Yemayá

[pekeana]

Wow, Beth's really outdone herself with Yemaya -- this is the first Orisha oil I've had the pleasure of buying/testing, and I love it!

 

In the bottle, Yemaya is very strong fruit. Both my brother and I decided that it smells kind of like honeydew and strawberries, but on second sniff, it resolves itself into something that's almost watermelon, but just not quite.

 

Once it's on, it takes on a heavy salt-water aquatic note, and the melon/berry fades a bit to the background, but it's just divine. A softer, sweeter note is coming up beneath all of that, and I may be crazy, but it seems like the molasses note from Gingerbread Poppet? Not sure what it is, but it's really good.

 

Yemaya is comforting and warm, like a day out on the beach with your toes in the sand and a watermelon shave ice in your hand. I'm definitely glad I grabbed it.

 

NOTE: This review topic is for the Twilight Alchemy Lab oil blend dedicated to Yemaya. If you're looking for the Excolo scent of the same name, that topic is here.

[Electra]

This is the most incredible blend I've tried, hands down. The wet phase is intensely fruity (it's a melon that I can't place - cantaloupe or honeydew or some mixture of the two, to my nose). It dries down into something that's more aquatic (there's a bit of a saltwater tang, or at least something reminiscent of that), but still crisp and fruity. Absolutely delightful.

 

Aside from the fact that it smells nice, it's like olfactory Prozac for me. I don't know what intent was put into this oil, but it calms, grounds, and centers me. Amazing. This is a must-have. I will cry when I run out if Black Broom's website isn't up yet.

[pkwench]

Yemaya equals happiness in a bottle. Or, in this case, a wee imp. When I open the imp, I'm just instantly soothed by a wave of melony sweetness. The aquatic notes come up and pull the melon down after a while and it's very much like sitting on a quiet beach just as the sun goes down. The brightness of the melon fades, drops in to the sea, if you will. The memory of the fruit is still there, but the aquatic notes are what holds my attention. It's just one, fruity, sweet bit of bliss. My only bit of sadness is that my skin positively devours it, so much so that after 90 minutes, I cannot smell it any longer.

 

But? It's worth reapplying.

[scourgeotheseas]

Yemaya

 

I got this in a swap from pkwench!

 

In the bottle: The juicy melon scent mentioned by the other reviews. Mmmm...

 

On me: When I first apply, I get that great hit of melon followed by a whiff of...something bad. Like, visceral reaction bad. But it hides quickly and I'm treated to the lovely scent of melon. It's not very strong on me, but also doesn't really morph into the aquatic stage mentioned in some of the other reviews. When I'm least expecting it, that bad smell wafts up from my wrists, grabs me by the throat, and then disappears.

 

I loved the melon, but there was something a little off in combination with my skin. I sent it off to befriend a new person, who will hopefully appreciate it more than I can!

[starrykitten]

When I heard this smelled like watermelon, I couldn't imagine it. Now I can! It smells indeed very pink, and less watery than I expected something named for Yemaya to be. It isn't the watermelon of pure candy, but a rich, berrylike, maybe slightly slightly carnation-y, soothing blend.

[velvet]

sweet but in a fruity sense, not a candy sense.

juicy and med. in weight.

not very strong throw wise. but you can smell it for hours if you hold your nose up to you wrist.

its delicious.

and i think the wonderful macha for getting this for me!!!!!!!!!!

you're a saint!

 

the scent makes me feel like a woman

[Penance]

Origin:

 

I was gifted with an imp of this by oceandessa.

 

Preconceived notions:

 

I vaguely remember someone saying this smelled like melon, so I guess that's what I'm expecting. I'm curious what this is supposed to do, though, if anything.

 

First sniff:

 

Wow, that does smell like melon. Honeydew to be exact, although it could have a bit of cantaloupe in there, too. This smells very sweet and summery and reminds me of the honeydew flavored snowcones my brother and I used to eat when we were little. I don't normally do fruity or sweet scents, but this is surprisingly nice!

 

Wet on skin:

 

Melon is still the dominant note but there's something else here, too, that I can't quite put my finger on. Maybe some sort of resin? I honestly can't tell apart from saying that Yemaya isn't strictly melon.

