Elegba

[Tiada]

The Spirit of the Divine Messenger, the Lord of the Crossroads, He Who Owns All Doors and Roads in this World. He is the intermediary between the Orishas and mankind, and stands at the intersection of humanity and the Divine. He opens all paths of communication, both mundane and Heavenly. His ofrenda contains coconut, tobacco and sweet, sugared rum.

Another frimp from the lab that I'm in love with!!

I don't even have this on my wishlist, because it's got coconut and hubby HATES coconut, so I just avoid it entirely to make things easy.

What I've forgotten over the years, is that I ADORE coconut!

In the imp and when wet, this one is boozy. Very sweet and thick rum. Almost overpowering, and made me a bit leery of putting it on my skin. I'm glad I went for it! As it dries it mellows into a warm, sweet, buttery, coconut. Only a hint of the rum remains on my skin, almost as an afterthought.

This is so delicious. Definitely one of those instances where frimping pays off, I'll be buying a 5mL.

[Suusje]

It's a very true and dry coconut with a slight buttery edge to it. It thankfully doesn't have a suntan lotion vibe and it doesn't smell boozy on me.

[CiaoBonefish]

Wow. In the imp it is very sweet and almost caramelized. I was afraid this would go all kinds of wrong on my skin but bit the bullet and put it on anyway. Coconut is usually a huge miss for me, but I've realized in heavy blends it is perfectly fine, just in the lighter ones does it get kinda moldy smelling. In Elegba it is juicy and sweet and round, the rum is very boozy (obviously) and together they make for an extremely buttery sticky sweet kind of explosion. Initially this is way too sweet and I hardly get any tobacco, but as it dries it smoothes out and becomes less sweet. Each note becomes more pronounced individually and an earthy smokiness emerges. The dry down is glorious as it has becomes a dry deep coconut with rum and smoky tobacco backing it all up. Lush, sweet, smoky, and really nice. Wet it is almost overpoweringly sweet, but the dry down I could get used to. Throw isn't amazing and it doesn't last super long, but I'll definitely hold on to the imp. May get bumped to bottle eventually though because I feel in the winter this will get a lot lot lot lot of wear!

 

ETA: Nope. Tried it again today and the rum came out way more than before. I don't know what it is but now it is starting to smell a bit like Spooky and I really was NOT a fan of spooky. The rum and coconut combination is really just off putting like the one in Spooky. Coconut usually doesn't work on me, but I had hope for this one! I'll keep the imp because I'm hopeful but if that rum and coconut problem keeps going this will go to the swap pile!

Edited May 18, 2011 by ciaobonefish

[mxtine]

I love coconut scents and this has been on my "to try" list forever but I tend to prefer coconut scents which are foody and/or tropical-floral, so I was a little iffy on the combination of rum and tobacco with coconut.

 

It smells a little plasticky in the imp. On my skin, I get a faded, plasticky coconut that soon morphs into a boozy spiced rum cocktail, with a hint of fresh pipe tobacco. I really don't want to wear this, but it smells like it would be a yummy drink.

[imaginepageant]

In the Vial: This is sa-weeeeeeet. And sticky. The rum makes it a close cousin of Grog, but Elegba is brighter. There's something light and fruity in this, but I don't think it's the coconut; it's juicier than that. I do get the coconut and tobacco, but both just slightly.

 

Wet: The tobacco comes roaring out right away... oh, that's good. And the coconut is coming out, too, but it's not fresh coconut, it's Banana Boat oil coconut - and I am totally fine with that!

 

Dry: Oh. My. God. This is walking home from the beach after a long day of swimming and lying in the sun, slathered in Banana Boat oil. I am in love. Oh please, please don't go bad on me! Um, okay, more technical notes. I don't get the rum at all anymore, except in the sweetness. It's all coconut (stronger on my wrist) and tobacco (stronger on my hand).

 

An Hour Later: It's gone kind of plasticky and a bit buttery, but it's still mainly sun-warmed skin covered in coconut oil. The rum is now masquerading as vanilla. I put some on my neck and chest as well, and the tobacco is much more prominent and sharp there.

 

Overall: Looooooove. I'm kicking myself for not testing this last week - if I had, I would've thrown a bottle in with the order I made just a few days ago. As it is, my decant will be well-loved until I can get a bottle with my next order.

[mistressfizz]

Sniff: Even though vanilla isn't listed in the notes, this is spicy vanilla at first whiff!

 

Wet: Still getting a hint of vanilla, but now the coconut comes out to play. It's spicy and sweet, but actually not very foody. It's oily and sticky, more like coconut lotion or butter. It reminds me a bit of Red Lantern, but sugary and without the languid sexiness. This is more playful than sultry. This is also different from Harigata II, where the coconut is lofty and bright. Elegba is thicker and creamy.

