Bard

[Malaena]

BARD
A ridiculously charismatic blend of bay rum, honey, and white musk mingling with the scent of harp wood and lute strings and the twang of horn brass.

In the imp: Very sweet floral.

Wet: Bloody hell, it's a floral punch in the face! I'm not sure what the flower is but I'm hazarding a guess and saying gardenia.

Dry: The musk peaks out after about half an hour. It smells very much like O without the powderiness.

[HighlyBell7]

In the imp: Light yellow color. Strong powder, electricity.

Wet: Sweet powder, coconut?, lovely sweet oil, reminds me of that old pheromone oil they used to sell in the back of magazines.

Dry: Light Floral. It’s like being in a rich person’s garden. Orchid? Then a rich person’s boudoir, like they are hoity-toity enough that they actually call it that. LOVE! One of my favorites. Light Jasmine? Fiancé smells coconut with cinnamon. Gardenia? And Honey?

Later: And then something remarkable happens, and it fades into a chocolate tobacco that stays on for a full 24hrs.

[dementia_divine]

In the imp: Honey, clean, white musk, a coconut vibe from the rum, and wood.

 

Wet: The honey note is the most prominent, followed by white musk. The wood note isn't a main player here. There are also some spices present, although they weren't listed in the scent description. They are subtle, though.

 

Dry: The rum and white musk are stronger during this stage. The honey is still present, and the wood note is lingering in the background.

 

Verdict: This one is too sweet for me. It must be the rum note. It's not bad, but I don't think I will even keep my imp for layering purposes.

[aquazoo]

That is nice! I get the honey right away, thick and sweet. The wood and musk come up for a good blend.

[DiesMali]

In the imp: Thick, musky honey.

 

Wet on my skin: Thick, musky honey and sweet rum.

 

Dry: This remains the same pretty much through the drydown, and then for...going on 12 hours now. Wow! This probably has the best staying power of any BPAL scent I have tried thus far. Thick, rich, musky, honeyed rum. I don't get any wood or metallic notes, which is probably good since honey + metal turns to coppery-fresh blood on me. This definitely isn't a bad blend, though I think I'll have to layer it with something since it's a bit too sweet and uncomplicated by itself.

[Jubliantuvula]

When I wear this scent I feel I get the "she-is-sniffing-her-wrists" look and eyebrow raise. I adore this scent for the first two hours and then it dies on me terribly...

In bottle: Bourbon and bay rum, very boozy and sweet,

Wet: cheerful. Not the pre-teen candy sweet, but the "these are candies for adults, not kids" sweet. I am detecting some floral background carnation? Lily of the Valley? The honey behaves itself in this stage not overtaking the other elements.

Dry: it dies in a crumbled heap from too much dancing and singing

[ShunnerOfHugs]

Bard is by far the best BPAL scent I've tried so far. When I'm warm, it smells like delicious honey with a bit of spices mixed in. When I'm cold, the spices are more prominent than the honey. I normally don't like wearing spicy scents -they make me feel like a walking can of air freshener- but the honey mellows this out and it smells AMAZING.

 

Also, Bard is great layered with Ladon. It smells like honey and apples.

Edited March 31, 2016 by ShunnerOfHugs

[KezzieZ]

This is the second class I've gotten out of the RPG Series. Bard had been sold out at the time, so I tried Mage. This time, Bard was available, but only in the full size. I decided to risk that and used a wand cap to apply.

 

In Bottle: I definitely smell the bay rum and honey in this one. Maybe the harp wood and whatever the brass note is supposed to be as well?

 

Wet on Skin: The scent smells warmer on me, if that makes sense. I still smell the same notes, but with the musk coming out as well and I think the wood is amping. Getting a definite throw to this one, too, but that may be from using a wand cap on a full-sized bottle instead of using an imp. I like that it's not too boozy on me.

 

Someone else mentioned that I smell like lilies. I can smell that now. It's something about the way the notes are mixing together on me.

 

Approx. 1 Hour and a Half Later: I think I'm picking up that brass note again? There's something on me that smells a bit cold and metallic inside of all of those warmer notes. I don't hate it or anything, but I'm conflicted. I'm not sure I dig smelling somewhat like metal. It does seem to fade in and out.

 

------

 

It's not half bad, though it was a bit strong and I'm not loving the brass note. It might help to apply with a lighter hand next time.

 

Like Chaotic and Good on their individual tests so far, I think this may be more balanced out once I trying layering it with other RPG Series perfumes (that is what they're for). I think I'll try some more individual imps I have from other stuff first (not sure yet), but I plan on trying a Chaotic Good mix before tossing Bard in the equation.

[Casablanca]

On the wand, I get mainly bay and honey. On the second sniff, I smell brassy wood.

 

On my skin, I get less bay, a little subtle spice, and more metal: I picture both brass and copper when sniffing. The wood is also more prominent. I can’t tell what type of wood — it has the polish of some teakwood notes but doesn’t seem quite as dark-toned or sophisticated. I also smell some gardenia or a similar flower, and the musk. For a white musk, it’s not coming off powdery at all.

