Nocnitsa

[Alchemy21599]

... Her scent is that of a lightless fir wood, nighttime air, wet forest mosses and upturned earth.

I received this as a frimp from the Lab

In the vial: pine and hemlock, early autumn, at dusk.

Wet: pine sap, hemlock and damp earth.

Dry: Lovely coniferous forest, slighty sweet and cold. I love this scent as it reminds me of hiking in some of my favorite spots. Nocnitsa will make a lovely room scent, but I don't know if I will wear it on my skin. Edited February 10, 2006 by Shollin

[slave1]

On Bottle: Pungent woods

 

On Skin: This is a scary scent! The woods are very strong and seem to haunt the scent. The fir gives off a piney brisk chill wind and the mosses and earth remind me the forest creeping up all around a small cabin in the woods. This is such an interesting scent. I remember going camping as a kid and sitting around in our tents telling ghost stories. This scent smells like those times… all it needs is a tiny touch of campfire smoke to fit that mood perfect… but that wouldn’t fit the Nocnitsa theme correctly. It kind of reminds me of Skadi… maybe the dark and evil step-sister to Skadi? It really is dark and haunting… so brooding and scary. It sends shivers up my spine. Anyway… while I wouldn’t wear this scent as a perfume, I enjoy smelling it in the imp and being transported to another place. Beth is amazing at doing that… scent is such a powerful sense.

[septima_pica]

Wow. This is something else. I was expecting straight-up pine and dirt, and that's what I got until drydown...then it started sweetening up like crazy, smelling sunnier and fruitier all the time...

 

Overall impression was as follows: a short walk through a damp pine forest, so thick you can't see the sun...but then you walk into a clearing where the sun's shining through, and you stuff your face with wild berries and fall asleep in the sun. Pleasant associations, but I was pretty bummed when the dirt vanished, 'cause that's what I bought this for. Maybe I'll try this with a bit of Graveyard Dirt on top, when I get that.

 

I should try and find some of the others mentioned here. Skadi? Black Forest? Hexennacht?

[Memnet]

In the bottle: I smell the pine first, in a good way, not a Pine Sol way...there is a scent under the pine, it seems slightly sour.

 

Wet on my skin: After a surge of almost menthol scent which doesn't last very long, the pine scent goes more woody. I smell the upturned earth but it is fading very quickly.

 

Dry: I thought this was dying out fast on my skin, but my husband could smell my perfume from three feet away...obviously I was simply used to it. The final drydown seems to be a woodsy, soily scent. I'm finding it very pleasant.

[ovxi]

Um... what on earth is wrong with me?

 

I remember seeing the name of this scent and being intrigued, because it's obviously a Slavic term that relates to "female something of the night", and I was a Russian major in college. And I've been looking for a good foresty scent. So what manner of fool was I not to order an imp of this? Fortunately, BPAL is all-wise and all-knowing, so this turned up free in my last order. And I find myself wearing it alone (which is to say after the initial testing, when I sit around with little labels all over my body and droplets of oils next to them sniffing for hours) before any of the ones I ordered.

 

This scent is delicious. It's perfect. I love it, and I sense a 5ml in my future. It's reassuring in the same way as Silk Road, though the two bear very little resemblance to one another. I know why I gave up on piney scents, and it's because Black Forest was so very air-freshener on me. This will teach me perseverance. This is what I wanted Black Forest to be, and more.

 

It is incredibly well blended, as someone said earlier. Soft pine, and it could be either dark or light depending on my mood. It fades into florals, but, amazingly, not in a way I don't like (and I usually hate florals). This is forest blooms, not hothouse blooms, and it stays under the canopies of the trees rather than blasting out with searing, sneezy jasmine or anything like that. I get some moss, I don't really get earth. Not, at least, that I can tell, but it's probably underneath there somewhere. Cementing my bond with Nocnitsa will take a few more wearings, but I'm pretty sure I will continue to love it a lot. The name alone gives it enough points that I kick myself for not ordering it on my own, but the smell is wonderful for a rural creature like myself stuck in a sea of asphalt. Thank you SO MUCH for sending me this, whoever in the Lab was responsible. You just made a sale. Well, as soon as I have some more money. And as soon as solo wearings of a few more of my fresh shiny new imps establish for me what ELSE I have to buy...

 

Can't express enough how much I love this. That's another slot in my Imaginary Dream-Scents catalogue filled. Amazing.

[tinyvulture]

Even though it’s a lovely spring afternoon, this scent immediately transports me back to autumn nights. Pine trees, crackling leaves, smoky bonfires, and the mossy scent of the darkest depths of the forest. The perfect Halloween scent for sure. I am in love.

