Port-Au-Prince

[Ahania]

Dark, decadent and incomparably exotic: the rich scent of buttered rum flavored with almond, bay, clove and sassafras.

Whee!
I've been making my way through the recommendations for people who want clove, and I finally hit the jackpot! In the bottle and sniffing my scent locket, there's a yummy creamy almond. The throw is CLOVE! Oh, how I loves it. There's just enough rum to give the scent some body and complexity. Fortunately, I don't get any sassafras, which ruins things for me. Sooo num-num.

[moon_lemming]

HA.

 

Wet: Wait, there's something in here aside from cherries? Er ... wait, that's almond, right? I know some people get a cherry feel from almond blends, even though I haven't until now.

 

Dry: Wait, there's something in here aside from cloves? *shakes fist* CLOOOOOOVES!

 

Stupid cloves. I LOVE using cloves when cooking and making pomanders, but can't wear blends that contain it, because it amps to a degree that it covers up everything else. The clove note in Port-Au-Prince is no exception.

[waternight]

In the imp: Rum and almond.

Wet/Drydown: Interesting blend of almond and clove – oh, there’s a hint of bay flirting with the other two. Thank God the almond doesn’t seem to be crazily taking over. It’s actually the clove that’s dominant. Now the almond is creeping back in, sweetly and gently supporting the clove, and the bay is lending the blend an herbal note. So far, I like this a lot more than I was expecting to. Despite the notes, it’s not smelling foody on me, which I was fearing. Just spicy and delicious.

Dry: Settles into a delicious spicy clove, slightly sweetened by almond. I'm SO glad the almond didn't take over as I feared. This is surprisingly wearable for me - I'll definitely use up the imp, and I might even upgrade to a bottle.

[black_and_bloom]

Port-Au-Prince is heavily almond at first sniff, which makes me happy because I love almonds. After a few minute, the clove starts to surface and mixes beautifully with the almond. I really don't detect any obvious rum, bay or sassafras but I'm sure they are there and I just haven't noticed them yet.

 

This is a very nice scent - matches my mood perfectly today!

[PetaledSoul]

Ahhh... Port-Au-Prince. I did have such high hopes for you.

 

When I sniffed you in your imp, you did smell so loverly of my heart's desire - almond - blended with just a bit of spiciness.

 

Well, Port-Au-Prince, you are a trickster! Luring me in, using your delectable almond goodness to thinly veil the OVERPOWERING, BURNING HEAT of clove.

 

/dramaoff/

 

Seriously, this one really caught me off guard. It was all fabulous almond in the imp. I could detect a BIT of spice, and that excited me. I tested this yesterday and it literally made my skin burn... a first for BPAL.

 

Of course, I tested it in the car and there was nowhere to wash, so I got a chance to experience the scent morphing. After the initial flash there was no almond anywhere for me and I was sad.

 

And then my playmate said - "You don't smell bad. You actually smell good - like coffeehouse floozy, clove cigarettes and all. I like it."

[Browneyes]

Frimp

 

This starts out smelling like a macroon, very almondy and sweet, with a touch of booze.

Then it morphs into something spicy - the cloves. I like it alot actually I don't hanker after a bottle, but I could see myself wearing it occasionally - taking the imp with me to reapply because it's not super strong on my skin (but then again hardly anything is)

 

ETA: the waft from this is actually just like clove cigarettes! I wish I could smoke one right now...

Edited March 3, 2007 by Browneyes

[zankoku_zen]

In the imp: spicy and rummy

 

On Skin: Rich, rummy, sweet and spicy

 

On Drydown: I can get whiffs of the clove. So tasty. Still pretty rummy and fragrantly spicy.

 

After an hour or two: I get occasional whiffs of clove from my skin, like if I'd been smoking clove cigarettes, minus the smoke aspect. On the other hand, it's pretty much faded from my skin.

 

Verdict: Oh, if it had only lingered on my skin some more.... nevertheless with such a disappearing act, it wasn't meant to be. Oh, don't run away Port-au-Prince. You break my heart so.

[ariosa]

Almond. BPAL's almond note and I don't get along, I'm discovering. But this is not the case with Port-Au-Prince. There's an initial whiff of nail polish remover (this is what almond does to me), but it quickly disappears in favour of warm cloves. Like many above, this makes me think of clove cigarettes. It's lovely!

[Diana]

wet: straight-up almond

drydown: spiced almond, kind of like a bay rum... slightly clovey, still mostly almond. i'm not a huge fan of bay scents, so this one is not really up my alley.

[Brianne]

In the vial:

ROAWR! Smexy!

