Seven Word Story: Sloth

[Frills]

As Baudelaire once wrote, We revel in the laxness of the path we take. As such, we werent convinced anyone would bother entering the Sloth edition of our #BPAL7wordstory contest.

Somehow, hundreds of you summoned the strength to string seven words together plus the dozens who cheekily declined to muster more than six. The winning entry by Amy DeNies epitomizes that (lack of) effort with aplomb.

Congrats to our winner, and keep those heavy eyelids propped open #BPAL7wordstory could strike again at any time.

cant commit to finishing a whole banana

The effort is too much: banana weighed down by blackened cacao, bourbon vetiver, and tobacco absolute.

Oh man, this one is so much cocoa and tobacco. The banana is like a yellow-gold backdrop to it but on my skin it's a very deep tobacco absolute.

Which I love, so rock on, Banana Sloth.

[Jenjin]

Blind Bottle Purchase from the lab because who doesn't love a sloth eating a banana.

IN THE BOTTLE:

BANANA! WHOA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BANANA CANDY SPANK SQUEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! okay i'm putting this on to see what happens.

WET:

i'm still getting the banana, but it's a juicy, chewy banana candy with lots of sugar taffy goodness. Wait! Is that banana really a big ole' cigar?

DRY:

This one's a wild and crazy ride. It completely morphs fairly quickly. The banana taffy smell is almost gone, while the dark cocoa, boozy smoke and tobacco blend into a darkened swirl of sticky clouds.

NOTES:

Astonishing! Somehow, someway the seven-word-story "happens" here: can't commit to finishing a whole banana~
The elusive fruit disappears into a 'poof' BEFORE the finish, leaving behind a sultry, velvety kiss. It blows my mind in many ways, and is unforgettable.

 

My only criticism is the ravishing Sleeping Beauty sloth used on the website isn't on the bottle.

Edited June 25, 2016 by Jenjin

[Convallaria]

I must admit, I never expected I'd like smelling like banana flavoring, but damn it, this is good. At first, it reminds me of chocolate bananas, but then there is something almost alcoholic. Sugary and unexpectedly cuddly blend of cacao, vetiver and tobacco takes over afterward, but there are still hints of banana goodness for a while. I love it and I wish I knew what makes the other three notes, which are usually hit-or-miss for me, so temperate. I hope we get more interesting takes on banana in the future. I should have gotten two bottles of this one.

[DiesMali]

In the bottle: Uh-oh. Over-ripe banana.

 

Wet on my skin: For the first few moments, this smells like an over-ripe banana that's been sitting out on the counter on a hot afternoon. Heady, and slightly sickly-sweet.

 

Dry: I feel I should note that this oil does stain - I plopped my cap nub on it and rubbed it around (I'm dual-testing scents so didn't rub it in with skin on skin) and there are streaks of what looks very much like melted chocolate that got all over my hand while eating a dessert. For the first few moments, this echoes the sickly over-ripe banana, and then...oh my goodness. Unnhhhhh. The banana tempers itself and goes a little boozy as it joins the cacao, tobacco, and vetiver. It's a little reminiscent of the dessert called bananas foster for about 15 minutes, and then the banana fades and becomes a slightly sweet, creamy background note. The cacao, tobacco, and vetiver base is pretty similar to the delicious Dark Chocolate, Black Tobacco, and Vetiver bonbon from this year's Lupercalia, and I'm sooo glad to have something similar to it since my bottle is going quickly. This is that, but with the addition of a hint of boozy banana that wafts around between sniffs of the rich, darker notes. WIN.

 

* I should also note that I'm not a huge fan of bananas, unless they're the sweet red kind. I took a major chance on getting this, and it's better than I could have hoped!

[Dark Alice]

Wet: Sexy banana with a hint of banana notes and vetiver doing a dirty dance on the floor.

 

Dry: The banana has left the building folks! She is gone and all that is left is the vetiver and cocoa. But they are barely there!! One minute...it's love the next, poof! Gone.

