Belara

I stumbled on Belara & Bella both a few days ago while out rambling around at yard sales & shops. As I was driving on a state road outside of a neighboring town, a large bag of Vidalia Onions was sitting next to a hand painted sign heralding it's price, right next to the road. Behind it sat what looked like an ancient cinder-blocked gas station with a very old coat of what was once white paint. The door was open & I could see a few women inside that looked to be in their mid 30s, sitting around a table & drinking coffee. I asked if I could come in when I saw an old magicmarker sign that said "Mark Kay" posted obscurely on the corner of the building & they invited me in. What a treasure-trove jackpot it was for this ole fragrance lover! A former Mary Kay lady had quit the business & was selling out of all of her inventory, her personal toiletries & even some very old Avon products from her prior Avon Lady days. She had 2 bottles of this for $6.00 each & when I smelled one, I knew I had to have both. Actually, I bought all the women's frags she sold! She filled a cardboard egg-crate shipping box full of scents for under $40.00 & that is a winner on my fixed-income budget! For me, it opens with a very lovely, spring-fresh scent of lotus blossom, blueberry & what smells distinctly as honeysuckle. Its a beautiful opening on my skin, which lasts about 20 minutes. As it begins to bridge to the heart, the lotus & blueberry are still fairly strong, with the tuberose beginning to awaken somewhat softly. There is just the softest touch of fig, but not too much to make it more fruity for me. This lasted about 2 hours. As it enters the drydown, it has softened to a clean-powdery lotus & sandalwood blend with only the lightest hint of tuberose & musk. It is such a lovely fragrance! It lasts very well, about 6 hours, has good sillage & smells very much like a classic floral type, with white flowers, woodsy, fruity, powdery, musk. It doesn't seem as intense to me as some reviews posted here but then again, I'm so fond of some of THE MOST INTENSIVE perfumes in my use history! I apply heavy-handedly & have to remind myself constantly not everyone likes to soak in smelly-goods like I do. Moderation has never been my forte. This smells classic, very unoffensive, a good all seasons & all purpose fragrance. I can see how some would adopt this for a signature scent. I love the design of this bottle, too! The lovely colors it brings adds more interest on my dresser covered with all sorts of bottles. The bottle feels good in the hand & it sprays easily. I love this one! What a find!!! It goes to show that when out looking for fragrances in shops, etc., that by only stopping & entering some places that would seem like the most unlikely place to hide such treasures (Sign said "Vidalia Onions" !!!!) can often turn out to be the best places. Be open to all sorts of "shops" because we never know unless we inquire!!! I have actually found some great steals at an old mom & pop BOOK store!?! Books! Onions!.....led to hidden nuggets of perfume gold.

This was, and remains, one of my all time favorites. I would have never even heard of it if not for a trip to a Bed and Breakfast in Newport, RI. The owner happened to sell Mary Kay too. I was smitten with this scent and bought it for years. Losing a Mary Kay rep and having had my first child, I just forgot about it. Now, I need to get some more :)

Very hypnotic, the fruits in this perfume are extremely ripe and the balm really does wrap it all up into a nice balance between an office or night out scent. It definitely reminds me of what you'd expect from a Calvin Klein perfume; very mysterious, very feminine and sexy but not at all musky.

Very delicious. It smells deep and womanly. One of my staples.

This scent is perfect for every day, casual wear.

I would wear again, fresh fruity nice.

I got found a new in box bottle of this at a garage sale for a dollar. I didn't really try it, just smelled the nozzle and thought it wasn't too nice, so I put it away in my closet. Then I came across another full bottle at a thrift store. It was dirty but I cleaned it up. It was just too cheap to not buy. I got brave and tried it on my skin. At first spray I thought it was way too strong, but to my surprise it mellowed out after a bit. I'm not sure if it is plum like some others mentioned, or what it is, but this mellows out to a pretty nice scent. It's strong on me, but I LOVE that because so many perfumes are just weak anymore. Back when I started wearing perfume in the early/mid 80's a perfume was strong enough to be smelled by those around you. Today so many scents are just skin scents. Why bother. If someone has to put their nose on you to smell you, no thanks. I want to leave a slight trail. I admire that on others. I've even tracked a lady down to ask what she was wearing because it left such a nice scent trail. This perfume I'm hoping does that. I'm enjoying it way more than I ever expected to.

