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Showing results for tags 'Yule 2016'.
Found 114 results
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A chilly, bright perfume: flurries of virgin snow, crisp winter wind and the faintest breath of night-blooming flowers. Limited Edition; December 2003. Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab has been outdoing themselves with the limited edition scents lately, and this is a sterling example! This is an airy, crisp, barely floral that is warm and soft, all the while making me picture the first snow and the sharp, clean scent that accompanies it. I know warm and snow don't sound like they go together, but let me assure you that they do! My all-time favorite. I wonder if Elizabeth would consider keeping some of the limited editions based on customer response ... I'd e-mail daily on this one.
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THE PEACOCK QUEEN In dramatic contrast to the soft innocence of Snow White and the dew-kissed freshness of her sister, Rose Red, this is a blood red, voluptuous rose, velvet-petaled, at the height of bloom. Haughty and imperious, vain, yet incomparably lovely to the eye, but thick with thorns of jealousy, pride and hatred. I love rose. Let me just get that out of the way. That said, The Peacock Queen is not necessarily my favorite incarnation of the versatile rose. However, Beth has flat-out nailed the concept of "haughty" in scent. This rose is haughty. It is very much a fresh, blooming rose . . . but there's something very distant about this rose. It's not a rose that's blooming from the earth. It's one dozen very expensive, perfect red roses, bought for a woman who expects that sort of thing. It's perfume. It's striking. It's very beautiful, but not approachable. Remarkable. Like I said, this isn't my personal favorite of the rose blends, just because the vibe it evokes isn't entirely "me," but I am incredibly impressed with the artistry of the scent and with how many different ways rose can smell and feel.
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cold first winter rain poor monkey, you too could use a woven straw cape Compassion: pink lotus root and fig milk with ylang ylang, bourbon vanilla, soft myrrh, fir, khus, and sandalwood incense. I bought this mostly because of the adorable monkey on the label and the cute description, but it has wound up being one of my favorites of the Yule scents I purchased this year. Poor Monkey is a very foodie fragrance on my skin. I love the lab's fig note, and the fig and lovely bourbon vanilla are the strongest notes on my skin. It's like figs drenched in milky vanilla cream with a slice of moist vanilla cake and slight, sweet spice to it. There's a soft swirl of sweet lotus floral perfume, temple incense and sweet myrrh, and a hint of fir that fades in and out of the fragrance. But it's mostly fig milk and bourbon vanilla, with the other notes keeping things interesting and more perfume-like in the background. I really love this one <3
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[No additional description given.] oh, i don't wanna be first! my reviews aren't that good! but, well, here we go anyway... my point is ... i enjoy wrapping presents! i'm good at it! and i know me the smell of wrapping paper. which is a fairly specific cheap-processed-paper smell, mingled with inks, and just the faintest hint of cellophane. and yep. that's been bottled. as far as wearing this, i think it would make an interesting layering note. or character-building scent for RPGs
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Théodore Rousseau A wintry tangle of oak and forest mosses against a deepening amber backdrop. The amber in Forest in Winter is actually no mere backdrop; even in the bottle, it's the most potent note to me, and it's beautiful. Green, living moss is the next strongest note. I sniff this and my mind goes a-swirl with gold and green. This doesn't change on my skin from the bottle. It just opens out into a warm, deep amber-bathed mossy forest. This amber gives the woods an impression of glowing. (ETA: Actually, on re-applying this, I think I'm picking up champaca, too.) The blend is a little sweet, and quite smooth. As it dries, the oak comes out, smelling like a wise, old tree still in verdant health. There's a touch of cool frost so faint it's barely there, mostly adding a lighter tint to the greenery. The rest of the blend smells like mature and lazy summer. Perfect for me.
