Ulalume

[ClareN]

Starry white lilies lend an eerie brightness to the deep black wooded scents of cypress and oak, layered with a touch of crushed dried leaves and the faintest aquatic note.

Interesting. I generally don't re-read the lab description or reviews before I try a new scent, to keep preconceived notions to a minimum. Here's what I wrote down about Ulalume before looking at the description:

This is a floral-aquatic, and aquatics are not for me at all. Someone who likes this scent might describe it as fresh and pure, but to me it's too fresh, too much like air freshener. There's a fresh herbal note that's also in Ides of March, but I like Ides of March much better.

Now I'm looking at the description and reviews - cypress, oak, dried leaves, earth, wintergreen? Faintest aquatic note? I didn't pick up wintergreen, certainly no woods or dried leaves, and the aquatic note is the strongest by far. I can only very rarely tolerate aquatics. Frankly, this should have a big warning sign on it that says "AQUATIC SCENT LOVERS ONLY."

It's mostly faded on my skin now (3 hours later), but sniffing it in the vial again I do pick up the cypress and a pleasant herbal smell - but it's still much too aquatic for me. Since all the reviewers on this thread have such different impressions, maybe Ulalume is one that varies wildly with the batch? Perhaps you'll get lucky with the one that smells like earth, wood and dried leaves, the one I wish I'd gotten. How puzzling.

Edit: Added Lab description. Edited September 29, 2007 by Shollin

[usamimi]

n Bottle: Very pine-y.

 

Wet: Floral and pine. Hmm...

 

Dry: Still didn't smell any of those aquatic notes.

 

Overall: I'm not too big on anything with lilies in them, and it smelled way too forrest-y for my taste. Just doesn't fit me, sadly.

[walkingundine]

This stuff is incredible.

 

In the imp: Mostly really dark aquatics and some seriously swampy woods. Is that wintergreen in there?

 

Wet: The aquatics recede and mingle with the woods. There's a nice soft white flower note, which is not oppressively girlie, and that's totally wintergreen.

 

Dry: Very true to form.

 

Throw: Only moderate.

 

Duration: Kinda short. It fades to barely-perceptible in an hourish.

 

Summation: I want a bottle, so I can put it in lotion and stuff and have it with me all the time. It smells like this one state park, I think it's in Douglas MA, with bizarre swamp trees and wintergreen ground cover and murky water. Gorgeous.

[JenM]

In the imp: aquatic pine

 

On the wrist: Very strongly I can smell the aquatic note, more strongly than anything else. Under that ghosts what is clarified as cedar rather than pine.

 

After half an hour: white, aquatic lilies. This is not “the faintest aquatic note” by any means at all. This is aquatic pounding you in the face with fists. The aquatic is vaguely artificial, very unlike the wetness of the tears in Pool of Tears, which I love.

 

An hour: gone.

[KaliVerra]

I'm really iffy with aquatics and sadly, this one turned into run-of-the-mill soap scent on me... It was TRULY lovely in the imp, though.

[Shannihilation]

I got this imp in a swap recently and had never even sniffed it until today. And even when I grabbed it, I didn't sniff it before I put it on. Instead I sniffed my wrist after I put it on. My first thought was that this was a perfect fall scent. The most immediate note was the leaves and the woods. The florals didn't come out until after I'd had it on for a few minutes. This scent is so pretty. It's very light but warm and has a real crispness to it without being sharp.

 

It's incredible. How had I not ever even tested this until now?

[starwild]

My skin must be doing weird things to this scent, because when it's wet, I can sum this one up in two words: honeydew melon! No, really! Wet, green and sweet. I didn't read the description before I tried this one on, and boy, was I surprised when I did. I guess what I'm smelling is largely the lilies and cypress, and then the aquatic note kicks in.

 

This one is kind of strange. In a good way. It evokes the image of traveling through a swamp, only without that nasty rotting swamp-stink. I like it a great deal.

[dorothy humbird]

I don't often reach for aquatic/floral scents, which is why I'm reviewing Ulalume after receiving it as a frimp from the lab, as opposed to having ordered it in a fit of excitement.

 

I'm surprised at how pleasing this is, though. There is a cleanness to the scent that reminds me of fresh laundry, but it doesn't actually smell like dryer sheets or air freshener. It's grounded nicely by the "deep" cypress and oak, and I can catch the dried leaves note just barely. When I first applied there was also the slight astringent quality of mint tanging around the edges (like the sensation of cool after you've brushed your mouth) but it has faded after sitting on my skin for a bit.

