Tintagel

[lissamc]

According to legend, the birthplace of King Arthur. The scent of a castle's great hall in the midst of joyous feasting. Spicy mulled wine flowing through the musky heat, warm leather and bright clash of armor, the damp branches of Cornish hawthorn, blackthorn, juniper, English elm and bayberry, and the magical tingle of dragon's blood resin.

Wet: A hit of wood/spice, with a waft of something sweet. Nice. I want more on than just a dab off the imp wand.

1 hour: Glowing wax candles--that must be the bayberry? Holiday garlands, mellow cinnamon, rustling velvet skirts, and a hint of red wine. Something to wear to SCA feasts. I like.

2 hours: Fading. Still hot wax and holiday spices, overlayed with a layer of...dust?

4 hours: Mellow candles, sweet spices, warm wood. I've got to get my nose a couple of inches from my wrist to smell it reliably, but I get a waft occasionally as I move.

Verdict: Very nice. I'll keep the imp to try again, so I can see if the nose tickling dust stage was the oil or something I kicked up while sewing.

[Elisabeth-Anne]

The lovely Tintagel....this is a very special scent!

 

In bottle: It smells like Christmas scented candles and ripe red fruit.

 

Wet on Skin: The spice comes out as it dries.

 

Drydown: The leather and wine are making themselves known. It's very warm. The wine and spice are taking me right back to the Weihnachtsmärkte (Christmas markets) in Germany. I am suddenly very nostalgic and craving Glühwein (mulled wine).

 

In conclusion, Tintagel is very evocative and comforting. I am really going to enjoy this when autumn comes around!

[Eros]

Dragon's blood is the first thing that comes through in this~YUMMERS!!

After about five minutes, juniper...not favorite of mine. Fortunately, the other notes are keeping it at bay

Warm, slightly musky with just the right touch of sweetness. I think this would be gorgeous on Hubby, *if* it doesn't give him a headache...Like it's trying to do to me

Lovely blend, but that headache thing... Juniper, baaad.

[quimerula]

This one is a winter scent.

I get mulled wine, trees and dragon's blood when it's wet.

It's warm and spicy, a comforting perfume.

It's a bit like a Christmas candle, and dry it goes a bit lighter.

A really lovely scent that makes me think about knights and a place where everything is possible.

[slave1]

In Bottle: Very herby and woody.

 

On Skin: This smells like a herb garden, very medicinal as well. The wine gives it some sweetness and the leather makes it feel strong and thick. At the base of it all is the Dragon’s Blood resin which is very warm and sweet. But the herbal notes are the lead players and just a bit too harsh for me.

[Miss Lynx]

The bayberry comes out most strongly on me, with a slight smokiness making it smell a lot like bayberry candles burning. But it's a fairly complex scent and there are definitely other undertones to it. I can definitely get spiced wine from it, but not so much the leather.

 

It's a bit sweet, but only slightly - mostly it's spicey, with woodsy undertones. I think it does a pretty good job of capturing the ambiance it's going for. It makes me think of candles, wine, incense and a wild fairy-tale forest outside, and manages to be both homey/comforting and a bit magical and exotic at the same time.

 

And I got a compliment on it - from someone else who makes perfume oils, a friend of mine. She was originally a bit dismissive of the whole cult of BPAL, but curious enough to sniff what I was wearing, and when she did her eyes get wide and she said breathily "That... is really... nice!" I think she has now begun to understand the appeal.

 

Definitely a keeper. Might even be tempted into a big bottle, but not sure yet.

[sophia_helix]

Did parallel reviews on this for myself and my husband, since this is gender-neutral.

 

In the bottle:

 

Dark and spicy, like evergreens, with a touch of something fruity -- wine?

 

Wet on me:

 

Oooh, very spicy. The juniper rises right up.

 

Wet on him:

 

Wow -- armor! That rusty, metallic smell is the strongest note, followed closely by the sweet wine beneath.

 

My drydown:

 

Spicy, smoky juniper all the way. I really love this; it feels like an autumn woods. There's a touch of sweetness, like clove or cinnamon, that *almost* makes this a substitue for my beloved Samhain. If only the wine stood up to mimic the apple in Samhain, it would be perfect.

