O

[Alice Aforethought]

The scent of sexual obsession, slavery to sensual pleasure, and the undercurrent of innocence defiled utterly. Amber and honey with a touch of vanilla.

This smells *exactly* like good quality mead made with dark honey.

It quickly mellows into a slightly softer scent with more vanilla coming through, as the slight scent of spices fade into the background a little more. But this is still absolutely mead!

I was surprised that I liked this one, as I usually steer clear of the sweet honey scents, but it isn't sickly at all. Quite the opposite. It has a lovely lingering scent that surrounds and envelopes and feels very...natural.

For those Lush fans out there, it smells like B Never shower gel (discontinued, but with a big fan following!)

[Bratkat]

Enticed by vanilla and amber I gave "O" a try. it's the first one that completely disagrees with my olfactory. sickly sweet with no trace of vanilla and the amber is lost in the honey. it's true what they say - it DOES smell like sex. a little too much for me - it must be the honey or something that smells like sweat and grabs the back of my throat. a definite sweat note in there. not for me but maybe I can swap it or a pal might have better luck with one.

[renaissancerouge]

I read the Story of O piecemeal at a flea market (a couple of chapters a weekend...I didn't not buy it because I was embarrassed, it was just much better reading in a deserted, musty, book-filled annex separated from the other market treasures with a saloon-style swinging door and lit with a single light bulb...how could my dorm room compare?).

 

This is the smell! The honey and vanilla are frosting-sweet, and anchored by a warm, furtive amber. Very debauched and languid. I am reminded of a lighter and sweeter Snake Oil. I'm not good at describing foody notes. It's yummy and bad for you!

[binkyboots]

oooh....

 

I adore this oil, adore, need, crave, want, etc

 

it smells fabulous out of the bottle, sweet, but with something which went straight to my brain and shouted "hey, recognize me?"

 

I didn't then, but in the interests of science, lol, I quickly dabbed some on.

 

wet, incredibly sweet honey, sweat, vanilla... this scent is my first girlfriend, we used to curl up in her room during lunch hour, the sunlight and dust sparkles, honeyed beeswax floor polish, sweat and something sweet and undefineable... oh yes. *edit* I've got it, she smoked, vanilla tobacco roll ups, reminds me of them too.

 

dry, more or less the same on me, which is a very good thing indeed, had it morphed too much I might have had to have some sort of tantrum, lol.

 

 

happily O lasts forever on me, I applied some last night and it's still going strong today, not just when I snif my wrists either, every now and then I just catch a drift of scent.

Edited August 12, 2004 by binkyboots

[Lady Ravenglass]

Mmmm... Unable to resist trying yet more imps on I dabbed myself liberally with O last night...

 

Him: *sniff* What's that sweet smell?

 

Me: Perfume.

 

Him: Why are you wearing perfume in bed?!

 

Me: It's O.

 

Him: Smells like honey. Mmm, honey on toast...

 

Me: It's the essence of pure sexual desire, sensua-

 

Him: I'm really hungry now. *wanders*

 

 

Gah! Oh well It does smell gorgeous though, and to think I nearly swapped it.

 

Helena

[Chantarelle]

This was a huge disappointment for me. It was the first scent I chose, and the first I tried from my order - I was attracted to the honey and vanilla, and had heard amazing things from people. Unfortunately on me it smelled just like baby powder from start to finish. I think it might be the amber. What a shame.

[AnnetteL]

I didn't really like this at first sniff, as it reminded me of a store I'm not keen on, but I've worn it a few more times and now I can appreciate it on its own merits!

 

The amber grounds the sweet vanilla and honey well, and after a few hours I get very interesting salty skin notes coming through. I can see how this would remind one of, er, activities

 

I think it may have crept up to 5ml-worthy...

Edited September 29, 2004 by AnnetteL

[darestodream]

I so wanted to love this scent. It sounded made for me. I love amber and honey, and like vanilla well enough.

 

On me, though, it was just bland. The amber instantly turned to baby powder, and stayed that way. Occasionally, the honey would peek through, but not enough, and the vanilla never showed up at all.

