Loup Garou

[Nachtwulf]

The wild, untamed essence of lycanthropy. Primeval in its raw power and insatiable hunger: juniper, cypress and galangal with the barest touch of eucalyptus.

In the bottle - What is it with me and pine this time around? In the bottle, this smells very much to me like Burial. If anything, it might even be a little more acrid and sharp.

Wet - ....Wow, that's piney. Not pine-sol-y, but /awfully/ piney. I mean 'bludgeon you over the head with a christmas tree' piney. There's a sweet pleasantness under it, though, that makes it kind of nice. It lacks any of the florality (if that's a word) of Jabberwocky, and seems a little sweeter and spicier than Black Forest. It will also clear out your sinuses if you get close to it. Yike, eucalyptus.

Dry - Eucalyptus fades, as I expected it would. A number of sweeter notes appear once it's dry...not incensy (for a change, since a LOT of BPAL stuff goes incensy on me), nor is it floral, it's just kind of sweet and pleasant with evergreen edges.

Final opinion - I like this. It's kind of a tossup between it and Jabberwocky for 'favorite foresty smell', but I do like it. Not so much while it's wet (it's AWFULLY evergreen and the eucalyptus makes my nose itch) but once it dries, it's really quite nice, piney, clean, and sweet.

[Monster]

Wonderful! This is another comforting scent to me. The juniper and eucalyuptus are the first two notes I smell. This scent wakes me up and calms me down.

It's not something I'd wear as a perfume, but I will definilty use this on my temples to ease tension headaches or smll when I'm not feeling well.

 

I love this.

Edited August 27, 2005 by CourtneyLynne

[brownbear]

hmm

 

This smells just like it's described.

As it dries on my skin it goes more pine and eucalyptus. This is a nice chill out scent. Not sure if it's much of a scent for me though. Maybe just when I need to cool off and zone out a little. Probably very nice on a guy.

[wickedgoddess]

Origin - this was gifted to my son, the eucalyptus fiend, by a lovely forumite. I snuck a sniff for testing purposes only.

 

Wet - a sharp jolt of eucalyptus, followed by juniper.

 

Dry - this is pleasant enough, although it's not really me. It reminds a bit of Whipoorwill, and makes me wonder just why I traded that away.

 

On the wickedgoddess scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being best, this rates a 2. However my son gives it a 5.

[Northernminx]

Holy sinus clearing batman! Juniper and eucalyptus are the strongest notes in this and it's a very green, refreshing, sharp scent. The juniper starts off strongest but the eucalyptus really kicks in, like a tang of fresh air in green forests. Lovely, not me for everyday but I may keep the imp for when my heads feeling foggy.

[Blood onmy hands]

Loup Garou smells very strongly of Vicks VapoRub on me. I don't necessarily dislike that smell, but it gives me a headache if I'm forced to smell it for a long period of time.

 

For a while in the drydown I smell mostly juniper, before it morphs back into Vicks. It's a very cold/menthol sort of scent.

 

I normally really like foresty/piney/green scents... but I don't like the sharpness of this one. It reminds me of a pine forest that needs a good rain, but the weather is just dry and cold. Sort of depressing.

[Savannah]

When the vial is opened I get a SHARP whiff of menthol eucalyptus.

 

On the skin, the eucalyptus fades and the other woods take over to create a very lovely, rather sweet, but still slightly sharp smell. I get all the notes listed, blended really nicely. Once dry, the cedar predominates for me, but I think my skin tends to amp cedar. I really love the juniper in this-- I'd guess that's what's giving it the sweet rounded note. Definitely a keeper.

 

ETA: Okay, so cedar isn't listed as a note. Apparently my skin amps cedar even when it isn't there.

Edited September 25, 2005 by Savannah

[aessedai]

This is my absolute favorite wolf scent. The juniper? and eucalyptus? are very powerful at first, but the drydown really gets sweeter and mellows.

[Colère]

Bottle: Ahoy, Vick's Vapo Rub! I kind've sort've recall the description mentioning (in passing) that this blend has a trace of eucalyptus, but that's ALL I smell. After several deep inhales I'm pretty sure my sinuses will be clear for the next ten years.

