Hand of Glory

[Czarina]

Beeswax, dry leather, black pepper, saltpeter, nutmeg, Mysore sandalwood, and oak bark.

I was actually afraid to try this one because the concept was so gross. I decided to concentrate on the scent notes and avoided thinking about why this particular combination was selected, ulp.

In the bottle: I smell mostly the sandalwood and oak bark.
Wet: pow! initially the pepper and saltpeter push to the "front." It's all I can smell.
Drydown: hm. Heavily honeyed beeswax. Like a candle has just been snuffed out (that's the saltpeter/sandalwood I think). The leather is definitely there in the background.

Worth overcoming fears to smell, but eesh.

ETA: FWIW, this is one that I'm liking a lot more on my wrists than in my scent locket. The locket gives me more leather and saltpeter after a few minutes and less of the sweet honey drydown. Edited August 26, 2008 by Czarina

[yeahbutnobut]

Hand of Glory

 

In the imp: honeyed leather and…sweet mint?

Wet on skin: ohh, the beeswax in here is gorgeous! And now I also smell smoke!

Dry on skin: honeyed beeswax, subtle leather, nutmeg, dry woods and smoke. Oh boy, this is wonderful. It smells warm and gently fiery and woodsy and aromatic, a bit like incense, a bit like candles, a bit like bonfires, all at once. The leather is the aged kind, like Dee, a real ‘library leather’ scent. the pepper is not obvious but adds a wonderful crackling heat to the scent, along with the nutmeg which is stronger. I can smell sandalwood and oak, but the star of the scent is the beeswax, which smells both like sweet honey and ancient candles. All around these notes, smoke gently swirls.

After a while: oh, this gets even better. The beeswax becomes even smoother and a bit sweeter, and the scent lightens a touch, develops a musky aspect, and a resinous aspect. Now this is a beautiful harmonious mix of beeswax, leather and sandalwood, smooth and gently smoky and spicy. This is what I hoped Nanny Ashtoreth would smell like-this smells like honey, leather and amber (not sure where I get amber from but I smell a bit of it here) to me and the leather doesn’t amp.

The scent gets sweeter and softer and turns almost into honey and a skin musk, which is surprising, but rather fitting for a hand scent with just skin and bones remaining…the smoke adds a nice shadowy accent to this sweet, smooth, and surprisingly bright scent.

Verdict: this scent is wonderful, unique, fascinating, a smoky scent like no other, a spicy, incense-y, honeyed scent like nothing else from BPAL. At first it’s a wonderful smoky beeswax, like honey wrapped in bonfire smoke, with an undertone of worn leather. Then the spices and woods come out and the scent smells magical, spellbinding, and a tad dangerous. Makes me think of Hogwarts, for some reason. Hogwarts at the time of the Marauders, to be specific. It improves even more as the beeswax really shows off and sweetens, developing musky and amber-like tones, and the whole scent morphs into a wonderful honeyed incense with a skin musk and leather undertone. Utterly gorgeous and intriguing-I myself don’t find the actual scent scary at all…this is one to stockpile!

Emoticon rating:

Is it a keeper? Oh yes.

If you like this, try: Nanny Ashtoreth, Dee, No 93 Engine, Luperci, Buggre Alle This Bible

Edited September 1, 2008 by yeahbutnobut

[Miss Lynx]

This was one I'd ordered a decant of, but alas, my package of Act V decants went astray in the mail, so I never got them. But a friend who'd gotten hers let me try a few, and this one was really quite startlingly nice.

 

Unlike probably the majority of people here, I've actually seen a real hand of glory, up close and personal. A Wiccan high priestess I know who collects magical oddities has one -- can't recall where she got it, but it's pretty old. I am happy to report that it has no discernible scent, at least if you're looking at it with the box it's in in your lap or something (she keeps it in a wooden box with a scrying mirror mounted on the top). I've never actually put my nose right up to the hand to find out for sure.

 

But if I had, I doubt it would have smelled too much like this -- a warm spicy honey with dark herbal and woody undertones. Not that this scent doesn't have its slightly sinister side, but I'm really not getting rotting flesh from it, even desiccated (thank the Gods). This scent is entirely more pleasant than I would expect "Handly" to be if I ever directly sniffed him. I think I will have to track down a decant for myself, since I've given up on the package ever coming (not the decanter's fault, I think it just got lost in the mail). Only down side is it doesn't seem to last very long.

