Ghost of a Rose

Lab frimp aged about 6 years. I love the concept of this, and think the notes embody it well. And I love rose and amber; and like sandalwood very much. I'm excited to try it! In the imp: Clear brown oil with a salmon-colored tint. I smell only generic wood, which oddly has an extremely salty and vinegary character that makes me think of dill pickles. On me, wet: The same. At 5 minutes: The wood, salt, and vinegar have all fled, leaving behind an odd fragrance that is neither pleasant nor unpleasant, and which smells vaguely like dill. I don't think it is supposed to smell like this. The imp was stored in a cool, dark place, but nevertheless it appears to be past its "use by" date. What a shame. I'm sure I would have loved this. At 10 minutes: I've gotten an occasional faint and fleeting whiff of rose, but it is overpowered by the main vaguely dill scent. At 20 minutes: Rose is definitely present now. But the weird note - which is now more sour than dill - is still stronger. At 30 minutes: This is definitely a rose scent now. But the off note is sticking around, still with a hint of dill. At 1 hour: The same, but getting fainter. At 1 1/2 hours: The rose has faded away and the fragrance is mostly amber. With just a trace of the off note, I'm getting a glimpse of what this scent should be, and it is heartbreakingly beautiful. At 2 1/2 hours: The off note is completely gone now, leaving a very soft and pretty rose-and-amber powder. Later ETA: After reading the reviews, I notice that another reviewer mentioned dill pickles. So maybe my imp isn't deteriorated, maybe it just smells like that to some people. I know it's not my skin chemistry, because it smelled like that in the imp, before the oil touched my skin. But I've never gotten that from any of these notes before. Maybe there is something else in this that isn't listed? Curiouser and curiouser. I want to try another imp of it to see what happens, and I do have another one.

Lab frimp aged about 6 years. In the imp: Oil is clear, dark brown. On sniffing, my first thought is eucalyptus. Or something similar - sharp and camphoraceous. Some kind of evergreen? On me, wet: Oops, I swiped this on without checking the notes first. And instantly realized my mistake. This has red or dark musk in it. The Snake Oil Kiss of Death. Which I absolutely cannot wear on my skin. My chemistry turns it into something completely different and nauseatingingly unpleasant. I've got to go wash it off. I'll try it again another time, in the scent locket and wearing gloves while handling it. Seriously. I can't let this come in contact with my skin AT ALL. I hope I haven't already ruined the whole sample by touching the oil.

Egyptian iris and olibanum with red and white sandalwood, myrrh, North African herbs Lab frimp aged about 6 years. In the imp: Clear, pale amber oil. A gorgeous floral scent, slightly herbal, with no notes I can identify. Almost aquatic, but not at all sharp. On me, wet: 9:56. Pm. Deeper and greener, less emphatically floral. At 5 minutes: I still can't pin down any notes, but this is incredibly beautiful. Very bright, cool, clean, and feminine in mood. As I keep sniffing, different layers of scent waft up. No incense (olibanum or sandalwood) so far - those are the only notes I'd recognize. At 10 minutes: It has already become very light on my wrist, but is the same gorgeous scent. At 20 minutes: I get a hint of sandalwood now, so light that it is more like powder than incense or even wood. Maybe the white sandalwood. It does inspire visions of a silky and pretty, pearly white powder. Otherwise the fragrance is still much the same. At 30 minutes: No further change. At 45 minutes: Lighter, very slightly woodier and warmer. At 1 1/2 hours: Quite faint, and all powder (but still pretty.) Verdict: This doesn't evoke Nefertiti, or even Egypt, to me. There's nothing of the grandeur, mystery, authority, or exoticism of that powerful Queen. Instead, it is a little girl in a grassy meadow filled with blooms. But it does have one thing in common with Nefertiti: both are stunningly gorgeous. After the first 10 minutes, it becomes quite light, so would be a good choice for wearing in public where some people may be sensitive to stronger scents. It needs more frequent reapplication than the average BPAL oil, more like a traditional cologne in longevity. 6 out of 6 stars