 

In the bottle, it smelled wonderful, so this is clearly a chemistry thing. I think it's how my body responds to the BPAL amber, since Haunted also turned powdery on my skin. This saddens me terribly, since in the past I've used amber-based scents. I have tried O on four separate occasions, hoping to change my mind, but it is still mainly powder. I am jealous of all who can wear and love this scent!

[summer]

Oh god, this is divine. The kind of scent that makes me want to press my nose into my skin and inhale deeply.

 

It's sweet, warm, melty honey (with the amber emerging more as it dries down). It's a subtle smell on me, but one that I keep catching whiffs of -- it's like a warm, sweet, delicious breeze wafting over me.

 

Just perfect for when you don't necessarily want to smell like "perfume," you just want to smell wonderful.

 

Big bottle, here I come.

 

[Nepthys]

This really works with my chemistry and for that I am grateful, because nothing has ever smelled as good on me as O. It smells like warm skin, sex and cake - arousing and cozy and mysterious all at the same time. This is my all-time favorite scent ever. This summer I've been wearing it set with Kama Sutra honey dust powder and the effect is ... quite nice.

[pekeana]

Mmmm, this one's gooood with my chemistry...

 

O seems to be a natural extension of my own personal skin scent. It's slightly sweet, slightly amber, no musky sex in a bottle smell for me. It's also slightly floral, which confuzzles me a bit, but with Queen of Sheba on one arm and O on the other, I smell gooooooooood.

[Vicious Mistress]

This smelled like honey on me when wet, rather sweet and foody. When it dried a very waxy smell started coming up from my skin, like I'd been slathering myself in crayons.

 

Definitely not a scent for me.

[diabolique]

the amber in this really screams at me, and it's not helping my headache.

 

basically, the amber is all i can smell. when i initially put it on, it smelled exactly how it did in the bottle, with the honey and vanilla coming out beautifully, but they all faded into the background and the amber is like "BAM!!"

 

i suppose it smells all right enough to keep the imp. i'll probably want to have it on hand, but i don't suspect i'll be using this. i really want to keep it on longer, but i desperately want to try kali and baron samedi! this is such a beautiful scent. if it weren't for that pesky amber..

[Summerpixy]

In the bottle: Light, alluring sweetness.

 

On my skin: overwhelming sweetness, all honey and no musk. Throughout the duration of this scent it was a sweetness that clung to my skin and never really changed into the "Oh my god" type of scent I was expecting.

 

It's almost flat to me, I may not keep this, maybe I'll give it away to a friend or relative.

[sarahjay]

this is gorgeous on me - after 1 use I'm feeling the urge to buy a big bottle.

 

might have to soon, in fact, because they take a little while to reach london....

 

eta - tried this again the other night, after bathing in lush's honey comfort & flying fox, then I dusted with karma sutra's honey dust - delicious. mr.sj thought I smelt delicious too, which can only be a good thing!

Edited September 2, 2004 by sarahjay

[asa805]

I swore that i already reviewd this scent. Oh well ... here goes.

 

I absolutely adore this one. It is so smooth and sexy (without smelling like sex). Its also a major comfort scent for me. I wear this at night a lot before going to bed. It completely relaxes me and helps me unwind and fall asleep faster. Im a major honey fan and amber just always seems to smell glorious on my skin so this is a definatley winner. Im waiting for my 5ml and my imp is 3/4ths done! Ahhh i hope it gets here in time. Proabbly another week. I think i can make it

 

[Mandarin]

This was a bottle I purchased from someone who was making room in her closet. I expected the amber, I was delighted by the vanilla..but then I hit --honey. You have to understand I *LOVE* honey. I buy beeswax just to smell the honeyish odor. I actually bought beeswax absolute and honey absolute, only to discover in them odd, animalistic, almost fecal overtones to the scents. Ugh.

 

I have made do with a little bottle of synthetic called 'Tupelo honey'..one of those candy-sweet smelling oils that were really popular in the eighties. (and the seventies. Yes, children, Mandarin is old. Not just 'old' but 'damn old'.) I love this. Out of the bottle I keep sniffing my wet wrist, to catch those sweet sweet honey notes. On my wrist it warms and the vanilla comes to the forefront, and then the amber, so the honey fades a bit but I don't mind. I have had my honey fix. I LOVE O..and oddly enough, while I can't really connect the scent to the character in the book (I always thought she'd wear something like ylang-ylang or violets, something very feminine, and a little too sweet) I think this scent comes damn close to capturing the feeling of anticipation and delight, when you *think* about your favorite sexual fantasy.

