Arana

[Ajila]

Vanilla-infused agarwood, oak bark, and Laotian benzoin.

 

In the bottle - Soapy vanilla and a furniture polish sort of wood note

Wet on me - Mostly still a soapy vanilla, although the wood is more woodsy now

Dry on me - A soft sweet woody vanilla

Overall - I do like the dry down a lot but it's just a little rough in the wet stages, age may mellow it out

[Balame]

This sounded like it would have the same vibe as Atlas, my favorite BPAL blend, and it starts out nicely enough. It does indeed mirror the creamy mallow in Atlas with vanilla and backs it with sweet resins. Then some weird stuff starts happening. It went through a stage where it smelled like astringent suntan oil on me (plastic-y coconut versus the nice kind) then it settles into a powdery oak with more medicinal, almost fruity vanilla. Verging on peachy, I'd say?

 

Even in this state it's not bad, but not what I was looking for. It actually reminds me of a sweeter, lighter version of Aziraphale (dusty, a little dry, sweet woods).

[tinyvulture]

Woodsy vanilla, YUM!

 

Oak already has almost a vanilla aspect, to my nose, and benzoin is sweet, so these notes work wonderfully together. I love a good sweet, grainy, woodsy resinous blend. The only downside is that I really have to slather it on.

 

Ten minutes later: still vanilla oak.

[brilliantcat]

I picked this up as a blind swap because the notes, they appealed to me and are some of my favorite types (woods and vanilla and resin, benzoin being a particular favorite). The overwhelming comparisons to this being a lighter version of AM have also piqued my interest as I read the reviews from time while the bottle languished, forgotten aged purposefully in one of my boxes. I desperately wanted to love AM but it went all sorts of bad on me because I have come to the conclusion that while I love tobacco scents in the bottle, I amp them to screeching, super-sweet, tooth-achingly syrupy caramel that I cannot stomach. So I'm hoping that without the tobacco, this will fill that void that AM has left.

 

In the bottle, it reminds me strongly of another blend (not AM) which of course I can't bring to mind and it's driving me crazy! AHA! I've got it! My Black Vanilla & Cardamom HG! That's what it reminds of, the black vanilla before the cardamom takes over. A bit cologne-y as mentioned, but in a good way, with a definite sweetness and the ice cream vanilla that benzoin can lend. On me, it's still got that cologne vibe and... soap? A very tiny hint of soap amongst the woods and sweetness. The vanilla is there but very much toned down. A deeper, less sweet, complex black vanilla to my nose versus the ice cream vanilla-ness of benzoin, the golden warmth of bourbon vanilla, or the light fluffiness of vanilla cream. I am a vanilla connoisseur, don't ya know?!

 

The cologne-iness burns off quickly, leaving rich woods, deep vanilla, and a touch of that sweet benzoin. Glad I picked this one up and forgot about it set it aside to age like a boss!

[LizziesLuck]

A lovely forumite kindly sent me a tester of this. Thank you!!

 

Wet: Mmm, that's nice. Reminds me a bit of The Changeling, right off the bat (likely the vanilla/woods combo). This is a much more "clean" vanilla than that though, verging on soapy. I like it so far though.

 

 

Dry: Really clean vanilla and hints of woods. I wanted to love this, but I am not a fan of most "clean" type scents. This isn't bad at all, just not me.

[Lucchesa]

I got an imp of Arana in a swap, so it's aged roughly half a decade now, and it's gorgeous on me. I like Antikythera Mechanism, but it doesn't last long on my skin. Here I was worried about the agarwood (oud), but there's nothing indolic about it; instead, it seems to contribute warmth and excellent wear length. No soap on me, just warm woodsy vanilla that wraps around me like a soft cashmere shawl on a chilly day. Love.

[zephyr35]

I was lucky enough to score this on one of the Lab's ebay drops and I'm so glad I did. I'm a huge fan of Antikythera Mechanism and this completely scratches that itch in a lighter, almost more summery way. It opens with the sharp biting oak of AM and lots of vanilla. The oak really comes out swinging on me, and I think the agarwood is amping it up a bit. There's a point where it goes kind of powdery on my skin, and I don't love it but after about an hour it dries down into this lovely soft wood scent that's almost a creamy vanilla oak and it's gorgeous. I keep getting whiffs of myself and smiling. I'm not really getting a cologne/masculine scent from this at all, but I don't find Anti Mech is masculine on me either, this one is just a pretty, woody vanilla that I really love.