Undine

[Lilithlefay]

Purification :: Healing :: Forgiveness
The Astral Body :: Emotional Health :: Compassion
Dream Work :: Divination :: Imagination :: Friendship
Spiritual Growth :: Tranquility :: Tenderness
Receptivity :: Creativity :: Illusion

In the bottle the dominant note seems to be vetiver, and I wish I was better at detecting exact notes because there is some kind of floral in the backgroud that I can smell. Smells a little watery, maybe lotus? I'm really bad at that so don't take my word for it.
wet of the skin there is a definite woodys earthy smell. Smells almost exactly how it does in the bottle.
drydown smells less strong on the vetiver and there definitely seems to be some kind of floral in here, I wish I knew what it was. It is really pretty. I think I smell a tad bit of patchouli too but I very well may be mistaken.
After a little while there is almost a crispness to this, and more floral definately comes out, I think that there may be rose in here that I smell. Bah I'm going nuts because I can't identify exact notes but it smells absolutely fabulous Beth is a genius...but we already knew that.

overall I would say this blend is also a really nice earthy scent, more so to me than gnome is. Don't be fooled by the initial impression because it changes quite a bit on the skin. Edited November 15, 2005 by Shollin

[wickedgoddess]

From Encyclopedia Mythica: In Teutonic folklore, undines are female water-spirits who like to associate with humans. They often join villagers in their dances and merry-making. An undine was created without a soul, but by marrying a mortal and bearing him a child she obtained a soul and with it all the pains and penalties of the human race.

 

Preconceived Notions - as a water sign, I love the idea of an Undine oil, but in terms of scents, aquatics rarely work on me. I am very curious about this.

 

Wet - as soon as this touches my skin it releases wafts of fragrance. Is that vetiver? There is some white floral that I intially though was jasmine, but no, it's not jasmine. And some bitter smell, possibly vetiver, overpowering it so that I really can't get a good whiff of it.

 

Dry - That's vetiver alright. I think there's a light aquatic note and some light florals behind it, but it's hard to tell because the vetiver is so overpowering. It's not awful vetiver, like it is in some blends, but I am not loving it either.

 

I'm now close to the half hour mark and the vetiver has lightened up considerably. It white floral (I want to say gardenia, but I don't think that's it) and aquatics and is very pretty.

 

At the hour mark, it's a light, white floral blend. I think I am smelling gardenia's but whatever it is is very light, it's blended with something else that mellows it. This is a very pretty blend, once you get past the initial vetiver assault. Still, it's not quite me.

 

On the wickedgoddess scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being best, this rates a 3.

[UltraViolet]

In the bottle

Hmm. Odd scent, not bad, just odd.

 

On

Oh...God. I don't know, there's lime, and vetiver or something that smells like dark green moss or algae, and a couple of other ingredients that I'm unfamilar with.

Now it's getting nicer with each second, sweeter, more powdery and soft, and also watery and now I also think I smell lotus (not sure).

These new blends are very different. They're more complex almost or more unusual in a good way....vetiver aside.

 

30 minutes

Whatever is the note in "Queen" is in this blend as well, I can assume it's vetiver but anyway, the blend as a whole does morph somewhat into a creamier sweeter smelling blend then when initially put on.

 

Throw:

average

 

Scent category:

Aquatic/herbal/Earthy

 

Summary

Underneath the strong vetiver or algae like note are so many beautiful scents; lightly sweet, undulating, watery green amd citrussy...but I just can't get past the topper of the vetiver (or whatever that unusual and mildly off smell) to smell those softer notes. It does have a remarkable represntation of the Undine however.

 

Purchase again?

No

 

1-5 rating (5 being best)

3

Edited August 19, 2005 by UltraViolet

[shelldoo]

in the bottle: oh my. ummm it is kind stinky to my nose, almost smells a bit like mushroom soil. shivers

 

 

wet: ok shew not as ummm bad smelling as in the vial, altho i wouldn't go so far as to say it is pleasant.

 

this one is one i can't even decipher. there is something a bit floralish but it is being strangled to death by something dark and nasty, not neccisarily nasty smelling but something that is overwhelming me and giving me shivers i do detect vetiver but on me it is not the forerunner there is something a tad scary even choking out the vetiver, something i am uncomfortable w/ and something i don't even know if i want to work w/ i just am getting a bad vibe.

