What Scent Is This?

[lorajc]

The last time I got samples from Beth, I got a sample of Viola. I wore it and loved it...........so I ordered it. When I rec'd it, it is different than what I remember. Do you guys think the sample could have been mislabeled? I distinctly remember a really different top note that was unfamiliar to my nose. I smell something similar to it in Lear which has bay, cedarwod and sage. Can anyone help me? Am I going crazy? Or maybe a different batch could smell that much different? What are other scents with bay, cedarwood and sage?

[Ina Garten Davita]

Viola is a lovely creamy white floral. It reminds me very much of Queen of Hearts, Hymn and Endymion.

Perhaps you got a mislabled Lear.

[Epee]

I got an imp ear of a LE from an auction and think it might be miss labeled. It says Samhain, but it doesn't smell like any of the reviews says it should. I think it might actually be Hearth. The oil is a pinkish color, and to me it does have a smokey/tobacco/sweet smell. Is Samhain pink? Any ideas? as i've never tried either Samhain or Hearth I'm really not sure what i've got.

Edited January 20, 2005 by Epee

[Macha]

Samhain is pink in color. It does smell very smokey sweet to me in the vial. Hearth in the bottle smells very boozy/smokey, but not sweet, to me.

 

I don't know what color Hearth is, but my guess would be that you do indeed have Samhain.

 

Try it on...see what it does for you.

[shriekingviolet]

if you can't smell clearly the cherry I think it's unlikely to be hearth.

[shelldoo]

Yup samhain is pink, Hearth is very cherry in the bottle, very very cherry.

[Epee]

I just swaped for a 5 ml of Samhain that i should be getting in the next few days. I'll let you guys know how it turns out. Thanks for the help. You guys are all great.

 

ETA: got my 5ML of Samhain today.... Thanks brownbat...very speedy.

 

And the verdict is:

It is indeed Samhain. It just goes very smokey and not foody at all. Love it :-)

 

Thanks again

Edited January 20, 2005 by Epee

[Penance]

Hearth is clear and smells like maraschino cherries in the bottle.

 

EDIT: I see I'm too late, but what else is new?

Edited January 21, 2005 by Penance

[Macha]

*shakes head* Why the hell do I remember it smelling smokey? *sigh* Need to do something about this memory o' mine....

[summer]

Last night I got my eagerly-awaited package ( ), and Zephyr and White Rabbit were two of the first that I tested. However, they were not what I expected . . .

 

Most notably, the imp labeled White Rabbit smells distinctly lemony. Slightly floral, slightly sweet, slightly fresh, but definitely lemony. This is what I was expecting Zephyr to smell like!

 

Conversely, the imp labled Zephyr smells kind of masculine, with a touch of honey, and slightly powdery.

 

All signs are pointing to these two having mixed-up labels! What do you think? I'd really like to get a big bottle of the lemony one, and I'd hate for my reviews of these two to confuse others.

 

*puzzled*

Edited March 5, 2005 by summer

[gdogs]

summer, i haven't tried zephyr, so i can't compare the two.

 

but white rabbit was definitely zingier than i expected. i think it was the ginger. . . gave it a very sharp edge. i was expecting something softer and sweeter. ..

[Lucretia]

zephyr was pretty manly on me, remember that there is musk in it! To me that dominated any lemon scent.

[summer]

Hm, the one labeled Zephyr definitely smells very musky (I *think*) . . . but also a little spicy, which is why I was thinking it was White Rabbit? And I really don't smell lemon in it at all . . .

 

And the one labeled White Rabbit . . . well shoot, now that I reapply I can't decide whether I'm really smelling lemon or not! I definitely can smell "linen" in it if I try . . . Gah, the mind is so powerful! It's so difficult to figure out what you're smelling without filtering it through expectations.

 

Either way, I really like the one labeled White Rabbit, and I don't care so much for the one labeled Zephyr. Eeek, how to know which one to get a bottle of!

[summer]

Ok . . . after reading some more reviews --

 

I think they may be labeled correctly after all, and my brain and expectations were just screwing with me! I forgot that Zephyr contained sandalwood . . . and I think it's the sandalwood note that's jumping to the foreground, making me find it masculine. My skin amplifies sandalwood, and I really can't stand it except for in Namaste. Crap! I was hoping to lurve Zephyr.

 

However, the good news is . . . I White Rabbit.

 

Simply divine. Sweet, fresh, and gorgeous. Big bottle material for sure.

 

I'd love to continue hearing your thoughts, however, just to confirm!

