High John the Conqueror

[PilotKitten]

A fast-acting, powerful scent used to overcome adversity through positive means. Attracts wealth, prestige, good health, and enhances others’ opinions of you. Grants courage and steadfastness.

Grapejuice! Love it!

Lol... I've been fiending for a lot of fruity scents lately though so take that for what it's worth.

There's a nice herbal note too that doesn't overpower the grape and everything settles into a truly wonderful blend.

[cameroncrazed]

In the imp: White wine. Huh, that's.. not expected. Good white wine, as opposed to really crappy horse piss-style white wine, but I hope it doesn't always smell like wine.

 

Wet on skin: Welch's grape juice with a chaser of Dimetapp.

 

Dry on skin: It's settled into a sweet - very sweet - and somewhat creamy Dimetapp.

 

Overall: 7/10. I'm sure there's days I'll want to smell like sweet grapes, but it's not today. Maybe later on in the summer when I desire a fruity scent. Can't say anything about effectiveness due to foul mood I was in before I put scent on. I feel somewhat more confident and courageous, but not sure if it's due to High John or not.

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

omg... this is MoneyHouse's older, slightly more affluent sibling.

 

the purple can/spray bottle/indian head Money House Blessing Spray that i got addicted to at a very young age...

this is that. but BETTER.

 

in high school my room reeked of the stuff... and all people could say was that it smelled purple.

i'd add in grape when i could find it...

 

i painted my entire room pale purple, so... it worked. it was The Purple Cave...

 

wow.

 

just.... wow.... i'm babbling and not making much sense, i know, but i'm continually amazed at the olfactory wonders that are in these little bottles.....

[elfmaiden]

I'm not quite getting a grapey feel from this.

 

Mostly on me and from the imp it's been a perfumed, faintly fruity smell. It's crisp and sweet but I can't really say in an edible sort of way. Something like wet flowers comes to mind, but it's plays really nicely on my skin. A dry white wine is definitely closer to what I get, but still rather floral in a way.

 

It's a brand new imp from the lab and I wore it today 'cause I needed alittle "Oomph!" This was it.

 

4/5!

 

Jenn

 

Edited to add: Oh! After a few hours of wearing this here at work, I smell the grape!! The perfume I dabbed on my wrists smell more floral, but the swipe I put on near my throat is DEFINITELY grape, not a strong one but I smell the note now.

Edited July 13, 2006 by elfmaiden

[snowfox090]

The scent itself is heavenly. It starts out a sweet, smooth-as-silk sunwarmed grape, then fades into a softer scent that feels clean and comfortable while still remaining fruity.

 

But that's not what this oil is really about, is it? It's about effect, not aesthetics, and today I learned the hard way that the voodoo scents are not just perfume.

 

I work at Subway, and today I layered HJtC over Hungry Ghost Moon because I thought it smelled yummy. I forgot about it attracting wealth--and we had a record number of sales. There was no rhyme or reason to it; it just seemed that everyone in my tiny little town decided to get a sandwich for lunch today. I literally stood still for more than a handful of seconds *maybe* once. It was hot, exhausting, and frustrating, but hey! The store made money hand over fist!

 

OTOH, my boss *was* very complimentary of the way I handled it. "Kicking ass and taking names" was the phrase she used.

 

So yes, this stuff works. It works above and beyond my expectations. Powerful stuff.

[edenssixthday]

High John the Conquerer instantly become one of my favorite BPAL scents. It smells exactly (I mean exact duplicate!) of my long-time and all-time favorite perfume oil ever, a scent called Love Potion #9 created by Wood, Willow & Whatknots. I can’t say how excited I am to find a BPAL that matches this all-time favorite scent of mine that I’ve been addicted to for 15 years now. Wow! It’s sweet, fruity, clean, and smooth, and while some people say it smells like grapes to them, I can’t identify a single note in it for the life of me. It doesn’t matter – I’m going to be wearing this a lot, whether I know what’s in it or not!

[damuddymeg]

It's been a long week, and I felt the need for a little extra backbone and some luck to get me through today. I'm reserving judgement atm--I would rather not jinx myself just yet. In magic 8-ball abstractness, I'll just say, Outlook good, check again later...

 

As for scent? I got a vague whiff of almonds out of the imp, but on? This is the love child of Come to Me and Dragon Moon. I'm getting a faint blush of fruit under lotus (?) and mild sweet herbs (something's making me lean toward woodruff, but I can't say for sure). A tiny bit of the warm fruitiness I get from dragon's blood, and some gorgeous aquatic and air notes.

 

Put it on this morning with the strong intent of a peaceful day, with no major issues or emergencies--just business as usual. We'll see.

