The Phantom Cow of Yerba Buena Island

[midnight_aeval]

No scent description available.

 

I saw 3 of the other scents with threads, but not this one yet..

 

At DD on Friday Beth mentioned this blend was "milk and herbs", so I went into this knowing sort of what I'd be getting... I almost knew this would not be a scent I would keep because Milk/Custard Notes = BAD SOUR EW on me. Neither Milk Moons, Egg'd Mailbox, nor Nonae Caprotina work with my picky skin chemistry.

 

From the bottle it's straight up fresh milk and sweetened herbs; reminds me of a farm you read about in a book like in Amish country or something. Since everyone knows farms and dairies don't really smell that great.

 

As it dried down I was picking up something slightly salty, aquatic almost. Like sea-spray. The most shocking thing here is the milk did NOT go sour at all. It was actually pleasant.

 

Now I'm completely confused because I actually like this one!

 

Here's a link to a small story behind the phantom cow: http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=159

 

ETA: Oh! I know what this is reminding me of: http://www.amazon.com/Kasugai-Japanese-Can...e/dp/B000EZURQS

Kasugai Milk No Kuni. I got them in a swap package one time and liked them so much I bought a couple bags online.

Edited July 19, 2009 by Midnight Aeval

[edenssixthday]

The Phantom Cow of Yerba Buena Island - Beth said this is milk and herbs, and sure enough, it's milk and herbs! It's got that baby urp milky scent from Milk Moon 2005 and a slightly dirty green scent that must be the herbs. Initially, it strikes me as a fun novelty scent -- something I enjoy for the novelty of it, but nothing I'd wear as a personal fragrance -- but the longer it sits on my skin and the more it warms up, the more it starts to smell really, really appealing. I will wear this as a personal fragrance! The milk note mixed with the herbs gives it a freshly-squeezed, body-warm, fresh cow-milk scent, and the herbs back up the natural odor of the fresh milk that doesn't usually reach us by the time it's been processed and shelved in the stores. It gets warmer and herbier and baby-urpier and yummier with time...it's very pleasant and comforting and I can't stop sniffing my arms! Edited July 24, 2009 by edenssixthday

[Teggy]

I have to agree that it's the Milk Moon milk note and herbs. The herbs actually remind me a little bit of Harikata. Simply put, if you like that milk note, you'll probably like this. If you're on the fence about it, the herbs do mellow out the milk note that may feel too warn or sour for some.

[suki]

marsmomma, that goddess, picked all the C:15 scents, and i am eternally grateful.

so here's the first of the lot:

 

in the bottle: absolutely a combination of Milk Moon and Nonae. personally, i hope that changes, as neither of those liked my skin too much.

 

wet on skin: definitely sweeter than either of the aforementioned. it reminds me of babies, drinking either formula or breast milk- that sweet milkiness. hmmm.

 

dry down: back to the love child of MM and Nonae.

 

in all: if your skin is like mine, don't bother. but if you were into Nonae or Milk Moon, stock up while you can.

 

[Ondine]

Yes, definitely reminiscent of Milk Moon 2007 to me minus the fruits and with a sort of fresh herbal scent. Milking a cow out in the green pasture perhaps? It's not one I'd slather all over me, but it's certainly intriguing and I'm glad I picked up the bottle. It seems to me it'd be a good one to layer underneath a super-sweet chocolate scent like Bliss.

[angelicruin]

Sniffing the bottle, this is milk and herbs.

 

Wet on my skin, the milk note immediately goes sour on me. The herbs give it a bit of sharpness.

 

As it dries more, I'm getting something like citrus over the herbs and milk, which is making the sour milk note disappear.

 

Fully dry, the citrus is gone and I'm left with herbs and cream.

[ephemera]

Sighanne, my fairy godmother, sent me a bottle of this after I helpfully told her, "I like foody! Oh, and if that fails, pretty label art." This is a warm scent, it smells like unsalted butter heating in the sun, sitting by an open window by an herb garden. It doesn't sound like anything I'd ever wear, but I keep. on. sniffing... I really think I like this. What a completely unusual, out of the ordinary scent!

[Xanon]

Schackjj - my BPAL angel - picked up the C:15 scents for me.

 

I read the reviews of this scent and thought that this would probably not work with my skin chemistry. I am so happy to have been wrong!

 

In the bottle: I smell the greenery and the sweetness of the milk. It reminds me a the GAP Grass scent, but much more sweet.

Wet: It is still green on me, but the milk is becoming a little more full and really starting to shape the scent.

