Incantation

[couscous]

A profound and entrancing potion. Deep, wispy, and unfathomably dark: vetiver, dark woods, crumbling and burnt black sandalwood and a drop of lemon rind.

I wouldn't have chosen Incantation- someone in the lab threw it in as a freebie. It's a dry, wispy woody-floral, not sharp or biting, but comforting as hell. It makes me feel squeaky clean without a bright citrus element, and I didn't think that was possible.

Gorgeous 5 minutes in and 5 hours in. I adored having it on me. Someone told me I "smelled like church", but I didn't care. I adore this scent and hope Beth never discontinues it. I think its one of the best I've tried, if not the best.

With a lot of BPAL blends leaning towards foody/fruity, Incantation is something truly different- a woody floral with dark citrus. A WARM sort of cologne smell, vaguely reminiscent of high end shaving creams but much, much more complex.

Many reviewers say that Incantation is masculine. Maybe it is. But , in the interest of any female considering it, I'll say that I'm a girl, and not even a tomboy sort of girl, and I wear it and love it. I just ordered another bottle and will continue to do so as i run out.

This a decidedly unsweetened nighttime citrus. Incantation is unique, and possibly esoteric, woody blend.

And it IS sexy. Yes, lemons can be sexy. Who knew? Edited November 2, 2005 by Shollin

[clover]

Incantation

 

Note to the Lab: If you're going to send out oils this darn sexy, you're really going to have to start sending a man with them. Really.

 

First sniff: Holy mother of god! *Fans herself*

 

Upon first application: "Unfathomably dark". How I like the sound of that. Like others have said, this is very woodsy and the vetiver is really strong.

 

After a few minutes: This is pretty masculine, so I don't think I would wear it as a perfume while I was out and about very often. But it's also indescribably yummy and comforting, so it's a perfect at home scent.

 

Conclusion: I thought Iago was the scent that all of the men of the world should wear. Well, they should, but they should also wear Incantation. Wow.

[JazzieCazzie]

Received an imp as a freebie ...

 

IN THE BOTTLE: Wow. This is really unusual, unlike any other BPAL scent I've tried. Very green and herbal and slightly foody but not sweet ... invigorating.

 

Applies to just wrists because I couldn't decide if it was going to work for me or not ...

 

WET: This is driving me absolutely nuts, because the predominant note is SO familiar but I can't put my finger ... or nose ... on it. I keep thinking it is something from our herb garden and I assume my hubby the gourmet chef and herb-grower will recognize it immediately ... I go down and barge into his piano lesson (teaching, not taking, even uncooler) ... I forgot that hubby has great tastebuds but no nose. He doesn't recognize it either. Lois, Damn!

 

DRYDOWN: Interesting and herby and foody BUT both too soapy and too masculine for me. This would be awesomely sexy on a guy though ... also, it has major legs. It is still going strong on my wrists eight hours after application. But damn, I smell clean.

[leapylees]

Hmm..... In the bottle it smells piney, woodsy and lemony. Really clean and fresh.

 

On - initial impressions - rather masculine and overpowering. My boyfriend thought it smelled too harsh on me.

 

After a few hours - still a little overpowering, and to me this has a pleasant generic aftershave scent. I can't really pick out any individual notes.

 

Overall - a little too masculine and overpowering for me to use as a perfume. I might use up the rest of the imp as a room scent.

[antimony]

I got what Ladylatemar got... the unmistakable scent of Prell.

 

It's nice and woodsy and light, but it's much more the kind of scent I would like in a beauty product like a soap or shampoo than a perfume.

[Penance]

First sniff:

 

Interesting...definitely not what I was expecting. Incantation is very light smelling and all I can pick up right out of the imp is sandalwood, a tiny bit of vetiver and a very light touch of lemon. I've been a bit ambivalent about trying this one since it has lemon rind in it and I don't like lemon, but this isn't half bad.

 

Wet on skin:

 

The lemon is much more prominent now, drowning out almost everything else but a bit of the sandalwood that sneaks through. This isn't dark and somber like I imagined it would be, it's actually light and cheerful smelling, strangely enough. It's a nice scent, but definitely not for me since I normally refuse to wear lemon scents and like something darker.

 

Dry down:

 

The lemon has faded a little and, honestly, Incantation smells like light sandalwood mixed with that weak lemonade they sell at fairs, the kind they make by shaking up half a lemon with a cup of sugar water. It's a nice scent as far as lemon scents go, but it's not something I want to smell like, particularly. Lemon and I just clash personality-wise, unfortunately.

