Lightning

[iiinterstate]

Lightning slashing the midnight skies over the endless reaches of the ocean. The electric tang of ozone, marine notes, and a drop of sharp rain.

I loooooove me some ozone (I feel like I'm in the minority on this one sometimes) and that's exactly how Lightning started out on me. Pure ozone in the bottle and on my skin.

After about an hour, I got a nice, light (but definitely noticeable) lemon note in there. I liked it quite a bit, but I'm not sure if I need a bottle yet.

[RockstarGirl]

In the bottle: Ooh, very sharp smelling, and a little wet. I like this.

 

On, wet: Wow, this is still very sharp...maybe too sharp. But it smells very clean. Not soapy-clean, but crisp and fresh. Like the air after a summer storm.

 

On, dry: This mellowed a bit, lost the very edge of that sharpness...dulled just enough that I like it. I can't pick out any individual notes, but it still smells crisp and clean and fresh, but not soapy. My mind keeps picturing the surface level of the Tennessee Aquarium, the water and all the plant life. Very wet.

 

One Hour: This still smells a lot like it did when it first dried, but fainter. This one doesn't seem like it has much throw on me, either. I think it's going to be one of those scents my body just eats away to nothing in a short while.

 

Verdict: I like this one a lot, but I don't think it works well as a perfume for me, mostly due to how quickly it faded. I think I would LOVE it in a scented candle or in my oil warmer, though.

[Honeygirl]

Bottle: Ozone

 

Wet: Ozone, rain with some citrussy watery notes.

 

Drydown: It's kind of salty, which I like. Similar to Sea of glass, but this is more outdoorsy.

2.5 outta 5

[greenranger]

I got a chance to try this at the West coast will call.

 

I had to know what lightning smelled like, even though I suspected it wasn't something I would want to wear much.

 

This was a very fresh and clean scent. It kept about the same notes going from wet to dry, and over about two hours it didn't fade all that much. It smelled very much like fresh clean air after a storm, and I can see times when that might be wonderful. Unfortunately I don't think this is a scent for me to wear, but, it was refreshing.

[SarahScent44]

In the imp, this is ozone - as if a storm was about to start, but there are no trees or flowers or earth around to smell.

 

On my skin, it's still strongly ozone, but the marine notes peek out just a little bit (the tang of salty air).

 

Once it dries, it's very light - the definition of the "ozone" type scent - but there's just not enough here for me.

[rusty]

wet: ozone-y. sharp, maybe citrussy.

 

dry: loses a bit of the sharpness. definite salty edge.

 

mm. kind of boring.

[thatpirategirl]

Lightning in a bottle! I can't believe it. It makes my nose itch when I sniff my wrist, like it really is electric. The scent itself is rather hard to pin down. It smells like the ocean, with a bit of citrus or sharp herbs. And lots of ozone, which I didn't even understand as a scent until I smelled this. Wearing it makes me feel like I'm crackling with electricity.

 

Sometimes I wonder whether I wear perfume for myself or for other people. Lightning is rather empowering in the sense that I don't think anyone else would be able to smell it at all. It's not that it's soft, it just doesn't smell like anything someone would wear for a perfume. But it gives me a strong feeling of excitement and kind of sparks my creativity, like I can see a storm brewing around me.

 

It's really bizarre and I'm sure it's not going to be for everyone, but I love it. Definitely want a bottle!

[charshark]

In the imp: Strong, ocean notes with a tangy scent (ozone, I assume). Mmm, electric!

 

Wet: Oooh, this is interesting. I like it a lot. I smell the sharp rain while the ozone scent blends with the ocean, making this a really interesting combination that's hard to describe.

 

Dry: It dries down to a lovely scent of mostly rain and bit of tangy goodness.

 

Note: This is a scent that I had to get in bottle-form. It's one of my favorites!

[fairnymph]

In the bottle: Ozone, rain, ocean. Clean, fresh, a little cologney. A little unnatural (but not artificial).

 

Wet: Something green and a little sharp has emerged; otherwise, it is much the same. Very aquatic but ozone really does tingle.

 

Dry: There's a bizarre glassiness to this - as if glass has a smell, or maybe electrons whizzing along fiber optic, also unlikely to have a scent - but that's what I feel. I don't quite understand how it can be so vivid yet seamless.

