Pepper

[Sapphy]

Wild English roses, French gardenia, vanilla, honey, golden ginger, blood orange, pine resin, pink pepper, crushed berries, tuberose, bergamot, and geranium.

Pepper smells like lush, steamy flowers and a peppery bite. The pepper is just enough to give the blend a dangerous sort of backbone, while the flowers would seem deceptively soft and feminine. I can also catch whiffs of vanilla and honey underneath the flora, while berries intermingle among the flowers to give it body. This is a flushed sort of pink, very warm, feminine but not girly.

[bryghtrose]

The pepper and the florals engaged in a quick and dirty fight, and the pepper won.

[SarahScent44]

In the imp, this is light yet spicy - I get an initial subtle hit of honey, vanilla, and orange, and then the ginger makes its appearance.

 

On my skin, I get more honey, ginger, the orange, and then there's just a hint of the florals in the background.

 

When it dries, it's a beautiful, complex blend - first the ginger, then the vanilla and honey, and finally a whiff of florals in the background. Not for me, but utterly amazing.

[tativa]

At first it smells like a wonderful spicy subtlely berry gingerbread... yumm... I can see the hermia references (which started off good on me too, and then turned into amber powder)

 

I loved it... and then within 10 mins my skin ate it up. I had my nose glued to my wrist for the next hour, looking for something, anything. But alas, Pepper was lost.

 

My skin must have seen the evil grinning red head on the label, and gone 'o, thats me.' and eaten all the smell. O Pepper... we had so much in common!

 

It is beautiful while it lasts, but officially the shortest lasting BPAL on me ever!

 

Edit 2/17/09:

This has aged divinely! Its one of my to 10, and def my fav pink pepper scents ever. Its creamy, and soft, but with a kick. Lasts quite a while too.

It was just meh for the first few months, but man does pepper age well.

Edited February 17, 2009 by tativa

[Little Bird]

Pepper smells prettier in the bottle than she does on my skin. In the bottle, this smells wonderfully complex, sweet and exotic - a swirl of juicy fruits, sweet florals, honeyed vanilla, & hints of sassy spice. On my skin, this is watered down orange juice with honey added in. It's not bad, but it's not really interesting or great either, and I have a lot of other orange blends that work a lot better for me. And Pepper is such a light scent on me; it disappears entirely after about twenty light minutes. I wish it smelled as nice on me as it does in the bottle...

[jehrichardson]

I'm starting to wonder if I'm going to like *anything* in the bottle!

 

Bottle: I love the concept behind Pepper and eagerly snort at the bottle. Hm. Smells like a muffin candle in a candle shop. One where they add "butter" and "vanilla" to "Something" and call it "Something Muffin". Euch.

 

On the Skin: After a minute the artificial butter flavoring goes away and we start getting spices. Roiling and exotic! I'm getting lots of cinnamon now, not my favorite. The florals start pulling ahead. So feminine!

 

After a While: Fades quickly into soft sweet woods, very lovely!

 

Verdict: Keeper. Not my favorite, and takes a bit of faith to put it on. The end game is lovely, but the first half hour is ooky.

Edited July 30, 2008 by j4r

[nightbiscuit]

Pew! This is not okay. It smelled like a really robust and pretty floral in the imp, but as soon as I put it on, the pink pepper becomes overpowering. There is a hint of a yummy juiciness from the blood orange, but the pepper is just too strong.

 

EDIT: Hmm. Actually, this orange is kind of nice, and the ginger has emerged.... But still too much pepper for me. Hence, I suppose, the name.

Edited July 31, 2008 by nightbiscuit

[herbhealer]

I love the blend of flowers and spices of this scent, unfortunately one note or combination of notes came up as rotten eggs on me. I wish there was some way to extract it, so I could enjoy the rest of this beautiful scent!

[voodoocatwoman]

Whoa! Spicy spice!! I have a noseful of ginger and pepper with a hint of cardamom in there for good measure. When it dries, gardenia comes to the fore. This is definitely a powerful scent. Good thing I like it. Muchly.

[femmefatale]

hmmm....I was really worried about trying this since I seem to amp pepper and pepper makes me *very* sick.

 

This on the other hand....yum! I think I like pink pepper and I'm so happy that this isn't yet another rose blend that doesn't immediently go all powdery or old lady on me.

I can definitely pick up the rose and pepper, but I can catch a hint of the orange and geranium and a very very slight hint of berries.

 

This is actually very pretty and it's so nice to know that there is a pepper I can wear. I'm not sure about a bottle yet since I tend to be drawn more to other types (very fruity, coconut, aquatic, or darker scents), but I'm defnitely keeping the imp.

[alhbooks]

In the bottle, a bit spicy, but almost bland at first application; seconds later a ginger/orange/honey blend with subtle floral undertones starts wafting upward from my wrists and I’m in love. The ginger hangs in there and it's aging very well.

[Brianne]

I was afraid of the rose in this, but it turns out that the rose is actually pretty subdued in this. I definitely get the ginger over it - the effect is a sort of clean and feminine rose scent with a slight spicy sweet edge. It's a nice take on a rose scent - it's got enough going on to be interesting and to work for most occassions.

