Numb

[ajcj213499]

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

I feel so bad for Numb. I feel like she's the singular hated oil from the whole BPAL catalog- past and present.

I swapped for an imp because I wanted to give her a try. I love wintery scents, but violets rarely work on me...

Well, on me, Numb was a very, very powdery violet. No.

[Elemcee]

Numb certainly is numb. Straight out of the bottle, it's one of those days when it's so, so cold, and so so dry, and everyone is saying 'We'll be getting snow, soon', but you never do. So sharp and cold, indeed.

 

After a while, though, it softens and warms up to a nice violet scent. By this point, you're back at home in front of the fire with a good book and the TV on.

[jessiesquash]

I just obtained a bottle of Numb during a meet n sniff, thank you Nachtwulf! At first sniff, I was intrigued and then I found out about it's reputation. I have a thing for the underdog so I had to have it. It's very violety but not so much that it gives me a headache and it doesn't give me visions of my grama's potpourri box. It's actually quite nice and powdery on me. It has excellent throw which is good because that is rare for me. It's a bit sharp close to my skin but I can forgive because I don't need to bury my nose in my wrist to smell it. Definitely a good winter or middle of summer scent.

[ACVail24]

Numb:

 

In the bottle:

hmmm...kind of a cold powder. Slightly floral & overall very strong.

 

on my skin wet:

yikes!! hellllloooooo floral powder gone frozen!! you're not a bad smell; but geez, you're strong!

 

on my skin dry:

same scent as before, kind of powdery & florally but REALLY potent & overpowering!! (it's starting to give me a headache)

 

after a few hours:

wow!! this doesn't let up on the potency scale - it has not "aired out" at all, and seems to just get stronger as it goes....this has given me a superb headache - even a 500mlg pain reliever has done nothing to ease the throb in my head

 

verdict:

I do like the scent that Numb has, but my poor head cannot handle the immense potency of this one - it will have to be used sparingly & probably with multiple pain relievers handy.

[Carmencita]

I loathed this in the bottle. I almost sent it along to the next person without trying it because I was so sure I would hate it. Then I remember that my most beloved BPAL I had the same reaction to in the bottle and did a beauteous 180 on my skin.

 

Well, this wasn't that fairytale, but it was still better on my skin.

 

In the bottle: Decades expired Grandma perfume

 

On my skin: Watery violet

 

Dry: Violets in water. This is something I love the smell of but don't want to smell like. I keep sniffing my wrist. I'd use this as a 'smelling salt' in my purse to evoke a particular mood, but I would never wear it or use it as a room scent even.

 

It's going to pass along to someone else. Still, to all you others who read this review, make sure you test it on your skin (and this goes for ANY BPAL oil) before dismissing it.

[baranoouji]

Numb = Nine Mysteries. That is to say, mint and violets.

 

So I kept Nine Mysteries and gave Numb away to a friend.

[ouch!]

Numb

 

Numb to me is, like most people have said, powdery, soft violets! It's pretty much like there aren't many notes in it. And I wouldn't say that it's cool, or cooling.

Nevertheless it's still nice.

 

Occasionally I do get a strange smell. It's like a crushed in the rain violet. And not in a good way. It's like soggy, trampled on by shoes in the rain violet. Yeah... that's more like it. It's almost like a dirty violet. But it's only sometimes. Most of the time it's very nice and fresh.

 

Alot of people at work that had my wrist shoved under their nose said they liked it, and they definatley agreed it was a summer scent!

[little_galaxie]

Numb is just kind of meh on me. I don't love it, don't hate it. Basically, to reiterate, it's powdery violets. I like violets, but I prefer them to smell fresh and actually flowery-like. I think having an imp of this to keep around would be nice for days I just want to cuddle up in a blanket and drift off. Other than that though, I don't think I'll ever wear it.

 

It's basically the only BPAL scent where you can get a whole bottle for $8, though.

[lapillus]

In bottle: bright white florals

 

Wet: scrubbed clean with lightly floral soap.

