Oak King v4

[GypsyRoseRed]

Oak King is one of those scents that I just wasn't sure about at first sniff, but my experiences with BPAL have taught me that sometimes the biggest winners for me are the blends that seem a little *too* something in the bottle, because my body chemistry morphs them. This one is a definite win!

 

At first sniff in the bottle, I get a mixture of something that smells like wood and leaves (duh, oak) with something a little darker lurking in the background. On my skin, the first 30 minutes of this scent were all warm solid wood, nut and notes that I somehow interpreted as cardamom (or some kind of spice that managed to remind me of Spanked) and a touch of good patchouli (I say this because patchouli and I don't always get along). And maybe some kind of musk but nothing obvious and that's only a guess.

 

With Oak King, the dry down is really worth waiting for and I'm SO glad I took a chance on this. I'm torn between wanting to rub it on my wrists and huff my arms, or rub it on the mister and.. do other things. I can't describe it! It manages to be fragrant, slightly masculine, and yet doesn't smell cologne-y at all. It's hard to detect after 2 hours, but it's wonderful while it lasts.

[tikiera]

Okay, I have to say that in the bottle, I thought this one was awful - very sharp, very harsh, I did not like it.

 

But I really, really wanted to like either Oak King or the Holly King, so I tried them both, and am very glad I did.

 

Oak King too about 30 seconds to settle down, but it smoothed out drastically. It's very woody, but a dry woody.

 

I don't get patchouli - but I do get a bit of musk, very much wood, and a very dry scent. It smells very much to me like leaning against a hardwood tree.

[twilighteyes]

On first sniff from the bottle, I can smell some of the same wood from Wood Phoenix. But there is also a really strong almost alcoholic-medicinal scent.

 

Wet on skin: my nose is still smelling the same thing. Maybe the medicinal sharp bit is Birch? (Birch IS in the Oak family for those who are unaware...)

 

As it dries a creaminess comes out. I want to ascribe it to vanilla or tonka. Sweet.

 

I would describe this as a sweet creamy woody birch beer with a sharp bite.

 

*Edit* As this dries even further, my leanings towards birch are solidified. So birchy it is almost wintergreen.

Edited February 17, 2009 by TwilightEyes

[nursekins]

This one is INCREDIBLE...It is so good it went on the plane with me for I would have cried had I lost it...

 

It goes on a rich oak smell...it has this feeling of a dark almond for a moment...and it goes on sweet...a touch of heavy dark sugar...not brown sugar...lightly toasted sugar...on the drydown...it puts you in a dark forest in the fall...it is just after sunset so there is still a bit of light in the sky...there are piles of dead leaves underfoot...there has been no rain so they are dry leaves...there is a slight musky oldness to this forest...it is not green and alive but rather old...wooden...the primary tree are oak...huge old oak trees...you can smell everything on these trees...the few crunchy leaves on the tree...the tree bark and rich oakwood scent...it is strong and comforting...you can smell a very light touch of the moss on the trunk...the coldness creeping the the air after the sun goes down...and the most lightest touch of bonfire in the far distance...I am amazed I get that smoke note and like it...This scent is a true work of art...I am in love with it

[weds]

In the bottle: WOOD. Wood wood wood wood wood wood WOOD, wood. Spice? Wood. WOOD. I was initially thrown by just how much it reminded me of Mad Sweeney because of that.

 

Burns on application. I can get a little creaminess and a little herbal off of this as it dries down. The wood calms down when dry as well. In retrospect, it's not unlike Stimulating Sassafrass Strengthener. I don't dare investigate this further, because...

 

cardamom (or some kind of spice that managed to remind me of Spanked)

...I'm voting that ginger is in there somewhere. My throat started closing after a minute or two.

[RaeiNarcissus]

In the bottle, this smells reminiscent of cough syrup. I think Tikiera is the same girl from the lab who told me it's nasty in the bottle, but it gets better as it dries down... So, i'm giving it a shot.

