Bastet

[dorothy humbird]

... Luxuriant amber, warm Egyptian musk, fierce saffron and soft myrrh, almond, cardamom and golden lotus.

 

Originally, I wrote Bastet off as "not my thing" out of paranoia regarding amber, and missed expectations. I was hoping for almondy, cardamom-y goodness, but... well here's what I get:

In the vial: the almond is clearly apparent, and sweet. I can smell a little of something pale-floral, but it's not threatening, like florals can be for me (they like to threaten headaches).

 

Wet on the skin, the almond immediately vanishes as an identifiable presence, and I get a lot of amber and what I suspect is saffron and the lotus, plus musk below that. I didn't like that at all a week or so ago, because the amber reminded me of O-badness, and I was expecting almond but not getting it. This is much more floral than I was hoping for, but...

 

Drying down, it melds into something soft and golden. It smells very sophisticated to me, in a comfortable sort of way. I can see myself wearing this when I need to be slightly dressed up, and proper, but glowing. (Only, I wish the almond stuck around... )

 

Overall, I probably won't order a bottle, but I'll keep the imp after all.

Edited to add lab's note description.

Edited December 2, 2006 by dorothy humbird

[supremegoddessofall]

Went on pure cherries, but has rapidly turned into primarily almond and saffron. Very rich, but it has that same thing in it that Sacred Whore of Babylon does that is giving off a Corn Puffs smell. Moderately musky, and I get the amber and myrrh, but mostly I get Corn Puffs. Not for me.

[tmcm]

Cherries and a little spice in the bottle, on it was almonds and cherries at first, then a musty scent. Like old spices - not good on my skin. This is a swapper.

[akw]

Wet and early on this is all almond and something slightly fruity.

 

As it dries, the myrrh, amber and musk come out and it becomes creamy, spicy and lovely. There is something very comforting and soft about it, yet not the least bit wimpy.

 

It's a little bit reminiscent of Anubis -- probably the myrrh and the storax and balsam in Anubis may remind me of the amber in Bastet. This is softer though.

 

This is really beautiful!

[phedre]

in vial: amber and myrrh

 

on skin: cardamom, which i love, and almond come out immediately.

 

drydown: this reminds me of traditional Indian masala chai, heavy on the cardamom. Some muskiness and amber, with a touch of a floral note that must be the lotus. Quite pretty! I don't get any cherry out of this at all, it's pure almond, cardamom, amber, and musk.

 

ETA: Oh my frickin deity. I LOVE THIS. I just went back to sniff the spot I'd applied it to, and wow, it's almost reminding me of snake charmer! My skin must be amping one of the minor notes to get that out of it This is now on my top ten list!

Edited December 26, 2006 by phedre

[girl_android]

I've got to do some work at home tonight, but I thought I might start off with a bit of a test from my imps to test pile of doom first. Must get this out the way so I can then work out what to keep, and what to find better homes for!

 

In the imp, I smell ... almonds. Not cherries to my nose (my nose seems to mix up the two) because it's not juicy, but dry.

 

Wet on skin ... there's something that makes me think saffron along with the almonds, but the almonds having their space shared with something sweet (the lotus?)

 

Once it's dry, there's a base muskiness rounding out the sweetness and the almonds, with a hint of spiciness ... reminds me of chai, I'm figuring that for the cardamom ?

 

Overall, it's ok, it's a little dry for what I was thinking. I think I'll sit it in the undecided pile a little longer ...

[madeleine]

Sweet and spicy. It reminds me a bit of Hetairae, though they don't seem to have any common notes. Except I like Bastet a whole lot more. I think the saffron really does it for me.

 

This is actually very unexpectedly mild. I worried it would be much stronger, but I'm happy to know I was wrong.

[maijasu]

I too was expecting a stronger scent. This is very soft and smooth, and I can't really pick out the individual notes. No spices to my nose, but I do tend to like my spicy scents very spicy. I can see this one being appealing to a lot of people, and I'll probably keep my imp around and test it again.