[nathicana]

After all the first-hand testaments about the "effects" of this scent I was looking forward to the arrival of my HJTK imp more than any other imp before. My fear was that it would not wear well on me and I would have to mask it with another scent...

 

Today I received my package and tore straight through all the wrapping to get to HJTK. I hesitated for a moment (thinking how I may be disappointed), twisted the cap off and took my first sniff...

 

Top note: Grape...but not the fruit. More like Grape Hyacinth blooms which have a gentle, floral fragrance -not heady like roses but floral nonetheless. Though I can understand why some describe it as "grape" scented, perhaps its the bright floral against a sweet note that may lead to believe it's grape scented.

 

Middle note: slight rose, with a tinge of honey.

 

base note: light musk.

 

Whether or not users get this for it's properties beyond it's scent, this is a lovely perfume. Light, floral, very wearable for daytime.

[sofiaviolet]

This is extremely soapy. It has a pretty good soap smell, a little like Irish Spring, which I've always been a bit fond of. It's not something I'd wear as plain old perfume, though.

[The_Merf]

In the imp: I am generally miserable at picking out notes from the Voodoo Blends, but I can generally get a sense of how they might smell on me. I'm at a loss here.

 

Wet: This is soft, white, wet flowers on me. Normally I wouldn't like it, but there is a juicy note (I'm not getting the grape that others have, but it's something close) that offsets it.

 

Drydown and wear: I'm really glad that this smells nice on me--it remains a plump, sweet, but not loud, floral. I like the properties that this oil stands for, and I would hate for it to go 'meh' on me. I'll probably have to try it one more time on its own, but I may bottle it. At the least I will get another imp.

[storme]

In the imp: grapes! lotus! sweet bubblegum-candy fruits!

 

On me, wet: sweet dark grapes and general candyness. I keep thinking there must be lotus in this - lots of florals under all the juicy sweet grape.

 

On me, dry: gentle floral-and-fruit sweetness. Less vividly purple than before but still very much grape-and-floral.

 

Verdict: Pleasant enough - not really my style in perfume but not terrible either. No idea about the other properties here.

[cowgirl]

Another great imp I got from Jenn

 

In the tube: soapy and grapes?

When I first put it on, I could smell grapes. Like 10 minutes later, I could smell cherry and cinnamon(and a little, VERY LITTLE of grapes.)

Now , after 3 hours, its still strong and I LOVE it, and it still smells like grapes and a little cherry. Great oil! I can't wait to get my 5ml

[QueenFae]

Oooh, a really sweet, tasty little scent. My husband stole this one from me awhile ago, and I completely forgot how much I like it. It's a very berrylicious top note, but there is a mysteriously "clean" floral undertone. It gives the scent a little bit of a kick, but it also balances really nicely with the grape candy effect. Interesting and pretty, I might have to steal this one back!

[blackfelicula]

In the bottle: High John the Conqueror strikes me first as a floral, perhaps sharing one or more notes with Aunt Caroline’s Joy Mojo. It smells bright and positive, perhaps a touch of aquatic damp.

 

Wet: The brightness is almost reminiscent of citrus, lemongrass perhaps? It is greener now, more herbal than floral. It is a clean scent, which makes me hope it doesn’t go soapy on me. It is still has undertones of sweet and damp.

 

Drying down: I’m getting an impression of greens and blues. There is an undertone that reminds me of what my pyjama shirt smells like in the morning if I had Noxema rubbed into a sunburn the night before. That undertone is rather muted and subtle.

 

Dry: This does end up smelling like soap, but not that nose-tingling more-soapy-than-soapy scent that makes me abandon all hope of liking a scent. This is a clean soap smell. This would layer rather well. I don’t know if I’ll be able to gauge well how it works today, but we'll see.

 

Later: It’s been a positive day wearing High John the Conqueror. I was able to be more laid back about having a house full of energetic kids. The scent faded into a lovely light floral. The flower is familiar, but I’m having trouble putting a name on the whiff. Definitely worthwhile.

[skye]

Scent: I can't describe it. It smells like yellow and green to me, if that makes sense. But everyone who smells it seems to love it. I decanted some into an one of those little imp-sized roller ball vials and I carry it in my purse.

 

Does it work? Yes. Whenever I wear it to work, I get compliments on my job performance. Which where I work is no small feat. I think I'll wear it to my job interview on Saturday.

