Bed of Nails

[Aurelius]

Sharp, shining, metallic: rubbed iron with a dry wooden base.

I'll be honest: I bought this for the name alone. A woody and metallic scent didn't seem all that appealing. But call it Bed of Nails? How could I resist?

Bed of Nails is true to its description. The wooden base quickly escapes my skin and I smell metallic and ozone-y. It's not unpleasant, but it's not really my thing either. Ah, but the name...

[Eunice]

I didn't get the metallic smell in The Cracked Bell but I certainly get it in Bed of Nails. The wood doesn't come off as dry to me. This is spring green wood. I also get a little bit of lemongrass underneath. I had thought this would smell a lot more dusty and earthy but I am not displeased with the actual scent. This is very elegant and masculine. I am enjoying Bed of Nails a lot.

[littlefarmgirl]

This is a clear, citrusy scent, not really like nails at all. Hmmm. It smells like a perfume sample from Vogue magazine, the perfume mingling with the smell of the pages. Only more citrusy. Maybe a citrus perfume?

 

It does some morphing later on, but by that time it was making my throat hurt and I had to wash it off.

[Tess]

(Original '05 version) I'm neither an aquatic nor a metalic girl, so this is going to be one heck of an experiment.

 

In the vial - Huh. Hard to place the notes here. There's a medicinal sharpness with this odd darkness behind it, reminding me of... chocolate? Eh?

 

Wet - No, seriously, chocolate. Dark chocolate and eucalyptus. I think my nose is broken.

 

Drying - Hello, aquatics. They're coming out like mad, with that chocolate tinge completely gone. Something spicey, like a pepper note has popped up, though. The eucalyptus is still hanging around.

 

Dry (15 minutes) - This is like Queen's aquatic sister. The pepper is deffinately on me, although it's also heavily like Eternity for Men on me. (You all got that spot on, I'd say!) It's very sharp, I can say that.

 

Overall - Not for me, which I really knew right off the bat. Might be quite nice on a man, though. It makes for a very interesting counterpoint with Bearded Lady, though. Wearing one on each wrist gives off a fascinating throw.

[edenssixthday]

Bed of Nails - When I sniff it in the vial, it smells like cheap men’s cologne – similar to my experience with Fire Eater, although not as bad. When I put it on my skin, it continues to smell like cheap men’s cologne. However, as it starts to dry down, it mellows out a big and that “cologne” quality dissipates, leaving behind a scent that I would still classify as masculine, but not “cheap”. Although it’s a metal and wood scent, it reminds me a lot of some of Beth’s aquatic scents like Cthulhu and Sea of Glass. It’s subtle on my skin and I don’t smell it unless I sniff it up close. I’m glad I got to try it, but it’s not one I need to try again.

[pkwench]

I don't know how I've managed to have Bed of Nails all this time and not say a thing about it. As I put it on today, I felt inspired to give it a word or two. Of course, it's a year old now, but it doesn't seem to have morphed much at all to my nose.

 

CLEAN. Bed of Nails is clean, clean, knock you on your ass clean. Its metallic crack is the same sort of thing that I get from Lightening (nowhere as sweet, of course) and Cthulhu. It's sharp, ozone-y, with a splintery, dry undertone.

 

When I first put it on, it has that clean, zing of a man's cologne, but then it mingles with my skin and I get ozone, metal, skin, and that dry scent. It's definitely not a girly scent, but it's a great choice for days when you want to smell clean. I also find that it gives me a little sauce for my mood. From my standpoint, it's gender neutral, but I can see how people would find it a more masculine scent according to their tastes.

[midnight_aeval]

Am I the only one that smells CK1? Here I am thinking my imp of Bed of Nails was switched with CK1 because it smells almost identical!

 

It smells aquatic and citrusy.. of course, I cannot pick out individual notes because all my nose is telling me is it's CK1

[juniperus]

Bottle: fresh, almost astringent, reminds me of something..a hair product I've smelled before, I think. weird.

