Selkie

[vividdreamer]

The chill waters of the Orkney coast, tea-leaved willow, honey-touched Grass-of-Parnassus, sea aster, and Scottish Primrose.

Like everyone else has said, this one is a cool, melon-tinged aquatic. There's a definite hint of salt in there, and it absolutely reminds me of the ocean and summertime. I've never been much on aquatics, but I took a chance on this one based on all the lovely reviews. It's very nice--and VERY strong--but ultimately, it just wasn't for me. My Selkie went on to a much more loving home, thankfully!

[fairnymph]

In the bottle: Fresh green and cool, cucumbery. Definitely aquatic.

 

Wet: Sweeter, fruity, melon maybe? Still very cool, green and cucumbery.

 

Dry: Floral coming out, something rather heady that I don't like much, orris-like. It's also making my rosacea flare.

 

Summary: Cool waters and heady florals, with a hint of oakmoss in the longrun. Reminds me greatly of The Gibbous Moon.

[gchris]

In Vial: sweet fruits

 

Wet: Sweet and fresh, still wet fruits

 

Drydown:Soapy perfume[/size]

[jwhxtna]

IN THE IMP: An aquatic floral with a tinge of sweetness. I can smell the salty water. Slightly soapy.

 

WET: The rose and green grass are noticeable. Fresh, green, aquatic, and a little soapy.

 

DRY: Sweet green grass with a hint of soapy floral. I'm neutral about this, but I'd like to try it again sometime.

[isisonearth]

I had no idea what the notes in Selkie would smell like but I had to get it for the name alone plus sometimes a little adventure is nice.

 

In the bottle it smells like salt, oranges and a tiny wiff of a lavendery flower.

 

On my skin the orange scent goes away and is replaces with something more green and watery but still with that sharp salt note and a little honey sweetness. I love this in warm weather. It makes me think cool damp thoughts.

 

After it dries down awhile the oranges are back but the floral is gone. Just salt and citrus left.

[mgrazulis]

In the bottle, blue, white and purple seaside flowers and salty water. Once wet on the skin, the succulent white flowers of the Grass-of-Parnassas and nectar of the sea aster explode on the skin still drenched in salt water. When I breathe in, I can almost taste cold limestone in the back of my throat. Green willow and the pickley aroma of the sea aster leaf cuts the sharpness of the marine florals. Only a tinge of fruit from the primrose.

 

The Gaelic name for the wildflower Grass of Parnassus is Fionnscoth and is native in the Burren. Selkie transports me there for hours...

[Methos]

In the bottle, and when first applied, I'm smacked in the face with honeydew melon. Then, as it dries, I start to notice another aquatic note that took me a minute to realize it was cucumber. Then, sweet flowers trail in. I feel like kappa-bait. More feminine than I usually go for, but a really nice, cool scent for summer.

[lady_pandora]

I'm looking at the listed notes for Selkie, and I'm looking at the listed notes for Brides of Dracula, and for the life of me I can't figure out why they're striking me as similar. I prefer Selkie; it's somehow both warmer and more aquatic, like I'm wrapped in something warm and sitting by the sea. But there's a resemblance that's hard to put my finger on.

 

This is a soft, fresh, floral scent that I like a lot, and every time I wear it, I get compliments.

Edited September 17, 2008 by lady_pandora

[ouch!]

Oh my this is a good day!

 

I have finally found an aquatic that I like. Previously they have all smelled like toilet cleaner or air freshener!

 

Hello Selkie...I adore you.

 

This is gorgeous, it starts out as most people have said with a definate Cucumber/Melon wateryness. Pair that with a strong aquatic tone that is NOT air freshener and you have a freshness that's making me want to inhale very deeply and run around on the beach. This is very very powerful on me and has alot of throw.

It smells very similar to Vaseline's Aloe Fresh deodrant which I adore..so..this means yay...scent layering here I come haha.

 

I had so much fun reading the poem in the accent too and giggled quite a bit like a schoolgirl

 

The watery Melon-ness calms down a bit as it dries and it becomes much more sharp and floral. Now it's an aquatic floral, it's still gorgeous but too much could be headache inducing. I can feel this in the air around me and I'm very aware of it all the time. I don't think it's too appropriate for an office...oops!

