Mage

[lucycat]

All mystique and thrumming power: gurjum balsam, Sumatran dragon's blood resin, olibanum, galangal, oleo gum resin, and frankincense.

 

This was a frimp from the Lab.

In the imp: woodsy, peppery resin.

Wet: Frankincense and resin.

Dry: This smells almost exactly like the 2013 version of Midnight Mass, which I recently tested. It’s not quite as sharp when wet. Like Midnight Mass, it gets sweeter and softer as it dries. There’s an almost-fruity note that must be the dragon’s blood.

If anyone is looking for a stand-in for Midnight Mass after the Yules go down, I think Mage could be it.

[Heaven_Star]

I originally got this as a frimp and I'm glad I did because there's too many unknown notes in the description for me to have picked this up myself.

 

In the bottle: Sharp and green. Looking at the reviews this is probably the galangal or the balsam talking, it smells almost antiseptic to my nose - it's powerful. There's a bit of dragon's blood in the background but it's the overwhelming force of that spicy green note that gets your attention here. In terms of what it's trying to evoke this is the "thrumming power"!

 

Wet: The big sharp green-ness hangs around for a little bit but it gets reined in by the other resins pretty quickly and backs way off. It starts softening to a more well-rounded incense scent. It's smokey, not sweet, and still a bit herbal.

 

Dry: Sweet incense! There's still a few 'sparks' of the sharper green notes from earlier but it's a lovely sweet incense blend now. It's not a traditional sort of incense smell, there's no church frankincense (even though there's frankincense in this) and it's much more natural and warm. It's no less rich but it's a very different incense blend to what I usually think of when I think 'incense'.

 

I love this. I'm sad I don't get the cedar or pine notes others have noticed, I usually love those sorts of notes, but maybe they're working well on me overall and just helping make this one smell lovely on my skin. I find this scent hard to unpick because I don't recognise the notes individually, but I know it's beautiful. I'm sad to say it took how much my man friend likes the scent of it to encourage me to get a big bottle but I really didn't notice how much I was using it as an everyday scent until I had a big bottle. I wear it at least once a week, it's in the default rotation now! I haven't tried it with the other RPG blends but I'd like to see how it played with other scents.

[Kanashisa]

Personal Rating: 10/10

 

Wet: Fresh, minty pine and something warm, sweet and fruity--vaguely like dried longan fruit (which, when translated from the Chinese, means "dragon eye" and smells/tastes sweet and spicy and kind of juicy even though it's dry). Herbal.

 

Dry: The pine fades. The sweet, vaguely fruity, herbal smell comes to the forefront. A man at the hospital I was working at said, "Do you burn incense at home?" I agree with Heaven_Star that it is smoky and not what normally comes to mind when one thinks of incense...perhaps because it's so much more playful. Cedar. Hmm, it reminds me of prunes, which unfortunately is not a romantic word so doesn't do this scent justice, but it makes me think of that half-dried, sweet plum smell.

 

I love RPG Mage, so even though everyone before me has written basically all there is to say about it, I felt like I had to add my review. It's one of those "Only BPAL" unusual scents, and very lovely. It does elicit the idea of a clean mage in a green, lush forest, surrounded by exotic herbs and spices, definitely smiling and quietly friendly in the sunshine.

Edited September 27, 2014 by Kanashisa

[Morsigne925]

Wet/Imp: Incense and fragrant woods, also reminds me of an old library at my college

 

Drying: Incense actually calms down a bit, which is surprising to me since they usually blow up on me, and it becomes almost floral? Like a mysterious woodsy floral. Like flowers out in the woods after it rained. Being in the pacific northwest this actually really reminds me of fall, and now that I'm thinking about it it bears a resemblance to Samhain to me. I really love this one by itself, too and I can't wait to try it layered with other rpg scents.

[radioaction]

It’s snowing here (sob) a woody, resiny, spicy scent was in order. The throw is fresh evergreen, like walking through a tree lot to find the perfect christmas tree. Up close, it’s like an ancient magicks shop - mysterious spices and resins with unknown possibilities. I don’t think I would have ever picked this out as something I would like, but so far it’s really wonderful!

[BoneBone24]

Wet: Sweet and shimmery. Brighter than expected, and just a touch fruity. Something about it reminds me of Anubis; not the scent as a whole, but perhaps there’s a shared note or two.

