The Coiled Serpent

[TrinitySydney]

A potent yogic oil that stimulates the kundalini, provokes spiritual awakening, and releases the energy seated in your root chakra.

I don't think I'll be able to give the detailed, sometimes poetic, reviews others have on this one. Because to me, this one is as simple as they come.

In the vial and wet: Strong smoke and pepper with a tad of patchouli.

After drydown: Slightly weaker smoke and pepper with a tad of patchouli.

When you put those things together, they sort of smell like the wood on a number 2 pencil. Hmm..

That's about it. Neither good nor bad. I'll use the imp slowly, but unless I get one of those BPAL sudden, unexpected surprises out of it, I won't be ordering more.

[sarahmarie]

I really thought I reviewed this! But I guess not. Hmm.

 

I wore this during my evening yoga just now. It was a brief exercise, just for some stretching, but it felt particularly good. The aroma wafting up from my hands felt warm and meditative, and made me feel more in tune with the tradition of what I was doing, even though I'm only a yoga dabbler who does some poses from Om Yoga books every day. It's a warm, peaceful scent.

 

The Coiled Serpent smells like patchouli, yes - but I normally hate patchouli, and I like this. It has a sweet, golden sort of note in it too - something warm and soft. I think that's frankicense. There's a spiciness as well, perhaps pepper? And possibly sandalwood, though I could be making that up.

 

Altogether, it forms a warm, spicy, deep blend. I picture golden honey (though without the honey smell!) over a dark, dirty-like base (the patchouli). I don't like patchouli and I can't normally wear blends like this because they are usually too heavy and bother my head. But I like this oil. I would wear it for limited amounts of time, I think - during my yoga, and for a while afterwards - but not all day due to my sensitivity. But the fact that I want to wear a blend that contains patchouli and frankincese? Quite a feat.

[voodoobaby]

In the vial: Bitter! Bitter and sharp! Very sharp! It's extremely herbal and medicinal.

 

Wearing: Definitely patchouli, vetiver, and...sharp! What IS that? I hate to say it, but this is not a pleasant smell. It's giving me a major sinus headache and I think maybe even a stomach ache. The more I wear it the more it smells like a bonfire, which must be the vetiver...but for some reason it's still not pleasant, and I usually love bonfire smells.

 

Later: The sharpness has died down a little and has left a very strong patchouli note. This is how I remember patchouli oil smelling before getting used to Beth's, and it is not the patchouli usually used in most BPAL oils. This is the patchouli that convinced me that I hated the note. It's more pleasant now than the initial stage, but I still don't like it.

 

Overall: Well, as far as kundalini goes, when it was sitting on my skin in the first stage I could definitely feel a strong tingling in my root chakra. But as a perfume? Definitely not. I don't think I would use it for yogic purposes (both because I don't do it in the first place and because I can't stand the smell), so I will pass this on.

[Northernminx]

Soft and woodsy and incensey with a touch of sweetness. This was gorgeous, dry and herbal and calming but not overly incensey which I really loved. This reminded me of a room full of well loved, old warm furniture or the scent of unfinished wood.

 

Nummy.

[olympia301]

This is medicine, not perfume. Nothing about this blend comes off as being pretty. It's all business. I would say this is a ritual oil, it doesn't last very long and with those characteristics I would guess that there is a purpose behind its ingredients which is meant to be used for more serious things than adornment.

[emzebel]

The delightful and generous OriginalWacky sent this along as laganappe with my CN decants...

 

On one level it is surprising that I might never have ordered this on my own. I am very drawn to the imagery of the Coiled Serpent. I have a tattoo of a dragon eating its tail circling my navel, I enjoy yoga (although I am not as devoted a practicioner as I would like), but I do not generally use perfumes ritually and I am not a huge fan of patchouli, so perhaps the reviews tipped me off!

 

My first thought when I sniffed this in the vial and when I applied it to my skin was "incense". I actually did not specifically pick out the patchouli note, but it was overpowering to me and is not something I could wear as a perfume.

 

It had not ocurred to me, until reading through here again, to uses this as an ointment during yoga practice, but I think that the scent would be too distracting for me to wear, even on my back for that purpose. Which is too bad, because I would love to love it just for the name.

[slugbait]

Thank you, voodoobaby, for the opportunity to give this a whirl!

 

Straight out of the imp this smells like sweet earthy patchouli. For some reason I was expecting this to be spicier.

 

On my skin, this smells a little bit woodier (if that is a word? hee hee...) and I smell black pepper. This is earthy, sweet, and spicy, and lighter than what I thought it would be. It is very beautiful none the less.

 

Unlike other blends with patchouli, this one fades fairly quickly on me. It lasted about 1 1/2 hours before it lost momentum. I would like to wear this while practicing yoga, I'm hoping that it will help me keep focused .

