Urd

[Magda]

Muscadine, black and red patchouli, cereus and nag champa.

 

Origin: Brienze was sweet enough to gift me with a few imps to try, Urd being one of them.

 

In the bottle: Sour incense, not good

 

Wet: More incense, but sweet now, like drinking a grape-flavored slushie in a headshop. It makes me think of when I went to college in Portland, and at the Saturday Market some of the stores were so saturated with incense that everything you bought--shirts, trinkets, whatever--would perfume your dorm room for at least a week. It's a wonderful, heady smell, though I'm not sure how much I like it on me.

 

20 minutes: The memories of college are still vivid. I'm lying on my lofted bed with my girlfriend, listening to Bikini Kill, burning Nag Champa incense and studying for my Medieval Lit final. There's a hint of patchouli making this scent deep and lush, but it's playing very nicely with the nag champa and the muscadine, which is soaring brilliantly above the other notes. It doesn't smell like grape slushy anymore, it smells like the sweet, fresh winter grapes I had in Korea. I don't know what variety they were, I just know that you couldn't eat the skin and that they were the best grapes I'd ever had in my entire life. I was worried about the grape note, didn't see how it would blend with the rest, but it fits so perfectly and keeps the patchouli from being mean and overpowering on my skin.

 

1 hour: The notes have settled in and have become hard to distinguish. It's just sweet, smoky resin, now, perfectly blended. There's something else, too, something that makes me think of late summer... is it cactus flower? It's like the month when saguaros are in bloom.

 

Verdict: I don't think I'll wear this as a personal fragrance, but I'm going to try it in my oil burner because I would love my bedroom to smell like this. If that turns out well, I'll definitely get a bigger bottle.

 

Edited to add description, since this is the top of a new page. And, cereus! That's what the cactus flower whiff I got was.

Edited February 16, 2006 by Magda

[slave1]

In Bottle: Grape and patchouli

 

On Skin: Wowsers the Muscadine grape in this is strong! Very nice! But why oh why does the patchouli have to sneak in and ruin it for me? Both the patchoulis are dark and strong… dirty and raw… a sharp contrast to the sweet and juicy grape. It reminds me of Kali a bit, but a little more dirty. The cereus provides a waxy and slightly sappy floral note, pretty but light. And the nag champa mixes with the patchouli creating the smoky incensey note that finally dominates the scent. The grape remains in second, but turns a little more sour, like wine. An interesting scent. But not quite for me because of the patchouli.

[MissMorbus]

In Bottle: Wow. Grape incense. This smells exactly like the little voodoo shop on Burbon Street in New Orleans that I have to go to everytime I am down there. The last time I went was 3 years ago on my honeymoon. This scent is bringing back so many giddy happy memories. It has sky-rocketed to the top of my favorites just for the nostalgia

 

On skin: It is staying pretty true to the bottle. I can definately smell the grape, only its a more general fruitiness rather than a grape candy scent. I can smell whiffs of fruity grape, but the incense and patchouli are staying close to the skin. In general this scent stays close to the skin. I imagine it as a dense fog, creeping around your ankles. I love it.

 

Rating: 5 of 5

 

This scent lasts pretty well, I wish it lasted a little longer, but thats ok. Its just an exuse to buy a bigger bottle. It lasts about 5 hours on me.

 

*edit*

I just wanted to add that I can not express how much I love this scent. It is one of my absolute favorites. It may even be taking the place of Blood Countess as my number one.

Edited March 29, 2006 by MissMorbus

[aine]

Urd is sensational!

 

This was a leap-of-faith oil for me. I like fruity scents on others but never on me. I don't *do* fruit. But the lure of Urd with its promise of patchouli and nag champa was too strong to resist.

 

The muscadine is gorgeous - grapey without being bubblegummy. There was a brief moment when I thought the grape note might go too sweet but it pulls back to just the right level, adding to the light resiny goodness rather than overwhelming it. It kind of reminds me of Lush's Ooh La La with patchouli instead of the lavender.

