St. John's Eve

[twilighteyes]

Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
-- Matthew 11:11


The birth of John the Baptist coincides with the Summer Solstice, and in keeping with the eternal rhythm of the universe, John understood that as the sun’s strength begins to wane after the Summer Solstice, so did he move aside after preparing the way for the Winter King, Christ.


Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him.

He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled.

He must increase, but I decrease.

-- John 3:28-30


St. John’s holy day is full of holy significance that is so primal and archetypal that it transcends any one faith. It is a merging of the rituals of Midsummer with symbols of Biblical faith. On this eve, prayers to God for bountiful harvests and fertility are said over St. John’s blessed bonfires, a leap over the sacred flames brings good fortune in new undertakings and unions, and the waters of rivers and lakes bring renewed strength, vitality, and spiritual cleansing.

A summer bonfire, with frankincense and myrrh, bay rum, and white rose.

In the bottle: Smoky bay rum and frankincense.

On my skin: The white rose and myrrh both come out and sweeten up the smokiness without being overpoweringly floral. This remains a darker, smoky fragrance with a hint of spicy sweetness. Very nice!!

[LunaLovegood]

Wow. This is... wow.

Ok, its fair to say its not for me. But for those that like incency, dark-ish blends this will be great.

All I can smell is the bonfire in the bottle. I detect a hint that might be the rose, but its barely noticeable. I suspect its the only thing preventing this scent from going up in flames when you open the bottle

On the skin it tones down a bit. More incency now, quite interesting... just not for me.

[angelicruin]

Sniffing the bottle, it's a dark brimstone, vetiver-ish scent.

 

Wet on the skin, there's no more brimstone/vetiver (thank goodness), just a smoky rum.

 

A few minutes later, it goes to smelling a bit like bacon, but that stage passes fairly quick (again, thank goodness).

 

It dries to a beautiful smoky incense blend. The rum note is still there, but very subdued on my skin.

Edited May 28, 2009 by angelicruin

[Chapanis]

In the bottle it smells so much like a bonfire I almost shed a tear. Beth totally nailed this one.

It is fantastically unique.

On it is all smokey bonfire at first, but the smoke starts to mellow and the frankincense comes out more.

There are some other notes in there also, but it is so well blended that I can't pick them out.

I think it is a bit of bay rum perhaps that gives it a little something extra nice and a little sweet.

I think I need one more bottle.

Dirt I can pass on.

Smoke, not so much.

I love it.

[AnArtfuldodger]

I love-love-love the bottle art!

 

In the bottle: YOWZA BONFIRE *coughs a little*

 

Wet on skin: YOWZA BONFIRE *coughs a little more* That's a strong bonfire right there. This isn't your grandmother's little firepit on the patio. This is BONNNNNNNNFIREEEEEEE THROW ON THE CHAIRS THROW ON THE TABLE THROW THE PIANO IN TOO -- this is heavy duty burn-all-the-evidence-and-dance-around-it-under-the-open-sky bonfire, so that smoke is furling up in plumes.

 

On the drydown: still all smoke and flames. I really can't detect anything else. My skin normally loves booze, and rose is one of the few florals that works on me, but they've burned long ago, the bottle of booze exploding in the flames and the rose curling and turning to ash before I even got to the party.

 

Definitely an outdoor scent. Wearing this, I feel like I've been at a bbq standing over the cooker all evening -- it's a clingly sort of scent. Very, very bonfire. Very evocative, spot-on with the bonfire bit, but I don't think my skin really likes it. It's not something I can see myself reaching for -- just a tad too strong. But very evocative, hits the nail on the head there, and again, love the bottle art!

 

Gonna go wash this off, I think. I feel a bit smokey.

[Lycanthrope]

I kind of smell like meat.

 

It's a ferocious true woodfire scent that on me sometimes approaches crispy striped meat territory.

 

Glowy, though, a summer campfire.

[topaz]

In the bottle and wet: a smokey bonfire...almost a hickory cured bacon

 

Dry down: Yum! Smoke with a touch of frankincense and myrrh.

 

I may be odd but I love the smell of smoke that clings to your clothes and hair after standing close to a huge bonfire. This is almost exactly the same scent with a touch of incense.

