Intrigue

[faerywolfe]

A sultry, exotic scent that inspires devious plotting and clandestine affairs. It is a scent painted in artifice, veiled in deceit, and slithering with whispered secrets. Black palm, with cocoa, fig and shadowy wooded notes.

In the bottle:
Rich, sweet, and oh so deep. Sultry and gently bitter. The black palm lends a gritty lushness that’s not quite green, while the fig and cocoa blend into a single intoxicating note. There are dark, dry woodsy notes playing in the background, but it is nothing like pine or any other evergreen. This is nothing like I’ve ever smelled! It’s dark and sexy and comforting.

Wet:
Creamy, luxurious, and still subtly bitter. Smells like blackened wood and dark dry cocoa. It loses some of the lushness on the skin but gains a rich new dimension. The fig and cocoa blend beautifully.

After a while:
Decadent and exotic. The fig becomes a creamy warm sweetness and the cocoa becomes smooth dark chocolate. The woods are still dark and dry hiding in the shadows, but adding a depth and strength to the blend that’s indescribable.

Drydown:
Smooth and sleepy and delicious. This becomes a deep creamy delicacy that I can’t pry my nose from. It’s still seductive and slightly dangerous but now it reminds me of a big cat napping after a satisfying hunt.

Final thought:
OMG. I want to roll in this scent! It’s sexy and exotic and primal. Every stage of this oil is perfect. This is my first major BPAL love. Good thing I already have a bottle on the way!

Edited to add description Edited September 29, 2007 by Shollin

[treska]

I got this one as a frimp. It's the second BPAL for me (after All Saints) that turned out to be much more about the memories it brought back than the actual scent.

 

This started out smelling very much like wood -- not like trees in a forest, but like freshly installed wood paneling. Then the fig started to come out in force, which made for an interesting combination.

 

After about 15-20 minutes it morphed some more and I found myself thinking that the smell reminded me of the 70's. I couldn't figure out why, until I realized that it smelled like the summers my family used to spend at the beach when I was a kid, down in South Carolina (back, you know, in the 70's). I'm not sure what notes are involved in that, but the scent takes me right back there, to days running around on the porch in my pink innertube, swimming in the ocean, and making drip castles in the sand.

 

I'm not sure I love the actual scent, but the memories that it evokes are enough for me to keep and re-use this imp.

[PhedrenoDelaunay]

The description's really accurate. This scent put me in mind of lots of wealthy aristocrats being decadent and whispering behind their fans. At the same time, it's sort of exotic. Sniffing it with the cap still on, I get a lighter, sweeter figgy kind of smell, but as soon as the cap comes off the palm attacks me, sprinkled with enough cocoa to make it rich and fill it out. It's slightly reminiscent of what I imagine an island smells like. I'm definitely a fan. Haven't test driven it yet, so I'm not sure what my skin will do to it, but it's rich and lovely in the bottle.

[Dinerdulcinea]

Intrigue:

imp: wood...and cocoa

 

On wet:

cocoa and...something. Maybe palm(?) maybe wood (?) hmmm...

 

Dry. I can't quite put my finger on this. I love the cocoa and the wood...almost a spicy wood. YUMMY!!!!

 

After several hours

I eventually get a woody soapy smell. No more cocoa. Not overly soapy, but a little soapy. Or incense-y. Nice, but not sure I want to smell like that all day.

 

Summary--Up for consideration.

[fairy]

In the bottle this smelled chocolatey. On my wrist I could smell the transformation happen. It got a late-night ourdoorsy in late autumn, smell I smell chimney smoke and the air is crisp. A wonderful and interesting blend. Lives up to its name

[WidgetAlley]

Not my Imp, so this'll be a quickie review.

 

In the Imp: Fig, dry and brown and sweet, is the first thing I get, then a powdery cocoa (emphatically not chocolate-- it lacks the creamy sugar), and an assortment of cracked woods (the overall effect of which is a tiny bit like pepper.... spicy and dry.) It's a touch bitter, a touch smoky, a touch sweet, and smells rather a lot like some sort of exotic tea.

 

Wet: Dessicated fig, bone-dry cocoa, and, strongest of all, the sharp-dry-spice bite of the woods. There's something in here that smells terribly familiar but I can't quite place it.... you know the feeling. It's dark and complex and interesting, and reminds me a touch of Gomorrah (fig and wood.)

 

Dry: Settled down and blended into a dry, slightly bitter melange of cocoa and wood and fig: tea-like and pepper-like and interesting. It's really nice, and I can see why people love it, but it's not quite me. I think I preferred Gomorrah, just a tad. Still, glad I got the chance.

