Bat of Health

[TheOneTheyCallLuna]

Goats rue, fig, wild geranium, juniper, sassafras, juniper berry, and mandrake.

My first topic starting review? Wow...no pressure or anything!

I was lucky enough to have the lovely LiquidDakini offer to pick this up for me from Bat's Day and ship it out lightning fast, and I feel very excited that I have the opportunity to own this scrumptious rarity. In the bottle this smells a bit intimidating, I'm going to be honest...It's herbal smelling and a little sour. The second it hits my skin, however, the delicious sassafras makes an appearance with its signature fizzy rootbeer note, and it's accompanied by the sweetness of fig, and the gin tang of juniper. I can detect some other herbal elements lingering in the background, too, but since I have such limited experience with geranium and mandrake in perfume, I'm not sure what to make of them...

This is way less reminiscent of old fashioned rootbeer than Stimulating Sassafras Strengthener, which others have compared it to... it's much less fizzy, and with less vanilla. I'm relieved because I already have and love SSS and really didn't want another blend that was too similar. The fig note is very prominent in this blend on me, and while I usually detest fig, I actually find it quite lovely here...it smells ripe and fresh and voluptuous - not cloying at all like in some other blends. The herbal elements of this blend and the complexity of all the notes prevent it from entering into sasparilla beer territory. There's just the slightest hint of a floral background. Overall, Bat of Health is a very warm, herbal, rooty, and sweet second skin kind of a scent. The throw on me is pretty light.

I picked this bat, in part, because I have some serious health issues and wanted something to support my efforts to live a more healthful lifestyle. Bat of Health fits the bill perfectly, and smells very rejuvenating, like a rooty herbal health tonic...but a really sweet sexy warm one that is totally wearable, too. I can see myself slathering this all year round.

Total keeper for me!! Edited May 29, 2009 by Shollin

[devilot]

In the bottle: Whooeee! This stuff is strong! Just smells, medicinal to my nose.

 

Wet: Still a strong dosage of medicine. Ick. Probably some of the juniper adding sharp woodiness, sassafras for sure, and I dunno what mandrake smells like, but from what I read about it on wiki, I wouldn't be surprised if that's what I'm smelling.

 

Drydown: Finally, it settles down to something tolerable. Wait... it's actually nice now. I'll claim that it's the notes that caught my attention that's causing the 'niceness' (juniper berry and fig), but in all seriousness, it's dried down to something powdery. Pretty nice, actually, if generic.

 

Verdict: Pass! I got a bottle of it (thanks to my friend who lives in SoCal) but I'm passing this on to a more loving home. It's just way too medicinal for too long on me. And even the nice drydown result isn't nice enough for me to justify keeping the bottle.

[msbcozad]

Bat of Health

 

Wow, HELLO sassafras! After 10 minutes or so, the juniper and fig poke up but the sassafras hangs out in the background. There's also a medicinal tang, but it's not entirely unpleasant.

[twilighteyes]

In bottle: Helllooo Sassafras! And who is your friend? Mandrake? Goats rue? Quite the odd friend.

 

Wet on skin: Whew. Your weird friend has left the building.

 

Dry on skin: Mostly sassafras. Sweet and creamy. Maybe the fig is sweetening it up a bit? I can't really detect any geranium or juniper, let alone Goats Rue or Mandrake (not sure what those smell like, to be honest.)

 

It smells MUCH BETTER on the skin than in the bottle. I was scared for a second.

[stellans]

I opened the bottle, and was overwhelmed with the strong medicinal smell. I almost closed it right then and there without even dabbing a bit on my skin, but persevered. It stayed medicinal for what seemed a lifetime; finally, it tamed down to a very nice sweetly herbal blend that I actually like, but man! I don't know if I can make it through the medicine phase every time I wear this Bat! I'm thinking that maybe the Juniper/Juniper Berry notes listed are mixing in a not-too-good way with the sassafrass to make that medicinal smell; if so, it's not likely to get better with age. However, the loveliness of the herbs and fig notes as it blends with my personal chemistry is very nice indeed, and the throw is moderately good, plus the staying power is good -- so I am hanging on to this bottle. It doesn't do too well in my Forbidden Brides locket, where there is no skin contact to help it morph, however.

