Hollywood Babylon

[lohengrin]

The essence of innocence shattered: glittering Egyptian amber and heliotrope, infused with the sweetness of strawberry and vanilla - dragged into debauch by lusty red musk and a dribble of black cherry.

In the imp: Cherry cough syrup.

On, wet: Cherry and strawberry. Less fake-smelling than any of the other BPAL strawberry blends that I've tried. Still kinda smells like lip gloss, though.

Later: Really does smell like lip gloss, or Strawberry Shortcake dolls. But, unlike the last couple strawberry blends I've tried, it doesn't smell like BURNING Strawberry Shortcake dolls. ... Still not a keeper, though.

[brownbear]

Wet this one smells very fruity. At first it was more cherry, then the strawberry came out when it dried. I'm not a big fan of heliotrope, but I think the amber, vanilla, and fruits toned it down into something pleasant. I get a lot of amber in this actually. I'm gonna keep this one, at least until I run out of space.

[emzebel]

I snagged this imp at our DC meet and sniff a while back, after sniffing and falling in love...

 

Hollywood Babylon is extremely sweet and cloying and filled with candy-fruit goodness, but there is a heavy seductiveness to it. Like Hollywood, it is not what it seems.

 

This is not a blend for when you want to smell natural or innocent.

 

This is a blend for fun.

[sophia_helix]

Yikes. I smell...cheap!

 

It's exactly like Snake Oil with strawberries for the first hour. Sadly, I don't like Snake Oil. Later it develops that plasticky scent, just like that Tinkerbell lipstick for little girls I used to wear when I was seven. Eventually it just evens out to be sweet.

 

Hilarious, but so not me.

[emiweebee]

Ooh, purr. I was drawn to this scent for two reasons: the gorgeous description, and because years of reading Francesca Lia Block as a teenager has destroyed me for anything relating to California, even though I've never been, nor even suspect I like the place much. So Hollywood Babylon was part of my first ever order of imps.

 

Wow.

 

I immediately opened the imp and spilled a bit. I'm terrible at small perfume bottles, but this was my first impression: my hands, my desk, my clothes, all over in strawberries. After wearing it for a while, I still get the incredible sweetness of the strawberries, but if I stick my nose right up to my wrist it's all musk, with just the tiniest bit of strawberry and cherry beneath it. I'm having a hard time picking out the other three notes (heliotrope, vanilla, amber), though that is probably largely due to an untrained nose.

 

As a first pick, I'm in love. Rapturous, 5ml (at least) reorder love.

[strawberry_star]

In the vial: A slightly sweet musk.

 

On me: Oh wretched musk, why do you have to always be center stage? I smell red musk and then it turns into something slightly sweet in it, not sure what, too faint to tell. Then there's also something as well that doesn't smell good.

 

Overall: Hollywood Babylon hates me. It had leaked all over the place and half was spilt. Then when I tried it on... It broke my heart. I LOVE strawberries. See username? I love cherry too. Unfortunately I didn't smell either one. No vanilla either. I'm really dissappointed about this, I wanted to love it. *smites musk*

[Monster]

Ohhhh I get amber mixed with strawberry right away. I'm beginning to realize I love strawberry scents...they really smell good on me. Mmmm this smells like something I had when I was a little girl, a perfume or lotion or something..I can't quite put my finger on it.

 

As this dries down, it "grow up" and morphs into a gorgeous, sweet ambery/resiny scent.

Mmm I can definilty see this as something I'd wear on a regular basis. Beautiful!

Holywood Babylon gets 5 stars!

[Shollin]

First sniff: I was expecting this one to be candy-sweet, but it’s very dark and musky, with just a hint of cherry sweetness brushed over the top.

 

Wearing: It’s gone pure strawberry… the musk has vanished pretty much completely. Awww. I like red musk.

[Freyja Lux]

Mmmm... sweet, innocent smelling. Applied, the amber comes out and warms it up, and gives it a more earthy feel. For some reason this scent doesn't last long on me at all. It seems to just seep into my skin, and doesn't radiate from me at all, which is something I look for in a perfume. It's nice... but I'm just not crazy about it.

[SnornL]

In the vial, the strawberry reigns supreme with the musk and cherry behind it, darkening it and keeping it from being too cloying.

 

As it dries down on my skin, the amber and vanilla come out more and really round out the scent. It becomes this beautiful spicy-sweet blend, but unfortunately this stage doesn't last too long on me... my skin loves amber, and that's all that's left after an hour or so. I'll probably keep the imp nonetheless, maybe my skin's just being finicky today.

