Bayou

[jeanniel]

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.

Wet:
When wet, Bayou tends to be slightly strong, almost threatening to overpower and just straddling the line of giving me a headache, but not quite. It also reminds me alot of generic perfumes that I always catch a whiff of that make me immediately turn my head away.

Drydown:
The scent has lightened considerably, no longer threatening to cause me a headache, and also smelling less generic. It doesn’t smell much different from the bottle than on me, though that could be due to me being distracted by the overpowering smell of it initially. It doesn’t strike me as anything exactly, though it is a very interesting scent. Sniffing it also makes me hungry! lol I have no idea why though because it’s meant to be floral/aquatic I think that’s what’s the description says and nothing suggests it’s even remotely foody. Lol perhaps my stomach gets turned on by flowers and water??

1 1/2 hours later, I start to notice a note underneath all that floral/green - a pure sweet smell and it’s making my mouth water all of a sudden. (Well since apparently I can’t pick out individual notes and once I decide on one my mind suddenly gets confused and decides it’s something else, the reviews seem to say that the sweet smell is floral while the BPAL site states that there’s an aqauatic undertone. Well, whichever it is it smells positively delicious.)

2 hours later, NOOOOOooooooooooooooo.... I was just enjoying the scent and thinking I might just like it a lot more if that sweet note continues then it disappears. And worse? It suddenly goes all Bathroom Hand Soap on me. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh *despairs* Sad. I guess this just wouldn’t do.

Verdict: Has a very interesting effect on me, makes me hungry! Note to never wear this when no food’s available lol. Hmm.. undecided. Will have to try it again when I’m less distracted. Though this scent is really growing on me, once it’s got past the OMG I’M HERE HEAR ME RAWR!!eleventyone!! stage, it smells really quite nice. I’m not so sure I’m crazy over it but there’s this one note that smells positively gorgeous. My mouth fills everytime I sniff it and it just kills me that I am so hopeless at picking out notes.

Throw / Staying Power: This has quite the throw and is rather lasting. I accidentally forgot to wash it off and the next day, I can catch a very faint whiff of the scent still. Also, everyone tells me that they could actually smell me everytime I walked into the room lol.

[Abbie]

In the bottle: Peaches n' jasmine. Very heavy, lovely and sultry (I totally spelled sultry as slutty just now... makes you wonder where my mind is) but I betcha dollars to donuts once I get it on it goes pure jasmine. No evergreens, woods, or aquatics (which is what I pictured when it said blue-green)

 

First on: It did go mostly jasmine, but a nice light jasmine, still with a vaguely fruity undertone. This stuff is strong. It is a very evocative scent, and I can picture a bayou in my mind: a nice bayou, though... maybe one sponsored by Disneyland. Not all the funk and mugginess of a real swamp.

 

Dry: Gets kind of a floorwaxy smell after a while. Shame, too, because I was quite liking it. But I think this is another one for the swap pile.

[cassie]

In the bottle: Very strong aquatics, tempered with a touch of Spanish moss (?). Not quite sure what Spanish moss smells like, but I know I didn't smell any evergreen or cypress.

 

Wet: Whoa, this is strong. I'm still getting the deep aquatic notes, now with a wee bit of florals mixed in. I really, really like this scent.

 

Dry down: Aquatics, mixed with flowers, and what I'm thinking is Spanish moss.

 

I'm a huge fan of Beth's aquatics, and this one does not disappoint. I'm glad I didn't detect any evergreen or cypress in the scent, since those are two notes that don't mes well with my skin. All in all, I think I have a new scent to put on my top ten.

[juniperus]

Bottle: sweet and sour, if that makes any sense. I get a sour edge to aquatic notes a lot of the time, so I assume that's it, plus the hothouse flowers.

Wet: none of the woods yes, more of the floral in a broader, less simply-sweet way. the aquatic is still oddly sharp-sour on me.

Dry: the moss hasn't taken a tank on me yet, so that's good. it's still really, really sweet, the hothouse flowers almost the sickly-sweet of flowers past-their-prime-bloom and starting to wilt and rot in their vase, and the aquatics are really grabbing me in the sinus.

