Bengal

[Rayleigh]

 

A sultry and unruly blend that emulates the ambient scent of the markets in ancient Bengal: skin musk with honey, peppers, clove, cinnamon bark and ginger.

 

Firstly, this is incredibly long-lasting. It's 24 hours after I put it on now, and if I put my wrist to my nose, I can still distinctly smell the warm, musky-spice-and-honey fragrance that is still lingering.

 

On first applying, it is very dry. Cinnamon bark, heavy on the bark. I didn't like it much at first. It was too dry, too cinnamon heavy, and I kept getting a whiff of something that reminded me of sunscreen (don't read much into that; my nose-brain connection sometimes has weird glitches in the circuitry -- last week, something in Bow & Crown of Conquest was reminding me of burnt peanut butter for no explicable reason on earth, which I have never smelled in it before or since then.)

 

After about an hour, the honey steps up to temper the dryness, but it never gets too sweet. I'm still amazed that honey actually behaves on my skin, but it does its part well and doesn't make this smell like cinnamon simple syrup at all. The sweetness is just enough.

 

One of the things that impresses me most about BPAL oils is how they settle into the skin in a way I'm not quite sure how to describe. After a while, this doesn't smell like perfume, and it seems very natural. It never smells like chai to me, but I can see how it would on someone who amps the cloves and honey more.

 

This is a nice blend, though I wish I got more clove and pepper. Much as I like cinnamon, it is hogging all the attention, and I would love it if the other spices had a chance in the spotlight. I do really like this current, much-faded incarnation, too, where it is very subtle but pretty.

 

If you like lightly sweetened, cinnamon-rich spice scents that don't veer into foody territory, this is worth checking out. Just be patient with the initial rasp of the cinnamon bark until the other components have time to catch up.

[Aveya]

It appears I've never reviewed Bengal. Bengal is, so far, my absolute favorite Wanderlust. It's one of my top-ten bottles frequently, and currently in my top three GC. I love this scent. I LOVE THIS SCENT.

 

It's all sexy spicy musk. Honey usually amps on me and takes over blends with sickly sweet disgust, but not with Bengal. I actually forgot honey was in this blend until writing this review. I believe it merges perfectly with the "skin musk" and makes something glorious.This is all spice and sultry human skin. 

 

I think the glory of this blend and why it's a favorite of mine, is because it's a LONG wearer that stays true 24hrs+. It's when I'm on my 11th or 12th hour of work and I'm about ready to destroy the world or myself with my angst-ridden despair and I bury my head in my shirt/coat/whatever, and then BENGAL just floods me. Sultry sexy spicy. it's energizing and relaxing. It's empowering and dominating. It's the scent of success and energy. It gets me through really rough days and meetings, and gives me a backbone when mine's been ripped out.

 

This is a scent that's grown on me over the years and was one of my first sample-packs years ago. It's a regular go-to, and a favorite in winter when the world is a bit bleak, white, and dead. It adds heat and passion to my world; it's incredible. It gets me moving in the morning and keeps me moving when steam is long gone. I've used it to survive work, but then it transitions beautifully to dating life and can come across incredibly sexy. I do think there's a level of skin chemistry happening and I drew very lucky cards. But I adore this scent. If this one gets discontinued with a warning, you can bet I'll have an entire row of like 50 bottles stashed for the future.

 

Verdict: A life-saver pickup. A staple on my shelf. 

[Teamama]

I love Bengal.  It took me a few years to get around to trying it, because I amp clove like nobody's business. A frimp came my way, & I was instantly blown away.  The honey, musk, & spices blend into a delicious whole, resulting in a spicy skin musk that lifts my mood like nothing else.

The honey is restrained & delicate on my skin.  I think the musk in Bengal is similar to Morocco's "warm musk."  Clove (which usually amps on my skin & wrecks the balance,) stays a faint note, letting the cinnamon bark & ginger take the spotlight. 

After trying Silk Road resurrected, I think of Bengal as halfway between Silk Road & Morocco.  Bengal is definitely in my top 10.  

[Old.cupcake]

I didn't like this in the imp. I didn't like it on the skin. I dont know if the must over powered it for me or if my body twisted the scents. But every scent was too much and it made it distorted and unlikeable. 

[Laughing Seagull]

There aren't many scents that make me immediately go to the site and slam that mf "add to cart" button, but Bengal is one of them.  I received it as a frimp with my last order and as soon as I put a dab of it on my skin I became completely enchanted by it.

 

It's smooth, sweet, and VERY spicy.  Cinnamon is the dominant note and it's a very true cinnamon BARK scent rather than a powder or candy.

 

After some time, it further smooths out and reminds me of a mousse or other light, creamy dessert rather than the aggressive chai blast at the start.  It's still spiced, but not as much.

 

Just be careful if your skin is sensitive to spices.

[a_bear]

Spice lovers, this one's for you. Skin musk is one of the few musks that generally work for me, and the honey in this one behaves - adding a hint of sweetness to help tie everything together without getting cloying or weird. After initial application the throw pretty much disappears so you have to get close to smell it. The initial blast of heat from the peppers settles down as well, and the scent is dominated by the cinnamon. It is very dry, verging on powdery, but in the way that actual spices have a dryness to them.

 

Very spicy, a little sweet, I kind of wish my skin could just smell like this all the time.

[Beary Strange]

Well this is not what I expected at all, especially given the other reviews. I immediately put this imp into the Nope pile ages ago because of that laundry list of spices. But apparently I had nothing to worry about, because this is mostly skin musk backed by a bit of honey, at most lightly spiced on me. Maybe the aging calmed the spice? 🤔

 

I love skin musk and honey though, so no complaints here. That said, it's nice, but I don't need an upgrade. I already own All Joys Are Due to Thee and I prefer that as it's much more honey forward. But if you missed All Joys or want something similar that's heavier on the skin musk, you might want to try this.

Edited September 7, 2022 by Beary Strange