The Apple of Sodom

[dorothy humbird]

…their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and of the fields of Gomorrah: their grapes are grapes of gall, their clusters are bitter. The tree’s bark is grey and cork-like, and the fruit, when ripe, is bright yellow, comely and sweet-scented.

After their success in tempting Adam and Eve to the knowledge of sin, Satan and his cronies celebrated by partaking of the Apple:

There stood
A Grove hard by, sprung up with this thir change,
His will who reigns above, to aggravate
Thir penance, laden with Fruit like that
Which grew in Paradise, the bait of Eve
Us'd by the Tempter: on that prospect strange
Thir earnest eyes they fix'd, imagining
For one forbidden Tree a multitude
Now ris'n, to work them furder woe or shame;
Yet parcht with scalding thurst and hunger fierce,
Though to delude them sent, could not abstain,
But on they rould in heaps, and up the Trees
Climbing, sat thicker then the snakie locks
That curld Megæra: greedily they pluck'd
The Frutage fair to sight, like that which grew
Neer that bituminous Lake where Sodom flam'd;
This more delusive, not the touch, but taste
Deceav'd; they fondly thinking to allay
Thir appetite with gust, instead of Fruit
Chewd bitter Ashes, which th' offended taste
With spattering noise rejected: oft they assayd,
Hunger and thirst constraining, drugd as oft,
With hatefullest disrelish writh'd thir jaws
With soot and cinders fill'd; so oft they fell
Into the same illusion, not as Man
Whom they triumph'd once lapst. Thus were they plagu'd
And worn with Famin, long and ceasless hiss,
Till thir lost shape, permitted, they resum'd,
Yearly enjoynd, some say, to undergo
This annual humbling certain number'd days,
To dash thir pride, and joy for Man seduc't.

Native to the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, this fruit turns to ashes when plucked as a sign of God’s displeasure.

I have searched all over for a standing topic on this blend. Apparently this was out as a prototype at one of the recent Will-Calls? A friend got this as a frimp from the lab, so I got to test it via that route - super excited to do so, thinking it was an unreleased, phantom blend.

Anyway, this began as a juicy apple scent on my skin. Not crisp, to my nose, though there were extraneous factors that may have affected the scent profile -- I was outdoors in the sun, and my skin was already coated with a light layer of coconut oil. Very much a green apple scent.

After some time on my skin, I noticed it had gone slightly herbal, and a little floral. There was still a fruity sweetness, but it had dried down to something beyond a simple apple note. Quite pleasant, though I could stand to test it a couple more times to see if it would win me over from my default position of "I'll pass" on fruity floral blends.

[TheIceMaiden]

According to the bottle label, this is destined to join Rappacini's Garden if it comes out. It seems appropriate as this isn't just an apple scent, its more like an apple tree surrounded by an herb garden. Apple of Sodom does start out crisp apple but almost immediately I get herbals notes and a touch of floral. I'm not very good at identifying notes but I think there might be a bit of mint in all that herbal greenery. This is light and pretty and much less sinister than the name implies. I hope it comes out some day!

[fairnymph]

In the bottle: Very pale yellow oil. Crisp, juicy, sour-sweet apples, somewhat medicinal green herbs, something mentholic. Reminds me a bit of the SGA prototype.

 

Wet: Fainter, less apple, and a bit of soap. The greenery is still strong and has that astringent, cold edge. Pine? Eucalyptus? It's sinus-clearing.

 

Dry: Still mentholic, but some of the fruit has come back a bit. I think some herbs are adding sweetness as well, in a sort of dark, dank manner - appropriately enough.

 

Later: It's amped up in strength overall, but the apple is fading. It's still juicy but no longer as crisp. Some light floral in this is making my rosacea flare.The herbs are less harsh.

 

Summary: Juicy apple and a sweet melange of herbs, as well as darker and more medicinal plants. Something is mentholic-cool, perhaps hemlock, and there is faint, almost soapy-clean floral, daisy I think. Decent throw & longevity.

