Sarah

In the bottle, I detect the mango and champagne. There's a slight sweetness in the background, which I assume is the lychee. It definitely reminds me of Tweedledum but more effervescent. It's sweet but isn't a cloying sugary scent. On drydown, it's a combination of fruit/musk. Very nice!

I love this atmospheric spray! Snow White is one of my all-time favorite scents, and I have been using the spray lately at work. I have to wear a uniform for my job and I've been getting lots of compliments on how good I smell. People are taken aback when I tell them I am wearing Snow White linen spray Even though it is getting warmer out, I feel this scent is just right somehow. Love it!

Thought I'd revisit this scent after a few years of owning it. In the bottle, smells like a base oil. I had recently replaced a bottle of grapeseed oil and the bottle I'd thrown away smells like this. It's a fairly thick aromatherapy oil. I definitely get a kind of olive oil smell out of it, but as time progresses the scent morphs into a light grassy resin. A little sweet and smokey. Not much throw, either. I don't know if I would find the scent calming, per se, but it is nearly 5am and I've been up since 1:30pm, heh.

Moroccan jasmine, chrysanthemum, tea leaf, white musk, and acai berry. (9:54:31 PM) Karyn: Go review yer parfum (9:54:44 PM) Sarah: It's hard! (9:54:57 PM) Karyn: Dammit woman just get napa* to write it (9:55:00 PM) Karyn: "I love sarah" (9:55:04 PM) Karyn: "<3 <3 <3 <3 <3" *the boyfriend, who approves of Daiyu The inspiration behind Jenn's painting of Daiyu was Madam Ching Shih, a woman who began her life as a prostitute in one of the brothels in Guangzhou in the late Ching Dynasty, only to become one of the most powerful women pirates in history, commanding a fleet of over 18,000 boats at the height of her power. She and her crew received full amnesty from the Chinese government, and at 35, retired from piracy. She owned and operated a gambling house until her death at age 69. Contrary to the inspiration behind the painting, Daiyu is a very bright and happy scent. Some of my favorite perfumes include Dorian, Kitsune-Tsuki, Antique Lace, and Persephone. Anything with plum or pomegrante usually works well with my skin chemistry. Being a tea lover, I also mentioned to Beth that I loved the scent of jasmine tea as well as chrysanthemum (often sweetened with rock sugar or goji berries), and that it would be cool to be the "AzN" version of Dorian. That being said, Daiyu does not disappoint. It's like Kitsune-Tsuki seduced Dorian and this is their beautiful, illegitimate offspring. In the bottle, the acai is the dominant scent that I smell, but the musk and tea leaf are balanced well enough that the berry note isn't too sweet/cloying. Applied wet, you get the floral notes--kind of light and airy and not in a dirty diaper way (LOL), and I can smell more of the tea leaf. A few hours after application, it gets sweet and musky, like the drydown you'd get with Dorian but more tart. The staying power is about 4-5 hours on me, and the throw is not very strong, but it won't offend if you slather, which is usually my experience with Asian florals. Note: if your skin chemistry amps up berry notes, apply sparingly. It's one of those blends that makes me think of "it's gonna be a bright sunshine-y day". Strange enough, it fits my personality well, as I tend to be one of those happy-go-lucky types*. This is a beautiful, refreshing scent that is great for warmer months. Thank you, Lab, for the opportunity to become a whore *with a potty mouth

Tried a bit on my wrist today. In the bottle, I smell a bit of coconut and vetiver, so I was a bit put off at first, but decided to try it out. I definitely liked the drydown. It's Snake Oil, of course, but doesn't have the powdery/incense-y note I get with Snake Oil. Very vanilla and a hint of spice. I like it!

The month of December is a pretty busy month for me, as a retail worker. 2006 in particular was the busiest month I've ever worked. So picture me, a few days before Christmas Eve, having to close after an 8-hour shift, leaving the shop at 10 pm, walking 15 minutes to the nearest Metro station, taking the train, then another 20 minute car ride until I actually arrive at home. It's a good 1.5 hour commute. And my only day off that week is Christmas day. What to do? Pop in a Moxie bath. Why Moxie? Why not TKO? Why not? I love the oil--it always gives me a boost whenever I wear it. And I love this bath bomb. The fragrance was very true to the oil. It brightened my mood and also helped to put a few thoughts I've been rattling around my head into perspective. Ideally, this is best reserved for a morning type of bath, but I usually take baths at night. It is energizing and I went to bed feeling pretty content. Also, the moisture content was just the right amount. Normally, I don't moisturize every day, so your mileage may vary, but this left my skin feeling soft and slightly toned. No greasy residue at all. I leave the tub feeling Moxious. A winnar is me! (bonus points if you get the KoL reference).