[fairnymph]

Sniffed: Sweet, rooty, fruity and herbal. Definitely a strong but not unpleasant sassafras note. I can pick out juniper and LOTS of that fig note from Carnal. A little bit of geranium and there is a general green herbalness - maybe the rue and mandrake contribute to that?

 

Wet: Way more sassafras and juniper. Super medicinal, herbal-rooty. Mentholic. Definitely getting a 'root beer' feel, too. The sweetness sort of surprises me - I think a lot of it comes from the fig, which is almost jammy and holding up to the herbal onslaught very well.

 

Dry: Dries quickly though that could be the blasting AC. Much less mentholic and medicinal - that was clearly a brief phase. I almost get wintergreen from the sassafras, though. Reminds me a bit of The Carpathian Mountains.

 

Later: Yep. Sassafras-Root Beer Carpathian Mountains with Fig and sort of dirty root undertone. Really not a fan.

 

Summary: After a few hours, it's like 90% FIG with 10% herbal root beer - so if you love fig, this is for you. Decent throw, fades rapidly.

 

I actually ended up liking this more than I expected based on notes. The final drydown is perfectly pleasant, but not my thing.

Edited May 16, 2009 by fairnymph

[Lamia]

In the bottle, medicine. Fresh on skin, medicinal. Not like a bottle of something, but when you were a kid and you were dragged into the doctor's office, and you had no idea what any of the implements were for, what those smells were, and if they were going to operate on you without telling you. I think that sharp tang is juniper.

 

I found it quite droll that the Bat of Health smells like medicine

 

This turns less astringent and sharp, and the fig thickens, pushing out to the front for a little while. It also smells a little tiny bit like catspit on the left wrist only, for about half an hour.

 

I will wait for final drydown, but this has already faded a lot in 90 minutes.

[angelicruin]

Sniffing the bottle, it's sharp and slightly sour.

 

Wet on the skin, I'm picking up the Sassafras the strongest giving it a root beer kind of scent. I'm also smelling something sweet, perhaps the Juniper Berry or else the Fig note.

 

Dry on my skin, this is still mostly Sassafras, but I'm also now picking up the mandrake and it's still got that bit of sharp sweetness to it. I'm not picking up any of the floral in this blend. This is mainly a Sassafras base on my skin. Love it.

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

i've had real, fresh home-made rootbeer... i don't particularly *like* it at all, but i've had it. and that's what this reminds me of. super-sassafras-y (now i've got Steven Tyler singin' "kiss your sassafras" [from Love in an Elevator] ringing in my head).

and there's some mandrake creeping around in there, too. it might be blending with the fig to give it the earthy kick that's almost enough to make me wanna keep it. almost.

this was the only Bat that i was really interested in and i'm happy to say this bottle is going on to a happier home!

[hlinspjalda]

In the vial: Very herbal, sort of medicinal.

 

Wet: Evergreen-herbal, like rosemary or juniper. It's dark, green, astringent, and curiously tangy in the back of my mouth.

 

One hour: This has gone all sideways on me. It reads fruity and candy now! My daughter says it smells like fruity soap. To me it smells a bit like Agape, or some of the Mad Tea Party scents, the cakey/fruity ones.

 

Three hours: It's quite light on me. But what's left, although gentle, is strongly fruity. I just can't figure that out at all.

 

Five hours: Still that oddly fruity-cakey impression. That's just plain not right. Where's my juniper, my sassafras? Oh well. I shall have to see if someone loves this more than I do.

 

[Hestia]

Slathered this one on without looking at the notes. I am fairly new to all this still, and can't always detect individual notes in this, but was pleased with how I "interpreted" the scent!

 

in decant- whoa. didn't want to put it on, smelled medicinal.

