Magus

[blackrayne]

An ancient blend, swollen with arcane power: galangal, high john essence, frankincense, cedar, and sandalwood.

From Bewitching Brews...

I just tried this one on Chris, my husband...not exactly the scent we were expecting...fresh from the bottle it is a little too green for my tastes. He just said it smells a bit of old magick, as if you walked into a mage's temple.

After about ten minutes, it smells much more subtle, and is about to be removed from the "to get rid of" bowl. He said he'd wear this to a function involving a group of knowledgable magicians.

Don't judge this one by the in-bottle scent, try it on and let it cool down a little first.

[allamanda]

From Bewitching Brews

 

First sniff sharp and woody, quite an earthy smell. The sharpness is almost citrussy, presumably that's the galangal I can smell. This is a nice smell, Some hours later still smells pleasant but once again has a faint curry odour on me.

 

This is another one where the smell was not 100% to my liking after an hour or so. It seems as though my skin (or maybe my nose) can't cope with sandalwood + citrus-type smell. Other than that, I liked it.

[Lady_Ell]

Wet: a sharpish, woody smell. Galangal and sandalwood and cedar most apparent, kind of like the smell of wet wood that is kind of rotting. In a good way.

 

Drydown: a sweet note comes out on top of everything and the sharpness disappears. The wood note is still strong, and it has a bit of a spicy masculine smell.

 

1 hour later: fading kind of fast, but I only put a little bit on. The sharpness is all gone, leaving a smooth, sweet, sawdusty smell. I am glad I didn't wash this off right away because I really like it after it's had a chance to sit for a while. This is really lovely and unusual, and the masculine "Old Spice" note has mellowed out a lot. The smell reminds me of the idea of wood that has been sanded so smooth that it's silky. In the end I don't find this one masculine at all, at least on me. I don't know if I'll get a big bottle, but I'll use the Imp for now.

[jj_j]

Remarkably light for all the dry and wooden notes in this; I expected the arid feel of Seance, but got the scent of a cove of trees unable to withstand the force of a thunderstorm.

 

Wet green leaves snapping against the jagged and broken limbs of trees beaten by the storm; wind, rain, wood, and a rumble of thunder are all combined in Magus.

 

Not something I'd wear often, but an understated scent that manages to be vibrant at the same time.

[Thanatopsis Azraelis]

I like this one a lot. When you pull the top off the vial, it swells. I don't know how to explain it but I love opening this imp...and closing it, and opening it again.

 

It's a wonderful scent balanced between wood and citrus. Very light, like j_jj said, and very pleasant.

[Sara]

I was slightly skeptical as I was expecting something full of spicy depth and darkness.

 

What I got however was something I can't stop sniffing!

 

In the bottle it does seem to have a sort of spicy sharpness that is lovely as can be.

 

On my skin it still smells wonderful, but eventually dries down into a soft feminine floral that isn't offensive at all, but certainly doesn't conjure up an image of a Magus.

[TheDarkMother]

In the Bottle: Magus is all sandalwood on the first sniff. There's a crisper note in the back when you inhale sharply, but that is about it. But this is good, sandalwood is VERY good!

 

On Me: Mmm...there's the complexity! The sadalwood smell is still here, but there is another scent there that I can't place. It makes me think of old libraries with dusty tomes waiting to be opened to find the mysteries inside.

 

Now the citrus smell is starting to come through, and it just adds to the atmosphere. It "charges" the original scent, not really taking over. Oh! I can't keep my nose away from my wrist!! Could this be an occupational hazard?? Beth, do you guys get hazard pay when you're testing scents and you can't keep your nose off of your wrist? Can I use this to my advantage? (I'm sorry dear, I couldn't do laundry today because my nose was permanently affixed to my wrist because of a magician's library smell.)

 

Oh wait....its going...don't go! Now there's just the fainest of scents in the background. No fair! I'm wondering if its because its that time again. Oh well. I still love it though!

