The Little Bird

[VelvetSky]

THE LITTLE BIRD
Traditional
Little bird! O little bird!
I wonder at what thou doest,
Thou singing merry far from me,
I in sadness all alone!

Little bird! O little bird!
I wonder at how thou art
Thou high on the tips of branching boughs,
I on the ground a-creeping!

Little bird! O little bird!
Thou art music far away,
Like the tender croon of the mother loved
In the kindly sleep of death.

Night air, wild jostaberry, melancholy thistle, meadowgrass, marsh marigold, and butterwort.

I'm first? Yikes!

Okay, fresh out of the bottle, The Little Bird smells cool, bright and fresh - I definitely get the grass note, and the 'night air' reminds me a lot of Wolf Moon. The flowers are green and wild - not too sweet - but quite tame and subdued.

The marigold comes up in the drydown. This blend does not have a lot of throw on me, nor is it particularly long-lasting...and it's soapy.

I like this one. It smells happy - like Spring.

[edenssixthday]

The Little Bird - This scent is very green, crystalline clear, and floral, but more of a wildflower way than an arranged bouquet kind of way. It's a little high-pitched when I first put it on, but that settles down within a few minutes, which is when the greenery really becomes evident. Sadly, it has virtually no throw at all after drydown, and doesn't last on me at all. I put it on before I left for work and by the time I got to work (30 minutes later), I couldn't smell it at all on my skin. So I reapplied, and had the same experience.

 

 

[bandobhran]

Mm, interesting...if Rosalind is fresh new-grown, dewy grass with little wild strawberries peeking out, this is a field of mature grass, spreading out in every direction, under the midday sun. It's still green, not dried like straw or hay, but...warm, slightly spicy, and doesn't have that fresh, moist feel to it. Very interesting scent, and quite pleasant. Very glad I got to try this one.

[reynardine]

At first application, this came up all as green stems, but now it has settled down into wildflowers in a meadow. Extremely light and pretty, a nice springtime fragrance. Does require frequent reapplication, though.

 

EDIT: Now that I've had the bottle for awhile, I'm finding Little Bird to be best used as a layering scent. The grassiness in it compliments some of the floral and berry scents very well. In fact, I'm finding I like it much more in this capacity than I did on its own.

Edited April 28, 2010 by reynardine

[Kimbernunk]

This surprised me. What I was expecting as a heavy hit of the night air note (my favorite variation of ozone) with some sort of herbally floral background. It was like that while it was wet. Dry, however, it's almost like birdseed, except that saying "this smells slightly like birdseed doesn't make it sound very good and this is actually really nice. I didn't think I was really going to like it, but I kept sniffing and sniffing and sniffing, and it's a really calming scent. Not floral, not over-the-top anything, just nice and calm and pleasant, like a sunny morning.

 

Overall, it's a light herbal/grassy, almost hay-like scent. Pleasant. Not "perfume-y" in the slightest. Average throw, slightly less than average wearlength.

 

Probable bottle in my near future.

[fairnymph]

This was the scent I most looked forward to from the update based on the notes. In the bottle i smell soapy-clean, almost aquatic greenery with ozone and yes, 'night air' - I don't know how Beth does these things! There's some definite sweetness, a little grassiness, some herbalness...it's a bit soapier and more herbal than the previous March green scents (Passionate Shepherd, Host of Air).

 

Sweeter - and definitely berryish, but a unique fruit note to my nose, something between cranberry and ligonberry - and also a bit soapy. Still very herbal in a slightly dry-sharp & medicinal way - like sage, thyme or oregano freshly crushed, not that I get any of those specifically. I'm assuming that's the butterwort and thistle, with which I am not familiar. The meadowgrass is sweeter and milder, but also soapier - verging now on too soapy - than 'regular' grass. The marigold is the note I can pick out most clearly, and it adds a certain distinctive brightness and a slight spiciness, as well as a velvety, tactile aspect.

