The Lion

[Rouge]

The dry, glorious warmth of the Savannah. A golden, spiced amber, proud, regal and ferocious.

I love amber, so I have great hopes for the Lion!

In the vial - Strong, rich and almost pure amber, with a tiny hint of golden spices lying around the edges.

Wet on the skin - As soon as I apply the wand to my skin there's a heady, dry scent that it takes me a moment to place. Wood and spices; it's Wally's Delicatessan in Cardiff city centre where I buy my more exotic cooking ingredients!

Dry down - This scent moves quickly through a range of stages, from the strong, dominant spice note to a dry, deep and masculine base. It really does smell like I'd imagine a lion's fur to be; dry and a little dusty with an undertone of animalistic and almost threatening musk, but surrounded by the dry warmth of the grasses and woods of the plains.

The Lion is an exotic and arid scent that I caouldnt imagine wearing in the rain. Since it's now July and we still haven't had a single remotely sunny day this summer, I shall have to keep it for a few weeks until the weather brightens up.

[Laughing-magpie]

I gravitate towards the more unisex scents since my skin tends to make most traditional feminine scents smell simply sweet and boring. If there's something sugary in a perfume, my skin will find it! So I am really enjoying the Lion. It's a warm, spicy, gold (slightly sweet), sunny smell on me, with good staying power. And yeah, there is something a bit animal about it too. It reminds me of Aslan in the Narnia stories.

 

When I want to feel a little dangerous I put on a tiny tiny dab of Highwayman with the Lion.

[willowtreeling]

I wanted to like Lion, I really did. It sounded great, but on me....it has a sort of...obscene smell. A little too earthy, i guess. Which is odd, because I love amber and resin-y smells. I think I will put it away a while and try it once more before i put it on swaps.

[joojifish]

The Lion was a warm but somehow dirty scent on me. You can tell that it's a tree-based scent, with the resiny essence that sap has. Apparently I prefer amber in blends.

[goth_huntress]

I'm a Leo, and this smells like sunshine. It's like a cat in a sun beam.

[PurpleHeather]

In the bottle: Very warm and spicy

Wet: Spicy and slightly sweet

Later: Nice wear length, warm spiciness with a sweet, fruity background; 8/10.

Edited August 6, 2007 by PurpleHeather

[Vampy]

Dominantly amber (of course,) very warm, with a musky undertone. There's a hint of some kind of wood, I think, but it's so faint I can't place what it is. There's also a slightly earthy note, like there's just a hint of patchouli or something similar. Light golden spices, and a definite note of tea. Yes, tea. I don't get the extreme dryness that a lot of folks seem to be getting from this blend (probably because to my nose that tea scent I'm picking up reminds me of, well, drinking tea.)

 

A very warm and bright scent, a good pick-me-uper. To my nose it's unisex, but I can see the musky note coming off as masculine to some.

Edited August 12, 2007 by Vampy

[zankoku_zen]

In the imp: Spicy amber

 

On Skin: Spicy amber. Very warm scent.

 

On Drydown: Slightly more powdery amber. Warm and golden.

 

After two hours: I can smell similarities with Jacob's Ladder. While JL is much richer, this is more amber heavy. Slightly masculine.

 

Verdict: Well, once I run out of JL, I know what blend can replace it! At least for me. I feel that the Lion was the base or the sketch for Jacob's Ladder. If the amber doesn't turn powdery on you, this is definitely a newbie recommendation to figure out if you like amber or not.

[laliloo]

A lovely warm, glowing, amber scent. I've recently discovered that ambers generally work very well for me - warm but light and golden-smelling. And I agree with Vampy - definitely a slight hint of tea in the background of The Lion. I'm more convinced than ever that all the Tea Party scents have a sneaky amount of tea in them. And I've yet to find a Tea Party oil that doesn't work on me! Yay!

[tasty]

I too love all of the Mad Tea Party scents that I've tried and The Lion is no exception to that rule.

 

It's definitely a very regal, pround blend much like its namesake. The amber is forthright in the blend, but there's somethng spicy lingering beneath the surface. Is it a touch of cinnamon? Whatever it is, I love it.

[ralenth]

Wet: Cinnamon? Did I somehow get a SN?

 

Drydown: The boyfriend says this smells like potpourri on my skin. Oh noes!

Dry: Thankfully, it morphs into a mulled cider. This is delicious, but it fades to a whisper within a couple of hours.

 

Overall: It smells much better on him than me. I think I will pass this one on to someone who will appreciate it more than I do.

[starwild]

Others have compared this to tea, but in the bottle and wet on my skin, it most strongly made me think of PANCAKE SYRUP on warm pancakes and sprinkled with cinnamon. Maybe it's just my body chemistry at the moment?

 

Very warm, rich, and glowing. Once you get past the pancake syrup? I guess that's the amber. Later, it turns into something much less foody and more feral. Cinnamon and amber dominate, but there's another spice that deepens it. Not sure what it is, but it's nice.

 

I do love this. I'll be wearing it a lot this fall.

[AmyAngel]

In the imp, this is AMBER. Perfumey amber, and maybe a hint of spice. My grandmother must have worn a very amber-heavy perfume, because I seem to really associate the scent with her. I put just a tiny bit on my skin, as the strength in the imp was kind of scary, but it's not nearly so strong on me. It's warm, and a touch spicy, though I can't really pick out what specific spice it is. It's very dry smelling. After a few minutes, it seems to be staying a warm golden amber with just the tiniest hint of spice – very warm, very dry, a bit perfumey to me. I'm liking this far more than I expected to. It's not showing any signs of turning to powder, yet, either, and it's still not very strong on my skin. Nice! After wearing this for an hour or so, I've decided that amber, at least this kind, is a little too sharp for me. This is pretty, but I'll never wear it, so it's off to swaps.