[yeahbutnobut]

Intrigue

 

In the imp: green fig and cocoa. This reminds me of Freak Show.

Wet on skin: tangy fig, a sprinkling of dry cocoa, and wooden notes.

Dry on skin: mmm, I like this. The fig does eventually settle down, becomes less tangy, and more ripe fig like in scent, which I love. The cocoa is there but isn't obvious, I can just make it out. There are some gorgeous deep wood notes, possibly palm as well as other woods, maybe cedar, at the base of the scent. The scent is dry, earthy, deep and fruity, very unusual, slightly reminiscent of Carnal, Freak Show and Strangler Fig.

After a while: the fig note sharpens a bit, and the Freak Show resemblance gets a little stronger. It's chocolate-coated fig with a hint of something almost citrus like to it, on a soft woody background. This tang does ease after a few hours to give a very pleasant smooth chocolate-sandalwood-ripe fig scent that is delightful, if a little soft. This becomes sweeter and lovelier upon drydown after many hours.

Verdict: I'm very fond of this intriguing scent-it does get nicer upon drydown, I must say. The first bit was the 'green fig' note I sometimes get from BPAL fig notes, not bad but not ripe enough for my tastes. But this mellows, mingles with the cocoa and palmy woods and becomes so much nicer upon drydown, with nuances of incense, warm sandalwood and sugary treats of chocolate and sweet figs. I'm not sure if I'll keep it though since Freak Show and Strangler Fig do have similarities to this but are a lot more complex and the incense-fig note in SF is a lot richer and sweeter which I prefer, but I do like this.

Emoticon rating:

If you like this, try: Carnal, Strangler Fig, Velvet

Edited September 28, 2006 by yeahbutnobut

[Tess]

One word: fig. I'm hoping this goes ripe fig and dark chocolate on me, something rich and smooth. The wood notes will hopefully keep the sweetness down.

 

In the vial - Oh the fig! It's a touch sweeter in the cocoa than the fig and the mix isn't too smooth yet.

 

Wet - Wow, that dry wood pops out and just schmacks everything else down!

 

Drying - OMG, the throw on this is heaven. PURE HEAVEN. My skin eats oils as a rule, but I'm typing and I can smell the glorious wood and chocolate covered fig. It's wafting around me in clouds of goodness. Oddly, though smelling my wrist directly does NOT smell good, more like burnt fig tree than anything else.

 

Dry (30 minutes) - There's still tons of throw to this one! Where the heck does it all come from, I ask you? It's a little heavier on the woods than I'd like, but there's that fig and cocoa hanging in the background that just draws me in...

 

Overall - I have no choice, I simply must give it a few more tries. It throws! On ME!

[edenssixthday]

Intrigue - This is a highly woody scent on me. The wood is sweetened by the fig, but it’s still very much a predominantly woody blend. The fig comes out more as the oil warms up on my skin, and the fig is lovely, but the wood is too much like cedar for my liking. The cocoa is barely discernible and it mostly just gives the wood a bit more depth and keeps it from smelling completely like pencil shavings. It’s too bad the fig note isn’t more prevalent in this blend, otherwise I might be able to wear it. As it is, it’s off to the swap pile.

[QueenFae]

This is a very sharp cocoa blend; the cocoa is very pure and bitter, like the stuff you cook with. For me, this isn't really a chocolatey/foody scent, since the cocoa is unsweetened and the woodsy notes are strong too. The fig makes for a lovely companion to the bitter cocoa, and it creates a very unique scent. The wooded notes are dark, but not overly earthy or spicy. This is a really different one, just lovely.

[supremegoddessofall]

Very fruity! The fig is overwhelming pretty much everything else. I get just a hint of chocolate in the background, but if you're looking for a chocolate scent this definitely isn't it. I get a hint of something darker hiding underneath, but I don't know if I would call it a "shadowy wooded note."

[Monster]

Right out of the imp I'm getting all green fig. It also has that "all of my imps" smells...the smell of my BPAL box of all my oils mixing together.

 

On my skin this turns into something a bit mor woody. There's an almost cedar note in here still mingling with the sweet, green fig.

 

This is really pretty but just kinda of "blah".

[cinderfallen]

On initial application: CEDAR OMG CEDAR!

A minute later: PENCIL SHAVINGS DO YOU FEEL NOSTALGIC FOR 4TH GRADE??