[aimeebaaad]

I obtained an imp of O through an eBay auction. My first impression was that it had this glorious warm smell to it. After it dried I was disappointed. Too much powder (not a favorite scent of mine) apparently from the amber. I sought out opinions and asked my 10-year old who is very honest what his impression was. "Smells like powder", he said. Darn. Later that night I reapplied to my pulse points and went to bed. "You smell powdery", said hubby. Damn. I took a day off from it thinking my opinion might get better. I put it on right after a shower and went to bed with it on again. "You smell fruity", said hubby. I'm not entirely sure how this is supposed to smell but on me apparently it's a variety of things. I'll keep the imp, as I'm not totally dissatisfied with it. I just wished the honey and vanilla stuck around longer.

[Spanglemaker]

O:

 

This very sweet on me with a deep musky undertone. Very warm and lovely. The little bit of sharp musk smell gives it that "just after sex" smell (but it is subtle).

 

This is a keeper!

[sarahj]

O

 

In vial: Mmmmm honey and vanilla...makes me hungry.

 

Wet: Same honey and vanilla smell...a bit too food-y for my taste.

 

Dry: Wonderful!! The amber has come out a bit to tone down that food-y smell and the wonderful combination of honey in the forefront, with vanilla and amber in the background has me smelling my wrists all night! (Which is ok, since I was alone in my office most of the night). Amber by itself has a tendency to go powdery on me, but this combination is just right.

 

Turns out to be pretty long-lasting...I could still smell it 7+ hours later when I went to bed. I think this will be my first non-LE big bottle purchase!

 

ETA: I received my first BPAL compliment while wearing this. A coworker asked me "Did you light a candle? It smells good in here." I said "It's not a candle, it's me! Here, smell!!"

Edited September 10, 2004 by sarahj

[eleventhousand]

Hmmm...I like it.

 

I mostly smell the honey, and I would swear that this contains a touch of light musk. A very subtle scent.

 

Not as sugary as one might expect.

[isyche]

in the vial/wet: Honey. Yum. Smells like Jezebel without the floral. I love the honey note.

 

as it dries: Vanilla comes out and then takes over. O becomes a sweet heavy vanilla similar to the way Dragon's Milk ended up on me - syrupy, I feel like I spilled something sticky sweet on myself and haven't cleaned it off.

 

Later, the vanilla backs off a little, but it still dominates and I can't detect the other notes. I don't think my skin plays well with vanilla (except the vanilla in Snake Oil, which doesn't do this. Hmm).

 

ETA: OK, on repeated wearing I like this a *lot* better - the three notes blend together more and it smells lighter, golden and creamy. Maybe it's just too heavy for me in warm weather.

Edited November 14, 2004 by isyche

[Larila]

I love this scent,on me wet or dry smelling the same. Also at the same time

the amber is mostly in front with the vanilla in the middle and a hint of honey in the background and then, all the notes mingled playing very well together. But seems like it was another player all in the mixed, liked a light musk scent. And the lasting power was outstanding.

Edited September 18, 2004 by Larila

[Falathwen]

This is more sweet than sweaty on me…like a very fine bath powder I once tried.

When wet it was strongly amber and honey. The blend was delightful and remained consistent through dry down. This one was incredibly long lasting. In fact, when I woke up in the morning it was still present but had become pure vanilla at that point…lovely.

 

Edited (2010)

I had a friend try this and discovered that amber smells very different and much better on her. On me it is sweet. On her it was very rich.I like this scent, but it is so strong that I can only wear it once in a while.

Edited January 9, 2011 by Falathwen

[LiberAmoris]

O is truly what others have said: grippingly sweet with an undercurrent of sexual venom. It’s fantastic for days when I want a scent that’s not too complex or overpowering. Wearing O is like donning something luminous and powerfully attractant.

 

But it’s also one of my favorite BPAL blenders. It lends warmth and kind of ambered glow to almost everything I layer it with.