Bengal

[Miladygrey]

A sultry and unruly blend that emulates the ambient scent of the markets in ancient Bengal: skin musk with honey, peppers, clove, cinnamon bark and ginger.

In the bottle: honey and spice, rich and sweet. The prevalent scent when I opened the package of imps.

Wet: Honey. Thick warm gooey honey, with a dash of cinnamon. I smell like a square of baklava. This is in no way a bad thing, I only wish my fiancé were here to enjoy it.

Dry: The spices came out over the course of the day, although the honey note stayed strongest. Ginger and (surprise) pepper became much more apparent, but thankfully never overpowering.

In short: I'm so glad I got this as my frimp, I'd never have tried it otherwise. Now 'tis going on my 'keep around' list.



Love as thou wilt, and be wise.

[Maia]

This is one of the first scents with honey as a prominent note that I’ve tried. I wasn’t sure if I would like it or not, or if it would work with my chemistry. And the first time I tried Bengal it wasn’t an immediate success – wet on skin it smelled wonderful, but as it dried it turned kind of weird and synthetic. I didn’t give up though, and tried it again a couple of days later. This time I was not disappointed.

 

At first on application, Bengal smells mostly of honey on me. As it dries the spices emerges more and more, of which I can identify cinnamon. The honey blends wonderfully with the spices - gorgeous spiced, creamy, glowing honey with a hint of warm skin musk. It can be a bit cloying on some days, but most of the time it’s a very comforting scent to me.

 

A bottle of this honey and spice gorgeousness will be ordered.

[Holly]

GAH it took me 20 minutes to even get the imp open! ok here we go...

 

in the imp: cinnamon chewing gum

 

wet: something in this is making me sneeze! Peppers maybe?

 

dry: hmmm... it smells like one of those cinnamon flavored honey sticks! Hey that's kind of fun -- oop, there it goes. It just disappeared completely...

 

ooook. well it was nice while it lasted, but maybe someone else will have better luck with this one.

[Trish]

In the imp: Oh my! Spices, honey and light musk. Cinnamon's the most prominant spice but I can pick out a little ginger too.

 

Wet: The honey lightens instantly, but it's still sweet. Sweet spices with a little musk. Heavenly!!

 

Drydown: The pepper is emerging, just adding a little more bite. The cinnamon isn't overly strong in this, it's definitely cinnamon bark rather than foody cinnamon. A little ginger, a little clove, and a little musk.

 

Dry: It doesn't change a whole lot, except the honey fades a fair bit. Unfortunately it disappears within 3 hours even after putting on unscented lotion first and slathering it. *sigh* My skin just eats spices it seems, except Chimera.

 

 

No skin irritation at all, but I tested it on my wrists which seem immune to cinnamon.

[lightgatherer]

This was the biggest disappointment I've had in a while. When I first apply it, it smells like unwashed female genitals. Is that the skin musk? That scent dies down after a short while, and the honey and some of the spices come out. Unfortunately, this stage isn't long, and the throw is almost nothing. After a relatively short time, the scent dies completely.

[brit_brat100]

Imp: spice! heavy and not sweet.

 

Wet: dark honey, maybe of the sage variety or something, and cinnamon.

 

Dry: hot spices, still with a lot of cinnamon, but it's lightened up as a whole

and gotten a touch sweeter. Nice.

 

Final Thoughts: I like this, but I'm not screaming about it yet. I'll try it a few more times and see how it develops. I think that this might be a suitable replacement for Saw-Scaled Viper, though not the same, when the Carnival leaves town. I was hoping for a chai scent, but it didn't happen on my skin.

[kwelge]

Imp: Honey and spices... maybe some cinnamon?

 

On: Starts out strongly spicy sweetened with some honey -- definitely getting the cinnamon/ginger/clove blend with the occasional whiff of pepper. The honey keeps it from being quite as 'bone-dry spice cabinet' as Saw-Scaled Viper. Still, don't sniff too deeply at this point -- you'll burn your nostrils!