 

wet on skin- I thought eucalyptus (juniper), with other scents lurking and swirling, but couldn't pick any out yet. Then, 30 seconds later, it was medicinal menthol with soda or candy or something(sassafras). Not my thing so far, but interesting - nonetheless.

 

5 minutes later- Blackberry leaf? that is more the impression than actual scent I get. the menthol-y juniper is fading and sweetening and wafts up as I clean the kitchen. I just keep getting hit with a sense of a cup of blackberry tea brewing nearby.

 

right now going on 15 minutes- I like where this ended up. the blackberry I thought I smelled was certainly the fig mixed with herbalness. It turned just powdery enough, but has already faded to almost nothing. I get a little waft every now and then which I enjoy.

 

3 out 5, but I am enjoying the drydown quite a lot. Wouldn't wear it as a scent very often though. Will use up the decant I have!

 

[Blood onmy hands]

In the bottle, this reminds me of Intrigue minus the darkness and cocoa. It has a similar dry woods & figgy sweetness to it, though.

 

On my skin, the sassafras note quickly rounds up the other notes and takes over. It smells like root beer, a hint of dry wood, and fig's earthy, wooden sweetness. It makes me think of rootbeer bottle caps candies in the way that it smells dry, sweet, and somehow fizzy all at the same time. Rootbeer bottle caps candies laying out on a dry, splintery, dusty wooden table.

 

The sassafras is definitely the strongest note for me, but it has this dry, wooden sharpness to it that starts to smell unpleasant in the drydown. I like Stimulating Sassafras Strengthener a lot more for a sassafras bend.

Edited December 21, 2009 by Little Bird

[zankoku_zen]

This one definitely I can smell the fig and and the sassafras. I would call this a dark, fruity musky blend. It's got a slight medicinal tinge to it.

[scrappy]

In the bottle and on my skin: Root beer flavored herbal medicine.

[Schmoozy]

 

Bat of Health is stunning. Totally reminds me of Stimulating Sassafras, but very different in it's own way. BoH is softer, creamier and sweeter. I love how this morpher turns sweet, but then on another sniff has this beautful herbal quality to it. Sassafras, fig and juniper berry are the only notes I can really detect on their own, but that doesn't really matter here, as they all meld together to create a scent I adore.

[ljaylh]

 

I didn't get a bottle of Bat of Health when I had the opportunity, because I thought it would most likely smell very nasty. In hindsight, that was a very silly thing to have thought - I recall being worried about the geranium and juniper being too strong.

 

I've since acquired a bottle, and I was so wrong! On my skin, this is all fizzy blackberry with a velvety almost resin-y background that I think is the fig playing with the mandrake. The initial blast of berry softens up after about 15 minutes, and now I can smell the sassafras more clearly and there's an almost mint-y thing going on - I think this is the 'medicinal' stage that previous reviewers have mentioned, but on me it's not quite going to medicinal, it's staying menthol-y mint but that stage only lasted about 5 minutes. 45 minutes into the ride, and it's gone a lovely soft mix of berry, fig and juniper.

 

All of the Bat's Day blends are genius, and this is no exception. If you love your berries dark and rich with a slightly sour feel, you should enjoy this one.

 

[moon_lemming]

When I sniffed it in the imp, I though Bat of Health contained mint. I couldn't figure out what that fresh-but-sweet semi-herbal smell was -- it wasn't minty, but that was the only thing that came to mind. Reading through the notes I'm pretty sure it was the juniper berry. I haven't smelled that note enough to know for sure, but it sounds right.

 

When I first sniffed this Bat on my skin, I sort of recoiled a bit because it smelled exactly like cough syrup tastes. That horrible smell went away quickly and was replaced by a lovely sweet blend of sassafras and fig, with a little bit of the juniper berries still there. My overall impression is that it's a root beer-y oil with sweet (but not sugary) berries layered into it.

 

Or at least it did. It's almost completely gone after twenty minutes. I'm always sort of thankful when that happens because it means I don't have to hunt down a bottle, ha.

