Bezoar

[Tesseljoan]

Copaiba balsam, Tolu balsam, hay absolute, cardamom, and hiba wood.

Cardemom and... amber. When this scent dries, it becomes a heady tunisian amber on my skin (I know, I know, it's not there). No wood notes for me, but a beautiful round and warm scent. Hoarding time. Edited July 17, 2008 by Shollin

[Wwindy]

I get the cardamom and something vaguely grassy. There's a slightly plasticky, almost pickle-like edge to the spice (I think that's the wood doing something weird to it), and the plant matter is ominously ... uh... not fresh. Like it might be on the verge of mildewing, actually.

 

This one is not playing nice with my chemistry. Woe!

 

ETA: I just couldn't believe this one wasn't working for me, so I went back and tried it again. This time when it was wet it started out not just pickle-y, but salty green olive-y! There's something faintly grassy and something almost nutty going on underneath the awfulness -- but whatever that one horrible note is, I just can't cope with it. Off to wash my wrist!

Edited October 17, 2008 by Wwindy

[Mishinka]

I'd avoided reading the reviews before I wrote my thoughts down on these so that I could be sure I was writing my own impressions instead of other people's, but I had to go look for this one. I have no idea what I smell in this bottle.

 

It's woody and weird, and not in a good way. People over there are saying they smell wood and cardmom, which I guess I can pick up on a second sniff. There's those, and there's a sourness that might be the balsams, and some hay. There's also something I can't even describe. It's...salty, maybe? I don't even really want to try it. But if there's one thing I'm really good at, it's charging ahead despite my better judgment, so...

 

On: Oh, ew. This is the first scent I've tried that I consider actively gross. All I smell is the weird note from the imp, but stronger. It is can be wash tiems naow.

[alexandra]

Oh my beautiful Bezoar.

 

In the bottle: Fresh, zippy cardomom being popped on a hay bale.

 

Wet: At Christmas I make Christmas wigs, an old-fashioned British rock cake with dried fruit, cardomom seeds, ginger and cinnamon. Bezoar smells just like them before they are baked. Gorgeous.

 

Dry:Deepens and becomes comforting, baked onto the skin in the best possible way.

 

And?: A lovely, refreshing alternative to my darling Shub. It is dry but delicious. Traditionally the wigs it reminds me of are eaten dipped in mulled wine after wassailing or after a mummers' play and I could see it layered with a wine blend. Delish. Another bottle might be required.

[Stephanie]

ooo..this is strange.

 

Straight from the bottle, I get fizzy, salty rootbeer! On the skin it's dry bitter wood--ancient-smelling wood--and rootbeer.

 

This is pretty potent now so I'm thinking that, after a few months, this will mellow out and I will get the beautiful-ness that other people are getting.

Edited July 20, 2008 by Stephanie

[filigree_shadow]

I do not know how to review this scent. I don't know what it smells like. I guess wood? And a little bit of cardamom? But... it doesn't really smell like that. The wood is like really really green wood or something. It doesn't smell like any wood note I'm familiar with. Hay absolute? I don't think I smell hay, either.

 

I get what a previous reviewer said about smelling something kind of pickle-like. Yeah, it's kind of like that. It's sour-tart like a pickle is, but try applying that quality to wood and see what scent you get: Bezoar.

 

It's just very... odd. I'm not saying that I don't like it, but I'm not sure I like it either. Perhaps I should hold on to the decant for a while and try it later on.

[Ilex]

Very woody, like a woodshop full of sawdust. Yay! And a sigh of relief that it isn't going sweet or over lemony.

 

But there is a little bit of finish oil or polish in there. Something astringent.

 

I can imagine if the cardamon came out to play this would be magnificent. I'm not catching even a hint of it though.

 

Wear is very close to the skin. I barely pick up on it, and my over sensitive hubby noticed it not at all. If it was stronger on me, with the cardmon note, I think I'd get a bottle. As it is, I like my imp.

[Aredhel]

Rating (on skin): 1/5

Summarised in a few words/smilie: Spicy pickle juice.

 

In the imp: Whoa... ew. Sour and just... sour.

 

On skin, wet: I haven't a clue what the heck in this is making it so sour, but it smells like cardamom and pickle juice. So weird.

 

On skin, dry: Sour sawdust and cardamom. This has got to be one of the strangest BPAL scents I've ever smelled.

 

Conclusion: Definitely, definitely not for me. It smells strange in the vial, but I sniffed it on a friend last week, and it was pure woody cardamom love. Skin chemistry is such a weird thing.