 

It mellows a little on drydown; less of SPICE! and more sun-warmed spices with a little honey over to the side. There's some subtle background thing also that I can't quite describe that smoothes it over nicely on drydown -- I'm guessing that's the skin musk? It played a similar role in the Brides of Dracula, of supporting actor and general coordinator. Works for me!

 

Verdict: OMG LOVE. I love cinnamon and ginger, and this one is nice and warming for chilly evenings. A terrific fall/winter/chilly spring scent.

[porcelina]

first, a warning- i put bengal on my wrist with no problems, but when i dabbed it behind my ears and on my neck the next day, it BURNED like CRAZY for a couple of minutes.

 

in the bottle: for some reason this smells like gulab jamun (sp?), a dessert i've had at lots of indian restaurants, only spicier, although as far as i know that doesn't have cinnamon in it (it does have cardamom in it, although that's not listed in the description for bengal).

 

wet: definitely get the skin musk, some pepper plus the cinnamon and it's waaay heavy on the cloves which is fabulous because i love cloves.

 

dry: all musk and saffron and pepper with a hint of clove and a little honey sweetness.

 

i like this. a lot. it's hot and peppery and delicious. the honey is mostly overpowered by the spice, unfortunately, but i can't complain because this is a really amazing scent on me!

[bunnymcfoo]

in the bottle: You know, it's funny, but on first sniff, all I can think is that this smells like perfume. *palms up* Another sniff, and I'm getting a note that reminds me really strongly of Eclipse. Honey? Pepper? Clove? Do they even have anything in common besides cinnamon? Hm.

 

wet: Oooh, honey and cinnamon. Yup, this smells a LOT like Eclipse. This is a cinnamon I could get behind; there's no burn, thank god. Please please please don't go weird on me. *crosses fingers* And yum, after a couple of minutes, I start getting pepper in with the cinnamon. Doesn't sound like it should work, but MAN, I'm really liking this one.

 

 

no, no, no. The itch is starting up, as per usual with cinnamon. Maybe it'll die down? It's not too bad, so far...

 

dry: Okay, the itch does die down, without ever getting too bad to deal with. \o/ After about an hour or so, Bengal dries down very nicely. The strongest note by far is the honey, with the spices blending together to support it. About halfway through the drydown, I hit a period of time when I smelled like a big ol' chai tea, and I really wish that had been how it had stayed. This end result is more like a spice tisane with a lot of honey added to it than an actual chai. Really really lovely, but more comforting than sultry. I think I might need a 5ml of this one, though not until fall or winter.

[arielmeadow]

I was super excited to try Bengal after reading all the descriptions of it smelling like chai. Sadly, I don't think it's meant to be for me.

 

Open bottle: omg, CINNAMON!!

 

Applying to skin: omg, CINNAMON!! in fact, it burns a little. not too bad, but I can feel the heat, and all I can smell is CINNAMON!!

 

My dog made the mistake of licking me at this point. She started bugging out and hopping around and I realized she'd gotten some CINNAMON!! on her tongue. I gave her a biscuit to calm her down.

 

An hour later: CINNAMON!! Where's the honey, pepper, and cloves?

 

An hour later: CINNAMON!! oh, and a thick, sticky honey smell. Not a good one -- pretty cloying.

 

And hour after that: STILL CINNAMON!! The honey is a bit more pronounced, but I'm still not getting any other notes in this blend. CINNAMON!! is all there is.

 

The next morning: cinnamon (whew: finally faded a bit) and that thick cloying honey. Not like fresh yellow honey but like honey stuck in your hair.

 

All 'n' all, Bengal pretty much smelled like CINNAMON!! on me, and that was it. But I have to give it credit for lasting ... I wish Jailbait lasted for so long!

[lapillus]

In bottle: sweet musk, but not as spicy as I"d have expected

 

Wet: sweet musky vanilla with a hint of spice

 

Dry: much the same as wet. This is what I wanted The Lion to be.

