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Showing results for tags 'Lilith 2017'.
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It was a cold, cold day, and a thick fog obfuscated everything. It was tremendously symbolic in myriad ways. It’s funny. Lilith was two months old when Obama was elected, and I remember how I felt that night as the election returns were coming in. When his presidency was announced, it was like a fist surrounding my heart unclenched, and I could breathe again. With Lilith in my arms, I inexplicably wept with relief, suddenly believing with all my heart that she was safe, and that her future—all of our futures—were on a trajectory of kindness and justice buoyed by hope. The country is flawed and imperfect, but we were on our way to making things right. Then November of 2016 happened, and in January, a thick fog descended on the National Mall and the fist clamped around my heart again. The hope and valor of iris blossoms twined with chrysanthemum’s bold fearlessness, violet’s vigilance, oleander’s caution, and white and red roses for unity. I have one of those things with iris and violet, where I have to try any blend that has it. I also am feeling the same melancholy and strangeness this past year, for reasons in my country that I'm not sure I understand anymore, as well as my own personal catastrophe and rebuilding. Wet in bottle: Strong iris, powdery, rooty, dusty purple ash color that I associate with that smell. On skin: When it gets a chance to settle, it starts off powdery iris, and then I get a strong, but solid rose petal. This has dewiness, wetness. It's like the more heavy, non-tea-rose BPAL rose. Iris and violet are hard for me to pull apart since they activate the same ionone button for me, but I do swear I get a little bit of that dark, sweet, powdery background. With more time I am getting a bit of that mum-green-stemmy, slightly sour but radiant herbal. It's not overpowering. It elevates the blend above a floral and gives it a bit of bittersweet. I will be honest, I have no idea what oleanders smell like. With time: Oh, this is nice. I'm a rose amper, which tends to make most roses a no go. Somehow, this remains tempered and is a bit of a powdery iris predominantly with a restrained bouquet of roses nearby. It's a beautiful and elegant, non-trumpeting floral blend. Strangely, even with the flowers, it's austere, and feels like it has a good depth and strength to it. Huh.
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Lilith has a ton of empathy for the God of Mischief. I think many kids identify with Loki because they know what it’s like to be passed over, to be ignored in favor of a shinier relative or friend, and what it feels like to not be as strong or powerful as some of your peers. He may be evil(ish), but he has a sense of humor and a grasp of irony that kids relate to, and that’s worth its weight in Alfheimian gold nuggets. Thor is great and all, but Loki has /gone through some shit/, and Lilith respects that. But what are the main reasons why Lilith digs Loki? “He looks like me, and he’s really funny.” Girl!Loki costume by Chrissy Lynn! White lavender and sweet amber, green oudh, and inky musk. Lilith: The Goddess of Mischief is such a trickster! When I first sniffed, it was overwhelmingly straight up EO lavender. Last night, I figured it might be a good nighttime scent... huge mistake! It morphed into something so complex and gorgeous, I couldn't stop sniffing. All of the notes commingle beautifully into something that smells super expensive; the expensive perfume you wear to a very special date night or event. The lavender becomes sweet, and the oudh and musk are light but make this perfume very sexy... which feels so wrong. Definitely a scent that will make you feel like a goddess, or a god.
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On the last day of school, some of the families get together at the beach to celebrate the onset of summer break. It was cold, grey, and overcast, but that was hardly daunting for this little Oceanid. Lilith and her friends splashed and played in water I couldn’t put a toe into. She boogie boarded for the first time that day and fell in love. The beach bunny I have now is a far cry from the Tiny Virgo who wouldn’t go near the sand because she didn’t want her Doritos to get dirty. Driftwood and sea salt submerged in a marine layer, a touch of sweet carnation, bright neroli, and a sandy strip of kelp. So my past few years' worth of experience with oceanic and coastal BPAL has not always ended well, since the sea salt note = tortilla chip on me. Apparently I'm made of GMOs, and become quite snackable when that specific ocean-themed accord strikes my fur. I am a sucker for anything marine and ocean themed, though, so, well, of course this ended up with me. Wet in bottle: A bit more on the cologne/sweet marine musk in the bottle. Not too much of the slight corn-chip that I get from some sea salt blends. Maybe a hint of green snap at end, Ogygia-kelp-style. On skin: Whoa, 180! Swish and swirl and KELP me, baby. There's a swift whoosh of neroli, and the marine/cooler musk I initially detected gets uplifted by a slightly citrus-blossom whisper, and then I get that rising golden neroli hum and yellow-gold aura. The kelp asserts itself briefly, but doesn't overwhelm, although it does give me a bit of a Beaver Moon (non cheesecake) and Sturgeon Moon vibe. Drying: Once it's had a bit more time to settle, I can get salt, but amazingly it's not making me into a bag of Paqui chips, it's a little bit of spikeyness overlying the scent, which is segueing quite nicely into a bit of a dry-ish but subtle wood. It's definitely a quiet wood in the background, maybe a gentle soft cedar or even sandalwood-type whisper. It's still wrapped in kelp, draped just so. It's fading pretty fast on me at this point, but after longer wear, it sits close to my (man) skin, mostly salt and a quiet seaweed, supported by a swoosh of aquatic musk and neroli. Since neroli is sometimes recruited in modern colognes, I do get more of a 'mainstream' vibe from this but it is eminently wearable and I'd recommend this to anyone who likes a good BPAL aquatic. No corn chips here! It's like a softer A Fit of Artistic Enthusiasm, which is one of my all time faves.
