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Showing results for tags 'Yule 2009'.
Found 35 results
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The Day of Kings, the Celebration of the Magi. In Mexico, on January 6th, children place their shoes by their windows. If they have been good during the previous year, the Wise Men tuck gifts into their shoes during the night. Hot cocoa with cinnamon, coffee, and brown sugar. Right out of the bottle this pretty much smells like hot cocoa to me. It's a milky chocolate. On my skin I can only detect a faint whiff of coffee. The cinnamon does not come out to play til it starts to fade out and it is very, very mellow. I hoped this would be more of a cinnamon coffee scent but on me it is more of a really chocolatey cafe mocha. Chocolate scent lovers will adore this.
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MOTHER SHUB'S SPICED LAIT DE CHÈVRE Nothing warms the cockles like a mug of Mother Shub's egg nog! Goat's milk egg nog with coffee liqueur and spices imported from the Crimson Desert! In the bottle, it's boozy egg nog. Wet, this one's got a really sharp note, almost reminiscent of cough syrup. Thankfully, that passes super quickly to give way to a warm, lightly spiced creaminess that reminds me of some kind of candy I know I've had before. Not too creamy, not at all milky (read: sour), slightly nutty, and perfectly spiced with cassia and nutmeg. Puts me in the mood for a nice warm holiday beverage! I wish it had more throw, and my skin is eating it. If it had more oof, I'd love it.
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A lighthearted winter scent: chilly vanilla rose snowballs! Dainty, soft, and certainly unfit for flinging! Pink Snowballs started out Snow White, with a hint of vanilla, and stayed that way for a while. After about two hours, I smelled it and snow white had wandered away, leaving the vanilla left with a single rose and a hint of her perfume. Rather soft, and pretty.
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Terebinth pine, pitch, and clove. Wow. Gacela of the Dark Death, you are lovely! That is unexpected. I've never smelled anything quite like this. I thought it would be like Mistletoe for some reason, but it isn't at all. The way the clove blends with the pine and pitch is amazing. The whole is greater than the sum of the parts. I can't really describe it. It is sort of airy and dark, and wafts lightly. It is not sweet at all. I sure hope that more people try this and can post more descriptive reviews.
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Educational toys for tots! Learn non-Euclidean calculus, catoptric theory, quantum physics, and the mysteries of Elder magic the fun way! An ancient baetylus floating within an array of bizarre trapezoidal figures, glimmering tubes, rusting spheres, and whirling gogs formed from peculiar metals, glowing tektites, strangely suspended lead mirrors, and eerie driftings of meteoric dust. Wet-Bright shiny golden metallic toys. That is exactly what this smells like. There is a hint of citrus in this....swirling around in the oil...but dead on this is a light golden metal. As it dries....it turns a little cologney...but not manly cologne and it becomes quite clean..... It's quite nice. I think a little aging will help tone it down a little. Also as it dries...it gets lighter but it does have a good throw.
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The stickiest thing you shouldn't lick this winter. Peppermint candy cane with an extra jolt of sugar. This is similar to its four older Lick It siblings, a combination of chilly peppermint, sugar, and vanilla, plus the addition of menthol to make it extra chilly and a bit metallic. Its a nice combination, but I prefer the previous versions (with 2008's Lick It Like You Mean It my favourite).
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While Persephone visited the realm of Hades, she tasted one single pomegranate seed, an act which compelled her to remain connected to the Land of the Dead for all eternity. Demeter's grief over her beloved daughter's absence that brings on the bleakness and barrenness of the winter months. The Fruit of Paradise, the Nectar of Death: bittersweet pomegranate. The story of Persephone was what first made me love pomegranates when I heard it as a child, and as the cold months begin and they start appearing on store shelves (in ever increasing quantities!) I cannot resist them. The rich, blood red, dripping fragrant juice is a delight, and I love perfumes in which it is a prominent note. This is a deeper, stronger pomegranate than something like Swank or Persephone, but it remains true to that sweet red almost berry-like scent. It's given some depth and strength by...well, I'm not sure but it makes me think of amber. I was wondering if maybe this would have a strong earth or dirt note, but it is mainly pomegranate sweetened and deepened perhaps by amber or some other sweet, golden pale resin. A few notches different from something like Hymn to Proserpine, but it does recall a Yule time red sweet berry-fruit scent. On the drydown there might be a hint of a rich, darker note, but that clear, bright red fruit is always on top.
