Randomness
So, what's the thing you shouldn't do if you've had ouchy back pains of death due to a kidney infection? Oooh, ooh, I know this one! You shouldn't fall down the steps and land square on the small of your back. Which is exactly what I did on Saturday night. I'm still sore as all hell. I also hit my left shoulder and forearm. Ow, ow, ow.
So, I've been in bed a lot, watching season six of Buffy. It's funny how the first time I saw this season, I could appreciate the dark place they were trying to go to, but I couldn't connect because I hadn't experienced it. Yet, that is. A few years ago, it was all about Buffy doing the thousand-yard-stare and being all avoidy. It was okay, but it wasn't Buffy-as-normal. And now I get it-- that weird depression that comes with being in your early twenties and having no fucking clue how to cope with life. Your friends are changing, your love life is nothing like you remembered it to be, finances suck, and you've lost the clarity of teenagerdom. What do you fight when there's no clear battle, only a series of gray days all in a row? I feel like I'm watching the season with new eyes. I'm still not completely on board with the Trio, though. Thematically, I get it, but they're kind of boring to watch.
Also, my internet has been off at home. I can't check email or make posts or do anything until AOL stops being fucktarded. I've told my parents for years that AOL is screwy and stupid, but they never believed me. Grr. Arrgh.
And here's the part where I gush about BPAL. It's escapism, people. I get that.
I got my Halloween order. Here are my initial impressions:
Devil's Night Devil’s Eve, Devil’s Night, Gate Night, Trick Night, Mischief Night; whatever your name for it might be, the chaos is still the same. Contrary to popular belief, this festival of pandemonium isn’t unique to Detroit. Falling on October 30th, it is an evening of mayhem and destruction. On the gentler side, it may be celebrated by practical jokes, an egging, Ding-Dong-Ditch, or enthusiastic TP’ing of your most hated neighbor’s trees, and on the more violent side, arson and vandalism. This is the scent of autumn night, fires in the distance, with a touch of boozy swoon, playful sugar and thuggish musk.
This is really sweet, but in a good way. I get sugar and musk-- it's a fun scent that reminds me of going trick-or-treating. I don't get a lot of booze, which is good. So yeah. Air and sugar and musk. I like this. Potentially not enough for a 5ml bottle, but there's always decanting and swaps.
Dia De Los Muertos 2005 Revisited! A joyous celebration of La Catarina, La Flaca, La Muerte… Glorious, Beautiful Death. In Mexico, death is not something to be feared or hated; She is embraced, loved, and adored. La Muerte is fêted, as the celebrant "…chases after it, mocks it, courts it, hugs it, sleeps with it; it is his favorite plaything and his most lasting love." This is a Mexican paean to La Huesuda: dry, crackling leaves, the incense smoke of altars honoring Death and the Dead, funeral bouquets, the candies, chocolates, foods and tobacco of the ofrenda, amaranth, sweet cactus blossom and desert cereus.
Last year's DDLM had a really chocolatey top note. This one is less foody, and instead of incense, I get... perfume? It's a very dry floral. This kind of itched my nose. This one will be gifted or swapped.
Samhain 2005 Revisited! All the depth, beauty and darkness of All Hallows Eve. Truly the scent of autumn itself -- damp woods, fir needle, and black patchouli with the gentlest touches of warm pumpkin, clove, nutmeg, allspice, sweet red apple and mullein.
Pretty much the same as last year's, which is good because Samhain is the ultimate Autumn scent. But damn, this stuff is so so so strong. I still have half of last year's bottle because you can't wear more than two drops at a time, or all you smell is pumpkiny forest goodness for miles.
Trick or Treat The sticky sweet scent of candy corn!
Sugar Skull was pretty in the vial, but went to maple syrup on my skin after a few minutes. This is the perfect alternative sugar scent. It's caramelly and sweet and lovely! I may not wear it all the time, but layered on top of Skindazzles' Halloween Cupcakes frosting, this is the perfect seasonal confection. This smells positively edible, and the little victorian witch label is so cute!
The Pumpkin Patch For your demonic lantern-carving pleasure, we present five delightfully strange pumpkin variants:
Pumpkin with apple cider and mulling spice.
Pumpkin with cocoa, hazelnut and walnut.
Pumpkin and pomegranate.
Pumpkin with sandalwood and orris.
Pumpkin with five woods, English ivy and galangal root.
I didn't know until today which was which, but I coud pick out the apple cider one and the pomegranate one. Those were standouts, and so very lovely. The other three, on blind sniff, all smelled kind of similar, so I'm going to have to test them one at a time. I'll probably end up swapping the hazlenut one, because hazlenut does not smell good on my skin.
