Changó

[cuervosueno]

Yay! My first ever first review!

But I should say I'm having a particularly hard time picking out notes--this may be more about the Orisha than the scent.

I got this at Black Broom after trying a number of Orisha blends, and I admit I bought it mostly on scent alone. That said, let me include some info. on Chango/Shango. It's rather long, but it also includes the herbs/fruits associated with him, which might just be in the scent:

 

The god of thunder, fire, and masculine virility. Shangó is probably the most popular orisha in the Lukumí pantheon. This is probably influenced by the innumerable myths that describe his charming and virile nature and recount his multiple romantic adventures with different women.

Shangó despises lies and cheating. His anger is made evident through thunder and lightning. When he has been offended, he is a menacing storm and the lightning bolt executes his sentence. He is also an executioner for Olodumaré—he punishes those who have offended the Creator or broken any Divine dictates.

When Shangó possesses, he is an avid and masterful dancer. He brandishes his oshé— double-headed axe—through the air, symbolically slashing away at evil or the head of an enemy. He has a direct relationship with many orishas. Oba was his legitimate wife, but her lack of physical beauty distanced him. He found an equal in Oyá, his second wife and sidekick. Oyá and Shangó are so alike that they can be described as two faces of the same coin. The sensuous Oshún was his favorite wife. This is the only orisha that could manipulate Shangó into anything. When they meet in a wemilere, Shangó will almost always try to enchant Oshún and she ignores him with a seductive cynicism typical of the flirtatious orisha.

Chango

Saint: St. Barbara.

Day of the Week: Saturday. Friday is also popular. Huge parties are held in Chango's honor on December 4th, St. Barbara's day according to the Catholic calendar.

Sacrificial Foods: Chango is a glutton. He loves huge portions of corn meal and okra. Apples are his favorite fruit, and he likes pitahaya (cactus fruit). All his food should be heavily loaded with corojo butter. Chango drinks red wine in large quantities. His water should come from a pond.

Herbs: arabo rojo, cordoban, vacabuey, siguaraya Banyan tree, kapok tree, poplar, sorghum, clematis, hog plum, Cuban spurge, cashews, ironwood, mugwort, bran, climbing vines, bull's testicles, American spurge, leeks, pitahaya, plantains and bananas, red hamelias, Bermuda grass, royal palm, pine, lignum vitae, amansa guapo, pine nuts and apple trees among others.

 

The BPAL scent:

Definately fruity, but not as fruity as some of the other orisha blends I smelled. Its not a fruit I recognize, and smells rather tropical. I don't smell apples in it. There is something floral in there as well. I could smell just a hint--possibly--of red wine as well. it reminds me of being in the tropics, where the air smells fecund and green, sweet with some tropical flower (but not one I recognize like jasmine which doesn't work for me at all), and a hint of some luscious fruit like passionfruit or mango. its a very lush and sensual scent, but not sexual if that makes sense....ie. I associate sexual scents with musk/amber/cinnamon--something warm--and I'm getting more fruity/green/floral here. Maybe just a hint of muskiness beneath it all? It doesn't wear long on me--a couple of hours--and ends on a slightly fruity mostly sweet note. I actually like the drydown/fading stage most....it ends up sweet but not too sweet, maybe like red bananas...not too ripe and not as sweet as the white ones. maybe a hint of vanilla too.

Its not exactly what I'd think of if I think of Chango as the orisha of thunder and lightening, but if I think of it as representing his playboy nature, then it makes more sense. Or perhaps as a sacrifice to him as an Orisha?

Anyway, I'm glad I tried it--not sure I'll keep it, but it is definately an interesting scent, perhaps better for someone else.....

edited to add that if anyone is interested in a decant of this or swapping it outright, pm me....

Edited January 7, 2005 by cuervosueno

[clover]

First impressions: Tropical fruits! Bananas and oranges and coconuts and pineapples. This smells like tropical fruit Life Savers. Yummy!

