Rakshasa

[waxing moon]

This haunting, exotic scent is named in honor of the shapeshifting demons from Hindu mythology. Sandalwood with rose and patchouli.

A very soft and understated scent, it smells like tiny pink tea roses, the kind that you have to stop, bend all the way to the flower, and bury your face in the bloom to catch the sweet scent. After a few hours of wear, the sandalwood note becomes more apparent, but very, very gently. Edited November 2, 2005 by Shollin

[Reinaluna]

This is one of the first scents that I ordered from BP and one of my favorits! When im wearing it I think of a spiced indian rose

Edited June 19, 2004 by Reinaluna

[ViolentKitten]

When I first put this on, it’s divine! The rose and patchouli seem most prominent with the sandalwood softly in the background. But it morphs rapidly on me into an antique wood cupboard filled with lingerie of the same age as the cupboard. By the time the dry down comes it’s nice but too dusty on me. Damn my chemistry (!) but sometimes I do start out thinking a scent doesn’t suit me and later, I fall in love - I so did want to like this one, so I’m hoping so! Fortunately though, in the meantime, there are many other BPAL's I adore!

Edited March 19, 2004 by ViolentKitten

[eleventhousand]

This one is beautiful. Sweeter than you would think and a tiny bit spicy. Unfortunately it felt irritating on my skin...would make a very sensual room scent.

[paperdoll]

Initial Sniff: Oh my God this is gorgeous! The rose is exquisitely sweet, and the sandalwood and patchouli add exotic spice. I know I will love this!

 

Wearing: Sadly, my body chemistry does not agree with this scent. While wet it is gorgeous, but this dries very quickly into an extremely dry, dusty smell.

 

Final Impressions: Even though this makes me smell like an old hippie's dusty attic, I have extremely high hopes for it as a room scent!

[Fulltiltredhead]

I could do a whole bottle of this one. It dries down to a whisper of pink tea roses over a beautiful woodsy base, and comes off warm, womanly and elegant. I would wear it to work. It is beautifully composed.

[Joey]

All that I can smell in this one is rose. A nice soft rose though not the synthetic kind. I like it but I probably won't buy a big one of this because I am just not a floral person.

[darkling]

When wet, Rakshasa smelled extremely spicy and exotic. It is the only scent I have tried that "pounced" on me.

 

Usually, I do not like the smell of patchouli but it blended wonderfully with the jasmine and rose that left each note indistinguishable.

 

On the negative side, the drops applied to my neck irritated my skin and made it very red. Fortunately, it faded throughout the day. After 13 hours of wear, it smells very faintly like patchouli and the other notes have disappeared

[roisnoir]

In the bottle: It smells like tea.

On: Oh yum! Three notes that I enjoy, combined beautifully. It smells like a combination of the incenses I usually burn.

Dry: Where'd it go? Very subtle. I literally have to be looking for it with my nose to smell it. It's lovely, though I'd like it more if it were stronger.

[jj_j]

This order has surprised me greatly, because I'm down to scents that have never been on my "to try" lists, but which I should have tested long ago. Rakshasa is one of those.

 

I'm normally very wary of sandalwood. I love it, but it seems to amplify itself when hitting my skin, so it can get out of control very quickly (Velvet is a good example). In Rakshasa, though, the sandalwood and patchouli mean an exotic, almost orange-spice note to go with the rich, sweet rose bloom that's the core of this scent.

 

Never overwhelming, woody, or floral, and going on my to-order list.

[skg]

I got this as a freebie with my last order.

 

I'm not a big fan of rose scents at all but this is is okay.

 

The initial tea rose scent wasn't cloying or overpowering at all (like most rose scents are for me).

 

After about and hour the snadalwood started to come out more with a slight hint of the patchouli in the finish.

 

Overall a nice scent.

 

I think i will give this to a firend of mine that is really into rose scents to see if she likes it.

[Astarte]

An incredibly kind swapper sent this to me as an extra, and I've never been so glad. This is such a delicate and sweet scent, its like a rose which has been locked up in an attic in a glass case for centuries. The rose is most prevalent note with the sandalwood and patchouli being accompliments.

 

Definitely recommended.

