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The Sportive Sun

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Heliotrope, amber, almond flower, frangipani, cedar, and calamus.


In bottle: Soft and delicate, but no specifics.

On me: A very clean amber with some soft mutings of cedar and heliotrope underneath.

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This smells like alcohol mixed with amber. Kinda like a nail salon too! Not for me...too much like a science lab. Trading!

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Origin: decant bought in an LJ sale

 

Initial Thoughts: First I was going to get both Sportive Sun and Gibbous Moon. Then I was just going to get Gibbous Moon, because the amber made me second-guess myself. Amber often amps up on me. But I had a financial hiccup and let the deadline pass. So when someone offered a bottle of Gibbous Moon and a decant of this, I jumped.

 

In the Bottle: Very, very spicy amber.

 

Wet: A blast of very hot amber.

 

Drydown: This time the amber doesn't stomp the other notes into the ground. The cedar comes out, backed by a warm mishmash of floral with a hint of spice. But it clings very closely to my skin...not much throw that I can tell.

 

Verdict: Well, it's an amber that I can wear, but it seems to fade so gosh-darned fast. *drums fingers*

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Dammit. I have never had this problem with cedar before.

 

I usually have a policy with bpal, that even if something smells repulsive to me in the vial, I will still try it on skin and let it dry down. We all know how bpal goes through radical changes on the skin. But with this one, I opened the vial and smelled a sharp, dry, abrasive cedar. I applied a tiny bit, but I couldn't make it through to dry-down. This has never, ever happened to me before, even with a cedar-y oil. I didn't like Monster Bait: Ventriloquest's Dummy for all its too dry woody notes, but at least I could tolerate the oil in my presence. But the Sportive Sun? No. Washed it off before it could dry.

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I love the wet stage of this. It's a really pretty, sweet amber on me. I get a hint of marzipan nuttiness, which I loved. If I try, I can detect the cedar in the background, but it blends well with the other notes so it's not overly woodsy.

 

Unfortunately, once it dries, it becomes a much drier, woody blend on me. Without any of the amber or sweet almond notes that I liked.

 

I may try this in a scent locket before sending it off to a new home in hopes of holding on to that lovely wet stage.

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The Sportive Sun has two notes in it which go to baby powder on me - amber and calamus. This starts off a little bit spicy and a lot powdery, and then dries down to a little bit of dry woods and a lot of baby powder. The floral aspects of this don't survive at all on my skin. It's a light, dry, powdery scent on me.

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The Sportive Sun smells like the color of fire. It is hot; orange, yellow, red. I don't think that is merely because of the power of suggestion from the label art. It really smells fiery and warm.

 

In the bottle I smell amber and florals with a touch of dryness.

 

On my skin I immediately get cedar. It is dry and hot but not spicy. Almost masculine. There are florals in there. The amber sits more hidden than I expected it to, but it rounds off the sharp edges of the cedar and brings the scent into a cohesive unit.

Edited by alicia_stardust

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In the bottle and when I first apply this, it is a very dry scent. After just a couple of minutes the warm amber comes out and smells golden and warm and the almond flower adds a creamy, soft note to the blend. The cedar adds a bit of dryness to the background, but it is not very obvious. The heliotrope, frangipani, and calamus aren’t very strong on me (I can barely detect any florals at all) until wearing a little while... then they just add a floral sweetness to the warm amber base scent. It’s truly a golden and sunny scent. This is definitely one of my favorites!

Edited by Delirium1009

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In the imp: amber and cedar, a nice dry, sun-warmed woods sort of smell.

 

On me, wet: hmm, and now there's a sharp, sour floral note cutting across those woods. It's a bit, hmm, cleaning-product-ish.

 

On me, dry: baby powder and faint woods, with a small trace of that sour floral.

 

Verdict: Off to the swaps pile - this isn't playing with my chemistry well at all.

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I thought Leo 2007 was going to be my amber blend of choice in this batch of decants I got from the Red Moon update.

 

I do love Leo 2007, but as many noted, it smells an awful lot like Pumpkin Queen without the pumpkin. I don't mind the pumpkin in PQ, so I finally decided to try my Sportive Sun imp to see if it was perhaps the amber scent I was seeking.

 

And the first thing I realized, after trying this blend, is that I finally have a cedar note that doesn't amp to the nth degree on me. I LOVE cedar, but when I tried it in Lear, I actually had to scrub it off, as it was too much. But tempered with the amber, the heliotrope and the almond flower -- it's heavenly. My only complaint is that it doesn't last as long on me as I'd like, but then I'm taking care not to slather, as I don't know if I'll be successful finding a full bottle of this one.

 

It's beautiful, and it is my perfect woodsy scent. (for now!)

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In the bottle – Not a lot really, just a hint of cedar

 

Wet on me – Fresh and green, with just a hint of the frangipani

 

Dry on me – A soft creamy, green grass scent

 

Overall – This is nice, but faint and I doubt I’ll wear it

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Bottle sniff and wearing of this are very similar on me - it's mostly a nice warm amber with a side of cedar. Both of which I love, so no complaints here.

 

After a few minutes of wear, the other ingredients, while never distinctive notes on their own, add just a touch of sweetness and complexity to the blend.

