Bard

[Malaena]

BARD
A ridiculously charismatic blend of bay rum, honey, and white musk mingling with the scent of harp wood and lute strings and the twang of horn brass.

In the imp: Very sweet floral.

Wet: Bloody hell, it's a floral punch in the face! I'm not sure what the flower is but I'm hazarding a guess and saying gardenia.

Dry: The musk peaks out after about half an hour. It smells very much like O without the powderiness.

[HighlyBell7]

In the imp: Light yellow color. Strong powder, electricity.

Wet: Sweet powder, coconut?, lovely sweet oil, reminds me of that old pheromone oil they used to sell in the back of magazines.

Dry: Light Floral. It’s like being in a rich person’s garden. Orchid? Then a rich person’s boudoir, like they are hoity-toity enough that they actually call it that. LOVE! One of my favorites. Light Jasmine? Fiancé smells coconut with cinnamon. Gardenia? And Honey?

Later: And then something remarkable happens, and it fades into a chocolate tobacco that stays on for a full 24hrs.

[doomsday_disco]

In the imp: Honey, clean, white musk, a coconut vibe from the rum, and wood.

 

Wet: The honey note is the most prominent, followed by white musk. The wood note isn't a main player here. There are also some spices present, although they weren't listed in the scent description. They are subtle, though.

 

Dry: The rum and white musk are stronger during this stage. The honey is still present, and the wood note is lingering in the background.

 

Verdict: This one is too sweet for me. It must be the rum note. It's not bad, but I don't think I will even keep my imp for layering purposes.

[aquazoo]

That is nice! I get the honey right away, thick and sweet. The wood and musk come up for a good blend.

[DiesMali]

In the imp: Thick, musky honey.

 

Wet on my skin: Thick, musky honey and sweet rum.

 

Dry: This remains the same pretty much through the drydown, and then for...going on 12 hours now. Wow! This probably has the best staying power of any BPAL scent I have tried thus far. Thick, rich, musky, honeyed rum. I don't get any wood or metallic notes, which is probably good since honey + metal turns to coppery-fresh blood on me. This definitely isn't a bad blend, though I think I'll have to layer it with something since it's a bit too sweet and uncomplicated by itself.

[Jubliantuvula]

When I wear this scent I feel I get the "she-is-sniffing-her-wrists" look and eyebrow raise. I adore this scent for the first two hours and then it dies on me terribly...

In bottle: Bourbon and bay rum, very boozy and sweet,

Wet: cheerful. Not the pre-teen candy sweet, but the "these are candies for adults, not kids" sweet. I am detecting some floral background carnation? Lily of the Valley? The honey behaves itself in this stage not overtaking the other elements.

Dry: it dies in a crumbled heap from too much dancing and singing

[ShunnerOfHugs]

Bard is by far the best BPAL scent I've tried so far. When I'm warm, it smells like delicious honey with a bit of spices mixed in. When I'm cold, the spices are more prominent than the honey. I normally don't like wearing spicy scents -they make me feel like a walking can of air freshener- but the honey mellows this out and it smells AMAZING.

 

Also, Bard is great layered with Ladon. It smells like honey and apples.

Edited March 31, 2016 by ShunnerOfHugs

[KezzieZ]

This is the second class I've gotten out of the RPG Series. Bard had been sold out at the time, so I tried Mage. This time, Bard was available, but only in the full size. I decided to risk that and used a wand cap to apply.

 

In Bottle: I definitely smell the bay rum and honey in this one. Maybe the harp wood and whatever the brass note is supposed to be as well?

 

Wet on Skin: The scent smells warmer on me, if that makes sense. I still smell the same notes, but with the musk coming out as well and I think the wood is amping. Getting a definite throw to this one, too, but that may be from using a wand cap on a full-sized bottle instead of using an imp. I like that it's not too boozy on me.

 

Someone else mentioned that I smell like lilies. I can smell that now. It's something about the way the notes are mixing together on me.

