Ebb & Flow: February

The highs and lows of the month.

Perfume:

Malle En Passant

Makeup:

Edward Bess eyeshadows in Intimate and Mystery

Skincare:

Lush Coalface soap

Soap:

FuturePrimitive Jilted & Crushed

Wax:

Candles From the Keeping Room Fresh Picked Strawberry

Watching:

Vikings!

Reading:

Anna Karenina, until I die. Enjoying it but good grief is it forever long or what?!

Drinking:

Perrier, because more bubbles.

Eating:

Dried pineapple. Call me Slughorn. 

Wearing:

Cardigans, jeans, and Toms. My official teacher uniform.

Awaiting:

Spring Break and our IKEA couches. I am so stinking excited. 

Dreading:

Lovebug season. Those pesky critters are coming out of the ground soon to splatter on the windshields in legion.

Enjoying:

Having dreams. Even if they never come to fruition. The current dream: a cabin in North Carolina.

Hit:

Pumpkin Juice and Frozen Butterbeer. Can't pick just one.

Miss:

Lush Ultra Balm. I have been using it on my cuticles for weeks and it is not helping a lick.

Low:

Depression. Hormone swings. Periods with cramping so intense that pain reliever and heating pads barely keep me from being curled in a fetal position all night and day. Work woes. Tears. Insecurities and doubts. It was a month with some heavy lows but soon I will be out of the trough of the wave and a arise to a crest again. 

High:

A long weekend where I napped, lazed about, wrote, read, drank as much coffee as I wanted and hardly wore a bra or shoes.

How was your February? Highs, lows? Hits or misses? Freezing or spring ready?

Valhalla: Clamshell Order

This will be a short and sweet showcase of the clamshell order I placed with Valhalla following on the heels of my single scent order. The ones I fell in love with the most got ordered in clams. 

The clamshells cost $3.75 each. The scents I ordered include: Oak, Ash & Thorne, Norseman, Vnailla Luxe, Elf Cakes, Pendragon's Passion, Hedonistic and Masala Chai. 

I was sent a sample of Valkyrie wax and body whip (which is heavy on the cocoa butter which I love but left in the sunlight and it broke down... oops), and a soap sliver in HomeKoming that smells deep and calming of earth, fresh air, woods and ocean. 

Deb talked me into watching Vikings on the History Channel and I am loving it. Adam and I are actually watching it together which is a rarity. I love that I can geek out and melt these Viking scents while we watch it on the TV as well. 

FuturePrimitive: Valentine's Release

Ever since last year's Valentine's release, I waited with anticipation for Tiggy to restock Jilted & Crushed. It is quite easily my favorite scent in body care. Although, she did send me a sample of something that also pushed all the right olfactory buttons, but more on that later. 

FuturePrimitive's Jilted & Crushed scent description: A keepsake box of loves lost. Chunks of Copal resin, Indian Attar's filled with Oudh, Flakes of Amber resin, Black Tonk Beans and offerings of Dragonsblood, finished with a lick of Vetiver.

As always, my love for FuturePrimitive's Conditioning Hair Rinse remains true. The product did get a new face-lift in the form of a new bottle and label. I quite like the rounded amber plastic bottle over the tall, thin angular bottle of the past. Jilted & Crushed smells slightly different depending on the product, but I love that it provides a unique twist on a favorite scent with each layer added. In the conditioner, the oudh and amber come forth in dark sweetness. Conditioning Hair Rinse runs 9.25 pounds ($13). 

There are two lotion formulas on the site right now, the traditional Body Whip and a lighter Whipped Body Butter. I have not yet tried the Whipped Body Butter, but I do enjoy the Body Whip. I do notice a difference between last year's and this year's consistency. This year it is less waxy and more of a custard texture and very nourishing still. It imparts a nice healthy sheen to the skin without feeling greasy. The body whip brings out creamy sweet tonka notes in the scent Jilted & Crushed. It runs 6.95 pounds ($9.70).

