Ishtar

Apparently I completely forgot to review any of the Yule '07 scents. Time to catch up!

The first time I read the description for Dia de Reyes, I felt like ordering a bottle or twelve. A gourmand scent is always a good thing in my book and with chocolate and cinnamon thrown in for good measure... sign me up, please!

However, past experiences have shown that both coffee and brown sugar can either turn delectable or acrid and smoky and sure enough, the latter is what happened here. Dia de Reyes smelled delicious in the vial but as soon as it touched my skin, it morphed into an overly sharp, gritty, smoky mess of an unpleasantly aggressive scent (there should be enough adjectives and adverbs in this last sentence to last us a while, I think ).

One of the very few BPAL blends I ever had to wash off. Darn.

Testing a well-aged '06 decant given to me by a lovely forumite

In the imp and wet on my skin, this is all apple cider: little spice and no pumpkin to speak of. There is a lovely tartness to the apple that really makes this oil sing.

After a few minutes, the pumpkin comes out of hiding and I am amazed at how true this note is. What I am smelling here is the fresh, bright flesh of the fruit itself, not the sugary / buttery candle-type scent. Wonderful. This manages to be warm, sweet, airy and bright at the same time!

Upon complete drydown, the various notes recombine into a sweet and spicy apple scent quite reminiscent of The Hesperides. Comforting, cheerful and mellow. A perfect choice for those on whom pumpkin scents usually turn cloying.

Back when I received my Shojo Beat scents, I got both the bottle of Vampire Tears I had ordered and a frimp of it sent by the Lab (thank you! ).

Now you see, the tragedy in this (hey, are we talking about an emo scent or what? Tragedy, I say! ) is that I absolutely love my imp, which has a strong, very fresh grapefruit note. Alas, said grapefruit is sadly lacking in my bottle.

The Vampire Tears from my imp is all things fresh and nice- so refreshing in fact, that I first thought there was lime in this blend, before realising that the citrus note was actually grapefruit. However, it is a surprisingly substantial scent in spite of all the light notes listed. Could it be the tonka alone that keeps it so grounded and layered?

On the other hand, the "bottle version" of it smells considerably darker and heavier. Probably more appropriate for a vampiric blend, but where oh where is my beloved grapefruit?

The tonka seems much more prominent in this batch. It imparts an almost caramelly sweetness to the blend but it also smells a little off and plasticky. Hopefully it will mellow after some aging... time will tell!

The notes in Midnight Kiss sounded so interesting that I ordered it right after it was launched. Alas, it really did not agree with my skin when I received it. Too sharp, with an underlying sourness that I suspect came from the wine note.

Off to the Swap box it went.

And it sat there until I tried it again today after reading a discussion about how it aged.

Admittedly, my expectations were pretty low at that point, but I think that no matter what, I would have been impressed with how much Midnight Kiss has improved!

Smooth, warm, complex, it is good. The most prominent notes are now tobacco (the nicotiana), cocoa and musk, in that order. Both the wine and the patchouli seem to have decided that subtlety was a good thing after all; they happily hang out in the background with the amber and the sandalwood, making for a well-rounded blend.

Wow. The good news is, obviously, that Midnight Kiss has become incomparably nicer with age. The distressing news is, how will I ever be able to decide to part with a bottle again, when a little aging can turn things around this dramatically? Methinks this spells trouble!

When I first sniffed the imp of Fruitcake I had received in my order, I must admit that I dismissed it as a novelty scent. Sure, it was fun and impressively accurate, but not something I would really wear.

Before putting the imp in my swap box, though, I dabbed a tiny bit on, out of curiousity.

Turns out that I really enjoy, no make that *love* smelling like a slice of fruitcake! Especially when said fruitcake is cooked up by the Lab, which means that all the ingredients are top-notch: fresh butter, fine almond meal, highest-quality candied fruit, expansive brandy.

The best feature of all? For such an outrageously fun scent, it is actually light and mild-mannered, staying close to the skin. No heavy boozy obnoxiousness here. Eminently wearable. Bravo!

Add my voice to those clamouring for Fruitcake to be released! I would buy a bottle without hesitation.

I was looking forward to trying Middle Pillar, after using another oil with similar properties that did not work too well.

