Hierophantes

[zankoku_zen]

Blood red pomegranate, bay leaf, sweet fig, honey, oakmoss, and balsam.

[starbrow]

Oh this is gorgeous. I love a good bay leaf, and it is the star of Hierophantes. Of course, it is used in a perfumed way, for a fragrant waft of spice that permeates each stage of the blend, but it makes my head swim how beautifully it's featured here.  I feel like it's perfectly supported by the oakmoss (which can be a punchy note for me but not in this case) and balsam (traditionally a prickly note, but again, not here, where everything is silky smooth). The effect is a smoky, dreamy bay that is refined and so, so wearable. Bay lovers should run, not walk.

 

You may be used to pomegranate being sweet in BPAL's blends, and in fact when I sniff my Black Pomegranate single note, that one is incredibly sweet. However, Hierophantes is far more smoky than sweet. In spite of SWEET fig, HONEY, and the ever-tooth-achingly sweet POM being listed here, these elements stay dark and muted, any sweetness heavily shadowed. This makes Hierophantes even more wearable as a unisex blend, I feel like.

 

If you told me this was part of the recent Hellboy Movie release, I would not bat an eyelash. The vibe is exactly right. Hierophantes is a perfect cross-section of Nimue (dark fruits), Vengeance Eternal HG (smoky wood-spice), and The Crown HG (something posh and elegant in how all the blood notes and spices and woods come together). I am so happy I blind-bottled and will be wearing the heck out of it heading into autumn.

[zankoku_zen]

Honeyed pom and bay leaf. This one is a spicy pom blend to me, with tinges of bay, honey and fig. I get a very deep red vibe from this. Medium throw and wear length.

[samanare]

Reminds me of a cornucopia centerpiece in fall, fruits (lead strongly by pomegranate) and honey, all wrapped in bay leaves. The bay leaf couples really nicely with the pomegranate. 

[irmavep]

This smells like a Christmas craft fair in a church basement. 

I mean that in a good way, like sweet spices in homemade ornaments. It's a little strong at first, but once it calms down, it's a lovely pomegranate and bay leaf scent, and all the 

ingredients blend nicely.

Edited July 29, 2021 by irmavep

[Casablanca]

This bay leaf is gorgeous against the honey-coated pom. This is a huggable bay -- not how bay smells when dried and dead and papery in a spice jar, but fresher and more inviting.

 

A rich brown fig adds some earthy lux that grows in drydown. 

 

Hierophantes has a deep-fruity-red/sweet-fig-brown scent overall. It's a sexy Mediterranean or Eve-in-the-garden scent with the bay for a nice twist. I really like this one. 

[Thuy]

Sniff: whoa, perfumey right off the bat. I pick up on the bay leaf and then I think it's oakmoss and balsam after it. Nothing sweet here, so taht'll probably come out on my skin as it warms up.

Weardown: very bay leaf and oakmoss, balsam hanging out. here's hoping that the fruits will come out as it warms up. oh, the fruits mellow everything out and this is gorgeous. I don't pick out one thing over another, it's all pretty blended on me. Great longevity - lasted a good 8 hours on me!