The Lion

[curlsandpearls]

The dry, glorious warmth of the Savannah. A golden, spiced amber, proud, regal and ferocious.

Bottle: Dry savannah. Sandalwood.

Wet: Spicier. Dry, heady, Middle Eastern amber. I like. It’s dry enough so as not to be overwhelming with thick, redolent spice. It doesn’t seem to have a lot of throw – I’ve put it on my wrist, neck, and a bit in my cleavage and am having trouble smelling it.

Dry: Still dry, warm, and spicy, but there’s almost a vanilla-sweetness to it. Subtle. Very nice.

Later: Sadly, this had no throw on me whatsoever. I slathered it on my wrists and neck and my husband still couldn’t smell it. Sad face. Swap pile.

[cosmoblue]

In the vial, smooth amber and spices.

 

Wet, soft warm cinnamon. Hubby says it is like red hots candy but I don't think it is that strong.

 

Dry it is a very nice warm amber with a bit of cinnamon. Hubby says the cinnamon has faded to the background. Started as a 3/5 and upped from a 3 to a 4 since as I wore this it just got smoother and yummier. I bet this would be amazing aged.

[whitsunweddings]

In the imp: A soft, clean, spiciness.

Wet: A cinnamon-y amber.

Dry: A nice spicy resin. Makes me think of christmas. It's pleasant, but I think i'd prefer it as a room scent.

[puellacaerulea]

In the imp and upon application, The Lion is pawing me in the nose *hard* with cinnamon. For the first couple of hours I don't get any discernible amber, just Red Hots-esque cinnamon. After a couple of hours, though, softer and resinous notes start coming out and balance the cinnamon very nicely. The end result is a scent that to me is evocative of warm, dry days -- spicy and lightly resinous without being overpowering. I could see myself wearing this more often provided I think far ahead enough to apply it with enough time to let the hardcore cinnamon die down before I go anywhere.

[Tiada]

The Lion changes very different throughout the day for me, and I really do love it!

 

Starting out, I get dry sandalwood with amber. It's so fitting of "Savannah" for what I would imagine. Dry, hot and while I don't really love the sandalwood, I can handle how this wears through the day, and the amber really makes it work together.

 

About 2 hours or so of wearing, it becomes sweet. I get a warm vanilla, with the amber that stays, and spices that join in. I get the cinnamon, but not a spicy one, it blends in fittingly with the vanilla. It's almost like a whole creamy element has been added, but I think it's how the scents have become over time. I really love it at this point, adore it actually. The sandalwood is gone at this point, which actually is nice as it gets a bit weary by then for me, and it works to have it blend this way!

 

Overall, I do love The Lion. I did buy a bottle very quickly off the first or second wear of my imp, which I don't ever do. I was worried that I'd been too quick on the move, but I think I'm safe

Edited August 5, 2012 by Tiada

[mymymai]

In the Imp (ITI): While I get amber, it’s a fig, clove, and nutmeg amber. I hope it doesn’t turn powdery on me.

 

Wet: The amber is just a touch sour on my skin, and there is an odd dry grass note in there in addition to the nutmeg. What an odd scent.

 

Dry: Dry, spicy nutmeg and pastry-like amber, although I do get something a little more foody but that I can’t place. Odd.

[Alethia]

Thoughts before testing: Amber almost always goes straight to a sharp powder on my skin and obliterates everything else in the blend. My hopes are not high for this one.

 

Wet: This smells like walking into a craft store, which is maybe better than sharp powder?

 

Dry down: Generic craft store spice.

 

Dry: No change.

 

Final thoughts: I'm glad that it wasn't powdery, but I have no desire to smell like Michaels or Hobby Lobby

 

Verdict: Off to the sales!

[Quillifer]

For ages I've said that I love the smell of horses, but figured I didn't want to smell like one. Now I'm not saying this Lion smells of Horse, but there's something about it that reminds me of a part of that smell, and I love it. I think the imp I've been given is aged, which might make a difference, but either way, it's lovely. This is the sort of smell that, when combined with florals or whatever, I find far too heavy, but on its own, I love it.

 

Edited to add: On me this is really strong! All the more surprising since many scents that last well on others, don't on me.

Edited September 4, 2012 by Quillifer

[fairestrocza]

Simple and glorious. This is the blend that made me fall in love with amber.

The spiciness adds just the right depth. Warm and wonderful.

[undream]

This is gorgeous both wet & on dry down; a beautiful, sun-warmed, golden scent, and the cinnamon that I detect within the first ten minutes or so excited me! I just recently tried Love Me and fiercely fell in love with it, and so the cinnamon in The Lion called up Very Pleasant Associations[tm] to the cinnamon/floral blend of Love Me. Yummmmm.