 

Urd is perfectly blended and will undoubtedly be my next big bottle purchase.

[moon_lemming]

Really? All those things are in there? Because all I get is grape jelly. I assume that's my skin deciding that it MUST AMP ZEE MUSCADINE. It smells a little more complex wet, but dry, it's just . . . purple and sweet. Grape-y. Not something I want to smell like.

[moonarcana]

reviewed courtesy of Quikslver's GC circle swap

 

 

Urd

 

first sniff: ooh yeah, head shop patchouli and nag champa at it's head buzzy best...I can tell I'm going to like this already.

 

tested wet: this is quite an ideal presentation of patchouli...it's not the heavy incense that hangs in the air and permeates every porous surface it touches kind of head shop smell - it's the 'good stuff' that's kept behind the counter.

 

Tested dry: the scent just keeps being awesome...I LOVE it!

 

conclusion: Definitely searching out an imp soon, but I can see a bottle of this in my future.

 

4/5

 

ADDED March 9:

 

I was talking with a friend of mine about Urd and he said that he'd never tried it because of the grape note and never thought he'd like it.

 

I was like, "Grapes? ...WTF are you talking about?"

 

So I thought I'd toddle on over and look at the reviews (something I've obviously never done with this scent) and sure enough there are a lot of people smelling grapes.

 

I'm SO glad that I'm not one of them!

 

Urd is the ultimate patchouli hippy headshop scent to me. (and I mean that as a huge compliment) I love a lot of BPAL's patchouli scents though, but I almost get the munchies after wafting around in some Urd for awhile. (contact buzz)

 

Now there is a touch of a fruity sweetness, which to me deepens the Patchouli note and balances the dryness of the Nag Champa - but for me it's not flat out grapes, if anything it's a nice spicy mulled wine.

 

I've put Urd on every night this week - just kept the bottle out beside my computer because I knew that I wanted to have a prolonged affair with it for awhile. The bottle I have is pretty well aged according to the wonderful valentina, who I purchased it from...and I can tell a definite difference between it and a few frimps that I've received from the Lab. Patchouli ages so great you know.

 

Wet it is smooth and rich and here is where the sweetness exists, once it starts to dry it goes full-out patchouli/nag incense and wafts in and out of your consciousness, sometimes you'll get a big whiff that makes you go 'aaaahhhh' and other times the scent nearly dissapears but stays close to your skin. But as Arlo Guthrie says "wait till it comes around again, and this time with four part

harmony and feeling" and sure enough Urd wafts up again like somebody just lit up another one.

 

This one is definitely among my top favorite BPAL scents. Fabulous!

[juniperus]

Bottle: muscadine syrup with a hint of bottom notes, as yet still undefined, lurking.

Wet: the patchouli is identifiable, now, and I can catch a hint of the cereus, but the breadth of the floral is, as of yet, unexposed

Dry: the sticky fruit is taking a back seat to the sweet bloom. little of the nag champa as of yet, and the patchouli is still in the rear. I fear I may have found another high floral amp-happy note...

Later: ok, I really, really wanted this to work, I have read so many wonderful reviews of the patchouli and nag champa..and it's almost all damn syrupy-sweet fruit and amped floral on me. with a hint of patchouli. I'll wait longer to see if maybe the upper notes will disappear...but I'm not holding out hope. sad.

[Eunice]

This just makes me smile! The addition of the muscadine to the patchoulis and nag champa is just heaven! Heaven, I tell you!! Somewhat sweet and very very earthy. I love this! I think this may be my signature scent!

[filigree_shadow]

Mmmm, nag champa and patchouli. There is definitely a grapey scent to it, but it's not overpowering at all. This smells good on me, but it truly smells lovely on my sister. On her skin it goes from rich and smoky to mysteriously sultry. She's not normally a patchouli and nag champa kind of gal, but even she had to admit that Urd smells fantastic on her.

