O

[misfitroxy]

The scent of sexual obsession, slavery to sensual pleasure, and the undercurrent of innocence defiled utterly. Amber and honey with a touch of vanilla.

The wet imp strikes me as very syrup-y, almost like a children’s cough medicine.

Initially on my wrist, it’s the same. Very strong honey, to the point of being artificial.

As it warms, the vanilla emerges, but the scent is still rather “spike-y” for lack of a better term. I’m not catching a lot of amber, though there is a musk in the background. But it doesn’t properly mellow out the ultra sweet syrup.

This reminds me of a musk blend I used to wear when I was younger that I couldn’t ever manage to properly pull off. It was far too dark for me.

O is like the dark battling with the light – musk with syrup (sorry to keep repeating the same terms over and over again, but there’s really no other way to describe it) – something that’s never meant to properly combine. All in all, it’s not for me in the least.

[girlmadasbirds]

on me, this is pure honey with a hint of vanilla. wonderful!

Edited April 6, 2005 by angel sixgun

[OriginalWacky]

I didn't read any reviews before trying this, and I think I'll keep it that way for future trials. Might keep me less impressionable.

 

Bottle (Imp): This smells way way sweet, but I've always done okay with certain sweets, so I'll try it and hope it mellows.

 

Just on: Its fairly sweet, but not cloying. Vanilla, honey, and a hint of baby powder. The Mate likes it, says it's kind of incensey.

 

An hour or two later: Settles into a baby powder scent with mild sweetness.

 

Around 6 hours: It's not too strong, The Mate still likes it a lot, and I was complemented in the gas station. Smells much more like baby powder now, but that's a comfroting kind of scent. Almost reminds me of a sweeter Love's Baby Soft.

 

12 hours: Still there, and just the baby powder scent left mostly. Since I like baby powder, this isn't a problem.

 

Overall: I like this scent, and I would wear it pretty much anywhere without a problem.

 

After reading the other reviews: I have no clue where the scent of sex comes from, it's not present for me at all. I don't get chocolate or cherry syrup either.

 

I'll probably buy some of this, and more than likely try layering it with other scents. It's actually the second one I tried, and with both, I can't resist smelling myself over and over. The cats approved of this (they weren't around when I tried the other).

[bodegaselkie]

Allow me to add my voice to the chorus of praise for O. I am exceedingly fond of amber and honey, especially as BPAL does them, and while I am traditionally not a vanilla fan it blends well in O. O stays true on me, sliding in and out so that sometimes the honey is more dominant, and sometimes the amber is more dominant, but it doesn't fade to baby powder as many have said of their own experiences with this scent. And it lasts and lasts and lasts on me.

 

A bonus is that my boyfriend, who doesn't really like perfumes, sniffed this one on me (after several hours of wear) and said, in his least cynical tone, "You could wear that one sometimes." That's as close as he gets to saying he likes a perfume.

[lady_pandora]

I'm excitedly awaiting my first shipment of imps--but my friend Sionnain was nice enough to let me try some of her imp of O. This is one of the ones I had ordered, so I was hoping I'd like it!

 

I opened the bottle and it smelled like baby powder. Didn't seem too auspicious to me, but I figured I'd wait and see.

 

On me: It went 99% honey. I used to buy this St. Ives facial cleanser or body wash or something, which was discontinued way back in the mid-nineties. It was honey-scented and I LOVED it, and it loved my skin. I wanted to eat it out of the bottle! That's EXACTLY what O smelled like on my skin. No vanilla, only a hint of amber, and gobs and gobs of honey, and it took me right back to being 18 and smelling like the other stuff. Yummmm. I was sniffing my wrist all night--and all night, it stayed honey and stayed strong. I can't wait till my imps come and I can have more of this.

 

An added note: Adding a little amber essential oil on top of O, on me, has the effect of bringing out the amber and giving the scent a different but equally delicious character.

 

ETA: 2 icons. One represents the "enslavement" theme of the novel O is based upon, and the other represents the warm, languid, comfortable feeling I myself get from this scent.

