Thousands of Lights

[hlemonds]

Thousands of lights were burning on the green branches, and gaily-colored pictures, such as she had seen in the shop-windows, looked down upon her. The little maiden stretched out her hands towards them when–the match went out. The lights of the Christmas tree rose higher and higher, she saw them now as stars in heaven; one fell down and formed a long trail of fire.

Indian ambrette seed, beeswax, champaca flower, saffron, Italian bergamot, frankincense, oak bark, and vanilla orchid.

Wow, first one! On me this is mainly frankincense and beeswax. It has a very peaceful, churchlike aroma. Beeswax candles and church incense. I wore it straight out of the box, however, and I wonder if more of the components might come out to play once it has had a bit of time to rest. This is my favorite so far of the Yules I chose. It is simple and sweet and warm. It seems very true to the inspiration.

[a_llb]

In bottle: Ambrette seed, nutty and golden. Sweet beeswax is also quite prominent.

Wet: I can smell the smoky champaca and a deep citrus brightness from the bergamot & saffron.

Dry: It is well blended, but eventually fades to naught but a glowing frankincense.

 

Verdict: I don't need a whole bottle, as I have other 'golden' blends that are more dear to me, but this does have a warm, calming and comforting feeling about it.

 

Side note: After testing the bath brew 'Eye of Newt', I noticed a striking resemblance between the two. The only note they share is the ambrette, but they seem almost identical to me! So I suppose Thousands of Lights would be perfect to layer with after you bathe in Eye of Newt.

Edited January 8, 2012 by braybrigade

[Lucretia]

This is so pretty! It smells like a less sexy, more festive version of Bastet on me. The oil goes on bright red, which I sort of get a kick out of. Lots ambrette and bees wax and champaca, with everything else coming together in the background to perfection. I think the bergamot helps it from getting too heavy and cloying. The dry down is nice and golden and it really is evocative of thousands of candles burning in the winter night.

[JLH]

This is a great even blend of incense, sweetness, and fresh citrus. This is really beautifully balanced, so that I can hardly pick out one note. It has the feel of a classic perfume, that's not an assortment of notes but a SCENT. This also smells very much like the holidays, which I'm thinking might be the combination of citrus and incense? Anyway, I love it.

[lookingglass]

This is so pretty! It smells like a less sexy, more festive version of Bastet on me. The oil goes on bright red, which I sort of get a kick out of.

My thoughts, exactly. Words like "frankincense", "nutty", and "citrusy" were scaring me off but I love this. It's my favorite Yule this year. It's like the breath of Bastet and Lights of Men's Lives come together with this unspecific "holiday" smell in the background-kind of spicy and incensey in that special Christmas way. Frankincense tends to get high pitched on me, but it's really behaving itself here. It's a soft, creamy, saffrony, incense scent that just...smells like the golden lights of the season. Perfect in every way I was hoping (I immediately sought out more than my decant).

Edited December 20, 2011 by lookingglass

[Mountaingrrl00]

At first sniff, this smells like fire, complete with a bit of sulphur - reminding me of Fire Eater from the old Carnaval Noir series, one that was admirably novel but not that wearable. The only note I can pick out is frankincense. It didn't appeal to me, and it was the last of my current batch of decants to test. I'd been looking forward to it a lot and was afraid I'd be disappointed.

 

Once on my skin, though, it blooms into this amazing, warm, festive mix. If I look at the description, I can identify the beeswax smoothly underlying everything. The oak bark is very smooth-smelling. The saffron and bergamot are bright and sunny, the vanilla orchid and ambrette warm and creamy. The frankincense is no longer sharp now, but more like a soft resinous perfume.

 

As someone who loves Midnight Mass and Jacob's Ladder, I love Thousands of Lights even more. So so beautiful.

[strahlend]

First Sniff – this smells exactly like beeswax.

 

Skin Test – honey and a hint of pine also incense maybe, that could be the oak bark I think. My initial concern is that this may be a bit more honey than I usually feel like.

Warm honey, resin, a bit of pine, hint of wood. I keep feeling like there's dragon's blood in here, but maybe that's just because the oil is that reddish color.

This is another scent from this years Yule update that I'm really liking but not necessarily in LOVE with because to my nose it sits in the middle ground. If I wanted sweet and warm I would wear Dragon's Milk, if I wanted honey I would wear one of the multitude of light and fresh honey scents.

 

While this scent reminds me of scents I like it doesn't firmly rest in either camp or distinguish itself.

[patina]

Without looking at the notes, I smell sweet frankincense and something...spicy? Not cinnamon-spicy or clove-spicy though. I think I can smell orange peel (the bergamot). Warm, sweet and creamy with a festive orange spice component, like Christmas potpourri (but in a good way! )

 

I'm seriously considering a bottle.

[PurringPulsar]

Thousands of Lights

 

In the vial: hmm, this smells like antiseptic or non-minty mouthwash. Not sure what that’s about.

