myoubi

Money delivers. I used this for a particular purpose -- funding for my partner's project fell through, and we needed replacement funding ASAP, which is not easy to find. This was a sizeable chunk of our annual income. I printed out his project statement, folded it up with some paper money inside, and anointed the corners with Money while concentrating on what we needed. (I also juiced it with some oil from a company BPAL frequently collaborates with) Then I left the paper out where the sun would shine on it. Three weeks later, my partner's original funding source reconsidered (!) and now has firmly committed to fully funding his project. I'm so relieved, and very grateful to have this oil from the Lab.

You know when you look back on something you've done, or a way you've behaved, and you just want to disappear and hope nobody ever thinks of you again? You know when you read articles about toxic people and you're like... "Wait, I think *I'm* the toxic person. The call has been coming from inside the house this whole time!" ...perhaps it's just me. Either I have overactive guilt/shame reflexes, or I just do crappy/embarrassing things more often than most people, or maybe both. Who can say! In 20 years I'll probably have enough perspective to tell the difference. But right now, I'm pretty sure I've done the wrong thing. Again. I'm still working on finding solutions to the behaviours in myself that I want to change. That's an ongoing process, and it feels sometimes like it's just a sequence of falling on my face again - and again - and again - and irritating, aggravating, or hurting any number of people in the process. I do look at myself now and see that I am miles ahead of where I was five years ago, which is good. But in the interim -- sometimes I just want people not to think about me, or talk about me, or feel any type of way about me at all. I don't like being the subject of gossip, and I don't like the idea that my behaviour could get someone else down. In those moments, I just want to draw a veil over myself, separating me from the rest of the world. Giving me a little peace and respite from other people's thoughts and feelings, and giving other people a little respite from the effects and consequences of my behaviour. That, I think, is a good place for Veils and Mists to come in. I'd never thought about it as a TAL I'd want to have in my life, but increasingly it feels useful or even necessary to me. I'm not sure how I'd judge its effectiveness because that would require proving a negative, and an impossible one at that -- "Prove other people HAVEN'T been privately gossiping about me or feeling bad about things I said or did!" Nevertheless, I'd like to be able to send that energy out into the world, with some serious oomph behind it courtesy of the Lab. I'll try and get my hands on a bottle and update this entry if/as events warrant.

METHOD: Anointed a small natural-white paraffin pillar candle with Radiance of Ra + Block Buster to banish circling negative thoughts. Worked very well. I found myself stuck in a rut of negativity, where I was feeling down on myself in general and convinced I'd done something wrong to alienate one person in particular. There was a lot of negative self-talk, which not only felt crappy, but also impeded my ability to get on with my life. I dressed a candle with Radiance of Ra and Block Buster. I envisioned bright rays of sunshine breaking through the fug of negativity, clearing out those heavy shadows in the mind, and busting through the blocks of insecurity and negative self-talk I'd stacked up in my own path. I thought about eliminating the "lies and deceptions" of low self-esteem, which were telling me that I'm not good enough and soon everyone would find out. As soon as I lit the candle, I felt better. I stood up straighter, and the circling negative thoughts just -- stopped. I wasn't distracted by self-criticism. I attacked a task I'd been avoiding and felt good about it. I cooked dinner and enjoyed it. I reread the email to the person I thought I'd alienated -- which I had been avoiding -- and concluded it was perfectly harmless and if he didn't like it, that wasn't on me. I realised I'd done the best I could, and I should continue to do the best I could, and that was that. I just felt better right away. It was amazing. I haven't experienced any vim and vigor yet, and I don't feel particularly energized, but that might be because I'm pretty sleep deprived right now. Will report back if that changes. Additionally: I'm thinking of starting to make my own hand-poured soy wax candles using TAL oils,

