BPAL decants
To save some money on my fun BPAL hobby, I decided to get decants of the Limited Edition scents currently up on the Lab's site (you can only get bottles of the LEs from the lab, but if you're uncertain about the scents, or don't have the money to get a whole group of bottles as is my case, then you can seek out people who decant from the bottles into samples.)
I selected six samples to decant and they are:
Hanerot Halalu
The Head of Holofernes
Lines Written Among the Euganean Hills
Visiting the Temple of Auspicious Fortune Alone on the Winter Solstice
Nowhere in Particular
The Piper at the Gates of Dawn
Hanerot Halalu (Yule 2008)
Hanerot halalu anachnu madlikin
Al hanissim ve'al haniflaot
Al hatshu-ot ve'al hamilchamot
She-asita la'avoteynu
Bayamim hahem, bazman hazeh
Al yedey kohanecha hakdoshim.
Vechol shmonat yemey Chanukah
Hanerot halalu kodesh hem,
Ve-ein lanu reshut lehishtamesh bahem
Ela lirotam bilvad
Kedai lehodot leshimcha
Al nissecha veal nifleotecha ve-al yeshuotecha.
We light these lights
For the miracles and the wonders,
For the redemption and the battles
That you made for our forefathers
In those days at this season,
Through your holy priests.
During all eight days of Chanukah
These lights are sacred
And we are not permitted to make
Ordinary use of them,
But only to look at them;
In order to express thanks
And praise to your great Name
For your miracles, your wonders
And your salvations.
Olive oil, beeswax, and smoke.
The Head of Holofernes (Yule 2008)
And when it was grown late, his servants made haste to their lodgings, and Vagao shut the chamber doors, and went his way.
And they were all overcharged with wine.
And Judith was alone in the chamber.
But Holofernes lay on his bed, fast asleep, being exceedingly drunk.
And Judith spoke to her maid to stand without before the chamber, and to watch:
And Judith stood before the bed praying with tears, and the motion of her lips in silence,
Saying: Strengthen me, O Lord God of Israel, and in this hour look on the works of my hands, that as thou hast promised, thou mayst raise up Jerusalem thy city: and that I may bring to pass that which I have purposed, having a belief that it might be done by thee.
And when she had said this, she went to the pillar that was at his bed's head, and loosed his sword that hung tied upon it.
And when she had drawn it out, she took him by the hair of his head, and said: Strengthen me, O Lord God, at this hour.
And she struck twice upon his neck, and out off his head, and took off his canopy from the pillars, and rolled away his headless body.
And after a while she went out, and delivered the head of Holofernes to her maid, and bade her put it into her wallet.
And they two went out according to their custom, as it were to prayer, and they passed the camp, and having compassed the valley, they came to the gate of the city.
And Judith from afar off cried to the watchmen upon the walls: Open the gates for God is with us, who hath shewn his power in Israel.
And it came to pass, when the men had heard her voice, that they called the ancients of the city.
And all ran to meet her from the least to the greatest: for they now had no hopes that she would come.
And lighting up lights they all gathered round about her: and she went up to a higher place, and commanded silence to be made. And when all had held their peace,
Judith said: Praise ye the Lord our God, who hath not forsaken them that hope in him.
And by me his handmaid he hath fulfilled his mercy, which he promised to the house of Israel: and he hath killed the enemy of his people by my hand this night.
Then she brought forth the head of Holofernes out of the wallet, and shewed it them, saying:
Behold the head of Holofernes the general of the army of the Assyrians, and behold his canopy, wherein he lay in his drunkenness, where the Lord our God slew him by the hand of a woman.
Dried blood, boiled wine, leather, galbanum, onycha, tonka bean, and pomegranate.
Lines Written Among the Euganean Hills (Yule 2008, poetry by Percy Bysshe Shelley)
Senseless is the breast and cold
Which relenting love would fold;
Bloodless are the veins and chill
Which the pulse of pain did fill;
Every little living nerve
That from bitter words did swerve
Round the tortur'd lips and brow,
Are like sapless leaflets now
Frozen upon December's bough.
Skin musk, white sandalwood, balsam fir, frozen black berries, cedar, winter rose, and white amber. [I am very interested in the notes of this one, to see how they blend together.]
Visiting the Temple of Auspicious Fortune Alone on the Winter Solstice (Yule 2008)
Deep at the bottom of the well no warmth has yet returned,
The rain which sighs and feels so cold has dampened withered roots.
What sort of man at such a time would come to visit the teacher?
