Hetairae

[Bagfish]

The sublimely beautiful, fiercely independent, impeccably cultured, fascinatingly worldly and witty courtesans of ancient Greece. A seductive and dazzling blend of golden honey, fiery patchouli, sweet fig and clove, and a blushing touch of ylang ylang.

 

Hetaire was a frimp from Dolly Dimple (thanks Dolly!)

 

I tried this without reading the description of the notes - good practise to see what I could pick out.

 

At first application reminded me of a mixture of O and Eden, I could definitely smell honey quite strongly (hence O) and the Eden similarity must be the fig. I also get a definite scent of clove after a couple of hours of drydown. Luckily I don't get very strong ylang ylang as it generally disagrees with me. Since I don't particularly like O and really don't like Eden, I am suprised that I quite like Hetaire. Not enough for a bottle, but enough that I think I'll wear this on occasion.

 

Hetaire stays close to the skin, it doesn't waft around. It is a warm, glowing scent and very pleasant and quite comfortable! Yes, this one gets a thumbs up!

 

Edited to add lab's description

Edited June 18, 2006 by Bagfish

[Meg]

In the bottle: Honey, and spices, and fig, with a hint of wood from the patchouli.

 

Wet: Thick honey and woodsy fig. The patchouli starts developing.

 

Drydown: Honey and fig, becoming much more voluptuous. I get a spices from the ylang ylang especially, and maybe the clove, but nothing invasive. It just smells like rich, spicy fig and honey over wood. It gets much more spicier as it dries down, like spicy patchouli.

 

Overall: It's a very sensual, warm and earthy blend, with all the spice and sweetness you need for quite an erotic aura. It is slightly dry from the patchouli, but generally it gives a very good impression of its description, fierce and dazzling and sexy. A beautiful blend.

[rosetta]

~ This currently shares my "nr 1 favourite scent" spot with Black Opal. What can I say? I just love it. Warm, sweet honey & a bit of spice. Very beautiful, feminine & seductive. ~

[karengypsy]

In the vial: Clove, spice, ylang-ylang, green/floral

 

On me: Mmm. Clove and ylang-ylang come out first. Despite the heavy spices, this is surprisingly light and lovely. I can smell the honey and fig - they make the darker/warmer spices sweeter. After a few minutes, I can also smell the patchouli, which I didn't notice at all. It is not a prominent scent, though.

 

Verdict: This scent is very interesting. The scent definitely fits the Lab's description of the "beautiful...impeccably cultured...courtesans of ancient Greece." I really like it, but I'm not sure if it merits a big bottle yet. I'll have to wear it a few more times.

 

Rating: 5/5

[Eunice]

The fig is very strong in this. There is some earthiness with the patchouli and a tiny bit of spice from the clove but mostly this is fig. It's not bad but it is a little to "something" for me.

[blu°]

In the imp this was honey and maybe clove and a bit herbal.

 

Applied I still smell honey, and it's a bit powdery already, bit sweet, dark... I'm scared this might turn stale because of the honey-clove combo.

 

Then the patchouli, which I think must be black patchouli, kicks in... earthy and dry. I like that the patchouli takes some of the sweetness, but don't like how dry everything gets. Thankfully, a bit later the fig appears, lush and a bit juicy.

 

And that's where it stays from then on for me. A warm, brown, slightly powdery and dry scent with drops of sweet fig to round it out.

 

I can't really detect any ylang ylang, but I guess it's there together with the fig lifting the scent out of the realms of spicy dark dustiness.

 

It's quite nice, very figgy and I love fig, still dark and earthy. I'm not sure, it's very me, but I'll hang on to the imp and see how I like it on other occasions.

[edenssixthday]

Hetairae - When initially applied, Hetairae is a strongly honey and fig scent. In fact, it’s so sweet as to be verging on sickly sweet. The clove is barely there, but gives the scent a full body that I don’t think it would have without it. The ylang ylang makes the scent just the tiniest bit crisp. As it is in the process of drying down, the honey fades a bit and the sweetness tones down to the point where I think this may be a wearable fragrance after all, and then, unexpectedly, everything remotely pretty or potentially enjoyable about this scent completely disappears and the patchouli jumps out and mixes itself with the honey, and becomes a bizarre scent. Upon full dry-down, it’s all honey-patchouli on me. I don’t like either note on its own, and together, they are actually more tolerable than either on its own, but I still don’t think I can wear this again. This scent has just the perfect amount of throw and the staying power seems to be really good – as it is with most patchoulis.

[bella_delirante]

When I ordered this one, like most of it's reviewers, I expected a completely different scent than this. That's not a bad thing though, in this case. It's easily one of my favourite BPAL scents. It has a very earthy smell that's been described to me as "some kind of wildflower." I love honey in any blend, as that after an hour or so most honey scents leave this beautiful crystallized honey smell very close to my skin.

