I Died For Beauty

[LiberAmoris]

I died for beauty but was scarce
Adjusted in the tomb,
When one who died for truth was lain
In an adjoining room.

He questioned softly why I failed?
"For beauty," I replied.
"And I for truth, the two are one;
We brethren are," he said.

And so, as kinsmen met a night,
We talked between the rooms,
Until the moss had reached our lips,
And covered up our names.

The Venusian splendor of ylang ylang and violet stirred by hyssop, frankincense, and grave loam.

Even though I'm a bit wary of ylang ylang in general, I had to buy a bottle of I Died For Beauty because I love Emily Dickinson. I put some on this morning and as I was riding the train, I kept bringing my wrist up to my nose, which is dangerous when you're hanging on for dear life but is a true testament to this blend!

Right out of the bottle the ylang ylang was strong, and then I could smell the violet. It's rich and purple but even wet it's not completely overpowering. The resins really work to enbolden the violet but also take the sweet edge off the floral. Lastly I smell the grave loam, which smells like oakmoss to me.

As it dries down, the mossy note(s) really emerge---just as in the poem, the moss rises up! The violet and resins together play across like a deep, purpley kind of incense that has a similar feel to me as Gypsy Queen. On my skin, it's in that same deep and complicated floral 'family.' It smells like violets with tiny curls of smoke rising from them or a hazy, dark, mysterious interior space much like a tomb heaped with funereal wreaths.

A great capture of the poem, and a surprising lovely blend on my skin, despite the notes which normally aren't so great on me! I'm really happy to have my little bottle.

[edenssixthday]

I Died for Beauty - This is a gorgeous scent! It’s predominantly a violet blend, but the violet is soft, and doesn’t get overly-sweet as violet sometimes does, and I think this is due to the hyssop in the blend, tempering the violet. . The grave loam note frightened me, but it’s incredibly subtle, and stay far in the background, and doesn’t give this blend a dirt or earthy scent at all, it just grounds the other notes. The frankincense is also very light. The ylang ylang is also subtle and doesn’t give the blend a sharp twist, as it usually does on me. Overall, this is a gorgeous, soft, and feminine scent. It’s slightly powdery, but not like baby powder, and is very romantic. I love this. I could see this being a gorgeous blend to wear on your wedding day or for a romantic picnic. Although it stays close to my skin, which is a feature I don’t usually care for, I’m going to give this one much love. I really just can’t say enough about what a pretty scent this is.

[GypsyRoseRed]

I'd agree with everything the previous reviewer said, except this DID turn to straight up baby powder on me. Although I usually like powdery scent, I just feel robbed with this one. It smells so lovely in the bottle and wet, all violet, hyssop and mossy, so the baby powder end result is pretty disappointing.

[catslash]

This is one of my very favorite poems! I was an Emily Dickinson fangirl when I was a kid (I was a weird kid) and this is the first of hers I memorized, and I'll know it by heart till I die. I wasn't really familiar with most of the notes in this blend, but I saw nothing actively appalling, so I had to give it a try.

 

It's a light, powdery floral. It smells nearly the same on my skin as it does in the imp - maybe a tad sharper and brighter. If I liked light, powdery florals, I would love this blend, but I don't. In fact, they are kind of the opposite of what I like.

 

I love that there is a scent for this poem, but it's not for me. The imp goes to swaps, but the poem stays with me.

[filigree_shadow]

In the imp, it smells like candy.

 

On, it smells sweet and chalky, like Pez. I honestly can't smell anything but sweetness. As it's drying it becomes more floral, but it also turns powdery. When it's dry, I can detect a little bit of the grave loam, which makes the scent slightly pungent.

 

It's very, very light -- I can barely smell anything at all 5 minutes after I put it on. I just sniffed all the way up my arm, and I can't even tell exactly where I applied it, that's how faint it is.

 

I guess this doesn't work on me.

[slave1]

In Bottle: Super sweet floral

 

On Skin: This smelled like those little violet flavored Pastelle candies at first. This is the most delicate scent I have ever smelled. It feels light purple and is so dainty and fragile it’s amazing. This is a scent that is going to make people lean in and breathe in deeply. It is gorgeous and it seems to have a beautiful skin musk feel to it… I wonder if there is white musk in it. The scent is very very light and powdery, super feminine without a doubt. The ylang ylang is very tame and the violet seems to be the dominant note. The franincense might be the musky note I’m sensing, and if it is, it is the most gentle frankincese I’ve ever smelled. I don’t sense the grave loam, if it’s supposed to be earthy… this scent is completely light and pretty with no dark notes at all. I do love the scent and will keep my imp for sure. But it wears off quite quickly sadly. Light throw and short wearlength.

[Kittyflop]

This is the most fascinating scent. It goes on almost powdery and then, still wet, the violet is present as is the ylang ylang. As it dries it develops a dry edge, a deep settled feeling. Grave loam I suspect. Over time as it dries it really does seem 'mossy', although I might not have come up with that on my own.

