Strangler Fig

[maoric]

A glorious parasite! Once the seeds of the Strangler Fig find root in the bark of a tree, snakelike roots erupt and reach graspingly at the sky. The Strangler Fig then sprouts numerous epiphytic vines that strangles and surrounds its unwilling host, and finally snuffs the life from it. Rooty, woody, with deep green tones.

In the vial: A faint chocolate-like smell.

Freshly applied: A deep warm wood, not cedar, though cedar is one of the other notes that can make a scent similar to this. I wish I knew more about individual notes at this point.

Drying: Some sort of "aquatic/cologne", but with a more complex spice and overall darker wood smell. Pretty nice.

Later: Baby powder. This scent was on the way to become something interesting, but then slightly less than an hour after applying it it hit baby powder land on me and just stayed there.

[undream]

in the imp, this is clear, sharp and green. definitely a tangled earth & roots kind of scent. once on, it immediately sweetens and warms; there's cedar and an almost ... caramel feel? a kind of creamy, foody note? (i'm seeing others mention chocolate, so i'm reassured that i'm not smelling wrong!) it's interesting, unique and really rather quite beautiful(!), although it is becoming more powdery on me through the drydown, and combined with the whole foody feel, i think it may just be a little too sweet for me.

 

off to another loving home!

[Drae]

In the imp: This smells exactly like sugar snap peas. Very green and slightly sweet, but in a clean way

Wet on skin: The earthy, woody notes have come out, yet it still feels clean.

Dry: All the previous notes are still present but this has become sweeter and slightly powdery.

 

Verdict: This smells like a really odd mix to my nose, I don't know what to make of the clean + woody + dirt + green peas mix. I might let my imp age for a while but this isn't the fig blend I'm looking for.

Edited December 20, 2011 by Drae

[bibzerneth]

I was hoping for the woodsy green scent that others have gotten, but I got cocoa powder. I'm not a huge chocolate fan and I don't care for foodie scents unless they're fruity so this doesn't work on me at all.

Hopefully this will work better on it's next owner.

[nome]

Strongly fig out of the bottle, then a lovely mix of fig, honey, and some sort of wood. Not earthy or grassy on me, but something woodsy and creamy without being a gourmand. Very nice on me, but I think this would be even better on a man.

Edited January 21, 2012 by nome

[impolight]

Strangler Fig is a decidedly crisp and autumnal scent. Foody works, but foody in an unconventional way for certain. This one was frimped at this year’s Bat’s Day, and was one of the first to get a thorough nasal probing in the car ride home. Rappaccini’s Garden has some spectacular goodies for even the most discerning BPAL neophyte. Anyone can be sure to find a score of good things to be smitten with for the next couple of centuries. Fresh from the garden makes for a succinct descriptor, but haste is ill advised… This Fig aint the kind one would happily munch in a cookie!

 

From the Imp: Crisp and autumnal (yes, again). Foody (yes, again). This, however, does not bode well with imagery of cheery, wind-burned faces huddled around a blazing warmth as the days shorten. Strangler Fig has more ominous undertones. This would be more the platter of food offered to the tree that gets worshipped while the fundamentalists are safely elsewhere. The tree knows this and is not amused…

For Discworld fans out there, this would be pretty close to the “Sapient Pearwood” that The Luggage has been fashioned from. There is a distinctly arboreal scent to this formula. There is also some of the crisp, sweet flesh ordinarily associated with apples or pears. This is perfection personified in blonde, fine-grained wood. This is spectacularly malicious humour of the deciduous sort; a humour that plays host to a particularly aggressive colony of bees and wears their honey, their pollen dust, and their propolis to mock you.

