Review: BPAL's Siren

[sathari]

So I actually have a few reviews for posting and probably will do so later on in the week, but OMG, I just had to squee about Siren at all of you.

The website description is: Bewitching, tantalizing and dangerously seductive. A thrilling, exotic blend — deceptively sweet, but spiked with malice. White ginger, jasmine, and a touch of vanilla and apricot.

In the imp: it was kind of cold and pale as a scent (the jasmine and maybe the white ginger?) but it wasn't sticky-sweet like their vanilla and fruit scents often are, so I figured I'd bite.

On me, intial reaction: ooh, glad I did! Something in my skin chemistry is strengthening the overall throw/effect of this; the ginger and jasmine are strong and sharp, still a little "pale-smelling" for my taste, but the vanilla/apricot are these great background notes that keep this from being too pale or sharp, though it is a near thing. I keep sniffing my wrist, trying to decide how well I actually like this; there’s almost an... aftersmell, the olfactory equivalent of an aftertaste, that’s much warmer and sweeter that I’m really enjoying. It is a little too floral/gardeny for me in its actual scent, but definitely not bad.

And then, within a couple of hours... the squee set in: because it is totally, totally, one of those sweet golden scents that I've shared my love for here in the past, another Osun or a Jezebel or a Morocco--- if I can bring myself to tolerate the initial stages of this scent, and if it proves to have staying power, this may become a new favorite. It's got that sweet spiciness that I always love, but... I think it's the jasmine?--- that adds this subtle fresh lightness to it. It is AMAZING, and what's really amazing is just how much it shifted on me, how much it went from, hmm, this is nice, to OMG DO WANT. I don't think I've ever had a scent change quite that markedly on me--- I've had plenty that wear off in different ways, or leave different notes behind, but this particular change is a new experience for me.

Comments

[grimmsgirl]

I think I'd rather a perfume be great in the drydown than in the opening, and how fabulous that you experienced that clear shift. And apricots - mmmmm!

[sathari]

Yeah, all in all, I'm inclined to agree that it's better to "suffer through" the early stages of a scent that's awesome in the long haul than have one that starts off sooo nicely and then gets awful (which I've had happen, at least a little)! Definitely an awesome experience!

[grimmsgirl]

Most mainstream scents, in the design process invest a lot more in the opening, because people will try it in store and go "Yeah!" Hence the current prevalence of sucky drydowns :(

[sathari]

(Heh, I rest my case about my comment in your intro post--- you clearly know you stuff!)

I'll be honest, I don't buy most mainstream perfumes, because the alcohol/thinners/etc. in them thin them out too much for me--- I got my start with BPAL and kind of got spoiled, I think.

[kore]

Oh, I love those golden scents! I'll have to try this out -- Jezebel and Morocco are two of my favourites too. I think the ginger might have put me off, because spice scents tend to turn to spice rack on me, but the other notes love me.

[sathari]

Oh, cool--- sounds like we might have similar preferences + body chemistries! (If that's the case, I'll warn you about amber--- smells like HEAVEN, but I at least I am violently skin-allergic to it. Woe and sadness!) What are some of your other favorites, if you don't mind my asking--- they might become mine? :)

[kore]

I have a TON of favourites, some (some!) are listed here: http://www.bpal.org/user/3426-theredshoes/ and I xpost my reviews at my BPAL blog http://www.bpal.org/user/3426-theredshoes/ Some favourites, let's see....Bastet, Hecate, The Lion, Queen of Sheba, Golden Priapus, Athens, those are some of the gold-type scents I love. Lately I've been into the (FEW) aquatic BPALs I can wear: Water of Notre Dame, Prague, Glasgow, Lyonesse -- Lyonesse and Notre Dame especially are gorgeous.

My favourite note is lavender (I love Paris and TKO), and I just can't deal with patchouli in any formulation, I get migraines and it gives me terrible headaches. I also amp green notes like WHOAH, to the extent that if a scent is described as "a beautiful bed of roses with the faintest hint of green grass ten miles off," it will smell like mashed decayed lettuce on me. I love the Illyria and Wanderlust and Mad Hatter lines, older stuff like that. I don't like the Lovecraft stuff in any form -- no way I want to invoke Cthullu. //shudders

[lunabee34]

Have you tried Villain? It's a classic lavender fougere. It's one of my daughter's BPAL faves.

