Baneberry

[ClareN]

A poisonous fruit-bearing member of the buttercup family. The scent, like the plant, is dark green, herbal, and plump with bulging black fruit.

I've tried about 80 BPAL scents now and Baneberry is definitely one of my least favorites. It had that same fake fruitiness that I dislike in a few other BPAL scents with fruit notes, combined with something that reminded me of a bitter, cheap man's cologne. I didn't really get any herbal notes from it, which I would have liked; all I could focus on was the soapy cologne note. To be honest, I was embarrassed to be wearing this in public - I felt like I smelled very cheap. I much prefer Bordello for a good berry scent.

Keep in mind that I don't like fruit notes in general, so if you do you may enjoy this.

EDIT - 14 October 2008: My old review refers to a secondhand imp. I'm editing to add that I recently tried a fresh-from-the-lab imp, and it was much better. The berry note was stronger and darker (it reminded me of plums rather than berries) and the aquatic/cologney note seemed less bitter; the lab-fresh imp was more complex, with an interesting swirl of dark herbal notes underlying the fruit.

The new imp was still definitely the same scent as the first one I tried, and still not something that I would wear, but it was easier to see the appeal. The person I passed it on to loved it! Perhaps the first imp I had was tainted somehow. Or it might be an aging difference - so you may want to use this up quickly if you like it. Edited October 13, 2008 by ClareN

[CrazyPretzel]

In the imp: A very dark green scent, a touch of berry.

 

Wet on me: The berry gets a bit stronger. The scent seems slightly drab, though. ...All right, now it's perking up.

 

After five minutes: Now it smells a little like red wine to me. No, more like....Christmas stores, for some reason. O_o Some sort of candle that you get around Christmas -- bay candles, maybe. And now beer? I think my brain is trying really hard to translate the 'poisonous' aspect of this into alcohol.

 

Drydown: Yup, Christmas candles. I think this is the first scent I've identified as wintery or Christmassy that wasn't spicy. But it really is like a berry-scented candle you'd get around the holidays.

 

This is a simple fragrance but I rather enjoy it. I'm going to hang on to the imp -- especially since I feel sorry for poor Baneberry after reading the other reviews; it doesn't seem to get much love!

[madeleine]

I didn't get any sense of an herbal background at all - this was complete berries. A very lush, ripe scent. It's gorgeous, but it's rather too sweet on my skin. The berry is too...unrelenting. I need a break, every now and then.

 

The idea of bulging black fruit is exactly the right impression. It would probably taste really good before it killed you.

[Styx]

Baneberry (yellow oil)

 

Imp: Smells like a very sweet fruit perfume.

 

Skin: I...uh, wonder if there's anything wrong with me? When this is wet, I don't get any "dark berry" at all.

I get WATERMELON! Juicy, watery, sweet watermelon. Maybe its mixed with honeydew, maybe its mixed with a bit of tea and herbs, but the strongest impression I get is watermelon. I get the astringent and shampoo comments too.

When it dries, the fruit subsides a bit but its still pretty sweet. It smells more like berry than watermelon too. The sweet herbs come out a bit more, giving more character; I like it better like this than wet.

I didn't get any black or red berry images from this scent. More like yellow and green...

Its nice, but overall I found this too syrupy sweet for my taste.

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Very sweet, over-ripe berries with almost a hint of pineapple.

 

Immediately on skin: A very dark green scent with very ripe berries or fruit… just like the description says.

 

After a few minutes: Very sweet, but still green and fruity. I almost want to say I can smell plum in this, but it hasn’t gone overly sweet like plum usually does on me. There’s a touch of herbs too, but not a lot.

 

Later on: This is just a gorgeous sweet fruit scent. It’s a dark sweetness, like plums or deep, ripe berries. It doesn’t call to mind any specific fruit, but it is a gorgeous scent nonetheless and the green notes really keep the fruity ones in check.

[Christine Daae]

In the imp, Baneberry is fruity-soapy with an undertone of something that hasn't agreed with me in other blends.

 

Wet, on my skin, it develops more of the fruity/berry-ness, with the undertone of something soapy still lingering.

 

Hee, this really does smell like berry-scented candle. A really nice berry-scented candle, but still a berry-scented candle. I'm not a huge fan of fruity scents in general anyway, and and this is probably much more suited to someone who is.

 

As it dries, it becomes lighter and sweeter, but it's still not quite my thing. Off to the swaps with you!