Imp fresh from the Lab. I ordered this because I was looking for a watery scent that was petrichor rather than a sharp note such as ozone. In the imp: Oil is clear and golden. Nice! Bright, green, aquatic but not sharp (yes!!), flowers accenting but not dominating. The green notes do mask the petrichor to some extent (as well as contributing to the classic-perfume vibe), but it is definitely there. On me, wet: Perfumey, greenery, magnolia and/or gardenia, bright, watery. Feminine, reminiscent of a classic perfume. At 5 minutes: Much the same, but lighter, less bright, more floral. Lovely. At 10 minutes: This was heavy at first, but is now already quite light. It still has a good throw. At 20 minutes: Very beautiful florals. They are going a little powdery, but that somehow enhances it even more, makes it softer. There are still green and watery notes as well. At 1 hour: Soft and powdery classic perfume. At 2 hours: The petrichor note I hoped for is still discernable, yay! After that, I went to bed, so I don't know how long it lasted. Probably not much longer, as it was pretty faint. Verdict: An easy scent to wear - classic, bright, feminine, and (after the first 10 or 15 minutes) light. It has a cooling mood that makes it great for warm weather. This does not morph or change, but stays consistent. And yes, it does have a petrichor-like aspect, which is confirmed by the dirt note some reviewers mentioned. Petrichor and florals, how lovely! 5 out of 6 stars

I'm really only reviewing the scent. The effect depends on the situation, a person's mood, expectations, beliefs, etc., so it would be different for everyone and even for one person at different times. But I can certainly use an oil to remind me of, and give me hope for, kindness. Can't we all? Bottle fresh from the Lab. In the bottle: Pretty much exactly what it says. The only note I don't get is jasmine. I don't notice the tartness I would expect from rose hips, but that could be blending in with the other rose elements. The myrtle is interesting, a savory herb note somewhat like bay leaf, in a blend of otherwise sweet things. On me, wet: It takes a minute to warm up. At first there is no scent. But the notes quickly come up, the same as in the bottle but lighter. Mostly rose, honey, and coconut, with that edging of savory herb. Still no jasmine that I can detect. At 5 minutes: The myrtle is stronger now, almost equal to the sweet scents. It's pleasant and so intriguing. Definitely not your typical rose perfume. At 10 minutes: The whole scent is suddenly much lighter, but the same in character. The throw is heavier on the rose, but not particularly heavy overall - medium. At 20 minutes: Rose has become the main event on my wrist as well now. Very lovely. At 30 minutes: Already, this has become a rosy baby powder. But still very lovely! And if I keep sniffing, I can still pick up the myrtle underneath. At 45 minutes: Same as above At 1 hour: The same scent, but softer. At 2 hours: Rosy baby powder with . . . Um, dill pickle? Must be the myrtle summoning up a last hurrah. It isn't unpleasant in the least, and certainly is interesting! After 3 hours: Soft rose baby powder. The herbal note is gone. At 7 hours: Still a presence on my wrist. And now it's a distinctly honey fragrance, backed up with a pleasant light powder. It's a surprise finish! Verdict on scent: A very pretty and somewhat unusual fragrance that is identifiably but not aggressively rose. Long-lasting, and consistent up to the surprise twist at the end. 5.5 out of 6 stars.