[Melantha]

Oh, my! In the imp, all I can smell are grapes. On, however, the patchouli starts to become stronger, and the nag champa comes out as well.

 

It's lovely, but I think it's more of a room scent for me, rather than perfume. It smells too much like an incense shop (in a good way!!!!).

[yeahbutnobut]

Urd

 

In the imp: patchouli incense with a hint of something sweet.

Wet on skin: now I can smell the grape coming through, but the scent is still patchouli dominated.

Dry on skin: ooh, I like this. I smell grape juice-or wine, perhaps, which is the muscadine note. And then there's a ton of patchouli, but this is good stuff-it's earthy and rich and dry. The nag champa adds to the hippy feel and gives a real incense note to the fragrance-dry and smouldering, and smoky. I don't know what cereus smells like on it's own but there's a sweetness here that I've smelt in Zorya and DDLM, so that must be it.

After a while: soon, this scent starts to smooth out, the grape strengthens a little, and I get that wonderful smoky-fruit-musk drydown, only with patchouli instead of musk. It's a soft, smooth, autumnal scent now, a delicious wine note with smoky, almost musky patchouli and nag champa, dark and mysterious but very nice.

Then the grape fades and I'm left with the smell of (clean) hippies. Patchouli and nag champa. My mum might love this, I think it will bring back loads of happy 60s memories.

Verdict: what a unique fragrance, taking a hippie fragrance of patchouli and nag champa and adding grapes to it…it seems strange but it works here. the muscadine goes nicely with the dry, dark, patchouli incense, before becoming that gorgeous 'autumnal earthy smoky fruit' scent that I get in a lot of BPALs, this is something to wear during the cooler months, when the leaves are falling all around. The end stage of the scent is very strong on the patchouli and nag champa and yes, it smells like hippies and headshops…but that's a good thing. I like it but I wish it was a little bit stronger on me-it's a little bit faint at times. But this is one of those few BPALs where the patchouli really does stand out-in other scents it's in the background but here I really notice it.

Emoticon rating:

[edenssixthday]

Urd - The first time I wore it, all I noticed was a strong, dark grape scent. The tiniest bit on the back of my hand left me surrounded by sweet, crisp grape juice scent for hours on end. Then I spoke to a friend, and she mentioned the patchouli in it and said Urd is her favorite "dirty hippie" scent. So the next time I tested it, I made sure to be aware of any patchouli scent. Sure enough, when I apply the oil, underneath the grape there is the scent of dark, woody patchouli. It gives a depth to grape that I hadn't noticed before. However, by the time the oil has dried down, it's once again all grape on me and I can't detect the patchouli (or anything else) at all. In fact, at this point, it reminds me a lot of Kabuki in it's level of sweetness and fruitiness. At about the 2 hour point, I notice that the grape has faded significantly, and the patchouli is back, and is in perfect balance with the grapes; It's simultaneously dry and sweet, woody and fruity. It's much lighter at this point, sticking much closer to the skin, but I still catch the occasional waft of the scent. It's not what I would consider a "dirty hippie" scent on me -- it's too fruity and juicy. This isn't a scent I'll wear often, but I can see myself being in the mood for it on occasion.

[portalkat]

I tried Urd because I loved the fragrance notes in the description and also because I was looking for an incense scent with nag champa. This smells like a chain of stores decades ago that sold jeans, actually it smells like head shops did from that era. It smells of incense, but soft and not really assaulting. It has a fruitiness coming from the muscadine and the whole thing is so well blended that even with two patchoulis, they never scream out. I love this and plan to order a bottle or two to slather.

This has just been added on to my top 10 list.

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

this reminds me of how my best friend's house smelled...

 

1.patchouli

2.lots of incense smoke (i don't get the nag champa, but i'm an incense snob)

3.Money House used to try and cover up the other smoke (that'd be the grape or purple i think other people are getting, too)

4.and an eensy bit of cute-boy-musk.

