Block Buster

[Koumori]

Used to open up options in your life, overcome obstacles, and create opportunities. This blend increases your potential for success, inspires creativity and quick thinking, and helps you to be more flexible, adaptable and open to change.

I get honey at first, with just a touch of something I can't quite identify; I want to call it citrus, but I don't think so, or if so it's very subtle, as though it were honey made from orange blossoms or some such. The sweetness mellows quickly, and there's something spicy underneath; the faintest touch of cinnamon, or maybe it's some light resin I can't quite identify.

I find this scent very refreshing and calming; although I don't really believe that scents can change my life, I have reached for this a few times when in the middle of a long, tedious work assignment, and I believe it's helped me calm down and focus, though that may just be the result of taking a break.

[Little Bird]

First on this smells like spicy apples and something strange. It reminds me of some sort of cleanser that my mother used to use to clean windows... sort of herbal, but chemical. The chemical smell fades after a few minutes and this is a pleasant enough spicy apple scent.

 

15 minutes later... this is all red hots candies on my skin . It's way too much cinnamon for me, overpowering enough to make my eyes water.

[Spring Snow]

This one is one of my very favorites. To me it smells like spiced cider, all apples and cinnamon. It's very mellow and not too sweet, and it lasts! I don't know if it helps me concentrate, but I know I'll wear it to all my exams this winter, just in case.

[BlueStar]

I love this. It is not an appropriate everyday scent. I bet it would make one awesome soap though or a room scent.

 

Wet On Skin: Apple cider, honey, cinnamon--soothing

 

Drydown: Warm and inviting, like a neighbros house around the holidays.

"Have a some apple cider Mike"

"Don't mind if I do"

"Have you met Ted?"

"No I have not"

"Ted is an investment banker who loves your ideas"

"Well how fucking excellent is that bro?"

"I know!"

[hangingfire]

In the imp: Whoa, how seasonal. Fruity cinnamon of a very Christmastime sort.

 

On, wet: Still fruity cinnamon, although the fruit aspect is stronger.

 

Drydown: Cinnamon again, with a touch of fruit.

 

It is definitely a very clarifying and calming blend. I'll keep working with it in various ways.

[judas_kiss]

In the imp: the expensive potpourri my mother used to scent her home with. She got it at this place that hand-mixed it. It's lovely, and definitely NOT an insult.

 

On: BERRIES! Purple, ripe, very tart and sweet at the same time. This is a kind of blackberry smell. Very juicy, yet dark. Not what I really like smelling like, but it's nice nonetheless.

 

Dry: A bit of an herbal scent comes into play, making this scent remind me of an almost bayberry-ish scent. Still purple, still lovely, yet sadly, still not me.

 

Reached desired effect esotericly?: YES. I used this during finals last term when I had to write three essays in three days (ah, procrastination..) and it worked like a charm to keep me on task. I might like a candle of this...

[terrierhead]

I got this as a frimp from the lab. Thanks labbies!

 

In the imp, it smells creamy, spicy and fruity. I'd read reviews before trying Block Buster and had gotten the impression that it would smell like Bananas Foster. It does, a bit, in the imp.

 

Wet, the banana disappears, and this turns to a lovely apple - plum - spice blend. It seems more like a room fragrance than something I'd normally wear, but it's a good scent.

 

As this dries, my skin amps up the spice. It's warm, cozy and apple-y, perhaps with some plum. This reminds me a bit of Harvest Moon - I've only tried a tiny bit of HM once but will give it another go soon. It's quite a bit like a slightly more apple-rich Jack, minus the butter note.

 

Overall, a good blend. I don't think I'll buy more of it, but I'll use the imp.

 

I'm not sure it's made me any better than usual at handling change, etc., but it has kept me smelling nice during one of the busiest work days in recent memory.

