Baneberry

[maribouquet]

A poisonous fruit-bearing member of the buttercup family. The scent, like the plant, is dark green, herbal, and plump with bulging black fruit.

Sadly, not for me. The berry note is nice, but my skin amps it like crazy - and I'm not a big fan of fruity scents in general. But I'm glad I got to try it.

[theseagrows]

this is definitely a dark purple or black fruit scent, very ripe. this isn't a super-sweet fruit, it's dusky and dark with a bit of greenery. i think it's closest to plum on my skin, hence the reason it's going plasticky, i think. it's one of those scents that turns into a strawberry shortcake doll on me.

[fairnymph]

In the bottle: Almost piney-green plants (balsam? green tea?) and juicy purple berries. Wild and fresh and sweet, and strangely, rather soapy.

 

Wet: Much sweeter and heavier on the fruit, but still rather piney. Thankfully, that scary soapy note is light. It's very fresh and woodsy on the whole; foresty. The green note is sort of like yew, or maybe cypress. Evergreen, but not your standard pine.

 

Dry: The berries here are tart yet juicy and also sort of herbal...they remind me of both blackberries and huckleberries, especially the latter, yet are distinct from both. The piney green note is softer now, and this is a wee bit soapier

 

Later: Piney note softer, soapy note stronger, but the delightful berries are staying very true...they really do remind me of huckleberries quite a lot. Sweet but not too sweet. The bulging ripeness but not overripe imagery fits perfectly. I think the soapy note is some floral - tuberose? Moonflower? Those are classic soapy florals for me.

 

Summary: I adore the berries in this. Any lover of more unique dark berry scents that are tart, juicy, mildly sweet and herbal should try this. I also really dig the fresh piney note, and I don't like most evergreen notes, but this is woodsy-herbal and deep yet not sharp. Unfortunately, the soapy note, while it never overwhelms entirely, is a constant unpleasant thorn. Great throw and lasting power.

 

If I didn't have April Fool, I'd consider a bottle of this. It's really unique and I think both sexes could pull it off. It's a very wild and natural scent.

[Tilby]

I love this one, and must have a big bottle. It is berry- but not obvious berry. Dark and green, sweet with a hint of darkness to it. It's almost sour berry. It is soft yet strong. A berry enigma!

[Argentwolf]

This one is pretty straightforward: juicy, plump berry scent. It lasted a moderate amount of time, though it had definitely faded by the end of the day. Those of you who love all things berry should definitely jump on this one. It's not really my personal cup of tea, however.

[AEris]

Wet, it fits the description perfectly! Green, herbal scent, with a lurking fresh true-to-life berry.

 

As it dries down, the berry note steps out in front and drowns out all of the supporting cast in one loud screech.

 

I guess there is an herbal undertone, and perhaps this dried-down stage is what the scent is meant to smell like. However, I really loved the scent before it had a chance to morph. Once it dries down, it is just too fruity for me.

 

This would be a great scent for younger girls, or for people just getting their feet wet in BPAL who are drawn to fruity commercial perfumes.

 

3 out of 5

[kelpsoda]

I catch a lot of berry from this in the imp, but it's mostly greenery once it dries. It's very clean and fresh, and tending more toward commercial perfume. After 15 min. the berry really starts to come back. Very pretty! I might need a big bottle.

 

 

ETA: this does seem like a really nice shampoo smell. maybe a bit too clean to wear as perfume.

Edited June 11, 2008 by kelp

[iiinterstate]

I was hoping to get the blackberry that everyone else seems to have picked on from this blend, but Baneberry really smells like slightly herbal soap to me. Odd, I've never had that reaction from berries before.

[innocent]

I got this as a freebie from the lab! <3

 

To me this just smells like a faint red berry, not overly sour or sweet. I'm not getting the hints of green that some people are. This is certainly nothing I couldn't live without, but it's a pleasant change from the incensy scents I usually chose for myself.

[lilacea]

First sniff is kinda petitgrain and white grapes in the vial. On my skin, there's a soapy citrus element, and something just a touch sour. There may be a teensy bit of violet leaf here. The dry down is when it sweetens up, and turns out that berry smell. I'm not a big berry fan, so I have no idea what it is. It's a touch too sweet for my skin, but on the right person I imagine it could be a pretty and balanced berry scent.

Edited July 13, 2008 by lilacea

[Andrea912]

Wet: simple; green, but not woodsey or mint; kind of like a fresh dark garden

 

Dry: ew: jelly belly green

[jehrichardson]

In The Bottle: Smells sweetish, berryish, a bit generic.

