Sacred Whore of Babylon

[Aredhel]

And upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the Earth. An ancient formula that inspires unrepentant decadence, lechery and debauch.

Rating (on skin): 3/5
Summarised in a word or two: Smoky floral.

In the imp/bottle: Pink and floral, over vanilla and musk.

On skin, wet: A nice enough floral, a bit spicy, and a smoky, musky something.

On skin, dry: Smoky and sweet, and very floral (I'm thinking rose). It's got a smooth quality, which on my skin usually implies vanilla.

Conclusion: I like this very much, but it's another "nice, but not something I'd wear as a perfume" type of scent. Edited December 17, 2005 by Aredhel

[Loligo]

This... is my new favorite perfume. I guess I'm learning that over-the-top scents are the ones for me! I smell gardenias and vanilla mostly, but also hints of cinnamon, something toasty/nutty, and something a little fruity, but I can't tell which fruit -- sometimes kind of like banana, sometimes like melon, or maybe even cherry. There is absolutely no downside to this perfume, so that makes me doubt that there's any jasmine in it.

 

Overall the effect is indescribably luscious, plus it lasts a long time without changing too much. Wow, wow, wow.

[rainbow]

In the bottle- sweet cherries and gardenia.

 

Wearing- I think there may be Dragon's Blood in here, though there's no mention of it. It certainly smells something like Dragon's Blood.

 

This scent is extremely thick and heavy. This is a cloying and sexy scent. This smells mostly like sweet gardenia on me with just a hint of cinnamon spice.

[feline.by.design]

:::Makes the syrup face:::

 

Sacred Whore of Babylon reminds me of some Voodoo Oils I don’t quite get along with, like Has No Hanna and Aunt Caroline’s Joy Mojo. There’s a sweet, syrupy element that doesn’t appeal to my sensibilities. To be honest, I’m really quite repulsed by sweet scents, and I have little patience for them on my skin.

 

Sacred Whore of Babylon smells like cotton candy, liquefied. Even after thirty minutes, the sweetness of the scent didn’t mellow out at all, although I did note a sort of cinnamon-esque spice coming out. Still, it wasn't enough to redeem this fragrance for me.

 

Someone else out there will like this much better than I.

 

-doreen

[Julilla Regina]

This one went very odd on me. It's sweet at first, a honey'ish kind of thing. Then I could have sworn I smelled some almonds, so far AOK. But the floral is a little too waxy for me, and this turned into a spicy powder.

 

*sigh*

[quikslvr]

Holy gardenia, Batman! A tad smoky. Rounds, less sweet, as it dries. Syrupy, though--very thick.

[k00kaburra]

In bottle: Rich gardenia and light fruity overtones. Perhaps there's hints of vanilla here as well. The gardenia makes me think of jasmine - I wish I had single notes of the two flowers, that I might see exactly how (dis)similar they are.

On me: Gardenia dominates, allowing only faint hints of cinnamon to poke up with her. Chocolate? Red wine? No such luck - I can't anything remotely foody. Only gardenia, with cinnamon and perhaps perhaps a tiny bit of vanilla.

[slave1]

In Bottle: Dragon’s Milk

 

On Skin: Yeah, it has the play-do scent of Dragon’s Milk, which I also think of my husbands wonderful description of “urinal cake”. It’s like spicy Dragon’s Milk… It’s artificial smelling and gives me a headache.

[blu°]

This to me was the perfect image of a sweating, smoldering, steel-nippled 3-meter-woman, infernal sulfuric flames raging from her eyes. An impersonification of violence and evil. It really made me be scared to have nightmares and I had to wash it off. Something in that vanilla syrup gardenia mix made it feel like sulfuric sweat or something. Very much not my thing, though I like smokey and heady scents generally.

[dcmo]

The Sacred whore has become my sacred perfume! Sweet, heavy, smokey, spicy florals that lasts and lasts. Very seductive, slinky, and makes me think of a strong, independant woman who definitely knows she's calling the shots.

[yeahbutnobut]

Sacred Whore of Babylon

 

In the imp: gardenia, with something else in the background-either spice or incense.

Wet on skin: oh dear, it's that astringent sharp note again. I don't think gardenia likes me! But here, there's also a sweetness, and the sharp note isn't too bothersome.

Dry on skin: still gardenia, with that green sharpness fading fast, leaving the gorgeous white floral scent. There's something else there-maybe some resins? Or spices? Possibly vanilla? I don't know, but it's an inviting scent…it's sweet and tempting!