I applied it to my feet and my chakras right before my evening yoga practice. The first thing that struck me was how very clearing and centering this oil was. I always take a few minutes to sit down and focus on my breathing before doing yoga, which of course is calming in itself, but this time I was able to go inward almost immediately, each breath taking me further into my meditative state. Each posture flowed smoothly into the next. It was very fulfilling and I think that for the first time, I was able to genuinely experience yoga as a spiritual discipline.

A little later in the evening, I heard something very upsetting on the radio (about the seal hunt in Eastern Canada ). That normally would have been enough to ruin my sleep had I not caught a whiff of Middle Pillar, which allowed me to ground and center enough to fall asleep pretty quickly. It certainly did not sweep the issue under a rug, but it helped me channel all those negative feelings of sadness and disgust so that I woke up this morning determined to find ways to get involved and do something about it.

A very effective blend and, as a bonus, a lovely fragrance- at least to my nose. A gentle cinnamon blend, with a warm floral undertone.

Wow. And by this I mean WOW!!!

Determination had been on my wishlist for a while when it was sent to me by a very generous forumite (thank you!). Having just started my own business, determination is something I can always use more of.

I am usually anything but a procrastinator, yet for the past couple of weeks I have to admit that I have been slacking off, which was getting frustrating. Time to give Determination a try!

Having read the reviews above, I made sure to write a list of what I really wanted done this morning, to avoid spending the entire day spring-cleaning or painting my kitchen!

I got up early, took a good look at my To-Do list, dressed a candle with Determination and rubbed the oil on my palms. The scent was not nearly as terrible as I was expecting- I generally do not do well with vetiver, but for some reason it is perfectly tolerable in this blend.

For the next five hours, I did not stop working once and my mind did not wander once. There was absolutely no question in my mind that I would do everything I had set out to and that I would not stop working until then. Not only was I tackling one task after another, I also was working at quite a remarkable speed. All in all, this was one of the most productive times I can remember.

The effects are beginning to fade now, but considering that in five hours I sent two proposals out to a client, caught up on my work correspondence, troubleshooted my wireless connection and replied to five emails, I would call this a morning put to good use. Actually I am rather happy that Determination is fading, because I do not think it would have let me take a break otherwise and it is lunchtime, dammit!

Needless to say, I am a convert and I would enthusiastically recommend this oil to anyone who needs a bit of a kick in the pants.

I received an imp of Eleggua in a swap- thank you generous swapper, that was much appreciated!

This is not an oil that I would have got for myself as I do not have a spiritual connection to the Orishas. Yet, I find it very interesting to compare the mood that such a blend evokes with my own preconceived notions of what an Eleggua oil could be like.

I was expecting something tropical, a mix of the components of a traditional ofrenda, such as alcohol, tobacco, coconut and other fruits. However, I wasn't expecting such a bright, almost sharp mint note- but there is no question that it is there! It is actually the most prominent note, together with the coconut and a sweet undertone. I can definitely see the similarity to a lighter Spooky.

Didn't try it on my skin and, since I will not use it for the ritual purposes for which it is intended, I hope to be able to find a good home for it. It smells lovely and would create a very evocative atmosphere as a ritual blend.

Charisma is a definite must-have in my TAL arsenal. The beautiful fragrance (warm, slightly spicy, yet light and refined) makes it a pleasure to wear and much more importantly, the results are rather spectacular!

I am now on my second imp and just received my bottle from TAL today, so after quite a bit of use, I can honestly say that this oil has never failed me.

So far I have worn Charisma in the following circumstances:

- to meet up with my very first client as an independent consultant: I got the consulting gig before my company was even officially set up!

- to coaching practice: I am studying to become a certified professional coach and the key to a constructive coaching relationship is establishing trust and rapport with complete strangers. Well, not only do people feel comfortable opening up to me, they consistently tell me that I inspire them, ask to stay in touch, etc.

- to networking events: acts as a great social lubricant!

Ahem, all of this sounds like I am boasting of my Amazing Personal Power here, but really, Charisma works and amazingly well, at that! Highly recommended.

I was very happy to be able to track down a decant of Litha, as it sounded perfect for me. Honeysuckle, thyme, vervain, resins AND mead? Oh my! I love mead so much, I actually made a batch of it a few years ago with a group of friends... needless to say, I needed to try this.

