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Showing results for tags 'Lupercalia 2011'.
Found 55 results
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She Who Conceals Love-Affairs Black narcissus, purple orchid, neroli, white sandalwood, ambergris, plum musk, jonquil, thyme, oakmoss, and grapefruit. I can't believe I'm the first to review this! In the bottle: sort of clean but fruity. I'm getting mainly plum and grapefruit with maybe some jonquil. First on: Not very strong. Very clean and sort of cold. I think I'm picking up oakmoss. Much less fruity, with the narcissus, orchid, and sandalwood starting to peek out. It's sort of a haughty floral. Definitely on the sophisticated side of things. Very well blended, and nothing really stands out and screams "I'm X note, look at me!" when I wear it. I was worried about the thyme, but I'm not picking up it at all. The ambergris is also very low key on me, although it does come to play more once it's fully dry. Dry I'd say it reminds me a tiny bit of Lamia, which could be the orchid Overall verdict: I really like this one. It's a somewhat muted floral that smells both clean and dark at the same time.
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Deceptive One Black fig, green tea, opoponax, ciste absolute, myrrh, carnation, nutmeg, and Brazilian vetiver. Apatouros is definitely not what I expected! I'm getting mostly green tea (kind of warm and vegetal, not light or clean) and fig (thick, chewy, dry) with a bit of dusty nutmeg. So it's a green and fruity scent (but neither fresh nor sweet) with spice. Rather an odd combination. The darker resins and vetiver are, surprisingly, almost entirely absent (maybe a bit of myrrh peeks through). Not a sign of carnation either, as far as I can tell. It doesn't seem to change very much between the bottle and my skin. Well, it's not really what I was hoping for (a smoky carnation resinfest), but I like the black fig note. I can't see myself wearing it often enough to warrant the bottle, but I'll hold on to it for awhile to see.
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Darjeeling tea, lemon verbena, star anise, and honeycomb. Wet on wrist: This is so true to the description, it's uncanny. Lemon verbena, tea, and the honeycomb are all mingling so perfectly, it really is like sniffing a steaming cup of tea with some lemon verbena fresh from the garden. On the drydown: It stays true! So far, I'm not morphing into anything else. It really is straight up tea-lemon-honey on me. I get the ever so slight whiff of the star anise as well, which is a really nice compliment to the tea-lemon verbena-honey. I'm going to need, like, 2 more bottles STAT. My husband says it's sort of chemical-y, but I attribute that to the lemon scent, which *could* smell sort of like lemon dusting spray...but my husband has a notoriously bad sense of scent as far as BPAL is concerned, so I still give this an A++ in my book.
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TIME DOES NOT BRING RELIEF Time does not bring relief; you all have lied Who told me time would ease me of my pain! I miss him in the weeping of the rain; I want him at the shrinking of the tide; The old snows melt from every mountain-side, And last year's leaves are smoke in every lane; But last year's bitter loving must remain Heaped on my heart, and my old thoughts abide. There are a hundred places where I fear To go - so with his memory they brim. And entering with relief some quiet place Where never fell his foot or shone his face I say, 'There is no memory of him here!' And so stand stricken, so remembering him. (Edna St Vincent Millay) Remembrance: Parma violet and leather accord with beeswax, Egyptian musk, orange blossom, white tea, lavender, myrrh, and copal. I find this one a very complex scent. It starts out as fresh white tea, Parma violets, lavender, orange blossom (which keeps threatening to amp but thankfully stays soft) with a backdrop of Egyptian Musk and beeswax. The other notes are also there, but remain well-blended and don't stick out on me but give it more complexity. I was hoping for more leather but I'm hardly getting any. Once dry, the Egyptian Musk starts amping, and the violets turn slightly powdery and vanillaic (similar to violet pastilles), the tea gets a little sharp (this usually happens with tea-blends on my skin),I get a bit more lavender and orange blossom and now I get hint of leather but it's still very soft.