So, the Yule update. Oh my sweet lord. My thoughts:
THE CRACKED BELL:: A winter’s horror: smoke and stillness, faded incense and the metallic tang of blood.
My morbid curiosity got the better of me. Smoke and blood? Dude, I want to smell all horrific-like.
HERR DROSSELMEYER:: Magus, toymaker, and Godfather to Klara. An enigmatic man, seemingly somewhat sinister, but bearing a gentle air and a sincere love for children. This scent is dignified, refined, but dark, and hints towards esoteric mysteries and the secrets that tie mechanics to magick. Pipe smoke, sweet leather, woods and linen.
Sweet leather and linen? Check. Pipe smoke? Uhm, I think I'll swap for an imp of that. I like the smell of pipe smoke, but I'm not sure I want to smell like pipe smoke. Just smoke and blood. To clarify.
GINGERBREAD POPPET 2005:: Revisited! Warm, cozy gingerbread spiced with nutmeg, clove and cinnamon.
I have an imp from last year. It's very nice and perfect for foodie types, but I still have the better part of a 5ml of Shub Niggurath, which is pretty much my perfect ginger scent. I won't buy a bottle of this one.
HEARTH 2005: Thoroughly revisited. This year’s Hearth is warmer, sweeter, and more traditionally comforting. This is the scent of candied chestnuts, buttered, covered in brown sugar and honey, alongside the scent of cedar smoke and soft pine.
Last year's Hearth did not agree with me. It was too cherried, not my thing. This year, it's chestnuts instead? Even further from my taste. I might swap for an imp to sniff the difference, though.
JACOB'S LADDER:: The meeting of Heaven and Earth: golden amber, galbanum, benzoin, ambrette, rockrose, costus and tonka.
Amber, you say? Here. Have some money. I'm a little tiny bit worried about the tonka, though, because it can get sickly sweet on my skin.
LICK IT:: What else could possibly be more lickable at Yuletide? This is a candy cane perfume, minty, sweet and sugared.
This was not one of my OMG MUST HAVES upon first read. I might get some, though, for the same reason I have Trick or Treat. I can't do many mint blends, but if this is candyish enough, it might be fun for holiday parties. Also, ahahaha. The name.
MIDNIGHT MASS:: In Roman Catholic tradition, the Christmas season begins liturgically on Christmas Eve, though it is forbidden to celebrate the Christmas Mass before midnight. The most devout attend Midnight Mass, celebrating both the Eucharist and the drama of the Nativity.
This perfume is a traditional Roman Catholic sacramental incense, most often used during a Solemn Mass. Traditionally, five tears of this incense, each encased individually in wax that has been fashioned into the shape of a nail, are inserted into the paschal candle. This is, of course, represents the Five Wounds of Our Risen Savior. Symbolically, the burning of the incense signifies spiritual fervor, the fragrance itself inspires virtue, and the rising smoke carries our prayers to God.
One of my favorite holiday memories is sitting in the pews of the Church of the Redemption for Midnight Mass (at which I usually sang), breathing in the thick, magical incense. I ordered a bottle of this immediately.
MIDWINTER'S EVE 2005:: Revisited! A melancholy, deep scent, poignant and brimming with nostalgia. The perfume of sugared plums over a breeze of winter flowers.
I still have my imp from last year. It wasn't particularly deep to my nose, but it was sweetly nostalgic. A nice "every once and awhile" scent. I won't need to order a bottle.
MISTLETOE 2005:: Revisited! The plant of peace in Norse tradition. If enemies met in the forest and came upon a sprig, they laid down their arms and observed a truce until the next sunrise.
Christmas Tree in liquid form. Not fake craft-store smelling trees-- the real stuff. I love to sniff this one. On the other hand, I don't want to smell *like* the tree, I'll pass on a bottle.
NUCLEAR WINTER:: Annihilation. The ice, desolation and barrenness of nuclear devastation shot through by a beam of radioactive mints.
Radioactive mints? No.
THE PEACOCK QUEEN:: 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.
I don't really do florals, but if this is at all like Rose Red, I'll want to keep some just to have it. Beth does lovely, lovely things with roses, and I have a compulsive need to try this one.
THE RAT KING:: The Nine-Headed nemesis of the Nutcracker Prince. Dust, wood and feral musk with a fang-sharp undertone.
Erm. No thanks.
ROSE RED 2005:: Revisited! The perfected winter rose, dew covered and freshly cut.
