Vinland

[populuxa]

The legendary site of the Viking colony in Newfoundland founded circa 985. Crisp northern wind blowing over loganberry, wild roses, prairie crocus, iris versicolor Linné, mountain avens, yellow birch bark, mayflower and maple leaf.

A rich floral Aquatic in the bottle. I thought I would really like it. Then, without warning the roses they went on a killing rampage, obliteraing anything in their path that smelled nice. Those stupid roses! Now, I smell like an old lady. And it is not subtle at all.

[shirasade]

This was on my wishlist and I got it in a swap. Having been to Scandinavia before, I was really curious about this one.

 

Imp: Very sweet and flowery. Not what I expected from the reviews.

 

Wet: Still very sweet but I seem to detect pine as well. Gets fresher as it dries.

 

Dry: Sweet berries and moss. Comforting without being cloying, because of the foresty undertone. Reminds me of drinking mulled wine on a cold winter's night.

 

Overall impression: Hm. A part of me really likes this, but something about the sweetness doesn't sit quite right with me. I've never cared much for mulled wine, I guess...

[Neely]

In the bottle: today children we are going to learn a new word, WINTERGREEN, say it with me now...

 

Wet: wintergreen with something that smells like Loviatar's leather. Hmm, interesting.

 

Dry down: wintergreen and leather. Now this may sound bad, but I didn't have any desire to wash it off at this point. It was just unusual.

 

30 minutes: BPAL scents are such morphers, it is such a journey sometimes. At 30 minutes it turned into a dry scent, if that makes any sense. Then poof, the wintergreen suddenly toned down went to the background and let the berries comout and play. It got less dry at that point too. This is really lovely.

 

Conclusion: It turns into a wine like smell. In fact it smells alot like Black Tower on me, but softer than BT. This is like cold winds blowing off a cold steel colored ocean on an misty day. The winds blow across wet grasses, and small flowers on bramble bushes. You can smell the scent of cold wet rock mingling with the flowers, rain, grass and berries.

 

Rating 1-5 on my skin, this is a 4.

[yeahbutnobut]

Vinland

 

In the imp: er, this smells like my mum’s toothpaste. Yup, I ain’t kidding. My mum uses a weird, non-minty toothpaste with a medicinal smell, and that’s what I get here.

Wet on skin: still that odd medicinal scent, but I get now some hints of coolness, and a dry leafy scent and a hint of rose and berry.

Dry: this is an odd scent! I get a lovely rose note in here, a hint of berry and something that brings to mind dry leaves (maple, probably) but also a strange, bitter, medicinal note. I’m wondering if it’s the birch and the mayflower-especially the latter, as the actual flowers do smell a bit off sometimes. It does smell very much like my mum’s toothpaste though, with added rose, and that kinda freaks me out.

After a while: eventually the scent veers away from toothpaste and then it really does smell like mayflower and rose and bark and dry leaves with a hint of fresh coolness, an unusual mix of all four seasons in one! The mayflower is a strange note…it smells a bit off at times, but I think that’s because it’s quite true to the real flower’s scent (which is itself an odd scent!). The birch bark and maple leaf add a dryness to the scent, an autumnal dry aspect. The rose is the loveliest of the notes in here, it’s warm and full and instantly recognisable. There’s a cool, bracing feel (as opposed to an actual smell) to the scent as well-the ‘wind’ note, I think…another example of how well Beth captures climate in scent.

Unfortunately the mayflower seems to be taking over, and on my skin, this flower smells like it’s rotting…not even the rose can save it…

It does improve somewhat after about 3 hours, but not enough to make me like this scent very much.

Verdict: this is probably the only Wanderlust scent that disagrees with my skin, I’m afraid. At first, I get a strange scent which reminds me so much of my mum’s non-mint medicinal smelling toothpaste, it’s uncanny! Then the scent goes through an ok phase where different notes can be picked out, notes that span the seasons-mayflowers, roses, bark, dry leaves and a hint of a cool breeze. But the mayflower note then smells unpleasant and it makes the entire scent smell like it’s rotting! It’s not a very nice reaction, I’m afraid. It does get a bit better after a long time, but I’m afraid I can’t get over that rotting flower scent to like this. So it’s going to swaps.