 

Skin: The medicinal quality doesn't improve, and it's so over-powering that I'm starting to feel sick (shouldn't that be the opposite?). There's an icy feeling in my gut that's beginning to make me feel nauseous whenever I catch a whiff of the perfume. I'm going to persevere in the hopes that this could turn into Ulalume style situation (severely disliked the bottle scent, but absolutely loved the transformation once it hit my skin)...

 

Skin, Later: Ha HAH! Good-bye menthol! I smell vanilla but it's a non-vanilla vanilla with a creamy quality to it. There's definite warmth, but I associate it with dry woodiness (i.e., shredded, seasoned bark), I'm pretty sure that it might be cypress. I also detect sweetness, but it's neither sugary or syrupy - it's natural, with a dried 'organic' tone.

 

Verdict: Loup Garou hated me, mildly tolerated me, and then left me the second I turned my back (that's all right, I FAKED IT ANYWAY!). I wouldn't say I was BIASED when it comes to eucalyptus, but we do have some unpleasant previous experiences (i.e., I applied an entire bottle of Vick's Vapo Rub to my hair when I was a toddler and my mother spent a week trying to get it out). The blend eventually dried down to a nice (albeit faint), non-descript gentlemen's cologne and then completely disappeared just over an hour. My reaction towards it didn't greatly differ, it was pleasant when it was around, and then when it was gone I didn't really miss it.

[Undine]

Did you guys see that recent Desperate Housewives recently with the cringe-inducing dinner scene between Andrew and his mother's creepy pharmacist friend? If you did, you know what I'm referring to, and if you didn't, you don't want to know.

 

Well, when I put this on, I made a sound just like Bree: "Hmm. Mmm. Oh! Mmm." (Is that too gross a comparison? Hee. I couldn't resist.) I didn't really expect to like this at all, and I turned out to love it!

 

On me this smells almost exactly like Black Forest, evergreen underlain by golden sweet, but just a little bit more musky and sweet, and slightly different green. I never would have guessed eucalyptus in a million years, nor galangal.

 

I wonder if the eucalyptus is in Djinn, too, because like Djinn, this made my nose run a little at first. But I like the scent so much that I don't really care.

 

It's got great throw and lasting power, too.

 

On my scale, a 5 out of 5! Definite bottle material. I wonder if my nose will deal with it any better in the summer when it's less irritated.

Edited November 4, 2005 by Undine

[Aredhel]

Rating (on skin): 2/5

Summarised in one word: Medicinal.

 

In the imp: Very fresh, watery eucalyptus and tart juniper. Slightly medicinal.

 

On skin, wet: If it weren't so medicinal, I might like this. As it is, this smells like Noxzema with juniper!

 

On skin, dry: Not much change from wet, though the juniper becomes a bit more pronounced as time goes by. Still, it's strong Noxzema in the jar.

 

Conclusion: Not my thing. I don't dislike the scent, but, just as I wouldn't want to wear Noxzema on my face all day, I wouldn't want to smell of this for more than a few minutes.

Edited November 10, 2005 by Aredhel

[LiberAmoris]

Loup Garou was a gift imp from the Lab, which is so great, as I've been curious about this one for a while but hadn't gotten around to it. I can see the comparisons to Mistletoe, it does smell like the needles of an evergreen if you crush them to release their oil. The eucalyptus is tremendously strong for the ten minutes or so, but it does back off and I'm left with a wonderful forest blend. I agree with previous reviewers---this is really refreshing and would be great for a headache, a hangover, or general dyspepsia.

 

I think I'll be passing the imp on to a guy friend who loooves eucalyptus, in order to spread the BPAL love.

[grrrlennyl]

at first: lots of green trees.

on: wow. the eucalyptus is really strong and the rest of the trees are in the background. very nice. great for winter.

5 minutes later: my eyes are really watery and my nose is itchy.

20 minutes later: lovely pine and spruce, but...i think i'm allergic to this. my eyes are really itchy.

overall: i had to wash this one off.

[desu]

In the bottle: Eucalytpus in my face, followed by his sibling, Juniper.

 

On my skin: This stuff's really jumping off my arm! Eucalyptus is still very strong, although the other players are lurking in the background.

 

Later on: It's starting to smell like Comet of all things. Comet? My boyfriend smelled this one and agreed with my assesment. Weird.