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Lilith has been taking kiddo Shakespeare classes for the past four years, and absolutely loves them. Last year, they did a mini-series focusing on Julius Caesar, King Lear, and the Tempest. The kids analyze the plays, and perform scenes from them; then, at the end of the cycle, they put together a play of their own based on the themes in the works of Shakespeare that they have studied. Their play this time around was entitled Evil Bunny. Lilith performed as Marc Antony, and showed off her orator skills. Hearing Lilith speak at Caesar’s funeral gave me the chills. She came to bury Caesar, not to praise him. Macerated myrrh, rose petals, and iris with frankincense and a splash of blood. Again not my normal sort of scent but I figured I would give it a shot. On early drydown I get sweetish myrrh, with something powdery (iris?) and non tea rose rose. Nothing is overpowering, I do not really get the frank or blood at this juncture. The rose is pretty nice, sweetish not too fresh but not long dead either. After a little bit the frank comes in with the myrrh. Still no blood though. Eta: late dry down appears to be a sweet myrrh and rose petal.
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On December 30th, Lilith went with a gaggle of her Grownups, her plush alligator, Crocky (there’s a story there), and one of her besties, Camilla, to get their ears pierced by the wonderful people at Studio City Tattoo. When the needle went through, she didn’t scream and she didn’t cry… she growled “FFFFFFFFFffFFfffFfffFffffffffffaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh” in an attempt to repress the impulse to yell FUCK in the middle of the tattoo shop. Tom and I got new piercings in solidarity, but Crocky, Teddy, and Brian all declined. Coconut and red currant, red musk, and a pop of surgical steel. This is like someone mixed Anteros with come coconut. After a while, the steel kind of comes out, like's sun-warmed. Now, Anteros is one of my top 10 GCs, and I love a good, husky coconut. Glad I have this, but don't think a backup is necessary. All in all, a really robust red musk/currant scent, made a little lighter with the coconut and the steel. Lovely!
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Dressed in her witchy best for brunch with the fam! Pumpkin pancakes and berries in cream. In The Bottle: The subtle dough of the pancakes mixed with a light, sweet berry. Yummmmm Wet On Skin: Same, maybe with a *tiny* dusting of powdered sugar? Or perhaps that's just the sweet aspect of the berries peeking in a little bit more! Dry Down: Same. Low throw, foodie- but in a very light, very subtle way. Pancake Breakfast was a scent that proved too heavy for me to wear repeatedly. But this, this is the pancake scent of my dreams. SO glad I got a bottle! <3
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Just a photo of Lilith and Pickle that I took one morning. I love this little human so, so much. Last night’s lavender drops and a whiff of Pickle’s vanilla coconut pupper shampoo. Wet: Almost toohpaste-y pupper shampoo scent. On the drydown: Getting a little more of the lavender and vanilla. Still no coconut. Still predominantly toothpaste dog shampoo (which isn't *bad* but very sinus-clearing -- it's got the same effect on me as a peppermint/menthol scent might. This reminds me of Oof.) After a little time: This evens out a bit -- I get the lavender, and the more I think about it, I think this is sort of a combination of Oof + TKO on me. It's quite nice, although I'm not sure if it's one I need to keep, as I was really hoping that coconut would come through and on my skin at least, it does not.
