A Countenance Forboding Evil

[Monday]

Patchouli, ylang ylang, blood orange, and vetiver.

Wet: This starts out as patchouli and orange. There's a hint of vetiver but it's really hardly there at all.
Dry: Lot's of woodsy patchouli with some fresh orange. Something patchouli lovers should definitely give a go.
Overall better than expected but I'm not much into the labs patchouli note it's too...sweet? I can't really explain why that note irks me so much but Bpal blends with prominent patchouli are just not for me.

[ClareN]

Patchouli, vetiver and orange - the ylang ylang note is very faint. These are all notes that are readily available as essential oils, so the result is a lot like a typical line of all-natural beauty products or an aromatherapy shop.

 

I love patchouli, vetiver and orange, so it's a given that this smells great on me. On the other hand, it's just patchouli, vetiver and orange, so it doesn't have the uniqueness that I look for in BPAL perfumes. If I wanted to smell like straight-up essential oils, I'd blend them myself.

[ianastar]

I definitely got the patchouli right away but the ylang ylang was very sweet and strong at first. On the dry down this got more earthy as the ylang ylang subsided and the vetiver came out a little more. Im kind of loving this one.

[HazelGrrl]

This is my first review, so bear with me! I am new to BPAL, and today I was given a few imps for free with another purchase I had made. I loved them all... except this one.

I am NOT a scent note aficionado by any means, but I can tell you that this smelled awful on me.

Before I elaborate, I have to say that I have no idea how old/aged this imp is, and how it was stored. That being said, when I first opened it, it was "ACK! Patchouli and black licorice/fennel!!" straight out of the bottle. (Weird, right?)

After it warmed up and dried down, it morphed, and smelled EXACTLY like moldy oranges and patch. I LOVE patch. I HATED this. It stayed noxious and abrasive for the rest of the evening- like that orange you inadvertently left in the bottom of a backpack and didn't re-discover for 3 months... and now that forgotten orange looks just like one of those green pot scrubbers. Yeah. It made my mouth water- in a BAD way.

It's funny though- I had my husband smell it from my wrist, and he said that "it really wasn't that bad". (I kept making him re-sniff it asking him if he was POSITIVE it didn't smell like fermented oranges, and he just got annoyed) I also asked my friend Rachel to sniff my wrist, and she said that it "smelled like Ashland"- which is a hippie town about 10 miles from my house in southern Oregon that reeks of incense laden headshops- which I LOVE. This? Not so much. Goes to show that olfactory experiences are subjective. I'm sorry, BPAL. However, because I LOVE the other two imps I got today, I will chock this one bad oil up to luck of the draw... er, bad luck of the draw- and continue along on my BPAL journey.

Edited January 18, 2013 by HazelGrrl

[mymymai]

ITI: This actually smells similar to Rakasha yesterday, but it's a more grown up, darker, more citrusy patchouli scent, which I think is enhanced by the vetiver.

 

Wet: Smoky vetiver, thick patchouli, and spiced blood orange. Delicious!

 

Dry: The scent becomes a bit more powdery once dried, but it still has a darkly fruity tone to it.

[Atrous]

I love patchouli and vetiver so when the lab sent me a freebie of this I was really excited.

 

Imp: Smack you in the nose patchouli, vetiver, and smoke.

 

Wet: The citrus comes out briefly but it's still mostly Patchouli/Vetiver.

 

Dry: Citrus is gone Patchouli and/or vetiver smell burnt. Ylang ylang comes out and not in a good way. It lends a sickly sweetness to the whole mix. This is a very aggressive, masculine scent. I get an image of a man in full armour perpetrating some violence so I guess the name is apt. Patchouli and vetiver are both WAY too strong. And the burnt, overly sweet combined with it gives me a headache. I am so disappointed.

[milo]

This is kind of astringent and evergreen-like with a touch of smoke. This is really vile on me.

