The Lion

[ElinaMakropulos]

The dry, glorious warmth of the Savannah. A golden, spiced amber, proud, regal and ferocious.

I've scored another win with The Mad Tea Party! The Lion wafts off my skin like waves of golden sunshine, a beautiful warm spicy amber scent. It smells like skin, but waaaay better! Right out of the bottle I caught a whiff of something feral and catlike, but on my skin it is just glorious, gorgeous amber. Definitely going to buy a big bottle, and I have a feeling that this, along with Alice, is going to be a signature for me. Hurrah!

[jparrack]

Warm amber that is not cloying or sweet. Spice and musk notes start to appear and the whole scent is warm, and dry; definitely a confidently, lazy scent.

Verdict: My favorite to date. I want a big bottle.

[djsiberia]

first application I didn't like it, prolly because all of the oils were on my pjs, then when I went to bed and it had a chance to mellow out it smelled wonderful, spicey amber.

 

i think i'll give this one another chance and review it again.

 

 

ETA: hrm, i wish this would be a stronger scent. its lacking some roar to make me feel inclined to purchase a bottle. mostly the scent is just amber and thespices are barely there.

Edited March 1, 2008 by djsiberia

[clawsight]

Let me start this review with a disclaimer: I am a Leo. Now, I'm not normally the type for astrology, but, I do tend to like lions, and sometimes can behave like a mother lioness on PMS.

 

The first whiff of the imp was love. Albeit, this is my first Bpal review, and I have not had time to see other imps and explore my... scentuality I guess. But I liked this.

 

 

Let's go through the basic rundown:

 

In the imp: Oh yummy. The spices. The amber. It's sweet and warm. I'm heading out on a safari through some alternate universe Africa full of amber waves of grain. Not that there's any grain scent here -- just the image I'm getting. Throw in some purple mountains majesty and we're good. Why is this in Africa when I'm referencing an obnoxiously American song? Because I'm going to personify the Amber scent as a lion and the spices as a...uh... feild. And there aren't y'know, true lions in North America any more. Right. Moving on...

(Summary: Sweet and rich and spicy and mmmm mmm good.

 

 

Wet: What's this? Where have my luscious golden fields gone? Oh -- there they are but, faint. The lion's vanished into the fields -- or maybe it's just blending holy frick, where are my binoculars? I had them right here just a second ago...

(Summary: Faint, and I can't tell the spices and the amber apart)

 

Drydown: Ah, back to the fields. But this time there's something there that was in the background in the imp. I pull out my binoculars and ah-HAH there is the lion, can make it out again... though still not as up close as it was in the imp. It's fainter in the field which has gone a little musty, more like, an actual... field and not a metaphor. And the lion is- oh god what is it doing to that gazelle... ... ... kitty has a bite, evidently.

(Summary: With my skin chemistry the sweetness of the amber fades and gets a bit sharp. Not bad, just, it's got bite now. Rrowr. The spices have gotten fainter and more musty -- I wasn't joking about it taking on a more dried grassy scent.* )

 

The throw is decent. I can't smell it constantly, but I don't have to shove my nose against my wrist either. Lasting power seemed to be about an hour, or maybe my nose is just dead from sniffing my wrists approximately five thousand times during this review. I wish it had stayed a bit more like it was in the imp in drydown.

 

Overall: 3.8/5 Lions Munching on Gazelles. imp -- the strength of the spices and sweetness of what I suppose is the Amber kinda wander away. Not a bad scent. Will wear it about to see if my skin chemistry can make it past the powder I seem to hit in drydown. This might be something I need to wear in my clothes, or in a scent locket type thingie. I've seen a couple of other people talking about aging it, so I may do that.

 

---

* This scent is bringing about some nostalgia for me because it smells, of all things, sort of like playing with my little ponies out in the grass on a pleasant summer's day. But that's just me. I'm kinda weird.

[agnusdei]

I have two imps of The Lion; one of them is somewhere between 6 months to a year old, and the other one arrived yesterday fresh from the lab. I’m mentioning this because the difference between them is so great that they could almost be two different scents! The aged version, which is thicker and a golden amber color, is very strong to me. It smells like hay and warm dried fields flecked with potent amber, with no ‘spiced’ elements to be found. I love amber but this amber is bit too robust for me, it almost manages to be a bit cloying with how richly dry it is.

