the fruit (plum, I guess) already. And the spice (carnation, I guess). As a matter of fact I miss every scent that was in this room before I put this oil on. Aagh! Musk! Blinding musk!

 

Later: Now that I've calmed a bit and given myself (and the oil) some time to settle in, let me say that this will have to be washed off. I gave it a shot, but it is overpoweringly musky on me. I'm not saying it smells bad; those who appreciate musk would probably say that I smell good, but if there's one thing my perfume-novice mind firmly decided on early in my youth, it's this: musk should never be single note and it should also not, I repeat not, dominate! (Okay, that's two things.) Obviously, that's just my prejudice and preference.

 

Let me sum up: Urg. This will make a wonderful perfume for someone else. Hopefully someone I don't know and don't hang out with. It reminds me strongly of a commercial perfume from the past; my brain's a little fuzzy (can't think through the cloud of musk!), but I'm thinking Cinnabar. Maybe. The plum/carnation scent from the bottle would have been a gorgeous perfume, especially for me, I think. But unfortunately my chemistry would not allow that.

 

Edit: My DH just told me he likes the perfume I'm wearing. Obviously, he's one of the musk-appreciators I mentioned above. [sigh.] There are some things you'd just rather not know about a person.

Edited May 6, 2005 by Chimera

[nineveh]

in vial: Exactly like dryer sheets.

 

on: Spicy honey. Soft, warm, and light.

 

after a while: Back to dryer sheets. I'm sure that I would like this scent if I didn't have that unfortunate association.

 

It's a light, pretty, somewhat floral scent, but I generally prefer dark or incensy ones, so I swapped my imp.

[slave1]

In Bottle: Elegant!!! Like a beautiful ritzy perfume.

 

On Skin: This is BEAUTIFUL! O ordered Alice and hated how it turned to Carnation on me… however in this scent the carnation is light and pretty. The plum sweetens it and the musk makes it drop dead gorgeous! It does remind me of a commercial Department store scent, but I can’t put my finger on it. It also reminds me slightly of my favorite discontinued Body Shop scent: Ananya. I am ordering a bottle of this just for that!

[leahcat]

Bathsheba

 

in the bottle: Ooo.. warm barely musky scent with hint of sweetness.

wet: sweet oddness. I supposed that's the carnation, but it does not scream 'FLORAL!' at me like most other flowers. Less plum/sweetness now.

drying/5 minutes: about the same but my nose is telling me it's only carnation now. hrm. but it IS sweeter than normal

dry/30 minutes: a warm sweet mellow barely floral scent. neat!

[Eros]

In the imp~sweet with carnation coming through nicely, very promising.

When I put it on the musk takes over, which isn't a bad thing, but quickly gave me a headache and reminded me of how much I hate the fragrance aisles in dept. stores.

Oh well.