Khephra

[euterpe414]

Hail unto thee who art Khephra in Thy hiding, even unto Thee who art Khephra in Thy silence, who travellest over the heavens in Thy bark at the Midnight Hour of the Sun.
Tahuti standeth in His splendour at the prow, and Ra-Hoor abideth at the helm.
Hail unto Thee from the Abodes of Evening.

I just got this scent as a frimp with my Lotus Moon order. It was definetely not something that I would order on my own, and I totally am in love!

Wet, it is a very green, sweet smell. I suppose this is the cinammon and lavender (although I never smelled a 'definite' lavender smell)

Once this scent dries on my skin, though, it becomes an amazing, warm and enveloping scent. Extremely comforting. It smells to me the way dried brushes in a forest smell in late summer around the early evening (I know, very specific, but seriously, it does!). The lasting power is great on me as well.

I am so happy I got this, and at some point I will totally get a 5ml of this!

[sofiaviolet]

There's something really sharp about this. On my skin, I'm smelling cinnamon. I don't know what else might be there because the cinnamon overpowers it. This has very little throw. I can't smell it unless my arm is just a few inches from my nose.

[edenssixthday]

Khephra - This is a nice, calming scent. It’s really hard to describe – almost as hard as it was for me to decide what I thought of it. It doesn’t have much character. It’s golden like amber and has just the slightest touch of huskiness that myrrh tends to lend to blends. Other reviewers say it has lavender in it, but I can’t decide if I agree with them or not. There’s also something very softly spicy in the far background of this scent. Once the oil dries, at about the 15-20 minute point, I distinctly smell something fairly subtle that at first I think is wine, and then I decide it is grapes. It’s a strange little scent with lots of facets, but overall, I’m not impressed. There’s nothing wrong with it, but it just doesn’t grab me. I’ve been washing my hands a lot lately as I’m nursing one of my kitties back to health, and this scent has lasted through several hand-washings, so it has really good staying power!

[smallvoice]

Tested thanks to the GC swap quikslvr arranged!

 

In the imp, Khephra was a soft, soothing floral. Immediately upon boarding my skin, it turned really sour. Eventually it mellows into a woodsy scent that just isn't doing anything for me at all. The sour undertone is there and... yeah, I don't know. It just isn't working for me. I wish I knew the notes in this. It's very evocative, and I can see it being extremely lovely on the right person.

[em_h]

I got this and Twilight as frimps in the same order. I thought that was amusing.

 

Wet: Cinnamon-spicey, a bit peppery.

 

Drying: I'm getting honeyed amber and pepper and spice. Very nice, good throw. I don't seem to be getting the lavender that others have mentioned, but that's perfectly fine with me. It's a dark rich warm scent, I like it a lot.

 

Dry: Wafty, spicey, sweet and rich. If I get very close to my wrist, there's a tiny chemically undertone, probably one the florals that doesn't do well on me; but it's ever so faint. Basically I love this one; this is one of the luckiest frimps I've had in a long time, and not one I would have thought to order myself, so yay!

[batsy]

In the vial: Bitter herbs. Some incense. *has flashbacks of Passover*

 

On the skin: It's a very herbal scent, with a backtone of incense and dust. And something sweet is poking out during the dry down. It's really not that bad, honestly soothing. There's also a bit of floral thrown in, lotus perhaps? It's also dry, like sand. A very complex scent. I like it very much!

[nancybridget]

A pungent clove and heavy cooking spice on my skin. Perhaps something I'd enjoy a dab of during the holidays, but for me, this is too robust for everyday use.

[ScrimHazard]

I received this as a frimp and I have to say that by the description I never would have ordered it of my own accord so I have to say thanks to Beth for sending it my way.

 

In the bottle - Clove and cleaning fluid.

 

Wet on skin - Slippery cloves and cinnamon. No more cleaning fluid.

 

Dry down - oh this is just lovely! Like bark and spices all mixed up with a hint of autumnal floral. I am in love.

 

This lasts a good 3 hours before settling down to the point of reapplication. I think I will order a 5ml of this. :D

ETA: This smells like Lush's Potion. Ahhh, memories...

Edited October 2, 2006 by ScrimHazard

[metaldog32]

Khephra...frimp compliments of the Labbies...many thanks!!!

 

Not something on my list of oils to try but the "midnight sun" sounds intriguing.

