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Showing results for tags 'Yule 2016'.
Found 114 results
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On Christmas Eve, French children leave shoes filled with carrots by their fireplaces as a treat for Gui, Père Noëls donkey. If the child has been good, Père Noël takes Guis offering and fills the childs shoes with sweet fruits, candies, and small toys. Bright Sicilian oranges and sweet tangerines with a clink of lavender candy and a drop of anise. I wanted to cry when I put this on. It reminded me of growing up in Italy, and the Christmas holiday. Captured perfectly. Have you ever had those anise cookies from an Italian bakery? That's what the anise note is like in this one, and the orange is distinctly Sicilian I don't know HOW they captured this so perfectly but they did. I'm not a huge citrus scent based fan but this one, wrapped my heart up in magic and took me back to being a child at Christmas time.
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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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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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Mod Note: New topic for Lick It With Consent created due to different color copy/description. You can find the 2014 Lick It With Consent review topic here. Considering the current sociopolitical climate, I felt it was important to bring back this specific incarnation of Lick It. Proceeds from Lick It With Consent will be donated to RAINN. (For a spot-on dissertation on what consent entails, please visit Erika Moen and Matthew Nolans VERY NSFW infographic. Oh Joy Sex Toy is not a sponsor of Black Phoenix, or the other way around. Er, whichever. This is just a damn good link, and I wanted to pass it on!) A sugar-crusted vanilla peppermint stick! The peppermint is very soft, and I feel its coolness very lightly on my skin as I wear it. The vanilla is very strong underneath, and I get the sugar too. A beautiful soft, sweet candy cane scent with a good amount of throw!
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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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Claude Monet A tiny shadow on the snow: black currant, sandalwood, and violet leaf against a white winter backdrop. This is surprisingly foody on me - more so like the vanilla-snow note (Kind of like Waltz of the Snowflakes), mixed with a hint of berry. The currant is not strong, but the overall scent does read a bit as 'soft snow berry tart,' which is wonderful. I think the sandalwood is adding the kind of crusty note that makes me think of pie. The violet leaf is not strong. This is soft and close to the skin, but would be great for anyone who enjoyed the soft vanilla-snow type note Beth uses.
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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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BLACK ICE Lovely, dangerous, slick, and bitterly cold: chilly white sleet-like notes with a hint of vetiver, a breath of smoky asphalt, and winter wind. In the bottle: Vetiver for sure. This scent is unique in the Yule category, in my opinion. It is cold, but by being a cold 'perfumey' scent. It's interesting how I can pick up the 'winter wind' aspect. This scent is hard to pin down, it is light and airy in some way. Wet: There are things in here I could not tell from smelling the bottle. There is something dirty and almost acidic. I suppose this is where the asphalt comes in. It's a little plasticy and man-made at first. But I can already tell it's disappearing upon dry down. Drydown: The Vetiver is calming, and I once again can percieve that chilly, air feeling to it. The airy feeling though has finally become 'cold' somehow. The perfumey is becoming a bit more ethereal and less 'in your face'. I have to be honest, I didn't think I would buy another bottle of this until it was completely dry. I really enjoy it at this point, it's calm, and cool and delicate, yet a vibrant 'perfumey' blend. This would be great on a boy, too. It starts to remind me of being outside on a brutally cold night. This scent is definitely a wrist-sniffing scent.
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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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Shaggy fur, snow-flecked and rose-touched. This immediately caught my attention when I read the update, and I am very glad I took a chance on a bottle. It starts off as mainly fresh dewy rose petals with a snowy sweet background. After a little while the fur starts peeking out and the scent becomes more snuggly. It is like the snow from Snow White, the rose from Rose Red, and a touch of fuzziness from the fur. He really is the beautiful cousin of those two, but I would say the scent is mainly feminine, although the right guy could pull it off as well. Throw is fairly good, decent wear length.
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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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The perfected winter rose, dew covered and freshly cut. Red Rose. Limited edition. My favorite rose so far. This is the first rose scent I haven't melted off within an hour. (I was amazed the first time I wore it. Eight hours, and no need to reapply!) In the bottle, it smells like a rose from the florist - that cold hothouse smell. On, it warms up slightly, but not too much - it's got a slight bite, which is a nice change from most roses that fade to a powdery softness. I'll be very sad when I finish this one.
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Shadowy lavender oudh. Anyone remember the I Am Tired of Tears and Laughter perfume oil? Oh yeah...this is similar. Simple and beautiful lavender oudh. I have secretly been wishing for a lavender bath oil to use as an in shower moisturizer and bought it immediately. I will cherish this bottle. Eta: I just used this in the shower...it is a lovely, dark lavender. Love it.
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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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Clove-spiked dried oranges, dusted with ginger and cinnamon. ok, the Goblins have totally blessed me this time around. this spray is not only the perfect thing for making my apartment smell all full of christmas-y, yule-y yumminess, but i will totally be using this to scent my place ALL WINTER LONG. there is no WAY the goblins could have done any better for me, and there's no way in HELL i would trade this for a million years! well done, Trading Post! ps thanks for all the swag!
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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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On the night of the Epiphany, a joyful, broomstick-riding hag clad in a tattered shawl drops into chimneys all over Italy, bestowing gifts to good children, and dropping coal into the stockings of naughty kiddies. La Befana vien di notte Con le scarpe tutte rotte Col vestito alla Romana Viva, Viva La Befana! As the Three Wise Men searched for the house of the Christ child, they found themselves lost. Eventually, they stopped at a small house and knocked on the door. A small, wizened woman opened the door, holding a broom in her hand. The Astrologers asked the woman if she knew the location of the child, but, unfortunately, she did not know who these men were looking for, and could not aid them in their search. It was deep into the night, and the air was chilly, so the kindly woman offered the three men her hospitality. They spent the night in her warm, comfortable home, and shared bread and stories with one another. The Astrologers explained to the woman why they were looking for this blessed infant, and invited her to join them in their search come morning. Though she was touched by their tale, she declined, as she had a great deal of housework to do. At daybreak, the Astrologers awoke. They thanked the woman for her generosity, gathered their things, and prepared to leave. Before they departed, they, again, asked the old woman if she would like to join them on their journey. Again, she declined, and sent them on their way. After they had left, she regretted her decision, and she set off to find the Three Wise Men. After many long and frustrating hours of searching, she still could not find them. Saddened, yet still filled with hope, she stopped to give a gift to every good child she passed. La Befana comes by night With her shoes old and broken She comes dressed in the Roman way Long life to the Befana! Candy charcoal, winter lilies, parma violet, a sprig of cypress, a poof of chimney dust, and holiday sweets. straight sniff from bottle is purely sweet and gooey....absolutely nothing else ... holy moly...once applied the violet is astonishing and the dust and candy charcoal....ZomG... if you are a violet lover of bpal blends this is for you!! words cannot even describe the beauty and depth of this one...it is heartbreakingly beautiful i love it to death
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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.
