Nostrum Remedium

[Juushika]

Black tea leaf, invigorating wasabi extract, sweetened by honey.

In the vial: A fairly generic masculine soap. The wasabi influence is there, but hardly as spicy as I was expecting.

On me: During the drydown, the soapiness dissipates and the spiciness comes out. In the throw, this is lovely but hard to describe: it's spicy, dry, semi-powdery but not stodgy, reminding me more of wasabi powder than fresh wasabi; it smells almost like the autumn leaves in A Blade of Grass, but with a lighter/greener hue. It's gorgeous but a touch elusive. At skin level, the spice and honey are both more obvious: the spice almost pricks the nose, but the honey smooths it; it's a mild, pale honey, filling out the scent but fairly subtle in its own right, and in no way sweet or thick. Occasional hints of cologne/soap/generic light man-smell linger, but in bulk this is spice and honey. With any other spice it'd be pretty traditional, but wasabi is cleaner, greener, and wholly original. I don't recognize any tea, but it's not a note I'm good at picking out. Scent-color and -texture both remind me of the pale powdery green of (dyed) wasabi powder; throw and wear-length are both moderate to low.

Verdict: Nostrum Remedium is not quite what I was expecting from the description, and (thank goodness) morphs dramatically from vial to skin, but I think I like it. It's unique without being big and bold, warm and spicy while maintaining a sparse cleanliness, and subtle without being tame. I'm glad I had the chance to try it--I think it's a scent that has to be smelled, not described. That said, I don't think it's enough my style that I need it.

[Incendiare]

The tea is very strong in the imp, yet, at the same time, I am hit with something else from my past. I just spent a few minutes wracking my brain trying to think what it was. Shower gel, maybe? No, not quite, but the liquid bubble solution for blowing bubbles. Wet, it's the same. The tea and bubble solution are at war with each other trying to dominate the blend. After a few minutes, the bubble solution is dying down and I'm definitely starting to get wasabi. It doesn't scream wasabi, but when you know what the notes are, it makes sense. Not a drop of honey. It's unique in its own way, and not offensive at all, but still something I wouldn't reach for.

[BoneBone24]

Wet: Green and clean. It actually reminds me a lot of Irish Springs soap without actually smelling like soap, if that makes any sense.

 

Drydown: Fresh and green. It has the biting freshness of wasabi without the spiciness I'd expect.

 

Dry: Fresh and green with a drop of honey.

 

 

 

This scent is super green! It captures the exact color of wasabi paste. I'd recommend this to someone looking for a purely green scent whose notes aren't obvious.

 

6 out of 10 bones

Edited June 21, 2013 by BoneBone24

[mxtine]

Expensive man soap. Very refreshing and green.

[lohengrin]

In the imp: A light, green, slightly soapy scent. Can't smell anything like tea, wasabi, or honey. o.O

 

On skin, wet: Same as in the imp, but with even more soap.

 

On skin, dry: Still sort of the same, but the "soap" note is slowly veering towards "dryer sheets," like aquatics and ozone tend to on me.

 

After an hour: Yeah, eau de dryer sheets. I was SO looking forward to this scent, more than just about any other I've tried in the last few months, but it's nothing like what I hoped for. ;_;

[whitsunweddings]

My death row meal would probably be sushi followed by a good strong cup of tea, so I had to try this.

In the imp: Seems to be mostly wasabi. Quite medicinal.

Wet: Spicy black tea.

Dry: A sweet, vaguely medicinal, soapy thing. It's quite nice though - the wasabi is more vegetabley than pure spice, and it mixes with the sweet black tea quite well.

[Dani87]

Imp: very clean, but I can't pick out any notes.

Wet: powder laundry detergent. Very dry, flakey soap.

Drydown: still very dry soap, but with a little sweetness that must be the honey. It does not smell like honey though, just sweet soap.

Dry: spicey sweet soap.

Overall: this smelled like soap the whole time. So much so that it smells like I just rubbed soap all over myself. When I smell my wrist the soap smell is so strong I can taste it. I don't want to walk around smelling, and tasting soap all day, off to swaps.

[WidgetAlley]

Imp: Clean, green, spicy tea soap! The last whiffs of this singe the nose hairs in a really pleasant way.

