suki

A creativity oil crafted to help you find inspiration to construct activist art. Whether it be an intimate, personal form of protest or a big, poetic fuck you right in this administrations face, this oil will help give voice to your radical muses. Mugwort essential oil, jasmine sambac, steam-distilled Calabrian bergamot, and organic cold-pressed lemon essential oil. I pretty much always gravitate toward creativity-supporting TAL oils. But as a full-time fine artist that is extremely political, I knew that I was going to need a bottle of this one in particular. From a purely perfume-fragrance perspective, Artivism isn't the main attraction. Let's face it: mugwort just isn't that much of a go-to scent experience. It's dry and a little farty, in much the same way as clary sage. Yes, the jasmine certainly tempers that and the bergamot gives another welcomed layer. But all of that is besides the point, because what this is really about and the urge toward creative endeavor toward the greater good, and that's where this Artivism excels. I am often amazed (though not surprised) at Beth's ability to encapsulate the needs and desires of the creative process. But of course, an artist herself, she's one of us, and knows no doubt from first-hand experience what it means to have such drives and passions. And here it is, tailored and formulated not just to scratch the itch that comes with percolating a new idea or concept, but the specificity that comes with creative birthing that lies in service to helping for a larger betterment of those that inhabit this small planet.

Sometimes when were constantly under assault, be it by destructive legislation or online trolls, the cruelty we endure or bear witness to can start to wear on our souls. This oil is used when you feel your spirit flagging, and the temptation to capitulate to anger, bitterness, resentment, or cruelty looms on your horizon. Purge and protect yourself from the hate, and rekindle the fires of your own compassion. When they go low, we go high: ambrette seed, frankincense essential oil and tears, steam-distilled bay laurel, saffron-infused myrrh essential oil, palo santo, steam-distilled styrax, and angelica. This oil on a conceptual level, is basically the inverse of Honey Rose 45. Where that one is to gain a sense that we are not alone in this, that there are still people that are creating daily mitzvahs in the midst of oppression, this is about our own compassion and resiliency. I see them as two sides ultimately of the same coin, and the feelings I experience from each of them when engaging bears that out, as does the scents they happen to transmit. If Honey Rose points to the port in the storm, Virtus reminds us that *we* are the fucking port. From Honey Rose I experienced almost a melancholy, a weepiness of feeling others connect and hold me in their invisible net. Virtus instead galvanizes me, makes to want to spin nets of my own, protect those that are spent and despairing and to do so with a level of integrity that is well-neigh untouchable. The weepiness is replaced with the kinds of tears that spring up when I'm enraged at the levels of injustice I witness daily and motivates me to fight back and fight HARD. Normally, I can't wear oils with myrrh, I amp it, it becomes baby powder on me and is generally unpleasant. But the myrrh here mixes with the woods and the other resins to create something rich and earthy without being dirt-like. It's grounding and grounded and reminds me that ultimately the truth will set us free. When they go low we go high, indeed.

The Fortunes of Health and Well-Being A hymn for good health and protection of the vulnerable: orange blossom honey, vanilla husk, green stem sap, and a drop of King mandarin. In The Bottle: Neroli lightly dribbled over a sweet but delicate honey base. This is not the heavy honey -at least in the bottle- of "O". This is more like a honey *dust*. Fragrant but extremely delicate. I also get a tiny edge of the green sap, I recognize it from Strawberry Moon '09. It's a lovely addition here to bring balance to the sweet elements. Wet On Skin: The mandarin is starting to come into play at this stage, as the oil wars on my skin. I'm glad- King Mandarin is a note I really adore and part the reason I wanted to get a bottle of this scent. The vanilla husk remains invisible right now, but the other notes are playing to preciously together, I can't say I miss it. Dry Down: WHAT a lovely springtime scent! Neroli, sweet mandarin, light honey- there is no bad here. A good floral for those that shy away from florals, a good foodie for those that don't like heavy gourmand. This scent has low throw, a sweetly nostalgic feel and makes me ache for the return of spring. Beautiful beautiful beautiful.