 

Dried, Bard’s notes settle into mellow bay honey with a background of wood. Pleasant.

[Bassmastadroog]

Wow. The review about this comparing to Light of Men's Lives is spot on- except...

 

I LOVE Bard. LoML is heavy on the beeswax to me, and because BPAL beeswax translates to Parmesan cheese on my skin, the adaption of wood and honey, as well as the bay rum (which translates into vanilla coconut- why most people probably think there is vanilla though it's not listed) almost becomes a more grounded LoML to me. It doesn't morph, and becomes a woodsy/honey coconut scent. When on, the twang of copper tickles the back of my throat. I'm a fan of the copper! It's lovely! The strongest of the RPG scents I've tried so far.

Edited March 10, 2017 by Bassmastadroog

[ChernobylLegacy]

This smells like captain Jack on that secluded island with the ocean soaked wood crates and broken bottles of rum. The dark liquid seeping deep into the sand.

 

I smell the wood more in the background. There's that feeling of sucking on sugar cane but in my nose lol

 

It's a swirling of clear and milky white liquid, not quite mixing, dancing together yet seperate kind of like oil and water.

The liquid is dusted with different brown flecks and a flash of gleaming brass light that cuts through making the whole thing radiate. Sunshine. It feels like sunshine to me.

 

Overall, a dirty intoxicating Coconut booze, the perfect scent for summer.

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: Very light, sweet, pretty. The honey almost reads as beeswax. Very nice! Clean smelling without being dryer sheets. Low throw, very much a skin scent. I might be able to get away with wearing this to my "scent-sensitive" workplace! I don't get the wood notes. Or the rum. Just pale musky honey/beeswax and maybe a faint glimmer of metal? A very pleasant scent, and I feel like a bottle of this is in the near future! Usually I amp beeswax and it's too strong to wear to work, but this is so soft and subtle.

 

 

Dry: The wood comes out, and this is really just quietly stunning. It's so soft and subtle, but just perfect. Warm, comfortable, alluring. I need a bottle. Like, now.

[brilliantcat]

Almost purely honey on me, particularly wet and during early drydown. It's very similar to the honey in O, very sweet and cloying. O was a total mess on me and actually made me nauseous enough I thought I might throw up so this Bard is probably not for me. On the far drydown I can catch some of the other notes under the overbearing honey, but I doubt I'll wear this unless I layer with other RPG scents to tone down that brutish honey.

[gloame]

There's a soft spice, and something almost crayon about this. White musk, maybe? It's like a memory of fruit, played on a harp. "It was there a moment ago, but now the sound faded." Dries down to a whisper-spice, a smear of honey, so very light and airy, almost musical. I never got any bay rum.

Where I'd wear it: Brunch on a boardwalk (Maine, not California)

[achildoftime]

I was expecting the rum to overpower this, but I'm very grateful it doesn't. It's a very heady honey and I really like it. Really all I get is a sweet, floral honey and some white musk. It's not very compicated, but it doesn't need to be. I find that it doesn't change at all on me, and while I would have liked a little woodiness, I'm a bit relieved the bay rum didn't show up either.

[KittyHawk]

I truly wish Bard worked on me, but right from the get-go the honey note goes sour, as it occasionally does, and never fully recovers. I'm sure on the right skin chemistry this is a really harmonious blend, but it's not for me.

[Lucchesa]

I can't believe there are so few reviews for Bard. It's my second-favorite RPG scent (behind Elf), and I wear it without layering. Bard has some problem notes for me -- bay rum has burned my skin in the past, white musk can be screechy on me. But they all play together beautifully here. I think it's the white musk that lends a silvery tone to Bard, where I think of Elf as golden. Honey and musk are the principal notes on me, with the rum and its spices, the woods, and the metallic note all perceptible in the background as it dries down.

 

I get the comparisons to Lights of Men's Lives, which is in my top 3 impable GCs, but on me it's different. Lights of Men's Lives is deeper, smokier. Bard is more extroverted -- I get more throw with Bard than I do with most BPAL, and thanks to the honey, it lasts a long time. Today I'm wearing Bard because I have to give a talk I haven't prepared as thoroughly as I would like, so I need the charisma boost. It's a scent that never fails to put a smile on my face.

[SoundlessEchoes]

As I poke my way through my review spreadsheet and work on posting reviews, we get to Bard! I got this a few years ago, I no longer can recall if I picked it or it was a frimp.

 

In said imp: All rum and honey, baby.

 

On the skin: On me, this comes across as very 'perfume'y at first, specifically, like an amber or musk based oriental. Fairly quickly, the musk peeks out and distinguishes itself, while all that rum and honey are suddenly in hiding!

 

Later: Honey suddenly wakes up and comes to warm and sweeten the musk, turning it into a charming blend of those two. The rum in this never seems to really come out on me. Overall, it's a pleasant blend, but nothing of a stand out for me. The honey does help make sure it's a long lasting one on me at least!