[Penance]

I tried this hoping for a replacement for my beloved Damnation ( ), and while it's not anywhere near being the perfect replacement, it's lovely.

 

First sniff:

 

Cedar and something sweet that smells liky myrrh. I'm not sure what it is, to tell the truth, since I have no idea what galangal or high john essence smell like...I guess maybe it's one of them. This is nowhere near Damnation, which was dry and strong and almost arid smelling, while this is sweet but woody, but I love cedar, so I'll give it a go.

 

Wet on skin:

 

Cedar and sandalwood. The sweetness disappears as soon as it hits my skin, which is okay because I don't care for sweet scents. I wish this was more cedary, but it's quite beautiful all the same. I love both cedar and sandalwood, and this reminds me quite a bit of Tushnamatay instead of Damnation.

 

Dry down:

 

Very light sandalwood. It went strong for a couple hours and then started becoming fainter and fainter and losing that wonderful dry cedar edge, but I can deal with having to reapply this one, it's too pretty to pass up just because it doesn't stay strong on me.

 

The bottom line:

 

This reminds me of Tushnamatay but more cedary. I was hoping for a Damnation replacement and, while this isn't even a close contender, it's still beautiful. I'll definitely be wearing this one quite often.

[Northernminx]

Lots of Cedar and sandalwood in this one. This wasn't what I would call definitively masculine, but I kept associating it with something male (possibly because of the name) Dry and herbal and with a mysterious kick. This was blended so well I had a very hard time pickig out the individual notes after drydown, just lending it a sort of mystical air to the entire thing. It really was quite lovely, but not me and not really Jake either so I'll send it onto swaps.

[pekeana]

Ooooh, I like this one.

 

In the vial, Magus is all cedar and sandalwood, much like Cathedral.

 

On me, the cedar and High John battle it out until they both kind of relax a bit and let a hint of frankincense poke through. Then the cedar bottoms out completely and I'm left with the most beautiful blend of High John and frankincense with a touch of the galangal at the bottom, balancing it all out with it's almost-olivelike scent.

 

I'm left thinking of an ancient magician plying his trade in a grove of olive trees, imploring the gods to bless his endeavors. So lovely.

[sihaya09]

Very masculine. Sharp to the point of acridity, and though I like some cedar, BPAL's tends to take over the rest of the scent. One sniff, and I knew that this was just not for me. I could never see myself wearing this, so I sent this one along to Pekeana, who could better appreciate it.

[AnaisSatin]

Magus was a very aggressive scent on me, sharp almost. I'd wear this scent in Middle-Eastern costume, but not for everyday casual wear. The frankincense and myrrh were most dominant. It really does give the impression of a Magus! For which I applaud Beth. Nevertheless I swapped it because it contained frankincense and myrrh.... I hate my body chemistry sometimes, and this is one of those cases!

Edited December 8, 2004 by AnaisSatin

[closedacct]

I got this in a swap from AnaisSatin and I love it. I had been looking for a woodsy scent that didn't have vetiver. I love Magus. It starts out cedar and sandalwood and when dry the frankincense sweetens it up. It is everything I had hoped it would be.

Edited December 9, 2004 by ewalk

[silverangel]

Cedar's actually not overpowering for once, but it's still in the forefront, along with the sandalwood. What is it with me and wood? I don't like the wood but apparently it loves to hang out with me. Sadly, ALL I'm getting is wood. now my thing.

[siriusstar]

In the bottle it was deep and complicated to my nose, exactly like the character I bought it to represent! I was thrilled!

 

When I put it on it seemed a lot softer and cedar-y, a quiet, contemplative scent, perhaps the way a mage's, (in this case a prophet's.) home would smell. Like wooden tables and a bit of smoke from the lantern. It lacks the underlying 'danger' I was hoping for, but is a very nice scent. And it's among the first cedar scents I've ever tried that didn't give me an instant headache!

[dreamingjune]

I would classify Magus in the same family of scents like Cathedral and Sagittarius, but this one has a somewhat softer edge to it.

