Spellbound

[jarvenpa]

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

Juniperus Intrepidus, bless her, just sent me a few tantalizing imps because she is kind and dear

 

I recently posted a request for recommendations on dark, intense scents, and Spellbound came up a few times with raves.

 

Thus, oh goody! I squealed, seeing Juniperus had sent along a imp of this.

 

Preconceptions: well, figured it would be along the lines of what I claim to love and be searching for: dark, spicy, lovely, intense.

 

Slathered on wrists and took rescued pitbull off for a walk.

 

Okay, then. Someone has wandered into a headshop with a bunch of dying roses. Well, it's, um, not bad. Dying roses, lots of incense (I wrongly believe I smell patchouli in this blend--perhaps it was the red musk. I speculate on ambergris, which I hate, and maybe this is the red musk. I like white musk and pale musk. Should check out some more red musks and see if that's the scent that is making me dizzy, and not with delight).

 

Oddly, I get a very clear mental picture of the person who is supposed to be wearing Spellbound: she is around 35 and is wearing lots of velvet and used to follow the Grateful Dead (hmmm, is she old enough? maybe she was a toddler) and she has wild curly black long hair and piercings and lots and lots of jewelry that glitters and clangs (I want to say "clangles"). She smiles and drifts off.

 

She is not me. But I'll try it again and see...the scent continued to smell like roses plus headshop for a while, but not a long while. Which was--alas, sort of a relief.

(edited to add lab's description, since it seems I start off page 8 here)

Edited June 23, 2006 by jarvenpa

[rosetta]

Based on the description, I was sure I'd like this, but no...

 

In the vial, pleasant scent but nothing extraordinary;

however, on me, it soon turned soapy (!) and a bit incensy. Drydown: even more soapy.

 

Nope, not for me, unfortunately.

[edenssixthday]

Spellbound - I got Spellbound as a frimp. When I put my nose right up to my wrist, the scent I get is definitely "old lady in a headshop". Up close, it smells like my grandma's perfumes that have been sitting on her shelf for 40 years, and which she still occasionally wears, not realizing they no longer smell as good as they did when she first got them decades ago. Combine that with a light incense scent (the red musk and amber, perhaps?) and Voila! "Old Lady in a Headshop" should be the name... not "Spellbound." Anyway, this has decent throw and when I don't have my nose to my wrist and am just going about my daily business, I do not smell old lady in a headshop. What I smell is the scent of an Aveda store. You know that incredible clean, herbal scent that is the "Aveda" smell? That's what I get from Spellbound when letting it just waft around. If you're familiar with Bath & Body Works' Soyflower Shampoo/Conditioner, that's almost the exact same smell: clean, herbal, and pretty. Very, very strange how this smells so nice from far away, but stinks when smelled up close. Oh, and the oil is so thick it leaves a little yellow stain on my wrist when I apply it -- similar to the stain iodine leaves, but not as dark. Strange stuff this Spellbound. I'm not sure what I think of it. I definitely won't be buying more, but whether I'll keep or swap the imp I have is the question.

Edited July 9, 2006 by edenssixthday

[tidesong]

In the Bottle: Musk, musk, musk. Rose, musk, rose.

 

On Application: Rose, fresh on the bush, mingling with a deep musk. After a minute or so, it's pure, rich rose and not much else.

 

On Drydown: This is mostly a very strong rose scent, with just a hint of musk to it. My nose isn't getting any amber from this unfortunately.

 

Comments: It's a lovely rose, but it might be too strong of a rose. It would probably make a lovely bath oil. I'll keep it for that.

 

Verdict: Keep imp for room scent.

[Ryokumuji]

This scent made gave me a terrible headache. I can't really smell roses at all, I kinda smell the musk, so maybe it's the amber that's giving me the headache? I'm not sure what to say about this one other than I don't like it.

