BPAL Review: The Grindhouse and The Ladies of the Grindhouse |

1 - The Grindhouse

Folks - if you aren't clicking on the images in this series to take an up-close look, you're missing out! Jennifer Williamson is A-MA-ZING.

THE GRINDHOUSE

Throaty laughter captures your attention. Across the lane you see a buxom Venetian woman standing before a huge black and red striped tent. Her head is inclined towards a dapper, leering man, and they appear to be sharing a private joke. He reaches into his waistcoat and produces a gold coin. The woman plucks it from his fingers. He bows, and walks into the tent with a swagger. A sign flashes above the tent flap in letters that seem to be aflame: The Grindhouse, Dead or Live Girls.

The Madam turns towards you and smiles. As she approaches, someone within the tent strikes a few keys on a tuneless piano, and begins to play Jelly Roll Morton's 'the Crave'. The light within the tent illuminates the interior, shining behind the silhouettes of naked women gyrating lewdly upon raised stages, writhing in time with the music.

In the distance, behind the tent, you hear a whip crack, and a man's scream. Tittering laughter follows, and the screams continue.

"Voulez-vous un morceau de la boîte de bonbon?" she asks, gesturing gracefully towards the tent.

The Madam's perfume envelops you.

The description of the scent:

Florentine iris, red musk, mimosa, magnolia, Damascus rose, clove, and vanilla bean.

Initial impressions:

This reminds me in some ways of several of my favorites Mme. Moriarty, Misfortune Teller (which makes sense because the Mme. and The Madame both have vanilla and red musk) and Blood Phoenix (again - red musk and, this time, mimosa) and Krampus '07 (which is red musk and naughtiness). Now that I know that's the scent of red musk, I can decipher it in other BPAL scents I have, like Lust, Bloodlust, and Scherezade - scents I like but don't 100% love. I'm going to have to sign up as a fan of BPAL red musk overall, though.

More thoughts:

Wet on the skin, I clearly smell the red musk but the Damascas rose is hiding back there, too. I'm not sure what mimosa and magnolia smell like, nor iris that is specifically Florentine, but this is definitely a floral scent, which makes a lot of sense. But please don't expect your typical department store floral! No way! It's a glorious blend of both high and low - like wearing vintage designer with a worn pair of Chuck Taylors - but in a whorehouse at an evil carnival.

Once this scent dries down, the flowers soften (wilt?) and the musk blends with the clove and vanilla to create a soft and sensual - and slightly fruity - powder. Thankfully, I get a long but not overbearing wear from this scent, which is perfect because I intend to wear it a lot!

While I expected this scent to be more dirty - it's the scent representing a Madam, after all - this doesn't disappoint. After all, no one says the Madam sullies herself! Why shouldn't she smell delecatable?