Luperci

[Court Analyst/Strategist]

... This scent is for the Luperci, the Chosen of Faunus, the Brothers of the Wolf: raw, down and dirty patchouli, Gurjam balsam, and essence of Sampson Root sweetened with the heightened sexuality of beeswax, virile juniper, oakmoss, ambrette seed over honey and East African musk.

Wet, upon application: At first, this is earth, patchouli and to a much lesser extent juniper and something else, dirty and raw. This stage brings to mind the scent of digging up the roots beneath a ripe, healthy tree, althrough this is a far more complex scent than that as well as being a quite different one. There is musk framing the earth, and a sweetened, pliable root-like note, possibly the Sampson Root?

Dry, Luperci is a much more wearable blend for me. The patchouli mellows pleasingly so as to allow other notes to better come into focus and the root note takes center stage. There is an impression of oakmoss somewhere deep beyond the patchouli, and I'd wish he'd come out and play with the root but unfortunately that doesn't seem likely happen. The musk is still dominant, and the patchouli has become a mellow base player in this blend, creating a delightfully dirty bed for the root. Now, if this root note is indeed Sampson Root, I have found a new infatuation, but that is another story entirely. The sweetness that is blossoming in this blend is harder to pinpoint than either the patchouli or the root, for this tapered sweetness peaks out from a tangle of the patchouli itself, and seems to be the work of not one but two culprits. Perhaps the ambrette seed and honey? I'm not quite sure because they're mingled so completely. The juniper in this is now present in the background, caught behind the bed of patchouli but peaking defiantly outward.

I would categorize this blend as leaning towards masculine in feel, but entirely wearable to either gender.

Throw: 7.5/10(rating). Moderate to Very Good throw. Broadcasts well and the strength of the oil remains steady for a decent amount of time. Traces of the scent typically linger for a good 12 hours or more.

Overall: 8/10 (rating). This develops into a darkly primal romp of sweetened roots and embracing earth dripping with virile resins. I could very well see the Horned God wearing this, Luperci's end result is fantastic and intoxicatingly evocative of such a beautiful energy. I don't usually buy more than one bottle of an LE blend, but Luperci well deserves the honor. This scent is a very unique one, and I'll gladly cherish my two bottles, its quite wonderful.

Court Edited November 18, 2007 by Shollin

[shelldoo]

in the bottle:oakmoss, and patchouli. very earthy.

 

wet:patchouli, a hint of beeswax (yes it smells just like honeycomb) and a tidbit of musky goodness.

 

as it dries: well color me happy. this sweetens and becomes absolutely beautiful. the oakmoss is no longer present, and the whole blend softens quite a bit. the patchouli is there almost giving me the image of an infastructure, holding this blend in stable arms. the honey, sweetness, keeps it from being all resins, and the musk adds a wonderful sexiness that completes the whole concept. i am loving this way, way more then i imagined i would. all in all an excellent scent experience.

[cuervosueno]

this is the scent I most coveted from the Lupercalia collection, based on its notes alone, but then I was sent into a frenzy of desire for it from Fritz' post in the Walking the Old Paths area. When he said it really was a lustful blend, and talked about using a similiar scented in oil in a ritual for the Horned God, well...I just couldn't wait to get it on my skin!

 

and it is very sexy, though not exactly what I expected. I think I was expecting something more down and dirty (to quote the description), perhaps more like Lord of the Forest, with its raw civet. This is not that animalistic.

 

Instead, my reaction to it is more like Court's. It IS like the raw roots of trees--slightly earthy (but not with the "dirt" scent of say, Zombi, which I find so objectionable), slightly piney (from the juniper). In the bottle, I get mostly tree and honey and the slightly earthy (but not dirty) note of oakmoss.

 

On, the pachouli becomes more pronounced, though it still is not a dominant note for me. I love musk and pachouli together, so for me this is richer than Smut. It has a foresty feel with a hint of sweetness, this is definately a forest that is inhabited--there is an animalistic note that is quite lovely.