 

As it dries the florals temper down, and becomes a lovely, lightly earthy, melancholy skin scent. It doesn't waft far but it does last a long time on my skin.

 

Beautiful.

[gypsybaby1]

wet: old lady's perfume...

dry: pure unadulterated powder.

 

Off to swaps

[Little Bird]

In the bottle this smell like a classically perfumey sort of scent. Cool and powdery. It actually reminds me a lot of the musky/powdery perfume that my mother wore in the late 80's. I hated that perfume, lol.

 

On me... I Died for Beauty smells like delicate, sweetly bruised little violets. Sadly, this gets sharper and more offensive in the drydown. Ylang ylang is very piercing and smells oddly metallic on my skin. The ylang ylang here is coming out in full force and killing the sweet little violets.

 

After 15 minutes or so... boring and powdery. Just a cool, faint powder. A bit more chilly and bland than baby powder though.

 

I'd never wear this one.

[Celenth]

In the imp: Strong, bitter floral with an almost medicinal note.

Wet: All floral. The ylang ylang and violet are predominant, it's a very strong and sophisticated floral.

Drydown: The floral dies down after a few seconds and it becomes something very interesting and very complicated. The grave loam and hyssop show up -- I was worried about them since 'earthy' scents are normally me, but they're very balancing in this scent. It becomes a not-floral floral, if that makes sense. The violet and ylang ylang are there, certainly, but the grave loam gives it an undertone that takes away the sweetness and leaves it feeling very neutral. It's a tiny bit powdery. It feels sophisticated in some ways, but it also just feels... old. Like, aging and faded victorian lace in a crumbling sitting room from the 18th century, if that makes any sense.

 

I feel like this scent is a bit 'old' for me. I'm not sure I really like it, but I can't stop sniffing my wrist because there IS something complex and really interesting about it. I won't buy a big bottle, but I think there'll be days where I wake up and wear this. There's something about it that seems appropriate for a rainy, dreary sort of day to be spent reading. It's interesting, certainly.

[sofiaviolet]

I mostly smell violets. Very little dirt, just a little mustiness. It's definitely an old lady kind of perfume, but I'm young and perky enough to pull it off. 5 mL ahoy!

[Emma2403]

In the bottle: ylang ylang mixed with discrete violet.

 

On my skin: the same. It's very delicate and a lovely mix. I don't usually like ylang ylang too much but mixed with violet, it's super nice.

 

After a couple of hours: wow, nothing. It the quickest fader ever, saddly :/

Oh wait... I swear there was nothing left and now ylang ylang amps again. Weird!

 

Verdict: very feminine and very beautiful.

Edited October 17, 2006 by Emma2403

[grrrlennyl]

at first: floral and a tad incensy.

on: lovely violet with frankincense. i can smell the ylang ylang, too, but it's not overwhelming.

half an hour later: there's a sharpness to this, which i think is the violet.

2 hours later: a sweet floral. the sharpness has gone away, so i'm thrilled about that.

5.5 hours later: sweet ylang ylang and a hint of nice violet.

overall: for whatever reason, bpal's violet just doesn't seem to like me.

[melrose]

When I first applied this, I did a happy dance because it smelled like my beloved Heaven Sent - not the dreck that is the remade formula, but the original.

 

Within 30 minutes it had completely disappeared - I applied half the imp.

 

Heavy sighs.

[PurringPulsar]

I Died for Beauty

 

In the imp: mmm, gorgeous frankincense with a hint of herbs (hyssop?) and flowers.

Wet on skin: the flowers of ylang and violet come out more and mix with the frankincense.

Dry: this is so pretty! The floral notes are soft, gentle and powdery, almost dusty in this scent, with the violet smelling slightly like iris at times. But the frankincense is gorgeous-in here it smells quite spicy, and I think the hyssop just enhances that spicy-herbal scent, and it contrasts nicely with the powdered floral scent. I also get hints of the grave loam, which in here does smell mossier than expected. It also seems like there’s white musk here but that could be just the pale flowery-mossy scent.

After a while: the powdery scent really increases but the herbal-mossy frankincense still remains underneath. the violet smells like it’s been dusted on my skin as a fine, pale powder, a traditional, old fashioned scent but thankfully not too ‘granny-ish’, this one is ethereal and ghostly. There’s an oakmoss note here, it seems, which enhances the powdery scent. This powdery, mossy scent gets stronger over time, but I love the warmth the frankincense offers here. The scent ends on pure pale powdery violet and light moss, with an almost orris like feel.

Verdict: this is powder, but powder done well. Though this does have a more traditional and mature feel to it than most scents I like, I think this is quite a beautiful scent. It reminds me of a dusting powder at times, like something added to old fashioned silky gloves. Elegant and refined. Yet this scent also has a dusty, aged, faded and wispy feel to it, pale and dry. However, there’s a beautiful, almost spicy, frankincense note which adds another dimension, warm and golden, to the scent, this is especially strong during the first hour of wear. The loam is actually more like moss (like the poem says) than the dirt/soil note I expected, but it’s also lovely. It’s not something I’d get a bottle of but I’m keeping the imp of this exquisite, gentle and grown up fragrance.