[Imptress]

Sniffing in the imp, I get cinnamon... cinnamon and fruit. I wasn't going to wear this today because I didn't want to have to deal with the cinnamon burn, but when I closed the imp a few drops popped out onto my skin, so I figured I was destined to wear it. Besides, I need some flexibility as I'm going through a file review with my supervisor this week, which is grueling. Amazingly enough, when I dabbed this on I got only a very slight warmth in a few places-- not the usual burning red welts! Very good sign. On initially, I still got a lot cinnamon with fruit (peach? hmmm... more like apricot, maybe) underneath... reminds me very much of March Hare, so I was bit nervous. I love that scent but spice and fruit together remind me of candles and, as I've said before, I don't want to be known at work as "that girl who smells like candles". Further along the drydown, however, something floral/herbal developed deep down... very faint, but still there. Ultimately, this is mostly cinnamon/fruit with an undertone of floral/herbs. It wasn't as strong as March Hare and I didn't get the "candle vibe" from it that I've gotten from other fruit/spice scents. I really like this, and hubby said I smelled good when I got home from work and he got a chance to sniff me. As for the effects of the oil, I did find it easier to stay on-task today. I'm definitely going to try this again and there may be a big bottle in my future as I find the voodoo oils very helpful.

Edited January 22, 2006 by Imptress

[BlackDahlia]

Oh, very nice... Mmmmmm...

 

In the Imp ~ Red, juicy apples with warm, soft spicing. (Like nutmeg and cinnamon dusting)

 

Wet ~ OOooooo... very, very nice. This turns to a lovely spiced cider on me with a warm, spicy undertone that is gorgeous. Hints of vanilla seem to be poking out, every so often.

 

On the drydown ~ this is the scent of apple pies cooking in the oven on a cool autumnal evening. Very warm, inviting, comforting.

 

I am looking forward to testing out the magical use of the scent... particularly those areas that are highlighted, below.

"Used to open up options in your life, overcome obstacles, and create opportunities. This blend increases your potential for success, inspires creativity and quick thinking, and helps you to be more flexible, adaptable and open to change."

 

Ummmm. Yeah. I am pretty inflexible, not often open to change (went through major change in 2005 ~ didn't go well, am not in a big hurry to change anything, ever, ever, again...) and I am far from adaptable. I am also very blocked (in all areas of life, right now...) and I am overcoming some obstacles and I need to be creative with creating new opportunities in my life since I messed my life up in such a spectacular way last year...

 

I will definitely try the magical properties of this oil out.

[Mountaingrrl00]

I, too, get a spiced-cider fragrance from Block Buster. I've tried it a couple times as a body fragrance and once as a room fragrance - I especially like it in the latter context. This oil has surprising strong throw and staying power for something so fruity. It's cheering and stimulating. It's too soon for me to report on specific outcomes of its intended use, but I do notice it gives me extra energy to work on my projects, creative or otherwise.

[Bagfish]

I ordered block buster from the lab as an imp when I was on an apple scent bender in the autumn. When I received it, I tried it a few times and thought it was OK scent wise.

 

In the imp - very sweet fruit

 

Wet - more tartly apple than from the imp

 

Drydown - well I put it on this morning at 8:30 - its not 10pm and I'm STILL smelling apple, but in a sugar-free boiled sweet apple sort of way.

 

But this is not the point, the point is that this afternoon I had to do an exam for the first time in 12 years and I needed anything I could get my hands on to help as I had done sweet FA revision until this morning So slathered on Block Buster and managed to write 13 pages of script in two hours this afternoon. Not bad for someone who now types WAAAAY faster than she writes and who's hand-writing skills appear to have atrophied from disuse So, Block Buster may have unleashed my brain for the afternoon. We shall see and I shall update when I find out how well I did in the exam

 

To sum up, not an oil I would wear just as a scent, but a way of getting me writing, it seems to have hit the mark.

 

B

[alicia_stardust]

At first sniff I couldn't tell a single thing that was in this, only that it smelled very familair.

 

Wearing it, I realized that I was smelling a sweetness and a spice that was perhaps cinnamon but a very mellow one at that. The note that stood out the most was apples. It reminded me very much of Samhain 05 for a while.

 

In the end I felt it was effective and nice smelling. I'll keep some on hand.

 

I gave this a 3.5 out of 5 stars.

[ancilla_morte]

on skin: apple cinnamon. smells just like heavily spiced mulled cider.

it so lovely, warm and comforting! this is definitely going to be a big bottle. even moreso if it works well.

I'm not sure how it will effect my night.. but I'll update about that later.

[seamor]

Oooo-WEEE! Did I fail to recognize the possibilities and pitfalls of this one!

