And There Was A Great Cry In Egypt

[eponai]

Dark myrrh, white sandalwood, amber, hyssop, frankincense, honey, cypress, red musk, cardamom and saffron.

i am completely taken aback by this scent, because by the description i was sure i would adore it. but it's not working for me as well as i thought it would for some reason despite the fabulous note list.

it's blended very very well, because i can't seem to pick out any individual notes. but where is the cardamom? where is the honey?

in the bottle i am like whoa department store cologne!
wet on skin i am still like whoa dsc, but maybe there is sandalwood? incense?
dry on skin still too perfumey
about 2 hours later it has become a lovely sweet musky sandalwood albeit quite faded. so it is much better after its been on my skin for a bit.

the length of wear is not too long and the throw is light.

i'll be happy with my imp but i probably won't buy a big bottle.

[seamor]

Thanks for the swap, Savvy!

 

Wet: Lots of myrrh, with some other spices. More spices in the throw than close to the skin. Not much scent at skin level.

 

Dry down: I would swear I’m smelling cinnamon in this, but it's a soft, gentle cinnamon. Something very sweet here - is it hyssop? I can tell there's honey, but there's more to it ... This is a tricky one. Sometimes I can smell it close to the skin, other times there seems to be nothing there, and it's all in the throw.

 

The ingredients are nicely blended - I can pick some out if I try (myrrh, honey, red musk, saffron, a hint of cypress, that extra sweetness I think is hyssop), but overall - after it settles down - it comes across as a single scent.

 

Oddly, on me all these spices are coming together in a way that seems to create a phantom floral note. Which is really cool, since florals don't seem to stay with me at all. I love a good spice scent, and a little floral with it is even better.

 

This reminds me of the final stage of Samhain, after all the cider has gone, leaving lots of wonderful spices behind. I love the addition of cypress - just enough to create an intriguing shadow of mystery. But where the spicy stage of Samhain sometimes lasts me as long as 24 hours, Great Cry lasts only about two hours ... what a shame.

 

And There Was a Great Cry in Egypt is a beauty, and if it would only stay with me a little longer it would certainly be in my top five (or three).

 

Good one, Beth!

[taramarie]

On me, this seems to be incense resins, amber, and maybe some musk. It's a very warm, dry scent. I like it, but it doesn't have much staying power on me.

[donnatron]

Im[: Dry sandalwood and frankincense.

 

Wet: The saffron and honey come out to sweeten this and it starts to smell more like a single note rather than a collection of different scents.

 

Dry: The frankincense and sandalwood dominate the scent and the rest of the notes combine to create this icky milk scent. It's just not that into me.

 

Throw: The resins have throw off my skin. Thankfully I can only smell that nasty milk smell up close to my skin.

 

Overall: I can't take the milk. If you know that the components work well on you, this is definitely a good scent to try.

[lefthandmade]

On me this one is very very subtle and the red musk is very hard to pick out, it's so well blended I can't pick out notes if you paid me. It's very shy and very subtle and absolutely gorgeous.

Let's see what happens to it when it dries a little.

 

A few hours later:

I've had to re-slather a few times during the afternoon since it's not really a stayer, and I can recognize the cedar whiff when it's wet now, and also how the red musk comes out a little later. I'll probably be able to recognize more notes when i've worn it a few more days. It's a blend that keeps changing and it keeps things interesting all the way even if it dies an early death on my skin.

 

I still love it. I can just bring a roller bottle with me when I wear it so I can reapply when I need to.

[savage_rose]

In the bottle, this is a soft cologne smell I'm really digging. As it dries though, it fades. FAST. It loses it's sharpness and becomes a hazy, vaguely spiced powderiness. Damn you, sandalwood! Sigh.

[inurbanus]

I've been wanting to try this since the first time I visited the BPAL website, so I'm very excited that the time has finally come to review And There Was A Great Cry In Egypt. I love resins and can never get enough of them. This sounded like the ultimate resin blend, and I'm happy to say that I was not disappointed.

