Golden Priapus

[hexnut]

Insatiable lust, unending vigor! A truly carnal, energetic men’s blend: vanilla and amber with juniper, rosewood and white pine.

A frimp from the Lab, tested blind.

In Vitro Spicy sweet.

Wet Sweet, spicy, root-beery, and very rich. Already I was half convinced that this was my order of Stimulating Sassafra Strengthener. Over the next few minutes the spice became a strong clove note reminiscent of Troll, and at the end of each inhale was a hint of vanilla.

Drying The spiciness became "dryer" somehow, and the vanilla note a bit more pronounced but never dominated the spice. Sweet and lively on my skin, and unusually lasting, with a slow fade over five hours.

The true identity of this oil was another surprise. How did I get supposed sassafras from "vanilla and amber with juniper, rosewood and white pine"? That night I tested Golden Priapus on one wrist and Phoenix Steamworks on the other, and this time I detected wood and/or pine when inhaling deeply (and the Steamworks had a "cologne" vibe - go figure). Again it lasted nearly six hours, and the vanilla sweetness took over from the piney wood.

This is amazing. Amber = spice? Vanilla that doesn't turn into rubber? I need a bottle of this, and in the meantime I'm going to try some other scents with amber. Thank you, BPAL.

edited to add description

[becca_s]

This was a frimp from the lab

 

I tried this one on without realizing it was a men's scent, it started out quite dry and my impression was that it had sandalwood in it, but I think that it must be from the amber. It was also initially quite piney and woodsy, which isn't really my thing. After a few hours of wearing it I could smell this yummy vanilla smell and I couldn't work out where it was coming from. I thought it must have been something left over from another perfume I had been wearing. It took me a while to realize it was coming from Golden Priapus! The vanilla in this is really, really good. Even though this scent does have a masculine side I definitely think that it could be unisex and would smell great on a male or a female.

[madscientistdh]

*cue angelic choir*

 

Honestly when I first saw this description, I worried that pine would equal PineSol. Luckily it isn't so.

 

In imp: smells like.... patchouli over something light? Smells pleasantly piney.

 

On skin: Creamy vanilla pine, with an undertone that reminds me of light vetiver. Must be juniper? Nice.

 

Drydown: more sandalwood toned ambery spice with a fresh undertone of pine/juniper.

 

Verdict: Understated sexy. Just this side of masculine, in my opinion, but I'll definitely wear it

[jpboukis]

The one thing I would add to the very evocative reviews is the almost coconut blast I got wet from the mix of woods. It had a bright pine top from the get go that bopped in and out until fully dry when it stayed balanced with the warm vanilla for a good long time.

 

While I had three distinct layers, wood, pine, and vanilla, the overall effect was a masculine spice to me.

 

I would echo the strong bronze, I personally get no green out of this, just the gold of cut wood, honey, and warm metal.

[MtMoonKitty]

In the imp this is amber vanilla with something lightly green. It morphs quicker than most scents do on me and I promptly get the evergreens. Unfortunately, the variety of vanilla in this blend is the kind that goes seriously play dough with my chemistry. So after about 15 minutes into the dry down I smell like a ball of play dough that has shredded pine tree car freshener. Such a shame. It had such potential.

[Erinofhere]

Oh my my my

I have a huge thing for vanilla. I wear vanilla, my house smells like vanilla, I even found some vanilla smelling laundry detergent and even though it does a terrible job I am still using it because it's vanilla.

I have a slight obsession with vanilla yall.


Got this imp for husband to see if we may have found his guy vanilla.

He put it on...then everything turned a bit foggy...then we wound up in bed...

It's that good people!


It lasted a good deal on him and this has excellent throw.

And it makes you want to have sex. In the afternoon.

So get a bottle and have more sex.



okay okay...we didn't immediately go to bed. But it really does smell that good on him.

We need lots more of this.

Soooo does this make me a vanilla slut or something?

Oh yeah…forgot to mention that we could smell the other notes yaddayadda…rosewood, pine,amber VANILLA!!

Basically it’s a juniper/pine vanilla. Very man vanilla. Very very man vanilla.

[quickdrawkiddo]

YUM. This is pretty juniper-y wet and then turns into a sexy, woodsy vanilla on the drydown. Based on the description I was expecting it to be a lot more traditionally "masculine," but this is pretty unisex, to my nose. I'm not usually into vanilla but this is just fantastic, very comforting and sexy at the same time. LOVELY.

[Heaven_Star]

Imp: JUNIPER, maybe a smidge of vanilla and pine. Mostly juniper.

 

Wet: Juniper, pine, rosewood. In that order, one after the other. The juniper is mostly dominant, still, no sign of the amber and vanilla so far. As it dries the amber and vanilla start to find their way forward and the woods (still juniper dominant) blend a little better.