In my opinion, Belara is the best thing Mary Kay has made since a classic it discontinued many years ago, Acapella. I know of Acapella since it was my mother's signature perfume in 1989-early 90s. My dad said that I exist thanks to him reacting to that perfume lol. I don't know how to describe this. To my nose this is fig, blueberry, and the clean freshness of lotus. Musk is there to keep it from being too fresh and give it some sass. Its silage becomes angelic almost. I feel like I'm flying through clouds and smelling the world below. The fresh and vibrant bounty of mother nature. I also think that this is missing something, like a reviewer before me stated. And I think that missing quotient is "edge". Something to keep from being too "safe". More dimension and personality to give it soul. A great spring fragrance, and I think, becoming on all ages.

I bought this perfume for my mother, who had this bottle given as a gift by a friend. We had to pack it up when we moved, and it got shattered in the moving box, despite us packing it well. So we were smelling that for about two weeks in our new house. Needless to say, I got sick of that really quick...but that was about 10 years ago. Smelled it yesterday and got a change of heart. It reminds me of a watery floral scented soap/fabric softener (didn't know it was the lotus flower). It doesn't offend many people and get comments on how nice it smells on me, so it can be worn everyday, at any time of the year, with whatever occasion I choose. I usually wear it at work, so it seems clearly casual to me, while Bella is a little flirty.

I have this scent in the rollerball variety, and I have to say that I really like it. I remember a girl at my work who came in smelling really clean and fresh and I asked her what she was wearing. She couldn't remember the name of it, but she said it was a marykay fragrance in a purple bottle. After a little searching, I figured this one had to be it. Upon letting it settle on my skin, i'm pretty sure this is the one she was wearing. In the rollerball form, it is light and airy and definitely a skin scent. But I do have to admit, I will probably need to get this in the spray because I like having the cloud of fragance around me!

I bought Belara about 7 years ago, and used less than half of the bottle. First of all, the bottle and its colors are beautiful. But I find many Mary Kay perfumes too strong for my taste. They have good sillage and good longevity, they are no cheapos. I loved the fig and blueberry in Belara - but there was something too much for me, maybe the tuberose? I felt like I'd have to be a rich lady wearing a long furcoat - instead of who I really am. :) So it isn't really for me but I do think Belara is a fine perfume. There were many, who wanted to buy my bottle!

This is the first fragrance I loved. I was a schoolgirl and tasted it when my aunt bought it. I was hugging the bottle and dreaming - when I grow up and start making money I will spend my first coins on this one. And I did, my first salary (not very big) was spent on this perfume. And till these days when I try it, it still smells like a dream to me. P.S.: I was mistaken though, always thought that there is lilac in it.

This is an interesting scent. I was surprised not to see tuberose listed as a note. This smells like a tropical white floral with some sweetness, musk, and a hint of spiciness like I've smelled from ylang. Maybe a bit old fashioned, and that's ok by me. This sits somewhere between Jungle Gardenia and Cool Water. I like it a lot! Vacation bottled up in purple 💜

Had this scent gifted to me year ago, I didn't find any interest in it, nor did I know it was from Mary Kay, but truthfully it didn't fail to capture my attention again. It smells clean, floral, but not much a smell of fig, overall I love it<3

I like this perfume. I had it about four years ago, and wore it once in a while. That time boyfriend, love it on me. It is not the best scent because it may be overpowering for some people, but if sprayed moderately , it smells nice.

I really like this and got it Brand new for $3 at a garage sale. It lasts about 8 hours on me and the sillage is pretty good too. I think the cap looks like a top hat.

I WAS a Mary Kay representative for several months, and while I enjoy the skincare and cosmetics, the fragrances are somewhat disappointing (sorry, Mary Kay). Belara, for instance, has a lovely scent but is so light that it nearly vanishes once it dries down. It only lasts a brief time before disappearing entirely. For comparison, I've used Avon fragrances that lasted longer. This lack of staying power seems common across most Mary Kay women’s fragrances, with the exceptions of Illuminea and Boundless Blue (now discontinued). These two are the best I’ve tried—they smell great and actually linger on the skin.

Sweet fruity notes open and linger on. That's about all I get from Belara. Sillage and lasting power are very modest. The bottle, shading from cobalt to turquoise, is very pretty. And as another poster said, the cap looks like a top hat. :)

found this in bathroom drawer at my parent's house with some of my old stuff. i have no idea how old it is, so the fragrance may have changed over time. it's a clean scent, not much sweetness to it, just kind of plain.

A sweet floral with a laundry detergent vibe. If you like soapy fragrances, you might enjoy this one.