Leanan Sidhe

[astrobabe]

Most of the Gaelic poets, down to quite recent times, have had a Leanhaun Shee, for she gives inspiration to her slaves and is indeed the Gaelic muse -- this malignant fairy. Her lovers, the Gaelic poets, died young. She grew restless and carried them away to other worlds, for death does not destroy her power.[/i] – W.B. Yeats

The name translates to “fairy, love of my soul”. A vampiric spirit and a dark muse, the love of the Leanan Sidhe is both a gift and a curse. These eerily beautiful Irish spirits drain the sanity and lifeforce of the men they inspire to artistic greatness. Her kiss infuses a man with depth of vision and feeling, otherworldly passion, and a sudden and ineffable understanding of the unending sadness that plagues mankind. Her perfume is a crush of Irish herbs and flowers, Gaelic mists, and nighttime dew.

In the bottle: quite green and herb-y with just a touch of sweet blooms

Wet: Oh my god. This brings me back to twilight back home in Colorado while growing up. It's a sweet smell of flowers that will just hang on until late in the evening thanks to a little humidity in the air.

Dry: Now the herby scents are starting to warm up more an co-mingle with flowers giving this scent a great balance between flower and green. Unlike some other BPAL oils I found, application on one wrist is all I've needed to swamp the room with scent. Of course my officemate just wandered over and grabbed my wrist and said mmmmmm.

[edit] further dryness- the herbs have popped out even more starting to overpower the flowers in this mis. And the bf could smell it from the office door (I'm about 10 ft from the door and that was a single swipe) Edited September 17, 2007 by clover

[sarada]

Irish herbs and flowers, Gaelic mists and nighttime dew...I was definitely hoping for something like Dublin with this one! I ordered a 5 ml right away because I have had good luck with misty herbal scents and, again, I was hoping for something like Dublin.

 

The concept behind this scent is so magical, and the fragrance is very light and ethereal -- ahh...ahh...ahh-choo!! Oh no!!! I never thought I was allergic to anything but I've recently been discovering that I am. And I am very allergic to something in this. Instant major headache and sneezes. I am already having an allergy day today, but I know that this won't work for me.

 

The fragrance is very perfumey, it smells like a BPAL-ized commercial perfume, i.e. still very natural and beautiful, but very strong on the sharp aromatic florals and herbs. As it dries down I do get the sense of a meadow of flowers in a dusty twilight, through a haze. Oh if I could wear stuff like this I would love it! But the shades of Dublin I was hoping for are definitely not present.

 

Beautiful and brilliant, but very much for the perfumey light floral fans!

[Nepthys]

The other reviews sound so subtle and nice! Leanan Sidhe is not at all evocative of twilight and mist and flowers on me - instead it smells like fresh, sharp, green soap. I like this; it gives me that clean, well-scrubbed feeling you get taking a cold shower with lots of bath gel after a hot grimy day. Very sudsy and herbal. I'll probably get a big bottle for summer to feel sweet and cool in the sweltering AZ heat.

[shelldoo]

misty flowers YES! this is very very floral, a hint of green. this is a airy misty, floral, i want to say tulip or some such spring flower, it smells very springtime to me. this one is definitely a floral lovers dream.

[mmcfa2]

WOW!! I get a first review!

 

In the bottle, soft, glowing fresh herbs! I could scent my world with this!! Soft, fresh, with no one note screaming out and thankfully no vanilla or tonka or almond in this one.

 

Wet ON: Smells like Van Clef and Arpel's First. Very much a perfume smell, soft, dry and a tiny bit astringent. Incredibly well blended.

 

Dry down: OH NO! This one goes grapefruit on me, I know there is no grapefruit, It's just me I want to smell this on someone else. SIGH

 

Dry: It gets softer but that sharp grapefruit note lasts a LONG time on me, I wish I could explain it, It's NOT a bad smell and my description is lacking for the right words, but I wanted gentle and Warm. This is soft but dry and slightly astringent. It still reminds me very much of the V and A perfume noted above, but has a bit more depth.

 

EDIT: Merged with existing Leanan Sidhe thread --Shollin

[Belladonnastrap]

First Sniff

Perfumey. I can't believe I'm about to say this but I get that generic perfumey scent I smell when I walk into Macy's perfume area. All of those scents mashed into one...although I can pick out some herbs. It reminds me of Anais-Anais if any of you have smelt that old school perfume.

 

Wet

Ooo. It smells like what I think mystical Ireland would smell like...a sort of fae, very green scent. Still getting that perfumey headshop scent though which worries me a bit.

 

Drydown

Mmm, the perfumeness is gone now and it's a lovely green herby scent. It reminds me of a more tamer version of Belladonna, whatever it is that gives that particular scent it's headyness isn't here in Leanan Sidhe but in it's place is something more wistful, like a memory. It lasts pretty long too, I put this on around 8 o'clock at night and when I woke up in the morning I still could smell it a bit.

