The Lion

[jj_j]

The Lion, from Mad Tea Party:

The dry, glorious warmth of the Savannah. A golden, spiced amber, proud, regal and ferocious.

 

He's strong and swarthy, with the tiniest bit of cinnamon and moderate spice hanging in the air around him. I swear I smell the cat smell that comes off the lions at the zoo - thick fur, a bit of dirt, and some sort of hay or pellet-ed food from a nearby enclosure.

 

There's a hint of sweetness - I don't know if this Lion is from the Wardrobe, or the Lion and Unicorn scene in Alice, but he very well could have been eating mirror cake to get this faint sweetness under it all. Maybe a hint of clove, or ginger? I don't usually care for those two, so I can't identify which it is, but it's very nice here.

 

The Lion dries down soft, fuzzy, and with a faint, powdered-sugar lushness that keeps it from being exactly sweet. That particular note is similar to the divine soft, almost-sweet, dryness in Old Morocco, but without the saffron vibe. I imagine this is what it would smell like to walk up to a sleeping lion at the zoo -one who's just had a bath and is laying in the sun, after rolling around in a patch of soft dried grass - and bury your face in his warm, wooly mane.

 

Edited to add - I ordered a bottle of Egyptian Amber single note from the Lab, and hadn't opened it yet. The minute I opened the bottle, I was bowled over by both the scent and my ignorance, because it was the faintly cinnamon note in the Lion that I love but couldn't identify - turns out the Lion is loaded with egyptian amber!

 

EDIT: Added Lab's new description, moved from Up-and-Coming --Shollin

Edited September 15, 2007 by Shollin

[chai_girl]

I was just trying my sample...trying to figure it out since there isn't a description yet to help me.

 

It started off strong...almost too strong for me. It wasn't a spicy scent but it wasn't sweet either. Maybe it is a musk. I didn't think I'd like it.

 

As it dried, it mellowed into a softer, slightly sweeter scent...I'm imagining an African plain with yellow/brown grasses blowing in the breeze, heated by the warmth of the sun. There is a bit of floral blowing in from somewhere but I can't quite place it. It makes me want to stretch in the sun and snuggle down with a purrrrrrr.

 

This might be a keeper.

[eleventhousand]

Musky and grassy with (I think?) cinnamon and clove. There's something dark and sharp at the bottom of it all...civet maybe?

 

Outoorsy and summer-y without being sweet and light.

 

I can't wait for this one to be released...I'll be getting a bigger bottle for sure after smelling the imp!

[hypothermya]

I have to say that ever since I read jj_j's review, I've been dying to try this scent. And when I found out the The Lion was the Lion from Through the Looking Glass, I was twice as resolved to try it out. The sample I tried is a prototype, generously loaned to me by rosefaith. (Thanks so much!!!)

 

"The Lion had joined them while this was going on: he looked very tired and sleepy, and his eyes were half shut. `What's this!' he said, blinking lazily at Alice, and speaking in a deep hollow tone that sounded like the tolling of a great bell."

 

In the Bottle

 

Cinamon, Cinamon, Cinamon! Behind that is something a bit deeper, like civet or vetivert (can't really tell the difference between the two, but it reminds me of the deepness of Voodoo, and some of the other scents with these two in them). There's a sort of lightness to it, that reminds me of dry, sweet grasses, or perhaps the feeling of burrying your face in a horse's mane. I'd say a cat, but this smells like a more coarse, sun-filled fur, and the closest I've been to smelling anything like it is a horse's mane on a hot summer day, with the smell of hay beneath it all. The cinamon just takes this smell and makes it sweeter, and more delectable.

