Strangler Fig

[sarada]

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.

As soon as I read the description for this I wondered if I should just order a bottle. Rooty? Woody? Deep green? All things that I love. I am glad I just went with an imp though, because this is a little different than I expected. Not bad, just different.

The main thing that strikes me is the strong, unsettling sweetness. A bit like a thick cloud of pollen...slightly honeyed, a bit powdery and green though. Although it's a bit sickly-sweet in the vial and I think I can catch the scent of decaying vegetation, it works better on my skin.

The sweetness becomes a more pronounced and delicate pollen/dusty honey. Although I don't smell the lab's usual fig note, I am guessing that some sort of fig could be present in here, lending the sticky sweetness.

Underneath all that is a fresh, dark green stem scent though. A fresh, grassy, in-the-sun greenness. Darker, decaying tones run underneath but are alleviated by the sweetness. As I wear it, the sweet honeyed tones because even more pleasant and warm yet always with the crisp smack of freshly snapped stems and burrowing, deep earthy roots balancing them out. It is very NATURAL smelling, as it wears, and you feel like you are walking through thick, humid air where everything is growing, some things are blossoming, some things are rotting...but everything is very busy and alive.

I don't think this will be a bottle for me, it's an interesting fragrance and one I'd like to wear occasionally when I'm walking in the woods or in botanical gardens...or maybe working in the yard...definitely a nice dark scent for spring/summer. It gives me great hope for this whole Garden category though as being full of surprises! Edited September 15, 2007 by Shollin

[coulrophobe]

In the imp: I can definitely smell the fig lurking beneath the surface - but mainly, I smell bark and green leaves.

 

On: Very much like my impressions of the oil in the imp. The fig note I know and love is still there, but this is a sharper, greener, earthier fig blend than the others I've tried. It mellows as it dries, but still retains the more natural smell, rather than smelling like a fig candle.

 

Fully dry, I find this to be delicious, earthy fig. The "green" stage is a little unsettling for me - this is definitely a Rappaccini's Garden scent, because it smells dark and a bit deadly.

 

This would be a great one for people who find the foody fig blends too sweet, and would probably smell lovely on the fellas, too.

[Tramp]

There is nothing fig-like about this - but that isn't a bad thing. Instead this is the scent of earth, bark, and fresh cut branches. A green sappy smell like you get from a newly cut, juicy young treebranch - something cut from this years growth. Warm loamy scent as well as that smell you get when you pry a piece of bark off of some old evergreen trees.

[nineveh]

BPAL figs tend to smell like crayons on me (thanks, skin!) but I really love Ava Luxe's fig blends. The fig here smells a lot closer to Ava Luxe's: an earthy, mild green scent that doesn't feel fruity or sweet. This blend also shares the gentle woody earth notes of Mandrake and Death Cap, but seems more complex to me than either of them. It's completely wearable, and definitely a surprise hit for me.

[shelldoo]

in the vial: lighter, fresher then i imagined.

 

wet:sweet, yet slightly dusty a hint of green, but i wouldn't classify this as a "green scent" i agree w/ some that it reminds me a bit of honey sweetness.

 

as it dries this is faint, close to the skin, a tid bit of bark, but mostly sweetness, and a hint of green. one of my favorite of the new garden scents, no dirt to be found.

[SeaMonkey]

this is green and earthy with a touch of sweetness. I'm definately getting green, but like shroud, there's something in it that smells a little like dill pickles on my skin.

[filigree_shadow]

This smells creamy on me for some reason. Rich. And it's about as green as I like to get.

 

To me, this has a vaguely feminine plant-like scent without smelling like a flower. (Which is good, for me.) It's slightly sweet, but nothing at all like fruit. For some reason it reminds me of a leaf.

 

It's fresh and smooth and interesting. I like it a lot.

[Little Bird]

This was the first Rappaccini's Garden blend that I really got excited about, and it did not disappoint me .

 

Strangler Fig actually reminds me quite a bit of Eden, minus Eden's foodie drydown. It's the scent of climbing trees in a bottle. When you're little and clumsy, you climb up into the bough of a tree, getting sap from the leaves on your hands in the process. Then when you finally settle yourself, you can smell the green leaves, the sap, and the woody bark of the tree. And that's when Strangler Fig smells like.

