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Showing results for tags 'Lupercalia 2011'.
Found 55 results
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A tribute to the opium den cum bawdyhouses of Shanghai in the 1930's. Golden amber, blonde tobacco, Sudanese black coconut, rich caramel, black currant, white opium and delphinium laced with a sensual blend of Asian spice. I'm reviewing VERY early, just so people can have a chance to make a decision on this while it's still possible to do something about it. In the bottle: sweet ”” the caramel is a much stronger primary note than I would have expected. There is also a faint hint of what I would think was a sweet orange blossom. On skin, wet: Oh goodness. Yeah, this IS the stuff. The sweetness dies off almost immediately, leaving a haze of amber layered over spice and a gentle tobacco (which to my nose ends up smelling like really good incense rather than tobacco.) There's something slightly astringent, but it's not unpleasant. Red Lantern is passing the first test, which is that I have my wrist glued to my nose while I inhale deeply (let me tell you, that makes it hard to type.) This is a hard scent to review honestly. It's difficult to verbalize why I love it so much, except to say, you know "it's pretty." What the hell: it's pretty! Update: 4 hours later, this has turned into a slightly sweet and very exotic incense. Gorgeous.
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Cream, clove, ginger, and honey. Oh young pine saplings, you smell so spicily sweet in the bottle. And actually a lot like Mother ginger in my opinion. On my skin however, you do show the deeper, warm, gingery spiciness (as opposed to the fresh zingy note in MG). I get the cream in there too way at the bottom, as is usual for me. For whatever reason this one did not last too long on me, except if I sniff with my wrist right up to my nose.. Which actually I dont mind because really strong spicy scents that are very persistent just remind me of old ladies perfume. Overall, I think this is a very nice scent, that is a bit more wearable than mother ginger or gingerbread poppet. As I said to a friend, all these shungas smell really nice to me! and there was only 2 that I wasnt totally in love with... but they are both still worthy of getting a bottle.
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SPANKED REVISITED Whip leather, cardamom, patchouli, and bourbon. I tested Spanked Revisited at Will Call last weekend with much apprehension. Leather? However, if there is leather in this scent, I couldn't find it. To me, Spanked in the vial smells like a warm cinnamon deepened by a trickle of patchouli, and it stayed consistent through all stages on my skin. It was pretty, but too simple to keep me wanting more. In fact, it could almost be a single note of cinnamon, even though that note wasn't even listed (points finger at cardamom). If I had been excited for the leather note, I would be disappointed, however fans of spicy, foody scents might like this.
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What a great freakin' word. BPAL LOVES TEH SMUT! Three swarthy, smutty musks sweetened with sugar and woozy with dark booze notes. BPAL loves teh smut! I know Beth warned us about this one, that it'd smell a bit aggressive in the bottle but is positively wonderful once on. I haven't smelt Sed Non Satiata yet, which is the scent Beth said this is a lot like, so I have no basis for comparison there. Sorry, guys? In the bottle, yes, it's definitely aggressive. It almost smells like Robitussin cough syrup - that same boozy, quasi-fruity medicinal quality. It has the potential to be sexy, though, I can definitely see/smell that. Smut immediately sweetens when it hits my skin. It's pretty much musky sugar sweetness after a few drinks, precisely what the description says. There's no more medicinal smell to be had, but it's definitely warmer - do I smell vanilla? Very sophisticated and womanly, almost reminiscent of Jean-Paul Gaultier, only without the headache J-P gives me. A seductive, sophisticated, heady, little-black-dress-and-stilettos, 'take me now' scent. I love teh smut. If you haven't already, GET SOME. 9/10. P.S. Throw is amazingly good.
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She Who Furnishes Pregnancy Peru balsam, vanilla bean, Rainier cherry, bitter almond, golden honey, rose water, lemon peel, sugar cane, and benzoin. While Kypris is wet I can smell cherry, almond, and a bit of lemon. It dries down to a pleasant, soft skin scent. It's nice.