I wish, I wish, I wish I got what Little Bird and samanare got. I may retest this in a few weeks just to be sure, but sadly I think this one is not for me. In the bottle: Cherry cough syrup First moments on skin: Glace cherries. Strangely penetrating. And rum? 15 minutes in: Mostly glace cherries and some other dried fruit with just a bit of something cakey. Some note that has that alcohol/mint clearing-out-your-nostrils feeling. 1 hour in: yep, that's fruitcake all right. Very sugary, mostly dried fruit, less cake. With a lot of glace cherries and something very penetrating. Maybe that's the cologne. No red velvet, no buttercream, not that much cake. I really wanted to like this one. I love the name, I love the Lab's red velvet note, and I *love* the pitch for the organization this scent is sponsoring. However, this is a miss for me.

Effects review: this stuff works. I found myself stuck in a rut of negativity, where I was feeling down on myself in general and convinced I'd done something wrong to alienate one person in particular. There was a lot of negative self-talk, which not only felt crappy, but also impeded my ability to get on with my life. I dressed a candle with Radiance of Ra and Block Buster. I envisioned bright rays of sunshine breaking through the fug of negativity, clearing out those heavy shadows in the mind, and busting through the blocks of insecurity and negative self-talk I'd stacked up in my own path. I thought about eliminating the "lies and deceptions" of low self-esteem, which were telling me that I'm not good enough and soon everyone would find out. As soon as I lit the candle, I felt better. I stood up straighter, and the circling negative thoughts just -- stopped. I wasn't distracted by self-criticism. I attacked a task I'd been avoiding and felt good about it. I cooked dinner and enjoyed it. I reread the email to the person I thought I'd alienated -- which I had been avoiding -- and concluded it was perfectly harmless and if he didn't like it, that wasn't on me. I realised I'd done the best I could, and I should continue to do the best I could, and that was that. I just felt better right away. It was amazing. I haven't experienced any vim and vigor yet, and I don't feel particularly energized, but that might be because I'm pretty sleep deprived right now. Will report back if that changes.

This one, unfortunately for me, smells more like the Lab's description and less like what earlier reviewers described. After the reviews, I was hoping for a chilly winter queen. It starts off promising -- a blast of snowy, piney, slightly minty chill, the Lab's familiar snow note that I love. I took a big sniff and thought aw yeah, that's the stuff! And then it went... sweet. And it got sweeter, and sweeter, until it was this almost icing-sugar-sweet vanilla ringed in snow. I was hoping for Skadi's more feminine cousin and instead got something like a frosty vanilla holiday drink. I don't know why my skin does this 😥I'll let this sit for a few months to see if it changes, but if it's still this sweet-vanilla on me, it may find a new home.

I'm not really a florals girl, but I bought this when it came out because of the name/associations -- the brides are one of my favourite moments in Dracula. I don't wear it often, but it's the only floral I still have in my collection. For the first few hours, it's a sweetish billowy white floral. Lotta lily, lotta osmanthus. To be honest, I like but don't love this phase, and kind of wait for it to pass. At 3+ hours, it turns into a lovely, light, slightly spicy amber-musk with a swirl of white flowers. Exactly like the women it describes -- I think of moonlight, flowing hair, and something almost predatory lurking underneath. It hugs close to the skin, but I can smell it when I move my arms. It's feminine and classically beautiful while retaining a bit of a come-hither vibe. Lovely.

Snake Oil with buttery pastry and a hint of powdered sugar. Exactly what it says on the tin. The Snake Oil is recognizable and well-blended -- it doesn't smell like two smells rolled into one bottle, but like a true SO variant that reframes the vanilla of the original scent in a new (gourmand) light. Lighter on the patchouli -- this isn't a dark-toned blend. It's like a sweeter/fluffier cover of a familiar song. ETA: Gets increasingly doughnutty as time goes on -- first few hours were pastry-sweetened SO, now 4 hours in we are at lightly-SO-scented pastry. If it's not foody enough for you at start, give it time; if it's too foody for you at start, give this one a miss. ETA 2: didn't think I'd like this one as much as I do, but I've reached for it nearly every day since I received it. At this rate I'll need multiple backup bottles. ETA 3: I have... 9 bottles.

