Judith and Holofernes

[LiberAmoris]

Skin musk, honey, carnation, French magnolia, patchouli, sandalwood, and immortelle.

I have happily been wearing Judith and Holofernes for months after picking up a bottle at ECWC, and it's become one of my go-to comfort blends. I think it might be the carnation and sandalwood here that lulls me into a state of relaxation---it's like a very mellow incense, although I wouldn't call it incensey. But the sandalwood definitely gives it a meditative, calming vibe.

The skin musk, honey, and patchouli add to the smoothness and bring a sweetness to the blend that is far from cloying---it smells like the sweetness found in nature, like honey and flower nectar. The magnolia note lifts up the blend and gives it some height and a bit of sharpness, and the carnation is fulgent and a little spicy.

But I wouldn't consider this to be a floral, at least not on my skin. It's all about the bottom notes, the musk and sandalwood and patchouli. It's one of those blends that smells like idealized skin on me, like Morocco, Hod, and Sed Non Satiata.

[copyshopclerk]

In the decant: Very light and sweet - not floral like I would've expected!

 

On: I can't pick anything out, and I usually don't like honey or patchouli but I don't notice them at all! As it starts to dry, I can pick out the patchouli but the rest are so blended together that they just make kind of an airy sweetness.

 

Dry: As this dries, it feels almost aquatic, like an aquatic patchouli. It's a very fascinating scent!

[fairnymph]

In the bottle: Honey, carnation, patchouli. Spicy, mildly sweet, hints of floral and sandalwood.

 

Wet: Gardenia, bam. Sandalwood stronger. Still some carnation and patchouli; barely any honey. Not getting musk.

 

Dry: Honey coming back, carnation too. Still heavy on sandalwood but gardenia has receded somewhat. Patchouli constant. Musk emerging barely.

 

Summary: Sandalwood, honey and patchouli; hints of carnation, gardenia and musk. It's a very dry, mature scent - not for me.

[naeelah]

I think this blend is very classic and sophisticated. I'm not entirely sure what I smell off the bat -- skin musk, and something sweet and creamy, which must be the honey but smells more vanilla-like. That initial sugariness promptly burns off and the magnolia takes over. I'm not a big magnolia fan (more of than not, I'm allergic to it), but this French Magnolia note is much nicer. Still magnolia-like, of course, but it isn't giving me a headache, and as it wears, it behaves very well.

 

The most prominent notes that I'm getting are magnolia, skin musk, and sandalwood, with a hint of soft, creamy honey. (This is not the gooey, sickening honey of some other blends. It's waxier.) Luckily for me and other patchouli haters, I can't even tell that there's patchouli in this blend. (That's a miracle unto itself.)

 

It's a very "white" scent, but the combination of the skin musk and honey makes it very unlike other white florals blends. Instead of being dry and piercing, it's lush and feminine.

 

Try if it you like: Eos, Vasakassajja...

Edited May 19, 2008 by naeelah

[zankoku_zen]

Unfortunately, I don't have naeelah's luck. I get big dollops of sandalwood and patchouli, with some enticing spikes of honeyed carnations.

 

But overall, still a dirty hippie.

[Mamacat]

My newest true love!!!

I get sandalwood, skin musk and carnation as soon as I put it on my skin. There is a sweetness that must be from the honey. Oh it's so lovely! As it dries I get hints of patchouli. It's a rich, insensey kind of blend. Just what I like!

[vegasblueblood]

Something in this smells indescribably gorgeous. I think it must be the skin musk mixing with the honey and carnation because this just smells so natural and soft. It's not soft in the sense of a floral or powdery blend, it's soft in the sense of perfumed glowing skin, literally. BPAL's honey note is one of my favorites and the honey in this blend is no exception. This scent somehow manages to be golden and glowing with the sandalwood grounding it in the background. Absolutely stunning and one of my faves.

[Geminirubyshoes]

Judith & Holofernes smells like musky honey on me. The skin musk thing didnt work when I had it in a Blood Kiss imp (which I enabled my friend with) but it seems to work reaaly well now in this one. I love it! I dont get patchouli at all just deep, dark honey. I was at my friends house the other night with it on and she was like "What the hell do you have on and where can I get some?!?!?" ahh yes, the enabling continues

[gchris]

In Vial: Dark wood and dirt

 

Wet: Sweet wood and earthy. I"m smelling the honey musk which adds a nice sweetness.

 

Dry: The honey keeps getting stronger. This is a nice honey blend.

