Mabon 2004

[lixolux]

The Autumnal Equinox. The Second Harvest of the witches: a celebration of rest after labor, and repose after the rigors of Initiation. This is the mark of the completion of the Harvest and giving thanks for the previous season's abundance. In ceremonial magick, this is a time to begin the search for one's Higher Self anew, to celebrate rebirth and new life, and to revitalize the spirit. It is an Osirian time, contractive and catabolic. At this time, the Eleusinian mysteries were observed, celebrating the drama of Kore and Demeter. Blackberry wine and apple cider with hops, apple blossom, English ivy, hazel, sage, oak bark and myrrh.

out of the bottle: its so weird, i get cherry sucrets! i really dont like cherry cough drops so i am sad and confused, but will push on and slather myself with it. Theres a real high menthol thing going on, tickley and bright.

wet on skin: it still smells cough droppy but less cherry, this is good. This is a really complex oil, im having a really hard time picking out notes or even generalities - the high bubbly smell is still there (maybe its the apple cider or hazel) which i really like, its cutting through this smoggy day and alliveiating my headache!! medicinal applilcation!!

dry: minty apple bubbly sage. for an hour now!

an hour later: apple sage. yum yum.

I think that this is the most confusing oil ive tried yet - its nothing at all like i thought it would be, i dont really smell most of the notes mentioned in the description, but i do like it and it got me out of a pollution-induced headache. It does revitalize the spirit though - i feel like its a big kick in the pants and isnt that what Mabon is about anyways???

[aessedai]

I am also getting Cherry Sucrets, but am going to give it an hour or 2 before I decide I want to swap it.

[EvilKitten]

Oh. My. God.

 

I absolutely loved mabon, even more than I thought I would when I ordered it. I love the appley sagey smell that it gives when it's drying... and an hour later, it just smells wonderful. Really worked well with my skin. I'm in heaven!

[silverangel]

Right now its wet and very sage-y. Sage isn't really my favorite scent ever. I was hoping for more cherry, apple and blackberry. I'll give it a few hours before making up my mind, but I'm not sure if we'll get along too well.

[Red_Hot_Mama]

No.....un huh.....well.....no, I don't think so, Mabon is definitely not for me.

 

There aren't any "pumpkin" notes listed but on me this blend becomes "The Pumpkin from Hell". That may not bad thing for someone else; just doesn't work on me.

 

And...it's giving me a headache.

 

3+ hours later, this has mellowed into a beautiful "appley", light spicy pumpkin (yeah, I still get pumpkin-ish) scent.

 

Much, much nicer than the first hour or so but still not my favorite.

 

Added on 9-27-04

 

And see....the blends that work really well on other forumites, just don't work on me.

 

Damn thyroid!

 

RHM

Edited September 27, 2004 by Red_Hot_Mama

[Lucretia]

This is amazingly great!

I was wondering if I would end up swapping this, but no way!

I love this, it's just sweet enough and reminds me something, although not cherry.

I can't really tell what the notes are, except that I'm in love with this.

[Northernminx]

Oh Mabon... adoration is too weak a word. To start: It is perhaps officially fall but we've had a heat wave of mid-70's and low 80's up here in New England this week. The end result is that while the trees are switching to their autumn wardrobes before their winter strip show, it's muggy and warm and not at all autumnal.

 

Except when I put Mabon on I had the desire to go carve pumpkins, drink cider, and drive through long back roads of colorful trees.

 

Reminiscent of an orchard's bountiful harvest, Blackberry and apple cider seem to be the predominant notes, but there is something still softer and woody underneath, a smoothness of hazel and soft shadowed glens. It's still going strong after an hour of application which, for me, is one of the marks of a winner as perfume slides off me very easily. This is a gorgeous, ripe, lucious scent but still not warm. It's cooling and soothing still. Purr. Purr. Purr.

[pekeana]

*falls over in the throes of a scentgasm*

 

I don't know where to start -- in the bottle, Mabon doesn't seem too promising to my nose, but I put a little bit on anyway.

 

It starts off very much sage and ivy, but as it dries down, the apple cider pops through and I get the apple blossom, too -- just a tiny hint of floral to deepen it and sweeten it.

 

Somewhere in there, there's a note that's very clear and sweet airy, which lends the whole blend the feeling of the first soft, cooling breeze of Autumn.

 

This is divine and I will relish using the whole bottle up. YAY!

Edited September 30, 2004 by pekeana

[Hallows_Eve]

In the bottle: Homemade Berry Beer! I can almost smell the foam. I smells like the vats of berry mead and beer that are "in progress" a bit yeasty.

 

On me: I can only wear this on my clothes right now (not the skin), but I get a lot of the sage and hops, a bit of the blackberry wine (goes on me a bit like Bewitched), and the cider. Strangely, this reminds me of my husband, when he wants to nuzzle after drinking some cider or a dark beer. Kind of comforting.

