Ace of Swords

[grrrlennyl]

at first: something menthol-like, but it might just be very, very strong lavender.

on: fresh and almost fruity. light and clean. a bit ozone-y.

2 hours later: i just get the fainted hint of a fresh scent. this is pretty much gone.

overall: another oil to add to the meditation pile.

[Penance]

Origin:

 

The Tarot Series Circle.

 

First sniff:

 

Ace of Swords falls into the same category as The Magician and The Wheel of Fortune for me: a sort of herbal/licorice/fennel-like scent that I can’t quite pin down. This is almost medicinal smelling, but with a licorice tinge. I keep thinking there’s a common note that I’m confusing with licorice or fennel, but I’m not sure.

 

Wet on skin:

 

I still smell fennel, although it could be something else, but now there’s a strong lavender note backing it up. At this stage, this reminds me strongly of Baku.

 

Dry down:

 

Lavender is almost all I smell now, although I can tell there’s something else in here, too. It’s a sort of calm herbal scent with a slight sweetness to it.

 

The bottom line:

 

This reminds me of the Dream Blends. I’m not too big on lavender, though, so it’s really not quite me.

[k00kaburra]

In bottle: Light. Lavender. Slightly astringent. Bit green.

 

On me: Lavender and something a bit herbal. Perhaps rosemary? I really don't know. Goes nasty on my skin with a few minutes - hate to say it, but it literally goes to shit. Something in this blend doesn't agree with my chemistry one bit.

[Little Bird]

This is another Tarot blend that hates me. When I first put it on, it was sharp medicinal lavender. Underneath the sharpness was that cold menthol eucalyptus smell that I'm not at all fond of. Throughout the next hour or so I smelled mostly the cold lavender with whisps of sandalwood flitting in and out.

 

Then it suddenly turned into a lavender and lemon cleaning solution smell . I cannot wear lemon at all as a perfume. This blend just doesn't work for me.

[tarotgirl99]

This is so very Ace of Swords-y. Lavender, lemon, and a tiny slap of eucalyptus are the scents I get...but more importantly, it gently but firmly keeps reminding me to get back to work on my writing. It's mentally stimulating.

 

I love it for its effects, and like it very much for its scent.

[cupide430]

Ace of Swords

 

Lavender with a hint of citrus and a touch of something warmer and deeper behind it. Almost almondy but in a flat, not sweet way. As it dries the lavender intensifies. Unfortunately this is the lavender that doesn't work with my chemistry at all.

 

ETA After a bit the lavender completely goes away and I'm left with a warm sweet slightly spicy scent that smells a lot like traditional perfume and is very slightly reminiscent of Thierry Mugler's Angel.

Edited December 23, 2005 by cupide430

[cuervosueno]

Yikes! I'm trying this out of the tarot circle, and out of the imp, it smells like burnt plastic! So I sniffed the imp I got recently and while it was similiar, the burnt plastic wasn't quite so strong.

 

I put some on, and it morphs, thankfully, to an herbal lavender scent. I see why Penance compares it to the Wheel of Fortune and the Magician--it is similiar, though not as attractive on me. The lavender is quite strong, and it does evoke the card just a bit, because when I smell it, I get a picture of a spike of lavender held aloft like a sword.

 

It is also very like the dream blends as already noted, and I'm not huge on them.

 

The Ace of Swords is a favorite card of mine--I have it tattooed on my right bicep. I had high hopes for this, but I don't really like it enough to want to wear it.

[PurringPulsar]

Ace of Swords

 

In the imp: lavender! Lavender with something else, maybe a light floral.

Wet on skin: lovely sweet lavender with other floral/spice/herbal notes, reminds me of Paris and Sophia.

Dry: ooh, I like this. This is mellow lavender with other herbal notes and possibly a sweet floral note and a hint of something warm and spicy which reminds me of Sophia. A very pleasant herbal mix.

After a while: gorgeous! I think I smell vanilla or amber now. This now reminds me of Old Scratch-soft lavender smoothed out with a sweeter note. I think I also detect sandalwood in here. The scent is smooth, soothing and gentle…it’s not the sharpness I was expecting from the name.

As the lavender fades, I realise that the sweet note I smell in here is indeed amber, and I think it’s been muted nicely by sandalwood. I still gets hints of herbs and lavender here and there.

