Aswang v1

[nursekins]

Unreleased scent ...no description given

 

 

In the bottle this one is straight up banana leaves. Upon application, the green of the long banana plant leaves soften a bit to make way for a slightly green banana note.These are note the over ripe bananas you would use in banana bread. The are green and not quite ready to be eaten..I get some other tropical green notes...big thick waxy green leaves...maybe just the smallest hint of soil from the rainforest floor...I get something tropical and white in the distance but I think it really helps it from letting the banana become too sweet...this is not a warm happy tropical scent. It has to be after sunset...as there is just a note I can not quite place that is dark playing in the background...it gives this blend a slightly sinister type feel on me

[twilighteyes]

Banana!! Teeny bit of greenness in there too.

[Dark Alice]

Only two ways to describe this perfume: Banana in a lush green tropical forest with tropical flowers. or Fresh Ripe banana with tropical greenery and flowers. It is absolutely gorgeous. So glad I was able to try this.

[GypsyRoseRed]

Aswang is something I can't wear, but have to appreciate it's uniqueness. I got fresh, still slightly green bananas with a dash of lush greenery and a slightly darker, earthier note lurking in the background. Very interesting!

[angelicruin]

Inside the bottle, I'm getting ripe bananas and earth.

 

Wet on my skin, bananas and something green. As it dries, the green note sharpens a bit with the scent of bananas underneath.

 

I'm looking forward to seeing how this one ages.

[zankoku_zen]

This one is definitely green, fruit banana (very light on the banana aspect - in fact, didn't recognize it as a banana until I came to review it) and greenery. Fruity and fresh. As it has dried, something muskier has come out underneath, almost slightly bitter.

 

I liked it on wet, but definitely not on the drydown.

[alicia_stardust]

I get banana tree, huge tropical leaves, rainforest dew, and a very dark musk. The dark aspect of this blend is what makes it so truly unique.

[edenssixthday]

Aswang v1 - Sniffing this in the bottle, it smells like ripe, mashed-up bananas with the tiniest hint of something sharp and tangy in the background. It doesn't have that fake banana-candy scent to it -- it smells like real bananas! However, once it touches my skin, the banana scent recedes into the background, and the dominant note becomes a wet, heavy, dark green, banana leaf. Right behind the banana leaf is a soft, sweet musky scent...and some sort of white (?) floral...frangipani perhaps?

[Coldfire]

Man my nose must be off....I never got Banana in this. I did get sharp green and white floral at first scent....then after it dried down I totally got Gardenia!!! I do love gardenia! But yes a total rain forest lush type vibe off this.

[thewondersmith]

Oh man, this is GORGEOUS. In the bottle, it's sweet, yet not overly ripe banana, with a lovely green edge. I'm so glad this seems to be working for me because as much as I enjoyed Splatter Comedy, I couldn't really handle the OMG OMG BANANA JELLYBEANS OMG of it

 

The drydown reminds me a lot of Agape for some reason; I guess that must the tropical fruit? The musk is really lovely as well. When I breathe in deeply, I get the teeniest little hint of that bitterness of banana skin, which works surprisingly well with the creamy musk. Absolutely delicious. The throw is pretty good, and the longevity seems to be decent too. I'm so, so pleased I managed to score a bottle of this.

[sookster]

straight sniff from imp i get floral cedarwood...

once applied pine and sharpness...

mostly sir pine-a-lot with my chemistry....

[bookandbroom]

In the bottle, this is green and earthy first, banana second, like a wisp of fruit floating around a tropical forest.

 

But on me, it goes quite strange. Stage one is OH HAI BANANA! But that quickly gives way to stage two, in which Aswang reveals a much darker side. I don't know what it smells like, note-wise, 'cause I'm not much good with those, but I almost suspect some sort of dark musk or amber, because at first there was a hint of a dark spice or wood, and now it's gone masculine, somewhat cologney and yet somewhat aquatic, too. There's still sweetness from the banana, still a layer of tropicality, but there's something almost faintly smoky to the masculine drydown. At least on me. It reminds me a bit of some of The Graveyard Book scents, alluring and yet a little bit sinister.

 

It would smell really good on a fella, I can say that much for sure.

[Ondine]

On immediate application, there is a blast of banana, true banana and not Laffy Taffy or candy. Sadly, it burns off rapidly and leaves a floral perfume behind. Like I was hacking through the banana forest wearing cologne and only once in a while smelled bananas.

[fairnymph]

Sniffed: Bright yellow oil. Bananas and slightly sharp/herbal greenery, almost a little soapy/grassy. I'd guess there's palm in this.

 

Wet: Tarter and more fruity, more tropical - passionfruit! Oooh, it's zesty and bright. The banana is light and sort of green, not a foody note at all, more like unripe banana or raw plantain. The greenery has gone a bit bitter, but not soapy as I feared.

 

Dry: Tart passionfruit, unripe banana, bitter-sharp palm and other greenery. It's too astringent for me, and almost a little cologney - definitely manly. Strong throw.