As this is not a time for flowers, I find I've come alone.
Temple incense, rain, and dust. [This appears to be a Chinese poem. Nifty!]
Nowhere in Particular (The Wind in the Willows)
Late in the evening, tired and happy and miles from home, they drew up on a remote common far from habitations, turned the horse loose to graze, and ate their simple supper sitting on the grass by the side of the cart. Toad talked big about all he was going to do in the days to come, while stars grew fuller and larger all around them, and a yellow moon, appearing suddenly and silently from nowhere in particular, came to keep them company and listen to their talk.
The scent of a moonlit night on the road, orchards in the distance, and swirling dust.
The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (The Wind in the Willows)
Perhaps he would never have dared to raise his eyes, but that, though the piping was now hushed, the call and the summons seemed still dominant and imperious. He might not refuse, were Death himself waiting to strike him instantly, once he had looked with mortal eye on things rightly kept hidden. Trembling he obeyed, and raised his humble head; and then, in that utter clearness of the imminent dawn, while Nature, flushed with fullness of incredible colour, seemed to hold her breath for the event, he looked in the very eyes of the Friend and Helper; saw the backward sweep of the curved horns, gleaming in the growing daylight; saw the stern, hooked nose between the kindly eyes that were looking down on them humourously, while the bearded mouth broke into a half-smile at the corners; saw the rippling muscles on the arm that lay across the broad chest, the long supple hand still holding the pan-pipes only just fallen away from the parted lips; saw the splendid curves of the shaggy limbs disposed in majestic ease on the sward; saw, last of all, nestling between his very hooves, sleeping soundly in entire peace and contentment, the little, round, podgy, childish form of the baby otter. All this he saw, for one moment breathless and intense, vivid on the morning sky; and still, as he looked, he lived; and still, as he lived, he wondered.
Sublime peace, ecstatic joy, and thunderstruck awe: terebinth pine, patchouli, brown musk, linden blossom, honey, mallow, blood orange, heliotrope, and golden amber. [This is my absolute favourite passage from the book, so I'm pleased to get to try out the scent inspired by it.]
So, this year's selection of Yules speaks to the winter-lover in me, as well as the Jew (Hanerot Halalu, Head of Holofernes, and I've got a bottle of Gelt on the way). The Wind in the Willows, while not my favourite children's novel, as some of the most incredible description, which made for fantastic imagery. I had to try a couple of them out too.
I selected six samples to decant and they are:
Hanerot Halalu
The Head of Holofernes
Lines Written Among the Euganean Hills
Visiting the Temple of Auspicious Fortune Alone on the Winter Solstice
Nowhere in Particular
The Piper at the Gates of Dawn
Hanerot Halalu (Yule 2008)
Hanerot halalu anachnu madlikin
Al hanissim ve'al haniflaot
Al hatshu-ot ve'al hamilchamot
She-asita la'avoteynu
Bayamim hahem, bazman hazeh
Al yedey kohanecha hakdoshim.
Vechol shmonat yemey Chanukah
Hanerot halalu kodesh hem,
Ve-ein lanu reshut lehishtamesh bahem
Ela lirotam bilvad
Kedai lehodot leshimcha
Al nissecha veal nifleotecha ve-al yeshuotecha.
We light these lights
For the miracles and the wonders,
For the redemption and the battles
That you made for our forefathers
In those days at this season,
Through your holy priests.
During all eight days of Chanukah
These lights are sacred
And we are not permitted to make
Ordinary use of them,
But only to look at them;
In order to express thanks
And praise to your great Name
For your miracles, your wonders
And your salvations.
Olive oil, beeswax, and smoke.
The Head of Holofernes (Yule 2008)
And when it was grown late, his servants made haste to their lodgings, and Vagao shut the chamber doors, and went his way.
And they were all overcharged with wine.
And Judith was alone in the chamber.
But Holofernes lay on his bed, fast asleep, being exceedingly drunk.
And Judith spoke to her maid to stand without before the chamber, and to watch:
And Judith stood before the bed praying with tears, and the motion of her lips in silence,
Saying: Strengthen me, O Lord God of Israel, and in this hour look on the works of my hands, that as thou hast promised, thou mayst raise up Jerusalem thy city: and that I may bring to pass that which I have purposed, having a belief that it might be done by thee.
And when she had said this, she went to the pillar that was at his bed's head, and loosed his sword that hung tied upon it.
And when she had drawn it out, she took him by the hair of his head, and said: Strengthen me, O Lord God, at this hour.
