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, 2021 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.

 

Finally got a bottle without sludge and I love it!

Edited November 12, 2022 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. 

[Little Bird]

There's a good amount of cocoa absolute in the bottom of my bottle and this scent really shines if I shake it up a little before applying.  I love cocoa absolute because it smells like a shimmery chocolate syrup with glossy, woody undertones.  It starts off quite strong and then just lends a gentle sweetness to the other notes.  Haul smells like a lot of things that I love - cedar chests, dried patchouli leaves, and sweet tobacco leaves.  It's dark, woody and earthy, but also very soft and warm as a fragrance.  It's rare that I enjoy dry, woody scents, but I love the earthy patchouli and the sweetness of the cocoa and tobacco, and cedar is my favorite wood scent.  Lovely and calming.

Edit to add:
I forgot to mention that I've had a couple people ask me how this compares to bpal's #occupywallstreet blend and, even though they share a similar notes list, they are nothing alike.  I didn't care for #occupywallstreet because it went sour, bitter and sharply dry on me.  Haul on the Bowline is what I wished #occupywallstreet was.  This is sweeter, smoother, and has no sour or sharp tones.  It's a very full, snuggly, sweet earthiness.

Edited July 28, 2021 by Little Bird

[doomsday_disco]

I tested a drop from an empty bottle that a friend kindly sent to me to try. Although I got some cacao specks from that drop, it was mostly a very loud black patchouli on me, with the cedar and tobacco thrumming in the background (more cedar than tobacco on me). I suspect that if I had more to test, I would have had more cacao in my experience, but it wasn't like... Wulric levels of cacao on me because the patch was so loud. But even if I had gotten more cacao, I'm not sure it would be sweet enough for me. I'd recommend this one to those who love dousing themselves in patchouli, though!

[MamaMoth]

hoooo boy, that is some STRONK patchouli starting out.  black patch that has that camphorous quality.  i'm not opposed. 

 

softens up as it settles in.  woodsy patch and dry cacao. there's a bit of earthy sweetness, from the tobacco i think.

 

i was a little wary of this one.  the notes are all ones that i love and/or enjoy, but they also brought to mind #ows which was just tooooo aggressive for me.  but this one is softer and almost cuddly.  i like it a lot! 

[spikyfairy]

I wish I got more cocoa from this, it would be such a delicious combination. But this is pretty much just patchouli on me, nicely rounded out by the cedar & tobacco.
That said, I am on my second bottle, so I must like it alright. Neither bottle has had visible cocoa sludge.

[Hakirah D'almah]

I wanted to try this for literally years. Years! I got my hand on an imp from the swap group. I tried it twice. 

The first time I got a note that was almost mildew? I noticed another user also had this issue. So I shook up the imp, thinking the dark spots on the bottom were cococa sludge, and then waited another few days and tried again.

The second time I didn't get the mildew note, but the cedar and patchouli just still smell a combination of dirty/earthy and sharp. I am getting zero cocoa. I don't think I'm getting any tobacco either. 

I had wanted this to be a sweeter, earthy, round scent, and it was ....none of those things.

It's not bad, I am not running to scrub it off me or anything, but I am not enjoying it either. Will be passing it along, and hopefully someone else will give it love.