Don't let the light as air feeling of this Three In One concern you. A little bit goes a long way and it feels much more dense that it looks, very much like well whipped stiff egg whites. I only use this for shampoo or shaving, as I enjoy bar soap for body washing. It leaves my hair clean but soft and smelling lovely. I always use it in conjunction with the Conditioning Hair Rinse. The Three In One Whipped Cream Soap costs 6.95 pounds.

I ordered one ml samples of the Jilted & Crushed Aromatic Perfume Oil and White Witch Aromatic Perfume Oil for 2 pounds each. I find that in the oil, Jilted & Crushed gives more of the vetiver grassy smoothness. And White Witch is one I have absolutely come to adore. I forsee more White Witch products coming across to pond to me. It has a calming herbal patchouli flavor that fills me with tender clarity. 

Jilted & Crushed bar soap is on sale right now in the clearance section for 3.57 pounds. Now I can finally use that last sliver I was hoarding for the last year.

Opium Den is one a appreciated from the Vanishing Bath Powders that I purchased during the fall. When I saw it came out in bar soap I grabbed it involuntarily. My instincts took over. It is 4.95 pounds and worth every quid. The incense and nag champa make this a dreamy experience. If you love nag champa you need this. 

My sample was Body Whip in Dark Plum Tea and I am dying. It smells incredible. I keep looking to see if it is offered in other products, but I am not seeing anything yet. The plum is indeed dark and juicy and dripping sweet with richness. There is the faintest hint of spice and evergreen and the tea smells like a slightly floral white tea. Purely decadent and festive. One I will use with joy. 

Have you tried FuturePrimitive yet? What scent favorites do you have? Are you looking forward to any spring releases?

Diptyque: Jonquille Candle

My very first Diptyque candle. 

This came about in a random way. I hadn't lurked on Hautelook in a few years and I got the itch to check it out in boredom one day and an alert said that Diptyque would be featured the very next day. Well, hello nurse! Of course I made it a point to check in as soon as they were released and Jonquille was the only standard sized candle scent offered. So I scooped it up (for $30, normally $60), along with a set of two mini candles and a set of pine scented wax air fresheners (those were duds as general closet sachets, but worked well in my car until they melted in the FL heat- gross).

Jonquille is daffodil. It scented the living room beautifully for this springy time of year. It threw at about a medium-strong and brought to mind daffodils, tulips, hyacinths and a motley collection of bulb flowers, all in a riotous bloom. A veritable nosegay of spring. My cold sniff thoughts were not very favorable as it had a strong lilac tone but as it burned, it unfolded into a far more complex and lovely scent. 

I am happy with this discounted purchase and will scope out Hautelook for these candles again. Do you have a favorite Diptyque? 

Melting Basket 60: And a Potter painting bug...

Wax tarts from the last basket I would purchase again involve: PFOP Avobath, CFTKR Juniper Berry and Cedar, Zeep Avo All Over, SMT Rose Jam/Pink/Mallow Noel,  RG Rosegirls Garden/Raspberry/VBN, Valhalla Vanilla Luxe, Nag Champa.

CandyPanda- Uluru

Pocket Full of Peonies- Karma

Pocket Full of Peonies- Dirty

Pocket Full of Peonies- Porridge

Vintage Chic Scents- Mamma Mia!

The Bathing Garden- Alice Dressed in Gold

Zeep- Olive Tree

TSTWB- Pink Sugar (not sure if this vendor is still open)

Country Lane Keepsakes- Warm Winter Vanilla Sugar <3 gift

Lasting Scent Candles- Pink Petit Fours

Lasting Scent Candles- Island Relaxation <3 gift

Sniff My Tarts- Sweet Lavender Marshmallow Cake/Marshmallow Noel/Pink Coconut

Rosegirls- Rose Jam

Up The Creek- Rose Jam/American Cream/Marshmallow Bean Noel

CFTKR- Pomelo Sage

CFTKR- Fresh Picked Strawberry

CFTKR- Jill's Strawberry Cream Filled Jelly Roll

CFTKR- Summer Strawberry Taffy

CFTKR- Amish Quilt <3 gift

I must be ready for fruity, sweet and floral. I wanted strawberries and Lush dupes. If you would like me to review any of these in depth please let me know!