And she struck twice upon his neck, and out off his head, and took off his canopy from the pillars, and rolled away his headless body.
And after a while she went out, and delivered the head of Holofernes to her maid, and bade her put it into her wallet.
And they two went out according to their custom, as it were to prayer, and they passed the camp, and having compassed the valley, they came to the gate of the city.
And Judith from afar off cried to the watchmen upon the walls: Open the gates for God is with us, who hath shewn his power in Israel.
And it came to pass, when the men had heard her voice, that they called the ancients of the city.
And all ran to meet her from the least to the greatest: for they now had no hopes that she would come.
And lighting up lights they all gathered round about her: and she went up to a higher place, and commanded silence to be made. And when all had held their peace,
Judith said: Praise ye the Lord our God, who hath not forsaken them that hope in him.
And by me his handmaid he hath fulfilled his mercy, which he promised to the house of Israel: and he hath killed the enemy of his people by my hand this night.
Then she brought forth the head of Holofernes out of the wallet, and shewed it them, saying:
Behold the head of Holofernes the general of the army of the Assyrians, and behold his canopy, wherein he lay in his drunkenness, where the Lord our God slew him by the hand of a woman.
Dried blood, boiled wine, leather, galbanum, onycha, tonka bean, and pomegranate.
Lines Written Among the Euganean Hills (Yule 2008, poetry by Percy Bysshe Shelley)
Senseless is the breast and cold
Which relenting love would fold;
Bloodless are the veins and chill
Which the pulse of pain did fill;
Every little living nerve
That from bitter words did swerve
Round the tortur'd lips and brow,
Are like sapless leaflets now
Frozen upon December's bough.
Skin musk, white sandalwood, balsam fir, frozen black berries, cedar, winter rose, and white amber. [I am very interested in the notes of this one, to see how they blend together.]
Visiting the Temple of Auspicious Fortune Alone on the Winter Solstice (Yule 2008)
Deep at the bottom of the well no warmth has yet returned,
The rain which sighs and feels so cold has dampened withered roots.
What sort of man at such a time would come to visit the teacher?
As this is not a time for flowers, I find I've come alone.
Temple incense, rain, and dust. [This appears to be a Chinese poem. Nifty!]
Nowhere in Particular (The Wind in the Willows)
Late in the evening, tired and happy and miles from home, they drew up on a remote common far from habitations, turned the horse loose to graze, and ate their simple supper sitting on the grass by the side of the cart. Toad talked big about all he was going to do in the days to come, while stars grew fuller and larger all around them, and a yellow moon, appearing suddenly and silently from nowhere in particular, came to keep them company and listen to their talk.
The scent of a moonlit night on the road, orchards in the distance, and swirling dust.
The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (The Wind in the Willows)
Perhaps he would never have dared to raise his eyes, but that, though the piping was now hushed, the call and the summons seemed still dominant and imperious. He might not refuse, were Death himself waiting to strike him instantly, once he had looked with mortal eye on things rightly kept hidden. Trembling he obeyed, and raised his humble head; and then, in that utter clearness of the imminent dawn, while Nature, flushed with fullness of incredible colour, seemed to hold her breath for the event, he looked in the very eyes of the Friend and Helper; saw the backward sweep of the curved horns, gleaming in the growing daylight; saw the stern, hooked nose between the kindly eyes that were looking down on them humourously, while the bearded mouth broke into a half-smile at the corners; saw the rippling muscles on the arm that lay across the broad chest, the long supple hand still holding the pan-pipes only just fallen away from the parted lips; saw the splendid curves of the shaggy limbs disposed in majestic ease on the sward; saw, last of all, nestling between his very hooves, sleeping soundly in entire peace and contentment, the little, round, podgy, childish form of the baby otter. All this he saw, for one moment breathless and intense, vivid on the morning sky; and still, as he looked, he lived; and still, as he lived, he wondered.
Sublime peace, ecstatic joy, and thunderstruck awe: terebinth pine, patchouli, brown musk, linden blossom, honey, mallow, blood orange, heliotrope, and golden amber. [This is my absolute favourite passage from the book, so I'm pleased to get to try out the scent inspired by it.]
So, this year's selection of Yules speaks to the winter-lover in me, as well as the Jew (Hanerot Halalu, Head of Holofernes, and I've got a bottle of Gelt on the way). The Wind in the Willows, while not my favourite children's novel, as some of the most incredible description, which made for fantastic imagery. I had to try a couple of them out too.