Pruno

[yeahbutnobut]

Jailhouse hooch. Distilled in toilets, this vintage is comprised of chow line droppings, including oranges, apples, ketchup, and sugar.

Pruno

In the imp: mmm, not bad! This smells like a cross between buck's fizz and those 'appletiser' soft drinks. Very fizzy!
Wet on skin: fizzy apples and orange, and a hint of tomato leaf?
Dry on skin: ok, now this smells odd. I smell the toilets. Not dirty toilets, thank goodness, but this smells like toilet cleaners, air fresheners and the stuff they use in public loos to get rid of the stink. It smells of apple, but no longer the boozy fizzy drink apple scent that seemed promising, but a fake chemical-smelling apple that reminds me of those little green clip-on air fresheners you put on the toilet seat. I also get the ketchup-a slight salty scent with a little spice and tomato, reminiscent of tomato flavoured crisps, it's borderline vinegary. Makes me think of tomato crisps floating in a disinfected toilet bowl. This smell is disturbing on me.
After a while: ew. I rarely say 'ew' about BPAL, but now this really does smell like public bogs and ketchup! Still clean, but now it smells more like toilet water stained green/blue by one of those 'cubes', with a spritz of apple air freshener. It smells a lot more water and now smells a little bit more disturbingly toilet like than before…there's even a hint of something almost stinky to it. And that ketchup note is now turning to vinegar on me. Not strong vinegar but the tang you get in ketchup, with a definite saltiness, and processed tomatoes. I also smell something like potatoes. Altogether this scent brings to mind the totally unhygienic image of eating chips in the loo.
The scent becomes a watery soapy scent of clean toilet water and salty ketchup with hints of appletiser drink and cheap white wine. Now I smell more of the booze, but it's not sophisticated booze at all.
The scent becomes just a tiny bit nicer after about 4-5 hours, when a hint of sugar comes out, along with the crisp apple soda note that I smelt when wet.
Verdict: well, I must say this scent is frighteningly like it's description. I've never smelt real pruno, so I can't say if it smells like that, but it does smell like some kind of home made alcoholic concoction gone wrong, mixed with the smell of clean toilets and ketchup. from smelling like an apple/orange spritzer, this quickly smells like something brewed in the loo…no really horrid toilet odours, but it smells just like apple air freshener (ie, a fake apple scent) and a hint of something watery and soapy. Then the ketchup surfaces, and it smells like the real thing-tomato, vinegar and spices, the vinegar being the most disturbing smell (I really can't stand the smell of vinegar) and even something potato like. Like flushing chips covered in ketchup in the loo with apples and cleaning products, and making some kind of beverage from that-definitely not something I would drink! So whilst this is a fantastic novelty scent and really fits the concept very accurately, it's a little too accurate, and I would never wear it again!
Emoticon rating:
Is it a keeper? no-I don’t like smelling like of apple Toilet Duck and ketchup, sorry!
If you like this, try: Punkie Night, Hesperides, Twenty One, Swank, The Hamptons

[batsy]

In the vial: Sugary apples, kinda like those cinnamon apples you get in TV dinners, if that makes sense. Mixed with vial floral perfume. Or is that toliet bowl cleaner?

 

On the skin: Pretty much the same, with a big pop of oranges on me. All citrus on the drydown, which is nice, and a big smack of cinnamon and sugar. I wish it did smell like ketchup, though. It's great for a laugh.

[ariosa]

This smells to me like fruity alcohol. Which is pretty much what I would expect Pruno to smell like on the way down, or back up, frankly! Smelling this makes my mind go to a yucky place. Very, very evocative...

 

but it makes me feel ill, so it's not for me!

[Tulliver]

This smells better wet than dry on me. Wet, I get the oranges, I get... something else, but I'm not completely certain what. I DO get apples. Mainly oranges, though.

 

But as it dries... hmmm... you know those free little soaps you get in hotels? Or sometimes in gift sets that you get bought which aren't from the most expensive of places? Hmmm. Yes. It's THAT smell. That smell exactly with just a teeny hint of background fizz.

 

It's not unpleasant... and it certainly is clean... but hmmm. I'm not sure. Perhaps I'll try it again and get a different result. Not one of my favourites, I'm afraid.

[usamimi]

I really wanted to try this one, just because it sounded unique...now that I have, I'm a little disappointed. On me, it smelled like someone mixed beer with pixi-stix and threw it on me. :/ Definitely doesn't work with my skin.

