Bayou

[emzebel]

A lazy, warm deep green scent with a thick aquatic undertone: Spanish moss, evergreen and cypress with watery blue-green notes and an eddy of hothouse flowers and swamp blooms.

Bayou is one that I had completely written off as something I would never be able to wear and/or wouldn't like because of the heavy blooms.

Well, I was half right.

Iactually liked this, much to my great surprise, as a combination heavy floral/watery scent is not exactly my typical scent pattern. It is not something I would reach for often, but might ocassionally.

But there is something, probably night blooming jasmine, that kills this, and my brain, for me.

[carolinachiquita]

I knew I wouldn't like this one but I thought I'd give it a go before writing it off completely! I was pleasantly suprised - it is one of the nicer aquatics but I think that is because to me its half aquatic and half floral. Now that I've had it on for 10+ hours it is a nice but faint floral on me. I guess its going to go on the swap list though as it didn't grab me!!

[Voleuse]

This is lovely on first application, and absolutely blue-green. I definitely get the aquatic notes, and it's a cool and verdant scent. I can smell the moss and the evergreen, but it's muted, and the florals balance it out perfectly.

 

This doesn't come off as strong on me at all, but more of a pleasant, murky, wandering fragrance. Humid and faintly blooming. As it dries down, the moss gets a little sharper, but the hint of florals stick around. After a couple of hours, however, it all morphs to a soapy, floral moss that makes me nose itch. I prefer the earlier stages to the end.

 

I don't think I've ever been to the actual bayou, but something in this scent reminds me of somewhere I've been. I just can't remember where!

[kettu]

Smells like wet, floral earth. Vaguely headache-inducing (some floral combos do that to me)... but not yet. Don't know if I like it, but I definitely don't hate it.

 

Getting steamy now. Very hothousey.

 

Mmmm... moist moss.

 

Now watery with moss overhead.

 

(after about an hour or so) Yup, this is moist and mossy. I like it!

[LushNatty]

In the bottle: it’s a very strong, watery floral, and it is already cloying, but in a pretty kind of way. Definitely evocative of a bayou.

Applied: another example of how you have to try these oils before you know if you like them or not. I was almost positive I wasn’t going to keep the imp from the bottle smell—I even put off testing it—but now that it is on, I really like it. It’s a really pretty aquatic floral with a honey-sweetness to it. It has a decent throw, not as strong as I had feared, and I’m just waiting to see if it starts getting overwhelming.

An hour later, it has just gotten better with time. I love this scent—

Two hours later--- turned to soap. Dang.

On a scale of 1 to 5: 3 (was a 5 before the second hour, unfortunately.)

[Miss Lynx]

Not getting a lot of green, aquatic, moss or trees from this - just the hothouse flowers, and lots of them. Yes, it's another death-by-florals experience, and reminds me less of a lush, exotic swamp than of the sort of cheap perfume you'd smell on that overly made-up great aunt with the bad dye job who always smothered you with excessive hugs and kisses when you were a little kid. Even the sparing amount I put on ended up smelling like bad drugstore perfume applied by the ladle-full. I had to wash it off inside of ten minutes.

 

 

Grade: D

[SeaMonkey]

This is very aquatic. I;m from Louisiana so I guess I was expecting more marsh and Spanish moss.

 

This is a little too perfumy, but there's just something about it that makes me want to keep smelling it

[Orodemniades]

Huh. Okay, I'm going out on a limb with this description, but so be it. Basically, on my sking, Bayou is quite reminiscent of burning tires. On a breeze, mind, but burning tires nonetheless.

 

Definitely the strangest reaction I've ever had to an oil.

 

Oro

[Thaleia]

In the vial: The yellow colour of the oil belies what a bayou should smell like. It's not 'yellow' by any means. This is a blue-green scent, floral and aquatic with depth given by woods. I can't place the actual notes, but it's definitely not a 'light' floral. It makes me feel like I'm by a swamp with vines hanging from the trees and crocodiles in the water.

 

Wet: Heavy floral with aquatic notes that give this scent a 'humid' sort of weight. I am literally seeing blue-green as I smell this.

 

Drydown: Less floral now, more aquatic, and not as heavy and humid. However, it is getting cloyingly sweet and strong that I'm sure if I wear this scent for a whole day, I'd end the day with a headache.