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Cacao, black musk, and tobacco absolute. Oh my. This is GORGEOUS!!!! I was a little worried about the black musk because sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but there was no need to worry and it seems to be keeping the cocao from being too foody. There is a slightly sweet note which could be the tobacco and balances out the other notes nicely. It does go through a brief powdery phase, but that doesn't seem to last long. This is a crazy sexy scent and I LOVE it. I wish I could do a better review but I can't keep my nose away from my wrist long enough. I will most certainly be getting multiple bottles since there is nothing like it in my stash. Oh! I realized that this is more of what I wanted Boomslang to smell like, but that went horribly wrong on me. Thankfully, this doesn't!
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Now winter nights enlarge The number of their hours, And clouds their storms discharge Upon the airy towers. Let now the chimneys blaze, And cups o'erflow with wine; Let well-tuned words amaze With harmony divine. Now yellow waxen lights Shall wait on honey love, While youthful revels, masques, and courtly sights Sleep's leaden spells remove. This time doth well dispense With lovers' long discourse; Much speech hath some defence, Though beauty no remorse. All do not all things well; Some measures comely tread, Some knotted riddles tell, Some poems smoothly read. The summer hath his joys And winter his delights; Though love and all his pleasures are but toys, They shorten tedious nights. Shorten those tedious nights with a surge of body heat: vanilla-infused red musk, champaca, petitgrain, ylang ylang, patchouli, nutmeg, honey, galbanum, and traces of caramel. In the bottle this is warm and slightly foody. A burst of the caramel, ginger, honey and vanilla. First on those notes pop up right from the start and make this seem too foody for me (I'm not a foody lover) but very quickly the darker grounding notes start to pull down the top notes to make the blend warm, sensual, and though slightly foody very dark in a sensual way. The dry down is a warm scent, with the patchouli, ginger and nutmeg dueling for dominance but with the other flowery notes pulling them away from being too floored. A very yummy scent that would be wonderful to wear on a cold and snowy night.
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DED MOROZ Grandfather Frost! Accompanied by his granddaughter, Snegurochka, the Snow Maiden, he bestows gifts to virtuous and hard-working people, rewarding their decency and integrity, and punishes those who are lazy, shiftless, and unkind, killing their fields with frost, cracking the trunks of their trees, and destroying their homes. The first incarnation of Father Frost was not at all benevolent. He was the personification of the darkest aspects of winter, winter's destruction incarnate. He kidnapped unruly children, and slew people capriciously by freezing them to death. Light, darkness, kindness, and malice: golden amber, white amber, redwood, teak, bois du rose, sage, tree moss, and snow. The label is the same as all the 06 Yuletide scents. waaahhhhhooooo, this finally arrived, i couldn't wait! in the bottle:very light scent, slightly green smelling and something almost minty, this smells somewhat familiar, yet not something i can readily place my finger on. wet: hmm, yes there is something slightly minty here, even though i don't see mint as a listed ingredient, but it isn't a pepperminty scent, i am getting i think spearmint? and the very faintest whiff of "snow" and the barest touch of sage. this is such a soft scent, up close i get something greenish, and minty, but so amazingly light. the waft of teh scent is a soft almost powdery scent, but not old lady powder, more the soft fuzzy powder type feel. not florally, not slushy, just a fuzzy, almosty hazy, minty, goodness. i also at this point can detect an aura of redwood, it confused me at first i was thinking evergreen, but then when the scent settles, i realized it was redwood and teak, more redwood though. the longer this is on, the more the scent settles and melds into this beautiful, comforting scent, it is definitely a cool scent, definitely a soft scent and definitely a scent i am proud to own. adding after a long drydown time, this does get a hint of rose, it is a very soft rose, not sharpness even hinting at the edges, and teh amber really starts to step forward as teh mint softens i really hope beth can resolve the component issues, and offer this. i love it.
