Oya

[Muppetk]

Lady of the Wind, Goddess of the Nine Skirts, the Lady of War, the Bearded Amazon, the Thundermaiden. Beautiful, tempestuous, elegant and graceful, She is the fury of the hurricane, the breath in our lungs, the air that cools us, the breeze that chills us, the winds that blow seeds that fertilize the land, the winds that pass disease throughout villages and townships, the moan of the wind within the cemetery, and the fury of the tempest that tears the landscape asunder. Oya is the sweeping wind of change and upheaval, She is revolution and progress, and She forces the destruction of old ideals while sweeping away our useless baggage; the broom is a symbol of Her force for change. As the Mistress that commands hurricanes, cyclones, and tornados, she tears down that which is old and decaying, compelling Her children to begin building anew. In Her hands She holds a mask, as Her presence is most often felt and not seen, and none have seen Oya’s true face. She is the moment at which the seasons change, the transition from life to death, and as the Lady of the Cemetery, it is to Her that we commit our final breath. Her closest friend is Iku, the Orisha of Death, and it is their responsibility to see to it that the natural order remains undisturbed. Once a man’s final breath is expelled, Oya takes it to Iku, who brings the spirit to the cemetery gates and then to its next passage. One of her symbols is the bed, as nightly we imitate death in sleep. Because of her close relationship with Death, the Goddess is very close to the Egungun, the spirits of our ancestors. Oya is the Goddess of the Marketplace in which fortunes and goods spin in a never-ending whirlwind of exchange, change, and flux. She is the wind that precedes the thunderstorm, and it is in this that She is seen as Shango’s companion and partner in battle, and without Oya, there is little that Shango can accomplish. She fans the fires of Shango’s blazes, and is the forked lightning that touches the treetops. Proud and willful, Oya is also a Goddess of War. Her wrath is so terrible and so devastating that none may behold her rage and survive. Oya has nine children and nine colors, and her symbols are weathervanes, windmills, kites, balloons, propeller planes, wind instruments, pinwheels, two naked swords, and buffalo horns. Oya’s ofrenda is a Nigerian potion of love and war, sweetened by darkest plum. Oya winiwini!

This is for Oya, the bottle that Beth left behind (thank you Beth!) at the NYC Mad Tea Party. I believe that it will be released in the next update, not that it's an Orisha or Twilight Lab oil. If someone finds otherwise, and wants to move this review to the right place, please do so.

EDIT: Apparently this bottle was a prototype, and the scent may not be entirely the same when it goes out into the general population.

Sniffing outisde of the bottle: Freakin' gorgeous. interesting lightly musky, lightly floral, lightly spicy blend. I suspect this has nothing to do with Oya, but with the fact that the bottle was handled by a dozen women with 20+ purfumes on each.

Inside the bottle: Sweet!!! Cherry syrup (or maybe dimetapp) and ocean and storm?

Wet on me: light, ozone, storm-like qualities with a pinch of something still very sweet.

3 minutes in: Sweet is gone. There's probably something fruity in this that is stronger on everyone else as my skin eats fruit notes. It reminds me a bit of storm moon and thunderbird (ie, ozone-stormy), but actually works for me unlike those. Smells like after a storm has washed everything clean. (Said this to my SO, who piped up that it's theologically wrong, that Oya is the power and fury within a storm, not after, but I argue that her power of that storm fury of washing everything clean, and yadda yadda yadda.... and we'll argue again in 20minutes after it settle onto my skin.)

30 min later: light & ozone, similar to above, but a trace of something sweet. Almost like a trace of that dryer-sheet in Storm Moon that soooo disagrred with me, but nice in this case. I asked my SO what fruits are sacred to Oya and his answer was grapes, so I'm guessing that since the bottle smells so very much sweeter/fruitier than my skin, that this is my fruit curse acting up. I suspect that there's a strong, sweet grape scent in here, as my skin always eats the fruit notes, leaving only a light scent behind.

[Note: my SO said that Oya should smell like honey and grape and blood -- sweet that is overcompensating for the dark underneath.]

