Scherezade

[AngryRabbit]

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.

 

Spicy, red musk.

This is so sexy I want to kiss myself.

[Esperwind]

In the imp: New Age store.

 

Wet: Very perfume-y, but I suspect that may be because I put too much on. I tried the same amount as the other scents I've sampled so far, but this one is significantly more powerful. There aren't any notes I've smelled often enough to identify, but this is warm, enveloping, and spicy-sweet.

 

Dry: There's, I don't know how to describe it, a subtle potency to this that's intriguing. Something about the blend is clearly not vanilla, but reminds me of it anyway. Scherezade is sexier and headier than I'd ordinarily want to wear, but I think it'll be a great scent for special occasions.

[ACVail24]

In the Imp: Strong spices & a thick, stinky musk

On my Skin, Wet: A blast of sweaty red musk

On my Skin, Dry: The sweaty musk dissipates, to reveal a nice red musk cast, with notes of spicy, slightly peppery cinnamon underneath.

Verdict: Pretty once dry, but rather assaulting on the senses in the first application.

[mermaidsdream]

This is a not-quite-as-gritty version of Hollywood Babylon. Definitely lots of red musk (which is what I was getting from HB). Still works really well on me, but if I had to choose, I'd probably go Hollywood Babylon.

[themeaningofV]

I want to love this. In the imp, it reminds me of all of my favorite places - New Age shops, CD stores that sell sticks of incense... It's a fantastic lightly spiced red musk.

 

The problem is that it has zero staying power on me. I put some on, took a four-hour nap, and it was completely gone when I woke up. I JUST applied some MINUTES ago, and it's already fading. Another Nosferatu. I'll probably keep the imp around for sniffing purposes, but this is depressing.

[heyjjudette]

OMG I don't even know if I can find the time to stop sniffing my wrist and really concentrate on typing.

 

This scent is absolutely gorgeous. Musky but not overbearing, it's rather smooth and light, yet still strong and powerful. This is very animalistic and sensual. I need a big bottle!

[lucycat]

In the imp: Saffron

 

Wet, then dry: The unnamed Middle Eastern spices. They’re not warm spices; they’re very dry-smelling. I do get the Middle Eastern spice market feeling, though I was expecting a warmer blend, along the lines of Morocco or Bengal. This is just dry, verging on soapy, and I don’t smell the red musk at all at this stage.

 

After about 90 minutes, the red musk appears, and it rounds out the scent. It’s more apparent where I applied the oil on my hand than on my arm.

 

Scheherezade dries down to primarily red musk, which I like, though I have other scents, such as Hollywood Babylon, to fill the red musk niche.

I will try aging this to see if it becomes more balanced.

[Serena Reverberi]

Description: "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: what is this. I can't place it, but mostly flowery soap I guess.

Drying: yup, flowers. they're not even listed in the notes, where are these coming from? Still soapy, too. Wow, overkill much? I don't smell any spices nor saffron, and I really wanted the saffron.

Dry: good news, the flowers seem to be gone. Bad news, everything else is gone as well. Staying time literally one and a half minutes. Swap pile asap.

[GoddesShel]

The thread icons say I haven't posted in this thread - I could have *sworn* I'd written a review of Scherezade because well.....it's LOVE.

 

Scherezade zoomed straight to the top of my favorites, and taught me that red musk is my skin chemistry's best friend. She loves me, and I love her.

 

In the bottle. Fruity, juicy red musk, with spices.

 

Wet on me - doesn't change much - Scherezade remains the perfect red musk (still fruity and juicy and red) swirled with exotic spices and just glorious. Lasts forever on me, too, though not obnoxiously.

 

Dry is a little drier (LOL) but still very much fruity red musk and spices and incense. Just lovely.

[Heaven_Star]

In the bottle: red musk and spices. I'd like to think I can pick out the saffron, but realistically it's well spiced red musk.

 

Wet: Now I can spot the saffron in the spice mix! Red musk with big spices. It's evocative when wet!

 

Dry: Beautiful, soft spicy red musk. It doesn't have a lot of throw so it's almost luxurious and cosy, I could curl up on a day bed wearing this and feel exactly at home.

 

This, as someone else has indicated, is the perfect red musk blend. The spices round it out so it's not straight red musk, but it's complementary rather than challenging it. I wear this a lot. Everywhere. It's also one I get the most random compliments on, there's something about red musk that doesn't fail to smell beautiful. There's never any mixed interpretations about what they're smelling, or that they like it. This is the only scent I've so far needed a second bottle of. It's really, really lovely.

[Teaker]

Red musk, dry and warm. This is very reminiscent of Morocco, but much less sweet. I'm not wild about the saffron, it's a bit strong and maybe a touch bitter. But overall this is very lovely. I prefer Morocco though, which has the same feel but is softer, sweeter, and lacks the bitter edge.

[MautheDestroyer]

One of my favorite scents! I had this in an imp and it wasn't long before I HAD to get it in a big bottle!

 

In the Bottle: Sharp and spicey. I can smell the saffron really strongly along with other spices...something warm and earthy like patchouli, but not patchouli and something like nutmeg.

 

On me: Spicy, but musky and soft! The red musk really comes out now, and the spicyness is more like cinnamon mixed with the saffron. Many people pick up amber and while I think that is the red musk, I can see how this can be said. It goes on smoothly, and I can use good amounts without overdoing it. There is even a hint of smokiness which seems to fade in and out.