Wet: aquatic shiny note makes my head hurt. ow, head, ow.

Dry: oh yes, the sinuses are awake now. I'm getting no woods from this, and no iron, either. just something akin to Numb.

Later: same. alas.

[slave1]

In Bottle: Very masculine cologne

 

On Skin: This is a man’s scent for sure. Rugged, strong and sturdy. Metallic yes, but also very, very aquatic. I like how clean it is and how it catches your attention right away. My husbands verdict? He likes it! He also remarked about getting a “clean vibe” from it. There is a wood note, very soft and pretty… sandalwood I’m thinking. I think I need to find a bottle for my hubby. Strong throw and long lasting power.

[steffanina]

Bed of Nails-

 

In Bottle: Kind of insect repellent men's cologne-y. Strong.

 

Wet: A little floral--oh, I can smell the iron tang! I feel it in my tooth fillings, even, like I've bitten tinfoil! And there is more floral underlying. Something almost anise-ish or asian-spice-like.

 

Dry: This is FASCINATING. Every single time I sniff my wrist, I feel the metal tingle in my teeth. How on earth did Beth do this? My impulse is to find a big bottle of this but I'm not sure; it might be more of a novelty scent for me. And it's got great staying power too!

 

Overall: Fascinating--conditionally like!

[savage_rose]

In the bottle: Generic men's cologne.

 

Wet: Aquatic, fresh, slightly herbal. MMMMM...

 

Dry: My nose seems to be permanently attached to my wrist. I cannot stop sniffing! It's clean, but not too clean...like the ocean is clean, healing...the salt heals. Clean but not pure...many mysteries beneath its depths. Every time I sniff I get something different. Sometimes resiny, sometimes salty...sometimes spicy and warm, sometimes cool and watery. Watery and metallic at the same time. Mmmm! I just can't say enough wonderful things about this scent...

[supremegoddessofall]

In bottle: Upscale men's cologne.

 

On me: Upscale men's cologne. I get some herbals, maybe a touch of lavender. Rugged but somehow delicate, too.

[cranberry]

In the bottle, this smells mainly of aquatics. It has a hint of that fresh note that’s in Whippoorwill and I think also in Holiday Moon. Maybe it’s bamboo. Once applied it smells aquatic and masculine. It’s slightly sweet. It reminds me of a man’s cologne. I’m not a real fan of aquatics and this isn’t changing that. It smells expensive and fresh. It’s well created (I wanted to write well done but that makes me think of steak – I must be hungry). This is really quite nice but not my style. As it wears it become more green and still retains that freshness. I think that it is bamboo and it’s really coming out now.

 

This is a medium lasting scent on me.

[Elemcee]

Bed of Nails smells like a very clean man straight of the shower. It's not a bad thing. In fact, depending on the man, it could be lovely.

 

It's a perfect evocation of the name: sharp, clean and steely, and it's generally true that, when sniffing the perfume samples in fashion magazines, I prefer the one labelled 'for men', rather than the usually chemically flowery, overly sweet scent that's assigned to my gender.

 

Bed of Nails might still be a bit masculine for me, though.

[Teggy]

Our love is a bed of nails

Love is good on a bed of nails

I'll lay you down, and when all else fails

I'll drive you like a hammer

On a bed of nails. ~~ Alice Cooper

 

Loooooove this! Sexy, masculine metal, without being too over the top like Villian. I feel like I can actually get away with wearing this one as a woman. I was really concerned that it would turn into woody-blah on me like MacBeth and Three Witches does, but it actually stayed true on my skin! I like it a little better in a scent locket, but I'm still quite happy with it.

[CiCi]

Bed of Nails is a very light citrusy/woody scent that could be worn by either sex. It smells like you just stepped out of the shower and has that brand new fresh scent clean smell. There is an Asian feel to it also-almost like just cut bamboo reeds or shoots, but the fresh green not dried scent. There is also an underlying sweetness there that I only detected after wearing it for an hour. It really has lasted some time too. I like to apply a scent and not have to worry about it. This has nice lingering power.

