Saturday, November 10, 2018

Arcana Wildcraft: Yule Scents



Vanilla Craves Gingerbread- Notes: Rich gourmand vanilla with our Gingerbread accord (luxe golden ginger, gingerbread, warm ginger cookies and delicately piped icing).

Julia utilizes the most fiery, piquant, zesty and golden ginger out there. From the vial wafts a sinfully delicious slice of gingerbread resting on a wooden platter with the knobby and papery bodies of ginger root laying alongside. Moistened on the wrists, Julia's signature ginger comes to life with lemony fire. It smells amazing. Realistic. The vanilla aspects sweeten the gingerbread, adding a mouthwatering drizzle of icing. As it settles into the skin the ginger calms into a papery wooden aroma that pairs wonderfully with the vanilla. 


Hotboxing the Gingerbread House- Notes: Odd things happen inside gingerbread houses at night. Piped vanilla icing on gingerbread, cinnamon sugar, tobacco seeds and leaves, petitgrain, uncured hemp and sweet smoke.

This one made a return last year and I could not wait to scoop it up. Julia has a knack for blending interesting scents and this one called to come home to me. From the vial wafts bitter green petitgrain and smoke. It brings to mind piles of wild sour orange trees dried and dead and stacked into burn piles then lit on fire. Alight on the flesh the hemp cigarette glows in the gloaming like a lone beacon in winter's early evening. It is smoke and naughtiness, a means to stay warm that mother would not condone. But return home you must. The succor of mom's gingerbread cookies awaits on a china plate. Flopping on the bed with a warm spiced cookie releases a puff of smoke from your sweater and the two scents mingle pleasantly in your room. Sweet and smoky. The sweetness fades into a smoked wooden haze with a breath of hemp. If you have ever tried Jasmin et Cigarette from Etat Libre d'Orange this will feel similar but more along the lines of Gingembre et Marijuana Cigarette. I love it. I will wear this often this year, but perhaps not to work. 


Dirty Nog- Notes: Eggnog, yellow cake, rum, fresh milk, nutmeg, toasty caramel, roasted Venezuelan coffee and a glug of Holy Terror.

Julia's yellow cake accord tickles my nosebuds. CakeLust is one of my favorites, a yellow cake and tobacco blend, but Dirty Nog plays with extra vanilla and a dash of coffee and incense along with the cake. From the bottle the Holy Terror incense curls around that thick vanilla cake like a heady, devilish treat. Freshly flavoring the skin, Dirty Nog warms up into a creamy cafe latte with eggnog creamer. The cup of coffee comes with a generous slice of buttery vanilla cake, but the Holy Terror incense keeps it from being a foodie experience. Perfect for fall and winter wearing. This one should be dabbed at first, don't slather right away. It is pretty potent.

Nog AF- Notes: Eggnog, yellow cake accord, rum, fresh milk, nutmeg and toasty caramel.

If Holy Terror and the darkness of the coffee is something you might would like to do without, then Nog AF would be more up your alley. This is a foodie experience, but a most delicious one indeed. Viscous eggnog pools in a chilled mug, spiked with a dash of rum and spice. Nog thickens even further with the addition of caramel cake. This toothsome fragrance is not too sweet despite the notes. There is a chewy caramel flavor but it is tempered by the eggnog and milk. Despite not being overly sweet, it does carry some weight to it.


Krampusnacht- Notes: Old leather, infernal smoke, vintage patchouli, cubeb, ho wood, a drop of fir oil and a touch of brisk Alpine night air. 

I love this brimstone black beauty. A leathery shadow slinks from the bottle, tarry and ancient. A harbinger of wintery darkness and nocturnal retribution. Creeping along the skin, Krampussnacht howls with a fuming breath that arises from the bowels of a leathery gullet. The black rawhide creature carries a dusting of snow on its shoulders and an aura of deep forest and gasoline trailing behind. Woodsmoke spools out in long reaching fingers as the creature fades into the night.

Schnaps Mit Krampus- Notes: A boozy, rummy blend of apple, tangerine and pear schnaps over woodsmoke, labdanum and Arcana's Growl blend (caramel, chandan, tiger maple, burnt vanilla, smoky musk and vetiver).

Dark fruits stewed into a compote and soaked in brandy lift up from the bottle. There is a bit of resin and black stickiness from the labdanum peeking through. On the skin the harvest fruits snugly buss the senses. The fruity schnaps linger in the foreground with just a hint of gingery flavor while the earthy vetiver darkens under the penumbra of the labdanum resin. This scent is drinking a hot toddy laced with schnaps in a dark cabin with only a small Yule fire to gild the sepia scene. 


Even though these are holiday scents that sometimes re-emerge during the winter time and are not currently available, I decided to feature them so you can be prepared once that time comes back around. Julia operates from her own website now, found here. I like to stuff these away and much like my wax tarts, bring them back out once the season hits to bring me cheer and warmth and festivity. Do you change your personal fragrances to align with the seasons? What scent best suits the winter holidays for you?

4 comments:

  1. All those, but maybe not the nog ones sound amazing for my nose!!
    I totally change up my perfume season to season. Some perfume definitely are wearable year round, but with 4 different seasons, it's kind of a must to enjoy specific scents during certain climates.
    I gravitate towards more spicy, boozy, woodsy, smoky, marshmallow, vanilla, frankincense, myrrh and real heavy patchouli during Winter.

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    1. The nog ones are definitely STRONG! Light dabbers fo sho. The Dirty Nog is not overly foodie but the regular on is way decadent. I think you would love the Krampusnacht. It is spooky and dark. Glad to hear that you are a seasonal wearer too. Sometimes I think I have weird perfume and fragrance preferences.

      Weather changes a scent on me greatly. And I simply cannot wear some of the more rich vanillas during summer or a drown in syrupy fumes. I simply adore all your notes for winter too. I would add some darker ambers to that too. Today I was in a tree mood so I am wearing my Deep Woods body oil, Arcana This Is Not Canada and a bit of Blood Moon's Red Cedar on my belly. I am really digging it all together. <3

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  2. Just here to say those names are all so fabulous. Nog AF - *snort*

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    1. LOL! Yes! Julia really does do some tongue-in-cheek names that crack me up. Some of my favorites: Two Finger Ballet, Innuendos About Bananas, Twirling the Pearl, Hotboxing in the Gingerbread House and Little Man in the Boat. She is a cool lady. Very kind and funny and talented.

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