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Showing results for tags 'Yule 2017'.
Found 137 results
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UNCANNY STORY FROM THE ONSET SPIRITUALISTS Wealthy Widow Becomes a Ghost’s Bride The Bangs Sisters, May and Lizzie, Continue to Startle the Peaceful Residents of a Massachusetts Town – the Spirit Bridegroom Charming May Bands and her sister, the great spiritualists, who, when at home, reside in Chicago, have lately startled the natives of Onset, Mass. This statement means more than might appear on the surface when it is added that that little town is almost wholly made up of spiritualists. Thither the Bangs sisters hied themselves some weeks ago to take part in the summer assembly of the eastern societies. They made their headquarters at Happy Home cottage, where they were daily visited by pilgrims in search of friends and relatives long since in the “other world.” Among those visitors was a rich widow from the far west, who wanted to see her lover, who had been a captain in the United States army. The captain, who came from Maryland, died on the eve of his marriage to the rich widow. For a year she has worn widows’ weeds and longed for even a visit from the spirit of her departed lover. Miss Bangs informed her that she could not only produce the captain’s spirit, but that the marriage ceremony that had been cut off by death would be performed in Happy Home cottage. A few days ago an item was given out for publication to the effect that the ceremony had been effectually performed some days before. In speaking of it May Bangs said: “I materialized the form and the lover came out of the cabinet attired in the uniform of an army officer. The premises had been previously examined to prove that there was no mortal about. The materialized spirit asked that the curtains be drawn for a while to shut off the front parlor. The bride wanted him to put on her slipper, and he did. “Only a faint light shone through the room where the minister and others were waiting. He kissed her numerous times. The bride was in a new wedding dress. Then the materialized spirit lover requested that the marriage ceremony be performed, and the request was granted. He placed a ring on her finger. They were together a long time that evening.” – Fort Wayne Sentinel, September 10, 1894 Misted roses and the memory of cologne, salt-wet and bittersweet. The Spirit Groom is gentle rose and salt water on me, like roses and tears. The 'memory of cologne' is very subtle, almost an insinuation more than a note. The first time I tested this, I wasn't sure it would be 'me', despite the lovely rose. But the second time I tested it, it really bloomed on my skin and I found that I kept bringing my wrist to my nose for the watery rose. So I guess this one is a keeper!
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Copaiba balsam, black oudh, Ceylon cinnamon, vegetal musk, and ambrette seed. Oudh, greenish musk, and a touch of cinnamon and balsam. This one has a greener edge than I expected. It's actually a fairly gender neutral/masculine cologne type and I'm surprised at the number of scents this update has had for the fellas. This one is nice and soft, and very pleasant. I'm actually going to try this on mr. zee_zee. Good throw and wear length.
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Orion, the Hunter, is the Lord of the Winter Skies. At his left shoulder sits orange-hot Betelgeuse, and in the heart of his sword, he holds a nebula that swirls with the birth of new stars. Weathered brown leather, wild fig, Macedonian cedar, fire-red tobacco, pepper, white musk, and cardamom. Oh my goodness this one is amazing. I smelled it at willl call and liked it, but I didn't get a chance to try it on before I had to leave...and then I got it for Christmas! Lucky me! I can pick out the fig, cedar, and pepper the most easily when wet, with a hint of the cardamom... and together those smell a) delicious and remind me a bit of nutmeg. It feels somewhat foody, and really just warm and delicious. As it dries, the leather, tobacco, and musk come out a bit more, grounding it and making it much less of a foody experience. I can still smell warm, slightly sweet cedar goodness, though, with a gentle underlay of leather and white musk. I keep applying it to myself, but also to my husband. It's a great blend of like, comforting yummy and also kinda sexy and masculine - but not in a way where it feels specifically cologne-y or like femme people would feel out of place wearing it. I'm wearing it and loving it. It's soooo gooooood.
