Hell's Belle

[whitsunweddings]

Sweet, smoky and sensually wicked. A thick, steamy scent, truly sinister in its voluptuous sexuality. The perfume of a demon's favored consort, or of the devil herself. Oleander with wet, sweet mandarin, lush magnolia, a rush of deep musk and a touch of spice.

In the imp: White flowers.
Wet: Musk & the aforementioned white florals, spices.
Dry: Musky white flowers with a hint of spice. This was kinda sour and gross on me.

[bellumed]

At first, it’s warm, spicy musk, just the slightest touch of mandarin. The florals become stronger as it dries. Reminds me of being outside on a thick, humid summer night and putting your face right up in the flowers so you get a headrush from that heavy scent. For me, wearing Hell’s Belle is putting on a costume and pretending to be someone else, because I feel like this is someone’s signature scent. Not at all an everyday perfume (or even one I’d want to keep re-applying all day), more for when I’m trying to create an effect. Hell’s Belle isn’t sexy in any traditional manner, rather by way of mature, unwavering confidence. It says “I am a fully developed woman… in every sense of the word.”

Edited June 28, 2012 by bellumed

[strahlend]

Without looking at the notes my impressions were of wood, incense, and a sweet flower. In the imp it seemed a little bit more perfumy and sharp, but on my skin it becomes sweet and atmospheric.

The cloud of scent that wafts up from my arms reminds me a little bit of the light, sweet, mildly fruity incense feel I get from Mlle Lilith, Fortune Teller and the orange from Ravenous. When I huff my wrist up close it smells more sharply floral. This scent meshes with my skin chemistry beautifully and it strikes me as being mildly orangy, incense, and soft warm wood.

 

I've had this imp for who knows how long and since it didn't really grab me when I sniffed it in the imp it was looked over, after testing it out I'm on the lookout for a bottle.

Edited July 8, 2012 by strahlend

[SkySamuelle]

In the imp, I smelled something fruity sweet -the mandarin?- and flowers.

On the skin - I get a nice impression of spicy flowers. It doesn't change on the dry down. While it's a pleasant scent, I am missing the sexiness and the allure that would have me wanting for more.

[neuilly]

Such a perfect match to the description. This is a deep sensual floral with a darker side. Very moist southern floral - and I'd say more than a hint of spice although it does fade a bit.

[mymymai]

In the Imp (ITI): Strong mandarin with a little musk and nutmeg perhaps.

 

Wet: Ooh, the mandarin is sweetly spiced - cinnamon and nutmeg I think -on my skin. The musk sits deliciously under the mandarin and rounds everything out.

 

Dry: The scent now has the quality of powdery musk and spice with only a hint of dried mandarin.

[SadariEvenstar]

I quite like how this smells, but I can't wear it. The floral bit is trampling all over my allergies. It's too bad because it smells like a gorgeous summer scent.

[claudia6913]

This is musky, spicy, and a little tangy. The imp I'm testing is probably one of the first few imps I'd ever gotten, so god knows how old it is. It mellows beautifully and it's just all around lovely to sniff. In the imp I wasn't terribly impressed, but on my skin it's doing wonderful things. I may have to add this to my next GC order...

[Deliciousness]

In the imp, this is a juicy, sweet magnolia blend with a hint of spice - it's just lovely.

 

Alas on my skin, those beautiful and intriguing nuances disappear and this blend becomes SWEET MAGNOLIA. Oh yes, that caps lock is needed. This is sweet magnolia all the time.

While it doesn't smell bad, it just seems to have lost something in translation, which I can only blame on my chemistry.

[Ajila]

In the bottle - Green sap and an almost bubblegum sweetness that I guess comes from the magnolia

 

Wet on me - A green waxy/peppery berry scent with an almost liquoricy undertone

 

Dry on me - A soft clean slightly sweet floral

 

Overall - I like this quite a lot, the only thing that puts me off is the waxiness early on

[Teaker]

I'm sad this doesn't work on me, because the description is so fabulous! Who wouldn't want to smell like the devil herself? Me, apparently. Something about the combination of musk and spice with the citrus of the mandarin is really off-putting. I haven't come across oleander or magnolia before, and I think I'm not a big fan. When all the notes combine I get a powdery white floral with musky citrus. It turns my stomach a bit

 

This could be a really intriguing perfume for someone, but not for me.

[ralenth]

Wet: Creamy magnolia, and my nemesis, cinnamon.

 

Drydown: The cinnamon takes over completely and my throat is starting to itch.

 

Dry: Cinnamon SN.

 

Verdict: Sadness. I would love a smoky magnolia scent, sans cinna-monster.

Edited August 7, 2014 by ralenth

[DarthArwen]

Oh man, if only my favourite scents had a tenth of the strength/throw of Hell's Belle. I had an imp of it, mixed it with 4 parts jojoba oil. Literally just touched the roller ball to my throat on either side. Developed a headache from the overpowering scent (I think I just get floral (Magnolia or Oleander mix? Not sure) to the power of 100. Washed it off, but still smelled it quite strongly.

 

Four days later the scent is still in the hoodie I was wearing then (the oil didn't touch the fabric) and it is now at a strength I would describe as 'Heavy throw, very present, but wearable'. I can't even imagine what the pure oil would have done, but it wouldn't have been fun.

 

Basically this is a scent I like best when it is in its bottle standing on the other side of the room, and I just occasionally get a whiff of it on the air.

