Aureus

[Shollin]

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

First sniff: Incensey and ecclesiastical, but bright rather than mysterious - a wood church, not a stone church, on a weekday afternoon when no one is there and the sunlight is turning the pews stained-glass-coloured. It's a bit Cathedralish, but lighter, and with a bit of a bite.

Wearing: I just don't think these resiny scents are for me, unfortunately. Wish I knew what it is I don't like about them on my skin, but I'm guessing it's the amber, in which case I know to avoid it in future. Aureus isn't offensively bad on me, but it's definitely not overly pleasant. Too sharp and something my nose wants to define as "sweet" but isn't really.

I got another freebie imp in a recent order, so:

Trying again: It really is a very golden scent, warm and enveloping – it's warm like the warmth of sunlight without being a sunny scent. The incenseyness of it still doesn't agree with my skin, sadly, and it seems like there's a hint of cedar too, which I haven't noticed before and might be making up just because it smells sharp and a bit woody. Oddly, toward the end of the night, the scent directly on my wrists started smelling decidedly bakery-ish and made me a bit hungry. Edited September 13, 2007 by clover

[Gothabillywench]

And here I thought I was the only one who wasn't keen on it! I am normally a heady/spicy/oriental smell girl so naturally I was drawn to this. It went horrid on me. It smelt sticky & reminded me of church smoke, which is fine in small doses (like the feint hint of it you get in Noir) but when it's this strong it just gave me a headache. Reminded me of the smell of a bushfire- burning gum trees & spice. My sister grabbed it & loves it. Smells much lighter & less cloying on her, so to each their own I guess? :?

[viciousviolet]

Golden light! But not a halo at all, more like warm summer sunlight. I never imagined that patchouli could be so round and robust. A scent to wear when you’re barefoot in a field, recalling memories of happiness in your youth.

[shriekingviolet]

Initial Impression:

Warm and smoky, pretty sure it's amber I'm smelling. Kind of like incense. I like it, but I need to smell it on before I make a real statement.

 

After Wearing It:

I can smell the amber here, but what strikes me most is this sort of sharp, herby overtone that I can't quite identify. Maybe a bit of lemon verbena or garden mint? It's intriguing, the blend of the warm and resin-y with the cool and crisp. Dusty, yet fresh. It's like a mystery in liquid form.

 

Final Thoughts:

On my skin, it's not really me. I adore warm, smoky fragrances but the sort of herby overtone keeps me from loving it. I think I'd prefer it as a room scent rather than to wear.

[divajen]

This one is very deep and woodsy. It reminds me of the log cabin I stayed in on my Birthday weekend. It's very much like damp wood. I think it's too heavy for me. I put it on, but it was so strong that I had to wash it off. I will give this one last try, though, as it may settle down to something more pleasant. It is a gorgeous scent, mind you, just not so much as one I'd like to wear.

 

Jenny

 

ADDED Jan. 21:

 

Ok, I'm wearing it for the second time and I quite enjoy it. It's still very woodsy, but slightly intriguing and relaxes me. I like it!

 

Jenny

 

EDIT: Merged followup post --Shollin

Edited November 28, 2004 by Shollin

[blackrayne]

It is a very familiar scent to me, though I can't identify what is familiar about it...possibly the amber, as I was wearing Haunted earlier and thus had amber fresh in my mind.

 

It reminds me of the woods in the early fall after a cool rain...with a wood stove burning somewhere nearby. Wet leaves on the ground. A hint of warmth in the air, but still cool enough to require a light jacket.

 

I really like this one, though I didn't expect to.

[Imptress]

This reminds me of the incense used at Christmas midnight mass, but a bit sweeter. I like this very much but it is a bit masculine. Mr. Imp doesn't like it, but then he doesn't like church much, either. Still, I'll give it a try one day at work to see what the reactions are!

[jj_j]

Cedar, sandalwood, and amber - golden in the sense of sticky, warm, and sparkling sap running oh-so-slowly down the trunk of a tree.

 

In the late spring or early summer, when it rains for just a few minutes without the sun ever hiding itself, the weathered cedar siding on my parents' house and the red Oklahoma clay combine with the moisture to fill the air with this very smell.

Edited August 27, 2004 by jj_j

[Haunted Snow]

When I first smelled this I was immediately reminded of the Diptyque's Essence of John Galliano Roomspray. This was a bit too smoky for me. It reminded me a little of burning pinon incense.

 

This is the description for John Galliano spray which describes Aureus perfectly for me:

 

"the fragrance of an orthodox church in Saint Petersburg or the scent of birch wood used in the American West"

[trystrid]

A clean but old kind of smell, if that makes any sense. It isn't overly smoky or incensey on me but is very pure, almost elemental. It's a very familiar scent and although I've never actually smelled a shaft of light, this is what I imagine it would smell like. There is, as well, an Egyptian feel to this perfume.

 

In a personal, nostalgic way, it also brings me back to the days of my ballet lessons. I was in an early class and as the teacher would open the door to the studio, this rush of scent is eerily similar to that one. Maybe it was the smell of polished but worn hardwood floors- not chemically, in a Pledge kind of way... but in a pure, earthy (but not musty) manner.

[paperdoll]

Initial Sniff: Mmmmmm..... This smells warm and inviting. Definitely sunlit and aged.

