Limelight

HER VOICE Oscar Wilde The wild bee reels from bough to bough With his furry coat and his gauzy wing. Now in a lily-cup, and now Setting a jacinth bell a-swing, In his wandering; Sit closer love: it was here I trow I made that vow, Swore that two lives should be like one As long as the sea-gull loved the sea, As long as the sunflower sought the sun -- It shall be, I said, for eternity 'Twixt you and me! Dear friend, those times are over and done, Love's web is spun. Look upward where the poplar trees Sway and sway in the summer air, Here in the valley never a breeze Scatters the thistledowns, but there Great winds blow fair From the mighty murmuring mystical seas, And the wave-lashed leas. Look upward where the white gull screams What does it see that we do not see? Is that a star? or the lamp that gleams On some outward voyaging argosy, -- Ah! can it be We have lived our lives in land of dreams! How sad it seems. Sweet, there is nothing left to say But this, that love is never lost. Keen winter stabs the breasts of May Whose crimson roses burst his frost, Ships tempest-tossed Will find a harbour in some bay, And so we may. And there is nothing left to do But to kiss once again, and part, Nay, there is nothing we should rue, I have my beauty, -- you your Art. Nay, do not start, One world was not enough for two Like me and you. Hyacinth, beeswax, wild roses, vanilla amber, lily of the valley, tiger lily, honeysuckle, carnation, and heliotrope. Ahh, Her Voice, and my first lead review. In the bottle and wet on my skin, there's something positively...reedy or stemmy about this one, slightly green. I would imagine that's the beeswax and/or the influence of the lilies. Along with that I get the spicy sweetness of the vanilla amber with carnation and heliotrope right behind. As it dries, it becomes less stem-like and moves into a fresh floral stage which is dominated by roses and the vanilla amber with lily influences. I suppose the hyacinth is hanging about somewhere! This gets better as time goes on and it has a light throw. A charming scent, an olfactory picture of laughter on spring breezes and innocent seduction (despite the sadness of the poem).

When I first put it on, I didn't think it was anything special. Just more sweet perfume in a sea of sweet perfumes. This scent reminded me how important it is to be patient, since within 30 minutes the apricot/orange blossom combo bloomed and gave almost a peachy aroma on my skin. Wonderful, and the way the white musk plays with that is very gentle. All together it is a perfect day scent for the upcoming hot months. I was looking to expand my GC collection and this would be a good bottle for me to start with. Edited cause either I or the board can't get it together!

Red patchouli, sage leaf, Darjeeling tea, smoke-scarred sandalwood, green tobacco, and oud. This sure was nice. I didn't find it unsettling at all. The patchouli took a back seat and the sandalwood, oud, tobacco and tea melded together to produce something that spoke to me of comforting riches, like sitting on a soft, leather bench in your grandfather's library, watching the afternoon sunlight. Speaking of which, I've been to San Simeon twice. I could be up in Hearst's library right now with this one. I bet he would have liked it too.

Victorian whimsy and piratical romance: a reluctant seaman’s chypre sloshed with a mix of bay rum, patchouli, amber musk, dark woods, tea rose, and red currant. I always told myself I was going to come back and review this. My bottle is the original 2008 version. As I recall, the patchouli and the dark woods dominated everything. Nice in and of themselves, but nobody else had room to play, so overwhelming were they. I put Frederic away with confidence that he'd improve with age. Now, 6 years later, we meet again, and this time, Frederic has really balanced out. On me, the bay rum/chypre are on top, with the formerly heavy patchouli/woods singing softly behind. The scent is very warm and mildly sweet. This part was a good time! Avast, me hearties, let's go party!!! It really did make me feel romantic and adventurous. Over the next couple of hours, those notes give way to an amber-powdery rose with a bit of musk. I likened this to waking up to a love note the next morning. Can't remember the last time a fragrance gave me imagery. Good stuff, definitely worth the wait.

This scent seems to play "Yes, No, Maybe" with me! I put it on, I like it, take a whiff later, I don't like it, later still I like it again, et cetera. The smoky vanilla is great, but the jasmine keeps horning in. I think that's what's messing it up for me. If this didn't have jasmine, I think I'd adore it. It would be along the lines of my lovely White Phoenix. It is sweet with a fur-like warmth, like plush pelts on that well-used bed.

I find this to be a woodsy floral and quite an elegant one. The sandalwood, lily of the valley, blonde musk and amber come out almost immediately and seem to make up the whole of the scent. Gaiac grounds it, almond in the back. Not sure how the immortelle, hyssop, or honey are contributing, though I'm sure they are. Lasts about two hours. This scent seems like the perfect finishing touch to dressing for dinner, or for church with luncheon to follow. It has a highbrow feel and it seems a scent for a more refined age. There I am, it's 1960 and Pat Nixon and I, in our hats and respectable cloth coats, have just repaired to the Cocoanut Grove after distributing "Pat for First Lady" campaign literature I think I'll get a bottle and avoid coarseness!

When I first put this on, I thought, "Dang, this is the best soap I've ever smelled." After a little while, the rose and lily start to work together in a beguiling way. A little musk as a backdrop. I think I could stand having a bottle.

It is a beautiful pale green oil, like envy in a vial. On my skin wet, it is an acrid green, almost medicinal. I didn't think I was going to like it at first, but it has mellowed into my favorite green scent of all BPAL. Somewhat pine-y and fern-ish, soft and fresh, with something like sage or tarragon in the background. A bottle should be purchased. Edited to add that it has similar vibes to Luperci for me, a scent I dearly love.