 

His drydown:

 

On him, it went very sweet, and he said it mostly felt like the wine was coming through. Maybe a hint of dragon's blood, although I don't really know what that smells like.

 

Verdict:

 

I wish mine had lasted longer, but I'll try putting on more next time. I really like this; it's quite different from the sweet scents I normally try.

 

He wasn't crazy about the alcoholic sweetness, so it'll probably be miiiine all miiine.

[AliBabble]

i love the word "tintagel". it remindes me of an old photograph, for some reason.

 

it smelled so amazing in the vial, due mostly to the dragn's blood, i think.

 

but when i put it on: oh dear. it kept reminding me of urinal cakes - the little red waxy-looking disks they put in the bottom of urinals to make them smell better. you know: "greyhound bus station bathroom". must be...i dunno - the pine? bayberry? - i just couldn't get away from this sickly sweet bathroom deoderizer thing.

 

but then, later in the night somebody gave me a hug and said "dragon's blood!" and she really liked the smell. obviously some people do. i'll give it a pass, tho'.

[olympia301]

I get the definite impression of forests from Tintagel, a bit of conifer, a lot of cinnamon and perhaps some apples or honey in the background. It is another of Beth's creations which needs atmosphere between you and it in order for all of the components to marry well and present themselves in their best light. Away from your nose, you catch a whiff of an almost bakery smell which is charming, King Arthur must have had a happy childhood despite its irregularities.

 

Tintagel is a disarming fragrance, up close there isn't anything spectacular about it but given a decent distance between your nose and the source it becomes like a second skin, an "of course I smell like that" sort of perfume. Tintagel is quite right!

[tinyvulture]

I have bayberry candles, and this smells a lot like them. It also reminds me of a simmering potpourri with dried apples and berries, wood bark, a bit of citrus rind, and lots of cinnamon. Makes me think of Thanksgiving. It’s a warming, comforting scent for sure. I do not smell any leather.

[kakiphony]

Note This is not a scent I would normally try because that many woods scare my sinuses. However, I got an imp of this from the lovely lady I first learned of bpal from and, despite the scent description, I knew I had to try it. You see, I have a *thing* for Tintagel. I first went there in 1996 on a college class trip to England, and I had what could only be classified as vision. It affected me more deeply than any place I've ever visited, and I know I'll make pilgrimages there again. The ruins, the cliffs, the little church and the town all resonate with me. I don't know if I believe in past lives, but if I do, I'm pretty sure at least one of mine was lived there.

 

In the Imp: This smells much sweeter than I imagined from the description. I can pick out the slightly alcoholic scent of the wine, but there's something very sweet over the top of it. I can't quite put my finger on it, but the nearest I can come is to say this smells like sweet tarts or unmixed Kool-Aid powder.

 

Wet: When it hits my skin, the alcohol shimmies up a notch, but the sweetness is still very present. It smells even more strongly of grape Kool-Aid or soda now, but it's mixed with Christmas potpourri, which I assume is the juniper and possibly a bit of cinnamon. There's something sharp darting up through it as well, but that fades almost immediately as the oil dries on my skin.

 

Early dry-down: I am still utterly surprised at how very fruity this scent is. I was expecting something herbal and smoky with a spicy undertone. What I'm getting so far is sweet fruit with spices. It's a little sweeter than the mulled wine I'm used to drinking, but I'm definitely detecting cloves and grape, which would both make sense. I did not expect to be bowled over by this one, but I have to say that it's surprising me in a nice way. I keep smelling my wrists and being reminded of being a kid playing by the pool and drinking grape Nehi. I'm not usually a huge fan of super-sweet scents (I like my vanillas rich and tempered with ginger and spice), but this is really quite lovely. I want to lick myself.

