Strangler Fig

[Shollin]

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.

First sniff: A very subtle, earthy sweetness. Quiet and subdued.

Wearing: This? Is GORGEOUS. It’s dark, deep, rich and creamy, and I swear there’s vanilla in here. It’s wonderfully close-clinging and mysterious and I am in love.

[harmonyfb]

In the imp, this smelled fresh and green.

 

On my skin? Instant baby powder.

 

Off to swap.

[halcyon_flight]

I wanted to like it, really.

 

Imp: Sour, like a vegetable left too long in some dank corner of a refrigerator.

 

Wet: same as the imp

 

Dry: Now it's got the same sourness while developing into something sickeningly sweet. I ran to the sink wrists first.

[tartchef]

In the vial, green & fruity. First applied, there's a slap of sweet fig & deep greenery, with an odd, almost cocoa/PlayDo back note. It's strong, and at this point I was bracing myself for an eventual wash-off...

 

But an hour later, it's incredible. I can't stop sniffing. All the greenery is gone, and what's left is a gorgeous blend of sweet, spice & dry smoke. It's like a plump dried fig rolled in incense ash. Just amazing. It's got a good bit of throw, so I don't know that it's an every-day scent for me, but it's got that "Who smells so good? I must find them!" element that would be perfect for attracting a bit of attention, if you know what I mean...

[fiddledragon]

Fig! Figfigfigfigfig....

 

It's a green, fresh fig scent rather than the sundried figs of Gomorrah. There's also a rooty, earthy note mixed in with them that makes it an incredibly evocative growing rooted plant scent. Something in it doesn't play entirely nicely with my skin chemistry, so I may need to look at layering potentials for this one. This plus a sweet vanilla or honey would be really decadent.

[zankoku_zen]

In the imp: Green, earthy and figgy

 

On Skin: The fig is quite strong at the beginning but I smell something that can only be described as "dirt".

 

After a few minutes, the dirt smells more like patchouli.

 

On Drydown: The patchouli, with a hint of fig, last for a good hour or so. After that, the patchouli seems to recede a bit and I get strong whiffs of either vanilla or honey that lend a very creamy texture to the blend.

 

Verdict: This is a wonderfully complex scent but it's not the kind of scent I normally wear or am attracted to. It's very earthy, a little too much for me. But it's pretty. Real pretty.

[Brianne]

In the vial:

Slightly sweet and fruity

 

On me:

This goes on surprisingly fruity in my opinion. It does darken up though and actually makes me think of myrrh - it's woody and sort of spicey and makes me think of pencil shavings. But there is a fruitiness there still so it's like myrrh + fig. Kind of dark and then... kind of not. Wierd combination.

 

Final note:

It's very dark and spicey but it's backed by a bright fig note, so it's a sort of paradox in that way. Interesting for sure.

[Voleuse]

Oooh. Earthy, woody, sweet. This is a very grounded scent, very natural. I find it calming. As it dries, a pollen note emerges, making me feel a little sneezy. Despite that, however, the blend stays sweet and natural. It's a little dark--not sunny, in any case--but it's warm. I like this.

[ktesedale]

In the vial, this is a rich green scent, with a faint touch of sweetness.

 

Wet, this is a gorgeous sweet herbal. It's like sap.

 

Dry, the fig comes out. Usually I love fig, but this came on very, very strong - and not that complex. The lovely greenness disappeared, and all I was left with was the sweet fig.

 

I liked it well enough, but it's nothing spectacular. If it kept some of that greenness on my skin, I'd want a bottle, but this imp is off to swaps! Still, any new fig blend is good in my book!

[jiggahava]

I love this! I got this as a frimp with my order, and I would never have expected it to smell this good! I get bright green fig at first, then out of nowhere comes vanilla, so now I'm getting this fig/vanilla combo on my skin, and it is HEAVENLY. The throw is quite strong, and 3 and half hours later I can still smell it on my skin. I think a big bottle is in order!

[flyingpizza]

Okay, so this is strange, but I put it out there because I know some of you have been looking for a scent that smells like the Burt's Bees Baby Bee lotion. Well on me, this is it. It's so strange, because I don't smell it when I put my nose directly to my wrist, but around me it smells like the Baby Bee lotion. Weird.

[Browneyes]

Imp: green figgy loveliness (I am looking for the perfect fig scent )

Wet: same

Dry: smooth, round, almost vanilla-ish, green figgy loveliness

 

Love this, will definatly have to consider a bottle in the future. But will wait until I have tried some more fig scents, just to be sure. This could be the ultimate one, though.

 

ETA: yep, bottle on the way. I also can't wait to own a pretty Rappaccini's Garden label bottle! To me this is the best fig scent of what I have tried within the BPAL repetoire, because it is a green fig scent, with fig leaves and not fig fruit - the latter is nice sometimes, I like it in Nephilim (I think it was) but often the dried fruit aspect of fig fruit scents just puts me off. Strangler Fig is green, creamy and sweet, without the dried fruit feel. LOVE.

Edited March 22, 2007 by Browneyes

[Lionesse]

Honestly, I've never smelled a fig. Unless it was in a Newton

 

So I have no idea what I'm smelling, but its green, rich, creamy, woodsy, earthy, makes me want to plant things, and roll around in the grass.

 

I bought this imp on a lark from someone, because of the unusual name. It is a surprise hit for me!