 

Dry: Rosewood, little bit of juniper and some pine. Honestly this is a bright woodsy scent on me, there’s little to no amber or vanilla. I’m ok with this. I quite like amber and vanilla but I amp woods and love them like nobody else I know, so I’m entirely fine with this being woodsy. It's quite masculine, but I'm not opposed to wearing masculine scents when the mood strikes me and this is such a great woods scent that I don't even mind. Not sure if I'm going to upgrade to a big bottle, but I probably will because the other woods scents I have are all darker or sweeter and this is much more straight forward.

[Mokiefraggle]

Okay, I didn't actually buy this for me, but I've worn it enough that I feel I ought to review, especially since my fiance doesn't wear it often enough (in my opinion, at least! :3) and probably wouldn't do so purely to review it for me.

 

It absolutely fits both his and my scent profiles to a 'T', but it hits totally different niches for us. On me, it shows more vanilla and amber, grounded by the pine and juniper, and only a little bit of rosewood. It's warm, sweet, and woodsy in that order, and has a light throw that doesn't overpower. I love it on me almost as much as I love it on him.

 

On him, it's woodsy with a light hint of vanilla, the juniper coming out much more to give it a slightly more herbaceous note that turns it slightly crisp, with the sweetness of the vanilla and the warmer aspects of the amber much more in the background to the woodsy end. Almost completely opposite how it turns out on me, but perfect on him in the way that all the herbal, woodsy scents I've convinced him to try are. It goes beautifully with his preferences in shower gel and shaving cream, all of which are woodsy and herbal, and rounds out the eucalyptus notes of them nicely with the vanilla.

 

It really just makes me want to get Darling to try and wear more BPAL. He just doesn't quite yet understand how amazing he smells in the ones I've bought or gifted him, though I'm steadily turning him on to using the things like scented shower gels, that he once dubbed nothing but the "smelly stuff." Getting him to wear BPAL of his own accord someday will just be the icing on the cake.

[Jeni Mullen]

My scent palette: I'm a foodie that doesn't tend to like the lab's vanilla scent unless there's something sugary in it. Eat Me is one of my favorite scents along with Captain Lilith (more boozy but still sweet). I am slowly finding out that I don't like woods in my scents. I love FOREST smells (like pine needles, juniper, leaves, moss and grass) but sandlewoods, rosewoods, and things like cedar or oak just don't do nice things on me. I love Magnificent Autumn, Samhain and Druid! I like spices too as long as they aren't kitchen spices (like mint and sage). Frankincense smells a little like sage so I haven't been too happy with that in my blends either. Scherezade and Sapphics are my go to spice oils.

 

In the bottle: Sweet, vanilla and...something else? I can't describe it, sorry!

On my wrist, wet: Okay, very vanilla but the amber is there too and I think that the amber is making the vanilla behave! Happiness!

Fifteen minutes later: Oh boo, the pine has come out to play and now it's taking over. The vanilla is still there but it's on it's way to going sour, like vanilla sometimes does in these blends for me.

Thirty minutes later: All pine with maybe sweet sap under it. Time to wash it off.

 

Verdict: I was hoping that the amber and the juniper would be stronger. Definitely not keeping this one.

[doomsday_disco]

In the imp: The white pine note jumps out to my nose at first, but I also smell the vanilla, juniper, and rosewood. It reads as masculine to my nose, but I think the vanilla note keeps it from being strictly masculine.

Wet: Pine and vanilla. The juniper is present, and I get the amber as well as the rosewood. Mostly, it's pine, juniper, and vanilla, and the vanilla note is really nice. I can't stop sniffing my arm!

Dry: The vanilla is stronger now, and it's a wonderful, creamy vanilla. I think this may be the same vanilla note that is found in Tombstone. I can detect amber and juniper lingering in the background (there is more amber than juniper on me), as well as white pine, but it rather faint now.

Verdict: I really, really like this and will be needing a bottle.

[Teaker]

Wet this is all juniper, very sharp and bracing. As it dries it turns into a truly lovely vanilla. It's a bit dry and has incredible throw. Just a few drafts has gorgeous vanilla wafting all around me. Underlying the vanilla is just a hint of pine and what smells like freshly cut wood, which adds some freshness without ever smelling like pine-sol. The drydown is passingly similar to Dorian (I think the vanilla is the same) but with fresh woods instead of tea.

 

I dislike the wet juniper stage, but love the drydown! lthough the pine smell can be a bit too sharp. I think I'll be keeping my imp, but will stick to Dorian for my slightly-masculine-vanilla needs. .

[Minh Scent]

This is a gorgeous holiday blend for me because of the pine which is fresh and bright. In the dry down, caught the juniper and finally the vanilla snuggles in with the rosewood, while the pine plays along. I don't think it is at all masculine, but rather a great scent for all. Delighted with this frimp! Thank you, Lab!

[DiesMali]

In the imp: Warm woodsy vanilla.