 

It makes me feel like I'm a spice trader, napping in the hot sun and smelling the different spices as they bake and leak from their burlap sacks. Or like a dancer, my skin slick with body musk and perfume, retiring from the stage and breathing in the smoke of a hundred hookas laden with different flavors of shisha. Or I'm indolent in the tent of my husband, the braizers burning and loaded with insence, the tables with foods, and he's just starting to close his eyes as the story starts to wind down.

[DiesMali]

In the imp: Sweet, lovely incense and saffron.

 

Wet on me: There's a Tibetan imports store downtown at which I buy wool items and incense, and this smells just like that store. Which is a GOOD thing. I love that store.

 

Dry: This did not morph much as it dried. The red musk, saffron, and spices are perfectly blended, no one note overpowering the others. It's a rich, warm, sweet incense scent with a faint whisper of dusty pollen, likely from the saffron. It reminds me a little of the Snake Oil I tried, but less vanilla and more spices. This is exactly what I wanted Snake Oil to be, actually, and there may be a bottle in my future. The colour of the scent is this:

Edited February 27, 2015 by DiesMali

[Veronica]

This smells exactly like it should--very warm red musk with a dusting of Middle Eastern spices. Lovely and sensual, but a bit too much for me.

[OctoberGwen]

Some of the reviews for this scent are really amusing.

 

Scherezade is gorgeous, and there is no mistaking the components here. It smells exactly like you would expect red musk, saffron, and warm, dry Middle Eastern spices to smell like. (In a word: heavenly.)

 

I think of it as being in the same classic BPAL family as Bastet and Morocco. I really love it.

[Edreaiar]

Sweet, musky spices. This is definitely a sex scent. Wet, it's reminiscent of Snake Oil, with a side of heavy musks. I'm also reminded of new age shops, minus any patchouli. This actually smells really close to a new age store near the house I grew up in.

Unfortunately, within about ten minutes it turns soapy on my skin. Really tragic, as I love musky perfume.

[Malaena]

This went through several phases. A first it was a sweet floral. I thought "lotus?" I don't believe it's lotus, though. Then it went on to be a sandalwood single note. It then settled into Morocco without the godawful carnation (I hate carnation!). I thought the carnation was what messed up Morocco for me but apparently not. To the swaps!

[LexieBlom]

Scherezade imp

 

Wet/Bottle - Red musk, my old friend. Followed by some spiciness, but no saffron.

 

Wet/Skin (5 minutes) - Warm, welcoming, inviting -- everything you'd expect from red musk! The spiciness behind it really kicks this blend to the next level, I am loving this.

 

Dry/Skin (30 minutes) - The same as the drydown. Warm, musky, sexy.

 

Yep, I'm definitely gonna need a bottle.

[aquazoo]

I get the saffron. I don’t get spices, just the saffron and musk.

[cassier]

12/27/15 - In 10 seconds went from incense shop (patchouli) to something brought an image of a bedouin test to mind, to sweet baby powder with a tinge of new plastic. That last smell lasted from 10 seconds in until the next day's shower. I don't care for it.

[LizziesLuck]

Excited to be finally retesting this! I tried it 10 years ago when I started collecting, hated it, and never went back to it. My tastes have changes hugely since then, as has my skin chemistry.

 

 

Wet: Red musk with some sweetness and spice. Not as "in your face" as I was worried it would be. Good! I love red musk.

 

Dry: Pretty much red musk single note. It's ok, but I have other red musk blends (Now Winter Nights Enlarge) that I like much better.

[lady_pandora]

I can smell this oil through the vial before I even open it, and it smells great. It reminds me of Spellbound--rose, red musk, and incense. That's how it smells in the first wet stage on me too. Spellbound with a little spice.

 

Well, rose isn't listed, and I don't keep smelling it for long, so I guess it was some kind of olfactory illusion. It next morphs into red musk and some spices that I perceive as foody.

 

At about 20 minutes, I get kind of a sweaty note. Is it cumin that can smell sweaty? I can never remember. Or maybe this is a weird thing the musk is doing.

 

The sweat note fades out about 10 minutes later and I get spicy red musk incense, and that's how it stays. It's really sexy! Definitely a keeper.

[roseus]

This is actually quite light on me. Starts out with intense red musk, but than saffron and the spices come out. I'm having trouble identifying them, but it's warm and lightly sweet in an earthy way. I also swear that I get some rose in here. I just wish it wasn't so faint on me!

Edited July 12, 2016 by roseus

[Sio Bhan]

Finally a glorious incense perfume! It is like Nag Champa with a twist of honey behind it. If you want to smell like a cosmic shop that sells crystals and metaphysical knowledge, slap some of this on ye. I wear it when I want to feel mysterious. I've found that more people comment on this than any other perfume I wear, so it must have a decent throw. The aroma stays true on me for about 4 hours without morphing, but then needs reapplication. I have found, however, that it can make me sneeze. Still beautiful.

[Casablanca]

BPAL's red musk goes all icky armpits on me after a while. But let's try this here freebie.

I do love the spice part of this. The initial hit of Scherezade isn't bad -- I don't hate red musk before it turns foul on me. At least not anymore.

However, the blend starts to smell gross on me after about 15 minutes. I have a friend whose skin doesn't hate red musk, so she will get this.