Bathsheba

[zankoku_zen]

The Seventh Daughter, Daughter of the Oath. She was King David's lover, and the mother of King Solomon. Her scent is breathtakingly lovely, exotic and powerfully sensual in its innocence: carnation, sensual plum, and Arabian musk.

In the imp: Carnation and plum

On Skin: Carnation and plum and spicyness

On Drydown: More plum, less carnation, slightly musky

Verdict: There is something here that reminds me to the Frumious Bandersnatch. I think it's the plum. It's a very pretty scent but not something I'm personally crazy about. I guess I'm just not a plum fan.

[aquazoo]

Spicy fruit. A bit overwhelming, not great on me.

[taramarie]

In the imp, I smell mostly the musk and carnation. Bathsheba smells the same wet on my skin. The two notes work together beautifully. Dry on my skin, the plum starts to come through. As lovely as Bathsheba is, I won't get a bottle, but I'll always have an imp on hand.

[madeleine]

Bathsheba starts out very carnation/green/fresh/florist's on me. It took about fifteen minutes for the plum and musk notes to show up, and I really liked it once they did. But it faded quickly, and I'd like a scent with more staying power, so I think I'll pass on Bathsheba for the time being.

 

Really, it's quite pretty. I like the way it makes you think it's going one way and then heads in a completely different direction.

[tartchef]

Bathsheba is lovely - sweetly spicy carnation with a lick of tart plumminess, the musk gently bringing up the rear. It's supremely pretty, all cashmere sweaters & lace-edged lingerie... alas, it is ultimately not my cup of tea, really. Oddly, I can see my mum really liking this, so we'll see how it wears on her...

[YoakeNoKami]

Imp: Dark fruitiness

 

On: Delicious, delicious carnation with a glaze of sweet, dark plum, it makes me think of the deep dusky red that can be had by both the flowers and the fruit. It's a content, deep kind of sensually warm scent, altogether, with a refreshing sort of bite to the plum.

[SarahScent44]

In the imp, I get a boozy plum scent, with the musks in the background.

 

When I put it on my skin, the plum gets sweeter, and there's the warmth of the musk - I get just the faintest spicy scent of the carnation. I want more of that!

 

Dry, there's much more carnation - yay!! But it's balanced really nicely by the sweetness of the plum, and both are backed up by a very light musk, which adds a nice softness. Keeper!

[ravenfeathers]

in the bottle very sweet floral

wet on skin there's a fruity note that comes up, which must be the plum, but smells a bit like lotus, sort of bubblegum-y. it beats back the floral a bit.

dry on skin the musk never goes musky, but seems to keep both the carnation and plum from going nuts. all in all, an interesting scent, but not me.

[Miss Lynx]

I got this as a frimp in a decant circle, and I have no idea why I never noticed this before or put it on my wish list -- fruit notes + musk generally = love on me, and carnation is one of the few floral notes that actually works on me and doesn't get amped up horribly. So as soon as I looked up the description, I was looking forward to trying it.

 

And sure enough, it's really nice. Sweet, heady, a little spicy, and kind of intoxicating. Definitely dead sexy -- I'm not surprised it falls under Love Potions. It's actually a little bit reminiscent of my beloved Red Phoenix, though a bit lighter and less complex.

 

Interestingly, it didn't particularly remind me of Frumious Bandersnatch until I saw reviews making that comparison, even though if you think about it, they have almost the same ingredients! Different types of musk, maybe, and the Bandersnatch has chrysanthemum as well, but from what I recall, FB comes across as spicier, and this one as muskier/sexier. But I'll have to try FB again and compare.

 

Anyway, Bathsheba is a bit sweeter and has less depth than most of the scents I usually like best, but it's still quite nice. And it occurs to me that were I to layer it with Plunder, which smells like the other half of Red Phoenix, I'd probably have a dead ringer for that most-loved scent. So, definite keeper!

 

Grade: B+

[Lyrical]

I had a rough start with Bathsheba because on first application it smelled almost exactly like Dragon's Heart. I suspect this was because I'd tested too many imps that day, and either my skin or my nose was messed up, because the next day it was all sweet and plummy and really nice!

 

Today I slathered it on and I've been walking around in a heady haze of spicy, musky plum all day. It's real plum, with the bitter, purple skin included and it smells rich, not too sweet, and very grown up but not at all old-ladyish! Simply gorgeous!

[euterpe414]

This is so gorgeous, soft and sensual. At first it is very faint on my skin, but the longer it is on the more the plum, carnation and musk mingle together and amplify themselves (it never gets overwhelming, but stays at just the right amount of 'come hither' throw). I do agree that this is similar to Frumious Bandersnatch, yet much, much softer and more round, if that makes sense. It makes me feel really elegant and beautiful, and just a bit dark and daring. A perfect combination of notes

[odalisque]

In the imp, this reminded me almost chokingly of Shalimar, which I don't like at all, so I was surprised to end up liking Bathsheba as much as I did. It was actually the only imp out of 5 in my current batch to make it to the second round, so to speak.