Along with the wood and fall fruits there are hints of scarlet, golden and vibrant orange leaves, loamy black earth, dewy grasses and legumes. There seems to also be a deep, dark chocolate bar with dried fruits folded into it and an almost accidental splash of dessert wine. Pretty brilliant!
On the Skin: The darkening and ripening are immediate. This is a gummy, resinous and bewitched abyss. The desiccated fruits become bolder and glisten. The wine assumes greater prominence and displays an almost mineral character as though this particular vintage has been fortified with blood and is intended to nourish the roots of the sacred tree.

Strangler Fig just gets heavier and heavier as the wear goes on… Though no mention was made in the description, it would come as little surprise to find that there was some Oudh in this formula somewhere.

BPAL never fails to impress. Strangler Fig is an ideal to wear for almost any occasion, though would likely be most suited for those days ranging from the first weeks of October to just before Yule … This is the invisible mascot for The Children of The Night!
Ingenious on Him and Her alike. 5 out of 5 stars.

[obsidienne]

Mmmm... so gentle, Strangler Fig initially has hints of cocoa, sweet fig, and a green-ish brown-ish earthy tinge to it that I can't quite describe. Like the faint scent of dry dirt and roots, but idealized for perfume - very beautiful. It's so soft and close to the skin. It sweetens a little bit as it dries, and seems to contain the faintest hint of honey. I wish I could better review this, but the softness of it leaves my nose a little confused for details.

 

Further into drydown, I get a faintly sweet fig incense, very creamy, sensual, and shadowy. Mysterious, womanly. Everything one wants in a sly, come hither perfume. No sharp edges to speak of. I have convinced myself -- this is bottle worthy, especially since it will need to be slathered.

Edited July 1, 2012 by obsidienne

[Rho]

I've had a frimp of this sitting in my box for ages. Every time I've popped it open to sniff it, I decide on something else to wear instead. Today, I finally put it on my skin.

 

In the imp, Strangler Fig is straight vegetation. It's vaguely sweet and reminds me of the leaves in the cherry tree I used to climb in as a child.

 

The second this hit my skin though, WHOA. Sweetness and humidity explode onto the scene. The sweetness is almost candy-like. Berry, pear, and grape candy, all together in a garden. Everything smells sodden and heavy with moisture.

 

Once dry, Strangler Fig calms down and transitions from "candy in the garden" to "the plant that grows ambrosia." It's intoxicating and I would eat something that smelled like this. It's green, but has a brown sugary element that works well for me. It still smells moist and healthy. It's truly lovely.

 

I'm kind of kicking myself for not wearing this sooner. It's a winner to be sure, and I like it for the hot weather we've been having here.

[hexnut]

In Vitro Tested blind. My first impression was fruity or floral sweetness.

Wet Fresh on this was nicely sweet and spicy, possibly resin or wood. In a few minutes it became sharper and smelled very good.

Drying Warm sweet spice or resin, very good. About twenty minutes on the scent was much the same, perhaps a bit mellowed, and reasonably strong. It started to fade in the next few minutes and became less sharp, then a an unidentified but familiar-seeming note emerged. An hour after application this was fading but still going strong, which is remarkable on my skin.

I was very busy on the day I tested Strangler Fig so I don't have any written notes after the one hour mark, but whenever I remembered to sniff my wrist I could smell its sweetness. Sometime around seven hours after application I noted the familiar "sweet rubber" note that I get from BPAL's vanilla; by this point the overall scent was faint and mild. I was surprised by the identity of this oil because I didn't remember vanilla in the reviews; although, when I applied more at bedtime I did detect (or imagine) some slight vegetation.

I like this one as much for enduring on my skin as for its scent. It's not an instant bottle candidate but I will certainly wear it again.

[Ishtar]

One of my favourite scents in the world is the creamy, sweetly green smell of a fig tree on a warm summer day. Whenever I see a fig tree (we do have a few in Vancouver), I love to step underneath its branches and deeply inhale this beautiful scent.

 

Strangler Fig is the closest BPAL I've found to it. It's not dead on, but it's definitely reminiscent of the green-smelling, milky sap you get when you pluck a fig from the tree, with a touch of rooty woodiness that adds to the vegetal aura of the blend.