[theseagrows]

i love all the notes in this, but for some reason the combination did not work on me. it had a very sharp strongness to it that was sort of a nostril-burning experience. i could tell that it would smell nice if it was mellower, but it was taking its time mellowing out. i think perhaps it was the roses + red musk that were amplified on my skin. i'm disappointed (and a bit surprised) i thought this'd be perfect for me.

[Mollywogger]

I got plenty of time to experiment this scent, as I spilled it last night. On myself. And my bed.

 

This scent smells like perfume. I don't know a better way to describe it. If someone said to you, "Think of how perfume smells," you'd think of this. After the spilling episode, my husband walked into the bedroom and said, "It smells really good in here." It did smell good, but not different or special, really.

 

I'm sure it's lovely on the right people, but I'm looking for a scent that is spicier and more distinctive.

[Bagfish]

Spellbound was sweet and rosey on me, and had a slight "Smut"tishness to it (the red musk?). The drydown was to an oldfashioned smelling sweet and musky amber skinscent. This should have been a winner, but it wasn't. Its perfectly pleasant, but on me is slightly "generic" which is a shame. I think other people will love Spellbound, so the imp will go for swaps.

[Taniwha]

I'm surprised I liked this, as I disliked Black Rose. It's an education to me to see how three identical notes can be blended so differently.

 

Wet, it was overpoweringly strong - without having read the notes I thought it was patchouli. I am still learning to differentiate the darker, stronger scents. On drydown, it's a pretty, musky warm rose. I don't get a big amber feel, which is good. Another rose winner for me.

[provocateur]

In bottle: A very light amber

On skin, wet: Beautiful amber and musk, which then morphs into a musky rose.

On skin, dry: The dreaded rose powder, with amber.

Conclusion: This would be so amazing without the rose.

 

Rating: 2/5

[neuilly]

In the beginning actually got a very strong incense note which is odd. Later, it turned into a rather dark rose sense.

 

Not doing much for me, off to the swap pile!

[Melantha]

I love amber and musk, so I thought I might survive the roses.

 

Nope.

 

They're everywhere! They're all I can smell! They're giving me a headache!

 

Bummer.

[thecaitycat]

In the bottle: Very deep and haunting. Rose is the main note at play here, but it doesn't keep the musk from coming out. In a word, it's intense.

 

Wet on skin: Still very intense and rosy, but the musk is a bit stronger. It's *so* sexy.

 

Dry on skin: I still smell rose and musk, maybe with a hint of something else (the amber) but not much. The rose and musk are both very deep and they make a wonderful combination.

 

Verdict: This is one of the three scents I own in 10ml bottles. It's THAT good. It's so sexy and dark and beautiful; I never want to be without it.

[minnalavender]

Oh damn this stuff is good.

 

I just decanted some of my precious Smut last week, and when I opened the imp of Spellbound I smiled with delight! Red musk! That's the predominant note I smell in Smut, and this blend smells almost exactly like it. It's even the same dark, viscous brown oil as Smut. I don't smell roses in the vial - just musk and amber. Deee-lish.

 

On my skin the rose amps up, as rose does with me. However, the musk and amber are so predominant rose doesn't steal the show, she just flirts and makes herself noticed, esp. in the crooks of my elbows. (My skin is weird. Scents are completely different depending upon where I apply them!)

 

This is gorgeous and sexy. The throw is great and it lasts and lasts.

 

Head shop? LOL! Head shops wish they smelled like Spellbound!! And I'd love to be an old lady who smells this hot. I love roses and I loves teh Smut so I'm buying a 5ml of Spellbound with my next order.

[kunoichi]

This reminds me on some sniffs of pink musk stick lollies, though there is something somewhat boozy there, despite there being no mention of alcohol! On my skin this becomes a warm and deep scent – perhaps due to the amber – with the roses becoming ‘spiky’, all with the sweet musk behind it as a base. After a number of hours on my skin, this has become a nice, light, fuzzy and musky-sweet fragrance.

[Luhtarian]

Okay, I've learned my lesson. I will never try another rose scent again, ever. Soap soap soap.

