Seraglio

[isyche]

In long-ago Arabia, harem girls rubbed an herbal poultice formed from a blend of sensual, luxuriant herbs and oils onto their bodies to prepare themselves for the Sultan’s pleasure. This lush, indulgent perfume is based on that ancient formula. Sweet almond and Mysor sandalwood enveloped by a heady veil of Bulgarian Rose, neroli, nutmeg, clove and orange peel.

Seraglio is all golden almondy almond at first, then the almond disappears and it morphs into rose, a drier rose kind of like the one in Lucy's Kiss, which may be due to the spices.

After that, the clove and nutmeg and sandalwood come out and push the rose back, so now it's a lightly dry, spicy scent - the rose has gone a little soapy, so it's like spicy rose-sandalwood soap. It stays close to my skin in all the phases.

It's pretty and exotic and I'll keep the imp, but I think I prefer Bastet for a golden-almond-spice scent.

ETA: Hmm, now the sandalwood has gone really strongly soapy and it's not so nice. I might swap it. Edited September 29, 2005 by Shollin

[Cats]

In the vial this smelt amazing -- almonds and spice. ::swoon::

 

It hit my skin, and instantly the almonds and spice completely and totally vanished, and the rose exploded into rosey prominence. ::sneeze::

 

Off to the swap pile it goes.

[Pixie-elf]

Seraglio

 

In the Vial: Citrus.

 

Wet: I smell mostly the Orange Peel, and a little bit of the Almonds.

 

Dry: Mostly Almonds with a teeny tiny TINY bit of citrus in the background. I like.

 

Conclusion: I'm keeping the imp and will finish it and maybe will get another one... It's very nice.

[paperdoll]

Initial Sniff: Very heavy on the almonds, but I detect a bit of the neroli.

Wearing: The sweet almonds and neroli/orange peel dominate for the first hour or so, but slowly give way to the sandalwood and spices. The scent is beautifully sweet incensey spicy for several hours. I really can't smell the rose until the scent has faded to the point where it is almost gone.

Final Impressions: This is beautiful! Finally - a rose scent I can imagine having a big bottle of! Of course, that is only because I can't smell the rose, but still...

[rhubarbbear]

on first sniff i was *very* disappointed- almonds! tons of almonds! i already have bastet, queen of sheba, and dana o'shee. i don't need more almonds. i tried it out anyway.

 

as i sat down at my computer i thought 'hmmm, whats that very floral scent? can't be me...', but i kept smelling it! i took a sniff at my wrist and it WAS me! the almonds had totally disappeared and been replaced by rose- a kind of powdery rose. eventually i got a touch of sandalwood out of seraglio, too, but the spices never did make an apperance. maybe next time, however...this is definilty one i'll wear again.

[Julilla Regina]

A sniff of this from the imp was delicious. Almonds, rose, clove. Delectable! I was so excited.

 

And I hate my skin chemistry right now, because the clove and orange peel never showed up on my skin. Instead now it is rose scented body powder. *sob*. I love rose, but not rose powder.

 

For those of you who can wear this and have the precious scrumptiousness of it all....I am so jealous!

[enigmae]

I liked this in the imp - lovely almonds and something exotic. But as soon as it hit my skin it turned powdery/soapy with a little rose. It does the same thing that Follow Me Boy and Desire did on my skin. Must be the rose.

[anmorata]

Seraglio:

 

Wet: Cherry almond amaretto goodness.

Drydown: Incensy-almond.

Longterm wear: Yum. Very spicy. It drops that cherry note that most almond notes have, and mellows into a very nice daily scent. Love it!

[kmasden]

I had great hopes for this one as I had heard how sexy it was. I am sure that it is, but my skin chemistry and nose aren't able to figure that out. The first 5 minutes or so were almond. I got excited! Then the rose started to seep through and within about 15 minutes it was all rose...never found the orange or any other note. My body tends to amp up roses and woods...unfortunately it did the amping thing for this as well...tooo bad. I love the name and love it in the bottle. Perhaps it's a room scent for me.

