Hurricane

[KindKit]

The Dark Side of Air: a high pitched, tangy, clear scent -- light China rain deepened by murky vetivert.

Deliciously aquatic in the bottle: salt, ozone, and a sweetness/brightness underneath. Wet on my wrists it smelled pretty much the same, but rounder somehow, the vetiver coming out. There's definitely an almost bitter note from the vetiver but I like that. After a few minutes there's a lot of that tang many others have mentioned, and a kind of saturated blue-green quality. I find it almost dry for an aquatic, creating a before-the-rain feeling. I love this but I wish it lasted longer; it was gone in a couple of hours.

[RedRoseMaze]

In the bottle: It smells delightfully fresh and herbal, with a strong note of bright vetivert.

Wet: It’s still very herbal, but it turns almost floral (that might be my skin chemistry acting funny again). It smells like rain falling on fragrant herbs.

Dry: It becomes warmer as it dries, the murky, almost smoky, aspect becomes more obvious.

Verdict: It smells very masculine, fresh and clean. I think this might be a good suggestion for men who don’t like a cologne or perfume that smells “too much”.

[iamzuul]

Out of the bottle: This... smells.... like a storm. o_o It smells like you're standing at the mouth of a river, just far enough from the ocean that the salty tang is very faint, with a storm rolling dark and thundery toward you. I'm unfamiliar with China Rain, but it does have an ozone-y and rain-y scent to it. There's also a salty-greeny smell, like the mouth of a river. Maybe brackish, but without any real scent of marshy rot.

 

Right after application: I spilled a few drops on my desk when evaluating the out-of-the-bottle scent, so I wiped it up with my wrists. Something woody starts to stand out once it's on the skin, almost smokey or charred. This is probably from the vetivert. The saltiness fades and leaves just that scent of wood smoke and petrichor, maybe with a touch of ozone. I don't NOT like it, but I'm not sure if I'm fond of it either - I'm developing a headache and I'm not sure yet if it's from the scent or because I haven't eaten lunch yet. ;

 

One hour later: The smokiness is very faint now, leaving the aquatic scent of rain or ozone as the top note. The headache was definitely from not eating lunch. It had an odd start, but I am getting more fond of it. Unfortunately, like most other bpal scents it has already gotten very faint.

 

Four hours later: By this point the scent has certainly faded, enough that you have to get close to the skin to pick up much of anything. All I can really pick up anymore is a faintly aquatic, soapy smell, not at all unpleasant but not something I'd associate with perfume, either.

 

Final impression: I'll have to wear this again and get others' opinions before I can be sure if I really like this or not. It's nice, but may not be me in the way that R'leyh is.

[ami226]

On the skin: Starts off aquatic, but immediately turns dirty on me. This isn't a good dirty though. Smells like savory dirt if that makes any sense? Almost like these dog treats I used to have for my dog! Kinda beef jerkeyish.

 

Weird and so not for me!

[detritius]

I was intrigued by the description, but this is one that really didn't work for me. I think it must be the aquatic notes -- I haven't had any luck with those so far. Maybe they just don't get along with my skin. After applying this, the first smell I get is a strong, unpleasant ozone. It's almost a stink bug smell, and I had to resist washing it off right then and there. Fortunately, that disappeared after about five minutes, leaving a sharp but less offensive smell behind. It's much nicer on the drydown, a briny vertiver, but still, not for me. While I do love vertiver, I think I prefer it in spicy scents like Wrath and Bloodlust, and sadly, the aquatic notes are going much more saltwater swamp than ocean on me. I think I'll be swapping this one.

[Dani87]

Imp/wet: dirt, and wood.

Drydown: dirt, ozone/rain, and wood.

Dry: dirt, ozone/rain, and wet decomposing trees.

Overall: this smells like taking a walk in the woods after a good rain, everything is wet. It's a very nice scent, but very aquatic, and I always find aquatic to masculine for me.

[milo]

Light, fresh aquatic at first, then the nastiest vetiver comes screeching in, like a hurricane, I guess! Now it's mostly vetiver with a touch of aquatic. I really thought it was leather, vetiver kind of smells like leather to me. So wet leather. No thanks.

[ajansuz]

This was a lab frimp with my latest order.

 

In the imp: Smoky aquatic with a light, tangy quality. Intriguing.

 

Wet: Beautifully smoky. It blends so nicely with the vegetative, watery notes. There's just a touch of salt and something not quite laundry detergent. Fresher and cleaner than that.

 

Dry down: It's impossible to pick out any single note beyond vetiver and maybe some sort of Spanish or oak moss. Smoky and earthy more than watery now without having a dirt smell. I liked this a lot. I'm not sure I like it enough to get a bottle. I'd seek out an imp again when this one runs out, though.

[elinox]

First Sniff: Something astringent which then starts to become fresh and light.

