Swank

[inkstone]

Simply cool, the essence of Lounge: the scent of a crisp pomegranate martini.

In the imp: Tart fruitiness! I definitely see the pomegranate martini in this.

Wet: Hmm, it's very clean. I actually get less pomegranate and a more citrusy note from this. Not lemon, but something else.

Drydown: The alcohol note comes out. And it came out wrong.

Final thoughts: I'm sure this smell divine on someone with the right skin chemistry, but this smells very weird on me. Kind of like soapy bathroom cleaner, which I'm certain isn't the intended result at all! Le sigh. Off to the swap pile.

[quimerula]

This is a gift from the lab, so thank you very much!

 

Fresh and a bit acid, it's really pomegranate martini. Very sharp.

Dry it goes sweeter, but this one is not me.

Nice as a home scent, I will use it like that.

[Imbrium]

In the bottle: I barely smell the pomegranate, though it is very martini-esque. (Vodka, for the record, as I don't smell the juniper-gin scent).

 

On: ooh, fruity! This is amazing, sweet and juicy. It doesn't change much from wet to dry, the pomegranate really the dominant not throughtout. I'd be tempted to say that I smell nothing but pomegranate, but there's a sort of background scent that makes it differ from the pomegranate single note; it helps balance out Swank's fruitiness.

[olympia301]

 

Good Grief! Wow! Aaaaak! On me this stuff is BRUTAL!

 

Swank started out strong like bull moose; about as subtle as a crocodile in the bathtub. Right out of the bottle it delivers a roundhouse punch to my nose, and followed up with a roaring citrus left hook wrapped in a set of grenadine brass knuckles.

 

After it was through roughing me up, it gathered itself together into industrial strength deodorizer mode and clung sullenly to my wrists until I washed it off.

 

Bad chemistry here between me and Mr. Swank.

 

I understand that a lot of you really like it, and that tells me that admiration "dwells in the mind of the sniffer". Bless your heart if you love it. Contact me, after looking at my wishlist, and we can definitely make a deal for my imp.

[Malista]

Swank

 

This just arrived in the mail from an eBay purchase from the delightful Msthrope. It wasn’t high on my list of things to try, but I thought it might be a good summer scent, which, with my predilection to spice, amber and other resins and incense, and my allergies to a number of floral essences, I don’t have a lot of. I was a little dubious because, often, light booze notes seem to be made up of bouquets of white florals, which are the most potentially problematic for me, but I thought it was worth a try.

 

In the bottle:

Smells like pomegranate and orange peel. Cool!

 

Wet:

Whatever the blend for the alcohol note is, it may contain a little gardenia; that’s what the back of my throat is telling me, anyway. I’m getting that prickly catch that often presages more serious allergy symptoms. But I love this scent, which is a pomegranate martini with a twist of orange. Cool, crisp, but sweet-tart like the pomegranate concentrate I use daily in my own “cocktail” of green tea and pomegranate juice. If it doesn’t dry down too sweet (and my allergies don’t kick in), this could be a hot weather winner.

 

Dry down:

More of the same. A little sharper with the alcohol notes (I’m inclined to think “vodka,” rather than “gin,” because I’m not getting any juniper berry), still pomegranate and a wee bit of citrus underneath. Throat still pricking, and I really think there is some gardenia in this, as the sharp edge is very like what that note does in other blends, too. Now the fruity notes take the lead. Very nice! Cheerful and a little silly in a youthful-high-spirits way, sweet, but dry rather than juicy. It doesn’t have a strong throw, which is good because it means I wouldn’t worry about wearing it out and about.

 

The white top notes burn off more slowly than I’m used to, which is kind of neat with this scent, and my throat settles down as they fade. The fruit never gets heavy or wet despite the fade of the booze scent.

 

This is definitely a good hot weather scent, although I might want to layer it with unscented lotion to extend its life, as it fades very rapidly after going strong for a couple of hours, leaving a pomegranate-y residue that is still very pleasant. This one seems to be all top and heart notes, with no strong base to keep it going, but it really is lovely, and might persist if worn in more warm places than the back of my wrist. I love how true it stays on me, with no real surprises. I’m glad I’ve got a bottle of this for heavy rotation through the summer.

 

Malista

[QueenFae]

Bravo Beth! Swank is fantastic. I expected it to have more of an alcohol undertone, the way Bon Vivant does, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that it smells exactly like a cold, ripe pomegranate!! What a lovely fruitiness.....Not too sticky sweet or overwhelming, but undeniably...appealing! I am definitely getting a 5 ml of this, this is the fruit scent I have always been searching for! It was long lasting on me as well, I put some on before bed and it was still there in the morning. No hangover from this martini!

[k00kaburra]

In bottle: Very crisp and zingy. There's the juiciness of the pomegranate fruit and the cool alcohol note. It triggers the memory of peach fruit roll-ups, tho'. Odd.

On me: Uplifting is a good word for this. It's very refreshing - the alcohol note is almost ozone-y, which really makes this crisp and gives it a nice bite. The pomegranate is so fruity and delightful - not cloyingly sweet, but quite tart and hints of sourness. Perfect for a bouncy day!