 

This starts out very heavy and deep -- it has the same solemn smokiness as Cathedral, sweetened by a drop of honey. It's kind of a forboding scent, but it reminded me of the various cathedrals I've had the opportunity to tour, and so I was really taken with it. I don't know how often I would wear this on me, but I would love to have it just to smell and remember. After about an hour, it lightens up and goes powdery, which means that the myrrh must be making an appearance. I have to say, I really don't care for the powder stage -- if I could prolong the beginning of Great Cry, I would buy a bottle in a heartbeat. As it is, I'll have to do some thinking before I add this one to my collection. However, I'm so glad I have an imp of this -- it truly is a must try for resin lovers.

 

4/5

[greenranger]

Wet, sandalwood, cypress and frankincense.

 

Drying, it has blended more. I am having trouble picking out the notes. Spicy, resiny, woody goodness, though.

 

Less throw than I was expecting on me, but, still nice.

[Gwydion]

In bottle: Vaguely medicinal, lots of sandalwood and musk. It smells very Middle Eastern and perfumey. Wet: On me, the red musk is rather overpowering. The incense elements float above the musky perfume. I think this would be good on someone else, but this is way too intense for me. The incense gets stronger as it wears, particularly the frankincense. Dry: Musk and sandalwood with a hint of incense. Again, this would be very cool on the right woman, but simply disturbing on me.

[Nimthiriel]

Initial impression:

I get a sniff full of cypress and something floral, I think. None of the notes I was hoping for...

 

First on:

It's surprisingly soft, almost non-existant... A touch of cypress andsomething sweeter, maybe the honey or the myrrh – I can't tellwhich one.

 

Dry:

After about 10 mins, it'sa faint and dry scent – the sandalwood is there for sure, and the frankincense and amber.

 

Another 20 mins later,the scent has warmed up a little, adding a touch of myrrh andcardamom to my skin. It's nice, far more Egyptian now, but it's stillnot nearly as good as I'd hoped...

 

Finally:

I didn't like it much atfirst, but it grew on me. Even so, it was a little disappointing, soI'm passing this decant on.

[milo]

Wow, this is very different in the bottle wet to the dry-down. I really thought this would be off to the swaps when first sniffed. Very strong, aggressive and masculine, with an unpleasant sharpness to it. Dry, this is really like two different blends. Words coming to mind to describe at this staget is sandy, hot, sexy, dirty, with a touch of spice, but all seeming quite mild at the same time. Slightly powdery, but I like soft powdery scents, and this is better, as the spice keeps the powder in check. This kind of reminds me of Morocco, it has that same kind of "Eastern" feel about it, though I'd say this really isn't a foody or sweet blend. This will be AMAZING aged. A very warm, inviting, mysterious, smoldering and sexy blend. I like Bpal surprises!

Edited January 23, 2009 by milo

[Pika]

I get a very dark, musky dirt-smell from this. Where is the red musk, the honey, the saffron, the cardamom? It's also got a plasticky smell on drydown. Aww, my chemistry= FAIL with this one.

[WidgetAlley]

Bottle: No one is going to effin' believe me if I say this smells like celery to me, are they? Celery. Biting and sharply green and bitter. There could be some raisins in there too. I honestly have no idea what is in here that's doing that, but it's all I can smell. Oh well, time for a celery adventure!

 

Wet: Oh! There's the rest of it. At first this is insta-powder on me, then settles down and goes back to... something celery-ish. What the hell? There's sweetness under it, honey and musk and cardamom and sandalwood, but mostly it's dark and toothy and green. Except for when it's powder. It must be the combination of the cypress, myrrh and frakincense... It smells a lot like some department store perfumes to my nose. Medicinal would be a good word. No throw at all.

 

Dry: A nice, ambery, spicy powder. Thanks but no thanks.

 

Overall impression?

[rayvn1]

This is much more subtle and refined than I expected it to be. I barely catch much of a whiff of anything. A little too subtle on me I'll probably hold onto it and try again. Vaguely spicy and plant-like?

