The Emperor

[shriekingviolet]

Initial Impression:

Slightly musky. Stern, yet kind. Masculine but not oppressively so. It's a good "father-in-a-bottle" scent.

 

After Wearing It:

This is a really confident, masculine smell. Regal almost. It's earthy, woody and slightly smoky. I definitely smell sandalwood here, and probably some frankincence and a wood note (cedar maybe?). Possibly some patchouli too, and something green and slightly herby.

 

This scent evokes an aura of competence and power, yet of benevolence as well. It somewhat reminds me of the way my grandfather looked before his final illness. Even into his late sixties her still had his hair color, casual dress meant not having to wear a jacket and a tie and had such an air of dignity. He had a reserved and somewhat stern demeanor, but he always gave the best hugs and to everyone who knew him he was truly kind. He was firm, disciplined, but also compassionate and fair. Which is what The Emperor says to me.

 

Final Thoughts:

I got this because The Emperor is my soul card. It captures the meaning of the card very well. However I can't imagine actually wearing it. It's much too masculine for me. But I will be keeping the imp for meditation purposes.

[grrrlennyl]

at first: i chose this because it is both my personality and soul card. it has a bite, and is floral and herbal at the same time. i think i catch a bit of sweetness to it, too.

on: herbal and floral. nothing really specific, but i like it.

1 hour later: this is going a bit sweet on me, but the herbal/floral scent is still most prominent. i like it.

2 hours later: this has faded a little, and seems rounder. it's subtly beautiful. it really suits me.

3 hours later: still subtle, but lovely. it's almost comforting, in a familiar sort of way.

overall: this is lovely and very "me". it just seems to strike a chord with me somehow. i may end up getting a 5ml in the future.

[k00kaburra]

In bottle: Oddly, I am reminded of sunflowers. This is definitely a blend of florals and herbs. It makes me think of bottled sunshine.

 

On me: I'm still strongly reminded of sunflowers, although a bit of wood - maybe cedar? - seems to be creeping into the blend. The scent is very clear and calm...rather like I imagine an Emperor must be to objectively decide what's best for his empire. I guess this is the best way I can describe the fragrance: It is not the scent of royalty or a throne room or any physical thing; it is a scent representing an ideal king's state-of-mind.

After about an hour it started to smell like a men's aftershave. Hmm. Interesting.

Edited October 4, 2004 by k00kaburra

[paperdoll]

Initial Sniff: This is woodsy and herbal and... rose? A very masculine scent - but I swear I smell rose!

Wearing: I'm quite sure this contains white sandalwood - that must be the woodsy note I was smelling earlier (I always think that white sandalwood smells a little like cedar. Am I odd?). This also contains that Beth's Special Blend of Tarot Herbs and Spices, you know - that indescribable greenness that is most of these blends. Once on my skin, this is not nearly so masculine and is actually quite pretty. I can't pick out any individual notes once it is dry - it is just a warm and benevolent smell.

Final Impressions: The Emperor is my personality and soul card. This scent really does work on me. It is one of those scents that keeps getting looked over in favor of other scents in my box, but every time I wear it I wonder why that is because it is so beautiful. Color associations: this scent is a warm coppery russet.

[scourgeotheseas]

The Emperor

 

In the bottle: Citrusy, light and bright red in color.

 

On me: Citrus – sort of like over cleaner. With waxy flowers. The scent doesn’t change very much – it remains a citrus note (probably lemon) with a hint of a floral note. Lemon is generally amped by my skin, so anything else is hidden underneath that.

 

Upon reading the other reviews, I realize mine sounds nothing like them. Odd.

[brownbat]

Initially very soapy. The soap has died down, and a sweet floral has begun to emerge. There may be some dragon's blood in here as well. It's getting a bit soapy again as well as spicy. I can't place the floral, but it is giving me a bit of a headache. Many florals do though, which is probably why I don't know a lot of them better:-)

Edited April 8, 2005 by brownbat

[Witch's Dagger]

The Emperor

 

This was a part of the Tarot swap - since I need to review all of them in a very short time, this will be a brief review.

