Wanton

[Doc M]

Feminine sexuality in its rawest form. Palmarosa, red sandalwood, attar of rose, patchouli.

 

Frimp from forumite applied without reading notes.
Initial diagnosis: very sweet and traditionally feminine. On skin almost like gardenia... No, more like tiger lilies past their prime or jasmine. A few minutes and I smell rose coming up underneath.
Final diagnosis (after reading notes): Ah. Must be palmarosa giving the rose that heady, heavy smell. Nice with decent throw but too sweet and sticky floral for my tastes. Still get impression of jasmine, which I dislike.

[sabrebabe]

In the bottle: Oh, definitely a perfectly balanced blend of roses, red sandalwood and patchouli. Very nice!

Wet: red sandalwood, roses, slightly powdery. Patchouli has lessened a little bit, the flowery rose is stronger.

Dry: Okay, more powdery and more flowery, with just a smidge of the sandalwood and patchouli in the background. Very powdery, in fact, and sweet. Not as nice as it was in the bottle. 

Much later: Now it’s all soapy. Cheap, fake rose scented soap.  Trade pile.

[TheFrenchWaffle]

Received as a frimp from a wonderful forumite. I tried so hard to like this scent.

In the imp: very "green" smelling with something underneath that I can't quite put my finger on, the closest I can get to describing it is "pickles"

Wet: Still very green and "Pickle-ish", I can kind of smell the florals creeping in (rose?)

Drying: It's the rose and the "pickle-ish" smell that are battling it out, who will win this war?

Dry: The "pickle" smell calms down, as does the rose. I now get more of the sandalwood. Unfortunately the "pickle" scent is still hanging in there more than I want.

Final verdict: I always feel so bad when a frimp doesn't work on me, I feel like I have failed when something doesn't work. Unfortunately something, I'm not quite sure what, disagrees with me and turns to "pickles" on my skin. It would have been a nice scent if only it didn't have the "pickle-like" quality to it. It pains me to say it, but it's off to swaps for this one. sigh.

[Magycmyste]

In the imp: I have no idea what palmarosa smells like, but I'm getting sweet rose, like an almost honeyed rose.

 

Wet on skin: Actually, I take that back - sugared rosewater. A little light on the sugar, but still.

 

Dried down: Still sweet rose.

 

Throw: Not much, but I only put a little bit on.

 

Verdict: **** I do like this a lot, but I don't know how often I would reach for it. This is a maybe bottle for me.

 

ETA: the patchouli comes out a little bit more as this wears longer on my skin. Interesting.

Edited February 25, 2014 by Magycmyste

[mymymai]

ITI: It's muskier than I had anticipated. I can tease out the attar of rose, patchouli, and palmarosa, but I'm not getting much sandalwood. I'm not sure how I feel about this just yet.

 

Wet: Ack, that's really strong palmarosa and attar of rose. It's certainly in-your-face, and the patchouli only adds to the strength and power of the scent. I am getting a little sandalwood, but it's hard to detect on a cursory sniff. Hmm, it's a bit too much pungent floral for me, so I'm hoping it mellows out sufficiently as it dries.

 

Dry: This has great throw and lasts a good amount of time. 12 hours later and it much better because the rose is not quite so...old and musky. Instead, it is slightly spicy, feminine rose with tones of sandalwood - a feminine but not overtly girly scent. I think I'll keep this one.

[hushmesilent]

Hmm.. I'm insanely wary of this one. My skin hates patchouli and palmarosa, and I can get headaches from sandalwood. However, Beth is a master of her craft and sometimes surprises us with scents we think won't work.

 

Nope.

 

I wanted to like Wanton - what I thought would be a sultry, summer night perfume. However, on me it smells like stale bread and bad incense. Such a shame.

[Veronica]

Wet, this is all rose and red sandalwood, very floral with a slightly dry base. As it dries the rose subsides and this ends up smelling...kind of like nothing. It's not patchouli, it's just an odd, slightly off scent. Nothing.

[d0gbones]

In the imp: too-sweet florals.

Wet: Patchouli, sweet incense. Still not getting the rose, it's more a jumble of flowers.

Dry: Uh oh. We're in sandalwood territory.

 

Thankfully, that died off and left me with a flowery patchouli. Still not one for me though.

[DoktorDandy]

This is going to be a short one!

 

No, no, no! Had to wash this off after not being able to stand it's weirdness anymore!

Turpenoid, turpentine, old nailpolish remover, acetone, Windsor Newton brush cleaner. Not the most unpleasant chemical smells to my nose, but still, deep weird chemical smells that cause you to reel back and go NOPE STOP SMELLING THAT because your brain tries to protect you from losing brain cells and what not. Really confused by this. Nothing else is coming through. Then boom, eugh, a single fainting rose dissolving, no melting in a rancid pool of something glossy. There's an ugly note here that reminds me of the lip curling smell of durian and maybe the more challenging days with lychee. Worrisome, nauseating, maybe a little dead or decaying. Not for me. Something here HATED my chemistry. I can't tell what this was supposed to smell like. Can I blame the patchouli?