Wet on skin: no more antiseptic, but there’s a distinctive, almost effervescent scent of frankincense and saffron mixing with citrus.

Dry on skin: this reminds me of No 93 Engine and Aelopile. The dominant scents are frankincense and saffron, and when mixed with wood and citrus, they make a scent that’s fizzy but also fiery and dry. Overall this scent is golden, almost metallic. There’s a similar scent in Labores Solis, but this reminds me primarily of the Steamworks line. I can’t really smell the vanilla or beeswax yet. It’s very pretty and there’s the potential for it to get even better at drydown.

After a while: the beeswax scent isn’t as strong here as No 93, but I can smell it more now, along with a smooth, sweet vanilla. The saffron, frankincense and bergamot scent is still dominant though-it smells glittery and golden. The champaca is very faint here, which is interesting because normally I amp champaca.

The drydown after a few hours is spicier than I expected, lots of saffron and hints of frankincense and wood. Maybe the champaca is doing this? I had a similar reaction with the champaca in Golden Apple of the Sun.

Verdict: in contrast to A Wonderful Light, this scent is less like candles and more like sparklers, rather than glowing gently, the golden light of this scent scintillates and crackles. Almost like the younger, more festive sister of No 93 Engine, this scent has a similar resin-citrus-saffron thing to it but it smells livelier. The combination of saffron and frankincense has an unusual fizzy orange scent on me but in here it works very well, and it’s very saffron-y at the start, but it smooths out nicely once the beeswax and vanilla come in. It’s more evocative of New Year’s Eve than Christmas to me, and has the same feeling of optimism and radiance that A Wonderful Light has, only with a bit more glitter to it.

Is it a keeper? yes-I have a bottle on order.

If you like this, try: No 93 Engine, Pallas Athene, Aelopile, Robotic Scarab, A Wonderful Light, Labores Solis, Golden Apple of the Sun

Edited December 30, 2011 by yeahbutnobut

[surlygurl]

This is one I almost bought a bottle of unsniffed. The notes just looked perfect. When I got the decant and tried it on, it was an unremarkable sweet incensy blend. I get vanilla, a bit of bergamot, and what must be oak. If I sniff hard enough the champaca comes out. On my skin, it stays the same all the way through. I like it, but it's much cozier and more vanilla heavy than what I wanted.

[zankoku_zen]

Frankincense, saffron and oak. Resinous, a hint of bergamot, but in general sort of masculine and resinous.

[milo]

Lots of incense from wet to dry. This has a distinct 'Christmas' feel, kind of like Midnight Mass, though I could swear there was evergreen here. Nice, but I have other incense blends that I like better.

[Gateau]

This one is intriguing me. It goes on as a bright red oil, very pretty! The immediate smell on me is fairly citrusy and aquatic in a detergent sort of way. But as it dries I get a bergamot-y incensey scent that starts to grow on me. Once it dries I am in beeswax-vanilla heaven, with occasional citrus whiffs. I think I'll wear my decant a few more times to decide for sure, but this is feeling bottle worthy.

[Little Bird]

Thousands of Lights starts off reminding me of Schwarzer Mond. It's very dark, sweet, cola-like incense that smells warm and slightly powdery. As it dries down, the beeswax is stronger and makes the blend smell less dark and more golden. Something also starts to turn bright/soapy in the drydown. It smells a lot like Templum Victoriae atmosphere spray in the drydown.

 

I like the beginning more than the drydown of this, but I'd recommend Thousands of Light if you enjoy beeswax scents at all.

[surf-tormented]

It''s nutty vanilla beeswax on me. I usually don't like nut or beeswax notes, but this one is ok. After a while, it slowly goes lemon butter on me. It's festive, but it's not for me. I also did get an evergreen whiff in there...I wonder what note makes that happen?

Edited January 10, 2012 by surf-tormented

[porcelina]

i get almost nothing but pure beeswax from this. i mean, that's not necessarily a bad thing because i love the scent of beeswax but where are all the other gorgeous notes? the ambrette, the saffron, the frankincense, the oak, the vanilla orchid? the most i get is a hint of citrus from the bergamot. i do start to smell the saffron as it dries. my biggest disappointment of the yules.

[CiaoBonefish]

In Decant/Wet on skin: This stays about the same on me so I grouped them together. WOW. This has some really really pretty creamy sweet beeswax along with something a touch woodsy, and some frankincense underneath everything. I feel like I am getting a touch of citrus or sweet orange.

Dry on skin: On skin the beeswax backed up a bit and I am getting a bit more of a powdery feel while the saffron, champaca flower, and bergamot come out simultaneously making the blend sweeter, drier, and a touch more incense-like. The overall effect is like sweet beeswax with sweet orange nestled into a base of beautiful incense that isn't too heavy with a bit of saffron.

Overall: WOW. I thought this was going to be my favorite of the Yules and I was right! Downright beautiful. The entire scent just smolders and glitters and is so evocative of what is named after. Beautiful. I think I need a bottle!

