Continuing the tradition: BPAL Yule 2011
( Yule 2008; Yule 2009 part one; Yule 2009 part two; Yule 2010)
Glittering Yules Under the Shadow of an Oak Moon
This day/week/semester has turned my brain to mush. Have some random thoughts on this year's BPAL Yule offerings. I'm not looking at the Frankenstein scents here, 'cause I can't even entirely process them (though I did order two decants, one for me and one for Himself). Oh, and I had never read the Little Matchstick Girl before last night. Ye gods. Good on Beth for making it through that! I'm not going there right now.
Anyway, without further ado...
AUTUMN AND WINTER 2011: Bitter currant and dry leaves. Winter wind at dusk. - Nope.
CHANUKKIYAH 2011: Olive oil, beeswax, glowing amber, sweet sufganiyot, pomegranate, and fig. - Has this always had pomegranate and fig in it? (Checked. Yes it has.) …Huh. May be time to try this again.
CLOTH OF GOLD: Vibrant yellow petals bursting exultantly through a patch of snow. - Nope.
DIABLE EN BOÎTE 2011: A strangely sinister, unnerving holiday scent: redwood, bitter clove, tonka, hemp accord, and tobacco with peach blossom, black currant, and red musk. Part of me wants to think maybe this would be good on Himself (except for maybe the peach blossom & black currant), but the “strangely sinister, unnerving” part gives me pause. I’ll have to go see what reviews of previous incarnations say. (Update: yeah, not so much.)
DUST OF SNOW: Snowflakes and hemlock leaves with snowdrop, iris, and Peruvian lily. - Nope.
EGG NOG 2011: Sweet brandy, dark rum, heavy cream, sugar, and a dash of nutmeg. - I tried this several years ago, and it was just kind of sweet ‘n’ boozy on me. I wanted it to be… noggier, I guess. And really, 13 from February 2009 turned out to be a good nutmeggy scent on me, so I should pass…
FROST AT MIDNIGHT: The liberating glory of nature, a celebration of wildness of spirit: fierce musk and immortelle, clary sage and oud, terebinth pine and ambrette seed, ivy and tobacco, honeysuckle and orange blossom. - Bwa ha ha, this pretty much sounds like it would smell like woody honeysuckle feet on me. No thank you!
GELT 2011: A bounty of chocolate coins! Dry cocoa and golden amber! - Man, I still wish this had worked on me-but it didn’t.
HALÔA 2011: Wine grapes, pomegranate, myrrh, frankincense and olive leaf, and the warm scent of offertory cakes. I read this description, then thought, holy shit, how have I not tried this before? I guess in its 2007 incarnation it didn’t have the pomegranate and I was still learning what works on me, and then last year I said this: “Eh, sounds kind of like All Souls (which I love and have plenty of) with some fruit added-and wine/wine grape notes have a tendency to take scents over when I wear them, so basically I’ll pass.” I am amused. I’m going to try it.
JACOB'S LADDER 2011: The meeting of Heaven and Earth: golden amber, galbanum, benzoin, ambrette, rockrose, costus and tonka. - I think I still have a decant of this floating around somewhere. (I desperately need to weed out my decant collection!)
JÓLASVEINAR 2011: Their scent is a mishmash of snow, dirt, Icelandic moss, marsh felwort, and the smushed petals of buttercups and moorland spotted orchids, with the barest hint of the scent of pilfered Christmas pastries. - Not for me, but the description makes me smile.
LICK IT DISCREETLY: This year's minty double ententre! A sticky, chilly peppermint candy cane with sweet vanilla and an extra jolt of sugar. - I tried this a couple of years ago, and it’s a bit more mint than sweet for my tastes-but I always enjoy seeing the new permutations of the name Beth comes up with.
MAISON EN PAIN D'ÉPICES: 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! - I would bet money that this would just turn to “generically spicy sweet” on me, and I still have Gingerbread Poppet from last year. Even so, “French adds +40% Fancy!” is kind of my favorite thing ever.
MIDNIGHT MASS 2011: This perfume is a traditional Roman Catholic sacramental incense, most often used during a Solemn Mass. - I lurve this. I still have my bottle. It makes me happy.
NOCHA BUENA 2011: A celebration of the Nativity: the light, uplifting incense of the Misa de Noche Buena, purple sage, and a vibrant bouquet of plumeria, chrysanthemum, tuberose, Angel's Trumpet, Mexican tiger lily, dahlia, and azucenas. - Nope. I wish this worked on me, but it was straight-up dryer sheets.
ÖNDURDIS: The Ski Lady, jötunn goddess of winter, bowhunting, mountains, and skiing. The scent of winter wind blowing over snow-capped mountains. - Not for me, but love the idea!
PEACOCK QUEEN 2011: 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. - With a couple of exceptions, the rose in rose-centered scents has a tendency to try to rise up and punch me in the nose. I would really love to smell this and Rose Red someday on someone who can wear rose, though.
