Spellbound

[quimerula]

Perfectly enchanting! An irresistibly sexual, utterly rapturous blend of three roses, radiant amber, and sensual red musk.

Lovey rose scent!
Starts with a medicinal undertone, but dry it's bright and deep at the same time!
And it lasts quite a lot!

[misty]

I did not get rose in this at all, but I totally got the hippie shop smell. And, wow, was it overpowering! Smothering actually. I couldn't scrub the smell away no matter how hard I tried.I hated this.

[minouska]

Huh, I thought I reviewed this one already, but I guess not...

 

Spellbound is my favorite BPAL. More favorite even than Snow White or Alice or Bue Moon or Whip. I got this in one of my first orders (I can't even remember if I picked it or if it was a gift) and I've been in love with it since--it was my first catalogue bottle order.

 

On me, it's warm, sexy, golden-purple. It's soft, womanly, mature, but not stuck up. My boyfriend loves this on me--I think it's one of his favorites as well. It blends really well with my skin and doesn't seem layered over top like some perfumes do--it's like my skin but better. The rose and amber blend into a smoky warm feeling--it feels like I am wearing a long purple dress made of something soft and thick.

 

Since it is very sexy, I don't usually wear it to work, but I almost always wear it when going out, dressing up, and sometimes on weekends. It also has quite a lot of throw--just a bit is needed, less than many other oils.

[girlmadasbirds]

i got this imp as a freebie and i'm glad i did! it smells like rose and incense on me... very pretty

[joseybird]

No imp--just a very smelly bubble envelope!

 

I smell...LEMONS!! Like tangy lemon ices!! A teensy bit of rose hidden under there, but...no musk or amber.

 

But I LOVE lemon

 

*goes back to snorting her envelope *

[Finny]

Rose, powdery amber, and musk.

 

When I first put this on, for about a minute it reminded me of Ivory soap? The the notes came out, the rose mixes with the amber and I smell a wonderful powdery rose, it is fresh and lovely. The musk slinks around underneath, peaking out, banishing all thoughts of "Ivory 99 and whatever % pure soap".

 

This is a compelling and sexy scent. I love it. I keep sniffing myself...

[paperdoll]

Initial Sniff: I really can't identify any of the notes in this by sniffing the vial. I swear I smell orange, but that can't be right!

 

Wearing: Fresh on my skin, when I sniff right up on my skin, I smell warm spicy amber and red musk. The scent that wafts up from my arm, however, is very much like Lush's Karma - spicy orange and patchouli. I must be crazy! After 30 minutes or so my archnemesis rose make her appearance and starts to make this lovely blend go bad. This eventually turns to rose poweder on my skin.

 

Final Impressions: If Beth ever makes this without the rose, I'll be all over it! Until that day, however, Spellbound will have no place in my home.

[empi girl]

I got Spellbound as a freebie in my last order, and was excited, since it was on my wishlist.

 

On, wet: Very strong smell of rose, perhaps slightly medicinal, but this quickly goes away.

 

For the first 30 minutes this is rose (but not rose soap, and not fresh rose, sort of the deepest part of the rose mixed with the green leaves) with a touch of sweetness from the musk. Perhaps some amber here.

 

And then, 30 minutes - several hours later, it becomes a beautiful red musk with soft rose undertone. No soap, just beautiful juicy red musk and gentle rose. I don't really get the amber.

 

I don't think it smells like a hippie shop (except possibly in the very beginning when the rose, musk and amber are all jostling for whose gonna take over), or soap. It is just beautiful, and I love it. I have other scents to wear, and I keep reaching for this because it makes me feel happy to smell so good.

[Essay 28]

In the bottle: sweet musk, very intriguing.

 

On skin initially: musk with a very strong wallop of roses.

 

After an hour: Nothing but roses, which I would have sworn would be one floral I'd enjoy, plus a medicinal hint in the background. Instead I feel like I'm in a nursing home and someone dropped a bottle of rose perfume that seems to drift along the halls along with the medicine smells. Not a keeper.

