Arcana

[girl_android]

The essence of magickal enigmas and long-forgotten esoteric mysteries. Frankincense, rosemary, lavender, neroli, and verbena.

I had a small menagerie of imps descend upon me in the last couple of days ... with more to come, too!

In the imp, this smells very strongly of rosemary and lavender... it's doing a good job of scaring me, I'm not the biggest lavender fan. Nothing that brings to mind verbena or neroli, though.

Wet on skin ... this actually reminds me of herb garden and kitcheny smells. As it dries down, there is indeed something that makes me think lemon.

Dry on skin, the scent wafting is more of a floral thing ... not really my thing though, but someone else might give it a nice home (;

[Pachelbel]

I was this close to selling this one off, because I'd never had opportunity to really wear it before. But then I saw it, was curious, saw frankincense (I've been on a big incense kick lately) and was even more curious.

 

IN THE BOTTLE: flowers, resin, lots and lots of lavendar. Enough that it almost makes me dizzy.

 

WET: It almost instantly starts to warm up, getting more and more spicy. It reminds me of when I made a flower pillow for my friend--the flowers were dry and crumbling and smelled wonderful.

 

DRY: Sweet, dark, rich frankincense. I love frankincense. When I first moved out on my own I burned frankincense incense every morning, and when I came home from work the scent in my apartment put me instantly at ease, so this makes me very happy. Sometimes there's a waft of some spice or other, but I don't know if that's just Arcana blending with the lotion I had on, or another note I can't place. Either way, I love it. And I'm keeping it.

[Quiara]

The first time I tried this was during a sniff-session at a party last Saturday. The scent reminded me of old paper, in a good way. That evening, after my shower, I dabbed on some more and was surprised that it smelled totally different. This time, my nose kept insisting "formaldehyde!" I was all set to write Arcana off when today I decided to try again.

 

In the imp: slightly citrus, herbal, floral. An interesting, if confusing, scent.

 

Wet: LEMON. I like lemon and on me it's not the lemon pledge a lot of people get from it, but it's almost totally lemon for about 5 - 10 minutes.

 

Drydown: The lemon is now completely gone. I smell lavendar and frankincense primarily. It's a sweet, deep smell that would be overpowering in larger quantities. Thankfully, I applied just a tiny dab to each wrist. The smell makes me think of falling asleep in a tranquil, holy place where incense and herbs mingle and create a sense of calm and peace.

 

Dry: It's sweeter now. Still calming, but slightly too sweet for my tastes. With it having smelled so differently on me each time I've tried it, I think I will likely keep my imp for future testing and analysis.

 

Later: All that's left, hours later, is a slight incense-y, smokey smell which I quite like. It reminds me of something I can't quite place. In this stage, it reminds me of my skin, only better. Interesting. I wonder, though, whether the final phase is worth the hours in which it's too sweet. I'm still undecided.

[outofrhyme]

In the bottle:

Something smells really good and really familiar. It might be the lavender/rosemary/lemon combo. Somehow reminds me of a tarot deck... particularly my tarot deck, actually. Very pungent.

 

Wet:

Rosemary, lemon and a touch of lavender. Like a good Bath & Body Works soap or something. The lemon definitely is a little bit "lemon pledge."

 

Dry down:

The rosemary/neroli (?) have come out a lot more. There's still some lemon pledge, but it's not screaming I AM HOUSEHOLD CLEANER anymore. The lavender is nice. My skin is sweetening it in a really tasty way.

Final thoughts:

It's very complex, and I really like it. It's very bright and fresh, and the notes hit me in waves in each whiff - first the lemon, then the rosemary, then the lavender, then the neroli. It smells very good. As much as I like it, though, it's not really a scent for me to wear a lot - it's just too lemony.

[talula_fairie]

I really didn't like this one, which is a shame, because Lavender is one of my favorite scents. Unfortunately though, I *hate* lemon verbana. So that's what ruins it for me, with this one. Too bad. It's very well blended I can tell, but that verbana note just says "lemon pledge" to me. Also this one smells quite masculine on my skin.

