Spellbound

[The_Merf]

Perfectly enchanting! An irresistibly sexual, utterly rapturous blend of three roses, radiant amber, and sensual red musk.

Huzzah red musk! This definitely leans toward the sultry Scheherezade red musk family as opposed to the more feral Loviatar/Fenris Wolf red musks, most probably because of the amber. The amber is the second most prominent note in the blend--as others have said, the rose is really very faint here, so if that is putting you off the blend, I'd definitely give it a try anyway. It really does dry down to mostly a dominant red musk on my skin.

[Christine Daae]

Another imp that I've been holding onto for a long time and never properly tested/reviewed.

 

In the imp, the oil is very dark and...smells like the rose from Persephone that didn't agree with me. Oh, dear.

 

On my skin: ROSE! So much rose. And...a nice rose that's playing well on my skin. Hmmm!

 

As it dries, the red musk warms it up in the background. It really does smell like roses on a hot night (as someone else pointed out), with the red musk and the amber sweetening it and grounding it from being too rosey. (I really like rose, I should add here, so my "just rosey enough" might be someone else's "too rosey"!)

 

This is really pretty and sultry, very voluptuous and sexy, while still being ultra-feminine. Love it!

[Iceblink]

I adore Spellbound--it's the perfect blend of red musk, rose, and amber. Something about it is not unlike a rosey version of Smut with some red musk thrown into the mix. Very sexy, and nice and longlasting too. This along with Blood Rose is my favorite rose blend!

[CrazyPretzel]

In the imp: slightly sour rose.

 

Wet on me: Shoot, it's that note from Skuld that made me feel so grossly ill when I smelled it in the imp. It's not red musk or amber or any rose that I've identified, and Skuld contains ylang-ylang, honey, and labdanum if I remember correctly, so it must be some secret ingredient. Great. If I ignore it I can smell rose, very red and full and powdery.

 

After a few minutes: Powdery rose and that grim sour sick scent.

 

Drydown: Same.

 

I can't really review this properly as it contains something that I'm repelled by.

[tartchef]

In the vial, Spellbound is incredible - the almost-salty red musk & amber are keeping my arch nemesis rose at bay. It's almost edible, like a rose-syrup-infused cake...

 

But alas. The moment it hits my skin, the rose smothers everything in a blanket of powdery, soapy mess. Once in a while, the musk & amber rally, and for a moment I think we might be able to pull this off... then it's back to grandmas & cheap soap.

 

I'll give this a shot in my scent locket, but I don't have high hopes....

[mokiesmum]

This came with my first imp pack order from the lab.

 

I have always been intrigued by the scent of fresh roses, but have never found a rose scent that didn't totally overpower my chemistry.

 

I was hoping that Spellbound would be different, but alas.

 

The first time I tried it on, I got overpowered by the red musk. I've tried it twice since then, and can barely smell the red musk the rose is so overpowering.

 

So, unfortunately, this lovely scent really did not work on me. I'm learning that my skin and rose blends get along terribly, and I guess the sooner I can admit that to myself, the better off I'll be.

 

I gave it to a colleague who likes florals (I always have a hard time with them), and it's magnificent on her, but very strong.

[hkhm]

imp: roses! and a little bit of musk here or there...

 

wet: roses. and, yet again, the roses smell like guest soaps on me. there is also an almost cintronella scent here as well. if i can catch this when i'm not thinking about it (like a random waft) it smells okay but when i go in for a further sniff it just smells soapy.

 

dry: soapy fresh rose. it's too bad so many rose scents go soapy on me, i actually wouldn't mind smelling like a rose. alas.

[Lyrical]

In the vial: very rose but with a bite!

 

Wet on skin: delicate rose with a fair amount of throw.

 

Dry on skin: still very rose.

 

Several hours later: now the rose is fading a little and the amber and musk have come out to join it.

 

This is a beautiful scent, but rose isn't really "me". I'm glad I tried it, though.

 

 

Edit: I recently received a frimp of Spellbound and liked it much better. The new imp seemed to have more rose and less amber and I've been wearing it quite a lot!