[Ajila]

In the bottle - Menthol? I presume it's the eucalyptus, either way it smells of cough sweets.

Wet on me - Predominantly eucalyptus with just a touch of smoky cedar in the background.

Dry on me - Cedar (to be specific pencil shavings, but that's how cedar dries on me). All scent fades pretty quicky.

[coulrophobe]

In the imp: Piney.

 

On: Not at all surprisingly, this is... piney. I know there are differences between all the notes I consider "piney" (pine, fir, cypress, juniper, etc.) - but I'd have to test them side by side to tell the difference, and even so, I'm not confident in my abilities to tell one from the other.

 

Loup Garou certainly isn't offensive, but I'm just not a woodsy sort of girl.

[kourika]

Wow, is this ever a woodsy scent! Loup Garou smells to me like a northern mountain forest with perhaps a cold wind blowing through the pine trees. While I like the smell, it's a little too masculine for me to wear, so I'll probably pass it to a friend.

 

On a funny note, the dogs at the Austin Humane Society, as well as my personal dogs, are big fans of Loup Garou!

[slave1]

In Bottle: Menthol

 

On Skin: The eucalyptus screams out at me. Coupled with the juniper and cypress there is an extreme medicinal astringent note. The galangal offers a resin note that is overpowered by the other strong notes. This is very raw, and a bit feral. A scent that will pry your eyes open and keep them open. I was getting ready for bed before I tested this and all of a sudden I am completely awake. Great for stimulation, but not a scent I’d wear as a perfume or want my husband to wear either.

[WidgetAlley]

Frimp from the Lab.

 

In the Imp: Whoa! A bracing blast of eucalyptus, cypress, juniper and something lemony (the galangal?) The overall effect is very reminiscient of a citrussy pine. It reminds me very much of climbing evergreen trees when I was little. Mmm, I like this a lot. Perfect for a cool clear day like today.

 

Wet: A huge burst of cypress comes out first, completely dominating anything else. Slowly the other notes start to emerge: juniper, a bit of minty, sinus-opening eucalyptus, and that mysterious lemon. This is bright and fresh and crystalline and reminds me of green branches against a cold blue sky. It is indeed very similar to Burial, but this is more lively and less solemn to my nose. It's the illicit lovechild of Val Sans Retour and Burial... sweet and transparent and lively and 100% tree.

 

Dry: Much like Vals Sans Retour, a number of sweet fruity notes emerge as it dries, until it's a lovely mix of evergreen boughs and what might be berries and crushed grass. This is really nice, a gorgeously lively woodsy scent, but I don't think I need Val Sans Retour and Burial and Loup Garou. I'll have to test them in succession and decide which will be let go.... but don't let that stop you from trying this. It's a lovely, surprisingly unintimidating (despite the opening salvoes), blend just perfect for the tail-end of winter.

[medvssa]

Hmh, I love it! Eucaliptus, juniper, cypress... I knew I would like this one!

 

The eucaliptus is all I can smell in the beginning, then it mixes with the juniper, then the cypress comes, and after that I perceive something that resembles ginger and must be the galangal, I love this perfume through all it's changes! Hours later, it is a faint woodsy green smell. Very fresh in the beginning, woodsy, medicinal, but I like that.

 

I can only wish a werewolf would smell like this

[Nekomata]

Both wet and dry this smells like a damp evergreen forest. Very fresh!

[abberlaine]

Burial, anyone? They've both got the turpentine and the bitter... well, the mental image is phlox-like flowers growing out of and wilting from the flakes of fungus mushrooms. Loup Garou's also got the nostril-chilling sensation of eucalyptus, and there are moments where I can smell the evergreen trees that grow wild in Israel (this is the best of it). There's a hint of a dry wood in here, too.

 

To the average Joe, it'd smell like something between a cool gel marketed to men and... the not-so nice scent of Burial. If it stuck to evergreens and eucalyptus-tingle, I might've pointed it out to someone else. Either way, it's not my kinda man scent.

[seamor]

I just received this in trade from qara isuke - thank you so much!

 

In the bottle, this is simply fabulous. I am not getting the "turpentine" effect some people are remarking on - I smell something sweet, with a bit of an herbal edge.