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Brown musk, leather accord, toasted sandalwood, clove, labdanum, and champaca. Lots of frankincense, toasted sandalwood (mmm...), oh no...here comes the champaca to ruin the party, my skin amps the champaca within seconds. After a few minutes, the brown musk peeks through but remains soft and warms up the blend, I start getting a bit of the labdanum too. I think the champaca is overpowering the leather and clove because I'm not getting much of either. The final dry-down is toasty sandalwood, frankincense and lots of champaca. I find the overall scent warm, woody and just slightly smokey. I really liked Dancing Koi (it actually reminds me a little of last year's Prosperity of a Country) but I was hoping for a lot less champaca, sadly my just skin amps it too much, it would have been a keeper for me if hadn't been so overpowering. ETA: After testing it a few days later, I decided it's a keeper. I love the warm, toasty, woody goodness that the frankincense, brown musk and toasted sandalwood create, so much so that I can tolerate the champaca (I think it has already mellowed out in just a few days) and actually like it in here.
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Honey, lemongrass, black tea, white ginger, and grains. In the bottle: Heavy lemon with a sweet cereal scent in the back. On the skin: The grains/cereal scent comes out strong, but there's still that greenish lemon scent over it all. After it dries a bit, there's a good dose of sweetness and black tea, but the lemon scent is still really really strong. It's not a heavy scent, it's very light and pleasant. I wore this scent last night and it really stayed strong. Most light scents disappear after a few hours, but this one clung to skin like a soft, lemon scent blanket. It'll be a great scent in the spring/summer, but for winter, it's much too citrusy.
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Female Nude, Three-Quarter Length, Beside Her Left an Apple Tree
AnArtfuldodger posted a topic in Lupercalia
Mahogany, rosewood, and red apple. I was super excited for this blend! Apple + wood?! YES PLEASE! Wet on wrist: I get the faintest hint of apple, and a sort of floral-y sweet overtone. On the drydown: The wood is slowly coming out to play, but the apple and floral hints still are predominant. The apple is coming to the front, but it's a very light sweet apple, not crunchy, not mulled/mushy, just....a plain little apple. With a little hint of a floral and wood. Throw: low I think I might need to let this sit some more, and maybe age. Right now, it's just very faint on my skin, but I want this to work and become a little heftier so badly, so I'm going to give it another try in a few days (it's been sitting for a day now, but maybe that wasn't enough). Edit on 2/7/11: I tried this blend again today, and it's still basically just a light sweet apple blend on me. Very Valentine-y and light and sweet. -
Bringer of victory Black currant, patchouli, blood orange, oakmoss, galbanum, benzoin, and white mint. When I first opened the bottle I was a bit worried about this scent, as the oakmoss was VERY strong. When I put it on, however, Nikephoros became an instant love. This is exactly the scent I'd been digging through my collection looking for and not finding. The oakmoss and patchouli ground the scent, and they are very well balanced by the orange and blackcurrant. The balance keeps this from being too sweet or too earthy/dry. The white mint isn't really detectable, but makes this scent is cold like the end of winter meeting early spring. This is a complex scent that is mostly cool and dry with a hint of warm and juicy.
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Dark chocolate, fig, and tamarind. I usually don't order bottles unsniffed. I made an exception here--I'm a sucker for chocolates. In the bottle: This appears to be a clear to light amber oil (hard to tell with these new-fangled wand caps). The notes are all present and accounted for here: chocolate, an orange-y citrus (that's the tamarind, I take it), and in the background, the fig. It's like Vice and Nemesis had a baby! On skin, wet: Interestingly, there appear to be small solid bits that smear when I apply them to my skin. The color of them is the reddish brown of tamarind paste, so maybe that's related. Right away, the tamarind note flies away like citrus usually does on my skin, leaving the fig and chocolate to fight it out. One minute the fig seems more dominant; the next, the chocolate overpowers it. I do wish this had more throw--I actually went back and applied more, which I rarely do. Drydown: This has dried down to a well-blended figgy chocolate that I'm moderately pleased with. Verdict: I like this well enough, but maybe I was hoping for something a touch more exotic and maybe headier--this one does exactly what it says on the tin. I have plenty of fig and chocolate scents already, after all. I'll give this one a 3 out of 5.
