Alone

[ND¢]

A hectic, frenzied pinpoint in desolation: booming, bleak, and dark with the horror of loneliness and reluctant solitude. Patchouli and cardamom with bright mandarin, labdanum, muguet, red sandalwood, angelica and gardenia.

I get a burn on applying it, and a spicy cardamom that can't miss. Must have a bottle.

[oh_the_horror]

Almost pure cinnamon. I'm confused. My boyfriend said it smelled like spit. I guess it kind of smells like a new stick of cinnamon gum being chewed. So weird. Cinnamon isn't even in the ingrediants list. My nose is burning.

Edited December 10, 2006 by oh_the_horror

[Em-]

I really really wanted to love this, as "Alone" is one of my favorite Poe poems...but patchouli and I have a strange love affair and in this blend he is just not behaving, making me feel like a walking head shop. Really, darling, it's not you - it's me.

[theseagrows]

wow this scent is truly evocative. it smells like an old, dusty, slightly damp house that's been locked up for 50 years and hasn't seen the light of day. i get sandalwood and a slight cinammony-hot-spiciness and the cardamom. maybe faint patchouli, but i dont sense any florals here at all. it's a very strange scent to me, i don't think it's one i'd wear, so off to the swaps.

[alliekat13]

In the bottle: spices and patchouli.

 

On my skin: nothing but patchouli. Lasts forever, good throw, but I detest patchouli so much.

 

Verdict: Hate.

[stardreamer]

Fresh on: Sandalwood and spices, with a hint of floral.

 

After a couple of hours: Still sandalwood, but now the floral smells like carnation, or maybe even marigold -- that spicy/earthy scent.

 

After 9 hours: Everything but the sandalwood has pretty much faded. There's still just a tiny undernote of floral left.

 

Bottom line: This isn't an unpleasant scent, but I'm not sure it's for me. The overwhelming sandalwood isn't something I'd normally wear, and definitely isn't something I should wear around my boyfriend! But it would coordinate nicely with a sari or a salwar kameez; I think I'll hang onto it and try it a few more times before I make a final decision.

[OdetteOdile]

Sadly, I belong to the Big Red gum group. This note has showed up in other BPAL scents & it never works on me.

It smells like green-tinged Big Red - grassy cinnamon bubble gum.

 

Ah well..more time to enjoy Al-Araaf, I guess.

[wikkidraven]

big red gum, with a green undernote? i'm a huge cinnamon lover, so i am really wanting to like this, but something is throwing me off.

 

must re-test!

[storme]

In the imp: patchouli, cardamom, and sandalwood - very dry.

 

On me, wet: yum yum almost pure cardamom, warm and creamy and spicy - delectable.

 

On me, dry: single note cardamom with a tinge of hot cinnamon. Which is a pretty good thing, so.

 

Verdict: I will definitely be keeping my imp - I think that just maybe this is a bit too peppery-dry for me to wear often, but yum nonetheless.

[this machine]

How did i never review this one? I seem to be one of the very few people who adores Alone. I fell madly in love from the get-go. It is earthy, spicy (but not too), warm, unique, and gorgeous. My only disappointment in it is that once someone said i smell like a head shop, which i never associated with this scent and is not something i wanted to hear...but i guess i just need to accept the fact that sometimes, i like smelling like a head shop. Ah well.

 

Viva la Alone!

[filigree_shadow]

I first tried this about a year and a half ago, and my only notes were that the gardenia was too strong for my liking and the whole scent was just too strong period.

 

I tried it again today, and all I'm getting out of it is cardamom with some patchouli giving it a more earthy feel than usual. Can't smell any floral notes in it at all. The cardamom is overpowering. I don't get along with cardamom, so this one isn't for me.

[Browneyes]

Short description: sweet cinnamon & patchouli

 

In depth: sweet cinnamon & patchouli. i can't detect much else really. maybe it is sweeter because of the other notes, but basically this smells like a cinnamon roll over an earthy/woody base. Or a sweet cinnamon incense or oil. I love it, but didn't expect the poem to smell like this.

[hipslike___cinderella]

To preface, this is a review of the 2007 Dark Delicacies version of Alone.

 

Alone is a deep, velvety red, brooding blend. It does not morph much, and the scent is pretty straightforward. In the bottle, and on my skin as well, it is easily predominately a spicy cardamom (hence the references to "cinnamon"). It is a little on the sweet and rich side. I can't help but think that the deep brick red bottle label is a fitting color. I hope for the other notes to show up on my skin... and I have to admit, I'm a little disappointed that it didn't happen. After quite a long time I specifically notice the patchouli (red patchouli, maybe?), more woodsy than earthy. That's as far as it goes. It's so well-blended that the other notes are almost impossible to detect- especially gardenia. Any floral note is totally out of sight.

 

I tested this excitedly last night, and then today full-on slathered for good measure. It is especially frigid today and I spent all morning in class wrapped up in my coat and scarf, Alone permeating from my warm neck through my scarf and wafting off the ends of my hair. It was a spicy, warm, completely cozy scent, and rather strong. Very lovely!

