Jacob's Ladder

[innocent]

The meeting of Heaven and Earth: golden amber, galbanum, benzoin, ambrette, rockrose, costus and tonka.

Oooh, JL has a very classical, formal feel that reminds me a great deal of Shalimar (though the amber in JL is more apparent). It's a lovely golden scent that makes me feel as if I'm wearing my favorite long brown velvet dress. A bit too formal for everyday, but just the thing to wear to Midnight Mass... Edited December 6, 2008 by Shollin

[Iceblink]

I'll agree with the review above mine--SHALIMAR! This is very old-school, lady's-boudoir perfume, and like a lot of those classic perfumes a little of it goes a long way. Strong like whoa, this stuff. I'll be interested to see how this changes with age, since I suspect a lot of the powdery-perfumeyness of it is coming from the amber, which sometimes does odd things on my skin when it's fresh. Still, very ladylike and pretty.

[Ravenclaw79]

Vanilla-y, but in a perfume-y way -- it's the most noticeable note for me, but it's not dominant, just subtle and sweet and golden-warm.

 

To me, this smells like Antique Lace should have, 'cause it reminds me of that, but without the toilet-paper-ness (Antique Lace to me always smells like a fresh roll of toilet paper).

[gchris]

in vial: dark and cologne smelling

 

wet: smells strong like aged cologne

[stefrand]

This is for Jacob's Ladder, 2008

 

ITI: It smells....good. Really good. Warm, soft, amber with a little incense. I was worried about this one, but maybe it was a good call after all.

 

Wet: Wow, this is strong! Lots of throw right off the bat. Sharp amber to the face, with the incense. There is an underlying sweetness that is lovely. I don't know how "me" it is, but I like it so far. Can it be...an incense scent I like?!

 

Dry: Perfumey incense. It's not sweet...maybe a little vanilla would bring it closer to a Stef smell. It's very grown up, very sophisticated, with a decent throw. It is smoky and a little mysterious.

 

Drydown: I like this far more than I thought I would. I don't think I'd wear it on its own, but perhaps layered with O? That might add a nice touch of sweetness. Smoky incense and amber. Getting powdery as it dries down, but not unpleasantly so. Still has a bit of smoky incense bite for quite awhile.

 

Final Thoughts: So far I'm keeping the imp, but definitely not getting a bottle. I'll try layering it with something else to make it a little more Stef-friendly.

[Myrrha]

I bought a decant of this because I wanted to know if resinous scents worked out on me. I’m still not sure.

 

Wet -- soap. Just amber-y soap.

 

As it dries -- out came the smell of powder and the smell of, well, femininity. I know many people like Jacob’s Ladder so it must be my chemistry. I tried it again a couple of days later and again it seems to be doing something weird on my skin. I washed this off after about forty minutes so no information on how long it lasts.

 

I'm very disappointed. The one's everyone likes so much never seem to work out on me...

[GalaxyLei]

I can't really place the notes in this...I just get a warm, woody sort of smell, like sitting in a cabin in front of a fire. Really makes a difference when it's so cold outside...

[iiinterstate]

I'm excited for this one even though amber is a big risk on my skin.

 

So far it's very faint on my skin... surprising. There's a little bit of spice in there. As of now it reminds me of the Lion... just no Egyptian musk and a lot more powdery.

 

I don't know. I guess I was expecting more WOW with this scent. It isn't bad, but it's nothing to be excited about with my chemistry. Sigh.

[suki]

as with another Yule scent, the description of this oil didn't excite me, but then i got to test it at EC Will Call and i was immediately won over!

 

in the bottle: spicy dark musk and heavy ambrette.

 

wet on skin: same, but the sweetness of the tonka is starting to come through.

 

dry down: the ambrette calms down considerably and becomes much more integrated. this is important because at first it comes off as very old-lady-perfume. but on the dry down, it calms and this beautiful and complex mix of spice and musk emerge. warm, sultry and sexy in a way that reminds me a bit of VooDoo Queen, this is just wonderful.

 

in all: a must-have for anyone who likes their oils deep, sensuous and mysterious.