After 20 minutes: The grass scooted over to make room for the more herbal greenery. It smells yummy! It hangs close to my skin, but I catch light hints of it in the air as I move through my house. Sweet cream buttery hints with fresh grass and herbs. LOVE!

[noumenon]

Weeeeird! It's dried oregano sprinkled over whole milk! I can't think of a single "herbal" blend that I like, but this one is really fun. Totally bizarre, but very pleasant. Fortunately, it doesn't have much throw, so there's no danger you'll have people exclaim, "I smell oregano! And milk!" as you waft by.

[Dark Alice]

I picked the one bottle from Convergence that turns me off completely from the moment it hits my nose. This smells like warm milk and something green. Like an herb you would cook with. Must wash this off NOW. Must find it a new home. NOW.

[freneticfloetry]

In the bottle: Overwhelmingly a sweet dairy. Very similar to Milk Moon '05, with a dash of Chaste Moon. Interesting.

 

Wet: It's beautiful in this stage - still bringing Milk Moon plus green herbs to mind, but there's a citrus note and even the hint of a soft floral underneath that makes it kind of delicate and more complicated.

 

Drydown: The backing notes are slowly fading, leaving just the milk and the herbal notes.

 

Dry: It's almost entirely Milk Moon '05 now, except for the odd whiff of oregano every once in awhile. And I don't even wear the MM'05 that I have. Thrilled I got to try this one (and many thanks to my Convergence Fairy), but it'll be happier in a better home.

Edited August 1, 2009 by freneticfloetry

[loladae]

In imp: Milky and green

On skin: The milk is very prominent here, but there's some greeness in the background. The only onther BPAL milk blend I've tried was The Sea Foams Milk, which I thought was gross, but I just had to try Phantom Cow because I live in California and love it.

Later on: It's balanced very well. The green grassy note steps up, and it reminds me of the acres of fields, whenever we take long drives, strewn with cows.

 

It's throw is moderate. I'm definitely keeping this imp, but I don't think I need a bottle.

[krissstephens]

the herb I get most is oregano, with a very very tiny bite of something citrusie coming through the sweetness..

[Ravenclaw79]

It's interesting how everyone's impressions are so different on this one.

 

Wet, it's milk (not goat milk) and something green, green like a house plant, not green like grass.

 

Dry, the milk has faded off and it smells primarily like clover -- it's actually very, very similar on me to The Host of the Air.

[beachbabealways]

Ooooh I am loving this!! It's the milk note from Milk Moon 05 (not the 07 Pina Colada version) and herbs but I can smell black pepper also (like was in Ichabod Crane).

 

Absolutely NO oregano in my bottle. I think it depends on skin chemistry and thankfully I have skin that loves almost 99.9% of BPAL's oils.

[arianna77]

The minute I opened the bottle I was forcibly reminded of the time I was 13-14, didn't check the expiration on the milk before pouring it into my cereal, and took a big, awful bite of Frosted Flakes and curdled milk. "Ok", I thought, "a few people have mentioned that this turned wonderful on the skin. I'll give it a whirl." Unfortunately, the only thing it turned for me was my stomach. It still smelled overwhelmingly like sugary curdled milk.

 

(I have to mention that to this day, even the smell of good milk can make me a little nauseated, so take this review with a grain of salt. I don't like milk to drink, and it doesn't seem to work any better if I wear it.)

 

I'm sure I'll be able to rehome this moo-cow with someone that milk gets along with.

[Seismogenic]

What is not to love here? Cow, in general! Ghost cow. Seriously, this is one of the most entertaining ghost stories I've ever heard. The mere concept of this oil makes me happy, even aside from the Yerba Buena Island being in San Francisco factor. Of course, the San Francisco factor also made me squee, I won't deny. I also don't deny that I'm trying this one today specifically because I just got back from San Francisco yesterday, and I miss it like crazy. I spent a while sitting by the Ferry Building and looking at Yerba Buena island, and I couldn't help but imagine a ghostly moo echoing over the Bay, even though I didn't actually hear one.

 

In the bottle: Sweet milk with a trace of dry herbs. I can't tell you what the herbs are, except they're not sweet compared to the milk.

 

Wet on skin: The herbs are more pronounced, but still indistinct from each other. They're kind of a lightish green note over a solid base of sweet milk. If anything, the herbs keep this from going foody, oddly enough.

