Incantation

[mmcfa2]

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

Complex, smoky and woody. Almost searing. I would ravish for this man! That said, it's too manly for me and I'm gonna go try it on my hubby and then maybe ravish him...

[olympia301]

 

Incantation is a gorgeous classical "perfume" blend and it is done impeccably. It broadcasts, is very chic, and has that "fabric" element which I am always rambling on about.* Very French, very grown up, not for the uninitiated. Incantation would be right at home on the Champs Elysee if the French still made Grand Chypres instead of "Watermelon Cucumber Bath Blend" for the tourists.**

 

This is another perfume which you don't want to put your nose right down on because you will just get too much of the smell and it is so powerful that it distorts at close range. Like a fine wine, let it mingle with the air. It has to travel through atmosphere in order to present your nose with the right mix for max effect.

 

I would say this is a scent best left to those over age 30, men, and ultra sophisticated young women. If you are "fresh 'n free", sporty, or in love with Popular Culture, Incantation is not for you. If you consider yourself sexually experienced (and competent), able to carry off witty repartee at table, want desperately to marry above your station, and can tell the difference between engraving and that ghastly "thermalgravure", Incantation is for you.

 

It has tonnes of class, lasts through any aristocratic country weekend (awash in megasex and good champagne), and belongs on every black dress wearing "how in the hell did SHE get HIM" woman who is a member of this Forum.

 

This one is going to be one of my new favorites, I can tell.

 

 

*Reminds me of the smell of wet silk chiffon.

**I am sure the French Minister of Cultural Affairs is going to be camping out on my doorstep waiting for me to return so he can tear me to shreds. But my friends, if I come home reeking of Incantation, I will have the Old Boy drinking champagne out of my sneakers with no effort on my part!

 

N.B.-After profound discussions with my in-house council, it has been determined that my use of the "Wicked Stepmother" Walt Disney image can be construed as "fair use". It is meant as a tribute to Disney's ability to pay homage to "wicked and attractive" woman, is in no way meant to debase, detract from, profit from, or present the concept as my own.

Edited July 4, 2005 by olympia301

[magdalene]

in the bottle: wow, this is a smooth blend. I'm getting a lot of the sandalwood.

 

wet on skin: The bit of lemon rind pops out once it's been applied to my skin, which is quite nice. This is a very clean smell, but not astringently so. Clean and dark, surprisingly enough.

 

dry down: the vetiver has decided to pop its head out and say hello, pulling everything else closely around it. It makes the entire blend smell a bit incense-y, something which I enjoy.

 

Very classical, not for the whimsical. Grown-up, gorgeous.

[sookster]

upon application....brings me back to the 80's when my dad used to wear polo in the green bottle by ralph lauren.....warm and woodsy and positively divine.....

 

i positively adore how some scents can take you back to a certain time frame and bring back such awesome memories

 

to me, this is a traditional dude scent so off to my dear boyfriend it goes....cannot wait to be smelling it on him.......

[Lycanthrope]

In the Bottle or Imp:

Sweet, fresh vetiver, bright citrus and a touch of spices.

Wet, on Skin:

Wet soapy herbal, with a bright grassy topnote.

Drying/Drydown:

Sandalwood, lemon, and a slightly pungent dry wood base.

Over Time/Longterm:

Minty fresh with dry woods.

Final Verdict?

This is very much like Bath and Body Works' 2003 release of Vetyver, a slightly spicy, sweet and warm herbal blend with a very grassy feel. There's even that similar mint-yet-not-mint aspect of the fragrance.

[greywind]

In the vial: lemon and sandalwood and something green. Is that the vetivert?

 

Wet: This scent stayed much the same, except the green scent became more prominent. It reminds me of the citrus scented soap (Fa) I used to love before they changed it. This is wonderfully clean and tangy. I've read over some of the other descriptions and am astonished that anyone would characterize this as "dark". Everyone's perceptions are very different, aren't they? To me this is a chilly, rainy day in early spring -- while it may be cold and wet, everything is green and growing and tingling with vitality.

 

Drydown: Stayed essentially the same as out of the vial. Long lasting, clean, and fresh. My only hesitation in buying more of this is precisely because it is *so* remeniscent of soap to me.

[Miss Lynx]

This is another that I really thought I would like, and was really wrong.

 

It's weird -- I seem to have gotten an entirely different impression of it from most of the other posters here, or from the lab description. I smell nothing dark, woody, smoky, incensey, or at all complex in this. It's just kind of weak, flat, dull and vaguely lemonish. And I know it's not just a fluke or a bad imp, because I've tried two separate imps of this, and the most recent one was fresh from the lab.

 

It just doesn't smell to me like a scent you would wear on purpose -- more like the incidental scent of a skin care product that happened to use a few essential oils in it for therapeutic purposes. Or maybe some eco-friendly dish soap that has lemon oil in it as a grease solvent. It's not unpleasant as such -- it doesn't have enough character to be unpleasant. It's just really, really blah.