[Voleuse]

Sharp, strong lavender is all I smell on first sniff, dominating and overwhelming all the other blends. Herbal and a little warm, though I think I detect a bright note of verbena in the background. As it dries, the blend cools, but the lavender never backs down. Yipes!

[White Falcon]

This smelled like a York Peppermint Patty to me...???

[oh_the_horror]

It seems like the lab's lavender doesn't work too well on me. Someone once described it as 'gamey' and that fits. There's a hint of rootbeer in the background of this one. Something kind of tart, which is probably the verbena. I'm just not liking this one.

[Analise]

In the bottle: Lemon is overwhelming, though I think I get a whiff of the rosemary

 

On my skin: still very lemony (this happened to me with namaste too)

 

After a few minutes: other scents trying to come through, but whatever it is I'm getting past the lemon isn't something I'd want to smell like, though I can't put a name to it.

[filigree_shadow]

The verbena seems fairly strong at first, and then the rosemary and lavender come out. It ends up smelling like a sweet herbal scent, slightly medicinal -- the lavender and verbena are most prominent.

[sh1mm3r]

At first, citrus cough drops, but dries quickly to a very strong lavender. This has the sharpness of alcohol in the background too (I think that is the rosemary). It has the impression of a purpose (as in, I wouldn't wear this just for a scent).

[isabella]

like an herb closet lol. it smells comforting to me.

[Bagfish]

Lovely herbal lemon verbena and a bit of lavender in the vial and on my skin at first, but as usual frankincense comes out to play in its ususal bullying fashion and goes all acrid and bitter on my skin. I wish I could wear frankincense, but I have yet to find a BPAL with it in that works

[RemAkimichi]

In the Bottle: Citrus, citrus, citrus. Like lemons and grapefruit with a touch of something earthy.

 

On me (wet): Lemon pledge! Seriously, very strong lemon, with a bit of something astringent, and somewhere deep down that earthy herb smell coming through.

 

On me (dry): Arnold palmer- lemonaid and herbal tea mixed together. Very light, with mostly the sweet lemon coming through.

 

Overall: A great scent for cloudy days when you need a bit of sunshine in a bottle. The lemon can be overwhelming at first, but quickly dies down into a soft scent with a bit of that lovely citrus sting to it. Grade A

[space girl lost]

WEIRD.

 

it touched my skin as overwhelming rosemary and lavender. the second time i smelled it just shortly thereafter, it was VERY lemony. and that is where it is staying. lemons with an herbal background. it's okay smelling, but i don't actually want to physically smell of a clean kitchen myself.

 

another for the swaps.

[dzurlady]

In the vial: Lavender overshadowing rosemary, with a tiny hint of frankincense. Nice!

 

On me, wet: Just like in the vial.

 

On me, dry: Potpourri with lemon and frankincense sitting uncomfortably on top of it - all three scents clearly distinguishable and not at all mixed. And it didn't morph at all. Off to the swaps.

Edited May 14, 2007 by dzurlady

[wolfwynd]

Woah, lemon! A cross between lemonade and lemon boiled sweets. A pleasant scent but not for me. I was gutted I didn't get the lavender everyone else did, I love lavender

 

Might keep it though and give it another go later, I really want the lavender!

Edited May 29, 2007 by wolfwynd

[bryghtrose]

This was very sharp. The lemon verbena and rosemary made it smell like cleaning products. Not for me at all. I don't do good with strong herbals/food scents.

I couldn't detect the frankinsence at all.

The best thing about this scent is that it has no staying power on me at all.

[kwsix]

In the bottle: Soft herbs

 

Wet on my skin: Soft herbs, lavender, and a hint of citrus

 

Drydown: Same as above, but a little woodsy now because the frankincense is coming out to play

 

Overall: I really like this scent! It's soft and comforting on me. The citrus never goes sharp like it seems to for some people. It's a nice alternative to my usual fruity/sweet/girly blends. It stays well blended on my skin, and all of the notes play nice with each other. I was afraid it would be too masculine, but it's definitely gender neutral on me. It's one of my stepson's top 3 scents. He says it smells like trees.