[aritei]

Very almond-y, which almost put me off it, but then I read the reviews about the dry-down. It's lovely! A nice blend of citrus and spices - the almond is still there, but faint. Did anyone else experience skin irritation with this one? My skin tingles where I applied it. . .

[shelldoo]

almonds, spice orange peel, ahhhhh

 

this is sweet, beautiful, fun i like it alot

[joseybird]

The neroli and orange peel stand out most strongly, with whiffs of spices wafting through. It's a nice scent, but not "me" at all.

[orangepoppy]

Excited to try this as I love the scent of roses and oranges.

 

in the vial - painfully sweet almond extract

 

wet - painfully sweet almond extract with powder

 

drydown - The painful sweetness calms down immediately and then there's the rose. I love rose. This reminds me a bit of Jezebel, one of my favorites, but with less rose and something spicier in the background and the tiniest hint of neroli. The warmth of this oil is nice. Somewhat high hopes.

 

dry - oh no, is that dill? Intrigue and Seance both turned to pickles on me and this one is trying to do the same thing. I was hoping to get orangey rose goodness, but alas, I can't get past the picklish smell, no matter how faint.

[Glitzie]

In the bottle-wowser I think I am in love- almondy goodness.

 

Wet- turned to a bad rose, and the almond is all gone. Many BPAL rose scents don't suit me!

 

After a few hours -still getting the unpleasant rose note, I can't detect any sandalwood at all.

 

Not a keeper unfortunately!

[blaqpearl]

This was in one of the first group of imps I ever got in a sale. I am already fearful of spicy scents that include clove, but I still wanted to try it. I couldnt really pick out the clove at first...all I could smell was the almond.

Wet...very similar to the bottle. Drydown a whirlwind of spices started coming to surface. It as if the different notes were competing for my attention.

 

Although very lovely, I think I will pass this on to someone who indeed will have more love for it.

[Orodemniades]

Hmm.

 

Imp: I loves me some marzipan...strong and sweet, with a hint of spiced orange in the background.

 

Wet: same as the wet, but the marzipan fades as it dries.

 

Drydown : I can't pick out any individual note, there's just an overall scent of a soft, vaguely spicy sweetness.

 

Overall : Bah, it's turned to powder on me. I like Seraglio, I'm just not sure when or where to wear it.

 

Update 5/10/05 Well! Age Seraglio a little bit and the powder scent disappears, while the orange and cloves come to the front! It's a fantastic, subtly seductive perfume, great for nights (or days) when you want to cuddle...and then some.

 

Update 6/23/05: Er, I've had my first not-so-good incident. The imps I've tested from were fine, but the new bottle I've just received from the Lab made my skin burn and turn bright red. Just so ya know.

 

Oro

Edited June 23, 2005 by Orodemniades

[unmused]

In the bottle its very much almond with some green citrus notes behind it.

 

Wet: The almond fades almost on contact and leaves a lot of orange in the foreground with the florals playing second fiddle along with a hint of sandalwood. I can't smell the spices at all. It's fresh and light at this stage.

 

Dry Down: As the orange settles down, Seraglio goes very soft. I'm still not getting a real feel for the clove or nutmeg, but there is just hint of something spicy behind the soft. The sandalwood and florals are nice if a little subtle.

 

Final Thoughts: I'm not big on almond, so I'm fine with that note disappearing so quick. It was a nice scent though nothing really special and it did start reminding me a bit of soap after awhile. The expensive sort of soap at least. This had decent staying power on my as well. Over all, it just didn't wow me.

[slave1]

In Bottle: YUM! Sweet and orange almondy.

 

On Skin: The almond is strongest followed by the orange peel. This is DELICIOUS! The nutmeg and clove give a tasty sweet spice and the rose and neroli even it out with tartness and depth. The sandalwood is light but does give a slight wood note. This is quite extravagant and I think something you’d wear to special events because it does feel “special”. I love it!

[quimerula]

The almonds are pretty strong when wet, as usual.

Then they calm down and the clove comes out, along with the orange peel and nutmeg, changing this oil upside down.

 

It's sexy and uplifting, but in a misterious way.

Goes perfect with Lush's Black Magic!

