Siren

[sarada]

Bewitching, tantalizing and dangerously seductive. A thrilling, exotic blend -- deceptively sweet, but spiked with malice. White ginger, jasmine, and a touch of vanilla and apricot.

Wow, I don't even remember seeing this in the catalogue! Hello, frimp!

Sniffing it, I have no idea what is in it, but there's a gritty, sweet orange fruit -- apricot? I'd swear there's something incensy in there too but sweetness dominates.

It reminds me of Drpraved, but lighter, possibly a little floral, golden/honeyed in tone.

After writing down those notes I looked up the ingredients and I see it all makes sense. I don't smell jasmine, but the sharp spicy ginger is definitely there, playing with the apricot to make it both sweeter/spicier and brightening it at the same time. The vanilla must be helping to sweeten the otherwise tart ingredients.

Like, say, Wanton, this is something that I like that will be destined to get forgotten in favor of the other ... 50 or 100 blends I reach for regularly. But I like it and I think there will definitely be times where I want this exact combination of sweet, spicy, soft, bright and fruity.

[PixieSkull]

In the imp: Smells like a dirtier version of Carmex, like myrrh and Carmex combined. Could be the ginger fouling up the scent from the imp.

Wet: Slightly different, less medicinal. I can smell the fruit (apricot?) and the spice of the ginger for sure. And the plasticy scent I associate with the vanilla oils.

Dry: Same thing, just dirty and not so pleasant.

 

Category: Spice/Vanilla

Rating: 2/5; Nice, but not enough

Overall: I've come to accept that pretty much any scent with vanilla in it is going to be bad on my skin, so this isn't too much of a loss for me. The scent was odd at first, took a little getting used to. It's definately not a scent I'll wear again, but it would be nice for someone that like La Petit Mort.

[Merlu]

In the imp: The first thing I thought was "Coral. This smells like coral." Not that I've never tried to sniff coral underwater, but in my little fantasy, this is what coral smells like. Fruity and aquatic.

 

Wet, on skin: Candied apricot and a lot of jasmine, but not too heady.

 

Drydown: The apricot smells more like actual fruit than candy. The ginger peeks through without making it too spicy, it just adds enough warmth to what seems to me like a "cold water" blend. The jasmine is present but not too overpowering. This is well rounded on my skin, and is quite pleasant. I wanted to swap it right away at first, but then something about it drew me in, like a siren.

But still, it's not "me" enough for me to keep it.

[Melantha]

Wet: POW! A blast of spiciness from the ginger, with the other notes detectable far behind it. It calmed down after a couple of minutes.

 

Drydown: The overpowering ginger has faded to blend in with the vanilla and apricot, with a trace of the jasmine there. I like it, more than I thought I would after the first sniff.

 

Verdict: I now have two imps, and I'll keep trying it. I think I could grow quite fond of it, as long as the first few minutes I wear it are in a well-ventilated place.

[QueenFae]

I am so surprised there is no patchouli in this, because it smells exactly like Depraved smells on me. It must be because of the apricot, and I must be confusing the ginger with the patchouli. Regardless, this is a lovely blend! The apricot is certainly on top, with the ginger and the jasmine lurking just beneath. I can't smell much of the vanilla, I think the apricot all but drowns it out. This is a very sexy blend, there's definitely not anything innocent about Siren! I like this one a lot, but like I said, it's a virtual clone of Depraved on me skin.

[Miyabi]

Whoa, it's strong in the imp. Almost too strong.

 

On the skin, it's a confusing blend of notes, but sooner or later the apricot comes out on top. I'm not too fond of confused fruity scents, so off to swaps it goes.

[lookingglass]

Something...nutty, rich, maybe woody. Huh? It dries down to apricot, quite orangey, with a tiny hit of floral, a tiny bite of spice and...pencil shavings?

 

This is not at all what I would expect a Siren to smell like. Oh, well...I can't sing anyway!

[HennaFairy]

bottle:

I wanted to say patchouli, but I guess that's jasmine.

 

wet:

sweet and spicy jasmine, some fruit too?

 

dry:

considering I just put tarot: the moon on the other wrist… this is similar, without the musk, and a bit on the lighter/sweeter side. All the good stuff! Ah yes, ginger is there. What a great blend! Eventually it's mostly ginger, but the soft girly side of ginger.

 

overall:

great summer scent! I love this one!