 

I think this is a winner for me. But a word-when it goes on my clothes, it has strong staying power.

[Belladonnastrap]

YAY FOR FALL LE's! Mabon makes me a happy woman.

 

First sniff

Oooh it smells like...Fall. There's a bit o leaves, a bit o apple (actually more then a bit of apple...its making me crave cider) and something spicy too. I can't put my finger on it.

 

When wet

Well when I poured some on a bit TOO much came out so keep that in mind. Its like I'm drenched in Fall. The apple comes out so so well and the blackberry mingles with it wonderfully. I can barely get the spiced bits to come out. I really like it...very fall

 

Drydown

Mmm. The spices have come out to play! Still getting that very warm fall feeling but its much more mellow now.

 

Aftermath

Oh Mabon is LOVELY. Like a cup of warm apple cider I'll be cherishing this and using it up this fall.

[chai_girl]

I kind of slipped when I applied this so I had a ~lot~ of Mabon one arm and lil bit of Wildfire on the other.

 

The Mabon overwhelmed the Wildfire in a heartbeat...Strong blackberry wine...almost too strong, with that bit of bitterness that you get in a dark wine. I was worried...

 

As it dried, the blackberry stayed strong but the other scents crept in. I think apple and sage came next...kind of a sweet herbal scent. Then the florals came in and blended everything together.

 

After an hour, I was in love with it. The scents had mingled...and while blackberry kept centerstage, she allowed all the other scents to support her and show her off in all her different aspects.

 

I think this is a keeper!

Edited September 28, 2004 by chai_girl

[Koumori]

Hmm, this one seems to be getting a lot of different, strong reactions from people. On me, it smells like... grapefruit. Which is quite a surprise, given the list of ingredients! I don't think this one is for me; it'll go up with my next round of swaps.

[Lady_Ell]

This is such a strange scent - it's like apple-blackberry-spiced cider, but with a slight woody edge on it keeping it from being a foody/fruit scent. I like it, but it fades really quickly on me, which is strange considering that other people say it's very strong on them.

 

It's a great fall scent, for sure!

I'm going to keep it and slather it on.

 

ETA: this is hormone-sensitive on me. The other day I put it on and nearly knocked myself out by the overpowering dragon's blood floral/cherry tones. This is a very wet smell to me - wet and kind of fizzy-sticky, like apple-grape cider that's starting to turn and get that fizz going on. It also didn't fade at all, and kept bopping me in the face for the next 12 hours, even though I only had a tiny smudge of it on the back of my hand.

 

I like it better when it's more fade-y.

Edited November 4, 2004 by ladylatemar

[LiberAmoris]

One of things I love about BPAL is how different the oils can be even when they contain similar notes. Mabon and Harvest Moon share apple, sage, wine and ivy. Yet they are completely different autumnal experiences.

 

Mabon for me is a delicious herby apple cider enjoyed by a fire built with sage and sweetwoods. To me, it's more foody than Harvest Moon, but it's such a complicated blend that it really outgrows that category as it dries and the myrrh and ivy play on the surface.

 

This is my favorite of the two autumn limited editions so far. I'll be using this one as the temperature dips at night and I pull out my sweaters and jackets.

[TrayLynn]

I was getting the cherry sucrets thing at first too. After a good drydown I am getting the more apple and blackberry notes shining through. I love all the different types of blackberries we got with this round of LE's. Finally my skin developed the apple blackberry cider with a dash of woods that some have described. It's very Autumn to me so I'm really loving it right now.

[Lorencita]

This is nice, I like the sweetness to it, and I love the changes it goes though... very appropriate for autumn. I will use this well.

[erehwesle]

Well, of course the first smell, cough drops, but how many scents do we hear that about? Every sweet scent BPAL has...

 

All the guy notes aside, was rather nice on me, mellowed quickly to a cinamon and clove vibe with a bit of musk. It is liked for the moment next to Iago, the green lady, and the wolf.

[Spanglemaker]

Like Koumori, my first impression was of grapefruit. I think that must be the sage/apple combination. This does not smell at all like what I expected. This isn't foody at all.

 

This has an herby, menthol component which is strongest on me with the apple/blackberry cider scent lingering with it.

 

I really like this! Perfect for Autumn.

[Witch's Dagger]

Mabon

 

Preconceived notions:

Wine, apples, and wood - sounds like the perfect Mabon scent, and one I’d like to wear as well. Must get!

 

In the bottle: wine, and it smells a lot like Blood Rose does in the bottle (and for me, Blood Rose doesn’t really smell like rose at all in the bottle), though the wine seems a little lighter like the wine in Tintagel.