 

Edited May 10, 2005 by lady_pandora

[roesmoker]

I got this from lostcreation (on LJ, no idea if your username is the same over here!) and I was so looking forward to trying it because I love vanilla and amber & honey sounded delish.

 

In the imp: Sickly sweet.

 

Wet: Smelled horribly like a dentist's office - nitrous oxide (?!) or strawberry, maybe it was peach, some kind of fake fruit scent that made me feel kind of ill - this went on for about an hour.

 

Dry: Got better but was kind of generic, floral and powdery even at its best on me.

 

Final Verdict: I'm going to wait a while and then try it once more to see if my skin was just having a bad day or time of the month issue. I had such high hopes, I can't bear to swap it away so quickly.

 

Have no idea what note caused the bad chemistry reaction, because this is only the 4th BPAL scent I've tried. Might be the amber.

 

ETA nope, still made me feel sick. Swapped away to one who loved it, so there's a happy ending.

Edited May 3, 2005 by roesmoker

[pranashakti]

This is the scent that addicted me to BPAL. It was my first bottle and will always be a staple for me. I was tenative when I ordered it because I though that honey might dominate on me, but the amber and vanilla temper it nicely on. Wet, it's very sweet on, but enjoyably so. It dries down on me very quickly and turns into...well..skin. Warm, glowing, sugared, happy skin. None of the specific notes shine through the day, but this is one of those scents that has me hearing "OOOOOO what smells good?" constantly. Wheeee, it's ME! Thanks, Elizabeth! This is divine.

[kythryne]

I really wanted to love this scent, and in the vial it smelled wonderful - sweet and warm and just a tiny bit spicy. Wet on my skin it was exactly the same... but unfortunately, I've discovered that my body chemistry amplifies honey like you wouldn't believe, and in five minutes I just smelled overwhelmingly SWEET. If I put my nose right up against my wrist I could still pick up a bit of the spicy musky smell, but the sugary sweetness won out every time.

 

I don't like smelling that sweet, so it's off to the swaps with this one. Sigh.

[Essay 28]

In the bottle: floral vanilla, sweet but not overpowering.

 

On skin initially: strong, knock-your-socks-off vanilla.

 

After an hour: sweet, honeyed vanilla, which reminded me of the smell of my Granny's teacakes baking when I was a kid. It is also *very* close to what Stetson smells like on my hubby, which is a scent so tempting to me that I want to nibble on him when he wears it. He declared it "girlie" and hoped his cologne doesn't smell exactly like it. It is also a long-lasting blend, as I could still smell it on my wrists late in the evening.

 

Definately a "must have 5ml" scent.

[cormeretrix]

o sounded so neat; too bad the amber had to go and mess it all up. the vanilla was nice, it was the first note that i got. but the amber... *sigh*

 

let's just say that amber hates me in many many ways, and leave it at that.

[kmasden]

O is a pretty scent. It's not quite right for me, I prefer the bit of spice in my Chimera, but it's beautiful nonetheless. A deep, skin, sexy powdery scent on me. Hard to define what is in it. It's sweet, almost rosy to me and very, very powdery. As it dries, the powder amps up in an almost smoky way. Very pretty.

[lokelani]

"O" was a freebie from the lab -- I'd read the description and hadn't planned on ordering it. I am so glad that I got the chance to try it. Of all the scents I've tried, this is the one that seems to "suit" my skin the best -- it just seems to blend in with my skin so I hardly feel like I'm wearing perfume -- it's just me, only much, much sexier. That's the only problem -- if it can be called that -- it's so sexy that I feel strange wearing it to work, like I've shown up at the office wearing very revealing lingerie and nothing else. Definitely a going out at night sort of scent. It's wonderful.

Edited April 12, 2005 by lokelani

[stardreamer]

In the bottle: mostly honey.

 

Fresh on: still a lot of honey, but now I can catch the other notes as well. I can understand why this is compared to Snake Oil -- add the incense note, and they'd be very similar indeed. R.'s evaluation: "probably innocuous in small doses."