 

A bit green, a bit woody, and a little bit sweet. I also agree with a previous reviewer that said this has a smoothness to it.

 

I dabbed this one on the boy and he said that it smells better on him than it does on me, so we will be fighting over our one imp until we get a full bottle.

 

ETA:

The latest imps I've gotten of Strangler Fig smell very different from the original bottle I have. The newer stuff smells verrry creamy-coconut and a bit reminiscent of suntan lotion, with a hint of woody, sweet fig and a whiff of green leaf. More like a creamy coconut dessert + suntan lotion than greenery and figs...

Edited June 6, 2011 by Little Bird

[Alchemy21599]

In the vial: smells like my favorite broiled fig dessert!

 

Wet: I love figs and this scent does not dissapoint. Sweet, ripe, yet green, earthy and spicy.

 

Dry: This is the first BPAL blend that DH said that he likes. Perhaps a man's heart (and sense of smell) is through his stomach. This scent is a 10ml purchase for me. it.

[jewelbug]

This is the first Garden scent that has had me jumping for joy with its description. It was all I hoped...

 

Imp: Green, fresh, and slightly sweet earthy fig. It's woodsy, and just so natural. I love this. In the imp, its very like Eden, but without the more buttery almond notes. That, my dears, is PERFECT, since the buttery almond was the thing about Eden that kept it from perfection (at least, on my skin). I'm SO excited for this blend.

 

Wet: On, this is immediately VERY green with this sweet figgy earthen note. A bit of gritty forest, but this manages to be smooth and velvety. Consider me wowed.

 

Dry: Smooth earthy fig. The woods are there, sort of like a creamy cedar in the background. Its sticky sweet, almost honeylike, but its kept from being too sweet/foody by the earthy green/wood scents. Pure and Perfect. It speaks to my inner Taurus.

 

Overall: I adore fig. This is pure, beautiful fig. I need a bottle. As soon as possible. This is everything I loved about Eden (the FIG!) without the bits that didn't work so well on me (coconut/buttery almond). It lasts 5-6 hrs, fading to a faint sweetness. Its got good throw, though I do wish it had more staying power on my skin--but i'd happily reapply this midday. This will join Gomorrah in my FIGGY ARSENAL!

[klio]

Quick sniffy impressions:

 

Green vines on a green tree, stem snapped and chlorophyll released into the air. All green, no earth. This scent is barely there. It's a pretty, pale, ecru colour that makes me want to like it. So far I find no actual fruit in it. I'm going to give it another try in a week or so.

[themerrybaker]

Wet: Herbal, grassy, and woody with sweet undertones. Dries down to sweet honey-fig syrup. Another good blend from the update!

[LittleGreyKitten]

Wow, judging by the description I didn't think I would like this much. Woody? No. Green? Not usually. So imagine my surprise when this smells all... creamy. How weird. It's beautiful though. It has a hint of green-ness, but predominantly there's this warm creamy scent from it. I'll have to test drive it a few more times but I'm thinking full size, this is lovely.

 

For me so far I'm calling it a 4.5 out of 5.

[OdetteOdile]

In the bottle

Almost identical to Eden - the same sweet figgyness.

 

On

Better than Eden on me - it doesn't have the syrupy sweet heavy note that put me a bit off Eden.

This one is greener - but not in an astringent green way. It's creamy-sweet green - like spring nectar from a flowering plant.

 

After an hour

I love this. It seems like part of my skin somehow - like if (in a perfect world) I naturally secreted BPAL scents, this warm, green, figgy, sweet scent would be one of them. There's no dissonance at all - it just blends.

 

Eventually it developed a spiciness, a sweet wood note very faintly under the nectar, and the sweetness turned almost nutty. It's utterly lovely and familiar, somehow. Subtle, too. I keep catching faint, dreamy whiffs of it & thinking "what is that wonderful scent?"

 

I'm happy this isn't an LE because I have no idea how much of it I'm going to end up needing.

[LiberAmoris]

I'm with the reviewers above---if you like the fig note in Eden, Strangler Fig is for you! Here the fig note seems paired with a light floral that gives it more dimension, and it feels very fresh and pretty.

 

This one was so strong on me that just the tiniest dab was needed to send the scent wafting about every which way. I think I might also experiment with adding some of my imp to unscented shampoo, because I would love to smell this in my hair all day long.