"Sexy cookies" is a good phrase for this scent. To me, this is cinnamon syrup with serious nutty tones and light ginger. Pretty and I can see getting a bottle, although I think I'd rather eat this than smell like it. Ah well, maybe that will make me even more edible to some

Wow, no wonder so many people are ga-ga over this! It's absolutely lovely. I was sent a sniffie by the ultra kind-hearted citharadraconis, and I managed to pull just a little of the fragrance onto my skin. There's definitely some cocoa playing in here, along with vanilla and and some musk-honey-sandalwood aspects. A tinge of tobacco. I liked what LiberAmoris said about "Smut meets Velvet." I can kinda get behind that. I wouldn't pay outrageous prices for anything (nope, not even 54) but I shure would like to have a bit of this in my collection. It would keep my beautiful and lonely Voodoo Queen company - now, doesn't that make you feel bad for me and compel you to send me some?

The lab's magnolia and pear notes have always worked well for me, and when they get together with the tuberose and plumeria, it's pretty successful. The two roses anchor things and keep this scent from becoming too ethereal. It's a soft, bare skin scent, sensuous and innocent. I don't know I need a bottle, but I think I should get another imp so I can decide for sure.

Mmm. Wanna smell like cookies, milk and incense? Try Eden. Light throw and long-lasting. A keeper.

I received a freebie bottle with enough to test courtesy of monet! Like many, I enjoy the Cheesecake, but it doesn't bowl me over. It starts with a lovely cheesecakey, pumpkin-informed aroma and then that delicious pastry note comes in, which must be representing the graham cracker crust. This lasts for about an hour, and unfortunately, the scent doesn't stay rich and round, but falls flat and probably a bit "plastic-y" as I imagine some people conceive it. I have compared this and Pumpkin Queen (my favorite of all the pumpkin scents) side by side. I still favor Pumpkin Queen as the scent of choice. It has something spicy and exciting about it that the Cheesecake lacks, and it smells like a genuine perfume, not a novelty. I wouldn't say no to owning Pumpkin Cheesecake, but I wouldn't trade my Queen for it

I have an aged decant of this and I enjoy it quite a bit. Nothing sinister about it. I find it to be a lightly woodsy scent with a delicate floral finish that really pleases with the end note. I believe the dominant florals here are violet and phlox, maybe columbine. Couldn't tell you what pixie moss smells like, tho I'd love to!

I have been waiting since I joined the forum in 2005 to test this. At long last. Fresh on this skin this is sharp. A deep, tangy oil comes burning through when this fragrance is wet on the skin, and this is probably meant to reflect the finishing compound on the leather, as well as the products Wild West-type leather goods might come into contact with on a daily basis. After a short while, that fades, leaving a mellow, sweet, well-worn suede scent. I dig it, like I do almost all the BPAL leather scents, and I'll be a'keepin' it. Worth the wait!

This is not the Violet I remember from childhood. Like Lori, I had some beautiful Violet perfume as a kid, and mine smelled like the petals and the leaves. This one is simple and sweet at first, but becomes powdery, powdery, powdery on my skin, no green like I'd expect. Not the one for me!

Oily, salty and super sexy. Like I sucked the sex appeal out of somebody and wore it as a coat. Has some golden loveliness about it that reminds me of amber. I haven't tried every blend with ambergris in it, but the ones I have tried don't turn me on the way the SN does.

Does every SN have about a 30 minute lifespan? Seems like it with me. This scent is better than any chamomile tea I've ever smelled. If the tea smelled like this, I'd keep it around all the time. It has a sweet, grainy quality and by "grainy" I mean like the scent of a grain field. A golden herbal scent that is extremely elegant yet understated, like a straight-cut, unadorned silk suit that cost thousands of dollars. I bought a vial of this long ago and the aging has improved it. Will buy more if I get the chance.

I've just tried this for the second time and I had a better experience. I can pretty much make this one do what I want depending on my thoughts. If I think about dried blood, fetid breath and damp caves, I get that. Yet if I ponder slinky black dresses and licorice, those come forth. Attractive or unattractive depending on my state of mind. It's bitter and gives a lichen-like aroma, gets sweeter with time, stays civety and resinous. I don't need to own it. Fun trying though.

A dry, green tea scent and the lemon gets stronger with time, as does the musk. Something slightly dusty and sweet about it. When I first put it on it represented well for me what I imagined my experience with sniffing a bottle of real embalming fluid might be like. The visual impression is a beam of sunlight stretching across a polished wood floor. Quite nice, even though the back of my throat finds it a bit unsettling *cough*

I didn't like the Perfumed Garden, and while this is better, I get some off-putting similarities. This scent isn't really special either, just a face-in-the-crowd generic BPAL incense. I like jasmine in and of itself, but this scent bores me!

If this ever makes a comeback or if I find some, I'll definitely spring for it. This isn't fruity for me. The sage, amber and musk are the dominant flavors here, although I can tell the fruit is sweetening things up a bit. There's also something "dirty" here, and I believe this is the herbal edge. This makes me think of an international market store with a unique amalgam of scents. You find excuses to stay so you can keep breathing the aroma. I like!

Bumping cause I still want to know about Bensiabel.

I am one of the folks who gets a strong honey tone in this perfume. It is reminiscent of wildflower honey, or even a bit like orange blossom honey to me. Super pretty and just sweet enough for me. Quite lovely!

Oh wow! I have always read it as Benisabel, and heard it in my head as "Ben-Isabel". I actually thought you had it wrong, but I checked the website and it is "Bensiabel". Now my world is turned upside down. I'd love to know how to pronounce it correctly... Thirded. I pronounce it in my head as "Ben-sigh-ah-bell." So, what is it, knowledgeable people?