Baobhan Sith

[coulrophobe]

The ghostly White Women of the Scottish highlands. They seduce unwary travelers by night with their unearthly beauty and mesmerizing dancing. They engage their victims in a wild, hypnotic dance, and once they reach exhaustion, the demonesses exsanguinate their partners with their vampiric kiss. Talk about a quick courtship. Grapefruit, white tea, apple blossom and ginger.

In the imp: Very citrusy - this scent has a bite to it.

On: There's a bright splash of grapefruit at first, then it calms down and I can catch whiffs of florals. Unfortunately, however, white tea has a muting effect on my skin - Baobhan Sith is a very light, subtle scent on me. Lovely, but barely there, and so pure and innocent smelling - not what I expected from the name.

Still, it's lovely enough that I'm praying for a good grapefruit crop, so perhaps it could be resurrected someday. Edited December 23, 2005 by Shollin

[brownbear]

Yes, definitely grapefruit. The ginger darkens it a teeny bit, but it is still a very light and bright scent. Overall it is very nice, but doesn't last at all on me. oh well, to the swaps.

[grrrlennyl]

at first: amazingly beautiful. i can smell all of the notes, and they're a perfect blend. this smells very white and light.

on: beautiful. i can't even describe it. fresh and fruity. lovely.

half an hour later: this is more candy-like now, but still beautiful.

1 hour later: lovely. mostly apple blossom and white tea now, with just a bit of grapefruit. the ginger is very soft and keeps it from being too cold.

2 hours later: white tea and ginger, with a hint of dry, sour candy.

overall: this is fabulous. i'm so glad i nabbed a bottle of it. it will be perfect for spring and summer.

[Rhowan]

In the bottle and we on my skin, Baobhan Sith is the most amazing scent. I am usually a very heavy, heady scent person but this is beautiful. Each note is very present when this is first on the skin

 

As this dries down, it starts to loose it's in your face sour grapefruit and the appleblossom kicks in to sweeten it up a bit. I can get just a *hint* of ginger at the end. It's all supported by the lovely background of white musk.

 

Completely dried down, it stays about the same as the initial drydown, just a bit softer. Great throw, great wear. I have to say that I am going to order a bottle right now!!

[Miss Lynx]

This is really startlingly lovely. I had my doubts about it, mainly because of the apple blossom, which was overwhelmingly sweet on me in Brisingamen, plus I wasn't too sure about the grapefruit, but it's really not bad at all.

 

It's definitely a fairly high, sweet scent, but it has enough tartness from the graefruit and spiciness from the ginger to keep it from being cloying, and a slightly bitter, astringent herbal edge. And I can see a certain otherworldliness in it... The most curious thing about it, though, is that it smells a lot like lilacs -- not like lilac perfume, but like getting up close and personal with a real live lilac bush -- even though there's no actual lilac in it.

 

As it settles in a bit, the floral aspect begins to fade, and it takes on more of a spicy-tea sort of scent, which is still quite nice - but then it fades away completely. After 15-10 minutes, I could only barely smell it, which is too bad, because it's so nice. Why does my skin seem to eat so many of the scents I like?

 

Grade: B (definite B+ if it had better staying power)

[elspeth]

On me this scent started off very much citrus. I could really smell the grapefruit. It had a tart edge to it that was suprisingly pleasing to me considering that citrus does poorly on me. After it started to dry down the citrus backed off and I could smell flowers. Looking back at the description I can only guess that it is the apple blossom. It was amazingly sweet but the citrus had almost faded almost 100 percent. Still it is very nice and since I love florals might merit a bottle.

[filigree_shadow]

Started out smelling like a strong floral. Little bit of grapefruit underneath, but mainly floral. I didn't smell any ginger at all at first, but it came out a little later.

 

I'm not a big floral fan under that best of circumstances, and floral with grapefruit isn't really my style. I think the blend is very pretty and would be stunning on the right person. That person isn't me, though. Baobhan Sith makes me think of someone who is graceful, poised, feminine... and I'm a klutzy dork in a Sisters of Mercy t-shirt and clompy shoes. So, yeah... not me.

[themerrybaker]

Baobhan Sith makes me want to haunt the Forum and scream and wail very loudly: "Baobhan Sith is another BPAL favorite!!".

 

 

 

If I did not have Sudha and Kumiho, this would definitely positively absolutely be a big honking bottle for me. The apple blossoms add a little bit of softness missing from the above. But the overall impression is very fresh tea with true ginger spice.