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TIME DOES NOT BRING RELIEF Time does not bring relief; you all have lied Who told me time would ease me of my pain! I miss him in the weeping of the rain; I want him at the shrinking of the tide; The old snows melt from every mountain-side, And last year's leaves are smoke in every lane; But last year's bitter loving must remain Heaped on my heart, and my old thoughts abide. There are a hundred places where I fear To go - so with his memory they brim. And entering with relief some quiet place Where never fell his foot or shone his face I say, 'There is no memory of him here!' And so stand stricken, so remembering him. (Edna St Vincent Millay) Remembrance: Parma violet and leather accord with beeswax, Egyptian musk, orange blossom, white tea, lavender, myrrh, and copal. I find this one a very complex scent. It starts out as fresh white tea, Parma violets, lavender, orange blossom (which keeps threatening to amp but thankfully stays soft) with a backdrop of Egyptian Musk and beeswax. The other notes are also there, but remain well-blended and don't stick out on me but give it more complexity. I was hoping for more leather but I'm hardly getting any. Once dry, the Egyptian Musk starts amping, and the violets turn slightly powdery and vanillaic (similar to violet pastilles), the tea gets a little sharp (this usually happens with tea-blends on my skin),I get a bit more lavender and orange blossom and now I get hint of leather but it's still very soft.
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WOMB FURIE In the middle of the flanks of women lies the womb, a female viscus, closely resembling an animal; for it is moved of itself hither and thither in the flanks, also upwards in a direct line to below the cartilage of the thorax and also obliquely to the right or to the left, either to the liver or spleen; and it likewise is subject to falling downwards, and, in a word, it is altogether erratic. It delights, also, in fragrant smells, and advances towards them; and it has an aversion to fetid smells, and flees from them; and on the whole the womb is like an animal within an animal. -- Aretaeus the Cappadocian Oh, that wily womb! Hippocrates and his followers considered the womb a mobile creature, causing mayhem as it writhed its way through a woman's body. Sometimes this ornery organ, due to lack of sexual activity, would create conflicts within a woman's system or would become blocked itself, causing anxiety, nervousness, water retention, and sleeplessness. With the assistance of doctors, nursemaids, hand tools, or, occasionally, self-manipulation, this vexing condition could be alleviated through hysterical paroxysms. Or, as we call it nowadays: orgasm. An itch that needs to be scratched: Snake Oil and three types of honey. To be honest, and snake oil have a less than great record. Straight up snake oil makes me deal with two hours of annoying spice before it gives me the soft vanilla, and none of the Snake pit were a success. This however, has PROMISE!!! The honey cuts out the harshness that the indonesian oils do when they're on my skin, and they're not taking over. I can still tell i'm wearing snake oil, but it's got some honey underneath. The honey and the vanilla also last for a long time, so i'm definetly not getting the disappearing act that I usually associate with snake oil blends. I highly recommend giving it a try!!
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She Who Conceals Love-Affairs Black narcissus, purple orchid, neroli, white sandalwood, ambergris, plum musk, jonquil, thyme, oakmoss, and grapefruit. I can't believe I'm the first to review this! In the bottle: sort of clean but fruity. I'm getting mainly plum and grapefruit with maybe some jonquil. First on: Not very strong. Very clean and sort of cold. I think I'm picking up oakmoss. Much less fruity, with the narcissus, orchid, and sandalwood starting to peek out. It's sort of a haughty floral. Definitely on the sophisticated side of things. Very well blended, and nothing really stands out and screams "I'm X note, look at me!" when I wear it. I was worried about the thyme, but I'm not picking up it at all. The ambergris is also very low key on me, although it does come to play more once it's fully dry. Dry I'd say it reminds me a tiny bit of Lamia, which could be the orchid Overall verdict: I really like this one. It's a somewhat muted floral that smells both clean and dark at the same time.