 

 

[ravenfeathers]

in the bottle apple, dry and almost spicy, but not quite

wet on skin tart, very faint....

dry on skin soft, getting sweeter, whoa! lots sweeter! crazy! smells incredibly pretty up close, but has almost no throw whatsoever. really having to sniff hard to get anything here. it's really bizarrely bubble-gummy!

later: ah, there's the ash. it's: ash over BUBBLEGUM.

 

for a scent with a name like "apple of sodom", this is a cheerfully innocent and pretty little sweet scent!

[fiddledragon]

Wet: God shall cleanse the cities of sin with LAUNDRY DETERGENT! Lots and lots of laundry detergent! Muahaha!

 

Dry: This is a specific floral that I can't quite place, with a hint of spice and maybe the bareist trace of vetiver. Still clean and fresh-smelling. Not really my thing, but an interesting scent.

[angelicruin]

Sniffing the imp, this is a spicy apple scent.

 

Once applied to my skin, I definitely smell the ash note over the spicy apple scent. As it begins to dry on my skin, it almost turns to cinnamon. Fully dry, it's a powdery, burnt, cinnamon apple scent. I kind of like it and think I will keep the imp, but don't think I want an entire bottle of it.

[Iceblink]

The ash takes over everything here on my skin. It's not unlike Smokestack--a sweeter, cinnamony Smokestack. BPAL's smoke/ash notes blow my mind with their realism but oh dear, I just do NOT want to smell like them.

[hkhm]

imp: all i'm getting is smoky ash.

 

wet: there is a teensy bit of sweetness underneath it all, but this is pretty much ash.

 

dry: still that sliver of sweetness. it doesn't smell like apple, but it does smell sweet.

[sookster]

straight sniff from imp is dry ash...

 

once applied, this is vastly similar to brimstone ... a personal fav

 

this is brimstone's younger sister for sure...niiiiiiiice....

[SensationalGrendel]

Not the fruity scent I expected. There is apple, but it's not juicy and fresh. Instead it's more like red apple peels, almost a bitter apple scent. I don't smell anything ashy or burnt. Instead, I think I get a touch of leather.

 

Very unique scent, even by BPAL standards.

[zankoku_zen]

I got no apple... just ash. A lot of ash.

 

On the drydown, it just smelled like a smoldering wood pile.

[sunshinedaisybliss]

 

I have lucky skin when it comes to apple

 

This is another dark and mysterious apple in the same way that Poisoned Apple has that 'edge' to it.. except Apple of Sodom has a velvety smoke where P.A. has that sour sweetness. But it's that same apple, at least to me.. that crisp fresh green apple.

 

The apple stays true once it dries down, it almost gets a cider sort of smell to it as the smoke sweetens up a bit but it never quite goes to the cider stage - it still retains that spicy ash feel. It doesn't go sweet or bubble-gummy at all on me, it's pretty much the same after 1 hour as it was when first applied, although it has faded and softened up a bit.

 

I'd definitely recommend this to the apple fans out there!!

 

 

[AlarmAgent]

In Bottle - Bug spray. Specifically "Off!" brand, circa the mid-to-late 90s.

Wet on Skin, First Applied - This smells exactly like summer evenings at my grandparent's house as a kid, budding...'tween'. Going swimming, dousing yourself in bug spray, then jettisoning off to the local county fair--smell of pool chemicals and bug chemicals wafting all about you, as somewhere in the distance, a tire fire rumbles. This is chemicals, vague "fruit" scents attempting to cover chemicals, and smoke and ash. Man, if it wasn't for this chemical overlay, I would be loving this. I love the smoke, the bitter-and-sweet apple, but there is just this heavy chemical gauze over the whole production.

Dry, on Skin - As it tries, the harshness lightens up a bit, and more spicy-sweet apple appears, but for the most part this is still bug spray. Or, hair spray. Apple, chemicals, smoke. Definitely smells like poison, at some level... Not totally nauseating, but I'd only accept smelling like this if it was an unfortunate byproduct of a fun summer evening, or keeping bugs off of me, or keeping my hair up. Given the myriad of choices I have in the world of BPAL, I'm not going to feel too bad about thinking this one isn't worth the incredibly vivid picture. It is a pleasant picture, a great memory, but it is none of those things because it smelled so great back then.

