...oh Bela...

"I have never met a vampire personally,

but I don't know

what might happen tomorrow."

~Bela Lugosi

ApothescaryScents: Perfume Oils Inspired by the Mysterious and Macabre has done it again. Last week, I received Lugosi named after *swoon* Bela Lugosi. Cue the music, kids!

Described as:

Much like Bela Lugosi's intense, memorable personality, rich citrus notes of blood orange wrap around heartnotes of luxurious vanilla and sandalwood. Rounding out this blend are the exotic aromas of clove, ginger, and cardamom.

My fella says that I smell like a cookie. “No!” I yelled. “I smell like the undead!” umm, yeah, you get what I mean. But, I don’t think it smells like cookies at all. He just thinks everything that has a smell connects to cookies because, well, he likes cookies. Anyway!

It’s a completely different than the E.A. Poe (nutmeg, cedar, cassia Root, Virginia tobacco, bergamot) and the Mary Shelley (bergamot, basil, lemon and grapefruit--- I’m still like, really? No rose? It always smells a bit like rose to me) which are my other favorites.

...local smells & a thank you to a thank you...

Nearly a month ago I posted a review of Apothescary Scents Literary Classics sampler which includes five 1.2 ml glass vials.

The sampler includes the E.A. Poe (nutmeg, cedar, cassia Root, Virginia tobacco, bergamot) perfume, which I noted that I absolutely LOVED. I'm nearly out of that sampler so I'm super happy to report that Beth from Apothescary sent me a little thank you gift. Awww, thanks so much! 

Now that I'm revisiting the Etsy site, I'm glad to report even more choices such as single versions of the E.A. Poe perfume for only $3.95! 

There is also a Crossroads collection: 

With mournful melodies, haunting voices, and common themes of supernatural woes and lost love, the beginnings of Mississippi Delta Blues have embraced all things macabre. The DELTA BLUES Perfume Collection pays tribute to these spooky Southern sounds by evoking elements of the folklore, the songwriters, and the atmosphere that made the genre legendary.

One of the best known of the early Delta Blues musicians was Robert Johnson. Robert grew up poor and worked hard labor until he mysteriously disappeared for a year. Upon his return, friends and family claim that the man who before had been a simple and hardworking man suddenly had the ability to play a guitar the likes of which they'd never heard.

Some claimed that the only way Robert was able to attain such skill was by making a deal with the Devil himself.

According to legend, Robert met the Devil at a crossroads and bargained his soul in exchange for musical talent. When Robert died at the height of his career (at the young age of 27) it was simply accepted that the Devil had come to collect.

CROSSROADS Perfume Oil awakens a ghostly image of that fateful meeting between Robert Johnson and Old Scratch. Darkest patchouli parts the veil between worlds as a balance of clean cedar, rich amber, and dry brimstone anchor the fragrance to the earthly plane. A touch of peppery clove tops the blend and adds the steamy warmth of a Mississippi night.

CROSSROADS is a mysterious, sexy blend that is alluring on both men and women.

I'm sorry to cite so much from her page but I think she has the best descriptions. 

You may even want to check out the Cornbread & Honey perfume. How Southern is that?!? ;D I won't add the description for that one because it's making me hungry. 

Happy Scenting! 

...smelling like Mary Shelley and other classic authors...

A friend sent me an invitation to like Apothescary Scents online just in time for their GRAND RE-OPENING! The shop describes itself as:

“Inspired by macabre tales, gloomy atmospheres, and secret conjure potions, our perfumes are made with pure and essential oils, organic carrier oils, natural resins, and home-grown herbs.”

Apothescary Scents offers a collection of essential oils noting:

“Each small batch is carefully blended by hand, resulting in many unique limited edition runs.”

I purchased the Literary Classics sampler which included five 1.2 ml glass vials.

The sampler arrived just in time for February which to me means Sinus Infection/ Cold season but this year, I had a fever and had the flu for the last week. Ugh! So record silence on the blogosphere… and today I’m just trying to get caught up on wearing the essential oil sampler.

Now keep in mind that while I’m reviewing the scents that they’re on my body with my very own special chemistry. Plus, everyone has her own preference for smells. Overall, I liked the idea of these better than the actual product. I must not have great fine motor dexterity because those tiny vials are always troubling and I was pretty sure that I would pour out half of the product accidentally. Thankfully that hasn’t happened yet. And with all samplers, this is an excellent way to try new products.  

I started with Mary Shelley (bergamot, basil, lemon and grapefruit). I loved this one but it didn’t have much staying power and the scent was very faint. I tried to think of this as a metaphor. Perhaps a Percy Bysshe Shelley scent would smell stronger; perhaps like his long-form verse, his scent would remain longer?

