Bat-Woman

[noumenon]

Ratkirani, calla lily, moonflower, honeysuckle, night-blooming jasmine, French lavender, verbena, grey amber and nighttime air.

 

After all these reviews above, I was expecting liquid diamonds, gardens at night, calla lillies and white flowers bursting from the bottle.

 

When my bottle arrived from the Lab, I was shocked to get old parchment instead. Don't get me wrong, it smells great and I soaked myself in it today (I'm a librarian, so I consider this my signature scent!). But it's a very strong and austere scent of old books or canvas. It's not unpleasant at all, but there isn't even the suggestion of flowers.

 

After a while, the parchment smell morphs into a strong soapy smell, very similar to what scents from the Diabolus line turn into on me. A lot of people use soap as a negative description, but I like smelling shower-fresh 8 hours after leaving my house.

 

It has great throw, and it's very long-lasting, but I wish I could smell what everyone else here is smelling!

Edited August 31, 2006 by Noumenon

[LiberAmoris]

Bat-Woman is definitely a nighttime blend on me, like drowsy closed flowers nodding under a slight breeze on a night when there's just a sliver of moon. The lavender here is really unusual. The way it's blended, it makes the oil smell dusky purple-grey. The honeysuckle is sweet but the lavender keeps it in balance.

 

This is an oil that is very strong on me---the tiniest dab is more than enough. Too much and it's a little overpowering. But with the right amount, I find it beautiful and perfect for a summer night out. I think this would also be a great room scent, and I might try a few drops in my oil burner tonight.

[omly]

At any time of year I am a sucker for verbana. i guess that was why I was so anxious to try this blend. It is a beautiful white floral, but I get no trace of the verbana I was looking for. I could see this as something my mom (who has very good floral taste) would really enjoy though. I can't see myself wearing it other than on warm summer evenings.

[maijasu]

Gorgeous!

 

This definitely reminds me of a garden at nighttime, as others before me have stated. I don't usually go for florals, but this is so smooth, serene, and beautiful, that I will definitely make an exception. It really smells more of the air at midnight, rather than any specific flowers. I will definitely keep my decant, and if I use it up and still feel this way about it, then it's going on the big bottle list for sure!

[MrsDevilDog]

bat-woman is quite floral.

 

i generally do not care for florals unless they are on the lighter side and toned down with something creamy. bat-woman is no exception, and i do not care for it.

 

the combination of so many heavy florals such as honeysuckle was just too cloying, and it smelled of soap on my skin.

[porcelain72]

My first salon scent, a good start.

 

In the bottle: soft, gentle floral. I'm unable to make out any specific notes, but it adds to that flower garden-like feeling.

 

Initial application: the floral amps a bit, just shy of being a little sneeze-worthy. But it dies down and becomes almost soapy. Just going by the name you'd expect this to be a dry, dusty smell, but it's fresh and clean.

 

Drydown: it's a quick fade, alas, because it's very pretty. My describing it as "soapy" shouldn't be construed as negative. This is a very nice, very grown-up and elegant scent.

 

Smiley rating:

[Dark Sparkle]

Oooh I got to try Batwoman and let me tell you: this is a veery classic floral in a sort of French and elegant way but not as perfumey as I thought it would be.

 

I tested the vial two times; the first time I only got floral, floral, floral - especially calla lily and jasmine with that airy quality that others have mentioned. Pretty but not really "me".

 

Second time I tried it I got more of the lavender and verbena and much more of the nighttime air, the other florals come out to play but they are wellmannered. This time around I really love it so I guess I will have to test it some more times to see how much this will change on me. Very lovely!

[Blueelm]

Okay. At first in the bottle this had the same strange scotch-tape scent that Snow White did to me. Odd, but not bad. I put some on and could barely smell anything. Then wham! Soapy white florals. Oh dear oh dear. This caused a sneezy sensation. And yet, it smells so good. I get so much Jamine, Lavender and Verbena out of this. It has a cool aquatic tint too. On my skin this warms up a little after a while and becomes really appealing. This scent has some lasting power!

 

I don't get the honeysuckle or amber until I've worn this all day. This is fine with me as I think it's great when a fragrance lasts that long. I wish the soapy part was a little milder though.

 

The scent reminds me a little of old French perfumes. It's a very classic sort of blend, like some thing that would have been around since the Twenties. That's just what it reminds me of, something a very urban Parisian woman might have worn... or maybe a little like Soire De Paris.

 

I'm still in the middle of the road on this one. I like it okay. I've worn it several times... but I'm not sure if this is a keeper or not for me. One thing I'll say is that this one matured after sitting a while. Very strange.

[jakey]

I hate doing reviews when I can add very little to what has already been said. So truth be told, I always hate doing reviews.

 

This is a beautiful soft floral that is fading fast, unfortunately. White flowers, night air... picture a cool evening in Hawaii, if that makes any sense...

 

Will I buy a bottle? Perhaps after all the must-haves are taken care of...

[jenleigh]

Jasmine and lavender are two of my favorite notes. So is it any wonder that I adore Bat-Woman and am going through the partial bottle I have like there's no tomorrow?

 

This blend just screams soft femininity. It's almost got a crystalline touch to it - I think that must be the night air that's described here. Not snowy so much as it is the scent of a cool, crisp night in early spring.

 

I'm going to need a second bottle at some point.

[Nightgaunt]

This oil reminds me of the writings of Clark Ashton Smith. It conjures up images of his lamia-princess Morthylla out for a moonlight stroll in her mortuary guarden.

