Khephra

[eleventhousand]

Hail unto thee who art Khephra in Thy hiding, even unto Thee who art Khephra in Thy silence, who travellest over the heavens in Thy bark at the Midnight Hour of the Sun.
Tahuti standeth in His splendour at the prow, and Ra-Hoor abideth at the helm.
Hail unto Thee from the Abodes of Evening.

Thick resins with pepper and sage.
Very savory.

[Gwydion]

Another one that gives no hint of what's inside. It smells like medicinal tea. I'm guessing dandelion or chamomile and various herbs. Possibly pepper and maybe a hint of clove or allspice. I'm not impressed. It does smell sort of warm and sunny, but it's nothing I'd want on my skin.

[blacklacestatic]

Khephra did some wacky things on me.

 

In the imp: I can see why this is a "sun" scent. Very warm and a bit fiery.

 

Wet: It's kind of like a masculine cologne. Very warm, a bit spicy too.

 

Dry: Here's where we get strange. It smells like wood cutting. Like in woodshop class when your cutiing in with a electric saw, and you have that hot resiny wood smell. My co-worker however, says it smells like vanilla.

 

Later on: I start to smell a sweeter spicier scent. I don't think it's vanilla though, despite my co-worker insistance.

 

Overall: Crazy Morph action! I did have fun with this one, but I won't be needing a full bottle.

3 out of 5

[YoakeNoKami]

Imp: Flat, dirty leather… strange spiciness

On: Clean hospital room sheets and bleach. Blech.

Drydown: Bleach, bleach, bleach. Combined with the leathery, spicy smell? ARGH!!!! I was looking forward to this one, too...

 

Even if I wanted to smell like dirty leather, the bleach I'm getting from this would definitely make me run away. Particularly as I'm nearly as allergic to the actually substance as I seem to be to this at the moment. I don't know what's in it, but it's coming off NOW.

[Limelight]

I agree with Gwydion, medicinal tea. It's got some gross cinnamon thing going for me, and who would think that I'd ever think cinnamon could be gross? Definitely some clove action too. My mom might like this for that reason, but I sure don't.

[AEris]

Umm.....

 

This certainly is a strange one.

 

I would agree that there's clove in here, for sure. Other than that, it's a mysterious blend.

 

I can understand the mentions of chamomile, dandelion, sage, and resins. I am thinking frankincense or myrrh?

 

In my opinion, it is a spicy masculine blend. It reminds me of the Sportive Sun, but sharper and spicier. I'm glad I got a chance to try it before it was discontinued, but I think I will pass the imp along for others to sample as well.

 

2.5 out of 5

[VioletChaos]

in the imp: i don't know how else to describe it except to say it's like a medicinal version of a perfume a grannie would wear.

 

wet on skin: slightly better. still medicinal, but with a resin finish.

 

dry down: there is a beautiful sweet resinous quality here. unfortunately, it seems to be covered over with something that smells like a bitter orange cough syrup.

 

in all: back to the swap!

[aleciarivas]

Spicy, resinous incensy smell. Granny perfume underneath it all. Blech.

[ouch!]

Hmmm....

 

I never bought this one it was a freebie from a lovely forumite. Wish I could remember who now! (Sorry).

 

This is definately Herby/Incensey. And I think there's possibly amber too.

 

It's actually quite pungent. And it just reminds me of one of those vintage perfumes that comes in the vintage spray bottles you have to squeeze. (I can't explain that very well sorry) One that would be sitting on a fancy dressing table a long time ago. It's quite heady. And definately an evening scent which is quite fitting considering it's the Midnight sun!!!

 

Would never have bought a bottle of this, but would have given it to a sophisticated friends (If I had any..all of my friends are crazy).

 

ETA: It smells slightly of vinegar on drydown....

Edited January 31, 2008 by ouch!

[waternight]

In the imp: Golden-green and quite herbal. I see why this is getting a "medicinal tea" reaction from people. To me, though, the dominant herbal note that I smell in the imp is kush. It doesn't smell like people are toking up, but it definitely smells like kush.

Wet: Golden resin, I'm thinking amber. The herbals stay up front and on top, and the kush smell is still there. A few minutes later, it starts to sweeten up and it doesn't stop. To me, this smells like a more herbal version of The Lion.

