Jezirat Al Tennyn

[MamaMoth]

The Dragon’s Isle: smoke and fire, earth and wind. The rage of the elements blasting over a primordial paradise.

A very unusual scent.

The dominant note is moist, rich earth. I also smell something sweet and spicy, like cinnamon candy. There's a very faint whiff of something fresh and greenish, like mint or eucalyptus. (The oil feels very cool on my skin while wet.)

Moist earth + cinnamon candy cane

I don't know if I'd ever wear this, but it is nice. Probably my favorite use of the dirt note that I've smelled so far. Edited December 6, 2009 by MamaMoth

[crebbsgirl]

On me, this was wet and smoky and medicinal. To the point where I actually had to wash it off, the smoke note was so thick and choking. While I was wearing it though, it was dark and sooty. An almost gritty scent experience.

[fairestrocza]

First Impression: I *know* this smell! I've been here! Powerfully evocative!

 

In the Imp: Kenya - burning eucalyptus & the sweetness of traditionally

goat-urine

tanned leather

 

Wet on Skin: Strong eucalyptus, quickly dissipates; raw, powerful, feral

 

While Drying: eucalyptus, something feral, an aquatic note similar to Pool of Tears, smoke

 

After a Little While: Different elements come to the forefront before eventually settling down to a scent similar to that in the imp.

 

Later: tames down nicely… still getting that aquatic note from PoT with the smokey, feral smell behind it

 

Final Thoughts: I have to admit, this scent terrified me. Despite my awe at the way this blend was created, and how it shot straight to the scent-memory locus in my brain, I hesitated for weeks before getting up the courage for a skin test... and I tried it out on a friend first (she liked it). I wasn't sure that it would be wearable. While not an every day scent, it is definitely wearable. This is one of the first imps I reach for when trying to explain the genius of BPAL.

Jezirat Al Tennyn earns a 3/5 for wearability, and a 5/5 for imagery.

 

Imagine climbing to the top of an extinct volcano and watching as vapor gathers, forming a cloud above the lush vegetation in the interior of the crater, a cloud which then drifts across the Great Rift Valley... Imagine wandering the streets of Nairobi with the ever present scent of burning eucalyptus and tanned leather... Imagine digging in the red earth of Koobi Fora, unearthing fossils two million years old, while the wind and your sweat work with the dust to create an artificial tan... Imagine net fishing for tilapia in the Jade Sea, your toes squishing through the mud as you pull the net toward shore... Imagine the intense heat of summer being replaced by a thick, tangible fog as you pass once more below the equator... Imagine a cacophony of jungle sounds suddenly filling the void as the car motor succumbs to the trials of navigating water-swollen lagas... All this and more is captured in this tiny vial of scent.

[Argentwolf]

Hmm, this is interesting. It smells like hot, smooth, black stones, with a hint of smokey charcoal (like that found in Brimstone)...and yet there's also an aquatic side to it as well, as if those stones make up the beach on a lonely island, or perhaps they're part of some natural jungle hot-springs spa. Some nice imagery there, if not as vivid as many others enjoy through this scent. This scent sticks close to the skin, and wears off after a few hours.

[DeltaCat]

Um....yeah...Dirt. Scorched dirt. Like after a forest fire. Not a fav...

[impolight]

:::JEZIRAT al TENNYN:::

 

Wow! What a collision, a combustion of fragrances! The first reaction to uncapping the Imp of this formula and leaning over it to take a sniff was to rear back violently and put up both fists!

Assertive!

Jezirat al Tennyn is a unique story about the birth of the universe told in a spice-drying hut somewhere in the worlds wildest, scariest desert isle... Jezirat al Tennyn is a blazing bonfire with Mesquite, Cedar, Cardamom, Cinnamon, Chilies,Pumice, and diabolical, bowel-loosening laughter roaring out of it.

Beautiful, glorious, and well aquainted with heebie-jeebies.

There might be something floral in this, but if so, it is avoiding eye-contact and minding it's own business...

On the skin, Jezirat al Tennyn waxes evermore apocalyptic; the smokiness exponentially darkens and the Cardamom dons a veil of Camphor.

This was NOT the seductive little dance previously imagined, this is more the fiery-eyed exocutioner.

Clever!

Love this!

[hmelt004]

True to description, this smells like a bunch of burnt up organic things. I'm getting a strange sort of fishy vibe from my imp, too. Very odd, and not very nice. Could there be civet in this?

[donnatron]

Imp: Dirt and rocks and a sweet floral-ish note.

 

Wet: Maple syrup on hot rocks. There is a sweet note in this that my skin just looooooves!

 

Dry: I think this is the dirt note from Zombi--or at least that's what this strongly reminds me of. That sweet floral note remains and there is a smooth, cold stone-like note. It's really interesting but not nice on my skin, if that makes sense. Like, I'm intrigued by the drydown and it's kind of crazy but I don't want to smell like this all the time.

