Brom Bones

[ClareN]

The butchest, manliest of musks covered in well-worn leather.

First of all, I have to say a big thank you to the Lab: I ordered two bottles of Brom Bones, one for me and one for a friend, and they left one out by accident, but I emailed them and I was very impressed with how promptly they replied and sent out a replacement. Great customer service.

This is a wonderful scent. I can see where people are getting fresh, watery, and green tea-like. I think it's the leather note that's giving that impression. (To clarify - this does not have any of the traditional BPAL aquatic notes, so don't be afraid if you hate aquatics.) It's the same leather note from Quincy Morris, which seems more refined and grey and tea-like than the warmer, smokier leather in De Sade. On the leather scale, I like Brom Bones more than Quincy but not as much as De Sade.

Leather is more prominent at first, and the scent turns more musky on the drydown. I can't quite tell what sort of musk it is. It's not black musk, which is good because I don't need another black musk scent. I want to say white musk, but white musk couldn't be "the butchest, manliest of musks", right? It is a cleaner, fresher scent than I expected, although it's still angry and dark, if that makes sense.

As others have mentioned, this is very potent with major throw. It's probably not a scent I will wear on its own very often, but I love experimenting with layering, and this will be a good one to add more bite and intensity to certain scents.

By the way, I am almost positive that this has a few components in common with Theodosius from Carnaval Diabolique. Brom Bones is the Mr. Hyde to Theodosius' Dr. Jekyll.

Short version: if you like the concept, try it! It does what it says on the box.

[Hayet]

AAAAK! Leather! Way too butch for me, and possibly too butch for my husband. This is seriously testosterone-laden, dirty cowboy leather. If there's musk in there, it's hidden by the rawhide. But if you love leather, this is one helluva distinctly perfect leather scent.

 

Seriously. Leather. In a lockeroom. Eeep. NOT a girly-girl perfume.

[SeaLady]

Hmmmmmm.

 

I like this on me, I think. I definitely want to try it on the Boy, who has Quincey Morris and smells nummy in it. It's a very manly leather indeed, but not the deep dark (danger sex) leather of Loviatar and Crowley, this one is warmer. Warm, brown, well-polished leather - like a saddle, or some boots, or gloves that are for working and not for the cold. I would swear that I can actually smell the polished surface of it. Ok, I actually just smelled my brown polished boot, and it's a little like that

[hkhm]

bottle: whoa! leather!

 

wet: this like a mixture of brand new suede shoes and a nice well-worn leather jacket.

 

dry: leather. yep, pretty much all leather.

[VioletChaos]

in the vial: strong leather

 

wet on skin: same.

 

dry down: SAME! only the barest breath of musk at all- and i'm *really* searching for it.

 

in all: i guess i was hoping for more musk in this blend to level it out. instead it seems to be more of a straight up leather single note. and if that's your thing, by all means- get several bottles of this. for me however, i think i'll pass.

 

 

[Argentwolf]

This scent is definitely as advertised: leather and musk. The 'leather' aspect evokes brand-new, shiny, supple, oiled leather; it's like walking into a Wilsons showroom (or any other store that specializes in leather coats and goods). The musk is a pure, clean skin-musk that is verrrrrrry delicious; it smells just like fresh, clean man-skin. The combination makes it a pretty damned intriguing scent. I don't need a bottle, but I'm definitely keeping my imp, and I'd recommend wearing this to anyone who wants a highly-interested woman or three to follow them home.

[aquazoo]

Leather, a bit sharp to start. I'm not getting the musk, but this is a good leather, very wearable. I like this!

[Schmoozy]

The scent of leather and musk.

Well worn leather and musk that has been applied hours ago.

It is faint and light, not overwhelming. It smells like I buried my face in the crook of my husbands neck, just as he is getting home from work. This is freaking yummy.

[zankoku_zen]

Okay, if I were a guy, Brom Bones would be the sex. I would be a total lady killer. It's got that leather from C. Auguste Dupin, and it's just manly, butch leather. Dupin went scary on me, and the leather was too much. Here it's sleek and just manly. The testosterone comes out in waves. There's I think a tiny tinge of citrus on the drydown.

 

It smells horrible on the husband. On him, the entire combination smells like a chemical preservative.

 

So way too butch for me to wear, and on him, it's utter disaster.

 

Good thing he fell for the Hessian instead.

[MeiLin]

In the imp it's overwhelmingly leather, a clean, well-scrubbed, well-mink-oiled leather, like that of tack or some other often-used, often-cleaned tool. This is not a black leather but a tan one--thick, cheerful and young, not in the least pervy. To my nose it would make a wonderful layering note in small doses to "butch" things up. I'd like to try it on an overly sweet floral or foodie. On Sir, it's a clean scent, very pleasant and good for daytime. I don't know if we need a bottle, but I like it very much.

