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BPAL Reviews: Umbra, Snake Charmer Resurrected, The Red Queen, Bess
UMBRA (GC, Bewitching Brews)
East African black patchouli, cedarwood, vetiver and a dribble of cinnamon.
In the vial: A dark, smoky, dry, spicy, reddened scent.
On me: Well-blended to the point of seamlessness; dry and with no trace of sweetness, which keeps the notes in check. Warm, smoke over cedar and colored by cinnamon, dark but not heavy, almost understated but, on skin level, not at all shy. Scent-color is a smoky, hazy bistre. Throw is moderate to low, but occasionally reaches out longer tendrils of cinnamon.
Verdict: I'd half expect a blend like this to have some sort of booziness or sweetness to give it counterpoint or punch, but Umbra's beauty is that it lacks that; instead, it's a pure smooth worn-wood darkness—the cinnamon gives it color and interest, but the scent on the whole could almost make you think it was understated, a background note, which belies its well-blended depth. It doesn't stand out, and I doubt I'll remember to reach for it frequently, but it's an accomplished not-quite-a-background scent that I'll be happy to have around. I'll keep my imp.
SNAKE CHARMER RESURRECTED (LE, Carnival Noire)
Sensual, sibilant, sexual and hypnotic: Arabian musk and exotic spices slinking through Egyptian amber, enticing vanilla, and a serpentine blend of black plum, labdanum, ambrette, benzoin and black coconut.
In the vial: Snake oil's vanilla and spices in an astoundingly thick out.
On me: It goes slightly dirty as it hits the skin, cigarette smoke/bourbon vanilla-esque, atop vanilla and spices. Once it dries down, however, this is pretty much what Snake Oil ought to have been, except that Snake Oil disappears on my skin: it's a dark spicy vanilla and a touch of amber, a subtle and deep and sensual scent, sweet but smooth, spicy and dark, warm and brown. I get plenty of resins a little dark fruit, especially in the throw, differentiating the scent from virgin Snake Oil. Throw is low, but the scent shows no shyness at skin-level; wear length is very long.
Verdict: Considering my tumultuous relationship with Snake Oil, I'm pleasantly surprised how much I like Snake Charmer (Resurrected); it's not love, but this is what I'd always hoped Snake Oil would be, in spirit if not in every letter, and so I appreciate and will keep my decant.
THE RED QUEEN (GC, The Mad Tea Party)
Deep mahogany and rich, velvety woods lacquered with sweet, black-red cherries and currant.
In the vial: Currant; a dark red scent, not too juicy or tart.
On me: Juicy and tart to the extreme as this hits the skin, backed up by slightly bitter woods. The two aspects balance out during drydown: a rich base of nonfoody woods topped by slightly subdued dark red fruits. It has moments when the fruits get too strong for my taste, which doesn't surprise me—I have a love/hate relationship with that note, which I like in theory but in practice is often too powerful for my taste, especially since my skin amps currant. But on the whole the woods ground the scent and keep the fruits in line. A warm, red, smooth scent, rich and royal. Scent-color is dark rosewood/mahogany; throw and wearlength are both moderate verging on high.
Verdict: Like but not love, enough to keep the imp but not half enough for a bottle. I imagine aging will do good things to this scent, maintaining an even better balance of wood to fruit, but honestly I'm surprised to like this so much as it is: I find that red fruits are often only a theoretical desire, but these are unique and well-balanced, and quite lovely.
BESS (GC, Bewitching Brews)
This is our modernization of a 17th-century perfume blend favored by British aristocracy: rosemary, orange flower, grape spirit, five rose variants, lemon peel, and mint.
In the vial: Lemon, with some background notes I can't pin down.
On me: The sharp oils of lemon and orange; mint hiding beneath, I think—a sharp, citric scent. The sharpness wears off during drydown, revealing something sweet and familiar beneath grape and florals, soft, sweet, and almost frosted; a pale, slightly powdery scent. There's a hint of rose, but surprisingly it doesn't overtake everything else in the blend (I usually amp rose).
Verdict: Nicer than I anticipated, but not at all my style. A sweet, cool fruity floral, Bess is unusual and I suppose palatable, but I washed it off and will trade away my imp.