 

This is actually one of the truest "just ambers" on me of all the Bpals amber blends I've tried thus far. It's definitely the dominant note for me, and it's definitely of the lighter, golden amber ilk, perfect for warmer weather, which makes me very happy as some of the other amber blends I favor tend to be too heavy at this time.

 

A nice embodiment of lazy summer afternoon sun.

 

I wore this every day for at least a week after I got it, which I hardly ever do. (I'm fickle that way and have WAY too much Bpal at my disposal)

 

And I'd probably be looking for a back-up bottle, except that I'm hoping that Death of Autumn will be the fall equivalent of this for me!

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I am in love with this. :D Just bought it last night at ECWC. I am not a good note detecter so this will not be the most estute review you have ever read. :P

 

On first smell in the bottle I did not like it at all. But something made me test it. Holy moly I am so glad I did. On me this is like Smut and Morocco had a love child and it was the Sportive Sun. I will need many more bottles if I can find them. :D

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(thank you delicate_fangs!)

 

Short review: warm, pale and light amber

 

In depth: This is very lovely. I'm surprised by how I seem to be able to wear a lot of the newer amber blends, without them being too powdery. This is like a pale amber touched by sweet flowers and a bit of wood. It's pale gold in feeling and rather sweet, but not too much, as it's also rather light. I don't find it completely outstanding, but it is definately wearable and subtly pretty. It's also quite clean smelling.

Edited by Browneyes

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THE SPORTIVE SUN

 

In Bottle: Cedar and resin

 

On Skin: This scent is quite dark on me, the resins are soft but just a little cloudy. The cedar is very dominant and very earthy. Where as the Gibbous Moon is very light, wet and chilly, this is dark, dry and warm. I don’t smell the heliotrope which usually amps on me and is very candylike. The almond flower is present but soft and just a hint of sweetness. The amber is very powdery and adds to the warm dry feel. While this is a pretty scent, it is far too powdery for me. Scents that are this dry make me feel like I’m going to sneeze. But don’t be scared off, it still is lovely and a great “sun” scent. I am a fire sign and had hoped it would work for me, maybe just every once in a while. Light throw and short to moderate wearlength.

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almonds and amber and (on me) red musk, with a cedar background.

 

I'm awfully surprised that this isn't a more popular blend. My nose sticks it in the category of red moon and scorpio 2007, except mellower and woodier. But sumputously sweet and smooth and ambery. I don't think of the sun, I think of sun-warmed woods and skin. Very pretty!

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I obtained a decant of this recently and I absolutely love it. The amber in this warms up gorgeously and the floral spikes it into this interesting, unforgettable scent. I'm such a fan and I wish I had a full bottle of it, for sure.

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Wet: Smoky, woodsy, wild, musky.

 

It's rich, warm and pungent, with a cinnamon-y, woodsy scent. Also, it's a little sharp. I didn't get the amber, or the floral.

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Hot and dry! I'm sampling this on a very rainy, grey day so it's neat to smell something so sunny. I'm getting the amber and woods, but no flowers in this at all. It's an interesting blend although nothing that I'd ever wear.

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like fine floral soap stored in a cedar box, at first. as it warms to my skin it becomes more complex. sweet, lady-like florals atop warm, dry cedar. i usually can't do florals, but in this combination i can. and of course my beloved amber holds it all together! i'll be holding onto this.

Edited by porcelina

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Bottle: Floral, strong floral

 

Wet: Heliotrope and amber do not like me together, they've ganged up on me!

 

Drydown: The flowers of doom! It's a bit woodsy, the cedar I guess, but that's not enough to offset the floral.

2.5 outta 5

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Ahhh, one of my favoritest BPALs ever. I've come to the conclusion that anything with amber will suit me, and once again, I'm correct. It's amber and cedar together, and it has a warm sandalwood flavor too (calamus contribution?) Lasts most of the day, and now I've managed to turn my mom on to it! If you don't want your bottle any more, please contact me and Mom! :P

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Right after I first put this on my skin, I almost can't smell it at all. I get a very light whiff of floral and a hint of amber.

 

My mad amber-amping powers kick in about fifteen minutes later, and the amber note begins to dominate. There's still a bit of floral going on.

 

As it continues to dry, the amber starts to go baby-powderish. This never happens to me, so I'm WTFing a bit. Maybe it's a combination of the amber and the almond? The floral still brings up the rear along with something that's registering as a soft fruity scent, like just the tiniest hint of orange.

 

The baby powder effect sticks around and so it's probably not one I'd be in the mood for all that often, but it's a gentle, comforting scent. You might like it if you liked The Lion.

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I had forgot that I still had a half imp of this, and so it has been sitting in an imp box for several months now. On first sniff, I smell the amber and the cedar. I was a little hesitant to try this, since my body tends to hate almond scents. Wet on the skin, the cedar and amber are most prevalent. On drydown, my body has decided to ramp up the fragipani and heliotrope, so now it smells like an incense. The cedar and amber are still there, but they've morphed from top notes to bottom notes.

 

I'm still not sure what to think about Sportive Sun. It's nice, but I don't think I would wear it a whole lot.

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