Pepper

[Invidiana]

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

I was pleasantly surprised by this one. On me it's mainly a mix of the roses, oranges and sweet notes wtih a soft floral undertone and a zing of pink pepper. It's a stirring and vivacious scent; not sure if it's me, but still pretty. Edited March 27, 2010 by Shollin

[PeshaRocha]

I bought this hoping the spicy notes would tone down and balance out the florals enough for me to wear it. I like the idea of floral perfume, but I can't stand wearing it. This is complex enough that I might wear it if I'm ever in a "gotta have some flowers" mood, as it's not overpoweringly floral and has a nice little kick to it. However, it's still too floral for me, I guess. Maybe I should just give up on the idea of flowers completely.

 

I think this is too sweetly floral/sissy for Pepper. She should be spicier.

[Thursdae]

Pepper starts out with sweet awesomeness, and gives me about half an hour to an hour's worth of buttery croissants with a sprinkle of those big, crunchy sugar crystals. It's very pretty indeed. The drydown is not as appealing to me. I guess it's the peppery part, which somehow turns away from the sweet side, alas.

[donnatron]

Bottle: Pink pepper and vanilla. Faint whisper of florals.

 

Wet: The wet phase has a really promising hint of the pine pitch tempering the rest of the ingredients. This is a sweet, warm, honeyed vanilla-floral. I get the pink pepper the strongest with the rose following. Hint of citrus.

 

Dry: A lovely, warm, feminine floral. The pine pitch disappears unfortunately but I get a warm swirl of rose and citrus backed by the pink pepper over a base of honey and vanilla. It's complex but it pops. A very bold scent.

 

Throw: Strong.

 

Overall: I love it. This is a really unique scent unlike any other in the BPAL oeuvre.

[tacey]

I had put off reviewing this one, hoping for a better answer. But Pepper has been sitting quietly in a drawer for several months now, and I still get nothing but pink pepper as a scent. It's certainly pink pepper, not black pepper, and I keep trying to talk myself into something underneath it (and I keep somehow mistaking pepper for caramel -- not sure how that's happening). But - on skin and in my locket - all I really smell is pink pepper. No florals at all.

[reynardine]

In bottle: a touch of wild rose and gardenia

 

Wet: Spicy scent, reminds me a lot of Pumpkin V 2007, probably because of the similar notes of ginger and blood orange.

 

Drydown: Stays a light, spicy citrus with a touch of wild rose. Not getting any vanilla at all.

 

Later: Light scent, stays close to the skin. This is like the summer version of the Pumpkin Patch scents. Not woodsy, but it kinda reminds me of going to play outdoors in the neighborhood I grew up in, with some garden scents from other people’s yards coming through. I love this and might need to get a backup bottle of this before it goes away.

 

[Venneh]

In the bottle, I'm getting what I'm pretty sure is the the vanilla, honey, and the ginger. On my skin, it's seeming pretty much like the ginger, pepper, and the vanilla and honey remaining pretty deep underneath. We'll see what happens. Ends up being a spicy ginger/pepper citrus scent, not really what I'm looking for.

Edited March 30, 2010 by Venneh

[Kimbernunk]

This has NO business working on my skin. Honey is a death note, vanilla is usually a death note, rose and gardenia can both amp to headache level.

 

However, this is awesome.

 

Pepper starts out as slightly rosy shortbread cookies. I wasn't a fan of it wet.

It took about 15 minutes to settle in. Then all of a sudden, I get the pink pepper, the blood orange, the ginger, and the little hint of berry. The vanilla and honey are hanging out in the background and the rose and gardenia have behaved themselves, so that this isn't a straight floral.

 

I'm in dead shock, and absolutely in love with this.

 

5/5

[Aldercy]

I this! It's exactly what I was hoping for-- that amazing rose/pink pepper combo of Pothon Meter with a different twist on it.