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A great, warm hug of relief: snow-dusted carnation and sweet clove. Gently, Gently is just the nicest combination of carnation and clove. Carnation is already a 'spicy floral' to my nose, so the clove really enhances that and brings out the peppery quality in fresh carnations. I don't pick up an overt snow note here, just the sense that these carnations are 'snow-dusted' as in the description. I will likely need more of this. Not only does it make for a beautiful bath, but this would be great for using as a moisturizer and layering with scents like Alice, Eclipses Be, and Clémence.
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You have it, everyone has it for everyone is born a hypnotist. Would you like to develop your hypnotic powers and wield an influence over others? Would you like to sway the minds of men, make friends and achieve success? You can develop this power in the privacy of your room. Influence the minds, health, and actions of others (results not guaranteed): lavender, mugwort and hops with sandalwood, jasmine sambac, bourbon vanilla, and a mesmerizing wave of white musk. I love the label on this atmo! And I don't know how this is possible, but this is reminding me a bit of a non-floral Erebos. Jasmine-haters, I don't get a lot of jasmine from this at all. Lavender is the primary note, with everything else rounding it out. It's a dry, herbal, musky, vanilla lavender—I only get the sandalwood and jasmine if I'm really looking for them. Another fantastic sleep/chill out scent that I'll keep in the bedroom for dusting linens before bed.
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Black Amber, Frankincense, and Ginger Root Atmosphere Spray
LiberAmoris posted a topic in Atmosphere
[No additional description provided.] Mmm, this is really interesting—this is really dry, not spicy or sweet. It smells like powdered incense. The amber, frankincense, and ginger root are well-balanced, and the impression I get after spraying is that of a resinous ginger. I have a lot of sweet holiday atmos and I like that this is so different. My husband swiped the bottle for his home office, so he clearly likes it as well. -
With cinnamon, clove, allspice, and a bit of apricot. Yum. Frosted Apple Gingerbread atmo is heavy on the frosted apple and spices, with the gingerbread in the background. I pick up the apricot only slightly. I sprayed this and my husband said it smelled like stewed apples—a compliment. Very festive!
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Lavender smoke and golden amber, rushing by like a shadow on the wall. Galloping Dreams is simple and lovely. Grey-purple lavender (smoky in a dusky way) and warm amber work together here to create a very effective sleep/relaxation spray. I sprayed my bed linens last night and slept so well! The amber brings down the herbal pitch of lavender (which can sometimes smell a bit astringent to my nose), so I'm free to spray more heavily than I might otherwise. Some night I'll have to spray this and then wear The Air & The Ether for maximum lavender + amber effect.
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[No additional description provided.] Sweet Ginger and Patchouli HG plays out as a surprise in my hair—I think I was expecting something bolder, but this is soft and has an almost herbal feel. The ginger here isn't overly assertive, spicy, or sweet. It's a gentle ginger, coding unmistakably as ginger but sotto voce. The patchouli gives this an earthy feel, but it's similarly restrained. For the first few minutes or so, the combination of notes smells a bit like citronella. Then it mellows out to an earthy, herbal ginger. A pleasant, non-foody ginger scent for those who also like patchouli!
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And an extra dash of cinnamon! Got this for Christmas! In the bottle, very light milk chocolate. I don't smell any cinnamon, so a dash must be correct! In my damp hair, at first, it reminds me of El Dia Los Reyes, but then it quickly just fades... got milk chocolate at first, and then, after like 30 seconds, I don't smell anything. Even pushing my hair in my face. Oh well.... that's the way it goes.
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A lively bit of larceny: tinkling amber and well-worn boot leather ensnared by covetous, envy-green strands of mint and raw frankincense. I'm so fascinated by It is Gold! It is Gold! hair gloss. It's such an unusual combo of notes and does smell so green. Mint and leather are strong right out of the gates. The mint is really nice, a very refreshing, super-green mint. Just after spraying, I would say that the strength of the mint might actually be on par with the strength of mint in Lick It. The leather is also strong, though, so they're evenly matched. (I'm getting a brown leather note rather than black, although there are surely leather lovers here who would do a better job of parsing.) The frankincense holds things together at the bottom, knitting these two notes together in a really nice way. As it settles in, it remains minty leather and frankincense, all notes ascertainable, but blended together to create a non-foody mint scent that feels wintry and warm at the same time. I find this scent really head-clearing and calming. I think this will be great during the winter, but also wonderful when it's warm out.
