Malediction

[Shollin]

Malediction, from Sin & Salvation:

Evil incarnate. Revel in your dark side with this romantically cruel scent. Contains red patchouli and vetivert.

 

First sniff: Dark, earthy, slightly spicy - sandalwood? But pleasant, and I've discovered I don’t like sandalwood - must be the patchouli. Incensey. A hint of sweetness too.

 

Wearing: Very dark, almost wood-y. A bit much at first but gets softer and warmer - was very nice at work. Very promising.

 

Second try: For a while it’s cedarwood, like putting your head into an old cedar closet and smelling the coats. After a couple of hours there’s something sharp underneath – almost citrusy but not quite. I can’t pin it down. I might not like this one as much as I thought I did.

[viciousviolet]

I have recently found an affection for vetiver and it was thanks to this scent. In the bottle I found it to be a little too harsh, perhaps from the patchouli. But on my skin it dried to a dark, sexy, mysterious scent. Layered with BPAL Black Rose, this scent goes from good to exquisite.

[Murron]

This one smells very similar to middle-earth turns to rock from Lush. It smells a bit sharp at first, but that fades quickly. It smeels very earthy and spicy. It does fade away after half a day (or I didn't put on enough, will wear it again tomorrow). I think this one would also be very sexy on a man.....but the day that I can turn my boy to perfume, pigs will be flying.....

[Onlydreamin]

This is one of those scents that you can't just smell from the bottle. When I first did that, I thought there was no way I'd wear this oil. However, when I applied it, it 'warmed" and was absolutely gorgeous. It is earthy, but very wearable. I think I'll follow another poster's advice and try it layered with Black Rose. That would be phenomenal.

 

Onlydreamin

[Fulltiltredhead]

Just smelling from the vial, it's pure nasty funk. It almost immediately turns into something sexy on, tho. Donna Karen's Black Cashmere is the closest OTC scent I can compare it to. Which I wouldn't wear, because it's too strongly cedar. But this hits the woodsy/spicey thing just right for me.

 

Perfect for fall/winter, and I would love it extremely as a room fragrance.

 

I'm really surprised at how much I like it. It fades fast on me but it's worth refreshing.

 

This would be incredibly good on a guy, too.

 

I may have to get the big bottle.

Edited April 28, 2004 by Fulltiltredhead

[jj_j]

There's almost nothing left for me to say on Malediction - every one of the previous comments covered mine, aside from trying it with Black Rose and the fact that Malediction had great staying power (if not a ton of "throw") on me.. The faint and gorgeous lemon pith note teased me all evening, too ... yum!

 

Be sure to try this one, on your skin, and give it just a bit time to mellow. The scent you get by sniffing the vial is not indicative of what you'll end up with, and the ingredients don't turn out at all like you expect them to.

 

Definite purchase, in spite of having left this till the end of my "try-em" list. Don't make the same mistake I did and leave it till you've gotten the rest of your wishlist - if you don't like it on, you'll love it as a room scent.

[Ancientgirl]

This is a fascinating scent, both earthy and smoky. It reminds me of a candle that has just been extinguished, with the scent of smoke and wax still hovering in the air.

At first sniff, this scent was overpowering, the smokiness so intense it nearly hurts my eyes.

Now that it has mellowed a bit, I kind of like it. This isn't the sort of fragrance I see myself wearing often, but I can see liking it on someone with an earthier, sexier personality. Or maybe for those occasions I want to call up my own earthy, sexy side?

Ancientgirl

P.S. That was my first review.

[Neko]

In the bottle: Sharp, dark, very prominent earth and wood, it almost seems as if I can smell a nutty note in there, though it isn't a sweet scent. This is definitely a powerful blend.

 

On my skin (first five minutes): Wow, if anything, this becomes even darker when it first hits my skin. The nutty note has vanished and I am left with the strong smell of dark, heavy wood and rich soil. This scent is bitter... the particular bitterness of very old wood. It makes me feel as if I were a small child playing hide and go seek in an ancient wardrobe. This is certainly not a fresh, clean wooden smell. I also smell some earthiness, it is in the background but not at all faint. It is slightly damp, filled with old leaves and twigs, bare but ripe for growing new things. I am suddenly transported to half hidden trail in the darkest, most hidden portion of the forest.