[em_h]

In the vial: very fruity, slight smell of decay

 

Wet: red musk emerges quite quickly and distinctly, as does the vanilla; both of these are notes that I like, and as long as they stay dominant over the fruit, this could work. But it's hard to tell how they're going to balance out. The cherry really does have a slightly decaying undertone, which is I suppose thematically correct. Not sure if I like it or not, though. It's a complex scent, for sure.

 

Drying: seems to have an unusually fast fade, which is odd for a red musk scent; perhaps it'll get a second wind. Anyway, it's not bad; although the fruit is not altogether to my taste, it doesn't go nasty like a lot of fruit does on me.

 

Dry: not much second wind at all, oddly. What's left is pleasant enough but kind of powdery. It's possible there are time-of-the-month issues involved, however, so it probably deserves another try.

[harmonyfb]

In the bottle: Fruity! A really sweet strawberry scent.

 

Wet: Veryvery strawberry, with a tad of effervescence.

 

Dry: The amber warms up and comes out to marry with the berry, and it's very nice. For a little while.

 

Dry, 20 minutes later: Let's just say that of some things, a little goes a long way. Sadly, my skin amps the hell out of this blend, and Won't. Let. Go. It got stronger and stronger and stronger, until it's starting to make me sick to my stomach, and I've washed it off three times (and scoured w/rubbing alcohol once), and it not only won't come off, it keeps getting stronger!!! Ugh!

 

This is nearly a repeat of what happened with "Cathode" (minus the metallic taste in my mouth), which means I'll be smelling this and getting nauseous for hours and hours and hours. ::sigh::

[Aharona]

When I fisrt caught sight of this name I knew i had to sniff it. The description was just too good to pass up!

 

In the Impie: A cornucopia of sticky sweetness. Cherry cough syrup with black bananas, but not in a bad way as odd as this might sound.

 

Wet On Skin: MMMMMMMMMMMMMM! The amber just burst out and gives a warm comfort. The strawberry comes out just enough to balance the amber and musk and give the right amount of sweetness to it. I smell sweet and warm .

 

30 minutes later. It's now equal parts strawberry, vanilla and amber. There is something that reminds me of Bastet, (it must be the egyptian amber) only sweeter.

 

Overall: I think I get why Beth had described it the way she did. I get images of my Strawberry Shortcake doll and cupcakes and it clashes with the grown up red musk and amber. Totally amazing images and this scent brought me back to the beauty and hell of being 13 years old again.

[silver_springs]

When I first put this on it was very strong. Hollywood Babylon you have to put on lightly or just enough otherwise it's too much.

 

That being said, it's just enough of the right stuff! Sticky cherries and cola fizz is what it smells like. But wonderfully so.

 

I got my first scent compliment from someone not related to me wearing Hollywood Babylon. Her exact comment was "You smell so good!". And I agree, I did.

 

My next lab order will include a 5ml.

[Wench457]

ITB: Cherry-vanilla soda.

 

On: It thought about turning into cherry cough drops, but then changed its mind and went for lovely amber with a cherry kick.

 

Dry: Yummmmm. Grown-up lollypops, with just enough musky floral to keep it from being too sweet. Just the thing when I need a pick-me-up for my mood. This one is definitely cheering, and quite delicious!

 

[ancilla_morte]

oh LORD this smells wonderful.

I thought it was going to be like Sacred Whore of Babylon for some reason. it is just as strong, but that's about it.

in the vial it was kind of scary-powerful.

I put it on and yeah, I was in heaven. cherry lollipops. it reminds me of what I like about Black Phoenix except it is not as horribly evil and poisonous smelling. even though it is really naughty.

 

I love this. I can also smell the strawberries and resin. frankincense I think.

[Meg]

In the bottle: I'm dreading this - a cherry bubblegum, with a musky note somewhere. I like its dark colour, but the smell puts me off.

 

Wet: the cherry is mixed with strawberry now, and it's fighting with musk - I'm hoping the musk wins! This really smells... well, cheap and childish right now.

 

Drydown: The strawberry scent does settle into something more realistic than just bubblegum, and the cherry seems to have moved to the background. I can smell the musk, too, and something slightly bitter from time to time (it smells floral - possibly the heliotrope). It's actually a complex, adult and rather dark scent by now, a bit powdery. The musky/amber notes are extremely persistent, they absolutely won't quit whatever I use to wash it off.

 

Overall: This smells of strawberry and plastic and musk and decay. I think it actually works very well with its name, there is a dark/decaying hint in the background - it's Hollywood with its glitz and its drama. However, this confirms that red berries really don't work on me. Lady Macbeth was a disaster, and while this really isn't as bad, it's not me at all - even the musky drydown just isn't my cup of tea.