In the imp and wet on my skin, Litha reminded me of several other gorgeous summer/solar BPAL scents. Tarot: The Sun came to mind for its similarly joyful, glorious feel. Mead was indeed the most prominent note, complete with the slight sourness of fermented honey and a complex mix of floral and fruity notes.

Without question, this is an exuberant, almost jubilant blend and I can see why it is so well-loved. For my personal taste, though, there is a little too much going on at once. Not that I mind that type of scents, don't get me wrong: some of my favourite BPAL blends are precisely ones where there is a lot going on, such as Tarot: The World and Aquarius. But somehow, these blends strike an almost magical balance between all their disparate notes, whereas in Litha I get the feeling that each component is clamouring for attention. The end result is a little over the top for me.

Even though I really enjoyed the initial stage, I will be looking for a better home for my decant.

In the imp, Jolasveinar smelled very promising: cold, a little dark, complex. A good example of a BPAL winter blend, evocative of deep forests and snowy landscapes.

I had high hopes for it, as orchid and gourmand notes usually get along very well with my skin chemistry.

Unfortunately, as soon as it started to dry on my skin, it morphed into a sharp evergreen scent with an underlying mustiness- probably the dirt and moss notes misbehaving. This is not working for me at all, sadly.

I passed on my decant to a local forumite, hopefully she will have much better luck with it than I did.

I got an imp of this through a decant circle. I could not really see myself wanting to smell like a candy cane on a regular basis, yet it sounded like too much fun not to try!

In the imp and wet on my skin, Lick It One More Time is an impressively accurate rendition of a candy cane indeed. After a few minutes, an undertone of slightly stale sugar comes through. This is not a burnt or acrid smell, just something reminiscent of old, faded candy- this cane may have stayed on the shelves for a bit too long!

Yes, it is fun and minty and very sweet and worth trying if you are curious about it. As a perfume, however, it is a litte too straightforward for my taste. This is more like a novelty scent that you sniff in a shop, exclaim "wow, this really smells like candy cane!" and move on. Off to swaps!

After waiting a year for its turn to come, I was really hoping that Aquarius and I would be a good match. I intended to use it primarily as room scent and ritual oil, so I was not even expecting it to work on my skin. I just wanted it to make sense as an aquarian scent, to have some kind of deeper resonance with my Sun sign.

Well, it does all of that and so much more that I am kicking myself for not ordering two bottles, or twenty.

For one thing, this is the first Aquarius scent I can honestly say I like, nay, love, as a perfume. Most blends I have encountered from other sources ended up smelling very sharp on me, usually due to a mix of citrus and wood notes, whereas Beth's Aquarius is admirably well-rounded and etheral without being wispy. Quite the opposite: it has tonnes of personality and is very well suited to its zodiacal sign.

The notes listed in the Lab description were an unusual, interesting combination- quite appealing to those born under a reputedly intellectually curious and, ahem, unconventional sign! I was not expecting anise at all, but it makes complete sense given its association with psychic senses and the third eye.

On my skin, Aquarius displays both airy and watery qualities... an Air sign and the Water-bearer condensed in one scent, brava Beth! This is wonderfully done!

This scent keeps morphing and morphing again, it is next to impossible to pin down... at first floral and etheral, then fruity and watery, then green with a healthy dose of anise, then resiny with heavenly trumpets and angelic choirs. No, really

Long story short: this is love and I shall hunt down some more, as I do not think I could ever tire of it, or stop finding new uses for it. A true masterpiece.

Chanukkiyah is a thing of beauty!

I waffled over this scent longer than I care to admit... the beeswax and olive oil notes were intriguing and amber usually smells great on me, but I could see that this blend had the potential to go acrid and/or disjointed on me. In the end, curiousity got the better of me and I am very glad it did!

In the bottle and wet on my skin, the beeswax and olive oil are the most prominent notes, underscored by the richness of amber and the juiciness of the fruit notes. A very complex scent with a lot of throw.

As the oil dries down, the jelly of the sufganiyot becomes more noticeable, yet there is no butteriness or cloying sweetness to this blend. The pomegranate and fig, both of which I love but which can do strange things on my skin, are very well-behaved and impart yet more depth to what is already one of the most layered scents I have smelled in a long while.

After complete drydown, Chanukkiyah settles into a warm, comforting yet intricate scent. The beautiful, soft amber seems to be what ties all the other notes together.