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A midwinter mystery: a perfume of intrigue, passion, and longing. Rose Oudh and Myrrh hair gloss is definitely a rose that telegraphs intrigue, passion, and longing. There's something mysterious created when the rose, myrrh, and oudh notes intersect here. The point of concurrency ends up being rose-focal. The myrrh and oudh submit and are pulled through the rose's lens. The sillage is a darkened rose, with a subtle 'barnyard' note in the oudh bringing it to a softly animalic place. I'm someone who tends to amp oudh and it's hit or miss on me, but in my hair, it remains nicely in check. This reminds me of classic roses from earlier ages, although it wears beautifully now. A fierce, restrained floral, for those who enjoy roses that have lived a little.
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A strange swirl of hot baked gingerbread biscuits, champa incense, and hemp. Gingerbread Champaca hair gloss is wonderful. This smells like real hot water gingerbread made from scratch with tons of ginger, cloves, cinnamon, and molasses—sweetened just enough to bring it into dessert territory but not so much that the sweetness overpowers the spices—plus a shot of heady champaca. The result is like gingerbread incense, chewy and slightly floral. I don't get any hemp until after the gingerbread and champaca have tired themselves out, and then it adds something that smells a bit like dry grass/"grass" to the mix. It's something I have to actively search for to smell. I would say that the prevailing waft is that of divine gingerbread, so those who fear champaca may have no issues here. Are you the kind of person who loves gingerbread and nag champa? (If so, come sit next to me!) This one may be for you, as it is for me.
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Blanketed with moss and chilled by winter breezes. This is lovely. The name of the scent made me think that it might be a darker forest scent, but it isn't at all. It's a bright, snow-dusted pine forest. It's all sweet pine, sap, and a dusting of snow. It makes me think of the Snow Bunny atmosphere spray I used to have, with its sweet pine note (and without the girlish perfume of Snow Bunny). This one doesn't have much throw beyond its initial spray. I sprayed it all over my apartment and on the blankets on the couch, and left for 45 minutes. Normally, when I do that and walk back into the apartment, I'll get hit with whatever scent I sprayed prior to leaving -- but when I came back, I didn't get hit with the scent of a pine forest. Fortunately, the sweet, snow-dusted pine scent lingered on the blankets. I'm not getting moss at all, so if that worries you, don't let it scare you away! As someone who loves winter and misses the scent of evergreens dearly, I'll be spraying my bottle with reckless abandon all winter.
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Out walking in the frozen swamp one grey day I paused and said, I will turn back from here. No, I will go on fartherand we shall see. The hard snow held me, save where now and then One foot went down. The view was all in lines Straight up and down of tall slim trees Too much alike to mark or name a place by So as to say for certain I was here Or somewhere else: I was just far from home. A small bird flew before me. He was careful To put a tree between us when he lighted, And say no word to tell me who he was Who was so foolish as to think what he thought. He thought that I was after him for a feather The white one in his tail; like one who takes Everything said as personal to himself. One flight out sideways would have undeceived him. And then there was a pile of wood for which I forgot him and let his little fear Carry him off the way I might have gone, Without so much as wishing him good-night. He went behind it to make his last stand. It was a cord of maple, cut and split And piledand measured, four by four by eight. And not another like it could I see. No runner tracks in this years snow looped near it. And it was older sure than this years cutting, Or even last years or the years before. The wood was grey and the bark warping off it And the pile somewhat sunken. Clematis Had wound strings round and round it like a bundle. What held it though on one side was a tree Still growing, and on one a stake and prop, These latter about to fall. I thought that only Someone who lived in turning to fresh tasks Could so forget his handiwork on which He spent himself, the labour of his axe, And leave it there far from a useful fireplace To warm the frozen swamp as best it could With the slow smokeless burning of decay. - Robert Frost Bald cypress and Spanish moss, spatterdock and sundew. This is a beautiful woody, aquatic. It's a touch too strong for me. But on the right man it would be amazing!