[theredkilt]

Freshly applied, i get the vetiver with hints of orange peeking out aggresively in a swirl of smoke. Fortunately, it dies down slowly and leaves way for the patchouli to shine. It all settles down into powdery mishmash. Pass!

[vthesiren]

Lab-fresh imp. On me, this was mostly VETIVER with a background of orange - the patch didn't come out until much later, and then it sort of smelled like an orange-tinged Malediction (which is a blend I love). I'm gonna stash this away and try it again in a few weeks, because I have a feeling it'll improve with aging.

[Ajila]

In the bottle - A green woodsy vetiver with a hint of something sour

 

Wet on me - A burning muddy patchouli with a backdrop of vetiver

 

Dry on me - After about 12 hours of whoah vetiver it eventually settles down into something light and green and floral and quite pretty

 

Overall - I like the final dry down, but not enough to put up with the vetiver overload

[Sayaka]

I love this, but I feel that I've had a very unique experience than many reviewers!

 

When I put it on, it smells of damp wood, very strong on the patchouli.

 

However as it dries, that fades into the background and the vetiver takes over. The smell "warms" a lot.

 

Fully dry, I get a warm, woody, incense-y fragrance that reminds me of quiet old temples I visited when I lived in Japan. No hint of the Orange whatsoever on me. The ylang ylang is just a whisper of sweetness.

 

I love vetiver in just about everything and this is so well balanced. Calm and dark without being overbearing or solemn. I often wear this to bed!

 

Additionally, and I don't know what everyone else thinks, I rather feel that this is relatively unixex. It's definitely (in my experience) not overtly feminine.

[Allumina]

This is super yummy! I am retesting all of my ancient keeper imps, and I was surprised I never reviewed this one. This is a woody patch with a bit of a vetiver backbone adding depth, overlaid with the sweet, smooth blood orange which takes it from being a straight up woody scent to something a bit more playful. The ylang-ylang is mostly support, mostly noticeable in the late drydown as a bit of floral that blends nicely.

 

It's very warm and comforting and cheery (I was having a bad day and the whiffs of it on my collar totally were helping make me feel better) but I can also see how it could be a dark & strong thing in the evening with the right attitude. Clearly, though, as evidenced by some of the above reviews, if patch and/or veviter aren't your thing than this scent is most definitely not your thing either and isn't gonna change your mind.

 

 

This is very similar to the Ira bath oil (which I love) but slightly more complex because of the ylang-ylang in the drydown.

[Veronica]

This is all my death notes, yet I couldn't resist trying. Entirely patchouli and vetiver.

[DiesMali]

In the imp: Dirt.

 

Wet on my skin: Dirty Costco orange cleaning wipes.

 

Dry: Dirty Costco orange cleaning wipes. Thaaaaat's pretty par for the course for me, with anything involving orange. Not even the magic of patchouli could save this one on my skin.

[HighlyBell7]

In Imp: Light Amber color. Smoke, sweet something.

Wet: Pine or Cedar and smoke and some fruit.

Dry: Pine wood? And lemon? And Fingernail polish. Smells cold. Multiple floor cleaners mixed. Mixed with a stale ashtray. It’s like an old guy that still lives in the 70s and drives a van and works as a janitor at an elementary school.

Later: This just smells too creepy and gross for me. This is the first scent I have ever had to wash off.

 

[LexieBlom]

A Countenance Forboding Evil imp

 

Wet/Bottle - I think this is the first time I've ever been able to smell and identify each note in a blend. The vetiver, ylang ylang, blood orange and patchouli are all there, and every time i sniff, I can smell each one. Heavy, dark, and ominous.

 

Dry/Skin (30 minutes) - It's so perfect. Guys, I may have found my holy grail. This is the one. It's earthy, dirty, heavy, dark but still sweet. It's creepy, ominous, but also comforting.

 

I'm gonna need a 5ml ASAP!