 

I am going to have to track down a bottle b/c this is glorious...I just wish it lasted longer.

[ltrittipoe]

In the bottle, this is all banana, all the time. And not just banana, this is BANANA in giant flashing neon yellow banana-ness.

 

And then I put it on my skin.... And the banana disappears and this is a smokey bourbon vetiver. With a little bit of tobacco, but sadly, no cacao! and I don't see any in the bottle that would stain my skin. Or float around in the bottle. Clear oil.

 

I don't think I've ever had a note vanish as quickly and completely as that banana. Vetiver/tobacco with a little smoky sweetness is hanging around, though.

 

And the more you type "banana", the wrong-er it looks.

[zankoku_zen]

Banana, cocoa, and a touch of smoky tobacco. Much more wearable than I anticipated. Good throw and wear length.

 

Sadly, I actually don't like the banana smell. Which makes me sad because the rest of the scent is super awesome.

[LizziesLuck]

In the bottle, this is pure artificial banana candy/medicine, and it grosses me out.

 

 

Wet: Tobacco, cocoa, hints of banana, but much more tolerable. Hints of smoky vetiver. Interesting. Also, FYI, the cocoa in this one really separates, needs a good rolling to reincorporate it.

 

 

Dry: Sweet, tropical tobacco. You can't actually smell the banana any more, it just lends that sweet tropical feel. I like it! Not sure I love it, but it's good. Sultry.

[Blood onmy hands]

This is a very light scent; it clings close to my skin and only lasts about an hour and a half total before it has disappeared entirely. The banana reminds me of Splatter Comedy, like a true banana with a hint of cold whipped cream and cold metal. Has more of a slight, warm muskiness to it as it dries down. The chocolate is a thick, woody cocoa absolute. I don't get the vetiver and tobacco until 7-Sloth has been on my skin for almost an hour already. Then it's earthy, sweet tobacco, a hint of smoke, and a hint of warm banana. And then it's gone.

 

I really wish that this lasted longer and had better throw.

[Soupy Twist]

Banana with a hint of vetiver in the bottle. Goes on as BAAAAANAAAANAAAAA, although definitely a synthetic one. It's not bad, just not real.

A tobacco note starts to develop, and then a burnt sour thing which I think is the vetiver again. The banana goes away, leaving behind a definite smoke/burnt note — maybe the "blackened cacao" means "set the bean on fire and left it to smolder into a charcoal husk." Sadly, this is where it stops, and I'm just left with smoke.

[Avery]

I was pretty excited about this, especially as I've come back from my fear of vetiver and have found some blends where it not only works, but it's amazing! Yay for persistence in trying different notes!

 

Enter Banana Sloth. As others have described, this one is like banana laffy taffy with something dark and smoky underneath. If it stayed how it starts on my skin, or morphed into something gentler, then I'd love it. BUT. Dun dun dun! Enter Vetiver with a hammer. This vetiver doesn't mess around, and does the dreaded things with my skin chemistry that made me avoid it in the first place. Namely, make me smell like a stinky old man (no offense to stinky old men, but...). SO I need to rehome this little beaut to somebody who loves a fun playful scent but can effectively disarm the vetiver with better skin chemistry.

[JTobias]

Gorgeous; in the bottle, its straight banana and chocolate. On my skin, the banana dies away to a yellow glow and the tobacco begins to warm up; sexy!

[mazaru]

I LOVE THIS. Initially there's this massive, wafty cloud of banana, which then dies down into a sweet backdrop for smoky tobaccoey vetiver darkness. It's like a goth gourmand; it absolutely loves my skin, too, with strong throw (in layers - a touch of banana at the edge and a darker smokiness close up, my partner says) and long wear length.

