Nefertiti

[greenranger]

“The Beautiful One Is Come”. Egyptian iris and olibanum with red and white sandalwood, soft myrrh and a breath of North African herbs.

Wet and green, like a riverbank.

I wasn't sure about the iris, but, this seems nice so far.

Drying, the spices and the woods start to pick up.

Light, refreshing even, but, spicy and complex enough to hold my interest. Edited December 9, 2008 by Aerinha

[mooncityminx]

In the vial: something exotic and fruity

 

Wet: Mmm sandalwood? Something lemony almost, but subtly like verbena or lemon geranium, herbs and spices.

 

Drydown: Lemony herbs. Mmmm! Sweet and lemony but the background exotic spices keep it from being simple. This is complex. I keep coming back to the association with my lemon geranium plant. I dunno if it's just my chemistry amping that note, because I notice no one else's review that I read mentions lemon at all. But this reminds me of a more herbal and complex Vampire Tears. It's very fresh and exotic. I'm not getting any florals at all. I really like this a lot!

[PersephonesChild]

On first application, this smelled exactly like Perchta to me- that would be the iris. As it dried, it gathered a much more smoky, woody scent from the two sandalwoods. I think the olibanum only serves to underscore the iris, and I didn't get any myrrh at all. The sandalwood came out more as time went along, and eventually it reminded me of another hard-to-find blend-- Autumn, from the retail-only salons collection. Finally, it completely faded in about three hours-- somewhat short-lived.

[kamikat]

For a long time, I've been trying to find a scent to duplicate a homemade scented body butter I bought from an African woman at a street fair. I thought this would be it. It's no where close. In the bottle, it all green. Wet: green with a hint of something woodsy. Dry: green with a hint of pencil shavings. This is not what I expected.

[waternight]

In the imp: Iris and herbs and a soft resin.

Wet: Same as in the imp, but with a dry sandalwood note creeping in. That plus the herbs make this pretty dry. The iris is gentle and unassuming. This almost has a nutty feel to it, in a very good way. Mmm... this really is very evocative of the desert. There's a richness here, underneath the dryness - possibly the olibanum and/or myrrh. A richness and a slight headiness. This is a strong, sensual woman of the desert. I would wear this if I wanted to appear irrisistible but aloof and untouchable.

Dry: Sadly, this goes through a rather long stage of pure sandalwood, as I feared. Hours later, it's a nice soft resin, but the sandalwood stage is a bit too long for me.

[hellomoonglow]

Nefertiti starts out ok but kind of overpowering. It has very short staying power on me. Off to the swap pile with this imp.

[crebbsgirl]

To start, this is very floral, with the iris in the front seat. As it dries, it seems the iris is kicking things up a notch and I can barely smell the sandalwood and just the faintest breath of myrrh. I think my skin may amp iris. Hmmmm.... this doesn't seem to be as complex on my skin as on others.

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

i remember this was one of the first 50 or so BPAL scents i tried. and even though it has made its way back to me several times, it just doesn't work on me. it seems like it should - but somehow the combination of scents becomes too gardenia-like for me to wear.

[VioletChaos]

in the imp: very musty and herb-y.

 

wet on skin: same, with some sweet iris tossed in.

 

dry down: i'm getting quite a bit of "green" plant smell- i can only assume it's the herbs. and the recurring Iris. that's all, though- no sandalwood, or anything else.

 

in all: a simple scent, light and "clean" without being soapy. good for day use, but nothing fancy.

[stellans]

In the bottle, there is a bitterness which does NOT translate to the skin, thank goodness. I was afraid some unnamed jasmine had wiggled its way into this blend, but evidently not. I don't know what the momentary sourness was, but since it doesn't show up while I wear it, it's not something I'm going to worry about.

 

This blend reminds me of walking in my yard, early in the morning, as the iris and other spring flowers are beginning to bloom: fresh, dew-sprinkled, green, and lovely. There’s even a note of what the stems smell like when you pick them; you know, the slightly sticky-smelling, really green liquid smell, though very faint -- it's just enough to make you think of a basket of blooms carried in from one's garden to grace a guest room. This is just a genius blend, and I love it, even if no sandalwood or myrrh ever makes its way to my nose, I like this very much.

Edited May 10, 2011 by stellans

[batsy]

In the vial: Exotic herbs and sandalwood. And berries, but I think that's the iris.