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Rice wine, white sandalwood, vanilla bean, and white musk. Loosening of the Obi is an herbal scent to my nose at least. I think it's the rice wine that's making me smell an herbal note. It's light and pretty, and reminds me of some of the amber scents, kind of like a lighter Jacob's Ladder. It seems to fade pretty fast, but age might help with that.
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She Who Furnishes Pregnancy Peru balsam, vanilla bean, Rainier cherry, bitter almond, golden honey, rose water, lemon peel, sugar cane, and benzoin. While Kypris is wet I can smell cherry, almond, and a bit of lemon. It dries down to a pleasant, soft skin scent. It's nice.
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Vanilla-infused amber, leather, beeswax, cyclamen, oakmoss, peru balsam, orange blossom, red ginger, tonka, opoponax, myrrh, and black pepper. bottle: whoa! fiery! i get the ginger and amber most prominently. wet: there is so much going on in this scent, it's difficult to pinpoint notes. i can really smell the ginger and orange blossom above the amber but i keep getting faint hints of leather and beeswax. the overall feeling of this scent is jagged and bright. dry: this dries to a potent amber and spice scent, it's not quite as gingery once dry, more spicy and smooth with wafts of the opoponax, myrrh & black pepper. amazing.
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Coconut, white amber, hazelnut, and anise. bottle: coconut & hazelnut. wet: beautiful. a sweet blend of coconut and hazelnut touched with a tiny hint of anise. the amber is just tying the whole thing together and just sings on my skin. dry: as this dries, the notes blend perfectly. it's a smooth, lightly-nutty blend that i will wear all spring.
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Dark chocolate, lime and chocolate mint. This is a fresh from the box on a very cold day review, so I'll edit if anything changes. This is yummy and candy-like. It smells like a mix of chocolate-covered candy canes and sweet lime lollipops. As it dries, the lime backs off and it stays chocolate mint. The drydown is very minty, but more like fresh mint and no longer peppermint. I love minty scents so I'm glad I bought a bottle unsniffed! To compare this to last year's Dark Chocolate Key Lime Truffle, this (so far) is more chocolate and a different lime note.
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She Who Blesses Brides White rose, apple blossom, spun sugar, mango, cucumber, freesia, coconut, and lavender. If you are a fan of the Tikis, odds are good you'll enjoy Nymphia. It started off very coconut-heavy (sweet, fruity drink coconut). Mango was instantly noticeable, as well. As it dries, the other notes start to poke out. The coconut and the mango are still prominent, but they relax into a creamy-sweet, less potent form. The rose isn't obvious, but serves as a base note, with the apple blossom peeking out every once in a while. The spun sugar gives it a general sort of sweetness, rather than CANDY. Overall, on me, this is like Katrina Von Tassel took a tropical vacation. Sweet without being candy-like, fruity and creamy florals.
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Peach and peach blossom with rose geranium, red currant, pink musk, and gardenia. In the bottle: Peaches and flowers Wet: It's very balanced smelling. You can smell peaches but you can also smell the flowers and neither smells stronger than the other. The peach is also a very freash one, not sweet and syrupy like Josie was on me. The floral is also very light compared to the how the flowers in Katharina smell. Dry: I like this one a lot too. The dry down for me is very much like the wet stage, but a little more grounded. Imagine laying under a peach tree with someone else, and there being a discared bouquet of flowers next to you..then the wind picking up and swiring the smell of the flowers around with the armoas from the peach tree. This is what the oil smells like. Very much a spring scent.
