Boadicea Bath Oil

[angelicruin]

Rebel Queen of the Iceni, she led an uprising of the tribes against the Roman Empire. After Claudius’ conquest of the area, the Iceni voluntarily allied themselves to Rome, though Rome was not a gentle parent state. The Romans conquered much of Brittania, desecrated the sacred groves at Mona, and slaughtered the druids. When Boadicea’s husband, Prasutagus, died, his will was ignored and his massive financial debt to Rome was called in forcefully. Iceni was annexed as though it was a conquered territory, property and estates were seized, both tribal nobility and the common folk were enslaved. When Boadicea objected to the treatment of her lands and her people, she was flogged, and her children were grievously injured.

Boadicea took her vengeance.

Under the leadership of Boadicea, the Iceni and Trinovantes united with their neighbors and the surviving druids of Mona to instigate a rebellion. They cut a swath of furious destruction. Her warriors slaughtered Legionary forces, and destroyed Camulodunum, Londinium, and Verulamium -- so scorching the earth beneath Londinium that the scar is still visible beneath modern London.

Fig, neroli, amber, vanilla, patchouli, pine needle, and vetiver.

Inside the bottle, I'm smelling mostly amber, vanilla, and patchouli.

On the skin, it's very much the same notes I sniffed from the bottle, except I'm also getting the fig note now as well. Those who are scared of vetiver scents, don't automatically dismiss this one. I usually amp vetiver on my skin, but this is one of those rare blends containing vetiver that I don't get any vetiver note on my skin. Just this beautiful creamy amber resinous patchouli blend.

[thekittenkat]

In the bottle: Lots of fig in a creamy vanilla sauce.

 

 

Wet: Yes, it's mostly the yummy fig and vanilla, but the sweetness is tempered by the patchouli, pine needle, and vetiver, all three of which combined to give this bath oil a hint of sharpness that it needs to keep from becoming too cloyingly sweet. There's neroli, but just a touch, a citrus note to give this a bit of sparkle.

 

 

The dry-down: This is simply one of the best things from the Post ever. (And I adore the Unity set and Pancake Breakfast!) I love figs, and Boadicea is part of my cultural heritage. I put my hands on the perfume and bath oil first out of the box. Interesting. Make of that what you will. I just know that I would like to smell like this when I wasn't wearing any scent.

 

I have to slather this, because it is a skin scent on me, but oh so yummy! And combined with her perfume, it amps up the sweetness of the latter. I'm hoping that the layering will cause the Queen to stick around longer. And, yes, for the bath oil alone, I plan to order another set of Boadicea. In fact, if I could have several gallons of the bath oil, I would be happy. It's just that good. It's light enough to wear now, in the heat of summertime, but this will also be lovely during harvest-time. Especially when the figs are ripe in the back yard. It will also make by itself a wonderful and relaxing bed-time scent.

 

ETA: sookster, thank you for your kind words! I like your review, too. In fact, most of the reviewers here love this bath oil. (Alas, Little Bird, we seem to be scent opposites!) Like milo, I won't be using it in the bath (I could, but I prefer to take showers) and instead am using it as a body lotion/oil.

Edited July 27, 2009 by thekittenkat

[sookster]

 

the kittenkat is so right on with her review...

 

i am getting super, buttery vanilla sauce with tons o' fig...nummy!!

 

in the bath this gets so dreamy and creamy and i am transformed into a heavenly state...

the patch, vet and pine needle are in the background ever so slightly...

 

this is purely divine

Edited July 5, 2009 by sookster

[Monster]

I wear the bath oils directly on my skin so, this is being tested on my arm

 

Pine needles and a fresh waft of vetiver (already ). There's more vetiver in her bath oil than the perfume (woo hoo for me!).

Underneath the pine and vetiver I can smell creamy sweet vanilla and fig.

 

Dry on my skin this is mostly fig and vanilla with a hint of powdery amber.

 

This is OHHH so so sexy! A perfect accompaniment to the Boadicea perfume oil!

 

So far I have tried three WQ bath oils (Zenobia, Semiramis, and Boadicea) and this one is my favorite by far!

