Bayou

[ami226]

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.

Mmmmmmm! Slightly sweet! I could see myself drinking mint juleps next to this bayou! Slight aquatic, but amazingly good. Reminds me of the Festival of Anuket.

[glitterlips]

Wow, I'm from New Orleans and Bayou smells like the Garden District after a light rain. Beautiful!

 

I get strong magnolia, Spanish moss and possibly night blooming jasmine or gardenia notes with this one.

 

Great for days when I'm feeling homesick. A lovely fragrance!

 

-Melanie

[raisin]

The humidity and wetness is so apparent with this one... it's extremely evocative of a place I've never been, which is certainly saying something. I get florals (would definitely agree about magnolia and would add some waterlily to that) but they're beautifully drowned out. The air is thick with the smell of plants and trees on a humid night, and there's certainly water, likewise teeming with life.

It's a very beautiful, wet, living scent... you can practically hear insects chirping and buzzing.

 

I'm not sure it's a bottle purchase, since I have so little occasion to wear something like this (I'm not sure what occasion might warrant it, to be honest), but it's been really nice to have in imp form, if only for lazy evenings at home.

[zombiewench]

This one is so interesting on me. In the bottle it smells... Green? Not sure, but it just smells nice.

 

Once on, oh my is it strong!! Glad I only put a

dab on. It turns floral as it dries. REALLY floral, I actually tried to wash it off. Not a bad floral, but incredibly strong. It didn't wash off very well, and after an hour or so...I love this. It's turned very aquatic, with a touch of floral-not perfumey floral...something more southern feeling. Not sure what it is. I am just in love with how aquatic it smells on me though! I don't know how often I want to go through the dry down, but the end result may be worth it.

 

EDIT - Okay, after a month of wearing it, this has become one of my favorites. Once I realized how aquatic it was, the dry down didn't bother me anymore. I realized the floral must be jasmine, I was standing by a wall of it a few weeks ago, and a breeze came up and all of a sudden all I could smell was the same floral in Bayou...and tadah! Jasmine!

 

I need to buy a bottle of this, as my imp fell out of my bag, and spent the weekend baking in my hot car in Florida. The baking must have done something to it, because it really didn't smell the same after that, and it wasn't a pleasant smell So a bottle is now a must!!!

Edited June 3, 2010 by LadyWench

[heatherovka]

This is my first time trying this one and... MMMMMmmm!

 

So far I can only identify magnolia and gardenia... and maybe honeysuckle? A very creamy, lovely, rich floral. When I first put it on, the throw was long and it was a bit strong, but the longer I wore it, the more it seemed to get subdued. After 3 or 4 hours, I only get faint whiffs every now and again, or I have to bend my head toward my cleavage (hope no one catches me doing that ) to smell it. The mister says he prefers my perfume like this - that you have to get close to smell it.

 

I don't detect the aquatic nature of this one, but I'm new at this and not entirely sure what that means yet. No murky swampiness... I would describe it as creamy, rich, deeply sweet. But I am from a very humid climate, so maybe humidity just seems normal to me. I think I would agree that it feels humid.

 

I don't consider myself to be a very floral person, but I really, really like this. I wanted a rich, creamy, 'white' floral similar to Pele, and this does this trick. Looove it.

 

 

 

(edited for spelling...)

Edited May 23, 2010 by heatherovka

[Alexanne]

If this oil had a color, it would be the colors of a tiger lily.

The notes I smell while drying is lots and lots of beautiful smelling flowers! Definitely in humid hot house. I'm not good at identifying florals but they're very sweet, as if there was some sort of fruit hidden somewhere in the blend.

What I smell after it dried was still a lot of flowers, with a thin whiff of a hot aquatic. No evergreen or cypress.

The scent made me feel like what the description portrayed. Like I'm transported to a big tropical jungle with flowers everywhere and a steaming swamp down the road.

This lasts for a at least 5 hours before it starts to become harder to smell.

The throw was phenomenal. I dabbed my skin once, and I had already put on another imp on most of that arm, but all I could smell was Bayou!

Verdict: Its a very interesting mix, and just proves how talented Beth is. How can you make a perfume feel muggy and humid? This definitely accomplished that. This is a little too floral for me, and also a little too humid, I'll keep it around as an imp though.

[voorishsign]

Frimp from the Lab. Swampy smells can really go either way for me, but I'm up for trying just about anything

 

In the imp - faint, aquatic swamp blossoms.

 

On wet - lots of florals and some aquatic notes.

 

Drydown - this reminds me a lot of Dunwich, except a bit fresher. Aquatic notes, evergreen, and some now very distant florals. It's nice, but not my favourite aquatic. At least the florals aren't aggressive here, it's very soothing and not at all as sweaty and hot as you'd imagine a Bayou scent to be (this is definitely a good thing)!

[colorfulsilk]

I have to say that Bayou is really strong gardinia on me which is very good. I can pick up some of the greens in this. I love this because it is so reminiscent of the south in summer...this is def a big bottle order for me...