No scent description available. The History of Storyville Storyville was New Orlean's (and the nation's) first legalized prostitution district from 1897 through 1917. It was named, ironically enough, after Alderman Sidney Story, the man who wrote up the legislation concerning the "District," as it was called by locals. It was a flourishing area, where people of all racial backgrounds would gather for entertainment. The more popular brothels would hire piano players, known as "The Professor," to play in the parlor. There, many visitors to the city experienced the sounds of jazz for the first time in their lives. However, with the rise of Prohibition and WWI, the district was finally shut down (over objections of the city) by the federal government in 1917. My first night in New Orleans, Diana took Jessica and I out on a Haunted History tour. She said we could choose between the vampire or the ghost tour, and I said I would be interested in a ghost tour. Our guide, Renee, was a personable man with a large German Sheperd named Xena. While we were going from haunted site to site, one man in our group asked about Storyville. "Oh, I know a few things about Storyville," our guide replied knowingly, "but I shouldn't say it here. It's too raunchy." We walk a bit more, and at last we come to a stop, and he tells us about Storyville. "Storyville was the red light district of 'nawlins. Can any of you guess how many men a prostitute of Storyville serviced in one day?" "100!" guessed one person, while others suggested 32 or 45. It turned out to be that one woman would service 180 men in a day. Being a port city, the prostitutes were never relieved from their duties--except for when they started menstruating. And being that these women of the night lived together, they would being menstruating at the same time. It was like taking a week-long vacation, said our tour guide. They would sit around, chatting, playing music. "Guess what knd of music they played?" He paused for the punchline. "Ragtime!" (Thus, ended my first foray into the history of Storyville. I kind of want my $20 back for the tour but that Xena is one big bitch.) In the bottle, Storyville is a place of ill repute gathered into one naughty little bottle. It's debauchery and smut. It gives you that bodice-ripping-leave-all-your-inhibitions-behind kind of vibe--that "when you're good to mama, mama's good to you" feel. It's a sweet, dark vanilla, corrupted by tabacco, with a few lashes of musk. It's slightly foody, spicy, smoky, and seductive. Storyville is the Madam Pimp to Perversion and Morocco. She taught Scherezade a few tricks. Yet she's a bit rounder around the edges, and isn't all about flaunting her breasts at you. You'll find her in the background, pulling the strings, keeping a tight ship. If you like Snake Oil, Perversion, Morocco, Scherezade, Smut, Spanked, or any oils that are similiar, give Storyville a try. However, like any lady of the night, you're going to have to pay a pretty penny for her time, and she's not going to stick around long enough for you to court her.

There seemed to be no use in waiting by the little door, so she went back to the table, half hoping she might find another key on it, or at any rate a book of rules for shutting people up like telescopes: this time she found a little bottle on it, (`which certainly was not here before,' said Alice,) and round the neck of the bottle was a paper label, with the words `DRINK ME' beautifully printed on it in large letters. It was all very well to say `Drink me,' but the wise little Alice was not going to do that in a hurry. `No, I'll look first,' she said, `and see whether it's marked "poison" or not'; for she had read several nice little histories about children who had got burnt, and eaten up by wild beasts and other unpleasant things, all because they would not remember the simple rules their friends had taught them: such as, that a red-hot poker will burn you if you hold it too long; and that if you cut your finger very deeply with a knife, it usually bleeds; and she had never forgotten that, if you drink much from a bottle marked `poison,' it is almost certain to disagree with you, sooner or later. However, this bottle was not marked `poison,' so Alice ventured to taste it, and finding it very nice, (it had, in fact, a sort of mixed flavour of cherry-tart, custard, pine-apple, roast turkey, toffee, and hot buttered toast,) she very soon finished it off. BPAL’s Drink Me is not for drinking. Please use common sense, and remember: perfume oils are for external use only. The following is from a quick sniff-and-dab at Convergence. Drink Me was not available for purchase. Not bad. Nice, hot mustard. Good bread. The turkey's a little dry. [horror] The turkey's a little dry! Oh, foe, the cursed teeth! What demon from the depths of hell created thee! In truth, in the bottle, a delightful blend of foodtastic scents. I get a creamy vanilla with a bit of spice. I would not be surprised if Beth found a way to intermingle the cherry and pineapple, along with a buttery note. Truly lovely, truly unturkey.

