Voodoo

[lady_pandora]

A midnight scent, evoking images of flickering golden firelight reflecting off the sheen of glistening skin and the jerking shadows of bodies suffused with spiritual ecstasy. A deep, powerful, resonant blend of myrrh, patchouli, vetiver, lime, vanilla, pine, almond and clove.

 

I guess I used up my soda-scent allotment the other night with Antikythera Mechanism, because I don't get that at all from Voodoo.

 

This was fruit and patchouli in the imp, but changed as soon as I put it on. I wasn't looking at the notes at first, and I was sure I smelled tobacco smoke and rum. Ah, we're making an offering to Papa Legba, I thought. But apparently neither of these things is supposed to be in the blend. I smelled them nonetheless. A slight morph then, and then...an episode of Scent Memory Theatre!

 

So my grandfather, RIP, used to own a barbershop. This was an old skool barbershop where there was pretty much just one haircut on the "menu" and where Grandpa would chain-smoke, and probably sneak booze he wasn't supposed to be drinking, and of course you had the scent of men's grooming products wafting around. That's what this smells like on me: stale smoke and booze and aftershave. I washed it off after about an hour, because it didn't really change, it just faded from Strong Grandpa's Barbershop to Somewhat Fainter Grandpa's Barbershop. I guess my theory is true: I can wear vetiver, and I can wear patchouli, but not in the same oil.

 

As a perfume, Voodoo is a fail on me, but I feel compelled to keep it around. Who knows, maybe I'll need to make an offering to Papa Legba sometime, or use it in some ancestor work. I do already have an oil that smells like my grandmother (Psyche); I don't wear that one either, but I like having it around.

Edited March 27, 2015 by lady_pandora

[Trinacria]

I'm with Lady Pandora on this one-while I could occasionally catch hints of almond or lime, this primarily smelled like old school men's after-shave to me.

[capnbinky]

I received Voodoo as a free imp in my order. I was unsure about it, but decided to give it a whirl. Very glad I did!

 

In the imp: Sweet candy syrup

Wet: Candy, with some depth underlying it that is intriguing.

Dry-down: Delicious, complex multi-faceted scent that has some of the qualities I love in root beer scents without smelling like
actual rootbeer. I picture it as swirling black/purple with strands of green or red tones popping out. One tiny discordant note
which actually enhances the harmony of the rest. Not sweet but with a just a touch of sweetness.

Dry: Myrrhy-vanilla goodness. Rich and warm and delicious. If it lasts, I'm in love. I could wear this every day, even to work.
I picture this as a cream and brown swirl of goodness. Very different from the first two stages, though I love all three. FBW.

The SO adores it; liked it on me and demanded to test it; wants a full bottle too. Weirdly, though, wears it completely differently; less creamy, less myrrh, more woodsy, a tiny bit soapy (in a good "clean" kind of way). A little reminiscent of a men's cologne to both our noses. Neither of us could detect those notes on me at all.

Edited April 13, 2015 by capnbinky

[DiesMali]

In the imp: Vanilla and pine.

 

Wet on my skin: A perfect mix of vanilla and pine, with something earthy.

 

Dry: This is GORGEOUS on my skin as it warms and dries. It remains primarily vanilla and pine, then myrrh, and finally a smoky and earthy base to it that makes it smell just really mysterious and sexy. My skin loves smoky, resinous scents, and this one is definitely one of those it adores. Mmmf yes. Deep, swirling green-gold in colour. I want a bottle, for sure.

[Malaena]

In the imp: Good lord, did they accidently package up some pine sol?

 

On my skin: Woodsy, warm, sweet, mysterious. After a while the pine peaks out.

 

I was iffy on this one and kept it to age for a bit.

 

Aged in the imp: Ooooh, warm incensey woody goodness.

 

Aged on my skin: Even better than when fresh! The incense notes are about equal with the woody notes. A bit later the pine comes out and it becomes more earthy.

 

Final thoughts: This one is 100% awesome. Need more!

[LexieBlom]

See, wet in the bottle this smelled like Dr. Pepper to me. Dr. Pepper and chocolate (one of my DNs) and I was so turned off. I didn't know about the swapping forums here yet, so I just resolved to keeping it in a drawer and never using it again.

 

That was 2 years ago.

 

This year, however, on a whim, I decided to swatch all of my BPAL to see how they held up with age. OH.MY.GOD. Seriously guys. This has become my favorite scent I’ve owned thus far. Wet, it’s still a bit pungent, but dry on skin it is so balanced; it really is Voodoo. When I close my eyes, it smells like your first few steps into a witch doctor’s hut, on your way to buy a love potion for the lover you’ve been desiring for years. Spicy, syrup-y sweet with a dark side.

