Ogun

[brsis]

... Ogun's ofrenda is heavy and dark cigar tobacco, gin and juniper, melon, chili pepper and a touch of honey.

Initial thoughts: Tobacco works nicely on me - well, I like it, at least - and I've had good experiences with the melon note from I Married A Vampire and the chili pepper note from Shango. It's the gin and juniper that worries me. I picked this out of a pile of swap sniffies, so it must have attracted my addled nose somehow.

In the imp: Mwah. Sweet, tangy honeydew melon with a dark, rich undertone. It's very fresh, but it's got depth and attitude - like Shango, I think this is going to be a fairly butch fruit smell. Yummeh.

On the wrist, wet: MELON! MELON! MEEELLOOOOON! Melon with a chili pepper edge, wow. Bright and tangy and a bit spicy, uwah uwah uwah! This is GORGEOUS. It's a yellow honeydew melon rather than the sharp green melon from I Married A Vampire.

Twenty minutes later: The melon calms down after a while, and is tempered by rich dark tobacco and honey. The gin and juniper, which I was so scared of, don't really manifest themselves. This is actually fairly unisex rather than OMG manly, and rather cooler and more refined. Ogun is Hakkai to Shango's Goku, and a rather welcome addition to the gang, I think.

Verdict: Bottle, pwease.

Tl;Dr: Fresh honeydew melon with a chili pepper tingle, calmed by dark tobacco and honey.

[Indigo78]

In the imp this clocked me upside the sniffer with ALL of the elements it contains at once. The melon and chile sit right alongside dark tobacco, with a heavy splash of gin soaking everything. In the imp, this smells a mess, and I am hoping for a super-duper morph.

 

The first five minutes kick out a TON of tobacco and gin on me. Suddenly, the warmth of my skin kicks this into mega-sexy land. Y-U-M. Ogun turns into a sweet piece of melon drizzled with fresh chile. The tobacco is spicy and warm - no signs of its ashtray-ish warning in the imp. Everything is so well blended that no one note suffocates the others. This is a symphonic, hypnotic, beautiful scent.

 

This is a total keeper, straight up my alley. Though I don't think I would wear it regularly, a bottle will definitely be in my collection.

[galahad]

In The Bottle

Definitely not melon in the imp but I do get the chili and the juniper/gin

 

On Application

Juniper!

 

Dry Down

Holy cow. This gets hot and spicy a minute or two into the drydown. Almost a woody/cinnamon aspect to it. 5 minutes into the drydown the tobacco emerges, rounding out the scent. This is really unusual. Further testing is required bt so far, kind of like it.

 

Rating (0-5)

4

[Andrea912]

Wow; this is nothing but melon and chili pepper on me. it reminds me of the flea market and the fruiteria with the bowl of mixed fruit covered in lime and chili powder.

 

Needless to say, I don't love it; I don't even like it; I'm going to wash myself.

[starwild]

Whoa, that's some serious spice! With a hint of cigars underneath. This is yummy. If you like spice, try this! I don't get much honey and only the slightest impression of melon.

[septima_pica]

Wet this is all sugary melons and chile powder like a Mexican fruit stand, with a bit of dusty tobacco appearing on the dry-down like someone standing nearby smoking on a cigar. Then something horrible happens and it goes icky baby powder grossness for a half-hour or so. When that finally poofs away, I'm left with the same players but with their places exchanged: sweet honeyed tobacco is at the forefront, melons keeping it moist, and chiles in the background subtly threatening to cause a sneezing fit.

 

This is an extremely interesting and not at all unpleasant scent; I'm glad I tried it; but unfortunately, I don't know when I'd ever find myself wearing it. And the sneezy chiles put me on edge.

[ErinZ]

Wet in imp:

I'm detecting the gin, juniper, tobacco and chili pepper

 

Wet on skin:

mostly gin and juniper

 

Drydown:

The cigar tobacco is developing more as it dries. I'm not picking up any melon, and I think the honey is disappearing into the tobacco.

 

Final impression:

This isn't really me, but I think it would be amazing on someone else, particularly a man. I think it may be giving me a headache.

