Charisma

[MirasolAbeille]

This is a powerful attraction and advancement blend. It aids in polishing and magnifying your best qualities, while downplaying your flaws. Increases charm and wit, and helps you shine in a crowd. Wear a drop on each chakra point.

Just chiming in with someone farther up the thread who recommended this blend for performance purposes. It definitely helps to focus my adrenaline into positive channels, rather than becoming this surfeit of scattered energy with the power to derail me. Generally I layer it, depending on the situation -- with Aunt Caroline's Joy Mojo if I need joie de vivre, with White Light if I want to stay calm onstage, with French Creole if there are donors in the audience.

And then there's the added benefit that I'm still wearing it at the inevitable reception, which makes me feel much more comfortable making small talk with strangers. I've noticed a difference in how people react to me, too -- they're warmer, more effusive, and complimentary in a way that normally embarrasses me and sends me into self-effacement mode. Wearing this scent helps me deal with that and then take charge of the conversation and guide it to where I want it to go.

Sort of amazing, really.

[GypsyRoseRed]

I wore this to meet with a person I was VERY nervous about meeting, and although it didn't seem to help me to feel any less jittery or any more charming, it did seem to have quite an effect on how this person perceived *me*. In fact.. the end result makes me wish I could wear Charisma all the time.

[kittycatpurr]

This is definitely amber. Since I find amber painful and sneezy, it wasn't a success for me.

 

Echoing others that it's a warm brown sugar aroma, with a pleasant smell of hops underneath.

[Magycmyste]

So, I've been using this for the past few months, for a while, every day, but lately, just before I go out (which isn't every day), and I don't always remember to anoint myself with it beforehand.

 

I tend to get along with people in general. I smile and try to be nice and polite to others, and they they're usually the same with me, and are usually willing to be helpful, sometimes moreso than with other people I know. So the outside viewer might say this is just how people are around me. When I wear Charisma, sometimes it seems like people are even more willing to go the extra mile to be nice to me. No miracles yet, but moreso than affecting other people's perception of me, Charisma is kind of like a good luck charm for me. I'll get parking spaces really close to the store, I went to the farmer's market today without hitting a SINGLE red light (and went through a few more lights than I normally do on the way to the market). The guy at the garden center was extra nice and friendly and helpful. I don't know if it's me or the TAL, but at the very least, the TAL seems to affect my own perception of me, and put me in a better mood.

 

And I can't place the notes, but I love the scent.

[Court Analyst/Strategist]

I don't know if it's me or the TAL, but at the very least, the TAL seems to affect my own perception of me, and put me in a better mood.

 

And I can't place the notes, but I love the scent.

 

Effectiveness: The quote above pretty much sums up my impression of Charisma thus far. I've only had the oil for about a month, but I wear it when I expect to interact with others outside the home and usually feel more confident and positive when wearing it. I also like to wear it with other oils, including Mercury to give a positive boost to my perception of my communication skills. This combination (Mercury and Charisma) helps me be less nervous than I might otherwise be during social situations and I do like, if not love, the scent. There is something about it that makes me want to apply Charisma frequently and I have, day after day.

 

Overall, no miracles have happened, but I will continue using Charisma. I'd also say its scent is simply more attractive and less pungent than Brass Balls on my skin and in the bottle, which is a plus. I still layer Charisma with something else because I feel the hops and amber and whatever else is in it may not be as appealing to others as it is to me, but it dries down to a pleasant powdery sweet scent after some time on my skin. In contrast, I rarely use my decant of Brass Balls because the scent is strong and almost violently soapy, for lack of a better description. So, there's that.

 

Will I keep my bottle? Yes. I may also buy another bottle depending on how well my enjoyment of this blend holds up over time and how fast I go through my first bottle.

 

Would I recommend Charisma? Yes.

[lady_pandora]

Charisma has a quieter effect on me than it does on some others, I think, but nonetheless I'm going to find this oil very useful. I feel like it increases my poise, helps me remember my manners*, makes me more graceful so I don't send my food ricocheting across the table while trying to cut it, and helps me keep from saying inane things that I'll lie awake at night criticizing myself for. Actually, I'm not sure whether it keeps me from saying anything inane or if it keeps me from obsessing about it, but either way, that's a darn good thing. It has fit in well with both party energy and work-luncheon energy, so I think it responds to my intent and the general mood around me.

