Caliban

[WidgetAlley]

The scent of the salty seas, bittersweet wine, palm and tropical ferns.

 

Imp: A deep, sweet, salty smell. It smells like dates and hot sand and a sharp ozone note and, faintly, of white wine.

Wet: A thick, round ozone note, dried fruit, something green and that lovely hot sand/beach smell. It's very, very similar to Pirate Moon, without that note of sun-dried cotton, and with more tropical green. Which, hey, suits me fine, since I LOVE Pirate Moon! This one is a bit more cologne-ish, due to the grass and ferns, though, not as fuzzy.

Dry: A nice aquatic full of salt breezes and dried dates and greenery. Very similar to Pirate Moon, although I think I like PM a bit more. Still, this will be a great GC replacement if I ever need it-- and a fantastic room scent!

[BoneBone24]

Wet: Fresh and green. Almost vegetal.

Drydown: Smooth wine and a grassy note. The salt water fizzes into the picture and blends the wine and greenery together. It’s a soft, slightly fizzy aquatic with a pale green base and a touch of sweetness borrowed from the wine.

Dry: A little bit sweet and a little bit salty over a base of earthy green. Surprisingly perfumey. The combination of the wine and greenery creates the impression of a fresh floral note. Classy.

6 out of 10 bones

[theseagrows]

got this as a frimp. it does start off very bittersweet. i smell salt, pine and greenery from the palm and ferns. this is so fresh and green! it'd be like laying on a pile of leaves over grass or something. i think it's the fern, which seems to be strongest on me. i think i'd appreciate this more in an atmo. spray more than a perfume, just because it's very evocative and would bring one to the outdoors. a fascinating scent and i'm glad i got to try it.

[Veronica]

This is a lush, uninhabited tropical island--very true to character--salty, aquatic green floral.

[Naomi Kelsey]

Unexpectedly lovely! It's slightly similar to Cthulu and Olokun--a softly ozonic aquatic feel. I can smell the date palm here very clearly-- a rich, nutty, creamy scent with a hint of green around the edges. Dries down in about 2 hours to a rich cream. Not much throw---it might be good as a layering scent. It evokes lazy days by a private pool sipping on sweet wine. Very pretty.

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: Very woody. Not like forest wood - like...cabinetry wood.....

 

Dry: This is really interesting. Tropical for sure. But there's also a note (guessing it's the salty sea note) that reads as sweat. I don't really want to smell like a sweaty pirate, and that's kind of what I'm getting from this. Interesting though!

[DiesMali]

In the imp: Green and sweet!

 

Wet on my skin: The throw from this smells almost exactly like newly-fermented palm wine. The kind made with fresh palm sap. OH man, this is a serious scent memory here.

 

Dry: This is such an unusual scent, and unlike anything I've tried from BPAL so far. Closer to the skin, it's green ferns wet with sea spray, but the throw still smells almost exactly like that freshly-fermented sweet palm wine. Not the really strong stuff fermented for a day or so, but the white, sweet stuff that's been tapped from the tree 4-5 hours ago and chilling in the fridge ever since. It's very hard to describe to someone who hasn't tried it, but this is that. This smells like a tropical African market. It's actually really nice, and I'm glad to have tried it.

[d0gbones]

In the imp: Lightly masculine and aquatic.

Wet: Very green, similar to a lot of scents with "boggy" in the description. Fresh and clean.

Dry: Fades fast, but it's great while it lasts. I'd be all over a shower gel of this, it smells salty aquatic and invigorating.

[Cali]

Who has two exactly the same pixelated thumbs up and needs a full bottle of this? This dude

..That basically sums up my first sniff of this. I was really anticipating this one, mostly because it's one of my favourite characters plus the notes sounded wonderful to me. It's nice and warm, bit green, a bit floral. I am getting a bitter, red wine and that salty sea in there, but it's all blended in unity, there's no "too much".
It first goes very salty on my skin and about ten minutes later a lovely floral comes out and stays there for a while.

I am afraid this fades quite quickly so maybe I have to slather it on or w/e...

[PersimmonSeeds]

I received this as a frimp with an order a very long time ago. I've used it off and on and just realized how much I truly loved it as I have run out of the imp! I've never had that happen before.

It has aged about a year+ I believe and boy has it aged well. It has mostly smelled the same on me from the start, though the wine note and spicy quality to it has deepened.

This is definitely an interesting take on the character. He was unique and I feel this oil is fitting.

This has a spicy green quality to it that I love!

While I wouldn't want to wear this all the time, it is extremely pleasant to the senses.

I love scents that can take you places, and this takes me to Caliban's island. It's a beautiful exotic beach scent and that bit of wine in their comes out on me in the dry down. It's not strong, but adds a delightful bitter sweetness to the salty, aquatic air.

So to break it down:

 

In imp: aquatic goodness. Not really cologney to my senses, though.

 

Wet on skin: green and salty immediately, the aquatic scent is blended very well into this. Those that fear it going soapy, sour, or synthetic shouldn't worry!

 

Dry: as I said previously, that beautiful spicy green quality is the best part for me. I feel like I'm walking among the bright green plants right before you walk onto the beach, the ocean just in sight on the other side of the sand dunes.

 

Dry down: the wine makes for a fitting end to this. It is subtle, but really stands out among the greenery and oceanic notes.

This lasts great on me. Usually green or aquatic/ozone scents are gone within a few hours but this lasted from the moment I put it on for work (7:30 am) to my lunch break(12:30 pm) where I had to stick my nose to my wrist to just barely smell what remained of the wine and salty air.

[Casablanca]

Bottle: Salty brine, darkly wet greenery, and decay.

Wet: Like many slimy green plants have been crushed and thrown by the waves to rot upon a briny shoreline.

Dry: After a couple hours, this is just a faint salty residue on me.

For me this blend is dark greenery, salty wetness and decay: for the earth, the ocean, and personal dysfunction. In other words, perfect for Caliban. I may not want to wear this, but I appreciate how skillfully he's been captured here.

[roseus]

In the imp this was sweet and syrup-y. Almost stomach-turning. But on it was light salty-sweet sea air. Not for me, but a beautiful beachy aquatic!

[gloame]

Reminds me of Ides of March 2012 I think but can’t be sure because that bottle disappeared ages ago.

There’s a strong note of ozone and rain. It’s especially smooth and warm for an aquatic and it has a little bit of a green finish. Very clean and lovely. My BF wears this one sometimes.

Unisex, aquatic, ozone and closed eyes.

Where I'd wear this: When meditating in the desert, when you need the sea

Edited July 16, 2017 by gloame

[achildoftime]

Very salty sea air and lush green trees. It reminds me of a tropical greenhouse that's thriving and is very humid. I get no wine, personally. It's just a bright, clean scent. It doesn't change on me over time and lasted around 4 hours on me, which isn't too bad.

[doomsday_disco]

In the imp: Salt, wine, and foliage.

 

Wet: The salty sea and wine notes are the most prominent at first, but it's not long before the palm and fern notes clamor for attention and try to overtake the wine, but the wine just asserts it's dominance.

 

Dry: The wine reigns for a while, but several hours later, all that remains is the salty sea note with some warmth in the background.

 

Verdict: Not bad, but not really 'me'.