 

Throw: Moderate.

 

Overall: It is interesting and a little uneven on my skin. The drydown is not really pleasant but it is interesting and I'm glad to have tried the scent. Think it will need a new home but it is definitely intriguing and one of the most unusual scents in the GC.

[Menum]

As a warning (or just a point of interest) I'm testing out of an imp that I've had for at least three years.

 

In bottle: metallic and dirty with a hint of mint.

 

On skin (wet): getting quite the rush of graveyard dirt, no mint..some metal. Not catching any smoke (sad!), but we'll see how this goes.

 

10 min: still very graveyard dirt, plus a more airy/clean smell (but not smoke or mint). Not as metallic as it was while wet.

 

20 min: About the same as 10 min. Very deep, swampy smell.

 

60 min: super light. still mostly dirt, with an unidentifiable air smell. No smoke or fire.

[toomuch]

This smells like a volcano to me - smoke, dirt, rock, with a bit of damp tropical jungle/floral in the background. Very interesting. I won't wear it out, but I may wear it at home when I want to be, um, interesting.

[Mamma Badger]

This was an extra in a swap I ended up liking better than the swap item.

In the imp it was harsh, green, and hot smelling.

 

Wet Maybe cinnamon and either pine or eucalyptus and something earthy I can't place.

 

After dry down, it turns to hot scorched earth and ashes. Molten lava and metal.

 

It's different but sexy and primordial, I think I may need a big bottle.

 

Edit to add that it LASTS over 12 hours and I still get the occasional whif from my wrist where I put a tiny dot for testing.

Edited October 15, 2010 by Mamma Badger

[Suu4LC]

Kind of a dark, smoky, ashy scent in the imp. There's something sharp and acrid that comes out on mu skin. I can also see where people get a touch of mint in this. Dark, and burnt, and gritty.

 

It's interesting on my skin...sort of hard to describe because it is dark and smoky but also a bit sweet and minty. Maybe even cinnamony? A hard scent to pin down. Not something I would wear but a very interesting scent and totally worth trying.

[Lydialove]

In the imp this smells like stepping outside on a chill and rainy Pacific Northwest night to catch a whiff of smoke from a neighbor's fire. The rain is stirring up some loamy smells from the garden.

 

May I say that I am absolutely amazed to be smelling a perfume that can evoke that clear a mental picture to me? Well done!

 

On skin this is initially still quite smokey (yay! I like it!) as well as green, faintly aquatic and I can smell what I'm guessing is an ozone note. Earthiness is the first to fade.

 

Hmph. It seems to have lost some depth. It is now very green and aquatic and I'm not sure that suits me. I think I need to see how this smells on my husband.

[Sedge]

According to my mom, this is floral.

 

According to my dad, it's evergreen.

 

Me, all I can smell is (burnt) pork soup base. JUMALAUTA! Please tell me I'm not the only one who smells pork in this! I'm afraid to put it on. I don't want to smell like pork (even more)!

 

Fun Fact: when I went to Hawai'i, the volcano gave off a distinct pork smell. I don't even want to know.

Edited December 13, 2010 by Sedge

[taniableu]

I was sorting my imps into alphabetical order when I came across my imp of Jezirat al Tennyn. Hmm, that's strange. I have zero recollection of ever having tested it.

 

Dab, dab, dab.

 

This smells like a tropical version of Zombi. That delicious wet earth scentl comes through straightaway, but it also smacks of hot, tropical jungle. This one actually reminds me a lot of Bali. Trekking through the hot, wet jungle. You have a farmer burning off in the distance along with the fertile wet soil by your feet. There is lush foliage all around you, not to mention the menacing threat of the steaming volcano somewhere near by.

[hersphinxness]

First impression is an odd, spicy incense. Odd, because I immediately recognize that this is incense and some sort of spice or seasoning, and it's intensely familiar but I have no idea what it is. The incense could be some kind of slightly generic, strong, smoky "Eastern" stuff in a New Age shop, the spice is a very specific smell that I simply can't put my finger on. I'm certain it's a cooking spice, though I can't match it with any spice or food at the moment. But it's not actually a good spice, and I don't feel like it's connected to anything that I would enjoy eating. Plus, there's this really weird smell winding it's way through the other notes, getting stronger---

 

Ugh! Fertilizer! Exactly the fertilizer that made me gag in The Red Rider, though I tested this on the other hand, several hours and handwashings later. Gross spice some DIY hippie keeps in the kitchen with their stinkiest incense and the fertilizer aisle at Home Depot. Yuck.

[dicyfer]

This does wonderful magical things on my skin. In the imp, it smells like what most other people have said: earthy, a bit of zing. I personally smell a bit of a resiny note as well.