[valentina]

Since Coiled Serpent is all about kundalini and has patchouli in it, I happily gave it a bigger whirl than I normally would -- I put it on as my scent-for-a-day after only a tiny test the evening before.

 

It's very patchouli in the imp and upon initial application. After an hour or so, the patchouli fades and it becomes much sharper, more spicy-metallic. Not in an unpleasant way, but there's something else going on in this blend other than patchouli. On me, in addition to a black pepper smell, there is something very herbal, almost dill or fennel-like after it warms up even longer. Is this just my wonky body chemistry? But it's almost foody in a spicy herbal sort of way.

 

Overall, a very warming fragrance, dark and spicy. It probably won't be an everyday or big-bottle fragrance for me, but I'll use a bit of this every now and then when I need to give myself a jolt of heat and energy.

 

valentina

[evil_laugher]

I've never tried patchouli before, and of course this reminded me of all the hippy shops in Northampton, MA. Ahhh, memories. Anyway, it's very warm and... earthy, you could say, a little like some kind of cooked vegetable dish. It's not really my thing.

[McPagangrrl]

I received a frimp of this from the Lab.

 

A few years back, I used to buy Aromatherapy Of Rome candles in the Sensual scent from a local shop that eventually closed. The whole shop smelled like the Sensual candle scent even though they carried a full range of scents by that company. The scent was pure sex--sort of patchouli-ish, ylang-ylangesque with a twinge of jasmine and other notes I never could quite define. I babied my candles along, using them for only the most special of evenings until they were gone. I was never able to find that scent again.

 

Until now.

 

This starts out almost a little peanutty when sniffed from the imp, but on the skin it is the long-lost match of the scent I mentioned above. I've also had some amazing results when wearing it to bed that would probably be best described over in one of the sexin' threads in Randomness

[Blood onmy hands]

In the bottle I thought that I would love this. It smelled like peppery patchouli, a combination that I adore. Actually, I adore anything with patchouli, but I digress.

 

On me it smells like ash though. Like the charred wood and ash from a campfire that has recently been rained on. Cold and burnt. It starts to sweeten a bit (amber?) and then suddenly the sweetness turns sickening. It smells like feces and I'm having flashbacks of czernobog.

 

The drydown on this is just so bad. I smell like a rained out campfire with a pile of poo next to it. I have to scrub this off before class or risk alarming my peers.

[Lori]

Earthy, earthy, earthy Patchouli. A lovely Patch to wear, but I use Beth's ritual blends for ritual use and this one falls into that category for me.

 

I have done lots of healing work with the Chakras and this will be used when working with the Root Chakra, when and if needed, in the future. I have rec'd two imps as freebies so one will go off to swaps for someone else to try.

 

I echo anyone who has asked that Beth continue a line of Chakra oils. It is so very easy for me to find such things on the hippie island I live on, that is ripe with aromatherapists, and shops (including mine) that sell these things, but I have had excellent results from using Beth's TAL and Voodoo blends, and so would stick with her on this line, too.

[teaketcha]

i got this imp in a swap. this seems like the type of oil that would keep getting better with age so a fresh one from the lab may not have this richness.

 

i get a warm resiny, patchouli and very peppery smell. earthy and dirt-like, woody, perhaps cedary. and maybe a bit of musk. its very deep, dark and yet lovely and makes my mouth water a little bit.

 

a little bit goes a verrrrrry long way on this. one time, i put one teeny dot from the imp on my hand and several hours later my grandmother remarked how good i smelled and asked what it was i was wearing!

 

as far as what it "does" for me... i tend to dot some on the lower part of my back, where i feel its warmth energizing me. i like to dot a bit of it anywhere i want to feel my 'energy' surface. i havent used it in kundalini practice yet. perhaps when the weather gets colder.

 

so i like it for its rich scent and for what it does for me. highly recommend.

[sophia_helix]

Earthy, dirty incense. So many of the incense blends smell absolutely identical on me. I can't speak to this as a ritual/chakra oil, where it may work differently, but as an aesthetic perfume it's going away from me, stat.

 

Throw was excellent, of course. Smell was still hanging around the next morning.

[grrrlennyl]

at first: i think i smell vertiver and...more vertiver. maybe some neroli.

on: definitely heavily earthy. i might be smelling a bit of patchouli, but i'm not sure. this is very dark.

1 hour later: this is now an almost-sweet patchouli. it isn't as heavy as before, but it still has some weight to it. very nice and calming.

3.5 hours later: this is mostly sandalwood and patchouli. it's very soft and almost has a hint of dustiness to it.

overall: i'm going to see how this works when i do yoga and then decide whether or not to keep it.

