Elegba

[Caltha]

Elegba

The Spirit of the Divine Messenger, the Lord of the Crossroads, He Who Owns All Doors and Roads in this World. He is the intermediary between the Orishas and mankind, and stands at the intersection of humanity and the Divine. He opens all paths of communication, both mundane and Heavenly. His ofrenda contains coconut, tobacco and sweet, sugared rum.

 

I get burnt sugar, vanilla, citrus, tropical fruit, creme brulée and coconut... In short: a strong cloud of candy sweetness, yummylicious.

[nancybridget]

Ah, coconut, how you vex me!

 

In the imp, you're pure delight and on my skin, nothing but sour milk and cheap plastic doll head. Why, oh why?!?

[TheStormCellar]

Pina colada. Seriously. I smelled like a pina colada the whole day. Way too much coconut for me to handle in a fragrance.

[Abbie]

In the bottle: Well howdy Cap'n Morgan! This is full-on coconut rum: boozy and buttery-sweet like a trip to Vegas.

 

First on: On, this gets much more interesting. Still mostly the coconut rum, but there's a spicy tobacco scent underneath... even more like a trip to Vegas, now that I think about it.

 

Dry: As it dries it fades and gets less sweet, with maybe a bit of a green smell

 

Overall: It's nice but it isn't me. For swap.

[filigree_shadow]

I put this on and said, "Mmmm!" and held my arm out to my hubby, who said, "Mmmm!"

 

He said "Smells like rum!" as I was saying "Smells like coconuts!"

 

It's not quite so Pina Colada after a few minutes, and the tobacco comes out. Sweet, silky, very tropical blend.

 

We like this one.

[abberlaine]

Sniffing the imp, I get the rich, warm, languid caramel and booze scent from Red Lantern. It's a notch less knock-you-back and get-you-high, but still, it's very, very good.

 

Oh, this is great on the skin. Caramel-y rum, coconut that's been toasted until it's brown, and the slightly bitter tobacco drying the whole thing out. Because of the tobacco note, a guy could totally wear this. Spring break, anyone?

 

I was expecting something creamy, juicy, and sun-tanny from Elegba. Instead, I picture a languorous rich man smoking cigars and eating caramellized rum desserts at hot beach resort.

 

Red Lantern presents a whole tapestry in comparison to Elegba, and for that, I prefer Red Lantern. On the other hand, I like that Elegba is less rich and heavy than Red Lantern. It's like the day version, if you will.

 

Thumbs up!

[ariesathena]

Gah, this is just fabulous. *drools* It smells a lot like Red Lantern, which is one of my favorite scents. It smells like a perfect spiced coconut rum to me, like Captain Morgan meets Malibu. I probably don't need a big bottle of this, since I still have my Red Lantern, but yet i can't resist...

 

The nice thing about Elegba is that it is a little lighter than RL, so I don't feel like I've gone straight past work and into a very debauched happy hour if I put it on in the morning.

 

Throw and stay are both moderate.

 

5/5

[spidersinmyhair]

When i first opened elegba,I thought i smelled chocolate.I assume it was the coconut and sugared rum combo that initially fooled me.

The coconut is prominent at first,but it dries down to a soft,warm,spicy smell.The coconut seemed to check back in every now and then.If you like really sweet foody scents,this will appeal to you at first,but it definately dries down to a more soft and spicy scent.I will leave the rest for my DH.

This is kind of like being on a tropical island without the suntan lotion overload.I really liked it,but there are many more scents that I prefer,as i found the drydown phase to be a bit masculine for me.Can't wait to smell it on my guy!

[eviltemptressdq]

very much RUM. with a sweetness. really like a vanilla cigar, too...

 

unfortunately, neither of those scents appeal to me... this is similar to Underpants, really, in how it smells on me. rum. rum. and more rum.

 

*ick* Ah well, off to the Enabler for testing!

[silver_dollar]

In the imp: Uh-oh. It's just like Red Lantern. Oh please don't let this go all funky on me like that did. Please let me be able to wear rum scents.

 

On my skin: Still Red Lantern Lite. All I can smell is rum, but at least it isn't going weird on me. Yet. This might do better as a room scent.

 

Later: There's still mostly rum, but there's also a smoky sweet note behind that that I'm liking a little better than straight-up rum.

 

Now: It's mostly gone, leaving behind a powdery, slightly smoky scent.

 

It doesn't last a long time, and doesn't have an ungodly amount of throw, which is kind of a good thing because smelling this too long might be capable of giving me a headache. It never went wonky like the rum in Red Lantern did, though. Strangely enough, this strikes me as more pirate-y than voodoo-y.

