Blood Kiss

[theseagrows]

Lush, creamy vanilla and the honey of the sweetest kiss smeared with the vital throb of husky clove, swollen red cherries, but darkened with the vampiric sensuality of vetiver, soporific poppy and blood red wine, and a skin-light pulse of feral musk.

i should stay clear of poppy or opium scents, i know i should, but...i still wanted to try this one. still the poppy comes through too much making this smell too headshop-ish for my tastes.

[eviltemptressdq]

at first i smell the cherry and clove... but there is something dark and spicy and a bit SOUR.

 

this scent does not like me. at ALL. smells funky

[filigree_shadow]

At first I mainly get vetiver from this (I love vetiver) with clove and a little bit of cherry. It's smoky and warm. After a while the honey comes out a little more and makes it creamy... it ends up as kind of a husky smooth clove scent, with only a little bit of vetiver underneath. Complex and wonderful. I like it a lot.

 

ETA: I came back to amend my review of this scent (even though I doubt anybody is reading this far back in the thread at this point) because I like this scent so much and wanted to give the review a little more detail.

 

I can't smell the red wine or poppy in this scent, and the vetiver is only overwhelming right within the first minute.

 

Blood Kiss reminds me an awful lot of Snake Charmer -- in scent and in feel. It has a dark, smooth musk that blends beautifully with the sweetness of the vanilla. Blood Kiss is different because it has a cherry and clove overtone, but the scent behaves very similarly to Snake Charmer on my skin. Sweet, musky, and entirely sensual.

 

Also, here is a tip: Let it age. Or try to find an aged imp in swaps. Trust me on this one.

Edited July 4, 2008 by filigree_shadow

[edenssixthday]

Blood Kiss - Boozy boozy boozy! The wine in Blood Kiss stands out above all the other scents. It smells incredibly like Madrid on me. I don't get any of the cherry, dragon's blood, etc. This is all red wine and clove on my skin. I only like wine scents on occasion and prefer Madrid, so I'll be swapping this imp away. However, it has an incredible amount of throw and the staying power is phenomenal (8+ hours), which I wish I could say about many of the other BPAL scents that I like more than this. So kudos to Beth on those aspects of this particular scent.

[themerrybaker]

Blood Kiss another exception that proves the rule. I don't do well with wine scents, but BK is delicious. Almost literally. The honey and vanilla predominate with the poppy and other notes adding a nice touch of complexity. Glad I got to try it.

[MrsSoup67]

This smelled very sharp in the bottle to me and I was reluctant but I am on a mission to try all of the scents I have acquired by the end of the summer.

 

Wet: I immediately smelled the wine and clove

 

Dry down: The wine and clove have mellowed to allow the vanilla and honey to warm up and come to the surface in musky harmony.

 

Two hours later: Still wonderful a perfect combination to cheer up a rainy day.

 

All in all it reminds me of the market at the Placa in Greece and invokes good memories of my visit there. A keeper. Definetly something I would purchase 5ml of.

 

PS This is my first review sorry if I rambled.

[Teggy]

I was unfortunately disappointed with Blood Kiss. I read the description and my mouth waters with thoughts of cherries and cream, but every time I try it it just smells like overpowering an sacrine to me. I probably wasn't too keen on the vetiver. Can't win them all I guess ^^;

[maproot]

I just dabbed on more of this from the frimp I received from Merf along with my red lantern purchase. Even though it's finally summer, this is a welcome kind of warmth; cherry vanilla, but not sickly sweet. I shall have to give it more time, and I think this is one of the ones I'll wear just for me(perhaps I'm a slatherer) but I really like the warmth of the cherry and the wine like flavor.Yum-may have to order the whole 5ml.

[TheFairestLady]

I really tried with this one. I wanted to at least be able to say I attempted to expand my horizons away from my typical, foody-sweet tastes. I couldn't take Blood Kiss, though: I caved and scrubbed it off after five minutes. The clove, the musk, and the vetiver all come together to smell like dirt. Freshly-dug dirt. Keep it away.

