Lightning

[ModderRhu]

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.

Lightning

I'm surprised I like this blend. I thought I hated ozone, but I guess not! Maybe it's because I went a little nuts with the sweet and foody stuff lately and I needed a break, but I really do appreciate Lightning. It does remind me of rain and water. I feel refreshed when I sniff this on my wrist. I think I smell a little less ozone on my skin than I do in the imp.

Yay for surprises!

[Kayah]

Wearing this I feel like a younger version of myself, with more free time, sitting on my bed and staring at the window as the storm comes in and lightning flashes across the sky. It has that atmospheric feel to it.

 

This fragrance is just wonderful. It's ozone and citrus sweetness - I don't pick up much of the marine notes, it's so well blended to me I can barely pick up the citrus as it is.

 

I love it and definitely will be using this on a regular basis.

[mxtine]

Lightning makes me long for a beach house. That was my first thought when I smelled this. It's reminiscent of many "ocean" scents I've smelled in perfumes and candles. I barely detected the ozone note because it was overpowered by aquatics, which aren't my friend.

[frecklestars]

In the bottle: a bit like oranges. it's almost fiery, which is like slashes of lightning across the sky. jagged, but still light and fresh. I adore the sharpness of it - it's like a summer storm on a humid beach you're not supposed to be on. this one's dangerous but still fresh.

 

On my skin: still fresh, still dangerously rainy, over ozone and ocean. refreshing but edgy and crisp under what looks like gentle waves. it's more rain than ocean, but it's still fabulous. I love summer storms in a humid climate. it's dangerous to be around the water, but I just can't resist.

 

Last thoughts: I tested Tempest and Lightning at the same time and while Tempest is utterly my favorite, Lightning is a really good substitute. provided you're not smelling them next to each other. Tempest is greeny-blue gentle ocean, Lightning is dangerous ozone, slashes of lightning, a storm rolling over the ocean.

[Ella LaRose]

water floral, right after they have been rained on. I can see this being on a man or a woman, but more of a man scent to me, a clean cut, slicked back man scent. I like it:)

[rhetoricians]

I love this smell. It smells like ozone zapped by white light and pure energy, with a faint floral. Unfortunately, I adore ozone, but it does not adore me - this sticks to my skin better than most ozone-y smells, but it doesn't have any throw and it's already almost 99% faded an hour and a half into wearing it.

[lavenderfrost]

It's not really air-before/after/during-a-thunderstorm in the imp or on me, it's more CALGON TAKE ME AWAY! But that's cool, because I like fresh, clean smells. I'll definitely use the imp, and may buy a bottle.

[FathomBelow]

This was just a really, really strong man's cologne on me, as most aquatic scents are. Definitely not for me.

[Urpflanze]

On me, Lightning is a mild, fresh aquatic: ozone and a hint of citrus. It does remind me of the air before rain. I tried it against Cthulhu on the other arm and Cthulhu is the richer, more interesting aquatic. Lightning is a little cleaner, fresher, but the salty, murky water of Cthulhu is still very clean smelling, strangely. I don't think I would reach for Lightning over other Lab aquatics I've met. When I don't think about it, both smell sort of like classic bar soap.

[Balame]

In the Imp: Oh yeah, sharp pop of citrus and ozone. Refreshing.

 

Wet: If you're familiar with BPAL's ozone note, this is definitely it in spades. Unfortunately, when ozone is one of the major players and not in the background, it tends to remind me of Tide or other laundry detergents. Kind of chemical and very bright, but a wonder? Nah... more like electric circuitry than the wild spark from nature.

 

Dry: Largely the same, except a bit more sedate.

 

Overall: If you like laundry cleaners, or very "energetic" scents that are a bit on the astringent side, then go for it.

[Ghost of a Rose]

In the imp: Looks like clear, pure rainwater. It does smell watery, with some ozone but not so much that it is sharp. It's fresh and pure rather than sharp.

