Spellbound

[yakiguri]

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

Unfortunately all I got from Spellbound was dank mustiness. I can definitely smell what others mean by hippy shop, but it veers too close to wet dog for my liking. I'm wondering if red musk has started to turn against my skin chemistry, as this is what happened in Scherezade. Spellbound is tenacious though--a good scrubbing and it's still there.

EDIT: Derp, forgot that I have other red musk blends that I don't get the wet-rag scent from. I'm blaming the roses. Also added Lab's description. Edited July 27, 2011 by thatbrownelf

[undream]

On me, Spellbound is all powdery rose, & little else. Not unpleasant, but not amazing (and being a rose hoarder, I've several other powdery rose scents in my collection!). Off to swaps with this one.

[stellamaris]

I got my big bottle of this, and I am really pleased with it. For me it is a fresh rose with some greens, it has great throw and lasts for hours. Warning to powder haters though, the last stage is powdery. Fortunately for me, I love that.

[fashionfaerie]

I love that BPAL offers rose scents that take advantage of the different directions you can take with rose - green, spicy, sweet, tangy, fruity, powdery, etc. While I've liked a number of them, Spellbound is the one I like most as worn. It goes on strongly rosy, then the rose mellows as the amber and musk emerge and warm it up. It layers nicely with something spicy, too - I've liked it with the spicy amber of The Lion and the spicy spice of Sin. For me it's a favorite BPAL, if not my very favorite.

[Ghost of a Rose]

In the imp: A clear, bright pinkish-orange oil, with a beautiful true rose scent. I don't notice the amber or musk at all.

 

On me, wet: Mostly rose, but if I think about it I can smell the amber a little, too. Rose and amber are an inspired pairing! I don't know if I'm also smelling the red musk, because I don't know what it smells like by itself.

 

After 30 minutes: Still mostly all rose. And heavenly. This might be just the thing to replace my beloved (but now discontinued) Tea Rose oil from The Body Shop.

 

After 1 1/2 hours: Now the amber/musk notes have equal weight with the rose. This is absolutely gorgeous: on my shortlist of most-favorite-scents-ever. Utterly rapturous, just like it says. I so need a big bottle of this.

 

After several hours: The fragrance is lasting for longer than most of my BPAL scents do. And now it is 100% amber. I love this blend in all of its phases!

 

My rating: 5+ stars

[Woollyworm]

I tried this on a clear, cool day.

 

Preconceptions: rose and amber made me think of Ombre Rose, a dry, dusty little fragrance I'm not fond of.

 

Sniffing from imp: dirty rose with an attitude problem.

 

Applied: applied liberally to wrists and clavicles. The rose immediately becomes incensey and wonderful. No dust here!

 

Dry: the rose remains ever present, but is beautifully corrupted by the amber. The red musk comes out to play, lending depth and bringing the sexy.

 

This has good throw and major staying power - very important to me in a fragrance. People really seem to like this, I got several positive comments on it. I was given a partial bottle of this, and will buy more when I use it up.

[ephemere]

I had such hopes for this, because so many of the reviews I read were positive, but -- it turns soapy on me. Very strong, sharp soap; at the start there's a hint of green there (which I initially hoped was the rose trying to reassert itself) but it eventually gets overwhelmed by so much soap. After a while it turns powdery, which I'm not a huge fan of, either.

 

Oh, Spellbound

 

If you like florals though, please don't let this review put you off! Most florals don't play well with my skin anyway. It's beautiful in the vial, just not on me.

[OctoberGwen]

Good Lord, this is fabulous. Utterly intoxicating...the red musk (a new fave of mine) and the amber really deepen and complement the roses. This is the first rose scent I actually love - usually rose is simply not a friend to me.

 

I'm about to go out and do yard work, but I refuse to wash this deliciousness off even at the risk of being attacked by every bee within miles.

[Drae]

I received an old sniffe of this, like seriously old (it was tarted with what I thought was synthetic black hair at first, I was quite scared LOL! Also the imp wand was broken off and the oil so thick that I had to use a toothpick to fish it out)

 

In the imp: thick, luscious musky rose, slightly powdery and quite dark.

