Anubis

[Dark Angel]

His scent is a blend of holy myrrh, storax, balsam, and embalming herbs.

This is an aged imp, 2+ years old at least. I am returning from a BPAL hiatus and trying to thin the herd of imps. Unfortunately, I am finding that even things I thought I didn't like have aged into something wonderful, so the 'thinning' isn't working out so well. I remember thinking that Anubis was too sharp and medicinal for me, which made me sad, because I have really liked the god Anubis ever since I had a spell of being really interesting in ancient Egypt in late grade school.

But now! Not a bit sharp or medicinal. In fact, it's very sweet, which is OK, because I like sweet. Actually, until I looked at the notes I would have sworn there was honey in there. Must be the myrrh and--maybe storax?? I have no idea what that even is, much less how it smells. Someone else mentioned lotus, and that seems possible too. But it isn't soapy at all. Just very sweet, but not in a foody way, yet not floral, either. I don't smell the herbs--maybe they faded away in the aging. In any case, I am really liking this now. Another imp that will be hanging around! Now the question is: do I get more, knowing that I will probably have to age it before I like it??

[whitsunweddings]

In the imp: Sweet myrrh and herbs.

Wet: A rich, slightly fruity scent (kind of like berries).

Dry: Light, fruity myrrh.

[BoneBone24]

Wet: A golden resin, similar to amber but not quite. Behind that is a light wood note and astringent herbs.

 

Drydown: The myrrh melts into the other notes making things spicier. It becomes increasingly sweet, almost honey-like. A sweet green note begins to dominate.

 

Dry: Citrus appears and settles in as the dominant note. It's balanced out by sweet herbs and golden resins, which keep it from smelling too fruity/foody. A dry wood note rests in the background giving a wonderful depth to this scent.

 

 

 

Hmm. I got this imp for my husband but I may have to steal it from him, lol. It smells good on him but I think it actually smells even better on me. Anubis is a wonderfully complex scent that is frankly hard to categorize. The best I can come up with is O meets Absinthe meets Coyote plus a shot of citrus.

 

7 out of 10 bones

Edited July 2, 2013 by BoneBone24

[Trebuchet]

This was a free imp in my last order- it's definitely not something I'd have picked for myself as I haven't liked myrrh in other blends and I've had herbs go funny on me. Honey and I also don't get along, and several other reviews have mentioned a honey-like note. But this is beautiful: rich without being heavy, an almost fruity sweetness, very serene.

[milo]

Sweet, kind of heady, like a tropical floral. It's a bit overly sweet, actually, not what I was expecting at all. I do get some resins after a bit, but it really doesn't save this blend.

[catalyst]

Wet: A golden resin, similar to amber but not quite. Behind that is a light wood note and astringent herbs.

 

Drydown: The myrrh melts into the other notes making things spicier. It becomes increasingly sweet, almost honey-like. A sweet green note begins to dominate.

 

Dry: Citrus appears and settles in as the dominant note. It's balanced out by sweet herbs and golden resins, which keep it from smelling too fruity/foody. A dry wood note rests in the background giving a wonderful depth to this scent.

 

Hmm. I got this imp for my husband but I may have to steal it from him, lol. It smells good on him but I think it actually smells even better on me. Anubis is a wonderfully complex scent that is frankly hard to categorize. The best I can come up with is O meets Absinthe meets Coyote plus a shot of citrus.

 

This is pretty much exactly what I got too, other than the citrus, although I can see why someone might say that. I couldn't put my finger on the honey part, but yes, exactly, there's a honey-like overtone, but like honeyed wood. Which makes no sense, but that's it. Myrrh and sweet herbs that are unidentifiable. You can't say "Oh, this is oregano and rosemary," it's just a nice mellow slightly herbal greenness that adds depth and sweetness.

 

Keeper. I really like this. It's in the gray area of unisex, and walks the line of being feminine because of the sweetness, but I can get away with it I think.

 

Edit: You know... I just tried this again four months after my original review, and the sweetness is morphing after about an hour into this cloying honey plastic kind of thing that I don't like. I don't get plastic notes out of most other BPAL, but this one ends up that direction the longer it goes on and after a few hours I want to wash it off. I just hit the "enough is enough" point and I'm done. Swapping it out, unfortunately.

Edited December 10, 2012 by catalyst

[fufu_berry]

Wet: Loud soapy florals and the tiniest hint of myrrh.

 

After 20 min: Some of the soapiness has toned down, but still present; a little bit more herbal.

 

After 40 min: Honey and a tinge of soap left.

 

I don't think I'll be reaching for this again. :/

[KindKit]

My first impression was that this would be way too sweet for me, but despite its dominant honey note, I really love Anubis. The myrrh keeps the sweetness from becoming cloying and the herbs add some roundness and nuance. I want to get a bottle of this at some point.

