Bastet

[bellumed]

Luxuriant amber, warm Egyptian musk, fierce saffron and soft myrrh, almond, cardamom and golden lotus.

Ahh, see, you guys tried to scare me off with all of that going on about "almond and cherry." Luckily it didn't work.

Bastet is warm, spicy, and exotic. A surprisingly light “golden sand” moreso than the rich dark brown of my favorite sexy myrrh blend, La Petite Mort. Really the only downside is that it doesn't last too long, only a few hours. Still, Bastet is a keeper for sure. Edited July 29, 2012 by bellumed

[whitsunweddings]

In the imp: Cherryish almond with a hint of incensey spice.

Wet: The musk and spices are amping up.

Dry: A very sweet, slightly spiced musk. Meh.

[Alethia]

Thoughts before testing: I want this to work so badly, but amber has become a note of fail lately. I'm not hopeful.

 

Wet: Sweet almond and musk. Very warm and soft. No amber yet!

 

Dry down: Egyptian musk is my favorite, and the cardamom and saffron are to die for here. This is really lovely actually. I don't get a lot of the almond now, which is not a bad thing.

 

Dry: This is a very warm and protective feeling blend. Amber isn't doing it's usual thing, and this is just beautiful.

 

Final thoughts:

 

Verdict: Keeping the imp, getting a bottle!

[paintednightsky]

hmmm I wonder if I will ever like musk scents as I get older since it does seem a lot of people like this scent and think it is "slinky". I do get some almond and spices. But musk always kills a scent for me. It reminds me of old lady perfume in the end no matter what.

[sisi33]

In the Bottle: AMMMMMBER! ALLLLLMOND! Everywhere! *panic* It's an assault on the senses!

Wet: (I'm vaguely afraid of doing this...) Almond! Gack! And... Saffron? Nope, that's cardamon. Yummiery! And the musk is coming out now, too!

Drydown: There was absolutely no reason for the aforementioned panic attack. She's turning into something more than a little wearable, and not just almond wafer cookies. Card's coming around in a very nice way, as is the golden lotus- and it is "golden". In fact, this whole scent is completely golden in color. You can easily see a goddess longing in the sun, waiting for her suppilcant to return to her.

 

In a word: Lovely. Big bottle worthy!

 

5/5

[Yoginispirit]

FLOWERS?!

 

Gorgeous, honey-dipped, golden flowers!

 

My body chemistry has changed a lot since I've tried this one. I remember trying it a few years ago, though that imp may have been aged, and smelling the Jergens almond-cherry scent. This newer imp is amazing! It smells like a perfume that a Queen would wear. Refined yet very feminine. Looking over the notes, I'm not sure what is causing the flowery scent (lotus is usually bubble-gum on me) but its just beautiful! I think I can detect some of the cardemom, perhaps that is what is blooming on me.

 

On the longer dry-down it goes a touch powdery but its not baby-powder. There is a dryness and light tang to it but a sweet, high-pitched flower in the background holds it together.

 

I think I'm going to wear it several times before going for a bottle just to make sure my chemistry doesn't morph it to Jergens again but if it stays this way it may be my new Signature.

[theredshoes]

One of my long-time favourites.

 

 

In the imp: Cherry, definitely, but not the fruit -- more dusky cherry blossoms. Not Jurgen's.

 

Wet: Almond almond almond! But not almond-cookie sweet.

 

Drydown: Morphs into a GORGEOUS sweet musk-amber-gold scent. Lots of throw, lots of staying power. Sultry, spicy, golden, sweet -- yes, yes, yes, yes. Definitely for those who love Morocco, Queen of Sheba, maybe O, &c &c. Seductive and slinky but not CMF sexy. Don't be scared off by the smell in the imp or if you get ALMOND at first, this really shines after an hour or two.

[KissleMeNow]

Damn, this did not work on me. It's bathroom scent. I do okay with amber – not always fantastic, but it's not a death note – love spices, and wanted to try almond. I get a bit of the golden warmth of the amber, the spices, the musk... but it's all under bloody bathroom scent. :/

[jkfagtongpun]

Oh sweet goddess... Bastet is flipping gorgeous.