 

It is evocative of a forest ritual, and I can see how it could be connected with the Horned God. Its just not quite as sexually evocative as I had expected, but perhaps that's just how its working on me. It is a bit masculine as well.

 

I like it though, and I think it may be one of those scents I don't immediately love, but grow into. I'm going to keep it for awhile. Its very complex and well-blended and I think it may have some surprises for me yet.

 

And try it out the boyfriend, too. It was sexier on him than me.

Edited February 24, 2006 by Shollin

[AlaskaSnows]

Dirt, wood, a little patchouli. Not my style whatsoever.

[slave1]

In Bottle: Patchouli

 

On Skin: I was 90% sure I wouldn’t be into this scent. I mean it says quite obviously “Raw, down and dirty patchouli” and that is completely not me. But…. That sneaky little word drew me in: HONEY. Yes, I am a sucker for honey so I had to try it. So, here we go. The patchouli is quite raw, down and dirty… no denying that. So it is not agreeing with me. There is a slight juniper note that gives a bit of piney twang. The musk is nice and soft and creates an overall “feel” to the scent. The oakmoss blends with the patchouli to make the scent quite earthy. I don’t smell the honey or beeswax yet. After about ten mintues I can sense a slight honey note that sweetens the scent but doesn’t stand out. A very masculine scent that doesn’t quite suit me so I’ll be passing it on.

[Cagedflame]

This smells like the edges of the field bordering my favorite patch of woods on a hot late summer day. My skin likes to amp up honey, so this is a lot more sweet and feminine on me than it would be on most, I think. Very nice.

 

Unfortunately, I think it's giving me a headache. >_<

[girlmadasbirds]

very woodsy with a piney juniper note...and something that's VERY sharp to my nose.

just not working for me.

[LittleGreyKitten]

Huh. I dunno what to think about Luperci. It smells sharp to me. And green/brown. I'm not nailing the honeycomb scent, and the patchouli is different smelling to me than some. I will try it a few more times, but I am not so far liking it a ton. It's just too odd.

 

OK, I contemplated it a bit more. It smells very sweet besides the weird sharpness that comes out on me. The juniper is quite noticeable, and I don't like juniper. The beeswax is also coming out. The combination isn't pleasing me. It just smells weird, that's the only word that really applies to it. I love patchouli generally, and the patchouli in this is not doing it for me. Sadly. I thought the notes sounded great, so I'm definitely disappointed. Oh well, on to a better home for you. I'll be cuddling my Smut and hoping for my Enraged Orangutan to come in the mail.

 

So far, I'd call it a 2.5 or 3 out of 5.

 

EDIT: Ok. This either had two versions or it simply aged amazingly. I got an imp of this the other day, and it smells every bit as divine as I'd hoped it would based on the descrip. The weird, unpleasant sharpness (which I also found in Night's Pavilion) is not there. It is much, much honey-combier. The soft beeswax/honeycomb is predominating, with a soft earthy background of delectably good patchouli. No major juniper. Exactly what I'd hoped for. But so very not what my bottle was. So I'm gambling for a swap and hoping the new bottle will be like my imp, and not like my ex-bottle. Because the imp is diviiiiiine. Oh my yes. It is definitely a 5 out of 5.

Edited May 5, 2006 by LittleGreyKitten

[this machine]

I think i may be finding that my skin strengthens honey smells, and i'm not sure i like that. I don't know if it's the honey or the beeswax or both, but that's definitely what this dries down to as the predominate note on me. I'm disappointed at the moment because wet it's glorious and complex - warm and earthy and a little sweet. I'm going to age this one and see what happens with it.

[WidgetAlley]

I wasn't originally going to purchase this, as the notes didn't leap out and grab me, but after Fritz's post about this oil evoking the Horned God, I had to buy it for my beloved, since I've always gotten a very strong association between the two. And, well, it was delivered to my house. And it was BPAL. BPAL I hadn't tried. The outcome is inevitable, right? Shh, don't tell!