 

Wearing: This started out beautifully - all warmth and light. Unfortunately it quickly became rather sharp and lost that comforting feeling.

 

Final Impressions: I think this will make a nice room scent. On me it just isn't terribly nice. There are scents that are worse, to be sure.

[eleventhousand]

Warm, and woody. It smells savory on me...food-y, but not sweet at all. I think I smell sage...

[twistygirl]

This smells completely different on me than almost everybody else has described it as smelling on them. On me, this is a very soft, sweetish ambery, velvety fragrance with just a tiny hint of something darker lurking below the surface to give it a woody tang. This really does smell "golden" to me, like rich gold velvet antique drapery. This is another one I will wear again.

[Joey]

Ewww. It smells just like Lush's middle Earth Soap to me. I'll wait a couple of hours and see if it changes into something better. But if not, I won't be wearing this one again. Just not for me.

 

It's been two hours and the scent has changed a fair bit on me. It's now a much sweeter scent and I can smell the amber in it. Much better than when I first put this on. I may just like this yet!!!

Edited April 22, 2004 by Joey

[Vicious Mistress]

I simply ADORE Aureus! It is a light scent on me, but it doesn't fade away like I thought it would. It reminds me of laying in a sunny spot on a wooden floor in an old house and just watching the dust motes play in the light. It's very warm, very me. Nothing overpowering. Just gentle notes of amber and woods. I wish I knew exactly what was in this, because I'd love to try similar things.

 

Definitely getting a big bottle of this.

[FireInCairo]

I do not smell golden light when I smell this. There seems to be something sinister here actually. Unfortunately, it reminds me of Lush's "Karma." I'm just not a big fan of it personally.

[supasonicsage]

I love amber. I really really do. Almost all of the scents that I really love have amber in them somewhere.

 

This, however, is straight sandelwood on me. Not a whole lot else. I like sandalwood, but I would have liked the amber to come out more. Hense, I will probably use the imp, but I don't think I will buy a bigger bottle. This is also one scent that stays the same on me wet and through the dry down.

 

It does smell like warm sandalwood though

[Lady_Ell]

It reminds me of laying in a sunny spot on a wooden floor in an old house and just watching the dust motes play in the light.

Perfect description!

 

This is great. It's like mulled cider spices soaked into cedar and other strong woods and then dried for a few years. It works really well with my chemistry. It's a good one for me when I'm doing a lot of sweaty manual labor because it complements the smell of my sweat (sorry if that's too much info).

 

Big bottle list.

 

I have to edit to add: I know I say this over and over again, but this really might be my favorite BPAL. The more I try them the more picky I get, and this one is so great and so natural on me, in a way that makes the others that I tend to wear (Snake Oil, Dana O'Shee, O, Old Morocco) feel like dress-up. Aureus is for everyday and special days and going out and staying in and going to bed and waking up.

 

And to remember that I thought I wouldn't like it!

Edited June 7, 2004 by ladylatemar

[jadis]

Maybe it's my body chemisty, but on me, Aureus smells a lot like marijuana. I kept sniffing myself, and I think I can pick out some amber notes after awhile, but I still smell like a fresh joint.

[Tesseljoan]

I was hoping for a beautiful amber-ish scent, which Aureus does turn into for three fleeting seconds... And then I smell that note. That note is, I think, patchouli and it reminds me of fungus and mildew on bread and I simply can't stand a scent that reminds me of it. Will try again, but haven't got high hopes.

[Alice Aforethought]

This is a smell that was universally present in 'alternative' shops that sold inscense, silver jewellery and black tasselly clothes with mirrors on. This is the nostalgic scent of 1980's goth in a bottle! It took me right back to 'It's Anonymous' in Middlesbrough where I got my very first long black tasselly dress, when I was 14! Incensey but without being churchy to me, with that robust, happy, calming, sticky, sticky black patchouli. This beats Spiritual Sky into a cocked hat.

[Ishtar]

This is apparently a scent that reacts very differently from person to person.

 

For the first few minutes after I applied it, it was a sharp unpleasant chemical smell that actually reminded me of rubbing alcohol. Fortunately this stage didn't last and Aureus morphed quickly into a woody scent. Very woody. Overwhelmingly woody. After half an hour, I ended up smelling like a chunk of dusty yellow cedarwood. Not quite my thing.

 

Up for swaps!

[Murron]

First sniff: very woodsy and also a bit bitter. Also a bit incensey. More like "old smoked-through wood" then "golden light".

 

Wearing: the bitter note has started to fade, still woodsey and incensey. On me, it is quite strong and attacks my nose a bit.

 

Keeper/swapper: For me, this one is too woodsy and bitter. Will be a swapper!

[Donnababe]

First Sniff

 

Warm amber with a polished 'bite'. No, make that a nip!

 

Drydown

 

This is my beloved Haunted with a hint of wood.

 

After a While

 

It mellowed after a time but otherwise not much change.

 

Final Verdict

 

Very nice but probably too similiar to Haunted for a big bottle.

[VelvetSky]

Aureus reminds me a lot of Cathedral, which I adore...very tree-sappy, ecclesiastical, and church-like, with just a touch of something else on the drydown. As others have mentioned, there's something sort of herbal here that lends a touch of freshness to the overall scent. It's barely noticeable, but it's there, as well as the amber.

 

I just love all of Beth's resiny blends, including this one.