Bruja

[Dolly Dimple]

Menacing, bewitching and darkly sexual. A blend of myrrh, amber and lilac.

I finally ordered an imp of Bruja the week before it was announced that it would be disconutinued. Did I order a big bottle? No. Am I a total pillock? Yes. Bruja is the perfect scent for me. It's got that sexy amber smell I recognise from Haunted, but softer, warmer, and fluffier. It's the scent equivalent of a big cosy blanket.

The DD 'bring back Bruja' campaign starts here...

[Azrhiaz]

This is the best example I've seen yet of an oil that I would do anything to fast-forward.

 

Wet, it's overwhelming, powdery lilac, skirting the edges of headache territory. But on the drydown, oh! The myrrh comes through (I love myrrh) and the amber warms it up, while the lilac gets relegated to the back seat (thank goodness). An oddly fruity note comes out, but I like it. Overall, the drydown is warm and beautiful-- womanly is the word that kept coming to mind-- and I'd love the oil if I could just skip the wet stage.

[xoe]

My imp of Bruja is old and tarted and yet I tried it for the first time today. I don't know if this is one of those that mellows with age or what, but it is beautiful. A pleasant, warm, soft fragrance. And myrrh, which usually turns to straight baby-powder on my skin, is very well-behaved in this blend.

 

All-in-all a nice blend.

[isyche]

Right off Bruja is lilac, but a sexy warm lilac. Not too sweet. The myrrh and amber are working for me here – they make the floral smoky and golden rather than powdery or old lady. Amber seems to be off and on for me, as Haunted really didn't work, but this is quite nice - I'm not head over heels in love with it, but I'll hang on to the imp.

[tempete]

I ordered Bruja (before it was discontinued) because I love myrrh and amber, and was curious to see how lilac would add to the mix. Wet, the myrrh and amber notes predominate, with a tiny trickle of lilac peeking through. If only it would stay in this stage, because unfortunately, the lilac note starts to muscle out the resins as Bruja dries down. I'm not a huge fan of pure lilac scents, so this imp will go into the swap pile.

[phaedrine]

Wet, it smells kind of like soapy myrrh. No dark sex here yet.

 

As it dries, it loses the soapy note (the lilac?) somewhat and the amber comes through.

 

Fully dry, it's nice, but not impressive, and reminds me a bit of some perfume I've worn in the past, though something that wasn't memorable enough for me to pull out a name.

 

Into the swap pile it went, and I hope someone was made happier by it than I was.

[Gin]

I have a difficult time smelling Bruja at all. I can faintly smell the amber, which is nice, And I'm eventually able to smell something spicier--the myrrh?--but I have to inhale really deeply for it to appear. I like the scent quite a bit, but it's *very* subtle. And then, oh dear, it goes powdery. Too bad.

[Dinah]

This goes on really really sweet and slightly medicinal smelling. The lilac is the predominant note on me, getting stronger the longer Bruja is on my skin. The amber and myrrh make it feel rounded and deep.

 

It's a very spicy, soft floral, but the sweetness it has is quite resiny. I like it, though I'm not sure whether I'd wear it regularly (good thing, since it's a discon ).

[dreadeddragon]

I have an old tarted Bruja, and I liked it. For me, it was mostly myrrh and amber, which I love, and a hint of lilac in the background. This was the first BPAL scent to have someone come up and compliment me on how I smelled. It wasn't old lady on me at all, but was a warm not quite floral but almost scent.

 

That being said, while I do genuinely like it, I have a feeling it would get lost in the others that I adore, and since it's discontinued, I feel the need to let it move on to it's next happy home with someone who will love it to death.

[antimony]

It's got two strikes against it... amber and lilac.

 

The amber gives it a sweet underpinning, and the lilac kind of feels prickly in my nose.... so overall it smells sugary and prickly. You really have to like lilac to like this scent.

[Sheila]

I'm one of those people who love Bruja and miss her! Thankfully I've managed to gather a few imps.

 

This is a deep, dark scent--heavy but not incensey. It reminds me of Haunted but with lilac added--my favorite floral. The amber and myrrh provide a gorgeous base for the lilac, and all three of these notes work very well with my skin chemistry. This scent seems to float around me, becoming a second skin. RIP.

[k00kaburra]

n bottle: It's a corrupted floral bouquet. The myrrh and lilac mingle to produce a fragrance that smells classic, but off, like a faded wilting beauty.

