heartbeast

I wore a purple velvet corset and a black lace skirt with a leather Mardi Gras mask and a ton of Mardi Gras beads -- with a bath towel flung over my shoulders and blue lipgloss. I was the Spirit of New Orleans - drowned but not dead! So of course I wore New Orleans behind my ears, on my wrists and in the crooks of my elbows, but then I added a dab of Hurricane on the back of my neck for that slightly murky swampy touch, and a generous dab of Midway in my cleavage for the beignets and other sweet treats! The effect was perfect; I felt like I really did smell like New Orleans (in a good way).

I always pronounce it as "Bree-SING-ahmun" in my own head...

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I'm sort of similar - I've been mentally pronouncing it "Brih-sin-GAH-mun."

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For me, this is one of those bastardized joke names...in my head, I pronounce it "brings 'em in"!

 

Right up there with "she has a pony"...

CDXLV

However, this bottle was not marked poison, so Alice tasted it, and finding it very nice, (it had, in fact, a sort of mixed flavour of cherry-tart, custard, pine-apple, roast turkey, toffy, and hot buttered toast,) she very soon finished it off.

Okay, that's not really what my Chaos II smells like, but it did make me think of that quote.

 

In the bottle, my Chaos II smells almost exactly like hot buttered popcorn flavor Jelly Bellies, with a little something wet floral fruity off in the background. There's some other children's book where someone eats something that tastes like toffee-flavored fruit; I was reminded of that as well, though I can't remember what it's from. Once I put it on, the buttered candy flavor backs off immediately, down to almost nothing. A little very soft white floral steals in, and then it all settles down into a very, very soft creamy cinnamon, like rice pudding, when it dries. Much later in the day, there was an occasional whiff of incense, and then that soft juicy fruit comes back, but the dominant scent --if you can call it that, it's so soft and faint--is the creamy cinnamon.

 

It's as if you're eating rice pudding, and someone is burning incense in the next room. The window is open, and there are some lovely white flowers growing right outside, and there is a bowl of tropical fruit sitting on the table.

 

I'm really pleased, as last year's Chaos Theory didn't quite work for me and I wound up gifting it away. This one is staying in my hot little hands (well, my cool little cabinet, really)! It is so light as to be almost not there, but some days that's just what you want!

 

 

 

Edited because sometimes commas are so important!

So tell me: What smells most like a real forest to you?

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If the forest has a bonfire in it, with naked, sweaty (yet clean) people dancing around it, it's Hexennacht. It might be hard to track down, but it's worth it.

I'm having trouble with Nuit. The French word for night is spelled the same and pronounced noo-wee, and the alternate spelling for the Egyptian goddess, with which I am more familiar, is Nut and pronounced Noot. I keep trying to pronounce the oil Noo-it, but then I feel like I'm speaking bad French. Then I pronounce it Noo-wee in my head and I feel like I'm dishonoring the Goddess. It scrambles my brain and makes me want to take a Sharpy to my 5 ml so I can have the spelling I'm used to!

This stuff is amazing. The notes all bloom one by one, in the exact order of the description: Fir, herbs, incense, woodsmoke, and finally a sensual "skin scent". Next time I wear it, I'm going to listen to Moussorsgsky's "Night on Bald Mountain", because not only is it inspired by the same source, the notes steal in and build exactly the same way. The final drydown, hours later, is a luscious herbal smokey skin-scent, like cuddling, sated, with your favorite avatar of the Horned One after a night of wild ritual, wild dancing, and wild sex--and the serene conclusion of Moussorsgsky's piece fits perfectly with that as well.

 

Yet another brilliant symphony in scent.

Whichever definition you use, I agree with Clover that it's highly personal to your body chemistry. However, I'll chime in and say that Blood Kiss had that second skin effect on me--so much so that it matches both definitions.

Normally, I don't review a scent until I've had it sit on my skin for at least one day, to get to know all its nuances. Often, that's not really enough; after using a scent for weeks I'm still finding new facets of its personality. But in this case, even though I've only sniffed Graveyard Dirt on the glass wand in the tester bottle, I simply must make an exception. (I didn't purchase only because I'm on a very tight budget and forced myself to pick just one 5 ml, and Bacchanalia is discontinued so Bacchanalia it had to be. Next visit.)

