Scherezade

[mandragora]

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.

As plenty have said already, Scherezade is a strong musk scent. Warm, spicy and a touch of incense. However, it dries down to a baby powder scent on me :sigh:. Off to the swaps.

ETA (more than a year later): Either my sniffer has matured or my taste has changed considerably, but I love Scherazade now. It's smells sexy, confident, a woman who knows what she wants and how to get it . Edited June 15, 2008 by mandragora

[Musamea]

In the imp: a smoky, exotic blend of saffron and spices, with the barest hint of patchouli

 

Wet: Mostly saffron

 

Dry: This blend reminds me a lot of wet Snake Oil, when the spices are still predominant and the vanilla has not yet begun to emerge

 

Overall: I love the story of Scherezade, and had thought it'd be wonderful to have a perfume by the same name for inspiration in moments of writer's block. And certainly, when I put this one on, I almost immediately got a mental image of a veiled woman, gesturing with her bared arms, holding a king in thrall. However, due to the similarity between this blend and Snake Oil and my preference for the vanilla in the latter, Scherezade is going into the swap pile.

[Naamah_Darling]

In the bottle, It does, indeed, smell strongly of spices and musk, with a lingering after-scent of . . . what is that? It's not a floral smell, but there's a warm aftertone to this one that comes across as a little rosy.

 

On the skin, the musk warms up and the spices come out, underscored with a warm tone . . . not quite rose and not quite vanilla. Not intense, very subtle. It could even be incense of some kind . . . myrrh? Is that the saffron? Whatever it is, I like it. It's very, very sexy, and very warm. Redly female.

 

An hour or so later, I want to hold me down and lick me. This stuff is pure sin, and not a breath of fruit or cloying sweetness. This scent does not linger much. I suppose slathering is not such a bad thing. This is definitely a scent you could rub anywhere. I can't wait to run it through my hair!

[GemmaCat]

In the bottle: very soft resin.

 

On my skin: Oh my! SO beautiful! I can smell something sweet, like cherry, and this gorgeous, complex swirl of resin/incense notes. The throw is fantastic, and the drydown only deepens this truly gorgeous scent.

 

If this is what musk smells like on me then I'm even more tempted to place on order for Smut. But then, booze notes clearly do NOT work on me. Ahh, decisions! *breathes deep* Must be strong. .. must avoid Paypal. .

[kettu]

When I first put it on, it was kinda blah, actually (that might be because I had just retried Alone, which is all about the spice). As it dried down, it became something more. Very warm, but not necessarily warming. Almost soft, but not quite. It's pleasant. I like it but not enough to want to swipe Lynxie's imp or get one of my own.

 

Stop! Hold the presses! I wrote this too soon!

 

The saffron finally decided to make an appearance, after about 45 minutes. Saffron is totally what makes this scent for me. Without it, Scherezade is kinda blah. With it, it's freakin' gorgeous! Were Lynx to get a 5 ml, I would be quite happy. Yay for saffron!!!

Edited February 11, 2006 by kettu keiju

[Heretic]

In the vial: Powdery, floral.

 

On my wrist, wet: Powdery, musky floral, and I mean that in the nicest possible way. Like so many other BPAL blends, this reminds me of something that I once loved and had forgotten about.

 

After 20 minutes: Wow. This is beautiful. A soft, powdery musk that I envision as a warm, deep golden red color. The throw is great and not at all overbearing. It has a very "come hither" feel.

 

After an hour: I'm really impressed with Scherezade. It keeps getting better and better as it dries down, and it was good to begin with. The powdery note has disappeared and I'm left with a rich, clean musk and a delicate spike of saffron. Another one for the 5 ml bottle list.

[grrrlennyl]

at first: gorgeous. wonderful spices and musk.

on: odd. something is salty. not sure about this.

1.5 hours later: much prettier. a spicy musk.

3 hours later: gorgeous. a smooth, spicy musk.

overall: beautiful, sexy stuff. i'm keeping this one.

[Stumbeline]

Oh, I wanted to love this scent! I got drawn in by the hype, and I love saffron so I was really, really hoping this would be beautiful on me. Short story? It's not.

 

I smell like a particular cheap headshop at the ghetto-ass mall I used to frequent. A friend remarked that I just smelled like sandalwood, but I can't shake the association. I don't get much saffron or sweetness or anything. I just smell like a dirty hippie.

[cal_steph]

In the imp, the only way I can think of to describe this is "brown". A woodsy, musky incense with just the slightest touch of sweetness as I exhale.

