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Showing results for tags 'Yule 2014'.
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An almost ridiculously adorable scent. I'm a little hesitant to write this review because I want to buy about elebenty more bottles and have a hoard of them for life! All mine! None for you! (Just kidding, I'll leave you a FEW bottles...teehee!) Sugar Plum and Vanilla Bean Atmosphere Spray is absolutely AMAZING. It's sweet, with an almost candy like quality, but not cloyingly sweet at all. It's got that creamy vanilla backing the candy-like sugar plum, so it has a soothing quality as well. I just spritzed my entire house before bedtime and it is sheer HEAVEN. I'm going to have visions of sugar plums dancing in my head tonight It is very slightly reminiscent to my nose of something. I'd say it is allllmost in the Candy Phoenix realm, but more purple if that makes sense? More plummy and vanillic than Candy Phoenix. This is just SO freaking good. It will be the perfect scent for my daughters room. I haven't spritzed it in there yet, but my girls are going to flip for it. Thank you for such a splendid holiday atmosphere spray, Puddin'! My home is going to smell so lovely and sweet all season long! Please bring this back every year? <3 ETA: I just spritzed this again and realized what that plummy note reminds me of. This is totally closer to Bordello than Candy Phoenix. I don't have any other scents with the sugar plum note, so that's the closest thing I can compare it to. I ADORE Bordello, so no wonder I'm madly in love with this!
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Frosted gingerbread, leather, pipe tobacco, and fruitcake crumbs. Gingerbread man wearing a leather jacket. This brings to mind the most hilariously adorable images to mind. The leather is a bit strong in this right now, but I think it is going to age wonderfully! I don't get any tobacco at all.
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A chilly, bright perfume: flurries of virgin snow, crisp winter wind and the faintest breath of night-blooming flowers. Yay! This is my first BPTP hair gloss, and I'm so glad it's Snow White, my one true BPAL love. Opening up the bottle I am hit with the Snow White I know and I love. I stopped and smiled for a moment- Snow White just kind of evokes happiness for me. This is a mist spray, not a pump or a squirt, which is good- I prefer mists. As a hair gloss, I will definitely want to spray it on my hands first and smooth it over my hair for better, more even distribution. Spraying it directly onto my hair can cause some strands to be way oilier than others. I am really quite pleasantly surprised- this really does make my hair soft and shiny. My hair's quite long (little below tailbone length), wavy, and prone to being frizzy with stubbornly coarse ends. I don't remember the last time they felt this soft. As far as smell goes, this is wet-out-of-the-bottle Snow White, all beautiful cold snow and a hint of florals. There also seems to be some other faint scent in there that I'm not familiar with- I don't know if it's this year's Snow White as I haven't gotten a bottle of the perfume from the Lab yet, or if it's just the hair gloss itself. I can't put my finger on it- it's a little sharp, maybe a little...earthy? Kind of...vegetable-y? My husband described it as "chemical-y." It's fading though, as the gloss settles onto my hair, leaving behind just pure Snow White. I bought two bottles of this on blind faith and love for Snow White alone. If I can't extract a promise from Puddin' that Snow White will reappear next Yule in hair gloss form, I may have to buy more. I don't ever want to be without this.
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Mod Note: This is the review topic for the 2014 version of this scent, which differs slightly from releases in 2008 and 2013 (which have their own topic). Rum-soaked brown butter cookies, crusted with sugar, soaked in almond and garnished with orange rind and pummeled pecans. In the bottle: All kinds of cookie goodness. This is definitely a sweet gourmand scent, it doesn't smell too boozy but I can tell it's there lingering in the background. It almost reminds me of Starbucks Eggnog and Gingerbread lattes, which is totally a good thing. Wet: At this stage it smells like heavily boozy cookies, with a slight hint of orange rind and cinnamon. I'm not detecting pecans for some reason unless pecan and cinnamon smell similar? It doesn't burn the skin however which is great. Dry: Oooooh, it's completely turned into a butterscotch scent, I quite like this as it's similar to a dessert we have over here in the UK called Angel Delight which smells almost identical, I love it! Overall: This is a lovely Christmas perfume, I feel it associates with this time of year very well! The only downfall if there is one is that I'm not sure if I can handle smelling like a butterscotch cookie everyday...it is beautiful nonetheless.