[erina74]

This smells GOLDEN. Its amber hitting you over the head, with mabey a touch of saffron or other yellow spice to it. It is nice, but I think I prefer amber mixed in with other things more so that its not completely dominating like in morocco or bastet. It certainly lives up to its name though.

[pinkpepper]

This scent moves quickly through a range of stages, from the strong, dominant spice note to a dry, deep and masculine base. It really does smell like I'd imagine a lion's fur to be; dry and a little dusty with an undertone of animalistic and almost threatening musk, but surrounded by the dry warmth of the grasses and woods of the plains.

 

I agree with Rouge that it does move very quickly through stages. The Lion started out very sour and hot (blech) on me and then quickly changed to something very dry and cinnamon-y. It really does smell like a lion . . . a lion hanging very close to me. It's gentle, but disconcerting nonetheless. It's true to description, though there's still a little sour note hanging around that makes me feel sick. This isn't playing well so it's off to swaps.

[Jocelyn]

This smells very sickly sweet on me right now, its kind of gross actually. ( I have difficult skin chemistry) I'm going to keep it and hope that the amber will age nicely and maybe then it will smell better on me.

[Apple]

This is very interesting. I was expecting a sort of golden syrupy amber scent for some reason, but The Lion is much drier and lighter than I would have expected... more the scent of pale yellow, dried grasses. It's one of the very, very rare non-sweet BPALs I've encountered, and it was a pleasant surprise. My partner could smell cinnamon in the bottle, but none at all on my skin.

[Lyrical]

in the vial: spicy amber.

 

wet on skin: warm, golden, animal amber, (and just a tiny bit foody!). Nice!

 

dry on skin: rich, spicy and masculine. I can almost imagine a lion smelling like this! It gets gradually stronger and lasts a long time. Unfortunately, I can't imagine ever wanting to smell like this.

[xibalbagrrl]

Well, I'm a sucker for anything "catlike"...and this was no exception. I ADORE The Lion.

 

Of course, amber, with a touch of pretty musk....and perhaps myrrh? (Not a "note expert") One can almost feel the warmth emanating from the vial. Somehow playful and frisky yet noble and dignified.

 

A little goes a long way...I still need to learn this; as a recent BPAL addict I need to trust that a dab WILL be enough (but it's fun to slather!).

 

I get the impression of toffee or honey with this too...it doesn't exactly smell like either, maybe I just associate amber with toffee and honey by color.

 

Verrrry nice.

[Honeygirl]

Bottle: Amber

 

Wet: Amber, very warm and sunny. I get some sweetness and a hint of spice.

 

Drydown: I put quite a bit on and it's not very strong. It is very warm, which is nice and comforting, like a lion is cuddling me!

3.0 outta 5

[tartchef]

Oh hot damn. I was very kindly swapped an aged decant of the Lion recently... it had been on my to-try list for a while, but amber's started giving me Powder of Doom issues, so I hadn't been actively pursuing it. Luckily for me, cranberry had the good sense to include it in my package.

 

Aged Lion is absolutely stunning on me - strong tea, silky-smooth cinnamon & sweet spices, all lit from within by a golden glowing resinous amber. It verges on "festive holiday spices", but the tea & resins rally to nudge things back into "tasty & exotic". It's sweet, but not cloying; spicy, but not foody. Just spectacular. I'll apply another oil from my collection in the morning, but nearly always reach for the Lion in the late afternoons... it speaks of languid comfort, furry warm flanks curled around sleepy cubs... Purrrrrrr....

[Christine Daae]

In the imp, spicy amber! Reminds me of Bastet without the almonds.

 

Wet on my skin, yep, reminds me of Bastet without the almonds. Spicy amber.

 

As it dries, the spice dies down to a golden, sweet amber. I tried this on my boyfriend and it turned to syrupy, powdery sweetness on him - way too feminine for my tastes, which is the only reason he ever wears fragrance, hee! - but on me I get a more masculine scent. The hell? It might just be my chemistry at this time of the month, because usually I turn everything into sweet powder.

 

I also get a hint of the tea others were mentioning, and a cinnamon-bark-like scent, like the one in Plunder. It's dry, but warm and golden at the same time. I've liked almost all of the Tea Party scents I've tried so far, including this one. It's a bit dry for my tastes. Though I think I prefer Bastet for a spiced, golden amber scent, this is very nice.

[persephanise]

Oh, now this. This is beautiful.

 

I got this for my love of amber, but I don't really detect amber. It's mostly cinnamon on me, but not in a red hots way. More in a, "This reminds me of Christmas!" way. It smells like one of those Victorian Christmas shops.

 

It's a much lighter scent than I was expecting. I was expecting dark, bold, heavy amber. Instead, the Lion is warm, spicy, golden and bright. It wears close to my skin and doesn't last too long. It layers wonderfully.

 

I put in an order for a bottle immediately. Really pretty.

 

ETA: Today I wore the Lion and I got LOADS of amber from this! I love how my oils change based on so many different variables. The Lion is easily one of my faves.

Edited January 11, 2008 by Persephanise

[Limelight]

It's amber rubbed all over with dry spices, how can I go wrong? Another winner, especially for nights that I feel snuggly.

[TereFaerie]

As with all ambers that I have tried, this one immediately went "urinal cake" on me. I figured it would, but thought I'd try it anyway. It is just lovely in the bottle, so golden and sweet, but on me, it warms up so quickly and wafts off of my skin smelling a bit too much like air freshener or something else not perfume.