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Showing results for tags 'Hymn to Fortuna'.
Found 20 results
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The Fortunes of the Harvest A hymn for increasing fecundity, and to help nurture all the seeds that you plant in the coming year: patchouli, licorice root, tobacco, and sandalwood. In the bottle: a cool, damp, gritty tobacco, like a pouch that's been kept in a farmer's pocket close to the skin. On the skin: Almost immediately becomes warmer and spicier as the patchouli breaks from the pack of notes, in the most inviting way imaginable. I'm not getting a clear bead on the licorice root or sandalwood notes, they are all expertly harmonized with the tobacco in a beautiful earthy chord (so, don't let that licorice note scare you). In the drydown the scent becomes less lively on the skin and more earthbound. The hint of sweetness from the tobacco (and I assume, the licorice) is quite pleasant. I would definitely scent a drawer or closet with this, in addition to wearing on the skin -- it completely reminds me of all the out-of-the-way corners of my grandparent's farmhouse, and the old books, clothes, and relics that gave off an enticing aroma of hard work and age.
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Perilous Fortune A hymn to avert misfortune and danger: honey infused with protective herbs and hope preserved in pale amber. Fortuna Dubia immediately reminds me of having a cold. It reminds me so, so strongly of an herbal tea I might make and then gooey up with honey for comfort when I'm feeling germy. As long as I can still sort of smell anything, I think I would reach for this, and also for Audumla (herbal milks), to help me feel better. And a hot toddy. Herbal honey, smoothed with amber.
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The Luck of the Day A hymn to seizing good fortune in the moment: orange blossom and wild bergamot sweetened with apricot. As much as I dislike Fortuna Liberum, that's how much I LOVE Fortuna Huiusce Diei. Though don't ask me to spell it. In the bottle, the orange blossom (one of my favorite notes in the history of notes) is predominant. On my skin, it remains dominant. The bergamot is the Mary Wilson of base notes, visible, complementing and supportive without taking center stage. Much as I love apricot, it does not initially present. On dry down, the apricot is still backstage. The scent is gently refreshing, a harbinger of a most desirable spring. I love it and plan to wear it in winter to remind me that another, less tumultuous and challenging season, beckons. I'll also wear it in the Spring. Summer and fall, too. It's lovely.
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The Fortunes of Children A hymn to the safety and freedom of children that they may prosper in health and wild joy: sweet vanilla tousled with orange blossom, blood orange peel, and a squirt of strawberry juice. As much as I love Fortuna Huiusce Diei, that is how much I dislike Fortuna Liberum until about eight hours into the scent process. On the plus side, it lasts for hours and hours and hours. Sillage is more powerful than average, especially in the first hour or two. On the down side, on my skin it's Sour Aspergum for the first few hours, then it turns into Sour Milk. And because it has such strong throw, it made me kinda sick. However, I was also feeling kinda listless so I didn't wash it off. I went to sleep and when I got up four hours later, the scent had mellowed into a more gentle, not particularly luscious orange creamsicle. Very tolerable. It was still going strong, throw-wise. And 15 hours later, I can still smell it. It's not that faint, either.
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The Fortunes of the People A hymn to the fortunes of your community, the blessings of civic duty, and the strength of many voices becoming one. Smoked vanilla sandalwood and leather, golden oudh, ambrette seed, caramelized patchouli, a single thread of saffron, and a sprig of crushed juniper. Proceeds from the sale of each bottle of Fortuna Ropuli Romani benefit the ACLU, who helps to ensure that the voice of the people is uncensored, unsilenced, and heard. There is no Juniper in this..thank the Lord. It's all smoky vanilla and oudh with patchouli and ambrette seed. I don't smell any saffron either. It's a great public speaking scent. I will be wearing this in court as it gives me a such a sense of confidence.