 

Upon application: Same fruits but with some sort of flora underneath. Something earthy and musty and kind of sweet.

 

After a few minutes: I'm not positive, but I think it's tobacco that I'm sensing. And unfortunately it's taking over on me. The reason I think it's tobacco is that tobacco and my skin have a very discordant relationship. Tobacco - on me - is bad, bad news.

 

It's starts out so very promising, and I'm sure on most people this would be just lovely. I think I'll try it in my scent locket! Hmmm, that's a good idea...I'll definitely try that. It smells too good out of the bottle to give it up.

[diabolique]

i got this from cuervo! i'm going to structure this post because the notes aren't listed.

 

first impression the same banana note from manila plus something sweet and floral behind it.

 

wet on the skin: banana runts! chalky, sweet candied banana.

 

impression: well, it's unusual, but i dig it.

 

dry: what the hell? something vaguely civet-like (although i don't think it's civet or any kind of musk) is emerging and pushing the sweet banana smell to the background. i smell something sweet initially, but i'm hit with something very rotten and.. well.. poo-like.

 

impression: uh, not digging this stage at ALL. it's like an imp of manila rolled around in dirt and dog crap.

 

i'm gonna keep this one on my wrists for a while and see if it morphs into anything else, but i can safely say that if this stage continues, this one's up for swap.

[divajen]

At first it's very fruity; I can definitely smell Banana, there's also something deep and musky in there.

 

After a few minutes: it's gone weird and musky on me. It's definitely a smell I don't like. It's a deep, green scent, though.

 

Ok, it's gotten a bit sweet again, but still has that dark something in it. I may like it in the end.

 

Jenny

Edited March 3, 2005 by divajen

[darkling]

At first, Chango smelled like sweet mango. I didn't sense any banana or any other tropical fruits.

 

Very quickly, the mango began to fade and Chango became powdery. There was still a hint of sweetness but any scents other than powder completely dissipated.

 

There was nothing left one my skin within a few minutes of applying the scent.

 

I was disappointed because I was expecting to love this one

[paperdoll]

Initial Sniff: Banana Laffy Taffy and poo. I am apprehensive.

Wearing: Oh god. As this dries, the banana disappears and the poo scent develops. And it wafts. This has fantastic throw; the only problem is that everyone around me knows that I smell like a barn. And the barn ain't clean. I scrub and scrub, but it lingers on. I need to shower - perhaps if I exfoliate the top layers of skin it will go away.

Final Impressions: This is by far the foulest scent I have ever willingly put on my body. I've written a lot of reviews, and there are many where I say "This isn't for me, this isn't my style, etc." Let this be the first (and hopefully last) occasion where I take it a step further. This oil is truly vile. It is foul. If you still want to try it, PM me - you can have my imp.

[Tesseljoan]

-Deleted- was scent-based review of TAL-oil, in a way that I now find a bit inappropriate.

Edited April 11, 2006 by Tesseljoan

[Rheliwen]

I'm wondering if I got the same Chango as everyone else.

 

Mine smells like dark amber, anise and some other sharp notes. It really is something that clashes with my skin. I wish I could have smelled tropical fruits. Chango, on me, is unfortunately too strong of a musky amber and is giving me a headache. It's has great staying power though! I scrubbed my hand and I can still smell it

[shelldoo]

in the vial i got the fruity banana smell,

on it became a buttery almost caramel smell, mixed w/ musky almost civet

 

interesting

[EvilKitten]

ok on first whiff I get banana and tropics. I'm thinking good, right?

 

Not so much.

 

Because then there's that scent -- that "eww" scent in the background. I don't know what it is, but my skin makes it turn rancid. But it's like icky - over - fruity stuff.. I want to love it -- really, I do! But I don't think it's going to work at all.

[Andromedii]

In the bottle, it's a very strong fruity scent, exactly like overripe banana peels. On me, it morphs into a overripe banana bubblegummy scent.