 

The Shalimar-smell (the Arabian musk? I suppose?) toned down very quickly on the skin and a nice, warm, mildly spicy carnation emerged. For a short while it seemed like only carnation, then the musk returned, but it played nicely and although it still reminds me of Shalimar, I really enjoyed it and kept sniffing my wrists. Apparently carnation notes work really well on me.

 

I never picked up anything I'd identify as plum, or fruit, at all. The color I associate this scent with is also "carnation", by which I mean that deep shade of salmony carmine that's almost red but slightly less saturated. It does have good throw and I was smelling myself as I moved my hands even after it really faded down on my wrists.

 

I'm looking for a signature scent for daily wear, and this is not it -- it's deeper, bolder, lusher than I feel comfortable with on a daily basis. But it cries out to be used as scented body oil, after a warm bath, and be worn in a candlelit bedroom for a nice evening in. Elegant and sensual for sure. Most likely a big bottle purchase.

 

ETA: still just loving this. Something about it feels like too "much" for everyday wear (and I'm not shy about rich scents -- my signature blend is The Caterpillar), but if I'm feeling a little carnal, this is the go-to. Happily it blends quite well with any residue of Caterpillar that might be on my skin.

 

These days I can pick up the plum as well and I'm not a fruity scent fan, but I like the plum. It does blend surprisingly well with the carnation and musk, unless my skin is very warm like right out of a hot bath, which amps the plum to unpleasantly fruity levels. This is just such a well-balanced, warm scent.

Edited March 14, 2008 by odalisque

[CrazyPretzel]

Initially, the plum in this is cloyingly sweet and almost rank - reminds me of my bad trip with Skuld! After it dries on my skin, though, the carnation and musk blend together wonderfully. The plum is the only thing that queers the blend for me; as it is, I'll stick to other carnations.

[puck_nc]

Origin: sweet and generous gift of an imp from an LJ friend

 

Initial Thoughts: I love carnation. I have learned to love plum. But my lessons in the unsuitability of musk on me stayed my hand. But my friend pointed out that she smelled almost no musk in the mix. So, we shall see.

 

In the Bottle: Lotsa plum, some carnation, a backdrop of spicy musk. Perhaps this will work...

 

Wet: I get a blast of plum, then for a second something really musty and sour shows up. Luckily it fades almost immediately as the carnation asserts itself. But alas, no sooner that I really start to enjoy huffing on my wrist, the musk charges in.

 

Drydown: Well, there's plenty of musk, but there's also plenty of carnation with the plum as a pleasant zing in the background. It's not MUSK! killing the other notes the way so many blends with musk behave on me.

 

Verdict: I think I like it!

[alicia_stardust]

Bathsheba is a nice, spicy carnation blend with a jolt of purple-red plum. It has a nice warmth and an exotic little twist of spices that weave through it. I'd classify this as a sensual, feminine blend. It's lovely.

[The_Merf]

I was surprised to see that I hadn't tried this and it wasn't on my w/l; I can't see anything on the note list that would have led me to exclude it!

 

When the blend is wet, it's a really gorgeous carnation. I love carnation to death; it's one of my favorite floral notes, so I am pleased by this. The plum and the musk blend very well in this blend, and I think that the musk note has the edge on my skin. This smells like a fine piece of fabric skimming over my skin. The notes blend together very well, and I would still call this a carnation/musk blend on me, but the plum adds a depth that distinguishes this from Othello (which is similar, but I prefer this). The plum also gets stronger in the last stage of the scent. I'm definitely going to hold this one over for future testing. It's so nice to happen upon lovely GC surprises like this, and I thank the Lab for the frimp!

[agnusdei]

Initially Bathsheba is very fresh and light, the carnation is gently spicy and the plum adds an undercurrent of concentrated fruitiness. This isn’t exactly the creamy sweet carnation from say, Alice, Pink Moon 07, or Hod, instead it has a more delicate floral feeling akin to it’s presence in Desdemona. I can tell it’s a flower I smell, without the uniquely smooth complexity that I’m used to with BPAL carnation notes. It’s still quite beautiful though, especially paired with the sweet juiciness of the plum.

