White Peacock

[absinthetics]

Teak, ebony wood, osmanthus, patchouli, red sandalwood, vanilla orchid, tonka bean, tobacco, wild musk, spikenard, and sugandh kokila.

Right out of the mail, the patchouli is strong in this one. Straight up Banshee beat patchouli but without the creaminess. I would say the second note is the teak.

On the skin, the sandalwood and tobacco make a play but the patchouli is still quite strong. The notes I smell the least are the vanilla orchid and tonka.

[Invidiana]

At first this is very much a wood and patchouli scent, not calling to mind the white butterfly that is its namesake. However, as with others in this series, I get a real surprise on the drydown. The woods and patchouli soften and allow the vanilla, tonka and musk to really shine through. I don't really get any spikenard, which for me is a good thing as spikenard can be iffy. Several minutes after letting this dry down I almost didn't recognize it from the wet stage, as the vanilla really got a chance to bloom. So pretty.

[Lycanthrope]

Wet from the bottle whiff, definitely a dry, non-terribly gritty patchouli, the kind of patchouli that drinks at Starbucks and buys things from REI and remains generally unshaven but may not have been in his or her local city's Occupy. Yes, the unshaven applies to all genders

 

On skin, it's mostly a combination of the drier woods (sandalwood comes on strong here, as well as ebony). I'm not detecting too much if any osmanthus or vanilla orchid since the woods are so strong. Over time the woods do start to die back somewhat while remaining a coherent whole. If the musk and florals are present they are doing their thing from in the sound booth or as props, since I can't pick them out as players.

 

Even after a further dry, it's interesting because now I'm getting the hints of a few burnt down florals, over a sharp wood.

 

Strangely, I would have loved this scent about in the middle of its drydown, but after it goes all the way on my skin it is not something coherent I would want to smell like

 

Well, BPAL, you win some, you lose some!

[orata]

I agree with Absinthetics--this is mostly a soft nutty patchouli like the one in Banshee Beat. I did a side-by-side test of the two, and this one has an almost sharp freshness to it (I'm having trouble picking out individual notes beyond the patchouli; maybe osmanthus and tobacco?) and lacks the super sugary/creamy sweet vanilla and soft hemp notes in BB. But they smell really, really similar in the far drydown. I used to violently hate all patchouli scents, so it's been a shock to me how many patch scents I've actually wound up liking, this one included. Banshee Beat was my gateway drug

[FormerViking]

Oh yeah , this is a winner . As others have said , the patchouli is light and not all powerful . And because of that , I get a almost cocoa note from this . It reminds me a little of Lucifer because of that . I think the mix of woods are what keep things mellow . And what a lovely mix it is . Not really getting musk , maybe after aging a bit . Just a fantastic blend this .

[Gwydion]

In bottle: Oh god, the glorious woods! Call it teak and ebony dominant; with sugandh kokila, musk, sandalwood, tobacco, and patchouli support. (I’m guessing the touch of evergreen wood is the sugandh kokila, but don’t quote me there). The wild musk is, by which I mean dark and wild while dancing beautifully with the ebony but without being overwhelming. This really is all about showing off the woods, with the osmanthus, spikenard, orchid, and tonka mostly serving to soften it around the edges and smooth things together. Wet: if anything, the woods are stronger and have even more individual definition on first application. It’s all about the wood. I am particularly fond of the way the ebony, teak, and tobacco work together, but it’s all beautifully blended. Call it masculine or androgynous, with the florals so understated that they are hard to pick out wet. For the record, the wild musk is not too strong with my natural musk, sexy and a little dangerous, but not too much. Dry: Still wood dominant, but gentler, with more sandalwood proportionally as the others fade a bit. The musk continues to play well with the woods and tonka and now the little hints of flowers that reemerge. Even softened, it’s still a little bit wild. I’m loving this. It’s brilliantly blended to smell glorious in all stages while maintaining a sense of itself.

[lookingglass]

Oh, yeah. I get a blast of Banshee Beat patchouli (so, so, so happy!!!), then tangy teak, and the drydown...swoon! The osmanthus is prominent, just as I hoped, which smells a bit like apricot pit, but also grassy. It's really brilliant with the patchouli and woods, which dry down considerably quickly, because it is at the same time quiet and deep, with this little breeze of musk. It reminds me of warm skin, like a Depraved light (patchouli and apricot-yum) but cleaner and slightly sweeter. It fades very quickly and wears close to the skin. It's fluttery and springlike, but also earthy; I don't consider this very floral or vanillic- more like fruity/woody. It's very natural smelling. I've been wearing it in the evening when I want something soft and comforting. She's a keeper, for sure.