 

On me: It's a bit old-lady to me. My grandmother used to wear lilacs so I think that's why my mind automatically has this association. It's a pretty, delicate floral that has been spiced up a bit with incense and amber, but the lilacs are still the most prominant. Unfortunately, it's also giving me a headache, so this review ends now!

[byrdie]

Vial ~ Perfume-ish. Not alcohol as much as musky and soft. A womanly perfume.

 

Wet ~ It wafts well, the perfume-like sensation. It's somewhat come-hither.

 

Drying ~ Cocoa butter, lighter perfume and bakery spice. Would a woman making mole smell like this. If so, then she's O's more experienced sister.

 

Dry ~ Mmmm, this really does smell like O, but with bakery spices! The sweet cocoa butter is there, but it has more of a backbone. The Bruja was never defiled: I bet that she initiated and controlled her fall from grace.

 

Drydown ~ Some of the perfume-theme has come back to float along the top of this scent that's otherwise blended together quite nicely.

 

Fade ~ Three hours later, the perfume-haze has mostly left, leaving a lightly muskier cocoa butter scent. I think that this might be what people smell when they say that O is "sex in a bottle."

 

Final thoughts ~ I love both Bruja and O, but for different moods. I'd wear O to be flirty, and Bruja to be sexy. These are my two favorite chocolate scents; so it's a pity that this one has been discontinued.

[alston78]

In the bottle: I get a floral incense smell, dark and spicy.

 

On my wrist: This will be interesting - I bought it on impulse, and amber usually works on me, while myrrh is not always good. Bruja started out well- the amber came through nicely at first and softened the myrrh, and the lilac provided a sweet, soft floral note that was almost like violet on me. At the same time, I could understand the "darkly sexual" description - it had an exotic note and the myrrh pulled the whole mix into a spicier, sexier, less feminine scent.

After an hour or so, the myrrh beat out the amber and I was less pleased, as it wasn't a good myrrh experience. I wouldn't say that the blend was bad for me in any way- just that there are a lot of other BPAL scents I like much better. I got a little bit of the "old lady" thing, too.

 

Final decision- This will be traded or sold, as I'm cleaning out to make room for more!

[OriginalWacky]

Bottle (Imp): Fresh and breezy. Crisp.

 

Just On: Same as imp, but maybe a flower of some kind there, or some kind of floraly herb.

 

An hour or two later: This starts to move from the crisp and fresh area towards being more sweet. So it's crisp, clean, sweet, and fresh.

 

Around 6 hours: The crisp fresh scent has faded down into a mildly sweet skin scent.

 

12 hours: It smells like me, only sweeter.

 

Overall: I guess it's not a surprise, since I'm a witchy kinda gal that this would turn to a skin scent on me. I like the way it smells, and I want to bury my nose in it and just sniff away all day.

 

After reading other reviews: Okay, the flower must be the lily, and I wonder if myrrh is crisp to my nose. I'm fairly sure the amber is what turned this sweet, and into a skin scent.

[Dark Seraphim]

I managed to snag a 5ml bottle of this one. I'm glad I did as I love this one!

 

Bottle: Strong almond scent mixed with rum, light powder and light floral.

 

Worn: Every note listed above sticks out much more. Just fabulous! Reminded me of a Greek almond dessert. Fairly long lasting too!

 

Burnt: Doesn't seem to last long in this form.

 

Also one of my favorite scents. Guess I'm a sucker for almond smelling things. YUM! 8/10. Too bad it'll be hard to get even an imp, much less a 5ml.

[coulrophobe]

Hmm... I get a warm, powdery amber scent from Bruja - the lilac stays in the background and mixes with the myrrh (I guess that combo creates the sweet powdery effect), while the amber is most noticeable.

 

Powdery is not a bad thing for me - I rather like this one and I'm glad I got to try it. But, it's not the be-all-end-all of amber scents for me (luckily) - the top spot still goes to The Lion. Bruja is, however, a lovely blend - dark, soft and subtle.

[Galena]

I'm really quite fond of this.

 

it's warm, a little spicy, a little incensey and soft sweet rose-ness.

 

it's a sort of slightly soapy warm skin scent.

[malanna]

This is a nice, sweet floral scent. The lilac is apparent in the first few hours, with a bit of dryness, which made me think of sandalwood, but turned out to be myrrh. I'm not fond of amber, but it's okay in Bruja, as it serves to round out the floral. The point when it recedes into my skin is most curious. Whereas other scents just become a dry hint of what it smelled like before that stage, Bruja smells like a dry, spicy Snake Oil (an aged Snake Oil), but not as yummy.