[eggplant]

First applied: My wrist just smells...dirty. Not like soil type dirt, but as if I haven't showered in a while.

 

After a few minutes it smells like I applied clove oil on top of my dirty skin. The vanilla starts to peek out, and it takes on a medicinal quality. I suspect it's the cherry?

 

Now I smell honey-pure honey, as if I drizzled it on my wrist straight from the bottle. It smells smokey, too, and the dirty undertone goes away. Overall the scent is intriguing but it's not something I'd choose to wear.

Edited July 9, 2006 by eggplant

[nightbird]

From the description of this scent, I was sure I'd love it. There's a note in this oil that smells terrible to me - I think it's the vetiver. After I wore it for about a half hour or so, the gross note faded and now I can smell a nice, creamy vanilla with some other scents I can't quite identify. I love the dried-down scent, but the vetiver is just too much for me to handle.

 

rating: 3/5

Edited July 24, 2006 by Nightbird

[Miseraya]

In the imp: Ooh, this is really nice, I like this. I get something distinctly foody from this.... chocolate?

 

On Eric's wrist: Hmm, this smells like a scratch and sniff something that I loved when I was a little girl. What was that? Bugger, this will drive me nuts, what does this smell like? I definitely get chocolate out of this, and slight spice.... Uh oh, it's going all powdery on him. I think it's the vetiver, Iago did this on him too....

 

On my wrist: Hmm, there's that scratch and sniff smell again. What the hell was that thing... a book or something that I had when I was little.... Mmm, this smells nice. Chocolate and spice and slightly... nutty? It's spicier on me than it was on Eric.

 

On me, drydown: Yikes, way too spicy. This loses all it's foody chocolatey goodness and turns into pure biting spice on me.

 

Summary: Too spicy on me, powdery on Eric... Off to the swaps. *le sigh*

 

ETA: It's clove... that over spiciness on me. It turns into pure clove....

Edited July 18, 2006 by Miseraya

[yeahbutnobut]

Blood Kiss

 

In the imp: honey, cherry and wine…maybe a little vetiver?

Wet on skin: whoa, this is the vetiver of doom, the stuff that sticks to my skin for days…along with honeyed wine and black cherry, maybe some opium smoke?

Dry on skin: wow, this is intense! Dark, dramatic, very theatrical, I think. Deep red fruit notes (cherry and wine) covered with a beautiful honey note, possibly sweetened by vanilla, a hint of clove to spice it up, and a lot of vetiver, adding a dark, ashy, sinister backdrop to the scent. There's something metallic to the scent-probably the vetiver and clove doing this-which really fits the name and works very well with the scent. I really like it.

After a while: the sweeter, fruity notes have gathered together to make a delicious honey-wine scent smoothed out by sugary vanilla and a little bit of red musk, whilst there's a definite separate layer of smouldering, incense like vetiver underneath it all. This is a very nice scent-I quite like what the vetiver is doing here and how the honey wine and vanilla is softening it a little.

Verdict: this such an interesting scent because it's sweet, sexy and fruity but has a dark side-the vetiver lurking underneath it all. I love the sweet honey note here-it mixes so nicely with the wine and the cherry is very nice as well. It's sweetened further by vanilla, and I get the lightest hint of musk and clove. But underneath that gorgeous, decadently sweet layer is a sinister, brooding note of vetiver-the 'evil' kind-the type that will take ages to fade and smells deep, dirty, gritty, smoky, and almost like incense. It has a metallic twist to it, which is fitting for a blood scent, and I think the poppy may enhance the vetiver's smoky scent. This is a very well crafted scent, dramatic, sinister, voluptuous and very well named-not a favourite but certainly one of my preferred heavy vetiver fragrances. I'm keeping the imp.

