The Lion

[Rock Goddess]

The dry, glorious warmth of the Savannah. A golden, spiced amber, proud, regal and ferocious.

I really like The Lion. Wet, I smell almost nothing from it. It's not until it's had 15-30 minutes that the cinnamon and amber really make their presence know. It's spicy, regal, and powerful. It's also very comforting...I wore it on a cold, cloudy day and it was immediately warm and cozy. And once it kicks in, it lasts quite awhile on me. I haven't decided yet if I'll need a bottle of it in the future, but I'm definately using my imp.

[Undine]

On me The Lion smells of BPAL's amber, closer here than it often is to the scent of the actual resin, and, yes, it's spiced. As it dried down I realized the scent I was smelling was that of tea. It does smell chai-ish; it is sweetened, by the amber I think. there is light cinnamon in there, which is nicely muted, and doesn't go crazy as it sometimes can. I also wouldn't be surprised to find a small amount of clove or cardamom.

 

I don't dislike it exactly, but the tea just isn't my style. I can't figure out if I would like it better if it were a little lighter. Too bad, because I like the way the amber works. But overall this scent is very evocative of its name, and I like that the Tea Party Lion smells like tea.

 

On my scale, 3.5 out of 5.

[hangingfire]

In the imp: Spicy cinnamon/ginger, very rich.

 

On, wet: CINNAMON. AND LOTS OF IT. I feel like a cinnamon-scented candle for a good ten minutes straight there while it's still wet.

 

Drydown: ooh, nice. The amber finally shows up after about thirty minutes or so, and then for hours after it's a pleasant cinnamon-laced amber, very warm and complex, even a little creamy.

 

That first few minutes of CINNAMON are a bit much, but the drydown is so totally worth it. This is really lovely. It's like Brisingamen's male twin.

[kythryne]

I'd been wary of all the cinnamon scents, but the lovely folks at the lab sent a frimp of this scent with my last order, and I sniffed it and set it aside, thinking it might be a good scent to wear in the winter.

 

A few weeks ago, when the weather started to turn cold, I remembered it, and pulled it out to try. It started off very spicy-warm on me, almost foodish, but then mellowed into a rich, warm, slightly spicy amber. It smells very "skin-like" to me, in the way that a few BPAL scents do -- like the scent of clean skin, but better. It's a marvelous scent for cold winter mornings and cashmere sweaters and baking bread.

 

As a funny side note, a minute or two after I first dabbed it on, one of my cats jumped in my lap and started headbutting me vigorously while purring so loudly he rattled. He seems to highly approve!

[Fefferbella]

I like the lion.

Spicey ginger and amber combined into a unique and warm scent.

 

Dries down to almost a pure amber note on my skin, but still very lovely.

 

Going to have to get a big bottle of this one.

[Pixelpixie]

This one is amazing, it's in my top five list easily. It smells like cinnamon, a yellow amber and other spices, it's a very dry scent. It makes me think of a lion stretched out with their pride on a hot summers day. It isn't too strong for eveyday wear, but still has a beautiful spicy kick. I think this will go great in an oil burner as well, my house will smell fabulous. Unfortunatly I have to wait until my next lab order for that. The imp I've got has to last until then.

 

 

Edited for spelling.

Edited November 17, 2005 by Pixelpixie

[misfitroxy]

The Lion certainly is a golden scent. It starts off smelling just like a freshly brewed pot of sun tea (think black Lipton tea bags with a touch of lemon).

 

The oil sweetens as it dries. I can detect the amber now. But it's not as resin-y as most ambers that I'm used to. It reminds me more of an amber liquid, natural and glowing (like honey).

 

I think The Lion is beautifully rendered and very soft and cozy. I know I wouldn't personally wear it, but I can see why it's enjoyed by so many. I may have to give it a test as a room fragrance because I think it would be heavenly throughout the house, especially in the summer months.

[DeliberateAngel]

I was given an imp of this from a friend and throughly enjoyed it.

On myself, the amber stood out mostly. It was a nice, warm, gorgeously rich amber.

I didn't catch the faintest whiff of cinammon like others have but smelled a few undecipherable spices (reminded me of Snake Oil on me after a shower).

I loved this scent but prefer sexier amber ones ("O" particularly).

It was great wearing it two work. It made me feel strong somehow.

[Muppetk]

Oh. My. Freakin. God.

 

This is pure heaven. It's one of the first scents I thought sounded yummy and I don't know how it took me this long to getting around to trying it. It's gorgeous and wonderful and if it stayed the way it did when it was wet or just dry it'd be my holy grail.

 

Wet: Wow. This reminds me of Sol, but less scorched, slightly more... animal? More living? Purely gorgeous.

