Aperotos Eros

[Venneh]

Unloving love: benzoin, Indian musk, massoia bark, myrrh, ambrette seed, galbanum, bergamot, and fir.

In the imp, I'm getting Indian musk, bark, and myrrh, very MANLY. Going for a light application on this one, methinks. On my skin, it's pretty much the same, but something's going wonky. We'll see how this turns out. Edited March 20, 2010 by Shollin

[Dark Alice]

I am upset. I have waited to try this for so damn long. And all I get is fir. Fir and cheap pine sole cleaner. Where are all the other notes? Why just fir? GAH!

[fairnymph]

Dark amber/root beer coloured oil. Sweet, deeply musky, darkly woody, with some bright woodsy greenery. it feels defintiely deep and resiny, but no myrrh at this point. Quite smooth. It reminds me of masculine Snake Oil, minus the red musk. Identical feel and similar overall scent.

 

Much fresher and brighter, with bergamot amping instantly and leaping out, and fir just behind it - really nice, as the lab's bergamot rarely even registers for me. The ambrette and musk and bark are stronger too, making this even more musky and deep and rich. A touch sour-sharp from something, I'm presuming the bergamot, and little spicy. The bark and musk feel very warm and the former a little dry. I get a sort of teak feel from that massoia bark - it's sort of creamy and exotic and almost foody, especially combined with the strong honeyed deep sweetness of the benzoin. A hint of bitter dusty myrrh.

 

This dries rapidly on my skin and it starts to evolve just as quickly - as I was writing the wet notes it kept changing, although in a smooth, seamless manner. The sourness is becoming much more pleasant, more of a bright note that cuts the sweet and deep notes, not something sharp and jarring. Myrrh is amping quite a bit and the wood is drying making this more dusty and incensey. A hint of soapiness, maybe from the fir or bergamot? Also, this could be my dry skin of late, but this is itching/burning on me a bit. There's a pleasant, smooth and round sort of oiliness from the musky ambrette seed that makes me think of massage oiled skin. I now get some red musk, but it's really well blended, much smoother than usual with only a hint of that medicinal cola note.

 

Huh, the sourness has amped up again and regained its jarring quality, and this has gone more soapy. Soapy in a sort of powdery almost floral way that makes me want to sneeze. The sweet and deep notes have faded greatly and within minutes - bizarre! Unfortunately the myrrh has NOT faded and adds to the dust/powder sneeze effect, and the fading of the benzoin, ambrette and massoia has made the red musk stand out more and thus much less pleasant on me. I do get the Indian musk though now as a distinct note and it's really lovely - definitely giving me a bit of a Black Lace, sexy feel. I'm also getting a little balsam, I think - possibly it's contributing to the sour effect. This scent also reminds me of Red Rose a bit, though obviously sans rose.

 

Maybe my nose (or skin) is broken, because this seems to morph back and forth from minute to minute. Still vaguely itchy as I tested another oil for comparison, but less so than before. Definitely increasing in dusty and soapy powder, that's a constant trend, but the green sourness alternates in waves with the sweet exotic resiny wood, while the Indian and red musks remain another constant at the base of everything. A strange and rather mesmerizing blend that I think could be excellent on the right type of skin. Pretty unisex, but as I said I consider this a 'green' masculine version of Snake Oil. Good throw and decent longevity.

[FathomBelow]

Aperotos Eros is one of the few BPAL I dislike. In the imp it's inoffensive enough, just rose and something like very thick jasmine. But on wet, it's rose and jasmine with a distinct mold note. As it dries, this mold note only gets stronger and I had to wash it off; there is something in this oil that I cannot stand! Definitely not for me.

[steffanina]

Aperotos Eros-

 

In Bottle: This is one of those scents I'm reluctant to put on my body, because it has strong notes I don't usually like to wear. Benzoin just smells like medicine to me. I feel like I smell nag champa even if that isn't listed. I think I'm going to try it on my ankle instead of my wrist.

 

Wet: Faint. (Good thing I can get my ankle to my nose.) I smell sweetness with the benzoin sweetness dominating. And I still get nag champa; maybe that's the "Indian musk."