 

From the second I put it on I was mesmerised. On wet I get a beautiful, sweet, warm almond, so delicious I want to lick my arms.

 

As it dries the amber, musk, myrrh, spices and lotus come out. I can smell the cherry everyone mentions but it's a deep, spicy, sweet, ever so slightly floral cherry and my gawd it is damn good.

 

I absolutely love this and I'm ordering a big bottle... maybe two.

[Atrous]

For me, Bastet is more of a feeling than a scent. That's because it stays awfully close to the skin and the scent is so light my nostrils have to touch my wrist to smell anything. I do get light whiffs of amber, almond, floral when I do get close.

But, like I said, it's more of a feeling. Bastet feels warm, golden, and soft.

[MtMoonKitty]

Omg! This is SO sexy! In the imp I get almond mostly so I wasn't sure how I was going to like it. The almond doesn't stick around very long once on my skin. It disrobes into a sultry herbal, floral with a hint of spice. It's got a mild throw that seems to say "come and get a little closer, my love.". It's not overpowering but makes a statement for sure. I think this is very fitting for its namesake. I love this one, Beth! I may have to own a bottle when the imp is gone.

[hexnut]

A frimp with my latest mail order; brownish orange in the vial.

In Vitro Very rich and sweet. Resin?

Wet Spicy, not too sweet, and possibly woody. After a minute or so it was less spicy and more wood and/or resin, and strong.

Drying This settled into a mildly spicy resin scent, reasonably strong and quite nice.

The label reveal was a pleasant surprise. I'd had this in mind for a possible sample order for a long time but I was scared off by the myrrh. Happily it didn't stand out for me in this blend, and the lotus didn't manifest as the 'bubblegum' that other reviewers get from that note. Almond is another fragrance note that I was leery of but I didn't identify it as such here. I really liked Bastet and will test it some more with an eye towards my bottle wishlist.

[Lani]

Cardamom and myrrh are two of my favorite perfume notes, and they do not disappoint in Bastet. I love, love, love this perfume. It's one of my all-time favorites. Warm and spicy, soothing, luxurious. I will probably be getting a full bottle of this sometime in the near future.

[applecider10]

Bastet honestly just smells... gross. I made some friends smell it and they agreed, but it's so popular that it must be my body chemistry or something. It smells dry, oily, sour, and nutty. It gives me a vague impression of spoiled, smoky body wash. When I first smelled the imp, I could barely handle it, and it didn't morph into anything better on my skin. Ughhh. Not for me!

 

Edit: After five hours on, it turned into a dry, deliciously erotic scent. It was good, so good. Warning, though: it lasted through two days and two showers, at least on me. It is INDESTRUCTIBLE.

Edited January 18, 2014 by applecider10

[RubyWoo]

Very beautiful sexual musk.

 

Wet: Unnatural warmth of spices that recalls ancient Egypt or temples.

 

Dry: Musky in a wild, but strong way.

 

 

It has a tendency to be a little medicinal at the VERY first, but it drys down VERY quickly. I's really lovely, but doesn't stay on your skin very long.

[dementia_divine]

In the imp: Oooooooh. I hope this is as amazing on me as it is in the imp. I can smell the almond the most.

Wet: The almond is definitely a main player at first. I detect the lotus as well. The almond is still present, but it becomes more musky and spicy with time. It also seems to be becoming more powdery, and that is probably due to the soft myrrh.

Dry: Quite powdery. Damn.

It is gradually becoming a sweeter musky powder. Oh hai, saffron!

The scent has redeemed itself! It's now a soft, sweet musky scent. Very comforting.

Verdict: I think this will be one for the scent locket, as it isn't nearly as awesome on me as it was in the imp (which I plan on hanging onto since the scent smells so good in the vial). The first part of the wet phase and the final drydown were good, but I'm not very fond of the powdery phase.

[Lunasariel]

In the imp: A very fruit-leaning amber. I would even go so far as to call it sickly-sweet, even medicinal at times.