 

Approx. 1 Hour and a Half Later: I think I'm picking up that brass note again? There's something on me that smells a bit cold and metallic inside of all of those warmer notes. I don't hate it or anything, but I'm conflicted. I'm not sure I dig smelling somewhat like metal. It does seem to fade in and out.

 

------

 

It's not half bad, though it was a bit strong and I'm not loving the brass note. It might help to apply with a lighter hand next time.

 

Like Chaotic and Good on their individual tests so far, I think this may be more balanced out once I trying layering it with other RPG Series perfumes (that is what they're for). I think I'll try some more individual imps I have from other stuff first (not sure yet), but I plan on trying a Chaotic Good mix before tossing Bard in the equation.

[Casablanca]

On the wand, I get mainly bay and honey. On the second sniff, I smell brassy wood.

 

On my skin, I get less bay, a little subtle spice, and more metal: I picture both brass and copper when sniffing. The wood is also more prominent. I can’t tell what type of wood — it has the polish of some teakwood notes but doesn’t seem quite as dark-toned or sophisticated. I also smell some gardenia or a similar flower, and the musk. For a white musk, it’s not coming off powdery at all.

 

Dried, Bard’s notes settle into mellow bay honey with a background of wood. Pleasant.

[Bassmastadroog]

Wow. The review about this comparing to Light of Men's Lives is spot on- except...

 

I LOVE Bard. LoML is heavy on the beeswax to me, and because BPAL beeswax translates to Parmesan cheese on my skin, the adaption of wood and honey, as well as the bay rum (which translates into vanilla coconut- why most people probably think there is vanilla though it's not listed) almost becomes a more grounded LoML to me. It doesn't morph, and becomes a woodsy/honey coconut scent. When on, the twang of copper tickles the back of my throat. I'm a fan of the copper! It's lovely! The strongest of the RPG scents I've tried so far.

Edited March 10, 2017 by Bassmastadroog

[ChernobylLegacy]

This smells like captain Jack on that secluded island with the ocean soaked wood crates and broken bottles of rum. The dark liquid seeping deep into the sand.

 

I smell the wood more in the background. There's that feeling of sucking on sugar cane but in my nose lol

 

It's a swirling of clear and milky white liquid, not quite mixing, dancing together yet seperate kind of like oil and water.

The liquid is dusted with different brown flecks and a flash of gleaming brass light that cuts through making the whole thing radiate. Sunshine. It feels like sunshine to me.

 

Overall, a dirty intoxicating Coconut booze, the perfect scent for summer.

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: Very light, sweet, pretty. The honey almost reads as beeswax. Very nice! Clean smelling without being dryer sheets. Low throw, very much a skin scent. I might be able to get away with wearing this to my "scent-sensitive" workplace! I don't get the wood notes. Or the rum. Just pale musky honey/beeswax and maybe a faint glimmer of metal? A very pleasant scent, and I feel like a bottle of this is in the near future! Usually I amp beeswax and it's too strong to wear to work, but this is so soft and subtle.

 

 

Dry: The wood comes out, and this is really just quietly stunning. It's so soft and subtle, but just perfect. Warm, comfortable, alluring. I need a bottle. Like, now.

[brilliantcat]

Almost purely honey on me, particularly wet and during early drydown. It's very similar to the honey in O, very sweet and cloying. O was a total mess on me and actually made me nauseous enough I thought I might throw up so this Bard is probably not for me. On the far drydown I can catch some of the other notes under the overbearing honey, but I doubt I'll wear this unless I layer with other RPG scents to tone down that brutish honey.

[gloame]

There's a soft spice, and something almost crayon about this. White musk, maybe? It's like a memory of fruit, played on a harp. "It was there a moment ago, but now the sound faded." Dries down to a whisper-spice, a smear of honey, so very light and airy, almost musical. I never got any bay rum.

