Séance

[Fishwomon]

A mysterious, enigmatic blend of dry, mellow rosewood, crushed rose leaf and the slightest touch of warm hazel.

My skin totally amps the rose. I don't get any dryness, dustiness, rosewood, or even hazelnut. I love the idea of this oil, but I don't care for rose. I can imagine the faint smell of this on vintage Victorian garments, though, and that's cool.

[zenvodunista]

this is kind of medicinal on me. I think this could be really lovely though on someone. Maybe a man?

 

n.

[Sheila]

Oh, I love this! And I didn't think it would--it wasn't even on my wish list. But I got this as a freebie in a swap from a lovely forumite, and I'm so glad I tried it.

 

This smells mainly of rose. However, this smells nothing like any other rose I've smelled from the lab. This is a dry, sad rose that's not at all overpowering. I think the rosewood and hazel add just a touch of age to this blend. This is a sweet and wistful blend that really captures the mood of a Seance.

Edited December 14, 2005 by Sheila

[coulrophobe]

In the imp: Definitely rosey, but in a green/leafy/herbal way.

 

On: Whew, super rose! My skin amps rose like nobody's business - which is unfortunate because while I love roses, I don't like how rose oil smells on my skin.

 

Seance doesn't smell dark or mysterious to me, but rather extremely pink and feminine.

 

Then it goes soapy. I just don't think rose is a particularly good note for me.

[AlaskaSnows]

Wet: Dust and fresh roses, and a hint of apple?

 

Dry: Dust, roses, and apple that is sometimes fresh, sometimes dried. I like this a lot, it is amazingly intriguing and original.

[Thursdae]

There is something in both Séance and Kostnice that doesn’t settle comfortably on my skin. This note, whatever it may be, keeps parting the velvet curtains of incense, disrupting my reverie by squeaking, “More pickle relish?” They both have rosewood. I wonder if that could be it.

 

I know getting pickled doesn't bother everyone, but it makes me want to go all Hamlet on this Polonius. “Thou wretched, rash, intruding fool, farewell!”

[sarada]

Here's me trying Séance:

 

"Oh my god this is SO GOOD!"

 

That was upon the very first sniff. This is one of the most ALIVE rose scents I've smelled. So fresh and sweet -- almost like Rose Red but with a base like sandalwood (I know, it's rosewood, but still). It's a very juicy, sweet, tender rose....almost green. I expected something very powdery and dusty but this is completely different.

 

I don't think I've smelled rosewood or hazel in much else so they must be setting this apart from other rose blends for me. It's not perfumey, it's not sharp or harsh or headache-inducing the way many other roses are for me (the ones that aren't blended with musk, amber or smoky notes...I seem to need those things to keep rose in line).

 

This is probably the best "fresh rose" scent from the general catalog for me. And the best sub for Rose Red, which was a little too green for me anyway. Yes, yes, more Séance please! It doesn't last too long, but the rosewood does extend it a little bit...the initial sniff and first slathering are beyond compare though!

[rhubarbbear]

the rosewood and leaves really go nuts on my skin...i smell like a dresser with a bunch of leaves scattered on it.

 

i think that most woods and i don't get along

[waterdaughter]

In the imp- Dry roses. It's a little bit dusty. This definitely reminds me of dried roses rather than fresh, like Rose Red or Peacock Queen.

 

Wet on skin- Roses. Pretty much just roses, but still the same quality.

 

Dry- A woody, almost oaken note has come out now- probably the rosewood. I also smell a slightly greener note, with an undertone of dry spice that's probably the hazel. It's still a very dry, rosy blend, and not really for me. It's really pretty, but I'm fairly sure I'm just not a rose gal. Off to swaps!

[PurringPulsar]

Séance

 

In the imp: rose! This is a crisp, fresh, sweetish rose, almost on the lines of Rose Red, but with a hint of wood.

Wet on skin: dewy sweet rose, rose wood and a bit of hazelnut.

Dry: this is gorgeous! It’s sweet, warm, soft and entrancing…I love the rosewood note in here, it’s sweet and dry, a woody note with a definite scent of rose to it, thought that may be enhanced by the rose leaf, both notes combine to create a scent like a real rose bloom. There’s a nice fresh dewy aspect which contrasts nicely with the dry warmth, and I love the hazel note in here, it adds a pleasant nutty note to the scent.

After a while: still that delightful, sweet, dusty rosewood with a hint of hazel, only a lot fainter, but it still lingers nicely.

