Litha 2006

[Melantha]

Midsummer, Ukon Juhla, Alban Heruin, the Light of the Shore. This is the summer solstice, the longest day of the year, marking the sun's highest path across the sky. The Sun God and the Lord of the Forest are at the apex of their strength, and the Holy Day itself is a celebration of light's triumph over darkness. The world around us is teeming with light and life, and on this day fertility rituals for both the land and its people are observed. Honey mead with honeysuckle, oak wood, ivy leaf, wild thyme, carnation, daisy, vervain, gum arabic, frankincense, yauhtli, and liquid copal.

In the bottle: Mead! Oh, lovely mead! It's definitely the top note, and I'm not sure what I'm smelling underneath there, but it's not terribly overpowering. Just sweet mead.

Wet: Ah, now the mead has backed off a bit. I can smell something green in there (wish I could remember the description), and it's more outdoorsy than it was. The mead keeps making appearances, though.

Dry: The scent has stayed the same since I applied it. Mostly a green, with a touch of wood, maybe, and the mead occasionally sticking up its lovely head.

I suspect that it would be nice as a room scent, too!

edited to add description - clover

[coulrophobe]

In the bottle: Mead? Where are you? I smell herbs and fruits, but not honey mead! It does smell wonderful, mind you.

 

On: Ah, there's the honey. And I was a little nervous about it, because honey can be a fickle note for me - luckily, this seems to be a honey blend that likes me! I am still getting a mysterious fruity note - maybe it's just in the way that the honey combines with the herbs and florals. Or perhaps my nose is on crack again. Regardless, it's lovely, and the honey-mead scent gets more and more prominent as it dries down, without ever reaching that cloying stage that some honey blends seem to settle into, at least with my chemistry. A beautiful, decadent summer scent.

[Diana]

In the bottle: sweet, slightly boozy

 

Wet: very bright & cheery, almost citrus-like in it's tone. Sweet! I'm sure this is mead + honeysuckle. There's another sharp note in it, maybe copal? It reminds me a bit of Xiuhtecuhtli, underneath sharper happy notes.

 

Initial dry: other flowers are starting to appear. I think this is the daisy & honeysuckle combination happening now. It still smells almost lemony at first sniff, but then after a longer inhale, it is sweet floral; it now reminds me a bit of Flower Moon.

 

Drydown: There's an air of freshness to it now. It's still sweet, but there's something else there that I can't quite pick out. Perhaps the vervain & ivy leaf? It's slightly greener now, but still sweet and fresh. It's a bit more floral than mead-y now.

 

This is like a long-lasting burst of sunshine, which is appropriate for the holiday it is named after. =)

[filigree_shadow]

I smelled mead for about two seconds and then it turned herby and sweet, almost a fruity sweet scent. The mead keeps poking out every once in awhile -- it's definitely recognizable. It's also just the barest bit creamy, like there's a smoothness underneath it. After a while it smells a little floral.

 

I'm having a whole lot of trouble describing this. But it smells very celebratory, almost jubilant.

[desu]

In the bottle: Sweet honey mead edged with sunny florals and herbs.

 

On my skin: Mmmmm... honey meeeeeaaaaad. Sweet, bright, cheerful summer scent. As it dries, the sweetness starts to give way to the florals. There's a bit of spicy warmth I'm guessing is from the carnation.

 

Later on: More florals than honey now and starting to detect some greens and woods peeping out.

[shelldoo]

in the bottle: mead,and honeysuckle actually i googled to see if there is a honeysuckle mead (there is) i bet it would taste as good as litha smells.

 

wet: woah, honeysuckle a honeysuckle dropkick to be exact. slightly lurking in the background is the mead.

 

as it dries it turns a bit green (ivy i presume?) and still is mainly a honeysuckle scent on me, occassionally i get a whaft of carnation, and even fresh thyme...and even sometimes i think i smell lemon...maybe lemon thyme? then the mead rears up again saying hello i am still here. i personally don't get much honey.

 

final thoughts: (sheesh i shouldn't spend the holiday weekend whating jerry springer summarize his thoughts, now i think i must immulate him ) this is a spring garden party, flowers, summery sun, and freeflowing mead. all in all spring in a bottle.

[provocateur]

in bottle: Fresh, outdoors-y - which is more than likely the honeysuckle, carnation, daisy and other spring florals.

on skin, wet: spiced honey mead.

