Salamander

[wickedgoddess]

Sexuality :: Vigor :: Force :: Energy :: Will
Destruction :: Change :: Passion :: Courage
Enthusiasm :: Revenge :: Daring :: Domination

Wet - medicinal. Trying to discern the notes, I think I get eucylptus and a drop of cinnamon, but there's something bitter in here that I don't care for.

Dry - The only note I can distinguish once this dries is cinnamon. At first I get a rush of cinnamon and I expect this to take a different turn. But it was just a cinnamon wave; it roars up and then quiets back down immediately. I don't have a clue as to what the other notes are here now. It's very light, another with no throw that I really have to sniff my wrists to get any scent at all.

I have a feeling I might like this if I could smell it better, but it is way too faint on my skin.

On the wickedgoddess scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being best, this rates a 2.

[brownbear]

I haven't actually tried this on, but from the bottle the scent really fits the name. It smelled wet and kind of muddy with a little bit of the medicinal smell that wicked goddess mentioned. It smelled like what I would expect a salamander and it's habitat to smell like. (I hope that was helpful )

[miss apple]

Salamander

 

In the vial I get lots of cinnamon and something cool but not really minty. It doesn't overpower the cinnamon but gives it an edge. Once on the cinnamon warms and it must be blending with something else but I can't quite get a firm impression of any other notes. The most interesting thing is what the minty/cool edge does. It reminds me of when you run tap water so hot that if you put your hand under the faucet it almost feels cold while it burns - how awesome that an oil captures this without the pain

 

I definitely want to get a big bottle of this

[UltraViolet]

In the bottle

lightly medicinal smelling

 

On

Light camphor, and uh...camphor.

Okay some minty sweetness is coming in, yum.

Now it's like mint or minty herbs or camphor-y mint.

Now I'm getting...pathcouli coming in?

The camphor and mintiness has COMPLETELY gone away and now I smell....sulphur....and now cinnamon is coming in!

Wow, this really changes, it's almost whimsically like the creature but the smell of the sulphur is not whimsy...no, no whimsy there.

Now it's more earthy and cinnamony.

 

30 minutes

Yep, it morhps to a sulphur-like, earthy and cinnamon dry down.

 

Throw:

a bit more than average

 

Scent category:

Earthy? I've no clue on this one.

 

Summary

It's a changling, it changes (like a salamander I suppose).

 

Purchase again?

No.

 

1-5 rating (5 being best)

2.5

[shelldoo]

hmmm, hmmmmm, hmmmmmm

 

intrigueing

 

in the bottle, i get dried tea, like when i am scooping out some from my container to put in my teaball. and dried grasses, nothing minty or clean although i can see it being called medicinal

 

wet: dried, tea leaves, that is the thing that is smacking me aorund. i don't get any other notes.

 

dry: this is an herb shop, the roots, the dried, leaves, the teas. YES it smells just like the herb shop i go to, a mish mosh of dried things that can be used for all sorts of intresting things.

 

this is not so much as "firey" as i expected, but instead to me is the salamander that is a bit to nixy, and hops out of the campfire to scortch it's way around, it is the aftermath, the dried, cracking grasses, that got in said salamander's path. intresting and something i must think about. i like it a bit more then i thought i might

[aidenraine]

There is something very astringent about this wet. I smell...cinnamon and something else, dragon's blood, I think...

 

 

Very mysterious. It's a sharp smell, but I don't know for sure what it is. A touch of clove in there, perhaps? Something nutty?

 

It's almost chemical, really... I wouldn't be surprised to smell this in a shampoo... a cinnamon shampoo.

 

I'm floundering here.

 

Kinda peppery too?

 

Very dragon's blood as more time passes. The DB grows stronger, but the cinnamon keeps it from being "armpit smell".

[Barb25]

In the vial - cinnamon, but there is something more

 

On me - it's cinnamony, that's for sure, but there is something cooling in it. Mint perhaps? Not sure, but it takes the bite off of what would otherwise be too strong and potent a cinnamon. it kind of reminds me of Dentyne Ice Cinnamon gum, if that makes any sense. It's actually very nice and refreshing. I am very suprised at how much I like the scent. And unlike some cinnamon scents, it doesn't burn me at all.

 

UNFORTUNATELY, it was gone in half an hour. I don't mind reapplying every 2 hours, but every half an hour, I don't think so. Pity, as otherwise it would have definately been bottle-worthy.

[grrrlennyl]

at first: hot!

on: this smells earthy and hot.

1 hour later: something spicy and hot, with those earth notes underneath.

overall: all of the elementals seem to have some sort of earthen quality to them, and this is no different. however, none of the elementals really spoke to me.

[dreadeddragon]

In the bottle: Cinnamon and medicinal smelling herbs

 

First on: The herbs are a weird combination. Like a wet earthy type of thing, without being heavy. The cinnamon is the prominant scent, truly smelling like a salamander. A fire creature that lives on the wet earth.