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NES GADOL HAYA SHAM But not long after the king sent a certain old man of Antioch, to compel the Jews to depart from the laws of their fathers and of God: And to defile the temple that was in Jerusalem, and to call it the temple of Jupiter Olympius: and that in Gazarim of Jupiter Hospitalis, according as they were that inhabited the place. And very bad was this invasion of evils and grievous to all. For the temple was full of the riot and reveling of the Gentiles: and of men lying with lewd women. And women thrust themselves of their accord into the holy places, and brought in things that were not lawful. The altar also was filled with unlawful things, which were forbidden by the laws. And neither were the sabbaths kept, nor the solemn days of the fathers observed, neither did any man plainly profess himself to be a Jew. But they were led by bitter constraint on the king's birthday to the sacrifices: and when the feast of Bacchus was kept, they wore compelled to go about crowned with ivy in honour of Bacchus. And there went out a decree into the neighboring cities of the Gentiles, by the suggestion of the Ptolemeans, that they also should act in like manner against the Jews, to oblige them to sacrifice: And whosoever would not conform themselves to the ways of the Gentiles, should be put to death: then was misery to be seen. For two women were accused to have circumcised their children: whom, when they had openly led about through the city with the infants hanging at their breasts, they threw down headlong from the walls. And others that had met together in caves that were near, and were keeping the sabbath day privately, being discovered by Philip, were burnt with fire, because they made a conscience to help themselves with their hands, by reason of the religious observance of the day. - The Second Book of the Maccabees, 6:1-11 In order to consolidate his power in Jerusalem and Hellenize the area, the Greek king Antiochus IV Epiphanes outlawed Judaism and ordered the population to worship Zeus and the Hellenic pantheon. As this was anathema to the Jews, they refused, and Antiochus moved to enforce his religious decree by extreme force. Some origin tales say that the dreidel was used at this time as a method by which the Jewish people were able to continue to study the Talmud in secret under the guise of gambling. Now, in addition to being a light gambling game, the dreidel is also a reminder of the strength, devotion, and perseverance of the Jewish people and the mercy of God. One scent in four parts: Nun, the Snake: nuun, nothing. Naḥš, in modern Arabic, means bad luck. Represented by scents of loss and remembrance: opoponax and lemon verbena. Gimel, the Camel: the Ship of the Desert. Represented by scents of abundance, fortitude, and determination: patchouli, heliotrope, pomegranate, and almond. He, the Window: sometimes used to represent the Unutterable Name of God, this is the window in our souls through which God's light touches us. Represented by scents of clarity and piety: frankincense, myrtle, and hyssop. Shin, the Tooth: also stands for Shaddai, one of the names of God. The hand formed into shin acts as a priestly blessing. Represented by scents of strength, generosity, kindness, and benediction: carnation, myrrh, red poppy, and hibiscus. The essences of Nun, Gimel, He, and Shin are blended to become Nes Gadol Haya Sham. Prominent notes for me are the Heliotrope and Almond. This reminds me of an old favorite, Tzadikim Nistarim, and also a few of BPAL's earlier 13 blends. Probably because of the wide range of notes. Maybe even reminiscent of Cleopatra Testing Poisons. Complex and unconventional from a perfume standpoint.
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JOULUMUORI Old Lady Christmas, the sweet, smiling wife of Finland's Joulupukki. Her scent invokes the comforts of Christmastime and the warmth of love and cheerful companionship: a glowing hearth, luumukiisseli, riisipuuro, and sima. Ok, so luumukiisseli, riisipuuro, and sima translate to prune soup, rice pudding, and mead. I had to try it. It was so nice!!! Very warm and foody and boozy. It's just starting to fade on my skin, and I put it on 4 and a half hours ago, so it's got a decent longevity. It's kinda what would happen if Hellcat came over for christmas dinner, got drunk on mead, and passed out in the rice pudding. I will be getting some of this, most definetly. Oh, and I have no idea what happened to the prune soup.
