Bilquis

[DangerInRed]

The Queen of Sheba, half-demon, they said, on her father's side, witch woman, wise woman, and queen, who ruled Sheba when Sheba was the richest land there ever was, when its spices and its gems and scented woods were taken by boat and camel-back to the corners of the earth, who was worshipped even when she was alive, worshipped as a living goddess by the wisest of kings, stands on the sidewalk of Sunset Boulevard at 2:00 A.M. staring blankly out at traffic like a slutty plastic bride on a black-and-neon wedding cake. She stands as if she owns the sidewalk and the night that surrounds her.

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

Mmm, my first sniff of this was apple with a bit of a bite from the almond, I think.

After a minute or two, the florals start to come out. They're sweet florals and the apple is still there but has faded into the background and I think I can smell myrrh and musk. I think the strongest note is the lily of the valley, but it really blends well with the rest of the notes. This isn't one of my typical scents, but it's nice.

ETA: The drydown of this scent lasted ALL DAY on me. I think it's the longest lasting BPAL oil I've found so far! Edited September 12, 2007 by quantum spice

[alicia_stardust]

In the bottle: I get this "wet" and almondy smell with a kick from the apple. I can also detect a hint of florals but at this point it's barely noticeable and they're not sweet like I expected.

 

On my skin: At first I get the same "wet" almondy smell and there's definitely apple. It's not juicy apple to me. It's more like the skin of a red apple with that almost-bitter taste to it. A few minutes later I can actually smell the honey! Just underneath that I can detect a touch of florals but I would never have placed it as lily without having read the description. I definitely get an earthy/leafy smell as well.

 

Overall, Bilquis is complex and layered if you can just get past the top notes of apple and almond. It's lovely.

[slave1]

BILQUIS

 

In Bottle: Apple and rose

 

On Skin: Apple stand out quite strong but there is something funky. Wow. I’m not sure what it is, but something in this blend does not like me. I was very excited about the honey but I don’t smell it. I smell apple, I smell rose and florals and then I smell… can I really say it? I feel terrible because I love Beth… but it smells like wet dog to me. A clean shampooed and soft dog, but wet dog nonetheless. I think it’s the almonds… because its sweet and nutty. It just doesn’t work on my skin sadly… darn because I was so excited for this scent. Please don’t hate me Beth… you know some scents just go crazy on me. It has a strong throw and fairly long wearlength.

[sh1mm3r]

Pre-conceived notions: Love honey, love Neil Gaiman... please don't make the florals and ambrette be terrible!

 

This is lovely. Sheer loveliness. Two of my top scents are The Hesperides and Honey Moon, and it smells like a combo of those two plus Eden which I also wear from time to time.

 

It might very well become my signature scent. I had not declared one yet although I've been buying bpal for three years now.

[ancilla_morte]

VERY strange scent, rather disconcerting and brash, the way Freak Show tends to be!

 

The scent goes WHOOOOSH one note after the other, straight through my nose to my brain.

It is a 'NOTICE ME or DIE' scent. I think this is one of the only BPAL scents that actually seems to be screaming to me, Commanding me.

 

I can smell the sweet pastry-like almond straight off, then the apple--straight to a strong, dry rose. I can't really smell anything else, but I suppose the Myrrh is giving it a dark murky feel to it.

 

Throw is incredible. Be careful with this one!

Edited February 22, 2007 by ancilla

[Eemia]

This was a roller coaster scent. I've been thinking about it and I'm sure that this is the oddest (but one of the best) fragrances I've tried yet.

 

At first it was an aggressive and extremely powerful spicy scent--all myrrh and almond. This has the strongest throw of any BPAL I own, even though I only put a little bit on my wrists.

 

Then in a fairly short amount of time it morphs into th most gorgeous and complex mix of notes. The honey and rose appear and just the lightest amount of lily. Thankfully the lily isn't the slightest bit soapy as it can sometimes be on my skin. It's so breathitaking, especially when I finally can smell the apple.

 

It lasts and lasts and continues to be stunning. Such an odd assortment that I would have never believed to work together like this. That faint bit of apple is completely surprising to me every time I sniff my wrists. I'm hooked.

[puck_nc]

Origin: Straight from the Lab

 

Initial Thoughts: Of the new Carousel scents, this is one of the ones that jumps out at me. Myrrh and I don't always get along and musk is hit or miss, but I've grown fond of apple scents lately.

 

In the Bottle: Syrupy...honey and apple and almond. It almost smells like heated cough syrup.

 

Wet: Jeez! I'm getting smacked so hard in the nose with myrrh and almond that I coughed! It calms down almost immediately and the dominant notes are honey, almond and musk. I'm strongly reminded of a sweeter version of Lyonesse or one of the Egyptian-themed scents.

 

Drydown: After a short while, the apple and florals come out a bit. I'm getting a very warm feel from the honey and musk, shot through with fruit. But something is still making the back of my throat tingle when I sniff.

 

Verdict: I need to try this one again...take a little while to get to know it. I want to love this.

