Ace of Wands

[viciousviolet]

From Tarot Oils

 

The tarot blends are so complex, they’re very difficult for me to describe. This one is appropriately fiery, but it’s not just the scent of spice. It’s the feeling of warmth from a flame, searing desert winds, and the glow of coals. The scent is dry and hot, with a spicy herbal note, and something green under it all, perhaps rosemary. Oddly, I don't detect any traditionally "fiery" notes in it, like cinnamon.

[jj_j]

The tarot blends are so complex, they’re very difficult for me to describe.

 

Ditto. The series of Aces, in particular, has been difficult for me, because they don't ... resonate? ... with my senses like the others do. The Ace of Wands has that peculiar not-quite pepto-bismol scent that's also in the Wheel of Fortune - I've yet to place that scent, but it's very light and almost like something electric or perhaps melted by heat.

[Shollin]

First sniff: The Ace of Wands is warm and sweet-spicy (no cherries here!) with a touch of incense. Matches its bright red-orange colour very well.

 

Wearing: More sweet spice. I can almost picture little tongues of flame flickering up my neck from where I applied the scent. It strikes me as a bold scent even though it’s quite light on my skin. The sweetness dims quickly, but it leaves a hint of something that’s astringently sweet, maybe even licoricey. There's a dry feel to it too, not dusty but more like sunwarmed sand sifting through your fingers.

[twistygirl]

Sweet and fiery, but not smoky-fiery and not cinnamon-fiery, more like just heat (although it doesn't feel hot, it feels "heat"). I'm picking up on the somewhat medicinal undertone and it smells sort of like camphor or eucalyptus on me. It's interesting how there's a battle going on my arm right now between the oils in this one. This is a warrior's scent. It almost reminds me of something that's spent some time in a smokehouse. Could there be tobacco in here? It's a bit masculine for me to wear as a scent but it's something I will use in my tarot studies.

[TheDarkMother]

In the bottle, it reminds me of cherry Vick's Vapo Rub. Could be interesting.

 

On me, I can smell dragon's heart, eucalyptus, and that Vick's vapo-rub smell. The longer its on, the more the dragon's blood begins to come out more, leaving that cherry smell lingering on my wrist. Hmm...is that a little verbena that I smell in there as well? A cherry-lemon medicinal scent...kinda minty too.

 

Looks like this one is a keeper too!

[xoe]

Hmmmm. Almond & cedar? Something maybe minty? Dragon's blood? Notice all the question marks? Ace of Wands is difficult to pin down. The card itself is not one with which I am very familiar, which doesn't help my reviewing skill at all.

 

HEh. This review was probably helpful to noone. Sorry about that. It is definitely an interesting blend and worth a try.

[scourgeotheseas]

Ace of Wands

 

In the bottle: Bright red. Oooh! Dragon’s blood, I can smell you!

 

On me: Dragon’s Blood and a musk, which quickly fades to just Dragon’s Blood. This is an enjoyable scent while it’s on, but not memorable in any way. Which is strange, because the rest of the Tarot are generally complex and lingering (in the mind, at least).

[brownbat]

Hmm. Floral, cinnamon and dragon's blood? It's getting a bit medicinal now. It is a light, slightly sweet scent. I'm don't generally like dragon's blood, and this blend is no exception.

[Penance]

Origin:

 

Astrobabe gifted me with an imp of this.

 

First sniff:

 

I smell dragon's blood very strongly in this. It's almost cherry-like but definitely dragon's blood. I don't really smell anything else in here although I can tell there's more to it, somehow.

 

Wet on skin:

 

Dragon's blood is still the dominant note, but there's definitely something else here, too...it's vaguely woody, although I'm not sure that it is wood of any kind. It could very well be something else entirely that just has a woody quality to it if that makes sense. The initial cherry sweetness has died down, which is good because cherries remind me of almonds and almonds are my arch-nemesis.

 

Dry down:

 

Wow, that's...different. Now I'm getting dragon's blood and what smells like basil, which is a little weird. For some reason, this reminds me of Temple of Dreams with dragon's blood added. The longer this sets on my skin, the more prominent the herbal note (whatever it may be) becomes, until it's the dominating note.

