Scherezade

[poolsoflaughter]

A master storyteller who possessed unfailing courage and compassion, a sharp, quick wit, and a true understanding of human nature. Saffron and Middle Eastern spices swirled through sensual red musk.

In the bottle: Very heady, strong musk and warm spice.

Wet on skin: I can't distinguish any single note, it just smells warm and inviting.

Dry down: The scent doesn't last all day on me, but it's worth applying often...the soft musk, spices, and saffron all are so smoothly blended together that I still can't tell one from the other. One is reminded of strolling through stalls at an Egyptian spice market.

[LadyLuckDoubt]

I was SO excited about this one...

 

In the Bottle

Rich, sweet, tantalising Dragon's Blood with deep, exotic spices. Intoxicating, warm, musky and delicious.

 

On Me[/i]

Ohnoes! Where did the incense come from? What happened to all those pretty spices? Where'd the musk go? What happened to the dark intensity? On me, this goes to a hideously sweet patchoulli-and-incense hippy trippy shop nightmare. I smell like a stereotypical hippy, like my name should be Moonbeam Rainflower and I should walk around talking about everything being cosmic and sounding all whispery and deep like that Divination teacher in the Harry Potter series. This is what I imagine her classroom to smell like, though.

 

This stuff, on me, has incredible throw and staying power. It lasts for AGES, and it's so strong, I can see why hippy people use patchoulli to cover up the smell of dope. I had three kids at work (who've known me for awhile) suddenly decide to ask me today if I smoked marijuana. I don't know if this was coincidental or not.

 

And... more than twelve hours later, and in spite of me putting on some Te Po mid-afternoon-- I can STILL smell it on me.

 

I'm not saying it's bad: this would be a lovely blend if it stayed like it is in the bottle, or for people who go in for the patchoulli and incense thing. But... not for me.

[inurbanus]

As Scherezade seems to be a popular scent, I was really looking forward to trying this one. My first impression was that it smells a lot like Kabuki without the anise, which means that red musk is the dominant note. I think I like Kabuki more, but this is still good. Oddly enough, it's clean and does the weird soapy thing that most musk does on me (I'm thinking of Bastet), but it's definitely what I would call "warm." I can see how it would be really sexy on some people, but I am not one of them. Still, I'm going to keep my imp of this; maybe aging will improve it.

 

3.5/5

[alicia_stardust]

This is mostly red musk; it is sweet and almost juicy; very feminine and sexual. The spices are gentle but present and add an alluring twist to this.

[mazaru]

Wet, this is fascinatingly spicy, thick and heady. It goes through a distressingly baby-powderish phase while it's drying, and settles down to a barely-there layer of spice very close to the skin, on me. It's a lovely, warm, comfortable smell, but the throw is so low that I can't see myself wearing it out.

[Lamia]

Fresh, it smelled like dusty woods, old spices, and a touch of, um, hungry vagina. Drydown, it's soft spices. 5 hours is too long to wait for a scent to develop.

[Kitrona]

One of my favorites. I'm glad I got a bottle. Incensey and musky and patchouli-ish though not overly strongly. Much love for Scherezade!

[greenranger]

I don't see rose as a note...but, I think there is at least a little in this, because as Scherezade was going from wet to dry on my skin it begin to amp up, till I had a rose scent, backed up by musk and spices. It was lovely, because for once, the rose wasn't the star, but was only one part of the blend...a lovely musky spicy blend with rose in it!

 

Except, of course, the only reason it was playing nice was because there wasn't enough rose in the scent to list in the scent description! Heh. Having amped up, the rose reached its crescendo, and then faded, leaving a spicy musk.

 

It's a nice scent, and I'll have to try it again. It isn't grabbing me the way Snake Oil did, though...or even Chernobog which has even more musk. It's nice enough to put in the imp rotation, though, and it could be that my chemistry will change in a few days, or that aging it slightly will help it.

[strangemodegirl]

This reminds me of the incense that they used to burn in this little antique and curio shop that my Dad and I used to frequent when we lived in Jakarta.

It is gorgeously spicy, warm and musky all rolled up. Red musk and me, well, we tend to get along very well.

I have also noticed that as it ages it gets deeper and even more beautiful. I think I need a few more bottles to cellar!

[SilverSerenity]

Mmm, this is gorgeous. It's a very rich spicey scent, but unlike Wrath or War (two of my favorites), it's not a hot biting spice, but rather a warm, gentle but rich spice. It's a very soft, dry, feminine scent - not girly, but feminine. It's very grown-up and womanly, and also very sensual and sexual (but not so much that it's trashy-sexual), and very alluring.

 

I like this one a whole lot, obviously. I think it's going to be my default 'adult' scent

[darharper]

I got this scent as a frimp from Megara (thank you!).

 

In the imp: Spicy! Woah!

 

Wet: A little sharp, but, I am starting to smell the musk and some of the spices.

 

Dry: Very warm with a bit of sweetness teasing in the background. I really like this! It is transporting me to another place where the sun warms the earth and people speak in melodic strains of Arabic. God, this is gorgeous!

 

After 30 minutes: Wow! This just keeps getting better! It is beautiful, warm, damn sexy! I think I put too much on as it is rather strong (just a swipe on wrists and neck), so, I will have to tone it down next time. Still, it is lovely and it is on the bottle list!