 

Late dry-down: This scent doesn't have all that much staying power on me, but it is so pleasant that I ended up reapplying to my wrists and rubbing a few drops between my breasts. The sweet fruit eventually gave way to a warm, spicy resin with just the faintest hint of sweetness, and after about an hour, I started to get some lingering smoke undertones. I've been trying to plan a September 1 order, and this just threw a monkey wrench in my plans because, all of a sudden, I think I need a big bottle of this. I also think my sister would like this a lot, so I may go searching for an imp of it for her to try. (I'm NOT giving mine away!)

[Ajila]

Wet on me this was a sharp almost sour floral. Actually it reminds me of holidays I've spent on the Devon coast (which I guess makes sense - the landscape around Tintagel is quite similar). Dry on me it smells like powdery leather. I wouldn't where this, because whilst I like the wet scent of it I don't want to smell of it.

Edited August 27, 2005 by Ajila

[Rackham's Vanity]

Tintagel morphs very quickly on me, going through a fascinating and dizzying succession of apples, wine, spice, and a blast of evergreen (juniper?), before finally sliding into ripes berries with a green note lingering near the surface.

 

Nearly an hour into its drydown, I get whiffs of an aquatic, which baffled me until I thought back to my own visit to Tintagel Castle in Cornwall over a decade ago: Tintagel's ruins sit upright on a rocky outcropping over the wild waves of the Atlantic.

 

When I was there, I stood among the ruins near the edge of the outcrop, caught up in the sunshine (yes!), the blast of the wind, and the sound and the sight of the furious sea. My travel companion, my mother, came up behind me silently and caught me by the arm. She held me hard, and I turned round, confused.

 

"What?" I asked, trying to shake off her grip.

 

She searched my eyes frantically for a moment before her fingers loosened.

 

"I thought you were going to go," she said simply.

 

This is what Tintagel is: swirling waters, swirling winds, the scent of heavily ripened summer fruits, and green taking over the ruins of centuries; the oil Tintagel reflects this perfectly.

[magdalene]

in the bottle: spicy dragon's blood.

 

wet on skin: ooops, someone spilled gin on the dragon's blood. Juniper is slowly booting its way onto the scene. Still very spicy and kind of sweet.

 

dry: A bit of wine comes with the dry down, mixing nicely with the dragon's blood.

[bodegaselkie]

Tintagel smelled like a balance of green woods/juniper and dragon's blood in the vial, but once on, it was mostly the dragon's blood with a small touch of spice/leather/wine. The dragon's blood warmed and nearly overwhelmed almost all the other scents. Very nice, but I have other mostly-dragon's-blood BPAL scents that I like much more. I'll likely swap this.

[AngelFireHeart]

Tintagel – supposedly the resting place of king Arthur, this scent is very “dungeons & dragon-esque” . Out of the bottle you get the scent of Dragons blood accompanied by a forest-y scent, of sweet herbs & mint, this reminds me of the old cough sweets. Once on the skin, the sweetness in sucked out a little & replaced by light florals. This is quite a fresh scent now, the scent of green hills, running rivers & lakes. The dragons blood starts to come through more strongly after about 5 minutes & brings back a kind of sweetness. A beautiful daytime perfume.

[wickedgoddess]

Origin - gift imp from the lab.

 

Wet - a light spicy dragon's blood, similar to Dragon's Milk, only better. Postivitely edible!

 

Dry - Cinnamon, possibly clove…why did I not know this was spicy and foody? This is like Sin, only better! I would definitely consider getting a bottle of this is the future.

 

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

[valentina]

Everyone loves this scent so much, and I truly did try. But in the imp, I picked up a sweet, woodsy, metallic scent with a kind of gamey undertone. Kind of like there's been a roomful of guys wearing armor breastplates sitting around eating and drinking wine from metallic cups for days, sweating a lot and peeing in the corners. But the windows are open and you can smell the forest through all of that.

 

On my body it really kind of reminded me of someone trying to disguise body odor by spraying cinnamon room freshener on themselves. It's my wonky body chemistry and I suspect from all the previous glowing reviews that I'll be able to find someone who will trade my imp of Tintagel for another scent!

 

valentina

[maewitch]

Ok, this one knocked my socks off. I admit I got it purely because of the mythic associations, not really expecting to like it. I mean, armor, leather, all kinds of woods? Not my bag.