 

Just drying: Heaven. I'm in heaven. And my heart beats so that I can hardly speak! No really. This is the most amazing combination of the smell of sex (I think that's the amber) with the comforting smell of mildly spicy sugar cookies. (The spices are there, but mild. Much more sugar cookie than Snickerdoodle.) I truly can't tell if it's more sexy or more comforting. This is pure love, right here. And not the platonic kind. But not the purely carnal kind.

 

Dry: Not quite as gorgeous as before, the spice has gotten a little more dominant and the notes smell somehow like they've separated slightly, and not *quite* as well blended in the previous stage. Still beautiful.

 

Overall: NEED MORE! MOREMOREMORE!

[sophia_helix]

Spicy amber. It was threatening to go powdery on me for a bit (amber's been doing that to me lately), so I'll have to give it another spin, but on the whole, very nice. Some of the warm grassiness of Coyote sneaks in there too, and the spices are really welcome to lift up what could otherwise be a rather too-sweet amber scent.

 

This one's pretty complex, and I'll be interested to see how it shapes up with subsequent wearings.

[laizeohbeets]

I consider the lion my totem animal, I'm a Gryffindor (Ha!), and I seem to channel Leo personality traits (even though I'm an honest-to-goodness Virgo), so I had to try out The Lion.

 

I was expecting The Lion to be a bit more spicy, but the spice isn't very strong in this. It's more like a baking spice than a hot spice. The Lion is a very mature scent. It reminds me of a lightly heady men's cologne, the kind I wouldn't wear myself (All right, yeah, I would), but wouldn't mind smelling on a boy close to me. It's very comforting, something that could put me to sleep. There's a twinge of baked goods, like fresh pie crusts or ground cinnamon cookies. Usually cinnamon is a bother to my nose, but this scent hits it perfectly. The longer I wear it, the more comforting it feels. It's a very romantic blend, and I would go as far to say that my love potion would smell just like this. If I had a boyfriend, I'd want him to wear it immediately.

[iriedanym]

At first I was worried because I couldn't smell anything in the bottle. Then I realized the bottle was still cold (temperatures around Kansas have been wonky), so I let it sit on my desk and warm to room temperature before taking another sniff.

 

Mmm, spicy amber. I couldn't help going saying "Mufasta" after smelling it (Lion King reference). Granted, it doesn't smell like a real lion...which is a good thing since real lions don't exactly smell all that great. This is what a lion is. Regal, powerful, sleek, and beautiful.

 

I'm going to have to decant this for a friend who is an amber fiend.

[chapatti]

First whiff: Lovely, slightly powdery amber.

 

Drydown:Ah. There's something in there that's not agreeing with me... on top of the strong amber note, there is now that almost bitter overtone that stays for hours, with a hint of something orangeish - not like a nice, fruity orange, more like an old orange rind... and a layer of pepper on top? Urgh

 

Verdict: I was really looking forward to this one, but the overall effect on me was quite unpleasant. Oh well. Swaps.

 

 

5/10

[lookingglass]

This is a more complex, yet lighter blend than Chimera. The honey note here comes out a bit greener, and the amber is not as deep as the copal in Chimera, but sweeter. The Lion is less candy-like than Chimera, but is a little "soapy", which I did not expect. I expected a bigger spice punch. This is less spicy and sweet than Bengal. I would say that this the freshly bathed brother of Chimera and Bengal!

 

Definately an Aslan type lion, and not the old grumpy lion from Alice's Lookingglass.

 

Love it!

[kakiphony]

I have recently been reminded of how much I like Shi-Kai's Amber and Sandalwood Lotion, so I was eager to try a bpal amber. (I'm also a Leo, so The Lion appeals to me from an astrological angle as well.) This came with a Christmas card, and I finally tried it this morning.

 

In the imp: This is a very lightly scented oil; I have to hold the imp right up to my nose to catch anything at all. I can detect amber and some very faint spice.

 

Wet: The amber is the dominant note as this is placed on my skin, but there's also a gentle wood (cedar? one of the sandalwoods?) and something sweet.

 

Early dry down: The wood rises to the surface on my skin after a few minutes, and the amber tones down considerably. I'm going to guess that the wood note is red sandalwood, because it smells a lot like Anne Bonny did on me, but it might be some kind of cedar. There are some spices, but they're so faint under the wood that I can't quite pick them out. There's also a sweetness here that is almost fruit or nectar like. This scent almost glows. (It's what I expected Aureus to smell like!) It feels like a beach scent to me.

 

Late dry down: This didn't have a lot of staying power, but I like the way the scent settled into my skin. The wood gentled over time and the amber re-surfaced, leaving my skin spicy and very slightly powdery. I think this will be excellent layered over my Ski-Kai lotion. I'm not sure I'll wear it much in the winter, but I can see it becoming a favorite summer scent. It makes me want to wear amber, golden topaz, and carnelians, go to the tanner and mousse my hair. In other words, this is totally a scent for embracing my Leo nature!

[donsixgun]

I dont get any cinnamon or much spice. Just pure, golden amber. I like this a lot. Simple, and good.

