Caliban

[suki]

The scent of the salty seas, bittersweet wine, palm and tropical ferns.

in the imp: very 'green', very fresh: like new-mown grass and cucumbers.

wet on skin: grass has faded a bit. now it's more like a cucumber salad.

dry down: the grass has returned.

in all: this is similar to many mainstream 'grass' scents i've encountered, so it might be good for enabling purposes. for me, it's nothing special, however. Edited June 24, 2008 by Shollin
added coded lab description

[martiangurll]

In the imp: Smells like fresh cut grass, crushed green stems, wet with dew

 

Wet: Smells like ocean spray over greenery in a moist tropical forest, maybe a hint of sweet wine

 

Drydown: Grassy edge calms down, smells like tropical grasses with the ocean salt air. This may be the perfect ocean scent, smells like salty sea with fresh green stems in the background. Not boozey at all. There is a sweetness to this, not food like or candy sweet, more the freshness of cut grass with light (VERY light) florals. Not spicey at all.

 

Throw: fair

 

Lasts about 4 hours for me, more if I layer it in my hair longer

 

General Impression: Lovely, natural and fresh, could be unisex. I like this year-round, especially when I get to missing the smell of the ocean (I am majorly landlocked now, and miss the ocean where I used to live, sight, sound and scent!)

Edited May 8, 2008 by martiangurll

[goblinshark]

(This is my first review, so I'm afraid my descriptions will be imprecise as far as particular notes go or what have you.)

 

In the bottle this smells SO good. Fresh and green and a little salty and amazing.

 

On my skin, it turns HORRIBLE. Doesn't even REMOTELY resemble its bottled form. It smells exactly like bathroom spray. Visions of toilet paper rolls dance in my head. Thankfully, it completely fades within an hour.

[Ajila]

In the bottle – Dark, bitter greenery with just a hint of sea salt

 

Wet on me – The damp leaf mould of dark woods

 

Dry on me – A soft, ever so slightly sweet, green scent

 

Overall – This was better on me than I anticipated, but still not me

[DARKBEAUTY28]

Caliban is immediately green when first applied. It begins to develop into a tropical floral on my skin. To me, it is something I would want to wear if I was laying on the beach under the shade of Caribbean palm trees. It is very lush and somewhat sweet. May have to get a 5 ml of this one!

Edited June 1, 2008 by DARKBEAUTY28

[taramarie]

Wet on my skin, Caliban is a salty aquatic note over the ferns and palm. It's neutral, but leaning close to masculine. Dry, the wine comes through, and it's more sweet than bitter, so it seems a little more feminine. I love this. It's a perfect summer scent.

[Andrea912]

Brine and salt; not very delicious, I must say.

[djsiberia]

in the imp: wow, very green smelling. sharp and biting

 

i decided to not try this on my wrist since i'm not really a fan of ozone or aquatics. i just can't get past the initial gut reaction of "this isn't pleasant, pass it to someone who might love it"

[caffinatedangel]

I wore Caliban today, and completely forgot what it was suppose to smell like. (And obviously unfamiliar with the character)

 

In the imp: Evergreen. Like fir, or pine. On re-reading the info, must be ferns. Or palm? What's palm smell like? Silly me

 

 

On skin: It was more feminine than I had anticipated. The "aquatic" is bordering on Ozone. I dislike ozone, however I like this. The green from the ferns or palms keeps it from getting metallic or electric-y. I found I kept sniffing myself, and loving it. While sitting and idly watching TV and folding laundry, I swore I smelled a wine note similar to other BPAL wine notes I've ran across. I sniffed my wrist, nothing. Sniffed again, wafted wrists around, and voila! There is was. A high note only sniffed by that silly waving of wrists. lol. It's hiding in there, but I found it.

 

Then I sat down and read the notes, and went "Ooooh.". My bad ^^'

 

I think I'll be retesting it, but so far it seems the "aquatic" is a tad too light and happy for me. I was hoping for more depth and darkness that I enjoy so much. But it came across as a bit perfumey (I keep saying that, and feel silly. I am buying PERFUME after all... but meh.) and a bit too feminine for my everyday loves. But it was certainly pleasant to sniff, for me.

 

Final notes: It had ok throw (could smell it while doing laundry, and not non-stop wrist sniffing). But didn't last so well. The aquatic note was a tad too powerful, I'd have liked more wine. But it was pleasant even though it was feminine.

[milo]

This is quite fresh in the imp and on for a brief while. Once it dries down, I detect a bitter note, and a bit of cucumber. This reminds me almost exactly of the smell of a freshly cut nettle plant. Not really into this one.

[Iceblink]

Fresh and tropical--I was expecting AQUATIC WHOA but this is sweeter and greener. A winey note is coming out more and more as it dries. The aquatic aspect is mostly a saltiness way in the background. Unusual and fresh!

