Arcana

[Ajila]

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

I tried this before reading the description and I was surprised to read about the lavender, neroli, rosemary and verbena, because on me this is pure frankincense, scarily so. I would have liked the herbs more I think and as it stands I have to admit this doesn't do it for me at all.

[arabella]

First Impression: Musky olive oil.

 

Dries down to: A sharp, dry, musky scent. I don't like this at all.

 

Additional Comments: Another one where the components really surprised me. I've always liked frankincense but it doesn't work in this combination on me. The rosemary must be where I'm getting the initial "olive oil" connection. Lavender is one of my favourite notes, but not here. And, I don't remember having a falling out with neroli or lemon verbena. For whatever reason, this just turns foul on me - like an old marinade. I think the rosemary is the main culprit here but isn't entirely to blame. This was a gift from the Lab so "no harm, no foul" here.

 

Lasted: Quite a few hours.

 

Rating: 1 out of 5

[LisasAura]

I received this in a swap done at another board. I haven't been able to figure it out for some time. I think the rosemary was throwing me. I agree with the previous comments that this is a very well blended scent. I don't get any lemon scent at all- I smell the verbena, lavender, rosemary and frankincense. I think it's the frankincense that pulls the herbal notes together and keeps it from being too strong of an herbal scent. The verbena makes it ever so slightly floral but that is a good thing, because without it, the rosemary and the lavender and frankincense might be too masculine.

 

It is kind of like a "spa" scent- relaxing and energizing at the same time. It's a very clear-headed scent. I am drawn to this scent more when I am very busy or in hot weather, or just want to decompress.

 

Very unusual- can't say I've ever smelled anything like it. Of course, that goes for a lot of BPAL scents!

[malanna]

Whoa, rosemary and lavender. Lots of lavender--I feel like I'm in a humid greenhouse. Shortly after, I'm picking up some frankincense and lemon verbena. This stage, which lasts for half an hour, at the most, smells like the lemon sherbets Dumbledore keeps offering everyone in Harry Potter. Then, in less than an hour, Arcana smells like sweet incense. Literally. The burning of incense, but less smokey. The gone-into-my-skin stage happens relatively quickly after application--less than four hours. It now smells faintly of sweaty, warm musk/person.

[moukin]

Arcana -

In the bottle: Hmm...light and herbal, citrusy and a bit astringent.

 

Wet, immediately on skin: ACK! This smells like lemon cough drops!

 

Hmm...thankfully it doesn't smell TOO medicinal for too long. A few minutes later, it is still lemony but not as much in a bad way. I smell the lavendar and other herbs, and they're making me feel very calm and a bit sleepy. I've been known to be VERY sensitive to the drowsy effects of lavendar, so I'm thinking this one can't be a daytime scent at least...maybe I shouldn't have tested this one right before work.

 

About 15 or so minutes later: Oooh...wow, the frankincense is starting to really tone down the lemon. Lemon and citrus in scents tend to make me think of household cleaners (and/or cough drops apparantly), so the frankincense coming out is a very good thing.

 

It seems like the frankincense and the rosemary are taking over the most. I barely smell lemon anymore...and this is starting to remind me of another scent I tested recently, but I can't quite remember...

 

Oh! Anne Bonny! This reminds me of Anne Bonny once it had completely dried on me. That sort of spicy/salty/herby/woody smell. *looks up Anne Bonny notes* It's the frankincense, I guess. And it's definitely not exactly the same, just reminded me of it a bit.

 

It's dry on my skin, and it smells dry...the frankincense tends to make things smell a bit dry and woody whenever I smell it in a blend. But now, I can smell all the components if I try to. They blend very nicely and it's a soft, soothing scent. It smells very old...like dry, old books and herbs. Very suiting to its name.

 

I can't decide if I'll keep this one or not, but I do like it. I think I want to try this on my fiance, too.

[brownbear]

Very herbal lavender with something green and something a little bit lemony. Ok I just read the description and yeah it smells like that. It's very relaxing, but a little too herbal for me to wear as perfume. oh well

[Little Bird]

I don't really like Arcana. Even though I don't really like lavender, I still try every blend that it's in, expecting to like it. I'm not sure why. Maybe it's one of those 'well everyone else loves it' sort of things. I do really like frankincense, but I don't smell it at all in Arcana.

 

First on this is very sharp, herbal lavender. Then in the drydown it's sharp lemon verbena and citrusy neroli. This isn't really green or herbal to me. Just citrus. And I don't really like strong citrus smells.

 

Sorry, Arcana, we just don't get along.