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Fiber-Optic Illuminated Aluminum Christmas Tree with Gen-U-Ine Pine© Scent
Lycanthrope posted a topic in Yules
[No additional description given.] So, fiber optics have a special place in my heart because I've always had a little crow in me - love sparkly things, shiny things. And now I do flow arts, many of which glow and sparkle. The bottle is adorbs, with the red BPAL icon struggling to peek over the giant paragraph of text in the name. Wet, it's definitely a pine, spruce-y type of scent. I'm trying to detect if there are other notes, nothing is abjectly metallic or tin-like, so not detecting the 'iron note'. On my skin, this is not exactly straight up pine, because I'm getting a... strange tiny edge of like sparkliness. Good god, I'm terrible at this hah hah! But it's certainly not like a cacophony of fruits, or other 'bright' notes that will occasionally represent multiple colors in the BPALverse. Drydown, it stays a lovely Christmas pine scent, without much deviation. Mild throw, so you won't destroy coworkers. If you love pine and spruce notes, this is a straightforward, but wearable, pleasant scent. -
EGG NOG Sweet brandy, dark rum, heavy cream, sugar, and a dash of nutmeg. Oh, Mama. This one is DEAD ON ACCURATE. I am madly obsessed with Egg Nog. For me, the Holidays wouldn't be the same without it. And a good batch of Egg Nog has a scent to it that is equally as appealing as the taste. And BPAL's limited edition masterpiece has that scent... the smell of the perfect batch of Egg nog, served up in an antique crystal and gold trimmed goblet. Brimming over with spice, rum, sugary goodness, and oh, oh, oh... that BRANDY. It really leaps out at me and my happy little nose! That's my 'First Whiff' experience. Now *on* gets even better... After some dry down time, the rum is really prominent. But it's accented by the nutmeg and the brandy. It's so sweet and subtle. Warm. Inviting. Almost... alluring. I can't believe I'm wearing an "Egg Nog" scented oil! It's downright delightful and so far, it's really holding. The spice of this scent gets better and better with my body warmth, too. About 30 minutes later: It's still going fairly strong. Much of the other notes had faded off, but that rum is still there. Sweet, sweet rum. I couldn't resist... I HAD to do a re-app, just so I could sniff the contents of the bottle again. I decanted some straight to an imp, and am applying from that so that I can really slather it on now. I hate Holiday shopping, and so I have decided this is going to be my "Holiday Shopping Blues Pick-Me-Up" scent. It does the trick! -Leslie
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Wow! The alcohol note in this is strong! There are other foodie notes in here that I am trying to discern as it dries down. Maybe some cake....
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Sugar-sprinkled sufganiyot filled with sweet raspberry jelly. This one is going to get a lot of love. This is a gorgeous jammy raspberry, with a hint of doughnut. Unfortunately, for me, there is also something plasticy that wasn't in the Strawberry version. I'm very much feeling like a raspberry scented doll. eta: After about an hour the plastic scent did finally burn off. I was left with a pleasant fruity scent.
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Black leather accord, lavender, myrrh, and vetiver with white cognac. With the note list, I was expecting a strong leather-myrrh-vetiver kick, but initial application, it smells of lavender, much lighter than anticipated. The leather does come out. Six hours after spraying, I sill had an attractive smell in my hair, including an intriguing note I could not identify. Low throw.
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NES GADOL HAYA SHAM But not long after the king sent a certain old man of Antioch, to compel the Jews to depart from the laws of their fathers and of God: And to defile the temple that was in Jerusalem, and to call it the temple of Jupiter Olympius: and that in Gazarim of Jupiter Hospitalis, according as they were that inhabited the place. And very bad was this invasion of evils and grievous to all. For the temple was full of the riot and reveling of the Gentiles: and of men lying with lewd women. And women thrust themselves of their accord into the holy places, and brought in things that were not lawful. The altar also was filled with unlawful things, which were forbidden by the laws. And neither were the sabbaths kept, nor the solemn days of the fathers observed, neither did any man plainly profess himself to be a Jew. But they were led by bitter constraint on the king's birthday to the sacrifices: and when the feast of Bacchus was kept, they wore compelled to go about crowned with ivy in honour of Bacchus. And there went out a decree into the neighboring cities of the Gentiles, by the suggestion of the Ptolemeans, that they also should act in like manner against the Jews, to oblige them to sacrifice: And whosoever would not conform themselves to the ways of the Gentiles, should be put to death: then was misery to be seen. For two women were accused to have circumcised their children: whom, when they had openly led about through the city with the infants hanging at their breasts, they threw down headlong from the walls. And others that had met together in caves that were near, and were keeping the sabbath day privately, being discovered by Philip, were burnt with fire, because they made a conscience to help themselves with their hands, by reason of the religious observance of the day. - The Second Book of the Maccabees, 6:1-11 In order to consolidate his power in Jerusalem and Hellenize the area, the Greek king Antiochus IV Epiphanes outlawed Judaism and ordered the population to worship Zeus and the Hellenic pantheon. As this was anathema to the Jews, they refused, and Antiochus moved to enforce his religious decree by extreme force. Some origin tales say that the dreidel was used at this time as a method by which the Jewish people were able to continue to study the Talmud in secret under the guise of gambling. Now, in addition to being a light gambling game, the dreidel is also a reminder of the strength, devotion, and perseverance of the Jewish people and the mercy of God. One scent in four parts: Nun, the Snake: nuun, nothing. Naḥš, in modern Arabic, means bad luck. Represented by scents of loss and remembrance: opoponax and lemon verbena. Gimel, the Camel: the Ship of the Desert. Represented by scents of abundance, fortitude, and determination: patchouli, heliotrope, pomegranate, and almond. He, the Window: sometimes used to represent the Unutterable Name of God, this is the window in our souls through which God's light touches us. Represented by scents of clarity and piety: frankincense, myrtle, and hyssop. Shin, the Tooth: also stands for Shaddai, one of the names of God. The hand formed into shin acts as a priestly blessing. Represented by scents of strength, generosity, kindness, and benediction: carnation, myrrh, red poppy, and hibiscus. The essences of Nun, Gimel, He, and Shin are blended to become Nes Gadol Haya Sham. Prominent notes for me are the Heliotrope and Almond. This reminds me of an old favorite, Tzadikim Nistarim, and also a few of BPAL's earlier 13 blends. Probably because of the wide range of notes. Maybe even reminiscent of Cleopatra Testing Poisons. Complex and unconventional from a perfume standpoint.
