Golden Priapus

[Trish]

Insatiable lust, unending vigor! A truly carnal, energetic men's blend: vanilla and amber with juniper, rosewood and white pine.

I got this as a frimp from the Lab and I have absolutely no hope that this will work for me. It sounds wonderful but there it is, my nemesis - amber.

In the imp: Vanilla, with a touch of pine and amber.

Wet: Sweet vanilla with quite a helping of pine and juniper. Sharp and woody yet warm and sweet.

Drydown: Pretty much the same, except a little more vanilla. Warm sweet golden vanilla woods. This is lovely but I know it's going to turn on me once it's dry.

There's a little throw, mainly vanilla and amber and the combination is heavenly!

Initial Dry: It hasn't changed a whole lot, except the vanilla has receded a little and the pine is the top note. No baby powder as yet...

Later: The vanilla has faded some more, so that it's mainly pine and rosewood now. A little sharp, a little soft, and still sweet. No powder....

5 minutes later: And now the vanilla returns with a vengance! Warm sweet golden vanilla overlaying pine and rosewood. This is my favourite stage so far... and still no baby powder *begins to hope* The throw, although not strong, is pure vanilla now. Soft and sweet, and reminding me of the vanilla I get in the throw of Eat Me. It's rapidly becoming more and more vanillary now on my wrist too.

After an hour or so it's settled into a soft warm vanilla amber scent with just the tiniest touch of powder - but not baby powder. I agree with whoever said it reminded them of Chimera minus the cinnamon - and I love Chimera.

This was a suprising success! I don't know that it's a bottle yet though - I need to experience it properly instead of compulsively sniffing for baby powder. I also need to test it on Ray. Edited September 28, 2007 by Shollin

[ClareN]

Most of BPAL's evergreen scents haven't ended up working for me, but this one is a winner. At least, one of my imps is. I have two different imps received in separate swaps, and testing them simultaneously I find that they are slightly different; whether that's a batch difference or an aging difference I don't know.

 

In the wet stage, I get mostly evergreen with a bit of amber and vanilla. Imp 1 is more juniper, Imp 2 is more pine, with that bad cleaning fluid association that most pine scents have for me.

 

Drying down, the vanilla seems to take the cleaning fluid edge off the pine and juniper, making this a soft, rounded and creamy scent. It's lovely. Imp 1 is still the better version; Imp 2 is still a bit too piney. I can pick up more of the rosewood and amber at this stage, but I think of this scent as mostly vanilla and juniper.

 

Later in the drydown, it's gotten fainter, and now reminds me slightly of Dorian, with only the slightest hint of anything evergreen-y. At this stage the two imps smell similar although I still prefer Imp 1, which is not as sharp.

 

Although I like both scents, Imp 1 is bottle-worthy, while Imp 2 is not quite. This is a bit of a dilemma, since I don't want to gamble on a bottle if I don't know which version it will turn out to be. Perhaps I'll just use up my imps while keeping an eye out for a cheap bottle on sales posts.

 

I want to comment on one other thing: I don't much like the idea of dividing scents into "for men" or "for women", especially with BPAL; I have a lot of thoughts on this subject but I'll try to be brief. With commercial men's fragrance, you often get the feeling that someone said "now let's throw in a lot of stereotypical man-scents so men will buy this and not smell too different from all the other men"; you don't get that vibe with BPAL. But because it's been mentioned in a few of these reviews, I wanted to add that I don't think Golden Priapus smells at all like mainstream men's fragrance. Meaning it could be worn by anyone who likes it of any gender, but it doesn't smell like something you'd find at the mall. So don't let those descriptions put you off; this is very good.

[harmonyfb]

Sticky pine sap and vanilla car air freshener. A world of no.

[Honor]

*grins* I got this from harmonyfb, so it's amusing that my review is below hers.

 

In the bottle I smell pine and juniper and little else.

 

I put this on boy instead of myself, just for S&Gs...on him, the juniper and pine take a back seat as the vanilla, a warm amber-vanilla, comes out... however, this blend does little else in the sense of blending... even upon final drydown all I get on him was sharp pine and vanilla, distinct and seperate, and honestly, these are not two smells that I think go together well.

[sithwitch13]

Oh holy crap wow.

 

I swapped for this one out of curiosity and liked the way the little dab on the back of my hand smelled, so today I decided to try wearing it. I think *melt* is the best description for what happened. First it was all amber and vanilla, which I have absolutely no problem with, like Haunted and Dragon's Milk were duking it out on my wrists. As it started drying, the pine and juniper jumped out for a few minutes. And then once it completely dried, it settled into this wonderful delicious sweetness. The evergreen smell is still there when I sniff for it, as is the vanilla and amber, but it blends so insanely well! I'm in love. Hell, my husband liked it and he's noncommittal about everything but Sudha Segara on me. I wonder if I can get him to try it out, too...

[Honeygirl]

Bottle: Vanilla and pine

 

Wet: Vanilla, amber, pine and juniper. It's very sexy but a touch masculine on me. I can't wait to try it on my husband!

