Séance

[most_IMPressive]

A mysterious, enigmatic blend of dry, mellow rosewood, crushed rose leaf and the slightest touch of warm hazel.

Seance is a bit one-note-rose on me. I've tried it on my skin and as a room scent, and it just won't turn into anything else. Occasionally a hint of woodiness comes out, but it's always gone before I can really confirm that it's there. It's not a bad smell, it's just a bit dull and conservative by comparison. Makes me think of old ladies having afternoon tea in fancy hats. It's a nice change of pace from some of my more out-there scents, and it does have excellent staying power -- still alive and kicking five hours after application and my skin usually drinks oils in about 2 -- so I'll be keeping my imp around, but not a bottle candidate. Just bought it fresh from the lab (summer 2011), so I'm interested to see how this ages. 6/10.

[sparkleyturtle]

Loving the rose in this one. There is a bit of a warmth to it that, I believe, comes from the hazelnut. It is warm and feminine. Nice. Guess I have a love of the rose smells.

[impolight]

:::SÉANCE:::

 

This Imps Ear was saved for last based on the title alone. There is a special shelf reserved for the gas lit goodies that evoke a cozy kind of bygone, “Golden Days” atmosphere. Oh sure, not everybody got to be decked out in monacles, top hats, and ostrich plumes. On the contrary, things like the feel of rain-slicked, chilly cobbles through thinly soled shoes would have likely been intimately more familiar. Isn’t it lovely, though, how morbid fascinations never really go out of style? From the Imp: The Rose in Séance is rich, velvety and achingly beautiful. The Roses heads are very much like a man’s heart; fist-sized and blood-red. Their perfume is at the height of potency; deep, swirling, and intoxicatingly sweet. The best has been immortalized here. In an hour, these same red Roses would have been dethroned by decay.

The Lab’s Rosewood has always been a thing of incredible beauty. Indeed, a superior wood-type note would be extraordinarily difficult to come by. The Rosewood in Séance is a thing of luxury. Here is the paneling that lets a person feel that they have willingly gone into a parlor where they have a very good chance of seeing past the veil. This Rosewood smells just like the realm a person could expect to hear disembodied voices, be reunited with a love lost, or feel a fleeting and ethereal touch. On the Skin: Here the mysticism really starts to gain momentum. The formerly retiring Hazel wood has lent glints of gold and green to the Rose’s resplendent red and the Rosewood’s ruddy rouge. It is really difficult to stop snuffling wristward. Séance is a perfect descriptor for this particular formula because of its otherworldly qualities. This fragrance can take you away from yourself. Séance makes everything in this room near and dear. This is the moment that should last forever and, someday, may very well be.

Séance is another brilliant fragrance created by The Lab. This would be well worth a 5 ml. purchase. No medium required to see this one in the future. Séance gets a 5 out of 5.

[lohengrin]

In the imp: Rose.

 

On skin, wet: Rose and a touch of fresh green.

 

On skin, dry: Still just rose and a little bit of green.

 

After an hour: Rose, and even the green note has faded down to nothing. No wood, no hazel, just rose. Dang it!

[symphonyinsilence]

Frimp from the lab.

 

I didn't get any hazel in this. Just rose. Then it all disappeared within a couple of hours.

 

Would rather wear Lilith or Black Rose for more character.

[Smaragdina]

In the imp – pale, ghostly, barely-there dried rose.

 

Wet – Wet rose!

 

Drydown – Rose, rose, rose. It never really changes, and sadly never reaches the mysterious, wistful frailty that I got in the imp. It’s just all rose, all the time. Pretty, but I only see myself wearing this once in a while. It’s too one-note compared to all my other scents.

[stellamaris]

This is a fantastic and rich rose. I have gone through two imps, and just ordered a big bottle.

 

I love the sweet sharp rose in this.

[mimieux]

I love Seance sooo much. I've gone through 2 bottles already. I know rose gets a bad rap around bpal-land, but this really is a gorgeous blend. It's so ethereal..not musty at at all like some florals. It has this comforting quality, which might be the hazel. I wear it to bed and drift to sleep like a baby. I find it wears well for any season since it's very well rounded. Not too heavy, not too light..just right.