PINK SNOWBALLS 2011: A lighthearted winter scent: chilly vanilla rose snowballs! Dainty, soft, and certainly unfit for flinging! - I have no real reason to think this is going to work on me, but I think this is the year I’m finally going to give it a go. (“Finally” is probably a bit much, since I think this is at most the scent’s third appearance, but hey.)
PUMPKIN MASALA ROOIBOS: Rooibos tea with red ginger, green cardamom, fennel, peppercorns, almond, and licorice, sweetened with coconut sugar and jaggery. - I just looked up jaggery. It sounds amazing. Still, I don’t think this is my scent.
ROSE RED 2011: The perfected winter rose, dew covered and freshly cut. - See Peacock Queen.
SNOW WHITE 2011: A chilly, bright perfume: flurries of virgin snow, crisp winter wind and the faintest breath of night-blooming flowers. - I tried this last year, and it went to plastic on me. :( I need to dig my imp back out and re-try it now that it’s aged, though.
SUGAR COOKIE 2011: The Devil's Bake Sale returns! - Another scent I thought I would like but went generically sweet on me. Ah well-more for everyone else, eh? ;)
WINTER HEAVENS: Black midnight winter skies glittering with points of light: chill air, champaca flower, white musk, fir needle, papyrus reeds, and grey amber. - Oh, this sounds beautiful. For someone else. ;)
WOODS IN WINTER 2011: Wild hemlock and juniper berries scattered in the snow beneath leafless trees bedecked with glittering icicles. - I was thinking that this might be one for Himself, and I see that I was pondering that last year, too. Perusing reviews tells me that it’s probably not meant to be.
YELLOW SNOWBALLS: Because I am very, very crass this year. Slushy white mint, vanilla cream, lemon drops, grapefruit, and yuzu! - I have a hard time imagining this will work on me, but I had to snag a decant anyway. ;)
YULE 2011: It is Yule, and the Holly King has slain the Oak: blood red holly berry, mistletoe, wild thyme, verbena, cinquefoil, hemp, winter rose, evergreen, frankincense, juniper, and myrrh. - I reacted to this like, “ZOMG YULE IS BACK MUST HAVE!!” And I see that last year I was like, meh. I re-checked the reviews and it looks like the people on whom it doesn’t work get lemon verbena, while the people on whom it does work get exactly what I’m wanting out of it. Do I spring for a bottle unsniffed, especially given that my usual decanter was all full up on requests for it before I got there? We shall see…
Glittering Yules Under the Shadow of an Oak Moon
This day/week/semester has turned my brain to mush. Have some random thoughts on this year's BPAL Yule offerings. I'm not looking at the Frankenstein scents here, 'cause I can't even entirely process them (though I did order two decants, one for me and one for Himself). Oh, and I had never read the Little Matchstick Girl before last night. Ye gods. Good on Beth for making it through that! I'm not going there right now.
Anyway, without further ado...
AUTUMN AND WINTER 2011: Bitter currant and dry leaves. Winter wind at dusk. - Nope.
CHANUKKIYAH 2011: Olive oil, beeswax, glowing amber, sweet sufganiyot, pomegranate, and fig. - Has this always had pomegranate and fig in it? (Checked. Yes it has.) …Huh. May be time to try this again.
CLOTH OF GOLD: Vibrant yellow petals bursting exultantly through a patch of snow. - Nope.
DIABLE EN BOÎTE 2011: A strangely sinister, unnerving holiday scent: redwood, bitter clove, tonka, hemp accord, and tobacco with peach blossom, black currant, and red musk. Part of me wants to think maybe this would be good on Himself (except for maybe the peach blossom & black currant), but the “strangely sinister, unnerving” part gives me pause. I’ll have to go see what reviews of previous incarnations say. (Update: yeah, not so much.)
DUST OF SNOW: Snowflakes and hemlock leaves with snowdrop, iris, and Peruvian lily. - Nope.
EGG NOG 2011: Sweet brandy, dark rum, heavy cream, sugar, and a dash of nutmeg. - I tried this several years ago, and it was just kind of sweet ‘n’ boozy on me. I wanted it to be… noggier, I guess. And really, 13 from February 2009 turned out to be a good nutmeggy scent on me, so I should pass…
FROST AT MIDNIGHT: The liberating glory of nature, a celebration of wildness of spirit: fierce musk and immortelle, clary sage and oud, terebinth pine and ambrette seed, ivy and tobacco, honeysuckle and orange blossom. - Bwa ha ha, this pretty much sounds like it would smell like woody honeysuckle feet on me. No thank you!
GELT 2011: A bounty of chocolate coins! Dry cocoa and golden amber! - Man, I still wish this had worked on me-but it didn’t.