 

To the swap it goes. I'm going to imagine that this could be big, busty, and darkly lush on somebody but that somebody certainly isn't me.

[lady_pandora]

I get about a minute of something kind of lilyish, and then that fades out to leave rose and sandalwood.

 

A bit of background: I love, love, love Spellbound. And I amp it to the moon, the stars, and all the seven hells. The drop at the end of the imp cap is enough. I mean, seriously amp the stuff.

 

The rose in Wanton is one of the roses that's in Spellbound. I'd bet real money on it, if I had any. This reminds me a lot of Spellbound, except quieter; I think I could wear this to work without clearing the room! The other notes are different (amber/red musk in Spellbound vs. sandalwood/patchouli here), but it's a very similar rose/incense vibe.

 

It takes me a while to identify the patchouli. It's red patchouli, and it's sitting between the rose and sandalwood, kind of pretending to be each of them. It'll sidle up to rose like "I'm sweet and floral, like you!" and then lean on sandalwood's shoulder and go "I'm warm and incensey, like you!" It all blends together really well.

 

Probably don't need a bottle, since I prefer Spellbound somewhat and have a ton of it, but keeping the imp.

[LizziesLuck]

Ever since I purchased The Painted Rose Atmo from the Post, I have been looking for a rose and patchouli perfume - find the combo amazing in The Painted Rose.

 

 

Wet: Really sour and astringent, and NOT rose and patchouli as I had hoped. The throw is much sweeter, but still has that astringent tang going on. Ick.

 

 

Dry: It pretty well disappeared. It never became the rose and patchouli scent I was hoping for. Just faint dry patchouli now.

[Casablanca]

Pre-sniffy thoughts: Palmarosa has been called the poor man's rose. Less scrupulous fragrance and essential oil sellers have been known to cut expensive rose oils with palmarosa or geranium and fail to disclose this practice to customers. I take it from having read this in the past that palmarosa isn't as valued (or perhaps as good) as rose. In this mix, though, the only listed note that concerns me is the patch.

Wet on my skin, Wanton smells at first like a flat, thin red floral and dirty, dusty patchouli. Then I smell a little red sandalwood after a minute or so, and that entices, but this mix is a little messy.

Wanton dries into a little more depth, but not as much as a full rose. On the plus, I don't smell much patchouli now. The sandalwood is pretty, but it's not quite enough to draw me in to the rest. Within an hour, Wanton has faded from my skin.

[Rachel L. Fox]

Pistol Packin' Mamas, Drama Mamas, Beauty Queens, Alphas, and/or Ladies-in-Chief, take note! This is a big, loud, beautiful rose scent with a Southeast Asian feel. I think this would be a great casual/daytime scent for a Bad Chick. It projects toughness, strength, confidence, and allure. I like it.

[Convallaria]

This one is a morpher on me. I get the stalks, not the flower, at the very opening. Then there is a very sweet rose (not candied, but as sweet as it can get without) for a while, before it goes into atmosphere essential oil territory, with not much flower left in sandalwood-patchouli blend. It reemerges again in the latter stages of powdery drydown, that is still kind of aromatherapeutic. Overall, depending on the stage, the scent reminds me more of crushed plants or clay pot diffuser than sexytimes.

[roseus]

I get a sweet rose and sandalwood in the imp. The sandalwood is sweet and soft, not super dry or spicy.

 

Wet: the rose gets stronger but also lighter? Like it's not a deep and heady rose, but it's not faint.

 

Dry: Just left with the faintest bits of sandalwood and a sweet patchouli.

[kattalog]

Wet: Sour fruit juice, rose.

Dry: As newly dried: dry, almost savory flowers and sandalwood.
After an hour its floral and sandalwood.
A few hours later, woodsy and dry florals, stronger than two hours ago. A rather tame scent, in the sense that’s its not a wicked or odd scent. Instead something I think would fly as a mainstream scent, just darker than most florals because of the sandalwood.
At five hours very skin near. Sweet wood and florals. Compared to other BPALs Wanton did not change is scent or dominant notes as much.
Ends with sandalwood and dry roses.

Dominant notes: Sandalwood, rose, patchouli.

Lasting: 5 hours

[lizabelle]

This has gone completely powdery on me, which is unusual for a rose blend. This is definitely a pink rose, with some warm, soapy sandalwood underneath and lots of powder on top. The smell is familiar and I couldn't place it for a while, but suddenly remembered; I have a tin of fancy rose mints somewhere and these smell exactly like them. (For the record, they are not actually minty, just sugary and rosy.) I get absolutely no patch out of this, which is doubly odd because my skin tends to like it. On me this is pleasant and sweet, but not overtly sexy--more like a pretty girl getting dressed up for a party than a confident woman out on the prowl. I would love to see something like this with a fruitier red rose.

