Bilquis

[greenranger]

Honey, myrrh, lily of the valley, rose otto, fig leaf, almond, ambrette, red apple, and warm musk.

Wet, on me, amaretto, possibly amaretto and marzipan.

Drying, the rose amps up, as expected. It stops just at the level where it is balanced with the amaretto and marzipan. Actually, so far this isn't bad, especially considering that I usually don't do rose or almond scents.

Ah, there it is...Myrrh. My new favorite note. It is sweetening the rose and almond and blending them together with...*sniffs and grins* the honey and the apple! They are now being blended into the mix as well. Have I actually found a rose scent that I can wear?


Mostly, this *is* a rose scent on me, so far, BUT, it is possible that with the myrrh tying everything to the rose it will work out better than most. *crosses fingers* Edited July 5, 2008 by Aerinha

[zankoku_zen]

This is like a rosy honey cake. At the beginning, I got more of the almond note, and it was like a Middle Eastern almond honey cookie. The almond sort of went into the back and then the rose came out to the front. As it dries, I get a slightly more resiny/musky base to it.

 

But yeah, rosy honey cake.

[prettybird]

In the bottle: Something in this smells really off. I think it's the musk, or maybe almond.

 

On skin: I don't think Bilquis and I will be getting along, unfortunately. Whatever that weird scent is is really, distractingly strong. I can kind of get a whiff of the apple here and there, but it's blocked out by that disturbing smell.

 

Oh well. Can't win 'em all.

[sprocket21]

In the imp: Sweet almond cake

 

Oof. On me, this is almost nausea-inducing. There's something in here that goes very sharp and medicinal on my skin, and it is not pleasant. I'm not sure what I'm reacting to, because most of these notes either behave or amp in a non-nauseating way.

[lucy gray]

Bilquis reminds me a lot of Queen of Sheba. I mostly get bitter almonds and bitter spices, just a lot of bitterness overall. It's thick and heavy and quite overwhelming. Alas.

[rayvn1]

Alas! Bilquis and I are not getting along I also had tons of almond come through while wet, but it was almost immediately overtaken by ...Irish Spring? or something like that. This is the first BPAL scent I've ever had that went soapy and powdery on me. At first it smelled like Eden if Eden were more of a sexpot. Before it went soapy I thought Yes! this IS the smell of a woman who would uh, "use up" men just as she does in the book! Hm what's this? I'm getting a little lily of the valley floral at this point. I'm going to keep her on and see if it morphs later. If Mama-ji can go from blah old woman to delightfully nose-bending pickling spice, maybe Bilquis will turn out to be a keeper too <fingers crossed>

[Nepthys]

I have an odd relationship with Bilquis as I think it smells fantastic, but two other people have wrinkled their nose at it... So now I'm afraid it smells off on me, and hence only wear it at home when I'm alone.

 

It smells like an old-lady version of Bastet. I get the honey and almonds but there's something powdery and floral that comes through and makes it a bit too preciously feminine... kind of like how when a silver screen villainness would smell, overly feminine and trying to disarm men with her wiles. I do like it, but it's a bit heavy. I use this sparingly.

[asciident]

Wet: Super sour cherry. Where does the cherry come from?

 

First on: Same on the skin.

 

Dry: Even more sour on drydown.

[CynicalPink]

Bottle: The Cherry Almond thing from Danna O'Shee, but with something very green underneath. Lily and apple, I suspect

 

Wet: Almond and lily again. There is rose in this, right? Oh and honey. LOTS of honey. It needs a good long drydown to calm the eff down with the honey. Honey has a tendency to be all up in the other notes' business on my skin's wet stage

 

Drydown: Wow this is a complex scent. There's just so much going on it's hard to really wrap my head around whether or not it's working on me. First of all, this is like Danna O'Shee on steroids. So much honey and almond. But there's something else. A clean floral that I think it Lily of the Valley mixed with myrrh. It takes a long time for the rose to come out and it must be exhausted from the trip because it's not eating my arm.

