Numb

[malanna]

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

Baby powder and violets. Numb's overwhelmingly powdery, almost as if bags of violet powder are being dumped over me. I like violet in some cases, mostly when the violets are sweet (e.g. Seraglio), but Numb is just way too powdery and overwhelming. Edited November 18, 2007 by Shollin

[absinthetics]

I totally agree.. baby poweder, a hint of voilets... and .. a mintyness. It's a little harsh, but I suppose that suits the name. It went in a direction I don't really like wintery scents to go.. but I can imagine this would be very refreshing to wear in the summer.

[The Perfumed Ferret]

This is the most wonderful, dark and true violet scent I have ever worn. It reminds me a foggy moor, somewhere in the Scottish Highlands....

[edenssixthday]

Numb - While it seems that Numb is one of the least-desired LEs in BPAL history, I like it. I like it a lot. I happen to love violets, and that could be why. Numb is chock full of sweet violets, but is also very cool and powdery. It’s perfumey enough that I can’t wear it to bed at night, as I can with most of my violet scents, as I tend to find violet soothing and calming. Not Numb. But neither is it a blend that gets me all excited and revved up. I can’t find a better word to describe it than “nice.” And I mean that in the best sense possible. I don’t wear it often, but when I want that soft, powdery, violet scent, Numb is exactly what I reach for. It’s got a nice level of throw (as long as I don’t put on too much!) and it lasts longer on me than most BPALs.

[maijasu]

I get mainly dryer sheets and baby powder from this. I don't find it especially cooling, certainly not "ice-rimmed." I had high hopes for using this during the sweltering Georgia summer, but I think it will need to find a new home with someone who appreciates it more.

[Melantha]

Unfortunately, it didn't do anything for me, but then I have weird skin chemistry. Powder, powder.

[Spastik_Kitty]

In the bottle: Cool powder.

 

First on: Cool powder and violets.

 

After a bit: There is something very perfumey about this. Like really fake violets (mind you, I know all violet scents are blends) mixed with talc.

 

A bit more: Still smells like a violet talc.

 

Dunno what to really think of this one, it's not bad, but it doesn't seem to be this chilly scent implied, nor does it seem to be very BPAL.

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

i didn't buy this during the update because i don't like icy/minty/menthol/eucalyptus type scents.

 

but i read some reviews and got ahold of an imp...

 

and.... its violet fabric softener.

 

still not entirely sure how i feel about it, but it certainly isn't at all what i expected.

[sofiaviolet]

In the imp: It smells chilly. I don't know how Beth does it. Oh, and it's a pretty pure violet. This is good. Me likey violet.

 

On me: I am hoarding this for the New Orleans summers. It smells like a frozen candied violet.

 

Verdict: I do not understand why this isn't more popular, but I'm not complaining because that makes it easier to hoard.

[gypsybaby1]

in the bottle, cool and crisp smelling.

wet, on - by damned if it wasn't actually COLD!! I kid you not, it was very cooling on the application, like alcohol or peppermint. and no, it wasn't room temperature, my room's the hottest one in the house.

dry - didn't change from the bottle, stayed true. Once in a while I'll get a cool zing across where I applied it, but it's an overall soft scent that I can see wearing on those "non-perfume" days.

 

it's not the love of my life, granted, but it's nice. further testing will be required.

[Demeter]

Source: 5ml bottle

 

Initial Impressions It is hot, hot, HOT in Japan. Worse, it’s humid. Basically, summer arrives and you stay sticky and sweaty and insane until October. It makes air-conditioning a godsend and electric bills a terror. So I snagged a bottle.

 

Bottle: Smells a bit similar to Snow Bunny and Snow Moon. Except, sharper than the former and less sweet than the latter. Which is good!

 

Wet: Crisp and clean, very strong. It reminds me of bright red holly berries, but without the whole eat-it-and-you’ll-die thing going on. It seems icier than Snow Bunny but there’s less of a playful kick to it. It also makes me think of mint! Though, almost like a cleaning mint.

 

Drydown: Sitting in the snow cold. Definitely colder than Snow Bunny and not quite as sugary. It’s a teeny bit weaker than Snow Bunny, methinks, but there’s something nicely subversive about it. The smell tends to come up rather simply before wrapping itself around you.

 

Dry: Doesn’t last quite as long. And it powders up at the end. But I love the scent!

 

Overall: Perfect for the summer, especially in the evenings when you know you’re headed out for dinner, but you suspect not much else is going to happen. =)

[Tess]

I hear this is a really cooling scent that most people don't tend to enjoy much. I've never had much luck with "cool" oils, so we'll see.

 

In the vial - It's hard for me to pick out notes here... It smells medicinal, with twinges of white floral. Actually, more than a twinge.

 

Wet - The floral backs way the heck off on my skin, which makes me REALLY know that it's a white one.