 

Drydown: Oh yes, my skin amps up vanilla! Which isn't a problem, since I like vanilla. I think this one has just broken into my Top 5; I'm also starting to conclude that amber is an okay note for me, unlike many of the other resinous components. There's a strong resemblance to Golden Priapus here, minus the sharp piney undertinge; this is relaxing and langorous, while GP is a "power" scent to me. This is not just a keeper, but something which will go into the regular rotation.

[wickedgoddess]

In the bottle, absolutely scrumptious! Wet, I get a powdery honey. On dry-down the powder goes away (yay!) and it's pure golden honey. As time passes the amber begins to show itself, subtlely at first and then stronger, more powerful, and the honey moves to the back seat. In less than an hour it's almost completely faded to powder, but my god, it's wonderful while it lasts.

 

On the wickedgoddess scale of 1 to 5 (with 5 being best) 4.5

[DameBecca]

This is one of the first three scents that I ever smelled from BPAL. It was an instant favorite, so much so that my friend gave me her only imp! It was love at first sniff. After smelling close to 50 of BPALs scents, this is still my #1.

 

In the bottle: It smells purely like honey. Very sweet and simple and just...yummy.

 

Wet: It keeps the honey scent and a touch of vanilla comes out as well. The scent warms up and really works with my chemistry.

 

Drydown:It stays very true to the bottle on me. Very sweet and almost purely honey. It gets just slightly powdery, but in a very good way. If anyone has ever smelled Kama Sutra Honey Dust, this smells very similar.

 

Overall impression/Final Thoughts: This scent is sooo sexy to me. It makes me feel very slinky and seductive, very Marilyn Monroe. I always tell my friend that it makes me want to make out with myself. It really makes me want to lick my wrists as well. This is one oil that sticks with me almost all day. I put it on in the morning and it's still there when I get off of work.

[Finny]

Smells sweet in the imp.

 

On it goes a bit powdery on me, amber does that to me sometimes. It is a sweet powder, not sugary sweet, honey sweet. The vanilla in this blend does not overwhelm, it is light and subtle, but I think that is because the amber takes over instead.

 

Not a bad blend, but not high on the list of must haves.

[shadowsong]

i got nothing but the weird sour milk note that was an undercurrent to the lion with a little honey and vanilla sweetness... so maybe more like sour vanilla soy milk. thanks to penance, i have discovered that it's probably my skin reacting badly to fresh amber. i'll try this one again in a few more months and hope the amber behaves itself.

[tarantulove]

The first time I tried O, I wrinkled my nose in disdain at the "fake honey" smell and put it away. It's slowly wormed its way under my skin, though, to the extent that I'm thinking about a 5 mL.... It starts out all honey: golden, glowing, oozing honey, melting into my skin. It slowly morphs into a vanilla softened and made creamy by a hint of honey at the edges... I wish this stage of O was stronger, because I would definitely buy a 5mL of it. By this time it's no longer a bright gold but a creamy, soft yellow. It speaks of afterglow to me, not the act itself. It doesn't scream sex, it subtly insinuates it. It's a soft but naughty, suggestive smell.

[bellis]

In the imp and wet on my skin, this is gorgeous drippy honey. I'm really loving BPAL's honey note. As soon as it starts to dry, the honey fades a bit and the vanilla and amber become more prominent. Absolutely luscious. The longer I leave this on, the more musky and almost sticky sweet amber this becomes. This scent almost makes me blush. I definitely need more of this.

[tesao]

in the imp: honey. pure unadulterated honey. warm, sweet.

 

on my wrist: i smelled this on me and it gave me goosebumps. and my nipples stood up. and i liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiked it. once i got over THAT, and smelled myself again, it was still yummy honey, but the amber notes were there, as well, along with vanilla.

 

dry down: everything has settled down and there really is no one note that POPS out. it is all very creamy and delicious. you can still smell all of the notes, but not as individually as when they were wet.

 

i didn't think that i liked sweet scents, but obviously that isn't the case.

 

seriously, this makes me want to eat myself. in any and all senses of the word. i once had a female lover that smelled exactly like this. i cannot imagine wearing this and NOT broadcasting to the world that i want sex. which is just fine, because i do, in fact, want sex about 99% of the time....