 

Dry down:

 

The melon is fading now and being replaced by...that other scent. Even now I can't place it and can't even really describe it. It's maybe a little herbal and sort of resiny and just...there. I have no clue how to describe it because it doesn't really smell familiar. At all. I actually really like it, though, whatever it is.

 

The bottom line:

 

I don't know what this is supposed to do, but it certainly smells nice. I'm not sure it's me, but I like it all the same.

[grrrlennyl]

at first: a beautiful, fruity scent.

on: so beautiful. juicy. wonderful.

1 hour later: fruity, but a bit powdery, too. i really like this.

2 hours later: mostly a powdery floral scent. there's still a tinge of fruit.

overall: beautiful. a wondering scent, and it might work especially well for summer.

[inkstone]

Courtesy of the Yemaya Circular Swap!

 

In the bottle: Very, very fruity. It's definitely melon, probably honeydew.

 

Wet: I get that odd saltwater tang that's been mentioned previously. There's another note that's very familiar, but I can't identify it.

 

Drydown: Fruity melon over an aquatic background. I understand the similarity to watermelon in this stage.

 

Final thoughts: I really like this blend! Such a shame that it's a Black Bloom Exclusive!

[Eoywin]

For me, Yemaya was way to perfumy/floral-y for my tastes. I wished it as a little more fruity on me.

[darkling]

Thanks to ivyandpeony for selling me this imp of Yemaya.

 

In the imp, the scent was watery aquatic and melon. I can pick up the watermelon and cantaloupe notes.

 

On my skin, Yemaya is pure watermelon Jolly Rancher. It is sweet and juicy but in an artificial way.

 

Yemaya was very short-lasting and would need reapplication after an hour. I am interested in learning if it has more staying power as a room scent.

[kmasden]

I can see how some really like the scent of Yemeya. I was able to try this on at the broom and I'm surprised. It wasn't necessarily for me, but quite an interesting blend.

 

At first, it was intensely fruity, which immediately darkened. Not spicy, but deeper. It had a light bite to it at first that I normally associate with honeysuckle or dragon's blood (go figure!) but when that faded down rather quickly, it was just a deep, pulsing fruit. To me, banana instead of melon.

 

Very, very interesting this.

[Rheliwen]

Out of the bottle this is pure liquid candy. It's similar in sweetness to Midwinter's Eve, though where ME was the berry flavor, Yemaya is the tropical one.

 

Wet, this reminds me of tropical bubbalicious gum. It's a fun scent and something I could see myself frollicking around a park with in the summer.

 

As this begins to dry, a musk starts to pop up. It's a medium musk, and isn't like many of the other musks I've tried from BPAL. It's turning this one spicey and just a tad animalistic (teeny tiny bit and it's gone in about 10 mins). I can detect fig in there somewhere as the spice reminds me of the fig in carnal.

 

This one is interesting in how it morphs. It goes from sweet and innocent to twisted and sinister.

 

ADDED April 22:

 

Candy sweet in the bottle.

 

Initially on, it continues its candy sweetness. My boy said I smelled like bubblegum and a candy store.

 

As it dries it does warm up. There's an animalistic muskiness in the background. Those musks tend to hit me high in the nose and this is what happened with Yemaya. Amazingly, the candy fruity sweetness blends really well with this musk. The sweetness reminds me a little of R'Lyeh. After about 2 hours, the musk is less abrasive and turns into a really pleasant note.

 

To me, it's like a sweet summer scent for people who like the heavier fragrances of winter. I wasn't sure if I was going to keep Yemaya, but I think I will.

[Nadirah]

I can't decide if this is a watermelon bubbleyum or tropical fruit out of the bottle. On my skin it doesnt change much for a while. Its got that watermelony watery kinda smell too it. Very Pink, it reminds me of a big wad of fruity bubblegum. There may be some sort of flower in this that I am not familiar with, but doesnt smell outright like a flower. After a few hours it becomes a burnt watermelonrind/sugar scent, I asked my old man what he thought it was and he smelled burnt sugar. I think my mind is wanting to believe this has some kind of melon or possibly cucumber in this... (flowers and cucumber maybe?)

Very beautiful and sweet, not as strong as some of the Voodoo blends seem to be, this is my first Orisha from the Lab to try. I look forward to smelling more of em!