 

Dry: still soapy, but in a good way

 

Later: You’d think I’d just washed my hands

 

Summary: I’ll enjoy it but I don’t think I’ll wear it that often, so the one imp should do.

[angharad]

So icy cold. Dear Lord, this is winter in a bottle (or decant, rather). This is the smell of winter that I love on an icy cold, sunny, clear day when I just walk outside and breathe in deep. It may be my imagination, but my wrist feels cold where I applied this. There's no dreaded mint in sight -- just winter. I now mourn the fact that I never ordered Numb when it was available, but SO MUCH LOVE for Bain who sent it to me as a frimp in a swap. I'm definitely keeping this for the hot days this summer when all I want to do is stick my head in the freezer.

[myoubi]

I wanted to try numb based on the name alone, and it does live up to its description. It is gelid and frosty -- that's the coldest, numbest, frozenest violet I've ever smelled. It's as faraway smelling as if you took a flower and encased it in ice, and then tried to describe how it looks. It's actually quite pleasant -- if you like violet. As it happens, I don't.

 

It's a bit curious -- nobody loves poor lil' Numb, but everyone is mad for Faith.

[CiCi]

I was finally able to obtain a bottle of Numb and am glad I purchased it before reading the reviews. Most of the reviews make it sound like it is the least remarkable scent in the BPAL line. I find it quite pleasant. To me, it smells very citrusy and cool, like a lemon Girl Scout Cookie. It is very refreshing-like liquid ice in a bottle!

[isabella]

dollar store dryer sheets in "fresh air" or "clean linen"...I hate to say that i couldnt wait to get it off and away from me...it gave me quite a headache.

[ForeverLastcXs]

Numb was definitely NOT what I was expecting when I first wore it. I was a bit disappointed, to be honest, but the more I wear it, the more I like it. This is definitely a very icy scent - frozen violets, perhaps? There is a definite floral note...the scent of an ice-encrusted flower standing alone in the heart of winter. This isn't a scent I'd wear out, but so far I'm loving it on these humid spring days in my ridiculously hot apartment. It's very refreshing and calming, and I'm glad I have this. It's probably not a bottle I'll seek out again when I'm almost out, but I'm certainly keeping what I have!

[squintywitch]

I love violets, and thought I'd like this one. Unfortunately there's a chemical undersmell in the bottle that just gets magnified on my skin. I think from a moderate distance this is probably a classy clean violet smell, but it's just not me at all.

[Chouchen]

I didn't even think of getting hold of any Numb because I'm really not into cold scents but was finally persuaded to try it as someone mentioned it smelled of violets. Boy am I glad I read that because it does, indeed, smell of violets to me, candied violets at that. I don't know how this is meant to smell cold, or if it's juts my alien skin chemistry doing it's thing but this is warm, powdery sugared violets that I can't get enough of. One sniff and I had hunted down 3 bottles within a week! I am so glad it's not a popular scent or I'd be broke.

 

Keep hating it folks, please.

[hackess]

Imp: It's nothing crisp or clean or icy. I'm really not sure I want to put it on my skin, to be honest.

 

Wet: Dove soap, amped to the extreme. It's very clean, but almost literally, like I've had my entire olefactory system washed out.

 

Dry: Just white soap. I don't know if it's just a "winter" scent mutual hatred, or if there's something in Beth's winter blends that my skin corrupts, but nothing that's supposed to smell icy has in fact smelled like winter to me - except Black Ice, and Tulzscha comes very close to smelling like ice. ...and here comes the sinus headache.

[tragedy]

My first review...my Bpal virginity taker.. and what has me hooked is all Numb.

 

When initially opening this bottle, I was instantly taken back to my childhood in a very powerful way... but not nearly as much as when I put it on.

On me this smells EXACTLY like my grandmother who just died in march, (we were very close).

It doesnt smell exactly on me like it does in the bottle, my chemistry changes it in some wierd way, like I do all scents...But I had to call my mother as soon as I could and ask her what perfumes grandma wore...