 

30 min: The wooden note is becoming lighter. It smells a lot like cedar to my nose. Not quite as bright and new as the cedar in Shadow. This is the cedar of well worn furniture, or weathered floor boards. The earthy note is fading a bit now (but not much), and the scent has taken on a wooden sweetness, though I would not call this a sweet blend. This scent is very dry to my nose, and not particularly warm, like an old creeky cabin with a draft. The nutty note appears, very faintly, in the air around me from time to time, but it is difficult to pick out.

 

50 min: The scent smells much like it did at the half hour mark, though it has lightened considerably and become a titch sweeter. I would have never thought it would get this light based on the scent from the bottle.

[Bard]

In the bottle: Like nearly everyone else, I was initially overwhelmed by this fragrance. It's horribly strong in the bottle, very much like a curse. I immediately set it in my 'not to be trusted' pile of imps.

 

On my skin: This is a bit better. It's more mellow out of the bottle. Dark and earthy, as others have said. There is a subtle sweetness that lurks under the patchouli. For the first hour or so this is truly a pleasure to wear. It is still quite strong, but not unbearably so. My cat was not impressed.

 

After a few hours: The slightly sweet fragrance that made this compelling is gone. It's no longer even quite earthy, but it retains a certain peppery scent over which a bitter scent has emerged. It's as unappealing to me now as it was in the bottle. What's more, it shows no signs of fading. Clearly the curse has fallen.

 

There will not be a repeat performance of this one.

 

Malediction Haiku,

She binds his false heart,

Bitter incense wreathing her,

Candles weeping wax.

[Northernminx]

Undeniably overwhelming in the bottle, musky and harsh and actually a bit scary. I wish I could say this morphed on me as it did on others, but it stayed very bitter and acrid, almost a rotting smell on me. Cruel, definitly, but also definitly not something I could stomach wearing for any length of time. Vertiver doesn't like me much I guess. Off to swaps.

[fragrantgrasse]

Malediction.

 

I am very used to smelling vetiver. She is deep and dark, a grass with tiny rootlets that reach deep into moist riverbeds drawing energy upwards from the depths.

 

Wet, Malediction is just sheer unadulterated vetiver I don't yet pick up any of the patchouli. This combination of root and leaf is soothing and yet I am not sure how they will evolve on my skin. So far it is cooling and sweet and I am getting a hint of something else hovering in the background that as an earlier poster mention is smokey, like an evening fire. I like this scent, the sweetness is now deep and wet. I feel like Mother Earth!

[Miggins]

I liked Malediction, but not enough to keep. Wet, I got the worst musty patchouli smell which threw me slightly but quickly receded. Malediction then dried down into a not-so-sweet Djinn. I’ve found Malediction awesomely helpful in that I now know that vetiver smells wonderful on my skin - all warm and comforting, and not the smoky harshness that other people get.

[phaedrine]

Ok, ew. Just ew.

 

This is one of the few bpal scents I out and out just plain don't like. It's thick and gross and reminds me of ... old dead rotting hippie. Maybe it's just all that really thick patchouli.

 

The reviews here said don't judge it by what it smells like in the bottle, so I've got it drying on the back of my hand right now...but my hopes aren't too high. So far...no different. Ew. Ok, I'm not waiting, time to wash it off.

 

*tosses in to the swap pile*

[Penance]

Ahh, patchouli...I'm one of those people who absolutely adores it, so Malediction and I are a match made in heaven.

 

First sniff:

 

Patchouli most strongly, but not the kind of patchouli I'm familiar with (I must be used to the black variety). I also smell something dark green smelling which must be the vetiver. It's almost musty smelling like when you turn over a rotten log and that's not a bad thing at all for me. I love patchouli, so this is a wonderful smell in my opinion, although I think I prefer black patchouli to red.

 

Wet on skin:

 

All I smell is patchouli now. It's a musty patchouli rather than the dirty patchouli I'm used to, but I like it. A lot. My dad swears I smell like cedar, but then he says everything I wear smells like cedar.

 

Dry down:

 

Malediction has settled down into a slightly more traditional patchouli scent and it's lighter than it was in the bottle, but this oil is strong. I barely swiped any on my wrists and my dad claims he can smell me from about 6 feet away. I love strong earthy scents, so for me that's wonderful, but for those who shy away from strong fragrances, I'd go very easy on this one or avoid it altogether.