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With any luck, you won’t even remember the holiday season’s awkward family gatherings. In The Bottle: Rich brown sugar and butter. YUM! Wet On Skin: Yep, there's the whiskey! And it's REALLY whiskey. This isn't some cute "oh that's kinda boozy" note. This is straight up hard-drinkin' Jack. Dry Down: The whiskey mellows and the combination becomes, amazingly, like Snow White with vanilla extract added. In All: a lovely, soft skin scent- it's got very low throw, so you may have to slather- it seems to me like it's a good stand-alone daytime scent, but there's also potential to do some fun stuff with layering. so glad I got a bottle!
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This is the scent of an awkward encounter with a Yule-evoked doppelgänger mate: spectral cologne, blurry herbs, fireplace ash, and a dusting of crumbs. Dorian Dopplegänger! Dumb Cake smells like Dorian on the other side of the looking glass. The spectral cologne note is pretty great—like a luminous Dorian. The blurry herbs and dusting of crumbs are very faint...there's just an edge of something foody here, like white cake and the barest hint of perhaps rosemary? The ash is also spectral—pure grey-white, rather than gritty, sooty black. It's fantastic, and I will enjoy every drop (and endeavor to get some on my husband, because I think this would be amazing on him).
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Edvard Munch A snow-thick scent, chalky with sandalwood and clove, streaked iron-orange and tonka-brown. My decants haven’t come yet, but I got to sample my friend’s decants with her last night. Some snow notes come across as plasticky or chemical to me, but I’d found that the one in Tres Riches Heures is lovely. It reads to me as coldness + mint + a little vanilla. Winter Landscape opens, to my nose, with that same snow blend. At first I only get this snow, but with a subtle sandalwood instead of Tres Riches Heures’ blue musk. I don’t find any other notes and (like Tres Riches Heures) this opening is simple but pretty. After some minutes I find what might be hints of orange and clove. The former is so subtle on me that I didn’t even notice it when first testing last night. The latter is also soft, but more noticeable than the orange. They color the blend but don’t come close to overwhelming it. By drydown, some of the snow has melted away, but it lingers, blended with an orange-tinted, cloven sandalwood. The clove has strengthened on me slightly but hangs in balance, and the sandalwood stays soft. I never smell iron or tonka. Low throw and lasted a couple hours on me last night, somewhat below average for me.
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Soft, sugared shortbread and warm cocoa. After falling in love my first bath oil, I have high hopes for this. (Straight out of the mail) In the bottle, I smell what is listed. Such a warm scent. As it's drying on my skin, the prominent cocoa reminds me of El Dia de los Reyes. I wish I was getting more shortbread, but there is a light yummy cookie-ness under this. I would so love to take a bath in this when I get the chance. Super cozy!
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This is the scent of a freshly assembled gingerbread house, with swirls of multicolored icing, spice drop lights, meringue snow, pinwheel mint accents, chocolate roof tiles, candy wafer pavers, and jelly candy stained glass. We used a French translation for ‘gingerbread house’ as the name to make it sound fancier. French adds +40% Fancy! A jumble of scents reminiscent of that box of mixed Christmas cookies your grandmother used to make. For all the candy/sugar treats mentioned, this is shockingly not that sweet. I get chocolate , a HINT of gingerbread... and if I keep inhaling I eventually detect the barest whisper of mint and what I think is anise. My skin is notorious for burning off sweet scents so I'll be interested to see how this works on others. The dry down is a mix between Sugar Cookie, Gingerbread Poppet with a touch of Gelt and an indistinct Fruit note that shows up way in the background.
