Al-Shairan

[Gwydion]

The enemy of God, also named Iblis, He Who Despaired of the Mercy of God. Al-Shairan is the leader of the Jinn, a tempter who whispers false suggestions to men enticing them into evil and perfidious acts, and is the sworn enemy of all of Adam’s children. His scent is fiery, bright and thick with sweet sinfulness: clove, peach and orange with cinnamon, patchouli and dark incense notes.

Inauspicious in the imp. It has a nasty chemical bite to it. It's like a toxic chemical Christmas smell, the first four elements in the list corrupted by the bass notes. Eeew. Luckily it calms down to smelling like clove oranges and Barbie hair. Still anaesthetic but not awful enough to need washing off right away.

[hkhm]

bottle: soft cinnamon and clove. not as strong as sniffing a spice bottle, very soft and sweet.

 

wet: i get very faint patchouli with the spices. i am put in mind of pomanders, those groovy clove-studded oranges that you hang in the coat closet.

 

dry: this has a somewhat sharp, citrsy spice left. very nice.

 

this is yet another of my husband's oils that i've jacked to test and review. i'm also chuckling becasue it has peach in it and he absolutely hates that scent/fruit/idea.

[steffanina]

Al-Shairan-

 

In Bottle: Oh, my, clove and cinnamon and peach, no joke!

 

Wet: Clove and cinnamon and peach. Kind of candle-ish.

 

Dry: Clove and cinnamon are kind of additive, aren't they? I can't say I love it, but it can work well in some combinations. I imagine this scent would work well in a room diffuser, but it's too strong for me on my skin (it doesn't burn, but I'm just not enjoying the sniffing as much as I'd like).

 

Overall: Not really for me.

[MaidenGenevive]

Al-Shairan

 

Sweet, spicy, and sharp. That pretty much sums it up for me. Not a keeper, though, more or less because of what just happened to me - my first BPAL accident. I was looking at the vial thinking "is that a hair floating on the bottom?" (I got this as a swap) and as I was trying to figure out if it was in the oil or on the vial, it slipped out of my hands. Big globs of amber colored oil splashed on my white teeshirt, and into my apartment's carpet under my desk. This isn't a bad smell, but in these dosages, it's not so pleasant. Hopefully I got most of it out of the carpet, so I don't have to smell it every day.

 

[ 2 - Dislike ]

[lainevierge]

Oh wow.

When I first sniffed the imp the day I got my order I got a weird first impression of a mixture of mothballs & patchouli, which I kind of liked because it reminded me of my aunt.

 

I actually tried it on today though and at first it was a heavy cinnamon and clove smell that morphed into peaches. It smelled a lot like the peach potpourri my mom used to make holiday sachets out of.

 

But then... about an hour into wearing it it's softened into this great metallic scent (I'm guessing the "dark" incense did this) and it smells just like one of my favorite and rather hard to find perfumes (Kenzo's Jungle), only spicier and decidedly peachy. I never thought I'd like something so peachy!

 

Oh, I must get a bottle of this. Everything about it is divine. Now I understand why everyone here has such a large BPAL collection...

[Lyrical]

In the vial: thick, rich orange and spice.

 

Wet on skin: strong (although that might be because my hand slipped when applying), orangey and spicy. Actually a bit too spicy because it stings like crazy and my arm is pink and blotchy where I applied it! It's a really lovely scent, but is it worth the pain?

 

Dry on skin: still a lovely spicy orange, but too strong for my sensitive skin, so I think I'll have to wash it off and give the imp to a friend who I'm sure will love it. The peach is coming out now to mingle with the cinnamon, clove and orange, and the patchouli is behaving itself and staying in the background along with the incense. Gorgeous scent - shame about the burning!

[ouch!]

This is blended soooo nicely!

 

I'm not a fan of either Clove or Cinnamon (on my skin) and this was a frimp. I never would have ordered it. All other BPAL blends I've tried with Cinnamon have been totally dominated by the Cinnamon. This is not the case with this blend.

The orange is quite predominant when it's wet but as it dries the orange goes back and forth from being faint to being in the forefront. The peach is definately there too which keeps the cinnamon from putting me off this scent!. It does smell like a sort of Christmas candle or...some sort of mulled wine/fruit punch. But that's not a bad thing. The description is defintely right when it says it's Bright...It is..but it's also got a dark spicy quality to it that is so nice.

 

This blend has changed my mind about cinnamon blends now, I might go and try to rediscover Blood Moon!