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The Joys of Good Fortune A hymn to laughter, joy, and merriment: blood orange and champaca bubbling with blonde tobacco, osmanthus, sweet clove, and vanilla. In The Bottle: So, this is my second Fortuna review and what this, so far, has in common with Balnearis, is that, like the original Antique Lace and a few precious others, upon first sniff, I am instantly transported into a realm of exquisite ache for a time long gone. Call it nostalgia or reverie, but it's palpable, visceral and I want to hold onto it for as long as possible. This scent, in the bottle, is difficult to pinpoint, in terms of individual notes. Generally I can at least pick out one or two from a chorus. Instead, I am flooded with memory, of being a teenager in my boyfriend's bedroom, his parents blissfully unaware that we did not, in fact, sleep in separate rooms as we'd promised to. It's my Skin Musk and sweet, barely audible traces of his Polo cologne, and the flower corsage he gave to me at his school dance the night before, and traces of my rich Nature's Gate conditioner left in my hair and none of those things. It's heady and hopeful and slightly angsty. Wet On Skin: Now that it's had a chance to warm on my skin, the initial squeeze of my heart has relaxed and I can discern some actual notes! The rich tartness of the blood orange is there, less "orange-y" than its Mandarin or Sweet Orange counterparts, Blood Orange reads more adult. Definitely not sugary. The champaca is here, but thankfully not in the heavy-handed way champa notes tend to amp on my skin, making me smell like Super Hit incense (love that incense. don't want to smell like it all the time.) The clove and vanilla definitely bring this scent into a balance, so that it's rich, again, without being heavy. Imagine decadent floor-length velvet curtains in a drawing room- that have just been opened to allow bright sunlight to flood in. That's the balance here, between heavy and light. And there *is* a "bubbly" aspect as described in the original description (one of those "How does Beth DO that?!?" moment for sure) that helps to buoy the heavier notes of the scent. Dry Down: This is indeed an appropriate homage to joy and merriment, but an adult rendering for sure. More Bacchus, not, say the Easter Bunny. It's rich and it's a little sweet and it's joyous, like a dessert port. I'm going to Morocco next month and I suspect this will be a bottle to pack in my suitcase for the duration
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The Fortunes of Adolescents A hymn to blossoming in wisdom and strength as you come of age: King mandarin and warm vegetal musk. orange-scented soap. That's it. and I don't think it's my normal skin-chemistry morphs it to soap situation because it's instant. there *might* be some veggie musk in there after a few minutes but it all smells so chemically-soapy I can't really tell
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The Fortunes of Warriors: She Who Restores, She Who Brings the Soldiers Home A hymn for the safety and good fortune for soldiers, and a prayer to bring them home: leather, sweet clove, and olive blossom. This is such an interesting scent! Fresh brown leather, clove, rubbed with Olive blossom. It smells high class. I smell like I imagine a high class 17th century Courtesan would smell after spending a delightful evening with a French Soldier. I don't know what to do with it..but it is fascinating.
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The Fortunes of Health and Well-Being A hymn for good health and protection of the vulnerable: orange blossom honey, vanilla husk, green stem sap, and a drop of King mandarin. In The Bottle: Neroli lightly dribbled over a sweet but delicate honey base. This is not the heavy honey -at least in the bottle- of "O". This is more like a honey *dust*. Fragrant but extremely delicate. I also get a tiny edge of the green sap, I recognize it from Strawberry Moon '09. It's a lovely addition here to bring balance to the sweet elements. Wet On Skin: The mandarin is starting to come into play at this stage, as the oil wars on my skin. I'm glad- King Mandarin is a note I really adore and part the reason I wanted to get a bottle of this scent. The vanilla husk remains invisible right now, but the other notes are playing to preciously together, I can't say I miss it. Dry Down: WHAT a lovely springtime scent! Neroli, sweet mandarin, light honey- there is no bad here. A good floral for those that shy away from florals, a good foodie for those that don't like heavy gourmand. This scent has low throw, a sweetly nostalgic feel and makes me ache for the return of spring. Beautiful beautiful beautiful.
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The Fortunes of Love and Beauty A hymn to romance and glamour, passion and virility, seduction and delight: red roses and blood musk enveloped in a haze of blackcurrant, red patchouli, leather accord, and black oudh. Mmm, this is a velvety haze of all kinds of sexy red things. The notes are really well-blended here, and the overall effect is kind of smoky, kind of winey (maybe the blackcurrant?), kind of musky. I was worried the red musk would predominate on me, but so far so good.