[Nox Eterna]

When I was little, we had a little flower tree in the front yard-- the one with pussywillows that turn into big, waxy, pink-and-white, tulip-shaped flowers. I remember waiting each year for the first flower to appear so that I could break it open and smell it before it blossomed. Baobhan Sith reminds me so much of that broken flower's smell that it nearly sends me swooning.

 

That is why I HAD to have Baobhan Sith. We had the same tree in my front yard when I was small and I did the same thing. Magpiedee is spot on, this takes me right back to that house when I was 5 years old playing under that tree.

I love this scent and amd SO glad it is back.

[Delight]

In the bottle, the scent is very strong and citrusy. I almost didn't try it at all because it was so heady.

 

As I applied it, it gained a powdery odor. I can smell the grapefruit and white tea but the other notes are indistinct. It is a very unique scent but I don't know that it is good on me. I think I'll swap this one.

[Ryvre]

In the imp: A tangy citrus.

 

Wet: Strong, fresh citrus, with a bit of floral.

 

Dry: It smells very sharp and acidic.

 

Baobhan Sith fades very quickly on my skin. It was gone completely in about an hour.

[Aredhel]

Rating (on skin): 4/5

Summarised in a word or two: Apple blossom!

 

Preconceived notions: I acquired an imp of this not long after it'd been discontinued, but I never reviewed it, here or anywhere, so I can't remember what I thought of it. Judging by its notes, it sounds lovely.

 

In the imp: Crisp, slightly spicy (ginger!) grapefruit and tea!

 

On skin, wet: Grapefruit and tea! There's a fair chance this could go soapy, unfortunately, judging by the tea. Oh, and apple blossom! The house my family settled into had half a dozen apple trees in the back-yard, so I know that note very well.

 

On skin, dry: Apple blossom! There's a bit of grapefruit floating in the background, but this is primarily an apple blossom scent. I haven't come across many apple blossom scents that smell authentic — they almost always smell like plain old apple, usually with a few white floral notes thrown in. Not the same thing. As fond as I am of apple blossom in, say, candles and lotions, I'm not entirely sold on the idea of smelling like them.

 

Conclusion/Notes: Absolutely lovely, and very surprising (I was expecting either soapy tea or bite-my-face-off grapefruit), but not something I'd wear as a perfume. I might eventually scent a bit of unscented lotion with an imp or two, though.

[AliBabble]

out of the imp this is glorious! a clear, bright sparkling scent. i get the juicy grapefruit mixed with the freshest blossoms - it does smell like lilac or honeysuckle - sweet and delicate, but i see now that it is apple blossom. very lovely.

on my skin, the grapefruit actually stings for a second (that's a first) - and it fades gradually, allowing the blossoms to come out more and more. oh, yeah and the ginger becomes very apparent - it's that same yummy, refeshing ginger tea i love in white rabbit. this is just a lovely, summery scent, and i can see wearing this one a lot.

[hangingfire]

In the bottle: Strong on the grapefruit; the rest of the notes aren't too obvious.

 

On, wet: Grapefruity with an oddly sour note. Uh oh.

 

Drydown: Ah, much better. My skin amps the ginger for a while, and then it all settles out to a pleasant-but-sassy gingery tea scent with a bit of added sweetness and fruity zing from the apple blossom and the grapefruit.

 

A perfect summer scent. I'm so glad that I bought the bottle!

[mermaidrage]

Lovely, lovely, lovely. I'm so glad I ordered a bottle unsniffed. I was a bit nervous about the grapefruit -- I don't even enjoy eating them -- but the apple blossom and ginger, combined with tea (a must-have note) swayed me.

 

Baobhan Sith is a lovely scent, fresh, crisp, clean, spicy without being heavy at all. It's VERY grapefruity at first on me and comes a bit close to going soapy for about five minutes, but then it settles down into a gorgeous apple-ginger scent that's grounded by the tea and made more interesting with a citrus zing.

[HennaFairy]

bottle:

musky & citrusy

 

wet:

grapefruit! And tea Not very strong.

 

dry:

love it! Very fresh- but smells like things that tend to go soapy on me…

 

overall:

I like it

 

rating: 7/10

[cybra111]

Baobhan Sith

 

In the bottle: citrus

 

On me: Citrus, yes it could be grapefruit. I dries and changes to a powdery floral. Not bad, but... I had my Sweetie sniff it and he kinda liked it. I might have to try again and revise!