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Piss off, Saint Valentine! Lupercalia is an ancient Roman celebration, held on February 15th, that kicked in the advent of Spring with a very, very festive purification, fertility and sexuality ritual. The ritual began near the cave of Lupercal on the Palatine, an area sacred to Faunus, as well as Ruminia, Romulus and Remus. During Lupercalia, Vestal Virgins first made offerings of sacred cakes to the fig tree under which the she-wolf suckled the Sacred Twins. A dog and two goats were then offered in sacrifice to Faunus. The blood of the sacrifice was smeared onto two naked patrician youths, who were assisted by the Virgins, and the blood was wiped clean with sacred wool dipped in milk. The youths donned the skins of the sacrificial goats, wielding whips made from the goat skins, and then led the priests and the Virgins around the pomarium, and around the base hills of Rome. This was a ceremony of great happiness and merriment, and was of particular interest to young women: being touched by the goat-whips young men that led the procession ensured their fertility in the coming year. It is believed that, after the initial rite, male participants would draw the name of an available maiden, with whom he spent the rest of the night. This scent is for the Luperci, the Chosen of Faunus, the Brothers of the Wolf: raw, down and dirty patchouli, Gurjam balsam, and essence of Sampson Root sweetened with the heightened sexuality of beeswax, virile juniper, oakmoss, ambrette seed over honey and East African musk. ... am I really the first? Oh dear! Stage fright. In the bottle: Patchouli, smacking me in the nose! Beeswax, moss, earthy, dirty, powerful. The husband likes this. Wet on skin: Patchouli and juniper, with a honey-sweet undertone, but the sharp woody note is on top. Dry on skin: Patchouli and a heavy, sweet musk. Juniper's still there, but the musk is overpowering it. Over time: Woody and sweet and musky. This is a heavy, woody, honey-sweet scent; patchouli likes me, as usual, and is sticking around as the strongest note. The juniper has receded almost entirely, leaving me with only a quiet sharpness in the woody scent to remind me of its presence. Overall: I expected to like this, and I'm not disappointed. It's a very earthy, sexy kind of scent, not a pretty or delicate scent; this is precisely what I wanted and expected out of it. Elf still likes it, too. Bonus. I used to wear patchouli straight, but I like this more; it's more complex and appealing. 4.5/5 - not hoarding like I do with Geek, but I'm glad I got a bottle, so it will last me a nice long time.
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Rice wine, white sandalwood, vanilla bean, and white musk. Loosening of the Obi is an herbal scent to my nose at least. I think it's the rice wine that's making me smell an herbal note. It's light and pretty, and reminds me of some of the amber scents, kind of like a lighter Jacob's Ladder. It seems to fade pretty fast, but age might help with that.
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Rubbed sage, ti leaf, osmanthus, immortelle, patchouli, amber, and mandarin. Festival Mask - This is a pretty scent. It's mostly amber and patchouli on me, but the patchouli isn't a strong, heavy, dirty patchouli, it's balanced very nicely by the sage and ti leaf. The immortelle, like the sage, gives this blend a bit of a dry, herbal scent, and blends beautifully with the other notes. The mandarin is present initially, but it wicks off my skin fairly quickly, and is barely discernible upon drydown. Overall, this is a pretty, dry, asian scent.
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For the Valentine's Day purists. For this was on seynt Volantynys day Whan euery bryd comyth there to chese his mate. Medieval romance and courtly love. White rose and soft resins. As a medievalist and a girl who likes roses, I was especially excited for this one, and am so glad and honoured (!) that I get to be the first to review. I'm doing this really fast for those of you who want to put in a last-minute order, so forgive me if this seems a bit rushed, but I'll edit it later. In the bottle, heavenly roses warmed by resins. It's exactly what's in the description ... and yet, so much more than that. White roses, I guess, are lighter than those of any other colour, less rich and opulently scented, but softer and more innocent, and yet a bit sharper. (Macha, wonderful label art on this one. I love it!) Oh, that white rose is sharp! This scent isn't too floral because of the resins keeping it in check, and it positively blooms on my skin. This is traditional courtship in an English rose garden at the height of rose season with a feudal manor in the distance. Parlement of Foules dries down to a warm, soft rose, unobtrusive, not overly floral, and positively beautiful. This is courtly love at its best, immortalised in the works of Geoffrey Chaucer and John Gower, and now this small amber bottle sitting on my desk. I love this. I'm so glad I've got another bottle of this on its way to me. I guess this means I'm in love with love. 10/10.
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Vanilla-infused amber, leather, beeswax, cyclamen, oakmoss, peru balsam, orange blossom, red ginger, tonka, opoponax, myrrh, and black pepper. bottle: whoa! fiery! i get the ginger and amber most prominently. wet: there is so much going on in this scent, it's difficult to pinpoint notes. i can really smell the ginger and orange blossom above the amber but i keep getting faint hints of leather and beeswax. the overall feeling of this scent is jagged and bright. dry: this dries to a potent amber and spice scent, it's not quite as gingery once dry, more spicy and smooth with wafts of the opoponax, myrrh & black pepper. amazing.
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Coconut, white amber, hazelnut, and anise. bottle: coconut & hazelnut. wet: beautiful. a sweet blend of coconut and hazelnut touched with a tiny hint of anise. the amber is just tying the whole thing together and just sings on my skin. dry: as this dries, the notes blend perfectly. it's a smooth, lightly-nutty blend that i will wear all spring.