 

Drydown; Not much change from wet. Mostly sweet milk, though not strong, with a faint air of dry herbs. I can see where people are getting an impression of oregano, but only if I think about it. It's not smacking me over the head, nor is any other individual herb note. One hour later, this is still a very mellow scent. The milk note still dominant, but at the same time, it doesn't scream "Hi! I'm milk!" so very much. It's more of a light-colored creamy warmth, and is quite comforting. The herbs are still there on top, but they're still so subtle that I can't determine what they specifically are.

 

Five hours later: Not really getting much in terms of herbs anymore, at least not specifically, though I can still distinguish something faintly dry and not-milk against the remaining warm creamy note. On the whole, though, everything is quite faint.

 

End of the day: The parts of my wrists that had oil on them definitely smell different than the parts that didn't, but they don't smell anything like the scent I was describing earlier in the day! If anything, the faint note that's left is reminiscent of saltwater! This makes sense for the whole island factor of the Cow's haunting grounds, but it's still weird that I didn't catch wind of it at all until the scent is almost entirely gone.

 

Overall: This was my first experience with a majorly cream/milk-based scent, and I'll admit that I was a little wary of it, no matter how much I adore the concept behind the scent. Well, my worries were overblown or unfounded. I found Phantom Cow to be a very soft, pleasant, and even comforting scent. I definitely got more milk than herbs by a long shot, but the herbs were present enough to give the oil atmosphere and keep it from veering into purely foody waters. Once it has settled, I can picture the Cow in question relaxing happily among the island greenery, perhaps finally reunited with her ghost calf - and I think it has to be that sort of happy ending, since this scent registers to me as peaceful, rather than rank with spectral bovine rage. I was going to remark on two things: One, that this does not, for all its awesomeness, particularly remind me of San Francisco, and Two, that the salt water at the end is bizarre. This has since wrapped itself up neatly in my mind, however - saltwater surrounding Yerba Buena Island implies San Francisco Bay! I smell like San Francisco after all! Squee. How can I lose, when I get to smell like my favorite city, and like a ghost cow, all on the same day?

[Prism]

I love milk notes. Well, specifically this one.

 

That said- wet on skin this reminds me INSTANTLY of white Rabbit actually. It's got the same milk note as milk moon 07 (love), but it reminds me more of white rabbit because i'm getting a citrusy scent alongside.

 

Drydown - this morphs a little on me. the milk vanishes for a little while (phantom cow indeed), and I get dusty light florals (I suppose this could be dust + sweet herbs and I just dont have a trained enough nose to differentiate). Then the milk note comes back sweeter. and i start smelling the herbal scent that people are thinking is oregano, but i dont think it is.

 

dry - herbs & milk. It's a very faint scent on me though. Milk Moon and White Rabbit are 10 and 9 on my scale, this is only about a 7 i think.

 

 

Will update later with what it becomes later.

[Eros]

Wet/just applied, very much a combination of both Milk Moons, leaning a bit towards '07. As it warms to the skin it goes in the other direction, Milk Moon '05, one of my all-time favorites =) A hint of minty herbs peeks through(yerba buena, my grandma used to grow it), very soft, with a touch of herbal tea. The milky note is very rich, warm and comforting. Like the sweet, honeyed-cream breath of a puppy before it's been weaned

 

*LOVE*

Edited August 9, 2009 by Eros

[fairnymph]

Sniffed: Grass and slightly sour milk. Oddly sort of refreshing.

 

Wet: Same, maybe a little sweeter. A little bit of an herbal soap edge, or something like a natural cleaning product. The milk is thin, but has a bit of weak creaminess to it.

 

Dry: Much, much sweeter, creamier, richer, and stronger with more powerful throw. It has an almost fruitness to it. Reminds me of a grassy version of Nonae Caprotina.

 

Summary: Sweetness dies down but the milk mostly holds as the grass amps. Overall not a lot of morphing. Great throw & longevity.

[moon_lemming]

I thought at first, in the imp, that Phantom Cow smelled like a sweet herb, like chamomile or something, but upon reflection, I think it is a less sweet herb mixing with the sweet milk scent. I'm not sure what herb it is but just saying "herbal" will cover it, I guess.

 

Okay, once I put this on my skin I got SO EXCITED because it smelled similar to CHASTE MOON, one of my favorite BPALs ever. The milk didn't turn to butter like the Lab's milk notes usually do, and the herbs mixed with a grassy scent, and the combination was awesome.

 

Then ten minutes later the milk note decided to turn to butter after all, ugh. It was a great blend while the milk behaved itself, though; if it had stayed like that (read: if my skin did not hate milk notes) I would have had to hunt down a bottle.

[jewelbug]

Bottle: Undeniably the labs milk note from MM07. Very sweet and strong. I also get a has a fruity citrus vibe, kind of acidic, but like a sweet pithy citrus.

