Daya

[cinderfallen]

According to Wiki

QUOTE

Daya comes from the Sanskrit "Day" meaning to sympathize with, to have pity on, stands for compassion, sympathy. It means ‘suffering in the suffering of all others’. It is deeper and more positive in sentiment than sympathy. Daya, cognitively, observes alien pain; affectively, it gets touched by it and moves with affectional responses for the sufferer; and cognitively it moves one to act mercifully, pityingly, with kindness and forgiveness.

Daya is a very smooth, resinous fruit blend. I think the fruit is black plum? At first it was almost holiday candle-ish, which happened with Frumious Bandersnatch and Blood Countess, which is why I'm attributing plum. But along with the fruit are the meditative aspects, a little smoke, perhaps opium, sandalwood.

On drydown, the fruit becomes lovely, like a bowl of plums in a room lit by candlelight and myrrh incense. Daya feels like soft silk covering something plush and soft, and I'm sure that's myrrh contributing that. I can really see this scent being the essence of kindness, compassion.

[heathercaley]

Daya is truly a golden scent. It's very full, warm, and with a sweet touch of either sandalwood or amber. I can smell a light touch of something fruity underneath. I am not sure what it is. It could be plum (as cinderfallen has noted). I do detect a similar plum as to the plum found in Hellion. There's also spices floating around. I adore this, and will use my imp sparingly!

[Seismogenic]

This was the imp given as a thanks to those who donated to the canned food drive at November Will Call. I looked up the term "Daya," and it is Sanskrit for "day" in the most literal sense, but also for "compassion." It is, apparently, a particularly important concept in Sikhism. The idea of "compassion" is also a perfect thing to associate with a food drive, of course. Thanks so much to the Lab for this one!

 

In the imp: Some sort of light oil or wax, something slightly floral-tart-sweet that could be rosewater (maybe?), slight hint of spices.

 

Wet on skin: Still with the oil/wax, though subtly. The spices immediately come further forward, and seem a bit incensey. Now, Iʻm not so sure about the rosewater thing, but thereʻs some kind of delicate sweetness back there.

 

Drydown: Freshly dry, this is now clearly an incense scent. Thereʻs nag champa, and maybe also sandalwood (which is fortunately not making me sneeze). The smooth note is probably more likely oil than wax, but Iʻm pretty sure itʻs one of the two, since it reminds me of something that was in Hanerot Halalu. The whole thing is still backed up by a light sweetness, but at this point, I could no longer tell you whether or not I think rosewater is involved. At one hour in, this has settled pretty well into a combination of incense, that oily note, and maybe also resin. Itʻs a little drier than before, due to prominence of incense, but itʻs still recognizable.

 

Five hours later: A similar balance to the one hour mark, though considerably fainter. Sandalwood incense, a little bit of oil, and some sort of resin (Iʻm going to guess myrrh at this point).

 

End of the day: Very very slight hint of resin (and Iʻm still going to guess that the resin in question is myrrh).

 

Overall: This is a very warm scent, and also quite comforting, as something based on compassion really should be. I also definitely get an Indian/south Asian impression from this, and I suspect I might have even if I didnʻt know that "Daya" is a Sanskrit word. Given that knowledge, there really could have been rosewater in this, since it is a component of lots of Indian desserts and stuff. Iʻm still not sure if the oil smell was, in fact, oil, but it reminded me so much of the non-wax component Hanerot Halalu that Iʻm not sure what else it could be. My opinion here might be swayed by the fact that the imp label shows a scene with lots of hovering candles. Iʻm definitely certain of the sandalwood incense, and fortunately, it seems to be a kind of sandalwood that doesnʻt set my allergies off. I didnʻt get any of the plum that other people are mentioning in their reviews, but plum disappears on me so quickly that I couldnʻt tell you if it was ever there. At any rate, I really really like this. It is gentle and glowing and seems like itʻd be especially lovely on a cold or wet day. Iʻm going to have to use it sparingly, though, since it is only one imp!

[bheansidhe]

I love the meaning of this oil's name. The image on the label is a bright swath of golden flames in a many-armed oil lamp (not candles) - after some Google image searches, I believe it could be... an aarti? (http://ifornature.blogspot.com/2009/08/jan...tami-pooja.html)

 

The blend itself is warm, resonant, and meditative. It's subtle, with no one distinctive component.

