Versailles

[Red_Hot_Mama]

Grand, courtly and robust: a glittering, golden scent that would do Louis XIV proud. Gilded red and gold citrus with amber, ruby roses, jasmine and orris.

Versailles is not what I expected from the description. Instead of the grand ballroom filled with dancing coutiers & royalty, this is a stolen kiss behind red velvet curtains.

This blend is full of intrigue....and doom.

It begins slowly with a well rounded sweet citrus. A cloak of amber velvet has been thrown on the ground & strewn with a few fragrant roses & fragile iris. The dancer trod the flowers, releasing a mist of mingled scents.

They will be caught if they continue to meet in this manner; they will be forever damned.

So the dancers part and choosing thier separate ways along the neatly trimmed jasmine.

*Shakes head vigorously*
Whew! Where was I?
Oh yeah, review.
Versailles is a visual, painterly blend. I "like" it, not "love" it, not yet anyway. However, it may very well have other uses than just as a perfume. Further exploration is required. Edited September 15, 2007 by Shollin

[kmasden]

This one goes to the top of my list, it is sooo beautiful.

 

Lovely ambery, almost honeyish - milkyish, rosyish (ha, new words) to me...mixed with citrusy (almost indescernable) note or two...it is sooo well blended! I think the rose and jasmine must counterbalance each other somehow..the rose doesn't overpower, nor does the jasmine, it just makes for a creamier, headier, but more lovely floral scent.

 

I'm not the greatest reviewer but felt this needed more than one review. I would say that it is a very warm scent, luxurious, nothing screaming out at you, i don't get an amp on the citrus, rose, or jasmine (none of which i care for if they are too strong in a blend). It is strong mind you, not for those that want a whispy scent.

 

Lately, I keep associating bpal scents with sex...hmmm...not getting enough obviously! In that regard, this is the kind of sex you have if you are an elegant seductive woman...it's the scent of men licking you all over because they can't pull their nose out of it...and the scent of perhaps a hidden kinky side....hmmm, it's very grown up and beautiful, very sexy, in a very womanly way...

 

hmmm...i think i need to go back to the licking all over part....LOL....

[olympia301]

There is something very familiar about Versailles. That jasmine start, yet it is tempered with something else to keep it from becoming to "civety". It's a musky sex smell but very floral. I smell a bit of fruit here. Berries starting the frivolity to follow.

 

I can also detect the kind of roses that are in London, fresh and rather greenery clad, but up lifting. And now, for some odd reason my nose starts to get lost without the top notes to guide me regarding Versailles. As it dries down I find it becoming confused. I just lose the theme of what was starting to take shape in my head. It's very good at the end on me, but not memorable.

 

I believe this is the fault of my skin chemistry and my mental state combined with my experiences in scent. I wish I could be more specific and more clear than that.

[Ina Garten Davita]

First Impression: Golden citrus cream.

 

Second Impression: Oh how can I even describe the wonders that are Versailles? Golden, decadent, langorous, elegant, shimmering delights. This scent isn't sharp edges, it's softness and glowing. I don't get much jasmine, which is good as we all know that jas can something overthrow the whole scent. I don't *any* orris which I'm turning cartwheels over!

 

Final Analysis: Golden citrus cream draped with rose petals with glints of glorious amber, this scent is divine.

[Imbrium]

First sniff: Citrus and rose, and something slightly musky.

 

This is so evocative! It's bright, citrussy, with a bit of powdrey amber and rose. There is little to no jasmine. If ever a perfume really were grand and courtly, this would be it.

 

It doesn't change much in dry-down; it's still rich citrus and rose, with a powdery amber background, and is, as Andrabell said, soft and glowing, and very close to the skin.

Edited September 16, 2005 by Imbrium

[amrita]

Wet, this is a sweet, candyish floral, with a hint of spice. It almost reminds me of carnation.

 

Two minutes later, this is starting to soap out on me. Is that rose? It tickles my nose and makes me sneeze.

 

Fifteen minutes later, this is wafting soapy, perfumey rose very strongly.

 

Sadly, I have to wash it off. It's totally over the top on me... like almost anything with rose.

[~AmusedMuse~]

My impression:

Golden amber and honey with some very soft sweet floral notes. Totally not what I had expected. This one blew me away. I don't get anything rosey with this one.

On my scale of 1-5 this one is a 4

[darkwitch]

I want to smell what everyone else does, but as normal the citrus notes take over. In the imp I smell spicy sweet oranges, on my skin red mandarin and oranges. That's all that's there for me, while I like it, it's not something I would wear, maybe as a room smellie, this would be a good one for that.

[Xiabelle]

In the imp, this smells like a very expensive perfume.

 

Fresh on... boy, does this have a lot of throw! It almost knocked me over when I swabbed it on my cleavage. It's very very very perfumy to me; it's probably all the florals. This is definitely, as others have said, a very visual scent. It's enormously courtly to me, like the name; definitely elegant and somewhat formal and very red and gold. It's really almost too much for me, because I'm not into very formal perfumes except on rare occasions.