 

Drydown: Still so sexy! It is a bit similar to Snake Oil, because of the vanilla I suppose. It's a complex scent too!

3.5 outta 5

[MaidMirawyn]

I put this one on my husband instead of myself.

 

In the imp, I smell warmth and evergreens. When I smell the wand, the evergreens are dominant, but when I sniff the vial it's the warm note I mainly smell.

 

Wet, I smell the evergreens still, but they aren't sharp.

 

As it's drying, the notes blend together and I can't really separate the evergreens from the vanilla and amber.

 

Strangely, I could never separate out the different evergreens or the vanilla and amber. It was just "warm" and "evergreen". Very nice.

 

Edited to add: This one smelled quite nice for quite a while on him, but only if I was very close. It was nice catching a whiff of it every time I leaned close or kissed him. Kind of romanitc.

Edited December 24, 2007 by MaidMirawyn

[CrazyPretzel]

I love the concept of this one - a scent that's masculine but nonetheless sweet and vanilla-y! The pine in this is quite soft. Rosewood is ultimately a little bit too close to cedar for me to really enjoy wearing this (it goes a little bit pencil-ish on me) but I would definitely like to try this one on my boyfriend. The amber is the note that sticks around for the longest time.

[djsiberia]

it smelled lovely in the imp...

the white pine and juniper were amped up on my skin and i couldn't smell any of the more delicate notes

[fireflower]

Vanilla and amber can do no wrong on my skin. Until there are other notes I really don't care for mixed in.

 

In the imp and on my skin, I can smell the beautiful, warm, creamy combination of vanilla and amber underneath the sharp pineyness. It's a soft pine, but it's still pine and I'm not a fan of pine in the least. Otherwise, this would be utterly beautiful. If you like pine scents and like creamy scents, this one is definitely for you. But it's unfortunately not for me.

[ImperatrixMundi]

Woohoo!

This is all vanilla and amber, the type of amber that reminds me of gingerbread. It is really sweet and the foresty notes are nowhere to be seen. I love to sniff it on my boyfriend, it is very compelling even as I do not normally love sweet scents. The woody things must be somewhere in there after all and keep this blend from running away to sugarland.

And the throw is huge, my nose is not very good but I can smell this on Him from quite a distance. Lasts long as well. I like it.

[donnatron]

Imp: Why hello there Mr. Pine Forest. I see we meet again.

 

Wet: Sweet pine. Kind of weird. I can smell the vanilla in the background but my skin is amping up the green notes.

 

Dry: It takes about an hour or so, but eventually I smell amazing. The pine and juniper are there, but they fade into the background and I just have this sweet, sultry close-to-the-skin scent. It smells like I naturally smell this good and have a light juniper fragrance on. The sharp drydown was so worth it.

 

Throw: Personal. But I wear scent (mostly) for my own sake, so I don't mind having a little secret today.

 

Overall: Big bottle? Maybe. I think I need to expand on my experiments in amber before I come to a definite conclusion.

[Juushika]

I've always found descriptions of this scent to be intriguing, so I was happy to have the chance to try it ... but a little worried that it might be too unusual to be truly pleasant, or too masculine to suit me.

 

In vial: Juniper and pine.

 

On me: Juniper and something sweet (vanilla) to start, but it quickly begins to warm and lose the sharpness of the juniper and pine. Once it dries down, it's entirely different and really quite pleasant—like many people, I find it reminiscent of Snake Oil, a combination of rich wet sweetness from the vanilla and all number of grounding notes: golden amber (more yellow than red, it almost reminds me a cedar), something spicy (rosewood?), something a bit sharp (definitely the pine). While it is lovely to smell, it's just a bit unusual, makes me come back to sniff again and contemplate what makes it different. The overall impression is very warm, very distinct, but not overtly masculine or sexual. In fact, while it is a touch masculine for feminine-me, I don't know how I'd feel about smelling it on a man—there's a bit too much vanilla for me to imagine it.

 

Verdict: I like this, and I'm glad I had the chance to try it. It's a unique scent, an odd combination that makes it seem perfectly normal at first blush but then, on second thought, a little sharp where you weren't expecting sharp, a little spicy without any spicy notes, just unexpected enough that you have to reconsider it. It's difficult to describe and truly unique. I don't know how often I'll wear it—I find the vanilla sweetness to be too full and a little cloying sometimes, and the masculine edge on me produces a strange gender ambiguity that I'd really have to be in the mood for. But for all of that, I really rather like it, and the boy likes it on me, so I'll be keeping the imp around for those certain whims and moods.

[Alchemy21599]

As a dude-fume enthusiast I can't believe I haven't tried this scent before!

 

In the imp: creamy and golden with a hint of pine in the background.

 

Wet on skin: delicious amber and vanilla.

 

Dry: Uh, oh. The pine started to amp.

 

This is a wonderful scent for anyone who enjoys vanilla and pine. IMHO it is gender neutral and not strictly for gents.