 

Wet: Some sort of flower I am unfamiliar with (I would assume it’s the vetivert?). Since its light and fresh, I’m assuming it’s an aquatic type of flower. It’s very light already though.

 

Dry: As it dried, it became so soft and light. It’s definitely reminiscent of air as far as elements go. I’m still getting that soft flower which is different than the typical soft, feminine florals most oils turn to on me. Once it dried completely it slowly morphed into something murky, which is not going to be good, I fear.

 

My Reaction: I had assumed, before reading the description, that this would be a mix of both air and water, but it’s just light air. It’s pleasant, but very, very faint already and it’s only been about 10 minutes since the initial application.

 

Rating 1-5: 1

[BoneBone24]

Wet: Earthy yet lightweight. Slightly sweet.

 

Drydown: The rain comes out more. There’s a gentle sweetness to it and just the slightest hint of ozone. Beneath the rain is a deep smokiness that I recognize from Malediction.

 

Dry: A bit greener now, mossy even. Smoky earth with bits of wildflowers clinging to it, showered with sweet rain and electrified winds. Later in the day it is nearly a single note of vetiver.

 

 

 

 

5 out of 10 bones

Edited August 27, 2013 by BoneBone24

[Lethran]

In bottle: The description is good. It’s an ozoney rain scent with a dark kiss of vetivert underneath. Call it rain dominant. There is no skin test as it has vetivert.

[thekittenkat]

In the imp: Slightly salted rain, ozone, and something woodsy.

 

Wet: Now the vetiver comes screamin' through!

 

The dry-down: Other than a faint sweetness from the rain and ozone, on my skin this is close to SN Vetiver.

[mymymai]

ITI: First off, I've never really smelled China Rain, so I'm not exactly sure what to expect. Interesting. On first sniff, I get something that is pleasantry aquatic and musky, which is rivaled by a deep, smoky note, like smoked wood chips right before a barbecue.

 

Wet: The vetivert's smokiness her really is lovely, and paired with the musky, dark aquatic, it does invoke something like an ominous storm. Usually, I'm not a fan of aquatics, but this is nice.

 

Dry: It fades fairly quickly to a light, slightly smoky, mysterious aquatic musk, which is still rather pleasant.

[LizziesLuck]

Dry and dark and foreboding. Also very masculine to me. It's VERY strong!

 

I get a lot of aquatic, and that weird tingly scent that I identify as 'ozone'. Really intriguing, but not for me.

[Missy_killer]

In the imp: A soft floral nestled in men's cologne. It's aqquatic, and not really my thing.

 

On: Wet grasses and light smoke. A chemical smell emerges, like....rubber? or oil? Wet rubber!

 

Wet rubber that later shifts to smell more like a flower. No male cologne, but still not my kind of scent,

[Mermaid-on-Land]

At first all I smell is vetiver. Not really strong vetiver because the throw's not that strong, but pretty much just vetiver right now. I think this is the first time vetiver has struck me as smelling truly planty or grassy, and not just as an underlying note. Soon the China rain comes out and I love that. This smells exactly like a rainstorm. It's a rainy day out so i decided to wear this to emphasize the weather, it worked I feel like I brought a little of the grey, cloudy, rainy weather inside with me. The throw is actually better with drying. It is definitely "high pitched and clear" as the description says. It sweetens slightly over an hour or two to a very lightly powdery version of the same. The color vibe to me is grey pearlescent cloudy skies. On further dry down (3+ hours) vetiver makes a reappearance. I really like this one. It smells so much like a rainstorm I can practically feel the chill wind and rain drops. Too bad it's discontinued I think I'd like to eventually get a bottle if it was still available.

[gloame]

This is more unisex/masculine than feminine. I like it best as a room scent because it smells like clean linen and spring cleaning. Love the smell but it doesn’t work for me as a perfume. Very aquatic and a little bit cologne-y. Smells great on men and in houses with open windows and sunshine. Glad I still have a little imp of this. Too bad it was discontinued!

ETA Where I'd wear it: Watching Weather Channel, waiting for the storm to hit

Edited July 16, 2017 by gloame

[dementia_divine]

In the imp: Ozone, a soapy aquatic note, and smoky vetiver. Vetiver and an aquatic. I must really hate myself. I am not looking forward to this.

 

Wet: The smoky vetiver is even stronger on my skin than it was in the imp. Woe. The ozone is quite sharp, and the rain is just soap on me. I smell like a bar of soap that was left near a campfire that someone may have dropped a hot dog into... in addition to smelling like dryer sheets.

 

Dry: Damn, this is strong. It's not giving me the impression that it did during the wet stage of the scent, but the smoky vetiver is even stronger now, making it a vetiver-heavy ozonic aquatic.

 

Verdict: Never again.