Temple of the Ghede

[cupide430]

No official description

 

Ghede - He is the most benevolent of the Loa of the Dead, powerful in healing. He is a protector of children as well as being a great jester. He is the loa of death and resurrection.

 

At first, spicy but with a fresh note underneath it. This smells much more sharp in the bottle, but really warms up and opens up on my skin. For a bit, it smelled somewhat citronella-y, but now as it dries further it is softening into a spicy powdery blend with a slightly boozy edge. There is something comforting about this as it dries. I'm looking forward to learning more about Ghede and using this.

[slave1]

In Bottle: Sharp and ozone

 

On Skin: This is a strong beautiful blend. It starts off with a crisp ozone note. In the background is a dark earthy note that makes an interesting contrast with the bright ozone. Usually ozone notes are too sharp on me, with the nice spicy and deep earthy background note, the blend is balanced and actually is gorgeous on my skin. It’s slightly powdery and also a tad sweet. It seems a little masculine to me at first, as most ozone scents do to me, but as I wear it I think it might just be a strong and powerful scent that is just as beautiful on a woman. I know the TAL blends are not meant as perfumes, but I still like to see how they smell on me. This blend is so complex and interesting I can’t NOT wear it. I love it!! Big kudos to Beth on this blend, it really does just astound me how intense it is. Very strong throw and long wear length.

[olympia301]

 

A beautiful smelling blend. I get the impression of lilacs but it is not a floral, very perfumy to me, with more than a shot of ozone. It would be excellent as merely a beautiful scent, and it does make me rather happy to smell it on a midsummer's day. There may be a hint of musk in the background, because it does last and assert itself, but it seems more like a white musk rather than an earthy red or black. The blend is incorporeal, lighter than air, and as if it is infested with spirits. Very fine.

[supremegoddessofall]

Received this as a freebie. Masculine florals. Some lavender? Maybe some citron? Not something I would wear, but not bad. 3/5.

[Blood onmy hands]

Huh. On me this smells kinda like lemons and soap. It's sharp and sort of musky... but mostly just soapy on my skin. It lightens up a bit in the drydown, but then it's almost metallic and perfumey. I'll be gifting away my decant of this one.

[grrrlennyl]

Temple of the Ghede

 

On: Soapy flowers and ozone, I think, maybe with a touch of some sort of wood note.

1 hour in: I'm having a hard time picking out notes in this. Still mostly soapy flowers, with a hint of something almost like saltwater.

2 hours in: Watery, slightly soapy flowers.

3 hours in: Damp, soapy flowers.

Overall: This blend just goes really soapy on me. That happens with some floral blends.

[cuervosueno]

First, huge thanks to dear Stellans who sent me an imp of this. It's been my most coveted oil for years now, and I frankly didn't think I'd ever get to try it. But now I have an imp of it!

 

Second, this is a temple blend, not a perfume, and while I'm going to review it based on scent, that's not why I wanted it. I am a Vodouisant and have a special connection to the ghede, so this is something that I wanted mostly for my ritual use.

 

It came at a good time, too, as I'm investigating new fields of study for holistic health and healing, and the ghede are interesting in that they are both dead and healers. Baron Samedi, who keeps the ghede in line, is both death and healing.

 

The scent is interesting in the imp, and like others, I get a blast of ozone but also something cool and slightly spicy under there that reminds me of bay rum. I wouldn't be surprised if there were bay rum in this. Also there is something slightly herbal and floral too--it's not really lavender I smell, but it reminds me of a lavender fougere....By which I mean an herbal, masculine floral. The initial throw is a bit bracing and energetic, which seems suitable for them--anyone who has been at a fete knows that the energy changes when the ghede come in, and this blast of ozone makes me think of a shift in energy that is typical of them.

 

The ghede, esp. the Baron, tend to be dandies: they like top hats and funeral clothes (black and purple) and sunglasses...This scent has just a hint of the Victorian dandy which is very suitable for them.

 

It didn't really go soapy on me as far as I noticed, but granted, I only had a bit on my wrist--most of it was on my hands as I did ritual work last night.

 

This morning, I can still smell a slightly spicy floral on my wrist.

 

I've left my imp to on the ghede altar as an offering to them, and will use it when I do work that relates to them in particular. I'm pretty sure they're pleased!

Edited March 6, 2011 by cuervosueno