[brownbat]

You could always try to swap for another imp of them before getting a bottle. If the imps are similar then it's probably lableled correctly. I have an imp of Cerberus that I am positive is something else. Luckily I'm on the Oblation Caravan so I should be able to determine what is going on with it soon

[summer]

I'm becoming more and more convinced that they're labeled correctly, now that I've had the "eureka" moment about the sandalwood in Zephyr.

 

And although White Rabbit definitely smells peculiarly lemony to me in the vial . . . once it's been on my skin a while, the lemony smell gives way to a complex sweetness (that is truly more honeyish than vanilla). Perhaps what I was smelling as floral is this "linen" note everyone talks about? It smells a lot like what I wished Alice smelled like -- that honey/milk thing, but sharper and more wearable. Alice smelled like a baby nursery on me, but this just smells divine. Crisp, sweet, and complex. *swoon*

 

I think I smelled the "crispness" and thought --> lemon. Then I smelled the sweetness and thought --> vanilla. And my brain just jumped to the conclusion that it must be Zephyr! Especially since I was not expecting Zephyr to smell so musky/sandalwoody, which my brain must have confused for "peppery." (Incidentally, I don't smell the pepper as a distinct note in White Rabbit -- it just contributes to the overall spicy wearableness of this otherwise Alice-like scent. Brilliant!)

 

 

I think I deserve to be hit with a trout:

[ChupaChup]

 

JK ! Zephyr and White Rabbit smell (to me) just as you describe your imps. Zephyr is too masculine for me and White Rabbit is perfect.

[summer]

LOL-- thanks for the confirmation (and the trout smack!).

 

I really thought I was going crazy. Zepher is SO different than I expected! I should have known that sandalwood will "man up" a scent for me every time!

 

Interestingly, White Rabbit is getting more and more Alice-like on me as I wear it. That is, the honey and cream are really coming to the forefront. I think I prefer the initial crisp phase, but this is a lovely blend all the same, and I can't wait to get a big bottle. *sternly reminds self to wait for Pink Moon*

[amrita]

Perhaps what I was smelling as floral is this "linen" note everyone talks about?    It smells a lot like what I wished Alice smelled like -- that honey/milk thing, but sharper and more wearable.  Alice smelled like a baby nursery on me, but this just smells divine.  Crisp, sweet, and complex.  *swoon*

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I perceive the "linen" note as florals also. I guess if you hung your linens out in a blooming summer garden in the fresh breeze, they would pick up this smell... but yeah, absolutely-- it is a divine, light, airy, summery floral smell to me. Big bottle on my wishlist too!

[tart]

Honestly, I think your imp labels might be correct. White Rabbit was lemony to me because of the ginger/tea. Zephyr was definitely powdery.

 

ETA: I shamelessly replied without reading other posts. But I wanted to get my two cents in anyway.

Edited March 6, 2005 by tart

[sarahjay]

your descriptions have made zephyr sound much more appealing to me - I love sandalwood & was worried about how lemony it would be

 

mind you, white rabbit sounds lovely too. hmmmmm.......

[Sheila]

The lab has told me that, since each imp/bottle is mixed individually by hand, it's very, very unlikely that anything would ever be mislabeled. But it looks like you already know that.

[summer]

Yes, it was almost more of a rhetorical question, the subtext of which was "what the hell is wrong with my nose?"

[sheepzeit]

This is not exactly in regards to the original post, but I did a search for "mislabeled" and this is what came up.

 

I got my shipment from the lab today and I got a freebie imp that is labelled "Hamadryad." I decided to give it another shot today but when I opened it I KNOW that this isn't what it's labelled to be! I have had Hamadryad before and know that it ended up being a powdery library smell oo me.

 

This imp smells exactly like Hesperides, and I have an imp with the original BPAL label on it so I know it's Hesperides! Crisp green apple, oak bark, the whole nine yards.

 

I highly doubt that things could get mislabeled, however there is always a magin of error with human labor! Is there a chance that someone else who received their 3/15 order got an imp of "Hamadryad" that they think might be Hesperides, too?

 

Just wondering. I can't imagine how many hundreds of imps get filled every day at the lab!

[lohengrin]

I know a lot of BPAL newbies wonder if they've gotten a mislabelled imp, but I just can't help it. Even sniffing it right from the imp, all I smell in this March Hare imp is PATCHOULI. There shouldn't even be any patchouli in March Hare.

 

I've let it sit for weeks, I've tried at different times in my hormone cycle, but every time, all I get is the horrible stench of patchouli from this imp. And since patchouli is one of the scents I'm allergic to, I haven't been able to try it on my skin since the first time (and that first time led to a lot of badness).

 

Any ideas? ^^;