Lughnasadh

[Voleuse]

The first of the year's Harvest Festivals. Lughnasadh represents a rest from toil and a time of reflection. Fertility magick is practised, as is agricultural magick used to ensure a bountiful Autumn harvest. The holy day is named after the Celtic deity Lugh, God of Skill in All Things, Patron of the Arts and Sciences. ...

Bright berries and almonds and cream. Sweet, but almost too cloying for me.

As it dries, the sweetness mellows a little, and I start to smell grain behind this, and sunlight. To me, this is the afternoon after a harvest, sun baking into your skin, and laughter in the distance. Pretty! Edited November 18, 2007 by Shollin

[PurringPulsar]

Lughnasadh

 

In the imp: cherries! Rich, dark, deep cherries. Reminds me of cherry sauce.

Wet on skin: still cherries, but now I get hints of wheat and grain, golden and ripe, and possibly apple and spice.

Dry: oooh, this is nice. I smell fruit and grains-it reminds me of Harvest Moon (both 04 and 05) at times but with cherries…it’s like a deep rich black cherry sauce, bittersweet and dark, with grain and wheat and cereals (it brings to mind fruit crumble!) and also notes of apples and also wine, I think. I also detect a tiny, tiny bit of spice underneath it all, like a mulled cider note. It’s a wonderful harvest scent.

After a while: the scent gradually becomes richer and more wonderful…it’s a delightful and very true cherry scent with hints of grain and other fruits, ripe, warm and full. There is nothing medicinal or fake at all about this cherry scent-it’s possibly my favourite cherry BPAL to date! It also makes me think of cherry crumble…and I swear I’m getting carnation in here! I’m convinced that the spicy scent I am getting in here is carnation based (but it might be cloves too).

The scent smoothes out nicely into a nice blend which is both fruity and spicy, a bit floral, a bit wheaty/grainy. I smell cloves/carnations merged nicely with the remaining cherry scent, a warm, rich, deep scent.

At the very end of the scent, after about 5-6 hours have passed, I think I detect a hint of honey against a background of grains.

Verdict: I can understand why people go crazy over this scent-it really is gorgeous. A vibrant, warm, rich cherry scent, enhanced by golden wheat, warm spices-I’m guessing cloves and possibly a spicy carnation note, and other fruits including apple and wine, I get a hint of mulled cider, and by the end, I get a hint of honey. The cherry note in this is truly delicious, like a bittersweet black cherry sauce, such a true scent with nothing candy-like or cough syrup like about it at all. The grain note reminds me of cereals and also, with the cherry, I get an effect of fruit crumble made with cherries, appetising and freshly baked. This is a scent redolent of the first harvests, late summer; it is full of life and the joy of reaping the bounty of the land, the sweet fruit and grains and the warmth of the August sun turning the fields to gold. If this ever does make a comeback this Lughnasadh (I doubt it but you never know) I will get a bottle, but for now, the decant I have will satisfy me. Now I’m seriously craving summer.

[SevenSins]

I managed to score an imp of this and OMFG I wish I was around when this was out!

 

In the bottle: I get berry. Not strawberry, maybe blackberry? Or currant? Not something I am fond of, but I've learned to try it on anyway because what's in the bottle is not always the whole story.

 

Wet: Still berry, but not too bad. A little something of a bite coming through, but not sure what yet.

 

Drydown: Oh my - this is gorgeous! Berry is definitely mellowed and something smokey and incensy is coming through. I smell autumn fires and harvested grain and something a little sweet. Abundance. That's the word I would put with this.

 

Hours later: Dry, sweet, smokey and rich all at the same time. Berry is completely gone, but something really gorgeous is happening on my wrist.

 

Okay - if I could, I would buy multiple bottles of this one. I love Beth's autumn scents, but this one is definitely the best. I am going to have to scout out more of this (HA! Yeah - like anyone is going to give it up in large quantities!) Now I am wishing I would have bid higher on that 5ml that went on eBay not so long ago.