After a while: oh wow, this is a wonderful scent. No more evil rough green smell! It's now a sweet, pleasant, seductive gardenia flower smell with something else enhancing it-a sweetness, possibly vanilla, or something spicy or resinous. I don't know what it is, but it's lovely-and very sexy indeed! There are still hints of green here, but that sweet, deep, smooth note in the background is so addictive…I just wish I knew what it was! I can't really smell the cinnamon that others mention, yet.

After about 30-45 minutes, the sweet, deep scent behind the gardenia develops a warmth. Yup, there's something spicy in this. It could be cinnamon, but I'm not sure. But I do love the spice that's coming through.

Verdict: at first I thought, oh no, gardenia goes wonky on my skin-this was, at first, sharp, gritty and astringent. However, the 'Ho has a gardenia that is much nicer on my skin-the sharp note fades fast as the scent dries and reacts with my skin. And then, it becomes glorious! This is a wonderful gardenia flower, full bodied and backed up by another sweet, voluptuous, slightly smoky scent…I'm not sure what this other scent is, but it smells sexy! It could be vanilla, honey, or a kind of musk. It could be incense-maybe myrrh, or something spicy. Maybe a mix of them all. It's gorgeous though. Smooth and seductive, but with a twist of confidence and a bit of darkness. This is the scent of a sultry, up-front woman who means business and doesn't take bullshit from anyone. I'm not sure if I'd get a bottle, because the wet stage is slightly scary, but the drydown is fantastic!

Edited July 9, 2005 by yeahbutnobut

[QueenFae]

A dark, smoky, sensual scent. There are elements of both florals and incense-y musks, there's a hint of an underlying spiciness. It's a complex scent, and there is some note in there that's just not agreeing with my body chemistry. I think it's one of the florals. This does perfectly embody the sacred whore, it does make me think of the inside of a bordello. It shall find my impie a lovely home.

[OriginalWacky]

Bottle (Imp): Hmmm, a little tiny bit sweet; some flowers, and some spices.

 

Just On: Spicy flowers with a bit of sweet.

 

An hour or two later: Sweet flowers with a hint of spice.

 

Around 6 hours: Morphs into a sweet flower scent.

 

12 hours: Mmm, still sweet spicy flowers left.

 

Overall: This is damned decent. I'd love to wear it just for the name alone.

 

After reading other reviews: No soap! Yay, flowers, but no soap! Nothing that I'm gonna go ga-ga for in a big way, but it's nice.

[sookster]

ultra sweet, dusky, musky, slightly smoky .... tad flowery...teeny tiny bit o' cinnamon cream of wheat....

WOW....I have never quite smelled anything so phenomenal......

 

i'd dig this in the cooler months for sure, so i will try the imp again at that time....

 

[~AmusedMuse~]

My Impression:

Although it smells nothing like I thought that it would it is quite lovely..

I detect a sweet,spicy, and smoky mixture with gardenia & perhaps vanilla?

Not sure but it is both complex and compelling...I like it alot

[Dark Seraphim]

Bottle: Strong floral scent. Generally a mixture of flowers. I got a feeling of being pounced on when I smelt this scent. Very strong

 

On skin: At first, it's little different than what was in the bottle, but it a gardenia-like scent takes over almost immedietly. It's supported by a light earth and stone scent, reminding me of my Aunt's garden in Greece. Lasts for quite a few hours on me.

 

Burnt: The Gardenia still dominates here, but it's more stony than earthy. I think it's better when worn as it doesn't seem as strong on a burner.

 

Overall, this is another favorite and it's always stood out to me. I can see why this one has four pages worth of reviews! 8/10.

[olympia301]

 

She's a nice dame, this Sacred Whore, not a mean bone in her body. She's all gardenia and jasmine, not a bit of musk to make her stick around (though it is very long lasting and doesn't take much to show up), no introspective violet or neurotic other-world spices here. This is a comforting and almost predictable scent. I'm not knocking it, and I would indeed call it a BPAL classic, though not on the scale of Snake Oil. I do highly recommend it to those who want to whet their knowledge of BPAL and the scent philosophy and I imagine that there are some that think this is the ultimate in sexy fragrances and I can certainly see their point, it is tres lovey.

[magdalene]

in the bottle: smokey, spicey roses.