 

Smelling hetairae in the bottle is completely different than smelling it on you, like most BPAL. Whenever I wear this one, and let someone sniff the bottle, they don't believe it's the same perfume.

 

Mmmm. . . greek deliciousness.

[merivelle]

I love honey, so I decided to try Hetairae. It definatley smells like honey. I can't smell fig at all, but I pick up some spices. My biggest problem with this fragrance is that it fades almost immediatly on me. So, if you like honey scents, I'd try this one. I personally prefer O.

[euterpe414]

In the vial, all I could smell was green- fig and ylang ylang. Strange. On my skin, it turned into pure honey from the get go, and then mellowed out to where I can now pick out all of the notes (even though they are well blended). This is a very gorgeous blend. I love fig, and I am happy to have finally tried this one. I am not sure when, but sometime I will defientely get a bottle of this. This blend also has great lasting power on me as well. Yipee!

[smallvoice]

Tested thanks to the GC swap quikslvr arranged!

 

I can smell the honey and spices in the imp. On my skin, the honey is well-behaved and lovely. The clove is hanging out, too, and it's this pretty, sweet scent. I'm not smelling any fig, and that's sad. I was hoping for a stronger fig. Then, out tromps the patchouli, and it hates my skin. Everything goes horribly wrong and it never mellows out, it's just awful and bitter and unpleasant. Woah. My skin amped the hell out of that patchouli, and in an oh-so-wrong way. Sad!

[PhedrenoDelaunay]

In the imp:

 

Really sweet and mellow. The first thing that jumps out at me is honey. When I opened the cap a little bit got on my fingers, and the honey is lingering really pleasantly on my skin. It's a very warm, natural scent. You know when authors describe a sweet kiss tasting of honey? This is what that kiss would smell like if you could smell it. It's comfortable, beautiful, and light. Probably my favorite thus far. The patchouli and ylang ylang are just enough to round it out.

 

After I applied:

 

The honey dissipates and it becomes less wet, but it definitely doesn't disappear. The clove comes more the the forefront, making it dry and ever-so-slightly spicey. It seemed to naturally deepen, which I like, and I can just catch the teeniest hint of honey around it now.

 

Over all, golden and really sexy. One of my favorites so far.

[kwsix]

In the bottle: Sweet, a little spicy, and very warm. I can't identify a specific note yet, but it smells delicious. If scent were a color, this would be golden.

 

Wet: This smells very rich and warm on my skin. It's very subtle though. I'm still having trouble identifying the individual notes at this point. I think I'm mainly smelling the honey and patchouli, but everything is blending together very well. The spice scent is a little ambiguous. I would have mistaken the clove for cinammon if I hadn't read the description. My husband sniffed me and said "Mmmm, honey, vanilla, and cinammon."

 

Dry: Ok, I can definitely distinguish the clove now. It smells lovely mingling with the honey and patchouli. The fig is making an appearance, but it's very light. Everything is well-balanced, and it's somehow managing to be very sweet without being too sweet. I think I'm in love!

 

Summary: Hetairae is wonderful on me, very warm, slightly foody, and softly seductive. All of the notes stay balanced and true, and I absolutely love the subtle spicyness of the clove. It will be wonderful in the fall, but isn't too heavy for spring and summer either. Hetairae is moving into my current top 5.

[Finny]

In the imp I smell honey.

 

Yes, lovely honey on at first. Sweet and luscious. It smells a bit like Alice... then it becomes a wonderful earthy floral. Lovely.

Edited August 8, 2006 by Finny

[fairy]

When I read the ingredients I was shocked I liked this one as much as I did. Honey usually turns into sweat-smell on my skin and patchouli is usually disastrous...but for some reason in this combination it worked so nicely!

 

This smells very warm, rich, sensual. Quite lovely and heavy

[themerrybaker]

Put an impload on my outsides

And I hear the lutin'

It's a Big, Fig .....

Courtesan?

 

Hetairae is mostly honey on me and reminds me of my total fave, Khajuraho. Het is a little sharper and less woody with the fig replacing the date. Needless to say, I could roll in this one.

Edited August 13, 2006 by themerrybaker

[malanna]

I thought I'd hate this, but I actually sort of liked it. I kept thinking it smelled like ginger, not because it smelled like ginger the note, but just because it had a warm, spicy glow I associate with ginger. Hetairae's mostly honey and ylang ylang, with a bit of clove for a subtle (very subtle) spice. It smells like the body heat of someone who's been out in the sun at an Arabian market--that is, if body odor was a pleasant smell.

[Poenari]

I received this as a frimp from the lab. Perfumes on me rarely smell close to the way they do in the bottle (except for Snake Oil ), so I rarely even bother to sniff them before applying. I always figure I can wash it off if it's something that disagrees with my skin. But I'm an adventurous type, and willing to try about anything, so I slather away!