So, this has been QUITE the learning experience for me. After more than 10 years of wearing BPAL oils, I learned that my skin chemistry does HORRIBLE things to red musk. I absolutely cannot wear it on my skin or hair, or even touch it. I'm going to experiment with wearing it in a scent locket, handling it with kid gloves. Literally. Well, disposable surgical gloves anyway. So what happens that's so horrible? - It kills all the other notes in a scent. Totally wipes them out. Nuclear holocaust-type destruction. - It amps to 11. - It turns into Syrup of Ipecac, without the orange flavoring. Sickeningly, cloyingly sweet. I mean, literally nauseating. As in, I have to wash it off before I barf. It was a very familiar smell, one I've noticed in several BPAL oils. I thought it was just a note I disliked. It took this one to show me that it isn't supposed to smell like that. It turns out that has been the problem with Snake Oil all along. I knew I hated it, but thought it was the vanilla. But this has no vanilla, and smells EXACTLY the same on me as Snake Oil. (And I've recently discovered a couple of vanilla blends that I actually love.) Except for tolu, I knew all of the other notes in The Starry Crown smell beautiful on me, so it wasn't them. And the info on the internet about tolu says it is spicy, which I never got from this. Also, tolu is pretty rare in BPAL oil, and this was something I'd smelled many times before. Then it hit me: Snake Oil. This smells like Snake Oil. So I checked the reviews for Snake Oil to see what was in it. By now I was pretty sure it was the red musk that was the problem. (Actually, not red musk itself but what my skin does to it.) Bingo. Musk isn't listed in the description, but numerous reviewers mentioned it. And several said red musk specifically. I've never smelled or tested red musk, or any kind of musk, by itself. That's why it took me so long to figure it out. Especially when white musk is one of my favorite notes. For some reason, my skin doesn't seem to interfere with white musk. So obviously I need to avoid any blends that contain red musk. Or wear them only in the scent locket, handling them very carefully to prevent contaminating them with my skin chemicals. It's not this perfume, it's my skin that is the problem. I got some glimpses into what this SHOULD smell like. In the bottle, if I am very careful to touch only the outside of the bottle and cap and not get any oil on my skin, I get some lovely lavender, rose, and chamomile. And on my clothes, I got the most gorgeous draft of rose. Only once, and very briefly, but it showed me what this perfume is supposed to smell like. And undoubtedly does, on other people. Apparently my wrist touched my clothes and transferred some of the oil to them before it got changed by my skin chemicals. So I am interested in trying this out very carefully in the locket. And you know what? It might work for Snake Oil too. But I'll need a new imp of that one that isn't already contaminated with my skin chemicals. My bottle of Starry Crown might still be salvageable since I only touched it to my skin once. An interesting thing: My daughter also hates Snake Oil. Which was very surprising to both of us, since woods, resins, and incense scents - basically anything warm, nonfloral and non-foody - are her favorites. I'll bet she got my skin chemistry genes. I'd love to try Snake Oil in a scent locket on her too. (This one would be too floral for her.)

I wanted this partly for the concept, but mostly for the rowan note. Rowan is my totem (yes, a tree not an animal) and I have never seen this note in anything before. I am so excited about this one! Floral perfumes are really more my thing, but I can enjoy wood ones too. I won't be able to differentiate between the different kinds of wood, but that doesn't matter. I'll know the Rowan is there! In the bottle: Ooh, I'm already loving this! It isn't all wood as I had expected. It's half wood and half vanilla with some golden amber, which I love almost as much as flowers. The vanilla and amber makes this sweeter, gentler, and more feminine than wood fragrances normally are. On me, wet: Just like in the bottle, absolutely gorgeous! At 5 minutes: There's definitely some vanilla, stronger than the wood, and an animalistic undertone that is the tiniest bit unpleasant to me - the musk that others have mentioned? At 10 minutes: The wood is coming on more strongly, and I really like that. It balances the sweetness of the amber and vanilla, and warms up the scent. At 15 minutes: The animalistic undertone has gone. The Wand started out beautiful, and just keeps getting better! At 30 minutes: Pretty much the same. A little woodier, a little lighter. At 45 minutes: Mostly vanilla, with some powdery amber and a little wood. Amber always goes powdery on my skin, in the nicest possible way. At 1 hour: Same as above. At 3 hours: Some vanilla, mostly plastic. After 5 hours: The plastic and vanilla are gone. All that remains is the soft, pretty powder of amber's final drydown. Verdict: A very lovely, consistent and fairly feminine vanilla perfume with light touch of wood. The Lab has surprised me again! I hate vanilla perfumes. But this is the second one that has made it onto my "Favorites" list. The secret to that is that they are not at all foody. 5 out of 6 stars. If there was a little less vanilla and more amber, it might have been a 6. Especially if there was a lot of rowan.

