It is hard to describe the scent. The smell is very pleasant, with a faint citrus undertone. As far as being strong, yes it can be, but not always.
Can't answer the question re. Bears Lime.

Different varieties have slightly different smells, but in general, they all remind me of jasmine.

Very sweet, light, and intoxicating.

-Tom

My 'Bearss' lime has a very faint scent compared to other varieties. Here where it's frosty, it blooms in the fall and spring. Milder places it can bloom and fruit year-round, from what I've heard. Citrus blooms really only smell like themselves. To my nose, Philadelphus does have a similar scent, maybe not as rich, though.
Strongest for me are grapefruit, navel orange, and kumquat. When all the trees are covered in blooms in spring, it is really spectacular.

This post was edited by Northbay12 on Mon, Nov 10, 14 at 2:37

Only way I can describe the Citrus smell is to reply that the scent is what I imagine Heaven to be like...

My Kaffir has almost no scent at all, though what little I get is a sweet / clean / very pleasant smell. My (now indoors) Meyer Lemons are in full bloom right now and they smell like lemon Pledge on steroids to me - with a ceiling fan on they are definitely as strong as an air freshener. To me, the smell can be very cloying if you get close to the blossoms. No idea on the Bearss though.

when I first brought my kumquat inside for winter it bloomed like crazy. I was surprised at how strong the smell was, it was amazing don't me wrong but it was a little hard to sleep in my room for a few days at the peak of the bloom.