Strength

[aidenraine]

Wet on my arm this smells of nice oolong tea with lemon. There is also a hint of floral in here, but not so much as it bothers me. I hate florals, so it doesn't take much.

 

 

It's a bit like bottled iced tea when it dries. It's slightly sweet, a bit artificially-lemon, and a tiny bit tempered by something

 

As some time passes it becomes a bit more floral, and fades quickly. I can barely smell anything and it hasn't been a half an hour yet.

 

Poof, and then it's gone!

[alicia_stardust]

Mmm. At first it seemed a bit powdery but after it dried it was pure golden amber, warmth, with a touch of light florals. It made me think of the color orange and gold, which makes sense to me re: strength, personal power (2nd and 3rd chakras are orange and yellow).

 

I'd give this 3.5 out of 5 stars.

[cupide430]

Strength

 

Wet and green. Sorta smelled like some sort of generic green soap at first-- like Zest or something. Had a lime-y tinge at first and then went into a very wet green stage, sorta reminiscent of cut flower stems with a depth to it like the initial stages of Roadhouse (that boozy sort of green scent). After a while a touch of fruityness joins the green.

[tarotgirl99]

I thought this would either be fiery passion or gently cool--lion or maiden, if you get my drift.

 

But it's neither. It's the grassy space between the two of them--the outdoors, which can be peaceful or tumultuous. It's Beltane without the flowers. And it has me practically inhaling my arm whole, because it's such a perfectly drawn line between instinct and control.

[cuervosueno]

From the tarot circular swap:

 

I put a bit of this on and thought, what is that? SOOO familiar! Its a floral, but which one? It smells very green and fresh and lovely.

 

It was driving me crazy, then I saw the reviews and one word stands out: dandelion! Of course, how fun and appropriate would that be?

 

To be sure I was smelling that, I sniffed one of my imps of Roadhouse, which on me is sheer blissful child-like happiness of dandelion, and yep, that's it! It is missing the slight bitterness that hops adds to Roadhouse, but I'm sure this is dandelion. Maybe with a bit of amber to bind it and sweeten it?

 

Its so lovely, and there is something perfect about it being dandelion--not just the pun with the lion, but think of the unassuming toughness of dandelions.

Edited February 6, 2006 by cuervosueno

[bacca]

I ordered a bottle just knowing I wanted a perfume referred to the Strength card... I consider BPAL oils as luxury dresses, something to cover and discover myself in public... so I made the bet, and put it on...

 

At first, there was orange, and something earthly like chocolate and/or coffee... edibly, definitely warm

Then amber, with something sharp in the bottom

Oh... and there it goes: soft, smooth, warm... golden brown

Light but present indeed

It made me walk smiling, slowly, with a slight sensation of power along my spine

(ewww, I'm insane! perfumes act on me like psichotropes!)

[dreadeddragon]

In the bottle: Green leafy goodness. Like roses, but the whole plant, not jsut the flower.

 

First on: I still get the greenness in general, but I agree it's definitely a dandelion scent. It's almost like fresh cut grass.

 

Drydown: I still get the green feel, but I can definitely feel the amber as well, and it's a resinous amber, not a powdery one.

 

Overall: This is a quiet strength. Not a scent that would describe strength to me at all, but onw that inspires it when I smell my arm. This would be something to wear if you have a dificult situation to deal with and need some strength to call on.

[damuddymeg]

Warm, sunny, green and citrusy. It puts me in mind of laying in a meadow on a warm spring day--I find it both empowering and soothing. I wanted to snuggle with the arm I applied this on, because the scent was so utterly glorious. This goes on the bottle list for sure.

[storme]

In the imp: light, green aquatic, with lilies and herbs.

 

On me, wet: citrusy aquatic, very light and bright and cleansing.

 

On me, dry: crystalline aquatics - that citrusy grapefruity aquatic ozoney scent that reminds me of Sea of Glass, but with some florals beneath making it just a *little* bit soapy.

 

Verdict: this is more or less the same as Sea of Glass on me, as the lilies have vanished. Nice enough, but I already own Sea of Glass in a 5ml. Off to the swap pile it goes...

[Elrianra]

In the bottle, this has a very powerful and yet familiar floral note... I can't think of the name of it for anything... People mention dandelions in relation to this and, yes... that is it. Dandelions when they're just starting to flower. How odd. Wet, there's a mild fruity note to this as well that I think of as plums both others called cherries... not sure yet. Possibly neither. As this dries, the fruity goes away and ... WHAT THE HECK? This fades to dandelion fluff in a matter of minutes and then disappears. Noooooo!!! The first Tarot I've tried and LIKED and it has a ten minute life span on me? I could throw a tantrum for this one. This is another one I will likely get a scent locket for.

[juniperus]

Sunny and bright herbal with floral. Lovely dandelion. On, it's like Roadhouse without the ack ack notes that ruined that for me. Must keep this away from the kids - both love Roadhouse for the dandelion. Fades to a soft freshness, still very yellow.

[Summerpixy]

Sunny and bright, light and aquatic and yet crystaline too. If you find yourself leaning toward light aquatic scents, you definetly should order a bottle of this.

[edenssixthday]

Strength - The first scent I detect is very green and bitter, and since I just recently tested Dandelion SN for the first time, I realized that's what is in this blend. It's most definitely dandelion. Right beneath the bitter green scent is the softer, sweeter scent of roses. There is also something "bright yellow" in this blend, too, but I can't figure out what it is. The scent is very strong and has amazing throw and lasts for a good 4-5 hours before fading. It's a touch too pungently green for me, so I will have to find a better home for this one.

[nightbird]

for some reason, this reminds me a little bit of bananas when I first put it on. it's lightly fruity and floral - not completely in-your-face but you can tell it's there. once it dries, I get a hint of something golden... amber, maybe? it's a quiet kind of strength, very nice.

