Bordello

[hadaverde]

Tarty sweet and jamlike at the outset -- very purpley-red and mostly plum/currant while wet. There is just a small suggestion of the alcoholic undertone of the wine and amaretto.

 

As it dries down, the vivid, almost-fuchsia deepens to a worn plum-colored velvet, thanks to the rise of the burgundy and amaretto. It is rich and heavily fruity with a warm nutty secondary note.

 

Oddly enough, this mellows to something that reminds me distinctly of freshly-baked cranberry muffins. It is also strangely reminiscent of hot, bright summer mornings at my late grandparents' breakfast table, due, I think, to a likeness to the scent of mashed strawberries and rhubarb, of which we often had a small side dish along with the usual breakfast spread.

 

This remains a sweet, heady scent throughout all its many stages.

Edited November 21, 2005 by hadaverde

[glampyre]

Bordello

 

Smells like a room full of white lace, pink velvet ribbons, red velvet pillows, and purple silk bedding.

 

It's bright and sweet, with rich liquor undertones.

 

Delectible.

 

I've got O on one arm and Bordello on the other...my heart is racing. I smell soooo hot!

 

These would be great layered together...probably verrrry dangerous!

 

 

(Edited to fix the inevitable typos)

Edited October 3, 2004 by glampyre

[Damask Rose]

I love this oil!! Lady Macbeth is one of my favourite BPAL oils but where Lady Macbeth is kind of tangy and sharp, this is sweet and syrupy. I can mainly smell the blackcurrant and wine, and the amaretto is lingering underneath.

 

This oil lasts ages and me and just smells so yummy. Definitely one to get a bottle of!

[UltraViolet]

Bordello

 

Wet

Mmm. This smells like rasberry candy or something like it.

5 minutes

Oh my, It’s close to “Swank” but doesn’t have that slightly bitter middle note nor the creamy lipstick scent that I smell in “Swank”. It’s less red berry then Swank and more purple berryish if that makes sense.

15 minutes

Someone (Lz) said it smells like “Nerds” candy, the purple and pink ones together. It does indeed, but a little sexier underneath.

I don’t smell the wine in there at all.

30 minutes

The wine has seemed to make itself known now but lightly. I do smell the Amaretto sweetness and the black currant and plum are just heavy enough together to save this from being wimpy. It's lasting ability is better than average.

I would definitely buy a 5ml of this.

[k00kaburra]

In bottle: Almonds, and then plum. This is another bright juicy fragrance.

 

On me: The currants are very strong when applied. It's very sewet, like sugared marzipan fruits - but the almonds are in the background, not the fore - that belongs to plums and currants. It's just amazing - this fruity, syrupy blend is definitely a 10ml. It'd be a bigger size if the lab made them.

[AnaisSatin]

This is going to border on strange, but..

On me, Bordello smells like one lone burgundy colored scented candle in a room of black marble.

[NoirRosaleen]

HOO! This baby is SWEET! At first sniff, my wrist reeks of sugared artifical grape syrup. The artificialness does wear away, and so does the grape, leaving...sugar. This is slightly fruity sugar, rubbed on my arm. I*m noticing I*m not fond of really sweet scents, either, so even though Bordello lasts (and lasts, and LASTS! 10+ hours here!) on me, I*m afraid it*s going away...why don*t any of the ones I love last very long on me?

[orangepoppy]

Bordello smelled sweet, red, fruity and boozy on me and it's not a scent I feel comfortable wearing. This is perhaps because I tried it in broad daylight, whereas Bordello seems like more of a night creature. It's like waking up after a drunken night of debauchery and something really sweet and boozy is floating around the room with nothing to anchor it down. Dizzy weakness.

 

I can't "do" a scent this toothachingly sweet unless it has something amber-resiny or spicy or herbally for it to latch onto. Bordello is fun and unique, but just not for me.

[Diana]

Out of the bottle it's a screamingly fruity odor of berries that attacks my nasal passages.

 

After wearing it for a bit the fruit softens a bit, but still is bright and sweet, like mixing plums and raspberries and fruity red wine. So delicious. There is a tiny tinge of incensey smoky-powder.

 

This didn't last ungodly long on me, only a few hours before I really had to sniff at my wrists to smell it.

 

I think this demands a 10mL with my next order.

 

FWIW, this layers beautifully with the Red Queen, if you like the fruity/berry notes.

[inkstone]

Courtesy of a swap with IndigoWhatever.

 

In the vial: Berries, plum and fruity wine.

