Bruja

[jj_j]

Menacing, bewitching and darkly sexual. A blend of myrrh, amber and lilac.

This one's an interesting mix; the lilac is kept from being cloying by the incense note and warmed up by the amber. I wouldn't put it in the same category as Messe de Minuit (which others have compared it to), because that one's so very dry and markedly incense, where this one's much more sweet and warm. The lilac is actually the off-putting note in this for me; it somehow turns this into a "little old lady" scent, if there is such a thing.

Worth a try, though, particularly if the crisp, dry character of incense scents is a little too dry for you.

[ipb]

this is from something i wrote earlier this month...

today i'm wearing bruja - i'm not sure why, it's utterly shitty out, been snowin' for a little bit more than 24hr, doesn't seem to be stoppin any time soon. ok, so i do know why, lilacs are a fond sign o spring and this is very lilac-y, even if it's not the pure and innocent lilac from spring (probably the myrrh and amber, but i'm not too sure what myrrh smells like)...

 

while i wouldn't say it's an old lady scent, i'm fond of it as a room scent

[viciousviolet]

To me, this is a softer version of my beloved Haunted with a clear floral note added. I enjoy incense scents, and found the lilac in Bruja to be very clarifying and softening. Though I did not love it wet, straight out of the bottle, the drydown is sexy, smooth, and makes me feel deep and exotic. Gypsy-like.

 

I think the lilac is what would put one in mind of the little old lady scent. My gramma used lilac scented talc.

[Gothabillywench]

That starnge VV as I, like you, am ga-ga for Haunted yet Bruja went yuky on me. Went sickeningly sweet & then dried down to an almost sweaty smell?! Yikes! Mind you, my Mum & sister like it & it smells fine on them.

[blackrayne]

At first sniff, this to me smells a bit powdery, but it could be that my sinuses hurt from all the samples I had sniffed yesterday (whoops!)...or maybe it's a reminiscence to a floraly powder my grandmother had...not really sure.

 

After thinking about it a little, the powdery scent is definately the lilac, which I am usually quite fond of but this seems different from lilac oils I am used to. Not different bad, just not similar.

 

I like it, but don't think I will wear it...as with what other reviewers have said, it reminds me too much of an old lady. Give me straignt pure lilac without the powdery feel and I'll be much happier.

[Polexia]

A bit too flowery for me when first put on but after an hour or so turns into a sensual light powdery scent. The Lilac is very light and the amber is barely noticeable after several hours I too am a HUGE Haunted fan and wish this was just a bit more ambery and a little less lilac. My boss said I smelled like his old aunt.

Edited February 16, 2004 by Polexia

[twistygirl]

This dries down to an extremely soft, very lovely scent. When I first put it on I was overwhelmed by the lilac and I thought "I can never wear this"... not because I dislike lilac, but because it brought back such sensory memories of being a little girl playing in my grandparents' yard which was loaded with lilac bushes, and it made me so sad that they aren't here anymore. But now that it has dried down, it's something I could definitely wear during the day. I too LOOOOOVE Haunted, and I do prefer the Haunted because it's much longer-lasting (on me, anyhow) and richer.

[MilkAndSugar]

I just got Bruja in a swap (thanks Blackrayne!).

My very first BPAL scent and I'm high on smelling it from my wrist .

 

Ok.

 

From the vial Bruja was really powdery-flowery, and strong. I thought more Jasmine-Lilac than just Lilac when I smelled it.

 

After dabbing some on it started to morph almost instantly. The scent became deeper, sweeter (almost a vanilla undertone, propably the amber) and sexy! I love the creamy notes under the flowers. A very rich scent.

 

After a while it's still strong, so (on me) I suspect this is a long lasting scent. The Myrrh is coming through gently. This scent reminds me of a Lilac Soap I have. The powdery note is still there, so I think this is not for those who don't like powdery scents.

The scent is still getting sweeter, gentler, and a little spicy.

 

While I do understand how this scent could remind many of their grandmothers, my grandmother wouldn't have used a perfume as achingly sexy as this .

There's *secrets* in this scent.

It brings to mind a Victorian garden at night when the Jasmines bloom. Maybe there's a lady sitting by the window, writing a love letter. The window is open and the curtains are gently flowing, wafting in the scent from the garden. The scent mixes with her powdered skin and the Lilacs in the vase, and she's recalling the secret rendez-vous the night before.

I can almost see her sealing the letter with wax.

 

Beautiful!

 

-Milk

 

ETA: My parents (the old hippies they are *lol*) said this reminds them of a certain Indian rose incense they used to burn back in the 70's. They have a few cones left, and I can say they're quite right. The scent is similar to the incense before it's lit. Lovely stuff!

Edited March 30, 2004 by MilkAndSugar

[Shollin]

Bruja went through quite a number of incarnations on my skin.