[lookingglass]

I love Judith and Holfernes just as much as I thought I would. It is the perfect blend of freshness and sweet for my skin. The musk, carnation and magnolia give the incense notes just enough lift without being too bright. There is a freshness that is subtle but welcomed with the rest of the rich notes that emerge in the drydown. Next, it is a bit woody, but the honey, immortel, and musk carry this scent down to a soft, warm, cloak of a scent. It is very much like Sed Non Satia without the nuttiness and more cream. This is what I have wanted so many fall LE's to smell like on me. It is like the fading light, the sun setting on my skin. I have fallen, people, and I have fallen hard...

 

Edited to add: DH has begged me not to wear this to work... (Too..eeehmm...sexy. Honey can do that on me...). I will save it for romantic nights in.

Edited September 13, 2008 by lookingglass

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Honey sweetened patchouli and light musk.

 

Immediately on skin: Patchouli and honey just don’t work on me… but somehow in this blend, they’re nice together. The scent is very sweet, but has the undercurrent of deep patchouli and a light touch of musk. There’s a bit of carnation and magnolia, giving the scent a breath of florals. The sandalwood adds a nice warmth as well.

 

After a little while: This is smelling a bit like Autumn to me, but sweeter and softer. More specifically, I find the honey/patchouli/musk combination smells a lot like the dry leaves in that blend. This has not changed much, except for the fact that it’s melded together even more. It’s a sweetened patchouli musk scent with a hint of light spicy florals and warm sandalwood. It’s a very warm and almost smoky scent.

 

Overall Impressions: This is a nice blend, and very complex but nicely blended. The patchouli and honey blend with the skin musk to create a very pretty scent and it’s not very floral at all… there’s just a hint of carnation upon drydown. The sandalwood adds a beautiful light and warm spiciness.

[crebbsgirl]

This one took me completely by surprise! I was expecting something a little darker especially with the inclusion of patchouli. But not so much here. What I ended up with was a skin musk and carnation blend with just a hint of patchouli and sandalwood. The honey note was very faint here, and the magnolia lent a sweet floral that normally would have turned me completely off, but here it works. This is a complex and intriguing blend, mysterious in its unexpectedness.

[Salsa Shark]

This is absolutely divine. Rich, creamy and sophisticated base of honey, magnolia and skin musk with a deep, dry spiciness from the carnation and patchouli. It blends perfectly together; it isn't really floral or musky or incense-y, but you can get a sense of each of the individual components.

 

It's definitely a strong woman scent. Unfortunately my skin chemistry amps honey up so much that after about an hour it's pretty much all I get.

[Minerva]

This blend is so beautiful, feminine and lovely. I certainly get plenty of the skin musk, the light honey, and carnation. The patchouli is there in the background and once in awhile get a hint of magnolia. I'm so happy that I got a chance to try this blend and I will be getting a bottle for sure!

[hlinspjalda]

In the vial: Sweetly floral, a bit of honey, magnolia, and a floral I don't recognize.

 

Wet: The musk comes up right away and warms this into something very sensuous. I'm getting a note that's almost aquatic, though; is that the immortelle?

 

Half an hour: Musky honey with that almost-aquatic note. I like it a lot.

 

One hour: The magnolia note isn't working on me quite as well as it sometimes does. Which is too bad, because the rest of this scent is wonderful. But it's just enough off that I'm not sure.

 

Two hours: This is a delicious, sensuous fragrance. It smells like languid sex to me: musky, sweet, floral, rich and just this side of overwhelming. I don't know if I actually dare to wear this one very often!

 

Four and a half hours: This is the most wanton, carnal scent I've sniffed so far in the whole BPAL catalogue. I don't mean it smells like skanky used sheets. No, it smells like The Unheavenly City, only much more so. It's indolent, self-indulgent, even decadent, and focused on one thing only: The Mattress Mambo. I adore it, but I'm not sure I'll ever dare wear it.

 

Later: I've been convinced that I have to wear this. Now that I'm over that conceptual hurdle, I think I'll have to acquire a bottle!

 

[ElinaMakropulos]

Hands-down my favorite scent in the catalogue. Beautiful, lush, dark...I find the patchouli to be super prominent in fresh bottles, but once it's aged a bit it rounds out very nicely and really blends well with the other notes. On me it's all sweet patchouli and honey, no florals.

 

My husband says it smells like "idealized body odor," which coming from him is a compliment

[rayvn1]

Freaking amazing! This is my (sort of a ) GC answer to the Giant Vulva LE that I did not stock up on enough The skin musk smells amazing! A sweet, light scent that doesn't glitter as much as Giant Vulva, but is slightly more comlex with its play of sweet and skin. Deeper and darker. Wonderful oil, completely bottle worthy.