 

I notice similarities to both the Lady of Shallot (lilies, aquatic notes) and Dublin (maybe the "leaves" element?) but this is of course its own unique blend. I can see what others have said regarding swampiness without the smell of rot... it's damp, greenish, and natural. We'll just see how often I end up wearing it.

 

ETA: After drying down on my skin Ulalume becomes very light, refreshing, and beautiful. The wetter stages seemed almost heavy to me -- somewhat cloying; but drydown has rendered an uplifting, bright aquatic floral that I think will be lovely when spring rolls around again. I may even reach for it while the fall warmth holds out...

Edited October 5, 2007 by dorothy humbird

[FallDaze]

In the imp I get almost a very slightly chlorine-y lake-ish scent. The aquatic note dominates, and I can't really smell too much else...Pretty light and high-pitched if a scent can be so.

 

On it immediately turns darker. Like the scent of a stagnant forest pond after a rain shower. Rather nice.

 

After a while, that lovely scent morphs into rotting wood and vegetation That makes me sad

[waternight]

In the imp: Fresh, sweet aquatic. Slightly melonish.

Wet: Yup. This is true to the description - light white flowers over a gentle aquatic note. The flowers are light and fresh, not heady or cloying at all. The aquatic note is very reminiscent of Tempest. After a bit, I do get a creamy wood note, probably the oak. A lot of wood notes go creamy on me.

Dry: Pretty much the same as wet, though the oak amps up a bit in the dry phase. This is a very pretty scent and I like it a lot, but for light aquatics I think I prefer Tempest.

[hlrigaud]

This was a frimp I was gifted with. I was motivated to try due of the recommendations thread, in which it was strongly compared to a Florist's shop. Reading the reviews, clearly this is a really morphy scent, because the only florist shop this baby reminds me of is the Florist shop of the dead.

 

However, I will say it's a very interesting scent. It starts out so bright green it almost choked me. Big, huge lily note here. Then it starts to dry and you get the pond. Its a pond that looks lovely as you first see it through the woods. But as you get closer, you start to smell the rotting vegetation all around you. And while this is repellent, there is this note still there, that's calling you on. It's like Siren's singing, and you're thinking to yourself "Rot isn't all that bad. Everything dies and rots" while your common sense is strongly suggesting you RUN!

 

And all the while the beautiful lilies and moss are quietly there, completely untouched by your presence and possible death.

 

Like I said, an interesting scent.

 

HL

[bryghtrose]

In the imp it smells like lilies and pine, which would be the cypress. There is also a hint of bubblegum, something very sweet. The sweetness overpowers the rest of the notes, and the whole perfume smells of candy.

[rustdoll]

Oh, this is just beautiful! I think I'm in love! On me the aquatic note is somewhat faint, and I can really smell what I assume is either cypress or oak, and dried leaves, all this with a slight floral which is probably the lilies. I usually think aquatic notes are too sharp and sour, but this one is gorgeous. Definately turning into a big bottle!

[Northernskygal]

In the imp Ulalume is exactly what it is described to be.. woods, herbs and aquatics. The wooded notes are really kind of.. sharp for me in this blend, though the herbalness keeps it in check a bit. I am intrigued, as I normally don't do woody/herby blends, though I tend to be a fan of aquatics. On my skin the aquaticness of this blend keeps it really clean smelling. This is not a deep dark scary forest where a wolf is going to eat you.. this a somber forest, where maybe a lost soul wanders in the shadows. This is a clean, pretty, sorrowful scent.

[maribouquet]

imp/wet: eee, leaves! Wet, murky, forest floor.

 

Also, lily generally hates me. I am afraid...

 

It does brighten up as it dries, and becomes sort of a grassy, lightly floral scent. Pretty, but still somehow a little ominous...the cedar and musk are threatening to carry everything away. I will have to try this one some more.

[tziporra]

I never never never in a million years would have tried this, simply because of the word "aquatic" in the description. In the outside BPAL world aquatic equaled yuk to me.

 

And think what I would have missed!

 

Wet, this is all heady lilies and aquatic notes, like a dripping bouquet. And then (hooray!) the lilies begin to rot. There is a moment of lily perfection, when the blooms look past their prime, and your whole house is filled with the heady smell of them, and the green guck on their stems is just starting to send off warning signals that you are going to have to throw them out no matter how much you love them and your dear husband for bringing them to you... Ulalume is that smell on me.

 

What BPAL brings home to me is how much I love flowers, food, booze and people just a little past their prime.

 

I can't stop smelling myself!

 

Tzi

[laforetnoire]

Like lots of other people, this scent reminds me of spring rather then autumn.

 

In the bottle, I had that 'pine sol' smell to but when I applied it, it immediately disappeared.

 

When dry, it smells like lilies (and tulips, I don't know why) surrounded by grass, herbs, and trees too.

