Khephra

[carolinachiquita]

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.

This is a very warm scent but unfortuately after putting it on I couldn't stop sneezing for about an hour. I've had it on since 630am and its now 20.20pm (uk time!) and it smells amazing now. Unfortunately I'll have to give it a miss though because of the sneezing fits !!

[Little Bird]

First on this smells like sharp herbal lavender. Then it shifts and I can smell cinnamon and a bit of clove, perhaps. It's pleasant, warm, and spicy. Then it quickly turns into baby powder on me . Within 5 minutes that's all that I can smell. Amber sometimes goes powdery on me, so maybe that's what happened here...

[Cesare]

Wet: Really raw, musky and perfumey.

 

Drydown: Starts out like a typical musk perfume scent, gradually growing darker and more resiny.

 

Dry: This is very nice. It's a little like The Hermit: foresty and complex. But while The Hermit has a strong berry tone and a pine note, which together reminded my guy of the dreaded Dentist's Office Smell, Khephra is more like a forest by night.

 

No berries, just dark musk, the aromatic scent of plants and woods, and night-blooming flowers. This is appealing on its own, but it has no really clear top note when I wear it, so it also seems like it would be a great candidate for layering. I bet it would be killer with a single-note cherry, plum or bergamot. In the meantime it's lovely as an evening perfume on its own.

[Fefferbella]

Khephra is such an odd yet delightful scent... Lavender and cinnamon! It's comforting and refreshing at the same time.

 

I really like this, but it's so complex on my skin. Lavender notes are always amplified by my skin chemistry, and the cinnamon is a crisp, warm foody note.

 

Very unique.

[quikslvr]

Immediate sneeze, though I can hope it's not from Khephra (hope!). Heavy resins at first, and a bit of spice. As it settles, I definitely get cinnamon from it. Dark, exotic. I'd guess there's some frankincense in here. It's gorgeous, warm, and rounded.

[vyola]

Wet, I get a warm, foody scent, rather like eggnog. Clove, nutmeg, sugar -- very nummy.

 

As it dries, there's a bit of baby powder but it mellows down into a more resin-like note, with some incense or maybe sandlewood. This is a nice, dark, bronzy-gold scent that feels appropriate to the long, dark, winter.

 

Bonus points - Dad likes it so either it isn't clove or he doesn't dislike clove as much as he thinks.

[sarada]

How fortuitous, that when I am trying to test and review all of the Stations of the Sun that I got Khephra as a frimp!

 

Unlike the others I have recently tried, Ahathoor and Ra, I don't get the feeling of intense inner heat from this one -- there's not as much of the not-exactly-spicy but somewhat herbal emanating warmth that the others shed.

 

I do get what I think is frankincense, which of course I like. Now it's sort of like...Arcana, but stronger frankincense, and no lavender. Perhaps it's because it's the midnight sun that it is not as hot -- if there is a spice in this there isn't a lot.

 

As it dries down it becomes more of a faintly spicy powder of a scent, which is not very good on me. A bit mellower than the mid-day suns, a shadowed sun that is holding its warmth a little bit closer to itself than the others.

 

Hard to pin these down but they all seem to have some sort of resin element and something herbal. They are different enough so far that I can easily tell them apart but they are definitely the same family of scents. I'd wear them regularly if it was just resins, but the strange herbal and clove twists -- and the powdery drydown on this one -- make them more of a curiosity for me than something I'd wear.

[kaltomere]

Absolutely beautiful frimp. I was a bit scared to try anything that didn't describe the smell. But, after this that will no longer be a fear for me. To me it smells like amber, cinnamon, and that lovely scent of sun-warmed skin. I, also, agree that this does feel like a ritual oil. Kinda, leaves one with the feeling of being surrounded in warmth.

[Sara]

Sniff: Hmm..can't really identify any notes, but it's a refreshing scent. Kind of spunky and clean.

 

Swipe: More notes are coming out and this blend is taking a "calming" turn...very mellow, relaxed, and lovely.

 

Drydown: Crap!!! In my last review I mentioned how many BPAL blends have this icky-poo drydown for me...and this fucker is one of them. I can't really explain it beyond..."eeeeaaaaccccckkkkkk!!!" It really does just turn my stomach. Damnit I wish I knew what note/combination of/base freaking did this!

