Mandrake

[Eunice]

A plant of true arcane power, mandrake has been used in a multitude of ways by witches, magicians and thaumaturgists for eons to many, many vastly different ends. Whole pieces are carried for protection, or are used in poppet magick. Ground herb can be utilized in spells for money, lust or defense. The lore of the mandrake does not limit it to magickal use. The root was chewed as a simple anasthesia, and it has been widely employed as a sleep drug.

I can almost taste the dark green scent in here. Mandrake is the type of perfume I love. Slightly dirty, slightly heavy, slightly green. The overall smell reminds me of playing hide and seek in my parents' cedar closet. This is so nice to smell! It gets lighter and more interesting on my skin the longer I wear it. So glad I got a bottle of this!

[desu]

In the imp: Like a root was snapped open and stuffed into the vial. The oil itself is unexpectedly thick, just like sap.

 

On my skin: It becomes a bit less rooty and a bit more earthy. It's also rather faint which is odd because there's a gurgly puddle of the stuff on my arm. This one really isn't doing anything for me.

[wolfie13]

In the imp: cedar, a bit of earth

 

Wearing: cedar

 

I actually do really enjoy a nice cedar note in a scent, but this one is too one-dimensional on me.

[Memnet]

I'm sort of disappointed on this one. On my skin it goes cedar scented. Not bad, but I don't see another bottle of this in my future.

 

Edit: While the predominating scent of this seems to be cedar-like, I seem to be detecting an almost sweet underscent...something sweet just under the surface.

Edited May 26, 2006 by Memnet

[grrrlennyl]

at first: dark, like fresh dirt. also, this stuff is THICK! unreal. it looks more like a syrup than an oil.

on: generally earthy, but very, very light. i was expecting a very strong scent from this super-thick oil, but it's surprisingly gentle.

2 hours later: very light. this is quite comforting and simple on me. just a taste of dirt.

3 hours later: still light dirt, with a hint of sweetness.

4.5 hours later: still about the same.

overall: i LOVE this! it's comforting and simple. i think it will be great for layering with other scents when i want a bit of added depth.

[edenssixthday]

Mandrake is (to me, at least) an unpleasant scent. When first applied, it's deep and husky, and reminds me of dirt. As it begins to dry, the dirt scent begins to change into more of an incense-like scent, and I like it a bit more than I do initially. As it dries down even more, the scent becomes almost reminiscent of leather, only greener and more "alive", if that makes any sense. This blend overall is too husky and too masculine for my taste. I think this could potentially smell good on a man, mostly because of the notes I get from it that are reminiscent of leather and incense. They obviously aren't leather and incense, but it's the closest I can come to describing the blend. It has really good staying power and a decent level of throw. Yes, I think this would be very sexy on a man, but it's just not going to cut it on me.

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

in the imp, this smells very much like the mandrake root i have on hand...

 

on me, it disappears entirely for about ten minutes, then comes back in the form of... pencil shavings.

 

as others have said, the oil is sitting on top of my skin, not absorbing. just... waiting?

 

in trying to come up with a comparison, all i can think of is that this smells like my pencilbox did when i was wee -- pencils, shavings, crayons -- all jumbled together.

[gangstaknitta]

I heart Mandrake. It's very rooty, earthy and sweet. The oil itself is really thick and viscous. It stays close to the skin, but lasts a several hours. This is one that I need to reapply once or twice (for the long days), but I love it. It reminds me of playing in the dirt when I was little.

[ghosttown]

I get way more of an evergreen smell than a cedar smell from Mandrake. But I could just be wierd that way. For me, this is the smell of the Pacific Northwest, my teen nights cavorting on logging roads, swimming in the river in my nightgown, camping on the Olympic Peninsula, making out in the grass and dirt. It's amazingly nostalgic for me. Unfortunately, like most of the wood scents, it's just a breath and then gone. I think I need a big bottle of this to put into some lotion for extra staying power, or in a hair potion, maybe a scent locket. I want Mandrake to stay and be my friend forever and ever.