[Yoginispirit]

I was quite worried that this wouldn't work on me because of the ash but I tend to like apple so I thought it would be worth a try.

 

In the imp: strange chemicals

Wet: Apple pops out from under the heavy ash to say 'hai'.

Dry: A warm, seductive smoky apple. I almost detect a tinge of spice, sort of like the mulled spices in cider.

 

I really love this! I consider it sexy yet wearable. This evokes images of fall with dusty, dry leaves and apple cider for me more than a fruity summer perfume but I will probably wear it all year long. I layer this with poisoned apple to make it brighter during the day and I think my skin chemistry must love apple notes (except for Agape- that was the curdled, curried milk of death on me). Unfortunately it eats them though so this will be a frequent reapplication.

It's a very light scent-don't be afraid to try it!

[Little Bird]

I love apple fragrances, but I've come to realize that bpal's apple notes just don't tend to work out for me. It always turns out to be spice instead of apple, or it turns soapy, or it fades within five minutes.

 

The apple in Apple of Sodom seems to be the spice-instead-of-apple variety. It's a sweet cinnamon. I guess that it might want to be apple cider, but there's no fruit that I can pick out. Just spice. And I amp up spices, so that's all I get from this. I was afraid of the ash, but any ash in this is bound and gagged by the cinnamon.

 

So... this is cinnamon on me. That's all.

[TheOneTheyCallLuna]

Hmmm...this is really nice! A really tart green apple gone bad. I think I like the beginning stages of this blend better, when the apple is more prominent. As it dries, it gets more smoky and muddled, but some lovely spices just barely come out to play. A lovely blend overall, and a great addition to my roster of BPAL apple scents.

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

a sweet, red, juicy apple slice.... dunked in fireplace ashes.

[mgrazulis]

Smoldering apple...in an almost myrrh-like background and ashes of incense. Not bad. I think I would wear this in the fall.

 

 

[rayvn1]

Dark, ashy, and smoky with a hint of apple. Sexy as all get out I can see this being a regular for me. Great addition to the catalogue!

[crebbsgirl]

Ashy apple. That's really what this amounted to on me. Dry and unsweet, almost a little tart. I'm not one for apple scents, but this one is quite intriguing. I'm not sure how often I would wear it, but I'm tempted to keep it around to find out. The apple is featured much more prominently in the wet stages, and the drydown is where the ash really comes out.

[Ajila]

In the bottle - Something green, slightly earth, I'm tempted to say vines

 

Wet on me - Thick green, slightly bitter, slightly earthy vegetation

 

Dry on me - The slightest hint of apple does sometimes come through, but it's hidden beneath a dark, thick, green musk

 

Overall - Irt's a vey unusual scent and whilst I like it I don't think it'll become a favourite

[Coldfire]

 

 

 

Imp: sharp, astringent, medicinal..Listerine?

Wet on Me: now I get hints of wood thru the sharp astringent and medicinal almost a vetiver vibe

Drying down: man. How do I describe man scent. Clean dressedup man. Some wood…no vetiver…some spice…still astringent..less sharp…still medicinal.

Dry: Not bad. Not making me pick up mah pompoms and I’m a sucker for a man scent. But its okay. Re-home pile for someone who might like it better

 

[aquazoo]

Apple, but soft and sweet. Slightly spicy and flowery. No displeasure at all, it's really rather nice.

[revinn]

In the Imp: Ew, it smells like an apple soaked in perfume. BLUH.

 

Wet: Slightly nicer, but still a very sour, bitter apple smell.

 

Dry: The same. Not for me.

 

Out of 10: 2

[Argentwolf]

The apple in this is rather medicinal-smelling...almost like eucalyptus, as someone else noted earlier. However, I don't find it unpleasant at all, due to the way that the ashy notes blend in with it. Honestly, to me it's like a mixture of the appletini smell of Mock Turtle's Lessons and the wondrous charcoal of Brimstone. I like both of those scents, and really like this one. It is a scent that soaks into your skin and gives little wafts here and there, and seems to last for a goodly time. One of my favorites, now.