Paladin v3

[midnight_aeval]

Prototype, unreleased, no scent description.

 

Paladin was one I sniffed I initially said PASS, I don't know what I was thinking since it's a leather scent and my husband adores all things leather from the Lab. He ended up buying it for himself when someone pointed out to him it was masculine/leather! I wanted to give it a test though because I do enjoy leather scents.

 

Wet it is very much like the leather in Olisbos which I don't favor. It has dried down to a woody/leather smell, perfect for a man, but not for me!

[GypsyRoseRed]

When I first smelled this in the bottle, I had an immediate UGH reaction because, although I love leather, this is practically leather single note and it's *strong* when it's wet. On my skin, after about 20 minutes it warms up into a beautiful soft and mellow leather with a hint of sweetness (as opposed to that strong brand new hide smell), which I know I can layer with other scents any time.

Edited March 17, 2011 by GypsyRoseRed

[astarinel]

I really was looking forward to this because my RPG characters all tend to be Paladin or Cleric types. In the bottle: Leather, sandalwood, grass.

 

This is the softer brown leather (Olisbos, CC: Female) as opposed to the sharper black leather (De Sade, Whip). I was expecting something more bright and metallic, as I think "big shiny metal armor" when I think of my Paladin characters. However, this scent reminds me more of the iconic Paladin horse -- soft saddle leather, warm grass, gentle woods in the background. It's a pleasant scent, but it doesn't really say "Paladin" to me and I hope the released version has more of the self-righteous holy knight feel that I love. It ends up being a bit too leathery and masculine for me. People who like Dead Man's Hand and other soft leathery cowboy scents will like this proto, I think.

 

This type of blend suits my boyfriend, but I don't think he can have this one with his tendency to play chaotic rogues and wizards.

Edited March 21, 2011 by astarinel

[Invidiana]

This is like the outdoorsy brother to Rivet Goth. When I first smelled it wet I feared it would turn into the same ubermasculine leather as De Sade (I think everyone knows about my "love affair" with De Sade by now hah) but it's totally wearable. It's like a soft, well-worth dark brown leather as opposed to the black leather of Rivet Goth, with a soft wood in the background and a similar hint of underlying sweetness. I'm thinking the sweetness in this may actually be due to some sort of sweet resin that blends seamlessly with the leather. Maybe there's even a bit of tonka in this? It's really sexy and also unisex. Like Ranger, this was a surprise leathery winner!

Edited March 28, 2011 by Invidiana

[cfrancesca]

I get strong, oiled worn leather, some woods and something smokey and little peppery to my nose. It dries down to mostly smokey leather.

[Penance]

Origin:

 

Lagniappe in a swap.

 

Preconceived notions:

 

Leather is hit or miss with me. Sometimes I love it, sometimes I could take it or leave it and sometimes it outright turns my stomach. But as soon as I read the reviews, I had to try this. I love the idea of a smoky leather and wood scent.

 

First sniff:

 

Intense leather. It's a bit like what I remember Dead Man's Hand smelling like (although the last time I smelled DMH was years ago, so I could be remembering wrong), but with an added layer of woodsmoke. If you took heavily-scented brown leather and left it next to a fire where it could absorb some of the wood smoke, it would smell like this.

 

Wet on skin:

 

Even more like Dead Man's Hand (again, what I remember it smelling like, anyway). The smokiness disappears and I'm left with a strong, oiled brown leather scent. More "Old West" than "holy knight," but that's fine by me.

 

Dry down:

 

Now the wood's coming out. I think I smell oak here in addition to the leather. There's a slight woodsmoke scent here again, almost like smoked hickory. It doesn't smell like burning. It smells like leather that's been near a crackling fire. There's a very faint sweetness here, too. It's noticeable, but it blends so seamlessly with the leather that it's hard to pin down. I agree that it could be a sweet resin, which would be appropriate.

 

The bottom line:

 

This isn't quite what comes to mind when I think of what a paladin would smell like (I envision more metal armor, church incense and clean musk...basically the sort of notes in the released version), but that's not a bad thing. I really love the proto version.

