Lear

[Lamia]

A regal, commanding scent, but poignant. White cedarwood, blue sage and bay leaf.

This starts masculine and handsome, nicely balanced, and wearable. The cedar turned incredibly strong, and the sage was punching right through. Insane! (hurrr hurrr)

Within 2 hours, it fades away almost entirely, leaving a soft sad vestige of sage and bay leaf. Trade bag.


Edited to add description Edited November 29, 2009 by Shollin

[donnatron]

Imp: Sage and cedar.

 

Wet: Cedar. Ever so very much cedar. Teensiest bit of sage. No bay leaf. And I'm okay with that because I don't relish the thought of smelling like cooking.

 

Dry: The bay leaf comes out and it's actually quite nice. The sage and bay sort of meld together into a nice, masculine, herbal greenness. The cedar presides over it all, however, and is very... cedar-y. It's a little peppery but the longer it sits on my skin the more it melds into my chemistry and starts to smell more like I've been doing something outdoors than I'm coated in perfume oil. Very interesting.

 

Throw: Strong.

 

Overall: I like the imp and will probably use it up. Don't see myself being in the mood for Lear enough to justify a bottle.

[Aldercy]

I really need to learn that cedar is a bad idea in any and all circumstances. The only time it's ever appeared in an oil and not ruined my day was in Lilith and the Jarocho. But do I get it yet? Apparently not. No, I go around convincing myself that "this is white cedar-- so it's probably like totally different." And then it's not.

 

So, as you can probably tell, King Lear is beating me over the head with a plank of cedar. Really hard. Not bad for an old man.

 

Okay, I admit there's some fuzzy, witchy sage in there, too. Nice-- in fact, I think I need to explore blue sage more. But no bay leaves, which is the note I was really yearning for. Alas.

[Monster]

Almost alllll cedarwood on me with a bright, fresh kiss of sage. I'm not getting any bay leaf.

This dries down to a soft single cedar note on my skin. Very simple and really nice!

[hkhm]

imp: i mostly smell cedar but there is a touch of sage.

 

wet: this is very fresh cedar once applied, almost like freshly split wood with a dribble of sap. no sage or bay to speak of.

 

dry: this is still freshly cut wood, but the sap is not quite as gooey, it's more soft. no sage and a backnote like dried bay leaves. very subtle once dry.

[revinn]

Cool, dry woods and something herbal but not sharp. It does feel like a scent for an older gentleman, but it's still very nice. I'd like to smell it on a boy!

 

Out of 10: 4

[devilot]

Lear

In the Vial: CEDAR! Powpowpow.

 

Wet: Super cedar still, and probably the sharpness of bay leaf. A quick shift into something dusty. Ew.

 

Drydown: Ah, the sweetness of sage comes out. Except, this almost smells like single-note sage to my nose and on my skin! I may not be the biggest fan of cedar, but a little bit would have been nice to balance out the dustiness of the sage.

 

Verdict: This reminds me of some batches of LUSH's American Cream shampoo (vanilla and sage). All in all, it's an okay enough blend, but not one I feel the need to keep the imp around for. I bet it would be nice layered with Antique Lace, but since that's on the brink of extinction...

[jizatt]

I didn't expect to like this one, I tried it mainly because I try all the imps that cross my path. I thought I might like the wood note, but expected this to be too masculine and dry. I was so shocked when I sniffed, I had to go look up the notes. White Cedar, blue sage, and bay leaf? So why do I smell lilacs and rain? I get the woody undertone, but this is so so fresh and appealing and unusual that it is currently residing in a place of honor on my wrists. I may put off testing today in order to wear this beauty by itself. Gorgeous. Definitely bottle worthy, and that will have to be a lab purchase because I rarely see imps much less bottles up for swap on this one =)

[pseedie]

~~Lear~~

 

I didn't let myself look up the notes in this one (like usual), as I like to compare first impressions with the name of the fragrance.....for Lear I was expecting something strong, masculine, vaguely incense-like. The imp was NOTHING like that! It smelled....well.....dry! Like dry foliage....a bit dusty with a hint of spice....but nowhere near unpleasant. Wet on my wrists it was the same. When Lear began to dry, it got a little "old lady-ish", but it wasn't an unpleasant old lady....it was one you'll miss when she's gone....at this point i had to peek at the notes, because they blend really well....as soon as i saw them i smelled each and every one. Lear was a great surprise. A fragrance that is unlike the usuals that i like...it's an unexpected mature smell, which is hard to come by. This is gooooooooooooooooooood.

