#20 Love Oil

[Mokiefraggle]

A potent, enticing love formula, favored among Louisiana courtesans.

 

Had this one for a while, got it as a frimp and barely wore it because the first few times I sniffed it in the imp, all I smelled was sharp-green-herbal. I sometimes can do soft greens, and a bit of herbal note isn't terrible on me, but the sharp green was what put me off. I remember trying it a couple of times and just sort of assuming it was green and short-lived, after which I ignored the imp.

 

Tried it again today, and found that is actually not the case. The imp itself seemed a bit toned down, with more of a dry herbal note that I rather like, and on my skin it was much softer. I still have no clue what herbs are in it, but it's a much gentler scent overall after a bit of aging. And! And-and-and! I now know that it dries to a soft, very gentle magnolia and rose scent with a tiny hint of dried herbal blend in the background, and that it's lovely!

 

It's not quite a bottle list scent, but I now have a much greater desire to actually wear #20, because it dries into something that's very pleasing, and the initial herbal shock is much subtler than originally noted.

[SimplySyra]

This was a frimp from the Lab. As with many others in this thread, I'm having a hard time pinpointing exactly what I'm smelling because there seems to be a lot going on. There's definitely rose and something herbal I can't identify. There's also something that smells like spice. Perhaps clove or cinnamon or something else warm and spicy. Or perhaps carnation has been thrown into the mix. The overall effect on my skin is of tea rose backed by an unidentifiable spicy herbal scent. Not really my cup of tea but perhaps someone else's?

[Candice Chen]

Spicy, heady and floral-sweet. I definitely get a rose-like note and a pepperiness that reminds me of carnations and cloves.

I don't get strong almond but there is a backnote of subtle nutty sweetness which could be that, or could just be the blend of spices. When it dries down, a powderiness comes out which might remind some people of old-fashioned perfumes, but which I feel adds to its charm.

This reminds me a lot of Noir Epices by Frederic Malle (dark spices, rose and carnation). Not what I consider a seductive scent despite what it was originally intended for, but one that does invoke feminine strength for me. I reach for this when I don dark clothes and deep red lipstick and want to feel womanly - not girly.

Edited July 3, 2016 by Nightphlox

[Convallaria]

I got a frimp with Lab purchase. Would have never thought about getting it on my own based on Lab description, so I'm glad I got lucky to try it!

The opening is bitter - reminds me of bitter almond essence, but when I sniff closer I get the herbal bitterness under it too. It settles down after a minute or so, into a neutral herbal concoction. The herbal bitterness is gone and there is something fresh I can't put my finger on - bit too sweet to be eucalyptus, but similar?

Dry, it becomes sweeter - I think there's rose involved.

Medium wear length, low throw.

[Kay Torres]

You know, so far the scents I've tried from the Conjure Bag have been my jam. Come to Me, Follow Me Boy, Queen, Fire of Love, Horn of Plenty? All instant hits. I fully expected to love this, I mean, it didn't even occur to me that it would be possible that I wouldn't love it. But I really, really don't love it at all.

 

In the imp, wet and dry there is an astringent quality to the herbs and something that sort of reminds me of sweet flag, kind of lemony and bright. But the vaguely sweet flag scent doesn't last long. There's something in this blend that makes the back of my throat burn like I've been breathing in the smoke of burning peppercorns. It hurt. It also burned the skin on the back of my hand and that's something that has never, ever happened to me. I might look like a delicate little flower, but my skin is the Chuck Norris of skin. I waited it out but it never got any better. Looking through reviews this morning, I see that people got rose and almond from this. I honestly wish that I had. It was just unpleasantly acrid herbs and the strange burning pepper. My skin hates this.

[roseus]

This smelled like lavender in the imp, and a lemony-lavender combo wet. But dry it's a gorgeous dry rose, spiced and with a hint of lavender. It's sexy and womanly. I am in love with this. It's sultry, not too obvious. Perfect for seduction.

[sisterbastard]

Wet: Words like "organic" and "biological" and "fecund" come to mind. It's evocative, at least. I don't like its wet scent much. Vegetable-y in a swamp-like way, sweet, lots of almond. I don't mind almond too much - in fact, its grown on me as a scent - but I don't particularly want almond that's been dredged through bog moss and algae.

 

Dry: Okay, this changes significantly as it dries, and becomes much more pleasant. The almond takes a back seat to the greenery, which is tempered by something else that I can't put my finger on. This one may really grow on me, actually. I think maybe the tempering is coming from the rose people have mentioned above, but it's not a very "clear" rose scent to me. I'm going to have to give this one a few more tries.