[BelladonnaBarbie]

Wow, it seems like I'm getting something completely different than most people on this one. It starts out like a aquatic lavender scent, in a very masculine way. I had initially assumed I wouldn't be able to wear despite my love for men's scents because it was sooo manly. I kind of forgot I put it on and went to read and then about half an hour later and lo and behold! Juke Joint! I absolutely loved the dry down of Juke Joint - it was a gorgeous, sugary, bay rum, but it took at least four hours for it to get to this stage. So, I'm very glad to have found out that I can get the exact same scent from Arcana but in much less time, and it stays true. I would definitely buy this in a 5 ML.

[Wench457]

This is quite herbal on me at first - I definitely smell the rosemary, which is good, because I love it. Once it dries, I smell exactly like my favorite occult bookstore. I love the scent, I'm just not quite sure I want to walk around smelling like an occult bookstore. Keeping the imp, though I will probably use it more as a room scent than as perfume.

[melange]

Mmmmm.

 

Imp: rosemary-lavender goodness.

 

Wet: lavender and lemon verbena.

 

Drydown: the frankincense begins to slowly emerge.

 

Worn: I have to admit that I want to just keep sniffing my wrists instead of picking out notes or even evaluating them. Sniffing makes it harder to type, it's true, and that's just the sacrifice I'm going to have to make. Let's just say that it's more of the same, a really nice blend that manages to be both fresh and (thanks to the frankincense) rich, which lasts a few hours on me.

 

Last thoughts: mmmmmmm. This could certainly become a daily scent (although I'll have to try it a couple more times to make certain). Why didn't I get it before?

[Orodemniades]

Very sharp and green when wet, soapy too. Reminds me of something poisonous, but i can't remember which plant. Is there lavender in this?? gah, don't know if I can wait for drydown...everytime I sniff my wrist the plant comes to mind, I just can't remember what it's called..

 

Drydown 10 min: Oh thank goodness, something lemony is cutting through, but that awful salty, soapy bitterness remains.

 

20 min: woodsmoke? Eh? There's something sweet in the background now, too.

 

Overall: Um, no. This reminds me of a white flower that grows on a bush commonly used in shrubbery. The flowers are pretty, but they smell just like this...stomach turningly awful. And the thing is, it doesn't smell like, y'know, a diaper or anything remotely like that, it's just extremely unpleasant on me.

 

Oro

[jasper17]

In the bottle, I get the sense of herbs, with some lavender and maybe a tiny hint of lemon.

 

On my skin, it immediately went creamy, with a warm, earthy, and maybe a tiny bit herbal but mostly a very soft, lemony scent. Very comforting - I spent the whole day being reminded of snuggling in a very cozy bed. Good staying power, too - after 18 hours, it still smells largely the same, which I find to be a rarity. This is definitely going into heavy rotation.

[LiberAmoris]

Arcana is lavender, lemon and vanilla (?!) on me and I really enjoy the combo. I tend to reach for resiny blends, but this is herbal and lovely in the same vein as Chiroptera.

 

Very pretty and will be gorgeous in the spring.

[aedes]

What a chameleon! Wet, this smelled yummy somehow, but I could put my finger on it. Like citrus and chocolate. As it dried, I got more and more of a husky but astringent note, almost minty but not quite. Like pennyroyal. Maybe it's the rosemary. Whatever it is has totally taken over and now it smells like being sick - Vick's and Riccola. Bnech!

Edited December 31, 2005 by aedes

[sookster]

frankincense and rosemary with a touch of lemon verbena...

interesting but not something that is working out .....

has some sort of bitter component that does not like me and

won't play nicely with the frankincense.........it very well could

be the rosemary....

[fiddlehead]

As soon as this oil is on my skin it blooms into this really interesting, unusual scent. I can smell the lavender and the lemon verbena along with the rosemary. I'm not sure about the neroli. The incense smell, which I guess is the Frankincense, holds it all together and grounds it. It lasts for hours and hours and keeps wafting this gentle, herby/incense scent, very subtle and mysterious smelling I think Arcana would be a good scent all year 'round, with the possible exception of summer.

 

This will be one of my 5ml purchases!

[theseagrows]

i got this as a frimp from the lab. it smells like powdery herbs with frankincense. it doesn't do anything for me, as i have no love for frankincense. but even beyond that, the herbal/powder smell isn't that great on my skin either.

[Ayln]

It's herby and slightly citrus-y from the verbena, which makes it a nice room scent but mostly unsuitable for everyday use. Not a bad scent per se, just not good as perfume.

[seamor]

I got a frimp! Yay!