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Swirls of sweet dark myrrh and red benzoin. This is nothing at all like what I expected but I like it. There's a tart, hibiscus heavy tea called Red Zinger. This smells just like a heavily sweetened version of that. Below I think I can sense some dark myrrh resin, but not a lot. This hovers on the edge of being a red powdery drink mix smell, but it's better than that. I really like this.
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Terebinth resin crackling with amber and coarse black tobacco, a drop of cardamom husk, caramelized brown sugar, and smoky birch tar. The Language of Crows is sweetness in tension with smoky resins and tobacco. On the one hand, this blend highlights the warmth of amber and caramelized brown sugar. On the other, it highlights the rootsy, gently camphorous terebinth resin and smoky birch tar. The cardamom husk moderates, in a restrained role. On, the sweetness and tobacco reminds me of my beloved Bulgarian Tobacco SN. But this is (obviously) more complex. I would recommend this to those who love tobacco when it's paired with something sweet, and for those who love the brown sugar note but don't mind smoky resins cresting underneath.
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A winters cologne: a pale chypre infused with white sage, creeping mint, pine needles, and frankincense. This isn't going to be a very helpful review, but I am extremely moved by how much this reminds me of Christmas as a kid. Specifically, it reminds me of how my mother's winter coat smelled after we came home from midnight mass on Christmas Eve. There is the faint scent of a mix of sophisticated perfumes that lingered on her collar (chypre?), the smell of church (frankincense, I suppose), and the sense of cold air and snowflakes on the wool (mint, pine and sage?). If the picture on the label had a scent, this is exactly it. I would not call it "pretty" but it is full of nostalgia for me. It is also going to be the most perfect pairing for my beloved Frostbitten Malediction perfume from the Lab.
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The cold earth slept below, Above the cold sky shone; And all around, with a chilling sound, From caves of ice and fields of snow, The breath of night like death did flow Beneath the sinking moon. The wintry hedge was black, The green grass was not seen, The birds did rest on the bare thorn's breast, Whose roots, beside the pathway track, Had bound their folds o'er many a crack Which the frost had made between. Thine eyes glowed in the glare Of the moon's dying light; As a fen-fire's beam on a sluggish stream Gleams dimly, so the moon shone there, And it yellowed the strings of thy raven hair, That shook in the wind of night. The moon made thy lips pale, beloved— The wind made thy bosom chill— The night did shed on thy dear head Its frozen dew, and thou didst lie Where the bitter breath of the naked sky Might visit thee at will. - Percy Bysshe Shelley The moon’s dying light: cypress boughs and yew, death-cold beams of white musk, white thyme, marbled orris, Spanish moss, grave soil, and a sprig of rosemary. In the bottle: Herbaceous, with white musk in the background. The white musk has a familiarity to it, and it strikes me that this is one of the musks used in Dorian. However, the herbs are the forefront of it; the musk just sort of ties everything together. The herbal scent is STRONG, mind you. This makes me think of a frozen landscape, just on the edge of an evergreen-laden forest. Wet, on skin: Still herbal, but with something deeper. Is this the cypress and yew? The musk comes out more strongly on me here. I also smell a bit of the grave soil, but the dirt smell isn't too overpowering. This smells sharp and clean, but it has an underlying softness and darkness to it. Drydown: The sharpness of the herbs starts to die down as this dries, and the musk and moss and wood come out more, and the notes balance each other out better. I'm not sure what marbled orris smells like, so I can't speak on that. However, to me, this smells clean and soft and herbal, with just the slightest tinge of something sharp, and a very faint sweetness that grows as it wears. It's not too terribly soapy on me, likely thanks to the soil and musk and yew. I find this scent to be very unisex. I can't stop smelling my wrist! I really do love herbal scents, though! I'm glad I grabbed a bottle of this. It's really lovely.
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Eight legs of wild plum and scrabbling black musk fluttering over a sac of lemon sugar eggs. Light, lemon mixed with plum a dash of sugar with a smooth hint of black musk in the background. The musk is clean and keeps the lemon in check. Finally, a lemon scent I can enjoy!