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Brown musk, leather accord, toasted sandalwood, clove, labdanum, and champaca. Lots of frankincense, toasted sandalwood (mmm...), oh no...here comes the champaca to ruin the party, my skin amps the champaca within seconds. After a few minutes, the brown musk peeks through but remains soft and warms up the blend, I start getting a bit of the labdanum too. I think the champaca is overpowering the leather and clove because I'm not getting much of either. The final dry-down is toasty sandalwood, frankincense and lots of champaca. I find the overall scent warm, woody and just slightly smokey. I really liked Dancing Koi (it actually reminds me a little of last year's Prosperity of a Country) but I was hoping for a lot less champaca, sadly my just skin amps it too much, it would have been a keeper for me if hadn't been so overpowering. ETA: After testing it a few days later, I decided it's a keeper. I love the warm, toasty, woody goodness that the frankincense, brown musk and toasted sandalwood create, so much so that I can tolerate the champaca (I think it has already mellowed out in just a few days) and actually like it in here.
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I worship you like night's pavilion, O vase of sadness, o great silent one, And love you more since you escape from me, And since you seem, my night's sublimity, To mock me and increase the leagues that lie Between my arms and blue immensity. I move to attack, beseige, assail, Like eager worms after a funeral. I even love, o beast implacable, The coldness which makes you more beautiful. Not the desperation, desolation and anguish of unrequited love, but the distant, chill and pitiless scent of the object of that doomed desire. White musk, osmanthus, Nile lily and frankincense. In the bottle More bright and fruity than one would imagine. Thusfar this smells sort of like Blue moon meets..I dunno... Neo-Tokyo maybe a bit. The Lily, osmanthus, musk and frankincense blend together so well that the no one thing really sticks out as primary...yet. On Still smells the same as in the bottle (thank God). The lily and osmanthus are primary now. I can't pick out the frankincense nor the musk any longer. Very pretty blend, somewhat perfumey, and similar to an aquatic. There's a cucumbery mintiness to this underneath the perfuminess. 30 minutes The dry down is even better because it becomes a bit powdery, but this slight powderiness only adds to the loveliness of this white floral. Throw: Yes it does have more than average. Scent category: Floral/Animalistic/Incense Summary To me this doesn't smell like a incensey floral. It smells more bright white floral, aquatic blend. I'm not even able to pick an existing blend to compare it to. I would say a Jasmine Danube or Tulszcha but no, this is not getting at what it smells liek exactly. So pretty and different. I bet some would imagine Snow White to smell like this. It's that kind of scent. Greatest throw of the Lupercalia blends and the longest lasting of the bunch as well Purchase again? Yes. This is beautiful. 1-5 rating (5 being best) 4.5
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Wild woods, Bulgarian rose, tolu balsam, vanilla absolute, ambergris, honey, and vanilla. This is so very, very smooth. The woods are pleasantly aromatic. The rose is really subtle. The vanilla is also laid back. Surprisingly unisex. In fact, it's verging on masculine. Is there a touch of vetiver in here? Something vaguely feral. Very little change from bottle to skin to wearing.
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Wild plum, lemongrass, frankincense, honeysuckle, and teak. I find this one a resiny, mildly fruity, tart, floral blend. I get soft, but very present, frankincense, lemongrass (I don't find it quite as sharp as it usually is), plum, and soft honeysuckle. ETA: After a short while the plum really amps up and it started to remind me of Dionysia.
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Dark chocolate, lime and chocolate mint. This is a fresh from the box on a very cold day review, so I'll edit if anything changes. This is yummy and candy-like. It smells like a mix of chocolate-covered candy canes and sweet lime lollipops. As it dries, the lime backs off and it stays chocolate mint. The drydown is very minty, but more like fresh mint and no longer peppermint. I love minty scents so I'm glad I bought a bottle unsniffed! To compare this to last year's Dark Chocolate Key Lime Truffle, this (so far) is more chocolate and a different lime note.
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Milk chocolate, raw ginger, and butterscotch. In the bottle: chocolate and ginger On me wet: yummy ginger and chocolate, followed by rich butterscotch. Dry: just like its says, ginger, chocolate, and butterscotch.
