Third Charm

[AnyseLawsBray]

There’s magic afoot: fiery red musk, luminous elemi, East Indian patchouli, champaca flower, cedar incense, ho wood, and hemlock accord sweetened with a peculiar sweet honey.

In vial: Musky, incensed, dirty.

Wet: The woods are much more prominent than expected. Old, splintery woods. Champaca is very present as well.

Dry: Honey and patchouli, dry and dusty. A hint of soap creeps in.

Verdict: It's nice, but I don't love it. I find Witch Dance's incense & candied leaves to be much more up my alley.

[thekittenkat]

In the decant: Musky woods spiced with patch and sweetened with honey.

 

Wet: A dark brown oil. Woods, musk, patch, not so much honey.

 

The dry-down: Lovely cedar incense shows up along with the other woods. And also the wonderful champaca flower appears, to be sweetened by the honey. I'm usually not too wild about red musk, as my dry skin can amp it, but here it seems to be tamed or at least kept in check by all the other notes. It's a perfect autumnal scent, and I can see why this is such a big hit. Bottle-worthy.

[FormerViking]

Thank god the honey behaves itself for me . Because the rest of this is quite nice . First of all , I love red musk . And that is prevalent , especially at first application . I'll be frank , I probably would have enjoyed this more without honey . It's one of those things my skin amps . And I love all the other notes . So I know this would have been love without the honey . As it stands , it's more like a lot rather than love . Although I think it would be pretty fantastic on the right woman . It;s pretty damned sexy for sure .

[foxroses]

I am really confused about this. I put a tiny bit on to test last night. First it smelled too much like incense, then cat pee? Now (next morning) I can barely smell where I applied it.

 

However, I keep getting the most amazing whiff of something when I am typing, and this is the only thing I applied??

[AmyO'Shields]

I've been holding off on reviewing this for a few reasons...mainly I was waiting for (and wishing for) the honey to tone down a few notches.

 

Last night I did a last test before deciding whether or not to sell my backup bottle...and I'm glad I did!

 

I have had my bottles for about a month (?) and the honey was overwhelming and ick on my skin (as honey usually is) but last night it only lent a subtle sweetness to the glorious RED MUSK/PATCHOULI fest that was happening on my wrist. Oh my ... yup...this smells like Lust, Sin and Snake Oil kicked the ylang ylang and cinnamon out of the party and got it on. I cannot rave enough...this just took over my #3 spot. Awesomesauce.

[starfish327]

reading the note list i was guessing that this would fall somewhere between the coiled serpent and smut on my skin.

 

in the imp: a bright, sweet red musk. getting a lot of floral out of this one, but not of the i'm a pretty, pretty flower variety.

 

wet: yep. first blast is what i wanted smut to smell like. it's the berry sweet style red musk, but it's pretty dirty. it's not skin style dirty though, just a lot rougher and darker than what smut does on my skin. the head shoppy incense that the patch, champaca, and woods does on my skin is lurking in the background.

 

dry: honestly not a lot of throw. and there's nothing in here that i would call fiery with my skin chemistry. it is a nice blend, even if it does lurk on the backside of powdery-it's almost going amber on me so i'm guessing that this is a white style honey. honestly it even shifts towards spanked res in feel every so often. this one really doesn't want to settle with my chem right now. i'd actually like the incense to come back more, because right now it's still a dirtier style smut, but still not as dirty as what i would like it to be. i think i need to just accept that red musk is never going to be 'sexy' and will always be 'preppy' on my skin.

[parrot_suspect]

Quick review: Snake Oil without the vanilla.

 

Longer review: Upon application, the honey is a dominant note for me, overpowering the others. As it dries down, the red musk, patchouli and cedar make themselves known. Within an hour or so, what this smells like is a red musky, woodsy, incensey sort of scent, tempered with just a dribble of sweetness from the honey. It's a soft, comfortable way to wear red musk, especially if you like your red musk mixed with woods and incense.

