F5

[strawberry_star]

F5

A refreshing scent! GET IT?! Aloe, white musk, lime peel, fresh mint, seaspray, verbena and green tea.

Wow, am I really the first one to review this? *amazed* Hope I did this right...

In the bottle: Green tea!! Yum. I love green tea. It's reminding me a bit of Shanghai.

On me: I put it on and the green tea is still very much present. It is indeed refreshing, definitely. There's also something else there that is reminding me a bit of Mock Turtle's Lessons. I looked up the notes and it's the mint, but there's also a slight aquatic smell as well. I didn't like The Mock Turtle's Lessons all that much, but mainly because of the mint mixed with fruit. This is mint mixed with green tea mainly with that hint of aquatic, so much better! I can't decide if I like it more than Shanghai, but it's still a very nice scent!

[opaleyes]

Mmm in the bottle I get lots of crisp cool lime. I wish it stayed that way! On me it gets a good deal warmer, and I smell a little bit like a household cleaner. However, my chemistry is a little whacked right now, so I'm going to test this again in a week. It's definitely refreshing though. I got a lot accomplished this morning while wearing it. It gave me a lot of get up and go.

 

It lasted on me for about 4 hours before I had to reapply it. Not too bad. This seems like it would be a good scent for spring, which I suppose makes sense with spring cleaning and all. I just reapplied and I smell like Fantastik. Drrrry F5. Drrrry.

[Nekomata]

Definately refreshing! The lime and musk are the strong notes in this blend, with the seaspray and verbena in the background. This is a very masculine fresh, reminding me of deodorant body sprays without that nasty fake scent. This lasts for hours and hours and is wonderful on my husband. I'd recommened this for any guy! I'll be looking for an extra bottle for sure.

[Alchemy21599]

In the bottle: green tea, lime and mint.

 

Wet: Hello Mojito!

 

Dry: The green tea has come back as the dominant note. It is accented by citrus and a bit of mint. The is similar to Bulgari The Verte, very crisp and refreshing. I think this scent would be equally delightful on men and women.

[fairy]

As a huge fan of the ELF, I had a feeling this one would be in the same ballpark. It is, sort of. They are both very refreshing and clean. F5 has a sharper throw.

 

It starts off very lemon/lime. Now this is a "green" scent if I've ever smelled one.

 

As if wears I'm smelling the mint...which settles the sharpness down quite nicely.

 

Bottom line: Truly is a pick me up, refreshing scent. Great for warm days and days you need that extra get-up-and-go. I'm enjoying this one a lot. I like the ELF a little better (it's a little softer), but this one is up there for sure~

 

ETA: I shoved my wrist in my husband's face and he likes it...I'll probably give him a bottle.

Edited August 31, 2006 by maddi

[jenleigh]

This is really refreshing in the bottle - the lime and the mint come out a lot at first, and it really does smell a bit like a mojito in-bottle.

 

On my skin, though, well...the seaspray in this comes out and it kind of drowns out that nice mint-lime scent, becoming just a bit too masculine-smelling for my skin to handle well. I'm also going to try this on my husband, and if he likes it, the bottle will be his. If not, alas, this is off to swaps.

[tindome]

in bottle: This is lemon/lime citrus and I can feel myself waking up already.

 

Wet: this is almost cleanerish on me but stops just short of it.

 

Drydown: Strongly resembles embalming fluid on me which is not great because embalming fluid tends to be very soapy smelling on me.

 

Dry: This faded really quickly and did end up smelling very close to embalming fluid. But it is very refreshing even if it is refreshing soap/cleaner.

 

I really like it out of the bottle so I will keep it for the diffuser and because it is my first forum scent.

[oatmealneko]

Bottle: Lime with aloe & musk.

 

On me: Starts off aloe & musk, a bit of green tea. Very light & refreshing. Morphs into light mint with ozone layer, & a bit of aloe or green tea. I barely smell any musk in this. Scent best if sniffed away from the wrist, otherwise, it's a bit strong on the nose. When the scent wafts around, it's a bit minty, very green & ozone-ish (light ozone similar to The Ghost & not Neo-Tokyo).

Edited September 1, 2006 by oatmealneko

[Taniwha]

I couldn't NOT order this, but I was a little nervous about the lime - citrus isn't my favorite note. It spends some time just like a tall glass of limeade, but it mellows for me as the seaspray rises. It then becomes something I like very much, but think I will like even better on my husband. It's softer and rounder, not so sharp anymore. That may be a disapointment for people who like that refreshing citrus burst, I don't know. But for me, it's a good transformation.

[SueDonym]

In the bottle:

For me this is more verbana/lemony, some musk...ah, there's the lime (I can recognize that, but it's background). A bit of a very fine cleanser/aftershave feel. Definitely fresh and alert.