 

Wet: There's definitely something incense-y in here. It always comes out upon immediate contact with my skin, just like musk, and I can smell it right then and there. But it's not overpowering. It mingles with the berries so it smells like berry incense potpourri. Er...

 

Drydown: The wine doesn't really come out on me. The fruits and amaretto do, along with the incense undercurrent. It's creamy berry.

 

Final thoughts: Unlike previous reviewers, this smells nothing like Lady Macbeth on me. That one is more wine & tart; this is fruit and sweet. This actually has a thicker body to it. Very voluptuous, which I suppose would be indicative of the name. A keeper, but more tries to determine if it really warrants bottle.

[tart]

Holy crap, Bordello is good! As I just told Sarah in the chat, this is rocking my world right now. It's sexy, fruity, but girly enough for me to like. I think what makes me like this so much is that it has almost a sugary smell to it. Goodness, I'm in love!!!

[luxuria]

This smells on my skin just like it does in the imp and only gets softer as time goes on. No new notes coming out to play, nothing. And it isn't very lusty, deep, or luxurious..but it's gorgeous nonetheless! The lack of morphing just means there aren't any potential nasty surprises as time wears on It's the first sweet BPAL i've tried that actually smells sugared. It is fruity, but creamy rather than tart. And sexy, in a very girly-girl way. BIG BOTTLE PRONTO!

[stardreamer]

Got this as a freebie, but it was on my list for a future order, so I'm happy to have the chance to sample it.

 

In the bottle: oh my, I like this already!

 

On first application: rich, sweet, juicy, fruity! Not getting any almond scent at all; it's more like fruit punch, similar to Jester but darker, sangria (minus the alcohol smell) as opposed to Hawaiian Punch.

 

Several hours later: it doesn't change much as it wears on. Still sweet and fruity, with good staying power. I really like this! R. finds it "acceptable in small doses and at arm's length", which is quite an encomium coming from him. It's a yummy summery fragrance, but with enough oomph to wear during cooler weather as well.

 

In summary: Bordello has everything I liked about Jester, with neither of the latter's two major disadvantages (a slightly unpleasant undernote, and R. didn't like it at all). So it's moving into the regular rotation, and Jester is moving from the "not while he's around" group into the swap pile -- there's no sense in keeping it when I like this one so much better, and can wear it on more occasions to boot.

[ashtonrose]

This scent was too sweet for me. It reminded me of what I expected to smell when I saw the "Sugar Plum Fairies" dancing in the Nutcracker.

 

My daughter on the other hand loves this scent. She says it is sweet like candy. I will continue to purchase this one for her.

[malati]

I was concerned to smell bubblegum when sniffing the imp. Once it was on my skin I realised how fruity this is and there's no trace of gum. It's sweet without being cloying and it's delectable. Previous reviewers have suggested they want to eat or drink this - add me to the list.

 

When dry this smells just like the rich syrupy plum wine that a family friend used to make. I just want to slather it on, it would be so easy for me to overdo it. I love the scent and have received compliments from two colleagues when wearing it.

[Amaryllia]

Another one I loved the thought of loving, and boy, has it come through for me. This is everything I imagined 'O' to be, rich and warm and deep, with enough of a ripe burgundy fruitiness which, in place of O's amber, really cements it as a 'me' scent. (I'm finding that I tend to do better with the slightly fruit-tinted scents.)

 

Bordello has amazed me with the syrupy cling that isn't overly sweet or cloying, but very heavy to the smell in a dark, seductive, sexy kind of way. This is something I'd wear out dancing when I knew I'd have the chance to get up close to someone I wanted to notice me, because there is simply no way I can see this scent being resisted. It screams 'come over here, I'm absolutely delicious'. Red and deep fruity initially, it dries out to a rich, bright-sweet plummy juicy fruit tempered by enough winey spice to keep it from being sugar syrup. I want to eat my wrist.

[voodoobaby]

In the bottle: Mmm, smells like candy. Plum Starburst and gummi worms, perhaps. It smells very tart and very sweet and very edible.

 

Wearing: Oh, sweet currant! How I love thee! The plum is still dominant here, but the currant is lovely. The wine shows up as warmth for the most part, and something in here adds a nice, smokey touch. Amaretto? I didn't imagine that it would smell like that. After maybe an our or so... Maybe I'm crazy, but something spicy shows up and turns it into a sort of spiced plum jelly scent, which isn't bad at all. I was expecting it to smell more of a deep purple, like a plum, but this is definitely a pinkish fuchsia, feminine and sassy. It's not really "me", but it is a gorgeous scent, and I'll probably keep the imp.