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A fur and cap all made of snow: frosted vanilla sandalwood. A Lady Tall and White opens with an intense frost accord, which hits my senses as an aquatic shiver with a kiss of cool green mint and frozen winter pine needles. Newly anointed on the skin, I am not sensing the warm vanilla sandalwood base that I was expecting, so I am biting my lip and reminding myself to be patient and just let the scent develop! As the aroma settles and starts to reveal the true fragrance, the cold watery iciness calms (but does not vanish by any means). I am vaguely reminded of Snow Glass Apples, the same chilly flurry of top notes dances in the air and in my memory. The oil melds further with my chemistry and the hum of depth underneath the snow is smooth but quiet. This isn't the rich vanilla gourmand Child Of Monsterbait: Underpants as I may have hoped, but it is delicately beautiful and possesses a subtle tenderness. The lightly musky sandalwood tone emerges with a peaceful silence. I look forward to slathering this to see what happens. Right now, it smells like starlight and snowflakes.
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Black Phoenix's Christmas Pudding is loosely based on a medieval recipe, and is crafted, as tradition dictates, from thirteen ingredients (representing Christ and his apostles, natch). Thick with treacle, smoky with suet (suet accord, sillies - there's no mutton fat in this perfume!), and sweet with stirred custard. I don't really get much Christmas pudding from this, but it certainly *feels* Christmassy. I get a lot of plum in this - probably from the historical plum pudding recipes. It's actually quite green, like freshly sliced, slightly under-ripe plums. The suet is in there - a slightly savoury, fatty scent - but it doesn't smell like lard. Almost like pie dough with less flour. Oddly, the treacle is quite understated. I normally amp things like treacle, but this one is playing nice. I am just faintly getting the custard, but I'm hoping it will come out more with wear. Unexpected, given the description, but very Christmassy.
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For the sake of continuity the subsequent history of the Fox sisters will now be given after the events at Hydesville. It is a remarkable, and to Spiritualists a painful, story, but it bears its own lesson and should be faithfully recorded. When men have an honest and whole-hearted aspiration for truth there is no development which can ever leave them abashed or find no place in their scheme. For some years the two younger sisters, Kate and Margaret, gave séances at New York and other places, successfully meeting every test which was applied to them. Horace Greeley, afterwards a candidate for the United States presidency, was, as already shown, deeply interested in them and convinced of their entire honesty. He is said to have furnished the funds by which the younger girl completed her very imperfect education. During these years of public mediumship, when the girls were all the rage among those who had no conception of the religious significance of this new revelation, and who concerned themselves with it purely in the hope of worldly advantage, the sisters exposed themselves to the enervating influences of promiscuous séances in a way which no earnest Spiritualist could justify. The dangers of such practices were not then so clearly realized as now, nor had it occurred to people that it is unlikely that high spirits would descend to earth in order to advise as to the state of railway stocks or the issue of love affairs. The ignorance was universal, and there was no wise mentor at the elbow of these poor pioneers to point the higher and the safer path. Worst of all, their jaded energies were renewed by the offer of wine at a time when one at least of them was hardly more than a child. It is said that there was some family predisposition towards alcoholism, but even without such a taint their whole procedure and mode of life were rash to the last degree. Against their moral character there has never been a breath of suspicion, but they had taken a road which leads to degeneration of mind and character, though it was many years before the more serious effects were manifest. Some idea of the pressure upon the Fox girls at this time may be gathered from Mrs. Hardinge Britten's* description from her own observation. She talks of “pausing on the first floor to hear poor patient Kate Fox, in the midst of a captious, grumbling crowd of investigators, repeating hour after hour the letters of the alphabet, while the no less poor, patient spirits rapped out names, ages and dates to suit all comers.” Can one wonder that the girls, with vitality sapped, the beautiful, watchful influence of the mother removed, and harassed by enemies, succumbed to a gradually increasing temptation in the direction of stimulants? —Arthur Conan Doyle Deception and despair: rose geranium and tea roses with mahogany wood, bourbon vanilla, and apple peel. I can definitely smell the apple peel, but it's not that meekly-fruity apple note that I disliked in many BPALs - this is red, blood-red, juicy-blood-red apple that's almost aggressive in its boldness. Man, finally an apple scent I like! It settles back after a while, letting the geranium and mahogany have a chance, and what a perfect combination of notes this is! I smell almost no rose and vanilla is hiding back there somewhere, apparent but subtle. The main notes remain red apple, mahogany and geranium, and it's a brilliant blend. Polished, red and mouth-wateringly juicy. Very glad I got a bottle!