I still have half a bottle from last year, and since I don't wear florals often, I won't order another. Still, I must say, this is an astonishingly true-to-life rose scent. It's rose and thorns and sharpness. It's really a marvel.
SNOW BUNNY:: I don’t always have to be sinister, do I? Here’s to finally being able to hit the slopes again! Soft white powder snow with a touch of youthful girlie perfume.
I want the snow. I don't want the girlie perfume. I'll swap for an imp, methinks.
SNOW WHITE 2005:: Revisited! A chilly, bright perfume: flurries of virgin snow, crisp winter wind and the faintest breath of night-blooming flowers.
I have half a bottle from last year, and I ordered another bottle. Words cannot describe how much I love Snow White. I wear it all the time in the winter.
STARDUST:: When the holidays roll around, not everyone has mistletoe, caroling and cookies on their minds. This scent is a paean to celebrating hard: nights covered in glitter and dusted with cocaine, flutes of Cristal clutched in shaky hands, leather and lace, the Spiders From Mars in the background, and twisting, sweaty limbs entangled in dark corners. Hairspray and cigarette smoke is the incense in this temple to decadence, strobe and mirrors replace the devotional candles, and Bolan sings the hymns. This scent is for everyone that has every drifted off into Quaalude-induced reverie to the beat of a tribal 4-on-the-floor: the sound of Mott the Hoople, Sweet, Slade or the Dolls. This scent reflects the futurism, self-indulgence and excess of the Glitter 70’s: champagne, hyacinth, tuberose, ylang ylang and flashing white musk with jonquil, tobacco flower, white sandalwood and a pale poppy.
Okay, I ordered this on name alone. Reading over the elements, this will most likely not work on me, as it's got florals and booze. Still, I can hope for a decadent miracle.
SUGAR COOKIE 2005: Revisited! The Devil’s Bake Sale has come back to town.
Christmas snickerdoodles! This one smells good, but I never really got the urge to acquire more than an imp because I don't do the overly-foodie thing.
TAL VIKUU:: Skeletal limbs of birch and fir coated in a thick, impenetrable blanket of snow. This is the death of the year personified.
This sounds like this year's Skadi. I was very dumb and swapped my bottle of Skadi last year because I'd not yet seen the light that it's pretty much the perfect winter woods scent. I'm giving this one a shot.
YULETIDE 2005:: Revisited! The juice of ripe, bursting, blood red holly berries.
Generic potpourri. It wasn't my favorite the last time I sniffed it.
Okay, back to work. Ho hum.
So, I've been in bed a lot, watching season six of Buffy. It's funny how the first time I saw this season, I could appreciate the dark place they were trying to go to, but I couldn't connect because I hadn't experienced it. Yet, that is. A few years ago, it was all about Buffy doing the thousand-yard-stare and being all avoidy. It was okay, but it wasn't Buffy-as-normal. And now I get it-- that weird depression that comes with being in your early twenties and having no fucking clue how to cope with life. Your friends are changing, your love life is nothing like you remembered it to be, finances suck, and you've lost the clarity of teenagerdom. What do you fight when there's no clear battle, only a series of gray days all in a row? I feel like I'm watching the season with new eyes. I'm still not completely on board with the Trio, though. Thematically, I get it, but they're kind of boring to watch.
Also, my internet has been off at home. I can't check email or make posts or do anything until AOL stops being fucktarded. I've told my parents for years that AOL is screwy and stupid, but they never believed me. Grr. Arrgh.
And here's the part where I gush about BPAL. It's escapism, people. I get that.
I got my Halloween order. Here are my initial impressions:
Devil's Night Devil’s Eve, Devil’s Night, Gate Night, Trick Night, Mischief Night; whatever your name for it might be, the chaos is still the same. Contrary to popular belief, this festival of pandemonium isn’t unique to Detroit. Falling on October 30th, it is an evening of mayhem and destruction. On the gentler side, it may be celebrated by practical jokes, an egging, Ding-Dong-Ditch, or enthusiastic TP’ing of your most hated neighbor’s trees, and on the more violent side, arson and vandalism. This is the scent of autumn night, fires in the distance, with a touch of boozy swoon, playful sugar and thuggish musk.
This is really sweet, but in a good way. I get sugar and musk-- it's a fun scent that reminds me of going trick-or-treating. I don't get a lot of booze, which is good. So yeah. Air and sugar and musk. I like this. Potentially not enough for a 5ml bottle, but there's always decanting and swaps.