Verdict: I am very fond of Beth’s rosewood note, as it smells very much like roses (the flowers) even though I don’t think rosewood isn’t actually related to rose (correct me if I’m wrong). In here, the rosy and woody scents of this note are strong, creating a warm, dry, slightly dusty (in a pleasant way) and delightfully sweet scent with real dewy fresh rose note-this might be enhanced by the rose leaf. It reminds me of rose Red but much sweeter and muted. The hazel adds a very nice toasted and nutty scent to the overall fragrance. I was pleasantly surprised by this scent, and the more I smell it, the more it grows on me. Understated yet gorgeous.

[GemmaCat]

In the imp: sweet, with a little citrus? No wait. . . *sniffsniff* Not citrus but something green, like freshly cut flower-stems.

 

On my skin, initial: more of that freshly cut stem smell; very green and fresh.

 

Drydown: Ahh, now I'm getting the rose; they're dusky and sweet, and the hazel gives this a woody undertone.

 

Overall this is very feminine and very pretty, but the rose/wood combination just isn't for me.

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

I swapped my Seance quite awhile ago because I decided I prefer Ouija, but if you like one you should try the other. Both have rosewood and a "dusty" quality that is actually very evocative and Victorian. Good stuff.

[moon_lemming]

Weirdly, Séance smells exactly like starfruit tastes, at least in the imp. I think it's the rose mixing with something. So strange.

 

This was a weird experience for me. First on, Séance has a sharp medicinal tang that just doesn't agree with my nose, but as it dries, some woodsiness and an undertone of nuttiness (hehe) appear. There's still a menthol-y herbal tang that just won't go away, but it's not as bad as it is wet. I don't think it works on me as a perfume, but I can't stop sniffing my hand, anyway.

 

Overall, Séance isn't GOOD on me, but it's not bad, either, and it's one of the most interesting smells I've met in a while.

 

 

edit: I'm retrying this one in June of 2007, and it seems much simpler to my nose. It may be that the first imp I tested was aged, whereas this one is Lab-fresh.

 

It starts out, as before, smelling like starfruit juice, but I can separate the two elements that make up that smell -- it's a sweet pink rose and a little bit of a cedary note -- the rosewood, I guess. Once on skin, the rosewood picks up a lot, and it's like a pink rose vs cedary note wrestling match. The thing is, though, that the rose wins out in the end, and it leaves pretty much nothing of the rosewood behind after about twenty minutes.

 

The Séance that's left is a beautiful fresh, sweet pink rose. It's very close to the skin, but it's GORGEOUS.

 

Can that much of a difference really be due to aging? I think maybe the medicinal smell I got the first time I tried it may have been the hazel becoming more aggressive with age. This is my first experience with aging, so it's very interesting to me. I think I'll keep this imp around to test in a few months, just to see what happens to it. And I just might use a smidge of it in the meantime, because this really is a beautiful rose note.

Edited June 21, 2007 by karen

[emshort]

This is... essence of antique store. Rows upon rows of slightly damaged dinner tables, bed frames, hatracks, china hutches; fedoras with bent brims; adorable gowns from 1925 that you only wish you had the (lack of) figure for; boxes of faded postcards, advertisements, ephemera; rhinestone brooches, chub-cheeked cameos, pocket watches that don't keep time.

 

It happens that I like antique stores, but I think Magus has many of the same things and is kickier overall.

[slave1]

In Bottle: Wild fresh rose

 

On Skin: This completely reminds me of my mothers rose gardens she had when I was young and lived at home. It’s not so much a perfumey rose, but the scent of real, fresh roses out in the soil. Earthy and sweet. Quite beautiful… I’d love to use it as a room scent to make me feel like we have fresh roses all the time. Very dry and woody, yet sweet and powdery. Light throw and kind of a short life on my skin. I usually hate rose, but this scent is so sentimental to me, I wouldn’t mind smelling it often. Beautiful work Beth!!

[Eunice]

In the bottle: How on earth did Beth get all those big red roses in this tiny little imp?? Big blooming roses at their best, just before they turn brown and fade away. There is a sweetness also but not a foody sweetness. I can't wait to put this on my skin.

 

Wet: Still strongly rose but now t here is a greenness below the rose. It's very boozy now. I didn't know what that meant before smelling Seance on my skin.