I actually rather like this one. This is the first ozone scent I've tried that works on me. But I suspect that it will be rather different on other people. I'm decanting and sending out to several so that some other people's opinions can be formed in the near future.

When this scent gets released, I'll add the lab description. We can all see how off I am, and if my SO's interpretation of Oya has anything to do with Beth's.

EDIT: Moved from Unreleased to Excolo, added description. --Shollin Edited September 14, 2007 by Shollin

[helarctos]

Many thanks to muppetk for generously allowing me a sample of this gorgeous prototype.

 

In the vial: Beautiful, strong, and heady. It's a whirlwind to the senses -- fruity/floral/perfumed/jungly, all and none of the above.

 

On the skin: It becomes even more complex. My nose is baffled -- is that a hint of nuts I smell? a bouquet of greenery? It is sufficient unto itself, though I wish I could describe it better. It has unimaginable depth. It's forceful but not loud -- it clings to my wrist.

 

An absolute beauty and triumph of the perfumer's art. I'm tempted to send my vial to Luca Turin, but I think I'll hold onto it myself.

[Red_Hot_Mama]

I was at the NYC Mad Tea Party when Beth brought out "the lovelies", my term, not hers. Oyo was one of them. We politely passed it around sniffing the cap or, if you were one of the braver ones, smelling from the bottle. This was Beth's prototype after all. We weren't going to slosh it all over ourselves or go all frenzied, maniac smell fiends right in front of her. (Well, I thought about it.) We do have a shred of diginity, after all.

 

Much to our surprise & delight, Beth left the bottle with our hostess; MuppetK kindly sent me an Imp to try. I've worn this a couple of times & I am still having a hard time thinking of the "proper" way to describe it.

 

There isn't a proper way to describe this. So, I just jump in.

 

Oyo is marvelously complex, perhaps even a bit "odd" but in an "Oh, my God, WHAT IS THAT???!!!" kind of way.

 

It's sweet, I "get" a tiny bit of cherry but it's the juicy, fresh fruit kind. I picture full lips & glistening teeth biting into the fruit. Funny, I didn't notice how "pointed" those teeth were. And , here, let me help you. You've got cherry juice dripping down the corner of your mouth.

Moves closer with white damask napkin. My....don't you smell good! Kind of spicy & warm. And your eyes, I never noticed how the light plays off the colors.

Dabs cloth on very lickable lips.

 

Cloth is stained but it's not cherry juice, as our dear readers have most likely guessed.

Edited July 1, 2005 by Red_Hot_Mama

[Tramp]

In the bottle: Plums with an underlying sweetness

 

On: This reminds me of something from my childhood only I can't place it! This is going to make me nuts. Ripe plums, syrupy sweetness, and something that reminds me of asprin

 

ETA: figured it out - it smells like Cherry Aspergum! Oh man, considering how much of that I had as a child I really should have nailed the scent sooner.

 

Mod note: Merged with existing Oya review thread - however the reviews preceding this one refer to a prototype bottle.

Edited April 6, 2006 by clover

[coulrophobe]

In the imp: Ack! This smells a bit almondy to me, or maybe cherry.

 

On: The cherry/almond note is still there - I can just barely smell the plum, but the other notes are too heavy for me to enjoy it. As it dries down and the almond-like scent fades a bit, I can smell a bit of... florals, maybe? This blend is bizarrely indistinct on me once the initial phase passes. I can smell it, but the smell itself doesn't leave much of an impression on my senses. Vaguely fruity, vaguely floral... with my chemistry, Oya just doesn't assert herself, which seems odd, given the description.

[nineveh]

Hm, this is like a sweeter Hellion with cherry. They both have the same incensy note to my nose. I don't care for sweet fruity scents, however, and this is just too much for me.

[LiberAmoris]

Wow, Oya is some serious stuff. It's one of those blends that I sniff in the imp and think maybe it's not for me, and then try on my skin and am properly seduced by.

