#20 Love Oil

[feline.by.design]

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

In the bottle, #20 Love Oil smelled terrible. I thought for sure it would be some sort of cherry/almond/gardenia horror. I was surprised, howevever, when I applied the oil to my skin and most of the sickly sweetness just kind of disappeared.

The fragrance left is a sort of herbal rose mixed in with what I'm guessing to be lavendar. Surprisingly, this isn't all that bad. When taking into consideration my poor track record with the BPAL Voodoo Blends, this is actually quite pleasant. The rose leans a bit towards the powdery side, but it's not at all unwelcome.

-doreen

[Shollin]

First sniff: Sweet almond or cherry, dusted with… nutmeg? There’s an odd kitchen-spice note in here that caught me off guard.

 

Wearing: It’s a very bright scent with a weird soapiness underneath.

[Raygun]

For the first few minutes, this smelled like the kind of fancy hand soap that comes in a pretty box and you aren't actually supposed to use it because you'll mess up the picture that's pressed into it. That kind of soap- lovely, expensive and not to be trifled with. After a few minutes, it smoothed out into a light, creamy floral with a kick of carnation and maybe a bit of almond. I don't think I need a big bottle, but I will use my imp.

[maewitch]

This one doesn't really work for me. Wet, it has an interesting herbal-almond smell, but as it dries down it starts to reveal this musky-mossy smell that makes me think of my dog after she's rolled around in the grass. It's not precisely unpleasant, but not something I want to smell like.

 

I may keep this for ritual purposes, but I wouldn't wear this as perfume.

[Voleuse]

Yikes. Um. Potent is probably a good word for this. On first application, it comes out as very, very herbal. Almost unpleasantly so--not sharp, but damp and a little mossy. But all the reviews say wait twenty minutes or so, so wait I shall.

 

Later, a bit of...carnation? Something floral begins to emerge. A little powdery, as well. Less repellent to my nose, but not exactly attractive either.

 

A longer interval produces more powder, more floral and, yes, rose and almond. It ends up being quite nice, but not really something I would keep. The end result would be nice as a lotion, I think.

[joseybird]

Like others have said--almondy and herbal and not something anyone would mistake for a normal perfume.

 

I'm not terribly interested in ritual oils that don't smell good to me. I have a hard time feeling all up and optamistic about my finances, lovelife, or whatnot if I'm using an oil that registers in my nose as "paint remover""bug repellent" or anything else chemically.

[allelujiah]

Wet this had a Black Phoenix feel to it - the almond was more subtle, but it also had a touch of cherry like Black Phoenix.

 

Once it dried down it began to smell very much like a bar of Dove Soap for a while. I couldn't shake the soapy smell, but underneath was the herbal mix that is in many of the voodoo blends.

 

Whoosh - now the oil is nothing if not bitter herbs and strong roses. It tickles my nose it is so strong and bitter. This scent doesn't work with my chemistry.

 

I don't want subject the porn star to this scent, so I won't be testing its voo doo potency. So floral, so bitter herby. Time to wash my wrist.

 

Alas, I wanted this to be sexy and yummy. I get a Dove soap vibe, and no good has come of it.

[Sistinas]

a review of #20 Love Oil

 

Vial ~ The smell of almonds and herbs come to mind. It is pungent, but light

at the same time.

 

Wet ~ it is still herbal, the smell of almonds does not seem to stand

out, in fact I am unable to detect it at all

 

Drying ~ Green and herbal, still as pungent as it was in the vial

 

Dry ~ The scent has become more floral, but there is still the hint of herbs

to it. It is hard to pin down the scent,it is not really sweet, but then

it is not entirely a greenish type scent either.

 

Fade ~ 20 mins later it is still lasting.

 

Final thoughts ~ I have a hard time pinning down my thoughts about the

voodoo blends. Maybe because they are for more than just perfume. #20 Love

Oil is a very nice blend, I might have to test it out. I will hold onto

imp that I have. On a scale of 1 to 5, I give it a 3.5

Edited October 20, 2005 by Sistinas

[lohengrin]

Soapy, definitely soapy. A little bit herbal, too, but mostly it smells of expensive soap.

