Silk Road

[sarada]

A panoply of cultural treasures, spanning the herbs, flowers, oils and balms of the Romans, the Byzantines, the Mediterranean, the Levant, Northern China, Eastern Europe, Iran, the Bulgar-Kypchak, Mesopotamia, the Crimean Peninsula, Anatolia, Antioch, and North Africa.

Doesn't this sound incredible? It is! The color is a pale and slightly rosy amber, and the scent of this oil immediately perks me up. It's like walking into a store that sells all kinds of incenses and oils...just lovely!

I really wish I had a better idea of how to describe the individual notes in this, because I love it -- but I have no idea to describe it! But in the interest of contributing a review, I'll do my best. This is like a light, spicy incense -- the spices are subdued, and although I have a full spice cabinet at home and a good idea of what smells like what, I have no idea what is in this! Slightly woody, extremely complex, I don't get a strong sense of cinnamon but I think I can smell it in there somewhere...not a foody spice scent, and not overwhelmingly strong like Scherezade, which was something I was wondering, about this scent. Subtle, but compelling.

I will definitely be ordering a full bottle of this, though I don't think I will ever figure out exactly what's into it! I can't think of any other BPAL blend that this is similar to. It is not extremely floral or extremely herby but you can catch a glimpse of some sort of exotic bouquet or spice kitchen. I imagine it is like walking into an ancient Eastern or Middle-Eastern market, and the swirl of scents (just the good scents...not the other smells that might have been circulating in ancient times!) in the sun, with a swirl of incense smoke.

[Longstofly]

Silk Road is one of those scents that smells exactly like the description. Like sarada I have a hard time picking out individual notes. It is slightly herby, green, spicy, and floral. That sounds heavy but it isn't a heavy scent at all. It is light and complex. I think I smell cinnamon, maybe lemon or some other kind of citrus, a bit of green grass (or something similar), sandalwood maybe? It is so complex!

[Rheliwen]

OMG...I'm so lucked out on this one. It's my first 5ml catalog oil bought un-sniffed.

 

Like the others have said, this is a beautiful, spicey, herbal, even a touch floraly blend. It's by no means foody. In fact, the first thought I had was, "this reminds me of Three Witches." Don't get me wrong, I find them to have similar qualities, but Silk Road is just so much more complex and a completely different scent. That said, if you like one, you might like the other. I found Three Witches to be too peppery. The Silk Road has the balance of ingredients that never allows one note to take dominance.

 

As this dries I almost get a grainy note from it, like oatmeal or wheat that draws the spice away just a teeny, tiny bit. Quite interesting! I smell other spices like coriander and a hint of cinnamon that have that powdery smell as if you were smelling them right out of their little kitchen bottles. They all blend so beautifully together. Silk Road isn't one thing, it's many things: herbal, spicey, floral.

 

On the second wear, I get a slight mandarin note. Damn this one is so good

 

Now go on and get yourself some because Silk Road is so wonderful!

 

ADDITION: I forgot to mention this, but I also think it smells like a more herbal/spicey Hamadryad if that helps

Edited April 6, 2005 by Rheliwen

[roisnoir]

Silk Road.. ohmy.

This may knock Morocco from #1 on my personal top 10.

This is rich brocade fabric that someone has encrusted with beadwork. And a layer of travel dust.

 

Sophisticated, complex, spiced, gorgeous.

It's actually a little old for me, but I don't care.

I wouldn't think twice about passing this to my mother or grandmother.

 

It hovers very close to the skin, and doesn't last as long as I could wish, but that just means that I get to reapply.

 

The scent doesn't change much at all from the bottle to my skin, or wet to dry.

 

My grandparents have some friends that travel a lot. Their house is filled with gorgeous things they've brought back from all over the world (you can have no idea how much I covet their house and its contents). This scent matches that house.

 

I'm getting a bottle of this in my next order. Oh yes.

[Scylla]

An imp of Silk Road was included with my most recent order. At first sniff, it kind of reminds me of a cross between Sea of Glass and Sudha Segara.

 

But that's only at first sniff out of the imp. As previous reviewers have said, it is very complex and it's difficult to pick out individual notes. It is primarily a floral, but I definitely detect some ginger in there that keeps popping out and reminding me of Sudha Segara. There are also green herbal notes that I smell, but I can't properly identify them, so I'm not even going to try to hazard a guess!