[sirensea]

I tried this on while I was still bleary and not quite awake, and immediately said, 'This smells like Giant Vulva!' Thank you, BPAL, for giving me the opportunity to talk about womanly bits without actually talking about womanly bits. The skin musk note is very prominent, but not as sharp as Giant Vulva's skin musk note. It's more floral than GV, as well.

 

Good for special occasions or fancy dinner dates.

 

Or sex in the flowers.

[cranberry]

First applied, this is all honeyed musk and lush sexual florals. This reminds me a bit of the magnolia musk in Trick 1.Oh yes, as this wears this reminds me strongly of Trick 1.

 

I’m not getting much carnation from this at all, which is too bad as I love carnation. It’s just as well, as the scent is gorgeous – sultry, lush, bold and so sexy. The honeyed musk makes this seem like a skin scent but the magnolia takes it to another level.

[tajana]

It starts off with pretty much all honey. As it dries down, the honey darkens with shades of musk spiced with a dash of carnation. The magnolia blooms later, lush and sultry, ushering in a strong sandalwood note with just a bit of smooth patchouli lying beneath it, but the honeyed skin musk remains the heart of the scent. I half expected this to go powdery and weird, what with the prominent honey, but it doesn't! It's just a dark, sensual, complex musky perfume that invites you to lean in and take a deeper whiff... after an hour it's dark amber-colored (not the resin, just the color) honeyed musk, cut with a bit of dry earthiness, swirled with a heady, intoxicating floral. Even later on I get way more of the sweet and warm, enveloping sandalwood... mmm amazing sandalwood. It smells expensive. It isn't overpowering, mainly because it has barely has any throw to speak of (it seems to have a bit more throw when I put it in my hair). It doesn't morph much but fades in intensity over time. It's sophisticated and a bit sexual... it shouldn't be an every day scent, but I'm often tempted to reach for this.

Edited December 1, 2009 by tajana

[ClareDeLune]

Ooo, I like this! It reminds me of Against Idleness and Mischief, but without the greeny/herby tinge. The throw is big enough that I catch whiffs every now and then, which is nice, and after 6 hours this scent is going strong. Win!

[cinderfallen]

This is an extremely elegant perfume. There are a lot of novelty scents in the BPAL catalogue that really evoke the concept, but few true perfumes. I love the execution of this and would really recommend this as a gift for someone who's not into BPAL.

 

Woody sandalwood supports the subtle floral, and the honey is just a touch of syrup to the airy magnolia. It's the same magnolia as in Yvaine, actually and it really works to act as the transition note between the sandalwood and the carnation.

[Violaine]

This is almost straight up skin musk and honey on me, which is a very good thing. I absolutely adore both notes, and apparently my skin likes them too since that's what I'm amping. If I really stick my nose to my arm I can smell something slightly spicy in there, so I'm going to assume that's the carnation. I don't get the patchouli at all (which is a great thing for me) or the sandalwood. I want to say that the immortelle is there in the background, even though I have never smelled the single note itself before... but loving The Girl like I do and knowing it's included in that blend makes me think I can smell it here too.

 

Bah, rambling. It's gorgeous. It's a musky, sweet (but not sickly sweet) skin scent that is deliciously sensual and sexual, maybe even almost sinister. Though that would make sense, wouldn't it, given the subject? I will say that I smell a certain similarity between this Giant Vulva, which also has skin musk and honey in it.

 

Very glad I bought my bottle unsniffed.

[heathercaley]

Ohhhhhh my goddddd

 

I am in teh love with this for sure! Once applied, I get a sweet honeyed skin musk, warmed with patchouli and sandalwood. The resins are so smokey and freaking gorgeous, but not dirty at all. This is something that everybody would love to wear. The honey in this one is not a syrupy honey at all. It's more of a honey musk. It's beautiful and feminine, but not sugary sweet at all. There's also an airy floral note that's hidden in the background. It isn't a note that you can pick out easily. It's there as a supporting role rather than a main note focus.

 

 

I'm going to be needing a bottle of this!

[alioth]

Everyone who says this is divine? Is so very right. This is divine. It's sweet, musky, sexy skin, the most idealized and sexual kind of womanly body-smell ever. There's something just a little spicy-smoky about it that gives it a very elegant, almost dangerous edge. So glad I have a bottle of this. It feels classic enough to wear to dress up, and it's oddly empowering to wear. Really captures Judith's expression in the painting perfectly somehow.

 

And it lasts and lasts--9 hours after application it's still wafting up to my nose.