Incantation

[TrayLynn]

Though thy slumber may be deep,
Yet thy spirit shall not sleep;
There are shades which will not vanish,
There are thoughts thou canst not banish;
By a power to thee unknown,
Thou canst never be alone;
Thou art wrapt as with a shroud,
Thou art gather'd in a cloud;
And for ever shalt thou dwell
In the spirit of this spell.

A profound and entrancing potion. Deep, wispy, and unfathomably dark: vetiver, dark woods, crumbling and burnt black sandalwood and a drop of lemon rind.

This oil is beautiful. It’s light and dark at the same time. The lemon rind lifts you up and the sandalwood makes you feel mysterious. It was lasted for about 6 hours on me and made me feel breezy and cool on a hot summer day. This oil embodies words spoken in a shady forest taken and tumbled by the wind.

[paperdoll]

Initial Sniff: In the bottle this is dry and dark with an edge of citrus.

 

Wearing: This remained very dry smelling on my skin - almost dusty, definitely scorched and black. It faded very quickly.

 

Final Impressions: This contains two notes which almost always work on me (vetiver and sandalwood), but this combination really didn't work. I felt a bit singed around the edges.

[TygherRayn]

In the bottle: Ooooh! This is smooth, and warm and lovely. Sweet, on a second sniff. This is another of those 'occult-shop-incense' kind of smells.

 

Wet: My skin kinda bumps-up the lemon in this, but it remains entangled in the woodsiness of this scent. I get an image of a shadowy forest, walking through it eating candied citrus peel, discussing the secrets of the universe with no one in particular.

 

Wearing: vaniclion ordered some of this, so I'm really very glad we got it as an extra in an earlier order. Yum! I could use this as more than just a perfume too. A linen spray, a room scent .. candles, soaps, incense .. the works!

[Ina Garten Davita]

First Impression: The scent of my favorite hand soap captured in a bottle. Reminds me so much of Radox Supersoap Cleansing formula with thyme and tea tree oil. Has an astringent quality about it.

 

Second Impression: Wow, this one really changes and it caught me totally off guard. The dry down on me was SO much like Cerutti 1881 for men (a spicy blend of herbs, patchouli and fragrant woods).

 

Final Analysis: It's amazing how scents can bring back memories. This one brought up some very painful ones for me along with that infinite feeling of heartbreak, when you think it will never mend. I don't know if I'll want to open this imp again. If I do it will be bittersweet torture.

[any_old_actress]

FIRST SNIFF: light, airy - definitely wispy

 

WEARING IT: lemon rind, vetiver, sandalwood. i don't find this dark, but the exact opposite - it's light and lovely...i find it burns my nose a bit with each sniff. i can't smell any of the dark woods though and after a while it turns soapy on me which is too bad 'cause it sure is pretty!

 

VERDICT: indeed it's lovely at first, but just not me.

[sarabeegee]

In the bottle: deeply woodsy, but the lemon rind gives it a juicy twist.

 

First impression on my skin: very spicy green vetiver, and the lemon rind continues to add a freshness. After a minute or two, this smells like an intense version of Guerlain "Vetiver" mixed with Roger & Gallet Vetiver soap.

 

Dry down: the same green spiciness has continued, with the lemon fading away, and a slight sandalwood layer becoming more prominent, but still the same nice fresh soapy vetiver.

 

Verdict: Wonderful sophisticated blend that is very masculine, although I like it and would wear it on those days when I need a vetiver fix.

[heartbeast]

I loooove Incantation!! I find it comforting, empowering, and relaxing. It sort of pulses throughout the day; it hangs back with a comforting smoky fireplace or bonfire sort of smell to it and then the vetiver will surge forward in such a way that makes me think "Hmmm, this is really masculine; do I want to be wearing it as a perfume?" But I love it so, it's hard to resist! At the very least I will save this for magical work. Oh, and staying power? This one hangs around on clothes for *days*! The longest lasting of any of my BPALs so far.

 

It is as if Herne or Cernunnos or some other very strong, powerful and wild yet gentle and nurturing male deity is following me around all day. The pulse of the vetiver is when he squeezes my shoulder and whispers in my left ear "it's okay, sweetheart; I've got your back."