 

Wet: Fresh, crisp, Dorian- and White Rabbit-like black tea, spicy fresh green wasabi, and banana-honey sandwiches! Yes, seriously. It's so clean and fresh and cologne-y and delicious without being overwhelming.

 

Dry: Slightly floral banana-honey, a pale green spice, and that perfectly refreshing black tea-- and something else, something sort of water-y, almost like bamboo? This is amazing! It's clean and soapy and masculine without being any of those things to the extent that it's overwhelming. I will enjoy the heck out of my imp.

[fufu_berry]

In the imp: Soap? Oh dear...

 

On wet: More soap, but I got a little on my fingertips when I opened the imp, and they smell like tea and honey, so holding out hope.

 

Drydown: There we go...still a little sharp and green for my taste, but the sinus-clearing effect I loved from Velvet Cthulhu is here at least. I'm not totally in love with Nostrum Remedium, but seeing as how I'm unlikely to find more Velvet Cthulhu, I think I'll keep it around.

[milo]

I was expecting something mentholated, but this is pretty much as described. Watered down tea and honey, just the kind of drink you have when you are sick. It does fade fast, though, and there is a bit of a herbal vibe. Not for me, but nice to try.

[theseagrows]

this starts off light and kind of zingy and effervescent. it definitely gets off the feeling of tea and wasabi, like a cool spiciness, almost. it tickles your nose if you breathe deep. I don't get tons of honey here, this is mostly a green scent on me.

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: More tea than anything. Which is a little disappointing. This imp was a frimp from the forum though, and may be old. I wonder if the strength of the wasabi diminishes with age? This is just a very pleasant tea and honey scent.

 

 

Dry: The wasabi never showed up, this is all sweet tea on me. I like tea, but I have other, more complex tea blends I like better.

[Convallaria]

What I received: Frimp with Lab order.

 

What I expected: Wasabi! And something medicinal.

 

What I got: Fifty Shades of Black Tea. Honey pops up now and then, but Black Tea's domination is unshakable at every stage, even as it fluctuates between different shades. Maybe there's wasabi in there too, but it's too submissive to notice.

 

Surprisingly lovely on skin, but not sure it's full bottle-worthy for me. It might be nice in summer, though.

[roseus]

I love this. Lots of black tea, just a little sweetness and something sparkling and slightly medicinal but in the best way. Is it wasabi? I don't know but this reminds me of something. I have smelled this or something like it before I am certain. Very punchy and natural.

[Casablanca]

I can't help but read the name of this blend as "Nostril Remedy," like a summary of a relationship with wasabi for clearing the sinuses.

This is fun -- the third fragrance I've tried with a listed wasabi note, but the first in which I smell the note more than as a subtle grainy texture in my nose. The honey sweetens the wasabi against a not-subtle backdrop of bitter-leaning black tea. Quite short-lived on me, though.

A fun tea addition. I don't see me turning to it every week, but a good scent for the right mood.

[CitrusFiend]

In the imp, I smell a vaguely sweet cool fog. i can't pick out any individual notes. Wet on skin, something bitter joins the mix. This blend turns soapy during the drydown, but in a good way. All in all, it smells like fancy tea soap. Short-lived but lovely. Like most tea scents it's light and stays close to the skin, like perfume and not PERFUME!! that you can smell from six feet away. A good choice for when you want or need to wear something more subtle.

[lizabelle]

Oh, man. I wanted to like this even more than usual because it was a freebie from the lab, but I just can't. On me it turns into sharp Ivory soap from a distance, and when I get in close it smells like horseradish and a tiny bit of honey. It doesn't actually smell like wasabi paste to me, but the actual horseradish root. There's not enough of the honey to balance it, at least on my skin.

[dementia_divine]

In the imp: Lots of wasabi and black tea! I'm not really getting the honey in the imp at all.

 

Wet: Ah, there's the honey note. It's adding a sweetness to the scent, but it isn't as prominent as the wasabi and the black tea leaf, which isn't the black tea note with a licorice-y quality. The scent is somewhat clean, lemon-y, and vegetal. As the scent sits on my skin, the black tea note ends up being the dominant note

 

Dry: This winds up being primarily black tea leaf on me, lightly sweetened by a bit of honey, with a kick from the wasabi. It's a very light, clean scent, for the most part.

 

Verdict: Not my tea scent of choice, but it was better than I thought it would be. I'm glad to have gotten to try a perfume with wasabi as a note!