[yakiguri]

Wet, White Peacock is all sharp woods. Give this butterfly time to unfurl though--in minutes it transforms into a thick, lush, spicy-sweet patch-woods combo, all sharpness shed like a cocoon. On my skin the osmanthus, ebony, teak, and patchouli are most prominent, with little whiffs of vanilla and tonka here and there to sweeten it. I'm actually oddly reminded of a hair pomade that my grandparents used to wear in their hair to "tame the nappiness." As they are long-gone and sorely missed, I will definitely be adding this to my collection.

[zankoku_zen]

Sharp woods, patchouli and sandalwood. I get whiffs of vanilla and tonka here and there... but not enough to sweeten the blend for me.

 

It has a very Asian vibe to it, in my mind.

 

Not my type of blend.

[a_llb]

In bottle: Dirty, sugary patchouli and teak. Sugandh kokila (cinnamon berry) adds a bit of spice.

 

Wet: Teak, sanded and grainy. Musky vanilla orchid & shimmering osmanthus begin to emerge, shaded by red sandalwood.

 

Dry: Buzzy tonka and woodsy resinous tobacco, with patchouli reappearing for awhile, then fading away to a skin-close sweet wood scent.

 

Verdict: The teak was a bit heavy for my taste at first, but upon retesting I like it more. I think time will be kind to White Peacock, with so many notes that are known to age well.

[ModderRhu]

Smells like Banshee Beat with a planty herbal twang. I prefer Banshee Beat.

[angelamaria]

In decant: mmm--teak and woods, almost yummy. This has a Tombstone vibe about it, but lighter, a bit more complex--it has this "light" almost citrusy note, and spicy. I don't know what spikenard smells like, that may be it; and does sugandh kokila smell like cinnamon? It seems to match.

 

Wet on skin: doesn't change from the decant scent. Lovely woodsy teak and woods, yummy creamy tonka. Definitely channeling the Tombstone vibe here, even though it's a different wood and this has a few other notes thrown in.

 

Dry: dried, and as it stays longer on my skin, the little foodiness present continues to lessen to become smoky, musky woods with a hint of creamy yummy tonka. I was reminded of Tree of Life for a bit, so I also took that out to sniff--this is deeper and smokier than that. Lovely, but definitely leaning towards masculine.

 

Verdict: ultimately too masculine for my wearing! Very lovely though, this was a near keeper.

[KittyHawk]

I agree with angelamaria--there is definitely some similarity to Tombstone (which happens to be my favorite GC)! It also reminds me a bit of Crowley. The tonka and the vanilla add just the right amount of creamy sweetness to the darker, woodier notes; this is simply gorgeous. I don't think it surpasses Tombstone for me, but I'll be debating a bottle.

[jkfagtongpun]

Wow. Wow. Wow. Ok, I had to sit down and collect myself after I smelled this and put it on for the first time. I bought this knowing I would not like it. I very much dislike patchouli and haven't been able to even stand smelling it on someone else. It sometimes triggers migraines but also makes me feel a bit nauseous. But... I was curious.

 

In the decant it's a smoky, woody, slightly sweet resin to me.

 

As it dries the patchouli and sandalwood are most apparent with the wood, spikenard and sugandh kokila in the background. But, BUT! It's a patchouli that I can stand, ok, yes I've had a migraine the past two days that I've been wearing it but it was gearing up before I even opened the imp. There is a hint of tobacco and a sweetness that must be the vanilla orchid but it's so light it is the perfect wisp of sweetness that really compliments the woody-earthiness combination of the other notes I'm detecting.

 

After a few hours it's a warm, woody, slightly musky, spicy smell but, surprisingly, it fades rather quickly.

 

I am in shock over how much I am loving this scent.

[Caper]

There is something here that reminds me of Expressive Head, maybe the teak? Either way I tried them both on after I realized it and while the wet stage is different the dry down is almost identical. Which is a good thing as I liked Expressive Head a lot but didn't get a bottle.

