Cobra Lily

[YoakeNoKami]

Sharp, heady and viciously carnivorous.

Imp: faint sweetness, like the sugar-water mix you put in hummingbird feeders

On: Sweet, fresh green plant and sugar--perhaps the luring scent…? I like this one!

Dry: Sugary, fresh greens… orange too? This one wound up a strange sweet-spicy-green combo on me, like the greens were sugared preserves.

[Josh]

This was a freebie imp that I would have never ordered on my own.

 

As soon as I put a dab on my wrist I envisioned a great wide open field of flowers at sunset... everything shaded a very mellow orange and subdued yellowish hue.

 

This is a strikingly beautiful and serene oil that would be unquestionably amazing on the right girl.

 

I smell it as pure lily with a very faint hint of cinnamon which really fleshes this scent out nicely.

 

It is not something I would wear myself, but fortunately I know a very sweet girl who will smell like absolute heaven wearing this.

 

(Though I must add that I do not understand the Lab's description of this at all? Sharp, heady and viciously carnivorous. <-- Did I get the right oil? To me this is the complete opposite of that description.)

[steffanina]

Cobra Lily-

 

In Bottle: Big fat florals.

 

Wet: Very sweet florals, very much like what I know of lilies.

 

Dry: Pretty floral scent! Not one I crave as I'm not as into florals, but it doesn't go sour and stays light and lily-like. Not as yummy for me as Black Lily, though.

 

Overall: A very nice floral!

[JenM]

In the imp: an exotic and heady lily that hits my head like a sledgehammer and gives me instant icecream headache. Hmmmm…on sparingly, I think.

 

On the wrist: There’s a spice to this lily, and it is indeed vicious, stabbing me in the sinuses. I shall try to keep it on a bit to see if I get the lovely sweetness other reviews seem to note.

 

Nope, this gives me a headache. Vicious indeed. Lovely, but vicious.

[suki]

in the imp: a baby soft floral with a sharp under note. interesting.

 

wet on skin: there's something familiar about this. i think it reminds me of a body lotion i had in 5th grade that was supposed to smell like aloe, but smelled 'green' instead. nice.

 

dry down: something candy sweet has emerged, so this now smells like spicy carnation flower, straight up.

 

in all: if you like carnations, give this a try.

 

 

 

[grashopper8]

The spiciness in this blend makes me think of clove or cinnamon, but also makes me think of carnation, so I'm not sure what's responsible for the spice.

 

If you like carnation (think Lush Potion), try this one out. I don't really like it, though, to be quite honest.

 

2 out of 5

[fairnymph]

In the bottle: Slightly powdery and green lilies. Potent.

 

Wet: Greener, fresher, gentler. New pale green leaves on top of those lilies. An almost citrusy note, like certain magnolias.

 

Dry: It's going sweet and spicy - bizarre! Cinnamon, and maybe nutmeg? Also, the green note has turned bitter and sharp.

 

Summary: Sharp, acrid greenery, powdery lilies, sickly sweet spice. Very strong throw. Off to sink!

[iiinterstate]

something went weird on me with Cobra Lily.

 

At first I got a big ol' noseful of tangy orange, which promptly faded away into a bland, nondescript floral, which I'm sure was not supposed to happen.

 

 

Damn.

[MaeKitty]

Definitely heady! It feels like walking into a green house full of warm lush blossoms. It's a sexy and dangerous scent. A little bit of sharpness, a glimmer even. The heaviness of the scent makes it overwhelming and hard to ignore. Clouds the senses.

[Rouge]

A freebie from the Lab. I've avoided testing this for a while as I don't like lily scents at all, but here goes...

 

In the vial - Strangely enough, I don't smell lily. This is a sticky, green and honeyed blend.

 

Wet on the skin - This scent is dangerous... it's just like a plant that's fresh and green on the surface but with a venomous, deceptively sweet sap. There's a brightness and moist tone that I find very appealing. It also strikes me as very unisex.

 

Next stages - Finally I'm beginning the smell the warm, spicy note that others have described. It certainly reminds me of citrus. I don't know what's happened to the orange-red colour that everyone else is describing, though; my imp is yellowish green!

 

Dry down - I'm surprised and delighted by this blend, which mellows down into a barely-perceptible veil of sweet, green florals.

[hkhm]

imp: super green. smells like there might be cucumber or grass in there. not a hint of lily.

 

wet: this is spicy and green. puts me in mind of flash showers in spring that leave the world sparkly clean.

 

dry: i think this will be a bottle scent for me. it dries to a sweet, spicy, fun green scent. incredibly playful.

[Argentwolf]

In the imp, it is a very moist, almost dewy green scent, that one might expect to find in the stem or bulb of a plant, rather than nestled between its petals, although there is also a faint, sugary sort of note as well.

 

Once on, it gets a bit of tartness and bite to it. As if one has plucked it from its watery nesting place, crushing the stem in the process; it is pungeantly sweet, like oranges, and yet when I place my nose close against my wrist, I can smell the peppery tartness of clove, the serpent's bite amidst its strangely-configured petals.

 

Oddly enough, the edge to it never gets horribly overwhelming. It is very tantalizing, in fact.

 

This also had a fairly strong throw, and lasted throughout the day. Very nice. I'm finding I like the Garden scents quite a lot, and this one wants to edge into my favorites.

Edited July 3, 2008 by Argentwolf

[zankoku_zen]

Oh man, this was on wet, in the vial, and for the first hours, sweet tarts and lilies combined. Sweet, sugary lily candies were dancing on my skin.

 

After an hour, the sweetness has mellowed out, and it has taken on more of a 'green aspect'.

 

Interesting, to say the least, but I don't think this particular plant and I get along.