Decant from a lovely forumite. In the imp: The oil is clear and a pinkish light brown. It smells like spice and patchouli, with a sharp, sweet, light, bright edge. This is darker than I would associate with The Fool. I see it more as Aragorn, in his Strider role. Even the light and brightness isn't warm or comforting. It is the cold and dangerous brilliance of glacial ice. Light that can blind you and bite off your nose and toes if you aren't careful. But it can also show you the way forward. It does fit the concept of The Stranger. Which of course is a face of the Fool. It isn't who he is, but how the people of the villages he visits might see him. We know that he is young, adventurous, naive, a little reckless, a little foolish, more carefree than is good for him. But they don't know that. As with Strider, they see him as dark, mysterious, and possibly menacing. And maybe there is a small and hidden part of him that is those things. On me, wet: I smell the same notes as in the bottle, but others as well. Some greenness - maybe the oak moss? The scent quickly warms up and loses that light bright aspect. I don't notice any florals. It is unisex to masculine. At 5 minutes: Pretty much the same. A hint of mystery floral may be starting to develop. At 10 minutes: It is very sweet, with that cloying sweetness that certain kinds of patchouli have. The florals are getting stronger and contributing to the sweetness as well. But I have to work to recognize them as floral - that note is more like soap. Clove is the strongest note. At 20 minutes: The soapy florals are becoming strong enough to compete with the clove and patchouli. I'm starting to recognize a little violet. It goes surprisingly well with the clove. At 30 minutes: The patchouli has settled down quite a bit, and I'm liking this more than previously. I have nothing against patch, but this one isn't my favorite kind. I'm finally getting that sense of purple that others mentioned. It's almost fruity, but not quite. Much less sweet now, too. And the soapiness is mostly gone. At 45 minutes: Much gentler now, in both character and throw. The notes are blending together so nicely. It is difficult to pick out individual notes, except for clove. But even that is mellowing. At 1 hour: I can just barely pick out some spice and patchouli in the throw, with a tint of violet. But it takes some effort. Mostly it's a well blended Oriental spice-and-incense unisex perfume. At 1 1/2 hours: Quite mild now. At 4 hours: It actually seems a little stronger now than last time I checked. For a while, it went powdery - like a spicy-scented powder. Now it has lost the powder and gone to a men's spicy cologne. The last thing I would have expected on final drydown! 11 hours later, I can still smell it very faintly on my wrist, and stronger on my clothing. Verdict: The Stranger is powerful, probably not something you'd want to wear to the office unless you work in a cannibis store. It is basically unisex, maybe leaning just a tiny bit towards the masculine, but in an incensey way, not in a men's-cologne way. It's not really me (I was hoping for more of a violet and lilac presence), but It is nice enough. It will be pleasant to wear from time to time when I'm in the mood for something different. 3 out of 6 stars

Decant from a lovely forumite. The oil is clear and light yellow in color. Oh. My. God. One whiff of the imp, and I immediately ordered a bottle even though I have already exceeded my BPAL budget for the month. I would order 10 bottles if I could. Seriously. This is going to be a short review because I am stunned speechless. It is indescribably beautiful, beyond gorgeous. It is my new absolute top favorite, a slot Rose has held uncontested for decades. There's really nothing else that can be said for except for how long it lasts and how well it holds up on my skin. On me, wet: The same as in the imp. At 15 minutes: The scent is the teensiest bit less fresh and less strong, but still heavenly beyond words. It is a strong perfume, both up close and in the throw. Which is awesome, because it is impossible to get too much of this. It's sweet, and the epitome of girly. At one hour, it is already going plastic. No problem. I can reapply or wear it in the scent locket to make it last longer. But for now, since I am testing, I'll leave it alone to see what happens next. After another couple of hours, the plastic wears off to leave me with the gorgeous floral scent again, only powdery and very subtle now. By 4 hours, it is mostly gone. But a very faint trace still remains and retains its gorgeous character 8 hours after application. Verdict: 6 out of 6 stars, of course!

