Aureus

[AthenaRose]

True, perfect golden light, refined into an incomparably glorious scent.

An imp i got for my fiancé that wasn't one of his favs, so i'm trying it on me to see if i can wear it.

Cedar? I think i tend to amp cedar, because i don't smell much of anything else. It's a dry, dusty, slightly charred cedar though. This is like Tombstone without the vanilla, but Tombstone was mostly cedar on me too.

3/5 because as much as i like cedar, it tends to overpower everything else in the blend making it not as dynamic as the other BPALs that i love. But it's still cozy and warm.

[TrinitySydney]

I was so excited about this one. Damn cedar! I smell pencil shavings. *sigh*

[suki]

in the imp: vetiver that has a strangely light touch.

 

wet on skin: it's like vetiver mixed with Tombstone. smoky, but also sweet and kinda sandal-wood-y.

 

dry down: wow. it's smells *just* like desert rocks. when they've been baking at the mouth of a cave in the sun all day but then a cave-dwelling animal comes out and tracks water over the surface at sunset. that's what this smells like.

 

in all: if you are a fan of the more 'elemental' kinds of oils- Moai comes to mind- then you will LOVE this.

 

 

 

[OhioSky]

I'm not sure why this is so wrong on me. I like resins, and amber, and woody scents, and incense, and pretty much everything that I have read in all the other reviews of this.

 

It just smells like floral soap to me. Florals (in any form, as far as I can tell) and I don't get along, so when I smell something that threatens to give me a migraine on first whiff and has that soapy aspect to it, I assume the culprit must be a floral. But I haven't seen anyone else mention this. (Unless vetiver is a floral? I don't even know!)

 

Anyways, I've tried this one twice and it's still a no-go. Swapper.

[letsrunaway]

I was really expecting to get yummy amber out of this, but all I smelled was vetiver/t on application and cedar on the drydown.. My nose isn't well trained though, so maybe there isn't any vetiver/t.. either way I missed the amber

[sqwook]

Wet: deciduous forest

 

Dry: Cedar, sandalwood, turning to bright orange patchouli. Really really wonderful.

 

I think it's great, but my S.O. is not a patchouli fan... so I'll still do patchouli but not where it's this strong of a component.

[lilirose]

Wet on skin: sandalwood- very dry and dusty.

 

Drydown: Sandalwood with something sweeter and bit more juicy. Amber? Honey? A touch of both?

 

Verdict: I like, and it definitely has a very bright, sunny scent. I tend to think of sandalwood as being masculine, though, so I don’t think I’d wear it. Maybe a bottle for the hubby.

[crebbsgirl]

This is a very bright and golden scent. Incense-y and resinous without being dark. I can smell the amber, and what I suspect is frankincense or verbena (both of these notes smell similar on my skin). There is a definite herbal overtone here. I like it, but I'm not in love with it. I'll probably try it as a room scent.

[llhorian]

Aureus reminds me of my father's wooden cigar box, or perhaps a wooden crate of lapsang souchong tea. At first the smoke or whatever it is I associate with smoke or cigar boxes is very dominant, overpowering. After a while it lessens and I get the feeling the rest of the scent would be very nice if only it didn't keep hiding behind the smoke/wood.

[tacey]

Well, I was nervous about the pine note, but everyone glowed so much about the golden light I couldn't resist. Sadly, all I ever got from this one was fresh, sticky, pine sap. There was a moment of amber where the pine trees were glowing, but even that was a brief flash. Otherwise, the pine sap dried a bit by the end and was less sticky. Sorry -- I'm sure it worked better on other people...

[rayvn1]

Hallelujah! When I first applied this it was all snarly vetiver. Within a few minutes though the wood notes are coming out and I'm getting a dry, dusty wood like sandalwood or cedar. Nice! Very golden.

[cherryontop]

This started out very sharp for me, uncomfortably so. But within five minutes it was drying down into something very cozy. It's kind of smoky and soft now. Getting sandlewood for sure. And just the lightest touch of pine which is quite nice here even though I typically don't enjoy wearing pine scent.

 

I think this will be a keeper!

[AlarmAgent]

In Bottle - I see where the gold is coming from, here in the imp. Hard to describe, specifically, but it smells alright, and pretty warm.

Wet on Skin, First Applied - Oh. Oh no. This is not at all what I was expected. It smells like dust, or peanut butter, or dusty peanut butter. It's quite possible that anise or black licorice is also coming in here at some level, but not enough to make it ...passable for me.

 

Dry, on Skin - It doesn't change at all, it is just dusty, musty, fusty the entire time on me. I'm thinking it's vetiver, because Blood Kiss does the same thing to me. Well, I'm not alone, a lot of people aren't such fans of that note! I'm glad to know what to avoid, because I couldn't possibly work with anything like this on my skin, which unfortunately, seems to amp this damned vetiver.

