Baghdad

[Alchemy21599]

Amber, saffron and bergamot with mandarin, nutmeg, Bulgar rose, musk and sandalwood.

I received this as a frimp from the Lab.

In the vial: very difficult to pick out individual notes. A very pleasing, well blended scent.

Wet: oh, very nice. The scent reminds me of one of my favorite Near East pastry shops. Warm, honey, and spicy with lovely depth.

Dry: Slightly sweet warm spiciness. I think I smell sandalwood which helps it from becoming too sweet. After about 6 hours I am getting a vanilla note and the orange is an undertone.

Really lovely. I will enjoy the imp and may purchase a big bottle. Edited February 17, 2006 by Shollin

[Aredhel]

Rating (on skin): 1/5

Summarised in a word or two: Rose.

 

In the imp: Amber, saffron and mandarin with... ugh. Rose.

 

On skin, wet: Wow, there's like no throw to this. What I can catch is... amber, a bit of spice and that stupid rose (sorry -- I just don't like roses in perfume; they never work on me). It does remind me a bit of Chimera, but not nearly as sweet, and with rose.

 

On skin, dry: Rose. A lightly-spiced rose, but mostly rose. Rose almost always overpowers the entire blend and ruins things for me, and Baghdad is no exception. It's... alright, but nothing I'm a fan of.

 

Conclusion: I had high hopes for this one -- amber! saffron! mandarin! musk! nutmeg! But... rose. The rose ruined it, as I kind of knew it would. Damn.

[Ryvre]

I tried this as soon as I got it and wasn't overly impressed. It seemed a little mellow compared to other scents I like, and it faded completely within a couple hours. Yesterday, I wanted to make a hand lotion, and I decided to finish off this imp. I've been smelling my hands all day, and I can't believe I overlooked this the first time around. It's subtle, but it smells so good. The sandalwood stands out some, and so does the rose. Everything else blends into the background making it smell warm and spicy. It works really well in a lotion because I can slather on a bunch whenever my skin gets dry without worrying about the smell becoming overpowering.

Edited February 20, 2006 by Ryvre

[judas_kiss]

I got this from a swap with a forumite who almost had to twist my arm to take it, heh. I'm glad she did!

 

In the imp: SPICES! This smells like a Middle Eastern spice shop, I swear. It's very intriguing, although I am wondering if this is going to work.

 

On (wet): I'm cringing, waiting for the rose in the blend to take over and make me cry and....NOPE! The spices take over and initially, I smell like spices being toasted to "warm up" the flavor. these are sweet spices, though. Lovely. The sandalwood begins to peek out here.

 

On (15 min later): Sweet incence of the sandalwood variety. One of my fave incenses from a long-defunct new-age shop I used to frequent in my college years comes to mind...Rose/Sandalwood. The rose barely peeks out from the blend here, the wood/spice notes staying in the foreground. I'm still not sure I love this, but it is nice.

 

On (1 hr later): Oh, this is the stuff. Lovely. The amber finally shows up and softens, no blurs, this scent a bit. It is sweetened and I'm so glad amber loves my skin as much as I love it!! This is a lovely blend. I very much love this phase!! It's slightly-sweet-spicey with just a hint of floral. Gorgeous! So skin-close as well. I love fragrances that stay close to the skin!!

 

Overall: I'm still not sure I'll make this a bottle purchase, but I'll hang on to the imp. It's absosmurfly beautiful.

[grrrlennyl]

at first: very pretty. lots of rose and bergamot.

on: lots of rose and sandalwood.

1 hour later: very, very strong rose. i don't think i can handle this.

2 hours later: a soapy floral

4 hours later: a soft floral. pretty.

overall: this just didn't work on me, which is rare for a rose blend.

[tinyvulture]

I thought this would be way too citrusy because of the bergamot and mandarin, but they just add a nice little touch of sweet sparkle to the soft warmth of the amber and musk. Saffron adds an exotic note and the rose is understated --I can hardly tell it’s there. The sandalwood is a nice woodsy contrast to the sweeter notes. I had no idea I’d love this scent so much.

[PirateMaggie]

A gift from the Lab. This is really incensy: the sandalwood is very, very prominent, followed by the amber. As it dries, I get just a touch of rose and mandarin while the saffron and bergamot come out to make the blend interestingly complex. This really evokes the spice bazaars of the Middle East and the Lebanese shops in the neighborhood I grew up in, as well as witchy/hippie stores. It manages to make me both nostaligic and wanting to explore. The sandalwood has some throw while the rest of the blend stays close and comfortable, like a favourite shirt and like a favourite shirt, I love it.

[Nekomata]

Wet all I can smell is the sandalwood and bergamot. Dry I get more of the mandarin and nutmeg. Too masculine, really.

I put it on the husband-thing and it morphed into cheap cologne scent. I wish this had worked out better.

