The East

[sookster]

THE EAST

But there were times when the wind blew from beyond the wall, bringing with it the smell of mint and thyme and redcurrants, and at those times there were strange colors seen in the flames in the fireplaces in the village.

 

The scent of the winds beyond the wall: bluebonnet, passion flower, freesia, jasmine tea, mint, thyme, and redcurrant.

 

straight sniff from bottle is a touch of thyme and mint...

 

once applied this is a bountiful bouquet with the most elegant, rounded edges of floral and tea...a touch

of fruit...this is a scent to be worn by a true lady, in every sense of the term...tea and crumpets to

be served....women with big bonnets that tie at the chin...almost fainting with their corsets laced much

too tightly...men whispering on the side, behind large oak trees, wondering

if they will get to court the woman they desire...if i can envision this, so can you...phenomenal...

Edited May 1, 2008 by sookster

[Tramp]

I had no expectations for The East, but it is made of win. It is a sweet floral with a distinct red berry note and a hint of something minty as well. Very yummy. The floral is sweet without being cloying, the red berry adds a touch of tartness and the mint is just plain refreshing.

[savage_rose]

In the bottle, it smells like flowers and mint. On/drying it smells a bit like flowers on one sniff, tea the next, mint the next, berries the next...it's so complex you can't smell everything in one sniff, and it keeps changing and growing more and more lovely.

 

Mostly it smells like flowers, a bit of herbal cologne, and a wisp of cooling mint. It's really extraordinary.

 

ETA: 30 minutes later, it's hot tea from a Chinese restaurant...and red, ripe fruit. LOVE.

Edited May 3, 2008 by savage_rose

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Light, sweet flowers and a touch of mint.

 

Immediately on skin: This is a cooler, sweeter floral blend with a bit of mint. The flowers have a nice depth since there’s the different kinds all blending together, and the mint and tea add a very crisp feel to the blend.

 

After a little while: As this dries, it just seems to have faded a lot. I get some very soft floral notes, and a hint of mint with almost a little ozone, but it’s not very strong. There’s also another note that’s come out that’s slightly cloying which I think is the thyme. That’s very light, too.

 

Overall Impressions: This smells very airy and floral, as well as delicate. It didn’t impress me much, especially since no red currant came out on my skin. All I got was light, fresh and sweet flowers, a little tea and mint, and an odd herbal/grainy note as an undertone. It’s pretty, but not for me.

[gypsysingleton]

Lovely!!!! Tea - painfully gentle florals (I'm not a fan of overpowering florals, this is just right) a slight hint of mint. My only complaint is that the scent is very faint.... I LOVE It so I really hope the intensity improves with age - I'm catching it in wafts but when I sniff my wrist now that the oil is dry I get nothing...

[theseagrows]

this is a minty-floral tea with a hint of the red currant in the background. i can smell the freesia too. the red currant tends to go plasticky on me, and it's no exception in this scent. luckily, it's subtle so it may be wearable. i'll have to try it once more for my final verdict.

 

eta: a half an hour later, this amped like crazy on me and was Just Too Strong. very perfumy and overwhelming...i'm not sure what did it, but this one is definitely not for me.

Edited May 13, 2008 by theseagrows

[tuesdaynexxt]

This is lovely! Bright floral - I guess it's the freesia. Very full and light. After a bit the brightness fades and I get just the slightest hint of powder. Unfortunately I don't get any herbs at all - I was looking forward to the thyme! Very pretty, though.

[tartchef]

Thank you thank you thank you for making The East available, and a GC, at that... I have a decant of the prototype from She Who Shall Not Be Named But Who Was Very Generous & Should Not Be Slapped Around For Leaking a Proto , and it strikes a chord in me that I can barely put into words... Now that I have the specific notes, by all rights, it should be a colossal mess with my chemistry - I'd never have ordered it. But Beth, you genius, you made it work beyond my wildest dreams, and someone smarter than I had the sense to put it in my hands in an act of supreme generosity. Seriously, The East makes me cry, in the best way possible. It brings up such strong waves of nostalia & hope & longing & relief... it smells like the home I have yet to find. I have never doubted your talent, but this goes beyond... between The East & the original Aries, you've somehow captured me, without us ever having been in the same room. You have a customer for life.

 

So yes. I like this one. To be a bit more specific, The East is a glorious mess of impossibly delicate wildflowers & flowering herbs, dancing in the summer sun... there's a red currant bush in full fruit, and the jasmine tea is just a faint brush of scent, adding a cool depth without overwhelming the rest of the flowers. The prototype had a faint trace of something incensey that I can't detect in the GC release, at least not yet... it may surface once the oil's had a chance to age. Its absence pushes The East into slightly more feminine, cottage-garden territory, but still absolutely glorious.