[sarandipitee]

Stinky with rose. Not a fave at all.

[doomsday_disco]

In the imp: Roses, spice, and herbs? It reminds me of something, but I can't pinpoint what.

 

Wet: Ahh! I know what this reminds me of! It reminds me of Nanshe. AIUFDIOSUF()W*)$(%*R)W$(#*%!!!! I hope it continues to do so, because after my Great Nanshe Bottle Accident of 2017, something like it would be lovely. It has the same citrus-y herbiness as Nanshe, accompanied by some spice. As the scent begins to dry, the spice is declaring itself to be clove. Nanshe, is this you secretly mislabeled as #20 Love Oil? I swear I can smell lavender, lemon, and clove.

 

Dry: #20 Love Oil makes me think of Nanshe plus rose. So rose, lavender, lemon, and clove.

 

After a few hours, the rose becomes really prominent. It's not a red rose. I think it's a tea rose, or possibly a pink one. I still get a bit of lemon and spice, but I don't get as much clove from this as I do from Nanshe.

 

Verdict: On one hand, I'm tempted to get this because it seems to be close to Nanshe during the wet stage. But I love Nanshe's ability to induce sleep and dreams, and of course, that's not the purpose of this oil. I'll have to keep my imp and test this again.

[tdgnika]

In the imp: smells like rubbing alcohol and green-ness.

 

Wet on the skin: alcohol, lemon, green-ness.

 

Immediate dry down: Smells like a combination of old lady perfume, my Grandma's linen/medicine cabinet, and the horrible bubble bath I've been given as a gift.

 

Definitely not for me.

[Joyleaf_]

Its smells a bit like a specific brand of hand cream my husband uses for his skin problems?
Weirdly medicinal and kind of old lady like in tone. Will not be returning to it again.

[Bamels]

Frimp: A wonderfully, edible, herbal, rose. Florals go soapy on me, so we'll see how long this lasts (I can taste soap as I'm typing). From a distance this smells lovely, but when I sniff my wrist I am starting to smell soap. It's dry now, and while it is not horrendously soapy, it's still not something I would wear.

[Velvet Lilly]

In the bottle: Cherries, almond and metal something... a hint clove way down in there  somewhere.

Wet: A bit more spice on top of the cherry almond. And something else I can't place. The metal goes away or morphs.

Dry down: The rose comes out and tempers the softer cherry and almond.

It's wonderful with Come To Me Boy. 

[torischroeder9]

In the imp: Something grassy, and something herbal... plus also maybe lavender. 

 

On my skin:

 

Wet, I'm definitely getting lavender. This smells like the entire, fresh, growing lavender plant I have in my backyard -- flowers, leaves, and stems. 

 

As it dries, I'm still getting the lavender, but rose now emerges. 

 

The more I let it develop, the more rose rises to prominence. At this stage in the game, it's slightly soapy. 

 

Um... yep. Soapy rose, backed by lavender. 

[biggnerd]

This is citrus soap with an herbally green lavender.  I'm going to say it's lemon, soapy florals (could be rose, lily, or a white floral), and lavender. 

[Rane.]

Definitely herbal, & green. That is totally my thing. haha These kinds of scents tend to mellow out softly with my skin chemistry. I think I smell Lemongrass. & possibly ylang ylang. Not too sure on that, but that's what I get. It's bright, camphorous, & clean.

[whipwaif]

sharp, green, and almond-y with a hint of roses. this one is....strangely beautiful. it has the essence of commercial perfume but there is a sinister underbelly to this. it is a love potion, afterall. 

 

this one goes on pretty strong but dries to down to a powdery feminine scent, and it does still retain a lot of the lush greens. let me be clear in that this is NOT my usual kind of blend, but may be bottle worthy for the conjure properties alone. I think a man of the poised and gentlemanly variety would swoon over this. someone who is especially into nature, because this blend is that.

[Freikugel]

Frimp! I also got almond from this initially, both in the bottle and on my skin. It quickly moved to a rose-heavy smell on my wrist and got downright musty applied to my inner arm. Seeing as I I tend to amp rose notes and don't like rose much in the first place, I probably won't use this again.

[Cali]

Herbs. Wet herbs? There's something reddish in here, possibly rose or another floral. I'm not getting anything else. Not bad, but not something i'd wear?

 

[quantquill]

Reading all the descriptions in these reviews is fascinating! Many different interpretations. On me, it's a mild rose + a hint of spearmint + hefty dash of soapy mugwort. It definitely reminds me of an expensive bar of soap on the sink in an expensive hotel bathroom. Not for me, though I'm glad I got to try this out and see how it fared on my skin!