Scherezade

[valentina]

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.

Wonders never cease. I was utterly convinced that anything with any form of musk would smell terrible on me (my term is that it "turns to ass" on me), and Scherezade has proven me wrong. I received this an a frimp from the Lab, and I must thank them for providing me with an opportunity that I would not have otherwise taken.

In the imp, I can smell the red musk very clearly, my nose being hypersensitive to that scent. But there's so many yummy elements in this blend that I just had to try it out. Once I place it on my skin, what I smell, very clearly, is saffron and musk, with some other spices -- I'm not sure what, but I keep thinking cardamom, coriander, cinnamon. All those middle eastern market spices.

The drydown settles into saffron-musk-spice, in that order, very subtle and yet very exotic and earthy. I think the strength of the saffron and spices help temper my body's tendency to amp up musk. But bottom line -- this is really sexy stuff!

valentina

[theseagrows]

scherezade is nicely warm and spicy on me, with something else i can't detect. must be the saffron. i know i've smelled it before, but can't really remember what it smells like. i like this, i just don't love it. i like a little floral with my spices. but if someone had this on, i would think it was a nice smell, just not me.

[aedes]

I got a pretty dominant incense smell from Scherezade, like Nag Champa and something else, perhaps the musk or the saffron. It's a good incense smell, but I think Anubis had the same thing only with more complexity. That and Scherezade faded very quickly on me. But certainly worth the try!

[herongale]

pre-conceived notion: This scent is going to have to be pretty damn impressive to live up to the legendary allure of Scherezade. My expectations on this one are fairly grandiose... ya know, scents for gods are one thing, but for the ultimate extemporaneous bullshitter of all time? I demand greatness.

 

in the imp: the colour here is really different and promising. It's a honey brown oil that looks like a cross between maple syrup and liquid smoke (one of those fancy cooking supplements you can learn about on NPR's The Splendid Table). Now, smelling... this is definitely one of those blends where I am going to have a hard time sussing out specific notes. I think the musk is probably the most predominant thing going on here, giving the oil a slinky, sensual overtone... body heat and clean sweat covered over with spices. This kind of reminds me of the sweet crust of a honey-baked ham, with smoke and sugar and the promise of lots of yummy flavour, the little flakes of baked brown sugar that just beg to be nibbled on.

 

wet: a strong, assured fragrance. I think the saffron and spices are coming more to the fore.

 

drydown: this has a smooth, golden caramel and almost brandy-like quality, but without any hint of alcohol. I really like the way it penetrates the skin and turns into a soft nutty-sweet scent. This scent is perfectly evocative of a fully realized but also fully mortal human woman at the height of her seductive powers. Honestly, it's too sexy for me... I think that this would suit a more glamourous person. Someone who gets her eyebrows waxed, her fingernails and toenails done, and who looks at home in Bvlgari jewelry and silk saris. Someone with striking coloring, an elegant figure, and imposing eyes. I know the limits of my powers and this scent is just a bit too impressive for me. I like it, but I feel like a little girl pretending to a higher station than she will ever be able to reach, playing princess in the backyard.

 

verdict: not a good everyday fragrance, I'm afraid. But this will be good for those times when I trot out my red silk Chinese dress, put a ruby in my ear, and go out dancing in Manila. Or maybe when I just want to do all those things.

 

post-conceived notion: BPAL can be a humbling experience as well as an uplifting one. This scent goes beyond me in so many ways. But, seeing as how I am not in fact the penultimate example of perfect femininity the world over, this is a justified sort of feeling.

[perfumediva]

my first reaction in the bottle was....ohhh noooo... pure incense..

 

i love incense but i am not sure i want to smell like it..

 

on the other hand this is incense done right...i cannot wear very strong incense smells as it makes me gag, but this is subtle--as others have said--an incense skin scent on me..

 

also although i am not extremely head over heals in love with this its become very addictive and a comfort scent for me..its not letting me swap it--i need to keep this bottle to play with some more..

 

this scent reminds me of the way very old well loved books in a hole in the wall metaphysical shop would smell--parchment and the scent of incense to it with some woods maybe, but there is a "graininess" to this...like smelling hot jasmine rice in a huge burlap sack baking in the desert--picture the smell of the burlap, sand, sun, jasmine rice and throw in some incense burning in the background...this is other worldly..it makes me want to get on a caravan and put henna on my hands..

 

 

i think this might me a bedtime scent for me though...its very very languid...like warm honey...and it relaxes me and makes me want to curl up in a goose down comforter...and yes oddly enough...

 

it makes me want to be read to, a book....not just any book...fairy tales of arabian nights..

[misfitroxy]

Scherezade starts out sweet, incense-y, and spicy. And then it runs away! Eeep, where did she go? Seriously, my skin just ate this up in under five seconds. I can catch just the slightest whiffs of it if I shove my nose to my wrist. And what I do smell is lovely.

 

It's a bit darker than the musks I normally wear. There's almost a lotus petal or dark berry quality to the oil as well - something wet and juicy that I can't quite place.

 

Fortunately, the scent re-presents itself after a while. Guess it just needed some time to sink in.