Wet on skin: the same as above

Dry: Spellbound is a sophisticated, sexy woman. I have discovered I am very picky with rose scents - they can't be sugary or fruity sweet, or light and green. Rose with amber is definitely a winner here. I will have to get a full imp of this, hopefully it doesn't take 8+ years of aging for me to like it

Edited October 2, 2012 by Drae

[nome]

I've discovered my wrists are weird, and play up the notes differently on a lot of scents. On both, this started out extremely heavy on the rose, something that gave me a mild headache. After an hour plus, the left wrist was a moody, sweet amber with enough rose it was still a little itchy to the nose, and the right wrist was a lovely rose scent with spices to give it depth. I suspect I'm allergic to something in here, though, so it's not a keep for me -- a classic, traditional rose scent, good for someone else.

[neoncas]

This blend is GORGEOUS. For me it is the largest, strongest, beaming scent I have tried yet of BPALs.

 

While feminie and beautiful I found that I amp rose to an awful degree and just can't wear this. I am learning to stay away from rose (it is a wonderful rose too, I just turn it up way to high). The amber and red musk are to die for in this combo and I dearly wish my skin would behave with rose.

 

For those of you that can pull off wearing rose this is a must. A powerful and truely beautiful blend.

 

 

[Incendiare]

Spellbound is all spiced red rose in the vial. As soon as I apply this to my skin, the red musk joins the party, yet the rose simultaneously decides to do what it always does on me and amp, so the red musk doesn't really have a chance to catch up with it. I don't think the amber had a chance.

[Lady Midnight]

I've given Spellbound multiple chances and there's no denying it: it smells like incense - and not in a good way but in a way that prompted people around me to make faces and proclaim that something smelled like hippies.

[Floria]

For once, my tendency to amp red musk works in my favor!

I don't always have the best luck with BPAL roses if they're the dominant force in a blend, and the rose in this did get a little soapy and high-pitched on first application, although the musk and amber softened it a bit. However, after it had some time to mellow on my skin and the rose retreated a bit, it was lovely.

[Innocuousmold]

Red musk is generally win on me, but conversely amber is usually fail mostly due to the powder quality. The amber is definitely winning in this battle. I get hints of rose, but it's not strong enough for my tastes.

 

ETA: I will say it is a gorgeous color, though!

Edited August 2, 2012 by Innocuousmold

[whataboutprom]

I am adding Spellbound to my list of possible bottle purchases with the next round of LE's. At first I was unsure, as I got a wave of high pitched POWDERY amber that threatened to ruin this for me. After a few minutes though, the rose made an appearance, and it is so lovely! I definitely smell the musk, but while I usually amp red musk to the exclusion of all else, the rose tempers it in a way that it doesn't even have the normal head shop/ incense vibe on my skin.

 

Spellbound smells like something rose scented from my childhood, but I can't quite remember what. I do think this is an "old lady scent", but to me that is a good thing! I can imagine a young woman in the 1920's wearing this for a night out on the town.

 

[Mechanical Death]

Glorious!

I was going through my imps trying to find one for my oil burner and stumbled upon this.

My fiancé liked it in the imp, saying that it smelled akin to earl grey. It has a similar smell fresh in the imp.

 

On the skin it blooms beautifully into a radiant full bouquet of roses, sweetened by the sweet red musk and distinct smell of vanilla honey amber.

 

It's very sweet and intoxicating, like candied rose petals drifting in cream. While there is no cream note, the amber lends a bit of a creaminess to the Rose, which the varieties used have a creamy edge.

 

This previously wasn't on my radar despite looking for a good rose scent, but I'm definitely snagging a bottle.

 

Edit: it dawned on me that the rose notes are very similar to the rose in 13 hours, which is one of my favorite non red rose notes. Spectacular!

Edited October 29, 2012 by Mechanical Death

[Quillifer]

Background: although I love rose scent in the garden, in real life as it were, I've found only one BPAL rose scent that I like so far (The Rose - rose and fresh greenery), so I put off trying this. Then I was frimped with it by the Lab.

 

In the imp: Red musk mainly - which is good, I like that.

 

Wet: More musk and a little amber. The rose is amazingly reticent on me.

 

Dry-down: The rose begins to come out but is always second fiddle to the musk on me, just sweetening it and opening it out a little.

 

I love this blend. I feel sexy with it at every stage. It feels very much like an expression of me and I definitely want a bottle. If you love red musk I strongly suggest you try it, particularly if rose only *sometimes* works for you.

