La Belle au Bois Dormant

[themerrybaker]

The Sleeping Beauty. A gentle, lovely scent, slightly soporific, but beautiful in its quiet repose. Plumeria and white pear, Damascus rose, tuberose, magnolia and evening dew.

I really like La Belle when she is fresh out of the imp. Most of the time, the dry-down is OK: a light perfume - not too fruity. But sometimes she gets into a little tiff with my skin and becomes annoyingly sweet as the day wears on.

[melrose]

Lovely in the bottle - very sweet but nice.

 

On, wet: Less sweet and sort of just there.

 

Later on: Sickeningly sweet on me. Lasting power is decent

[rivki8699]

In the bottle: Almost all pear.

 

Wet: The flowers start showing up, no pear. I think I'm smelling mostly the plumeria.

 

Dry down: The pear has returned. The florals are still there and they're melding nicely.

 

Dry: This is a really lovely, romantic scent on me. A good balance of fruit and florals and no one note takes over. This is my first BPAL hit, and I'll definitely think about getting a 5ml.

[Voleuse]

On first sniff, this is rose and pear. Fresh, sweet, and subtle. The pear note is quite juicy, and the other floral notes support the rose beautifully, creating an overall lushness I like. This is a very light scent, however, and as it dries, it gets even lighter. After ten minutes, it's almost disappeared on me.

[little_galaxie]

The first ten seconds or so of La Belle were soooooo freaking gorgeous: fresh, juicy pear right off the tree (vine? bush?), bursting with sweetness and juice.

 

Unfortunately it fades into a light, barely distinguishable floral in a matter of mintues.

 

Alas, I shall have to keep searching for the perfect pear.

[intothetrees]

In the bottle: Rosey rose rose rose, with a hint of fruit, must be the pear.

 

Wet: Very strong rose, but not sharp, stays very soft. The magnolia definitely comes out, the pear stays a soft tang underneath. Heavenly.

 

Dry: Smells about the same as wet, only even softer. I adore this scent. Quite delicate, delicious, and feminine. Makes me think of lavender dresses with eyelet trim, white wicker furniture in a spring garden.

[KassiK]

This is such a sweet and soft womanly scent. I was very surprised when I read that there were two roses in it, because roses usually go powdery on me.

 

In the imp: pear, mostly and something that reminds me of sweet grape juice (though not an out-right grape smell)

 

wet on skin: sweet florals come out, very up-beat, pastel color, sweet soft smell.

 

drydown: Hubby immediately thought I was wearing an aquatic, which is interesting to me since aquatics are my favorite scents and if there was anything aquatic about this scent, I would have picked up on it. For me, it's just become a soft, faint relaxing scent, one in a very expensive deodorant, yet not chalky. So very soft.

 

I will be getting a 5 mL of this. So far, this is the only floral that has worked on my skin.

[brit_brat100]

Imp: Sweet and pretty floral.

 

Wet: Reminiscent of orchids for some reason, but nice anyway.

 

Dry: Very soft and femine.

 

Final thoughts: Where did it go?? Not 30 minutes later it was gone! If it lasted longer, I'd be more excited, but I guess it wasn't meant to be.

[mspixieears]

Heady, exotic, and almost unbearably lush but just as it starts to get too overpowering, it dies down into a softer scent. This rings very well with my body chemistry on sultry summer days. The very first I've tried and I had to have it in a 5mL because it's just so unforgettable.

[ForeverLastcXs]

This is gorgeous! The pear is the most dominant scent on my skin, with light floral notes underneath. It has wonderful throw and staying power - I've been wearing it for over 10 hours now and when I put my nose to my wrist I can still smell it without difficulty. I love this blend so much! It is a definite must-buy in bottle form!

[Nia]

in the bottle: Floral. Wait a second: floral and pear. Someone put a diced pear in a bowl of roses.

 

Wet: My skin amplifies this! It is fresh but intense, which is good but weird. In my mind "heavy" scents have throw (not true: Bliss is very discreet) and fresh scents stay quiet (not true, at least in this case).

 

After a few minutes, the fruit goes away and the flowers form a very good balance. Roses tend to smell like cheap rose air freshener on me, but this rose stays under control, with all the other flowers telling her to be quiet.

 

Still, it is a bit generic. I would love it if the smell on me was just like it is on the imp.

[alliekat13]

In the imp it smells kind of spoiled, and overwhelmingly rosey sweet. On my skin it's nothing but a generic floral that smells kind of old ladyish, and the rose amps up crazily. This sounded so lovely, but alas my skin has to muck this up.

Oh and i don't get any pear at all in this. I will stick to Juliet for my fresh lovely pear floral scent.

Edited April 28, 2007 by alliekat13

[Ajila]

In the bottle – Rose with the slight sweetness of the pear in the background

 

Wet on me – Again there is an undercurrent of pear, but the dominant force is softly spiced rose

 

Dry on me – Soft florals with just a hint of the juiciness of the pears

 

Overall – It’s very pretty, but not me

[500ml]

I received this as a frimp and quite to my surprise I actually don't hate it. I usually tend to avoid any pear (it just doesn't appeal to me), but here it's not that bad. Fresh and fruity in the vial which settles down as fruity and floral. I can definitely detect some rose, but the pear is amping up on me which I'm not that pleased about.

 

This was much nicer than I thought it would be, though.

[Jheya]

In the imp: Pear and rose.

