Siren

[aquazoo]

Bewitching, tantalizing and dangerously seductive. A thrilling, exotic blend -- deceptively sweet, but spiked with malice. White ginger, jasmine, and a touch of vanilla and apricot.

What's with the dirt? There's no pachouli in it, so hopefully it will fade fast. And it does, thankfully. It's not a bad floral, but I still have a haze of dust hanging on top.

[diamondstars]

I found an imp of this hiding away so thought I'd try it out.

 

Wet on skin, it smells very strongly of apricot and vanilla. As it dries down on me it turns to a granny soap smell unfortunately!

 

I love jasmine, so this should technically be great for me but I couldn't detect any at all.

 

I'll be giving this one away, hopefully to someone who can love it more than I did.

[subtlesiren]

This has to be the most disappointing oil I've tried so far. Reading reviews that it smelled like gingerbread or other bakery treats got me excited and I somehow overlooked mentions of cleaning solutions. In the vial it smelled like decaying geraniums and, wait for it... cleaning solution! I don't want to smell like I've been cleaning toilets all day or like the most foul smelling flower of all time. But I always give an oil a chance, so on my wrist it went where it stayed for about a minute when I scrubbed it off. Damn, I so wanted to smell like a siren. I just didn't know that meant smelling like a potted plant.

[cupcakegernade]

This is creamy and fruity, with just a touch of floral underneath. I am just loving the apricot in this. It is so ripe and fresh, and add a little bit of sweetness to blend, but unfortunately this lovely fruit dissipates quite a bit as the oil dries down. The jasmine and vanilla work so well together to create a soft creaminess, that is quite nice. I do not get any ginger in this at all, which does disappoint me a bit. This was recently frimped to me, and judging by the label, I would guess this one has some age to it. So perhaps age has soften to ginger so much so that it is hidden by the creamy blanket of vanilla and jasmine. Over all this is nice, but I am really curious about this one fresh.

[JasminDreams2010]

This is kitchen sexy.

Vanilla, ginger, it smells like baking cookies, like you're at home waiting for your man in an apron and nothing else.

I'm not the foody kind of girl though, I like whammy florals, and I can't smell the jasmine in this at all.

This reminds me of a more earthy version of Tocca's Brigitte. I like this better, and it's less expensive.

At first, in the bottle it smells almost like patchouli, which isn't listed. I don't care for patchouli, so if you're put off by that original almost masculine note, it does fade pretty fast. Not full bottle material for me but I'm keeping the imp.

[frecklestars]

In the bottle: one of the first scents I ordered and also one of the biggest disappointments. I smell precisely none of the ingredients mentioned, except maybe a very nasty ginger. really, it smells like melted plastic to me. I keep trying it, have aged it, etc, and it remains absolutely disgusting. very disappointing!

 

On my skin: turns a little more gingery on me once it's on, and I maybe catch hints of a vanilla, but mostly it's still just melted plastic. no apricot, no jasmine, no nothing good. stays an icky artificial plastic-filled gooey gross almost-ginger. except I love ginger. I do not love this in any way.

 

Last thoughts: thoroughly convinced this one was mislabeled. willing to try again (and again, b/c I'm so in love with the description), but it is only disgusting on me right now. just icky ginger.

[lookingglass]

I had never heard Siren's call. I assumed that there would be hidden aquatic notes or shrill jasmine that would hate me. However, ih8perfume brought this to the TN Meet N Sniff and held it under my nose...I am so thankful that she did.

 

There's a twist of fresh ginger, almost green, not brown like gingersnaps at all. The jasmine is quite realistic: soft, delicate, creamy, and thankfully, indolic. As it dries down it gets a little...skanky, and I like it. It's like Depraved sister: dark, chewy apricots, but a bit more socially acceptable because of the lift in the topnotes. I could swear there is patchouli in here. Swear. Or wood. No...patchouli...Mmmmmm, I love this. All dried down on my skin it smells like bed pillows a few days after changing the sheets: still kind of clean but also creamy, fleshy, and lived in. Skin but better...yes, oh yes...! Silage when wet is notable, but the drydown is close to the skin. It's not what I'd expect a Siren to smell like; I find the abstraction intriguing.