On me, Venus is a rose that's about to bloom--more on the green side than pink. I couldn't detect any other notes besides rose. While it's not as overpowering as the other rose blends I've tried, it has tremendous staying power. I dabbed some on at 10am, and now it's nearly 11pm and there is still a faint trace of the goddess on me. I felt very sophisticated wearing it, and it goes in my top five of perfume I would wear for those "I am woman hear me roar" days.

I'm wearing Mantle of Venus today. For the first few hours, there is very strong clove scent, which later softens with something sweeter and more sensual. The clove still lingers in the background, but now the blend is more rounded. When I was down in the Metro Center tunnel earlier this afternoon, I got a voicemail from work, saying they made a mistake with my scheduling, and tomorrow I'll be working from 2-10, instead of from 11-5 as previously scheduled. I arrive at school, and get on the elevator. The boy who got on the elevator asked if I was a new student. "No, this is my fourth quarter," I replied. We chat a bit, and then the elevator stops at the tenth floor. "Maybe I'll see you around sometime. I'm Graphic Design." His last words to me as the elevator doors closed was "...but I'm Culinary..." [Culinary students have the twelfth floor to themselves and don't usually intermingle with other arts students while at school.] Strange boys rarely, if ever, approach me, or for the matter, strike up a conversation in an elevator. The day before, I was wearing Mantle of Venus to test the waters before I wore it out in public. I was chatting with my boyfriend online and he says to wish him luck. He's planning to visit me at the end of July and was making a bid on priceline.com for hotels in the DC area. He had never used this website before, and there was risk because once your bid is approved, you can't cancel or change your reservations. He was able to secure his first choice, the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Dupont Circle, for $90/night. This hotel has better reviews than the Hyatt. On their website, rooms run for $200 a night. I'm not a practictioner of magick, but I think today I'm going to buy some pink and purple candles, and write up a ritual. So far this alchemy blend has been very good to me. Update On Friday, September 16th, I wore Mantle of Venus again. That night we had an event at work. Suffice to say, we exceeded sales for that day, and since I worked well over 8 hours, I'll be receiving ~$120 (before taxes) on my next paycheck.

Close your eyes and take a whiff: you're surrounded boisterous and bright sounds of the carnival. This is pent-up excitement heighted by a sugar rush. I haven't experienced many carnivals, but I do remember my school's annual trip to King's Dominion when I was in eighth grade. There I got to experience my very first funnel cake. It was one of those foods that upon first bite you know you'll never forget. Midway smells like fried dough, hot from the deep fryer, laying on a paper plate. As the grease soaks through the plate, the cook sprinkles it generously with confectioner's sugar. It smells like cotton candy and other foodstuffs, but there's a little something to combat all the sweetness--kind of like adding a tub of Boardwalk fries to the vat of sugar. It has great staying power, and excellent throw. Wearing this makes me lust for summer, which is hard to imagine, because summers in our nation's capitol are always horribly hot and humid. Midway instills fond food memories for me. It's not just the first time I tried a funnel cake. It also reminds me of the time when I attempted to make my own funnel cake as Diana, Karyn, and Kevyn sit at my kitchen table, sipping and chatting over Bailey's, rum, and strawberry daiquiris. It reminds me of summers at Ocean City, feeling the grittiness of the sand in my flip flops as I walk along the boardwalk and looking up at the Ferris Wheel, too intimidated to go for a spin. I love Midway. And I know you will, too.