 

Wet - I'm still getting cough syrup though, it's not total cough syrup, it's rather medicinal.

 

Dry - What the? Theres a sweet note...cutting out from the medicinal scent...I still can smell a little of the medicinal, but something very sweet is breaking through it. It's reminiscent of vanilla, but it's not... maybe tonka or another sweet note? The medicinal note is still in the background..... but it's not horrible. It's blending together into something rather interesting......

 

 

After two hours - The sweet medicinal scent is still there, it's fading just a little, though the medicinal scent is morphing a little into something that defintely smells a bit more woodsy. I can kinda get where the leaning up against a tree scent comes in. It's nice, but not something I need a whole bottle of.

[Josh]

First on this smells 100% identical to ether - about 10 seconds later it morphs to almost an entirely pure wintergreen.. a few minutes later it's wintergreen and candy.

 

Also, after a few minutes there are red bumps on my wrist where I applied and a slight burn.. never had this happen with any perfume before.

 

After another few minutes I'm left with a faint, powdery sweetness and bright red, barely painful bumps on my wrist, a cluster of 4 or 5 right where I applied. I didn't get anything close to resembling wood from this particular scent.

 

15-20 minutes later and the redness and pain is gone... left with a barely-there sweet scent on my wrist.

[zankoku_zen]

This one had a strong whiskey/alcohol note that burned off at the beginning. Throughout it there was definitely OAK and wood in there. In fact, it made me think of the oak casks in which whiskey is kept. That sort of bears a similarity with Mad Sweeney... but I always felt MS was more of a drunk's scent.

 

As it has dried, the nuttier aspects and spices have come out. I definitely think this has a bit of almond, a hint of musk, perhaps a drop or two cardamom, and I think there is some vanilla (or perhaps benzoin) lending some sweetness to the blend.

 

This has a very 'masculine' vibe in the olden sort of way. It's not full of testosterone... it's simply a male presence. It feels old. It also is a 'warm' scent.

 

I think this would be smashing on the right guy. The kind that likes forests, trees, bonfires and having sex outside.

[Dark Alice]

There is something with alcohol....in this while wet.

 

Ironically as it dries...it continues to develop into a nauseating stale whiskey smell. I can't stand whiskey...and I now have to go wash this off.

[zenvodunista]

In the bottle: Like cherry cough syrup. WTF?

 

On: Cherry cough syrup that slowly morphs into Sassafrass one note, and later one, sassafrass with a giant Oak Tree growing up behind it.

 

I don't know if this is ever going to work on me. I'll keep it for a bit and try it again. I'm pretty sad though. I'd love to smell like an oak.

[edenssixthday]

Oak King v4 - This goes on with a really sharp, astringent feel to it, and to be honest, I can't stand it. I'm really disappointed because I tend to really like BPAL blends that use oak in them. Once it dries down, that sharp, pungent odor mostly fades away, and then, it's a fairly one-dimensional woody scent -- very masculine, IMO. It takes about 2 hours for this to settle down on my skin to the point where it becomes reminiscent of the oak in other BPAL blends, and I really start to like it at this point. However, it's not really worth the initial 2 hours of wear to get to the pretty oak scent. I can see how it would work on some people, but it's definitely not for me.

[tarotgirl99]

In the imp, Oak King is slightly birch scented, but wet it is BIRCH CITY! WHOA, BIRCH! And nothing but BIRCH.

 

Within ten minutes it mellows a bit and soon there's a buttery wood that dries into smoky (and dry) wood.

 

It's a remarkable scent but not my thing.

[lightgatherer]

In the bottle: Boozy almond flavoring

Wet on my skin: Boozy almond flavoring

Dry on my skin: The booziness wears off, like the alcohol evaporating out of the almond flavoring. I'm left with a nice almond scent, almost sort of like almond paste. It's quite yummy. As time goes on I start to detect woody notes (oak, presumably?) underneath the almond. The wood adds depth and warmth and richness, and really balances out the almond nicely. This is surprisingly foody, like eating an almond pastry while sitting against a sun-warmed oak tree. This was different than I expected it to be, and I like it quite a bit more than I expected to. I'm definitely glad I have multiple bottles of this!