 

Wet: I got synthetic fruit, with the amber veering a little too sweet for me, but I've actually gotten a fair number of compliments on this. So maybe my nose is just being a jerk?

 

Dry: Luckily, the sickly-sweet fruit (which, upon retrospect, is most likely the lotus, which generally doesn't play well with my skin) fades after an hour or three, leaving only an interesting spicy-sweet-warm amber. It's still more gourmand-y than many of my other ambers, but in a good way.

 

I'll tuck this one away for a year or so, because I was ALL SET to love this (Bast! Amber! Musk!), but I never really loved it like I wanted to. Maybe some aging will take the edge off of the lotus and bring the drydown forward some.

[lucycat]

In the imp: Amber and almond are the prominent notes, with saffron and sweet, bubblegummy lotus around the edges.

 

Wet: Sweet almond and amber.

 

As I expected, the almond dissipates as Bastet dries. It becomes a dry, soft blend of amber and saffron. For a short while it develops a hard edge, but that fades. Phew.

 

There’s more musk in the final drydown.

 

I waited almost a year to try Bastet, and it was worth it. I could sit here with my nose stuck in the crook of my arm all day. Though they have very few notes in common, Bastet reminds me of Morocco, one of my favorites. Bastet is less sweet than Morocco, but they both suggest dry desert spices to me.

[ModderRhu]

I'm not sure about this one. there's a lot going on. I love all the listed notes, I just feel like it's a little busy. it's a powerhouse of an almond scent. very dry with old fashioned musk. not really foody at all. I wish I got more saffron. I don't hate it.

[agirlnamedfury]

I got this as a frottle from a very generous decanter, and she may have been psychic, because I love it. Completely sexy but a very unexpected combination of notes that all somehow work together. It's definitely a date-worthy scent but not totally vampy.

 

 

In the bottle: dark, almost boozy cherries and almond extract.

 

Wet on skin: Marzipan. It becomes just slightly musky and spicy as it dries.

 

Dry: Fainter almonds and patchouli. It's quite musky now, and while it's still sweet, most of the cherries have faded.

 

 

If I sniff this one too much I get a bit of a headache, but it's delicious enough to deal with it.

[Veronica]

The mixture of amber and almond in this goes off on me--it smells similar to powdery honey or wine.

[d0gbones]

In the imp: Marzipan and cherry

Wet: First sniff is a hit of sweetness, more cherry and myrrh.

Dry: There's an almost coconut milkyness to this that I love. It blends so perfectly with the myrrh and takes on a spiciness. Very similar to Hecate, this is more resinous and less sweet to me. One of my favourites.

[Musamea]

Tested a super aged (about 5 years) imp.

 

In the imp: Almond! All almond all the time

Wet: Mostly almond and cardamom, the latter of which shows up as a wet rather than a dry spice, if that makes any sense. The amber warms everything up and there's a teeeeeeny hint of the lotus adding fruitiness in the background

Dry: on initial drydown the lotus and myrrh really come out to play, adding wetness to the scent; the amber is still around to exotify things up and the nutty spices die waaaay back, final drydown on me is mostly amber and lotus

Overall it's a teeny bit generic perfume box and pencil shavings, but that might be from the age of the imp; if I didn't already have a favorite almond-and-spices scent I'd get a fresh imp to re-test!

[HighlyBell7]

In Imp: Pumpkin orange color. Sweet, rummy?

Wet: Sweet. Deep strawberry, musky candy

Dry: Hint of powder that is growing. Almond. Hint of a flower. Almond with a hint of green. Honey

Later: Ends on a chocolate note.

 

[LizziesLuck]

Totally overwhelming at first. Overly sweet and cloying. But it quickly settles into a really pretty amber blend. My favourite so far, I think (amber is iffy on me if it's the main component). A little spicy, a little sweet. I can't really pick out the cardamom of the saffron per se, but they give it a nice spicy feel. It's a warm scent. Luxuriant is actually the perfect description for it. It like this a lot.