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The Mandrake Charm

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THE MANDRAKE CHARM

The Mandrake Charm, Henry Fuseli.

Mandrake root, olibanum, myrrh, hyssop, basil linalool, and lemongrass.

 

Wow, I'm the first reviewer! That's never happened before!

 

Info I found on the internet about Basil Linalool: A naturally occurring terpene alcohol chemical found in many flowers and spice plants with many commercial applications, the majority of which are based on its pleasant scent (floral, with a touch of spiciness.) The type of linalool that comes from basil is woody and lavender-like.

 

I chose this blend to try because I was particularly intrigued by the mandrake root. I have no idea what that might smell like.

 

In the imp: A clear, lemon-yellow oil with a greenish tinge. When I sniff the imp, I get wood. When I sniff the wand, it's a strong herby basil with wood coming in at a close second.

 

On me, wet: I can smell the basil and wood from a couple of feet away, before I even bring my wrist my to my nose to sniff it. Up close, it is similar but with a deeper undertone of earth and roots.

 

On me, just dried: Most of basil floats away within a few moments, and the overall scent softens considerably as it dries. The wood note is now the strongest, and it has a strange hint of tar to it. I'm guessing that's the camphoraceous aspect of the hyssop.

 

After 10 minutes: First a subtle grassy note appeared that could be either the lemongrass (without the lemon) or more of the hyssop. It only lasted a couple of minutes, and as it disappeared, the scent sweetened up a little. Until now it has not been sweet at all. Wood is still the strongest impression, with plenty of herbs (not including basil anymore.) A tiny bit of myrrh is starting to peek out.

 

After 30 minutes: It has sweetened some more, although it still isn't a really sweet scent. Now there's a faint whiff of lemon, more like lemon drop candy than the fresh fruit; and much softer than either. Wood, herbs, and a little myrrh are still the main notes. This is a very unusual scent.

 

After 1 hour: It sure has gone through a lot of changes! Now all of the unique notes have evaporated. For a while there is still a faint lingering hint of wood, but eventually that goes too, leaving a typical, slightly powdery, (and lovely as always) BPAL final-drydown scent of frankincense (the olibanum) and sweet myrrh.

 

There were no further changes, and the longevity of the blend on my skin was about average for a BPAL scent.

 

Verdict: A very unusual, unisex, blend. I'm pretty neutral about the fragrance, neither disliking it nor liking it a lot. But I do like that it is so interesting and unique. I'll keep the imp and wear it occasionally as the perfect antidote for whenever I get bored with my usual, favorite, scents.

 

My rating: 3 stars

 

ETA: My imp is a decant from schackjj, the Goddess of Decanters (to borrow a quote from another participant in our decant circle.)

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Dry dry dry! With the barest hints of lemon. A very dry bitter lemon sitting in dry grass.:eek: Evocative but not for me. :D

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The Mandrake Charm - This scent is bitter and rooty and earthy -- it's all mandrake and nothing else. It smells like some sort of weird-smelling linament. To my nose, it's just awful, but I don't tend to like mandrake or earthy scents.

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I'm not a fan of herbal scents and have trouble wearing lemongrass, so it's no surprise that I don't really like this scent. Dark Alice's review sums this up pretty nicely for me. The lemongrass is sour and the root/basil/herbal tones are like dry herbs and dry grass. It has a bit of a bitter/medicinal quality to it at first, though it's very light and fades quickly on me, so it's not something that I had to scrub off. It's not something that I'd wear again.

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Dark, rooty. I get an almost bitter/motor oil to this blend, which I wonder if it isn't the mandrake + myrrh working on this. There's a slight floral tinge to it, which I expect comes from the linalool.

 

Dark, spicy, oily.

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I'm finding a lot of these Pickman scents very woody and resinous. This one is no exception, very strong and pungent woodniness in the imp, but does settle down a bit dry. A 'rubber' scent comes out to, so it smells like wood and rubber. I'm glad I didn't wear this before going out, as this really isn't working, though I have to say, that rubber note I have not smelled before in any bpal, it really is awful on me.

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This is sweeter than I was expecting it to be! There is a blast of something sharp and herby when I first put it on. But it settles into something almost fruity, something that reminded me of citrus candy. Yeah, I don't know either. :D Sweet herbs on top of something a little sour.

 

Several hours later, it's mostly myrrh with some herbs.

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This is all lemon grass and basil linalool on me. Its like lemon scented air freshener or a lemongrass laundry detergent. Its very sweet smelling. A clean scent but sugary.

 

I can only barely smell the myrrh, but sometimes myrrh is a problem for me- it makes me ill and sneezy. Which is what its doing here.

 

Mandrake from the Garden is one of my very favorite BPALs. I was hoping for more mandrake, a lot more mandrake and hyssop. But nope. I'm only getting the top notes here, and they are going soapy. Going to wash this off now.

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In the decant: Basil, myrrh and olibanum give a nice sweet fresh scent.

 

Wet: Much as when sniffed.

 

The dry-down: Only a hint of the lemongrass came through, thank goodness, as it usually takes over any scent that it's in. Does not seem to morph, which makes it nice. :) Lovely scent for spring and summer.

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Sniffed: A rooty, earthy resinous-herbal scent. I'm reminded somewhat of Nefertiti.

 

On skin: When wet, The Mandrake Charm is initially dry and somewhat astringent. This edge softens with drydown, and the scent becomes distinctly herbal with an earthy flavour (as opposed to a leafy kind of herbal). I'm not familiar with the mandrake scent, but this does smell like a root! I also smell olibanum, hyssop, basil and a touch of lemongrass, all blending well to make a single, distinct scent. The herbal edge continues to become gentler over time; overall, this blend smells austere, cool, with a calm and quiet presence. It has a distinctly feminine flair, despite being strongly rooty and earthy. It's similar to Tzadikim Nistarim and Nefertiti; The Mandrake Charm could be a less sweet, cooler version of Nefertiti. Colour impression is brass, or a very cool golden colour.

 

Verdict: Quite a distinctive scent, pleasant to smell, but is not quite my type of perfume to wear.

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ITB: This is green and pleasantly earthy from the mandrake and basil linalool. There is also a disquieting floral after the initial scent that is discernible, which must be the hyssop.

 

Wet: Earthy and spicy in it's herbiness. The scent seems to amp the mandrake the most on my skin. Other notes are harder to pick out, but I think I get a little basil linalool, lemongrass, and a faint impression of olibanum, but it's mostly a mandrake show.

 

Dry: The mandrake is still dominant, but it settles down some with olibanum and a little lemongrass. I wish the myrrh was more prominent, as it would add a wonderfully resinous tone to this green and eathy scent.

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I had to have this scent given my name, which is Latin for mandrake.

 

Wet: this is a strong green astringent scent. There's a faint trace of basil, but not really strong.

 

Dry: as it dries down it gets more woody. For someone who likes rooty, earth scents, this one is really nice! It kinda smells like a mandrake root. Herby, rooty. Wonderful!

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