Dana O'Shee

[Dianella]

... Offerings of milk, honey and sweet grains were made to placate these creatures, and it is that the basis of the scent created in their name.

Ooh, my first review!

I've just tried Dana O'Shee. What a lovely scent. On me it smells much the same as it does in my imp. Pretty much straight sweet almonds, as many have said very much like LUSH's Snowcake. I'm really liking this oil.

[milton333]

I used to smell exactly like this in high school/early college. The Body Shop had vanilla perfume oil and this is exactly what it smelled like, vanilla with a touch of amaretto/almond/cherry-ish twist. I mean, this is EXACTLY what Body Shop Vanilla smelled like. It brought to mind standing in line at the registrar's office, and some guy a couple of people behind me remarking for like 20 minutes that someone must be baking cookies, and he was starving. Not quite as complex as the other BPAL scents I've tried, it's pleasant but rather bourgeois. Not a sexy woman scent. Too many associations with that early 90s vanilla craze for me.

[Nepthys]

I've been aching to try this and now that I have, it's quite nice. This is a very innocent scent on me, a milky-almond that completely suppresses the honey. Unfortunately I didn't get the play-doh smell others have - I say unfortunately because I adore that smell and was hoping to get it here -- but it's still a nice, light Ivory Snow Girl sort of scent. It fades a bit quickly though.

Edited September 30, 2004 by Nepthys

[Longstofly]

I really wanted to like this one because it sounded delicious! Unfortunately it was super strong when I put it on and stayed that way (which is funny seeing as a lot of other people lost the scent really fast) and gave me a splitting headache the entire time I had it on.

 

Alice does the same thing to me so I am guessing my skin doesn't like the milk and honey combination even though I so very much wish that it would! *glares at skin*

[pekeana]

Dana O'Shee is...

 

Heh. In the vial, it's almost all almond and honey, much like Queen of Sheba, but without the kick of spice.

 

On me, it takes on a peanut-butter-putty scent for a while till it dries down completely and mellows out to a soft almond, milk & honey scent.

 

It's not bad, but it's not utterly earth-shattering. It's not very strong, and I guess that's the way I prefer my scents -- strong and with great personality. I'll keep the imp and use it up, but may or may not get more.

[Attalia]

Dana O'Shee is all clear white musk and light vanilla on me. I expected it to be heavier... more honeyed. The lightness doesn't detract from it's long lasting power. I love this one for comfortable, relaxing days because it just sits in the background like a soft cloud of sweetness. It's not a fragrance that screams its presence or makes you live up to it's image.

[k00kaburra]

In bottle: Marzipan. LUSH has a soap called "Snowcake" that this is a dead-ringer to, so I would describe it as "Rather like almond icing but with an added rose and cassie scent," which is how LUSH describes Snowcake.

 

On me: So far I'm getting Marzipan and it is delightful. When I'm on the rag the scent of this goes a bit sour and comes of rather rancid, but when I'm not it stays comforting and light and just wonderful.

[bigeyedgirl]

Dana O'Shee...

 

Oh in the bottle this is pure almond! Lovely.

 

Wet again, but slightly bitter this time.

 

As it dries down it becomes lighter, alot like marzipan. It's definately a slathering scent as it fades a bit quickly.

 

But oh god is it the perfect autum scent.

[kimberlygem]

This on me smells like a piece of turkish delight. Almond, cherry(light) and sweet grains. Lovely and so good. I have spent a small fortune hunting down a scent like this. Who knew it was right here at Bpal all along

 

 

Big bottle for sure.

 

 

 

Kimberly

[blackfox]

Dana O'Shee smells of Snowcake to me too.  Honey with a touch of spice and green. Love it.

How could you NOT love this one. I can wear after using HIWTK or snowcake soap. Maybe not my favorite, but it's definitely up there. It smells of sweet honey and I like it.

[diabolique]

tart is wonderful and decanted an imp of this for me to try!