Emoticon rating:

Is it a keeper? Just the imp.

If you like this, try: Carfax Abbey, Ephemera, Faustus, Veil, Resurrection of the Flesh

Edited November 21, 2006 by yeahbutnobut

[The_Merf]

In the imp: Very classic perfume scent, as others have said. I've long maintained that ylang-ylang is one of the notes that inspires such a description.

 

Wet: I had to try this twice, because the first time I did, it reminded me so much of Morocco that I wanted to compare the two.

 

Drydown and wear: The side-by-side comparison really draws attention to the ylang-ylang, which is the standout of this oil and what gives it its classic feel. I like this (but I like Chanel No.5, so that's not surprising), and it does not powder up on me. Everything else in the blend backs up the ylang-ylang on my skin. I will keep the imp, but I don't know if I will get a bottle.

[klavierbarrette]

imp: florals? but not violets...maybe the hyssop.

 

skin: ylang ylang with frankincense. i get no violet. YAY. it appears after a few minutes, but it's a nice, not overpowering violet. this blend is a little powdery on me, but i like it. i didn't really expect to like it, but i love emily dickinson. might want to get a bottle in the future.

[sarada]

This is a fascinating scent, because I love frankincense and grave loam and would do anything to get more of them, but ... I smell nothing but thick, powdered cake make-up. It is the exact scent of either the face powder or foundation that my grandmother used. I don't smell any of the notes listed, except that it has the powdery quality that violet imparts, but I'd have to characterize this as rather foul, for my tastes.

 

I can almost feel the thick, paste-like flesh-colored powder being smeared on my face or drifting around me in a cloud, when I sniff this. I could barely survive the skin test. I had hopes for the loam and frankincense, but this is a big no for me!

[starglass]

In the imp it smelled like a potent floral blend...

 

upon application I smelled nothing but powder and potpourri.

 

Fifteen minutes later, and yup, still powder.

[supremegoddessofall]

Florals, but not particularly ylang ylang-y or violety. Interesting. This is a pretty, bright, sophisticated floral. I like it a lot. Reminds me of shopping in a sari shop in India.

[Vampy]

This smell saddened me, because it was beautiful at first, but then went to a vague, department store bath powder on me. Florals are the bane of my existence. At least it didn't turn into something heinous and headache-inducing, as a lot of florals do on me.

 

Before it went to bath powder, it was a lovely, pleasantly powdery purple smell, very solemn and romantic. Gave me visions of a pale young woman in a white silk shift, standing in a green, breezy field under moonlight.

[dorothy humbird]

The first time I wore I Died for Beauty, it was a dead ringer for "powder" scented deodorant I used to wear. But the longer I wear it, the more it's evident to me that it's far more complex and beautiful than that.

 

It's soft, definitely floral, and notably powdery. I'm not sure I can see myself wearing it, but I would be pleased to find out someone I was hugging had applied this as part of their beauty regimen.

[Voleuse]

The ylang ylang and violet are strong on first application, sweet and clean and rich. Together, they're a little soapy, but in a nice way.

 

As it dries, the incense note gets stronger--not overwhelming, but creeping warmly over the floral notes. In the end, the blend takes on a powdery note, but again, it's light and pleasant.

[BlueStarGirl]

I love violets but the scent on me, especially with BPAL, either goes powdery on me or morphs into a really horrid dirt scent (in Saturnalia and to a lesser extent in Ultraviolet).

 

The violet in I Died For Beauty is amazing though. Somehow it binds with the ylang ylang to stay fresh. It's not the dominant scent in the fragrance at all, but it definitely works nicely.

 

Unfortunately something in this fragrance makes my skin itch, so I'll have to pass my imp on, but if you're a violet-lover who tends to not be loved back, I'd recommend giving I Died For Beauty a try.

[Tess]

I love poetry, but I don't think a single one of these notes are going to work. Violet is a big no-no on me and ylang ylang tends to also be scary. Oh well.

 

In the vial - This is so light and creamy, not at all what I expected. I'm getting a hint of what I can only explain as vanilla extract. My grandmother used to send us a big bottle of the stuff from Mexico every year, so it's something engrained in me.

 

Wet - Loam for about 1.2 seconds...

 

Drying - There's a non-violet, non-ylang ylang floral note in here that I am LOVING. It's got an almost citrus tang to the floral. It's not very strong here, as I'm mostly getting soft violets and frankincense. The whole thing is SUPER faint on me, though. Only the barest hint of throw.

 

Dry (1 hour) - Weeeeeell, it stayed pretty much the same, that franky-violet, only it's more powdery now. Blech.

 

Overall - Whatever the heck that one floral note was, I must have more of it! Must... find... out...