 

The SCENT, wow. I am having to lecture myself that "well, I can always use more charisma" is not an excuse to wear Charisma every single day. I wouldn't want to, like, get desensitized to it anyway, if that's a thing. But this smells great. It starts with a scent like an older shampoo, maybe like classic VO5, which I always liked, and then a mixture of amber and honey comes out and is just warm and golden and glorious. Eventually it dries down to sweet and powdery, and I think I'm catching an occasional whiff of heliotrope, which is a note that never fails to make me happy. Amber and honey were some of my original favorite notes, and I've wandered afield from them a bit, and this is making me want to wear things in that family more often again.

 

*My poise and manners icon is Phedre no Delaunay. When in doubt, I ask myself, what would a fictional courtesan/spy do?

 

Edit, 4/26/15. I've now worn it two more times: once for a work event, once for a night out at the pub. Once again, at work, it gave me some extra poise. It did feel like there was kind of a snap-back late that night; I was uncommonly tired and at a loss for words, like I'd used up all my energy during the event. This could be either my magical or mundane energy, hard to say.

 

I then wore it for a night at the pub, and got complimented all night on my dress, once again didn't say anything I kicked myself about later, got hit on by a stranger, got lots of attention from the boyfriend, and overall just had a great time. I didn't even do the full application that time as I was in a hurry--I just dabbed some on my heart chakra and also put on some Alma Venus (the two blend well) and went. This stuff is great; I need a big bottle, because I don't want to ever have to go to a party without it. And even just scentwise it would crack my Top Ten.

Edited April 26, 2015 by lady_pandora

[Tal Shachar]

Looking at the other reviews, the scent of this one must vary wildly with people's skin chemistry. I get no honey, brown sugar, heliotrope, or even hops -- I do get amber and some weird note that's kinda like burning rubber and definitely not pleasant. I layered it with some aged Mme Moriarty to try to mask the smell from myself.

 

But it does work. I'm shy and have a lot of trouble with small talk, mind going blank, awkward stumbling, occasionally a mild stutter for colour. Today everyone I ran into wanted to chitchat more than normal, and I was...able to do it? I was able to volunteer details and not just act like I was being interrogated, and I didn't obsess over how I was coming across, and people seemed more animated with me. Maybe that doesn't seem like much, but I usually have to have a couple of drinks in me before I get to that level. This saves my liver!

 

I'm not sure if I'd want to wear this all the time because I feel like it makes me more visible (yeah, obviously, self), but this will be a lifesaver for parties and other social events where I need to smooth the conversations along and boost my confidence.

[Frolic]

Charisma is one of the few TALS I would reach for frequently if it were just a perfume. It smells amazing on me. I rarely get comments on my BPAL but every time I wear this I get complements. Nothing over the top or intrusive though. I did feel a bit awkward when a friend asked me what I was wearing that smelled so amazing.

 

The first time I used Charisma I thought that it was working just because I felt more confident but the last couple of times I think people were genuinely more warm and receptive to me.

[myoubi]

Not reviewing the scent but for the use.

 

Charisma is hit and miss on me. I find when it works it WORKS, but the difference is how long I take to really focus my intent. If I just slap it on and go about my business, it doesn't have any discernible effects. But when I take time to really sit, apart from everything else, and focus on how it makes me feel, Charisma can work wonders. I put a drop on each chakra point and the palms of my hands and imagine a glow of light coming out of each chakra point, one by one, until I feel haloed in warmth and light. I just sit there silently for a while, sometimes for a full couple of minutes, feeling apart from everything and living in that glow. I'm ready to go when I feel like I'm emanating warmth and brightness.

 

When I take the time to do that, it's remarkable. It's not just the effects of taking a few minutes to meditate. I've had people who knew me for years do a double take, like they were actually seeing me for the first time. Conversations are more animated and it feels easy to connect with people, like everyone you meet wants to know you better. But it's best used judiciously -- I have a bit of a 'drop' the day after. It's not a bad feeling, just like being a bit underslept and needing quiet and a nap, but all day. Not an everyday blend, but a very effective one when you take the time to charge it with intent.

Edited December 11, 2022 by myoubi