scourgeotheseas

Ace of Pentacles In the bottle: I get cherry and cinnamon, I think. It’s very sweet! On me: A dry cinnamon, like a cinnamon stick. (Upon reading the reviews, was I on crack? Alas, the imp is gone, so I have no idea if my nose and skin were just wacko when I tried this.)

The Hermit In the bottle: Light, tangy, gorgeous! On me: A light floral with tart fruits. Then all of a sudden, heavy musk or civet comes out of nowhere. It’s quite animalistic, but covered by a veneer of light florals and flowers. Then that fades too, and warm spices come to the forefront. Poof! Now’s it’s cinnamon. This one is a real shapeshifter, but the drydown is intense and unbelieveably good.

The Emperor In the bottle: Citrusy, light and bright red in color. On me: Citrus – sort of like over cleaner. With waxy flowers. The scent doesn’t change very much – it remains a citrus note (probably lemon) with a hint of a floral note. Lemon is generally amped by my skin, so anything else is hidden underneath that. Upon reading the other reviews, I realize mine sounds nothing like them. Odd.

Ace of Wands In the bottle: Bright red. Oooh! Dragon’s blood, I can smell you! On me: Dragon’s Blood and a musk, which quickly fades to just Dragon’s Blood. This is an enjoyable scent while it’s on, but not memorable in any way. Which is strange, because the rest of the Tarot are generally complex and lingering (in the mind, at least).

The Magician In the bottle: Spicy and bitter. Herby. Already seems to personify a Magician. On me: Much the same, at first. I can’t identify the particular notes, but it smells like a mix between a head shop and a musty antique shop. Now it’s startingt o smell like an herbal medicine…or soup base. Drydown: Dry oriental spices. It kind of reminds me of Ahathoor! I wish I could figure out the notes, because it’s some kind of resin, or myrrh, or wood. Intriguing...

Wheel of Fortune In the bottle: Sweet, with a slight hint of Ben-Gay. On me: Sweet grasses and light florals – maybe orange blossom. It has a waxy overtone that I also picked up in the bottle. This starts out very light on the skin. Drydown: It warms up, but the same notes are still evident. It reminds me of a meadow or something. Or candy. Must be fruit. After a while, this becomes an absolutely to-die-for beautiful scent!

Strength In the bottle: Yellow flowers and green stems, like dandelions. On me: A green scent that reminds me of pulling weeds. Turns very soapy.

The Hierophant In the bottle: Green, herbal – sharp but not unpleasant. On me: It warms up to a spicy blend on my skin. It seems to share a base note with the World(?). Even though it’s sharper in the bottle, it’s not like that on the skin at all. Over time, this turns to Oriental spice and then sweetens up. Wow! Lovely! I need to get more of this.

The Sun In the bottle: Lemon and sugar. This smells yellow! On me: Lemon and sage, or something lightly green. It stays lemony sweet, with maybe a hint of vanilla. You know the powdery sugary candy – it’s like that.

The World In the bottle: Green and herby, but very light. On me: Seems more complex than some of the other Tarot oils I’ve tried. A combination of light, sweet, green, and herby. It’s warm and comforting, kind of like a warm wet summer day – dirt and grass. Eventually: Its stays kind of sweet, but turns much more floral-y.

High Priestess In the bottle: Cherry. It’s candy sweet with a hint of greenery. On me: Cherry lollipops and bright red candy. It warms up soon, but the main note is still red candy and that whiff of green. Over time, the green notes come out and candy disappears. Eventually: wow, this one changed completely. After a couple of hours, it was totally mint.

Death In the bottle: Sharp and spicy! On me: This is bold, masculine, and dark. Yet playful. It smells of the Orient. I don’t usually like this family of scent, but this is artful. I feel this should be the description for the Devil, instead, because it entices you to sin.

The Tower In the bottle: Sharp, yet sweet. It reminds me of Kabuki mixed with a grassy floral. On me: Sesame oil? Plus soap? This is quickly turning into a very soapy floral. I smell no Dragon’s Blood. Final analysis: Very expensive soap.