 

Holding the wand under my nose for a while, I get a warm, woodsy, slightly spicy resin incense on a faint waft of smoke. The burning / smoke component reminds me of Hanerot Halalu, but I don't get either honey or beeswax. Olive oil would make sense as a fuel source for the oil lamp, so I'm guessing olive oil (or some similar ancient lantern fuel) as the base. Or, given the culture, could this be ghee?

 

I agree with the reviewers who suggest sandalwood (possibly with oud and nag champa). I get resins, but not myrrh, because myrrh goes awful on my skin and Daya does not (so if it's present in this blend, it's not dominant). There's also a spiced but non-foody warmth here that's just incredible. Like opening a carved sandalwood box that used to hold precious spices, whole nutmegs, scraps of cassia bark, pinches of scented resins, and getting just the velvety roundness of those notes without the spices themselves.

 

After a while I get very low fruit notes, but I couldn't pick them out. I also get a hint or either rosewater or orange blossom water, but not a "floral" component.

 

Sadly, Daya is *not* wearing well on me right now, but I'm going through some physical issues that may well be affecting my chemistry, so I'm holding onto the one I have for a while.

Edited January 24, 2010 by Shollin

[black_and_bloom]

Wow, this is lovely. Completely right up my alley in many ways...

 

I too get a spicy sandalwood base, incense, and, after a minute, a fruity/floral note. I've been trying to figure out what it is, and it might be cherry blossom....really reminds me of a dominant note in Spirit of the Komachi Cherry Tree. Who knows! I could be way off, but this is really a nice scent. I'd bottle this in a second, and I keep a pretty lean collection.

 

ETA: The more I think about it, I think it's not cherry blossom but lavender monofloral honey! Interested to know what others think...

Edited November 23, 2009 by black_and_bloom

[Wwindy]

What a beautiful, exotic scent!

 

Fresh on, I do get the warm oil/wax scent, but that doesn't last long on my skin, and it's not overtly burnt or smoky -- it's more of a notion of small flames in the background. What comes out after that is a slightly floral incense with a lovely rounded, rich, spicy quality; the "floral" aspect is hard to pin down, and may well be coming from the nag champa mentioned by other reviewers.

 

I'm not identifying any specific fruit notes, which is fine by me! I do agree with bheansidhe about the "scraps of cassia bark," because my husband said "cinnamon candy" as soon as he sniffed this.

 

A lovely, warm blend -- I agree that this is a keeper.

 

ETA: I had a good slather of this yesterday, and after it had been on for a number of hours and was starting to fade, there was something about it that reminded me just a bit of Mme. Moriarty. So yes, maybe a touch of plum!

 

ETA yet again because I have not swooned nearly enough over this blend: This is going to sound hokey, but this gorgeous scent makes me feel both loving and loved -- I feel like my best self when I have Daya on. I *adore* this scent.

Edited January 4, 2010 by Wwindy

[Eutectic]

This is so beautiful! I wish it had been released with the yule offerings as I would have seriously stocked up on it!

 

First on it is a soft sophisticated incense with a sweetness of plum or other dark fruit in the background. As it dries the herbal qualities of this scent take more of a front seat and the plumish fruit settles closer to the skin. Fully dry this oil becomes so well blended that the notes merge to form a really lovely melange, just all sophisticated beauty. I would slather this oil with wild abandon and order more bottles pronto if that was an option...

[fairnymph]

Pale golden oil. Slightly sweet, slightly spicy resins and wax. Some sort of piney resin, maybe balsam or copal. Beeswax. Glowing in feel.

 

Sweeter, bubble-gummy - probably some lotus, and I'd bet some davana too. A pink sort of feel, now. Still very spicy and resiny-woodsy. Smokier and darker as well, providing an interesting contrast. The vibe generally reminds me a lot of Gypsy Queen, a feminine but exotic/mysterious scent.

 

Drier, warmer, woodier. I do think there is some sandalwood, probably red, in this. And I think the spice (or one of them) is cassia, because this is reminding me a bit of Morocco on the whole - though much darker and less creamy. I think the piney resin is balsam, which has a slightly citrusy overtone to my nose. I see where people are getting the plum note, but I still get more of a lotus/davana thing.

 

I'm trying to figure out the other spices, and I think nutmeg is one of them. The smoky/incense note is still evading me. I don't think it's myrrh because it's not bitter or musty, though there is a dustiness here. Opium smoke is a possibility, though. It really reminds me of some BPAL blend I've tried but I can't place it. Maybe 'Mum Moon? It's in that 'category' of complex, smooth, deep, spicy scents.