[blackheartedangel]

i nocnitsa. it smells just like walking through cold, damp woods ... it really transports me there. as nocnitsa dries, it becomes sweeter ... perhaps the night-time air? somehow this scent is comforting/relaxing to me, regardless of the name!

[juniperus]

Bottle: fir, and something sweet and vaguely aquatic I don't quite identify

Wet: heavier fir, undertone of the moss

Dry: still with the fresh, green-ness (like new evergreen..you know, the lighter green, soft needles at the tops of the branches in the spring?), more of the earth coming up from underneath.

Later: The aquatic is really present, and although I'm not always friends with those sorta-cloying aquatic notes I'm ok with this - it's really balanced by the green and the bottom earthen note.

Another woody scent for moi! Whee!

[Eunice]

In the bottle: Pineapple and sage and rosemary.

 

Wet: Yum! There is pine now that is stronger but not overpowering the first scents.

 

Dry: This haven't changed much at all from the wet scent. Light pine with pineapple's sweetness and a touch of rosemary and sage. A nice combination!

 

Overall: I'm really enjoying this more than I thought I would. This goes on my large bottle list

[dragonryder]

This a great earthy scent. The pine which usually sticks with me over anything else, is behaving nicely and blending well.

[Elrianra]

In the bottle, this is fir wood and earth - the fir is so pungent, that it's almost menthol. Wet, there's mosses and wood and earth, overblown with a cool ozone note. As this dries, it gets sharp, tart. Very direct, the wood is green and sticky - almost a sap smell, while the earth is dusty and the mosses are a sharp clear grey-green scent and the ozone note has toned down to something vague but chill. After this has warmed, there's the scent of wet wood and moss dry earth, the combination is confusing and dizzying. As it begins to breathe, the wood comes out more and more strongly as the earth and mosses settle as a vague base for this one; the effect is stunning, like walking in a dim twilight wood. It continues to maintain a mossy-wood blend for the rest of it's life, fading eventually and leaving a last kiss of dusy leaves and lichens before disappearing completely.

[kunoichi]

This has an unusual smell, I can smell soil and something antiseptic, almost... something that reminds me (and others) of eucalyptus - it's a sharp smell from a tree, which is probably the fir (now that I look at the description). On my skin, the smell of the soil kicks up a notch (reminding me of Nosferatu's soil-smelling start), and the tree smell fades somewhat to a more mossy, wet smell, like damp earth. Eventually, as my skin tends to do, it sweetens up after a few hours and becomes completely different, becoming a softer and gentler smell as if small night-time flowers open to add a breath of sweetness... even though there are no flowers in it. It is a very long lasting scent - I put it on at midday and could still smell it at 1am!!

[Diana]

Wet: sappy, piney fir trees and sweet wood notes

 

Drydown: the pine notes remind me a lot of Skadi & Snow Bunny. As it dries, a really nice, sweet fragrance comes out, almost berry-like. A bit later, it smells almost like berry incense and sweet pine. Wow. I'm in love with this blend!

[karengypsy]

In the vial: Pine trees, greenery, earth.

 

On me: This is really lovely. It's a lighter version of Black Forest. The pine/fir is very light and the moss/greens/woods add an earthy spice.

 

Verdict: Definitely a keeper! The spiciness really makes this blend interesting!

 

Rating: 5/5

[Caltha]

Nocnitsa

BPAL's outdoorsy or foresty scents just never work on me. I want them to so badly, but I might just as well stop wasting my money. I've found out Alternative Breeding's foresty blends are much truer to their names than the BPALs in the same vein, without the odd and quite un-foresty sweetness I get from the BPALs.

Nocnitsa does pretty much the same thing as Talvikuu: it turns to evergreen flavoured hard candy. Not that such an abomination exists, or at least I hope it doesn't... I guess it's the "cool nighttime air" I remember from the description that equals the "snow" in Talvikuu for that minty fresh hard candy note. Nocnitsa is a more dirty and sticky hard candy than Talvikku though.

I do get some natural notes out of Nocnitsa too, most prominently earth and perhaps pine needles and lichen, they're just drenched in too much mint and sugar frosting. I just can't see myself wearing something this sweet and artificial, even though it's not in any way offensive (unless you're extremely sensitive to anything vaguely Wunderbaum-ish)

I'll just learn my lesson and stop looking for outdoorsy scents in BPAL's range because I just won't find them after this many tries.

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

the top of my hand tingles where i put the oil... i think that's probably a bad sign.

 

all i smell is christmas tree... the fake sprayed on scent the put on the live trees, that is.

evergreen and mint and something either like camphor or eucalyptus that makes my breath catch for a second, feeling like i'm going to suffocate.

 

clears my sinuses, though.