[Brianne]

In the vial:

Bitter grapefruit

 

On me:

I think I was hoping for something just slightly sweeter in this blend. However, the grapefruit here is more like yuzu than the western grapefruit I'm used to. It's a bitter peel smell, though still refreshing and cool, not the tart juicy grapefruit I was hoping for. The ginger stays remarkably muted here, it adds only the very slightest kick, and other than that is practically invisible on my skin. The white or the apple blossom either alone or combined make a slightly sweet, powdery note. It's kind of odd because it has a faintly candyish quality to it, but neither of those notes have ever behaved that way on my skin before. I like that it makes this a sweeter scent though. Because when this first went on, it was pretty much just like Aizen-myoo, but now it's a softer, slightly sweet Spring scent.

 

After wearing this for some time, I am completely enamored with it. It's a beautiful scent and I think I understand why people were so disappointed when it had to be temporarily discontinued. It's only vaguely fruity, but definitely girly. It makes me think of the color pink.

 

Final note:

Wonderful and soft and girly, a delicious but refreshing scent

[Meg]

In the bottle: Apple blossom with a little bit of an edge.

 

Wet: Ooh, a rush of all four ingredients, apple blossom, with a bite of ginger and tea, then grapefruit coming over it all.

 

Drydown: It settles into a beautiful tea/graprefruit/apple blossom scent, with just a bit of spice from the ginger. After a while, the ginger starts amping on me, over a background of grapefruit and apple blossom. Then the ginger lifts a bit, leaving a lovely fruity floral in its wake.

 

Overall: Spice, florals and fruit, mixing and actually working perfectly well together. The four reach a lovely balance that smells fresh, feminine and complex. It's really divine, once the ginger has gone I'm left with something that smells a little bit like Embalming Fluid in its wet stage, my favourite stage! Yes, this is mesmerising beauty, with the vampire kiss of ginger! Beautiful, absolutely beautiful. This from someone who dislikes apple blossom *and* ginger!

[Rusalka]

Oh, Baobhan Sidhe, how I loved thee...

 

In the vial: A whorl of different scents, glistening and dewy and sharp and... just exquisite. The perfect foil to humid summer days.

 

Wet on the skin: An explosion of grapefruit! Juicy and ripe, it smothers the tea almost completely, leaves only a little room for the ginger, commences outright war with the floral notes.

 

Drydown: ... and the florals win. The grapefruit has vanished almost completely, the tea has been swallowed down and forgotten, and those charming blossoms that at first seemed to be so refreshing, have transformed into piercing white soap. With a liberal dose of baby powder to choke me.

 

I loved you, Baobhan Sidhe, but my skin did not. As a room scent, this would be divine -- and that's how I'll be using the rest of the imp.

[ajcj213499]

This is so much more wonderful than I was expecting...

 

Baobhan Sith is just beautiful- it's slightly tart and green and fresh. I'm so happy I got a bottle of this unsniffed!

 

Also, it lasts a decent amount of time on my skin (which is a rare thing for me)!

[sookster]

straight sniff from imp is pink grapefruit and a delicate tea....beautiful!!!

applied this is very strong and the ginger amps up hugely...this is another summertime scent from the lab that should not be missed if you are a grapefruit freak such as myself...lasts hours and hours even in the hottest and stickiest dog

days of summer....

[Inanna9]

Yay! A blend with ginger that doesn't go all wonky on me!

 

This is so bright and lovely--all the mouth-watering citrus of grapefruit, tempered by the white tea to an absolute perfection. The apple blossom is creamy and soft, and frankly, I don't get ginger at all, and I don't mind one bit! It's fresh and feminine, and the throw is amazing--which is a good thing, since there is something in here that wants to give me a headache if I sniff too close and too deeply.

 

That's okay--I'm happy to just waft the prettiness

[ChupaChup]

Baobhan Sith is absolutely stunning. I love the clear, crystalline beginning, it's so chilly and white, perfect for a hot summer's day. Beth does white tea to perfection, the ginger is barely there, just adds a tiny bit of sharpness (imagine sprinkling a little sugared ginger on your morning chilled grapefruit) and the apple blossom is so unexpected yet divine. In the late drydown, it's mostly apple blossom and seems to be the same note used in Desire, another favorite of mine.

[Tournesol Noir]

This scent smells overpoweringly grapefruity in the vial, with just the barest hint of tea and ginger. On my skin, it smells overpoweringly like tea and precious little else.

 

There's a time when the oil is still visible as a faint sheen on my wrist where the bitter tang of grapefruit and the freshness of the white tea are perfectly balanced with a subtle, perfectly little spike of ginger, rounded out by a floral note that I assume is the apple blossom. The scent is absolutely delightful at that moment, but, sadly, it is only fleeting and a few seconds later everything gets gobbled up except the tea.

 

I will probably hold on to the imp, just because it's summer and sometimes it's nice to smell a little bit of tea. But no repurchases for me.