 

Drydown: It's not changed too much from above, only that the cinnamon has calmed down and, much like all the other elementals except for Gnome, I almost have to search for it on my skin. I've never had that with cinnamon, so I wondr what else is in it.

[cupide430]

Sharp camphory eualyptus with a light cinnamon tinge behind it. The oil itself is a bright red, brighter than any other I've seen before. On the skin it is more sharp eucalyptus than cinnamon at first. As it dries it becomes warmer and spicier.

[Little Bird]

I almost want a bottle of this one just because I like the name... but this is pretty awful on my skin. It's medicinal, with that cold menthol/eucalyptus scent. Then it gets sort of warm and cinnamony... so the cool feeling and the rush of warmth are battling it out on my skin. Overall this is very sharp and astringent though. It's very 'not me'.

[SeaMonkey]

Oh this is a bizarre scent! Its a bright scary red in the imp. I'm getting a little astringentness, cinnamon, and PEPPER. Like, cayenne pepper.

 

When it dries, its almost pure cayenne pepper and a little cinnamon, then a little bit of soap?

 

Its subtle once it dries, but still, its a very HOT scent. Definately a fire scent!

[Pave.Gurl]

I bought this purely for working with - I don't really care about how it works with my chemistry, and I don't really give a hoot how it smells.

 

I can tell you that Salamander is working really nicely to supplement the candle work in which I am using it tho, as passion and courage have been lacking lately in my life, and I felt I could use a little push. This is really making a difference in my environment.

[wanderingredhead]

Hmmm, salamander.

 

Wet: bracing, with a strange mix of freshness and muddiness. Very interesting.

 

wet on my skin: sweetly astringent with deeper, almost muddy base notes

 

drying on my skin: I already knew I had somewhat strange skin chemistry, but I'm getting something almost floral out of this. Can't pick out any specific notes, but it smells like flowers over a base of mud, in the most positive way possible. I really like it as a scent, actually.

 

General feeling: This does actually invigorate me. It's a very driven, determined scent. the first time I tried it was just before I went to bed, and I felt too worked up to sleep until I got up and washed it off.

I quite like salamander, both for the scent and for the implications. I'm definitely keeping the bottle around for when I need to be productive and get things done. A good errand running, crossing items off lists scent, if that makes any sense at all.

[Thorne]

This had the same top note as Fire Eater did to me, something sharp like rubbing alcohol, something flamable. On the skin, it's a much softer scent than I expected, with some cinnamon and spice, but not too much. It's...rounded, somehow. And it dries to a sweet ambery resiny cloud, which I love. It's like a bright flash to start, then a steady flame, then warm cherry-red embers. Perfect!

[Fefferbella]

Burning hot Cinnamon and something earthy... like the smell of hot, sun soaked rocks in the desert.

There is also a sharp medicinal quality to Salamander... I really like this.

 

Very firey, unique and powerful BPAL.

 

edited because I can't spell

Edited January 21, 2006 by Fefferbella

[Northernminx]

spicey, some cinnamon, a touch of something herbal and this goes rather ashy on the drydown. It's warm and biting and fitting for it's name sake. I didn't try it ritually. Definitly unique just not one I'd wear - though I imagine for use with elemental work it would be wonderful

[kakiphony]

Since I'm a Leo and a true fire sign, Salamander is the first of my imp set of the Elementals that I'm trying. I plan to try them in the following order over the next few days: Salamander, Sylph, Gnome, and Undine. I'll post reviews as I go.

 

In the imp: Woody, with an over-layer of something sweet and vaguely linament-like. The sweet thing could be an herb or a spice; it's not distinct enough in the imp to tell. I think the base is patchouli, even though the smell is reminiscent of cedar (wet patchouli often is to my sniffer). I also think that I detect a slightly spicy floral note (carnation?).

 

Wet: Mild and somewhat soapy. The patchouli is of the woody, inside of a cedar lined closet smelling variety (as opposed to the hippy headshop variety) on me. There's some spice fighting to get up there in the notes, but it's too gentle to work its way past the patchouli.

 

Early dry down: After fifteen minutes, this is drying into a quite interesting scent. I had expected a cinnamon note since almost all the lab's "fiery" blends that I've tried have one, and everyone else seems to have gotten cinnamon... but I didn't think there was any cinnamon in this at all. Instead, I'm getting a very mild patchouli, interwoven with a spicy floral that I don't recognize. (I'm not good at floral notes because I never wear them. Unless it's lavender, rose, lotus or honeysuckle I'm likely to just call it "floral" and leave it at that.)

 

It reminds me of something my Grandma Neydon used to wear, but since she was not loyal to any one perfume, that doesn't help. I know she wore Chanel No. 9, Shalimar and a lotion by Estee Lauder that came in a pale aqua tube... Florals are usually not my thing because they tend to irritate my sinuses and turn me into a sneeze machine, but this does not seem to be affecting me so far. It's not a "me" scent at this stage, but it would be quite lovely on someone who wears spicy/oriental florals.