[sadtomato]

i might give this one to the hubby 'cause he wants all the manly ones, but damn...it smells so good!

wet in the bottle and wet on the skin it smelled like a lemony cleaning product for a while, but then dried down to a gorgeous amber scent wtih just a touch of pine.

pine is usually amped on my skin, but the amber won out in this one, thankfully.

i'm gonna keep it a while, wear it at least once or twice, then maybe the hubby can have the left overs

[jparrack]

Amber generally plays nicely on my skin, and I was curious about this one.

Wet: Ah, there's my nemesis Generic Incense Smell who hangs around for about ten minutes.

Dry: Vanilla and amber with no hint of pine. Which is weird, because I've amped pine before.

Verdict: Lion, Annubis and Coyote are all better amber scents for me. Off to the swaps with you!

[kuroitsuki]

I love my Golden Priapus so very much; it fulfills so many of my needs. Sometimes I wear it shyly and sometimes I wear it with vigor and enthusiasm. I wear it to bed and even out in public! I had my doubts at first, but now I don't know what I'd do without it!

 

It starts off feeling a little strange -- the vanilla is a bit plasticy and the evergreen a bit harsh. Once it gets comfortable, though, it becomes smooth and gorgeous. The vanilla is the central note: it's bold but delightfully sweet. And not at all foody, perhaps due to the influence of the woods, which have receded to the background where they lend support and energy to the blend. The amber behaves nicely and doesn't go to baby powder on my skin.

 

The overall feeling? Golden, creamy, soft, slightly wet and ever so slightly sticky. So lovely it seduced me from the vanilla-hater camp. Do try it; you may be in for a wonderful time...

[Kelism]

I got this as a frimp in my last lab order. This made me decide that, yes, the more "masculine" scents do tend to work better for me.

 

In the imp all I smell is juniper/pine. This made me almost set it aside to try something else, but I went for it anyway.

 

On me it's mostly vanilla/amber. The throw isn't huge but really all I smell is the vanilla/amber. But, if I hold my wrist up - that's when I can pick out the juniper. It grounds the creamy vanilla goodness. Yum.

[ouch!]

This goes very quickly from a Piney slightly woody scent to vanilla city!

My body chemistry always amps vanilla like crazy so. It's just a very simple morph from one to the other.

 

Pine/wood TO Vanilla.

 

 

Wham Bam thank you mam!

 

Ouch!

(that's probably the shortest review I've ever written)

[bellacalla]

I love Vanilla and Amber. And the vanilla and amber smell lovely, except for the fact that they've been smacked over the head by a Christmas Tree. It's a very conflicted scent on me. I love the smell of a good pine tree around the holidays, but I don't want to smell like one, and I don't want some of my favorite notes (vanilla and amber) corrupted by one.

[brsis]

Initial Thoughts: Oh dear God why am I testing a scent called Golden Cock?

 

Vanilla and amber. That's why. This should be good, actually.

 

In the Imp: Tingly juniper goodness with mellow vanilla. Mmmmm...

 

On the wrist, wet: Juniper and vanilla. Nice one. Oh, and a touch of what I think may be pine. This is really quite pleasant, but it's reminding me of something and...

 

... oh. Right. I remember. Hmm. It reminds me of Toilet Duck. That's a shame.

 

Ten minutes later: It's improving, but the hint of eau de Toilet Duck is still there. There is also, however, a lovely pale gold vanilla note trying to wrestle it's way out. This definately needs at least another ten minutes to mature and see if I can live with it.

 

Half an hour later: No good. Toilet Duck it is. I'm pretty sure it's the juniper and the pine, so I'm going to have to stay away from those two in future, because they don't fade the way grapefruit does.

 

Verdict: Swap pile

 

Tl;Dr: Golden vanilla under a very heavy later of Mountain Fresh Toilet Duck.

[arsenicsauce]

I got this one as a lab frimp. This is really a men's blend? I like it a lot, and it doesn't have that cologne smell most of them seem to. Wet: Fresh pine needles, crushed. Not pine wood or fake pine-sol, but a just-set-up-the-christmas-tree smell.

 

Actually it pretty much stays that way dry too. I catch a whiff of vanilla now and then but it's not very distinct, it just sweetens it a little. Kind of one-note on me, but very refreshing!

[SarahScent44]

In the imp, the pine is the most prominent - there's also a sweetness I attribute to the vanilla.

 

On my skin, the juniper and the pine remind me of the scent of my backyard - I'm not really getting anything else.

 

When it dries, it's all pine, but with a softness that I'm assuming comes from the vanilla and amber - really nice.

[jiggahava]

How good is Golden Priapus?

 

It's so good that it can make a scent that's essentially "male-sounding"(The name which basically means Golden penis, and masculine notes such as pine) and smell utterly divine on me. The vanilla and pine and juniper add up to a more herbal Snake Oil. I don't know how woodsy scents can work so well with vanilla, but on me they do! It's warm and herbaly all at once. I think I want a bottle of this.

[taramarie]

As I'm applying Golden Priapus, I can smell pine and rosewood. But once it's on, it's a lot of pine and a little juniper over vanilla. (I'm starting to think I amp pine.) Golden Priapus reminds me a lot of Mistletoe '07. I think it's neutral enough for women to wear, and I definitely want a bottle.