Later: more of the same, so much more than I need to wash it before it grows more sweet and rotty (I imagine some of that is the moss. moss hates me)..I'm getting a headache.

[kourika]

I got Bayou as a frimp in a swap, and I quickly learned that it and I are not good friends. In the imp Bayou is a gently floral scent with an undertone of watery smells. It brings to mind a deserted stretch of bayou with large tropically blooms hanging off of old cypress trees, etc.

 

On my skin, Bayou becomes a still bayou filled with mud and silt. Nothing moves because noting can survive in the dark, murky water. The only flowers present are tattered and dying, rotted and old.

 

Off to the swaps!

[kunoichi]

Bayou has a sort of citrusy smell to it, and to me it was a very soft scent (but I do have a cold). It's got a sort of spike scent through it that I can't quite describe, but there is floral behind it.

 

It faded on me, but still has that spiky scent that I can't quite figure out. It hasn't gone sweet on me like most of the other BPAL I try.

 

It's not a bad scent, it's just different... I like it, but I'm not sure what occasion I'd wear it for, though.

[moon_lemming]

I don't know if there's jasmine in this, but it sure smells like it. If it's not jasmine, it might be the cypress or the evergreen, but whatever it is, it doesn't work on me. There's something astringent once it's on my skin that threatens to give me a fierce headache.

 

Usually jasmine is the culprit when I have this reaction. I'm pretty sure that's it. Poor Bayou; you sounded so mysterious and lovely.

[squalorholla]

I thought this was going to be impossible to wear, because the first thing I smelled was a huge, loud jasmine and some other funky, indolic floral, maybe narcissus? It seemed like it was going to be way too strong. Anyway, I needn't have worried -- my skin loves BPAL's moss notes, so Bayou turned into a wonderful soft, comfy (but still a little funky and mildewy) dark floral. Love it -- it makes me feel like the world's most glamorous frog.

[eviltemptressdq]

ok... at first, I LOVED bayou! I smell the citrusy/grassy scent. Love that... sort of strong, but in a way I like.

 

THEN, unfortunately, the scents that I like about it strip away... and I'm left with the smell of the soap in my grandmom's bathroom. boohoo. Definitely don't want to be smelling like old lady bathroom!!

 

may try burning this one, though! maybe the scents I like out of it will last longer and not tilt to that potty room smell

[desu]

In the imp: A thick, heavy, green aquatic.

 

On my skin: This immediately sweetens and starts to smell like my SO's antiperspirant.

 

Later on: Yep, antiperspirant still. It eventually mellows into something that's slightly more tolerable, but I don't think this one suits me.

[medvssa]

On the imp I smell sweet wet flowers. On, sweet flowers. And a gritty undertone. The thing is very strong, and a bit old lady.

 

It changes, it becomes dark green and nicer, and I quite like it, but not for a bottle.

 

Later on: I smell mainly roses now o_O

[ajcj213499]

This is, as the description says, a very "thick aquatic". The moss gives it a dark dirty sort of feel- it kind of reminds me of a swamp (not really something I want to smell like).

[themerrybaker]

Bayou starts out as an oily sharp perfumey floral but as it dries, it developes a "skin" or leathery feel.

 

 

 

The description says cypress and evergreen are included, but unless the "leathery" is woody cypress, there is no conifer that I can detect.

 

I really like the complexity of this one - it seems to be good for hot days and doesn't lapse into the chemical sharpness that can be a problem with some of the other aquatics.

Edited May 26, 2006 by themerrybaker

[PilotKitten]

Hmmm... better than the first time I tried it. I guess it's a good thing I didn't review it then, because it wouldn't have been flattering.

 

This is swampy outdoor goodness without the rotting fish/vegetation/gator feces of a real bayou.

 

The aquatic scents in this are AMAZING... more along the lines of a sea/ocean breeze ozone like in Sea of Glass rather than the nasty floodwaters of R'yleh (can you tell I didn't like that one much? ).

