Anne Bonny

[sarajane]

Named in honor of the most notorious female pirate to ever set sail. Wicked, cruel, beautiful, intelligent, resourceful and dangerous: a true role model. A blend of Indonesian red patchouli, red sandalwood, and frankincense. A million thanks to Juliana Williamson-Page for inspiration!

Wood chips again, with some WOAH PATCHOULI.

[donnatron]

Imp: Sandalwood and frankincense. I'm actually not a fan of sandalwood. It's a take it or leave it sort of thing.

 

Wet: This is like, "WHOA! FRANKINCENSE!" There's a good long frankincense drydown with a little bit of the patchouli and sandalwood in the background. It reminds me strongly of Faustus.

 

Dry: Sandalwood and frankincense. It's a relatively simple blend, very dry and not sweet at all. It's a handsome scent. I don't find it feminine or soft at all. It's alluring and there's something sexy about it, but it's definitely something more suited to the descriptor "handsome" rather than "pretty." The longer it sits on my skin and has a chance to really mingle with my chemistry, the better it smells. It seems to sit on top of the skin for a very long time before melding into a skin close sort of scent.

 

Throw: Strong.

 

Overall: I like this. It projects a certain sort of dragon lady image and it's a simple, interesting scent. It's so similar to Faustus, however, that I simply can't justify a bottle.

[Siberia]

I just received this as a frimp with my Halloweenie order. If you love the lab's sandalwood note, this is a great choice. On me, it is almost all that mellow, almost buttery sandalwood with frankincense around the edges - the frankincense sweetens it up just a tiny bit. I'm not getting any patchouli. I was really excited to get this and even more excited to like it, as I'm planning on going to Portland's Pirate Festival next weekend!

[ramona]

Despite almost a year on the forums and more than that with BPAL, I haven't been one for reviews. But since I'm supposed to be packing to move, what better way to procrastinate

 

I'm a huge fan of the concept of pirate scents and Anne Bonny in particular. None of the notes gave me cause for worry and I was so sure that this was going to be a huge hit for me. Not so. Epic failure!! This was the very first BPAL I ever had to scrub off. Headache-inducing nightmare. And to this day, I'm still not sure what happened. I have no problem with any of the notes in other blends, but this one was crippling. I'm still crushed and in search of pirate revenge

[obsidienne]

Anne Bonny is all spicy resins & woods on me - sandalwood dominates, the frankincense gives it a softer, sweeter overtone, and the patchouli gives it spice. That said, it makes my nose stuff up unbearably.

 

It's actually almost masculine-smelling, to me, although I feel that a woman can wear this. But thanks to the nose-clogging effect, it must go.

[biocarolyn]

Proof I didn't look up the notes- wet I was convinced I smelled rum, then it dried down to overwhelming cedar. It's odd, because I can usually tell the difference between sandalwood & cedar- I guess red sandalwood is closer.

 

The sandalwood amped on me as it dried down, and I got nothing but woods. Truthfully, I couldn't smell the patchouli. Maybe I'm broken LOL....

[LadyLuckless]

Huh. I wasn't expecting to like this, but it turns out to be a really feisty sort of rich, sweet incense with the salty woods underneath! Very womanly, but very wild. I think I'll be keeping the imp. I think frankincense is a fail-safe note on me, I've really liked every blend I've tried with it.

[galahad]

In The Bottle

Patchouli and frankincense

 

On Application

Sweetly resinous and powdery.

 

Dry Down

Fades somewhat quickly but is a gorgeous woody patchouli blend. Incensey. Nice

 

Rating (0-5)

4

 

[semuelle77]

 

Despite having read the description (and being VERY excited to try it), I am like biocarolyn, I swear I am smelling cedar. On me that is not a good thing. I will be patient. I will wait and let it dry for a while. I am hopeful that the patchouli and frankenscence will come out to play, otherwise this is going to the swap pile. Sharp, almost BO smell is not for me!

 

Proof I didn't look up the notes- wet I was convinced I smelled rum, then it dried down to overwhelming cedar. It's odd, because I can usually tell the difference between sandalwood & cedar- I guess red sandalwood is closer.

 

The sandalwood amped on me as it dried down, and I got nothing but woods. Truthfully, I couldn't smell the patchouli. Maybe I'm broken LOL....

 

[sarielswish]

In the vial, it's pretty noxious to me... All I can smell is patchouli and frankincense. Colorwise, I'm getting a clotted blood red-brown.