[Blood onmy hands]

I wasn't crazy about this when I first got it, but Boadicea seems to have aged well. It was initially very piney and smoky to me, but that has calmed down into just a hint of soft earthiness. The vanilla is still slightly buttery and powdery smelling to me, but it has sweetened up some. Much to my delight, the fig note is actually rather strong now. It smells like a sweet fig, almost berry-like. Actually, this oil smells a lot like Monster Bait: Closet in my bath water, with the mix of almost-berry-like, sweet fig and buttery, cakey vanilla. It layers really well with Closet .

 

On my skin after the bath (or applied directly to my skin), this leaves a hint of sweet fig, cakey vanilla, and warm, powdery amber. It's really lovely. I'm glad that I kept my bottle of this to see how it would settle. It's much better now that the pine/vetiver notes have chilled out and the vanilla has sweetened.

Edited November 25, 2009 by Little Bird

[milo]

This is THE most amazing scent. I definitely will not be wasting it as a bath oil. To me, this is like Underpants, only not as foody, and with a teeny bit of musk,which is great as I'm not too keen on really foody blends. The fig is fresh, and there is a citrussy vibe, which I'm thinking is the pine needle. I don't get any neroli or vetiver, but maybe they're contributing to the blend somehow that I'm not aware of, maybe the muskiness. Overall, a fresh fig, soaked in a most wonderful creamy vanilla with a bit of a tang. I will covet my bottle, and probably try and track some more down. Hands down, one of my favourite scents EVER!!

 

eta: If you are using this as a lotion, it does sink in very quickly, and leaves the skin baby soft.

Edited July 26, 2009 by milo

[Lyrical]

In vial: WONDERFUL! The vanilla from Love's Philosophy with fig and neroli. No nasty vetiver, patchouli or pine in sight! The oil is slightly cloudy. Reminds me of Lovers with Rutting Cats and Pickled Imp.

 

Wet on skin: oh - there are patchouli, pine and vetiver! However, the vanilla and fig keep them in hand. The consistency of this oil is quite different from the perfume oils, and you can tell there is mineral oil in the base. It rubs smoothly onto my newly-showered arm, leaving an oily sheen. I normally avoid mineral oils, which is why this is the first BPAL bath oil I've tried.

 

Dry on skin: I'm surprised this doesn't have oak in it, because it reminds me a little of Haloes. It's woody in a pale way, buttery, figgy, and really very nice! Neroli and amber are barely there, just adding a rounded fruitiness to the fig and vanilla, while the patchouli is being uncharacteristically discreet! I didn't order this because the last three notes scared me off, but my fears were unfounded - I really like this! Probably not quite enough to order a set, but definitely enough to use up every last drop in the imp.

 

It leaves my skin slightly oily, but very soft. The fragrance stays close to the skin, so you could cover yourself in this without stinking the office out! The initial throw fades much faster than perfume does, but my skin is still soft and fragrant the next day. However, subsequent wearings convinced me not to order a set. I hope Beth will make more fig, amber and vanilla scents, because this would be even more awesome without the patchouli/pine/vetiver base.

[ravenfeathers]

in the bottle the candy-sweet vanilla from love's philosophy over a dark base of lovely fig, amber, and patchouli with a slight fruitiness, probably from the neroli. freaking scrumptious.

wet on skin vanilla and amber with just a little figgy earthiness. geez, maybe it's my skin today that's flattening out all these amazing, wonderful, complex scents.

dry on skin vanilla, sweet and edible, but fairly single-note. definitely a retest for today's acquisitions in my future.

[hlinspjalda]

It smells sweet and fruity in the vial, with vanilla overtones.

 

But on my skin all those splendid notes that love me somehow just don't work together well at all. I smell faintly woody and a bit smoky, with maybe just a breath of vanilla. It's really very disconcerting! But my hands, where I was applying it, smell more amber/vanilla. Maybe I just need to use a lot more of it.

 

I liked the way my palms smelled, but it was a little too soft-focus and girly for me to want to wear it often. I'm not that big a fan of vanilla as a scent.

 

[TilHelvete]

In the bottle: sweet, creamy vanilla. Smells almost cakey, it's actually very foody.

