Sacred Whore of Babylon

[stellans]

Imp/Bottle: floral, but not light or bright floral...much more of an incense smell, deep and mysterious.

 

First Applied: it's weird but I almost get a lavender smell from this blend. There were no notes named in the blend description, so I don't know for sure what I was smelling. Some others have mentioned jasmine, but I still don't have the skill of identifying notes, even those which I love, so easily.

 

Dry Down: This is such a lovely floral on my skin, full and incense-y. I think there's some rose in there, and I still swear there's lavender, but the overall effect is one of worship...of the Goddess. I love this blend and will wear it often.

 

Final Verdict: 4 out of 5 stars.

Edited March 20, 2009 by stellans

[brit_brat100]

This is complicated. I got a fruity smokey thing going, but not in a tropical way. A touch of powder, but not too much. After dry down, this came out to be a bit too soapy and floral for me.

[Rouge]

This is a scent which is brazen and demanding, like Babylon herself! It has an air of confidence and isn't something to wear when you're planning to be inconspicuous ;-)

 

In the vial - an interesting mixture of dry resins, with I think, an undertone of something floral. Maybe lily, but I do hope not bcause lily does strange and unpleasant things to my nasal passages.

 

Wet on the skin - incense, with the dry desert heat of Ozymandias... labdanum or a light amber, perhaps?

 

Dry down - I don't notice a lot of development or morphing, but neither has the scent faded very much. It's still dark, smoky and very sensual.

[phantasmmysteria]

This is an imp I received in a swap, and the name is so fabulous I couldn't pass it up.

 

In the imp: Sweet and fruity, with just a twinge of something floral. It definitely smells like the fruit in this is bananas, but my unsophisticated nose can't pinpoint the floral I smell.

 

Wet: This starts morphing immediately upon my skin. The fruitiness fades away, and the cinnamon peeks through for just a moment before being replaced by deep resins -- there's some kind of amber in this I believe, and something just a bit smokey. This blend is now more fruity than floral most of the time

 

Drydown: This does start out very strong, but quickly mellows out. After a couple hours all I smell is warm, delicious vanilla. I'm not usuallu one for foody smells, but I couldn't stop sniffing myself yesterday and I just had to share it with an uninitiated coworker. She LOVED it, too!

 

This is a blend that really works well for me as far as scent and longevity (some of my other favorites fade very very quickly). I will be buying a lot of this one!

[arichan]

Finally, a "sexy" scent that suits me! I've been through Vixen, Love Me, Follow Me Boy, Black Phoenix, and a slough of others trying to get that "Come chat me up" vibe just right, and none of them have been right. I got this as a frimp, and it was love at first sniff. A big bottle will be gotten in the near future. It's a little sweet, a little floral, and just the teeniest bit foody-spicey. I'm rubbish at picking out notes, so I really have no idea what it is, just that it makes me happy. And a little woozy. In a good way. Yay!

[naeelah]

At first I get a strong wave of rose, but that's quickly taken over by gardenia. There may be jasmine here, or some other florals, but I'm sure of the rose and gardenia, which seem to be the top notes. (There might be a tiny hint of magnolia; magnolia tends to make me sick, but here it doesn't bother me at all.) On the dry down, a smoky incense note quickly emerges on the bottom. I agree there seems to be amber here. It's a glowing, rich amber, and it hasn't gone powdery. There's something slightly creamy and vanilla-y here. As it continues to dry, the smoke becomes richer and more prominent, helping balance out the gardenia and sweetness better. The incensey note has a familiar huskiness that I now recognize as red musk.

 

It starts out pretty moderate in throw, but as it wears, the red musk gets stronger and stronger. Now the throw is quite good, and the spicy qualities are almost stronger than the floral ones, but they're still hovering in a balance.

 

This reminds me a lot of Mata Hari, actually, with red musk in place of coffee. It's quite nice. I'm not sure yet if it stands out enough from the rest of my 5ml collection to merit a purchase, but it's a definite candidate. Definitely give this one a try if you like voluptuous fragrances.

 

ETA: Aged, the red musk is smoother and not so in your face, and the vanilla quality is a little stronger. The overall feel is much more like Unheavenly City now, in that it's smoother and creamier. I feel like I don't smell as much rose now; the gardenia definitely seems to be one of the strongest notes. (If you're looking for a GC substitute to Unheavenly City, this is absolutely your best bet, especially once it's aged.)