 

Drying - There's a chilled green scent now mixing with the floral. This reminds me of something, how my grandmother's house smells, I think. In fact, that seems to be exactly what this is! I am getting the soapy/powdery scent that others got. Interesting that it's actually feel COOL on my wrists.

 

Dry (1 hour) - Yup, this is EXACTLY how my grandmother smells!

 

Overall - Not for me. Too pretty and light to fit my personality, but I can see it being just lovely on someone else. It's also very cooling, true to its name.

[Martini]

Violet soap in the vial.

 

Violet soap on my skin.

 

Went to bed with it on one wrist and upon waking....the smell of my Grandmother when I was younger. More perfumey now, less of the clean, soap smell.

 

Not what I want to smell like, but I like the earlier (before going to bed) clean, fresh smell. Too much violet for me to wear, although it's a nice scent memory.

 

Interesting...

 

I do not get any sense of coolness or iciness in this blend just fresh, clean violet soap from somewhere long ago.

[fairy]

This took on a weird, rubbing alcohol type smell on me. It did have a slight baby powder edge to it. Not a favorite

[gravedigger]

Soap and ... something flowery. Likely violets, but my nose isn't very well-educated. I put it on and was reminded forcibly of some cream or soap my grandma used to use. I love my grandma, but I certainly don't want to smell like her. Oddly enough, this got me my first BPAL compliment ever. Perhaps the girl at the store has strange tastes. Not really a keeper.

[dierne]

In the bottle - Cold, alcohollike, sterile wopes for skin ...

 

Wet on skin - Getting more scent now ... possibly jasmine - definitely soap *sigh*

 

Dry on skin - Still soap Powdery soap, Knights of castille technically unscented soap ... *bigger sigh*

 

Later - ... and now it's powdery soap This one shall go and live in the swap box ...

[dawna]

In the vial: Because jenleigh mentioned it to me and now its stuck in my head, all I get is Johnsons Baby wash haha Its nice though.

 

Wet on the skin: I want to say violets and baby powder? Its very feminine and floral.

 

On drydown: The same, baby powder floral. Its not awful, its actually quite lovely but its not me. I was hoping this would be colder but its not.

Edited August 31, 2006 by dawna

[mornatasare]

Fancy soap and powdery, elegant ladies in ermine stoles and white gloves. No violets on me, really, just soap. And there's something nice and refined about expensive soap, but the smell just isn't forceful enough to make any sort of statement. Numb may end up as a nice playing-nice-girl smell, but for much else, it's too soft, feminine, and powdery for me.

[steffanina]

Numb-

 

In Bottle: Hmm! This doesn't seem chilly at all. I guess I expected mint instead of this soft powder scent.

 

Wet: Powder again. It's very perfume-y.

 

Dry: I can tell pretty quickly this will not work for me. It smells like the sort of lotion they'd make in industrial quantity for hospitals or nursing homes, it's so soft-floral-powdery.

 

Overall: Not for me.

[supremegoddessofall]

In bottle: If something can smell cold, this definitely smells cold. And I have no idea what this means, but that's what it smells like - cold.

 

On me: Still retains that "cold" smell along with some kind of light floral - like what they scent sheets with in nicer hotels. I can't decide if I like it or don't like it, but it's definitely different.

[nancybridget]

Oh my, violets! Violet is something I have a love/hate thing with. In numb it's a bit suffocating to me.

[zankoku_zen]

In the imp: Smells just like Johnson's Baby Powder. There's something a bit acrid to it... but I think it's the violet that everyone else has perceived.

 

On Skin: Baby Powder

 

Drydown: Still Baby Powderish.

 

Verdict: It's not unpleasant. It's actually very cheery and crisp and nostalgic. It reminds me of something out of my childhood, like being fresh out of the bath and in freshly pressed clothes. There is something very comforting about this scent but I feel like sniffing all the time.

[dirtytrip]

Grandmotherly violets and powder. Not cooling to me! It is sweet, cloying even. I like it for what it is, but I think I'd rather add this to my delicates rinse than use it as a perfume. Does tend to last on me, at least a few hours.

[wikkidraven]

although this smelled chilly and a bit powdery from the bottle, it instantly turned to soap on my skin, so badly that i had to wash it off after a while. wet, i thought i detected a bit of lemon peel, i'm chalking it up to my weird body chemistry just not agreeing with this one at all.

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

Although Beth designed Numb for, as she brilliantly put it, "grr-stickity hot" weather (hee hee), it remains a winter scent in my mind, so I'm testing it now to see if it should go into my holiday-scent rotation. In a word, nope. Candied violets, or possibly violet dusting powder. A nifty, old-fashioned scent, like a big powder puff on a Victorian lady's dressing table, with just a hint of alcohol as if from cologne...however, my ideal Victorian lady is my beautiful roses-on-ice Havisham, so I just don't think I'd wear this.