Numb

[Brianne]

... a singularly chilly, delectably ice-rimmed perfume. Revel in the gelid polar frostiness that is Numb, and forget about the heat for a moment.

In the bottle:
Soap :/

On me:
I would be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed in Numb. I suppose that's just proof that no matter how much we love Beth and her blends, there's still a chance you won't like something. There are times when things just don't work on me because of body chemistry. There are times when they work fine with my chemistry, but they aren't really "me", and yet I still like the blend for what it is. Then there are times like this when I just really don't like the blend (and this is a rare occurence!).
Like a few other people, I snatched Numb up immediately in hopes it would contain mint. I found out the very next day that it did not. I still held high hopes for it though, the very concept of an icy scent, just thrilled me! However, I just find nothing about this scent to be "cold" or "icy". I think it's just a matter of scent association, what scents bring to mind for some people, it doesn't for others.

This was a very soapy, powdery floral. Not soapy in the same way lily is soapy. Soapy like laundry detergent, powdery like actual soft boudoir powder - or some old fashioned perfume. The floral is violet like, in a soft way - but somehow - just doesn't smell QUITE like violets at the same time.

Overall, this isn't a bad scent. I don't like it, because it's just really not the kind of smell I enjoy. But my Mom on the other hand, liked it and felt it was somewhat nostalgic. I can kind of understand, because it seems kind of old fashioned in a way.

The final note:
I don't care for it, it's too soapy and powdery for my tastes, but on the other hand, my Mom did

[sophia_helix]

I can't do a review in stages for this because it was the same from start to finish: very nice violet soap.

 

It's cooling, it's sweet, but it's probably not something I'm going to pull out all that often...except for the hottest of days. My instinct is to swap it to someone who likes it better, but since it hasn't been hot lately I think I'll wait until I can give it a try for its cooling properties.

[gothiccastle]

Not so good. In the bottle and wet, pure soap.

 

Dry: Dry violet soap (heavy on the soap)

[LupaWulf]

I baught Numb really really hopeing for Mint. I love cold mint.

 

I was getting very nervious as I kept hearing people say it's the opposite of mint. Something about Violets, I think. That terrified me. I don't like those on average. I recieved it Saturday, and sniffed the bottle.

 

Wet, clean, cool, reminds me of something from my childhood that I can't place. Eh. Watery aquatics make me go very soapy. I put it aside and got busey with Fruit Moon.

 

Today, I felt adventuresome. I picked up my bottle of Numb and applied.

 

I'm impressed! It's very soothing and cool. Not the stark COLD of Minty-goodness I was so hopeing for, but cool and refreshing. I keep sniffing to try and figure out what the hell it reminds me of, but I can't place it.

 

There's a really nice wet cool aquatic that doesn't go all soapy on me. Maybe there's a bit of lavander? There's allmost some sort of wood in the very deep background. Like maybe a pineshaveing smell? Beth, what do you put in this? It's great!

 

I'm rather content. This is a calming and relaxing, the kind of scent I'd like to wear to bed on a sultry humid day. Good for those nasty summer nights of restlessness.

 

So I'm quite pleased. I'd definatly wear this on days I normally go without due to heat. It's a breath of fresh air and definatly not what I expected.

[Rosabella]

In the bottle, I get no violets (I was hoping to!), florals, ice, or aquatics, no soap or powder either; just a generic "cologne" scent, not bad but not remarkable. On my skin this smells the way White Linen smells on me -- astoundingly bad! I've always liked that perfume on other people but when I tried it myself it transformed into a choking cloud of bug spray/hairspray. Numb does the same thing; there must be an ingredient in both that most defiantly (and I do mean defiant; it will NOT work for me) disagrees with my chemistry. So you can't really judge by me, but if White Linen works for you maybe this will too! Up for swaps.

 

10/26 ETA: Now that the bottle has been sitting around for a while, I do detect a slight hint of violets if I sniff at it unopened. I wish this really became a violets-in-the-snow scent on me. Sigh.

Edited October 26, 2005 by Rosabella

[emzebel]

I bought Numb with absolutely no expectations. I saw it in the update, saw that it was an LE with an emphasis on the L and it just lept into my cart, no questions asked. And, unless it is a scent I am desparately curious about, I tend to avoid the reviews until I can try things myself. And Numb was just sorta an extra for me.