Dry: Continues to sweeten, and the kush note fades. Almost identical to The Lion.

[hkhm]

imp: sandalwood and amber.

 

wet: a wonerful myrrh/frankincense note mixed with amber.

 

dry: this dries to a nice myrrh and amber scent.

[donnatron]

Imp: Sweet and gently herbal. Reminds me of Throat Coat tea.

 

Wet: Medicinal. In a nice way, but medicinal none the less.

 

Dry: Clean and soapy. There's a slight hint of leather or musk or similar, but for the most part it's pretty low key and mostly just smells like an amped version of clean skin.

 

Throw: Nil.

 

Overall: I put this on, went to work and could barely smell it anymore. So I covered it with Bess. It's nice in a very clean, light sort of way. I guess I should be glad I'm not in love with it, seeing as how it's discontinued.

[stardreamer]

In the imp and fresh on: Sharp, resiny/woody. Not outstanding, but pleasant.

On drydown: This is getting spicy/herbal; I think I smell pepper, and sage, and clove, and perhaps some sandalwood underneath. It reminds me somewhat of Silk Road and Queen of Sheba. Much nicer than it started out!

Long-term: As it wears on, the woody notes come back up and there's some incense lurking in the background -- incense is almost always the last note to fade on me. Staying power is excellent; it's still very noticeable after 12 hours.

Bottom line: Definite keeper, probable favorite... and of course it would be a discontinued scent!

[voodoocatwoman]

In the imp: Very spicy- cinnamon mostly with something else mixed in that I can't identify. Pepper?

 

Wet: I find this to be a masculine scent. I still get the spice, but there's some herb aspect as well. Reminds me of something my dad used to wear.

 

Dry: No more masculine cologne- this has settled to a nice spicy and warm scent. Weirdly enough, I smell wax too, like the kind that lips & funny noses used to be made of for Halloween back in the 60s. I do like it though. I am glad I bought a bottle of it before the Stations of the Sun were discontinued.

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Sweet but herbal. It reminds me a bit of Lush’s Aura Suavis without the Geranium.

 

Immediately on skin: I’m definitely getting frankincense, and an herbal base. It’s a sweet scent, but not overly so. It smells very warm. There’s a slight creamy spiciness too that smells a little like carnations.

 

After a few minutes: There is definitely carnation in this blend… or some of the notes are blending into something closely resembling it. The frankincense is also hanging around, adding a golden sweetness to the blend. There may be some spices, but they’re very subtle and soft on me. There are also some soft herbal notes, but they’re filling out the base of the scent.

 

Overall Impressions: A very warm, creamy, but slightly herbal scent. When I close my eyes, this is a warm light gold scent. It’s floral, resiny, and herbal all at the same time, but the floral is not perfume-like in the least. Lovers of warm carnation blends would probably like this, but it’s not overly sweet. It’s a nice calm evening scent, like the description suggests. It’s soft, warm, and very comforting.

[zankoku_zen]

This one is a sweet, resiny blend. I get the frankincense and sage from this. Well blended, golden.

 

Not my cup of tea, but very pretty.

[theseagrows]

this is an herbal-resin scent on my skin. not too sure what's in it though. some sort of sandalwood and maybe musk with a shot of herbals through the middle. i can't place what the herb is, but i've smelled it before. it's not really smelling all that great on my skin, so i will swap it.

[mazikeen]

I finally tried this on a cold winter day looking for a little warmth. This was totally unexpected. It is a colder sun from the rest of this line, for sure. It seems appropriate that it represents evening. It's a cool warmth, if that makes any sense.

 

Every now and then there's just a hint of nighttime flowers. Mostly though it's ... what? This is so hard to pinpoint! A traditional spice of some sort is in there that gives it warmth. It is a little medicinal (a quality in BPAL I've always really liked, for some reason)... but yet does represent the sun, oddly enough. Perhaps its remembering and missing the feeling of sunshine, the moment you realize that its gone. This does not evoke nighttime or evening-- it is the very last sliver of daytime, indeed.

 

Throw: next to none. You have to get right up to it to smell it, but when you do, it's lovely.