 

Cedar seems to be main note here, but there is a certain powdery softness to it. Almost like a cinnamon cedar incense, though I don't believe cinnamon is a note in here.

 

This scent to me is comforting, centering, intriguing, powerful, and unique. I feel like an eccentric used bookstore owner who specializes in out of print occult books .

[voodoobaby]

In the bottle: Um. This is going to sound weird, but it smells like sweat! But I think maybe it still smells good. I can't really tell. For some reason I want to liken the sweaty smell to one of my better male friends, who is a half-arsed athlete. For some reason when he's done playing basketball, the smell of his sweat mixes with what I think must be his deodorant and creates this oddly pleasant (and admittedly sexy) scent. This doesn't smell just like that, but it's the same concept. (Also of note is that I'm sick right now, so my nose might be a little off.)

 

Wearing: Ah, the smell of perspiration goes away as soon as the oil touches my skin. Now I smell cedar, predominantly. Second in command is the frankincense, which always smells incredibly dry on my skin, but that's hardly a bad thing.

 

Later: Sandalwood comes out in the form of the pencil shaving smell a lot of people get. Again, not a bad thing. I love woody smells. Otherwise it stays the same.

 

Overall: This reminds me a lot of Anne Bonny, or maybe a less spicy Kathmandu. I don't love it, but I like it enough to keep the imp.

[Renny]

I love Magus. I got it expecting it to be somewhat like Arcana, but they are quite different. Arcana has more of an otherworldy scent, while Magus is quite sharp and earthy. It smells of woods, herbs, and spices. Great one imo!

[requieminblack]

First sniff from the bottle- frankincense and cedar.

 

After 10 minutes- This is a lot like a cross between Khephra and Tushnamatay. It is a gorgeous blend of frankincense, cedar, and sandalwood with a spicy kick from the galangal. A perfect meditation blend.

 

After 30 minutes- Sweet, sharp and smoky. The scent of ancient incense burning on charcoals. A magical blend indeed.

[Spastik_Kitty]

In the bottle: A sweet cedar

 

On: This starts off as a strong sweet cedar and morphs into a sweet powder cedar with some pungent notes to it, like damp rotting wood, or chips that have been sitting in the bottom of a rabbit cage for a little too long and need changing.

 

This smells quite different on my hubby and I'm glad, because he really likes it.

 

On him it smells more like a forest of driftwood with a soft powdery tone to it. As he describes it "A foggy day at a lake in the middle of a forest"

[helarctos]

Powerfully earthy. Putting this one on is like smearing yourself with the dust of hallowed ground. I wouldn't want to smell like this everyday -- but then, it's not a scent for feeling pretty, for adorning yourself. It smells like an invocation.

[shelldoo]

wet is almost pure sandalwood, as it dries the cader lopes out to join in the ruckus and frankensince is hanging out in the background like a wallflower a bit too shy to really join in

 

nice light, woodsy scent...2 thumbs up (ok ok so they are both mine)

[surf-tormented]

Strong on the incense...it reminds me a lot of Catherdral. They could be kissing occult cousins.

[LiberAmoris]

Mmmmm…Magus is chock-full of the woodsy, incensey notes that I really enjoy in Beth’s blends (frankincense, cedar, and sandalwood, oh my!). I agree with the reviewers above---if you like Cathedral, Anne Bonny, or Kathmandu, you might want to try Magus, as they seem like they belong in the same scent ‘family.’

 

Magus reminds me of the way the books in my office smell when I’ve been burning incense on a regular basis…like smoky books…

[slave1]

In Bottle: Cedar and sandalwood.

 

On Skin: I couldn’t get my husband to try this because it was too cedary for him and he hates anything with incense in it. He thought it smelled caustic in the bottle, but a lot of scents are that way till you try them on. On me, it is VERY masculine. Again the cedar and sandalwood are still strongest. The frankincense gives it a very incensey note, which I personally don’t like. It’s very woodsy and smoky.