 

Dry: Hugely long-lasting, and it still reminds me more of nag champa than anything else. It's a perfectly nice scent but it's just too much for me.

 

Overall: Not one I will want to wear.

[mari4212]

In the imp: Sweet and resin heavy, not bad.

 

On wet: Pinesap, and some other green resins.

 

Initial drydown: This is definitely strongly fir trees. Not the imitation pine sol or other cleaners, but the actual tree scent. And there's an earthiness to it. This is the tree in the middle of a forest, not the scent of pine when it's brought inside and decorated for Christmas.

 

There's a hidden brightness to the scent as well that lightens it a bit. I don't know a lot of the notes in this well enough to break them down, but something is lightening it a bit, just enough to make the pine sap smell fresh, not dirty.

 

It's a nice scent, but it's both a bit too masculine and a bit too pine heavy for me to wear. If the warm sweet resins from the imp had remained dominant, maybe, but not what it turns into on me.

[Saya]

This is a very masculine blend. The musk is strong and overwhelming and something is making this blend sharp, I personally suspect the fir. It's got a biting quality that almost stings my nose (strange, but surprisingly true).

 

It's safe to say I'm not a fan. At all.

[Redillon]

In the imp: Fir & pine & benzoin. Not loving it, but I'm giving it a try!

 

On the skin: The juniper is there and not loving my skin. I do get some spice. But it's also headshoppy. I reapplied some and it's actually It's starting to turn sharp and sour. I don't like that at all.

 

Dry down: Why am I getting a hint of pickles? Pickles and candle wax. Okay. Off to someone else who will love it and be loved by it.

[ami226]

Bark and fir. Slightly incensey?

 

Not my thing at all.

[Lysi]

My very first review! Yay!

 

This was a frimp in my first-ever BPAL order, and as my nose is not accustomed to picking out individual notes just yet, I can't really say much in that regard. For me, this scent is baby powder in a forest. It started off very incense-y but now it's more like dusting baby powder on a wild animal and then burying your face in its fur. Not unpleasant, but I don't think it's really "me". May have to swipe some on hubby and see how that goes.

[NicoleJoy]

This one is interesting. I wasn't sure what to expect from the notes together, because it's unlike anything I have ever worn before. I like it, though.

 

In the bottle: Wow, heavy musk and myrrh...what have I gotten myself into??

 

On the skin, wet: Hmmm...Christmas. It smells like a Christmas tree and warmth and family. This is definitely a comforting blend so far.

 

Dry on skin: Still VERY comforting, but the Christmas tree/pine scent is dying down. Now it's a little sexy, a little calming, and very heavy. I get the feeling this scent will last all night. Good thing I really enjoy it!

[INFJ4w3]

Pine and dark incense. Smells like deep forest green. My SO likes it on me. I would like it a lot more with less (or no) piney note. It smells like someone had a wild party with lots of sex and drugs, then tried to clean the whole thing up with Pinesol the next morning. But the Pinesol made them gag, so they lit up their favorite spicy-woody incense. 3 1/2 stars out of 5.

[voodoobaby]

Out of the bottle and when I first apply it, it's very heavy on the myrrh, which is nice. However, after a few moments it really starts to blossom into a beautiful, full-bodied, slightly bitter scent. The musk and resiny smells take over, and it's really gorgeous. Mostly, I get delicious musk. The only problem I get is with what I'm guessing is either the ambrette or the benzoin; something is giving off a faint burnt plastic smell that vanilla often does on me, but I can only smell it if I inhale really deeply.

 

Overall, I love it.

[violetblue]

This is absolutely horrible on me. I'm sorry Beth. The 2nd of only 2 blends I've had to scrub off in over 6 yrs. I instantly thought, "dirty diaper." No idea why but the beautiful color made me think it would be resinous and amazing, but it just smelled super funky on me with a weird musk underlying.

[mxtine]

Pine resins and bergamot. It's not a good combination on my skin. I usually love benzoin, ambrette seed, and massoia bark, neither of which I smell in this blend. It's time for a shower.

