The Season of Ghosts

[xoe]

In Latvia, the Ziemassvetki, or Winter Party, is a celebration of the birth of Dievs, the Sky God and Supreme Ruler of the Latvian pantheon. The two weeks prior to the Ziemassvetki is Ve?u laiks: the Season of Ghosts. Candles are lit to honor the gods and a fire is kept burning throughout the Season, burning away the unhappiness of the previous year so men's spirits can be renewed. At the feast of the Ziemassvetki, places are left as a courtesy to the ghosts, who arrive by sleigh.

A scent created to burn away sorrow: bergamot, frankincense, rose geranium, ginger, lemongrass, and blood orange.

I bought Season of Ghosts, because I know there is some sorrow coming up for me that I'm really going to want to burn away. Winter is always a difficult time, but this one is sure to be one of the worst.

In the bottle, first sniff is sort of soapy, but with something soft and warm.
The oil itself is very dry. ... or maybe that's my skin.
Wet on, it is not so soapy now. i can definitely smell the rose geranium and the lemongrass.
This isn't really bright and citrussy, though it definitely does have citrus. something is sort of dusty, maybe that's the frankincense?
I think this will actually work!
Yay.

A soft scent for sad days.

[theandorran]

I got Season of Ghosts because, save for the mysterious rose geranium, every note in it is a love for me. And I'm in no way disappointed.

 

In the bottle: Citrusy, though I can't quite place which of the citruses that I'm getting. They're all sort of blended together in a bright, sparkly scent. There's also something else lingering there I can't quite place. I'm guessing it's rose geranium. It's flowery but not floral, if that makes any sense.

 

Wet: All I really get wet is blood orange. Ripe, juicy, bright blood orange. Not complaining, though.

 

Dry: Soft, bright, and smells like lemongrass. Softened somewhat by frankincense and the rose geranium. It's so happy and bright and it kind of smells like sunlight.

[thekittenkat]

I love blood orange and there are just not enough scents with that note. That being said, the blood orange is not the dominant note here. It's tempered by all the other notes (distinct in and of themselves) and will settle into a lovely blend when it has some age on it. This will be a good pick-me-up oil when the cold and gloomy winter months arrive.

[bonny]

:anguished sobbing: this smells AMAZING in the bottle. bergamot is what i'm mostly getting with ginger peeking out underneath.

unfortunately, and weirdly, this smells EXACTLY like australian gold sunscreen on my skin. still getting a lot of bergamot, can't pick out anything else individual because the sunscreen smell is so distracting. it's nice; i mean, it reminds me of summer and sunshine, but this is not something i want to smell like when i'm gallivanting about town. :continues sobbing: i was SO excited for this. i'll try it again in a few weeks before i send it to swaps....

[greenranger]

Citrussy, cheery, happy, with an undercurrent of almost floral sweetness.

 

As it warms on my skin, the resin comes forward and I can also smell the tang of the geranium. It's smoothing out and becoming less...perky? It's still a very happy, lively scent.

 

Frankincense and citrus, with a bit of geranium. I think this may go into my regular rotation of scents.

[jrk1857]

I'm not so sure, here. I love citrus, and this is definitely citrus. Bright and clean and happy.

 

But, it also smells like environmentally friendly bathroom cleaner.

 

Which I kind of like the smell of.

 

This is going to take some continued experimentation.

[edenssixthday]

The Season of Ghosts - I couldn't have been more excited to see a scent with three of my favorite notes in it -- rose geranium, frankincense, and blood orange. It smelled differently than what I expected. I forgot that blended with "lighter" scents, frankincense is very dry and dusty on me (as opposed to ultry husky, deep, and sexy on me when it's blended with heavier/darker notes), almost in the way white sandalwood is dry and dusty. But the blood orange sweetens it up and both it and the bergamot give it a nice citrusy zing. The lemongrass and rose geranium provide a healthy herbal quality to the overall blend, and the rose geranium mellows out the bright citrus notes to keep it from being an upbeat, happy scent. It's not a happy scent at all -- it's pretty, but definitely has an overtone of sorrow and sadness about it...like standing at the gravesite of your beloved one on a bright and sunny, yet cold and windy winter day.

[Altaira]

This is a light, herby slightly powdery citrus scent. The geranium is very prominent to me. My mom had lemon geranium plants in pots on the back porch. I always loved to crush the leaves and smell them; this smells like that. The lemongrass is canceling out any rose scent. I don't really smell the blood orange at all (if you are looking for a strong blood orange scent try Pet Megah Bird) and I think the frankincense is what is lending the slight powder edge to the blend.

 

I like this a lot. I'm learning that the foody scents I am attracted to by their definitions can be too cloying on me, so I'm forcing myself to expand my horizons and am happy with the results This has a comforting herbal lemon/ginger tea feel without the heavy sweetness of something like Shub.

[Lit Chick]

I am very on the fence about this.

 

Bottle, bright and citrus and herbal. Nice.

On, it's that for a second before it starts to get really funky. Acrid soap, very harsh. Then that goes too. Then we have kind of a really really nice scent, the frankincense comes out, everything else is mellow. And then it turns dusty and unpleasant again. And then it's nice.

 

Major morpher, and I'm not sure if the nice parts are worth the icky ones. I might hang on to this though, because I think might age well.

 

[angelicruin]

Wet on my skin, this is a very light, dusty scent. Blood Orange and lemongrass notes gives it a citrus zest. Between the wet and dry stage it threatens to turn "soapy", but it finally dries down to a beautiful light floral dusty citrus scent. Very feminine.