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Tangerine, black currant, white musk, honey, and tagetes. In the bottle: Sweet and tangy, with a very light floral smell. Wet: I can smell the tangerine right off, the oil is a little zesty on me..but also sweet. With the tagetes sort of floating in the background. Dry: Bright, summery, orange! Gorgeous! The Tagetes never amped or became overly strong in this. It's mostly a sweet tangy orange with touches of tart current and honey drizzled on top. Beth is really amazing The throw isn't far, it's a very close to the skin scent, but my skin isn't eating it up either. So I think it'll last some.
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Bergamot, clove, hazelnut, pecan, lavender, tonka, and thyme. Oddly enough, this smelled very creamy to me out of the bottle. Maybe a mixture of the tonka, hazelnut, and pecan? Wet on my skin there is a slight freshness from the bergamot and herbs, but this is still waaay creamy goodness. Which is actually a big change for me as most creamy, milky scents only stay very close to my skin and can only be appreciated hours later. Either way, I'm really liking this! Dry, this is still mainly a creamy smell on me with kind of a provincal feel. Like a nice milk tea, but not really too herbal.. just creamy with a little bit of the herbs. I dont notice the nuts individually at any point while wearing this, it is a very well balanced perfume on me.
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Cream, clove, ginger, and honey. Oh young pine saplings, you smell so spicily sweet in the bottle. And actually a lot like Mother ginger in my opinion. On my skin however, you do show the deeper, warm, gingery spiciness (as opposed to the fresh zingy note in MG). I get the cream in there too way at the bottom, as is usual for me. For whatever reason this one did not last too long on me, except if I sniff with my wrist right up to my nose.. Which actually I dont mind because really strong spicy scents that are very persistent just remind me of old ladies perfume. Overall, I think this is a very nice scent, that is a bit more wearable than mother ginger or gingerbread poppet. As I said to a friend, all these shungas smell really nice to me! and there was only 2 that I wasnt totally in love with... but they are both still worthy of getting a bottle.
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Red musk, crushed tomatoes, mango, and fig. Yummm Ushi! In the bottle you smell like peachy mango deliciousness! And for the first 35, thats primarily how you stay. Not too sweat, just strong fruit with a very fresh smell. I'm getting almost no red musk on me, until hours later when theres almost no scent at all left. This really is a delicious, not too sweet, scent. I'm getting a bottle for sure.
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OLISBOS As for old flames and lovers-they're none left. And since Milesians went against us, I've not seen a decent eight-fingered dildo. Yes, it's just leather, but it helps us out. The ancient Greeks sure weren't shy about taking care of business. The port city of Miletus was once famed throughout the Mediterranean as a source of excellent stone, wood, and padded leather dildos. This scent is the celebration of an age-old pastime: polished wood, well-loved leather, and olive oil. Old leather (!!!!!), aka Dead Man's Hand style leather, some sort of delicious fruity-tart-citrusy note, and a deep wood note - oak, or mahogany, or maybe a sandalwood, or a mixture? Definitely smells polished. But instead of olive oil, I'm getting some sort of delicious fruit. Not that I'm complaining! Ohhhhh myyy godddddd I missed you so, old delicious worn leather. *rolls around like a cat with catnip* Still that delicious citrusy note, though it's somewhat smothered by the leather which is first and foremost - I think it's got to be sweet orange. Yes. This is like Dead Man's Hand layered over Gaiman's Orange with an extra jolt of fresh squeezed OJ. Which may sound strange but it is DELICIOUS. The wood is much lighter on my skin, and sort of musky, so I'm guessing it's either sandalwood or oak, as those are the nicest, sexiest woods on my skin. Still no olive oil, unless it's super fruity oiive oil! Not much morphing here - maybe a little fading of the OJ, but otherwise not much. This has fantastic throw (much like Dead Man's Hand) and I'm really surprised by how faint (and thus unidentifiable) the wood is. I'm leaning towards white sandalwood because it's so light and because this has a musky sort of feel to me, as white sandalwood often does. I completely took a random chance on this bottle and it was a brilliant risk. I am huffing my arm here! Yeah, this is really not a morpher. After a couple hours it's Dead Man's Hand with hints of orange juice and musky sandalwood. All which I adore so it's pretty much a slightly feminized, even more delicious DMH. I am over the moon! Great throw, but it does fade fairly quickly. I have now tried 6 Lupers, and all but one have been fabulous.