 

In the bottle: Unnnnngh. Mmmmm. Aaaaaaah. And other such noises of appreciation. I can smell a gorgeous, glowing patchouli, rich dark honey, sweet, slightly oily beeswax, green balsam (I think this is either the fir or the poplar kind of balsam, it doesn't smell like a flower), gently astringent juniper, the blue-green of oakmoss and a beautifully fuzzy musk. There's a slight bitterness which I suspect is the Samson root, since Samson root is just another name for echinacea, and echinacea tea has a bit of a bitter taste to it. The ambrette seed is even harder to pick out, but there's something in there that resembles a gentle, almost floral-ly musk, that might be it.

 

Ohhhh. This is incredible. It's strong and earthy and fairly masculine while still being golden and not "heavy"-smelling. In fact, it's surprisingly light. Oh ye Gods. I love this. This is wonderful.

 

Wet: Whoa! This went salty on me for a second! Cool. Odd, but cool. In fact, it's still just a touch.... corn chips? CORN CHIPS? No! Skin! You can't do this to me! I'm going to give it a minute to mellow, here, but if my skin turns this beaut into @$!%& cornchips on me I'm going to leap into a crackling bonfire just so I can get a SKIN GRAFT.

 

Okay, the salt has died back to a managable level again, although it's definitely still present (allow me to say... WTF?) Mostly what I get now is a nice, mellow honey-beeswax-patchouli-trees smell... it's quite faint, unfortunately, but it reminds me of a gentle embrace... that turns into kissing... that turns into making out... that turns into doing the horizontal mambo on the floor of a forest. I can definitely relate to whoever said this was like being pressed between a very virile man and a tree. Honestly, this is some seriously sexy stuff. I couldn't possibly tell you why, but... rowr. It's in a completely different way than Smut... this isn't just a romp through the forest, this feels far more sacred and ritualistic than that.

 

Dry: A dry, sweet, earthy blend of patchouli, honey, beeswax, oakmoss and balsam. Everything else hovers and fades in and out, while the musk provides a velvety, almost tactile base. I can barely smell this, but what I can detect is... indescribable. I am, however, suddenly desperate for the company of a certain male: not so much the physical aspect (although that too!), but rather just the presence of masculinity. I really don't think my skin allows this to blossom as fully as it might, but this will be fantastic, even if nothing changes, on the Boy. While the scent is lovely, it's the effect that really seals the deal for me: like being hugged, resting your head against your favourite person's chest and hearing the rumble of their voice deep in their chest, and being sexed up in the middle of a glade, all at once. Someone is definitely not allowed to wear this outside of the house.

 

It's also worth noting that, as I finished this review, the most beautiful gold-and-black moth landed on my wall. He let me pick him up, just in my hand, and didn't even struggle. When I opened my fingers to let him fly away again on the back porch, he crawled right over to my wrist and sat there for a full three minutes, waving his antennae at me, in no hurry to leave at all.

 

Even the moths feel welcomed by Luperci.

 

[edit] When I tried this last night, I forgot Aunt Flow was due in the morning. I think that's what's making this go just a touch wonky on me. I'm going to give this another shot when it's not the full moon and update if anything changes.

Edited February 16, 2006 by WidgetAlley

[absinthea]

When I opened the imp, the first whiff reminded me STRONGLY of an Earthy pine scent (the balsam, I presume). I was a bit skeptical about actually applying this, but I went ahead. Wet, it still smelled woodsy-earthy (like a softer, greener patchouli). A bit of honey peeked out from the side, but just a tiny tiny bit, and there was a smokey note, similar to church incense.

 

At drydown, the honey stayed subtle, the beeswax became more prominent and the smokey smell mellowed in with the patchouli. I like that this is a patchouli that I can wear without smelling like a dirty hippy!

The musk is very very subtle, like an accent to an already well-blended scent and it comes out after drydown.

 

It is sweet, raw and sexy. This works well on me, but I think it would be equally sexy on a man!

Edited February 16, 2006 by absinthea

[Penance]

Preconceived notions:

 

This one's intriguing sounding. I adore patchouli and beeswax (nice to see it in a BPAL scent!), balsam and oakmoss, but juniper often goes wrong on me for some reason, as do honey and musk. I'm not sure whether this is going to work or not, but it's fascinating sounding!