 

 

 

:D

[mparker]

Bright and interesting. Reminiscent of some of the less sharp Steamworks line, to me, in the bottle. Which had my hopes soaring. They were not disappointed. On initial application, this threatens to go very masculine, but it quickly sweetens, and the amber gives some cozy warmth. I’m really loving this, but since I’m not completely familiar with some of the notes, I’m not sure what I’m smelling. It’s very well blended, though, without anything really dominating over anything else. It is comforting and golden and warm, and I really, really love it! It's fairly light and close to the skin, but is long lasting. This smells equally wonderful on my boyfriend, and is one of the few blends that doesn't smell drastically different on the skin from me to him.

[Coldfire]

Decant: heavy and heavenly

Wet on Me: amber and Benzoin now

Drying Down: Now getting the rock rose over the amber and benzoin.

Dry: Baby Powder. Sometimes with Amber I just turn them to baby powder. Oh well.

[caitilarkin]

Amber loves me. Yes, it does. It loves me so much that I almost bought a bottle of Jacob's Ladder unsniffed when the Yules came out, but in an uncharacteristic fit of caution I signed up for a decant instead. Turns out that was a good thing, because Jacob's Ladder does not love me.

 

In the decant: Light, sweet, almost fizzy resin. There's nothing heavy or serious about this blend.

 

Wet on skin: Jacob's Ladder meets my skin and immediately becomes confused. The notes are not blending--the light amber clashes with something floral and the tonka becomes very, very sweet, drowning out the other notes.

 

Dry on skin: For the first time, I am experiencing powdery amber in a BPAL. The blend dries down to a light, acrid tonka powder.

 

This was so thoroughly different from what I had expected that I bought an additional decant, thinking that perhaps the first one was mislabeled. Nope. Multiple tests from both vials have yielded the same results. Maybe the decants will grow deeper with age, but for right now this is my biggest BPAL sadness. Glad it works on so many others, though.

[gwynhwyfar]

This has been one of my favorite Yule scents since the first year that it was released. I'd be embarrassed to admit how many bottles I have in various years.

 

The scent is a rich land of amber happiness -- however, this year has been a surprise. Maybe I've forgotten what it smells like new or maybe there's some subtle difference with the 2008 version. This version is kissing cousins to what I have that's aged and well-aged, but it's more musky than what I was expecting. I don't know if it'll age to something as rich as what I have, but I suspect that I'll end up buying another bottle anyway. If only in the name of science.

 

In any case, this is one of my favorite BPAL amber perfumes. Though it's far from straight amber.

[tielan]

I tried this today.

 

In the bottle, it was divine: amber, spicy, dark, rich and full of flavour.

 

Wet, it's got a strong amber scent to begin with, but goes honey in the dry-down with a faint musk and light powder close, before fading to a general powdery scent.

 

I might have to pass on this one as a perfume. Oil burner is a possibility, although I don't know. When I dabbed a bit on a tissue, it promptly went to babypowder - honey babypowder, but babypowder all the same.

 

It's so lovely in the bottle, though!

 

Oh well, my Switch Witch wants for some Jacob's Ladder. Looks like she'll be getting some!

[blacklacestatic]

In the bottle: Sweet amber and dark, golden incense.

 

Wet on skin: This reminds me a lot of church incense, which I wan't expecting. It's got a slightly golden metallic thing to it, and I'm not sure where that's coming from. The amber is peeking out from behind, giving a faint sweetness. It knows I've been looking forward to it, so it's struggling to say hi. More masculine than I was expecting, but masculine in a good way, so it's still very unisex.

 

Drydown: The amber is more prominent, but it's not going the golden, sweet, sultry way I was hoping. There's a little sweetness, but not the amount I usually get with amber blends. It's still sorta sexy in a weird, religious artifact kinda way. It still reminds me a lot of church, the mysterious feel of a holy place.

 

Overall: It's a wonderful, sensuous scent, but I think I psyched myself up for it as a good amber blend, and it's probably the least ambery of the amber scents I've tried. I like the mysterious feel of it, but won't wear it as often as some of the other Yules this year.

[Saya]

In the Imp (2008 version)

The amber in this blend is very light and delicately mixed with some resin. It's got a masculine touch to it, but still smells appropriate for a woman.

 

On My Skin

The resins are beginning to take the lead in this blend warming up beautifully. It's still got that masculine hint to it, but the amber is making it more of a feminine blend.

 

After a Bit

This went a bit powdery on me which is really too bad because beneath the powder is a rich complex amber blend that smells wonderful. Sigh.