 

Preconceived notions: Earthy, but cold, perhaps some vetivert? The logical mind imposing order on chaos. OR: if we’re going with the Crowley version: very fiery, yet controlled.

 

In the vial: Water, very nice, sweet, fresh water. I want to drink this to replenish myself. Are you sure this isn’t the Empress or the Moon?

 

On me: Still water, but greener, and more herbal. A meadow, a field, a lawn of grass. It’s turning less watery and more earthy, but it’s still a very fresh earth, and more what I’d call Mother Nature than the Emperor. Especially since there is that hint of water, it seems like an impending thunderstorm. This is a lush, humid, yet very green late spring/early summer day. I love it.

 

In 30 minutes:

This hasn’t changed. It’s still a fresh, lush, green day on which it is about to rain.

 

Overall:

This isn’t the Emperor, to me, but as a perfume oil, I love it. I may well get a bottle of this.

[OriginalWacky]

Bottle (Imp): This smells very soapy to me. That's about all I am getting out of the imp.

 

Just On: Wow. Really soapy flowers. I'm not sure this will work on me at all.

 

An hour or two later: *CoughChoke* This is really really flowery and soapy. I can tell this is going down the road, because I don't think I can last through this part if it does get better.

 

Around 6 hours: Still no better, though it is fading. I have yet to wash a BPAL scent off, but this would be well into the running if I were to do so.

 

12 hours: It's almost gone, and good riddance in this case. I don't much care for the smell of soapy shaving cream.

 

Overall: I'm sorry to say, this was not an impressive scent for me in the least. However, if I wanted to make soap, this might just be a wonderful scent to use, and might make a really nice gift for someone.

 

After reading other reviews: I didn't get woodsy, herbal, or citrus out of this. Just soapiness. Darn.

[sarada]

I'm going to add to this review later as I've only smelled it, not tested it, but my first impressions are a vivid flashback to staying in nice hotels at the Jersey shore. This is a very clean scent, I feel like I am being hit with a waft of fresh ocean air, but it also reminds me of high quality hotel soap! It's a pleasant soap though, the kind that I'm tempted to put in my mouth when I'm taking a shower. What a surprise! Soap, water and ocean air. I will edit this when I get a chance to wear it for awhile but I know that scents like this generally fade on me immediately.

 

Upon wearing: I feel like I can taste salt water and sand on my lips when I smell this. It makes me think of taking a shower after spending a day at the beach (which is something I haven't done since I was about 10 years old...too crowded for my taste). The combination of salt water and soap, and an overall clean smell but still that lingering scent of ocean in your hair. There might be a hint of driftwood (probably really something like sandalwood) in the distance. There is probably something floral in here but it is all interpreted by my brain as high quality hotel soap and salt water. I like this, but it doesn't make me think of the Emperor and I wouldn't wear it as a perfume except as a curiosity...or maybe if I was actually to go to the shore for a day (and believe me, this redhead is no fan of being anywhere without ample shade). This makes me think of the GOOD smells of the shore, not the bad ones (sweat, fish, sunblock). Though as it wears I even get a bit of a musky scent from it that reminds me of a fresh sweat-washed-away-by-soap feeling.

 

A fascinating blend. I'd like to have an imp of this around for the curious feelings it inspires in me.

Edited June 11, 2005 by sarada

[Ina Garten Davita]

I got a wee dab of The Emperor at the True Grits meet and sniff and it was just enough to make me want more. I got a decant from the lovely pranashakti.

 

First Impression: Mmmm, dragon's blood.

 

Second Impression: Such a round and soothing scent, more gender neutral than traditionally masculine to my nose. I'm getting a smooth blend of dragon's blood, amber, heliotrope and perhaps a bit of light musk. Nothing overly earthy or musky in this vial. A bit sweet, refined.

 

Final Analysis: A wonderful fragrance, which when layered with a bit of Flower Moon the result is something very similar to Red Moon.