 

Now when I say no expectations, I suppose it would be fair to say that I was not expecting powdery violets. Numb id very pretty, both wet and on my skin, but it is really not something I will ever wear.

 

So, off to the swaps with it...

[dawndie]

Numb arrived at the perfect time, as we are having one last blast of hairdryer-in-your-face heat here; it's been 100 every day this week. Why won't autumn come?

 

In bottle: very sharp tingly astringent. No florals or mint, or anything resembling icy coolness; it's more like a toner to wash your face. Phoo!

 

On skin: WOW! This smells nothing like in the bottle. It's a sugary floral, sweet and sparkly. I do not consider myself a florals gal (Marie's rosey violets gave me a splitting headache) but this is very pretty.

 

Half-hour later: this has stayed true, barely morphing into a non-soapy, slightly fluffy powder. I like the powdery drydown in general though, so fine with me!

 

In conclusion: yet another fun surprise! I won't be grabbing this to wear every day, but hopefully it'll turn into a nice linen spray too.

[Celogrl]

I adore Numb! I wanted something icy and chilly, and while this has IMHO a touch of cold to it, it's mostly clean and powdery violets on me. It's a surprise, really. It's a wintry type scent I believe, but it has a comforting aura about it. I have it on at the moment, and I am having a hard time not stopping every few seconds and sniffing! The more it dries down, the richer it gets. I very much agree with the comment previously that I think this is Beth's loveliest violet yet.

[Ms Density]

I ordered this immediately and had high hopes, that is until the reviews starting rolling in. But I still wanted to give it a fair chance.

 

It smelled better in the bottle than I was expecting, so I tried some on. Sadly, all I get is Aqua Net. As if I coated my hair and whole body with it, because it's strong on me.

 

So three years later now, and I'm going through my BPAL box looking for scents to blend into summery bedtime lotions. I picked up Numb, figured "what else am I going to use this for?"--sniffed it and decided it just might work. I mixed some into lotion and put it by my bed. That night, I covered my hands and arms with it and it smells really clean and cool and lovely and not a bit like hairspray! Instead, it reminds me of when I was such a young girl and it smells a bit like the Oil of Olay lotion that my grandma used to put on after she washed her face at night, right before she would come to tuck me in and kiss me goodnight. And it reminds me of the pillows and pillowcases at her house that I always thought were magical because they seemed to stay cool all night. Just by diluting it, I seem to have found the perfect use for this scent.

Edited July 2, 2008 by Ms Density

[wolfie13]

This was mostly a fresh ozone with a light, slightly powdery violet note in the background and a teeny note of something sharp and cool when wet (lemon or eucalyptus? though it could just be the wet version of "ozone").

 

The notes stayed pretty much the same while wearing, though the overall feel did get just a touch softer and sweeter after a few hours.

 

It's actually quite interesting and unique - it says "fresh and cool" in an unexpected way - and I'm not nearly as afraid of it as I thought would be based on some of the reviews, but it's just not really me.

 

(Warning: at least on me, it did have a lot of throw and lasting power - a little goes a long way!)

Edited September 25, 2005 by wolfie13

[loveandprozak]

I have to go with the masses on this and say that this smells like violet soap. It starts out a sharp violet soap on me, and ends up having a hint of sweetness as it dries down. It lasts quite awhile on me -- I put some on this morning and can still smell it, albeit faintly, on my wrists now that it is evening.

 

Hmm.. I'm not sure what to think of this. On one hand, I absolutely *love* the 'snow'/'cold' note of Beth's most prominently seen in Ice Queen and Cold Moon. To the point that it is likel my bumber one favorite of her conceptual bouqets. This, unfortunately, doesn't have that despite the description, and it makes me a little wary of reformulations in the Winter limited editions. Cold Moon won't be available anyway, alas, but Ice Queen will definitely lose some magic if one of the components of the 'snow' note isn't attainable, and the note in Numb is used instead. It's just too harsh and in your face to be a conceptual snowstorm.