In The Bottle: That gorgeous incense base that I've come to associate with Eve in all her glory dominates in the Fuck Up version as well. Can't wait to see what happens next! Wet On Skin: Interestingly, the rose note in standard Eve never really showed itself, which is odd, because rose notes can amp on me and therefore be make-or-break situations. And I mention this because the sage is really subtle in here, in an only slightly elevated way that rose showed itself in the standard formula. What's it's doing is acting as kind of a stage or a base for the rest of the spicy, sultry notes in Eve to stand on. I'm definitely not getting the herby-greeny study Silvertree mentioned, so this might seriously be a skin chemistry thing taken to the next level. Dry Down: I mean, this is Eve we're talking about. EVE. A scent based on a character personified by Tilda-Fucking-Swinton as an immortal living in North Africa. And having just come back from living for a brief and beautiful time in North Africa, the standard Eve was already close to my heart. This version of Eve, fuck-ups be damned, is fucking GLORIOUS. It's spicy and sweet and the sage plays up the desert aspect just a notch and it's just so. damn. slatherable. I never slather perfumes. But OLLA Eve, in both her guises, *requires* nothing less. EASILY makes it into my top 10, my top 7and probably my top 5 if I'm pressed to say.

Pumpkin-spiced gunpowder tea with mango peel, red ginger, green cardamom, smoky clove buds, fennel, allspice, saffron, coconut sugar, and foamy milk. Mango can be somewhat of a death-note on me, so I ordered this un-sniffed, but apprehensive. In the bottle, the mango was pretty heavy- one of the two prominent notes. But it was sweet and juicy, like a fresh piece of fruit, not like "mango perfume". The back-up note was a sugared vanilla. Sweet, but not terribly thrilling. Wet on my skin, it immediately began to shift, and by the time dry-down was complete, it had changed rather utterly from what it had been in the bottle- for the better. It's a sweet, creamy chai, the sugared vanilla still in the mix, but the usual chai spices definitely holding their own. If the pumpkin is here, it's being very quiet, or else is so deeply buried in the mix that I'm not catching it as it's own entity. In all: medium throw, this wound up being what I always wanted Egg Nog to be, but never was on my skin- warm, sweet, spicy. I don't read this as a "Wow, Autumn!" kind of scent, strangely. But it's cozy and nice and a lovely day-time scent. Glad I got a bottle!

This is a potent and very specific banishing oil: it shuts up gossips, repels troublemakers, dislodges leeches, and helps you flick away everyday irritations. Because seriously: all that b*llshit can f*ck right off. Twilight Alchemy Labs FOWYB Oil contains essential oils, absolutes, and CO2 extracts that are organically-grown and pesticide-free, and many of the oils components are first distillations from small farms. This oil includes organically-grown bay leaf, black snake root, lemongrass, and rue from the TAL garden, broom straws, devils shoestring, fennel seed, ginger root, mace (the herb, not the stuff you spray in an assailants face), and lemongrass essential oil. This oil was charged instantaneously during a repulsion rite. I opened the bottle and was immediately struck by the self-righteous INTENSITY of this oil. I'm not going to so much as dab this on my skin right now first because I have friends coming over later and I don't want to inadvertently affect them but also it's just really intense. I felt a rush of anger for all the jerks that have ever fucked with me and anyone I care about. I got this oil at this time because I've got some...unfortunate individuals I have to deal with in a work environment and I am absolutely going to make sure I have this with me when I have to next deal with them. I almost feel sorry for this that are faced with the wrath of this oil. Almost.

So, I was hoping this would be like a Mint Mojito, and it wasn't. But it is GREAT. It's fresh but isn't that WOW MINT thing that mint likes to do. It's more subtle here, integrating well with the vanilla and tempered by the sugar, angering and bourbon (I get no lime). This will be a lovely thing to spray in the house this summer to lighten the air. I suspect this is going to be the "sleeper hit" of the DragCon offerings this year

I treat wig sprays as atmosphere sprays generally, so that's how I conducted tests for this pone, by spraying into the air, letting it settle and seeing what developed. As I had hoped, this for me was pretty much all Lavender and Vanilla with a bit of Sugar Cane in the background. It's like an atmo version of Daybreak, which is my favorite lavender scent of all time, because it can be used during the day without it putting me into a stupor the way TKO does. I love this!