[Vaniclion]

Mmm. This is delicious!

 

Warm, sweet, smooth... like a magic potion, as I believe someone else said. A tasty magical potion, I should say. Potions have a reputation for being ghastly tasting things. This one at least smells good

 

Fresh on, I get a florist shop... but less clinical. There's no snip and cut here. This is a Dryad's haven, a trysting place full of hope and expectation. It's dark, green and incredible. Sweet without being candy, and floral without the blooms. This is another nurturing scent, very familiar and comforting. I see this reminding me of the lushness of spring in the winter... as if we have real winters in the South. On a particularly cold day, then.

[isyche]

On my skin, Incantation alternates between smelling like dark green fresh-cut stems and beeing eerily like some kind of cologne my father used to wear. The other scents I've tried with vetiver have not been good on me, but it seems to be tamed in this.

 

It's nice, but quite masculine, and it reminds me too much of my dad to wear it myself.

[Northernminx]

Something about lemon in the oils and my skin doesn't work. Orange and other citrus seems fine but lemon just over-rides every other scent in there.

 

Mysterious and yet crisp in the bottle, this one just washed out into lemon pledge on me. So very sad as it was a lovely scent until the lemon bapped me over the head again. Lemons just aren't me.

 

Into the swap she goes!

[ninglor]

The lemon rind and sandalwood combine to remind me sharply of pine: rainy spring days back at home in Pennsylvania. Bright and crisp, mossy undertones. I got this as a free imp, and I may entertain the idea of a 5ml in the future. Whoever said that this oil evokes memory, I'm inclined to agree.

[xoe]

Wow! This one definitely captures wispy, in that wisps of scent keep wafting up to greet me and enliven me. If I smell my wrists, I can barely smell it. It's definitely a wafter and not a clinger. And it is absolutely beautiful.

 

I can't identify the individual notes in it. They've combined beautifully on me. Score one for body chemistry this time. Heartbeast said she finds it "comforting, empowering and relaxing". Yes, indeed. It's true.

 

And, it's one of the few that makes my boyfriend go, "Oooh. You smell so good." He's usually very reticent about giving out olfactory compliments.

[Shollin]

First sniff: Dry and astringent, and a little bit soapy.

 

Wearing: Hrm. Soapy lemon over something darker, still very astringent. I’m not sold just yet. Election Night at the paper and I didn’t really have time to notice it throughout the drydown, but by the end of the night, Incantation hadn’t made an impression.

[Dolly Dimple]

When I first put this on, it reminded me strongly of Imperial Leather soap, which my parents always had/have in the bathroom (and which I couldn't stand!) It gets a bit less soapy as the day goes on, although that note's still there, but it becomes more sandalwoody, which is a scent that never seems to work for me. Not my thing at all.

[Tesseljoan]

Vetiver always walks a fine line on my skin: It can be gorgeous, or it can smell like sweat. Incantation goes through a short phase of Body odour, but it dries down to a dry, fresh masculine smell. Not too masculine that I can't get away with wearing it, by the way, but I will try to convince my boyfriend to give this a try.

[ebonykawai]

My scent machines must be totally out of whack on this one. All I get is that Violet gum my uncle used to chew.

 

[Mandarin]

There are nights in Florida, in the late winter, early spring, when the wind comes skirling out of nowhere and the air is so cold it stings to breathe it. This is the smell of that kind of night, if nights like that had a smell..all cold swirling winds and the stars glinting up above as hard as chips of glass in a black velvet sky. I love this scent. It's sweeping vetiver and something else, airy and fresh and it really lifts my spirits.

Edited August 3, 2004 by Mandarin

[twistygirl]

Beth threw this in my latest order as an extra, and since I generally find vetiver to be overwhelming, I didn't think I'd like this much. I was wrong. This is a very clean, warm, rich, aristocratic scent, but it is, to me, a distinctly masculine scent. It's absolutely gorgeous, but I associate vetiver pretty much exclusively with men's fragrances, so although I love the way this smells, it's not something I'll wear myself. If I were a man, or if I had a man in my life that I had to smell every day, I'd definitely be getting a large bottle of this. It's very sexy, and it's blended perfectly. It's not too lemony, not too vetiver-y, just a perfect smooth blend of fantastic masculinity.

