War

[Indigo78]

Red ginger, black spices, patchouli, honeysuckle, and three blood-soaked red musks.

In the bottle this is a piece of crunchy, fresh Ginger with an underlying note that's almost creamy. Keep in mind, this is an aged imp (don't know how aged, but aged) won on Ebay.

Anyway the scent is strong and pleasant, which is great since it seems to have spread onto other imps in the package (despite the sender's great attention to spillage factors with extra tape and bubble wrap). It is simply that strong.

Wet on the skin this is vibrant, delicious, smoky ginger. Yum. Developing it radiates candles, and lots of them. Somehow this scent reminds me of holiday shopping, peering over the heads of bustling shoppers to locate a wandering relative: I also happen to be standing between a Thai Grill, a Starbucks kiosk, and a Yankee Candle. Hmmm. Weird but fleeting.

The candle-y, almost paraffin aspect is what the drydown amounts to. I am utterly in love with the smoky, "burning" (to quote another reviewer) element War has. Delicious, wild, and intoxicating. The throw on this is above average, and so is the wear length.

I have two bottles on order: One for my sister (the original guinea pig) and one for my hoard. A keeper~ Edited June 18, 2008 by Shollin

[kittycatpurr]

In the bottle: Sour stomach acids. But after so many scents have turned sweet, I'm interested in trying something bitter.

Wet: Still not understanding this.

Drydown: Now a little honeysuckle, but it's mostly acid. Something is going wrong -- I wonder if that's the black spices, or the red musks?

Dry: And my skin swallows it completely, except for a peppered honeysuckle glaze.

Later: After some comparative sniffing, I accuse red ginger, in the bottle, with the rotten smell.

[mhickle]

In the imp, War is mostly sweet, trying her best to hide that sharpness that you can just feel below the surface. As soon as I put it on, wham! There it is - peppery and dark and something sinister, but never without the sweetness from the beginning. The musk comes in waves, with the sweetness of ginger following, but always keeping that pepper and spice. This doesn't have a lot of throw on me and I think it will be gone by midday, but I do really love it. I think I'll try it in a locket to see if it lasts longer on me.

[gchris]

In Vial: This oil is the color of blood.

 

Wet: I smell the red musk strongly but then something nutty and earthy. Almost like mushrooms. I think it is the patchouli, which I hate.

 

Dry: The patchouli fades some and the musk is dominant. When I smell this I really can see the tragedy and destruction of war.

[hackess]

Holy hell. War smells like damp basement and perm solution. The ginger is probably behind the mustiness I'm associating with "basement," but I very much think the red musks are to blame for the horrific sour notes. Honeysuckle makes this one a stomach-turner because it seems so out of place. Unless you enjoy red musk, join the peace movement and avoid War.

[LadyLuckDoubt]

In the Bottle

A weird green mismatched blend of who-the-heck-knows what. Seriously, I have no idea: I'm getting a light grassy smell and just this...s trange blend of other stuff.

 

On Me

Initially, it smells almost fungal. Seriously, like rotten mushrooms. The musk and ginger vy for dominance, and then out comes the patchoulli. Oh dear: patchoulli and I aren't friends. But it dries down and the patchoulli behaves itself-- I'm left with a smokey, warm musky blend. A few hours later-- musk and honeysuckle.

 

It's pretty when it dries down-- not at ALL what I expected for something alled War-- very light and sweet-- but rather nice all the same.

[greenranger]

An aggressive musky scent. I can definitely see this as the scent of someone out to start fights. Spicy powerful musks with the honeysuckle sweetening it slightly, like a thin veneer of civilization.

 

I had to try it, but, I think I am finding a new home for this. I don't think I have the attitude to carry it off.

[cam]

This smells very strongly of pepper and ginger in the bottle. On, it starts to soften once it dries. Give it a few minutes, and I still smell the pepper and ginger topnotes, but there's an underlying sweetness. It's a little bit almondy, maybe. It's very nice once it chills out a bit on my skin. I actually like it quite a lot. It's very complex and interesting.

[Briarose]

I'm smelling mostly pepper with a background of oranges and peaches and I am too scared to try it on! If I get brave enough I will report back!

[crebbsgirl]

I am going to blame skin chemistry here. But I get a WTF Kettle Corn smell. No red musk, no patchouli, no ginger, no honeysuckle, and no black spices. Kettle freaking Corn.

