Tenochtitlan

[Blood onmy hands]

The greatest of all Aztec cities, and capital of their empire. Amber, hyssop, coriander, epazote, Mexican sage, prickly pear and Mexican tulip poppy.

In the imp, this smells like fakey, sickly sweet apple candle (must be the pear making me think of apple candles). On my skin, it gets worse. It's mostly a cloying fruitiness, but with hints of spice and floral. It smells like wandering into a candle shop where all of the cheap smells are overwhelming, clashing together, and giving me a vicious headache. It even smells slightly waxy on me in the drydown. Not good.

I had to scrub this one off after a half hour because it was literally making me nauseous. Edited April 1, 2009 by Little Bird

[Shollin]

First sniff: SweetTarts! Powdery and fruity.

 

Wearing: Tenochtitlan smells wonderfully exotic on my skin. It’s warm and fruity and the powder has disappeared.

[maewitch]

Something about this reminds me of Hex, but only fractionally. I think there must be a note in here that is similar to the damp evergreen fir-ness in Hex, with that underlay of slightly spicy sweetness.

 

All these notes are a mystery to me, so I have no idea WHAT I'm picking up - only that I like it. It doesn't quite smell like perfume, but something experiential and just a touch ritualistic. It has that half-bitter, half-sweet sort of smell that I associate with ritual herbs, both mashed up in a mortar and thrown onto a fire. This is a dry, crackly green with blackened edges and something a little golden running through it.

 

Interesting and a keeper (at least the imp).

Edited September 20, 2005 by maewitch

[Miss Lynx]

I was looking forward to trying this one, partly because I lived in Tenochtitlan (well, its modern-day incarnation, Mexico City) for a while as a child.

 

But it really wasn't what I expected. On me, this is a sweet, mild, not-very-interesting fruity floral. Nothing especially herbal, spicy or incensey about it, at least not until way into the drydown when it's already getting pretty faint. Definitely not getting much in the way sage or coriander or anything like that.

 

For the capital of the Aztec empire, I'd really have expected a little more darkness. I guess it's the pear and the poppy that are dominating it for me, and making it the kind of bland fruit-floral scent that I associate with pretty soaps at the Body Shop or Bath & Body Works. It's a "pretty" scent in the way that Xiuhtecuhtli is, but not even as interesting as that one.

 

Not doing too well with the Aztec scents, here. Oh well, maybe Tezcatlipoca will like me better...

 

Grade: C+

[AlaskaSnows]

In the Bottle: Sugary hard candy, the type you think will be yummy and tangy cause it says Cherry Flavor, but it really just tastes like sugar with a hint of artificial fruit flavoring.

 

Dry: I get a hint of sage, mixed with a tangy fruit, and sugar. Smells a lot like Prickly Pear jelly. there is almost no throw... I am saddened, I expected something great here, but this doesn't work on me.

[wickedgoddess]

Wet - I can't differentiate any notes in particular, but this is very pretty.

Dry - wow, this goes from pretty to gorgeous on dry-down. Still can't differentiate any individual notes, it's too well-blended, but this is lovely. It's a light floral, but there is so much more going on in this. It's sweet, almost honey sweet, is that the prickly pear? Amber is hit or miss on me, but in this scent it adds a warm, golden sheen. I think I need a bottle of this; it is completely unique in terms of scent.

 

On the wickedgoddess scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being best, this rates a 4.

[bristlecone]

I love this one. It's definitely candy-like at first; I'm reminded of spiced gum drops or those gummi chili peppers that I don't think I've seen outside of Arizona (where I grew up). The amber comes out later, but the spice sticks around. This is a warm scent- there's a heat lurking underneath the surface at all times. If I use up my imp, I'll definitely consider getting a bottle.

[OriginalWacky]

Bottle (Imp): Sweet, and fruity.

 

Just On: Oooh, yummy sweet.

 

An hour or two later: Wow, such a mix that I can't figure out anything of what's in it. I like it.

 

Around 6 hours: It's fading fast, I have just the barest hint of sweetness left.

 

12 hours: It's all gone.

 

Overall: I love this one. Yum yum yum, and I'll have to manage to sneak in another bottle at some point.

 

After reading other reviews: I never got the bubble gum that was mentioned so often.

[yeahbutnobut]

Tenochtitlan

 

In the imp: a sweet, fresh, slightly green-fruity scent. I think I recognise prickly pear in this.

Wet on skin: mmm, definitely prickly pear! I also get herbs like coriander and sage in this.

