Wilde

[rainyseason]

A sophisticated traditional gentleman's cologne, with just the slightest taint of patchouli's passion, tonka bean's decadence, the philanthropy of bergamot, moss' cynicism, the sharp wit of lavender, and the hopeless romantic longing of jasmine and thyme.

I ordered this for my boy, I like the name and it sounded delicious. But of course I had to try it on before I handed it off. The second I swiped my wrists I was in love.

This is the first blend that has had Jasmine in it that I've liked it all, it wasn't until rereading the description for about the tenth time that I even realized it had Jasmine in it.

It's very clean smelling, with the tang of citrus and something smoky underneath. It's the sort of scent you want to smell when cuddled up on the couch, stick your nose in the crook of his neck and leave it there scent.

I dig it.

[DarkMouse]

I bought Wilde for my husband.. but he immediately smelled the lavender in it and said that he "wasnt' going to smell like his mom's bathroom". I of course (never being able to pass up slathering on some BPAL no matter what it is..) tried it on but it was entirely too masculine for me. It is so well blended that I really can't pick out any notes to it - but it is definitely a 'victorian mens cologne'. It definitely evokes its namesake in my head.. its Oscar Wilde through and through. Too bad it didn't work on me. Swapped away.

[Dark Seraphim]

Bottle: Seemed kind of weak to me, but obviously masculine and quite pleasant.

 

Worn: Proved itself here a thousand-fold. Had a super strong throw on me and lavender was clearly the stand out note on me. Lasted for hours, even to the next day. Yes, it was masculine, but it smelt great on me.

 

Loved it to pieces. 9/10.

Edited October 1, 2005 by Dark Seraphim

[BlueStar]

Ahh Wilde. Yummy, yummy, yummy!

 

For anyone who likes Hug by Hugo Boss this is the blend for you. It share the Jasmine and Lavender notes and just smells so awesome. It is better, in my oppinion, in so many ways but is similar enough to satisfy the most pretentious man who is locked into buying commercial blends. Ladies your man will wear this! Probably.

 

In the Bottle: Very mossy and jasminey. I liked it already. I liked it so much I squee'd inside and had to try it on.

 

Wet on Skin This is very, very tasty! Mosses usually do not work on my skin but the bergamot and lavender chill it out nicely, the thyme and jasmine kick in and the whole enchilada smell mouth wateringly good.

 

Drydown: Ah ha! The best part always where every BPAL scent is made or broken on my skin. This cools off into a really manly and sexy blend. The notes come together into an orgy of delicious excess. This will be a definite bottle purchase immediately.

 

I suggest any women with a partner who doesn't like "gothier" or "headshoppier" scents buy this.

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

I've been meaning to try this for ages (in fact, I thought I had and had to check the reviews to make sure)--I absolutely worship Oscar Wilde. On the other hand, this is the only Lab description that has made me roll my eyes. I don't see how moss translates into cynicism or lavender into wit, etc., as cool as that would be. The most I'm hoping for is a scent that Oscar would wear, that either DH or I can wear too.

 

In the imp: light citrus with...something else going on, but not clear on what.

 

On me: Yes, I can see the comparisons to cK One! It smells like a sophisticated department-store men's cologne. That's not at all a bad thing--I wouldn't have realized it was BPAL if I smelled it on a guy, though. It would be good for guys who are used to traditional dude scents and are wary of oils.

 

On DH: He didn't like it, hard-core BPAL convert that he is. Too "traditional guy" of a scent. Off to swap!

[sookster]

daaaaaaaaaahum!!!!!!!!

what a positively GORGEOUS scent this one is~~

i soooo love the masculine blends and they

work so phenomenally with my chemistry that i gotta wonder

if i shoulda been born a man eeep!!!!

mostly citrus and patchouli that pops out with me and i have *finally* found

a jasmine that works for me....problee cuz it is just

a tad of jasmine....woot!woot!!!!!

 

thanks beth and labbies......wilde is amazing, incredible and i love it!!!

[malanna]

Mmm, this really does smell like a posh gentleman's cologne, like something you'd find in a department store. I don't like lavendar, patchouli, or jasmine, yet this just comes out really delightful. It's hard to say what note comes out strongest, but it smells like one of those department store scents that advertises itself as clean-smelling. There's definitely lavender--not the icky humid lavender, but the sort of lavender that makes a scent smooth and sophisticated.

[Leda]

I find Wilde to be so expertly blended that I can not pick out any of the individual notes. This definately is masculine to my nose, and reminds me very much of the expensive department store colognes that one might find. Perfect for a gentleman, business man, or someone's guy friend that they like, but not "like that".

 

While I like Wilde plenty, it doesn't have the immediate lust-inducing scent that some of Beth's other scents do. Glad I sniffed it, but not on the big bottle list.

[coulrophobe]

In the imp: Clean smelling, and I can pick out the tang of bergamot.

 

On: Turns into a very strong soap scent on me.