[cupide430]

Oh how lovely this is. I've been a fig hater for quite a while, but on me this is just delightful. Light and green, creamy and sweet. This is so smooth and soft on me. Absolutely delicious. It needs a full day test run, but it looks like I'll be needing a bottle.

[Em-]

This is a sweet creamy fig on me - definitely figgy, but not overwhelming. Strangler Fig is actually what I had hoped Eden might be before the greenery got all out of control - soft and creamy, with a darker undernote that keeps it from being truly *sewwt* or foody.

 

I really like this and can see it making its way to my bottle list.

[AliBabble]

i think i must really like fig...this is the third bpal figgy scent (the other being freak show and gomorrah) that i've loved. i'm not sure what else i'm smelling in here, but it's a rich, sensual fig..a bit intoxicating. smooth. round. a friend described it as almost "chocolate-y", and i would tend to agree. it is not overbearing, and settles after a few hours into a barely-there mellow, earthy sweetness. like this a lot.

[Aredhel]

Rating (on skin): 5/5

Efficacy (if applicable): Leaves!

 

In the imp: Chalky.... something, with an unsettling sweetness.

 

On skin, wet: I know this smell. Wait for it... Eden! I thought what I'm smelling now in Eden was coconut, but I'm starting to think it's actually fig. And my, for some reason, fig is good suddenly. Strangler Fig is truly green: it smells like leaves!

 

On skin, dry: There are trees less than a foot away from one of my living room windows, and every so often, if I have the screen open, leaves will drift in. When they do, I pick them up, tear them apart and put them in small glass bowls around my apartment. I love the rich, faintly sweet smell of torn, fresh green leaves. Strangler Fig smells exactly like them. Therefore, I am heartily in love with Strangler Fig. There is also a faint fruity-ness (the fig) beneath the green leaves. That reminds me of the smell of said leaves mixing with the scent of a tart (like, say, cranberry) burning in my living room.

 

Conclusion/Notes: Much love is had for Strangler Fig. I'm not sure what I expected, but it wasn't the smell of fresh leaves I've adored for years on end. A 5ml will be included with my next order.

Edited May 7, 2008 by Aredhel

[desu]

In the imp: Delicious greens and sweetness. It's as though someone is holding a ripe fig and assorted greenery under my nose.

 

On my skin: Did I say delicious? I meant OMG. Strangler Fig has become this delicious golden honeyed fig on me with just a bit of green floating around to give it some bite. Why wait for the drydown when I can order a 10ml right now?

[Gale]

Strangler Fig is one of my new favorites. In the imp, it smells like a sunwarmed forest on a Spring afternoon (deciduous--no pine!).

 

On, the fig comes out, along with this creaminess that other reviewers have mentioned. It's not particularly foody, it's light and green and creamy. No better word for it.

 

Strangler Fig lasted well, and remained true. It's so light, I wouldn't think twice about putting more on in the middle of the day, though. This one is beautiful and a 5 ml for sure!

[provocateur]

in bottle: herbal and woodsy. (I'm assuming "deep green tones" and "woody" have something to do with it).

 

on skin, wet: Roots! Lots and lots of decaying plant material. Kind of like what happens after a rain in the autumn.

 

on skin, dry: definite fall damp and decay plant material. I'd dare say there was a hint of fungus at this point.

 

Overall: Not my thing to wear on my skin, but one of my favourite seasonal natural sents. 3/5

[ladytaga]

In the bottle really sweat but green.

First sniff on my skin it reminds me of something from Springtime in Arkham ..I just can't remember what.

It is really grassy and woody..it was better wet on my skin it sort of turned really pencil shaving on me.

It isn't a scent that I would buy again but I also don't know if I will sell the bottle.

[summer]

Ooooohhhhhh.

 

This is SO unexpectedly good on me. It is rich and creamy. Rich, creamy, and slightly sweet, with that kind of green wood note that I also smell in Eden. It smells softly earthy and plant-like, but the over-arching scent is natural, clean, sweet, and creamy.

 

I need a bottle of this.

[grrrlennyl]

at first: very fresh, light, and green.

on: a bit sweet, with a tart edge, and very, very green. there's also an odd, play-doh note to it.

half an hour later: an odd, sour, green scent.

1 hour later: still weird. i really don't like this.

overall: i'm not sure what is up with this blend, but it smells really odd (in a bad way) on me.