 

She's one of those happy BPAL surprises that keeps me coming back for more. I'm adding it to my bottle list and she's currently in my Top 10.

[imaginepageant]

Review from 2005.

 

In the Vial: This is nothing like I'd expected. The apricot and ginger are prominent, with a strong backing of jasmine. Sadly, I'm not getting any vanilla from this at all, and that's what I was hoping for the most.

 

Wet: Ginger! Then, loud floral, spiced with ginger. Then... a tiny bit of vanilla peeking out, just to sweeten things up a bit. The apricot has taken a backseat.

 

Dry: Uh oh. This is turning ugly. For a few minutes, it's that sweaty old man smell, but thankfully it doesn't flare up wildly. What's causing it, I think, is the ginger and/or jasmine, which are now smelling rotten. The apricot makes a reappearance, brightening things up a bit. The vanilla? Ran away, scared.

 

An Hour Later: Sweaty old man! With the softest hint of sweet fruit. But still? Gross.

 

Overall: I don't know why so many blends are turning on me this week; I'm hoping my chemistry is just out of whack. I'll try this again next week and hope that four notes I love decide to love me then.

[Gold Dust Kitten]

This is a very strange ginger. It's like ginger that's old and has lost it's fresh spiciness. I can barely get vanilla or even apricot from this.

[snapesgirl34]

In the Bottle – Sweet and fruity.

 

Wet –I don’t get the vanilla at all, how disappointing. Something in this smells musky too. I’m just getting ginger and jasmine, and it doesn’t smell the way I would expect. Hopefully the scent will change as it dries. There’s a little bit of apricot that sweetens it up nicely though. It smells sort of herbal, bleh.

 

Dry – Wow, I’m glad I gave this a chance, the scent has morphed into this delicious vanilla with just a hint of ginger and jasmine. It smells sweet and wonderful!

 

Overall – The notes don’t seem to mix well when wet, and just smells gross at first, but then smell lovely when dry. Unfortunately this perfume doesn’t seem to last long on me, so the dry smell fades quickly. It’s great when dry, but unfortunately I have to wait a while for it to start smelling nice, and then it only last a short while. It’s just not worth it. And while the vanilla is nice, I was hoping for stronger ginger and jasmine notes, if I wanted a strong vanilla I could just order something else. Guess I'll pass this along to someone else.

[Gateau]

In the imp -- jasmine and fruity sweetness

 

Wet -- jasmine is one of my most frequent death notes, but here it's not too bad. It's tendency to go skanky on me is cut with the apricot and vanilla

 

Dry -- it's quite nice for a while, with the apricot and vanilla ramping down the jasmine. But at the end, as with most jasmine things, it sours. I never got much ginger impression.

[Honey]

Gah! Not at all what I expected! This is sharp, tart and bitter.. not sharp, soapy, light and sweet as I had hoped!

I don't think this is the usual ginger or jasmine scent. Wow.. this turns into cat pee on my skin I think. No!

[Rho]

Wet: Kind of filthy jasmine + apricot. It's got a bit of a dirty hair vibe; the kind of smell that leaves a twinge in the back of your nose.

 

Dry: After smelling this wet on my skin, I thought it was going to be nasty no matter what. I'm surprised that it's really pretty now. The vanilla is really obvious, and the next strongest impression is apricot. Ginger and jasmine (and dirty hair) are chilling in the background. This scent has incredible throw on me; I dabbed only a small amount on the back of my hand, and I can smell it clearly even as I'm typing this.

 

The apricot is peppy and sweet, but the rest of the blend is more mature and womanly. It's also very comforting, and I'd think of this more of a "mom" scent than a "lover" one. Must be the kitchen-vibe that the ginger gives off.

 

Overall: I'd wear this. It actually reminds me a little of Vixen without the patchouli. A unique vanilla mix, for sure, and I can never get enough of those. I'm starting to see that jasmine is good for my chemistry.

 

This isn't top ten material or anything; just a sensible blend that is feminine, clever, and calm.

 

Rating: 3/5

[inklaura]

I think I might have found my signature scent. I get a lovely creamy ginger cream soda scent from this one with enough tang to make it non-foody.

 

I keep sampling all my little imps and wishing they had a little more vanilla, or a little more ginger, then I realize I'm wishing they were a little bit more like Siren. I don't get much overt apricot or jasmine but they are there in the background as lovely backup singers to the star that is Ginger! I love ginger.

