Etsy Finds: Tetrad Edition

I return to you now at the turn of the tide, or something Gandalf would say. I’ve been consumed with my latest project, Baby Prime. Baby Prime is nearly a year old now, and it’s taken all this time to start getting some of my time and sanity back, but Baby is doing fabulously and I’m still shuffling about, gibbering and shedding hair as per the usual.

April begins a astrological/-nomical phenomena known as a Tetrad. This is a series of four lunar eclipses in a row. Astrologically, eclipses can set off crises in your life in the house in which the eclipse falls. These trials are often painful or stressful yet necessary for growth. So, we’re coming up on a set of four little personal apocalypses. For more about where you can expect your life to explode, see here. Perhaps you may be able to defray the Goddess’ wroth by robing yourself in her protective sigils.* Here are some examples:

This blood moon pendant by Out of Space Jewelry reflects the image of the darkened eclipse moon. Hang this around your neck in the hopes that in seeing her reflection, the Moon will briefly take pity upon you and confine her ill effects to an easily solved and inexpensive household issue, like running out of laundry soap.

This lunar jersey dress by Shadowplay NYC reminds the universe: “I’m a Moonchild. Do not fuck with me, dark powers.” It’s made of cotton jersey, and so sensible for the upcoming heat of late spring and summer. The dress can be worn several ways, either as a short dress or a long tunic. It’s sewn so that it hangs asymmetrically. I recently got one of these dresses in a different print from Shadowplay, and it fits more like a long tunic. I love their cosmic prints. Try wearing this to your Esbats for an extra moon-boost.

This stylish lunar calendar by Thorburn Collective will help you keep track of the moon’s phases.

The Lunar Amulet for Ceremonies of Intention by For Strange Women is a series of perfumes attuned to each new moon of the year. This version comes in a brass locket with faceted onyx representing the dark moon. There are some really stunning perfume lockets in their shop, like this one and this one.

For proper lunar protection, you’ll need silver. These hammered silver moon phase earrings by Aurora Shadow should fit the bill. Moon phases seem to be A Thing right now, from shirts to nails to cellphone covers, and I’m not opposed to this.

If all else fails, pull out your pyramid of power candle (by Artisan Witchcrafts) and do whatever banishing rituals you need to get your shit back together.

Those are my words of advice. Do with them what you will. And that shall be the whole of the law etcetera etcetera. My hope is that I will return with something more substantive soon. Thank you.

*Disclaimer: I’m not a witch, Wiccan, neopagan or any sort of left-hand-pathfinder. I just really love the trappings and language of the occult, as I’m sure many vaugely Gothy folk do.

Review: Gorilla Perfume [Part II]

Karma, Imogen Rose, Orange Blossom and The Breath of God

I would really love to know more about how patchouli oil came to be associated with goths and hippies. If anyone can enlighten me on this subject, please do comment. Karma is certainly on the hippie side of the patchouli equation. It includes notes of pine and orange. I normally ignore distinctions between “masculine” and “feminine” scents, but this just smells like something more suited to a male type person. If you’ve never smelled Karma, the pine and orange lighten up the patchouli a bit without losing the earthiness of the scent. This dries down to a very piney scent on me. Smells like it would be great in a floor detergent, but not on my wrist.

Imogen Rose is a powdery floral that contains mainly rose notes. Rose is a wonderful scent in theory. In practice, rose perfume often smells like it belongs on a elderly lady or a girl. Perhaps this is just my prejudice. Imogen Rose is soft and light. Rose often goes awry on me, but this one didn’t. It dries down to a baby-powder scent that is inoffensive. Overall, this fragrance was okay, but not surprising. It may work better on others, but I have no interest in wearing it again.

Orange Blossom smells exactly as it’s named. I live in Florida, so orange blossom is a common fragrance here. This scent starts very sweet and dries down to a subtle woody-citrus note. Like Imogen Rose , this scent is floral without being overwhelming. It’s light enough to be bearable in close quarters. It has perhaps less fresh citrus notes than I might have liked, but then orange blossoms do smell very different from oranges themselves. This scent was nice, but not impressive. I just couldn’t see any future situation in which I’d want to reach for this. Like the previous two perfumes, I was fairly indifferent to this.

The Breath of God is like a huge exhalation of cedar. God’s mouth must be so free from moths. This was the only perfume out of the bunch that I actively disliked. The Lush website describes this as “intensely medicinal,” a phrase that makes me expect camphor, mint or bitter notes. All I get is overwhelming cedar. I had to wash this off my wrists because it was giving me a headache. I was excited for the smokiness promised in the fragrance description, but I couldn’t detect any. There may be people for whom this fragrance is wonderful. I am not one.