 

I'm absolutely enchanted with Seance, and this is one that makes my husband stop and take notice, too.

Edited April 6, 2012 by mimieux

[boomtownrat]

When I was about 17-18 I wore a tea rose fragrance, but in my late 20s I started getting migraines and ever since I noticed that certain floral perfumes are one of my triggers, I've been avoiding them. Then I tried a couple of scents that contained vanilla or wood notes with just one floral note and I had no problem, so when the Lab gave me a frimp of Séance with an order last month, the concept of it was too intriguing for me not to try.

 

Séance reminds me of a darker and more sophisticated version of that tea rose scent I wore in high school. The rose blooms on my skin and dominates the fragrance, but without ever feeling too heavy. In fact, it will be a perfect scent for spring and summer. This is intoxicating even though there's nothing boozy about it. The nostalgic feel to Séance is perfect for wearing on an overcast day while listening to loads of old goth and coldwave (admittedly something I do frequently anyway). It's mystical but not especially dark, if that makes sense. I put it on one day after Incantation had worn off and the combination painted a vivid scent picture of roses blooming amid the charred ruins of an ancient cathedral, although I think intentionally layering them at full strength would be asking for head pain.

 

The rose in Séance remains the strongest of the notes. Hazel is a gorgeous base for the even more stunning rose.

 

I enjoyed Séance so much that I dug up the frimp of Blood Rose that I'd been too scared to try after it almost gave me a migraine two months ago. Now that I've tried both of them again, Séance feels like the little sister to Blood Rose. You'd think it would be the other way around; maybe it's just how they work with my chemistry.

[mymymai]

In the Imp (ITI): Rosewood and crushed rose petals. Pretty.

 

Wet: The crushed rose petals are now the dominant notes, followed by the hazel and rosewood. The is a rather understated scent, but still alluring.

 

Dry: Sweetened rose leaf and hazel with a touch of rosewood. Very pleasant

[JazzieCazzie]

Received as lagniappe in a swap or purchase, not long ago but I can't recall which one.

 

IN THE IMP: Rose rose rose rose rose. More of a fresh rose, like if you stick your nose in a rosebush, but all rose and nothing but, nevertheless.

 

Dabbed on wrist and then ... decided that was enough because it was already throwing like crazy.

 

WET: Rose rose rose rose rose.

 

DRYDOWN: Rinse and repeat. Or in my case, rinse.

 

OVERALL: If you like -- no, love -- rose, this would be a great scent for you. It is pure fresh rose, not rose potpourri or rose scent. However, honestly, rose doesn't always play nicely on me and then compounds it by amping like nobody's business so for me, this is straight to the swap list (coming soon to a forum near you).

 

On a scale of 1-5, 2.5.

[brilliantcat]

I fear this will be screamingly rose on me, but I am determined to try any BPAL I get my hands on and since this was one of my imps in my last order, I shall be a trooper and give it a go.

 

Imp: Definitely rose. It smells like crushed fresh rose petals.

 

Wet: Sweet roses. I find it less offensive than some other rose blends though.

 

Dry: Rosey roses in a rosebush. I suspected as much. Sad that I don't get any of the rosewood or hazelnut to balance it out.

[Magycmyste]

Stash rec.

 

In the imp: Very pretty - I'm smelling almost pure rose here, the kind of scent I get sniffing a rose in my mom's garden. A very fresh rose.

 

Wet on skin: About the same, a little softer.

 

Dried down: Definitely a drier, woodier, scent. It's not bad, but I liked the fresh rose better from when it was wet.

 

Throw: Not much of one, but maybe my nose is a little stuffed, cause my fiance said he could smell it a few feet away. I'm getting a little bit of a whiff without lifting up my wrists - that whiff still makes me think of fresh rose.

 

Verdict: *** 1/* I took away a * because I didn't like the dried down scent as much, and I took away half a star because my fiance didn't like the scent out of the imp, or as much wet on me. I think I'll still hang on to this one and give it another try, though. That really fresh rose was very appealing to me, and I can think of a couple of other people I know who might want to try it.