 

The bottom line:

 

I love it, pure and simple. On me it smells like pure patchouli, which is perfectly fine because I love patchouli. I was a little worried this might be too musty, but once it settled down, it was pure patchouli perfection.

[sarada]

Vetiver and patchouli are among my favorite scents (damp earth and wood being things that I apparently want to smell like!), so I was going to go ahead and order a bottle unsniffed but decided to try it out imp size first. I admit that the scent in the imp put me off slightly, because I didn't realize that red patchouli is different than other varieties. It is slightly more bitter, and spicy -- not the round, warm, earth smell that I am used to. Vetiver, also, can be a little too much in a thick concentration and take on a smell almost like stale coffee grounds in the bottle.

 

Nonetheless, as soon as it hits my skin it becomes pure, smooth, earthy vetiver with a spike of patchouli and it mellows wonderfully. I think I will get a big bottle of this after all, eventually! I realize that if all I want is a vetiver/patchouli smell that I could just wear those oils on their own, but as usual the lab manages to mix a particularly fine grade of each for a scent that is far more sophisticated than your typical hippie smell!

 

This is only for very serious fans of the deep, rich earth scents that compose it. If you are not completely in love with vetiver and patchouli this will turn you off -- and yes, it is much stronger in the bottle than it probably will be once you apply it. If your skin likes these scents it might be like mine, and really cause the fragrance to blossom. Also, it lasts forever! Always a plus with flower-devouring skin like mine!

 

ETA: I tried this again after being without it for a long time (thank goodness for frimps!) and my love is confirmed. I hope this one sticks around because it's the closest of anything that I can find to my beloved Capricorn...and once it hits my skin it really does magnificent vetiver things. It's still a little overpoweringly bitter and smoky in the imp, but man, some day I do need a bottle of this.

Edited September 11, 2005 by sarada

[lucymoonstar]

Like all the other wonderful oils I wanted to like this one but it just wasn't for me.....I see from the other reviews and my thoughts also that when I first sniffed this one it was pretty much over-powering - woods and peppery is what I smelled first. I put some on my wrist and upon the initial application it was sort of bitter and woody and I was hoping as time went I could try to smell some spice but on my skin it just stayed bitter, peppery and woody.

I am going to test this on my boyfriend - he's an Aries and peppery/woody scents do well on him.

[malati]

I wanted to try this as I'd read it was similar to Lush's middle earth soap which also contains patchouli and vetiver.

 

Wet: as the description says this was evil incarnate - a foul, acrid stench, quite revolting. I was tempted to wash it off but curious to see if it improved.

 

Drying: thankfully it softened and did become remarkably like the soap being warm and earthy.

 

Dry: I was starting to enjoy this when I noticed a stronger scent intruding from the background which I think was the vetiver growling away underneath it all. Eventually this became all I could focus on and although not as bad as the initial scent it was too strong for me.

 

I would not wear this again.

[silverangel]

Smells a bit cedary to me. Maybe it's the vetivert? This is uber earthy, reminds me of Capricorn. It's deep, it makes me think of the earth, of nature, of the Goddess. But this isn't me.

[hypothermya]

Malediction

 

Initial Impression

This is, as everyone else has said, very sharp and unappealing. It smells very potent and, well, just a bit evil.

 

Wearing It

When I first put this on, I applied sparingly -- which it turns out was a good idea, cause this stuff is strong! It is by far and away one of the longest lasting BPAL oils that I've tried, and when it's wet this stuff can be detected all the way across the room. As it dried, I unfortunately got the strangest whiff of something...salty...like PlayDoh. And then I looked at the ingredients again and saw the red patchouli -- the same red patchouli that had caused Anne Bonny and Ravenous to smell like PlayDoh as well. Which...is good that I've gotten it figured out, but not so good for this blend on my skin. At least now I know to avoid red patchouli and only stick with the traditional black stuff.