 

Wearing It

 

The sweet, dry grasses scent picks up, and wisks me away to an African savannah -- or at least what I think that would smell like. The cinamon is still strong, and I like it. It lends a smell of earthy, spiceyness to this smell that is perfect for The Lion. Clove just wouldn't have done it at all, and niether would any of those other spices. Cinamon is the perfect compliment to this grassy, sun-infused scent. If there is a musk in here, it's a light one, possibly a white musk, but it doesn't smell overly animalistic on me. The civet or vetivert (whichever of them, if it even is one of those two) has grounded the scent on me, but doesn't dominate it at all. It's as though the strength behind the deepness just acts as a supporting scent, a stolid background for that grassy, cinamon feline.

 

And let me say that this is Alice's Lion, the great beast that is half napping. It's the sort of scent that makes me want to stretch out on my bed, and spend the day with eyes half shut.

 

As far as longevity is concerned, this scent really doesn't last very long at all. It's mostly faded by two hours of wearing it.

 

I am not, by any means, a fan of cinnamon scents. But let me say that this is the scent that will change my mind on that subject. It's sun soaked, and warm, and the cinamon makes me feel like rubbing my face against my wrists, nuzzling up to the solid comfort of this scent. It's mostly benign, with just a hint of danger behind it all, the sort of scent that makes you want to forget how dangerous it could be. My only wistful thought is that I hope the final version will be a bit less heavy on the cinamon (since apparently my skin likes to highlight the smell). But otherwise, I can't wait until this finally debuts. I'll have to get myself a huge ol' bottle.

[TygherRayn]

I'm not certain how much the formula might have change since the others reviewing this have gotten theirs, but I'm exceedingly happy to be able to try it before the blend is perfected.

 

In the bottle: I do smell the cinnamon .. though it's not near as strong as Wrath, or Mars. It's softer, not scorching hot, but just a warm breeze on a summer day. It has a feel to it like how my hand smelled when I got to snuggle into a lion's mane at a zoo here. Mufasa was a gentle giant, and this scent seems to give that feel .. though it doesn't really smell like he did.

 

Wet: This is just like snuggling the lion cubs I fed. It's warm, and fuzzy, and has sort of a hay/grass smell to it.

 

Wearing: My skin likes amber, and after a while, this seems to pul out an amber scent. Again, I've no idea what the actual notes in this are, but I'm rather fond of this blend.

 

This isn't a broad-chested, full-maned Mufasa .. this is Nala. This is a proud and playful lion cub like got to bottle feed at a local zoo. It's ambery, and golden .. but not blinding golden. More like sunflowers and goldenrod. I'm curious how the final version of this will turn out .. but I like it how it is now, and I'm thankful Beth let me try it now.

[asa805]

it was pretty when i first put it on. It quickly became a very masculine sweat smell. Not for me. I swapped it away.

[fallow deer]

To me!

 

This is utterly gorgeous - I havn't stopped sniffing it both on my wrist and from the bottle since it arrived in the post this morning - mmm!!!

 

The Lion is actually rather orangey on me, with a touch of sweetness making the overall impression not unlike Jezebel, only deeper and less sweet. I can't make out any distinct 'darker' notes such as vetiver or civet but I think there are some spices there grounding it.

 

Its warm and comforting and lovely and I'll definately order a larger bottle once Beth releases this.

[Shollin]

First sniff: Sweet, golden and wild. Lying on your back in the middle of grasslands under an endless blue sky.

 

Wearing: Did someone already mention looking-glass cake? The sweetness is almost baked-goodsy, and there’s a faint dusting of cinnamon – very faint, just enough to give it a hint of spice without heat. The Lion is a very light, subtle scent, and doesn’t have a lot of throw, though the aura expands a bit once it sinks into my skin. On my wrists, it lasted throughout work, and was still warm and sweet at the end of the night. I LOVE it. Thanks, eleventhousand!

[phaedrine]

When I first saw that this had been added to the permanent collection, I ordered a bottle. Usually I'm very wary on ordering bottles unsniffed and untried, unless they are LEs, because my skin can be funky, and I can also be very picky.