[crebbsgirl]

I really thought this was going to be made of win on me, but unfortunately, that was not the case. Right from the get-go, frankincense was dominating the blend. The saffron and cardamom didn't show up until much, much later. In the wet stages, the hyssop and cypress were at the forefront of the blend, creating a green sharp facet to the scent. During the drydown, the myrrh, honey and red musk smooth the blend out, but are unable to overpower the frankincense (which turns plasticy on my skin).

[ouch!]

This is the first and only Salon scent I've tried. I was attrcted because of the Red Musk & Saffron.

 

So...hmm...at first this smells like alot of other things I've smelled. Like some of the Wanderlust scents. Namely Baghdad. It's not doing anything special for me on first application. It smells of Frankincense & Myrrh and just a bit generically incensey.

Then the Amber comes out a bit to give a softer more powdery feel.

There's not really much throw to this, that I'm aware of anyway.

 

The dry stage howver is much more to my liking, it's much more what I expected from the notes.

It's more of an interesting Incensey blend now, I can get the Red Musk WAHEY! and it's much more of a scent that makes me think of faraway places and spice markets and incense filled streets. I see the likeness to Scehrezade & Snake Charmer but it's not in their league in my opinion. The honey is sweetening the blend ever so slightly.

 

I like..but nothing to rave about. I really want to try more Salon blends though!

 

 

 

[devilot]

In the Vial: I can detect the myrrh and frankincense and the cypress. VERY SHARP. (Not sure I know what saffron by itself smells like but guesstimating from Love's Philosophy, I'd say I can catch the slightest hint of saffron here, and yes to the cardamom.)

 

Wet: Resins & woods. Sort of disappointingly "cologney."

 

Drydown: Wowwie wow wow wow! Talk about morphing! All the sharpness of the woods that I didn't like (like cypress and the way frankincense can sometimes be sharp) have mellowed super quickly. Now it's soft, very soft. I'm thinking the white sandalwood and amber + red musk (though to my nose it doesn't smell like red musk, just 'musky') have probably been the Heroes of Mellowing in this blend.

 

Verdict: Insanely strong throw for the first five minutes. Then? Super light throw (at least in the drydown which is what really matters). Started off very disappointing but now smells like a sophisticated grown-up and somehow complex 'baby powder' on me. But in a good way. I'm not fond of some of the lab's other blends that have gone powdery on me, but there's something more sensual, more raw, more papow about this blend's powderiness. Yum. Definitely gonna hang onto this decant for now.

[Monster]

In the imp: Vintage cologne smell.

 

Wet: The Salon blends are all so complex, it's really ahrd to pick out individual notes. This has a real classic...vintage perfume feel to it. There's a sharp, bitter note in here...I think that may be the cypress. I will agree with everyone when they say "cologney".

 

Dry: Yup! Just like everyone else has been saying, this is a real morpher (like like old vintage cologne you find at antique stores! First sniff isn't that great but a minute on your skin and the real smell comes through). This is now a gentle wisp of red musk mixed with resins and the memory of something herbal smelling.

 

Overall: The wet phase wasn't so great by dry...it's pretty damn fantastic if you ask me. I'm not so sure this is something I'll wear ALL the time, but I can definitely see myself dabbing some of this behind my ears on special occasions or in the winter when I make my annual trip to the Boston Ballet at the Wang Center.

[Aldercy]

Sigh. I am completely enchanted with the artwork, but the scent is pretty much dry floral powder. I think I must have a problem with all sandalwood except red-- that, or sandalwood in conjunction with amber equals fluffy, boring powder (amber never turns to powder by itself on me).

 

Red musk? Myrrh? Frankincense? Honey? They all love me, and I love them, but they are completely stifled if they're there at all.

 

WHYYY?

[SophieCedar]

You know, I'm not saying this because it has the word "Egypt" in the title, however, there is an element of Egyptian musk in this. That's not a bad thing! I think anyone that loves Egyptian musk would find this highly appealing. It's like the "pure" version.

 

In imp: musk, cardamom, myrrh, and cypress for sure.