[Invidiana]

This is like New Orleans sans the cat pee jasmine which ruined that one for me. It's a thick, humid dark green aquatic that's very evocative of the eerie marshes and bayous veiled in fog, and of course anything that reminds me of Anne Rice's New Orleans vampires is always welcome. It isn't a sharp grass type of green; no grass clippings, just murky waters and sinsiter vines without actual bog stench, and the heady aroma of exotic blooms that emerges more and more as it dries down further. The evergreen and cypress thankfully behave in the backgruond and don't amp horribly on me, and the spanish moss further adds to the dark green feel with an earthy tinge. If you like Roux-Ga-Roux and New Orleans (taken that BPAL jasmine behaves on your skin unlike mine), this one is in the same vein.

[Acushla]

Out of the vial: I get the impression of walking into an old lady's room in an abandoned house that's been shut up for a while. Rose (I guess that's the "eddy of hothouse flowers and swamp blooms" but it just smells like rose to me) competing half-and-half with something sour like rotting wood, which I assume is the evergreen and cypress. Similar to Ouija but more... acrid, I guess you could say. Ouija may be dusty but nobody's lived in the Bayou for quite some time and the trees don't let in much light.

 

Upon application: most of the acridness disappears (thank goodness) and I initially get a very soapy floral smell which isn't unpleasant. After a few minutes the aquatic notes come to the front with just a hint of the woods lurking behind, and unfortunately it's a little headachey as aquatics tend to go on me.

 

Overall this starts out as something I'm not terribly fond of and morphs into something that really doesn't agree with me, so I don't think I'll be holding on to this one.

[calivianya]

This reminds me of something I've smelled before - some kind of men's cologne, maybe - but I can't put my finger on it. It is a very strong, woodsy, masculine scent to me. It's not really my thing. I wanted to smell this on my boyfriend to see if I'd like it better on him, but he didn't much care for it either. Oh well, I tried.

[Suu4LC]

Ok, my bf and I just started watching True Blood, so in my head this scent is what it should smell like while Beel and Sookeh are wandering around the swamps.

 

Oof-in the imp this is thick steamy HEADY floral-floral haters, beware, this is WAY floral. I'm not a fan of aquatics, but thankfully here this one is not salty as some aquatics tend to be.

 

Oh yeah, on my skin this is thiccccckkkkk heady florals-magnolia/gardenia I believe. Very heavy and thick.

 

This is just not a "me" blend-I like my florals soft and sweet and this is sooo heady and heavy. However, Beth totally captured the idea of what she was trying to invoke here and it is definitely worth a sniff just for the scent experience! Would probably be great in an oil/scent burner as well.

Edited December 1, 2010 by Suu4LC

[milo]

Wet to dry, this is heady floral on me. I can imagine this scent on a warm summer night in the deep South with crickets and lots of swamp creatures. Much too floral for me, though, but very evocative and what I'd imagine the Bayou to smell like.

[MaritzaCardona]

When I smelled it fromt the imp I could truely smell the blue-green colors. It's salty and fresh, soap-like. When I applied it to my skin I smelled lots of flowers and...coconut? Something tropical and creamy. I have no idea where the coconut smell comes from but it doesn't go away. Not for me.

[changeling]

In the bottle: Flooded flowers on a hot day

 

Wet: Wet cut flowers--a very strong floral scent with strong throw

 

Dry: The strong floral continued for at least an hour. After that, the aquatic notes started to come back into the picture. In the middle of the day, I wondered why I was smelling a salty backwater in the office. Bayou. Right. The salty aquatic tone lasted for hours.

 

Bayou never became a strong deep green aquatic, at least not when I was paying attention. Still, I suspect that it might, given different body chemistry. I will have to try this periodically.

[JLH]

On me, Bayou is a mossy floral with a touch of aquatic. I get a ton of gardenia from this, as well as some magnolia and jasmine. Personally, I love gardenia, and the aquatics and mosses aren't too strong for me. I can't detect the cypress or woods in here.

[KittyHawk]

In the imp, I get a lot of moss; it reminded me of Zombi, but with drowned flowers in the background.

 

Wet, the florals bloom, but it's still a definitively aquatic scent to my nose. It's a departure from what I usually like, but this is so evocative of its namesake that I want to keep wearing it out of reverence!

 

Dry, this is a lightly floral, very mossy aquatic scent. I've only ever driven through southern Louisiana, but I imagine this is precisely what it smells like! I can almost hear Jazz horns in the background somewhere.

 

I really appreciate the execution of this scent, but it's not for me. I'll probably wear out the imp, though it will take me awhile, but this is not bottle-worthy to me. Still, it's very well done.

[Honey]

Still trying to widen my smell horizon..

 

Imp: Creamy florals (gardenia) with a salty/sour undertone.

 

Wet: Sweet floral.