 

Edit again: I neglected the imp, leaving it in the bathroom cabinet for a few months, and now it is thick and dark and incredibly lovely, with rich, dark musk as the main note, and the rose hovering politely in the background! This ages really well!

Edited February 10, 2008 by Lyrical

[lady_pandora]

This had been on my to-try list for ages, and yesterday I finally got around to it.

 

Oh my.

 

This smells like Erzulie's, which is a voodoo store in the French Quarter. (BPAL fans who haven't been there, if you go to NOLA, you simply must go there. Beautiful store, and everything in it smells amazing in addition to having powerful energy in it.) Think "occult store smell" and then imagine the very best occult store you've ever smelled, and that's what I get from Spellbound.

 

This is a gorgeous incensey rose scent. The amber ties the rose to a chair and keeps it from fleeing, so I continue to get rose from this scent hours after applying, which is rare for me. The amber and musk combine to smell like sacred incense. I keep thinking I smell nag champa, too, though it's not listed. I smell like I've just been doing ritual or magic. I LOVE this. Definitely big bottle territory. How did it take me so long to try this one? It may sound melodramatic, but I feel like I've been looking for this scent all my life.

 

I can see how this is a Love Potion. It's not one of those scents that "smells like sex" or screams "sex" at the top of its lungs. This is the kind of scent where you just feel so amazing wearing it that you come across as sexy even if you're not trying.

Edited November 11, 2007 by lady_pandora

[stutefish]

I can smell the rose in the vial, but once Spellbound hits my skin all traces of rose vanish and the musk is all HEY CHECK ME OUT. It's heady and intense but in a headshoppy kind of way; it's what I might wear if I wanted to seduce someone while buying a bong. If I were into that kind of thing. Spellbong.

 

Anyway: an impressive melange of scents, but not for me.

[Indefatigable]

In the vial: a bit powdery, with definite roses. Still risking it, because it's the most gorgeous colour I've ever seen.

 

On me: holy crap, it still smells like roses! Sweet feral roses like that crazy single-blossomed pink rugosa that we had to dig up because it kept eating our patio table. I can't believe it, I was really about to give up on smelling like roses instead of baby powder.

 

Drying down: the musk and/or amber are just there in the background, adding a note that I can only describe as 'dusty'. It's staying just barely more complex than a single note, but not getting powdery or soapy.

[Magpie]

This one was weird. I loved how it smelled in the imp, sweet but sophisticated, with a musky edge, but I tried it on and even before it had dried it was awful. I suspect this is due to some reaction with my skin, but it become harsh in a way that was just not nice. Something I've inherited from my mum is that sometimes we put particular perfumes on and they just go ick, chemically or overly musky, or just edge and nothing else. It smelled precisely like that.

 

It's a real pity, because it's a lovely scent, but it just doesn't agree with me.

[NatCatz]

I have to admit, the first time I tried this I didn't like it. I really wanted to like it but it seemed rather too strong, even overpowering.

 

However.

 

I tried it again a few weeks later, and I loved it, it was constantly changing on my skin, from rose to musk and back again. it was lovely. Although I wouldn't want to use too much at once, since I suspect thats why it was too much for me the first time round.

[Honeygirl]

Bottle: Rose

 

Wet: Rose and amber. I'm not fond of rose at all, but I make a point to try everything. There's the musk, it's overwhelming the rose at this point.

 

Drydown: Ah, now the rose is back. It just amps on me something awful! I can smell the amber, but it's very faint. I'm afraid this just doesn't work on me!

2.5 outta 5

[persephanise]

Spellbound broke my heart! Amber and rose? Sounds wonderful! Red musk? Ehh..

 

and the red musk won, darnit!

 

I don't know if it was the musk alone that ruined it or the combination of scents but Spellbound was just too heavy and sneezy for me. I gave Spellbound chance and after chance to redeem itself, but in the end I have decided that Spellbound will never be a bottle in my closet.