 

On me, wet: Much the same as in the imp, and now I can also pick up a little saltiness and a hint of citrus - grapefruit, maybe? It's a beautiful scent, very light and refreshing, and not at all men's cologney like many ozone and aquatic scents are. Like standing next to a waterfall in a bed of wildflowers. I can see why some reviews have mentioned the original Clairol Herbal Essence Shampoo and others Love's Rain scent. It is similar to those, especially Love's Rain. But not an exact duplicate of either. Those were some of my favorite scents ever - I used them both often. I miss them, and in this I think I've found a good replacement!

 

On me, just dried: It develops a bit of a floral note once dried.

 

Drydown: The fragrance remains consistent as long as it is detectable, which is not as long as many other BPAL oils. My teenage son (without knowing the name of the scent or anything about it) said that it smelled like the creosote bush scent that makes the desert smell so wonderfully fresh after a rain. He also said that he likes the way this one is not so strong and overpowering as most essential oils.

 

I like to wear it in my scent locket to give it a bit more throw and longevity. I've got to get a bottle of this!

 

My rating: 5 stars

[hellok80]

In the bottle it smelled fresh and a little sharp, as expected. On it was humid/sweet aquatic notes. It was relatively faint on me and lasted ~4 hours without changing much.

I was really hoping for ocean and ozone, not inland-jungle humidity. =(

[karykeion]

First review!

 

In the bottle, it definitely smells kind of citrusy to me, but maybe that's because I've never really noticed how a lightning storm smells before. It's not very lightningy wet on me, but as it dries, this really tangy note comes out and the ocean part gets really loud--when I sniff my wrist, my mouth reacts the same way it does when I taste salt.

 

I suspect it might not work right on me, but I like it! I think I'm going to stick with Caliban when I want to smell like the beach, though.

[captnklaus]

This one took me by surprise by how sharp it was. It's a cold hard rain, and when I first put it on I'm completely enveloped in it.

But it quickly starts to fade and it goes from a total downpour to a steadier more calming rainfall. But it still keeps an edge of danger that I'm finding myself attracted to.

It's got a bit of the ocean, a hint of citrus, and a lot of rain. It makes me feel a little homesick for Miami, haha

 

Overall, while I spent some time uncertain about it, I think I have come to like this one. It fades quickly, going from a hard rainstorm to a drizzle in only a few hours, but I enjoy the time that it's there.

[asciident]

Wet: Aquatic and airy.

 

First on: It’s the smell after a storm.

 

Dry: Fresh & clean. Unisex. Expected it to be astringent from the notes, but it’s not at all. It’s instead beautiful and calm.

 

 

[puellacaerulea]

In the imp, Lightning is all aquatic notes without any obvious ozone -- fresh, clean, and very promising. On me, the ozone started amping up fairly quickly, which sharpened the aquatic notes quite a bit. The end result is like a somewhat airy take on a standard "marine" scent. It's also got fantastic staying power -- I put some on around 9am and it's barely faded as of 5:45pm (though it does seem to stick fairly close to the skin). I really, really love this. It's fresh, simple, and one of the few scents I imagine coming across as truly unisex. I imagine I'll be reaching for my imp often this summer (and springing for a bottle when it runs out).

[milo]

Soapy aquatic at first, then somthing odd appears with the aquatic, though I'm kind of at a loss of what it is. Something green, I think, but a bitter green, like stinging nettles. I love a good aquatic, but they are few and far between, Ded Moroz for one. This does fade from soapy, but it's still not wearable.

[Winter_Wanderer]

-

Edited October 7, 2016 by Winter_Wanderer

[hexnut]

LIGHTNING

 

Blind test of a nearly colorless oil.

 

 

In Vitro The first word that came to mind was "fresh".

 

Wet On my wrist this was the same fresh smell, possibly citrus or bergamot. The intensity was low.