 

Later: The sharpness fades enough that this is very bright and still has an edge, but it's also smooth and aquatic. I don't get citrus; maybe faint white flowers and wet leaves. Really evocative!

 

Summary: Though abundantly clean and fresh, it never goes soapy on me. It's lively ozone, faint white flowers and a bit of lush greenery. Aquatic, but not quite cool; it has too much energy for that. Paradoxical and unlike anything else I've smelled. Unisex to masculine. Amazing throw and lasting power.

 

Not my style, but an amazing olfactory experience.

[savage_rose]

I can't stop sniffing myself! This smells exactly like the air before a storm...like the air is heavy. Oh, just gorgeous!

[galahad]

In The Bottle

Sharp and astringent.

 

On Application

Definitely salty marine air. This is really sharp and tangy.

 

Dry Down

This does sweeten up and round out more as it dries down. What I really like about it is the saltiness stays around for quite a while. I am going to try ths on a warm day. I suspect this will be a keeper.

 

Rating (0-5)

4.5

[Seismogenic]

This is another scent that struck me as particularly intriguing and unusual based on the Lab's description. I love the smell of the air during a thunderstorm (and it's not something I get to smell often where I live!), and I was curious as to how well such a full-atmosphere smell like that can be put into a tiny bottle.

 

In the imp: Very sharp and fresh, wet and clean. There's a bit of lemon in there, and something that I assume is the ozone. I can see how some other reviews mention cleaning fluid, but it's not bothering me.

 

Wet on skin: The scent immediately gets a little heavier, and that heaviness is watery. Otherwise, the lemon and ozone remain distinct so far.

 

Drydown: As this dries, the lemon and ozone become increasingly homogenous, rather than two separate notes. I'm definitely starting to get an impression of electricity. Within an hour or so, the scent has settled into something that really does smell like heavy wet air, maybe a little salty, with the promise of thunder and lightning.

 

Five hours later: I'm left with the scent of salt water. The heavier fresher water aspect is gone, and the electricity has pretty much discharged. This is absolutely convincing salt water, though!

 

End of the day: Completely gone. Maybe the tiniest bit of salt left on my skin, but it takes repeated sniffing to detect. The five hour mark was pretty much the last gasp, really.

 

Overall: I was a little bit skeptical based on the scent in the bottle alone and on the wet phase, but once given time to dry, Lightning really did get that elusive storm smell. It was still strange to get that smell from a small spot on my wrist rather than from the whole atmosphere, but that's a good thing. This is great for hot weather, especially for someone who grew up where hot weather meant thunderstorms, but is now living in a place where it's even hotter but with far fewer storms.

[nali]

In the imp, I got bright, fresh citrus all the way.

 

Upon my eager application, I got a watery tang with freshly grated orange zest in the background. There was a crackling note such that I expected my arm hairs to be prickling. Weird coincidence: it started raining as soon as I put it on (granted, half the reason I picked Lightning that day was that I knew the weather-guessers were calling for storms, but still).

 

The verdict: This isn't the floral-to-beachy scent that Sea of Glass is. It's sharper, and there's some fresh (as opposed to salt) water in here. I smell this and I feel like I'm going to step outside and smell the damp, earthy green of a post-rainstorm world, just as soon as this downpour is over. I'm a little bit in love.

[Coldfire]

Imp: aquatic and green.

Wet on Me: Still marine/aquatic but tiny

hints of ozone dancing in.

Drying Down: Heavy but not choking or

overwhelming. It's the heavy air right before the storm.

Wet, green and clean.

Dry: Electric. Rain. Ozone. Energy. LOVE!

 

Totally bottle worthy! Rev'ved me right up!

[AthenaRose]

Wasn't anything special on my fiancé so i tried it on me.

 

Eww. Something in my skin chemistry turns Lightning into something sour and dirty. I like the smell of ozone (i use a high frequency machine at the spa i work at) and this doesn't smell anything like that at all. This is not fresh or electric charged at all. It smells like a sour, nasty chemical... kindof like an outhouse.

 

Gross.

 

1/5

Edited August 19, 2008 by AthenaRose

[isisonearth]

Ozone is something that I have learned to appreciate since finding BPAL. I love how it combines here with the slightly salty marine note and rain that has a hint of wet green plants in it. A beach side lightning storm in a bottle!