 

 

i burn so much incense that... to an extent...this is how all my clothes smell anyway...

i like it, don't get me wrong but...it seems really strange to me to be able to put this smell on my skin from a bottle.... this is supposed to be the smell you *earn* from burning THAT MUCH incense. heh.

[Trish]

I got this as a freebie in a swap, which I was very pleased about as I was curious about it as I love incense but hate patchouli.

 

In the imp: Sweet, slightly fruity incense.

 

Wet: Strong, sweet wine and patchouli. But despite the patchouli I really like it.

 

Dry: Sweet patchouli. It's not evil patchouli though and I find it somewhat intriguing even if I'm not sure if I like it or not.

 

1 hour: The patchouli's just too strong in this one for me. The other notes are there, but the patchouli is dominant. I have to wash it off as it's irritating me (irritating as in annoying that is).

 

This will probably be swapped, unless I find something to layer it wth.

 

 

EDIT

 

I ended up keeping this around as my partner decided he liked it, but I never went near it again. However lately I've got over my hate of patchouli, and there's a number of patchouli blends I actually like a lot! So I gave it another whirl and I quite like it now. Probably the main reason for that is I'm no longer concentrated on the patchouli alone and pick up the other notes. In this case it's the nag champa especially that stands out for me, and also a bit of muscadine. Nag champa and patchouli incense with a little fruit and soft floral.

Edited March 7, 2007 by Trishek

[kakiphony]

In the imp: The patchouli in this is woody and reminds me a little of Anne Bonny. It's the main note I smell, although there's something sweet lurking underneath it.

 

Wet on skin: Holy head shop, Batman! This is incredibly thick incense laid over the muskiness of unwashed flesh. It smells like the inside of a really dirty used bookstore/Wiccan shop (read: headshop) that I used to go to in Boston to buy really cheap used books. (Yes, that's really why I went there.)

 

Early dry down: The nag champa and the patchouli battle it out to see exactly which variety of incense I'll smell like. Both of them are very strong and it has more waft than I tend to like. The muscadine and cereus are in there somewhere, trying to sweeten this blend up, but not having much luck. There's just the faintest hint of something like Mogan David wine mixed with sweat under all the incense.

 

Late dry down: This was too strong and too unclean smelling to leave on for long, especially since I had to be around people. I washed it off after 20 minutes.

 

This one really surprised me. I tend to get along well with patchouli and I love nag-champa incense. However, this was much too strong for me, and ended up making me smell unwashed. I guess it just proves that it's very important how and with what patchouli is blended, since I finally understand what people mean when they say they don't like how patchouli makes them smell like dirty hippy.

[fairy]

This is one I didn't think I was going to like but then was pleasantly surprised. In the bottle it smells like insense. On my skin I smell a beautiful smoky sweetness. I really like this.

[jarvenpa]

Being very fond of incense-like fragrances, and dark fragrances, I had high hopes (so to speak) for Urd.

 

First hit: spice and fruit. Reminds me a little bit of Cairo, a scent I am very fond of.

 

Morphs to deeperness (okay, not a word. But: darkens, grows a bit more--woody).

 

I am actually not smelling patchouli, at least not patchouli as I know it, and I am not getting big associations with headshops or the haunts of my youth. Sandalwood? Maybe sandalwood.

 

I like sandalwood, this is okay.

 

But for all the depth of scent, this one isn't very long lasting for me. And not so spectacular I want to carry it around and constantly apply more of. Still, I am very grateful for the chance to experience it.

[fiddlehead]

Urd.

 

Another variation on eau du headshop It's such a favorite of so many folks though, I felt I had to try it. I'm beginning to think this sort of scent might be a comfort smell for the children of hippies/boomers, which makes perfect sense! As someone else mentioned, this is the smell of years and years of incense burning, seeping into all of the porous objects in the room.

