Plunder

[aquazoo]

The scent of a pirate's bumboat, overflowing with stolen wares: tea leaf, cassia, cinnamon bark, clove, allspice, sandalwood, tobacco, peppercorn, and nutmeg.

Nice woodiness with the spices coming up.The spices fight a bit, especially the cinnamon.

[forspecial_plate]

Spices and woods always get my attention, and this is one of my favorite spice scents from the lab. My imp is 2 or 3 years old and for me, everything is balanced just perfectly. I think it was a little more sharp when it was new.

 

Clove and cassia can both be tricky but they are very well behaved here. I do think of this as a simple scent, just spices and little else, but that's all it needs to be for me to love it. I don't pick up much tea or sandalwood, so I think of them as supporting notes.

 

I know I can always wear this when I can't decide what to wear. I love this scent and I have a bottle coming from the lab. : )

[Venneh]

In the imp, this is so wonderfully spicy. On my skin, just the same, beautiful balance of spices that doesn't burn the skin and the nose. Potentially could be a second skin test, depending on if it doesn't turn.

[GeorgeJr]

This is easily the spiciest BPAL I've ever encountered . It was also a frimp in the first order I ever made . I have to be in a certain mood to wear this . I like it a lot , but I think it can be too much on certain occasions . It's lightly boozy , almost honey like in it's sweetness . But after the initial application , the spices come out to play big time . Before you put it on , try sniffing it in the bottle . If you can't handle it there , you probably won't like it much on your skin . It does smell tea like , but not so much like chai to me . The spices , yes they are chai like . But there's more going on here then just the spices . I do get a little of the wood that others have mentioned , but only a tiny bit . The wood is something of a base note , there but not really a major player . It's more booze & spices up front . Do NOT slather , a little will go a long way !

[ShadesOfFree]

I think the imp I had of this (now reduced to just a sniffy, sigh, I need more) must have been aged - I got it from someone else for free, so I do not know; it does not match any of the reviews I've seen so far on here.

 

When I open the imp, it smells like moist wood. It reminds me of the part of the description that mentions a pirate's boat, or the crates of spices that are being plundered. I don't get any cinnamon/cassia smell at all, at first, it's all warm wet wood and a vague spice-sweet smell.

 

On me, it turns to wood and honey. I don't know how it happens, but somehow that spice-sweet turns into honey, and layers with the wood-smell. Once it dries, I get vague clove / cassia/cinnamon, but it's only in the very background. At some point, it turns into a lemon-honey-spice-wood combo, right near the end of it's life - which has been up to six hours, in certain areas (wrists fade fast, but most everywhere else does not).

 

Overall, I <3 this scent - but I really want to try it fresh, now, seeing everyone compare it to chai!

[MandyCassandra]

.....yep, this is it.

 

I'd been looking for a spicy scent that was nice and *dry*. Don't get me wrong - Bengal is *lovely*. But it didn't have that dry feel I was looking for.

 

Meet Plunder.

 

(firstly, I'd ordered an imp of this because I wanted to try it....but Beth was awesome enough to include a second imp as a frimp for me. I wish I could give her a hug...this is perfect.)

 

I've heard this described as a "chai" kind of scent...and I totally get that. I can also see the imagery from the BPAL site...the whole "bumboat overflowing with spices" kinda thing. It's sweet, it's pleasant, it's a little romanticized....it's hard to describe how much I love this one, from the vial all the way through the drydown to the last. It even affects my mood...smelling this makes me happy, and wearing it last night I was in a good mood all night.

 

It smells like sweet, dry chai all the way through, but it sweetens a little on me once I put it on. The only real change I notice as it dries down is that in the later stages, it gets a little powdery. But really that's not enough of a deterrent for me. I *am* getting a full bottle of this, one way or another.

 

Final rating: a glowing 5/5.

 

Thank you, Beth...for both hooking me up and for making the *perfect* spicy scent. You're an inspiration!

[Leafy Sea Dragon]

Plunder strikes me as a very "old timey" kind of scent, like pulling an old wooden box out of your grandma's attic and getting a whiff of old loose tobacco with a beautiful wooden pipe that's been sitting in there, untouched, for like a hundred years. Possibly inherited from your fearsome pirate ancestors that you didn't know existed.

 

Wet, I get the scent of dry spices and wood, as if someone dumped an entire jar of pumpkin pie spices all over a dusty old plank. It's pretty pleasant, but it gets better when...

 

During the drydown, the tobacco comes out to play. I'd recognize that smell anywhere, and I normally don't actually like it that much. In Plunder, however, the tobacco mingles beautifully with the spices and wood, and I think it may be what gives it that "nostalgic" scent.

 

On the whole, Plunder is an incredibly well-blended scent that makes me feel both badass and classy when I wear it. It's quickly swashbuckled its way to the top of my list - I feel like it would be the scent I'd be most likely to wear to a fancy event.