[Lady_Ell]

This sounds so interesting, but the vetiver overwhelmed everything else and combined with the lemon, I just got a strong green and soapy smell - anyone remember Prell shampoo? That's what I thought I smelled like.

 

Interestingly, Mr. L told me I smelled good, and he rarely says any such thing (except for Aureus, he likes that one). I think I'll have to swap this, unfortunately. It got really strong and soapy and sneezy as the day wore on. It didn't smell bad, but I didn't feel like I smelled like me.

[VelvetSky]

This is a scent that I'd be more likely to use in candle magick or ritual than to wear on my body. Incantation is an extremely dark scent...no, it's black. Even the little tang of lemon rind doesn't lift this for me, although I can definitely tell it's there.

 

Even though it's dark, it's also smooth...like wrapping yourself in a jet-black velvet cape. I adore the vetiver in this blend, because it reminds me of being outdoors at night. It's green, but a deep, dark green.

 

Normally sandalwood causes things to go soft and mellow on my skin. The sandalwood here seems a bit different. Still soft, but there is something sinister about this sandalwood.

 

On the drydown, it's soapy, but not in an unpleasant way.

[nevermore]

Incantation simply turns too masculine on my skin. The vetiver dominates, and makes it so that I can’t smell any of the other notes. I think it would smell amazing on the right guy though. This one will be swapped (as I have no guy to try it on).

[madame royale]

Sometimes, I just don’t want to smell like a bouquet of flowers. Or a basket of fruit. Or a spice rack. Or wine. Or anything else that can be defined or categorized. Sometimes, I just want to smell like me, only better. I’ve never found that scent until I tried Incantation. Wet, it doesn’t smell like anything truly discernible: something green, something sharp, something fresh. On, it blossoms into nothing truly discernible: something soft, something clean, something deep. Although it has flower-like qualities, I wouldn’t say it’s floral, and it’s certainly more complex than any floral I’ve met.

 

This is a scent that you can own, where nobody will immediately recognize the notes of what exactly you’re wearing. It will eventually become, quite simply, your personal smell. Beth deserves every hosanna bestowed upon her—Incantation is a revelation. A 10 ml bottle for me, post haste.

 

ETA: After wearing more of this, I still love it, but it's turned a bit too masculine for my daily use. I'll still buy a big bottle for monsieur royale on whom this is delicious.

Edited August 18, 2004 by madame royale

[Nepthys]

I knew from the description that I would love this and I was right. I missed out on June Gloom but this scent sort of hit what I was looking for -- a suggestion of an overcast summer day, damp and fresh yet dark. This reminds me of those silent moments in a forest before a storm when all of the birds are silent and you can smell that tangy damp woods smell; this has that same profound, unsettling and invigorating feeling. Very nice.

 

ETA: So many moons later, I had to say that I just love this scent. My reactions to most BPAL seem to fluctuate so much - currently I am off all sweet scents - but Incantation always has that mysterious, fresh impact on me. This is the perfect summer scent to me because it reminds me of so many pleasant summer associations - being in a library on a hot day, walking through the woods before a storm, even clubbing. Definitely one of my top 5.

Edited April 14, 2005 by Nepthys

[OdetteOdile]

Wood and tea leaves.

Smells exactly like one of the Comme des Garcons incense-y smelling scents - "White" or "2 or maybe "Sequoia."

This is an interesting scent - the kind that grows on me & makes me keep smelling my hand. I'll have to try this again.

Definitely an evening scent.

[Red_Hot_Mama]

Well, ladies, let me tell you this is one HOT blend!

 

My husband never notices my perfume. In fact, I've made a bit of a game of it...to see if he notices what I'm wearing.

 

Oh my goodness, does he EVER notice. Pm me if you want the "details": this is unbelievable.

 

I sometimes get the "body odor" from the vetivert but not every time. Incantation then becomes a complex sandlewood, musky cloud surrounding me.

 

This perfume is deep, rich, sexy & lasts a long time.

 

What more could a girl ask for?

 

I bought a 10ml.

 

RHM

 

Edited November 15, 2004 by Red_Hot_Mama