Spooky Action at a Distance

[zankoku_zen]

“When you separate an entwined particle and you move both parts away from the other, even at opposite ends of the universe, if you alter or affect one, the other will be identically altered or affected. Spooky.”

Instantaneous correlated action between entangled partners: rose-infused sandalwood with violet leaf, frankincense, geranium rose, and a spark of elemi.

Spooky Action was almost all roses and sandalwood on me. Massive amounts of sandalwood. With a hint of violet and rose.

But yes, ALL SANDALWOOD ALL THE TIME.

[tinyvulture]

Rose and sandalwood, plus a bright, refreshing hit of lemon-peppery elemi that makes me inhale deeply. The elemi is the star of this show. It's a very clean, alive scent! Wear it to wake up in the morning.

[milo]

Strong musky perfume and resins. Kind of sour, I'm thinking that this is the rose. I'm really not liking this one, it's much too strong and aggressive.

[Anne M.69]

I bought this more as a science geek (I love the whole idea of quantum physics) than for the scent, which is why I tested it today when I only have to go to school to pick up my daughter.

Ok, rose, violets, more rose and a slight resinous note. No elemi or sandalwood evident.

[Atrous]

Rose and Sandalwood are the stars with a resinous background I attribute to Frankincense.

The Elemi starts out sharp and sour making it dissonant with the rest of the blend.

But the time this dries Elemi mellows out to where its still got that tang but its not screeching at me anymore.

Definitely fits in with the rest of the OLLA series.

[OctoberGwen]

After a couple of months of mellowing, this has become one of my favorite rose scents. It's really more rose-tinged than straight-up rose; I find it fresh and only slightly sweet, with a really captivating waft. It's very...womanly.

 

I'm very glad I got this!

[bulletslc]

Wet: KAPOW!!!ROSE! and ELEMI! Very bright fresh rose.

 

Drying down: the resins creep out . Still very rose. Its like smelling a rose at a floral shop, damp, fresh and with fresh cut greenery around it.

 

Dry: A little more complex and peppery but rose is the star of this show from start to finish.

 

 

Good thing I like rose :-D

[Poenari]

I usually shy away from anything with rose, as it always turns to soap on my skin and often makes me sneeze for the first half hour of wear. However, I've had so much luck with the rose used in other OLLAs (Eve, Our Hearts Condemn Us) that it has actually converted me into loving several other GC rose scents (Zombi, Blood Rose.)

And then came Spooky Action at a Distance. It's nothing but ROSE SOAP IN MY NOSE! Sniffling and sneezing and SOAPY SNEEZY ROSE! I thought I had this problem solved. Too bad, but at least I know all rose doesn't do this now.

 

Edited to add that my review is based on retesting my 1/2 decant that was purchased when the scents first went live. It has aged, but hasn't aged out the sneezing soap.

Edited April 7, 2015 by Poenari

[claudia6913]

The star is the rose-infused sandalwood by far. It's a very woody scent, with the elemi lifting it up from being too heavy. If you like rose and sandalwood, this is a wonderful blend that showcases them!

[brineydeep]

Wet, this is overwhelmingly sandalwood. As in, "calm down there sandalwood" mixed with a little "what have I done?"

 

Drying down, it starts to be more of a rose-sandalwood balance.

 

Dry is where the magic happens. It's still primarily rose and sandalwood but there is just a touch of sweetness in the background that's taking this blend from "that's nice" to "I might want to bathe in it". I don't know if it's the violet or rose geranium, but whatever it is is making this blend for me.

 

This is another BPAL rose winner for me.

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: Geranium and the rose-infused sandalwood, which smells like the part of bois de rose that I like, before it goes sour on me. This is nice. Pretty and haunting. Something almost citrusy about it.

 

 

Dry: Very pretty. Geranium is dominant, with something sweet and citrusy that isn't actually citrus, because my skin ruins citrus. I think the elemi, from what I've read. The rose-infused sandalwood is quite sweet and feminine. I like this. Not sure if I need more, but I like it.

[Little Bird]

Baby powdery sandalwood and a lemony, sour, sharp rose
I haven't had good luck with the OLLA blends, other than Ian, Streets of Detroit, and In Templum Dei.

Edited July 28, 2016 by Little Bird

[Cali]

Hm, this one is really odd on me. In the imp too, don't get me wrong, it's just... odd.
I don't think it's a bad thing, it just unfortunately doesn't work on my skin. All plastic and something that reminds me of something unpleasant about childhood (though I have no idea what it might be).