 

Ew. Definitely does not say sexy to me.

[sophia_helix]

A Lab frimp.

 

In the bottle:

 

Almonds, I think, and something herbal.

 

Wet:

 

The herbal something proves to be lavender. Almonds still on the prowl.

 

Drydown:

 

Almonds est sum. This smells exactly like Seraglio on me, and I didn't like it either. There's a little hint of greenery/lavender that makes me mourn for what could have been, but this is not good on me.

 

And no one wanted to jump my bones the instant they got near me! Damn.

[fictiontragedy]

I made the mistake of first trying this the day after the hurricane. I think my body chemistry was a tad funky that day because I felt like I was being assulted by an army of roses. It was so over whelming that I had to scrub it off with hand sanitizer(since we had no water). However I felt brave today and thought I'd try it out.

 

In the bottle: It smells of roses and almonds which for some reason smells like liquid soap to me.

 

When applied: Well there are those roses but maybe this is a smaller army?

 

As it dries: Well the roses are still strong there's something mellower in there perhaps lavander? I can't be sure it's definitly floral whatever it is.

 

After awhile: the roses have finally mellowed out but there's still there. Also I'm pretty sure there is lavander there too. It's sweeter now though, I think that's finally the almond I smelled in the bottle.

 

It's not bad but it's not great.

 

Quick Edit: This had been sitting in my little box for quite some time as roses tend to be overpowering on my body chemistry. Just for an experiment I wore it in public today. I did get notice a fair bit more then usual. One guy looked at me said hi took two steps forward then bent himself backward to look at me around one of the jewelery cases at my store and then said hi once more. It was pretty funny but I'll be more careful with this one in the future because I can see it being good at attracting unwanted attention as well.

Edited April 28, 2006 by fiction tragedy

[KieLocke]

I got this as a freebie but it was already on my wishlist. This talk of almonds got me excited but the hints of rose makes me nervous. I'm not into roses. However, I'm definitely willing to try. I was prepared to try out a floral scent (just not me) but then I got something very different.

 

In the vial and wet on skin this smells like carrots. Not moldy or bad carrots, definitely fresh, clean, and sweet but still carrots. It was proud and clear but not what I wanted. I tried it three times on three different days and got the same results.

 

Then as it dries the carrots leave completely and I'm left with roses. Normally rose scents overwhelm me but this stayed subtle. I'll even say it was a pretty scent. If I had to wear a rose scent then this would be it.

 

I think my sister (who loves roses) would appreciate this much more than me.

[Orodemniades]

:nervous ummm:

 

I get almonds and...neroli, I think, at first, and 10minutes later the rose comes through. I suspect there's jasmine in here too. Something in her reminds me of Queen of Sheba, which is...well, I think it's the neroli or orange blossom, but my skin just isn't taking to it. Hours later it smells rosey and wonderful, so I think I'll keep my imps.

 

Oro

[SeaMonkey]

This smells like this almond lotion my grandmother had when I was growing up. It was in a bottle that looked like an ear of corn. So an old woman from Louisiana uses a lotion that smells like this.....It is definately almondy. Its a good scent and it reminds me of being young

[sookster]

beautiful almondy and rosey blend this is an outstanding creation...after

a few minutes ....hmmm....something green and a bit soapy....nonetheless

this is a lovely scent with my chemistry and i may need a big bottle of

this for just such romantical encounters....

[Fefferbella]

This was SO pretty wet... gardenia and sweet herbs.

 

However once it dried, it was almond SOAP.

 

I really wanted to love this blend...

[Anbreen]

Cherry almond. Nice, but not me. F ades in a heartbeat.

[harmonyfb]

In the bottle, it was OMFG ALMOND! Bleah. I hate almond-smell. In the interest of experimentation, I dabbed it on, and waited.

 

Wet: It went on as almonds, and then suddenly became this dry, weedy, herbal-smelling mix. When my husband walked in, I held it up for his opinion. He said, "Ooo. That smells nice. But I thought you didn't like roses."

 

Roses? I lifted my wrist back to my nose, and sure enough - all I smell is rose. Weird.