[ajcj213499]

This is a very comforting scent. It almost makes me thing of browned Meringue topping (in a good way). That makes it sound very strange, but there is a definate sweetness to it.

[cuervosueno]

Hmmm...thought I'd reviewed this before, but I guess not.

 

I've had the Lion before in an imp and swapped it away, so I was glad to get this chance to try it again, though I don't know if the imp will be a keeper or not, because this scent is so faint on me. Not ferocious at all, though it is lovely and golden. Amber for sure, and there is something slightly "dried grass" about this that suits the idea of the savannah. And I agree with everyone who said tea--I get the tea scent too. Its like an amber tea--I mean golden and sweet.

 

I love tea scents, so I do like this aspect of it, but its awfully subtle on me--very much a skin scent, and I'd like it to be out there more. Still, its pretty, and makes me want to drink some tea, so perhaps I'll keep the imp around for a bit. Its beginning to grow on me--I just can't expect the Lion to be an in-your-face sort of blend. Or perhaps if I slathered? Hmmmmm....guess I'll experiment with the imp.

[Tess]

I actually ordered this imp to test my theory that my skin sours amber. Let's hope it's not true...

 

In the bottle - A boozy and bit cinnamin amber. It's actually surprisingly light smelling.

 

Wet - This is super cinnamin. Super, super cinnamin with some amber to it.

 

Drying - The amber is now coming out and it's hot and spicy and just yummy. There's a clarifying note that I can't seem to pin down... There's also that hint of sandalwood that other people have pointed out.

 

Dry (30 minutes later) - Amber is certainly there, a spicy amber that still has that hint of sandalwood. It's even slightly boozy, which I think is just the reaction to my skin.

 

Overall - I really like this. It's warm without being too hot, like a savannah rather than a desert. I think I'll keep my imps and try it out on a day to day basis. Looks like a winner!

[angharad]

Thank goodness I don't get tea from this.

 

The Lion was a frimp thrown in my last order, and THANK YOU to the labbies for it. Although I love spices, especially cinnamon, I hadn't considered this one much because I thought I didn't like amber. Silly me.

 

I'm not exactly sure how to describe how this scent morphs on me -- it's almost constantly changing on top, but it keeps the same core scent throughout, a gorgeous, dry, spiced, golden aroma. I know that this is the Lion from Alice in Wonderland, not any celestial lion, but I am a Leo, and this scent suits me perfectly. It doesn't have much throw, so you have to be close to smell it, but it does last for several hours on my skin. I'm going to need a bottle of this.

[Voleuse]

On first application, this is warm and spicy, cinnamon evident but not overpowering. As it dries, it mellows somewhat, the spices giving way to a lovely sweetness. The sweetness, however, also fades away, leaving a dry and musky note behind. Quite evocative, but ultimately not something I'd wear.

[grrrlennyl]

at first: spicy and dry.

on: a dry amber and something spicy.

half an hour later: very dry. some spices.

1 hour later: sweeter. ths amber is definitely stronger. a very gold scent.

2 hours later: spicy and dry.

overall: this is very unique, but i don't think i'll wear it.

[malanna]

The Lion is like basking in the warmth of a warm day's sun. The Lion starts out as a golden amber on me, with a bit of cinnamon. Oddly enough, the strength of The Lion fades quickly, not that it was an in-your-face type of scent to begin with. Upon drydown, it smells like the spices in Snake Oil, but much lighter. A nice scent, but not with much oomph on me.

[Meg]

In the bottle: Sweet and spicy amber, with a touch of sweet herbs.

 

Wet: The amber warms up nicely, and there's a clear hint of cinnamon here. Not red hots, but brown cinammon, my favourite.

 

Drydown: This is deliciously simple: warm amber and cinammon, which becomes increasingly sweet with... vanilla? Hmm. Very soft, very enjoyable.

 

Overall: At last, cinammon that works on me! I'd been looking everywhere for the right cinammon, and there it is! It's not Red Hots, it's sweet with something like vanilla, and it's delicious - it would nearly be foody, if it wasn't for the amber to give it a golden glow. Absolutely a lion's regal blend, I love it.

[fiddledragon]

Smell in the bottle: Mmmmm....warm and dry and spicy. Sort of a furry smell, though I don't know how much that's influenced by the name.

 

Smell on me:

Wet -- the spices come out a bit more, and it's sort of sweet and almost a spiced-orange kind of a smell. It's a nice warm cozy scent.

Dry -- the sweetness has mostly gone and now it's just faint warm spices and almost a kind of gentle musk...is that what "amber" smells like? It makes me want to curl up by a fire and purr. This would be an absolutely marvelous room scent for cold winter evenings.

 

Three hours later it's still almost as strong as it was when I put it on, and has gained a slight sweetness that reminds me somewhat of caramel chocolate for some reason. I may not have put quite enough on, but it definitely has staying power.