I have had a rough past couple of weeks. If you are a regular reader, you might have noticed a few skipped days. I lost my mojo and have been desperately trying to climb back out of a funk. I had a bout of wanting to leave social media, the blog, work, everything. Not a fleeting, "I am discontent" but a very strong, very real and lasting urge. I knew in the back of my mind not to make any decisions in this state of mind but I did go ahead and leave Twitter, many wax groups and stopped blogging for a couple weeks and ran on previously written or hastily prepared posts for the most part. I am seeing light at the end of the tunnel again and I am going to try to keep limping along until I get my groove back. 

In the meantime, I have been painting again and that helped me immensely to pull my heart back from the blue place. My dear friend Ashley is having her second boy and I offered to paint her the Hogwarts house crests for his nursery. It had been so long since my paint brushes had been wet that I forgot the meditative quality of this act. I now have two more larger canvases ready for paintings for the girls. Savanna requested Mew in space and Scarlette wants sealife with candy. Those sound slightly Dali-esque but shall be fun to undertake. 

While the paint supplies were out, my two year old Hogwarts Tom's needed a facelift. I painted Ashley some Maurader's Map Tom's years ago and decided I needed some Harry Potter ones for myself. I chose a mishmash of things to illustrate on them. 

The acrylic paint holds up pretty well but does need a touch-up about once a year to remain vibrant. They get dirty from frequent wear but I hand-wash them to increase longevity. 

Nothing says nerd alert like Harry Potter shoes. I kind of want to paint some Sherlock or London ones next. If you could have Tom's painted in any theme what would you choose? Leave a comment below!

Warmed Wax: SMT, LSC and Valhalla

Sniff My Tarts Rose Jam/Pink Sugar/Marshmallow Noel frosted cookie shape threw strong and beautifully all day long. This was about 1/3 portion. I cut it up into thirds and spread them throughout the house. Rose Jam's sometimes bellicose jammy citrus and rose throw was calmed by the added musk in Pink Sugar and creaminess of the Marshmallow Noel. I would re-blend this and repurchase it in a New York minute.

Lasting Scent Candles Strawberry Pine Cones threw a scented curve-ball. The sweet candy like berry that dominated on cold sniff fell behind the soft hazy wood notes when warmed. The throw was medium-light. A nice idea but not a repurchase, there are so many more that LSC knocks out of the park. 

Valhalla Vanilla Luxe created a calming vanilla heavy atmosphere in the bedroom. The throw was medium to medium-strong and lasted several hours. As it warmed the plethora of notes that compose this vanilla could begin to be detected, sometimes the florals pulled through, then woods would peek out, all of a sudden tobacco would come to mind. A complex vanilla that I would repurchase, and did in fact repurchase.

Valhalla Nag Champa might be the best Nag Champa I have experienced. The scent threw strong but not overbearing and lasted a full day and into two. That is virtually unheard of in my home. I melted it one morning in my bedroom them the next day I could still catch whiffs of it as I walked around, getting ready for work. Soothing, blissful, down-to-earth hippy gorgeousness in a wax tart. Will repurchase. No doubt. 

Valhalla Shieldmaiden melted wonderfully at a medium throw but I found it just a smidge too clean for my tastes. Fresh, clean laundry type scents have to be calibrated just so for my enjoyment as home fragrance, but I did love it in soap form. Not a repurchase, but would be excellent for fresh lovers. 

Valhalla White Witch I found to be in the same category as Shieldmaiden. This one leaned more herbal than detergent but still not one I would reach for often. The throw was a medium as well. 

My melting has resumed after a brief bout of indolence. I was burning that gorgeous Laudano Nero candle though... it hypnotized me. Have you had any stellar melts lately? Any duds? Melting binge or melting drought? 

Sonoma Scent Studio: Yin & Ylang

Sonoma Scent Studio Yin & Ylang

Notes Include: Bergamot, blood orange, soft aldehydes, beeswax absolute, ylang oil, jasmine sambac absolute, tuberose absolute, rose damascones, ginger CO2, mysore sandalwood oil, oakmoss absolute, amber, patchouli, vanilla, musk.