 

The bottom line:

 

Soft lemon over a background of light sandalwood. Very subdued smelling but cheerful and, alas, definitely not me by any strech of the imagination.

[fairywingmaker]

This is all lemon and sandalwood on my skin. It sort of reminds me of the shaving cream my dad used when I was little. It's very masculine to me, and will go in my husbands BPAL pile. I think he will like it.

[sarada]

This is one of the lightest blends that I've tried, actually! Expecting unfathomably dark woods, I thought it would be something like Umbra or Malediction, but Incantation is very much like a masculine cologne, brilliantly yellow-white in my mind. Masculine, yet ethereal, somehow. A scent for male fae, perhaps? Or a white-robed enchanter? The drop of lemon rind seems to dominate, and turns the sandalwood into something very airy. It makes me think of something you would wear in a very upscale restaurant, a formal and refined perfume, but it is in fact very "perfumey" and not earthy or woody as I expected. I actually like it best after it's been on for awhile, and the lemony light scent has burned off a bit, letting the other scents warm up. But it never quite deepens to the dark wood that I was hoping for. I will continue to look for a darker sandalwood but I can see wearing this to a very formal occasion.

[tart]

Wow, I never expected to like this! Incantation really is sexy, dark, and mysterious. It's smooth but sharp at the same time, with the lemon floating over top. This reminds me of a Darkswan soap, I think, maybe Badedas? This is too masculine for me to wear personally. It's darkly herbal I guess, and not really spicy. I'm totally giving this to The Boy -- he will wear it and love it, or else!

 

(Damn, this is sexy.)

[Ancientgirl]

This was a freebie for me, and although I can see liking it on someone else, I don't think it's quite my cup of tea. The woodsy quality is nice, and I find the lemon refreshing, not overwhelming. It has a smoky quality that goes a little bit headache-y on me, though. It might be nicer on a guy; maybe I'm just too girly for it.

I am wondering if I might not get on well with vetiver. Sandalwood is supposedly the other dominant note in Incantation, and it has never given me any problems. I'll have to experiment a bit.

Ancientgirl

[Theravada]

This is much, much lighter than I imagined it would be. It's a very fresh, white/yellow kind of scent. But also very masculine. I can see this being fantastic on a man. The vetiver and lemon are not at all overpowering here. Usually those are two notes that fight for control of a blend, but here they are exceedinly well blended. The woods here are light, soft woods...not the heavy, dark wood notes that I was expecting.

 

Overall very, very nice. But I'd still rather smell this on a man than on me.

[Morgan]

First Sniff: Dark and mysterious...

 

On my skin: Citrusy!

 

After 1 hour: This smells very citrusy and smooth. I can hardly detect any of the darker notes. It smells very clean on me.

 

Final verdict: I expected this scent to be very dark and brooding. But on me, it turned out to be very light and citrusy, almost refreshing. The darker notes do come out occasionally, which makes this a very complex intriguing scent.

I don't find myself reaching for Incantation often, but when I do I forget why I don't wear it all of the time.

[Finny]

Out of the imp, this smells sharp, like cologne.

 

On, there is a sharpness, but as it dries down it leaves a lemon and sandalwood scent behind. The vetiver adds a bit of greenness to the blend, and there is a faint smoky note lurking in the background.

 

I like this, I'm keeping the imp for now, it may move to the bottle list.

[shelldoo]

hmmm wet it is indescribable, but i didn't detect the burning smell....

 

dry i am not getting a mascualine smell altho it is hard to describe, there is some sandalwood, and possibly lemon or lime, but it is on me a very light clean smell not dark, not burning, i like it i will definitely use the imp

[blu°]

tried this last night before going to bed.... and yes... it is sexy.. whoever said they should enclose a guy on sending scents like that out, was darn right.

[Thorne]

This is a really nice summery scent, in my opinion. It's lemony and fresh and clean, with a warmer sandalwood base. I can see where a lot of people think it's very masculine, but I'm a fairly girly girl, and I'm going to be wearing it. I don't think I'll be ordering a big bottle, but I'm loving the imp.

[voodoobaby]

In the bottle: Holy crap, that's masculine! This is dripping with testosterone, but I'm not sure it's a good thing. It is woody, but really, most of what I smell is vetiver.

 

Wearing: Well, the lemon comes out just a bit, giving it this aftershave smell. Sharp and biting and astringent, yet clean. It doesn't really smell dark, to my nose. It smells like it's trying to be dark--like that greasy guy at a goth club who knows he's not appealing, so tries to be spooky to up his sex appeal. But fails.

