Gemini

[roisnoir]

lavender / lemon / lemongrass /orange / mint / sweet pea

This arrived tonight, and I wasted no time in sticking my nose into the bottle - my first impression was flowery mint, very refreshing.

On, it stayed minty for a little while, but then seemed to alternate being a not-too-sweet floral and minty bright.
It's still doing it, actually. A minute ago, I smelled a bright, clear floral, and now I'm getting something that smells like soap.

I don't think I'd consider it a unisex scent, but it isn't outrageously feminine.
I like this very much.
This is going to be a great summer scent.

[xoe]

Oh woweewowwowwowwowwow! This is soo nice. At first it is very minty, but not toothpaste minty. It smells like my chocolate mint plant. And it actually made my skin cold. But then it becomes much more soft floral. It reminds me very much of Queen Mab. A minty version of Queen Mab.

 

Being a Gemini, I knew I would love this. But I didn't know how much. Highly Recommended!

 

** edit: I just checked Queen Mab and none of the ingredients are the same. But I stick by it. Definitely has a similar scent. And I definitely love it.

 

*** editing again just to say that I still have my bottle of Gemini. There's a bit left. It's become more of a lavendar/lemon blend. Mostly lemon. I still like it,but not nearly so much as before. But this is a long time for a citrus blend to age. ... Maybe this year's Gemini offering will be something I crave.

Edited January 24, 2008 by xoe

[Splendid Molerat]

This was another fun shape-shifter for me, starting out with the cool, but not biting mint note, and then changing into a warm hollow with sweetpeas and green, watery plants.

 

It reminded me of the way an early June day transforms, from a cool morning with dew on the grass, into a sunny day that creates little pockets of heat you walk into by surprise.

[Scylla]

Mint is the first note that "pops" on my skin. For the first 10 minutes or so it smells VERY minty--bracingly so. But I like mint, so that's OK.

 

This is definitely one of the shape-shifters of the BPAL perfume oil catalogue. Seems so appropriate for it to be called Gemini!

 

It transformed from a cool, minty scent with flowers in the background to a green, fresh floral. The sweet pea comes to the forefront on me, with lavender and lemongrass next, then the mint. I don't really detect lemon OR orange, but that's my body chemistry, I guess.

 

Definitely going on my "to order" list.

[Dianella]

When I first smelled this scent in the imp I got lemony mint. It stayed that way on my skin for like 2 minutes and then the floral, I'm imagining it's sweet pea, although I'm not very accomplished in picking out notes, started to peak out. At first it was tempered with lavender and now and then I'd get hints of lemon in the background of the scent. When I arrived at work that phase was mostly gone as well, leaving me with a VERY sweet smelling floral. I don't know if it's the cumulative fatigue of my week but by 9 I had a headache. I'll try this again when I get more sleep to see if that's what caused it. I want to like it, I am a Gemini after all, but not at the expense of a raging headache.

[VelvetSky]

Being a Gemini, this was a must-try oil for me. I'm so happy that I like it as much as I do.

 

This is fresh and very minty when I first put it on, with a teeny bit of lemon floating around in the background.

 

After warming up on my skin, the sweet pea makes an appearance, mixing in with the mint and the lemon.

 

Gemini is a very lively, outgoing perfume...an absolutely perfect reflection of the Gemini personality.

[Belladonnastrap]

First sniff

Cardamon. I get nothing else from this scent but that and it reminds me of cooking Cardamon twisty bread with my dad.

 

When wet

Lemons? WTF? Dual nature indeed. Lemons and Cardamon and that's about it really...oh wait no there's some spice too. But I get overpoweringly lemon from this. Boo

 

Drydown

Meh. Still lemony, no trace of Cardamon anymore.

 

Aftermath

Not for me....I think my body chemistry hates lemons.

[malanna]

Initially, this is green and minty. There's a slight warmness that indicates there's a bit of lavender. Over time, Gemini isn't so minty and becomes a herbal floral. The herbal part sort of makes me think there's some eucalyptus in there. I don't really get lemon, but there's a funkiness to the floral that makes it not a "fresh" floral.... This is the most wearable of the Celestials I've tried so far. This also wafts and lasts for at least five hours.

[rainbow]

In the bottle- chocolate mint! I've got no idea where the chocolate element comes from. There's no cocoa mentioned in the ingredients, so I've no idea if something else is mimicking the the chocolate scent or what, but there's a definite chocolate scent there.

 

Wet on skin- the chocolate fades somewhat, although is still present. The mint amplifies, and this becomes a fresh, zingy mint scent, that positively tingles. It's extremely clean and crisp.

