Banned in Boston

[EmpressPixie]

BANNED IN BOSTON
Banned in Boston was a phrase coined in the 19th century that was used to describe material, be it a motion picture, photograph, literary work, or other work of art, that contained objectionable or obscene content. Boston city officials and the Watch and Ward Society took their lead from the Comstock Law, which prohibited obscene materials from being distributed via the US Mail service, and formed their own strict censorship guidelines. Provocative or offensive material was prohibited from distribution or exhibition within Boston city limits.

The effect was much like that of the RIAA’s Parental Advisory tags: if something was Banned in Boston, it only served to pique interest and spike sales or attendance.

Obscene, lewd, lascivious, and decidedly objectionable. A filthy, post-coitus scent: sweaty and sweet, laced with laudanum, splashed with booze, and stained by tobacco.

In the bottle, it is quite sharp. I really can't smell anything other than this engulfing sour smell. It's not terribly pleasant and, to be honest, I only got the bottle because I really like getting the CBLDF scents.

Wet, this is sharp but sweet. It's almost got a touch of honey in it. It's also got a really clean sweaty smell to it -- like working out right after a shower.

It dried pretty quickly. The sweetness is drying into almost a molasses scent -- thick and sweet. This is often how I interpret sweet and boozy scents. It still has a slight sharp and sweaty note to it (I suspect what I'm picking up as "sharp" is the laudanum), I'm not really getting any tobacco, but after quite some time am getting a lovely whiff of cigar smoke.

Overall, I quite like the scent once it is on and dried. I didn't care for it in the bottle. There is still a vague sour/plasticky note if I huff my wrist, but the throw is lovely. The longer it sits on my wrist, the nicer it smells, even huffing. Yeah, definitely the longer it sits there, the nicer is smells. At this point it is to the "share with my fiance and let him fall in love" scent level of nice (sweet at first whiff, but complex underneath).

[ami226]

Huh, this smells kinda like... old cigarettes with a sickly sweet cherry booze. Eeep! It doesn't smell so good on me and is actually making me feel a bit sick.

 

-ETA- I had to go try and wash it off. There is something in this scent that just made me feel really nauseous. *sigh* Haven't had that reaction from a scent in awhile.

Edited April 19, 2010 by Catseyes

[fairnymph]

Dark and harsh in bottle, but such a smooth sexy, gourmand (think chocolate, vanilla, balsamic overtones) tobacco on drydown, that I immediately grabbed a bottle for myself. Like EmpressPixie, I found that this blend became more and more lovely over time. Same tobacco note as from aged Black Lace, very similar in feel and tone to both that and Storyville, though more subtly sweet and much less heavy and rich. Less boozy than I anticipated - I think the cognac here is more gourmand/creamy/sweet than sharp or alcoholic.. I find this to be pretty much a Tobacco Absolute SN with some super sexy deep musk - not red or black, but with a dark, exotic feel - like Indian or Egyptian musk, I'm quite sure, and possibly a dash of skin musk, too. This is one of ONLY TWO 'dark' scents that I find bottleworthy - the other is Penumbra.

 

 

I shall update this review as I properly test all the new releases over the next 7-10 days, just an FYI.

Edited April 20, 2010 by fairnymph

[angelicruin]

Boozy, sweet tobacco, something almost chocolatey. I love this scent, but it does fade substantially within a few hours.

[sfsassy]

LOVE! I was worried by some of the early reviews, but my bottle arrived today and I tested it right away.

 

At first it smelled very smoky/sultry.

 

Now that it's dry I get more of a wearable tobacco with a hint of light chocolate. One other note I can not really place.

 

I think this will also age like a champ.

 

So happy I have a bottle. This will be something to pull out again in the fall.

[hlemonds]

I do get the sharpness the first reviewer refered to. Not something i'm familiar with, but it's quite odd initially. It almost reminds me of the off chemical smell i sometimes get from a blend that lists leather as a note. But i'm not getting a true leather note, just that chemical sensation in my nose.

