Witch Dance

[b00cat]

Bonfire smoke rising through a cloud of ceremonial incense, encircled by swirling autumn leaves and a dribble of blood red musk.

 

2016 version (decant).

 

I've been dying to try this for a couple of years so I am glad to finally snag a decant. The red musk is very subdued and "luckily" I am not getting the dead leaves. Just incense and a tad bit of musk. It's resiny, smoky and sweet and reminds me of the smell of a new age store. Love it

[revived]

Witch Dance smells like a stripped down Samhain to me. It's mostly red musk but there's something juicy/fruity about it. I wasn't blown away by it, but it's nice. I think people who have problems with Samhain but want something similar may like this one.

[Beary Strange]

2016 version

 

In the imp and wet: it all blends so well together that I really can't pick out the single notes

Dry: my skin seems to amp the red musk, which to me smells sexy, warm and somewhat sweet; I could smell the incense while it was drying but now I have to really sniff to get it

 

I don't get "bonfire" at all from this and thank goodness-I've learnt fire scents aren't my friend. On me, this is almost single note red musk which is the slightest bit underwhelming (Idk what I was expecting but I just thought it would be more MORE) but that said, I really do like it. I do wish it had more throw though; I keep sniffing my wrist because I really can't smell it on myself otherwise.

[sprout]

For me, this was 50/50 Sugary bonfire with grapey Red musk (2016 version).

 

Maybe something like blackberry wine but that accord is subtle, bonfires in the distance, and Smut type Musk coated with sugar.

 

If Devils Night, Smut, and Samhain have a 3 way orgy with a sexy Witch baby as the result, this is what she will smell like. Quintessential BPAL Halloween, yet not a duplicate of anything else I have, this does incorporate elements of many favorites, Smut, Devil's Night and Samhain primarily.

Edited December 24, 2016 by sprout

[LadyLuckless]

Very sweet, smoky incense and bright red musk, with the dead leaves giving the overall sweetness some nice depth and interest. It's sexy, wild, a bit rough and raw. I could actually see this working on a guy or masculine lady, similar to Samhain, it reads as rather unisex.

[joopjoop]

Wow. This one was a disaster on me.

 

It starts off nicely, with that lovely BPAL red musk swirled with some light smoke, but after about 15 minutes it all goes horribly wrong. Not sure if it is the incense or the dead leaves, or the combination of the two, but this turns into a particularly pungent smelling liniment cream or homemade poultice or something similar. It is medicinal and almost acrid and smells like great-uncle feet. And it amps up like crazy.

 

After an hour I had to scrub and I could still detect traces of it hours later. Too bad. I want to dance at the witch dance. But it is not to be....

[spikyfairy]

I tend to take a chance on anything with smoke in the description, but this was a risky one as red musk easily gets sickly & overwhelming on me, and I didn't know how the leaf note would work. It's been in my probably-not-keeping box since I got it pretty much, as the first time I tried it I mainly smelled what seemed like dragon's blood, which I really don't like. But trying it again now, I actually don't mind it - even if it is much sweeter and fruitier than I expected, and much less complex than I'd hoped.

In bottle: Just as described, promising..
Wet on me: Very strongly fruity, almost fizzy; what is that?? Like fruit wine or cider, yes.. But (and this took me a while to put my finger on), it also really really smells like feijoa to me, if you have ever eaten that obscure fruit. That's all I'm getting at this stage really, no smoke or leaves, maybe a little incense.
Dry on me: That tanginess settles down and now it's mostly fruity red musk, juuuust restrained by the smoke and leaves, but still very sweet. The leaves actually work for me in this one, giving it some depth and interest. The incense is also quite strong, mostly champaca I think, also adding to the sweetness. This may largely be my skin chemistry, as I often make things sweeter. I still think there might be a hint of dragon's blood in here. Gets a little powdery on late dry-down. Throw & wear length are a bit above average, for me.

It's not what I was hoping for, but I think I like it enough to keep it until cooler weather comes.. I can see wearing this on the right occasion.

Edit: This has aged very nicely & is a keeper for sure now. The fruity sweetness has toned down, and the leaves have come out beautifully. Still leans a little powdery sometimes, but I wore it a lot over Winter.

Edited October 25, 2017 by spikyfairy

[Coldfire]

Decant: oooo dark and red musk-y incense. giving me a come hither
Wet on Me: oh yeah...come hither-ing all over me right now dark seductinve incense and red musk
Drying Down: lovely rd musk love. swoon! hypnotic and mesmerizing
Dry: did not get the smoke notes or leaves. I got red musk incense LOVE! This has this witch dancin!!!!

[Spaztic]

This is amazing!

It smells like the red musk from Mme. Moriarty made a cameo in Samhain

[lizabelle]

As I wrote in my review of Third Charm, I waffled between this and that before finally settling on a bottle of Third Charm. As it turns out, they are sisters. This is dark, musky, and smoky whereas TC is sweet, dark, and herbal. Both have a definite witchy quality, and an outdoors-in-autumn quality. This is very reminiscent of being outside on a cold night with fires around, but less playful than Devil's Night--it's bitter and a little foreboding. Over time it morphs on me to be even more like Third Charm, with a honeyed tone that's more gooey than sweet. Absolutely lovely.

Edited February 24, 2017 by lizabelle

[KittyHawk]

This has aged really beautifully since last fall! It smells very "red" to me, due in part (of course) to the red musk, but I'd swear the incense is a red variety too, and maybe even the leaves as well. It's an evocative scent, and makes me think of clandestine meetings deep in the woods. Great throw, good wear length. After a few hours, I'm mainly left with a red musk-tinged incense, which I love. So glad Beth brought this back for another round last year.

[lady_pandora]

2016 version, decant, accidentally aged a year before testing. (I know, I know!)

 

This is one of those times when I'm not totally sure my experience makes sense with the listed notes, but here goes. Witch Dance starts out smelling like vetiver and cherry cola on me, and gradually the cola-ness goes away and leaves a throw that reminds me of the cherry/vetiver blend from Blood Kiss, though without the honey sweetness of the latter.

 

Then, I have this red musk amping thing, so eventually that comes out to play. The throw remains largely fruity vetiver while the skin scent is the musk. It smells like Blood Kiss went out dancing in the woods and got sweaty and funky, except it smells better than real sweat does--it smells like what sweat would smell like if it were more poetic.

 

I probably don't need a whole bottle of this, but will be keeping the decant.