[majess]

im fairly new and pretty much live a non scented life-allergies, ive been very intriqued and have been getting lots of scents to try, some seem to be too strong , but this is simply beautiful,i was frimped this and am so pleased,its has a grapey- floral, and i dont care that much for floral, normally, but its a soft round white grape slightly spicy,slightlysoft spoken and sweet, it makes me smile, a big one and want to inhale deeply,,usually scents plug me up or give me hives,i tried others earlier and whew drove me nuts! but for someone like me starting out, this is understated beauty, and happiness.havent tried its properties as a voodoo oil though.

[steffanina]

High John the Conqueror-

 

In Bottle: A little minty, and a hint of fruit. Grape bubblegum?

 

Wet: Camay soap! Well, that's interesting. Brings back memories of hotel soaps from long ago.

 

Dry: Soapy but sweet, a little fruity, rather pleasant. Powdery, in a nice way. I'll remember this one when I want something clean-smelling.

 

Overall: Nice.

[supremegoddessofall]

Slightly aquatic florals, but no distinct impressions. It's very subtle on me.

[sophia_helix]

Scent:

 

Wet, it smells exactly like liquid Dramamine, which is a motion sickness drug that I used to have to take as a kid. Just smelling that fake-cherry/grape scent is enough to make me sick by association, but it dries down pretty quickly into what I think must be hyssop, since I've smelled it strongly in both Absinthe and White Light. It's got a general "voodoo oils" scent, though, that's hard to explain unless you've tried a few of them. Pleasant, but nothing special.

 

Effect:

 

I wore this to a mock mediation today. I settled for $100,000 over what I wanted to and walked out to dead car battery. True, I received help from a friend beyond what I would have normally expected, and at least the negotiation/settlement went more smoothly than I'd feared...but it doesn't exactly feel like I was kicking ass and taking names. I may pass this one along to someone it jives with better.

 

An edit upon rereading the description:

 

I guess I did "overcome adversity" today -- I kept my cool during the mediation and managed to work out my car problems with a minimum of hassle -- so maybe it worked better than I thought? It's very open to interpretation, I guess.

Edited November 12, 2006 by sophia_helix

[Spastik_Kitty]

In the imp: Slightly sweet, melon maybe, a hint of cherry, with a lingering floral creminess.

 

First on: The floral bit comes through more, the cherry dies down a bit.

 

After a bit: This is super creamy and comforting, I'm thinking there is a musk in here giving it the creaminess, I'm trying to place the floral, lilacs maybe, a touch of violet...

 

A bit more: I simply adore this, it has aspects of Dragon's bone, Le Serpent Qui Danse, a bit greener, and a bit creamier. It takes on an almost oat milkiness.

 

This lasts a long time as a fragrance, and is equally as intoxicating on my husband as well as myself (in two different ways). It gives me a sense of comfort (enough so that I made a bit of an arse of myself today, but that's okay).

 

Def a larger bottle to acquire.

Edited November 13, 2006 by Spastik_Kitty

[yeahbutnobut]

High John the Conqueror

 

In the imp: an oddly sweet, oddly, dry, slightly grassy-woody scent, very unusual.

Wet on skin: a strange and slightly chemical sweet scent with a hint of bitter almond and dry reeds.

Dry: this is such a bizarre scent! there’s something bitter to it which reminds me of a bitter almond perfume I tried once which had an almond note with a bitterly medicinal undertone. There’s also an odd pink sweetness, and a note reminiscent of dragon’s blood (clear, red, metallic and piercing) and there’s also a scent to it reminiscent of dry reeds (it reminds me of some oils which have a reedy/marshy/’aquatic plants’ note to them from other brands) or maybe dried medicinal roots in a dusty cupboard. But the overall bitter scent is very medicinal, but it also reminds me of a component in some TALs. I think this might be in Catalyst, and Clarity as well.

After a while: now this smells soapy. As in, bad soapy. I don’t like this smell now…it reminds me of antiseptic soap, the kind you get in hospitals and public toilets, with a hint of root-based herbal tinctures and dragon’s blood. It becomes a dry, harsh chemical soap scent over time.

Verdict: there’s an odd scent to a lot of TAL/magickal BPAL oils I’ve tried, and I had no idea what it was until now. Assuming this is either single note High John or a HJ accord, I think that the mystery component in some of Beth’s ritual oils is High John. It definitely has a medicinal smell to it, and it certainly doesn’t have the feel of a perfume, this is more ritualistic to me-it reminds me of dragon’s blood at times (which also smells like a magickal component more than a perfume, when on it’s own). It smells oddly soapy, bitter, and with aspects of dry roots, almost like a tincture of dry roots used in herbal remedies (afaik, HJ is a root). It also solves the mystery of the ‘dragon’s blood’ like scent I get in some scents which aren’t red coloured. It definitely isn’t something I’d wear as perfume. I’ll see if this works regarding purpose, but I have other magickal/TAL oils which fulfil a similar purpose to this which I prefer. I never got anything like grapes or wine from here at all, which is a shame. Not for me.

