Scherezade

[sqwook]

A master storyteller who possessed unfailing courage and compassion, a sharp, quick wit, and a true understanding of human nature. Saffron and Middle Eastern spices swirled through sensual red musk.

Wet: a nag champa blend

Dry: This smells primarily like a nag champa blend to me. I should try to figure out what the lab's saffron smells like so I can try to pick it out of these blends.

Good, but I'm not really a nag champa girl.

[jade_starlight]

Oh, this is lovely. It's smooth and warm and spicy, with just enough sweetness. I'll just have to make sure not to wear too much at once. *g*

[lothien]

I got an imp of this today (well, technically yesterday) in a purchase from another forumite, and I'm so happy I had to review it before I go to bed!

 

It was barely out of the mailbox, and in the process of getting the imp open I managed to get some on my fingers...

DAMN!

I loved it instantly, smeared some on, and it went on the short list for bottle purchases. It does definitely have a scent reminiscent of the wiccan/new-agey shops - expensive incense and books.

It doesn't change much from the bottle to my skin; my nose isn't educated enough yet to pick out the saffron, but the spiciness is just right for me and the musk is lovely with my chemistry. (I will have to make myself a note that red musk is *good*)

 

I have a feeling it will be hard to make the imp last until I can get a bottle sent from the Lab...

 

ETA: This is still one of my favorite BPAL red musk scents a year and a half later. It ages wonderfully and lacks Morocco's kitey (on me) nature, while being in the same family of scent. It doesn't morph much and all the aspects of it stay true for hours. One of my GC favorites!

I also know what part of it is saffron now. ^^

ETA(again):

I just got a bottle of this that I like even better! Brand new from the Lab, which was a Scherezade first for me, since I ended up finding imps till now, and where I was braced for disappointment, I love it! Less saffron, more sandalwood.

Edited April 18, 2010 by dragonsidhe

[cherryontop]

Just got an imp of this today. It was not what I had hoped for at all! Out of the bottle it was so strong I really wasn't sure I even wanted to try it. I prayed it would mellow some with time.

 

An hour and a half later it is just settling down. But I still don't like it. Very "old lady" smelling to me. I can't relate to all the positive reviews at all I'm afraid.

[GalaxyLei]

It smells like a bookstore full of incense and crystals and mystical objects...and the wear-length is incredible; it lasts all day long on me. This was one of my first bottles, and it continues to get better as it ages!

[ephemera]

I recently got a scent locket and decided to try this scent out in it. (On my skin it vanishes away in a puff of baby powder.)

 

I smelled this all day long - the throw is incredible! It smells exactly like those New Age shops that you find along the coast and in Salem, MA - dim and a little self-conscious and incense-y. Despite that, I found that I liked the scent. I might not go beyond buying imps periodically, but it's a nice change for me.

[beturtlement]

I definitely get Nag Champa, though perhaps a little drier. While I can't wear it, I'll definitely use it as a room fragrance in my oil burner. I wish I could pick out the various notes, but I'm still learning to discern them.

[diamondstars]

This smells exactly the same as Spellbound to me, I can't tell the difference between the two. I'll still keep both bottles though as I couldn't decide which to sell/swap away!

 

Incense, lots of incense.

 

[toomuch]

This one will be another bottle. I loved Morocco, but it was sweeter and lighter than what I wanted. Scherezade has the strength and spiciness I was looking for. It's complex and exotic. Wonderful!

[Electric Maenad]

You know, I liked this. I really did. I wore it several times to game nights (I'm playing in an Exalted game with a Midddle Eastern flavour), and it smelled appropriate - a deep, heavy, incensey, musky blend. I generally preferred combining it with Love's Philosophy (still highly recommended), but it was good by itself too.

 

And then I tried Inez. I still like Scherezade, but I Inez. So I swapped Scherezade to Eyeska for her bottle of Green Tree Viper (which is also awesome) and now everyone's happy.

[Kimbernunk]

Scherezade would be totally hot sexy on the right person. The red musk/saffron combo is awesome in the imp.

 

 

Unfortunately, after trying this, I've been able to establish for sure that red musk smells like rotting Dr. Pepper on me. It's the only musk I can't wear, and I *really* can't wear it.

 

This little imp is hitting the swap pile!

[kjirstiben]

This was one of my first BPAL buys, but I had a hard time remembering what I thought of it in order to write a review of it. At long last, I've tried it on for the purpose of reviewing...

 

Initially on, Scherezade is a whoosh of "New Age Bookstore." It is exactly that spicy, incensey smell that surrounds you in the shop and wafts out of your books that you bought there. I'm not sure what, exactly, the incense-smell is (suspect it is either patchouli or nag champa or some combination of the two), but I recognize it from those stores.

