Poe

[fairnymph]

POE
A melancholy, manic gentleman’s cologne: incense and tobacco, opium tar, juniper berry, bourbon vanilla, patchouli, bergamot, and mossy leather.

Sniffed: Light amber coloured oil. Cologney in a traditional, clean masculine way, but with a distinct smokiness (definitely the tobacco, and a touch of incense/tar), along with an almost creamy sweetness. The juniper is lovely in this, almost like Spruce, not the typical juniper note. I do get the earthiness of the light patchouli.

Wet: Softer/fainter on my skin - this is a much gentler scent than I expected, not effeminate but certainly not forceful. It's a little sweeter and a little smokier, but not much different from in the imp. Maybe a touch soapy, though in a clean, bearable manner. I get the bergamot a bit more clearly, which is rare in BPAL - it's a lovely, fresh, almost juicy-fruity note here. The leather note, which I can now get with straining, is not De Sade, but neither is it Dead Man's Hand...it's the note from Sacrifice! Yes, really.

Dry: Wow, this has really morphed in an absolutely gorgeous way. I get a deep, not dirty, clean but sexy and unisex-to-masculine cologney musk note that I find quite arousing (literally). The vanilla has amped in a beautiful way and merges with the bergamot (which is holding!) to provide a creamy-tart-sweet almost foody effect, a bergamot creamsicle. That soapiness is gone, and the leather and tobacco are now prominent but nowhere near dominating; this is very well-blended and balanced scent.

Later: I don't typically like incense or opium notes and the faint smokiness from those puts me off slightly, but every other aspect of this blend is really delicious, and those notes I dislike are quite light and bearable. The leather is a tad powdery/chemically for my taste but not intolerably and I attribute most of it to my personal skin chemistry. The juniper has faded a little (which almost never happens!) and as I noted is really wonderful and unique, a sort of trace-of-forest on the air scent.

Summary: While I like this on me, this is something I would certainly prefer on a man and I bet in that case the smoky notes would be sexy and yummy. On me it basically dries down to a slightly cologney, sweet muskiness, but I think there would be more complexity and in the long term states on a man. It has lower throw but fabulous longevity and is both classic and yet quite unique, unlike other colognes that I have smelled or other scents in the BPAL catalogue.

I am definitely hanging on to my imp.

[edenssixthday]

Poe - This is lovely! On me, it's predominantly a smoky vanilla-opium-leather blend. It's a lot more subtle than I would expect with some of the strong notes this blend carries. When I first tried it on, my very first thought was that it will likely layer well with Sacrifice. It's quite lovely and I just wish it had been sold in 5ml bottles!

[crebbsgirl]

The ever-generous fairnymph sent me a tester of this and it is wonderful!! Wet, there is a sharpness which I think is the juniper and opium. This quickly settles into a wonderful vanilla/leather blend with a touch of bergamot. The patchouli here is really light, as is the tobacco and both provide a sort of roundness to this scent that smooths it out quite nicely. This is just a shade masculine, but not overtly so. Overall, its a smooth, warm scent.

Edited October 27, 2009 by crebbsgirl

[zankoku_zen]

Oh, Poe, you are not for me.

 

I get some really bad leather from you, and yes, its the same sort of bad leather from Sacrifice. Synthetic and uberstrong. I get a hint of bergamot, gin and dirty patchouli over some plasticky leather.

 

For which I am thankful. As you are a rare being. Too rare for the likes of me.

[forspecial_plate]

This is fantastic, proper and refined, like the best-smelling after shave in the world. I am reminded somewhat of other dudely leather blends, but I can't recall which ones. I applied pretty heavily (for me) and I felt that it faded pretty quickly, but it's >8 hours later I'm still picking up the scent around me. To me this is a masculine scent, spicy leather I guess but I can't describe it more than that. I mean, I think I can smell oakmoss but who knows. I couldn't tell you if this is a fougere or chypre or what. I guess it kind of fits in with chypres but it would be a deluxe leather chypre in that case. Why bother picking it apart. Since I'm guessing most people can't try this (unless it is more available some time in the future), I would say Count Dracula is the closest other bpal I can think of. They are not the same but it's an approximation. Poe is more refined and elegant, but still rough, and very serious. Not much 'playful' about this scent.

[Roogna]

sadly this turns soapy with my skin chemistry, but even in the imp it's more aftershave than leather

i get some berry, some incense, and some moss

[Convallaria]

I got a frimp with Trading Post purchase.

 

Classical men's aftershave for the most part, mostly bergamot, mild juniper beries and a pinch of tobacco. The final stage of drydown is on the sweet side though, with bourbon vanilla and soft leather.

 

I'm not a fan of too masculine masculines, but juniper was toned down here and I regret it isn't available to purchase - it would have been refreshing in summer.