Blóðughadda

[Casablanca]

Crushed Baltic amber, golden fig, oud wood, red patchouli, white clove, and saffron.

Mm, this is a nice amber.

 

When I tested it I only remembered it was an amber, not the other notes, and it smelled to me like amber (primarily), blonde woods, redwood, carnation, and saffron. I looked up the notes and it seems like maybe the golden fig and oudh together remind me of blond woods. :-) I was reading red patch as redwood and the clove as carnation. OK then.

 

Why haven't I tried to do it this way more often, where I don't remember what I'm smelling, and then get to see? It's literally Christmas in July. Probably because I look at the scents so much when they come out that I memorize them. This time I looked a couple times, ordered, and not again. This is much better than testing scents without listed notes. Reading the list is like opening the Christmas prezzie after you've rattled the box enough and made your guesses.

 

Ramble. So yeah, good blend. :-) Another one I'd like to hang around to age. I might have to forget I have her for her to avoid my attention that long, though.

[ltrittipoe]

 

Spicy, clove-y amber! I love amber, oud, patch (of any color) and saffron.... fig and clove can be very hit or miss. This is a hit!

 

Glowing, golden, and warm - the clove is very present (I think I amp clove, so YMMV), but doesn't drown out the other notes, as it sometimes can. I'm mostly getting amber and clove right now, but this is fresh from the mailbox. The other notes are definitely in a supporting role here, but everything combines to just give a warm, spicey haze of clove and amber.

[Dark Alice]

This is very subtle. So far, it amber, with bare hints of clove (white clove is cleaner than black on my skin apparently) and the patch is non-existent. The saffron..yeah..she is still here mucking up the place and taking over the other notes. I think with some age and time, it will be beautiful.

[zankoku_zen]

Fig, amber, and clove. UNF. I love me some clove and fig. I also dig amber. This scent is sweeter than I expected but UGH so good. Figgy amber, and that's all I ever wanted. Good throw and wear length.

[galahad]

In the Vial:

Slight amber and patchouli

On the Skin:

Gorgeous dry woods (patchouli and oudh) with a touch of clove in the background. The fig (the best fig so far from the Lab, IMHO) is truly golden and caramelised. A few minutes into the drydown this has a distinct musk and old tobacco smoke scent (which I really love) which may be the saffron inter-reacting with the other notes.

On the Drydown:

I wasn't expecting this one the be much of a winner but I really love it. It's a mature and complex scent, all smoky musk and woods with a subtle spice kick and a round non-cloying sweetness supporting the blend.

[Jenjin]

This is such a classic beauty and I dare say, in the running to be my favorite from the latest release.

Warm and intoxicating with creamy sweetness from the dark fig, perfectly balanced within a glorious spicy, oriental opulence. Womanly and beloved, it brings to mind a Gypsy caravan, filled with opulent riches, precious amber, saffron and shining patchouli oil jars. Something within the aroma is so calming, almost sedative. I want to drape myself in silks, throw open the velvet curtains and dance in the bloody moonlight.

 

Edited August 15, 2017 by Jenjin

[Little Bird]

Dusty, woody, dry amber with sweet fig. Hints of clove and saffron start to dance around in the drydown. I love clove, but saffron always smells a bit strange on me (like a little citrusy and a little sour/metallic, and kind of honeyed smelling). I don't get the patchouli at all. Fades quickly into a warm, dusty wood scent with an overlay of spices. This one doesn't even last a full hour on my skin.

[torikitty]

I didn't look at the notes when I tried this on. Out of the imp, I smelled amber, woody, and clove. Not exactly something I would be drawn towards. Then at drydown, I swore this was mostly a sweet tobacco. So I was surprised to see no tobacco in the notes here. I think mixing amber, clove, oudh, and saffron has this magical effect on me. When I think of clove specifically, I can smell it. But the woods, amber, and spice blend together that smell so similar to a sweet tobacco that it makes me deliriously happy.

[LizziesLuck]

*is scared of the oudh but tries it anyway*

 

Wet: Warm, woody, spicy - but not fecal, so we're off to a good start! (Oudh smells mostly like poo on me). Actually this is really different, and I very much like it so far.

 

 

Dry: Fig and amber, mmm! I was not expecting that. I love fig, and it always gets overshadowed in scents, but it wins out here. It's a lovely warm, sticky, sweet fig. Hints of wood and spice. Utterly wearable. It'll need another test, but right now I want a bottle!

[violetvorpal]

Wet: Woody cloves! It almost reminds me of frankincense and cloves but there is no frankincense listed in the description. It smells like a clove version of Midnight Mass to me. A little spicy, a little woody, lots of cloves. No patchouli.

 

Dry: Rich dark wood with a hint of saffron. I am not getting any fig from this.

