The East

[reynardine]

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

Decant. At first, there was a piercing shot of something sharp, and then the bluebells came forward. Breathtaking floral mix, every note well balanced within. Not particularly long-lasting, so will have to slather, but regardless, I am going to get a bottle of this for sure.

EDIT: Added description since top of page. Edited March 20, 2010 by Shollin

[girasol]

This definitely feels like a puff of fairy dust from just over yonder.

 

Light, ethereal florals that blend together perfectly, with no particular note dominant. There's a rounded fruitiness from the redcurrant, a sweet zing from the passionflower, and a soft green undertone from the herbs.

 

So pretty.

[countessmouse]

Wore this one yesterday and I love, love, love it! Beautiful florals, nothing overpowering anything else, with just a hint of mint and tea. I could smell it all day!

 

This one goes on the must get a bottle list!

[DraloreShimare]

In the vial – White florals, very strong.

On the skin – Mostly freesia & jasmine.

Dry – The scent softens, but still mostly freesia & jasmine.

 

I wish I got all of that beautiful well-balanced floral that everyone else seems to, but I don't. No East for me.

[Venneh]

In the tester, I'm getting mint and redcurrant. On my skin, it's redcurrant and some light florals with mint dominating. Hrm.

[SophieCedar]

Wet:Strong sharp floral pouf at first. The bluebonnet freesia thyme and mint are fighting each other for a sec. It's really strange how serene this becomes so quickly... almost eerie! Bluebonnet is the most dominant. I can't really pick out passionflower per se, but I can smell the jasmine tea and mint. The thyme is green and grounding but I wouldn't be able to pick it out w/o the ingredients list.

 

Drydown: Mmm. light floaty jasmine tea and freesia with a hint of bluebell and thyme. The red currant finally appeared. Very sweet.

[FathomBelow]

Love Stardust the book but The East was the only scent in the series that really, really appealed to me objectively, so it was the first one I got.

 

In the bottle, The East is a soft, clean, slightly sweet floral - absolutely delicate. On wet, the clean scent amps up a little, but not devastatingly...dunno what that is, but it's nice. As it dries the clean scent fades and the mild, sweet floral gains some backbone as a tart fruit reveals itself - the redcurrant, of course! It's a perfect amount, just enough to strengthen the scent and make it satisfying to the nose while not overwhelming it. Can't say I smell any thyme (sadly) but I definitely get freesia, jasmine, and passion flower swirled into the florals. Just a touch of mint is also detectable, which gives The East its "scent on the wind" feel. Not sure if there's bluebonnet evident as I don't know what it smells like.

 

Final opinion: This is an utterly GORGEOUS scent. So glad I sprang for a bottle unsniffed! I can imagine standing on a hill overlooking the Wall, watching gusts of wind ripple through the grass towards me, then finally smelling this, wondering where it came from, and thinking about adventure. Also rather reminds me of summer wind blowing through sunlit linen curtains into an airy, light-filled, and deeply loved house. Aside from that, this would smell stunning in someone's hair - I bet the boys would come running! As such, I can imagine that this would be perfect for applying directly to hair, mixing into shampoo, or as a hair mist.

[WidgetAlley]

All right y'all I just LOVE Stardust so I really hope this works on me as well as Yvaine did and isn't another Lady Una-type failure.

 

Bottle: Hunh. It's floral, all right, but it's a sheer white floral, breathy and breezy, with just a touch of something.... grainy? Jasmine and red current underneath. Pretty but it's very faint and I feel like I can't smell the whole scent. Hopefully it's one of those that will blossom on my skin.

 

Wet: A warmer, brighter floral almost immediately, but it's still that pale white scent that makes me think of shampoo and not at all of mysterious faraway lands. There's only the tiniest touch of delicate jasmine and no real red currant at all yet. Humph. It does warm and sweeten some more but it remains extremely sheer and not at all robust.

 

Dry: Eventually this dries down into a pretty but unremarkable floral on my skin, with no hint of either jasmine or currant. I know this one just came through the mail, so maybe what it needs is a month or two to age, but right now I'm very disappointed that my skin just doesn't make it shine. Probably a swap.

[Invidiana]

It saddens me that bluebell isn't a note present in many perfumes out there because this one is so enchanting. Forutnately the jasmine tea here is the kind of jasmine that likes my skin and doens't have that much of a presence to begin wtih. It's really the bluebell and other florals along with the redcurrant that comprise the most prominent scents here, drying down to cool airy florals over bittersweet redcurrant. There is a bit of mint and thyme evident in the wet stage but they aren't really bracing or herbal, but just add to the cool "windy" feeling overall. I will definitely be needing a bottle of this for the upcoming months.