I'm looking at the description and..tea-leaved willow is something that I have no idea what it smells like. It's a pretty plant though hehe!

 

I love this blend, it does get a hell of alot more floral as it dries. but it's fresh aquatic flowers..tinged with water...flaoting on the sea.

I'm going to be careful with the amount I put on because this lasts a long time and has some punch to it!

[femmefatale]

(sigh) Just straight up "ocean" air freshener.

[rayvn1]

Very pretty, cool, slightly floral and green aquatic. Can't say I get the melon some reviews have mentioned. Nice, but not really my thing.

[freneticfloetry]

In the bottle: A fresh, melon-sweet aquatic. Very intriguing.

 

Wet: Well, it was very wet for a minute there. My first BPAL spill. On my pants, on my couch, and down half the label. And after all that, the melon and honey disappeared completely, leaving me with... a dead ringer for my shampoo. Which is actually a lovely smell, just, you know... shampoo-like.

 

Drydown: Still shampoo.

 

Dry: If you said shampoo, you get a cookie.

 

This breaks my heart. I really, really wanted to love this one.

[donnatron]

Imp: Salt and melons. Heh. Melons. I'm twelve.

 

Wet: More melons. Sot, cool aquatics. Very blue in scent.

 

Dry: Soft and pwdery. Aquatics have taken over. Sort of a weird drier sheet smell. Melon scented drier sheets.

 

Throw: Strong.

 

Overall: Not a lot to say about this one. Aquatics need to be grounded by pretty strong components in order to prevent a scent from going apeshit aquatic on my skin and Selkie is no exception. Will be wearing this imp on blindingly hot summer days.

[Invidiana]

This is a beautiful chilly honeyed berry on me, and though I know there are no berries in the notes I would guess what strikes me as some sort of berry is probably the Scottish primrose and sea aster. It's possible that those two mixed together produce some sort of berryish scent, or maybe the honey is responsible for working that magic. The contrast between the cold ocean and warm honeyed blooms is especially lovely, which makes for an eerie and ethereal scent reminiscent of a phantom girl upon the crags at the water's edge.

[Venneh]

A really cool, aquatic scent in the decant; think I'm getting melon or cucumber or both, similar to a Bath and Body World scent I tried when I was younger. On my skin, it's pretty much the same, with an edge of honey. Not really sure what to think about this one, am probably going to be testing it further.

 

EDIT: The combination ends up taking it far too close to shampoo, like Flora. Going to pass it on, but I'm glad to have tried it.

Edited November 16, 2009 by Venneh

[Kimbernunk]

Heavens to Ceiling Cat I love this stuff. I tracked down a decant on concept alone, and I'm blown away that this really does approximate my concept of selkies. It's very aquatic, with a light grassy/mossy/floral note and with something that struck me as very stone-like or rocky, which would be really appropriate given the Orkney coasts. It lasted pretty much all day on me. Absolute love - I'll be doing my level best to track down an actual bottle, but until that happens I'll be hoarding the daylights out of my decant.

[hmelt004]

I was given an empty bottle of this, without enough to really skin test, so I'll do my best with this one. Sweet and salty and cool, the way the ocean should smell but never quite does. I'm not getting melon like other people have. I would love to have a decant of this.

[Deiicide]

When it was first released, I kicked myself. Fruitish salty aquatic? Those love me. I always mourned not getting Selkie when it was released (and I had more funds) fast forward four years, and I finally found a bottle. Yea! Let's do a quick review.

 

First on the wrist, soft melony tinged moss and breezes. Sweet, Salty and earthy smelling without really lending adherence to each other. A bit perfumey, but more with the moss aspect of Kiyohime changes into a Serpant. It's last since I put it on three hours, where it dries down to a soft melon tinged moss. It has aged wonderfully and is still very wonderful. I'm so glad I have a bottle and I will cherish it.

[Dharklady]

In bottle: Melon and aquatics

Wet: This smells predominantly of melon and aquatics, staying true to the in-bottle smell.

Dry: As it warms up, soft florals emerge.

Notes: A lovely soft, light summer blend.

 

[Vega]

Sniffed: Lush green and watery.