 

On the skin: Whoa, loads of sandalwood. And heavy on the iris. It's quite overpowering on my skin. I can see the appeal for all who love Egypt and sandalwood. The iris is making my eyes water, unfortunately. Pretty, but not for me.

[catatonic1242]

In the imp: Exactly like the stamen of a flower with a lotlotlot of pollen on it.

 

On, wet: Green and spring-like, flowers just starting to emerge from buds.

 

On, dry: Unpleasantly floral, on the verge of turning into baby powder on me.

[faerywolfe]

Hmmm, I'm not sure I like this one. All of the notes sound gorgeous, and yet I really don't smell any sandalwood, frankincense, or myrrh. What I do smell is a strong green aquatic, and unfortunately I'm not a fan of aquatics at all. Also, this is quite strong and actively resists being washed off. This lil imp will probably find a new home.

 

[ImperatrixMundi]

Wet the dominant note is iris, which works better on my skin in this blend than I am used to. It does not smell as sharp as normally but rather lush and nice. On drydown the olibanum comes out and for a while it lasts in the olibanum/iris stage, a rather pretty mix of resin and floral. On my skin it fades rather fast (but anything does, don't let that concern you), on my shirtsleeve I can still smell it and it smells like a very classic floral perfume, but rather faded. My hope was to get iris and a lot of sandalwood but the sandalwood hides from me. This is likely to go into swaps.

[angelicruin]

Inside the imp, green and woody.

 

On my skin, this is mostly herbal and green. I get more myrrh once the oil begins to dry.

[levelek]

In the vial: what I think is the iris, with incense and some sandalwood warming the blend.

 

Wet: Very similar to the vial. It feels somehow sugared on top, and yet it is not sweet.

 

Dry: the scent suddenly bloomed! I dabbed it on the inside of my elbow, and I can smell it as I am typing! The strongest throw of any Bpal blend I have tried to date. It feels more herby-green if I sniff right at the elbow. From about 30 cm away, it smells like a fresh regal purple-green floral, anchored by something warm and creamy and almost ambery and slightly dry. I am so grateful it is not screaming incense! It reminds me of Anactoria, but much less heady and more regal. It is the scent of a composed, feminine and beautiful woman. It is mature and young at the same time. I have not had it on for long, but so far: love.

 

ETA: fifteen minutes later, the sandalwood emerges more strongly. The floral still has a strong presence.

Edited October 14, 2009 by levelek

[arsenicsauce]

Different than I'd usually seek out, but I thought I'd try expanding my horizons.

 

Wet: Yep, that's floral perfume, but... hum, sort of deeper and more fleshy than I usually think of florals. Is that because it's iris, or is it the resins and myrrh? As it dries I start to get sandalwood being its weird soapy self on me, but it's more low-key than it usually is in florals I've tried and doesn't really bother me until I put my nose right up to my arm for a whiff. There' a hint of sweetness to this that I wasn't expecting, and I'm not sure where it's coming from- maybe one of the unnamed herbs, or is it the iris? Having avoided as many scents as possible with non-wild flowers in them for years has put me at a disadvantage when trying to pick out the notes on this one. It does become more herbal and resin-y as it fades, but it keeps a- I don't know how to describe it, a plumpness that's distinctly not herbal-sharp. It doesn't seem to have a lot of throw on me, but then, none of the imps I've tried recently have, so that may be down to my skin chemistry at this time.

 

As blends with prominent florals go, I quite like this, but I'm not absolutely in love, so this will go up for swap.

[Stormslegacy]

Got this as an imp in a swap...

 

Initial impression from sniffing the imp: Very much like Red Devil, same potency. Almost red and fruity. Very very strong.

 

wet: First a bit florally, almost cloying. I believe that must be the iris?

 

Drydown: the sandlewood and myrr take the reins adn pull. Within minutes this is a lovely soft blend of wood and resin, with very little else. I can get a ltitle of the herbal, but the sandlewood is so strong I don't get much else. It's not very strong, and the impression is almost powdery wihtout smelling like baby powder.

 

Throw: not a ton

 

Length: Not long before the sandalwood takes over and it smells like slightly perfumed skin again...definitely a morpher on me.