 

i rarely have negative reactions, emotionally to a scent, only has happened one other time, in the 200+ i have tried, but this one gives me an emotionally hard time, makes me almost panic, like i am drowning

[aidenraine]

Undine clearly didn't want to be opened, as the little imp handle broke off somewhere along the line.

 

Hmmm I too smell vetiver. It's a sharp, charcoal-like scent, very musky.

It is drying and I am beginning to smell something sweeter, like a carnation underneath it. Something floral, to be sure.

 

Oh my, I just realized that it smells like a dark pond, rich with a dark sort of pond scum. It smells like a pond I used to fish in at summer camp- wet plants, murky water, something slightly sweet under it, wildflowers by the sure.

 

It just gets more floral and less musky as time passes, but in a very "dried flowers" sort of way. I thought I smelled a hint of lime in there as well.

 

 

Water is my element, but I tend to gravitate towards it's opposite. I don't connect with this scent in any way that makes me think it'd be helpful for meditation.

[grrrlennyl]

at first: watery, but...with something else. i can't place it.

on: very salty and dark. odd. i don't like it. it's very masculine. it's more of a dark, overgrown river than the ocean or a placid lake, if that makes any sense.

1 hour later: this very masculine and strong. it's sweet and salty at the same time. not me at all.

overall: i usually adore scents that are supposed to be watery, but this just did not work for me at all.

[QueenFae]

In the bottle, pure Florida swamp. An aquatic, layered over with an earthen, swampy, decaying type note. There's a hint of sweetness there, like some kind of damp jungle bloom. This one is just not for me, it has Ugh! factor on my skin, and turns to something like a dirty diaper smell. It does remind me of swamp faeries, though. I find my bottle a home where it will be better appreciated.

[dreadeddragon]

In the bottle: A lot of vetiver, and maybe something slightly mint like in the background. This is water?

 

First on: Ok, now it's very aquatic. It's like a salty, swampy marsh. That hint of minty is still there, but it's barely detectable, and the vetiver scent has almost gone away, making me think maybe it wasn't vetiver, but the combination of things made it smell like that when wet.It's a very calming blend. Maybe some lavender in there.

 

Drydown: It's been jsut over an hour, and I can barely find the scent. Now I think that vetiver has come back, but jsut slightly to hide everything. I can tell I'm wearing somehting, but it's too faint to describe or tell what composes it. It does have an odd combination of scents, at the same time having a damp, dark, almost mildew type scent, and yet smelling almost like dryer linen. Odd.

[cupide430]

Super strong vetiver mixed with a bit of an almost manure-y scent, similar to the scent I get from Oneiroi, but not as strong. This is mostly vetiver for a while but at some point it dries down to a very nice floral that is a bit powdery in tone. It fades pretty quickly though.

[Blood onmy hands]

In the world of aquatic scents, Undine is a dark muddy pond that has been kept cold and sheltered under the shade of a thick forest. The sort of pond that, if you fell in, you would never get out. Something about it is cold and a bit frightening.

 

First on this is a cold aquatic and something that smells of earth and decaying leaves (vetiver?). I agree with those who have said this made them think of mushrooms. Over a few minutes a white floral-ish scent begins to bloom underneath the dank earthy fragrance.

 

An hour later... dryer sheets, a light powdery white floral, and that decaying earth smell. This is an odd one. I have a hard time wearing aquatics, especially ones that feel this cold on me. I kind of like the dark impression that this one gives me at first though. It has a lot of throw for about two hours and then it just seems to vanish.

 

I'll probably try this one out a few more times. Something about it intrigues me.

[SeaMonkey]

This is dark and watery. I get jasmine or lavender with vetiver......Its definately aquatic

[Thorne]

This oil shocked the hell out of me. I ordered it because I wanted the full set of Elementals, but had no intention of really wearing it often, or liking it much. Aquatics simply do not work on me, ever.

 

And then there was Undine. Wow. This isn't a friendly scent, or a warm scent. It's a dark, cool, salty scent, deep and old and powerful. I was unprepared to wear this and feel like a goddess. I put it on and I feel elemental myself, like I have a tidal pull mere humans cannot understand or resist.

 

I won't wear it often - this isn't an everyday oil - but I will wear it. And when I do, watch out.

[Northernminx]

I didn't get the vetiver in this that others did, though it was salty, that vague florally aquatic that goes powdery on me. There was an undernote of something sweet and almost coconut but this sort of just powdered out on me. I wasn't really surprised at that point as water scents and I just don't usually mix.

[SnornL]

I bought Undine because I really liked the words associated with it, but I'm not sure that this scent evokes any of those things for me.

