Olfactory caffeine: Wake up, Stay Awake with BPAL

[Galen]

undoubtedly Aunt Caroline's Joy Mojo - this is my get-out-your-bed-there's-a-whole-day-waiting-for-you scent.

 

When my alarm clock goes off and I hit snooze, if I'm vaguely alert enough to grab the imp I (used to) keep under my pillow and dab some on my hand then a slow process unfolds:

 

first, I've got something I can hardly smell on my hand which is vaguely bright :snuggle further under duvet:

 

then the smell starts unfolding as it blossoms on my hand into something bright and warm and sweet - like mid-morning sun coming through the window. Even though I'm still cuddled under the duvet, my brain has started to be alert but still comfortable and warm.

 

Within a couple more minutes or the next snooze alarm, I'm alert enough that I know I'm not going back to sleep, and I just roll out of bed without too much hassle...

 

I gave my imp to someone desperate for it a couple of months ago; I think I'm going to have to nab a bottle with my next order!

 

ETA - I did write a fuller account of my waking-up BPAL experiences here.

 

link tweak --Shollin

Edited June 30, 2006 by Shollin

[fiddledragon]

Definitely Jabberwocky for that kick of pine and eucalyptus and citrus :-) I also find some of the foresty scents such as Burial or Loup Garou good for waking up. Thaleia on me is the most gorgeaus honeyed citrus floral, which I find wonderful for "got up on the wrong side of the bed" days.

[Electra]

I bet Pain would also work really well.

 

Yeah, Pain will kick your ass. It's...invigorating. And great for migraines, as a side benefit .

 

I don't like to wear it for perfume (except on bad migraine days, when who cares what the hell I smell like as long as it helps take care of the ice pick through my head), but a bit on a tissue or in a diffuser is great.

 

Also anything really lemony - June Gloom is probably hard to get ahold of (past LE), but that one would work well, I would think.

[Inanna9]

Another vote for Moxie here. I burn it in my oil burner and the room justs simmers with energy. Which means after reading allidavie's post, I can hardly wait to try Energy. Wheeeee!

[snowfox090]

Yeah, Pain will kick your ass. It's...invigorating. And great for migraines, as a side benefit .

Really? Wow, I gotta try this one.

[ivyandpeony]

It's sad that my favorite minty blends are LEs, but Frost Moon, Tulzcha and Nuclear Winter somehow all have a combination that I love AND that stays fresh and invigorating. I love Snowblind, but it's creamy and comforting in spite of the mint and would probably keep me on the couch or in bed.

 

Blends with evergreens in them also tend to wake me up, like Snow Moon, Snow Bunny and Talvikuu. (What's with me and the LEs?)

 

Interesting thing I just noticed as I wrote this response, too - everything that's wakey-wakey to me is something wintry, and winter is definitely my hibernation time (although every morning I'd love to sleep more, no matter what time of year). How convenient!

[UploadedLobster]

Hemlock is sharp and bracing. It is, as far as I can tell, primarily comprised of pine and grapefruit notes. Definitely wakey-wakey juice.

[happythermia]

Aizen-Myoo!

its a very bright, sharp (in good way, IMO) citrus

[pickman's model]

Aizen-Myoo!

its a very bright, sharp (in good way, IMO) citrus

 

*drool* I was just about to say the same. I looooove Aizen-Myoo in the morning.

 

Also, Embalming Fluid is great. Lemon Green Tea.

[styro]

This thread has me *really* wanting to try Moxie now. :-)

 

Galen--I mentioned Dublin above as a general energizing scent, but for specific waking-up-in-the-morning duties, a good possibility for this time of year would be Xiuhtecuhtli: it's a real eye-opener, with some very strong, summery citrus at the start. Swank is another super-bright fruity scent that would be hard to snooze through, I think.

[Galen]

styro - Xiuhtecuhtli is a good idea actually. I tried it a while back and didn't feel it was a particularly 'me' scent, but I think you might be right about its specific use for tempting me out of slumber of a morning I'll look out for an imp in the future - thanks!

[indicolite]

Just another vote of thanks and praise to Ra. I had it on for the second morning in a row, and I found myself quietly laughing at my coworker, whose coffee cup has still not done for her what Ra did for me (don't tell her; she is a wonderful girl, but resisting BPAL assimilation). Great pick-you-up!

[forspecial_plate]

I've never tried Delerium but I did read that apple is a smell that can wake you up:

 

"Non compos mentis, indeed! A contrary, conflicted scent, bubbling with merry madness. Contains apple, rose, and lemon".