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A Witches Luck The fortune of a nasty woman: patchouli and pomegranate rind with vetiver, red oudh, tonka bean, green cognac, and honey. Am I first? Fortuna Praecantatrix arrived today (along with a few others, but this was the one I was keenest to try). In the bottle: Smells like an occult shop. Which feels very on-brand for the scent theme! Wet: Complicated. I get the patchouli and a hint of the vetiver right away, with something else that's woodsy/musky that I can't quite put my finger on. I'm assuming that's the oudh, as it's not a scent I'm super-familiar with picking out. Drydown: Even more complicated. It's quite fascinating. It's very rich and dark and not exactly sweet, but sort of (definitely a honey in the background, not sugary), and then the pomegranate comes in as a fruity edge - and at moments the throw almost has a hint of aquatic. Overall, at a quick sniff it's still fairly true to my initial 'occult shop' impression - all the different incenses and other smells melding together into something quite unique - but this is a Fancy Upscale Occult Shop, not your around-the-corner one. I hesitated over buying this, as I already have a lot of patchouli-vetiver blends, but this is very different from anything else I have. Win!
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The Fortunes of War A hymn for triumph for those who do battle, whether it be with fists, ideas, or words: frankincense and dragon’s blood resin, saffron-threaded red musk, tomato leaf, tobacco absolute and tobacco leaf, and leather accord. In the bottle: There is something really florid and bloodthirsty in the blend right off the bat, despite its sweetness. This is a hot-headed cowboy musk slathered in fancy cologne, ready to fight or fuck as the case may be. On the skin: Smoothing out as the dragon's blood spreads its wings. The frankincense is hovering somewhere in the middle, getting drawn into a playful tussle with the earthier notes below. While it's genteel on the surface, there's something lurking down there that seems to warn against getting too close, or resting too easy. The tobacco emerges slowly, the sin you only realize you've been stained by once it's too late. Whomever this blend might have been inspired by, their character is decidedly... *sniff* ...unsportsmanlike.
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The Fortunes that Govern Childbearing, the Fortunes of a Child at the Moment of Their Birth A hymn for blessing new mothers and newborn babies: white ambrette seed, motherwort, peony, jasmine tea, green tea leaf, Italian bergamot, and white cedar. (If you are pregnant or nursing, please do not use this oil, and please do not use this oil on infants or toddlers. It is best used in a scent locket, or to adorn clothing or amulets.) I'm the worst person to do the first review. I only tried a drop since I wasn't really excited about the first sniff out of the bottle. It's kinda like herbaceous pencil shavings once it's been on the skin for a bit. It's not strong, none of the elements end up taking over. It's kinda like a clean, green scent without thinking of SUPER green stuff.
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The Fortune That Changes Bad Luck to Good, Intervention in Times of Need A hymn for blessings: pomegranate juice, mint, and juniper berry. I love Violent Gesticulations from the 2017 Weenies, and when I saw the notes for this, I hoped for something similar but that may be a bit less high-pitched (which is perfect for Violent Gesticulations! But I didn't want a carbon copy). I got pretty much what I hoped for in this lovely scent. The pomegranate is darker and heavier, less punchy and more mellow--a bit like the kind in September Midnight. The mint and juniper berry blend in a way that accentuates the best parts of both--the crisp menthol of the mint and the woodsy, slight pungency of the juniper. Very well blended, but each note still manages to stand out even while balancing each other. Definitely a keeper! Glad I trusted my love of pomegranate enough to get a bottle.
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The Fortunes of Those Who Protect the Defenseless A hymn to give strength and good luck to those who safeguard others: black peppercorn, bitter almond, patchouli, and benzoin. Patchouli, sweetened by almond and benzoin, kicked up with black pepper. This is a dark, spicy patchouli to me. Good throw and wear length. If you enjoyed Nasty Woman, this is a more golden but no less fierce patchouli.
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Fickle Fortune A hymn to propitiate the gods of misfortune and honor the balance of forces in the universe: vetiver, patchouli, and black clove. I'm surprised more clove lovers didn't jump on this one. The vetiver makes it dry and dark, with the patchouli adding a hint of sex appeal. Man, this lasts really long, too. Really decent throw, too. A little really goes a long way. I'm on the fence because this feels like it sits perfectly between masculine and feminine. I could say unisex, but I don't think it's as clean as the typical unisex fragrances. I'd say that, depending on your mood for the day, and what you wear, you could push this in either direction. I can also see this being a nice base to mix other things with. I put a sweet lotion over top, and that smelled great!
