Highwayman

[pkwench]

Stand and deliver! Vetiver with gardenia, blood red rose, night-blooming jasmine, a dash of cinnamon and a faint hint of leather.

Sniff: Sweet, but with a strong wafting of vetiver that comes out after second sniff. It's strong, but really not unpleasant.

Wet: Vetiver and Gardenia, ahoy!

After 20/Impressions: You know, for a good 19.5 minuts there, it was vetiver, vetiver, and more vetiver. Now, suddenly, it's not. I love changes like that. So cool! Anyway, now it's soft and floral-definately gardenia and jasmine. I can catch sort of an impression of rose. Not so much cinnamon, but the leather and vetiver seemed to have meshed in the background. It's somehow like a bouquet of flowers crushed against riding leathers or something. It's very sexual. And, just when I think it's not me-I find that it is. God, I want this on the boy!

[Orodemniades]

I'm ill at the moment, this is from my initial notes:

 

Wet: woody, smokey, slightly sweet

 

Drydown: sandalwood? Dragon's Blood? I can barely smell it...there's a smokey hint in here, as well as cherry...

 

Overall: Reminds me of spicy black tea...I'll definitely have to try this again, but I think I like it!

[Ajila]

At first on me, whoah vetiver, followed by whoah leather. I was glad that I had only dabbed this on my wrists, because if I'd put a lot on I wouldn't have been able to keep it on, I like both notes, but they were just so strong on my skin. This faded pretty quickly into a pretty floral scent with the rose, jasmine and gardinia working together pretty well. Two hours on and that had gone, to be replaced by the vetiver. Vetiver seems to like my skin, because this just lasts for ages like this.

[slugbait]

Another vetiver blend!

 

In the imp I initially smell gardenia underscored by vetivert. While wet I can faintly smell jasmine. As this dries down, the vetivert becomes more prominent, pushing all the notes into the background, with gardenia desperately trying to work its way back up. Dry, it just smells like a dirty floral on me. I wish it would have stayed the way it smelled in the bottle. Darn it.

 

Hopefully this will smell better on the boy.

[girlmadasbirds]

sharp..herbal.. the vetiver is definitely strong in this one. i can catch a whiff of leather now and then, but the gardenia overpowers it.

this one's just not for me.

[madelf]

I slathered this on my boyfriend and was able to enjoy the wonderful scent of Highwayman for an evening.

 

This is a spicy pine wood - the vetiver is strong, but pleasant and refreshing. There are hints of leather, and just a touch of rose. It reminds me of a walk in the woods and stumbling on some wild rose bushes.

 

It was stronger - a more rugged scent really, but it wasn't overwhelming and didn't have too much throw. The boyfriend gave this a solid Yummy.

[merivelle]

I bought this becasue I love the poem "The Highwayman" by Alfred Noyes. It is a blend that is heavy on vetiver, a Venus ruled herb that has a traditionally masculine scent. In this scent the vetiver is mixed with gardenia, and those are the only two notes that I was able to detect in this blend. So, it seems to mix a traditionally masculine secnt, vetiver, with a more femine scent, gardenia.It is very long-lasting and does not need repeated applications. It is a very complex blend that is not for the faint of heart. Only try this is you like a powerful scent! It is very unique!

[WidgetAlley]

I got this in my first ever BPAL order as an Imp. The notes sounded lovely, and I'm a sucker for masculine-ish scents anyway, so I had high hopes.

 

And, as it turned out.... not so much. Sad. True to its name, this one leapt out of the bottle and mugged me, which I like, but unfortunately it's vetiver, vetiver, vetiver, (my skin must love that note and pull it out or something)... and then, maybe an hour later.... nothing. No cinnamon or florals or leather; just vetivert until it's gone altogether. Mind you, I love the smell of vetiver, so I'll use up the Imp, but it won't be a 5ml order.

 

[edit] Changed "vetivert" to "vetiver" as in description, because apparently there is a difference...

Edited August 20, 2005 by WidgetAlley

[HoneyHoneyNY]

In the imp I get a breath of carnation, and then the vetiver takes over.

 

When it touches my skin, I get more carnation, with an extra spiciness that I would guess is the cinnamon. I'm getting gardenia, but only lightly, which is good, because gardenia isn't my favorite. As it dries, I get strong vetiver, which isn't bad, though a bit too rugged for me. I keep sniffing, because I'm not sure if I like it.

 

Later on as I'm going about my business, I smell something odd. I sniff the crook of my arm where I've dabbed the Highwayman, and it smells faintly like soemthing I've smelled before... OMG weed! It smells like somebody smoking weed and burning incense. I don't know how that's happened. It's not strong, just reminiscent. Under the weed scent, I'm catching whiffs of carnation and rose. I don't know if it's just in my head, but I can't get over it. Off it goes to swap.

