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... this is the essence of Victorian-era spiritualism: rosewood, oak and teak notes with wispy blue lilac, tea rose, dried white rose and ethereal osmanthus.


this reminds me of some type of candy, but i can't quite put my finger on exactly what.

haha, now that i read the last few posts... IT IS NECCO WAFERS! however, on my skin, its a little closer to flowers and necco wafers.

in the imp, this was really woody with a floral undercurrent.

once it hit my skin, it was all necco wafers.

as it started to warm up, and settle into my skin, the flowers came alive again. i can smell lilac and what i guess could be roses (but not the lush, beautiful rose scent that you just want to bury your face in, those roses that are less fragrant and smell somewhat green). i wish i had a reference for what osmanthus smells like. i don't.

drydown: the necco wafer smell is starting to disolve to a much lovelier floral scent. this is much prettier than i expected!

dry: it has only been 30 minutes or so, whatever was making this a funky licorice scent has disappeared, and this has mellowed into a beautiful floral. the rose is much more prominent, but isn't trying to kick ass and take names. the wood notes are still there, but are just helping this floral blend to have a bit more character.

there is very little throw on this, i have to get CLOSE to smell it.

be patient with this one, guys, let it sink into your skin! :)

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Frimp from the lab - I love the concept of this and the rosewod, oak and teak sound lovely, but then all those florals . . .

 

In the imp, this is woodsy rose. On wet - this almost smells a bit like sassafras for some reason. It might be something about the wood . . . strong oak and very strong florals. Yikes.

 

As this dries down it . . . smells kind of like a feminine Tombstone. No, really. This is completely surreal. Some rose, sure, but mostly woods and sweetened phantom sassafras. What the deuce? Definitely an interesting scent.

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Frimp from the lab: Wet in the imp, the wood notes are pretty overpowering. There's also some herbal note, almost minty or like camphor, but not quite with that level of bite. There's a bit of rose under all that dense wood, and something very sweet, but I honestly can't tell what other floral it is.

 

Wet on: The wood starts to smell like antique, polished furniture, furniture at your grandmother's house that has had years and years of oil soaked into it, not like the polish itself, but like the furniture. Lilac comes out to assert itself just a little bit with the stronger rose, and there's still that crazy herbal scent that's sort of like camphor, but not quite. I know that's not osmanthus, because I have a couple of bushes of those outside my house, and the fragrance of them is overwhelmingly sweet and delicious. I'm not getting that note from this at all.

 

Dry down: The wood recedes into the background. It's still there, a solid base beneath the florals, but the rose amps and starts to shine. It's an old fashioned rose, a little faded, not quite fresh. For me, it's the only floral that sticks around. The throw on me is medium, but I also have a fever today, so my body could be causing it to throw when it might normally not.

 

This scent succeeds at painting the intended picture. It truly does. While I don't love it enough for a bottle, I think I'll really enjoy the imp. It also has nice lasting power. I've had it on a few hours now, and it's still going strong.

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There are many scents I don't care for, but I don't often get an immediate GET IT OFF OF ME response to an oil. Ouija gives me one, though. There is something horribly medicinal about it that provokes a frantic get off off, get it off, get it off mindset in me. I also smell the root beer-y, minty scents others have mentioned (I don't care for either of those scents either) and behind it, a floral. I think I smell a faint lilac and rose back there when I smash my nose up against my wrist, and it's too bad they aren't the main stars, but it's been 15 minutes and I can't take it anymore. It has got to come off.

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Huh. Ouija is kind of spearminty in the imp but dried out by the woods. I like spearmint but I don't think it work here. There are no flowers in the picture. But wait, the second I apply Ouija to my skin, I get a quick blast of rose then it's vanishes. The mint re-enters and hovers over top the woods. Because I amp rose, I shouldn't be surprised that as this dries on me, the rose finally tip-toes back in. It's actually not as bad on me as I thought. Would I ever wear it? No, but it's interesting.

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Ouija was such a chameleon! In the imp, it smelled so acrid I literally recoiled. Still, a lot of the notes work on me, so I wanted to give it a shot anyway. Let me say, I'm so glad I did! The rosewood and teak add a cozy, woody softness that balances the florals. Altogether, this is a very supernatural scent. It has very little throw, and each time I smell my test patch I get something a little different. It is a lovely shapeshifter. It does creep me out a little because of what it evokes, but it's brilliantly blended.

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Wow, salty goodness!

 

 

Imp: It smells like salty wood! Very powerful, just teak and oak. Reminds me a little of tea tree oil. No other notes detectable.

 

Wet: Sharp, acrid wood. Still like tea tree oil on me. Very medicinal. And like wood polish.