 

Here's the story: I’m going through lots of changes at work, mostly for the good, but I’m resistant and little paranoid about them, for no discernible reason. So I decide it’s time to try Block Buster.

 

7:30 am – A remarkably light, delicate fruit-and floral. Pleasant. Calming.

 

7:45 am Oh dear – the first blocks this seems to be busting are those I have carefully erected to stop myself from expressing my general frustration and irritation with the entire universe. Lots of old angst and unresolved anger is popping up. I am now severely cranky – like “Where’d we put the hydrogen bomb – I need to use it” cranky. Yipes!

 

8:15 am Well, whew! That particular side effect seems to have passed. It just rolled up and out, instead of subjecting me to the truly horrible day I usually have when I’m thinking about those particular things. Now I’m starting to have a good time again - almost like they've gone altogether. Hmmm....

 

9:00 am I’m getting a kind of dry, chocolate-y smell – not rich or sweet like brownies, but kind of dusty and austere (Whoa! Austere chocolate?!? Weird.) – like a chocolate biscotti, maybe. I sure didn’t imagine I would smell this from the scent I put on this morning.

 

10:30 am The morning job went just fine. It seemed long, but not in a bad way. More like “I can’t believe I still have plenty of time to do everything.” That was nice. Now I’m smelling a faint golden amber, with maybe a little fruit behind it - a distant orchard on a summer day.

 

11:30 am I am home for lunch with the parrots, and we are being very silly, all of us. They love it when I’m like this. I am smelling fruit and flowers again.

 

Now on to the *real* job - the one where the discomfort is…

 

6:45 p.m. Well, golly, that was not so good in some ways. This blend really works, and - as noted before - it is not at all selective about which blocks it busts. Like, the one I have that keeps me from crying like a child when my feelings are hurt was gone today. And the one that keeps me buffered so I don’t feel it so much when someone near me is in emotional pain was not there at all. Aieee...

 

This scent changes my psychic orientation in some way. It’s not that I become disorganized or flighty, or discover different priorities, or think different thoughts - more like it just opens up all the honest, unrepressed emotions of a child. When I am happy, I am completely happy. When I am silly, there are no limits to my silliness. When I am sad, I cry, regardless of whether it is an "acceptable" time for that or not. This is a very amazing thing.

 

For ritual, or for days when I need to work through something and expect to have plenty of time to do it, this blend is pricelesss.

 

For future hard days at work? Wolf’s Heart. Definitely.

Edited February 1, 2006 by celtimor

[ABrokenAngel]

Beth sent this to me in as a frimp for my Budding Moon purchase. Funny thing? I had just placed it on my wishlist the night before I received my actual package.

 

Wet: Mmmmmmmm smells of cinnamon, vanilla and a spike of honey-fresh from the comb-.

 

Dry: I only put a smidge of this on since cinammons usually hate me. However this had a mean enough throw to hit me square between the brows for about an hour.

 

1 Hour Later: It's dried down to a gentle cinnamon with heavy sweetness. I actually really really like the long dry on this.

 

Thanks beth1

[summer]

Block Buster certainly has a cinnamon note, but I don't think of it as a "spicy" oil. It is predominanty a warm fruit -- like a warm, rounded pineapple and citrus combination of some sort. It's very energizing, but comforting at the same time. I have had a bottle of this for a while, but I'm looking forward to using it more as a "get out of the rut" aid.

 

An interesting note: I applied some Block Buster this morning before I did my yoga. Right afterwards, as I was cooling down, my mother called, and she and I had a really calm, but really "breakthrough" type conversation about some issues we've been having for the past year. We've talked about these issues before, but I've always felt emotional and rattled. This conversation was different. It really was like an obsticle had been lifted out of the way, and we spoke honestly, calmly, frankly, and with great understanding. Wow.

[smallvoice]

I'm also getting that spiced cider over the holidays, and a bit of a cedary smell, plus the rich plum and berries... it's this explosion of good things that all come out and dance around together, and it's really quite remarkable. I'll have to use it with purpose and comment on that another day. It has, in the past, had the effect of calming me down and focusing my mind on important things when I've been really emotional and scattered. I do reach for this as a comforting scent, and it's just lovely. Spicy fruits. I love spices. Mmm.