 

eta: I spoke too soon -- it seemed like this Bat was completely disappearing but the lighter scent stuck around for HOURS afterward. It was too light to smell unless my nose was close-ish to my skin, but it was there. I am almost tempted to hunt down more, but all two of my brain cells that exude common sense are hollering NO YOU WOULD NOT WEAR IT ENOUGH. It is a good-smelling oil, though.

Edited July 30, 2009 by karen

[Dark Alice]

Fizzy Juniper Soap that my skin eats. Stupid skin chemistry. But it was lovely while it was here. *sigh*

[Jammies]

I wanted this to work on me, because I love geranium.

 

In the bottle, it was very medicinal to the point where I recoiled.

 

Wet on my skin it was overripe, fleshy fruit (the fig?).

 

Dry, I'm still getting the too-rich fruit note, but also some medicinal zing. Fortunately, it's very light.

[Ravenclaw79]

OMG, this is AWESOME! This is everything that I'd hoped Sailing Stones would be -- sassparilla, a little bit medicinal, a touch of withered desert grass and a little sweetness that reminds me of prickly pears (I know it's the fig, but it smells more like the cactus in this blend). It's PERFECT -- so evocative, reminding me of my trip to Arizona.

[milo]

May thanks to Twilight Eyes for frimping me this one! It's actually fitting that I picked this one out today, as I have been having health issues of late. On to the review!

 

This doesn't change much from wet to dry. Wet, there is some sassafras and unidentifiable herbs and a touch of fig. The sassafrass fades away, and we're left with a fresh, herbal fig. Very reminiscent of Tabella, actually. I really like this, and will guard this little gem as long as she lasts!

[donnatron]

Bottle: Medicinal rootbeer. The juniper is particularly strong and I can smell the sweetness of the sassafras with a little bit of juicy fig beneath that. There's a general herbal/woodsy quality probably coming from the goat's rue and mandrake that adds to the medicinal quality. It's medicinal but not in a modern way. More like an old timey apothecary's shop.

 

Wet: Almost like Buckley's Cough Syrup. There's more sweetness here but it definitely reminds me of that menthol-y zing you usually get from that. The juniper is the dominant scent with the sassafras close behind. This is pleasant but not something I'd ever wear in public. It smells like a vapour rub.

 

Dry: Okay, the juniper dries down to a managable strength and this is really nice now. I don't have any sassafras scents that aren't incredibly sweet and this is a dry, herbal scent sweetened with sassafras. The fig lends a subtle sweetness and juiciness to the scent while the rue and mandrake seem to be adding a dry, dusty sort of herbal feel. Again, this smells like an apothcary's shop but in a very lovely sort of way. It reminds me of horehound candy but not as sweet.

 

Throw: Mild.

 

Overall: I have been grimly hanging onto this bottle hoping the juniper would finally sit the hell down and shut up since it came out. And the juniper finally did just that! A very interesting and unusual blend that I am excited to wear into the coming spring months.

[Saya]

This starts off incredibly sharp and medicinal. It's pretty bitter and I'm not able to pick up the sassafras or fig notes. A couple of hours later the medicinal smell wears down and I'm left with something sweet. The bitter notes are still lurking in the background, but overall it isn't bad.

 

Since I don't want to wait a couple of hours to get to the good smelling portion of this blend, I'll be passing this imp along.

[themerrybaker]

Yum. Rue as in Cimaruta makes this oil smell extra witchy.

BOH is more of a Panacea-type blend (as opposed to normal perfume) that I'll be wearing when I can't decide whether to protect myself from the evil eye or chill out with a gin and tonic. It is also fine in an oil burner for getting in touch with your inner streheria.

 

[tauntonlake]

It's the strangest thing ... this scent, to me, smells EXACTLY like a Cire Trudon "Empire" candle that I have. Which I LOVE. Even though, the only note I think they have in common, is the juniper. It's weird how the combinations of two different sets of ingredients, can turn out with the same scent. I'm going to have to hunt down a back up bottle of this somewhere.