[Diviana]

[i]Pure internal harmony and spiritual bliss: the perfected meditation blend.

Hmm... the only note I can pick out is the sandalwood. This is a very warm and peaceful scent, but I don't see myself wearing it much as perfume. I think I'll turn it into a room spray, or maybe use it in an oil burner.

[cupide430]

Tushnamatay

Soft, gentle, powdery and spicy. This smells like a lighter, more powdery version of Hod, but less sweet. Its so gentle. I didn't really slather this, so I can't tell if that's the reason its so faint... but it is very light.
Ok, I just slathered a whole bunch more on. It has a faint cedary touch to it. But just the slightest cedary touch. I can still barely smell it, but what I can smell is cedar plus powdery and a bit of sweetness.
Is it this light on everyone else or is my skin just eating it up? There's nothing offensive about it at all... but I'm not sure it is exactly for me-- I can barely smell it!

I waited a while and now its back! Now it smells like sweet, creamy, Nag Champa incense. Its still a very light scent, but lovely. I think this is about as much incense as I could take. This scent still has no throw, I have to pretty much stick my nose to my hand to smell anything at all, but what I can smell is quite nice.

[elphaba]

The first thing that comes to mind wearing this is "soft." It's like a feather pillow or a cashmere blanket. I do smell the sandalwood that others have mentioned but it's the smell of wood when it's been sanded and sanded until the finish is like peach fuzz.

I think part of what will make Tushnamatay a good meditation blend is that the scent is very light, but also very present. You actually have to concentrate to catch the throw, but it's definitely there. You could easily close your eyes, let your mind focus in on this scent like you would a mantra, and shut out the rest of the world.

I have yet to try it in the oil burner, but I suspect it will be better there or dabbed onto a pillow than as a personal scent.

[OriginalWacky]

Bottle (Imp): Smells like sweet chocolate and a tiny hint of booze.

Just On: It immediately turns less chocolatey, and stays sweet. I can also smell woody incense.

An hour or two later: Wow, this faded an awful lot.

Around 6 hours: It's all gone.

12 hours: Gone, of course.

Overall: I like it, but it certainly seemed to fade quickly on me.

After reading other reviews: I can see how this would be an awesome meditation blend. In fact, I'm going to dabble in it to meditate later on. It goes on the bottle list 9which is growing impossibly large).

[cranberry]

Wow - this is just beautiful. I adore sandalwood. This is a very light creamy sandalwood - maybe with a touch of carnation to add a bit of spice and slight floral sweetness. It stays pretty true from initial application - the carnation comes out as it dries.

This is a very light close scent on me and disappears pretty quickly. It reminded me to Diptyque's Tam Dao when I first smelled it - they both have that creamy quality to the sandalwood. Overall, I love it and it's risen to the top of my list of bottles to get.

[malanna]

This is quite sweet and strong sandalwood with a bit of oomph (cloves and spices) to start with. Over time, however, the oomph goes away, and all I can pick up is sandalwood. This makes me think of going to a Buddhist home, and smelling the incense burning.

[WavyLocks]

My first BPAL review!! Unfortunately, it's a bit of a boring one, because I'm not in love with this Bewitching Brew.

I can't seem to pick out any individual notes in this one, and my imagination resisted the urge to take flight at first sniff the way it can sometimes. I'm not much good at recognizing notes generally, but I can usually spot sandalwood. Other reviewers keep mentioning it, so maybe there's a sort of sandalwood I don't recognize in this?

I get a more generalized suntan lotion, body cream or hair conditioner fragrance from this one. Not unpleasant, not smothering, but not necessarily something I'd want to wear. Reminds me of Fleurs d'Osmanthus by Keiko Mecheri, which I didn't care for.

If it is sandalwood, this will probably age nicely, so I'm keeping the imp, just to see how it hits me six months from now.

I'm impressed with the balance of the scent, though, since no one note seems to jump out and strangle me, and it isn't the sort of unfortunate jagged mess that some (not BPAL) unsuccessful fragrances can have.

[wickedgoddess]

Origins - gift imp from the lab

Wet - both in the bottle and wet on skin, I can barely get any scent from this at all.

Dry - as soon as this begins to dry, it becomes the most beautiful sandalwood scent ever. There's a touch of spice in here too, either nutmeg or clove. There seems to be some creaminess here too, and I wonder if there is a touch of vanilla. My only complaint is that this is a very light scent; it's barely there. Still I am pretty sure this is going to be a big bottle purchase, because it is absolutely beautiful.

I am so glad I was gifted this, because based on the minimal description, I probably wouldn't have sought this out on my own.

On the wickedgoddess scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being best, this rates a 5.

[darkling]

Tushnamatay was a very faint scent that reminded me of both soap and dryer sheets.

[shelldoo]

ok i was a bit hesitant...corndog???? then carnation *joyful squee* then jasmine cries....but i decide to sniff it meself


in the vial: herbal, green

wet: saffron? and sandalwood. hmm why am i getting saffron?

as it dries it is all saffron and sandalwood sensual, relaxing, beautiful looove it

[LiberAmoris]

Mmmmm, Tushnamatay is so relaxing. To me it smells like a mix of Morocco and Kathmandu: sandalwood, sweet incense and light curling smoke. It's like an old bookstore in the East Village where they have nag champa burning 'round the clock.

[tart]

Sweet sandalwood incense...this is very comforting and calming. I'd definitely use this as a room scent. I'd love to smell this on The Man Friend. :P I'll have to attack him with this. I may not need a bottle, but this will be a very loved imp.

[Orodemniades]

Sandalwood! But creamy and sweet and very restrained, almost a skin scent, an up-close-and-personal scent, if you like.