 

Once it has been on a few minutes i don't get the odd chemical note unless i get really close up and inhale very deeply. And since some scents can be slightly off when i'm sniffing them up close but have lovely throw, i'm not overly worried about it. Just a couple of inches away this smells just fantastic. I won't attempt to describe it right this moment, i'm wearing way too many other scents. But i will come back to this for further review!

 

 

[GypsyRoseRed]

I could swear there's leather in this! I guess it's the tobacco, playing tricks with my nose. I don't get a chemical smell from this in the bottle, but it did smell dark and almost fruity. There's no fruit here! The overall effect 10 minutes into the drydown is smooth tobacco smoke, a dribble of dark liquor and a tiny bit of chocolate. On me, this is a very fast fader and it's gone within 15-20. Shame.

[sunshinedaisybliss]

 

Yes, sharp and boozy at first - almost to the point where it seemed to be clashing with itself, the laudanum and tobacco are bright and raw.

 

So about 20 minutes passed, and I smell it again. A total change! Now it's developed a lovely warm sweetness that does remind of of warm skin after body contact. Like the way someone's nape of the neck smells when you snuggle up to them while they're sleeping.

 

It is fading quickly - staying very close to my skin, but getting softer. The booze note stays sweet without ever developing a 'booze' type smell, and the tobacco has mellowed out beautifully. This is the sort of scent that would be lovely in a bath oil or soap, it's so warm and soft and evocative.

[beachbabealways]

I agree with GypsyRoseRed, my nose is picking up leather in this scent. I put it on earlier and I was 3 feet away from my Dad and he could smell it. He wears a cologne called Leather Jacket.

There's a sweetness to this also. Must be the tobacco. Everything blends very well. 4 hours on and still going strong. This is a keeper!!

So glad I swapped for it. Thanks Hillary!

Edited May 4, 2010 by beachbabealways

[Gwydion]

In bottle: Mmmm..Rich and sweet. The tobacco and booze on top of the laudanum which gives it a sort of kinky dental office vibe. I’d swear there was a touch of chocolate in this. Wet: My skin loves the darker liqueurs and this is no exception. It’s gentler ion the skin, but really lovely, dark, rich, and naught. I wish I had a bottle of this. Dry: A little weird, but still interesting. It makes me think of the aftermath of the party the scent was having in the wet phase.

[Dark Alice]

Rich clean smelling liquor. Definitely a clear booze. Now comes the sweetness with a hint of tobacco. I do enjoy this but a decant is all that I need.

[Klepz]

In the imp this is verrrry boozy, and sticky and almost leathery.

 

On my skin, this is sexy in a dirty way. The stickiness of the smell repels me a little (I realize this makes little sense, but while the scent is sweet it is not cloyingly sweet), but under that cloying stickiness there's a mostly boozy tobacco smell.

 

Dry this is lightly leathery and the sticky smell has gone away, leaving that leathery, boozy tobacco with a dash of honey. It's quite pretty dried down, and much less "dirty" smelling than when wet.

[devilot]

Banned in Boston

In the vial: Boozy, and so sweaty. Musky. So thick and heavy smelling. And sweet. Sweaty sweet. Sweet sweat.

 

Wet: Still sticky with sweetness and sweatiness. And boozy.

 

Drydown: Sometimes booze and tobacco notes go sour on me, and I think this might be one of those times.

 

Verdict: I really wanted to love this blend so much. I love booze notes and love tobacco notes, and musks usually work very well on me. But for some reason, Banned in Boston is just very overwhelming to me. I am incredibly glad I got to try this, though. BIG THANK YOU to the C2E2 sniff circle started by GypsyRoseRed!

[meredevachon]

In the bottle: Like Hillary, I got the chemical tang I usually get when there's a leather note in the blend. Makes it hard to pick out anything else.

 

Wet: Post-coital flushed skin, sweat (in a good way), and hints of booze. Like somebody partied hard recently. Chemical note is gone, just as it does when I put a scent with leather notes on my skin.

