Paduan Killer Swarm

[edenssixthday]

PADUAN KILLER SWARM
A swarm of genetically modified, extremely aggressive European bees that were created by Dr. Giacomo Rappaccini. These bees are attracted to a peculiar set of pollens and nectars, and possess a particularly vicious temperament, a lethal apitoxin, and cruelly barbed stingers.

Tonka, black licorice, amber, golden sandalwood, ginger cream, bitter clove, stinging nettle, cinnamon bark, and coconut shell.

Paduan Killer Swarm - Of all the blends in this update, I was the most excited about this one. It seemed like it would be absolutely perfect for me. It really is awesome, although sweeter than I anticipated. On me, the strongest notes are the licorice and coconut. There's a hint of clove giving some depth to the other two notes, but it doesn't amp on me the way clove sometimes does. I really can't discern any other specific notes because the licorice and coconut husk are both such strong scents -- and really gorgeous together. It's got really strong throw and good wear length. I really love this scent and would definitely recommend it to licorice and coconut lovers.

[Halloqueen2]

Even though my sense of smell is almost gone (woe is me...medical problems), some notes make it through. Mostly musks and "darker" scents. Flowery-like smells don't even register. So please, take this review with a grain of salt. Paduan Killer Swarm, at least on my skin chemistry with my broken nose, is a very.....strange but attractive scent. The first thing I picked up on was the organic aspect of this...can't quite explain it any better...it's slighly menacing, but the menace is hidden behind innocence. Maybe it's my too vivid imagination, but I really did get the mind picture of the Queen Bee in her warm humid hive, surrounded by her sisters, who smell faintly of flowers and pollen, and a wisp of what I imagine bee venom smelling like. I thought there would be honey involved...but I'm not picking it up...No smell of honey but I do pick up the smell of the bee itself. Very evocative...I don't mind smelling like the Queen Bee. Glad I got this, but can't see myself wearing it outside to any picnics....LOL,

[angelicruin]

I have to second Edens Sixth Day's review about the notes. On my skin, this is mostly coconut and black licorice. Definitely the 2 strongest notes for me as well. At times, I do think I catch whiffs of cinnamon & clove, but they don't linger. However, I am not getting a really strong throw on my skin. Which might be a good thing, as I can probably wear this to work without disturbing our resident perfume hater, who claims to be allergic to ALL fragrance, even BPAL.

[Violaine]

I have to mirror Edens Sixth Day as well! I'm surprised, but SO happy that this scent is sweeter than I thought it would be. The licorice and coconut are blended together perfectly and seamlessly, and the scent is dark and dangerous. Venomous. It's terribly sexy. I do detect some spice in there, but it's so light that it's hard to tell whether it's clove or cinnamon. Either way, it's gorgeous.

 

Oh, and much like angelicruin, it doesn't have much of a throw for me, but right up against my skin it's nice and strong. Perfect scent for an evening you anticipate you'll be close to someone. Rawr!

[Invidiana]

This is gorgeously tropical on me. There is a slight licorice tinge wet, but as it dries down the licorice fades and I get the honey, ginger cream and coconut the most. For once I'm not amping clove to the point of it turning into a spice cabinet, and the cinnamon is just a whisper. The amber and sandalwood add further depth and sensuality. This is sexy and exotic and reminds me a lot of my formerly beloved Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess (which I wore before I discovered perfume oils even though the alcohol in most commercial perfumes makes me break out in hives), only better. I will definitely need at least one more bottle before it's gone, no question.

Edited May 15, 2010 by Invidiana

[sfsassy]

This is the best of the bees. OMG so wonderful on the skin. I get a lot of sexy licorice and coconut.

I will 100% get a back up bottle.

[alicia_stardust]

On me this is very creamy, almost cream-soda like; but it's not quite foody. It has a sweet, rich vanilla-tonka vibe with lots of coconut husk. While the coconut is definitely prominent, it doesn't take over the blend like most other coconut blends tend to do with my skin chemistry. I do get hints of the ginger in there, and I smell the black licorice on the drydown but not so much after that. As time passes, the blend gets more "dry" and I can smell the bite of clove over the sweet-tonka-coconut.