[milo]

Kind of dry and musky at first, then turns into a fresh, spicy floral. Almost fruity in a way. It reminds me of something, but I can't just think of what right now. At any rate, it's nice to try, but not my kind of blend.

[Monster]

Fruity bubble gum floral! That's the first thing that popped to mind during my initial sniff. As it settles, I'm picking up a bitter mint note, nothing chilly and cooling...just bitter. Hmmm.

 

All of the floral notes are well blended and to be honest, I'm not that familiar with a lot of floral notes so I really can't separate them. THis is just a pretty, fruity floral with a bitter mint note I really can't get past. Oh well.

[Drae]

The East is such a pleasant, innocent candy-like floral. All the notes work in perfect harmony, as not one overpowers the rest. The florals and herbs keep the fruity notes from going too sweet and "young" . This scent is very evocative of Springtime.

[kaberett]

In the bottle: very similar to Glasgow! Ther's a little of the berry scent, presumably from the redcurrant, and a lot of crushed herbs. Also the round green of jasmine tea.

 

Wet: sweet red berries and crushed herbs.

 

Dry: Tart and fruity and floral all at once. I think I like this, though I'm not sure why - I'd've thought it was too similar to Lady MacBeth for my skin (LM just turned into cough syrup) - but I do. It is complex and elusive and smells of summer evenings as the heat is beginning to fade, and so is the light.

 

And in summary: I thought this was going to be way too floral for me (it's a gift), but I'm actually kind of delighted by it!

[puck_nc]

Origin: Straight from the Lab

 

Initial Thoughts: Flowers that aren't rose or violet, check. Mint, check. Thyme, inoffensive. I'm iffy about the redcurrant but have some scents where it works very well.

 

In the Bottle: Cool and minty white florals. A bit of an impression of the chilly air in the spring or fall as the seasons are beginning to turn to or away from winter and that sun is rising in the east without bringing any heat with the light.

 

Wet: The tea or something is lending itself to the family of notes that amps on me. The first burst is lightly musky, but not in the dark side of the spectrum that usually turns way too strong.

 

Drydown: The redcurrant that I was worried about seems to be a mellow and very subtle undertone, making the flowers seem all the prettier. Where in the bottle it was a cool spring wind it is now a warmer spring wind and promising fascination to anyone who crosses the wall next to Wall and into Faerie.

 

Verdict: The only thing holding me back from saying this one's a certainty is that my skin is itching a bit where I applied it. I'll try again just in case it's me and not the perfume.

Edited May 3, 2013 by puck_nc

[welcometothefamily]

In the Imp: Sharp florals, slightly shampoo-ish. I can smell the mint hiding behind everything else, and a hint of something sweet (red currant?).

Wet: Mint is gone, but the red currant has come out a little more. Unfortunately, still smells like high end shampoo. It's not awful, but definitely shampoo.

Drydown: Still a little shampoo like, but softer and sweeter and not as sharply floral. It's not too bad. I don't get any more mint though, and no thyme.

Verdict: Not a favorite, but nice enough that I'll keep my decant. Might try it in my hair .

3.5/5

[schneagl]

In the bottle: A very light scent, sweet with a tinge of spice.

 

Wet on my skin: Still quite light, with the florals separating out to show some of the other notes. I can make out the herbals and a hint of the mint - that plus the thyme may be what read as "spice" in the bottle. The redcurrant is anchoring the lighter notes without overpowering them. I put some in my hair as well, and that's where I can smell the tea. It really does feel like the wind is blowing the scents to you, faintly and with different smells as it changes direction.

 

Drydown: Wow, do the florals all want to come out and play! None are amping, they just all hit your nose when you sniff, and the mix of flowers is so varied that they light up many olfactory sensors at once. The redcurrant, thyme, and mint are lightly there every third sniff or so.

 

Later on: As the florals faded out, the thyme and herbal feel was most present, then the blackcurrant. It feels like every other sniff trades between those two.

 

This scent has one of the lightest throws I've tried, not unlike Mr. Ibis in that I have to put it in my hair to get anything to reach my nose! The smell was fairly strong in the room I put it on, but not that obvious just walking around. It had less than average length on me, only 2 hours or so before it became sniff-the-back-of-the-wrists-for-residual-smell.

