Pepper

[StrangeLove]

She herself had short red hair and a face which was not so much freckled as one big freckle with occasional areas of skin.

Pepper's given first names were Pippin Galadriel Moonchild. She had been given them in a naming ceremony in a muddy valley field that contained three sick sheep and a number of leaky polythene teepees. Her mother had chosen the Welsh valley of Pant y Gyrdl as the ideal site to Return to Nature. (Six months later, sick of the rain, the mosquitoes, the men, the tent trampling sheep who ate first the whole commune's marijuana crop and then its antique minibus, and by now beginning to glimpse why almost the entire drive of human history has been an attempt to get as far away from Nature as possible, Pepper's mother returned to Pepper's surprised grandparents in Tadfield, bought a bra, and enrolled in a sociology course with a deep sigh of relief.)

There are only two ways a child can go with a name like Pippin Galadriel Moonchild, and Pepper had chosen the other one: the three male Them had learned this on their first day of school, in the playground, at the age of four.

They had asked her her name, and, all innocent, she had told them.

Subsequently a bucket of water had been needed to separate Pippin Galadriel Moonchild's teeth from Adam's shoe. Wensleydale's first pair of spectacles had been broken, and Brian's sweater needed five stitches.

The Them were together from then on, and Pepper was Pepper forever, except to her mother, and (when they were feeling especially courageous, and the Them were almost out of earshot) Greasy Johnson and the Johnsonites, the village's only other gang.

Wild English roses, French gardenia, vanilla, honey, golden ginger, blood orange, pine resin, pink pepper, crushed berries, tuberose, bergamot, and geranium.

I thought this was a mistake when I saw this, or that Beth was bringing the single notes back. I wondered why, of all things, she'd bring up PEPPER. Goes to show how much I know!

Pepper is a mix of pepper, of course, ginger, and either cinnamon or cardamom(my nose was too overloaded to decide). Complex, spicy, warm, with a touch of non-foody sweetness. Something I wouldn't try if given the notes, but actually beautiful. This is close to, but also superior to Shub-Niggurath(the original extra gingery 2005 blend was better, I mean the newer version), just has pepper in it. Interesting and one of the more unique BPAL scents, for sure. Edited May 31, 2008 by Shollin
Moved from Unreleased. Please note that this first review is of a Will Call prototype. --Shollin

[GypsyRoseRed]

I tested Pepper on my skin at will call, and just had to rave about how lovely it is. While I'm a huuuge ginger lover, I actually got a lot less ginger or spice than I was expecting out of this scent. To my nose, the first notes that I can pick out are blood orange, bergamot and the ginger (which are just gorgeous), followed by a harmonious blend of mellow florals. The combination is smoothed out by the vanilla and honey creating a spicy sweet juicy scent that I personally think stands out amongst all of the fabulous fruity/floral/sweet scents that Black Phoenix has created. There's nothing generic about this at all, and I think it's going to be much beloved by fruit and floral fans alike. My only complaint is that I don't have a bottle right now.

 

ETA: I got a bottle at this month's will call and... no. This is very different from the original prototype, though it could just be a small difference that's totally disagreeing with my chemistry. I've noticed a stale, dry note in a few blends that contain cardamom so I'm thinking that must be the culprit here, because I mostly get stale fruit jellies with a little bit of spice. Overall, this scent has to be my biggest BPAL dissapointment.

Edited May 23, 2008 by GypsyRoseRed

[Kimocean]

I'm with GRR on this one. I skin tested it at Will-Call and love, love, loved it! I was so sad to have to wash it off in the shower the next morning (and yes it was definitely still there so it's got good staying power.)

 

On my skin the spice was a little more prominent with the ginger and the pink pepper taking the lead. I sometimes amp citrus into something unpleasant but the blood orange seemed to behave itself. I'll admit that bergamot is one of my all time favorite notes and this is a beautiful use of it. The florals danced around the outside of this scent, smooth and sexy around the hot hot center.

 

My prediction is that this is going to be a HUGE hit and make many people's top ten lists. I know I'm going to need multiple bottles of it and I don't do multiple bottles of almost anything.

 

Yes, it is that good.