 

On me:

I have rather desperately clung to my bottles of Three Witches because it's one of my favorites and I don't want to be without. I have no need to do that now though, because Port-au-Prince smells damn near identical to Three Witches on me. It's warm, spicy, sultry and smooth. I find it to be rather unisex (in the same way that Three Witches is). The only difference is that this has that almond sweetness to it. It's a bit like adding Eclipse to Three Witches.

 

Final note:

I do adore this scent, and it's definitely one of those scents that just "grabbed" me immediately. Definitely need a bottle of this one!

[La Soldier]

when it was first applied to my skin, it was all clove with a hint of sweetness underneath. on the drydown, the clove calms down and there's only a quiet subdued whisper of clove, with creamy sweet rum taking the forefront. delicious!

[steffanina]

Port-au-prince-

 

In Bottle: Almond. Totally Jergens cherry-almond lotion scent.

 

Wet: Sweet almond, still that Jergens thing going on. --And the clove starts to show itself a bit.

 

Dry: The clove remains subtle, even though it becomes the dominant note--I can see this as a really yummy fall scent! I'm not getting any rum from it but that's okay, this is still a nice foodie scent. --And the very end of this seems to reinforce a buttered almond smell. So nice!

 

Overall: Very nice! I could love this one!

[LadyCrow]

In the imp: Butter! And a bit of spice.

 

Wet: An initial blast of buttery rum.

 

Drydown: Weirdly, my skin doesn't amp either the almond or the clove, which are notes it normally flings with the vitality of Charlie Brown making one of his strenuous but doomed baseball pitches. After the initial wet stage, this stays spicy bay rum... and I smell like a man's cologne again, very similar to what happened to me with Baron Samedi. Great! Is Papa Legba perchance doing this to me (and giggling) because I can't wear his scent because of the tobacco?

 

Verdict: If this stuff were just a tad less expensive, I'd consider pouring it in a little dish as an offering to the Lwas. As it is, it will just pass on to somebody whose skin chemistry allows them to experience all the notes.

[Ajila]

In the bottle – All almond

 

Wet on me – Predominantly almond, with a hint of clove

 

Dry on me – Almonds soft and slightly bitter

 

Overall – Whilst I like almond I would have liked to have smelt some of the other notes

[Rovylern]

In the bottle and wet I loved this: spicy, strong notes of cloves and cinnamon with something buttery and creamy under it. Intoxicating, sexy, confident...and then it dried. *sigh* Dry, it turned into old-lady soap (or maybe old Avon perfume) with a hint of Big Red gum. It smelled like the inside of my great-grandmother's purse. The throw was strong enough that when it went old-lady on me I had to go scrub it off because it was giving me a headache. I tested this on my inner elbow, so maybe this will be different on my wrists or at another time of the month.

 

I tried it on my mister, and wet it was all cherry syrup. As it dried the spiciness came out, but the cherries held their own. Does this have a peppery note in it? It gave me a pepper feel. The butter rum never manifested. The throw wasn't nearly as strong on him, I noticed. Even if this stays Avon-ish on me, it'll be good for the rare times I can convince the boy to wear scent.

 

 

(Edited to fix a stupid spelling mistake. Gah.)

Edited July 29, 2007 by Rovylern

[vegasblueblood]

This is definitely dark and decadent and incredibly spicy. I think it's more of a winter scent and for people who love spice and clove, try this one out because it's got LOTS of clove. In the imp (which was a frimp from the Lab, thank you!), I picked up a lot more of the almond and rum but as it's dried down, it's clove, clove and more clove. That's not a bad thing! It's mellowing out a bit now instead of completely taking over my surrounding area and this might work better as a room scent since it's very strong and spicy in an almost Christmas-y way. There is something heady and tropical to this scent which makes it live up to it's name.

[underline2]

In the Imp:

Definitely rum, but I can also smell almonds and herbs.

 

Wet:

Bitter, bitter rum. I can also smell the bay leaves and cloves.

 

Dry:

Okay, it's not nearly as bitter. Perhaps the "butter rum" part is making an appearance? Yes, I do believe so. It's mellowed somewhat, and is now getting a little sweet. The bay leaves have dimmed (thank goodness) and the almonds are coming out.

 

Overall:

It's nice by itself, but I also have Jolly Roger on the same arm (Port-Au-Prince is on my elbow, Jolly Roger on my wrist) and it makes the most sinfully amazing pirate blend ever!

[Iceblink]

I wanted this to be all clove, all the time, and it was on first application, but the clove got trampled by an odd buttery note (the rum?) that I just didn't like on me. BPAL's rum note and I don't really get along (see also: Grog). But oh, that's a gorgeous clove while it lasts!

[ClareN]

My mom and I both thought that this smells like Christmas cookies. Luckily, I love that kind of scent, always have. Port-au-Prince is all almond, cinnamon, clove goodness and it just might knock Bengal off the top spot for Ultimate Spice Cabinet Scent.

