Jacob's Ladder

[Kelism]

The meeting of Heaven and Earth: golden amber, galbanum, benzoin, ambrette, rockrose, costus and tonka.

2005

I bought a bottle unsniffed because I heard that it is similar to BBW Sensual Amber.


For me this is very much creamy amber. Golden, smooth, glowing resin with a little smokeyness to it. It is definitely a low, deep scent for me. Kind of earthy but not in a dirt kind of way.

If I had to give it a color, it would be creamy amber. A feeling? Warm sun on a cold day.

[heysunshine]

2006: A golden fragrance (and a golden oil). Has the feel of a high end perfume. Amber without turning to powder; a smoky/dusty scent.

[brsis]

Initial thoughts: I liked the name and the concept more than anything, but it's a pretty safe bet I'll like the fragrance as well because I tend to be a shoe-in for resins. Amber is good, tonka is a relative of the vanilla family, I believe, of which I'm rather fond - benzoin has certainly never given me any trouble. I'm hoping for something rich and resinous and slightly sweet.

 

In the bottle: Rich, smoggy amber, with a lighter, sweeter, ever-so-slightly floral undertone. It most certainly is golden, but the amber makes it quite heady.

 

On the wrist, wet: Amber again, but mellower. This is indeed a resinous scent. And now there's something sharper and higher pitched coming out - it's almost citrus except that it behaves nothing like citrus does on my skin. This is actually a lot like a good amber perfume that you'd buy from one of the big perfume houses - nice and rich.

 

Some time later: On the drydown, this is lovely. The sharper note, whatever it was, fades away after fifteen minutes or so and you're left with gorgeous rich, golden amber incense, that has none of the smoky, smoggy or musty qualities I often associate with 'incense' scents.

 

For the first few hours, this has some of the qualities I associate with Herr Drosselmeyer, my other Yuletide scent, despite sharing no common notes - it smells of warmth.

 

Verdict: Definately a keeper, but something I will wear more in the autumn and winter than right now.

 

Tl;Dr: Clean, golden amber incense. Decent staying power and throw.

[veronicafranco]

ooh.

first impression - uh oh, manleh?

second - not too much so, hi rockrose...

and - oh, so that's benzoin. gotcha. mm.

 

while drying, this makes me think of a pale schwarzer mond. cannot explain very well, but it does.

dry - others have mentioned scents that smell high end/rich to them... for me, this is one of those. it's pearl-colored cashmere.

hmm, because i am the kind of girl who lives in a neighborhood with actual millionaires, but likes 6 dollar jeans from the clearance rack at target - not yet sure it's my style. it could definitely grow on me, though.

 

adding a few days later... yes, growing-on-me appears to have commenced... i put some on the nape of my neck before bed last night (which i like to do with soft ambery scents) and i'm still catching nice wafts of it this morning. today i am pretty sure it's the same amber from mag mell.... which is one of my loves, so there you go.

Edited November 8, 2008 by veronicafranco

[hkhm]

bottle: amber. lots of warm, rich amber with some benzoin and tonka.

 

wet: very golden amber... somehow, this reminds me of the steamworks scents. it's not metallic of anything but it's shiny and golden smelling.

 

dry: amber and benzoin.

[Wwindy]

('05 release)

 

This really, really reminds me of a cross between The Sportive Sun and Heavenly Love & Earthly Love. (I know, those came later, but I tried them first!)

 

Lots of lovely amber and resin, maybe a bit powdery but not unpleasantly so, with faint vanilla/floral overtones. If this were music, I would say it's a variation on the theme of the two blends previously mentioned, transposed a little higher up -- sorry, that's not a very objective description, but I don't know how else to put it...

[porcelina]

i like my resins and incense blends, but i like them dark and smoky. jacob's ladder is much lighter and brighter than i expected. it hints at florals, which totally turns me off. i had the same experience with all saints. meh. not the best, not the worst.

[Gwydion]

In bottle: Rich sexy women’s perfume. Very 1975. All that amber and ambrette is mimicking a musk, though the effect is lighter. I am not familiar with costus, but I’m guessing that’s the strong unfamiliar scent blending with the other vaguely famliar ones to create a unique herb and incense undertow. Wet The scent becomes better balanced with the heat of my skin. It retains it’s heady womanly effect and as promised in the sales pitch does indeed suggest the meeting of heaven and earth. Once the tonka comes out, it all goes slightly sour. It seems to react badly with one of the elements, at least when combined with my own natural scent, adding a hint of nursery not in keeping with the dark exotic beauty the rest of the blend has going on. Dry: This really turned on me. It goes all chalky, which is weird with the amber, amberette, and the dark green notes. Your mileage may vary as I can tell much of the issue is my body chemistry not liking it at all.