[nancybridget]

Yummy...

 

I get berries and roses and something sugary and syrupy.

 

My first few attempts with BPAL roses were not my best attempts. Either my chemistry has changed a bit, or my taste, because lately I've been finding some real winners in the rose category.

 

If I had to describe this scent in a word, it'd be - purple.

[GemmaCat]

At first this smells very odd, like a mixture of anise and cherry bubblegum; a cacophany of scents that are impossible to place. But then I get a rich, dry, red wine scent, followed quickly by dark soil and crushed flowers.

 

Very complex and pretty, but ultimately the drydown is too floral for me.

[ghosttown]

Being wholly Scandinavian I had to have this scent. The reviews were all so different from each other that I had no idea what to expect. In the bottle I smelled a sharp, anise and floral scent that was absolutley gorgeous. When I put it on I was instantly transported back to childhood...I knew this scent! I knew it was a candy that I used to love and I racked my brains trying to think what it was. Finally I realized what I was smelling: Necco's Candy Wafers! Exactly! I'm so in love with this scent, after the dry down it just smells like...me. I love it.

[sarahj]

Vinland

 

freebie from the lab

 

in vial: soap

 

wet: a rosebush in a forest

 

dry: slightly soapy again...and fades way too fast (less than two hours)

 

verdict: I will probably swap this one

[PixieSkull]

Imp: I can tell this is a floral blend. They are all juicy and in full bloom. There are berries mixed in. It's very juicy.

Wet: Sweet berries and wine. Feel like this has dragon's blood in it.

Dry: This turned into the typical dbr wine blend, sadly. The berries stayed the course and the woods might have, but they had to have been very soft.

 

Category: Floral/Wine/Berry

Rating: 2/5; morphed to something I don't need more of.

Overall: Beautiful idea, but was a bit lost on me. All the florals are odd ones that I can't pick out and the woods are also odd. I already have plenty of dbr and wine blends.

[MistressTera]

Fresh From The Imp: Maybe I'm crazy, but I'm reminded of leather and mint.

 

Wet On My Flesh: It's not exactly leather that I'm smelling, but it's got the same dry tones to it.

 

Drying Down: It reminds me of my grandfather, but I'm not getting *any* of the notes it's supposed to smell like.

 

Hour To Integrate: Finally I can pick out some rose amongst the rest of the blend.

 

End Of Day/Final Report: Not a scent I'd kill to have.

[themerrybaker]

Enraged Vikings chomping extra hard on their minty fresh chewing gum? I do not get floral, nor aquatic, just weird spearmint gumminess. This one really pillaged my hut.

[fiddledragon]

At first, this one is a blast of wintergreen, but as it dries, the leaves and bark and very faint florals come out. It's a wonderful foresty smell without being evergreenish. Once it fades, the wintergreen succeeds in just making it smell "cold" without being overly minty. It's a great scent for studying; it really keeps me awake.

[gwyllgi]

I have the hardest time pinning this scent down. The first time I tried it, it went pine on me. The next time, I could pick out the loganberry and perhaps the birch, but the rest eluded me. The scent reminds me of the log jams and various re-enactments that litter the spring and summer calendar in the area.

 

Ultimately, it's nice scent. It's a unique floral with interesting woody undertones and, while it's pretty enough for me to keep the imp, I don't like it quite enough to invest in a larger bottle.

[BlueSakura]

At first this was quite medicinal smelling. I got hit with that herbal medicine smell on first sniff from the bottle, and it was still there when I put it on~ not a smell that I'm fond of at all. After a while, the medicinal smell went away; on me, the berry seems to come out very strongly. It's quite sweet, almost to the point of being cloyingly so. I can smell a sort of aquatic smell, which lends a feeling of coolness and freshness that was in the description for the oil.

 

Conclusion: It's a nice blend, and it captures the description well, but it's not for me.

[juniperus]

Bottle: cool, minty somehow - wintergreen specifically. both green and golden.

Wet: the florals are clearer, still that wintergreen-edged note that is more sweet than bitey.

Dry: crisp, cool floral with a hint of woodiness and the berry on the sweet end. We have many of the same flora here in Michigan, and apart from that hint of the sea in this it smells very much like our Upper Penninsula minus evergreens.