This is a very light, very "clean" scent. I was hoping for a little more in terms of the vanilla skin musk. On me, it's reading more like a pure water note. Water notes usually go awry on me, but this is pretty sheer. I can definitely see what is meant about using this to layer.- I personally don't think I'd wear this on its own that much. But I'm already wearing OLLA Eve today, so I conducted an experiment with layering a bit of DIFE to see how it goes, and it's *definitely* better in that context for me. On top of Eve, DIFE seems to have an amplifying quality, pulling the incense and souk notes to the front of Eve and also adding an edge of some sort. I'm going to continue doing some experiments but I don't know if this is for me just yet.

The third of our Bean scents commemorates Bean and Brian's birthday! September 2nd marks the day that Little Lily came into our lives, and Brian spent his birthday in 2008 watching me huff and puff through labor! Happy birthday, Brian! You are the best brother, uncle, and brother-in-law that we could ask for! We love you so much! Little Bean, you are our soul's sunshine and our heart's joy. We love you, little Lily. Your mom and dad love you more than words can say. Happy birthday, Virgos big and small! Red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting against a backdrop of Snake Oil, Dorian, and Doc Constantine! to the mods: i looked and looked, so if someone else started a thread on this scent, by all means, add me to it! so, i got to try the proto bottle of this a while back, not knowing the list of notes or anything, but i definitely knew there was cream cheese frosting involved and lots of it! while the sweet frosting aspect is absolutely in line with Beaver Moon '05, the Red Velvet Cake makes this scent something all it's own. as a big time foodie, i knew pretty instantly that this scent would be a hoard-necessary situation, and i've been on pins and needles since i tested it, waiting for it's sweet release. fear not, fellow BPAL-ers! this one is total love! :wub: ETA: got the actual, final version in the post today. i found it was actually a bit different from the prototype i tested. whether that's me mis-remembering (it WAs over a month ago, afterall) or that it is actually different, i cannot say. but this one seems a bit more on the cake (crust?) side of things, less about the frosting, which makes me a little sad. on the plus side, the proto eventually had a dry-down to pure sugar on me, as -sadly- many sweet foodie oils do. this one does NOT do that, and that makes me really happy. finally, while i don't personally detect any of the Snake Oil, we all know that SN in particular gets loads better with age, and i have a strong feeling this will be no different. in other words, *STILL* total love.

Love Me would be my top pick. I didn't wear it on my wedding day but I wore it almost every day of my honeymoon. It's a gorgeous floral, a little spicy, without being cloying.

In June, Lilith was cast as the Mad Hatter in her theater school’s production of Alice in Wonderland. Typecast much? Lilith says that the Mad Hatter should smell like tea (“EARL GREY!”) with honey and cream and lots and lots of cookies. In The Bottle: Cream and cookies! Very light cream and cookies! Wet On Skin: The cookies are showing up a bit more now, they seem to be butter cookies, like the kinds that come in those big blue tins. Nomnomnom! Dry Down: Sadly, I get no tea from this, certainly not Earl Grey, which I'd been hoping for. On the other hand, having a light scent that makes me smell like butter cookies and also cream is NOT a problem in my universe. In All: very low throw- prepare to slather! A light, lovely scent good for blustery fall days and, yes, thinking ahead, I can see wearing this on Christmas morning as presents are being opened. Just a sweet, joyous scent. Love!

Sweet amber and golden honey, cream accord, blue lilac, and a drop of cardamom. In The Bottle: Lilac and cream, oh my oh my! Wet On Skin: The lilac is REALLY heavy! Frankly, at this stage it's verging on overwhelming me. Still, it's a lovely note, and I'm hoping it'll settle down some on the dry down. Dry Down: When I was a kid, there was a giant lilac bush that grew outside the neighbor's house on the corner. I loved waling by it in late spring, when the boughs were heavy with blooming cones of the sweet flower. This lilac is very similar in freshness to what I smelled during that time. As it dries, the honey, a light, sweet yellow honey, not the dark, rich ones in "O", is certainly here as well, with the equally pal amber rounding it out. If there's cream here, it's mostly afterthought, which is a bit of a shame, honestly, because the sweetness of the other notes on my skin could use something to damp them down a little. The cardamom, however, IS there, but can only be detected as I pull my arm away from my face. Tricky! In All: High throw- a little goes a long way! Very, very floral and sweet. I don't know if this is for me, but any floral fan would kill to have this for sure!