[djnevermore]

It smells a bit off or strange in the bottle but, on, is Oakmoss single note, from my recollection of it. To die for if you're a fan of oakmoss.

[savage_rose]

Thanks for letting us try these, Gypsy Rose Red!

 

Well, I could smell this before I even opened the imp...at least partially. Sniffing the imp, it smelled like a really old bar, or barn. Old, weathered wood. And something sweet and fizzy. And then I opened the imp, and the scent was so strong I did a double take! But not what I was expecting...it was like wood, but with something fizzy and sweet and bitter. Really, really strong. And then it dries, and it smells like a renaissance faire...wood, sweet cinnamon-sugar coated almonds, dry herbs. Flower garlands and street musicians playing. What a lovely, evocative scent! When I close my eyes, it's like I'm there.

[jencallisto]

In the imp: Warm caramel spice.

Fresh on the skin: Scorched wood, bitter black center with oddly sweet edges. Like the pungent wood of old, worn cathedral pews.

5 minutes later: Wow. I never, ever want to smell like this. It's not exactly bad, but. Seriously, no.

10 minutes later: Caramel-spice-wood, only scorched. Not okay.

20 minutes later: This had calmed down into something that's almost not terrible, but the scorched rubber at the end ambushs the nose and turns the whole thing ick.

1 hour later: Calmed down even more to mostly a nice caramel-wood. Still not my thing, but could be worse.

 

Verdict: Definitely not for me, though it's rather fascinating, in its way.

 

One phrase: Scorched caramel-wood.

 

[cranberry]

Thanks to GypsyRoseRed for the chance to try this great oil! Now to the review:

 

This smells of sweet birch (it has that hint of wintergreen) and oak. Caramels too. This reminds me of MVAB….

 

Mmmm, as it wears the wintergreen vibe backs off and this turns a bit sweeter. Caramel, oak, maybe a touch of bonfire in the distance …. it’s yummier as it dries. This reminds me of Bonfire Night in recollection – I’d have to find my bottle to verify though.

 

Yep, I think this is the prototype for Bonfire Night.

[iiinterstate]

HUGE thank yous to the generous forumites who made it possible for me to try out Oak King!

 

In the bottle it smells almost boozy. Like rum boozy, not gin or wine. Teeeeny hint of wintergreen too, but its barely there.

 

On me, it smells like a tree. Birch for sure, like many others have said, with a little caramelly note in the back. Or maybe it is almond? I can't quite tell. The birch note is almost wet smelling. Not like moldy, rotting wood, but wood just after a rainstorm when the sun has come back out. This is definitely a unisex blend.

 

Oak King finally rests at delicious, sugary wood. Its different than any of the other blends in my collection, and I love it. I hope it is actually released to the public so I can stock up!

 

ETA: It has been several hours since my original review, and Oak King is still gorgeous. I slathered a little more on and found that the initial boozy scent lasts a little longer than when I apply sparingly, but it burns off within 20 minutes and I am left with supreme yum.

Edited June 2, 2009 by iiinterstate

[Coldfire]

 

 

Was sent a decant of this by my forever witchee/friend TwlightEyes...she is WONDEFUL!

 

 

Bottle: WOAH! Boozy woody nutty....

Wet on Me: more boozy, nutty woody.....spice? smells like Yankee Candle in the Fall..that mixtured

Drying Down:okay the booze took flight, some wood? That birch that TE was referencing

Dry: not sure what it is..but it has a rugged and clean man scent to it. This is the Oak King god in all his Sun Glory.

 

 

[hlinspjalda]

In the vial: Penetrating, rich, aromatic dark wood and bark, intensely vital, immensely old. This is probably the strongest BPAL scent impression I've ever gotten off a first sniff. This could easily be the Green Man's blood.

