BPAL Reviews - Magical Intent Oils
Category 1: Catalogue scents. These are perfume oil blends that you can order directly from the lab. You can also request samples of all of these scents, with the exception of the Panacea blends. [Click here for reviews.]
Category 2: Limited Edition and discontinued scents. These scents are no longer available from the lab site. Some of these scents have magical connotations (the Sabbat and Lunar blends, for instance), and may be used in ritual, but were sold primarily as perfumes. [Click here for reviews.]
Category 3: Oils to be used with magical intent. This category includes Celestials, Dream Formulas, Elementals, Orishas, Sepiroths, Twilight Alchemy Lab blends, Tarots, and Voodoo oils. The Sepiroths and Tarots are available from the site in bottle form. The Dream Formulas and the Voodoo blends are available from the lab in both bottles and samples. The rest are currently unavailable on the Lab's site, and may be purchased at the Black Broom in Los Angeles and Alternate Realities in Rhode Island. [See this page for reviews.]
Magical Intent Oils. (This category includes Celestials, Dream Formulas, Elementals, Orishas, Sepiroths, Twilight Alchemy Lab blends, Tarots, and Voodoo oils. The Sepiroths and Tarots are available from the site in bottle form. The Dream Formulas and the Voodoo blends are available from the lab in both bottles and samples. The rest are currently unavailable on the Lab's site, and may be purchased at the Black Broom in Los Angeles and Alternate Realities in Rhode Island.
Aunt Caroline's Money Draw::
(Origin: TAL circular swap.) Acrid green herbs, exactly what I expect money magic blends to smell like. Vervain, maybe, and High John the Conqueror root. Probably some bergamot. I bet this will be very potent. On my list it goes. *Twilight Alchemy Lab blend.
Celestials: Venus::
(Origin: TAL circular swap.) Pink and green and white. This is a very feminine love blend. It is soft and gracious without being submissive or ostentatious. I smell a white floral coupled with mint. I have a hunch that it's wintergreen, as I'm fairly certain it's the same mint that was in Frost Moon. This reminds me of springtime, right after the frost melts and the palest flowers begin to emerge from the shivering soil. As Venus blends go, this is much lighter and airier than others I’ve smelled. I like it quite a bit for ritual purposes, even if I wouldn't wear it on my skin. *Discontinued / TAL Celestial blend.
Celestials: Jupiter::
(Origin: TAL circular swap.) I know this. I just can't put my finger on it. I haven't been reading other reviews, because I want to use my intuition in describing these blends, but I'm sure that the main component of this blend is familiar to me. This is a very blue-green scent, with swirls of purple throughout. I want to say that this is a mix of aquatics and berry-- a deep raspberry, maybe. I expected something much more green of a Jupiter blend, more akin to a money-draw blend. I do very little work with planetary correspondences, but I'm not sure this quite personifies the energy of Jupiter to me. It is, however, oddly comforting, in a way. I'd use this more to focus the energies of Water. This is a very... optimistic scent. I like it quite a bit. *Discontinued / TAL Celestial blend.
Celestials: Sol::
(Origin: TAL circular swap.) Citrus and sugar, like lemonade. This is a yellow-orange color, lacking the fiery bite that I'd expect of a Sol blend. However, it does feel appropriate because it reminds me of summer, and lazy days spent poolside. I don't know if I would use this in ritual to represent the Sun (I would want something more spicy and hot), but this is an interesting take on a solar blend. I bet it'd make a fabulous room scent. *Discontinued / TAL Celestial blend.
Concentration::
(Origin: TAL circular swap.) Mint. I'm not sure what mint, but a greenish-white one (this reminds me of Tulzscha). I immediately felt my senses focus to a point. Boy, I wish I had some of this back in college. This is the type of blend that would come in handy on nights where I just don't feel like writing, but I know I have to. Good stuff. I'd acquire some if given the chance. *Twilight Alchemy Lab blend.