 

Overall: This is a toughie. There's just so much to it that its hard to really pin down an opinion. I need to wear it around a bit to see how it feels. Like a pair of shoes

[Twitch]

I'm amazed I like this, but I do. I usually go for the dirty manly scents, and from the description, this sounds somewhat sweet and floral, but what I get is very nutty and comforting, with a bit of sweetness in the background. Ultimately I guess it smells like a theater, the seats, the buttery popcorn, with a background of sugar babies. It's everything that is right about the theater experience without the body odor, blaring cell phones, and screaming kids. With that being said, I'm not sure I love it. My nose says it's wonderful, but my mind is questioning why I would want to go around smelling like a theater. I suppose I'm just going to have to wear it not knowing quite why I like it.

[angelicruin]

Sniffing the imp, it's mostly almond amaretto.

 

Wet on the skin, honey, almond, and fig are what I get immediately. Almond is VERY strong.

 

As it dries, the myrrh and musk are noticeable and the almond tames down. I smell apples and roses as it dries, but once it's fully dry, I can't smell the apple or the rose anymore.

 

Fully dry, it's myrrh, musk, honey, fig, and lily. The lily is not noticeable at all until it's been dry for almost an hour.

 

A very pleasant blend. I would have liked to have gotten more apple out of this scent, but it's still good enough to warrant getting a bottle with a future order.

[quinctia]

In imp, sweet—I can smell the lily of the valley, a bit of the apple, and definitely the honey, plus the bite of the myrrh. The ambrette comes out when I've got the wand swooping towards my arm! The lily of the valley is amping a bit on my skin, and I don't entirely mind, one of my few pre-BPAL perfumes was lily of the valley. I'm very disappointed to lose the complexity, though, as it goes completely LotV on me. There's maybe a touch of myrrh left, but that's it. I know my skin eats the lab's most used honey note, and I'm beginning to think it eats apple, too.

 

After awhile, it smells like I'm wearing just lily of the valley, strong lily of the valley at that. I'm beginning to think that I don't necessarily mind florals, it just that they amp up so much on me that's the real reason why I can't stand wearing them.

[Brianne]

Oh my, this goes on gorgeous and exotic. It's warm and sweet with strong almond and a touch of apple, making it just the tiniest bit fruity against the rich sweetness of almond.

 

However, after about 60 seconds, the rose starts to peek out and make this more floral than I can tolerate (I have a low tolerance for rose for whatever that is worth!). This is an otherwise very pretty and fitting scent, but the rose is certainly present. It's very feminine and as I sit sniffing this in the already super summery heat, I have to think that it seems like a lovely summer scent!

[Eucatastrophe]

Wet: It's an apple party!

 

Dry: The apple has disappeared almost completely. Instead it's just a sweetness so subtle that I can't really pick out any specific notes. Just a GOOD smell.

 

Has a good throw though. I'll have to try it again or in a scent locket to get another impression.

[topazphoenix]

This one is almonds and apple blossoms and something vaguely sweet and powdery. Slightly incense-y maybe, but that's tempered by the other notes. Pretty!

[Dominique]

I'm leery of almond, so it took about, oh, 8 months before I got around to trying it. It's not that bad on my skin, to my distinct surprise. Very faint shades of Gluttony, which I didn't remotely suspect.

 

It's got an edge which I think is some kind of herbal or green note, likely the fig leaf, the almond gives it a roundness and there's a complexity that I'm chalking up to the myrrh and musk.

 

All in all much more pleasant than I was expecting. I don't think I'll be wearing it regularly (I have too much BPAL for 'kinda not bad' scents to get much skin-time), but it's no longer in the Utterly Untouchable pile.

 

[Geminirubyshoes]

Totally had to get this after reading the book for the first time ever.

This smells like Eden, O and Agape mixed together. I actually couldnt wear it much at first because it was too heavy on the almond but now its toned down with some aging so its smooth honey and the nuttiness of the almond without being as obnoxious as it once was. Bilquis you evil slut you! Wear this when its hot out and see how many heads you turn, its a fun little experiment!