[Dark Sparkle]

Bastet was surprisingly light and freshly floral on my skin - on drydown I get more of the almonds and just a hint of spice. I am not sure I like the almonds that much though - I guess wish I got more spice out of Bastet

Edited January 19, 2007 by Dark Sparkle

[Browneyes]

Frimped! Thank you Lab

 

I wanted to like this. But alas.

To me this smells simply of harshly bitter fruit - not a nice smell! I don't know how else to describe it. I wish I knew what it is that I don't like in this blend, because it smells the same to me in the bottle, so I don't think it's my chemistry. I've tried it several different places too, even on clothing. But no

Great lasting power on me though, ironically.

Edited January 27, 2007 by Browneyes

[AmyAngel]

It's amazing how different scents can smell on different people!

 

I bought this imp from PhunkyPhreak, thanks!!!

 

Bastet: In the imp, it smells sweetish but sharp. I'm finding most things not-so-pleasant in the imps, though, so I'm starting to ignore that. On, it went strange and plasticy for just a few seconds, but then started to sweeten - it's now a sweet, creamy sort of spicy scent. After a few minutes there's a touch of powderyness to it. After a few minutes more it's smelling much like the spiced vanilla PartyLite candle I used to keep in my kitchen. I think something honey-esque is coming through, though – I'm off to check the note listing. Ahh. Almond. Maybe it's the honey-almond melts I have that I'm associating this with. After checking, this does smell almost exactly like them but not so strong – those melts give me a headache after a while! I smelled it again, and suddenly it was darker and there was musk there. A few minutes later, back to the honey almond smell. I can detect the amber, too, now. Weird. This keeps alternating! One sniff – almondy-ambery-sweetness. The next – musk! The next – almondy-ambery-sweetness... This is staying pretty strong on my skin, so I'm thinking this will be one to use sparingly. After nearly an hour it's staying the sweet almond-amber-spice smell. After over 2 hours it is fading a bit, so this might be one to re-apply sparingly partway through the day.

 

I think if I got into my Partylite stash and lit an Amber Dream tealight to warm a Honey Almond melt, my whole house would smell EXACTLY like Bastet. I may try that sometime...

 

This is warm, sweet, creamy and a bit spicy to me, and I absolutely LOVE this. This is definitely going on my bottle wish list.

 

ETA: I wore this to work the next day, and my co-worker who enjoys smelling my new scents picked up the amber immediately! Then, today, I was wearing something different and she said "I like the amber one you were wearing the other day!" It faded some throughout the day, so I think I will need to reapply this one after lunch or so. On days I'm not planning to come home and test more imps, anyway!

Edited January 31, 2007 by AmyAngel

[black_and_bloom]

I tried out Bastet about a month ago, and was unimpressed - I felt like I was being stalked by the "fierce saffron" and, after awhile, the spicy just got on my nerves. I was about to throw it into the swap pile but decided to put it aside - after all, page after page of glowing reviews must have some basis!

 

Today, I put Bastet on and it's pure warmth and love. Seriously. No saffron at all. I did, however, streak this in my hair instead of on my skin, and that has most likely made all the difference. This is an absolutely radiant scent: from the initial rush of almond, its mellowed out into a musk/amber/cardamom lovefest. I'm not sure what the lotus smells like, so I cannot identify that note but, really, who can be that picky when they smell this good?

[lapillus]

In bottle: very pale yellow, medium thick liquid

Carmelly vanilla and some other notes I don’t know.

 

Wet: smokier sort of burnt candle-wick smell on top, still sort of carmelly vanilla but there is something amber like back there,too.

 

Dry: smoke retreats but doesn’t go away, the main scent stays about the same. Lightly warm, maybe a little waxy. I like it :-)

 

Later: a warm sweetness remains after about 7 hours.

 

Summary: now we’re getting somewhere - I can tell I'm going to want more than just this imp's worth. :-) I really like this one, especially after about an hour or so into the drydown. Warm and friendly.