Later: this doesn't have much stay on me, but it's a crisp, chill wind off the northern sea in early fall that carries the scents of the summer flowers and berries that are ekeing out their last before the season's end. evocative and lovely - exactly as my sister described (she went to Newf on her honeymoon in late August), I really wish I had the money for travel..and the time..and a mate who didn't despise travel...

[brownbear]

While wet I get a lot of the birch in this one. Birch with a tiny hint of flowers. It is very cool smelling. On my skin, it changes sooooooo much. It kind of smells old on my skin. Musty and weird.

 

Cute roommate review: I don't like it, but it's better than that one (baneberry). It smells like pickles. Musty pickles.

 

[littlefarmgirl]

For the first half hour or so, this scent was gorgeous Rose.

After a while though, it went soapy. Not unbearably soapy, but enough to spoil it.

After about two hours, it's almost gone.

[urbanruralferal]

Okay, way out there on this, but I smelled some kind of menthe and fennel or anise in this. It was reminding me of some foreign liqueur that you would keep in the freezer and serve in little glasses that looked like ice, but not boozy at all. the menthe was very high aromatic, like altoids or something.

Then the roses started blooming, and soon they were all I could smell. Not to mention this faded completely away in about 45 minutes. Gone.

If it weren't for the roses, and the disappearing act, I think this would be an excellent scent to wear in the snow. But I'm all about wearing cool scents in winter and hot scents in the heat.

[Elrianra]

This one, in the bottle, gave me a fit. Minty with a berry-ish note. Mom and I agree it smells like Wintermint gum. On me, it keeps that crips cool minty note but I can pick out pale florals and a hint of something leafy. This is... well... FOODY. Dry, the mint is gone and replaced by soft berries and gentle florals. Namely, rose and iris. Very cool and mellow and untamed but gentle... this is LOVELY. It warms up to a nice murky green leaves and florals with a dry golden woody note as the base and a soft sweet berries note to tarten it on the top. This continues to meld to woods and grasses and florals and berries, constantly shifting like a fresh breeze playing through a garden and flower bed before reaching you. Essentially wild and pure and untouched, with just the slightest warmth of tilled earth to it. This is just... lovely.

[karengypsy]

In the vial: Icky menthol.

 

On me: When I put it on, it was kind of sour for a few minutes before it sweetened up (from the maple leaf, I suppose), and then it faded into a very, very light mountainy scent... before getting sour again.

 

Verdict: Not for me. Swapped it with a friend.

 

Rating: 1/5

[edenssixthday]

Vinland is soft purple and white alpine florals that seems to be grounded by something slightly dry and arid. It’s a really pretty scent. It’s not one that jumps out at me enough to say that I need a full bottle, but I like it enough to keep a tight grip on my imp and enjoy wearing it very much. It doesn’t last long on my skin.

[Celogrl]

Instant love. I could stop right here, but I really need to do a semi proper review! This is sweet florals, amplified by berries, & cold breezes and it reminds me of standing in a hilly area, surrounded by trees in the late fall or early winter with a wind whipping up. It has a chill to it, but it's not cold. It's very comforting and nostalgic in my opinion. I love, love, looove this!

[Jocelyn]

This is such a unique scent..I quite like it.

In the vial and wet on my skin it smells exactly like...PIE!!! Blackberry pie, sweet berries with some sugar and cinnamon. Dry on my skin it smells like that, plus some faint leaves and stronger roses. Very interesting.

[provocateur]

In bottle: Woah, herby. Very herby

On skin, wet: Very vague and indistinct. I had a hard time picking any notes out outside of "green" or "wet".

 

On skin, dry: A very sharp herbal blend.

 

Conclusion: Wow did this hurt my sinuses after a while.

 

Rating: 0/5

[euterpe414]

in the imp: rose, greenery and woods

 

wet: uh oh, I think there is the kind of rose in this that goes sharp on me. I am getting a sharp astringent rose smell with slight woods.

 

This ends up smelling very sharp and masculine on me. I am almost sure this is due to my skin chemistry, which turns some roses into an almost acetone like scent. Ouch.

 

Ah well, it smelled lovely in the vial!