[rayvn1]

I couldn't decide if I liked this one or not It's very spicy on me but somehow sort of milky(?) at the same time. Didn't last very long, unfortunately. I love most of the Gaimans so I think I'll hold onto this and try again at a later date.

 

 

Edit: Long after application the creaminess of this one came out even more. Very strange - but I like it! I think.

Edited October 18, 2008 by rayvn1

[teacrumb]

Woohoo spicy! Like ginger and pepper biting spicy, but with sweet underneath. Not foody at all by the way. I've never smelled anything like it, though I'm not sure I would use a whole bottle of it...

[naeelah]

I thought I reviewed this when it was new, but apparently not.

 

I got my decant when the scent debuted (a year ago?), and age has done it well. All I really remember about it when it was fresh was that it was quite strong on red ginger, which is to say that it was weirdly funky on my skin.

 

Now, it's almost masculine. The funkiness of the ginger has tempered with time, so now it just has a pleasant spiciness. Wet, the red ginger and red musks are most apparent, and they're soon followed by sleek black spices. The spices are cool at first but become more peppery as they dry. The honeysuckle becomes apparent after a few minutes. Here, it smells just like fresh honeysuckle blossoms, sweet and succulent. They round out the spice and musk well.

 

As it continues to dry, the patchouli becomes apparent. I usually amp patchouli, and I can definitely smell it here, but it doesn't take over. It's a cooler patchouli and not overly earthy.

 

In the end, it settles on a powerful, sleek, red scent. The musks are the strongest, on my skin, but the other notes are there. Once dry, they blend together seamlessly. It's truly unisex, and definitely not foody at all.

 

Try it if you like: Aries, The Bloody Sword, Mad Meg

[nekodromeda]

This scent gives me more reasons to go out to a goth night- this would be perfect! The dark, sweet muskiness from the patchouli, musks and honeysuckle working with the spiciness from the 'black spices' (meaning pepper) and ginger would work perfectly on the dance floor. Oddly enough, I'm also getting some cinnamon from it, but that's not a bad thing.

 

In general, once I get the funds, I might seriously consider buying a bottle of this.

[Suu4LC]

Ack...all I smell in the imp is patchouli and musks and something totally off...might be the honeysuckle, tends to be a doom note with me...damn, I was so excited because I love ginger, but I'm afraid to even put this on my skin...

 

Ok, wow this is just foul on me, like sour vomit...this may take the place for one of the worst bpals ever on my skin :D I think I need go to wash it off...

[unlaced]

Mmmmmm! This could be one of my new favorites!

 

In the bottle and wet on my skin it's spicy! Not burning my skin but wow... I guess that's the ginger?

 

I've never tried any BPAL with patchouli (I was kind of afraid it would be too dark) but nothing in this scent is too dark. At first the spice seems similar to what I smelled in Scherezade (All I got out of that was spice, no musk). I wore this all day and after a while the super-spicy calmed down into something almost fruity (dunno where that came from) and kinda sweet, I'm assuming from the honeysuckle. I only applied to my wrists and neck but I could smell it wafting around me.

 

ETA: I have to say, this is a favorite for me. I tend to think of it as my scent. I switch it up so much that I don't really have a "signature scent" but if I did, this would definitely be it. It's like slipping onto a smooth, warm leather jacket that fits you perfectly. That's worn in just the right places. Sexy and comfortable and perfect!

Edited March 25, 2009 by unlaced

[rawgirl75]

WHOA! What a drastic change to this since I first tried this! War is truly one of those scents that needs aging.

 

I disliked War when it was fresh because the red musk was wild and crazy powder on my skin and the patchouli was headshoppy and cedary-like so I'd swapped it away. Recently however, I was frimped an aged imp of this and WOW what a difference. War has tamed down into a slick, peppered ginger that quickly melts into your skin. The crazy dust and cedar are long gone. And it lasts! Ive been wearing this it for over 6 hours now and can still smell it. War is what I'd hoped Ifrit would smell like and I really like it!

 

I agree with the others that a little goes a long way with this one. Slather with caution.

 

ps. Im surprised that no-one else has compared this to The Great Sword of War but without the citrus note. They smell similar to me for some reason.

Edited February 26, 2009 by rawgirl75

[ouch!]

This smells of soooo many things at once it actually made me recoil. This is like no other bpal oil for sure. The 3 red musks are what attracted to me to this.