[donsixgun]

This might have been nice, if it wasnt for the florals. I put it on, and there is spicy leather and vetivert, but the florals stand out, far too much, and turn it to blah on me. =/

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

I appreciated getting to swap and try this--Brian always cries when he hears Loreena McKennitt's version of the ballad set to music. Really cute. But, he said it's too flowery for him to wear, and vetiver and jasmine are both bad on me, so neither of us can wear it, alas. I don't get any rose, just the super-sweet gardenia and jasmine, with the bitter vetiver underneath. An interesting, androgynous study in contrasts, but just not right for him or me.

[Blood onmy hands]

I always want to try every blend with leather in it, even though leather doesn't usually work on me. Highwayman doesn't work well with my skin chemistry at all. At first it is intensely smoky. Like burning would chips over a strip of leather. It makes me feel nervous and it's just not a pleasant smell for me.

 

After about 15 minutes the leather fades away a bit and the jasmine comes out in full force. Jasmine is often a very smoky/heady floral on me and adding it to that woodsmoke smell is enough to make me feel like I'm suffocating.

 

I had high hopes for the rose and cinnamon combination, but I never smell any rose or cinnamon. Highwayman is strong and has a lot of throw. A very overpowering and dominating blend. It's not for me though... I don't care for it on my boy either. It's more floral on him (gardenia and jasmine). Odd that it was more masculine on me and more feminine on him.

[Lori]

Sniffing the imp: Sweetness of flowers with a backdrop of Vetiver.

 

Wet on wrist: The vetiver comes through stronger at the beginning, sort of peppery, like bullets being fired on the fair maiden. This is invoking the poetry nicely.

 

Drier: Florals that are all spiced up! And there is that crack of the leather whip!

 

Dry: An eerily, beautiful scent that invokes the night, the danger, the love and the madness of a tale told with sadness and regret.

 

I am loving this one. I want to listen to Loreena McKennitt’s version of Highwayman, while I lay back, close my eyes and smell this scent.

 

I am finding more and more catalogue scents that I want big bottles of, and add this to the list! I am glad to find that I like more than just the LE’s! It has just taken me a long time to get around to wearing and reviewing the catalogues as I have spent the past 6 months catching up on old and buying new LE’s. But, the catalogues that I have been trying on, lately, are as good, if not better than the majority of the discontinued oils and LE’s I have managed to get at exorbitant prices. So, bravo, Beth, and my wallet is bowing to and thanking you! :bowdown:

[sarada]

I love vetiver, but sometimes it takes a nasty turn on me and becomes very acrid. In Torment and Saturn, for example, it had that kind of overwhelming scorched scent that cancels out the usual wonderful deep dark smooth sweet wood that I get from other blends that include vetiver (I suspect Capricorn is the perfect vetiver blend for me....if indeed it contains it).

 

This reminds me of some of the discontinued scents, like Torment, which did bad things. I think that the florals are messing up my vetiver experience. Gardenia makes me sick to my stomach and gives me a headache so you'd think I'd know better than to try blends that contain it, huh? So does jasmine. If this didn't contain those, the vetiver might be able to smooth out and do it's damp sweet dark woody incense thing but it just kind of floats in a sea of heady florals and makes me feel queasy.

 

It's a shame that the supporting notes are such a nightmare on me because as this dries I can get some of the polished glossy dark brown vetiver scent that I love. Alas, it's not going to work for me! I don't know if vetiver and florals can ever play nice together. I don't get any cinnamon or leather from this...I don't like cinnamon so it's just as well, but leather usually works well with vetiver.

 

This scent did, however, make me think of Adam Ant and that's never a bad thing!

[foxroses]

i'm not familiar with vetiver, but i like jasmine and i love cinnamon, and leather seems to be nice. i wasn't sure about the rose (most rose turns to baby powder on me), but i was hoping the jasmine and cinnamon would cover it.

 

in the bottle, it smells AMAZING. leather, a sexy highwayman with a horse (although i don't smell horse ), with some earthy, spicy (vetiver?) scent, a twinge of cinnamon, beautiful jasmine flowers, really exotic annd gorgeous.

 

... alas, once i put it on, THE GARDENIAS ATTACK! i don't smell rose, really, it's definitely the gardenia.. it's some yucky, horrible, soapy smell that takes over the loveliness of the jasmine and cinnamon and leather. BOO

 

it smells great on my boyfriend though

 

shame on you, gardenia!

[Eros]

In the imp, gardenia & jasmine, nothing else :l Once on, both fade *a bit*(amazingly enough), and something almost lemony comes to the forefront...There's a nice hint of leather in the background, not too strong but definitely there.

Quite nice to find something w/gardenia and jasmine that doesn't stay in overkill mode Still, while nice enough, not one I'll be looking to add to the big bottle list.

[gangstaknitta]

This blend very jasmine and rose; I can just barely smell the leather which prevents it from being too floral to my nose. Dry, it becomes a nice light floral, not too sweet. It has good staying power and the throw is just right--not too strong, not too weak.

[arathain]

Oy! If I had a man, I would bathe him in this stuff! Night-blooming jasmine and gardenia are my favorite flowers and Highwayman manages to combine them and turn them into a masculine scent. First comes the vetiver, then the Night-blooming Jasmine and Gardenia with leather chasing them. Lovelovelovelovelovelovelovelove!

