[emzebel]

Mutable Air: the essence of thought.
Lavender, benzoin, orchid, and frankincense.

This is a soft scent of dusky florals, with a sharp tinge of resin from the frankincense, and a sweet vanilla note from the benzoin. A nice complementary mix, very calming to erratic Gemini, yet evocative of our sometimes hidden, mysterious, playful nature.

I prefer the peppery happy tone of the original formulation of this astrological, however, this is a lovely interpretation as well and it feels very...homey to me, moreso than any of the others in this year's releases have. Which makes sense, I suppose, seeing as I am so firmly a Gemini.

[abejita]

There must be a lot of lavender haters out there, because it seems Gemini is getting no love.

In the bottle: lavender. Very.

Wet: why, yes, lavender, you did already introduce yourself. Let go of my hand.

Dry: The lavender is still very much a presence, but its character is altered by the benzoin, which sweetens the blend, and the orchid, which adds some lushness. The frankincense seems to give it some clarity.

I'm your archetypical Gemini, and I like this blend. It's nice to see something that evokes more the mental/thought aspect of the Gemini instead of the flightiness or loquaciousness.

[Delphinine]

Is it okay if I say "ditto" because I agree with everything in abejita's review? Except, Gemini is my Moon sign rather than my Sun sign.

I wish I had purchased more than one bottle.

[Poenari]

I am not a big fan of lavender because it usually turns into a medicinal scent on me, but I had to buy Gemini because it's my astrological sign.

In the bottle, oh yes definitely lavender. When I first applied it, still lavender, but not unpleasant or medicinal. But then after about a half hour- :D what is that scent that is wafting to me? Is it the orchid? It doesn't smell like the descriptions of benzoin, so it must be the orchid.

Whatever it is, I love this! A floral that is very pretty and calming and it just makes me feel good to wear it. I'm having a hard time putting it into words, which is hard to believe (being the typical talky Gemini that I am) but it smells exactly like I want to smell. :P I am really sorry I didn't buy two bottles.

[Taniwha]

My review is going to sound like an echo. I was hesitant to order Gemini, but since I am one, I had to. I adore the lavender which grows around my patio, but I don't care so much to wear it on my skin. Gemini starts out as the sharp, biting lavender that I don't like to smell like, but soon the orchid turns it onto a lush, creamy floral that really suits me. It reminds me very much of the orchid note that I've grown to love in Abhisarika. I don't really catch the frankincense, but I'm guessing that will become stronger with age, and that's fine by me.

I've tried several of Beth's lavender blends and they've all been pretty much single notes on me. This one is a departure, and I'm very pleased that it works so well.

[savage_rose]

Lovely and clean...mainly lavender, but a spiced lavender. And something slightly feminine and floral (the orchid?) that gives it a hint of perfuminess. It smells warm and comforting, yet zesty and exciting at the same time. Wow, this is really nice. Light, lovely, but sexy, too.

[Anna D.]

This starts out entirely lavender, and stronger than even I usually like lavender (I love the stuff) - almost harsh, I think maybe because there's a little frankincense? But that harshness quickly goes away, and as it dries town, this transforms from lavender almost-SN to a light and airy orchid. It's very pretty, but sadly it seems to vanish on me - after about an hour I can only get a hint of orchid if I practically inhale my wrist. I'm bummed, because the notes sounded wonderful, like a dream come true, but on me it's not that wonderful. (It is really lovely, but for other people, I think.)

[Jilara]

I'm a Gemini, though I'm a cusp Gemini (Gemini-Cancer solistic baby), so I wanted to have this one.

Unfortunately, there are lavenders that work on me, and lavenders that do not. This is the same lavender that didn't work on me in Oneiroi, which goes skunky and nose-twisting funky when it meets my skin chemistry. I left it on all through the drydown, hoping against hope. It improved a little, in that the frankincense gave a nicer incense quality to the skunky scent. :P

But I was forced to conclude that the lavender in Gemini and I were ill-fated from the first. Here's hoping that Cancer is a better match to my chemistry...

[Keslynn]

In the bottle, Gemini is lavender!!! All lavender, which I don't mind, especially since my boyfriend loves it.

On my skin, the lavender is still lord of the scent. For a while, it's almost lavender SN, but then it gets a lovely softer edge to it. There's the orchid sidling up beside the lavender. Not sure if I'm smelling the benzoin or frankincense. I'm horrible at picking out notes. To me, it almost smelled like the rich plumminess of Lenore or Mme Moriarty. Whatever it is, it's wonderful and is keeping my nose glued to my wrist.

Verdict: The surprise smash hit from my Rose/Blue Moon order. I love it!

[sookster]

straight sniff from bottle is smooooooooooooth and creamy lavender...a touch of benzoin...
a twinge of something almost metallic...

once applied the orchid is predominantly present...it is quite beautiful with the lavender
in this blend which i should mention is of the highest quality...

this is a perfect blend for me, being a gemini and all....thanks beth :P

[QueenFae]

As a Gemini, I had very high hopes for this one.