[Galen]

heads up - I haven't tried it of a morning yet, but Yemaya is a slightly fresher sweeter blend that dries down to a Joy Mojo like brightness on my skin.

 

Due to the association with a bright morning, for me this would definitely make a good top up for mental alertness during the rest of the day without being too strong for e.g. office wear

[indicolite]

I would like to use this thread to state my ecstatic gratitude to Jupiter.

 

I was really sailing off into insanity at work today and murmuring stuff about koalas, and Jupiter made me sit up again and understand what's up with what.

 

Jupiter dearest, I know I bought you for a reason, and I know you were my first personal decant of the bottles in my order for a reason. You're wonderful.

 

Shine on, Great Red Spot!

[ladyfair]

I'm going to have to add to the Moxie support. I used that and Detox when I was quitting caffine, and that was easiest withdrawl I have gone through. Also I am working 72 hour shifts now and it helps me stay awake through that without caffine. I made some into a lotion so the scent last longer and when it fades I just put on more lotion. Galen - If you are worried about the ginger note reacting bad on you, try a scent locket, but I will add that to me the ginger not is very far in the background and the citrus and pepper overpower it.

[Seanan]

Ultraviolet is disturbingly good at waking me up, largely because it sort of wanders up my nose and slaps my sinuses around until it feels like mellowing out.

[Dinerdulcinea]

Anything with pepper in it should help one to stay awake.

 

I bought a blend of essential oils several years ago that is especially for that, and the one ingredient in it that seems to do the most is the pepper.

[rachel2205]

I get up early

I look around me

I'm buying coffee by the pound

But when I'm sleeping

I'm so deep in it

I can't keep myself awake

 

That song may be familiar to fellow Buffy fans! ANYWAY.

 

I am reasonably new to BPAL. Am having fun here so far! I want recommendations for scents that will perk me up and keep me awake! I suffer from chronic fatigue, and have a busy life as a PhD student. I find scents can be quite invigorating, so thought you might have recommendations. Oh, but not particularly minty ones. I know mint is quite reviving, but my boyfriend hates the smell, so i don't want to put him off. I'm thinking citrus scents might be good, but I don't want to smell like Lemon Pledge. Thoughts?

 

Thanks!

[northatlantic]

I'm thinking citrus scents might be good, but I don't want to smell like Lemon Pledge. Thoughts?

 

Hmmm. How about grapefruit? Baobhan Sith is very bright and alert-making on me, it's grapefruit, white tea, and ginger, with a little apple blossom to soften it a touch. Some people also find green or white tea notes citrusy and bright too, like Kumiho or Embalming Fluid, which also has lemon in it but not a huge amount.

[indicolite]

Rachel, this thread has over four pages of recommendations for you. And I am going to ask that your topic probably be merged to it. Meanwhile, I would say TAL Concentration or Clarity as my top "get up" blends, but for general BPAL, probably Ra.

[ivyandpeony]

Moxie is a great citrus with no lemon at all - it's bright, spicy orange. It definitely energizes me. You can find it in the Panaceas category (or buy a bath fizzy scented with it from the Black Phoenix Trading Post). It is my favorite from the Panaceas and my favorite bath fizzy of the ones I have tried!

 

You might notice that I did merge the threads... but I am going through and archiving old chatter in the longer threads throughout the Recs subforum so they will be easier to read through. Don't forget you can always do a search of only the subforum or of the topic itself to make things easier!

[snowfox090]

Aizen-Myoo. It is the most aggressively-grapefruity blend, that doesn't actually contain grapefruit, that I've ever tried. It is the olfactory equivalent of brilliant Dayglo yellow-green.

[rachel2205]

Crapola, managed to miss this thread in my sifting... Sorry! Thanks for your recommendations!

 

I'm thinking citrus scents might be good, but I don't want to smell like Lemon Pledge. Thoughts?

 

Hmmm. How about grapefruit? Baobhan Sith is very bright and alert-making on me, it's grapefruit, white tea, and ginger, with a little apple blossom to soften it a touch. Some people also find green or white tea notes citrusy and bright too, like Kumiho or Embalming Fluid, which also has lemon in it but not a huge amount.

 

That sounds like a very pretty scent! I haven't come across it in my roaming around the BPAL site, so I shall go check out the reviews of it here. Thanks!

[glass_cat]

Both Undertow and Belladonna were very "wakey-wakey" for me. In fact they were both so bracing that I rarely wear them for any other purpose. Whatever works though.

 

I also really like Envy and Mock Turtle's Lessons. Actually those are two of my very very favorites. They make me feel alert and awake, but are more wearble in my opinion than the first two I mentioned.