Elegba

[illuxtris]

The Spirit of the Divine Messenger, the Lord of the Crossroads, He Who Owns All Doors and Roads in this World. He is the intermediary between the Orishas and mankind, and stands at the intersection of humanity and the Divine. He opens all paths of communication, both mundane and Heavenly. His ofrenda contains coconut, tobacco and sweet, sugared rum.

Ahh, my first foody scent!

On imp: This is one imp filled with caramelized goodness. It reminds of this caramel chocolate I can't quite remember the name of...

On application: Oh dear lord, I can't distinguish it. It's like an amped version of the caramel-filled imp (and I thought that wasn't possible anymore!) which is slightly sickening.

On drydown: Oy, this reminds me of pina colada! And I'm amused that I'm sort of right on with this, since pina coladas contain (aside from pineapple) coconut and light rum. Hee. And I thought my nose would be totally clueless.

After a few more minutes: Okay, what is with my skin that I end up not smelling like anything (or just some very, very light whiff) at all after a very short span of time? I'm getting annoyed, I don't want all the BPAL oils to end up like this on me.

I'll be wearing this one to bed, let's see if I still smell Elegba when I wake up.

[Diana]

wet: sweet, milky caramel & coconut

 

dry: still sweet, reminds me a lot of spooky, minus the mint.

for some reason i swapped away my bottle. i guess this goes back on the wishlist. it is teh awesome.

[prettybird]

This is, hands down, my all time favorite BPAL scent, and I wear it so much that my friends say it smells like me. It was my first vial purchased, and it has never steered me wrong. It's coconut and rum without ever being coconut rum, and it's got an amazing butteryness to it. I really got it because I feel a personal connection to Legba, and his ofrenda does not disappoint.

 

In addition to using it as a perfume, I find it useful in doing tarot to put me in the right headspace. But that's for another forum.

[surlygurl]

This was a frimp in my most recent order. Considering that I'm on a coconut kick, this is a very good thing.

 

Wet: Smells almost buttery. Buttery coconut. With other smells playing around the sides that darken it slightly.

Drydown: The butter goes away (thankfully!), while the tobacco gives the coconut a slightly masculine/gritty feel. The sugared rum adds a sparkle while cutting the ...innocence(?).... of the coconut.

Dry: It's gone! No, wait.... As soon as I decide to apply more, the gentle scent wafts upwards. As if it is saying "I'm here if you need me. Just call."

 

Over all: This scent is very grounding. It's extremely pretty in a unisex way - if smells were colors, it would be blond wood. This is a 'me' scent, not an 'I'm going to wear this and seduce/charm/etc. others' scent. And it's lovely.

Edited July 2, 2007 by surlygurl

[zankoku_zen]

In the imp: Coconut and caramel

 

On Skin: Caramel and coconut. Very sweet. Very foody.

 

On Drydown: Suntan lotion.

 

Verdict: So. Not. Me. But on the other hand, I hope this gets appreciated by someone else!

[stasha]

In the bottle: Boozy caramel with a hint of coconut behind it.

 

Wet: More booze! More coconut! Extremely strong yet seductive and calming.

 

Dry: This is so beautifully blended. All of the sweet foody notes remain while the tobacco in the background prevents it from becoming sickening. The coconut manages to remain strong without ever reaching the on the beach slathered in tanning lotion scent.

 

This is definitely one of my favorite BPAL scents so far. It's sexy, yummy, and mysterious. An absolute perfect tribute to Elegba.

[enderfem]

Bottle-Sweet sugary coconut.

 

Wet-Sweet sugary coconut.

 

Drydown-Ew. This goes all Play Doh and horrible on me very quickly. Which is fine. I have Black Pearl for sweet sugary coconut and rum.

[Lit Chick]

Shockingly delicious!

 

I adore coconut, but I rarely wear it because it tends to smell too beachy. Suntan lotion, drinks, bleh. Not my thing. I thought this would be a fun little cocktail that would be pleasing, but nothing special. Wrong!

Creamy toasted coconut. CREAMY creamy creamy goodness. I find I don't really like the milk scents, but cream and I are soulmates. So fantastically good.

 

I smell really nothing but the toasted, slightly sweetened coconut - perhaps the other notes are what keeps it from going tropical on me. I don't care - it's a delight.

 

Huge success. I love when BPAL suprises me.

[ClareN]

In the imp: Buttered-rum candy.