 

The bottom line:

 

I'm not sure how much I like this, but I'm going to hang onto it for a while and give it another shot before I make a final decision.

[Rheliwen]

Hmmm...

 

In the vial it smells like tart dragon's blood.

 

Wet: This is weird. I definitely smell dragon's blood, but there's also this sour, bitter note there that doesn't seem quite right. I recognize it but can't place it. Oh, now that I read Penance's review, it does smell herbal...like fresh thyme or lemongrass, maybe basil. Something with a bit of tartness.

 

Dry: That note is starting to go away, but I can still smell it in the background. Now I am detecting a musk in there of medium build accompanying the dragon's blood. The herbal note is morphing a bit and I can smell sweet sage somewhere in the depths of this blend. Ah, this is much more pleasant! It gets softer and softer as time goes on...and I like it better and better at each stage.

 

It seems like chemistry is going to dictate what note is amped on your skin.

Edited April 22, 2005 by Rheliwen

[Nepthys]

This smelled very pretty in the imp, a hot bright gold. Unfortunately on me it went on quite smokey, then turned into a hot version of Vicks Vapor Rub. Eventually I got the Dragon's Blood everyone else could smell, but the medicinal sterile note underneath continued to bother me. Too bad.

[Witch's Dagger]

Ace of Wands

 

This was a part of the Tarot swap - since I need to review all of them in a very short time, this will be a brief review.

 

In the vial: Cinnamon and dragon’s blood. Fiery, but not sharp, this is more of a warm scent than a hot one.

 

On me:

The spice comes out a little stronger, but the dragon’s blood keeps it strong and stiff. This is a wand for sure - flaming tip, but essentially a staff of wood. It will not bend, but stands firm. Now, I’m getting a few other spices, some of which remind me of Indian cooking - it adds a bit of passion and desire to the scent.

 

In 10 minutes:

Again, the spices have receded, giving the forefront to the dragons blood.

 

Overall:

I like this. I think it works well for the Ace of Wands, with its firm strength (dragons blood), its passion, and its fiery spices.

[ashtonrose]

A firey red in the bottle. I was expecting heat and I definitely smell something warm. Some are describing Dragon's Blood and that could definitely be it. The heat or warmth reminds me of a red hot candy.

[mmcfa2]

dragons's blood and eucaluptus or cyprus? reminds me of dragon tears but tamer. I like this one very much. I wonder if the afinity for a scent indicates an affinity for the card? ( I know nothing about tarot)

[fallow deer]

Hmmm... I can only detect Dragon's Blood in the Ace of Wands. Perhaps there's an inkling of spice, but very little.

 

I'm not really a fire type, and don't feel much affinity for this oil.

[coulrophobe]

In the bottle - dragon's blood, with a dry wood scent, like sandalwood or cedar

On - huh... where'd the wood go?

 

 

On me, this was straight dragon's blood, which tends to be a very sweet, heavy floral with my chemistry. Ace of Wands also faded relatively quickly on me - after 2 hours, there was only the faintest breath of dragon's blood on my wrist. Not one I'll be ordering a full bottle of, but I'm curious about all the Tarot blends and was glad to be able to get my hands on an imp.

[sarada]

I like dragon's blood, but whenever it is combined with any kind of spice it winds up smelling fairly awful on me. This does not, but I can't really tell for sure if there's a spice intermingled with the blood. I expected a woodier smell for Ace of Wands even though it is a Fire scent. I'm going to say there's probably not any cinnamon in this because I don't get a hot feeling on my skin and it doesn't turn into the "cheap cinnamon potpourri" scent that any blend with cinnamon in it, automatically turns to on me.

 

Approaching this just as a scent, it's not a dragon's blood scent that I would wear -- it looks like Dragon's Heart and Dragon's Bone are the only ones for me in that regard -- but as a Tarot oil, it is undeniably fiery without being "hot." Seeing the imagine of a hand holding a wand makes me think of wood rather than fire, and that is the scent that I am yearning for, so I just can't quite wrap my head around this one. Other than the blood, I can't tell what is in it at all -- clove maybe? Clove doesn't turn into craft store potpourri on me, that might be it. Some vageuly spicy wood? I'm not sure.

