The White Rider

[tajana]

White leather and sandalwood.

In the Imp: Not promising. Faint with a generic cologne smell on the exhale.

Wet: A clean white sandalwood: it feels soft and almost malleable instead of dry, if that makes any sense. The leather is also soft and well-worn. This is not a smoky, rough, manly leather... it's rather delicate, like a soft pair of gloves.

Dry: More of that clean white sandalwood: not my favorite type of sandalwood, to be honest. This is a note I associate with soap when it's very prominent. There's also a hint of something floral, but not sweetly so... I'm tempted to echo the reviewer that says it reminds them of olive blossom. The leather stays put for the most part, but as time goes on, The White Rider gets sweeter and turns a bit powdery on me. Not that it smells bad, just sort of bland... like a distant, pale echo of The Bow & Crown of Conquest.

Overall: It smells pleasant enough, I don't get any sourness that other people are mentioning! This is a very light, pale leathery scent. Although it didn't work for me in the end, I would recommend that die-hard leather fans give this a try, especially if they have trouble finding leathery scents that are sheer and airy enough for spring and summer. Edited June 29, 2010 by findaghost

[filigree_shadow]

I picked up on that same sour note at first that other people have been smelling. Not sure what that is. It fades out a bit though, as it's drying. What it ends up smelling like is a clean, shiny leather scent. It's kind of sweet, and there's an element of sleekness to it. Like, the leather isn't just shiny, it's also a bit slippery. It's not bad, but I like other BPAL leather scents better.

[meredevachon]

I've figured out that all my favorites have vanilla and/or tonka plus tobacco and/or leather. So I'm exploring more blends with those notes. In my most recent order, that meant trying out the three Riders.

 

In the imp: Sweet, with less of the chemical sharpness I get with the Lab's leather notes. It's still there, just not nearly as strong.

 

Wet: Sweet, round, smells like a creamy color. Hints of soft, warm leather.

 

Drydown: Leather, but not like any of the other blends with leather notes I've tried. The sandalwood keeps things sweet and warm, and I get hints of amber too.

 

Dry: This is the leather of vintage kidskin gloves, supple and soft and smooth, worn by a young lady and still carrying traces of her perfume.

 

Overall: It's not going to be the first thing I think of when I think of leather. But I like it, and will wear from time to time.

[Anita]

I ordered a bottle when they came out untested, and tried it as soon as I got it, then shoved it away for a while and thought I would give it one more try.

 

Bottle: I don't get any leather out of the bottle but it smells like dirty diapers in one of those diaper genie things, that every mom had to have about 15 years ago. Its really gross.

 

wet: Same stinky smell, just... ugh.

 

drying: Sort of leather and the diapers.

 

dry: i have to shoe my nose right to my skin to smell this, and although the diaper mess has really faded and I finally have leather, its not for me. Its gone all weird. Like leather with an alter ego.

Edited July 26, 2010 by Anita

[_Irene_Adler]

In The Imp: Hay and horses

 

Wet: Hay, flowers, and soft leather. This actually smells exactly like a brand new, never used deer skin flogger laid on some hay strewn with soft white flowers.

 

Dry: The hay, flowers and deer leather are still there but they've been joined by, of all thing, green olive pits and Play-Doh. Its actually quite pleasant.

 

An Hour later: Almost gone. If I actually stick my nose on my wrist, I can finally smell a light resin scent.

 

This wasn't exactly what I was expecting, but it was nice. The throw is very weak, and it's more feminine a scent that I usually use, but it's interesting enough to keep the imp.

[Nymeria]

The good news: This leather actually smells like leather on me. The sandalwood dominates, but the leather is leather and not crazy chemical sex shop latex like I've gotten from other blends.

 

The bad news: it doesn't really do much for me. It melds onto my skin to form something that's all together lackluster. I mean, it's sweet, and kind of nice, bu not OMGAMAZING like I've gotten from other BPAL. But I learned something today. Can't knock learning!

