anomie

Osun The Goddess of the Hand Mirror, Maiden of Love. Osun is the Goddess of beauty, love, enchantment, elegance, and pleasure. Her charm and incomparable lovliness is such that it can be felt, sensed, and not merely seen. Osun holds the secrets of our deepest and most complex feelings. She is intuition, pure and idealized love, the tingling sensation of pleasurable anticipation, the sensual movement of seduction and sexuality, and quick breath before climax. Osun is the pleasure of the senses, refinement, and the patroness of artistic endeavors that bring delight to the world. She compels us to express our deepest, truest feelings, and is the mother of our tears of happiness, tears of bitter grief, and the swelling of our hearts with love, hate, lust and fierce joy. She is the harlot and the virgin, who bestows unbridled carnal pleasure and also shows the path to purity of the spirit and virtuous intentions. She represents tenacity, the will to live and the drive to acquire, and the desire for achievement and fine possessions. She is the sublimely sweet and the revolting sour that we taste in life. She is charm used to every conceivable end, and is credited with bringing currency and the concept of money into the world, and is therefore the Patroness of Prostitutes and Courtesans. She is a great Witch, and has a multitude of brews, charms, and potions and always has a trick up her billowing, beautiful yellow sleeves. She is the youngest of the Orishas, and is a symbol of the most recent of nature’s evolutions: civilization. She teaches us to take care of ourselves, to pamper ourselves, and to find and express the beauty in ourselves, in others, and in our world. She is the sweet water of the stream, sustaining life. She is the Goddess of fine art, debate, sanitation, grooming, oratory arts, and temples and theatres. She is the act of landing the settlement that becomes a nation. She shows us that time must be made for leisure, amusement and contemplation, for a life of unending toil is an affront to her gifts, and diminishes the quality of life itself, and cripples our ability to conceive new, innovative ideas and create compelling works of art. All work and no play is not an option. It is Osun that provides us with the security, safety, comfort and prosperity that we require in order to make time for leisurely pursuits. Osun is the mirror that mankind holds up to itself, and she is the principle upon which all art is born. Osun’s symbols are hand mirrors, brass fans, brass needles, brass bells, sunflowers, and her creatures are the cricket and the peacock. Her ofrenda is thick with honey and herbs of love, passion and desire. In the bottle: Sweet, sweet honey, with a little bit of fruityness behind it. Reminds me of tasting honey in a farmer's market. Wet: Still sweet, but I can definitely smell something astringent cutting the sweetness as well. And a bit powdery. Dry: Wow, the honey's faded into the background. Now it's all dry greens, soapy and clean but grounded by the honey. I love it. I think I need to add this to my "big bottle" list! ETA: Oh, crap. An hour later, this has turned to something that reminds me way too much of my mother's sink drawer full of ancient makeup. Stale powders and dried-out lipsticks. I'll give it another try, but it's just not working.

Simply lovely and evocative of the dance. For me this is vanilla and pine with a breath of mint for the first several hours, before resolving to a soft, sweet vanilla drydown that's uncomplicated and calming. I'll be wearing this the rest of the winter, and possibly on hot summer days when I want to cool down. (Side note: reviewing this during a massive nor'easter made me crack up.)

On my wrists, Mother Ginger is less gingerbread cookie and more spice cabinet. This is a great thing, though, as it takes it from being just a foodie scent (while I love them, I have too many) to something a little more workable for days when I don't want to smell edible. The sweetness of the marshmallow and vanilla forms a solid base for the nutmeg, ginger and cinnamon, but it doesn't sting at all. It's just a comforting, snuggly scent without being infantile - like a warm cashmere blanket.

Sugar-Slathered Candy Apple is one of my favorite BPAL scents ever, so I had high hopes for this. And it's pretty, really; it's a much tarter and fresher and greener and juicier apple than in SSCA. I don't get much of the buttery note, though, or the vanilla or cinnamon. And there's so much sugar in this scent that it goes past "candied apple" into "apple candy," to the point where I smell like a Jolly Rancher. Candy corn is one of my favorite parts of Halloween but I just don't smell it in here at all. This is a great scent, it's just not what I had hoped for.

Dark Alice used the word "sophisticated" up above, and I think that's a perfect description for how this turns out on me. It's beautiful in an understated way, and feels more grown up in some ways. I think that's the orris playing off the musk and the honeysuckle, all of it blanketed by the soft vanilla. Utterly lovely and something I can see myself wearing to work a lot. "Joyful" might feel a little exuberant for this blend, though; "contented" might be better for my personal reaction!

Imp: Holy cow sweet fruit! Definitely getting the huckleberry, the candyfloss/sugar, and the sweet pea. Intriguing. Wet: The sweet pea shoves its way to the front, perching atop the tart berries and the lemon blossom. Drydown: Sweet pea heavy, other sweet things lurking behind. I close my eyes and I see clouds of pink trimmed with lace. Very sweet, very feminine.

Imp: CLOVE! Also brown sugar. Mostly CLOVE! Wet: Spicy and warm. This smells like the Yankee Candle workshop used to, back when it was loads of candles in wooden bins with a window into the factory behind. Early drydown: It's calmed down quite a bit; still spicy and woody and warm, but the clove isn't as aggressive and the sweetness of the plum is coming out. Later drydown: Pretty much the same. It's very nice, but it's just not me.

Imp: Definitely getting the "sugared cereal" note right out of the decant. Froot Loops! I'm also getting a powdery note - the chamomile, maybe - under it that also drags the scent towards "baby wipes." Unfortunate. Wet: Okay, no powder, just froot loops. It makes my teeth hurt. Early drydown: Lemon fresh baby wipes. Eergh. Later drydown: The fruity scent has all but vanished; now it's powdery, sweet and warm. Warrants further testing, but I like it.