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: Spicy and sweet. The Myrrh really shines through immediately.

 

 

Dry: Man I love Myrrh. The vanilla and clove really compliment it. Yum. I really like this and can see wearing it often. Deep, a little spicy, and just sweet enough.

[dementia_divine]

In the imp: A deep, chewy patch, clove, lime, and almond, with a bit of vanilla in the background.

 

Wet: Almond, lime, clove, and patchouli are the first notes to appear on my skin. The clove and patch are the quite prominent, and so is the lime, although I expect the lime's presence to be short-lived. The vetiver note peeks out as the scent begins its dry down. Vetiver and I are not friends, so I hope that it doesn't end up playing a major role in this scent once it is dry.

 

Dry: The vanilla note has emerged now, but it is playing a background role. Clove reigns, and I'm getting some pine now, as well as a bit of smokiness from the vetiver. There is just a hint of the lime note now, and I think the almond note has faded away. If the patchouli is still present, then it is hiding behind the clove note, which is very strong. After a while, the myrrh note makes its presence known and settles in behind the clove note.

 

Verdict: I'm going to keep my imp. I really like the clove note in this, and this is the first scent featuring a vetiver note that didn't disagree with me or stomp all over the other notes. I'm also curious to see if the vanilla note will come out more as this ages.

[d0gbones]

In the imp: Marzipan. This bodes well!

Wet: Tangy marzipan.

Dry: Oh. My skin appears to have eaten this one All I get is a ghost of almonds and vanilla, it's such a real shame, I love all the notes in this.

[KakashiMorph]

This imp is aged (more than a year, unsure how much although I don't think it is more than 3...).

In the bottle: Almond and vetiver.

On my skin: More of the same, well blended and mellow. I think it is grounded by patchouli but I can't smell any vanilla, pine, myrrh or clove. I only get a vague hint of smokiness, which I think is the patchouli.

Drydown: I am not sure if there is any almond left because the mellow vetiver accompanies the almond so nicely they are like sibling scents and I can't tell them apart anymore. I get a mellow aroma of vetiver and possibly almond. It is nice.

[Kay Torres]

My first review! I was very reluctant to try this because patchouli can either be very, very great on my skin, or it can be an absolute nightmare that lingers for days. I am glad that I took the plunge with this one.

In the imp: I was concerned because it smells like some sort of industrial cleaning fluid - very fake citrus and overwhelming pine.

Wet: Holy lime, Batman! Lime, lime, lime with something darker underneath. I can't pick out any individual notes with the lime shouting at me like that.

Dry-down: More notes coming out to play, but still not in a way that they can be separated (other than the lime which is still going strong). It actually smells like Coke and lime at this stage. It smells edible.

Dry: I want to say that it's pretty, but pretty is far too tame a word for this. It's not pretty. It has a sort of thick ripeness to it... It's primal. The notes blend perfectly into a sort of sweetly earthy, smoky spiciness with a hint of something freshly green. Every time I catch a whiff of myself, I find myself thinking of maenads... This is beautifully done and will be going on my full bottle list.

 

Edited by capnbinky, 13 April 2015 - 05:03 PM.

[Cali]

Yuck, almond and vetiver. I should've checked the notes before I got this, but then again I'm open to learning new thigs, who knows, maybe this time it would work! Ha-ha, no, not to me. But, I'm sure if that's your thing you'll love this. It's a fresh, almond-heavy infused marzipan with all the dark goodness that comes with the vetiver, patchouli and the softness of myrrh. I'm chickening out of putting this on my skin though.

[kajacana]

Received as a frimp.
This is so well blended that it's hard to just smell one thing at a time. Every time I sniff my wrist, I get something different -- sometimes something vaguely smoky (but like, incense smoke, not campfire smoke), sometimes a citrusy hint of lime, sometimes a whiff of pine, sometimes a spicy kick of clove. The strongest note on me, I think, is the myrrh -- sweet and incensey. I don't know what vetiver is supposed to smell like, I just know that it's a pretty divisive note... I'm not getting anything that I've seen others complain about, though. This blend actually smells really good on my skin, which is kind of surprising since I didn't like it in the imp and the list of notes was a little scary. Will definitely be holding onto the imp.

[hem246]

Wet: Almond! A slightly sharp, medicinal almond, like sniffing a bottle of almond extract. There's also a hint of pine in the background, grounding the almond a bit.