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HYPOTHERMIA Poor naked wretches, wheresoe'er you are, That bide the pelting of this pitiless storm! How shall your houseless heads, and unfed sides, Your loop'd and window'd raggedness, defend you From seasons such as these? Bone-chilling, heart-stopping cold. In the bottle Lots of mint, spearmint being the top note. Wet: Very minty, with the spearmint prominent. The dry-down: I had high hopes for this scent, and ordered it unsniffed. If you like mint, and especially spearmint, you will like this oil. At this point I'm reminded of Cloister Graveyard in the Snow and Death of the Gravedigger; from both of those I was hoping for snow and got a lot of mint instead. Hypothermia is their LE cousin, only it's not as strong and it doesn't last as long as either of those two scents. It's also not very cool on the wrist, as is usually typical with oils that contain the snow note. The snow note, to my nose, does have mint in the blend, but it's never overpowering as the mint in these three oils. Colour me disappointed.
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Held on December 5th, this is the festival of the Horned God of the Forest, one of the di indigetes of Rome, god of cattle, fertility, wild, untamed nature, and prophecy through dreams. The scent of a thick, starlit, unspoiled forest, with a burst of wild musk, opobalsamum, black bryony, mandragora, and hemlock. The label art on this is a little strange, a dapper young man riding Krampus. The dood on Krampus has a Victorian mustache. Anyways... Sniffed from the bottle, this is a sweet, cool pine with a touch of a skin-musk, sort of like Coyote / Ivanushka. On the skin, this scent develops a little bit of the metallic snap of pine, similar to Black Forest/Nocnitsa (without the dirt). It's not a sharp, airy pine by any means, and there may be a hint of snow but this is not a predominant note. The scent dries down to a soft, snuggly Coyote-esque forest aroma, with the pine and woods being a full, rounded note as opposed to bracing. It's actually quite nice and close to the skin, and if you're scared of 'forest' notes, you shouldn't be of this one!
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DIABLE EN BOÎTE The crickets sing, and man's o'er-labour'd sense Repairs itself by rest. Our Tarquin thus Did softly press the rushes, ere he waken'd The chastity he wounded. Cytherea, How bravely thou becomest thy bed, fresh lily, And whiter than the sheets! That I might touch! But kiss; one kiss! Rubies unparagon'd, How dearly they do't! 'Tis her breathing that Perfumes the chamber thus: the flame o' the taper Bows toward her, and would under-peep her lids, To see the enclosed lights, now canopied Under these windows, white and azure laced With blue of heaven's own tinct. But my design, To note the chamber: I will write all down: Such and such pictures; there the window; such The adornment of her bed; the arras; figures, Why, such and such; and the contents o' the story. Ah, but some natural notes about her body, Above ten thousand meaner moveables Would testify, to enrich mine inventory. O sleep, thou ape of death, lie dull upon her! And be her sense but as a monument, Thus in a chapel lying! Come off, come off: As slippery as the Gordian knot was hard! 'Tis mine; and this will witness outwardly, As strongly as the conscience does within, To the madding of her lord. On her left breast A mole cinque-spotted, like the crimson drops I' the bottom of a cowslip: here's a voucher, Stronger than ever law could make: this secret Will force him think I have pick'd the lock and ta'en The treasure of her honour. No more. To what end? Why should I write this down, that's riveted, Screw'd to my memory? She hath been reading late The tale of Tereus; here the leaf's turn'd down Where Philomel gave up. I have enough: To the trunk again, and shut the spring of it. Swift, swift, you dragons of the night, that dawning May bare the raven's eye! I lodge in fear; Though this a heavenly angel, hell is here. One, two, three: time, time! - Iachimo, Cymbeline Act II, Scene 2 There are few things more disturbing than a Jack in the Box. A strangely sinister, unnerving holiday scent: redwood, bitter clove, tonka, hemp accord, and tobacco with peach blossom, black currant, and red musk. Oh no! I'm first on another Yule. In the bottle, it's very astringently medicinal. I was snorting so I could pick up what it reminded me of and it sort of burns at the back of the throat. Again, not what I was expecting when I ordered and not something I'd necessarily want to wear. But like with Yule Cat, I went ahead and put some on. Wet on skin: It's the red musk from Mircalla, but much smokier. Smoky is really the main thing I remember about first application. Drying: The smoky has wafted away and a dry wood is mostly prominent now. I really wish I knew what individual notes smell like instead of giving just general impressions. I don't know if this is the redwood or what. A sweetishness is still lurking, but it has a distinct woodiness. Specifically a dried out wood, not freshly chopped green wood. This stage gives me the impression it's just a tad on the masculine side. Much later this evening: All has settled down and Diable is just lovely. There's a soft sweetness to the deeper, rich tones of the scent that make it very wearable. I'm sure that has to be the peach blossom. Masculinity has went away and it's leaning more on the girly side now. Overall: I'm very happy that Diable hopped into my cart unsniffed. I've enjoyed all stages of this morpher and I don't plan on him just sitting around unworn. Added after I was thinking about it... I have a feeling that Diable will be supremely lovely with a bit of age.