 

 

All that said, if I stop thinking of this as a Winter fragrance, and instead as a "clean" violet fragrance it definitely stands up on its own. I can see it being very useful if you're looking for a soapy just-showered sort of smell, which can be both a nice inoffensive scent while still being moderately sexy.

 

 

It definitely lacks the 'wintery' feel of two of my all time favorite BPALs, though (Ice Queen and Cold Moon.) I just can't see (smell?) the chill factor in it. Here's hoping that the lack of grapefruit oil (it seems the most likely culprit if it is not unattainable,) hasn't signaled the end of Beth's winter note.

[Rheliwen]

Numb smells like a sharper Yog-Sothoth. They are practically identical on my skin. Numb is a sharper, but more subdued purple to me though.

 

As it dries, I get powdery white florals swimming in tangy ozone.

[LiberAmoris]

Numb on me is super strong violets. Wow. So strong. I actually feel like there is just a smidgen of mint in here, so faint I might just be imagining it. There's another note I can smell that I think is giving it the 'soapy' quality that others have mentioned.

 

I'm not sure Numb is for me, as violets are not my favorite and it is so strong. But I'll definitely try it again before I make up my mind. This might be nice as a couple of drops in the bath, because it's so concentrated.

[Hydrogen]

I thought I'd love Numb, due to the fact that it was a limited edition scent ( I don't know, I'm just really into stuff that are 'limited' to only a few. ), and because 'gelid' was a really .. uh, catchy word - but I didn't.

 

Bottle: Lipstick, lipstick .. and more lipstick. This is the exact smell of Milani's matte lip stuff. It gave me a headache.

 

I didn't really want to put this on my skin. From the moment the cap was open, I had the lipsticky smell all up in my face - so I really didn't need to put it on. SIGH!

 

I'm actually really dissapointed. Numb was my first purchase from BPAL, and I was really expecting it to be one of my top 10 favourties. Guess not - off to the swap section this goes!

 

 

BUT!!!

 

Thank you, Numb, for popping my BPAL purchase cherry. Thank you.

Edited September 25, 2005 by Hydrogen

[pekeana]

I LOVE NUMB!

 

I just... yeah. I hate florals, but I love Numb. My family hates it, but I love it. Mmmm, NUMB!!!

 

In the bottle, I go "whoa, I'ma put that on my skin? WTF?" It's strong violet and ozone, with a touch of something else that I can't put my finger on. But the ozone is the same sweet, snowy/icy ozone from Snow White, so on it goes.

 

Dear god, how I love this stuff -- it hits my skin and erupts into a pure white, icy cold scent. I smell the violets, and I smell sharp citrussy lime juice (or it could just be me), and the ozone, and after time, something else floral comes through, but it has a warm, sweet edge to it. I want to say vanilla flower, but I'm not sure.

 

But OH! It's clean and super-cold. And I LOVE IT LIKE WHOA.

[Tramp]

After much trial, error, and denial - I have to finally conclude that violets hate me. There is a spicyness to the violet floral that goes all wrong on me. I didn't like this wet, really got the soapyness that others have described, but the drydown was lovely - for about 5 min. It was great for 5 min then just went evil on my skin - sigh.

 

Rating (out of 5)

2

[HoneyJubilee]

Numb is just strange!

At first it smelled just like the powder scented aerosol deodorant my mother used to use, but half an hour or so later the powder toned down a lot and I could smell something sweet and almost caramel-y.

 

I think I'm going to have to keep this one around for a while and give it another try when my sinuses aren't being all weird to see if I get the same weird sweetness out of it.

[goddessrobyn]

I agree with everyone else's violet soap comparisons... which is nice... except it appears that I'm horribly allergic to violet soap... I put this on and got about 4 sniffs in when I went into the most awful sneezing fit EVER... and then promptly drug myself into the bathroom to wash it off and cover up what was left with something else. Nice scent, tho not particularly chilly IMHO, but definately not for me...

[couscous]

I was really, really hoping for mint, but I also knew that mint would be a little...obvious.

 

Still, I never expected violets, and I NEVER would have ordered it had I known. Violets are on the list of notes I will not wear, not ever ever.

 

So...yeah, numb smells like violet baby powder on me, with a tangy soapy note. There are plenty of powdery scents I enjoy, and I count myself among those who are NOT turned off by a scent described as "soapy" (the majestic Incantation has been described as such, for example), but violet soap or violet powder is just an automatic deal-breaker.