 

Paladin v3 is definitely on the masculine side and the leather is intense, so if that's not your thing, you might want to thank your lucky stars you don't need to try to track this one down.

Edited April 26, 2011 by Penance

[Little Bird]

I really like a lot of bpal's leather scents (Dee, The Red Rider, The White Rider, Liz (! love), The Bow & Crown of Conquest, The Black Tower, just to mention a few of my GC leather favs <3), but Paladin v3 is a little too sharp and smoky for me. First on, it reminded me a bit of a smoky, charred vetiver smell with sharp black leather. It dries down to a softer, more well worn, brown leather smell with hints of sharp smokiness. I agree that it's kind of a cowboy leather scent - conjures up images of saddle leather and campfires on a dusty trail as it dries down. But I don't think that I need to track down more of this one, personally. Dead Man's Hand v8 is my leathery prototype love.

[killerklown]

I was a little worried going into this because leather is so hit or miss with me. But what I'm getting from it is rather nice. In the bottle and wet on the skin I get a hint of smoky leather, woods and a clean, almost soapy, metallic clang- which is great because the grand majority of metallic notes suck on me.

 

Dry and the soapy metallic notes fade significantly- they're still there but I have to really huff my hand to really smell it. What I'm left with is a smokey well worn leather and woods. Not sure if it's for me, I'll have to see if I can try and get Mr. Klown to wear it. I have a feeling it may smell delicious on him!

[angelamaria]

In bottle: ouch. At first whiff, this smelled to me like some kind of chemical cleaner! Not a very promising start. I doggedly kept waving it under my nose, and when only catching smaller whiffs of it, I'm getting the leather. It's just so difficult to get anything else with that strong, almost harsh other-note in there somewhere.

 

Wet on skin: soapy leather! There is also a slightly minty feel. Softer, more manageable wet on skin than in the bottle. The soapiness and mintiness for me probably account for why it was so harsh to me in the bottle. It's slightly herbal, there's a kind of vague greenness to it.

 

Dry: soft and clean leather--altogether soapy and herby, with a touch of that bright mint. It softens a lot on the skin, it seems, and actually becomes rather beautiful. It's definitely a masculine scent to me, but not sexy--well, a lot of the masculine scents smell sexy to me if not right away, then eventually; but this one doesn't change into something sexy, but definitely masculine. It feels green/brown. Slightly musky and smoky, as well, over time.

 

Verdict: well, not for me. I haven't tried out the released Paladin yet, so I can't compare that with this one--but this doesn't feel like a paladin to me--although that may be more of my preconceived notions of what a paladin should be (read: a knight in plate armor!). However, that said, it does feel like a good sort of manly person, a strong ray of sunlight through dark forest and leaves.

Edited June 20, 2011 by angelamaria

[Verios]

I just got a bottle of this via a swap, and was really excited to try this blend out! I was expecting whoa!leather from this..however, i mostly get the metallic scent another reviewer mentioned (clean is a very apt word for it, as well)...it's got a hint of the smokey leatheryness that seems so prominent for everyone else, but it's definitely not all that strong, on me. It does, however, have nice throw, and lasts quite awhile on my skin!

 

I like it, but I think I'll let it have some aging, and perhaps another test or two before I decide if this one's a bottle I'll reach for often or not (and thus, whether I'll keep it or swap it off).

[zankoku_zen]

Soft brown leather, touch of metal and a ton of smoke! I am not a fan of leather, but it is nicely behaved in this one. Very masculine.

[brilliantcat]

I adore leathery blends, so I picked this up on the Lab's Etsy when it was available. In bottle, this is all leather, leather, leather of the soft, broken-in type. On me, it smells a bit citrusy, perhaps a bit metallic, like leather worn under plate. It doesn't scream "PALADIN!" to me though, I think of gleaming armor not leather. This ends up pettably soft leather. My nose is either broken, or there just isn't any smoke in here at all because I don't get a hint of it.