[yeahbutnobut]

Seraglio

 

In the imp: almonds! That same sugared marzipan smell I got from Bastet. Yum.

Wet on skin: oh yummy, this is very similar to Bastet, that almond smell mingling with spices, but here I can smell orange peel, it's like spiced Xmas cake with marzipan icing.

Dry on skin: the almonds take a back seat, and now, other scents come out. Orange and soft florals-I can make out rose (and what a wonderful rose it is too) and neroli, and a hint of warm spice. This is lovely!

After a while: this is like a cross between Lush's Amondopondo and Fever (which I love)-a lovely smell of rose and orange, with sandalwood. So sexy. There's a hint of spice (nutmeg, no doubt), but it's not strong, it does add warmth though.

Verdict: I'm a huge fan of BPAL exotic Middle East inspired blends, this is another one to add to my favourites. A gorgeous, sumptuous mix of sweet, spicy almonds that give way to a rose and orange mix which is not heavy or cloying-it's light and lovely, yet sexy and sultry, but also warming and indulgent. The sandalwood adds exotic depth and the rose is sublime-and both together make this smell very similar to Lush's wonderful Fever. I love it loads, and this would be fabulous as a body lotion or massage bar.

[nineveh]

First I thought that Seraglio was a strange name for a harem scent since it's Italian. Then I looked it up and found that it was a modification of the Turkish word for palace, saray. So there is a fun fact for you.

 

When I first put this on, I smelled something like cookies. I guess that's the almond. That faded as it dried, and all the spices came out, backed by the orange and rose. This is decadent and exotic, but maybe a bit too heavy on the spices for me, or not dark enough, or something. I like it, but I don't love it (yet). I'll have to try it some more. Definitely keeping the imp though.

[ashtonrose]

I just got this today. A lovely swap with Kagami! The first thing I could smell was the neroli. Then definitely the almond and sandalwood. I don't get any orange peel. As it dried down the Bulgarian Rose kinda just peeked out.

 

I am so happy with this swap!!!!!

[OriginalWacky]

Bottle (Imp): Citrus. That's what I get out of this.

 

Just On: Citrus, maybe lime.

 

An hour or two later: Soapy citrus.

 

Around 6 hours: *cough* This has gone too soapy with my skin. Darn it.

 

12 hours: Okay, it's not quite so soapy (darn skin), but it's still more soap than anything else. The citrus has gone away.

 

Overall: I love this in the imp, and would probably use it as a room scent if I were to keep it around. Unfortunately, my skin ruins the scent, so it's not one I'll keep at this point.

 

After reading other reviews: Okay, the orange peel would be the citrus. The rose must be the soapyness. I didn't get the other cool stuff like almonds and spices.

[mand]

Wet: orange flower flavoured marzipan; marzipan with tiny bits of candied orange peels; marzipan with orange liqueur! That is the almond scent I've been looking for, and it's not at all the almond scent I thought I was looking for. A breathtaking almond/neroli symphony; I almost forgot how well good ol' boring neroli would work on me; thanks to the Lab for reminding me of that. Then marzipan heavily flavoured with rose water.

The rose swallows everything, it sways from juicy rose (neroli?) to rose dried by sandalwood. A beautiful rose, but I'm longing for the wet phase, and I can't fully appreciate it to its merits.

On me it fades pretty fast - weren't rose and sandalwood supposed to be long lasting?

I realize just now that orange flower oolong tea and almond flavoured black tea are my fav teas. Since Beth tea blends are so gorgeous that I've not been able to choose my fav one, if I may toss in my suggestion..

[Aredhel]

Rating (on skin): 3/5

Summarised in a word or two: Sweet!

 

In the imp/bottle: Sweet almond, neroli and sandalwood. Not bad, but too sweet so far.

 

On skin, wet: Rose, neroli, orange peel, sweet almond, and sandalwood. Sweet and kind of... smooth.

 

On skin, dry: This dries down into a sweet almond/sweet citrus scent. It starts out very complex but dries down into something very simple and sweet.

 

Conclusion: This seems like a very feminine, almost sexy-sweet scent. It's not my thing, or something I'd wear.

Edited December 19, 2005 by Aredhel