[any_old_actress]

FIRST SNIFF: spiced tea & sweet roses

 

WEARING IT: this is such an interesting and unique scent when wet. i didn't give it a fair shot at first so thought i'd give it another go. patchouli comes through more once it dries and then it turns into ivory soap and rose on me

 

FINAL VERDICT: i'm still intriqued, but don't think i can wear this - i keep smelling that damn bar of ivory soap!

[twistygirl]

Oh, this is just yummy. The rose is present but very non-obtrusive... and the sandalwood and patchouli are just blended in perfect amounts. This is softly spicy fragrance that's very feminine, defintely more spicy than floral, at least on my skin, but as I said, it's a very SOFT, gentle spicy, and it is getting added to my list of favorites. Definitely recommended.

[Ina Garten Davita]

First Impression: I love sandalwood. So rich and golden.

 

Second Impression: Smells very much like a girly version of Cathedral. A gothic church after mass that is filled with roses for a wedding later that day.

 

Final Analysis: Resinous scents work very well with my skin and this is no exception. The roses keep this one from being too serious. Lasts much longer than Cathedral much to my joy!

[Dolly Dimple]

I love this. Roses usually turn too 'old lady' on me, but here, the sandalwood balances the rose perfectly. It smells like a rose garden on a hot, hot day.

 

I know what other people mean by the 'dusty' smell, which is starting to emerge after six or seven hours (yes, this one lasts on me!) but unlike Cathedral, which just smelled of pencil shavings on me, this is a warm, sweet dustiness - almost - chocolatey?

 

Definitely getting a 5ml of this.

 

Edit: I realised today that this reminds me very much of GothRosary's Dervish fragrance. Dervish is a little sweeter, but the sandalwood note makes it smell like Rakshasa when I get a whiff of it on my hair during the day. A very happy match!

Edited February 25, 2005 by Dolly Dimple

[ghoulie]

Unfortunately, my body chemistry does not work with this scent at all. It smelled great in the bottle, but on me it turns to dust. Literally. I smell like a dusty old attic, and not in a good way. It reminds me of the scent of my (late) great aunt Ethel's ancient, crumbling house. While that's not a bad memory, I don't really want to smell like an old house.

[TheDarkMother]

In the bottle, Rakshasa reminds me of peach iced tea. In fact, that scent is so prevalent that I think I might go and brew some peach iced tea after I get done with writing this. Mmm...it smells good, but the thought of smelling like iced tea is something that I've never thought that I would do before. If I smell that all day will I be drinking tea all day? Its not a bad thought, actually.

 

On me, it smells more of roses, but softer than any of the other rose scents that I have tried. The closest that I could come to describe it is that it is softer than Moon Rose, but less etheral. And there is a sugary sweetness to them as well, almost like pink rosebuds dipped in sugar and placed on a cake.

 

This recalls having teaparties with my daughter all dressed up in little white wicker chairs with her tiny porcelain set with the little roses on them. This is a very young and naive scent, a young lady's scent.

 

I'm beginning to be able to detect the patchouli a little more now as it dries. I guess that was the suagry sweet smell that I detected before. The scent overall is very nice, not overpowering or too spicy either. As a nice feminine scent, this is very good, not as good as Moon Rose, but still one that I will continue to wear.

 

I find it amazing that before BPAL, rose made me really ill. It was always too overpowering and I guess I was allergic to it. So far I've found three that I really like. My left wrist seems to burn just slightly with this one though, so I had better not use it on a daily basis.

[lorajc]

I'm with Twisty on this one............it's absolutely freakin' gorgeous. I love sandalwood and patchouli, but I'm not real big on rose, so I was hesitant about this one. Thanks to Beth and Co., I rec'd a free sample of this with my last order and I just placed an order for a 5 ml of this one. On me, wet it smells a bit fruity and and rosy (no fruit in it though) and as it dries the sandalwood and patchouli blend in beautifully. No one note stands out more on me...........I just get a soft gorgeous rosy wood aura. Love this one. One of my new favs and hey...I'm not even a big fan of rose. Leave it to Beth to turn me onto some rose blends. I hear rose is good for self love which I definitely need to work on..........so hopefully this will help my self esteem today also.