[Miseraya]

In the imp: Yuck. Lavender. Sharp, medicinal and astringent herbs. Heavy lavender and rosemary in this, with a bite of neroli.

 

On the wrist: About the same as in the imp, but with a hint of the frankincense as well now. My body loves to amp frankincense, so I am not at all surprised that it's swimming up through everything else only after being put on.

 

Dry: Softened quite a bit from it's in the imp first impression. The frankincense and my body chemistry have conspired to turn this into a powdery lavender incense, with only the faintest hint of rosemary and nothing of the other notes. I can occasionally catch a lemon note in this, but only if I'm smelling it unintentionally, if I bring my wrist up close it gets lost entirely. This one is quite a changeling, and it may be great for someone with a love of lavender and frankincense, but it's just not for me.

Edited June 8, 2007 by Miseraya

[CrazyPretzel]

This is so much lighter than I expected -- the lavendar in this doesn't come across too sharply, and initially there's a quite bubbly citrus note That'll be the neroli and verbena, I expect... On me, this smells like a very posh, gentle-but-spicy lemon fragrance. Quite nice!

 

ETA: Once the top notes faded, I smelled like soft frankincense all day. I love this one!

Edited June 26, 2007 by Baitu

[DifferentDances]

Imp: Whoa there! Settle down, you're moving too quickly for my shy, timid nose.

Wet on skin: Frankincense so strong it almost makes my eyes water. But I'm hanging in there!

Drydown: Lemony incense. Erm...

Dry: Pledge-y incense. It feels like a pile of wet pledge wipes dumped in the middle of a headshop for no apparent reason.

 

Interesting scent, and I can see why someone other than me would like it, but I'm going to have to pass.

 

My rating: 2/5

[Naamah_Darling]

Stridently herbal, this is all lavender and rosemary and lemon verbena, with a pleasant undertone of frankincense and neroli once it hits the skin.

 

This is very herbal, clean, smells much like what I'd expect fantasy-novel bedding to smell like. Fresh and herb-rich, sweet and clean.

 

The main scent is lavender, even once it's settled down a bit. It reminds me of some of the Stations of the Sun scents, especially Khephra. In fact, it smells almost exactly like Khephra, except where Khephra had cinnamon, Arcana has neroli. Hmm.

 

This would be a good scent for linens, I think, or for bath products, but I'm not too fond of it as a perfume. I don't care for lavender, lavender doesn't care for me. I'll eat it, I'll sniff it, I think it's pretty, but I don't enjoy smelling like it. This one is definitely getting swapped.

 

Recommended if you like herbal lavender scents, worth looking into. Less noxious than many lavender blends.

[tinyvulture]

to me, this is the scent of relaxation. imagine it was a long, stressful, hot day but now you’re finally home, freshly showered, in your comfy clothes. you’ve got the shades drawn, air conditioning turned up, relaxing on the couch, burning head shop incense, sucking on lemon drops, with a lavender eye mask over your eyes. ahhhh. you’re even starting to feel energized again. really nice.

 

ADDED Nov. 24:

 

a contradictory blend -- soothing, calming lavender contrasts with the peppy, cheerful citrus of verbena and neroli. there’s a lovely soft layer of powdery, resinous frankincense, and hints of sharp, medicinal rosemary that come and go. i like it, only it’s a bit too bright and citrusy for me.

[Mixxi]

In the imp: LAVENDER. Loud, herbal lavender.

 

Wet on skin: Lavender calms down a bit and out pops a citrus smell which would be the lemon verbena I imagine.

 

Dry: Quite subtle now can still smell the lavender above everything and the citrus but there's a hint of neroli in here too. Overall smells like a herbally floral. This is pleasant enough but not really my cup of tea at all in a perfume. Might give it another go otherwise it'll have to find another home.