 

The pink pepper (which I really do find to be noticeably different from any other type) is very strong at first, but does mellow over the course of the scent's wear (most of the day-- it has staying power) until it's almost gone. The rose is so rich mixed with the pepper, ginger and berries that's it's barely recognizable as rose and comes across more as just a juicy spicy... reddish-pinkness. The pine resin and vanilla (which are well-blended together in a way which reminds me of Golden Priapus) provide a really solid base for the sweet-spicy florals (gardenia is discernible along with the rose, but none of the others are to me).

 

Feminine but unusual. I may get a bottle of this one.

Edited July 22, 2010 by Aldercy

[somethingducky]

Ok here goes my first ever review.

 

In the bottle I really wasn't sure. Someone mentioned shortbread cookies, well I smelled my mother's Mexican wedding cookies (flour, sugar, butter and cinnamon) which was ok, but not something I wanted smeared across my skin.

 

But I took a deep breath and dabbed a little on and wow! It completely morphed from this cloying cookie smell to a warm, spicy floral. It's very different from anything I've ever worn before and just gets yummier as it dries down. I get this tickle in my nose like I've been sniffing the spice cabinet too much and I'm tempted to lick my wrist.

Edited August 5, 2010 by somethingducky

[MirasolAbeille]

First review!

 

I get sugar cookies on the first sniff, too, along with a big jolt of the pink pepper and cardamom. I have Pepper on my wrists and also in a scent locket today; in the locket it's still sweet and food-y, but my wrist only has a tinge of sweetness; most of the scent that remains (after several hours) is rose, ginger, lingering pink pepper, and geranium. The result is something that reminds me of the way Anathema describes Adam in 'Good Omens': "as well-balanced as a gyroscope". Sweet and spicy and warm and floral. I've had three people sniff me unprovoked today and say "Oh my God."

 

I bought this mainly out of love for the book and the character, but I'm really glad I did. It's a lovely scent even without its illustrious literary namesake.

[countessmouse]

I got a lot of pepper and ginger at first, which smelled a lot like cinnamon - not one of my favorite perfume scents. There is a hint of the vanilla in there and perhaps the geranium, too.

 

I can't make up my mind on this one. I didn't like the overpowering pepper, but it's morphing a bit to include the vanilla and some of the floral. Might be a keeper just because it's interesting.

[frecklestars]

In the bottle: while it's meant to be primarily a blend of flowers, it is nothing but too-sweet pepper cookies to me - macaroons perhaps? I do get a bit of the vanilla and honey if I pay attention, maybe some ginger, but certainly no flowers. I expected it to be more like a garden in which someone had left a trail of pepper.

 

On my skin: more pepper, and some ceylon cinnamon (think red hots candies). a bit of honeyed vanilla later on, changing to the barest hint of roses and _maybe_ gardenias, but that's really stretching it. the pine develops much later, and that cuts the sweetness a bit, but not enough for me to want to wear it regularly; it's just too much like red hots.

 

Last thoughts: not at all what I expected, especially based on the description. due to an almost complete lack of flowers, I almost wonder if this one was mislabeled? probably not but given that its' major notes are missing, I find it a bit odd. I don't hate it, but it's not what I was looking for.

[Betula]

I don't know why I haven't reviewed this scent yet. Pepper was what got me into BPAL. My friend got me a bottle for Christmas a couple of years ago. She knew I liked Good Omens, and she thought the notes in the scent "sounded right" for me. Little did she know she would be starting a wrist-huffing, fairly expensive habit. Bless 'er.

 

In the bottle: Cookies! Big, buttery snickerdoodles piled on top of gingersnaps. I'm guessing the pepper, vanilla, ginger, and honey help create this impression. Makes me hungry.

 

Wet: Still cookies, but very well-blended pine resin and blood orange zing past, giving it a bright streak.

 

Dry: The honey amps and the florals arrive. Thankfully the flowers are balanced nicely, with no particular floral peeking above the rest. Normally I'm not a floral sort of person, but the zesty notes and gourmand notes keep the flowers in check. When the bottle was new, things got soapy at this stage, but thankfully it's aged past that.