 

on skin, dry: a green, honeysuckle honey.

 

conclusion: there was, while it was drying down, where I wanted to say there was a point where it smelled like bright sunshine. However, I don't know what exactly bright sunshine really should smell like, or even what notes would give off that sort of aura. Beth has managed a very delightful, outdoors-y spring scent with this one.

rating: 4/5

[zillah37]

In the bottle: This is a warm, spiced mead with a strong hint of honeysuckle.

 

Wet: Mead! And honey. Almost overpowering honey actually.

 

As it dries it becomes softer, more herbally, but it quickly turns back to mead and honey. It morphs repeatedly on my skin back and forth between the lighter more herbal scent and the strong mead/honey. I like both actually, so I'm pretty happy with it.

 

This gets an B+ from me.

[sarada]

With such a wide variety of components -- sweet, floral, resiny, herbal, boozy -- I had no idea what direction this would go. The direction it took is gorgeous, though, and it's going to take me a few wearings to make sense of it!

 

I'm immediately overwhelmed with that gorgeous honey wine scent. A touch of a fruity booze -- rather like Fortunato in concept, in the way that these notes are all suspended, retaining their individuality -- but the honey and thyme definitely remind me a bit of Honey Moon. Meanwhilte that boozy scent and the ivy remind me of those elements in Fortunato.

 

I don't specifically smell the frankincense or copal, which are favorite notes of mine, but the way that the blend warms and radiates belies their presence. If it was only honey, herbs and mead then it would probably dry up to something powdery and light almost immediately. But I think the resins cause it to stick around and help it to project and last on me.

 

The honey-thyme combination is so appealing to me, that that alone would win me over to this blend. But add in those complex resins and the green ivy and oak and this is just heavenly. I don't know how long it will last on me because I'm testing so many things today...but my first impression is just absolute love. I don't know if I'd wear it outside of spring, summer or early autumn but I can see giving this a lot of wear up through October.

[Deiicide]

As I sniff the bottle I get strong impressions of honey with a whitish wine now. This must be the honey mead. I'm really loving this.

 

As I put it upon my skin, its just a scramble of all the notes trying to dominate themselves. I get the fruits, I get the resins and I get the honey mead but it is not choatic but in the way that they mingle it seems to represent to my noise the noise of summer following the rays of the sun.

 

It's still pretty much the same as it dries down, all the notes marrying each other in a cornacopia of notes. None really tries to dominate the other.

 

I don't know if I'll be using this oil heavily but I'll be saving it for special occasions because this is definately the oil to use for it.

[Em-]

Very rich and sophistocated - Litha is an amazing blend of honey mead and green floral notes. The undernote reminds me of Voodoo Queen just a tad, which is wonderful, but this is a lighter, fresher scent. Just wonderful...so glad I bought a bottle.

[edenssixthday]

Litha - Oh, oh, oooooh!!!! I have a new love! Imagine a mixture of 50% Mabon, 25% Arkham Revisited, and 25% pure honey mead sunshine and you have Litha. It is gorgeous. It’s slightly spicy (carnation) and that spice blends with some of the other notes to give it an almost-autumnal feel to it, yet it doesn't make me think of autumn because it's so full of sun and light and everything wonderful about Litha. I was so worried this wouldn't work for me, as honey notes rarely do (although I love to drink honey mead - yum!). I really wanted this blend to work for me since I was married on Litha, and I’m positively thrilled that I bought two bottles. The honey doesn't turn on me and blends perfectly with the other notes. It’s stunning and will be worn a lot this summer. The throw is a little lighter than average on me, and it has really good staying power.

[tidesong]

In the Bottle: Sweet, citrusy honeywine, with a touch of spiced honeysuckle. Definitely brings to mind sunshine in a bottle.

 

On Application: Uhoh. Kind of smells like lemon Pledge, with a touch of honeysuckle.

 

On Drydown: The strong lemony Pledge has finally gone away, drying down into a very strong honeysuckle. I only get the faintest touch of honey from this. It's died down remarkably in a half hour.