 

Dry on skin: the foodiness dissipates due to the pine and amber, and this morphs into something I can only describe as perfect. The vanilla is giving the pine, amber, and patchouli a rich creaminess. I'm not familiar with the fig note so it could be in there somewhere, but I do not detect any neroli (which smells like dial soap on me), or any vetiver.

 

Overall: Absolute love. If only it weren't LE.

[Gin]

Boadicea Bath Oil is much nicer, IMO, than the perfume oil. This is rich and figgy vanilla. The patchouli, pine needles, and vetiver are practically nonexistant. Yummy!

[Diva Urd]

Vial: Fruity notes over a vanilla base. Since it's a bath oil, it is weaker than your average BPAL oil.

On: Fruity creaminess. Smells pleasant, but is totally not my kind of perfume. Seems a bit like a mixture of "Siren" and "Hymn to Proserpine" to me. As it dries, it loses the creaminess and is straight-up, very sweet fruit. I don't think I approve.

Later: Fruity. Still surprisingly strong - but still not my case.

[papermaker]

In the bottle it is vanilla with lots of fig. The patchouli, vetiver and pine are in the background. Once it hits my skin there is a big blast of patchouli. Once it dries though this is sexy. It is creamy figgy vanilla with an undercurrent of patchouli, and a touch of amber.

It's even better paired with the prefume.

[Suu4LC]

Ok, I knew this probably wouldn't be for me, but I couldn't resist trying anyways!

 

I should start by saying that vetiver is my least favorite note, and I'm generally not a fan of patchouli and pine needle.

 

That said, I kind of enjoyed this. In the imp, there was a super sweet blast of vanilla, paired with this scorched scent of pine needles and earth, with an undertone of vetiver. The scorched note was much stronger on my skin, so I suppose I would say my least favorite phase of this blend was the first moments on skin scent. A little piney and overwhelming. And I still don't like vetiver!

 

However, unlike some of the other bath oils where the scent doesn't really wash off (I use these as moisturizers in the shower), for the most part this blend washed off after I rinsed off, leaving me with this barely there warm very sweet vanilla and pine scent that isn't half bad. I don't need a bottle of this, but I enjoyed testing my decant!

Edited September 12, 2009 by Suu4LC

[Venneh]

On my skin, this bath oil is a beautiful blend of vanilla, fig, neroli, and just a hint of pine and vetiver. I might actually like this better than the perfume blend. oO Gonna wait for this to dry and then try and layer it with the perfume oil. Definitely keeping the bath oil, though.

Edited October 26, 2009 by Venneh

[zankoku_zen]

I really get the fig in this one. It's sweet, with a hint of vanilla. I do get a trace of patchouli, which prevents this from being overly sweet. But yes, overall, sexy fruit.

[edenssixthday]

Boadicea Bath Oil - Oh wow, this is AWESOME! Tons and tons of sweet, syrupy vanilla, with amber and fig and a bit of patchouli. Where can I find a bottle NOW?

[bluerose]

The bath smells of vanilla, fig, amber with hints of neroli.

 

On the skin, the pine needle comes to the forefront and takes awhile to burn off. Once it does, all that's left is a beautiful scent of sweet vanilla fig with dabs of amber and teeny bits of neroli. Very beautiful.

[Teaotter]

I'm surprised I haven't reviewed this before!

 

I don't use the oils in the bath, but as an after-shower moisturizer. On my skin, this is smoky figs with just a hint of vanilla. Definitely a skin scent, but for a bath oil, you don't want something overpowering.

 

When I layer it with the perfume, it brings out the fig and leather notes beautifully. When I layer it with Snake Oil, like today -- ooh, spicy vanilla figgy heaven. Utterly, utterly lovely.

[Koumori]

I got a bottle of this from the BPTP Etsy store, and now I am going to be stalking it FOREVER just in case they turn up another bottle or two. This scent is lovely! Vetiver is usually such a death note on me that I avoid anything that contains even the smallest amount, but it isn't any problem in this oil, just enough to lend a little bit of edge to an otherwise earthy, warm scent. None of the other notes seems to dominate; sometimes I get a breath of fig, sometimes pine, and the vanilla doesn't come to overwhelm but just ties everything else together. Holy cow, I love this.