Heart of the Lion

[VioletChaos]

Heart of the Lion is a perfume of recognition, accolades, and sovereignty. It amplifies charisma, courage, strength of spirit, and nobility of the soul, helps you to achieve your ambitions, and magnifies benevolent power. A dry, astringent, warming blend, it is perfect for warming others to you, reaching for promotions and acknowledgement of your achievements, dispelling despair and melancholy, and expanding the borders of your personal kingdom. This oil is your crown, scepter and orb; it is a radiant golden diadem of compassionate authority.

 

Initial consecration of this perfume began on January 22, 2019 during the election in the hour of Jupiter, and it contains Egyptian frankincense essential oil (Boswellia serrata), mugwort essential oil (Artemisia alba), dry distilled fossilized amber oil (Oleum succinic), ylang ylang essential oil (Cananga odorata), white champa essential oil (Michelia alba), helichrysum, attar of oud, attar of Rosa damascena, golden vegetal musk, omubiri and frankincense resin, wild harvested Artemesia vulgaris. Each bottle contains garnet and citrine chips, and may contain plant material and resins.

 

For this review, I'll be talking mainly about the scent and wear of this oil, but I will also make note of any particular feelings or occurrences that happen during the try-out.

 

In The Bottle: *very* well blended. I'm getting whiffs of the resiny frankincense, the dry greenery of the mugwort and vegetal musk and the sweetness of the old and helichrysum. But it's not like I get strands of the individual notes here, it's just all part of a writhing stew that becomes greater than the sum of its parts. And that's *just in the bottle*
 

Wet On Skin: As the oil warms on my skin, the vegetable musk seems to be gaining traction, coming to the forefront. I'm also noting something that reads ALMOST like geranium, which I suspect is the mugwort and damascus rose acting in collusion. The scent is very "green" in how its smells, which isn't a surprise, given the plant materials that make up the bulk of the blend.

 

Dry Down: The scent definitely morphs a bit by the time it completely dries down and the color profile shifts from green to green-gold- again, appropriate, given the purposes of the oil! As with many of my favorite TAL and Lab Magick blends, once completely dry and settled in, the scent becomes more subtle. It's something I appreciate because I want my magickal working to often be my business alone, and having a scent be little more on the DL means I can layer other things on top of it, instead of having to concern myself with a random "oh, I need such and such blend to galvanize my dealing with the world and now I'm going to smell like camphor all day and that's the trade-off".

Now that we're at the realized stage, the scent has become mild, dry and slightly sweet. It reminds me vaguely of the dessert and the mild plants that have adapted to growing in harsh places, like tumbleweeds. On an emotional level, I've noticed some feeling of bittersweet and melancholy rising to the top, which I think might be the the oil calling attention to those feelings that I've been carrying for weeks as this time of year marks the passing of a beloved family member. I think when I go visit his grave I shall anoint with this oil beforehand.

In All: Low to medium throw- definitely start small and add more after you see how it'll react with your skin. A lovely oil that brings emotional clarity that I can see easily mixing with others to highlight feelings in rites and workings. A solid addition to any witch's toolbox!

[zankoku_zen]

Stand tall, straighten that crown, and don't take any crap from no one - Heart of the Lion, speaking pineapple quotes to me.

 

This is more of a nimbus scent, it doesn't have a lot of throw, and it smells mainly amber, resins, whiff of rose and green. It's just more like you put on a blindingly golden tiara on, that lasers away negativity at 10 paces away before it can even touch the hem of your skirt, robes, pants, whatever the hell you decide to wear. 

In aikido, when you step on the mat, you own that mat, it is your space. Well, HoL sort of creates a mat for you to step on, and that's your kingdom, and nothing but respect for your mat.