Othello

[BuxomM]

Arabian musk with two roses and a bevy of Middle Eastern and Indian spices.

It smells like floral scented dryer sheet, but not in a bad way. I like it. It's not something I'll wear often, but when I'm in the mood for something soft floral and feminine this is it.

[Vega]

Sniffed: Rose and something more.

 

On skin: Ahh, this is my beloved rose, limpid and sweet, deepened by the Arabian musk and spices, even though I can't pick them out individually. Othello is perfect: the rose is at the centre of the blend, with the other notes enriching and rounding it out without overwhelming it. While I enjoy the simple rose-and-one-other-note blends like Rose Cross and Lucy's Kiss, Othello is more complex and alluring -- and so much better. This is feminine without being girly, definitely romantic but also giving off a heroic and slightly exotic, mysterious presence.

 

Verdict: Othello is contending with Abhisarika for Vega's Favourite Rose, I just love the rose/musk/spices combination. I think it may be big-bottle worthy!

[Altaira]

This is a light, somewhat masculine, rose cologne. Not my kind of thing.

[Ella LaRose]

I am not a flower girl, I am a dark resin girl, but I LOVE this!! the rose is not your girly rose, it is dark and spicy and sexy, it is the kind of rose that still has all its thorns! I love this one!

[frecklestars]

In the bottle: a very musky (but not bitter or icky) rose with hints of several handfuls of spices. it's mostly that musky rose though, which reminds me of kissing the back of a woman's neck. (which probably sounds nuts.) it's a warm rose and quite femme-y.

 

On my skin: starts out lightly spiced and only a little musky, then quickly transforms into a musky rose. the spices aren't overpowering or even particularly spicey. really nice balance. for when you want to smell like a rose, but not uber sweet and rosey. settles to a nicely spiced rose when fully dry.

 

Last thoughts: I love the rich balance of the velvety rose and the musk that's not overly musky. this is a really rich rose that isn't overpoweringly floral.

[arrow]

Wet:

 

Rich and full roses, as if a big gust of wind took all of the lovely scent out of a large, mature bloom and filled up my nose. Lovely, but extremely one-sided floral: no spice yet. The barest hint of powder, but though I usually HATE any bit of powder it's surprising that I kinda like this one.

 

Drying:

 

Oooo, is that a little spice easing out? I think----

 

AUGH. Sledgehammer of nasty DOOM (I realize that isn't actually a helpful description, it's just exactly what I thought).

 

It smells like a commercial perfume my grandmother used to wear (no idea what it was). When I was little I used to get really horrible headaches after driving in the car with her solely from that smell: it put me off perfume until I discovered BPAL many many years later. It's going to be difficult to keep this on.

 

Dry:

 

I'll be going to sleep soon and I have to wash this off. It's actually shifting quite a bit: for a minute I'll have that horrible stench, then it will go back to the nice softly spicy rose. I wish it would stay at the latter, but obviously my skin chemistry is freaking out.

 

Unfortunately, Othello is the absolute worst blend on me so far. "Middle Eastern spices" from other blends work well; perhaps I just can't handle "Indian spices"?

[Urpflanze]

Nothing but rose on me. Ugh. Ly. I smell like a grandma. Not my grandma, per se. Her Estee Lauder sillage is too distinctive to be confused with this. It goes as far back in my memory as anything. At the beginning of time, there was Estee Lauder perfume evolving out of the unlit murk spanned between love and strife. Someone's grandma smells like this. Gents beware - this one can be pretty floral.

[Balame]

In the Imp: Something vaguely floral. I didn't look at the note list initially so I'm not sure what I'm smelling. Checking now, and rose? It's definitely different, it almost reminds me more of vanilla.

 

Wet: This is SO weird. Maybe I'm used to heavier musks (like red) but I'm not getting anything intense like that at all. Which is great, because I can't stand anything cloying. I'll have to keep in mind that Arabian musk might work on me. This is a very soft skin scent. Literally, like skin. One of the other members said it's like "kissing the back of a woman's neck". I know that does sound unusual, but truly, it smells like a clean body! Just soft and comforting but with a familiar hint of "life" somehow.

 

Dry: I can barely make out a dark sort of rose if I concentrate. The spices in here are not traditionally spicy at all, so don't fear if you dislike notes that sucker punch your nostrils. I get everyone saying this is a bit like floral cleaning solution - it was less "fake" smelling when in the wet stages, and admittedly better then. It doesn't smell overtly chemical, though.