 

On skin: Sweet, sharp rum (rum cake with raisins maybe), and coconut. It smells almost exactly like the description, except that I don't get the tobacco note. It soon turns very sweet on my skin, but that is what my chemistry generally does with most scents. I wish the tobacco note would come out to counter the sweetness somewhat.

 

Drydown: This eventually fades to a fairly simple, sweet caramel-rum scent. It's a good foody scent if you like rum, but it's not for me.

Edited August 24, 2007 by ClareN

[Honeygirl]

Elegba

 

Bottle: I knew I'd love this. I can smell every note.

 

Wet: It's gorgeous. I smell the coconut and the rum. I wanna be a pirate!

 

Drydown: The scent doesn't mute, like most others do on me, it stays strong and I love it.

 

4.5 outta 5

 

ADDED Oct. 10:

 

Bottle: Boozy and coconut

 

Wet: Rum and coconut, yum!

 

Drydown: Very sweet and boozy, I like it a lot.

3.5 outta 5

[furygrrl]

In the imp: Mmm...smells like buttered rum lifesavers!

 

On wet: Lightly buttered rum. Coconut. A dry, almost herbal bitterness that I'm thinking is the tobacco. Strangely enough, I'm also getting a hint of something...minty? Weird - and yummy!

 

Drydown: The caramel-esque rum and sugary coconut are both deliciously straightforward. I'm not getting tobacco (or that phantom mint note) any more, but I'm sure it's helping cut the sweetness and ground the other two components.

 

Overall: Edible! Drink Me and Obatala's love child. Definitely a warm weather party scent - also perfect for those cold days when all you can think about is escaping the snow by jetting off to the Caribbean. Elegba is that 'one sniff and you're there' scent. 4/5

[hkhm]

imp: buttery, boozy coconut. must remember not to lick self after application.

 

wet: i almost get a toasted (nearly burnt) coconut scent. it reminds me of coconut donuts for some reason.

 

dry: that odd burnt scent is still lingering. it's not exactly unpleasant just... strange.

[Bagfish]

I can't believe I haven't reviewed Elegba as I've had it for ages. So here goes. In the imp, definitely coconut, but not suntan coconut, but definitely a "cooked" coconut. On the skin this segues into a very sweet, hot smelling slightly scary coconut. I really find it very similar to Red Lantern, the burning tobacco creates a somewhat similar ambiance to the opium smoke in Red Lantern, but it's nowhere near as sharp and dry.

 

I have to say that judging by the fact I don't wear this often and i actually found it quite a disturbing scent, I think I'll be passing it on.

[Gwydion]

In the bottle. Wow! That’s a lot of coconut. It smells exactly like coconut extract I routinely use for cooking. Wet: The rum undercurrent becomes noticeable. Dry; coconut extract again. I never did spot the tobacco.

[lainevierge]

This is a scent I would save for summer. The sweetness is unbearable in colder weather and wearing it gave me a headache the other day. My coat also now smells like sweet coconut butterscotch tobacco.

 

The other thing I don't like about this fragrance is that it slowly drifts into a combination of old lady perfume and new car smell on a hot summer day, maybe it's the tobacco?

[Electric Maenad]

(Frimp from ze Lab - muchas gracias!)

 

Oh yeah... I like pina coladas, getting caught in the rain, the whole shebang. This smells like the aftermath of a disreputable beach-resort holiday with your favourite lust object. Fortunately, it's not nearly as sticky or difficult to explain as actually coming in to work the following week still drenched in girly drinks and with a little paper umbrella stuck in your hair.

 

If this is what offerings to Elegba smell like, I think I've found a new god to follow.

 

ETA: Okay - having tried Red Lantern and Upa Upa since this review, Upa Upa is definitely more like a tropical "girl drink". Elegba actually smells more similar to Red Lantern, only cleaner and more stripped-down to the basic booze-and-tobacco essentials. Still good stuff though, and I've used it in a couple of rituals with decent success.

Edited October 18, 2008 by Electric Maenad

[alexandra]

In the imp: Rum n raisin fudge ice cream with shaved coconut. Yummm.

 

Wet: I swiped this on just before a class and I felt severely naughty when I caught a whiff of my wrist. It's holiday crush gets serious. I'm in Crete by the pool with an oversized glass of pina colada. But it is night and the drums are beginning to pound.

 

Dry: It is gorgeous. Lovely buttery coconut with warm rum depth.