 

Final Verdict:

It's nice, but I think it might be a little too soft for my taste, I'll have to try it while in a different mood to see.

Edited November 5, 2009 by Stormslegacy

[sarielswish]

In the vial, there's an unusual 'green' note that I'm assuming is the herbs and a very strong myrrh. It's hard to place a color on this one, but I'm getting a bronze feel from it.

 

Wet on my skin, this is very strong. I'm getting mostly myrrh and that herbal note. The myrrh is a little overpowering, though.

 

10-15 minute dry-down - Myrrh myrrh myrrh. I'm starting to get the sandalwood and a slightly flowery note. I'm guessing that's the iris.

 

1 hour dry-down - That's better. The myrrh is starting to mellow and the sandalwood is coming out more. The flowery note is tamed some, which is good because I'm not that fond of flower scents on myself.

 

2 hour dry-down - Ok, I'm not hating this. The myrrh is a little strong, but it's very distinctive. The flower note is pretty much gone, but that's ok by me. The herbal notes are interesting, but not disgusting. Not something I'd buy a whole bottle of, but not bad.

[melrose]

The herbs are sharp and unpleasant throughout all stages - they drown out everything else. I don't like this at all.

Edited December 19, 2009 by melrose

[kunoichi]

In the vial, a herb scent floats above a rounded, smooth mixed base scent of which is too difficult to pick any specific notes. On my skin, floral notes appear in the scent, over a base with hints of sandalwood. After a few hours this becomes a very soft, sweet, powdery sandalwood scent, which is quite nice.

 

My boyfriend commented that I smell nice while wearing this perfume - high praise, as he rarely makes these comments about scents!

[starfish327]

in the imp: very woody, light green

 

wet: same

 

dry: the florals come out but don't overpower the blend. this smells very clean. the longer it's on the more the herbals come out which makes this warm up a lot. if they don't end up overpowering the blend, i'll like the imp. i don't think that it'll get replaced though.

[fairnymph]

Golden oil/. Iris and sandalwood really jump out, a rather traditional perfumey blend that feels very white and little dry. Definitely floral with potential for soap/powder. I also get some herbal sharpness in the distance along with a hint of darker things.

 

Darker and sharper. Much more olibanum and now the myrrh, quite bitter, a little musty. Very warm feeling, appropriately arid, from the red sandalwood. The iris is still bright, very in-you-face feminine and classic in feel. Too heady for me, but it's not turning on my skin like iris often does. I get a certain grassiness now from the mysterious herbs that's quite pleasant.

 

Deeper,headier, overall more powerful. Throw is insane and has really amped up. Still very white, almost too white - blindingly - in feel; uber-feminine, and quite classic in feel but with that dry warmth and resin base. No longer grassy - I don't detect any herbal/green notes anymore. The myrrh has softened, lost its bitter edge, and is just dark, dusty faint incense.

 

Huh...the herbs sort of come back and the iris fades a bit so that to me this is mostly warm perfumey SANDALWOOD over a light incense/resin base. It becomes very subtle, very much a skin-like scent, almost musky even, and actually pretty unisex on final drydown. Also, that initial blast of throw has faded greatly and shockingly.

 

Evolves nicely, but still not my sort of scent.

[meredevachon]

In the imp: Medicinal and herby. Very sharp and green.

 

Wet: The green herbs seem to bloom (expand, not flower), and I'm not sure how my allergies are going to respond.

 

Dry down: Medicinal scent comes back, but I'm starting to get a sense of resin too. Allergies still iffy.

 

Dry: Still sharp and medicinal. I could see a connection to embalming maybe, but that could just be from the name putting thoughts of Egypt in my head.

 

Not majorly allergic, but also not worth the feeling less than great for a fragrance that isn't very me. Unfortunately.

[calivianya]

This is such a beautiful scent. I have trouble picking out any particular notes when wet as it just seems very well blended to me. After it dries, I just smell "clean." I attribute this observation to the fact that I often use a frankincense based soap, and as olibanum is very close to frankincense I feel like this is the smell I'm picking up. It is a very gentle scent which stays close to the skin and doesn't have much throw on me, but this is exactly the kind of scent I am looking for to wear at work. I like to smell elegant without being overpowering, as I am not allowed to wear perfume at work (though I do anyway). This is definitely a keeper and I have a 5ml headed my way.