 

Dry: That bright red rose scent? Now it's become dusty. This is the smell of roses left to dry out in a vase. Not rot though. This is a totally dry, dusty rose smell. The sweetness has come back and the booziness has departed.

 

Overall: I wasn't sure how I would like this since I lean more towards earthy, spicy scent. This is WONDERFUL! Another one to add to the "must have" list.

[Medici]

In the bottle: Super, super dry wood.

 

Wet: Much the same. It reminds me of timbers that have been exposed for too long and have dried out so thoroughly that they've cracked.

 

Drydown: This blend stays fairly consistent with my chemistry - dry rosewood throughout, and it does seem sort of dusty to my nose.

 

Really beautiful, and really subtle.

 

A keeper for sure.

 

3.5/5 on Medici's Scale o' Lurrrve

[juniperus]

Bottle: green-ness and rosewood.

Wet: fresh, but not in a sharp or intrusive way. the hazel is merely a hint.

Dry: subtle, green and floral and woody, but not obtrusively anything. a very balanced showing.

Later: mellows into rosewood, with a hint of green. not a lot of stay on me, tho. warm and grounding, a peaceful core to the blend.

[cranberry]

My first impression of Séance is: roses! Rich, moist, lush roses. Slightly green. My second thought is that this is a good sub for Rose Red. It has that same fresh rose with a touch of greenery. After I’ve had it on for a couple minutes, the rosewood comes out and it’s not an exact dupe of Rose Red but still very nice.

 

After it’s been on a while, this still remains a beautiful rose scent, slightly woody. Beautiful. Just beautiful.

 

Thanks GC swap – I probably wouldn’t have gotten around to my imp of this otherwise!

[edenssixthday]

Séance is a beautiful rose blend. If you like tea rose, you’d love Séance! It’s a beautiful rose scent that’s woody and dry and smells a lot like the inside of my antique china cabinet where, in addition to my china, I also keep a bit of tea rose potpourri. I love the smell of opening up that china hutch and smelling the 100-year old wood and the scent of all the years that have passed since it was created, combined with the scent of dry rose leaves. That’s exactly what Séance smells like. It’s gorgeous and evocative of past eras and distant memories and loved ones that have gone before us. While the fragrance is so incredibly perfect and while it has a lovely level of throw when it’s still wet on my skin, once it dries down, the throw fades completely and the entire scent is undetectable an hour later. I think this would be a good one for a scent locket. I guess I could also use it to “spruce up” the tea rose potpourri in my china cabinet, since the scent has started to fade significantly.

[storme]

In the imp: hmmmm, woods and dark green rose leaf. Interesting, and darker than I was expecting.

 

On me, wet: ew, rosebushes well past their prime, browning and wilting. Atmospheric, but I do not want to smell like this.

 

On me, dry: oh, this has blended down a little - it's now polished deep woods with vases of dead, mildewy roses scattered around. Weird.

 

Verdict: I'm sticking with 'atmospheric' as a description here. Alas, I don't want to smell like the places it's evoking.

[sofiaviolet]

The rosewood is beautiful. I really hope this is as great on me as in the imp! I think the hazel is coming through. The rose leaf is kind of acrid. I'd like to try layering this. I have an imp of Rose Red here, so I'll try it. It's a pretty good combo, so I'll keep Seance.

[nevermore]

How have I not reviewed this? Séance is one of my favourite perfumes, despite containing roses. Luckily, rosewood and rose leaf don't dominate and turn loud the way rose does, which can ruin a blend for me. Séance smells of dried roses and wood, I find, which is quite enjoyable. This one has been on my "Buy a 5ml Bottle" list for some time now - I need to get around to buying it.

[Elrianra]

Nutty and sheer in the imp, this is buttery smooth and tangy with a dry sweet finish of floral wood. Wet on my skin, roasted honey hazel, very nutty and sweet. After only a few moments, very candy-like and hard. Similar to hard-toffee candy with nuts in it. Oh good grief, I want to smell perfume and not junk food on my skin!!! There's no metamorphosis of this blend so far to remind me of a somber night. This is an orgy with the easter bunny. Cavities waiting to happen. Dry, this is sticky and nutty, there is no floral, there is no wood... just nuts. This is entirely disappointing!!! I was hoping for something soft, subtle... at the very least defining and instead I got a great topping for vanilla ice cream! Blech.

[fairy]

Rose, glorious rose! I am a huge fan of the rose smells and this one is AMAZING. It's very warm. Like a glowing rose. One of my new favorites