Gaea

Today I tried Gaea again, one of the scents of Alkemia that I have a sample of. It reminds me of BPAL's Nocnitsa, which seems a little odd. After all, Gaea is the Goddess of the Earth and Nocnitsa the Hag of the Night and the mistress of nightmares. They couldn't be more different. Yet the scents share a note that reminds me of decaying leaves in a puddle of blackened mud in a dark forest. I think, after I corresponded with Sharra from Alkemia about the scent, that it is probably a mushroom note. And of course decay is part of the life cycle of Earth, as well as it might fit a demon of the night. However, when I find a bucket filled with water that I forgot about and it is filled with decayed plant material and I accidentally spill that water over my hands, I wash them until I don't smell it any more. So I don't feel much like applying the same scent to my wrist as a perfume. Alas, this Gaea will not be worn much by me, nor will Nocnitsa.

Nocnitsa: "Her scent is that of a lightless fir wood, nighttime air, wet forest mosses and upturned earth."
Gaea: "Forest loam under warm spring sunshine, new ferns poking up through decaying leaves, maple sap flowing over lichens, mosses and wet stones at the edge of a vernal pool."

Absinthe

I remember, some years ago, how some friends at a forum discussed different brands of Absinthe. The important thing was which one would be most hallucinogenic. I think I bought my bottle according to that advice, but I never had any hallucinations. I didn't even have more exotic dreams! But perhaps I should have drunk more of it. 


The BPAL scent Absinthe smells, not surprisingly, like absinthe. In fact I think if I spilled my glass of absinthe over my clothes I would probably smell just the same as with the scent on my wrist. And although it may be admirable that the perfume smells so much like the drink, it doesn't make it a desirable perfume for me. I might as well just spill some of the drink. I am still a little curious about the other absinthe based scents, La Fee Verte and L'Heure Verte. I have read they are rather different. The perfume Absinthe advertises itself as: An intoxicating blend containing wormwood essence, light mints, cardamom, anise, hyssop and the barest hint of lemon. And although I quite like the way the drink smells and, as they smell much the same, the way this perfumes smells, I prefer the drink over the perfume. I think I'd rather smell of Absinth because I drank it, than because I dabbed on a perfume smelling like it.

Thoos

In 2010 BPAL had 'Ode to Mars' as one of the Lupercalia themes. Thoos is one of the Epithets of Ares who is the Greek origin of Mars. Ares had many epithets some of which served as inspiration for that year's Lupercalia scents. Others scents were named after Thouros, Khrysopelex,  Aatos polemoio, Rhinotoros, Miaiphonos, Enkhesphalos, Brotoloigos, Enyalios and Khalkorustus. While Thoos means swift, fleet, most of the epithets have more violent meanings. After all, this was/is the God of War!


The scent is further described as: 

Tangerine, cypress and white musk.

The tangerine is only distinguishable in the very first stage. I don't know if this is a matter of age, it may have been like this from the beginning. Citruses are indeed fleeting. What is left is cypress softened by white musk. It is a pleasant scent, one would not suspect a warrior when smelling it.


More epithets of Ares can be found here.

Water Dragon

Another day of Water Dragon. On Facebook Jane Thornley suggested I should knit the Water Dragon of the picture above. I may actually give it a try. I have an interesting mix of greens and purples that I bought at the local store for used goods. I have no idea what it was originally meant for, they are all pieces of about 2 meters long, but it might be enough for a dragon shaped scarf.

Leather Phoenix

I am afraid I got rather bored with poor Elizabeth's roses. Which answers the question if I really prefer Two, Five and Seven at least in relation to Elizabeth of Bohemia. Because the scent was supposed to be rose and oud, I covered the last of it with Leather Phoenix, which also contains both oudh and rose. And more:

matcha tea, wild frankincense, champaca, petitgrain, star anise, aged oudh, rose taifi, narcissus, Himalayan cedar, 11-year aged patchouli, and black leather accord.

I loved Leather Phoenix from the first sniff and I was very happy that not everybody loved it as much as that, because there were only a limited number of bottles available and they were sold out by the time I smelled my decant. But I could get the bottle of one of those who bought it unsniffed and didn't like it. Today it matched perfectly with Elizabeth's roses, although the rose later pushed through and I had to reapply Leather Phoenix.

