Nero

[GeorgeJr]

The pinnacle of power, poisoned by sin and indulgence - this is our homage to Classical Roman debauch. Rosemary, bay, pine and a touch of lemon.

Mmmmm , rosemary & bay over everything when first applied . Those are two scents I really love , so that's a good thing . The lemon & pine are lingering in the back ground . This is quite nice , very herbal , but not heavy or dark like some others I've tried . As it dries the lemon fades more & the pine comes out a bit more . Not enough to cover the two other notes , but it noticeable . Overall I like this very much . Not sure I'd make it a immediate favorite , but it's very close .

[Mayhem27]

Well, let me just say I am not a fan of pine! I got this as a gift with my order, so I figured I would try it on my fiance since he likes stronger scents.

In the bottle it is PINE. That it all I can smell. Reminds me of Pine-Sol floor cleaner. **shudders** I dabbed a bit on my fiance, and proceeded to spill several drops of the imp on my finger. OH no. I was instantly suffocated by the smell of pine. Although I must say, on my skin the pine lost the chemical-ness and had a much more natural scent to it. But it was still too much for me! As I ran downstairs to wash it off, I felt like I was being beat over the head with a 12 foot Christmas tree. Yikes! My fiance liked this, and reported that the pine toned down a bit on drydown and he could catch whiffs of the bay and rosemary.

This would be a great scent IF you like pine. I'm betting it would make a wonderful room spray or burning oil during the colder season as well.

[rayvn1]

This is a surprise I was expecting to smell like I'd rubbed myself with kitchen herbs like Santa Eularia des riu (sp?) but this is lovely and strong in a good way! That said, I love pine so that may have somethiong to do with it because any sap-type smell tends to win me over. Dry and beautiful with good throw. I know it would help to enable a rosemary loving friend, but I don't really want to give it away!

[melrose]

In vial, and on, wet: Did I fall into a vat of cleaning fluid? Instant, raging headache.

 

Near drydown: Pretty much the same thing, just a touch softer.

 

Far drydown: Something interesting (probably the bay) is trying to come out from far, far underneath the stormy waves of pine scent.

 

Nero will have to fiddle with someone else.

 

[stellans]

Oh, immediate love! As soon as I uncapped the frimp from the Lab, I knew I wanted a bottle of this! I found an older bottle for sale (cobalt), and let me assure everyone who likes this scent fresh that it also ages very well... very well indeed.

 

The herbs (bay, rosemary) are uppermost both in the bottle and on my skin. I get no lemon at all, which is a blessing to me because normally I amp lemon to the Lemon Pledge state and have to wash the oil off. The pine is also there, underscoring and deepening (to me) the blend to a place which makes this a gender-neutral scent, IMO. It makes me want to quote the Irish Spring soap commercial: "Manly, yes. But I like it too!" /Irish accent, badly done

 

As the oil dries down, a sweetness emerges from the sharp rosemary and pine: it has to be the bay! I am so enjoying all the stages of this blend. I give Nero a surprising (to me) 3 of 5 stars.

Edited June 18, 2011 by stellans

[Monster]

This is a really pretty, light yellow oil. I love the way this looks in the vial

 

In the imp this is a sharp, astringent scent, LOTS of rosemary. It clears my sinuses right out!

 

On my skin it still has that sinus-clearning, astringent quality to it just a bit more melow and balmy smelling now. I'm not detecting any lemon.

 

This dries into the smell that's left over on my skin the morning I wake-up from going to bed with Vicks VapoRub on my chest. It's a light, balmy medicinal smell.

I wouldn't wear this as a perfume, it's just a bit weird for me. However, I really did enjoy testing out the imp. Very unique!

[sirensea]

This smells like a combination of three things: one, cat pee. Two, cat food. Three, the herb batter that you use on grilled chicken, full of lemon and rosemary. It's not terrible (even with the cat pee and cat food aspect), but it's certainly not one I'd want to slather on.

 

It fades to something not quite so astringent, but it's still rather... abrasive. The sharp urine smell has died down completely, and I don't detect any cat food lingering around, so now it's mostly strong herbal. This might be better on a man. Possibly.

Edited August 8, 2009 by sirensea

[ian]

in the imp: wow powerful herbal scent! if i breathe in deeply it has a nasal passage clearing menthol-like effect

 

on me: very green, rosemary and pine, the pine smells very natural to me, like fresh tree sap

 

later: the other scents fade out but the pine is still going strong

 

i really like this one!

[Alexanne]

Note: I tested this imp after it had aged 10 months.

