Bakunawa

[ellebelle]

BAKUNAWA
Ang bulan namon sang una, sang una
Guin ka-on sang bakunawa
Malo-oy ka man, i-uli, i-uli
Korona sang amon hari.

In the far-flung mists of time, long before man walked the earth, Batala, the Omnipotent Creator, set seven moons in the sky. The radiant dance of the moons enchanted the bakunawa, dread serpents of the oceans. In thrall to their gluttony and longing, the bakunawa rose out of the depths of the sea to swallow the moons whole.

Hypnotic, luminous lunar herbs and blossoms radiating forth from a blend of midnight musk, jungle orchids, oakmoss, and palm.

I guess I'm first?

I put this on before I remembered what was in it. It is a very well-rounded scent - so much so that it was difficult for me to pick out any notes in particular. I thought for a moment that it might have opium in it because it's kind of a dark, musky scent but I think it was the midnight musk I was smelling. The herbs are particularly not present. It's mostly orchids and black musk on me.

I was hesitant in ordering this, but I like it very much, actually! It's a grown up, sexy kind of scent. If you like BPALs with opium or black musk as a predominant note, give this a try.

[puck_nc]

Origin: Decant circle

 

Initial Thoughts: This was the only one of the Dragon*Con dragons that didn't have an immediate death note, though I hemmed and hawed over whether midnight musk would be too dark on the spectrum and therefore amp and chew up the other notes. I finally decided a decant was worth the risk and maybe the lunar blossoms and orchid would dominate.

 

In the Imp: Dark, rich, almost smoky and sexy. My scent memory is thinking of the perfume Poison, of all things. There's musk and some orchid and the herbs are producing the faintest thread of a note.

 

Wet: And it goes oh-so-musk.

 

Drydown: However...either the orchid or oakmoss is keeping it from becoming All Musk All the Time. It's still very sultry, but not giving a whole lot of throw (possibly because I dabbed with a light hand).

 

Verdict: This is interesting. I could see myself wearing this for an occasion where I was all dressed up for an evening on the town. I may pull out that bottle of Poison I still have and my half-imp of Queen of Spades (the supposed BPAL twin to Poison up to now) and do some side-by-side comparisons. Definitely keeping the decant for now.

[Larinessa]

Fact of life- Orchid loves me, and I love orchid.

 

This blend is no exception to this rule.

 

This is lush orchids with a beautiful musky base. Slightly sweet, luminous and rich. I can detect oakmoss, but the star player is the orchids on me. Sophisticated, heady, womanly and hypnotic.

 

Great Vampire Bat remains my favorite blend, but this little beauty is hot on its heals.

 

Much love and gratitude to my fairy for the pickup!

[zankoku_zen]

Lush orchids, hint of bitter marigold and smokiness. Sophisticated, heady, womanly.

[Little Bird]

I was so excited to try this one, mostly because I love the label art (I've had this dragon as my desktop background since bpal released a pic of the artwork <3). I didn't think that I'd like this based on the notes, but it smells nothing like I thought it would. It doesn't smell like a lunacy blend or herbal at all. It doesn't even have much of a green scent to it. This actually reminds me of my mom, like the way she smelled when she was all dolled up to go out with my dad in the late 80s/early 90s. The orchid & musk smells very bold and classic 80s perfumey to me, but thankfully isn't too sharp and has a bit of sweetness to it as well. There's that and a sweet, powdery quality that reminds me of cosmetic powder, and a touch of dark green.

 

Perfumey, heavy, deep orchid and musk with hints of sweet, vanilla-y cosmetic powder and a touch of dark green that does conjure up a hint of jungle at night. The closest I have to a similar bpal is Sapphics from the Lupercalia 2008 bunch.

[livingdead71]

I really like this one! It's a very pretty dark musk and orchid blend...I think I'm starting to like orchids! As Little Bird mentioned, this isn't a very herbal scent. It actually reminds me a lot of Great Vampire Bat. I regretted not getting a bottle of that one, so I feel doubly happy to have a bottle of Bakunawa!

[mymymai]

ITI: Hmm, an aquatic for sure. It smells like freshly cleaned toilets to me with a touch more orchid.

 

Wet: I still get that nasty aquatic association, but more musk and a tinge of green from the oakmoss I think.

 

Dry: Ok, most of the aquatic ickiness is gone. I'm left with musk, orchid, and oakmoss. It isn't bad now, but not something I'd reach for again.

[yakiguri]

I never thought myself an aquatics person, but Bakunawa changed my mind. On my skin this dragon's mostly lush, wet orchids with something dark lurking in the background keeping it from going too high-pitched--I think it might be the midnight musk and oakmoss. In fact I think it's mostly the oakmoss as I recognize the note from a lot of my pre-oakmoss-ban vintage perfumes, and it gets stronger as more of the florals swim off. As I absolutely LURV oakmoss this is awesome. Throw and longevity are surprisingly strong for an aquatic.

 

Bakunawa is officially now my favorite orchid blend, and I wish I had picked up two. :/

[jolarocknrolla]

Very heavy up front, slightly aquatic and tropical, heavy on the orchid. Not my thing but a very sophisticated blend.

[hlinspjalda]

Having recently fallen for Great Vampire Bat, I was on the lookout for more orchid scents, so I was excited to try this one although I was wary of the oakmoss.

 

In the vial: Orchid and something green, with a spicy-resinous garnish. I like this a lot.

 

Wet: This could work. It's definitely an orchid I can wear, a touch spicy. But there's warmth and greenery as well. The oakmoss will be the deciding factor; if it sours, that'll wreck this for me. But otherwise this is really, really nice: more complex than Great Vampire Bat but still very elegantly orchidy.

 

One hour: This is a little more tart and woody than I would have liked, but it's very pretty. It definitely has the lunar herb kind of base to it, and I get the orchid. It is soft and mysterious. I like it.

 

Two hours: There's something almost salty/aquatic about the greenness of this. Yet it is fairly dry, just a touch dampish with greenery. I still like it.

 

Three hours: Slightly damp, herbal, aquatic, and orchid. I have still not officially decided whether to keep it, but it's my favorite of the Dragon*Con 2012 scents.

[cfrancesca]

In the vial this smelled a little scary, heady orchids with a strong astringent alcohol scent (I got a doctor's office association). I hesitated in applying but I do enjoy a good orchid scent so I dabbed on a small amount. Ok, this is much better. The orchid is still there and it's almighty orchid scent with some damp green in the background, if I concentrate I get some of the oakmoss but I find it well-blended in here. I still get a little of the astringent smell although I can't figure out where that's coming from. This is a very strong, powerful blend and it has settled into a dark orchid musk. It's heady, deep, voluptuous and even a little bit menacing.

[freyasfae]

Well, this one has taught me that the jungle scents just don't work for me, basically because based on these notes I am noticing a pattern. It smells lovely, it's got a clean jungly scent, not like the hot, humid ones - like it is being cooled by moonlight, but I just don't like these on me.

[Verios]

This is a scent I originally picked up because it sounded interesting/very different from what I usually enjoy, but it to me smells like what I would fantasize that a tropical jungle would smell like.  I ended up buying a backup bottle shortly after testing it out, but a friend also fell in love with it and laid claim to the backup, so I'm back to rationing out the one I have for the time being - it's one I find I reach for in the summer, though (probably because I live in a desert, so something about the green, tropical vibe of this really appeals to me for a change of pace!). Truly lovely.