 

On skin: A "green" aquatic - both grassy and floral. Selkie is lush, grassy-sweet and a bit juicy, made deep and dreamy by the water. A gentle, rounded scent without any edges; it's also solemn and sombre, almost "desaturated" in feel. Doesn't morph much over time, just gets softer. Colour impression is dark blue-green, touched with gray/desaturation. This blend resembles both the poem and its namesake, in mystery and wildness. It evokes a wind-tossed ocean, crashing against tall cliffs, under an overcast sky.

Selkie and Long Night Moon are similar green aquatics, although LNM is more floral and yellowy blue-green. Surprisingly, it's virtually identical to Blooddrop's Pegasus scent, even though the notes are completely different. If you like Selkie, try out Pegasus!

 

Verdict: This is a beautiful, liquid, calming scent. I love everything about it, am glad I have a bottle!

[biocarolyn]

I should know that since this is an aquatic for people that normally can't wear aquatics, it wouldn't work on me. I usually can wear them without turning into air freshener, but this one smells like fabric softener on me. Oh well...it will find a good home

[windbourne]

Sweet, summery ocean air and honey with a bit of green and a bit of floral and a whole lot of beautiful.

 

It starts very fresh and clear, a translucent sort of scent with a soft blue-green tinge that gets darker as it dries, though never murky or dim. There's a seaweedy saltiness to it, too, stinging my nose just a little bit. There's also a slight rosy note, but white rose, pure and gentle. In late-late drydown there is a slightly grayish dusty note that reminds me of orris or violet.

 

This reminds me a little of Dream of the Fisherman's Wife, though without the heavy ambergris drydown, and much, -much- lighter. It's also faintly reminiscent of Obatala in the clear water aspect, though without the milky white coconut note.

 

Throw is variable, depending on how warm I am, how long ago I applied it, and how warm the weather is. If I'm chilly and it's pretty dry, it sticks closely to me, but if I'm warm and in a warm place, it's possible to smell it several feet away. It doesn't last a hugely long time, but I can still tell where I applied it several hours later, as that spot smells like sweet water.

 

I don't know that I'd have ordered this one when it was live, but I'm reaaally happy to have a bottle in my briny little mitts now. It won't likely be leaving again.

[Alia Kaitan]

Ooo, this is so fine. I have a new (and unexpected) love. I bought a bottle mainly because I have a friend who is obsessed with selkies, and wanted to make her a little hand creme jar that smelled like Selkie. Well... I'm still making the hand creme for her, but I find myself being a bit stingy and wanting to hoard as much of the bottle as I can!

 

In the bottle this beauty is nearly all honeysuckle and salt to me.

 

Going on, it becomes a burst of sweet, tangy floral; can definitely smell the primrose for a little bit, and the floral is strong yet clean, not thick, overpowering or allergy-inducing.

 

As it dries down the aquatic notes and honeyed grass come forward. I know that's a bit redundant with the official description, but that's what it smells like to me: honey poured on dewy sweetgrass, standing by the ocean. The primrose doesn't so much take a back seat as it mingles seamlessly with the honey. The longer it's on me the better it gets. It is simultaneously warm and light, clear and refreshing; like the sun warming the beach on a slightly crisp day. Yet somewhere in there is something just a little musky, giving it depth. Maybe a skin musk. Or maybe this scent just loves me. It does not have a huge throw on me, but I really like this as a close, comforting, snuggle-sexy scent. And it *is* a sexy scent, but not in a raunchy way. Instead, it is an easy and carefree sexy, as if it takes no effort at all for you to look (or smell ) this good.

 

5 stars.

[Elizabethm]

Like it has been said already this smells like a cool melony aquatic and it's in my top 3 BPALS of all time. I wish Beth would reissue it. It's so beautiful and I get so many compliments when I wear this.

[ringmaster-red]

In the bottle: green, cool, almost medicinal

 

Wet: Immediately, it was a honey-sweetened, aquatic, grassy scent on me. Sweet and green. For a second, it went cherry cough syrup on me, so I got a bit worried. Then it settled down on something that smelled like honeysuckle. Lots of throw.

 

Dry: It went quite soapy for a while, which I didn’t particularly mind since it smells so clean, then eventually went back to fresh dewy honeysuckle. After 3 hours, it smelled like sweet milk and honey.

 

I tried it again the next day and it just stayed on the sweet aquatic grass scent, which I love. So yay.