Bastet

[Raqassah]

... Luxuriant amber, warm Egyptian musk, fierce saffron and soft myrrh, almond, cardamom and golden lotus.

Initial impressions/Wet: Amber and almond. Very sweet – nose tingly. Very strong! Too much! Then a strong floral starts to emerge.
Drying: Floral starts to come out. Sharper – less sweet. Very perfumey – white flowers. Gives me a headache. After several hours this mellows out to a pretty but strong floral.
Final thoughts: Smells like a very nice high end perfume. My skin amped the florals big time! This is one that I need to think about. Pretty, but doesn’t work that well on me. Sigh!

[hlinspjalda]

In the vial: Bright, and I definitely get the impression of "golden." Almond, amber, and saffron in that order, with a sweetness beneath that must be the floral.

 

Wet: Rapid shifting in the first minute, playing among the amber, saffron, and something sharpish (the myrrh?) over a warm sweetness beneath. The warm sweetness is almost like honey, but spicier and more floral. This one is beautifully complex right now, but I bet it's going to go over to amber.

 

Half an hour: Yep, amber now. But it doesn't give me a headache, although it's a little sharper than I would like. Agreeably complex, too; the floral doesn't obtrude at all but only sweetens up the blend of spicy things. I like this one. Wonder when the musk is going to become obvious?

 

Two hours: It's died back a lot; the amber is now cut with dry myrrh, a pleasant scent but not exactly what I'm after. There is something almost vanilla-ish about it too, but I think that may be the musk.

 

Three hours: Less myrrh-like now, but still dryer than I'd like. Still very pleasant, though. If it weren't for a couple of the others I've already tried, I'd be quite fond of this one.

[veronicafranco]

ooh. this one is exotic, sweet, buttery and warm. when wet, after the fleeting and wacky cherry phase some others have mentioned, it's awfully suntan lotion for a little bit, but after that i like it. i definitely get the amber, almond, and musk (hey, everybody! i'm wearing a blend with egyptian musk and it's ok!! woot). lotus and i have not met before, but i gather that's the sweet floral that emerges more and more as it wears. the saffron and cardamom are very blended (huh, hence the name blend, i guess) rather than standing out to me as single notes. this is quite sexy. not 100% my style, at least not this first time i'm wearing it, but i'd wear it to play the right kind of character (some day when i get to do that stuff again) or dance a certain kind of solo.

[Myrrha]

Wet: -- Very sweet. A kind of thick, cloying sweetness like incense or air fresher. The amber that sits underneath it is not sweetish like those cakes of amber you can get, it is a dry, sharp amber.

 

5 minutes -- Better now, the sweet note now seems to be a vanilla and also something fruity. It is not as strong now and balances better with the amber. The amber itself smells very resiny, almost harsh. It smells like an amber that would work better in a blend for men. Maybe it just isn’t working with my skin chemistry.

 

10 minutes -- Now something interesting is happening. The sweet fruitiness and the amber are balancing out, becoming one scent. There is something in this scent that really does feel playful and happy. Is it just the power of suggestion? I really do feel a purring kind of cat-happiness.

 

Still, it is too masculine a scent for me to enjoy wearing. At the same time I think it would be a bit too sweet for a guy.

[brsis]

Initial thoughts: Oh my. I am a fan of teh kittehs - a BIG cat person - and now I'm staring down something with amber, saffron, myrrh and cardamom. Yum. Lotus can aparantly go very sweet on some people, but I have yet to try it so I can't really comment.

 

In the imp: Mmmm... this is good. Golden and warm are the right descriptions for this - it's a cardamom and saffron laden resin, with a whole pure golden honey floral topnote holding it together into something that smells like it should be covered in cream and eaten. Yummeh.

 

On the wrist, wet: Honeyed camomile and spice tea. I don't know what it is that is giving me the camomile - possibly the almond and something? The honey actually seems to be the lotus. I can just pick out the myrrh and the amber, and the musk gives it a definate feline purr. This smells like an Egyptian temple cat, and makes me want to curl up and preen like one too.

 

Twenty minutes later: Most of the overt floral edge has died down, and now this is a sweet, spicy skin-hugging musk. It's got the slightest of 'odd' edges to it - can't quite identify what it is, but I have a feeling it may be the amber behaving 'powdery' as it sometimes can. I don't know that this is something I would necessarily wear often, but at the moment it looks like it could quite happily join the ranks of my sleep blends. I would definately welcome a chance to test this more extensively.

 

Verdict: I'll take an imp of that, thanks.

 

Tl;Dr: Sweet, slightly spicy, skin hugging resinous musk. Warm, golden, and cat-like.

[zankoku_zen]

This to me, makes me think of almond cookies. Honey and almonds, and baked goods.

 

Bastet is not a deity I feel any particular affinity to --- but the scent is golden, luxurious and glorious.

[greenranger]

Wet, on me, almond. It's the wet almond scent that makes me think of cherries rather than nice roasted almonds.

 

*taps her feet impatiently waiting on this scent to pass*

 

 

Alright, the almond is fading. Slightly.