 

to sum up, I get these notes: rose, gardenia, jasmine, amber, red musk, vanilla or tonka, incense smoke?

Edited March 7, 2008 by naeelah

[funkmoppet]

Ah, it's one of those florals I don't like. Yup, gardenia. My initial reaction to this when wet is a definite "no".

 

However the other notes in this one emerge when it dries down, and turn it from "another white floral" into something I'm finding surprisingly nice! Who'd a thunk it? The pretty, sweet gardenia is reigned in by emerging amber and, I think, musk and incense. It's managing a sexy transformation. Still very floral, but with a depth that makes it interesting.

 

I'm reminded a little of The Witch Queen - this is a bit like the light, white version. There's something mysterious and womanly here, but it doesn't have the dark, purple edge TWQ has.

 

All in all, I'm really amazed to find a white floral I actually like. How often I'd wear it is another thing entirely, but I think I'll hang onto the imp.

 

Edit: Scratch my final thoughts - this has turned a bit unpleasantly toilet-cleaner on me after some time on my wrist. No white floral for me.

Edited August 9, 2007 by funkmoppet

[underline2]

Sacred Whore starts off all gardenia and jasmine on me. A very light musk comes out, but deepens once it's dry. For a bit, the musk and incense take over, but then it blends together with the florals in a quite nice way.

 

It's not exactly my style, but I'll definitely wear it out in a bit in case someone asks what it's called. A chance that I'll get to tell someone that I'm wearing a perfume called "Sacred Whore of Babylon" is too good to pass up.

[JenM]

In the imp: a dark, damp night-time floral. With maybe a hint of tonka or vanilla.

 

On thewrist: oh, it smells orange. As in the colour, not the fruit. The vanilla is a little woodier, and the florals have been mostly eaten. There’s a hint of sugar in it, blended in, like dark cookie dough. On drydown the vanilla has gone all ambery, and it’s like sugared dark fruits behind it. Maybe with a hint of some blossom. I do not get gardenia, or jasmine, or anything else the reviews suggest, at all.

 

After a couple of hours, it’s mostly the same, an ambery tonka-y foody scent, fading with a hint of flowers and fruit.

[ceiswyn]

In the imp: I don't know what's in it, but it smells nice. There's something flowery and something woody, I'm sure of that much. Quite a deep, rich flowery - a rose/jasmine kind of quality - and a spicy, frankincensey woody.

 

On the wrist: Whoa! This has suddenly become really intense! I'm sure the 'woody' is frankincense - my nose feels cold - and the 'flowery' is equally strong. It's one rich, deep, lush scent, similar in quality to Tzadikim Nistarim, but with the frankincense that little bit stronger. It smells dark and deep and complex, and has an 'edge' to it that Tzad doesn't.

 

One hour later: It's not lightened much, although the 'edge' is mostly gone. I can no longer separate it into 'flower' and 'wood'; it's all one, lovely, rich, deep smell. If you told me there was cinnamon in here I'd probably believe you. It's slightly sweeter on my left wrist, slightly darker on my right, but it now has a faintly talcy edge on both. It's nice, but I prefer Tzad.

 

My guess as to ingredients: Frankincense, spikenard, cinnamon.

[LunaClaire]

Name: Sacred Whore of Babylon -

free imp from the sweet labbie at last night's will-call!

 

Bottle: Sweet; dragonsblood & honey

 

Wet: Dragonsblood, honey, musk & spices

 

Dry: The sweetness deepens into a resinous incense, although the sweetness still remains. Sacred comes to mind.

 

Furthermore: Really love this! And I don't get decadence, lechery or debauchery from this scent (like I did from Debauchery!) The Sacred Prostitute is a favorite archetype of mine; I found a description from moondance.org regarding Her that, for me, resonates with this fragrance:

 

Ishtar, the Great Whore of Babylon, was sometimes called the Goddess Har since she was the mother of the Harlots. These Harlots were not prostitutes as we know them, but priestesses, sorceresses, prophets, and healers. Sacred Whores were known sometimes as the Holy Virgins of Goddesses such as Ishtar, Asherah, or Aphrodite. The famous Vestal Virgins were thought to have practiced secret sex magical rites in honor of the Roman Goddess Vesta, the same as the Greek goddess Hestia -- Goddess of the Hearth, or "center of the world."