[UltraViolet]

~Ace of Wands~

 

In the bottle

Ohh. It's wonderful in the bottle, it's orangey and...conflagrant.

 

On

I just fall for the fiery blends hook, line and sinker every time. I don't know why this surprises me since I am an Aries.

Eucalyptus, orange, pepper, clove too maybe? There's a wee bit of sweetness in here, which is unexpected and nice.

When I first smelled it, it smelled akin to "Seraglio", except without the rose and incensey lovliness. This is more spicy orange with an minty-herb lovilness...and a bit more fiery. It's not fiery in a a "Hellfire" nor an "Inferno" way, not as much.

 

30 minutes

It's alot sweeter now, and more peppery. Less orangey.

I'm wondering if there's white lotus in here. I don't know why there would be but it kind of smells like it.

Candied and spiced orange peel. OMG.

 

Throw:

A bit more than average because of the eucalyptus.

 

Scent category:

Spicy/citrus

 

Summary

Orangey at first

Then eucalyptus-y

Then sweet herb-y

It actually goes straight though my blood stream and warms my tummy. I suspect there's cinnamon in here as cinnamon makes that nice glow within me whenever I wear it in a blend. It's not strong enough for me to be able to pick it though like in "Malkuth", "Hellfire", "Inferno".

Dried, It's candied and spiced orange peel. Fabulous.

 

Purchase again?

Most definitely yes. Another 10ml if and when I ran out.

 

1-5 rating (5 being best)

4.5

Edited June 20, 2005 by UltraViolet

[tempete]

Ace of Wands totally surprised me. I got a smooth woody note (must be Beth's lovely red sandalwood) and a note that was reminiscent of cherry, but not quite. When I read other people's reviews, I realized that the pseudo-cherry note comes from dragon's blood resin. Normally, my skin does spectacularly awful things with this note, but in Ace of Wands, it just melds with the wood note so beautifully. This is a strong, confident scent, and I hope to pick up a bottle soon.

[Nisaba]

In the bottle, this is sharp, astringent.

 

Wet, I detect some aniseed, and a woody scent.

 

On dry down it's still sharp, then morphs into a very spicy scent. This keeps morphing - for a bit it went eucalyptus, now it's floral... I can't keep up!

 

As this was part of a swap cricle, I didn't get time to make up my mind on this scent. Certainly an experience!

[parrot_suspect]

Starts out medicinal, but in a pleasant way -- like spicy herbal cough drops. Do I detect eucalyptus? It slowly evolves into a balsamic, slightly woodsy, slightly spicy scent. In the end it's sweet and balsamic. A pleasant scent. I think people who like resinous, woodsy or spicy blends will like this one. Not sure if I'll get a big bottle, but I'm glad I had a chance to sample it.

[quimerula]

It starts spicy and dry. I think I can smell pepper on this one.

It's like Dragon's Blood with something sweet.

A strong and commanding scent.

[voodoobaby]

I can most definitely tell you that there is red musk here. It explodes on my skin like it does in every other blend. There's also an odd metallic smell that I recognize from Aunt Caroline's Money Bag (which, as my sister pointed out, appropriately smells like loose change). The longer it sits, the lighter it gets, until it's nothing more than a very light musk scent.

[wickedgoddess]

Wet - cinnamon, but a soft, light cinnamon, more pink than red. Probably some dragon's blood and possibly carnation too.

 

Dry - this is what I was hoping Fire Eater would smell like. This is really nice. It's soft and warm, spicy but not too spicy. I seem to detect an herbal element, but I am not sure what it is. Ooh, after a while, I think red musk peaks its head out. Oh this is truly gorgeous, and lasts a decent amount of time as well. I will definitely consider getting a bottle of this down the road, it's that good.

 

On the wickedgoddess scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being best, this rates a 4.

[grrrlennyl]

at first: something sharp, reminiscent of ozone, but not ozone.

on: really sweet and fruity. there's a darkness to this, too. i think there might be anise in it.

1 hour later: warmer. dark with a hint of something fruity. very lovely.

2.5 hours later: very light. spicy and a bit powdery.

overall: nice, but not a perfume for me.