Ouija

[AEris]

Lush parlor rooms draped in thick velvets and gilded in gold, unearthly whispering in the distance, fleeting flashes of wraithlike figures rushing just outside your vision, the chill of a phantom presence brushing by your cheek, the inscrutable knowledge that disembodied eyes are peering at you from darkened corners… this is the essence of Victorian-era spiritualism: rosewood, oak and teak notes with wispy blue lilac, tea rose, dried white rose and ethereal osmanthus.

Lilac and rose with a hint of wood. I'm glad that the woods don't dominate, and this blend is actually quite wearable. I expected to hate it, but this seems to be one of Beth's rose blends that actually work on me.

I'm not a habitual rose wearer, but I do appreciate this.

4.2 out of 5 Edited April 16, 2008 by AEris

[savage_rose]

This smells like smoky tobacco, then wood, and then...a palest hint of rose. I smell like a pipe-smoking Grandma. As far as the theme, I think it is captured well here. But as far as a scent I would wear, not really. I don't like smelling like an ashtray, no matter how interesting that wood note is, no matter how sweet that rose.

[greenranger]

This imp hid from me earlier and I ended up trying Voodoo instead.

 

 

In the imp, roses, and ...something... behind that I can't make out.

 

Wet on me, roses, and another floral...lilac? Where is the wood hiding? Even my wrists, which usually amp wood and resin, are amping rose instead.

 

Nice, but, I have several rose scents already.

[CordeliaSeduced]

I was anxious to try this, because I've been working on a lot of research into the history of parapsychology and this obviously fits into the theme. The imp smelled strongly of floral and tame woods, neither of which I typically wear. Once on my skin, it's all lilac and polished wood. After a few hours of drying, there's a deep, smoky, dusty undertone that makes it a little...smothering?

It's floral and woody, but mysterious and moody. I like it for occasions, but I probably wouldn't wear enough of it to dignify a bottle.

[Honeygirl]

Bottle: Generic floral

 

Wet: Very dry and ethereal scent. In the bottle it was generic floral, but here it becomes much more complex.

Very dry and antique.

 

Drydown: Again, florals are not my scent, they amp on me unbearably and I don't like them to begin with.

2.5 outta 5

[sprocket21]

I expected this to be ROSE ROSE ROSE on me, because rose loves me like nothing else, but I can't detect it. The strongest note is lilac, which is pretty but turns quite soapy on me. It is quite a pretty scent though, very feminine with just the right level of sweetness. The perfect use for it would be to use it in an oil burner during a tea party.

[secretstars]

hi all, this is my very first review! this and Jack are the first BPAL scents I have ever bought, so here goes nothing:

 

when I first opened it, it smelled like cedar and lacquered teak. which is cool.

 

wet on the skin, it was OH MY GOD SOAP SOAP SOAP WHYYYYY. and uh, cedar. which wasn't so cool.

 

it's been dry for maybe half an hour, and it's still hella soap, but i think there are finally flowers existing somewhere in there... a lot of people have said that this scent changes a LOT over time, so i'm gonna make a sandwich and stuff and get back to this.

 

so, it's now been an hour and a half since i put this stuff on, and i have decided i like it. i don't smell soap anymore, it's more like powder. not baby powder, just, um, i don't know. scented powder. scented like tea rose. i don't smell any of the other flowers at all.

 

you know what it smells a lot like? Evelyn Rose lotion from Crabtree and Evelyn. i have it and i've always liked putting it on because of how it smelled.

 

this does have the potential for old lady perfume smell, but it's still pretty classy, so i quite like it.

 

[Indigo78]

Wet on my skin the woods, oddly, seem to appear first. Within seconds I get the Roses (screaming ones) and Lilacs (trying like the dickens to be noticed). Together everything is quite sharp and somewhat aldehyde. The drydown is dusty and softly rosey...not too much of anything. This resembles some of the Ars Moriendi blends to me - there's an element of sadness and memories that are no longer remembered.