 

Overall: Not for me.

[slave1]

In Bottle: Patchouli

 

On Skin: Eeek! Something sharp. At first I thought it was patchouli, but now it seems to herby. This is pungent to an extreme. It kind of reminds me of Somnus. I don’t like it, sorry. It just turns my stomach instantly. It has a heavy incense in it, frankincese I think, and also spices, maybe clove? After the drydown it does sweeten up a bit due to a resin note, maybe myrrh? That makes it more easy to bear. I don’t mind it once it sweetens up and mellows out, but it’s not a fragrance I’d wear. It might be nice as an incense blend to burn.

[arabella]

First Impression: Metallic, spiced resin - and, maybe, some type of incense and/or patchouli.

 

Dries down to: A slight hint of powder blankets the blend turning it very delicate.

 

Additional Comments: I'm sure there must also be amber in this one. It's a seemingly frail scent but has a lot of endurance - like the end of the sunset with the warmth leached out of the sun. It's okay but not anything I'd ever wear.

 

Lasted: Several hours.

 

Rating: 2 out of 5

[gingersnapp]

This is warm and sweet and just a slightest bit perfumic. There's something very calming about this blend... a little bit herbal. But the warmth is golden and reminds me of honey or amber or saffron. I'm not sure what I'm smelling, but it's very beautiful and calming, yet somewhat empowering.

[storme]

In the imp: is that myrrh? there's a lot of cinnamon and clove, but there's something resin-y beneath it.

 

On me, wet: amber and clove and cinnamon and spiky spices! ...and, I suspect, frankincense, since this is starting to go soapy.

 

On me, dry: Oh yeah, this has frankincense in. It's gone soapy with some faint, sharp herbiness and some dusty florals. The spiciness does creep back in a bit after a fairly long wait, but it's still a dusty, dessicated spiciness.

 

Verdict: it smelled interesting in the imp, but this isn't going to work with my skin chemistry. Alas.

[lady_pandora]

This was a frimp from the Lab. THANK YOU, LAB!!!

 

I can't tell you exactly what's in this. It smells like expensive incense, plus some spice I recognize from food, but that doesn't manifest as "foody" in this. It's very warm, and I find it comforting. I think this would work well in a ritual or meditation, or just when I need to relax and unwind.

 

Definitely lives up to the name--it's a very dark, nocturnal scent, yet warm enough to bask in.

[Rhowan]

In the vial and wet on my skin, I get a floral, amber scent with a sharp, bitter cinnamon at the tail end.

 

As this dries down, the cinnamon is fading. The floral is still there and is warmed by amber(?) but I am getting a new scent of greens. Oakmoss? I don't know what it is but it is green.

 

Complete dry down, what is left is mostly a green scent to me. If I close my eyes a try really hard, I get a wiff of light florals - just barely there.

 

I think this is a very beautiful, understated scent. The throw is good, it stays right at your body - not out where the whole room could smell it. The wear is good too, maybe a 4hr wear without having to reapply.

 

I loved Ra and I really like Khephra. I might have to buy the 4 stations.

[fiddledragon]

Scent in bottle: Resins and some sort of wonderful herb/incense note.

 

Scent on me:

Wet -- It's some sort of herb, but I'm not pinpointing what it is. This is a very strange smell.

Dry --Frankincense and herbs.

 

Conclusion: This one's peculiar. It reminds me very strongly of something that I can't remember. I think I like it. I'll certainly give it another try.

[Eunice]

In the bottle: Very floral with a strong green scent underneath. This is in yer face strong to me.

 

Wet: When I first put it on the scent goes straight to herbal and baby powder. There's a floral part to it but only in the background.

 

Dry: Baby powder and something sharp. My nose and my skin just don't like this.

 

Overall: Dang.This is the scent I just do not like on my. Too much like an alcohol-based perfume and baby powder on me. *sigh*

[feline.by.design]

With Khephra, my initial reaction when smelling it wet in the crook of my elbow was:

 

"Holy crap! Kalamata olives! What?!"