 

First sniff:

 

Mmm, earthy and woodsy! I smell the patchouli (love it!), the oakmoss, maybe some juniper and a tiny touch of beeswax. This is so intense and dark smelling. This smells perfect for me. I just hope it doesn't completely change on my skin the way some scents do.

 

Wet on skin:

 

Mmm, this is good! The patchouli is still the dominant note, but the oakmoss, musk and beeswax are right behind it. It's slightly sweet, intensely dirty and right up my alley at this point.

 

Dry down:

 

Hmm, this changed as it dried...it's musky and a little sweet, but not the beeswax sweet of the wet stage, the honey is coming out. This reminds me a bit of an occult store, but also of old beeswax candles, when they've lost most of their scent and are starting to crack. I'm not sure if this is going to work or not...I like it, but I'm not sure if it's working for me or not.

 

The bottom line:

 

I think this is going to be one of those ones I have a hard time making up my mind about. It's interesting and quite pretty on the dry down, but I'm not sure if it really works on me or not.

[salamandrina]

I love this scent. It changes so incredibly from my skin to my husband's. It smells very male in the bottle, so I swiped some on both of us simultaneously.

 

On us both, it starts with hravy patchouli, but it's the most gorgeous patchouli I've ever smelled. I could just swoon with the happy over that. There's a hint of woodsiness, too.

 

On Drew, Luperci stays a heady mix of the juniper, herbs, and patchouli, with a comforting muskiness beneath. It is effing hot. At one point, he wrapped his arms around me, and I swear, he's never smelled so good. Even he really liked it.

 

On me, it gets to a sweeter patchouli - the junper isn't as prominent, and the musk and honey meld with the patchouli.

 

We were both astounded by how good it smelled on both of us, but how incredibly differend.

[Rhowan]

I don't know why, really, that I ordered this? My skin usually over amps juniper and honey is usually turned into powder so I am totally confused what it was that made me order this BUT I am sooo happy that I did!

 

In the bottle and just wet on my skin, this does smell like a "dirty patchouli" It's very woodsy and earthy. It's not so earthy that you get upturned earth though. This is what I thought Nochnista would smell like.

 

As this dries down I am totally suprised! The hint of juniper doesn't amp, the honey doesn't turn into powder, and the dirty, heaviness of the patchouli lightens up. I start to get hints of a spiciness to it about 3 minutes in. The longer this is on the more sweet and green this gets.

 

In conclusion, when completely dry, not one note overpowers the others and everything blends together magnificently. Great throw! Long wear (5hrs and counting!) Luperci is very clean smelling - not soapy but clean, sweet and very green! Even the color of the label fits the smell of Luperci! This is going to be my favorite oil for spring! Perfection.

[mmcfa2]

I sniffed this one from the bottle and loved it. Applied on wet, oh dear gods it smells like some kind of 70's aftershave! EEEWWWWW

 

but then it dries and morphs completely into a warm woody sexy dirty blend that is just fabulous. I's SO glad i waited out the ewwww phase cause this is so warm and sexy. Imagine curling up in a leather chair in front of a roaring fire sipping some dark honeyed liquid, staring into the eyes of a beautiful man...and now imagine the fire and chair are under the stars rather than in a room and the walls are beautiful old oak trees still firmly rooted in the ground

 

Or imagine the smell of mr tumnus...

 

this is truly yummy!

 

ADDED 2/24/07:

 

can anyone compare it to last years? Mine has aged so beautifully

[Heretic]

In the bottle: Faint green and patchouli.

On my wrist, wet: Patchouli amps right away, but it's lovely and sweet with beeswax and oakmoss taking the hard, woody edge off.

After 20 minutes: Down and dirty patchouli indeed. This is such a warm, earthy scent. So simple, yet complex. There is the hint of pencil shavings, but it is tamed by oakmoss and the other green scents. A nice, strong throw but not overpowering.