 

Rating 1-5 (5 being the best)

Scent - 2 Throw - 2.5 Longevity - 3

Overall (not an average) - 2.3

 

Final Thoughts

I really which this hadn't gone powdery on me. It smelled so good before turning! I think I'll keep the imp but this won't be a bottle purchase for me.

[fireweaver]

in bottle - rich, complex. can't wait to try it out

on skin first 5 min- rich, deep, amber and other things I can't quite identify

after 5 min- really strong baby powder!

[samarablackcat]

I have all three years of Jacob's Ladder. '08 is not a disappointment.

 

I love amber and it is one resin that plays well on me. To my nose, this is almost identical to my aged '05, just a little dustier. All the components are there, and with aging, this will become a little sweeter and heavier. Jacob's Ladder always get me compliments when I wear it, even from gruff, inky pressmen. Its aura envelopes my personal space and leaves me at peace. If this is the path to Heaven, I will surely and graciously climb to meet whatever God resides at the end.

[Seadreamer]

Oh wow.... You know, I was a little afraid when I saw how dark Jacob's Ladder was in the decant. But at first sniff, this was just AMAZING. It is spicy, but it's a mellow spicy. It's almost, um... I can't even describe it, I'm so in love with it. It's like black coffee smoothed out by cream, although it smells absolutely nothing like coffee, if you know what I mean. *lol* If you always wanted to be able to wear those rich, spicy scents like Snake Oil, but they just went crazy on you, try this one. It's smooth as silk and rich as velvet. It is, to me, definitely a winter scent, maybe because I live in the Deep South. I couldn't see wearing it in the summer here. But as soon as that first frosty day hits, this would be the one I'd pull out and slather on. This is quite possibly my favorite of the Yule 2008 scents. I wish I could afford a bottle before they go away.

 

On the trusty 1-5 scale, this is a 6. Oh yeah. That good.

[inurbanus]

As an amber-lover, I was really looking forward to trying Jacob's Ladder, which seems to be one of BPAL's "ultimate amber" blends. Luckily, I was not disappointed! JL is a great fusion of amber and resin - it's a very fluid scent, and the resin notes fluctuate between dominating the blend and hovering in the background, providing some smokiness. Jacob's Ladder isn't exactly "golden" to my nose - it's paler, softer, a little more vanilla-y than I was expecting, but it might just be that this is a scent that needs to be aged before its true nature can be appreciated. I would agree with those who have said that this has an old-school vibe. I can't wait to try this after it's aged for a while.

 

4/5

[Argentwolf]

It smells slightly like generic perfume or cologne, but there is enough amber present to keep it interesting. Unfortunately, it turns very powdery fairly quickly...and while that's not necessarily bad, it's not really what I was looking for from this scent. Not for me.

[MisterShrapnel]

Oh noooo, this is PURE, POTENT baby powder! I can't even tell what else COULD be in here, my skin just seems to disagree with it that badly! It's also extremely strong--or else I notice it more because I don't like it? It was just a drop on my hand, which I tried to scrub off as well as I could, but it still followed me all day, reaching up into my nostrils, taunting me and making me a little sick after a while. >___>Ah, I guess I should have expected this, amber has been a bit of a risky note so far for me.Sad that it didn't work, I wanted to love it. But now someone else can enjoy it.

Edited January 13, 2009 by MisterShrapnel

[kjirstiben]

As advertised, Jacob's Ladder is lovely resins, all combined together. It's got the same amber that I love in Gelt without the chocolatey foodiness. This scent is soft, low-key, and doesn't have a lot of throw. I like it a lot but I suspect that it is going to improve greatly with age (I suspect as much from all the reviews…).

[nekogrrl]

In imp: Uhm. I'm not exactly sure /what/ I'm smelling.

 

Wet on skin: I must be smelling a mixture of the amber, galbanum, ambrette and tonka. Not getting much benzoin out of it yet.

 

Dry on skin: Amber is stronger, still a nice mix of everything.

 

10 minutes later: Throw is still strong, amber is starting to get a touch powdery.

 

Final verdict: Meh. It's a nice blend, but it's not ME.

[ouch!]

I'm reviewing the 06' version.

 

This smells sweet, slightly powdery and resinous. There is a slightly fruity edge when it's wet, but then it just goes very churchy on me. And I don't mean incensey, I just mean..resiny.

There's quite alot of throw to this and it's not like "The Lion" to me, it's much sharper and more perfumey. The lion was more..rounded and spicy.

 

I'm really finding this hard to describe....