 

The fresh imp however? It’s amazing. The whole scent is lighter and softer around the edges, with gentle amber and the subtlest hint of sweet grasses. I can smell spice in this one, but it’s not a strong spice… it’s just the right amount to give your nose a little tickle, like grass or fur was being brushing against it. It fact, the first thing I thought of when I smelled my new imp of The Lion was “this smells like my cat!” Indeed, I think the way I would describe this best would be that it smells like my ginger tabby’s fur, especially on his forehead between his ears. Warm from backing in the sun, with a little hint of sweetness and that distinct golden-fur quality. It’s a regal scent for sure, but also extremely comforting and cozy. I can also see similarities between fresh The Lion and Leo 07; Leo has a fizzy soda-like element to it but otherwise they both share that familiar association of burying your face in a warm cat’s fur.

[Aldercy]

Oh, this is lovely. Hot and golden and very spicy. An exotic, slightly lazy, very confident smell. It's not extremely potent, which I think is a good thing because it's a powerful, commanding scent when you do catch a whiff of it-- it's one of those things that would be overwhelming if it were too enveloping. I... really can't think of a lot to say, but it's very good. : )

 

Pretty close to perfect for me.

 

Adding more than a year later: The Lion ages beaaauuutifully. It's very good new, but it oozes sex after a year. And I feel it becomes a little more feral and dark. Today, for the first time, I thought... "wow, could there be civet in here?" and searched this thread to see if I was going insane. Could be a tiny, tiny dash of it, but what do I know. In conclusion-- fantastic.

Edited June 28, 2009 by Aldercy

[waternight]

In the imp: Sweet amber, nicely spiced.

Wet: Yup. A gently spiced amber, sweet and golden and resinous. Vaguely honey-like, but amber is like that on me. This resin is warm and melty and oozy and rich and thick. A few minutes later, a warm but gentle musk note starts lurking underneath the amber. Very yummy. I can't pick out any specific spices, but they're there.

Dry: Pretty much the same as wet. This is not a morpher on me.

[gnl]

Bottle: Very warm smell. Spicy, like cinnamon with something else with it.

 

Wet: Oh! Yeah, that's cinnamon! Yum. I smell like a cinnamon candle. (That's a good thing.)

 

Dry: Mmm. Less specifically cinnamon, but spicy and very warm. A sleepy kind of warmth, like I want to curl up in blankets. Definitely Looking Glass lion versus, say, Aslan, but there's some of him in there too. I imagine having a very nice sleep if I put this on right before. Decent throw that fades after a bit.

 

Later: The scent definitely fades fairly quickly, but it's not completely gone. There's a tiny bit of sweet in there now, but still warm spice.

 

Verdict: Definitely liking. Would've been better if it hadn't faded so fast, but given the very strong scent in the beginning, it's probably a good thing. Definitely keeping.

 

5/5

Edited October 18, 2008 by gnl

[hkhm]

imp: cinnamon and amber with orange, perhaps? something light and citrusy.

 

wet: must be cinnamon, i'm getting a little burned, but the amber is quite light and pretty.

 

dry: this dries to a very light cinnamon amber. it fades a little too quickly for me but it is quite nice while it lasts.

[seamor]

Wet: Reminds me of Sol. Goes through a soft citrus phase while drying. After a while all Sol resemblances depart, leaving behind a soft, warm, spicy scent close to the skin. Not very strong on me, and not much throw, but if someone were to nuzzle my neck, I'd love to have them find this scent there.

[samarablackcat]

Amber! Warm, enveloping amber, with just a little sweetness underneath. Regal spices raising their heads to make an appearance, but not taking the spotlight. As it dries, The Lion's muskiness, his mane dusty with dry earth like a halo around him, settle into a warm aura arising, permeating my personal space. As I type, the amber is gentle, soothing. I feel like royalty, pampered by my ladies-in-waiting, anointing my skin with precious oils from distant lands.

[Victory]

I think I'm a bit allergic to The Lion. A few months ago the skin of my wrist turned red and itched when I applied, and today I had forgotten and tried again, and had to wash behind my ears because of the itching. I smell cinnamon fairly strongly, and relatively little amber. This is a fiery, golden-red scent that certainly is dry and ferocious. If the cinnamon weren't so strong, I'd wear it in a locket, but as it is, I'll just have to give up on this scent.

[deweydecimal]

The Lion stays basically the same from the imp to my skin: it's a soft, dusty amber that I love! It's very dry and doesn't change much on me. As other reviewers have said, some spice comes out later in the drydown, but for the most part it's just rich, glorious amber. Definitely in my top 5!

[iiinterstate]

Strangely enough, I usually don't care for amber or spices...until this blend! Damn.