Emoticon rating:

If you like this, try: Blood, Bloodlust, Death of Sardanapal, Voodoo

Edited September 28, 2006 by yeahbutnobut

[WidgetAlley]

The description for this was one of the first things that drew me to BPAL, and yet it's taken me over a year to try it. Silly me. Still, thanks for the chance, Miseraya!

 

In the Imp: Honey, and wine, and smoke, and vetiver, and something that might be poppy, all over musk... not a juicy, round scent, but a dry, herbal, almost metallic one. There might be a dab of cherry and vanilla, way in the back, but it's mostly dominated by the darker, dustier notes. It's much more dominating and commanding than I was expecting, but I like it so far.

 

Wet: Clove and opium smoke swirling through honey, with overtones of vetiver and musk and touches of sweetness. The wine smells more like a sherry to my nose. I can't smell much cherry and only the faintest hint of vanilla... nevertheless, this is quite interesting. The description made me think of something richly tapestried, like Hymn to Proserpine, but this is much sparser and more animal.

 

Dry: Gritty, spiced and smoked honey layered with dark musk, and a few other notes occasionally rearing their heads. BK is very intruiging! I have the feeling it's much more complex than I'm giving it credit for, since I worked retail all day and my nose feels "burned" by the industrial smell of the store; nonetheless, I can tell it has potential even in my weakened condition. This would be great for a night in the Old City, and certainly merits keeping the Imp for further investigation.

[forspecial_plate]

Yum....a very smooth, well balanced blend. Sweet and a little spicy. Someone mentioned chocolate...I'm getting that too, just a little. But really, it's so smoothly blended I have trouble picking out any individual notes. If I didn't know there was vetiver in here I wouldn't guess it at all, which is surprising because sometimes vetiver is very noticeable on me.

 

After it dries, it's still sweet and spicy, but different somehow. Now it reminds me of root beer flavored Bottle Caps, that candy that's kind of like Sweet Tarts. Better than that though...it's just an association my brain keeps bringing up. I still like it, definitely an imp I'll keep and use up.

 

Edit: 2 years later, I got to try this again after not smelling it for a long time. Guess what? I love it! I think the chocolate I smelled way back when was actually vetiver. Anyway, this is a great scent. Between this, Bloodlust, Serpent's Kiss, etc....this one stands out, although they are in the same general family.

Edited July 29, 2008 by Forspecial Plate

[Mountaingrrl00]

I received Blood Kiss as a frimp in my latest order. I'm glad I did. I would not have ordered this based on the description, as I generally don't like wine fragrances.

 

Cherry jumps out at first, along with a delicious honey smell. On me, the other elements blend to give a spicy depth to the honey. It actually reminds me a lot of Bengal, which makes sense since they share honey, skin musk and spice notes. I don't get a lot of vetiver from this blend, and I can't detect the wine at all. You know, I don't get the opium either - just a general smokiness that's probably a mix of the darker elements in this scent.

 

It has excellent throw and pretty good staying power. I only wish that the frimp I received had not come with a cracked cap, because now I'll feel the need to slather when a little dab'd do me. Guess I'll have to order one myself!

[pixievixen]

ugh... where are all these delicious things everyone else smells??

 

on me? mulled wine and those cedar chips you use in rodent cages... mmm.

 

i had to wash it off after 30 minutes cuz it was making me ill.

 

*le sigh.*

[PhedrenoDelaunay]

The first thing I can smell is a tangy, dark cherry scent, but the longer I sniff it a very light touch of musk comes through. I'm assuming it's the vetiver that's making the cherry as dark as it is. This seems to be a sharper scent, and not my favorite, but I certainly still like it. I can't smell much of the wine yet, but I wonder if that'll come through more once I wear it.

[Bagfish]

In the imp and immediately wet on the skin this has a very similar scent to Delphi which makes my gorge rise ever so slightly for 30 seconds or so. This is very odd as there are few notes in common - possibly its the red wine in both that does this. Anyway, onwards...

