All Them Witches

It's been a hot minute, hasn't it?  Between life making me its bitch and...no, that's pretty much it.  I've still been receiving various boxes, but I've downsized how many by a substantial degree. 

But I can't seem to give up on Witch Baby Soaps' Quarterly Spell Box.  The past few boxes have been sans body butters in favor of sugar scrubs, and I'm surprisingly all about it.  I LOVE their body butters, but I have so many.  I have to seal them in airtight bags and stash them in the freezer to make room for them.  I've got an addiction and getting them included in the boxes was not helping.

On the other hand, I used to think I hated sugar scrubs.  They were greasy, they were oily, and I felt filthy after using them.  That was 15 years ago though.  And the scrubs I'd tried were mass produced for major retail.  Christ only knows what was in them.  I was a little leery when they started making more regular appearances in the quarterly boxes, but they smelled so good and I couldn't help but to give them a shot.  I was not sorry.

I don't have a lot to say on the body products that came in this box because the bath bombs are meant to be used on the full moon of each month of summer and I have a general policy of not opening a sugar scrub until the one before is used up.  But I can attest to the Holy Smokes Body Oil, a type of product I've been hesitant to try because...oil.  Body oil is not at all like I expected, absorbing quickly and leaving my skin smooth and soft.  And this one smells amazing!  I regret gifting others I'd received in the past to friends.  Not really, I like giving gifts.

Jar full of nada.

Included in this box as an empty jar with a fill-in-the-blank label for gathering water from natural resources.  The intention is to use it with the accompanying water colours to incorporate art into rituals.  I don't know if that's what these items will actually be used for, it's pretty doubtful, but I do have a fetish for jars.

 The art theme is continued with an enamel pin depicting the Ace of Wands, grasping a paint brush instead of the traditional wand or staff. 

Tsum Tsum included for scale.

 Finally, there were two MASSIVE stones included in this box.  Unfortunately they are carnelian and citrine, which is difficult to distinguish between when you're not very well versed in gem identification.  But just look at them! 



A few days before the Witch Baby box arrived I'd received June's Occult Box.  

I've gotten three (?) of these boxes so far, and every one has been amazing.  I really wish I'd had a chance to write about the Voodoo box, because holy crap.  This month's theme was the Triple Goddess, and while I don't adhere in any strict manner to the modern usage of this imagery, I still love it and enjoy seeing it in art, jewelry, and textiles.  I helped deliver my niece wearing a Triple Goddess t-shirt, along with our sister - three sisters with our mother at my laboring sister's back.  Three has always been a thing in our family.

This box could be considered "light" in comparison to the others, only if you consider quantity to be more important than quality.  And the quality is definitely why I keep getting this box.

The Hecate body oil is in a spray bottle, which I super appreciate for ease of application.  Fun story, I used to have a cat named Hecate, while my sister had her sister Isis.  This was many many years ago, and both have passed, but Hecate and the darker side magic has always been an influential part of my life.  This oil smells...I don't actually have a good description.  It's perfect.  It's a scent I'm constantly seeking when I purchase things like roller-oil perfumes.

This is the second palo santo smudge stick I've ever owned.  If I'm being honest, I have yet to try out the first one. Maybe if I took some time to do some cleansing and self-care my life wouldn't be a constant train wreck?  LOL, nah, just kidding.  This ain't no dumpster fire, but a full on tire fire that will never go out.

There's also this beautiful tinned candle that I don't want to ever light.  It's just too pretty!

The sugar scrub had a little mishap during shipping, which isn't terribly surprising because the heat has been causing a lot of oil based items to expand or something.  I'd recently purchased a tea tree oil hair serum that was leaky, despite the safety seal still being intact.  The same goes for the sugar scrub, but at least I got a sneak peak of the scent.  Not only does it smell great, but the product is no worse for wear.

Holy.  Freaking.  Balls.  I'm not 100% sure, but the dish appears to be made of carved horn, but even if it were just really realistic plastic it wouldn't be any less beautiful.  Like, I've never in my life owned an alter item that was so pretty.  Also included were three varieties of moonstone:  black, rainbow, and "regular" I guess.  Only, I think, what I think might have been identified as "black" is actually goldstone, which is technically a type of man-made glass.  It's one of the few man-made stones that are used as any naturally occurring crystal would be.  The darker moonstone is the black, while the white one, upon very careful inspection, is a non-jewelry quality rainbow.  I may not know my citrines from my carnelians, but I know moonstones. 

Before there are any misunderstandings that I may be disappointed at the inclusion of the goldstone, let me just say that I'm not at all!  I actually just purchased two less than a week ago.  If there is anything to regret, it's that I wish I had somehow got my hands on a copper goldstone. 

Not pictured is the Demeter bath soak, which contained lavender and some other stuff that I've forgotten.  It's not pictured because I used it yesterday morning, around 5 am.  I've been known to wake up in the middle of the night for baths as early (or late, I guess) as 1 or 2 am.  I needed a soak, and god damn it, I had one. 



I'm still waiting on the second installment of Loot Crate's Mission Crate.  Not only is this crate late, but emails about the third crate are already being sent out, warning that it too will be substantially late.  I've never seen Loot Crate struggle with a theme or crate quite so much, and while part of me can't help but believe it's due to lack of love for us poor, maligned Trekkies, another part is distressed that this may be the weird mole that is just the beginning of the cancer and death of Loot Crate.  I don't subscribe to any of the other crates (I'd gotten on Wizarding World crate, which was pretty sweet), so I don't know if any of the other themes have been suffering as well.  If anyone feels like leaving a comment I'd love to hear what's up. Unfortunately this means that I will probably discontinue my Mission Crates after the second crate has been shipped.

I've also made the decision to discontinue my patronage of one indy seller's box.  While the boxes themselves are pretty decent, there have been too many bumps in their service to continue purchasing from them.  I'm not naming names, because I genuinely think that this shop will be able to pull through and become as strong a contender in the sub-box game as Creeper Crate or Magick & Macabre, but I'm going to take a very extended break from this company while still watching to see where they go.  The fact of the matter is that the handmade and indy craft industries have suddenly exploded, and horror and occult themed shops have been seeing some of the most growth.  It's suddenly not only alright, but encouraged, to be the weird kid and a lot of people are jumping at the chance to turn their hobbies and interests into viable sources of income.  There's literally no way for all of them to survive, but those who manage to ride the wave are the ones that will continue to put out quality products, and I want to throw my money at those guys.  I'm not adverse to throwing my money at this shop as well, but I want to see how they grow first.