 

Bathsheba has a lot in common with Frumious Bandersnatch (one of my favorites) note wise, and while there are some similarities in their scents I think Bathsheba is on the other side of the carnation-plum spectrum. It’s much less spicy than FB with a softer, slightly powdery quality, and while FB is a playful and mischievous creature Bathsheba is wholly refined and sensual. There’s a point in the dry down of Bathsheba that smells quite similar to FB (when the initial blast of spice starts to fade), but then a deep base of musk creeps out and takes Bathsheba in a whole different direction. It’s now quite magnetic, with the Arabian musk seeping into the carnation and plum and saturating them with its warm and rounded scent. It's just soft and floral enough to be delicate and dignified, but just musky enough to give it that powerful sexy vibe as well. I think I was expecting something heavier and more intoxicating than what Bathsheba actually turned out to be, but it's lovely all the same, and will be worn.

[waternight]

In the imp: Plummy plum plum! All fruit from the imp, fresh and juicy and not too sweet.

Wet: First on, juicy plum. In a moment, carnation roars up, taking no prisoners. It blends with the plum, making this a spicy fruity scent. At this stage, I categorize Bathsheba as very sensual. Not sexy - sensual. After a few minutes I get the musk, but it's light.

Dry: Spicy plum and very light musk. I like the spicy plum aspect, but I want the musk to be a bit heavier and more grounding. As it is, this blend is neither light and fresh, nor is it rich and earthy and grounded. It's floating around between categories and can't decide what it wants to be. I might experiment with layering, but I don't think I'll really wear it much on its own.

[ElinaMakropulos]

In the imp, this smells like a VERY fruity floral. On my skin, it smells EXACTLY like juicy fruit gum. I ignored it a bit when I first got it because it seemed so...meh (I generally am not a florals girl), but it has gotten a bit nicer with age. It's a nice pick-me-up when I'm feeling gross.

[Suu4LC]

I think this smells lovely in the imp. Sweet richly fruity carnation. Yum!

 

On my skin I get little whiffs of something just a teensy bit "off" in this. It's like, it's almost perfect and gorgeous, but there's an underlying funkiness that is throwing me off. I think the problem for my nose is that the plum and carnation don't seem to go together right. It's kind of almost on the cusp of old lady-ish to my nose, but still sexy enough that I suppose it would be better to call it "mature" or "womanly". I liked the lab's plum note a lot though and will have to look for other blends that contain it.

 

Overall, this blend is not for me. And it faded super duper fast! After only like 50 minutes it's pretty much gone completely!

[suki]

in the imp: plum- ripe, wet plum.

 

wet on skin: plum is still strong, but is now reminding me of the original Betsey Johnson perfume, which was one of the first fragrances i really fell in love with

 

dry down: the plum and the musk dance well together- i get no carnation from this blend at all, but i feel ok about it.

 

in all: this is a really good crossover scent- one that i would use to recruit new folks to the wonders of BPAL!

[hellomoonglow]

I must say first off that I don't like carnations. That being said, I don't know that I've ever smelled the lab's carnation. In the imp, it's strooooooongly cinnamon. And musky. On my skin, it had that "new age shop" smell that I contribute to a million different incense sticks. Must be the musk. I'm not so good with musk, sandalwood, and all those more earthy scents. Do I sound like a rube here? They all smell alike is what I'm trying to say!

 

I've had it on about 40 minutes. What I like best about this particular scent, is that it goes through morphing stages. It is definetly not the same in the bottle, initially applied, after 20 minutes, and I hope it'll keep going through transitions until it finally fades. I think that's really fun, when you find an oil that does that. Keeps me sniffing my wrist!

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Musky, warm spiced plum.

 

Immediately on skin: This is a very light scent once I put it on. It smells mostly of sweet and warm carnation, but there’s also a nice undertone of plum and the musk swirling throughout the whole blend.

 

After a little while: Soft, warm, fruity carnation. This is so pretty even though it’s rather light on me. It seems to stay very close to the skin, but it wafts gently with a nice sweetness. This blend isn’t overly sweet at all though. The carnation, plum, and warm musk are all very well balanced so they all blend together well and no one note overpowers another.

 

Overall Impressions: A fruity, soft carnation blend. This is just so pretty with the gentle and smooth spiciness of the carnation blending with the musk and juicy plum. This is really a wonderfully balanced blend. It’s feminine and very sexy since it clings so close to the skin. If you like carnation blends and don’t mind a little fruitiness, I definitely recommend this blend.

[gchris]

In Vial:Strong perfume

 

Wet: This is really nice, has an aged smell but also a bit of freshness.

 

Later: This is now very perfumey. Makes my nose burn a bit

[fairnymph]

In the bottle: Spicy carnation, deep fruit, dark musk. Reminds me of a gentler Mme. Moriarty.

 

Wet: More floral, lighter - the carnation opens up. Less sweet. The plum is fruitier. Muskier.

 

Dry: Dries extremely rapidly and fades too. Dark, dark musk!

 

Summary: Amps back up, with good throw and lasting power. Dark, deep musk with hints of ripe plum and spicy carnation. Very much a gentler, lighter version of Mme. Moriarty.

 

Too spicy-dark for me.