Bottle freshly purchased from BPAL on Etsy, probably about 6 years old. Well, one advantage to my bottle being so aged is that the lemon note is probably gone from it. I'm not a fan of citrus in perfumes and would prefer a true wild rose single note. In the bottle: No such luck. This is rose and Lemon Pledge, emphasis on the furniture polish. Hopefully my skin will make short work of that. On me, wet. 10:09 pm: I smell rose right at first, but the Lemon Pledge marches up and shoves it aside almost immediately. At 5 minutes: I'm trying not to think about Pledge, to think instead about my lovely lemon-rose geranium plant. But it's not working. The Lemon Pledge is just too realistic and too strong. And the rose note is too thoroughly overwhelmed. At 10 minutes: Whew, the lemon has lightened up to let some of the rose come out again. It's considerably nicer, but still more lemony than I would prefer. At 15 minutes: Continuing to improve. The rose and lemon are about equal now. Which could be rather pretty, but the lemon is just too much like Pledge rather than fresh lemon. At 20 minutes: I'm not getting much of a green note, if any - the lemon is just too overpowering. The fragrance isn't particularly sweet. The rose note that I smelled in the bottle and right at first was very real and lovely, but it's different now. Not so realistic and with a skanky edge. That might be the Pledge influence. I doubt that it's my skin chemistry, because rose is always beautiful on me in other blends. At 30 minutes: As the lemon fades more - it finally is lighter than the rose - the rose note is edging closer to the beautiful original note. But hasn't made it there. That might be intentional, to make the scent more like a wild rose and less like a hybrid tea rose. At 45 minutes: For several minutes there, it got quite pretty, with just a touch of the skanky lemon around the edges. But now the rose note has begun to fade and the lemon is turning plastic-ish. At 1 hour: It's all plastic. No recognizable rose OR lemon. That IS my skin chemistry. This might work best in the scent locket. But that worries me - it might stay all Lemon Pledge in the locket. Well, I won't know unless I try. Verdict: I'm ambivalent about this one. I love the rose, but it has so little presence in this blend. It appeared only rarely and usually in adulterated form even when it did appear. I don't like the lemon. It is too artificial and too strong. So, maybe 4 1/2 stars out of 6.