 

Dry: Hmm.. gardenia which reminds me of rose. Nice but not really my thing.

[Klolly]

I've actually liked every Wanderlust scent I've tried so far and this one is no exception.

In imp: Sharp, astringent, in a nail polish sort of way.

 

On wet: Still very chemical-like. It does not smell good at this point.

 

Dry: It's completely transformed. It softens and the harsh chemical aspect vanishes. What's left in it's wake is a mixture of full, soft magnolias and gentle aquatics. It smells very clean and soft, like hair that's just been washed with expensive products, put in a bun until dry and then released from the bun to create a soft aura of freshness. This is a gorgeous scent.

[biocarolyn]

Wow. I think I sniffed this a couple of years ago and sent it on it's way untested, since I was scared of the flowers. I've wanted try to it ever since, as I've got a thing for Spanish moss and love the concept. Sadly, I've never spent time on a bayou, but I've been in my share of swamps. I can't believe a real bayou smells this pretty!

 

The floral is heady. I stink at flowers, but maybe magnolia? Something rich and waxy and heavy, but it is balanced with the aquatic and mossy evergreen scents. I can't tell exactly what this is, something like juniper or cypress (NOT pine) but not leafy, evergreeny. Worth my hunt, and I may even need to consider a bottle...we'll see how long the imp lasts

[karykeion]

I have so many lovely aquatics to try

 

 

In the imp: I smell flowers, and that note that never smells like the ocean to me in the imp but that I know will turn into beautiful salty marine goodness when it touches me.

 

On me, wet: The marine transformation takes its sweet old time, but when it does, that initial yucky "should be the ocean" note blooms into a gorgeous, almost humid scent that's so perfectly evocative of the beach that I cannot keep my nose away from my arm. I've never been to New Orleans, but I live in Georgia and I have had a lot of experience with humidity; that said, I swear this actually smells humid. It smells like walking down the street in a touristy beachside city and smelling flowers and the sea while breathing in the salty humid air. I can pick out jasmine and not much else on the floral side.

 

On me, dry: Never having visited New Orleans, I can only say that this is the beach. This is me and my family walking down the road to dinner by the beach, getting sand in our toes, at twilight, when all the lights are starting to come on in the little town and all the stars are coming out in the sky. If I need a floral scent, this is it. It's going immediately on the bottle list, and it's going to be my classy-evening-out scent for the summer. I love it.

[elinox]

I was actually in New Orleans about 2 weeks ago (sadly I forgot to post until now!). It is a wonderful city and I highly recommend visiting it if you can.

 

That aside, I took Bayou with me on my visit and wore it there. And it smells dead on for the city and surrounding swamp lands. The light flower with a deep aquatic background is easy to match up with the hanging Spanish moss and damp atmosphere. It's definitely a humid scent and reminds me of warmer weather but is very pleasant overall. I was very excited to be wearing the city while I was there!

 

But I have to say, Bayou smells just like the real thing. BPAL got this one spot on!

[Vega]

Sniffed: A warm, blue aquatic laced heavily with thick, heady, pale florals. Is there lily here? Jasmine?

 

On skin: Bayou begins as an aquatic, but this burns off rapidly with drydown and gives way to hot, white flowers. They're hot and bold, but thankfully not in a screaming way. I'm not good at identifying scent notes, but I think I can smell jasmine, gardenia and magnolia. The florals dominate from the very beginning; the aquatic and other woody/mossy notes are imperceptible. Colour impression is white contrasted with saturated aquamarine blue.

 

Verdict: Bayou definitely has the humid, warm vibe that I'd imagine a bayou would have, although I would've liked to smell more than just a pure floral blend though. Evocative, but not for me to wear.

[neuilly]

Interesting. I was expecting mostly aquatics...and the aquatics are there, but I mostly get the "hothouse flowers". Honeysuckle? Lily? Jasmine? I'm not always very good at picking out notes but there's almost a cloud of florals hovering over the waters. The water is almost sweet - probably from all the floral. None of this is really something I could see myself wearing but I'm so glad I got a sniff!

[Dizcodancer]

Yay! This is my 1st post & review! So happy I discovered Black Pheonix

 

I got Bayou in my 1st set of imps. I thought I would start with the imps, since I've never experimented with oils before and didn't know what my skin would do to different scents. I'm really happy I ordered Bayou, and one thing I can say about it is that it's a great testament to how layered and complex the scents from BP are and what an amazing product they turn out.

 

In Bottle - It smells to me of 100% pine or some type of cleaning fluid

Wet on skin - Still pine, lots and lots of it. A very male scent I think. Not for me.

Dry - The pine definitely goes away after 30 min or so and the watery lushness takes over...and then WOW! Just when I had given up on this, it totally did a 180. Now it smells like dew (or how I would imagine dew to smell) and watery floral. It's incredible and I can't stop smelling it! Definitely a wonderful and unique scent for summer.

Edited August 4, 2012 by Dizcodancer