[slave1]

In Bottle: Sweet fall fruits

 

On Skin: I get sweet wine and berries right off… hmmm… cherries I think since I get a bit of that almond extract note as well. There is a beautiful rich spice in the background, not overwhelming though luckily. I’ve seen comparisons to Alice which I don’t understand at all. This is sweet and fruity whereas Alice is pure carnation on me. I also get a tea note… like a fruit tea. After a little more dry down, I get a dark mulled apple cider. Yum! I love how this morphs, I would LOVE to have more of this, what a treat!! I also start to get the sweet grains, reminding me of Dana Oshee in an odd way, but darker and deeper. I also get a very slight soft incense note, beautiful!!! A great blend!! Light throw, average wear length.

[HennaFairy]

spicy floral - harvesty without being too autumn. really nice! (I had sampled this at a M&S and it didn't seem nearly so spicy, but the reviews seem to confirm that i'm not imagining things!)

 

rates higher than it would be on scent alone because i'm pagan and it will be special to use on the day it's named after!

 

rating: 9/10

[edenssixthday]

Lughnasadh - This starts off with a strong fresh and crisp apple note, followed almost immediately by the scent of strong mulling spices. As it dries down, it takes on a hint of pumpkin scent. It is very light on my skin and has very little throw. Of all the apple/pumpkin scents out there, this is probably my favorite, but in general, I still don’t care for it. I’m just not really into this type of autumnal scent, I suppose. (July 06)

[midnight_aeval]

Cherry!! *coughcough* I'm glad I don't like cherry lol cuz this stuff is hard to find.

 

It turned sour on me, not like sweet cherries.. like cherries soaked in wine or something. Just not a scent for me.

[storme]

In the imp: oh, wow, soft beautiful cherries and other berries, sweet (but not sugary and spicy.

 

On me, wet: cherries and cloves and warm soft silky spices and general bakery goodness.

 

On me, dry: Man, this is like being surrounded by the scent of newly-baked fruit pies. Spicy and soft and creamy and very autumn-fruit-y. The apple in this is doing the manky rotting thing behind all the other pretty smells, though.

 

Verdict: I only had the tiniest smearing of this to test, and I think it's nice - but not so nice I need to weep and wail for more. Glad I got the chance to try it.

[sofiaviolet]

I smell wine or mead or something. Also cherries. This is a perfectly nice scent, but I just don't love it. In a way, I'm glad I don't, because it's so very rare.

[supremegoddessofall]

Gently spicy with a scent of grains on the wind behind it. Definitely a fall scent, and it has a bit of masculinity about it, too. Maybe some vetiver in here?

[chrisann]

My everlasting gratitude to Goddessrobyn for my decant of this!!!

 

WETSweet Cherries, marachino meets wine. Not that sour tangy wine, but full juicy mouth watering cherries. Tempered with a slight smokey back drop.

 

WORNOhhhh... I'm getting cloves and some spice, is that apple? Okay, now it's more smokey /incensey, with the berry note wafing in the background. Unfortunately, I am liking this one on me. A lot. Oh, dear...

 

I have and enjoy wearing Alice, and I do not see the connection between Alice and Lugh. However if you are a spice/incense/autumal fan, this is for you! (think a cherry version of Samhain, kinda..or Hearth 2004 with out the pipe smoke) hard to add anything different from what has been shared by other members. For me, it's one of the few rares that warrents the hunt for more.

[Em-]

Oh mommy, wow...this is the stuff. Rich honey wine, with deep fruit and grain notes, aged beautifully into the essense of seasonal transition.

 

I have just half an imp of this, and I cannot decide whether to hoard it, or to slather it in an orgy of decadence and self love... Decisions, decisions.

[alicia_stardust]

Wet, and while first applied, Lughnasadh smells like cherry wine! After the scent settles onto my skin I start to detect a smattering of herbs and something that reminds me of grains and mead. There's definitely grains in there. I also think I might be smelling a touch of apple.

 

This is one of my favorite Sabbat scents and I will cherish every last drop of the hard-earned imp I have of it.

[QueenFae]

I have been trying for years to get my hands on some of this, and I finally scored a decant on ebay. Now I see what all this fuss is about!! This is **glorious**!! Why, oh why, has this never been re - released!?