 

Might be lovely with a man's chemistry, but on me it's just very masculine soap. Not unpleasant at all, but not really my style.

[maewitch]

Wet, this smells almost exactly like my boyfriend. It's WEIRD. I mean, it smells like his skin and the body spray he wears and the laundry detergent on his clothes.

 

As it dries, different elements come out to fracture that feeling. The moss gets stronger, as does the thyme I think.

 

It's a strong, classic men's cologne kind of smell at this point, feeling a little more refined than the opening notes.

 

Nice, but not for me. I'll make the boy try it.

[judas_kiss]

This is a very clean, sweet man's blend. Quite herby. I tried it myself and had to wash it off, it was far too masculine.

 

This would be a good oil to introduce more "traditional cologne"-loving guys to. I would think this would go well in an imp pack with Valmont, Dee, and Jolly Roger.

 

I much prefer the gents to smell more spicey and slightly foody. This would most certainly work with gents who prefer the cleaner smellies! DH will be keeping it, as he likes it for a change at the office. I don't think it will be a big bottle purchase, though, as he's met far too many smellies since which peak his interest.

[SeaMonkey]

This is the perfect masculine blend. I get moss, tonka, and thyme, with a little bit of lavender. This was a frimp in my Yule order. I wish I would have smelled this earlier or I would have ordered bottles for my father and my brother. And my brother is an english grad student, so he would love a scent with this name.

 

 

I'm keeping the imp for me though

[Fefferbella]

Another frimp from the lab:

 

Must get a bottle for my fiance! Damn this smells so good!

It's the perfect rich, complex masculine cologne! I love sniffing my man when he's wearing this.... *drool*

[theseagrows]

this smells almost exactly like irish spring soap on me. must be the jasmine and thyme, because i generally have good luck with the other notes. bpal's jasmine seems to overpower on me generally. i am not sure that it does in this, though.

 

this is a clean fresh scent, but reminds me too much of irish spring to be able to wear it.

[Stumbeline]

Smells like a sexy boy! There's no way around it. I like wearing it, and although it's traditionally masculine it breaks a record as being the first BPAL jasmine that doesn't turn to diaper on me! It's not something I will wear, and if I had an SO that was into BPAL or even cologne in general I'd pawn it off to him. If a guy wore this, I'd definitely hit it.

[QueenFae]

This may be my favorite "cologney" men's blend yet. It's extremely sexy and clean smelling without being overly cologney or overpowering. The patchouli is barely there, but just enough to give it a lovely little unique flair. The lavender and tonka are beautifully blended, and not at all sharp or "sting-y." Just as the description says, this is very sophisticated. It's what you would smell if you walked into the Men's Grille at a very classy country club. Although my man is at the opposite end of the spectrum (shaggy, dark, and earthy) I hope he likes Wilde, because I would LOVE for him to smell like this, like, all the time!!

[Naamah_Darling]

In the bottle, it's very, very traditionally masculine and smells almost piney.

 

On the skin, the sharpness comes down just a little, and lets room for an extremely faint undercurrent of something smoother and cool to come out. I can't say what I'm smelling, as I don't smell patchouli or lavender or jasmine, just one smoothly-blended scent. The combination must be enough to alter them all. It's very clean.

 

An hour later: still very masculine and traditionally cologne-y, without being offensive about it. I can finally smell the patchouli and the jasmine, just a little, but this is far from a womanly smell. It's a sexy smell, and I'd love to put it on a man. Sadly, while I'm occasionally tomboyish, on me this is ALL MAN, and I just can't wear it without feeling like I'm about to grow man parts.

 

This didn't change much as it wore off. It just sort of faded politely into the background.

[slave1]

In Bottle: Manly man scent

 

On Skin: Now this is “man”. My husband and I both think it smells like Calvin Kein’s Eternity. It has that extreme cologne scent, which may overwhelm some people. The key is to wear it lightly. All of the notes blend together like magic. None dominate or stick out on their own. And the best part, I don’t smell the patchouli!!!! YAY!! This is a winner for sure, my husband and I both love it so it looks like I’ll be getting him a bottle.

[bifemmefatale]

This was one of those scents described as masculine that I'd hoped I could still wear. Alas, no. Wilde smells lovely, but it's too much a traditional men's cologne for my taste.

 

In the bottle: Bergamot! Citrus peel and lavender, sharp, almost alcoholic and clean.

 

On: Exactly as advertised, a traditional men's cologne. The bergamot, herbs and patchouli blend into a clean, manly, elegant scent. This is not your father's Old Spice; this is the scent of a man who wears Armani and gets his nails buffed. Brian Kinney should wear this.

 

Much later: the jasmine finally comes out at the very end, on top of the lingering bits of patchouli and bergamot, bit it's very subtle and never smells anything other than male.

 

I'd love to smell this on a guy, but my hub is very anti-colognes. I'll be trading this.

