Intrigue

[dawndie]

A sultry, exotic scent that inspires devious plotting and clandestine affairs. It is a scent painted in artifice, veiled in deceit, and slithering with whispered secrets. Black palm, with cocoa, fig and shadowy wooded notes.

Intrigue was one of those "try ME!" imps that kept recurring. I somehow ended up with 3 imps, 2 freebies from the Lab and a freebie from an eBay purchase. I felt bombarded by them! Like in Poltergeist, where Diane's in the unfinished swimming pool and bodies are popping up all around her. Hmm, that's probably a bit overdramatic.

Intrigue starts out as dusky cocoa. It reminds me a lot of Centzon Totochtin -- unsweetened and dark. Wood peeks out occasionally, and it's a very unique scent. My skin must love it, because it totally disappears; I must have used 1/3 of an imp, and a couple hours later I can barely smell it. Boo.

All in all, the imp is worth slathering.

[pranashakti]

It's official. I'm in love with fig. I'm in love with almost every fig blend I've tried so far, but I think I've found "it". On application, this is FIG on me. Figfigfigfigfigfig. Did I mention fig?

 

And I worried...even as lover of the scent I was waiting for...well...more. But it dries very quickly and as it does the cocoa and woodiness step forward to round the whole thing out. They warm the fig's deeper notes while toning down the sweetness, bringing a dimension to Beth's fig note that I've never smelled before because my nose was too full of fruit sugar. Sweet, but not cloying, deep but still light, and warm and sexy as hell. Yum! This is a frontrunner for "everyday" scent.

 

And thanks to this blessed forum (and Macha ) I've got a 5ml on its way already...

[closedacct]

This scent makes me think of the color brown. Rich, soothing, delicious. I am usually into more of the resin scents, but damn. Beth is so talented. She makes me love things I never thought possible. *sigh*

 

Anyway! This will be one of those special occasion scents. A comfort scent. Just me, a soft fluffy blanket, a cup of tea and Intrigue.

[Brianne]

In the bottle:

Oh wow is that ever interesting. Deep, dark cocoa scent with a sharp note of something fruity like - definitely the fig.

 

On me:

This was one that I was really unsure of because I didn't really know how fig was going to smell on me (having never worn anything with fig in it). Turns out, I think it smells fantastic on me. The cocoa is really prominent on me at first, but after about 5 minutes, the fig totally kicks in and that's definitely the strongest note on me. I can definitely smell a hint of the woody note in the background, but mostly I'm getting fig.

 

Final note:

This is really nice, it makes me smell like a fruit and nut Russel Stovers chocolate I'm having a hard time deciding if I want a big bottle of this or not, but it's nice enough for me to definitely consider it!

[Aurelius]

In the vial: Cocoa! Yum! For some reason I am greatly amused that my cocoa-smelling vial is full of clear liquid.

 

Wet: I smell like a rich chocolate cookie with some sort of fruit. I *think* I smell fig. Yup! Hi, fig!

 

Drying/Dry: I am one big chocolate fig newton. It sounds tasty, but it turns on my skin into something really fake smelling.

 

Overall: Boo. Too strong, too fake on my skin, which is a shame as it's a tasty and shameless scent.

[nineveh]

At first, this smells great. I get chocolate and fig. Once the oil is dry, however, the chocolate vanishes completely and I'm left with just the fig. I like fig, but Intrigue turns into a rather boring version of Nemesis, which has a bit of spice due to the ginger.

 

This also fades very quickly on me. I can barely smell it after just half an hour. I've tried it twice and it's done the same thing both times.

 

It's a good scent on its own, but Nemesis definitely wins out over it for me.

[rainbow]

In the bottle and wet on skin- Fig and woodsy. When it gets on my skin it is heavily cocoa and woodsy.

 

On me this scent ends up being sickeningly sweet, with undertones I can't identify. I have a feeling the fig is responsible for that. I also have a feeling that other people wouldn't describe it as "sickeningly sweet." I hate foody scents, anything that smells like food puts me off, and unfortunately, with the chocolate and fig, this falls in that category. This one is going off to swaps.