I can see this working wonderfully both as a room scent and as a personal fragrance, even though I have a feeling I am going to enjoy wearing it so much that the oil burner will not see much of it!

Interestingly enough for such a deep and rich scent, its staying power is only average, if not a little shorter than average.

Yet another impressively effective TAL blend!

I swapped for a bottle of Vigor with a lovely forumite (thank you!) shortly before leaving for a 10-day trip overseas. I thought I could definitely use a bit of extra vigor to deal with the jetlag, the heat and the very early mornings- I had to get up before sunrise every day.

I applied Vigor every day and I can honestly say that the effects were quite spectacular. I adjusted to local time as soon as I landed, got up effortlessly in the morning and was able to walk rather long distances under the hot afternoon sun without feeling tired in the least.

Since I came back, I have been using Vigor more sparingly, but it has proven quite helpful to get me through the holiday season and its endless list of tasks.

The citrussy/fresh (grapefruit and eucalyptus?) scent is pleasant if very short-lived on my skin.

Highly recommended to anyone who needs a pick-me-up in the energy department, with the caveat that I would only use it the morning. It is too stimulating to apply closer to bedtime.

Now that I have been able to use this oil in an appropriate context, it is much easier to review it.

A couple of months ago, I was fortunate enough to go to Egypt. I had been there before but I had never been able to get to Abydos, as foreigners are discouraged from travelling to Middle Egypt. This time, though, I was determined to visit this holiest of sites and walk in the steps of the Ancient Egyptian pilgrims.

I used Temple: Egyptian in two ways: I wore it everyday (without any ill effects) and I made offerings of it, as well as water, every time I entered a temple or tomb.

It works very well with my chemistry and has above-average staying power for a TAL oil. While I was in Egypt, it turned into a soft and warm "second skin" scent after a few hours. Here where I obviously sweat much less (!), it remains quite distinct from my own scent but never becomes overpowering.

As for the religious use of it, I had the distinct feeling that the offerings were well-received and that this blend obviously helped me attune to the sacred places I was visiting. There even were a couple of numinous occasions, like that one time at Medinet Habu when an invisible yet almost palpable presence filled the room I was entering. It was a solemn but quite benign presence and I would have gladly spent hours in that one room. Who knows, maybe whoever that presence was, enjoyed the scent I was wearing?

These days, the scent of Temple: Egyptian never fails to take me back to every morning and evening in Luxor, when I would go salute Khepri and Atum as the rising and setting sun, perched on a stone wall overlooking the Nile River, facing the Theban Mountain. These moments were truly magical, as is Temple: Egyptian to me.

I have been using King Solomon's for several weeks to help me with an investment- and networking-related project.

Every night, I have been writing down my objectives, visualising my goal and anointing a green candle with the oil.

The first week, I asked for a sign that I was going in the right direction with my project. In a matter of days, I started finding money on the ground on a very regular basis. Oh, nothing big, just pennies. But still, no matter how small the amount, the fact is that I was finding money where I never expected to and with a frequency that I had never experienced before. I took this as the sign I had asked for.

The second week, I upgraded to finding dimes on the ground I also focused my rituals on creative solutions to find new avenues for my project. It did not take long after my first meditation for someone to call me completely out of the blue and offer her help.

I am now in the third week of using King Solomon's and I have decided that this week I would work on getting rid of fear, being comfortable with the financial implications of what I am doing and trusting that the outcome will be positive. Well, the week has been filled with so many reassuring signs that I have no choice but believe that the Universe has got my back

Oh, and I found a $10 bill yesterday. Isn't the power of synchronicity just great?

I have been using White Light daily for a few weeks now and I am simply amazed at how well it works.

For starters, I was quite pleasantly suprised by its scent. I usually do not expect ritual or magical oils to smell nice, but White Light smells quite lovely. On me it is mostly a spicy/woody scent with a sweet floral undertone and some of that watery quality that many voodoo blends possess.

What is really terrific, though, is how effective this oil is. I have been under a lot of stress lately, coming from many different sources. Nothing catastrophic, but when everything happens at once, it can get a bit much to handle. What I needed was something to help me clear my mind, look at each issue separately and recognize that I am perfectly able to deal with it, then stop worrying about it. And this is exactly what White Light does.