 

The scent doesn't morph much but becomes a bit smoother as the hours go by. I tend to eat all the scents I've tried so far (even when I slather) but this one has moderate staying power on me.

 

It's gotten me my first BPAL compliment so yay!

 

I don't do overly foody, or too flowery or anything with musk or heaviness, so this is perfection in an imp. Every time I've worn it I spend the entire day thinking "Man, I smell AMAZING!" I'm having to force myself to try my other imps cause all I want to wear is Siren. *Swoon*

[becca_s]

Siren is a really interesting scent ... in the imp it smells quite sharp to me, I can smell the ginger, perhaps a little bit of jasmine but no apricot or vanilla.

 

On first application it smells really spicy and zesty on me. It's fresh and warm at the same time. It settles down a bit but the ginger takes the center stage, it's not a sweet ginger though, its more a tart almost bitter ginger. I think that the vanilla and apricot add to the warmth in the background so it becomes quite an interesting mix of scents. On dry down it stays pretty much the same and mellows slightly but it becomes kind of like gingery incense. I can never smell much jasmine in this at all. My skin seems to amp any kind of spice like ginger or cinnamon making it into the dominant note.

 

This has really good lasting power and a little of this goes a long way

 

I've had a few comments when wearing this too, I've been told that it smells like a Guerlain perfume (not sure which one). My sister asked me what I wearing one day and I said it was called Siren, she said that she could understand why it was called Siren because it smelled salty, but in a good way. (I think she was thinking of Sirens as Mermaids).

 

Overall, I like it and have a bottle of it, but I wouldn't use it as an everyday scent because it is quite strong. It would be nice in winter or at night-time ... or if I was in the mood for an energizing scent

Edited December 16, 2011 by becca_s

[KittyHawk]

Guh. This is so lovely, but it starts with rough punch. In the imp, the ginger overpowers everything. I can detect nothing else. Once it hits my skin, though, it's a different story. The vanilla blooms and takes the bite out of the ginger, leaving behind a creamy, dry, extremely mellow ginger. It's not even remotely foodie on me, even though there is a hint of apricot in the background.

 

As it dries, the apricot becomes a little more prominent, but the beautiful vanilla-ginger blend is the star of the show. Jasmine seems to have forgotten her invite to the party, but it's perfect without her. Siren is an instant bottle for me.

[Gold Dust Kitten]

There is a cherry-colaness to this scent - it must be the sweetness of apricot with the mildly spicy ginger. The ginger is more like the flower and not the root. The jasmine is behaving itself here...it usually goes horribly wrong on my skin, but combined with ginger and apricot it's a lush tropical floral.

 

Drying, it's getting a bit too syrupy on my skin and jasmine is starting to get bolder. I think this would make a lovely Summer room scent.

[taramarie]

In the imp and wet on my skin, Siren is just ginger. Drying, it's jasmine, vanilla, and ginger, in roughly that order. I don't get any apricot at all. Still, this is pretty and a good start for someone who's new to BPAL.

[whitsunweddings]

Oh dear.

In the imp: Hmm, not promising. Zingy ginger and mothbally jasmine.

Wet: Gross. This honestly just smells like flyspray.

Dry: Burning rubber and flyspray. This is the first BPAL scent to make actively nauseous. I had to scrub it off after a few minutes.

[stellamaris]

W. T. F. is this. Seriously. I swear an imp of this just materialized on my desk and it is so good. Really good. Really rich, sort of like Urd-lite to me. Need this, right away...

[madscientistdh]

In imp: definitely jasmine, but with a hint of what I assume is ginger. In my notes I have written "moldy wood" haha

 

On skin: slight fruity sweetness of apricot peeks out, but still the jasmine/ginger combo

 

Drydown: light femme musk, with a creaminess that lends it some sophistication

 

Verdict: I was hoping to be mega-wowed but I suppose I was only a little wowed I'd like to try this a few more times before I make any rash decisions, but frankly I'm not so sure I like the combination of jasmine with... well any of these notes. On a personal note, jasmine itself reminds me of this jasmine-scented coconut hair oil my mother used to have, that I'd use to mix with henna and other ingredients for my hair in high school.