[Monday]

To me this smells like waxy cheese in the vial.

This is my first encounter with the beeswax note and it's not agreeing with me at all. On my skin it smells like a very waxy floral candle that's just been snuffed out and is somehow going sour. I had expected to like this scent as it has so many good reviews but this must be scrubbed off right away.

[angelamaria]

In tester: the first word that came to my head was "interesting". It's smooth, and has a lot going on but not quite too much to be complicated and confusing. It feels gender neutral, with the resins and incensey feel but with a deep floral note (that is not too feminine) to sweeten it up.

 

Wet on skin: definitely sweeteer on my skin, and the incense kind of disappears somewhere, replaced by a definite powdery note. Over that powder there's a syrupy sort of sweetness going on, although not quite foody. I think, I few months back, I'd be saying this would be a keeper, but it's a bit too powdery and a bit too sweet for me now.

 

Dry: and yes, when dry, it's all gone to powder for me. I'm somewhat mistified, I have no idea which note is the culprit here. I can't get anything else other than the powder. Someone/something stole my perfume!

 

Verdict: not for my skin chemistry.

[Gwydion]

In bottle: beautifully blended. I’m not a frankincense fan, but it’s used to excellent purpose here. The ambrette and bergamot provide it excellent support, with a frame of more delicate elements like orchid, champaca, saffron and beeswax. The oak bark is very soft, but gives a rougher counterpoint to what is primarily an incense/floral blend. There is a touch of high end bath product about it, unfortunately. Wet: not much throw, and elements less distinct on the skin. The vanilla Orchid moves to the dominant position and is quite lovely here. I love the way the ambrette, bergamot, and saffron work with the orchid. To be honest, most of the other elements are so soft as to no longer be distinct, though I can tell the beeswax is doing a lovely job of tying things together. This is the frankincense blend for folks who don’t like frankincense. Dry: Strongly sexy. I’m thinking it must be the ambrette. Most of the rest of what’s left is oak, vanilla orchid, and a touch of beeswax.

[CreamyJade]

In the bottle: I get the same feel from this as when I first opened a bottle of Mother Ginger: a fizzy ginger note (which is oddly not in the notes) and frankincense.

Wet on skin: Champaca, spices, hint of florals, beeswax, oak and something fizzy, like ginger.

Dry on skin: Spicy, slightly resinous floral, with hints of beeswax, oak and musk.

Final thoughts: First off, the color of this oil is amazing! It's a beautiful deep red color. The drydown is a spicy oriental floral with some muskiness and while pleasant, not completely "me". I don's see it in the notes, but I smell a fizzy ginger note that feels the same as in Mother Ginger. I get no bergamot per se, but I think it's represented as the "fizzy" aspect I detect. Interesting and glowing overall!

Try if you like: Mother Ginger, The Light of Men's Lives, A Wonderful Light, O, Labores Solis (though without chamomile), Zenobia

Edited January 26, 2012 by CreamyJade

[ami226]

On the skin: This one is very smooth and kinda spicy on me. Pretty yummy! Kinda gingery, incensey, spicy goodness.

 

I need to try this again, but I am definitely liking it at the moment.

[thekittenkat]

In the decant: A warm golden scent, with a touch of citrus.

 

Wet: Much as when sniffed, but the citrus from the bergamot is making itself known, more orange than lemon.

 

The dry-down: There's some sweetness from the ambrette seed and the vanilla orchid, and a woody note from the oak bark. The citrus note is still there, but not in a harsh manner. There's just hints of saffron and frankincense, but they do not overpower, because I suspect the beeswax may be grounding them. Yet another elegant golden scent.

[elka_knits]

I am wondering what I tested and rechecking my decant label after reading these reviews. It sounds like what I thought it would smell like but what I got instead was a sharp piercing soapy smell when wet that lingered for hours afterwards. Yeah it lost the sharp poke my eye out please strident note but soap soap soap. Maybe it is the bergamot? I was thinking, prior to looking at label to check notes listed, that there might be some red musk in there. That soapy fruity sharp note I am growing to dislike. At least I think it is red musk....? I will retest this one again next week just in case I was doing something funkalicious with it but until then can somebody please tell me what in there would turn into a tortuous soap note? Please

[Gold Dust Kitten]

Initially, Thousands of Lights is a beeswaxy floral - champaca is always a creamy honeyed floral to my nose and it's one of the flowers I can actually tolerate if not in a 100% floral blend. I applied the oil to my skin and for 2 seconds I thought, "why did I not buy a bottle of this?", then it turns cinnamon spicy! There are no spice notes listed, but I'm getting a smooth ambrette, with a drop of frankincense, and borderline soapy sweet floral. It's almost getting into holiday candle territory like all cinnamon scents do. I think the bergamot is making this soapy, because almost all of the Lab's citrus notes (except lemon) tend to do that on me.

 

So, I must wash this off. I had high hopes because of the ambrette, frankincense, beeswax and champaca, but I just amped the soapy-cinnamon notes.