Gypsy

[quintessentially]

Bourbon vanilla, Egyptian musk, tonka, white sugar, and cardamom.

In the bottle it smells exactly like Dorian--the sugar, musk and vanilla notes are nearly identical. On skin, it does nothing to dissuade me from the overwhelming similarities. It has much less throw than Dorian, however. As it starts to dry down, I start to get what I can only describe as a cool minty scent. I'm not sure what that could be, and it is really reminiscent of Lick It, which is such a peculiar thing to find. Gypsy is disappointingly faint. Really, I have to press my nose to wrist to actually smell anything, and even then it doesn't last long.

[abejita]

On me, this scent is unremarkable. It's like a simpler version of a bunch of other bpal scents, but has nothing to give it character or make it stand out. I think I would have liked thus more when I first discovered bpal, but now I'm spoiled by other richer, more complex blends.

 

It smells pretty much like its description. Straight up vanilla musk with a touch of spice.

[Monster]

abejita just said it best....This scent is unremarkable and there are definitley a lot more interesting, rich and complex BPAL scents out there.

 

Gypsy Moth is an epic disappointment

 

This smells watered down, too light and well...just forgettable. It's a very pale sugar with the barest hint of spice. This doesn't have any throw on my skin and doesn't last at all. i agree with Ondine, this reminds me of Khrysopelex.

[Suusje]

This is just odd, when it's wet it reminds me of Spekkoek. It's an Indonesian layered cake. I actually really like eating it but smelling like it is a different story. It's a bit too spicy for me. When it's dry the cardamom moves into the background to make room for the bourbon vanilla and tonka. It's starting to get a bit sweeter with a hint of spice.

[milo]

Thanks to Jen for the empty! This only confirms that I was going straight to bottle without decants! I managed to squeeze a bit out of the bottle, so here goes.

 

In the bottle, this is pretty spicy, and I've come to discover that I only like spice in limited quantities. As it dries, a comforting, vanilla cookie comes out, much like the cookie scent in Mr. Nancy, and the spice takes a back seat. I'll have to hunt down my imp of Underpants, but this kind of reminds me of it. Not sure why, but I also get a yummy tobacco, not cigarette smoke, but like the tobacco in Mr. Nancy (again, I'm reminded of it for some reason). I can't wait until I order and get my bottle so I can slather and see what this scent is like in quantity rather than the drop or two (which I am very thankful for, as I was considering not ordering it)! WIN!!

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

I admit it, I'll try anything with Gypsy in the name! I looove Gypsy Queen for instance. Mmmm, I really like this! It's a good late summer scent--a little spicy (cardamon is a beautiful chai note on me) but not as strong as the super-spices that I reserve for autumn wear. And it's sexy but lighter than most of the "hardcore" Sexay BPALs. Perfect for a summer date--I just can't do my go-to Snake Charmer when it's 90 degrees out, but Gypsy has a bit of that vanilla-musk-grrrr quality in airier form. I think this is ideal for those of us in hot climates who want a sexy scent as a break from fruits n' flowers but don't want to smell overheated with heavy notes.

[Blood onmy hands]

I'm surprised at how much I love Gypsy (and I think that this is actually my favorite of the Moth scents). I usually don't get along well with Egyptian musk, but it smells more of a warm, dry amber than musk in this scent. It's like dry amber with warm, sweet, creamy vanilla and a hint of dry spiciness from the cardamom. The vanilla and sweetness get stronger in the drydown and it smells so gorgeous, warm, and exotic.

 

Gypsy smells very much like Ambra del Nepal on my skin (notes of amber, vanilla, and cardamom), and like Arcana's Nepalese Amber layering note. I'm very happy to have a bottle of this vanilla-y goodness, and might pick up a second bottle. It has decent throw and staying power on me too

Edited July 14, 2010 by Little Bird

[NicoleJoy]

Gypsy is heavenly! Every time I try it on, I love it even more. I get mostly vanilla in this scent, but it's an amazing vanilla. Sweet and deep, it's a beautiful scent for summer. I find it utterly intoxicating!

[zankoku_zen]

Hmm. Gypsy is much darker than I expected. Yes, I get the vanilla and musk but I also get a fair amount of cardamom, which adds a dark powdery spice to it. I really am amping up the cardamom in this, so to me this smells vaguely Indian. Warm, sweet, exotic.

[Juushika]

In the vial: With some hesitation I'd say bourbon vanilla and white sugar—but without the sweetness you'd expect from either. It's a pale, almost arid scent, and I'm really shooting into the dark with the notes.

 

On me: There's a punch of cardamom at first, spicy and brown and delicious, leaning towards a single note. But within half an hour, the scent develops depth and grows delicious. It's mostly in the throw—at skin-level the scent is a little unrefined and slightly sharp, bourbon vanilla with a bitter, pale white sugar which reminds me of Sugar Skull. But the throw, which I keep catching accidentally and unexpectedly, is spicy and sweet without being too much of either—I wish I could give it a better description, but it's quite lovely and inviting, vanilla/sugar/cardamom but not foody. As it wears, however, the cardamom continues to die down and what remains of Gypsy is quite similar to Dorian (bless the reviewer who mentioned the similarity! you're absolutely right), that same slightly odd and oddly seductive combination of vanilla, musk, and sugar.