 

This was the last scent I tried out of the order it came in, because I was so put off by the way it smelled in the bottle, so strong on the vetiver (a note that I want to like, but it always turns on me after a little while) and overall quite murky.

 

That first impression turned out to be pretty accurate, unfortunately. Undine is a dark, corrupted aquatic that reminds me quite a bit of the grey-brown water at the wetlands where I used to work - it smells like someone has stirred up stagnant, earthy water. It even has a salty, planty edge to it, like the mangrove trees growing along the bank. The thing is, if any of us fell into the water such that a good proportion of our clothes was covered in it, we were allowed to go home, because it's not a pleasant thing to smell of all day. Even so, I can't seem to stop sniffing my wrist. I can't make up my mind on this one at all - this probably sounds like a negative review, and it's definitely a very strange scent, but I'm not entirely opposed to it. I'll no doubt end up trading away my bottle, but it was definitely interesting to try this. I think this is what I expected R'lyeh to smell like, just based on the name; it's certainly a deep and forboding scent, with some of the same sense of darkness I get from Yog-Sothoth.

[Shollin]

First sniff: Clear blue-green water, and the flowers that grow along its banks.

 

Wearing: “You got your sweet floral in my aquatic ozone!” “You got your aquatic ozone in my sweet floral!” I can’t figure out which is dominant, and it’s not quite me, but it’s pretty nonetheless.

 

For whatever it's worth, I got no vetiver at all, and vetiver usually goes majorly swampy-gross on me.

[malabar]

Historically I've been drawn to water, but I haven't found many aquatic scents that love me. Undine isn't one of them, alas. It smells quite watery in the bottle but five minutes on my skin and it is gone. No staying power, and it has a bit of dead-fishiness on me that isn't very appealing.

[Penance]

Origin:

 

Imp from my Imp Pimp, Diana.

 

Preconceived notions:

 

I have incredibly bad luck with aquatic scents, especially the sweet ones. They give me hives for some inexplicable reason, even though I like them scent-wise. The only ones that don't give me hives are the ozone-intense ones, so I'm hoping for one of those, but I doubt I'll get that lucky.

 

First sniff:

 

Smells like fabric softener! It's got a bit of an ozone kick, but there's also that sort of aquatic floral thing that fabric softeners often have. I actually love the smell of fabric softener, so that's not a bad thing at all.

 

Wet on skin:

 

Yep, definitely fabric softener. It's floral, but a fabric softener floral, not a true flower scent, which is good because I hate true flower florals as a general rule. I can see this being a scent that you either love or hate and so far I love it.

 

Dry down:

 

This is so fun! It reminds me a bit of Yog-Sothoth in that it's a fabric softener/laundry detergent kind of scent, but it's also different...more floral and less neutral. I actually like this quite a bit, although it would never be an every day scent for me (it's a bit much for that).

 

The bottom line:

 

Another surprise winner! I only like it because I like fabric softener, but the reason why I like it doesn't matter to me, just the fact that I do like it.

[yeahbutnobut]

Undine

 

In the imp: sweet floral ginger and vetiver? How odd…but not bad.

Wet on skin: I think there may be rose or lotus here…as well as ginger and vetiver. The scent is warm and dark, which is unexpected.

Dry: hmm, what an unusual scent. I think the scent here is geranium, with a hint of lighter sweeter lotus. I get a hint of lemon verbena/citronella as well. Underneath it all is warm, murky ginger and vetiver. It’s not as watery as I expected, it’s dark and gritty but with a hint of warmth and sweetness with a lemony tang. Interesting…

After a while: I’m getting some ivy now. It’s a deep green note, and there’s something almost watery now, reminiscent of an aquatic plant of some sort, a sort of pond plant. Maybe it’s water ivy? I still get that lovely sweet floral note which may be lotus, but has a hint of something almost lemony to it. Maybe there is geranium here too. I don’t get as much vetiver now, so I’m thinking the variety used in here is one of the softer vetiver notes. The colour the oil brings to mind is greenish teal with flashes of pink.

Eventually the floral note strengthens again, and the scent is a well blended blend of floral and green, and now I do get a hint of aquatics to it! Finally, the water element has come into its own…it’s like cool water with warm flowers and herbs and leaves.

