On to Pieria he stepped from the upper air, and swooped down upon the sea, and then sped over the wave like a bird, the cormorant, which in quest of fish over the dread gulfs of the unresting sea wets its thick plumage in the brine. In such wise did Hermes ride upon the multitudinous waves. But when he had reached the island which lay afar, then forth from the violet sea he came to land, and went his way until he came to a great cave, wherein dwelt the fair-tressed nymph; and he found her within. A great fire was burning on the hearth, and from afar over the isle there was a fragrance of cleft cedar and juniper, as they burned; but she within was singing with a sweet voice as she went to and fro before the loom, weaving with a golden shuttle. Round about the cave grew a luxuriant wood, alder and poplar and sweet-smelling cypress, wherein birds long of wing were wont to nest, owls and falcons and sea-crows with chattering tongues, who ply their business on the sea. And right there about the hollow cave ran trailing a garden vine, in pride of its prime, richly laden with clusters. And fountains four in a row were flowing with bright water hard by one another, turned one this way, one that. And round about soft meadows of violets and parsley were blooming. There even an immortal, who chanced to come, might gaze and marvel, and delight his soul; and there the messenger Argeiphontes stood and marvelled.
Crisp sea air, kelp, and climbing vines, flame-singed cedarwood and juniper branches, cypress boughs, alder wood, violets, selino, parsley, glistritha, and white sage.
minikadomi –
Oh yes, this is certainly a very “swampy” scent…
the.gamma.cat –
This one goes on me smelling like sexy herbal motor oil, but not necessarily bad. Within 5 minutes it opens up into a beautiful green, herbal, resinous kind of scent with a hint of warmth at the very bottom. Gave me whiplash, but I really love this one!
c-j-allison –
This fragrance is utterly bizarre in the best possible way.
I purchased an imp because I wanted to expand my fragrance horizon. It smelled like heavy duty toilet cleaner. I set aside my misgivings and found that on the skin, it absolutely explodes into life!
This fragrance teleported me. It smells of humidity and ancient trees. It’s deeply green and fresh. It’s a lush, living ecosystem full of exotic flowers. You can smell licks of salt spray and your far-away campfire smoke. There’s a faint zing of eycalyptus cutting through the marine/swamp aroma that revives you on your journey. In a few hours the perfume fades to the smell of the sudsy white soap you crave at the end of a long, muddy expedition. I felt like I’d been on holiday after wearing Bayou.
I particularly enjoy this fragrance when I’m tending to my greenhouse plants on a hot, humid Brisbane day. There’s a very magical, green witch vibe to it.
suzy_darling –
I got this as an imp. Unfortunately it’s not for me though. It’s definitely aquatic and green with wet swampy florals. It doesn’t smell like a gross swamp but a beautiful swamp warmed by the sun with moss, florals, and drooping trees as a salty green gator swims by. I think on the right person it would be amazing. I imagine this could be one of those scents that could trigger memories. It’s fun to try it gets the imagination going. I find it kind of intoxicating and relaxing.
brideofd –
I received this as an imp in an order a while back. I’m not really a floral perfume person, and was prepared not to love it, but after trying it out, I can’t get enough of it. I wear it almost every day and it’s quickly become one of my favorites.
It’s not powdery or super feminine, which I think is what I dislike about most floral perfumes. It lasts for a while on me, too, and I can usually still smell it at the end of the work day. The floral is very strong when I first put it on, but it dries to a more unisex “green” scent on me.
Vilma –
A very green and witchy scent. Lasted for many hours on my skin and the aquatic notes rose up after a while.
Sabrina –
This is my favorite of the imps I recently purchased. Aquatic flowers when wet and then dries into a beautiful floral musk on my skin. I couldn’t stop sniffing my arms and sticking my face in my shirt to smell it. I liked that as the day wore on I could still smell it as I moved. So so so lovely.
Hellokoi –
Bayou was one of the first bpal scents that I sampled, and it made me want to try more. It’s like a swamp in a bottle, but somehow a wearable swamp. It smells like trees drooping with the weight of damp moss, muddy water coated with algae, and rich, heady tropical blooms. You can smell the heat and humidity, and it’s sour, but wearable. It’s incredible and so unique.
Kristin –
Both in the imp and fresh on the skin, Bayou starts out as a very strong floral that lasts for a good hour or two, then rapidly fades after drying.
While the scent is strong, it manages to avoid being overpowering, or smell like a grandmother’s perfume. It’s like walking into a garden in bloom on a very hot day. Strong, pleasant floral scents in the air.
After a few hours it very rapidly fades and becomes fairly soapy, but can only really be smelled if you hold your wrist to your nose.
I didn’t dislike it, and it’s definitely a floral scent that didn’t make me feel nauseous or give me a headache, but I don’t think it’s for me and will be passing it on to a friend to try out.
Julie –
My first BPAL foray was a big order of Wanderlusts… wasn’t sure how I would like Bayou but took a chance on an imp.
In the bottle, scent is heady, salty and deep floral.
On me, floral comes out more, but with a hint of ripe green vegetation. Lush. Not a tropical floral, a swampy floral.
Dries to a nice salty green.
Very very nice! My first full bottle purchase!