East African black patchouli, cedarwood, vetiver and a dribble of cinnamon.
In the vial: A dark, smoky, dry, spicy, reddened scent.
On me: Well-blended to the point of seamlessness; dry and with no trace of sweetness, which keeps the notes in check. Warm, smoke over cedar and colored by cinnamon, dark but not heavy, almost understated but, on skin level, not at all shy. Scent-color is a smoky, hazy bistre. Throw is moderate to low, but occasionally reaches out longer tendrils of cinnamon.
Verdict: I'd half expect a blend like this to have some sort of booziness or sweetness to give it counterpoint or punch, but Umbra's beauty is that it lacks that; instead, it's a pure smooth worn-wood darkness—the cinnamon gives it color and interest, but the scent on the whole could almost make you think it was understated, a background note, which belies its well-blended depth. It doesn't stand out, and I doubt I'll remember to reach for it frequently, but it's an accomplished not-quite-a-background scent that I'll be happy to have around. I'll keep my imp.
SNAKE CHARMER RESURRECTED (LE, Carnival Noire)
Sensual, sibilant, sexual and hypnotic: Arabian musk and exotic spices slinking through Egyptian amber, enticing vanilla, and a serpentine blend of black plum, labdanum, ambrette, benzoin and black coconut.
In the vial: Snake oil's vanilla and spices in an astoundingly thick out.
On me: It goes slightly dirty as it hits the skin, cigarette smoke/bourbon vanilla-esque, atop vanilla and spices. Once it dries down, however, this is pretty much what Snake Oil ought to have been, except that Snake Oil disappears on my skin: it's a dark spicy vanilla and a touch of amber, a subtle and deep and sensual scent, sweet but smooth, spicy and dark, warm and brown. I get plenty of resins a little dark fruit, especially in the throw, differentiating the scent from virgin Snake Oil. Throw is low, but the scent shows no shyness at skin-level; wear length is very long.
Verdict: Considering my tumultuous relationship with Snake Oil, I'm pleasantly surprised how much I like Snake Charmer (Resurrected); it's not love, but this is what I'd always hoped Snake Oil would be, in spirit if not in every letter, and so I appreciate and will keep my decant.
THE RED QUEEN (GC, The Mad Tea Party)
Deep mahogany and rich, velvety woods lacquered with sweet, black-red cherries and currant.
In the vial: Currant; a dark red scent, not too juicy or tart.
On me: Juicy and tart to the extreme as this hits the skin, backed up by slightly bitter woods. The two aspects balance out during drydown: a rich base of nonfoody woods topped by slightly subdued dark red fruits. It has moments when the fruits get too strong for my taste, which doesn't surprise me—I have a love/hate relationship with that note, which I like in theory but in practice is often too powerful for my taste, especially since my skin amps currant. But on the whole the woods ground the scent and keep the fruits in line. A warm, red, smooth scent, rich and royal. Scent-color is dark rosewood/mahogany; throw and wearlength are both moderate verging on high.
Verdict: Like but not love, enough to keep the imp but not half enough for a bottle. I imagine aging will do good things to this scent, maintaining an even better balance of wood to fruit, but honestly I'm surprised to like this so much as it is: I find that red fruits are often only a theoretical desire, but these are unique and well-balanced, and quite lovely.
BESS (GC, Bewitching Brews)
This is our modernization of a 17th-century perfume blend favored by British aristocracy: rosemary, orange flower, grape spirit, five rose variants, lemon peel, and mint.
In the vial: Lemon, with some background notes I can't pin down.
On me: The sharp oils of lemon and orange; mint hiding beneath, I think—a sharp, citric scent. The sharpness wears off during drydown, revealing something sweet and familiar beneath grape and florals, soft, sweet, and almost frosted; a pale, slightly powdery scent. There's a hint of rose, but surprisingly it doesn't overtake everything else in the blend (I usually amp rose).
Verdict: Nicer than I anticipated, but not at all my style. A sweet, cool fruity floral, Bess is unusual and I suppose palatable, but I washed it off and will trade away my imp.