 

First sniff: I don’t know what lilacs smell like, but holy cats this scent is DARK. Elegant, haughty floral base, surrounded by a spooky creeping-shadows kind of darkness. I can picture a vampire queen in a high-necked black gown wearing this scent to lure unwary men into baring their throats…

 

Wearing: Powdery right away, but still dark and creepy. Rosemary’s Baby Powder!

 

The powderiness wears off quickly (which is awesome – usually powdery scents get more powdery on me as they dry) and I’m left with a sweet-spicy sort of floral that reminds me a bit of Lush’s Bathos. It’s making me hungry, which is bizarre, as there’s nothing foodish about it.

 

After an hour or so it’s dried into something completely soft and innocent – a total 180 from the vampire-queen scent in the vial.

 

At the end of the night (after eight hours or so at work) all that’s left is a very faint sweetness on my wrists.

 

I am SO wearing this again, just to track all the strange things it does!

[TygherRayn]

Oh, my goddess was I worried about this one. At first sniff from the imp, I was afraid I wouldn't like it. I'm not sure what it was .. possibly the lilac? But it was strong! I put it away to wear something else for work, in fact.

 

But I came home, washed off my Old Shanghai, and opted to then try dear Bruja .. and despite how almost cloying it was when wet, it dried within about 20-30 minutes to something much more pleasant. I could definitely smell the amber, and I was quite quite pleased.

 

I went to bed with this on, and here now 6 hours later it's still very strong. (Yes, I should go back to bed.) I can imagine using this a lot .. and I'm thinking of turning it into a solid perfume, to be easily carried with me!

Edited April 10, 2004 by TygherRayn

[any_old_actress]

FIRST SNIFF: myrrh

 

WEARING IT: this is almost exactly like hecate on me but softer and flatter, maybe because of the amber. i can't smell any lilac at all which i'm disappointed in.

 

FINAL VERDICT: darkly sexual, like beth says but i'd rather wear hecate

[grrrlennyl]

at first: a dark floral. very sexy.

on: i smelled a tinge of sweetness for a second, but now it's all flowers. it's actually a bit biting, as far as the floral smell goes. i'm not sure i like it.

1 hour later: i can detect the amber when i first sniff, the lilac is more in the background, and i can't even get a hint of the myrrh. i'm really glad this is going a bit sweet on me, since it seemed like the lilac was going to get really harsh on my skin.

2 hours later: i definitely like this more as it develops. the lilac is there, still with the amber, but more evenly. i think i smell a bit of incense to it, too, but not much.

3 hours later: this is just so pretty. mostly floral, but slightly sweet, too. the myrrh has, once again, disappeared, which is fine by me. the lilac and amber together make for a very feminine, not-old-ladyish floral on me.

overall: this is a bit too pretty for me, i think. i loved that it vascillated between mostly floral and mostly sweet, though. it just doesn't scream "me", i guess. i'll wear this occassionally, but can't really see myself buying a bottle of it.

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

This imp's been passed around a lot--my fiance' ordered it and then was surprised it smelled feminine--he didn't know it's Spanish for "witch" and thought it was like "brouhaha" (sp?), i.e. the scent of a bar-fight! After I quit laughing at him I took it and tried it. It's the first one I've tried that really did remind me of colors--it seemed purple and silver. The lilac kinda blew me away, and for some reason the myrrh was very metallic on me--very strange to have metal with flowers. So that really wasn't "me" but now I've sent the witch on her way in a swap--hopefully to someone who will find it "darkly sexual" like some of you did!

[VelvetSky]

I was really hoping for more lilac in Bruja (I love lilac), but alas...I got it in the topnote, but it had all but disappeared a very short time later when it dried.

 

For anyone curious about this scent, I would honestly say that it's more amber than anything else, with a nice myrrh accent. Very little floral, at least on my skin.

 

This is quite long-lasting, sweet and mellow.

Edited July 3, 2004 by VelvetSky

[TheDarkMother]

This scent just drives my husband wild. On me it smells of baby powder with a hint of allspice to it for just a little kick. Its a heavy baby powder scent as well, that seems a little overpowering to me at first, but then dries a little lighter, but not much.

 

My husband, on the other hand, adores this scent and it has quickly became his favorite.

[Effluvia]

in the vial: Amber! Amber and florals. I don't usually like florals, but this is gorgeous! It's creamy and edible...

 

on my skin: This smells like Aveda's Shampure on steroids. This is really, really beautiful...it's a HARDCORE floral. It's a bad-ass floral. It's a floral that can fend for itself. It lasts for a long time, too. "Sweet and mellow" is a good way to put it. I think this is my favorite BPAL floral ever, probably because (er...) it's not really a floral. It's more amber than floral, and I'm certainly a girl who loves herself some amber. I think I get the dark sexuality, too. (whee!)

 

Another fab everyday scent.

Edited August 8, 2004 by Effluvia

[lixolux]

  This is really, really beautiful...it's a HARDCORE floral.  It's a bad-ass floral.  It's a floral that can fend for itself. 

i second that!! i usually cant take the super florals but this one is so strong and grounded - the lilac is baby powdery but not in a "i just dusted myself" but in a musty dusty sort of way. love it.