[Vega]

Sniffed: A mélange of cooking spices. Despite using them a lot, I'm not familiar with the smells of spices but I can pick out cinnamon and perhaps nutmeg.

 

On skin: Deep spices laid over a smooth base of tea leaf and other notes. This blend is quite well-mixed; most unfortunately, cinnamon is just taking centre stage and I can't quite smell anything else.

 

Verdict: This is quite disappointing. I can discern whiffs of lovely notes in Plunder, and it does promise to be a fine blend... but I simply can't get past cinnamon to smell them better. The same thing happened to Silk Road, so it looks like I can't wear cinnamon-containing blends, alas!

[keyake]

Ohhh I love this. This is a fast personal favorite, so I might as well review it.

 

In the imp: I'm not really sure about this... bitter and spice rack.

 

Wet on ARM* skin: Wait... wait, what is that? That's amazing. o_o How did it transform? (insert arm huffing here)

 

Drydown: Clove and cinnamon layered over a deep tea note and sweet tobacco. To me this isn't a dry scent but it's a sharp sweet one, the sort of thing that's mouth watering without being at all foody.

 

Dry: Nomnomnom. More of the same. Does last strongly only for about 4 hours but I'd reapply, definitely. It's definitely an example of something that I'm not fond of until it hits my skin, and then it blooms and loses all of the bitterness it had. It's not sweet like sugar, more like natural tea and tobacco sweetness, and it definitely reminds me of really good chai without the milk.

 

 

*I noticed with this oil that it just doesn't smell as good on my wrists as it smells everywhere else. But the crook of my elbow, back of my hand, neck, chest... awesome.

Edited June 28, 2011 by Shollin
Removed Lab description

[imaginepageant]

In the Vial: CLOVE. Super clove. But smoother and sweeter than straight-up clove - I want to say it's the sandalwood that's doing that, but I'm not sure. I can get a bit of cinnamon and tobacco in the background as well.

 

Wet: CLOVE. But more of a genuine clove now. The tobacco's really putting up a good fight, though, and getting stronger every second. This is sticking your nose into a package of clove cigarettes and inhaling.

 

Dry: Aha! The tea leaf has come out, and now it's chai tea! Very sweet chai tea, though. And... tobacco. Maybe there's a package of smokes sitting next to the teacup.

 

An Hour Later: It's a little less sweet, a little softer and smoother, and a little... bubblegummy? But still mainly chai tea and tobacco.

 

Overall: Interesting. I think I would like it more if it wasn't so sweet. The tobacco note in this reminds me a bit of The Antikythera Mechanism, but I much prefer that blend and would recommend it to anyone who thinks Plunder is too sweet and/or foody.

[theredkilt]

On skin: OMG, it's burning black pepper choking me

Drying: still sharp black pepper with cloves peeking out

Dry: cloves and black pepper

 

This is a winter scent most def.

[Honey]

Spiciness overkill!

 

 

Imp: Cassia, cinnamon, tea and clove. Very spicy!

 

Wet: Cassia and clove are very strong in this one!

 

Dry: Smokey spices and strong tea. Could imagine this one has a long staying power. Doesn't burn despite the cinnamon and cassia. Not too dark/sharp despite the pepper. Nice blend. Have to second that.. seems right for winter.

Edited August 30, 2011 by Honey

[TheFrenchWaffle]

I love this! Cinnamon is amazing!

In the imp: Screaming cinnamon and spice

Wet: Cinnamon reigns supreme! Reminds me of blockbuster...

Dry: The cinnamon softens and the sandalwood comes in to play.

 

Final verdict: I love this, The cinnamon plays well with my skin and sandalwood loves me. Now to death match between this an blockbuster...

[KindKit]

In the bottle, it smells (to paraphrase and expand on a previous comment) like someone brewing a cup of Stash Holiday Chai while filling a pipe. (This is not a bad thing.) Rum isn't supposed to be one of the scent notes in this but I can definitely smell it, and the tobacco note is the good smell of high-quality unlit tobacco, without the acridness of burning.

 

On first application, there's a piercing spicy top note (clove, I think) that's much more noticeable than in the bottle. A lot of sweetness but it's nicely toned down by the dark tobacco. After fifteen minutes or so the spices mellow--they're still very present but it's a mix of spices with no single one predominating. This is a really heady, intriguing scent. I kept sniffing myself while wearing it. It lasts well too.

[melrose]

one-note cinnamon: hot, burn, allergic, crap. It smells so good in the imp.

[Corvidchaser]

I LOVE the smell of this!

Someone mentioned its just like opening a herb cupboard, which I completely agree with. Warm, dry and definitely tea leaves!

The big problem though (and this is first time this has happened to me) IT BURNS!

I shall use it in my oil burner instead. It had a very xmassy scent about it.

[rhubarb3point14]

Plunder comes out of the imp smelling very sharp, almost violent. However, it quickly quiets down and mellows into a deep, rich, spicy mix as it dries. It does not morph any more after that, and I feel that it works almost independent of my body chemistry.