 

I like it a lot, and it's by far the best fig scent in the BPAL catalogue as far as my skin is concerned - actual fig notes tend to turn syrupy and muddled on me, but Strangler Fig stays green and vibrant, even after drydown when the woodiness becomes more prominent and turns the blend darker and moodier.

[Cactus]

Wet - On my skin this starts out as a rich, foody, fig with just a hint of cinnamon around the edges. This is the scent of a fig so ripe it's about to fall off the tree. And the cinnamon (or whatever it is) makes this seem dessert-like.

 

Drying Down - As it dries down the cinnamon goes away and the fig settles down a little. The main note is still ripe, rich fig. But there are many other scents hovering around the edges making the scent more complicated. There's the scent of roots and rich, black rainforest soil. There's even a hint of mushroom around the edges. There's wood (the fresh, damp variety, not a dry wood). And there's all manner of leaves and greenery.

 

Closest I've seen to a fig SN note so far, too.

[Foxdreams]

I totally got this as a frimp with my imp order today, and was kind-of-intrigued. Not really a fan of figs, but eh, why not.

 

I got a definitely almondy wiff in the imp--it reminded me a lot of Florence, another frimp I got.

 

Tried putting it on, and it immediately gave me the VERY DISTINCT smell of chocolate-covered-nuts.

 

On dry down it got even more intense. Straight nuts covered in chocolate. And then it began to slowly turn into peanutbutter chocolated covered M&Ms.

 

I don't know if I have weird redhead skin chemistry, or what. It wasn't an unpleasant smell, it was just straight having skin that smells like choco-covered-almonds!

[child of drought]

In the bottle: Oh holy cow this does actually smell EXACTLY like a fig tree! We have one in our backyard and this has the earthy/woody/faintly fruity smell down pat with just a hint of the rot that hangs around during fruit season. (There’s also a hint of vanilla but I swear at this point I just smell vanilla EVERYWHERE it ISNT)

 

On wet: Earth/faintly fruity mixed with vanilla.

 

On dry: Delightfully light sweet floral tones, like jasmine and ripe fig with just an undertone of vanilla and possibly spice. It kind of reminds me of stepping into Dusk (our local candle shop) and that first breath of scented air in the shop.

[mymymai]

ITI: It's strangely green and sweet, like walking into an romantic garden. I can pick up the soil, but there's something that's reading as cotton candy to me.

 

Wet: Damp, sweet loam, faint strawberries, and a hint of green. It's a rather unusual scent.

 

Dry: Yum, now I'm getting light wood, strawberries, chocolate soil, and a touch of green. If you want something more complex, I'd give this scent a try.

[Gwydion]

In Bottle: Slightly chalky roots, with a touch of fig and a hint of green. It’s softer than thorns. Wet: Sweeter and mildly figgier the roots are sharper. Dry: Rich juicy fig with a touch of roots.

[corvidus]

frimped this one with a set of decants i ordered from a forumite here.

in imp: this smells exactly like a greenhouse!! we went to kew gardens over the summer and this is pretty much the same scent as the tropical hothouse they have there. there's a slight sweetness, but it's a fresh green sweet, not the fruity-sweet i'd been expecting - like geraniums, or sweetpeas (as i think was mentioned).

on (wet): sweet, fresh peas, dirt and moss. there's not a huge amount of depth, though that's not a bad thing. it's very evocative and very, very green - new-leaf green on the top notes and deep, dark green in with the damp moss.

on (dry): not much change, although the sharpest of the sweet notes recede a little and the wet mossiness comes out a bit more. i'm not getting fig at all from this blend, which i find a little disappointing because i love fig, but people are reporting a lot of variation in smells so go figure.

 

overall - i actually really like it. very different from any other perfume i've tried before. i wouldn't wear it on its own, it's a little overwhelming for that, but i can imagine it'd layer well with other, lighter green scents.