 

It takes on a "dusty" feel in the drydown and never goes too sweet - it stays good and spicy. Yes.

 

Bonus points for not making my skin burn with the cinnamon, like Bengal does. (Cinnamon isn't listed, but it smells like there must be a little in there.) Spice lovers take note, you need this!

[CrazyPretzel]

In the imp: almond and spicy rum.

 

Wet on me: Reminds me of Queen of Sheba, so maybe there's a touch of saffron in there along with the almonds? It's definitely not as foody as QoS was, though. Unfortunately there's something at this stage that seems a little bit off; the clove isn't as strong as some people have reported but something's bugging me and I can't put my finger on it...

 

After a few minutes: It's bay leaves, maybe -- the boy just walked in and sniffed it and declared it 'awesome' so even if I don't fancy it for me I might keep it for him It is improving, though it strikes me as quite masculine. The spices are pleasant; not too hot, but a little bitter.

 

Drydown: Almond is there but not as 'baked-good' as the other almonds I've encountered recently. This is mainly soft clove on me, neither too sweet nor too bitter. I have to say I'm not getting a lot of rum from this, and it's surprisingly faint. Maybe I need to apply more, eh?

 

I'm pleasantly surprised by this one -- I'll be keeping it for further testing on me and the lad

 

ETA: Half an hour later: oh, *there's* the rum! Just a bit of it backing up the bay and clove. Not too boozey.

Edited August 28, 2007 by Baitu

[ophidiae]

I never did get the rum or the almond to come out, which is disappointing as those are both favorites of mine. Instead, what I got was a mix of sea salt and clove. This is a sexy, warm and spicy scent, and would be absolutely devastating on a man.

[TheOneTheyCallLuna]

This scent swept me off my feet right away! I think this may quite possibly be the best thing I have ever smelled! To my nose, both in the imp and on, this smells like a combo of Queen of Sheba and Plunder...it's that sweet delicious almond marzipan note in QOS with the dry spice and cinnamon of Plunder and a vague Pirate-y boozy rum note in there, too, with just the slightest hint of salty sea breezes. This could be unisex, and would be rip-your-clothes-off-slam-you-up-against-the-wall hot on a man, but it is sweet enough with the almondy QOS element that it is absolutely drop dead sexy and decadently feminine on my own skin as well.

 

This is magnifiscent! Genius! My new number one!!! I NEED more RIGHT NOW!!!!!

 

[The_Merf]

When I saw "buttered rum," I feared I was staring into the jaws of one of Grog's relatives, but as many others have commented, the almond scent is what you get right off the top of the bat. The rum is right behind it, and even though it's not the sort of alcohol you get in Juke Joint or Baron Samedi, it's not a foody alcoholic note either--it's somewhere nice and in the middle. After it's been on my skin for a few minutes, there's some clove jumping into the mix. The rum and almond and clove are really hard to describe together--boozy nuttiness? That's not even right, because this doesn't strike me as a boozy scent at all. It is nutty, but there's something else there as well. I'll have to hold this one over for more testing.

[pooka]

OK, this is my first review, so hopefully I do an okay job...

 

In the imp: Holy hell, that's a lot of rum. I'm no rum connoisseur, but I can definitely see -- er, smell -- the "butter" aspect mentioned in the description. Kind of pungent, but pleasant, and with a definite spiciness. It's like a seedy portside on a humid summer night.

 

On me body: Cloves just totally appeared out of nowhere. Checked to make sure I was wearing the same scent. All the buttery goodness, rummy tang, and almond notes replaced by clove with just a hint of Something Else (which I guess is the sassafras and bay... smells kind of like licorice).

 

A few hours later...: All the spiciness has faded, and it's really just the almond that's left. I quite like how it was a boozefest in the bottle, a spicesplosion on the skin, and faded into a rich, but barely noticeable, aroma clinging to my wrists.

 

Overall... I like it, but I'm not in love with it. There's definitely a right time and right place for this one (fortunately, I think I was in both of these while I wore it), and it's assuredly not for everybody.

[Miladygrey]

I had such hopes. Such...hopes...*sob*

 

In the bottle it's just delicious, rum and almond. I thought it would be like Eclipse, which I love. And for a few brief, shining moments, it was almond and rum and some spice on my skin.

 

Then came the clove. The clove came only to kill and destroy. The clove ate Manhattan. And it took over my arm for the next few hours. It settled down into soapy clove-ness after a long while.

 

I have nothing at all against cloves, but I don't want to smell like them. Oh Port-au-Prince, we could have been friends! But I shall go back to Bengal and Lyonesse instead, and relegate you to the swap pile.