 

The Lion is very warm and spicy and certainly not cloying like I feared it would be. He's a friendly guy, Aslan in a bottle. A big cat that could kill you with ease, but instead rolls over for a tummy rub and a chin scritch.

 

 

ETA: I was fortunate to find an aged bottle (at least 1 year) for sale on the forum, and everything delicious about the Lion clearly increases with time. Its spicier and a little sweeter now. I don't quite have the words to describe why its better...it just IS!

Edited April 12, 2008 by iiinterstate

[Suu4LC]

Spiced amber! Very nice! It reminds me a lot of the gingerbread poppet I put on this morning actually I have a feeling I will like this.

 

Hahaha, this REALLY reminds me of gingerbread poppet without the sweetness and with more amber-somewhat dusky. The amber comes out stronger as it dries. It's a bit too dusky. Almost like a reallllly stale piece of gingerbread with a thick layer of dust over it. Blech. Sorry lion, back in your cage!

[Epiphany]

Straight out of the imp this is warm and very dry. Wet on, that dryness evolves--taking on a very under-the-savannah-sun feel with the scent rock (amber is...not exactly rock...but still...) and spices. I get cinnamon...and things I can't quite place.

 

Dry: This is very interesting--musky, dry, windblown rocks. Evocative of images of blinding sun and yellowed grass. Quite nice, but not something that I would usually wear.

[NatCatz]

In the Imp/wet: Incense and spice. Its warm and lovely smelling

Drying:The amber is coming through.. OH NOES! Its gone bitter and kind of soapy..

 

I really really wanted to like this one.. It had everything going for it. But Amber hates me.

[suileach]

In the vial, this is a grassy amber.

 

On me, things get strange. There's a sour note at first -- almost metallic in nature -- and then a sweet note begins rising above the metal (which has begun to rust) . . . What is that sweet note? Why, it's moldering hay.

 

This is the scent of a circus lion's cage, of a sad old beast kept behind bars.

 

Hm. Definitely not a scent that works right with my skin chemistry.

[gchris]

in vial. manly perfume

 

wet. i'm getting a nice floral. This is more feminine now. Also become very perfumey

 

later. very vague hint of the spice. I don't smell floral anymore. Left with faded amber.

[FelinePulse]

This smells like pure ultimate YUM.

 

On my skin it turns into something delicious. Ambery vanilla, like my own skin but amplified and made to be edible. I want to lick my own arm and roll around purring.

A languid, lazy scent.

This lion is just playing around in the sun with you.

 

As it starts to fade I get more dryness...

Time for the lion to go and you are left standing in the middle of the african savannah with his scent still lingering on you.

 

Absolutely beautiful.

 

Oddly when it fades I don't smell in on my skin so much as it wafts around me. Elusive.

 

My cat seems to like this scent too because she's been following me around smelling my arms lol.

[AEris]

Yum! This definitely has some cinammony-type note going on, with a smooth, rich amber. It's a little masculine, but still has a warm sweetness to it. I'm reminded of Chimera....This is like, Chimera for Him.

 

I don't know why I feel like it's manly, I just do. I'm sure tons of ladies pull it off just fine, but with my skin, I'm feeling like I smell like a guy. A warm, slightly spicy, proud scent. Impressively accurate to its namesake.

 

4.2 out of 5

[tativa]

mmm... love at first sniff... i think this was my first BPAL to actually try on.

Its like, what amber resin smells like, when its dry... and grass...

It has a strong cinnamon note on everyone elseI have been trying to enable to bpal around here though.

 

I love it in all its forms... o lion, won't you be my love.

 

The lion's flaws:

The staying power alternates between nill and avg for this... depending on how much you slater on.

[savage_rose]

A spicy cinnamon sunset! This scent is rich, soft, and very warm. Mmmm...

[kittycatpurr]

In the imp: Mild, spiced amber. Probably will turn sweet, though.

Wet: Very quiet, incense-y in a warm way.

Drydown: This is making me sneeze.

Dry: I like the spices, but it kind of irritates my nose. I'm worried that I'm having a reaction to BPAL sandalwood.

Later: Ow, ow headache and sinusache.

Later later: I've realized that amber is the sneezing thing.

[sparkybish]

In the imp: Strong amber, with something that is sharp

Wet: Strong..whoah! Strong..that sharpness i s really overwhelming

Dry: Powdery amber but with a really strong bite, which was fitting of a lion, but not for me. The search for a perfect amber scent for me continues!