 

ETA: I just came back to this review to make sure I gave Pepper all it's due. I wear this scent more than any other. I love it in my lockets and on my skin. It's spicy, sexy, feminine but not too girly. It's one of the few roses I can wear and actually reminds me of Gypsy Queen in it's ability to be floral without going all old lady/powdery. This scent hits all my good spots--gorgeous citrus, sassy spices, the sweet vanilla underneath and the elegance of a great floral. It worries me that this scent hasn't gotten more love. I hope it never goes away. I don't want to buy multiple back-up bottles because my experience with fruity scents is that they don't necessarily age well but here's hoping I never have to worry about not getting another bottle!

Edited January 16, 2009 by Kimocean

[sookster]

straight sniff from imp is ginger and orange with cardamom for good measure...

 

once applied this is *strong* ... gardenia comes forefront...this is a very warm scent IMHO...

 

after awhile a bit of honey and spicy geranium make this a very complex perfume...

 

unfortunately, these notes just don't seem to be for me...i am very glad to have tried it in any case....

[savage_rose]

And...I have a new favorite ginger blend.

 

I thought from the notes that this was going to be primarily floral--not what I would have selected for a scent honoring her Pepperness, but I love florals (and Pepper!), so I thought I'd try it. And wow! The florals are there, but the ginger is on top. A warm, gingerbready ginger, spiced by the pepper, sweetened by the the floral notes. Some floral is trying to turn into soap on me after a while, but the ginger glares at it and dares it to behave. What a fun, sassy little blend! This rocks!

[lostluckkitten]

This started out similar to Hermia on me - cloying pink flowers and a hefty shot of strong pepper. Hermia was too cloying on me, so I was getting bummed. Now on the drydown, the pepper mellows out and the fruits come out more. Now it smells like… tea. Spiced tea with a floral backdrop. I think that may be the ginger... I drink tea with ginger sometimes, and I think it's triggering that scent memory. Quiet scent; not too loud on me. Light mix of flowers and fruit, warmed by pepper but not overwhelmed by it. Pleasant. Has a teensy hint of Teenage Cannibal to my nose (probably the citrus+pepper+ginger element).

 

Sweet, but not cloying. Spicy, but not overpowering. A touch floral, but fun, not old-ladyish. Great blend; the elements all work well together.

 

Definitely considering a bottle of this when I use up my decant.

[tasty]

Ooh, no. Just... no. To me this is musty grapefruit. Sour and starting to rot.

 

Ack, no.

[alicia_stardust]

Pepper got my attention at will call. She's very uncharacteristic of my usual favorites, but I want her around anyway. There's an overall sense of vibrance and spunk to this scent, probably from the ginger and pink pepper. This smells pink, but it's a coral-pink and the florals are kind of a soft medley behind the ginger and pepper. The vanilla really rounds this out and warms it, the honey adds a touch of earthy natural sweetness, and the blood orange adds a bit more oomph to this spunky little scent. Beautiful!

[etienne]

Pepper jumps right into my BPAL Top 10. And no wonder as it contains most of my favourites notes in one blend - blood orange, vanilla, ginger, honey, rose, berries...

 

One of my first posts on this forum was a post to ask for scent recommendations. I remember saying in that post how I imagined I would love to find a "floral with a kick" and as I tested Pepper this morning many months after that post, I knew I had found just that - a floral with a kick! This is a gorgeous combination of opposite qualities that mingle together gorgeously - it's a bit sweet, a bit spicy, a bit floral, strong and yet soft.

 

Initially when wet on skin I get a lot of the spices (bergamot, ginger) with the blood orange - it reminds me of my beloved Et Lux Fuit. Then, when dry, the florals emerge more and the vanilla and honey round up the overall sweetness and tone down the edge the pink pepper and ginger give this.

 

Pepper gets 10 out of 10 from me - thank you for yet another masterpiece, Beth!

[euterpe414]

Pepper is such a bright, happy blend! The pink pepper, bergamot and the sweet florals mix together incredibly well. The smell on my skin is overwhelmingly PINK, if that makes sense- sweet, spicy, bright, yet not overpowering in any way. It lasts for an incredibly long time on my skin as well, bonus points!! This scent is pretty unique in my opinion, but in the same family as Teenage Cannibal and Hermia. Pink Pepper and spicy floral lovers should not miss this one, it is a BPAL classic for sure!

