Kether

[sarada]

The Supreme Crown, Rashith ha-Gilgalim, the Primordial Ether, Primum Mobile, the Source of All, the Origin of Will that radiates 620 pillars of light

This makes me think of cherry or almonds at first, but it doesn't make my stomach clench like those notes normally do....so maybe it just smells ~like~ them without actually being them.

It thins out quickly after that, and loses all of the almondy quality. It almost has that sinuous, creeping quality of civet where you can feel it snaking up through your nose and lingering there whether you want it to or not.

Not exactly something that I'd want to smell regularly, I'm almost afraid this is the dreaded almonds and civet blend we've all feared. Now that my brain has decided that that is what this is going to smell like I can't make any more sense of it than that!

It really isn't all that scary when it dries down, it's very light and airy, faintly sweet. It just has a few frightening moments before it gets there!

[Blood onmy hands]

First on this smells like clove and almonds. The almond is doing that weird boozy cherries smell on my skin. After a few minutes, this starts to smell a bit woodsy, but it's a powdery soft sort of woods.

 

After about an hour this has dried down into a very light, warm smell. It's reminding me of warm milk, if you were to mix the milk with baby powder.

 

I can see how this would be a comforting scent to some people, but it's just not me.

[Lycanthrope]

First Impression: Cherry Musk.

 

Begins a bright and bold, fruity scent with a definite, striking amber blended with sweet musk. Over time, morphs very much into a scent remniscent of LUSH’s potion (almonds, a hint of rose, carnations and honey), but then takes a distinct veer towards Aveda’s discontinued chakra line – a rose-based, resinous, sweet, spicy amber blend. The almond in this blend never overpowers, which is a good and happy thing. Simply unfrickin-believably beautiful. Makes me feel a bit sensual, but in a good-natured beautiful and just way, if that makes any sense. No lust, no debauchery, just the look shared between lovers.

[aidenraine]

I smell Johnson's Baby Shampoo when this is wet, with perhaps a little hint of cherry in it.

As it begins to dry, the JBS mingles with the cherry and a new note of cinnamon. Interesting.

 

This is kind of pale on my skin, really not a strong scent and is giving off a bit of creaminess. I am trying to get more depth from it by pressing my nose against my wrist, but it's faint after only ten minutes.

 

Something in here really reminds me of red cough syrup. It's got that sickly sweet red thing going on. Ugh.

 

If I could smell this better I might have stronger feelings about it, but it's a vanisher on me.

[oakmoss]

I'm not getting any of the cherry or almond that others have mentioned, and I really, REALLY don't like either cherry or almond, so I'm always on the lookout for them. To me, Kether is a warm, spicy scent, with the sharpness of some kind of wood or perhaps vetiver. In the bottle it felt more gender-neutral, but on my skin it seems more masculine in essence -- kingly, not queenly. It's very nice, and I keep sniffing my wrist and enjoying it, but in the same way I might smell someone else's perfume to be reminded of them, not as something that suits me personally. I can see this being a good ritual oil for a man -- both grounding and enlightening at the same time.

[cupide430]

Sweet and powdery at first. A very mild powdery honeyed almond. As it dries the almond fades out and a light dusty floral moves in. So far this is my favorite of the Sephiroth. There's something really lovely and comforting about this scent.

[joseybird]

Ahhh yes...honied cherry almond! This reminds me a lot of Dana O'Shee, actually, but less milky and more cherry. The cherry has a snippy, almost playful little bite to it, and the composition has a pudding-like creaminess...a nice, comforting blend, and probably the only Sephiroth I'd wear as a perfume.

[SeaMonkey]

sweetly spiced almonds!

 

This is beautiful. It dries to a really nice spiced almond scent with perhaps a bit of cream or vanilla, honey, and a tiny bit of cherry.

 

 

This is only the second Sephiroth I've tried, the other being Hod, but I'm definately going to have to try all of them, as both Kether and Hod are both beautiful

[voodoobaby]

Kether, to me, at first smelled like a package of Bottle Caps. It was like the smell you would get if you mixed Dr. Pepper and orange soda (the Dr. Pepper makes me think there's myrrh here). It changes a lot. It's been sitting a few minutes and smells like a powdery floral now, with a little wood and musk backing it. Not bad, but I definitely don't think I would wear it.

[Shollin]

First sniff: I don’t smell much from the bottle. There’s a faint almond scent – I guess it’s the bitter variety, as the sweet kind always smells like cherries to me.

 

Wearing: Earthy greenness and dark almond. It’s very intriguing – I have to keep sniffing – but not quite me enough, I think.

[Muppetk]

This is officially really nice. (Thanks to Cupide430 who first let me test her bottle and then gifted me with an imp! ) This is sweet sandalwood and a touch of cinnamon and all smooth and yummy. (Some myrrh maybe? Very maybe.) This may well become a bottle purchase for me as alot of BPAL sandalwoods are too dry on my wacky chemistry. It also actually lasts a few hours on me, which is neat. My skin likes to eat oils.

 

Unlike other reviewers, I got neither cherry nor almond, (both of which I DISLIKE intensely) but a hint of dragon's blood wouldn't surprise me, and alot of people find that to be cherry.

 

I'll have to review it again another time - this was tried surrounded by the hundred meet 'n sniff test strips. Perhaps this only compliments my chemistry one day a month. But it's YUM.

[minouska]

In the imp: sharp, and almonds.

 

On my wrist: almonds, and not as sharp, a little rounder. Perfume-y, but not in a fragrant sense--this definitely smells ritual to me, like all of the Sephiroth do. It smells like medicial marzipan instead of candy. I think there is a hint of cherry in it, which always goes weird on me--it always goes medicinal.

