The Lion

[Nascargot]

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

This was unexpectedly lovely on me. I picture a portly, carefree lion lazily rolling about in the shade of a tree. Typically I am not interested in ambers for no reason other than that they just....don't interest me lol. The Lion plays so tenderly on my skin, however, that I may have to rethink that stance. I'm glad I don't get any spice - cinnamon or otherwise - from this, because I feel that would make it less remarkable somehow. I'd wear this if I planned on getting close with someone, as it's very coy, almost teasing.

[queenshaboo]

I'm a HUGE amber fan, in fact 90% of all the perfumes I buy now are resin (and wood) based, I'm totally off florals and never really got into fresh/ aquatic/ ozone/ citrus notes; however I'm not a huge fan of this amber.

 

I'm smelling just too much synthetic musk (which gives it that dry sweetness) and very definitely CASSIA, which is much more 'dusty' and less biting than real cinnamon.

 

For some reason The Lion has an odd note that reminds me so much of red Thai curry paste (lemongrass?? galangal?) and which I find offputting. That and the syn musk prevent this from being the amber one for me. The synthetic musk just takes over on my skin and dries down to a weird dusty nothingness, very much like Wicked. I prefer a higher percentage of benzoin in my amber, or for it to be darker and more mysterious like Alkemia'natural amber 'single note' or Solstice Scents resin blends like Conjure Dark.

 

I'll probably layer it with some of the Lutens middle eastern inspired scents like Fumerie Turque/ Chergui and Arabie, none of which I like as much as Solstice scents/Alkemia but which would probably layer really nicely with this.

Edited February 13, 2018 by queenshaboo

[Juliamon]

Caveat: this imp may be really old, the label is starting to yellow and there's only a few applications' worth in it. It's a soft clover honey color rather than dark though.

 

In the imp: I get the impression of dusty, sun-warmed fur.

 

Wet: This is a very dry scent, the spices dominating over the amber at first. Cinnamon/cassia and cardamom mostly. I'd color this tan rather than golden. There's a hint of sweetness. Despite using more than I typically would to test a scent, there is basically no throw to speak of.

 

Dry: 10 minutes after application the sweetness is developing into vanilla, and the spices are dying down to let the amber shine. At 30 minutes it's a gently-spiced vanilla amber. Still no throw, and worse, it's getting fainter. It's still there after an hour, but only barely, and the amber has retreated behind the spices again.

 

I might order a fresh imp because I'm an amber junkie and am hoping my experience is just due to aging, but this test hasn't convinced me it's worth investing in a bottle. I'd have to commit to making it my daily scent and get through it in a year, and I don't love it enough for that.

 

2022 update: while I never did make good on that fresh imp promise, I did end up with another (more full) secondhand imp and four years of perfume experience have yielded a little bit more insight into things. I am still not getting nearly as much amber as I would like from it unfortunately, with spices being more dominant at first and then a sharp, clean musk a few hours into the drydown that I'm not very enamored with. I've also tried many, many more of BPAL's ambers in the interim and this one just unfortunately does come up short despite how desperately I want it to work. Can't say I didn't try though. Unless they reformulate The Lion with a more supercharged amber note, it's not the big cat for me.

Edited September 24, 2022 by Juliamon

[whisperstilled]

Sweet, spicy...bubblegum? Very odd.

[Ghost of a Rose]

Somewhat aged imp, maybe 4 years old.

 

Wet: I adore this. I love the scent of Amber, and this is totally it. 100% amber. It brings back such lovely memories of a lump of amber resin I used to have in a little carved soapstone box.

 

After about 10 minutes, cinnamon and something incensey - sandalwood? - have come out to overpower, but not annihilate, the amber. I am surprised by how much I love this! I usually enjoy, but don't love, unisex perfumes like this one. Florals and such, very feminine scents, are more my thing. It must be the amber.

 

After about 30 minutes, the cinnamon, sandalwood, and amber are perfectly balanced.

 

After an hour, the sweetness of the amber predominates again, with sandalwood a bit behind it, and a faint tingle of cinnamon in the background.

 

After several hours, the cinnamon and most of the sandalwood is gone and it's a soft, very sweet - even vanilla-ish - amber. The sweetness gives it a more feminine feel.

 

The Lion is beautiful in all of its stages!

 

So, apparently golden amber is the one for me.

 

I should wear this in the scent locket, to maintain that beautiful 100% amber. But I also love the complexity and interest that the lower notes give. Maybe I should wear it both on my skin and in the locket, even at the same time sometimes.

 

I never would have thought to try this, thank you, labbies! I'm thrilled to discover a unisex/spice/incense blend I love as much as my usual florals!

 

My rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Edited August 17, 2018 by Ghost of a Rose

[mishi-bear]

This amber isn't a bad one at all, but it was very mild on me.. not very apparent, more like a skin amber. I mostly get a sweet-leaning spice mix, I want to say clove and a sweet cinnamon, and a dusty musk.

 

Not at all bad, but it didn't really wow me. I prefer my amber a bit stronger.

[silverbottle]

Bubblegum. Almost entirely bubblegum to me, unfortunately. There is an aspect of something warm, like someone ate a spoonful of spices, then chewed some bubblegum that had been warming in their pocket for a while. There is nothing I actually recognize as amber, though.
 

It is actually quite nice in its own way, but not at all what I was hoping for.

[lilyluxe]

This is a very warm, resinous scent with just a bit of spice. (Thankfully no cinnamon to be found!)

Smells a bit like a spice market in the desert might, with the warmth of the amber almost giving off a rooibos tea vibe. This scent is super mellow, though. Probably the softest warm amber scent I have ever tried. I wish it were a bit stronger, but it is such a cozy scent I don't mind it too much. 

[lilyluxe]

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Edited June 5, 2021 by lilyluxe

[Lecter]

Not a particularly strong scent in the bottle. Woody, but a super light smell in general. Hard to really differentiate the notes. Clean scent!

[Lucchesa]

The Lion is a lovely, warm amber on me, like a beam of autumn sunshine.  I don't get any particular spices, just the way a good amber can harbor its own spiciness somehow.  It's spicy amber, not amber plus cinnamon or clove or whatever.  It's not a strong scent, and the wear length is only average on me, but it's something I often choose for unfamiliar work situations because it feels professional but not impersonal or generic.  It projects the warm glowing confidence I want as my own. 

[bellumed]

This immediately made me think of Morocco, though it lacks the creaminess of that blend, as well as Bastet - in that case, more of a contrast. The Lion is the dry, baking-gloriously-in-the-sun scent I expected in Bastet. A little less regal and more housecat on my skin, but not in a bad way! More like when you put your face in a kitty's fur after they've been recharging in the sunlight. It just smells wholesome - with a smidge of haughty spice. 

 

The Lion is a really beautiful perfume! I might hunt up a bottle one of these days.