[provocateur]

In bottle: Earth. Very earthy, almost to the point of moldy (roots) earth. There's a little hint of a woody note.

 

On skin, wet: Mandrake. Pure mandrake. I had to check a couple of my plants just to make sure.

 

On skin, dry: It went poof after about 20 minutes.

 

Conclusion: While this is pretty true tell to the actual plant, I was unable to tell if this ended up morphing into something more or not.

 

Rating: 1/5

[Voleuse]

At first sniff, this reminds me walking through a forest as summer turns to fall, leaves and bits of wood moldering to dirt underneath my feet. It's not a live scent, but it's a fresh one, if that makes any sense. As it dries, I get more of a dry cedar note from the blend, but it's still grounded by the moist dirt. It's very earthy, very soothing to me.

[Bagfish]

Wow, this is gorgeous. I've had Mandrake in my "to try" drawer for ages and took the opportunity today.

 

I have never smelled real-life mandrake root, so have nothing to judge the scent by. On application Mandrake smells very like wood shavings as others have said, almost like my thujawood box. It is a lovely, woody, almost cedary smell.

 

The oil smelled quite sharp to start with but after a while I started to get sweeter wafts from my wrists which suprised me. This oil morphed from a sharp cedar smell to a gorgeous sweet almost ammaretto-like resiny wood smell that I got wafts of as I typed at work. It is absolutely lovely.

 

Strangely enough this reminded me a little of a perfume called Gloria which I used to wear a lot. I know that Mandrake root has all sorts of arcane uses but this to me seemed like a straightforward pretty scent to wear whenver I want to smell sweet and woody. I really rate this and wish I'd tried it on earlier!

Edited August 2, 2006 by Bagfish

[janelle_hell]

In the imp,Mandrake is thick and syrupy. Literally,it's the consistancy of corn syrup,which is interesting.

 

i've never smelled a fresh mandrake root (just dried,and the dried root smells very much like ginseng,to me,anyways). But the scent of BPAL's Mandrake oil is fresh and earthy,like Graveyard Dirt without the 'mushroom' note. This smells to me just like digging in springtime garden soil,for lack of a better description. i can see how it could be classified as a 'relaxing/sleepy' scent;it's very comforting. A good oil to wear at bedtime (when one is intending to actually sleep,not do...other things ). The scent doesn't last very long,though. That's ok,it just gives me more of an opportunity to be all intrigued-like (i'm easily amused) at the syrupy consistancy.

Edited August 6, 2006 by janelle_hell

[fiddlehead]

Mandrake is both soil and wood on my skin. I like it a lot. It's very soft and is another scent that may take some slathering to get the full effect.

 

Part of the cap broke off when I opened the imp so I guess I'll be using this as quickly as I can

[sookster]

straight sniff from imp is herby and rooty but not overwhelmingly so...cedarwood is present...

 

once applied this is a straight cedar single note...it ventures a bit from this aroma

and gets more herbal...this has an incredible smoothness that i find so intriguing...unfortunately after 10 to 15 minutes my skin just devours this up and i am left with nothing but what seems to be a handful of pencil shavings...

[Mountaingrrl00]

I was excited to try a decant of this from a generous forumite. The descriptions of dirt and rooty smells appealed to me big-time (I love Graveyard Dirt!) and I did get a hint of the earthiness when I sniffed it in the vial. But on my skin, it's mostly cedar and doesn't change until it fades away. Plus there's that weird viscous texture that others have described, making this oil unappealing for personal wear. What it is lovely for is scenting my wardrobe and storage cabinets.

[Ilex]

A freebie! How did they know I was hankering for something woody? Thanks, lab folks.

 

Very cedar, I concur with the other reviews on that score. But it is a very well rounded cedar, though it seems like a "mono-note" at first, that is a bit deceptive. When I compared it to a bottle of just cedar oil I was struck by how full and robust the Mandrake was. There is some cinnamon and coconut in there somewhere, I think.

 

It didn't change at all on the dry down or throughout the day, which is a nice quality. Eventually it went a little cinnamon, which was fine. You know what you are getting with this scent.