[euterpe414]

When I first smelled the bottle I recoiled a little bit. Not that it smelled bad, but it reminded me of some similar scents in the GC that went very VERY wrong on me - The Hamptons, Twenty One, and Swank...those bubbly, fruity alcoholic scents which smelled of rotten eggs and moldy fruit on my skin. With that I almost decided to sell or swap my bottle without even trying it, but...somehow I decided to test an eensy drop of it.

 

and it worked!

 

Somehow, magically, I did not get the rotten egg smell that I did from those other aforementioned blends. Pruno smelled on my skin mainly of a somewhat fruity ginger ale. I actually got complimented on it, too... So I am pretty glad that I tried this one. A definite keeper, and probably the only bubbly, fizzy, fruity blend of BPAL's that I will ever be able to wear!

[AmyAngel]

In the bottle, this smells VERY alcoholic and fizzy. Like a fruity fizzy cocktail or something. On my skin, the alcohol scent quickly dies down some, and the scent fades very quickly. I'm getting a clean, fizzy slightly fruity sweetness. I don't know if it's chemistry, or because it was in the hot mailbox all day or what, but it's fading FAST. What's there is a great fun summery light scent, but I really have to sniff hard to get any of it. I'm definitely going to have to test this again, as it's almost gone after less than 5 minutes. A few minutes later I can smell it a bit more, and it's nice! Fresh, I think I'm smelling oranges, with an almost-candy fizziness that somehow isn't too sweet.

[grrrlennyl]

at first: an acidic wine-ish scent.

on: lots of orange and apple, with something almost like a very alcohol-heavy cologne.

1 hour later: this reminds me a lot of 21.

5 hours later: the faintest scent of alcohol.

overall: i'm glad i got to try this out. it's pretty interesting, but not really me.

[Jenesis]

Oh. dear. god.

 

This smells EXACTLY like my home toilet. No fruit or anything even remotely nice. The smell reminds me of the few mornings I've spent with my head down said toilet after overindulging the night before.

 

Noooo thank you

[hkhm]

bottle: quite boozy, sort of a sour boozy smell.

 

wet: very strong booze with a sort of tart-sour apple smell.

 

dry: vague fruity booze. i think i still prefer swank for it's boozy scent but this is pretty good too.

[LadyCrow]

In the decant: Sweet, bright orange.

 

Wet: Orange Tic-Tacs! But in a good way. Fizzy alcohol undertone.

 

Drydown: This has a really low throw and a wearlength of practically nil on me, which is sad because it was kind of a fun smell. It had that fizzy, fake apple-orange thing going on, with just enough of a booze note to give it a kick, and when it was dry I smelled just the faintest, faintest hint of tomato leaf in back of all that. So it was light and weirdly pretty, not at all the mess I was dreading. But then it sank into my skin and vanished! I expect real jailhouse toilet hooch has a pretty low shelf life, too, but damn.

 

Verdict: Alas. This one actually had bottle potential, if it hadn't fled my skin like That Certain Socialite flees responsibility.

[lainevierge]

Oh god.

 

This smells just like a bus toilet. It reminds me why I don't take long bus trips anymore. Just sniffing the imp makes me nauseated. Wow.

I know that was probably the point, so I have no choice but applaud the lab's abilities. This stuff is going nowhere near my skin though.

[edenssixthday]

Pruno – I think I’m the only person in BPALdom who actually likes this blend. It’s sweet, fruity and effervescent. I do tend to like sweet, fruity scents and this reminds me of what you might get if you mixed something sweet and fruity like Jester or Titiana with Bon Vivant. I won’t wear it a ton, but I think it’s great for a hot, summer day.

[suki]

in the bottle: mr clean. i am SO serious. YUCK!

 

wet on skin: better! like mister clean, but with a little light orange thrown in. so, still not great.

 

dry down: actually, not bad. it reminds me of something, but i can't put my finger on what. a floral scent, maybe a perfume a relative wore when i was growing up. and there's an aquatic note in there, too.

 

in all: if you are the sort that goes for more floral-heavy blends, the kind to be worn in summer, you'll likely really, really dig this. but for a foodie like me, it's a no-go.

 

swap, anyone???

[Lavada]

Fizzy artificial orange juice up close, but the throw...

 

...toilet cleaner? Very bleachy.

 

Un/fortunately, it has a short wearlength and the throw isn't really that far-reaching.

[twilighteyes]

In the bottle:

Fruity booze. Almost like what you'd be smelling after calling ralph on the big white phone.

 

Wet on skin:

Oranges. Teeny tiny bit of booze.

 

Dry on skin:

Soft orange. MUCH nicer now that it's dry. Still a hint of booze in the background but not ralph-phone booze.

 

Wasn't going to try this because of the initial scent.... but it's actually pretty nice on your skin.