 

ETA - 'cause I can't spell!

Edited September 28, 2007 by LunaClaire

[TheOneTheyCallLuna]

In the bottle and on the skin this is the sluttiest perfume I have ever smelled. It smells like....it smells like pornography. More specifically, I detect the gardenia right off the bat, then some other florals swarm in, which I am unable to identify - and then it happens. This thing, there's this baby powder note and then this note comes in right on top of it...this note says S-E-X. Dry down gets a bit muskier and mellowed out but the overall impression of sluttiness, and whatever note it is that's putting dirty thoughts in my mind or combination thereof persists. This is definitely a scent to wear when feeling naughty. I'm sure I can find some good uses to put it towards

 

ETA: Okay, ok...after about 15-20 it completely morphs into its namesake (teaches me to try to rush a BPAL review!!)...mellowing into a gorgeous floral that mangages to be both evocative of the sacred as well as beautiful and sexy. This one's a keeper! A+++++++++

Edited October 16, 2007 by TheOneTheyCallLuna

[Gwydion]

There is no list of ingredients, alas. I am guessing jazmine is the main ingredient. It is very womanly, a deep register floral with maybe some incense floating on top. There is a hint of something spicey: cinnamon/ gardenia? carnation? It is rich and decadent smelling, certainly, and fits the concept pretty well. If I still wore florals, this is the sort of floral i would pick.

[Victory]

This is an oil that really seems to smell different to different people, isn't it? Sacred Whore opens as strong gardenia, then morphs to another white floral (it smells similar to Hell's Belle on me, so maybe magnolia?) and yes- the second time I wore it I SWORE I smelled banana, so I'm so glad not to have been the only one! Like Hell's Belle, this is an oil that doesn't smell bad but is just one that I don't want to smell like. The power florals really don't do it for me, but if you love love love them, give this oil a try!

[erraticprophet]

Initial Impression: twisted floral, spicy

 

On Wet: spicy, gardenia?, something creamy, hint of smoke

 

On Dry: jasmine? (smells like jasmine, I usually amp that), sharp smokiness (giving me a headache), hint of cream and spice

 

Final Impression: very interesting scent, but the smoke took over a bit and gave me a headache

 

Rating (on a scale of 1-5): 3

[maribouquet]

imp: sugar shock floral...jasmine!!?

wet: uh oh

dry: I think I detect a bit of almond or vanilla?, or something similar: sweet, smooth and low.

 

Something in here (I suspect jasmine, but I'm prejudiced) is giving me a sour edge that I don't like. Sad sacred whore.

[Honeygirl]

Bottle: Perfumey

 

Wet: Jasmine? Which hates me? I think it is jasmine, it's very floral and strong.

 

Drydown: Jasmine just amps and amps and amps on me until I'm nauseated! Of course, my husband loves it on me!

3.0 outta 5, because although it's an evil jasmine, it's still the best smelling jasmine I've ever smelled!

[Christine Daae]

Reading some of the reviews, I wonder if I got the same blend as everyone else did. D: I can't believe I haven't reviewed this yet, the imp (which I think was a frimp since I don't think I would have picked this for myself!) has been in heavy rotation since I first tried it.

 

Right off the bat I get white florals - some sort of tuberose or magnolia or gardenia, something hothouseish and sweet and almost fruity. It is a Seriously Floral smell, and I really like white florals (<3!) so yay for that.

 

The the sorta-fruityness dies down and I'm left with a white, creamy floral. With undertones of a smooth vanilla or tonka. The throw has a bit of spiciness to it (smells more like cinnamon to me than carnation, but that might just be my nose!), but when I sniff my wrist (as I am wont to do) I get the sweet creamy white floral, no spice. I can see where people smell jasmine, but jasmine almost always smells vaguely sharp to me, and this has no sharpness to it. There may be some sort of amber in this, too, giving it a sort of golden smell. I'm kind of rubbish at picking out notes, but this one smells white and golden to me.