 

dana o'shee is very unoffensive and light in the bottle. i smell faint almonds and creamy milk. a couple of years ago, i used this facial creme wash and moisturizer called milk, and dana o'shee reminds me of the moisturizer. this doesn't have a specific color to me, but it is very clear. it isn't warm and foody on my skin, it's light, clean, and it really does remind me of something a small little faerie would eat and drink. definitely a fae nectar. it's alluring and captivating, but very faint and wispy.

 

overall, i like it, but it isn't for me. it's too light and it turns soapy on my skin. i'm so glad i got the chance to try this.

[Spanglemaker]

Dana O'Shee:

 

Wet: Honey and sharp almond

 

Dry: the almond disappears and it's all warm honey and milk.

 

This is absolutely wonderful! Sweet but not cloying.

 

Similar to Dragon's milk but lighter.

[Camilla T]

I usually like honey scents, but this was not very honey-ish on me.

 

In the bottle: Almonds and a very sweet cherry scent

 

On me: This smells exactly like the play make-up I used when I was a child. You know the sticks of make-up/face colours used for halloween. This smelled exactly like that, and it made me feel like a little child. It was too sweet and artificial for me. I also got coconut notes. Strange. I'm not smelling honey here

 

Dry: It changes a bit and turns a bit more sophisticated and grown-up. More light and sweet. I like this scent, but not something I love.

 

I don't really know about this. I love the description of this, and I like the scent it ends up with, but I don't know if it's too much for me in the first stages.

Must try it again, I think...

[Damask Rose]

Unfortunately all I can smell is marzipan. I was hoping for something sweeter and more complex but it smells like marzipan in the bottle and doesn't change at all on me when I put it on. It also fades really quickly, which surprised me as it does smell quite strong.

 

For those who are familiar with Lush's Snowcake, it smells very similar but sweeter (and not quite as nice in my opinion).

Edited November 3, 2004 by Damask Rose

[pkwench]

Dana O'Shee

 

*sigh* Once again, Bpal brings me bliss. Ironically, I had Velvet on earlier today and Dana O'Shee seems to me very much like the light side of Velvet's smokey darkness. This could be what I like so much about it.

 

The first crack of the vial yields a bright, supersweet hit of amaretto. It becomes a sweet, honey and powder once it settles a bit. It's similar to Sudha Segara, but where that one gains that lovely ginger twist, Dana O'Shee is just soft. Honey, milk, and that boozy touch of Amaretto. Yum and Eee.

[VorpalBunny]

I stayed away from this one because of the name (I had bad associations with the name Dana) even though it sounded like one I would love. I was gifted with it, and I do love the scent. It is very light and marzipan-like on me. Sweet and candylike, with a light but obvious almondy smell. It doesn't have much staying power, but it's nice to have a light scent for those days where you don't want to overpower everyone. Most of the scents I choose are very in-your-face, which aren't good for certain situations (weddings, job interviews, etc.)

[Ishtar]

Wow, there is not much I can add to what has been posted before -that's one well-reviewed scent!

 

On me Dana O'Shee is much lighter than I expected from the description, which is a good thing since it tends to be very sweet. Were it more powerful, I might find it a little overpowering. However, it has a very decent staying power.

I cannot help but comparing it to Lush's Snowcake like several people did. I don't get any honey in this, but a definite marzipan note.

 

It is very nice and a keeper, but I think that amongst the almondy scents, Queen of Sheba is still my favourite one.

[luxuria]

This smells on me exactly like it does in the imp. Light and sweet, but with a definite touch of something green keeping it from being really creamy. I can detect honey, vanilla, and almonds (I think??) and that aforementioned green note.

 

I'd like this better without the green. I'd also like it better if it lasted longer..I'd give it 6 hours tops that I could still smell a trace. This seems like such a short review, but my wearing-experience was pretty simple..