[Andromedii]

I got this bottle via a lovely lady (who I won't mention, but she's an absolute sweetheart!)

 

In the Bottle: Oh so light melons (watermelon? cantaloupe? honeydew?) and bananas. More melons than bananas. I love this. Holy popsicles!

 

On my Skin: Still light and tropical, getting a whiff of coconut somewhere in there. It's banana skins now. Also getting whiffs of other tropical lovelies. Its all melded together into such a wonderful, lightly fruity scent that reminds me of being on Hawaii.

 

Verdict: My new Ultimate Summer Scent. I want a 10 ml in this, even though I know it's not possible!!

[Diana]

This is another bottle I received in a swap. I especially wanted to try this because of all the melon type comments in this thread.

 

In the bottle & wet, it does bear some resemblence to a fruity melon type food product. I'm crossing my fingers that it will stay that way.

 

As I wear it, it definitely becomes less melon and slighly more floral. I'm wondering if this actually has melon in it at all. Perhaps, but it may be something more akin to cucumber than actual fruity melon.

 

It occurs to me that it reminds me so much of Lucky Chick lipbalm. It smells like melon, but in actuality it's a blend of mimosa, violet & jasmine. This smells like a dead ringer! Awesome, thinks I.

 

I do have some reservations as the florals become more evident, because there was a nice fruity-floral that I had high hopes for in my past. I hope and wish and pray this doesn't become the cloying floral disaster on me that was Titiana.

 

As it wears on, it does soften a bit, there is still a melon-esque note, but it's really in the background. The flowers stay soft & light and don't (thank god) become cloying and annoying, as some floral blends are wont to do.

 

This is very lovely and I am happy that I have an entire 5mL bottle of it to wear to my heart's content!

[Gemini noir]

Yemayá is wonderful. It immediately smells like watermelon candy on me, which is great. After a few minutes, the scent starts to warm. It's still like watermelon candy but the warmth makes it even better, and kind of comforting.

 

Which is appropriate, it turned out, as Yemayá is associated with providing comfort. I did a little web research into Yemayá, after I wore and loved it (and found it comforting, really!). Yay, Google -- there is a lot of interesting info out there about her -- I won't try to sum it all up here, and I've only read a small amount of what's out there; I'm so not an expert. I think a smidgen of info about Yemayá is on-topic, though, and hopefully of interest. (And hopefully I won't mess anything up!). Yemayá is the mother of all the Orishas, and rules the surface of oceans, seas, and lakes. She provided comfort to African slaves in ships traveling to the New World (!), and they gave thanks to her for surviving the trip. She is often depicted as a mermaid, or a beautiful woman standing among waves. One of the foods associated with her is watermelon, luckily for us. The other foods associated with her are molasses, black-eyed peas and fried pork rinds. Think we can be pretty confident there are no fried pork rinds in here. Molasses? Maybe so ...

 

Either way, I love Yemayá ... it smells like warm watermelon candy and is such a lovely feel-good scent.

[harlequin]

Mmmm..

 

This one definitely starts out melony.. It doesn't smell much like canty-loop (as my neice called it last night), so I'll have to go with Honeydew, as well.. after a few minutes, it fades into something akin to watermelon jolly ranchers, but not quite as sugary-sweet..

 

As I let it dry down a bit, I'll interlude to say that before reading the other reviews, I had no idea what/who Yemayá is/was. using our friend Wikipedia, I found Yemaja:

In Yorùbá mythology, Yemaja is a mother goddess; patron deity of women, especially pregnant women; and the Ogun river (the waters of which are said to cure infertility). Her parents are Odudua and Obatala. She had one son, Orungan, who raped her successfully one time and attempted a second time; she exploded instead, and fifteen Orishas came forth from her. They include Ogun, Olukum, Shakpana and Shango.

 

Yemaja is also venerated in Vodun. Among the Umbandists, Yemaja is a goddess of the ocean and patron deity of the survivors of shipwrecks. In Santería, Yemaja is the equivalent of Our Lady of Regla.

sounds like she had a naughty, naughty son. aaanyways.