[soonyi]

wet, bluebonnet and jasmine tea are most prominent, with mint/thyme behind it. that said, this is a very light and focused scent. not much throw or strength to it. I have to huff it pretty hard to capture its essence. i also dont get any currant or "red-ness" from this; it is soapy, limp and not a stand-out thus far.

 

dry, the currant does sorta come out in the warmth but the soapiness is enough of the character of this scentt that this it's not for me.

[tativa]

this is quite a strong floral scent.

I'm not liking this as much as the other stardust scents I have smelt so far, it smells too much like air freshener to me... kind of soapy and really strong. Quite clean though, at the same time. Been on an hour and still strong enough to smell from quite a distance, overwhelmed the other two things I was trying on, and isn't showing any sign of fading.

 

 

All in all, while its not a bad scent or anything, its not my kind of scent, so I am likely going to try and find it a more loving home. It might get deeper one someone else's skin.

 

Edit, great staying power, but 12 hours later and it smells kind of sour on my skin, but alot weaker, I can see where the tea description comes from.

Edited May 19, 2008 by tativa

[copyshopclerk]

In the decant: This smells light and summery, I think from the freesia.

 

On: Definitely freesia, and jasmine tea - a genuine jasmine tea scent, which doesn't smell like jasmine to me at all (a good thing, I don't care for the scent of jasmine in perfumes but I adore the scent of jasmine tea).

 

Dry: When dry, it's pretty much exactly like jasmine tea with a light fruitness - not berry sharp but just an extra hint of sweetness. I wasn't able to pick out the mint at all in any stage, which was a little bit disappointing, but overall this is very smooth and beautiful, definitely bottle-worthy.

[MaeKitty]

This is really quite nice. I immediately smell the red currant and freesia. It's sort of a juicey warm tea scent. It really compliments the body's warmth.

[alicia_stardust]

The East is a surprise hit. It's got a fairy feel to it, and there is an overall light and tea-like vibe with soft, gentle florals. The florals are sort of sweet and ethereal. There's a brief bit of smooth mint to accent the tea and florals, and the red currant gives off a nice jolt of vibrant red into this cool and airy blend. There's a wispy quality to this that I just love and it keeps the florals from becoming too floral, if that makes sense. It's well blended because no single note seems to dominate for very long and overall it is really unique and soft.

[penemuel]

I'm not a lover of florals, and this is a GORGEOUS scent to me. It's light, fresh, breezy, and just a touch sweet and flowery. It's a warm breeze blowing over fields of flowers, swirling around you as the sun shines down and gives you that happy sort-of-sleepy feeling. The tea keeps it from being too sweet, and it's just a lovely scent to me. If you are a lover of florals, rush out and buy a bottle now -- you won't be sorry!

[edenssixthday]

The East - WIN WIN WIN!!! This is a GORGEOUS fruity-floral scent. The first note I is the passion flower, which makes me think for a second that this is going to be a tropical scent, but it quickly moves into the background and then I smell the bluebonnet, freesia and red currant stronger than anything else. Upon drydown, the freesia remains the dominant note by a very slight margin over the jasmine tea (it's distinctly jasmine tea, and not any other type of tea), and it's at this point that I can detect the faintest trace of soft mint and a trace of herbal thyme. This is a perfect summer feminine fragrance and it makes me want to jump up and drive to my favorite teahouse and sit in the garden while drinking a cup of their jasmine tea. Overall, it's a very soft scent and sticks fairly close to my skin. (May 08)

[grashopper8]

I'm not getting the same experience as those of you who love this scent. I smell a soft, unremarkable floral jumble, with no tea, mint, or red currant.

I'm sad, because after reading some of the reviews, it should be high up on my list of lurve. Sadly, none of the good stuff is coming out on me. My encounter with The East matches that of soonyi.

 

Bummer! Off to try some more BPAL....

 

3.2 out of 5

[zankoku_zen]

This is a sweet floral - it's got a translucent, fey feeling to it and a slight fruityness to it. However, on me the sweetness is very amped up.

 

Medium throw, decant wearlength. It's a pretty scent, just not my type.

[thatpirategirl]

Very light herbs, tea, and a touch of fruit. The florals must have been light, because I didn't notice them at all. Honestly I didn't pick out a lot of the specific notes while wearing this, it was just an air of something clean and delicious. It's the sort where I sniff my wrist and smell nothing, but later I get a random whiff of it anyway.

 

Overall it's quietly pretty, probably good for days when I don't feel like wearing anything very bold.

[eloiseattheplaza]

I haven't yet met a Stardust blend that's not breathtakingly beautiful. The Lab description fits this perfectly. It's light, airy and herbal, with just a faint breath of redcurrant. Wet, it's a little soapy, but that dries down in a minute and I get a long-lasting, absolutely beautiful floral-herbal scent.