 

Dry down: Very complex, what note's on top keeps shifting around. Then again, it was the kind of party that got banned in Boston, right? (sorry, couldn't resist)

 

Dry: About an hour in, my allergies started kicking up. Watery eyes, scratchy throat, sneezed so hard I thought I pulled something (which was still hurting even after the allergy attack went away). I was driving, so couldn't wash it off, and after about 20-30 minutes, I was over whatever was causing me problems.

 

Overall: Verdict's still out. I really like it, but it has a lot of similarities to Perversion to me, and that one doesn't make my allergies act up. Still, I'll probably give it another try before making any final decisions.

 

ETA: I've tried this a few times since I reviewed it, and when the air quality in the area is good, then I don't have any problems with Banned in Boston and my allergies. But on air quality alert days, we don't get along. So it's a straw that broke the camel's back kind of scent. I'll probably keep it, but be mindful of when to wear it.

Edited July 14, 2010 by meredevachon

[eugmyers]

I was really, really, excited about this --- BUT --- I am mostly getting gay bathhouse and poppers with this one. I realize that may not be a reference that most of you can relate to, but it is one that I know all too well, unfortunately. Ugh.

[malibusunny]

Just opened the bottle to sniff -- I love it already. It's dirty and boozy and totally wonderful. The booze is rich, almost molasses-y, and the tobacco is strong. There's also something leathery but not new car leather, more like old gloves. If this scent tried to pick me up in a bar, I'd be helpless to resist.

 

No one really cares what it does on my body, but I touched a tiny bit from the lid to my wrist and I've lost the boozy and it's a little spicier. I cannot wait to see how this one plays out.

[Venneh]

I remember trying this one at C2E2, but the issue was that I was testing something like six scents at once, so I can't remember quite how it turned out. In the bottle, I'm getting chocolate, booze, and chemically leather. On my skin, I'm getting booze and chocolate and a faint hint of leather. Hrm. We'll see how this goes. Turns to chemically chocolate leather, not quite for me, sadly.

Edited June 22, 2010 by Venneh

[brilliantcat]

On a whim, I decided to crack open my decant of this last night.

 

In-bottle and wet, it was incredibly sweet and boozy, almost overwhelmingly so, and I like sweet blends (Sugar Skull being one of my absolute favorite blends). I also got the leather feel. Definitely old, worn leather, not creakingly brand-new leather. The amazingly sweet phase lasted less than 5 minutes and BAM! I started getting the full force of the other notes just before the cloying sweetness annoyed me.

 

The sweetness mellowed significantly and I was left with something that was smutty and dirty and sexy and incredible. I adore the lab's GC Laudanum blend so I was hoping to get some of that feel and I wasn't disappointed. The cognac/booze note settled down a tad and there was a great waft of tobacco and musk underneath. I'm shocked by the people who had fast fades with this. I tested mine in the evening and I can still smell it today, the next afternoon, albeit very lightly. I doubt I'd wear it enough to warrant a full bottle but my decant will be getting some loving

Edited June 27, 2010 by brilliantcat

[PhantomV48]

At first, in the bottle, the smell hit me like a dirty ton of smutty bricks. "Oh, god, this is far too much!" I thought.

I really need to stop smelling things out of the bottle, it's never what they actually smell like.

Upon actually USING it, I really dug it...and took all day to figure out why.

Then it dawned on me. Cumming. Alan Cumming's fragrance, which as far as I know is totally discontinued and gone now. This is pretty much it. Banned In Boston is a better done, more developed version of Cumming The Fragrance, with a bit of chocolate and booze added. A bit less green, and more brown.

I love it. Was quite sad that I had to give up my only bottle of Cumming, but my ex hated it. Now at least I have some semblance of it back for a while, and now it's improved (and far cheaper)!

 

 

Sorry, just wanted to say Cumming one more time. Hehehe.