[Inventrix]

I have to say, this smelled exactly like I'd hoped it would.

 

It initially smells like a smoking camp/bonfire on/to me, which made me squee with delight. I absolutely adore the scent of a campfire (haven't experienced a real-life bonfire, really), and this pegs that warm smoking wood quality perfectly.

 

The end result I would describe, if I had to do so succinctly, as a sweet incensy fire. I don't know if I can pick out the bay rum as I've only smelled any kind of rum twice and never the bay rum note for the Lab. The sweetness I decided the other day to blame on the rose, but it really doesn't smell like a rose scent. (And it certainly doesn't smell like alcohol.) It just gives an overall sweetness to the blend. The woodsmoke seemed to disappear after a while, but it didn't really. It just would come and go in fragrant puffs.

 

It's like... You start out standing next to the smoking flames before walking off a ways to the ceremony itself. The fragrant scent of frankincense wafts around you and is accented by the sweetly fragrant roses(?) decorating the area. There are some gentle breezes, and an occasional shift in direction will send a plume of wood smoke back over you every now and then.

 

It's very strong, particularly the smoke. I only used a little bit and it was almost as strong as my normal application.

[femmefatale]

This is so much better and much more wearable than I expected it to be!

 

At first this is mostly a creamy white rose with a bit of bonfire smoke and incense. As it begins to dry down the bonfire smoke comes out more, but the white rose is still there offsetting the sharpness. That phase only lasts a couple minutes and the vetiver dies down, then a spiciness from the bay rum comes out. mmmm.....It ends up a slightly spicy, slightly creamy rose incense with the barest hint of a distant summer fire.

I love this! For some reason it reason it reminds me of Gypsy Queen (though a bit smokier perhaps), though they really don't share any notes other than smoke, incense, and some form of rose. I must amp those notes, so that's why they seem to be in the same family to me.

I can see wearing it this summer in the evenings and a ton during the fall/winter. I might need a back up bottle!

 

ETA:

Ooooh, the bay rum is coming out more, but yet it hasn't turned masculine. Gorgeous!

 

 

ETA again:

Ok, so I loved this so much I got a back up bottle. My second bottle is a bit different than my first; much heavier on the bonfire smoke. I love it also! I can see wearing the second one a lot during the fall & winter.

Edited June 24, 2009 by Femme_Fatale

[LunaClaire]

This smells bonfire; plain and simple. An incensey bonfire, but a bonfire just the same.

And I LOVE it!!

[Heavenlyrabbit]

It was freaking me out reading reviews that noted the strong Vetiver presence.

 

I am pleased to report that the Bonfire scent image is definitely as advertised and it overshadows any problematic Vetiver issue.

 

In fact, after you get the Bonfire smell, and it's the real toast-your-marshmallows-on-a-stick smoky deal, you are left with a soft floral incense with the smoke in the background.

 

This was so much better than I had anticipated.

 

That said, on edit, this somehow manages to disappear after about a half hour! Which is sad. It smells like it was probably intended to on my skin but doesn't last.

Edited June 7, 2009 by Heavenlyrabbit

[Gardenia]

Ooh, very smoky in the imp.

 

On me I get the frankincense and myrrh, but they're pretty overpowered by the smoke. Sadly, this is not a nice bonfire scent on me, there's something.. artificial about it. It doesn't work for me, but if you're a fan of smoky blends, it's definitely worth a try.

[Dark Alice]

This is why smoke and I don't get a long. This smells like the smoke from a bonfire. A sweet bonfire with a sweet smelling wood. It is lovely...but alas...it chokes my throat and makes me sneeze. But I love Beth's ability to put a sweet smelling bonfire in a bottle/imp.

[LizzyLies]

In the bottle, it smells rather like smoky wood, like you just put the fire out and the smoke is hanging around, but not in the "oh my goodness it's in my lungs, get it away!" sense.

On the skin, alright, I feel like my skin chemistry is strange beans, why? From a distance, I think it smells rather like mustard. Eh? Up close though, it's smoky wood goodness, which is awesome, because every here and there I do get the craving for the smell of smoky wood and this definitely fits the bill. Ah, good, mustard scent strangeness is fading out now and I'm left with creamy, smoky wood awesomeness. Not an everyday scent, but a good one for filling a scent craving.