 

Drydown: Glittery, translucent resins. Slightly sweet. This may sound crazy, but it actually smells a lot like edible body glitter! The scent texture falls somewhere between soft powder and shimmery sand. The sweetness goes from being honey-like to taking on more of a red flavor, eventually revealing itself as the dragon’s blood. The frankincense adds its own sweetness, dutifully keeping the dragon’s blood in check. (Sometimes it goes too sharp or flowery on me, but not here!)

 

Dry: Shimmering clouds of mystery and illusion. If I had to assign it a color, it would be multi-chromatic, because there seems to be multiple indeterminate colors at once. Mysteriously magical!

 

 

8 out of 10 bones

[lady_pandora]

I'm so glad I'm not the only one who thought Midnight Mass! For me, Mage is Midnight Mass, but burnt. I get that beautiful rich church incense blend, but something is adding sort of a burnt wood or woodsmoke note to the mix. But other than that smoky edge to it, it's so much like Midnight Mass for most of its weartime. One other difference is that I'm noticing the fruity dragon's blood lingering on my arm the next day rather than the kind of musky trace that MM leaves behind.

It's close enough that I don't think I'd ever wear it unless I was out of Midnight Mass itself--I like MM better. But I think it's probably worth keeping around in case I do run out of MM before Yules come back.

[Lunasariel]

In the imp: At first whiff, there's a definite note of dragon's blood resin. Under that, there's incense, but a sort of "dusty" incense, if that makes sense. The whole thing is made more interesting by a woodsy/evergreen note. This is more notable from afar than up close, but I do get a definite sense-memory of Christmas tree-generated excitement.

 

Wet: The evergreen note immediately steps forward, even in front of the dragon's blood, but overall, the feeling is still of woodsy, dusty incense. I'm not crazy about incense blends in general (myrrh and/or frankincense tend to go sour on my skin, and my memories of church aren't always the best), so I'm surprised that this blend is making me smile as much as it is. I know it's supposed to be "all mystique and thrumming power," but it really feels more like a rather young mage who hasn't quite gotten there yet, but really wants to appear like he has. The first character that comes to my mind is Schmendrick from The Last Unicorn, followed closely by Thero from the Nightrunner series.

 

Dry: A softer, drier version of the same. The dragon's blood calms down, but it's also, conversely, sweeter and more noticeable. The incense is also more notable as such, if only because it goes a bit sour on my skin (see above), but this isn't an entirely bad thing, just interesting.

[JuliskaMarie]

In the imp: Woods/forest (probably the huge variety of resins), resins & yes, something that does smell/feel like strong magical power!

 

Wet on skin: Green & something that smells like it might not work. Uh-oh.

 

Dry on skin: Like a toned down (& slightly less powerful) version of in the imp. I can see how this would be ideal for layering! I absolutely must experiment with that sometime!

 

After a few hours: This is so subtle I almost can't smell it - resins with just a hint of something mysterious.

 

Verdict: Far too subtle to wear on its own, but would be great layered with probably anything else, as it would help give the perfume a little more depth!

[DiesMali]

In the imp: Very sweet, almost smells like violets.

 

Wet on my skin: SWEET. Almost overpowering. Oof, that's strong. Almost fruity, mostly sweet and a bit of incense.

 

Dry: This threatened to give me a headache while wet, but now that it's dry, this is actually quite good. At first, I could've sworn this had plum or blackcurrant in it, but I think that's the dragon's blood interacting with the other ingredients. After it's been on me a bit, it turns...magical. It's sparkly purple in colour, with frankincense and dragon's blood as the primary notes, all the other resins swirling beneath into a haze of intrigue. I've never had sparkly purple from a BPAL scent before. Cool!

[HighlyBell7]

This is only my second BPAL scent, and this is based off an a imp that I got in a lot off ebay. These are my impressions before reading anything about what was in it or the official description or anything:

 

At first: Sweet and spicy, like overly sugared Earl Grey tea. Warm and cozy, like a fire in the fall . Something mysterious. Carmel apples. Spiced and slightly alchololic apple cider. I feel like it should be worn with an oversized dark beige cashmere sweater that I can wrap around me as I snuggle up next to the fire and read a book. Intoxicatingly Fall.

 

Fades to a soft, spicy cotton-resin.

 

Impression after reading the contents and description:

I don't really know what most of the ingredients are, but it makes me wonder if this vial was mislabeled. Does "Sumatran dragon's blood resin" smell like cuddles? Once upon a time, I played World of Warcraft, and I can't imagine that this scent could be based on that kind of Mage. This scent is just so snuggleable. Maybe, if there was a "Warm Hugs" buff…. I want to believe that I am just missing something, but I have a couple rare gene SNPs that make me a "supertaster" and that has always translated into smells as well. I have to believe that either this was mislabeled (even though it looks official) or it was a kind of joke. Interesting.