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The breath and tears and pulse of all life; the fluid that flows through all creation, permeating space and time and spirit: olibanum, red benzoin absolute, labdanum, betel leaf, galbanum, mastic, and angelica. Oh wow! Strong benzoin and labdanum, with a hint of angelica - this is stunning on application! Something slightly peppery comes out as it dries, I'm assuming this is the betel leaf (I have no clue what that smells like, so I'm guessing here), and it complements the sweet resins beautifully. Olibanum is very faint, I can barely tell it's there, but it gives this a smoky undertone. I don't smell any galbanum or mastic at this stage, but it's a great blend, especially for lovers of sweet incense resins, which I am. Near final dry-down I can detect a little more olibanum, a touch of mastic and now definitely some galbanum with its green-woody-rooty notes. Star players remain the benzoin and labdanum, making the blend sweet, dark-vanillic and rich, with the rooty, herbacious and deep green note of galbanum right alongside. I'm loving this already, and it's going to age spectacularly - very glad I got a bottle!
- 16 replies
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Cold - unending, heart-piercing cold - that slices through skin and muscle like a gleaming, razor-edged dagger until it penetrates bone and fills your marrow: white eucalyptus, frosted mint, raw frankincense, davana, iris petal, white grapefruit, and wormwood. I can smell every single note in this right on application. The eucalyptus and mint are both indeed "white", i.e., mild and sweet, not like an ice pick to the brain via the sinuses. The grapefruit is a bit bitter, like the peel more than the fruit, but it's very pleasant and off-sets the eucalyptus and mint perfectly. The frankincense fades quickly, and I smell almost no iris or wormwood at this stage, but there is a rich, sweet background of davana. The key players are mint, eucalyptus and grapefruit with darker, grounding undertones. There is a short phase where I think, "Huh? Wrigley's Doublemint gum?", but that settles as it dries. It smells more like a therapeutic or spa scent than a perfume, which I like. Not sure I'll keep this, since I have other blends that fit that slot, but it sure is nice!
- 11 replies
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- Yule 2016
- The Phobias
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Bittersweet chocolate cupcakes whisked with stout and topped with inky dark chocolate frosting. This is amazing - it's what I wanted Monsterbait Underbed to smell like. It's a dark and rich scent to begin with - somewhere between dark and mean chocolate and dark and mean stout. Not too sweet, not too boozey, and just barely savoury. On the skin it blooms. I becomes a rich, devil's food cake with the dark, yeasty tang - just a little - of stout. The chocolate cake shifts to a somehow less foody but more like frosting after a little while. It's like leaving some frosting behind on the plate when you've finished the cake. Very faintly boozey, and the stout takes the edge off of the sweetness. If you like chocolate but don't want to smell like candy, give this one a try!
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Gingerbread with black coconut, patchouli, and sweet benzoin. In the bottle: The gingerbread is definitely the most noticable note but there's a darker aspect to it, this isn't your average straight up sweet and foody scent, it may even appear a little bit masculine. I haven't tried Goblin on it's own so I can't compare but this is beautiful and an instant winner for me. Wet: Oh yeah, there's the gingerbread note bursting to the forefront, it's quite prominent but it fades quickly and merges into this smooth and sensual dark scent. I'm sure it's mostly the black coconut and patchouli that I'm smelling at this point. Dry: This stays pretty much the same as when wet however it does smells even more gorgeous on drydown, the coconut and patchouli are taking over but the gingerbread is still lurking in the background providing warmth. I think this does have a slight masculine smell about it but it's definitely still wearable for women in my opinion! Overall: Well if I had money to buy backups of Gingerbread Goblin I would throw all of my cash at bpal right now, but alas I don't so I will savour every last drop of my precious bottle!