[cleske]

Starts off very like Bow & Crown of Conquest; on me the sage is very strong to start off, then once the sage drops away there's more cedar than the leathery/vanilla dry stage of Bow & Crown. It's very nice. I love the sage and the cedar isn't too loud (I do like it but sometimes it takes over a scent for me, but not in this case) but I find myself missing the vanilla and leather because Bow & Crown and I are eternally betrothed.

[Venneh]

In the imp, this smells like cedarwood and sage, pretty straightforward there. Same on my skin, not really my style and not expecting too much change.

[impolight]

:::LEAR:::

 

Who ever knew that a perfume designating submedicated royalty could waft, oh so divinely?

Lear is a sunnily fantastical experience! The most apparent note from the uncapped Imp is the Cedar... White Cedar, if the notes are being remembered correctly... This would be a wildly befitting description of this note alone; it was effortless to picture a tall, twisted tree, incandescing in it's entirety, like a 300 watt bulb.

There is also something sweet and well-scrubbed about Lear in this stage. This could be the Blackberry note, yet it isn't quite what could be described as fruity, so it's difficult to say with appreciable certainty.

After a small amount of Lear was applied to the wrist, a veritable forest of greenery filled every last, subatomic space in the surrounding area... This stuff amps like mad! (no pun intended!)Lear really is fantastic!

It's weird, but as it dries, the Cedar and greenery remain, the sweet has dropped back to the very edge of periphery, but this unique, metallic note appears; remniscent of a suit of armor left in the rain... Delightfully tragic, creepy, and haunted... A portrait of a head held high despite the rust, blood, emaciation, and the terrifying, blasted wastes viewed plain through the windows of the soul.

Lear is clean and decidedly masculine. Very unique. The scent of someone you don't care for particularly much, would feel uncomfortable being left alone with him in a room, but you cannot help but feel an enormous respect.

Lear is a well crafted, aromatic sorcery.

4/5.

Edited February 26, 2010 by impolight

[angelicruin]

Heavy sage and cedar on my skin. Very masculine and woodsy.

[lunchboxmonkey]

On me this is herbal, dry wood. And I mean dry! Like when I sniff my wrists I can taste dryness in the back of my throat. I'm definitely getting the cedar and sage, so I don't know what I was expecting, but this is waaaay to dry for me. It makes my throat itch Off to the swap box!

[IridiumFlash]

At first there is a very little sage hiding behind lots & lots of cedar. I could imagine a desolate heath. Before long it went to straight cedar. And all I could imagine was a box of brand-new pencils.

 

Hmmmm, I wonder if this cedar would make a good moth repellant for the closet?

[Greensleeves]

I didn't do an in-depth testing of this one because I forgot to make notes as I was wearing it, but the impression I got was very kitchen-herby. It really smelled like something that would be a good rub for pork chops and it made me want to go grill some meat. Even the cedar, which for me was disappointingly faint, did not detract from the 'edibleness' I perceived.

 

It was also a very dry scent, and while I do like dry in some cases, like with incense, it wasn't a warm dry, more of a tepid, dusty sort of dry which isn't really to my taste.

[Seamyst]

In the imp: Cedar and green herbs, nothing strong; it's a very light scent.

 

On me, wet: BAY! And maybe a little sage. It's very sharp, and the bay is almost overpowering.