[doomsday_disco]

In the imp: Resins! I'm not familiar with all of the notes listed here, but I can definitely smell the olibanum (I once tried the Lab's single note), and I'm not getting much of the dragon's blood from the imp.

 

Wet: The resins in this aren't very heavy. One would think this would be a very heavy scent with all of the resins listed, but it is actually far lighter than I thought it would be. I do get the olibanum, and after a few minutes, the dragon's blood resin adds a light spiciness to the scent. I'm also getting something that's almost lemon-like (but definitely isn't lemon).

 

Dry: Light, sweet resins.

 

Verdict: I'll be keeping my imp for layering purposes! I'm so glad the dragon's blood wasn't problematic. My current favorite RPG combo is Neutral Ranger Elf, but I think this one could be good as well.

[beakerwill]

Amazing stuff, this. Dragon's blood and frankincense, with other resins in the background, and a hint of smokiness. Rich, mellow and sweet, never high pitched or overwhelming, the way so many resin based scents can be on my skin (well - frankincense is always a win, lol!). As a previous review noted, it is reminiscent of fall scents as well. Love it!

[aquazoo]

Wow, that’s smoky! Then I get the sweet resin. It’s complicated, hard to pin down, but overall pleasant.

[Casablanca]

Sickeningly sweet balsam, gingery galangal, and... other things I'm not teasing apart.

 

The cloying sweetness comes and goes, and a spiciness comes in after drydown.

I think I'm not a fan.

[KezzieZ]

This is my first imp for the RPG Series. Technically, I was most interested in Bard, class-wise, but that one was out of stock (as well as Good, part of my alignment of choice), but Mage sounds nice and I was still curious enough to purchase the imp.

 

In Bottle: I'm not sure how to describe this one. Woodsy and resinous?

 

Wet on Skin: Kind of the same, but it seems like it's becoming just slightly sweeter. It's a very incense-y sort of smell, but that makes sense for a mage scent.

 

Approx. 2 Hours Later: It's a lot lighter by this point, but still incense-y. I think there's some mild nuttiness that had come out at some point as well, but I think that's the way one of the oils reacts to my skin.

 

------

 

It's not half bad. I'd like it better without that nuttiness to it. I'm really curious over how this one will layer with other RPG Series scents. At a later point, I'd really enjoy getting some other samples from the line, though half of the ones I want are out of stock for the time being.

Edited November 26, 2016 by KezzieZ

[lizabelle]

It's...sweet? I'm not sure what I expected of this, but sweet was not it. It's actually a medium-to-light scent, surprisingly enough, and very resinous. I'd say it smells deep gold, almost an amber color (but not like amber, the ingredient, because that's no compliment on my skin). Sadly over time this does something odd and turns into laundry detergent at a distance. Up close it's still spicy and a bit sweet, but from far away all I get is that fake "sunny day" smell.

[gloame]

A surprise favorite! It's indeed very resin-y, which I love, but it smells very green. Not fern-y/fougere green, but *alive* green. I don't know what Mage this is modeled after, but it reminds me more of a Druid.

 

ETA where I'd wear it: When I'm studying magic

Edited July 16, 2017 by gloame

[lizardskin]

I had wanted to try Mage since I first discovered the RPG line, since I tend to play magic-users in video games, but I was scared off by the number of unfamiliar notes. I finally received it as a frimp, and I'm pleasantly surprised by how much I like it!

 

Initially, I get some of the balsam, but it doesn't last very long and is replaced by a sweet scent--something like caramel coffee. I thought this was the dragon's blood, but in other scents dragon's blood has a distinctly floral smell on my skin, so I'm not sure. Whatever it is, it's very comforting, rich and sweet without being cloying.

 

To be honest, this isn't really how I expected mage to smell--I expected the frankincense to be much more predominant. However, this could be a mage at work in her study-- not the blast of magic but the hours of slow, dedicated study that lead up to it. I may need a bottle once my imp runs out.

[Miss Landau]

Got this as a frimp. Super sweet resin - as in, so sweet it's basically honey, and very strong. I have to be honest and say that smelling blind I only got this sweetness, couldn't pick up anything like incense or galangal, and I don't have the faintest idea what gurjum balsam or olibanum are, haha. Now that I know what to look for, I THINK I get a bit of the smoke of incense and maybe a ginger-y element. This is definitely one of the most potent BPALs I've tried lately.