 

rating: 9/10

[juniperus]

Bottle: very sweet. vanilla, apricot, a hint of ginger.

Wet: I can catch the jasmine, now. the battle of wills between two amping notes begins!

Dry: there is a dark feel here and I can't figure out where it's coming from, but the ginger is getting more prominent.

Later: the jasmine won the battle - viva la ampage! (gah!)

[tidesong]

In the Bottle: Wow, very multidimensional! Jasmine is the first thing that touches my nose, sweetened out by almost tangy apricot. Then ginger tingles my nose and lingers.

 

On Application: Sweetness, it must be the apricot, but it's so sweet! There's a slight edge of ginger, very spicy, but the apricot is almost overwhelming. After a couple minutes a very faint note of jasmine comes out. There's something about this that smells artificial to me, almost like those candied "orange slices".

 

On Drydown: The strong artificial smell isn't there any more. This has dried down to a nice slightly sweet, spicy scent. There's a faint fruitiness of the apricot, and while I'm not usually a fruity scent person, this is balanced out quite nicely by the spices. Anything floral has disappeared.

 

Comments: Like I said, I'm not really a fruity scent person. While I don't mind how this has balanced out, I don't think it's something I'd normally wear. On another sniff, I'm not convinced I *wouldn't* wear it. Interesting. Regardless, I'll keep the imp.

 

Verdict: Keep the imp, test again.

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

sniffed from the imp: ugh. jasmine and ginger.

 

i'm feeling brave so i try it...

 

i keep hoping this is going to do something interesting, but my arm simply smells like i haven't showered in a month (i have, mind you)

 

i usedta work at the renaissance festival, and this smells vaugely like the ginger beer served there (i haaaaate ginger beer)...

 

so, yeah. i think this is how i smelled at the end of the (100+ degrees outside)day, working RenFest, the day a guy spilled his ginger beer on me.

 

now, like then, all i want to do is go take a shower and scrub this off.

[edenssixthday]

Siren is unfortunately another BPAL jasmine that is really close to being able to work on me...but doesn't quite make it. Beneath the jasmine, I can smell apricot and ginger, it smells like a fresh, Southern, summer time, cool, iced punch. Unfortunately, as is typical, the jasmine kills off any of the pleasant notes that I can detect, and makes this an unwearable fragrance in my world. I hope someone else will enjoy this. If you can wear jasmine well, I definitely see a lot of potential in this scent.

[sophia_helix]

This smells exactly like LUSH's dc'd Bollywood bath bomb to me, which is ginger, black pepper, and orange. Siren has maybe a touch of sweetness, but it's absolutely nothing like I expected -- I can barely smell the apricot at all, where usually that note goes cloying on me, and jasmine isn't doing that plastic thing either. The main note isn't actually something I would identify as "ginger" (it's lacking that juicy bite), so I really can only describe it as smelling like Bollywood! Kind of spicy, kind of foody (but not in a dessert way), kind of like an interesting shop. My husband really liked it, so I'll probably hang onto it.

[PhedrenoDelaunay]

In the imp: Spiked with malice is right! it's not nearly as sweet as I expected, which is good.. because my skin naturally candies fruit scents. The first things I get are the apricot and the jasmine, but the apricot I don't mind. It's watery, oceany smell.. but not what the atlantic smells like. It smells more exotic, more.. mediterannean-at-night, almost. It does seem a little incensey the more I sniff it, which if unforunate, but I'll see. I haven't test driven it yet.

[shadith]

Wet: Apricot and sharp ginger.

 

Dry: Jasmine comes into play and everything blends together very well, it smells summery and cheery (I know that's not what the description says lol).

 

Overall: Since I'm not a big fan of jasmine this is nothing for me.. it's one of the rare blends where it doesn't get up my nose or reminds me of dung, but it's noticeably there and when I get a whiff of this after a while my first reaction is to wrinkle my nose. I'm just not the type for this.

[kunoichi]

This, from the vial, is a rather dark toned scent, perhaps from the ginger, which is the strongest scent I can smell over the other scents listed. On my skin the ginger continues and mixes with the other scents to create a rather dark smell – in the vial, it was a much brighter scent than on my skin – and perhaps there is a hint of apricot peeking out now and again, amongst it all. (Others like this on me more than I do!) After a few hours Siren is very faded and soft with a sweet hint left of what it used to be on my skin, but quite pleasant if very soft...