 

On the whole, I'm reminded of the unflattering nickname my uncle gave to a dessert my grandmother was fond of making, which he found really dull: Lemon Nothing.

 

Grade: D+/C-

Edited August 21, 2005 by Miss Lynx

[Aurelius]

Oh. My. God.

 

I love this scent.

To me, this is like Casanova but less abrasive and without the sexiness. Yet still sexy. (FTR I adore Casanova. Mmmm....) It's not dark or woody on me, almost clean and fresh, but vaguely sinister. Moody, almost. I...can't quite describe this, clearly. It's just incredible. I may have to buy a big ol' bottle of it because my gimp from the lab isn't enough.

[urraca]

I tend to avoid the BPAL masculine scents --- I think they are absolutely brilliant but I'm a floral girly girl --- but this was a frimp. I like it much more than I thought it would. The lemon rind pops up first and it is a lovely subtle natural lemon, nothing screaming about it. Then the vetiver peaks through but again, instead of screaming, it makes its presence known in a dignified, understated way. I think it is the woods that keep everything under control.

[lookingglass]

I find this to be a very stately fragrance.

 

I concur with Olympia's review that this scent is not for the meek!

 

There are a lot of powerful notes here...Lemony sharpness slaps you; the strong vertiver and woods are at the top and do not let go through the drydown.

 

This scent says, "I get what I want". It does not waiver...tenatious grip. It is like someone in control who doesn't even care if you notice them. I love it, and hope DH will love it too. It is quite masculine.

[Blood onmy hands]

I expected this to be a very dark, heavy, earthy blend thanks to the vetiver, woods, and 'burnt' sandalwood. I was surprised to find that this is actually very breezy. I don't get darkness or burnt notes from it at all.

 

On me, Incantation smells exactly like being in a park on a cool summer's day. Very breezy. You're laying on a soft, clean cotton blanket in the cool green grass, underneath the shade of a huge leafy oak tree. The woodsiness is of that great tree, there is a slight twinge of greenery, and the overall smell is very clean and breezy. It has a very lazy feel to it.

 

I am in love with this. It's a strong perfume with lots of throw too. 'Entrancing' is a perfect describing word for it. It makes me feel calm and happy, but also a bit seductive.

 

Lovely I definitely want a big bottle of this one.

[dreadeddragon]

In the bottle: Lemon, vetiver, and cedar?

 

First on: It's a crisp yet dark scent. Lemon is still the dominant note, followed by vetiver and dark woods. It definitely has multiple depths to it.

 

Drydown: The lemon is gone, it's now a dark damp foreboding woods. I like it.

[Raygun]

This smells predominantly woody to me, with a wee kick of lemon. It's a brisk, imposing, and very sexy scent and my husband is jealously guarding the imp he swiped from me.

[Monster]

The first thing I thought of when I opened this was the Haunted Mansion ride as DisneyWorld....not becasue of the name, but because of the way this smells! It's incredible! There's this part, during the ride (in the beginning) where you're ushered into a room....a voice will speak telling you about the paintings on the wall. After a while, the paintings begin to stretch, and at the end lightning strikes, the power goes out and the doors open to the part when you're seated on the ride itself. This smells EXACTLY like that little room. I've been to Disney World every single year since I was about 4 years old and the smell never changes. I can't believe I have it now, in front of me, bottled and even called Incantation Haha

 

Anyway, I've never had a scent bring back so many memories before. This one is gorgeous just based on that alone.

 

As far as the notes are concerned. This is citrusy and fresh mixed with vetiver. It's definilty a clean scent (without smelling like a dryer sheet).

 

Final verdict, I love this one and am off to order a 5ml right away!!

[Ajila]

In the bottle - earthy, spicy and a little green

Wet on me - greeness, like freshly cut or crushed mint, and sandalwood, slightly aftershavy, very masculine.

Dry on me - very clean and masculine, too hard for me.

[dubh_ceol]

On my first sniff I though 'OMG. This smells like my dad's aftershave!'.

 

On: Yup, still aftershave.

 

After Drydown. Your boy wearing aftershave in the park on a sunny day.

[stardreamer]

Got this in a swapfest several months ago, and I'm finally getting around to trying it out.

 

First impression: Pine? Cedar? There's something sharp in the way of a woody scent here.

 

Fresh on: Ah, yes, that's pine, enhanced by the lemon. Something incense-y, too, probably the sandalwood. It smells a bit on the masculine side, but not overwhelmingly so.

 

Drydown: This veers oddly between something floral and the strong, sharp pine. I could do without the floral bits. As it settles, the final impression is after-shave -- a piney, Christmasy men's after-shave. Not at all unpleasant; it makes me think about cuddling with my sweetie in front of a fireplace on a late December evening. If he wore scents at all, I'd try it on him! Staying power is fairly good; 6 hours after application, it's still noticeable on my wrists.

 

Bottom line: I think this will end up being a gift to or for a guy. I could wear it, but I'd rather see it go to someone it suits better.