 

Wet: Sharp barklike note, an almost menthol wood (is that birch? sassafrass? redwood?). It reads a bit like tree juice spiked with cinnamon and menthol, and it reminds me so much of something that I'm going mad trying to pin it down. Whatever it is, though, it's making my eyes roll back in my head with pleasure.

 

Half an hour: Wow, is this intense. The sweet woodiness of it is almost overpowering me. It smells like spice wood, maybe the outside sheaths of star anise or some kind of edible tree bark, cinnamon only not as warm.

 

One hour: Still that strong spicy-woody note, but it's not as intense now. Mortals may approach its awesomeness now!

 

Two and a half hours: Still spicy-woody, still very star anise or cinnamon in impression.

 

Five hours: Still very sharp spicy-woody, very long lasting. Now that it's not quite so intense, there's a rich secondary spice or bark note in it.

 

Seven hours: Now it smells kind of like the Finnish birch box my uncle brought me years ago, back when it was still new and greenish, only filled with star anise husks.

 

[boxinghelena]

A kind soul sent me a decant of Oak King.

 

Unfortunately, it did not work on me at all. It was way too herbal medicine-y on me.

 

 

[portalkat]

I got this decant from a wonderful forum friend and I was so surprised and excited to see it in the package of goodies. I love wood notes and oak is one of my favorites. This starts out sort of boozy and woody, but dries down to the wood and the booziness pretty much disappears. Along with the oak is a drier wood note that I really couldn't place, but others are mentioning birch, so I guess that's what it is. I really love this and I am so glad to have this treasured decant. I will wear it from time to time, but I will use it sparingly so as not to be left without and for the days when I must slather, I will wear Kill-Devil which has the booziness and that beautiful oak.

[Blood onmy hands]

Oak King smells strange on me. It goes on smelling like someone spilled cherry cough syrup on a very dry oak table, and then smeared minty herbs through the mess. It's medicinal and just not good on me. As it dries down, this goes a little smoky and sweet on me, like burnt sugar and burning wood. There's also a little bit of spiciness here. The longer this sits on my skin, the more it's very dry wood and a bit of sweet spice.

 

All in all, I doubt I'll wear this again. It's too dry smelling and the beginning stage is just strange and unpleasant on me.

[myth]

This review is based on a second test, and it seems slightly better this time but still, this is not destined to be a favorite. I'd probably buy it if it were available, but then I'd never wear it and eventually sell it in a destashing.

 

The first time I tested it I didn't write a review but the impression stuck in my head was "fertilizer."

 

Testing again, it's wood, but there's something a bit sour also, which is the part I am reading as fertilizer. The smell you get from the fertilizer aisle in a garden center. Also kind of the same thing that was going on in Twisted Oak, only without all the damp and green. This is that oak note, and... well, not much else to my nose. But despite all that there's also a sweet woody layer that keeps me resniffing. It's kind of compelling, in an odd way. It continues to soften on dry-down, until it is kind of nice, and this is the point at which I'd probably be compelled to buy a bottle if it were available. But that sourness at the beginning would probably mean that whenever I thought to wear it I'd open, sniff, and then change my mind.

 

Interesting. Oak-y. But maybe oak isn't my favorite wood note. I'm on the fence here.

Edited September 5, 2009 by myth

[Lethran]

In bottle: This is strongly alcoholic. Underneath is the oak and leave smell I was expecting. It may have a touch of vetiver under all that, but the booze scent is so strong it’s overwhelming me. I’m also picking up smoke and something sweet I can’t identify yet. I was expecting an oak cousin to holly king, but this is more like Velvet clown’s rural cousin. Wet: Smoke, booze, and taffy. In fact, I’m thinking of a particular flavour of jersey shore salt water taffy which alas, I don’t know the name of. There’s definitely smoke and vanilla or tonka in this and I’m actually starting to pick up wood again as it warms. I was so excited at the idea of this, but I think there’s no way this will work for me. It’s now starting to smell out right rotten under the sweet. Dry: Rot and wood with a hint of booze.