[wikkidraven]

woody and green? so not me. but i was so taken with the scent from the imp, i had to dab on a bit, and i'm surprised by how much i'm loving the strangler fig. it's soft and creamy, a really gorgeous figgy delight.

 

it's great even on me, can't wait to try it on the boyfriend.

[luckybuzz]

This scent totally grew on me.

 

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Hello? Is this thing on?

 

Seriously, though, it did!

 

In the imp: too sweet...put off trying it for a few days, though I've been eagerly awaiting it. But the first whiff from the imp was a little off-putting. But today seemed like the right day to give it a shot...

 

and I'm glad I did....

 

On my skin: wet, I totally get the decaying vegetation smell, and it's...odd, but not bad. I keep sniffing it, though I'm not sure how I feel about it. It's kind of tangy and sharp, but with a dark, dark green smell.

 

As it starts to dry, though.....wow. Smells like lying face-down on the grass at the end of summer.

 

I can't pick out the fig smell specifically--I'm new to all this, and I get a smell that *could* be fig (and probably is), but I'm not sure. It's sweet, but very earthy and green. This might be the non-floral sweet scent I've been looking for....but I'll need to give it another try. It has that odd, disturbing undercurrent that I could either love, or be driven insane by.

 

Only downside: it fades *fast* on my skin (but most things do).

[Jilara]

In the imp, this was very woody, but more like catching a waft of wood far off.

 

Wet/drydown. Teakwood! It's the scent of new teak furniture at my favorite oriental import store. There is also something vaguely reminding me of copra. I think of tropical countries with rain forests, with people processing copra in tin-roofed shacks made with teak beams.

 

Dry: it's a rich teakwood with an almost cocoa undertone. There is still a copra note, but sweeter and creamier now, more like the undried cocoanut. There is a moist earth note in the background, and something like fresh leaves. This is definitely a rainforest scent.

[poisons_sanity]

At first sniff, this oil was very unsettling to me and almost made me nauseous, but I put it on anyway. For the first few minutes I still did not like it, but after about an hour or so it turned into a really warm fig, and I loved it. If I could get it to that stage without the sickening first stage, I would wear it more often.

[Carmencita]

in the vial: figs, clay, and flowers. I'm getting that Burt's Bees baby lotion vibe as well, the one someone mentioned above

 

on me: not a stand out scent, the fig is quiet and a vague breath of evergreen

 

later: becomes a little more rich, but still figgy clay

[taramarie]

Strangler Fig smells like sitting on the ground in the middle of a fig tree orchard -- wood, leaf litter, and a touch of fig. I think this one's definitely gender neutral. It's nice but it's not me.

 

ETA: After wearing this for a few hours, I now like Strangler Fig very much!

Edited May 9, 2007 by whiterosepetals

[lushlovely]

Wet on my skin, Strangler Fig smells like 95% dirt and 5% dusty fig fruit. It definitely reminds me of another blend, but I can't quite put my finger on it.... Omen maybe? At any case I keep getting whiffs of it and it reminds me of a cemetary or funeral home.

 

Dry: Much better, but still too much 'dirt' for my taste. It's like Intrigue but without any of the sweetness.

[CrazyPretzel]

Wet in the imp, this smelled incredibly wet and rooty and jungle-y. When I was living in Taiwan, I used to have to hike partway up a very lush green mountain (called, incidentally, 'Monkey Mountain') to go to French classes at the uni there at the weekend. Strangler Fig is just what that mountain smelled like in the summertime.

 

Dry on me, this unfortunately puts me in mind of a freshly-split coconut that's been kicked around in the dirt for a bit. I say 'unfortunately' because I don't really like dirt scents. I know there are people out there who do. That's fine. Really. When the BPAL forum takes over the world, you guys can have your own chunk of it, okay? The rest of us girly floral foody fanciers will be far away having frilly tea parties and so on.

[Miseraya]

In the imp: Deep, lovely almost dark chocolate fig. This is fantastic. I hope this stays like this on my skin!

 

On the wrist: Oh heavenly earthy seductive fig! How I love thee. That near dark chocolate note has faded. This takes quite a while to dry on the wrist or possibly in my fever pitch excitement I slathered.

 

Dry: This is not your usual sticky sweet fig (at least not on me) but an earthy, dirtier and more plant like sort of fig. Magnificent!

[DifferentDances]

Imp: Herb candy.

Wet: I guess the paint-thinner smell is the rooty component? Smells like sweet turpentine.

Dry: It's making the back of my throat tickle when I try to smell it; it's too faint from a reasonable distance to detect anything.

 

My rating: 1/5. Really, really not my thing.

[Zeljana]

I really didn't have any expectations about this one since fig note rarely does the thing for me. However, this is very complex. It reminded me of kenzo jungle elephant perfume because of something that reminds me od cardamon. but that one is a little too much for me, while strangler fig is a lot more appealing.

It's rooty, green, but very warm (not in an amberish kind of way), it's a scent which surrounds (and strangles) but if you like it, you'll wish to be strangled with it. Nice throw and staying power. This one screams autumn.

[Mountaingrrl00]

This smelled pretty green in the container -- leaf, rather than fig. Once on, it becomes creamier in a vanilla-floral sort of way. Its creaminess reminded me of Shadow Witch Orchid. There's a sweet underpinning that gives some oomph to the green figginess. It does not smell edible, but does smell inviting and smooth.