Graveyard Dirt is amazing. I'm convinced that actual bargaining with earth sprites must be involved here, because somehow Beth has captured that freshly turned loam, just before it rains scent in a bottle. Demeter's "Dirt" fragrance lies awake at night, crying, because it isn't Beth's Graveyard Dirt. She might have just as easily called it "Mother Earth". She might have called it "The Dark of the Grave and the Dark of the Womb are the Same Dark". It's rich, sensual, comforting; it's like chocolate cake if chocolate cake were made of earth. It makes me want to curl up in the bosom of the Mother and go to sleep. It's actually making me reconsider my wish to be cremated and scattered over the ocean as part of a fireworks display and look into green burial instead.

Usually, when people invite me to a ritual to invoke a particular element, it's Water; but if anyone ever asks me to "do" Earth you bet your booty I know what I'm going to wear. In fact, I may use this in meditation and spellwork to deepen my connection with that element. I'll also encourage my students to do the same, if they can get the bottle out of my grasping fist without me biting their hands off.


[description added & moved from black broom exclusives to limited editions after discussing it with beth ~qs]

(I just wanted to know why someone would like smelling of graveyard dirt. =)

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Dear Lord, did you *smell* it?? That stuff is incredible! It's what Demeter's "Dirt" wishes it was!

Oh, lucky, lucky me! I visited The Black Broom for the first time yesterday, and they still had some 5 mls of this lovely! I had never smelled it before, but recognized it as a discontinued, so I took a whiff of the tester--it smelled sweet and smoky, mystical and mysterious, and I loved it. So I purchased a bottle.

 

Out in the car, I couldn't resist slathering a generous amount on my wrists even though I could still faintly smell the morning's application of Katharina. I then proceeded to get lost trying to find my way back to the freeway (I'm not from around here), and then fought an hour and a half of traffic trying to get back to my friend's house in El Segundo, a good 40 minutes away in no traffic, where I was staying. The stress level while enclosed in a small space probably didn't help, but the Bacchanalia was overpowering. I couldn't even begin to describe what the notes were, it certainly wasn't poopy or diapery or anything like that--just heavy, rich, and much too much.

 

By the time I got where I was going, though, it had snuggled into my skin--and it was a little slice of ecstatic Dionysian heaven. I looked up the description--had no clue what was in it until then; the fact that it was discontinued and smelled good to me was plenty of reason to purchase--and was amused that this was one of the controversial civet scents. Once I read the description, I could recognize the perfect golden mean of a balance between the deep sweet grape, the light sweet orange blossom, and the deep throaty sexy dark musk and civet scents. This is delightful with my body chemistry, somehow comforting and feral at the same time, and I'm so very happy I got a second chance to own it. I'll just remember not to put on so much in one spot next time, and to let it dry down out in the open air--maybe in a starlit field, while I dance about, naked.

It's another discontinued blend, but I can't believe that nobody has mentioned French Creole! It's enormously clovey--check out the reviews.

Why oh why does my chemistry give some of my favorite scents this awkward Raid phase before the drydown?

Kyoto is another one that smells like bug spray. After a bit, the anise dominates and covers up the cherry blossoms, which are still smelling like bug spray but are now masked by the yummy anise scent. In the final stage--which thankfully then lasts for hours--the anise slips into the background and the cherry blossom and sandlewood combine and smell exactly like...the headshop where my mother used to buy Indian bedspreads when I was a kid! This is probably because I was just starting to get into witchy things at that time, so I would loiter around in the section with the essential oils and incense until she came by and told me she was ready to check out and I could pick out one thing. Headshops in general, and even this specific one when I go back, don't smell the same to me now, and I'm guessing that's because cherry and sandlewood were probably very popular incenses in the '70's. Anyway, it's a very comforting, happy scent for me. That 20 minute bug spray intro is a bit off-putting, but I've noticed it doesn't happen every time so it may be a hormone cycle thing or a you-haven't-been-drinking-enough-water thing. I'll wait till I get through the imp before I make a decision about whether this warrants a larger bottle.

I second Scherezade. It is a smooth and rich musk; the incense notes support and complement.

Hey! This is the second imp I've drained dry, and no review? What is wrong with me?

 

On me, the cinnamon dominates. I'm ever-so-slightly aware of the clove and white pepper, but only just. Nevertheless, Three Witches isn't particularly foody to my nose, nor is it overly sweet--no red hots here. More like sticking your nose in a jar of cinnamon sticks, as others have commented, with the dark sweetness of the clove (did I steal that from a review above me? It's a perfect description of how clove smells!) and the sparkiness of the pepper off in the background. Three Witches burns me only if I put it in a more sensitive spot, and even then only for about 30 seconds.