 

Silk Road is a mysterious, sexy, slinky floral, if that makes sense! I'm not usually a big fan of primarily floral fragrances, but this one is definitely a keeper!

 

ETA: Silk Road is very long lasting on me and has a lot of throw. I put it on early this morning and it's now nearly 3:00pm and I can still smell it wafting a bit.

Edited April 6, 2005 by Scylla

[oatmealneko]

Vial: I can't smell anything. The scents are too light for my nose to pick up.

Wet: Definitely spices & very light florals. A touch of herbal as well. Can't put my finger on what they are exactly.

Dry: Spices, but the florals are gone. The spices smell exotic & similar to Scherezade (minus the musk). Spices & oil, perhaps the sort of things you'd find in a Middle Eastern/African market. It smells somewhat like cinnamon. I think the florals are still there, but it takes them awhile to come out again. I think that creamy note I couldn't make out previously is probably milk. I tried Sudha Segara a few days afterward & realized it's the same scent.

 

It's very complex. It starts off very simple, but it changes gradually as it dries down. It's not foody or incensy. It has very good throw on me, once it dries out, it lasts awhile. It's warm & rich, I think I'm going to have to buy a bottle of this one.

Edited April 11, 2005 by oatmealneko

[pkwench]

Silk Road

 

Sniff: This is hard to describe. The most singular thing I can say on first whiff is that it smells like fabric (silk, one could say) that's absorbed the smell of so many different things that it's almost overwhelming. There's a strange, almost moldy quality at first sniff too.

 

Wet: Wow. There's this sudden fluttering of spices emerging, saffron among them. It's like being hit on in a way.

 

After 10: Elegant, in a word. Exotic, in another word. The smell is a yellow, warm spice .

 

 

Impressions: I wasn't sure about this for a minute or two-which could have constituted a mini-tragedy since I bought this straight-up as a 5ml. But, the unease lasted only during the initial drydown. Now, I'm just absolutely in love with it. As I said, it's exotic, but it's also comforting. There's something familiar, perhaps it's the warmth or the faint ginger tinge to it. Something about it reminds me of the sort of shops that are half used books, half curio shop. It also makes me want to swish my hips and swing my ass a little. (Or that could be the Vas playing, you never know. LOL)

[ivyandpeony]

I honestly think everyone should go put an imp (at least) of this on their wish list NOW! I'm green with envy that some of you had the foresight to order a 5ml unsniffed... Silk Road is hard to describe but it is truly beautiful and I'm wondering if it is one of those blends that will morph to the wearer so that many, many of us will fall in love with it. I have compared it to so many other blends in my mind... Snake Oil's little sister without the vanilla? Sudha Segara's cousin, less ginger, more of another spice? Overall, it's a gorgeous sweet and spicy blend with occasional reminders of something floral. This will be a fantastic blend for hot summer days when you're dreaming of slathering yourself in your heavier spicy scents but afraid of overwhelming the crowd... hell, it would be a fantastic blend for taking out the trash or walking the dog! Go get some, now!

[shelldoo]

this reminds me of the lion, and strength if they would sit down together and have lunch. it is grassy, and spicy, warm, gorgeous. there is cinnamon, and possibly a hint of clove, a touch of ginger, all mingling w/ that dried grassy smell i am starting to adore. this is complex, and completely me. i adore it i am seeing that someone compared it to 3 witches and in someways i can see why but the "dried grass" note makes it more like lion to me, man i can't stop sniffin my arm....i am loving this did i say that?

[kmasden]

Ohhh, I am in awe. This is soooo lovely. Shelldoo said it reminds her of the lion, she's right. And alongside with it, Sin, which is, in my opinion, the spicier verson of the Lion.

 

Dry, this was so herbal I was taken aback. And worried. I didn't get a 5ml, just an imp, but had been regretting my decision. When I first smelled this, I was disappointed, but soon it was morphing, from the herbal notes being primary, to them sliding alongside a spicy, maybe even slightly woody goodness. On drydown it is just exotic sexy goodness.

[clover]

Silk Road

 

Sniffing from the bottle: Green and herby

 

Upon first application: Oh, it's mostly amber! Amber and ginger maybe....and yikes! Something really, really dodgy. It's familiar, but I can't quite place it. Dill? Pickle juice? Bay? It's really throwing me off.

