Baron Samedi

[deprongmori]

A notorious voodoo priest, who eventually rose to become one of the funereal Guédés, alongside Baron Cimitère and Baron La Croix. He is a Guardian of the Crossroads: the pathways between our world and the realm of the spirits. As a Master of the Graveyard, he ensures that burial rites are performed with skill, and he helps ferry souls to the dark realm. In his honor, we have created this scent: our spin on traditional Bay Rum.

In the bottle this is a delicious spiced almond rum - one of my favorite kinds of scents.

On, all I get is clove. A little disappointing to only get this note when the rest is so promising, but luckily I adore clove! I like to wear this when I'm feeling a little dark & sinister but don't want a really 'heavy' scent. This will be great for fall!

[stillalive]

This one confused me greatly... I think I'm physically incapable of smelling rum. The imp is full of something that feels like oil, and I can smell that it's not water, but... it's like an invisible smell. I can "see" the outline of it but I can't see IT with my nose. I spilled it all over my fingers and can still smell nothing. I have no idea why. When I had my first and only non-virgin pina colada (in Canada-- I would never drink illegally), I couldn't smell the rum or even get a buzz. It's doggone weird, but this one might as well be canola oil on me, lol. I have no idea what it smells like.

[BaronLaCroix]

Why's the rum gone?

Because la Baron has it.

A deeply spiced rum, with potent bay leaves and clove spice, and something I can't quite place.

When wet the spices are pushed to the surface, and the rum settles in. Fear not, it's not going anywhere. In about twenty minutes the spices have died down a bit, and a gently smiling skull of rum lingers around your shoulder.

Highly suggested if you enjoy boozy scents (which I do). It's definitely masculine, I think, but that may be my opinion because I used to wear Bay Rum cologne.

Laisser le bon temps rouler.

[dorothy humbird]

Ughghghhgghghghgjfjfghbjgjgh oh my God, this is absolutely the worst BPAL I have ever smelled on my skin. Emanating from my arm is a miniaturized ashtray full of the world's cheapest, most disgusting cigar ash, lightly spangled with shreds of bologna. What? Yeah, that's right. Bologna.

 

I don't think I'd want to smell this on a dude, even. Ghwghguh.

[undream]

I can easily see at first how this one brings Autumnal/Christmasy candles to mind for everyone; it is that same sweet, spicy holiday-seasonal scent, but the rum in this also makes it sexy. After a while, though, this becomes mostly clove on me, but it's nice, and I do like it. I think it might be a little too clovey for me - although I think I might like to try it on The Boy, and I have to admit it would be a great scent for Fall - but I AM so glad I got to try it. for rum!!

[secretstars]

got this sample for my friend, who loves the story of Baron Samedi, and rum. :-P

 

this is a perfect scent, IMO. it would never work on me so i'm glad she has it.

 

in the bottle, it is pure liquor. wet on the skin, still total liquor, with a teensy bit of spicey something. like, um, clove/allspice.

 

and then! the almond sets in. last to come at about 2 hrs later is the cherry. because of the alcohol scent, it has the danger of smelling like chloroseptic cherry, but almost all of the time, it is a true cherry.

 

but, yes. perfect blend of bay rum, (all?)spice, almond (like amaretto almond, not ALMOND), and cherry.

 

mmmmmm. all day i was like GURL LET ME SNIFF YOU AGAIN. :-P

[suki]

in the imp: some spice, heavy almond

 

wet on skin: vetiver, clove.

 

dry down: loads of vetiver, a bit of leather, no bay rum.

 

in all: a smoky, spicy blend, not the description on me in the slightest, but a nice one if you like the vetiver-heavy oils.

 

 

 

Edited August 21, 2008 by VioletChaos

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Harsh patchouli and green, bitter herbs.

 

Immediately on skin: This is very heavy on the patchouli. It’s the main note, but there’s hint of other things as well. Spiciness, of course… cinnamon? Cardamom? I have no idea. There might be vetiver in this one too… it smells bitter and damp to me under the patchouli and light spice.