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Lilith has been taking kiddo Shakespeare classes for the past four years, and absolutely loves them. Last year, they did a mini-series focusing on Julius Caesar, King Lear, and the Tempest. The kids analyze the plays, and perform scenes from them; then, at the end of the cycle, they put together a play of their own based on the themes in the works of Shakespeare that they have studied. Their play this time around was entitled Evil Bunny. Lilith played Ariel and Miranda, and said she liked playing Miranda more. She said it’s easy to relate, because her mom is a lot like Prospero. I’m still trying to figure out whether that’s a compliment or an insult. Ivy and lime rind, marigold and moss. Please keep in mind this ia not my normal sort of scent but since no one had reviewed yet I thought I would take a shot. On early drydown I get mostly the ivy with strong undertones of an almost bitter lime but a little sort of spicy floral sweetness from the marigold. I do not get any moss at this point. It is actually pretty nice, not something I would reach for but not bad, not quite masculine, I would say pretty unisex. I will update if late drydown changes. Eta: late dry down is actually a nice rounding of fresh lime and ivy made nice by a breath of marigold.
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Walking and holding hands with my Lilith as we joke and giggle is one the greatest joys of my life. She is growing up fast, and these moments will happen less and less, but I will forever treasure them. I hope that when she is an adult, she will look back on these memories and feel 1/100 of the happiness that she brings to her father. Sunflowers and California poppies, vanilla-tinged oak bark, and a spill of sugary breakfast cereal. In the bottle - Not sure what happened at the Post, but the oil in my bottle was barely at the top of the label. That said, this seems suuuuper up my alley. I live in Southern California, and this smells like sweetened summer air. Wet - A little grassy. Totally OK with this initial grassiness, since it seems to level itself out almost immediately. Drydown - Hm. There's a component in this that's making my nose twitch. Maybe the oak bark? I'm trying to think of other oak blends and whether those bother me ... all the ones I can think of (Haloes, Antikythera, Arana, Oak Moon -- pretty much everything except Lawful) are good on me. Maybe this is that Lawful oak? Or maybe I'm placing the blame incorrectly and it's the sunflowers or poppies that are throwing me off? Or the fact that it's vanilla-tinged? Hm. I really don't know what's going on here. Verdict - I thought I'd love this. Assumed it'd be an instant hit, actually. I'll give it another shot in a few weeks, though I don't think my skin chemistry will cooperate. All the sweetness and nostalgia and florals were gobbled up by my skin. I'll definitely save it for a locket or oil burner or something. It's absolutely lovely in the bottle and I'm really disappointed that I don't get to wear the gorgeousness I smelled in there.
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There is nothing that sparks joy for me quite like sharing something I love with Lilith. Shes been playing console games with me on and off since she was five, though she took a break from Diablo for a while after Brian bailed on her to chase after a treasure goblin. Blue raspberry slushy, a bowl of strawberries, and microwavable popcorn. This was one of the bottles I had to get for myself as a gamer with a gamer family. In the bottle it is all sort of fake blue raspberry, but on the skin a little fresh not plasticy strawberry comes to mix with the candy like blue raspberry. The popcorn note comes then, a little buttery, a little salty. I was worried about it but it actually blends nicely. This is a foodie blend, but interesting. The popcorn keeps it from being cloying. I will update for late drydown. Also this is fresh from the mail, so ymmv.
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Sometimes I make a perfume just because I love this kid. Red velvet confetti cupcakes and bubblegum. I'm a red velvet cake fiend. Eating too much of it is bad, but I'm also happy to smell like it. So far the most authentic red velvet cake scent for me has been Cake Smash, but I've only got a decant of that and I'm hoping for something more readily available. Heck on Wheels was a blind bottle purchase directly from the Lab. When I open the bottle it's just like unwrapping a big, fat piece of pink bubble gum. The red velvet cake note from Peppermint Cream Cupcake peeks out just a little when I put it on, and it's almost like a cupcake with a layer of bubble gum-flavored frosting. If I stick my wrist directly under my nose there's a sort of faintly musty smell, but the throw is a pink and red sugary cloud. I find that it's truest to the description if I apply it in the crooks of my elbows. On the day it arrived, I was so excited that I couldn't wait for it to settle. I can't say how close that was to what it's going to be as it ages, but I can tell you it's got a medium throw and lasted for at least six hours. On a side note, I put Do You Like Clowns? on while there was still a trace of Heck on Wheels, and they're not bad together if you really want a sugar overload. Most of the Lab's foodie scents get more foodie with age, at least for me, and the bottle only arrived two days ago. Everything that's sweet smells pretty different on me depending on the time of the month, the weather, what I ate, and even my application method (sweeter when I dab it on with a finger than from the rim of the bottle). I may well be editing this review sometime down the road.