 

Wet:

Verbana - herbal musk

Less cleanser, more rind/zest

Bright

 

Drying:

This is going all soft and sweet on me. Still crispy but the lemon/limeness is all milky.

Still sparkly around the edges though, I think that's the mint, which my greedy skin seems to be sucking up except for the crisp edge mints can leave. Verbana heavy. Definitely going soft.

 

Dry:

Fresh and fun. Creamy lemon verbana and green tea. Every now and then a slight antiseptic kick.

I didn't think I'd like this one on sniffing the bottle, but it's not bad at all. Nice on a hot summer/fall day.

Edited September 1, 2006 by SueDonym

[dawna]

In the bottle: Green Tea with a citrusy note, which I am guessing is the lime.

 

Wet on the skin: Green Tea is still very prominent. I can smell the mint in the background, there is still that citrusy note which has turned sharp..

 

On drydown: The aloe comes forward but not too much. This is a gorgeous scent. The lime, mint and tea are seriously awesome together. I was worried I wasn't going to like it but I actually do!

[pekeana]

I kill mint. Well, my skin does, anyway. So...

 

There is no mint to this for me, just verbena, tea, musk, aloe, and lime. It's very similar to Embalming Fluid, but just different enough because of the lime to make me go "zOMG" and want to hoard my bottles. F5 is a winner and I can't wait to make my co-workers smell it all day long.

[finecurvedhips]

wow...i have to say this one totally works for me.

 

in the bottle- pure green tea, with maybe a wee little hint of lime

wet- still the nummy tea scent, not so much on the lime, and the aloe starts to nose its way in

drydown - all seaspray!! omg...the beach is my one, true happy place. words cannot describe how much i'm loving that i have a bpal scent that is so perfectly beachy! the tea completely disappeared for me. if i sniff hard enough i can sorta smell the lime still, but for all intents and purposes - i smell like amazingly fresh, clean, delicious ocean breezes!

 

 

ETA: and then it divebombs into pure green tea an hour or so later. *sighs* while i still think it's a perfectly lovely scent, i'm thinking this one might be going into the swap/sales pile.

Edited September 2, 2006 by finecurvedhips

[noumenon]

The last time I paid $12.50 for something that smelled like this, I put it on my expense account at a fancy hotel bar in Manhattan: Mojitos!!!

 

If you've had one (or 30), that's all you need to know. If you haven't tried that delicious mint-lime-rum-and simple-syrup concoction yet, then you're going to think you're drinking F5 the first time you have one.

 

Sweet heavenly goodness! F5 has great throw and lasts four hours and counting!!! If only my buzzes lasted this long.

[Eunice]

I was really hoping that I'd love this because I bought 3 bottles. This has all the notes I have discovered I love. When I first smelled F5 in t he bottle it reeally smelled of green tea and lime but on my skin it morphs into this light and elegant scent. F5 is Jolly Roger and Sea of Glass' love child. I can't stop sniffing my wrist! I am going to slather this on after my shower and then no visiting in-laws will make me cranky.

[Diana]

In the bottle: limey-bright-freshness

 

Wet: The lime is the outstanding note. It's very happy and in-your-face. The other notes are kind of there, but none of them are all that strong, so they're just cowering under the almighty lime! I can almost smell mint, but I think it's afraid to come out just yet.

 

Drydown: A very light, refreshing blend. Embalming Fluid meets Lime + Mint. It's sweet & citrusy, but it's not overwhelming in any way. It is probably great during hot weather, too!

[Rosaleen Dhu]

Normally anything that says refreshing makes my sinuses ache, but I have an obsessive need to own all the forum exclusives. Am I ever glad I'm obsessive! Finally something that works!

It must be the musk making this work for me...this is lime and mint and aloe. It makes me happy just to sniff it, and it cleared my head of morning cobwebs.

[cuervosueno]

I also have to try all the forum only blends. One day, perhaps, one will work for me.

 

F5, alas, is not that one.

 

Yes, its refreshing as can be. But I don't like refreshing scents. I'm more of a spice/incense girl, but I do very much like tea scents and mint can be nice, so i thought I'd take a chance.

 

In the bottle, its nice, if a bit more zesty than I expected. Green tea and citrus with a touch of sweetness, and just a hint of mint. It reminds me of a upscale men's aftershave--you know, kind of like L'Occidente's green tea scents? Which I do like. When I keep sniffing from the bottle there is something else in there...a hint of familiar sweetness....is there white musk in this? (scrolls back to read description).

 

Yes, I see there is. White musk is hit or miss on me, and this time it is missing. Because on, I lose most of the lime, and get a fairly green sweetness...white musk, and if the other thing I'm getting is mint, its a very sweet mint, like spearmint rather than peppermint. there's also a touch of ozone. On me it really, really smells like men's aftershave.