 

Dry: The scent has become greener, but retains a hint of blue. I prefer my scents lighter than this, but for what it's supposed to be, it's not bad.

 

ETA, 1/23/06: Tried it again after a month, and it's a bit better. Still sweet and humid, but clean and fresh because of the aquatics/ozone. Not as cloyingly sweet as the first time around, but still sweet. If I wash it off, it starts smelling okay.

 

Rating: 2.75, because it might grow on me. I didn't like it initially, but I did like it a bit better on the drydown. 3.

Edited January 23, 2006 by rabid hauteur

[magdalene]

in the bottle: hmm. Soap.

 

wet on skin: I should really just finally learn that aquatic scents and I don't get along very well. This is a light and clean scent, however, and I can totally see how others would dig it. Just not for me. Too green, too watery.

 

dry: washed it off.

[mayhap]

In the imp: Full-out assault on my nose. Help! I think this is jasmine and possibly the aquatics, but it's hard to tell.

 

Wet: Just as I'm about to declare an emergency and wash it off my skin, Bayou mellows out a lot on me.

 

Drydown: Oooh, I'm really liking this now. A nice balance of cool aquatics and warm sultry flowers. Very evocative.

 

Dry: Sadly, I think Bayou may not be for me. My skin is amping up the aquatics a lot and it's harsher and not as balanced as it was. I know this will smell awesome on someone else, though.

[Moryssa]

I'm still new at this, so I don't have a lot to compare it to, but this is by far my favorite of the oils I've tried.

 

First impression: LEMON! As in "Holy CRAP, that's citrusy! "

It's quite overbearing in the imp and when I first put it on. Luckily, it quicky starts drying, and morphs into something I just can't explain. It's clean and *green*. No more citrus. Yay! (I was really worried about that lemon...) I find myself sitting at my desk at work with my nose squashed up against my wrist, and I have no idea how it got there.

 

I definitely need a big bottle of this one. Actually, I think I need *several* big bottles of this one...

 

--M

[Blueelm]

Mitsouko?

 

 

This really smells like it without the powder. Odd. I almost didn't try my imp because it smelled too "manly". I think this was the blue-green aquatic note. Luckily for me this note fades almost on application.

 

This has so many notes in common with Mitsouko it's strange. Cedary woods, moss and oak, combined with cold rainy notes and a hint of bulgarian rose some where down there.

 

Very old fashioned, like something from the previous century, it's actually hardly what I would think of as a Bayou since I tend to think of shacks and crayfische.

 

That being said, I loved wearing it and will wear it again.

[Celogrl]

Mmmmm...this imp is a keeper! Bayou is deep, watery, and sultry. I don't like humidity and summer generally, but this reminds me of a moist summer day after a rain with the thick humidity hanging in the air and the cleanness of that after the rain feeling. This is sensual, and to me, it's BPAL's prettiest and longest lasting aquatic. I love this, especially when it morphs into the dry, powdery floral end. Lovely job, BPAL

[sideviewhotel]

Hm. This is very.. Okay. I'm not sure what this note is that I'm getting, but it's not agreeing with my nose at all. This is just flat out PERFUME. A bit cloying, I think. Too sweet.

 

I'll edit if it dries down a bit better.

 

Edit: I don't like the way this dried down either. TOO FLORAL. It's somehow gotten slightly.. musky? Actually, no, that's probably the aquatic note & the moss. If it was more mossy than floral, I'd probably enjoy it more, but this isn't something I'd wear often either way.

Edited January 19, 2006 by sideviewhotel

[harmonyfb]

In the bottle: sharp 'perfumy' smell.

 

Wet: OMFGFLORAL!

 

Dry: Ugh! A 'commercial' sort of scent, with a strong, off-putting tang to it. I waited to see if it would sweeten up, but it never got any better.

 

Obviously, not for me.

[valentina]

Ah shore do wish ah could write an entire review in a Cajun accent, because I do so love Cajun accents, but I won't subject you to my feeble attempts. I'll just talk about Bayou in my normal midwestern patter... :closedeyes:

 

In the imp, Bayou is very green, tropical foresty. Once on the body, the ozone notes really drift in, along with the green tropical scent and some really sweet flowers. I'm not a giant fan of ozone notes, forest notes or tropical flowers, but put together in this manner, it's not half-bad. After an hour or so, it really mellows into a nice, languid sort of scent, although it's something that I associate as a more masculine fragrance. I have a male friend who's a big fan of ozone fragrances, and I'm planning on doing a little enabling via my imp of Bayou!