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A musical extravaganza of madness, terror, and woe! Twenty-three insane interstellar holiday hits from everyone's favorite amorphous toad pipers, including "Doom to the World" and "Here We Go to Sacrifice"! A discordant scent, silvery and strange like a lunatic's tinsel garland: freesia, eucalyptus, and yuzu, with sicilian lemon, massoia, opoponax, night-blooming jasmine, white bergamot, and copaiba oleoresin. In the imp I smell the yuzu and lemon above everything else. Wet this amps the yuzu, lemon and bergamot. Light and clean, but a little hard on my sinuses. Can something be light, clean and sharp? Drying... it gets a little fruity soapy. Hmmmm. Dry my skin eats this up. Totally gone in under an hour. Not even with nose on skin can I smell this. Sad, but nothing to cry about as it was kind of headache inspiring. Glad I tried it, but totally not for me. Swap pile for this decant.
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YULE CAT The Yule Cat is a gargantuan Icelandic feline that feasts on indolent people who shirk their community responsibilities. Don't be lazy! - idle hands make for a very unpleasant Yule! Malevolent musk, a drop of infernal civet, vetiver, club moss, birch, goosefoot, and rowan. Make sure when sniffing Yule Cat straight from the bottle that you do the wafting thing you learned in chemistry class. I didn't do that at first and it's so strong, it burned my nose hairs and made my eyes water. I don't know what civet or really any of the notes smell like, but directly from the bottle, it's very strong evergreen wood. It's sooooo strong, I was scared to skin test this. But I did anyway. On skin wet: pretty much same as the bottle, but not quite as strong. I'm definitely getting more of the graininess of the wood. It's very... hmmm.... hard to describe... organic feeling, I guess. Drying on skin: It's calming down some, which is great, 'cause really. Yule Cat is potent. I think I might be catching some musk now, but still mostly a freshly cut wood kind of smell. Seems to be fading pretty fast, which is pretty okay with me. lol Dried Yule Cat isn't completely offensive, but I might consider layering this with something that might lend it a bit of sweetness, but that just my personal preference. Overall: very interesting, pretty potent and definitely NOT what I would normally wear. But it's actually turning out to be evocative of something that's teasing the edges of my conscience; I'm finding it inspiring in a way. Not because it's pretty or yummy, but there is a creepy darkness to it that makes me think of Hollywood villains.
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In Latvia, the Ziemassvetki, or Winter Party, is a celebration of the birth of Dievs, the Sky God and Supreme Ruler of the Latvian pantheon. The two weeks prior to the Ziemassvetki is Ve?u laiks: the Season of Ghosts. Candles are lit to honor the gods and a fire is kept burning throughout the Season, burning away the unhappiness of the previous year so men's spirits can be renewed. At the feast of the Ziemassvetki, places are left as a courtesy to the ghosts, who arrive by sleigh. A scent created to burn away sorrow: bergamot, frankincense, rose geranium, ginger, lemongrass, and blood orange. I bought Season of Ghosts, because I know there is some sorrow coming up for me that I'm really going to want to burn away. Winter is always a difficult time, but this one is sure to be one of the worst. In the bottle, first sniff is sort of soapy, but with something soft and warm. The oil itself is very dry. ... or maybe that's my skin. Wet on, it is not so soapy now. i can definitely smell the rose geranium and the lemongrass. This isn't really bright and citrussy, though it definitely does have citrus. something is sort of dusty, maybe that's the frankincense? I think this will actually work! Yay. A soft scent for sad days.
