High John the Conqueror

[brettashley]

A fast-acting, powerful scent used to overcome adversity through positive means. Attracts wealth, prestige, good health, and enhances others’ opinions of you. Grants courage and steadfastness.

Hmm... received this as a frimp in the lab and since I have an essay due tomorrow, I decided to see if it would help me bowl through the essay. I've finished the bulk of the essay, but that was before I put the scent on. -__- Haha so I'll update on those properties later.

Wet: Smells a bit ... lemon-y, and bitter floral. As florals go, I actually like this more than cloyingly sweet smells (jasmine is starting to get to me. Unfortunately, it seems to be in almost all my shampoos/conditioners and I'm on a no-buy, so.... ugh.). But yeah, this isn't a bad scent.

Dry: Starting to get that "floral soap" association. It actually smells very strongly of Taiwan, if anybody knows what I'm talking about. Like... Asian scented feminine stuff! And their nice, clean, humongous department stores!

Probably not bottle worthy, but it gives me pleasant associations with Taiwan so I'll probably hold on to the imp for personal reasons.

[PinkoCommie]

I love, love, love this one. It makes me feel clear-headed and quick-witted and it has a pleasant true grape scent -- white grapes -- rather than koolaid or candy. I adore it. It's a calming scent that just makes me feel like I honestly own the world.

[Aldercy]

This is pretty soapy on me, but it's a decent "clean" scent, not a sweet, artificial one. I see where people are getting the grape vibe, though it never would have occurred to me without prompting. I also think of starchy, wholesome roots of some sort-- not that High John the Conqueror smells like a potato, but there's just something whitely earthy about it. It's not really what I was looking for (and it doesn't make me feel especially confident or powerful), but it's not bad overall. No florals or lemon for me.

[milo]

Perfumey detergent. Kind of like wildflowers, not me. We'll see if I become wealthy today, though!

[obsidienne]

I only wear this for its intended use, but as a scent, it makes my stomach turn! It's like a weirdly dirty, soapy sharp cologne, and quite strong at that. I dislike the smell intensely.

 

I wear it anyway, in the tiniest doses imaginable. Here's hoping!

[donnatron]

Imp: Woody and... oily? A sort of creammy oiliness that hits me at the back of the throat.

 

Wet: I think there be muscadine in this. Definitely a light grapey smell mixed with a glowing golden wood. That oily quality continues to assail the back of my throat.

 

Dry: Slightly funky grapes. It's kind of pleasant but there's something that also makes this unbearable. It smells like greasy, unwashed hair but someone tried to mask the scent with grapes.

 

Throw: Minimal. Thankfully.

 

Overall: If it works, it works. But it's definitely something I'll use sparingly.

[savage_rose]

It smells like peppery musk to me. I would never wear this for the scent, but I might try it for a little more courage when I'm feeling. Oh God, and is that rank sweetness supposed to be grapes? Yup, never for the scent.

[fairnymph]

In the bottle: Light, bright lemon-yellow oil. Herbs and honey with sweet florals. Green, gentle, spring-like. Clean and fresh.

 

Wet: More floral, slightly mentholic. Thyme, honeysuckle, grape hyacinth. Even more honeyed, in a gorgeous way. Slightly soapy edge, but not unpleasantly so - just clean. A bit lineny.

 

Dry: Very, very slow to dry. Someone mentions olive oil, and I do get that or something similar - a sort of smooth, slightly oily and fruity note. Definitely some type of lily in here.

 

Later: This reminds me of Juliet a lot, but a bit greener and more aquatic. There's a glowing golden sense that makes me think heliotrope, and definitely some musk. A bit more soapy, but deliciously.

 

Summary: Honey and clean, delicate spring florals over thyme and olive oil. It's beautifully blended and balanced, and though it's very gentle in feel, it has great throw. I find it *very* soothing.

 

 

[magikalbrownies]

momma like...

 

smells like honey musk and slightly orangy...yet still green with leaves.