The words I can use describe this are...

 

Burnt

Plastic

Spice

Wood

Weird

 

This is gonna sound weird too but..once the weirdness of that initial application and the drydown stage starts to happen, I get really strong whiffs of exactly what Lush's Jingle Spells ballistic smells like. I checked the ingredients of it and it says...Tangerine, Juniperberry, ylang ylang. So...that makes no sense but I swear it's almost identical!!

 

Then comes much more wood, and a really really weird note I've never smelled in my life. God knows what that is.. it's like burnt seeds, or.... burnt indian sweets. So so strange.

 

This is a stand out oil for me, but I'm not sure it's in a good way or not, it's just too bizzare at the moment. I'm gonna leave it on my wrists for a little longer then finish this review.

 

*totters off looking pretty*

 

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*totters back*

 

Hmm....this is woodsy more so than before. Now it smells of wood with a little bit of exoticness from the red musks. I'm on the fence.

 

 

 

[donnatron]

Bottle: Spicy ginger, red musk and a touch of... blood musk? Smells similar to Allison Gross and High Priest Not to Be Described.

 

Wet: There's the honeysuckle. Honeysuckle always goes very warm and gooey on my skin and this is kind of odd. There's a very feral, dark, terrifying scent in here but it's kind of tempered by a bit of a baked goods smell. The dischordant notes are... weird.

 

Dry: Honeysuckle dominates! This winds up smelling kind of like... extremely dirty, naughty and wrong, and yet covered by a veil of sweetness. I don't think it necessarily smells like it's supposed to on my skin, but it smells really damn sexy. Like I'm head of the PTA by day and selling nuclear arms and executing enemies by night. Very sultry. A little foody and sweet from the honeysuckle but ultimatley a throw down sexy sort of spicy musk.

 

Throw: Moderate.

 

Overall: Hot damn. War is pretty seductive, eh?

[angelicruin]

Inside the imp, bitter patchouli.

 

On my skin, patchouli, bitter spices, and honeysuckle. Ewww, this is not good on my skin and needs washed off NOW.

[Gin]

War

 

Musk and ginger like whoa! Underneath is the sweetness of honeysuckle. This has that sugar-crunchy smell that some BPALs have--like when fruits are dipped in sugar, and the sugar gets crunchy? Like that, but not fruity. War is metallic instead. I like this for the character in the book, but it's definitely not a scent I'd wear.

[totheo]

GAH! HOLY CRAP! *hides from elbow*

 

Wow. In the bottle and straight on my skin, this scent makes me feel sick. Something really incredibly strong and foody about it, which I suppose is the red ginger. But there's something along the lines of cinnamon, nutmeg... okay, maybe it really is the ginger... makes me think of a pumpkin pie of steroids. Kind of Jack-esque.

 

Starts to calm down after a while and the sickening, overpowering quality is almost gone.

 

Very peppery, with the ginger hovering around going "Yeah, what's it to ya?"

 

This is actually an interesting scent, it just kinda HITS you (which seems to be appropriate, according to the excerpt) Not really to my tastes but I would recommend trying it to adventurous types. Would definitely suit some fiery people down to the ground and anyone who's willing to handle the dry down.

[March]

War has that 'thing' Shub-Niggurath also has that simply turns my stomach. I'm not sure what it is, the descriptions have ginger and spices in common but it doesn't say which. And, like Shub, if I suffer through the drydown phase I rather like it. But not enough.

 

Luckily, Shub seems to be a very popular scent, so maybe I'll find lots of happy swappers for War as well!

[Diva Urd]

Vial: Sharp ginger and something creamy, with a hint of patchouli

On: Almost nutty, but with a background that's both creamy (musks going powdery?) and sharp. Reminds me of marzipan. Not a lot of throw. As it dries, the creaminess turns more powdery and seems to fade into the background, and I smell something floral, probably the honeysuckle. Not bad so far.

Later: This turned into slightly gingery dust shortly after complete drydown. How sad... me and War don't seem to get along.

[Venneh]

I got a tester of this in a recent swap; there's just enough of it for me to dab on a finger. In the decant, I got a lot of ginger and the patchouli or spices; on my thumb, I'm getting the honeysuckle, I think, and the blood-soaked musks, with a hint of spices, a darkly sexy scent. Bottle, I'm thinking.