Othello

[stillalive]

Arabian musk with two roses and a bevy of Middle Eastern and Indian spices.

Othello smells stereotypically perfumey to me. I think I had envisioned something more like Bengal or Silk Road, and it's definitely more baby-powdery (or baby wipey?) than those. It's not a bad scent, it's just not what I picture Othello, the Moor of Venice, walking around smelling like.

[gchris]

In Vial: Floral, rosey

 

Wet: Rose perfume

 

Dry: Light perfume with a gentle, feminine innocence.

[Dark Alice]

Roses and the masculine scent of arabian musk with a touch of leather ? Very pretty....but I am not a fan of roses....

[obsidienne]

Mmmm, Othello is a sexy, musky floral that smells very luscious. It is a bit masculine, but I can wear it no problem. Even though I am not sure carnation is a note in here, the roses and musks and spices seem to give me an overall sweet carnation feeling, which is weird but also very pleasant (I love carnation). It's a sweet, warm scent. Sensual yumminess.

[crebbsgirl]

Ok, hello ROSE!!! This actually mellows out a bit for a little while. I can smell the musks and spices and they seem to be tempering the roses. I'm not getting the ammonia-type scent I usually get when I try to wear a rose blend and I think the spices are preventing it. All in all, the nicest rose blend I've tried on my skin, but I still don't like roses.

[MCS4096]

In the imp: Upon reading the notes this totally sounded like something I'd like.. love musk, love spices, love rose in moderation.. Unfortunately I get a LOT of rose here. The musk deepens it, but there is no spice here.

 

Wet: Getting a bit of spice.. maaaaybe, if I think "smell spices darnit!" uh oh, made my nose plug up a bit.. guess I'll rate this one "allergy inducing"

 

Dry: Pretty much straight up rose. Not nearly musky or spicy enough!

[magikalbrownies]

this is a beautiful rose scent. its done so perfectly its as though you're sniffing one straight from the florist.

 

in the bottle, it has this floral scent

applied i smelled just enough spice to take the edge off the rose

wet...rose, rose, rose...

 

i absolutely recommend it. its one of those scents that could be a signature for someone. very recognizable. somewhat reminds me of tea rose in a way.

 

anyway, definately one i'll be buying a bottle of in the future.

[Mousesong]

I don't know where to start with Othello. On the one hand it is nothing at ALL like I was imagining (which was dark and sultry and gender-neutral), but on the other hand I love it so much I can see it possibly dethroning my Dorian (which was my first 5ml bottle, and came with this order). It's impossible to overstate how pretty this is, but I can also see where it may go raw dryer sheet on some people. It DOES go through a stage on me that is, as mentioned a few times in this thread, just like freshly-laundered bedclothes.

 

Somehow though it's way beyond that. It's sort of pale and golden and clear, and even the powdery drydown on the musk after a couple of hours is clean and sharp. It's definitely rose, but it's more of a tea rose (as magikalbrownies pointed out) than a heavy dark red rose, which is what I was expecting. I love roses in real life but this is the first time I've smelled it not smell like old ladies. I may have to explore BPAL's rose some more.

 

Even though this isn't at all the kind of smell I gravitate to, I can see myself wearing this every single day. It makes me want to dress up. And maybe this is over-the-top dramatic, but honestly: this is how I imagine God should smell. You know. God in the sense of some huge ineffable presence.

 

Yes, I smell like God. I could get used to that...

[Gwydion]

In bottle: Lots of cloying rose with a hint of something softer under. I’m not going to skin test as I know that this will just me insanely amped rose on my skin. I do get a faint spice edge, but really this is a rose blend.In bottle: Lots of cloying rose with a hint of something softer under. I’m not going to skin test as I know that this will just me insanely amped rose on my skin. I do get a faint spice edge, but really this is a rose blend.

[Lamia]

This started out FANTASTICALLY AMAZING. It was musky and furry and sexy and I wanted to throw myself down on a bed and nibble me. There was a layer underneath of floral soap, but it only enhanced the yummy musk.

 

Alas, it was not to last, and soon... too soon, the musky furry sexy scent wandered away, leaving me smelling of forlorn rosewater.

 

Sigh...

[donnatron]

Imp: Deep, dark, weird rose.

 

Wet: This is so intriguing. I don't even really know how to describe the scent of Othello but it's just so... magnetic. Definitely some rose but a bunch of other elements and ingredients. I'm testing a few different rose blends out and my nose keeps coming back to this one.

 

Dry: Okay, definitely getting that drier sheet thing everyone else gets. However, these are the most fuckin' A drier sheets known to mankind. Sort of a clean, borderline laundry sort of scent tempered with a bit of rose. Very pretty and elegant and definitely something I am fond of smelling like.

 

Throw: Good.

 

Overall: Rose is a favourite of mine but so often it smells heavy or simply heady. Othello is a great way to incorporate a fresh and clean rose scent into my rotation without sacrificing any of my favourite ingredients. LOVE this. It reminds me of a floral version of Pirate Moon.

[naeelah]

The first time I tried this, I think I passed it along without even reviewing it. It smelled sharp and cologne-like and awful. Now, though, it's rich and warm and lovely. Perhaps the first imp I tried was fresh and this one is aged. I don't know.

 

The strongest note is the Arabian musk, which reminds me of skin musk here. It's a nice medium, amber kind of musk that blends into your natural skin scent. It's very smooth and velvety. Immediately the scent is warmed up by a rich bouquet of spices. Nothing stands out, it's just warm and fuzzy, sorta like chai or a curry blend [although I hasten to add, the spices here do not actually smell like curry].

