Siren

[wikkidraven]

Bewitching, tantalizing and dangerously seductive. A thrilling, exotic blend -- deceptively sweet, but spiked with malice. White ginger, jasmine, and a touch of vanilla and apricot.

wow, i smell like a take-out joint. this is very very gingery, with loads of jasmine. overpoweringly strong, and not very pleasant.

swap!

[SeaLady]

I got frimped this in my latest order- thanks lab!

 

 

Firstly, I lurve me some sirens. But the notes for this scared me away. In the imp and on my skin, this is creamsicle deliciousness. Orange and vanilla and a little ginger. Yum, yum, yum, yum!

[naeelah]

Hmm, apparently this one really didn't agree with my skin. When I tried it on, I thought it was something like plum and patchouli. Now I see it has neither.

 

It had a very thick, rich, sweet fruity aroma. In retrospect, I can definitely pick out the apricot. There was a touch of something just a little bit spicy, which must've been the ginger. So, the ginger here seems to be dried ginger, not fresh, lemony ginger. I can definitely see the comparisons between Siren and fresh pastries.

 

But there was also something really, earthy and murky, on my skin. It wasn't godawful, but I didn't particularly care for it. Like I said, from a distance, this smelled about like stewed plum and patchouli.

 

Disappointing. But perhaps true to the name - I was lured in by the call of the notes, and found myself sucked down into the murky depths instead.

 

Throw was moderate/average, life about the same. I slathered on the entire wand's worth, because just a dot wasn't quite strong enough to test.

[neuilly]

Wellt he vanilla apricot background is lovely and intoxicating...but I somehow get an incense note. I think it must be a combo of the jasmine and ginger but it just doesn't work on me.

[purplemoonshoes]

Strong vanilla apricot with ginger in the imp, spicy jasmine on my skin. Strong throw. A little too spicy, maybe good for seduction.

[Dymphna]

Got this as a frimp, but it was high up on my to-try list so I was thrilled. For a little while, anyway.

 

In the imp: A sort of woodsy vanilla overlaid with soft floral.

 

Wet: Fruity! Smells like my Orange Blossom doll. No idea where that's coming from, but it's sort of a cross between a powdery orange and a powdery apricot. Not awful, but not really pretty.

 

Dry: Same as wet, but with a strange kind of bitter funk developing. I think it's the jasmine. This scent does not like me. Too bad, as I'd been wanting to try it for a while.

[coconutkitten]

In the bottle oh my gosh ginger, acrid, make my nose hurt ginger.

 

Wet on skin: still oh my gosh ginger.

 

Dry down.. takes an hour to get to. But, it's something completely different and is exactly what I was hoping for when I purchased Siren. It turns into soft, jasmine with a hint of vanilla.. no apricot though.. just jasmine, a hint of vanilla.. I likes.

[Serrated_Angel]

I'm not terribly familiar with ginger as a note, and the only other time I've encountered it is in Saw Scaled Viper, which is a completely different creature to Siren.

 

Smelling this in the vial and applying it wet, I get a very sharp medicinal green scent. It's bordering on the smell of the unflavored Halls cough drops on me. So yes... a very bright, sneaky green. It's remarkably similar to Van Van, from the Voodoo sector, which means I'm getting a bit of vanilla as well, but it's subliminal.

 

Letting it sit for a few minutes, you can tell that it's starting to warm up and soften, but both today and yesterday when I tried this it's held to the green guns for at least a good half hour.

 

Then, it turns PINK. I don't know how else to describe it, but it hops over to the opposite end of the color wheel and suddenly, it's approachable and slightly sweet, but not in a candy way. It's a very nice scent, but I don't know if I'll ever be in the mood to wear it. Siren, it seems is just not really my style. This is a flowy skirt and strappy sandals kind of scent, not the combat-boot-and-jeans fare I traipse around in.

 

Also, the throw is fine... but the scent as a whole doesn't really last with my chemistry. About two hours after applying I couldn't smell myself unless I huffed my wrist. An errant cuddle and kiss got The Boy close enough to to smell and compliment it around the same time, so I may have just been desensitized to it. If you went out and about with this, I'd take an imp with me and reapply... tactfully avoiding folk for the first half-hour or so afterwards.

 

I know a good number of girls that would adore this smell, but it's just not me.