 

wet on skin: wow. The first time I applied this, it was an instant favourite. It's an extremely powerful scent and immediately gives the air of meaning business. It's roses and incense, a darkened room, draped in swathes of silk.

 

dry: It doesn't change too much, as time goes past. I'm currently waiting for a big bottle of this in my next lab order. I can't wait until it arrives.

[Brianne]

In the bottle:

Gardenia. Dammit.

 

On me:

You might have assessed from the above comment, that I am not a fan of gardenia. It's not because I don't WANT to be, but unfortunately I find gardenia on me to be overpowering and an almost sickly heavy floral. This does not seem to be an exception. I find gardenia to be rather headache inducing. I am hoping some other notes might kick in on this though.

 

Nope. I think there might be something a little spicey back there, maybe cinnamon. If so, it's being totally destroyed by the menace known as gardenia.

 

A while later, this is warming up a bit, but gardenia is still pretty dominant. If the gardenia would back off just a little bit more, I might actually like this. I'm going to try it again another time and see if I can get some more of that warm spicey scent to show up.

 

Final note:

If you like gardenia, you may like this. If you're like me though and gardenia doesn't work on you, you may find yourself disappointed in this one. The spicey note is really nice and actually works well with the gardenia, but I still find the gardenia a little overpowering.

Edited July 30, 2005 by Brianne

[Lycanthrope]

Sacred Whore of Babylon is a very spicy, but very 'white floral' blend on me.

 

What I pull out of this mad cacophony of floral is gardenia, jasmine, tuberose, bright roses, lilies, tulips and daffodils. Of course, this means that I'm rushing straight to get this off me because it's united three of my floral archnemeses under one oil...

 

And yes, I smell like a florist who specializes in roses, lilies and gardenia. Yikes!

[Firewaver]

I don't know about this one...

 

In the bottle it invades the air with an almost entirely unpleasant ashy amber smell. Like a cigarette put out in a little pot of solid amber perfume. Eeyuck.

 

On, it retains the ashy spicy smell for a bit, but I decided to ignore my arm and let it dry down..

 

Dry, it's transformed my arm into a rootbeer barrel hard candy. Rootbeer and ashes with a splash of bourbon, maybe.

 

I don't think I like smelling like a speakeasy during prohibition.

[sideviewhotel]

In the imp this is full of rose and I balked. I'm not a big fan of rose. It either gives me a headache or makes me violently ill.

 

But, after giving it another sniff, I realized it's very very sweet.

 

Wet, it's still very rosy, but there's this very sweet note that I don't know what it is. I'm probably mistaking the gardenia for rose, but then again, I'm no flower specialist. Still, it's very strong and if I sniff to deeply, it makes me cough.

 

So, other than that, I have no idea what I'm smelling, but I don't hate it. Though, at the same time, I don't love it either.

 

It's starting to get smoky and I'm not entirely sure how much I like this one. But, then again, I have 10 other smells coming at me, because I was going through my other imps to have some sniffs and managed to get Queen all over my fingers. ;_;

[slugbait]

Imp from cookie. Thank you!

 

Sweet jasmine in imp. On skin this goes super sweet and I can smell jasmine, and strong ylang ylang. As it dries, gets syrupy sweet, a bit fruity like bananas. My skin seems to amplify this a lot. Reminds me of a perfume my mom gave me when I was younger; I think it was Love’s Jasmine perfume. This lasts a long time and is very potent; I feel as if I can be smelled in the next room.

 

SwoB lasted well over 18 hours on me. This is sweet and pretty, but something that really isn’t me.

[evil_laugher]

The first time I tried it, I could barely smell it, maybe something fruity, and I figured it was okay. The second time, it was like some kind of horrible bathroom cleanser, and I was not digging it. So I'm giving up on this badboy.

[Essay 28]

In the bottle: A bit medicinial, with a green floral undertone.

 

On skin initially: Tart, definately medicinal, with a bitter spicy note. Floral is lurking, but not prominent, and nothing I can identify right off. Other reviews call it gardenia, and when I think on it, I used to have a gardenia shower gel that did smell a bit like this. Something sweet here - vanilla or honey?

 

After an hour: It does blend well, which I wasn't expecting since it clashed quite a bit at first. A definate spicy gardenia, with vanilla or something similar blending into the mix. It makes me think somewhat of blending Dorian's sweetness with Queen of Sheba's spice. This is what I wanted when I had Sheba, so definately a keeper, even with the medicinal stage.