 

Wet: saffron, cardamom, amber, very sweet with the honey.

 

Drydown: There's a sugary cereal element (thanks alot skin...ugh) with powdery wood.

 

I like it however it doesn't work well on me.

Edited January 11, 2010 by SophieCedar

[voorishsign]

I've finally decided to explore the Salon properly - for some reason it always intimidated me before. But how can anyone say no to ingredients like that?

 

In the bottle - mmh. Myrrh and amber and honey and musk and frankincense! Fanastic. It already smells biblical.

 

On wet - Whoa, this is gorgeous. More myrrh, musk, honey and frankincense. Cardamon too! I adore cardamon as a note, it's not in enough blends Very distant, lovely saffron. I am loving this.

 

Drydown - I have no words for how awesome this is. incense, honey, my beloved red musk and cardamon. Pure love. I am speechless but overwhelmed

 

ETA: . . . except it ruins everything further on. I loved this so much but then it turns totally perfumey once about half an hour has passed. Woe

Edited June 13, 2010 by Shollin
Removed Lab description --Shollin

[Alia Kaitan]

... what the. So, who put Ivanushka in my Creat Cry in Egypt? O.o

 

Not that I'm complaining, just not a similarity I was expecting, at all. Baffles me even more after reading the notes for this.

 

Ah, okay, it only smells like Ivanushka on my arms. On my collar/chest this is entirely different. Welcome to fun with skin chemistry! I'll review the down-the-shirt Great Cry:

 

The woods and spices are the strongest on wet; rich and complex layers of woodiness. What starts out a little sharp is quickly softened... while there's no overt honey, I'm pretty sure I can 'feel' it in there, blurring the edges of the woods and resins, smoothing everything together. Wow. Drying down, I get this sensuous ribbon of musk that manages to be both subtle and present. On the dry side, but not parched.

 

I don't usually expect this masterfully layered subtle awesomeness from GC blends, but here it is! Not a whole lot of throw, but then, this is such a perfect elegant skin scent that I actually really like that it stays close.

 

...and yes, my arms still smell like Ivanushka. Go figure.

[ami226]

On the skin: Woodsy and spicy! Not getting much sweetness with this one. It's kind of hard for me to pick out individual notes, but I believe I can smell the myrrh, cypress, and some muskiness.

 

I think I'll need to retest this one since it hasn't had a full 24 hrs to sit after arriving in the mail.

[Wwindy]

I originally tested a decant of Great Cry several years ago, and I think my nose just didn't know quite what to make of it then. This time around I'm working from a fresh Lab bottle, with a little more experience under my belt.

 

On initial application: Musky dark woods accompanied by both a sharp herbal note and a hot dry "sandy" note. I had to apply very heavily for me to get the level of scent presence I like. Weirdly, while still wet this is reminding me of both the '12 Dragon Moon (must be the frankincense + herbal greenery combo -- although I see an earlier reviewer also got a strong impression of dragon's blood after first applying!) and some of the Egyptian/desert blends like Sunbird or Saqqara v2 at the same time. The myrrh is fairly strong on me, but amping myrrh is a known issue for me; on the other hand, while there's definitely musk I'm not really getting the "red" aspect of it much at all.

 

After drydown, the amber develops more fully and this turns into much more of the spicy resinous blend I expected, with just a faint touch of sweetness. Every once in a while I get a tiny whiff of the sharp dark-green hyssop. It doesn't have much throw or lasting power; this is definitely a "slather it on and reapply later" blend. It's a pleasant woodsy-spicy mix, though -- evocative of the mood of the painting, although (somewhat to my relief) it doesn't seem particularly connected to the story behind the painting, unless that occasional zing of cypress/hyssop is for grief?

[neuilly]

I'm glad to have had the opportunity to try this even though I know it's not my general "taste". For me this smells like the inside of an incense box. There is a woodsy element, and also a really nice blend of what I call incense notes (myrrh, sandalwood, frankincense). Usually I find incense notes to be really overwhelming but these are much more subtle and serene. Beautifully evocative.