shipwreckgirl

On me, Lulu is quite strong indeed on the tobacco flower. The other notes just kind of soften up the "dirty" vibe that tobacco flower sometimes gives me.

Wow, all of the discussion on this thread has been awesome and helpful. Thanks everyone! I did a little more research into the Orishas (yay wikipedia!) and Yemaya is the one really calling to me. I'm drawn to her aspect as a mother and protector. But she has another darker aspects as a pirate assassin. Also "the patron deity of the fishermen and the survivors of shipwrecks." (check my username - that works for me ) As for her blend, it doesn't sound like anything else I have in my collection. I'm going to take a chance on something different from my usual. I only hope that I get honeydew out of it instead of cantaloupe. (And, Madame Nyx, thanks for the advice. I've got an imp of Olokun kicking around to keep her company.) Also, I retested Elegba, and it's much better than I remember. Not as boozy as I thought. Today I was just getting creamy coconut and spice with the rum sneaking around the background. My imp is defiantly going to get some love.

I'm consistently grateful for how much this company does for charity and will certainly be adding one of these blends to my next order, but I'm not sure which one. It will most likely be an unsniffed bottle, and that's a tough call to make. I've tried Elegba, Olokun, Ogun, and Osun. I liked them all, but am not sure any of them were bottle worthy (Actually, I toyed with a full bottle of Osun the first time I tried it, but I've got so many honey blends already...) And Yemaya has been on my wishlist forever, but I'm a bit worried it will be too much melon. The biggest issue I'm having is that so many of the blends sound good, but I can only afford one right now. I also am considering the... I guess the intent of the blend in addition to the notes. These blends represent specific dieties, and I want to respect that when making a purchase. I'm not religious, and only vaguely aware of the Orishas, but I still want to take their spirits into account when deciding. Does that make sense? (In that regard, I'm actually still leaning towards Yemaya and Osun.) To help myself decide, I'm going to do the standard "update" breakdown, and I really appreciate input from others. ELEGBA His ofrenda contains coconut, tobacco and sweet, sugared rum I've tried this, and it is a lovely coconut blend, but I have a ton of coconut blends already, and the rum is just a little much for me, I think. OBATALA Obatala’s ofrenda is soft, white and pure: milk, coconut meat, shea butter and cool, refreshing water. This sounds very pretty. Creamy and soft. And this bit from the description really appeals to me: "Obatala’s Laughter helps soothe the pain of life’s rigors, and takes the sting out of the harshest of life’s lessons" But, again, I'm afraid it may be too similar to things I already own. OCHOSI The Archer, Lord of the Bow and Arrow... His ofrenda is the soft shea he shares with Obatala, forest herbs, and sprucewood arrow shafts. Definite contender. My grandfather was an archer, but green scents can be hit or miss on me (hit or miss for the archer ) OGUN Ogun’s ofrenda is heavy and dark cigar tobacco, gin and juniper, melon, chili pepper and a touch of honey. Tried this. This scent is unique and cool. But it's a bit on the harsh side, and I don't think I would ever use up a bottle. OLOKUN His ofrenda is the scent of the lightless deep: the glorious, unknowable gloom of the ocean floor. Tried this. I tend to do well with aquatics, and The Lord of All Waters, Master of Wealth, Keeper of the Secrets in the Depths of the Ocean, Lord of the Lightless Deep, God of the Unknown is right up my alley, but the scent itself was nice, but just not OMGBESTAQUATICEVER OSUN Her ofrenda is thick with honey and herbs of love, passion and desire. This is a beautiful honey blend, and Mama Osun was the first Voodoo goddess I can remember being aware of. I dig her. This would be the one if I didn't already have so very many honey blends (seriously, a huge percentage of the oils I own have honey) OYA Oya’s ofrenda is a Nigerian potion of love and war, sweetened by darkest plum This sounds so beautiful and bold, but the review say almond, and almond and I are not friends SHANGO The Master of Lightning's ofrenda contains red apples, banana, chili pepper, coconut, pineapple, pomegranate and sugar cane. Hey, this one sounds cool and different. I like it in concept, but am scared that it would end up too fruity and I may never wear it. And I do like masculine blends but the absolute and perfect Male creature is not exactly me . YEMAYA Lady of the Ocean, Queen of Mothers, Mother of the Children of the Fishes. Her ofrenda is a bounty of melons and grapes, strewn with the petals of the flowers of motherhood, draped with sea mosses. This I would buy. I'm a mama, and I'm deeply comforted by the ocean. The notes sound lovely... but then I read the reviews and I think of Denny's breakfast buffet. I don't even know why, but that's the image the reviews bring to mind. PORT-AU-PRINCE Dark, decadent and incomparably exotic: the rich scent of buttered rum flavored with almond, bay, clove and sassafras. Eh, it sounds nice, in theory. But almond, clove, and butter. Not my favorites.

Amber, fig, vanilla flower, oak, patchouli, vetiver, dragon’s blood resin, leather, and neroli. Wow, this blend has a ton of big scary notes in it! But none of them are really doing their big scary thing. I don't smell the oak or leather at all. The amber, patchouli, vetiver, and dragon's blood are there, but quiet. Somehow, all of these bad boys combine to make a soft, smokey, sweet, very pretty blend. Not what I was expecting at all, but I adore this.

Anyone have cypress recommendations? It's a common note in Mlle. Lilith and Roux-ga-Roux, and it works beautifully on me in both of those blends. What's the bestest GC cypress blend? And I would probably die for something with cypress and honey.

Wiley's Swamp is lovely, bright, and a bit fizzy. Kind of reminds me of grape soda (even though nothing in the notes remotely suggests that!) Water-logged and rotting wood, fallen chestnuts, oak leaf, bog laurel, and Virginia creeper. Don't be scared by the description. It's really pretty.

I can't really tell from the labels. Do the Chaos Theory bottles say who made the specific blend?