[Voleuse]

On first application, this is all vetiver, but the gardenia and the leather soon temper this. As with all vetiver blends, this seems very masculine to me, and the leather gives it a wicked edge.

 

The floral notes, while subdued, keep this the scent from becoming overpowering, I think. I don't get any cinnamon, but instead a bit of spicy smoke in the background. I think I prefer Iago to this, but it's a close call.

[yeahbutnobut]

Highwayman

 

In the imp: dark leathery vetiver with just a hint of floral.

Wet on skin: dark, dry vetiver-leather with a hint of slightly sharp gardenia (which isn’t too strong here) and possibly cinnamon.

Dry: hmm, interesting. Despite all the floral notes mentioned, there are barely there-apart from the sharp scent of dry gardenia, but apart from that, the scent is pretty much all vetiver and leather, it’s a warm scent, which I think could be due to the cinnamon. It reminds me of other leather and vetiver BPAL scents, and the floral notes are just faintly noticeable, adding a somewhat lighter touch to the scent. It’s a masculine scent, that’s for sure.

After a while: (30 mins) I now get a scent of half-sharp, half floral garden, with deep leather and vetiver warmed by a hint of cinnamon, with a bit more floral noticeable, possibly the jasmine. I was hoping for a bit of rose though.

(after an hour and a half) I don’t know why, but I find this scent strangely comforting, even though it’s too manly for me. I think I get a bit of rose at this point, it seems to be smoothing out a bit.

After an hour or so, I think I get a bit of rose coming through, it's smoothing and sweetening out a bit now.

Verdict: despite all the floral notes listed, I don’t get much of them in here-it’s all about the vetiver and leather. This is a dark, deep, rugged scent, warmed by a little bit of cinnamon and with a fleeting glimpse of flowers. The gardenia in this does go a bit sharp but it’s pretty much blotted out by the vetiver and leather. This is very masculine, not something I’d wear much, but I do find the scent comforting and it’s got a lovely warmth to it. I know that I would love this scent on a man…but I’m not sure whether to keep it or not.

Edited January 10, 2006 by yeahbutnobut

[Amberfishy]

Highwayman... wow. I got it as a freebie in my first lab order and as soon I sniffed it, I thought HOWDY this is all man. Extremely masculine.

 

The main note which I'm guessing is vetiver is extremely overpowering and I can really smell the leather. As to the florals, well I never got to meet them until it dried down quite a bit but really this is so smokey, so damn masculine, it really erm, stands and delivers.

 

I slathered it all over my man and I probably put too much on him because he complained of a headache from it shortly after. Wearing it on myself was a little strange at first and I'm not quite comfortable with it but it's such a fascinating and sexy scent so I'll be keeping the imp for the odd sniff methinks.

[bifemmefatale]

In the bottle: Bleah! Very traditionally perfumey, very floral. On, the gardenia/rose is really strong, cloying even, with a LOT of throw. Jasmine is so similar a scent to gardenia to me that they're just blending into one sweet floral. The vetiver gives it some earthiness, but on the whole this is throat-catching flowers. Good Lord, I hope this mellows fast and the cinnamon and leather make their appearance, because right now this is Grandma in a funeral home. I can't imagine a man wearing this scent.

 

Later: FAUGH! I've given this stuff a half hour and I can't stand it anymore. I stink. I'm going to wash this off. Guess in the future I should avoid all BPAL scents with rose in them, as we can't stand each other.

[slave1]

In Bottle: Spicy leather

 

On Skin: I usually like leather scents, but this one is very strong. And super smoky. It’s almost like Brimstone with leather. It burns my eyes. I don’t smell the gardenia or jasmine, but the rose is in the background, a little tart and sharp. Also, shockingly I don’t smell the cinnamon. Cinnamon is usually a note that jumps out and burns my nose… I think the vetiver and leather drown it out so it doesn’t surface on me. This is a strong scent with quite a bit of throw. Sadly, I don’t like it so it’s off to the swaps.

[Miss Lynx]

From reading the description, I thought this would be another of those men's scents that would undergo a sex change on me as my skin amped the florals. But it didn't really -- the florals are not that strong at all, and it's very much a masculine scent.

 

The vetiver dominates it, and the leather is decidedly more than a faint hint. It also seems to be the nasty, bitter sort of vetiver that's in Malediction, as opposed to the mellower sort in Voodoo and Blood Kiss. (I should mention that I don't really know if there are two different kinds of vetiver or if it just smells different in combination with different things -- I just know some vetiver-containing scents are nice on me and some are awful).

 

So, definitely not a winner for me... It might be nice on someone male though.

 

Grade: D

[Rewth]

quite good. defintiely has a swashbuckler, swinging from the chandaleer, smell to it. the florals are jsut a little girlie for me, but we're definitley getting somewhere as its not quite enough to prevent me from wearing it. the vetiver and jasmine rescue it at the last moment bringing the florals down to a more green scent. the leather is only a background scent on me, not enough to clearly distinguish.