- 18 replies
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- Gingerbread Cotillion
- Yule 2014
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Practical Occultism consists, first, of a perfect mastery of the individual’s own spirit. No advance whatever can be made in acquiring power over other spirits, such as controlling the lower or supplicating the higher, until the spirit within has acquired such perfect mastery of itself, that it can never be moved to anger or emotion—realizes no pleasure, cares for no pain; experiences no mortification at insult, loss, or disappointment—in a word, subdues every emotion that stirs common men’s minds. To arrive at this state, severe and painful as well as long continued discipline is necessary. Having acquired this perfect equilibrium, the next step is power. The individual must be able to wake when he pleases and sleep when he pleases; go in spirit during bodily sleep where he will, and visit—as well as remember when awake—distant scenes. He must be enabled by practice, to telegraph, mentally, with his fellow associates, and present himself, spiritually, in their midst. He must, by practice, acquire psychological control over the minds of any persons—not his associates—beneath his own calibre of mind. He must be able to still a crying infant, subdue fierce animals or angry men, and by will, transfer his thought without speech or outward sign to any person of a mental calibre below himself; he must be enabled to summon to his presence elementary spirits, and if he desires to do so (knowing the penalties attached), to make them serve him in the special departments of Nature to which they belong. He must, by virtue of complete subjugation of his earthly nature, be able to invoke Planetary and even Solar Spirits, and commune with them to a certain degree. To attain these degrees of power the processes are so difficult that a thorough practical occultist can scarcely become one and yet continue his relations with his fellow-men. He must continue, from the first to the last degree, a long series of exercises, each one of which must be perfected before another is undertaken. A practical occultist may be of either sex, but must observe as the first law inviolable chastity—and that with a view of conserving all the virile powers of the organism. No aged person, especially one who has not lived the life of strict chastity, can acquire the full sum of the powers above named. It is better to commence practice in early youth, for after the meridian of life, when the processes of waste prevail over repair, few of the powers above described can be attained; the full sum never. Strict abstinence from animal food and all stimulants is necessary. Frequent ablutions and long periods of silent contemplation are essential. Codes of exercises for the attainment of these powers can be prescribed, but few, if any, of the self-indulgent livers of modern times can perform their routine. The arts necessary for study to the practical occultist are, in addition to those prescribed in speculative occultism, a knowledge of the qualities of drugs, vapors, minerals, electricity, perfumes, fumigations, and all kinds of anæsthetics. And now, having given in brief as much as is consistent with my position—as the former associate of a secret society—I have simply to add, that, whilst there are, as in Masonry, certain preliminary degrees to pass through, there are numerous others to which a thoroughly well organized and faithful association might advance. In each degree there are some valuable elements of practical occultism demanded, whilst the teachings conveyed are essential preliminaries. In a word, speculative occultism must precede practical occultism; the former is love and wisdom, the latter, simply power. A Victorian occultist’s incense, invoking the Four Archangels: precious wildcrafted Indian frankincense with myrrh, cassia, sandarac, palmarosa, white sage, red sandalwood, elemi, and drops of star anise bound with grains of kyphi. In the bottle: kyphi! A fruity, wine-y kyphi scent with lots of cassia and a bit of anise. On skin: glorious spicy kyphi. This smells less like Cairo’s lemongrassy-rosy take on kyphi, not as wine-y or ashen as Philosopher in Meditation, it’s more like the kyphi note from the Oak and Kyphi atmosphere spray, or the Chthonic Kyphi incense from TAL. It’s spicy, resinous and complex. Cinnamon/cassia is the most obvious note, but it’s also full of myrrh, frankincense, red wine and honeyed raisins, there’s also a hint of fuzzy sage to it as well. The anise isn’t there any more. I absolutely love the resinous spicy scent this has. It reminds me a bit of Haloa but without the foody notes. It also reminds me of Egg Moon’s cinnamon frankincense. After a while: it doesn’t change too much but I think the honey and wine aspects of the kyphi become more obvious. The resins deepen further, the cassia becomes warmer. The myrrh is wonderful in here, it reminds me of the myrrh in Priala, especially with the cinnamon, but not as smoky. Something about it reminds me of a couple of last year’s phoenix scents. Verdict: probably the best kyphi scent by BPAL so far. If