 

THIS IS Yummy it reminds me of one of the lupers...

 

we've got a winner, houston.

[Banyangirl]

I get fresh, clean, sweet florals out of this one. with a hint of strawberry leaf. Honeysuckle, maybe, and the strawberry scent isn't going to plastic hell like it normally does. Its a very cheerful scent. I will use up my imp, although I'm not sure it's worth it to get a bottle. We'll see how it does if I wear it when I need courage or strength. It's happy enough that it's put a smile on my face by itself.

[lishal]

Clean, green, with a bit of soap. It has a sharpness to it that makes me think green but it is mostly soap to me. This isn't a bad thing, I love how it smells. The scent in the bottle is a bit more heavy than it is on me, where it turns into a light slightly floral soapy scent. The throw on this is moderate and it lasts quite a long time. I'm not sure if this is a scent that I would wear very often, but it's definitely lovely.

Edited May 13, 2009 by Beevee

[devilot]

In the vial: Whoa, vetiver vetiver vetiver.

 

Wet: Tons of vetiver. Getting a hint of something that is somewhat lemony, but not nearly so fresh or tangy (more lemony on my right wrist than my left, oddly enough).

 

Drydown: Still a very "earthy" smell ('cause of that vetiver). Smoother now, less in your face.

 

Verdict: Not thrilled w/ the way this smells, honestly. But I'm wearing it because I need an extra dosage of courage. Got v little sleep, a migraine, and I've got to watch 2 little girls today for quite a few hours. *gulp*

 

 

ETA: After wearing this all day, I have to conclude that this blend does NOT work for me. The two girls were not drawn to me and I really didn't feel more courageous, either. But hey, maybe had I not worn it today, I wouldn't have survived.

Edited May 16, 2009 by devilot

[Argentwolf]

This is a bright, intriguing blend that, yes, is full of courage and hope. Like many of my favorite plant scents, this one seems to come from the roots and stems and leaves of plants, rather than all the pretty frou-frou petaled parts. It's like sunlight and glowing sap. Really nice.

[Seismogenic]

I might be posting this in July, but I actually wrote up everything except the intro and the final impressions in early June. I mention this because I decided to test High John the Conqueror on a day that I had to give a big presentation, in the hope that it might alleviate a little presentation anxiety and maybe not make me talk so fast (though I didn't have espresso before this talk, which may have also helped there).

 

In the imp: Dry herbs and sharp grapes.

 

Wet on skin: The thing I thought was grape isn't there now. It's still herbal, though I'd say those herbs smell fresher now than they did while wet. There's also something that's a bit cleanser-sharp.

 

Drydown: Freshly dry, this is all about sharp, dark green, cleansery herbs. And I'd almost swear there's some vetiver, too. What? At one hour in, I'd still swear there was vetiver in this, though it is fainter now to the other sharp, almost astringent, herbs.

 

Five hours later: A slight dry sharpness, but really quite faint.

 

End of the day: Gone.

 

Overall: The presentation went pretty well. I certainly didn't stress out or stutter, though I did end up taking rather longer than my allotted 30 minutes. (For this, I blame the person who was supposed to present after me, but who didn't show up.) I have no idea how much of that I can credit to High John the Conqueror versus how much can be explained by the fact that I was talking about a geologic fault that fascinates me. But regardless of the oil's contribution, I was not all that keen on the scent. I will probably hold on to it in case I need to face something crazy stressful, but I probably won't wear it often.

[Jupita]

This, was one of the first oils to get on my list of imps... and never leave it (dispite me re-writing that list at least 100 times over 2 years, before finally ordering).

 

In the imp, thia is a rather sweet floral... so when I sniffed it, I went "owww, ouch, ugh!"

But let's face it, one must be brave... besides, I really liked the voodoo properties that they say it has... so, I decided to try it out anyway...

On me, this is sweet at first, but then... after a few seconds, it's pure, fresh linden blossoms...

And it's wonderfull.

I feel like walking in a magical parc, surounded by birds singing and buterflies, flying by...