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The first soft snow! Enough to bend the leaves Of the jonquil low. Heavy drifts of snow blanketing winter's narcissus. I want to start by saying I just love snow scents. So pretty much any BPAL that smells like snow, I will love, and have loved. <b>In the Bottle:</b> Very similar to other snow scents (mainly Snow Moon, Snow Maiden, and Snow Bunny). Pine, sweet powdery white snow, and light delicate florals. But this is the purest form I've smelled. Snow Moon had a bit of astringent in the background and Snow Bunny is heavier on the pale white floral. But this is purely snow and flowers, just as the description says. Lovely!! <b>Wet:</b> Smells the same as in the bottle. Doesn't morph at all. <b>Dry:</b> This is the fastest fading snow scent I've tried so far. The prettiest and lasting the least amount of time on my skin. But it stays true for that 1/2 hour! <b>Overall:</b> This is by far my favorite snow scent. I just wish it lasted longer. I'd get another bottle of Snow Maiden or Snow Bunny before getting another bottle of this, though. They all smell similar, but the other two last longer on me.
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Cold, cold forever more. A winter storm roaring through empty stone halls, bearing echoes of despair, desolation, and death on its winds. The scent of frozen, dormant vineyards, bitter sleet, and piercing ozone, hurled through labdanum, benzoin, and olibanum. When I sniffed this at will call the main impression I got was a snowy scent with a hint of cold grape or wine and perhaps a touch of ivy or greenery. Testing it now that I have a bottle, it is even more complex and varied than I expected. There is a sharp, cold feeling to this -- that wonderful BPAL snow note that we've seen over the years (in this, I'd say it's closest to the snow in Snow Moon or Death of a Gravedigger) but it's a little more piercing and "perfumey" because of a blast of ozone wafting over a snow-encrusted stone tower. There is an interesting effect produced by ozone and resins like labdanum and olibanum that creates a staticky aura of "perfume" over the other notes. The vineyard aroma comes out as it dries and the crackle and fizz of that sleet and snow starts to fade a little. It's a pale, frozen grape wine, just barely there, to give a slight blush to the blend. I'm imagining frosted, frozen bundles of grapes lost in the snow in a stone courtyard. Very evocative. The image and story surrounding it really make it for me -- if this had been given a more generic name I might find it too perfumey but looking at the picture of the stone tower on the label and thinking about a ghost and a snow storm, make me very eager to wear this out on a bleak winter day. Hopefully it will be a few more weeks before we have one of those in these parts though!
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MOTHER SHUB'S PFANCY PFEFFERNEUSSE Fit for the finest oblation -- and your holiday table, too! Sugar-sprinkled pepper nuts with a bit of cinnamon, a bit of clove, a little cardamom, and a hint of nutmeg. I want to eat my hand. It smells *exactly* like the little cookies. Somehow Beth even got the waft of powdered sugar that tickles your nose. After a few minutes, the powdered sugar gives way to the spices and OM NOM NOM NOM. It's a pretty light scent, but I only put a dab on the back of my hand. No throw to speak of, but again, I barely applied so I could test it without irritating my coworkers.
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Sol Invictus Sane, sol et in cloacam radios suos defert nec inquinatur. A radiant blend of solar oils: golden amber, saffron, heliotrope, hibiscus, citron, frangipani, frankincense, tangerine, mock orange, and orange blossom. Once the amber kicks in, this is to die for. In the bottle and wet, the first thing I get is lots of soft (as opposed to juicy) citrus and creamy floral, and something almost sharp and harsh --maybe that was the saffron and frankincense before they dried down, I dunno. Once the amber begins to amp, this gets warm and a little sweet, with a muted orange tone, all grounded nicely by the frankincense. I'm even getting the saffron and yay! it blends seamlessly. The whole thing is so balanced and smooth. This a very cozy, comforting blend, almost a softer, fruitier version of Sol - more feminine and without the spice. I love that this is warm and golden without using any allspice or anything that would make it smell like a Yankee Candle, and yet I still get that homey, kitchen vibe from it. This is wonderful...I'm so happy that I finally have my golden sunny scent!