 

On me, dry: BAY! plus sage and cedar. Fortunately it seems to be fading away already (only about an hour and twenty minutes after I applied it), as I'm not reacting well to something in it. I don't get any "off" or unexpected notes when I sniff my arm, and I normally like all of the notes involved (in their original forms, anyway), but my stomach wants to turn over when I get a whiff.

 

This is definitely going in my swap/sale pile.

[jizatt]

This does some crazy magic on my skin, because what I get is almost a perfect lilac with a hint of rain. What I WANTED from a Lear based scent was an ozone heavy, rainy, heavy green scent -- Lear standing in the lightning storm. But Ill keep my crazy lilacs =)

[notjonathan]

I love woods of all sorts, and this is as pure and crisp a cedar as I've ever encountered. You walk to the hilltop, a clear day in late autumn, pale sunlight now but it rained last night, you have a slightly dusty book with you.

 

And, as others have noted, a ghostly lilac -- but when you stop and try to find it, it's gone.

[Sabir]

I've been trying a range of pine/resin/forest type scents and very few work on me as a general rule. Lear is the exception to that rule. It's a beautiful cedar, but as many have mentioned, it's dry, not like fresh green cedar.

 

There's something in this scent that really echos the scent of Manitoulin Island for me. Must be that dry, sandy, cedar smell with sage. The bay adds a little mystery to it. Overall the scent is masculine and reminds me of a relaxing, sacred place. For me it's a comfort scent, even though it's pretty strong and powerful.

[diamondstars]

Wet: Cedar but no sage. Very fresh.

 

On Skin: Cheap white soap. This isn't a bad thing though; I'm going to keep this in my 'try again' pile before I decide on getting a 5ml though.

[symbiosis]

Oh, am I ever pleasantly surprised with Lear!

 

In the Imp – Green, green cedarwood, like it’s been pulled fresh from the tree in the midst of a hot summer rainstorm. The green I’m sure comes from the sage and bay.

 

Once on my skin, there was really no transition from “wet” to “dry” like I usually have to write with other oils. The sage and bay were a LITTLE more pronounced when wet, and when dry they fade to become the two pillars that hold up the white cedar on me.

 

I was a little afraid when I first tried Lear, because I’d tried a few other cedar scents before and without fail the cedar went powdery on my skin. Not the case here at all! Lear’s magical white cedar stays true on my skin and the smell brings me back to a childhood memory I have of this cedar box my grandmother got me with a little lock and key that I used to keep all my treasures in – rocks, twigs, leaves…Lear is this memory on my skin. The Bay itself is very green and not at all like the dried herb on my skin, and the sage gives depth to the cedar, which is definitely the most pronounced note on my skin, and oh-so pleasant.

 

Finally, a cedar smell that works on me! If it works on the BF too, I’ll buy a bottle of this!

[cinnamonster]

Hmmmm well I can second CaudaPavonis here and say yes, lilacs. Here's me avoiding cedar in perfumes as it will naturally smell like pencil shavings, but no, this is quite nice. I am suddenly feeling quite sick though, which I am hoping has something to do with the million Tunnock's I just ate and not the scent. I shall return to finish when not nauseous!

[Suu4LC]

In the imp, this mostly smells like cedar to me-which always sort of reminds me of pencil shavings...

 

Oh yeah-this is super cedary/penvilshavingsy/hamster beddingy on me That's pretty much all I smell. Unfortunately, that is all I got on my skin and on full drydown. Just not for me.

[Vega]

Sniffed: Dry and cool, woody but tempered by herbal notes.

 

On skin: The cedar comes out in greater force, but thankfully the sharp-woods edge is softened by the bay and sage, which add a green, herbal brightness to what would otherwise be pure woodiness. Lear is quite simple and doesn't morph much, a tempered, introspective woody blend. It definitely evokes the Shakespearean character, a king in the twilight of life, whose edges have been worn and softened over the years.

 

Verdict: Lear is too woody for me, but I'm glad I got to test another specimen of BPAL artistry!