In The Bottle: I get the sweetness of the labdanum straight away, with the liquidambar coming in after. Which is a GREAT start. Wet On Skin: So sweetly, deeply, resinous. The ambar is reminding me of some magical amber I've had for my entire adult life. It's sexy and warm and quite strong. The labdanum is adding that hallucinatory aspect as it is wont to do, and I *LIKE* it. Dry Down: More of the same. This is a great scent for anyone that loves rich, sweet resin scents. I cannot *wait* to see how this ages.

In The Bottle: Dry sweet woods. Thankful, so far the cedar is staying put instead of jumping out at me. Here's hoping that continues... Wet On Skin: The jasmine is coming round now. It's not the light floral jasmine, it's the thick, dark Indian jasmine for sure, which I guess must be similar to an Egyptian variable. I like both, but here the darker one seems more appropriate to hold its own against those other deep notes. Dry Down: Deep jasmine grounded by wood. Possibly a *hint* of saffron bitten off at the end. Sadly I don't get any honey or vanilla. But I'm willing to wait, to see what happens with aging. It's not a bad scent, just surprisingly simple on my skin. I'm hoping some complexities come out by waiting around.

In The Bottle: This is an instant surprise. In the bottle, I'm getting a delectable mix of the Lab's blood note with a spicy undertone that is REALLY working here. It also smell, oddly, very "fresh", which, if representing the 'frozen' aspect of the scent, I can definitely get behind. Wet On Skin: A slightly, almost-lemon aspect is emerging, which adds some breadth to the blood note in, again, a surprising and compelling manner. Dry Down: Whoa. There's definitely been a shift, in a really nice way. That 'spice' aspect I detected in-bottle has come back during dry down. I get what some folks have mentioned about it being like an incense, but it doesn't read that way to me. It's more like a sweet-spice-blood combination. It defies description at the top-most level, which is great, and seems to be a bit of a theme in the OLLA series overall. Whatever it is wth Blood Popsicle, I am ALL IN.

In The Bottle: Sweet beeswax, a whiff of smoke, a bit of salt. Wet On Skin: The beeswax gets lighter, and the salt remains a grounding force. Possibly some tears drizzled onto the whole affair. Dry Down: A smoke and light beeswax combination that becomes nearly leather. Which, for me, sadly, is not great. I traditionally very much like the Lab's beeswax note, but I'm feeling rather disappointed with my skin chemistry this time out. I'll hold on to this to see how it ages, but this might wind up on the swap pile...

In The Bottle: Thick Turkish / Arabic coffee with a dusting of Middle Eastern spices. Wet On Skin: The spices are coming more to the forefront at this stage, especially the cardamom and the nutmeg. Dry Down: Having just come back from living in rural Morocco for a spell, I can say that this scent does NOT disappoint in terms of its realness and accuracy (so far, none of the North African-influenced OLLA scents have missed the mark in this regard!) Although I get none of the tobacco, it scarcely matters- this scent is one of the great coffee scents of the BPAL pantheon. The rich, thick, dark powdery grind of the coffee, the heavy hand of the sweet/savory spices, is exquisite. I can scarcely wait to see what happens when this scent ages. Just beautiful and simply mandatory for any fan of the Lab's coffee scents.

In The Bottle: Ridiculously gorgeous sandalwood/benzoin combination right out of the gate. If it doesn't morph at all, I'll be quite happy as is. If it shifts during dry-down, I'll be even happier, I suspect... Wet On Skin: The benzoin's resin-y / vanilla-y vibe is coming out more, bringing the sandalwood into further balance whilst it warms on my skin. Dry Down: Gorgeous, dry sandalwood mingling beautifully with the benzoin, and just a tiny peek at the end of the ink note I recall so fondly from India Ink SN. It's really a lovely scent, and perfect for the character of Hal. Comforting and friendly and enduring.