 

Not a full bottle purchase, but I will keep the imp for a point of reference. It also seems to have changed between now and the time I first tried it - may come back to revise this if I notice a difference the next time I try it!

[brsis]

Initial thoughts: Argh... woods, lilac and osmanthus is a wearable combination, but those roses are gonna spoil it for me, I can just tell.

 

In the imp: Wispy, wraith-like roses.

 

On the wrist, wet: Sticky roses and a breath of other florals... not my kind of thing.

 

Twenty minute later: Wispy, powdery pollen heavy florals... no go, I'm afraid.

 

Verdict: Swaps

 

Tl;Dr: Pale, powdery florals with the ghost of some wood notes underneath.

[cam]

In the bottle, this one seems interesting. Ethereal and woodsy, although a bit floral for my taste. Unfortunately on me, it smells exactly like Mrs. Meyers geranium-scented cleaning products. These are great for scrubbing my bathroom and kitchen, but I don't want to wear them. Off to the swap list.

[Iceblink]

I loved Seance and wanted to give Ouija a whirl, since they share some notes. This one starts out as strong rose, with that almost vinegary smell that some rose oils can have (ew!) but as it dries the lilac comes out and it actually smells like lilacs on me, which is unusual. The woods in the background give it some depth and keep it from smelling like old-lady floral powder. Very pretty and delicate.

[gingiemay]

Wet in imp - I get no wood, just the floral scents - rose, lilac and soap.

 

Wet on skin - Maybe a little bit of the teak, but still a soapy baby power rose lilac smell. Urgh.

 

Dry on skin - Rose lilac and a generic cheap cologne scent. This just isn't for me.

[WickedQueen918]

This was a free imp in my last order and I have to admit, the only one of the BPAL fragrances I've tried which I sadly absolutely DISDAINED!

 

In the vial: Reeked of a retirement home filled with dying old people (I know that's blunt, but that was the exact image which was evoked from my first sniff of Ouija).

 

Wet on skin: Ok, I love rose scents and they ordinarily smell lovely on me as do most florals, so the reason I hate this must be the woody notes. Yep, I've just come to the realization that I hate wood scents! HATE THEM! The rose tries to save this fragrance, but on my skin it's no use.

 

Drydown: Well, it's a bit better than it was in the vial but I still really dislike this scent.

 

Conclusion: Since it was a frimp, I'm not too disappointed. I'd never really tried wood scents before because I didn't think they'd be flattering on me, and now I see I was quite right.

[PersephonesChild]

I am in love with this!

I wore it yesterday for the first time, and was kind of uncertain based on how it smelled in the imp-- it came across as very woody, in a way that I thought might be too masculine for me. I hadn't reckoned on the lilac, rose, and osmanthus, though! The florals opened up on my skin, and gave a wonderfully sweet and airy overtone to one of the richest wood bases I've smelled. The overall scent is kind of dusty, I must admit-- the flowers smell dried to me, the woods old, but I'm very much still into it. I could imagine that this is one of those scents that many people read as "old lady scented"; to me, however, it has a gothic Victorian feel to it, too old for old lady and old enough to be considered a precious antique. I ended up reapplying it a few times yesterday-- something I almost never do, since I tend to change my scent throughout the day. At this rate, I'll be finishing the imp and buying a bottle within a month!

 

Also, I'd like to note that it reminds me a lot of the retail exclusive salon Autumn, which I also have a bottle of, though Ouija is generally richer.

[NixieCakes]

My skin hates rose. But Ouija actually works, thanks to the woods. I really like this one.

[plunderparlour]

i must have weird chemistry. on wet this smells like pepto bismol. dry alittle rose comes out and then shortly later its all gone.

[goblinshark]

In the imp: Mmm, sharp woods and soft florals

 

Wet on skin: ...Um. Pickles? Yes, that is definitely PICKLES. I smell like a dill patch.

 

Dry: Dusty pickles and BO. I am cracking up. Very amusing, but not for me. I am hungry now, though : D

[Gaidig]

In the bottle: I definitely get the rose and maybe something woody.