The elegance with an edge quality of the 1920's lends a lovely platform from which to view this fragrance. Lady Mary Crawley defiantly flaunting her boyish haircut with a bow-tie at her throat in the Downton drawing room must smell of this perfume. It manages beautifully the juxtaposition of modern vintage. Golden bergamot and aged citrus possess a lightness and clarity buoyed by the most delicate aldehydes. Seductive ylang, jasmine and tuberose portray themselves as a Venus de Milo in their statuesque beauty, never turning lurid or naughty.  The lingering drydown maintains the bygone era of luxury with a gorgeous melding of creamy sandalwood, haunting oakmoss and subtle amber musk. The modernity can be found in Yin & Ylang's simplistic clarity. There are no distracting powdery notes, harsh lines or opaque heaviness; it floats off the wrist in transparent reflections of candle light. 

Laurie has done it again. I am in love. This particular scent was made in conjunction with the editor-in-chief of Cafleurebon, Michelyn. This scent can easily be worn in all seasons, but I believe spring and summer would fit this beauty sublimely. 

Beezy: The Apple Clove Butter Order

You know. Just in case you want to see more Apple Clove Butter. Just look at John's fill level perfection. 

His tarts run $1.85 each and usually have a great throw and wonderful clear, true to life scents. The freebie in Pumpkin Cupcake does have a banana bread and caramel vibe, but smells amazing all the same. He has been open for RTS recently, but you would need to pop on and check as it can change at the drop of a hat. Did you order during Beezy's latest pre-order a few months ago? What did you get?

Tiziana Terenzi: Laudano Nero Candle

Ever crave a really nice candle? I mean... a really nice candle? One you would probably only buy once a year, or decade. Or lifetime. This is one of those candles. I fell madly in love with the scent Laudano Nero from Tiziana Terenzi that I sampled from my December Olfactif box. I noticed immediately that Olfactif offered the candle as well in that scent. It weighed indulgently on my mind ever since. Then Tara, doll that she is, mentioned I could use my pseudo-employee discount on anything I wanted. Well, hello candle of my dreams! 

Come to mama.

And she did.

The price runs $95 for a 500 gram, 120 hour burning candle. The Terenzi's are a third generation Italian family that have been creating and perfecting candles for decades. They began by making candles for churches and have innovated their wax and scents over the years to expand and include perfumes as well. 

The candle features glass, a 24-karat gold design, a porcelain lid, two wood wicks, vegetable wax and high quality fragrances. 

The candle throws beautifully, scenting my whole living room and kitchen area. The haunting fragrance of Laudano Nero translates beautifully into wax and home fragrance. It is indeed a "black opium" scent with powdery woods, rich labdanum and a noir vibe. The flames burned bright, the wood wicks contributed their characteristic crackle and the wax pooled softly, evenly and at a slow steady pace. 

Have you ever had an urge to buy a high-end candle? 

All I can say is...I have no regrets. <3 And yes Darby, there really was gold in it. ;-)

PSA: Lasting Scent Candle Opening

Word is out on the streets.... Lasting Scent Candle will be opening today at 10am CST. There are samplers for bakery, lavender, lemon, and drinks as well as tart brittle and room spray. LSC has amazing lemon and lavender scents (and bakery). I will be trying for those three samplers and maybe a bag of brittle in Sweet Dreams and Sweet Lavender Nectar. The only thing missing is a lavender AND lemon blended together. Mmmmmm.... yum. Will you be ordering? Which sample appeals to you?