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WOMB FURIE In the middle of the flanks of women lies the womb, a female viscus, closely resembling an animal; for it is moved of itself hither and thither in the flanks, also upwards in a direct line to below the cartilage of the thorax and also obliquely to the right or to the left, either to the liver or spleen; and it likewise is subject to falling downwards, and, in a word, it is altogether erratic. It delights, also, in fragrant smells, and advances towards them; and it has an aversion to fetid smells, and flees from them; and on the whole the womb is like an animal within an animal. -- Aretaeus the Cappadocian Oh, that wily womb! Hippocrates and his followers considered the womb a mobile creature, causing mayhem as it writhed its way through a woman's body. Sometimes this ornery organ, due to lack of sexual activity, would create conflicts within a woman's system or would become blocked itself, causing anxiety, nervousness, water retention, and sleeplessness. With the assistance of doctors, nursemaids, hand tools, or, occasionally, self-manipulation, this vexing condition could be alleviated through hysterical paroxysms. Or, as we call it nowadays: orgasm. An itch that needs to be scratched: Snake Oil and three types of honey. To be honest, and snake oil have a less than great record. Straight up snake oil makes me deal with two hours of annoying spice before it gives me the soft vanilla, and none of the Snake pit were a success. This however, has PROMISE!!! The honey cuts out the harshness that the indonesian oils do when they're on my skin, and they're not taking over. I can still tell i'm wearing snake oil, but it's got some honey underneath. The honey and the vanilla also last for a long time, so i'm definetly not getting the disappearing act that I usually associate with snake oil blends. I highly recommend giving it a try!!
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Many legends surround St. Valentine, and history has yet to show, conclusively, which ones are true and which are fiction. One tale claims that Valentine was a 3rd century Christian priest. When Emperor Claudius II declared that his soldiers were never to marry - the emperor believed that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and children - Valentine continued to perform wedding ceremonies in secret. When the emperor learned of Valentine's disobedience, he imprisoned the priest. The emperor chose to interrogate the priest himself, and despite his fury at his orders being flagrantly disobeyed, he was impressed with the priest's intelligence, wisdom, and passion. He attempted to convert the priest to the Roman faith, and was furious when he failed. While incarcerated, Valentine fell in love with his jailor's blind daughter. Through God's grace and the power of Valentine's pure and true love for this woman, he was able to cure her blindness with a touch. Before he was beaten and beheaded, he sent her a letter expressing his feelings for her, signed 'From Your Valentine'. Ecclesiastical incense, Roman flora, and the fruits of martyrdom: cypress, olive blossom, frankincense, myrrh, and blood accord. Wow, looks like I'm the first one on this? I searched and couldn't find it so here goes! Wet in the bottle, I got worried. It has a sharp, astringent, green quality that reminds me strongly of Ides of March 2007. I almost liked Ides but it went on and stayed sharp and was itchy in the sinuses. NO! Please behave, Roman flora! Wet on skin -- what's this? Almost as soon as it hits my skin the smell warms. It must be the incense, I smell what is almost cinnamon but can't be cinnamon because BPAL's cinnamon note makes me welt and burn. HOORAY! This is getting really good, very round-smelling, savory is a good word for it. Like compelling in a way that sweet usually is, but yet not sweet. For a minute, there is what oddly smells like a flash of minty?? But only for a moment then it blends back in. Not unpleasant, just startling. On drydown: Total love. I took a huge chance with this one unsniffed, without reviews, based on the notes because I am a resin nut and an incense fiend. I am so so glad! The cypress doesn't get woody, it only grounds it some, the herbal aspect goes from sharp smelling to sort of 'fresh', and I just want to curl up and huff my wrist. I smell amazingly good, as rich as when I am wearing Gypsy Queen even but with a cleaner feel, not so bump-and-grind, more soothing. Oh lord. Now all I need is to hit the Lotto so I can get five more bottles of this stuff before Lupercalia comes down!