 

I think I smell the lotus, musk and the myrrh, now. Maybe the other spices are peeking out.

 

The amber and myrrh are warming up and, ah yes, that is much better. Once the almond backs off a little this is a lovely spicy golden scent, with some potential to hang around a while on my skin, since ambers and myrrh seem to last on me.

 

The throw is moderate.

[thelaurenator]

The main notes in this are almond and saffron, especially in the wet stage. As it dries down, it's amber and saffron, with the sweetness of the almond and lotus.

 

This is heavenly layered with Baghdad, since they're so similar, but the sweetness of this blend really helps balance the STRONG sour notes in Baghdad (the mandarin and very strong saffron).

[gchris]

In Vial: Sweet and juicy

 

Wet: Cherries and something else but mostly cherry.

 

Dry: Cherries have fainted but still perceptible. Floral is the strongest.

 

ADDED Jan. 11:

 

in vial: sickly sweet with almonds

 

wet: same sickly sweet smell with more almond oil. Reminds me of the way home made cherry pie smells but without the foody aspect. Almost like a cherry pie perfume. Morphing now to something that smells more like perfume. Not so sickly sweet. I cannot distinguish the individual notes, or could possibly be I don't realize what I am smelling. I know the almond has faded.

 

 

dry: I"m not sure how to describe the drydown result. It reminds me of perfume on a hot summer day after you have been sweating. This one is not for me.

[WickedQueen918]

My first review and first BPAL Imp!

 

In the vial: Smelled like almonds. Almonds and that cherry-ish scent I tend to associate with almonds. Sweet, but not cloying.

 

Wet on skin: Almonds fade a little and give way to the scent of musk and subtle spices.

 

After drydown: Musk turns into something not unlike the smell of baby oil/powder...but with a dash of something warm and exotic.

 

Conclusion: Not too bad, I really wished the almond scent would've lingered a bit longer as I love the smell of almonds, but my body chemistry just wasn't having it. Though not what I expected, it certainly wasn't an unpleasant scent by any means.

[heathercaley]

In the bottle it's almost like flower cherry-aid. Smells nummy

 

On skin, it's like POW Cherry Woooo! But not like crazy cherry.. almost a cherry candy.

 

but as it dries, it's amber and musk with a bright pink almonds with cherry coating. LOVELY!! I love the Egyptian musk that's floating over the top and binding all the elements together to create this delicious blend. It fades a bit quickly though which is pure saddness.

 

Wow.. my arm is still a bit wet (I slathered this baby!) And it's faded to a soft powdery amber floral musk. All within 5 minutes!!

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Soft almond, musk, and spices.

 

Immediately on skin: This is a warm, glowing blend. The almond, amber, musk, and myrrh give this a very golden, sweet feel. Above this lingers the spices and a hint of lotus. The combination of those creates an almost airy, wafting and spiced top note to this that lingers over the resinous almond.

 

After a little while: As this settles something almost effervescent and fruity comes out, which I think is the lotus. The base is still the warm, resinous almond, but this other note is slightly sharp and floats over the other notes. It might be spices, but if so they’re very sharp and almost biting. Otherwise, this blend has gotten a little less sweet and a bit more deep and perfume-like (as opposed to foodie).

 

Overall Impressions: This is a warm, almondy, spiced blend. At first it’s mostly musk, almond, and myrrh, but as it dries a sharper and almost fruity note comes out. I don’t much like the dry down phase on my skin, so I may have to try this in a locket. The initial wet phase is absolutely gorgeous though!

[Allumina]

Nope, amber still hates me. Sharp spices and then powdery, powdery amber. Wears close to the skin. This is a luxurious, fancy woman's perfume, which makes it very not me.

[skepticism]

Vial: Very beautiful floral smell, probably the lotus...although I would probably agree that is more reminiscent of cherry. It's kind of veiled by an air of something ... perhaps the musk

 

Wet: Smooth almond notes laced with cardamom. Not smelling anymore of the lotus/cherry notes. The almond and cardamom feel like they're on the threshold of going sugary/sweet, but musk and myrrh are keeping them in check.

 

Dry: I don't know how to describe this sugary smell. It's not too sugary, but it's still there, fleetingly. I think the amber decided to situate itself finally. It faintly smells of the perfume my Filipina grandma and aunts used to wear, but maybe about 1/15 of the intensity.

 

I'm a little ambivalent about this blend. I immediately wanted to jump to my "It's to sugary!" conclusion, but there were other notes that held me back trying to convince me to like it.

[tdgnika]

In the bottle: smells thick, sort of a spoiled or fermented sweetness (newbie alert - I'm not great at picking out individual notes yet)

 

Wet: The spoiled smell intensified when it first went on, and I was not liking it at all.

 

Dried: LOVE. The fermented smell seemed to go away and the (musk? amber?) rich notes came through. I imagine that this is how Egyptian temples smelled. I feel like an archaeologist when I wear it.

 

Lasted all day.

[DarthArwen]

This sounded good, almost all the notes normally work for me and I'd heard lots of good things, so I really wanted to like this. This is the following is a visual representation of what happened when I put it on..