[Bassmastadroog]

First on: beautiful stemmy rose incense. Make no mistake- this is a 'rose scent.' This is a fresh cut rose, and the sandalwood is smoking slightly, directly over it. The patchouli registers as light earthy dirt strewn across the stem of the rose, and throughout the wear the patchouli gets a little stronger, which definitely grounds down the sandalwood for me. Lovely, lovely scent. Full bottle definitely! Revisiting these GC's and I am finding some serious keepers!

[gloame]

I just have the worst luck with rose. It overtakes everything else in a blend on me. This started out quite interesting and pretty and went rose city within 5 minutes. I'm sure it would be sexy and lovely on others.

 

ETA Where I'd wear this: The Parade of Roses, if you want to hide

Edited July 16, 2017 by gloame

[dementia_divine]

In the imp: Heady palmarosa and rose.

 

Wet: Yep, lots of palmarosa and rose.

 

Dry: Still predominantly heady palmarose and rose. I'm not getting much red sandalwood or patchouli.

 

After a few hours of wear, the sandalwood and patchouli come out, but I'm mostly getting the palmarosa and rose with patchouli, and not a lot of sandalwood.

 

Verdict: This one isn't really my cup of tea.

 

[Ghost of a Rose]

Lab Frimp aged about 4 years.

 

In the imp: A strong floral. Not roses, or anything else I recognize. Must be the plumarosa. I've never smelled that, but the internet says it is a grass with a fragrance similar to rose. I'm excited to try this! I often wish foral notes were stronger, and this one certainly is.

 

Wet, on my skin: WHOA, this is STRONG! And I only swiped the wand on my wrist. Usually I put on a drop, but it was immediately evident that a drop would be way too much. Very strong and very sweet patchouli and that unusual floral.

 

After 5 minutes: The sense of florals has already died down to a subtle undertone, leaving behinds an extreme sweetness. A super-sweet patchouli. This isn't my favorite Sumatran Red Patchouli, but I usually like other patches okay too. There's a hint of spiciness that I sometimes get from sandalwood. I'm ambivalent about this. It is very unusual, which I like, and I love the idea of combining patch with florals, and I like the headshop vibe. It's also in-your-face aggressive, which fits the theme so well.

 

But on the other hand, all that sweetness veers dangerously close to cloying. And the perfume is so very strong, even with the tiny amount I used. Thank goodness I didn't put on more! Wearing something this strong and this sweet for very long could become highly annoying, even headachy. And this is coming from someone who loves strong scents (I don't do them that way in public, just to be clear) and almost never gets headaches for any reason. This might be too much even for me.

 

No point in giving a play-by-play report, as the fragrance remains the same. It lasts for 10 or 12 hours, just as you might expect from so strong a scent. Towards the very end, it settles down into a softer powdery version of the same thing. That helps, and I would probably love this if it was like that from the beginning. But it was still cloyingly sweet, and I was getting pretty darn tired of it by then.

 

I never got the faintest hint of any rose, to my dismay.

 

In looking over the other reviews, I have to wonder, are we even talking about the same thing?!! So many other people talk about tons of rose and how light the scent. But almost everyone mentions the sweetness and the patchouli, so I don't seem to be posting in the wrong thread. Why is my experience of it so very different? Maybe the age of my imp? Or my skin chemistry? Probably both.

 

The BPAL rose notes don't seem to fade with age. I have BPAL rose perfumes much older than this one, and the rose note is still fresh and beautiful. Maybe timstead he patch (or this one, anyway) gains in strength as it ages?

 

Verdict: Mixed. I like it it some ways, but don't like the extreme strength and sweetness. In any case, it is very unique and intriguing, and I like a lot of variety in everything. I'll keep it for an occasional decidedly different change of pace.

 

Or, use it in an oil warmer. Most BPAL perfumes aren't strong enough for that, so this might be just the thing.

 

3 out of 5 stars

Edited August 18, 2018 by Ghost of a Rose

[Teamama]

Wanton comes out swinging, with a big bold floral-type throw. I suspect palmarosa & attar of rose are making most of the hubbub.

 

After drydown, the red sandalwood comes into play as a warm background for attar of rose, the now-domesticated palmarosa, & the gentle patchouli. I think the citrus note I get must be from the palmarosa. I also get a hint of fig.

 

Wanton is a sweet blend that has some complexity. It starts out with huge throw, & resolves to a fairly subtle scent. I like it a lot, & hope it isn't discontinued.

[Lucchesa]

I'm beginning to understand that attar of rose is not one of the rose notes that works on me. I get a lot of throw at first, which is all rose and, presumably, palmarosa, which is supposed to be rose-like. I'm getting no patch at all and just a little sandalwood. It's not terrible, it just bends in the direction of old lady rose on my skin. Not for me.