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Love always finds shelter in the gentle heart. Dolce Stil Nuovo is a 13th & 14th century Florentine literary style that celebrates love and womanhood through heartfelt, delicate, and melodious sonnets, ballate, and canzones. This is fin'amor, Courtly Love, in its most moving form, and the emotions that these words express reflect love that both spiritual and idealized. Within this literary movement, earthly love reaches for the Divine. Who is she coming, whom all gaze upon, Who makes the air tremulous with light, And at whose side is Love himself? that none Dare speak, but each man's sighs are infinite. Ah me! how she looks round from left to right, Let Love discourse: I may not speak thereon. Lady she seems of such high benison As makes all others graceless in men's sight. The honor which is hers cannot be said; To whom are subject all things virtuous, While all things beauteous own her deity. Ne'er was the mind of man so nobly led Nor yet was such redemption granted us That we should ever know her perfectly. Our interpretation of Dolce Stil Nuovo is a blend of rose otto, carnation, vanilla flower, lavender and jasmine with the clarity of crystalline white musk and the warmth of golden amber. In the bottle: A very clean floral. On my wrist, wet: Sweet and floral with an almost candy-like muskiness. After 20 minutes: Creamy, subtle floral with the amber providing a little warm powderiness. This doesn't smell like flowers as much as it smells like the ghosts of flowers. After 40 minutes: Dolce Stil Nuovo is primarily a subdued floral, but there is also a warm creaminess to the blend that adds an entirely different dimension to it in all stages of drydown. The choice of muted floral components is complimented by the subtle musk and amber notes. This is a blend that suits a woman who is feminine, understated and confident. Lovely!
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I worship you like night's pavilion, O vase of sadness, o great silent one, And love you more since you escape from me, And since you seem, my night's sublimity, To mock me and increase the leagues that lie Between my arms and blue immensity. I move to attack, beseige, assail, Like eager worms after a funeral. I even love, o beast implacable, The coldness which makes you more beautiful. Not the desperation, desolation and anguish of unrequited love, but the distant, chill and pitiless scent of the object of that doomed desire. White musk, osmanthus, Nile lily and frankincense. In the bottle More bright and fruity than one would imagine. Thusfar this smells sort of like Blue moon meets..I dunno... Neo-Tokyo maybe a bit. The Lily, osmanthus, musk and frankincense blend together so well that the no one thing really sticks out as primary...yet. On Still smells the same as in the bottle (thank God). The lily and osmanthus are primary now. I can't pick out the frankincense nor the musk any longer. Very pretty blend, somewhat perfumey, and similar to an aquatic. There's a cucumbery mintiness to this underneath the perfuminess. 30 minutes The dry down is even better because it becomes a bit powdery, but this slight powderiness only adds to the loveliness of this white floral. Throw: Yes it does have more than average. Scent category: Floral/Animalistic/Incense Summary To me this doesn't smell like a incensey floral. It smells more bright white floral, aquatic blend. I'm not even able to pick an existing blend to compare it to. I would say a Jasmine Danube or Tulszcha but no, this is not getting at what it smells liek exactly. So pretty and different. I bet some would imagine Snow White to smell like this. It's that kind of scent. Greatest throw of the Lupercalia blends and the longest lasting of the bunch as well Purchase again? Yes. This is beautiful. 1-5 rating (5 being best) 4.5