 

Comments: When the Pledge scent was so strong, I was sure there was no way I was going to like this. When it started to dry down, and all I got was sweet, sweet honeysuckle, I was still sure I wasn't going to like this. Why, then, can't I stop sniffing the wrist that has this on? I thought it would make a good room scent at least, but as it's dried down, it's actually quite lovely on my skin, which surprises me. Normally the sweet florals don't work. This one, I can actually see wearing. Probably not often, but I will probably wear it every once in a while.

 

Verdict: Keep.

[slave1]

In Bottle: Herbal sweetness

 

On Skin: I smell the mead, quite more of a winey brand than a pure honey note. I’m a little sad about that, but that’s ok. I get an herbal Dana Oshee from this. Soft and clean, warm and pretty. The thyme, carnation and yauhtli offer sharp and slighty bitter notes while the honey mead and honeysuckle give a syrupy sweet goodness. The wood and ivy freshen it up and the frankincense gives it a beautiful deep incense feel. While this is a nice warm summer scent, it also has a slightly dark side. I like that… I smell a little citrus, lemon? It gets a little soapy as the scent develops but that also fades. All in all a nice floral scent with herbs and outdoorsyness thrown in... green and yellow in tone. I wouldn’t label it as a honey though, for those of you who are severe BPAL honey addicts like I am. A nice throw and an average wear length.

[kakiphony]

In the imp: Sweet mead. There's just the barest hint of a dry, more green undertone.

 

Wet on the skin: Sweet and zesty. This does the olfactory equivalent of bubbling like champagne. It's fruity and sweet on me.

 

Early dry down: I'm not getting many herbs from this one, but the honey is developing in a very interesting manner. It almost smells fruity. I imagine this as mead from apple blossom or pear blossom honey as the sweetness has that fruit blossom feel to it. This is pretty so far, and very far from my usual patchouli blends.

 

Late dry down: This turns just a tad powdery on me, and fades quickly. But what is left at the end of an hour is a fruit honey sweetness that is quite delightful. I'm not sure how often I'll wear this because it is soooo different from my usual favorites, but I think I can classify it as a blend that "works" on me.

[Eunice]

How very interesting! I can't pick out any individual ingredients but this smells vaguely sweet with a touch of sharp spiciness. There is a fruity smell but not something I can identify. Litha is just a wonderful, well-rounded scent and one I am very happy to have. Lovely!!!

[AliBabble]

i really like this scent - it has a happy feeling to it, comfortable and comforting. in the bottle, i get a citrus-y booziness...like lemon peel or orange peel, with a bit of sugar sprinkled on, in a tall cool glass of heifewiessen (spelling?) beer. i'm thinking maybe i'm smelling the vervain - isn't that lemony? i mainly get this lemony, yeasty (as in beer yeast) smell. it is just a carefree smell, like sitting outside on a beautiful summer night. there are touches of sweetness - honey or honeysuckle - but nothing overwhelming. also the slightest hint of something darker underneath - maybe copal, i don't get much frankincense, and i definitely smell the carnation, the longer i wear it. nice! this is one of those "close-to-the-skin" scents on me, and it seems to blend really naturally with my chemistry, so i can see wearing this a lot!

[Heavenlyrabbit]

Sultry seems the one word that sums up Litha for me.

 

This is a unique fragrance. It opens with the Mead followed by a blast of potent Herbals and then, after several hours, it moves on to its Honey drydown. At no point does the Mead ever really move into the background... nor does the Frankincense or Copal come through on their own.

 

This is a well-grounded boozy herbal perfume that wears as a warm, sexy skin scent.

 

In some ways, one might even think of Litha as an ancient rendition of Roadhouse.

 

Usually Herbals bring the words "bright, fresh and green" to mind. For me, Litha is more of a full bodied, sensual perfume that manages to get a feel reminiscent of Khajuraho. Just as Khajuraho achieved an patchouli-like earthiness using flowers, so Litha achieves an earthiness with Herbals.

 

And while Beth's Herbal scents generally work very well on me, Litha is outside my comfort zone... and that's a good thing. I've come to realize Beth has an entire repertoire of Herbal blends that fall well outside the usual fare and capture a wide variety of moods. For me, Litha is no light hearted romp down a floral path, it's more of a sweat-soaked orgiastic celebration of Life in the middle of an overgrown field.