 

valentina

[ancilla_morte]

THIS IS AMAZING!

It is rich dark peach with lemon and jasmine. I don't think I quite smell the green in this. I couldn't quite understand at first how this could smell like a bayou but OH LORD. This is going to be one of my top 10's I just know it.

it is just so sweet and very very dark, and rich and warm and enveloping. I LOVE THIS!

[ArwenNightstar]

5:05 Popped the top and stuck my nose down into heaven. I mean HEAVEN. I am from Louisiana. I spent many of my summers canoeing down bayous, swimming in bayous, chasing boys and girls by the bayou.... bayous figure heavily in my make-up as a human.

 

This is heavy floral green knock you upside the head yumminess in the bottle.

 

5:07 On wet... floral more now... with something sharp lying in wait like a cottonmouth lurking in the trees. Uh oh. There's that band-aid smell. What the heck is that? I have smelled it in another BPAL.

 

5:08 Musky, humid, but still sweet to it. I really like this one.

 

5:09 Now I am getting a hint of citrus... orange maybe? Lovely lovely lovely!

 

When I rub my wrists together to heat it up, it releases a potent fragrance that makes me want to grab a mint julep and a book and float down the bayou. Too bad I live in Denver now. :-)

 

Thumbs up on this one. Way up!

 

ADDED Feb. 15:

 

I tried layering this with The Peacock Queen. Oh my. Just oh my. Peacock Queen's roses go hiding amongst the green and citrus and played peek-a-boo with my olfactories. It is just lovely! Had to dip back in to share!

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

(Borrowed my sister's imp to give it a whirl)

 

Confession: Roy Orbison is now singing "Blue Bayou" in my head. I am so suggestible. *facepalm*

 

"the siiiiilllllver moon and the evening tide..."

 

This is a warm, murky floral. I like it more than I expected, and it's very evocative--there's a mossy tang and just a hint of aquatics, like you're in a boat and the water is half-hidden by flowers, with Spanish moss floating on the tree-branches overhead. (random Skeleton Key moment) I don't think the floral is jasmine, because I don't want to go scrub my arm with bleach. It might be magnolia. It's very Southern, somehow. The drydown has a hint of powder--now it's a Southern old lady. Well, I'm glad I tried that, but I'll return it without too much regret.

Edited February 15, 2006 by Laurel the Woodfairy

[Meg]

In the bottle: Earth, grit, pine and... aquatic notes that hurt my nose. Oops.

 

Wet: The earth is quite acidic and dusty.

 

Drydown: Dusty earth and a vague flower scent, and some pine. There's an aquatic note, and it smells... murky blue. Very swampy. The flowers smell like lilies, but the overall effect is extremely dusty.

 

Overall: Pure acid, very unpleasant. I really dislike this, it's very aggressive. I usually love earthy scents, but the mix with the aquatic notes or perhaps the evergreen really make it too sharp. Not for me.

[Wench457]

Bayou ITB: Sour and a bit masculine smelling to my nose.

 

On: sharp - like lilies fresh cut.

 

Dry: definitely lets you know that this is an acquatic scent! It is highly floral as well, with something a bit musty underneath. Another amazing rendition of a theme.

[silver_springs]

A mix between Beltane and New Orleans.

 

This is nice. Reminds me of aged, wet flowers. I don't think it's something that I'd use too often though. It's a bit too heavy for me. I like lighter florals. It is nice though. Earthy and deep.

 

6/10

[batsy]

In the bottle: Wow, that's evergreen!

 

On my skin: It's like honeysuckle and jasmine meet evergreen trees and moss. It's sharp watery floral combo. As it dried down, the flowers still overpowered everything else for me. There's almost a bitter rum smell to it, too. Extremely a flora and fauna blend.

[mandragora]

In the imp: Sharp, evergreen with a hint of citrus.

Wearing: Sweet watery florals.

Drydown: Now the spanish moss comes to fore, playing peek-a-boo with the heavy smelling florals.

Verdict: Turned masculine (despite numerous mentions of florals above) on me. Not really my cup of tea. Swap bin.