[Allumina]

strangler fig why you do this to me.

The first time I put this on, I just put on a tiny dab, because I assumed it had fig in it, which turns to sickly sweet grossness on me. I was pleasantly surprised to find it woody, green and a bit herbal. The second time, I figured I should slather, as I love green, woody scents, and to see if it was bottle worthy. Big mistake. At fist I get a strong hit of cedary-woodiness, ala Mandrake. But then, out of nowhere I get some component of...the lab's chocolate note? wtf? Specifically, the type from Bliss. Unfortunately for me, the lab's chocolate and I don't get along- it turns to a slightly plastic, perfumed, almost rancid-oil smell on my skin. I wish I could figure out which bit it was, so I could avoid the heck out of it. So basically that's taken over, with a hint of woods underneath it, maybe, if I huff my wrist. And of course, since I put it on my neck and my wrists and cleavage, I'm smelling it every time I turn my head.

I wore this for work and this is the first time in a while I've had to wash something off because it was making me nauseous. And of course it stuck around anyway. Ugh. I had such high hopes for you, Strangler Fig.

Edited December 18, 2014 by Allumina

[faylie]

I was digging through my imp box today and came across an imp of this which looked like it had had no more than one use out of it, the oil level was easily above the label. I am pretty sure I ordered this when it first came out, at the very least it is a minimum of 5 years old. It has aged beautifully, so wonderful. There is no green-ness to it, it is a warm, dusky scent, sweet but not too much. I really can't pick any one ingredient standing out, it has melded completely. At a push to describe it I would say a handful of sun warmed soil sitting on a wooden board dusted with cocoa and vanilla sugar and a drip of ripe fig juice, but smelling it from a distance, although it's not hugely soft, it has a bit of throw. And I love it. It even got a positive response (upon inquiry) from my husband "It's alright." counts as glowing praise from him. He generally has little if anything to say, and extremely rarely is it of a positive nature. I am ordering a bottle of this, but it would appear I will need to tuck it away for a while.

[agirlnamedfury]

I think this one is too green for my tastes. It just smells like raw vegetables to me. Broccoli maybe? A shame, I was hoping for some fig!

[Veronica]

I get warm wood, almost sawdust like, and green florals mixed with a sweet, fruity tone that alas, fades into a more woody, herbal note. Interesting and prettier than expected.

Edited April 21, 2015 by delighted

[DiesMali]

In the imp: Wood!

 

Wet on my skin: Living wood, slightly sweet fig, and something that my nose swears is cocoa.

 

Dry: That cocoa note doesn't really fade, but it adds this really lovely, warm, fuzzy sort of feel to the scent. The rest of this is warm wood, fresh green fig leaves, and dry, faintly sweet figs. With cocoa. This is actually really nice, and it will make a good autumn/winter scent since it's so warm and comforting.

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: Wood - something quite similar to cedar

 

Dry: Beautiful. Somehow the wood and fig come across as cocoa. This is lovely. I need a bottle! Not as figgy as I hoped, but gorgeous nonetheless.

[d0gbones]

In the imp: sorta like peas and sugar? Maybe a little bit like pear.

 

Wet: Same, but with something sharp, leafy and green in the background.

 

Dry: It does smell figgy now and that leafy note's still hanging around making things interesting. Not one I'll wear but it's nice enough for scenting rooms

[Cali]

Easily one of my favourites. I find it quite hard to describe, what I'm really mostly getting is "greens, greens, nothing but greens!"

It's sweet (fig, possibly) and even a little... earthy? Ugh I just want to eat this it's so good.

[TheresaRedSkull]

Chocolate? Wow--it's like people are smelling this with different brains than mine.

 

Oh wait, they are.

 

This smells like sap to me. Then kind of a spicy-sweet with notes of the sap gradually fading.

 

I concur with the folks here who find this different from other perfumes--I didn't realize perfume could smell this way.

I love green plants and I love this stuff!