 

Dry: Wow, did my oil go bad?? I cannot detect ANYTHING besides wood polish! Not even the slightest waft of a floral note. Ahh, it takes a while for the teeniest tiny bit of a rose note to get through. Hmm, still.. odd scent. icon_neutral.gif

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In bottle: I’m not skin testing due to the terrible things my skin does to roses. This is weirdly chemical, dry and sharp. It does indeed smell like white roses predominantly, and the ozone quality does suggest the ethereal, the wood notes suggest the board, while the dryness does suggest ghosts. It really does fit its concept, though it’s not exactly my idea of pleasant.

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n the imp: Clear, light golden-yellow oil. This is weird, but I get the scent of those dry, airy, white, square (like little pillows) mint candies that used to always be served at wedding receptions. It's not a strong mint scent - it's like the fragrance of the candies, not their flavor. This is a cross between that and the scent of Ajax cleansing powder. I can pick out the wood notes, but not any rose or other florals. This is nothing like I expected, and so far I don't care much for it. Hopefully the florals will come out on my skin.

 

On me, wet: Nope, so far it's still the same as in the imp.

 

On me, just dried: The wood has amped up a little, but overall this is still mint candies and Ajax.

 

After 30 minutes: Much improved - now it is indeed the scent of wood and old, dried flowers. I do like it fairly well now, but am not sure it's worth the yucky first 30 minutes.

 

After 1 hour: The scent is now pretty faint but quite lovely - dried roses. If only it had been like this the whole time . . .

 

My rating: 3 stars

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This would make a really good incense blend, I think. It was spicier than I expected, and not as dusty, with an edge of something almost fruity that I think might have been the osmanthus combined with the fresh tea rose. It definitely smells old-fashioned and exotic, and makes me picture a particularly genteel occult and curio shop - think ladies in Gibson Girl hats who are interested in Theosophy, rather than hippies. :P

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I've had this imp from '09 and I'm finally testing it, haha.

 

Ouija reminds me a lot of Black Cat. It's super minty on me, though I don't get a lot of floral in this whereas Black Cat gave me a rose impression. On drydown there is a sour note in there somewhere- I notice that a lot in many of the perfumes that have a Victorian description. Maybe it's the teak or rosewood? I get the same vinegar-like note in Pulcinella and Teresina, Wilde and Lucy's Kiss as well.

 

All in all I say this is a miss for me.

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In the imp: Wow, what, root beer? Flowers and root beer. Hmmmmmmm.

 

On me, wet: Woodier, but more root beer. This is the first oil where I can identify every part of the "picture". I can smell the floral perfumes of the ladies in the room, and the wood of the floor and table and board, and...polish? medicine? root beer? There's just one note in this that is really, really not nice on my skin. The rose starts to come out more as it dries, and the root beer kind of goes away a little. It's a very nice scent overall, but it just kind of smells like perfume?

 

On me, dry: Fades really fast to something mostly fresh and clean, but with a strange misplaced almost foody note that I'm pretty sure is the rose, since that was in The Reaper and the Flowers too, and it's happening here again. Which probably means that rose is death for me, oh dear. Not really my thing, but I'm glad I got to try it.

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This was a such bizarre scent to me. It really feels like it's trying to tell you a story, or that you are looking back at a memory..I feel like writing when I smell this!

Anyway, on to the review:

 

In the imp: Hm.. The picture in my head is telling me about a chain smoker who, for some reason, felt the need to pour a giant bottle of root beer over himself (yes, I believe it is a man) while smoking.

OR

He is chewing about ten or twenty Jenka bubbelgums (who smell and taste just like root beer) while one cigarette burns out after the other.

 

On me: The smoker disappears, but the room he was in is left. You can smell the smoke that lingers in the walls, it feels lonely and dusty.

After a few minutes: The scent is changing. Someone opened up a window to air out all the old smoke and roses are being placed here and there in the room to give the room a more habitable smell and some warmth.

 

Half an hour later: The roses get some company from other flowers now, not sure what they are though. Despite all the flowers it doesn't go too sharp, sweet or old lady-like.

 

A few hours later: The room is gone and the flowers fade away, just like if the "memory" is being forgotten or the picture crumbles of age. I'm left with just a faint whiff of sweetened skin.

 

 

 

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Eep! This doesn't make sense to me at all, but..... This smells like minty meat on me. Kinda like those chalky lifesaver mints with a side of those bacon dog treats. Weird!

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In the Imp (ITI): Pungent rose at the start, followed by osmanthus and old wood paneling (I think that’s the oak) and just a touch of ozone. I get the image of green velvet tasseled drapes, wood-paneled walls, and well-worn Victorian floral upholstered furniture.

 

Wet: Rose, osmanthus, lilac, and just a dash of wood. I think my skin may amp rose.