 

After a few minutes: Sadly, this is not for me. While it does remind me of The Lion, there's something in Silk Road that is completely clashing with my chemistry. Has to be washed off.

[Northernminx]

covet covet covet... oh am I getting a 5ml of this. I agree with the comments that silk road is complex and so well blended that I've not a hope in Hades of picking out the scents. It reminds me strongly of a milder sweeter version of India Bouquet, which I adored and was quite sad to see go. This starts off rather woody and herbal but soon sweetens with a touch of cinnamon and spices that I can't begin to define.

 

It's not a sweet scent persay, although it is nice and light on me, but rather softly exotic, the silk covered interior of a wagon train from the east where the spices and dust and cool shadows are protecting you from the scorching sun outside.

 

Gorgeous.

[Eldritch]

In the bottle: I like this in the bottle. It's light, but spicey. Not spicey in the foody way, but spicey in the "well this is something expensive and exotic, most likely antique" kind of way.I don't get any particular family or blend from it, but a mix of intriguing stuff. I'm sure this'd be great as a room scent but my skin is known to mess fark up exotic/spicey notes. It's very well blended. Let's hope it stays that way.

 

Wet: Mmm. Spicey herby goodness. This doesn't have that heavy musky-sexy base that so many spicey/exotic BPAL blends have (and my skin hates with a passion). Good sign. I can detect a touch of clove, cumin, maybe, but nothing stands out too strong or overpowering yet. I was worried this would smell like "Hi I'm an aging hippy/pothead!" when I ordered it--incense/spice scents make me leery--but so far it's pretty elegant and clean. Color-wise, this is a brocade of dark green and a touch of burnished bronze/gold.

 

Dry down: I do get shades of Three Witches. It's similar in the way that it just smells complex. But where Three Witches was foody complex, this is more ambience complex. This is an intellectual lady world traveller, back in academia after time abroad, wearing Malaysian trinkets with her blouse and heels. It's the asian room in a well-kept museum, an exotic package from a far away friend that comes wrapped in embroidered silk and wood trinkets.

 

Dry: Ooo. It's turning ethereal and shadowy now. The lady professor is up late in her office with a cup of earl grey, reading an old book by lamplight. There's this general, refined smell that's sweet but not sweet, spicey but not spicey, clean but something more. The base has turned just slightly herby, but not enough to bother me. It's still well blended and refined.

 

Overall: Wow. I like this so much. Maybe it's because that academic/traveller thing is something I already relate to, but wow. It's not an everyday scent because it smells just so *expensive* but it's not an over-the-top fancy-evening-only scent like Nosferatu. I could see wearing this on big days on campus, awards banquets, important presentations, evenings in and out. This is going in a roller bottle immediately.

[ChupaChup]

Silk Road is a very clean, yet complex and sophisticated scent. It starts out a little lemony although I'm pretty sure that is ginger tricking my nose. Just like others have said, it's herbal, slightly sweet, slightly spicy and slightly floral. My favorite stage is the wet stage, then after about 10 minutes it smells like herbal tea with ginger which is nice but doesn't knock my socks off. After another 15 minutes, it really settles in and I get a little more spiciness, possibly cinnamon. It's powerfully addictive at this stage, I can't keep my nose away from my wrist. This is not a heavy, sexy, musky scent at all, it's light and somewhat comforting. The closest comparison I could make is Sudha Segara without the milk and honey. Not much throw at all, a skin scent for sure. It is also very gender neutral.

Edited April 12, 2005 by ChupaChup

[darkling]

Silk Road is a complex blend of spices and sweet scents. I am horrendous at picking out notes but I know that I caught a hint of saffron and an undertone of sugar.

 

The best part about this scent is the image that it induces: a caravan carrying rare spices and sweets across the desert to another land.

 

Silk Road has a dryness to it that speaks to deserts and sharp winds. The spices mingled together when the scent was wet and dry although the sugar beneath was constantly present.

 

This scent is somewhat muted on my skin as it doesn't have a lot of throw. However, it does last a long time as I could still smell it faintly on my wrists at the end of the day.

[Ina Garten Davita]

First Impression: The sharpest of gingers.