[forspecial_plate]

There are a very small number of bpal scents that I disliked so much they "ruined" my nose for a while even after washing them off. This scent is like that. It starts out brown and crumbly, a very potent incense scent. Normally I love the scents that smell like incense, but this one just rubbed me the wrong way, a lot. It's way too sweet, reminding me of something high and.....sorry but rotting is the word. There is a gritty, crumbly undercurrent that reminds me of civet. I love fir but it doesn't save this scent for me. And just like in Black Lace, the Indian musk turns super soapy for me.

 

So, yeah....had to wash this off, couldn't get it to go away, and couldn't even put on something else to cover it. Very, very strong. There was one other scent that ruined my nose like that for hours afterward, I want to say it was Sepulcher but I'm not completely sure. Needless to say, Aperotos Eros is not for me.

[lookingglass]

Pinion pine incense is what I think of at first. The bergamot and musk added with the really fresh sprig of fir create the interesting visual of Christmas-tree-cutting-hands. It immediately dries down to a sweet, powdery incense. The maosia adds a touch of butteriness. DH loves this one.

Edited August 5, 2011 by lookingglass

[SophieCedar]

Ok, there were a few elements that I was unfamiliar with so I looked them up: massoia bark (coconutty and warming) and ambrette seed (musk seed from a hibiscus plant).

 

Wet: meaty strong lovely. the benzoin is sweet & awesome. Indian musk (seems to be mixed with sandalwood .perfect for me.) and massoia bark being dryly coconutty ..are nice & heavy. I love this one. It's the perfect combination that I've returned to since I was a teen. The bergamont is slight and offers a barely noticeable citrus floral brightness. I can't really smell the fir? oh well!

 

Drydown: dreamy. the same. getting a bottle.

Edited November 5, 2010 by SophieCedar

[Suu4LC]

Whoa-in the imp this is-dark-resiny-piney-yet sweet. Even the oil itself is dark. Interesting.

 

Yes, this is sweet dark pine sap-insenscey and resiny. There is sort of a weird undertone to this-not quite sure what it is...

 

On full drydown this is way more subdued. Pretty much a dark, lightly incensey, wood scent that is just a touch powdery. It loses its sappy sweetness and is way less resiny. It's pleasant, but not quite my thing.

[dicyfer]

I got this as a PIF from Drarra and I am SO glad she sent it! I never would've thought to get this for myself based on the description.

 

This is LOVELY. It reminds me very much of the general incense smell of Metaphysics/New Age stores. This is a scent that has been comforting to me since I was a child (because those places were my havens). Wearing it, I can definitely detect the fir and myrrh. All the other notes blend together to create a very nice support. The musk become a little more prominent after a while, but that is definitely not a bad thing.

 

Over all, I love this! Thank you so much, Drarra!

Edited February 28, 2011 by dicyfer

[filigree_shadow]

This smells sweet and resiny and dark. And woody and musky. There, is that vague enough for ya?

I'm not sure I can pick out any particular note, but the resins smell a little bit sticky, which is how I like resins to smell.

 

It smells masculine to me though, so I'll pass it over to my husband and see what he thinks.

[Penance]

Origin:

 

Lagniappe. I forget who it came from since it's been a while.

 

Preconceived notions:

 

Somehow Aperotos Eros wasn't even on my radar when I got my frimp of it. Looking at the description it looks fairly promising, although fir (like every other evergreen note in existence) is hit or miss on me and I'm not a big fan of bergamot. I don't think I've ever smelled Indian musk, so I'm not sure what that's going to smell like, but I've become a fairly big fan of musk blends in the last year or so, so chances are that it'll work.

 

First sniff:

 

Musk. Lots and lots of musk. It's almost animalistic, but not quite. It's got a very intense scent to it and the throw is ridiculous. I could smell the opened imp when I held it at arm's length, that's how strong it is.

 

Wet on skin:

 

Still predominately musk, but the resins are coming out now, too. At this point, it's an intense, dark, musky incense blend with just a touch of pine sap. It makes me think of occult/pagan/new age stores, although it doesn't really smell quite like any one I've ever been into.

