Polynesian Pop

[London]

Ginger ale, white rum, and a squeeze of orange.

The imp smells like orange gingerale.

On me: I got the caramel note too, as sweet sticky base with a pop of orange.

[zagadka]

I got this as an imp in my last LE order, and was so happy because I have been dying to sniff it. Luckily, I got to before I dropped it and the vial cracked, leaking delish scents in the bathroom. Every time I walked in there I kept thinking "Gosh...what IS that? It smells SOOOOOOOO good!!"

 

I generally don't like foody, boozy, sweet scents. They make me feel sick and/or give me an instant migraine. This one, however is different, it is sweet and citrusy but in a very fresh, juicy sort of way. Its effervescent- I swear they bottled bubbles in this The ginger cuts down on the sweetness and lends a ton of freshness.

 

It didn't change a lot on me from wet to dry down, which is great because the top notes were so fresh and lively. It reminds me of visiting friends + family in Maui; that first full day where you just HAVE to have a ridiculous tropical drink on the beach. Its all mid-day sunshine, toes in the sand, watching the turtles poke their heads out of the surf.

 

Definitely ordering a full size bottle for my next trip.

[Penance]

Origin:

 

Lagniappe from the Lab.

 

Preconceived notions:

 

I never would have tried this one on my own, truth be told. I love the smell of rum and welcome it in perfumes, but ginger ale is one of those things that I like to drink (as long as it's Vernor's), but don't necessarily want to smell like. I'm also not a fan of orange scents. At all. Oranges taste delicious, but I don't want to smell like them. So it would be fair to say that I don't have high hopes for Polynesian Pop working for me, although I think it could be a really fun scent.

 

First sniff:

 

I'm consistently baffled by how uncannily realistic certain food/drink notes can be in BPAL's scents. This seriously smells like ginger ale. It's fizzy smelling. Seriously, it smells carbonated. It's not just ginger and sugar and syrup. It doesn't smell like flat pop. It smells like a freshly opened can of ginger ale mixed with just a touch of sweet rum.

 

Wet on skin:

 

Fizzy, sweet ginger ale and a touch of rum. I don't get any orange from Polynesian Pop at this point, which is good, because I'm kind of enjoying the smell of this. It's not really something I'd want to wear as perfume, I don't think, but it's fun and funky. The rum is definitely there, but it doesn't smell alcoholic. The overall impression is extra-sweet ginger ale. I have a feeling that my nieces and nephews would love this.

 

Dry down:

 

You don't get much more linear than this. There's no change once Polynesian Pop dries. It's still ginger ale with sweet white rum. The orange never does put in an appearance for me, which I'm happy about. There's virtually no throw on this one, but that's fine because I don't plan on wearing it, but I can see it being disappointing to someone who's actually wearing it instead of just sniffing the imp/bottle.

 

This has to be one of the most mindlessly cheerful BPAL scents I've ever come across. It's the kind of scent that just dares you not to smile when you smell it, whether you'd want to actually wear it or not.

 

The bottom line:

 

I still wouldn't buy this one for myself, but I think I'll be keeping my two frimps because Polynesian Pop makes me smile. It's fun and goofy. And sometimes you need something like that, even if it's just a little vial of perfume that you can uncap and sniff when you're feeling down.

[filigree_shadow]

Hunh. Not what I expected. I think it's supposed to smell like ginger ale but it smells kinda funky on me. My skin really has some trouble with those fizzy notes. I can't even describe what it smells like. Partly like this sauce I get on my food at my favorite Chinese restaurant (from ginger, maybe?) and partly like distorted orange. See what I mean? Something about this is not right.

[blueroses]

In the imp: Alcoholic. Rum!

When I dabbed Polynesian Pop on my hand, it was initially a super-fizzy blast of ginger ale. The orange very quickly steps to the front-and-center ... and it pretty much stays that way. The fizziness doesn't last, and what I'm left with is orange and ginger ale, with the white rum adding sweetness and just a hint of booziness.

[melrose]

Fizzy maple syrup - this is not my thing, but I am amazed that Beth can evoke fizz - there must be literal alchemy going on in the lab.

 

It dries down to Play-Doh, but I'm using up the imp because of the amazing fizz.

[Gin]

Cute! I love ginger ale, so this was a must-buy. It's fizzy ginger ale with a squeeze of orange. Fabulous!

[Tiada]

I have to say I've never had a perfume SMELL fizzy! I love it!

 

There isn't a drop of rum in this on me. There's a tiny hint in the imp, but once on my skin it's all sweet orange pop. Wet and dry. Now, I love me some Orange Crush. Adore the stuff. A case would last a few days at my house because I guzzle it down like it's water. But I don't know if I want to smell like it. There isn't really any throw to this one, it's close to my skin, so it might be something I could wear just for my own personal pleasure. But then I'll spend too much money on pop because man is this giving me cravings!!

 

Edit: FANTA. It smells like Fanta. Original orange Fanta that we can't get in Canada without some serious searching at import grocery stores. *sigh*

Edited April 6, 2011 by Tiada

[Suu4LC]

Yes, in the imp this is definitely fizzy as other reviews have noted-I would say the strongest note is the fizzy ginger ale note, with a touch of sweet orange and light rum. Yummy!