Day 2 was my boy Poe (nutmeg, cedar, cassia Root, Virginia tobacco, bergamot); I’m a fan of the tobacco flower scent and I lovedLovedLOVED this one. Again, it didn’t have the staying power and the scent was very subtle but I’m pretty sure that I’ll go back to wearing this scent.

Day 3 was Old Books (vanilla, balsam, leather). This one was much stronger than the others and it had major staying power. Of course, now I’m wondering if my lack of being able to smell normally influenced how much I could actually smell. Hmmm. While I am a fan of old books, I am not a fan of the Old Books scent.

Today, I put on the Lovecraft (ginger, oakmoss, devil's root, lily of the valley) and No, No, No, No… I washed it off in about five minutes. That was not a scent for me. I replaced it with Emily Dickinson (lavender, orange, rose, jasmine, frangipani) which is now one of my favorites… but then I’m a fan of orange and rose scents.

Although I haven’t tried it just yet, Apothescary Scents also sent me a free sample of their ABSINTHE Perfume Oil which they describe as a scent which “captures that essence in an intoxicating medley of the rich licorice scent of green anise, the herbal bite of wormwood, heady fennel, and warm sugar.”

They also have a Victorian Séance collection. Unfortunately, I do not see any samples but there are a few of the perfume oils listed including:

APPARITION, which “captures this ethereal fragrance for the delight of the living. Freshly-cut grass lays the perfect foundation for slices of ripe pink grapefruit and a drizzle of honey. A breeze of lilies and eucalyptus carries this intoxicating blend from one world to the next”; SPIRIT CABINET, which “captures the dark, mysterious atmosphere created by the rich woods of a spirit medium's unique position during a séance. A deep and earthy base of ginger and patchouli is warmed by the haunting scent of clove. Rosewood and lemon top the fragrance with a veil of citrus-infused sweetness”; and, SMOKE & MIRRORS which “channels that darker side of the Victorian séance. Its deep and sultry scent is a rich and exotic blend of smoky nag champa, earthy cedar, and fresh pine and juniper branches.”

Happy Scenting! 

...a memory of a perfume and hanging on to the past...

Created by perfumer Edouard Flechier, Poison by Dior came out in 1985. That was 30 years ago and I’m still processing that as I write this post. It was a radical departure from the perfumes that Dior had previously released. Poison was a modern fragrance and wasn’t intended for traditionalist. The female is a dangerous vamp.  Even the name was daring and intriguing at the time. The commercial which I’ve included from 1987 seemed dark. 

Most folks my age have a strong opinion about Poison—they either love it or hate it. Regardless, the perfume was popular in the late 80s.  Poison even won a FiFi award in 1987, and by that point my best friend from middle and high school wore Poison. At the time, Poison was crazy-expensive. I could never afford anything like it. I wore imitation perfumes but my best friend, an only child, was given the perfume by her parents. I remember my parents hating the smell of the perfume and complaining that my friend wore too much of it. To me, she smelled amazing. Poison makes me think of her leather jacket, the goth clubs of our teens, and teenage friendship. The bottle was a cross between a magical purple apple with a touch of alchemy.  

Whenever I smell the perfume while I’m perusing a fragrance counter, I close my eyes and remember her.  Poison is rich, woody, and spicy with plum, tuberose, and musk.

I’ve been thinking about Poison today because I went out to pick up hair dye. I’ve been tired of my usual fragrances and decided that I might need a change. I am terribly drawn to the names of perfumes (and paint color, fabric shades, etc.) I really have to trick myself into selecting the best fragrance. I use the bottle samples to spray on the paper strips. I always mix up the strips on purpose so I don’t recall which perfume has been strayed on which strip. Once I settle on the smell, I then have to go back and figure out which perfume I actually liked (meaning, I have to spray more paper strips and match them). It isn’t the best science but it works for me. One of the perfume samples that I tried today was the newest of the Poison collections called Pure Poison. Introduced in 2004, the perfume includes a blend of orange, jasmine and gardenia with hints of sandalwood, musk and amber. There were actually three perfumers (Carlos Benaim, Dominique Ropion and Olivier Polge) who created this perfume. After I decided to purchase a bottle, I read some of the reviews. One of my favorites reads, “Strange, witchy white floral. Odd and slightly macabre somehow, like the witch from the Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe [sic]”.

It rhymes slightly with the original Poison while being lighter and more modern. Pure Poison reminds me of my youth while also revealing that while that girl is still in me, I have grown up; I just haven’t changed *that* much. After taking this picture, I realized that the genie lamp incense burner on the left was purchased when I was 15. Yep, I have a habit of hanging on.