[fenharel]

In the forest, there is a temple. Long-abandoned to the ages, heavy with the weight of millennia.

 

As you approach, dried pine needles and twigs crunch beneath your boots. Soft breezes rustle the treetops above. The forest is alive around you, sharp verdant green, but the temple calls. Decrepit stone. Mystery and power.

 

Ivy climbs the walls and sprouts through the foundation. Over the ages, trees have broken their way into the temple, crushing walls and towering arches. The forest is *part* of it, within and without. You cross the threshold and in the distance hear the call of birds and the rush of wings.

 

The smoke of holy incense coats your lungs - prehistoric resins burning in rusted pendulums hanging from the ceiling. How did they even get lit? Suddenly, an intense awareness. You have crossed the Veil. The air is very, very still. In front of you, dust mites lay suspended in a lone ray of sunshine. Deeper within, you hear chanting, sonorous and barely human.

 

You follow the sound, compelled, pulled forth like a puppet on a string. The forest recedes behind you - a dream, a different world. The green is gone. Now there is only incense, smoke, and dust. Torches spring to light on their own. You hear the stirrings of tiny feet - bats and mice scattering out of your path.

 

Finally, you emerge into an open chamber. Cavernously large, filled with statues of gods whose names have long been forgotten. Except, perhaps, by The Mage. She sits in the center of the chamber, enchanted silk robes pooled around her. Surrounded by glyphs at the four points, in a circle of glowing green light. The chanting fills your chest, reverberates in your bones. Pure arcane energy cracks in the air as goosebumps rise on your skin.

 

Forward, forward, ever still. Your feet bring you to the edge of her circle. A conjuring, a calling, something massive and terrible... like a child following a firefly, heart in your throat, you step across her ward....

 

I will be buying a bottle of this for sure. It's a very evocative scent. So much so that I felt inspired to write a little blurb

 

In the imp: GREEEEEEN!!!!!!!!!!! balsam, pine, woods

 

On the skin: the resins come out to play. i get the dragon's blood and the frankincense strong. the combination is so lovely - the resins keep the greens from being too Christmas-tree-car-air-freshener. It's an enchanting combination of sharp balsam and rich, sweet, spicy resin. the longer you have it on, the sweeter it gets. eventually, after a couple of hours, the green fades entirely and it's pure soft incense. moderate throw - if anyone could smell this on me they made no comments, but i could smell it for 2-3 hours. reapplied on my lunch break. a wonderful pick-me-up. this scent makes me feel powerful, strong, and full of arcane mystique

[garbagewitch]

Mage starts off warm and a little peppery—between this and No. 93 Engine, I’m starting to think that peppery note might be frankincense? Whatever it is, though, the peppery note isn’t as overwhelmingly biting as it was in No. 93 Engine. Instead, the whole scent is warm and sweet and incensey, with just the slightest kick. As it dries down, the spiciness smooths out a bit, but overall the scent stays warm and sweet. Like Lawful, it's very straightforward all though the drydown, which I suppose makes sense for layering.

 

This isn’t an explosively magical or darkly mysterious scent—it actually reminds me of Dracula and Lisa’s labs in Castlevania, golden-warm and sparkling, as inviting as it is enchanting. I feel like this is what my Circle mages in Dragon Age would smell like, all well-organized spell components lined up on a rough wooden workspace alongside carefully sketched out rituals and precariously balanced cups of tea.

 

I don’t wear Mage quite often enough to merit a full bottle y e t, but it’s definitely not out of the running. I have high hopes for layering this one, especially with the more exciting-looking alignment options. 😙

[torischroeder9]

In the imp: Balsam and dragon's blood. 

 

On my skin:

 

Wet, it's mainly balsam. Dry, also balsam. Given time to develop on my skin, I do get a note that's a bit peppery, along with a bare hint of the sweetness of dragon's blood. 

 

On me, this is another deep, woody blend that wants lightening. 

[RoseThornAndOak]

This one is interesting, smells like ancient wood and  almost fruity chewy resins, charred and moldering, forgotten in time. It's okay on me. 

[roseus]

In the imp and on wet I get a swirly, fruity incense. It continues to get fruitier bc DBR just tends to do that on me. Sort of a deep red chewy fruit situation with the incense less apparent as it settles. It's not shouty, it's a nice smooth fruit but I'm missing the incense.