Numb

[darkling]

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

Sadly, Numb is not my friend.

It smelled entirely of industrial strength cleanser mixed with baby powder.

[Penance]

Preconceived notions:

 

I was excited when this came out - envisioning something akin to Villianess' Novocaine smooch - but then the reviews came out and I'm positive this won't work on me. I hate powdery perfumes almost as much as I hate almond scents and violets aren't my thing either.

 

First sniff:

 

If baby powder were exposed to nuclear radiation and grew to a hundred times its normal size, then went on a rampage through some unexpecting metropolis somewhere, it might smell like Numb. This is powder in the extreme, pure and simple. I don't smell any florals, just pure baby powder, which, sadly, is not my thing.

 

Wet on skin:

 

The powder is a little less intense now and I get something faintly violetty now. While I still don't care for Numb, I like it better than I did in the bottle.

 

Dry down:

 

Soft powder with a faint hint of violets. I can see why someone might like this, but it's just not for me. I really don't like powdery scents. At all.

 

The bottom line:

 

My three bottles of Numb are off to a new home where they'll be appreciated.

[Scarlettfish]

I absolutely love Numb. It's powdery, soft-yet-metallic violets on me. It's very clean smelling, if that makes sense. I think what threw everyone off is that it is not icy in the way that a few of Beth's other winter blends seem to be (Ice Queen, Snow White etc). It's exactly what the name suggests - it's kinda numbing. Like, it would numb away heat the way ice numbs your skin. It's very sophisticated and almost nostalgic in a weird way. I love it and it is going to be awesome for the Australian summer.

[ChupaChup]

My girlfriend got her order of Numb before I got mine and as soon as I smelled it on her, I knew I wasn't going to like it. I tried it on myself and yup, it was awful. It smells exactly like this baby powder scented air freshener my parents always had in the bathrooms with just a touch of what it was used to cover up. Ew. Luckily my girlfriend loves it and she swapped me for mine before I even got it. Whew.

[feline.by.design]

Numb is so clean-smelling. Yes, it's like soap, but the smell evokes the whole concept of clean to me: fresh white cotton towels, gleaming bath tile, immaculate tub with gold faucets and knobs. This is the time when "it smells like a bathroom" is a high compliment. The soap, actually, kind of reminds me of the complimentary soap found in hotels that smell of that generic clean smell. It's somewhat comforting, actually. Numb identifies more with this concept of clean than its intended means of cooling and chills. Seriously, I see a bath when I inhale.

 

Fortunately, I love clean fragrances, so Numb has found a good home with me. Its ideal use would be as a room scent for a luxurious bath, however since my bathroom is far from luxury as I live with two messy men, this would be a good clean scent to wear after a Saturday night of debauchery. It's very unisex. Oddly, this isn't so much powdery on me as it is soapy. Numb isn't so delicate that it's hard to detect, yet it isn't terribly intrusive.

 

If I ever oversleep and need to skip a shower, Numb would be the scent of choice to wear that day. Seriously, I might even fool myself. No one would be the wiser. Numb is a squeaky-clean shower in a wee blue bottle. All you'll need is a rubber ducky.

 

-doreen

[AngelFireHeart]

Wow, I got this bottle of Numb today from a lovely swapper (who included a tootse roll pop too, I've never had one of those before, kinda strange but pleasant)

 

I opened the bottle only to be slapped about the face by this beautiful blend.

 

To me this is a very Heady scent not delicate like I imagined, This is definitly white flowers, & it's kinda powdery but in a good way, like crisp freshly fallen snow. There's something very famillia to me in here but I can't remember what it's called, I want to say freesia but that's not quite it I feel. I've definitly smelled this scent before, but never as strong, perhaps a deodorant in times past? Either way this is truely gorgeous & I love it, enough to keep 2 bottles of it I think, as this coul easily be my 'everyday' perfume, especially during the summer months. It's cool & fresh & gives you a slap when you're starting to drop off to sleep in the mid-summer heat! This scent is just incredible. Wow Beth, I think you might've really outdone yourself this time! Gorgeous

 

It's a very clean smell too.

 

ETA Yep I now know after reading other reviews what it is I'm smelling, The smell is the old Parma Violet sweets you used to get (in England anyway) Yes exactly like Parma Violets, I always loved the smell but hated the taste, excellent all smell & no taste here!

 

ETA again: On me this dries down to 'old ladies' perfume & I'm not so impressed any more, ALSO I'm pretty certain it doesn't have carnation in it, as I'm allergic to carnation & if this had it in I'd be bathing in calamine lotion by now, although having said that my skin did get hot when I applied just a drop (& that's all I've tried, a single drop) soooo I'm not 100% sure on this.

Edited September 29, 2005 by AngelFireHeart

[tweakano]

Numb gave me the impression of a talc commonly used in the 20's (can't remember the name now) a little carnation, a little mineral & definitely that baby powder foreground. I loved my friend's reaction to Numb at work, when she exclaimed, "It smells like babies!!"