I love this oil... really.

 

As far as voodoo goes, I haven't seen much difference... but it's ok.

It's worth it anyway.

[angelicruin]

Inside the imp, smells like soap.

 

Wet on the skin, milk & honey soap. This isn't much of a morpher on my skin. Scent stays pretty much the same from wet to dry.

 

Not really my kind of scent. Makes me feel vaguely nauseous sniffing the application area of my skin. Time to wash this off.

[mgrazulis]

Wet~soapy bitter lemon oil mixed with an herbally vague aquatic. As a perfume, I could never wear this...for the voodoo, probably not either.

[Veronica]

I used this not realizing that it had intent behind it. But, as soon as I put it on, I started updating my over-a-month-behind journal! So, definitely fast acting and strong.

 

This smells...interesting. Like fresh laundry (yum!), but also a little bathroom/floarl soap-y like mentioned above. Not necessarily bad, but not something I'm too eager to smell like. It's an interesting scent and not one that I mind wearing if I'm using this for intent.

[ErinZ]

Wet in imp: earthy grapes

 

Wet on skin: same as in the imp, but with a touch of fermentation, like wine

 

Drydown: A light touch of heady floral is coming to the front. It seems like jasmine or gardenia, but then it starts to develop soapiness.

 

Wearlength: Six hours later, I can still detect it on my skin, but within the four hours following that, it disappeared.

 

Final impression: It goes a bit soapy on me at first, then it goes super-soapy. I think if it really does "what it says on the tin" I could use it in a scent locket, since I enjoyed the scent before it morphed.

 

 

 

[BuxomM]

It smells like wood, mead, and grape. It's masculine and not too sweet.

Edited March 16, 2010 by BuxomM

[theasylph]

At first this smells dirty, in a good way. Like warm dirt and sun and roots. Then it smells a little herby, a little floral, a little soapy. I was thinking maybe clary sage, ylang ylang, dirty ginger and white musk? I definately think of the color white when I smell this.

 

So I couldn't help to look up High John the Conqueror and it turns out that it's a root relative to morning glory and sweet potato. It's used in many attracting blends. This blend reminds me ALOT of this voodoo love oil I got from New Orleans. While it's definitely not my favorite smell to wear, it sort of reminds me of cleaning agents, I still love the feeling I get when I smell this. Maybe it's the nostalgia of the scent association or maybe this is good mojo.

[Babette]

I don't smell anything remotely grape-ish or herby/root-ish in the vial or on my skin. What I do get is a strong laundry scent, which is rather comforting. In fact, it gives me flashbacks of my mother and her obsessive ways about how the clothes must be dried (only by the sun), where they must be hung (thick clothes here and thin clothes over there), and how they must be spread on the clothes line (otherwise they would be wrinkled, etc).

 

Sigh, I miss my mother now. (haha)

 

In terms of efficacy, I can't really say whether it works. But if it smells this good, I am not surprised.

[revinn]

Wow, I really like this! Like sweet laundry detergent. A very light skin scent. There's a little tinge of ozone, but I actually don't mind that note in this blend. It's really nice. I can see how it would be empowering.

 

Out of 10: 7.5!

[Venneh]

In the frimp, this smells vaguely like cologne. Hm.

 

On my skin, this is very, very much cologne, which makes me think there's tobacco flower mixed in here somewhere. I'm going to give it a more extensive skin test at a later date, I think, cause I want to see how the effects of the blend work on its own.

Edited November 24, 2009 by Venneh

[levelek]

I love the variety of scents that people are getting out of this. LOL.

 

On me, it's the grape and some other sweet note that smells like dragonsblood to me. It reminds me of Wolf's Heart. The slightest hint of soap, which may be that lotus that people have been mentioning? (I don't have a lot of experience with that note.)

The grape is not the fresh fruit, - it feels like it has been cooked (but not nauseating).

 

I only put it on a little while ago, so can't comment on anything else.

Edited December 2, 2009 by levelek