[coulrophobe]

I was expecting something powerful, stern, austere and masculine, but on me, this wasn't any of those things. It's a silly, foppish little emperor - one that giggles a lot and really just wants to forget about this ruling thing for a while and do a bit of interior decorating, the palace does need it so... and seriously, this type of emperor sounds like a lot more fun.

 

Notewise, I'm getting dragon's blood and rose, and something else that's making it a bit soapy. It's not bad - especially if it is indeed a rose blend, they're usually terrible on me. Anyway, it's light, clean and very floral. Not particularly me, but nice.

[yeahbutnobut]

The Emperor

 

In the imp: fresh, wet and herbal. Like a rain soaked garden. I'm wondering if there's dragon's blood here, considering the oil is slightly red. I can't smell it though.

Wet on skin: oh wow, I can smell grass in this-I love the smell of grass! This scent is very green, there are herbs here-I'm not sure what herbs. There may be pine or fir here too, maybe cedar-a green smelling wood scent. It's a very clean scent.

Dry on skin: now there's a cologne note that surfaces. It still has a herbal aspect-it's either rosemary, sage or thyme, and it's got a very green scent. it's very different to what I expected. It has a unisex scent bordering on masculine. I'm wondering if I can detect a hint of floral, maybe violet or lavender, maybe heliotrope, or that mysterious 'tarot blend' that crops up a lot.

After a while: there's a sweet, possibly floral scent that's coming up, not sure what it is, but it reminds me of something in Mars but without the spices-maybe it's dragon's blood? The green scent is still there, possibly with either heliotrope or a tiny bit of lavender, or something else.

After about two hours, the blend has the same drydown as Aeval on me. I wonder if there's sage and/or sweet pea in this. It's lovely.

Verdict: this was another pleasantly surprising tarot oil. I think the Emperor is the card of Aries, my sign, which is why I chose to try it. I was expecting something manly, powerful and even unapproachable, but instead I get a very pleasant herbal green scent. (the oil is red, yet it smells green!) I can smell fresh herbs and wet grass and leaves, hints of wood and maybe some very mild florals. It is a very outdoorsy scent, fresh, clean and redolent of spring-not what I expected of the Emperor, indeed an appropriate name for it would be 'Green Man'. It's gorgeous, I may consider getting a bottle one day.

Edited July 10, 2005 by yeahbutnobut

[shelldoo]

in the vial: clean herbal, not sharp but instead a comforting herbal

 

wet: soap.

 

as it dries it is less soapy, i wonder if there is lily in this? it is a clean floral, borderline soapy. if it were a man it would be ward cleaver, stoic, quiet, very clean cut. yes i imagine this would be ward's scent

[brownbear]

Wet: I'm getting a clover/sweetgrass kind of note to this. I also get some floral. Could be a light rose, could even be heliotrope or something similar.

 

Dry: It's about the same, but softer. I can see how people would describe this as a masculine scent, but it isn't hard or strong. It's a soft masculine.

 

I do like it, but it will probably end up in swaps. I think someone else will get more out of it than I do.

[Shollin]

First sniff: The Emperor is a very fresh, clean, open-air scent with an undertone of floral sweetness.

 

Wearing: There’s jasmine in here, definitely – hope it doesn’t take over, but at the moment it’s maintaining its status as a nice fresh scent rather than a sweet white flower scent (which are not my favourites).

[voodoobaby]

Wet, this is somehow soft and sweet and animalistic at the same time. I was, at first sniff, afraid that there might be civet in here, but it turned out that there wasn't, thankfully. After a brief baby powder phase, I get almost a single note rose scent. Definitely rose, and much of it. And...that's it.

[Bard]

My first impression of The Emperor is regal, masculine, dominant, though not precisely austere. Initially it reminds me of men's cologne in the same way Antony does, as it dries and fades, it smells a bit more floral on me. This is, perhaps, a kinder, gentler Emperor than I might have expected. Not without authority, but certainly lacking something of the rigidity that I would expect from this card. I suspect he is a rather doting Emperor.