 

As it dries down, the sharpness of the bookstore aroma is rounded out, and the scent fades somewhat. A musky smoothness is now evident, and over time becomes increasingly more evident.

 

After a few hours, this has all but disappeared on me. I get a very faint smooth musky sweetness (I think this is what red musk does on my skin), and little else.

 

It's a nice enough scent, but really nothing outstanding on me. The initial scent is a little too heavily incensey for my taste, and the drydown is so faint as to be barely worth the effort. I suspect this is just an artifact of skin chemistry! However, I now have a good idea of what red musk does for me (not much).

[rayvn1]

I got you through a lucky swap whim Scheherezade, and it is looooove at first sniff Is that? could it be?? the smell of a USED BOOK STORE?!?!?? with the hippie lady at the counter from my college-town I miss so much! So red musk is a go with me, I guess. War was very strange smelling and I wanted to love it but there was something strange getting in the way of that blend. No such problem with Scheherezade Warm, dark red, spicy MMMusk!

[blacklacestatic]

In the imp: rich, creamy, dark and sexy musk.

 

Wet on skin: Very earthy deep red musk. Extremely strong at first, maybe even too strong. Exotic and very sensual.

 

Drydown: Still strong red musk, but now it's not too strong, it's just perfect. My boyfriend would hate this, but I love it, so I just won't wear it around him. Mystical and dark and spicy. It's got a hot gypsy fortuneteller feel, which is right up my alley. A bit of sweetness comes through in the drydown phase too.

 

Overall: This is so me. Makes me feel so sexy and sensual wearing it. A perfect exotic temptress perfume, and I will be looking to get more of this soon.

[unlaced]

In the bottle: I have to sniff a few times, I don't really smell... anything coming from the bottle.

 

Wet, first applied: Hmmmmm..... this smells exactly like Snake Oil does when I first put it on. just not as strong. Which may not be such a good thing... I mean, it's not bad, it's just the smoky, incense-y, spices part (which is all this is to me. I'm getting none of my beloved red musk) is not my favorite.

 

Drying/dry: Now I have some weird rice smell mixed in with the Snake Oil smell... ugh.

 

I think I should wash this off and try again when I'm not a week away from mother nature's monthly gift

. Maybe my chemistry's wonky or something. I really want to love this, it sounds so good!!!

Edited March 21, 2009 by unlaced

[suki]

in the imp: red musk and sexy, sexy saffron!

 

wet on skin: same. mmmmmmm

 

dry down: the musk is so red it emits an under note that's almost a dark rose. overlayed with this are an array of spices that remind me of being in Little India-rich, flavorful cumin, coriander and cardamom in equal measure, with a heavy ration of beautiful saffron sitting right on top.

 

in all: i can't BELIEVE i've gone so long without this oil in my life. if you havent done so already, this is the one to buy a bottle of- NOW.

 

 

 

 

ADDED 1/14/10:

 

in the bottle: a bit of saffron, LOTS of champa, the red musk of Smut behind it all. good start!

 

wet on skin: those three notes all still present, but switching order slightly, with the saffron taking the back seat.

 

dry down: still mostly champa.

 

in all: i have a feeling that this might dramatically improve with age, ala Snake Oil, so i'm going to see what happens. there's a lot of promise here, as champa is a great incense note. i just want more than what essentially seems like a single note at present. but Red Musk, i'm totally rooting for you!

 

 

[MisterShrapnel]

Spicy and strange, perhaps vaguely Dr. Pepper if I squint. Much drier than Snake Oil, though backed by delicious red musk. This is very incense/New Age bookstore fo' sho'. I keep thinking of strange art supply stores and alternative clothing shops, and suchlike. Apparently this is my first meeting with Nag Champa. How do you do.

Most people tell me my perfume smells like incense (which sometimes gets annoying if it's not "supposed" to do that) but this is absolutely 100% exotic burning incense, perhaps the head-shop variety.

I wholeheartedly want to love this, but I'm not so sure if this is for me. The associations with that art store are too strong to overcome. BUT, I think this deserves its popularity, as it would be great on the right people and it's very evocative.

ETA: Woah now. It softened up very quickly after I finished writing my review-thing... sweetened up just a little bit, and it is indeed something like Morocco now. Still bookshop incense, but I like it better. O_o

ETA2: CRAP! SORRY! It's just that.... I'm in love now. I don't care if I smell like a headshop, I think it's gorgeous. The truest incense blend I've yet come across, but I can't get enough. Exotic and strange, and now I want to go recline on a cushion somewhere in a haze of this stuff, just sniffing my arm. Scherezade has completely bewitched me. I'm hooked and I'm sorry I ever doubted her for even a second.

This is a favorite of mine now.

Edited March 26, 2009 by MisterShrapnel

[sleepflower]

I bought this already slightly aged from a forumite months ago. I tried it on and it was okay. Not really what I thought it would be.