[k00kaburra]

This'll be a bit of a gamble. Sometimes rose is delightful on me - Rose Red, for example - and other times it's simply terrible. Which will it be today?

In bottle: Three roses? They're a bit light so far. The red musk is by far the dominant note, and the sweet amber is strong too.

On me: Odd. I remember trying this before, and thinking I liked it then, but right now it's so faint I'm not at all sure. Again I can't detect any sort of rose at all - but the musk is certainly there. Hmmm. I may have to try this one again in a few weeks.

[nineveh]

This starts off with the lemon cake batter scent that I got from Haunted. As it dries, it smells like Haunted with roses. The roses are on the edge of being a sharp, perfumy rose that I don't care for, but they deepen as time passes.

 

My hairless cat just jumped into my lap, and now she's pressing against me and rubbing her head on the arm on which I applied the oil more forcefully than she's ever done before. I don't know if this is her perfume stamp of approval or what.

 

I like this scent but I wish it were darker. It feels like a special occasion perfume. I doubt I'll get a bottle but I'll keep my imp.

[Aredhel]

Rating (on skin): 0/5

Summarised in a word or two: Rosy dirt.

 

In the imp/bottle: Dark roses, heavy amber and red musk.

 

On skin, wet: This instantly goes bad on me. The amber and red musk disappear, and the roses turn into bitter, rotting roses covered in dirt.

 

On skin, dry: This is a very strong, bitter, almost *wet* rosy dirt. This is what I'd imagine old, decaying roses trodden into a thick, damp dirt would smell like. That, or a bottle of mud mixed with a synthetic rose perfume.

 

Conclusion: "Irresistibly sexual" this is most certainly not.

Edited December 19, 2005 by Aredhel

[Shollin]

First sniff: Wow. Just… bloody… wow. If anyone ever told me about a rose-based scent that I wouldn’t be able to identify as rose, I’d have thought they were nuts… but Spellbound is so entirely indescribable that I honestly don’t think I could have told you it was rose if I didn’t know that going in. It’s so very, very dark, but in an enticing way… deep sultry amber with the barest hint of a flower I would have recognized in the light.

 

Wearing: Oh, damn damn damn. It’s gone all powdery, the very second it hit my skin. I was so hoping for Rose Red with amber undertones.

[Rackham's Vanity]

Spellbound

 

I am absolutely taken with this oil!

 

In the imp I smelled concord grapes, believe it or not, but on my skin Spellbound blooms into a juicy, bright, sparkling, fruit scent with a perfect complement of rose.

 

A lovely, summery evening scent, and a new favourite!

[zankoku_zen]

This is a really full imp. And has this lovely amberish color.

 

In the Bottle: Strong rosy smell. Gah! It was so tough to pop open the imp without spilling some of the oil.

On Skin: This is rosy without being overly powdery at the moment. It's a very warm scent. I'm liking this.

On Drydown: My nose is really like this. It's got a clean rosey smell but there is something very sensual about it. I'm beginning to think that it's the red musk. Which is one of the ingredients of Hollywood Babylon.

 

Verdict: I don't know what Beth uses for her red musk but my skin reacts really well to it. My nose is now constantly sniffing the one spot where I applied it. This is a keeper.

[PurringPulsar]

Spellbound

 

In the imp: rich musk and a hint of rose.

Wet on skin: oh wow. Now the rose comes out and blossoms on my skin! Oh I love rose. And red musk. And just a tiny hint of amber. This is gorgeous!!

Dry on skin: this is lovely. The rose and musk are nicely balanced and smell so divine together. The amber gives it a rich sweetness. I have fallen in love!

After a while: this blend just gets better and better! The notes settle down and the rose warms up wonderfully, complementing the musk and backed by amber. it has a slight powderiness, but I don't mind that at all!