Now that I read up the notes the rose-infused sandalwood makes sense. It's damp. A squishy rose engulfs a dusty shelf. Covered in damp violet, and I guess there's a slight golden, nearly-earthy, sharp tone in here which could be the elemi?

Really not good on me anyways.

[Lucchesa]

Spooky Action at a Distance is all rose on me at first. The sandalwood and frankincense remain in the background for me; this is predominantly a rose blend at first, and then a predominantly rose geranium blend on drydown. This is dry and not sweet on me; the elemi may be contributing to the peppery feel of the geranium. I never get violet. The drydown is very pretty; the woods begin to share space with the rose and rose geranium. Nice, but I don't need more than my decant.

[samanare]

Wet and on the dry down, smells like a mix of rose, frankincense, and sandalwood, with rose being the most prominent.

 

Somewhat quickly, the rose fades and I'm left with frankincense and sandalwood, with something a little extra that I cannot put my finger on (I'm guessing the elemi).

 

I love the mix of rose, frankincense, and sandalwood. I'm disappointed that within an hour the rose is undetectable, but I'm certainly glad to keep this in my collection.

[Zorra]

The first time I tried this I thought I smelled neroli, plus the rosy sandalwood. It was very pretty so I added a bit more and then I got a lot of geranium. The rosy sandalwood got mosly covered by it. But only for - oh I'm not sure how lomg, an hour perhaps? Then the sandalwood returned, a vaguely rosy sandalwood. The geranium has melted into the background even allowing the elemi and frankincense to show up. This is very beautiful! I was wondering why I had not heard more about it, but reading the other reviews it seems to be very different on different people.

[doomsday_disco]

Spooky Action at a Distance is mostly a rose geranium and resin scent on me. It starts off heavy on the rose geranium and frankincense, with the rose-infused sandalwood joining the stage after that. The peppery, herbal aspect of the rose geranium becomes stronger with wear until it ends up becoming the dominant note. So it has that sharp rose-y geranium mingling with smooth resins, with the sandalwood being the more prominent resin in the end.

 

I am not really a fan of floral resin combos, but I am happy that I got to try this one just because it is an OLLA scent.  I'd recommend this one to someone seeking out a strong geranium scent, though.

Edited April 23, 2020 by doomsday_disco

[windbourne]

Starts as a burst of rosy sandalwood, much like The Little Wooden Doll, but fresher and brighter and better.   This one is very harmonious on me, everything blends well and feels intentional. There's a mild citrus-like aspect to it, making it one of the cleaner scents from this series, and the geranium is pleasantly herbal but not bitter. I really like it! Elemi can develop a slightly peppery note as it dries, and that's what happens on my skin, buoyed by the geranium & violet leaf & not-quite-coniferous frankincense. It's not a deep scent, it's not thick or rich or heavy at all. It's light, but not airy -- it kind of....echoes? I guess? is the way I want to describe it. Like, when you walk into a open air temple? I've only been to those in Japan, and this isn't a Japanese scent at all, but it has that sort of feeling. It clears my head. Throw is very mild, I can't smell it unless I lift my wrists near my face, but it's got a surprisingly decent lasting power. Late drydown is just a wisp of sandalwood. I'm not really shocked that this one doesn't, overall, have great reviews, but I enjoyed this slightly spare, softly resinous scent journey, and I'll wear it again for sure.

[Threemoons]

Truly the most gorgeous rosy sandalwood/sandalwood rosy ever.  Glad I finally got this one.  Been wearing it for 2 days straight and it gets better and better.

[QueenProserpina]

My sixth BPAL purchase, July of 2023. Very different from the others I have selected so far. I get rose, violet, and possibly geranium. Maybe even some clary sage or cedarwood. The fragrance is reminiscent of soap or shampoo (specifically tearless baby shampoo) but in a pleasant way; tart but not unpleasantly so, a grandmotherly scent. Strongly floral. I’m finding that it hits my nose in waves, coming and going with time. Washes off of skin but sticks well to clothing; doesn’t seem to have a dramatic throw. We shall see how long it lasts throughout the day.

Update: a few hours later, the elemi seems to be coming out to play! This fragrance lightens with time, and fades in the direction of resinous incense (the frankincense?) but has better staying power for me than The Diamond’s Gong. As of February 9, a honey-like component has crept in! Feb 24: the rose is bright and juicy, supported by other florals and a foundation of resin. As of May 22, the sandalwood is becoming more evident.

Edited June 1 by QueenProserpina
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