 

After several minutes I can really smell the grape. This oil doesn't seem to last on me, but maybe my nose is just tired after a day of testing

[ND¢]

In the bottle: Remember how I said the patchouli in Depraved wasn't like the patchouli I remember? The heavy, incensey patchouli that had negative connotations for me until I tried Depraved? This is that patchouli and I'm thinking, 'Uh oh.'

 

On me: Yup. A grapey, nag-champa-ey patchouli. It's hard to believe how well the muscadine goes with the patchouli until you smell it. Jury's still out on whether this smells good on me, because it is still *that* patchouli.

[Inanna9]

Oh wow, this another one of those "what took me so long?" blends. Urd is a dirtier, slightly drier version of Hellion. Or maybe I should say Hellion is a smoother, sweeter version of Urd, since Urd came first.

 

Either way, they're sultry first cousins from the same sinister, incensey, head-shoppish clan. Digging through the BPAL catalogue is a very worthwhile pursuit, and I'm so very happy I finally discovered this one.

[Miss Lynx]

I've been wanting this one for a long time, because people who like the same kinds of scents I do keep recommending it, but at the same time I was a little wary of the notes. I like patchouli in blends, but not when it's the dominant note. Plus, my skin tends to amp florals like there's no tomorrow, and grape is one of the few fruit notes that usually doesn'twork on me. So I had both hopes and fears for Urd. And finally I got to try it.

 

In the imp, it smelled like total patchouli -- almost like a single note. I begin to think my fears might win out. But once it hit my skin, the other notes began to come out, and it became much nicer.

 

The muscadine note turned out to be about the only kind of grape that doesn't seem to turn to candy or Kool-aid on my skin. It just added a touch of high, clear sweetness that complemented the patchouli wonderfully, but never became overpowering. And the chapma and cereus are similarly well-behaved -- my skin often amps florals but either it's didn't these, or there was only a little bit of them in here.

 

Overall, Urd is is a really interesting and complex scent, and I can see why so many people like it. It gets really nice as it settles in, with all kinds of layers of scent emerging. It's dark and earthy and sweet and heady, sometimes a sort of fruity floral like Yerevan or Xiutehcutli, and sometimes more of a deep, dark, earthy scent. It seems to be roughly in the same scent-family as Bewitched and Lampades, which is a Very Good Thing as far as I'm concerned, since those are two of my favourites. I really like scents that have that kind of dynamic range -- really bright, sweet notes layered over dark, murky ones.

 

So yes, this is by far the best of the eight scents that arrived in two separate swap packages yesterday, and warrants much further experimentation. It may even be a candidate for the ever-diminishing big bottle list... I'm starting to realize I don't really need a 5 mL of every single scent I like, because I like a lot of different things, and there's only so much perfume one person can wear. But some things to merit one, and this just might be one of them.

 

Grade: A-, maybe A

[Lexie]

At first I smell just grapes, it must be the muscadine. The grapey smell stays predominant but soon the patchouli comes out to play too. As it dries the fruitiness fades a bit and the scent becomes earthier and smokier. I always get strong color associations of scents and Urd is definitely murky purple.

 

I’m a huge patchouli fan and not so into fruity scents so I hoped this to be more dirty-hippie-patchouli than grapey-fruity. But actually it doesn’t matter, Urd is heavenly anyway. Definitely one of my favorites. LOVE!

[zombiegrrl]

Ummmm...so far wet the smell is reminding me of that old Alberto VO5 stuff from the 70s. Okay, wait, now that it has dried a bit it has settled down and smells WAY better. Yep, muscadine and incense. I might be more likely to use this as a room scent. It's a little overpowering on me to wear, I think. Maybe. A little definitely goes a long way. Others have said this smells like incense shops, etc., to them, and I have to agree. I like it.

[PilotKitten]

Hrm... can't find this in the product search. This has a wood note, that much I can tell. All I really get out of it though... which isn't surprising since woods amp up on me.