Edited June 29, 2010 by PhantomV48

[dawndie]

In bottle: whiskey

 

On skin: a smack of Dead Man's Hand leather, then a bourbon sour

 

Half-hour later: sweetened leather with a bit of woody dust from the tobacco

 

In conclusion: leather is the strongest note in this one, slightly sweetened with the booze. Pretty faint too, which is probably a good thing. I shouldn't stroll around work smelling like I got a jump on happy hour. A subtle, enjoyable leather blend.

[edenssixthday]

Banned in Boston - On me, this is dark and heavy, and I could swear there's both leather and paper in this scent. It's a grungy scent, not remotely sexy, just kind of dirty and dry. It's really hard to describe. I kind of like it, but it's not sweet enough for me.

 

[surf-tormented]

In vial and wet on skin: Booze and sharp smoke!

 

Drying: Smells very smutty. Like you are in a bar in the bad part of town. It's not sweet on me at all, just a mix of leather note, heavy booze and wall-to-wall smoke.

 

Later: The laudanum make it a bit sweeter. I sort of liked it being only booze and smoke. It reminds me a bit of Posset's Montana but with a sweet chocolate under note. After about an hour, it gets an interesting men's cologne bent to it. It's really a nice blend.

 

Overall: I have a lot of perfumes with smoke, leather and booze in them, so I would probably pass on this one. But I am happy to have tried it and recommend it to people who like smokey sweet scents that are also leathery and boozy.

 

Even later: You know, this is going a bit too sweet on me. Dammit!

Edited July 6, 2010 by Madame Nyx

[bluerose]

In the bottle: Boozy and sweet. No trace of tobacco.

 

On the skin: Candy sweet booze. It's so sweet, it's almost sharp.

[deviant kitten]

Ok, so this is going to sound really harsh, and reading all of your reviews on it totally shocks me LOL

In the bottle- To be honest, it smelled like someone took a shot of whiskey, threw in a splash of worshteshire sauce, then put out a cpl cigarettes in it. Waited about a week, bottled it, then sent it off to me

I don't get any of the sticky sweetness any of you are getting.

On the skin.....it's not terrible....it's just......weird! I have placed it in the back of my box and I am forgetting about it for a few months. Something makes me think that this has total potential. It just may take a while. I SO want this scent to be loverly!

When reading the description, I somehow imagined it to be this-

laudinum- dunno...maybe a chemically odd yet awesome smell

booze- cognac

tobacco- tobacco leaves, which gives me vanilla. When I first got it and smelled it, I was sooooo sad, but when I get home, I will be retesting this. I am prepared to wait for years on this one LOL

Edited July 7, 2010 by lerchskat

[naeelah]

I'm not sure how to describe this, except as some kind of sexy ointment. It's medicinal, but in a way that I find appealing. Much like fresh Snake Oil, though, I can tell that this will get richer and sweeter and spectacular as it ages.

 

Wet, there's a lot of something sharp and medicinal - the laudanum, I suppose - with a liberal splash of booze. Smells like rum and red wine. I can also smell tobacco and cool black leather.

 

As it settles in, the booze notes kind of burn away and it becomes a bit richer and rounder. The tobacco becomes sweeter, like a pipe tobacco, and it's apparent that there's some honey and vanilla here. The core of the scent smells a lot like O, actually. But with the addition of the tobacco, leather and laudanum, it isn't cloying at all.

 

I don't smell so much musk. I'm sure that musk is present -- skin musk, for sure -- but it's subtle and blends well. I also don't smell any patchouli, FWIW. Perhaps it's there, but it's hidden.

 

This is definitely a cousin to Perversion. I don't remember Perversion working very well for me, but I think this will be a keeper. I wanted a scent that would smell smutty, and I got it! It certainly isn't a clone of Smut or Snake Oil, but it is in the same family of scent, so if you like those, give this a try. I didn't put on a ton, but it seems to stay close to the skin -- a good thing, for a scent like this. You want it to pull people in.

 

I look forward to updating my review in about 6 months when it has aged!