 

On my skin, the musk becomes sweeter and even more lovely. It blends perfectly with the rich incense that dominated in the imp. Even the slightest touch of certain florals will make a blend harsh on me, but luckily it doesn't happen here. This one is just lovely. I'd get a bottle right now if I weren't on a budget--for now, it's going to have to wait on the wishlist.

[RainyDayGrey]

In the imp: Nag champa, no seriiously, this smells like nag champa to me.

 

On: Nag champa, for hours. Not that I don't like the smell, but I really do not like to smell like it. After about four hours this smells like Snake Oil with out the vanilla, which is actually really nice, but not worth suffering through the long nag champa phase.

 

Hmmm, I think I'll let this one get a few months of age on it, and see if that helps mellow out the nag champa smell.

[fiddledragon]

The oil in this bottle is an impressively dark brown.

 

Scent in bottle: Essence of Hippie Store. In a good way, but I hope it smells like something besides nag champa on me.

 

Scent on me:

Wet -- Now it smells like Hippie Store and musk! Oh, yum :-) Musk loves my skin so very much. Something I'm assuming might be saffron is adding a nice sharp scent to it.

Dry -- Some of the hippies have gone away, leaving a faint trace of musk and spice-cabinet. There's an almost nutty, foody kind of scenet in the background that adds weight; I can't tell if that's part of the musk or what. It's quite lovely, and makes me want to take up belly-dancing.

 

Conclusion: Excellent, but the hippie-store tone limits the number of situations I'd want to wear it in.

Edited February 17, 2006 by Shollin

[gangstaknitta]

This smells gorgeous in the bottle. It smells like an anthology of places I've been to. I love it so far.

 

...GAH! It totally went POWDERY on me!! And now every time I open the imp it smells like powder!

 

Who woulda thought from a girl like her?

[arabella]

First Impression: Sweet floral - lotus, maybe?

 

Dries down to: A delicate spicy floral.

 

Additional Comments: I was way off here. I'm testing Othello at the same time, so I'm probably picking up rose from it. This one's nice but very light and short-lived. Not worth the effort on me.

 

Lasted: About an hour.

 

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

[Magda]

In the bottle: Mmmm. This smells like Smut. Yum.

 

Wet on skin: The musk is what makes it similar to Smut, but this is a completey different scent. It's much drier, without Smut's sweet, boozy note.

 

15 minutes: The longer I wear this, the more lush it becomes. I can hardly pick out seperate notes, it blends so well on my skin. It's musk for sure, with spices that I can't quite identify. Maybe a touch of clove? Maybe a hint of cardamom?

 

30 minutes: More lush, spicy red musk. Musk works great on my skin, so I'm loving this.

 

1 hour: It's lightened up somewhat, the musk tempered by the spices. I keep catching gorgeous whiffs of this when I move.

 

Verdict: This is definitely going on my Big Bottle List. If you love musk and spice, this is a definite keeper. If you wanted to like Smut but thought it was too sweet or too boozy, give Scherezade a try because there really is a nice similarity between the two.

[filigree_shadow]

Slight backstory: My husband is one of the people who proofread the Project Gutenberg version of Sir Richard Francis Burton's translation of Arabian Nights. When I told him there was a BPAL blend called Scherezade, he wanted me to try it. After I tried it, he told me that he thinks it's the perfect scent for the storyteller. Well done, Beth!

 

OK, now for my opinion: This is what purple smells like. I don't know how else to describe it. It's rich, luxurious, deep, regal, inviting, and a bit decadent. When I'm wearing it, I feel sexy, strong, and beautiful. I feel like I can get whatever I want, with barely a glance or a gesture. (In reality that's not quite the case, but the point is that's how I feel.)

 

Out of about 100 imps I've tried, this was my first 10mL bottle order.

[LittleGreyKitten]

Red musk. Amazing stuff. It smells like a haunted dresser or something- deep, mysterious and somehow woody. I don't smell the saffron at all, just the musk. It lasts well. It's one of the darker, deeper ones that I'm always attracted to.

 

I'd give it a 5 out of 5.

 

ADDED March 12:

 

Scherezade is a basically red musk on me, which is a good thing. Initially wet it reminded me strongly of Enraged Orangutan Musk. Dry the other notes come out much stronger, like nameless but yummy spices and the saffron. I definitely sense the saffron. It's interesting but I don't think I love it in perfume as much as I love it in, say, risotto. Nevertheless I do enjoy this blend, but I'm not sure I'll need more than an imp of it. For me, 3.5 out of 5.

[Meg]

In the bottle: red musk and myrrh? oh dear, I'm so not a patchouli person.

 

Wet: this softens dramatically, the red musk becomes much more discrete - phew!