[Saya]

In the Imp

Cedar. Oh no!! Cedar is a death note for me. I’ve never tried a blend with cedar where I didn’t end up smelling like a hamster cage.

 

On My Skin

Just as I suspected, wood chips and pencil shavings. Gross. I’m giving it 1 hour to morph before I’m washing it off.

 

After a Bit

Thirty minutes later my SO comes home and says, “It smells like a wet dog in here.” I hate to admit it but the SO has a point, it’s not a good smell.

 

Rating 1-5

Scent - 1 Throw - 4 Longevity – ? had to wash off.

Overall (not an average) – 1

 

Final thoughts

I think this ties Lear for the worst BPAL I’ve ever tried. Off to swaps.

[greenranger]

Wood(pine?) and resins. A light golden scent, not a deep dark one. Other people are saying vetiver and patchouli...but, if there is vetiver or patchouli in this, it doesn't seem like very much, at least on my skin. This is a lighter resin scent on me.

[Coldfire]

Imp: wow. Dark and heavy…smells like dusty and a tad sharp and off. Old

Wet on Me: very old. Old sunshine thru an attic. Musty still.

Drying Down: I’m catching a warm cedar in this. Like an old cedar chest in an attic.

Dry: This is a sunny early autumn day spent in an

attic by the window, going thru a cedar chest of treasures. The love!

[Suu4LC]

Hmm..in the imp this is not the smell I expected from a scent representing golden light. I expected something with a warming glow...this is kind of dusty sandalwood =/

 

Yeah this is totally sandalwood on me. Same on drydown. Basically straight, dry sandalwood. O_o

 

[msbcozad]

Aureus

 

Aureus was in the second set of imps I ordered from the lab when I found BPAL in 2005 and I loved it so much I immediately ordered a 5ml bottle. That same 5ml has been sitting, mostly neglected, in my collection as I sampled the limited editions and lunacies and fruity scents. I opened the now three-year-old bottle this past weekend to decant a sample for a friend and was nearly knocked over by the rush of AMBER. Wow. I made a promise that I would wear this scent soon and much more often.

 

It's amazing. I mean, I loved it fresh. But as a three-year-old, this is incredible. The incense and amber and sandalwood have blended so perfectly and I feel bathed in a warm glow. This is perfect for today's brilliant sunshine against a cold blue sky and snow-covered landscape.

[ClareN]

Seconding the review above me - Aureus seems like one of those scents that needs to age to reach its full potential. My imp has gotten much softer and sweeter over the year I've had it (and it was already secondhand, so I'm not sure how aged it is now).

 

Cedar is a very comforting scent to me, and while I wouldn't want it in everything, this is cedar at its best. I think there's some copal in here too, a bit of amber, and possibly some sort of soft spice.

 

To me, this doesn't exactly evoke golden light - it's one of those old-wooden-keepsake-box scents, all brown wood and resin. If you like the scent of wood, this is one of the best BPAL offers in that category.

Edited January 27, 2009 by ClareN

[CynicalPink]

No idea what's in this one, haven't read reviews.

 

Imp: Wood-shop class

 

Wet: Hamster bedding

 

Dry: Hamster bedding and Pine-Sol

 

I'm not going to give up on wood notes yet, but MAN this really went sideways. Very masculine, but needs skin that can handle cedar. I was expecting an amber-fest from the description and got none.

[MCS4096]

Hhmmm.. true, perfect golden light is wood chips? Like many here I have trouble with most of the lab's cedar blends. When I'm in the mood for cedar I turn to my imp of Cathedral, which is divine. The other strong cedar blends I've tried are just too over the top.. This one is fairly nice-- it's warm.. I almost think it's got sandalwood and a drop of cinnamon or maybe cassia. But.. I also find it to feel a little flat, like you're rubbing the top of a school desk with your hand-- warm, flat, dry wood. I still prefer Cathedral.

[scotchgrrl]

Pencil shavings.

[magikalbrownies]

i know what this smells like! WOOD...CEDAR...MORE WOOD! ...

 

and hello patchouli...cause im detecting that wet earth scent...

 

not liking this...grrr...,

[BuxomM]

This was a frimp. It smells like cedar. I prefer sweet foody scents so this wasn't a keeper for me.

[blackjackjolly]

I am getting something totally different off this than everyone else: ozone and vitamin C. The ozone note is enough that I kept checking to see something wasn't burning in my computer. The vitamin C/ascorbic acid wasn't so much a smell as a taste if I inhaled with my mouth open. Not unpleasant, but strange, especially considering what everyone else reports.