 

It smells exactly the way you'd imagine. I can pick out every single component listed in the description. On me, the cassia and black peppercorn are the strongest. I experience it as dry and woody rather than sweet and kitcheny.

 

I like it, but I don't find it especially compelling. There's no "whoa!" in it for me.

 

A later-in-the-day realization: I've just figured out what this fragrance is for (as if a fragrance has to be "for" anything!). It is the one scent I've ever worn that does not in any way cross swords with the food that I am eating. It is suitable for lunch or tea and will not in any way interfere with your wholehearted enjoyment of a chicken salad sandwich.

Edited November 15, 2011 by rhubarb3point14

[KatharinaNordh]

In Imp; woods and spices, I can sort of see it lying in a pile in golden sunlight being worth fortune. Very promising

 

Alas, on me; Chai in tea bag that was left just a liiittle bit too long in the water, and then someone added just a liiittle bit too much milk.

It smells sort of...faded. I can't quite describe it, but my hunt for someting spicy will have to go elsewere, Plunder is COZY on me, but not what I was looking for and not something I will wear.

[dreamingjune]

In bottle: Cassia and light, dry woods.

 

Wet: Definitely cassia, but it is not harsh. Also, the other spices are there but there is no red hot candy action happening here. Seems that the clove is behaving too. Underneath all of that I am picking up on dry, aged woods. Maybe a little bit of dry tea too, but there is nothing soapy about any of it. Nice!

 

Dry: The clove is starting to come up more, but it is not overpowering. The cassia is still hanging out with the dry woods.

 

Overall: A nice, light, dry spice blend. It makes me think of old dried out wooden chests filled with spiced and aged tea. There is not much throw happening here, but it is a pleasant blend. Though, I have to say that Milk Chocolate, Cassia, and Bacon will remain my cassia go-to blend.

[Incendiare]

This is strong cinnamon cassia tea in the vial. Almost astringent. Wet, the woods come out, as usual. The spicy notes are still dominating but the woods are adding a bit of dryness and depth to this. The cinnamon is starting to burn my skin about four minutes in. I love spice but to me this is just average. If you like cinnamon and/or cassia, give it a shot.

[lohengrin]

In the imp: Cinnamon.

 

On skin, wet: Cinnamon, with a touch of play-doh. o.O

 

On skin, dry: And now it's just cinnamon again.

 

After an hour: Straight-up cinnamon. Sigh. Not surprising, given how much I amp cinnamon, but I was kinda hoping one of the other strong notes in this would hold up at least a bit.

[VelvetSky]

My impression of Plunder is of black cinnamon tea, wonderfully blended and supported by the sandalwood. The smell of fresh tobacco (not dried tobacco as in a cigarette but green tobacco leaf) asserts itself in the middle somewhere along with delicious, warm spicy notes. I really love this one, with my only complaint being that it fades quickly on my skin and loses much of the spicy oomph in the final dryout. Still...Plunder is a beauty.

[hexnut]

PLUNDER

 

In Vitro Sweet spice, but also something... wet?

 

Wet Freshly applied, I smelled the spices I wanted, not too sweet, plus something else, probably the sandalwood. And a different note that I thought was pepper or tea. Very nice. But in two minutes it was markedly fainter.

 

Drying Here we go again - blended down to no distinct notes, faint but pleasant. I wasn't getting the pungency and warmth that I expected from the list, and perhaps that was the fault of whatever I identified as "wet" in the imp. The scent faded rapidly and was gone after two hours.

 

I tried Plunder as a hair scent and it lasted much longer, so as usual my thirsty skin is the culprit. I might get a bottle of it at some point if further testing convinces me I want to apply generously.

 

17

[Scorianelle]

Plunder is definitely a spice scent. I was so sure this would work on me because I know I love spicy perfumes but Plunder was a bit too... waterlogged. Not in that it smelled aquatic, rather there was no bite to it. It was musty and muted. The main notes I got were cassia and allspice and overall there was a distinct 'powder' quality to it, like I was opening expired spice jars. Mostly powder with a hint of scent and not one I particularly enjoyed, although it wasn't terrible. Ah well, I shall pass it on.

[Ilex]

In the imp this was whoa! cinnamon and a little bit of vinegar. The cinnamon was so sharp and harsh that even though I don't normally get burnt by cinnamon I was hesitant to put it on.

 

On initially it was the harshest, astringent cinnamon ever. Wow. Nothing but cinnamon.

 

And then it was powder and super sharp cinnamon. It reminded me of my grandmother, too much powdery make up and the harsh Ben Gay eucalyptus, except the cinnamon was playing the medicinal menthol role.

 

I wish I got some yummy complexity and woodiness from Plunder, but the cinnamon overwhelmed the boat and the sandalwood went to powder and those two things sunk it.