[alsatia]

Expectations: Sickly sweet and boozy. Knowing my luck, it will probably be heavy on the ketchup.

 

In vial: Smells a bit like someone vomited after too many wine coolers.

 

On skin, wet: Toilet bowl cleaner? I didn't think prison toilets were ever cleaned.

 

On skin, dry: It smells familiar, maybe like a commercial perfume I've tried. The oranges are making themselves known, but I can't pick out any of the other ingredients. It has more throw than I'd expect based on the strength at close range.

 

After time: At 15 minutes, it smells of nothing but spoiled orange juice. I'm shocked at the fact that this doesn't actually repulse me. At 30 minutes, it's a bit more fermented, but otherwise unchanged. An hour later, it's faded a lot, and there's the slightest hint of apple.

 

Conclusion: Meh. It's not disgusting, but I'm not drooling over my arm either.

[olive]

I love this concept. This smells like ice cold Orange Crush soda with a splash of vodka over tons of ice cubes. It just has this really cold, fizzy, slightly alcoholic tinge to what is otherwise a very bright and juicy orange smell. I love this immensely and wish I hadn't ignored this decant in my desk for so many months. Love it! An instant classic, unlike any other bpal out there.

[crazyredhead17]

I got my bottle of Pruno off of ebay last spring or summer, and when the initial sniff made my eyes water it went in the "to be tried when I'm feeling brave" pile, where it's been sitting until just now when I started to write up a sales post..

 

In the bottle it's super powerful orange.

 

Wet, it was BOOZE and sparkly orange and more BOOZE (some booze notes work for me, this one is not one of them).

 

And.. it's barely on my skin and I'm smelling icky fruit, BOOZE, and dryer sheets. Blech.

[steelxrose]

Pruno

 

I was frimped this (just in time, too, as I was THIS CLOSE to getting a bottle.) However, I must be one of those weird people that Pruno loves..because I have to admit.. I adore it. It's fizzy and fruity. Almost a cross between The Hamptons and Spiked Punch. Definitely will be after someone's bottle now.

[DARKBEAUTY28]

I can smell the the apple, and maybe champagne? I even catch a slight ketchup note when first applied. Drydown is a light effervescent fruity scent. This one smells great on me! Very fresh! Don't let the description scare you away from this one!

 

One more thing, it smells nice layered with Shango.

Edited June 2, 2008 by DARKBEAUTY28

[Indigo78]

In the bottle this is fizzy, light - yeah, Orange Slice all the way. I sniffed the bottle when it first arrived, but stalled reviewing it. . . On the skin this turns instantly heady on me. The light effervescence goes *poof*, and the heavy booze sets in!

 

I can absolutely smell the ketchupy, tomatoey note, and it seems to be the base note on my skin during the drydown. Really, after the wet stage, my skin morphs this into the first and only BPAL I've need to rinse off.

 

Even though Pruno doesn't mesh with my chemisty, I love the concept and the notes. Could be sexy as hell on the right type of woman.

Edited June 4, 2008 by Indig0

[nightbiscuit]

Sweet, tingly, fruity, SUGARY! Like hard red candies, or some really artificially flavored soda. This is probably the sweetest BPAL scent I have ever tried.

[themerrybaker]

I was conflicted about Pruno and Privilege when they were available from the lab - with so many irresponsible rich middle aged white males, why go after an irresponsible rich young female? Maybe I am projecting my unease onto the scent, but this reminds me of commercial "citrus" dishwashing liquid or shower gel. Very grateful to have been gifted with a half-decant, though.

[Kittenmorag]

In the bottle- The first time I sniffed this wet, I hated it with a deathly passion. There was a real bitter note, which may be the bottom, bitter note of the orange. After a bit more consideration, I can smell a sweetness beneath which makes me curious, and a trace of citrus freshness. Let's try some on, shall we?

 

On the wrist- Burning rubber? What the hell? Wait, yes, that's burning rubber. There are little candy-esque notes peeking out from underneath, but this smells like how almonds get on me- horrible. Yeurgh. After a little while it softens out, but that dreadful note lingers- it's almost medicinal, a bit like cough syrup, which is ever so disappointing

 

Overview- I get the feeling this one would last a while if I let it- not as long as, say, Priala does, but long enough to achieve the purpose. I really wish the apples had come to the front on this one. I'm beginning to think that Apple notes don't like me. Please say it isn't so. But Pruno and I don't get along, sadly. That's OK, though, I got my bottle for a bargain, and i'm sure one of my sniff circle ladies will appreciate it.

 

=^..^=

Edited November 6, 2008 by Kittenmorag