[calivianya]

What a gorgeous rose blend! It is very fresh upon first application, then some woods start backing it up. Finally, some of the hazel comes into play. I get all of the notes and they are balanced beautifully. It is very nice, but I have so many other more interesting rose blends that I don't think this one is a keeper. I'm glad to have experienced it.

[elinox]

First Sniff: Clean, pure lily.

 

Initial Wet Application: Rose leaf, for certain. It’s light and ethereal.

 

Dry Down (first 15 minutes): I had a feeling this was going to be really faint on me early on so I slathered on a lot at first. And so far, I’m getting a bit of throw! It’s a lovely light rose note with some chilly air keeping this a bit on the mysterious side. I can also detect some trace of wood, which I assume is the rosewood. Despite liking this so far, I’m willing to bet that it will fade away into nothingness like a ghost before the dawn.

 

My Reaction: It’s a very pleasant rose smell, different somehow than my normal rose scent The Rose and I like it. It’s a gentle tea rose which is lovely. So far it’s still detectable without much effort which is nice since I’d worried this would fade within minutes. I think the wood note is keeping this down to earth, while the air note wants this to flit away. It definitely conjures up images of ghosts and passed-on loved ones.

 

Rating: 3

[IambicDearie]

Seance seems to be the perfect bedtime scent for me. I love rose scents, but this one is delicate enough not to keep my senses on alert.

[Zii]

Wet: If they rehydrated the dry rose in zombi, it would smell like this. it's a rotten, weird and not at all lovely rose. Not interested. The hunt for a rose blend I like continues.

[quickdrawkiddo]

Rose is iffy on me -- it has a tendency to go all powdery old-lady floral, especially when mixed with other floral notes. The woodsiness here is very faint but just enough to keep this from being musty and old-timey. It's still a bit too rose-heavy to make it into my permanent rotation, but I do like it and will probably use up my imp.

[PumpkinGuts]

Yep, single-note rose, which translates to pickles on my skin. Cool.

I really need to stop trying things with rose in them, but it's called Séance... Curse you, death obsession!

[Teaker]

Rose turns straight to soap on me, but I was hopeful for this one since it has rosewood and rose leaf. It's really lovely! Wet it's straight rose, fresh and with a touch of greenery. As it dries it becomes more delicate. I never get hazlenut, but there is a bit of warmth to this scent and I'm thinking that is it. It's delicate and maybe a bit wistful? I like it. It might be just a touch soapy, but I think I'll keep my imp around.

[Dusk]

Seance was such a pleasant surprise. I expected a dusty, old lady scent, and ended up with a damp, fresh and very realistic rose, essentially a single-note, until about an hour after application when some warm wood and nuttiness start to show. It's still not entirely my kind of scent, but it's very comforting and nostalgic. Almost like I sniffed this exact rose when I was a kid.

 

To some people the rose might still automatically make it seem like an old lady scent, but it's not bad at all, not musty or perfumey. Just a beautiful rose. I really can't make any criticisms of this.

[Nicnivin]

Soft wood, dried rose petals, antique lace, and motes of dust caught in a sunbeam. This captures the very essence of a soft haunting; of a Grey Lady or beloved aunt who still walks a manor's halls.

 

I'm a huge fan of rose scents, but unlike the youthful vibrance The Rose or Two, Five, Seven, this is a mature, well rounded scent that channels haunting melancholy without being dour.

[Veronica]

Oh this smells so pretty in the bottle! A lovely, delicate rose--one of the prettiest BPAL blends. Warmed up by rosewood, similar to Libertine and Belle Vinu, but still managing to be fresh and wet and delicate.

[savage_rose]

Oh, Seance, I hardly knew ye. The vetiver scents may come and go (and go, and go, and go), but when a rose scent leaves it always makes me especially nostalgic.

 

This smells like lovely, shy, rosy incense in the imp. Bulgarian rose, desert rose, that tangy rose scent, not a regular rose-red garden rose. On, it disappears, a slight hint of it remaining on my skin. This would have been an amazing Atmo, a shy, wallflower cousin to the dramatic Fainting Couch. On me though, it's just wasted. Maybe I'll try it in a scent locket. It's a great scent.

[aquazoo]

Bright rose, then it fades fast.