Boystyle Aristocrat

[Mellifluous]

BOYSTYLE ARISTOCRAT
A dapper Victorian bergamot and patchouli cologne that has been softened by orris and spiced with pink peppercorn.

To me, it is reminiscent of a patchouli-type soap scent. A very clean patch, not very much throw.. more of a "just out of the shower" type of barely-there skin scent.

[windbourne]

Really? No one else? Okay, then I will go second. This is based on a very testable 1/4-ish decant sent to me by my rad fairy.

 

All of these have death-or-otherwise-notes-I-do-not-enjoy-wearing in them. This was the one I was most hopeful for. In the vial, it smelled pretty pleasant, fairly light and peppery, with a notable patchouli haze and slight citrus-esque tone. On my skin, it was pretty nice for a few minutes, the pink pepper was the strongest note, slightly leaning sneezy and subtle dustiness from the orris. However, after about ten minutes it becomes Patchouli Pink Pepper Cologne: THE RECKONING, and actually amped up strength after almost an hour or so. I almost had to wash it off, as patchouli is not really my kink.

 

It is quite dapper (though rather than particularly EGL-style aristocratic, it reads to me like one of those upstart-new-money-types, the kind who are just a little more posh than their actual means, and read the newspaper as a display rather than because they have interest, but who have impeccable hair. There are definitely spats involved, and probably linen suits.), reads to me as tolerably masculine, and on someone else, might be seriously gorgeous. It's really quite straightforward, barring the relatively quick burn-off/invisibility of the bergamot note. If you think you like it, you probably will. If you are fond of a bright, cologne-ular patchouli, by all means, seek a bottle of this posthaste. If you like none of these things, don't torture yourself with it. It will not surprise you.

[angelamaria]

In bottle: well... definitely masculine, I guess? Bergamot and patchouli in a predominantly cologney base. And orris too.

 

Wet on skin: bergamot and patchouli; this is a nice patchouli, so if you're looking for the dirty headshoppy kind, this is not what you're looking for. I think the bergamot is keeping the patch clean. It's slightly "peppery", and has a dusty quality to it. I don't know if the dustiness is a skin chemistry thing, or if it's meant to be this way.

 

Dry: powdery pink pepper, dusty patchouli, and bergamot. While this is not a pink scent at all (it's a more...dark mauve/brown sort of scent), for some reason that's the first thing my nose registered once this blend is dry. Softer, but still retaining that masculine cologne-like quality. Much, much later, the masculine cologne quality is all that's left, and whoa does it stick--I've washed my hands twice since skin-testing and it's still there, faint but recognizable.

 

Verdict: I didn't think this would work for me, and it doesn't. I also kind of prefer a less, er, "traditional" masculine scent for a guy, although this isn't too bad.

 

[Monday]

On my skin wet: Spicy patchouli a hint of cologne and some orris. Where is that bergamot?

On my skin dry: Dusty woodsy patchouli and orris the pink pepper is adding a little spiciness. This reminds me a bit of Dance of Death, Boystyle Aristocrat may well be the manly counterpart. Still no bergamot. I don't really find this overly masculine. Ends up as a light, dusty sophisticated spicy purple patchouli.

What I really wanted from Boystyle was bergamot though, it's the only thing I'm missing in here. It fits the style though.

[ljaylh]

Well well.. what a surprise this one is! It's the pink peppercorn that I was most interested in, being a big fan of pink pepper in other BPALs, and I'm loving it in this. LOVING IT, yes I am. I do love a good patchouli, and I was curious as to how it would translate in a 'cologne' with this - as others have mentioned, it's very subdued and soft in this blend - not at all the brown/earthy kind of patchouli we see so much of.. here it's dusty and very much a background player. The bergamont is softly spicy - I often get a citrus vibe from bergamot but not here (although on my skin it is very much a top note in this blend) - and orris can often end up smelling like violet candies on my skin but.. not here. This is why I find Boystyle Aristocrat to be such a surprise.. all those notes I know so well are really different here, it's a very interesting blend of dusty spiciness with a slight creamy feel that somehow ends up smelling very clean and slightly sophisticated.

 

When I go back to smell it on my arm half an hour after applying it though.. things have changed. The pepper is more prominent, but the 'pink' tone has gone.. the patchouli is more obvious (but still subtle).. it's gone from clean to slightly soapy and the bergamot has held its place on top of everything else but it's developed a slight sharpness that's taken away the sophistication and become a true 'cologne' fragrance. It's quite nice and overall a pleasant fragrance, if you like this sort of thing.