My skin amps sandalwood to the nth degree and I'm loving this. It makes for a great change and just goes to show you can never know when an ingredient that hasn't agreed with you before is going to sit up and say, Hey, dude, you totally can wear me. Yay for skin chemistry! :P

Oro

[Little Bird]

Tushnamatay is a very faint woodsy blend on me. I definitely smell the sandalwood, and it goes slightly powdery in the drydown, and something that reminds me lightly of cedar chips. It's a bit incensy and sweet as well. And this one has a sweet, clean fragrance lingering in the background that reminds me a bit of Dirty.

This is sandalwood with tiny hints of cedar, sweet incense, and Dirty. I like it. It's very subtle and calming, with very little throw. I may never get a full bottle of this one, because there are sandalwood blends that I like more (erm, Magus), but this one is very light and lovely.

This post has been edited by Blood onmy hands: 29 August 2006 - 02:19 AM

[coulrophobe]

In the imp: I'm finding it hard to smell this one - there's a whiff of incensey sweetness, but it's fleeting.

On: I'm getting sandalwood, and maybe a bit of light musk. It's velvety soft, and clean - and powdery, which I happen to like if it's done right. This definitely is. Tushnamatay (or "The Tush" as I affectionately refer to it) is subtle and soothing. There's a sort of dryness to it that I associate with "desert" scents like Morocco. It's actually reminding me quite a bit of Al-Azif, my favorite of the Springtime in Arkham scents.

[inkstone]

A freebie from the Lab.

I really, really wish I could say what was in this, but my skin ate it in 15 minutes flat. O_O All I got was a faint whiff of something vaguely incensey mixed with a soft floral.

[Fefferbella]

Another frimp from the lab:

This is boozy sandalwood and a hint or florals! Really pretty.

I love Sandalwood, and boozy sandalwood is *fabulous*. Sadly the floral note causes this gorgeous blend to turn soapy after just a few minutes on me.

[sophia_helix]

Yuck, yuck, yuck. This, Cathedral and Scarecrow all had a top note like an unscented candle burning. I don't like it, it's sweet and burnt-waxy and makes me kind of sick, and I had to wash this off immediately. I'm starting to guess that whatever the Lab includes as an "incense" note is very, very bad on me.

[BlackDahlia]

OOOooooooo...

Do I ever LOVE this fragrance!!

I like this because it does evoke feelings of calmness in me ~ and that is not an easy feat to accomplish!

I have no clue what it is that I am smelling ~ but I know it works for me. It is sweet, warm and inviting...

I will wear this one quite often ~ I need a great big bottle ~ or ten. :P

Lovely.
Just lovely.
:D

[undream]

Soft, warm, spicey sweetness. Chocolatey, a powdery calm; soothing. A quiet cocoa incense. I love this one.

[shadowsong]

a land-bound anne bonney. the same spiced sandalwood that i love, but more dry woody incense, a little bit of sweetness, and no saltwater. morocco without the vanilla kicking all the other notes' butts - my skin gets a little amp-happy with anything sweet or flowery. i'll keep this one for when i need to feel comforting instead of kickass.

[QueenFae]

A sweet, incensey, resin blend. It's subtle, with no throw, it clings very close to the skin. It definitely smells like frankincense to me, like that old, worn - in head shop type smell. There's something there to sweeten it up a bit too, something resinous, like opium. A nice blend, but not what I'm looking for in a fragrance.

[sookster]

very softly incensey.....sandalwood and frankincense for sure with maybe a hint of nag champa for good
measure.....this is what you are looking for if you like head shop smells :P
while it is so light to start the scent comes through stronger and stronger as it sits
on my skin...quite unique and beautiful ... i think this would make a great layering
scent with some of the lab's other blends :D

[kiio]

I really like this one, wet, it is like sandalwood and cotton candy. Incrediably sweet and soft. As it dries, both notes calm down into this haze of lite sweetness that just makes me happy. Even better, my husband likes it on me too.

[Ciircee]

The loveliness of this blend cannot be overstated. I'm going to get a big bottle--probably a ten ml.

In the imp: Creamy, light sandalwood and something sweet--possibly opium? For all that it's a very soft scent.

Wet/Drydown: The sandalwood is heavier but otherwise it's the same sweet, softness from the imp. It's soothing.

Dry 10 min: I've got to quit sniffing myself. It lays pretty close to the skin and I look like a weirdo with my nose glued to the crook of my arm.

Dry 30 min: The sandalwood is quietly becoming a background note to the sweet scent, but it's so pretty and unobtrusive. I smell so good wearing this!

Dry 1 hour: This isn't a blend that changes much, just gets quieter and...deeper? That light sandalwood is still there but the sweetness (with just a bit of an edge of spice) nestles up close to it so that it's just...'meditation blend' is right. Relaxing and calming and you do have to breath deep to get it. It's there, but people won't stop and go 'who's wearing that?!'. They'll go 'what smells so nice?'

Dry 3 hours: It's fading on me, again without the change--just sweet and soft and comfortable and deep. The smell reminds me of the calm feeling of an empty church or a zen garden.

Dry 4 hours: It's nearly gone. I have to be right close to smell it (I double checked with Mr. Circe in case I'd just huffed it too much).


On Mr. Circe: Very much the way it smells on me, only he holds the sandalwood better than I do. On me it smells sweet and pretty, on him it smells masculine and...just, mmm. It made me want to snuggle close and just hold him and sleep late. Lasts for AGES on him. I got him before he went to work and could still get a whiff of it the next morning.


As a room scent: I'm doing this right now, so I don't know how long it lasts but it stays almost exactly as it does in the imp, has a great throw, and is very nicely masking the scent of my self-cleaning oven (which is self-cleaning).

Beth, any chance of you telling us what's in here?

This post has been edited by Ciircee: 28 January 2006 - 03:18 AM