Baghdad

[Severuslovesme]

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

The musk and sandalwood really come out on me, which was a surprise since in the bottle I mostly smelled amber. I like Baghdad more and more as it dries.

[SeaLady]

In the imp this was a little too reminiscent of cleaning product, so I avoided trying it.

 

On, I think I like it. It warms up nicely, and is woody and spicy. It's still a little sharper than I might usually wear, but it's nice. It has an after-smell (like an aftertaste) that reminds me a lot of Scherezade, but I can't figure out exactly why. Hmmm.

[aquazoo]

Mmmmmn, pretty! It's a lovely mix of exotic spices & stuff. Not that I'm going to visit, but the place must smell really nice. At least I'd like to imagine it that way.

[erraticprophet]

Initial Impression: spicy citrus

 

On Wet: orange-y, amber, hint of sandalwood and spice

 

On Dry: softer and more blended now. Rose, more spice, less citrus, musk, amber and sandalwood are more prominent.

 

Final Impression: lovely scent, albeit a bit soft.

 

Rating (on a scale of 1-5): 3.5

[TheOneTheyCallLuna]

This is a very beautiful scent, reminiscent of dry heat and spice, in the most feminine way possible. I smell the amber and musk right off the bat, there are other notes in the background - too well blended to name individually. As it dries, the rose along with the slightest hint of mandarin peeks out...the saffron and sandalwood give it that sort of incensy, dry heat feel...the nutmeg, along with the others, conjures images of a middle eastern marketplace. This is soft, warm, and uber feminine! This one will be great in June out here, when it's still raining and overcast but we're all holding our breaths wishing for summer to hurry up!!! I would wear this anytime, however, just for it's sheer feminine beauty. Could be a day or evening scent. This one's a keeper!

[PersephonesChild]

Hm, spicy, yes, and somewhat musky, but overall, not for me. There's an odd medicinal scent to this-- amber sometimes can add to that for me, but I think it's mostly the Bulgar rose. I don't hate this, but I like Seraglio better, which I think is really similar.

[alicia_stardust]

BAGHDAD

 

I pegged this one. I did not look at the description before testing it and I immediately thought of saffron, sandalwood, and rose. For some reason on my skin I can scarcely pick up the mandarin or the other notes. This is really pretty; it's sort of like an open air market full of exotic scents, with a touch of musky, spicy, floral warmth.

[Jocelyn]

At first this smells way to clean on me. I think it must be the mandarin, but it doesn't go totally pledge on me. I'm liking the dry down a lot, it still smells very clean, but there is a lot more musk smell coming through. It smells extremely feminine. I get a hint of spice, but nothing too overt. This smells really well blended and just very pretty. I'm hoping for more of the amber to pop up in this blend, but if it doesn't I'll still like it.

[Mamacat]

I got this as a frimp from the lab and I never would have tried it on my own.

 

Wet: sharp and perfumey sandalwood

After 5 minutes: It starts to get well rounded and gorgeous. It smells familiar, like an incense I used to use

After 30 minutes: Wow! I can really smell the rose and sandalwood and yet neither is amping up or getting ugly. Huh. It's starting to remind me of Lush's Fever a little bit. It's more complex, though.

After a few hours: It's a wee bit powdery now but still beautiful. A new favorite.

 

I'll be getting a bottle in my next order.

[persephanise]

In the imp this has a weird astringent smell that turned me off, so I delayed trying it.

 

Today, I felt adventuresome and dabbed this on my wrists and I am SO glad I did!!

 

I had decided that I just don't like musk, so I knew this would be another for the swap pile. But after a few minutes, that weird astringent smell I didn't like vanished and I was left with something warm and spicy and slightly floral--it's a very grown up, kind of heady scent. I actually think this could be beautiful on a man or a woman.

 

The last thing I need is to fall in love with another scent (I already have 5 or 6 bottles lined up for my January order, gah!) but I think I might have to find a way to work this into my budget, because it's just that nice. This is definitely a "Sometimes" scent--probably more for going out than wearing to work or around the house. But wow, a very pleasant surprise. Very very happy with this one.

