Windward Passage

[Sultaana]

Breezes blowing off of the waters of the Caribbean: marine accord, seaweed, and bladderwrack.

I was so curious about what an aquatic smelled like, and I consider my curiosity completely satisfied after this vial. It is strong and soapy! I understand why scents like this are considered "aquatics", since just smelling them reminds me of getting in the shower after a boyfriend. I really wish I smelled more seaweed. Overall, this will help with future BPAL purchases since I know aquatics are not for me. Edited February 20, 2011 by Shollin

[alterosen]

I don't really care for aquatics too much but I did kinda like this one.

 

Clean, a little salty & quite masculine without too much harshness.

 

For some reason, it smells a bit like berries (okay, maybe berries & a nice cologne) once dry

but I seem to be the only one noticing that so it might be due to my skin's tendency lately to sweeten/turn-to-candy random things.

 

Worth testing this one on the DH

[voorishsign]

Lately I've been getting more and more interested in BPAL's aquatics and so I'm trying to work my way through a few choice ones

 

In the imp this is a sweet, soapy aquatic, very caribbean as the name says. It goes on clean and cool and sweet. On drydown, it remains a squeaky clean, soft, slightly sweet and slightly greenish aquatic. Very nice, but not as good as some of my favourite aquatics - at least not on me.

[loubric]

Mmmmm in the IMP it smells like a lovely sea salt, fruity bath oil. Very cool and soothing (reminds me of the Radox bath oil I used to use when I was a teenager)

 

On me it’s all soapy, sea-salt, watery goodness. It’s a lovely clean lemony scent that doesn’t disappoint at all.

[ajansuz]

This was a frimp, and it was everything I had hoped Cthulhu would be when I read the description. This is the first BPAL that both works for me and my husband and smells the same on each of us. Everything else we share smells very different on us.

 

In the imp, it has a wonderfully clean, salty scent. It's hard to describe this accurately. It's like that electrolyte, thirst quenching part of Gatorade without the flavoring or generic froot smell. There's a little bit of a lemony tang that's probably the bladderwort.

 

Wet, the clean aquatic and brine amp on both of us without going deodorant soap or Tide like Cthulhu did on me.

 

Dry down, the scent stays remarkably the same. It has a medium throw and lasts for 10+ hours. This is a wonderful summer scent, something I will likely often wear to the beach or outdoor parties. I adore it!

[RhinestoneHousewife]

This was super aquatic and soapy on me and not in a good way, unfortunately.

[Monday]

This turned into toilet freshener in no time on me I wanted to like this one so much!

[melrose]

This was quite intriguing in the frimp - salty, aquatic (not in a nauseating way), and a hint of something I can't figure out.

 

On my skin, my stupid skin chemistry turned this into a boring, one-note aquatic.

 

Bummer.

[angelamaria]

In imp: marine, seaside, very salty. And I mean, very salty--when I sniff, I get the saltiness even right at the back of my throat, like I'm inhaling in sea spray. Obviously, very evocative.

 

Wet on skin: very nice reminder of the beach, at sea--a clean and salty aquatic with a bit of floral-type sweetness to it. There's a bit more green-ness coming out as it dries, but I still think it's more floral than green. Soapy, and maybe slightly citrusy. I can't see myself wearing this for sure, but it's really amazing how evocative some of Beth's blends are...

 

Dry: soapy marine/aquatic blend. Dry, and as the minutes drag on, it goes a bit flat on my skin, and throw is faint--but what there is, is beautifully evocative.

 

Verdict: not for me, but a very interesting scent that's worth a sniff for the experience.

[Doc M]

Frimp from the lab.

In vial: aquatic cologne.

Prognosis: Not really getting the seaweed...

On skin: Oop, there it is! Aquatic cologne, seaweed, kelp, and something kind of sweet like a floral. As time goes on, I start amping the kelp and it becomes extremely strong and sweet but in a mellow way. This would be a good scent to wear while doing dirty chores!

Diagnosis: Good but not really me. Might swap.

[neverything]

in bottle: Sea spray, fresh air, and adventure.

 

on me: Dead things washed up on a beach.

[titania]

This began as fresh laundry and wind and sea. It stayed very close to the skin. It started to smell like the wind blowing off the sea, and there was a tiny hint of underwater seaweed, maybe? It got even better when it settled down and melded with my chemistry.

 

The funny thing about this perfume is that after a while, I smelled sugar. Not too sweet or rough, just really yummy and deep. More like brown sugar than white sugar. Then I smelled a tiny hint of what I can only describe as a more grown up, sophisticated, understated, and all around better version of Aquolina Pink Sugar. Nom. I don't know how my skin did this.

 

A bit later I noticed some ocean saltiness, though the sweetness was still there.

 

I really enjoyed this one. I've wanted a nice aquatic scent and this might fit the bill. Also, the yummyness!

[KatharinaNordh]

On me; smells like getting into my ex's shower after he'd been in it.

We're still very good friends and all, so there's no negative memories associated with that - and it's Not a bad smell (I secretly feel very safe and warm from it) but very...well...shower.

[persephonehazard]

In the imp - hmm. My first thought is 'toilet cleaner'. I don't get any salt or brine or water from this, which makes me sad. There's also some kind of weird floral I can't identify, and I'm already wondering if aquatics possibly just aren't my thing.

 

On my skin, still wet, it's just the same but remarkably amped. Over the next hour or so it turns into incredibly soapy blue bubble bath with a remarkable throw that tickles my nose constantly. I'm pondering washing it off - and hoping that nobody else is bothered by it, as I'm at work by this point - when, thankfully, it starts to fade.