Dia De Los Muertos 2005 Revisited! A joyous celebration of La Catarina, La Flaca, La Muerte… Glorious, Beautiful Death. In Mexico, death is not something to be feared or hated; She is embraced, loved, and adored. La Muerte is fêted, as the celebrant "…chases after it, mocks it, courts it, hugs it, sleeps with it; it is his favorite plaything and his most lasting love." This is a Mexican paean to La Huesuda: dry, crackling leaves, the incense smoke of altars honoring Death and the Dead, funeral bouquets, the candies, chocolates, foods and tobacco of the ofrenda, amaranth, sweet cactus blossom and desert cereus.
Last year's DDLM had a really chocolatey top note. This one is less foody, and instead of incense, I get... perfume? It's a very dry floral. This kind of itched my nose. This one will be gifted or swapped.
Samhain 2005 Revisited! All the depth, beauty and darkness of All Hallows Eve. Truly the scent of autumn itself -- damp woods, fir needle, and black patchouli with the gentlest touches of warm pumpkin, clove, nutmeg, allspice, sweet red apple and mullein.
Pretty much the same as last year's, which is good because Samhain is the ultimate Autumn scent. But damn, this stuff is so so so strong. I still have half of last year's bottle because you can't wear more than two drops at a time, or all you smell is pumpkiny forest goodness for miles.
Trick or Treat The sticky sweet scent of candy corn!
Sugar Skull was pretty in the vial, but went to maple syrup on my skin after a few minutes. This is the perfect alternative sugar scent. It's caramelly and sweet and lovely! I may not wear it all the time, but layered on top of Skindazzles' Halloween Cupcakes frosting, this is the perfect seasonal confection. This smells positively edible, and the little victorian witch label is so cute!
The Pumpkin Patch For your demonic lantern-carving pleasure, we present five delightfully strange pumpkin variants:
Pumpkin with apple cider and mulling spice.
Pumpkin with cocoa, hazelnut and walnut.
Pumpkin and pomegranate.
Pumpkin with sandalwood and orris.
Pumpkin with five woods, English ivy and galangal root.
I didn't know until today which was which, but I coud pick out the apple cider one and the pomegranate one. Those were standouts, and so very lovely. The other three, on blind sniff, all smelled kind of similar, so I'm going to have to test them one at a time. I'll probably end up swapping the hazlenut one, because hazlenut does not smell good on my skin.
So, the Yule update. Oh my sweet lord. My thoughts:
THE CRACKED BELL:: A winter’s horror: smoke and stillness, faded incense and the metallic tang of blood.
My morbid curiosity got the better of me. Smoke and blood? Dude, I want to smell all horrific-like.
HERR DROSSELMEYER:: Magus, toymaker, and Godfather to Klara. An enigmatic man, seemingly somewhat sinister, but bearing a gentle air and a sincere love for children. This scent is dignified, refined, but dark, and hints towards esoteric mysteries and the secrets that tie mechanics to magick. Pipe smoke, sweet leather, woods and linen.
Sweet leather and linen? Check. Pipe smoke? Uhm, I think I'll swap for an imp of that. I like the smell of pipe smoke, but I'm not sure I want to smell like pipe smoke. Just smoke and blood. To clarify.
GINGERBREAD POPPET 2005:: Revisited! Warm, cozy gingerbread spiced with nutmeg, clove and cinnamon.
I have an imp from last year. It's very nice and perfect for foodie types, but I still have the better part of a 5ml of Shub Niggurath, which is pretty much my perfect ginger scent. I won't buy a bottle of this one.
HEARTH 2005: Thoroughly revisited. This year’s Hearth is warmer, sweeter, and more traditionally comforting. This is the scent of candied chestnuts, buttered, covered in brown sugar and honey, alongside the scent of cedar smoke and soft pine.
Last year's Hearth did not agree with me. It was too cherried, not my thing. This year, it's chestnuts instead? Even further from my taste. I might swap for an imp to sniff the difference, though.
JACOB'S LADDER:: The meeting of Heaven and Earth: golden amber, galbanum, benzoin, ambrette, rockrose, costus and tonka.
Amber, you say? Here. Have some money. I'm a little tiny bit worried about the tonka, though, because it can get sickly sweet on my skin.
LICK IT:: What else could possibly be more lickable at Yuletide? This is a candy cane perfume, minty, sweet and sugared.
This was not one of my OMG MUST HAVES upon first read. I might get some, though, for the same reason I have Trick or Treat. I can't do many mint blends, but if this is candyish enough, it might be fun for holiday parties. Also, ahahaha. The name.
MIDNIGHT MASS:: In Roman Catholic tradition, the Christmas season begins liturgically on Christmas Eve, though it is forbidden to celebrate the Christmas Mass before midnight. The most devout attend Midnight Mass, celebrating both the Eucharist and the drama of the Nativity.