 

Initial sniff from imp:Something a bit sour or pungent??? Maybe also lavender in there..am not too sure though...almost citrus-like..but kind of darkly so..I hate to say this..but if I whiff deeply enough it almost smells like lavender and...pickle juice??? That can't be right....but it's definitely a pungent citrus/sour note with a touch medicinal..almost eucalyptus like on the tail end..I am baffled..and embarassed I can't do a better job at describing..mea culpa.

 

Applied wet on skin:Okay..no pickle juice..just lavender...with something a bit sweet, a bit resiny sort of..with that faint medicinal note in the back again. It's an interesting mix...the resiny lavender with that herbal/medicinal note way in the back.

 

Couple of minutes on skin:Lavender has left the building...and all I am really getting is some sort of resiny/spice wafting going on..it seems very much like a skin scent on me. Gone is also the herbal/medicinal note I was registering in the beginning as well..this is interesting.

 

Drying on skin:Still the resin/spice waft blooming softly..this definitely has a "warm" feel to it..but it's not in-your-face..it feels like it's a soft fading warmth..kind of like the last rays of the sunset before it moves completely into twilight and then...dark sky. I am registering a touch of powder..every so lightly..but it's still the same players on my skin.

 

Throw is definitely minimal..Khephra is definitely a "skin" scent on me.

 

Drydown:I am registering basically powder...and skin scent. That's it.

 

Bottom Line: Khephra is a nice blend..but not something that has me doing cartwheels. I am happy I had the chance to try it though..it definitely has potential but for me I think my imp might be better off with someone else who can truly appreciate it's beauty.

[supremegoddessofall]

Cinnamon on top of lemon Pledge. Fairly strong. Not really for me.

[PilotKitten]

Amber-ish resin. Definitely getting a herbal as well... not quite a lavender because there's no real "kick" to it like I associate with lavender though. Beautiful warm scent.

[jasmine]

Goodness. This smells like a childhood memory of a field full of flowering weeds. I don’t know what is producing that instant blast of nostalgia, but it’s impressive. It’s a green smell, but a shadowed green smell, and it includes memories of plants with names that I don’t even know. It’s the smell of having to come inside now because it’s getting late, and the sound of the dogs tearing past me on the path on their way in for dinner.

 

I could swear that Khephra has something in common with Has No Hanna. I have Has No Hanna on my wrist, and Khephra on my elbow, and I think I’m picking up a shared note between them that has nothing to do with scent drift. If Has No Hanna had a scent note list, that would be useful, but it doesn’t.

 

Now the smell is cooling, fading from green towards white. Along the way, it picks up something that I can’t place readily but don’t like as much. It strikes me as powdery -- not a baby-powder scent, but the smell of foundation powder. As the progression continues, Khephra loses its layering and becomes a straight, high, almost minty smell, accompanied by that sense of powderiness. It’s gone very white-smelling -- not a white floral, just... white. I won’t complain about the idea that it’s a nighttime scent, but it really seems more lunar than solar to me.

 

Khephra started out well, and the nostalgia flare was neat, but the end was a disappointment. I don’t see myself tracking down more of this once it’s gone.

 

On a side note, looking back through the forums, I see that many people detect resin or incense in this blend. As I’m still learning notes slowly, I could be wrong, but it really doesn’t smell like it on me.

[QueenFae]

A bright, spicy, strong scent. There is a hint of cinnamon in there, and something else really spicy and bold; pepper perhaps? This reminds me a little bit of Three Witches, but I like this one more. It sort of reminds me of the bright red potpourri sticks that you always find in high quality potpourri blends. It's crisp, clean and straight forward. Not my kind of scent, but unique and lovely just the same.

[sterlingspider]

Wet: Mellow at first with a sharp spicy note growing stronger by the second, lavender and amber predominate,

 

Drydown: very soapy, but not unpleasantly, getting a bit powdery though

 

Dry: smells like baby Into the swap pile with you.

[mtlaise]

Wet: this is quite strong on me - a blend of what seems to me as resin/incense

 

Dry: for me, this definitely has a spicy incense as the main note. I'm not getting any of the sweetness anyone else mentioned, and do agree that this is a nice scent, but I think it might be best suited for a guy, or for meditation/relaxation if you like incense for those.

[filigree_shadow]

In the imp: Smells sharp and herbal.

 

Wet: Smells kind of herby, but... what's that underneath there?