I wouldn't order a 5ml of this but I'm very glad I got to try it out.

 

Thank you labbies!!!

 

[sadtomato]

when i first smelled this one in the imp, i thought it would be one that i traded or gave to a friend wanting to try BPAL.

i gave it a try, though...i give everything a good, sporting try. you can't knock it 'til you try it, right?

it was just so overpoweringly strong and whoa watch out clove it frightened me.

 

when i put it on, the clove was still strong, but the orange came forward and mingled with it so nicely it made the clove not so scary. (clove sometimes makes me nauseous because of all the clove cigarettes i smoked in college).

 

when dried, yum! cinnamony orange clove! wow, what a delicious combination, i never would have thought of these things as going together so wonderfully...what a genius made this concoction! going on my list of "must get bottles"!!!!

[butcherbaby]

wow- the description of this sounded yummy, and i was really hoping it woud work for me. it kind of did int he end, but i'll get to that.

 

in the bottle, i could smell the fruit very strongly. orange and peach are two scents i love, and orange usually works well on me. i could smell both in here quite clearly, spiced up with the other scents. i could not WAIt to try something this yummy!

 

upon application- oh, my nose! very....bitter, and spicy. well, some of the oils smell wierd at first and then mellow out. i give it some more time.

 

an hour later, it's still no dice. all i can smell are the clove and the cinammon, and it's not pretty.

 

aftr a long, long wear the spice finally dulls enough to let the sweet fruits and inesnce notes through. it's not worth the wait, as by that time they are very faint. i am sad- this smelled so good in the bottle.

 

but wait! i have a 1 oz bottle of single note rose oil from belle star, which is lovely but lacks...something. i dump the whole imp of al-shairan into it....it's a PERFECT blend! the spice warms it up and the fruit adds just the right amount of faint sweetness, in the bottle and on the skin. so a little alchemy of my own saved the day in the end.

[djsiberia]

the peach and orange pop out first, then it just balances out with no single note popping out at all. its not bad, but not going to get a bottle, will more than likely just use the imp up

[Argentwolf]

In the imp: Cinnamon, patchouli, and orange...very, very warm and spicy.

 

Wet: It starts out spicy, peppery, a scent with bite; the patchouli attacks your nose with the spiky texture of its scent. Then it seems to dissolve and turn smokey, like a newly-lit stick of incense. There's definitely a strong note of both patchouli and orange, mixed with the darker notes of the other incense. It smells exactly like a little clothing shop that I used to go to...it's a gorgeous scent, and very 'incensey' without becoming obnoxious.

 

Dry: Unfortunately, it grows faint pretty quickly. The airy quality of it takes on a more woody sort of tone, and reaches a strange juxtaposition in that it's earthy and 'grounded', while the faintness of it makes it ethereal.

 

Verdict: I really like it, I just wish that it stuck around longer...Come back, dammit, I like youuuuu!!

[black_and_bloom]

Theoretically, I should love Al-Shairan. All the listed notes are good, and I am hoping that the unidentified incense notes aren't deal breakers, lurking in the shadows.

 

At first sniff, though, all that I detect is that dreaded coca-cola note - cassia, maybe? It's not listed, but this smells exactly like flat coca-cola to me. Or maybe even RC cola, if you're from the South.

 

Off to swaps it goes...

[soonyi]

my first review!

 

wet, this is a very good mix of cinnamon, orange and clove. the cinnamon has a liveliness that doesnt go too spicy and the clove is interesting, very much like a christmas scent. it is not sweet, as i would have imagined, so i guess this is where the dark incense lives.

 

dry, the life of the scent dissipated and the incense, which i havent yet been able to find as a distinguishing note, is dominating in a flat, uninteresting way. thankfully the patchouli never really stands out. but i think this is to frimp away as i am a floral girl.

[Victory]

Yep, fresh on Al-Shairan smells like a Christmas shop! It's really, really weird for the enemy of God to smell like a Christmas shop. The Christmassy-ness fades a bit once the oil has been dry for a while and leaves gentle spices. Incense notes always frighten me in descriptions, but often supposedly dark incense notes never show up on my skin and they are nowhere to be found here either. I think this is an oil that I'd best enjoy wearing around Christmas and I just couldn't imagine wearing it any other time of the year.

[sleepingdahlia]

I'm in love with this, the cinnamon is so hot smelling, if that makes sense at all. Also get a wonderful mix of clove, orange and peachiness. Really like how strong the scent is, it has a lot of presence, very thick but not cloying in any ways. I imagine this would smell gorgeous on a man as well.