[MaidenGenevive]

Baneberry

 

Wet, it's an herbal fruity perfume smell. It's fresh and heavy; it reminds me of a bathroom air freshener. It mellows as it dries, of course, but it's scent stays essentially the same. Warm and heavy to the point where it's almost cloying, but too perfume-y to be foody.

 

[1 - Hate] .. [2 - Dislike] .. [3 - Like] .. [4 - Really Like] .. [5 - Love]

 

2 / 3 : It might not be bad if used as a room scent, but, it really wouldn't stand out to me against any other fruit or flower air spray.

[KassiK]

This is a perfect blend of not too sweet and not too tart/sour berry-fruit mixed with forest scents as well. The only problem I have with it is staying power - I want it to come out more and stick around for longer. I feel very nostalgic when I wear it yet it's a very womanly scent, too. Very versatile and nice.

[SarahScent44]

This was a frimp - I would probably have never ordered it myself.

 

In the imp, it's a very *organic* smell - fruity and green.

 

Once I put it on, that "green-ness" gets stronger and sweeter (I have a very inexperienced nose - forgive the vagueness!), and the fruit aroma gets noticeably berry-ier; it's a cool, clear scent.

 

Thirty minutes later, once dry, it's still that beautiful deep green fruity scent, although a little bit more earthy. I really like it - it's a keeper!

[chasethecat]

In the Imp: smells like the description, sort of like berries in an evergreen forest.

 

On my skin: the berry starts to fade immediately, and by the time it's dry the scent is all green, deep herbal, no berries at all.

 

 

Overall: It's a nice enough smell, but I don't like the way the berry completely disappears on me; not something I'd wear as perfume, but I might use it as a room scent.

[hkhm]

imp: wet greenery. this is very aquatic to me but without the sharpness. this feels more like rainwater dripping off of leaves in early spring. that sort of aquatic.

 

wet: i don't really get berry from this scent, it's green aquatic all the way.

 

dry: this ends up smelling like soap, true it's very clean, good-smelling soap, but still soap. i'm almost certain it's the aquatic note that makes me think of soap.

[n3m3sis42]

In the imp:

Strong, almost ridiculously juicy fruit. Sort of reminiscent of my watermelon-flavored Mr. Sketch marker that I had when I was a kid. Anyone remember those?

 

Wet:

Same as above. I am noticing that if I sniff my skin, it's more berrylike, but the throw is still Watermelon Mr. Sketch.

 

Dry:

Juicy berries. Not sure how much I will wear this, but it's yummy.

[yeahbutnobut]

Baneberry

 

In the imp: a bit like Glasgow, but a bit greener. Has the potential to turn soapy.

Wet on skin: a strong, potent black fruit scent, somewhere between blackcurrant and blackberry.

Dry: blackcurrant surrounded by thick greenery. This is not bad now. It reminds me of Bewitched and Glasgow, and of Bitter Moon, the only blackberry scents not to turn to cat pee on me so far. But it also smells more like blackcurrants, a tart yet rich berry, but there’s a dark, greenish, bitter, slightly poisonous scent to it-it’s temptingly sweet at first, but with a sinister undertone.

After a while: I knew this wouldn’t work, and now it doesn’t. There’s a hint of sage, but the other green notes develop a weird bitter-greasy scent which reminds me of rancid olive oil. The berry note is also starting to smell sharper and a little bit overripe, and with a hint of the dreaded cat pee. This reminds me of the Agony of Heartache now. The weird olive scent gets stronger and stronger, and gradually takes over the dark glossy berry scent. The olive scent does fade after a while, and now the scent is actually quite nice-a sophisticated and slightly perfumey blackcurrant scent, a bit like Lady Macbeth without the wine.

Verdict: I’m not too keen on this. First it smells like bittersweet berries which isn’t too bad, but then turns too green and oily, with hints of the blackberry note that doesn’t work on me. It’s got a herbal scent to it which isn’t a nice herb scent, but one that turns to olive oil and poisonous greenery on me with that berry note. The RG scents are very hit and miss on me-this isn’t one that I like much.

Emoticon rating:

Is it a keeper? No.

If you like this, try: Ghastly Garden, Bewitched, Bitter Moon, Lady Macbeth

[AliBabble]

wow, i really like this actually! a clear berry scent - at first it reminds me of cranberry, but somehow greener, and more refreshing, as if mixed with evergreen needles. then it becomes a bit more melon-y. it's a very clean berry, to my nose, not overly candied, syrupy, or artificial-smelling. i guess you could say it does smell like a candle, but it's not waxy smelling. i'm not sure i would wear this that often, but i do think it smells very pleasant and uplifting.