[The_Merf]

When I smelled this I said to myself that it seemed to have a lot of the common notes associated with love blends: I detect jasmine here, and I wouldn't be surprised if there was a touch of honey or some other slightly foody note here (on my skin the perfume gives a bit of that 'overcooked burnt baked goods' scent that is so typical of honey or cakey notes). However, like I said, that's just a little bit. Something's got to be providing the red color--a touch of musk maybe? I don't know...I can see where people get the resin from, but this is not white floral on me at all--white florals usually go sharp and soapy, but this is is a slighty burnt baked goods-incense mix on me (the jasmine in this blend actually fades on my skin). Of course, I am testing from an ooooooolllllllllllddddd tarted (!) imp, so perhaps that has something to do with it.

[MaeKitty]

Bottle: A complex scent. Fruit, floral, spice, yet not a dark scent. Definitely something something red.

On me: A floral is on the forefront now (Gardenia I think), some cinnamon in there. I think there is some jasmin in there, making it a very sweet scent.This is a really hard one to pick out paticular scents. It's a fun sweet scent, but I'm not sure if it's me.

[sadtomato]

I wanted to love this one so bad, and there are aspects of it I do love, but there is some strong note of...something...and I have no idea what...that stands out so strong I can't bare to wear it.

It gives this scent an almost synthetic smell on me and it's overwhelming. I can smell the gorgeousness of the rest of the scent behind it and so want to be able to have the rest of that scent on it's own, but alas, that one note pretty much drowns and chokes everything else out.

Off to swaps with thee.

[Happicuppa]

I received this in a swap as a frimp.

 

Upon first sniff I get violets. Sweet floral, but very much violets! As it begins to dry down I get violets and baby powder...and something that makes me think of 'old lady perfume.' Much too floral and not soft, just overly sweet and powdery.

 

I find that it's got an edge to it that I cannot stand. Ugh. No thanks. Perhaps I can find it a new home. I'm not very much into violets.

 

1 out of 5 (and of course this is one of the few scents my husband says "That's not bad" too...gah...)

[CrazyPretzel]

Wait.... whoa, what? I could *swear* this is a mislabeled imp of Dragon's Bone. It's definitely dragon's blood (by sight and smell!), and I thought I could detect a trace of cinnamon at first. As it dries though it very quickly takes on that trademark dry, powdery, tickle-the-back-of-my-throat orris scent. And dragon's blood.

 

Weird.

[donnatron]

Imp: Sweet incense. Definitely a hint of jasmine, maybe gardenia (could be honeysuckle?) and what smells like almond to my nose. Maybe Egyptian musk? Golden musk? I would say there's a musk, but it's not one of the more common ones in the BPAL ouevre.

 

Wet: Sweet candied almond and florals. Amped up, delightful jasmine. Very sweet and heady and womanly. Exceptionally naughty smelling.

 

Dry: The naughtiness remains. I get an overall floral sweetness with a touch of (presumably sacred ) incense and that same almond sweetness. This is really, really beautiful.

 

Throw: Really good.

 

Overall: Synchronicity strikes again! I had Sugar Moon on the left wrist and was kind of depressed that I was in love with a LE that not a lot of people seemed to have for sale. Then I slapped Sacred Whore onto the right wrist and realized this is really similar to Sugar Moon and in some ways, even more sultry. Yay!

[fairnymph]

Sniffed:This is sweet, heady jasmine and gardenia. My two floral nemeses, combined in full force. Oh boy, this would probably knock me out. *backs away slowly*

 

Wet: Sweeter, like lily or honeysuckle of some sort, with a powdery edge. Much less jasmine, though gardenia's still strong. There's something almost fruity here, a vanilla? Maybe some hyacinth?

 

Dry: A sharp green note emerges, like jonquil or narcisissus, and the vanilla becomes increasinly sweet and cloying, while gardenia is blaring away.

 

Later: Oooh, it's sharp, soapy, and powder all at once now, with an underlayer of fake plastic vanilla. I'd almost say there's dragon's blood, bc I get that Febreze thing,

 

Summary: Nasty, badly behaved florals and too-sweet vanilla. Heavy on the gardenia, jasmine, and something sharply green. Powerful throw & longevity.

Edited June 21, 2009 by fairnymph