you are a kyphi lover, you must get this. It’s brimming with spice and resin and honeyed wine, all in balance. Yule is a perfect time for this scent to be on sale, there’s something almost festive to it because of the combination of red wine and cinnamon, frankincense and myrrh, at times it reminds me of mulled wine in a church during a Christmas service, but it’s got that undertone of mystery and darkness hinting at more ancient, occult origins for this particular incense blend. The great thing is that it’s cinnamony but doesn’t burn my skin. I’m glad I took a chance on this as it’s perfect, I think it will age amazingly. Is it a keeper? for sure. Maybe a backup? If you like this, try: Egg Moon, Pliny’s Phoenix, Tacitus’s Phoenix, Priala the Human Phoenix, Oak Leaves and Kyphi atmosphere spray, Saturnian Phoenix, Philosopher in Meditation, Haloa, Cairo, Saint Foutin de Varailles, Valentine of Rome
- 18 replies
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- Yule 2014
- An Evening with the Spirits
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In certain cases, emotionally charged complexes of representation, which have become autonomous and dissociated, seem to automatically and compulsively press for discharge and realisation through haunting phenomena…. Hence, the so-called haunting occurs in place of a neurosis. —Albert von Schrenck-Notzing Repressed rage, terror, and subjugated sexuality erupting through fierce bursts of uncontrollable psychic phenomena: black leather and red musk with aged black patchouli, Chinese rose, black pepper, coconut meat, Haitian vetiver, and igneous red ginger. I bought this one because every single note appealed to me. I expected it to be dark and sexy and yeah - that's just what this is. Now, when I first opened it the leather note slapped me in the face and I was, for a brief moment, worried. The only other leather blend I can handle is Whip and I really have to be in the mood for it. I sniffed nervously and then skin-tested it on my wrist, hoping that the leather would calm down soon and let it's fellow notes have their say. I'm happy (and relieved) to report that as soon as the oil reached drydown, the leather was whispering instead of shouting and the red musk, patchouli and coconut were right where I needed them. I absolutely love red musk blends and this is no exception. Altogether, this blend is extremely dark and powerful but also sweet (the coconut) and very slightly spicy. This is the perfect unisex blend and so far, my favourite of the Spiritualism collection. I think that in a year's time, this is going to be one of the sexiest blends I own and will be reserved for extra special date nights and very private moments. Shadowy, hot and visceral. 10/10!
- 25 replies
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- Yule 2017
- An Evening with the Spirits
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A sugar-dusted pile of sufganiyot, trickling bright rivulets of strawberry jelly. This was the Yule I was most excited about trying and it does not disappoint in the least. This is sugary doughnuts filled with strawberry jam. It smells *exactly* like that. The sweetness lifts a great deal on the drydown and the throw is spectacular. The cakey note is just gorgeous and the strawberry is so perfect. So many strawberry scents out there are synthetic-smelling and in no way resemble that tart, red berry we all know and love but this note is absolutely spot-on. It's like someone took an actual strawberry and squeezed the juice into the bottle and then crammed in some doughnut and powdered sugar. I am definitely going to need more than one bottle of this. Fabulous. If you like Strawberry Moon '09 and Golettes, you will ADORE this. It is basically a lovechild of the two.
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Hot buttered rum with a touch of molasses, lightly spiced and swirled with a touch of cream. Oh WOW. This is incredible and in no way as boozy as I was expecting it to be. I mean, there is booze there but it's tempered perfectly by the cream and molasses and (very subtle) spice. The butteriness is also there and I might be wrong here, but I'm almost sure there's a note in this blend that might also be in Mother Shub's Pumpkin Pecan Treacle Tarts and I am guessing it's the treacle note. It has a sweet, nutty edge to it that is totally delicious. All of these notes marry perfectly and it has an evocative feel to it - even upon the first sniff I was thinking 'Christmas!' Absolutely divine!
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A thick, spongy white cake spiked with hard apple cider and frosted with whiskey-laden buttercream. Exactly what it promises - spicy apple cider, cakey goodness and whisky buttercream. The cider and whisky are quite potent when wet on the skin but on the drydown we get a rush of creamy sponge cake. I don't know if anyone else is going to pick up on this (my nose may be fooling me) but I get the tiniest hint of coconut too. This is no bad thing. This might be one of my favourite gourmand Yules ever. Absolutely delicious, has amazing throw and there is no doubt that this will age well. Lovely!