Later: The scent finishes with a soft honey/vanilla/floral that clings to the skin. Very pretty.

 

 

Verdict: Pepper was my first BPAL, so I will always have a soft spot for the scent. If I'm trying to be objective, I can see that it has a few flaws. When it's brand new, it's a little soapy on me. When it's aged, the top and middle notes are gone in a couple of hours. My skin devours it. Despite these issues, Pepper still ranks among my top scents. There's just something about it- it's feisty and comforting at the same time. I'll probably have to buy another bottle soon.

If you're normally iffy about heavy florals, give this a try. The flowers stay relatively tame.

[WidgetAlley]

Bottle: Yesss. A big waft of awesome sweet orange and pink pepper and warm ginger, backed by rose and gardenia and other florals. A bit of pine and vanilla are hanging out in the background. It smells like a bright, summery drink in a overgrown garden full of blooming flowers.

 

Wet: Amber and gardenia and a foody, not spicy, ginger, accompanied by vanilla, pine, and tropical pink pepper. This is so bloody summery it's criminal to be wearing it in December! The rose and gardenia are going a bit powdery but not enough to ruin the blend. It's also quite strong-- in fact I think I put on too much!

 

Dry: This calms down a lot in the drydown, becoming a cool, sweet, spicy scent that's predominantly ginger/pepper/floral with a smooth pine backing and a hefty dose of vanilla. I honestly can't tell you whether I love it or not, although it is really beautiful, and nowhere near as floral as I was expecting. I'm going to have to wait for warmer weather and then see how much I reach for it!

[stellamaris]

Pepper after hanging out a couple of months has become one of my December go to scents, strangely also smelling like cookies to me. Very spicy and warm.

Edit to say that Pepper is still one of my favorite cold weather scents. It has a lot of body to it, it's not just cookies, it's spicy and the florals give it a lush background that does not scream flowers. It also lasts and is very strong, it is one of the few things I can smell in my hair the next day. I Pepper so much, she's even getting a spot in my next "Must have all the Yules " order.

 

Pepper surely is one of my Desert Island BPALs. I can never run out of it, it goes with everything, every situation, weather etc. It's warm and comforting. So lovely.

Edited March 19, 2015 by stellamaris

[JazzieCazzie]

While looking over all of the "unimpable" GCs (and trying, slowly, to work my way through the vast amount of LEs) as I put together a comprehensive wishlist, I was really intrigued by this ... both by the notes listed and the paragraph itself (I've never read Gaiman -- please don't blackball me from BPAL -- but I am absolutely going to read Good Omens now!!!)

 

I had this on my "I want to try" list -- knowing that it could go either way depending on what amped, wasn't ready to commit to a bottle -- and a wonderful forumite with whom I swapped added an imp of this for me!

 

IN THE IMP: Honeyed vanilla sweetness coupled with pepper pepper pepper! So very interesting!

 

Applied to my wrist and into the crook of my arm.

 

WET: The ginger, which I hadn't noticed in the imp, is at least noticeable once it hits my skin but it's by no means a predominant note (which saddens me because I LOVE ginger). The vanilla amps a lot (NOT a good thing on me usually) but the pepper completely morphs the vanilla-honey-ginger sweetness when it's wet. The perfect amount of gardenia adds the lush bloom and the orange, usually something that I don't like, brightens it as well! (Between this and Jabberwocky I may have to loosen my staunch restriction on orange notes). And best of all, I get NOTHING from the rose.

 

DRYDOWN: This dries down significantly differently between my wrist and the crook of my arm, at first at least. Sadly, it's just way too plastic-sweet from the vanilla, and that is the aspect of the scent that has the most throw directly to my nose. Inescapable. It's also, very oddly, slightly masculine to me ... like a vanilla fougere. In the crook of my arm, the drydown is more pleasant, as the orange gives it a freshness that helps add bite to the sweetness. And while the crook remains more pleasant than the wrist, in the long run, it's just too sweet for me to choose to wear.

 

OVERALL: I love the complexity of this and the creativity and I can't wait to read the book. But I think the imp will return to the swapworld where someone else can love it more than I will.