 

To me, this is the smell of a boy who got into his Dad's expensive colognes and tried a few on at once - thinking he would smell all sophisticated and sexymanalicious but he's just trying too hard. It's like if Justin Bieber tried dressing like Lenny Kravitz.. dude, you're just a boy.

[zankoku_zen]

Pepper, hints of bergamot and cologne. This is a very peppery blend on my skin. Not obnoxiously, like black pepper, but I definitely amp up the pink peppercorn.

 

So yeah, hurray for pink peppercorns?

[xscpx]

I thought I would love this. Not so. I smell pure baby. That powdery soapiness of baby things. That's it.

[Blood onmy hands]

This is all patchouli all the time on me, and unfortunately is a type of patchouli that I don't like. It's a very dry, cheap smelling, slightly powdery patchouli with no real complexity or sweetness to it. It smells a bit of men's cologne musk in the bottle, but is nothing but patchouli on my skin. No bergamot, orris or pink pepper that I can discern. Reminds me of a less complex Fledgling Raptor Moon.

[mymymai]

In the Imp (ITI): Oh, the bergamot is the first note that reaches my nose, although the notes of peppercorn and orris follow shortly thereafter. It is rather sophisticated but at the same time, slightly pompous.

 

Wet: I love this on. The patchouli, orris, and bergamot mingle to great something alluring, polished, and slightly feminine. I don't get much peppercorn, though.

 

Dry: The scent doesn't have much throw after the first few hours, and it seems to nearly dissipate entirely on my skin after 6 hours or so. That said, it dries down to feature light bergamot and hints of orris and patchouli cologne.

[hlinspjalda]

I bought a bottle of this unsniffed because I love patchouli and bergamot even though orris is a bit scary.

 

In the bottle: Delicious citrusy patchouli, with something warm beneath.

 

Wet: Bergamot and spice, with a touch of menthol that must be the patchouli. Not as warm or smooth as in the bottle; it may be too sharp for me. Time will tell.

 

Half an hour: A very rich, spiced patchouli with citrus. Normally patchouli is round and chewy on me; this is attenuated, but no less itself. I think the orris has not so much softened as etherealized it. It's working better than I thought it was going to when I put it on.

 

Two hours: I really like this one very much. It's patchouli without being aggressive, citrusy without sourness or the crittery note, and just a bit warmly spicy. It is a boy scent on me, though, not just a boy-style one.

 

Twelve hours: still lightly present. I have liked this one. It is at least a four on me.

 

I found this one really compelling in a way that reminded me a bit of Spider. On two separate occasions I have gotten a bit on my hand, and I compulsively sniffed my fingers for hours and hours afterwards just like I did the time I got Spider on my hand. Boystyle Aristocrat is more elegant and reserved than Spider, but to me it has the same self-confidence to it.

[Innocuousmold]

I'm so sad, I bought this as a low partial and pretty much all of it leaked out in transport. There was just a smidge left to test, luckily.

 

I agree with the other reviews, though. It's a baby powder, patchouli and light pepper that doesn't have much throw. It's a clean scent just like Mellifluous said, kind of like a right of the shower clean and not in a soapy way. I think it's really nice, but it's not something I'd personally wear.

[ReallyZeb]

On me I get orris more than anything else, none of the bergamot I was hoping for and not even a smidge of patchouli. The thing it reminds me of I can't actually check as I no longer have the imp, and that is GOP - so it may be more of a mental reminder than an olofactory one ... expensive cologne that doesn't particularly impress me.

[porcelina]

verrrrrry powdery, vaguely masculine cologne. i realized when testing this that i don't actually know what orris smells like, but i looked it up and it is apparently like violets. hm. there is definitely a soft floral component here. it's just way too powdery and floral for me. not a fan.

[Lucchesa]

I wanted to try this because A. I love bergamot and B. I love the name. It makes me think of Romaine Brooks's portrait Peter, A Young English Girl. I managed to snag a quarter decant in a swap, and of course I love it. On me it was not too cologney. Unisex, yes; strongly masculine, no. The bergamot is fairly subdued -- it doesn't shout "Earl Grey Tea!" at you -- and the patchouli is rich and smooth. The orris I think serves to soften everything, maybe taking away that cologney edge, and frankly I seem to be anosmic to the Lab's pink pepper note. But the whole thing is quite elegant and upper crust but with a softness, like a young woman in white tie and tails. I like.