[valentina]

Holyguacamole, Siren has broken my long-standing tradition of never, ever being able to wear scents with even a drop of jasmine in them!

 

In the imp, Siren smells sort of snappy and mysterious to me, a scent that is sort of sweet and sort of floral, but also not...my nose can't figure it out. On my skin, I would swear there's patchouli in it. It must be the tug-of-war between the ginger and the jasmine. Normally my skin muddles the heck out of scents with contradictory elements, but this time it works. Yipee! In addition, Siren lasts a long time and it doesn't morph. All the elements hold together at about the same level of ampage. I like this! I like it a lot, and for me to say that about a scent with jasmine in it is beyond the pale. Woot! I love the little BPAL miracles! For anyone who thinks they can't wear jasmine, but who likes Depraved and Vixen, I say you should try Siren... you may be amazed.

Edited August 14, 2006 by valentina

[Supervixon]

In the imp, I thought this smelled almost like rose.

 

On me, after the drydown, it smells like a sweet jasmine.

 

Makes me very happy.

[Ohmaude]

Ah. Here's my first review ever:

 

In the bottle: Ooh a rosy liquid. Hello ginger! There is the spicy-sweet smell of ginger, with jasmine floating around it in little circles. I love ginger, I love jasmine, I love.

 

Wet, on my wrist: At first it is sharp ginger, almost snapping-ly so, makes you blink your eyes a bit. This strong ginger only lasts a second and then fades quickly. Then soon after there is the jasmine with the ginger with a fruity sweet echo. Oh yum!

 

Dry: This fades after a few hours into a spicy, subtle jasmin-y vanilla. Very warm-and-fuzzy sexy. Makes me think of curling up with the boy.

 

I don't think this scent is completely work safe.

 

This one is a keeper, I may get a bottle of this.

[Precis]

I've gotten two imps of Siren, one a dark orange liquid and the other a light brown. Both smell similar to me, though.

 

Wet: Siren is soapy floral apricots and earthy ginger with just a hint of something foody (vanilla?).

 

Dry: For one imp, the jasmine really appears on the drydown, with the ginger remaining as a mere accent. In the other, the vanilla comes out more! However, on previous applications, Siren has dried down to a ginger-dominated scent, so I am assuming it varies as the oil ages and my chemistry changes over the course of the month. While I don't like ginger very much at all, the note in Siren is a beautiful ginger that would definitely appeal to a ginger lover. I'm going to go ahead and note that while it is nice, this does not give me the impression of a "Love Potion" blend.

[zombiegrrl]

On me Siren smells like sweet patchouli with something horribly wrong with it. The ginger and apricot are shouting at each other. Instead of luring anyone, they would run screaming away from me. To be honest, I didn't even like the way it smelled in the bottle, so this one is apparently just not to my taste.

[lilfaerywingz]

bottle: reminds me of blood kiss…

 

wet: little spicy incensy

 

dry: smell something sweet possibly the vanilla and also the ginger

[forspecial_plate]

This was sent to me as an extra, and I tried it without reading what was in it. Very strange blend that my skin doesn't play well with. Smelled like florals at first, and not in a good way...then something earthy, and sort of a weird indescribable almost plastic smell. Later on it dried to something cakey.

 

I think the weirdness in the middle was the vanilla mixing with the apricot. The floral...well, I guess that's jasmine but it also is mixing with other notes to make a smell that's not very jasmine-like to me....smells closer to violet or something. And the cakey must be the vanilla finally playing nice. Bottom line: just doesn't work well on my skin. Kind of shifted around a lot and never settled into anything I can work with.

[The_Merf]

In the imp: This is a very warm and pleasant smelling blend--I can detect the vanilla and apricot, but not the ginger.

 

Wet: Arr, the apricot and vanilla remain strong, but I can also pick up on the jasmine

 

Drydown and wear: The jasmine is not playing well with the other notes on my skin. I would call this "stale" on my skin, but it's not stale in the same way that oils which contain a honey or buttercream note are--but I'll bet this is the mix of the jasmine, vanilla and apricot. I really can't detect the ginger.

[supremegoddessofall]

Candy with a touch of smokiness that I think is coming from the ginger. I'm not sure if I like it - it will need a retest at some point.

Edited December 24, 2006 by Shollin