Bordello

[Sarah]

A decadent, deep perfume, lusty and luxuriant. The scent evokes images of velvet-lined Old West cathouses, tightly laced corsets, rustling petticoats and coquettish snarls of pleasure. Bawdy plum with amaretto, burgundy wine and black currant.

Review
Upon smelling it, reminded me of Lady Macbeth. It was sweet but not quite as juicy. I decided to wear it yesterday and WOW! I absolutely love this (wearing it again today). I adored Lady Macbeth because it reminded me of NERDs candies, but I couldn't wear it because it was too sickly sweet. Bordello is like the toned-down version. I'm beginning to think either plum or black currant agrees with my skin chemistry. For me, after a couple of hours those two scents really shone through. For people who prefer boozy scents, this may be a little light for you, but it's gorgeous all the same. Edited September 16, 2007 by Shollin

[roisnoir]

In the bottle, this was very berrylike and bubbly. A happy smell. Since today is gray and icky, I decided that I'd try this.

 

On, it darkened up a little, but not much. I could smell the Amaretto.

 

Dry, it's very incensy.

I like it quite a lot, though it is something I have to be very close to to smell.

This will be a good one for crummy days that need a lift.

[twistygirl]

I haven't had much luck with the winey scents, but this one is different... the wine is very subtle, it smells like deep rich maroon velvet to me. As it dries down, I can pick up just a *hint* of the amaretto. This is quite a sexy smell.

[lavinia_short]

this was just not good on me at all.... i do so love the description on the site and i even love the way it smells in the vial, but once i putit on, it kind of started smelling like a public restroom - a weird acidity developed and the fruity smell just went odd on me... i am quite sure this is due to my personal chemistry- fruity smells often tend to go sour on me, and my personality is not so much of the fruity type, so... but oh, how i wanted to love this one!

[BitObsessive]

In the vial: bright and berry-bubbly

 

On me: tones down almost immediately to a sweet, smooth tone. After an hour or so I can just catch a hint of the amaretto.

[akwill823]

I love this!! It has a very sweet and juicy scent, very much the yum factor. I believe this will be running a close race with Bliss as my absolute favorite.

[clephan]

I suppose this is a... presentient rather than a review, but are any of you familiar with the Kirsty MacColl cover of 'Miss Otis Regrets'? Every time I hear that song it makes me think of the Bordello scent description. I'm not sure about the history of it at all, but it seems to me to be about deep-south passion, lust and murder. So kinda appropriate I guess.

 

I'll edit this with a real review when my eagerly-awaited 5ml arrives, hopefully this week!!

 

Oh, and yes, I'm a huge KM fan. Along with various other obsessions

[Polexia]

Lovely lovely, the black currant is just divine. This one makes me happy! Seems a little too bright for gray Seattle winter/spring but just fabulous for warmer weather!

[joans]

i didn't think i'd like this, but once it was on, it was like the scene in old movies where the mousy secretary whips off her glasses, lets down her hair, nips in her waist, and is revealed as a sexy bombshell. it also got me through a trip to the dentist. definitely a must-have in a bottle.

Edited March 10, 2004 by joans

[Koumori]

Wow, this is great! I don't usually like fruity/winey scents, but this one is neither too sweet nor too dry - I think the black currant makes all the difference. Juicy, robust, full-bodied, sexy! Just a hint of amaretto sneaking out after it's been on for a while. Othello changed my mind about roses, this might change my mind about fruit. Maybe.

[blackrayne]

Yum. I think I could get drunk off the smell of this. Berry with a light hint of wine mixed in. Add a splash of Amaretto.

 

This scent reminds me of the scene in Tombstone where Doc says "Kate. You're not wearing a bustle. How lewd." (And just as a character reference, I *love* that movie, and that is one of my two favorite scenes in it. )

[Cegirls]

oh, this is one smooooooooooooth scent. it started out a clear berry, with a kick of spice, and has (8hrs later!) developed into what i think smells like one slow smooth drink of spiced wine. kate (as mentioned above ), seductively smiling over a sultry mixed beverage... my, yes, definately a keeper.