[MeiLin]

In the imp: Bergamot first, and then the blood orange. Very happy and light.

 

Wet: Bergamot and rose geranium, not my favorites when there's too much of them. Then orange and ginger, lemongrass. They make the others bearable.

 

Dry: Slight hint of ginger. The lemongrass and bergamot/rose geranium are predominant. This is really pretty, but I'm not sure it smells like me. It needs the Sir test.

 

Further: The longer it dries, the more the ginger and previously missing frankincense come out. I got a fleeting wisp of a coconut accord there for a sec, but it's gone now. The ginger and frankincense make me like it more.

[Fillanzea]

I just got this and I am in love! I think it's the bergamot and frankincense that are coming out strongest on me, and I'm definitely not getting the citrus as much, nor anything sparkly/happy. My first impression was dark and bitter, though definitely with something comforting and gentle underneath.

[Jammies]

I wanted to love this, as I adore all citrus scents and am crazy about geranium. Sadly, in the bottle I got lemon cleaner, and dry on my skin, it was a savory, herbal lemongrass. Good on poultry, not so much on Jammies.

 

[emilynicole]

In the imp I smell the bergamot and blood orange with frankincense in the background. Right after I apply this to my skin, this smells like citrus oil from the rind along with some pith too. It is a somewhat dry citrus, not a juicy one. I get just a little kick from the ginger. The rose geranium becomes a big player soon after application, toning down and tying together the citrusey elements. After less than a half hour, The Season of Ghosts smells just like expensive, lovely soap. I like the scent, but it reminds me exactly of a soap one would buy at an upscale shop. I'll keep my decant for sure, but it is not a bottle purchase for me.

[IronMollyBlack]

This reminds me of my beloved Holiday Stress Relief Bath Oil, without the mint. It's at least a cousin, in the similarity of some notes, and in the tone of the scent. As with Holiday Stress Relief, I'm not going to analyze the notes, or the scent, but just take it for what it is. A scent to drive away sorrow, indeed! I think I need a bottle.

 

Edited December 2, 2009 by IronMollyBlack

[zankoku_zen]

So at the beginning, I can smell the orange and frankincense. And as it dries I get a hint of the lemongrass and some of the bergamot. The orange in this reminds me more of Pez orange candy than actual orange/orange juice. Maybe it's the frankincense giving it a 'dusty' quality.

 

Dries to pretty much frankincense. Meh.

[Leopard403]

Rose geranium is prominent in this blend, though my nose is very sensitive to it. This is reminiscent of lemony bathroom cleaner on me. Up for swaps.

[midnight_aeval]

Whew - so citrusy, but also sort of soapy. Bit too potent on both sides for me! I do see (smell?) how it would remind one of ghosts in the simplest form of the word; airy and fresh.

[tartchef]

I really should learn. Citrus + geranium + tartchef = FAIL. Bitter & pithy with an unpleasantly medicinal edge.

 

That said, I am tempted to try it as a room scent...

 

ETA: Met up with Wwindy over the weekend & ended up re-trying this... She's right - once the initial solvent-y bitterness burns off, it's Thai curry! Still not a winner on my skin, but I am glad I have another imp to play with - it really is a galvanizing, uplifting scent, cutting through the post-DST fog & helping me focus. Maybe a temple balm of sorts...

 

And it's making me want curried tofu for lunch

Edited March 15, 2010 by tartchef

[Little Bird]

In the bottle, this smells like those lemon scented hand wipes that they give out at some restaurants/bars after you eat - lemony clean and kinda soapy.

 

On my skin, this winds up being a much brighter scent than I was expecting. I don't smell any frankincense or rose geranium, and the blood orange isn't as dark and sweet as it usually is on me. This is mostly a soft, slightly soapy, bright lemon smell. I get a little extra sweetness of the blood orange, but not much.

 

This isn't bad, but it's too clean/soapy smelling for me to be able to wear it without getting a headache. It also reminds me a lot of the lemon scented disinfectant wipes that I use to clean my house. I love those wipes, but I don't want to wear them :/

[ami226]

On the skin: Soapy and kinda astringent. Citrus!!

 

After a bit, the soapiness fades, but the astringent smell never goes away. Not for me.

[Ohmaude]

A bright burst of florals that I associate with a clean house, this fades to a clean citrus soap smell. The lemongrass and rose geranium really stand out. As these two notes fade, the ginger, frankincense and blood orange come through, the scent loses it's soapy edge and mellows into a golden sweetness. Overall a delightful scent.

[Prism]

in bottle - ginger, orange, bergamot, lemongrass, a hint of incense not much. dont get rose or floral really.

 

wet - ginger orange lemongrass! with a..there's something that cools this scent down a lot. It's a little odd.

 

 

dry - ginger, lemongrass, orange...soap.

 

Darn it. I want an orange scent that works on me! Like...superbad.

 

Rating - 4/10

[kbrighton]

Bright happy making citrus. 20 minutes or so later the brightness has faded and bergamot and ginger come out to play. An hour later I have to burry my nose in my wrist to find a trace of scent

 

Hey ghosts, where did you go?

 

I love it and wish it lasted longer, I'll have to slather this one and reapply throughout the day.

[Schmoozy]

 

Another surprise hit. Spicy bergamot and ginger combines with lemongrass and orange that instantly improves mood. Again along with In Winter in my Room, these two blends should become permenant additions to the Panacea. Uplifting, invigorating and sorely needed to endure the long, cold, depths of winter.