 

On a scale of 1-5, a 3.

[mymymai]

ITI: It's a clean, fresh, lightly floral scent. I can clearly pick up the gardenia (which thankfully isn't overpowering...yet), geranium, tuberose, and light bergamot and ginger.

 

Wet: The floral is significantly stronger on my skin - gardenia, ginger, geranium, tuberose, a pinch of pink pepper, a trace of pine, and enough honey to make me wary.

 

Dry: After some time, it takes on that honey tone of which I'm not terribly fond. There is enough light floral and ginger for the scent to remain in-offensive, though.

[BetteNoire]

Oh my dear Pepper. I love Pepper, since the character in Good Omens is so much like how I was at that age, so I had high expectations for this scent.

 

Pepper is stunningly gorgeous. The tuberose and English rose and gardenia could be way too damn much, but they stay very well behaved. I think the blood orange and pine really ground the flowers and keep them fresh and real smelling rather than perfumey.

 

The ginger and pink pepper make it sassy and spicy and keep the other notes from going too sweet for my taste.

 

Overall, this is one of my top ten favorites. It's so fresh and beautiful, and smells perfectly like a springtime garden. Please, everybody go buy this so it's never discontinued.

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: Spicy and sweet in a foodie sort of way - not at all what I was expecting from these notes.

 

 

Dry: This smells quite similar to Alice's Evidence on me. Which I already have and love. Fruity, a bit spicy, a bit floral. Gorgeous.

[Teamama]

I got my partial bottle from a lovely forumite, age unknown. FYI, Pepper has just enough ginger in it to burn a wee bit on tender spots. Patch test if you're sensitive.

 

Wet, the honey, flowers and fruit smell closely related to Bilquis. Delicious!

 

Dry, the pine comes out quite a bit. After a couple of hours, Pepper's a very close match to Kubla Khan. Much lighter and fainter, though.

 

As a solo fragrance, Pepper is nice, but doesn't have a long wear. After my great success wearing Aziraphale & Crowley together, I look forward to testing Pepper with other Good Omens blends.

Edited June 26, 2016 by Teamama

[alterosen]

I really like this in the beginning wet stage when the pink pepper is really strong & the florals play a more supportive role. As it dries though, either the gardenia or tuberose become really loud on my skin & it gets overwhelming. (I'm thinking tuberose because Ava also didn't appeal). I wish it was gingery orangey roses on me or even cookies on me but it was not to be.

Edited June 26, 2016 by alterosen

[PeculiarHeroine]

When this first goes on me I get a whiff of..... bubblegum? What? How do I get gum out of this?

It dries down to a smell that I can't quite pin down, a bit floral, a bit, what exactly? Rubbery? Not unpleasant, but theres a strange bounce to it, which never quiet settles down on my skin.

I really, really want to love you, Pepper. Your notes are so fecking beautiful on their own, why can't they all sing in harmony on me?

Hmmm. A BPAL first for me, one I really, really cant decide on,

(I know, very helpful note. Whoops)

[milo]

This ends up being a pretty, spicy and cologney on me. I'm not much of a pepper fan, but this one is kind of pretty.

[astarinel]

This is my favorite floral. Normally I am not a florals person, and some rose notes can be very soapy on me, but somehow everything in this one blends together like magic.

 

Pepper is a honeyed, spicy-sweet floral scent. I'm not great at picking out most floral notes, but none of them stand out to me in this scent. The feel overall is kind of a pink-gold color to me, bright pinkish blooms drenched in honey and covered with ginger and pink pepper.

 

Pepper is one of my go-to scents when I want to wear something that could be a little more traditional and perfume-y but still has a bit of sweetness and a quirky vibe to it. The spices keep it from being overly sweet or cloying, and the floral notes never go soapy or headachey. It reminds me of Pepper herself: sweet and a little reluctant to be girly, but fresh and outdoorsy with a bit of bite.

 

This is my floral for a person who doesn't like florals.