[porcelina]

hmm. i can't decide if i like brom bones or not. to me the leather does not smell as worn as i expected... maybe i was expecting something softer, like suede, but it smells a bit plasticky and shiny to me. more like pleather than leather. the musk is wonderful, though, and it really comes out on my skin. i wonder if aging will improve it.

[DarthArwen]

My notes say: 'Freshly showered man in comfy leather coat . Yum.'

 

That about describes it. I love the scent of leather and this is what I hoped De Sade would be - like a well-worn leather coat. De Sade is just incredibly acrid and chemically treated leather on me. Brom starts off as 'too much for me' but mellows out and then works really nicely.

 

Brom is yummy, though I'm teetering between 'I can pull this off' and 'I need a guy to smear this on'. Maybe it depends on the mood.

 

The only thing that would have improved it for me would be the tiniest hint of beeswax - then it would have had a perfect horse-stable-hot-man-just-cleaned-tack balance.

Edited October 19, 2008 by DarthArwen

[Leopard403]

Well hello, Brom. *waggles eyebrows* You are a bit too manly for me, so walk on over there and molester my boyfriend, m'kay? Do I sense a bottle or two in his Christmas stocking this year? I think so!

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Very clean leather and musk.

 

Immediately on skin: This smells of leather and musk. Surprised? Well it’s more than that. It’s a very clean musk and leather scent, and is much lighter-smelling than I was expecting. It has a cologney overtone to it that I like.

 

After a little while: This has hardly morphed at all. It’s still clean, dry leather and musk with a slight cologne-like note.

 

Overall Impressions: This blend is simple, but well blended and nice. It’s edging into masculine for me, but could definitely be unisex. I like this one much more than I thought I would; it’s clean, but warm.

[aestus]

I got hooked on BPAL about 1.5 years ago when a friend brought out her imps. I fell in love with De Sade, so she gave it to me... didn't work so well on her. I promptly got online and spent hours reading through the website, followed by starting an ever-growing collection. I found a few scents that came close to reaching the De Sade pedestal, but nothing quite toppled it... Sin tried, Two Monsters is working out a strategy, Doc Constantine is sure he will get there one day.

 

Then I received my Halloween order. Brom Bones just casually walked in and took control. No aggression, no overpowering... just simply "I'm here. Everything will be OK now." OMG he's sooo sexy!

 

I went to a party last night and wore Brom Bones. Being a gay boy, many of my girl friends are quite comfortable being all cuddly with me at a party, but last night even the straight guys kept their faces buried in my neck for longer than a casual hello hug. Not only do I absolutely love this scent, it seems that other people love it on me too. One friend called it "an orientation changer".

 

I need to get more of this before the deadline. I have a feeling 5ml won't last very long around here.

[Archaic Smile]

This is without a doubt moving to my BPAL favorites list. The leather can be a little strong at the initial application, but once it dries it settles into a warm, well worn leather with an under-current of sweet spice. I tend to favor scents that are earthy/feminine, but "The butchest, manliest of musks covered in well-worn leather," is freaking fabulous on my skin.

[moon_lemming]

Oh, let's see, leather and musk, WILL THIS END WELL?

 

While strictly leather in the imp, Brom Bones picks up other notes on my skin. It's actually smelling pretty good, omg. Is that vanilla? No sign of stanky musks and the leather is behaving! OH MY GOODNESS. Now if only I could pull off masculine scents, sigh.

 

It is a good leather/vanilla combo, oh man. Dear Brom Bones, you sort of make me want to be a boy.

[mazikeen]

I had a good feeling about this one and bought a bottle after reading only one review. Wet, I was afraid I'd be disappointed, but then... holy crap. This is AMAZING.

 

*nuzzle wrist* Ohmigod, I want to make out with my arm.

 

I don't smell a lot of leather; mostly just musk. It's not overly masculine (as I feared it'd be) and is very wearable. There's not a lot of throw-- it's pretty close to the skin, but that's okay. Its a confident scent and the mild throw keeps it from being too in-your-face.

 

This could be my go-to everyday scent. LOVE.

 

Added--

Months later, Husband opens my box of BPAL. Roots around looking for his bottle. "Hey, what's this? Brom Bones. I know that guy." Sniffs. "What are you doing with this? Holy crap, manly. It's all leather." Douses himself and feels tough. He still smells great when he gets home, although the scent seems to hang around on his clothing more than his skin.