[otterstamp]

In the bottle: Definitely sweet. Something almost bubblegummy. You guys say there's a cherry almond note and on second sniff, I agree.

Wet: Less bubblegum, still sweet and deep. I can smell the amber that has been described by many people and there is still the almond smell lurking.

Dry: Very subtle musk that is definitely twined around that amber smell. Suddenly aquires a smell that does not agree with me. I can’t describe why. Enhances my natural scent in a way I don’t enjoy. Almond still faintly there, but morphed and mixed.

Later: Almond, amber, sweet, deep.

Impression: Reminds me of sun, bright and a touch spicy. Sweeter than I’d expect.

Buy: No. A bit off on my skin.

[lightgatherer]

Lotus Moon! Seriously, I think I'm going to have to wear them side-by-side for comparison. Given that they both have amber and golden lotus notes, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. I think this smells a bit warmer whereas Lotus Moon smelled a bit sweeter and more like vanilla. I never really get any significant spices out of Bastet, but that's okay. There's already enough there to love.

[stellans]

icon by me

This was such a disappointment to me. I'm not sure which of the notes didn't work, and won't know without further testing and research, but it just didn't. Not that it was bad, it just wasn't right, you know? The worst thing is I bought a partial bottle because I just knew it would be great on me! Ack.

 

Bastet was my imp du jour... well, I should say my first, because after this review I'm picking another one. I need something strong today, and something that works. I'll just keep picking (and reviewing!) until I find something that will serve. Hopefully it won't take too long. (Yay! It's Anne Bonney, which seems to do just fine on me!)

 

Anyway, back to Bastet.

 

In the imp: Hmm. I get a small sense of amber, but there seems to be a strong nutty note I really wasn't expecting to be quite so strong, based on the lower position it held in the description. But even more surprising was the fruity note, cherry some here have noted, which I also detected.

 

Wet on skin: More cherry almond, I'm afraid. Is this the cardamom, the saffron? Or Egyptian musk? I don't know, but I don't care for this blend. It smells like Original Scent Jergen's lotion, only on steroids.

 

Dry: I suppose it's lucky for me that this dries down and disappears from my skin.

 

Verdict: To the Sell/Swap/Gift box. Darn it. I've got to try and restrain myself from buying bottles prior to sniffing the scent, because this is getting to be an expensive trial-and-error.

Edited June 5, 2010 by stellans

[jiggahava]

There are three typical reactions I have when I apply BPAL oils. The first is "meh, maybe it will get better," the second is "like it but won't buy a bottle" and the third is "OMG, I NEED TO HAVE 10 BOTTLES OF THIS RIGHT NOW".

 

Bastet falls into the third category. Almond and saffron are the most easily detectable, but there's a subtle background of amber and lotus. This is so DELICIOUS. It's spicy and warm, and not too incensy. From all the rave reviews here, this seems to work with most people's skin chemistry, and that's a great thing. A surefire crowd pleaser, it deserves the same recognition as staples like Snake Oil and O. It's that good people. I'd be a fool not to buy a bottle of this.

 

Ps. nice amount of throw, not too strong and not too light.

[LadyCrow]

Amber-musk blends are generally winners for me, so I had to try Bastet.

 

In the imp, and wet: Who threw their amaretto in my face?!

 

Drying: The amaretto (I'm guessing the cherry note makes the almond this sweet) backs off fairly quickly, letting the musk, resins, and especially spices do their thing. Like the felines who own me, the oil captures the contradictory soft, regal, sharp, and playful natures of cats. With the amber as a background and the spices almost switching off dominance, the resemblance is uncanny.

 

True story: While this was drying on me, on just one arm, my male cat -- neutered though he has been for many years -- could not stop following me and licking his lips.

 

What stayed longest in the drydown for me was the myrrh, the amber, and a return of the sweet almond. I wished it had lasted longer (or that I had more than a tester, so I could slather), but this was definitely a could-not-stop-sniffing-my-arm scent. Yum!

[cchampio]

Oh, Bastet. I wanted so to love you.

