Incantation

[QueenFae]

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

Very light, airy, mysterious and spooky. Beth is so good at creating that creeping, breezy, haunted house type feel in a scent. This one smells very masculine to me, like something a handsome stranger in a dark club would be wearing. It's so beautifully blended it's hard to pick out the individual notes, but the vetiver definitely is not prominent, which is a good thing for me. I'll see if the boy likes it, but too masculine for me. A lovely scent though. Edited December 30, 2005 by Shollin

[ChupaChup]

Incantation is a lovely scent, very pretty, light and lemony. It confused me because it doesn't seem to fit its description at all. Beautiful for the summer.

[AngellicMystique]

This is a concept smell for me. This is magik being wound. I love it, it's dark, and light, spritual and mystical. Very smoky, bordering on masculine.

[midnightmuse]

This oil is my BPAL first love.

 

Incantation is vivid, smooth, deep, rich, dark, and bright. Without gender, without season, yet full of nature. Though it doesn't smell like a forest, it inspires similar feelings and sensations in me.

 

It makes my mind keep turning and searching for something, some beautiful mystery just beyond my sight.

Edited December 26, 2005 by midnightmuse

[yeahbutnobut]

Incantation

 

In the imp: hmm, smells a bit like men’s cologne, a lot fresher and lighter than I expected.

Wet on skin: mmm, not bad. It’s a clear, fresh, almost mossy and a bit green woody scent. Still quite masculine smelling though.

Dry: hmm. There’s something in this that doesn’t agree with me. There’s one note that smells a bit unpleasant…I have no idea what that is. It smells a bit charred and sawdust like at times, but it’s also got this other aspect which smells ‘off’, even a bit rotten, on me. Apart from that, I get dry, greenish woods and vetiver. It’s very much a manly scent, to me. I think this would be really nice on a guy. It does smell a bit burnt though-the sandalwood note here is truly ‘blackened’. I don’t get much lemon.

After a while: after 10 mins, that off note doesn’t smell as off as before but now I smell like I’ve been at a lumberjack’s or like a man (yes, a man) doing DIY. It’s so woody and sawdust like now-like I’m sniffing freshly sawed planks! There’s also a current of men’s aftershave here. It’s not bad, but this is to ‘blokey’ for me. Not as much vetiver as I expected, but it’s there, lurking under the woods.

It still retains it’s dry woody scent with a masculine undertone after an hour, but it’s a bit lighter now. It’s now more outdoorsy as a scent, smells more like broken trees and less like DIY makeovers.

After about 2 or so hours, it darkens in tone as the vetiver creeps out.

Verdict: this is one of the woodiest smelling BPALs I’ve tried so far. I usually don’t mind wood notes but this one smells too much like sawdust here, and there’s a scent here that’s too masculine for me-it’s like a men’s aftershave (a good quality one though), surprisingly green and fresh with a hint of vetiver. It’s not a bad scent but it’s too manly for me, and there’s a note there that doesn’t jive well with my skin, smells a bit off on me. Off to swaps.

[moon_lemming]

Incantation is the same dry on me as it is wet: woods and greenery, not total darkness but more of a dark dark green -- I think the lemon brightens it up just enough that it's not too heavy. It's definitely masculine on me.

 

I like it enough to keep the imp, but I don't wear woodsy blends enough to get a whole bottle.

[Thaleia]

I read the description for Incantation and felt a bit wary about trying this, because it sounded so heavy and woody and masculine. I was in for a surprise, then, when I opened my frimp vial and smelled a light, airy, citrus-fresh blend with a touch of white flowers. Okay then!

 

So I put it on, and waited for the sinister black, burnt woods to show up. Still lemony fresh, and stays that way for a while. The only thing the woods really do is add a bit of depth to the scent overall, but they don't make it masculine or heavy or overpowering. It's definitely different from the other clean, citrus scents I've come across, because of that woody depth. I'm going to keep this imp - I haven't decided yet whether or not I'm going to pick up a 5ml, but I'm open to any and all imps that the Lab wants to send my way. 7.5/10.