 

Not much throw for me, so I kept having to sniff at my arms, and . . . uh oh. Once dry, something in this turns kind of . . . sharp? Unpleasant. It hits me a little bit harshly in the back of the throat, and I'm starting to wonder if it's more to do with where I'm at in my cycle than the perfume itself, because the same thing happened with The Sluggard, which I tried just yesterday, and always happens with any bpal scent containing jasmine - it turns to hairspray on me - and COME ON. Seriously? I am not The Amazing Turns-Beautiful-Scents-Into-Hairspray woman.

 

Also, I'm starting to get a little embarrassed mentioning hairpsray in every single review I write.

 

ANYWAY, will give this one another go in a couple of weeks, but as is, I think it'll be off to swaps.

[claudia6913]

In the bottle: Spicy amber.

 

Wet on skin: Spicy, dry amber. Not a peppery spice, not a carnation spice, not a foodie spice that I recognize. Just a nice warm spicy amber.

 

Dry: This doesn't really morph, it just is what it is and is unapologetic about it.

[kaberett]

In the imp: cinnamon and amber. (SO MUCH CINNAMON. Maybe this is because I spent a lot of today going through an incoming shipment that was FULL OF CINNAMON, idk.)

 

Wet: CINNAMON DUST. Cassia dust. Nutmeg. Spiced cookies.

 

Drydown: I actually smell like I spilled a spice rack on my arm. But give it fifteen minutes and suddenly the amber (and some musk?) start coming through: suddenly smells much more complex, and very clean along with it. This could grow on me.

 

Dry: Spreads out into a beautiful sweet spicy golden delight once it's had a chance to get used to the skin and warm up. APPROVAL. Luxuriant, feline, and very VERY sexy.

[tharsei-thanate]

Got a frimp of this from a darling forumite.

 

My skin and spice are pretty much best friends and amber hasn't given me many problems yet besides a somewhat powdery drydown, so this should be A+ on me.

 

In the imp: Hmm. This is pretty light. It's amber and vague spice. Smells more like nutmeg than anything else.

 

Wet: This really blooms on my skin! Spiced amber, with something like sandalwood. Cinnamon is definitely at the forefront of the spices, and it is indeed a bit like Red Hots, but it's not as strong as Inferno or anything. There's also that barn or zoo quality others have noted. It's sooort of coming off as sawdust, or maybe pellets? It's dry, at the very least, and a bit dusty.

 

Drydown: It's very similar to the wet, but it's smoother now.

 

Dry: Still much of the same, but lighter. Also, the spice is more of a blend of spices rather than just cinnamon now, and the barn-smell has risen just a bit above the spice.

 

I'm a bit on the fence about this! Spice is good, Red Hots are meh. Barn-smell is good, but only if there are animals in there, not just sawdust and pellet feed. At the same time, the spice does become more rounded as it dries and the amber, at least, is steadfast. Hmmmm.

 

I think I need to do more tests before I pass a verdict on this one.

[JazzieCazzie]

Bought this in a recent impapalooza spree, because I do loves me amber and cinnamon. Testing from that imp.

 

IN THE IMP: For whatever reason, probably my weird nose, I don't get any amber from this whatsoever. Nor cinnamon. Something vaguely fruity and very evocative of a hair tonic me dad used to wear.

 

Applied on wrist and in crook of one arm.

 

WET: Some resins amp but not the amber(s) I'm used to (I know there are a ton of different ambers). Unlike other reviewers, not getting any sandalwood or cinnamon (sadly, since those are also favorite notes). Juicy and bold and outdoorsy and quite sweet.

 

DRYDOWN: I just can't put my finger on the notes here but I can't identify any of them. To me it's a deep fruity rich scent, very outdoors like in a savannah or beige expanse.

 

OVERALL: Again, there's something about this scent that reminds me of my father from my childhood which is a very positive and loving scent association, but it's not something I can wear.

 

On a scale of 1-5, a 2.5.

[Kit Foxly]

First impression: This is a Big scent! A small swipe on the wrist was almost headache-inducingly strong, and smellable from the other end of the couch – even I could pick it from a metre away! I'l have to be careful with this one...

 

That said, I've learned the quantity I need in an application, and it's become one of my staple scents. It's a favourite for singing work.

 

The Lion is fairly simple compared to some of the complex layer-upon-layer BPAL scents, but that simplicity gives it a glorious elegance. Amber, cinnamon, lovely – it's a warm, almost creamy gold, bright like spring-afternoon sunlight.

 

The Cat noted that the first few times I tried it, I seemed much happier after it had settled on my skin. So for me at least, it's a mood-lifter, too. There's something about being surrounded by a warm golden nimbus that makes me lift my head high and smile - who'd have thought?

[Sidhechaos]

The dry, glorious warmth of the Savannah. A golden, spiced amber, proud, regal and ferocious.