 

Verdict: I wish that the cardamom lasted as long as the other notes, because it's wonderful and Gypsy's middle stage of cardamom/vanilla/sugar is just divine. But as the cardamom fades, so does Gypsy's magic. That spice is what makes the scent wonderful and unique; without it this is just a cousin to Dorian, and I'm not a fan of that scent. But I'll hang on to my decant for now—perhaps aging will make for a richer, more distinctive oil.

 

ETA: What a difference a year makes. Aged, I no longer see a similarity between Gypsy and Dorian; Gypsy retains its cardamom through to the end, although the sugar now dies off during drydown (so much so that I sometimes want to layer this with a sweet scent). It has more body and longevity, and the spice pricks the nose and is none to shy, but it's still an elusive scent, something savory and gorgeous that flits off the skin and dances through the throw. It's subtle but compelling, and surprisingly addictive. I'm glad to see this age well.

Edited September 13, 2011 by Juushika

[Beatrice33]

Ooh, I love this one! At first, I smell the same bourbon vanilla note I get from Sachs, and then the soft cardamom spiciness shows up, and I guess the Egyptian musk is what's helping to smooth it all out and give it an airy quality, as another reviewer noted above. It becomes this wonderful, close to the skin, spicy, airy, somewhat sweet scent that also reminds me of Underpants (as another reviewer noted above). It has none of the buttercream that Underpants starts out with, but their drydowns are remarkably similar on me. Dare I say it, I think I like Gypsy better because of its lightness. I agree with the reviewer that said this is a spicy scent that still works in warm summer weather. It's my biggest new BPAL love in quite a while. Full bottle in next order, please. Yippee!

[Dharklady]

From bottle to dry down I get straight bourbon vanilla with a touch of tonka and cardamom adding depth once it warms up. While the vanilla is sweet, this is definitely a drier smell (maybe due to the musk making itself felt if not smelled). This is a lovely light brown scent and a winner for me!

[Ajila]

In the bottle – Sugar and a touch of spice

 

Wet on me – A dry rubbery vanilla with a hint of citrus

 

Dry on me – Soft, sweet, creamy vanilla with a crust of sparkling sugar crystals

 

Overall – Very, very pretty, without being girly or dainty. A real winner for me

[moon_lemming]

Gypsy is lovely. I've already tried it once, and loved it, but I couldn't figure out what I was smelling, exactly. It just sort of blends together to me. I'll try, though. Let's see, sugar and vanilla -- similar to the vanilla I smell in Dorian -- intertwined with musk, and a tiny bit of spice from the cardamom. It really is similar to Dorian, maybe that's why it smells too familiar for me to pick it apart.

 

On me, it's basically Dorian minus tea plus the kick of a pinch of cardamom. It smells very good. Unfortunately, my retest confirms that it is incredibly light on me, which is not the way I like my scents, so I'll probably just keep the decant. I don't know. Maybe I'll get a bottle and slather. Hmmmm.

Edited July 22, 2010 by karen

[crebbsgirl]

I agree that this is very similar to Dorian. But where Dorian goes to funk on me, this stays a wonderful vanilla musk with a hint of spice. The sugar behaves here, and doesn't go to burnt caramel like it can on my skin. This is soft and comforting, and the DH really loves it. It's creamy and warm, and the tonka adds just a hint of depth.

[ljaylh]

I'm in the 'big disappointment' camp with this one. It's not ghastly or anything, but I thought it was going to be something really special and.. well, it just isn't. Not for me, anyways

 

Overall, it's just way too soft for me. I actually double-dabbed it - after my first application I could hardly tell where it was on my skin, so I put another splotch on. And it's still hardly there - 15 minutes in, and it's so light as to be almost not there at all. What I can smell is a very very faint cardamon and a teensy bit of Egyptian musk. What I was most excited about in this blend was the bourbon vanilla.. which I can't find at all. Nor the tonka, or white sugar. What I have here on my skin is quite nice smelling, but not what I wanted from Gypsy so this decant will probably be passed along to someone who will hopefully get a better result.

[LadyMedb]

On first application, the cardamom/carnation thing was so smoky and yummy against the tonka and sugar that I was totally in love, but the spiciness wore off within two minutes. Weirdly, this ended up smelling just like Snow-flakes '06 on me. Does that mean that Snow-flakes has a white sugar/tonka accord? Or does my skin just like to make things smell kinda cool and creamy? In any case, I liked Snow-flakes a lot but didn't love it, and that's how I feel about Gypsy. I wonder why the major morph? I wonder why it seems to remind each of us of a different past blend? It's a mystery, and I think it may be down to skin chemistry even more than most BPALs!

[Jadys]

On me this is straight up cardamom. Which is funny because I didn’t know what cardamom smells like. Now I’m swimming in it. Plus, it made me sneeze all day. Swaps.