 

Wet: A very "fresh" milk scent, if that makes any sense. It has a clean herbal/grassy tone, not unlike dandelions, and sort of reminds me more of Ichabod crane (with its clean lily-floral milk) than MM07. The citrus note from the bottle remains detectable--still not sure exactly what fruit it is, but it does smell a bit sweet/acid fruity. You know, maybe its orange blossom?

 

Drying: LUSH store and milk. You know that kinda "lush" scentthing that goes through all of their products and dominates their store? The kinda citrusy clean thing? I get that and bpal's milk note. Its quite lovely. I also get some drier almost dusty grasses (hay??) every now and again, and maybe the slightest hint of citrusy woods (bambooish?). This is sweet and milky, but also herbal/clean/fresh. At some points in the later dry down I wonder if there's copal here--I get the citrusy clean thing that Xiutech and Giant Vulva give me--along w/milk and the LUSH note. Lasts about 5-6 hrs, stays fairly close to the skin the whole time.

 

Overall: Very nice indeed. As a bpal milk lover, this is right up my alley! This is definitely less milky/sour than Milk moon ’07, and reminds me more of Ichabod Crane (which, sadly, I recently swapped, so I can’t compare directly). But it has a more fresh/clean/herbal/floral feeling like IC did, and the milk/herbal/clean are in a really nice balance with each other (milk usually amps on me—not that I mind!--but here it plays very nicely w/the other notes).

 

eta a sniff off (MM07, Nonae and Moo): Milk Moon 07 is much sweeter, has a stronger milk note, and is more acid/fruity/pineapple--bright tropical milk. Nonae caprotina is far more round, rich, buttery-milky and leans more towards foody than the other 2. By comparison, the cow smells floral/green/clean, and even a wee bit dusty/woody (huh, I wonder if its a dusty sage note?) and the milk note is less pronounced in cow than the other two(at least, on me). In the context of the other two milk blends, this one smells of dusty sage, citrus-flower (copal?) milk.

Edited August 12, 2009 by jewelbug

[hlinspjalda]

In the bottle: Milky, with flowering herbs.

 

Wet: Herbal floral, rather sweet. Where did that odd milky note go? This has just a touch of roasted dairy about it, like ghee or kheer or one of the Indian milk sweets based on slow-cooked milk. This is so weird, but it could just work!

 

One hour: Yep, definitely an Indian roasted milk product. This smells like an Indian milk sweet flavored with a less sweet than usual floral. It works on me, and I think it smells nice, but I'm not sure I ever want to smell like an Indian sweet. My husband is already confused enough by all the unusual scents, I'm trying to keep foody out of the equation!

 

Two hours: Still very true to the roasted milk scent. It also reminds me a bit of fried cheese, i.e., the kind of cheese that is hard enough to cook on a griddle and gets lovely and crusty and brown. Very foody, in a quite pleasant way, but definitely not a perfume I need to keep.

 

Six hours: Very consistently roasted milk, sweetish, quite pleasant. Nevertheless, not my style. I bet someone I know will adore it, though.

 

[Suu4LC]

So a lovely bpal angel grabbed me all the convergence blends, but I won't lie, when I heard about a milky cow one, my stomach turned just a bit. Bpal milk doesn't really like me. Truth be told, regular milk doesn't like me (or my tummy) either, so I am a bit scared to try this. But in the name of bpal and science, I need to at least give it a shot!

 

In the bottle this is OMG MILK, a bit sour, thick, and kind of like baby formula to my nose >_< There is something herby under the milk, but I can't quite pinpoint what...

 

Ok, it's a bit better on my skin...a thick rich milky kind of scent mixed with something herby and green. Less baby spittupy, and more smooth. The throw is quite strong. This wouldn't be a thin white milk, this is like a sort of yellowy, uber thick creamy milk. Still a bit sour though. I mean, I won't lie, it still turns my stomach a bit...

 

This blend has great lasting power and on full drydown loses a bit of that sour edge from before. It becomes a warmer kind of milk scent. I lose most of the herbs or whatever greenery was in the blend.

 

If you are a bpal Milk lover you will HAVE to track down this scent. If you are a bpal Milk hater, this probably won't change your mind. If you are in between you should at least seek out a decant of this one!

[whateverish]

i smell entirely sour milk - i have to say i almost got a bottle of this, but then i thought. do i REALLY want to smell like curdled milk and herbs all day? and the answer was, predictably enough (for me at least), no. still a rather uh. interesting scent though.