[mtlaise]

This scent stays true for the whole time it's there, only fading slightly. On me, this is a well blended scent, with two notes sharing the forefront, giving it a woodsy scent with a hint of cocoa; I can't really identify the fig in this. I quite like this one, and think it would be a great amazing for a guy.

[fiddledragon]

On me, this was all fig all the time...a fresh fig scent like in Strangler Fig, not like the dried figs in Gomorrah. I was hoping for some cocoa and woods to show up, but nope; just fig. Nice fig, but I'm not sure I'm quite *that* much of a fig lover, so this one may end up in swaps. I'll give it some time to see if it morphs any with my changeable skin.

[outofrhyme]

In the bottle:

...different. In a cloying, kinda icky way. I was probably thrown off because I had no idea what notes were in it when I sniffed it. Seemed like it might improve on the skin, though.

 

Dry down:

It's obnoxious on me. I can pick out the cocoa and the fig, I think, now that I know what they are, but the woods have gone really nasty on me. Almost smells a little bit like licorice.

Final thoughts:

I tested someone else's (newish) imp, and it's definitely not something I'm going to get myself.

[Spastik_Kitty]

In the imp: The fig hits me first, with the palm and cocoa slapping me a close second

 

First on: Yummy, slightly sweet, chocolate covered figs with something similar to the TAL Eleggua that reminds me of cigar tobacco.

 

After a bit: It develops into a more earthy scent with the foodiness just lending a balance.

 

A bit more: This reminds me of Eleggua in so many ways (but is still vastly different), slightly dusty and a little more sweet in comparison.

 

A keeper, I want my hubby to slather himself in this

[nancybridget]

What a warm, woodsy scent. To me, Intrigue is slightly reminiscent of an old furniture store.

 

And then there's that bit of fruit...

[juniperus]

Bottle: chocolate covered..figs. ruh?

Wet: ah, the woods...very interesting...I'm just not sure what to make of this.

Dry: something odd here, mayhaps the palm. it's getting rather dark and ouchie.

Later: yep, wrong. sadness is mine.

[phedre]

In vial: cocoa and wood, a little fig.

 

wet: there's cocoa, but it's not obnoxious like it normally is. A bit of fig, and subtle wood notes.

 

Dry: this has gotten very cedary with a lot of fig, and very little cocoa remaining. It's not something I'll wear, it's just a touch off on me. It kind of smells like root beer, actually

[Browneyes]

Imp: the cocoa note that I didn't particularly care for in Vice. uh-oh.

Wet: there it is!! ^

Dry: wood. Pencil shavings. And that "scratch n' sniff sticker" association that I get from this particular cocoa note.

 

So this is very reminiscent of 4th grade indeed. Bah! Will hang on to the imp until I'm sure though, because I really wanted to love this one.

Edited February 10, 2007 by Browneyes

[KassiK]

In the imp: I can smell the chocolate note, but it's dominated by a woodsy scent that I like very much.

 

wet/dry down on skin: hubby immediately reacted positively. He finds the scent warm and calming. I have a different take on it. I definitely find it warm, but I wouldn't describe it as calming as much as crisp and even somewhat alert - so I would imagine it has to do with the imagery the scent brought with it as I associate it with a more alert state. While the scent is very appropriately named, I would have been just as happy with the name, "black wooded area at night." This scent brought up images of a forest full of shadowy trees, right after a crisp snow and the night sky. I even described it as like, "having sex in the forbidden forrest at Hogwart's". It also smells of a wooded retreat. Perhaps a burrow in the middle of the woods at night, light up dimly and softly brewing hot coacoa.

 

This is an umbelievably lovely woody scent that is for me something I could wear with or without the desired "mood" to be there. This is definitely going to turn into a big bottle for me.

[abejita]

I think this is one of those highly under-loved BPAL GC treasures. It was one of the first blends I tried and have recently rediscovered. The cocoa is dry and dark, like in Velvet, the fig adds a round, tart note. I can't figure out what the black palm smells like, but it must be good. The woods linger close to my skin, deepening everything.

 

If you like this, try Velvet.

[femmefatale]

This is an interesting one.

At first it's all woods, but as it dries the fig comes out and sweetens it. Not getting any of the cocoa.

 

I do like it, though I doubt I'll get a bottle. I am glad I got to try the imp.

[Iceblink]

This was a frimp in the order I got yesterday and I'm so glad it was tossed into the package, because I love this. It's sort of a Velvet with figs on me (and without that slightly sour note that fresh Velvet has). The fruit and cocoa are prominent and the woods are hovering in the background perfectly. It's beautiful, and a good way to wear cocoa without smelling like a candy bar.