This perfume is a traditional Roman Catholic sacramental incense, most often used during a Solemn Mass. Traditionally, five tears of this incense, each encased individually in wax that has been fashioned into the shape of a nail, are inserted into the paschal candle. This is, of course, represents the Five Wounds of Our Risen Savior. Symbolically, the burning of the incense signifies spiritual fervor, the fragrance itself inspires virtue, and the rising smoke carries our prayers to God.
One of my favorite holiday memories is sitting in the pews of the Church of the Redemption for Midnight Mass (at which I usually sang), breathing in the thick, magical incense. I ordered a bottle of this immediately.
MIDWINTER'S EVE 2005:: Revisited! A melancholy, deep scent, poignant and brimming with nostalgia. The perfume of sugared plums over a breeze of winter flowers.
I still have my imp from last year. It wasn't particularly deep to my nose, but it was sweetly nostalgic. A nice "every once and awhile" scent. I won't need to order a bottle.
MISTLETOE 2005:: Revisited! The plant of peace in Norse tradition. If enemies met in the forest and came upon a sprig, they laid down their arms and observed a truce until the next sunrise.
Christmas Tree in liquid form. Not fake craft-store smelling trees-- the real stuff. I love to sniff this one. On the other hand, I don't want to smell *like* the tree, I'll pass on a bottle.
NUCLEAR WINTER:: Annihilation. The ice, desolation and barrenness of nuclear devastation shot through by a beam of radioactive mints.
Radioactive mints? No.
THE PEACOCK QUEEN:: 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.
I don't really do florals, but if this is at all like Rose Red, I'll want to keep some just to have it. Beth does lovely, lovely things with roses, and I have a compulsive need to try this one.
THE RAT KING:: The Nine-Headed nemesis of the Nutcracker Prince. Dust, wood and feral musk with a fang-sharp undertone.
Erm. No thanks.
ROSE RED 2005:: Revisited! The perfected winter rose, dew covered and freshly cut.
I still have half a bottle from last year, and since I don't wear florals often, I won't order another. Still, I must say, this is an astonishingly true-to-life rose scent. It's rose and thorns and sharpness. It's really a marvel.
SNOW BUNNY:: I don’t always have to be sinister, do I? Here’s to finally being able to hit the slopes again! Soft white powder snow with a touch of youthful girlie perfume.
I want the snow. I don't want the girlie perfume. I'll swap for an imp, methinks.
SNOW WHITE 2005:: Revisited! A chilly, bright perfume: flurries of virgin snow, crisp winter wind and the faintest breath of night-blooming flowers.
I have half a bottle from last year, and I ordered another bottle. Words cannot describe how much I love Snow White. I wear it all the time in the winter.
STARDUST:: When the holidays roll around, not everyone has mistletoe, caroling and cookies on their minds. This scent is a paean to celebrating hard: nights covered in glitter and dusted with cocaine, flutes of Cristal clutched in shaky hands, leather and lace, the Spiders From Mars in the background, and twisting, sweaty limbs entangled in dark corners. Hairspray and cigarette smoke is the incense in this temple to decadence, strobe and mirrors replace the devotional candles, and Bolan sings the hymns. This scent is for everyone that has every drifted off into Quaalude-induced reverie to the beat of a tribal 4-on-the-floor: the sound of Mott the Hoople, Sweet, Slade or the Dolls. This scent reflects the futurism, self-indulgence and excess of the Glitter 70’s: champagne, hyacinth, tuberose, ylang ylang and flashing white musk with jonquil, tobacco flower, white sandalwood and a pale poppy.
Okay, I ordered this on name alone. Reading over the elements, this will most likely not work on me, as it's got florals and booze. Still, I can hope for a decadent miracle.
SUGAR COOKIE 2005: Revisited! The Devil’s Bake Sale has come back to town.
Christmas snickerdoodles! This one smells good, but I never really got the urge to acquire more than an imp because I don't do the overly-foodie thing.
TAL VIKUU:: Skeletal limbs of birch and fir coated in a thick, impenetrable blanket of snow. This is the death of the year personified.
This sounds like this year's Skadi. I was very dumb and swapped my bottle of Skadi last year because I'd not yet seen the light that it's pretty much the perfect winter woods scent. I'm giving this one a shot.
YULETIDE 2005:: Revisited! The juice of ripe, bursting, blood red holly berries.
Generic potpourri. It wasn't my favorite the last time I sniffed it.
Okay, back to work. Ho hum.