 

This is definitely an oil in the Womb Furie/Infernal Lover family. However, it seems a bit "drier" and not as juicy and powerful as Infernal Lover. It reminds me quite a bit of Hygeia, actually, and it could be Senelion's little sister. I don't think it smells anything Scherezade -- although both Third Charm and Scherezade feature red musk, Third Charm completely lacks Scherezade's over-the-top sexiness and soapiness. It's not as "hippie-ish" or headshoppy as Lust and Vixen, because the patchouli is not the dominant note, although I can certainly see someone who likes Lust or Vixen liking Third Charm.

 

If you've run out of Infernal Lover or Senelion, Third Charm is a great substitute.

[catalyst]

Whoa. In the imp, honey punches you in the face, but not in a bad way.

 

Wearing it, it's very unisex, the other notes blending really well and not conflicting with each other. There's a sweetness, but it's not all floral, most of it is the honey, and the resins and woods make this not a girly sweetness at all. It's very sexy, along the lines of Satyr, but with a thick honey poured over it.

 

Okay, wait, that's giving me ideas for later. *cough*

 

Keeping this, and might even look for a bottle at some point. What I don't like about Snake Oil is the vanilla, and Third Charm mercifully has no vanilla. I think body chemistry is helping here too.

 

Someone across the room noticed this as soon as she walked in the door, so I think it has a strong throw. It's very potent stuff, a little goes a long way.

Edited April 9, 2013 by catalyst

[bellumed]

Despite the fact that I currently list Third Charm as one of my top ten and have it in my signature, I've never actually posted a review. Let’s fix that!

 

I had special feelings about Third Charm. I didn't know much about any of the notes, especially the more obscure ones, and it is very unlike my typical “instant yes” oils (super-foodie dessert blends). But I was absolutely sure it was going to be a winner.

 

I don’t normally mention color, but Third Charm is probably the darkest oil I have: it looks almost purple until I hold it up to the light, when it shows up as a dark red-brown.

 

Ohhhhhh nice. Deep and earthy incense, but also noticeably spicy-sweet. So tasty! On my skin, something does occasionally threaten to go to a powdery or too-woody place. But no, for the most part it plays fair and smells damn good.

 

I have to agree with some of the comparisons above: it certainly does remind me of Snake Oil, and to a lesser degree, the best parts of Dragon’s Heart. Be careful with this one, it throws like a mofo! The amount I normally apply is far too strong for Third Charm.

[JazzieCazzie]

Working my way through my BPAL collection alphabetically, revisiting and reviewing and re-reviewing where necessary every scent I own, sorting out a comprehensive swap list and adjusting a wish list ... also getting a much better feel, by doing this all at once, of the notes that seem to be winner-winner-winners and which ones are ... well, not.

 

Third Charm was one of the very few bottles I own that I got to sniff before buying ... after my first trip to Dark Delicacies in January 2012, where I spent hours sniffing every bottle and coming away with three, this time (I go out to WeHo every January to visit my daughter) I came armed with a list of scents I wanted to try that had been released in the previous year and Third Charm was on it.

 

The plan had been to buy three bottles but I got sidetracked by the amazing BPTP candles and had to have Shub and Dragon's Blood, leaving me with enough for ONE bottle ... and as soon as I sniffed Third Charm, the decision was shockingly easy.

 

This review comes from a decant imp from the bottle purchased in January 2013. Obviously, not really aged yet.

 

IN THE IMP: COLA!!!!!!! (I love the cola scent). INCENSE!!!!!!!!

 

Applied pretty liberally to both wrists and both crooks of arms since I was about to go out for the evening, something I rarely do these days.

 

WET: Incense and cola, truly one of my favorite combos. Some woodsy notes, some very deep floral notes way at the bottom, but overall incense and cola.

 

DRYDOWN: Coca cola and incense. That is honestly ALL I get and it's all I want. It lasts a good long time. I sniff my arms frequently during dinner. And I may actually say, randomly, a few times "DAMN I SMELL SO GOOD."