[paperdoll]

Initial Sniff: Extremely dry cedar and cocoa powder.

 

Wearing: The fig explodes in all of its dark fruity glory right after it hits my skin. The result is a thick dark syrupy sweetness on a bed of dry wood and cocoa. After it dries, the fig and the cedar coexist in a more balanced harmony.

 

Final Impressions: This is just too strange for me. I'm not a huge fan of fig or cedar, so I guess that's not too much of a surprise.

My fiance's conclusion: "Smells like blackberries."

[fragrantgrasse]

I'm trying but can't find *any* of the fig or cocoa other reviewers have mentioned, must be my chemistry....but I certainly do get the shadowy woodsy, locked-in-a-cedar-closet part of Intrigue!

 

That said - I am discovering that I do really like this scent!

 

Cedar is out in front and I may now be getting just a dusting of the cocoa after about 20 minutes, but Intrigue fades fast on me without developing more beyond the cedar closet stage.

 

But I am going to use my imp up because I am drawn to this scent - and I love slathering in on my arms....

[Little Bird]

Intrigue was my first 5 ml bottle after I fell in love with an imp of it. I never would have imagined that I wanted to smell like fig, but BPAL's fig blends work so well with my skin chemistry. Intrigue is a lovely blend of fig, woods, and chocolate. It isn't exactly a sweet fragrance though, it is very subdued with the dry wood notes. But it's still foodie enough to me that I want to eat it . There isn't anything sharp or off in this blend. This is my nice calm scent that I wear when I need something unchanging and reliable all day, lol.

[tesao]

yum.

 

intrigue smells like wood. i don't know which wood, maybe cedar??? sandalwood. there is another familiar scent happening behind the wood. something dark....maybe chocolate??? and smoky, as if the cedar was burning just a bit.

 

it is cedary and spicy, with hints of fig showing as it dries down. and the dry down is fantastic. it's too much when i first put it on, but afterwards....mmmmmmmm.

 

it doesn't have a lot of throw, and it fades too quickly. but i LOVE it. i will just by a 10 ml bottle and smother myself constantly with it. mmmmmmmmmmmm.

 

and you know??? sometimes we can't smell it any more on ourSELVES but others can still smell it.

[Gin]

This is very very dark, dry cocoa. The fig gives it a little more texture and a thickness. In the back, there’s a wood note that’s a bit like cedar. While I like the way Intrigue smells, I don't like it on me.

[tinyvulture]

this reminds me of some chocolate-coconut bath bombs I once used. the cocoa is strong and there are also notes of orange and fig. normally I avoid citrus, but it’s really understated here and balances nicely with the cocoa and fig. I’m not sure what black palm smells like – is that the hint of coconut I’m getting? I can't pick out any woody notes. sometimes I think I smell it, but then the cocoa overpowers it. overall, this blend is slightly tropical but also dark, and kind of sexy.

[Ilina]

In the vial: Ooh, this is interesting. Earthy, with a touch of fruit and a touch of cocoa.

 

Wet, on my skin: Same.

 

After 20 minutes: ...wait, where'd the earth go? I smell like raspberry hot chocolate, which is nice, but not something I particularly want to smell with on a regular basis.

 

After an hour: ...where'd the chocolate go? Now I smell like FIGFIGFIGFIGFIGFIGFIG, almost like Midwinter's Eve, only without the sugar.

 

Apparently my skin doesn't like cocoa. Pity, that.

[quikslvr]

Woody cocoa at first. Then just cedar-wood. After awhile, a sharp underbite that's not entirely pleasant. Cocoa emerges near the end, but is faint. Lovely, soft drydown.

[OriginalWacky]

Bottle (Imp): Hmmm, is that cocoa?

 

Just On: Cocoa and, and... salt? Okay, no, not salt, but something like a salty wood.

 

An hour or two later: This is a lovely scent.

 

Around 6 hours: Oh, this has almost a candy scent now. It's some kind of fruit, almost like dried fruit, which always reminds me of candy.

 

12 hours: Very faded sweet candy.

 

Overall: I really like this scent, and it's probably up there in my top twenty, or near to it. It's hit the big bottle list for sure.