 

For some reason I was moved to try it on again today. The smell of it in the bottle reminds me of art class, for some reason. It smells like some supply I cannot quite place.

 

When I first put it on it smells like the new agey bookstore others have mentioned. It was gone after a short time, so I slathered it on. I can smell the bookstore still, but overall I associate this scent with a wise storyteller. Closer to the skin there are undertones of something smoky. It could be sensual, as well, which is great...but it does seem like one is running the risk of just reminding someone of a quaint little bookstore.

[vegasblueblood]

This smells like walking into a new age/occult shop full of herbs and incense. It's warm and spicy and very exotic. It has amazing staying power and a few tiny drops somehow lasted for hours and hours. It's also beautifully blended and the notes are not that easy to individually pinpoint. It's definitely not something I would reach for everyday as I'd have to be in the mood to want to wear something heady and exotic.

[isisonearth]

This is just lovely. Warm and comforting with a touch of the exotic. Normally red musk doesn't work on me but here it really remains in balance with the other spices. Just a wonderful blend. Sexy but not over the top, somewhat close to the skin but not faint. I could really see picking up a bottle of this one.

[Bluestocking]

In the imp: Silky red musk with some very soft spices—sweet, and yet not really. It smells like a combination of a really high-end luxury perfume and my very favorite incense-filled head shop in college.

On, wet: This is muskier now, more womanly and… woody? I swear there's something woody in here, like red sandalwood. I get small touches of the saffron and various other spices, but nothing jumps out. It is quite strong and perfumey, but not unpleasant.

On, dry: The saffron has really come out, and when combined with the musk and other spices, it really makes a difference, holding back the sweetness and grounding everything. The really perfumey quality is gone, and the saffron just makes this warm and sensual. This is a very red scent to me, but it's an orangey or yellowish red. It's very subtle, very exotic, but quite comforting. Huuuuuge throw, so don't slather this unless you really want everybody to know that you're wearing it, or else apply thirty minutes before you have to go anywhere.

Later: The saffron is less obvious, and everything is very well blended with that satiny, sensual musk—there's an incense vibe again, but… it's really nice incense.

Overall: Warm, spicy, musky and smooth. Scherezade is exotic in its components but very smooth and well blended--no jagged edges, so definitely a master storyteller's perfume in the way everything comes together. I want to say that this is seductive, but not in the sense of being overtly sexual—more in the sense of personal charisma, seducing your audience into hanging on your every word. It exudes confidence.

 

 

[cinderfallen]

This is a scent I wear during scent-craving days when I want to smell lots and lots of red musk and sandalwood and non-spicy spices. It's not a mainstream scent and I'd say it's like an acquired taste if you're not already inclined to wearing incense/new age/occult shop scents as perfume. (I'm not.) I don't think it's appropriate for all situations, especially professionally, but it is nice to luxuriate in sometimes.

 

Scent-wise, if you want to know what red musk smells like, try this. =) It's a very rich but clean, rounded musk, with a lot of depth, which holds the drier sandalwood and saffron in check. It's one of the more quietly intense blends, with no "high" top notes to announce itself but the new age shop spices.

[ravenfeathers]

in the bottle kind of medicinal and meh, which is a shock, as this is so popular

wet on skin red musk, yum. something like amber going on here. heady, musky, womanly, sweet without being particularly strong.

dry on skin verdict? i like it, but i'm going to let it age a few months and try again.

later: incense? odd. i'm getting some dragon's blood here and something drier and more resinous. it's very warm, but faint. definitely retest.

 

[stellans]

oh, this blend is definitely one of the Lab’s fabled sex-in-a-bottle blends! The spices which are playing so well together with the red musk make me want to tie some scarfs around my hips, put on some jingly bangles, and shimmy till I just can’t shimmy any more... it’s a belly-dancing scent, it is...much more than a story-telling scent, thought telling tales is the main reason Scherezad is famous!

I like spices, especially non-foody spices, and I love incense, so I was pretty sure this would be a good blend for me. The red musk in this one wasn't the reason I wanted to try it, but it turns out to be one of the reasons I love it so much. Who knew? Edited May 15, 2010 by stellans

[amanderinorange]

Frimped with my last order.

 

In the imp: *sniff* Whoa. This smells almost exactly like a new age shop that I go to. A pleasant and familiar smell as I've been going there for years now.

 

On me: still the same smell, only it's gone a little powdery. Now it smells EXACTLY like the store. I wonder if one of the ladies that works there uses it? Anyway, it's definitely musk and something exoticly spicy.

 

Overall: an interesting and familiar smell. I really like it, perhaps not so much as a perfume but as a room scent. Also, I'll have to ask the owner if she is a BPAL fan.

Edited March 22, 2009 by amanderinorange