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CRAZED THROUGH “OUIJA”Neglected by Her Lover She Seeks Comfort of a Fortune-Telling Device BRIDGEPORT, Conn., Nov. 20.— Mrs. Eugenia Carpenter, a young woman living at 221 Myrtle, av., has been receiving attention from a young man who very recently ceased to call upon her. Mrs. Carpenter bought a fortune-telling board called “ouija,” and from it received the prediction that her suitor would not return to her. Last night she was found wandering almost nude in the streets. Her reason was gone and at intervals she cried out “Ouija said so and I knew it was true.” November 21st 1891 Boston Daily Globe Redwood and bois de rose with white lilac, dried pink roses, and black tea. Oooh, this is a very nice blend indeed. The redwood mingles effortlessly with the bois de rose and dried pink roses. The lilac is present but in no way overpowering. All of the florals together make for a gorgeously elegant and refined perfume. Makes me want to recline on a chaise lounge and fan myself with a peacock feather fan. Honourable mention for the black tea - just what this blend needs. The tea deepens the florals and adds mystery. This is going to age beautifully. 10/10
- 21 replies
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- Yule 2017
- An Evening with the Spirits
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In examining and reporting these cases the witnesses averred that certain people, whom they called “materializing mediums,” had the strange physical gift that they could put forth from their bodies a viscous, gelatinous substance which appeared to differ from every known form of matter in that it could solidify and be used for material purposes, and yet could be reabsorbed, leaving absolutely no trace even upon the clothes which it had traversed in leaving the body. This substance was actually touched by some enterprising investigators, who reported that it was elastic and appeared to be sensitive, as though it was really an organic extrusion from the medium's body. —Arthur Conan Doyle, 1930 A luminous, viscid blend of white amber, lemongrass, white oakmoss, and davana. This is everything I hoped for. I'm not the world's biggest fan of lemongrass but I knew Beth would do something beautiful with it, something magical to take the harsh edge away, and that's exactly what she's done. This is a bright, juicy lemongrass that is tempered by the white amber. It has a sharpness when wet that completely disappears on the drydown. When dry and settled on my skin, it turns into an ethereal citrus that is uplifting and moreish. I adore this.
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Welsh cakes and ale with a smattering of dried lavender. In the bottle: Sweet baked smell with the faintest wafts of a boozy note and lavender. Wet on skin: The lavender pushes its way to the forefront, that baked smell lingering behind it. The ale is there too, but you have to pick it out. Dry down: Toasty baked lavender goodness, kind of like scones almost but not especially sweet ones. With lavender sprinkled on top. Verdict: I liked this a lot. It's a very cozy, comforting sort of scent, a curl up on the couch in a warm blanket with a cup of tea and good book on a rainy day type smell. Calming and homey without being dull, to my mind.
- 42 replies
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- Winter 2020
- Yule 2014
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A chilly, bright perfume: flurries of virgin snow, crisp winter wind and the faintest breath of night-blooming flowers. Ah, Snow White! My favorite BPAL fragrance. So beautiful, so unusual, nothing else like it found anywhere else. I've acquired two bottles of the oil since joining this forum in August (2010 and 2012 versions). This candle smells DEAD ON the fragrance that I love. Icy but yearning, delicate yet rich. Apples, vanilla, and cold, cold, cold. A perfect picture of beauty, frozen in time. I simply ADORE Snow White and had SUCH high hopes for this candle. Unfortunately, the scent of the candle is so faint I can barely smell it. At first I lit the candle in my kitchen, but when I couldn't smell it after a few hours of burning, I thought the big, smelly room might be too much of a challenge for Snow White's candle. I moved it to my small bedroom (ten feet by twelve), closed the door, and left it burning for at least an hour. Nothing... Sigh... This must be how the dwarves felt as they gazed at her lovely sleeping face. It's as if Snow White was still sealed inside her glass coffin, not a hint of life escaping. The jar is beautiful, the label is elegant and lovely, but if there is no smell, there doesn't seem to be much point. Perhaps I got a dud. Perhaps others won't have the same experience I have. Because if the scent trapped inside this candle were to permeate the room, it would be magnificent. Hopefully it will be for someone else!
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Wine grapes, pomegranate, myrrh, frankincense and olive leaf, and the warm scent of offertory cakes. In the bottle: There's a hint of all the notes, as though they had been mixed into a white wine (non-alcoholic) from those grapes (green, I suspect). Wet: Now the pomegranate comes bursting through, with the gentle olive leaf in its train. The cake note is rounding this out, so it's not too fruity. The dry-down: The myrrh and frankincense are present, but only in a mild fashion, and the grapes are combining with the pome for a lovely light fruit note. If you don't want to smell like winter holiday sweet heavy food and drink or snowy woods or the Christmas tree, but still want a lovely light scent for the winter holiday season, this may be a scent to try. ETA: It's a rather elegant scent.