 

mix this with something heavy on the frankincense and something with a healthy dose of myrrh and you'll smell like christmas!

 

 

eta: as time passes, the smell begins to remind me of GothRosary's "season's greedings" mixed with a heavy spritz of Fendi.

 

every hour or so.. the scent is completely different.

Edited July 11, 2006 by TrailerTrashPrincess

[Miseraya]

In the imp: Strange... I can't put my finger on any one note, but I'm definitely getting several. It's a complex scent, alternately earthy, sharp and sweet. This one is going to be fun to puzzle out, but difficult to review I think. If I close my eyes and nearly hyperventilate sniffing the imp I get the definite scent of pine trees. Not pine cleaner, not pine scent, pine trees. Like standing in a grove of them with their needles dry and slippery beneath your feet.

 

On the wrist, wet: Ooh, earthy sour. I like this! This is like nothing I have ever smelled before. Getting a little of the pine now... is that patchouli I smell? *checks description* Hmm... must be the moss making me think of patchouli.

 

Drydown: It's getting a little more mellow, but still very complex. It's difficult to pick just one note out of this. I suppose this qualifies as another "chord" for me. I am really enjoying this scent.

 

Final Analysis: It's earthy, sweet, sour, piney and fresh, all at once. A very evocative scent for me. Lovely, just lovely. Possibly a big bottle. Definitely an image in the sig.

[PixieSkull]

Imp: Dark forest, some fir scent pops through to overwhelm my nose. Wetness/humidity invade the blend. As I'm not a huge fan of foresty scents but I'm giving it an honest try. I might just like it and it might just work for me.

Wet: Fir, like a christmas tree, then it turns into my dad's deodorant. Don't think I'm liking it too much. Definately mossy humidity coming off of the blend.

Dry: Oh wow did this blend morph! Dry it smells like an overly-sweet pineapple with a little bit of wet moss. The wet earth is almost all gone except for an ending dry dirt smell after lots of raining. Makes the scent a lot more pleasant as a whole.

 

Category: Forest/Manly at first; Sweet/Earthy after a while

Rating: 2/5; It's odd the way it morphs but it's pleasant enough to wear once more

Overall: I might be able to wear it after all. The beginning is unpleasantly strong for me but I might be able to wear it again.

[dreadeddragon]

In the bottle: Citrus & pine

 

First on: Ok, I htink the citrus I was smelling is most likely a combination of earth, moss, and trees. It's enough of a blend to keep from going xmas tree or dirt.

 

Drydown: It's pretty much the same & hasn't changed, except it did develop a bit of a soapy scent.

 

Overall: Nice, but not for me.

[fairy]

Wow, I didn't like this in the bottle or on my skin. It had a strong, dark, medicinal scent to it. I prefer the lighter, airy ones If you like the dark brooding scents, this one is definitely for you. Sort of smells piney too.

[ND¢]

In the bottle: very much a fir tree smell. There's something darker about it, almost harsh but not unpleasant.

 

On me: The fir smell takes on something spicy and also a sweetness, like berries. I'm not getting the moss or dirt or air or whatever they're talking about. I really expected this one to be darker. It's more of a spicy-herb green than anything, and it does smell very nice when I stop thinking about what I thought it'd smell like. This one gets compared to Yggdrasil a bit, as I recall. It's more tree-y, less mediciney, but the berry-ness keeps it from being a straight forest scent. Good staying power. I like this one, but it's not my style. I really wish it had been.

[Finny]

Ah, fir tree. A very dark woodsy scent. Like walking in a dark forest, crunching through the pine needles, trying to find your way.

 

And you can't.

 

A keeper just for the atmosphere it captures.

[mountainwitch]

At first very sweet and tart, like the sap dribbling from a fresh-cut Christmas tree, cut with the sharpness of ozone. I've tried this twice now, once fresh from the lab and once aged from a trade. In the fresh version, the sharp fir fades a little to reveal the mosses and earth--and then, just as it gets interesting, vanishes completely. In the older version, it seems both sharper and longer-lasting . . . It just turns into musty, earthy wet pine.

[neuilly]

A generous frimp from the lab

 

I'm not big on forest scent but this is yum! It's a deep rich pine with red berries, and a dash of dirt.

 

I don't go for forest scents but this is the one that's brought me the closest to actually wanting to buy one.

[edenssixthday]

Nocnitsa is an incredibly earthy scent. It smells like the depths of a mountain forest. It’s predominantly woods, moss and dirt on me. It doesn’t smell anything at all like what I would want to smell like if I was trying to stay likeable. It has an obnoxiously long staying power, too. I frimped it to someone who liked moss, wood, and earth scents, but she didn’t care for this particular scent, either.