Dry on skin: this is such a lovely scent. It's sweet, fresh, fruity and herbal. I think it's the amber that adds a gorgeous sweetness, plus the juicy scent of pear, combined with green, warm herb notes-sage is very prominent in this. I have no idea what Mexican tulip and epazote smell like but I think the tulip may be adding a slight hint of floral to this. It's a very unique and complex scent but it's well balanced as well.

After a while: the pear note in this is pretty strong! It's lovely and sweet, fresh, juicy and rich, and the sage adds it's recognisable herbal touch to the scent. It's quite different to many of the BPAL scents I would try, but so pleasant.

Verdict: this was a very nice surprise. A sweet prickly pear note, sweetened even more by amber, tempered by soft green herbs. This is light, fresh, and very wearable. It has a summery feel to it, I think-a warmth and also a juicy fruity scent to it. I'm not sure if I'll get a bottle yet but I might get one once the weather warms up.

[vyvyan]

Ah, woe. I was so hoping to like this, as so many people seem to have done, but alas, it was not to be. In the imp, this smells fresh and fruity and yellow-green, but once it hits my skin it picks up a charming note reminiscent of days when I have let the cat's box go too long between cleanings. Oh, chemistry, why do we have to do this to each other?

 

That note lasts all through drydown - and this is a strong blend, on me! - and on for a good hour or two. Afterwards it seems to fade, but the damage is pretty much done, by that point, and I'll admit I wasn't sniffing regularly to check if it had stopped. FWIW, I've never had another blend smell like that on me.

 

Since it works so well on so many other folks, I will have no compunction about swapping it off to a home where it'll be loved and adored as it should, without my skin getting in the way.

[SevenSins]

In the imp: This smells very green, a little dusty, but definitely green. Not a green/herbal kinda gal so I wasn't sure I'd like it. But I learned a long time ago to try it on first.

 

Wet: Okay, this isn't so green! Sweet, a little citrus maybe? A wee touch of something slightly minty? Touch of spice? Nice!

 

Dry down: This is a warm, bright, scent. Definitely sweet, definitely with some sort of tangy bite. Spice and floral coming in stronger now, minty is gone.

 

I like it! Throw is not overwhelming, don't know how long lasting it is yet, but certainly something I can wear anywhere.

 

This one is a keeper.

[wingedcorset]

I don't know how I've managed to not review this one yet. This is BY FAR AND AWAY my favorite BPAL. Yummy sweet floral pinkness. Reminds me of going to AZ and eating cactus candy. There's a little spice there that keeps it from being sickly sweet. I never thought I'd like such a sweet scent, but I ADORE THIS!!!!

[darkitysnark]

Tenochtitlan

 

A barter with rhubarbbear!

 

On a recent flight, I found an issue of "Wine Spectator" in the seat pocket. There was an article about the basics of wine tasting. I'm trying to apply some of the principles in my BPAL testing now (no, not the "swish and spit" part) as I continue to educate my nose.

 

Mostly, I'm trying to just smell for about 15 seconds without forming any words in my mind. Apparently the part of your brain that smells, and the part that assigns words to things can cancel eachother out. It's a lot harder than it sounds!

 

So... on to the experiment!

 

In the bottle: sniffing for fifteen seconds with a blank mind... I get fruit/green/sweet/sharp and BAM! For some reason, Baba Yaga's pineapple was invoked very, very strongly.

 

At the back of my throat for a split second I got sharp BO. Thankfully that went away pretty quickly.

 

Wet/drydown: the sweet "pineapple" dries down but is still present. All the other notes are so perfectly blended (and/or my nose is so undereducated still) that I can't really distinguish anything other than "sweet herbaceous cleanliness". This is just slightly overpowering for me, but I think I also overapplied this morning.

 

Later: the amber is peeking out, sweetening everything up the way amber does (on me amber sweetness is a sort of warm sweet skin rather than a overt sugary throat-closing sweetness). I can pick up the slightly medicinal edge of sage, but it's a furry purple sage, so it's not overly astringent.

 

This is not an everyday "me" kind of scent. But it is definitely beautiful, very well blended, and worth at least a couple repeats. In this cold sterile office, I can almost feel the baking sun and gritty stone of some other place.

[cupide430]

Such a lovely light almost boozy fruity scent with a hint of floral. The fruity-ness of this is so gentle and light, I can't describe what kind of fruit it is at all. Just a hint of sweetness from it. This seems like it would be excellent for the early days of summer.

[malanna]

Hmm, amber and tulip. I can recognize the tulip from Amsterdam. Flowing waters with a bank of bright green grass. Perhaps Tenochtitlan doesn't have the flowing waters, but it is definitely a very green scent. Then, after an hour, this smells spicy, perhaps it's coriander and sage? It gets quite green (yet still sweet) after three hours. This smells like grains of dust rolling over a green plant which has been sliced open, with its sweet juices oozing out.