 

This article associates her with Isis, as well:

Among these names of Roman Isis, "Queen of Heaven" is outstanding for its long and continuous history. Herodotus identified Isis with the Greek and Roman goddesses of agriculture, Demeter and Ceres. In Yorùbá mythology, Isis became Yemaya.  Some scholars argue that aspects of Isis worship have influenced the practices of some Christians in regards to the Virgin Mary. There has recently been a revival of Isis worship among neopagans and feminists who are attracted by the matriarchal notions of goddess worship.

 

Hmm. okay.. half an hour later, it's still mostly watermelon, but there is something kind of poking its head out that smells vaguely floral, but I have no clue what it could be..

 

Wow.. after this has been on for about an hour and all the single notes become blended and somewhat indistinguishable from heach other, this is a really beautiful scent! It was nice before, but now... wow.

 

Unfortunately, I think it'll fade really fast after this...

Edited April 27, 2005 by harlequin

[dreadeddragon]

In the bottle: Tropical fruit life-savers.

 

First on: Same as above

 

Drydown: The tropical scent goes away, and it's left with jsut a fruity mix of orange & mango. It's actually really nice, when from the beginning stages I thought I wouldn't like it.

[Witch's Dagger]

Yemaya

 

This is for the Yemaya circle swap - thanks for including me!

 

Preconceived notions: none

 

In the vial: Very complex - it reminds me of the sea, but also of dish soap, yet isn’t unpleasant. Very nice, actually, though much lighter than my usual likes.

 

On me:

Ooh, sweet flowers, salt, and spice. I think there may be lotus or gardenia in this - a faint bubblegum or fake watermelon smell is here, which I associate with those. It is well tempered, however, by the salt and spices. Not sure how she managed the salt...

 

In 10 minutes:

More flowers coming out, toning down the sweetness some more (but it’s still there). This is very gentle, very girly, to my mind (probably because of the bubble gum/watermelon candy), and yet sophisticated (the other flowers). Plus, there’s that intriguing salt still in there. A bouquet of flowers on the ocean...

 

In 20 minutes:

About the same, but the sweetness and the flowers have softened, making the salty aquatics blend in more fully. But that doesn’t seem right. It is impossible to truly describe this scent.

 

In 40 minutes:

About the same, but beginning to fade a little.

 

In 1 hour:

Almost completely gone.

 

Overall:

This is a very intriguing scent. If I had any connection to Yemaya, the Orisha, I would definitely be wishing for a bottle of this. Without that, I am content to pass it on - it is too light for my tastes and I’d never use up a whole bottle myself. Having an imp would be ideal, but I fear these will be in short supply. I’m truly grateful I had a chance to try this!

[janelle_hell]

Watermelon and sea-water are 2 things sacred to Yemaya;this smells beautifully and perfectly of both. i'm not big on either fruity or aquatic notes,but this is somehow different. The watermelon smells just like real watermelon,not watermelon candy or those yucky,aimed-at-preteens 'watermelon' scented body sprays and bubble baths (my teenage sister was quite fond of them at one point,so i know how they smell...which is...not good!). The sea-water smells just like sun-warmed waves...a scent note i've been searching for a very long time! This is a sweet,calming scent for hot summer days (which usually put me in a foul mood cos i get sick in the heat,so 'sweet' and 'calming' is just what i need!). Another '10 out of 10' scent for me

[shelldoo]

in the bottle: watermelon jolly rancher

 

wet: delicious candy, melon, sweet juicy actually makes my mouth water a bit

 

as it dries it does take on an aquatic note, not sharp aquatic though, which i can't wear, this is sweet watermelon aquatic. like juicy ripe watermelon dripping down your fingers on a picnic by the lake. it is beautiful, while i actually bought this to annoint a wand i would indeed wear this as a summer fragrance, it is quite lovely, and very calming.

[UltraViolet]

~Yemeya~

 

In the bottle

Strawberry and melon.

 

On

Wow. It's fragrant bright watermelony- strawberries.

It mellows at about 10 minutes to a warmer melon scent. It's got a musk-like note peeking out now.

 

30 minutes

This really has alot of staying power.

I detect what may or may not be vanilla.

It has the same middle or bottom note as "Swank" to me but of course the blend as a whole isn't as deep and muted as Swank. There's a similar ingredient though. It's that bit of bitter green way way in the back (that is wonderful with the other ingredients I might add) that I'm referring to.