 

Later: Fabric softener! Bah. I'm wondering if this is my skin chemistry going wonky from the fact that I'm still getting over my illness. Nonetheless, Incantation and I just don't get along. More swappage.

[amberlox]

"dial soap" when you first put it on. later it softens up and the notes change to a more compatible tone.... I'm still rather indifferent to it but my boyfriend calls it a 'clean smell' and 'doesn't mind it'.

[gangstaknitta]

In bottle: Very woodsy with a sharp drop of lemon. It reminds me of the men's cologne I used to wear in high school.

 

Wet: I can distinctly smell the woods and lemon--very much like it was in the bottle.

 

Dry: The scent dries with a sweeter note in it, but I can still detect the lemon and a bit of musk. The sweetness is probably the sandalwood on my skin. I got out of my woodsy phase some time ago, but this scent brings back memories for sure.

[leahcat]

Incantation

 

in the bottle: Oo! sweet bright scent. I can't ID anything in it though. Just danged nice

wet: My nose is still as a loss, but it's happiness for me. Reading the description I can ID the lemon now, but it's very much NOT overwhelming or even at the forefront. I am no sandlewood fan but I can barely get it in this oil. Just... loveliness in a bottle

drying/5 minutes: it's darkening now, not quite as bright/lemon. What a change... and yet much the same. The lab description nails this quite well - profound, entrancing, deep....best I can do is echo what they have already written, as it's spot on for me

dry/25 minutes: still warm, I think I can almost ID the sandlewood now. This is definitely a wear-all-day and see how it changes scent for further testing

[scourgeotheseas]

Incantation - a lab freebie!

 

In the bottle: Woodsy, a bit smoky.

 

On me: The first hit is soap, unfortunately. Dial, to be precise. Other notes attempt to show up (smoke, woods, never the lemon, though!) but are beaten back by Dial.

 

Drydown: Eventually this one turns to sandalwood, as all things containing sandalwood do on my skin. But it's a drier, soapier sandalwood than usual.

 

Not a good one for me. Too bad!

Edited May 31, 2005 by scourgeotheseas

[cricketshay]

I received this blend as a freebie from the lab. I love the name.

In vial~Smells like a male friend I have who uses a sandlewood scented lotion.

Wet~Very sandlewood. I like. It would smell awesome on a guy. Yummy!

Dry~My skin is eating it. Not that I would keep it anyway. It's not really my thing.

 

I give it a one rating. *throws in swap/sale pile*

[Witch's Dagger]

Incantation

 

I got two imps of this for the price of one. Thanks, Beth! (I ordered one and got a free one in the same order)

 

Preconceived notions: This sounds lovely - the vetiver and dark woods should make it “dark”, but the lemon will add brightness, and the sandalwood will give a kind of soothing quality. I think it fits the name quite nicely!

 

In the vial:

Spicy, herbal citrus smelling

 

On me:

Wow, this is incredibly fresh and light smelling, yet somehow secretive and secluded. There’s a wafting herbal, green, sharp note, but close to the skin, it’s all freshness and buoyancy. I can’t pick out any individual notes, except for vague feelings of herbs and citrus. It’s very mysterious and magical smelling.

 

In 10 minutes:

This seems spicier, somewhat, just as strong, and other than the spice note, about the same.

 

In 20 minutes:

Still about the same, although the “wrist” scent and the “wafting” scent are coming closer to each other - basically, the “wrist” scent is deepening, and becoming stronger and spicier. I love what the lemon is doing to the vetiver. And the woods - I think they are what is adding the “spice” I’m getting - it’s similar to the spice in lavender. There’s definitely some cedar.

 

In 1 hour:

Strangely, it’s still the same. I mean, exactly the same. And it hasn’t weakened any, either. No morphing, no fading, are you sure this is a Black Phoenix blend?

 

Overall:

This one’s a keeper. I’m not sure I’ll often be in the mood for it, but I really like it, AND I like the fact that it keeps its strength. Plus, it’s all woody, resiny, smoky, and magical.

[pensive]

Imp: Dark, has potential. Can't pick out much.

On me: It smells too dark, too creepy. It's not bad, but it certainly isn't in my 'yeah baby' list.

Verdict: I'd oil burn it, perhaps. Not wear it. Swapable.

[Orodemniades]

I'm ill at the moment, this comes from my initial notes:

 

Soapy! Very dry and resiny.

 

Dryly sweet, but to be honest it turns my stomach a little bit. I think that's probably down to the either the vetiver or the sandalwood, perhaps a combination of both.

 

Overall, it's okay, but nothing I'd choose to wear.

 

Oro