[strangemodegirl]

I took a chance with this. I adore amber, but 99% of the time it turns to baby powder on my skin.

I glad I took the chance. This is beautiful. Very golden. Kinda makes me think of summer rather than Yule.

I have had it on for about 2 hours now and no powder, plus, staying power seems to be excellent!

Yay!

I finally have an amber blend that works!

[rayvn1]

I've been enjoying amber in other BPAL blends, so I thought I'd give this one a shot. This dried into a sweet, light and extremely powdery woman's perfume. Nice, but I don't think its going to stay in my imp box long.

[Schmoozy]

2005

A beautiful and bright resinous oil. Amber and benzoin with tonka, come together to produce a sexy, slightly creamy, golden scent. On my skin this is stunning. It feels rich and powerful, and yet it has this feeling of being able to fade into the background. Since the one I have has been aged, I can't wait to get this fresh and see what is in store.

[greenranger]

2008 version.

 

This started off a golden resin scent...and then it faded. It is a faint golden resin scent. Clean and expensive smelling but, faint.

 

This is a fresh 2008 bottle and I suspect that I will need to let this age just a bit before it shines.

 

~edit in August of 09~

 

I got this back in November of '08. It is now August of '09 and the scent is a little richer. It is still not terribly powerful nor does it have much throw. On me this is a skin scent; I'll probably wear it when I want to smell like me, but, a little more golden and warm. I like it, and I'll likely take it out of the aging box now and put it in my scent rotation, but, I really wish it were stronger.

 

Maybe next year?

Edited August 8, 2009 by Aerinha

[Delirium1009]

2008 version

 

In bottle/imp: Amber plus bitter resins and green notes.

 

Immediately on skin: The amber in this is nice and warm, but it’s matched with some cloying notes and resins. Something in this is turning powdery on me, and it smells a bit plastic-y too.

 

After a little while: This is so not me… there’s a bit of amber, a touch of powder, resins, and something cloying but smooth. This isn’t really sweet, but it has a definite golden feel to it.

 

Overall Impressions: This just doesn’t work on me… I don’t know enough about the notes to say which one it is, but something here is rather cloying to my nose. The amber is nice, and the resins give this a nice richness, but that other note just makes this wrong on my skin.

[Lyrical]

In vial: slightly spicy golden resin.

 

Wet on skin: warm, rich and golden, and very sophisticated. There's a slight cologne-y sharpness too. It's not heavy. I like it a lot so far, and I think it will age brilliantly.

 

Dry on skin: golden amber, with something a little sweet, and something spicy that tickles my nose. Unisex and very wearable. But it gradually develops a weird note that I also get from Queen of Sheba and Brisingamen. I think I'll stick with Inez for ambery lovliness.

[Jasminepearls]

Jacob's Ladder '08 smells gloriously golden and amber-y in the imp, and pretty much stays that way on my skin. I get a slight woodsy note peeking through, almost earthy, but mostly amber. Smooth smooth amber. This one is blended so well, I know that I am smelling all of the components but they just smell so warm and glowing together. Too bad it doesn't have much throw on me.

[Ohmaude]

2008

 

I missed this the last time it was around, as I wasn't in the trying-every-LE stage. I was so excited because I LOVE Amber.

 

In the vial this is golden, sweet and resiny. Everything I have heard about Jacobs Ladder. Joy!

 

On my skin, however, this goes to sadville. The sweetness fades, the Ambrette too musky, the rockrose too acrid-sharp, the Galbanum too green apple-y and the whole result is old avon perfume and sour baby powder. No sweet warm benzoin. This makes the back of my throat burn. I'm heartbroken.

 

However, I'm getting over a cold, and I just went to sniff some of my favorite BPAL as a comparison and they are smelling a little "off." So I'm not ready to throw in the towel quite yet. I'm putting the decant aside and will be back to edit this with my final verdict. (Please please please be my bad sniffer)

[Juushika]

The 2008 version.

 

In the vial: Slightly bitter golden resin. But don't mind me, I never love the bottle scent.

 

On me: The bitterness fades, but the sweetness of the tonka never comes out. As this dries and warms on the skin, it blossoms into something beautiful. It's not particularly complex, nor that different from the vial, and no one note is distinct to my nose. But together, they create an epitomic golden resin: not an individual, but an ideal. Golden, softly glowing, smooth, not too deep, powderless but not quite polished to a shine. I don't get any powder, or sweetness, or women's perfume—just lovely golden resin. Sadly the throw is short, but the wear length is long.

