Spellbound

[Saya]

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

Thick red musk with a touch of rose. Not for me.

[irishelf]

Spellbound:

 

I've noticed a difference between smelling the wand and smelling the imp itself.

 

The wand: Sharp, spiky musk.

The imp: warm, sweet...something.

 

Wet: It kinda smells like dirt and a bit like playdoh...what? I'm not getting any rose at all.

 

Also, it makes me cough when I sniff it. It's looking like amber isn't playing very nicely with my skin.

 

Dry: Yeah...no. It smells nice to me in the imp, but not so good on my skin. Wash-off time.

[Geminirubyshoes]

Strrooooooooooooonnnng red musk and rose! seriously. Alot of it. The amber is kind of drowned out in the bottle by the red musk and the rose. However, when I wear this it smells....sparkling! like the amber is dancing on top of red musk like hahaha! I win! I caved and bought a bottle after my manager kept telling me I smelled good two days in a row after trying this at work.

[puellacaerulea]

In the imp: musk musk musk. Headache-inducing, almost-a-dealbreaker red musk. Once I put it on, though, the rose started amping up immediately and toned down the musk notes. It's a fresh-smelling rose, too, as opposed to "old lady perfume", and complemented the musk/amber notes nicely. After about four hours, I noticed the rose starting to recede, ending with a surprisingly soft red musk/amber scent. Six hours in, the scent seemed to have faded entirely. For something that smells so strong in the imp, Spellbound doesn't seem to have too much throw. Still, I would avoid wearing this at work or any other places I might expect to find perfume-sensitive people. Overall, Spellbound's not bad, but I'll keep the imp around for appropriate occasions rather than spring for a 5ml.

[fieryredhead]

I'm still a little wary of musk on me but I got this for the rose notes & I am glad that I did! Everything just works so well in this blend; very 'grown up' type of scent for me. Will wear this on special evenings out!

[voorishsign]

Was frimped this <3 I love amber and musk, and rose could go either way . . . let's have a look.

 

In the imp - deep, rich, red oil. Like crimson satin cushions on a bed at night. Am perfectly intrigued. Musk, faint rose.

 

On wet - Perfectly sensual and overwhelmingly elegant. Amber and red musk are strong, and I detect a hint of the rose (my skin amps musk, hence the rose is behaving.)

 

Drydown - the roses blossom more now, and the musk remains strong. As always on my skin, the amber has trouble keeping up but rounds out the other two notes beautifully. Perfectly seductive and gorgeous, a wonderful blend.

[lahdeedah]

Wow! Holy red musk is right! Spellbound is my new sexy BPAL love, but that red musk is not fooling around-- I'll have to be a little more sparing in application (I tend to slather) as I amp it like crazy anyway. I expected to get more rose out of this, as I also amp roses, but the rose stays pretty subdued, and at the same time deep and round in this blend. It's uber-sexy, it's vampy, it's perfect, I love it, I can't wait to get my big bottle of it.

[FathomBelow]

In the imp: The oil is VERY dark brown. It smells thick and warm and heavy - comforting, but not what I was expecting. No rose whatsoever.

Wet on skin: Still that thick, warm scent. It smells a bit nutty and a bit like bread yeast for baking. Could this be from the musk? Again, comforting to smell, but I'm not so sure I want to smell like this. It sweetens briefly, from the amber, I'm guessing.

As it dries: The amber dims, leaving the nutty warm scent.

After it dries: The rose comes in and the amber makes a second entrance. I would say the order of strength is musk then amber then rose. I was kind of hoping for it to be the other way around!!

 

Final opinion: Even though intellectually I'm on the fence about this one because it is definitely not what I was expecting, it's undeniably compelling. I would categorize it as a musk scent rather than a rose scent, which is not bad, it's just that I was expecting rose. I think I'll keep it and see how it ages, but I won't need a bottle.

[KakashiMorph]

In the bottle: Roses and a warm smell ( the musk, I'm guessing).

On my skin: The roses come out first, and dominate the smell, but the musk accompanies them lovingly. I can't spot the amber. The roses are nice, pleasant, fresh roses and don't make me feel/smell like an old lady at all - or Turkish delight. Even though I'm not a very flowery person, I am fond of this rose smell.

Cooldown: After an hour or two, the roses slowly fade to the background and the musk comes in the foreground. It is a warm scent, and kind of sweet but not in the traditional sweet way. I just know that it smells so good, I'm permanently keeping my nose on my wrist again. Enchanting, indeed!

Spellbound is so lovely, I like it very much even if it's not a very dark smell.

[mxtine]

I have a love-hate relationship with rose. I love the smell of a glorious, velvety red rose but it's difficult to translate into a perfume. I've sniffed a few BPAL rose notes and they all (except Snooty Rose) give me that "ack! get this off of me" feeling.

 

This smells just like a real (x10 of course) when it's wet. I was a little worried it would stay like that but then the amber and red musk kicked in and smoothed it out. 2 hrs later this is going strong but it smells prominently of the red musky note from Smut with a touch of rose. SO beautiful.

[Lorna Brigid]

In the imp: I'm intrigued... very pretty, but I cannot place the separate notes. Sweet and a little musky.

On my skin (wet and drydown both): I smell kind of like a cinnamon vanilla nut latte!

The amber and red musk are amped, and play together beautifully on me. The rose doesn't really smell rosy... it is like a mysterious floral that just dances around the edge of the scent but never gives itself away.... it feels like a warm invitation you follow, but never get there, but in a good way, if that makes any sense.

I am spellbound by Spellbound!