Verdict: this is an unusual, yet interesting scent. I have no idea what is actually in here, but I’m guessing assorted notes like ginger, vetiver, lotus, geranium, lemon verbena, ivy, water plants and finally an aquatic note. The scent morphs and changes-undulates, even-from warm to gritty to sweetly floral to slightly lemony to watery and green-but always very well blended. Not a favourite but I do like this and will keep the decant, I think it may be good for ritual/meditative purposes too.

[VenusFlyTrap]

I love the words that evoke this Elemental but, on me, there is absolutely none of the aquatic.

 

It almost seemed more earthy upon the skin.

 

This is not something that I would be wearing but I'm happy to have it.

[Meg]

In the bottle: ... feet? I'm suspecting it's ozone with an orangey tang. But it still mostly smells like sweaty socks to me, with a touch of chlorine.

 

Wet: Same as in the bottle, more or less, and it smells herby. There really is a chlorine kind of smell, and an ozone scent. It's not pleasant.

 

Drydown: Hmm... I get a bit of herb, something thick and tart that I can't really identify, possibly the ozone still, probably an aquatic note and possibly some flower. People who sniff it on me say bluebells, and I say "huh?!", because I don't smell it at all. It dries down to a powdery rubber smell. There's clearly citronella in this one, it becomes very obvious after a while.

 

Overall: A very weird smell that mostly evokes the smell of a swimming pool (chlorine and water), and that I'd rather keep far away from me. It's mostly ozone, I think, with its worst manifestation as rubber. There might be a flower in there, but clearly my skin isn't cooperating to bring it out and my nose has trouble getting through the aquatics. Really not my thing.

 

Edit: okay so 2 hours after drydown I'm left with a very pleasant scent, actually. It smells vanilla-ish, a bit bubbly, with a hint of flowers. I suspect that it's black musk combined with a flower like lily, which always clings to my skin with this vanilla type of scent, and it's the last thing that stays after the rest has gone. It's the only part I like for this scent.

Edited April 5, 2006 by Meg

[themerrybaker]

Undine is one of my top ten favorites - and probably in my top five.

 

 

 

It is one of the few BPAL offerings that evoke the desired image or mood for me.

 

 

 

As a perfume, it is a little sharp rather than sweet or dry, and so well blended that I can't really pick out a note. If I had to guess, I'd guess tuberose or jasmine (like my jasmine plants not BPAL jasmine).

 

 

 

This scent makes me think of swimming in warm tropical waters ... And little mermaid has never been much of a role model!

[k00kaburra]

In bottle: Crystal-clear aquatics, but then vetiver rises up in a smoky wave that I didn't expect.

On me: Since I got this through Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, I'm assuming it is safe for use on the skin. I really feel like I've been in a creative rut lately and I've got a long work shift today, so I am putting this in my hair (because I'm paranoid about applying perfumes to my face) to encourage tranquility and empathy for my customers, and healing and imagination for my artistic pursuits. I admit, I don't have a specific ritual, but I'm hoping the fragrance will influence my mood and help me focus.

Murky, mystical, and aquatic. It's a very light fragrance, and I expect that it'll be gone by the time I get to work today. I can't really detect any white florals that others mention, except for whatever makes the aquatic note that turns this from a smoky vetiver and patchouli blend into water with a bit of algae swirled in.

[absinthetics]

Salty.. swampy... slightly musky...vetiver aquatic. It somehow seems a touch 'perfumy' which changes the aquatics for me. I am a huge fan of aquatics.. but i'm not quite sure what I think of this one yet. It is definitely not a traditional aquatic... which is what I expected from a blend meant to represent water.

[The Perfumed Ferret]

In the bottle: Vetiver, soft aquatic notes, and lily

 

On: This is glorious! Smells like an inky, murky lagoon, but in a good way. It smells like the calm before the storm. Like there is something waiting for you underneath the water.

 

This is what I wanted Cthulu to be.

[edenssixthday]

Undine - Have you ever bought mushrooms fresh from the farmer's market, still dusted with clumps of damp soil, tossed them in a bag in the fridge, and then forgotten about them for a couple weeks? When you find the bag of mushrooms, pull it out, open it to see what that was... well, the smell you get is the smell of Undine fresh out of the bottle. I really can't describe it any other way. It smells like spoilt mushrooms and swampy soil. It's fairly unpleasant. However, upon full dry-down, the scent changes as if it's an entirely different scent. I've never had a BPAL scent change so dramatically on me. It loses its throw and sticks very close to the skin, becomes something very soft, white (?) floral, and maybe a touch aquatic. It's a much nicer scent than how it starts out, but it's still not something I'm going to wear again.