Edited August 26, 2006 by Nightbird

[Chrysantza]

A friend of mine, who has a bottle, frimped me an imp to get me through a hard couple of days, bless her heart.

 

On me, Strength is a green citrussy blend, almost like Prescriptive's Calyx. Alas, it fades to a sort of minty vinegar, but my body chemistry Does Not Like green or citrus scents much. Still, it's a nice light cheerful scent and it worked for the purpose intended (giving me inner strength on a tough couple of days).

Edited October 5, 2006 by Chrysantza

[theseagrows]

i can't seem to pick out any notes in this. i get a kind of sweet herbal-floral, with a sharp musk and a slightly underlying pencil-shaving scent that i get from frankincense. it burns my nostrils. this one doesn't seem to work with my skin chemistry at all...i wish i could pick out some of the notes. i'll have to try it again at a later date and see if anything changes.

[supremegoddessofall]

Ylang ylang. Some other florals and a bit of aquatics, too. Not really for me.

[fiddledragon]

Dandelions and maybe a hint of lemon at first. The pun with "dandelion" is cute, but otherwise this isn't saying Strength to me. Maybe it needs to age a bit? I'm not getting any of the warm resins others have identified, just kind of whomp-y sweet florals that fade quite quickly.

[filigree_shadow]

Kind of a gentle green scent, a little bit floral and a little bit sweet. Maybe a small bit of something minty or aquatic. The scent reminds me a lot of summertime -- grasses and fields.

[cranberry]

Bitter, green smelling. Familiar. Yeah, that’s dandelion all right! It’s not the sweeter, grassy dandelion of One to Tie, Two to Win. No, this is tough, defiant, standing firm, impossible to eradicate dandelion.

 

After its been on a few minutes, it becomes floral. A bitter lily if you will. The longer it wears the stronger the lily becomes. It’s not a sweet smell by any means. Inhaling deeply, there’s a bit of spice behind the lily, so perhaps it’s becoming more like a stargazer, without the sweetness. Wow, I’m really liking this now. It’s so fresh and green. Still a bit sharp, but I like it. I couldn’t wear much of this but dabbed on, this is beautiful!

 

ETA: I posted too soon. After about an hour it melds into this wonderful, ambery lily scent. It is gorgeous. It remains that way and it is just fabulous. As it wears it just gets better and better. Ambery richness that reminds me of the Lion but with a touch of floral.

 

I think I need 2 bottles of this one. This is freaking amazing.

Edited June 13, 2007 by cranberry

[euterpe414]

Yep, yep, definitely some dandelions in here I also detect what I think is a bit of dragon's blood resin? But honestly I am not so sure- maybe I am influenced by the bright color of the oil. There is surely a bit of something resinous beneath the greenery, giving it a very golden and warm quality. This blend lasts for a very very long time on my skin, and the dandelion seems to come out more over time. I am so pleased this worked b/c Roadhouse really didn't at all (I smelled cough drops!), and One to Tie goes a touch soapy on me...this is perfect as far as a true smelling dandelion goes on my skin.

I'm really loving this one; it's perfect for summer! I'm glad I managed to snag a bottle before these disappeared.

[Jilara]

Wet, this is very green, with a fresh-washed quality, and a hinting of floral. Iris, maybe?

Dry, it's still extremely clean and green, with still that floral that makes me think of iris and/or lily, but I swear there's a hint of something like white musk. Something slightly minty in the background, but also an amberish note that balances cool with warm. I don't get any dandelion, like others seem to find, nor do I get anything bitter.

 

Seems like something that's very head-clearing, makes you feel awake and alert, but quite grounded.

[sithwitch13]

Like a lot of others on here, I get a very green, fresh plant-like smell when it's wet on me. Nothing directly floral, but it just hits me as plant-like. As it dries, it's this combination of sweet and green on me. Earlier today I realized that it reminded me of a cheerful version of Haunted, so I suppose it has amber in there somewhere. I've found that it's wonderful on hot, humid summer days when Haunted would just be too stifling. It's sort of light and unobtrusive, but stays on me for hours.

[Vampy]

Well this was a pleasant surprise. I wasn't feeling too sure about it from the reviews, and then when I received an imp, the scent on the outside of the cap was strongly unpleasant - dusty and sneezy and headachey-floral, somewhat like the drydown of the Hermit was on me. I was a little afraid to try it.

 

But when I opened it, it smelled really different - there was a powerful fresh blast of sweet orange and dandelion - and something tangy which resembled that awful smell on the outside of the cap, only, y'know, not awful. Maybe it was the dandelion, I'm not sure. I was still a bit nervous of it, considering the possibility that it might dry down to that unpleasant scent, but it didn't. On, it smelled bright and sweet, something a bit earthy emerging beneath the orange and dandelion that I can't identify, but as others have said, is very green. I think there's also a hint of lemon, and a smooth mellow note that might be amber. For a few minutes it passes through a stage reminiscent of orange scented cleaner fluid, which is kind of disconcerting but not outright unpleasant. The scent has an almost narcotic, soothing effect on me, similar to White Light (though thankfully I like the scent far more than White Light - not fond of that one.)

 

It's bright orange surrounded by a halo of yellow lying in a bed of green - the colors I usually associate with the card. It's very appropriate.

Edited September 3, 2007 by Vampy

[Browneyes]

Short description: sweet and green

 

In depth: it's funny, I also thought of White Light when I first applied this. Maybe they share a note or something? In any case, this is light and sweet and green. Very smooth and soothing. A bit powdery on me, which could indicate a pale ambery note. I like it alot

Edited September 4, 2007 by Browneyes