Jump to content
BPAL Madness!

Recommended Posts

A few rough logs, laid side by side, served for a bridge over this stream. On that side of the road where the brook entered the wood, a group of oaks and chestnuts, matted thick with wild grapevines, threw a cavernous gloom over it. To pass this bridge was the severest trial. It was at this identical spot that the unfortunate André was captured, and under the covert of those chestnuts and vines were the sturdy yeomen concealed who surprised him. This has ever since been considered a haunted stream, and fearful are the feelings of the schoolboy who has to pass it alone after dark.

Water-logged and rotting wood, fallen chestnuts, oak leaf, bog laurel, and Virginia creeper.

the sweet stench of rotting wet things and a fizzy hint of what smells like lime. A surprisingly bright scent. the woods in this are very smooth, not in your face at all. Maybe a touch of violets in the background. The most cheerful swamp it has ever been my pleasure to sniff.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

At first: Indeed surprisingly bright. This reminds me a lot of Vampire's Kiss.... a bright citrus backed by something slightly cake-y.

 

45min later: Not as bright, but still quite a zesty scent. This isn't my kind of fragrance, but if you liked Vampire's Kiss you'll love Wiley.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

This is not what I was expecting at all! Upon opening the imp, I get a very foody scent... sweet and buttery. I double-check the label and the description; isn't this supposed to evoke a swamp? Hrm... must be the chestnuts.

 

Upon application, that foody note really blooms, but pleasantly. It's similar to that almost-caramelized sugar note in Chanukkiyah and Kill-Devil. But it also smells clean, almost ozone-y. Like eating sweets in a bed with freshly laundered sheets.

 

Whoa, those sheets are really clean. Really, really clean... ACK, LOOK OUT, THESE INTENSELY FLORAL DRYER SHEETS ARE TRYING TO KILL ME!!!

Edited by Apple

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

It's taken me a while to figure out what this smells like?

 

Definitely brighter than I thought it would be. It's dirty like violets on me, and sweet with rot the way The Forbidden Foyer is. I agree that it's also slightly fizzy; it sort of tickles my nose and I just keep huffing it, trying to figure out if it I like it or not. I'm not getting the foody chestnut part at all, but I am starting to get dryer sheets.

 

And the throw ... I can smell it on my arm with my arm at my side.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I was hoping for the fizzy lime and violet that other reviewers have mentioned, but Wiley's Swamp goes instantly to super-clean soap on my skin. It does have a bit of citrussy sharpness at first, but I don't know that it smells like lime to me. It smells watery at the start, and then dries down to, well, a dry soapiness, like floral breeze scented dryer sheets.

 

I usually have better luck with swamp type scents (I love Whippoorwill and Dunwich, and liked Bayou), but this one might just be too aquatic or something for me.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

First whiff was all fallen chestnuts.

 

However, as the scent dries, the chestnuts go away and I can see where people are getting dryer sheets. This is a very very clean swamp.

 

I *think* the dryer sheets are fading. I have a sweet bright scent, with maybe crushed leaves(bog laurel? Oak leaf? Virginia creeper?), that doesn't really seem very swamplike.

 

Also, the rotting wood seems MIA, which is unusual as my skin usually loves wood in any form.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

WHOA swampy indeed...rotting wood, murky water...unfortunately after a while this is going soapy on me too. It's very cool and green before it hits the soap stage, though--I'm not an aquatic fan by any means but this one is something I could almost wear before it turns on me.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

This is one pretty swamp! It's musty and rich. Very dark and luscious, but mostly really sweet. So sweet I kept sniffing the air thinking "What is my co-worker wearing? Because that can't possibly be...oh wait, it is me" :D Not flowery, but very sweet and dark if that appeals to you. I got a whif of strong aquatic while wet, but on dry down I think it was the rot, bog laurel, and creeper. I'm really torn because this reminds me of another BPAL scent I've tried, but for the life of me I can't remember what it is :P This means I'm hesitant to get a bottle if I already have something like it. Buuuuuuut it is so very PRETTY!! Ack!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Well, it's swampy and aquatic to be sure. I was also getting something sweet and pretty hovering just above my skin all day. Every time I tried to catch it by putting my nose to my wrist, it was just the swamp again. Very interesting...

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Swampy but sweetish. Maybe it's the sweetness of decay? I was expecting something a little more with a leafy note, but this has more of a bayou quality. Quite acquatic, but with a slightly unpleasant sweetness and something almost...floral? I can't really pin down the qualities, and I'm not sure I really want to wear it. I'm not scrubbing it off, but it's...unsettling. It's just a little stranger than I think is wearable.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Ah yes, water logged florals. I get a very strong woody/nutty base from this though. I like aquatics, but not swampy ones...

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Oh, interesting, the very first scent I get is citrus candy! That part mellows out but is still a bit sharp. It's getting woodsy. It's mostly mellow and woodsy, but still with that little bit of sharpness to it.


Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Wiley's Swamp.. I did get swampy. Woody aquatic. Bang-on. Unfortunately, it also gave me a headache - I had hopes for this one, but unfortunately I can't wear it. :P

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Cloyingly sweet and a little rotten, this reminds me of the scent you get from leaving flowers in a vase of water until the greenery starts to decay. It isn't exactly unpleasant and it's definitely interesting, but it's not something that I really want a perfume for, or to use around my house. I'm wondering how this one will age, but I have no plans to acquire more than I have. I am impressed at the scent since it does smell so much like water-logged and rotting plant matter, though!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Butter (I agree that it must be the chestnuts) and dryer sheets. Strong throw and rather headache inducing. I'm going to try and let it dry down a bit more, to see if it calms. As I don't generally like butter or aquatics this scent is a big NO!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Hey, this is pretty! Kind of headache-y, like a sweet drugstore perfume, but pretty at the same time, believe it or not. This is definitely an aquatic, the overpowering soap aura starts to take over as it dries.

 

Okay, dry on me, Wiley's Swamp is a no-go, as any prettiness has been killed most sincerely dead by the soapy sharpness of (BPAL aquatic) + (my skin).

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I was expecting this...fetid bog, with dirty, earthy greenery and something rotting. But this is so wildy different! Predominantly it's this fizzy gingerale scent like Boom Boom from Fantasy Bath...more like root beer than tree roots! It's very light and bubbly. I like it!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Crisp, aquatic, and floral. There is this sweetness to it, which is very unexpected, but very welcoming, as I feared this would really be a rotten wood scent. It is effervescent and bubbly. The comparison to ginger ale or champagne is bang on.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Sniffed in imp: Light golden-yellow oil. Buttery-foody? As well as lemony. What? Ughhh tonka, no doubt to represent the chestnuts. Not a fan.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

This scent was also somewhat buttery and thick on me. It's sweet, but not sugary sweet. It borders on a toffee-like scent I've gotten in other perfumes, like Gluttony. But it does have an almost hidden tang, my skin just isn't amping that at all.

 

It's also a bit powdery, somehow. It's one of those scents that stay in my nasal passages unpleasantly. (I hate baby powder/catlitter/jasmine for this reason.) So if you're an odd one like me that hates those scents, be weary. It's not horrible- if a friend had this on I'd be able to find it a nice scent- but I can't stand it around me all day.

 

It is foresty and wet. But brighter than I thought it would be. It's more of a rainy day while camping, less of a rotting bog.

 

Lots of throw, long lasting, I wont be able to wash this scent off me. It stuck.

 

I didn't notice tonka (I ADORE tonka, the spicey yum makes me happy- If it's used, it didn't go well with other notes for me) but it does have the same level of note. Something on the deeper, darker end of scents which I want to like, but the powdery-feel is too much for my nose.

 

It smells delicious on nose-to-skin, but has that catlitter effect when wafting.

 

Edit: It's been *counts* over 11 hours? And it's still on my skin. I was wrong. There IS tonka in this, or something similar. Because tonka clings to me for literally days. Sniffing my wrist now, it has that warmth left on skin that tonka does (as I discovered when I tried Dee), but with a still water-logged almost floral touch. This scent has amazing endurance. Bizarre. I wish I enjoyed that florally powder, because this would win otherwise.

Edited by CaffinatedAngel

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

In the imp: Sweet plants, touch of herbalness. Not what I was expecting!

Wet/Drydown: Same as in the bottle. Sweet creaminess! Almost a vanilla-cakey smell. Much sweeter than I was expecting - not swampy at all! I get no woods, no water, no rot. Vanilla cream over juicy, lightly crisp plant stems. This actually reminds me of biggerCritters. After a bit, it takes on a hint of spiciness that's very nice, but what's this? Do I detect a hint of sweet pea??? Sweet pea does not love me, but luckily this note is barely a suggestion in the "after-scent". After a little more time, this takes on a light nutty quality.

Dry: Still thick and sweet. Gets a bit perfumey after several hours. It's nice! I don't know how often I'll reach for it, but it is nice.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

In bottle and beginning of drydown: Ugh. Soap. Pure soap.

 

Then: Chestnuts! With a green scent in the background that bears a sleight resembalance to soap.

It's comforting and soothing, in a way, though I don't think I'd use a bottle.

 

Also, the smell's making me want to eat chestnuts.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Hunh. If this is supposed to smell gross and swampy I think it missed its mark. It smells a lot less wet and murky than most of the "swampy" scents I've tried. In fact, it smells a bit fizzy, in a detergenty kind of way. Plus, chestnuts (but it seems like that nutty scent was only when it was wet). It's a little odd. Not bad, just odd. Something about the scent reminds me of the washing-up crystals you put in a dishwasher.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

First thought was that it smells like someone built a bakery in the middle of a swamp. The chestnut popped out and dominated when wet and first applied.

 

It got a bit of that laundry crystals smell on the drydown, that others mentioned. I didn't perceive it that way though. It's more like nice piles of crystalline flowers surrounding a green still pond. This doesn't have much of a "watery" smell (otherwise my nose would reject it instantly). Just fresh, lovely, with a nutty back that keeps it well-balanced. I really like it!!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

×