 

I have always been a fan of amber it is probably my favorite fragrance note and have often worn just a simple amber oil almost as a signature scent in the years before I found bpal. The stuff I bought from a local store was nice, but this...

 

This is the alternate amber. I feel like there is a glow radiating from me with this on my skin. I feel like I'm wrapped in the sunlight of the summer dawn. The scent is so perfectly smooth and rounded and mellow, I almost want to rub it in from head to toe. I can not exactly figure what the " spiced" faction is in as all I'm getting is just the absolute most perfect amber and I'm quite happy with that. Biscuits added to the list of " never ending bottle please".

[quickdrawkiddo]

This was a frimp from a generous forumite! Clearly she was reading my mind because this is right up my alley. Before I read any of the notes, I would've said this smelled like dry grass and skin musk, but I wasn't surprised to find that the main note is actually amber. Like all amber-heavy scents, this is very warm, dry, and sunny on my skin, but I could swear there's a hint of musk in there as well, even though it's not listed among the notes. Maybe it's the way it aged (no idea how old this imp is), but there's a gentle skin-like funkiness under all the regal amber that gives it a subtle sexiness. No spice or sweetness whatsoever. If you've never tried amber and want to test it out, this is the blend for you -- simple, unisex, and gorgeous.

[ResinManiac]

Amber, musk and...MINT!! Strong, dark, murky and far far too masculine for my tastes. In the aged imp I can sense the cinnamon better than when it was fresh, but it still strikes me as more for a guy than a gal. The aging makes it quite more muted and softer too, but not by much.

[welcometothefamily]

This was a frimp from the lab.

I don't like this :/. It's not terrible, but I'll never wear it again. Wet on my skin, it smelled like tomato sauce (wtf?) and dried down into baby wipes. I'm wondering if this doesn't have a note in common with Dragons Bone as that also smelled like baby wipes on me....

[Quillifer]

Sadly I'm starting to realise that I don't really like amber. Had to wash this off today; I have found it more wearable sometime previously so I guess this is something my chemistry varies for.

[Missy_killer]

To my nose: Sharp and spicy honey.

On: That is..really odd. It started to smell a lot like Dragon's Blood! It went away rvery fast, which is good because me and DB can't work together. And some greenish, floral cold tea. What the what now?! I've never had that happen with other ambers before. Yep, dead ringer for cold tea with milk and honey.

 

Unfortunately I had to wash this off. To me it smelled like cold tea, to my mother it smelled terribly nausiating and sweet.

[lucycat]

The Lion was a frimp in my first order from the Lab.

 

In the imp, it’s sweet spicy amber, somehow almost sparkling.

 

Wet, that sparkling note is almost lemony.

 

This dries down to resiny amber and cinnamon. There is a faint grassy note that gives the impression of sun-warmed grass that others have mentioned, something almost haylike. It’s definitely a warm scent.

 

Other blends containing cinnamon have irritated my skin, but I have no problem with the Lion, which is very wearable. To me, it smells sweet and spicy without being foody because of the amber. However, one of the first times I wore this, someone at work commented, “It smells like cookies in here!” when I was nearby, and I’m sure it was because of the Lion.

 

The Lion is a very comforting scent for cold weather.

[kajacana]

I ordered an imp of The Lion for two reasons:

1. I am recently obsessed with the amber-y Hesiod's Phoenix and wanted to try a GC amber blend, and

2. I'm a zookeeper and I work with lions... enough said!

 

Well, I'm 2 for 2 with amber blends. They really smell lovely on me, not powdery at all (I've heard that's a problem for some people).

 

The Lion is:

-not sweet at all

-dry and warm

-subtly spiced (though I'm not smelling the cinnamon others have mentioned)

-light, with very little throw

 

If you subtract the sweetness and vanilla from Hesiod's Phoenix, you basically get The Lion. I like Hesiod better, but I really like The Lion as well. I think I'd wear The Lion more for quieter times. It's kind of a cozy scent; ideal for reading a book on a cold day, meeting a friend for coffee, watching a movie with a significant other, things like that.

 

And in case anyone is wondering... as someone who regularly spends a lot of quality time with 10 lions, I can assure you that this blend smells nothing like the real thing - for which I am very grateful!

[adr_enne]

Wet : Dry spiced amber, indeed. Yummy!

 

In an hour? : Oh cinnamon, why do you hate me so?! My skin pulls you from hiding, in any concoction, and forces you to the foreground like Red Hots. Dear god, why do you hate me so?

 

Later : I had to wash it off. I was overcome by cinnamon.

 

I had high hopes for the grassy smell with amber, but no - if your skin amps cinnamon like mine does, then beware the cinnamon. (Sigh)

[theredkilt]

to my nose it's Sea of Glass with muted florals and with amber and cinnamon added. This is soooo good!

Edited January 17, 2014 by theredkilt