[azurephoenix]

I'm not sure what cardamom smells like but I think this is probably what I'm amping at the beginning.

 

First impressions after application:

Dry, Spicy (very light cinnamon hints?) very Woody, faint Vanilla Mint

 

On me the dry spicy woodiness stick around for a couple of hours, I find it very unique and elegant. I don't tend to like straight wood scents, but the spiciness of this intrigues me, while the dry/dustiness keeps it balanced.

 

Slowly over time the cardamom starts to fade and I get more of the vanilla/egyptian musk. I would have thought the musk would be heavier but this is very nice, light, warm and barely there. I actually get more vanilla than musk. At this point it's a really nice cuddly vanilla - come close and sniff me!!

 

The scent fades away completely after about 4 hours.

 

I really like this, I tend to really like heavier scents like Snake Oil and Mircalla - but in really warm weather or in crowded hot spaces they can be too heavy to wear. I think this will slide nicely into my perfume rotation - Bottle!

[Katherynne]

This is nothing but sugary vanilla for me. It's bland and disappointing. I was hoping for some of the spice that others are reporting, but I don't get any. It fades out into plain vanilla after about one hour or so.

 

Swap pile.

[KesHiro]

This is one likes to morph around. How appropriate for a moth.

 

In the bottle, I get the same creamy spicy vibe I get with Okayaki, minus the bergamot note and with the addition of sugar. Once on, you would think that this was a cardamom single note blend. It's very dry, spicy, dusty, and almost woody. I love it. As time passes and I sniff my wrist, some of the sweeter, creamy notes (the vanilla and tonka are the two most likely culprits) begin to emerge, albeit very slowly. It's an interesting olfactory experience as this goes from super dry spice to one with something sweet in the background that slowly but surely blooms. It's like a moth breaking free of its chrysalis. After about an hour, I'm left with a vanilla musk with the faintest touch of spice. It's very sweet, almost a bit too much, and it almost gets a bit too gourmand for my tastes, but I still like it, both on its own and for layering with other blends.

 

This has absolutely no throw but I like skin close scents, so this is a not problem. It is a very simplistic and straight forward blend. But you know what? I don't care. Sometimes all I want is a vanilla skin musk. Gypsy is soft and soothing, very comforting, and yet also manages to be sensual because it stays so close to the skin. Only you and the person you let close enough will smell it. Glad I bought a bottle and it'll be getting lots of use during late summer/fall.

 

Edit: typos

Edited August 1, 2010 by Kejiaron

[mand]

Wet: paper, really assertive and true, it must be the Egyptian musk

Later on: vanilla, not foody (which is the one I like), I don't get cardamom, maybe just a faint spiciness, but I guess it's keeping vanilla and sugar from being sweet.

 

Wet: paper, really assertive and true, it must be the Egyptian musk

Later on: vanilla, not foody (which is the one I like), I don't get cardamom, maybe just a faint spiciness, but I guess it's keeping vanilla and sugar from being sweet.

[steelgossamer]

In the bottle: Warm foodie vanilla and spices!

Wet: Warm vanilla with tonka and cardamom. Very warm, a little sweet, very foodie.

Drydown: Something citrusy showed up for a bit, and the sugar note definitely kicked in to make this a drier scent.

Dry: The tonka faded away, as did most of the vanilla, making it a really light sweet scent. Then, after an hour, it was nearly gone. Another hour passed, and it's gotten warmer- like the musk and tonka have come back, but is still quite sweet.

 

I am unsure about this one. I will hang onto it and see what happens after a bit of aging. I have a half bottle, so I figure if it's not for me, it won't be hard to pass on.

 

ETA: I tried this one again, and it's a swap. It ended up being straight up sugar and then faded to nothing after an hour. Sadness

Edited September 7, 2010 by steelgossamer

[blu°]

Of the three moths I've tested today, I think I like this one the most... It's not as sugary sweet, a more wholesome sweetness with the vanilla and musk...

 

At first I get Egyptian musk, and it's a bit sharp and a bit paper-y to steal the expression from previous reviewers. It feels dusty and light, and at this point I don't see how anything interesting could come out of it.

 

But after some hours, the spot where I applied it, has a lovely soft and warm-sweet skin-vanilla/tonka-musk scent Still a bit of dustiness/powderiness, but it's all warm and envelopping now.

 

The sugar isn't really noticeable anymore, even though the vanilla and tonka seem to be sweeter than in other blends. I love the tonka in Gypsy. It's really noticeable, and I think the tonka is, what the scent dried down is most about for me. There is some sparkly dustiness... soft spice with a citrus tinge that I can identify as Cardamom, too.

 

My review is completely incoherent, I know. Let me put an end to this by saying that I am definitely going to try to get a bottle or two... or three.

 

:runsofftostalkswaps:

[SophieCedar]

Oops.. completely overlooked the cardamom part. The rest of the notes start off strong and lovely, however cardamom took over with a peppery spicy bite. Too bad...