[Bagfish]

Unfortunately this just doesn't smell right on me.

 

It smells medicinal and sharp with a touch of florals; and "like an old granny" according to my husband!

 

Skin chemistry has a lot to answer for

 

So off Kether goes to the swap pile!

[parrot_suspect]

Wonderful blend! Very almond-y, but not in a Dana O'Shee way, and not in a sweet cherry-ish way. It's just a warm, round, slightly spicy, almost-but-not-quite foody scent. Rather complex -- not just almonds, but there's something else in there, and it's all well-blended. Comforting and warm. It's sweet but not overpoweringly so. If you're looking for a different sort of almond scent, give this a try. I'm so glad I bought a bottle. (For those of you who are into commercial pefumes -- this reminds me of a smoother, more elegant version of Caron Farnesiana).

[amrita]

Wet, this is sweet, smoky, and astringent. I smell cinnamon-- something spiced like a baked good, but without being foody. I get that weird rich smell I associate with the perfume an old babysitter used to wear--I am still trying to pin down what that note is. (It kind of creeps me out... man I wish I could figure it out.)

 

I do get the "baby skin" smell--strange. I'm also getting some woods I can't identify, and masculine oakmoss.

[filigree_shadow]

Almond powder. That's what it smells like on me at first. And then it smells like hair-styling products. I smell this and all I can think of is an old lady with her hair in those pink rollers and a hairnet, standing there in a housecoat and fuzzy slippers. So, um, no. This will go to the swap pile.

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

in the bottle:

almonds. guh. i hate almonds.

 

wet on my skin:

ozone, and the smell of water coming out of a sun-warmed water hose.... and sunlight, or at least something warm -- not quite sandalwood

 

an hour later:

smells very much like Herr Drosselmeyer -- but maybe it was fresh laundry day, cuz there's the slightest bit of Snuggle or some fabric softener there, too.

 

very faint, i have to smush my nose almost against the top of my hand where the oil is just to try and get enough of a whiff to describe it.

 

i like this, i'm glad i ordered a 10mL on gut instinct [=

[edenssixthday]

Kether - When first applied, all I smell is almond. It's not over-the-top sweet almond like Black Phoenix or Queen of Sheba. Instead, it's mellower, dryer, and not nearly as sweet. As the blend dries on my skin, the almond note fades into the background, and I begin to smell honey and light spices. There is also a hint of something far in the background that I would identify as oakmoss, but it's really hard to tell. It's a strange combination. This blend is somewhat pleasant after it dries; however, it's still not really my cup of tea when it comes to fragrance. It has pretty good staying power, but once the oil dries, there is virtually no throw, and I can only smell it very close-up.

[Myaru]

This one seems to change every time I use it, so I waited on reviewing. I'm tired of waiting.

 

On first try, Kether was really muddled on me, but very slightly herbal. Two or three weeks later, it had sweetened up considerably, until it smelled so strongly of honey that I thought Kether and Hod had switched bottles. Now, four months later, it's so sweet I almost don't like it, and the notes I pick up remind me of Jacob's Ladder - maybe they have something in common.

 

It's sharper when I put my nose to my wrist. Most sources I've read can't get their scent associations straight, but I usually see ambergris associated with Kether, so sharp is what I expected (because the only ambergris I've tried was exactly like that).

 

I didn't get any of the almond other reviewers have mentioned. It has a ton of throw now, which is unfortunate.

 

This is such a shame, because Kether is Metatron's sphere, and I like both ideas. I'll let it age more and see how it changes.

[Diana]

Wet: smells almost leathery with a bit of resin or spice added

 

Dry: Powdery, but kind of spicy still. It's like men's cologne made into a dusting powder. A bit later it goes more powdery, and it has an odd sweetness to it that I'm somehow associating with Froot Loops. Yes, my wierd scent associations make this out to smell like fruity cereal & dusting powder. I think I will have to pass.

[cranberry]

This starts out and reminds me of Aveda products. I’m having a hard time identifying notes but I like this scent, a lot! It’s mildly sweet, sort of spicy, ambery, and warm. This is a quiet sort of scent. It doesn’t have a lot of throw (on me anyway). There’s something almost edible about this scent, like an exotic candy which I can’t think of right now. It’s a dry scent and it smells like it would have a powdery feel without smelling powdery.

 

Hmm. Yes, it reminds me an Aveda perfume (I used to love their perfumes so it’s a good association). I like it.

[themerrybaker]

A loose consensus seems to be that Kether smells like the comfort scent that makes you the happiest (babyhead, kittie, Aveda, delicate tea) and I wholeheartedly agree. For me the smell is zweiback: a little almond and cinnamon/allspice. As a very kind person gifted me with an imp, I also detect the scent of kindness. Definitely bottled magic.

[LiberAmoris]

Kether starts out all almonds and amber on me, smelling amazingly like the almond filling in Danish pastries my mother used to buy for us on special occasions when I was little. After a while, the almond burns off, and it’s an amber/resin blend that goes a bit powdery on my skin. The initial stages are lovely, though.

[supremegoddessofall]

Feels like a slightly spicy men's cologne. I get a hint of something that feels like wet leather. A mild floral in there, too. And maybe a bit of mint. Not really for me.

[Eemia]

I can't identify all the notes in this one, but the overall impression I get is powdery and soft.

 

Wet I can smell a very faint almond but it fades extremely quickly. There is also an indistinguishable floral background. Nothing sharp or even identifiable to me...perhaps l will be able to figure out what they are as I wear it more.

 

As it dries down it becomes a soft powder scent. Exactly like an old fashioned woman's body powder, not baby powder. I like it....it's sweet w/o being sweet, and very light.