 

I'm going to wait a couple of weeks and try it again. The time of month must be off.

[ivyandpeony]

My experience with Chango is similar to several others'. Since I don't use it for ritual, I'm reviewing it purely on fragrance... The fruit notes out of the bottle are truly heavenly. Although I had trouble picking out exact notes, I would describe this as a huge bouquet of sweet tropical fruits.

 

Once I applied Chango to my skin, however, I began to detect the musky, animalistic note that others have experienced. I have to say that this is the most intense animalistic, civet-esque note I have ever smelled in one of Beth's blends, or anywhere other than around a real live, large animal. Perhaps it's blended with tobacco that intensifies it, as Clover suggested, because I thought I did get a whiff of that too.

 

But having read a bit about Chango, it sounds like he would be quite pleased with the oil that Beth has created in his honor. Such a lusty orisha would surely appreciate the intense musk in there. And I have sent this blend on to a good home where it will be much appreciated.

[QueenFae]

Well I was hoping I'd like this more than everyone else, the scent description sounds so wonderful! Unfortunately the deep, lush, fruitiness of the scent is undermined by a rotteness that overpowers the sweetness. The enchantment of the jungle fruit is there, I just can't quite grasp it because the sod - earthen smell gets in the way. After awhile it smelled a bit like sucret's cough drops on me, which is surprising because usually my skin pulls the sweetness out of everything!

 

Such a lovely idea, though, I will find him a loving home.

[Northernminx]

Sweet, fruity banana and melon in the imp, I've been looking foreward to trying this one. It goes on a lot greener than I anticipated, like garden fresh melons with dirt still clinging to them. Earthy, rich, a touch of musk and a lot of clean sweet smells and fruit this is gorgeous and I think I'd someday like a large bottle if I can get my hands on it

[summer]

I have a strong color association with Chango -- deep, dark, red-maroon.

 

This is a strong, sturdy, dark, virile fruit scent. Warm earth, dark red berries soaked in booze, and rich, luxurious banana.

 

It's powerful, it's rich, it's tropical. Fabulous.

[k00kaburra]

In bottle: Delightfully fruity! Almost bubblegum - but this is dusty. If you can, think of it as strawberry bubblegum and bananas.

On me: Hoo boy. Civet? Heavy musk? Eep. Don't know. Don't care. This has just got to get off of my body right now. It makes me think of mouldy cheese.

Wow. I've never had a scent set me from one happy polar to the other so quickly.

[Aredhel]

(Reviewing this as a perfume, as I've not used it for other purposes so far)

 

Rating (on skin): 0/5

Summarised in a word or two: Fruity!

 

In the imp/bottle: Cloying, sickly fruit -- tropical fruit, to be precise.

 

On skin, wet: Spiced, over-ripe, decaying tropical fruit.

 

On skin, dry: As someone mentioned, this reminds me of an over-ripe banana. It reminds me of an entire bowl of over-ripe fruit, actually, but most specifically banana.

 

Conclusion: Definitely not for me. This is cloying and syrupy and almost stomach-turning for me. Oh well.

Edited December 20, 2005 by Aredhel

[delicate_fangs]

When I sniffed the imp, Chango started out smelling like a combination of Juicy Fruit gum, tropical fruit, and a hint of some deeper almost nut-like scent behind them. Also, there was a strong overtone (at least to my nose) of an acetone; it almost smelled like nail polish remover. (Maybe that's my nose interpreting the intensely sweet, almost over-ripe tropical fruit thing.)

 

When I put it on, it started to change. The deeper notes came out, especially something darker, although it was pleasant and had a sort of tobacco/nut thing going on. Still a lot of tropical fruit, though, and some of it was on its way to fermentation. (I can really see these things being interesting to Chango, based on descriptions of him.)