"Rose water and when she was going out, Chanel no. 5"

which is exactly what this smells like on me.

 

I love it.

[Ishtar]

Numb is one of the many LE's I missed out on and I grew quite curious about it after hearing reports of violets, one of my favourite florals.

 

In spite of the description, I do not get any coldness from Numb - quite the contrary. It is an enveloping powdery violet blend that could be quite comforting if only it did not smell so terribly old-fashioned on me.

Don't get me wrong, this is far from an unpleasant scent, especially after the initial soapiness wears off to reveal a soft, rather sophisticated floral. It is just that I cannot see myself wearing it, at least not at my age.

Off to swaps!

[DifferentDances]

Bottle: Very purple powder with a hint of something chilly.

Wet: Very purple powder.

Drydown: Very purple powder. I swear this reminds me of something.

Dry: Very, very dry purple powder.

 

My rating: 1/5. I was hoping this would work on me, but alas, like pretty much everyone else, I resign myself to not loving it. It reminds me of something, but I can't figure out what.

[ifinena]

My first review and on a limited edition blend, too!

 

This is a smell I love, because it reminds me of the only perfume I was allowed to wear untill well after I had left school. [it was called White Linen.] An austere, not at all sexy, keep-your-hands-off-me kind of perfume. I am fine with that, there are days that expect exactly that of us, other days that need something "come-hither" and so on...

Numb is a scent to wear at work, in business situations, when one wants to go through the day un-noticed and yet still "there".

 

I don't know the notes in it, violets for sure but can't distinguish anything else. It's soapy and fresh when it dries down, a bit too intense on first application. I wish I had bought some more when I saw it on ebay, this is a definite keeper for me.

Edited October 13, 2007 by ifinena

[Miseraya]

In the imp: Cold, but with a hint of hairspray. WTF?

 

On the wrist: Still getting hairspray from this, like the scented hairspray. It definitely smells cold, but it also definitely smells very much like hairspray to my nose. I think I smell a bit of violet something in there somewhere, under the alcohol smell. It's not exactly a violet note, but it's like violets. Hard to describe. Something a little bit citrus is poking out a bit now....

 

Drydown: This one is very tough to pick apart. I get a lot of different things in it, but the overall impression is that of hairspray. The hairspray scent fades over time, but never goes away completely. It also goes a bit soapy floral on me as well. All in all this is not me at all, and frankly reminds me of the scent of a bathroom after a high maintenance woman has finished primping in it, hairspray, soap and a hint of perfume. Swapped.

[Lethran]

In the Bottle: Not good, not good! It's like cheap aftershave. Sharp, soapy, fakey oceany. A hint of green. I'm pleased to smell no mint though, as i was scared there would be some. Wet: Better. It chills out on skin, and does give an impression of coolness. I could almost wear this, since my body chemistry tends to be, well, a little musky on it's own and it brings out some richer tones in it, making it smell less off the shelf and more intriguing, but this really isn't for me. Dry: Oddly familiar. I swear I've smelled this somewhere before. Is that a floral note there? I'm guessing maybe lily, though I can't swear to it. It's much more wearable than I expected, but not me.

[wenchie84]

Unfortunately for me, Numb does not smell like anything other than soap. I had such high hopes for this scent too and sadly, it's let me down. In the bottle it smelled the way cold air smells in the dead of winter. Then, when I put it on, it smelled like cold baby powder. Now that it's dry it smells completely of soap and not even good soap, but like hotel soap. It's a shame, b/c I really wanted this to be a keeper and now it's going in the sale pile.

[hkhm]

bottle: powdery florals.

 

wet: this does have a scent that reminds me of soap, but not in the soapy sense, in the everything is super-squeaky-clean sense. it has the feel of clean sheets and soft breezes and quiet conversation. it doesn't actually feel cold to me, it feels much more like lazy spring afternoons spent in the backyard.

 

dry: this has a faint violet scent once it dries. i don't know how often i'll wear it, but i'll likely be keeping it.