 

This is my 6 year olds favorite BPAL. He feels it give him lightning super powers. Actually it sort of smells like having lightning crackling off your skin should .

[rayvn1]

I've had this one on for about an hour and it's faded to practically nothing, but it's really great when freshly applied and in the drydown stages! Then I get the ozone and maybe a floral or some kind of green plant in the background. It smells very wet, green and alive. So not very Lightning-like but completely delightful!

[cymbeline]

One of my frimps !

 

Smell alike: Omg! It’s the "blue" cousin of the essential oils blend I use to fight my migraines!

 

Color impression: Ethereal pale blue and vivid white

 

On me: My mind cannot associate this scent with the perfume category. It’s not really pleasant or bad, just a clean (yet un-soapy) and pure scent, very gender neutral. True to its name, it’s an amazing dash of white clearing your mind (and sinus )

 

Wearing: I glad I had this one as a freeby. I usually deeply hate marine/ozone notes in fragrances. But, in this case, it’s so close to my miracle medicine blend that I think I am gonna use this one to sooth me too!

Edited November 15, 2008 by Cymbeline

[PinkoCommie]

This one is pure Eau de Dyer Sheets.

[milica]

just think of a nice summer storm, with lots of rain and lightnings and nice ozony air after it. and that is how The Lightning smells, exactly like ozone filled air after the storm and wet grass. This is the first ozone scent I've tested and I loved it!!! not that I want to smell like this all the time but it's very evocative and sometimes, when I miss the summer I like to put it on and enjoy. One imp at the time is enough.

Edited November 30, 2008 by milica

[NightingaleRB]

This one starts out very citrus-y on me, but not Eau de Pledge. The citrus never really goes away but it definitely takes a back-seat to a light aquatic and what I can only assume is the ozone -- it feels like static electricity in my nose. This will sound strange but as it dries down it smells "cool." Like, I sniff my wrists and feel like the temperature has dropped a few degrees. Right as it gets on its last legs this one goes a bit flowery, like one single flower floating in a rain puddle. Not bad at all.

 

I use this when I want: something cool and light. Very excellent for summertime, especially due to the cooling properties mentioned above. While it's not Eau de Pledge, it's not exactly Eau de Thor either (as I was hoping)... but it's still a great scent.

[sadtomato]

finally got to try this one thanks to a frimp enclosed with a bottle i traded for.

i love me some ozone and stormy, watery scents, so i had high hopes for this one.

it went on smelling electric, aquatic and lovely...unfortunately, after about 10 minutes it turned to a straight-up perfumey scent on me.

mind you, a nice perfumey scent, but a perfumey one nonetheless and that's just not what i was looking for from lightning.

[rarepineapple]

In the bottle: Lemon lime! V. V. strong.

 

Wet: This scent is strooong! It is very sharp, and very, very clean. Tangy! Doesn't smell like a storm or rain to me--maybe midwestern storms smell different? Either way, not bad.

 

Dry: This, weirdly, has not morphed or changed or anything. What is in the bottle is what it smells like on my wrist.

 

Verdict: Not bad, very very clean, but too strong for me.

[baytle]

In the imp: Sweet, and almost a little citrussy... yum!

 

Wet on skin: The same- but it has an after-smell (like an after-taste!) of rain.

 

Dry: I was driving with my windows down, and (i am vague) forgetting i was wearing this, thought "smells like a storm's coming!" haha.

I am quite amazed at how accurate this scent is. For me, every time I get a whiff of it I get that anticipatory excitement I feel before storms.

Any citrus smell is gone by now, it's all humidity and rain.

 

I applied to my neck, wrists and inside of my elbows, and the scent stayed strong for hours. I adore this, definitely grabbing a bottle soon.

[mhickle]

Sniffed in the imp, Lightning smells very clean, almost the perfume of a detergent, but not all fakey smelling like detergent, if that makes any sense at all. It still smells clean on my skin, but becomes more complex and aquatic.

 

This is a very blue-green (maybe teal!) scent, that's for sure. It's aquatic and maybe a little bit masculine - I get the ozone and water. It's a very pretty one, but not one I see myself wearing very often.