tdgnika Report post Posted February 10, 2012 Barley, beer, blood, and whiskey. In the imp, I smell a cloying alcohol sweetness – probably the barley and beer. Wet on the skin, oddly enough, it smells very strongly of lilacs. Really. Fades to a bland floral. What a strange one. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
milo Report post Posted February 11, 2012 Strong buttered whiskey at first, then fades to soap. Huh? Kind of a manly soapy soap. Not for me. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WidgetAlley Report post Posted July 16, 2012 Imp: Bananas! Sweet, sweaty bananas. And metal, and the tang of incense. Not unpleasant, but certainly weird! Wet: Bananas, brown sugar, incense and a faint tang of what might be beer, alcohol, metal, or blood. And something floral? How very very strange. But it's actually quite nice! A little powdery perhaps but not anywhere near as dark or scary as I expected. Dry: Floral, powdery, perfume-y (definitely dragon's blood in here!), banana-y, grain-y and sugary. Oddly pretty, but nothing I'd really wear. Glad I got to try it, but this tester will be off to a new home. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
porcelina Report post Posted August 9, 2012 john barleycorn is sharp in the bottle, and really boozy. on my skin… it does the bad thing that rum and sugar notes do to me, where they go all thin and plasticky. it's a little grainy. the blood is not really noticeable. not a favorite. i tried it on my husband and it went CRAZY powdery on him! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Redillon Report post Posted August 21, 2012 In the bottle it's a strange mix. I can smell a little booze, blood and grain. Not unpleasant but it makes you go, hummmmmm. Wet on the skin it goes floral/banana. Just like a few others mentioned! No booze or blood. A little grain but it's peeking in the background because the banana is holding it hostage! Dry on skin it's all floral and a clean smelling soap or detergent. It's kinda nice.....if you like cleaner, floral scents. I'm a spice gal but this is something I'd dab on for something different. A big bottle is not in the cards for me, but I'm happy that I got to experience it!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BlueberryPie Report post Posted October 11, 2013 Wet, this is nothing but whiskey on me. On the dry down, I start getting more of the barley, with the subtle tang of blood. This is certainly a VERY unique scent, and unique scents are exactly what I'm looking for from BPAL. I can't imagine being able to get something like this from anywhere else. However...I kiiind of hate the way whiskey smells. It's the one alcohol I'm determined to never try, because my taste buds would have PTSD for the rest of my life if it tasted how it smelled. And even though the whiskey here is VERY good whiskey, all sweet and rich and stuff, it's still fundamentally whiskey, and I can't stand it. Luckily, I know a friend who'll go crazy over this, so I'm gonna pass it off to him. He can probably pull off such a masculine scent better than me anyway. I am far too girly to pull off the whiskey + blood combination. SCORE: 3/10 (But again, I'm biased. I'm sure someone who enjoys whiskey would rate this a lot higher.) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zii Report post Posted October 25, 2013 Honey, dried grass and alchohol. A lot less boozy than I was expecting, given how strong Beth's booze notes can be on me, but there's this cloying sweet note that reminds me of cheap honey bear. Passing on this one. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
theredkilt Report post Posted January 3, 2015 2008 version: The whiskey note tingles my nose and i can discern the barley/beer combo rendering the blend sweetness.Alas, the blood note shows up and turns everything into powder with an antisceptic vibe and after 10 minutes it all disapears from my skin. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
batsy Report post Posted June 13, 2021 (2008 version, aged) In the bottle: Oh no, no, I will not repeat what my first thought was. Oh, this not going well. That's definitely beer/soggy barley. Wet: Surprise! The whiskey is here! I was not expecting this based on that horrible mix I sniffed in the bottle. Oh, wait, as it dries down, there's the mix that made me distrustful. Dry down: It's very sweet and warm, like whiskey, but there's a sour note that is making me remember less pleasant smells involving my cat. Verdict: Going to have to pass. If it was just the whiskey note, I'd probably love it. But can't overcome the weird mix triggering unpleasant scent memories. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lecter Report post Posted September 7, 2022 Booze but clean. Also sweet caramel notes. A bit of a pub smell to it. But overall good Share this post Link to post Share on other sites