 

Overall: Kind of left tilting my head on this one. It was not what I expected it to be at all - strong and powerful with a bit of a soft side - and is instead the exact opposite. Mostly gentle and sweet with just the tiniest kick. I think I'll continue looking into scents with Arabian musk because I'm fascinated that it didn't turn heavy on me, and the rose in this is actually the best from BPAL I've smelled thus far, not overwhelming floral. But put together this is just too soft for my tastes.

[Mickeymammoth]

After trying 63 imps ears, smelling, trying, and sorting, then resmelling, retrying, and resorting many times, I finally concluded that my favorites were: Othello and Morocco. (I guess there's a theme there!). I'm very fond of incense smells, sandalwood, musk and such, and these fit the bill. I also like the spicier roses and carnations. There were plenty of scents I tried that were "fine" or started out great, but became cloying. I'm a little disappointed I only found 2 scents, but I set the bar very high: it has to trigger immediate happiness in me. An attraction to the scent that is purely visceral. They are neither too weak nor too strong; too strong of a scent gives me a headache. Too weak: why bother?

 

These two scents are not dissimilar:

 

Othello: Arabian musk, two roses, Middle Eastern spices, Indian spices

Morocco: Arabian spices, warm musk, carnation, red sandalwood, cassia

 

They smelled different enough for me to purchase both, though.

 

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Othello and Morocco. But given a preference for one, I choose Othello.

[scrubbysnail]

In the imp: This smells lovely! It reminds me of the bath products aisle at a Whole Foods... slightly floral, slightly spicy.

 

Wet: For about a second, it smells nice and floral, then it's BABY POWDER!!! Holy crap.

 

Dry: Eventually the florals start to come back, but it remains very powdery. The person who mentioned dryer sheets is right. I'm definitely getting the roses, but no spice, musk, or masculine notes.

 

Unfortunately this one just isn't for me. It's a nice scent but not something I would wear.

 

Rating: 2/5

[KittyHawk]

Oh, Othello. Even though you smothered your innocent wife, I love you.

 

Morocco was too sweet; Snake Oil was too spicy; I cannot abide patchouli. I thought I would never find my HG "sexy" scent, and then I tried The Moor. I am so in love with Othello I nearly placed a Lab order for it last night, even though I have a giant order coming my way already and two imps to tide me over.

 

As many other reviewers have noted, Othello does not strike me as a masculine scent. The rose is only detectable in the imp and wet; upon drydown, all the spices and the Arabian musk begin to bloom. It's an incredibly magnetic and alluring scent, and certainly evocative of Othello's birthplace, if not the man himself. After a few hours, the scent almost becomes powdery, but in a beguiling way. Othello is exotic, commanding, and unbelievably sexy.

 

ETA (later on in the day): I just ordered a 5 ML, and a backup of TKO to keep it company.

Edited February 18, 2012 by KittyHawk

[Smaragdina]

In the imp: Rose. Perhaps there’s some spice underneath, but the rose is clearly dominating.

 

Wet: Pure rose. After Séance and Whip I’m starting to think that I amp rose like nobody’s business, and I’m worried.

 

Drydown: Five minutes later and the rose fades to the background (yay!) as the incense-y musk takes over. This is nice, but fainter than I’d like and nothing special (Mom could smell nothing on my wrist). Aw.

[ami226]

A musky rose. It's very light. *sigh* it kind of smells like suntan lotion on me. Not for me at all.

[sunlitgarden]

Got this as a lab frimp, which is good, as I've been on a quest to test ALL THE ROSE SCENTS.

 

Imp: This is sweeter than I was expecting. Rose and sweet musk.

 

On my skin, rose is still the dominant note but I'm getting a bit of spice as well. It's going a bit soapy/powdery on me, though. This smells surprisingly feminine on my skin. I like it, but it's fairly unremarkable on me - I have other rose blends I prefer.

Edited May 28, 2012 by sunlitgarden

[undream]

musks, roses and a bevy of Middle Eastern and Indian spices are everything essential in my heart, so i had enormously high hopes for this one. to my disappointment, othello was, on me, very distinctly a men's cologne (a beautiful men's cologne - perhaps that of a soft, sensitive man! - but a men's cologne nonetheless). i detected zero rose, which crushed my spirits somewhat, although over time it did morph into a more unisex/feminine scent. (still no rose, however!) an hour or so beyond that it smelled simply of cheap vanilla.