 

There was a smooth, polished, slightly sweet quality in the middle, and something about this made me think of apple cider, if apple cider were a musk. Then I looked at the notes and I realized what I was smelling was the rose. Strangely, it did not stand out to me as rose. Once I knew what it was it snapped into place in my mind, but it really just adds a core to the scent.

 

After an hour or two, a lot of the musk and spice had receded and the scent was primarily rose.

 

Morocco is the closest point of comparison for this, but they are definitely unique blends. Morocco always remains a bit sharp and assertive (in a good way) -- lots of dry cassia and hot spice, balanced by sugary vanilla musk. Bengal is another similar blend, but again, the spices in that were very assertive and cinnamon heavy, on me. Othello is much smoother and rounder, more of a warm glow then a brutal desert heat.

 

Velvety is still my best description for it. Soft musk, soft spice, and soft rose, all rolled into one fabulous scent.

[Suu4LC]

This is SOOO pretty in the imp! Sweet musky rose with a hint of spices. Super gorgeous and very delicate to my nose-doesn't really match my image of the character though!

 

Rose doesn't always do well with my skin, but the musk totally keeps it in check here-as I said before this is mostly musk and sweet, almost candied rose-the spices are just baaarely there. I really think this is one of the most beautiful rose scents I have tried from bpal.

 

Honestly...I want a bottle of this! I think it is the best rose scented bpal I have ever sniffed! If bpal rose is usually a bit much for you, but you like the smell and idea of rose, this is such a gorgeous blend! Soft sweet wafting rose with a dash of spice. I still don't think this reminds me of Othello in the least, but I'll take it anyways!!!

 

 

 

[Tess]

In the bottle - Very, very strong rose. It's heady like mad. There's something else in there, but the rose is just destroying everything else.

 

Wet - Okay, a musky spice is coming out now.

 

Drying - This is just so very rose. Almost pure rose with nothing else to it. I can almost get some musk, but it's just really, well, ROSE.

 

Dry (2 hours) - Rose.

 

Overall - This was rose from start to finish. My skin didn't like it.

[rayvn1]

I've been stalking Othello for ages since I adore every note listed. What I get on my skin is very, very different from what I expected. It's odd, but I get the exact smell of sparkling cider - the kind that has berries or something along with the apple. It's just a sparkling, effervescent, red berry smell. Okaaaaay....not at all what I was going for. I'll probably try this again later but this is super weird on me.

[Ankica]

I don't see man in this

I believe I would like it more if there is less "east influence"

[Aldercy]

Very similar to Libertine to me-- a translucent spiced rose musk. Classic, sharp, smart. I have a feeling this will dry to pure rose, however, and I really do feel like I've got this sort of scent taken care of with Libertine.

[Lupin1]

In the imp: a nice, light rose. Very light and clean.

 

On me: I guess my skin just drinks this scent up. I slathered it on, using almost 1/3 of the imp, and I'm still having trouble smelling it just a half hour later. It's a pity-- I really wanted this one to work, but it's just way too light for me.

[smgudan]

very pretty delicate musky rose...so faint tho, have to sniff my wrist right up to it to smell it.i even spilled some on my hand is it was STILL faint, which is good, because it's not headache inducing lol. i think i would wear this scent on a date, right behind the ears and on the neck...where u can only smell it where you get up close very pretty and sophisticated scent overall

[Greenwoodtree]

Tried from a friends stash -

 

Although upon first putting it on my wrist it smelled some of muskiness, it quickly turned to a sweet floral, and NONE of the masculine scents came out.

 

This definitely isn't what I would imagine Othello smells like! Maybe Desdemona, but def not Othello!

[Saya]

I'm getting a strong rose scent from this blend, but no musk or spices. Usually rose is terrible on me, but this isn't too bad. I wish I got more of the other elements, but it just isn't meant to be.

 

I'll end up passing this imp along, it's not my type of scent.

[angelicruin]

Wow, this is really quite beautiful. Soft roses and faintly spicy musk. This is not an in-your-face rose scent. Very subdued and slightly sweet.

[FelicityTwitchell]

This review is from trying Othello on my guy, not myself.

 

Wet: I smell baby oil and flowers with only a hint of musk. It's too feminine he says, "I smell like a floral arrangement."

 

Dry: It became subtle and less feminine now still a bit floral but now he says it smells "like an antique store" specifically the polyurethane. It does seem a little chemically to me, and I get the laundry soap thing to an extent. It reminds me of a cheap laundry detergent still in the box not of fresh clothes.

 

Verdict: I didn't particularly like this one, although it's better than some others we've tried on him. Someday I will find something that works with his chemistry, someday... It didn't seem to fit him or to stir any desires, little throw. So I might try it on me some time but it's not what I was hoping or looking to find for him.

Edited May 16, 2010 by FelicityTwitchell

[proserpine]

At first, I smell big, strong, and burly roses. While drying, I smell spices (cinnamon and clove in particular) mixing with the rose. It kind of reminds me of Sybaris, but rose instead of violet. Once dry, the incense takes over (I amp incense) and end up smelling like a church.

[lunaticana]

those two roses do the trick for me

amazing! it really does remind of my month travelling through Morocco last winter

Arabian musk, truly the way it should smell, good job Beth!

my mother will love this, I already know I will have to get a bottle for her