[sookster]

straight sniff from imp is all apple and cinnamon goodness!!!

 

upon application the spiciness takes forefront and the apple fades

softly in the background....lovely....

 

i will be wearing my imp when i feel the need for making myself

more adaptable

Edited February 25, 2006 by sookster

[Chrysantza]

I get the spicy fruit that everyone else is talking about. It's a lovely, sweet, warm scent if a bit more "ritual" smelling than I normally wear as a perfume.

 

I have been using this as a ritual oil and let me tell you - it WORKS. It does bust the blocks. Only thing is it is not particular about which ones it busts as I found out this afternoon. Be careful what you work for, etc. But this is a very nice-smelling oil that does work for ritual purposes.

[PirateMaggie]

Wet: Mmm. March Hare got into the pumpkin pie spices.

 

Dry: Mmm. March Hare took the pie spice into the rose garden. The fruity apricot smell really blooms. The spices give this blend a comforting, glowing quality. As it continues to dry, I get occasional wafts of pure, crisp rose and possibly gardenia.

 

This works fantastically. Without getting into the gory details, I achieved a personal best in a work test, in a subject t which I've been a bit lacklustre. Today, everything just came together. I was calm. I was collected. And I shot really, really well.

 

I know I should save this as a special occasion oil for when I really need its oomph, but this is fantastic as a scent.

[sophia_helix]

I absolutely cannot describe this scent properly. There's definitely a touch of cinnamon, but the topnote is some juicy fruit, like a honeydew melon. Under that is a sweetly herbal scent I can't put my finger on. The cool herbal/fruity scent mixed with the warm cinnamon/spicy scent is really addictive and mesmerizing.

 

I had a good day when I wore this blend. I managed to get a couple things done I'd been putting off, and whether that's a psychological effect or what, I don't know. I do know that I kept sniffing all day, because the scent kept me intrigued, and I will definitely be wearing more.

[aymee]

I really, really wanted to try this, so I'm so glad that the lab sent me a frimp yesterday!

 

In the bottle, this smells NICE. Something spicy and fruity. On my skin, it starts smelling like a rabid March Hare. Don't get me wrong, this isn't a bad thing. In fact, this is a very, very good thing. I immediately thought I smelled cloves, but it must be the cinnamon that everyone's talking about.

 

Anyhow, I've been having an awful day, and I think this is giving me the ol' proverbial kick in the balls that I need to stop moping about and start ripping through my mountain of homework.

 

Definitely need a big bottle of this one.

[Diva Urd]

Wow, I thought I reviewed this already... weird.

 

Anyway, since I obviously haven't, let's do it now (since I'm wearing it today)!

 

This smells like the spiced herbal tea I always have for Christmas - it's very comforting to me. It seems to be one of the few combinations where I don't mind an overt cinnamon note in my perfume (usually, I wrinkle my nose at it, I have to admit).

 

It makes me feel good, somewhat empowered, even though it doesn't have nearly the same effect on me as, say, Wolf's Heart (then again, right now, I don't really have anything major I need to achieve, I might try it out again if such a situation comes up). I'm not quite sure yet whether I'll be getting more, I'm going to have to try it a few more times.

 

Scentwise, on a scale from 1 to 5, I'd rate this a solid 3.

[Medici]

Cinnamon apple cider gone cold. It's sweet, but not too sweet, spicey, but not too spicey.

 

While I like the scent of Blockbuster, and I've used it on occasion to get into more mentally involving projects, its just not as effective as a swift kick in the pants like the TAL blends.

[gwyllgi]

Initially, I was able to pick out clove from this scent, but was absolutely stumped as to the rest. Smelling it again, now, it smells like baked apples and cinnamon, very much like a country store.

 

This is definitely an oil that needs to be applied lightly for me. After spilling a bit from the imp and wiping it off on my wrists while the rest ran over my fingers, it's so strong that the baked apple goodness is being overwhelmed by something dusty - like a noseful of cloves. As it wears off a bit, though, it softs to more of that rural goodness, making it plausible as something to wear as a simple scent.

 

Having not tried it when I had anything to accomplish, I can't speak much for its efficacy as a voodoo blend. Given the hell that is contract changes at work, though, I'm thinking that I need to give it a shot there; the power of suggestion, if nothing else, couldn't hurt.