[cometgirl21]

This is really a scent that defies the odds.

 

In the imp: Red musk, which is what induced me to try it.

 

On me wet: Rose like woah. Dusty rose that makes me go

 

Dry: Now it's a nice red musk rose and I really like it. I'm not a rose person but I really like this and am considering a bottle.

[Mayhem27]

Ah, well...I got an imp of this on accident. I intended on ordering Bewitched, but somehow requested Spellbound instead. I was quite surprised when my order arrived and I eagerly opened the imp, waiting to smell sweet berry goodness, and instead got BAM! ROSES! ::recoils:: I love just about everything but I can't do roses. I've never liked the smell. And Spellbound is very, very strong rose! I still decided to give it a try, hoping that maybe the rose would tone down & I'd get something else out of it. I used just a tiny dab, and it was still too much. The rose, obviously, was the most evident...but it had a very heavy powdery note as well. Another no-no for me. I gave it about 10 minutes before scrubbing it off. Even still, the scent lingered all day! So this is definitely a long lasting scent. Perfect if you are a rose lover, but unfortunately not for me.

[BoneBone24]

Wet: Sultry. I can somewhat pick out the amber, but mostly the notes are acting as one. Not terribly heady or overpowering as I had expected it to be. Deep red and somewhat floaty.

 

Drydown: For a deeper scent this is actually pretty clean. Perhaps that’s the rose. The red musk is not as spicy as usual, but it’s still warm and cozy. Enchanting.

 

Dry: Soft, womanly, and luscious

 

 

 

Edited to add: Retesting this a few months later I get a lot more rose. Which, unfortunately with my skin chemistry, means more soapiness.

 

 

 

 

6 out of 10 bones

Edited October 16, 2013 by BoneBone24

[Vindaloo.curry]

...and nine years later Spellbound is still just as ambery, with the tantalizing hint of rose. I love me amber, red musks, sandalwood, and dragon's blood. Can't get enough.

[Coldfire]

Imp: dark stale air freshener rose

Wet On Me: headshop rose incense

Drying Down: powdery headshop incense. Very strong and cloying

Dry: just can’t do it. For some reason rose just goes so bad on me. Air Freshener rose.

[Alethia]

Thoughts before testing: I love red musk, but it doesn't always love me. It usually amps to the exclusion of all other notes (Lips Full of Lust and Laughter and Le Lethe being the only two exceptions), but rose and amber are lovely on my skin. I'm interested to see what this does!

 

Wet: Pretty, fresh roses mixed with amber. No red musk at this stage.

 

Dry down: And the red musk comes in and stomps all over everything. No more roses, no more amber. The red musk here is really pretty. It's not as full bodied as what I get in Le Lethe or as creamy as LFoLaL, but pretty nonetheless.

 

Dry: After about two hours, the red musk softens a little and allows the amber to peek through just a tad. It remains a pretty, sensual musk and amber combination for hours.

 

Final thoughts: This is pretty but I like the red musk in LFoLaL and Le Lethe more.

 

Verdict: Keeping the imp, but not upgrading to a bottle.

[mermaidsdream]

This was an imp I found in my imp box that I didn't even know I owned! Of course, that means I didn't have the scent notes on this before sniffing & trying it out.

 

In the imp: Oh, delicious red musk, with a tinge of something else! Oh, how I love thee, red musk ... and it's a mutual love. Yes, I think we will be madly in love, Spellbound and I ...

 

Wet, applied: Oh. Rose. My arch-nemesis. Oh, this is not good. I amp red musk, but I also amp rose like there's no tomorrow. It's a kung-fu-style mash up, with Rose and Red Musk battling it out for supremacy, with me as the prize. The amber is no where in sight, likely cowering in a corner like ... well ... a coward. She offers up no help to either duelist. I pray Red Musk wins, but if I were a betting woman, I'd be putting money on Rose.

 

Dry Down: And Rose reigns supreme Washing this off ASAP, because 1) I'm getting the knock-out-punch headache thanks to Rose, and 2) it's starting to turn to rancid baby powder.

 

Oh, how I wanted Red Musk to win! Swap/Frimp/Sell pile for Spellbound. That'll teach me for follwing my nose, and not reading the scent notes first