Sassy Girl Aroma: First Order

After melting quite a bit of Sassy Girl Aroma recently and being quite pleased with them, I decided it was time for me to place my first order. I was bee-bopping around a general wax Facebook group and saw that Sassy Girl was restocked and open so I headed over to the site and tried placing an order. It was difficult going with lots of errors and slow loading but eventually I had a few items that I wanted and I checked out. After checking out I got another error so I decided I better head over to the Sassy Girl Aroma Facebook group to see if there was any news. Boy howdy was there. I read it was Julie's first opening on a brand new website (which explained the errors) and I read that lots of waxies were extremely upset and calling for refunds for all those who ordered. Apparently it was announced that everyone was to stay off the new website. At this point I was assuming my order either did not go through or that if it did I was going to be refunded for not following directions that I was not even aware of at the time. Thankfully, Julie decided to go ahead and honor the orders placed, and thus my very first Sassy Girl Aroma arrived shortly after. 

I am happy she was thoughtful of those who don't always read Facebook vendor group pages. If I had been refunded I would have been mighty disappointed for a first time ordering experience, and it may have colored my whole perception of SGA. Thankfully that did not happen and I have some great wax to showcase today.

I bought two bakery bags and a large chunk pie and was gifted a free sample. This was all packaged securely.

Butter Brickle Caramel Ice Cream Scoop Bread had to come home with me. I have been craving ICSB and butter brickle lately. The bakery bags hold about 9 ounces of wax and cost $9.95. This smells mostly creamy and thick like vanilla butter fudge and the butter brickle does not have a harsh bite, it smells more like creamy butterscotch. The throw was about a medium in my kitchen and living area.

Watermelon Blonde Moment Cotton Candy for the upcoming days of spring and summer. The fizzy raspberry bubbles compliment the watermelon while the cotton candy sweeten and smooth out some of the effervescence. A light-hearted and energetic scent.

The large pie is scented in Pink Sugar Hello Lover Coconut Cream Pie and sounded like pure heaven. I believe Hello Lover has lemon, sugar cane and shortbread in it. The large pie weighed one pound and 12 ounces and cost $30.95. Lemon coconut cookies is mostly was I get from this and that is just fine by me. The throw was a solid medium-strong in my kitchen and living area.

My free sample in Scratch Cake smells delish. Like almond pastry with a teeny touch of spice. 

I hope the new website works out for Julie and I am glad I got a chance to place my first order. I heard a similar thing happened with Kirby at Vintage Chic Scents. I do wish people would be a bit more understanding of these women trying to do business and testing out new platforms. They can test on their own all they want but when the rubber meets the road and hundreds of people are vying for wax, kinks will arise. I am happy with my Sassy Girl Aroma order and plan on ordering again in the future. Do you have any Sassy Girl favorites? 

Melting Basket 59

Wax from the last basket I would buy include: SGA Blackberry Shaving Cream and Everything But Her Kitchen Sink, ST Banner, L3 Mayor of Halloween Town, RG FKLP/Serendipity/Vanilla Ice Cream.

Pocket Full Of Peonies- Pink Peppermint blend (I forgot what peppermints I used)

Pocket Full Of Peonies- Avobath

CFTKR- Marshmallow & Butter Brickle

CFTKR- Juniper Berry & Cedar

Olde Primitive Treasures- Marshmallow Fireside

Zeep- Avo All Over (Avobath)

LSC- Cloved Cinnamon

LSC- Strawberry Pine Cones

LSC- Cozy Winter Nights

SMT- Aveda Rosemary Mint

SMT- Rose Jam/Marshmallow Noel/Pink Sugar

Rosegirls- Wonders of the World

Rosegirls- Rosegirls Garden/Raspberry Sauce/Vanilla Bean Noel

Valhalla- Lavender Sage

Valhalla- Nag Champa

Valhalla- White Witch

Valhalla- Shield Maiden

Valhalla- Vanilla Luxe

If there are any scents above that you would like me to review, please list them in the comments and I would be more than happy to do so! 

I am quite pleased that my terrarium has survived a few months now. When I planted it there were a few earthworms in the potting medium that I kept in there for soil enrichment. Impending thoughts of spring and a few sagging plants in there pushed me to replant the dead ones and add new soil. I was shocked to discover all three earthworms were still alive and squirming. I rinsed the stones, added new charcoal and made the soil layer thicker. I replanted the thriving English Ivy and Silver Fern then added in some new grass and moss. My garden gnome and deer look much happier. Don't you think?

