The Magus

[Teaotter]

The Sorcerer, the Cunning-Man, the Sage. He is the Kerux, Initiator and Psychopomp, the Divine Messenger who leads neophytes on their paths through the Mysteries and shepherds the souls to the underworld.

Honey absolute, Oman frankincense, and asphodel.

Lots of honey, with a floral note I'd probably guess was dandelion if I didn't know better -- my nose really isn't familiar with asphodel.

 

The frankincense is just a gentle woodiness under the other notes.

 

This stayed true on me through the whole wearing. Fairly mild throw, good longevity. Straight-forward and very pretty.

[zankoku_zen]

Honeyed frankincense with a whiff of ghostly dandelion (hiiiiii asphodel! how you!? it's been a minute). This asphodel overlay adds a certain mysterious quality to the honeyed frankincense, which is nice and smooth. So good. Medium throw and wear length.

[annemathematics]

thick, heavy, raunchy, musky honey with a bit of frank with a subtle wash of lily in the background. on me, the honey morphed kinda like a heavy breather in perfume form. i do very much like this. something kind of primal about it. not office appropriate.

 

 

editing to add that after a few weeks, this has become a bit more floral-forward. the honey merges more wit the frankincense. I still like this, but I miss the longer-smutty honey stage. very beautiful asphodel scent!

Edited July 1, 2018 by annemathematics

[Aveya]

Source: Decant Circle

Preconception: It's impossible for me to pass up trying honey. I still haven't figured out frankincense, and floral isn't my thing. So ... no idea. Weary but had to try.

 

Vial: Green, tart. Strangely herbal.

Skin: Suntan lotion. I feel so bad to derive this down so simply but this is legit like a coppertone tanning lotion? Not sunblock, mind you. My dad is like anti-sunblock for whatever weird reason (Like, you have red-head children how can you even) but always uses sun tanning lotion. I used his SPF 4 (lol 4) once because I had nothing else and this is that. It smells good in a weird way? Tropical-esq, tart, but sweet.

Drydown: It's so hard to sniff this without going SUNTAN LOTION but there is more to it. It's like a citrus-esq woody resin, super sweetened with honey, and a nice gentle white floral humming in the background.

 

AKA: Suntan lotion

 

Verdict: Beautiful but my poor brain will never be able to sniff without wanting to go to the beach with my dad.

[sprout]

In the imp: Frankincense predominant with a big dollop of thick honey

 

Wet: Wow, that is some honey. Cloying, thick, this is Autumn Honey with a frankincense support. This is not the type of honey I like, I prefer the white honey blends that are a tad less, viscous? I get the "asphodel" note underneath, but only if I huff close to the wrist. Lab asphodel smells suspiciously like hyacinth to me, but having not plumbed the depths of Hades, it could be a real asphodel that I just have never actually sniffed IRL.

 

Drydown: My skin is doing all kinds of things with amperage on this honey, it just keeps getting thicker and more cloying. I will try and stick it out, however, this may be a scrubber for me.

 

Impression: Definitely a blend for the honey lovers, but you have to really love that note. I thought I was in for any honey blend, as there are no death notes here, and I love frankincense but it can't save this blend. I guess honey is going to be on my love/hate list. I agree with above reviewers that the honey is the main player and is the skanky/shmexy, NSFW kind, the frankincense lends an air of mystery, and there is some type of floral weaving throughout--no consensus on that note though.

 

I will age the decant and hope but my bet is either my skin chemistry is changing and I can't do honey anymore, or I can only do the white/Spring honeys and this one is not compatible. Good thing I did not blind bottle this. Don't misunderstand me, this smells very good, but my tolerance for super sweet is not what it used to be and I seem to turn everything sweet up to 11 and break off the knob. Of course it has hella sillage too. Somebody get me a syringe of insulin.

Edited June 6, 2018 by sprout

[theseagrows]

starting off, it's a thick, rich honey with a hint of soft florals. after about 5 minutes i seem to get another note i can't place. then that fades and i get just honey...honey single note, and it remains that way for the drydown. very pretty, especially if you like honey.

[Ghost of a Rose]

Fresh imp from a BPAL retailer.

 

In the imp: I notice the floral first, then the honey, with some sharper-than-usual frankincense underlying it all. And something almost peppery.

 

On me, wet: Ooh, I really love the asphodel. I haven't smelled that before. Something in this is making me think of mint, or menthol. Maybe the same thing that seemed sharp and peppery?

 

At 5 minutes: Whatever that sharpness/pepper was, it's gone. There's still something vaguely minty, though. Mostly I get asphodel and honey. It's unusual and pretty, but fairly light already. I don't notice any frankincense.

 

At 10 minutes: Aha, there's the serious honey. It smells different than the one in my beloved Honey Hair Gloss, but it is nice. The flower is taking a back seat. I like all of it except for that odd mint. Fortunately it is quite faint. Maybe that's something my skin chemistry is doing.

 

At 30 minutes: Honey and asphodel. Very pretty and girly. I'm starting to get some light incense in the background. The mint seems to be gone now. This just keeps on getting better and better.

 

After 1 hour: This honey is super realistic, even more than the hair gloss one. The flowers are fading. I'm sad to see them go, but loving the honey too.

 

After 3 hours: It's been all honey pretty much since the 1-hour mark. Still hanging in there, still beautiful.

 

At 13 hours, I can still faintly smell the honey on my wrist.

 

Verdict: The frankincense plays only a very small part in this oil. I don't entirely get how this blend represents The Magician, whether the archetype, the picture, or the interpretation of the card. To my mind, the scent evokes the image of a sweet and innocent little girl. There is an "As above, so below" connection: the Magician's arms, one pointing up and the other down; the asphodel of the underworld and honeybees flying in the air above.

 

But never mind, it's a beautiful fragrance!

 

6 out of 6 stars

Edited September 9, 2018 by Ghost of a Rose