 

This gets fruitier and fruitier on me, as well as waxier and smokier, but overall it's a smooth evolution. Sweet, spicy, warm scent - very winter-appropriate and unisex to feminine. Fortunately not at all my sort of scent, but a very pleasant incensey scent for those who like the sort. Good throw and great longevity.

[zankoku_zen]

This one was a smoky resinous blend, spicy and resin-woody. I think there's some balsam and maybe some sandalwood.

 

Meh.

[myth]

Bright, soapy, almost perfumey. Some sort of musk in here I think. High-end soap is pretty much all I get.

 

Based on how different my review is from everyone else's my guess is that there is a floral in here that I amp to the exclusion of everything else. I wish I had gotten the resin-wood-spice scent that everyone else seems to have smelled [because it sounds divine!], but I so did not. I tested it twice to be sure. Foo on my skin.

[hkhm]

imp: a warm, golden soapy scent. really, the scent of laundry drying in morning sunshine.

 

wet: there is a smooth, light sweetness here. warm quince or...? something golden and rich. still that beautiful "clean" smell.

 

dry: there this is a sweet (yet not overly so) golden fruit scent once dry. it still smells clean but not like soap. prettier than i was expecting.

[Suu4LC]

So glad I am getting a chance to sniff this-missed the will call last year when it was given out, but got a couple of imps of it from the most recent Halloween will call!

 

This is a warm spicy/spiced woody scent when I sniff it from the imp. Yep, slightly sweet, spiced, cinnamony wood. A bit resiny as well. This is very warm and pleasant. A good fall scent.

 

Dries down to a lightly spiced wood scent. Pleasant, but not really my thing. This reminds me of another bpal, but I can't really pin down what. Soft, slightly powdery warm spiced wood.

[impolight]

:::DAYA:::

Of course there are no Lab Notes for what makes up this formula...

Of Course it is Forum Only! (Discontinued)

The fragrance that is Daya is extraordinary.

"Golden" is a very excellent adjective for this fragrance.

The only other blends that, so far, come close are WanderLust's El Dorado and Phoenix Steamworks' Robotic Scarab.

This blend is otherworldly and revitalizing, whatever the translation might suggest!

From the Imp: Gold and spice. A Golden vessel for transporting exotic herbs, spices, and woods. There is the merest suggestion of citrus somewhere in Daya, but it has been downplayed mightily by the metallics, the spices, and the resins.

The Copal in this is to die for.

This is incensey in the way of the sacred... Not at all like the Head-Shop motif described by some of the more irreverent of the groundlings...

On the Skin: This is just not fair! Daya is screamingly good!

A good a guess as any would indicate that there is some Cassia and Evergreen in this blend along with something citrusy.

Ambergris and Sandalwood would also seem to lend their characteristics to the profile.

The Golden note is just plain outrageous!

Picture glittering gold body paint adorning the well muscled and exquisite physique of a dancer moving gracefully and tortuously slow; serpentine, to trance-like strains of a sitar or something similar...

The Copal is also thunderously magnificent...

An uncoiling pastel blue cloud infinitely expanding with celestial sighs.

There might even be a bit of Abremelin Incense to accompany and accentuate the Copal.

Something in this bears a subtle resemblance to the Phoenix Steamworks oil.

Daya is incandescent and immortalizing.

Daya would be absolutely stupendous on His or Her body chemistry and is well-deserving of a spot of permanence somewhere in the hallowed halls of BPAL (Panacea, maybe?).

Daya is well worth a look for anyone eager to partake of BPAL indulgence.

Try NOT to abuse yourself!10 out of 10 for this one.

When does BPAL get get it's own holiday, anyway?

[grrrlennyl]

Daya

 

On: So beautiful. Sunny and resinous. Did I say beautiful?

Half an hour later: Something woodsy is taking over, which isn't really me.

1 hour later: Spicy and woodsy.

Overall: I wish this stayed the same on my skin as when I put it on, but alas it does not. Oh, well...

[angelicruin]

Very warm, resinous scent. Pleasant, but nothing I tend to wear with any frequency.