Are you into gardening or getting your fingers dirty? I would like to beef up my herb pot outside and finally plant some lavender. What type of planting do you do? What are your favorite house plants? Do you have any spring planting on the brain?

Valhalla Soap Co.: Wax Tarts

This is a kismet post where Deb and Viking folklore all collaborate to unveil underlying threads of coincidence in life. Deb has recommended Valhalla Soap Company to me in the past. Deb also loaned me the book, Magnus Chase and the Sword of Summer, a Norse mythology series. Recently, while reading this book no less, I saw Matt, one of the owners (with Donna), announce a restock. I headed my Norse-filled self over to the site and proceeded to order almost one of each scent. 

It arrived in this gorgeous red box, wrapped in a flat rate bubble mailer, which incidentally is becoming my favorite way to mail things. 

In my haste to excitedly try all the wax scents, I totally neglected to check out their soaps. Thankfully, in that raven bag lies two soap chunks. 

All the single tarts were packaged in glassine bags with lovely labels. Two packs of Sweet Tarts were included too. My heart did little flips to see the tarts all lined up in organized perfection.

Some of the labels were holiday themed and others were the Valhalla logo. Each tart was one ounce and cost $1.25 each. Shipping was $5.95.

Shield Maiden-Citrus, florals, woody base. Orange, watery green, jasmine, rose, juniper, patchouli, vanilla.

The aquatic notes figure prominently with juniper accents. Overall it has the feel of a voyage along a Scandinavian coastline. Very clean and fresh.

Oak, Ash & Thorne- Bourbon vanilla, cedarwood, patchouli, amber and sandalwood. 

I need barrel loads of this. The sweet vanilla sandalwood  makes me want to pillage all their stockpiles of Oak, Ash & Thorne. For comparisons sake, this is similar to BHG Soft Amber Cashmere but more complex and natural smelling with the addition of cedarwood and patchouli. 

Nag Champa- Indian incense containing champ flowers, amber, patchouli, spices, sandalwood and florals.

The calming, beautiful tones of Nag Champa. Give it a go if you never have before. I bought two in this scent.

My pictures are not doing these pretty tarts much justice so I wanted to show another angle of Oak, Ash & Thorne. 

Valkyrie- Peach brandy, pralines, brown sugar, amber, vanilla musk, blackcurrants, and violet.

A complex beauty, this soul gathering lady is more than the sum of her parts. Amber, brandy, vanilla and violets create a potion of woody stemmed florals while the peach and blackcurrants lend a most subtle flair of sweet. The site says this scent will be discontinued soon if they cannot find a way to duplicate it soon. If this sounds slightly interesting, I suggest getting it now.

Norseman- Balsam fir, juniper, cedar, clove and blood orange. 

Norseman is touted as their #1 best seller for five years running. I can see why! The resins of the trees provide a bracing outdoors appeal while the slightly spiced citrus adds depth and dimension. Somehow, the natural execution keeps it from smelling like Christmas. Me thinks I need to smell a Norseman soon.

Floki's Fetish-  Forest, oakmoss, spices, vanilla, incense, sandalwood, amber.

A deeply grounding scent that might be the inside of a seasoned ship hull or the hidden moss covered cave on the side of a cliff. Maybe it is the wood beam home in a Norwegian forest. Either way it is lovely, earthy and nicely textured.

Elf Cakes- Cookies covered in sprinkles.

So much more than that. Truly magickal. There lies an extreme richness of vanilla in there, almost ice cream or brulee like. My nose wants to tell me there is a teeny hint of lemon as well. Definitely a bakery scent and definitely delicious.

Masala Chai- Light citrus peel, clove buds, cinnamon sticks, creamy vanilla.

Oh wow. I wish I had this on hand during the holidays, but it will be beautiful the whole year through as well. The spices are present but not harsh or overpowering... it is almost as if they are aged and a sprinkling of incense was added. I cannot stop huffing the bag with the tart in it. And that cinnamon stick. Need more.

Hedonistic- An original blend of amber, incense, patchouli, myrrh, and sandalwood.