Edited December 17, 2008 by mazikeen

[tinyvulture]

so much leather, like walking into a men's shoe store! oiled, smooth leather, with a hint of sweetness from the musk. i always approve of musk; it seems to enhance any other note it's paired with. if you're not a musk fan, you might want to stay away. my husband loves this, and i love it on him. suddenly, i don't regret foolishly swapping my bottle of dead man's hand quite so much.

Edited November 6, 2008 by tinyvulture

[rayvn1]

Musk and Leather - my two favorite words in my BPAL vocabulary This was everything I hoped it would be and oh soooooo much more! This has the staying power and throw that I couldn't get from DeSade or Whip and that musk just makes it so warm and sexy! I'm ordering a bottle tonight before it goes down.

[abejita]

I got a decant and I tried it on the man I'm seeing these days and it was instant love. I'm not a leather fan, but somehow this is so warm and rich with the musks that it works. He thought so too, he inhaled and immediately mentioned Xmas presenty goodness. I ordered him a bottle tonight.

[Apple]

Delicious. Sensual. Sexual. LEATHER.

 

Brom Bones now reigns as the king of my BPAL leather loves. I was afraid of the "butchest, manliest of musks" - on my skin, "manly" musks usually translate into baby powder. But there are no babies' bums in this bottle, oh no. Just sexy, sexy leather with a slightly salty warmth. It's like... C. Auguste Dupin without the weird lavender note. Or Jolly Roger without the ozoney freshness. It's lickable.

 

I am so, so sad that I did not have the cash to purchase a bottle of Brom Bones while he was available. I'll definitely be hunting down a bottle on the swaps board...

[stefrand]

(This was tried on my DH)

 

ITI: Leather! Musk! It smells just like the description says, and it smells great. It isn't heavy, but is light and astringent like a lot of lab scents tend to be ITI.

 

Wet: Leather is the strongest note. It smells like ITI on the skin pretty closely but is less astringent.

 

Dry: He smells like spicy, musky leather..

 

Drydown: Musky leather still. Strong and very masculine. The longest notes are soft leather and soft musk. It stays remarkably true.

 

Final Thoughts: He smells good! I'm not sure that it's a good fit for D, though. He needs something a little more subtle and a little less, "Hi there, I'm a MAN...a MANLY MAN of MANLINESS!" to wear on a day-to-day basis.

[Indigo78]

First off, like many who have reviewed Mr. Bones, I've been searching far and wide for the perfect leather blend. Several have let me down in that to my nose, they were too either sickeningly medicinal (C. Auguste Dupin), overtly synthetic (DeSade), or distractedly muddled with "other" notes (Whip, Depraved, Shrunken Heads). Brom, could you be "the one"? The one I can layer with vanilla or honey one day, and wear alone the next?

 

In the bottle: Seriously not-shy leather, lascivious and unblinking, cupped in an honest, believable whisper of skin musk. Yum.

 

Wet on the skin this calls up DeSade, but less plastic. Please, please don't turn to pleather!

 

That was my main issue with some of the other leathery blends...they pack a commercial leather punch that just doesn't do it for me. This, however, is the leather that's been tight against human skin on a regular basis. Sexy. I am a little disappointed in the musk. I expected it to be stronger for some reason. When I actually consider the character this represents it makes sense, I suppose. BB is strapping, shameless, and youthful. Not a grandfatherly or quintessential "I am man" blend at all, on my skin. Bonus, since my preferences scent-wise have a feminine (i.e. girly-girl) slant.

 

As it dries down I continue to get wafts of pure leather- almost a single note - but the subtle musk doesn't quite allow for that. There's a certain dusty feel to the drydown, too. Like others have said, this is Western Diamondback minus the Snake Oil, in all of it's fresh-oiled saddle horn glory. I'm feeling lucky to have a bottle of this one. Best BPAL leather scent so far, and my new go to until something better comes along.

 

*edited for sense-making purposes

Edited December 15, 2008 by Indig0

[lilacea]

Hell, I had such high hopes for this. I lurve leather scents, especially worn leather. The musk was somewhat of a worry, as I tend to prefer the lighter musks, rather than heavy black musk, but seeing as the reviews for this spoke of a masculine musk, but a nice close skin hugging one, I took a punt. In the bottle, this is glorius leather, reminicent of C. August Dupin (one of my all time favourites). On me, it's pretty true to it's description initially, leather and musk. Not a big bad black musk, but softer and warmer, with lovely supple leather. Unfortunately, once my skin gets a hold of it, it starts to smell really camphorous and dusty, like leather that's been stored in mothballs.