 

Dry: All that delicious coconut dries into plastic play-dough, which rum has a history of doing on me It's musty and weird and makes my nose wrinkle. Alas for skin chemistry!

[calivianya]

I received Elegba as a frimp with an order.

 

In the imp Elegba smells like Perversion. Wet on my skin, the sugared rum and coconut are fighting for dominance with the tobacco lurking in the background. As it dries, I get more and more coconut - the coconut clearly wins the battle, with the rum still present but weaker. Overall, this is a little too sweet on the coconut for me. I like sweet smells, but sweet coconut is not a smell I love. Of the two, I prefer Perversion, as that one is slightly more grounded.

[Maleficium]

Imp: booze and butter! Boy do I love me some food smells.

 

wet on skin: coconut immediately makes an appearance. Reminds me of hot summer days, and I am glad because it's freezing in my house and the scent warms me. A few minutes after application it starts to morph into an ultra toasty smell, like almond butter coconut cookies.

 

after a while of drying: I do indeed smell a hint of tobacco. This scent is more complex and layered than other's I've tried, or maybe it's because I can actually identify what I am smelling this time.

 

Love this! It's only been about fifteen minutes, I'm hoping it lasts longer than what other people have said...

[WidgetAlley]

Oooh, I've been wanting to try this one for a while.

 

Imp: Hot damn yeah! Sweet sugary rum syrup, delicious coconut milk (definitely not the husky meaty coconut smell that Beth sometimes uses, which I also love, but this is sweet wet coconut) and the richest sweetest pipe tobacco ever. Gawd I want to drink it!

 

Wet: Don't even look at this one if you don't like coconut! Rich creamy suntan-oil coconut with a slight waxy quality-- in fact, it smells like the vanilla from Tombstone is in here somewhere-- sugary tobacco and a blast of sweet boozy rum. I smell like a really good coconut cake!

 

Dry: A slightly drier, coconut-tobacco-rum scent, in that order. It is just fabulous but it may be too foody for me to wear very often... But it would make a great room-scent, or lotion, or shampoo! I'll probably keep my imp.

[rhubarb3point14]

Oh, this is frustrating! I can hardly smell the coconut at all. Tobacco loves me a little bit too much.

[sharkdiver]

Just dropping in to confirm - this one ages BEAUTIFULLY!

 

I was lucky enough to do a swap for a 10ml 2005 bottle, and it is so creamy, coconutty, and sweet...it's beautiful. My hubby says this is his most favorite of all my BPAL bottles!

 

(it seems that with aging, the "darkness" from the rum and tobacco definitely mellow out, and the sweet creamy coconut takes front and center!)

[subtlesiren]

I've had a frimp of this scent kicking around in my jar of definitely/maybe imps. Finally tried it out this morning without even remembering what it was, and almost wished I hadn't immediately. Coconut? Then it began to develop and blossom on my skin and I couldn't believe I hadn't tried before now. It's like a tropical Smut! I've never really been one for coconut, but mixed with the rum and tobacco, it is divine. The coconut and rum are the most prominent notes, with the tobacco giving the scent a subtle smokiness. I will definitely be adding a bottle of this to my next Lab order.

[KittyHawk]

There's a lot of rum in that little imp! Huh. This is mostly rum with a little smack of coconut on me; there's very little tobacco there, but I can detect it in the background.

 

I'm pleased to hear that the rum mellows over time, because I smell like I was just declared the winner of a Senor Frog's wet t-shirt contest and doused with pina coladas. It's pleasant enough to smell, but I don't want to smell like an umbrella drink.

 

Say goodbye to these, Michael.

[NaiadOreiad]

Received this as a frimp from Tielan. I was craving coconut and damn does this deliver!

 

Wet: RUM coconut and SUGAR

 

Drying: sugar coconut and what seems like wisps of the lightest breath of incense. Very fresh and when i sniff, it feels like it is opening something in my senses.

 

I love it!!!

[becca_s]

This was a frimp from the Lab

 

Starts out smelling like a cocktail, or some kind of rum drink. Drys down to be sweet, buttery coconut - Yum! Liked this much better on the dry down and more than I expected. Definately a keeper.

[lohengrin]

In the imp: Coconut and a little rum. This is amazing in the imp, and I reeeeally want it to smell like this on me. It won't, though. :/

 

On skin, wet: And dangit, this turns to mostly rum with occasional whiffs of tobacco and coconut. I knew it. >.>

 

On skin, dry: Much the same as it was wet.