 

I don't really like roses, so I don't think I'll wear this as a personal scent, but as a Voodoo oil it seems to have great efficacy. My husband doesn't like perfume (and in fact thinks my bpal obsession is silly), but he stopped to compliment me a number of times while I was wearing it.

 

I think I'll keep it in reserve for those days I need to feed a little more attractive.

[LiberAmoris]

Everyone else here has done a great job of describing #20 Love Oil's scent (and it's difficult to describe, like most of the Voodoo oils!) so I'll just speak to the efficacy.

 

I wore this to a holiday party, layered with a little bit of Blood Rose. It was a work party, so things were relatively tame and people were watching their drinks and what they were saying. At one point, this (very attractive) guy I work with came up to me and told me I smelled amazing, and that he felt 'drawn to me.' Maybe it was just the Blood Rose (or the vodka tonics), but his bold phrasing suggested to me that the #20 Love Oil had a hand in it.

 

Um, yeah, I'll be keeping my imp.

 

Considering the fact that in high school I once accidentally 'crushed' a crush by falling backwards against him while I was crouching to open my locker that was situated directly under his---a girl like me needs all the help she can get. (Well, I think partial blame must be assigned to the pink jeans skirt I was wearing and the fashion in the early 90s.)

 

Ahem. If you're looking for a little 'boost,' you might want to consider #2o layered with your fave sexpot blend.

[AlaskaSnows]

Wet:

 

Dry: Dried roses and herbs. Sometimes fun and bracing, sometimes a bit pickly. If worn layered with another oil, I think this could be nice, maybe with something too plain. Sometimes the rose in this becomes fresher, maybe it would be nice with Peacock Queen or 2,5 &7.

[GemmaCat]

This one smells very green and sharp in the bottle. You can definitely pick out the herbs, which are almost tart when wet.

 

On my skin this calms down to a warm herbal and citrus scent. It's very fresh and perky, but there's a tangy undertone I can't place and which I do not like.

 

This is another one for the swap pile.

[misfitroxy]

VERY herbal in the imp. The back of my throat just got a wake-up call!!! I can sense the creamy almond kind of scent that others have referenced, but it's sharply augmented by something sour.

 

Whatever that sourness is, it jumps out on my skin. Wow, it's odd. I haven't encountered this reaction before. It's almost acrid and smells like generic liquid handsoap that's gone bad (if such a thing is possible).

 

I will keep the faith and try layering it with something else to see if I can eliminating the offending note. Otherwise, no courtesan-inspired love for me. ;{

[Jocelyn]

I this one

 

In the imp it was really herbal, but i put it on and it turned into a rather sharp woodlike rose ( im not going to pretend that made sense, but thats what it smelled like) it eventually turned a bit more powdery on me. It lasted probably about 5 hours.

It got noticed a fair bit, the boy loved it.

I think this one is bottle material.

[UploadedLobster]

Wet, on skin: A robust almond and a delicate tuberose are making sweet, tender love on my wrist.

 

Dry, a few minutes later: Almond has run off to Fiji with the secretary. The tuberose is left lying sprawled out on the kitchen table, spent and dejected, to mourn her loss all alone. ALONE!

 

Dryer, 30 minutes later: After a disatrous, if brief, rebound affair with something that smelled like a hedge, the tuberose found comfort in the arms of Ivory soap. They had a small wedding in her mother's backyard, and in no time she'd birthed up a horde of soaprose babies which are currently tearing all over the room and really getting on my nerves. I want out of this soap opera.

 

Never. Wearing. This. Again.

 

 

Lobster Rating

Better than: jaundice

Edited February 4, 2006 by Uploaded Lobster

[strawberry_star]

I had no idea what this was going to smell like. I tried it on and the #1 note that came out? Rose. I hate roses. But there's something else there too, it's a very green type of rose. Possibly juniper perhaps? I'm not sure, but I didn't like it. I had my husband sniff it to see if he'd be irresistably drawn to me and he just shrugged and walked away. But actually? Who needs a love oil when there's sooooooooooo many decadent, irresistable scents that bpal offers? THAT will get the required results much more than this one will I would think. I've had my husband all over me when I've worn half of my bpal collection. So I think there's better scents in the sea. ;p