 

It's okay. I'll probably use up the imp. I just really wish the rum didn't amp and drown out all the other notes.

[m13]

Elegba... opener of the ways, big boss of the crossroads, lord of the road, trickster, righter of wrongs, giver of second chances, breaker of barriers, the great communicator, Mr. Fast Fix – and the god who I honor each morning by placing a hot cup of black strong coffee on his altar. Got to love a god who is as much of a caffeine fiend as I am, and I love me some Papa Legba. I've seen him work miracles in my life.

 

Legba brings peace of mind, among his many other gifts. So I thought it was wonderful that his BPAL oil smells like summer vacation bottled (at least on me.) Mostly coconut, with the faintest occasional whiff of tobacco, the barest hint of booze. Everyone who smells it on me smiles. It's happiness in a bottle, and perfect for Papa Legba. I want to slather this oil on, bathe in it, burn it in my oil burner, and sprinkle it on everyone I know --at least for the next couple of summer months and then I'll have to find another scent to honor Papa – this one is a bit too summery to work year round. But, yup, big bottle for me ASAP.

[lunareclipse]

I keep getting these frimps that I'd never have picked out, but end up loving.

 

In the imp: Sweet coconut and brown sugar, with a powerful alcoholic kick. I'm pretty well sold on anything that smells like a tropical drink.

 

On, wet: pretty much the same. The coconut almost smells like sunscreen, but the brown sugar and rum keep it from going all Coppertone on me. Amazing throw, too.

 

Drydown: Still sweet, but the tobacco is coming out to play, making this more sophisticated, darker and less sugary than it was at first. I rather like it.

 

edited because I can't type today.

Edited June 30, 2006 by lunareclipse

[urraca]

A hint of coconut at the outset dominated by caramelly sweetness and backed by tobacco, I can find almost no difference on me between this and Red Lantern. It's also reminiscent of Sugar Skull. Both were too intense for me, and so is this.

[Aredhel]

Rating (on skin): 4/5

Summarised in a word or two: Coconut and caramel!

 

Hopes & Notions: I'm hoping for a sweet, sugary coconut (then again, I get that from Obatala!). I'm fearing a smokey rum.

 

In the imp: Coconut! Sweet, lovely coconut.

 

On skin, wet: Mmm, coconut. I don't know when it started, but I've had such a thing for coconut lately. And this is a lovely coconut. Warm, rich, and a little dry.

 

On skin, dry: Sweet, sugary coconut and a strange, almost caramel-y note. The latter is oddly warm, and almost plastic. It really is quite similar to Red Lantern. RL, however, is much thicker, darker and warmer. The tobacco there is much heavier, whereas here it's simply an afterthought.

 

Conclusion/Notes: I like Elegba well enough, but it's close enough to Red Lantern and Obatala that I don't need all three. I'll keep the imp, though.

[shellyshells]

Imp: I can smell the coconut and rum booziness right away.

 

On me: The best morph ever!! Coconut and rum show first and dries down to a perfect blend of the top notes and then I smell tobacco as the base note. Lasts all day too!

 

Overall: Love at first sniff. Rich, creamy, and tropical!

I'm anxiously awaiting the big bottle order.

[PurringPulsar]

Elegba

 

In the imp: buttery rum, slightly caramel like, very similar to Grog.

Wet on skin: like Grog with tobacco.

Dry on skin: lots of butter rum, it's almost caramelised and has that same dusty scent to it (which I think is a skin thing), only this has a deep, rich cigar scent to it. It's a smoky, dark, dry, almost gritty tobacco scent at the base but I really like it. I get a desiccated coconut scent to it-like dry, grated coconut, not the creamy coconut of Obatala. I've just seen PotC2 so my mind is filled with Captain Jack Sparrow asking why the rum is always gone…this is very much a darker Grog or a less incensy Red Lantern. It's warmly spicy as well.

After a while: the throw to this is a gorgeous caramelised coconut, soft, smooth and summery. The scent closer to the wrist is more tobacco-y, darker and drier, much smokier, with shredded coconut and the remains of the sugary rum.

After a few hours, Elegba takes a break from rum and starts to smoke a cigar. the tobacco is much more pronounced and a lot smokier-but it doesn't smell like horrible cigarette smoke (not many BPAL tobacco blends smell like that anyway). This is good tobacco, like the crisp, deep burn of a cigar or pipe or even burning autumn leaves and bonfires-it's like a waft of smoke in the air, it's a lovely scent. There's a hint of sweetness, almost vanilla like, and coconut to it. It now reminds me of Arcana Soap's Devilish, only more coconutty.