 

Drydown: It's mostly red musk and myrrh in here, and I think that I can smell a hint of saffron. There's also a very warm side to the musk, though I'm not good at picking out that note, it smells a bit gritty and quite rich.

 

Overall: I like some of the musk of this scent, which is rich and sensual. I'm not nuts about the typical "red musk" scent, though, and unfortunately it amps and amps with time and becomes sickly sweet, making it much too strong in the end. Pity, it's really not me.

Edited March 26, 2006 by Meg

[Neely]

In the bottle: soft, so soft I almost can't smell anything. Is there any oil in the imp? I check to be sure there is. Smells floral for some reason.

 

Wet: soft floral ( hmm not getting saffron, or spices, or musk, is this labeled right? )

 

Dry down: plasticy floral. Umm this is unpleasant. I think I must wash it off.

 

Conclusion: Not so good. Didn't even give it my usuall 30 min +.

 

Rating on my skin, this is a 1.

 

I think this is an old imp, an new one from the lab may change this review. I hope so. Will post later.

Edited June 9, 2007 by atropos

[Poenari]

In the bottle: smells very similar to Snake Oil, which I love.

On my skin: initially, spicy and musky, again similar to Snake Oil, but a milder version.

One hour later, it's barely there, and is slightly powdery. I can detect it when I raise my hand towards my face, but it's very mild. Kind of a powder musk.

 

This is only the third scent I've tried (Snake Oil and Blood being the other two) and two of three have gone powder on me!

[Alchemy21599]

I've been looking for an uber sek-say, throw-me-down scent and I am hoping this will be it.

 

In the vial: warm, exotic spices and my good friend, red patchouli.

 

Wet: the lovely spices went away and the scent became very powdery.

 

Dry: this scent stayed powdery. Not what I was hoping for.

[medvssa]

I was a bit afraid about this one, but I also wanted to order something different from the foresty stuff I ordered, and this was that imp. It surprised me positively. It smells like a hippy shop in the beginning, then mellows into somehting much nicer, but always keeping that middle-eastern feeling, of course. It is incensey, smokey, very warm, but not too sweet (yay!)

It is what I would expect an indolent odalisque to smell like. I don't see myself wearing this often, but I will use it when I am in the mood. I don't wonder why a lot of people love it

[smelly]

Like Sin and Vixen, Scherezade starts out spicey, and ends on a sweeter note, the saffron, I guess. The saffron's not as sweet as the amber and orange blossom in Sin and Vixen, though. And I guess the patchouli isn't as strong.

 

Also, this is super potent. I have to be careful when applying to use great reserve. And I'm never wearing this to work again (whereas Sin and Vixen are fine for me to wear there).

[MistressTera]

Fresh From The Imp: All I can think of is "sweet musk". Not that this is a bad thing...

 

Wet On My Flesh: Still musk, with a hint of spice. Someone else said that it blended so well that it was hard to pinpoint particular notes, and I'll have to agree.

 

Drying Down: Still musky, still spicy, and it's even now developing that smoky scent I've come to love so much in my Moscow. Mmm.

 

Hour To Integrate: It's holding strong on me, luckily. A lot of the scents I've been liking lately will fade away after an hour or so.

 

End Of Day/Final Report: I like this, but not enough to buy a bigger bottle yet. Will definitely keep this imp.

[Rewth]

mmmm sandalwood. This is extremely similar to Fenris Wolf. In fact, if Fenris Wolf is the gentleman werewolf, the Scherezade is one of his cubs that hasn't quite cut its teeth. It’s a lighter, more mellow blend, the musk is smooth and not overly strong, and balances very well with sandalwood and something that makes me want to say "tumeric" but i'm not entirely sure. there is definitely a foody spice underneath all this, i jsut can't pull it out.

[fiddlehead]

Scherezade

 

This one was a shocker. I swiped it on both wrists and waited for all those layers of yumminess. Smelled....not much. Then a few minutes later this oil turned in to a milder version of Satyr on me. Boy, was I suprised It is less barnyard-y, but still...Satyr. I'm going to leave it on for the evening and see what happens. Is there Civet in this, I wonder? Or just way more Red Musk than is in Fenris Wolf?

 

eta: After a couple of more tries this has really grown on me. It is the red musk that I'm smelling, but with the other notes coming out it eventually settles down into a nice musky, smoky almost soap-y scent. Pretty subtle on me, which I like. And yes, I can smell it now in Fenris Wolf and still really like that one as well.

 

Final verdict - it's a keeper.

Edited May 5, 2006 by fiddlehead