 

On the Skin: Much more berry and a whiff of drugstore perfume.

 

After a While: Drugstore perfume and soap.

 

Verdict: Not for moi.

 

I suppose I can't like all of them.

[Kabooki]

In the Imp: It smells like shampoo or soap

First put on: It still smells like Shampoo, or a nice berry soap

 

as it dries down it still have the soapy smell, but the berries are trying to come out a little more. It starts to take on an almost sour smell, still very soapy.

 

It really mellows out but it doesn't change much, in the end it is a light berry smell with a touch of soap/shampoo

[djsiberia]

in the imp: berries and something giving me a headache. herbal and green smelling.

 

the berry scent is not very pow in your face berry...however, i'm not usually a berry fan nor do i like green/herbal smelling scents so this was another don't test on the wrist, pass to someone who would like it imp.

[anguissette]

I didn't really get much berry from this. The green smell overwhelmed whatever fruit notes might have been present. If you like crisp, herbal, green scents I would definitely give this a try as, in my experience, it delivered and was certainly not a cloyingly sweet berry scent. However, it is not my style, and therefore to the swaps it goes.

[Aldercy]

Lucky frimp. This was one I had on my wish list.

 

Baneberry reminded me of The Jersey Devil pretty immediately, but without the masculinity, slight weirdness, or pine. It has the same overall mood and some of the same notes. There's the bite of rich cranberry, I think. It's extremely green, but in a pretty generic way that I'm not totally enchanted with. It's true to its description, but doesn't exceed expectations. Becomes a little soapy.

[galahad]

In The Bottle

Herbal with a touch of fruit

 

On Application

Quite a dusty herbal with smooth slightly sweet fruit

 

Dry Down

Almost minty herbs which really gets into the sinuses.

 

Rating (0-5)

3.5

[Alchemy21599]

In the vial this smells a bit like cough syrup.

 

Once applied the scent reminds me of crushed wild grapes. Sweet, yet tangy at the same time.

 

An interesting blend for those who love berry scents.

[milo]

Baneberry has made my day. This to me is quite similar to Hellion, of which I only have a couple of imps worth. It is just not as musky/spicy as Hellion, more fruit-like. Whereas Hellion is more musky/spicy with a touch of fruit. I get a very smooth, plumlike berry, and a touch of exotic spice from Baneberry. They both remind me of Shalimar, only better.

 

eta: I must edit to mention that the Baneberry fades away very quickly, within an hour, so really the Hellion comparison is rather fleeting. The Hellion lasted for HOURS on me, and I applied much less than the Baneberry. Oh well.

Edited January 10, 2009 by milo

[PersephonesChild]

Very true to the description! The heavy, blackberry scent is incredible when first applied-- far and away my favorite bpal berry scent! It smells juicy, and thick, and amazing. Some green, herbalness arises later on, but I don't consider it an overly herbal blend-- it's definitely more of a fruit scent. It reminds me of a blackberry room freshener my parents were given as a gift many years ago that I appropriated, and used to scent certain pages of my favorite books at the time! It lasts quite a while, and I'm delighted to have it.

[mgrazulis]

In the imp: tart blackberry and currant, fresh green leaf

 

Wet: something wet and woodsy underneath, maybe pennyroyal

 

Dry: stays true throughout drydown, wet,tart berries mixed with herbally goodness underneath. A welcome break from the usual straight up fruit scents!!

[iamblackbird]

Aww. Cough syrup that morphs into sour... lettuce? Bad skin! Bad!

 

On a friend of mine, it smells like a vine of blackberries. Just luck of the draw, I guess.

[CynicalPink]

Imp: Sour berry

 

Wet: Juicy berry!

 

Dry: Win berry! Okay that made no sense but I wanted to run with the theme. It's dark and juicy and tart. It's not blackberry, it's not raspberry, it's not blueberry...It's baneberry!

 

Overall: This is great! It's really wearable and smells super nice! Bottle tryouts, ahoy!

[reina]

I got this as a frimp with my order, and I never would've chosen this on my own. Now that I smell it, it would do unbelievably well in shampoo or body wash. it's sweet but not too much, not exactly "green"... Juicy, definitely.

Great summer scent.

[anna1850]

Smells a bit like some kind of Body Shop berry concoction. A bit soapy and disappears within 30 minutes.

 

2/5 Oh well, off to swaps.

Edited April 11, 2009 by anna1850