 

The has come together much more as a blend, with the berry note, marigold, and night air (which reminds me very much of the note in Nowhere in Particular) in the fore over still soapy but less strongly so base of mixed greenery. It's outdoorsy and rustic and yet has a luminous - I suppose that's the air and ozone - quality - less green than I'd expected though it's still green. But it's not really 'wowing me' - I guess I wish it were a little fresher and grassier? I'll keep my partial bottle, but I think it will suffice. Good throw and great longevity.

[angelicruin]

Sharp green floral on my skin.

[Blithgunde]

The Little Bird is bright fresh and sweet. The night air smells just like night air, and threading through it is an intensely sweet fruity scent along with fainter green scents.

 

It fits the concept perfectly, I feel like I'm standing under a tree by a swamp at sunset, in the early Spring. Underneath last year's bent and broken thistles the yellow flowers of marsh marigold dot the greening grass and butterwort tufts the mud. Above me a robin begins to sing his spring song, but quietly, a little tentatively. He's practicing, not performing. The night air rising, the bird singing, the budding branches against the darkening sky all combine in a piercing sweetness, the magic of Spring.

 

The moment lasts long enough to take a walk in the park, but fades quickly.

[sqwook]

Wet: OMG love bright green-golden with blossoms - beautiful

 

Dry: Stays a bright yellow with tinge of green & hint of yellow floral when dry. I do wish it stayed stronger longer, but even still, it's so pretty.

 

The scents this reminds me of is seriously like a who's who of my top favorites of all time: Yggdrasil, Sunflower, Embalming Fluid, Litha06, Et Lux Fuit, Mag Mell... The only thing I'm trying to figure out is do I need a bottle since I already *have* all those, or do I need a bottle *because* clearly I love this type of thing. <3

[grnwoodtree]

I love this little scent...from the name to the gentle green notes and subtle berry underneath.

 

I am sad it fades so quickly, so its a melancholy scent for me as well. How appropro!

 

I re-applied it and the 2nd time just doused myself with it. It stayed quite awhile, but the over-applying brought on faint powdery tinges that I dislike...so I feel if I am to get a bottle of this subtle sweetness, i will expect to not have it stay very long after each application...

[Blood onmy hands]

I really wanted to love The Little Bird (for the obvious reasons, lol), but was afraid that it would be too floral, too sharply grassy, or that the ozone would go sharp and soapy. I have trouble wearing any floral and ozone notes, so I tried not to get my hopes up. Thankfully, the scent is awesome and definitely something that I will wear and love.

 

This blend reminds me of Rosalind and Glasgow, but it's like a sun-warmed, summery take on those. I can smell sweet berries (reminds me of blueberry or blackberry), but they're not fake-sweet or candied smelling. The berry note smells like real, ripe berries that are waiting to be picked. The scent is a little bit green and floral, but it's a soft, light, sweet greenery that doesn't smell exactly like grass. The floral isn't sharp or soapy at all, but adds a sweet, warm, girly touch to the blend that makes it more wearable for me.

 

The Little Bird is sweet, delicate, and sun-warmed. It really has all of the smells and warmth of a perfect summer day outside. Everything about it is subtle and beautiful. I'm very happy to have a couple bottles of this one, though I do wish that it had better staying power (lasted about 2 hours on my skin with decent throw).

[meaganola]

There's a certain BPAL oil (can't remember which one at the moment) that does this weird soapy thing on me: It doesn't *smell* like soap, but when I wear it, the back of my throat feels and tastes like it's coated with soap. Little Bird does that, except with the added non-bonus of smelling like soap (some sort of facial soap, like Camay or Dove or something else along those lines). I don't get the berry thing other people are getting *at all*. Very much not for me. And I have a feeling it will turn out to be long-lasting and impossible to scrub off since it disagrees with me so much, and very possibly a headache trigger, too, since that's what usually happens with anything involving wildflowers. On the up side, most of the bottle went out in a decant circle, so I didn't pay for the whole thing, but I still have a *lot* left over, which has been moved to the sales box.