[little_miss_gogo]

Because it has the same name as my favorite misfits song, I knew I had to try it. Plus, I love strawberries.

In the bottle, it is sweet and fruity, you can smell strawberries but they are overpowered by a cherry cough suryp smell.

On the skin, the strawberry comes to the forefront, and the cherry fades away. That's fine with me because I am not that much of a cherry fan.

As it dries the florals and musk come out, balancing the blend. The effect is strawberry incense! With a little strawberry lipgloss thrown in. I love it.

I saw somwhere on the board somone had described it as 'goth strawberry'. that is pretty much right on the money.

so this one is pretty awesome.

good thing i have a 5ml on the way.

heh heh heh

[blackheartedangel]

Out of the imp, this smells overwhelmingly of cherry cough drops or syrup. I didn't have my hopes up at that point, but once applied to my skin, the red musk & amber appear as well as the strawberry and vanilla. After a complete drydown, this is an awesome sweet, fruity, vanilla and red musk blend, I love it! Have a 5ml on the way

[SeaMonkey]

Someone nailed it when they said this was Snake Oil with strawberries. I also get the heliotrope. Its very sweet, and primarily red musk and vanilla, with strawberries and cherries in the background

[ktesedale]

In the bottle, it smelled just like fruit punch.

 

Wet, it smelled like cherry cough syrup, but after about five minutes, all the cherry just up and vanished.

 

Dry, it's at first pure strawberry vanilla - like an expensive strawberry cream soda. After a little while, a little bit of musk comes out and warms the scent. Eventually the musk makes itself more known, matching the soda smell.

 

I didn't get any amber or heliotrope, and no cherry after the first few minutes. A bit too soda-y sweet on me, though it would be perfect for a young girl. Perhaps I'll see how this smells on my niece.

[Voleuse]

This is amazingly sweet on first application, perfectly-ripened strawberries, set in a dish of sugar. After that first bloom, however, it disappears quickly and completely. I'm left with an incredibly faint sweet note, which I suspect I wouldn't have noticed if I hadn't known to sniff for it in the first place. =(

[Neely]

Thanks for the frimp! Feel the love!

 

In the bottle: Slightly candy like sweetness, no dicernable notes.

 

Wet: WHOAH! Grape plastic. Like a Strawberry Shortcake doll... you know the ones.

 

Dry down: Grape candy

 

30 minutes: Grape Koolaid instead of candy. YUCK! This is so nasty with my chemistry! Stupid skin! It goes between smelling like Koolaid to one of those plastic dolls with a grape smell, or any plastic toy scented to smell like fruit. In this case, the fruit being grape to me, not cherry. Of course since my chemistry and the scent are arguing like a husband and wife, it has great throw, so all the neighbors can hear. And of course it wants to last and last.

Conclusion: No way Jose! I don't mean just no, but HELL NO!!!!. I definitely cannot wear it. I don't get any of the lovely notes this masterpiece has to offer. My chemistry and it argue like the old Punch and Judy puppets. Off to the swaps list for someone to try or someone who loves it.

 

Rating 1-5, on my skin this is a 1.

[ScrimHazard]

I should have known this wouldn't work on me because of the amber, but I decided to order an imp of it anyway.

 

*IN THE BOTTLE: Sharp and sweet. I am interested to see if this works. Vanilla and sour cherry.

 

*WET ON SKIN: Still cherry and vanilla, but very sour and...OH NO!...turning spicey in a middle eastern way.

 

*DRY DOWN: I smell like a Middle Eastern kitchen and sour cherry candy. I am disgusted by myself. My boyfriend seems to think it smells like cotton candy, but more pungeant.

 

*AFTER 3 HOURS: subtle, sweet and spicy. Very nice actually. If it smelled like this on me from the get-go I would adore it, but I don't like Middle Eastern spices on my skin so unfortunately this is a no-go for me.

[darkkat]

In the imp, this is very black cherry. Reminded me a lot of those cherry cordial chocolates you got at Christmas - the sickly sweet ones that you always ate too many of and ended up feeling sick over (well, I did, at any rate...). It almost seemed too strong for me...

 

Once I applied it, however, the rest of the scents started to come out, specifically the amber, strawberry and red musk, all of which softened the black cherry, although it still came out pretty strongly. Strawberries and black cherries is a lovely combination, I've discovered.

 

After a couple of hours, the scent had mellowed again and the vanilla had come out, making it black cherries and vanilla, which I liked very much.

 

Definitely a keeper.