[~AmusedMuse~]

My Impression:

While wet and in the vial this is lilac and powder...As it dries the amber and myrrh warm this up, but alas to me the powder essence is far to great for me here. My rating on a 1-5 scale...3

[quimerula]

I got this from ebay just because of the name.

Well, I love lilacs, and a myrrh and amber base sounds heavenly to me... but, living in the Northern Spain in a rainy, covered of dark woods place (Galicia is a part of the Celtic Land) and where the Spanish Inquisition burnt more witches than in the whole country, how could I pass a scent called "Witch" in Spanish?

 

And the scent, OMG!

It's dark and menacing, but incredibly sexy on my skin.

It says "I'm a dangerous woman. The kind of woman your mother has warned you about... and the kind of woman you are dying to know."

Perfect lilac (I would say blue lilac), with intriguing myrrh and warming amber.

Sexy, mysterious, dangerous. Wouldn't you like to be like that? I certainly do!

Edited August 20, 2005 by quimerula

[Lilithlefay]

Wet on the skin: all lilac baby. Very strong floral.

Drydown: the amber is peeking through, and the lilac has taken a powdery turn, but the myrrh has also come to the party. While I love the scent of the amber and myrrh, I am unsure about the powderyness of the lilac on me. I'm just not a powdery kind of girl, but oh am I a sucker for amber. I keep going back and forth because the amber in this is beautiful but the powder is not. I think I like it though, go figure because it is discontinued. Sigh....

[wickedgoddess]

Origin - part of the discontinued circular swap

 

Wet - Ah, lilac! There's a bit of warmth behind it, which must be the amber and myrrh, but wet, lilac is the prominent note.

 

Dry - I think this is the first lilac BPAL blend I have tried, and while I like lilac, like orange blossom it may be a bit too floral for me to wear. The amber has gone a bit powdery as well, as amber tends to do on me. It's only slightly powedery though, I can smell a bit of the amber coming through. This is an interesting, pretty blend, but on me, it's only fair.

 

On the wickedgoddess scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being best, this rates a 2 .

[PurringPulsar]

Bruja

 

In the imp: dark myrrh with a hint of sweet amber. Yay for resins!

Wet on skin: still gorgeous amber-myrrh. I may also be getting lilac at this point.

Dry on skin: oooh, this is nice. The bittersweet twist of myrrh, the sticky sweet golden scent of amber, and the scent of lilac. This is a potent scent, quite sharp and nose-piercing at times, I'm not sure if that's the myrrh or the lilac though…but this scent is very appealing.

After a while: the blend smoothes out very nicely now, all the notes are balanced out. The lilac note is at it's strongest now, at times it smells fresh and real like a blossom on a tree, at others piercing-almost like very concentrated lilac extract, coupled with sweet resins.

This stage smells consistent throughout the drydown-a nice smooth lilac-y amber, or amber darkened by myrrh with a lilac top-note. I like this. The lilac is a lot softer now as well.

After a few hours, it's all amber. I'm pretty sure it's Egyptian amber-it smells identical to my SN. Just pure amber with maybe a bit of lilac. I love this stage in the scent's development.

Verdict: this is a lovely scent, simple in its notes, yet effective. The lilac note here is very true at times, and yet has a hint of something piercing and sharp to it, like an ultra-concentrated lilac blossom tincture. The resins in this are gorgeous-amber and myrrh usually always mix together very nicely so you can't tell them apart, that's what happens in here. Eventually the fragrance softens into a pure amber scent, which is gorgeous. I'm glad I have an imp of this discontinued oil, I'll cherish it.

[Little Bird]

*I'm editing my review now that I have a bottle of this scent and can really slather it on*

 

In the bottle, this smells like a very clean, floral dusting powder. Green flower stems, clean, sweet floral, and powdery amber.

 

On my skin, this is a soft, warm, golden amber with a spicy, resinous lift from the myrrh, but the myrrh is verrry light. It's a touch powdery and very subtle, and the floral is just a pretty, sweet, girly touch to the blend. In the drydown, it just smells like clean, girly skin, like I'm fresh from the shower and dusted on a light layer of sweet floral powder. This doesn't smell like lilac to me at all, but it's still a pretty scent.

 

Bruja is so light that it's barely there. I'm glad to have a bottle of this, though. I'll wear this on days when I want a light, clean sort of girly fragrance.

Edited February 5, 2009 by Little Bird