 

I also noticed the carnation & a little bit of cream comes out as it dries out. I like it - will certainly use it a gift item for upcoming birthdays...

[Raygun]

I love chilly scents like Szpasszonny so I thought I would adore this. Even the rumors of violets didn't sway me, as I quite enjoy violets. Numb smells exactly like White Linen on me and that, unfortunately, is a dealbreaker. It's a very nice perfume, just not me at all.

[gwynhwyfar]

I was really looking forward to this one and hoping for a nice crisp and cool scent, especially as it would arrive at my door just in time for cool weather and I like wearing cool scents when it's cool out.

 

Sadly, I was heartbroken with this. Out of the bottle was interesting, but it didn't just draw me in the way some blends do. Despite that, I was still looking forward to testing it and hoping for some of the things that other reviewers were talking about on my skin.

 

This did not happen. Instead, I got pure soap. It's very strong and very astringent on me -- and determined. It took me scrubbing my wrist four times, plus washing the dishes, plus showering and washing my hair until this scent finally let go of my skin. Which just makes my reaction to it more tragic, since that kind of determination and staying power would be amazing for something that I love.

 

So, this bottle is off to the swapping pile, where it will hopefully find a new and loving home.

[HoneyHoneyNY]

I ordered this because I wanted to know what it smelled like. When I heard that it had violets in it, couldn't wait to try it, because I like violets, but haven't found a violet perfume that loves me yet.

 

In the bottle this smelled rather soapy, kind of like baby shampoo.

 

Wet on my skin it still has quite a bit of soapiness, but as it dries I begin to smell violets. Ivory soap and violets. To me, this isn't a bad thing, since it's rather clean and fresh.

 

It's been dry for a half hour or so, and it's completely melded with my skin. It smells like I just stepped out of a violet bubble bath, which is nice. It's a rather old fashioned scent to me, but it's not grandma's bathroom old fashioned. Violets are a rather old fashioned note, and I think an acquired scent taste.

 

After an hour of wearing this has turned into violet candy, not sugary, but sweet nonetheless. I quite like it. It was unexpected, but still good.

[divergenow]

From the description, I was really hoping to like this one. Unfortunately on me, it turns to a VERY strong, screaming floral, and just doesn't work.

[Loligo]

I have this to say to Numb: Violets, yay! Detergent, boo!

 

My Fruit Moon order was delayed, so I've had plenty of time to read the reviews and worry before this arrived. I actually quite enjoy those violet pastille candies, so I was hoping for that. While that note is definitely there, it gets jostled out of the way by the ozone/detergent/soap smell, which I just can't get into.

 

Memo to self: no more buying LEs that don't have scent notes in the description.

 

ETA: This does, however, make a fabulous linen spray. In fact, I don't even spray, just get a teeny dab on my finger and run it very lightly over the sheets before I make the bed. The detergent smell that goes all hot and prickly on my skin stays nice and cold on the sheets! Cool, clean, yet luxurious.

Edited October 18, 2005 by Loligo

[zillah37]

I bought this on a whim without reading reviews at all. Since people have started to get their orders, I've been getting more and more nervous. My best friend got an imp of it and couldn't get it away fast enough.

 

So I was nervous. Very nervous.

 

In the bottle: Sharp soap. Detergent and nothing else. Where's the violets? I'd even like some baby powder.

 

On the skin: Omg. Still very sharp detergent scent. I want to wash it off immediately, but I'm going to stick with it.

 

Hour later: Still soap, but slightly softer. If I sniff really hard at my arm, I can *kinda* smell something that could be violets or baby powder. But mostly it's still soap.

 

I washed it off after that because I couldn't handle the smell of soap any longer.

 

*sighs*

 

This will be going into the swap pile to be put out in a couple of months when the flood of Numb slows down.

[Splendid Molerat]

Numb is wonderful on me.

 

It has the frosty-cold herbal notes I recall from the original Wind Song perfume... but gentler on the nose, with more neroli and violets.

[gdogs]

numb, on me, was the dish soap that my mother used to buy by the gallon.

 

 

not good.... . not good at all.

 

 

but, to its credit, it didn't morph at all, and it lasted hours and hours and hours. . .

 

 

 

 

 

pm me if you want mine.

[ellemir]

In the bottle: liquid Soap

 

Wet: Violet Soap

 

Drydown: Very harsh soap with Violet hints

 

Dry: A very light almost ephemeral floral, still mainly violet, with just a hint of soapiness. This stage I quite like but it's a long time coming.

 

I was all geared up to love this from reviews that talked about the violets, as I love them and especially in the other BPAL blends I've tried.

 

But I just can't get passed the soap

[Silverstrike]

I ordered Numb after realizing that everything I *thought* I liked (pre-BPAL) like florals and vanilla didn't agree with me here, so why not try something like "Numb"? I might really, really like it. And I do like it. I have no idea what violets smell like (so this is what violets smell like?) but I like this--it doesn't smell cold or minty, but after reflection, it *does* smell numb--it smells the way I imagine you'd smell after being so cold you're already frozen--numb in fact.