 

First impressions: Cherry!! gloriously red, ripe cherry. Mouth watering and fruity licious!! There is a gorgoeus, musky, deep, dark undertone, and it's slightly spicy and drop dead sexy. I can see the comparisons to Black Phoenix, but this is infinitely more fruity. This is sexy, but fun and flirty at the same time. God, I love cherry blends, I would kill for a bottle of this.

 

Just beautiful, I absolutely love this.

[suileach]

In the vial: Sweet, spiced fruit wine and a touch of herbs. The wine note is vaguely similar to the one in Madrid - that is; a sweet, light wine that isn't sour.

 

This gets really dry on me after a few minutes and the faint cherry note all but vanishes; it smells like a field of wildflowers drying under the late summer sun. I'm struggling to think of a comparison to another scent, but I don't think I have any. It's so...grassy.

 

15 minutes later, it morphs back into the spiced wine... I find that note is much more prominent from a distance of about a foot; up close the dry grass is still evident.

 

Final drydown (I think!), is all of the above combined and more. Dry fields, fallen fruit trampled underfoot, burning leaves, and a hint of musk and smoke. I was really puzzled at the Samhain comparisons before it got to this stage, but now I understand them. It has a hint of that smoky, dark orange, mulled cider and burnt leaves tone that runs through Samhain.

[wren08]

Wet: It's fruity, a little pine-y with a hint of smoke

 

Dry: The hint of smoke keeps peaking through but it's just a whiff... somewhere someone has started a wood-fire but it's a long way off. There's a good bit of cider... not much apple, maybe it's a berry cider? A touch of golden pumpkin... the way it smells when it's just been picked and you first cut into it... definitely not pumpkin pie. There might be a little amber here too. It's sweet without having the least hint of sugar or florals.

 

All in all, it's very light but rich. A very mellow scent, like a golden afternoon, but for all it's lightness, it has a good throw! Very delicious.

[ifinena]

For all that I have sniffed and re-sniffed and sparingly tested my one and only decant of this glorious scent (thank you wikkidraven ) , I can't pick out any more of the notes that make it up but the smell of walking through wheat fields in July, ripe and golden, being cut under the hot blazing Greek summer. This is a scent of my childhood, of summer and freedom, before allergies and asthma had come to stay and grandma would take me walking around in the fields, when the area I live in still had a few fields where you could run wild and not be afraid of being run over by SUVs.

This is what Lughnasadh is for me : summer, school-free, vacations, running wild in the fields and grandma laughing by my side.

 

Lughnasadh is not a scent to entice, to provoke, ensnare or please others. This is a scent for me and myself, a trip down memory lane. I really, really, really love it. Don't we all?

Edited April 26, 2008 by ifinena

[ObsidianSwirl71]

In the Decant ♦ Fall fruits and a touch of sheer sweet golden wheat.

 

Initial Application ♦ Cherry and mead surrounded by a halo of sunlit Autumn harvest scents and spices. The cherry note is ... lickable ... and truly authentic. Very beautiful. Like sexy wisdom.

 

Dry Down ♦ The cherry melts a little into the spice. There is more golden wheat, and a subtle creamy note settles in. This is exquisite and beautiful and ... I think what people have been hitting on is this feeling of continuity that is evoked through their impressions of this scent. It's not so much ancient or new; it's more as if you're drifting along a complete line of memories running from mother to daughter back through all of time. Reliving them together, not remembering. Memories you are looking at from the inside.

 

Sigh ... so very lovely.

 

 

 

 

[zankoku_zen]

Oh Lugh! You are indeed... very much a kissing cousin to Mabon. I get a strong 'berry' note and while I want to say blackberry, sometimes there's definite cherry hints. I have the same apple/spice vibe that I get from Mabon, but this one is a bit grassier... perhaps there is more hay to it. At the very base however I smell some of the honey wine mix that others have.

 

Lugh, I do love you... mainly because I love Mabon. Perhaps you won't smell like potpourri to my husband (but that still hasn't stopped me from wearing Mabon) but you're harder to find than something ridiculously hard to find.