 

ETA: The dry-down was completely sandalwood. And while I love Sandalwood, it's not a complex enough scent to be the final verdict, so to speak. Darn! I really liked it up until it turned into single-note sandalwood. No bottle for me after all.

Edited January 1, 2008 by Persephanise

[lefthandmade]

oh man this one is good!!

in the bottle it's woody and sharp but once it gets on the skin it smooths down and i can smell a hint of rose coming through, but without taking over. On me this one is a rose scent and a spice scent at he same time. i don't get any mandarin though, no citrus at all, only warmth and femininity.

 

i love it! a definite bottle here, actually already on its way. i could wear this one a lot. it's one of my very faves so far.

[tziporra]

Can't really smell anything but spices in the imp.

 

On the skin... oh! Rose! And wood! And spice!

 

This is one of those blends where the rose really runs away with the scent on me. But.... it's actually quite good. I don't mind the skin-amping-rose trait in a blend that makes me want to wear rose, and this might be a blend that makes me want to wear rose. It really reminds me of Stella by Stella McCartney (which also has the orange and amber in it, so it makes sense). The woods are not the typical hippie-sandalwood-rose woods that so frequently turn me off of rose/wood blends. Probably the spices are keeping the whole thing from floating off in that direction, although I don't get a sense of them individually I know they are there.

 

After wearing all day (7 hours-ish), there isn't much left except a soft spiciness on my skin, but it had great throw while it lasted.

 

Yeah, this is going on my 5ml list.

 

Tzi

[starwild]

This is like a slightly sweeter, more mysterious and vibrant Ozymandias on me. It has that same note of pure dryness, but there's also a breath of rose to uplift it. The spices, wood, and amber are what give it the warmth and the bergamot and rose sweetens it just a bit. Don't smell the mandarin. Where Ozymandias is the smell of a desert place long-deserted, Baghdad is the scent of a desert place that's thriving and alive.

[terrenity]

Frimpage! I actually first tested this about nine months ago when it was fresh, but put it on again today to retest it.

 

In the imp: Sandalwood and incense? I'm getting strong scent associations with those import shops where you can buy jingly skirts and incense and pretty wooden boxes, so I'm sort of taking a guess here. Definitely has an exotic feel to it.

 

On: Baghdad softens and turns into a very smooth, golden scent. I can't pick out the amber specifically, but I'm sure it's there. Oh, there's the rose. For some reason my skin amps rose like crazy. This actually ends up smelling like a nicer version of Mata Hari (which went sour on me) - mostly heady rose with a bit of dry sandalwood.

 

Throw is pretty strong; you only need a dab. Lasts about three hours on my fragrance eating skin, which is sadly about average for me.

 

Color association: Gold, with a swirl of burgundy velvet.

 

ETA: After about half an hour, Baghdad is all about the rose on me. It's very much like a SN Tea Rose I had and loved, but gave away because it made me sneeze... except that Baghdad doesn't make me sneeze!

Edited February 23, 2008 by terrenity

[twilighteyes]

Another frimp from the lab!

 

In the imp I'm getting that stale perfume scent. That one you get when you purchase a gift pack of perfume in different sizes, and the little bottles that aren't pressurized? They go stale. And smell like this. Underneath stale perfume I can smell some sandalwood.

 

On my skin it smells like sandalwood bandages. Or something that reminds me of bandages. Quite odd. I've never had a scent be weird on me. But I guess the start in the imp wasn't all that promising.

 

I'll try this one again in a few weeks and see if my chemistry is just off today or what the deal is.

[donnatron]

I recall trying this a few months ago and not being fussed. I don't know what was wrong with me.

 

Imp: Sharp and spicy. A bit dry.

 

Wet: Sandalwood, flowers, spice and fruit all over the soft creaminess of saffron. Bellisama!

 

Dry: Gorgeous. A more properly perfume-y/incense-y version of Bengal. I get the spices and sandalwood the most, especially in the throw. When I get up close to my wrist, the saffron is more apparent.

 

Throw: Really good. I will have to judicious with my application of this.

 

Overall: How lovely. This is a lot creamier than I remember it being and it's just a great scent. I think that if it comes to a big bottle, Bengal wins out over this, but it's a nice variation.