 

As Blood Kiss dries down it turns beautiful, very much belying its ugly start. There is a slight fruitiness with a little smoke and cloves very much in the background. There is a sort of headshop nag champa vibe going on which is a little similar to Urd. It is a sweet and honeyed scent on my wrist and I very much like it.

 

This is very definitely a wearer and one I come to quite often. Not sure if its bottleworthy as I take so long to use my imps, but maybe a 5ml will come to me one day

[mermaidrage]

I can see that this scent would be really gorgeous on the right person. I really wanted to like it too, and was thrilled when I was frimped it with one of my orders.

 

However, somehow I get the worst part of every note. The cherry smells like maraschino cherry syrup rather than real cherries. I don't get any cream. The vetiver makes the cherries smell rotten. The wine just goes wrong in an overly-fermented way. The honey is too sticky. The skin musk is rancid.

 

It makes me so sad. Seriously.

[furiana]

Uuuugh. Blood Kiss has something in it that Penny Dreadful does, some note or combination of notes, and I do *not* like it. I remember liking this scent a long time after applying it, but I'm not sure it's worth waiting for.

[Caltha]

Blood Kiss

I don't know about "blood", I'd say "dessert kiss", but still a kiss, yes, pretty naughty. I get mostly honey, cherries and perhaps red musk. It's toothachingly sweet, but in an adult way, like liquor-drenched cake. On my skin it's more powdery, like cocoa powder almost, while in my hair I get mostly honey. Actually, it's almost a single-note honey but not a wimpy sugary honey, rather a dark, boozy, syrupy honey of a reddish hue. It's strong too, a little in my hair that is very short and hence very still envelops me in a cloud of sweetness and I'm almost afraid to nauseate people sensitive to sweet and cloying scents. As for me, I enjoy it, it's the type of adult sweetness I can stand.

[spanishviolet]

Randomly picked this out of my to-try pile today & decided to give it a try after checking out the notes. I seem to recall thinking it was too sweet in the imp when I first got it, but I'm craving sweet today, so let's see ...

 

And why haven't I ever put this on before?!? I smell soso good ... wow. Apparently vetiver loves me - it's great in Lex Talionis & my CTIII, & now here. The vetiver-y edge keeps the mix of vanilla-honey-cherry-clove from being too boringly candy-sweet - I can't stop sniffing my wrists! For me this is the same sort of scent mood as Dragon's Milk, just a little darker - more going-out-evening instead of settling-down-with-book evening.

 

Admittedly, it is a bit strong for late-August-in-Dallas heat - maybe next time I ought to slather a bit less. But overall, thumbs up! This goes onto my growing list of GC bottle wants.

[PilotKitten]

Here's another one I ordered a 10 mL bottle of before the imp got here and I had even sniffed it. And erm... I'm not quite so happy I had. This blend smells horrible on me. I can get some of the honey note... it's very heavy and languorous but not very sweet at all. It reminds me of a chestnut honey I tried once... very strong and bitter. I can sniff the spicyness of the clove but there's something else that's entirely too strong for me... perhaps the feral musk? Ugh... just ugh. I'm not liking this blend at all. I'm getting a definite "woodsy" note though that's amping up horribly on my skin... I feel like I'm locked in a wooden chest or something it smells so strongly.

[fiddlehead]

Blood Kiss begins with a blast of cherry, which reminds me very much of Vice. Ah, but underneath is a bit of vetiver (good at picking that out now!) and pungent clove. I'm not really getting any wine. Some vanilla but no honey. Poppy, I've never smelled so I can't say for sure. Maybe it's adding to the earthiness of this oil.

 

This is really unique. After a bit I mostly get a cherry/clove mixture, heavy on the clove. Like many of BPALs oils, I expect this one to smell a bit different to me over time. But so far I really like this. The clove and vetiver keep the cherry from making me smell like a tootsie pop (which Vice did, big time!)