 

Which I'm not excited about. After an hour or so, the green tea comes back, and I have a sweetened green tea blend that is pleasant, if not exciting.

 

Guess F5 is not for me. Well, a couple of my friends swooned over it, so I guess I have to decide if I'll be a good friend and give some to them, or just put up for swaps. (And I'm such an addict, its likely the latter! )

[lushiejane]

I love F5!

In the bottle it is lime and verbena with just a bit of mint.

 

Wet on skin the lime is there, some mint, verbena and maybe some of the musk- but only the smallest touch of musk. It is fresh and green, almost aquatic to me. Not much mint.

 

On the drydown the lime stays longer than citrus scents usually stay with me. It becomes more verbena scent, and the mint is gone on my skin. Maybe it is the verbena, or maybe the musk- but something is making me believe there is a bit of a floral note along with the green.

 

Delightfully summery! It does remind me of a mojito in the bottle- less so on my skin since the mint dissapears on me. My husband does not think it smells of mojito, and he had just had three when he was sniffing my arm.

I love Embalming Fluid, Shattered and I love F5. And it lasted for the night on me.

 

LushieJane

[LiberAmoris]

I have to say, I love the aloe in F5. That kind of makes the blend work for me, even though I'm not so much of a fresh scent type of girl. But I like the aloe and the seaspray. This is just the feeling of being clean. The mint here is only when wet on me, once it dries, it's green tea, aloe, and seaspray. The verbena and lime peel are also in the background.

 

I will definitely keep my bottle for update nights and I might use some to create a spray for my bedroom. This is refreshing, but it's also relaxing.

[Brianne]

In the bottle:

Green tea!

 

On me:

Immediately, I agree with it being called F5. It is indeed refreshing! Once it hits my skin, the verbena comes out quite a bit. It doesn't take very long though for the aloe to join in and what I get is a truly wet, green smell. Then, the mint comes in. It's like each note is joining one by one every minute that passes.

 

After 5 minutes, what I've got is a truly refreshing scent. It is a little seaspray like and yet it still smells of green tea and aloe and a touch of lime and mint and verbena. It's cool smelling and has a little bite.

 

Final note:

I adore this, I'm so glad I got it!

[salamandrina]

Delightfully refreshing!

 

Lime and tea and aloe. It's delicious, and it's a perfect day after scent.

 

It made my husband's eyes light up, too, which is unusual.

 

Definitely a keeper!

[saralaughs]

Oh my. I have to say that I'm so glad I got this.

 

 

After 5 minutes, what I've got is a truly refreshing scent. It is a little seaspray like and yet it still smells of green tea and aloe and a touch of lime and mint and verbena. It's cool smelling and has a little bite.

 

 

I agree with everything that is stated Brianne! It's so refreshing, wet and just...lovely sea smelling. Sea with a little mint.

 

A lovely blend and a keeper for sure.

[forspecial_plate]

Add me to the list of fans....this really is yummy. I love the subtlety...everything is blended so well, the notes sort of swirl around and make themselves known seperately, while still being balanced and blended in a beautiful way, if that makes any sense at all. I can pick out the mint and lime peel, and later on the musk also. White musk must be close to my own natural smell because hours later, I can tell there's still some scent there, but it's very close to my own skin's scent.

 

Moderate throw and lasting power, it lasts a good 3 or 4 hours....I love how the mint is detectable in the throw, but it doesn't scream 'MINT!!'. I would love to get a hold of some tea single notes because I can never pick out tea notes in bpal scents. I do think I'm picking up on the seaspray though, there is a sort of bracing salty quality that I love in F5. Just a great scent and something that is so subtle, I feel comfortable wearing just a little bit to work (usually I don't wear bpal at work). I think my mom would like this too, if I can bear to part with an imp of it for her!! : D

 

ETA...Big thanks to Beth, for making this available to us!

 

edited again, to add...I wore this to work and it lasted a full eight hours on me...very subtle but still definitely there when I clocked out....great lasting power! Or maybe my skin was just exceptionally moisturized that day. : D

Edited September 10, 2006 by Forspecial Plate

[LittleGreyKitten]

I really enjoy this blend. It doesn't quite top Hungry Ghost Moon as my favorite light citrus blend (I've really found I have a huge weakness for sweet + light citrus). This is yummy for sure. Mojito, indeedy. With some green tea for fun and enjoyment. I love the limey goodness of this, plus I think the aloe is there somewhere too. Mmm. I only wish it lasted longer- it goes *poof* in about an hour. Perchance it will start to last longer as time goes on- I've found other light blends take a few weeks or months before they gain any lasting power. Anyhoo, if you like citrus blends, or even if you can tolerate them, F5 is a good un.

 

5 out of 5.