Verdict: this is amazing, gorgeous, and beautiful. All these rose blends have wowed me, this is another one. I'm impressed at the way the notes in this are so nicely blended and balanced and they go so well together. The rose note is wonderful here and mingles so nicely with the red musk, whilst amber adds a golden sweetness to the blend. Another one to add to my list of 5mls to buy! I am truly spellbound by this scent!

[phoefromelsewhere]

I'm being brave with this one, roses + musk = big no no on me.

 

Surprisingly tho, I smell very little actually rose, it's more of a vague floral. And the musk really behaves as well. It deepens and balances out. Now I'm reminded of incense and then it hits me: it smells just like the Underground in Sacramento (head shop/music place). And then I remember that SWoB smells the exact same way.

 

So this one, while lovely, is off to the swaps to avoid blend repetition.

[luxuria]

This is heady, warm incensed roses. Definitely get a 'head shop' vibe from this, and the rose is going soapy and sharp on me, which it usually doesn't. A shame, because it was rather pretty in the imp. This is DEFINITELY a womanly scent, and a nighttime one. It's strong and has a lot of throw. It's actually kind of throttling, and I didn't put on that much.

[Little Bird]

Wet this reminded me of Urd, but with some roses thrown in. I like Urd quite a lot, so I thought this blend would be pretty good. Unfortunately, it dried down quickly and showed its true colours.

 

The roses strengthen and go soapy on me rather quickly. They're not horribly strong or headache inducing, and there's a note in the background that I like... but it's still soapy roses.

 

The staying power of this one on me wasn't great... I don't think it even lasted a full hour on me. This is one for my swap pile.

[VorpalBunny]

Oooh!! This is a perfect blend of feminine and sexy but subtle at the same time. The rose is just a hint of rose, without it being cloying, so it has a nice floral undertone, and the musk and amber are mild and sexy without being overpowering. This is a great scent for a romantic encounter where you want to be pretty and feminine with an underlying sexiness. I'll have to order a big bottle later.

[Eros]

In the imp, first time I tried this, I got gardenia. Not good. On skin, no more gardenia, no more *anything*, gone. Completely. Okay....

 

Second time I tried this was MCH better This time, from the imp, Snake Oil, more or less. On skin, again, goes to nothing at all then within seconds, WOW!! Gorgeous!! The amber & musk are beautiful!! Very rich and voluptuous at this point. Very O-like but not quite as sweet. Has the same after sex skin muskiness about it, YUMMY!! I get very little, if any, rose. In fact, what I pick up with the amber and musk is vanilla. Whatever, it's LOVELY!! Nice throw, too.

 

Wore it overnight and by next morning, did go just a tad soapy on me, but not bad. This one has definite big bottle in the not too distant future possibilities.

[FireInCairo]

ohh... This is nice..and very spicy on my skin. I definately smell citrus in this blend. There are lots of resins present as well. It lasts for ages on my skin. Very enchanting indeed..

[olympia301]

Very much like Snake Oil right out of the bottle. Then the roses come in and jump around until they are mostly overwhelmed by red musk in this blend giving it a dusty smell (like the background in Miskatonic U). Actually, it is very pleasant overall, and if red musk is your thing then this is a great blend for your purposes. It does last forever, and has elements of the rosiness of 2 5 & 7.

 

This blend really pointed out what red musk smells like, and that did me a great service.

[sarahj]

Spellbound

 

in vial: strong musk, with very faint rose and amber

 

wet: the musk fades a bit and the rose and amber become stronger

 

dry: mainly a rich rose scent, with just a bit of amber and musk

 

verdict: this is a fine rose scent, but there are a couple of others that I like more (Rakshasa and Delirium), so I will use up the imp but won't be ordering a bigger bottle

[HoneyHoneyNY]

I swapped for this imp, and I was waiting, anticipating getting this blend. I just knew that it would be beautiful on me.

 

In the imp it smelled musky, and I didn't really get the rose note.

 

As soon as it touched my skin, it turned into soapy musky baby powder.

 

I'm really dissapointed, I was so ready to be Spellbound. I'm trading it off again.