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In Winter in my Room I came upon a Worm -- Pink, lank and warm -- But as he was a worm And worms presume Not quite with him at home -- Secured him by a string To something neighboring And went along. A Trifle afterward A thing occurred I'd not believe it if I heard But state with creeping blood -- A snake with mottles rare Surveyed my chamber floor In feature as the worm before But ringed with power -- The very string with which I tied him -- too When he was mean and new That string was there -- I shrank -- "How fair you are"! Propitiation's claw -- "Afraid," he hissed "Of me"? "No cordiality" -- He fathomed me -- Then to a Rhythm Slim Secreted in his Form As Patterns swim Projected him. That time I flew Both eyes his way Lest he pursue Nor ever ceased to run Till in a distant Town Towns on from mine I set me down This was a dream. Pink, lank, and warm: grapefruit, yuzu, tuberose, peony, violet leaf, pikaki, Indian frankincense, and tonka. In the bottle this scent reminds me of one of the tiki scents. Pink and fruity. Just on the pink fruits jump to the surface and make this unbelieveably fruity and girly. Soon though it starts to balance out and the other notes gain dominence and start to calm to fruit down a bit. This is a clean sort of scent, not soapy just clean and girly. I can't see wanting to wear this now but can see me reaching for it often once spring comes. Or on days I am home bundled up in my room on dark cold days this would be a great lift scent-wise!
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BUT MEN LOVED DARKNESS RATHER THAN LIGHT The world's light shines, shine as it will, The world will love its darkness still. I doubt though when the world's in hell, It will not love its darkness half so well. The world will love its darkness: cistus labdanum, ginger, East Indian patchouli, pimento berry, oakmoss, saffron, smoky vanilla, sage, myrrh, and bitter clove. In Bottle: This is lovely. The spice and the incense are bridged by the rich smokey vanilla. There is a touch more patchouli than I like, but honestly, the blend is so interesting and complex, I don’t much care. Wet: It reminds be a little of ventriloquist dummy, with that odd combination of food and dust, but the berry and vanilla are really it’s saving grace, as it warms, it transforms the patchouli and the dryer of the incenses back into something soft and wet. I’m not a big fan of berry, but this is unusual and modest, supporting and strengthening the other elements and helping the clove, sage, and myrrh to really shine here. The longer it wears, the less like Dummy it gets. It reminds me of church after services in Advent, the lights dim, but the air still warm from all those bodies and filled with spice, bayberry candle scent, and expectation. And then the oakmoss comes out and were in a mossy dark cave with incense and eggnog, and those strange, glorious berries. Dry: The berries end up strongest at the end. It still has a lovely spice edge and a hint of incense. Whether you’ll like this probably depends on if you like the less sweet, somewhat sour type of berries common in Christmas scents. I really did like this, but if you’re expecting sweeter berries, you’ll be disappointed.
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SNOW-FLAKES Out of the bosom of the Air, Out of the cloud-folds of her garments shaken, Over the woodlands brown and bare, Over the harvest-fields forsaken, Silent, and soft, and slow Descends the snow. Even as our cloudy fancies take Suddenly shape in some divine expression, Even as the troubled heart doth make In the white countenance confession, The troubled sky reveals The grief it feels. This is the poem of the air, Slowly in silent syllables recorded; This is the secret of despair, Long in its cloudy bosom hoarded, Now whispered and revealed To wood and field. The radiance and desolation of winter. Crystaline, brital, beautiful, unique. In the bottle: Delicate, the most ephemeral mint. (But with something fruity sweet just lingering on the outskirts of oral perception.) Wet: The notes are so very very hard to pick out. Their is something Juicy hiding in there, and something sweet. The mint nearly disappears on the skin. It's a perfect winter scent without the pine and even without the mint. The mint disappears to leave just that subtle chill that makes this a gorgeous winter scent. I have to admit it reminds the nose of Snow White. That juicyness is still in there... whatever it is. Drydown: There is a mysterious sharp note that blooms later, it takes this to neither floral, nor fruity... It is not accosting either. It's just... pretty. This scent is .. magical. I can barely pick out any note, but the way the smells mix together.... Huzzah. Well done! Trully a piece of art.