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JACOB'S LADDER And Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran. And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep. And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. And, behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of. And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not. And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. The meeting of Heaven and Earth: golden amber, galbanum, benzoin, ambrette, rockrose, costus and tonka. I was expecting something like Aureus for this blend, but it is quite a different take on amber actually -- fairly light and perfume-like in the bottle, a glorious amber color when I apply it, and an almost frosting-like sweetness when it first goes on. I'm not sure what the individual notes smell like other than amber, but I know that I like most blends that contain these ingredients....resiny, warm, slightly sweet. It is lightly sweet without being cloying or honeyed, and it is amber without being powdery (that's not generally a problem that I have with amber anyway, but I know some people do). I've only had this on for the morning but it has stayed strong so far and not morphed too much. The gentle, light golden sweetness is really what impresses me. I think this one will be a hit because it is a nice compromise between the people like me who are crazy for resins, and the people who like their scents a little sweeter. There's just a tiny floral hint that I can't quite place. Perhaps that's from rockrose? Oh yes. I think we might have an amber scent for almost everyone here! Think Haunted without the musk, Aureus without the gritty earth or patchouli notes, but then add a veil of pale, luminous sweetness. It's a little "perfumey" the bottle (and I really wish I could come up with a better adjective than that) but if your skin likes amber then this should do marvellous things when you put it on.
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And cares long, long, forgotten: joyful sugared carnation and vanilla freesia. Oh my. If you love carnation and vanilla do not let this pass you by. This is the carnation perfume of my dreams. It is a true carnation and, while I don't smell freesia yet, the vanilla is prominent. I don't often smell vanilla when it is listed, but here I smell it. Lovely. Stunning. I love it. Eta: I just wanted to say that I get absolutely no honey here, not even a vibe (I cannot wear honey) just for those of you who cannot wear honey and are interested in this scent. I know honey is not listed as a note but whenever I read a review where someone so much as mentions honey I run...
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Jólabókaflóðið: A dribble of candle wax, distant hearth-smoke, a fleck of chocolate Yule log, and aged, yellowing paper bound by well-loved leather that has passed through many gentle hands. I am so moved by the story behind this scent. I have been a bibliophile my whole life, with a love of both reading and having books. I love the idea of the Christmas Book Flood, and I love that some of the proceeds from my purchase will be passed on to help others. Just lovely. The scent itself is incredible. Sniffing straight from the bottle I was worried it may be too chocolatey, but on my skin it literally smells like someone's Victorian-era home library. Other Lab book scents have turned bitter on me, but this is just perfect. I get a hint of candles burning above an old leather bound book, with, yes just a fleck of milk chocolate, as if the reader has just eaten a chocolate candy and set the wrappings beside his book. I am so pleased with my purchase! The book that accompanied the bottle was a tiny paperback of Rudyard Kipling short stories. Such a charming little thing!
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Ghastly misshapen branches casting long, twisted shadows and clutching at you with prickly needle-like fingers: pine pitch, bone-white dried fir, and spruce tar with opoponax and blackened tobacco. First off, take this review with a bit of salt. I just got it in the mail this morning and my bottle was so cold it misted up when I took it out of the box. But I was dying to try it, so here we go. ITB: Pine and something almost lemony sharp. Unsettling for sure. Wet: That lemony thing is totally gone, replaced by a sweet pine. The combination of the balsams and the pine is both sweet and dark and very masculine on me. Evil christmas tree is very much the right frame of mind for this. It's obviously pine and tree resin, but something else lurks in the background that's a little sweet, a little unsettling and very wonderful. Drying: Opoponax tends to be a sweet resin on me, and I can really notice that sweetening here. It's still a very dry scent, but there is something almost fruity about it, the way I had hoped Skadi's berry note would behave. I can barely notice anything I could call tobacco, which is a shame because I love it, but there is something blackened about this for sure. Right now it's prickly to the point of being a bit sneezy when I really huff it, but its not at all cleaner fluid, which I was worried about with all the pine. Dry: Surprisingly sweet. While there is still a bite to this, it settles into something that's a lot more unisex than I expected from the first initial blast of pine and woods. The brightness of the pine takes a back seat and I'm starting to get a wee bit of the tobacco, which I expect will be more pronounced as this ages and develops. My other really woody blend in my collection is Jupeterian Phoenix, which is an amazing and very snuggly wood scent. This, while still being wood dominant, is like JP's evil brooding brother. It's dark, pine rich and really wonderful. I made a good choice for my single bottle Cyber Monday purchase.