 

On me: Lilac comes to the front. I get the feel of an old library full of hard bound books with thick rag-paper pages. A home library in some Victorian, where there are built in shelves along the walls, rather than stacks of books piled close. There is a table in the middle of the room with a centerpiece of dried flowers. A velvety chaise sits in the corner with a Tiffany floor lamp to read by.

 

1 hour+ later: As time passes, the rosewood and teak emerge. This room is definitely paneled and the table in the center has been polished. Now, the velvet curtains are pulled shut, and it is warm and dark in the evening. Later the blend is mainly lilac with the other notes in the background making it more sophisticated than a simple floral.

[Dybael]

Okay, so after I put this on my mom comes into my room, and I ask her whether it smells more like wood polish or shoe polish. She said it smelled rather more like hospital, freshly disinfected hospital.

 

 

So yeah. I'm beginning to suspect that woods don't play nice with my skin chemistry, maybe. I got no florals from this, just some kind of stanky musty-but-gooey tarlike wood-goop. Some kind of polish, or maybe eau de lung cancer.

[themerrybaker]

The planchette moved to the "M" then to the "I" and on to the "N" and the "T". I think was starting to spell out "furniture wax" but I cheated and pushed it over to the big NO. I like wood blends, but Ouija was a total miss.

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

this was one of the first bottles i purchased, back in 2005. i bought it based on description alone and even though i've tested it a few times .... it just isn't for me. so i have found a better home for it, but thought i should add a quick review first!

 

on skin, wet: smells like cedar and violets - do blue lilacs smell kinda like violets?

 

on skin, after an hour: there's a creamy-sweet (Oval Portrait-like) base scent, with wafts of dried rose petals. i keep hoping for the rich, warm scent of woods but they never show up for me

[anastasia]

This one really entertains me. Even more so after reading the reviews...

When I put it on at first it is just wood wood wood and more wood! It makes me think of the biting baby hanging from the table by her teeth in the Lemony Snickett movie. This must be what she is tasting. Dark hard wood and maybe some kind of sinister wood polish. Then I get this wonderful minute by minute slow process of changing to flowers. I just love that! I really like the wood but am fully aware that the public might not. Then again it kind of smells like a fancy herbal sports rub at that stage so maybe I could just not care...

The flowers are perfect for this. They definitely smell antiqued. This is highly evocative of victorian parlour spiritualism and at the wood stage makes me laugh and think of some charlatan with a hard object strapped to her knee banging away with it under a beautiful wood table to make people think the spirits are knocking. Then the flowers come in and make me think of the real spirits hanging around the house, lingering...

I have been wearing this in the evening and I love the changes this goes through and the final scent but it is kind of fleeting and then I want to go put more on and start all over again. I may need a full bottle if I can afford it because I really like the way it is like an assortment of white roses and faded dried rosebuds floating in total darkness and I love the process of getting there. I would be curious to know what it is like if it kind of got built up from wearing it a couple of days in a row or lingering in clothes. I feel like I need a big bottle so I can get a handle on its consistant lingering scent.

[eeyorefl]

Very promising in the vial, but on a strong biting wintergreen, fading to a nice soft rose but still with that sharp mint lingering. Could the teak be the misbehaving wanker?

[femmefatale]

At first it's all rosewood, all the time. Then it dries down to sour old lady butt on me. Granted, I've never actually smelled old lady butt (a trend I hope to continue), but this is what I would imagine it would smell like.

Edited February 5, 2009 by Femme_Fatale

[amanderinorange]

This scent was very odd to me and I had to sniff it a few times.

 

In the imp: very minty. Like all mint. I had to go back to the description to see what it was supposed to be. I figured that it could be one of those scents where I had to put it on to smell the rose or anything else really.

 

On me: still mint. What happened to the tea rose or white rose? I kept it on for about half an hour to see if it would morph or something, but it remained mint. Amped up mint, which gave me a headache and then had to wash it off.

 

Overall: sad that I couldn't smell the roses at all as that is one of the scents I love. I ended up giving my sister this imp. I hope she has better luck with it than I did.