[calivianya]

I love, love, LOVE The Infernal Lover, so I thought I'd love this too since everyone talks about how strong the red musk is in both, and that is a note that just smells like my skin rubbed in beautiful spices on me. However, I wasn't feeling this one. I guess it's the rose - I apparently need to steer clear of scents with rose in them. I'm still scratching my head in puzzlement over this one.

[aquazoo]

I get that warm, spicy blood kind of note up front. It threatened to get soapy but bypassed that, and continues to be sensual and warm.

[SophieCedar]

Wet: oooh red wine and red musk? No? Why am I smelling red wine? Uuhhh...maybe it's the mix of the 3 roses and red musk and the amber's just super syrupy. This is incredibly sweet on me. The amber is beautiful.

Drydown: apparently, there's a rose out there that actually likes my skin. I don't know which.. maybe white (ex: shadowy & sublime)? The amber keeps amping and red musk gets spicier. It turns a little powdery after I rub it into my skin more, but that passes. Note to self, just don't agitate it and it'll stay sweet as pie. What a funny one!

[TigerLilyFeet]

I can't decide if Spellbound is love or simply like for me. If spells have aromas then I guess Spellbound is an elixir for passion, desire, commitment, and maybe even obsession. This stuff is potent on my skin! I love the rose in this perfume, and it's what I catch first. The deep and dark red rose in this reminds me very much of how Montale (niche perfume house) that is way too expensive does rose. NICE~!

 

So already I'm in love with Spellbound on the rose aspect alone. However all day and night on my skin, rose battles with a sweet intense musk or maybe myrrh that I'm not at all familiar with. The base on my skin is almost dry, and a lot like powdery incense. So even though I like Spellbound very much, I think I'll keep searching for another potion from BPAL with more rose. At least now I know that if "three roses" is listed the scent will probably blow my mind.

Edited February 11, 2011 by TigerLilyFeet

[JasminDreams2010]

I wanted to love this. Florals do well on me, as does musk and amber. However, on my skin it turns into basically a wet blanket, I don't know how else to describe it. I gave it to my friend and she thought the same thing, and gave it back. I do believe this might be lovely on the right person. I want to find a good home for this one.

Scale of 1-5

1.5- just yucky.

[DameEmma]

This might be my HG perfume. (Well, this or Dorian. Or Madame Moriarty. Or...) But anyway. Warm rose. Layers beautifully. Love this.

[valnillarose]

Spellbound is rosy and ambery for most of its lifespan, and almost woody on drydown. Rich and sensuous without going soapy or being too sweet, too sharp, too strong. Possibly the best rose Beth offers. In fact, the only way Spellbound needs improving is to layer it with Snake Oil!

[gniwle]

This is going to be a short one. Spellbound smells like rose and red musk fruitloops. Seriously, it goes on wet and smells like fruitloops, and it dries like fruitloops (plus rose and red musk). I'm not sure if it's a good or bad thing, honestly.

[Ella LaRose]

this was a great dark rose, deep, mature, not your frilly girly rose, but you steamy wanton rose!

[Vega]

Sniffed: Bright red roses upon discreet red musk.

 

On skin: I adore rose and can't have too many rosy blends, but now I understand what it means to be overwhelmed by rose! Spellbound is all liquid clear rose, all the time -- not the pale, graceful ones that I've love, but heady, bright, intensely coloured ones, which I like just a bit less than the former. Red musk lurks just out of my nose's reach, and I suspect amber is contributing to the brightness. Yes, this is an embodiment of an intense but clear-eyed experience. I get a reddish colour impression, but I also get a kind of effect in my mind that resembles shining a bright light into one's eyes, so brilliant is this blend. Spellbinding, indeed...

 

Verdict: Well, well, what an intensely sensual, feminine blend! Even though I'm not keeping this imp, and will probably keep chasing my more favoured pale roses over these dark roses, I'm kinda perversely glad that I've finally encountered a blend that contains too much rose for me!

[thekittenkat]

In the frimp: Seems to be powdery (what, already) amber with a hint of red musk. No roses. I'm not being hopeful about this.

 

Wet: Now the red musk is coming to the foreground.

 

The dry-down: Finally there's a hint of the roses, but that's all. Usually I amp rose notes like nobody's business, but the powdery amber and the strong red musk have stomped the roses into the ground, and not much is left of their loveliness.

[angelamaria]

In imp: musky rose. By this time, I knew of how rose morphs on my skin, so I was ready to admit defeat even before I started.

 

Wet on skin: definitely musky, and a rather dusty rose. It's actually rather pleasing at this stage, a nostalgic sort of scent for me. It reminds me of scented stationery that were all the rage among us girls when I was a child, that we would swap single sheets with each other for, and show off our collections. I know, that was very random, but it had that kind of scent for me, a dusty, papery rose. It's becoming powdery rather fast...

 

Dry: dusty, musky, powdery rose. At first, there's a bit of rose still hanging around--maybe one of the three roses in this blend is holding out longer than normal. The red musk seems quite nice on my skin, I might have to give it a few tries in different blends. Of course, much later, even that single rose note is gone, and I'm just left with powder and red musk.

 

Verdict: obviously not a go for me, but this is the first time I actually noticed the red musk note (well, duh--all the other notes went powdery) so I may need to give it a try.

 

Edited for spelling/typing fail.

Edited May 21, 2011 by angelamaria

[Tiada]

Very much red musk + ROSE. Both very strong notes trying to shove each other out of the way to get top spot. I wasn't sure if I liked this, then I got my answer. It started to smell a bit metallic after it dried. Metallic? I haven't had that reaction before...

I think this one is a no.

[countessmouse]

Red musk and amber - no rose. Very odd, because I'll amp rose like crazy (and often not in a good way) if it's present.

 

It's a powerful scent and I like it, but I think I'll have to use it sparingly next time. What a throw!