 

However, there was just something about the description of this that struck a chord in me. The lion, the savannah, and warm amber. How could I resist?

 

So I ordered a 5ml bottle, which arrived today. I am SO GLAD that I did.

 

Wet in the bottle, it smells of something golden-spicy, with just a hint of amber.

 

As soon as it hits my skin, it warms to the golden, tawny scent of pure amber, a lion carved of gold, stretching on a hot summer desert day.

 

It's so perfect. Warm and golden and spicy and AMBER. I'm in love. Completely and totally in love.

[hypothermya]

The Lion

 

I'm a bad swap faery. I ordered this for my swap faery as a present, but I just couldn't resist stealing a swipe, so as to compare it to the prototype. I hope she doesn't mind....

 

Initial Impression

 

Smells similar. I'm not 100 percent convinced yet, but I smell that cinnamon. And lots of amber. Actually, amber is the first thing to hit my senses: a warm, golden Egyptian amber, different from the black amber that is used in Haunted and some other blends... Then cinnamon and grasses. Lovely.

 

Wearing It

 

My hopes aren't too high, since my skin tends to eat up amber and never let me catch a whiff of it. So far, I'm mainly smelling cinnamon. And...due to the absence of the amber (yeah, my skin's living up to its reputation), the cinnamon is a bit heavy, just like in the prototype. I wonder if that was the fault of my skin chemistry there, too? There's still a bit of dry grassiness apparent in the blend, and it's making it smell like cinnamon and wide sweeping fields of grass. Reminds me of the golden rolling California hills (the joke is that the real gold in CA is on the hills). A little sweet now, and more reminiscent of "looking glass cake" than an actual lion. Much sweeter and less tawny than the original version (I'm guessing it would be more tawny if my skin would let the amber do its thing). I can't wait to see what my swap faery thinks of this gift. I hope her skin just adores it. And I know that her skin will let the amber smell golden and gorgeous, like the sun.

[lorajc]

Oh my, here I go again raving about another new favorite. This is another oil that is to die for. As I stated in another review. I put a couple dabs of this on one inner wrist and a couple dabs of Verdandi on another wrist and went about my business. When I first sniffed it, I smelled a bit of cinnamon with amber. My sinuses then clogged up and I went about my business. A little later when I could smell again, I couldn't get my wrist away from my nose. I LOVE this. Most people buy imps and then 5 ml bottles. I always buy a 5 ml to test and then if I love a scent, I buy a second 5 ml (so I have 10 ml on hand). This will definitely be a 2nd bottle purchase with my next order. This is stunning. It is golden, warm and slightly spicy. The cinnamon is more prominent at first and then it dries down to a very soft (which surprised me) somewhat creamy blend. Purrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.................meeooooooooowwwwwwwwwwww!!!

Beth - You Rock!!!!

 

ETA: Libra Goddess Rating: Seduction Factor: 10+

Edited July 7, 2006 by clover

[roisnoir]

I got this thinking I'd try The Lion on a friend of mine (I call him my "pretty lion boy"), but I don't think it's leaving my possesion - this is simply gorgeous.

 

It's all warm amber, like sunwarmed fur.

This is so going on my big bottle list.

[kimmer]

Until now, I was never really certain what amber smelled like. In The Lion, it’s soft, warm and golden.

 

There’s a hint of spice, but dry spice--similar to Morocco or Queen of Sheba.

 

I like this blend, but it stays too close to my skin—I like scents with a little more “throw.”

[ChupaChup]

The Lion is a very warm, golden scent. The grasses in it smell a lot like those in Scarecrow, but that had an odd chemical smell to it. I could almost detect that chemical smell coming out of The Lion, but the amber reigns it in. I can't say I got much cinnamon from this but I could believe there is a tiny touch of it there. Unfortunately, my skin eats amber and usually anything else in a blend with it, so The Lion vanished very quickly. I would love this scent if it had more throw and staying power on me.