[alhbooks]

Got my 2007 Alone today, and sadly, it's not remotely good on me. Winter vegetables? Dirt? Not getting any of the mandarin at all, at all, and none of the sweetness others get. oh dear, oh dear. Straight to the swap pile.

[pensarepink]

Alone 2007

 

In the bottle: stern spiciness, almost aggressive. I'm smelling little else.

Wet: Initially spicy but now that it's on my skin a hit of woodsy/earthy presence is beginning to surface.

Drying: This has mellowed nicely. The initial spicy sharpness is gone. I'm getting a mournful wood/earth/spice with a hint of sweet.

 

I'm liking this a lot, but I'm curious to see how long it will last before I need to reapply.

[Iceblink]

Dry, hot cardamom. A bit like sticking your nose into a spice rack! There's some patchouli backing up things here too. I like cardamom more as a room scent, since it tends to eat my skin alive...this'll go beautifully with the cinnamon/clove incense I've been burning today!

[SarahScent44]

In the imp, all I can smell is patchouli.

 

On my skin, I still get the patchouli, with sandalwood and cardamom - it's very strong and spicy.

 

When it dries, it's still too much patchouli for me.

[maribouquet]

Woo, cardamom! (I, too, thought it was cinnamon I smelled, but guess not.) I also get the patchouli and I think the sandalwood and a hint of the mandarin. The notes are sweating on me a bit too much, I'm afraid. Really interesting, but not for me.

[Mehitobel]

In the bottle: warm spice rack that made me want to cry with pleasure.

 

Wet on skin: same, bliss, hopped my butt over to DD prepared to buy more.

 

Half an hour later, dry: gone.

 

This? Breaks my heart. I'll wear it in a scent locket, for sure, but after the knee-quaking joy of the bottle/wet, I'm so sad that it didn't work on my skin.

[djsiberia]

smelled the patchouli when wet, slightly smell the sandalwood, can't smell the patchouli at all once dry down hits, all that lingers is the cardamom and its strong

 

then after a while i start to itch, must be allergic to something in this. thats terrible as i really liked the scent. i think i might be able to wear it in a locket, but i'm not sure. i would like the patchouli to dominate more than the cardamom.

 

possible pass.

[twilighteyes]

In the bottle:

Cinnamon. Wha??? *looks at notes* Hmm, no cinnamon?? I cook with cardamom a lot and I know the difference between cardamom and cinnamon. This is NOT cardamom.

 

Wet on skin:

Still cinnamon. Red hots.

 

Dry on skin:

The cinnamon cools a little bit and some other notes come out to play faintly in the background. But still mostly cinnamon. It was gone within an hour so I had to reapply.

Edited March 2, 2008 by TwilightEyes

[ravenfeathers]

in the bottle earthy and masculine, a little sour, maybe from the mandarin? no sign of cardamom or any notes, really. sort of a generic, slightly medicinal masculine blend

wet on skin okay, seriously, where the hell did this blast of spiciness come from?? the cardamom explodes on my skin and the patchouli and sandalwood peek out, too. and this sounds like it would be really pleasant, but it's just vaguely... icky. sort of musty and damp and slithery. still a bit medicinal.

dry on skin this is really weird, because it's like the bastard love child of buck moon and the phantom calliope. the cardamom note is the same nose-whacking one in the calliope, but the herbal, vegetable-y muskiness is right out of buck moon.

 

i think this needs to be sweeter, maybe the mandarin was more obvious when it was fresher? i'm gutted to say that i actually rather hate this, lol! ah, well.

Edited March 11, 2008 by ravenfeathers

[dluszcz]

I took a chance on this and bid on it, unsniffed in a Lab Ebay auction. In the bottle, I understand all the "Big Red" references- there is definately a cinnamon gum thing, but something darker and more woody and herbal, and complex, underneath that makes this not so sweet. Love, love, love.

 

On my skin, I immediately noticed how dark brown the oil was on my skin- I had to rub it into my wrists to make the dirty-browness disappear. Big mistake. I'm obviously allergic to something in this. Immediate large, red, itchy patches on my wrists and decolletage. Nothing that a brisk scrubbing and a bit of cortisone cream couldn't handle, though. However, despite my clogged, allergy sinuses, I realized that quite a bit of the scent hung around, despite the scrubbing. Maybe it was the mix with the cortisone, but I realized that this blend was the exact, ellusive scent of mingled incenses lingering in that alpaca sweater from the headshop, which you are loathe to wash, because you will never again attain that particular spicy sweetness...

 

Will be using this in the locket. Wish I could dip myself in it- especially during alpaca sweater season.

[galahad]

In The Bottle

Patchouli and sandalwood

 

On Application

Woody patchouli

 

Dry Down

Dry, musty and woody. The cardamom adds an odd note for me. This is interesting but doesn't really appeal to me.

 

Rating (0-5)

3

[crebbsgirl]

Wet, I don't get much more than patchouli. But as it dries, whoa momma! The spices start coming out. I get an almost cinnamon vibe here. It's vaguely reminiscent of Sin. But an earthier version of that scent. This is truly a beautiful, warm and inviting blend. I don't get "Big Red" at all. I get something much more complex and deeper. I really love this one!