Edited March 18, 2004 by Cegirls

[Belladonnastrap]

Initial Sniff

Smells like berries drenched in rum. A very heady and potent scent..the smell lingers in the air.

 

 

 

After wearing it

Oh I like this. When first put on all I can smell is berry berry berry...defintely more of a fruity scent thena nything else. As Sarah said it has echoes of Lady MacBeth but this nearly isn't as sweet and bubbly as that one which I assume is the result of the wine and currant. It's definitely a red scent..invoking images of women fluttering about in bustles and corsets giving straling glances at their hefy bosoms. I'm not quite sure if this is a colder or warmer weather scent...it might be suited for both. It's deifnitely a night scent though

[shriekingviolet]

Initial Impression:

Sinful and decadent. Freeflowing burgundy wine and dark, rich velvets covering every available surface. The red wine and plum are very apparent.

 

After Wearing It:

When I first put this on, sweet plum is what screams out to me. Sweet, rich, ripe-to-the-point-of-bursting plum. It's such a sweet scent but not candylike. It's decadent and sinful. The red currant starts to peek around the edges after the oil dries, keeping this a fruity scent but adding another dimension. The red wine doesn't arrive for another which adds a tart backdrop to the otherwise very sweet scent, make Bordello all the more faceted and complex. The amaretto appears last, after the wine note starts to fade, smelling on me the way amaretto always does to me: that bubbly almond disguises as a cherry scent.

 

The end result is a very velvety and indulgent scent that manages to invoke both an aura of dazzling lights and one of shadowy, intimate corners. Quite a scent.

 

Final Thoughts:

I loved this. Way more fruity than I usually would choose, but it's gorgeous all the same. My only complaint is that while the scent doesn't fade quickly on me, it never has much "throw" so while I can smell it on my skin, so even when I first put it on I can't smell it much unless I sniff my wrist (then it bursts in front of my nose). Worth keeping though, maybe even getting a bottle of it. I want a candle that smells like this!

[sirensongsouth]

When I put this on all I smell is ripe juicy sweet plums. After about a half an hour it tones down into a ripe plummy, grapy, fruity scent with a slight winey background. After a little more time I can finally smell the amaretto coming out. Its still sweet, but now its more well rounded and not so in your face fruity. I actually like this one. I am not a fruit or foody scent fan, but this is nice once it dries down. Its bright but not aggressive, quite nice.

[blondelamb]

I got my first bordellp today. It smells so delicious. SOmething you'd want to eat for candy or something. It does smell a lot like lady mcbeth, but theres something different. something more lifting. It is sweet and beautiful.

[chai_girl]

I'm getting a fresh cherry...like a Jolly Rancher Cherry.

 

I'm not saying that is bad, because I really do like this scent, even though I'm not a fruity scent lover. This is a keeper for me. I think it might make a good room scent too.

 

The scent has stayed true over the last couple of hours...very yummy

 

 

About 5 hours after putting it on...it has faded to a nice powdery soft scent. I still like it and it still smells faintly like cherries.

 

 

I put this on thinking I was putting on Old Shanghai (that's what I get for being in a hurry in the morning)....

[lorajc]

This turned out to be another favorite of mine. I never thought I liked fruity scents as much as I do. This is a decadently berry/plum, wine fragrance that had good staying power on me. This fragrance made me happy. I didn't think it was partiularly heavy though. I couldn't detect the amaretto in it. I love this one. I can't wait to wear it again. If you like Hollywood Babylon, give this try!! I think they are somewhat similar and I love Hollywood Babylon also. This did not remind me as much of Lady MacBeth as others. Lady MacBeth his brighter and not quite as strong. This is a deeper plum/burgandy smell where lady MacBeth is more cheery cherry to me.