[pkwench]

The Lion

 

God, I love amber. The Lion seems to be one of those amber blends that my skin eats, but that doesn't wholly disturb me. I bought a 5ml, after all. I figure I can be as liberal as I like with it.

 

Because the amber was the first thing I caught scent of - all golden and just glorious - for a moment it reminded me very much of Bastet. But upon application and further sniffs of it, I get that lovely, dry grass and yellow herb smell. I don't get cinnamon from this at all, but there is a faint sort of spicey verve to it. This sounds particularly silly, but in the book I'm writing with my friend, we have a particular sort of grass that we made up. The Lion reminded me of what I imagine that grass to smell like. I know, that's kind of retarded. But it just makes me love it that much more.

 

However, for these scents I love but my skin eats, I'm contemplating trying out a scent locket. Venom & Yemaya are the same way. LOVE IT, skin eats it. This could be a good idea. HMM.

 

Anyway, The Lion is hereby Wench approved for inducing happy thoughts and smelling damned good.

[LiberAmoris]

The Lion is so that blend that makes me want to scream: I am woman, hear me roar! It’s a deep and dizzying plunge into amber, amber, and more amber. The savannah spices round out the blend in the most lovely way---I smell something like sweet alfalfa or hops, tall grasses, and something else lingeringly earthy and primal that I can’t quite put my finger on.

 

It’s so buttery, warm, downy and golden! Like honey run through the veins of a lion.

 

This is perfect for days when I want a blend that is low key but sexy; the fragrance equivalent for me of designer jeans, black boots and a cozy but devastingly soft black cashmere sweater.

 

Absolutely mind-blowingly gorgeous stuff. I’m so glad I ordered a 5ml based on the description alone. It’s a definite 10ml purchase the next time I make an order.

 

This is a knockout.

[Nepthys]

Being a Leo I wanted to love this and at first I did. It went on like a rich cinnamon-honeyed amber, and I thought for sure it would be one of my new loves. It smelled to me like Bastet (one of my top 5) meets Chimera. But as it wore on, it turned a little cloying -- like a very rich cake that tastes irresistible, but makes you feel glutted and sick after eating. Scented up close, it retained that gorgeous golden glow, very languid and confident as a lion should be. But the float of it was a thick syrupy sweetness that just made me feel drowsy and slow. I might wear this to relax at home in, but it's too lethargic a scent for me to wear out and about.

[shriekingviolet]

Initial Impression:

Heavily spiced amber! LOVE SPICE & AMBER

 

After Wearing It:

First on, all I can smell is amber and spice which is such a treat because I adore amber as it suits me so well (a friend of mine even associates the smell of amber resin with how she thinks I smell naturally) and I adore spicy scents. Very heated and full bodies. As it dries, a dry grass/straw leaps out with surprising force. I can still smell the amber and spice, as well as a soft musk note that floats in the background, but the blend (at this point) revolves around this scent of dry grass. Which is very familiar to me as you will find many a vast field of dry, golden grass in Oklahoma. Reminds me very much of when a friend told me her father (who had worked in central Africa at one point) had said that the landscape of my state looks very similar to the Sarengeti, which I definitely see.

 

After an hour or so the grass drifts off a bit and blends more seamlessly with the other notes, leaving the smell of a swelteringly hot day on the plains of the savannah. I can smell the soft musk of cat fur and spice and its very pleasing. Paints a very good picture of a lion in its natural habitat.

 

Final Thoughts:

Love this one and wish I had gotten a bottle instead of just an imp! Has good staying power, good throw and is just gorgeous!

[Penance]

Preconceived notions:

 

I had to try this even though amber normally hates my skin the majority of the time because it just sounded so gorgeous and I love Alice in Wonderland, plus I just had a great experience with Coyote in spite of the amber, so I'm somewhat hopeful The Lion will love me.