[dansemacabre]

To be honest, I wanted to try this because of the name. However, I was not disappointed when I received my vial of Al-Shairan. In Islam, this is the devil. So I expected a fiery, cinnamon, clove, spicy kind of scent. This is not my choice of fragrance. It reminds me a bit of big red gum, you know that initial bite when it reacts with your saliva? Yep, this is Big Red gum in a bottle. It's not bad to be honest, it's sugary sweet cinnamon, but just not my cup of tea. Plus, cinnamon burns my skin. Ouch!

 

I really really really really wanted to like this so much. I am sorely disappointed.

[alicia_stardust]

Cinnamon and patchouli: red and spicy and dark! The resins are a really nice touch to this red, fiery scent and the clove adds a bit of spice to it. I can only barely detect the peach, but I think it does sweeten this with a bit of warm nectar.

[Lamia]

In the bottle, sharp and good. On skin, snap of citrus. Drydown removes the orange. The peach softens the patchouli, and leaves the incense with the soft overlay of the self-negating peach and patchouli. Eventually leaves a soft incense of peach. Interesting pleasant scent. Fades quickly.

[lilirose]

In the imp: Red-hots. The oil seems to have separated- it's darker at the bottom. I reminxed it by stirring with the imp wand before I put it on.

 

On skin, wet: cinnamon and patchouli and wood.

 

On skin, dry: Cinnamon, patchouli, and incense. It smells like heat and sunshine, yet it's also somehow quite dark.

 

Throw: strong. Staying power: pretty high- can still smell it after 8 hours.

 

Verdict: I like it, but I think it's just a tad masculine for me. Will probably pass the imp on to my husband.

[MeiLin]

The husband says it smells like a head shop, but in a pleasantly citrusy way. I agree. Looking forward to trying it on him; it works on me.

[hlinspjalda]

In the vial: Fruity, with a dark undertone I don't recognize.

 

Wet: Sharp clove dominates, with something dark beneath. There's an almost tart tang that might be orange or patchouli, hard to say which.

 

Half an hour: Definitely smells like incense. This is the least powerful of all the peach scents I have from BPAL; it's barely noticeable in the spicy orange mixture. I can't pick out the patchouli at all, it's blended so well with the other things.

 

Three hours: Very pleasant, nicely blended, a little understated. If there's a dominant note at all, it's soft peach. I don't find it compelling, but it doesn't suck at all on me.

 

An interesting realization I came to today: if this were a mundane perfume, I'd be beyond thrilled to find something so in accordance with my tastes. That BPAL offers me so many fragrances I adore even more than this one is what I like best about BPAL.

[fairnymph]

Sniffed in imp: Golden-honey coloured oil. Very sweet and spicy, almost foody. Cinnamon then clove, dripping peach and sweet orange. A hint of rooty patchouli, but I don't get any incense.

 

I get the red hots candied cinnamon thing. I don't like spices on my skin and the type of patchouli is not one I care for, and this is too sweet for me as well.

[Myrrha]

Wet -- At first just a flash of cinnamon candy. Then it gets deeper and I can smell the supporting scents of the fruit and patchouli.

 

As it dries -- I keep thinking the cinnamon is gone but then it flares up again. It is a bright, hot scent. There is rage and aggression in this scent but nothing sullen. It is all turned to Martial fire and brightness.

 

Drydown -- It becomes a patchouli and incense blend with cinnamon overtones. Now it seems to be speaking more of power than of rage. The individual notes are not standing out so much, it is more blended. It is a fairly masculine scent but I could see a woman who likes warm spicy scents and who does well with patchouli enjoying this one. It might be a good oil to wear for cultivating anger or aggression as useful emotional fuel. On me it lasted about four hours (my chemistry eats scent).

[MadameJay]

I am totally amazed.

 

This scent is absolutely beautiful. Didn't give it much hope when I scanned it's description. Cloves. I hate cloves. And yet, this lovely stuff is heady, fruity and most of all, on me anyway, cinnamon-y. This was a frimp in my last order and one I never, ever would have looked at twice to try. Thank you so much Lab!

 

I am totally amazed.

[savage_rose]

To twist Ralph Wiggum's words a bit: "Smells...like...burning". Cinnamon, clove, smoke...there was a bit of thrilling sweetness paired with the spice initially, but it burned away. Sigh.