 

Overall, this is very warm and enticing with just the right amounts of spice and coconut. This is probably my favorite of the new honey/bee line. Definite keeper.

[meaganola]

I can't remember the last time I wore something that morphed as wildly as this one. In my Clocket, it's pretty much all coconut husk. On my skin, it started out all coconut husk, but then the licorice came out, and then everything else just kind of hung out in the background. Every once in a while, the tonka pops out to remind me that it's there. Overall verdict: It's very pretty and subtly spicy, but while I adore the spices, "very pretty" is not my sort of scent. I'll keep a decant for the archive, but the rest of the bottle will not be a keeper.

[loladae]

This is definitely my favorite of the "new" scents - even back to Lupercalia. I bought a bottle unsniffed based off of the first four notes, and I don't regret it. I can already tell this will age marvelously.

 

The scent is blended well. It's very creamy, and warm. I can't really smell any cinnamon, but I can decipher (or imagine?) the tonka, cocnut, licorice and ginger. Good stuff!

[Venneh]

In the bottle, I'm getting cream and licorice and coconut. This is probably not going to end well. On my skin, it's coconut cream. Urgh. Definitely not for me.

Edited May 18, 2010 by Venneh

[Indigo78]

This is the creamy tobacco scent I've pined for since discovering BPAL. True, there's no tobacco in the note list, but the magical combo is very suggestive of it to my nose. The licorice is barely detectable for me, or if it is, it's a licorice that I evidently like (I loathe anise in all it's forms, so this is good.) These are different cloves, too. My usual experience with cloves is that I amp them to high hell... but no these. They're understated and ephemeral, just sort of dancing through the blend without yelling and screaming like drunk assholes at a frat party.

 

The amber lends it this fantastic, lickable smokiness and the coconut is so summery and sexy. The cinnamon is another barely-there note, adding mostly depth and sweetness on my skin. I poured myself a cup of coffee before testing this, and I actually started to crave a beverage that tasted like it.

 

This is going to age amazingly, I am 200% sure. It already smells so rich and thick and syrupy, but I'll bet a year in the cellar will do absolutely amazing things to this blend. I was having hoarder's anxiety over PKS until I saw that it will be live until late August, which is the best news, ever. I'll be collecting bottles en masse.

 

eta: typo fixes

Edited May 20, 2010 by Indig0

[surf-tormented]

This is what I would like Snake Oil to be...it's a foody scent but a very unconventional one. And it reminds me of another perfume I can't place, probably a Cobalt Blends oil with a honeyed amber in it maybe Headless Gingerbread Man or Agni...not sure. I'll probably test the rest of my sample and see what my brain comes up with as far as comparisons.

 

It is really honey on my skin, but spicy honey with sharp chai spices and a very slight coconut/sweet wood note. There is something a bit green and organic in there too, but I couldn't phantom right now what that would be. Slight tobacco too under it all, like another reviewer stated.

 

I'd recommend it for fans of Snake Oil and those who like the Cobalt Blends with amber in them. I'd also say if you like the concept of Snake Oil, but it doesn't work with your skin, try this one. It's complex and would make a good summer scents for those who don't like overly sweet or fruity summer oils.

Edited May 21, 2010 by Madame Nyx

[Klepz]

In the bottle, this is a very chill scent! It smells like it would be perfect for this time of year, going into late summer. The coconut shell is yelling at the front, backed by a very creamy spice scent. I think I detect some amber, which makes this very interesting, and I'm glad not to notice much cinnamon, which tends to amp on me. Clove does too, but remains relatively mild in the bottle.

 

On, this is so surprisingly unisex. There's a hint of sweetness to it that's really delicious. The coconut backs off a bit and the blend gets creamier. I smell amber and sandalwood, which surprises me because I thought they'd be inconspicuous in the background. The cinnamon, clove and ginger have blended into something seamless.. something "spicy" but unnameable. This is a pleasant surprise. Suddenly I remembered that there's supposed to be licorice in this, and it's there, prominently on the edges of this scent (does that make sense? It's definitely there, but it's not the scent itself). It's a twang that makes this scent that much more complex, and that much more nummy!