 

Dry down:

 

This has to be one of the most aggressively scented BPAL blends I've tried. I don't mean that it smells threatening. I mean that the oil itself almost reaches out and grabs you by the nose. It's assertive and strong. The musk calms down a bit as it dries and stops teetering on the edge of smelling like cat pee (that's how my nose reads animalistic musks). In the end, it's a dark, sultry musk with a backing of resins. This is very much my style.

 

The bottom line:

 

A little dab will do you. Seriously, less is more with this one. The throw on Aperotos Eros is unreal and it's easy to overdo it, especially considering the intensity of the musk in this. But it's a beautiful scent if you're into heavy musks and resins. I'm definitely going to be getting a bottle (which will last me forever since there's no way I'll be slathering it).

 

Edit: Spelling fail.

Edited June 4, 2011 by Penance

[Diva Urd]

In the vial: A hint of pine, but overall, this smells a bit like... earwax. Huh.

 

On: Piney earwax! Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, skin?!

 

Later: No earwax anymore - pure, unadulterated pine tree instead. Not Pine-Sol, an actual pine tree. If you love smelling like a pine, give this a whirl (I'm sure I'm the only weirdo that had this turn to earwax on her!). If you don't like pine, this is totally not for you, because the pine IS the star in this even without weird reactions of the other ingredients.

[maoric]

In the vial: Dark, thick tree sap, like the imported rosin my dad uses on his bass bows.

 

Freshly applied: Still the thick tree sap, but with a softer earthy smell.

 

Drying: Seems to disappear slightly like so many scents do when starting to dry on me, but it keeps the same earthy, resiny sap smell.

 

Later: THIS is the tree scent I had in mind when I first started looking through BPAL! Earthy sap with a dark fir in the background. Waking up in the morning after applying I can still smell it on my wrist, but since I have the bad habit of trying new scents super-late at night, there's no telling how the throw is. This is definitely going onto my favorites, though bottle bottle bottle bottle bottle bottle bottle bottle bottle bottle bottle bottle must get bottle yes bottle good yes.

 

 

 

As a side note, I really need to remember to be careful with this one. It looks like iodine in the vial and apparently also on my skin. My wrists are slightly yellowed, and I can bet this will stain clothing if given the chance.

[mimieux]

One of the very first imps a friend passed on to me, I instantly fell in love with Aperotos Eros. I am a big fan of the darker, heavier scents and love to smell like a dirty hippy, but this is elegant and while it has those wonderful darker, rich notes I adore with the Indian musk and myrrh, the fir and bergamot seem to really give it something special that I've never smelled in any of the other "darker juices" as I like to call them in the likes of Vixen, Satyr and Snake Oil. (all of which I love!) AE has this clean, fresh quality to it that I love while still smelling intense, expensive and lush at the same time. I think that's the fir.

 

I know others said Pinesol, but I don't smell Pinesol at all, however I know everyone's chemistry is sooo different. This one is definitely a hit for both me and my hubby. He loves it on me and wears it, too! In fact, we had a very amorous evening while wearing this fragrance and I have to say, it was QUITE an aphrodisiac for both of us. Seriously!! I now have two 5ml bottles. One is new and one is aged. I think I may go put some on...It *is* Friday night after all and it worked so well the other night.

 

ETA: Both my SO and I have received numerous compliments on Aperotos Eros since I wrote this review. He commutes to work with a carpool full of other guys and they all asked him what cologne he was wearing since it smelled so amazing. He told them all about BPAL. I wore it to my dermatologist's office. While waiting I the waiting room, the derms hubby aproached me and said "I really like your perfume." We started chatting and he gave me a free facial treatment that costs $149!!. I swear it was the BPAL. Nothing like this ever happens to me! So, thank you Beth for creating such amazing blends that bring us luck, compliments and sooo much more. You are a real life super hero! Xoxoxo

 

Edited: because of typos and to include an awesome story about the fragrance

Edited November 20, 2011 by mimieux