Aquarius 2016

[KezzieZ]

Fixed Air: the essence of knowledge. Not the possession of knowledge, per se, but the desire for knowledge, the path itself, and the drive to seek truth, both personal and universal. This is a scent of progressiveness, modernism and intellectual curiosity, and of unpredictability and independence. This is the perfume of the humanist and inventor, electric with caprice: clove, mastic, and spikenard with benzoin, tonka, sweet vetiver, frankincense, and white pepper.

I've been waiting for this one to come out and was super curious about how it would smell, since I'm an Aquarius. This review isn't going to be very exacting since I'm not really all that seasoned when it comes to BPAL perfumes. Usually, I stick to the safer sounding stuff outside of trying out frimps.

 

In Bottle: There's a lot going on. I don't know a lot of these notes, but I think I smell cloves and frankincense, at least.

 

Wet on Skin: I think I smell pepper and tonka as well. The perfume as a whole is sort of making me think of cinnamon, but not quite. It's sweeter and more medicinal. Maybe some of that is the benzoin, but that's one of the notes I don't know.

 

An opinion I got is that it smells like lily of the valley. I don't know what that specific flower smells like, but I'll admit this does kind of have a general lily smell.

 

Approx. 1 Hour Later: It was basically the same by that point. Occasionally, it would morph a bit in terms of which notes were stronger, but it smelled overall the same.

 

I think this one is a keeper. While I'm not sure if it's as much of my style as other perfumes I've tried, it's interesting, and I think I'll wear it once in a while. I'd say the closest other full-size perfume I have to this one is probably Nasty Woman, though there's certainly differences.

[suki]

In The Bottle: Clove and light vetiver.

 

Wet On Skin: Whaaaaaa? This scent is really strange. the above notes vanished completely and now it's...cedar? Or...the mastic, maybe? I guess? It's kind of sweet and kind of light and it's got a BPAL vibe, but I seriously can't get a handle on it.

 

Dry Down: Okay. The frankincense and spikenard have emerged. But this scent is NOT heavy in spite of that fact. It's strangely light for a perfume that contains so many heavy, resin-y notes. In fact, if there could be such a thing as a light and airy version of Midnight Mass, this would be it. Again, I say:

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: Vetiver. It's very vegetal. A bit sour. Not particularly pleasant so far. I wonder if it's actually the spikenard I'm smelling - I don't really know what that smells like. This is for sure a vegetal type smell though, green and kind of sour. Which makes me sad, as sniffing from the bottle it is sweet and resinous, as I was expecting it to be.

 

 

Dry: Ok, this dries down a lot nicer than when it's wet. I can pick out the patchouli , pepper and Frankincense. Sadly, I get no clove. And there are other notes that are strongest, that I don't recognize, so I am guessing that's the spikenard and mastic. This is really different! I do quite like it. Not sure how "me" it is, but it's unique and I am glad I tried it. I think it will age quite well.

 

 

ETA: My second time testing this, the clove came out, and it is SPICY. I love clove. Sadly, I get no sweetness out of this, and I am really looking for a sweet clove scent, so I think this will get passed on.

Edited February 8, 2017 by LizziesLuck

[Dark Alice]

The pepper is strong here as is the sweet vetiver. It's pretty, but not for me.

[Blood onmy hands]

Something in this is turning soapy on me, which I don't understand, because all of these notes are generally fine and nowhere near soapy on my skin.

 

Fresh and clean, high pitched, soapy dryer sheets, a sort of steamy, fresh from the shower feel, and a slap of very sharp pepper. The drydown is mostly the same, except with hints of ashy vetiver (like a burnt out campfire), burnt tire rubber and pine that swirl in and out of the soapiness.

 

Not really resinous on me and no clove or tonka that I can discern.

[torikitty]

I think Little Bird got it right. Fresh and clean, high pitched, soapy dryer sheets, and a slap of very sharp pepper. Minus the shower feel for me. The clove ends up feeling dry.

[milo]

This was a frimp from the lovely Ajevie:) This is very TAL like to me. Herbal, a bit sharp and eventually turns into a soap fragrance on me. Nice to try, but not me.

[zankoku_zen]

White pepper, benzoin, clove and frankincense. This is a peppery, clovey, resin blend on me. Gender neutral, trending masculine. Good throw and wear length.