[Emerrific]

Rose and amber ate two of my favorite notes, but red musk is one that I dread, so I was apprehensive and excited to try this one. The oil is a lovely deep red brown, in the vial it is a strong incense-y musky rose.

 

On me it was still a strong incense-y musky rose, but the musk got extremely strong. One swipe of the imp wand and the entire room could smell me. Great throw on this one. Unfortunately, the red musk got more feral than I'd like and even though it did not get as wonky as I feared, it is not a keeper.

 

The smell that clung to the cuffs of my sweater (where it does not interact with my tainted skin chemistry) is absolutely gorgeous though...makes me wish that I could wear red musk.

 

If you can wear red musk I say go for it!!!! It is wonderful, just not on me.

[aleciarivas]

Perfectly enchanting! An irresistibly sexual, utterly rapturous blend of three roses, radiant amber, and sensual red musk.

 

Oh-so-lovely! There goes that amber smelling SOOOOO unexpectedly wonderful on my skin! The roses and musk create a nice soft background to the sweet sultry amber.

[yokaitenchi]

Cloying dustiness...red musk and roses are up to no good again. It really smells (and feels like) I dried a bouquet of roses, powered them, and then snorted the whole lot.

 

Unfortunately, amber never came to save the day; it simply warmed my skin slightly. *sigh*

[dragonlady]

Ok, I'm not a big fan of rose in real life, and most florals come off really strong on my skin, so I tend to avoid scents with strong florals, but I was willing to give Spellbound a try.

 

Now, I know what amber smells like, and I really like it, but I don't get it at all from the bottle in this scent. I don't think I smell rose, or any rose that I recognize, so I guess in the bottle it mostly smells like red musk. I didn't really care for it at first, but it's growing on me.

 

Unfortunately, my feelings are not returned, because as soon as this hits my skin, it turns completely to rubber. I feel like I'm sniffing a badly scented Barbie doll.

 

I hope not all oils with red musk do this to me. If Mme Moriarty turns to rubber on me I might cry.

[dirtytrip]

It's not enchantment on my skin, that's certain. I would think it would be, what with the roses and the amber, but the red musk completely overpowers everything and dusts up the entire experience. There's also an obnoxious, hollow, powdery quality to it. It's because of this scent that I've learned to avoid BPAL's red musk when it plays a major role.

[jaeyne]

I got an imp of this from the lab and for about the first 1/2 hour or so it smelled really green, like green rose but as it morphed it reminded me more of dry petals.In a wooden box. I get the "old lady" refrence. Kind of like a potpourri. Lasted all day, good throw. I would buy a bottle .

[djsiberia]

i absolutely love roses. at first apply, all i smell is roses. i can slightly smell the musk. after dry down and an hour, it's still roses and a small bit of musk, the amber isn't even making an appearance, which is fine, but i really like amber.

 

i think i would purchase a bottle just because i'm a rose scent freak. i love 'em.

[twilighteyes]

This is all amber musk top note to me with a rose bottom. Very yummy!!

Edited March 17, 2008 by TwilightEyes

[slittlecrowrussell]

I usually can't wear rose without it degenerating into something powdery and old lady smelling. The only other BPAL rose I've been able to wear is in Gypsy Queen, and I swear this one has the same rose notes in it. Except that Spellbound is really, really rosey. A dark, deep, blood-red rose - nothing lady-like, innocent or proper like tea roses, instead this rose is seductive, sophisticated, and slightly sinister. There's a definite incense type hit to it too and the red musk is definitely of the Schezerade variety, but it is Schezerade laying naked in a bath of roses...

 

My skin drinks BPAL, I usually have to reapply at least twice a day to keep a fragrance. This one lasted all day long...

 

I'd recommend Spellbound if you like Gypsy Queen, the Masque, or Schezerade...

Edited March 20, 2008 by 13magpies

[taramarie]

On me, Spellbound is roses and amber, no musk. Up close, the roses smell fine, but the waft is a little soapy around the edges. This is nice but not what I was hoping for. I'll age it and see if it improves.