[zankoku_zen]

Frimp from the lab.

 

This is a spicy rose at the beginning, that makes me think... hmmm... yes, I can see this being in a Middle Eastern market.

 

After about 45 minutes, the sandalwood jumps to the forefront and dominates, and it's almost all I can smell.

 

Boo on you sandalwood. Boo on you.

[Lethran]

In bottle: Reminds me of 1970’s perfume. Perfumey, with a strong Amber/musk/Sandlewood/Saffron effect. It does smell of desert and Middle Eastern market, at least in the imagination. Wet: The bergamot makes it’s move. Dry Rose heavy women’s perfume.

[ouch!]

Baghdad for me is another one of the Wanderlust collection that doesn't really evoke thoughts/images of it's name.

It is however, nice!!!

 

It's quite soft and musky, tiny bit spicy.

The fruity notes in this are kind of drowned out at the beginning and fade to nothing quite quickly. This is all about the musk.

There a floral here, but it smells like a wet crushed in the rain floral...kind of like how violets smell to me!

 

It's not a blow me away blend, but..still nice. I won't be buying a 5ml.

[veronicafranco]

Or, on me, dust with a hint of amber. If I try, I can get a combined citrus note and sometimes the saffron. It almost seems like something is missing from the vial I got - though I'm positive the lab wouldn't do that! I wonder if I could layer this with something else… as it dries, it gets faintly sweeter, but my chemistry turns this beautiful-sounding blend into bleh.

[CrazyPretzel]

This is an aged imp - probably about 18 months.

 

Soft, dry, sweet, woodsy rose. The sandalwood in this is soft and sweet and borders on powdery; quite lovely. I don't detect any mandarin in here, but do get a bit of baking spice that's probably the nutmeg.

[tartchef]

I had to give Baghdad a shot - rose is historically awful with my chemistry, but I wear nearly all the other notes here beautifully... alas. While it's not the screaming Rose of Doom that I usually get, neither is it the exotic swirl of spices & flavors that I'd hoped. Baghdad is sharp & dry, the rose & bergamot shoving things firmly into the realm of bath product. Maddeningly, I get tiny whiffs of the nutmeg & saffron, taunting me from behind the metaphoric shower curtain.

[Argentwolf]

In the imp I could tell that there was some sandlewood there, with maybe a hint of something sweet, like the mandarin.

 

Once it gets on me, that sandlewood really amps up. At first there is a sharp, woody tone, but it quickly mellows to something that has sweetness around the edges -- bergamot and orange, it seems.

 

It's a lovely scent, though like all the sandlewood scents before, it doesn't last too long.

[kjirstiben]

I wasn't certain about the notes in Baghdad... But since I've been to the place and I'm going back, how could I not have its eponymous fragrance? (As an aside, you'd never want to smell like Baghdad itself smells at present... dust, burning garbage, and oil refineries are not romantic or pleasant scent experiences!)

 

However...

 

In the bottle: WOOD!! It smells like "New Age Bookstore" to me, a combination of incenses and sandalwood

 

Initial application: Perfumey wood... almost... soapy? Is that bergamot I'm smelling?

 

After a while: Resiny sandalwood, and some musk. After a few hours, rose showed up and set up permanent residence.

 

Overall impression: Musky, resiny dried rose petals with a woody start.

 

Personally, it's a little too "perfumey" for my tastes (that might be the musk?), since by the end it smells like a scented body powder. I'm not set against it, however. Just not sold yet.

[Indigo78]

In the imp this is sharp Amber, and the Bergamot makes it flash green to my nose. Wet on the skin the sharpness subsides pretty quickly, and the other notes emerge one by one. The first I notice is Nutmeg, followd by a Bulgar Rose's whisper...not amping this one at all. The Mandarin is also barely there, but detectable if you are sniffing for it.

 

The drydown has this tomb-dust, "aged finery" quality I notice in some of the Ars Moriendi blends. Still deciding whether or not this is a bottle for me, but it is really beautiful.

 

Wears close to my skin, with short-average wear length.

Edited June 25, 2008 by Indig0