 

OVERALL: This. Is. Just. So. Damned. GOOOOOOOOOOOOD. It is absolutely a top 5 for me. I definitely get, with my own body chemistry, the Scherezade comps (which, not coincidentally, is ALSO a top 5 scent for me). And, just as luckily, I DON'T get Snake Oil from it at all (I respect and admire Snake Oil but it doesn't work that well on me). I think if I were in a place where I needed to pick ONE signature scent from the BPAL domain, this would be very much in contention. It's one of those "good any time, anywhere" scents on me.

 

On a scale of 1-5, obviously a 5.

[mymymai]

ITI: It's oddly sweet like cough syrup - I think this might be from the red musk, honey and elemi.

 

Wet: Yea, it's the Honeybucket honey again. I can't smell much else beside it on my skin.

 

Dry: The honey is much less offensive (thank goodness), and now I can pick out the cedar incense, the patchouli, and the champaca. It's so much better dried.

[Poenari]

I'm surprised to find that I never renewed this! Last year I couldn't afford backup bottles, and I just knew that I'd regret only having one bottle of this, and I was right. I knew I liked it fresh, but after a year, Third Charm has aged into an even more beautiful honeyed red musk blend. Interestingly enough, it reminds me a lot of Lust, even though there a many different notes between them, but I haven't worn Lust in a while, so I'm going to check my bottle and do a matchup with Third Charm. Wouldn't it be great if they ended up being close enough that I don't continue to feel bad about only having one bottle of Third Charm? Naw..... I should have gotten backups. It's just that good.

[kashmira]

Oh what a year does to this scent! Last year when I first bought it, it had a nice musky, incense smell to it, but it wasn't amazing. The notes didn't harmonise completely together and the wood aspect seemed to be especially prominent. Now, a year later, it has aged beautifully. It now has a much more 'rounded' smell to it and all of the notes work in beautiful harmony. Best of all, the patchouli behaves in this one, keeping it from becoming pencil shaving on my skin.

 

As a fan of all things red musk, I love this one.

 

I'm so glad I found a backup bottle because I see myself wearing this one a lot.

[aquazoo]

Honey and herbs. I get that wood scent coming through. Mostly honey, though

[Scarlettmortem]

I like it. Yes, has a strong resemblance to Snake Oil which is one of my favorites but as it dries down you can detect a soft earthier movement in this oil keeping the sweet tones still in existence.

[freyasfae]

My BPAL buddy and I made a Weenie order together to get free shipping, and when I first sniffed this bottle, I thought of this is a Sammee scent! She likes these woodys, spicy scents and they smell sooo good on her - they seem to soften on her, while on me they tend to go bitter. Which is happening with this one. It does soften as it dries down and it's incredibly well-blended with this sort of hover of honey, but it's hard for me to get past the initial bitterness.

[stellamaris]

All Third Charm is good Third Charm. For me this is one of the all time best BPALs, right up there with Sentimental Journey for red musk sexiness. Rich and lovely, intense.

I love Snake Oil, don't get me wrong, but for me Third Charm is a bit more rich and deep, more like Scheherazade in it's composition if that makes any sense, whereas Snake Oil is a bit more forthright. Also Third Charm is less vanilla sweet on me, more fruity red musk.

I am a huge fan of Beth's honey notes, but I don't smell it here, in either version but that might just be me.

Not a good PTA meeting scent, unless it's the Harper Valley PTA, but I digress.

Edited November 4, 2016 by stellamaris

[lookingglass]

How did I not review this last time around?! It's my partner's favorite Ween, next to Samhainophobia. It smells like: RED MUSK INCENSE, one of my favorite fragrance genres. The woods blend deliciously, the touch of honey adding just a bit stickiness to the juicy red musk. The champaca and hemlock add an herbaciousness lift on the top, dried and ground with a sweet grassiness. It reminds me of a more masculine Scherezade...but less spicy, more woody and sweet... not as firey and (wonderfully) "stinky" as my beloved Crimson. Third Charm, I'd say, smells the creamiest of the 3 on the dry down. It glows and radiates like impassioned skin in a heavily incensed room. Love, love, love it.