[empi girl]

Very nice crisp juicy scent. Like berries only richer and less sweet. Very clean and "clear" in tone. Not much alcohol on me at all, just the fruit. And it is beautiful, and long lasting and almost made me decide that I needed a berry-like scent.

 

But even though I really like this one, I don't think it is for me.... I like my fruit balanced with other things, and to play a supporting role, not be the star.

[OriginalWacky]

Bottle (Imp): A bit boozy, a bit of sweet, fresh and crisp.

 

Just On: Very crisp and clean, with a hint of sweet booziness to it.

 

An hour or two later: I'm getting dryer sheets soaked in booze with the slightest hint of sweetness on me.

 

Around 6 hours: It still smells almost exactly the same. Like dryer sheets soaked in booze. It has faded some, but that's all I'm getting out of it. I'm not complaining though, it's not too bad.

 

12 hours: I get these whiffs of the sweetness from this every so often. I don't have the dryer sheet thing (remember, it's not a BAD dryer sheet) anymore, but I can catch a hint of the booze if I press my nose to my arm to smell.

 

Overall: I liked it, and will probably use up my imp. I don't know how soon I will buy a bigger bottle, as this didn't jump into the top ten list, but I can see getting one someday.

 

After reading other reviews: I got the booziness like many others, and I certainly got the sweetness. I like it, but I have packaged it up to trade it away so I can try something else.

[telesilla]

In the bottle and wet it's OMG SWEET FRUITY pomegranate! Back when I was in Jr. High, my very first perfume was Spiritual Sky Raspberry Essential Oil which usually clashed with my strawberry roll on lipgloss -- don't laugh, it was the '70s man, it's not my fault. Anyway my first thought when I smelled this stuff was 'OMG I hope this doesn't stay that sickly sweet.'

 

Dry down -- Good news. Whatever it is that's supposed to make it smell like a pomagrenate martini is coming out and there's a faint hint of sharp vodka. Not nearly enough to make me smell like I spilled my drink but enough to cut the sweet. I'm thinking it's a keeper.

 

A couple of hours later -- it's still fruity, sweet, and just a little boozy, but there's something faintly smokey going on too.

 

Final thoughts -- I don't know that I'd call it the essence of Lounge, but it's very much a grownup version of those fruit essential oils I wore as a young teen. I'm going to be trying more of BPAL's fruity scents before I decide which one I want a bigger bottle of, but I have a feeling I'm going to use up this imp pretty quickly.

 

GF's reaction -- Teh Nanceh likes it, which is cool as I've learned that she's mostly about the florals on herself.

[Orodemniades]

Swank reminded me of a spray perfume. That's not a bad thing, but I didn't particularly care for it.

 

Oro

[Julilla Regina]

I love pomegranates, and I love Beth's pomegranates, especially. The sharp/sweet smell of them is really luscious. But I don't think I do well with scents that smell of booze. I can see why this is a fantastic scent, but smelling like alcohol all day really bugs me.

 

If you *don't* mind smelling a little boozy, give this one a try, it's very Hot Nightspot with a dress code chic.

[Aredhel]

Rating (on skin): 1/5

Summarised in a word or two: Bitter pomegranate.

 

In the imp: Terribly bitter pomegranate.

 

On skin, wet: Not at all a pomegranate martini, just a sickly, decaying pomegranate. I get no booze from this at all.

 

On skin, dry: That poor pomegranate now smells faintly salty. Poor thing. (heh)

 

Conclusion: I never cared for pomegranate martinis anyway (or martinis themselves), so this is no big loss.

Edited December 16, 2005 by Aredhel

[Sara]

Initial imp sniff: Mmm..some kinda fruity twang, yeah, this is nice.

 

Dab: Still that strong fruit twang, damn I loves me some fruit in the summer. But wait, what is that soapiness tinging around the corners?

 

Drydown: This funny soapness just completely ass-raped the yummy, yummy fruit and left it lying in the gutter.

 

Overall: If only that soap note wasn't there!! I was sooo in love until it molestered my poor fruit!! Damn it all!!

[Mnemosyne]

After I was let down by Persephone (which turned into nothing but roses on me), I was really looking forward to finding the pomegranate that I craved in this.

 

Swank didn't let me down in that department. I love pomegranates, and this has a delicious barely-ripe pomegranate smell. I'm not really getting the alcoholic smell here, but I do get a tiny hint of something that smells like either lemon or lime, I can't quite decide which.

 

I've read plenty of reviews of various other scents where people complained that it turned "soapy" on them. I hadn't experienced that particular phenomenon myself until I tried Swank. It took about half an hour to turn soapy, but it was defintely soap. However, I'm OCD about cleaning things, so I happen to love the smell of soap, particularly the soap this turned into: Pomegranate Soap! No complaints about the "soapy" smell here.

 

It makes me think about a relaxing bath in the middle of the day. Soaking in a big white porcelain tub with pomegranate scented bubble bath. It's not a warm, sleepy, right-before-bed type of bath, but instead a leisurely, revitalizing, sunlight-streaming-through-the-windows kind of bath.

