Kweku Anansi

[fragrantgrasse]

Vetiver, dusty pepper, nutmeg, thyme and grass over a deep, mossy wooden core.

I love receiving freebies from the lab!

Kweku Anansi is a masculine scent to me. Initial impression is a combination of pepper, cypress woodiness, maybe vetiver. Upon drydown though, I am sensing almost a wintergreen note buried deep down.

Also, it never evolves or changes as so many of BPAL fragrances do. What I smelled out of the vial was primarily what Kweku ended up as.

Not my favorite type of smell but as always and interesting one.

[TrinitySydney]

Just got this in a swap today.

 

In the bottle: Definitely Thyme. And that's about it. I didn't think I'd like it but I tried it on to make sure (learned my lesson with past BPAL) and:

 

1 minute in: Oh wow. It's changed completely. I can't smell the thyme anymore....at least not so strongly. I can definitely smell wood and some sort of dark floral.

 

5 minutes in: it's got a very soft dry down. Still the same smell as in the one minute check, only softer.

 

Verdict: I'm really going to love this one. I'll have to be in the mood for it, since it's definitely a dark and mysterious scent, but it's beautiful.

Edited May 29, 2005 by TrinitySydney

[scourgeotheseas]

Kweku Anansi

 

In the bottle: Green and herbal, but in a cooking way. Pepper and hint of being outdoors.

 

On me/wet: Piney and herbal. I didn't really expect to like this, but the woods, plus pepper, and either lemongrass or lemon verbena is a truly intriguing mixture.

 

Drydown: The light lemon scent is fading, but the mix of fresh green woods and herbs is still strong. It's also sweeter than I expected. Unfortunately, it seems to be giving me a headache.

[blu°]

this kept me feeling happy the whole night while playing pool and getting drunk in my favourite bar which is actually a nicotin-infested-chilly-little-box-thing with a pool table in it.. Any time I did the slightest move, this lovely, warm, uplifting scent was wafting to my nose, all of my bloke friends there were extremely friendly and offered so much beer, I got a bad hangover today and slept till 7 pm. A drunk girl who apparently suffers from alcohol induced schizophrenia sort of turned obsessive on competing with me in any way possible, but I won her without a doubt... all areas i.e.

I felt like trusting Anansi to trixt0r for me and I felt him at work for sure, you should have seen some of the moves and shots on the pool table.

 

 

As far as the scent.. I know this is not a voodoo blend or anything like that....sorry if my review turned a little inappropriately voodoo-ish...as far as the scent is concerned, I don't find it very dark actually... nor masculine.. it's a rather neutral, very warm and conforting scent with a breezy, dry feel to it that keeps it light and playful.

 

 

(my first review!!!! :-)))

[cormeretrix]

at first, all i got out of this one was pepper. reminded me a lot of mad hatter, to be honest. then it started to turn into something darker. still spicy/peppery, but darker.

 

of course, when i went to shut the imp, a speck of oil jumped off the lid and into my eye, which burned unbelievably. ergo, in spite, i was forced to trade the little bugger off. so there.

[requieminblack]

First sniff from the bottle- Moss and vetiver.

 

After 10 minutes- This has two notes in it I don't like- moss and vetiver. They were the strong notes that leap out in front when I first sniffed this. After a while they both fade leaving the scent of pepper and thyme. Now this is making me hungry!

 

After 30 minutes- Hmmm....this one faded on me really quickly. After about 15 minutes the pepper and thyme faded and now I don't smell a thing.

 

Summery- This one was a weird mish mash of smells. It went from mossy wood to peppered thyme and then to nothing in 15 minutes flat.

[shadowsong]

not my thing, unfortunately. it started off smelling kind of like gardening - green and dirt. i like gardening, but i don't like smelling like it.

as it dried, the garden went away and it ended up smelling like vicks vapo-rub, all mentho-lyptus-y. again, i appreciate the mentholyptus, but i don't really want to smell like it.

 

back into the swap rounds it goes.

[itsuki]

Impression: Very strong. Reminds me of herbal medicine, the thick dark kind that works wonders (and which I've had to drink a few times as a kid.)

 

Like others have said, it's a masculine scent. Interesting, medicinal, but not something I'd wear.

[dreadeddragon]

In the bottle: Pepper, vetiver, maybe cedar or pine, and patchouli? Something very earthy.