 

Second Impression: The sharp hit of ginger starts to sit back as the scent dries. I wish there were an emoticon that could begin to describe how incredibly gorgeous, sexy, worldy and sophisticated this fragrance is. Sharp ginger gives way to delicate spice, warm breezes and melting golden and purple sunset; sheer, flowing fabric and flowers in dark, gleaming hair; a sensual embrace of a stranger in a distant land. Ok, I'll stop now.

 

Final Analysis: I love this on me, it sings and dances on my skin. I really want to smell this on my husband's skin. I think this would be devastating on a bloke. *swoon*

[paperdoll]

Initial Sniff: Ginger and sandalwood and spices and flowers and herbs and juniper (really!... I think...)... dang, there's a lot of stuff in here!

Wearing: This is exotic and gorgeous. This is foreign and unusual in a comfortable way. This is smooth and soft. This is intellectual and savvy. It smells like nothing I've smelled before.

Final Impressions: Put this on your wish list. NOW!!!!

[SoapyRN]

Silk Road.

 

I am a tea freak and knowing the story of the tea trade made this oil even more interesting.

 

In the imp, spicy but not too spicy. I think that cinnamon is spicy and I don't smell that in the imp.

 

On, wet it is so smooth. Like a piece of spice brittle that you want to suck on and let the sweet spicy candy just melt in your mouth.

 

Dries wonderfully! Something reminds me of a potporrui that my Mom used during the Holidays, I think. That said, it is not like potporrui.

Exotic and heavenly all at the same time.

 

This is the perfume worn by the female star Carr in The King and I!!!

 

Get a bottle!

[Reinaluna]

The Silk Road; This is a truly unique blend. When first applied it is very light, not too sweet so at first I did not really know about this one. After about 40 min to an hour it actually starts to get kind of spicy, I get this white pepper like aroma. This is not a strong and as sweet as I would like but it is a beautiful aroma.

[helarctos]

Redolent of everything precious. Tea, sugar, spices, rare woods. For such a rich scent, it's surprisingly light and sweet.

 

I must have a big bottle of this one!

 

ETA: Made an eau de parfum out of 5 ml of Silk Road and some perfumer's alcohol from Snowdrift Farms, and a citrusy note emerged that I hadn't gotten with the perfume oil alone.

Edited April 24, 2005 by helarctos

[velvet]

i cant believe it

i dont like this.

i had really high hopes. wore it for about 5 minutes but the smell made me feel ill so i washed it off right away.

i want to give it another chance but it just isnt for me.

it smelled dry and sweet in the worst possible way

[sarahjay]

I love Silk Road. I can't really indentify the notes, it does indeed smell of a glorious mix of woods/spice/florals/herbs, or add to the wonderful descriptions above, but wanted to say how much I love it, it's really gorgeous.

 

I MUST HAVE MORE

[Belladonnastrap]

First Sniff

Oooh! Dammit I've smelled this before but I can't remember where. It smells like spices and tea, a wonderfully poigant mixture. It makes me think of far off lands and places.

 

Wet

This might be the first scent that smells the same on me as it does in the vial. Odd. There's some sweetness here but I ...OH! I know what this smells like now! The old dorm room of a friend from college He was a huge pothead and I'd go over to his room to watch anime and see him stoned out of his mind. Silk Road smells like that ahahahaha. That sort of warm languidy smell.

 

Drydown

Still headshop, but more incense comes out then anything and that for me is a huge letdown as I HATE incense smells

 

Aftermath

Well I was hoping the flowers and herbs would be more prominant on me then the oils but alas, Silk Road and I aren't meant to be.

[empi girl]

Wow, on me this is super light, slightly grassy with a hint of cinnamon in the background, and lasts about 45 minutes then is barely noticeable. I really like it, but wish it were slightly stronger, and definitly longer lasting, as it does seem to be on other people. Undecided whether to swap or keep...

[Red_Hot_Mama]

Silk Road is magnificent on me. I've never used the word "magnificent" in a review. Nope, don't believe I have.

 

I can defintely see the comparisons made to Snake Oil & Three Witches but this is softer, more rounded.

 

Silk Road is a "morph-er" & every single phase of it is so interesting. It's been about 6 hours since I applied SR, and it's still lovely.

 

I believe the notes have been covered very well, so I'll just add my wee bit.

 

(Oh yeah, I am so impressed with this that I put a request in the "Wanted" section of swaps.)

 

Definitely in the top three for me!!!