Where I'd wear it: Brunch on a boardwalk (Maine, not California)

[achildoftime]

I was expecting the rum to overpower this, but I'm very grateful it doesn't. It's a very heady honey and I really like it. Really all I get is a sweet, floral honey and some white musk. It's not very compicated, but it doesn't need to be. I find that it doesn't change at all on me, and while I would have liked a little woodiness, I'm a bit relieved the bay rum didn't show up either.

[KittyHawk]

I truly wish Bard worked on me, but right from the get-go the honey note goes sour, as it occasionally does, and never fully recovers. I'm sure on the right skin chemistry this is a really harmonious blend, but it's not for me.

[Lucchesa]

I can't believe there are so few reviews for Bard. It's my second-favorite RPG scent (behind Elf), and I wear it without layering. Bard has some problem notes for me -- bay rum has burned my skin in the past, white musk can be screechy on me. But they all play together beautifully here. I think it's the white musk that lends a silvery tone to Bard, where I think of Elf as golden. Honey and musk are the principal notes on me, with the rum and its spices, the woods, and the metallic note all perceptible in the background as it dries down.

 

I get the comparisons to Lights of Men's Lives, which is in my top 3 impable GCs, but on me it's different. Lights of Men's Lives is deeper, smokier. Bard is more extroverted -- I get more throw with Bard than I do with most BPAL, and thanks to the honey, it lasts a long time. Today I'm wearing Bard because I have to give a talk I haven't prepared as thoroughly as I would like, so I need the charisma boost. It's a scent that never fails to put a smile on my face.

[DryFrogPills]

As I poke my way through my review spreadsheet and work on posting reviews, we get to Bard! I got this a few years ago, I no longer can recall if I picked it or it was a frimp.

 

In said imp: All rum and honey, baby.

 

On the skin: On me, this comes across as very 'perfume'y at first, specifically, like an amber or musk based oriental. Fairly quickly, the musk peeks out and distinguishes itself, while all that rum and honey are suddenly in hiding!

 

Later: Honey suddenly wakes up and comes to warm and sweeten the musk, turning it into a charming blend of those two. The rum in this never seems to really come out on me. Overall, it's a pleasant blend, but nothing of a stand out for me. The honey does help make sure it's a long lasting one on me at least!

[monocainsheresy]

Honeyed rum and metallic vanilla. Warm and nostalgic in a way I can't place.

[torischroeder9]

In the imp: Honey cut with bay rum. 

 

On my skin:

 

Wet, it's honey and bay rum, along with the nose-tingle I know to be white musk. 

 

It doesn't really morph on me. 

 

Overall, though, this is very nice, and I could see wearing it without layering. It ends up with a beeswax kind of vibe on me; I think this is the honey combining with other scents, like the bay rum and maybe the wood, to temper down the sweetness. 

 

Bard has a lot of throw on me, and it's full of notes that suggest a longer-than-average wear length. 

[Betula]

Bard is delightful. DELIGHTFUL. It's sweet, warm honey and soft musk and maybe a touch of amber? It jumps out of the imp at you, all sweetness and light. The bay rum reads as manly spice to me, which keeps it from being too cloyingly sweet. There's a touch of woods underneath. If there's metal, I'm not smelling it. I am charmed by this bard. It makes me happy when I wear it. It fades into a delicious skin scent on me. 

[feyofthefellwood]

On me, Bard starts out with a lot of rum, morphs into a lovely honey-and-wood scent (seriously, I love the wood notes in this), but then turns sort of acrid--maybe it's the brass? My sister tried it and it smells consistently amazing on her, though.

[puellacaerulea]

In the imp, I get heady honey, white musk, and what my nose wants to read as vanilla but must be the rum note. As it dries down, the wood notes and something high-pitched and slightly metallic comes out, counterbalancing the sweetness. These notes slowly fade out after drydown, leaving me with primarily honey and white musk. It's a pleasant combo, but similar enough to other honey-based things in my stash that I can skip a full bottle.

[biggnerd]

This is a beeswaxy honey, a little sweet musk (not the sharp screeching white musk), and a little metallic and floral ting. 