[nancybridget]

This is a warm, rose scent with some gentle citrus and musk laced throughout. Complex, and a nice floral/spice blend, but nothing I'd wear often enough to need a big bottle.

[theseagrows]

hmm..it is very hard for me to pick out the notes in this. it's warm and the tiniest bit spicy and mostly woody. i can faintly smell the rose as well. it smells sort of musty/dusty to me- perhaps that is the saffron.

 

this scent is ok, just doesn't really do much for me. also it fades very fast.

[nevermore]

On me, Baghdad is mostly creamy sandalwoody rose. It sort of reminds me of Morocco, but with rose. I was hoping to get more spice and citrus out of it, and less rose, but oh well. It's quite pretty, despite the rose.

[Cielamara]

Baghdad lived on my I-wanna-try list from the very beginning of my venture into BPAL. However, I somehow never got a chance to try it till Lady Ravenglass sent me a couple imps.

 

First impressions: Mmmm, spicy. Almost foody. I'm very anti-foody, generally, but this is only a little foody...quite tolerable.

 

Wet: I can smell that nutmeg. I'm feeling a bit cautious about this one, as I'm not sure that the foodier spices really work on me. This one smells a bit like Wrath and Malice both did before the cursed spices in those turned vile on me. It's rather a pale brown and gold scent...appropriate for the desert.

 

Settling: The spices are still the dominant influences. Nutmeg and saffron, singing a duet. It's growing on me--I definitely like the scent as a whole, but this may be one that smells better in the burner than on my skin, per se. That musk is beginning to come through for me...musk and sandalwood, warm and sweet and gentle in the background. This is like sunset in the desert, not quite as hot as high noon, but still warm, and a little breezy

 

Drydown: Well, the drydown is beautiful. It's musk and amber, pretty much, with a hint of sandalwood. I never smelled either mandarin or rose, at any point in this perfume's evolution, which I find interesting. Usually rose will launch itself from my skin and attack me at some point in the game, but not in Baghdad. Baghdad is warm, sweet, and subtly exotic. I like it.

 

I don't know about a bottle of this; if nothing else, I'll enjoy the imp.

[Melantha]

In the bottle: Dark, warm, spicy. I can smell a little sandalwood.

 

Wet: Spices all around me! I can't smell the florals yet, but I don't mind. I feel like I'm in a market in the Middle East.

 

Drydown: The florals peek out, just a little bit, which is fine, because I'm not a floral gal. The mix of all the notes is wonderful; nothing dominates, they all just waft around me, making me feel like I should put on my bellydance stuff and break out a CD.

 

Throw: Fairly strong, which is good when wearing something like this; you WANT to have people turn and look!

 

Big bottle, definitely.

[Diana]

This is amazingly divine. I'm surprised I don't wear it more often!

 

 

Wet: very sandalwood-y. It's powdery and has a bit of an amber note to it.

 

Initial dry: some of the spice, namely the saffron starts to peek out. Still mostly sandalwood.

 

Drydown: This gets better and better. The mandarin, musk & rose start to add to the depth of the warm sandalwood/amber combination, and just enough of the spices give it a little extra layer.

 

If you like Sin, Scherezade, or Seraglio, give this a try!

[HennaFairy]

bottle:

spicy, incensey

 

wet:

same - with cinnamon, some amber… I guess that's actually nutmeg not cinnamon.

 

dry:

hint of orange, spices mellow but are there still. Yum! Gentler version of seraglio

overall:

actually smells christmassy! But I like it.

 

rating: 8/10

[maewitch]

This is in the same family as Morocco and Sheherazade, but their much more demure sister.

 

The bergamot and rose exert a very lady-like restraint upon the musk and the spices, and lend the amber and woods a certain old-school elegance.

 

It's much lighter than I thought it would be from the description, almost like the aftereffect of a very expensive and very exotic soap. The scent is clean, delicate, and feminine, but quite uncommon.

[sarahj]

Baghdad

 

in vial: faint sandalwood and slightly medicinal

 

wet: slightly soapy...still VERY faint...having a hard time smelling anything

 

dry: a little stronger...I mainly smell sandalwood and amber

 

verdict: nice, but too faint...no big bottle required

[indicolite]

Swap/gift from Abberlaine Arrol of a quarter-imp.

 

First sniff: mmm, NUTMEG!

 

Drying on skin: I seem to be getting cinnamon, although that is not listed. Probably not cinnamon, but whatever is in Silk Road, as this scent is reminding me very much of Silk Road - with nutmeg, which has faded down into the blend. It is spicy. No sign of the bergamot, rose, mandarin, sandalwood, which I regret as I like those notes. However, I will wait for them: sandalwood usually is last to come out on my skin after everyone else leaves, if Fallen is any indication, so if anything cool comes I will edit this post.

 

I would like a bottle of this. Because of the NUTMEG!