 

Hmm-this is like fizzy orange ginger ale candy. Very sweet and yummy-as it dries, I can smell the rum in there too. UGH-I swear, every time I try a luau lounge blend I just want to go and try to mix the drink! This is just sooooo yummy. It smells exactly like what the description says. Such a fantastic summer scent. Makes me want to fly to Hawaii like RIGHT NAO.

 

This sort of dried down to a light orange ginger ale creamsicle. So yummy! I really am not sure I would ever wear this as perfume enough to justify a full bottle, but I may try to track down a wee partial. This is just such a fun, happy scent!

[killerklown]

In the imp: Orange and rum.

 

Wet: An orange creme pop.

 

Drydown: A rum soaked orange creme pop.

 

Dry: The rum fades into the background and it becomes a delicious fizzy creme pop. This will be so good in the dead of summer.

 

EDIT: 16 hours and a bath (with Pumpkin Pie BO no less) later and I'm still getting hints of an orange creme popsicle on the back of my hand. Incredible staying power!

Edited May 17, 2011 by killerklown

[Kayah]

Something in this went weird on my skin - the ginger/orange smell goes all wrong and it's perhaps so sweet that it goes bitter yuck.. Unfortunately something about my skin chemistry doesn't agree with this blend - I will keep my imp because I don't give up on scents easily, but I'm not going to try it again anytime soon.

[blktauna]

vanilla yankee candle

 

 

ADDED May 22:

 

vanilla yankee candle

 

One man's Yankee Candle is another's Wow Found This In My Car and Boy Do I Love It! lol.

I think it is perfectly adorable, smells like lemon pound cake.

LOl it's so staying at yours I'll just sniff you.

[stellamaris]

vanilla yankee candle

 

One man's Yankee Candle is another's Wow Found This In My Car and Boy Do I Love It! lol.

I think it is perfectly adorable, smells like lemon pound cake.

 

Edit, so many moons later, still love this, ended up with 2 bottles of it. This is quite strong and has great throw, a lil dab will do me. It's a perfect wake me up I have to work 10 more hours scent.

Edited April 6, 2012 by stellamaris

[Antoinette]

I had high hopes for this one. Alas, it went from awesome ginger ale to straight up play-doh on me. I smelled the fizzy and it was great, but the horrible dry down made me have to wash it off. Sad because ginger is one of my favorite notes. *le sigh*

[Gateau]

In the imp -- ginger ale. Like, real, fizzy ginger ale.

 

Wet -- Malibu coconut rum.

 

Drydown -- a big waft of bubbly ginger ale. Like others have noted, it's truly stunning how real and fizzy the impression of ginger ale is.

 

Dry -- slightly coconutty (rummy?) ginger ale, now less fizzy. It reminds me of the Cream Soda flavored Dum-Dums lollipops. Not much orange detectable to me -- if it's there, it's Tropicana, not fresh.

 

I can't see wearing this except maybe to a silly beach party with a tiki theme. Then it might be perfect.

[Invidiana]

This one is very fizzy, citrusy and refreshing. Wet I get primarily orange ginger ale, and as it dries down the fizzy aspect still remains but with more white rum coming out. The white rum isn't really a very boozy note per se, just hinting at booze but not stealing the show from the other two notes. This is a great effervescent scent for those disgustingly hot summer days.

[jkfagtongpun]

In the imp this smelled very much like puke to me. Needless to say I couldn't bring myself to trying it.

[tinyvulture]

I’m not sure how the fizzy carbonated quality of ginger ale was captured in a perfume oil, but here it is. At least for the first minute or so after application, it’s straight up ginger ale. Then the “fizz” goes away and the rum and orange notes come out to mingle with the ginger. A festive, cheery, summery scent. It will be useful for fighting off the winter blahs.

[Alshneato]

Holy cow! Big surprise for me- I LOVE this soooo much!! To me it is ginger ale and orange at first- then the fizzy settles down and it has a sweet orange coconut cake vibe! Total awesomeness!

[captnklaus]

I love all the notes in this and was really hoping for an amazing fizzy citrus scent, which is what I am dying to find.

Unfortunately, it was not. However, it is still a favourite of mine!

 

In the bottle it's fizzy, delicious rum. I get very little orange in the bottle. It feels light, playful, and fun. It really is a tropical drink!

On my skin it's mostly the same. A fizzy soda + rum concoction! Thankfully I love rum scents- its seriously one of my favourite notes- so it works out. It's also pretty strong! I open the bottle and the whole room smells delicious.

After a while the fizziness dies down and I think I smell a couple orange slices in my drink, making it smell more like a rummy cream soda vs just ginger ale and rum.

And it lasts and lasts and lasts.

 

I find myself reaching for this one over and over again. Love it! But then again that's no surprise, considering Gnome (fizzy) and Mary Read (rum rum rum) are two other favourites of mine ;3

Edited August 3, 2012 by captnklaus

[crystaltongue]

I was fortunate enough to get ahold of a bottle of this when it came up on Etsy, and it arrived last night! Even a decade later, the scent smells exactly as described: a bright and fizzy ginger with a bit of orange. I only barely detect the rum, but I am not mad about that, because the scent is so delicious and cheerful as it is. And my goodness, this one has a LOT of throw. Delightful all around - I am so glad I got the chance to experience it.