 

Drying: This becomes a lovely slightly spicy incense scent on my skin. Herbs? Not so much. I'm getting a lot of nice hazy incense. Not dark incense or sweet incense -- it's very mild. Myrrh-like. It's not overpowering, it's just pleasant and wafty. The herbs that seem to be in it are soft and gentle herbs, something like chamomille, not anything sharp like rosemary. Not sure about the lavender others have mentioned... maybe a little, but if so it's not prominent.

 

I read that other people are getting cinnamon from Khephra, which surprises me. It's what's preventing me from wanting a bottle, actually. Sometimes batches are slightly different -- maybe my imp just didn't happen to have a certain concentration of cinnamon in it or something. My skin amps cinnamon to an extreme, and I honestly can't detect any in this.

 

I like the scent, and I will wear the oil in this imp for sure. Just probably not going to get a bottle of it.

[dreadeddragon]

In the bottle: Earthy, spicy, and seductive

 

First on: I smell like a spicy trading bazaar. I can't pinpoint any of the notes individually, but if it stays like this at all I'm going to love it.

 

Drydown: It's faded so much! The spicy has faded into an earthy incense I can barely distinguish.

 

Overall: I think the boy might like this one, he's been wanting a nice earthy scent. If not, I'll keep the imp but I'm so sad it changed on me.

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

Of the Stations of the Sun, the Midnight Sun appeals to me (as a concept) the most...but then, I'm a Moon person and not Sun at all. I get a very definite patchouli basenote from Khephra, along with something sweet and something herbal in the topnotes. That's the first impression. The sweet note has a light quality like...actually, like marshmallows. Maybe that's the power of suggestion from the April Fools' skin that's on the Forum today??? The herbal note is hard to pin down, but it's fairly light as well. This is becoming mostly patchouli on me--my skin always amps it--so off to swap.

[wolfwynd]

Starts off sickly, floral but mellows into a soft, almost spicy scent. No good at picking notes out so can't really give a proper review, but I can definitely smell floral. Nice but with others I've tried today not really something I'd wear. Off to swaps.

[Naamah_Darling]

Lavender, resin, and spices. This is glittering and rich in the bottle, slightly masculine, and very strange. It's got a powerfully herbal aspect that is at once outdoorsy and sepulchral.

 

On it's an unusual blend, lavender and . . . patchouli? Frankincense? Cinnamon?

 

You know, I wasn't sure about this at first sniff, but I have to say I really like it. I can't pin the notes down. The lavender isn't overwhelming it but it is making it very hard for me to identify the other notes. I want to say amber and patchouli, but I can't be sure.

 

Midnight sun? Sure. This is regal but dark. Dark shot through with just a glimmer of light.

 

I like this. It's certainly a singular scent, very unusual. And it works on me despite quite clearly containing lavender, which is a no-no on my skin nine out of ten times.

[jsn]

My wife didn't like this one on her. Said it smelled like her dentists office. It got better the longer it was on but never really worked for her. off to swap pile.

[aquazoo]

Starts strong, creeps up the nose fast! Becomes a cloying floral. Time to go wash now...

[jewelbug]

Imp: Clove with some resins, a bit of baby powder, and....maybe carnation? I dunno, a hint of some floral, and I'm not good at identifying those....

 

Wet (10:42): No more floral now, its much more resin...myrrh? There is still a clove scent, but its more in the background here. Frankincense? And something a bit dusty...

 

Drying: I think its frankincense now. Slightly baby powdery (black amber maybe?), very golden, and no detectable spice left. Very golden resin/incense, and with a hint of woods.

 

Overall: I was reminded of the incense wafting at a church, but rather than smoke, it had more of a golden syrup quality to it. If that makes any sense. This is very ritualistic and very golden.

[Severuslovesme]

Khephra was quite spicy in the bottle, but is a little calmer on my skin. I smell frankincense mostly, with a hint of cinnamon. It's getting powdery as it dries down, but there's still a bit of spice to it. Very nice, though not a favorite.

[Styx]

Khephra (yellow oil)

 

Imp: A bit tart and bitter.

 

Skin: While wet, it was cloves and cinnamon plus a note that is so familiar, but I can't remember the name...

Than it morphs into a yellow scent. Sadly I caught the same sour tinge I got from Jacob's Ladder during this stage, but it is not as obvious because of the spices.

At the drydown, just when I thought it has stopped its transformation, it gains a string of sweetness on top, similar to the scent of manuka honey. Beautiful.

I loved the drydown the most.

This was an unusual scent. I bet it would smell different in colder climates, so I'm looking forward to try this in a different season.