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WINTER-TIME Late lies the wintry sun a-bed, A frosty, fiery sleepy-head; Blinks but an hour or two; and then, A blood-red orange, sets again. Before the stars have left the skies, At morning in the dark I rise; And shivering in my nakedness, By the cold candle, bathe and dress. Close by the jolly fire I sit To warm my frozen bones a bit; Or with a reindeer-sled, explore The colder countries round the door. When to go out, my nurse doth wrap Me in my comforter and cap; The cold wind burns my face, and blows Its frosty pepper up my nose. Black are my steps on silver sod; Thick blows my frosty breath abroad; And tree and house, and hill and lake, Are frosted like a wedding cake. Sweet, soft snow. I really love this. I'm usually a foody lover, I love rich and cozy scents. Spicy scents. But there is really just something sparkling and magical about this scent. It has a lightness and a freshness about it. It's a little difficult to describe the exact smell. There's something resembling a wintergreen smell, but then it also reminds me of coconut, haha. It reminds of of being a kid and putting on my down coat to play in piles of pine-needle laden snow in the woods, pretending I was one of the winter fairies from the movie Fantasia. Though at the same time it also has a clean and warm scent that lingers on, that makes me feel how I felt after coming in from the cold, taking a hot shower and cuddling up in front of the woodstove with a big fluffy blanket. It's just pleasant and gentle and beautiful. I really love it. It also has amazing lasting power, I could still sniff my wrists after a 13 hour workday and get a good whiff. I smelled it wafting around me all day.
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Held on December 5th, this is the festival of the Horned God of the Forest, one of the di indigetes of Rome, god of cattle, fertility, wild, untamed nature, and prophecy through dreams. The scent of a thick, starlit, unspoiled forest, with a burst of wild musk, opobalsamum, black bryony, mandragora, and hemlock. The label art on this is a little strange, a dapper young man riding Krampus. The dood on Krampus has a Victorian mustache. Anyways... Sniffed from the bottle, this is a sweet, cool pine with a touch of a skin-musk, sort of like Coyote / Ivanushka. On the skin, this scent develops a little bit of the metallic snap of pine, similar to Black Forest/Nocnitsa (without the dirt). It's not a sharp, airy pine by any means, and there may be a hint of snow but this is not a predominant note. The scent dries down to a soft, snuggly Coyote-esque forest aroma, with the pine and woods being a full, rounded note as opposed to bracing. It's actually quite nice and close to the skin, and if you're scared of 'forest' notes, you shouldn't be of this one!
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Terebinth pine, pitch, and clove. Wow. Gacela of the Dark Death, you are lovely! That is unexpected. I've never smelled anything quite like this. I thought it would be like Mistletoe for some reason, but it isn't at all. The way the clove blends with the pine and pitch is amazing. The whole is greater than the sum of the parts. I can't really describe it. It is sort of airy and dark, and wafts lightly. It is not sweet at all. I sure hope that more people try this and can post more descriptive reviews.
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Sevivon, sov, sov, sov Chanukah, hu chag tov Chanukah, hu chag tov Sevivon, sov, sov, sov! Chag simcha hu la-am Nes gadol haya sham Nes gadol haya sham Chag simcha hu la-am. A bounty of chocolate coins! Dry cocoa and golden amber! Gelt is gorgeous. I'm not a foody fan, but I will be hoarding this. In the bottle: perfect cocoa powder, with a dash of hazelnut. This is not very sweet at all, it's exactly like sticking your nose into a fresh box of expensive cocoa powder that's got some hazelnut flavor. Application: The same, but it immediately starts warming up. The amber is poking it's head through the cocoa and giving it a homey warm feeling. This is the scent of curling up on a chilly night with a steaming mug of cocoa, prepared from scratch the stove-top way, with a healthy splash of frangelico. 15 minutes: Much the same as application. There's still beautiful, dry cocoa and the golden warmth of amber. It hasn't sweetened up or collapsed in on itself. Overall: This is a remarkable scent. It smells precisely as described by the lab, and I think can be appreciated by both foody and non-foody fans. I will be stocking up on this before it vanishes.