 

I'm unsure on this one as I sit with it. It's gorgeously blended and makes for a nice alternative to the favorites in my collection. But it's also heady and rich, and might be a little too much for my allergies to handle. I'd highly recommend it to people who enjoy incense scents, though.

[jjean]

Oh, I had high hopes for this one. But, just like with Morocco, my skin seemed to soak it all up and very soon after applying it, it had nearly disappeared! And when I could smell it, it was just heavy musk, none of the sweetness I'd been reading about.

 

After putting on some Snake Oil, however, and letting that sit for a few hours, I became curious about trying Scherezade again to see if there was any difference, and being impatient as I was, applied it then. Snake Oil with Scherezade was amazing! Scherezade seemed to float on top instead of sinking in and disappearing like it generally did. It was sweet (due to the Snake Oil I assume), but in a different way than the usual vanilla, reminding me of flowers blossoming over a heady sort of fragrance that I assumed to be me finally smelling Scherezade.

 

I'm going to try to mix Scherezade with a few more things before I finally give up on it, because when I can coax it out, it's delightful.

 

[edit] I tried Scherezade out by itself again one day, and even though my nose was not picking it up AT ALL, I got compliments from everyone who got close to me. Huh. I guess I'll try it out a bit more by itself, but I wish I could smell it like everyone else seems to.

Edited December 26, 2005 by jjean

[jewelbug]

Imp: Musk and spice. Very lovely. Dark, red and sexy.

 

On, Wet: More musk than spice. Very dark and husky. There is also a hint of powder, though I don't know which of the notes would do that….

 

Dry:10 min: Mostly a deep musky with slight spice, but there is a soapiness floating around, too, which I don't like. Silly skin chemistry…In about 10 minutes, I get a rush of cinnamon, but it quickly subsides into the background. Oh, come back! 20 min: the cinnamon phase ends quickly, and this settles into a lighlty spiced dark red musk. I don't recognize the saffron, but that doesn't mean I'm not smelling it…

 

In 2-3 hrs, this is Red Musk sex. Its slightly powdery, rather than soapy now.

This has great throw, and amazing staying power--it was still strong after 6 hrs of wear AND doing dishes with it on my wrist.

 

Overall: This is such a successful blend. Its exactly what I would imagine scherezade to smell like as she enchanted her audience. Ritualistic spice/incense/musk. So slinky and sexy, its hard to describe. Lovely, and I'm glad I tried it. I don't usually wear scents this strong/powerful though, so while I think its amazing, I know its not for me.

[_jen_]

In the bottle, this seems a bit muted. Some spices, but can't really tell.

Wet, scherezade is spicy, maybe a bit of the dreaded patchouli but not much.

Dry - Patchouli bloomed. Instant headache for me, and onto the swap pile it goes.

[jasper17]

Through out, from wet, almost til the last bit fades away, I get spices and musk. Very deep and sexy musk. It took me a bit to get used to - at first, I thought it might be a wee bit too incense-y but after I wore it a while and it settled in, it was really a great scent. The staying power was really good - after about 12 hours, I noticed it had faded quite a bit into a warm-skin smell. Definitely one that will get some heavy use.

[LadyWilde]

Oh, damn. I put this on last night before bed, and all night I smelled cigarette butts and bubblegum swirled through Snake Oil.

 

What the hell? Where could I have possibly gotten that from?

 

Dissappointed, I am.

[SeaMonkey]

Saffron and red musk. Red musk usually doesn't work on me and when mixed with saffron, it REALLY doesn't work on me *sighs*

[smallvoice]

In the bottle: It smelled very warm. Spicey, not sweet. A hint of smoke; maybe incense, but not strong.

 

Just on my skin: I was worried that I had applied it too strongly, and disappointed that the smoke seemed to amplify immediately. It seems I was wrong about the strength of my application- I'm paranoid about being one of those women drenched in perfume, but the SO told me it wasn't very strong at all, and he could only smell it up close. So either the throw is weak or I'm a perfume wuss.

 

An hour later: I felt a little uneasy wearing this scent. It seemed a little too formal(?) or something. I was glad that the smoke seemed to subside, and the warmth I'd smelled from the bottle came out. On my skin, there was a sweetness to it that I didn't pick up in the imp.

 

3 hours later: Faded a bit, but my skin didn't just drink it right up, either.

 

Verdict: I think I like it. Will try again another day.

[angharad]

When I first put this on, it was almost pure saffron. Not long after application, however, some of the spices started coming out a bit more, and then the musk. For most of the time I wore this, saffron was on top with unidentified spices underneath and musk, while noticeable, at the very bottom. After a few hours I noticed an almost caramel sweetness coming from my wrist, and I'm not really sure how that happened...but it was pretty, so I liked it. About an hour after the caramel appeared, though, Scherezade was gone.

[terrierhead]

I ordered Scherezade in my first lab order, so I was truly looking forward to trying it. The past two weeks have been a real learning experience. Unfortunately, my lesson from Scherezade was that it's the red musk that gives me headaches. I can avoid the headaches by not sniffing my wrists while wearing Scherezade, but where's the fun in that? So, at this point, red musk = bad, white musk (ie., Embalming Fluid) = good, other musks = ?