 

Drying A bit sweeter and less fresh, and quickly fading. It was reminiscent of cologne but without the astringent or alcoholic quality.

 

I ordered Lightning as an example of an aquatic fragrance, a category I'm not familiar with. This is different and quite pleasant and I wouldn't mind smelling like this, especially on a hot day. Unfortunately it's weak on my skin and I would need to slather it to get results. I'm glad I tried it though.

 

 

52

[BoneBone24]

Wet: Sweet rain and ozone.

 

Drydown: Clean and fresh rain with a touch of ocean spray. I think i’m detecting a light floral too, freesia perhaps. There’s a hint of citrus as well. Something along the lines of bergamot or grapefruit.

 

Dry: Clean, dewey rain with citrus and a touch of freesia. Bright and fresh.

 

 

 

 

7 out of 10 bones

Edited June 21, 2013 by BoneBone24

[Aromantism]

Rainy, stormy, melony, perfumy; but mostly soapy. Not a personal favourite.

 

EDIT: This is one of those scents that needs to be worn at the right place. In Melbourne it is like cheap laundry. In tropical humid Malaysia, it turns into five star magical item.

Edited August 15, 2013 by Aromantism

[carbonatedmariticide]

lightning turns craaaazy harsh on me. like about 90% ozone and sharp rain. the scent is very, very masculine on me, and i'm really not sure if i like it? it didn't morph much from the bottle for me, and while i don't hate the scent, i don't think i'll be investing in a bottle.

[JazzieCazzie]

Gifted with an imp in either a swap or purchase. Though I suspect from description (evocations, not actual notes) that it is not going to work for me (aquatics are one of my dealbreaker notes, as noted in my Notes I Love And Hate link, and Ozone is in my "usually dislike unless every other note is one I love" list), I am soldiering through on my awesome journey through my imps/bottles from A-Z.

 

IN THE IMP: Soap. Soap. Soap. And more soap. With a tiny bit of salt.

 

Dabbed sparingly -- very sparingly -- on one wrist.

 

WET: SOAP SOAP SOAP SOAP. And more soap. It's not horrible. I actually love Dial soap. But it is STRONG, especially considering how very little I used and only used it on my wrist, which generally amps the least of my touch-points.

 

DRYDOWN: Soap, water, and just a touch of seaspray. In real life, I love the scent of the beach. But on me, this goes just a little too perfumey strong. I feel like I smell more like I just took a shower at a cheap beach-town hotel that had those little plastic bottles of body wash and shampoo on the edge of the sink than like I just took a swim in an ocean before the storm came. And that's no fault of the Lab. It's just what my body does with this sort of scent and why I tend to avoid it. And DAMN it's strong on me. Wash off.

 

OVERALL: The Lab is great at being able to evoke sensory imagery in blends such as this, without actually listing notes. I personally wish, though, I knew which specific notes were involved so I'd be able to narrow down the ones that don't work on me, the better to avoid them in blends that DO have notes listed. This was a rare wash-off. On to the next scent in my journey through the alphabet (which will be Lucy's Kiss).

 

On a scale of 1-5, a 2. I'm sure it is good on others. Just not on me.

Edited March 22, 2013 by JazzieCazzie

[paraphrased]

In the bottle, this smells watery, sweet, and just a bit sharp. Nice, not spectacular, I was hoping it would become more complex on my skin.

 

Instead, the second it hit my arm, it was like shoving your nose in a flower. There's nothing wet about it left, if there was a storm around, you're inside with a dehumidifier on. It's like being in a brightly lit, almost-too-clean room with a giant yellow flower shoved so close it's leaving pollen on your nose.

 

There's a huge difference between scents that smell like being near flowers, and ones that smell like your skin has become the flower. The latter fascinates me in a way, but doesn't change that I hate florals with a passion.

[seida]

I thought I would like this, and it smelled nice in the imp, but on me it was just... cleaning fluid. Citrusy in a weird way - not for me.