The last four fragrances in the sample batch were not ones I would purchase. I am, however, looking forward to sampling Dirty and The Scent of Weather Turning. Mint and ozone are my eternal fragrance quests.

Visit Gorilla Perfume at Lush.

Tokyo Milk Review

Clove Cigarette Lip Elixir
Tainted Love No. 62

The best thing about clove cigarettes was the taste that lingered on your lips after you’d take a drag. Sweet, spicy and heavily fragranced, clove cigarette smoke sunk into your lungs with languid, oily ease. Regular cigarettes always tasted thin, metallic or antiseptic. I haven’t had a clove in almost two years, but I pause to take a deep breath when I catch a hint of that familiar burning sweet scent. Tokyo Milk’s Clove Cigarette Lip Elixir tastes like the sweet residue of a clove cigarette without a strong smoky component. The tin is huge, at least twice as large as I expected. The balm itself is pliable and silky. It takes just as few swipes with the finger to have enough elixir to cover your lips. I found the elixir kept my lips soft and moisturized without leaving behind any waxy residue. The flavor tends to mellow after ten minutes. All I taste is the clove, though there is a slightly cinamonny note here. The only critical remark I can make right now is that the clove taste isn’t balanced with a hint of smokiness, but, perhaps that’s for the best.

Tainted Love does have some common ground with Dead Sexy. Both wear down to a woodsy note, though Tainted Love is much less assertive. Tainted Love begins with a spray of white florals with a hint of Bourbon vanilla. The vanilla is rich and smooth, not sweet or sugary. What emerges after some time passes is a lovely light sandalwood fragrance, overlaid by the orchid. There’s a hint of musk here too that reminds me of Crazylibellule and the Poppies Shanghaijava Musc and Patchouli. I love sandalwood and musk, so this is a winner for me. I found that Tainted Love faded to a very close scent after two or three hours, and was undetectable after four hours, so you may need to reapply. After trying out this sample for a few days, I plan on purchasing the bottle.

A Many-Splintered Thing

I’ll refrain from the obvious Joy Division reference for this Valentine’s Day post. Instead I’ll just borrow a bad pun from Mr. Eldritch. Valentine’s day is an orgy of romantic stereotypes, waxy chocolates and unfelt sentiments. And substituting Lupercalia is already played out. Yeah, if I didn’t look at this holiday with a jaundiced eye, you’d worry. Sometimes I celebrate it, sometimes not, depending on how depleted I feel. I do have plans that I am looking forward to this year, but I’m equally satisfied by staying home and watching a movie. Nonetheless, I do have recommendations should you need dark offerings for that special someone you’ve been cyberstalking.

Hedonist Necklace by Bellalili

This necklace by Bellalili manages to be tough and refined at once. Bellalili’s items combine ornate metal forms with brilliant crystals. I would wear this with anything from a plain black v-neck shirt to a ruffled blouse. It’s big enough to be noticed without crying out for attention. I regularly spy lovelies in Bellalili’s Etsy shop that I admire. Visit Bellalili’s Etsy shop.

Tokyo Milk Tainted Love

Don’t touch me please I cannot stand the way you tease. Tokyo Milk’s Tainted Love has a little less Marc Almond and more vanilla, orchid, white tea and sandalwood. I have Tokyo Milk’s Dead Sexy and wear it often. I haven’t smelled this yet, but it sounds promising. Anything that combines sandalwood and tea is compelling to me. Vanilla is a tricky fragrance note. I can’t stand it in an overly sugary iteration. I’m not sure what has driven the rise of bath and body products that smell like cans of frosting, but that’s the sort of vanilla I avoid. As long as there’s something to dirty up the vanilla a bit, I’m willing to try it. If you haven’t yet smelled the Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab’s Snake Oil, do make sure to sniff this magical and delicious combination of vanilla and patchouli. My hope is that Tainted Love mixes a greenish sandalwood with the fresh tea note and the vanilla is warm and complex rather than sweet. I’d love to hear from anyone who’s tried Tainted Love and can describe it a bit.  Visit Tokyo Milk.

The Picture of Dorian Gray

“The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it. Resist it, and your soul grows sick with longing for the things it has forbidden to itself, with desire for what its monstrous laws have made monstrous and unlawful.”
– Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray. This new Penguin Classics hardcover has a gorgeous cover worthy of the decadent tale within. This black and white volume would look elegant on your shelf or table. Books are the best gifts ever, in my mind; and even better if the book is beautiful to look at. I am now reading Huysmans’ A Rebours which is the book that turns Dorian from a sweet boy into a lovely monster. To give your love an interesting reading experience, pair this with the highly underrated Dorian by Will Self.  Buy books at Amazon.com

That concludes my Valentine’s suggestions. No flowers, candy or stuffed animals. These gifts are appropriate whether the object of your desire is male, female or other.

Until next time.