 

I'm not getting any spanish moss notes either, which isn't really surprising because I don't get any scent out of the real thing wither.

[yeahbutnobut]

Bayou

 

In the imp: eek, this is very sharp! An acidic sharpness with a dark, gloomy scent behind it.

Wet on skin: the sharpness is more bearable now, like grapefruit, with moss! Why is it that 'dark aquatics' turn to grapefruit on me? The same happened with Danube.

Dry on skin: mossy grapefruit! A very interesting scent, this may be tangy and citrus like at times but it's also very dark and murky. Perfect for a swampy scent-it's humid and misty with a little hint of decay. I get lots of damp moss here, along with the squeezed 'grapefruit' (or is it yuzu? It reminds me of the sharper, more bitter smell of yuzu) and an aquatic scent-it's very fresh and wet. I get a little bit of cypress as well, a hint of dry wood under the wet moss, and a hint of light floral.

After a while: still mossy. It's not as sharp and grapefruity now, now it's a shadowy dampness, waterlogged moss with cypress and lots of wetness. It's a very dark scent, makes me think of a muggy summer night by a lake or marshy wetland area.

Verdict: humid and misty, warm, steamy and gloomy, and very evocative indeed. There's an odd grapefruit scent to it at first, but apart from that, it really does have a swampy feel to it. The main note is the moss, which smells very damp indeed, like moss covered in drops of dew, and there are hints of florals and cypress here and there. I'm again impressed at how Beth has captured the climate in the scent, a real feel of wetness, like vegetation dripping with water, mist lingering over swampland, and a real sense of murkiness. It's quite a pleasant scent as well, lazy and laid back, the scent of one of those summer nights when it's too hot and humid to do too much but also too uncomfortable to sleep in…it's also one of the mossiest scents from BPAL. No need for a bottle yet, but I might keep the imp of this.

Emoticon rating:

[ladymissspyder]

In imp: Not bad, I can smell oakmoss and an aquatic note.

 

Wet: Very hard to smell. I can actually smell the oil on my other wrist more.

 

Drydown: A light dryer sheet smell.

 

Top notes: Haha, well, my dog likes it. This would be the one that doesn't check out every scent I wear, so this is a bit noteworthy. PS. It smells like dryer sheets.

 

Midde notes: Dryer sheets!

 

Base notes: ....still dryer sheets. The last BPAL aquatic scent I tried - Lightning - went dryer sheet-y on me, too. Huh.

Edited June 13, 2006 by ladymissspyder

[HennaFairy]

bottle:

watery and ozone

 

wet:

water and evergreens, hint of floral

 

dry:

very very green! On the masculine side…

 

overall:

nice, but masculine.

 

rating: 6/10

[strawberry_star]

Is this hiding jasmine in it? Hmm I can't remember as I gave it away quickly after I got it, so I only tried this once. All I remember is aquatic, which tends to hate me and I think it smelled like jasmine which also hates me. Totally unforgettable though, so it must not have been too bad but bad enough that I sold it.

[edenssixthday]

Bayou is one of the few aquatics I like. It smells just like a bayou, too -- warm, slow-moving water full of swamp flowers, algae, moss, and so on. It reminds me of a day when 20 years ago when my family spent a day at Jean Lafitte park in Louisiana, and our feet slipped on slimy wet leaves, and scads of salamanders would run away from us as we came close to them, and the air was thick with humidity and the heaviness of swamp flowers and wet-plant scents. I am not only going to wear this more, but I'm going to give some to my sister, who will, I believe, be whisked back in time alongside me. When I wear this, I really miss the bayou and want to return.

[Miseraya]

I don't know what is wrong with my nose, or my skin chemistry but if Tempest is an expensive men's deodorant to me (as I reviewed it) than Bayou is the same deodorant after it has been worn for a few hours.

 

I tried so hard to get past that but the longer I wore it the more it smelled like a slightly used armpit to me.

 

Bugger. My skin hates me, off to the swaps.