 

Edit- When first wearing this about 8 days ago, I simply couldn't find the "lemony" notes everyone else identified. And my chemistry usually amps lemon. It's now a week or so after my monthly cycle and NOW I do indeed get that lemon scent at the very opening and about a half hour later. At this stage, Litha seems more refreshing as others describe but then it returns to a more robust scent for me as the lemon subsides.

Edited July 15, 2006 by Heavenlyrabbit

[Rhowan]

Litha was nothing I expected it to be. I was expecting something more herbally and woodsy perhaps with a bit of honeysuckle. That was not to be...

 

Wet on the skin, Litha was super Lemony citrus with a bit of ozone. My first reaction was "what the hec?!" It stayed that way thru the initial dry down and I kept waiting for some kind of morphing to take place but in those first 5 minutes - Nothing (well, exept lemon and ozone)

 

At complete dry down, here is the honeysuckle with a slight mead note, a bare hint of incense and ending in a dry, herbally lemon.

 

I would have to say that this isn't my favorite. Just too much going on and it's not pulling together for a beautiful end scent. It could be me so I will give it one more try in about a week before I really make a decision on it. Great throw/ great wear.

[sookster]

straight sniff from bottle was a lovely medley of floral...once applied the

carnation and honeysuckle get amped up far too much for my liking

this scent is strong as well...lasts hours...while the carnation gets a bit spicier

after time, it is just not enuff for me to completely love this blend...off to a

good home she goes

[oedipa]

I've been big on mead this year (mmm, Jadwiga mead...) so I thought I'd pick up a bottle of Litha when it surfaced.

 

Wet on skin:

Woodsy and somehow fruity - I think it's the honeysuckle?

 

10 minutes:

Something sharp and almost...spicy? comes out to the foreground. Carnation? Whatever it is comes up, says hello, and gets knocked down by something musky. Gah! Musk, my old nemesis.

 

30 minutes:

Musk has retreated slightly (hooha, take THAT!) and is now making nice with the sweet and the woodsy.

 

Some two hours later it's starting to fade into babypowder drydown obscurity, but oh, so nice! This scent is probably too complex for everyday wear, but I can see it being nice for special occasions where I want to smell grounded and earthy.

[abejita]

Revisited after my nose has become more discriminating: This just isn't a honey scent for me. It's sweet, golden, and has a whole slew of notes I love. However, it just doesn't mesh for me. Something about the way they come together doesn't appeal to me. Also, I get a lack of what I recognize as rich, sweet honey. Not for me, I have Mead Moon instead.

Edited August 16, 2008 by abejita

[dawndie]

Ah, a nice summery blend!

 

In bottle: sweet candy

 

On skin: lemon candy. With Embalming Fluid I got lemon drop candy, very tart and sweet, and this isn't as punchy. The honeysuckle pops in soon after application, and makes it seem more natural (instead of coming out of a blue-and-white Lemonheads box).

 

Half-hour later: more "herby," in that I'm getting a lot more of the mellow florals without being headachey and too flowery -- I'm smelling the mature honey and daisy and wild thyme. Nothing too strong, it's very "sunny."

 

In conclusion: I've lately been pawing through my bottles for a nice summer blend (I have a lot of dark brooding lurking ones) and this will be great! I'm very pleased to have a bottle.

[moon_lemming]

I was looking forward to Litha so very, very much. Honey? Yes, please! I think it would be difficult for any oil to live up to my expectations for this one, but Litha comes awfully close.

 

In the bottle, it's a sweet honey with depth, sort of like clover honey. I've never had honey mead, so I can't say whether that's what I'm smelling or not, but it seems about right. There are also some herbs in there, but they're indistinguishable -- very well blended.

 

On me, the honeysuckle picks up and it veers just to this side of detergent, but then the thyme shows itself and the carnation and daisy peek through and it's just a floral medley over a puddle of liquid-y honey. Very nice. A little too floral for me to wear often, but I'm keeping it for days when I'm celebrating the brightness of summer and everything that comes to life.

[themerrybaker]

I love Beth's honey scents and will wear Litha a lot, but I'm a little surprised. This is very lemony on my skin (maybe the liquid paypal?). After a while I do get some fermented honey and maybe some floral (carnation?).

 

All in all, Litha will be in heavy rotation. It's a different twist on the honey theme, it's non-foody sweet, and its olfactory stickiness will work with hot humid summer days.

Edited July 11, 2006 by themerrybaker