Frimp fresh from the Lab. This isn't something I would have selected. I detest licorice, and naturally I don't like absinthe either. But I'll try anything once. (Or even several times, in the case of absinthe.) I was offered a sample of licorice fudge once from a booth at an artisanal cheese festival. It had three kinds of licorice flavors in it, and no chocolate. To my utter surprise, it was exquisitely delicious! The maker of it told me that almost everyone says they hate licorice, but love the fudge. And I love anise in cakes and cookies, and in Indian spice mixes. And fennel seed in Italian sausage. And fresh fennel cooked in soups or raw in salads. So, I'm game for this too. It wouldn't be the first time Beth has surprised me. In the imp: Yep. 100% black licorice. A dead ringer for the kids' Halloween candy. I couldn't stand it even when I was a kid. On me, wet: This is different than in the vial. I could swear there are florals in it, and they are as prominent as the licorice. Who'd think to pair those scents up? But it works rather beautifully! The florals really lighten up the bitterness of the licorice, and make it . . . maybe even pleasant. At 5 minutes: The licorice has already faded noticeably, and now there's a green herbal note that must be the hyssop. I love the reference to the color green, and that particular choice of herb is so perfectly fitting! At 10 minutes: I'm kinda liking this. The overall character is of a very unusual and not-too-sweet floral perfume, with a light accent of licorice, not enough to be obnoxious. Just enough to make it interesting. At 15 minutes: The florals or whatever that is, are vanishing. Which means we're back to licorice, but not solely. There are things I don't recognize in it that keep the licorice under control. The hyssop, probably, and maybe the wormwood as well? I have no idea what wormwood tastes/smells like. I've heard that it is bitter. I never noticed anything but licorice in the absinthe I've tried, although at least twice I know it was true absinthe which includes the wormwood. At 30 minutes: The fragrance is weaker. It's almost all licorice again now, but faint enough that it is mild and inoffensive. Interesting rather than unpleasant. At 1 hour: I can pick up the tiniest bit of lemon. Usually citrus are top notes that disappear very quickly on me, how interesting that it shows up now. I think the licorice had to fade a lot before the lighter lemon could be detected. Like the earlier notes, it offsets and balances the licorice to make it more pleasant. The overall fragrance is very light and close to the skin. By 1 1/2 hours, it is mostly gone. But 4 hours later, there is still the faintest trace left. It no longer smells like licorice, or any of BPAL's usual final drydown notes - none of those are in this blend. There is nothing I can identify, but it is very soft and pretty, a little powdery. I never did notice any mint or cardomom. I'm glad about the mint, as I don't like smelling like toothpaste. I'm sad to miss out on the cardomom, though. I think that would go very nicely with the anise. Maybe that's why I didn't notice it, because they blended together so well. Funny thing about the mint: Whenever I opened the shipping box, the interior smelled strongly of minty toothpaste. I was kinda dreading testing whichever oil was doing that. It had to have been this one. None of the other fragrances had any mint in them. And when I sniff the paper label on the imp, I get licorice and mint in almost equal strengths. How odd that the mint in the closed imp (which did not leak) could permeate the whole box and overpower all the other notes in all the other blends, yet I could not detect it in the actual perfume! It's not an effect of skin chemistry, either - or not solely, anyway - because I didn't pick up any mint in the open vial or on the wand. Verdict: It isn't going to make my shortlist of favorites, no surprise there. But I do like it. I won't wear it out in public. I don't want to go around smelling like candy, and certainly not like one that I, and many other people, hate. But it will be perfect for wearing around the house when I get tired of being in the same old rut and have a hankering for something really different. Or when I'm reading Oscar Wilde or Paul Verlaine. 4 out of 6 stars

2007 bottle newly purchased from BPAL on etsy. In the bottle: Rose, violet, patchouli. Very sweet. On me, wet: Even sweeter on me. Rose, mixed florals, a note of green (the woodruff and leaves?), a whisper of lemon. The rose is more understated here than in most rose blends, blended in, a face in the crowd. At 5 minutes: The rose, lemon, and patchouli have come out more strongly, but this is still a light scent (in terms of strength and throw.) In character, it is darker than most floral perfumes, perhaps due to the patchouli. That is the longing in this, I think. At 10 minutes: I'm still getting those three notes, but now also a little jasmine and some woodiness. At 20 minutes: The scent is no longer sweet. Odd, given the honey and all those florals. Rose is the front runner, but the other florals and the lemon are running closely behind. The rose is more assertive in the throw. At 30 minutes: None of the notes are particularly strong, and this has been the case all along. Except for the rose, I have to work to pick them out. And the rose is only slightly more distinct. Even the notes that tend to be aggressive, such as patchouli and jasmine, are low-key in this oil. At 45 minutes: I'm picking up on the green note and the lemon, supporting the rose. This is a very consistent scent so far. Except for losing the sweetness, it has changed very little. All the different notes I've mentioned are just me noticing different things at different times. At 1 hour: Soft rose. You can tell there are other things in there, but I cannot identify anything specifically at this stage. At 2 hours: Patchouli and wood have overtaken the rose, but rose is still a contender. At 3 hours: Baby powder, as many BPAL oils go on my skin at final drydown, including rose notes. This is an observation, not a complaint, as it is quite pleasant. Verdict: This would be a great rose blend for wearing to work, because it is complex and sophisticated, and not so girly or strong or sweet or "dressy" as many rosy perfumes are. 5 out of 6 stars