 

I love this and am getting a big bottle. Its good for mixing with other scents, too.

I tried layering it with Bengal, and that was veeery nice.

 

I want to get an oil burner to try it out as a room scent, too.

[PilotKitten]

Semen from a hanged man, eh? Well.. I can't really speak about that association but this is a very woodsy type of smell to me. Almost like a sandalwood. Definitely not for me though... me and woods just don't get along.

[QueenFae]

A very dry, sharp, woodsy scent. It's funny; I have no idea what real Mandrake smells like, yet this is exactly what I would imagine its scent would be! I can only describe it as sort of a dry wooden scent, a bit like the note I've smelled in similar BPAL woodsy scents. There is definitely an herbal quality to the blend, but it's more of an undertone than a top note. This reminds me of fresh cedar chips. Not my type of thing, but it has a lot of lasting power.

[Monster]

Ew The description of this made me sick. Haha.

 

Anyway...

 

This has an herbal/root/cedar scent right out of the vial...maybe a little sandalwood in there as well?

 

On my skin the cedar really amps up. There's something fresh and herbal in the background as well.

 

Eh. This is just so so. It doesn't really stand out as a really unique, incredible scent. But it is pretty.

[jasmine]

This was another broken imp cap. I didn’t even feel it tear -- it just opened easily, and then I looked down to realize it was never going to close again. How terribly frustrating.

 

Mandrake is sharp and herbal and unpleasant in the vial, and not much better on my wrist. It’s a green smell, but not a fresh green smell -- something aging irritably.

 

As it settles in, it continues to smell green and unpleasant. It certainly doesn’t smell like a perfume, but it does smell rather like I’ve been grubbing in an arcane garden. (I’m picking up the same “dirt” note that I found in Zombi.)

 

It remains green and herbal as time passes. Yuck. It isn’t even a fresh-cut grass green, which I can enjoy, but something that needed to be pruned and trimmed long ago. I hope this metamorphoses again.

 

Having monitored the scent over several hours, I can say that it never did metamorphose again... just faded slowly away. What a completely bizarre scent.

[blackfelicula]

In the bottle: Cedar wafts up at me when I pop the imp.

 

Wet: The cedar is softer, and something sweeter pairs with it now.

 

Drying down: Is there orris in there? It is soft and dusty though the heart of it is still cedar.

 

Dry: This one is holding its scent: woody, earthen, with a touch of sweetness. There's more to it in there, but Mandrake is not revealing them fully.

 

Later: Mandrake is right up my alley as earthy scents go! It is not as strong a scent as some I wear, but I thoroughly enjoy smelling it.

[tempestteapot]

This smells like I'd think a sleeping draught should. Roots woods and almost an evil stink. I had to wash it off, I couldn't wait for a dry down.

[oh_the_horror]

In bottle: mineral oil, faint herbs, something very faintly resembling perfume

 

Wet and drying down: Same as in the bottle except a little patchouli maybe, there's hardly any smell to this. It smells like very faint patchouli mixed with mineral oil and something sweet. It stays close to my skin and soaks in, so it doesn't really feel like I'm wearing a perfume. More like I just smell nice.

 

Dry: Faint sweet earthy patchouli and mineral oil. Maybe a little vetiver. It's very earthy but clean at the same time. I'm going to try this on my boyfriend because I'm curious about how it would smell on someone else's chemistry, and I think it would smell nice on him.

 

At the very least, I think he'll really like it on me, so this imp is a keeper. I'm not sure about a bottle though.

[The_Merf]

Thanks to Tempest Teapot for the imp--I see that this was much better behaved on me than on her!

 

In the imp: Vetiver dirt (as opposed to patchouli dirt...it's a very fine distinction. )

 

Wet: Wow, where'd the cedar come from???

 

Drydown and wear: Seriously, this smells like a Sin and Salvation refugee on me...it's a weaker version of Penitence or Midnight Mass. Very, very interesting...as it dries down even more, you get the rootiness.