 

Good for wearing: When I'm feeling dominatrixy.

[theseagrows]

this is one of those scents where the sandalwood goes wonky on me. BPAL woods often have this effect, but it's random so i never really know. i do quite like the white leather though, and look forward to more scents that contain it. after the perfume has been on for about an hour, it smells good, but the first part is just kind of sour and weird due to the woods and my skin chemistry.

[SophieCedar]

Wet: ok weird.. white leather equates to luxury car smell. The sandalwood brings it down to a less cheesy level, but I can't shake the cadillac smell.

 

Drydown: it's slightly sweeter, but still disturbing.

[innocentlyscentwilled]

This was a frimp that I received from the lab so I was skeptical as to what I was going to think of it, for it wasn't even on the list of things that I wanted to try.

 

Bottle: Something that I can't really describe almost powdery in a way, but definitely a light scent so far.

 

Wet: It kept the light scent though I believe that the sandalwood is coming out on my skin more now.

 

Dry Down: Still just sandalwood, I'm not getting anything with the leather and I wonder if it's just because it's so light.

 

Dry: I only smell the sandalwood, and I soft powder kind of smell maybe that's the leather but I'm not too sure.

 

All in all it's a nice soft scent for people that only liked to be noticed a tad, for that reason it's not the smell for me but it's definitely a more sophisticated outing oil. I would give it a 3 on the five scale.

[Diva Urd]

Vial: Bright, woody leather... a little artificial.

On: The leather and sandalwood BLOOM. The former has a vetiver-y tinge to it, but it starts calming down a little as it dries. Right now, it smells more like vetiver than leather on me, though.

Later: It turns pretty soft after half an hour. Even later, it's mostly bright sandalwood with a hint of vetiver-y leather. It's not bad, but I don't think I'll need more of this.

[Monday]

In the imp: A lovely floral with an awful lot of horse... oddness .

On my skin wet: A strong leather scent, the horse is still present too with an amazing floral underneath...that can't just be the sandalwood?

On skin dry: Thankfully the horse has wandered off, the leather is a lot less prominent and i get an almost resiny sandalwood underneath. It fades pretty fast and doesn't have a lot of throw.

I definitely need to retest this some day, the underlying notes are just too pretty I'll risk the horse and leathers.

[Urpflanze]

Admittedly, I didn't know how seriously to take the comparisons to a stable. But after 2 tests: oh, very. This smells like a stable. Hay, leather. Maybe even the lightest smell of hair or musk? maybe thats just the hay. I don't really get sandalwood, instead I get hay, but I'm sure it is sandalwood that I'm smelling.

 

Smells more of the horse than the rider, imho. But what a nice horse! An incredibly unique and interesting scent. Everyone should test this just because it is so evocative of a stable. Did you really think you could bottle stable? I didn't.

[Lethran]

In bottle: The white leather note is very gentle for a leather and plays well for the sandalwood. Where many sandalwood blends smell dry, this is wet and lush. Wet: The elements are more distinct on the skin. The effect is rather leather and bone, and more sinister than I was expecting. Now that the leather is stronger and clearer, I’m thinking I may not be a white leather fan. I do think the sandalwood is interesting with the white leather, but I’m thinking my skin is just not that into this. Dry: Soft dry sndalwood with vaguely flowery leather.

[ResinManiac]

Classic men's cologne, just the way I like it, with that spicy sweet musky scent I lust after. I wish my dates would wear this!! This is that well built, tall dark and handsome swain dressed in a very flattering uniform coming over to ask for a dance. This is the strong and gentle arms we all wish would...you know.

[mistressfizz]

Sniff: Very light, chemical and sharp

 

Wet: Faint, very little throw. The sharpness increases into something like high pitched cedar or pine. I'm also getting the sour note others have mentioned; it's not pleasant. I don't really detect any leather, just a chemical twang that's not very nice.