 

Dry: Tea rose and lush, full rose with a dash of osmanthus remain after several hours and e long and brisk walk.

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I wanted to love this, but on me it is all soap and salt and nothing more. It also smells intensely medicinal on the drydown and somehow that makes me feel a bit sick :/ What a shame!

 

EDIT : I ended up getting a lab-fresh bottle of this and it is soooo different to the experience I had with a frimp. From the bottle, this is very woody and floral. Roses and teak. On my wrist, it is so evocative and I get none of the previous soapiness whatsoever. On the drydown, it is a very mysterious rose scent with a woody backdrop and an incensey vibe. Beautiful.

Edited by cherrycherry

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I love Seance because of the aged wood notes, so maybe I expected more from this blend. They are definitely in the same vein and are two scents in different parts of a victorian sitting room.

 

Wet - Sharp in the imp, sharp on the skin. A little bit of dryness. I assume the osmanthus and lilac are the sharp bits, building the stage for the roses and woods.

 

Drydown - No woods. That's what I wanted, so I'm not sure about this scent. So far, I don't think I really got Ouija here. Rosewood comes out with rose on me. I wonder if osmanthus and the type of lilac aren't just amping like mad on me here.

 

Dry - Becomes a little bit more dry, but I wanted lots of woods with a little florals. This is more like a vase of recently-dried flowers sitting in a potpourried sitting room with one piece of wooden furniture. I wanted more, but it's not bad. If I put my nose right ON my skin, I get the rosewood. Slight throw, a little bit of longevity. I'll stick with Seance layered with Rose Cross.

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Received an imp of this from cyndaelle!

 

Imp: Cool and minty with a hint of smoke and wood.

 

Wet: Spearmint with a light floral and even lighter wood. It's like a cold, dusty parlor room with the window cracked open letting in a chilly draft that stirs the dried flower petals scattered on a lace-draped table.

 

Dry-down: The scent becomes very warm! The spearmint takes a back seat to the florals and rose is the most prominent at this stage. It's as if a parlormaid came in with fresh flowers and shut the window and lit a fire. If I concentrate hard enough I can smell the smoke and wood from the fire and the dust that's coating the mantelpiece.

 

Dry: The scent cools quite a bit- perhaps the window didn't latch properly and the draft has put out the fire. The florals become more rounded. Now I can smell the lilac along with the rose and something sweet and otherworldly- the osthmanthus? There are also faint wisps of smoke and the idea of wood and dust. It's somewhat powdery but very pretty.

 

The longer I wear it the softer and sweeter it becomes and it clings closer and closer to me until there's a merely a faint suggestion of sweetness on my skin. Oh, if only it lasted longer!

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Morphed into cigarette smoke and spearmint as soon as it hit my skin. Blech! My two least favorite scents. Had to wash it off.

 

What's worse, I can't get anyone else to try it to see if it'd work better on them.

 

A very disappointed 0/5.

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Imp: dry, dark, dusty can't really pin down a specific note though.

 

Wet: bubble gum like in jailbait, but dark.

 

Drydown: bubble gum, and mint dip/snuff. crazy combo that reminds me of highschool.

 

Dry: It is very smoky now the florals, and wood seem to come out, and soften this some, but it still smells like bubble gum & mint dip!

 

Overall: I don't love it, and probably won't wear it much, but I am going to keep it because it's such an odd scent.

 

Edit* after a few hours the bubble gum and dip disappeared. It was replaced by a dry dusty rose, and woods. Turned out to be very beautiful.

Edited by Dani87

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In the vial: odd, floral, and woody.

Wet: Very strong varnish. Ugh. Very, very, very strong wood varnish with too much throw. After another minute, it goes root beer. Strange. It’s like woody birch beer or root beer. It smells carbonated. Then it walks the line between birch beer and wood varnish. Very strange and borderline unpleasant. After another 20 minutes, it’s just wood varnish again. I had to wash it off.

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In the bottle: Couldn't make sense of it; too much going on to discern any single notes.

Wet: Smelling a lot of lilac.

Dry-down: Tea rose is starting to come out, followed by the teak, and a soft, slightly powdery scent.

Dry: Soft wood and tea rose are the heavy notes for me. Still not smelling the white rose.

A couple hours later/final verdict: The white rose has come out. It's soft, not overwhelmingly floral; the wood notes give it enough balance. A little too floral for me for regular wear, but perfect for the right mood.

Edited by october

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In the bottle - Ok, so that smells like Deep Heat

 

Wet on me - Yep, definitely Deep Heat, with something a kin to furniture polish

 

Der on me - A soft tea-like scent with hints of rose

 

Overall - The dry down's pretty but the wet's just plain scary

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