[sookster]

straight sniff from imp is almond, musk and apple...in that order...

 

fantastic!

 

another huge amper upper here folks!! almond and honey are predominant and

wonderful swirling about with the musky, apple notes...

 

beautiful myrrh kicks in making this stunningly gorgeous...

[kmasden]

I actually didn't have high hopes for this one - not for any particular reason except that i figured there was something bound to go wrong for me with the potential headiness of honey and lily of the valley.

 

At first i have to say that there was something almost "corn chippy" to me...i know it sounds crazy (and the bf was cooking chicken, so who knows?). I had forgotten the notes and didn't look them up before I tried Bilquis, so i can honestly say that I didn't think "apple" or "almond" or even "honey". What i can say is that after about 5 minutes, there was no "corn" there, instead it was a slightly heady, sweetish, creamy, oh maybe honeysuckle to my nose....really beautiful and I feel like it's a sexy, creamy, honeyish, sweet, floral.

 

I would actually say even if you don't love almond or musk, this might be a good one....it is a bit "powdery" (which i personally like) but doesn't feel musky to me....it's just really beautiful.

 

Great job - for me, out of the carousel, this is the clear winner....

[gingersnapp]

Mmm, when it hit my skin, it was an explosion of almonds and rose. It hasn't changed much as it has dried, it's a very nutty blend with a hint of floral throw. My skin likes lily too, so I'm assuming that what I'm smelling is more of a lily / rose hybrid and not all rose like I originally thought.

 

This is very sensual.

[dawna]

In the bottle: Sweet almond and honey

 

On the skin: This one has throw holy wow. Its very sweet, almond and the honey blend almost seamlessly. I am getting a slightest hint of the myrrh, although I may have missed that if I didn't love myrrh so much.

 

On drydown: The sweet almond scent calms down and the sweet florals come out to play a bit. These are really sweet florals with the rose being the most prominent. This is a beautiful blend, but its really strong on even after several hours. This is a good thing for me but not everyone likes such a strong scent.

[hepkitten]

Really overwhelming almond with myrrh and honey.

 

I've had problems with the Lab's almond note before, but I was hoping that it would be buried enough in other things here that it might work...not so much, I'm afraid.

[wikkidraven]

i got a *lot* of apple and almond out of this at first, making me very excited. then my skin picked up on the rose note and has decided to amp it beyond belief, almost drowning out everything else. i can still detect the spiciness of the myrrh, but no sign of my beloved honey.

 

jury is still out on this one. i want to love it, but the rose is standing in the way!

 

[QueenFae]

Wow! Just, wow! This is some good stuff. I love it at first sniff!

 

Upon application: the first thing I notice is a spiced apple note coated in almonds; almost an apple butter smell. The apple note is deliciously red and crunchy; very fresh and inviting. This is so complex! Every time I sniff this I smell something new. The next layer of scent is fig combined with lilies, which sounds strange to me but really works. The honey notes runs underneath the blend sort of stringing all the notes together with a gorgeous creaminess.

 

The foodiness element of this blend reminds me a bit of a toned down Hellcat combined with Punkie night. This is fantastic, exactly my sort of thing. It has strong throw and lasting power. I love this, and I will definitely be ordering a bottle.

[dronzeka]

Hmmm. There's something in this wet - both in the bottle and on me - that just does NOT work for me - something kind of dry and bitter. I'm not sure if it's the almond? it makes me think a little of bitter almond. It might be myrrh, and it might be a bad reaction with the apple, which doesn't work on me at all. I'm not getting ANY honey, rose otto, lily, or fig - it's just a strange bitter apple almond resin. As it dries, the bitterness is fading a little and if I sniff really hard, I can get a little honey. But it's not anything especially wonderful on me. However, there could be a chemistry issue right now, so I may hold on to it and try it again.

 

ETA: okay, even later the weird ugly bitterness really has vanished, and I'm getting some lily of the valley. Which is an improvement, though I'm still not sure what I think of it.

 

ETA yet again: what a morpher! now this has turned into a lovely lovely lily and honey scent! Too strange. Now, this, I like! I'll have to see if I can live with the wait to get here.

Edited March 9, 2007 by Anna D.

[savage_rose]

Smoked almond in the bottle (don't go powdery, don't go powdery). It smells like the masculine equivalent of Hecate.

 

On, it does indeed powder out. It smells like smoky almond baby powder. Sigh. It smells so lovely in the bottle though, maybe if I slather it on less almond will absorb into my skin. Or maybe I can use it as a room scent. Sigh.

[gypsybaby1]

holy cheese this is strong! I intentionally did a dab application instead of my usual swipe/slather and I'm still getting strong wafts all over the place. I seriously hope I don't make someone sick up here at work. Maybe it'll settle down after a few more hours.

 

In the bottle - almonds. delicious and tempting. I've been searching for an almond scent that doesn't go playdoh on me...

 

Dry - but alas, the almond goes bye bye as floral kicks it's butt out the door and establishes residence. I'm not normally a floral person, but this is pretty. I could wish that the almond and honey along with the apple blended together, joined forces to kick floral over, but it's not to be.