 

this complex blend just did not play well with my chemistry. lovely scents(!), but definitely not me. alas.

[milo]

I'm getting roses and spice. I do get a bit of musk on the throw, but not up close. This is 'OK', but I'm not a big rose fan, even though this one does not go sour at all. It is an interesting blend, however, though a bit perfumey. Maybe this is the musk? At any rate, not for me, but nice to try!

[Atrous]

Irish Spring soap!

 

A nice spring scent for a man but not for me. I am glad that the roses didn't get in my face the way they do with some many other rose scents.

[Acayde]

Bottle: Roses and musk

 

Wet: Very heavy cologne. One of the unisex scents they used to sell in the 80s...

 

Dry: Same cologne smell, but much lighter and more bearable. I thought this would be terrible, but it is really nice. Not my taste, but I am definitely keeping this one and using it all.

[Magycmyste]

Arabian musk with two roses and a bevy of Middle Eastern and Indian spices.

 

In the imp: Rose, sandalwood, and musk.

 

Wet on skin: Spicy rose and sandalwood.

 

Dried down: Same as wet.

 

Throw: I'm not really getting any.

 

Verdict: ***** This is pretty, but it also gives me the impression of strength. I'm curious what this would be like with a champaca note, because I could see the heroine in my novel wearing something like this, but with that quality champaca seems to give everything I try it in.

[Monster]

In the vial, this is rose incense..almost nag champa incense to my nose! Rose and incense are two of my favorite notes so I have high hopes for this.

 

When first applied, Othello is freshly burning nag champa incense with a high-pitched, light pink rose. I'm really bouncing back and forth between thinking the rose is too soapy and loving the incense quality this has. I can't make up my mind! As this dries, it only changes very slightly. The incense/musk remain the same while the roses soften to a powder. It's that old lady rose I sometimes have a hard time with (especially since I amp rose like crazy). The champa/musk/spices in this are incredibly beautiful but unfortunately my skin just doesn't agree with the rose note in here. I'm bummed because I really thought this was going to be a win for me. Oh well, off to swaps.

[mymymai]

• ITI: Spicy, warm, daunting, darling, and sexy as hell. I'll be over here, fanning myself like a Southern bell fully dressed for my debutante ball in the middle of July.

Wet: The Arabian musk here is dark, almost inky, carries a bit like cologne, and provides a very masculine and exquisitely smoldering base for the spices, which have some fuzzy brown notes, so I'd assume cinnamon, nutmeg, and perhaps allspice are present here. As it starts to settle a few seconds in, rose rose emerges, the spices shift, and I get sun-dried,f freshly laundered bed-sheets as well. It smells great, but it's no longer that menacingly delightful scent that I so enjoyed at the start. Drat!

Dry: Othello settles down into a lightly spiced musk. Nice, but that's it.

[Veronica]

I love this. I get primarily bright, fresh rose with a light musky background. Not at all spicy on me.

[Lunasariel]

In the imp: A light floral scent, but I wouldn't guess roses right off the bat. There are some light spicy overtones, but overall, I would call this a light, feminine scent, good for summer.

 

Wet: Man, I'm amping the hell out of this rose - now neither the spices nor the musk appear at all.

 

Dry: The musk comes out a liiiiiittle. But it becomes a very soft, skin-level scent very quickly, so this actually could just be residual perfume from my coat sleeve overwhelming it.

 

I'll re-visit this scent in the summer, to see if we like each other better, but right now it's 49º and rainy outside, and i'm looking for something with a little more warmth, a little more substance.

[LizziesLuck]

Excited to try this! Love musk! Love roses! Love spices! This should be good!

 

 

Wet: Sweet roses. Sweet musk. Not getting a lot of spice yet. The rose is really pretty though. It's blended seamlessly with the musk so far.

 

 

Dry: Somehow this combo is just not working on me. The musk has come to dominate, and though I love red, black, and white musks, maybe I don't like Arabian musk? I don't know, it could be the spices too, but something about this isn't working for me. It's really sweet, kind of in a sickly way.

[Casablanca]

Lovely. Othello is a smooth, exotic musk with rose -- it's more a musk than a rose. This isn't a strong rose on my skin, even when wet. The spices are also softened to background levels, and well-blended. None stands out.

This doesn't last more than three hours on me, but that's common for my skin.

I could bottle this and be happy. But I'd really like to see this as a bath oil. Like really.