After an hour: Luperci keeps getting better the longer I wear it. The components work together so well that they seem to melt into one soft, single earthy note. To me, this is the smell of the forest: woody and green, a little dark and ominous but comfortable at the same time. Of all the descriptions of the Lupercalia scents, Luperci was the one that originally jumped out at me. It smells exactly as I imagined it would. I'm glad I ordered two bottles.

[Naamah_Darling]

This is thickly masculine in the bottle, a balsamic, juniper smell with just a hint of sweetness.

 

When I put it on, it unfolds into a landscape of scent. In the hills scattered with olive and scrubby juniper, with reaching cedars, the sap is rising. A few weeks from now, the meadows will be thick with bees. My clothing is saturated with the scent of candles and incense and musky perfume, now blown by the fresh wind. I can smell the spring coming; the smell of it settles over the land first, like a mood. The sun is high and white.

 

It's actually lighter than I expected, it's not nearly as powerful as it could have been. I was expecting something raunchy and virile; this is masculine and wild, outdoorsy, but just a little wary. Springtimey; the patchouli is the scent of the awakening earth, greened with juniper and oakmoss. I expected more sweetness from the beeswax and the honey, but it's not sweet so much as it is herbal and earthy.

 

It gentles a lot as it dries, becomes more golden musk and beeswax, a warm skin smell that just flirts around the edges of sexual. This is a much more refined scent than I was expecting, but like a wild animal lying by the hearth with the scent of the wild still in its fur, one should not mistake it for something wholly tame. It's warm, it's pleasant, and it's letting you pet it, but it could get up and leave, or bite the crap out of you, at any moment.

 

Sadly, then it goes all powdery, and that's always a dealbreaker for me. I wish I knew what was doing that.

 

I'm going to turn this one over to Sargon, the husband, as the opening phase of it is lovely.

[Aredhel]

Rating (on skin): 4/5

Summarised in a word or two: Sweaty!

 

In the imp: Patchouli, juniper, oakmoss and honey. Lush and green and dark. And good!

 

On skin, wet: Ooh. Beeswax, oakmoss, juniper, patchouli and musk. Very... sweaty? I absolutely adore the musk in this, and I'm liking the beeswax much, much more than anticipated.

 

On skin, dry: This is the kind of patchouli I love. All the same, this is become very... sweaty. After a while, it becomes something very much like most of the heavy/"I'm such a manly man" department store men's colognes I've ever come across. And it stays that way.

 

Conclusion: I'm torn on this. I adore it while wet and through much of its drydown, but then it becomes a bad, bad thing. I may try this when the scent locket I bought this week arrives; if it stays true to its wet stage there, I'll definitely be hunting down a bottle.

[abberlaine]

In The Bottle (wafting and sticking my nose right in): The scent in the bottle always starts with a prominent but lightly sweetened patchouli and sometimes works its way through dirt-laden honey and juniper, sometimes finishes with a quick sweep of balsam, and sometimes leaves behind a tickle of soap.

 

On Wet & Drying: Immediately, the patchouli takes a back seat to something dry, warm, earthy, amber-laden, red-wooden and bordering on ambrosial. Within the span of a minute, the juniper and mosses rise and fall.

 

A wet, red, shuddering drop of nectar quickly ripens into familiar beeswax before condensing back down into an very nearly cloying note of... it's like that first drop fell into a puddle of forest water and the tree roots and moss beneath are soaked to the point of rotting in it. Over the next few minutes, the honey-water takes over and grows more dank, especially in the aftertaste (after-smell?). It's not especially pleasant, but it's not altogether unpleasant, either.

 

The patchouli is contained within the throw and is soon joined by mosses and crushed herbs, dark and lively without being wet. A ghost of the opening notes weaves in and out of the scent. This is much more pleasant. Slowly but surely, however, the honey-water rains here too.

 

Drying to Dry: A very gentle scent that smells like it's coming off the exposed skin of a cleaned animal -- wild, but asleep. At some moments, it smells like he's comfortably nestled in the other components of the scent, and others yet, like he's been drinking the honey-water and it's dribbling down his chin. Again, all of this is very faint.

 

I tried this again immediately after taking a long bath. This time, the honey note rose and fell altogether within the span of a few minutes, leaving behind a faint dusting of dry herbs and balsam over an even softer skin scent.