 

Later: Vanilla amber. mild, cozy, not much throw. Definite keeper

[Nia]

I have to confess that I have tried this in the hopes of distracting my nose from the complete disaster of Fire of Love. I'm in the proccess of trying out many new imps, and I have noticed that if I hate the first blend in the day, it predisposes me against the rest. The contrary also happens: if the first imp of the day is really nice, I will enjoy more the other imps I try on the same day.

 

I would prabably be more enthusiastic about Bengal if I felt calmer and my nose less filled of Fire of Love, but anyway.

 

The honey is very obvious. The cinnamon, too. cinnamon-pepper-clove-ginger-sweetness only needs one thing to smell like chai, which is tea. So, I smell like honeyed chai, because my brain is filling up for the tea's absence as it has never experienced the above ingredientes without it. I don't detect the musk, but that's normal because all that soft musks do to me is amplifying and harmonising the rest of the ingredients. It's the leader of the orchestra: doesn't make a sound, but the rest would be chaos without him.

 

The only reason why I'm not thinking of getting a bottle is that there is a lot more honey than spice, and I have quite a few honey blends at the moment.

[mrsveteran]

In the imp: Cinnamon with a hint of something a little bit sweet that makes the cinnamon a little less fiery.

 

Wet on skin: The cinnamon is stronger, and the sweetness is gone.

 

Drydown: There's an almost woody scent coming through. Not quite cedar -- maybe pine? The cinnamon is blending with this other scent so that it is starting to have the scent of a dry cinnamon stick. I'm not getting pepper or ginger from this at all, although maybe the ginger blending with the cinnamon is what's giving it that woody smell to me.

 

One hour later: It's cinnamon with a hint of musk. This is actually quite nice -- somewhat like Three Witches, only not quite as strong on the cinnamon.

 

Throw: Wet, it's quite strong. As it dries down, it fades a bit, but is strong enough for me to smell it on the backs of my hands while typing.

 

Verdict: This may be the GC equivalent of Three Witches for me! I have one 5ml, but when that runs out, I may replace it with Bengal. This is a great fall/winter scent for me, and I love cinnamon. Thumbs up!

[LadyCrow]

In the imp: Spicy, sweet.

 

Wet: Oh, honey! I get the cinnamon and clove straight away.

 

Drydown: Mmm, and there's pepper. I have a really hard time smelling ginger -- wait, no I don't. Not in Bengal, at any rate. The musk is clearly amping all of the various spices through the honey, pretty consistently through the life of the scent.

 

The more Bengal warms on my skin (and I agree with previous reviewers that this would be a fantastically warming scent in fall or winter), the more wonderful it gets -- but its flaw, to me, is its disappointingly short wear length. I wonder if a different musk might not have boosted that -- white musk maybe? Who knows. The point is that the combo of notes is so delicious that I wish it had lasted longer!

[alicia_stardust]

Spicy! And I mean SPICY!

 

I get a touch of the honey, a touch of clove, and a lot of the skin musk, cinnamon, and ginger. This is hot, and I like it! It definitely burns my skin but I can wear it in a scent locket just fine.

[funkmoppet]

This was a frimp from the wonderful presotm - and my GOD she chose well!

 

Wet: Oh dear lord yes.

 

On the skin, cinnamon - beloved cinnamon. And oh the honey. LadyGrey said baklava, and I completely agree! (Mmm...baklava!) The cloves gently waft and the skin musk just adds that whisper of earthiness.

 

Oh oh OH this a divine and delicious warming mix all the things I adore!

 

Big bottle with bells on!!!

 

Mine.

 

MINE.

 

MINE!

 

[arsenic]

In imp: Cinna-gingerbread!

 

Wet: Smells like cinnamon bark, and a bit sweet. Not getting any ginger.

 

Dry: Too much cinnamon and pepper. Hours later throw is still pretty strong. I'm not sure if I got any other notes out of it because my sense of smell took a beating.

 

Scent definitely not for me. I don't think I'll be able to even look at a cinnabun for weeks.