[fairnymph]

Light gold oil. Boozy black cherry - reminds me of Suck It - but with a hint of mulling spices and sweet nutty/creamy grains. But it's very black cherry forward, above all.

 

Spicier, nuttier, more complex. This reminds me now more of Pomona and Fearful Pleasure. I get a definite apple cider note along with the black cherry. Stlll boozy. The mulling spices are stronger, and I definitely get some cinnamon and clove - along with some allspice and ginger, I think.. Very autumnal-festive. I also get a wisp of woodsmoke (maybe some vetiver?) and some evergreen notes, pine pitch maybe and some sweet fir. The grain note reminds me of the one from Dana O'Shee, quite creamy, reminds me a little of sweetened oatmeal but there's more nuttiness.

 

The spices are amping like whoa on me with cinnamon in the forefrunt - blended with the apple I'm reminded of cinnamon flavoured applesauce. I also get a dry floral that I suspected earlier - sunflower, and I'm pretty sure there's some heliotrope here too because I get its distinct golden glow. There's a lot going on here - it's a very complex scent. The apple cider is now on par with the black cherry booze, but the spices and smoky vetiver and woodsy notes have now overtaken the fruit. Still, plenty of flowers and fruit just below, along with the foody, nutty grain note.

 

This blends and harmonizes beautifully over time, and the apple cider and black cherry wine notes really make me think of Mabon in this scent's later stages. The baked apple note actually AMPS on me - apple is nearly always ephemeral on my skin - and the cinnamon and other spices soften, with clove being the strongest - but a nice clove, for once, not too sharp - and then the cinnamon lightly in the distance, and the other spices indistinct. The evergreen woods and woodsmoky-vetiver have softened to a lovely deep backdrop along with the almost creamy,nutty grain note that's only slightly foody now.

 

Baked, slightly spiced apple is foremost with a bit of black cherry booze and some golden heliotrope and dry sunflower just blow, over a slightly smoky woodsy & gently sweet grain base. This is absolutely gorgeous despite some notes I really don't generally like in perfume. Masterfully blended and superbly well balanced with moderate throw and great longevity. I see why this is popular!

 

[wolfie13]

As August 1 approaches, I thought I'd finally post on this. My Bpal join date somehow just missed this (as well as few others that have since gone down in history) and I never got to try it until a very kindly and generous forumite included a half-imp of this in my decant package a few months ago.

 

 

To me it's cherry, spice, a bit of earth, a bit of apple, perhaps some grain, a bit of magic.

It is a relative to the Harvest Moons, perhaps a touch of Samhain, perhaps Queen of Spades, but it's definitely it's own thing and my favorite of any of it's ilk.

 

This is of course an extremely aged version. I wish I knew what it was like fresh. This is high on my list of Top 5 BPAL That Should Reappear.

[Invidiana]

This has both fruity and "golden" aspects, if that makes any sense at all. Either way it's perfectly fitting for the festival it' intended to evoke. Wet I can pick up something like hay and/or grain over red fruits. As it dries down, the red fruits, which I'm taking to be cherry and plum, possibly some redcurrant, settle into a base of sweet golden grain and what must definitely be honey. It make sme think of a reddish late summer sunset with flashes of gold. I really hope Beth resurrects this one like she did Mabon because it's quite lovely.

Edited September 3, 2010 by Invidiana

[filigree_shadow]

Well, obviously this is very old at this point and has probably changed somewhat from when it was fresh. It seems like I remember it smelling a bit more like apple cider than it does now. It still has an autumnal harvest type of feel to it, but now it smells smooth and golden, like amber and wheat. I can't really tell if there's any apple or spices in it anymore.

 

*sigh*

I really liked this a lot about 3 years ago but I never wore it because I only have about 2/3 of a decant of it, and now it seems like it's different from what I remember. Balls. I should have worn it while I loved it. Lesson learned.

[Cali]

Herby, smoky cherry drink. Has a similar vibe as mulled wine. I want a sip!