 

First sniff:

 

Amber and dried grass with a hint of cinnamon. This is somewhat similar to Coyote for me, but the two are definitely different. Coyote is dry and parched smelling while The Lion is warm and sun-baked smelling. The difference is subtle, but they're definitely two different creatures. I'm hoping that since Coyote worked for me, The Lion might, too, but I don't want to get my hopes up yet.

 

Wet on skin:

 

Soft amber and a hint of spice. So far, this is lovely, but most amber scents are until my skin chemistry gets a good hold on them. This is somehow almost creamy smelling and I actually really like it. As long as the amber behaves itself, I can see myself loving this one.

 

Dry down:

 

Another amber-related miracle! No sour milk response and The Lion is positively gorgoeus. It's a very soft, creamy amber on me with the tiniest hint of cinnamon lingering in the background. This is extremely faint on me when it first starts to try, but then it gathers strength and comes back shortly afterward. I have no idea why, but, on me, The Lion could be an extremely close relative of Snow White's. I'm not kidding when I say this is creamy on me and I have no idea why that is.

 

The bottom line:

 

I'm so glad I tried this in spite of my bad track record with amber. I'm definitely going to be needing more of this in the very near future.

[Ina Garten Davita]

Ivyandpeony and her goodies came by today and I got the chance to sample The Lion.

 

First Impression: Very soft, glowing amber. Not overly sweet or powdery as amber can sometimes come across.

 

Second Impression: I get a lot of grasses in this, dry and golden, overgrown and green. Very grounding to the golden amber. This a very "earthy" fragrance.

 

Final Analysis: Though this won't become my favorite amber blend, it's lovely, very true to the name and well done.

[Gin]

This is warmth in a bottle. Warm and golden, there's a hint of cinnamon, a bit of spice, and tea. And warm, tall, sun-bleached grasses. Very nice, very subtle.

[anmorata]

The Lion:

 

I was very hesitant to try The Lion, given that I've had horrid experiences with Amber.

 

The Lion proved me wrong. This is simply *gorgeous*. It's very warm, not overly resin-y, and in my opinion, very golden or perhaps orange.

 

Sadly, after about 10 minutes, the spot of application started itching horribly. No clue as to why, but there must be something in there that my skin doesn't love.

 

Ah well, back to the drawing board.

[TrinitySydney]

In the bottle: That cheap cinnamon potpourri you can get at Wal-mart. Overly sweet. Blech.

 

5 mins: much better now, though not fabulous. Cinnamon tea.

 

10 mins....whoa! Is this the same perfume?? It's turned into something lovely and completely unexpected. A spiced floral. Nothing cheap-smelling about it now. Sort of reminds me of Lush's Potion with a touch of something Aveda. I can't believe the difference after ten minutes! Yep, definitely going to like this one.

[tempete]

As far as I can tell, I am the only review to be afflicted with a soapy cinnamon wet phase for The Lion. I hate smelling like soap and I hate smelling like cinnamon only slightly less, but after an hour or so, the soap scent dissipates and the cinnamon note is enveloped by a very golden amber halo. Unlike some other vaguely spicy and sweet skin scents that I've tried, there seems to be something anchoring this scent down and keeping it from feeling too light or floating off my skin.

 

I detest the wet phase of The Lion, but the drydown is utterly gorgeous. I'm torn about getting a 5 ml bottle.

 

ETA: brownbat kindly threw in an imp of The Lion into the Oblation Caravan, and it is completely different from the imp that I have. The Oblation Caravan imp smells strongly of grass and dust and there's hardly any amber at all.

Edited May 29, 2005 by tempete

[fallow deer]

I have both the prototype and the final version of The Lion - this is the review for the final which IMO is a very different beast to the prototype.

 

A very very soft, diffused cinnamon - the closest BPAL for me would be Sugar Cookie or Chimera, but the Lion is much softer.

 

There's another note hazing things up a bit, maybe grass or even a grain.

 

It's cozy, soft and rather cute