[Heeroluva]

In the bottle it's a sharp citrus. Wet it's floral with a bit of a spicy bite, almost Christmas scents. As it dries the spice mellows and the end result is a musky floral. Okay, but a bit strong.

[ErinZ]

Wet in imp:

spicy lilies

 

Wet on skin:

pure lily

 

Drydown:

starts out smelling like a bouquet of lilies, but gets a bit "perfume-y" for a little while

 

Final impression:

Begins smelling like a florist's shop (in a good way), turns to a more mature floral, and then fades to something really gentle and pretty.

[gchris]

In Vial: Sweet floral

 

Wet: Strong floral

 

Dry: Medium strength floral. I'm not really a fan of florals but if you are, you might want to check this out.

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Sweet, thick and almost fruity lily.

 

Immediately on skin: This is lily, but it’s not soft and light. This is big, thick, juicy lily with dewy, gigantic petals. This is gorgeously blended into almost a single note, but this is definitely made up of different things. I almost want to say it’s lily, light gardenia (or red musk… sometimes they smell similarly sweet and juicy on me), and white tea, but I don’t know for sure of course. That’s just what it smells like to me.

 

After a little while: This wafts beautifully… it’s now a juicy, red lily scent with a hint of spice. It smells like a real flower, but just the blossom and no stem, leaves, etc. It has a fruitiness, but also something slightly spicy and musky.

 

Overall Impressions: This is a very surprising blend. It smells like lily, but a sinister lily. It’s fruity and slightly spicy, but still very wearable. The blending on this is wonderful; it’s almost like a seamless, single note scent, though there’s a lot of depth to it. If you like sweeter, almost fruity florals, and even usually dislike lily, this is one to try.

[WickedQueen918]

This was a free imp in my last order and I actually enjoyed it more than a couple of the imps I actually paid for!

 

In the vial: Smells very lush and floral. It's lily...but amplified somehow.

 

Wet on skin: The lily is still center-stage, but there's a biting spice...something warm gradually emerging.

 

Drydown: I really like this! There's a nice bite to the initial sweet floral scent.

 

Conclusion: Definitely a pleasant surprise. I might actually buy a full-size bottle of this.

[hlinspjalda]

In the vial: Interesting! All the pungency of a lily (stargazer?), but not very sweet and not at all headachy. Would love to know what they cut it with!

 

Wet: Something sweet and heavy, kept at bay by the lily pungency. It's all floral, but there's almost an herbal quality to it, it's so un-sweet.

 

Twenty minutes: Although it's still dominated by floral, this has blended and developed nicely, and there's something very familiar about it, something herbal, off the beaten track. It's not a scent I trust, though.

 

One hour: Fruity. It's almost fruity. There's still lily and something else (herbal?), but there's definitely the tang of fruit here too. Or maybe it's a light tea note? I don't know. But it's pleasant, and I like it.

 

Two hours: The fruit has calmed down some but there's still a residue of it, along with a very nice floral. It no longer smells quite so much like lily. I wouldn't pick this to wear, but it isn't bad on me at all.

 

Three and a half hours: Very subtle now, lasting less long on me than most florals do.

 

Seven hours: Just a trace left.

[skepticism]

Vial: Lily with touch of sugar-water

 

Wet: Very sweet, powdery floral. I smell something else fruity and sour, but the powdery-ness is too overwhelming for me to nail it.

 

Dry: Sweet and powdery lily.

 

Too sweet, not really my thing.

[DarthArwen]

This will go on record as the only floral I really like (at least so far). It's really fresh and bright, like a huge tropical flower in the rainforest somewhere. Very nice.

[Iceblink]

This is a really tangy, sharp lily on me, and it's a bit overwhelming, like walking into a greenhouse full of them. Way too much lily.

[annerqm]

This is actually the very first BPAL oil I ever sniffed! I put some on again tonight, remembering how much I liked it…and still do!

 

Imp: Strong, assertive, in-your-face lily. This lily does not apologize for its lily-ness. It’s very feminine, but powerful and assertive. There is a glided, almost honeyed edge to the wonderful lily note, as well as well as a slight earthiness. I also get a hit of citrus – sharper citrus like tangerine or maybe even grapefruit.

 

Wet: Similar to the imp. This is one powerful lily. And these lilies are NOT white. I imagine a huge bouquet of gigantic, waxy, gold and orange lilies, with beautifully spotted throats and long stamens coated with thick, orange pollen.

 

Drying: Starts to get a little powdery, and the tiniest bit soapy on me, but it’s also getting warmer, more honeyed and a little spicy. The citrus seems to disappear as it dries.

 

Dry: Wonderful. It’s still gorgeous, unapologetic lily. It’s a bit spicy, a bit sweet (but golden-honey sweet, not sugar-candy sweet) and absolutely the most beautiful lily note I’ve ever smelled.

 

As assertive as Cobra Lily is, it stays close to my skin and seems to fade very quickly. It’s so wonderful, though, that I don’t really mind re-applying.

 

This might be a big bottle come spring or summer.

[NanookPurple]

Cobra Lily is a warm, indolent floral. Of course lily is dominant, but there's that spicy warmth that keeps the lily from being too heady and sweet -- I'm pretty sure it's ginger. It's lovely but faded quickly on me, after only two hours.

[CynicalPink]

Imp: Definite lily, with something syrup-y

 

Wet: Still the sticky sweetness of the syrup but something green, too

 

Drydown: Nice! I'm a fan of lily in general (one of my first imps was Black Lily) and this does something interesting with the cutesy flower. It's green and warm and very interesting. It's not the lily I'm used to getting in bouquets, more like something you would find in a rain forest. I'll totally hang on to the imp, but I'm not sure this is the final word on lily for me