[mermaidsdream]

I liked this one when I sniffed it last night, and added it to the "try me first" box. This morning, I sniffed and wrinkled my nose, not sure what it was I liked, but it was in my "try me first" box, and the next scent, so I put on wrists & neck, and went about my day.

 

I need to start looking and see what note it is that turns scents straight into that nasty "diaper wipe" odor. Even now, hours later, it's like a cross between baby powder & diaper wipes. Trade pile for this one.

[Wren12]

In the imp...very sweet. A bit woody and hereby.

 

On wet...sweet and nice. The herbal note fades a touch. The balsam is more noticeable as it wsrms, in nice complement to the sweetness.

 

On dry...the myrrh sings and brings the sweetness of this blend down to nice levels. The bslsam is balanced well and the embalming herbs return with a slightly green touch.

 

Pretty nice throw. I like it...it's amazingly balanced, considering how sweet it starts off.

 

A keeper, but just the imp, no bottle for this one!

[mymymai]

In the Imp (ITI): Sweetly aromatic vanilla, myrrh, and balsam. I'm not getting the embalming herbs, but the overall scent so far is pleasant.

 

Wet: Sweet and oddly comforting. The storax and the myrrh mix nicely, plus there is a little woody depth in the background.

 

Dry: It's sweet from the storax and slightly complex from the myrrh. It reminds me of Vanilla Fields a little bit.

[octopusgrrl]

I've just started systematically going through a whole lot of old imps (and when I say 'old', I mean 2004!) I didn't review Anubis back when I first got it, but when I picked it out this morning my brain instantly associated it with being very dry, woody and 'hot' and one that I wasn't keen to wear again, so I was a bit worried. But oh my! When I put it on, my favourite cherry/almondy fruits wafted up, layered with some sandalwood and myrrh - it was just glorious! I don't know whether I'd mixed the name up with another oil, or whether Anubis has just matured beautifully in my favour, but it's wonderful. A few hours in and the initial fruitiness has worn off, but it's still a lovely warm myrrh and honey scent which I'm happy to wear all day. This one's a keeper, and makes me want to give some of the other oils that I wasn't too keen on back in the day another chance.

[nihil]

In vial: Storax and lily of the valley.

Wet: Mostly the lily.

Dry: Slightly more herbal, with some myrrh but still too floral.

 

Bit too feminine for me.

[Amber Tears]

Anubis- my first imp to try. Yay!

 

In the imp: sweet, slightly floral. Different than the mental image of the Egyptian god of embalming.

 

Wet: weak at first, I can only smell when I sniff my wrists. As it dries its throw improves. Still slightly floral.

 

Initial dry down: floral no more! The myrrh note i adore finally announces itself and the storax sweetening it slightly. Resiny and pleasingly powdery.

 

Dry: throw is moderate with all the myrrh goodness. I also get a very, very, very faint after-smell of aged books (weird body chemistry?). Unexpected, but wonderful. This is a great studying scent.

 

This blend evokes memories of my experience as a novice pagan, when I used resiny incense while meditating or reading. This smells ancient to me, wise. I will invest in a 5ml of this blend.

 

Edit: this blend layers well with LUSH's Godiva shampoo. Jasmine curbs the powdery-ness.

Edited February 5, 2014 by Amber Tears

[Zii]

Wet: I knew this would be a scent I would love and I am not wrong. There is something honeyed about this, and almost floral, but the greens and resins keep it from being a scent I would classify as floral.

 

Drying: This is really blooming wonderfully on my skin. That sweetness and floral vibe is really pronounced and honey like right now and I love it, which is odd for someone who really hates floral scents of most kinds.

 

Dry: I am stunned there isn't honey in this blend because this is exactly what this is starting to smell like. The lab's honey note is usually way too much, but the combination of honey and incense is just scrumptious! I've finally found a honey prominent blend I can wear!

[Diane Bass]

This is an unneeded review, as there is so much love for Anubis up there ^^, but I'm cleaning up a worksheet so here I go. I'm technically reviewing aged Anubis (sorry, I don't know how old, but it's a slightly vicious, pale amber oil).

Wet on: Warm, golden myrrh with herby, green undertones. There is a hint of sweetness that isn’t quite fruity for me, like citrus’ dark cousin.

:30 in: Still golden-green, herbal myrrh, but now it’s perfectly blended and I can’t separate any single notes. It’s powdery, but not baby powder (I swear I despised all powdery scents on or around me until I discovered BPAL, but BPAL powdery notes are delicious).

2 hours in: Honey-sweetened, herbal myrrh, with a slight smokey shade.

