Berenice was a very very naughty girl. She is also mentioned in the Bible (but they don't go into detail). She was the sister of Agrippa II, ruler of Judaea and was married to a distinguished man at an early age and he died quite soon afterwards. She was then married to her uncle and had a couple of children by him, then moved in with her brother and started a relationship with him. She left him for a minor king of the area then deserted him to return to her brother. Finally, she met the future emperor of Rome, Titus. It was love at first sight for the both of them even though she was 11 years his senior. They lived in Rome and she acted in every way as his wife BUT the senate and people of Rome hated her and she was banished from the Eternal City never to return.
I like to think that Berenice presented herself as a naive girl, all cuteness and sweetness and then sprung the trap. To that end, I have put in a "champagne" musk which is very sparkly indeed and enough pink grapefruit to make it quite a paring, a dash of lemon zest, a veil of dragons' blood (an incensy sort) and you have what I consider a portrait in perfume of this little vamp.
The image is of Berenice at the trial of St. Paul and the stained glass window can be found in St. Paul's Cathedral in Melbourne Australia.
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