Dream Formula IV: Nanshe:: The Babylonian Goddess of Dreams, who bestows the power of Oneiromancy onto her priests. This blend opens up psychic sensitivity during sleep and aids in the understanding and correct interpretation of portents and symbols.
I definitely smell the lemongrass and lavender with a slight green edge-- almost a hint of ozone. It's not necessarily a sleepy scent to me, but it is a very pleasant one, and a comforting one. I wore it twice in a row to bed and noticed that I had restless dreams, but I had a hard time holding on to them. It's definitely made me more interested to try the rest of the dream oils. However, I did have the problem where I coughed a lot when I wore this-- as sometimes lavender worn too potently can do to me. I'm going to try it out as a room scent or maybe use it in a dream pillow. It's such a lovely scent-- it'd be a shame if I couldn't wear it. *Catalogue Dream Formula Blend.
Dream Formula V: Somnus:: Named after the Roman God of Sleep. This blend helps bring on deep, restful, natural sleep.
This stuff works. I fell immediately asleep, and I slept like a rock. The predominant note in the vial is lavender, but on my skin, a perfect sweet tea rose peeked through. There was also a green, sharp note that wound through the scent, like the stem of the rose. It's a beautiful scent, one that I'd like a 5ml of to help me get more rested sleep, because I actually feel refreshed today. And, as a bonus-- it didn't make me cough like many lavender blends! *Catalogue Dream Formula Blend.
Elementals: Gnome [earth]::
(Origin: TAL circular swap.) Pine, predominantly. I smell soil as well, and perhaps fir and fern. This smells like a Christmas forest without being specifically seasonal or craft-store fake. It's surprising that this blend did not vibrate as strongly with me as Sylph did, considering my primary element is Earth. However, for those who prefer the raw scent of the outdoors, this is an exquisite example of what Beth can do. *Twilight Alchemy Lab Elemental blend.
Elementals: Sylph [air]::
(Origin: TAL circular swap.) Citrus. Lemongrass and bergamot, with something herbal in the background, like basil and lavender. The scent reminded me quite a bit of Dream Formula: Nanshe. Of the elementals I've sampled, this is the best. It gently helped me to focus and calm, and for that, I would use this if ever I acquired more. *Twilight Alchemy Lab Elemental blend.
Fiery Command::
(Origin: TAL circular swap.) Determination. The oil itself is a fiery red-orange, and rather than any particular notes, I felt a strong sense of grounding and focusing-- the gathering of energy for the fixed purpose of enduring a trial. Very potent, and I would acquire an imps' worth if I could. There may be vetiver in this. *Twilight Alchemy Lab blend.
Helping Hand::
Peppermint Patty candies. Or rather, some boozy, alcoholic shot made with peppermint and chocolate liqueurs, with maybe the faintest spice of cinnamon on the drydown. I absolutely love this stuff, and I can testify that it does work. I wore it to work and vocal juries on a day when I had three hours' sleep and I was PMSing, and it got me through the day with minimal damage. It kept me perked up all day long because honestly, this stuff lasts. Thanks to Pekeana for the tester of it, which made me want more. :) *Twilight Alchemy Lab Blend.
Nine Muses::
A very green herbal with maybe some bergamot. I get the colors green and orange. More important than identifying components, this stuff works. I put some on, and immediately, I felt an aura of creativity surround me, calming me and centering me for work. I’ve also anointed candles with this and used it in my tart burner. This is absolutely amazing stuff, and I was lucky to get most of a bottle after I tried an imp that was graciously given to me by Macha on the forums. This is one that as a writer, I want to stockpile.*Twilight Alchemy Lab blend.
Orishas: Chango::
(Origin: TAL circular swap.) Bananas and fruit punch. I smell a little bit of coconut, as well, and maybe a faint undertone of tobacco. I have only recently begun researching the Orishas, and so I know very little about Chango. However, if this blend is meant to represent him, I would assume that he is playful and joyful, because this blend would remind me not to take life too seriously. It certainly makes me want to research him to see if my perceptions of this blend carry over to the Orisha himself. *Twilight Alchemy Lab Orisha blend.