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In Latvia, the Ziemassvetki, or Winter Party, is a celebration of the birth of Dievs, the Sky God and Supreme Ruler of the Latvian pantheon. The two weeks prior to the Ziemassvetki is Ve?u laiks: the Season of Ghosts. Candles are lit to honor the gods and a fire is kept burning throughout the Season, burning away the unhappiness of the previous year so men's spirits can be renewed. At the feast of the Ziemassvetki, places are left as a courtesy to the ghosts, who arrive by sleigh. A scent created to burn away sorrow: bergamot, frankincense, rose geranium, ginger, lemongrass, and blood orange. I bought Season of Ghosts, because I know there is some sorrow coming up for me that I'm really going to want to burn away. Winter is always a difficult time, but this one is sure to be one of the worst. In the bottle, first sniff is sort of soapy, but with something soft and warm. The oil itself is very dry. ... or maybe that's my skin. Wet on, it is not so soapy now. i can definitely smell the rose geranium and the lemongrass. This isn't really bright and citrussy, though it definitely does have citrus. something is sort of dusty, maybe that's the frankincense? I think this will actually work! Yay. A soft scent for sad days.
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Ive run away from a little old woman, A little old man, A barn full of threshers, And I can run away from you, I can! I was tempted by several Gingerbreads, but this is the one I picked. And wow do I love it. In the bottle I got a sharp, acrid whiff of pepper and winced. But as soon as I actually put this one, that vanished and I got a very warm blend of sugar-crusted gingerbread. I've had gingerbread scents before that went dull and too earthy, and I've had "vanilla sugar" scents that were sickly sweet. Neither of those are a problem here. This is such a cozy winter scent that is never overwhelming while having good staying power. Don't miss this one.
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Fear of Dolls (But not ventriloquist dummies. Thats an entire phobia unto itself.) White porcelain cracked by white tobacco, threads of brittle cognac, and vanilla filigree. This is a very interesting blend. I suspect this will be something that I won't reach for much in the near future but will come to really enjoy it later after it has aged and after I have come to associate it with my life at this point. That doesn't sound like a ringing endorsement. I do like it, though. I had hoped for more sweetness from the tobacco and vanilla, but it is dry, elegant, perfumey, even. I detect something that smells like white tea; I wonder if that is the white porcelain note? The more I wear it, the more I like it. The throw is very good, and I when I get little whiffs of it, it's very pleasing. It does have a bit of the loud 80's bombshell perfumes feel to it.
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DED MOROZ Grandfather Frost! Accompanied by his granddaughter, Snegurochka, the Snow Maiden, he bestows gifts to virtuous and hard-working people, rewarding their decency and integrity, and punishes those who are lazy, shiftless, and unkind, killing their fields with frost, cracking the trunks of their trees, and destroying their homes. The first incarnation of Father Frost was not at all benevolent. He was the personification of the darkest aspects of winter, winter's destruction incarnate. He kidnapped unruly children, and slew people capriciously by freezing them to death. Light, darkness, kindness, and malice: golden amber, white amber, redwood, teak, bois du rose, sage, tree moss, and snow. The label is the same as all the 06 Yuletide scents. waaahhhhhooooo, this finally arrived, i couldn't wait! in the bottle:very light scent, slightly green smelling and something almost minty, this smells somewhat familiar, yet not something i can readily place my finger on. wet: hmm, yes there is something slightly minty here, even though i don't see mint as a listed ingredient, but it isn't a pepperminty scent, i am getting i think spearmint? and the very faintest whiff of "snow" and the barest touch of sage. this is such a soft scent, up close i get something greenish, and minty, but so amazingly light. the waft of teh scent is a soft almost powdery scent, but not old lady powder, more the soft fuzzy powder type feel. not florally, not slushy, just a fuzzy, almosty hazy, minty, goodness. i also at this point can detect an aura of redwood, it confused me at first i was thinking evergreen, but then when the scent settles, i realized it was redwood and teak, more redwood though. the longer this is on, the more the scent settles and melds into this beautiful, comforting scent, it is definitely a cool scent, definitely a soft scent and definitely a scent i am proud to own. adding after a long drydown time, this does get a hint of rose, it is a very soft rose, not sharpness even hinting at the edges, and teh amber really starts to step forward as teh mint softens i really hope beth can resolve the component issues, and offer this. i love it.
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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!