 

Dry: The sour note intensifies. This dries sharp and sweaty, it doesn't work on me at all. Which is sad, because I normally love leather blends and I usually like sandalwood as well. But this combination of the two is fail on my skin

[Gateau]

Nice light leather and warm, sharp sandalwood. Sandalwood overtakes the leather, as I always amp woods, but it's a lovely sandalwood. I can see this as a unisex scent, but it leans more masculine to me, and I'm sort of dying for my husband to walk in so I can slather him up and huff him.

 

I don't get floral, hay, horse, or barn notes.

[halation]

For the first hour after application, I get almost nothing but coconut. Very very faint hints of leather, now and again, but otherwise, coconut. It's a bit like a less-complex, less-smutty version of Perversion: an understated (but still tight) choker instead of a full-on-equipped-with-D-rings glossy black collar.

 

If I give it long enough, the sandalwood does come out to play, and it's quite nice, but Perversion's just sexier. I suspect it would smell delicious on the right person, though -- it's slightly musky and could compliment a yummy natural skin-scent really well.

[AnyseLawsBray]

In vial: That sharp tang I usually get from sandalwood is very much present, with just a faint aura of sweet leather.

Wet: I can totally relate to the barn references - it does smell like golden hay & worn but well cared for saddles. Much sweeter than I expected.

Dry: Ultimate drydown is quite reminiscent of Paladin, but with raspy wood instead of vanilla/armor. Really nice!

[evekrieg]

It does that pencil shavings thing on me at first, then the leather starts to come through as it dries. I can imagine this being an extremely sexy smell on a man but it doesn't really work well with my body chemistry.

 

I definitely do get the association with hay and horses though. It's got that subtle warmth.

[mymymai]

In the Imp (ITI): I could tell immediately that it was leather and something else, something dark before reading the notes. The leather was much lighter than previous leathers, so it makes sense that I would be responding to the white leather.

 

Wet: Leather and sandalwood, but there is also a smokiness to the scent on my skin. It's very alluring.

 

Dry: While there is a faint smokiness, the leather combined with the sandalwood harmonize sweetly on my skin. It's beautiful and I do want more of it.

[lohengrin]

In the imp: Erk. Men's cologne.

 

On skin, wet: Still men's cologne. This may be a "scrub off" scent.

 

On skin, dry: Men's cologne sprayed liberally on a leather coat. Much more cologne than leather.

 

After an hour: Same as the drydown. Definitely scrubbing it off now.

[Eschezhivet]

I can detect the hay, and the leather to a lesser extent, if I stretch my imagination, but mostly it's sweet bread. Sigh. A warm scent.

[KittyHawk]

This is definitely more of a sandalwood scent than a leather one on me, but it is fantastic all the same. I get a faint sweetness on the drydown that's probably similar to the cologney feel that others get from this blend, but it's still nice to wear. I can totally see Gandalf wearing his unofficial namesake. I have other BPAL leather blends that I'd reach for before this, but this will still become part of my rotation.

[catalyst]

Story time. Sandalwood and leather are my two favorite cologne scents, and the friend that got me into all this stuff sent me The White Rider, among a few other imps she had, as a Christmas gift. Hooked from the first minute. And leaving it on... it only got better. Holy cow. I never thought I could smell so good!

 

This is way, way at the top of my favorite BPAL list. It's number one. This has pretty much become my signature scent. It's so simple, just sandalwood and leather, and both of those are good lingering notes, so I don't have to keep putting on more after a few hours. It's masculine, but with a sweetness, if that makes sense? Not like cheap boring cologne that have a lot of sharp or bitter things in there. It's... perfect.

[MCS4096]

Goes on chemically and crisp, but not dry. Definitely a white leather, very clean and smooth. Does not smell like a leather goods store (see Red Rider).. it's more the impression of leather. A nice dose of sweet sandalwood. I like it a lot!