 

and that just about sums it all up.

[Malista]

O

 

I’m one of those lucky people whose skin loves amber, and amber loves it right back. Almost any scent based on amber will linger and meld with my skin, smelling sweet but not sickly, with terrific depth and a sort of golden haze floating above. OTOH, my only experience with BPAL honey note so far has been Dana O’Shee, which went straight to Play-Doh on me, and I was a little worried about O, for that reason.

 

This went on with a honey blast-and-a-half, a little sharp-edged, but quickly settled down to honey-and-vanilla; a little sweeter than I like, usually, but warm and pleasant enough. Amber always takes a little while to emerge, on me, so I was patient.

 

Within 10 minutes the amber came up, supporting the honey and sort of taking it into itself until I couldn’t tell where one left off and the other began. The vanilla blended right in, as well, rounding out the scents until they combined into something that was all its own scent. Every now and then the vanilla separates itself and floats on top for a few breaths, but then it gets folded back into the rest. Interesting, and rather lovely.

 

I don’t get any sex smell from this. Neither does Himself. He does say it forms an aura around me – that he can smell it better when I am just walking by or standing two feet away than he can when he sniffs my wrist. He says it smells like Kama Sutra Honey Dust, as others have said, and at one point it really does, although amber doesn’t go dramatically powdery on me, and neither does O.

 

After an hour or so the honey (I’m sure it’s the honey, now) has edged into Play-Doh territory. Damn. I was hoping the amber would take over and make this nice all the way through. This may still layer well, though. I’ll try it with both spice and woods, and see what happens. The first hour or so is too nice to just give up on.

[empi girl]

I'm curious about the sex smell people are getting... I don't seem to get it at all, though what I do get is super!

 

When wet, O is almost a dead ringer for Snake Oil, without the slightly bitter spice that Snake Oil has on me. O has warmth and spice, but not the bitterness.

 

Dry, still like Snake Oil on me, but smoother and a little sweeter.

 

I think of it as a beautiful rich golden color, it is warm, slightly spicy (amber?), and little powdery, sweet and lovely. Lasts forever.

 

Unfortunately, I think my dh is allergic to it! But I'm hoping since it is allergy season, it is just a fluke.

[Eros]

Got my two imps from Laochodia today, yay!! And of course, thanks!!

 

Upon first opening imp, strong candy-like smell & thought, uh oh....

Only used a drop on each wrist due to icky allergies acting up, blah.

 

Dry down~sweetness subsiding into softness w/the sublest bite(amber?), not picking up the vanilla at all but the honey is definitely there. Also something a bit more "perfumey" floating around but can't put my finger on it...

 

After about an hour soft, mostly honey and what comes to mind~thick, syrupy(not in a bad way) and languid.

I'm liking it! I'll use one imp for sure before deciding whether or not to get a big bottle.

 

05/02/05~Yep, must have a big bottle of this. Wears well, I can catch the loveliest glimpses of it swirling around hours after putting it on. I was really worried when I first opened the imp but I'm SO glad I got this! I *did* have to layer it w/my beloved Hunger, though, just to see what they'd do together. OMG~absolutely beautiful!! They blend together so purrrfectly

On my skin, of course, not mixed together in a single bottle or anything, that would be unforgivable! Together they bring out the best of both w/o interfering w/one another.

 

In addition to my previous description, 'O' creates a feeling of voluptuosness...juicy, ripe and ready to be "plucked".

Edited May 2, 2005 by Eros

[Ajila]

O is something I absolutely love. The honey is so sweet it's practically toffee and it actually smells warm, I bet this would be a brilliant time of the month scent. It doesn't seem to have much throw, but stays for ages on my skin.

[theshapeshifter]

This gave me a weird smell when I first applied... something like the 'sex' smell, except not really sexy... more old and funky. I was worried.

 

However, after a minute or two, that disappeared and it warmed up into a lovely honey/vanilla/actually-sexy-sex scent. Definitely a hit! It's actually quite similar to Dragon's Milk on me... I'll have to test them back-to-back and decide which suits me better.