 

After reading other reviews: Ahhh, fig is that sweetness. This really morphs throughout wearing, and I like it a lot.

[binkyboots]

this is just so good!

 

I've had a bottle for ages now, it's delicious

 

I get fig and a dark bittersweet cocoa, then as it dries I get the cedar and maybe a little vanilla too. it stays gorgeous from the moment it's applied until it (finally) wears off...

 

I often wear it to bed, I always have the most incredibly intense dreams when wearing it, why that should be I can't say but there we go.

[minaloush]

Hmm. I'm not sure if the aspect that goes off on my skin is the black palm or whatever woody notes are lurking, but there's fig and pencil shavings after it dries. :/

[donsixgun]

It smells like a cross between the cocoa scratch n sniff stickers I used to get back in like, 2nd grade, along with a touch of what seems like pencil shavings...So far, it isnt really all that great. After it dries, it mellows into cocoa and fig. Its ok, just not for me.

[joseybird]

This is a beautiful fig scent The cocoa blends very well with the woody notes, giving a very subtle foody nuance to the blend that even non-foody peeps can appreciate. The scent is shaded by a shadowy green note, from which the fig emerges. It reminds me of a darker, "cooler" Gomorrah, one of my favorites

[dcmo]

I've had this imp for quite some time but for some reason kept passing it by for other scents. When I smell it from the imp, I really just get the wood smell, nothing else, so I didn't think this was for me.

 

Now that I've had a chance to try it on me, what a difference. On my skin when still wet, yes the wood or cedar is the dominant scent but the cocoa starts to push it's way through. Drying and dry, this is much more balanced than I initially expected. Between the wood scent, cocoa and fig, this dries down really nicely. I think of this more as a fall or winter scent because it's very comforting and enveloping..similar to velvet. Glad I gave this a chance, but why did I wait so long??

[Ajila]

Wet on me this was coconut (the black palm possibly?) and sandalwood. However, this faded quickly to leave what I thought was sour cherries, but I figure is actually the figs. 20 minutes later and yes, it's fig, lush, juicy and somewhat dark figs. This is the final stage on me, and it lasts well, going on for at least six hours.

[walkingundine]

In the bottle, I found Intrigue to be cool, dark, and a little sweet in an odd way. The particular nature of the sweet note reminds me of a scent I associate with some half-remembered toy I loved as a tiny kid- I don't really remember what it was. It might have been one of those little cupcake dolls. It warmed a bit on my skin. I was hoping that the cool note would come forward, but instead I got nothing but cupcake doll.

 

I may add it to my swap list, depending on how its second chance goes.

[zankoku_zen]

In the Bottle: There is a chocolatey, deep green smell to it.

 

On Skin: I can smell the chocolate and something else, kinda nutty and fruity which could either be the black palm or the fig. There is a spicy note at the end. It is a very comforting scent.

 

On Drydown: Definitely chocolately with a musky/spicy tone. It smells a bit masculine now.

 

After another 15, my skin has drunk this all in. It's completely faded.

 

Verdict: Lovely scent but its lack of staying power makes it a swap. Nuts. Hopefully Centzon won't do this to me. Ah... chocolate.

[shayelea]

In the bottle this smelled sort of sweet with a spicy basenote. I was, appropriately, intrigued by it. It smells a little lighter in the bottle than some of the others that I received with my order.

 

When I put it on, the spicy, woody notes dominated for a minute or two, and then the cocoa and the fig really stood out, with just a hint of those spicier notes in the background.

 

Unfortunately, after about half an hour the cedar was all I could smell from a distance. I had to sniff my wrist to get the cocoa or fig at all, and while I was still very pleased with the scent up close, I wasn't sure about how it smelled so much like a head shop from afar.

 

Now, after about an hour, I'm getting only a very faint scent from afar, and the scent when I sniff my wrist is vacillating somewhere between dry talcum powder and cocoa/fig.

 

Nuts. The cocoa and fig were really lovely.

 

This makes the back of my throat feel dry. Also, why do I think I smell dill pickles in there somewhere?? (That's got to be the sourish cedar smell, I guess.)