[hypatia]

I like both sandalwood and vetiver, so I thought this one would smell good on me, but something about my chemistry messes it up. There's a faint green note in the background, but it gets drowned out by scorched wood and -- unfortunately -- armpit sweat. The armpit-note goes away, thank goodness, but I'm left with the burnt wood. After several hours, there's also soap. Bummer. No deep greens for me -- it smells like I'm in a forest after a fire has burned away all the undergrowth, and then some rain has fallen to make the ground damp.

 

I really hope it's not a case of my skin reacting badly to vetiver, because that would be a great pity. I'll have to try some of the other vetiver blends to see whether the same thing happens.

[dejena]

Well, here it is, my first review.

 

Once I opened the bottle, I immediately swooned. I definitely smelled a smokiness, tempered with something bright and sweet.

 

But when I put it onto my wrist, the scent morphed. The sweetness turned into a sharp lemon, with just a wee touch of what I thought to be at the time, incense.

 

But the drydown! Oh the drydown! At first, I was sniffing Incantation directly from my skin, so I thought it was lemon, incense, and a cleaning chemical. I did manage to pull my nose away from my skin, and just go on with my daily business. Then I smelled a glorious waft of it. As olympia301 said earlier:

 

"Like a fine wine, let it mingle with the air."

 

That statement is completely true. I can smell the wood, vetiver, and a smidge of lemon. It has good staying power, and a lovely throw. I'm definately adding this to my wishlist!

 

Although this happens to be a bit masculine, any aggressive or ultra sophisticated young girl could easily pull this off.

[amrita]

I love all the notes mentioned in the description, but Incantation did not smell much like those notes to me! Wet, it reminded me a lot of the Hermit (the same gentle flowers), but it was slightly incensey. After a bit of drying, it started to smell slightly sour or chemical, and then... it erupted into a strong musk scent, like men's bathing products. Way too manly for me...

 

I'm not sure what makes it turn this way, since I have a lot of success with vetiver and sandalwood in other blends. Hm!

[AlaskaSnows]

Wet: Bright sour lemon rind and a hint of floral.

 

Dry: Wow. Far more than the sum of its parts. Airy, bright, delicious in every way. It's yellow green and sometimes bitter, sometimes floral. Amazing, and for extreme spring days, for me.

[Phaedra]

Wet this smells sharp, green, soapy, pine, woods. When first on it smells like Irish Spring soap!!?? Clean, green, herbal and a bit masculine. After a couple of minutes it sweetens a bit- clover? After about 30 minutes it smells like men’s soap or Zest- bleck! This is definately not for me. I thought it would be more dark, mysterious and incensey. Oh well.

[grrrlennyl]

at first: i'm mostly getting the vetiver and lemon rind. not sure about this one.

on: still soft. dusty. i can catch a hint of lemon rind, but the rest is dusty, light woods.

1 hour later: dusty woods. very pretty and light.

3 hours later: soft and almost sweet. very nice. pretty.

overall: this is very pretty, but probably not something i would wear often.

[herongale]

preconceived notion: What, no patchouli?

 

in the imp: tree roots ground up into sandalwood, producing a fresh sharp aftershave kind of scent. The men's department at Hudson's used to smell like this. My brother's first cologne smelled like this as well. It's kind of chintzy, kind of sleazy, and full-out ballsy. Best thing to compare it to would be one of those cozy hunting lodges up north which are basically retreats for men. Some guy is overcompensating for not bathing with this one.

 

wet: well, I'll be damned. This becomes the freshest, greenest, most rugged man-scent ever. On my skin I feel like it's converting my estrogen to testosterone via some mysterious alchemical process and I want to go kill animals and eat them raw. The lemon and sandalwood are really the predominant notes that I'm picking up. It occurs to me that my designated rapist, Scar (*), would absolutely destroy my brain if he smelled like this. IT'S SO SEXY. Everything about men and masculinity that I love: the big feet, the hairy arms, the strong hands, the flat chests, the stubbly chin, the defined muscles... I'm in love.

 

drydown: slowly this becomes more and more lemony. A man who has showered after having marathon sex, most probably. Or after killing state alchemists. *fans face* Is it getting hot in here, or is it just me?

 

verdict: I WANT A MAN TO WEAR THIS AROUND ME SO I CAN BECOME HIS WILLING SLAVE. /TMI

 

post-conceived notion: hotter than Dorian by a wide margin.

 

(*) Scar is a character in the anime series Fullmetal Alchemist and I only call him my designated rapist because I want his virtual body.

[silverlilac]

To me Icantation is a rather clean and fresh scent, evoking "light" rather than "dark." I thought I smelled pine at first, then decided it was juniper before referring back to the original scent description and realized it was the vetiver. I don't get any sandalwood from this, but I do get some of the lemond rind upon drydown. I think this would work extremely well on a man, but I do wish this smelled dark to me like it did with so many others.