[oakmoss]

What a curious and compelling scent this is! It's a golden wood, with a delicate spice note, as if a smooth wooden bowl had been rubbed with dry spices. It doesn't morph very much, but stays true on my skin. It is one of those where I had to keep sniffing it (the nose glued to wrist syndrome) to try to uncover its mystery -- what does this remind me of??? What does it MEAN?? I'm finding this to be a common theme among the 13 curiosities -- they are not easy to pin down and comprehend. This is one I will be getting a bottle of.

[sofaking6]

I get all super sweet resins from this. Dry resins, that is the hay. The cardamom is warm and foody-sweet. The resin deep and enveloping.

 

Yeah I want to smell like this all.the.time. The Wunderkammer is amazing.

[blu°]

Yay, a winner. This is smooth woody-balsamic grey-brown-shades, a forest floor and burnt woods smell to my nose. Love it.

 

It seems to have a note in common with Succour and Brass Balls, possibly one of the balsam notes, I'd guess.

 

ETA: Sadly, this doesn't last long on me, or at least it doesn't stay strong for a lot of time. After it has dried down it's just a whisper of dry grass and those balsamic notes on my skin. It melds incredibly well into my skin scent, and is still pleasant, but I have to sniff it really close.

 

Reading the other reviews, my experience is totally different. Bezoar doesn't have anything that I'd identify as sour on my skin and to my nose. It's warm and soft and resinous, almost golden, but with smoky pastel grey-brown-olive shades.

 

I'm not sure a bottle would be worth the money for me, as I literally slathered this on in the morning, yet couldn't smell much of it anymore a good hour later. I'm a bit sad and a bit relieved now.

Edited August 6, 2008 by blu°

[anardana]

I really, really wanted to like this.. but I don't It doesn't smell warm and sweet like I expected.. I see other people using the word "sour", which I think I agree with.. it dries down to a tolerable dry-wood-y scent, but wet it is just gross!

 

Edit: I re-tried this after letting my imp sit for a couple of months - and now I really like it! It smells like what it is supposed to. I don't know if it was the aging.. but now I want a 5ml! So, try not to judge Bezoar too hastily.

Edited November 4, 2008 by anardana

[mazikeen]

I ordered this simply because of the Harry Potter reference... yeah, I'll admit it. I'm that kinda nerd. Plus, the woodsiness of it seemed very appealing.

 

At first it's all cedar-- wonderful, warm cedar.

 

Yeeears ago, I had Crabtree & Evelynn body wash that was cedar & orange. I loved that stuff and portioned it out as if it were liquid gold. It was one of the first things that made me pay attention to scent in general and broadened my horizons past the strawberry essential oil that I'd worn since a teenager. Bezoar promises a return to this long-missed scent, minus the orange. It's cedar-- comforting and woodsy. Unfortunately, this stage only lasts about a half-hour.

 

Then, it kinda... sours? Is that the right word? It's not bad (nothing I have to wash off) but it's not really great either. Alas. This stage lasts a LOOONG time-- 14 hours later I could still smell it clearly nose-to-wrist. One of the longest-lasting BPALs I've yet discovered.

 

I think I'll try it a few more times, because I really want to like it. We shall see.

 

Added--

Verdict: I'm keeping Bezoar. That woodsy smell is nice, but mostly I'll be wearing this with other scents. It provides a nice balance-- I can put something more feminine-smelling on, but then sneak in Bezoar in the crooks of my elbows to "ground" a light or floral scent.

Edited August 13, 2008 by mazikeen

[Apple]

Finally... a perfect chai tea scent! Er, sort of. I've combed the BPAL catalogue looking for something reminiscent of chai, but I never found sweet, spicy, milky tea... only disappointment. Bengal, Plunder, Bakeneko, even Clemence... all broke my chai-loving heart. But Bezoar was a delightful chai-surprise. Sniffing the imp, I could positively drink this stuff. The cardamom is this is so dominant that I smell like a freshly brewed cup of chai while it's wet. If it stayed in this phase, I would run off into the sunset with Bezoar after buying a million bottles before the Carnaval leaves town. But there's something holding me back, something giving me cold feet about giving my heart to Bezoar completely. There's a plasticky note when it dries, the same one I get from Miskatonic University (Irish coffee, dusty tomes, polished wood) and Twenty-One (a martini scent that is mostly gin/juniper). And then... it's gone, leaving only a breathy whisper of scent behind.

 

I'm definitely going to keep my little sample for awhile longer to see if that plastic note fades or if Bezoar gets stronger/longer lasting before making a commitment. He comes on wonderfully strong, but I'm not sure he's got what it takes for the long haul.