[angharad]

I feel like I'm in the desert with this scent. It's very dry but sweet (the pear?) with a hint of sage coming through. When I first put it on, I had this image of tumbleweeds in the desert blowing past a lonely blooming flower, which was kind of odd since I can't really pick out any floral notes. Tenochtitlan has average throw on my skin and lasts for about 4-5 hours. I like this, but I don't see myself wearing it very often.

[terrierhead]

In the imp - sweet, fruity, hard to pin down.

 

Wet - Juicy Fruit gum with a resinous undertone

 

Dry - Still Juicy Fruit (sigh)

 

20 minutes later - develops complexity. This is sweet and nuanced. The resinous quality is coming out, and it's nice.

 

60 minutes later - oh, I like this quite a bit. Fresh, fruity, yet grounded.

[Freyja Lux]

Sweet, a bit musky, and very spicy... like it should be. Doesn't last very long, and it is quite strong and doesn't spread much after being applied to the skin. However, it's a cheerful, bold smell and great to use in the wintertime, when one might be suffering from cabin fever and could use a pick-me-up. I think I'll keep this one.

[Mountaingrrl00]

This is the scent I was most anticipating in my first lab order. The description sounded perfect for me. When the package arrived, I was afraid I was going to be disappointed: In the vial, all I got was a whiff of Juicy Fruit gum. I decided to try stuff that immediately smelled more appealing, and put Tenochtitlan aside.

 

This morning, I decided to experiment. I dabbed a little on my wrists and took the imp with me to work. The hyssop and epazote wafted up to my nose during my commute, and it put me in a good mood. I caught the coriander during a meeting - yum. Back at my desk, the smell warmed and mellowed; I had to keep sniffing my wrists. I reapplied more at lunch to get another hit of the initial herbal phase. I can already tell that I'm going to go through this imp in no time and will need a big bottle.

 

By the way, all the cats I've encountered today adore this oil too. Is there nip in here?

[laochodia]

I only put a teensy dab of this on at first because I was afraid of the amber (and, for some reason, I thought there was chocolate in the blend). Two minutes later, after sitting and reading reviews and sniffing my wrist, I went and put a whole line on my wrist. This is warm pear, sage, more cleansing herbs, and heat on my wrist. I've never been to the desert, but this scent makes me want to something fierce. Sweet without being sugary, tart and herby. Not a top ten favorite, but something that is going to stay in my collection forever.

[tinyvulture]

i smell juicy pear and soft, sweet amber, with a touch of hyssop. i don’t notice the sage and coriander at all. the sweetness is sort of like juicy fruit gum, as other reviews have noted. it's a pleasant scent, though, not cloying. feminine, slightly exotic, great for summertime.

[this machine]

I hate it when a scent, though it may be lovely and appealing in many ways, still manages to remind me of some other scent i hate. In this case, once dried on my skin, tenochtitlan smells exactly like the generic country spice potpourri lysol spray in my office's bathroom. Argh!

 

See, i think many crappy-smelling things ruin good-smelling things for me. For instance, cheap perfumes and airsprays and the like. There could be a note in a bpal blend that i would love if not for bad associations for me (public bathrooms, ugh! junior high perfumes, ugh!), but if i can't break that association i'm screwed. I think tenochtitlan is one of those for me. I can tell that it is a beautifully blended scent, but i think i probably won't ever be able to do it myself. Sad!

[theseagrows]

i got this as a frimp from the lab, which is nice because it was on my wishlist! this is a beautiful warm and sweet scent. very summery. on me it smells like florals and amber- not sickly sweet florals but warm and summery, kind of tropical, and the amber warms up the florals nicely. definitely a keeper, if not a big bottle purchase.

[Jocelyn]

In the imp: smells like bubble gum

 

Goes cheap incense on me, giving it to a friend.

[Hawke]

In the vial: I'm hard pressed to say I smell anything other than "fruit" and maybe florals.

 

Wet: Definitely a mystery floral. I want to claim there's some sort of cactus or maybe a prickly pear note? Vaguely soapy while remaining sweet. It's sort of odd.

 

Dry: Add in a hint of spice I can't name, and a couple of hours and it's really very pretty. I had to grab my DDLM '05 and Harvest Moon to compare because they all smell *similar* to me, but not exactly alike. I like DDLM more, but I don't have much of that, and this is not a terrible runnerup. Probably not big bottle material, but we'll have to see.