[WidgetAlley]

My spy boy saw you spy boy / sittin' by the bi-yo / My spy boy told your spy boy / I'm gonna set your flag on fi-yo. I said hey now / Hey now / Aiko aiko all day...

 

In the Imp: Strong aquatics, tree-lined banks, a swirl of heavy floral and a sweet smattering of bright fruit. Blue-green is the perfect description for this; it's smooth and deep but in a bright way, not a sludgy or smoky one. I love it.

 

Wet: Moss and trees and damp florals, all submerged in still, slightly foreboding water, with a touch of something that might be musk. There's a sweetness to this that I like a lot; not candy or sugar or even any fruit that I know, just a pleasant sort of sweet foliage. It reminds me a bit of the flowery part of Jazz Funeral, strewn over water rather than dirt. There's a touch of something soapy-- one of the florals, no doubt-- but it's not enough to ruin this.

 

Dry: Pretty much the same, but that's fine by me! It's July, and sunny, and around 100, and thick with humidity where I live, and this is absolutely just the scent for that sort of weather. It might be a little much for some enclosed situations-- it's rather strong on me-- but it will go into heavy summer rotation, along with Jazz Funeral. It's wonderfully evocative and the florals are heady and lush, but still balanced enough, for me to wear. A great out-of-doors but still very sophisticated and unusual scent.

[furiana]

Mm mmmm, do I love the aquatic in this scent! Water and old-fashioned perfume, that's what's left lingering after several hours of scent. Bayou started off as mainly floral on me, with a sour note that I didn't recognize but rather liked. It dried down to a distinctly old-fashioned floral that I also didn't recognize. It's definitely not rose. I don't think it's lillies. I don't think it's jasmine either, but maybe it is and I don't recognize it now that the note is blended with the aquatics. Whatever it is, it's melded with the aquatics by now to become a single old-fashioned scent.

 

Old-fashioned. I keep using that adjective. Since I shy away from "stereotypical old lady" scents and others may too, let me say that Bayou is old-fashioned like the idealized South: slow, warm, and full of grace!

 

In short, Bayou is totally different from my usual warm/dry/slightly sweet scents. No matter. It's unusual, it's calming, and it has a place in my heart right next to them!

[Diana]

Wet: wet, heavy, sweet floral notes... magnolia maybe? a bit ozoney/aquatic too.

 

Drydown: the floral notes fade away, and this starts to smell more and more aquatic as it dries. It smells a little too artificially "fresh" to me, and a bit sharp.

 

It's not bad if you like ozone-fresh-aquatic blends, but I typically can't wear them, and this is no exception.

[thecaitycat]

In the bottle: This smells very "wet" to me, if one can say such a thing. Vaguely flowery, with something a bit more crisp. Maybe moss?

 

Wet on skin: Definitely smell the aquatic notes and the moist flowers. Pretty much the same as in the bottle.

 

Dry on skin: This doesn't change much on drydown, at least not on me. I loved the scent in the bottle and I'm happy it stays the same for the most part.

 

Verdict: You know those pictures of places like the Everglades? That's sort of what this smells like. Swamps don't actually smell very good, but they look so lovely in pictures and this is what I imagine they smell like in pictures.

[tracey]

Bayous smells like shampoo in the bottle. It's an aquatic scent, certainly, but reminds me of Finesse or some other shampoo. There's something underneath that I can't determine just yet .. I'd hoped for more green scent but all I'm getting is blue and watery.

 

I definately smell something rosey in this .. but it's subtle. I kinda smell like an old woman who wears both scented powder and perfume.

 

Still very watery and shampoo scented, it's not bad though I don't think I'd wear it with any sort of regularity.

 

ETA: this has made my nose seriously twitch, don't know what happened in this stage but uck.

 

ETA2: I woke up this morning and could still very strongly smell Bayou on me and it still smelled the same. Why is it always the fragrance you DON'T like that has staying power like that? It was almost 12 hours and going strong ...

Edited October 24, 2006 by Shollin