[edenssixthday]

Pepper – When I first put this on, it stands out heads above the crowd of BPAL scents. It is one of the most unique BPAL blends I’ve encountered. There’s a LOT going on in this scent. I can smell each individual note and from one minute to the next, I’m entertained by the various notes swirling around each other, moving to the forefront, then backing up so another can take center stage, and so on. Adjectives I could use to describe it – all at the same time – are floral, sweet, spicy, creamy, and bright. It’s like a non-tropical, spicy Tiki Queen meets an English garden. Once it dries down on my skin, it smells dramatically different. When dry, the strongest note is the tuberose, followed by the ginger, geranium, rose, and vanilla. I love it during both stages, but I think I like the “wet” version of this better, which means this is going to be a scent locket fragrance. It’s also one I’m going to have to buy in a 5 ml.

[cranberry]

At first sniff, this reminds me of Trick 2. They shares common elements. It’s got to be the pink pepper. Looking at the notes, I believe they also share pine resin, vanilla, crushed berries and of course the pink pepper. At this stage the reminder is quite strong.

 

On the skin, I can smell the blood orange behind all that pepper and it adds a bright cheeriness to this scent. The vanilla and honey add sweetness and the pepper and ginger add their spicy warmth.

 

As it dries, it becomes less and less like Trick 2. It becomes more fruity-floral with a kick of heat. I like this stage less but it’s still quite good. After some time, it becomes even more floral, but the orange is tenacious and hangs on, as do the berries, vanilla and honey. The pepper and ginger at this stage are quite subdued and just add a spicy edge.

 

Overall, this started out great, making me think I had found a substitute for Trick 2. It’s not quite there, but I did enjoy trying this scent.

[akiko]

This is yummy! It's not exactly like I remember it from November, but, man, it's good.

 

Imp: Some very sweet floral, and a fruity something.

 

Wet: Initially, there's oranges, then as it dries, the flowers come back out.

 

Dry: There's something with a kick to it, over a very sweet floral, which has to be the gardenia.

 

Conclusion: This is another floral I can wear. It reminds me of War, but, I dunno, younger. Sweeter, but not more innocent. She's the cute girl next door who can kick your ass.

[theseagrows]

hm, this is an interesting scent. in the vial it smells like flowers, fruits and something a bit nutty. on my skin, the blood orange, pink pepper and florals come through. there is no strong rose or gardenia in this, they are subtle, and really smell like some nondescript white floral to me. i don't get much vanilla, pine or honey. this scent is quite underwheming with my skin chemistry, so i think i will swap it.

[zankoku_zen]

Oh man, this started out as a light, bright citrusy/tea like scent and then dried down to a floral. After an hour, it's bypassed floral and shot straight to pepper and ginger.

 

Oddly enough, it makes me think of Pepper the character. She might look like a girl, but she's definitely not girly. At all.

[waternight]

In the imp: Gingered vanilla with honey, though there's an "after-smell" of blood orange. This is not very floral.

Wet: Spicy, gingered vanilla. Almost foody, but not. Spicy ginger! Yum! I adore Beth's ginger note, and this blend certainly doesn't let me down. Honey and orange, juicy and spicy and sweet. The orange in this is the best orange I've smelled - juicy and pulpy and natural. There's an undercurrent of gardenia, but it's more of a feel rather than a full-blown note. Same with the roses. After a bit, the ginger settles down (though it's still a major player), and this is primarily a vanilla-honey-orange blend.

Dry: ::attempts to jam arm up nose:: This is so amazing. I can't stop huffing at my arm. The orange continually amps. This is almost edible, it's so good. I'm so glad I have a bottle!

[Nisaba]

My first impression is a strong resemblance to Hermia, with lots of pink pepper. I love Hermia's sweet peppery goodness, and Pepper is that and more. I find it hard to pick out notes aside from a whiff of ginger, giving the sweetness a spicy undercurrent that I love. Pepper, to me, is a richer, fuller, spicier version of Hermia, and I love her.

[starwild]

In the imp, it smells like Hermia's pissed-off older sister.

 

Drying, it calms down into a very in-your-face yet sweetly feminine orangey floral. The pink pepper's there, in the background, with something that smells like a soft dollop of amber and vanilla. This scent has the innocence of a little girl who is only innocent when the adults are watching. When their backs are turned she's getting up to mischief that may or may not involve water balloons and mud puddles.

 

It's a very happy and carefree floral, I like it a great deal, will consider a bottle and will DEFINITELY use my decant.