All those beautiful notes, and my bar didn't smell like any of them. Just plain unscented soap. Both when I unwrapped the bar and sniffed it, and when I washed with it. Was it the batch I got, or was my nose malfunctioning? I hope that the scent will come out when I get deeper into the soap. I've only used it once so far.

According to the internet, Ego Flos Campi et Lillium Convallium is Latin for "I am a rose of Sharon and a lily of the valleys". It is from the second chapter of The Song of Solomon and has inspired numerous musical interpretations. It's almost as if Beth is also foreshadowing The Lovers with this. I love the concept of this, and I adore floral perfumes, so I'm looking forward to trying it. I'm not sure I remember the scent of lilies of the valley by themselves. I don't know what Rose of Sharon smells like. Fresh bottle from a BPAL retailer. In the bottle: Realistic flowers, with that faint edge of bitterness that you get from some very fresh cut flowers. It may be the lily of the valley, because it is very familiar, and I don't get any type of rose note that I recognize. On me, wet: The same. After a minute, I do get a single whiff of rose, but it is gone as quickly as it appeared. It leaves behind a floral note I can't identify. After 10 minutes: This has become a more blended scent, and I no longer recognize any flower that I know. At 20 minutes: Something in this is vaguely reminiscent of orange blossom, but I don't know why. It certainly isn't orange blossom. It's quite beautiful. Heavenly, in both senses of the word. At 40 minutes, it's going a little powdery, but I don't mind. It still retains its own character, too. At 2 hours: The scent on my wrist is pretty much gone. Verdict: A beautiful and somewhat different floral perfume. 6 out of 6 stars Later edited to add: I don't read the other reviews until after I've written mine so that I won't be influenced by them. So when I did, I was intrigued to see that another reviewer also mentioned a similarity to orange blossom, especially because I had wondered if I was imagining things!

Fresh imp from a BPAL retailer. In the imp: I notice the floral first, then the honey, with some sharper-than-usual frankincense underlying it all. And something almost peppery. On me, wet: Ooh, I really love the asphodel. I haven't smelled that before. Something in this is making me think of mint, or menthol. Maybe the same thing that seemed sharp and peppery? At 5 minutes: Whatever that sharpness/pepper was, it's gone. There's still something vaguely minty, though. Mostly I get asphodel and honey. It's unusual and pretty, but fairly light already. I don't notice any frankincense. At 10 minutes: Aha, there's the serious honey. It smells different than the one in my beloved Honey Hair Gloss, but it is nice. The flower is taking a back seat. I like all of it except for that odd mint. Fortunately it is quite faint. Maybe that's something my skin chemistry is doing. At 30 minutes: Honey and asphodel. Very pretty and girly. I'm starting to get some light incense in the background. The mint seems to be gone now. This just keeps on getting better and better. After 1 hour: This honey is super realistic, even more than the hair gloss one. The flowers are fading. I'm sad to see them go, but loving the honey too. After 3 hours: It's been all honey pretty much since the 1-hour mark. Still hanging in there, still beautiful. At 13 hours, I can still faintly smell the honey on my wrist. Verdict: The frankincense plays only a very small part in this oil. I don't entirely get how this blend represents The Magician, whether the archetype, the picture, or the interpretation of the card. To my mind, the scent evokes the image of a sweet and innocent little girl. There is an "As above, so below" connection: the Magician's arms, one pointing up and the other down; the asphodel of the underworld and honeybees flying in the air above. But never mind, it's a beautiful fragrance! 6 out of 6 stars