 

First on: Cedar, lots of it. And the vetiver. Moss on top makes it like an old log sitting in a forest with moss covering it. the pepper has mostly dissappeared.

 

Drydown: Same as above. It's very masculine, but I like it.

Edited May 30, 2005 by dreadeddragon

[Aredhel]

Rating (on skin): 1/5

Summarised in a word or two: Woodsy.

 

In the imp/bottle: Pepper and wood!

 

On skin, wet: This almost reminds me of Zombi, but not quite as harsh. I definitely notice something woody, the vetiver, and the pepper.

 

On skin, dry: When this dries, the nutmeg makes an appearance, right over the pepper and the wooden note. As a few others, it also seems as if I catch something akin to lemon.

 

Conclusion: This is interesting... it's very dark, cool and earthy, but just not something I'd ever wear (or use for any other purpose).

Edited December 20, 2005 by Aredhel

[tempete]

Kweku Anansi is very herbal and spicy when wet, and dries down to softly spicy woody notes. It's a little too masculine for me to pull off, unfortunately.

[darkling]

In the imp: Very spicy. Primarily pepper.

 

On my skin: Kweku Anansi was a very strong, masculine scent. It smelled like a musky, peppery lemon.

 

Too masculine and musky for my tastes.

[quikslvr]

Strong earth and sharp black pepper. Reminds me of Umbra, which I just tried. Musty, dark places. Vetivert, perhaps? Goes pine-y after awhile. Cedar? Something on top that's not bad. Very masculine scent, though. Thyme or bay as it dries.

[OriginalWacky]

Bottle (Imp): This is really sharp and herby. I'm thinking peppercorn scent.

 

Just On: Sharp, herby, and the slightest hint of sweetness. It's not the fresh green herbs out in the sunshine, but rather the kind of herbs you have to go deep into the dark forest to find.

 

An hour or two later: It's mellowed down on the sharpness, and is more herby, and maybe a tiny bit flowery. Still something rather dark.

 

Around 6 hours: It's kind of like soapy herbs now. That's all I can really get and that's if I get close and smiff hard.

 

12 hours: All gone.

 

Overall: This is a really interesting blend, and I'm fascinated by it, but I don't think I'll be wearing it enough to justify keeping even an imp around. I wonder how it would smell on The Mate? We'll see if I can sneak up on him.

 

After reading other reviews: I didn't really get the wood notes, more like dark herbs, and then the pepper thing. I did enjoy it a bit, since the pepper didn't overtake me to the point of making me feel ill (I have a mental thing against pepper). I'll probably swap it, but only because I don't think I can love it to it's full potential.

[JazzieCazzie]

Received in a swap from Summer who is my dear friend but nose opposite She figured if she didn't like it I probably would ...

 

BOTTLE: Fresh and peppery, invigorating and crisp ...

 

WET: Interesting. I know, that doesn't really tell you much. It's definitely got "guy" vibe but upon application not so much that I don't feel I could wear it.

 

DRYDOWN: I really wish I could describe this better ... I like the smell a lot but I don't like it on me. And it was unusual for me in that the drydown was almost identical to the wet smell. And it LASTS AND LASTS. I could smell it pretty much all day.

 

I think this would make a great room scent. If I could figure out how to make homemade tarts I would definitely use this which is why I won't wear it again but I don't think I will swap it either ...

 

On a scale of 1-5, with 5 being holy grail, I think I would give it a 2 as a perfume but a high 3 as a scent in and of itself.

[Countrymouse]

In the bottle: Pepper

 

Wearing: Pepper

 

Unforunately my nose couldn't get past the dusty pepper. The second I put it on I felt like I was going to sneeze, and wound up washing it off pretty quickly. Just wan't for me.

[rainbow]

On me this smelled very strongly of wood and cedar. As I was wearing it it smelled predominantly of cedar. I haven't gotten any of the pepper or other scents that other people got. For me it was all cedar- it was a very nostalgic sort of scent, like sticking my nose in a memory chest- I could almost feel the cedarwood while wearing it.

 

This scent is strong and has good duration. It's a bit to masculine for me, but I bet it smells great slathered on a guy.

[grrrlennyl]

at first: woody. please don't let this be cedar-ific.

on: cedar. ick.

45 minutes later: this is...intruding on me. i keep smelling it, but i don't want to. it's like it's forcing me to smell it. it's still mostly cedar.