 

It also caused me to run to the bathroom for tissue because my nose tried to run off my face immediately. We're talking running, since it was instant hydrant face.

 

Once it dries down, it's rich and ambery, with lovely citrus and hints of florals. Really quite pretty. Every once in a while I get a waft of it. But it has to dry down before I like it enough to really wear it. Can we skip the first half hour to hour of this one?

 

Unfortunately, I can't smell it too well, as I'm still blowing my nose. Sneeze and runny nose central. I didn't realize this the first time I tested it, as I had about 6 others on at the time.

 

I'll probably use up my imp, since I like it enough for that, but the allergies will prevent this from ever becoming a bottle.

 

ETA: OK, this allergy attack just won't stop. It's off to swaps. I think I get to take a shower at lunch or something.

Edited September 19, 2005 by Xiabelle

[feline.by.design]

Versailles is such a fitting name for this blend, because the rose does get a touch powdery on me, reminding me of the powdered wigs and powdered skin that was en vogue during the location's heyday. I want to say I detect vanilla in this, but it could be the amber and jasmine just playing tricks on me.

 

This is a wonderful fragrance, though the rose came out strongest on me, and, again, was a powdery sort of rose. This is a very elegant blend for an elegant person, not your jeans-and-shirty people. Someone mentioned earlier that this is a formal blend, and I would agree.

 

It's pretty long lasting, as I can still smell the powdery fragrance in the crook of my elbows. This would be good for once-in-a-while when I'm feeling dainty or decadent, but I can't see this being an everyday sort of fragrance for me. It really captures the mood of Versailles, so it would be fantastic on an 18th century courtesan, but not really on a 21st century library dungeon worker.

 

-doreen

[AlaskaSnows]

In the Bottle: Smells simply a bit citrussy, a bit floral. Very nice.

 

Dry: Pretty much a simple white blossom, more like the actual bloom on an orange tree (I find, personally, that while orange blossom in perfumes and soaps is described as citrus and floral in real life orange blossom is only floral). It's pretty but sompared to other BPAL florals, it is one dimensional and kinda boring.

[joseybird]

Thanks Olympia301 for the decant!

 

This, very oddly, reminds me of Langour since they have no notes in common that I know of, that strikes me as incredibly...odd.

 

Jasmine gilded with amber is all I smell for a while. It has an aloof elegance to it, like Peitho.

 

I smell a faint waft of rose (which doesn't turn sour on me--yay!). I smell citrus too, but it's so tied to the florals that it doesn't scream "citrus!" at ALL.

 

This is a gorgeous, elegant scent, and the only other jasmine I like besides Peitho This is the scent of Hera, while Peitho is of Aphrodite. Lovely!

[tsarina]

Sweet golden citrus and that bright, almost green scent of a new flower when you press your nose into it. The rose is very subtle in this blend. Very clean, sparkling floral with the crisp citrus notes on top. As it warms up on the skin I get more of the jasmine.

[LiberAmoris]

Versailles is a regal floral. It's what I imagine the floral arrangements in the Hall of Mirrors would smell like. The jasmine and rose are most obvious, the citrus notes evaporate pretty quickly but they're lovely while they last. The amber is a very subtle anchor.

 

As this dries, the orris note seems to muck things up. Orris never seems to go quite right on my skin, it's such a shame, as this blend is beautiful.

 

I'll try it again on a different day with the hope of a different outcome.

[Northernminx]

Heavily floral, a touch of golden musk, but mostly jasmine and a soft subtle dry down of rose. This was pretty but too formal for me and not quite lush enough for me to adore it as I do with some of the other heavy florals. Very pretty, very feminine, and very refined.

[Scylla]

In the vial: Roses and jasmine

 

Wet, on my skin: Rose, amber and jasmine, oh my! Blends with rose and amber notes NEVER work with my skin chemistry and, sadly, this is no exception. The rose and amber notes beat the jasmine into submission and completely obliterate the orris. After drydown, Versailles gets very powdery and "grandmotherly" on me.

 

Those of you who like strong florals will really like it! It does smell very regal and refined.

[Little Bird]

Florals are not really me, they tend to give me headaches. Jasmine is my least favorite smell. I don't even really like citrus in perfumes. So I'm surprised that I like Versailles.

 

First on this is like someone squeezed a fresh orange over the petals of a jasmine floral. Very citrussy with some jasmine underneath. Then the rose comes out and I really start to like this blend. The rose isn't perfumey or sharp on me, just dark and spicy. My skin almost always amps up the jasmine so that it's overpowering, but the jasmine is very light on me here.

 

After about an hour this is powdery amber and citrus. And it all fades away in about 2 hours. The staying power isn't that great. But I like this. That's a small miracle for me where florals are concerned.