 

Wet on my skin: Gorgeous warm vanilla, woods, and amber.

 

Dry: This is like a perfect blend of Tombstone and Old Scratch, just without the sassafras. Vanilla, rosewood, amber, and pine perfectly blended into a gorgeous, golden-green scent. I love both scents this reminds me of, and this one is just gorgeous as well. Mmmm.

[d0gbones]

In the imp: Camphor, piney and seems masculine.

Wet: Wow, much sweeter, almost like caramel.

Dry: Basically vanilla and very light pine. I think I get the amber, but it's very much a blend with the vanilla. I don't get juniper at all, and I don't think this is as masculine as I'd expect from the description, it's much sweeter and I'll definitely wear it myself.

[Malaena]

I was so afraid that rosewood would dominate this blend as it has in so many others. I smell absolutely zero rosewood! I keep getting a soft, warm vanilla wafting up to my nose. When I sniff up close I can detect juniper. Holy balls, this is vanilla win!

[agirlnamedfury]

Testing location: left inner elbow

 

In imp: all pine and woods

 

Wet on skin: fresh, mellow and woody. Just a hint of vanilla sweetness.

 

Dry: actually quite similar to how it smelled wet, it hasn't changed too much. I like this one well enough, but I don't know if I love it on me. I don't usually agree with "masculine" vs. "feminine" scents, but I agree with others who would love to smell this on a man!

[LizziesLuck]

I purchased this before realizing it's considered a manly scent.

 

It is NOT manly on me. It is all amber, all the time, with just a wee splash of vanilla. It's sickly sweet. I like sweet, but this is headache inducing on me.

[sunlitgarden]

I think this was an imp I actually ordered from the Lab rather than being a frimp; the notes sounded appealing despite it being a "masculine" blend.

In the imp: Almost Yule-like, woods and evergreen (pine/juniper) needles.

On my skin: It's sweeter, though still the pine needle note is dominant. Unfortunately something about the combination of notes is reminding me of bathroom deodorizer or cleaner. Thankfully, that cloying aspect doesn't last. It turns into... well, it smells kind of like a sexy Christmas tree Pine needles with some warmth and sweetness. This is a GC scent that could pass for a Yule. It actually reminds me a lot of Waltz of the Snowflakes, though that blend had more vanilla.

[Veronica]

I was so hopeful for this, but unfortunately the juniper turns a bit off and throws the sweet, musky over notes into discord.

[radiantfracture]

I agree with Sunlitgarden (above) that Golden Priapus reminds me of Waltz of the Snowflakes, which I like very much. This was one of the earliest BPALs I tested, and my nose has definitely gotten better at distinguishing notes in the meantime.

 

This goes on all juniper and pine, and then the vanilla-amber makes it soft without going powdery, with a low, supporting echo of rosewood.

 

These are all good notes, well-executed - they stay true. On me, they don't quite pull together, though -- the scent stays interesting, but never feels like a unified whole - the sharp woods and the soft vanilla don't mesh. The result feels slightly out of tune, though with much to recommend it. [ETA]

 

I agree that this would make a good Yule blend, though.

Edited January 4, 2016 by radiantfracture

[freyasfae]

This was spicier than I like, probably due to the juniper and pine together, which I recently learned tend not to like me, or I like them more as room scents than on my skin. The vanilla and amber warm the pine and juniper, but overall the pine and juniper is still present for this to be a keeper for me.

[Casablanca]

Bottle: Sunny conifer trees at midmorning -- which sounds nice, but seems to fight with itself in the bottle.

Wet: Pine and frosty-blue juniper! And a little mahogany-colored rosewood. Behind the initial trees, I smell a little vanilla amber.

Dry: We're back to sunny conifer trees at midmorning, but working now, on my skin, instead of fighting. The amber comes out in more balance with the trees. Likable.

An unusual amber. It reminds me of the Colorado "dude ranch" I went to one summer -- it's just missing the horses, dust, leather and blond men.

[unxolve]

Vanilla pine! I AM REALLY SAD THAT I LIKE THIS, the cap broke in half for some reason, and if I hated it I could just get rid of it. But now I can't! WHAT A NICE PINE SCENT. )8 SUPER CHRISTMAS. With vanilla smoothing everything right the heck over.

 

why, golden priapus

[porcelaincrypt]

In the imp I thought masculine and possibly sandalwood?...

 

On my skin I get the pine as the standout and then the juniper with a hint of vanilla. Later on the cool vanilla starts to become bolder. The longer it stays on me the more I like it. Overall on my skin it is a faint scent, but in a good way.

 

It's fittingly masculine but contrary to the name I'm not getting anything overtly sexy lol. Like a few other reviewers mentioned, I too am reminded of the holidays when smelling Golden Priapus. I think this would smell nice for a guy to wear to Christmas dinner.