[Coldfire]

2016 Third Charm

 

Decant: dark and heady and incense-y. Magick is afoot under my nose
Wet on me: Still dark and lovely. Hard to define a single note. It's all magick to me
Drying Down: this is a deep dark mystical scent that is just blooming under my nose. it keeps compelling me to put my wrist up to my nose and inhale deeply.
Dry: I am charmed alright. Under the spell of Third Charm. THIS is bottle worthy!

[LizziesLuck]

2016 - I have had my eye on this for a long time, and was glad it came back this year so I could try it!

 

Wet: Mmm. Red musk, incense, honey. It's amazing. The wood notes in it are fantastic. (I am just learning to love some woods, yay me!) This is rich and heady and sexy without being overbearing. So far, I adore it.

 

Dry: Yep, need a bottle of this. Spicy, sweet, sexy red musk and incense. This incense note is to die for. Can't wait to get my hands on more of this!

[sprout]

Take the red musk from Snake Oil add Tricksy and incense, and we have third charm. I can definitely appreciate the popularity of this Weenie.

 

Drying, the wood base is more prominent, and sets this apart from a simple layer of Snake Oil and Tricksy. It keeps getting better. Every time I think I have enough Red musk perfumes, Beth creates a masterpiece like 3rd Charm. So, to recap, we have Snake Oil Red musk plus smooth as that proverbial baby butt patchouli, sweet honey, wood support, and champaca incense.

 

I was really hoping this was a duplicate of something else that I already own so that I would be content with my half bottle but I see the error in my thinking and will add a full bottle to my last 2016 Weenies order.

 

Worth. The. Hype.

Edited December 24, 2016 by sprout

[lizabelle]

When I made my last purchase I waffled between Third Charm and Witch Dance for about four solid days. Both looked great, but I couldn't justify both bottles, so I went with this one because it seemed more like a "sure thing" kind of scent. I was so, so right. Deep, dark, spicy woods underneath soft herbed honey. For once the cedar doesn't take over, balanced perfectly with the patchouli (and the ho wood, I assume, but I've never seen/smelled that note before so I'm not sure). The honey here is the boozy, animalic honey of Blood Kiss and it works beautifully with the darkness of the woods and herbs. This is right in my scent comfort zone and I can tell I'm going to wear it lots.

[Moth Dust]

Third Charm is so beautiful, so magical, so perfect for me in every way, that I could cry. Absolutely in my top 5.

 

We didn't get along right away, though. Straight out of the mailbox, it was all peculiar honey - kind of that sickly sweet, caught-in-the-back-of-your-throat sweetness that put me off quite a bit. I assumed that this would be one that would become much better when it settled/aged, but despite my knowing better, I tested it out the day after it arrived in my mailbox. After all, this was the '16 Weenie I was most looking forward to! Both freshly applied and dry, it remained a strong, sharp, sickly-sweet honey scent on my skin - with no trace of wood, incense, patchouli or musk, to my dismay.

 

I kept revisiting it periodically with a curious and hopeful sniff in the bottle, but it was still that sickly sweet honey that just didn't agree with me. Defeated, I let it sit for about two months undisturbed. After letting it rest for those two months, I was almost ready to put it in the swap/sell pile, but with one final bit of hope, I decided to wear it again, for one final test. I am so glad I did, because a bit of aging was all this needed for it to fully become what I was hoping for all along; Honey is still the predominant note on me, but the sickly sweet honey is gone, now evolved into a beautiful, smooth, perfectly sweet but not-too-sweet honey, melding beautifully with heavy (but not overwhelming) incense notes, grounded and softened with a bit of earthy woods, a faint muskiness swirling around it perfectly. This has now become the scent of my dreams, and one I will definitely be wanting a backup bottle of.

Edited February 5, 2017 by Moth Dust

[gloame]

I really wanted to love this one, but it kept going sour on my skin. I was also hoping for more champaca, but it didn't show up for me. Probably just my chemistry -- I suspect this will smell great on others.

[unxolve]

Starts out alluring, spicy, there's a warm citrus orange tang coloring the scent. Delicious and bewitching! That lasts about...all of five minutes before it settles in my skin and turns straight to a strong baby powder, and stays that way forever. =_=