[azhure]

I have no idea what's up with my skin chemistry and BPAL's blends containing rose - for some reason, I hardly ever get the rose notes.

 

In the vial: Rich and heady, musky and gorgeous.

 

Wet: This is very intense on me wet. Again, all I get is the gorgeous red musk. For some reason, I also get a very warm vanilla-y undertone - I'm guessing that's the amber, but it's not like amber in other blends for me.

 

Dry: The intensity of this blend fades after an hour or two. This is one of the longer lasting scents on me - it's the amber note that lasts on me the most. Again, it's very softened and almost vanilla on me - I keep on getting gorgeous whiffs of it for the entire day after.

 

Spellbound has quickly become one of my signature scents. I must get a bottle.

[fairy]

This one is interesting but a tad too strong for me. I do smell rose, very slight. Then this heavy musky scent takes over.

[maijasu]

Okay, I've learned my lesson. I will never try another rose scent again, ever. Soap soap soap.

 

 

What she said. I love amber and musk, but the rose ruined this one for me.

[sofiaviolet]

Oh my precious red musk. And roses, yay! They're a little soapy but I can live with that. The amber made me wary, but it's not up to its usual tricks, so I can wear Spellbound just fine.

[indicolite]

The headshop descriptions in previous reviews were right - on first sniff, this took me back to a favourite, now rarely frequented jewelry store that sold Indian and Balinese silver and also incense of all kinds. Now on my skin, the roses have come out to play. Rose, rose, rose - but still the jewlery shop - but not the unpleasant-memory kind of incense.

 

Not bad at all. Thanks, 1demondog, for frimping this!

[PilotKitten]

The red musk note in this is definitely lending it an almost dragon's blood-ish spicy sweet air. On wet, it overpowers everything else. About 15 minutes into it and this has mellowed into a sweet red floral. A very feminine rose scent but not *just* a rose SN.... there's a rich golden amber in the mix as well as the heady red musk that has toned itself down a lot.

[fridythirteen]

This was a frimp from my first six-imp order from the Lab. Thank you, Lab! I heart you!

From the description I didn't think I would like this, but since I've been giving all my imps a one-day trial period, I figured why not?

In the Imp: I mostly smell musk and amber. The rose is providing a hint of sharpness, but overall it's musk and amber. Those two notes generally work well for me, so I'm hopeful.

Wet: Wow, it's very musky and ambery! I'm getting pretty much no rose at all. My boyfriend tells me that this smells like Widdershins, a headshop in New Hampshire that we sometimes frequented on vacation. When I was like, "thanks a lot, I smell like a hippie?" he assured me that no, it was just a general scent impression: this is incensey and warm-smelling.

Dry: Holy crap, I smell fantastic. The rose asserts itself on the drydown, but in a teasy, soft way that rounds out the sharpness of the amber and red musk. Normally roses are not quite right on me, but this is a dry, powdery rose rather than a wet rose. It smells soft, and sweet, and gently spicy on my skin. Some have said this has a fair amount of throw, but on me it's more something that you get a faint impression of when I brush past or touch you, which is just perfect for me. This is a very softly seductive scent, calming and languorous.

 

Verdict: Well, a very handsome male friend gave me a hug today and said, "Mmmmmm...you smell really good!" This is the first time anyone has noticed and commented on my BPAL perfume, and after he said something, everyone wanted to smell me (and all dubbed the scent divine.) This one is going to the top of my 5ml wish list.

[supremegoddessofall]

Now this is pretty! Lots of amber, but the roses are definitely there, and actually not being overwhelming or going chemically, which they tend to do on me.

[wikkidraven]

spellbound was one that i was absolutely dying to like, but again one that just went off on me. it was entirely too overpowering with my body chemistry, instead of smelling alluring i smelled like i'd rolled in the stuff. the rose notes don't seem to agree with me, which puts me in the minority i'm sure. better luck next time, i'd better stick to vanilla, honey, cinnamon and clove