The scent that remains after a few hours is amber (I think I’m the only one who gets amber here…my skin is weird) with herbal notes-maybe thyme and sage.

Verdict: this is another one of my favourite Ace scents, after the Cups. It starts off with gentle lavender which then fades away to reveal a wonderful mellow amber scent with hints of herbs and possibly sandalwood as well. There may be some light spices and other floral notes in here too. The scent is also reminiscent of Old Scratch which I love. I’m not sure if I need a bottle yet but I really like this and will keep the imp.

[jamjar]

Sharp in the bottle, soft on my skin.

 

Honestly, as much as I like this one, what it reminds me most of is Johnson's Baby Lotion. For most of its duration, that's the strongest impression for me, though it does change a little after a few hours.

 

Of course, I have to say that I like the scent a lot -it's soft, it's pleasing, and it's a scent that I can imagine myself wearing a lot, but still. When I got my mum to smell it as well, in case it was just me, she had the same reaction.

 

Sophisticated, but I still pick up the Johnson's babylotion, to the point where I have trouble separating any individual notes in it.

[filigree_shadow]

Lavender and herby. Lots of lavender, actually. Slightly sour-smelling.

[juniperus]

Sharp, there is lavender here. And citrusy-feeling sweetness. I can't pick out a lot of notes, yet this reads as complexity to my nose.

[nightbird]

this scent does seem airy - is this the ozone note that people mention? I haven't been able to pick it out before. I think I smell neroli (based on how a friend's neroli essential oil smells) and maybe something faintly minty.

 

edit: after looking through the other reviews here, I recognize the lavendar too!

Edited September 9, 2006 by Nightbird

[edenssixthday]

Ace of Swords - This initially smells like a much lighter version of Somnus. It's all lavender and herbs. But after about 10 minutes on my skin, there's a very distinct note of poo underneath the lavender, and I think it's a mint note of some sort, since I seem to get the "poo" scent predominantly from certain blends with mint in them. It's unpleasant to me, and I have to wash it off.

[supremegoddessofall]

I'm not really sure. It's a bit tangy - maybe a bit of citrus? Definitely some unusual notes in here. Smells fairly masculine. Not really for me.

[cranberry]

This smells of lavender and white sandalwood. It’s a beautiful, airy scent that is slightly spicy and has a bit of heat to it (despite being airy). I love lavender and this blend is no exception, it’s beautiful and I’m so glad that I have a decant. I find it extremely soothing and calming. Wonderful.

[fiddledragon]

In imp: strong herbal lavender, with a citrus-spice background. It's a wakeful lavender rather than the sleepy lavender in the Somnium blends.

 

On me: lavender plus...something kind of herbally-citrus that I have a hard time picking out. A very well-blended oil.

 

It's not really my thing as far as perfume goes, but it's a great presentation of Swords. I could see using this as a focusing or studying oil. I'm intrigued by the fact that for the Ace of Pentacles and Wands, the two elements I'm most drawn to, I found the oils a good embodiment of the physical element, wheras with Cups and Swords, I identify them more with the metaphorical concepts they're supposed to embody and much less with the physical element.

[Vampy]

Oooh, I like this one. Lots of lavender, as others noted - though it was so startlingly different smelling when I first sniffed the imp that it took me a bit to realize that was what I was smelling. A very spicy lavender, plus a touch of something cold in my nose, but subtle enough that it's hard to pin down - I think anise or fennel, but I'm not sure. There's a sweetness suffusing it - lotus, I think. The boy said it smelled like a pleasant men's cologne - I disagreed. But then, after about 20 or 30 minutes, a woody note surfaced (couldn't determine what - sandalwood? cedar? both?), and then it did have a men's cologne sort of feel. It starts out cold and light purplish blue, and moves toward a darker purple, with that faint golden sweetness glowing through it the entire time. Like sunlight through a rain cloud. It's very soothing and head-clearing, in such a way that it would be good for both work/study or as a sleep aid.

Edited September 2, 2007 by Vampy

[fairnymph]

Sniffed: Light yellow oil. Strongly, almost sharply herbal. A little mentholic-medicinal. Manly. Lavender most strongly, with maybe some bergamot and basil below. Reminds me a lot of Temple of Dreams, actually.