Strange noctornal flowers scent the air as she pauses in a white marble gazebo to watch the bats skim gracefully over the lotus pool.

[prunesnprisms]

This was a lovely white floral in the bottle, but my skin turned it a little funny from what it smelled of in the bottle, so I've passed this along.

[azhure]

In the vial: Overwhelmingly commercial perfume scent. Whoah.

 

Wet: I do get a few threads of the individual notes - namely the jasmine - before it falls into a tumble of florals.

 

Drydown: It only gets more cloying on me. It reminds me of the scent used in funeral parlours. Not the way I want to smell. It's a pity, because I bet it would smell fabulous on someone else.

[indicolite]

Thanks to macabre_fae for a decant!

 

My gut was right, as it usually is: I need a bottle of this. I really cannot pick notes out, but I keep on smelling the back of my hand where I put this, going "More, more, more..."

 

Ok, next spare cash is going towards a bottle of this loveliness.

[supremegoddessofall]

Ooh! Now *this* is a pretty floral. The moonflower and lavender are the top notes for me, which is great, because I love both of them. It has an aquatic feel to it, like a really good bath salt.

[Emma2403]

In the bottle: this is quite lovely… lots of flowers. I recognize moonflower and honeysuckle and I like them.

 

On my skin: mmm, the flowers get a little soapy. It's a very light scent, I can hardly smell it, to be honest.

 

After a couple of hours: it gets stronger in the drydown phase, but it's still okay. No jasmine at all, which is very good to me. Lavender grows more and more.

 

Verdict: a very pretty floral, but I don't need it.

[SevenSins]

I love white florals - so I was really looking forward to this one!

 

Unfortunately, my chemistry doesn't always love the white florals like I do. This one smells lovely in the bottle - and goes on beautiful! But on drydown it turns to soap on me. And not a good clean soap either. Maybe it's the gray amber, I don't know. Usually it's some kind of musk that does this on me. Whatever it is, I am sadly going to pass this on to someone else who can love it more.

[Voleuse]

On first sniff, this blend reminds me of a garden in the rain. On second sniff, of a very fancy bath gel. Hm. I think it's the combination of jasmine and verbena. It's pretty, florals and fresh rain, but very soap-like to my nose.

 

After a bit, the soapiness becomes a sleepy note, gray and misty. There's also a downy note I can't identify, the faintest bit of warmth through the rain. The florals fade far into the background. In the end, this is a pleasant rain to my nose, clean and sweet. Lovely.

[forspecial_plate]

Bat-Woman is a lovely, soft, whispering floral that smells good on my skin. At first I can smell the night blooming flowers and tartness (I think from the verbena) that remind me a lot of Bayou. Bat-Woman has more of a dry, almost dusty, sighing feel to it. I don't smell any lavender. After a while the florals back off and I think what I'm smelling is the grey amber. It's a very pretty scent...not sure I would wear this in public because it is somewhat feminine to me. I don't know, maybe I could pull it off.

[emzebel]

This is Chioptera's more sultry, sinister cousin...I can definitely detect many of the same rich sweet florals here...and it is with great joy that I can exclaim that for once night blooming jasmine is not reaching up and strangling my brain!

 

This is a beautiful blend which will probably end up on my bottle list as my Chioptera bottle decreases in fill level...

[dronzeka]

This is really going to be a kind of non-review... because on me, Bat-Woman has almost no scent, strangely enough. In the bottle, I can smell lovely, pale, night-time flowers. (Maybe the gray amber has me thinking moonlight/gray light?) I can also smell the verbena, and when I put it on, I can smell verbena and honeysuckle - it *seems* very pretty. But I say *seems* because literally within minutes there's no smell left at all. I slathered it on this morning and by the time I got to work I'd have thought that I never put anything on at all. So, alas, the Bat-Woman is not for me. Le sigh.

[phedre]

In vial: heavy on the lavender. I fear soapiness.

 

wet: definitely soap. Relaxing lavender and jasmine. This would be a gorgeous bathtime scent.

 

drydown: lily and jasmine have overwhelmed the lavender. I didn't think that was possible! Still leaning towards this one as a good bath scent. It'd make a great relaxing bubble bath.

[zankoku_zen]

In the imp: slightly herby (perhaps that's the calla lily smell?) and something I called ambergris in my head... only to find out that it's probably the grey amber I'm smelling. The initial impression is gray... and very airy.

 

On skin: it's soapy for a bit and the amber smell is pretty strong.

 

On drydown: turns into a soft florals, delicate, white and clean. And yes, the impression of a garden in cool nighttime air comes to mind. There is something innocent and yet highly sophisticated about this.

 

Verdict: The drydown sort of reminds me to Nivea Cream that comes in the blue tin that my mom used to smear on our faces to prevent sunburns during our times in the beach. It's a crisp, refreshing and lightly floral smell. And yes, airy. Still, the 'gray' color vibe that this throws off is impossible to ignore. It's a complex light floral and I like it. I'm trying to figure out just how much and I might have to try it again just to make up my mind.

[jiggahava]

I'm getting what I think is the callla lilly, moonflower, and honeysuckle and lavender. After it settles on my skin its a mix of these notes that I can't really pick out indivudually except for the lavender. It's a very cool and fresh scent, not overwhelming at all. The throw is light, even after I slathered a bit. I like it alot, not sure I will buy a bottle yet.

[Shollin]

First sniff: Powdery floral with a bit of lavender.

 

Wearing: Sweet and soft, but still powdery enough to make my nose itch.