 

Thank you, lab for frimping this to me in my first order of BPAL! During the wet phase, it is straight up obnoxious pine, pine, pine with only an pea sized amount of rosemary. Pine immediately gives me flashbacks to Seattle - so I already like the scent as it is - though its nothing to rave about. Its the drydown that is impressive and heart warming/wrenching to me. It turns into a mix of pine and other green spices, mixed with the sweetness of a floral (it might be lilac). The overall combined scent of this scent gives me goosebumps, and transports me right into the heart of my emotions during one of the worst/best times in my life. The scent on its own merit is refreshing and complex. A whole forest of intricate pine tree pathways full of life and dirt, with one small patch of flowers right in the mist of it.

Verdict: I love love love this scent due to my own bias, but even then I wouldn't wear it as a perfume unless I'm in the mood for reminiscing, or when I'm in a depressed mood. It feels great to be able to express an entire moment of my life into one little vial. Will get bigger bottle soon.

[Siberia]

This is all pine and lemon on me. I love evergreen scents, and as this dries, it becomes fuller and sweeter, developing the sort of fruity (almost apple-like) fullness that I've noticed with BPAL's evergreen scents (both pine and fir). The pine and lemon are almost a bit Christmas-y on me, which I don't mind at all. Sorry, Nero, you're just not as intimidating as you think you are.

Edited October 24, 2009 by Siberia

[luzblah]

Pine comes straight though. I've just put my christmas tree out and it smells like its back in! Lingering on Rosemary, bay and pine, smells almost menthol. Drying down slightly it's a definate shade of green. Can't seem to get rid of the pine. Smells a bit like pine disinfectant. Masculine.

 

Was a frimp, and it's not bad but it's not me. Swap Pile it is. 1.5 out of 5

[tajana]

Wet: ROSEMARY. Rosemary, when it's the focal point of a scent, just makes me think of what I associate rosemary with most strongly... roasted chicken. The bay doesn't dispel this very savory, in-the-kitchen feeling. There's an undercurrent of something darker and cologney to it, but only if I try really hard to notice it.

 

Dry: A fleeting bit of lemon pokes through the thick rosemary and bay on the drydown, and by god, that squeeze of lemon just enhances the feeling that Nero isn't really perfume at all, it's some sort of liquid seasoning you'd slather onto grilled or roasted chicken. I can practically TASTE the chicken. Aaaaah! I can't tell if there are peppercorns in here, or if I'm just mentally adding them because they belong to this smell. The strength of scent memories can't be escaped. I let this sit on my skin for a while longer, and eventually the herbs balanced out more with the pine... so, it's either dinner in the woods, or it's Christmas dinner. Not a big improvement.

 

Overall: It smells almost like masculine cologne, but mostly it smells like seasoning for a chicken. One of the weirdest and most evocative BPALs I've tried to date, but I don't think that this is quite what it was SUPPOSED to smell like.

[Deiicide]

Sniffing from the imp nothing really comes out. As soon as I put it on my hands, the woods ridiculously amp. Ceder, Ceder and more Ceder. But hey, as I look at the notes I see it's the pine and the bay. Well the pine surely doesn't like me because during the wet stage it was piney to the point of suffocation. As it dries down the Rosemary, and the Bay come out a little bit more but after that first phase I can clearly see this isn't for me. Glad I got to try it.

[Caerphilly]

In the imp: astringent cologne. Smells....sterile...

 

Wet: Smells like sea breeze.

 

Dry: I'm getting some sort of burned meat smell drenched in astringent.

 

Overall: This really didn't work for me. Too much cleaner, pinesol, sea breeze, alcohol, astringent. This is the scent of clean, but a hospital clean scent. Not something I would wear as a perfume. And, being a vegetarian, the meat smell really, really bothered me! Not for me at all!

[elinox]

First Sniff: Smoky. I think I smell something that reminds me of patchouli in it.

 

Wet: A tiny hint of mint and rosemary came through here.

 

Dry: There's some sort of 'burny' note in this, almost like strong cinnamon. Perhaps that’s the pine plus the rosemary? It definitely invokes images of a smoldering city!

 

My Reaction: This seems more of an Autumn-time-of-year scent and it was not unpleasant. It was however, very different than the aquatics that I usually prefer! It was definitely smoky smelling which was cool.

 

Rating 1-5: 3

 

[Balame]

In the Imp: I think "weird" is a bit of a strong descriptor so we'll just go with "interesting" for now. I smell a soft lemon with the much more forceful pine behind it. Kind of like a cleaning solution.

 

Wet: Pretty much the same. The rosemary in this gives it a fairly herbal quality amidst all the scents I associate with chemicals when paired together, which saves it from being too cleaner-y.

 

Dry: The bay comes out a lot at this stage, and it's my favorite part of this blend. Gives it a bit of a deeper quality and when paired with the rosemary, a regal sort of feel.

 

Verdict: Expensive aftershave. It's certainly a unique oil but I have a feeling most people will either love or hate this. For me, it's a bit too medicinal and... well, I have no desire to smell like aftershave.

 

[voorishsign]

A frimp from a forumite, especially lovely because it was on my wishlist I just love herbs and pine and I can't wait to see how they work with a zing of lemon.