 

Verdict: I really like this. If I had bought a bottle I wouldn't have regretted it. Since I missed my chance, I'll just enjoy the imp (but I won't be hoarding it).

 

A nice addition to the Stations of the Sun line, which I've really enjoyed overall.

 

ADDED--

Aged 4 (!) years now. It's lovely. Warm, with a small hot bite to it. No longer "medicinal" or cool. Man, this is great. I really wish I had a bottle.

Edited December 2, 2011 by mazikeen

[hlinspjalda]

In the vial: Resinous, with a tinge of something citrusy or maybe minty. Very attractive, yet subtle.

 

Wet: Sharper, but still resinous with a sparkly note.

 

Twenty minutes: This has gone flat and warm, maybe white musk or lotus/orchid root? They have that flat effect on me. The resinous impression is gone, but there's still a sparkly note buried at the center of it. and something lightly herbal and citrusy about it too.

 

One hour: I think there's carnation in this one too. I like the middle and top notes of this very much, but the flat musky base doesn't work well on me.

 

Two and a half hours: That flat note is lessened. I do like this one too, with its smoky incense impression.

 

Four and a half hours: Not nearly as lasting on me as some of the others in this line, but it's still quite a pleasant one.

 

[crebbsgirl]

Wet, this was spice and smoke. I can also smell something that I think may be lemongrass. As it dries, this gets drier. There's a bit of sweetness here as well. Oh, and then frankincense comes out. Frankincense and I are NOT friends unfortunately.

[iletaitunefois]

This is a really beautiful scent. It reminds me of dried herbs left out in the summer heat. Dry, warm, but still a little green. To give it a little pop, though, there's a touch of spice that leaves me smelling my wrist over and over. I'm not sure I'd wear this that often, but it seems like it'd be really good for a cold winter's day, just to remember what the sun is like!

[countessmouse]

Spicy incense and resins, with some really odd note under it all. Is that cinnamon? *shakes head*

 

I like incense, but there are others out there I really like (hello Kaidan) a lot more than this one. Off to the swap pile.

[Vega]

Sniffed: Deep, glowing, slightly sticky resin. Reminds me of Penitence (my gold standard for pure light incense).

 

On skin: If Penitence and Cairo had a child, it would smell like this. Khephra is a combination of the deep, full-bodied incense of Penitence, and the slightly sticky, citrus-bright kyphi resin of Cairo, all in a lighter and gentler package. This is a simple, yet well-rounded scent that doesn't morph much. Occasionally the tart citrussy note threatens to sour and overwhelm everything, but this morphs in and out, and the scent overall holds onto its resinous base. (I couldn't say the same for Cairo, which turned thin and sour nasty over time.)

 

I've tried both Ra and Khephra, and both blends definitely evoke their respective stations of the sun. Khephra is a bright, sun-sharp citrus heart surrounded by deep, gentle incense; reminiscent of the midnight sun, clear yet gently radiant. Colour impression is a dark, liquid gold-brown with a gently glowing golden heart.

 

Verdict: If you like light incense such as Penitence, Midnight Mass and Philosopher in Meditation, Khephra is a variant on the same theme. I like it, but there are other incense blends that I prefer to wear, so this is unlikely to see much action on my skin.

[changeling]

In the bottle: Strong, familiar scent, though I can't clearly identify notes. It is a strong sweet spice.

Wet: Strong sweet spice but with a new, almost smoky undertone

Dry: The warm sweet spice remains after nearly 12 hours, though it is only detectable near the skin. This scent did not change much on my skin. It reminds me of a piece of amber.

 

It's too bad this one was discontinued--it has aged well.

[BoneBone24]

Wet: Warm musk.

 

Drydown: It's sweet and resin-y. After a while the amber begins to amp and YOWZA! it's hyper-sexual for a good 10 minutes.

 

Dry: Musky amber with a touch of something green and bitter (olive leaf?), but mostly musky amber.

 

 

This scent reminds me of cuddling up to a warm and sexy man. Not that it's super masculine, but it reminds me of being close to someone who is

 

I'd recommend wearing this to bed on a cold and lonely night. Good dreams guaranteed!

 

6.5 out of 10 bones

Edited June 21, 2013 by BoneBone24