 

On my boyfriend, though, this is a miracle incarnate. At first he didn't want to put any on at all, simply because of the scent out of the bottle. But once he put it on and let it dry down, the most amazingly earthy, cedary scent emerged. He compared it with fresh earthy and wood with bits of herbs mingled in -- and while he's normally very inarticulate about how a scent smells, he must have spent a good four minutes trying to describe this. He was shocked to find out that there were only two ingredients listed. Anyhow, part of the reason why this scent is so wonderful on him is that his skin has a tendency to eat up any wood scents. Initially they'll just be a weak after thought, and after a half hour they've disappeared entirely. But this scent is a strong woodsy scent, which lasts hour after hour. He's already gotten several compliments on this.

 

I'd highly recommend this for anyone who likes woodsy scents but finds that regular wood oils don't work on their skin.

[paperdoll]

Initial Sniff: Holy Crap! Evil in a bottle indeed.

Wearing: For the first hour, I smell like evil dirt. Bad, bad, bad. But as this mellows, the vetiver and patchouli become much more appealing... and there is a slight citrussy note in the background. Thus this scent morphs from overtly evil to a smooth evil that talks real pretty and makes you love it.

Final Impressions: I actually don't hate this, which surprises me based on the smell in the vial. I am not sure I'll keep it forever, but I'll keep it a while longer!

[byrdie]

TMI ~ I'm on the second day of my period, and I've just showered with something that turned out to be ... rather overpowering. eek.

 

Vial ~ This is a dark one: reddish-brown in the imp. If the contents have leaked a bit onto the outside, it's a smoky, resiny incense. Mmmm, on opening the vial I get hickory and fresh air all at the same time, which means I may end up smelling like a barbeque by the time this is over.

 

Wet ~ Oh, wow. This is resin the way that Cathedral is resin. I'm getting a sultry wood smoke - lots of hickory. It's like a summer evening barbeque or beach bonfire with good rather than random wood.

 

Drying ~ Wow. This is turning sharp on me, as if some of the wood was pine with the needles still on it. It's like Tombstone without the sweetness.

 

Drydown ~ ooooh. The skin on my face is prickling. I wonder if this is the result of having swapped for bottled evil? One thing for sure: it's kicking the crud out of the unfortunate shower gel experience I had this morning.

 

Dry ~ You know that smell that a fire can get once it's really started burning a good amount of the wood to ash? That's the smell I'm getting: of wood recent burnt, of hot ash. And my face is still tingling. I'm waiting for Christopher Walken's Gabriel to come climbing out of a recent split in the earth.

 

Fade ~ The aftermath of burning hickory in the fireplace.

 

Final thoughts ~ If you don't have a fireplace and miss the scent of a roaring fire, this would be an excellent house scent. I might also use it if I wanted to unnerve people, given my face-tingling reaction. I can't imagine finding it comforting to wear as a cold-weather scent, though; but I may try it a few more times just for a body chemistry survey.

[shelldoo]

hmmmm in the vial, oddly smells kinda like pot

 

wet: still smells like pot to me, wouldn't wanna get pulled over wearing this one

 

dry down: ok not so bad now, the vetiver is the magnified scent here i get hardly no patchouli. it is a great dark scent once i get past the wet stage. i will probably swap it tho

[eleventhousand]

Mmmm. Dirt.

 

Makes me want to dig in the yard and is a near dead ringer for our dearly departed 'middle-earth turns to rock' from LUSH.

[UltraViolet]

"Mmm. Vetivert." You're never going to hear me say that phrase.

I'm known for saying "Urggh Evil vetivert" funnily enough.

 

The description says "Evil incarnate". Yep.

 

This blend has a huge amount of throw.

It smells like dirt. This is another BPAL blend that is very similar to Lush's "Middle Earth" soap but turned up a couple of notches.

Oddly enough it dries down to a dirt, eucalyptus and leather kind of scent.

 

Giving up all pretenses of not liking only wussy bpal scents I have to admit I actually had a reaction to this. I felt like I couldn't breathe.

I washed it off...and washed...and washed.

I scrubbed the heck out of my wrist with some Figs and Leaves soap.

 

It's still there...mocking me.

[slave1]

In Bottle: Woody and smoky.

 

On Skin: Whoa! The smokiness is overwhelming... I don't like this one at all, sorry. I feel like I've been sitting in a campfire, it even makes my eyes water a bit. Very dark, of course, like the description says.