In The Bottle: A beautiful vanilla musk. It reminds me of something I smelled many years ago in a shop somewhere in Europe, either Paris or London, so in the bottle, it feels like a very gorgeous high-end parfum. Wet On Skin: Warm and light vanilla skin musk. Gorgeous. Dry Down: Based on description, I was assuming this might be similar to my beloved Pink Wig Spray. And in some ways, because of the tuberose and vanilla musk (obvi.) it is. But it also is very much its own thing. It's warmer and more sultry and, for some, the foodie aspect of PWS's vanilla might be overwhelming or cloying whereas the vanilla here isn't foodie in the slightest. I'm not sure I get a sense of the scent being ungrounded the way Ava as a character is, I think there d have to be more of a "cotton candy" aspect for that. But this scent is really a joy to behold and I'm SO glad the second release occurred so that I was able to snag a bottle at long last.

In The Bottle: Light, worn leather with a bit of a lavender-based men's cologne in the deep background. Wet On Skin: The cologne has vanished and in it's place, alongside the still-dominant leather is...mint? It's bizarre, as there are no mint notes listed. And yet. :shrugs: Dry Down: Leather. Just a sweet, worn leather. In All: Surprisingly light throw considering. I'm sad I'm left with *none* of the other notes, it sounded so interesting. However, I'm not really a leather fan, so this will likely get swapped ASAP to someone that can appreciate Adam's more abundant charms, alas.

I missed her the first time around but snagged her on the second- and I am RIDICULOUSLY happy about it. (side note, I was actually IN MOROCCO when this recent re-release went live and *knew* this was one of the OLLAs I needed to procure for just that reason!) In the bottle, Eve is every bit the incense-laden souk I'd anticipated, which is *awesome*. And then she warms up and becomes even better. There is depth here and a life well curated. There's sweet desert sands and delicate perfumes sold in tiny shops and well-preserved, aged beauty. I am heartbroken that I only procured one bottle because I find myself with a deep desire to bathe in this scent, in much the way Elizabeth Bathory bathed in the blood of virgins- to preserve myself and indulge in that which is timeless and forbidden. I. Am. In. Love.

The red wine note is very prominent in the bottle and when first applied. As it warms, some of the spicy notes get released a bit, notably allspice and clove, giving it a vibe similar to a rich head shop-y incense, rather than a "spiced wine" effect as I had assumed it would be. The chocolate is also entirely absent, which I'm a bit disappointed about- I'd hoped for a Tzenzon Tchotochin variation, but this, as the previous post noted, is more of a spicy autumnal scent. I agree that the throw is intense- I applied *very* lightly from the cap, and it seems to be the right amount for the job. Honestly, this might be too heavy for me to wear, even in fall. OTOH, this will make an *excellent* room fragrance, come October.

In The Bottle: Lemon sugar- hooray! Lemon sugar is amongst my favorite Lab notes- I hope it stays! Wet On Skin: So far, so good- 98% lemon sugar, with a hint of currant sweetening the pot, but only as a breathy afterthought. Dry Down: Oh my stars and garters, this is just DIVINE. It's a rich lemon meringue with some sugared patchouli to give it a base on which to stand and it is working SOOOOOO well! If you are a fan of Spirit Board: YES or Happy Baby In A Long Dress, then you MUST procure a bottle of this. I am *so* glad I have a bottle in time for summer!

In The Bottle: Milk, honey and almond cream. YUM! Wet On Skin: All milk and honey, all the time. The alining has become less distinct at this stage and the fragrance on the whole is reminding me of lat Yule's Eight Maids A-Milking hairless with its chestnut cream note. Dry Down: Milky honey. Reminds me of Milk Moon from 2006. Also a little like Nonae Caprotina, if it were regular milk instead of goats milk, since goats milk has a little more of an edge. In All: A lovely foodie blend, glad I got a bottle, IO just hope aging brings out a little more of the notes!