[fairywingmaker]

Decadent is the perfect word to describe Bordello. Very sweet, and plummy. I can smell the amaretto, and the wine. The black currant is escaping me right now, it may come up later. I really love this scent, and my husband seems to like it on me. Must work well with my chemistry.

[amrita]

Wet, I smelled only mixed berry candy (*fancy* berry candy, mind you)-- with a prickly nose-tickling hint of soap. Long after the drydown I got faint, warm sugared vanilla (which was lovely, but required a stiff sniff of the wrist to smell it at all)...

 

At no time did I get amaretto or incense. It took me several tries to see if I could like this, and I finally decided it was too sweet and didn't have enough depth on me. Bye, Bordello!

[Serenity]

Bordello. Oh how I love you, let me count the ways.

 

When I initially apply, I get a fruity scent, but, very quickly, this mellows into a very subtle almondy goodness.

 

It makes me want to eat my arm. The blend isn't heavy at all, but I can't stop smelling myself when I've got it on.

 

Subtle Almond. This is my first 10ml purchase.

[tempete]

Normally I cannot wear any BPALs with wine in them because they turn into grape juice on me, and that's pretty much all I can smell from the initial application to the final drydown. Bordello breaks from this convention, although it is candy sweet when wet. When it dries down, though, an incense note emerges and seems to tame the sweetness. The end result reminds me somewhat of a berry-scented candle, which I don't necessarily want to smell like. Of my berry-scented BPALs, I think that I prefer Bewitched and Florence, but I could see myself wearing Bordello every once in a while.

[Unseelie]

smells like candy in the bottle.

 

waxy chocolate on the skin, berry fading quickly. maybe that's tobacco, my skin is sending this in all kinds of unexpected directions; mostly toward the really bad halloween candy direction. though there's more to it, i should sit still and just take my time with this - try again with a clearer nose and a blank canvas.

 

wow.. okay.. either i need to try this again in a few days, or maybe let the bottle sit for a week or so before trying it again - the latter of which would be a two-for-one in the things tried column.

if that doesn't work this may be my first swap due to misjudgement. this one so promising! maybe i should have known, when Wanda went so ODD on me and other people have great luck with it. boozy, tobacco, bawdy aren't working on me. WAAH! i want to be.. well.. a boozy tabacco-y bawdler!

 

in the time it took to take notes this has settled somewhat; there's a sweet low note, and a lighter lifting alcohol (drinking, not the medicinal) scent, a good one.. still faintly chocolate though i suspect that's just me being unable to call a better description for what it really is i'm smelling.

 

i'll definitely give this a second go in a week or so.. and also.. *eyes the male unit* i'm going to smear a bit on the man, here. see what it does on boyskin. i think it's got potential as a boyscent, the dry is light and sweet and just a little twisted. mmm..

[Gin]

Initially, Bordello is super-fruity with a bubblegummy-vanilla underneath. After a few moments on my skin, it's an intense, boozy blackcurrant scent. I put this on before picking my son up from school, and as I walked to the car, I could smell fruity wine wafting about. Out of the wind, I'm able to smell the amaretto under the plum and currant, which is what I think was giving me the impression of vanilla earlier. This is very nice. I like it more than I expected.

[requieminblack]

First sniff from the bottle- Wow! This smells just like Kama Sutra edible cherry vanilla massage oil! Or maybe strawberry lip gloss?

 

After 10 minutes- I don't smell booze in this at all..I think there is supposed to be amaretto and burgundy wine in this? Oh wait..now I smell the Amaretto but it is very soft. If I didn't know better I would think this was a candied cherry/vanilla/rose blend.

 

After 30 minutes- Ok, Bordello smells like candy mixed with Kama Sutra cherry vanilla massage oil and Punky Color hair dye all mixed together. I know that may not be completely helpful but that is what it smells like to me,

 

Summery-Bordello is too candy sweet for me. I know a lot of people will just love this though!

[warmfuzzies]

anybody know what dimetapp smells like? well, this is it! it's a runny-nose drier-upper, and it was one of those meds when you're a kid, you just want to drink it with your breakfast cereal, it smells sooo good. i got a very grapey scent right from the get-go. it was wonderful, the POOF-- where'd it go?? it was gone, and a 2nd application disappeared as fast as the first. i am bummed, as i really wanted this to be a keeper.