 

Wet on my skin, all I can smell is frankincense. Ecch. I'm not liking this.

 

10-15 minute dry-down - Well, that's not too bad now. The patchouli is starting to die down and I'm actually getting some of the sandalwood. The frankincense is still too strong for me, though.

 

1 hour dry-down - Better. All three notes are starting to blend so it's not so cloying.

 

2 hour dry-down - The hubby likes it, but I'm still not sure I like this one much. The final result is a much better blend of the scents but that frankincense I'm not partial to. Might keep the imp, but definitely not ordering a bottle.

[Caerphilly]

In the imp: Heavy...gunpowder, wood, and metal. Something underneath is making this more feminine, powdery and sweet. It's very faint. Not throwing me off as the usual patchouli scent does. We'll see..

 

Wet: Patchouli and sandalwood. Smelled nicer in the bottle than on my skin...

 

Dry: That light powdery sweet scent is coming out! Woody frankincense, I think. I'm getting a citrus powder floral sill. Can't put my finger on it!

 

Overall: Smells so much nicer on the dry down. Was not expecting to like this at all. Nice, feminine cologne.

[Vanesa]

Anne Bonny was one of my childhood role models, so, despite the fact that I really dislike incense and sandalwood, I couldn't resist trying this scent.

 

Oddly enough, it smells nothing like the listed notes to me. Instead, as my boyfriend so bluntly put it, it smells like Old House. Not just any Old House, but an historic Southern home. It's the smell of worn wood floors and grand wooden stairways covered with a tinge of humidity and age. It's an incredibly evocative smell for me, but not one I particularly want to smell like personally. On the bright side, it makes a great room scent for my not-so-historic apartment.

Edited November 22, 2009 by Vanesa

[lensflaaare]

Wet: Sandalwood and wooden planks. Kind of salty. It smells like a furniture shop, or maybe a bustling dock on a warm day.

 

Dry-down: Sun-baked wooden planks and sea salt. Smells like a wild pirate lady commanding a ship. Wow is this evocative or what? The salt is making me feel a little thirsty, even.

 

Dry: I think it can get a little too salty at points, but the incense and wood makes it all worth it. I can smell a bit of spice in the background too, like some cargo hidden in crates or something. This is amazing and pretty strong and for some reason it actually makes me feel confident and energized. I am SO glad this works on me.

 

My brother's opinion: This smells like pirate. *approves*

[veronicafranco]

this is VERY cedary on me when wet. as others have said, red sandalwood must be more cedar-ish. i think the patchouli may also be making the sandalwood smell more like cedar. has to dry down a lot before i can smell the frankincense, at which point i begin to like the scent quite a bit. this does not smell like me. i think that's what i enjoy about it. i doubt i would need a bottle (although sometimes these things can sneak up on one), but i will definitely keep the imp for those days i need to channel my inner piratess (or indie rock star or shakespearean heroine in drag or some such).

[lwhitesel]

It's a little spicy and incense-y in the bottle, but when I put it on it just smells like a pine tree. After a while there's a little bit of the patchouli/frankincense under the pine tree, but it's still a pine tree and not something I want to walk around smelling like. I think sandalwood is problematic with me. I might try to avoid it in the future.

[penemuel]

Heady, woody, rich and definitely evoking the salt-and-wood scent of a pirate ship. The red patchouli and red sandalwood are making it a bit sharper wood scent than other varieties of those two notes, and that adds to the 'toughness' of the scent. Because it's definitely a kicking ass and taking names type of scent. This would be my scent of choice if I were going into a meeting where I wanted to make sure they listened to me.

 

It's teetering just on the edge of pencil shavings, but I think the frankincense and the fact that it has sandalwood & not cedar that keeps it from tipping over. It stays just smooth enough. Lovely!

[Invidiana]

I was Anne Bonny for Halloween so this was one of those "if it doesn't work I'll make it work" scents for me.This comes out as a blast of sandalwood at first, and an almost masculine sandalwood at that; it needs sufficient time to dry down on my skin before the red patchouli and frankincense come out. I love red sandalwood, but it seems to be the only note there at first. Thankfully the frankincense eventually sweetens it and takes that overly woody masculine edge off, and the red patchouli adds a hint of mystery to the background. There's still a lot of sandalwood here, potentially still too masculine, so I'll need to try it again to see if this is going to be bottleworthy for me. Then again I wonder how it would work layered with Grog--I imagine that would be a winning combo.

