Opus Oils Charm reminds me of a headshop and I never mean that in a bad way. Charm has a boho black coconut incense that is spicy, smoky and sweet. Sniffing it takes me back to college, hanging out with anthropology students with Guatemalan tapestries on their wall, girls that didn’t shave their pits, and those people that were always about to go “abroad” all of the time. I was jealous of all three groups. My college days were spent going to school full-time, working full-time and wondering how the hell I’d pay medical bills.
Charm doesn’t smell like department store or fancy French perfumes. It reminds me of “exotic” oils you can find at adorable little bohemian shops that import Indian incense, South American textiles and cheeky gift cards that make you proud you’re a bitch. This is not an insult, Opus Oils calls Charm “bohemian” as well…and it is. It starts out as a coconut incense and then it becomes a juicy, plump, sweet blackberry. Charm mellows into a vanilla blackberry black tea with a hint of musky sage. The overall feel is a sweet blackberry grounded by more “sophisticated” notes like tea and sage.
I was never Charm, so I can’t relate to it. It does remind me of people I once knew, making Charm feel even more distance. I don’t have a full-time fact checker, so correct me if I’m wrong. I read years ago that Courtney Love made it her personal duty to convert her Olympian riot grrrl friends to “real perfume” instead of patchouli oil. She said something along the lines that girls that wear patchouli oil will try to steal your boyfriend. And somehow this little advice caused her girlfriends to convert to “real perfumes”. (I thought some would want to smell like the girl that would try to steal your boyfriend…) Well, Charm, to me is the college-age girl that would try to steal your boyfriend. Charm seems like that nostalgic fun summer fling, festival-going girlfriend that you sometimes wonder what she is doing now. And the answer is probably something really boring and exactly what her parents wanted her to do. Or at least that is what my boyfriend-stealing friends ended up doing.
Notes listed include coconut, blackberry, sage, tea, vanilla and star anise.
Give Charm a try if you like “boho” scents or blackberry perfumes. Try it if you like Arcana Murder Ballad Blues, Wiggle Odessa, L’Artisan Mure et Musc, LaVanila Blackberry Vanilla and/or Villainess Morpho. Because of the sage and tea, Charm is a pretty darn good fruity blackberry perfume.
Charm has average projection and longevity.
The 2 oz EDP retails for $115 at Opus Oils. Other sizes and concentrations are available.
Victoria’s Final EauPINION – Bohemian vanilla blackberry black tea. I’ve already explained that this one isn’t me but I appreciate it. It’s exactly how Opus Oils describes it on their site. And I do recommend it to those looking for a blackberry fragrance.
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Fragrantica – Member reviews
I like this perfume so much, and I promise I am not a boyfriend-stealer (or, at least not anymore). 😉 Kidding. Thanks for the linkage.
Haha!
Hey, I don’t judge! I always thought the boyfriend stealers were more fun to hang out with than the boyfriends 🙂