[Champagne]

In the vial it smells so much of honey that i thought immediately to a cousin of Mead Moon. Fresh on the skin it`s mainly herbal honey for a while, I don`t detect any tobacco and if I really concentrate I can feel a very faint juniper. After 20 minutes the delicious melon note goes out and stay with the honey. It`s a total ace for me but maybe it could be too cloying for honey haters. for the fans of mead Moon I see a perfect substitute in the years to come. Lovely

[Lethran]

In bottle: I was not sanguine, as I don’t do well with gin/juniper. It is sweet with melon and honey and heavy with tobacco. Very boozey. Wet: Oddly appealing with the strong tobacco scent, which blends really well with the other elements. The effect is rather like a big masculine bear of a man drinking a fruity cocktail with an umbrella. It is a little startling, but not unappealing. I definitely like the edge the chili gives it. This is the first gin/juniper scent I’ve ever liked. Dry; The chili really comes out, mixing with the sweeter elements to make a chili scented cookie impression witrh a lingering warm tobacco edge. I’m really finding this appealing.

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Melon and peppers. This made me scrunch up my nose at first sniff.

 

Immediately on skin: Melon and peppers still… with a hint of burnt popcorn. The combination is making my stomach clench a little. I don’t find this pleasant at all.

 

After a few minutes: I had to wash this one off… the combination of the melon, pepper, and other notes smelled rotten to me, and almost had a spoiled milk kind of scent.

[isisonearth]

Imp: Interesting. I smell the cool melon and juniper contrasting with dark smoky tobacco.

 

Wet: Hmmm the tobacco is mellow but there is a sharp bite from the chili. I get some of the same honey note as Osun too.

 

Dry: It reminds me a bit of leather or maybe leather armchairs that rich men sit in to smoke cigars. It is warm, alluring, a little masculine and dangerous...sexy.

[Iceblink]

Wet: fresh melon! Tasty.

Dry: Tobacco and juniper--I like the drydown, I really do, but this has raised red welts on me so I won't be wearing it again. Thanks a LOT, chili pepper.

[blacklacestatic]

This, to me, smells like when the men in my family drink or smoke too much and try to cover up the stink with too much spicy cologne. It reminded me solely of that. I get the tobacco and juniper, but none of the melon or honey that others seem to notice. I really don't like this one, in fact it may be my least favorite of all bpals. It's very masculine, not the slightest bit of female in here. Really strong too. Constant throughout wet application thrugh dry stages. There's not much more I can say about it. Old, manly cologne. It's not even the kind of scent that's too masculine for me, but I might like it on my guy. Nope, wouldn't even like it on him. I'd probably ask him to wash it off.

 

This one doesn't rate high with me at all.

[rayvn1]

This was rotting melon on me for quite awhile Not so good. I was really hoping the tobacco and juniper would come out and they peeked their head in the door after about an hour. The melon is still lurking though so this is not really a keeper for me. I'll give it another shot later, but then it's off to the swaps with you, Ogun!

[kjirstiben]

Ogun sounded so interesting to me, but something went horribly, horribly wrong on my skin chemistry.

 

At first I smelled melons and a tart smell that was hard to place (I think it was either the gin or the juniper or possibly some combination of the two). The tart smell kept amping strongly into a tart-melon-soap sort of smell.

 

Melons I might be able to handle alone, but when paired with this tart, soapy scent it was too strong a juxtaposition... I found I was very displeased with the way that these notes worked on me.

 

It's got a very strong "masculine" nature that has put me off some other blends... rather like aftershave... with melons!

 

Oh well, at least I know a little more about my skin chemistry, right?

[Nimthiriel]

Initial impression:

Dark juniper and refreshening melon – a strange but fabulous combination!

 

First on:

Juniper, melon, chili and maybe a bit of boozy gin.

Dry:

After about 20 mins, it's a spicy scent sweetened by the melon – I like the contrasts!

 

Finally:

Loving this. I enjoy the tropical zest to it. Keeper, at least for now.

[Juushika]

A frimp from the lab, or I never would have tried it. Only one or two of the notes appeal to me.

 

In the imp: Juniper against melon and tobacco smoke. The smoke is particularly harsh. It's distinctive, and potent, and I don't like it.