[ashtonrose]

Dana O'Shee reminded me of sitting in the backyard while of my Gram's while she made cookies. The smell of the Berkshire Mountains and her vanilla cookies is this scent. Great memories, especially since I grew up on military bases and went to my Gram's for a few vacations. I will love this scent always, for that reason.

 

[Lit Chick]

I'm wearing this right now!

My skin tends to pull out the sweetenss of scents and make them powdery. This is no execption.

 

Wet - Extremely sweet, but in a very nice way. Almond, honey, milk. DH says I smell like almond cakes.

Drydown - Here comes the powder. It's still sweet, but very softened, with a very faint whif of white pepper way in the background.

Full dry - all I can smell is powder, but it's still nice. I usually hate powdery! I find this smell very familiar - it's the memory of my Cabbage Patch Premie doll, which I adored.

 

It's a snuggly, comforting scent. It's one powder that I can do. I'll use my imp on days when I want a hug.

 

ETA - this has staying power for me - 8 hours later and I'm still lightly powdered. Impressive.

Edited December 1, 2004 by Lit Chick

[sarahj]

Dana O'Shee

 

in vial: marzipan

 

wet: marzipan and vanilla...as it dries I can begin to smell the honey

 

dry: this has become a lovely (but somewhat powdery) delicate honey and almond scent

 

after 3.5 hours: faded completely

 

verdict: I like this, but it is a bit too delicate and doesn't last as long as I'd like. O is still my favorite honey scent. I will use up this imp, but won't be buying a bottle.

[wolfie13]

Yet another scent that seems to be so well-loved that I can't wear.

 

I really wanted this to be all milk and honey and oatmeal like so many others

get, but no.

 

On me it is all honey and almond extract. (And I love both of these scent notes - it's just too overpowering here.)

 

It's sickly sweet on me and lacking in depth, just like O.

 

Sigh.

 

ADDED Feb. 11:

 

ALMONDS/marzipan as everyone else has mentioned.

 

I actually really like almond scents, and others work quite well on me, but

this one did not.

 

It smells great in the bottle, but upon wearing, all the almond, grainy, milky-honey goodness turns to that play-doh/plastic smell on me.

 

The EXACT same thing happened with Snow White. I REALLY wish I knew what note was causing this.

 

I know it's not the almonds, or the honey, b/c both are fine in other scents. The "milk" aspect? But White Rabbit is fine on me. It's a mystery.

 

(If anyone has any ideas, please feel free to PM me - I need

to avoid it in the future. )

[Sara]

My initial whiff of this imp guaranteed it's return to the "will try later" pile. It's just a strong, icky like scent of, what I guess to be, milk.

 

So after trying it, I still don't like it. It goes on strong and milk/honey like with a touch of almond in the background. Normally I like almond, but this is a sickly combination on my skin.

 

Hours later this begins to make me nauseous and is somewhat reminiscent (sp??) of a baby's spit up. Ew. However, I was impressed, amazed, and none too pleased to find out this one has some major lasting power. It lasted me all day without fading enough into the background to go unnoticed.

 

At least I found Sudha Segara. It's everything I expected Dana O'Shee to be.

[Morgan]

In the vial: Pure sweet almond extract with a hint of sugar...I'm not a big fan of almonds, but I like something about this so far.

10 minutes later: this scent reminds me of Alberto VO5 soothing and calming line, ALOT like it. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing.

1 hour later it has calmed down quite a bit into Irish oatmeal, mixed with honey and almonds.

Final Verdict: This is a really beautiful scent, just not for me. It is a little to almondy and light for my taste.

[stardreamer]

Milk, honey, and grains. Well, that explains both the slight nuttiness I noticed on first application and the similarity with Sudha Segara as it dried down! I like this, and R. doesn't find it objectionable, but I'm not sure I really need two milk-and-honey-based scents. This is probably going to be "keep and use up, but don't worry about ordering more". I can definitely understand, however, why this is one of BPAL's more popular scents; it's mild and sweet without being cloying or obtrusive. If they ever discontinue Sudha Segara, I could switch over to this without even a blink.