 

Late dry down: After an hour, this has faded somewhat, but has retained the same spicy floral character that it acquired in the early stages of dry down. It's a biting, spicy, floral with some woody notes, and not a bit of sweetness to it; much more a traditional perfume blend than any of the other bpals I have tried. It's a very dry floral, which I expect is why it's the fire element in the series.

 

Conclusion: An accomplished and complex scent, but it's not for me.

 

Also, my skin chemistry could just be VERY weird right now. (Major stress is attacking me on all sides.)

[Inanna9]

I fully expected this to be so spicy it would burn, especially after a quick scan of the reviews, but skin chemistry is an interesting thing; this could not be more floral on me. My first impression was dragon's blood, which made sense because even the smallest amount will amp up on me, but now there's no trace of it at all--just a really strong, almost-but-not-quite spicy floral. I wish I knew what this was, but I'm still figuring out my single notes as I go along.

 

I do know that the next time I wear this, whether for ritual or not, I will be using much less. I like it, but a little of my buddy the salamander goes a very long way.

[Shollin]

First sniff: Salamander is a contradiction in a bottle as far as my nose is concerned. To me, it smells cold… cold enough to burn. Coldly spicy. Arrogant, astringent cold.

 

Wearing: It’s still just bizarrely cold. I think the astringency is what’s making me think that, because it affects my nose (physically, I mean) the same way mint does, that odd tingly almost-numbness just inside. And as it dries… wow. From ice to fire. The drydown reminds me very much of my sister’s spice mix for chai – sweet cinnamon, ginger and black pepper. I like this. I have to send it back, sadly, but it’s made me want to revisit Eclipse and Chimera to see if I can recapture the same sort of idea.

Edited February 10, 2006 by Shollin

[QueenFae]

I didn't get cinnamon from this one at all. It's definitely a "red" smell, but not a red hots, cinnamon type red smell; instead more like Wildfire. It is a bit herbal, but not in a sharp or icky way, its smooth and pleasant and soothing. My skin pulls the sweetness out of everything, so I actually get a light floral undertone, and maybe a hint of tea leaves. It's all so beautifully blended that it's a really hard scent to describe. But I like it, and I'm glad I traded an imp of Gnome for this, because this is way better!

[cuervosueno]

I wanted this more for ritual work than anything, but I do enjoy the scent too.

 

No cinnamon on me, though there is a bit of spice/heat that could perhaps be pepper--it reminds me of the white pepper in Three Witches.

 

Mostly what I get is a serious blast of Dragon's Blood. In fact, at first that's all I got. No surprise there--it has DB's color, and both in the imp and on me it has that sweet spice that is almost floral. I didn't get anything else at all.

 

but after awhile, another scent peeked through. I don't know what it is, but it is a floral, one that is slightly earthy, almost funky. Narcissus? I don't usually like Narcissus (so ok, I usually hate it) but it might give this slightly boggy floral scent. Or some sort of lily, I suppose. Reminds me of a bulb flower, which makes sense for the blend.

 

Overall, its fairly one-dimensional on me, but since I got it for purposes other than perfume, that's fine.

 

And interestingly, the first time I tried it was right before I took a much needed nap. I fell into a deep sleep and had a dream of being told to "not ignore the extraordinary, because though its fleeting, its real." And in my dream I suddenly saw a golden city, aflame with light, and beautiful red gold clouds above it. that disappeared in a flash, and I was left on a normal city street, pondering what I'd just seen.

 

So though i had no ritual intentions when I tried Salamander, I think of that dream as a gift from the oil.

[malabar]

Cinnamony with a warm center. Nice, but nothing special. I find it hard to tell Red Phoenix from Blood Moon from Salamander - on me, they all end up bring very similar.

[Penance]

Origin:

 

Imp from my Imp Pimp, Diana.

 

Preconceived notions:

 

I've been curious about this one since the Elementals were first introduced, so I'm excited to get a chance to try this.

 

First sniff:

 

I was expecting something medicinal in this, but this is more...almost vetiver-like for some reason. It's a bit earthy, strong and almost harsh smelling in a way. Very interesting!

 

Wet on skin:

 

Okay, it's changing now that it's on my skin. I smell dragon's blood in this and maybe a bit of vetiver. This reminds me of some of the Tarot blends although I can't pin down which ones, it's just a general feeling.

 

Dry down:

 

I'm sure there's dragon's blood in this and possibly jasmine and vetiver. I was expecting something quite a bit harsher and more medicinal and this is more earthy in an almost bitter way.

 

The bottom line:

 

I like this, but I don't love it, so I'm not too upset not to have gotten a bottle when I had the chance.

[Voleuse]

This is warm on first application, and...I'm not sure how to describe it. There's a hint of cinnamon, but also something like incense, as well as herbs.

 

As it dries, it becomes more astringent. Weird. It's a cool scent, but also one that I imagine would fireball if lit, you know? And it gets very astringent over time. I wouldn't use it as perfume, but it is rather invigorating. It's definitely something to wear with intent.