[LadyWilde]

I worship Oscar Wilde. When I was in London a couple years ago, I took myself on an Oscar Wilde Tour of the City. I went on an Oscar Wilde guided walking tour. I visited the Theatre Museum near Covent Garden looking for Oscar Wilde artifacts. I combed the National Portrait Gallery looking for portraits and photographs of Oscar Wilde. I hung around in posh wine bars in the early evening before the theatre or the ballet drinking Merlot and reading The Soul of Man.

 

So yeah, anyway, of course I had to try Wilde. I thought that maybe my chemistry's tendency to make everything I wear smell supersweet might actually work for instead of against me in this case. Unfortunately, no. Wilde smelled very high-class, very elegant, and very, very masculine.

 

Earlier today, though, I convinced my guy to try it. Wow. Oddly enough, Wilde smelled less masculine on him than it did on me. What smelled rather old-fashioned and traditional on me smelled lighter, fresher, and slightly sweeter on him. It was fresh, clean, citrus-y/herbal with a rich, warm base of tonka and sweet subtle jasmine. So smooth, sexy, classy, and sophisticated; I spent the afternoon with my nose buried against his neck.

 

Subtle jasmine. Jasmine as a supporting player? Jasmine that isn't taking over the whole show, or else (as she did when I wore Wilde) hiding away somewhere and sulking because she's not the center off attention? This is a concept that was, before today, entirely unknown to me. Amazing. I envy my guy's chemistry.

 

I think I'll give him the imp, and possibly even get him a bottle.

[kettu]

Herbal bug repellant. Very reminiscent of citronella's bitter pungence. I have no idea why this didn't work on me. Maybe it was the thyme? Also, it was a bit too masculine.

 

Gonna try it on several of our male friends before sending it to the swaps. Hopefully it will work for one of them.

Edited February 8, 2006 by kettu keiju

[arabella]

First Impression: Men's cologne.

 

Dries down to: This reminds me of a very well-known cologne my husband used to wear but I just can't pinpoint it.

 

Additional Comments: I can't pick out any one note. I really like this and will have to work on getting my husband to wear it (He's so not into this whole oil/scent thing.). But, if he won't wear it, I'll use it as a room scent or figure out some other way to take advantage of it.

 

Lasted: A couple of hours.

 

Rating: 4 out of 5

[The_Merf]

**Repost of deleted review**

 

In the imp: Now I like masculine BPALs--Iago, Geek, etc.--but this is really masculine. It does smell like a traditional high-quality men's cologne, and I'm sure that's what is creating the association in my mind. I have never thought to myself, "I'll let my guy friends play with this one," but I did this time.

 

Wet: Of course, I also had to try it myself, and it was gorgeous. What an excellent balance of everything! No one note stands out (jasmine haters should still give this one a try--my skin amps jasmine, and I wouldn't have known it was even in this blend if I hadn't checked the notes list). It's clean, fresh and powerful.

 

Drydown and wear: This scent stays true on my skin. I have moved this one to my bottle list.

[yeahbutnobut]

Wilde

 

In the imp: yup, it’s gentleman’s cologne alright. I smell lavender, but there’s a citrus note which is most probably the bergamot. Also something sweet which may be jasmine or tonka.

Wet on skin: it’s a manly cologne with citrus and lavender and something sweet too.

Dry: mmm, not bad, but it does remind me of masculine perfume. It’s along the same lines as the likes of Casanova and Saint Germain and also Old Scratch, the lavender based manly cologne scents…at times it reminds me of another perfume I smelt elsewhere, probably a French one, maybe a Provencal lavender scent…but it’s very manly indeed. I don’t get much patchouli, but there’s a hint of tonka/jasmine sweetness.

After a while: still remaining a masculine cologne scent, but now it’s becoming greener, probably thanks to the thyme and the moss…yeah, I can really smell the moss now. Just a bare touch of jasmine, which doesn’t overpower or make the scent even slightly feminine. There’s a lovely tonka note in the background but this seems a bit too male for me. I think if I had a boyfriend, I’d douse him in this though.

The final drydown is pure green moss with hints of cologne.

Verdict: this to me is another one of those ‘traditional lavender-based men’s colognes’ scents along the same lines as Casanova, Saint Germain, Old Scratch etc…this smells very similar, with it’s citrus, lavender, tonka, patchouli and moss notes. It also reminds me of a French perfume of sorts. It’s a nice scent, but a bit too masculine for me-this would be lovely on a man but on me it smells too much like sophisticated aftershave. It’s a lot better than the crap aftershave the boys in my flat wear though. But I much prefer Old Scratch as my ‘lavender cologne’ scent.

[joiedecombat]

Wilde definitely struck me as a masculine scent. It's a fairly traditional men's cologne, just as other reviewers have said. It's certainly a pleasant one, though - the lavender makes it fresh and clean without ever being quite recognizable to my nose as lavender. It makes me think of hot water and soap, of just-out-of-the-shower freshness. But it's simply too masculine for me to wear myself, and I don't have any convenient men to try it on.