 

Ooo... I wonder if wearing Bezoar in my hair or in a locket would help. Maybe there's hope for us yet...

[edenssixthday]

Bezoar - Hay blends never work work on me, and this one smells like dust and hay - lots of dust and hay. It smells kind of like the front room of my mom's barn. It's gone in two hours and on me, the sillage is quite poor.

[MeiLin]

In the imp: Cardamom and balsam.

 

Wet: owie! My skin doesn't like something in this.

 

Dry: Spicy woods, heavy on the balsam, sweetened by the hay and cardamom. This would go well on either a man or a woman.

 

Sir doesn't like it, so that settles it.

[kawaiiferreto]

 

Really. Wow.

 

This is everything I wanted Hay Moon to be that it wasn't (it went oddly smoky on me.) A lovely warm woody and inviting scent. I could see me wearing this often. MUST HAVE BOTTLE.

[AEris]

The balsam notes in this blend are not pine-fresh at ALL, they're golden and resinous - I am mostly reminded of the pinion salve that you can find in trading posts all over Navajo Nation.

 

There is also a very strong amber note, which is mingling with the hay so much that they are indistinguishable from one another.

 

This is a deeply golden scent, and it's fascinating.

 

4.3 out of 5

[VioletChaos]

in the vial: cardamom! (oh, and some notes in the background )

 

wet on skin: that cardamom is STRONG. this may be the cardamom scent i've been waiting for!

 

dry down: sadly, the cardamom seems to have vanished entirely. however! the sweet resinous tolu balsam has picked up the slack, and it's really nice.

 

in all: turns into a sweet, warm scent, without being food-y. i could see this being good for layering, or wearing solo on crisp Autumnal evenings to come...

 

 

[Czarina]

In the bottle: overwhelming cardamom and wet wood.

Wet: cardamom and some unidentifiable, but unspeakably vile, odor. It's almost like...cod liver oil. Bizarre.

Drydown: balsam, hay, wood, and sweet cardamom. Wow! How does it do that? I am happy and relieved because I really liked the idea of a cardamom scent but I was really discouraged by smelling it in the bottle.

 

I hate, hate, hate the first five minutes of this scent. Once I get past that, I really like it. My guess is that I would not like it in a scent locket, which sustains the earlier phases of many scents for me.

Edited August 31, 2008 by Czarina

[zankoku_zen]

I got the spicy woods on this, instead of the fabulous chai that everyone speaks off. Very spicy and resiny. Not my kind of blend, but definitely delicious!

[Miss Lynx]

I wasn't initially drawn to this one from reading the descriptions, because the hay note sounded sneezy to me. But I ended up trying a dab from a friend's decant accidentally (got it on my hands while opening the imp to sniff) and it really wasn't bad at all. Kind of a warm, woodsy, spicy herbal. The hay doesn't stand out too much after all -- it's much more balsam/wood/spice.

 

Now I'm regretting not ordering a decant for myself... I may have to track one down somewhere for further testing.

 

 

Grade: B/B+

[Ohmaude]

Bezoar slathered on my wrist is such a eerily familiar scent.

 

If you went to a dimestore fortune-teller and she informed you that in a past life you were a spice merchant, and spent your time amongst wooden chests of spices, this is what that past life would smell like.

 

The basalm is the dominant note, bringing to mind dark polished wood. The cardemom is full and lovely and I might as well be standing in an old spice shop in the market, with cardemom piled in front of me. It's cardemom by the pound all scrunched up into a little vial of oil. The hay absolute is dry and golden and almost boozy. It's like the golden flecks in a fine piece of polished wood. Ah! I see what you did there.

 

This is quite unlike any other BPAL I've tried. I forgot how singular a note basalm can be. Dark wood and unisex. Yum! I will be dipping into my decant, and this is probably going on my (increasingly long) CD bottle wishlist.

[tinyvulture]

warm, sweet woods. so sweet, almost syrupy. i’m not sure if it’s the copaiba balsam, tolu balsam or hiba wood – or perhaps all three – that is the source of this incredible sweetness, but i love it. then there’s the wonderful indian spiciness of cardamom. cardamom is a note that often disappears on my skin, but not in this case! this is a rich, deep scent with good throw -- a new favorite!

[butcherbaby]

sweet pickles.....and nothing else.

 

O_O

 

not exactly what i want to smell like. i'm envious of those who get all those yummy ambers and hays and spices.

 

*SWAP*

Edited October 17, 2008 by butcherbaby