Aftermath

I was a bit hesitant with this blend because it really smells like generic stuff but once you put it on the whole atmosphere changes and that lovely BPAL-ness comes through. This would be a great scent to try to coax more people into trying the oils, it can remind you of the commercial scents but still has Beth's wonderful touch.

[sh1mm3r]

(Thanks to minilux for this imp to try!)

 

When I saw the description I was hoping this would be more like Phantom Queen, a meadowy scent. And it isn't, but I still like it.

 

On me, it's really green and fresh. Not sweet at all.

 

And what really comes through on me is the nighttime dew. It's almost a rain smell, that just makes it even fresher. And I've been hoping for a rain scent, so this makes me happier than anyone could guess.

 

Walking through Gaelic mists, with dew on the flowers and herbs.... totally!

[magikfanfic]

In the bottle: Some of the other "Irish" blends have given me terrible headaches. I'm hoping to have finally found one that might work for me. Here goes. I don't know. It smells...well, it's not like Dublin or Unseelie although...it has the green of Dublin and a strange background aquatic note, which could be very bad news on my skin. It kinda smells like soap or fabric softener. No, it definitely smells like fabric softener to me.

 

Wet: Once it goes on, though, it goes kinda green and herbal fresh. Not what I expected. And there's this throw of instant floral to contend with as well. But mostly there's the herbs riding abopve everything else in the blend on my skin.

 

Dry down: Very green in a way that speaks of the grass in Ireland which never seems to fade from a bright emerald. There are flowers in the background but thankfully that fabric softener aquatic has mostly faded from the scent at this point. This is wearable, but I'm not sure if it's a keeper yet. The herbal blends and I have almost as bad a history as the aquatics and I. Oh, here comes the fabric softener scent again. It's...it is floral but the dew in it on my skin combine to fabric softener. It happens every time. I want to smell lovely, and I end up smelling like Snuggle. I like Snuggle, but it's not a very...person scent.

 

Dry: Fabric softener. The Irish scents are I apparently cannot find a nice middle ground in which to play. It's sad really. It's not that it smells bad. It's just...fabric softener. It seems very generic on my skin. So much less vibrant and beautiful than the other scents that Beth does. And I know it's my skin because everything along the lines of an aquatic does this to me. Washing off.

[anmorata]

Leanan Sidhe:

Wet: Very herbal and green.

Drydown: Light, herbal, green.. not really changing much.

Longterm wear: It's not really me, so I'll pass.

[kmasden]

Now that someone mentioned fabric softener, I can't get that out of my head! It's not a bad thing, mind you, but it does express the soft perfuminess of this blend. Hard to pick out individual notes, very well blended. I do get the sense of little tiny flowers, white bells and purples and those type. This does not smell very herbal to me, at least not how i consider the herbals to smell. The flowers dominate and it's a pretty spring scent, although a bit perfumey for the headache type of person - like me!

[Ina Garten Davita]

First Impression: Pink and green floral.

 

Second Impression: Madame B's comparison to Anais Anais is spot on. Very pink and green. It's also dewy and powdery, if that makes any sense. The only distinct note I can gather is sweet pea. There is that "perfume-y" quality about this scent.

 

Final Analysis: It's pretty, but pales a bit compared with some of the other florals that I got with this order.

[Northernminx]

Leanan Sidhe sadly didn't last very long on me. This was a pale, soft fresh herbally floral, not white flowers, but soft dew covered pink ones and fresh hair. It was refreshing and pretty without being overpowering and was soft and feminine. Sadly it didn't last very long on me at all so off to swaps.

[paperdoll]

A change from my usual review format:

 

Leanan Sidhe = Irish Spring + Bounce + deodorant.

 

This did not work on me. It was a soapy, powdery mess.

Edited April 13, 2005 by paperdoll

[joseybird]

A soft, pretty floral soap, somewhat dewy and herbal...but definately reminiscent of soap =/...not a bad soap though...I can definately see this working as a perfume for someone

[ashtonrose]

My first thought when I opened the imp was Irish Spring Soap. I happen to love this soap, so that's a good thing.

 

Wet: Very dewey, soft and fresh.

 

Dry Down: baby floral - still soft and fresh.

[darkling]

In the bottle: Leanan Sidhe is a muted green scent intermingled with herbs. There is a light, aquatic note that actually smells like dew.

 

On my skin: Aggghh! It's soap. Strong soap with some light florals.

 

Luckily, this scent faded quickly so I didn't need to wash it off.

[isyche]

Leanan Sidhe: fresh, green, watery. I can see how one could get soap from this, but it's not soapy or powdery on me. It is very clean, though.

 

It's a bit like a greener Szepasszony – the same clear water note, but this is like a clear pool with reeds and other plants growing in it. As it dries the aquatic softens and it starts to feel more like mist over the pool. I like.