Elizabeth of Bohemia

I have for some time wondered if I really love Two, Five and Seven more than other rose scents or perhaps only think that I do. So I decided I would go through all those that I have (or remember that I have) to find out, starting with the latest, Elizabeth of Bohemia from the 2012 Lupercalia scents. The description is:

Incomparable loveliness: the perfect rose oude.

And the first time I tried it I was very disappointed because I smelled rose, but no oudh (oud, oude, all alternative spellings). This time too I smell rose more than anything else, but I could imagine that there is, very faintly, some bottom note that could be oudh. But then, I may smell a faint violet note as well. Still: mostly rose and a good rose, but it doesn't give me the happy feeling I get with playing card guys. 


Elizabeth of Bohemia is not just the picture and the scent description, she came with a poem by Sir Henry Wotton (March 30, 1568 – December 1639) who was both an author and a diplomat and much devoted to princess Elizabeth  (19 August 1596 – 13 February 1662), daughter of James VI and I of Scotland, England and Ireland and Anne of Denmark, and Queen of Bohemia. His devotion was no doubt the inspiration for the poem that carries her name. 

You meaner beauties of the night,

   That poorly satisfy our eyes
More by your number than your light,
   You common people of the skies;
   What are you when the moon shall rise?

You curious chanters of the wood,
   That warble forth Dame Nature's lays,
Thinking your passions understood
   By your weak accents; what 's your praise
   When Philomel her voice shall raise?

You violets that first appear,
   By your pure purple mantles known
Like the proud virgins of the year,
   As if the spring were all your own;
   What are you when the rose is blown?

So, when my mistress shall be seen
   In form and beauty of her mind,
By virtue first, then choice, a Queen,
   Tell me, if she were not design'd
   Th' eclipse and glory of her kind.

I have to admit that the thought that there might be violet in this scent is prompted by the poem, but I really think I smell it when my arm is far from my nose and the rose is not so strong I can't smell anything else. And honestly, although it is a beautiful rose, I would not mind if I smelled more of the violet and the oudh. But perhaps the rose is like Elizabeth in the poem, th' eclipse and glory, of the scent in this case.

Krakatoa

The first day in a new month and my first entry about a non-BPAL scent. I got a partial sample of this with something I bought and I never really tried it before because it has coconut as a note. Besides when I got it I had just had some unpleasant experiences with non-BPAL scents, most of which had synthetic ingredients. Yesterday however a friend told me she had ordered some samples from Villainess Soaps because she had found out that they do not only sell soaps but also have a small line of perfumes. It was too late for me to share in the one-day-discount, but I had a look at the website and discovered that I had one of these scents: Krakatoa.


I had immediately liked the name because as a young girl I had read about the great volcanic eruptions of the Krakatoa (which then was known to me with the name Krakatau which is still one way to spell its name) in 1883. The 1883 eruption ejected approximately 21 km³ (5.0 cu mi) of rock, ash, and pumice and the explosion could be heard on islands as far away as 3000-5000 km (2000-3000 miles). Two-thirds of the island were destroyed in the eruption. Later eruptions built a new island at the same location called Anak Krakatau which means Child of Krakatoa. The Child of Krakatoa is still growing as the volcano is still active.

The scent however has nothing to do with volcanic activity. It is described as;

Flashes of exotic foliage - coconut, banana, papaya, dewfruit, mango - amidst slightly more domestic fruits - nectarine, red apple, peach, plums, pears, and raspberries - and an explosive burst of citrus - mandarin orange, pineapple, lemon, and tangerine. To ground our island paradise? A light musk, salted driftwood, sugar cane, and dry sandalwood.

To me it starts off as a fruity scent with a coconut background that soon morphs into a coconut scent with a fruity background. I do not particularly like coconut in my scents and as a result I sniff them out even when there is very little, so I may have my personal prejudice here. Yet in spite of my dislike of coconut in perfume this scent is not bad at all. It is a nice tropical island scent, just a little too strong on the coconut for my taste.