 

After an hour: A little bit of coconut has re-emerged, to tame the rum and tobacco a little. Nowhere near as much as I smelled in the imp, but enough to warrant a re-test. Yay!

[ami226]

Coconut annnnnd ... Plastic caramel? Not for me, but it is nice and sweet. The plastic hint throws me off a little. I think I will stick to Body:Remember for my coconut needs.

[BoneBone24]

Wet: Strong buttery rum

 

Drydown: Buttery coconut rum. More in control now. A subtle smokiness enters, replacing the butteriness.

 

Dry: Buttery coconutty rum plus that my little ponies note I got from Grog, except this time it’s scented my little ponies rather than plain ol’ rubbery plastic my little ponies. An improvement I guess?

 

 

 

 

 

This confirms that regular rum is not for me (as opposed to Bay Rum which is nom nom nom). I was pleasantly surprised with the coconut though, usually I can't really identify it. I was curious what my husband would think since everyone always says that men love the foody blends...he violently frowned and said "vanilla?" as if it were a disgusting word. I think we were on the same page.

 

5 out of 10 bones

Edited July 11, 2013 by BoneBone24

[ladymeag]

Like most food-smells, this smells better on my spouse than it does on me simply because I seem to amplify sweet notes.

 

In the bottle: Fruity coconut. It's pretty sweet, very juicy smelling, if that makes any sense.

 

On Me: Wet, it's a nice tobacco coconut without being too sweet. Slightly masculine, picks up a slight coffee aroma that adds kind of a toasted note, I think the rum might be behind this. As it dries, it sweetens up and kind of smells like a macaroon and a wafflecone.

 

On My Spouse: Wet, it's a boozy macaroon. As it dries down it kind of picks up a bourbon vanilla and molasses, with rum. Spouse says "smells like the process of making rum."

[kythe]

I had high hopes for this because BPAL's rum and tobacco both work gorgeously for me, and my shampoo has a coconut scent. But I'm getting a strong smell of dollar store ramen from this, the rum floating despairingly underneath. Salty rehydrated chicken broth and MSG. Is Elegba trolling me? Gotta assume it's the coconut for now

[TurpentineChai]

The coconut I love and the tobacco the BF loves? Plus, who wouldn't love sugared rum?

 

Ah, apparently not my skin. In the imp, it's all coconut rum and bits of butterscotch but on my skin it is nothing but this wicked sugar note. I realized it reminded me of Boo, which I also expected to love but it most was sharp and cloying and made my head hurt. I think I only like sugar in theory, in practice it just kills me.

[Teaker]

In the imp: sweet butter? Alright... 0_o

 

On my skin: this reminds me so much of baking with my mother. One of her cookie recipes called for butter to be mashed into tons of white sugar, with a few drops of vanilla extract. That is EXACTLY what this smells like. When it dries I do get a touch of coconut, but still mostly sweet, sweet sugary buttery goodness.

 

This is a lovely, edible scent, and I really want to lick my arm. But when would you wear this? I can't think of an occasion that calls for smelling like a buttered coconut that's been rolled in white sugar. But I might keep the imp because it is so much fun to sniff!

[MiasmaResonance]

Reminds me a lot of Body, Remember... but this has a sweet, weird soapy note that doesn't work on me. I'll stick with BR.

Edited November 7, 2013 by MiasmaResonance

[cherrycherry]

I cannot believe I haven't reviewed this one yet - it's one of my staples!

 

I love this for two reasons. One - the concept. I heart Papa Legba and feel that he walks with me. He is the paternal trickster and I genuinely adore him. He opens doors and teaches so many lessons. Two - the delicious, coconutty sweetness. Elegba smells of voodoo macaroons, browned and sugary butter and rum so sweet it makes you lick your lips to chase every last drop. The coconut is perfect and both sultry and inexplicably fun. A perfect homage to Papa Legba. I am entirely certain that he adores this blend and is honoured by it.

[lavenderfrost]

This was a freebie I was wary of, but it's surprisingly nice.

 

In The Imp: Coconut and rum.

 

Immediate Application: Fruity coco-nutty rum, and between this and other fragrances I've tried, I think I know what tobacco leaf smells like on its' own. (I grew up in a family of non-smokers who didn't chew tobacco either, so I never smelled this stuff before.) It's either surprisingly sweet, or that's the coconut working with it.

 

Dry-Down: Coconut and tobacco, the rum falls back just a tad.

 

Mental Image: Absolutely dead-on for a Loa blend.

 

Verdict: Not for me in terms of being a perfume I'd use regularly, but fun to try.