 

Completely dry, the licorice is now stronger than the coconut, which makes me a bit sad because the wet stage was so beautiful. This is delicious in it's own right, though. It's still creamy and spicy licorice with coconut now as a diminutive sidekick. While somewhat slinky, it's a pretty bad-ass scent, so it might sit next to The Illustrated Woman in my box! Then again, it's such a funny scent. Maybe I need a new category of scents for when I feel funny

 

Winding down, I think I need a backup!

 

 

ETA: A couple hours later, the coconut is more prominent again. It almost reminds me of a Snow White + Pere Fouettard mix, if Le Pere hadn't gone all surgical-gloves on me.

Edited May 21, 2010 by Klepz

[fetish911]

I love this scent. Fav of the bees for sure. Its all Coconut & licorice with a little bit of the ginger in the background & even a smidge of cloves. No cinnamon - not even a trace thank goodness. I love it. This might just be the first bottle that I buy a back up of!

 

5/5

[RhinestoneHousewife]

This is very, very pretty. I thought this was what O would smell like.

 

In bottle: Smells a bit greenish.

 

Wet on skin: Spicy for me.....cinnamon and clove.

 

Dry on skin: Now the coconut comes out and it's not quite so spicy anymore. The licorice comes out in a little bit as well. I love it. It's very warm and sexy without being too sweet.

[MCS4096]

This is one of the lightest/faintest BPALs I've tried in a very long while. It is gorgeous, as everyone has said. It's creamy and warm, spicy, coconutty, slightly licoricey.. The vibe is creamy sweet and faintly herbal.

 

I'm hoping that with aging it'll deepen and become stronger. Maybe this blend doesn't register in my brain for some reason (?) because everyone else here seems to be able to smell it more than me...

[sirensea]

In the bottle, it reminds me of Smut. Actually, the wafts I get of the oil now that it's dry still reminds me of Smut, but when I get up close to smell my wrist... it smells like plasticky lime. I could detect the licorice for about two seconds before it disappeared. It's not a BAD scent, but the tonka seems to overtake the rest of the notes (that happens to me every time I wear anything with tonka, it seems ) and after twenty minutes or so, I get nothing but Play-Doh. Ick. Does not play well with my chemistry.

[hkhm]

bottle: totally creamy. hints of coconut, vanilla (probably tonka) and the ginger cream.

 

wet: very soft and creamy, the spice is soft and rich but somehow subdued. i love scents like this, so well-blended that the different notes mingle so they are hard to distinguish singly.

 

dry: i get a little more amber (odd, since i usually amp it) and a bit of tobacco with the softly spicy cream. yum, yum, yum.

[tailoredshirt]

Oh, I like this!

 

Wet, I get creamy coconut and something dry and slightly spicy. I kind of slathered because it seems very light on my skin and I felt like my skin was eating it. As it dries I get pretty much the same thing. Mostly sweet coconut, but it's light and dry. It's not sickly sweet, which is nice because I like coconut but don't like anything that smells absurdly fake or foodie. It is slightly foodie, but I don't smell like a cupcake, so I like it. Not getting any noticeable anise/licorice.

 

Also, this is light when I go in to sniff, but then sometimes I get a little whiff of coconut while I'm moving around. So it's got a nice throw, but it's just subtle.

 

I let my co-worker smell this on me, and she had the best reaction of anything I've asked her to smell on me before. We're both going to try it again tomorrow and see how it compares on our skin, so I'll edit this comment with an update.

[saralaughs]

The weirdness continues. But I think it's in a good way this time.

 

Immediately after putting it on I smell the patch. But it's not a dirty hippy patch. It's more of a sophisticated, slightly sweet patch. The same that was used in MME, maybe? I know, there is no patchouli listed but I'm only relaying what my nose smells.

 

The clove is there but it's in a 'clove cigarette' way, not the food way I'm always trying to avoid. It's sweet and gingery too. The tonka shines in this but not so much as it's in your face.