 

In the imp, there's a strong plum note that verges on cherry/almond and a tangy animalistic edge that seems a bit at odds. Once on my skin, it smells a little bit like the child of Black Phoenix and Blood Countess...? Then it starts to dry down and really meld with my skin.

 

A half hour later, I'm working at my computer and wonder what smells so good. Yeah, it's Oya. The plum in this really reminds me of my paramour, the Queen of Spades, and then there is an incensey but not heavy mix of what smells like herbs and florals thrumming underneath that. There's still a bit of an animalistic purr to it that makes it sexy and strong, like its namesake.

 

I'll definitely be using up the imp. I think this would be great for going out.

[filigree_shadow]

Definitely fruity, but not overly sweet. Plum with some florals. It's not sharp at all, it's very round. Smooth. This actually smells more perfumey to me than other BPAL oils. Very feminine.

 

I like it a lot -- since the floral scent is in the background, this is definitely one I could wear. It's certainly light enough for spring.

 

I have to admit, I am extremely impressed with the Orisha blends. The ones I have tried have all been lovely and complex.

[Koumori]

Oya, Oya, where to begin. I ordered a full bottle, because Oya plays a significant part in my favorite novel. I took a sniff of the bottle, and immediately my nose wrinkled up - too strong, too sharp, too... something. But I decided to try wearing it and see whether my initial impression was borne out. It changed completely when I put it on, darkened up quickly into a complex scent that I can't quite pick out individual notes. Slightly aquatic, slightly airy, slightly musky, slightly foody; it's absolutely gorgeous. Unfortunately, it doesn't last long on me at all; I applied it at 7 AM and was sniffing my wrist by 10 to see if I still had any on.

[LittleGreyKitten]

Oya smells amazing. Oya reminds me of Queen of Spades quite a bit, but less sweet and candyish, and a little spicier. In a good way. This just is perfect, and I'll definitely be putting this on the bottle-soon list. It makes me feel much better about never shelling out for a bottle of Queen of Spades, since this will be not a substitute, but more enjoyable for me.

 

5 out of 5, like several of the Orishas. What a great series.

[emzebel]

Mmm. Sweet spicy plum. I love plum. The only reason I didn't order a bottle of this right off was I was already ordering two bottles with plum notes and it seemed like overkill, but this is going on the bottle list.

 

...I feel like I should say more, but really, sweet spicy plum really covers it on my skin. And, frankly, that's quite lovely for me.

[slave1]

In Bottle: Herbal plum

 

On Skin: The plum is quite sweet and seems to be surrounded by some soft florals… maybe cherry blossom. I also get a cherry almondy note from this… I like that it remains quite fruity and doesn’t have spices messing with the mix. There is a bit of a minty herbal note, but it’s so light it just makes the scent a little more refreshing and bright. Overall it is sweet fruit, purple and red in color. The throw is very light and it’s staying power is sadly weak, but I really like this scent. I’d also love it as a candle or room scent. For some reason I always think of plum scents for the house… it’s such a comforting and welcoming scent.

[Medici]

In the bottle: This makes me think of the low rumble of a thunderstorm miles away in the summer. It's the point of the night where young children see the first flash of lightening, and fearfully turn to their mother to be swept into her arms. Oya is the smell of her perfumed skin - musk, almonds, incense smoke with a smear of booze.

 

Wet: Sweet almond, woodsy undertone that lasts precisely a blessed thirty seconds, with a boozy, floosy plum toppling along after it.

 

Drydown: The fruit notes come up nice and sharp and sweet and dark. The almond sweetens it up in the background, but not cloyingly so. I'm not a huge almond fan, so I'm glad that the plum gradually dominates this blend for me.

 

It's a little smokey, a little bit heavy-lidded, and somewhat somnolent... like a lullaby hummed in the back of your throat. You feel it in your belly.

 

Verdict: 4.5/5 on Medici's Scale o' Lurrrve

[Blood onmy hands]

First on, Oya is a sharp cherry-ish almond scent with some soft woods in the background. Thankfully, it quickly dries down into something deliciously dark and fruity. It has a slight sweetness to it that reminds me something of sweet tarts at first.