 

It's been very hot down here in So. Cal for the past few days (along with wildfires), and Numb has gone great with air conditioning. It does have some similarities to Estee Lauder's White Linen, but I like Numb better--it's more complex.

[maewitch]

Old-fashioned soap. I wasn't sure what violets smelled like, and now I do - like the sweet perfumed powder one would find in a turn-of-the-century boudoir. Really, this smells...antique, somehow.

 

Pretty enough in it's own way, but not my first reach for perfume. And it's so sweet, I can't even begin to associate this with a feeling of icy-ness or coldness.

 

However - I CAN see this being refreshing, girly and soothing as an oil added to a cool bath in summer.

Edited October 3, 2005 by maewitch

[Nemesister]

i could not get past the musk in this.......wet it smells just like impulse hint of musk...no violets, baby powder...nothing, just strong musk. my mum uses that impulse and uses far. far too much of it.......this smells just like it. i had to wash it off it was giving me a headache.......

[grrrlennyl]

at first: violets! light and very bright.

on: soapy, which worries me, but cool.

1 hour later: powdery, vaguely sweet violets. i don't know how, but this is very cooling.

overall: i took this with me on a very humid vacation and it was amazing. i really like it, and will definitely be using it a lot when the weather warms up again.

[Smurf]

I regretted ordering this one when more reviews started coming in, screaming floral and grandma aren't my thing. But I'm really glad I did.

 

In the bottle: It's quite a strong sweet scent, powdery but a very definite smell of lemon.

 

Wet: Not as astringent as it smells in the bottle. I really get the violets but not in an in-your-face way.

 

Dry: It is a very clean, crisp tone that reminds me of winter and for some reason the Victorians (but i reckon that's just me ). It's a pretty subtle frosty scent on me, very slightly sweet and powdery but it doesn't last long.

 

So basically, I don't like florals, I don't like powder, I don't like sweet, and I don't like lemon. But I like this.

[leapylees]

In the bottle: a light, sweet floral but I don't get coldness from it.

 

On wet: Ooof, this is quite strong.

 

On, dry: Industrial strength baby powder. No coldness or violets, just a very thick, sweet, strong, heavy scent.

 

Two hours on: both my boyfriend and I had splitting headaches. I tried to scrub it off, then cover it up with Lush's Karma perfume but Numb resolutely clung to my skin. I ended up trying to scrub it off in the shower.

 

An hour later: I've just applied Ultraviolet in an attempt to kill off Numb completely.

 

Conclusion: Off to the swaps pile you go!

[crystaljapan]

I had to get a bottle of this because I needed to know what it smelled like.

 

I have to say it does "feel" cold. My co-workers agreed that the scent perfectly matched the name and discription. Unfortunately though, to me, it smells like Ben Gay and antiseptic with some flowers thrown in to try and hide the ben Gay and antiseptic scent.

 

I gave it the benifit of the doubt and put a little dab on my wrist to see if my chemistry would change it. Five minutes later I was washing it off because it was giving me a headache. Ten minutes later I could still smell it so I washed it off again with a strongly scented soap. Fifteen minutes later, I put the strongest BPAL scent I could think of on to try and make the scent go away (Laudanum). That didn't work. All I could smell was cloves and antiseptic. I washed again and put on Carnivale. Ahhhhhhh... finally...

 

Definitely going to get rid of this one.

[Hanyaan]

I got an imp of this off LiveJournal, because I actually do like violets.

 

I don't, however, particularly like smelling like essence of my great-grandmother. It's a bit freaky. She was a wonderful old lady who always smelled slightly like powder and violets and lots of soap, which is pretty much what I'm getting from Numb.

 

I'm going to keep the imp for when I want to be reminded of her, but not something I'd ever wear normally.

[moon_lemming]

In bottle:

VIOLETS. I'm not very good at picking out notes yet, but for some reason (maybe because I read violets violets violets in the reviews, hehe) I recognize the floral in the mix as violets, although there's a clean, soapy scent that overpowers it a little. Numb smells like my grandma's perfume and handsoap. That sounds unpleasant, but I think it smells pretty good. It's a little strong, but that might be because I'm sniffing a vial full of it.

 

Wet:

Oh, yum. It's a clean sweet floral; there's still a broad stroke of soapiness, and it's a wee bit powdery, but not in a bad way.

 

Dry:

Dry, Numb smells fresh (and shampoo-y) with a faint floral undertone that is so clean that it's barely floral. It wouldn't be an everday perfume, but I can see myself using it when looking for something light and bright. Excellent as a summer scent or something to wear to church.

 

It fades a little too quickly but enough of it is left behind that I don't really mind.

 

Should it stay or should it go?

This baby is staying right here. And if I see a 5ml when I have cash, I might try to snatch it up to have around next summer.