Quietude reminds me of several things. The first thing that comes to mind is when I used to work at a bath and body company who are famous for their lavender products. I remember one day I was working and a middle-aged French woman came in. She was quite chatty and discussed her childhood with me. Lavender must be harvested by hand, she told me, and she used to spend a great deal of times in the lavender fields of Provence. It was back-breaking work, to harvest all those flowers, but to this day she still loves the scent of lavender--despite loathing the work put into harvesting it. I decided to wear this as a perfume to bed, rather than use an oil burner. I dabbed a bit on my neck and as an afterthought, placed a bit on the tip of my nose. This allowed the scent to waft to me as I lay in bed. As I closed my eyes, the first thing I thought about was that French woman. I imagined a girl walking through lavender fields, her hand trailing along and brushing the tops of the flowers. The sun is high in the air, its heat beating down on her. The song of birds and insects are light in her ears as she envelopes herself in the scent. The scent of this blend is indeed lavender, but the astringent scent most people associate with it isn't there. Instead, it's a soft lavender that's gently tempered with lemon. The result is a soothing, relaxing night-time blend. Truthfully, I don't know how Quietude smells in its drydown stage. Though I usually don't have trouble falling asleep, this lulled me to the Land of Nod within a few blinks of the eye. What impressed me most about Quietude is that while I only got at most, 5 1/2 hours of sleep, the next morning I felt incredibly rested and refreshed, as if I had slept 8 hours or more. The following evening I repeated the same nightly ritual (dab of oil on nose) and the results were the same. This is an excellent blend for when you are having trouble sleeping, or if you want some quiet reflection. It's gentle, soothing, and provides dreamless nights. Insomniacs must try it. Those with too much on their mind must try it. Everyone who's ever had a bad day must try it. So what are you waiting for? Go forth and get yourself a bottle! You won't regret it.

About Oshun Oshun is the goddess that is associated with love, passion, sensuality, beauty, wealth, and diplomacy. She governs waters that are sweet to the tongue--the rivers, brooks, and streams. Oshun is a virtuous goddess, generous to all and possesses a kind disposition, unless you cross her, in which case her temper is terrible to behold. As luck would have it, Oshun is difficult to anger. She is beloved by many, restoring health to the sick, and bringing prosperity to those who need it. Sometimes she is shown as a young and beautiful charming woman; at other times she is pictured with a fish's tail. Oshun was taught by Obatala the art of divining. Upon learning this power, she taught it to neighboring village of her own will. She also teaches people to resolve differences through kindness and compromise. Because of this, she is also known as the sacred whore. "Sweetwater" is another one of her names. Sources: Wikipedia, Pantheon.org, About.com, Thalia Took's Goddess Gallery, SpiritualNature.com. In the Bottle This leaked a bit in transit, and when I received my package, I thought to myself, "Oh, someone sent me Persephone!" Very rosy and lush. Opening the bottle, there was something slightly boozy--perhaps a splash of wine. A slight peppery undercurrent, possibly from the rose, though pepper grass is one of the plants associated with Oshun. Wearing Comparisons to Persephone is apparent in its wet stage. It's rose blended with something juicy and sweet. I don't smell the sweetness tanginess of pomegrante, however; maybe orange? It's a bright, cheerful scent. It makes me think of warm, sunlight on a beautiful day. If I could describe this blend in colors, yellow and gold would come to mind. Incidentally enough, today's weather was gorgeous, and wearing this blend made me felt content and buoyant, provocative and sensual. I wanted to stand close to the businessman reading his newspaper on the morning commute. I wanted the scent to waft around the people sitting by me on the subway. It made me feel beautiful and womanly. Final Thoughts Oshun made me appreciate being a woman. It may be too closely related scent-wise to Persephone for some people. With Persephone you do get batches that are incidentally more rosey, and it takes a while for the pomegrante to temper the rose. Oshun is Persephone in its state of sweet florals--lush and juicy and tempting. Even though Persephone is one of my favorite scents, it never envoked this feeling of femininity. With Persephone, I think, "I smell great!" With Oshun, I think, "I feel beautiful, and I enjoy being a girl!" Beautiful, beautiful scent, just in time for the coming of spring.

