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juushikaThe BPAL Mourning Moon update went up just a few days ago, and it included Yule 2008, a companion LE Wind in the Willows set, and Marchen, a new GC category. Yule doesn't delight me in the way that Samhain does—winter isn't as much my season, and I don't love or reminisce on the scent of snow and pine the way that I do apples and leaves. That, plus death notes, saved me from wanting too many new smellies; nonetheless, the update as a whole offers up what look like some pretty delightful scents.
From the Yule update I'm getting:
JACOB'S LADDER 2008
The meeting of Heaven and Earth: golden amber, galbanum, benzoin, ambrette, rockrose, costus and tonka.
I love amber and golden resins, and the reviews of previous incarnations make this seem like an amber-lover's delight. I signed up for a decant.
WINTER OF OUR DISCONTENT 2008
Embrace your villainy: balsam, myrrh, mandarin orange, bitter clove, artemesia, rosewood, nutmeg, dark musk, smoke
and cypress.
Hoping that the rosewood will be more subtle than rose, this combination of citrus and darkness intrigues me. Plus, it would be nice to finally love a BPAL Shakespeare reference, because I'm a Shakespeare nut but I've had little success with the Illyria line. Signed up for a decant.
GELT
A bounty of chocolate coins! Dry cocoa and golden amber!
I cannot even say how much this delights me. Cocoa and amber are two of my all time favorite notes, and I've always dreamed of seeing them together in a BPAL blend. To find them, just them, is a wish come true. Gelt caught my eye first thing, and I immediately decided I needed a bottle—I'm grabbing one through my decant circle. I am so anxious for it to arrive!
(Also: yum, chocolate coins. My particular cultural Jewish heritage emphasized Passover and Hanukkah, and so gelt is very much reminiscent of the holidays for me. And it's pretty. And yummy.)
Wind in the Willows didn't do much for me—perhaps because of the notes, perhaps because I'm unfamiliar with the source material.
Marchen, on the other hand, looks fabulous. It's a brilliant addition to the GC selection which of course makes me want to go read fairy tales. Because it's GC, I'll wait for reviews before purchasing. I am, though, considering:
THE SEA FOAMS MILK
Milk cresting on an ocean wave.
The concept of a milky aquatic is oddly fascinating. I'm intrigued.
THE SEA FOAMS BLOOD
Blood rising through an ocean wave.
I love and adore and have wished for more of the Lab's blood note, and I'm also in search of a salty aquatic. I'd love to try this.
THORNS
Thorn-spiked vines, blood, and tears.
Again, my love of blood; I've also been in search of a tears scent, and combining the two might be interesting. The vines worry me, depending on how sharp/green/similar-to-ivy they happen to be, but early word from Will Call says they're more woody and dark—which suits me.
Perhaps the best part of this update, beside Gelt, was the surprising number of blends with blood or salty aquatics. Blood I've loved ever since discovering The Tell-Tale Heart, and I've been in anxious search of more blends that contain it but not leather or wine—which seem to be blood's constant companions, but are two of my least favorite and successful notes. I'm still in search of my perfect pure salty aquatic, so this gives me more options to try. And there are some promising resinous Yules so, all in all, I'm quite content. I have my small decant order and will add GCs to my wishlist; I have left-over birthday money and upcoming Christmas money that I could have dedicated to Yules, but I'll save it for stocking up on GCs (O!) and maybe trying out some Carnaval Diabolique (Inez).
But even better. The decanter I use and love,![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
bookandbroom, is doing a smaller circle this time because she's been swamped by all the recent decanting. Not only was I able to get slots in the circle (yay!), I may have the opportunity to help her decant. She lives in a nearby city, and does all the decanting by her lonesome; I've never decanted before, but I think I could manage it and I would definitely love to help. Just the thought of that huge box of BPAL is pretty thrilling, and it would be a fun way to experience BPAL gluttony, if only for a short period, within my budget. Plus, Molly is a decanting angel and I'd love to give her a hand. I've offered my help, and we'll see how logistics work out—fingers crossed, because I'd love to do it and it would be a really fun experience.
From the Yule update I'm getting:
JACOB'S LADDER 2008
The meeting of Heaven and Earth: golden amber, galbanum, benzoin, ambrette, rockrose, costus and tonka.
I love amber and golden resins, and the reviews of previous incarnations make this seem like an amber-lover's delight. I signed up for a decant.
WINTER OF OUR DISCONTENT 2008
Embrace your villainy: balsam, myrrh, mandarin orange, bitter clove, artemesia, rosewood, nutmeg, dark musk, smoke
and cypress.
Hoping that the rosewood will be more subtle than rose, this combination of citrus and darkness intrigues me. Plus, it would be nice to finally love a BPAL Shakespeare reference, because I'm a Shakespeare nut but I've had little success with the Illyria line. Signed up for a decant.
GELT
A bounty of chocolate coins! Dry cocoa and golden amber!
I cannot even say how much this delights me. Cocoa and amber are two of my all time favorite notes, and I've always dreamed of seeing them together in a BPAL blend. To find them, just them, is a wish come true. Gelt caught my eye first thing, and I immediately decided I needed a bottle—I'm grabbing one through my decant circle. I am so anxious for it to arrive!
(Also: yum, chocolate coins. My particular cultural Jewish heritage emphasized Passover and Hanukkah, and so gelt is very much reminiscent of the holidays for me. And it's pretty. And yummy.)
Wind in the Willows didn't do much for me—perhaps because of the notes, perhaps because I'm unfamiliar with the source material.
Marchen, on the other hand, looks fabulous. It's a brilliant addition to the GC selection which of course makes me want to go read fairy tales. Because it's GC, I'll wait for reviews before purchasing. I am, though, considering:
THE SEA FOAMS MILK
Milk cresting on an ocean wave.
The concept of a milky aquatic is oddly fascinating. I'm intrigued.
THE SEA FOAMS BLOOD
Blood rising through an ocean wave.
I love and adore and have wished for more of the Lab's blood note, and I'm also in search of a salty aquatic. I'd love to try this.
THORNS
Thorn-spiked vines, blood, and tears.
Again, my love of blood; I've also been in search of a tears scent, and combining the two might be interesting. The vines worry me, depending on how sharp/green/similar-to-ivy they happen to be, but early word from Will Call says they're more woody and dark—which suits me.
Perhaps the best part of this update, beside Gelt, was the surprising number of blends with blood or salty aquatics. Blood I've loved ever since discovering The Tell-Tale Heart, and I've been in anxious search of more blends that contain it but not leather or wine—which seem to be blood's constant companions, but are two of my least favorite and successful notes. I'm still in search of my perfect pure salty aquatic, so this gives me more options to try. And there are some promising resinous Yules so, all in all, I'm quite content. I have my small decant order and will add GCs to my wishlist; I have left-over birthday money and upcoming Christmas money that I could have dedicated to Yules, but I'll save it for stocking up on GCs (O!) and maybe trying out some Carnaval Diabolique (Inez).
But even better. The decanter I use and love,
bookandbroom, is doing a smaller circle this time because she's been swamped by all the recent decanting. Not only was I able to get slots in the circle (yay!), I may have the opportunity to help her decant. She lives in a nearby city, and does all the decanting by her lonesome; I've never decanted before, but I think I could manage it and I would definitely love to help. Just the thought of that huge box of BPAL is pretty thrilling, and it would be a fun way to experience BPAL gluttony, if only for a short period, within my budget. Plus, Molly is a decanting angel and I'd love to give her a hand. I've offered my help, and we'll see how logistics work out—fingers crossed, because I'd love to do it and it would be a really fun experience.