[JuliskaMarie]

In the bottle: This smells incredible! Exactly what I would expect the breeze in Stormhold to smell like! Even if this goes bad on my skin, I won't regret buying this bottle unsniffed... I'll just pour it on everything I own!

 

Wet on skin: Warmer than in the bottle, which is to be expected, but otherwise very similar. Basically the difference between the smell of the air by the sea & the smell of seawater drying on your skin at the beach - same scent over a different base.

 

Dry on skin: It's gotten a little richer now & it's starting to amp a little - not enough to be strong, just enough that you can smell it without trying. This is HEAVENLY! If it stays like this, I think this is going to be one of my all-time favourites!

 

After a few hours: It's faded & a little, for lack of a better word, creamier, but otherwise about the same as dry.

 

Verdict: I LOVE this! It's amazing both in the bottle & on my skin! I'd like to try it in a scent locket someday because it's so delicate, but I think this is going to be one of my most used perfumes!

[grnwoodtree]

A floral that doesnt hate me or amp just one or two notes. I do detect something trying to kill it, but it's not making it bad. I would love this as a candle or room spray.

VERY strong on me.

[freyasfae]

I was hoping this would be more floral than fruit on me, but it seems any sort of currant can be really unpredictable on me and this is no exception. All I could really smell was currant with some florals - maybe I amp it? I was hoping this would be more ethereal on me.

[LizziesLuck]

I have long avoided everything jasmine, but I do like jasmine tea, so I wondered if maybe that note would be ok on me? Worth a try, as the other notes in this should, in theory, be good on me.

 

 

Wet: Jasmine. SERIOUSLY?? F U, skin chemistry. Ok, but then it starts to settle a bit, and some other notes come out. The freesia in this is lovely. It's teetering on the edge of soapy though. Some mint is emerging.

 

Dry: This dries down to a slightly floral, slightly herbal mint. Very light on me, my skin almost eats it completed. It's nice, but due to the fact that it lasts no time at all on me, not something that I have a desire to wear. Really glad to have tried it though, and it does turn out that jasmine tea is not horrible on me the same way that jasmine is.

[Spaztic]

I learned something new with this scent, I adore florals with mint!

The mint gives the impression of a fresh breeze over the florals, making me think of a breezy field with wild flowers going.

It only gets better as it dries down, super pretty

The only slightly weird thing I get from this scent is the opening, it smells a little like pool chorine and it isn't actually BAD, just weird

[galahad]

In the Vial:

Surprisingly vanilla gourmand with a floral background

On the Skin:

The thyme is a little strong, initially. Also get tea and wild flowers. Gradually becomes a dry grassy/hay floral which is really nice.

On the Drydown:

The tea emerges again, specifically, a few minutes into the drydown with the flowers supporting and the herbs keeping it light. There is a depth and complexity to this scent which is delightful. It feels like a late summer/eary autumn scent. The extreme drydown is surprisingly spicy, a melange of spice scents from a market.

[mishi-bear]

The East is a fine perfume. But to me, it just wasn't that interesting when compared with all the other floral perfumes I own. Unfortunately all the notes were just kind of muddled, with only the passion flower being slightly distinct from the other florals, and the mint being the only 'green' note that stood out as well. It's not bad, just a pleasant floral with a touch of clean greenery. I just like a lot of my other floral oils a lot more, so this one will be getting swapped.

[HeidiSaysStuff]

In the bottle it is floral with slight fruity notes, on my skin it becomes flowers and candy. It's not a bad smell, but it's a bit sweeter and less spooky than I was hoping for. I have very acidic skin, though, so that happens sometimes.

[dementia_divine]

In the decant: This is floral, herbal, and fruity. I can smell the freesia, jasmine tea, red currant, and mint.

 

Wet: The florals and jasmine tea stand out to me the most, but I’m also getting the mint, red currant, and some thyme.

 

Dry: Now it smells like the scent of flowers and red currant being carried on a cool breeze. I am getting soft florals, red currant, and mint.

 

This scent is light and stays close to the skin. After a few hours of wear, I mostly smell the thyme and mint with some very soft flowers in the background.

 

Verdict: I enjoyed the wet stage of this scent the most. I wish the thyme didn’t end up becoming as prominent as it did on me. I’m beginning to think I amp that note. Overall, I think The East is nice and that the scent is fitting for what it represents, but I don’t think I need to obtain more of it.

Edited June 3, 2018 by dementia_divine