[VetchVesper]

Bard is one of the few in the RPG line that I love enough to have a bottle of.  Sweet, golden honeyed rum is what I get on my skin, but there's complexity and warmth from the other notes, and even the metallic hint of brass when I sniff deeply.  If you like rum or honey, this is a winner.  

 

Since I have imps of most of the RPG line, and you're supposed to be able to layer them, I figured I'd start experimenting and sharing my findings.    I will probably update this review now and then.  So, Bard with - 

 

Dwarf - Ooo... He's earthy, musky, and a little bit salty.  He seems to be eating peanuts at the bar.  This smells kind of nutty and comforting, and the musk in Dwarf isn't turning into wet dog on me!  Bonus.  I rather like this fellow, and I'd be happy to drink and sing a round with him.  As the night wears on, Dwarf-Bard hangs around.  He stays nice and earthy, the metallic note deepens (aided by the Bardy brass) and I start to get almost an incensey vibe.  I think I might be falling for Dwarf.    This combo would smell great on a guy, but I like it for myself as well.  

Elf- This one surprised me because, while I like Elf, and I like Bard, the two together don't do much for me.  I mostly get Elf with a bit of depth and sweetness added.  Since Elf is plenty sweet already, and I rather enjoy its light springy quality, depth and sweetness aren't adding to my experience.  She also seems to go a tad screechy.  I'm hanging out with Dwarf-Bard, on the left, eating peanuts and having a good time. Meanwhile, Elf-Bard is trilling loudly from my right, determined to grab my attention, because of course she's the best.  She's an elf!  No thank you Miss Elf-Bard.  You keep those berries.  I'm enjoying my peanuts!  

Gnome - This combo's not so great on me either. At first, the root beer and the rum sort of cancel out each other's sweetness. The spiciness of Gnome starts irritating my sinuses in the way dry soap can.  There's an odd, masculine woodiness that I find unpleasant and the notes are dischordant. Eventually, all the chaos settles, and I get a thin, honeyed root beer. Meh. I never liked bard being gnome's preferred class anyway. 

1/2 Elf - I love this combination so much.  The sandalwood in 1/2 Elf really cuts Bard's sweetness and adds to the warmth.  The combo also makes the beeswax/metallic twang note stronger.  1/2 Elf's ok by itself, but fantastic with Bard.

 

Good - Skin musk isn't great on me, and that's what I got when I mix these two - musky Bard.  In some ways, it actually reminds me of the gift fragrance, In Omnibus Caritas and some of the vulva Lupers.  Honey, sugar and skin musk.  Actually, not quite as sweet as I expected, but still quite sweet.  Probably very sexy on the right chemistry.  (I'm tempted to add 1/2 Elf to get that sandalwood in there...)

Evil - Hell.  Yes.   Evil by itself is kind of soapy boy-cologne on me, but it combines so well with the series.  Here, I get all the sugary charm and warmth from Bard, with an intriguing hint of mystery.  He's tinged with incense and complexity.  He's also well-washed - but only so he can  dirty you up in the best way possible.    Very sexy and unisex.    

Neutral - Musk.  MUSK.  MUUUUUSK.  Warm musk?  Seriously - I no longer recognize Bard.  He/she is too apathetic to play right now.  Just hang'n out in the shadowy corner - musking.  The combo is pleasant, comforting, and unobtrusive.  It also works better for me than Neutral by itself.  If you like snugly musk, check it out.  

Chaotic - Eww.  Not for me.  This becomes weirdly citrusy and cologne-like when I combine the two.  It sort of settles down after a wait, but not my thing or right for my chemistry.  It might work for guys though?  

Lawful - This is your bard who plays for the symphony, doesn't have gambling debts, and never tells bawdy jokes.  Lawful amps up the wood notes and surprisingly, the beeswax.  It also cuts the sweetness.  This bard plays sweet violin music into the night rather than carousing, drunk, in the tavern.  I must admit, I'm more partial to scallywags, but this is a very nice alternative.  I'm not a fan of Lawful by itself.  

Edited September 5, 2020 by VetchVesper