 

After a little while: This dries down to a very unisex and almost masculine blend of patchouli, resin (myrrh, I think), and spices. It’s warm and slightly sweet, while still earthy from the patchouli.

 

Overall Impressions: This scent struck me as very odd at first. I couldn’t make out any of the notes for sure and it smelled almost damp and bitter on me. This sorts itself out upon the drydown though and becomes this strong and deep patchouli/resin/spice scent. In my opinion, it doesn’t smell like traditional Bay Rum as I’ve smelled it before, but it is a nice and deep representation of the traditional scent.

[arithmetock]

Very earthy and spicy. For some reason, I swear I can smell peanuts. I might be going crazy, though. This really isn't the scent for me, but I might enjoy smelling it on someone else.

[NeuroticaGirl]

Hmm I already know this is supposed to be straight rum but it does not smell that way to me. I smell cinnamon, and something weird, almost like old cologne, and a honey note towards the end. I would love it, if it were not for that odd old cologne influence. Not a keeper for me.

[Dianora]

I have been wanting to try this for quite some time as I am quite enamored with the Baron, and Rum is my poison of choice. I got my hands on an imp of it, and I'm glad I didn't go straight for the 5ml.

 

In the imp, it smells divine, like almonds and liquor. I couldn't wait to try it on my skin, so I put a few drops on my inner elbow. Wet, it still smelled quite sweet, but something weird was happening, something bitter floating on the edges of the sweetness. As it dried, all the sweetness was gone. It became entirely bitter, and the alcohol scent tinged the smell with something harsh and chemical. My eyes watered, and my first thought was to get it off as fast as possible.

 

I'm quite disappointed. I know that scents don't work out for everyone, but I really wanted this to work on me.

[Halloqueen2]

Mmmm...smelling this was like meeting the Baron Himself. My first impression after applying it and letting it settle, was of hugging an old man in Bourbon St. in New Orleans...old, fuzzy wool suit infused with cherry tobacco, Hoyt's Cologne and a faint smell of some sort of rummy booze. Not unpleasant, just...different. Very evocative. And almost comfortable and safe feeling. If anything, the only note I can pin down for sure is almond...or maybe it's cherry.

 

I can see this as appealing more to men than women, but I like it just fine. This may sound silly, but it's almost as though the Baron materialized when I applied the oil...I'm the type that doesen't take those feelings lightly, so although it's not something I will usually wear, on the special occassions when I do, the Baron will get a nod of respect from me.

[gchris]

In Vial: Wood and alcohol

 

Wet: Same as before but with added almond oil. I smell a little bit of spice but not sweet, savory.

[Iceblink]

Oooh, tasty--wonderfully spicy rum! Smells of cloves and something slightly earthy underneath. This smells sort of like I wanted Port-au-Prince to. It's just a little bit too much on the masculine side, I think...but very nice and very strong.

[hlinspjalda]

In the vial: This smells foody, almost like roasted sesame seeds or almonds. Delectable, but not what I expected.

 

Wet: Still that odd roasted nut/seed scent as a base, but with a sweet middle and herbal top note. It's like the bay rum note in Hellhound on My Trail, only stronger.

 

Twenty minutes: Smells rich and sweet now, with not as much of that foody aroma. It also kind of reminds me of the clove chewing gum I used to love when I was a kid.

 

One hour: I think this is delicious: sweet, tart, spicy, warm, herbal. It definitely reminds me of my favorite parts of Hellhound. It's kind of mannish, but I think that's my association rather than any inherent quality in it.

 

Two hours: Delicious, and also comforting. It reminds me of my childhood in the South; must be the old barbershop association, like with Hellhound.

 

Three hours: Fading some now, but still very pleasant. What I'd really like is to cuddle up to somebody who was wearing this.

 

This is the scent that alerted me to my love of the bay rum note. Fabulous!