 

It is not something I personally would wear, though I think this scent is quite wearable.

 

 

The Emperor Haiku,

A heavy, grey beard

Grand, grave, and grim to behold

Hiding tender smiles.

[Blood onmy hands]

I expected this to be dark, woodsy, and masculine.

 

On me, it's intensely soapy florals. In the drydown it gets a bit more aquatic, but the overall scent reminds me of wet laundry.

 

I'm trying to think of something else to say about this one, but nothing is coming to mind. I've tested it out twice, two weeks apart, to see if there was any difference. Nothing. The Emperor is a bar of generic soap.

[Undine]

How odd--these reviews seem totally all over the place.

 

I just received a set of Tarot decants from OW, and I decided to start here because I received The Emperor in a reading I did last night.

 

This oil is the color of Blood Amber, which made me very nervous because of my dragon's blood issues (see below). Right after application it smells very soapy, although not an extremely "high" soapy note. As it dries down I get a white floral that gives the scent a low, wet, and fresh smell, and I enjoy this stage. It also seems most evocative of the Emperor: civilized, practical, even. (It might be backed by a few herbs or even marigold, but if so that disappears quickly.) Low notes: I do think the Emperor has a little dragon's blood in it, though fortunately it doesn't seem to be a lot. (Dragon's blood always has a sort of flat, musky scent on me, if that makes any sense, it tends to amp up a little, and I am really growing to hate it.) There may also be a little amber.

 

On further drydown, the soap increases and the dragon's blood does too, although it never gets too bad. On the other hand, the scent loses most of its complexity and it's hard to find much to distinguish it from a dozen other oils that had a similar effect on me.

 

FWIW, I don't see this scent as especially masculine.

 

Throw is fairly low, can't stay about staying power yet.

 

I have to say that although I can see this scent being The Emperor, I wouldn't have guessed that it would have these elements or this effect. I would expect something more gilded, perhaps a little citrus, a la Versailles or Florence. I like the wet stage fairly well, but not so much the dry stage. Oh well. On my scale, it's about a 2.5 out of 5.

Edited November 1, 2005 by Undine

[aidenraine]

I am getting the faintest floral, dragon blood, and soap on my wrist. I had to look at my arm incredulously to make sure I'd applied something. My skin just swallowed this up and I almost smell nothing.

 

 

Hmmm... more of the same. The smell of Ivory soap plus dragon's blood.

[VorpalBunny]

The Emperor reminds me exactly of the beach. It's not an aquatic scent (thank goodness, they don't usually work on me) but it has a salty air smell to it. Over time, a hint of lemon comes out and a very mild floral scent. It's not floral enough to be feminine, just nice. It is very gender-neutral on me, and I love it a lot.

[hangingfire]

Frimp from the Lab. w00t!

 

In the imp: floral? but a very rich floral, maybe heliotrope. Something slighty waxy that reminds me of the Magus.

 

On, wet: Still rich florals. Maybe some sandalwood? A little resiny too.

 

Drydown: Huh. it smells like a less rose-intense version of All Saints '05. Incense and lilies/heliotrope, with a dash of wood or resin.

 

Not quite what I would have expected, but I like it!

[cupide430]

The Emperor

 

My skin just ate this one up. It smelled like soft powdery soap when I sniffed the imp wand. A bit like Dove soap or Oil of Olay soap. Some generic light soap. There was a touch of mint to this at first. Once I applied it, I could barely smell it at all and had to practically rub my nose on my arm to get any scent from this. It is still a light soapy scent, not much else.

[amrita]

I don't like this so much; it's very perfumy. The strongest note is a floral which seems very familiar but I can't place. I think this is really irritating my nose-- my nostrils feel very naked and prickly. Oh yeah... I had to wash it off.

 

[brief review part of tarot swap.]

[Northernminx]

Some musk, maybe some dragon's blood, a strong herbal spicey scent with a touch of citrus. This had a lot of backbone while still being rather cologne like. It was very nice, very strong and very masculine to my nose. Lovely but not me