 

Then again given that Handly seems to be pretty well-preserved, I could be pleasantly surprised... But I don't think I'm going to put that to the test any time soon. I'll just stick with the oil, thanks.

 

Grade: B+

[tinyvulture]

at first i smell the nutmeg – wow, it’s strong! then the black pepper, which i admit i was worried about, but it’s not overpowering. the beeswax, leather and sandalwood are also apparent. this may be the only beeswax scent where the note doesn’t completely fade into oblivion on my skin. i can really smell it here.

 

this is a dry, charred scent –- extremely spicy, not at all sweet -- very unique and hard to describe. as suileach said, it’s sulfuric, like a lit match. one of the lab's creepier blends. i'm glad i got to try it but i would not want to wear it in the future.

[ND¢]

This reminds me a lot of a stronger Herr Drosselmeyer. Much gentler than most sandalwood blends I have tried. A bit more sweet pungency from beeswax, but as the effect did not work on me in the one, it sadly also does not work in the other.

[gingiemay]

Wet in bottle - Beeswax, sandalwood, leather and nutmeg. Surprisingly dark and yummy at the same time.

 

Wet on skin - Beeswax is very strong and sweet, but pleasant, along with nutmeg, leather and sandalwood. I'm surprised this is so sweet on me. There is the faintest undertone of oak bark.

 

Dry on skin - Very beeswaxy-honey and nutmeg. It dries down to a sweet honey finish. Throw was decent for the first 3 hours of use or so. Definitely a unique and interesting scent.

[jewelbug]

Imp: Smoky, sweet, golden leather with a touch of spice (nutmeg? Cardamom?).

 

Wet: Wafting, I get a strong honey/beeswax scent. Close in, I get a lot of smoky leather. The mix of the two is really lovely. This is similar in feel to luperci—with the sweet honey and more manly notes (though in luperci its woods, and here its smoked leather). The smoke note is that of a good lapsang souchong tea, so this feels all sorts of cozy to me. Like a honey-sweetened smoked tea. Mmmmm…

 

Dry: This is very strong smoky leather with slight sweetness for an hour or so. Then the leather tempers, and I have a slightly powdery (like black musk sometimes goes on me) leather with a very honey-heavy beeswax. Its really beautiful.

 

Overall: This is a bit towards the masculine side, but I very much enjoy it. I think I’ll try it on my hubby too, and see who wins a bottle. Regardless of who wears it, we need a bottle of this in our house.

[nightbiscuit]

Gorgeous. This scent is pure golden beeswax on me. It's quite sweet and warm, not eerie at all. I am strongly reminded of No. 93 Engine, so when the Carnaval does leave town, the Engine will be a viable GC alternative.

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Warm, glowing, and woody with some sharp spices.

 

Immediately on skin: This scent starts out with warm, glowing beeswax and wood. The wood note in this is the same one that I get from Haloes and I really love it. However, there’s also the leather in this, which mixed with the pepper and nutmeg combine with the beeswax and oak to create something smooth but a bit sour and cloying.

 

After a little while: Leather, oak, and creamy beeswax with odd spices. It sounds like it should go together, but to my nose this just doesn’t mesh together well. The oak is really nice in this and is just a touch perfumey, and the beeswax is warm and lovely. I think it’s the leather and other notes that are ruining this for me.

 

Overall Impressions: Unfortunately the combo of notes here turns my stomach a little. I love the oak and beeswax, but the leather and spices turn this into something really odd. I can see it pulling together on someone else’s chemistry, but not mine.

[rayvn1]

This is fantastic! On wet it almost had a Doc Constantine edge to it. Later a dry, leathery spiced scent filled my twitching nostrils with strongly thrown deliciousness. Seriously. This has one of the best throws I've had with the Carnaval so far other than Gennivre. ....yep, gonna need a bottle...

 

 

edited because you don't need to see the notes listed again. I need to quit sniffing my wrist and start watching my computer screen

Edited October 26, 2008 by rayvn1

[cranberry]

Mmm. this is fabulous. Warm, resinous, so sexy.

 

First applied, I smell honey and beeswax. Sandalwood and smoky resins. Spices. Leather. I wouldn’t be surprised if frankincense is in here. This is a warm and glowing type of scent. Close to the skin and something that would smell delicious on a lover. I thought that Bezoar was my favorite from this part of the Carnaval, but I think it is this scent. The combination of sandalwood, beeswax and smoke is simply gorgeous.