[Molls]

The Little Bird smells very much to me like a fresh, green soap - for men. Clean & sharp... It's a nice scent, but not what I want to smell like.

[crebbsgirl]

Like a sweet meadow in spring. Yes there is ozone here, which on my skin is translating to soapy unfortunately. It's too bad, because I really liked this before it went soapy. Fresh, clean, but not biting. Mellow almost. It should be noted however, that my skin tends to hate green scents and ozone, so that that into account with this review.

[zankoku_zen]

Oh Little Bird, to me, you are like this year's incarnation of Host of Air. Slightly more ozoney, slightly more 'fresh', slightly more soapy. I definitely get the night air, grass and marigold in this. But something turns too soapy on me.

 

*sigh*

[lavender84]

It was fresh and hopeful when 1st applied but turned too quickly to soap, Soap, SOAP! I can't remember what soap it was but I'm pretty sure I've used a soap in the past that smells just like this. Very strong throw on me.

[devilot]

The Little Bird

In the vial: Very green! Grassy, but pleasant grass.

 

Wet: Whoa soapy. What made it go so floral soapy? It's intense.

 

Drydown: Definitely still green and floral soap. But it's mellowed a great deal. Slight tinge of dustiness, too.

 

Verdict: I had such high hopes for this blend and am so bummed that it's not what I thought it'd be, though I'm glad I didn't spring for even a partial bottle untested.

[Greensleeves]

In the bottle: Sweet, resinous green.

 

Wet: Resinous green and floral, perhaps some kind of lily, lilac or hyacinth. Very sweet.

 

Dry: Powdery, resinous herbal green, with a hint of lilac.

 

After a few minutes: Faint resinous green.

After first hour: Resin and faint incense.

 

After two and a half hours: The same.

 

After 5 hours: Gone

 

Final verdict: Pleasant, but it didn't inspire me.

[Ashenrook]

In the Bottle

Beautiful fresh greenery!

 

On Skin: Wet

...Hm. I think that I have now determined that anything with "green/meadow grass" as a note does not get along with me. With Leanan Sidhe, it turned to Irish Spring. With Pa-pow, it turned to Axe bodywash.

 

And just like Pa-pow, the Axe has returned. *Sigh* It's sharp and fresh, yes, but it turns soapy on me.

 

On Skin: Dry

It starts to balance out a little more now, thankfully. But it smells like...soapy grass with grain. Bird seed?

 

Afternotes

Pretty much the same as the drydown.

 

 

Verdict

On an American scholastic scale, I'd give this a C.

 

While it did not work on me, it still was not terrible or unpleasant. Just... soap. And birdseed.

 

I still don't want to give up on fresh grass notes, but the Little Bird just doesn't work for me.

[Vega]

Sniffed: Fresh and green, more grassy than evergreen.

 

On skin: At first The Little Bird is reminiscent of Moon of Small Spirits and The Darkling Thrush, but it's actually more grassy-green, whereas the other two are foresty. This is a lush green meadow filled with blooms. The floral-herbal notes add a touch of sweetness, a sappy, grassy sweetness that remains secondary and just enhances the dominant greenery. A simple, pretty blend: fresh, clean, dewy, and sweet meadowgrass under a bright sun. Colour impression is grass-green touched with the palest of yellow.

 

Verdict: The Little Bird is simply elegant and evocative! I prefer forest-green blends and already have my favourites of those, but this is a solid like.

[mistressfizz]

Sniff: Fresh and grassy, just a tad sharp

 

Wet: This really warms up! Lovely and golden, with a soft sweetness. Not sugary or foodie, but a floral sweet, similar to freshly cut petals or tree sap. Light and breezy, I feel like I'm standing outdoors in a field, amid waving wildflowers. It embodies clean and natural, earthy without any "dirt" notes.

 

Dry: Warm with an almost amber quality. Just a bit powdery, with dry grasses lingering. A gentle blend, pleasant and perfect for the spring season.