 

ADDED July 1:

 

I have to post another review now that my skin chemistry's at a better place. I've been wearing Pepper every day this week and I'm in love. I was at work late one evening and started smelling something absolutely divine, and it took a few minutes to realize it was ME. Although it's not huge with the throw, once Pepper ages on my skin for about four hours or so it turns into something indescribably yummy. It's very mildly (and not particularly citrusy) fruit-floral-glowing-spiciness. This is incredibly well-blended to me, after a few minutes I can't even pick out individual notes. The wet stage is extremely strong pink pepper and citrus, but after that it's sooooo good.

 

Pepper will be my replacement for Lucy Westenra once my supply of Lucy runs out. It's very similar, though much more cheerful. Pepper smells all pink and gold, but not, heaven forbid, pastel pink.

Edited July 2, 2008 by Shollin

[fairnymph]

In the bottle: Very pale yellow oil. Fresh, floral, herbal, slightly sweet. Clean, almost soapy. Girly. Vanilla, honey, ginger, pepper, blood orange, bergamot, and geranium all distinct.

 

Wet: Very light. Instantly much sweeter and spicier, the ginger and pink pepper really coming out, and combined with the vanilla first and honey right behind, this is quite foody, like a ginger beer mixed with cream soda. Herbs faint, flowers even fainter, but I can still smell the blood orange, for once!

 

Dry: Still pretty foody, but a bit less sweet. Ginger and piquant pepper reign, the gardenia has amped, but for once is playing nice and not being a bully - it's just a pure white floral, without being heady or overwhelming. The geranium is quite strong, fresh and citrusy-herbal. Bergamot not far behind. Blood orange gone, wild roses very faint, and tuberose going soapy. Still no berries, and I don't think they will emerge.

 

Later: Faint to begin with, and fades quickly despite slathering. The tuberose becomes utterly soapy on me, almost unbearably. The ginger and pepper notes are still the strongest though, merging in a way that's both invigorating and spicy-hot. Vanilla and honey still around; lightly, naturally sweet. Bergamot and geranium holding. Flowers other than evil tuberose have faded. Some sexy, earthy musk and the pine resin (as in the Chinese NY scents) have emerged to counter this.

 

Summary: Hours later this has morphed again. It's very slightly soapy, but sort of more powdery - either way, very faint tuberose. The pepper has softened and lost its bite; the ginger has become soothing like the ginger blossom in Harikata. Geranium, honey, vanilla, musk and earthy pine resin have stuck around; the wild roses have returned. Faint gardenia and bergamot. It's a softly sweet, lightly floral, herbal scent now. Girlish and rustic. Pathetically low throw, poor lasting power though it fluctuates oddly.

 

This reminds me most strongly of Honey Moon; though it lacks the 'cool' and 'lunar' feel, ultimately the drydowns are very similar. It also reminds me tremendously of The Haunted Palace, especially in earlier stages. Lastly, it has quite a bit in common with Mad Kate. With these latter two, Pepper shares a fundamental sweet creaminess that verges on being foody.

 

I'm amazed that neither tuberose nor gardenia, nearly always awful on me, didn't ever overwhelm, and seem to become entirely lovely in the drydown. This is definitely something I will have to retest.

Edited June 11, 2008 by fairnymph

[scarletgenesis]

I don't like rose blends, so I got a decant of Pepper in the hopes that the other, non-floral notes would take center stage.

 

Immediately on my skin, I get a fruity, gingery, pepper. This is REMARKABLY like Teenage Cannibal on my skin (which I like as a light, sweet, pick me up scent).

 

Now it's several hours later and it has morphed to a light, floral vanilla. I do like this and am glad I got a decant and that it's not too floral. However, I have a bottle of Teenage Cannibal, so I can do without Pepper since they're so similar on my skin.

[darharper]

I just received a decant of this in the post. I don't know if the lovely person is on this forum (got it off of LJ), but, if so, THANK YOU!

 

In the bottle: Spicy floral. Very complex. I am having a hard time picking out any specific notes, but, I think I smell some ginger and some very sharp pepper. Smells lovely!

 

Wet on skin: It is all gardenia with a sharp pepper behind it. Gardenia always amps on me and I hate that. It is just too overwhelming of a flower. Yuck. Wait for drydown. Just wait. The gardenia is making me nauseous.

 

Dry: The complexity is starting to surface on my skin. The gardenia has been beat back by orange, rose, and a lovely mixture of spicy ginger and pepper. The gardenia now smells like a generic soft white flower scent. Overall the combination is really gorgeous! This is the second scent that has morphed on me so dramatically, the first being Siren.