[zankoku_zen]

In the Bottle: Smells like pomegranates! Mmmm... pom juice!

 

On Skin: Still pommy although I can smell some of the alcohol. This is very juicy. Very citrusy too.

 

On Drydown: The food ripens a bit. This scent is very fresh. Very cool.

 

Verdict: I like the cool citrus feel I get from this scent. Not that it smells anything like Baobhan Sith but it makes a good replacement in the cool citrus category.

[brownbear]

This one I bought a 5ml of without even sniffing an imp first based on the review that it smelled exactly like a cosmopolitan.

 

It does smell like pomegranite. It's not sweet like a cosmo, but tart. It smells fruity, crisp and tart. It softened a bit as it dried, but overall stayed the same. Not bad, but I'll probably layer it with something sweet and orange.

[joseybird]

Slinky and lighthearted; nearly candy-sweet but just-tart-enough. The alcohol is bubbly and sly and tosses you a wink between clinking glasses. This is a scent of elegant laughter and endless refills, light on the alcohol but curiously seductive.. This would make a great room scent, and might necessitate a bottle

[cuervosueno]

Olympia301--your swank avatar is hilarious! Reason enough to read these just to see that!

Swank: Pomegranite martini, huh? I got this as an extra in a swap, and likely I wouldn't have tried it on my own.

Put it on on a hot day and liked the coolness that at first reminded me of grapefruit. Guess its pomegranite though....and the alchohol comes through too....and it smells like, well, a drink I guess. But it has a very artificial note on me, and it is way way strong and....

I don't like it.

Ah well, can't like 'em all, or I'd be so in debt it wouldn't be funny!

[slugbait]

The alcohol note was really strong at first- made my nose hurt. The initial note had a cheese curl smell, but that dissipated after a few seconds.

 

The pomegranate is so tart it is almost bitter and the alcohol gives it bite. The alcohol eventually fades and it smells lightly fruity, like a wine cooler. This is nice but not something I would wear all the time. I added my imp to some unscented lotion and it seemed to lack the bitterness the straight oil had.

[quikslvr]

Soapy start. Then the sweet-tartness begins. It's a weird combo to me: this smells more like something I'd use in a diffuser than something I'd wear. There's a shift to a fruity champagne scent next. Unfortunately, this is getting to my nose in that sneezy sort of way, so I don't think I'll be keeping this one.

[Sheila]

This wasn't even on my wish list, but I sniffed an imp at the Seattle meet-up this weekend. It was love at first sniff! Barb25 had an extra imp that she gave me--thanks hon!

 

This is bright and sparkling. The pomegranate is sweet and tart at the same time. It's fruitiness reminds me of Bewitched--but the champagne-like bubbliness gives it an added spark. Really fun and perfect for any occasion. This is going on my big-bottle list!

[madelf]

Wet - the pomegranate is sweet and tart. Very nice but with the tiniest bit of bitterness from the booze.

 

Dry - this is great for awhile. The pomegranate gets a little astringent from the booze note, which really seems gin like to me. It's exactly what I would expect a pomegranate martini to smell like.

 

However, after about an hour this went a little funky on me - rather one demensional and a little soapy. It was still nice enough, but not the multifaceted scent I usually expect from BPAL.

 

A reapplication brought it back to crisp, fruity drinks and kept it there, so it might have just been a weird chemistry day.

[shayelea]

In the bottle: Sweet, a bit tart, a little bit of a bite. It doesn't really register as pomegranate in the bottle, just super, super SWEET. I was afraid I wouldn't like it, though it wasn't quite as sickly-sweet as I found Lady Macbeth.

 

Wet: Super sweet right at first, though not as much as in the bottle; quickly fades to something approaching a pomegranate with bite (the vodka, I'll assume) and then spends a very weird few minutes smelling like laundry detergent. Woolite, to be precise.

 

Drydown: Ah. Much better. After ten minutes or so the Woolite smell goes away and I smell like one of Illuminations' pomegranate candles, which is actually what I was hoping for because I LOVE that smell. Sweet and rich and like a sugary pomegranate. There's also a hint of the alcoholic bite underneath keeping it fresh, but it doesn't smell boozy.

 

This is a very light scent on me. I think it'll be perfect for summer days, and nights out with the girls when I don't care about what the boys think. *g* Not that it's unattractive, but it doesn't smell "sexy" on me. Just delicious.

[rellyjean]

In the vial, this is delicious - the pomegranate, the scent of light vodka, almost, the alcoholic tinge to it all. Tart and crisp.

 

On, this is still exquisite, but the scent is much stronger than I'd imagined, and I only applied lightly.

 

As time passes, the pomegranate drowns out the vodka-martini fizzle sparkly edge. It's a high sharp citrus-y pomegranate, and it's delicious, but it's a bit too sharp and a bit too strong for me. It won't settle in - it insists on sitting up front and waving vigorously at me out the car window. It's a bit distracting and a little overpowering.

 

The throw and the duration are wonderful, but this isn't for me. I tossed it into the Swap pile, but with a fond adieu and well wishes for its future.