The King of the White Cloth, King of the Orishas, the First Among Equals. He is the King of Power, and his weapon is wisdom. He is the essence of honored maturity, wisdom through age and experience, purity of intention, virtue, humility, tolerance, judicious use of power, the knowledge of what is truly right and wrong, the moral code, and the obligation to do what is right. Obatala is the Creator God, who first fashioned mankind from clay; thus, he is also the first sculptor and potter. The human head itself is Obatala’s creation, and it is through it that he grants us the ability to discern genuine morality as opposed to oppressive, mistaken and arrogant self-righteousness. His is not the falsehood of societal boundaries, His Truth is the understanding of one’s own character and the obligations that we all have to our world, our Gods, and one another. He is the Benevolent Judge, calm and lucid, and he governs rational deliberation. His color is white, as His spirit is free from any soil or stain, and His energy radiates sanctified purity, great wisdom, happiness and internal peace. He is associated with cloth, as that was one of His gifts to mankind. The aspects of Obatala are symbolized by the chameleon, boa constrictor, elephant, gorilla, and snail. Obatala is the Lord of Laughter, for it is through wisdom that one may see the joy in life, and through laughter we are able to see the follies of mankind not with cynicism and derision, but with humor, compassion and understanding. Obatala’s Laughter helps soothe the pain of life’s rigors, and takes the sting out of the harshest of life’s lessons. Obatala’s ofrenda is soft, white and pure: milk, coconut meat, shea butter and cool, refreshing water.
Claire –
I’d say the description on this is apt: it’s earthy and mild and warm. It smells like sweetened earth with a touch of coconut. It’s a happy scent that makes me think of gardening. I think this would probably layer well with Zombi. Excellent stuff.
Faith –
Nutrient rich damp mulch and coconuts. BPAL nails the wet dirt note. I love the scent but it’s not something I want to smell like.
artimisia –
This is a delightful fragrance. Upon first application it smells like freshly turned earth on a bed of baby powder. As the scent settles in, these two merge together into a soft, comforting outdoorsy scent. It reminds me of Saturday afternoons in the yard, gardening. As the day wanes on, the baby powder scent goes away and a subtle, soft perfume takes its place. I’m going to use the word comforting again because it deserves emphasis.
This is a long-lasting scent too. I put it on at 7:30 in the morning and could still smell it at 10:00 o’clock that night. It doesn’t have a super strong throw past the first hour or so, but it will be with you in a more subtle way all day. People will notice you smell nice if they stand close to you, but not half a room away. And, of course, you will smell nice to yourself.
Kristin –
In the imp and wet on my skin.. the dirt note is what stands out the most.
But given time to dry, a sweet coconut scent reveals itself and blends in with the earthy scent.
Overall it’s actually very pleasant, though not at all strong. It seems to stay close to the skin unless you apply quite a bit. But it’s nice to just have as a very personal, comforting scent to smell on myself throughout the day.
drostan –
Wet (on my skin): The dirt note and the coconut note blend evenly with a slight scent of vanilla in the background.
Dry (on my skin): The dirt and coconut have tamed a bit and melded I to a sweet, earthy scent. I swear I can detect something fruity now, way in the background.
TheMoon –
This it quite nice. I was surprised by how much this realistically smells like wet, rich, black loam in the bottle. On at first it smelled like earth, then lighter, sweeter version of Goblin, and now I smell dark coconut, wood, and earth. It is comforting and cozy.
haisha_stu –
I love this one it always gives me the impression of coconut palms warm earth and a somewhat dry almost alcoholic fig. There is a sweetness to it but not at all like candy.
Gloame –
Every year I pull this out to wear in spring, and every year I’m consistently surprised and elated by how lovely it smells.
Samantha –
Death Cap is a wonderful earthy fragrance, quite probably my favorite earthy/dirt-y BPAL scent. It truly captures the scent of fresh earth in the vial and when first applied. On the dry down it morphs into a wonderfully vanillic scent. It is quite a comforting fragrance, not nearly as deadly as it sounds ;). If you are looking for an earth note, this is a must try!