[ClareN]

I wish I could wear this scent. I'm a big fan of spices, and this is a gorgeous blend of cinnamon-clove-ginger-spice-cabinet goodness. It happens to smell exactly like Celestial Seasonings Bengal Spice tea (which I haven't had for months, but from memory it does).

 

The tragedy, though, is that I just can't take the way the cinnamon irritates my skin. It burns and itches, leaving raised red welts (this was on the back and inside of my wrists). However wonderful it smells, I can't justify doing harm to my skin for a perfume, so I can't wear this again until I get a scent locket (and if that ever happens, I will come back and edit this review). If it works in a scent locket, this might be a bottle purchase because it's just the perfect spice scent. I think it would be incredible for layering, too.

[Ishtar]

I too had a very strong skin reaction to Bengal, something that hardly ever happens. I wear Eclipse, Chimera and other spicy blends on a very regular basis without any problem but this oil reacted with my skin to produce some rather spectacular welts.

 

My heart is not broken, mind you, as Bengal simply does not work on me as a scent either. The honey and spices combined into a slightly musty, strangely savoury smell very reminiscent of saffron... something I thoroughly enjoy in a dish or pastry, but not in a perfume.

 

Straight to the Swap pile!

[aquazoo]

Mmmmmn, cinnamonamonamon! Warm, like walking past cinnabon. Or spicy tea on a cold day. Not bad, but there are others I like better as far as spicy.

[Dinah]

Bengal works on me despite the honey-note (or maybe I'm getting used to the honey-note?). It's soothing, spicy, comforting, with a slight honey-sweetness that reminds me more of beeswax than pure, dripping honey and that has a strong throw without becoming smothering. Lovely.

[Catmint]

OMG, I don't know why I waited so long to try this -- this is in my Top Ten for sure! Wet, it smells like fruity honey (orange blossom honey? honey with a touch of orange rind?) and intense cinnamon. I love cinnamon and use huge quantities of it -- I always triple or quadruple whatever amount a recipe calls for, and even like it uncooked and unsweetened (like a heaping teaspoon of really fresh pungent cinnamon stirred into a bowl of oatmeal). So Bengal is definitely the cinnamon scent for me!

 

What I love about it is that the spices are incredibly strong, without any buttery/cakey notes. It's like eating the cinnamon swirl goo out of a Cinnabon without eating the bun -- it's sweet, but it's also undiluted, kick-your-teeth-in spicy.The ginger and pepper and clove make it even sharper, but the honey rounds it out and mellows it and keeps it from turning into red-hots.

 

I will definitely need multiple bottles of this -- Bengal is going in the oil burner this winter, as well as all over me!

 

ETA: Well, I bought a bottle of Bengal, and this is TOTALLY different from the imp. No cinnamon, no spices, it's all honey & musk and they are not playing nice. Honey sometimes turns to baby powder on me, and musk (except for white musk) can turn to pee, and sadly this bottle of Bengal did just that: baby powder & pee. It smells like diapers on me and I had to scrub it off. I even aged this bottle for several months, and it's still awful. I can't believe this is the same scent that's in my imp!

 

Edited February 21, 2009 by Catmint

[n3m3sis42]

In the imp:

Almond, and something sweet.

 

Wet:

Oh, wow. Too bad I just placed my lunacy order, because unless something goes horribly wrong on the drydown, I will be needing a bottle of this. I am mostly smelling the honey and cinnamon, but this is so yummy I almost can't stand it.

 

Dry:

This smells like yummy cinnamon roll dough on me. Will be needing a bottle, stat.

[Lethran]

Way too much cinnamon. Smells like obtrusive and badly mixed holiday tea. It smells the way sticky feels on the skin. Sad, so sad.

[MaidenGenevive]

Bengal

 

I must say, I was pretty excited to try this one. And, it's everything it says it is. This is spicy, zesty, warm. It's feels invigorating. This very much reminds me of a tea that I'm quite fond of.

 

[5 - Love] No disappointment here!