 

Wet: Uh-oh...Lemon Pledge on the wrist (the combination of lemon verbena and rosemary?) but the throw is softer, sweeter. Dries fast, the throw transforming itself into frankincense, but when I sniff my wrist expecting incense, I get lemon again. Then, it changes - ahh…there’s the neroli. It is running rapidly through separate notes and adding a few that don’t seem to be listed – incense, neroli, a surprising waft of mint, incense again, amber? Doesn't seem to want to settle anywhere. No lavender yet.

 

The lemon is pretty much gone now, after only a couple of minutes. Now it’s kind of dusty; that “dry and ancient” feeling again, like Bastet, which is weird because it doesn’t seem to have any of the same ingredients. (Oh, maybe it’s me that’s ancient and dusty…hee hee)

 

About 20 minutes later: The lavender is coming up now, making a sweet, floral incense - I would swear I smell roses. It settles here, just the way I always want rose incense to smell, but somehow it never does. Lovely. Can't get enough.

 

2 hours later: I keep thinking it’s gone. I can’t smell much of it on my wrist, but there’s still some throw, and it wafts past my nose every now and then. The floral has dropped back now, leaving a faint frankincense.

 

Arcana only lasted a couple of hours on me, but it’s definitely worth re-applying periodically.

 

I did reapply it, and I got that minty scent again in the beginning – it wasn’t my imagination. Where is that coming from? The verbena, maybe?

 

This is a good one. I may not buy more, but I’ll certainly use up my imp.

 

Edited January 30, 2006 by celtimor

[Prolixity]

In the bottle: Rosemary, lavender, verbena. Very fresh. Not particularly sweet.

Wet on skin: Sharp and fresh and lemony. Lemony, herbal, and soapy. I'm not getting any incense out of this. Bright yellow.

Dry on skin: Sugary and lemony - juicy, heavy, sweet lemon. The lemony note that came up after it hit my skin has taken over entirely.

Over time: The lemon is GONE and has been entirely taken over by incense! Smoky and herbal and thick, though not powerful.

Overall: This isn't bad, but it doesn't glue my nose to my wrist either. This can go to someone else. 2.5/5

[Heretic]

In the vial: Lemons.

 

On my wrist: wet: Lemon furniture polish.

 

After 20 minutes: Lemon wet-nap (see the pattern here?).

 

After an hour: And the winner is...wait for it...lemons! Thanks for playing. You win a free trip to the swap pile.

[MistressTera]

Fresh From The Imp: I get hit by the lavender hard the moment I open the imp. As if I wasn't sleepy enough this morning without the help of a noseful of calming agent...

 

Wet On My Flesh: The verbena joins forces with the lavender now, creating a very strong lemon-floral aroma. Most of the imps I've tried so far haven't shown off more than two notes to me immediately upon application, and this is no exception.

 

Drying Down: Whoo, Pledge. It was going so well, and then it morphed into furniture polish. Lemony furniture polish, but furniture polish none-the-less.

 

Hour To Integrate: Whatever it was that caused that polish smell is gone now, leaving frankincense behind. I smell this resin more than the florals, but the florals are there, hiding under everything.

 

End Of Day/Final Report: I know I should be happy to have found something else I like, but DAMN. At least I don't like it enough to buy more than an imp.

[ariansdreams]

First Sniff (in imp): it smells kind of like what I use to polish my furniture with.

 

Wet: still smells like Pledge...mixed with cloves.

 

Dry: Still Pledge.

 

I wanted to like this one so much, but alas, it was not to be.

[jidabug]

As it usually does, the lavender smacks me right off with spicy, sharp woody bits. On drydown, the sharpness eases revealing lemon verbena and rosemary, with a slice of neroli. It went kind of oily citrus fragrance in the end, kind of like furniture polish.

[feline.by.design]

I can't believe I hadn't reviewed this scent. It's the first 10 ml bottle I've ever purchased from the general catalogue that wasn't a Tarot or Illumination or the like, because I use this oil quite frequently as a sleep aid.

 

Arcana is a wonderful herbal scent kissed with the nice lemon touch of verbena. I think my affinity for it is because it resembles some of the scents in the Somnus line. It really helps me get to sleep, and I use the bottle religiously most nights, although lately I've been trying to experiment just to see what effect other oils have.

 

Arcana is a very unisex fragrance. My skin doesn't really do the "furniture polish" thing, but then again I don't polish furniture that often (read: never) so I don't often get that association from lemon or verbena scents.

 

Okay! I still can't believe I didn't review this scent by the way. Seriously, I was hurting for that 10 ml, as I annihilated an imp once I found out what an awesome sleep oil this made.

 

-doreen