[rayvn1]

This is a great scent! Slightly salty and aquatic with a sharp green fern base. Very fresh and beautiful. No wine yet, which is fine with me I'll be holding onto this one for a long time!

[ouch!]

Like most peolpe, I'm sitting here sniffing thinking...hmm...where is the wine? It's not there at all. I don't mind that really though. Not too much of a fan of boozy notes.

 

This to me is and very green aquatic smell. The palm and ferns are deffo the main players with an ozoney/aquatic undertone. The greeness (how do you spell that word? hehe) is very realistic and it makes me think of swaying palms and lush greenery tinged by sea air..

 

It's not a blow me away scent though, it's pleasant enough though and I'm glad I got to try it.

 

[Angelbaby]

I smell.... cucumber! It’s very fresh and outdoorsy... and, er salady. Green and natural and nice. A hint of smoke, too. A little masculine – in a nice way.

[Schmoozy]

Definitely a salty, green aquatic. It's sweetened with wine, and tropical ferns.

I can totally relate to the cucumber comparison on drydown.

 

This is everything I hope for when I want a green, aquatic scent. Not to perfumey, not too masculine. A perfect balance.

[Ravenclaw79]

Ferns... that's what I must be smelling. It's an aquatic, but it's overpowered by something bitter and masculine.

[cymbeline]

Swap test!

 

Smell alike: It exactly the smell that was lingering in my aunt house: too many plants and too much fertilizer ôO

 

Color impression: smothering deep and brilliant green-blue

 

On me: A real marine scent. I can’t really say more because, well I not so fond of those ones and they quickly make me sick ^^;

 

Wearing: It’s really not me so I am not the best judge!

[MrGrey]

I started with a sea salty smell. Then it became a nice blend of wine and ocean air. a real nice blend for the rest of the day.

[Leopard403]

I almost hate to post this, but ah, well: This is the only BPAL scent so far that has literally made my bile rise upon first whiff. I don't know what scent note made me react that way, or if it is the specific combination here, but my reaction was highly unusual and incredibly unpleasant.

[Lethran]

In bottle: The palm and ferns are starling, with the sea undercurrent. The wine is very faint. Wet: Oddly appealing and sweeter than expected. I’m fascinated by the way the flat palm smell mingles with the crushed dark green of the ferns. The sea buoys the whole thing beautifully. Dry: This is remarkably light and summery, the palm with the hint of wine and sea somehow evokes cocktails on a secluded beach.

[Suu4LC]

Salty! A salty green scent. Very salty. Very green.

 

The saltiness kind of chills out when this is on my skin. A very intense green/ferny scent though. Still aquatic for sure-not getting any wine though O_o

 

Yep, this was an aquatic-y green scent through and through-no wine in sight! Not my thing, but it dries down to a lovely soft breezy kind of ocean greenery scent.

[March]

This oil smells salty and somewhat bitter to me, with the bitterness not coming from the wine, but from the ferns. The wine note isn't apparent to me at all, and I wouldn't know what palm smells like.

 

Very unusual, very nice! The first time I tried this, it was not my thing at all, but I'm definitely warming to it.

[iiinterstate]

Caliban was on my list of imps to try from the very beginning of my BPAL adventures, but I kept forgetting about him. I've since learned that wine can often go very gross on me, so I am wary.

 

First impression is green and aquatic. Maybe a hint of ozone. Kind of like Sea of Glass...but not really. As it dries, it gets greener and heavier. Wine brings in a touch of sweetness, but doesn't booze up the whole experience.

 

 

Overall, I like Caliban but I don't think I need a bottle. I have a lot of green scents with more complexity to them that I would wear more often. But I'm still glad we were finally introduced

[QueenFae]

This is a very unique one. On my skin it's mainly a tropical, woodsy scent with a splattering of salty sea underneath. This really makes me think of the scent of lush, tropical ferns and undergrowth near the sea. Very well done!! It's a very light scent, and is very fleeting on my skin. This would be a good pirate wench scent!

 

Very cool, but not quite my thing.

[donnatron]

Imp: Ferns. I like the fern note so this is not a problem. Bit of salty aquatic.

 

Wet: Strong, green fern scent and a bit of sickly sweetness from the wine.

 

Dry: It's okay. I'm a Pirate Moon fan and I'm always looking for something I can replace it with once my bottle is gone and this is something that I would like so much better layered with Scherezade or something. Salt, ferns and a very tiny bit of sweetness. Smells like herbs and greenery crushed against my skin.

 

Throw: Mild.

 

Overall: I like having it on hand for the layering possibilities but it's not a favourite right now. At least I'm not sending Caliban back out to sea?