 

ETA: After wearing this all day, I must say this is definitely one of my new favs. I can't say enough good about it. It only got more and more beautiful as the day went on, but did require a touch up, as it is fairly light and a nice scent with depth for warm weather. This is divine.

Edited August 17, 2004 by lorajc

[Morrighana]

In the bottle and wet on my skin: Some of Beth's blends smell so good, I just want to drink them. This is one of them. The rose isn't like Beth's other roses...it is jucier, and at the same time it is kept from leaping out and assaulting my nose the way some roses do by Rakshasa's other components. Those who were reminded of absolutely delectable teas by this blend were right on the money; it smells rich, full-bodied, and just sweet enough to satisfy.

 

Dry and overall: Sadly, on my skin, the sandalwood takes over almost very quickly. Now, it is probably the nicest sandalwood I've ever sniffed---with hints of rose around the edges and depth-infusing patchouli supporting it from beneath---but I'm not really a fan of sandalwood. It is not a dry scent, per se...it is airy, and light, and still wet enough to be wearable, it's just not for me. If one liked sandalwood, or if one's chemistry allowed the initial notes to stay, this would be a very beautiful blend.

[pekeana]

In the vial: Whoa, that's sweet -- it's almost as sweet as Dragon's Milk and O. I can distinguish the sandalwood and patchouli, but I cannot figure out what's so candy-sweet. It doesn't smell like rose at all -- strangely enough, I usually get a headache with rose, but that's not the case as of yet.

 

On me: The sticky-sweetness stays for about a minute, then the sandalwood asserts itself with force. I can feel the patchouli in the back of my throat [i know, weird place], but it's not entering into the gag-worthy stage yet. Then all of a sudden, here comes the rose -- but it's not heavy and strong as all of the other rose blends I've tried. My arm is itching a little where I applied it, but I'm going to tough it out if it doesn't outright burn, because this is incredibly gorgeous.

 

The sandalwood keeps this all reigned in and keeps the rose and patchouli from overwhelming me and making me want to cry.

 

I'll have to try this a few more times, but this could be a keeper for when I want to feel super-exotic and sexy beyond belief.

[Donnababe]

Rakshasa

 

On first sniff this is a very bright rose with just a hint of spice. On the skin it's a bit like Othello with a slightly earthier edge.

 

During the drydown the rose is taking over......

 

I normally apply my oils across the neck and shoulder blades and along my wrists and arms. After a few minutes I notice that a small area of my neck is red. My arms are too, but strangely my wrists are fine. It doesn't feel sore but it looks a bit unsightly. I have tried dozens and dozens of BPAL and this is the first time I have had a reaction like this. Perhaps it's the sandalwood, I know I'm fine with rose.

 

Despite the reaction I would have persevered with this if it wasn't for the fact that it turned out to be a bit too rosy. It reminds me a lot of Black Rose in this respect. I loved Black Rose initially but had to swap it because the rose was too overpowering.

[rhubarbbear]

I got this as a freebie with my first order, and it smelled lemony in the bottle to me. I read the site description and the reviews and I must have a crazy nose AND wack body chemistry with this one, because I still smell lemons, and also soap, both in the bottle and on my skin. Irish Springs soap. Or Zest.

 

Very sad, as the description sounds so yummy! Soap and lemons just aren't working for me right now, though...

[Northernminx]

I didn't get much rose in this, though it is apparant in the bottle. Predominantly, the patchouli was the top scent in this, strong and biting. I don't really like patchouli much so that was a bit of a dissapointment. The sandalwood came in later, but the rose never really detectably showed up to me. Nice, a bit strong for my tastes, so off to the swaps.

[sarahj]

Rakshasa

 

in vial: Patchouli...very strong patchouli with rose in the background

 

wet: same as above except now I think I catch a whiff of grapefruit or another sharp citrus every now and then

 

dry: the patchouli and rose have settled into a lovely combination.

 

4.5 hours later: As I'm sitting at my desk I can still smell the patchouli and rose. The funny thing is that when I press my wrist to my nose all I can smell is sandalwood (which I didn't smell before).

 

verdict: It took me about 4 hours for me to decide that I like this, and I may be ordering a big bottle in the future.