[stellans]

Spicy sweet smoke is wonderful! After applying this for the first time, I was reminded so very strongly of the last circle I attended, gathering around a small fire in a friend's backyard. The frankincense, the myrrh...such lovely deep incense, and I'm a h-u-u-u-u-ge incense fan. The bay rum is the spice I get, and the white rose is the sweetness. All combine to make the most perfect bonfire scent ever, and I'm so happy I went ahead and ordered a bottle of this even before trying a decant. <img src="http://www.bpal.org/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/aroused.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="" border="0" alt="aroused.gif" />

Edited August 19, 2010 by stellans

[msbcozad]

St. John's Eve smells like a dentist's office. The oil creates a burning plastic smell on my skin and my stomach begins to turn lazy flip-flops in fear that my teeth are about to be drilled.

 

Sale bag pronto!

[Blood onmy hands]

I love frankincense, myrrh, white rose, and bay rum. Unfortunately, I can't really pick out any of those notes here. St. John's Eve mostly smells like that odd variety of vetiver on me, the one that smells like sweet mesquite bbq on my skin. Smoky, sweet, a little spicy, and makes me think of charred, BBQ meats. After about an hour, I might be able to pick out the bay rum and something incensey, but that might just be my imagination, lol.

 

Mostly, this makes me smell like I was standing in the smoke from a BBQ grill for way too long.

[rayvn1]

Smells like camping and I took a roll in the fire pit This is a good thing. Pure smoke for quite a while, then it slowly starts to sweeten just in the background. A few hours later, there's an incense quality to it and it's so so so what I was hoping for If Agnes Nutter is my pile of burning leaves on a fall day, St. John's is my new summer fire scent.

[sookster]

 

straight sniff from the bottle is sweet smoke...

 

once applied this gets hayoogely bonfire-ish!! as i adore smoky scents this

is right up my proverbial bpal alley

 

after 30 plus minutes they bay rum and myrrh come out of hiding with a few rose petals tossed in...

 

big sillage ...this is a real winner for me...excellent job beth

[boxinghelena]

From the components listed for St. John's Eve, I really thought this was a definite fit for me. Unfortunately, I think smoke/bonfire scents go wonky on my skin. Something was quite off.

 

Scents tend to linger on my skin for some reason. About four hours later, it finally smelled nice enough that it was tolerable. I don't know if I want to wait that long to smell good.

 

[MCS4096]

Yep.. bacon and woodsmoke in the bottle and immediately on my skin. I do find the idea of a vegetarian smelling like cooking bacon kinda humorous.. After a little while the bay rum and myrrh really come out. There's a very slight sweet white rose (recognizable from the Unity Set) note. The throw remains woodsmoke, so I'm not sure how often I'll wear it (I have it filed in my "atmospheric scents" section ) but it's definitely interesting.

[tinyvulture]

I was curious how this bonfire scent compared to Bonfire Night, which I enjoy. While Bonfire Night is smoke mixed with a syrupy, foody note, St. John’s Eve, on the other hand, is thick smoke combined with a strong bay rum note (think Baron Samedi) and a gentle touch of incense – not foody at all. I prefer it. I got a decant and now I wonder if I should track down a bottle. It’s such a great outdoorsy, woodsy scent – the campfire smoke that leads you to the bonfire where everyone is drinking and having a good time.

[papermaker]

I was a little worried about how this would work for me. On first sniff it is all smoke. Wet on my skin the myrrh comes out right away and makes it a fire with burning incense. Once dry the white rose made its appearance, and adds just a little sweetness to round this out. Yay!! this one makes me happy

[mgrazulis]

This is very gentle wood smoke...the white rose spiced with a drizzle of bay rum, set to fire with frankincense and sweet myrrh. More akin to the ethereal wafts of ceremonial fire from a distance, the rose just adding some sweet to it. Very soothing airy incense with a hint of rose.

 

Very evocative...magnificent!!

 

 

 

 

[sirensea]

This is a very, very warm bay rum. I can detect a slight floral note. Mostly, though, it smells like the smoke coming off of a fire... acrid, but not in an unpleasant way. As someone else said, if you like the scent of dark, deep incense, this is perfect for you.