Orishas: Oshun::
Sweet orange that barely covers the crush of florals in the oil. Soft and feminine, almost like more motherly version of Persephone. This kind of feels like getting a hug from a beloved aunt that you don't see very often. This has become very useful as I've committed myself to learning more about the Orishas. *Twilight Alchemy Lab Orisha blend.
Orishas: Yemaya::
Melon. Sweet, juicy, midsummer melon. Very pink and feminine, with a strong saltwater note that is both unexpected yet completely in tune with what I experience as Yemaya's energies. This makes me think of love and friendship-- strong bonds between women and the sweetness of early love. I really enjoy this both as a scent and as a ritual blend. I would very much like to purchase a bottle if ever it were available. *Twilight Alchemy Lab Orisha blend.
Sepiroth: Tipareth::
(Origin: Oblation caravan.) Cedar and sweet woods. I know next to nothing about Kabbalistic magics, and so therefore I’m reviewing this from a scent perspective. In magic, I would use this as a grounding and centering blend-- I would be interested in researching the meaning of Tipareth to compare. *Catalogue Sepiroth blend.
Seven African Powers::
(Origin: TAL circular swap.) This one is hard to describe, because of all of the blends above, I'm the least familiar with this one's ritual uses. It makes me think of the colors green black. I smell pepper and darker herbs. Intuitively, I sense that this is a protection blend, and a potent one at that. Admittedly, I only have done little research on African shamanism, and I'd be interested in doing so because this blend intrigues me. It has a draw to it, and I want to be able to more fully understand it. *Twilight Alchemy Lab blend.
Tarot: The Star::
Coconut and lime, predominantly, with an effervescent fizzle of mint. True to its name, it really stands out-- I get sniffed more or less nonstop every time I put it on. This is a scent that gets noticed and draws you in. Fruity and vibrant, it's everything Coconut Lime Verbena wishes it could be. *Catalogue Tarot Oil.
Temple: Celtic::
(Origin: TAL circular swap.) Ohh. Blue aquatic calm lovely. I went a little stream of consciousness, there. For those who have said that this is reminiscent of Blue Moon... yes. They do not smell precisely the same, but the vibe that they give off is very similar. Calming, purifying, clarifying. This would be wonderful for divination, and also for healing magic. I have some of this coming my way, and I am so grateful. *Twilight Alchemy Lab blend.
Temple: Egyptian::
(Origin: TAL circular swap.) Lotus and incense. I've smelled two imps of this as well, and both smelled different. One was quite heavy with incense-- myrrh and the like, and gave me a very warm brown feeling. The one in the TAL swap gave me a watery-blue feeling, with the predominant feel of lotus. Interesting, but as I don't tend to do much work within the Egyptian pantheon, this is not one that I feel that I'd need. *Twilight Alchemy Lab blend.
Temple: Enochian::
(Origin: TAL circular swap.) I know very little about the Enochian language and Enochian magic, I'll say that right upfront. That said, my impressions are that this is a very ceremonial blend. I smell ritual herbs like frankincense and myrrh, with the sweetness of perhaps berry. If I knew more about the magical system in which it would be used, I'd add other commentary. As I do not, I'll simply say it is a pleasant scent that seems like it would be used for preparing a space for magic, rather than any specific purpose within a working. *Twilight Alchemy Lab blend.
Temple: Greek::
(Origin: TAL circular swap.) Soft green herbs. Basil, bay leaf, laurel, perhaps cypress. This smells sacred to me-- purifying. It smells ancient, in a way, or timeless. Though I don't smell any of the traditional aquatic notes, I feel like I should smell saltwater or clean sweat. Strange. I'm glad that I've arranged to have some of this come my way. *Twilight Alchemy Lab blend.