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Love always finds shelter in the gentle heart. Dolce Stil Nuovo is a 13th & 14th century Florentine literary style that celebrates love and womanhood through heartfelt, delicate, and melodious sonnets, ballate, and canzones. This is fin'amor, Courtly Love, in its most moving form, and the emotions that these words express reflect love that both spiritual and idealized. Within this literary movement, earthly love reaches for the Divine. Who is she coming, whom all gaze upon, Who makes the air tremulous with light, And at whose side is Love himself? that none Dare speak, but each man's sighs are infinite. Ah me! how she looks round from left to right, Let Love discourse: I may not speak thereon. Lady she seems of such high benison As makes all others graceless in men's sight. The honor which is hers cannot be said; To whom are subject all things virtuous, While all things beauteous own her deity. Ne'er was the mind of man so nobly led Nor yet was such redemption granted us That we should ever know her perfectly. Our interpretation of Dolce Stil Nuovo is a blend of rose otto, carnation, vanilla flower, lavender and jasmine with the clarity of crystalline white musk and the warmth of golden amber. In the bottle: A very clean floral. On my wrist, wet: Sweet and floral with an almost candy-like muskiness. After 20 minutes: Creamy, subtle floral with the amber providing a little warm powderiness. This doesn't smell like flowers as much as it smells like the ghosts of flowers. After 40 minutes: Dolce Stil Nuovo is primarily a subdued floral, but there is also a warm creaminess to the blend that adds an entirely different dimension to it in all stages of drydown. The choice of muted floral components is complimented by the subtle musk and amber notes. This is a blend that suits a woman who is feminine, understated and confident. Lovely!
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White chocolate martini. In the bottle: creamy and kind of effervescent. On me wet: the gin leaps out at first then the white chocolate comes out. Dry: kinda a delicate balance between the gin and the white chocolate. On me the gin stands out more and smells kinda fizzy.
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Foam Born Orris root, iris, white honey, white sandalwood, coconut, and cherry blossom. Aphrogenes is nice. It starts off smelling of iris and coconut, similar to Black Pearl from the Bewitching Brews category, only without the hazelnut or musk. There is an airy cherry blossom note floating behind the iris and coconut. The florals are not sharp. The honey note is light and closely tied to the floral notes, unlike other honey scents where the honey smells golden and viscous (e.g. Door or Valse Finale et Apothéose). I was worried that the white sandalwood note would take over and smell unpleasantly dry, but it is not a note that stands out. The white sandalwood tempers the coconut, keeping the coconut from smelling tropical or gourmand. This perfume makes me think of pale silk, or a very expensive face cream. It is light and soft. The perfume lasted on my skin through most of my workday. After about nine hours I can smell coconut, sandalwood, and a faint trace of honey lingering on my wrist. The iris and cherry blossom went away within the first few hours.
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Vetiver, guiac wood, peru of balsam, two musks, labdanum, saffron, and rum accord. In the bottle, unexpectedly rummy and musky, with a bit of sweetness from the saffron. On my skin, rum and saffron, very sweet, though the woods and vetiver are starting to come out. The vetiver and wood comes out to balance and slightly overpower the rum sweetness. A bit more sexily masculine, would prolly be better on a guy.
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The fabled Khajuraho temples of India are shrines of love in all its myriad forms. They are a celebration of love itself -- transcendental, spiritual and erotic. This is a rejection of sorrow, spiritual ennui and despair. The sexual motifs that adorn the temples, and the temples themselves, are monuments to ecstasy and to passion, and through that, they are also monuments to spiritual fulfillment. It is believed that the realization of moksha by dedicating oneself to adhyatma and dharma can be attained only by first experiencing sexual satisfaction. In the midst of the drudgery and struggle that we sometimes endure during the course of our Earthly lives, it is vitally important that we remember the joy found in kama, and that in kama we can achieve transformation of the body and soul. This is a blissful, euphoric blend based on an ancient Indian love potion: honey, date palm, tuberose, davana blossom, amber, white sandalwood, vanilla bean, Damask rose, and champaca flower. I'm the first to review this one! Before we begin, I would like to note that on the forum, it's spelled "Khajuraho" but it says "Khajurajo" on my bottle. In the bottle it smells very woodsy--more sandalwood than anything else. Same goes for initial application, but then the rose starts to come out. Something about it smells a little bit tropical to me--it may be the tuberose (which does funny things on me) but I don't know what some of the other notes even smell like. As it starts to dry, the sandalwood fades to a more comfortable "throw" and the earthy sweetness of honey comes out. This blend is very complex. I'm going to keep testing it but so far I like it!