When first applied: lavender! Almost straight up lavender. Very sharp, strong, and commanding. Reminds me of a sleepy time blend.

On the dry down: Geez, I don't know what happened, but some strange, sour note has worked it way to the top of the blend. Bleck! What is my skin turning sour?? The benzoin, perhaps?? Oh this is just not working on me.

Boo hoo! :P I wanted to love it.

[Polychrome]

I'm on the Gemini/Cancer cusp, and although I'm very much a Cancer, this blend sounded surprisingly appealing, so I thought I'd give it a try. And I'm glad I did! Ah, I've been looking for a scent like this... a tranquil scent full of clarity. The lavender here is calming, but not particularly sleep-inducing. Rather, it seems to invite contemplation and study. I could've used this scent during my last few semesters of grad school! In the bottle, it's all lavender. Wet upon application, it's lavender and frankincense for the first ten minutes or so, and then it softens as the orchid comes out. Finally, the benzoin joins the orchid for a gentle, creamy scent on the drydown. Lovely.

[Edens Sixth Day]

Gemini 2007 - I am a Cancer Sun/Gemini Rising/Gemini Moon, so I thought perhaps the Gemini in me would love this blend -- especially with goodies like orchid and frankincense in it. Sadly, it smelled terribly like b.o. on me and just got worse the longer it was on. Lavender and I don't really like each other too much and I discovered that lavender blended with frankincense (which I normally love) creates a dirt-sweat b.o. scent on my skin. I almost cried because I could smell how it could potentially work well on other skin chemistry types, but it was just so bad on me. I let it sit for a while, and as it dried, the orchid came out a bit, but that lavender-frank mix managed to dominate the blend and keep it from smelling anything but good on me. The throw and staying power were both slightly above average. Yeah, this one really bums me out because I was just so hopeful for it.

[veridian]

Maybe I'm a secret Gemini because I love this! I have bought all the astrological blends this year so far just to have, and I was so upset that Aries (my sign) didn't work at all on me. This one does though. I'm a sucker for lavender.....

My favorite lavender scent of all time is Ode on Melancholy, which has such an airy, misty quality that feels very otherworldly. This is more grounded and sultry, and the lavender is much thicker and borders on sharp. I can smell the orchid right away too, and some light resin that must be the frankincense. A very pretty, creamy floral blend. Although this is heavy on the lavender, I don't think of this as a soothing nightime blend at all. This is too feminine and sweet for that.

I'm glad I bought a bottle of this because I'll get a ton of use from it. Beautiful!

[sarada]

I didn't buy Gemini right away...I went back for it a couple of days after I thought about it a bit and realized that some of my favorite blends are lavender plus something smoky, resiny or incensy (Old Scratch, Agony of Loss, and Gaueko, for example). How can I pass up a chance at another one?

Just as I hoped, this is a deep, resiny lavender that takes off as soon as I apply it, and wreaths me in a dark, dusty smoky lavender cloud. Not a piercing, incisive lavender, the resin softens it somewhat. And creeping up in the background, a beautiful, honey-sweet hint of orchid, which reminds me a bit of the humid greenhouse blooms that loom over The Premature Burial.

It's amazing how this fills the air around me, I love things that blossom on my skin like that, blending the sharp herbal lavender with smoky, grounding resins and highlighted with gentle sweet orchid. It's different from the other dark lavender blends that I love, but that addition of the orchid takes it into another realm that I just was not expecting. Of the three Zodiac blends so far this year I like this one the best, though the year is still young!

[moontess]

Wet: Sharp lavender
Dry: the frankinscence and orchid have kicked in and with the lavender it is a clarifying scent without it turning into sharp medicine. Not my favorite, but I can see using it if I need to clear my head or concentrate.
Rating: 3/5

[alicia_stardust]

In the bottle: I smell lavender that's a bit sharp, a touch of resins, and an overall "something" that strongly reminds me of Sylph. Whatever it is, it's very effective as an "air" scent.

On my skin: Lavender, lavender, lavender, something resinous, more lavender.

After a while: The lavender suddenly, and I mean suddenly, goes to the back of the line to allow other scents to come forth. I believe it's the benzoin that is adding a sweet, resinous touch to this. When that combines with the sensual, dusky qualities of the orchid it is simply magical. Behind those the lavender is lending itself as the base of the blend without distracting from the sweet, air-like magic that has just come forth. Later yet, I do detect franckincense as part of this, and very shortly after that the scent has mostly faded but a slight scent memory remains for another 2-3 hours.

The most amazing part of this blend, to me, is that sudden change that happens where the lavender takes a back seat and the other notes come forth. At that point in the blend the throw is one of the most hypnotic spring-like things I've smelled.