[beakerwill]

Posting from my old (summer '06) BPAL review journal; I will update as I retest

 

(circa July '06 - imp was bought on eBay, so imp age/freshness is unknown)

 

Sniffing the imp, this is expensive and sweet smelling - it actually reminds me of Dior's Poison. On my wrist, it still reminds me of grapes, but is mostly just sweet. After drying for about 20 minutes, it is softer, but still just - sweet. DH thinks he smells patchouli?

Tried it on my MIL, and although she wasn't too impressed, it was a much richer, complex scent on her. In fact, it was almost spicy.

 

Current thoughts:

I haven't retested this, but I did re-read the scent notes; and grape is nowhere to be found, lol! It does have jasmine in it, which is generally a Note of Doom on my skin - nothing like amping blend of cat pee and something suspiciously like urinal cakes

Other than the jasmine, this sounds like something I would adore, so I will likely dig it out of my imp storage boxes and retest soon.

Edited January 25, 2013 by pervs-toy

[Deliciousness]

In the imp: Strong and sweet elderly grandma's perfume. I'm blaming the jasmine.

 

Wet on skin: Well it certainly is jasmine-y. There's a note in the background which I'm unsure about - I believe it's the ginger. Alas, I'm not too keen on the jasmine ginger combo. I can detect a hint of the sweet apricot - which is nice. Unfortunately, the jasmine-ginger combo is kicking apricots butt.

 

Drydown: This smells very much like it does during the wet stage for quite a few hours. On hour 3, the vanilla starts to come out while the jasmine-ginger combo of doom finally calms down. It's actually very nice smelling on hour 3.5, with hints of sweet vanilla and apricot, surrounded by wisps of fragrant jasmine. Alas, I don't want to wait out the 3 or so hours it takes for this to smell good. If you have good luck with jasmine blends, I'd say give this one a go.

[waternight]

Oh, Siren. We had so much potential as a couple....

 

In the imp: um...nail polish?

Wet: vanilla spiked eith ginger, but with an undercurrent of something overripe and stanky, which I have to assume is apricot, since jasmine loves my skin. This smells almost like camphor, with a strange root beer note. Very much not what I was expecting in the least.

Drying/dry: The root beer note never goes away, but the apricot has lost its rottenness, and everything smells much smoother and more cohesive. Quite sweet - vanilla and...stuff. I want the ginger to be spicier, the apricot to be drier, the jasmine to be, uh, jasminier. This scent is unsettling and strange, and yet there's something that keeps drawing my nose back to my arm. Not in an "I want to smell like this" wagy, but in a bewitching and almost reluctant way...very evocative of the inspiration. Without the apricot this could be a killer sexy scent on me. *weeps*

[JuliskaMarie]

In the imp: Ginger & apricot! The ginger is very strong! This is interesting & I'm actually a little nervous about this!

Wet on skin: Still mostly ginger, but not quite as potent. I'm getting little hits of jasmine & apricot too, but the apricot is a little too sweet - like dried apricot rather than fresh.

Dry on skin: A VERY interesting & unusual scent! The ginger is still a little too strong for my taste, BUT not enough to put me off completely! The vanilla has come out to mix with the apricot & that part of the scent is amazing! The jasmine is just hanging out in the background & the ginger is mostly just adding a little spiciness to the whole thing. Getting nicer by the minute!

After a few hours: This is so strange, but SO pretty! While the ginger is still the first thing I smell, it's much lighter now & just adds a hint of spice to the rest of it. It's very sweet, but not sickly so - vanilla & apricot together smell like a sweet dessert (especially with the touch of ginger that remains), but not like you're smelling the dessert up close, you're just in the room with it. It makes me think of an apricot pie, or apricot syrup - both served with vanilla ice cream. It's as though I'm standing in a kitchen with a breeze coming through the open window, bringing with it the distant fragrance of jasmine in a nearby garden before mixing with the scent of the apricot pie/syrup & icecream. Such an unexpected combination, but WOW!

Verdict: Love, love, LOVE! I was NOT expecting this to end the way it did! It's still not something I'd wear everyday - mainly because of how strong the ginger is at first - but I know I'll be getting a fair bit of use out of this & can see myself upgrading to a bottle when the imp runs out!