Emoticon rating:

Is it a keeper? I don’t like the smell much, but if it works for effect I might keep the imp.

[slave1]

HIGH JOHN THE CONQUEROR

 

In Bottle: Super sweet fruit

 

On Skin: The dominant note is a very sweet fruit with a tart edge, more of a red grape than a green one… and not fresh grapes, more like grapejuice. There is also a beautiful soft floral. I also think I smell the telltale sweet bubblegummy lotus. The blending on this scent is amazing and it’s making it hard for me to determine individual notes. I just a very pretty feel from this, muted colors and warm undertones. I love this scent, I just wish it was stronger. It has a very light throw and has a short to average wearlength.

[mmmitchell]

I got this as a lovely frimpy from the Lab. Intrigued with the concept, but somewhat ignorant of what "High John the Conqueror" might be all about, I set to a-googling, and found this site , which was already mentioned in a review by Bean Rua.

 

The description mentioned that High John the Conqueror root is usually considered to be the root of Ipomoea jalapa, which puts it in the morning glory family. The scent is described as a "unique, spicy fragrance, reminiscent of a combination of cherry-scented pipe tobacco, vetivert, cedarwood, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and mace."

 

I thought this description was pretty spot-on for what I was getting from the scent....where other people were getting "grapes", I was definitely getting a more cherry-oriented scent, that's for sure. This scent doesn't morph much on me, from the vial, while wet, and then on drydown, this is a soothing, "round" scent. And it's so well blended that (as with many of the voodoo/hoodoo oils) my nose doesn't pull any one particular scent. I will mention that I do get a lemon-y vetivert-ish whiff or two, but unlike many scent oils with a vetivert note, it does NOT overtake the entire blend.

 

The web site also mentioned some of the traditional uses for the root, and for the oil, and also had some fascinating information about the references to this root in blues music. I have to say, it gave a whole new interpretation to me regarding Willie Dixon's classic and oft-covered "Hoochie-Coochie Man". And all this time, I'd thought all that talk of "root rubbing" was.....well...... OK, I admit it, I have a naughty mind..... Now I get the delicious double-entendre of the lyrics.

 

Wikipedia mentioned that sometimes St. Johns Wort is considered the High John root, but I agree with the commentary that it seems unlikely.....St. John Wort has fine, hairy root system (I've grown it) that doesn't really seem to jibe with the whole idea of a tuberous root that you could rub, or put in a mojo bag.

 

Voodoo/hoodoo properties: Well, I very much like the scent for itself, and could see layering this, or using on its own with no problem. It's a light, somewhat feminine scent, very sweet, (though not cloyingly so) which surprised me as the name seems very, well "masculine" and the stuff I read about it does seem to emphasize its male energy. The root itself looks a bit like a testicle, and of course in sympathetic magicks, that often implies male energies. But the scent seems nicely feminine to me.

 

I can't comment on it's efficacy yet. I've tried it this weekend, but have mostly been around my husband and daughter who already have an exellent opinion of me. I think I will keep this on hand during the upcoming holiday season, however, handy for upcoming scheduled encounters with potentially difficult in-laws. If HJTC helps me through THAT , I'll be ordering a vat!

Edited November 19, 2006 by emthree

[RougeNoir]

I REALLY like this one, but am not at all sure what it smells of! I think it might be sweet tobacco, but I've just read the whole thread to see what everyone else thinks, and no-one's mentioned it

 

I'm not sure it smells of grapes on me (because I normally hate grape!) - what i do know is that it's sweet, warm and wonderful. It's comforting and somehow calming. I keep sniffing my wrist!

 

I can't really comment on the voodoo properties yet - what I do know is that my promised job has not come in today - which has given me time to catch up on my accounting! I'll definitely keep using this ;-)

Edited November 20, 2006 by RougeNoir

[Ciircee]

My middle child had this to say about High John: It smells like purple.

 

Not grape, *purple*.

 

And she's right. It smells like the color purple should smell. There's cherry for the fruity part and something woody and spicy for making it darker than 'red' and something sort of earthy underneath and something almost floral.

 

It's such a *happy* scent while wet and it settles into this confident, smiling scent as it dries. It reminds me of those blue morning glories that my mother has that climb all over her back deck rails. Certainly a positive scent--makes me feel like nothing can go wrong. I'm going to have to consider a big bottle of this one.

 

for the Labbie who frimped me this one.