[River]

On wet, I'm smelling musk, and.. is that chocolate? It smelled a lot like chocolate. But I looked up the notes, and.. no, nothing chocolatey. The musky scent turned out to be the jasmine, though.

 

Dry-down, floral vanilla. Can definitely smell the vanilla pretty strongly, with the musky floral of the jasmine in the background. I don't know ginger as a note, really, so I can't honestly tell if that's there or not.

 

All in all, I like the scent - which is strange, since I'm not usually a big fan of vanilla. But hey! It's a good one, and it's the very first BPAL I've ever tried!

[Ceasg]

In the bottle: pure, fruity apricot and smooth vanilla with the barest hint of ginger.

 

On me, the scent doesn't change too much. I smell mostly the apricot and vanilla with some dry, bitter ginger in the background, which is odd because my skin loves to amp florals like jasmine (and I'm not complaining, I enjoy it).

 

Nevertheless, this is a very juicy scent: not terribly complex, would make for a fantastic body wash/lotion but works fine as a daytime perfume. It has an average throw but it smells divine for hours. Probably will become one of my standbys.

[Christine Daae]

Another one that I'm pretty sure I've been hanging on to for a while.

 

In the imp, the oil is dark and viscous, and it smells like what must be the ginger. There's a common note here with Vixen (which I still have on the other wrist), so it must be the ginger.

 

On my skin, it develops a nice, spicy quality that I actually really like. The jasmine is playing nice and letting the spice come out, too, and the sweet apricot is hanging back a bit.

 

This is really pretty. Sweet, spicy and floral at the same time. It's a keeper!

[grashopper8]

I received this amongst a soul-warming gift of impsies and chocolate (thanks to brit - you're the best! ).

 

Without having read the notes, Siren's amber oil reminded me very strongly of Jalaine Patchouli, which is superfine patch, vanilla, and musk. (and, $90 for a teeny lil bottle...I only have a bitty sample of Jalaine).

 

So, imagine my surprise to find out there isn't any patch in here! Hrrrrmmmmm.... I suppose it could be possible that patchouli isn't in there, but it's just so reminiscent of that pretty patch blend!....It must be the ginger and spicy night-blooming jasmine that lend the woodsy essence....

 

Anyway, Siren is very warm, and has a nice balance of vanilla to the ginger and jasmine. The apricot is in the background, thankfully, 'cause I don't personally like overly fruity scents (they go sour and rotten on me sometimes). This scent definitely matches its copper hue. It's warm without being sickeningly sweet, and woodsy without being harsh or obnoxious.

 

Overall, this scent turns apricot into something soft and wearable and balanced on me, and I'm so glad it works!! From reading the reviews, Siren seems to be extremely sensitive to personal chemistry and not everyone falls in love the way I have. I feel so lucky! I mean, it's just so gorgeous! And as I sit here writing, I am falling deeper and deeper into the abyss, and I'm Odysseus and these singing wenches are making me crazy and I'm letting them 'cause they smell so damn good and I don't care if they wrap me up in their horrid arms forever!

 

I'll be hanging on to this little chica for sure, tentatively seeking a bottle as well....

 

Siren is a work of art. Nuff said.

[lilirose]

I don't get it. Siren turns into sort of a generic, musty incense smell on me. I can make out a slight gingery smell, but it doesn't have the "bite" I normally associate with ginger. In fact, it's downright soft- the vanilla doesn't amp like it normally does on my skin, but it apparently damps down everything else until this turns into a mishmash.

 

I'm afraid this one's off to the swaps.

[dorothy humbird]

When I wore Siren the first time I kept thinking patchouli was one of the main notes. Imagine my surprise when I find the notes list implies more of a white floral than anything headshop-y! I can only imagine that this is the nefarious work of jasmine on my skin... and perhaps now I have more of an understanding of Mata Hari smelling like it did on me. It's something weirdly musty and putty-esque, but with hints of anise? (Actually blends with patchouli smell nothing like that on my skin and I tend to like them, but it's all I had to point to.) I dunno! But it is not my cuppa at ALL.

 

I was hoping for light, slightly airy, and inviting. Alas, it is not so on my skin.

[Kimbernunk]

Wet: Mostly ginger and apricot with a touch of creamy-scented vanilla and something vaguely peppery.

 

Initial drydown: peppery and vanilla like. I think the peppery scent must be ginger-related.