[Naamah_Darling]

In the bottle this is sharply herbal and woodsy, quite intensely masculine and jagged. Not unpleasant, just very manly. The green of the wood notes blend with the grass of what I assume is vetiver, and the result smells almost like camphor – a forward, sharp scent. Kind of an exciting, energetic smell.

 

Wet on the skin, the sandalwood smooths the blend just a little, and there's something hazy and a little herbal pulling the two notes together – the vetiver evening out. It's more pleasant once it's had some time to slow down.

 

Dry, given long enough to air out, it's not so overpowering, but it is still strongly masculine. It has no floral note to mellow it, and the sandalwood is not quite strong enough on my skin to balance out the harsh pine note. This one actually gave me a bit of a headache, and I had to wash it off. Just too much on me, and this scent has a lot of throw.

 

This would be a good scent for those who enjoy strongly piney/herbal scents. Inexplicably, my domestic feline Tazendra greeted this one with enchanted licking.

 

Cats.

[brownbear]

Strange, I expected this to be very dark, but it's actually quite light and airy. I keep getting a note of pepper in this. It's clean and slightly soapy.

[arabella]

First Impression: Lemony wood.

 

Dries down to: A nice herbally blend.

 

Additional Comments: I think I've finally figured out what vetiver smells like, thanks to this blend, and I like it. This isn't one I would have picked for myself but it's a pleasant surprise.

 

Lasted: A couple of hours.

 

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

[themerrybaker]

Burnt wood smell indeed – at first this is a little like having a bonfire corsage on my wrist. Lemon rind present-and-accounted-for when wet. After it’s been worn for a while it becomes a very subtle, light cosmetic-type fragrance that blends really well with skin. Did not last all day, maybe one reapplication needed.

[TheStormCellar]

All I'm getting is "OMG! FLOWERS!" Maybe it's the vetiver or one of the more fragrantly floral woods (maybe rosewood), but it's really strong and flowery on me. And whatever the particular note is, it's overpowering everything else. I'm very glad I didn't stick a lot on because this lasted and lasted all day, and it was overpowering, even with what little I had put on. I'm going to try to swap this one out, because this is definitely not for me.

[kourika]

Incantation was simply a sneeze-inducing, herbal scent on my skin. Not the worst thing in the world, but not something that I'm dying to wear again either.

[ajcj213499]

This smells very much like an evil lemon, a lemon who has been up to no good.

 

It's quite dark and a bit spicy. This would smell really nice on a boy.

[juniperus]

Bottle: both dark and fresh, interestingly enough.

Wet: the lemon - the pith, sharp and almost herbal. and sandalwood-y smoke.

Dry: mellows very quickly, I'm not sure if it's fading or just settling in. vetiver not amping yet, interestingly enough.

Later: no stay at all on me. bummer. vetiver kept its place with this one, so I'm disappointed it was truly as fleeing as an incantation sent on a breeze.

[Eunice]

If this is what burnt black sandalwood smells like, I am sold! The lemon rind is a wonderful addition to this. Incantation is a very dark scent with just a glimpse of light. This captures the scent of being in a very dark place with just a pinpoint of light in the distance.

[yellowrose]

This imp is circulating as part of the General Catalogue Swap.

 

Exceedingly dark. Opted simply to smell this in the vial because Incantation is so very pungent and strong (and there are lots of imps yet to be smelled). Very earthy-green and bitterly dark. Masculine and probably associating that with the vetiver.

 

Interesting, but a bit fearful of what reaction the lemon might cause in contact with the skin. Typically, this is a rash. Better to avoid it. Thankful to have had the opportunity to have smelled this.

[terrierhead]

I had to try Incantation after reading the BPAL HP thread; the scent was identified by a few people as the scent they'd pick for Severus Snape, everyone's favorite Potions Master. From the scent in the vial, I can see why. This is a deep scent with a lot going on in it - more than there seems to be at first. I definitely got a masculine impression from Incantation, and a favorable one at that. This would be *the* sex on a man. However, I couldn't help but try it on, myself. It smelled absolutely terrific. There's just one problem. It started to burn roughly 90 seconds after I applied it, and I ended up washing it off. Blast!