Good to know it's not just me. The 2019 bottles I have are still clear, and still smell like butter. I was hoping that smell would age out but 3 years later, it hasn't, and they are basically unwearable. I have 3 of them

Don't give up on this one -- the drydown is worth it. First impressions: whoa, smoke and leather. A lot of smoke and leather. Almost acrid. I like leather, but this is too much. I gave it a minute, two, five... nothing mellowed. OK, I was done. I scrubbed it off. Then I brought my hand to my face about 20 minutes later and smelled the most lovely deep, smudgy leather-vanilla-tobacco. Smoke and Lace has staying power because it survived the attempted scrub, and I'm so glad it did. After 30-40 minutes the green cognac comes out to play. The notes are well-blended into a darkish smear of a scent that feels like, well, smoke. It's not sweet, but it has that vanilla richness to soften the edges. It's not like anything else in my collection and it's quite lovely, in the way that things are only lovely when they are uncommon. I wouldn't wear this every day the way I wouldn't wear an evening gown every day. It has that feel to it. I don't know whether my bottle of Smoke and Lace has a forever home with me. I might want a decant more than I want a bottle. On the other hand, I'm weirdly reluctant to let it go. I'll want to keep at least some in my collection, either way. If you are on the fence about laces (as I was), try this one. If you are a lace fan, try this because it's different from anything else I've smelled in the lace series.

I like patchouli... but not this much. Thick, dark, mulchy, vegetal patchouli. It is rich and it is strong. The odd time I get a whiff of burnt caramel. If what you want is a really true, barely-sweetened patchouli almost-single note, this is for you. As for me, I have found the limit of how much patchouli I want in a blend. Swaps!

Not reviewing the scent but for the use. Charisma is hit and miss on me. I find when it works it WORKS, but the difference is how long I take to really focus my intent. If I just slap it on and go about my business, it doesn't have any discernible effects. But when I take time to really sit, apart from everything else, and focus on how it makes me feel, Charisma can work wonders. I put a drop on each chakra point and the palms of my hands and imagine a glow of light coming out of each chakra point, one by one, until I feel haloed in warmth and light. I just sit there silently for a while, sometimes for a full couple of minutes, feeling apart from everything and living in that glow. I'm ready to go when I feel like I'm emanating warmth and brightness. When I take the time to do that, it's remarkable. It's not just the effects of taking a few minutes to meditate. I've had people who knew me for years do a double take, like they were actually seeing me for the first time. Conversations are more animated and it feels easy to connect with people, like everyone you meet wants to know you better. But it's best used judiciously -- I have a bit of a 'drop' the day after. It's not a bad feeling, just like being a bit underslept and needing quiet and a nap, but all day. Not an everyday blend, but a very effective one when you take the time to charge it with intent.

White honey-blackberry-clove. Well rounded, soft, sweet but not overly sugary. A morpher: starts off a strong vanilla with a berry ribbon, turns into ripe berries with clove underpinnings, and then settles for most of its run into a soft cloud of white honey with blackberries and a little clove. 8 hours later, it has dried down to a lightly musky vanilla-clove that sticks close to the skin. You have to really like clove to like Final Girl, and yet it's not overpowering -- just always present, a little differently, at every stage. Medium throw. I'm not sure why, but this one reminds me a little bit of Midway and a little bit of Monster Bait: Closet -- which happened to be the only two foodie blends in my collection. Now Final Girl makes three.

Thank you! I'll give it a try

Okay, I'll bite! A lot has come out since last I tested anything new. Any recommendations based on these: 1. Snake Oil 2. La Fee Verte 3. Monster Bait: Closet 4. Perversion 5. Brides of Dracula I *didn't* much like L'Heure Verte, and I was thinking of retesting Morocco.