 

I'm writing this to warn people- I feel that violets may be one of those "love it/hate it" notes, so make sure you know which camp you fall into before you swap/look for this one. The Raven and bluebeard both have strong violets in them (and, I'm guessing, Ultraviolet, too ), so you can use that as a guide. If you love it, and them, you'll love numb!

[tempete]

Wow, I'm going against the grain when I say that I like Numb. Mind you, I'm not a fan of how it starts out - first it smells like an Estée Lauder perfume, then it dissipates almost completely, leaving behind a very faint whiff of violet-tinged powder. But after an hour or two, Numb turns into vaguely vanilla-ish violet. I normally detest sugary sweet scents, but for some reason, I love smelling like violet candies .

 

I actually put in my order for Numb after reading clover's review, which was the first to make the Numb/violet connection. As I wrote in one of the threads in the BPAL Chatter forum, I will put up with almost anything to get a good strong violet scent, and once I get past the EL perfume and powder stages, Numb certainly fits the bill.

[cuervosueno]

As I suspected, Numb was not a good choice for me. I guess I was in the hoping for mint category too, though I don't know why because mint doesn't usually work on me either. I guess I just wanted it.

 

but it is violet dryer sheets on me. So sad!

[stiricide]

first sniff: oh no. oh, this isn't going to be good. You smell like detrgent and icky. let's see where this goes.

 

Application: imagine, if you will, Numb and I having a conversation.

 

Numb: So, do you like violets?

Me: I... er... I guess they're sort've ok. Why?

Numb: Well, y'see, I HAPPEN TO SMELL LIKE VIOLETS! YAAARRRRRGH! VIOLETS VIOLETS VIOLETS! NOTHING BUT VIOLETS! YOU'LL SMELL MY VIOLETS AND YOU'LL LIKE THEM, SUCKER!!!!!!

Me: (several hours later, wakes up in a gutter, severely bruised)

Aw... crap. Did anyone get the number of the BPAL that assaulted me?

 

Conclusion: Numb hates me and I hate Numb. It smells overpoweringly of VIOLETS! YARGH! and it doesn't fade. at all. i had to wash it off and even that didn't make the pain stop.

[hadaverde]

In the bottle: Sharp, powdery, and nearly identical to the smell of Desenex foot spray. It honestly doesn't strike me as a "cold" scent at all.

 

When applied, it turns a bit cooler, but aside from that, there isn't really any change to speak of. Extremely powdery and vaguely medicated...not pelasant to my nose at all.

 

After drydown... Desenex. And more Desenex. Definitely not for me -- my tummy is queasy from smelling this oil, and all I can think about is foot powder.

[Blood onmy hands]

Unlike most people, I bought Numb hoping that it wouldn't smell like mint. And I am not at all disappointed .

 

I love Numb. I'm actually kind of sad that I only got one bottle.

 

When I first put Numb on, it smelled *so* familiar, but I couldn't place it. I just knew that it was making me feel extremely happy. I was getting major 'warm fuzzies' from it.

 

Then it hit me - this smells exactly like my dad's shaving cream. When I was little and my dad would give me baths he used to give me a whole can of his shaving cream to waste at my leisure. I remember it had the most wonderful cool, almost powdery smell. Numb, to me, is being three years old and splashing around in a shaving cream coated bath tub with my father watching over me. It's so comforting. Takes me back to a happy time when my father was still alive and I really believed that he would always be there to protect me. Numb makes me feel closer to him.

 

*sigh* I will always be such the daddy's girl...

[-Jamie-]

I love Numb. Love love love it.

 

In the bottle: as someone else said, it smells like something you'd wash your face with. Astringent ahoy!

 

On my skin: Ivory soap. Lots and lots of Ivory soap. After half an hour or so, it changes to a sweeter soapy smell, which is probably the violets peeping through. It's very clean and fresh. I may have to track down another bottle, since I can see myself wearing this quite often.

 

One of the reasons I love Numb so much is the fact that it reminds me of my mother. In the dry-down stage, it's a mix of soap and Oil of Olay, which is how she smells before going to bed. It's a very warm, comforting scent to me.