Judgement In the bottle: Spicy and delicious in the bottle. Sweet and herbal, yet smelling vaguely of cherries. On me: This turns into a beautiful floral. Very sweet!

The Fool In the bottle: Mint chocolate chip ice cream. On me/wet: Minty and Juicy Fruit gum! While the huge blast of mint fades a little over time, it never leaves completely. The fruits come to the forefront, though, smelling a lot like fruit punch. Minty Hawaiian Punch. And it only took a couple of minutes to realize the connection between “Punch” and “the Fool” – Beth really is AMAZING! This does capture the essence of a fool in every way.

Graveyard Dirt In the bottle: Dirt. On me: Dirt. Clean, fresh dirt. Wet dirt. This is so amazing because it is actually the essence of soil. Of course, I don’t want to smell of soil, but evidently lots of people do. They’ll be completely blown away by this scent, because the craftmanship is unbelievable.

Temperance In the bottle: A spicy yellow floral with a touch of mint. On me: Yellow like dandelions or chrysanthemums on my skin. As it drys, it grows warmer and a touch soapy. It’s ok, but not enjoyable to smell on myself.

Empress In the bottle: Rose,a hint of wine. On me: Wow, this is lovely on – a fullblown rose at the height of beauty and maturity. It becomes a tiny bit green as it dries on my skin. With maybe a tiny hint of lemon as well? Mmmm…..

Justice In the bottle: Ripe, sweet fruit. Lovely! On me: Turns into a combo of fruit and oven cleaner on me, although the lemony fresh scent may be helping that association along. Going powdery, but in a good way. A bit of resin, definitely. It’s not green or woody, but maybe floral? Drydown: Florals coming out after a while, but it’s still a mix of floral and lemon? Becoming more spicy? Herbal? Whatever it is, it’s really great.

Ace of Swords In the bottle: Sharp, medicinal. Lavender mixed with something medicinal smelling. On me: Warms on the skin, just a little. Strongly lavender, which is a smell I just don’t like. Drydown: Still smells strongly of lavender, which overwhelms my nose to anything else. It does fade to a nice finish, however.

Eidolon - Longstofly included this as a freebie in our swap! In the bottle: Mostly verbena, with a hint of sage. On me/wet: I can smell the cedar, verbena and/or bergamot equally, kind of a lemony fresh wood scent. But not in a Pledge way. It's a very crisp scent and makes me want to sit out in a villa in the European countryside, sip some winde and watch the hills. Drydown: As with some woody notes, cedar becomes overpowering and basically takes over this scent. It's too bad, because the original scent was quite evocative.

Othello - A lab freebie that I had been dying to try! In the bottle: Sweet and spicy, a touch floral - but no rose. On me: The rose jumped out, but immediately went powdery. And that's how it remained, except the powder gained strength and the rose lessened. This one was gorgeous, just not on me.

Embalming Fluid In the bottle: Fresh lemon, in the best sense. On me/wet: At first it smells of lemon zest, but it soon becomes darker and sharper. It seems to get "greener", too. Drydown: Getting muskier and still lemony. I don't get any hint of the tea, which is too bad. It’s a pretty scent, but I don't see myself wearing it often.

Kali In the bottle: I expected florals, but smelled red wine and chocolate instead. Hmmm... On me/wet: Upon application it immediately smelled like chocolate, but within a moment that faded to the background, displaced by a subtle blends of florals. so far, so good. Drydown: It's making my hand itch. Go away, itch. Stay, gorgeous floral blend with a hint of cocoa. A touch of rose, a hint of sweetness, this one is complex and fantastic. It gets sweeter as it dries. Wow. Just....wow.

Storm Moon In the bottle: Soap. Or air freshener. On me: Soap. Or air freshener. This one is just a little too clean for me, too soapy, too tangy and zesty. While it does mellow down on the skin, this one is too masculine for me. I've been really amazed at how Beth manages to capture a feeling with her oils, even the ones I really don't like.