 

I went and washed it off after a little while -- NOT because I disliked it, but because I got a strong sense that this is a ritual blend, and I felt like I didn't have any business knocking on Chango's door unless I actually had a reason with sufficient merit to warrant his attention. (Mind you, that's just me; I got no problem with anybody else wearing whatever they want for scent properties alone.) I personally would only use this in ritual, and I wouldn't use it much. Oshun, now, I would love a scent for, and likewise Yemaya, but I can wait for those.

 

I'll swap this one, rather than hoard it, because I doubt I'd make sufficient use of it. Very interesting blend, though, and really well made. For Chango people it will be wonderful!

[coulrophobe]

I'm one of the lucky ones - I seem to be able to wear Chango without it going civet-y or smelling decayed on me! I do get a hint of something warmer lurking underneath that threatens to go in that direction - but never does. I'm thinking black musk, since civet is so uniformly horrible on me, but I definitely could be mistaken!

 

On me, Chango is primarily a peachy-banana smell. I was surprised it worked so well, as the banana note in Manila smelled artificial on my skin. In this blend, the fruits smell natural and clear, and then a ways into drydown the musky note emerges - but luckily for me, not in a stinky or cloying way.

[OriginalWacky]

Bottle (Imp): Ooh, this is *very* sweet.

 

Just On: Oh yes, fruity sweet goodness. I'm loving this one. I just want to bury my nose in this and inhale forever.

 

An hour or two later: Sweet fruit, and fading way too fast.

 

Around 6 hours: It's so gone.

 

12 hours: <sighs at goneness>

 

Overall: I am loving this one.

 

After reading other reviews: Goodness, I'm glad I got the good stuff out of this, and not the poo or other ickies. ANother big bottle scent for me. And I can definitely see this for ritual use.

[wickedgoddess]

Wet - this smells bitter and acrid and yet fruity at the same time. Hmm…I don't know about this.

 

Dry - Banana and possibly mango, decaying in the sun. Sorry folks but this is truly foul on me.

[sihaya09]

(Origin: TAL circular swap.) Bananas and fruit punch. I smell a little bit of coconut, as well, and maybe a faint undertone of tobacco. I have only recently begun researching the Orishas, and so I know very little about Chango. However, if this blend is meant to represent him, I would assume that he is playful and joyful, because this blend would remind me not to take life too seriously. It certainly makes me want to research him to see if my perceptions of this blend carry over to the Orisha himself.

[Em-]

I received an imp of this from k00kaburra as part of a swap without knowing anything about the oil or the reviews.

 

In the vial, Chango is quite yummy...very tropical fruity, full of bananas and tropical fruits. If Fruit Moon is Skittles in a bottle, then Chango seemed to be the tropical fruit version...

 

In my skin this is bananafannabobanna. This is some serious banana here. At first it is kind of nice banana, then quite quickly it moves into very ripe banana (which I'm not so fond of), then into *really* ripe almost rotting banana.

 

I am also getting the animalistic note that some others are getting, which I wouldn't actually mind so much, if not for the rotting banana.

 

From what I've read here about Chango, this is probablya very apt offering, but since I have no ritual use for this oil, I doubt I'll be keeping it...

[grrrlennyl]

at first: tropically fruity.

on: a sweet fruit, with some sharpness to it.

1.5 hours later: warm and tropical. this smells so juicy.

2 hours later: still sweet and warm. very lovely.

overall: this probably won't be a perfume for me, but i'll be using it as a meditative aid.

[malanna]

In the vial, this is banana leaf and tropical fruits. Immediately after applying, this is banana leaf, tropical fruits, and something else, something I can tell I won't like. That something else comes out in full force shortly after. It smells like a cross between sweat and cobwebs--a jacket that was sweaty when last worn, and has been sitting in the attic for ten years. Then, it smells a bit like poo. After that stage, there's poo and civet. Then, civet and musk. I've never been so glad for civet to take over a scent in my BPAL history. I suppose someone who likes civet would like this scent, but alas, not me.