 

Dry: I smell like a muffin with apricot jam on it. The ginger/jasmine combo I was hoping for really doesn’t exist on me at all. My skin amps the vanilla to something almost overpowering and I'm not getting any ginger at all.

 

I might like this on a baking day but that would be about it.

[Lethran]

Smells a little chalky. The apricot is strongest. Not great, but not aweful if you want to smell like a fruit. The vanilla gets stronger after a while. I am not sure why smelling like an apricot dessert is supposed to be brewitching and seductive, but I suppose it takes all kinds. Fades quickly.

[megank4]

This doesn't seem to be "Siren" to me, but it still smells very nice. When I first put it on, it was way too much ginger. But then it changed into a nice vanilly apricot, which is exactly like some apricot cookies my mom makes. This is perhaps the first that I have really liked and might order a big bottle of.

 

ETA: I bought a new bottle of this, and it smells completely different. I am hoping it is just a question of aging, and not a reformulation, because I don't like this new version at all. It is way too gingery. Guess I will have to try and age my bottle faster and hang on to the rest of the imp that I have.

Edited January 31, 2008 by Megank4

[alicia_stardust]

SIREN

 

This is heady, intoxicating, and very very sexy. I picked out the apricot right away but as time passes the ginger and jasmine really come to the forefront. This is an alluring sort of scent, full of spice and sweet nectar. Even though there are no notes listed that could explain this, there is a sort of earthy, patchouli-like presence there. Siren has an above average throw and a long wear length on my skin. It's very captivating.

[hkhm]

imp: this almost smells like it's got musk in it. a sweet, fruity musk.

 

wet: smoky and sweet, hints of fruit with hints of something sticky and languid. very interesting!

 

dry: the smoky scent stays but stays very sweet and murky. the oddest thing of all is that this is reminding me of some scratch 'n' sniff stickers i had in grade school. it smells exactly like them.

[topazphoenix]

To me patchouli just smells like incense, and Siren smelled like too-strong incense. I was looking foward to the ginger, but if Siren has any ginger, it's old, powdered, and dusty. I really hated this one.

Edited July 10, 2009 by AmandaKay

[Torrain]

Ginger and jasmine comes right out—oddly, getting an impression like a particularly lovely candy/liqueur filling for a chocolate. Not cloying, but definitely sweet.

 

~3 min: vanilla coming out, and beating back the jasmine—more ginger vanilla. (A brief note: the mix keeps reminding me of coconut. Like the inside of a Bounty bar.)

 

10 min: a bit of apricot coming out, I think. Given that this is me, the vanilla's coming out pretty clearly; it's kept from being too mellow-sweet by the ginger. Hoping that faint trace of apricot doesn't go bad like it did in March Hare.

 

30 min: vanilla and apricot, lovely and warm.

 

1.5 hrs: Same. Nice. Keeper, I think. Doesn't have the ...archness? ...sharpness? I'd expect from a siren, but still lovely.

 

Love and coffee,

Frances

[prettybird]

The ginger is really overpowering in the vial, but it's not so bad on. It is really striking, and the vanilla comes out- though it's the scent of vanilla beans, if that makes sense. It's also sweeter as it warms.

 

It reminds me of War, though it's not nearly as sharp.

 

My particular imp has aged some, which I think really improved it. But a caveat! This is a very dark, very red oil, and it WILL stain when wet.

[mspixieears]

Smells very strongly of red musk and dragon’s blood. I get the jasmine and vanilla as hints. Reminds me of something spicy and sweet from an Indian food store or grocers – a very familiar smell to me. It starts to settle down as soon as it dries. The vanilla reemerges on drydown, thankfully! It’s generally a very heady scent and reminds me of some of the TAL love oils. Half an hour later it’s faded to the scent of crayons – don’t think it likes me anymore, alas.

[bryghtrose]

Hello, Ginger!

 

The longer it's on, the more I smell of ginger. Not exactly my favorite smell.

[tuesdaynexxt]

I love Siren. I got it as a frimp in a swap, don't remember with who, but bless you, whoever you were!!! I should say up front that I'm one of those who generally runs screaming from jasmine, so I was shocked that it's in here. But I love it!! I think the jasmine smoothes the edges of the ginger, and the apricot and vanilla fill it out. It's a lovely, round, sweet/sharp scent.

 

I agree with someone who posted a few pages back - I think it ages into the scent I prefer. The bottle that I ordered was VERY jasmine-y! Oh well, I have 2 imps for the meantime...