[ravenfeathers]

in the bottle waxy and sandalwoody

wet on skin deep, dry, waxy sandalwood, yum!

dry on skin it's so oddly sweet, but the sandalwood stays uppermost with just a hint of smoke, a tiny spike of pepper, and that waxy finish.

 

if haloes was too fruity or bold and antikythera too stark, this is a nice compromise.

[TheOneTheyCallLuna]

This blend is mostly beeswax and leather on me, though something about it reminds me of summer? Something about it is vaguely suntan lotion or oil or something...not in an overt way, and not even in an unpleasant way, but I still keep getting that image in my mind everytime I smell my wrist. Come to think of it, I probably will end up wearing this one a lot come summer, even though the notes would lead me to believe it is a heavy winter blend.

 

I find it to be a really sexy smell, but it reminds me of a man...though at the same time I'm not sure I'd want my boyfriend to wear it because it's way too feminine. I wish I got more sandalwood from it. I HATE how BPAL buries their sandalwood so well into their blends, because mysore sandalwood is my favorite thing ever. It's so delicious, and so, so freakin expensive!!! If I got just a touch more of it from this blend, then I would be in love. As it stands, this blend is scrumptious, but not mindblowingly so...Still, I think I'll hang onto my decant, thanks!

 

This has the distinct potential to grow on me more...

[aedes]

Thick, smokey and waxy, with a warm unisex leathery/creamy/spicy vibe. If you like Dead Man's Hand and Iago, I think you'll faint for this. For me, it's tough to say. It smells great, but a lot like a candle. It would be a strange, but intriguing choice as a personal fragrance, perhaps best if you REALLY like Madame Tussaud's. As it is, I think I'd prefer it as a room fragrance, or maybe on my homme de noir.

[revinn]

My very first scent from the Carnaval, and it's a winner!

 

Initial Smell from Bottle: Hmm, it's hard to describe. It's very smokey and almost..nutty?

 

Wet: Ohhhh my. It's very dry and sexy, smokey with a sticky sweet edge.

 

Dry: I really wish I could pinpoint notes so this review would be more helpful.. It smells like a burning log, covered with layers of beeswax and sprinkled with something lightly spicy (the nutmeg?). It's such a mysterious scent. I ordered it because it sounded like something a character I write would wear, and it fits her to a T. Delicious!

 

Out of 10: 9

[crebbsgirl]

This was a really dry leather blend on me, and the pepper lent a bit of a funky smell here. It wasn't remarkable on me unfortunately.

[gypsyjolie]

Not sure I can add a lot to the other reviews. Leather, a brief spate of saltpeter/black pepper that fades quickly, and then the scent mellows into a honey-beeswax similar to Hanerot Halalu but drier (no olive oil), faintly smoky, over aged, soft leather. I love it best about 40 minutes after application through several hours. It becomes a surprisingly sweet & creamy warm leather/beeswax candles skin scent. I love leather, honey, beeswax, and I love this! Would be great on a guy, I bet!

 

This is the leather note from Perversion, but without the wine & tobacco notes and slightly creamier from the beeswax. If you like Perversion, you'll probably like this. Or if Perversion was too strong, you might prefer this. Are they too similar to have bottles of both? Hmmmm...

Edited June 14, 2009 by gypsyjolie

[milo]

I can't really decide if I like this or not. At first I get a nice tobacco-like scent with vetiver, which I actually think is the dry leather. I normally like leather, but this I think is a bit too dry and makes me think "vetiver", which is a note that I don't really enjoy. Still, I get a bit of nice nutmeg, which is a bit like tobacco to me, which I love. So therefore, it is like love/hate blend for me. If it wasn't for the leather being too dry, I'd probably be all over this. For now, I'm just glad to have been able to try it, anyways!

 

[lookingglass]

Oh, this is GLORY! It goes on with a fresh wood note and a spark of saltpeter that dries down quickly. The beeswax warms up honey sweet, combinging with the nutmeg making an almost eggnog note. Leather does not usually agree with me, but it is brilliant here, slightly dry and dark, like mummified flesh. Delicious and evil. It has sillage like WOAH, too, which is something comming from me b/c I can't slather on enough of anything! It's another lovely, dark, gender neutral skin scent (my favorite kind!). It smells like I've been preparing and altar and now I'm having a lovely tea party in the underworld! IMMEDIATELY into the favorites category!