 

MARZIPAN MARZIPAN MARZIPAN MARZIPAN maybe some other stuff mixed into it but I can't make it out MARZIPAN MARZIPAN MARZIPAN MARZIPAN MARZIPAN

 

So um.. yeah. It didn't work for me. 'cause I don't really like marzipan. I'd love to try this with the almond note left out.

Edited September 13, 2008 by DarthArwen

[MisterShrapnel]

Bastet is definitely dead-on with the luxuriant and yet sinuous goddess feel-- when I first wore it I felt like it didn't fit my personality at all (even though I loved the idea of smelling like a cat/lioness goddess...), very womanly and golden. After a couple tries Bastet somehow shot up to one of my for-sure favorites (This many people can't be wrong!).

It seems like a lot of people don't like that initial warm cherry note, but I think it's delicious and enticing and it's what lured me into buying a bottle at my first Will-Call in the first place. It fades quickly (I get a kind of sweet almost... bubble-gum??? like tone in the background from then on, not sure if it's supposed to be lotus ... Obviously I don't understand all the notes in this one yet) but that's fine with me as it might get sickening otherwise. From then on it's very... golden. Like warm afternoon rays of sunshine, soft fur, and siestas (I guess this makes me a fan of amber? I love that this isn't powdery on me!); I want to lie on my side and prop myself up lazily on an elbow and just observe. The saffron/myrrh (not familiar enough with those notes yet) give the whole thing an exotic tone (it made me think of saffron pistachio ice cream, rose water sorbet and cherry syrup that I had in a Persian restaurant once). During my first couple of tries those two somehow became too "perfume-y" for me to handle but I really started to love this scent once the perfumeyness (iso a better word plz) toned down (where did it go? ). I love the musk, it integrates the whole blend seamlessly with my skin and makes me feel like I just naturally smell this amazing all the time (rather than having a magical bottle to thank). It was only until later when I noticed the cardamom-- the spice warms the entire blend up, and when it's dry on my skin I can feel the inviting and comfortingly warm sand, bringing to mind images of Egypt. I sometimes get the ridiculous urge to rub up against the my skin (catlike) because the scent is so comforting... hopefully that didn't sound too strange.

A positive side-effect of wearing Bastet, for me at least, is a boost in self-confidence (which is she's great for when I'm going somewhere unfamiliar and intimidating ); There is something of a smile on my face all day, I feel at ease, capable, protected, powerful even, and I wonder if people can see the difference when I look them in the eye.

[Molls]

I wasn't too sure about this, smelling it in the imp, but after having it on for about 20 mins, it is AMAZING!! I love it! Being a newbie, I can't describe the notes, etc... but out of the 2 sets of imps I received today, this is definitely in the top 2 or 3.

[sqwook]

Wet: Honeyed egyptian musk.

 

Dry: Starts almond/cherry, but that thankfully fades. Smooth and warm, Much softer/quieter than I'd thought it would be - I don't sense anything fierce here. As I love egyptian musk & amber, I hanging onto it - worth retrying.

[goblinshark]

In the imp: honey

 

Wet on skin: HONEY

 

Drydown: HOONNNEEEYYYYYYYYY!

 

This is like a delicious single-note of honey. I absolutely love it. It's a very warm, rich, but somehow not fake-sticky-sweet smell.

[milo]

When I first got this, it was a lab fresh imp. I opened it, sniffed, and immediately tossed it aside. Very bitter, if I remember correctly, and just for the lack of a better word "blech". I guess it's been 3 months now, and what a wonderful change has taken place! This is a very "golden", warm and sweet scent with a hint of spice. I wish there was no lotus, however, and maybe a little less sweet. It is a bit cloying, but I'm quite impressed by the changes in 3 months, and this scent definitely holds promise for me. Possible future bottle.

[tacey]

My first impression of Bastet is that she has the sharp claws of every cat, hiding under that so-soft amber. This scent changes fast -- I got almond, maybe saffron, a hint of some flower, and amber. I'll need to try it again to really make up my mind -- but whether I like her or not, this lady is unique, and she's not waiting for my decision -- she's got things to do!

[innocent]

The almond in the notes list worried me, but it shouldn't have. The almond in Bastet was strong at first, and sweet (both things I had feared) but it somehow wasn't overwhelming. I smelled like mysterious marzipan! Unfortunately Bastet faded quickly, so I probably won't get a bottle, but I'll certainly keep my imp around.

[VioletChaos]

in the imp: YUM- rich, resin-y and warm!

 

wet on skin: same, with a hint of black cherry bark, but just a hint.

 

dry down: i'm getting a hint of almond, cardamom, vanilla and a touch of incense. it's LOVELY.

 

in all:if you liked Kajaraho from Lupercalia 2007, give this a try as a GC alternative. i find it has the same "feel" but perhaps a bit more daytime friendly. really nice!

 

 

[ouch!]

Hmmm! I don't think I'm smelling the same scent as everybody else or my nose is broken.

This scent is so meh to me, and not very special at all.

It goes from slightly almondy at first with a bit of fruit behind it. Then changes into a quite uninteresting musk on my skin then dissapears.