[Eros]

In the imp and first applied it's Big Red gum. Within seconds it turns to a softer, creamy cinnamon and then the amber starts to emerge =) There's a hint of saffron, a touch of musk, and mandarin makes a gentle apperance now and again. No rose *whew*. While I'm also not getting any sandalwood or nutmeg, it's an absolutely beautiful blend. Unfortunately, I have to plaster nose to skin to get any kind of sniff

Warm, spicy and sexy with a touch of the exotic. Definitely big bottle(or more since I'll obviously have to bathe myself in it, lol) worthy

 

Oh, and the cinnamon fades to next to nothing.

[kunoichi]

This is a sweet and spicy scent from the vial – almost juicy with sweet bergamot and mandarin; the nutmeg and saffron giving it the spicy kick. On my skin this changes to be musky, with spice layered over the musk; it’s warm and the sweetness may not work with the musk on my skin completely, but it’s okay. After a few hours, this becomes a cool (probably from the floral note) but slightly spicy scent to it, much gentler now that it has faded somewhat.

[tidesong]

In the Bottle: It took me a minute to place, but whoa, nutmeg! A little sweet sandalwood, and a touch of musk. This is promising.

 

On Application: Mmmm! Nutmeg, and what almost smells like cinnamon sticks, and soft sandalwood. Oh yes, and there's the amber. This is delicious so far. *crosses fingers* 5 minutes later -- I want a b'stilla. Now.

 

On Drydown: Lovely. It's a rich, spicy amber, gently balanced with a slight sweetness reminiscent of rose, but one that didn't turn sour on my skin. It's very exotic, and very lovely.

 

Comments: Definitely a keeper, this is gorgeous.

 

Verdict: 5ml material!

[edenssixthday]

Baghdad - Wow, this is spicy! I don’t see cinnamon in the scent description, but I can hardly believe there isn’t any in here from 1) the strong scent of cinnamon, and 2) the way it lightly burns my wrist, which only cinnamon does. This is a warm scent, full of amber and Eastern spices. I distinctly smell the mandarin, but I can’t ever catch it on purpose. If I sniff up close to my wrist, the mandarin disappears. She comes out only when I’m not paying attention, and playfully wafts past my nose, tweaking it on her way, and then disappearing again. What a phenomenal scent! About 2 hours after applying, the spicy cinnamon scent has completely faded, leaving behind a soft and warm scent that is almost foody in that it’s warm and savory. Perhaps that is the combo of the saffron and mandarin? It’s hard to say. The blend has faded completely at the 3 hour point. This is a really fun blend and I just love how it plays tricks with my nose. Fantastic!

[euterpe414]

I just got this as a frimp in my order (even though I actually just ordered an imp of it, ah well! now I will have two). This is a fantastic scent, just as I had imagined! The rose in this blend is really similar on my skin to the rose in Rakshasa, which is good, becaust most rose blends go extremely sharp (i.e. smell like acetone) on my skin. So, if rose doesn't work on you, don't be deterred from at least trying this blend. Also, though, my skin amps up the rose and saffron, which is very very nice.

 

I am not sure I will buy a full bottle, since I have so many bottles at the moment, but this is quite fantastic, nonetheless.

[requieminblack]

Wow! Baghdad is nothing like what I was expecting. I was thinking this was going to be a more musty/musky floral but surprise, surprise, it is a dead ringer for my beloved Gypsy Queen!

 

This first thing I smell is the yummy blend of the amber and bergamot. After a few minutes I smell the nutmeg. This is much spicier than GQ, but it is not a in your face spicy like cinnamon (I'm not smelling cinnamon at all) but a softer more mild powdery spicy. I never detected the rose in this. The notes all blend so beautifully that no single note jumps out at you. As it dries the fruit notes fade and the sandalwood comes out to make it fade out gracefully.

 

Summery- Baghdad is now one of my all time favorites. It's a spicier Gypsy Queen minus the carnation. Absolutely gorgeous.

Edited July 21, 2006 by requieminblack

[couscous]

If you're looking for a reason why Egg Nog was not bought back for the 2005 yule season, I've got a theory for you. Beth had no nutmeg left in all the world after she created Baghdad.

 

I mean NUTMEG. Get ready for it, because she's there and she shall not be ignored. In fact, the only indication that there are any other notes in this blend come from the fact that the nutmeg is resting on something barely perceptible , like a fixative (I'm guessing it's sandalwood, since i'm not getting that unmistakable BPAL amber that I'd be able to pick out of a lineup any day of the week).

 

As it dries, a powdery sweetness wafts up, depending on how you swing your arms. Most likely the rose variation. The powdery quality works less well than I'd hoped- in something this knock-you-on-your-ass spicy, I'd prefer to keep things on the harsh and bracing side- but it's still a wonderful blend, and I love that beth didn't hold back on it.

 

Try this one. Come on, you know you don't have anything like it in your bottle collection!