[LiberAmoris]

Blóðughadda is so much lighter than I expected. The strongest notes are amber and clove. The fig, oud, patch, and saffron trail. It's a really beautiful mix, drying down quickly to a clovey figgy amber. There's almost no throw on me, but it's a nice close skin scent. My favorite of the new Carnavals!

[cassiejaynebunk]

mostly clove and amber on me with the saffron warming it up... i was hoping for more of a show from the patch and the fig, but it's still nice. It's also a lot lighter than I thought it would be. I anticipated a strong, bang-you-over-the-head type scent, but this is very light and close to the skin.

[Lucchesa]

It is fascinating to read all these reviews and realize that no two of us are having the same scent experience. On me, Blodughadda is all patchouli. OK, not totally patchouli; there is amber and dusty saffron, but it's mainly patch. And is oud wood the same as oudh or something woodier? Dry woods, no fig, no clove, very little sweetness. It's pretty badass and matches the artwork well, and I get a little throw (rare for me) for the first hour or so. It takes a full two hours for the patchouli to mellow down enough for the fig to emerge; by then it's a skin scent, but it's a gorgeous one. Still no clove. I don't usually amp patchouli; maybe it's something specific about red patchouli. Anyway, this one is super interesting, but I'm not sure I need to go through this much in-your-face patchouli to get to a fig I adore when I have a bottle of Aeronwen on hand...

[biggnerd]

My bottle is aged over a year and has gotten better and better with age. 

 

When I first got it, it was all screechy, ashy, dirty patchouli and very spicy clove.  I didn't like it, and put it quietly away to see what happened with time.

 

Oh man, with time the patch calms down.  It is still the strongest note when I first apply it, and in the first half hour or so it's clovey patch.  But as it dries down and melds with my skin, the sweet fig comes out supported by the saffron (I love saffron and clove together).  The amber melds with the fig to become a sweet figgy scent grounded by spicy, more subtle patchouli.  It is a very golden RAWR scent with a definite feminine edge.  It's an apt scent for the label art. 

 

ETA: After two years, this has softened even more, the patch and clove are still the first notes that hang out, but they're much softer. It gradually morphs into a sweet, amber fig that's soft and demure. It just keeps getting better and better. Every stage of this one is a winner.

Edited November 4, 2020 by biggnerd

[alterosen]

I love this scent! There's something about it that's quintessentially BPAL to me - probably because at one time I tested everything with patchouli cause my DH is such a fan. Having said that, I didn't even realize the wood in here is patchouli - I thought it was sweet cedar, just like the Fig & White Sandalwood Hair Gloss reads as cedar to me. Something about the tanginess of the fig, I guess. The clove is only apparent if I search for it, same with the amber, but both are probably contributing to the warm feeling of this. Powerful but cozy - a great perfume to wear in cold weather.  Good throw & longevity on me. 

[VetchVesper]

This comes across as oddly Christmassy?  I think because I'm getting a lot of fig and cloves.  It also smells very "red."  I get almost a perfumey apple cider or Gluhwein vibe.  There's a touch of something lightly woody at the beginning, which I don't really care for, but it goes away quickly.   I can pick out the amber, but I don't really smell patchouli, unless it had something to do with the flash of woodiness I got at first sniff. This is actually reminding me a bit of Brisingamen.  Perhaps Freya wearing Brisingamen, VERY drunk on Gluwein.   

 

Occasionally, I see scents described as "balsamic," and I get that here.  It's kind of tangy, tart and very slightly sweet.  (Lol.  Just saw "tanginess" used as a descriptor above, so I guess I'm not the only one.)   I think I'll leave this lady in her tent, but glad to have gotten to try this one.  

[Lin Swanson]

I'm real glad I don't have to spell this correctly, but Ms B here is a sleeper MILF. At first glance she's all cozy cuddly, evergreens and amber and fig (I agree with the previous reviewers who got redwood, cedar, or pine on first sniff), but the more you hang around suddenly she's all spicy clove and saffron and naughty oud. This is your next door neighbor who bakes fresh cookies for the kids after school and works the Grindhouse at night and sees no contradiction between those things. I will wear this often.

[LavenderCoffee]

Took a gamble on this one because saffron is not my friend. Luckily I didn't get any problems from it here, but this is another one that is a bit too subtle for me after it dries.

I end up with white clove over amber over subtle woody patch, which is nice if I stick my nose in it, but I wish it was bigger. 

[MamaMoth]

spiced, woodsy amber that's  fleshed out by some chewy, sweet fig.  goes on a bit aggressive, but settles in as a surprising close skin scent.  it almost feels like there's some citrus hiding in the back, giving it a brightness.  there may be a bottle in my future. 

[roseus]

 get a gorgeous amber in the imp but it's overwhelmingly clove on my skin. It eventually fades back but so does the amber unfortunately.