 

No kidding. The vinegar tang kind of settles down, and I can smell a light, languid floral trying to nudge its way through, but something similar to oil or vetivert is strangling it. There's a slight "sweat" element to it, too. Maybe it's the sweat of people doing the bumpity-bump in the night, heh.

 

Khephra didn't turn out to work well with my skin chem, which is strange. I have gotten this musty sweat-smell in other scents I didn't care for, like Smut, so maybe it's just my preference. In any case, I'm always glad to try something new, and sometimes it works. In this instance, it didn't.

 

-doreen

[anjimama]

got this in a swap. loved ra, tum wasn't for me, this is goooood.

 

it is dry and spicy, warm and rich. worth checking out an imp!

[Meg]

In the bottle: Ooh. I'm reminded of Sol. Smoke and dark orange.

 

Wet: Lots of dark incense and smoke, a resin that smells a bit like turpentine, with orange lurking in the background.

 

Drydown: Er... turpentine, dust and grime over orange. I suppose that this could be qualified as smoke or incense, but as I'm not a specialist with that type of scents, all I smell is something a bit grubby. After a while the dirty scent lifts, leaving smoke over orange and clove.

 

Overall: It still reminds me of Sol, but I prefer Sol by far. It's a spicy, smoky orange, but it doesn't have any of the uplifting feel I get in Sol. Instead, I get a bit of a rubbery feel in this, it's not really my cup of tea.

[bristlecone]

Interesting to see everybody's best guess as to what's in here. I don't get lavender or anything else remotely floral from Khephra. I definitely get cinnamon, and I think I smell red musk too. And probably some amber as well, becoming more apparent in the drydown. It reminds me a bit of Fenris Wolf, actually. It's okay, but nothing spectacular.

[opaleyes]

Wow. This one is changing on me every five seconds. It's definitely resiny, but mercifully enough, I've not gotten a headache! I almost always get those from amber. I don't get the cinnamon some have mentioned. Dark, masculine, yet warm at the same time. Crazy! I smell some floral in it that's giving it the warmth, but I don't know which it is. At one point it drifted to powder, and then came back to the resins.

 

Hold still for five seconds, Khephra, so I can figure you out!

[darkitysnark]

A lovely gift from my Spring Switch Witch lexile!

 

And... what an enigmatic one this is! This is the first sun station I've tried, so I can't compare against the other ones. This is both sweet and bitter, dark and light, cool and warm.

 

She started out bright and sharp, which translates to a greenish herbal tinged with something citrus and/or spicy. The throw is about medium and pretty consistent for the first four hours. She calms down into a cat-like warmth -- seemingly calm, but you can tell she's alert at all times.

 

The main note I'm picking up via waft and huffing my wrist now (almost eight hours later!) is a very clear-headed frankincense backed by a very dry and solid wood. Not sweet like sandalwood, but more... tart? This is a fascinating blend.

[indicolite]

There are great things done to the smell of sun

By the hands of the Lady Beth,

And once tales of her art reached direct to my heart

I awaited with bated breath

What she'd do with stations of the conflagrations

Of our nearest, dearest star.

I loved Ra on the rise, admired Ahathoor's eyes

But Khephra I like best by far.

 

It was time for bed, as my weary head

Spun from reviewing imps left and right.

It was nearly done, and the Midnight Sun

I saved for one last delight.

Her promise Khephra kept, I knew as I slept

That this one was a love for long:

She is dark and clear, sun at its nadir,

But reminds me of... Red Phoenix's song?

 

No, 'tis Haunted's cup that Khephra summons up

In my memory's twisted line.

But though Haunted went to friends where it'll be content,

Khephra stays here, for she is mine!

After a long day, at eve, gladly I'll receive

Her on my hand and wrist to confer...

So go and buy the Sun's End, for a wonderful friend -

But don't ask me to borrow her!

 

[juniperus]

Bottle: something sour and sharp I can't identify. green behind.

Wet: same. bitter.

Dry: I can see the scrubby brush of the area between the river and the desert by moonlight. I'm also getting somewhat of a headache from something here...

Later: Still so very sharp, and the headache is getting worse. I'm not sure which note is causing me grief, but this is clearly not a blend for me.