Temple of the Loas

[Belladonnastrap]

No description

The Loas (from the French, 'lois,' law) are the 'deities' of Vodoun. Similar to (and sometimes identical to) the Orishas of Santeria, they are considered not gods unto themselves, but emanations of a supreme being, as well as evolved spirits of the dead. As a pantheon, the Lwas are similar in many ways to the Greek Gods and Goddesses. Some of the Loas were Kings or other notable citizens.

Let me start off by saying that I'm not a very good person when it comes to picking out specific notes and whatnot...but I don't really think that's the purpose of this oil anyway. However for the sake of the review and the fact that I haven't had an oppertunity to USE this yet I'll use the normal format.

First Sniff:
This smells like a tropical rose. Maybe rose tinged with mango?


Wet:
More tropical and actually a bit musky. It reminds me a lot of what I imagine the romantized carribbean would smell like. A woman with caramel colored skin drssed in brightly colored clothes with a flower in her hair and a basket full of mangos balanced on the top of her head walks down the street and if you listen closely you can hear the men chanting to the seductive beat of a drum. There's a slight breeze in the air that brings the scents of heated skin, fruits, flowers and the sweet tangyness of the ocean to your nose.

EDIT: Add some Jasmine to the mix now.

Purpose:
I'm actually not quite sure how this would be used as I've never worked with the Loas before but I have a few ideas and plan on reporting back

[Jettcat]

I'll only be reviewing this as a scent and not yet as a ritual oil. My good friend Branden was lucky enough to go to Convergence and hung around the BPAL booth at my behest. He said he met Beth and she might remember him as the boy with the green Cthulhu dreads and tattoos. I have a bottle of Cthulhu stashed that I'm going to send to him as a thank you.

 

In the bottle: Whoa ROSE!! Not what I was expecting at all

 

Wet: The rose is still strong and there's a honeysuckle note I believe. Anyone one else remember the rose and violet flavored candy they used to make? I'm reminded of that by the scent memory.

 

Dry: Floral still but masculine in a way, the sweetness seems to be fading.

 

1 hour later: This oil has a terrifically strong throw, I don't need to bring my hand to my wrist in order to sample it again. I can easily see this as unisex as I don't immediately think of this as strickly feminine.

 

I do know that it's given me a major itch to finally get a TAL order going.

[edenssixthday]

TAL: Temple of the Loas - This review is based entirely for the fragrance, although I’m well aware fragrance is not of as much importance in TAL usage as is the way it is used. First, I believe that with this blend, the fragrance would affect any intended ritual outcome. It is incredibly Caribbean in scent – full of salty ocean water, rum, bitter fruit juices (wine?), rose and another floral that I’m not quite sure but I think may be bougainvillea. I believe Temple of the Loas and the C12 blend Voodoo Queen share a very similar rum note as I detect almost the exact same note in each. Or perhaps it’s not rum but wine. It’s very difficult to say, although I definitely detect a fermented liquor note in each blend. Temple of the Loas is bitter and pungent despite it’s fruit and floral notes. I can see how the Loas would be attracted to the scent borne by this particular oil, as it seems to encompass the basic ofrenda of a Loa. I would never wear this as a perfume even if it wasn’t a TAL – it smells overly fermented and pungent on my skin, but I imagine someone doing a Loa ritual could get some good use out of this.

[olympia301]

 

Fruity was my first response, there is a rosiate edge to this, but the underlying herbal and sort of "voodoo" base for this one over-rode rose for me, much as it did in Black Cat. Temple of the Loas is overall beautiful in an exotic way, and it has great staying power as well as charm. I have not tried it as a real magic oil, but I do enjoy it as a real pretty scent blend. Thanks to the gracious forumite who sent me such a rare item.

[Reedsong]

Bottle: Scent-wise, this is a mess. Whatever that salty note in Undine that almost made me gag, it's here. I also smell incense, candle wax, fruit, spice, musk, a trace of floral - it's as if every offering (including the dancers' sweat) that could be made to the loa has been mashed together into one bottle. Strange, and I'm so glad that I didn't smell the bottle before applying the oil.

 

Skin: Once I put this on, it dries down to a very pretty spicy-incense-musk that's very reminiscent of the fragrance in the temple after a few hours of dancing, burning candles, and some rum thrown into the mix. Wonderfully evocative.

 

Use: I used this blend for the first time tonight when making offerings to the loa in my temple-room. I was tired and did not expect to experience much except the sense of satisfaction that comes with service - but I was quite surprised. I felt greatly attuned with the energies of the temple, and very loving as I 'spoke' from my heart to the loa. Several times I caught a whiff of the scent, and each time it brought me back to the temple in New Orleans and reminded me of the greater community of practitioners. So this simple ritual became more moving than I expected, and I know that TAL Temple of the Loas helped that shift in consciousness to a near-trance state, enraptured and joyous.

 

I had a feeling that this oil would be special to me, and I'm glad to be correct. I would recommend that people try it, but since it's very rare - I'll say instead that you don't need it, you hate it, and you want to give all of yours to me. Yes.

[Em-]

I have only sniffed this so far, having purchased it to aid in work with exploration with the Loas, and not having really determined how to proceed in that vein. But overall I would say that this is a musky, fruity, spicy, floraly scent - as Reedsong says, basically packed with the scents of the offrenda and essense of the Loas.

 

Not necessarily the most lovely thing when it is all crammed together, but lovely when allowed to breathe.

[Little Bird]

Temple of the Loas starts off very pleasant on me - a wet, juicy, fruity rose sort of scent. A tropical rose. Then the drydown after fifteen minutes or so just turns into a nondescript floral and starts to get too musky and sharp for me. I wish that it stayed as juicy and sweet as it was initially.

[filigree_shadow]

I don't work with the Loas, so I'm only going to comment on the scent. This is probably the most beautiful TAL oil I've smelled. It's a lovely creamy floral scent. I imagine the Loas would be very pleased with this scent; it's gorgeous. (In case you can't tell, I really like it a lot, LOL.) It smells to me like Beatrice, with a very tiny amount of spice or herb. If BPAL came out with a perfume that smelled like this, I'd buy it in a heartbeat.

 

I had a decant of this that a very generous friend gave me, and I in turn gave it to another friend who works with the Loas and really wanted it.

[grrrlennyl]

Temple of the Loas

 

On: Incense, a fruit (possibly mango...that sort of fleshy, orange-yellow fruit), and rose?

1 hour in: The rose is going soapy on me. The mango is still there, but it doesn't smell like incense to me anymore.

2 hours in: Soapy rose.

3 hours in: Mostly soft, soapy rose.

Overall: Rose and I get along about 75% of the time, but this wasn't one of those times.

[Jenjin]

Cover my eyes with orchids and push me into the ocean.

I'm not sure what came over me on this one, but it was practically shouting to me while I was deciding.
It is tremendously lovely, I find it almost soothing yet inspiring. It makes me want to create beautiful things, put on flowing robes, drape myself in lush, damp blossoms and frolic in a rainstorm with all the Loas. What a spectacular dance it will be.

Edited March 4, 2017 by Jenjin