3.5 hours later: luckily, this has mellowed and my skin has turned it into something sweet.

overall: needless to say, if/when this is released, i won't be getting it. cedar is my enemy. i'll be ditching my imp.

[emzebel]

Kweku Anansi is one of those scents that I almost have to love just because of the name. Because it is so dark and masculine smelling in the vial, this is actually the first BPAL that my huspand tried before I did and he *loves* this scent - I think in part because he can actuall smell it (he has a very bad sense of smell which results in a lot of "That smells nice" and "That smells like Old Spice" around our house). So this will be a three part review:

 

In the vial, this smells like earth to me - very deep, mossy and dark. It smells like what Shelob's cavern must have smelled like in LOTR. It is an apt, appropriate smell.

 

On my husband, the mossy forest notes come out more, as well as a small like dark ash - not a cigar or cigarette kind of ash, but like a ritual burning kind of ash. It has a dark, almost evil tinge to it. This is not fireplace or burning candle or pipe smoke...it is the smell of burning darkness. What hell might smell like when the fires go out. It is not a nice smell, but it smells good on him, if that makes any sense.

 

On me, the overall smells are similar, except that the throw is more intense. My skin holds oils like there is no tomorrow, or rather like they really want to be around tomorrow, and the smell of burning darkness starts to give me a headache after awhile. And, frankly, there are enough lovely scents out there that take precedence over spelling like the ashes of hell for me.

 

If this is ever released, we will probably buy a 5ml for the husband though, because it really does smell good on him in the oddest sort of way.

[aidenraine]

Very mossy and dark at first... but as it sits it begins to remind me of a Christmas store- there is something in there that smells like dark red berries, cinnamon, and pine.... or the kind of smell one associates with an "olde country store".

 

Maybe it's the nutmeg and thyme that just remind me of these things? Maybe it's the wood?

 

It just smells like those wreaths with the fake red berries that you can hang up on your door. Decorative wreaths....

 

After about an hour it becomes very perfumey on me- I smell sweetness and a bit of a mossy undertone but that's about it.

 

Hm. It's so bitter when wet though.

 

 

I have no idea what I think of this! I can't make up my mind!

[Lycanthrope]

In the Bottle or Imp:

Spicy, definitely full of pepper. Grounded with dry woods and some muddy dirt scents. Not a damp scent at all.

Wet, on Skin:

Pepper rises to the forefront, can smell a touch of smoke, incense from a dark ritual. Patchouli and sandalwood combine for a shadowy, foreboding woodsy base.

Drying Down:

A blend of dirt, earth, pepper and patchouli. Very earthy and dark. A touch of lemon?

Over Time/Longterm:

Patchouli and peppercorns, layered with lemon tea.

Final Verdict?

Very interesting. Spicy, moody, dry and raspy. Getting caught in a spiderweb in the corner of a room where a dark ritual is taking place, the scent of fear and incense smoke wafting about with a calculated dryness.

[QueenFae]

A dark green, woodsy scent. The mossy base is quite evident, and I can also really smell the vetiver. I can't detect the nutmeg, but there is definitely a hint of pepper. It's a dark, foreboding, many leveled scent. I think this would be lovely on a guy. Maybe I'll try it on mine!

[violetblue]

Another one I think would smell amazing on a guy. I just don't think perfumes with vetivert work out well on me. It's sexy though, woodsy, earthy, and mysterious! I think if it was just a bit sweeter, I'd be able to wear it.

[Blood onmy hands]

Mmm... pepper... I do love the smell of pepper. And for about fifteen minutes, Kweku Anansi is all wonderful spicy pepper and a dry woods scent. Little by little a slightly more green/grassy scent comes out.

 

A half hour later I am getting nothing but thyme. Then a bit of citrus (almost lemony in smell). I miss the pepper.

 

This only lasts about 2 hours on me and ends up being a surprisingly light fragrance. I'm not in love with it as I was when I first put it on, it turned too lemon-citrus on my skin for some reason.

[WaldorfSalad]

I tried this based on a recommendation from Lycanthrope in the "Fragrant Fellow" thread. My first impression in the bottle was of moss and grasses. However, after applying and letting it mellow on me for a while, the woody notes and more of the thyme came out.

 

My final impression, based on the one application is that it's a fairly "clean" scent on me, but with enough darker notes of wood and moss to make me feel like I'm wearing a "manly" scent, and not a perfume.

 

Hopefully, this will become available in bottle form. I'd buy it in a heartbeat.