Edited April 15, 2005 by isyche

[Macha]

As an artist (and writer) the lure of the Leanan Sidhe was irresistable. I had to have this. HAD TO.

 

In the Bottle: Astringent and herbal, with acquatic notes. It does rather smell like liquid soap. I weep for the future.

 

Wet, on skin: It hits my skin and all is right in the world. It does not stay as liquid soap. Instead it's a green, leafy gentle and surprisingly low key fragrance, the sort of thing that you could wear almost anywhere without causing the slightest bit of offense. It smells very clean and fresh.

 

Dry, on skin: The flowers come out a little, and it's light and airy, wonderfully ethereal, not deliberately deceptive the way that Unseelie was, but still a fantastic green and floral scent that I really love.

 

Conclusion: There was a part of me that hoped Leanan Sidhe might be a substitute for Unseelie, but I can see that will not be the case. That in no way lessens my enjoyment of this delightful perfume, however.

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

Ok, kids, I'm almost scared to try this. I've posted elsewhere about my ghastly luck with finding a Lab fae-related scent that likes me (those tricksy fae!), and out of them all, this is the one whose concept grabbed me the hardest. I immediately dubbed myself my beloved's fairy-love-of-his-soul and ordered this. And I *do* love green florals, so...ok, here goes. :deep breath:

 

Well. :cautious optimism: Unless something bad happens with the drydown...I...like...this. Yes. It's a very clean white/pale-green floral. A little hint of something sharper at the edges, but overall soft and fair and...well, fae. Hm. A good spring/summer scent, quite ethereal. It *is* a bit "perfumey"...it reminds me of the DSH imps I bought, which all smelled about the same to me b/c they share a perfumey base of some sort. But it has none of the notes that go bad on me, not even the dreaded aquatic that makes Ophelia turn sour at the end. Yet it does have a slight "mist" quality, a gentler sort of aquatic. It blends into my skin really nicely; this is not an oil I would use to create a mood or attitude, but it does smell like it could be my natural scent were I actually a real-live faery (as opposed to playing one on the Forum).

 

Verdict: It doesn't have enough "umph" to be my sig scent, but it's completely wearable and very pretty. Maybe my luck is beginning to change...

[vitawash24]

Mmmmm. This actually turns into a lighter, ethereal version of Dublin on my skin. There's definitely a floral element present, but unlike most florals, it doesn't overpower everything else. I definitely get the nighttime dew feeling...it's like a visit to County Clare all over again. Beautiful.

 

I only wish I'd brought the imp with me, because unlike Dublin, it doesn't have a ton of staying power on me.

 

All in all, though, this is really lovely on me -- if further wearings work out it could move up to the Big Bottle list.

[EvilKitten]

Holy shit.. this is what I was wanting dublin to be! Green, flowery, lush and misty .. It's what I imagine the perfect celtic scent to be. As it sits on me, it just gets sweeter and greener and one of the most beautiful florals I have ever smelled. WOW.

 

 

Wow.

[lysithea]

There is something about this scent that is comforting and familiar. In some ways it reminds me of a soap or shampoo that I used when I was younger. Yet, I couldn't say that it smells soapy.

 

Pale green, slighty herby, dew on a meadow of wildflowers. It is a soft scent that wafts around you like a halo of cool morning mist.

 

Pretty and delicate, it does smell clean and fresh.

 

I wore it for about 4 hours before going to bed so I didn't get the full effect of its true metamophosis. Yet, to be such a light fragrance, it was still very noticeable at the end of the time frame. Something that really surprised me.

 

If you are a fan of delicate florals, definitely give this beauty a try.

[shadow]

Oh, this is going on my bottle list! Before BPAL, I never really thought of myself as a floral person. I don't think my first order contained a single floral perfume. But she's magical! This one is gorgeous! It's white and green and soft but bright. It smells like small white flowers, and there's definitely a wet/watery note in there. Somehow it doesn't go sharp the way I worried it would. I do get why people have compared it to dryer sheets or soap. It would be lovely on linens, and a wonderful, refreshing spring/summer scent on skin.

[Jessica]

In the bottle it is very pretty and very strong on the florals.

 

Its a little biting when first applied, but settles down quickly.

 

Dry down turns powdery (always! why!?) and almost smells like cotton candy on me.

 

I'd love it if it didn't have that powdery undercurrent when dry.

[tsarina]

The first whiff is herbal, but soft. It is like a soft crush of drying plants in your hand. On my skin, there are pale florals creeping out. I never imagined mist as having a scent, but I think this could be it. It smells like night air, fresh and with that bare hint of dampness. It's a very evocative, ethereal blend. The only downside is that it is very faint on my skin and fades quickly. But it seems to last longer in my hair, so all is right.