[Dark Alice]

The notes that I was afraid....I am not afraid in this....the rose is subdued and lovely, the gardenia is playfully light and the vanilla and the ginger is treading lightly in the background. Blended together.....this is truly beautiful. I am so glad that I have just a partial, because I don't see myself wearing this too often...

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

4 scents i love,

4 scents i hate

4 scents that can go either way

 

verdict? the "meh"s have it, but they're leaning precariously towards the bad side of the scale.

this smells so odd, like The Oval Portrait for a base but with some grapefruit, Trix cereal and a pile of dirty laundry nearby.

 

very not what i had expected, and without the gardenia this might be bottle-worthy.

[caitilarkin]

Got a frimp of this from a lovely and generous forumite

 

In the imp: Honey and subdued, rich florals

Wet on skin: The florals are behaving beautifully, even rose and gardenia which usually go crazy on my skin. The pink pepper is in the background adding a tiny hint of sweet spiciness.

 

Dry on skin: More resinous and slightly more spicy, with the florals still prominent.

 

This is one of the few blends with rose to work on me. And it's the first where gardenia has played nicely with the other scents. It's not quite as sassy as I expected, but I love it.

[arachne]

I'm really loving Pepper. There is so much going on, but it's incredible how well blended it is. The one note that stands out for me is the ginger. It's not a sharp ginger, but soft and subdued. I imagine the mix of florals is what's giving it such a romantic feel and the blood orange is quite obvious in the dry down on me, which is just fine. I'm so glad I bought a full bottle of this. It makes me feel unique and kick ass. ...just like Pippin Galadriel Moonchild, aka Pepper herself

 

Wild English roses, French gardenia, vanilla, honey, golden ginger, blood orange, pine resin, pink pepper, crushed berries, tuberose, bergamot, and geranium.

[Leopard403]

Oh, man, why did I wait so long to try this? This goes on similar to Alice, but then the bright pepper comes out. The honey and the gardenia blend together seamlessly and really linger on my skin. This is feminine and sexy and fantastic!

[Gin]

Pepper

 

Oh, boo. I don't know if I'm going through a weird skin chemistry phase or what, but I feel like I'm amping ginger. Pepper is sooooo gingery on me. No berries, no vanilla or honey, just ginger ginger ginger ginger ginger. Too bad, because I like the concept, and I like the notes listed.

[angelicruin]

Inside the imp, very spicy & resinous.

 

On my skin, spicy ginger. Not getting any floral notes with this and no vanilla. As it dries, I am picking up the fruit notes underneath.

 

Interesting, but not worthy of a full bottle, I don't think.

[splendidissima]

Just wonderful--I'm so glad I gave in and got a bottle of this. It's like a more complex version of Hermia, which has always been one of my favorites. But this might be better.

 

Orange and honey (and I love orange scents), with a strong (very strong) wave of pepper and ginger, adding spice to the sweetness. The florals are there, but only in the background, more of a grounding note than anything else. Which is fine by me, as I'm not a big fan of florals usually. Just gorgeous, and as others have mentioned, multifaceted--it's feminine and sweet, but sparkling with a bit of mischief.

 

My mom (who usually likes tropical fruits and florals) also told me that I smelled wonderful. I think I'll have to get her a bottle so she won't take mine.

Edited July 7, 2009 by splendidissima

[topazphoenix]

This is lovely! Spices, citrus, honey, floral, blooming headiliy on my wrist...it reminds me a lot of The Hanging Gardens, which was love.

[cinnamonster]

I had high hopes for this but it starts as single note pink pepper, and stays that way. I don't really like it.

[sofaking6]

In the bottle: Gardenia, rose and honey

 

On wet: buttery orange and ginger. The rose is hiding somewhere, but I can smell the gardenia, it's a great pairing for the orange, both bright and mischievous. I can feel the pepper if I hold it up close and inhale, but mostly it's just spicing up the fruity/floral thing going on.

 

Dry: More pepper, more gardenia, more honeyed orange, less butter. Still spicy-sweet with florals in the background. I'm thrilled to have a bottle of this! It's such an interesting and complex blend, with so much character and life to it. I could really see wearing this daily, it speaks to my personal femininity. Whatever that means <g>

[levelek]

My Pepper decant has finally arrived! I am going to write this without re-reading the other reviews.

 

In the vial: not what I expected at all! The first impression was a dull, low-lying note resembling tobacco, with something juicier and fresher playing around the edges. It brought Kali to mind, of all things! As I kept sniffing, the rose notes peeked out.

 

On wet: again, not what I expected! All ginger and pine resin and pepper, with perhaps some faint bergamot. The pepper is tickling the back of my nose, and the overall impression is clearing my sinuses a little. Not a hint of the vanilla, the honey or any sweetness.

 

Dry: Becoming sweeter - but still not sweet, not that I'm complaining - and the flowers are asserting themselves. The pine and the ginger are closely intertwined. After a few minutes it turns a little soapy. Then the soap thankfully recedes, and it's florals and ginger and pine again.

 

I will come back and add how Pepper continued to behave. So far, a surprise and a definite morpher! It captures the spirit of a tomboyish little girl very well.

Edited October 14, 2009 by levelek

[rayvn1]

Pepper was all sweet, soft floral on me. Lots of rose, which wasn't surprising since I amp it pretty hardcore. I wish I could get the pepper and orange out of it that others do! hints of honey turn up a little later. Pretty, but not for me.