 

On me: For the first time, I feel brave just for testing a scent! On skin it's not near so smoky, and some of the potency and bitterness fades away. I can smell fruit (though I couldn't say which), cigar smoke, and juniper; I don't get any of the other notes except perhaps a touch of spice from the pepper. It's something of an odd mix: smoky, masculine, which an unexpected gleam of fruity brightness. A calmer, smoother version of the vial scent.

 

Verdict: The scent calms down once it hits skin, thank goodness—but it's still not something I would wear. This is unusual but still distinctly masculine, rich with smooth tobacco smoke, and it's not really to my taste. But then I knew that before I even opened the imp. I'll pass this one on.

[starcr]

A heavy scent, fairly masculine. (Maybe Hubby should try it.) Almost musky, but I think that's just the way the tobacco and the honey mix. A smoky scent, but without actually smelling of smoke, if that makes sense. The longer it stays on, the more prominent the honey becomes, which I like since that's one of my favorite BPAL notes.

[mazikeen]

A good masculine/feminine scent. Definitely appropriate for either gender.

 

This has the weirdest ingredient list! The tobacco provides a base... and yes, there's a bit of a chili pepper. I can't directly smell the melon, honey or juniper, but they must be sweetening this up because it certainly doesn't smell simply like spicy tobacco. It's so thoroughly blended that it is more than the sum of its parts. It's not at all foody or boozy, fortunately.

 

I've loved every African-related scent I've encountered so far. Ogun is definitely bottle-worthy. This could really grow into a favorite.

 

Added--

For some reason this reminds me of many of the Steamworks scents, in a general way. Those smell of brass and wood and this doesn't at all... but for some reason they remind me of one another. If you like those, I'd recommend checking out Ogun.

Edited January 23, 2009 by mazikeen

[ouch!]

oOoOOh spicy!! The first thing my boyf said when I put this on in the car was..."That smells like pepper".

 

And he's right, this is another oil that smells very different to what I thought it was going to. I don't get any fruit at all from this. Melon? nope...and where's the honey?

 

This smells like carnation to me alot! It reminds me so much of Lush's Potion body cream which I absolutely adore. This would layer really really well with it!

There's no tobacco or anything like that either...this just smells like a very spicy carnation on me.

 

Sometimes I wonder where all the notes go when there are so many listed!

 

Edited April 17, 2009 by ouch!

[crebbsgirl]

This was a rather odd one for me. Wet, the melon, chili pepper, and juniper were predominant. It was green and sharp with a little bit of spice and faintly aquatic feeling. As it settles, the tobacco comes out more and smooths the sharp edges, while the honey mellows the whole blend out. I wouldn't call this a masculine scent, but it's gender-neutral. It's relatively light as well. I think it would make a really good summer blend. The overall impression I was left with here is light, and slightly spicy, whilst being smooth and a little green.

[zankoku_zen]

At the beginning, it was chili, tobacco and gin. Lots of gin. As it has dried, it's more of a tobacco and rum kind of blend.

 

I actually kinda like the tobacco in this one...

[Suu4LC]

Interesting blend in the imp-it really does smell like a mixture of the notes listed in the description, which sound so weird and different on paper, but actually work together pretty well in this blend. How the heck does Beth dream these things up??

 

I'm not usually one for tobacco scents, but this is really cool-the cigar smoke is the undertone-there's a sweet dripping melon and honey in this mixed with the fiery spicy chili pepper. There is also the gin and juniper (two notes I usually don't like) giving this a fresh herbal side as well.

 

On drydown, the tobacco becomes much more apparent-the sugariness of the melon and honey fade, but they flavor of melon and honey are still there. A muted, smokier version of the wet scent. This is really an amazing blend-not really my type of thing, but probably one of the first tobacco blends I could possibly picture myself grabbing. So unique!

 

 

 

[BuxomM]

This smells very masculine. It's tobacco (dark at first then turns sweet), juniper and chili pepper with an undertone of something fresh and crisp which must be the melon.

[Banyangirl]

When I first opened the vial, I stood there for a good thirty seconds sniffing, going, "What IS this?" And then it hit me: Watermelon pop rocks. So I said, "Yum!" and put some on. And then it turned into watermelon pop rocks plus honey plus cigar smoke. A very, very confusing, conflicting scent, but I kind of like it! It dries down and fades into a very sweet cigar smoke. It's very different and very strange, but very good!