Paduan Killer Swarm

[Schmoozy]

Tonka, black licorice, amber, golden sandalwood, ginger cream, bitter clove, stinging nettle, cinnamon bark, and coconut shell.

Despite all the notes, this is quite faint. Creamy tonka and dry almost dusty coconut husks. It's spicy and woodsy and the sandalwood and amber hover in the background, while licorice, clove and cinanmon bark blend seamlessly with ginger cream and coconut shell. It's faintly tropical and slightly foody. I just wish it would be more prevalent on my skin.

[Little Bird]

I get lots of creamy, sweet coconut from this at first, with a bit of earthy, smooth sandalwood and warm amber. It reminds me of a warmer, smoother, lighter Goblin... like Goblin with warm wood notes instead of patchouli. My skin usually amps up spice notes, but I'm not getting any of the cinnamon or clove from this, much to my surprise.

 

Unfortunately, the drydown is less awesome on me. The coconut drifts to the background so that I can only smell a hint of creamy coconut. The sandalwood seems to amp up and smells very dry and slightly powdery. It smells like I dusted myself with a powder that smells lightly of coconuts. The whole scent is very light and subtle, and I don't notice it much at all after fifteen minutes.

 

I was hoping that this would be a stronger scent and that I'd be able to smell the black licorice. Now I'm hoping that this gets more complex and stronger with some aging...

[HappyLoveJoy]

My initial impression was that it smelled like sassafras root, freshly pulled and broken to release that unique scent. In a very short time, the sassafras-like scent went away completely. I agree with all who say it's a light/soft blend because while it lasts a good while on my skin, it doesn't travel far from the application site. Honestly, that is just fine with me since my husband is overly sensitive to scents and I could probably apply this one just a few minutes before exposing him to it instead of hours in advance.

 

As for the scent? Dry husky coconut, gently sweetened and something that smells like fresh, moist vanilla-tobacco but not a strong tobacco. There's none listed so maybe it's the amber & coconut husk combined? Oddly enough, I don't smell anything spicy in the traditional sense. I'm not sure I can call it a spicy blend at all, really. The licorice is not strong and dark but blends so well with the creamy aspect of the tonka and ginger cream that it comes across as light and creamy, too. It smells similar to Goblin but a much lighter version of it. I'm loving this blend and its understated beauty.

 

edit: after I hit the submit button I noticed Little Bird's review and the comparison to Goblin. *high fives Little Bird*

Edited June 2, 2010 by HappyLoveJoy

[Coelli]

Maybe it's because this is so lab-fresh (5ml arrived yesterday), but I'm getting rubber tires that are even more prominent in the drydown. Brand new rubber tires. Occasionally from a distance I can catch the coconut.

 

A co-worker said soft honey from a couple of feet away, but then she also got rubber tires when she got close to my wrist.

 

I ordered this unsniffed, because I wouldn't have ordered it had I tried it first! Hoping this is another one that I'll put aside to settle for a week or two and then come back to and love. I'll update this if so.

[miss_rynn]

This is very masculine on my skin. Musky, husky, almost aftershavey, which surprises me because just by the notes I was expecting something sweet, creamy, and girly. It's not in anyway unpleasant, it's just not what I was expecting. The coconut husk is prominent but not overpowering, and certainly not a coconut meat scent.

 

I'm not overwhelmed, though I'll hang onto my bottle to let it age. On the right person, this would be lovely, but alas it doesn't seem to be for me.

[milo]

At first, this is all about the coconut and woods. It really is kind of like Snake Charmer at this point, and I'm talking ORIGINAL Snake Charmer. Very sexy, smooth coconut WITHOUT the plum. It does fade into something more like Vixen. A woody, musk with a bit of coconut. This is definitely a bottle-worthy blend to me, and since I was going to spring for Vixen anyways, I think I'll go with this one. I may even get two. I really wish it stayed the way it was a few minutes after applying, as it is the most amazing honey/wood/coconut blend. I imagine this will age fantastically.

[Siberia]

This is AMAZING!

After about a year of collecting BPAL, I think I might have found my holy grail of scent. When I open the bottle, it smells like tonka and coconut. When I put it on my wrist, it wafts and curls around me in tendrils of golden tonka and coconut and black licorice and clove. It's that vivid and absolutely wonderful. Later, it settles close to the skin and I lose the sense of two distinct scent harmonies.

 

I'm probably going to get several bottles of this. Truly the best BPAL I've encountered yet.

[sunshinedaisybliss]

 

 

Nothing much to add here that hasn't already been said! The coconut is the most dominant note in this for me, but it's a lovely waxy coconut - the realistic kind, not the suntan lotion or tropical cocktail kind. The licorice is a perfect partner to the coconut - what a dream match.. who wudda thunk it!?! Together, they create an almost honey-like scent, it's really an interesting mix.

