Ninon Bath Salts

[suki]

NINON: HER BATH
Lavender and three ambers with rose otto, orris root, bourbon vanilla, and red sandalwood.

OK, first of all, when I opened the box from the Lab, there was a sizeable oil stain on the inside of the box! Nothing in the contents were damaged or injured in any way, but I mention this to illustrate the over-the-top quantity of yummy liquid was mixed in to these bath salts, because THAT'S what caused the stain! the oils were literally bursting from the various envelopes that held them!

what this means in the long run: well, for starters, I am a person that saves BPAL bath products for special occasions, to make them last longer. Anyone who treats this stuff as precious is bound to have some concerns about how long the fragrance will last, how quickly will these salts dry out, that sort of thing. what this level of saturation says to me, is that there is No need to worry- Ninon is going to be good for the long haul!

Now, onto the scent.

I knew immediately that I was going to want Ninon's perfume, but the lavender made me iffy on the salts, and amber notes frequently go all baby-powder on me. But if I was going to get a complete set of any courtesan, nino was the one. So I took the plunge.
And am I glad I did!!!

The lavender here is not the sleepy, snoozy lavender of, say, TKO. This is more what I think of with English Lavender, like, lavender cologne. the type that a handsome, and slighty cheeky nobleman would have worn to the court 160 years ago. A lovely and somehow slightly sexy lavender, in fact. the orris helps with the sexy part for sure- I can clearly smell the two interacting with each other, playing and balancing.

Likewise, there's interplay between the vanilla, ambers and sandalwood that is really, really special. The vanilla is less a presence than I would expect from a Bourbon varietal. Here it's more of a support for the amber and sandalwood to play upon. About those two: it almost seems to me like I have to really focus on which of those two notes I want to smell more, and then I smell it! I don't know if that indicates that the two are so perfectly balanced or what, but it sure is interesting, not to mention beautiful. Thankfully, I'm getting NONE of the usual powder I experience with amber generally- I'm wondering if the salts are a good vehicle for those of us that usually get it all powdery?! THAT would be rather exciting!

I'm also wondering if, like the oils, the salts will change and blend more over time. the vehicle might not lend itself so easilly to that, but it doesn't really matter, as Ninon's salts are fabulous as is.

For the record, I've not gotten any rose at all from this, but perhaps that is something that will appear with aging as well.

In all, total win.

[violetblue]

Hard for me to pick out the notes in this one, it really is blended nicely. This was the strongest of the salts I have tried so far, which I loved. The yummy earthy scent lingered after that bath, which made me happy. None of the notes slapped me in the face with this one.

Edited April 23, 2011 by violetblue

[zagadka]

This was a little cooler smelling that I was thinking, it must be the lavender in there. It reminds me a bit of Lurid and Galvonic Goggles, a touch on the masculine side and not at all sweet. Which isn't bad, because sometimes you want a refreshing bath, right?! Not my favorite salt scent, but still very pretty.

 

I have this thing; I love scents that smell like paper. You know, when you open a fresh pack of it, it has a soft, sweet, sort of unidentifiable yet distinguished smell. The dry down of this is all paper. I love that.