[catrinella]

Imp: Green and herby with almost a vetiver tone. No berries.

 

Wet: There's the berry, along with the herbs!

 

Drydown: The herby note continues, but with a layer of berry juice (not crushed berries, but straight juice - odd, but specific to my nose!). It's lighter and fresher than I'd expected. Reminds me of the LUSH Blackberry bathbomb, without the frankincense note.

 

1 hour: Faded a lot. It's gentle and soft, about the level of a scented lotion. The herby/berry notes haven't changed since the drydown - it's remarkably consistent.

 

Verdict: I haven't had good luck with Lab fruit-based oils (Carnal, Swank, etc.), so I was delighted to get a berry note that didn't immediately turn to scented candle or candy. The fast fade was somewhat disappointing, but I think I'm going to add this imp to unscented lotion or bodywash and enjoy it that way.

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

this may be the closest BPAL i've tried that's got that "name-brand fabric softener" smell to it.

this is freakishly like Downy and wintergreen/spearmint toothpaste.

[topazphoenix]

Baneberry is like Bewitched mixed with a bit of Jester. Which is...weird. Something sour in there that doesn't agree with me.

Edited July 10, 2009 by AmandaKay

[Veresti]

I'm tempted to be absolutely snarky and say that it would be if the actual plant and fruit had rotted. But that isn't really fair to generalize the scent like that. I think it is just my skin chemistry that utterly killed it. The scent didn't improve as time passed, it just seemed to rott even further - I ended up smelling like a big compost pen. I had to shower immediately afterwards.

[zankoku_zen]

You know, I really kinda like this. This a bright green juicy berry/fruity scent. Not too sweet, not too berry, a little green and herbally for contrast, but still has that bright clear aquatic kinda feel to it. Clean and refreshing to my nose, since most berry notes tend to go horribly sweet on my skin.

 

Surprise hit? Very much so!

[waternight]

In the imp: Light, sweet, watery berries, with a green feel. Almost soapy, but in a good way.

Wet: Well, berries and herbs indeed. There's a juicyness from the berry note, which is reminiscent to the blackberry note in Glasgow. But there's also a dryness from the herbal note(s), similar to how Gomorrah is dry. And yet, Baneberry is its own scent, not really related to either of those blends. Very interesting.

Dry: Strangely enough, I get a note that smells like the blue musk in Long Night Moon. Baneberry is pretty and interesting, and I think I'll keep my imp around.

[mhickle]

In the imp, I'm getting BERRY!. When I apply it to my wrists, it's more of the same. Sweet but not too sweet, and more real-smelling than many perfumes. This gets really, really soft on me - almost gone now, and I put it on around 8...so, 7 hours...it does get a little sharper as the herbs assert themselves. Not bad at all.

[donnatron]

Imp: Fresh green herbs and a soft berry scent. In a way, this smells like the perfect mate for Lady Macbeth.

 

Wet: The greens get sharp and shouty on me, tempered a bit by the berry.

 

Dry: Quite nice. The berries are the dominant note but this is not a sweet scent. There's an underlying layer of lush greeness and the berries are just a gorgeous complimentary note.

 

Throw: Tons while wet. Little while dry.

 

Overall: Nice. I'm always on the hunt for a perfect herbal and this may be a candidate.

[cassandrakfreaq]

from the bottle I got an almost anise-y smell which almost made me swap it without even trying but a little dab landed on my hand and I sniffed it and smelt almost like a watery fruit smell which was interesting so I thought what the heck and dabbed some on. On wet this sort of reminded me of the lightness of petite morte but a bit darker and then it faded to nothing for like 10 minutes. I kept sniffing and was like wow that was a fast fade but It came back and has stayed strong with kind of a deep green resin if there is such a thing and kind of a light fruityness hovering on the sides.

 

I never would have ordered this I got it as a frimp from the lovely pamplemouse and I really like it. I am gonna hold on to see if this is a 5ml order.

[Lyrical]

In vial: very berry, but not one I recognise.

 

Wet on skin: soft and light green. Now it's herbal rather than berry, but very fresh and pretty.

 

Dry on skin: as it dries, the berry resurfaces and the colour goes from green to mulberry pink. Mmmmm - this is very nice indeed! Good throw.

[savage_rose]

It mainly smells like unidentified flowers, with a streak of greenness. The berry is very frustrating, because the only way I can seem to smell it is to take a big whiff, and then as I exhale I smell it. Very strange! Hmmm...this is ok, not too sweet, not too green. But I don't smell enough berry, and it's pleasant enough but not spectacular. Oh well!