Edited June 20, 2006 by terrierhead

[edenssixthday]

Incantation - Look at the description – this blend is chock full of notes that I can’t stand: vetiver, dark woods, burnt sandalwood. It just sounds horrible for a girl whose favorite scents are fruity-florals, “pink” scents, and light ambers. However, this blend is so surprisingly and incredibly fantastic that I couldn’t stop sniffing my wrist the entire first time I wore it. It’s dark and mysterious, but the sharpness of the dark notes is blunted by the bright, crisp lemon rind. The juxtaposition of the lemon rind with those dark, smoky scents is brilliant. I would have never thought they’d make such a gorgeous blend. This blend stays moderately close to the skin, but it has really good staying power. Just a top-notch oil blend. I don’t buy many bottles of GC blends, but this may be one I have to have.

[catrinella]

Imp: Lemony and crisp with a light woody note.

 

Wet: Vetiver and a bit of lemon rind - very fresh and green.

 

Drydown: The sandalwood comes up fairly early, blending with the vetiver. Toward the end of the drydown a few burnt notes start to waft past.

 

1 hour: Something burnt and nasty; it smells very much like someone let a clove cigarette burn out unattended, and it's strong enough to make the back of my throat feel weird. After about 30 minutes the burning smell dissipates and the scent returns to a slightly lemony/vetiver sandalwood.

 

3 hours: Sandalwood with just a hint of vetiver. Soft but distinct.

 

Verdict: Unsure. I like the vetiver/sandalwood blend and the hint of lemon, but the smoldering burnt smell was really offputting while it lasted. As other reviewers have said, this is definitely not a "girly" scent; it's assertive and one of the more masculine BPALs (but I love Beth's "masculine" scents so I'll give this one another chance).

[Meg]

In the bottle: Hard to tell... sweet woods, perhaps a hint of lemon.

 

Wet: Still sweet woods and a hint of lemon, and vetiver quietly creeping in.

 

Drydown: Hmm, it smells green, from vetiver, with wood in the background. It's a very sweet, soft wood that I can't really pinpoint. I'm not used to sandalwood either, but I suppose it's part of what I can smell. There's a smell a bit like hay and dry grass warmed by the sun, here.

 

Overall: I'm not a huge fan of this. I've smelled a man's perfume that's pretty much the same as this, and while it's true that it's soft and sensual, it's really not something that I would want to wear myself, it's much too sickly on me.

[Celogrl]

This seems a bit masculine to me. Not a problem, but that was my first impression. This is very nice, I like the woods but (this is probably a first on these boards!) I wish it had more vetiver in it. I am still making up my mind on this one.

[Torrilin]

Caltha needs to try this. It starts off sharpish on me, like lavender. Then instead of mellowing into the soft spicy floral that lavender does, I get a lovely *soft* green scent. Smells like a garden full of sunlight and green plants. I didn't apply lots (lots is always risky on a first try for me), but it's soft and green and earthy without doing anything weird.

 

Kalli

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

i hadn't ordered this because i was a-feared of the mixture of vetiver and lemon.

but i was gifted with an imp of it today...

 

i get whiffs of early 80's mens' cologne. possibly Polo? not quite Giorgio for men or Paco Rabanne... but i see images of all three of those bottles floating around in my head when i sniff the top of my hand. (i tend to think in pictures. does that make me wierd?)

 

on me, i feel like i've used somebody else's fragrance (like when i'm at a guy friend's house and take a shower and use their soap, or borrow a sweater they've been wearing)

it smells good, but wrong on me.

i really don't get vetiver or lemon (thank goodness) but maybe just the idea of vetiver holding the sandalwood and .... herbs? green woods? all together.

 

i'm not sure this would smell good on *my* boi, either... there's something a little too almost powder-sweet for him. or for me to want on him, since he can't smell...

but on the right person (yeah, i think there's a definite possibility that person would be male) i bet this would be

[gypsifire]

wow, after reading the other reply i must have no sense of smell. to me, this is soft and fresh, with a slight tartiness to it. I absolutely luv it. oh and by the way--any newbies reading this--- you will get hooked, and feel a deep desire to share your new smells with everyone. my friends are tired of me asking them to smell my elbows. ( i work in a hospital, the wrists get frequent washes. )