 

In the imp - omg strong! Nice, but completely unexpected. Bay and rosemary first, then an undercurrent of pine.

 

On wet - holy smokes. This is strong and deep and whoa. It hits me in the face everytime I just near it for a whiff. Rosemary mostly with a pine undercurrent. No lemon so far. Christ alive this is strong. I've never had anything with this much throw. Good god.

 

Drydown - to quote the great Evil Dead 2, for god's sake, how do you stop it?! It just doesn't lighten. It just stays strong, punch-you-in-the-nose rosemary and pine with a sort of faint lemon . . . really unpleasant because of it's strength. Not for me.

[mymymai]

ITB: Super strong Christmas-y pine with a touch of rosemary.

Wet: A bit stronger pine (less Christmas), still the same intensity of rosemary. I'm getting just a hint of bay at the end.

Dry (2.5 hours) Lemony rosemary and bay with a touch of pine. Not quite the madly fiddling Nero, but I imagine this would be him in the smoldering ash.

[SophieCedar]

Wet: whoa! I'm awake! I'm awake. pine, bay, rosemary.. all there. Color impression cerulean blue, gray, with shots of light green. Amping the pine and bay.

 

Drydown: still mostly pine. Small amounts of bay and lemon. The rosemary is getting clouded by the pine. I can see this being a perfect scent for some, but this is a bit much on me.

[lavenderfrost]

Got this as a frimp from the lab. Not something I'd order or wear for myself - very, very masculine - but if I had a boyfriend and he put this on? We'd probably never make it out of the bedroom.

 

In The Bottle: Very...clean. Sharp. Tad bit woodsy - guessing that's the pine - but for the most part, kinda like your usual aftershave/cologne.

Immediate Application: Y HULLO THAR ROSEMARY. *COUGH*

30-45 Minutes Later: The rosemary backs off a bit (though it's still noticeable) and I smell the other notes, and after a bit it starts smelling kinda smoky. Not sure if it's the oil or just my inability to NOT think of Rome burning.

 

So saving this for any hypothetical future BF. Just sayin'!

Edited February 13, 2011 by lavenderfrost

[ajansuz]

This was a lab frimp. Based on the notes, I probably never would have tried it. Wow, would that have been my loss!

 

In the imp: Pine, a touch of lemon, and what really smells a lot like clove to me.

 

Wet: Whatever smells like clove in this smells even more like delicious, dry, spicy clove on, with lemon curling under it and making it sweet. The pine fades back to just the faintest hint.

 

Dry: Hello bay! Are you what has been smelling clovey with something else? Now it's a lot more bay, very herbal but not too masculine. This strikes me as far more unisex. While I don't see myself going for a whole bottle of this, I do really love the herbal, slightly sweet notes. This is another I could see me happy to wear in the summer because it's fresh without being at all cloying or overpowering.

[Urpflanze]

Nero is invigorating. Pine, for sure, but not reminiscent either or Christmas or of cleaner, which is impressive. Lemon juice, not rind. The bay and rosemary make a nice round herbal backdrop. Something smells a little spicy like ginger...Bay? The bay adds maybe the tiniest bit of dirty, spicy sweetness? I think I'm just getting to know bay here. I can see 'medicinal' but definitely in a good way and only for a little while at the beginning. If you like strongly herbal scents, this is a very interesting and well blended one.

 

It reminds me of Hinoki bath salts. It even smells vaguely salty. On the dry down it is spicier on me than I expected from reading reviews. The bay comes out strong on me, I guess. That's a good thing here, it makes it more interesting. The throw is a little different - it throws lemon fruit, maybe a little apple even, but not the pine that you get when you go in close. Then...wham! Japanese hot springs!

 

It doesn't scream 'matricide' to me, but neither does it seem the smell of a man who cares where his mom is or what she's up to. It smells so good, its self-absorbing.

[K.Harker]

Nero reminded me of Christmas with my EXTREMELY traditional side of the family. Roman Catholicism+ritual+family tradition+OCD cleanliness. It was nostalgia in a bottle, while bittersweet in the memories. I enjoyed the scent, however I'd want to put it in an oil heater or as an atmosphere spray.

[calivianya]

Nero is a very masculine scent. It does smell very much like cologne, with strong bay and rosemary. I do like some pine scents, but this is not one of them. It is sharp and astringent, and it was not a good match with my skin chemistry. It might smell good on my boyfriend, so I'll have to try it out on him later.

[TheFrenchWaffle]

Very masculine. Nice, but not really my type of scent.

In the imp: piney goodness with rosemary and a touch of lemon

Wet:Still big time on the pine with the lemon edging out the rosemary

Dry: warm pine reigns supreme

 

Final verdict: Nice but really not for me. I gave my imp to my brother who absolutely adores it, we just might have a new BPAL addict...