 

I really love that scent, it's relaxing. It reminds me of a warm morning in the end of spring, when the tulips in my backyard started to wither and the lilies started to grow.

[iiinterstate]

This is AMAZING. Thank you Lab! I never would have found this on my own.

 

 

 

In the bottle: very green.

 

Wet: still green, but I can smell the bark and something sweet.

 

Dry: WOW, this is exactly what I have been looking for in an earthy scent. Its green and woodsy but not too heavy. Like everyone else has said, it smells like the woods. I live right next to a forest preserve, and this smells just like fall in my neighborhood. LOVE IT.

 

Dry later: The lily really comes out more, and it smells sweet and woody...it almost seems like there's a little cinnamon in there. STILL LOVE IT. I've already ordered a bottle.

 

 

ETA: This is exactly what I hoped Zombi would be for me before I discovered my skin's funky reaction to rose. So if you like dirt, but don't care for/can't wear rose, this is the stuff.

Edited February 18, 2008 by iiinterstate

[QueenFae]

This is clean, crisp, green, aquatic and woodsy all at the same time. My first reaction was "Spring woods" but there is a certain, contradictory, spiciness to the background. The top note is lilies, with a smooth white airy quality to them. I can definitely smell a grass - like plant note, as well as an autumn - like crushed leaves note.

 

This is a very interesting blend, I wouldn't know how to categorize it! Soft, without much throw.

 

Lovely, but not quite my thing.

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Sweet lily plus some darker woodiness and something that smells like orange peel.

 

Immediately on skin: The lily in this is strong, but it’s on the sweeter side and not soapy. There’s definitely wood here, but it’s light and fresh. The undertone of the scent is aquatic, but lush… like ivy or fresh moss. This is very fresh and floral mostly however… the other notes are more of a background/undertone.

 

After a little while: This scent has really opened up. The aquatic notes have come out further to give the whole blend a sweet fresh watery quality, which blends nicely with the sweet lily. The cypress isn’t really present, but the oak adds a subtle light woodiness to the background of this now. It’s a fresh, slightly tangy sweet aquatic floral scent.

 

Overall Impressions: This blend is very pretty. It’s a bit strong on the lily, but it’s sweeter than I’ve found in other blends and doesn’t go soapy on me. The combination of the wood notes and aquatics give this a very grounded quality, but it’s fresh and sweetly girly at the same time.

[MaidMirawyn]

This is another one I was able to sample thanks to the generosity of someone at last night's Meet n Sniff at the Roswell Whole Foods!

 

Didn't make notes, so I can only speak to the final stage. It's floral and subtly sweet. The aquatic note is understated, and there's just a touch of sharp earthiness. Very nice; I think I'll buy at least an imp.

Edited March 11, 2008 by MaidMirawyn

[bibzerneth]

This scent is so lovely! Its smells heavily of conifers and wet dirt, while at the same time there something really pretty and sort of dark at work in the background. This scent is rain in a dark woods and spring in a bottle. I'm really glad I ordered a 5ml of this!

[coldandsleepy]

In the imp: dirt, dirt, dirt.

 

On me, wet: oh. This is breathtaking. I'm just going to paste over what I wrote in my spreadsheet: A cool summer night in the woods: dirt, wet grass or leaves, and the memory of lilies. Very very pretty. Very earthy.

 

On me, dry: the same, except that the dirt calms down a little and the lilies really start to shine. How beautiful!

 

Throw and duration: good throw, good duration. It's not overwhelming on me, and it lasted a good 7 or 8 hours.

 

Overall: I think this may be one of the few lily blends that people who don't like lilies might dig. The lilies here are really soft and not at all in your face or "perfumey" smelling. I totally love the earthiness of this. That plus the lilies plus the leaves is just totally evocative for me in an awesome way.

 

Definitely keeping my imp of this. Someday, when I've tried a lot more of the general catalogue and/or won the lottery and/or the magic BPAL fairy comes and grants all of my smelly wishes, I'd love a bottle of this.

[lilirose]

In the imp: Sweetly, deceptively floral

 

On skin: Oh no. This has the dreaded "dry leaf" note- the same one from October '07- which, on me, turns unbearably, overwhelmingly bitter. I left it a while to see if it'd morph, but the leaf note remained prominent until the whole scent faded to nothing.

 

Throw: Average. Staying power: medium.

 

Overall: No, thanks. But if you liked October, you'll almost certainly like this.

[soonyi]

i received this imp in a random swap...

 

wet & dry all i really smell is something sour with a whiff of faint peppermint lifesavers. i dont know if this one has been aged or something, but there isnt much here to give me a great impression of it.