 

Hetairae is the first "honey" scent that actually smells like honey on me! This is all smooth honey and clove on my skin. A very soft scent, very pleasant, and I keep sniffing my arm, but I'm not sure if I would wear it very often. I've been described as having somewhat of a strong personality, and tend to wear scents to match

[Naamah_Darling]

Oh! In the bottle it's sweet honey and clove, with a touch of fig.

 

On, the flower note comes out – ylang ylang is a bright golden-white floral that hints of exotic spice.

 

With the patchouli and the clove, this smells very much like an exotic incense. The honey isn't overwhelming, it's just playing a supporting role in the background, gluing everything together. Much less sticky-sweet than I was expecting, and far more adult and womanly. A lush, full-bodied scent that smells like those lippy, sticky kisses always feel, but also a very poised scent. If perfume is advertising, this one says "available, but not slutty."

 

There is a drydown similarity on my skin to those elements of Khajuraho that I love so much, though this is earthier and spicier. It borders on that vile makeup smell I hate for a while, but then the final weardown is one of the most wonderful spice/incense scents ever, so it's sort of a tradeoff.

 

Overall, this is a lovely, sophisticated scent with just a hint of challenge. Wonderful!

[ND¢]

In the bottle: A sort of cinnamony sharpness.

 

On me: The clove bursts out immediately and is overpowering. Spicy cinnamon/clove, spicy spicy... Honey is drowned by this. It, like Jack, sort of reminds me of a Glade Plug-In or potpourri.

[strangemusic]

Upon uncapping this imp, a waft of thick pink. The first time, it was a mix of vulval fleshiness and pink oil pastel crayon, held up by something dark green and leathery. Succulent, too... I couldn't think of the name of the plant, so couldn't look it up... but the leaves are split in two, VERY fleshy, dark green. It was as though an olive leaf had been cut in two to reveal a half-inch of watery flesh inside, like a succulent or an aloe plant... that sort of dark green smell.

 

When I applied it that first time, I was overwhelmed by pink vulva, old pink oil pastel, dark olive-green something, and a sort of... chalky binder. I never figured out what it was, either-- I was too busy washing this one off, and trying to decide whether to give it another try, or run screaming. After a while, I decided to try again. This time, I smelled sweetness; not young, but older. Honey and ylang ylang to lure you in, to place figs drizzled with honey on your tongue. The tastes complement each other, and as you swallow, she kisses you. She's been sucking cloves to freshen her breath; the headiness envelops you as she plies that tongue, soothes you with caresses.

 

Patchouli is in the way back, emphasizing the spicy bite of clove.

 

I got so much more from this scent the second time around, but it took me a while to figure out why-- where one happens to be in one's menstrual cycle really does make a difference with some scents. Since I would only be able to wear this one week of every four, I'll not keep it... but I might buy/swap for another imp down the road.

 

C & P from my LJ, dated 26 June 2006, slightly edited

Edited September 3, 2006 by strangemusic

[maijasu]

This is a soft honeyed floral on my skin. I'd prefer a bit more honey and less floral. And where are the spices everyone was talking about? Hmph. I can see how people think this is pretty, but it's just not for me.

[akw]

In bottle -- sort of an interesting, boozy quality, but the notes don't jump out until on my skin.

 

Wet on skin -- most noticeable is fig, honey and clove in beautiful combination, booziness completely absent. Y lang ylang in the background adding roundness and beauty, but not assertive. I think I can detect the patchouli, but only as something that supports it all.

 

Early dry-down - slightly sharp, but not unpleasantly so. Some of the roundedness is fading, but something elegant and sophisticated has taken its place. Patchouli still background, still sort of like the floor it sits on, and may be keeping it from being too sweet.

 

Later - less clove and ylang ylang, sharpness is gone, slight patchouli surfacing, still figgy fruit and honey. Settling into warmth and elegance, just slightly sweet, not at all cloying. Love it!

[midnight_aeval]

From the description I thought I would love this scent, but it's way too strong for me. I'm thinking I don't really agree with Ylang Ylang. I get sort of a sunblock/licorice scent from this

 

I didn't get any honeyed sweetness or clove. *sniff*

[blackfelicula]

In the bottle: To me, Hetairae smells like spicy fruit in the imp.

 

Wet: It is spicy, yet the ylang ylang cuts through that. The ylang ylang is not as loud as it usually is in a blend, but it is nonetheless vying for center stage.

 

Drying down: This blend is golden and bright, yet grounded and earthy. The fruity scent and the ylang ylang give it a twist. It is like close harmonies that are almost dissonant yet still beautiful.

 

Dry: This has become a spicy delight. The scent is sweet and fruity, yet glowing gold and savory. It has an earthy touch that is not root this blend too deeply.

 

Later: It went a little soapy, but not enough to ruin the overall appeal of this scent. I’ll likely use the imp, but not buy a big bottle.