Edited June 16, 2013 by lookingglass

[Aldercy]

This smells like fireplace! It smells like slowly cooling, sweet smoke and ashes-- even a hint of stone. And beeswax.

 

As Hand of Glory dries, a bit more of the leather and nutmeg appear, but it's still a very wispy, elusive "drafty flue"/"just extinguished candles" scent. This is what I wanted Hanerot Halalu to smell like (so if that was too olive oily or orangey for you, I suggest Hand of Glory as a great smoke and beeswax combo).

 

Very good for fall/winter, and it has a vaguely medieval or magical feel to me. It's completely androgynous and really homey. This will probably result in a 5ml purchase.

[superpopkid]

This is my first Carnival scent! In the decant bottle, I don't smell the beeswax, just a heady spiciness. Once on, the rich, sweet creaminess of the beeswax comes out, and some wonderful darker layer that has aspects of woods, leather, and nutmeg, but blended so ultra-smoothly that they're hard to pick out individually. After spending some time with No. 93 Engine, I knew I was in love with the lab's beeswax note. I want to marry it, settle down with it and have little beeswax babies. Hand of Glory has that same luscious beeswax, but despite the smoke notes, Hand of Glory smells oddly cool and clean to me where No. 93 is warm, close and (deliciously) sultry. I get a color impression of beeswax-yellow with purple-black waves running through it

 

Hand of Glory strikes me as especially versatile. It seems androgynous and appropriate for any occasion or temperature. It didn't change much on me throughout the day, it lasted a good seven or eight hours, and had a medium throw. Not to mention, it's just delicious. I see myself wearing this a lot this fall.

 

 

[hazakaza]

Oh my. This is the first BPAL scent I've had to put away for a week before I can even consider trying to wear it again.

 

Bottle: Beeswax, sweetness, a little salt, a sharp, almost metallic note?

Wet, on me: Roughly the same as in the bottle, slowly amping the beeswax

Drying: HELLO I AM BEESWAX I AM SICKLY SWEET AND MAKE YOU NAUSEATED HURRAH.

 

Had to scrub it off, I really couldn't stand it for more than 10 minutes, so maybe it turns lovely when it gets dry . . . I just don't know if I can handle GETTING there. I'm going to give it another try once it settles and once I think I can stomach another go at it.

 

Edit: I had another go at it, and the honey just amps to infinity. It's sad, because this is a very interesting scent, tremendously evocative, but totally unwearable for me.

Edited December 9, 2009 by hazakaza

[arsenicsauce]

Saltpeter, leather and wood come out swinging. Definitely unisex. This is one of those leather notes that's very evocative of the real thing for me, sharp without being sour and musky. I'm not getting any pepper or sandalwood, but I think I detect the influence of beeswax smoothing things out. Saltpeter dies down a little, and this smells like a piece of furniture to me. No, seriously. A polished wooden chair with leather upholstry and brass studs, that was owned by a smoker years back.

 

It takes a long while for me to get anything "sweet" from it, but the beeswax does pick up a little when it dries and moves from "furniture polish" a bit towards "honey", and now I smell wisps of sandalwood on top of the oak. It settles in a nice balance, not too sweet, not too sharp- this is what I wanted the steamworks line to smell like. I like it, but I'm not sure I like it as a wearable perfume. I'll have to sit on this decant for a while and see how I feel about it.

[MamaMoth]

This goes on all fiercely dry leather like whoa, sweetened ever-so-slightly by beeswax. But the sweetness of the beeswax disappears almost instantly after skin contact, and the leather backs off a good bit, getting more and more charred and dessicated. There's a little bit of nutmegs dry pleasant spiciness up front, but there's this huge brooding almost bitterness behind it which I am designating as "probably saltpeter." I think there is a little tiny bit of sweetness there, keeping it from being unpleasantly charry, but this is *not* a sweet blend in anyway whatsoever.

 

Judging by the notes, I thought this would be a win for me... but I'm not loving it. It's dry and aggressive and makes me feel a teensy bit ill. Off to scrub now.

[Geminirubyshoes]

I was surprised how much I ended up liking Hand of Glory! who knew saltpeter could smell so scrumptious....ok really all joking aside....

I get no leather at all. It's sweet and spicy beeswax that stays on for hours and hours. I think the nutmeg and sandalwood mixed together give it a semi-mustiness as well.

It's a beautiful scent.