 

If the scent stays nice and has a decent wear length, it is an immediate big bottle buy for this spicy ginger lover! It is so lovely, I can get past the 5 minutes of gardenia nastiness.

[filigree_shadow]

I'm not having great luck with this scent. At the very beginning I thought I was going to like it because it smelled floral but not heady or green, which are the types of florals I don't like. But then the ginger and pink pepper came into play and they made it smell a little strange. I was iffy about that stage. Then they sort of swirled into the background and the florals came out again. But they smelled odd. I'm not even sure what I'm smelling here, but I don't think it's something I like. Geranium? I don't know. It's not gardenia or rose, that's for sure.

 

From reading other reviews, I can say that on my skin this doesn't smell anything like what other people are describing. Sometimes my skin makes a mess of anything with ginger in it, and I think that's what's going on here.

[Catmint]

IMP: very fruity & orange

 

WET: juicy and orangey with a hint of vanilla and ginger. YUM

 

DRY: sadly the fruit goes POOF within minutes, and the florals quickly turn to soap.

[yeahbutnobut]

Pepper

 

In the imp: very similar to Hermia, a pink pepper floral scent. I think I smell rose and orange.

Wet on skin: I have no idea why the blood orange/bergamot smells of grapefruit now, but it does. So now it’s a peppered citrus, like Teenage Cannibal.

Dry on skin: mmm, I really like this. Now I can smell a soft gardenia or tuberose note. This is a wonderful mix of floral and fruit notes with a feisty kick of spice. I smell the orange and the white flowers with the piquant notes of pepper and ginger. I can also smell a hint of pine resin and maybe berries too. Not much rose or geranium for now, I can’t smell much vanilla or honey either, but this seems like a less candied version of Teenage Cannibal to me, with a hint of Screeching Parrot and Biggercritters. The scent also makes me think of a more youthful Lucy Westenra.

After a while: the citrus and pepper have toned down a little, now I smell more of the gardenia and now, the vanilla. This is still spicy but it’s more of a gentle floral at this point, with a touch of lovely blood orange to it. The pine resin adds something almost smoky to it all.

The spices gradually fade to reveal a gentle, feminine floral scent, gardenia and tuberose sweetened by vanilla and a hint of honey, with a little bit of berry and orange adding some tartness. Now it reminds me of Mad Kate, but a little bit less floral.

Verdict: I really like this youthful, spicy citrus-floral. There’s a lovely traditional flowery scent to it but it smells fresh and lively, and the spices and citrus notes add something gutsy and confident to the scent. The pink pepper is wonderful, of course, as is the blood orange which seems to smell a bit like grapefruit here. The scent seems like a very good representation of the character-this is a girly floral scent you don’t want to mess with. By the end the sweeter notes come out, the vanilla and honey mingle with the gardenia and it smells a bit fainter, less punchy and spicy but very pretty. I’m not sure if it’s a favourite though because my skins seems to eat this up, and there are other rose-orange and pink pepper scents I prefer, but it’s a really lovely blend of different notes that work really well together, and it’s a fabulous scented interpretation of one of my favourite Good Omens characters.

Emoticon rating:

Is it a keeper? Definitely the decant. Need to decide whether or not it’s a bottle scent, but I really like this one.

If you like this, try: Lovestruck Teenage Cannibal, Hermia, Lucy Westenra, MB Biggercritters, Screeching Parrot, Alice, Mad Kate

[coldandsleepy]

In the bottle: very sweet in the bottle. I'm getting some sort of citrus and a bit of rose, with a whopping side of honey.

 

On me, wet: phew, that was a close one. The honey tones waaaay down when this hits on my skin and the scent gets a lot less sweet. I really start to get the pepper and the ginger… which combines to almost be a cinnamon smell. Still have the rose, and now I'm getting a touch of gardenia. And definitely the blood orange! It's like the citrus in Zarita, in a good way.

 

On me, dry: same as wet.

 

Throw and duration: mild throw; you could smell me if you got close up, but wouldn't probably notice this if you sat next to me on the bus. That's okay. Duration's very good... 6+ hours.

 

Overall: I like this very much, and expect I'll go to it a lot during the summer. It's something I think I'll eventually want a full bottle of. It evokes the character of Pepper very well, I think.