The first time I tried this, it was a perfectly pleasant and sweet vanilla. Actually, it was how I wanted the Bath and Body Works scent Warm Vanilla Sugar to smell - that stuff smells like evil plasticky death to me regardless of who's wearing it. Gypsy... was sugared vanilla and delicious. Today I gave it another full-day test, and maybe it's having a clearer nose or maybe it's being at a different point in my hormonal cycle, but I can smell the cardamom this time all toasty and delicious underneath the sweetness. Om nom nom nom nom. Might have to get a bottle.

Slowly working my way through my never-reviewed frimp backlog. Yes, I have had this for ages and never actually used it. Whoops. But it does what it says on the tin - it's a lovely, warm, sunny lily scent. I don't get any honey from it, which is okay. It just reminds me of walking past my neighbor Windy's house - she plants tiger lilies on both sides of the sidewalk, and for a week or so in summer it smells like heaven.

So I was buying my bff a Tardis USB hub for her birthday and this found its way into the order. Whoops? Bottle: Thick, dark chocolate. Almost unsweetened. Wet: Y'all this is WEIRD. Chocolate and almost mealy greens. Quick drydown: This is like beer. A nice rich stout. WTF, skin. Later drydown: Still beery. Man. This is WEIRD.

Imp: Fresh and clean and ozoney. Wet: Very kind of stereotypically "fresh." Dry: Yeah, kind of a generic dudely cologne scent. But I am keeping this for the name and it will never stop being funny. ETA that I wore this yesterday and my sister declared it her favorite scent on me ever. O.o Different strokes...

Imp: CAAAAAAKE! Wet: Buttery CAKE! And a cucumber slice. Quick drydown: Cukes and biscuits. Later drydown: Tea, with a cucumber sandwich. Interesting but not bottleworthy.

Imp: Metallic mint. Wet: Definitely smell the sage now, and the grounding (haha) of the amber. Quick drydown: There's something about this that reminds me a lot of Ether. That same clear, calm, yet sinister quality. Dry: Cool light, like shimmering reflections. Probably keeping the sample, but I don't feel a need for a full bottle.

In the imp: lemon drops! Wet: I think it might be the "chemical undernote" that is taking this from lemon drop candy to Lemon Drop boozy cocktail. Quick drydown: TAKING OVER MY ARM Later drydown: This has calmed down a lot. Sweet and lemony and definitely not smelling like cleaning fluid. Ought to make a good summer scent!

In the imp: sweet powdery dust. I didn't know the moon rocks were made of candy! Wet: Still very powdery and sweet, but I can smell the sandalwood. Quick drydown: Ugh, playdough. And yet I can't stop sniffing. I'm intrigued. Later drydown: This really reminds me of Lush's American Cream. Unfortunately it reminds me of the somewhat plasticky note I got from that. Swap pile!

Imp: Flowers and ginger. Pungent! Wet: LILAC. Hints of tea and ginger underneath with a grounding of musk. Drydown: Oh, this is really interesting. The lilac's settled and I'm getting a lot of tea . Mmm. Nice.

Imp: Neroli and herbs and lime peel - even the pith. Kind of cough-drop-esque. Wet: Pleasant enough in a fresh way; nothing's really leaping out at me. Dry: Pretty and sparkly and effervescent and gone. Probably good as a spring scent, but not needing a whole bottle. Alas.

Imp: Definitely getting the olive blossom and the bergamot. Possibly the cardamom pod. It's almost tangy. Wet: Beautifully light and fresh, but not in the usual way I associate with those terms. Dry: Still a really different floral blend. Will definitely have to try it again and determine if it's bottle-worthy.

2010 version. Imp: I agree with someone who mentioned grape candy; a hint under the boozy, swarthy musk. Wet: Muuuuusk. I don't know, it's very, VERY heavy. Drydown: Musky, but with an almost vanillic sweetness underneath. I might keep this for layering but it's not an on-its-own scent for me.

Imp: Whoa, that is FUNKY. Apple and quince over MUSK and JASMINE. Oomph. Wet: Jasmine! And fruit. Definitely girly. Dry: Jaaaaaaasmiiiiiiiiiine. It's eaten everything else. Much like actual jasmine does in a garden.

Imp: Anise. But very soft and sweet. As someone who likes the black jelly beans and drinks anise liqueur with her uncle: yum. Wet: Chewy licorice. And vanilla. Dry: Sweet licorice. That's really about it. Unfortunate, I had higher hopes for this.

Imp: Fascinating - the tonka and vanilla and what I'm guessing is the ho wood, something darker underlying the warmth of those first two. Can't stop sniffing! Wet: Oh, there's the soapy waxy familiar lilac. *huff huff huff* And almost a spicy feel, as it dries down. Dry: Delicious warm mellow skin scent. Definitely hanging onto the decant to test again and see if it's bottle-worthy.

Imp: The caraway is leaping out at me and reminding me of nothing so much as rye bread. Nom! Wet: Huh. Caraway and saffron? Grounded by the amber. Dry: This kind of reminds me of a toned-down Sunbird - that same sense of dusty spice, but without the warmth. I'm not getting any of the bergamot or neroli.

Imp: Violet and narcissus. Far more demure than I would have expected for a scent of this name. Wet: Narcissus! Sweet and fresh. Dry: Where did it go? Whiffs of vanilla, narcissus and orris, but it's almost gone already. Sad. Off to the swap pile.