 

Beyond the musk, Scherezade's spices turn rather murky on me. I'm disappointed but will try again later. It very well could be a wonky skin chemistry thing.

[moon_lemming]

I'm not sure how I feel about this one -- on me it's incense and grape kool-aid. Such a strange combination, but not bad. The incense isn't too loud, and I like the weird combo, to tell you the truth. After a while it turns into an incense-y musk.

 

I need to try this one out a few times before I decide whether to swap it or not. It's an extremely interesting scent either way.

[hypatia]

One-word review: Yum.

 

Longer review: This is like a less-sweet version of Lust (red musk without the cherry-cola-esque notes I get from it) with Morocco's spices floating through it. And saffron. That's the only individual spice note I can pick out. It's more red-musky than Morocco and somehow a little less warm (but not much), and the drydowns are similar: the musk leaves behind a soft cocoa-like scent, very lovely.

 

A fellow BPALer who knows how much I love Morocco recommended this, and she was completely right in her prediction that I'd like it. Scherezade and Morocco really are like two sides of a coin; Scherezade is more of an "evening" type of perfume and Morocco's more "all day long." I may end up alternating between the two of them and keeping one or the other on hand for warm Middle Eastern spiciness.

[perpetua]

I love this one.... good lawd!

It's sweet, spicy, complex, and very, very sexy.

 

Mmm, I can smell the sweet red musk, sandalwood and incense.

After I had been wearing it for a few hours and it was thoroughly dried down, a friend said it made me smell like an import store. I am pretty sure she meant it as a compliment, though.

 

By that time the scent had turned dry and a little bit powderey. If I sniff right at my wrist, I can smell saffron!

[jazlyn]

I wanted to try Scherezade because it's so popular and... hmm yes, there's "sensual red musk" and it's definitely spicy. It's bold and mysterious at the same time; this scent *is* attraction... it *is* looking for romance. I'd probably only wear this in the evening or at night...

[cupide430]

Scherezade

 

Deep musk. This reminded me of Lust at first. As it dries, some of the sharpness of the red musk fades off leaving a strong dry spicy scent behind.

[bellis]

This is one evocative blend. Gorgeous musky spice, warm and dusty. I love the saffron in this. When I was young, one of my mother's friends brought her back a small container of saffron from Fez. I used to just stick my nose in it and inhale the amazing exotic smell. I do like this a lot. It's a bit more incense-y than the scents I usually wear, but I'd definitely consider a big bottle of this.

[Charitie]

Finally got to try this one after hearing so much goodness about it.

 

First scent..whoa...strong, muskmuskmusk. Almost too much for me, and I love musky scents.

 

Wet...turned a little babypowderish. Was about to cry...so much anticipation going down the tubes.

 

Dry -- Oh...oh there's that lovely rich musk...and the spices are just a delicate tinge. Nothing strong enough to be seperately identifiable...but they're there.

 

All in all I like this one alot, but I'm going to have to agree with what alot of folks have said. This is NOT a day-to-day perfume...this is my slinky black dress, heels, out to cause some trouble scent

[kourika]

I really had high hopes for Scherezade given how many forumites absolutely love the scent. When I first put it on, the only smell I got was something very dark and woody (probably the patchouli). After it dried I got a bit of a warmer, spicy scent, but it's not anything for me to write home about. It was just...nice. I expected to be wowed.

 

I'll let it sit for a while and try it again to see if there's any difference, but I suspect this one just isn't for me.

[kylni]

I got this one as a frimp with my first lab order - I gave it a brief sniff when I was first smelling things, and it smelled to me exactly like cheap men's cologne. "Huh," I thought to myself. "That's odd. Ah, well, I'll try it again when my palate's more clear, so to speak."

 

A few days later, after having read reviews here and seeing Scherezade mentioned repeatedly on the "What scents do men love?" thread, I came back to it thoroughly prepared to love it.

 

Opening it again, I got the same impression as last time. Undeterred, I dabbed some on one wrist.

 

The scent didn't change much for me as it dried, and it smelled really strong for the dab I put on. Eventually I got a headache.

 

I don't really know what I was expecting, but something resembling slightly-musky rubbing alchohol was not it.

 

I'll probably try it again, since I still really want to like it (maybe once it's aged a bit?) but so far it seems like it's not for me.

 

Edit: A few weeks later, I tried it again.

 

It's softened up quite a bit. I hardly recognize it, especially on my skin - there may be different time-of-the-month chemistry going on as well as the oil itself aging somewhat. I now am highly tempted to adore this. It's much less sharp, nicely soft, spicy and somewhat musky.

 

Hopefully I'll come to a final decison by the time my imp runs out, at least...

Edited February 13, 2006 by Kylni

[maewitch]

Red musk really is fantastic on me.

 

This is just gorgeous. A faintly spicy musk that fades seamlessly into my skin. I really can't elaborate more on it. It's not complex at all, just this second-skin scent that amps up my natural body chemistry to a wonderfully sexy level without being in any way obnoxious about it.

 

Pretty close to perfect.

Edited January 28, 2006 by maewitch