[Blood onmy hands]

I was hoping that this would be a tropical, green sort of smell with some banana added in. Aswang v1 goes pretty sharp and perfumey on me, though. I get a burst of banana candy type smell for the first five minutes or so on my skin, and then this dissolves into something like a mix of men's aquatic cologne and musky white floral drugstore perfume. Bleh. Every once in a while, I can pick out something sweet & fruity, but it's not enough to save this blend for me...

[eanewsom]

I'm so glad Little Bird said it smelled aquatic to her, because I was reading all the posts and thinking I must be losing my mind. I, too, got a strong aquatic note from this. Wet, it's a vaguely green, slightly sweet aquatic. As it dries it loses the sweetness and gets more aquatic, and then the drydown was mostly green.

[voodoocatwoman]

Banana. That is all.

[totheo]

I was told banana leaves... and I'm going with banana leaves. But since it's been a while since I was well acquainted with that scent...

 

There is a definite sweetness in the top note. For a second, you wonder if it's artificial. But you quickly surmise that it's closer to clear, sweet sap from a green cane than a chemical flavouring for candy.

 

A lovely deep green underneath, makes me think of green and yellow. Banana leaf for SURE. A very fresh, living scent.

 

Delicious!! So glad I have a bottle coming.

[cranberry]

At first this smelled like artificial bananas. That quickly went away and now it smells like orris, something slightly astringent and bright – maybe gardenia? Tobacco for sure, maybe a spash of something green. Very interesting scent. Now the green is gone and it smells of tobacco, orris, light musk, and a faint juicy sweetness. It’s similar to the tobacco-orris-musk notes in Smoky Moon or Black Lace, without the dry sandalwood or rich velvety vanilla, respectively.

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

this smells...exactly the way my best friend used to when he got out of the shower. a combination of his own natural scent, water, and his soap/shampoo/hair products.

 

but mostly it smells like Nexxus Humectress -- which, admittedly, he used a ton of on his nearly ass-length long wavy hair.

 

a dab of this, a dab of Quincey Morris and a dab of Realm for Men (the original, not the blue version) and holy wow, i could close my eyes and have it be 2001 again. (this is a good thing)

 

but i think i'll just keep myself a decant of this and then let the bottle move on to a better home.

[Lethran]

In bottle: Strong and sweet. It’s got a mixed tropical fruit effect, as its dominant impression. I’m guessing tobacco, maybe gum of some kind. Maybe balsam. It’s got a high-end shampoo thing going on. Wet: Banana dominant. It’s still simultaneously tart and sweet, with a mixed fruit effect. I’m getting less balsam/tobacco, though there’s a touch there. It was androgynous in the bottle, but now it’s womanly on my skin. Dry: The Gumlike thing comes out again. The tropical fruits are more balanced again, which means a lot less banana. There’s more medicinal herb and somethings gone a touch powdery. It’s interesting, but I think it would be exhausting to wear.

[fetish911]

I was hoping for banana as in Splatter Comedy after reading these reveiws. I got banana for like 5 seconds. It then burned off to high pitched white floral. Gardenia perhaps? Also a manly cologne type of smell underneath. WTH happened to my 'naner scent!?!?!? I am bummed this doesn't work for me.

[angelamaria]

When I saw this prototype, I knew I had to have it. An aswang is a Philippine monster--not necessarily one specific type of monster, as the term is used loosely to identify all kinds of horrific beings. Aswang as a term is usually used for any vague monster, as opposed to kapre, tikbalang, manananggal, etc which are more well-known under their own particular type. Wikipedia has its own definition, of course:

 

"Aswangs" are often described as a combination of vampire and witch and are almost always female. They are sometimes used as a generic term applied to all types of witches, vampires, manananggals, shapeshifters, therianthropes, and monsters in general. Aswang stories and definitions vary greatly from region to region and person to person, so no one particular set of characteristics can be ascribed to the term. However, the term is often used interchangeably with manananggal, which is a particular creature with a specific set of features. They are often portrayed as a monster with wings which flap loudly when she's far away and quietly when she's nearer. The most popular original definition however, is that it is a bal-bal (maninilong in Catanauan, Quezon), an eater of the dead. After consumption, the bal-bal replaces the cadaver with banana trunks.

 

On to the prototype review!

 

In the bottle: very green banana leaf scent. Faintly sweet, and faintly medicinal. This is rather evocative of provinces in the Philippines and medicine doctors and manghihilot and their oils. Chilly without being minty.

 

Wet on skin: on my skin the greenness amps up over the sweetness, and there is sometimes an almost sharp green note, like broken stalks. There is a rather spicy, almost dark note in the background, almost menacing.

 

Dry: this is a lot more medicinal to my nose when dry, and it's developed a slight powdery note, maybe somewhat smoky. Green banana leaves and dark spices, and the sharp green broken-stalk whiffs still come up from time to time. As it lasts longer on my skin, a faint dirt note starts to develop, which seems perfect for what it's supposed to be. I'd honestly expect a darker, more sinister feel from an aswang although this is so brightly sinister and very tropical in feel that it doesn't disappoint.