[ChloeKEvil]

This is in my top ten for sure. I smell primarily the apple, fig, honey, rose, and almond. It's warm and sweet, the honey wrapping around the fruits and rose and the nuts to blend everything until they're nearly indistinguishable.

 

It feels sophisticated and womanly, but not overly regal or stuck up. This is a gorgeous woman with a lush figure, wearing jeans and a sweater and sipping tea.

[Evilynn]

In the vial: Almonds.

Wet on the skin: I...don't know. It should be honey and almonds, but my nose says...banana? Nose, you're broken.

Drydown: The banana separates into almond and honey and there's the rose. Rose amps on me, but almond apparently amps more. The result, however ain't pretty. Off to swaps this go.

[strahlend]

At first I was thinking all almonds, but after a minute I'm getting honey and apple – for sure on the warm musk. I almost feel like I'm smelling cinnamon. I can smell the rose in here and it's surprisingly subdued and combining with the other notes in a way where it's lending more of a feeling than being present as a note. Now musky and apples. The sweetness of the fig is with the musk, it's very pretty. Honey, musk and apples... but not like wearing a pie, it's more like the suggestion of apples. The almonds mellowed out really fast. This is really lovely. A while longer though and the rose has come out more. It's still a little appley and sweet but there's a rosey tang to it that is unmistakable. It's reminding me of Alice in a way.

Final verdict - I love how it starts and the middle stages, but it ends up too rosey for me to be able to enjoy.

Edited January 21, 2011 by strahlend

[rinster]

This was my very first BPAL bottle, which I purchased unsniffed. (I'm a Gaiman fan and his blog turned me on to this site.) I didn't care for Bilquis at first, but it really grew on me and now is one of my favorite scents. To me, it is a very sensual, curvy scent that veers neither too far into florals nor fruit, but each side complement each other gracefully.

 

For some reason, once in a while my nose stops sensing the sweet top notes and I can only smell the musky myrrh (possibly the washed dog scent some folks are complaining about?). On those days I layer it with O, which brightens up the myrrh and tones down the sweetness of O.

 

[lunchboxmonkey]

When I first put it on, its all tart apple peel and that cherry like almond, with supersweet honey. As it dries, it gets a bit more spicy and warm, and the tartness of the apple fades completely, as does that cherry almond scent. Still mostly getting apple, but now its a warm baked apple drizzled with honey and spices, but don't get me wrong - its not foody. There is a layer of incense over everything and the rose is just kind of hanging in the background, and theres a little greenery too which may be the fig leaf. Definitely a super feminine scent, and it is perfectly balanced - not a foody scent, not perfumey, not too incensy... just a perfect mixture, exotic and female.

Edited April 29, 2010 by lunchboxmonkey

[megank4]

I liked this at first, but then it just became too too sweet. Plus, honey isn't really my thing.

[lilwhiterabbit]

I don't know why I haven't reviewed Bilquis yet, since it's pretty much my go-to scent when I can't figure out what else to wear. It has all the notes I like, and was actually sort of what I'd been hoping Agrat-Bat-Mahlat smelled like (but didn't) so my half-bottle swapped on a whim was a pleasant surprise.

 

What I mostly get from Bilquis is amaretto apple, with a hint of rose and maybe... smoke? There's definitely something smoky about it. It reminds me of what an old-time cabaret singer might wear. There's a hint of foodie-ness about it, but the other notes keep it from being overwhelming. There's also something slightly dirty about it, but in a so-naughty-its-nice kind of way.

 

Sometimes I'll try blends based on particular characters and think they don't really fit my perception of them. Bilquis, however, is dead on. If Gaiman's goddess was walking the streets today, this would definitely be her signature scent.

[Venneh]

In the imp, I'm getting honey and almond. On my skin, honey and almond and apple and a bit of myrrh. Really nice. And then the damn lily and rose come in and take it all to soap. *pout*

Edited June 22, 2010 by Venneh