[crebbsgirl]

Okay I think I must have a wonky nose here. In the bottle, I smell freshly cut grass. Something very green and herbal. Wet, the herbal note is still there, sharp and piercing. As it dries this smooths out. Clove and cinnamon and a bit of booze. There's still something sharp about it though. I'm trying a lab fresh imp, so I may put it aside for aging and see if that makes a difference. I'm not getting ANY almond here, which is good because I can't stand the smell of it.

[lothien]

I don't think you have a wonky nose, crebbsgirl. I get green from the imp too - it took me a while to place it - like sphagnum moss, almost. (perhaps it's the batch we have? I was just frimped this in an order)

 

As it dries I get more spice, and I get almond, but like almond hulls, not the seed.

Dry I get cherry, but I haven't smelled any rum yet. It's mostly almond hulls and cherry with the barest edge of a booze note - my skin must eat the rummy part, because I would never have guessed this was a rum/booze blend if it wasn't in the description. Boo!

 

Eventually it's reduced to just the hulls, and it's kind of blah.

I plan to hold onto it, too, and see what it does with some age on it. Or it may be another case of "Don't test things fresh out of the mailbox." I'll try it out in a week or so and see if the rum caught up. ^^

[milica]

pretty sharp and sweet smell of wet wood, and this isn't the first time that rum scents go wrong on me. and I really would like to find a nice rum bpal scent.

 

to the swap pile.

[djsiberia]

wet: a very nutty almond scent, clove and i think the clove is making it have a faint leather scent.

dry: in less than 5 minutes, the almond scent has faded and i'm getting cloves/leather and something sour.

i think maybe a hint of cinnamon. this one is certainly not for me and it's starting to give me a headache.

[Andrea912]

Imp: unlike Grog, this is a spicy rum, redolent of the actual liquor from Puerto Rico...

 

Wet: sweet but without the butterscotch of Grog...but kind of a sickly, almond extract sweet...

 

Dry: starting to smell medicinal; not loving this at all; I don't think I can layer it with anything to make it more pleasent, either...

Edited December 19, 2008 by Andrea912

[zankoku_zen]

This smells like rum and dirt. More of an herbal rum than say the butter rum of Grog.

 

It smells like it has a purpose. The kind of stuff you offer up to a deity before you ask for something.

[lishal]

In Imp: Moist wood and herbs. There's also a rotting undertone to this too. I wish I can detect the almonds but they appear to be hiding.

 

On Skin: Something has gone terribly wrong with my skin and this scent. I wish I could smell the almonds or the spice because that sounds really awesome. But, all I'm getting is a very heavy plastic scent from this. I don't get any wood or herbs anymore, it's just straight up plastic.

 

Dry Down: I soldiered on with this and waited around three hours and the plastic scent started to fade a little. There's something sweet and almond underneath but the synthetic smell is still really predominant. I don't think I can wait any longer so I'm going to wash it off.

 

Off to the swap pile with you, Baron Samedi. It's too bad because I was really hoping this one would work out.

[rayvn1]

Mmm rum and clove. This has hardly any throw, but is earthy and warm and yummy.

[Tess]

In the bottle - Heavy on the almond, with something hard booze related under it, like the bitter note in gin only... not.

 

Wet - Er, musty? What?

 

Drying - WOW, my hand is burning. I'm glad I used it on the back and not on the wrist like normal. The spices are coming out, like in spiced rum, but it's still very musty. There's also still a lot of almond going on with it. It doesn't really remind me of rum. Well, maybe a really cheap one. In fact, as I smell it, the musty note is like musty playdoh.

 

Dry (2 hours) - Seriously, this is spiced playdoh....

 

Overall - Arg, I have no idea what that was, but it should stay far away from me.

[copagirl]

I really liked this one, I gave it a 3.5 out of 5. In the imp I smell cherry almond, a dirt smell and sweet leather. On wet, I can now smell some rum, but also the almond and leather and a cedar like smell. Later on it is faint with a spicey smell of cloves.