 

Verdict: This is not my perfect amber blend (that's Haunted), and so it doesn't quite send me into throes of ecstasy. But Jacob's Ladder is undeniably beautiful. This is golden amber, pure but never simple, exactly what I wanted. It's a must for amber lovers, and I shall treasure my decant—and I'm considering a bottle because it's sure to age well. Lovely.

Edited November 22, 2008 by Juushika

[neuilly]

Before I even read the description I wrote: lots of gorgeous amber combined with something very earthy.

 

 

So I guess heaven and earth it is!! I'm not sure how I feel about the earth part yet. There are moments when I realize what a nice compliment to the amber is it and other times when I think that I don't want to smell earthy.

[Dark Alice]

Intially this was very ambery.....BPAL amber and I have an on again off again love affair. In fact, it was too strong wet and too sweet.

 

But dried down: This is a gorgeous rich ambery scent.....this scent even invokes the color of golden amber to me....I love....I just think that I will using my bottle sparingly as a little bit goes a long way!

[milo]

I ordered a bottle unsniffed because I thought I would like this from the notes that were listed. I must say, I need another one. This reminds me a bit of Mead Moon, but not as honey-like, which is a good thing. There is a warm resiny sweetness, and it really doesn't change to much for me from wet to dry. This is like an overly strong, (but great!!) bpal, in the best stage after about 5 hours. You don't have to wait for the good to come, it is already there when you first put it on. This smells like an aged oil, it is so good, and it is already sensational. I can only imagine what it's going to be like aged.

Edited November 28, 2008 by milo

[sookster]

2008 version...

 

straight sniff from the imp is sweet golden amber...yummy!!

 

once applied lots of creaminess going on ... i am guessing the tonka and benzoin...

this is really, really pretty and i may need to get a big bottle of this beauty...

[jehrichardson]

Wow! This is rich and golden! It smells strongly of beeswax with a sweeter overtone of resins.

 

After a while it settles down - amber, beeswax, and resin. Golden and sweet. Then... it sort of disappears into the natural smell of my skin. Hm.

 

Well, it's gorgeous while it lasts.

[lothien]

I knew i should have just purchased a bottle of this. I have had really good luck lately with my choices, considering I am venturing into flowers and that scares me, 'cause the oldlady thing happens more often than I'd like.

 

In the imp this is slightly floral and sweet in an ambery/musky way.

 

On wet, a slightly perfumey scent, heady but gorgeous. Feminine, not girly. I wait to see what the flowers will do. There is still plenty of time for them to do something evil. I start to get something gingery, which is the costus, I think? It's a nice balance to the amber. Normally darker ambers like me better. This is a lighter amber - the kind which always threatens to go powdery but doesn't - and I like the gingery scent as a balance. It's grounding, not distinct.

As it dries I get more tonka (mmm) and the flowers are all mellowing out nicely (Yay!), and after they settle it's warm, spicy, resinous goldenness.

 

I am loving this. Of all of the Yules it was the one I thought might work best, and I guessed right. Flowery enough to be feminine - but a resin scent rather than a floral one. Absolutely yummy.

 

I got this decant today, and I've already found an unloved bottle in a forum sale.

I may have to get another before they leave 'town.'

 

ETA: on following applications, I am getting much more of a honeyed or beeswax scent, both at the very start and later in the drydown. I know there's no honey in this, but I'll take it!

 

Edited again to add that I liked the '08 so well, I found a bottle of '05, and I am happy that there is not a world of difference between new and aged. The "edges" of the sharper notes like that mild citrussy-ginger scent have been rounded off with time, though I have to say I like the drydown and lasting power better on the older model, so it's worth using that one first and letting my new one age a little.

It still reminds me a lot of what I like about Galvanic Goggles without the masculine balsam top note that takes forever to fade.

Edited December 28, 2008 by dragonsidhe

[mgrazulis]

Totally lured in by the description. Couldn't wait to try it when the decant arrived!

 

It was warm and ambery going on the skin, strong with benzoin and a touch of rockrose. Alas--it quickly turned powdery and cloying on my skin.

[astarinel]

I have a bottle of JL '05, and just received a bottle of JL '08. I wanted to post this, in case anyone was curious about year differences.

 

To me, they smell quite similar in terms of quality. A very warm, glowing golden scent dominated by amber. The '08 version is a touch lighter and sweeter. If I were pressed, I'd describe the scent of the new bottle as a paler, pink-tinged gold, while the '08 bottle is a darker, more orange-hued gold. Both last a long time, and seem to almost cling to skin.

 

However, the JL '05 is significantly stronger both in the bottle and in terms of its throw after I put it on. I would say that the perfumes are identical, with the only difference being that the amber strengthened and deepened with age. I'm probably going to grab another bottle of the '08 to age, just in case.