 

Wearing- The chocolate disappears completely, and I'm left with a creamy floral and mint scent- it's very nice. It's difficult to pick out individual notes, though I suspect the dominant one is the sweet pea (given that lavender and lemongrass are very distinctive, and this doesn't smell like either of those).

 

Overall- this is a nice, sophisticated, and very feminine perfume. I will enjoy using my imp.

[grrrlennyl]

at first: i mostly smell mint, but there's definitely a lot of other scents.

on: very, very minty. i think i can smell a bit of citrus underneath, but it's mostly mint.

1 hour later: weird. this is softly herbal now.

2 hours later: very faintly herbal, with the slightest hint of a sweet floral.

overall: i really like this, but it fades very quickly. it's definitely one that i'll have to reapply often.

[k00kaburra]

In bottle: Mint and lavender. There's something watery - almost melon-y - mellowing out the sharpness of the mint and lavender. It's vaguely fruity as well...very, very unusual.

 

On me: The lavender and other florals grow stronger, as does the lemon. The mint is still there, but it retains so little of its regular bite that I barely notice it. It's quite green, even when the florals are growing in prominance. Very dual in nature...it switches between floral and lemon-mint every few minutes.

[Shollin]

First sniff: Very sharp citrus melange with a cold-minty undertone.

 

Wearing: Finally, an astrology oil I really, really like – and it’s my beloved’s sun sign (he’s a solstice baby, just barely a Gemini). Veeeeery interesting. The mint is much more pronounced on my skin, and the lemon is asserting itself above the other citrus, so I smell a bit like lemon-mint tea. This is very good stuff.

[OriginalWacky]

Bottle (Imp): I'm expecting something two-sided, maybe even chaotic. I'm smelling something sweet, something sultry, something a tinge sharp.

 

Just On: Add to those things something dark, and something light. Yeah, this fits very well so far.

 

An hour or two later: Hmm, I'm not so sure what I'm getting now. Perhaps mint?

 

Around 6 hours: Lemon? How utterly odd.

 

12 hours: It's gone, I think. It could be that I smell like it, and it smells like me, moreso even than a skin scent. Must try this one a few more times.

 

Overall: This is cool, and I'm keeping this one. I tried this a second day... and a third... and I swear, this changes each time. This is incredible.

 

After reading other reviews: For once lavender doesn't overwhelm a scent. I'm not giving this one up for anything. As just a scent I might not buy more, but since this is my sun sign, and it does work nicely on me, so I'd be happy if I could get more.

[sookster]

upon first whiff from this gorgeous little imp i get a whole lotta mint going on....upon application this morphs into the most gorgeous light floral blend on me that gets stronger and deeper with time.....this is such a beautiful scent indeed...thanks to a loverly bpalgal for turning me on to this

 

i am pleased as punch to have just stumbled upon Beth's announcement of bringing the celestials back !!

 

you bet i will be buying a big old bottle of Gemini....after all, she is me

[Blood onmy hands]

I don't generally like mint, citrus, or florals... so Gemini and I didn't get along too well.

 

First on this is sharp lemon and herbal mint. It made me think of cough drops. The lemon fades away after a few minutes and a watery/aquatic floral comes to the front. It's not as sweet as sweet pea usually is on me. Mint leaves and watery florals. It's a very light scent on me and only lasted about 3 hours.

 

This is very not me. Glad that I got a chance to try this though.

[edenssixthday]

Gemini - This is a perfect example of Beth weaving her magic: this blend consists mostly of notes I dislike, yet it is absolutely amazing on my skin. I have never been able to wear sweet pea in a BPAL blend, as they always turn to soap on me. Lemon smells like Pledge on me. Mint is my nemesis. Lavender is hit-or-miss on me (usually miss). I do like lemongrass and orange, but two out of six isn't great odds. Still, when I put this on, I'm blown away by how pretty it is. It opens up with a big blast of herbal mint, and oddly enough, as much as I generally dislike mint, I really like this one! It reminds me a lot of the sweet mint used in Lick It/Again. The mint dissipates fairly quickly and while it doesn't completely go away, it fades enough that the lemon, lavender, and lemongrass notes become evident, and the combination of those with the now-soft mint remind me a warm cup of rel axing, herbal tea. It's really pretty. The scent morphs again after 30-45 minutes, and all of the notes begin to fade with the exception of the lemongrass, which is really strong now. It's not lemony, however, as lemongrass often can be. I think perhaps due to the fact that this oil is now two years old, the herbal qualities of the lemongrass are stronger than the lemony aspects of it, and it smell dry and herbal-woody, almost like a really nice, aged sandalwood. This is the note that remains dominant on my skin for the next several hours and it's just gorgeous. The sillage in this scent is just perfect -- I get the feeling that when I walk in a room, people don't notice my aroma as much as just notice a shift in the air that's light, herbal, and pleasant. I would be thrilled if I could smell this fresh and pretty every single day. This really is a top-notch blend. If Beth ever releases the Astrological blends again, I'm definitely buying a bottle of Gemini and putting it away for a couple of years until it ages to perfection. I love this and am very sad it's so hard to come by.