 

I've been reaching for this over and over. I'd wear it anywhere--it's more subtle than Fairy Market or Fairy Wine, but just as lovely. It melts into my skin. I'm so glad I went straight for a big bottle.

[brsis]

Initial Thoughts: FREESIA! GIMMEEEEE!

 

What else... my first Neil Gaiman scent, which is a surprise (I would have sworn blind the first one I got my mitts on would have been Aziraphale, before the latest update, or possibly The Ifrit after it). Hmm, like mint, like thyme, LOVE jasmine tea, really rather loved the redcurrant note in Spell of Amorous Love... I think I may quite like this one. I'm hoping for a nice fresh herbal with some well behave freesia-esque florals over the top.

 

In the imp: Yup, that's jasmine tea - it's a little more than just 'jasmine tea', to be honest, a bit more herbal, the floral side a bit more complex, but the overwhelming idea is of a really lovely jasmine mix tea.

 

On the wrist, wet: Yeeeesssss... jasmine, freesia, some other light and sparkling, but thoroughly rain-drenched florals. It's becoming more aromatic as it begins to dry, so hopefully I'll be getting more of the herbs in a few minutes.

 

Twenty minutes later: This is a very soft, herby floral. To be honest, it's a touch indistinct - which I blame partially on testing it alongside a very potent, astringent scent! - but it's very low-key and pretty. The kind of thing I might be able to wear to work, with generous reapplication. It's like walking past the door to a beautiful garden full of herbs, flowers in full bloom and rich, ripe fruits and just being able to smell what's on the other side... or like smelling the wind coming in from over the wall. Very apt, very evocative, but definately not a powerful or showy scent.

 

Verdict: Keeper, and we'll see how fast I get through the imp as to if/when I order a bottle

 

Tl;Dr: Like walking past the gate to an amazing smelling garden - gorgeously complex and beautiful, but only glimpsed in passing.

[Brianne]

I wish I were getting the blend that some other people were - but I don't get mint in this one at all. I get a sort of light tea-ish scent with some florals and what smells like a watery berry. I dont really feel one way or the other about this one, it actually makes me think of Dragon Moon the original oddly enough. I really want to like this one, but I just don't know how I feel about it. Think I'm going to have to hold onto it for a while and see how it ages

[meeow712]

I really wanted to love this.

In the imp: I got a little currant and undetectable florals, no mint at all, but it was very very faint.

 

On me: I'm wearing perfume? Really? Where is it? Even with my nose up to my wrist I could barely smell anything. I couldn't smell enough of the perfume to pick out any notes, so this one is definitely not for me. I've never had any BPAL go into stealth mode like this, what a shame.

[mooncityminx]

In the vial: I am detecting freshly smashed ripe blackberries and something rich and fragrant like incense.

 

Wet: Something somewhat floral comes out, and there are herbs. This is interesting because last week when my skin chemistry was different, I was getting almost all blackberry. The floral is dominating this time. It's nice though. The incense and the floral and mixing as it dries. I can detect the blackberry more and more, but on my skin it's not as fresh and ripe as it was in the vial. Now the mint is coming out on top of it all. This one is a morpher!

 

Dry: Mint, floral, and incense. My description isn't making it sound as wonderful as it is. I still liked it with last week's skin chemistry best, when it was blackberries, incense and magic. I'm still getting the magic, it's just very minty now. Oh wait, this is so weird. I just put some on the back of my hand instead of my wrist and it's totally different.

 

On the back of my hand it is that rich smell amped, it amps! Blackberry, yay! Mint and blackberry make a magical pairing. I've never noticed any other fragrance be so different depending on location, other than Crumpet Rebellion. This one is so unique how it is a little foody, a little incense, and a little clean. It's so great and different. I'm going to need a bottle.

 

Oh, I know that the blackberry I smell is actually currants, but they smell just like the wild blackberries that grew in my yard as a child.

[GypsyRoseRed]

The East has a very botanical quality in the bottle, but on my skin it dries down to the smell of wildflowers and a light whiff of something like tea. Very pretty.

[Lethran]

In bottle: Very sweet and light floral, with a tea and berry undertone. The mint is barely noticeable, so I’m going to take a chance and test it.. Vaguely aftershavelike, which is paradoxical, I know. Wet: The flower combination is unusual and pleasantly blue. The flower combination mingles pleasantly with the tea. It really does smell aetherial and vaguely Victorian, a good match for the concept. The mint is unnoticeable. When I say unnoticeable, I mean that I had no reaction to it at all, so I’m guessing the mint in this is one of the gentler species instead of one I am reactive too. Dry: Ah, there’s the mint. It stays soft, weaving in with the flowers as the whole thing starts to go slightly powdery. The powder eventually takes over until that’s all that’s left.