The High Priestess

[desu]

In the bottle: Extremely sharp almond smell.

 

On the skin: The almond disappears leaving a somewhat sweet yet still very sharp minty pine behind.

 

10 minutes later: Pretty much gone now.

[Northernminx]

Almonds much? That vague overlay of cherry that almonds sometimes get with something minty and herbal beneath. The juxtaposition of these two scents is baffling to me but it somehow works. I've not used it in any way but it smells great.

[amrita]

The first whiff is of Corsican mint and almond. Wow, this really smells like Corsican mint and fresh air. I love this.

 

Corsican mint (Mentha requienii) is a creeping mint with teensy tiny leaves and is one of my all-time favorite herbs. Awesome.

 

Definitely getting a bottle of this!

 

(Cursory review as part of a tarot swap circle.)

[dreadeddragon]

In the bottle: This reminds me of a day at the pool. There's a soft tropic breeze that hints of a hot day and coconut suntan lotion, and then the chlorine smell of pool. Odd.

 

First on: The chlorine is gone (yay) and has been replaced with mint mint mint! This is almost what I expected Lick It to smell like (I havne't tried it yet) in that it's a very soft sweet mint. I'm usually not a fan of mint, but this is divine.

 

Drydown: It still has that sweet mint to it, but I also get just a hint of floral. It's definitely weakened, and not nearly as trong as I'd like after an hour, but it's still there and still very nice.

 

Overall: It has presence and mystery, like the high prestess should. I like it.

[Caltha]

The High Priestess

It starts out lovely: sweet, vanilla-y, boozy, warm, full... I get wood, maybe mahogany, which reminds me of The Red Queen. As it dries a vanilla liquor note stays but other than that it turns thin and plastic, what a pity...

[damuddymeg]

imp: vanilla and anise and mint.

 

wet: all anise. and a hint of plastic.

 

dry: almost all plastic--like cheap doll-babies. a little anise.

 

later: plastic-y anise and vanilla.

 

*sigh*

[juniperus]

Initially I get that odd cherry-sweet that I got from the start of Hecate - almond I think - then moves to a strange astringent dustiness.

[lookingglass]

This smells like almond. But like all BPAL almonds, it dries out almost instantly to...pennyroyal? No ma'am.

[edenssixthday]

The High Priestess - When I first apply this blend, the first note I detect is almond. Almost immediately, the almond is followed by a note that’s almost medicinal, and reminds me distinctly of Kathmandu. It’s herbal and has a touch of something that seems to be eucalyptus. Fortunately, as the oil dries down on my skin, the astringent smell dissipates, as does the strong almond scent. What is left is herbal and … well, flat. The scent doesn’t last on my skin for very long at all. I would say this blend passes through all of its phases within the first 20-30 minutes, and then it’s completely gone. Into the swap pile it goes!

[cranberry]

In the imp, this smells of cherries and a touch of spice.

 

Wow, on the skin it smells strongly of spice with a touch of cherries, or that could be almond. In the background there’s a touch of something mineral – yes, that’s tonka all right. It smells like there could be a touch of anise in here; that could be contributing to the spice. It’s an intoxicating and heady scent. It’s very light feeling and airy. As it wears, the tonka really comes out, compliments by spice. This is a beautiful scent.

[supremegoddessofall]

Leather and light florals. Moderately bright, fairly warm, limited throw. I think I also get a touch of mint in the background.

[fiddledragon]

In the imp: very sharp almond with a slight mint tang at the back.

 

On me: very medicinal almond...no sweetness at all. It attacks your nose with its spears of attack marzipan, so that you hardly notice the fairly nice mint. Normally mint's the one that attacks. When it dries down, it's simply less dangerous evil marzipan.

 

I am sad. I was so looking forward to this one.

[filigree_shadow]

Woah, I expected something different from this. It smells like very smoky cherries. I'm mostly getting smoke though. Kind of like campfire smoke. With the cherries. It's kinda strange.

[moon_lemming]

I originally had imps of all of the Tarot scents, but I had to do some major selling, and ended up only keeping the ones I connected with the very most to test. The High Priestess was one of the three.

 

Unfortunately, the blend really isn't too great on my skin, although in the vial it does seem to fit the card. In the vial it's a strong cherry/almond with a bit of an herbal, fresh feel hidden underneath. I'm always bad at explaining notes, but I feel it is pretty well matched to The High Priestess.

 

Unfortunately, on my skin, it has a five-minute life. It goes like this: superstrong cherry/almond --> sweet almond with a squish of herbs --> baby powder, almonds, and a slightly minty herbal underglow. I can't stand that baby powder smell, so I have to pass on this one.

 

eta: After about half an hour the baby powder goes away, and it's toasted almond with a little hint of mint underneath. It's actually way delicious, but too faint to justify buying a bottle. I'll keep the imp, though, I think.

Edited June 15, 2007 by karen

[joojifish]

In the bottle: mint and almond

 

Wet on skin: strong mint. As the perfume dries, anise comes out and makes the scent almost rubbery.

 

Not a fave, but it *is* interesting.

[ouch!]

This morphs very quickly then dies!!!

 

it goes from..

 

Almond >>> Almond/Mint/Aniseed >>>> faint almond/mint>>>>some sort of greenery>>> GONE!!

 

All in about 10 minutes!

 

(I've never reviewed a scent in that way before but it felt appropriate)

[VioletChaos]

in the imp: yup. almond alright, just as others said. it reminds me a LOT of the almond hand cream by Burt's Bees- a very sweet, very *strong* almond.

 

wet on skin: same. i can see why some people might perceive there to be cherry in this blend. i don't think it's cherry, thouh- i think it's just the almond being sweet and marzipan-like.

 

dry down: interesting. the almond fades away to just a background scent and what's left is a breath of that, plus a touch of spearmint, and a bare hint of orange essence.

 

in all: complex and mysterious as the other Tarots, the High Priestess has a fitting scent- she comes on strong, states her business and leaves after her work is done, with only the slightest hint she was there at all. i LOVE it- i only hope i can secure a bottle!

[zankoku_zen]

Okay, so on wet first I smell the almond, and then like a giant blast of peppermint. Having never smelled Corsica mint, I can't compare... but definitely more like peppermint and almond. Love that bit.

 

As it dries, the mint recedes and I get whiffs of anise. Less pleased by this development. I want to get back to the mint/almond stage. Which was delicious.

 

No. Stop. Bad anise. Why are you ruining this for me?

 

Why?

[theseagrows]

this is mostly sweet mint on me, guess the sweetness is almond, from reading other reviews. the almond smells more noticeable in the decant, rather than on my skin though. then i get a blast of anise and eucalyptus. it's getting that vicks vapor-y coolness. then some greenery comes through, but not sure what it is. this sure smells medicinal on me.