[Lady Jane Grey]

Oh goddess above I am inlove with this sent!

 

 

Wet: thick smokey air almost liek steping into a temple. Mhyrr...very strong here.

 

Dry: Smells liek a magic shop I used to frequent back home. Mhyrr with a hint of lylac. dark and agical with purle sensual undertone. VERY seductive. I likes! I need to get me more of this!

 

 

Added 11/4:

 

I am soooo upset that Bruja was taken away. I just got up the money to buy a 5ml bottle of it and now this! How can this happen! The only sent that really works on me! I must go pout and cry about this. ::pouts::

 

EDIT: Moved non-review comment from end of thread into this post. --Shollin

Edited November 4, 2004 by Shollin

[Ina Garten Davita]

First Impression: Oh I love amber. And this amber note in Bruja is about as good as it gets.

 

Second Impression: The myrrh works so harmoniously with the amber, this scent is all gold and glimmering. Warm, sensual night wind over glowing, tanned skin. Totally gorgeous and addictive. It's much sexier than Haunted, though the amber note is identical. I don't get much lilac in this, just barely. I was hoping for a bit more and I love lilac. We had a lilac tree in the garden of my childhood home and my sister and I would pick that tree clean and my mother would help us make "perfume" with the blooms. We'd fill aspirin jars with the blooms and then mother would pour a mixture of distilled water and rubbing alcohol up to the top. We'd let it sit for a few days and then we'd apply our homemade lilac perfume. We named it "Lila-tay".

 

Final Analysis: This is a potent and long lasting scent, but by no means overpowering. To me that's a perfect combination. Although I just ordered a bottle of Haunted, I love this enough to order a bottle in the near future.

Edited August 30, 2004 by andrabell

[OdetteOdile]

Lilac - really?

On me this was cinnamon, vanilla, more cinnamon, maybe a bit of faint amber and something very, very faintly flowery but not strong enough to my nose to be lilac. It got better and better as the day went on and became one of my favorites - but I'm perplexed about the cinnamon since no one else mentioned it. I'll have to try it on another day and see if the effect is the same.

[fragrantgrasse]

 

Bruja - while still evolving on my wrist - has taken a wicked turn. I do think I can detect a hint of something cinnamon-like...

 

As I type, the fragrance that is floating up towards my nose is somewhat reminiscent of a movie theatre at the end of a night... a funky, sweetish smell of food and sweat that is still hanging in the air like a dense fog. phew!

 

Something about my chemistry is vastly different from the other reviewers here and I wish I could detect any of the single notes that are in this.

 

But on me Bruja is just morphing into one, big primordial STEW.

 

Up for swap!

 

 

edited for typos

Edited September 5, 2004 by fragrantgrasse

[LiberAmoris]

I was so delighted when I put Bruja on for the first time this morning, because it has that sexy BPAL amber base that I love. Dry, it smells like Haunted or Snake Oil with lilac instead of lemon or honey. And it shares the same dusting of spices I find so tasty in Sin. It’s delightful.

 

In short, if you like Snake Oil, Haunted, and Sin---and you like lilac---Bruja might be for you.

[lumay]

My first try of Bruja was delightful! The myrrh was very pronounced and kept the lilac tempered. A second application (a few weeks later) produced a sour flower smell on me. Maybe it's a hormonal thing, but I keep finding the floral too overpowering -- and just a tad bit "off" on me (but not in the bottle). I'll put this one up for swap.

[ChupaChup]

Bruja somehow just doesn't work on me. I don't really smell lilacs, nothing sweet, just a bitter herbal note for a long time. After a couple of hours the myrrh and amber do their usual thing on me and this ends up smelling lovely, but it's not worth the first couple of hours where I feel vaguely uncomfortable in it. Off to swaps.

 

ADDED Dec. 8:

 

Nope, Bruja didn't work on me. I was expecting to really like it since lilac seems fairly innocuous and both amber and myrrh are usually wonderful. But in this blend, on my skin, the notes just seem to clash. I detect a very bitter herb in it, almost like vetiver, although that's not one of the listed notes.

[pkwench]

Bruja;

 

 

I suppose it's something of an irony that a day before the announcement that Bruja is slated to be dc'd, I recieve a sample in the mail. The day of the annoucement, I found out that I love it. The day after, I've been wearing it all day. I keep getting catches of the scent from my clothing and my wrists and each whiff produces a sigh of joy. This is so warm, smokey, and possibly the best floral that I've ever put on. The amber and myrrh, in addition to keeping the lilac hot and sexy (instead of old lady), just come out in all of the best ways. The most fun thing for me is that I can easily pick out all of the individual notes-which I can't always do.

 

I just love this scent and I'm very, very glad that I found out when I did. Now I can order a bottle of it before it goes away.

 

~Wench