It's a keeper!

[filigree_shadow]

This is a little strange. The oil that I applied to the back of my hand a few minutes ago has a strong sour lavender smell -- sort of like lavender + camphor. It's biting.

However, I got a little bit of oil on my other hand when I was trying this on, and that spot smells wonderful. It's bright and cheerful and quite pleasant. Maybe I need to wait a little while to see what happens to the oil on the back of my hand.

:P

OK, the lavender isn't nearly as strong now. I can smell a little bit of orchid, and it's very pretty. It smells deep, almost resinous. Unfortunately, it's really soft. If I tried to put on more oil in order to amp up the scent, I'd be stuck with that wet sour lavender phase again.

So... I don't like the wet phase when the scent is strong, and although I do like the dry phase I can barely smell it.
I don't think this one is going to work on me after all. :D

[Little Bird]

(First of all, I just want to say that I adore abejita's review for this blend, it had me laughing out loud :D )

I agree that the lavender is strong and dominating in this blend. Sadly, it's a sharp and astringent sort of lavender to my nose. I like lavender when it's sort of cool, creamy, and has a sweeter edge. After a half hour or so, this does calm down a lot and get a bit creamier. The orchid gives it a bit of a smoother, juicier edge, I think. The resins also creep in and give this a slightly darker feel.

Unfortunately, I am fond of the drydown (resinous orchid = yum) but this fades really fast on me. It's very light and only lasts a couple hours.

I'm glad that I got a decant of this one. I wouldn't need a full bottle, but I'll wear it every once in a while to experience the drydown stage again :P

[Bagfish]

This one suprised me as I'm not a fan of BPAL frankincense, it normally goes sour on me. So I was testing a load of oils all at once and suddenly I got a waft of something lovely, which was Gemini :P

In the decant and on my skin at first, a very strong lavender, like in Somnus. So I dismissed it and got on with testing others, but about 20 minutes down the line this lovely sweet almost fruity intense scent appeared and I had to stop and take notice. Gemini is beautiful, swet and rich and heady. I am so suprised by this one as I really didn't think it would work, but it is beautifully fragrant on me and I am really enjoying wearing it.

The orchid comes out, and I recognise a slight similarity to the vanilla orchid in Regan, maybe its the sweet vanillic benzoin mixing with the orchid scent. The frankincense tempers the sweetness and heightens the throw and fragrance without ever making a direct appearence. The lavender just :poof: disappears which is very odd. And this scent has two different smells, up close it is quite sharp and fruity, and further away, the benzoin definitely makes an appearence.

Yep, this is a good'un and a keeper I think.

[purplemoonshoes]

In the imp I smell a soft lavender muted by orchid and I think vanilla. But on my skin I get a burst of sharp sharp lavender and then a muted but putrid scent. Blech. Pretty but not for me.

[Melissa Della]

Wet: Interesting! Sweet lavender (is that the benzoin's doing?) and lush orchid, a bit resiny.

First on: This is a beautiful, strange blend. Lavender usually evokes "medicine" in my brain, not that it's bad, but not terribly perfume-like either. The orchid and resins are really doing a number on this blend. Sweet -- not sugary -- and exotic.

Dry: Dry, this is, excuse my language, fucking gorgeous. I've never met a prettier lavender blend in all my life, and I'm not one to avoid lavender anyway. It's a bit stronger on drydown, but it's pretty much the same scent as first on.

[olympia301]

I am a Gemini. I don't like lavender as a general rule, too sharp and dry for me. So, of course, I cannot leave anything the Lab does alone...and being the solipsistic slob I am, I had to order some to see if it was meeeeee. Right? Well, I didn't know quite what to make of it at first. That is a good sign, that means it's interesting. It is a lavender blend but that unexpected sweetness of the orchid really puts those two opposites at a pretty point. I do like Gemini a great deal. I think it should be up there with my other orchid happies. If you got it, you won't be sorry. If you are interested in it, I would go for it.

[Mimicake]

I love lavender, and am a gemini so I had to have this one. I adore it! At first it is so sharp that it is almost sour, then it softens to a sweet powdery fragrance. Very dual personality, very me. I am so glad I got a bottle of this!

[darlingarmadillo]

When I ordered this, I knew I loved three of the four listed notes; I hadn't encountered BPAL orchid before. I just got my Rose Moon order today, and this was the first oil I tried.

When first applied, it has a pungent lavender scent with frankincense in the background. It cools off into a softer, gentle lavender note after a few minutes, and the orchid comes to the forefront. The resins aren't strong, they sit in the background giving depth and interest to the florals. On the whole, it's a clean, elegant scent, without much throw. I've had it on for about 6 hours now, and can still smell it, though only just.

I love this blend, and it's a shame it's a limited edition because I can see myself using this a lot.

This post has been edited by darlingarmadillo: 12 June 2007 - 08:39 PM