About Obàtálá Obàtálá is one of the creator gods in Yoruba mythology. The oldest Orisha, the task of creating the Earth was given to him by Olorun, the Sky God. Olorun gave Obàtálá the necessary materials for his creation. These materials included blueprints, a chain, a handful of mud, a five-toed chicken, and detailed instructions on how to assemble all these items together. Obàtálá was prepared for his task. However, along the way he happened upon a god-party and became intoxicated with palm wine for the rest of the evening. Seeing an opportunity for fame and glory, Obàtálá's brother, Oduduwa, seized the materials and successfully built the Earth. Olorun was pleased with the results and gave Oduduwa the title of God of the Earth. The drunken and disgraced Obàtálá was sentenced to making mankind as punishment. The reason for the imperfections you find in human beings was that Obàtálá was drunk while making his creations. As such, he's also known as the patron deity of physically handicapped people and albinos. In time, Obàtálá overcame the obstacles of his past. He is now known as the Great White God of Mankind. White is the sacred color of Obàtálá. His children wear it to protect themselves from evil, as it is representative of purity and cleanliness. Obàtálá's other areas of expertise is white wine, laundry, and refrigerators. In addition, Obàtálá is also the God of the North. Sources: Wikipedia and Godchecker.com In the Bottle Fruity, and tropical, with a hint of something that doesn't make it feel bright, like "I'm strolling on the beach on a remote tropcial island in the middle of the day" bright. A muddled kind of sweetness. Wearing I tried this blend twice. The first time I tested it, I accidentally put too much on. At the time I was chatting with Belladonnastrap online and she asked if I smelled earthy. "Kind of," I said, but it's not a kind of earthy smell I associate with the forest and greenery. I detected a hint of banana. Perhaps that was the palm wine, but I had no idea what palm wine smells like. My brother comes in and said I smelled like the dollar store! To which Karyn asks me what does the dollar store smells like, because she's never been in one and the ones she's seen are next to crackhouses. All the dollar stores I've been in smell the same. They smell of mothballs and cheap aerosol sprays. Musty. When I think about it, I can understand what my brother meant by "dollar store" smell. Like something that's been put away in your attic for a long time and hasn't seen the light of day for a while. However, this isn't a bad scent. I decided to try it again. The blend is rather potent so for those of you who are heavyhanded with your application of the Lab's oils, try not to slather on too much. This time, I got of coconut and banana. Again there's that sweetness. It reminds me of freshly made sugarcane drink. Sweet and refreshing with a bit of green to temper out the sweetness. If I put my nose to wrist and inhale deeply, I get woozy. I understand that palm wine is made from sap of the palm tree. Upon collecting the sap, it begins to ferment immediately, to the point within a span of two hours, it yields a mildly intoxicating, sweet wine with 4% alcohol content. The longer its allowed to ferment the more sour and acidic it gets. Eventually it becomes vinegar rather than wine. Thus, when I smell that musty scent, I kind of envision Obàtálá at his station, drunk off his gourd. He's covered head to toe in mud, and his flask of palm wine has been sitting there for a while. It's almost at the brink of becoming a more potent potion. Light on the verge of becoming dark. Final Thoughts This pretty much stayed the same on me as on the bottle. It has tremendous staying power. Before ordering this bottle from astrobabe, I have never heard of the Orishas. So after conducting a bit of research and trying it out, I've decided that Beth captured the "essence" of Obàtálá well. Brightness muddled with a bit of dark. The idea that not all gods are infallible, but are subject to being human, just like the rest of us. It's not quite a scent I'd imagine myself wearing often, as I tend to stick with light florals and cheery fruity/foody scents. However, in the future, I'd like to try this in a balmy summer's day and compare it to when I wore it in the winter. I imagine since the mythology of the Orishas are derived from more tropical climates, it might feel more "authentic" as a summer scent. NOTE: These reviews are for the Twilight Alchemy Lab oil. Reviews of the BPAL Excolo scent of the same name can be found here. --Shollin

Undertow isn't what I expected to be. I'd imagine it'd grasp you and drag you in, deeper and deeper. Instead, this blend is quite comforting. It envelops me in its blanket. Not quite what I was expecting as I wore it on a rainy day. The mint is there, but it isn't prominent. Instead, a buttery note is there. I'd imagine it's the lotus, as that wears well with my skin chemistry, but I didn't know what notes were in Undertow when I wore it. The scent pretty much stayed the same on me all day. A nice, light, buttery mint. Strong but not overpowering. Not quite the dark element, but I do adore the scent and may buy a bottle of it.