 

After an hour, this is smooth and, well, plummy. It has an elegant sweetness to it that I really love. It doesn't smell like real plums exactly, because it has a sort of smokey, perfumey quality to it. It's better than real plums.

 

Oya is an elegant, dark plum perfume on me. And this is the first BPAL plum scent that I've had where I can really pick out the note at all. It's gorgeous.

[mandragora]

In the imp and on my skin, dark, sweet plums with a spicy kick. It mellows as it dries, with light florals and muskiness emerging around the plums. Later on, some light aquatic, airy notes thrown in the mix.

 

A beautifully complex yet very comforting blend. I'll be needing a bottle.

Edited April 22, 2006 by mandragora

[cupide430]

Sticky sweet plum at first, but after a relatively short amount of time-- 10 or 15 minutes-- it completely morphs into a really light ozoney scent that is almost floral. This has a touch of something air freshenery, but much nicer. This has done a total 180 on my skin, in a positive direction.

[Alchemy21599]

In the vial: plum, fig, herbs. Quite sweet.

 

Wet: plum, fig, a waft of smoky incense. Very complex.

 

Dry: Wow, this blend keeps morphing over time. It started out as a ripe fruit, soft floral blend and then morphed in to an blend of plum, incense, and exotic spices. I still get a hint of fig, which is a good thing. This is a beautiful complex blend that may merit a big bottle purchase!

[summer]

Oya is definitely a complex, well-blended fragrance. It reminds me a lot of Venom in that way -- it seems to share the same round, woody-fruity base. I smell plum in here, and I suppose that fig is what is making it smell "round" to me. Apart from that, there is wind, incense, and a distinctly "perfumey" floral note that ties it all together. Beautiful!

[Aredhel]

Rating (on skin): 2/5

Summarised in a word or two: Fruity incense.

 

In the imp: Plum and herbs.

 

On skin, wet: Fruity and floral. Not so much herbal or plum(y). A bit sweet, and with a cherry-almond sort of something.

 

On skin, dry: Fruity... candles. Something has become distinctly waxy on my skin for some reason; smokey, like incense, as well.

 

Conclusion: Fruity? Waxy? Incense? Surprise surprise, it's not for me. I may give it a go in my scent locket eventually, in hopes it'll stay the lovely herbal-plum there, but until then, I'll pass.

[maewitch]

So it turns out that plum and I are just not meant to be. I never thought we had a difference of opinion, but this blend has made it quite clear.

 

Wet, there is a strange sort of chemical smell to this, high and unpleasant. Dry, it is darker, less chemical, yet still somewhat unpleasantly thin. It gives me that faintly queasy feeling that ylang-ylang often does.

 

Too bad, but this one is meant for someone else.

[abberlaine]

Oya starts off smelling like cherry bubble gum (not as bad as you'd think), and eventually dries down to spicy plum incense. If this is what Hellion and Queen of Spades smell like, let me at them!

[kiio]

In the imp, Oya reminds my of cherries and my grandmother's perfume. On my skin, it morphs into more of a juicy plum/almondy scent.

[laochodia]

In the imp- Holy fruity honey.

Wet- Sweet juice and herbs

Dry- Light plum, a dusting of sugar and sweet herbs. very lovely and refreshing.

[desu]

In the imp: Hard to describe. A little spicy, a little sweet, a little woody with just a hint of plum.

 

On my skin: I can't pick out any notes, but the smell reminds me of how a nursery smells. It eventually starts to mellow out into spicy fruit.

 

Later on: Mostly spicy now with a slight tinge of fruity sweetness.

[lady_pandora]

This starts out with the way-too-sweet cough syrup smell I get from most of the berry BPALs in the bottle.

 

A few minutes later, it mellows nicely to a sort of "head shop" blend. You know the one. I can't pick out exactly what the notes are, it's just that scent you smell when you wander into a hippie store. Swirling mixtures of incense, etc. The plum is also there and quite pleasant, but not dominant.

 

A very spiritual blend, great for meditation, etc.