Anyway, This also a blend that doesn't "morph" much at all (which is a nice change ).

 

Throw:

More then average

 

Scent category:

Fruity, without a doubt.

 

Summary

This is another blend that bestows alot of imagery initially. As someone said above, it is definitely representative of a bright pink and yellow kind of color.

It's really bright, cheery, watermelon initially.

Then it becomes primarily melony with a bit of musk and a lone herby note way in the background.

Very summery sunshine, and girl-y.

Dries to a warmer softer pink melon/light brown sugar scent.

If you like Pink Lemonade, Pink Sugar, Fruit or Melon, you'll go crazy for Yemeya.

 

Purchase again?

Yes! I'd buy another bottle when I used this up if it were available.

 

1-5 rating (5 being best)

4.5

[yeahbutnobut]

Yemaya

 

In the imp: watermelon!!! Lots of sweet juicy watermelon, but there's a salty note, like the sea…

Wet on skin: watermelon, but also an aquatic, oceanic scent and a sharper green note (seaweed?) I can also smell other fruit, possibly honeydew/cantaloupe melon, maybe pomegranate, or even starfruit?

Dry on skin: there's a dry, rough woody/green note in this, as well as a fruity melon note and a hint of sea salt. It reminds me of a tropical sandy beach with palm trees. The rough note is slightly weird but the watery/fruity note is lovely and fresh.

After a while: the dry note takes a back seat-it's still there but is more bearable (for some reason, it makes me think of sand or palm trees, like you'd find on the beach), and now the melon and possibly some other fruits come to the fore. It's actually slightly cucumber-y, but that's also very nice. Fresh, wet and cooling. There's that salty warm sea smell there too, which also strengthens, and is reminiscent of that lovely sea salt smell you get in tropical islands (and not that horrible seaweed stench you get on UK beaches!!!)

Verdict: this is another interesting blend. it's got sweet, juicy melon, but also a dry scrubby smell like dry woods or beach sand, and a salty, oceanic note. This is a scent that transports me to a tropical paradise…it's quite a lovely blend, very summery, fresh and yet warm. I'm not sure how to use this magically though, but as a perfume that evokes holidays in exotic islands fringed with sandy beaches and crystal clear tropical blue oceans, this is fantastic.

I was reading up on Yemaya with the reviews and I can see the reasoning for the ocean and watermelon notes in this. But the best thing??? She's linked to Isis, my favoured goddess! SQUEE!!!!!! If that's the case, I'm keeping this one until BPAL makes an Isis scent!!!

[byrdie]

Note ~ A decant from Hedgie_Lover.

 

Vial ~ Mango or papaya nectar, possibly the heavy syrup that peaches come in.

 

Wet ~ I think I want to have this oils' babies. For those who watch the show, consider the theme song to Red Dwarf:

• I want to lie
  shipwrecked and comatose
  drinking fresh mango juice
  gold fish shoals
  nibbling at my toes
  fun, fun, fun
  in the sun, sun, sun
  

That is exactly what the first blast of this on my skin feels like: being outside on a warm day under an umbrella, drinking mango juice as a fresh breeze passes. Oh, baby.

 

Drying ~ There's a teeny, weenie incense note coming into this one, but the mango is still very much present. As it dries, the incense is turning into a resin and leaning towards the plastic side of things. The mango note is starting to mute a bit, but not horribly. Gosh, one might be tempted to slather to keep this at the wet stage. The horror.

 

Drydown ~ Mmmm. The components have merged together into giving the muted mango some backbone. Not much, though: it's not leaping off my skin as much as it was initially, alas. It reminds me a little of the drydowns of Midwinter's Eve, Aunt Caroline's Joy Mojo and Hollywood Babylon; except it's not a red or purple scent.

 

Dry ~ The incense note is returning. It's managing to turn the fading mango into something piercing even though it's simultaneously light. Indeed, I wouldn't be shocked if the piercing note was actually jasmine, one of my floral nemeses.

 

Fade ~ The slightly sweet memory of a mango boogied on my arm, then went away. This all happened within a couple of hours, tops.

 

Final thoughts ~ Well, I've just slathered myself with this oil twice in the past hour since I wrote a description of how it fades. At its most harsh, it's like peach Jolly Ranchers. But then the breezy quality sets in and ... oooh.