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Shollin

Bewitched

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Deep, luscious green and berry scents that evoke images of woodland witchcraft and the raw power of nature: blackberry, sage, green tea, wild berries and dark musk.

Full disclosure, my imp is at least 4 years old, but may be as old as a decade. There is a chance it may have simply soured rather than aged gracefully.

All the listed notes sound like it would be up my alley, but it went immediately NOPE on application. Wet all I could get was generic bodywash berry scent and something acrid and chemical. No tea, no herbs, no green. The acrid smell lightened quite a bit upon drydown, but it kept the generic berry scent.

This smells like something I might have bought at Bath & Bodyworks 15 years ago, but not something I care to smell like now. There is a part of me that wants to get a fresh imp and try it again, but considering any full bottle I may acquire will probably be around for years before being fully emptied this result doesn't bode well.

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I'm having a tough time with this one. I was hoping this would remind me of childhood weekends in Vermont, up on a barely-populated mountain as I raided the blackberry bushes behind our cabin after having a mug of sage tea. Instead it reminds me a bit of Sambucol syrup, more cloying than fresh. I also am growing suspicious that the Lab's green tea note goes baby wipes on me, as there's definitely a hint of that picking up as it dries. I think it might be alright in the warmer weather so I'll be keeping my imp, but I don't see myself buying more in the future.

 

edit: a month later (but not all that much warmer) I tried again layered over Lightning and that definitely helped brighten the berries, and the baby wipe smell never showed up. However, it had zero throw and was gone in a couple hours. Oh well.

Edited by Juliamon

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wet in imp: musky sweet sage with a little sharp green tea

 

wet on skin: musky sage

 

drying down: sweet berry sage musk, this is kind of like dorian ate some berries and rolled around in an herb patch - it has that same sweet, musky tea vibe, but with sage and berry as the sweet

 

dry: berry is stepping forward and the sage, tea, and musk are all blending together as a nice background.

 

i normally don't like fruity scents, but this isn't a fruit forward smell. it's there to add sweetness, but not fruitiness. also, dark musks normally go off on me, but not here. I think there's enough green and fruit to keep them from going burnt or sour.

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Reopening an imp from 2015!  I'm a huge fan of sage and true berry scents so I have high hopes for this one. 

In bottle: clear and sage-y.

On skin: still heavy on the sage, but berries are starting to emerge.  

After a few hours:  it's almost getting a very vague suncreen scent to it, but I've also felt that about Arcana.  I really like the smell of sunscreen so it's not a problem for me.  

I love this.  Keeping the imp for sure, and will be buying a full bottle once finances permit.  

 

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From the imp: slight sweetness

 

Wet on skin: slight soapy note?

 

A little later: no soap anymore. Berry sweetness and slight candy sweetness but kept in check by something herbal. 

 

Up to now, I like this a lot. Somehow it also reminds me a little of shampoo on vacation (?)

 

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This is a dark green scent, like taking sage leaves and crushing them between your fingers. Crisp and wild. The musk adds a subtle haze. When the blackberry started to make itself known, I thought this would take a turn towards berry hand soap. Fortunately, the lab's blackberry is juicy and realistic, and and smells like plucking blackberries off the bramble. The berry never overtakes the greenery, and it never gets too sweet. Like florals, I like my fruits paired with strong supporting notes. Bewitched is beautiful.

 

This scent will always remind me of Shirley Jackson's We Have Always Lived in the Castle, as I had an imp of it handy when I was reading the book. The two went perfectly together, and it got me thinking about other book/scent pairings. It was a joy to have a scent enhance the reading experience -- it helps that both the book and the scent were enjoyable on their own!

Edited by Rayleigh

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A brand new 2021 imp! I had an older one, from years ago, which I liked but didn't love, I think? I love berry scents, but musk can be tricky.

 

On wet: ooh, I like this! Berries, plus something dark green and sort of wild - it's not a tame forest. I like sage - my high school scent was BBW's lemongrass sage, in fact! - and I'm liking it here too.

 

After a couple of minutes: less berry-sweet (still present, but less strong!) and more....balanced between all the notes? Juicy blackberries and dark green leaves and sage, the herbal hint of dryness cutting the sweet.

 

Awesome Husband, being asked to sniff my wrist: "I can't smell anything. Oh, wait...like...soap? Nice soap? Fancy soap?"

 

...drat, now I can't shake the association! Argh.

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Out of the fresh from the lab frimp, I get a sharpness, like evergreen or household cleaner. Not what I was expecting from the title.

However, wet on the skin that sentiment fades quickly enough, giving way to berries of the antioxidant and holiday variety, reds and purples, intertwined lovingly with luscious aromatic greenery. A winter wreath.

As it dries down, some soft spices and black tea emerge. It's reminding me of a Lush product I used some years ago - can't recall the name.

Further dried down, the sage is a lovely addition that I wasn't expecting.

All in all, I'm a fan of this for a cold weather scent. A Xmas Wxtch, if you will, brewing in the kitchen.

 

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Bewitched is straightforward berry and sage for the most part, with the dark musk adding a deep and mysterious note reminiscent of dark woods and incense. I don't get much green tea, but it could be subtly adding a grassy effect in the background. It is a bit soapy but that doesn't bother me. Very witchy, I like it!

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Wet: It smells lush, softly sweet, and a tad green.

 

Drydown: Soft, fuzzy sage livened up by the tart sweetness of berries. The combination is reminiscent of sugared violets. The tea and musk create this dark atmospheric cloud around the sage and berries, obscuring them somewhat. It all blends together to remind you less of a particular set of things and more of a place in time. Like a hidden little meadow between a berry bush and a forest, just big enough for a couple of witches-in-training to meet for mischief.

 

Dry: More of the same, but with extra oomph from the blackberry. It's like revisiting the same scene, but now the witch girls are a bit older and have brought along sweet blackberry wine as an offering for the fae.

 

 

7.5 out of 10 bones

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The berry scents in this are delightful - juicy without being cloyingly sweet. The musky undertones are a lovely addition that really round things out once it dries down. For something so fruity, this works remarkably well on my skin. I don’t think this will ever be a full bottle for me, but I’ll definitely be reaching for the imp again.

 

A later edit: I keep coming back and lingering over the scent. A smokey blackberry sage tea… I think it’s really growing on me. This might warrant more than an imp.

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