[kore]

SADLY I found out that fougére means like "woodsy/herbal/fernlike," AKA Green Notes of Deathy Death for me, so it didn't work.... http://www.bpal.org/blog/1044/entry-7762-from-villain/ It's possible the lime/citrus sharpened it up too much as well, I amp those like whoah. TKO and Erebos (atmo spray) are my favourite BPAL lavenders so far. I think I liked Bluebeard, altho I tried that so far back it's hard to remember.

[lunabee34]

Have you ever tried Caron Pour un Homme? It's lavender, vanilla, and musk. It's a gorgeous, soft lavender.

[kore]

Also sadly I am a speshul snowflake enough that BPAL oils are about all I can wear. Regular alcohol-based perfume sets off nasty allergies (my mom's the same way). But it sounds lovely!

[lunabee34]

That's right. I remember you saying that now. :(

The only other lavender BPAL's I've tried are Nanshe (probably too sharp for you; strong lemongrass) and Bow and Crown of Conquest (which is a personal fave).

[sathari]

...threadjack threadjack threadjack: I have an imp of Nanshe to try as a bedtime scent, and Bow and Crown is one of my all-time faves, but I am sadly allergic to (I think) the cedar in it. Woe--- otherwise it would be my signature scent.

[lunabee34]

I think Nanshe smells fantastic. It is right up my alley.

But it works as described for me. It's supposed to be for dreams, and it truly does make me have vivid and memorable dreams. I don't enjoy dreaming, so I don't wear it at night any longer (I did it as an experiment over about a week because I didn't really believe it would affect my dreams), but I love wearing it during the day.

[sathari]

Ooh, that's definitely useful to know!

Whether or not I enjoy dreaming depends on the content, but I am looking forward to trying it!

[lunabee34]

I am so weird. I despise dreaming. And I almost never remember doing so. I go months without remembering a dream. And I like it that way. LOL

[sathari]

...wow, that is a lot of thought you've put in! I am impressed! And will definitely compare your collection to my own! (I'm happily finding a lot of GC scents I love, love, love among the imps that came with my orders for the last two holidays!)

[tangerine42]

I had almost exactly the same reactions to this one, which is awesome and makes me laugh :) I'm a newbie and am still very much figuring out what I like, but I did the same thing you described, where I kept sniffing because I couldn't actually tell if I liked it at first, and then the apricot comes out later and is just gorgeous. I'll have to look into those other few you mentioned liking, too!

[sathari]

Oh, wow, I am having the same reaction to your comment that you did to my review--- it's awesome and makes me laugh! And, definitely a newbie here too--- I got into BPAL ages ago but none of the scents I liked "on the page" ever quite turned out right on me, then this comm came into existence just as I was getting interested again, and this time I'm getting much better results. And, ooh, good luck trying some of the others--- I would love to hear your thoughts on them!

[kore]

There's also a lot of reviews at the bpal forum -- posting there seems to have really slowed down, but there's a lot archived. It takes some work to navigate.....a lot of the time it's simpler to google "bpal (scent name)" than try to search the forums. http://www.bpal.org/forum/3-reviews/

When I'm wondering about stuff, I look through reviews of a scent I like to see if someone had a similar reaction, and then check their reviews to see what they liked or didn't like. I have one friend whose skin reacts almost the same as mine does but her preferences are really different -- food and smoke!

[lunabee34]

I'm so glad you found a keeper! Yay!

I am discovering that many fruit scents smell rancid on me (BPAL's Croquet or Lancome Tresor). So far grape, pear, and citrus are keepers but the apricot and peach I've tried so far do not work for me. :(

[sathari]

Oh, man, that sucks when certain notes don't work on you! I should probably get more systematic at tracking that for myself... then again, I'm looking at the pile of "ZOMG DO WANT a bottle" out of my latest collection of imps to test, and, um, maybe not. ;)