[darkling]

In the bottle, Bordello smelled like dark, ripe plums.

 

On my skin, the scent fluctuates between black currant cotton candy with an edge of spiciness and the dusky decadence of a saloon full of cowboys drunk on wine and amaretto.

 

This is an amazing fragrance in terms of the layers of scent that shine through over the hours. It seems to have staying power as well . . . four hours and counting.

[Nadirah]

This one is very strong, I really thought I'd love it but oils with wine/ alcohol really have not agreed with me. That remains true with Bordello, I let a friend of mine have my sample since she absolutley adored it. But just being around her gave me a headache!! It was a very long lasting scent too.

[antimony]

On me, this is just too sweet... it gives me that weird unpleasant tingle in the back of my throat like eating a spoonful of sugar.

 

I think, under all that, it's pretty, but on me it's just too overwhemed by the smell of *sweet* for me to smell much else.

[Ms. MSGirl]

This is really nice, really complex and interesting, more than almost any other BPAL scent I've tried it's not all one thing or all another. It's very sweet and almondy, wet, a very strong cherry/amaretto flavor, but not sour or chemically or weird at all in any way. Just juicy and good. Then as it dries, I can also smell the polished wood, it takes on a slightly dusty tone but again not musty or dirty smelling at all. I think the plum and currant are really giving it a tartness that keeps it from veering into the sickly, tickly sweet category, though it teases and flirts with that line for all it's worth, and in some people's opinion it might cross over, but not in mine! I think I just need a fruity note in any scent to add that tartness. Strangely, (or maybe not so strangely considering this is Elizabeth's miraculous, uncanny creation) this actually does remind me of the personalilties of a few of the sex workers I've met and come to be friends with in various walks of life -- a very flirty and cloying veneer over a core of incredible strength and warmth and sweetness. A scent that is fun and carefree and big-hearted all at the same time.

 

Edited to say, I wore this to a huge, boozy, sweaty dance party, and it really held its own, it was still on my skin at the end of the night, which was really amazing. It was just about the perfect going-out scent. Once I use up my vials of my other very sweet and strong going-out scents, like Old Kyoto, etc., I might look into a big bottle of this one for parties!!

Edited April 25, 2004 by Ms. MSGirl

[andie]

This is almost fruity on me when wet, but dries to a cross between berries and wood. Not green wood, like the branches the berries would be growing from, but the kind of dark wood that you'd actually find in a bordello (I assume).

 

This has garnered some strange comments from co-workers, though. One thought I smelled like I'd been smoking a pipe and another said I smelled like incense.

[Shollin]

First sniff: Bold, bright berries. Bordello smells like dessert – I feel like I should be eating it with really good vanilla ice cream, the pricey kind with the little brown flecks.

 

Wearing: A wild, thorny berry patch in the moonlight. It’s not sunny like so many of the fruit scents I’ve tried have been – this one is shadowed. After a few minutes it’s less of a berry patch and more of a vineyard, but still wild and overgrown; I smell grapes rather than wine, big round lush grapes that would burst perfectly on your tongue.

[amberbella]

OH MY GOD! I LOVE IT!

 

ok....it simply smells divine.

 

With the first sniff I thought...I know that smell, what is that smell....something from Middle School....sniff, sniff, sniff, Oh yeah....that clear roll-on strawberry lipgloss I used to wear. YUM!

 

What could be better than that? The smell of it on my skin. It warmed up a lot on and became velvety and so smooth.

 

As it dried/aged....I noticed a bit of that incense mentioned in one of the earlier posts. But only a tiny bit....way in the background. I don't much like incense scents, but this is so slight that it didn't bother me in the slightest.

 

OK, to sum up. Yum...Me Like!

 

ETA: Hubby thought it smelled like something a stripper would wear. Oh well.....SWAP!

Edited May 1, 2004 by amberbella