 

The scent left on my toothpick, by the way, is absolutely delicious. This is dry earth, musk, patchouli, and amber packed into a sweet, rich incense.

Edited February 23, 2006 by Abberlaine Arrol

[harmonyfb]

In the bottle, and when I first applied it, all I could smell was patchouli. Bleah. But after a moment, it began to dry, and lo and behold! Now I smell of honeyed musk and balsam. Mmm. Color me surprised!

 

This is another blend that I bought because of the name, expecting to not like it. It's definitely a warm, winter-time scent, too heavy for wearing in the heat of summer, but I like it a lot.

[Hawke]

In the vial: Whoa, strong. This has patchouli in it, if I'm remembering correctly. I'm sure that's what I'm smelling. Maybe musk. It's also got quite the bite, almost like an aftershave. I fear this may be too masculine for me.

 

Wet: Oddly, in the first 30 seconds or so, it's pencil shavings. That's a first, for me, and I always wondered what that was supposed to smell like. Now I know. That's not usually a good sign, though, getting weird scents immediately after skin contact.

 

Dry: Wafting. Sniffing. OMG what is that smell? Oh wow, oh that's so good, and it's *me*! I am in love. Pencil shavings? What pencil shavings. This is glorious, spicy, somewhat ozoney and sweet and bold and of *course* I shied away from it when it was up, but this is pure, unadulterated love. And LE. Ain't that always the way?

[VenusFlyTrap]

As suspected, patchouli is not my component of choice.

 

Though very nice and upon drydown, somewhat green, I just couldn't get into this scent.

 

I'm glad to be able to test this scent out.

[theshapeshifter]

Luperci started out with a tang of juniper in the wet stage, but dried down to something pretty close to a patchouli single note on me. It's a gorgeous patchouli, and it is a note I love, but I was hoping for a bit more complexity from this one. It'll probably go to swaps, for someone whose skin chemistry does it justice.

[em_h]

In the vial: Oddly, it smells like amber.

 

Wet on my skin: Ooh, very woodsy, which may not be my thing, but let's see how it goes. There's some sweetness mixed with the pine-wood and dirt smells, which is interesting.

 

Drying: There's all kinds of strange complexities here, both in the scent and in my reaction to it. Sometimes it smells precisely like headshop incense, but other times it seems to smell very much like my grandfather, which I can only assume to be a combination of whatever cologne he might have used, and the wood-shavings smell of his carpentry shop. I liked my grandfather, so it's not a bad association, but I'm not sure it's how I want to smell. But there's also a rather sweet thick musky scent halo which is rather compelling.

 

Dry: Dies away rather suddenly at about the hour mark, leaving a faintly herbal scent behind.

 

I'm going to have to try this one again before I know what I think.

[Bagfish]

This is a Luperci that I didn't buy - I got Smut instead, but after the

wonderful reviews, I managed to snag a bottle on Ebay (hurrah) and I am SO pleased

that I did.

 

In the bottle Luperci smelled a bit scary - very much like the herbal oakmossy

drydown of Yggdrasil and I did wonder if I had made a mistake. However as soon

as it touches my skin (or clothes) it dries down into the most wonderful soft

patchouli/beeswax/amber/musk. I love, love, LOVE this part of the scent. it

reminds me just a little bit of the smell of a Lush shop as you walk past it,

like it's been bottled by Beth!

 

Anyway, the disappointing bit of this scent for me is that after about 2 hours

the lovely soft beeswax/patchouli disappears and the scent becomes sharp and

juniper-y This lasts about another two hours and then the softer

beeswax-y sweet smell comes back which is a relief.

Where the oil got on my sleeve, the Lush/beeswax/patchouli/musk accord has

stayed true all day, so maybe this is a candidate for a scent locket. Anyway,

Luperci has smelled great for the rest of the day, although it doesn't have much

throw, so I have been sat in a meeting all afternoon with my sleeve pressed

against my nose. I must have looked rather odd

 

Glad I took the chance on an Ebay purchase!

Repost after 2nd March post lost....