[Gwydion]

In Bottle: An unusual sort of fruity. I’m guessing one of the winter berries like holly and maybe plum as the dominant notes. Actually, the evergreen may be holly or a softer than average pine. This may be giving me the illusion of holly berry when combined with plum. It could be both or either. It’s got a smooth, resinous affect. Here is something I don’t like about the incense, but I can’t pin it down. Wet: It is now strongly incense dominant. The think I’m not liking is at its heart, but I like the rest of the incense blend. I do like the way the Indian temple incense works with the more western associations that were dominant in the bottle. As it warms, it balances rather. The effect is warm indoors during winter, which suits it’s concept and season. I like it better, the longer it wears. Dry: It continues the upward trend, smelling quite wonderful on the dry down. Whatever that note that wasn’t working for me was, it’s faded outnow, and it’s blossomed into a sweetly elevated incense blend with that hint of plum and holly in the background. It’s hard getting to this point, but worth it.

[donkehpoo]

Wet: I definitely smell something "golden". There's something lurking in the background that smells like cedar, though, which I'm not a big fan of...

 

Dry: A very, very faint woodsy scent... with a tiny bit of amber? This basically disappeared on my skin.

 

 

2/5

[Alia Kaitan]

Daaayyyya, wow. I was frimp'd this beauty. Thank you kind forumite!

 

In the imp it is definitely resinous with a little spice, but once on my skin, this glorious golden candle-wax scent comes up. This smells so much like my old candle of Tibetan Mountain Temple from Pacifica. 'Gilded beeswax', for sure. Maybe some ginger and Ceylon cinnamon (the woodsy kind) in there, possibly some patchouli and a hint of orange rind, and some kind of cedar or pine? The base is very similar to the base of Faunalia to my nose.

 

Regardless of the notes, the imagery in this is all about gold and warmth. Golden candles upon a golden altar, a bounty of offerings in golden bowls. Truly, this is radiant.. neither scorching as the sun nor cold as metal, but a warm amber-golden glow that fills the air. So glad I got to try this.

[cinnamonster]

Love this! Thanks Puddin'!

 

I'm having a hard time putting this into words. It smells...safe? Slightly creamy, slightly waxy, but not in the normal beeswax/headache way, maybe the creaminess is a rice pudding kind of creamy actually, I can't do it much more justice than this I'm afraid. Smooth, golden, comforting, addictive

[sunlitgarden]

I received this as a frimp in a recent Ebay auction of the lab's that I won.

 

In the imp this is... a bit woody-incensey, but sweet, and kind of... appley? Foody - reminds me of an apple pie. With incense in the background.

 

On my skin.... wow, I love this. Of course, it's a rare. "Sweet appley incense" is the best way I can describe it, but it smells really, really good. The fruity note fades as it dries, leaving a sweet, woody incense. I want a bottle, I want TEN bottles! Why must it be a WC exclusive O_O

[Iceblink]

Waxy fruit--very candle-like! A little spicy and deeper than just a straight-up fruitiness...nice but it's too far into candle territory for me to want this on my skin.

[Gateau]

This has to be chock full of plum, because I am getting the telltale metallic fruit that I only get with plum. A shame, because in the initial stages this is resiny and warmly spicy, with a little fruitiness. Lots of warmth, in a very intimate and welcoming way. But after it's worn for an hour or two, it's simply plum, which I can't wear.

[HerbGirl]

I'm also getting the plum vibe! I'm so glad to see that Gateau had already said this!

 

I'm going through and retesting all of the imps/decants and I just retired Daya after a few years. I knew I didn't want to part with my last imp of Daya, but I also haven't reached for the imp in those few years...

 

This is a gorgeous bright, warm, perfumey perfume - very pleasant wafts from my wrist keep reaching my nose and I keep sniffing my wrist to make sure it is really Daya...it is.

 

If this is ever released in a more substantial size, I will definitely buy it. This is perfect for the last hurrah of Summer and into Autumn...love this.

[Lucchesa]

Daya is warm amber and sunshine, maybe some sandalwood incense. It's a beautiful brilliant clear sunny fall day as I test it, and it is perfect for this weather, as Herb Girl says. I wouldn't have been able to come up with plum, but seeing it mentioned by so many reviews, I can imagine that it's there, kind of melding with the incense. Truly lovely!

[doomsday_disco]

Daya was mostly a warm, bright resinous scent on me. I think I was getting some variety of amber along with some incense, and perhaps a touch of musk. I didn't get anything from fruity from this like other reviewers seem to have gotten.

 

I'm glad it is not a love since it was a gift with purchase imp, but I do think it smells like a lovely resinous incense.