 

I'm expecting that to be it, game over, when I realise that what it's fading into is a smudge of salt very close to my skin. It's more what I was after but it's very faint, and I have to basically bury my nose in the crook of my elbow to get it at all.

 

This one's not for me, I suspect.

[KissleMeNow]

Wet, it was detergent. Then as it dried, this was the scent of the sea. You know, the damp, salty ocean air that sometimes blows inland and makes you raise your head and inhale until your lungs are full... it was exactly what I hoped for. Until about forty minutes after application, when it was so faint I had to smush my nose into my wrist and snort to smell it at all.

 

I'm so terribly torn. The dry scent is incredible, but it fades so quickly and so much.

[primadonna]

I was extremely surprised when I smelled this scent, I don't really know what I was expecting though...

 

Out of the imp: oh my gosh, that's men's cologne. It immediately reminded me of irish springs soap. I can definitely pick up the seaweed and salt notes out of the imp.

 

Dry on skin: Well on me, it smells like I washed with Irish Springs and forgot to rinse it off lol. It's a nice clean, fresh scent, just not for me.

 

Maybe my boyfriend would like it more than I did?

[ShadesOfFree]

On me this smells like a nice version of 'linen' scents - detergent, fabric softener, something like that - but with something sharp added. Probably salt?

 

It's not a bad scent, but it's not one I would wear. I'm not one for fresh/aquatic scents, generally. I'll see if my mom or my sister like it, otherwise it will be swapping.

[tharsei-thanate]

Imp from cyndaelle!

 

Imp: Somewhat salty and soapy (but in a good way!) aquatic with a tang of something I can't place. Image that came to mind was a bathroom with dark blue tile with an open window overlooking the sea and bright blue sky.

 

Wet: Linens! Fluffy, freshly laundered light blue and white linens brought into the bathroom. I love the smell of linen so I'm in heaven.

 

Drydown: The scent deepens, but it's hard to really describe. Image is that same bathroom only the sun is setting. I can't accurately tell you how the scent itself changes but while it's still definitely clean soap and linen it's... I don't know. It's more sophisticated? Goodness, this is more tricky than it ought to be.

 

Dry: Still that deeper sort of linen scent intermixed with a somewhat salty aquatic and a suggestion of that tang from the imp. Not much throw. Image now is the sun just below the horizon, when the sky hasn't gone full dark yet.

 

Overall: Very clean and very nice. I was expecting it to be more like the ocean and sea air but smelling predominately like clean soap and linen is fine with me! Just wish it lasted longer.

[Poenari]

Frimp from the Lab: this is soap and water... slightly salty... ok, I'm standing under a saltwater shower soaping up. That's pretty much it. Not unpleasant, but not my type of scent.

[Ajila]

In the bottle - Soapy, salty sea water

 

Wet on me - Soapy seawater

 

Dry on me - Slightly dirty soapy water

 

Overall - Didn't really work on me

[psychocygnet]

On me, this went from a sharp green smell that reminded me of aquarium water to something that was impressively close to an ocean smell to a vague, sweet green. Right now it just smells like this allegedly rain-scented body wash that I used to have.

 

Apparently, aquatics are not for me- even during the oceany part, I wasn't particularly comfortable with the scent, which is strange because I love the smell of the actual (Pacific) ocean.

[applecider10]

In the vial, it didn't smell ocean-y at all. On the skin, though, it turned into something salty and authentically marine -- it smells very strongly of seaweed to my nose. I thought it was fun and will give it another try.

[BoneBone24]

Wet: A clean, clear, and salty aquatic. It smells like the same ocean note that’s in Sea Foam’s Milk.

 

Drydown/Dry: Deeper now, more similar to R’Lyeh (which I love). There’s definitely some ambergris and perhaps a blackened wood note of some sort. Slightly frothy. There’s a touch of greenery, most likely the seaweed and perhaps some eucalyptus too. All in all, it’s a refreshing true-aquatic with a surprising amount of depth.

 

 

 

 

7.5 out of 10 bones

[mymymai]

In the Imp (ITI): It's aquatic, but it has a masculine tone to the briney nature of the sent.

 

Wet: Now it reminds me of Lysol disinfectant, salt, and ocean breeze Glade plug-in.

 

Dry: It softens some after drying,but maintains that same Lysol, Glade and sea salt quality as it did when wet. It;s not bad - just not me.

[nightwing]

Wet: Lemony soap. It's just an extremely bright, soapy lemon. Nothing aquatic about it at all, and certainly nothing like the salt sea air smell I was hoping for...

Drying: Okay, I am getting salty now. It's kind of a salty white floral citrus right now. Everyone tells me this is a super oceanic scent, but I'll take Jolly Roger any day when seeking a hit of the ocean. That one smells exactly like old ships and sea breeze to me, where this is just a salty bright ozone.

 

Dry: Okay, I'm finally getting something that feels like ocean, specifically ocean through Caribbean flowers. I smell a hint of something coconutty, and it's a very bright and clean scent. The longer it dries, the more like the ocean it smells, but it's not the harsh New England ocean I know, but as the notes say, some scent from a big sandy beach filled with flowers. I think my review sounds a lot more critical than I mean it, but this was a scent I had a strong expectation for and it turned out totally different in a bad way, though the scent is nice and I can see myself wearing it during the summer.

 

--edit--

I figured out why this scent is so nagging. My brother had a cologne called something like Blue that was almost exactly like this that I stole all the time when I was in middle school. It was one of those cheap aquatic scents and I don't think I'll be able to shake the association.

Edited November 22, 2014 by nightwing