 

The amber and sandalwood are just playing around the perimeter of the scent - I know they're there because there's a dusky quality to the throw, but they're not strong in themselves. I would have liked the ginger cream to be a little more forward.. it's barely there, mixed in somewhere amongst the clove and cinnamon which are also very subtle. I honestly can't find the tonka in here anywhere, the coconut is just so upfront in this blend that other things are hard to find!

 

Overall, this has a lot less 'kick' than I was expecting - given the whole 'killer swarm' thing, I thought it would be more spicy and 'hot' with a deeper/darker feel but on me it's more dusky and furry like a fuzzy bee. If you love those kinda-waxy and close-to-the-skin type BPALs, and enjoy coconut, then Paduan is for you. This will probably age nicely - maybe some of the more subtle notes will come out and the coconut might mellow with age. Meanwhile, I'll definitely enjoy wearing this.. it's one of those snuggly yummy BPALs that are just nice to slather on when you feel like something warm and comforting.

[midnight_aeval]

This blend is super faint on me as well - I get the coconut bark/shell and the licorice mostly. It's just not wowing me.. But, in fairness, there hasn't really been a scent with coconut that I've been completely taken by... and Snake Charmer took a loooong time for me to warm up to, and even now I really don't wear it that often. I see how this scent would be popular, it does remind me of SC.

[Ondine]

I had high hopes for this one, but it turned out to smell like a paste-type incense I used to buy and burn. It's just a bit too strong and the licorice and coconut I was hoping for aren't at the forefront.

[Monster]

 

I was so excited for this! It's not that P. Swarm is bad...it's nice enough but it's nowhere near as wonderful as I thought it would be.

 

This starts out smelling very similar to Mlle Lilith, Fortune Teller and then fades into well, almost nothing on my skin It's just a faint memory of something vaugely...coconutty....sweet and just sort of boring. This might age well. We shall see.

[blktauna]

not for me at all. Baby Powder and fake coconut unpleasentness. :cry2:not for me at all. Baby Powder and fake coconut unpleasentness.

[Pottersville]

Ohhhhhhh, this started out so beautiful! So promising! There's a certain earthiness -I'm guessing from the tonka, clove, and coconut shell? The licorice adds a slightly astringent spiciness to the mix, which is sweetened up by the amber. I can't quite find the ginger cream and probably wouldn't know what stinging nettle smelled like if it ... um ... stung me! It's gorgeous and complex and quite unique. Unfortunately, at some point in the dry down it began to go a bit pencil shavings on me. If I huff really close to my wrist, I can still get the coconut/licorice/spice, so I'm on the fence about going in for a bottle.

[vividdreamer]

Wow, apparently my skin chemistry is really weird.

 

Firstly, this is SUPER strong on me. Unbelievable throw.

 

And it smells like licorice and leather, with a bit of spiciness. None of this coconut goodness, no honey, no creaminess...it's a great scent, but screams "MASCULINE!" to me. I think it would smell killer (ha ha, pun intended) on the right guy.

[gypsyjolie]

This smells a lot like a gentler Death Adder. I swear there is some vetiver in here with the coconut and licorice. The extreme drydowns are very similar, though Paduan is slightly sweeter and a lot less grassy/woody than Death Adder.

 

Paduan Killer Swarm gets sweeter as it dries down, but is much less honeyed than I expected. The throw is sweeter than sniffing close to the skin. On me, this is a warm, dry, smooth coconut (but woody, like the husk is there not the meat as much), slightly spicy "hint of leather" scent. I don't really smell the licorice once it dries. Very well blended. this would be great on a guy but a gal could wear it too. It's surprisingly subtle.

[sunlitgarden]

Paduan Killer Swarm

 

Creamy coconut and licorice with a woody bite. The combination of the other ingredients smells somewhat smoky and vetiver-like (which is not my favorite note). I mainly smell the smoke when I sniff my wrist, but I keep getting whiffs of the coconut, which I really enjoy. Still not sure what to make of it, but my SO likes it, so I'll probably at least let it age for a bit before deciding whether or not to keep it.

 

Edit: once it's dried more, it's settled into licorice + sandalwood with hints of coconut and tonka. I like this stage better!

Edited June 17, 2010 by sunlitgarden

[brilliantcat]

I LOVED this. Wet I definitely detected clove and black licorice which smelled delightful, and something that smelled fruity to my nose, I think that was the ginger cream. As it warmed up the ginger cream and tonka became more pronounced and it was gorgeous. I got sexy creamy vanilla honey. It morphed like crazy and I kept catching hints of different scents. I'm thinking I need a bottle.

[GardenCat]

Very spicy - reminds me (at this stage) of a stronger Lush American Cream scent. Tonka & ginger cream. NOM.

[kjirstiben]

A really compelling scent. I had to try this on four separate times to get enough of a feel for it to write a review--it keeps changing on me!

 

My initial reaction to this was an "ugh!" because it starts out smelling very plasticky on me, like sweet medicinal licorice band-aids, or maybe a vanilla version of a Strawberry Shortcake plastic doll. (If that makes sense.) Not very nice.