Verdict: Not sure I’ll spring for a bottle, but I’ll be using up this imp I’m sure. It doesn’t last as long as I expected, five hours in and I have to really breathe deep to get a whiff. but it’s still wears beautifully.

Edit: I’ve come to realize that Anubis is one of the few BPAL I’ve tried that really affects my mood (granted, I’ve yet to experience TALs). It’s a really grounding scent for me. It’s a go-to for days when I wake up feeling scattered, or when I know my work load is going to be overwhelming. It layers really well too. Hmm…I wonder how this would play with Embalming Fluid? Maybe an experiment for tomorrow!

[Malaena]

In the imp: Chemicals.

 

Dry: It starts off as strong burning plastic with some incensey backing. I really hoped it would calm down and that the burnt plastic smell would disappear. It did calm down...to the soft scent of burning plastic.

 

Verdict: Damn my skin!

[Teaotter]

Sometimes my skin is weird. Anubis is one of those cases. I don't expect this review to be terribly helpful to most people, but maybe there'll be someone else out there utterly puzzled by what their skin makes of this perfume.

 

In the imp: sweet resins and herbs

 

Wet: Carnations and honey. Giant bouquets of in-your-face carnations, drizzled with orange blossom honey.

 

5 minutes: More carnations, but the honey has become honey mead. There is definitely some alcohol here. And some chamomile tea.

 

20 minutes: Vodka-spiked coca-cola and carnations, with a chamomile tea chaser.

 

30 minutes: This suddenly shifts. The cola element comes forward and start reminding me of tree sap, the carnations develop a resinous tone, and the alcohol burns off. The chamomile disappears entirely.

 

Next few hours: Warm cola resin balanced with herbs and a deep floral-toned sweetness. There is a fruityness my nose reads as raisins, and just a touch of a very woody vanilla.

 

Throw is moderate, and this lasts a number of hours before burning down to a hint of spices on my skin.

 

No, I have no idea why I keep getting carnations from this. *shrugs*

[LizziesLuck]

Wet, this is a pretty white floral, which makes no sense to me.

 

Dry: It is a sweet incense. Nice, but it doesn't wow me. I have lots of other incense scents I like better. It's nice though.

[anaengel]

This is from an imp from I can't remember when. But it is telling me to review it. It ends up being very calming to me, so that helps a lot.

When it starts off, it is very strongly a lily scent to me. But, there is a background of the herbs also.

As it dries, I get the powdery myrrh. It is softened by the herbs, which seem to want everything to be grounded.

By the time it is completely dry, the myrrh has become a incense scent that is very gentle and almost no throw.

Well, I have no complaints over this scent. In fact, it feels like the right scent for the middle of autumn as the weather is getting colder. A transition scent.

[Bassmastadroog]

Bottle: Holy honey! I've never smelled a BPAL honey note until this. Honey and myrrh. So interesting!

 

Skin: Same! Freshness and honey! Herbs but no spice, wonderful...and the honey softens the edges. I have never smelled anything like this before. Very woody. I like! An imp keeper, and perhaps a bottle. 3/5 so far.

 

Editing to update: I just tried Anubis again and I think it is now *my* ultimate BPAL. I have a bunch of holy grail type scents, but I think this IS IT. Beautiful honey, slightly herby, Gonesh incense. INCREDIBLE. This is me.

Edited November 8, 2016 by Bassmastadroog

[t_for_tau]

Imp aged since about 2007

 

Wet: a brilliant, golden spice-and-resin scent

 

Drydown: something fresh, green and juicy is showing through, almost but not quite grass. Meanwhile, something's developing a soft powderiness - looking at the notes I'm guessing the myrrh. There's a faint damp near-floral sweetness that I think must be the storax, comparing it to how the powdered resin smells.

 

Dry: not much change. Very pleasant indeed!

[Joyleaf_]

I recently pulled this imp from the almost exploding box of them to give it a retry.
I dont remember my first thoughts on the Jackal-headed gods scent but holy cow is it amazing now.

Its this golden cloud of incense smoke and sweetness, with some complex darker notes just lurking underneath.

I cant stop sniffing myself.Definitely a keeper

[theredkilt]

Anubis reminds me so much of Eastern Comma from the Metamorphosis 2014 line. Although there's no hay listed in notes, i smell it so clearly. This a standout oil in the BPAL fragrance family. Very unusual and a head turner for sure!

[sarandipitee]

I tried a glorious aged 10ml at a meet n sniff and I knew I had to have a bottle for myself (though I really should have bought 2 so I could cellar 1).

 

Anubis is a beautiful honeyed herbal myrrh that I really enjoy now but in a few years I will drool over.

 

So happy to have a bottle.