[greeneyedgirl]

MMMM this is a thick, creamy floral that radiates sensuality. I am re-testing imps I got 3+ years ago and Hell's Belle has aged wonderfully. I am a sucker for creamy musky scents, they bloom beautifully on my skin. I'm pretty new to this so I'm not sure if the floral I'm getting is the oleander or magnolia. Definitely need a bottle of this.

[Veronica]

This scent is the same wet and dry for me. It's a sweet powdered floral, honestly reminds me of those Valentine's Day candies or Smarties and some flowers.

[mystery213]

While I love citrus, I do not wear it often. This is not only because it just doesn't usually hit me as a 'me' scent, but also because most citrus scents fade almost immediately on me. Helle's Belle, however is very much unlike your average citrus blend- the mandarin blends right into the magnolia and musk and it all becomes one fluid note. The 'spice' adds a beautiful peppery edge to the whole mix with a touch of cinnamon and smokiness. I have smelled this in the imp before, but never have actually ventured to try it on. I am glad that I did....

[Malaena]

I'm a complete newbie to BPAL and out of my first haul Hell's Belle is the only scent that is a 100% winner.

 

The mandarin and florals are absolutely perfect. I have a note of win now: mandarin! Later on the spices emerge and it loses its throw. I love love love it. This is me 100%!

[Anaire]

To be honest, I've never been one for florals and I tend to dislike orange (even though I like citruses in general). I got this as a frimp in an order and since I was new to BPAL I thought "Hey, I'll give it a try..." I mean I'd never have picked this one on my own but it never hurts to broaden your horizons a bit, right?

 

Hell's Belle lives up to her name. She's that combo of grace, beguiling charm and devilish intelligence that reminds me of Scarlet O'Hara in Gone with the Wind.

 

Wet: Mandarin dominates with a hint of spice, cinnamon I think. (for me it took a few months of aging before I could smell the spice. The mandarin was very dominant)

 

Drydown: Oleander and magnolia come into the forefront. I smell mostly the oleander but I definitely get a mix of mandarin and spice in there as well (plus I don't know what magnolia smells like).

 

Reaction from SO: Well, if he smells it he likes to bury his nose into my neck to get a better sniff of it...

 

Ultimately this has become one of my top 5 scents. It's a sexy, spicy floral that gorgeous with my chemistry.

ETA: That said I've found it's best for me in Spring and Summer, it doesn't smell quite the same when it's colder than 80 degrees outside. Not sure why.

Edited May 3, 2015 by Anaire

[marilyn eyre]

Wow. I've been wanting to try this scent for a while, but i had no idea how good it was. Lots and lots of lush magnolias dripping with spiced mandarin juice. I can just pick out some musk underneath it all. This is the kind of scent a true Southern belle wears while she drinks sweet tea and spreads malicious gossip. I think this might be my new signature scent.

[doomsday_disco]

In the imp: Heady florals, musk, and mandarin.

 

Wet: The mandarin note is the first to greet my nose, followed by the heady florals. Then, the musk emerges. I get more mandarin than anything else, but the heady florals and the musk are quite prominent as well.

 

Dry: Same. The mandarin still reigns, accompanied by the heady florals, musk, and a bit of spice.

 

Verdict: I like the mandarin note, but the combination of the mandarin + the musk and the heady florals just makes this too sweet for me. It's verging on candy-like on my skin (or maybe a sweet alcoholic beverage).

[LizziesLuck]

frimp from the Lab

 

Citrus is iffy on me. I like it, it doesn't always like me. Usually mandarin is one of the safer choices.

 

Wet - citrus cleaning products. Nice citrus cleaning products, the kind where you use them and think, "mmm that smells nice". Still, I don't really want to smell like it.

 

as it dries, it gets to a stage where it's lovely, bright, fresh, a little sweet, the perfect citrusy floral.

 

Then it reverts back to cleaning products, now with a hint of powder. Then it pretty much just disappears. Can't win 'em all! Happy to have gotten to try it though. This further solidifies my knowledge that I have to be careful with citrus, my skin chemistry just doesn't do it justice.

[freyasfae]

Oh, mandarin! Wicked mandarin! The magnolia is barely there when wet though the spices are dancing about. Hm, is that cinnamonm, it is starting to amp...do I want to smell like cinnamon? Why do spices hate me? Okay, it has settled down into that sort of languid, southern spicy magnolia scent. I think I will come back to this in the late spring/early summer.

[Mermaid-on-Land]

Oooh this smells GOOD. It's creamy sweet (very sweet but not sugary) and reminds me a little of Sacred Whore of Babylon. There's an underlying smoky bite at first, but that fades a little later on. It has a slight bit of resiny sweetness to it, and an almost humid heaviness to it (the description does say 'steamy'). The throw is great. And it's strong, I was just around the house so I put on less than i usually wear just to test it and could still catch the scent moving around. I think the mandarin is blended enough that it doesn't smell ORANGE, just a hint in the background, sort of like a dessert with a bit of orange, rather than a fresh cut fruit (not that it's foody). It's very smooth and blends together well overall, without one thing in particular standing out jarringly. I like this, it's confident and warm. The people who said its a southern belle perfume are right, it's probably just the florals putting me in the mindset but this is humid and languid while also being very feminine. I'm surprised there are no gardenias here, they smell a little like what I get with gardenia. Color association is opaque cream and translucent orange.

[roseus]

Heady florals, with a little spice. Musky, sweet, and little creamy. Pretty, but not quite my thing.

[Miss Landau]

I actually don't get much mandarin from this, which surprised me as I REALLY get it from others like Carnal and Belle Epoque. Lots of magnolia, and a warm wet spiciness.