How can I not like it?! I almost detect a squeeze of blood orange in there as well. This does bring to mind Lush's Karma but in a much more complex and deep manifestation. The myrrh and patchouli are more elaborately pronounced. Gorgeous.

Cabin In The Woods- No description found.

I am not sure if you can tell but that is a teeny weeny pinecone embedded into the wax. <3 This scent has a definite woody vibe but there is a hefty dose of sweet golden tobacco that makes it warm and inviting. It threw medium-strong in my bedroom for the whole day.

Lavender Sage- French lavender, bergamot, sage, and eucalyptus. 

Herbal, clear and pure aromatherapy. A lavender I can sink my teeth into.

Vanilla Luxe-Vanilla, tobacco, oak barrel aged bourbon, frankincense, pepper, bergamot, rose, ylang ylang.

This is an example of how fragrance uses synergy to create a scent that is much more powerful and whole than just the one note alone. If you closed your eyes and smelled this you would happily get the most intense marshmallow vanilla creme known to mankind. If you pick it apart and try to sniff for each note, you may pick up a few but it would not stand out as such when enjoyed as a whole experience. Top notch.

Pendragon's Passion- Dragon's blood, amber, blood orange, patchouli, with possible aphrodisiac results.

Great Odin's beard. This is a yummy hippy scent. Juicy and sweet, orange soaked Dragon's Blood. 

Il-Lemon-Ahti- Lemongrass, white vanilla, sandalwood, lemon zest, orange, jasmine.

This name cracks me out. For some reason the kids at school get a huge kick out of making Illuminati references. I have never much delved into all that, it can remain a mystery. This scent is a mystery too. It is not a lemon bakery or lemon cleaner scent. It is almost lemon bouquets and woody lemons and lemon still life paintings with a Tuscan sunset with one LemonHead snuck in for giggles.

White Witch- Lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit, jasmine.

Not sweet at all, very floral and clean. Would make a lovely soap scent. 

Rune Caster- Cotton candy, caramel, rose, jasmine, heliotrope, geranium, juniper, amber, vanilla, patchouli, sandalwood.

Reminds me of pink sugar gone feral. Candy sweet but lurking in a deep forest with earth on her knees and twigs in her hair, wild strawberries smudged on her lips. I got two and I am glad I did.

Hedge Witch- Patchouli, neroli, sandalwood, agave nectar, orange blossom.

I have been smelling some harsh nerolis lately in the vendor world but I am so relieved this is not one of them. This is mostly a refined patchouli scent. Polished, sophisticated but still grounded. A hedge witch who works for royalty. 

Avalon Sunrise- Champ flower, amber, patchouli, spices, sandalwood, florals, mountain breezes, sunflowers, pepper, cactus fruit, vanilla.

Wow those notes. Ultimately this smells like a fruity-floral perfume. Sweet and lovely. Cactus fruits and sunflowers and vanilla being the most dominate. Very pretty. It threw at about a medium strength in my kitchen and living area, where the florals bloomed more when melted.

Bewitched- Cinnamon, raw sugar, amber, balsam, patchouli, cedarwood, vetiver.

This smells like TDC's Bewitched. I think this may be the Yankee dupe of Witch's Brew. Spicy, dark and smoldering. A lovely brooding scent.

Soap samples!

Ice Giants is a chalky minty wonder! It lathers with abundant abandon. Creamy, silky and wildly bubbly. It felt clean and nourishing on the skin. A breath of fresh air after all my non-lathering Lush dud soaps.

Shieldmaiden in soap form smells much more musky and smooth than it does in the wax. In wax it has an almost detergent lean. I much prefer it in the soap. This is a VERY generous sized hunk too. I am so happy and thankful I get to try their soaps.

I am totally stoked with my Valhalla viking experience. I have already repurchased a few more in scents I loved in clamshell format. The owners are very nice and accomodating, the packaging was excellent and thoughtful, the scents are right up my alley and the price is great. They do offer clamshells as well for $3.75. 

Have you tried Valhalla Soap Company? Which of these would you be open to sniffing?

Far vel!