[workedtodeath]

In the bottle, it has a citrusy metallic smell. on my skin the citrus goes away and it has a very metallic smell. After a while it smells very woodlike. I like it.

[Reaver]

BPAL twist on CKone on my skin.

 

Light, citrusy and unisex. Bright lavender in the bottle, and during quite a lot of the drydown, making this a terrific unisex blend. Summery and familiar. Relaxing and cooling. Woody drydown. I don't quite get why this would be 'Bed of Nails' as the metallicness is more from the zesty lemon spritzness of it all. If you want metals, turn to the new Steamworks catagory.

 

This is a playful blend for sunny days and I'll be wearing it when I'm sick of my aquatics!

 

Conclusion - Simple and easy to wear. It's unassuming and friendly and won't let you down.

7/10.

[nightbiscuit]

Very sharp and fresh smelling, like a bracing men's cologne. There is definitely an ozone-tang with a metallic feel to it. This smells pretty generically perfume-y as far as BPAL goes... And the initial wallop of aquatic ozone bowls over my nose, so that I have difficulty even speculating on the type of wood...Although I am going to guess teak or rosewood. That base wood note is definitely the best part of this scent, and I wish it was stronger.

[Lethran]

In bottle: Weirdly metallic aftershave and wood. It’s quite appealing, actually. Wet: Much as in the bottle, only vaguely spicey. This is crazy sexy in a masculine sort of way. I am surprised there is no fougere in it as it has the richness I associate with fougere based scents. It’s a little like Mechanical Phoenix, a little like Valmont. It is made of win just generally. I am already in love. As it warms, more of the richness of polished wood comes out. Dry: It calms down a little as it wears, ending up a woody, vaguely metallic, insanely sexy aftershave sort of smell. This is going to be one of my all time favorites, I can tell.

[zankoku_zen]

You can definitely tell the similarities between Torture Queen and Bed of Nails --- it's almost the same thing, except Bed of Nails is softer, less floral and slightly more metallic. I feel like for those reasons that BoN is like the masculine version, and Beth brought it back this time around as a female in Torture Queen.

 

On the other hand, if Torture Queen mellows out with age, it will be such a pretty scent. I love Torture Queen but it can be so aggressive.

[rayvn1]

This went on as only a breath of metallic ozone. Now that it's drying a really sweet note is coming out. This is a dead ringer for Victoria's Secret Pink of all things on me! This doesn't have the chemical side to Pink, though. Sweet, refreshing and absolutely lovely but with little throw. I don't think this one is going to last long on my skin, but I love what it's doing right now!

[tehriaz]

I don't have good luck with beth's metallic notes, or wood, really, so I didn't have tremendously high hopes for this one...

 

but oh. my. god.

 

this is absolutely FANTASTIC. this is one of maybe 1% of bpals that I absolutely love in the bottle, wet on my skin, and dry. it's just ALWAYS fantastic. wet, it reminded me slightly of f5 and door 13, and a little bit of szepasszony while it was drying - that general impression of clean and wet and a little bit green. I LOVE this. I've only had it for a couple hours, but it's already in my top 5. there's something so sweet in a non-sugary way and relaxing about the drydown - there's a hint of something like chamomile in there. what a strange association.

 

but, damn. I LOVE this. and out of maybe 400-500 scents with a success rate of about 1% - that's DAMN high praise.

 

I hope I can find more of this!

Edited December 12, 2008 by tehriaz

[Dark Alice]

This scent reminds me of The Blockhead in the Carnivale Diabolique series without the Pink Bubblegum note. It's very masculine and very leathery and very cologney....I am not a fan of this...but I am glad I got to try it....off to the swaps pile!

[WidgetAlley]

Did I really never review Bed of Nails? I know I had a decant at one point.... on me, it was all biting citrus, sharply perfumey ozone, and the most incredibly screechy, teeth-achingly dead-on metallic smell. Amazing, yes. Something I'd want to put on myself in a million years, no.