 

I've been reading the "parfum spray" thread with interest, regarding how a spray will encourage an oil blend to give up all its notes if your skin has been swallowing them. I think Three Witches will be the first oil I try that with; I want to experience the clove and pepper just a bit more.

Hey! Why haven't I reviewed this scent? It's one of my staples!

 

I don't get straight coffee when this is wet; I get coffee and roses. When it dries, the fig steps up and becomes more prominant, but the change from wet to dry isn't that pronounced. It's a complex wash of rose, coffee and fig, with the other notes wisping around in the background. It never turns powdery on me; it's got a lush, juicy wetness to it that stays true all day.

Body chemistry is a funny thing..."heavy, dark, cloying and sweet" is *exactly* how I would describe Queen Mab on me!

 

I think Desdemona fits the criteria, but I would describe it as pale blue rather than pink...and I agree with pale green for Endymion, though I think it's pretty sweet. Katharina is soft and feminine, and apricot colored, of course.

 

I would say (Old) Kyoto fits the bill the best. It smells soft and pink to me. Jezebel smells very feminine and pink to me as well, but it's dangerously close to sweet and cloying territory; I have to be in the right mood to wear it. Juliet is very feminine, it might work for you, though I'm not sure I'd call it pink. It does smell like a classic couture perfume, and that's what some people mean when they say "old lady", so if you're one of those people then maybe not.

I second Sybaris. Also, Incantation is very lovely.

The only tarot blend I've tried is the Empress, but you might really like it. It's an elegant, reserved rose fragrance, with hints (to my nose) of sandlewood, tea, lemon and vanilla. I know you said no foody scents, but the vanilla is just barely there; it is very much predominantly a rose scent.

I always feel like such a rat recommending discontinued scents , but Black Widow reminds me very much of Love.

I know that Dove's Heart has been mentioned, and I have not smelled it myself. However, my experience is that Beth's Voodoo blends *work*, and this is specifically what Dove's Heart is for.

 

I have smelled Melpomene, and I would recommend that as well when you're ready to channel your pain into creativity. It's discontinued, sadly, but maybe someone could hook you up? I would, but I only have one dwindling imp.

I'm sorry to briefly hijack this thread, but I keep seeing the subject line and picturing David Boreanaz...and "layering" becomes something else altogether!

Wet, this has that white cake smell that many of the Voodoo blends have, but that goes away after a few hours. What's left is very herbal in almost a medicinal way. Which is okay since I mostly intend to use it for medicinal purposes, magically speaking. It doesn't smell good in a perfumey "mmm I want to smell like that" kind of way, but it's not intolerable by any means. I don't mind smelling like that as long as it's not bothering anyone else in my vicinity either.

 

The day after the election, I considered wearing Melpomene but chose Queen instead. It was opening day at the Torrid store where I work, and my mission for the day was to set my political angst aside and spend the day showing women who didn't know it that they were beautiful. Queen seemed like the oil for the job.

I've never liked the smell of baby powder. Although, mysteriously, Jezebel smells like baby powder to me and yet I like it, La Petite Mort smells like baby powder to me--and I do not. They don't smell that much alike--argh, I can't figure it out. Anyhow, it's all good; I know someone who likes it and could always do with another impful.

I wasn't sure whether to start a new thread or 'jack this one but I decided to err on the side of caution; so mods, feel free to split if you like...

 

I'm dressing as a rose for Halloween. Red velvet dress and cloche hat, green tights and gloves, brown Victorian boots, and a spiked collar and bracelet for the thorns. With appropriate makeup in reds and whites, including a little red cupids bow mouth. Which BPAL should I wear? If I had a rose single note or Rose Red I'd wear that, but I don't. The rosey scents I have are Black Widow, Cancer, The Empress, Jezebel, Silentium Amoris and Wanda. I'm inclining towards Black Widow, but I'm interested in other people's opinions!

It took me a while to review this because I couldn't think of much to say...Tamora isn't choc-a-block with quirky personality like most of the BPAL family, and she doesn't have any qualities that remotely remind me of her Shakespearean namesake. She's just nice warm peachy ambery sandlewoody goodness.