Verdict: I really like this scent-to me, this is Grog's grown up, chilled out brother. This starts off very similarly to Grog, with the exact same caramel-butter rum scent, swaggering up to my nose like a certain well-known pirate from a movie, but the drydown is what distinguishes Elegba from Grog. That's when the tobacco comes out-warm, deep, gently smouldering and leaving a scent that makes me think of bonfires in the autumn, with a hint of coconut-sugar sweetness lingering. I love the way that BPAL has changed my mind about rum and tobacco scents-this is such a pleasant scent, with elements of summer and autumn to it-not one for a bottle but I'll keep the imp around for the gorgeous smoky drydown.

Emoticon rating:

If you like this, try: Grog, Ogun, Spooky, Red Lantern

Edited September 28, 2006 by yeahbutnobut

[theseagrows]

damn. the only note i was iffy about in this is the rum, and i was right in my assumption. the rum gives it a buttery smell, making it much too foody for my personal tastes. if i was into creamy buttery foody scents, i'd love this though. i do like the smell of it, but it's just not me.

[edenssixthday]

Elegba - Wow, this is almost entirely coconut on me! It reminds me a lot of Mountain Ocean Skin Trip – my all-time favorite coconut moisturizer. The first time I used it, I put a tiny bit on the back of my hands, then walked into another room, and my husband walked in and said, “It smells like coconut in here! What is that?!” I fell asleep not long after, so I didn’t get to see how long it lasted. The next time I wore it, again, the entire room I was in was filled with the scent of sweet coconut, and this time, I could distinctly smell the rum in it, as well. It smells like dark rum. Yum! Unfortunately, after the dry-down period, the amazing throw dissipated and the scent stuck really close to my skin. However, I’m thrilled to have a fabulous coconut BPAL scent that actually works well on me and shows up. I have so many coconut-scented body butters, body lotions, etc., that I’m excited to have a BPAL to layer with them now. I also believe I can capture that strong scent from Elegba that I get initially if I wear it in a scent locket. This is a fabulous scent, and I’m so glad it didn’t turn into play-doh like I was afraid it would.

[populuxa]

This couldn't have worked out worse for me. In the bottle, it smelled like a strong, delicious pina colada. Dry it turned into tutt-frutti-flavored rubber. GAG! Get it off!! Apparently coconut is a no-go for me because the same thing happened with Obatala! Such a bummer! I was really looking forward to this one!

[sophia_helix]

Rats. And this was so lovely in the bottle, too. Wet, I mostly get strong, sweet, almost chocolatey coconut, with a dash of grounding, smoky tobacco, and some of the sugar (but not the rum). But the coconut quickly amps up to wayyyy too sweet, even more so than something like tanning oil, and it's a little too plasticky. Black Pearl did this on me too, so I think I need to stick to scents like Snake Charmer or Snow White, where coconut is a featured player but not a starring role.

[merivelle]

Noix de Coco! Coconuts! In the bottle I thought I could smell the tobacco, but once on the skin this turned into all coconut! It's very sweet and reminds me a bit of...Hawaiian Tropic (sorry Beth!). I did get a ton of compliments while I was wearing it, so I guess that's a plus. Avoid at all costs if you hate coconut.

[shadesong]

In bottle: Sugarcane!

 

On me: Sugarcane, a trace of coconut (but not suntan-lotion-y), something green - but dark green. Palm leaves? The rum in this is mild, not in-your-face. The predominant note is sugarcane. This is one of those that gives me such a clear visual that I almost feel like I can touch the sugarcane, peel back, bite into it. Elegba makes me happy. As does Yemaya. I really want to try the other Orishas! *sniff* This is gorgeous.

[hologhost]

Butter rum life savers! Too sweet for me! I like foody, but this is like drowning in Buttershots.

[steffanina]

Elegba-

 

In Bottle: Butter Rum! Yummy butter rum! And a hint of something musty that must be the tobacco.

 

Wet: The butter rum dominates but the mustiness is there too. I tell myself that that's the tobacco and it's not the mustiness that I often get when a scented oil fades on my skin, to try to convince myself.

 

Dry: The tobacco lingers longest and makes me disheartened, despite what I tell myself, that it's the mustiness of a scent gone bad on my skin, because I get that all too often. Nevertheless I'm going to keep trying this one, because if that tobacco mustiness is purposeful, that's a different story, and I might get used to that.

 

Overall: I want to like this, but it's conditional. I'll try it again in the future and see.

[sofiaviolet]

The coconut made me feel ill when I first tried it, though I misidentified it as vanilla. It's still just as icky as Ogun and I can't stand to wear it.