 

Oops, newbie imp-opening accident means I applied substantially more than I intended. Note to self, more wiggling, THEN pop the top!

 

In imp, and wet, she seems mostly spice, in a very nice way. Like opening up my (Indian spice heavy) spice cabinet, one of my favorite "naturally occurring" scents. Must be the cardamom and saffron.

 

Later, now I smell what people mean by something going to powder. I guess she's a nice powder. A musk-y, incense-y, very sweet powder. And she seems to be lasting forever! Damn, it's been more than 12 hours since I applied and a couple of hours since I scrubbed my wrists while I was washing dishes, and I can still smell her.

 

Well, I'm glad she works for so many, but she's not to my taste. Another chance, and then maybe out to swap.

[WidgetAlley]

I'm feeling kind of down, so I'm hoping some good Ask a Ninja and Bastet will cheer me up!

 

In the Imp: Almond, almond almond! With a side-order of spice, and maybe a little amber and musk if I really sniff hard. It smells delicious, languid and delectable-- like eating pastries in the sun.

 

Wet: Oh yum. The cherry calms down instantly, leaving a lingering sweetness, and musk and amber come out to play, followed by the smoky saffron. This is warm sun and a faint breeze-- it reminds me a bit of Buck Moon's summertime sister. It's soft, too, a touch powdery. I get a distinct impression of golden fur. The watery note of the lotus keeps everything from becoming too dry. Nice throw, too, but it feels like a second skin scent-- it's a very natural smell, lovely and animal. Whoever said sexy yet low-key was dead on.

 

Dry: A smooth, spiced, sweet and golden melange of all the notes, balanced on a base of musk and amber. I'm surprised how comfortable I am with such a luxurious scent, but Bastet fits me like a second skin. I don't feel qualified to make a judgment about lasting time, since I just got out of the shower and my skin has a tendency to eat oils after I bathe, but I don't really care. This is absolutely beautiful, and I look forward to using up my Imp. I might even need a bottle. Bastet certainly lifted my spirits!

[wikkidraven]

i got that blast of cherry smelling almond on first applying, and thought i'd be reliving my queen of sheba nightmare. but bastet dries very nicely, if a little close to the skin; i don't think this has much throw at all. it reminds me very much of buck moon actually.

 

pleasant. not sure if i'll be hunting down a bottle but i'll keep this one to try again.

[rockchickie]

Wet: Almonds. Mmmm.

Dry: Now there's a definite, noticable shift to being warmer. The amber and musk really come out. I do detect the cardamom but it blends much nicer here than in the one other blend I tried (Enraged Groundhog Musk). Not very strong so it could be good for daily wear.

 

I'm not having an OMGMUSTHAVE reaction to it but it's verrrryyy nice. I'll keep my imp and see where we go from there.

[bookofblues]

Bastet is lovely on at first. Cardamon spiced amber that's slightly soapy but not unpleasant. I don't get much almond at all, but this scent is warm and luxuriant enough without it.

As it fades, I get a more soapy amber but it's still nice. Not a 5mL scent, but still very nice.

[PurpleHeather]

In the bottle: Quite spicy, but with an overlying sweetness, almost honeyed. I have no idea what might be causing that, as I'm unsure as to how a lot of the notes might smell! Very nice.

 

Wet: Spicy - the sweetness has mellowed out to a lovely warmth.

 

Later: Faded quite fast, but I only tried a little on one wrist. Evocative of a really pleasant warm breeze full of spices. Very rich and summery - this would be gorgeous on a hot day.

 

This one is easily an 8/10. Possibly a 9. Very very nice.

[prettybird]

There's something very off about Bastet in the imp, so much that I was hesitant to try it. It's very almond in a very bad way.

 

But oh man, it's a completely different story when it hits my skin. I have a hard time picking out individual notes in it, but it's just so warm and so very comforting. It's nice and spicy/sweet, without the OH CRAP ALMOND of the bottle. It's a personal favorite to wear when I'm stressed out, because I feel so safe when I'm wearing it. It's like a warm hug in a bottle.