So far I have been using it as an aromatherapy blend, applying to the palm of my hands, rubbing them together and inhaling. The second I smell this warm, comforting, tranquil scent, my spirits are lifted, I feel more detached from the situation at hand and I am able to put it into perspective.

Quite amazing and in several weeks of use, it has never failed me once. Needless to say, I will be getting more White Light once my current bottle gets low!

I would also recommend Intrigue. Once the top notes dissipate, it is all mysterious, dark polished wood with a sweet undertone... wonderful!

Night's Pavilion sounded so lovely that, after missing out on it, I stalked the For Sale forum and ended up buying one bottle plus a backup- unsniffed. Needless to say, I had high hopes for this blend: white musk and frankincense are pretty much foolproof on my skin; and as a white tea drinker, I am very fond of the subtle fruitiness of osmanthus.

Alas, it was not meant to be. The woodiness that some forumites mentioned above (and that I would have welcomed since I like woody notes) translated into pencil shavings on my skin.

Perfumy pencil shavings. And not much else.

Although it is certainly not repulsive by any means, Night's Pavilion definitely does not work well enough on my skin for me to keep, especially not in large quantities!

Being a lover of all things pear, I have always wanted to try Thalia, but for some reason this scent languished on my wishlist for far too long.

By the time I finally got an imp from the lovely Neptunienne, I have to admit that I had completely forgotten what the listed notes were!

The overall impression I got from Thalia was similar to the general feel of Eos: sunny, happy, perfect balance between fruit and flowers. For some reason, I kept smelling peach as the head note, even though I see that it is not listed as a component. Of pear and champagne, however, there was none that I can recall. Thalia is very enjoyable nonetheless and I will have to try it again, this time paying more attention to the other notes besides peach. A definite keeper, even with the ever-elusive pear MIA!

Received this imp from the lovely Alterosen- thank you!

I tried Khandita for the first time tonight. As I was applying it, my eyes widened in delight: I had been telling myself that I should find myself a good incense scent for when the weather gets cooler and this oil happens to be an exact match to my favourite incense, Goa chocolate-orange. Wonderful coincidence!

I must say that I would never have guessed the actual notes. It may well be because of the association with the incense, but I keep thinking of this blend as sweet, spicy (clove) and almost fruity. The delicious scent wafting from my skin is incredibly smooth, soft and sensual, definitely not harsh nor fiery. The end result is pretty unexpected given the way notes like rosemary and saffron usually behave on me. Yet against all odds, Khandita works beautifully with my chemistry.

Hopefully someone will be willing to part with a bottle, as this scent instantly made it to my Top 10!

Usually I do not really seek Lunacies but the second I read about a Dragon Moon, I knew I had to try it. I do love dragons and every single note in this blend appealed to me, so this really was a no-brainer.

I recently found a bottle (lovely label, btw!) - many thanks to LadyMedb for feeding my dragonmania!

Like many reviewers, I was expecting the dragon's blood to take centre stage and pretty much overpower the other notes. Interestingly enough, the most noticeable components on my skin are the tea leaf and the bamboo, imparting a very Asian feel to this blend, especially when layered with the cherry blossom.

It is only after complete drydown that the base notes (dragon's blood and sandalwood) show themselves, but they do so in an unusually subdued fashion. Mostly, their role here is to add depth and staying power to what is otherwise a refreshing and airy scent with a touch of greenness. I really enjoy Dragon Moon. It reminds me of Mr Ibis, of which I am quite fond as well

This was surprisingly fruity and sweet in the imp - I would have expected a Rappacini's Garden scent to be much greener / fresher than this.

Interestingly enough, the second it touched my skin, the fruit went away and Dian's Bud turned into a beautiful, slightly sweet floral with wonderful throw.

It is only after drydown that the greenness makes its entrance, accompanied by underlying aquatic notes. I usually do not do well with aquatics, but in this blend they do not bother me at all.

This is not really my kind of scent so I do not see myself getting more of it, but I have to admit that it is very well done. I think fans of fresh/green/aquatic scents should definitely give it a try.

Too bad I didn't get seriously interested in TAL until very recently, otherwise I would have worn Temple: Egyptian on the Ancient Egyptian New Year, back in early August. Instead, I wore Cairo, which is the closest thing to kyphi I could think of.

I do not celebrate Christmas anymore, but I love Gingerbread Poppet and Snow White for the holiday season