[Andalei]

In the bottle this is a gorgeous patchouli with a hint of sweetness and woody teak. Once applied, it becomes woodier and almost spicy. As it dries down it morphs to a musky, sweet wood scent with patchouli hanging out in the background. The patchouli here is the lovely sweet patchouli from Banshee Beat and the two scents resemble each other, but White Peacock is drier and heavier on the woods than BB with its amazing vanilla.

[OctoberGwen]

The first time I tried this, I thought it was too perfumey - it really isn't, though. It's an intriguing combination of heavy woods, sweet vanilla orchid, and a hint of muskiness. The patch and tobacco must be grounding it. White Peacock stays just on this side of masculine, which is good for me as I dislike smelling like a man.

 

I like it, and will use my imp. Fades to faintness fairly quickly, which is a shame, but it doesn't disappear completely. It just turns into a close-to-the-skin scent.

[Monday]

On my skin wet: Yep the Banshee Beat patchouli. Only more masculine and without all the hemp. Very woodsy but still kind of fresh.

Drying down: There's something smothering the freshness I think it's the tobacco.

Dry: Powdery patchouli and tobacco. It is reminiscent of Expressive Head.

I liked the wet phase but the end result isn't something that I would wear. Oh well, can't win them all.

[Little Bird]

For some reason, White Peacock smells a lot like Cathedral on me, even though it doesn't seem to have any resin notes. It smells like sweet resins and glossy wood. I was intrigued by all of the comparisons to Banshee Beat, but I'm not getting a strong patchouli or really any vanilla from this one. It's mostly woods, and it quickly dries down to a light, sweet-ish wood smell that fades really quickly on me.

 

Doesn't have much throw, and only lasts about an hour on me. I feel 'meh' about this one. It's not bad, but I have better, stronger, more complex woods blends...

[Gold Dust Kitten]

I wish this wasn't such a light scent despite all the heavy notes. The teak is glorious. The patchouli-vanilla combo is slightly reminiscent of Banshee Beat. The musk makes it a little perfumery but in a good way, and tobacco is a supporting note. I'm not too familiar with some of the other notes or they just aren't showing up to the party.

 

This is a beautiful scent. I'm glad I got a bottle. :-)

[cfrancesca]

I get a smokey (almost toasty), creamy, slightly bitter patchouli, heavy woods (they smell masculine and perfumey), and a very faint background of a warm tonka-like vanilla. This is definitely not for me!

[milo]

Right off the bat, vetiver, and it's pretty strong for about 20 minutes or so. It then fades, and the woods are more prominent. This is reminding me a lot of one of the Banshee Beat protos, the lighter one. I'm certainly glad to have this, as I do like a woody blend once in awhile and sold both my BB protos (regrettfully). The vetiver is annoying at first, though, but fades pretty much away.

[surf-tormented]

Smells like earth. Maybe it's the patchouli. Fresh, herbal dirt. Or wait, that's the vetiver too...I like this one a lot...it's so DIRTY!!

[mymymai]

ITI: It’s rather woodsy on first sniff. I can pick up the ebony, sandalwood, light tobacco and musk. It’s actually rather nice in the bottle. Hopefully the spikenard doesn’t make its debut on my skin.

 

Wet: Tobacco, tonka, and vanilla come out as top scents, beautifully and sweetly combined. Under that is sandalwood and ebony. This is much nicer than I had anticipated.

 

Dry: I get sandalwood, ebony, musk, tonka and tobacco. I don’t get any of the sharpness from the spikenard, wohoo!

[dreamingjune]

In bottle: Dry woods, and a sweetness that I imagine is osmanthus.

 

Wet: Hello sandalwood and what smells like frankincense to my nose. This definitely a dry wood blend, but it has a fresh sweetness about it too. The tonka is not crazy strong but it is keeping things from being too dusty.

 

Dry: I feel like White Peacock is in the vein of Banshee Beat, only with a beautiful blend of dry wood notes instead of the strong patchouli note. This also bears a similarity to Dolly Kei but with less sweetness and more of an herbal freshness. I am even picking up on similarities to Cathedral, only White Peacock is way more playful and feminine.

 

Overall: I like it! A lot, actually. It manages to have a beautiful combination of wood notes, an uncommon floral note, with just enough sweetness to keep it interesting. It also makes total sense in the Metamorphosis collection as there is a light and dusty quality to it. Though despite the lightness, White Peacock really has some staying power. This would be great for someone who loves dry wood notes but needs something lighter and more floral.