 

Wet: Sweet, with an almost creamy vanillic note - either vanilla, or possibly benzoin - it does have a resiny sort of tone. Still reminds me of ToD a lot, but also now of TKO - very, very similar to TKO - I even get the weird celery note!

 

Dry: So, the basil is pretty distinct here and I'm almost positive the sweet vanillic note is benzoin, and both these aspects make it not-TKO. It's the same lavender note as in both ToD and TKO, though, and the same basil as in ToD. The citrusy note is elemi, I believe, and it has amped. A little more benzoin coming out, with a honeyish note to it. Still lots of basil and that 'celery' note.

 

Later: Stuff is AMPING and has crazy strong throw. A little goes a looong way. Definitely more elemi, and the lavender in this holds really well. This stage reminds me ALOT of Kalahantarika. Even more benzoin, but the greenery has faded greatly, and this is sharply sour-sweet now, with only light herbalness. It's gone oddly sour - elemi tends to do that, and goes sort of like cat urine on my skin after a while.

 

Summary: Final drydown: Kalahantarika/Temple of Dreams/TKO sour-herbal blend. Extremely strong throw (I can smell it through two shirts after walking 11 miles!) and longevity.

[zankoku_zen]

Okay, I get the giant blast on lavender when I first apply and on wet. That fades as it dries, and I get this citrusy floral (elemi?) but something that smells sort of like celery. Slightly sour, slightly herbal.

 

I wish the lavender had stuck around.

[JazzieCazzie]

Working my way through my alphabetical collection of imps and bottles and stunned to see that I never reviewed Ace of Swords (in fact, I can't find any Tarot reviews, which is odd because I am pretty sure that if I didn't get a complete imp collection at the time, I at least had SEVERAL) ... but onwards.

 

This is from an imp I decanted from my own original 10 ML bottle and my only remaining Tarot scent (though I am putting The World on my wish list, recalling that was also a favorite).

 

IMP: Pure lavender but very light and airy. I know it isn't "straight lavender oil" but that's the only note I am getting. Not that that is a bad thing since I am a lavender fanatic.

 

Applied to both wrists, crooks of arms and cleavage (note: I will ONLY do a cleavage application if I KNOW it's a scent I love because I've got a LOT of cleavage and it tends to be the one spot with legs -- no, my boobs do not have legs but the scent always lasts there longer).

 

WET: Even upon application to my skin, I'm not getting anything recognizable other than the lavender. It's a gentle version of it and a light and airy version, so I am sure it's working in wonderful cahoots with something else, but I have no idea what. The suggestion of others that it's white sandalwood makes sense to me since that is a note that I find works wonderfully with me 100% of the time, but generally doesn't "stand out" but rather morph with other notes on my skin.

 

DRY: Completely gone on my wrists. Noticeable but mildly in the crooks of my arms with something that could be very slightly white floral, perhaps? And in cleavage? AMPING up the lavender but with a second comfort scent which I'm guessing must be the sandalwood.

 

OVERALL: I love love love this. I think it would be the perfect lavender blend to give a newbie who doesn't love strong scents but likes lavender that doesn't smell "old ladyish." My daughter, who has tremendously different tastes than I do and is sensitive to strong scents (won't go into a Lush store, etc.) has been having a lot of headache issues and I think I am going to refill my imp to the top and send this along to her in my mommy-made headache first-aid box).

 

Sad that it's discontinued but wonder if it might at some point be re-introduced as part of the Somnus line? Would be a great addition to that.

 

5 out of 5.

[theseagrows]

all i smell is a strong lavender at first. lavender single note and not much else, if anything. after a couple minutes i get something kind of herbal but i have no idea what it is...maybe chamomile? jeez, why is this so hard to place?! i have been wearing this for 10 minutes and honestly, i feel like i get lavender and something softly herbal but i cannot pick it out at all. i tentatively say it reminds me of chamomile, but it "works" better with my skin chemistry, so i hesitate to say that's what it is. (what is it?!)

[whisperstilled]

This one has aged beautifully into a strong, wet lavender. Early reviews mention neroli, but I get nothing so sweet, just a strong extra something herbal as the previous reviewer noted. Clary sage, maybe? Chamomile is also a strong possibility. It's very soothing and pleasant. I would purchase this as a bedtime scent if I could still get my hands on it!