HALÔA 2011: Wine grapes, pomegranate, myrrh, frankincense and olive leaf, and the warm scent of offertory cakes. I read this description, then thought, holy shit, how have I not tried this before? I guess in its 2007 incarnation it didn’t have the pomegranate and I was still learning what works on me, and then last year I said this: “Eh, sounds kind of like All Souls (which I love and have plenty of) with some fruit added-and wine/wine grape notes have a tendency to take scents over when I wear them, so basically I’ll pass.” I am amused. I’m going to try it.
JACOB'S LADDER 2011: The meeting of Heaven and Earth: golden amber, galbanum, benzoin, ambrette, rockrose, costus and tonka. - I think I still have a decant of this floating around somewhere. (I desperately need to weed out my decant collection!)
JÓLASVEINAR 2011: Their scent is a mishmash of snow, dirt, Icelandic moss, marsh felwort, and the smushed petals of buttercups and moorland spotted orchids, with the barest hint of the scent of pilfered Christmas pastries. - Not for me, but the description makes me smile.
LICK IT DISCREETLY: This year's minty double ententre! A sticky, chilly peppermint candy cane with sweet vanilla and an extra jolt of sugar. - I tried this a couple of years ago, and it’s a bit more mint than sweet for my tastes-but I always enjoy seeing the new permutations of the name Beth comes up with.
MAISON EN PAIN D'ÉPICES: 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! - I would bet money that this would just turn to “generically spicy sweet” on me, and I still have Gingerbread Poppet from last year. Even so, “French adds +40% Fancy!” is kind of my favorite thing ever.
MIDNIGHT MASS 2011: This perfume is a traditional Roman Catholic sacramental incense, most often used during a Solemn Mass. - I lurve this. I still have my bottle. It makes me happy.
NOCHA BUENA 2011: A celebration of the Nativity: the light, uplifting incense of the Misa de Noche Buena, purple sage, and a vibrant bouquet of plumeria, chrysanthemum, tuberose, Angel's Trumpet, Mexican tiger lily, dahlia, and azucenas. - Nope. I wish this worked on me, but it was straight-up dryer sheets.
ÖNDURDIS: The Ski Lady, jötunn goddess of winter, bowhunting, mountains, and skiing. The scent of winter wind blowing over snow-capped mountains. - Not for me, but love the idea!
PEACOCK QUEEN 2011: 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. - With a couple of exceptions, the rose in rose-centered scents has a tendency to try to rise up and punch me in the nose. I would really love to smell this and Rose Red someday on someone who can wear rose, though.
PINK SNOWBALLS 2011: A lighthearted winter scent: chilly vanilla rose snowballs! Dainty, soft, and certainly unfit for flinging! - I have no real reason to think this is going to work on me, but I think this is the year I’m finally going to give it a go. (“Finally” is probably a bit much, since I think this is at most the scent’s third appearance, but hey.)
PUMPKIN MASALA ROOIBOS: Rooibos tea with red ginger, green cardamom, fennel, peppercorns, almond, and licorice, sweetened with coconut sugar and jaggery. - I just looked up jaggery. It sounds amazing. Still, I don’t think this is my scent.
ROSE RED 2011: The perfected winter rose, dew covered and freshly cut. - See Peacock Queen.
SNOW WHITE 2011: A chilly, bright perfume: flurries of virgin snow, crisp winter wind and the faintest breath of night-blooming flowers. - I tried this last year, and it went to plastic on me. :( I need to dig my imp back out and re-try it now that it’s aged, though.
SUGAR COOKIE 2011: The Devil's Bake Sale returns! - Another scent I thought I would like but went generically sweet on me. Ah well-more for everyone else, eh? ;)
WINTER HEAVENS: Black midnight winter skies glittering with points of light: chill air, champaca flower, white musk, fir needle, papyrus reeds, and grey amber. - Oh, this sounds beautiful. For someone else. ;)
WOODS IN WINTER 2011: Wild hemlock and juniper berries scattered in the snow beneath leafless trees bedecked with glittering icicles. - I was thinking that this might be one for Himself, and I see that I was pondering that last year, too. Perusing reviews tells me that it’s probably not meant to be.
YELLOW SNOWBALLS: Because I am very, very crass this year. Slushy white mint, vanilla cream, lemon drops, grapefruit, and yuzu! - I have a hard time imagining this will work on me, but I had to snag a decant anyway. ;)
YULE 2011: It is Yule, and the Holly King has slain the Oak: blood red holly berry, mistletoe, wild thyme, verbena, cinquefoil, hemp, winter rose, evergreen, frankincense, juniper, and myrrh. - I reacted to this like, “ZOMG YULE IS BACK MUST HAVE!!” And I see that last year I was like, meh. I re-checked the reviews and it looks like the people on whom it doesn’t work get lemon verbena, while the people on whom it does work get exactly what I’m wanting out of it. Do I spring for a bottle unsniffed, especially given that my usual decanter was all full up on requests for it before I got there? We shall see…