 

Dry: HOLY MOTHER OF MYRRH Y'ALL. I am amping the myrrh and clove like nothing I have ever amped before, and it is NOT a good thing. This is so flipping strong it's given me a headache, and that's only from the small dab on one wrist from the imp wand. The pine and almond have completely disappeared, and the lime and vanilla are nowhere to be found. On me this is Lush's Blue Skies and Fluffy White Clouds plus clove (though Blue Skies is frankincense, not myrrh).

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

A kind frimp from the Lab! Wet, I get boozy almond amaretto with a bit of vanilla...honestly, I'm thinking sarsparilla?! Warm and resinous on the drydown, less boozy, but I don't get lime or pine at any point. It's fun but not as mysterious and sexy as I expected from the notes.

[gloame]

Immediately, top notes of almond and patchouli.

 

Drydown is lovely. I wish I could catch the lime in this; I think it would make a lovely contrast. I do catch something sharp, but it doesn't quite feel like lime to me. Maybe that's the point. I agree that this could be another version of Black Phoenix, though it's not coming out particularly masculine on my skin. It's lingering in the unisex range so far. I do love these almond blends. They're so warm and desert-y! Just hard to pick which one I like best. Probably still Uruk!

[lizabelle]

Wow! This is what I expected Urd to smell like; on me this is all incense. I'm guessing my skin is amping the woods/spices/resins and drowning out everything else.

 

In the bottle: Very citrusy, with an almost coppery tang. Not at all what it's like on my skin.

 

On skin, wet: Bears a striking resemblance to a well-seasoned steak fresh off the grill. ...I'm honestly not sure anymore if there's something wrong with my nose, but that's exactly what it smells like to me.

 

On skin, dry: INCENSE. Like walking into a heavily-incensed shop and wandering around. I can make out the lime and clove if I remind myself they're there, but the vanilla and almond are nowhere to be found. This scent is warm and rich, and while I can't see myself wearing it I also can't stop smelling it. Very well-blended.

[Mokiefraggle]

Got this as a frimp, and I'd probably never pick it for myself on a whim. Vetiver and I don't ever seem to get along, and Voodoo proved to be no exception to that rule. All I got from this was the smoky sting of vetiver, such that I couldn't smell any of the other notes--all of which are faves save for the almond and lime. Can't get past that smoky note, at least not on me. It smells too masculine and just a bit wrong, so I'm going to pass on wearing this one.

 

On the other hand, my fiance smells just fine and dandy in vetiver, so I'm going to throw this in his little collection of imps. He'll at least enjoy it, and it'll smell quite nice on him.

[Coldfire]

Imp: the sticky sweet of almond
Wet on Me: cloying sweet cherry almond over vetiver. not starting out on the right foot with me
Drying Down: cherry almond over vetiver with the tiniest trace of patch hiding waaaaaay down below.
Dry: Almond amps and never works well on my skin. To the trade pile with these!

[marilyn eyre]

This is truly a voodoo scent! It has to be, because clove has been one of my only consistent death notes for YEARS, so how does this scent work so beautifully on my skin?! Pine is also a tricky note for me, but once again, it works so well!

 

It's smoky and mystical, what I'd wear to a dance in the moonlight in the middle of the woods. A witchy woman scent. It is so lovely, and STRONG. Bottle!

[SardonicGinger]

I'm not sure which part of this scent it was, but even after several hours and a bit of sweating, I could still smell this on me. It wasn't as potent as when I put it on, but had left a nice, slightly spicy scent behind. I liked this one a lot more than I thought I would.

Edited August 11, 2017 by SardonicGinger

[Nascargot]

Wet, this has a very sweet, cherry cola vibe. I can also pick up the clove right away. As it settles it becomes a little muskier and spiced, and the 'syrup' starts to fade - maybe because my skin drank it up. A bit of a shame, since that's what made it so appealing to me initially!

I like it and could see how it's very well-rounded to some, but this becomes a bit too generic for me during drydown. I do not have the most refined sense of smell so it's easy for things to start smelling a bit too 'blended' for me. I think it must be the myrrh and patchouli taking over. Had my initial impressions stuck around, I'd consider buying a full bottle, but they disappeared too fast for me to maintain interest...

[achildoftime]

I wasn't holding out a lot of hope for this one because it has a lot of notes that I know don't work, but I like to give everything a fair shake. That being said, this smells like the almond coffee cakes that my ran liked. It's very much a baked good scent on me, thanks to the vanilla and almond. The patchouli and vetiver are giving the baked quality a bit more credence, too. This is a hard pass for me, but I'm still glad to have tried it.