Edited February 23, 2010 by Invidiana

[undream]

Holy crap, I smell amazing. I smell like a catholic church, an antique furniture store and a forest at night all at the same time. In a good way. Wow. I am blown away.

 

This. So right on.

 

I've taken to trying on oils now without looking to see which notes they offer beforehand; with Anne Bonny, I kept thinking leather! the sharp bite of herbs! some kind of sweet booze!? I may have been a little off on nailing my exact notes with this one, but still! Anne Bonny just does incredible things for me. Dark & sweet with a fresh, loamy bite. So so good. A definite new favourite. <3

[GeorgeJr]

This is from a imp I got close to 2 years ago ( god I'm getting old ) . When I first got it , I wasn't really sure if I like it or not . So I don't know if it's the aging or what , but I'm in the liking it camp now . This is all resins & sandalwood & man does it smell great . It is a bit of a " green " scent as well . Maybe the wood that went into Anne's ship is not so weathered . Also I seen to remember it being sweeter smelling when I first got it , if so I'm glad to see that has calmed down .

[odalisque]

I'm not sure how I haven't reviewed this. I think it's one of the best scents in the catalog, frankly, even feeling as I do that Beth has a real gift with patchouli.

 

The imp I first tried was pretty -- quite distinctly sandalwoody and a little dry, a very nice sandalwood blend -- but I have a bottle now that has aged for several years and it blows me away every time I put it on. It's a gorgeous, rounded, rich, incensy blend. It somehow manages to be smoldering without an actual smoky note, deep, warm, sweet in a low-pitched and sultry way, a full-blown queen of a scent. I can't detect any frankincense in mine, but then mine has melded together so well that I can hardly detect any individual notes at all, just velvety wonderfulness.

[tailoredshirt]

[aged imp]

 

This is a really strong, sultry scent. A lot of frankincense, with the other notes blended in so seamlessly that I almost can't pick them out. It's dry, smoky, thick, and slightly sweet. Not a scent I'm likely to wear to work because of the strong incense, but it would be a good scent for going out.

[laslibres]

Yes, all of the listed notes are present and accounted for, and very strong, but especially the frankincense. Very exotic-smelling. However, on my skin, it looks like sandalwood has decided it's the star of the show. This does smell like a red sandalwood, and usually that's the kind that works on me, not white or pale sandalwood. Red is a bit spicier or muskier maybe, a bit deeper?

 

The blend turns out to be mostly sandalwood, although after wearing it for half an hour or so the frankincense comes back. It's definitely a confidence-boosting scent, almost arrogant-smelling, like Faustus is also. Quite sexy. It'd be fun to layer this with other, sweeter scents, to add a bit of edge and woodsiness. It's a pretty simple scent, but its components go together well.

[quigza]

Note: My nose doesn't register Sandalwood. It's a genetic quirk. So, take my review with the appropriate grain of salt.

 

In the bottle: A little bit of sweet, moist earth. incense (unlit) and faint wood smoke

 

Wet: much the same as in the imp, but the earth is no longer sweet.

 

Dry: faint incense (my roomie says it's strong incense, thus meaning it's very sandalwoody) & something "green"

 

Aftermath: Ok, this scent confuses the heck out of me. My allergies aren't set of by the incense. The sandalwood "blank spot" leaves all the secondary notes to play. I know I'm missing a lot of the scent. That said, it isn't bad.

 

 

[Dharklady]

In Bottle: Sandalwood and incensey patchouli.

Wet: Strong patchouli with flashes of the sandalwood and incense.

Dry: The three deepen and blend so it becomes more difficult to tell them apart. This is a very “red” scent, fitting for the pirate Red Queen. Eventually the patchouli amps up again.

Notes: Fun, but a bit too much patchouli for me!

 

 

[INFJ4w3]

I like the patchouli in this one. But I'm also getting some of that hamster cage effect - like damp cedar shavings and old newspaper. I wish I got more spice from this.

Well, it's not terrible. But I had high hopes for it being a Top Ten fave:

so far, probably not.

This may sound strange, but I believe I could like this on a man...or a really hard butch woman.

Whatever.

I like this in the air around me. Maybe 'cause I used to raise guinea pigs, gerbils, mice, etc. as a child?

2 1/2 to 3 stars out of 5.