[fairnymph]

Sniffed in imp: Medium golden brown oil. Sweet and spicy, with the brash bite of red musk. A bit of spicy floral (opium/poppy). The saffron is soft and merges with the warm amber. I suspect a bit of star anise, providing spicy and medicinal notes. Incensey, earthy and woody too. Feminine.

 

There is nothing at all I like about this blend, and I have no desire to test it on my skin. It is not my style at all.

[scarletgenesis]

On the up side, Scherezade is a red musk blend that is not horrible on me. Actually, on my skin its similar to Mme. Moriarty, though lighter.

 

I get the red musk and lotttttttsssss of Middle Eastern Spices with a bit of smoky incense. No saffron though.

 

Overall, it's nice enough, I suppose. Kinda goes weirdly spicey/powdery on me after a while.

 

I may try wearing it in a scent locket or burning it as a room scent to see if I warm up to it more.

[thelaurenator]

I so badly wanted to love schezerade because I LOVE saffron. But it just smelled like icky incense on me. It's becoming difficult for me to tell which orientals will work on me, since I have very picky skin. This one didn't work on me so I had to hand it over to my oriental-loving friend. It smelled great on her

 

EDIT

 

I retried Scherezade today and have changed my mind about it. Here's my new review:

 

Wet: WHOA MUSK. And spice. But mostly just bitter, bitter red musk.

 

Dry: Soft breath of spice, and finally SAFFRON. I can definitely detect that sharp, tangy, luxurious smell anywhere. The red musk has finally taken its rightful place, in the back seat, to the other spices and saffron. Very pretty, but not that unusual except for the saffron.

Edited July 16, 2008 by thelaurenator

[Andrea912]

Wet: musky incense

 

Dry: the incense died away, which tempted me to keep it; warm oriental spices linger. However, musk just goes to powder on me...and I smell like Arabian baby butt.

 

Verdict: not for me

[donnatron]

Imp: Thin and kind of watery. Strongest smell is saffron.

 

Wet: Underperforming. The red musk seems kind of stubborn and refuses to come out and play. I smell like spicy hay.

 

Dry: HELLO RED MUSK! I AM GLAD TO SEE YOU TOO! Man, this dries down and the red musk is all over me. I like red musk, so it's not an issue, but it definitely takes its sweet time showing up. This smells soft and sweet on me, sort of like dragon's blood but with an extra smack of sexiness.

 

Throw: Very good.

 

Overall: I like it, but it dries down to a sort of less complex Kabuki. If given the choice between the two, I'd take Kabuki any day. May get some wrist time in imp form, but I don't feel compelled to order a bottle.

[starwild]

I think I may have finally found a red musk that does not like me.

 

Well, actually I think this red musk likes me TOO much. It's almost like a red musk single note, it's so overpowering, and the combination of the spices underneath made this a little too skin-scentish for me. It's not bad and it's not gross body odor, but it does have that body odor kind of feel to it. I felt a little uncomfortable wearing it, fearing others might find it stinky.

 

I'll probably try it again to see if it's a chemistry issue, but I think dear Scherezade and I are two different ladies and should operate in different circles.

 

I bet this would be devastatingly good on the right woman, though.

[milo]

I LOVE this! It is Marianne, only without the floral. Very sexy, musky, and I love the saffron. Very much a bottle worthy scent for me.

[Astarial]

I got unsolicited compliments when I wore this today, so it's certainly a keeper.

 

In the bottle, it smelled spicy, and a little... floral? But once on my skin, it was exactly what I was hoping.. spicy, musky, and delicious, and it stayed that way until mid-late afternoon, when it got so faint I could only smell it by pressing my nose to my wrist. The woman I carpool with told me I smelled good enough to eat, and asked what I was wearing... I may get her a bottle for herself. This enabling thing is fun!

[Stephanie]

This has skyrocketed to second place in my Top 5 (the first being Chimera).

 

This is incense, spice and red musk heaven. I think red musk is combination of egytian musk and dragon blood? Maybe that's why red musk is the only musk that works on me--I love dragons blood.

 

I must find the time to wear this more often! I've only now finished my bottle from 2004! And I've gotten several unsolicited compliments today.

 

BPAL has so much great new stuff to try all the time that I tend to forget my favorites.

[secretstars]

D:

 

this smelled so much like touristy Salem 'witch shops' and the 1$ incense they sell. i tried to keep it on as long as possible to see if the scent changes, but it doesn't.

 

i was really hoping for saffron and thick syrupy spice or something. alas. :'(

[Ohmaude]

Have I not reviewed this yet?

 

I prefer to wear this in the winter when the red musk stays close and the scent is sexy and comforting and wafts from under scarves and jackets. It can be a little too much in the summer when it amps like crazy. This is almost like a red musk single note, with just a hint of spicyness.

 

Ohmaude rating: Ohyes!

[crebbsgirl]

I think this might be a new favourite for me. This is a beautiful, spicy blend that lasts forever on my skin and gives me the warm fuzzies all day. There is an incense-y feel to this one. It reminds me of a shop I used to frequent in University that sold jewelry, clothing and other such wares from all over the world, and in particular they had a display of wooden jewelry boxes that always caused me to pause.

[tacey]

I seem to be in the minority here, but on me, Scherezade is a light, spicy blend with no throw whatsoever. I couldn't tell I was wearing it at all (even right after application) without sniffing right at my skin. Pretty, but I was disappointed to get so little scent from it through the day.

[ErinZ]

Starts out sort of woody and warm, but goes to powder quickly.

 

Smells like my grandma.