 

On skin: The pear gives this a fruity sweetness, but other than that it's predominantly floral. There's a hint of something sharp and almost citrusy, contrasting with the soft sweet floral underneath.

 

Though I quite like the soft, sweet undertone, the brash sharp topnote is actually a little headache inducing.

 

On drydown, if I ignore the topnote, then this is a soft, pretty floral with a hint of sweet fruitiness. Not really me, but pretty. However, the sharp note is still persistantly making itself known, and if I breathe in deeply it gives me a bit of a headache. I think this one is off to the swap pile.

[sheridankm]

This was a very soft, deep floral in the imp -- I couldn't pick apart any of the notes. Wet, it was much the same. But now that it's dried, I just smell rose, rose, rose. It's a dusty rose, too, and flat. I ordered this purely because of the plumeria, a note I can't get enough of --- but I can't smell it at all in this. Mostly it just smells perfume-y, with a rubbing alcohol base.

 

I don't think I can wear this at all, sadly, because I have smell-linked synesthesia and the rose is giving me an itchy yellow headache. The same thing happened with Viola, so it looks like I'll have to stay away from anything with rose. I wish the pear and plumeria came out more...

 

EDIT, Sept. 3, 2007: Oh my goodness. I came back to this three months later, and /now/ I smell the pear. The rose is still there, but it's softer and better behaved, and the pear is wet and juicy. If I inhale too deeply at my wrist, I still get the rose headache, but from a foot or so away, the wafts are just lovely. Not too much throw, and I can maybe even smell the plumeria back there!

Edited September 5, 2007 by Helen

[readiness]

Beautiful scent

 

In the bottle - very soft and misty floral

 

on - wet/dry: The rose comes out but doesn't turn me soap. Light melony back scent

 

(verdict: great scent but I don't like roses so swap pile)

Edited June 12, 2007 by readiness

[laliloo]

Thanks for passing this on to me as a frimp, readiness!

 

Unfortunately, I sniff the imp, and I just get strongly smelling pear - I can't bear pear! I dared to put a tiny amount on my wrist, and the pear mixes with something else (me, perhaps?!) and turns to pear-scented old socks. Oh dear. What a shame. It really isn't very pleasant on me at all. This little imp will be passed on again - one day it'll find someone who loves it I'm sure!

[The_Merf]

In the imp: Very fruity--almost a bit like a fruit-based wine/wine cooler or a juice!

 

Wet: The pear dies down on my skin very quickly and gives way to a rose--this rose smells "pink" in that it smells like a cross between the deep red rose and the sharper white roses.

 

Drydown and wear: As this scent dries, it becomes a stronger rose, but it is a rose with something in the background (one of those--annoying if you're trying to review a scent, nice in practice--situations where you know there's something there, but can't positively identify it. I'd guess it was the pear since that was strong in the wet stage. The combination makes for a really lovely smelling rose perfume--one of my favorite "lighter" roses that I've tried with BPAL. There is a classical edge to this that seems fitting, considering this is Sleeping Beauty's perfume. I'll hold on to this imp.

[taramarie]

On me, La Belle au Bois Dormant is strong, wet tea rose. Once again, my skin ate everything else. While I love rose scents, I don't need another tea rose single note (I'm looking at you, Helena). I'll age this, but if that doesn't help, I'll pass this on to someone else.

[underline2]

I've only been able to try this once as it was a Mother's Day gift, but from that one time it was lovely. The plumerias and slightly aquatic notes blend perfectly. I didn't get any tea rose (thank god!) and the florals didn't turn on me for once!

[waternight]

In the imp: Juicy pear and light, dewy rose. Like someone dumped Moon Rose on a pear. It’s very juicy and yummy.

Wet/Drydown: Very pear-y! Actually smells like the fruit itself, too. The rose is both dusky and dewy at the same time, both sophisticated and fresh/innocent. It’s marvelous. I’m getting a bit more of a musky floral as well, though I really couldn’t say if it’s the magnolia or the plumeria. So far, I really love this – it’s a fruity floral, like my OTB, Glasgow.

Dry: A slightly musky fruity floral. Too bad it fades into almost nothing.

[modernsaints]

Oof! VERY plumeria, but it's a little sugar-sweet for me, and the rose adds a really 'meh', powdery undernote. Meh! Meh, I say.

[stasha]

As soon as I opened the bottle I was a hit with a huge wave of pear. It's incredible sweet and reminiscent of smelling canned pears in the summer time. Not being a big fan of the fruit, my review is probably going to be biased. Keep that in mind, pear lovers.

 

The fruit immediately fades to the back and all I can smell is overwhelming plumeria and a floral I can't really put my finger on. There's a dusty sharpness that I have a feeling would be giving me a headache had I put this on more than just my wrist.

 

Definitely not for me. There's something almost chemical-smelling wafting up from my wrist now that it's good and dry. With all of the positive reviews it's received this proves it's really all about body chemistry!

[hellomoonglow]

In Imp: Perm solution. I can’t do it. Ok, for the sake of reviews, I will.

Wet: Better! I get a little lilac, although that’s not a main ingredient. Magnolia, that’s what it is.

½ hr. Dry Down: I get a little plumeria although this really is not a good mixture of scents for me.

Overall: I can’t wear this one, it’s just not working out. I need to wash off. I wish I got more pear and plumeria, because I love those scents, but me and La Belle ABD just aren’t getting along. This goes into the swap pile. I'm so bummed, everyone else seems to get pear pear pear and it just doesn't agree with me. It must be my skin.