 

And?... I can't detect any tobacco but that's dandy - I love this so far, it smells sexy and minxy but I get the impression that Elegba must be respected. Too much time spent in his company could be dangerous.

[FandF]

Wet: coconut

On the skin: lots of coconut and then the tobacco comes through and makes it less foodie and much more complex.

Dry Down: perfectly lovely...a lot like carmel with a complex undertone from the tobacco; this doesn't smell like a pipe tobacco store to me. It's a warm blanket in a library full of books with a fire going. *swoon* This was my first bpal love! This is also a perfect example of why you test every imp because I did not like "tobacco" in any previous scent of other etailers/retailers. I was positive I was going to hate this as well. Turns out that this works great with my chemistry

[naeelah]

At first, this is very Pina Colada to me, minus the pineapple -- strong, milky coconut with sweet booze.

 

Dry, the tobacco balances some of the creamy sweetness of the coconut and keeps it from smelling quite so much like a tropical cocktail. Actually, the tobacco is very dry on me. After a while, it's the dominant note. I smell like a coconut rum soaked cigar.

 

It's quite nice, if you like tobacco as a main note. I prefer it more for color, so this isn't the blend for me.

[cinderfallen]

Elegba smells *exactly* like a cross between Red Lantern and Creepy. At first, it's a blast of almost caramel sweetness of rum, which settles down into a really sexy undercurrent of dry coconut, smooth and subtle coconut water, and rum so sugared you can feel the grittiness of the condensed crystals. It's not a tropical scent to me, though--the tobacco isn't really apparent, but it reins back the scent into Red Lantern territory, a little darker and smokier than you'd expect.

[Cati]

In the imp: Very coconutty, with an alcoholic sort of scent to it.

 

Wet: The alcohol fades some, and the coconut starts smelling very sugary. Almost a caramel or brown sugar scent, as opposed to white sugar.

 

Dry: Almost exactly the same, a little bit more muted and even sweeter.

 

This has a pretty good throw compared to the others I've tried. I smell exactly like a cake now, and every time I get a whiff of this it feels like I'm about to eat a big slice of sugary rum cake with heavy coconut icing. It's really quite strong and overwhelming on me; I might like a whiff now and then, but I don't want to go around smelling like a big coconut cake.

 

Not my style at all, but if sweet and foody scents are your cup of tea, you might want to get this one.

[akiko]

I got this as a frimp in my last lab order. I tested it after sniffing the imp and without checking notes prior.

 

Imp: Ooh, butterscotch? Something sweet and yummy.

 

Wet: Still butterscotchy, but then some coconut? sad. I hate coconut.

 

Dry: Coconut. Maybe a little sugary rum, but the coconut makes it a no-go for me.

[arsenicsauce]

I haven't really tried a scent with any of these notes before, so I picked Elegba out of curiosity.

 

In the imp: Oh, that smells delicious. Foody and very sweet. I guess that might be the sugared rum, but since I'm not sure what that smells like it seems like chewy caramel candy to me.

 

On me: Wet, sugar and booze. Just a little spicy, not enough to make it feel sharp in any way. As it dries I get more coconut, and it's nice dried and sugared coconut, not fake sunscreen coconut. It doesn't really change much, except as it settles I can smell something a little musky underneath that might be tobacco. It's really much more foody than I expected, whoever said it was like rum cake was dead on.

[MaidMirawyn]

I tried this one at the Whole Foods/Harry's Meet n Sniff tonight.

 

I don't really detect distinct notes...for me, it blends into a slightly dark and subtly tropical scent. Very nice! Sweet, but not overywhelmingly so. I would never guess the dark note was tobacco!

 

Wish I could remember who let me try it so I could thank them...I may have to get an imp!

Edited March 10, 2008 by MaidMirawyn

[lefthandmade]

Mmm sugar and rum as I splash it on lavishly. I can sense a little tobacco there in the far back of the picture but mostly it's deep and rich and sweet and boozy.

 

Ten seconds in all the rum is gone and I have tobacco going slightly stale and possibly a hint of coconut coming from my wrist -if I put my nose all the way down to it, butI it doesn't stay stale for more than a couple of minutes.

 

It's not bad, not at all, but i'm puzzled by how fast the scent changed.

 

After the change it stays pretty stable though, but it's really low key and close to the skin, and it's the tobacco/spicy coconut that dominates the show. After a little while the rum comes back, but only as a sweetener and very much in the background.

Whoa I love this one! It's really strange, in a good way, in a way that reveals little pieces of a secret at the time.