 

However, if I wait that out, after a while, it starts to change. I get a sweet mineral-y scent (the tonka, maybe?), and then after another half hour or so, it turns into a sweet amber ginger cream with a bare hint of anise to it.

 

This end stage sticks with me for hours, even overnight, as a barely more than skin scent, but it's so nice that I kept smelling for it all night long.

 

For something with such an odd beginning, this scent turns into something wonderful! I hope that the other reviewers are right and that the note that's making it plastic to begin with will age out of this… because it's really a lovely scent as soon as that disappears!

[zankoku_zen]

I find this to be a very odd blend on me. It's a cinnamon powder (why hello amber) with hints of coconut, clove and dusty sandalwood.

 

No ginger or tonka for me. Just a hot summery sort of blend. Dusty country roads, hot flowers and the smell of suntan lotion.

[surlygurl]

This is really an odd blend. It's very candy-like on me from start to finish. It's really hard to pin down the notes - the coconut is leading the pack, but everything else just blends into a thick sweetness. No licorice or ginger cream or any of the other smells everyone else got. It's really *coconut with other things*, and it's frustrating because I really wanted to love this. I still do. But it has a level of sweetness that is a little too cloying for me.

 

Verdict: This one is going into the aging box in hopes it either "thins" out over time or the other elements come out to play more (anise, are you listening?)

[MeiLin]

In the decant: Initial hit is a cologne with a floral undertone. I think this is the tonka and sandalwood providing the cologny tone; don't know where the floral accord is coming from.

 

Wet: Coconut, tonka, clove, sandalwood, amber, licorice way in the back. So far I like it.

 

Dry: The coconut is gone. Tonka, amber, licorice, sandalwood. Clove is in back, which makes me sad. I like this, but then I usually like all these notes excepting coconut.

 

Verdict: Pretty, but faint. Probably good with a decant.

[greenranger]

I'll get to the review, but, this story is actually pertinent:

 

The forum took its extended naptime about the time I was dealing with this so I didn't end up posting about my bees in the rant section, or anywhere else.

 

I had a hive of bees in my wall. They were entering in a spot where the stucco met the stonework, in an out of the way place where we didn't have to walk past the bees. Therefore, I ignored the hive for a while because my life was complicated and bees were sort of low on my list to deal with. They weren't going to cause the house to fall down, so I ignored them.

 

Therefore, when I finally got a beekeeper to come remove them, the hive extended, inside the wall, from floor to ceiling. Mostly, brood, not honey. It was a much larger job to get them all out of the house than the beekeeper had expected(or I, for that matter), and she worked on it for 5 hours one day and had to come back again to get them all.

 

So, my house had a huge hole in my wall, on the inside, since that's cheaper to replace than the stucco. My house, it smells of honey, and wax, and a sort of faint...muskyness? Bee musk, or something. Not unpleasant. Just different.

 

How did Beth manage to capture that in this scent?

 

Not exactly, mind you, since the oil smells actually much more pleasant. However, the slightly musky beeness is in this, overlayed with a lot more sweetness than my hive had.

 

I can pick out the coconut, and if I look at the list of notes, more become apparent(Or I think they do. I suppose I can be suggestable). Mostly, though, this makes me think of bees. My hive wasn't a killer swarm; they were actually way too busy making babies and feeding them to be interested in me. Therefore I could get fairly close to them without them even caring, and sort of got used to having them around. This can be my souvenir. Something to remember my little friends with now that they have moved on.

 

 

[Nachtwulf]

I really didn't know what to expect when I ordered this. I don't have a good history with honey blends at all, but this one at least seemed to be free of 'doom scents' (on me, that's like... honey, patchouli, lotus...)

 

When I got the bottle, I was actually surprised how dark and smoky it was, very thick and incensy and heavy. I figured I'd just save it for autumn.

 

On, however, it metamorphoses swiftly, and for that I'm grateful. Like most others, I find coconut to be the strongest note, but it's a very 'crushed coconut' scent rather than a sugary candy type coconut. I'm not sure that I actually get licorice, as such.... maybe a hint, but mostly I get something that's very much like baking chocolate; a sort of non-sweet-cocoa that grounds the coconut nicely and keeps it from turning into 'suntan oil'. It retains a hint of that incensy quality, but as far as cinnamon, cream, clove, or any of that... if it's there, it's not distinct enough to identify. Chances are, I'm reading the admixture of tonka, licorice, and sandalwood as 'cocoa powder'.

 

Anyway, it has a very distinct scent that lasts all day without difficulty even in the baking Arizona heat, remains consistent (i.e. doesn't go weird after a certain period of time), and is neither too heavy nor too sweet. Overall, I am delighted with this scent and am glad that of all the Hive collection, this is the one I picked to order.

[ami226]

Hmmmm. I am not sure what I think about this one! At first it smells kinda weird on my skin. I think it is the licorice that is playing weird with everything else. After a bit though, this scent warms up and becomes colaish on me. A sweet, subtle cola.

 

It reminds me a bit of Sin. I like this one, but I think I like Sin better.