[lizabelle]

Wow. Based on the reviews I thought this would be the best bottle choice for me, but not so. It starts of with a truly blackened cacao, plus a bitterness that must be the tobacco and/or vetiver. It seriously smells borderline-burnt on my skin, and it's very bitter. Gradually the banana comes in and it's almost overripe, sweet and creamy and much better than any real-life banana, but I just can't get past that opening. Hopefully I can swap it off to a better home!

[Verios]

In the bottle, this is straight up banana: I think someone else summed it up almost perfectly for me when they described it as over-ripe banana (although for me it's just on that border between really ripe and over-ripe, like when I'd usually freeze it to save to make banana bread with later), although you can catch a hint of the other notes in the background...but it really is just the barest hint.

 

Once it goes on my skin though, the banana promptly disappears, leaving behind this amazingly smooth combination of the tobacco (which is one of my favorite notes), with hints of the cocoa and what I think is the vetiver...on me it's not an overpowering scent; it sits close to the skin and is just lovely and subtle and makes me so glad I gave this a try.

[chrisann]

I squirreled my bottle away to allow some aging. I re-tested today and am in serious LOVE with how snuggly, sexy, and evocative it is. The initial scent in the bottle is nose curdling. It's banana scented nail polish remover. UGH! However, after 10 minutes on my skin, the banana note "POOF!" disappears and what remains is this intoxicating hazy tobacco, smoky, musky, slightly sweetened man musk. Like I had been rolling around in the arms of a lover and got his skin scent on me. It's drool worthy. Not quite sure I can pull it off because imo it's masculine. I'm going to try layering with it. At the very least saving it for my next BF/lover. It's a heady keeper.

[Candice Chen]

The notes sounded like they wouldn't work. Firstly, banana isn't the sexiest thing in fragrance. The idea of smelling like banana is neither exotic nor alluring; not even cute like strawberry or apple. It's just - banana.

But the reviews kinda sucked me in and I'm quite glad.

 

From the bottle, I get that artificial candied banana flavoring note that some other reviewers did, which scared me a little. But once it hit my skin the banana became subtler, fleshier, no longer screechy and fake. In fact it's more of a supporting note, lifting and adding dimension to the darker ingredients which quickly take over, making the scent surprisingly "masculine" and not at all sugary.

 

The dark tobacco and cocoa are there but play second fiddle to this super-smoky vetiver, which seems to amp on my skin. It's like the note has been charred or singed, and is smoking a little. If you don't like vetiver, you might want to steer clear of this one because it's pretty dominant. As it settles a bit more, the vetiver softens and some of the vegetal tobacco comes back through. Overall, a dark, bitter scent. (In a good way.)

 

Sloth is far from a gourmand despite the initial impression the note list may give, because the banana and cocoa add their nuances but stay very much in the background after that short-lived calorie-laden opening. Not a scent I'd douse myself in to go out because I can't see this being a crowd-pleaser, but it is pleasingly weird at the same time. Something that intrigues me and that I enjoy pulling out to sniff and wear when I am alone.

Edited February 21, 2018 by Nightphlox

[Aveya]

Imp: WHOA this is black bananas. This is tart over-ripe I can almost smell the fruit flies. At the same time it makes me think of those dried banana chips.

Wet on Skin: Banana vanished and it's just a tonka-esq tobacco (why tonka? OH WAIT - It smells like Dee. Which I = tonka in my brain)

Drydown: So I SWORE I hated vetiver. Because it smells like basement. But in this blend it's coming across as Tonka/leather to me. It's actually flippin' fantastic. I know nothing.

 

This is just like a glorious re-iteration of Dee to me. Take out the sexy part of Dee and condense & multiply it into a stronger more potent scent. THIS IS THAT SCENT.

 

Too masculine for me. But yet I looove this it's so beautifully dark and luxurious to me.

Gonna smear this on the husband.

Gonna layer this with vanilla.

Gonna make girl-Dee and live happily ever after.

[theredkilt]

The banana note smells a bit chemical/sharp and retains this vibe throughout the entire time.It's a sweetened tobacco, but not the best kind for me. The banana note ruins it for me.