[freyasfae]

These sort of head shop scents don't seem to like my skin. Oh well, lesson learned. I ordered a BPAL imp lot on Ebay so I could play around and learn and this is what I have learned. Like several other viewers have said, each note is very distinguishable and prominent, but it's just not for me.

[hiddentwilight]

As other reviewers have noted, this scent is predominately patchouli and vetiver on me. If I had to pick adjectives it would be smoky, earthy, spicy, and dark. I was really hoping to get a lot more of the blood orange, but neither it nor the ylang ylang really make an appearance. I don't smell anything sweet at all. I would say that this is definitely a more masculine scent.

 

I don't think I would wear this on my own, but as I don't care for overly sweet scents I think it would work as a nice base to cut through something overly sweet.

 

I just tried putting a swipe of "Imp" (white peach, amber, golden musk and patchouli) on top, and the spicy and smokiness adds a nice layer of complexity. I don't think I'll buy any more of this scent in the future though.

[stellamaris]

This is so beautiful, orangey and a lovely complex patchouli scent. It lasts forever. need it.

[sunlitgarden]

Source: Recent frimp from the Lab

I am pretty wary of this one because of patchouli and vetiver, but I am going to at least try it...

In the imp: I mostly smell sweet orange and wood-smoke vetiver/patchouli. Smoky, earthy citrus.

On my skin: I got more oil than I wanted out of this imp, some on my fingers. On my skin it's... mostly the earthy sort of patchouli, smoky vetiver, and sweetness from the citrus and ylang ylang. It doesn't smell as specifically orange to me now as it did in the imp.

Drying, this is actually smelling a bit alcoholic to me, a lot like smoky whiskey (which I also don't enjoy drinking), or like a very aromatic wood.

I'm not the right person for this blend! It's too smoky for me.

[Casablanca]

Bottle: Something earthy, and a little blood orange on the back end.

Wet: Waves of vetiver and patchouli; then ylang ylang comes out, supported by a little blood orange. Erm. Each scent that I'd like to be soft is strong, and vice versa.

Dry: Bone-dry -- almost burnt -- vetiver and patch.

This one is a dud on me. I'm bad at evil. Pass.

[roseus]

In the imp: all gritty patchouli and orange.

 

Wet: the orange gets much more intense and smoky vetiver comes rolling out, patchouli is still tumbling around in the mix.

 

Dry: Still mostly juicy blood orange but just a touch more restrained than wet stage, with a heart of gritty patchouli and smoky vetiver. I get a little bit of rich ylang ylang over the top. The throw on this is great. It's definitely on the creepy side, but it's not for me.

[Convallaria]

The opening is orange and chocolatey patchouli - it smells like chocolate-covered orange rinds. I've been wary of gourmets in general, but this is the kind I could get behind. Sadly, after a while, the orange is lost and patchouli morphs into the kind I'm not fond of - I hated this note in the infamous Angel and few others patchouli-heavy compositions. It smells like a mix of a sharp chemical and something rotten on me. It stays pretty much that way through the drydown, which is long-lasting. Not sensing any vetiver.

[LizziesLuck]

Patchouli and orange. Smoky rich vetiver. Orange and I usually aren't friends. And as per usual, this turns to powdered orange cleaning product on me - with patchouli. It's actually not as terrible as it sounds. Still, not for me!

[Zorra]

This is so strange: it started out as smoky vetiver and then I thought: do I smell mint? And now, after a couple of hours, it's mint with a woodsy undertone. No orange, no ylang ylang (which I both love) and no patchouli, unless that is the woodsy undertone. But mint?

 

Later it was less minty again. I reapplied to see if I would get more of the other notes, but I don't. Smokey vetiver with a hint of mint, no orange, no ylang-ylang, no patchouli.

 

ETA: After testing a few scents I came back to this one and this time I suddenly realized I did smell patchouli mixed with the vetiver. And a bit of orange on top of that. I may have to put this on a list for my next order.

Edited August 19, 2016 by Zorra