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Nine Ladies Dancing Eight Maids-A-Milking Seven Swans-A-Swimming Six Geese-A-Laying Five Golden Rings Four Calling Birds Three French Hens Two Turtle Doves and a Partridge in a Pear Tree Traipsing over a stony, spiked abyss of opium pod and pink grapefruit with black plum and amber. I mostly get the opium pod freshly sprayed, but once it settles in a little it really blooms. I get plum and a little bit of grapefruit to pick it up a little. Having tried Mme. Moriarty on a lock of hair on the opposite side of my head from the one I tried this on, I feel like they could be in the same family tree. Kind of like Morticia Addams and her sister Ophelia. Not really the same at a glance, but have an obvious connection the more you look. This one is definitely the Ophelia. A bit more bright and perky superficially, but slightly sinister and aggressive the closer you get. Mme. Moriarty is the outwardly darker, but subtly sweet Morticia. What I'm trying to get at is if you like Mme. Moriarty, you might want to see if this is up your alley as well. I think the plum is doing it, but I think the opium pod also adding to the slightly smoky and mysterious vibe. Either that or my nose is off. Long story short, I think this is a big win for me.
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Ten Lords-A-Leaping Nine Ladies Dancing Eight Maids-A-Milking Seven Swans-A-Swimming Six Geese-A-Laying Five Golden Rings Four Calling Birds Three French Hens Two Turtle Doves and a Partridge in a Pear Tree Piping out drooping phantoms of kumquat, lime rind, icy lemon peel, and green-white musk. This is a very fun lemon scent. It's kind of like lemonhead candies if you're familiar with those. There is a bit of bitterness that I'm used to in lime rinds. It's more of a bite compared to the sweet tartness of the lemon. I don't get much musk while wearing, but I do get it in the bottle. It lasts all day, and then some, which is nice. I'd actually pin this more as a summery scent because it's so lively. Almost like carbonated lemonade. Lovely!
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Soft grey amber, white patchouli, and roasted nuts. Spritzed on my hand for review purposes, as it's too subtle on my short hair to smell from a distance. I had hoped this would be a soft, warm, slightly salty scent. And it is! The grey amber/ambergris is the star here, although it's not as strong as in Hag Grey, for example. It blends almost equally with the patchouli, which is a soft version that doesn't overpower. It's slightly dusty/woody and is set off interestingly by the ambergris. The nuts actually stick to the background in this, and form one of the most interesting bases I've ever smelled. It's rich and fresh, and if I had to guess at a specific type I think I'd go with walnuts. There's also a soft, nutty sweetness throughout. I'm glad I took a chance on this! It's so unique.
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A rustle of black wings: sweet black patchouli and clove with black amber, agarwood, and gilded lilac. Put this on my hand to sniff and review, as it's subtle enough on my short hair that I can't smell it. Not sure if that influences the scent at all, but I thought I should note it! In short, I love this. The amber/agarwood base is smooth and sweet, and the spice notes are subtle. Patch doesn't take this one over in the least, which happens a lot with patch scents on me. I find it to be mostly agarwood. The lilac is more perfumey than floral, and blends nicely with the agarwood. It has a dark quality to it but also smells clean (i.e. this isn't a sexy kind of scent for me, even with the patch/amber/agarwood combo that would usually signal such a thing). It reminds me of a calm, late autumn night or a walk through the woods as the leaves are starting to fall. I find it surprisingly unisex, given the notes.
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Sweetened with brown sugar. Pecans are among my favorite nuts, and as such I was looking for a scent containing them during this holiday season. This smells less blatantly like pecans and much more like some Christmassy candle I know I've smelled somewhere, albeit much more genuine and full-bodied, as Black Phoenix does. I can't pick it apart very accurately, but the 'caramelized' effect is most dominant for me. I feel like you can't go wrong with this. I wouldn't call it generic, but there is very little that is niche about it - I imagine most would like it quite well. Inoffensive yet still undoubtedly seasonal.
