Haul on the Bowline

[zankoku_zen]

A thumping chant of patchouli, tobacco absolute, black cedar, and cocoa bean.

[Seajewel]

Patch lovers probably already knew this from the notes, but this is for you. It's thick, chewy, sweet patchouli. The cocoa doesn't go funky on me as it sometimes does. The cedar is not prominent. The tobacco is not caramelized. It's just one of those sweet patch blends that BPAL does so well. Not really in my wheelhouse, but it did make me sit up and pay attention. 

[Threemoons]

 In the bottle: ZOMG I was transported back to summer camp when I was a wee one in the 70's...old-school rooty, damp patchouli from the counselors who doused themselves in it along with the slightly funky softwoods from the cabins, benches, and the docks off of the lake. On, wet: A bit of the cocoa bean starts to come out, and the cedar wood picks up a bit. Drydown: Longish, final product is soft patch with a bit of cocoa. Starts out strong with good throw and gradually recedes back to the skin.

[groovyrooby]

YUM of the 6 that I tried, this is definitely my fave. Tested from a decant that rested a couple days.

This is a good example of one of my favorite combinations that BPAL creates. It's greater than the sum of its simple parts, well-balanced, and delicious in that savory dry cocoa-vetiver way.

At first, I thought this might be vetiver gone too far. It almost smelled mildewy, which I think is the cedar in combination with vetiver, but it also makes for a most convincing boating smell, like damp canvas! Dried into a lovely, coastal vegetation smell once the patchouli started singing - it really warmed up and smoothed out the cedar and damp tobacco.

 

On the second test, the cedar & tobacco were a bit calmer to start. Still kind of tart, but a rich tartness that I love, like a nice Oud Bruin or Flanders Red, if you're into beer. I usually fail big time with red wine notes, but the other earthy notes give that tangy effect to a degree that I really enjoy. I will probably go big for this one, as I think it will only get better with time!

 

[DigitalCoyote]

I wish my skin allowed for the nuances of this scent to develop but alas.

 

On me, this goes from cedar bomb to hamster cage to chocolate pencil.

Edited March 25 by DigitalCoyote

[HerbGirl]

I haven't tested this yet (can't wait though!) but I had to comment about the DARKNESS in this bottle. 😯 That is some sludge!!! In the bottle, this smells exactly how I hoped it would - and reminds me of #occupywallstreet as I hoped it would. I will edit my review once I test this guy!

 

Finally tested. Since my bottle is half sludge it is sticky and discolors my skin which makes me very sad. It smells nice but I can't deal with the sludge.

Edited April 7 by HerbGirl

[Lucchesa]

HerbGirl said it first, but this is very much in the vein of #occupywallstreet.  Another filthy frigging patchouli, in the best possible way.  Big patch, globs of cocoa, drier and woodier than #occupy because of the cedar replacing the vanilla.  Thus, an outdoor scent for the patch lover, with good throw initially, though it dials back in drydown.  If patchouli is your jam, this is the jammiest thing the Lab has given us in a while.  Rejoice!

[zankoku_zen]

This is cocoa beans rolling around the dirty rooty earth. It's basically a very earth cocoa blend on me. Imagine if you'd been digging in the cool earth, but instead of dirt its ground cocoa. Yup, you got it. Medium throw and wear length.

[Abyssgazesback]

That gorgeous rebel in high school who, if they  showed up for class at all, was always late. They wore a black leather jacket, and smelled of patchouli and resinous incense and things your mom would disapprove of. It didn’t matter, you just wanted to chew on them. Down to their chocolate center.

[sunshinedaisybliss]

My decant has a dark brown globule at the bottom, so I gave it a good shake before testing 👍🏼
 

Hmm. First impressions - I was expecting this to be more “thumping”.. more dark and gnarly. And it just isn’t that way for me - it has some initial oomph, but it’s just not the KAPOW I was hoping for. 
 

For the first little while this is a gentle cocoa + patch mix with faintly woody undertones. I can’t really find any of the tobacco, which surprises me because that’s usually a note my skin plays up but it’s just not here for me. 
 

I also found that it faded really quickly - in less than 15 minutes, all I’ve got is a very dry patchouli. The cocoa has pretty much disappeared, the woody undertone is gone, and the tobacco still hasn’t shown up. 
 

So - and I say this with the greatest respect for the previous reviewers here - overall this is just not a top shelf patchouli blend for me. I think if I had gotten a good hit of the tobacco absolute, this would be a far more positive review because I feel like it really needs that kind of rich chewy sweetness to lift and warm it up.