 

I was so so SO wrong. Wet, I do pick up some sort of damp woods, which are not at all unpleasant. Dry, this is berries and spice and musk. I feel like I should be draped in some furry blanket, snuggling up to some warrior dude who's feeding me the ripest berries and the yummiest mulled wine.

 

Bottle, like, NOW.

[chapatti]

First whiff to an hour in: it's like... dry, mulled cider with a twist.

At first, the most prominent note is herbs/wood with a hint of spices, but after a few minutes, a pleasant sort of sweet/sour scent comes up, surrounded by spices (clove, definitely, and some cinnamon hiding in there), with still an overhead layer of herbs/wood (juniper's there for sure) that recedes a bit in the background as it goes.

 

Two hours in: the sweet/sour is gone, alas, and now it's a very faint spice/herb mix.

 

Verdict: After a "ugggh, what is this thing?" phase (my first BPAL, I didn't know what to expect!), I've grown into it, and I really like it.

The first phase really does feel like mulled cider - to me, it's much more like cider than wine, it has almost a sparkly dimension - and it's lovely, I keep on sniffing my wrists again and again.

I wish that first scent would go on and on, but it's not very long lasting on me, unfortunately.

 

7/10

[imaginepageant]

In the vial: Strong dragon's blood, deepened with woods and leather, and made sharp with wine. I usually love dragon's blood, but I'm not sure I like it so much mixed with all these other notes.

 

Wet: The dragon's blood shines for a very brief moment, but there is still that strange dryness to it coming from the woods. This dries and changes extremely quickly...

 

Dry: The dragon's blood has all but disappeared, and I'm left with a very woodsy wine scent. Is that a bit of cinnamon I'm smelling, too? It's definitely more masculine than feminine, and I think this would smell very lovely on a man.

 

An hour later: Ew. This has turned into an old man's cigar smoke and leather armchair, like Hellfire and Fire of Love. I can make out a bit of dragon's blood, but it's been raped and ravaged into something horrible.

 

Overall: I take back what I said about this smelling lovely on a man. It won't, unless that man is a grandfather. I don't like the end result of Tintagel at all.

[LiberAmoris]

I got a bottle of Tintagel unsniffed for the autumn because it sounded like something that might be good on both me and my boyfriend. Plus, I'm a sucker for anything medieval.

 

It's like a jousting tournament in a bottle! The leather and dragon's blood are an unusual pairing, and the woods and berries really round it out and make it complex. The mulled wine takes a little bit to work its way forward on my skin, but once it does, it gallops along!

 

This is another blend that would make a fantastic room scent. I'd love for my entire apartment to smell like this.

[aessedai]

On me, this is spicy, warm dark red berries. Possibly the holidays. Another I love to sniff in the vial, but rarely wear.

[Phaedra]

Wet this smells almost like mulling spices. When first applied this smells like a mix of apple potpourri and one of those bay candles from Yankee Candle Co. There is also something similar to cranberry and a hint of chamomile tea. After about an hour it becomes powdery mixed with leather. This is an interesting blend. It really matches the description well. Nice but I'll probably end up swapping it.

[LyndaM]

First impression: Warm and yummy, all wine and dragon's blood and a hint of leather. Very sweet and spicy. I seem to be detecting cinnamon.

 

Wet on my skin: Cinnamon Dragon's blood. As it dried down, I caught hints of berry, but the leather seemed to go missing. I got a burning sensation on my skin where I slathered, I might need to dilute this one to wear it as perfume.

 

Dry: the leather note is back, but it's mostly spiced dragon's blood. I wish I could get some of the woods, and bring the berry back!

 

I put a few drops in my oil burner, and it was amazing that way, I actually like it better as a room scent. Each note is more apparent, and it unfolds in a more pleasant way, when my skin isn't mucking it up.

 

I ended up using the whole imp in my burner last night. The front of the house smelled heavenly, and it was still lingering this morning. I like it, but I don't think it will be a bottle. I will keep an imp around to scent my space occasionally.