 

On me:

The same, except now the leaves are coming out, and almost a scent of burning woods (although I know that’s supposed to be Wildfire, which I’ll be trying later), and now there’s something smoky and mysterious, there in the background, making itself known. It also wafts well.

 

15 minutes later: still fruity wine, the leaves have receded again. So far, it’s a pretty straightforward scent, but I do love it.

 

15 minutes after that: Oh, the leaves are back - or rather - I’ve got the sweet (not too sweet) wine on my left wrist, which I sniff more frequently, and the right one is much more complex - leaves and smoke, and stuff. The wine is there as well, too.

 

An hour and a half after first trying it, it is still strong. This is lovely.

 

Final impressions: I really like it.

 

Edited because I didn't read the notes before writing the review and thus got my "preconceived notions" wrong. Whoops!

Edited October 2, 2004 by Witch's Dagger

[Midnight Kiss]

This smells like AC Moore craft store does at this time of year. I actually came home from AC Moore and Mabon was there in my mailbox waiting for me when I got home, I greedily ripped open the box, and sniffed it and said 'hey! I just left this place!' Not that it's a bad thing, but it was a little strange that it smelled EXACTLY the same.....anyway, the blackberry wine hits right away, and the apple smell creeps in a few minutes after it. This is a glorious smell, then the ivy, hazel, sage notes start to pop out. This is even better, and for an hour it really is beautiful, then it dries down to a powdery floral which I don't care for really. So, I just keep re-applying to keep the first and middle stage smell.

 

I was wearing this last night and walked into my kitchen, and my sister said "you smell like AC Moore or the Rag Shop (another craft store)" oh well

[AnnetteL]

This starts off as a really mixed blend on me, by which I mean I can't pick out any notes or even a category for the scent, but it quickly turns into a slightly spiced pumpkin - not sweet pumpkin, like Jack, but deeper and greener. I really can't find most of the described notes in here, they must blend together in an unusual (or unexpected to my nose) way. I'm definitely not smelling apple, blackberry or wine! I wish I was

 

It's not unpleasant, but I'm really not connecting with it, so I'll be swapping it away. I can't decide which notes are turning me off - maybe the sage, or hops? I'm pretty sure I like everything else in there...

[BubbleDragon]

I don't get pumpkin out of this, though I wish I did. Instead I get a nice spicy (somewhat cidery) berry scent. It's beautiful, it really is. But it's not what I like to be wearing as a perfume (I've come to accept I'm mostly a floral girl, sometimes resiny-amber.)

 

However - Mabon is absolutely the perfect room scent. I really do like foody smells in scented candles, so I tried this out with a wax burner. *drools* I will definately enjoy this all fall. So wonderful.

 

ETA: Whoever said Mabon makes a great lotion scent was right on the nose! I mixed up a little batch of unscented cheap lotion and just a few drops of Mabon and it's glorious. Now I definately know I'll use all this up and love every minute! *grin*

 

~bubbles

Edited October 17, 2004 by BubbleDragon

[shriekingviolet]

Initial Impression:

Smells of the fresh outdoors, but more like fields than forests, blended with ripe apples and sweet wine.

 

After Wearing It:

The scent smelled a lot grasser on me that expected. When I read the description I thought the myrrh and blackberry wine notes would stick out more, but it didn't. Instead, what I got was more of an earthy blend that was heavy on the "herbal" notes like sage & hops, with the apple cider component glazing the entire thing. I reminded me of the hayrides at twilight, drinking cider with friends and hanging out in barns. Very appropriate for a fall scent! The sage and hops back off as time wears on, and the final hours of Mabon's lifespan smell predominantly of apple cider, though with less spice.

 

Final Thoughts:

This scent is a nice mood setter, very golden and dusty, but not really me. I think it'd work much better as a room scent.

[nephthys_lvx]

I got the cherry sucrets scent at first too, then it started to morph into something that smelled like sweet spiced wine. I took a nap this afternoon, and kept smelling it while I was asleep, and by the time I woke up I decided I like it. Oh, and this nice looking guy at the grocery store that I see all the time spoke to me for the first time, so maybe I need to wear it around men that I'm attracted to and see if it has that effect on any of the rest of them

[allidavie]

So funny the range of opinions on this one. I am not a big fan of the sweet fruit scents at all, and I love Mabon. It doesn't smell like cough syrup at all to me, I don't even smell cherry in it.

 

In the bottle:

Has an off note to it that put me off trying it. Smelled sour.

 

Wet:

Smelled exactly like crushed blackberries. Exactly.

 

After Drydown:

Crushed blackberries in apple cider. Drunken while lying around on an indian summer day near a pile of sun-warmed wood.

 

After a few hours:

Scent is almost entirely gone.

 

I did have a pretty bad allergic reaction to this one, but only on my inner elbow and one wrist. Strange.