 

Wet: I get an almost overwhelming rosemary scent (and I like rosemary, so it's got to be strong for me to feel overwhelmed by it - but why am I getting rosemary? There's no rosemary in this...)

 

After a few moments, it calms down and I begin smelling that sweetness again - what is that?

 

Later: This is marvelous. My chemistry is such that I have almost never had one of Beth's oils stay the same "flavor" after I put it on my skin (although what they morph into is usually pretty wonderful, too).

 

Even later: I begin to smell the cedar and pine, and still something sweet - kind of like a fruit-and-flower blend tobacco, if there is such a thing. I am really loving this - I can see it as a signature scent.

 

Still later: This is just yummy - herby and foody at the same time (a hint of glazed doughnuts among the cedars?). Do werewolves like glazed doughnuts? I know I do...

 

So, okay, maybe it isn't holding the intended scent exactly, but it is still indescribably delicious.

 

Oooohhhhh Nooooooo, it's fading...

 

So, not my signature scent, then. But definitely something really great to wear for short periods.

 

I can't believe it went away so fast. I will have to wait and try it again. Can't give up on something wonderful after only one try.

 

 

 

 

ADDED 3/10/08:

 

Wet: Strong, head-clearing eucalyptus - very therapeutic for my poor pitiful allergy head.

 

Dry down: Eucalyptus fades, leaving behind a distinct pine. Pine is not listed, but pine is what I'm smelling. - a very good clean pine, like having a bit of pitch on my hands. Another head-clearer, though not as intense as the eucalyptus.

 

After a few minutes, the pine fades and I am smelling the cypress/juniper combination I expected, with a hint of sweetness - the galangal? Very pleasant. I think it's the cypress that creates that hint of fur. This is clean, content, happy loup garou enjoying its favorite part of the forest.

 

Interesting scent. It would be great on the right man.

 

I thought this hadn't stayed with me, but the next morning I find a faint, sweet, slightly furry scent still on my wrist.

Edited March 24, 2008 by Shollin

[herongale]

pre-conceived notion: I don't consider myself as enthralled by any kind of animal-spirit, let along any wolf spirit, so it seems to me that this one is going to be a miss right out of the box. I do, however, love juniper and cypress and although I never thought of eucalyptus plants as having any kind of strong scent, I do enjoy how cooling eucalyptus balm is for sunburned skin.

 

in the imp: turpentine and dill, with an odd touch of rosemary. It's like cooking with Van Gogh.

 

wet: the turpentine scent mellows quickly and I now can recognize it for what it actually is-- juniper. This has a fresh evergreen forest quality that I quite like. For some reason I thought that a wolfy scent should have musk in it, but this one doesn't, nor does it smell like it ought to. This makes me happy, because I think musk would be too animal and obvious for a werewolf. However, there is a smell here that is unmistakably like these scratch-and-sniff pickle stickers I used to get when I was a kid, a dill/rosemary herbal scent that makes my skin smell more like a rustic Italian kitchen than anything else.

 

drydown: a pickle forest, with a touch of... coconut? There's this thread of white shredded sweetness that underlies the scent that is really unexpected. It's not unwelcome, but it doesn't really blend with the top notes and makes for a very conflicted scent experience. It's not complex, it's a clash of two scents that are disagreeable with each other and moody about having to share skin space. Possibly a worthy theme for a wolf/man hybrid, but as a scent it doesn't really grab me.

 

verdict: eh. Not phenomenal, but not off-putting either. Would be good for someone who like masculine foresty scents.

 

post-conceived notion: juniper is a powerful note and tends to carry very strongly in my nose, and I suspect it will be tricky for me to find a good juniper blend that I really like (other than in Rome, where the juniper is matched with a scent that is even more powerful for me-- rose).

[juniperus]

Bottle: massive evergreen-ness. Like sticking my face in a juniper bush. Whoah.

Wet: same, fresher and more zow-ee as the eucalyptus comes forward.

Dry: woody and green and forest-y and..primeval. And it's definitely not a pine-sol uber-pine, too. Complex, invigorating...I rather like eucalyptus' freshness.

Later: much the same, with somewhat less eucalyptus. Less wild than I thought it might be..the galangal didn't have much of a showing.