 

I freakin' love it. I need a bottle. Or two. I can't believe I found a blend with clove that works on me.

[hlemonds]

This is really, really awesome. Its one of those blends where my nose is telling me "Mmmm....creamy vanilla!" but I know there isn't any vanilla listed, so that must be the tonka. I'm getting a bit of the licorice, but it isn't in any way overwhelming. There is a spicyness to the blend, but I wouldn't immediately say "Oh, hai cinnamon," or "Oh hai clove!" And there is a lovely warm woodsy sort of note that I think could be the coconut husk...maybe. I don't get coconut in an overtly suntan oil way, but it may be adding to the sweetness. This started off sort of wierd smelling, in that I couldn't even decide what I was smelling, but within 5-10 minutes it has settled into a warm, creamy, slightly exotic and spicy blend. I really like this! I am glad I went ahead and got a back-up, since I think this is going to age like a dream

 

 

ETA: I had to come back and revisit this one. I have worn this blend eveyday for the last week. Absolutely unheard of. This is what I *wish* Snake Charmer res smelled like on me. At the start I get a very warm woodsy scent, which I think is a combination of the sandalwood and coconut husk. The licorice is also most present when wet, it recedes into the background of the scent once dry. I find the wet scent very intriguing, but the drydown is so incredibly sexy that I want to hoard a ten gallon drum of this stuff. The dry down is the most gorgeous, creamy, lickable amber-tonka-ginger cream blend. And perfectly blended in that ahhh-mazing base are the very gentle spices, black licorice, sweet sandalwood, and coconut husk. I initially thought this blend might be too soft for me, but I've noticed that it has really nice throw. It is subtle. No one is going to smell this and say "Who's wearing perfume?" This is more the kind of scent that will have people thinking, "What smells so good!?" And if they're lucky enough to get close to you, they'll realize that You! smell that good

 

ETA2: This stuff has gotten even better in the short time that I've had it. I love it, and I would gladly store a gallon of it somewhere if I could afford to!

Edited July 12, 2010 by Hillary

[lbfury3]

Snake Charmer + Honey =

[rawgirl75]

Oh darn it! Another coconut fail

 

Well atleast the coconut note is the last note (therefore smallest amount) and its not really all that strong anyways (just slighty weird chemical plastic smell), so it might age away someday, right? After about an hour on my skin, it finally faded away enough for me to begin to enjoy this.

 

Verdict: 3 out of 5. Keeping decant to cellar for a couple years.

 

**update** This VERY much improved with age. Upgraded to a 4 and now looking for more!

Edited December 30, 2010 by rawgirl75

[hazakaza]

Coconut is hit and miss for me. For example, in Spooky, it goes powdery and gross and kind of sugary. In Ashlultum, its complex and rich and creamy. For me, this blend was complex and rich version of coconut. The only notes I can really distinguish from the blend are the ginger cream and the coconut. This blend starts off almost a bit too sweet, but everything is so beautifully in balance that it becomes gorgeous. The sandalwood is lovely base, but not too strong. Cinnamon, clove, and licorice also tend to amp on me, and in this blend they stay beautifully tame. This isn't really a spicy blend, actually--it's much more warm, golden, and sunny, with a faint sense of honey about it. Gorgeous. Definitely going for a bottle on this one. It's got medium throw and decent wearing time, and is gorgeously blended.

[laslibres]

Oooooh. In the vial, coconut and spices and maybe a bit of licorice. On me, the clove starts out really strong, and cinnamon. It has a woodsy feel to it, almost unisex, but sweet too. The "ginger cream" note smells just like gingerbread, maybe with a dollop of whipped cream, and is perfect. Clove and sandalwood are pretty dominant, though, backed up by the spices and cream (sadly, on my skin the coconut is gone).

 

This scent has a lot of layers to it...I can't identify exactly what all it is, but it's a very nice woods/spices scent. Reminds me of another scent, but I cant think exactly which one...I really like scents in this category, but I have a lot of them, so I'm questioning whether I need a whole bottle of this. It really is very lovely, though - warm and foody but not overly so - and I think I'm leaning towards YES on the bottle.