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The Fortunes of Returning Home After a Perilous Journey A hymn for safety while travelling: tobacco jasmine. Spicy tobacco with a touch of jasmine. This is mainly a tobacco blend with just enough of a jasmine edge to it.
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The Fortune of the Seas A hymn to calming lifes storms and a blessing of serenity and level-headedness: champaca blossom and jasmine with a curl of lavender. When I read the notes here, it reminded me SO much of my very first BPAL buy and BPAL love, Twilight (which was lavender, jasmine and honeysuckle rather than champaca), and I have found champaca blossom to be my favorite new BPAL note, that I could not resist getting this and I am SOOOOOO happy I did!!! IN THE BOTTLE: YES!!! Definitely has the same aura that Twilight had for me all those many years ago (in fact, this inspired me to buy a new bottle of Twilight LOL!) ... somehow it's lush and beautiful and floral but without being all "in your face" ... a subtle and amazing loveliness. Applied to one wrist and in the crook of one arm, as I like to have a dry spot and a "moist" spot because they sometimes dry down differently. WET: OMGOMGOMG so perfect. For me, the champaca just blooms off my arm and embraces me in its warm, sweet (but not TOO sweet) embrace, lush and delicious. I know I keep using these "foodie" terms for a blend that is decidedly not foodie, but it's almost edible in its sweet perfection, not unlike the honey from honeysuckle. It's very much THERE but without being too strong or in your face. DRYDOWN: Sweet in the best possible way but also so complex ... the lavender sits in the back like "don't mind me, I'll shut my mouth but I'll be sure to keep the others in line" in a perfect way. It's unbelievably huffable. OVERALL: I know there are people who are not jasmine fans ... I happen to love jasmine, but know that sometimes it can just crash the party and take over and be all in your face. THIS jasmine does not do that. It hangs out with its sweet buddy champaca and wafts gloriousness all over the place. This is a perfectly purple and beautiful and complex blend and absolutely a new favorite for me! Now, if only the Trading Post would complement this with a bath oil, all would be perfect!
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Good Fortune Incarnate A hymn to the successes, prosperity, good health, and blessings that are drawn to you when you possess honesty, bravery, and good character: Himalayan cedar and honey myrtle, cistus and clary sage, ambergris accord and white oudh. In the bottle I get mostly cedar. On wet: cedar mixed with herbs and sweetness. On drydown: As the scent dries down I found the notes blended and became softer, less sharp cedar and more soft, woody, herbal sweetness. So far I haven't noticed the ambergris but it is fresh from a hot letterbox so I'll see if the scent changes as it cools down. Overall I like Fortuna Bona and I'll wear it when I'm looking for a clean, woody, tending-towards-masculine scent. Also when I'm aspiring to honesty, bravery and good character
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The Fortunes of Women A hymn for stability, health, strength, and fecundity: French lavender, white pear, and patchouli with clary sage, white tea, and sandalwood. I got this scent in a delivery last night, and was hoping to find some reviews on this but I guess I am the first so here goes... In the bottle: Sharp and clean...definitely getting a hefty dose of lavender and a ghostly background scent of fruit which I am guessing is the pear. Wet on skin: Stronger fruit, but not getting pear to my nose..more of an overall fruitiness that I would've weirdly guessed is berries. The patchouli is adding some earthy depth, but it's more of a clean patchouli than a "dirty" vibe version. Not picking up any tea, but there is a still a clean, soapiness to this brew that could be in part to the clary sage and/or lavender. Dry down: This is morphing...The fruit still smells oddly "berryish" to me, but it's retreating to the background. The patchouli is also taking a backseat. I am getting more of the lavender and clary sage mixing with the freshness of sandalwood... Overall this is beautiful but smells more like an interesting soap or body lotion than perfume to me...If you are a big lavender or sandalwood fan, you may enjoy though. This has medium throw but faded on my skin within about 45 mins...