Edited February 3, 2007 by edenssixthday

[emzebel]

Mmmm...I am so so happy to have located an imp of this, which is beautifully aged and works wonderfully with my Gemini chemistry.

 

The mint and citrus are definitely present in this, but mostly, this is a warm, spicy herbal scent - with a watery sensibility, but not an aquatic scent - Shollin mentioned tea - this definitely makes me think of a very nice spicy herbal tea.

 

I love this and so wish there were more about...

[Mishinka]

nteresting the difference a few days makes. I like all of these notes but just wasn't that impressed with the way they blended together.

 

Then today I tried it, and I got a big blast of mint and lemongrass out of the bottle that I hadn't noticed before. It's very minty and green. The lavender leaps out at me when I put it on, turning it into this green, slightly bitter scent. It spends a little while as a very green, citrusy scent that smells a bit like minty cleaning fluid and finishes as something very green and lavenderish with a little floral. It wasn't quite what I expected. Not terrible, but not my favorite.

[nellieburger]

In the imp: VERY minty with citrus undertones. It's very refreshing!

 

Wet: Lavender and sweet pea come into the picture, with lavender keeping the upper-hand.

 

Dry: Sweet pea sticks around indefinitely, leaving the other notes barely discernible.

 

Gemini is soft and sweet. It's girlishly feminine. It's enchanting!!!

[naeelah]

I'm trying this for the first time, 5 years after it was imped.

 

First impression is PEPPERMINT! As it dries the mint softens and a soft floral quality emerges. There is also a light herbal note. The lavender is strongest but the lemongrass gets a bit more noticeable as the blend continues to morph. The lemongrass but it doesn't scream lemon. I really get no sense of lemon from gemini at all.

 

Dry. it's a light, refreshing herbal mint blend lightened and sweetened by sweetpea. It's abit like Bess in character. Loveley for hot weather or for any time you need refreshing or reviving.

[Ravenclaw79]

The universe consists of a delicate balance, yin and yang, dark and light, matter and anti-matter. You'd think that Gemini, the twins, might be a balance of two sides as well. But this tips to only one side: This, my friends, is anti-perfume. I tried it on, and it quickly faded to almost nothing at all. What IS there is the John Doe of perfumes, anonymous, totally nondescript. Weird.

[thekittenkat]

In the bottle: all the notes are present, but the mint dominates, in a sweet way

 

Wet: still minty, but more sweet, probably the sweet pea

 

The Dry-down: the citrus notes are coming to the foreground, but there's also an underlying woody note, maybe the lemongrass (as if it was dried in the sunshine)

 

Later: not so minty now, and the lavender is peeking out, and I'm getting more of a sense of sun-warmed herbs

 

 

This is a very light scent, very airy, and that's good, because Gemini is an air sign. I wore this the other day, the first day when we had temps in the 80s, and it seemed to be very changeable from the bottle to the dry-down. Typical Gemini. It's a mutable sign, so all the changes this oil goes through are also appropiate for the sign. Gemini is my sun sign, so I knew that I needed to try this at some point. This will be a good scent for spring and summer, and a good one for sleep-time.

 

I only have two problems with this oil. It's so light that I will have to slather and re-apply often. Also, it's a bit tacky-feeling on my writs, but I suspect that this is two-fold: this is an older oil, and also there are those citrus notes; orange juice, for example, can be sticky.

 

 

[zankoku_zen]

Oddly enough, I almost enjoy Gemini. The lemon + lemongrass combination is a puckery lemon, especially on wet. It smells a little sour and off, but that might be the lavender. On the dry down however, sweet pea the bully, makes an appearance and just about dominates the blend. I wish there was something that would keep her in check.

 

Oddly appealing, but the sweet pea rampaging through is a bit of a turn off.

[grashopper8]

Initially: I get the lemon and mint straight away, and underneath I am thinking carnation. I will give it a while and see if the lavender, orange, and sweet pea resolve into something softer than the initial intense carnation impression.

 

Later: I still feel like there's a spicy floral happening, like carnation or geranium. It's sweetened just a bit, and I can now pick out the sweet pea note from Juliet. I never really got any lavender or orange from this (granted, the bottle I'm testing is about 8 years old now at this point). There is a powdery overall quality to the scent.

 

I'm glad I got the chance to try this. The first 10 minutes are definitely the best on me - lemon and mint, a joyful blast of happy goodness!