[Monster]

I purchased this becasue I practice Kundalini meditation on a regular basis...and wow! Am I glad I own a bottle of this. I wasn't too concerned about the smell, but I was pleasantly suprised.

 

The Coiled Serpant smells of 100% pure patchouli to me, and this is the most amazing patchouli I've ever smelled. You will NOT find a better patchouli anywhere else. I haven't tried this while meditating yet, but I can assure you that I'll not only use this for my morning and evening meditations, but I will wear this on a regular basis as a perfume oil as well. It's already up there with Urd as one of my favorites

 

On a scale of 1-10, The Coiled Serpant gets an 11

[Miss Lynx]

This does an excellent job at evoking what it's supposed to -- my first impression of it, both in the imp and on my skin, is very Indian. It smells like walking into an incense and herb store in Little India.

 

Patchouli is what comes out the strongest in it as it settles into my skin, and I think there's also a strong element of sandalwood and maybe some frankincense or other incense resin. Plus just a tiny trace of some kind of flower - lotus or champa maybe? And for once, my skin is not amping the florals - it's the patchouli that dominates, to an extent I find not altogether pleasant. I think I've commented elsewhere on liking patchouli when it plays well with other scents, but not when it becomes the playground bully, as is kind of the case here.

 

Though I am finding now that as it dries down more, the patchouli fades a bit. But so does everything else, to some degree anyway.

 

It's not a bad scent, though, and I could see it being very good for its intended purpose. I don't really do yoga currently, but I've been thinking about starting, and I think this would probably be great to get me in the right headspace for it. But probably not as a daily-use perfume.

 

Grade: B

[jewelbug]

Imp: Very manly smell, woodsy? Perhaps a touch of lemon and spice?

 

HIM:

Wet: Woodsy and fumey. Wet on his skin, this reminds me of cleaning product.

Drying: Smells like a fumey wood shop. This is definitely not a smell for him. Smells like a musty wood cabin after cleaning with pine/lemon sol. Like, clean, but the dust is still hanging in the air. This is musty clean. Fades in about 1.5 hrs.

 

ME:

Wet: Fumey and spicy, with a bit of creaminess to it. Still has the touch of lemony/pine cleaner, but mine is not musty or stifling like on him (I think his skin amps dirty patchouli smell).

Drying: Is there eucalyptus in this? I'm getting a coughdrop vibe.

Dry: Light Eucalyptus and white woods with pine. Resinous and actually refreshing, though manly.

About an hour later, I think I'm getting that frankincense and patchouli everyone keeps talking about. More frankincense than patchouli, though.

 

Overall: Bad on him, nice on me. This has good staying power and throw on me, but its just not my kinda smell. Glad I tried it, though. It was refreshing but resinous, which I think is a very interesting blend.

[tinyvulture]

pure patchouli, warm and dark and earthy. i love patchouli. this seems like it would smell good on anyone. so, it’s supposed to release stored energy? i’ll have to wear it to the gym and see if the scent intensifies any. it does seem to perk me up some when i’m just sitting around.

[herdivineshadow]

I get nothing but a bitter incense scent from this with a touch of damp incense and maybe a waft of burnt incense. Sadly I'm not a fan of incense, so this will be going into the swap pile I think.

[LushNatty]

Very strong wood—if I am correct, it’s cedarwood. Almost a single note. It’s very nice as a wood smell but I wouldn’t wear it as a perfume—too harsh. I imagine that it would work well for aromatherapeutic use, though.

On a scale of 1 to 5: 2.

ETA: Huh. Interesting. Evidently what I thought was cedarwood is patchouli, although this is definitely not like any other patchouli I have ever smelled before, if that is the case.

Edited December 9, 2005 by LushNatty

[melrose]

In imp and wet, on skin: I feel surrounded by the color gold - a dampened-down gold, not bright, but warm.

 

Dry: Very dry, powdery, and OMG, I love it! This serpent stays coiled - it's very well-behaved on me.

[SeaMonkey]

Patchouli! It does get sweeter as it dries. I'm going to have to try this during my morning sun salutation

[donsixgun]

Patchouli! Dark, woodsy patchouli...this was a frimp that I was totally impressed with. I think I might need a 5ml, and I have to let my sweetie try this.

[slave1]

In Bottle: Patchouli

 

On Skin: First off, this is the first and only imp I’ve ever spilled on myself. Of course, I hate patchouli… great!!! This is pure patchouli… that dirt and powder note. I hope it works for it’s intended purpose… maybe help my depression? I don’t know much about chakras… It smells very incensey and dark so I’m thinking Black Patchouli? It’s not really my kind of scent but if you like patchouli, go for it!