 

Versailles is a nice citrus floral. I think that I'll end up swapping my imp as it isn't really something that I can imagine myself wearing... but I still like it.

[Hawke]

I really need to stop having faith that I will find a rose I like. This is *close*, as was Othello, but I'm just not sure about it.

 

In the vial: Citrus. It smells bright yellow to me, if scent can have color.

 

Wet: Lemonade. That's what I thought I was going to get. Maybe a berry lemonade, as the tang smoothed down pretty quickly, sweetening up.

 

Drydown: Oh, how beautiful. There's a sort of creamy almost-vanilla smell that comes out in this. I've heard that amber can be creamy, so maybe that's it. Don't know what orris is. The citrus is still there, in whiffs. But, uhoh, the rose is showing up.

 

Dry: The rose is definitely prominent now. Not 'ohmygoshROSE' but it's definitely there. The creamy scent and the citrus tame it down. Tame down the rose portion, at least. There is something *really* strong in this. Major wafting power that's got bite to it. Maybe that's the orris?

 

I haven't washed it off. That's something. Not decided on whether I'll keep it or not, yet.

[maewitch]

This is so decadently beautiful and womanly. Not a casual fragrance at all. This is meant to be worn with the serious intent of sophisticated seduction.

 

Deep, luxurious amber and rose, like golden silk sheets and the tease of rich red petals. I think the faint hint of citrus and the sweetness of the jasmine keeps this from becoming oppressive. Though not in any way girlish, this is vibrant enough that it doesn't make me feel like I'm playing dress-up with my mother's perfume.

 

Fantastic.

[LyndaM]

I wanted to love it, but citrus, amber, and jasmine rarely work on me separately, never mind together. Wet, all I could smell was the citrus, which my chemistry immediately turned to cleaning product. After that, the jasmine and amber came out to play, and it went powdery and headachey.

 

It was definitely worth a try, and I can see how those whose chemistry cooperates with these notes would love it. It's complex and multi dimensional, and morphed more than the average BPAL does on me.

[coulrophobe]

In the imp: Eeeeek, lemon!

 

On skin: Ah, much better. The lemon is still there (and perhaps some form of orange, as well?), but the edge is taken off the citrus notes by loads and loads of amber. Other than the tiniest hint of rose in the background, I'm really not smelling the florals in Versailles - just rich citrus fruits with creamy, golden resiny goodness. It's a rich, golden, decadent scent - I really wasn't expecting to like it this much, based on the notes, but it's quite delicious.

[Sistinas]

a review of Versailles

 

Vial ~ Gold does definitely come to mind when I first smell this scent. I

am definitely picking up some citrus and jasmine.

 

Wet ~ On my skin I able to pick up the balance of jasmine and roses, but

citrus still has more oomph to it.

 

Drying ~ This is a strong scent. The image of gold still comes to mind even

tho this is more floral and the citrus seems to have disappeared.

 

Dry ~ It is completely floral, the jasmine and rose blend beautifully

together. I am quite impressed with this scent.

 

Fade ~ Versailles fades softly and slowly, over two hours now and I can

still detect faint traces of it.

 

Final thoughts ~ I am becomming a big fan of Beth's florals, this one is

very beautiful and not overdone. I can myself needing a bigger bottle of

this in the near future. On a scale of 1 to 5, I give Versailles a 4.5

[Nachtwulf]

I got this as a frimp... I probably wouldn'tve ordered it on my own, but I'm very glad they sent it along, because I really enjoy it.

 

Many people have mentioned rose and citrus. To be entirely honest, I don't get either one of them, and the blend doesn't seem to be all that floral on me. Instead, it's mostly a rich, golden amber, with hints of sweetness and spice. It /has/ floral and fruity qualities to it, but they remain in the background of the amber, keeping it from turning sicky-sweet and powdery and keeping it exotic. It reminds me of vampires... of the decadent, brocade-endraped Edwardian variety, rather than anything tawdry or feral. It's a coy, coquettish smile from a painted face beneath a huge powdered wig, the gleam of a fang hidden away by a fan edged in jewels and peacock feathers. It's a hunger, but one with dignity and grace. I wish it lasted a little longer, but 2-3 hours certainly isn't a bad showing.

[grrrlennyl]

at first: i can smell the citrus, with some other notes in the background.

on: lots of citrus, roses, and amber.

half an hour later: lots of jasmine and notice. the sweetness of the amber and the freshness of the citrus are gone.

1.5 hours later: some of the citrus is back, but barely. the rose is also stronger, with the jasmine and orris underneath.

2 hours later: the amber and orris are strongest now, with the citrus notes in the background.

overall: this really changes a lot, but i don't really like any of the stages of it.

[Splendid Molerat]

Versailles starts as a very creamy rose fragrance, with a transparent red-orange layer, jasmine and citrus.

 

It clings, heady and warm, for several hours. As it dries out, I get something close to dusty velvet or a faded pomander, and the grand ball winds down.