 

Still, this is pretty in a way. Now if I could only figure out how to do the lightest application. Time will tell if it gives me a headache or not.

[Browneyes]

My lovely decant fairy sent me a sniffle of this one.

The bit that I managed to smear on my skin smells predominantly like... honey and almonds. Unfortunately this doesn't seem to sit so well on me, but I'm glad I had the opportunity to snif it.

[maijasu]

At first, this is a delicious, buttery apple and almond. Then, within just a few minutes, it morphs into a barely-there, powdery floral. How odd.

 

I'll definitely try it several more times to see if it does anything differently, because I do love it at first.

[Jilara]

I was expecting something reminiscent of Queen of Sheba. Well, maybe in the same range, but this is more like Eclipse meets Osun.

 

In the bottle, it's all honey and almonds.

 

Wet, it's honey and almonds and an undertone of pastry. I don't get apple at all, not even apple fritter pastry.

Drydown: I'm getting a floral backnote coming up, that reminds me a lot of Osun at this stage. It's still got that Eclipse almond pastry thing going, though.

Dry: early stages, the notes are VERY heavy honeyed floral, with a lot of throw, and now the nutty notes are almost gone. It's the Osun floral pastry thing, but with a strong throw-note of French Love, or maybe Follow Me Boy. Weird. I can't distinguish any individual floral notes at all. It's sweet and floral with a voodoo blend sort of vibe, and an undertone of musk.

Dry, later on: Osun/French Love quality is gone, now. I get lily of the valley, honeyed pastry, and baby powder (but baby powder in a good way, because it's a myrrh-scented baby powder). Where's the rose and the apple? I haven't detected them at all.

Edited March 12, 2007 by Jilara

[Eleri]

this was all honey and almond at first, and I really loved it. As it dried, its going to really strong baby powder.

[bella_delirante]

I LOVE this scent!

 

In the bottle it smells so almondy, with a little spice and the rose behind it. It reminds me of a darker bastet. Like the edge of a desert bazaar at dusk, still hot but with a pleasant wind swirling all the scents of the city around you. Of course, in this scenario you're standing next to a stall that sells almonds.

 

On me it starts out really strong, but dies down quickly since my skin tends to eat up just about any scent. The almond and apple smell is dominant at first but fades to the background and the myrrh comes out very strong. After about half an hour the rose starts to sneak in more and blend with the myrrh nicely. The honey sweetens it up just a touch. I'm a fan of rose, so there's nothing that I don't like about this blend.

 

This has quickly become one of my favourite scents. SO glad I got it!

[Viridian]

In bottle: strangeness. Bottled strangeness. I cannot tell you what it smells like, because my nose is overwhelmed by all the stuff in here, but that's typical of BPAL, really. It's almondy, but... ah, hell, I don't know. It just smells odd.

 

On skin, wet: almonds. Bitter almonds, really, it's barely a sweet scent at all. And apples, and something a little sharp. Very strange. Not unpleasant, I don't think? But I'm not sure anything I'd wear as perfume. Still, BPAL has a habit of changing one's notions about perfume. We'll see.

Dry, on skin: some of the flowers are starting to come through. That's the sharpness. Almost something medicinal.

 

Whoa. The throw on this one is weird. I can smell the floral when my wrists are nowhere near my nose, but can only pick up the almonds now if I sniff my wrists.

 

15 minutes in it calms down into something wearable. I think maybe it just has to go through an early phase of all the notes fighting for dominance until it well and truly dries and blends with skin.

 

Huh. I really don't know what to make of this one. It turns nice, more a floral with a nutty undertone than nuts with a floral undertone, on me. I don't know if that's because my skin likes florals or what. The almond is still strong, though, just not overpowering like it was. It's a strange scent. I do like how it turns out, though.

 

Note: this one lasted all day on me. Literally all day. I put it on at noon, and it was still on my wrists when I fell asleep at like, 2 am.

[jenrandom]

Bilquis is a bit almondy with an odd bitterness when wet on the skin. The bitterness fades on drydown, but it's still there, and now there's more honey peeking through.

 

It's interesting, but not a favourite.

[Keslynn]

In the imp, this is almost completely almond and honey to me. Unfortunately, almond actually makes me a little nauseous, but I soldier on. I know I keep saying this, but: boy, am I glad I stuck with it!

 

On my skin, the almond is strong at first, but about 15 minutes later, it changes to a rosy floral that is on the verge of going powdery without ever going over the edge. I am enjoying it, but it's not really knocking my socks off. Then... she changes again an hour or so later. This is one moody lady, and I am so intrigued. Now the floral has completely lost the powder edge and become rich and rounded. The honey has really come out as a lovely companion to the flowers, and I think I'm smelling the apple a little too. Now it's knocking my socks off.

 

Seems to have a long weartime, and the throw is strong.

 

Verdict: I dislike the strong almond early on, but Bilquis more than makes up for it by how it smells later. I think I might need a full bottle of this changeable gal.