 

The moment I put it on, everything good about this explodes! I was walking around with both wrists over my face for the first 30 minutes I had this on. I didn't detect too much morphing, other than it gaining the musky note that every perfume does for me when I wear it.

 

Over-all, I completely love this! It is very wearable for me. I'll have to give it a few more runs before I decide if it's bottle-worthy, but I think it will prove itself.

[Ella LaRose]

tried this on my husband, minty earth. dark hint of sweet minty earth.

 

ADDED May 9:

 

minty dirt, strange scent

[milo]

Very medicinal when wet. Fades pretty quickly with maybe a faint hint of smoke. Not for me, I don't like medicinal and smoky scents.

[Incendiare]

The first time I smelled this, it literally smelled like manure. It reminded me of driving through the countryside and passing a barn. Now, it smells a lot more medicinal, but with an earthy base. I'm actually too afraid to try this one me because medicinal notes don't change on me and these earthy notes just amp and smell like dirt. And are extremely difficult to scrub off. I appreciate the frimp but it's just the wrong blend for me.

[aardvarkwizard]

Wet: Very smoky, almost overwhelmingly so.

 

Dry: The smoke gives way to an old, old forest, dark, with years and years' worth of dead vegetation rotting sweetly underfoot. I really like this one--very evocative.

[angelmecha]

Imp: Green, fiery, smoky, wind-scorched. I can pick up mint(s?), definitely primordial. There is no way to describe it for me other than smelling a fire burning across wet, dangerous, green island forests.

Wet: Wet green starts to amp once it's on my skin. I still detect mint, but it melds very well with the other scents. It really is evocative of the feeling or image of walking through a wet jungle. I start picking up a couple florals that I couldn't smell in the imp. Smoke also amps; I feel like it's smoke from a burning fire, not a put-out one, if that makes sense. Someone else mentioned half-rotted plants underfoot; I definitely get that, too.

Drydown: Wet, blooming florals start exploding as it begins to dry. The ozone and aquatic are amping, too, whereas before they were taking backseat to the fire and green/earth. It's got a decent throw; I get whiffs of it without having to bring my arm to my face.

Verdict: This scent is really genius. It has so much character and really transports you; with even a hint of "volcano jungle" implanted in mind, you smell *everything* involved in this perfume and you're walking through a tropical, slightly intimidating landscape. I really do like this scent and have had/used this imp for a long time, but I just can't decide if it's something I'd wear often enough to warrant a big bottle. I'll hold onto my imp for now and see. 3/5

[catalyst]

The description was like "Whoa, I gotta try that." And it pretty well describes what it smells like. Which is pretty weird. I can't bear to get rid of it because it's just so cool, but... it's weird. I don't see wearing it much or at all, but... it's interesting and cool. Like a tropical island volcano or something. Green and aquatic with a bit of smoke and something warmer, like a wood maybe? It's different...

 

One weird thing is that I happened to get a second imp of this a few months after the first, and the colors are totally different. The second imp is the color of dragon's blood, that weird bright salmon red color, but the first is amber colored. I haven't compared the two, and I'm not sure which is the "right" one.

Edited May 30, 2012 by catalyst

[BoneBone24]

Wet: Sweet ozone.

 

Drydown: Dripping wet menthol and a touch of something sweet and smokey. I'm definitely getting the impression of a lush rainforest right before a thunderstorm breaks overhead. With menthol as the primary note this is teetering on the edge of medicinal but the smokiness seems to be keeping that in check.

 

Dry: The menthol dies down and what’s left is the sweet smoky note, which is more of a floral smokiness than burnt wood smoke. In the background is a touch of clean menthol and what smells like patchouli. All of a sudden it's overwhelmingly floral.

 

 

The first hour was pretty awesome. It conveyed everything I imagined reading the description, minus the earthy element. After that the floral(s) took over and it was no longer for me.

 

4 out of 10 bones

Edited July 11, 2013 by BoneBone24

[alyelle]

In the imp: Must, but pleasantly, like from antique books; an underlying warm, fruity smell; spicy wet leaves and earth.

 

Wet: The earthiness amps immediately, as does the fruit - this is like walking through a rich, crumbly-soiled vineyard as the last of the fallen summer fruit rots into the soil. (It sounds horrifying but it's actually really lovely.) And somehow, at the same time, there's a note of long-dry earth, as if no rain has fallen in years. It's quite an odd sensation.

 

Dry (1-2 hours): An increasing mossy note, as well as something sharp under the wet/dry earth. The spice also strengthens; overall, the effect is very similar to what Dee does on me.

 

End of day: The throw is excellent! This took a good eight hours to wear down to the point where I had to consciously sniff for it, and once it morphs into it's two-hour stage, it doesn't change any further. It's not a fragrance I'd ever have picked for myself, but I love it, and I'm definitely considering a whole bottle.

 

★: 5/5