Happy Baby in a Long Dress

[windbourne]

HAPPY BABY IN A LONG DRESS
Washable acrylic on economy craft paper, 2012
This is a happy baby in a long dress.
Lemon sugar and lavender buds.

Happy Baby in a Long Dress

...Lemon-Scented Sticky Bat + lavender buds.

Absolutely does what it says on the tin. It will almost certainly remind some people of hand-soap or washing goo or laundry softener or other cleaning objects, because those products are often scented in lemon or lavender or rarely, both, and that is a strong association. For me, the sugar lifts it out of that a bit and it reminds me more of heavily over-sweetened lavender lemonade. Interestingly, though, the notes take turns being prominent. First the sugary lemon, then the lavender -- which is, somehow a slightly smaller, gentler lavender than many that show up, definitely buds rather than a full stalk or field of the stuff -- and then the lemony sugar and then the flowers again.

I like it, but I also am not entirely certain where or when I might feel like wearing it. It might make a really nice room scent, however.

[Dark Alice]

This has the lemon of Lemon Sticky Bat..without the sugar with the barest hint of lavender buds. It's quite captivating and relaxing. But it is not something I need in bottle form. I will keep my imp though.

[Franny]

Initially I smelled this and I got soap, but somehow it was also really really pretty lemon and I wanted to keep smelling it to figure it out. I smelled it again and I still got soap but it was beautiful and delicate. Then I realized that I wasn't really smelling soap at all, it was the lavender, and I was just associating it with soap (I use a lavender dish soap).

 

Honestly I know this doesn't make the scent sound the most attractive, but I put this on and I really couldn't stop smelling it. It is sweet lemon and delicate lavender. I'm really glad I got a bottle.

 

Also, Happy Baby in a Long Dress has to be one of the cutest names ever.

Edited April 24, 2013 by Franny

[Gateau]

This is a lovely cute scent! Exactly what it says, lemon sugar and lavender, just very fresh and bright. I think it will be a lovely summer scent, something to put on when I've just had a shower and want to preserve that feeling of freshness and clean without smelling soapy. It's also the kind of thing you could wear to an office and not annoy anyone.

[suki]

Out of all the latest crop of Pickman scents, this was the one I was simultaneously most interested in trying and least sure would work. Normally, sugar as a note amps on me like nobody's business, which was my main hesitation about this scent, but fortunately, I had nothing to fear.

 

Lemon Scented Sticky Bat is a scent that I am fond of- but only when I can bear the sheer amping of the sugar note in it. I do NOT get LSSB from Happy Baby. Where as Sticky Bat is somewhere between Lemonheads candy and Lemon Gumdrops on me, the sugared lemon in Happy Baby does something heretofore unheard of on me- it's a sweet, yet tart lemon that does NOT seem to have sugar, but instead reads as almost a lemon verbena: sweet without being sugary. And the lavender is not a force that's overly strong or acrid, yet also not the variety as in TKO that literally I can only stand at bedtime because it invokes instant snoozy- no. This lavender is the wild, sweet and gentle variety. The sort that would grow in my friend's mom's garden in high summer.

 

Because of my personal skin chemistry, the scents that I tend to be most drawn to, and that work best on me, lean toward the heavy/rich side of the spectrum. Think: Snake Charmer, Mme Moriarty, Dragon's Blood, VooDoo Queen, etc. Even the few florals I get away with fall more into the Faith / Hope / Rose Red variety. But the thing that's miraculous, is that Happy Baby In A Long Dress is fresh and sweet, with an almost green tea note present- and even with my spicy-musky chemistry, stays true, for hours.

 

In All: Medium throw with surprising depth given only 2 notes are listed, this scent is everything I've longed for in a warm-weather perfume and has previously found unobtainable. Happy Baby is beautiful, fresh, inviting and likely to be my go-to fragrance for many of the hottest days over the next 4 months or so- and more than a few sultry nights.

 

Hoard-worthy!

[turtlecookie]

Lemon!! When I first opened the imp and spread it on my skin, all I could smell was this fantastic lemon. It's super fresh/zesty, and it seemed almost tingly or effervescent to me.

 

Then the lavender got involved, and they had a nice, balanced relationship. The lavender got a bit soapy, but maybe that's just me.

 

When I picked this one, I was kind of hoping for it to be like Cheshire Moon but with lemon, but it comes off much brighter! It seems perfect for summer, but I don't think I'll be needing a full bottle.

[MeiLin]

Want so bad but skin eats!

[FriedaLove]

When I first put this on it was like Must.Buy.All.The.Bottles. but now I'm undecided if I really need a bottle. This does seem like the perfect summer scent and my DH likes it so maybe I do need a bottle I got a decant of this from TrailerTrashPrincess in a decant circle. What I wanted from this before testing was for it to be mostly lavender with a bit of heavily sugared lemons. What I got when testing was lightly sugared lemons with a hint of lavender.

 

In the vial: Sugared lemon candies! In your face!

 

Wet on skin: Still sugared lemons but less sharp. I'm getting a bit of a chemical smell, but I've noticed that I tend to get that from BPAL's lemon notes. Hopefully it'll burn off.

 

During dry down: The lavender steps in to make an appearance. This is rounding out to be very lovely.

 

Dry on skin: I can detect both the lavender and the lemon, but the lightly sugared lemon is absolutely taking center stage whereas the lavender is kind of peeking from behind the curtain. The chemical smell is gone now, thank goodness.

 

 

I think I'd love this more if the lavender was a little more prevalent. I absolutely loved this during dry down so I'm a little disappointed how the lemon just basically took over. It's not a sharp lemon though so I'm guessing the sugar and lavender mellow it out. I'll need to try this one again to make sure I love it before committing to a bottle (although I'll likely end up getting one). Hopefully if I give it a week or two the lavender will step up and beat the lemon into submission. I like it a lot, I just don't quite love it.

 

ETA: After a few hours this reminds me of Embalming Fluid.

Edited May 5, 2013 by FriedaLove

[Leopard403]

This is a sweeeeet lemon and a very mild lavender, and wet this is so lovely. Unfortunately, after a minute or two upon drydown it starts to smell, uh, familiar... and once my brain identified it as Lysol Antibacterial Wipes I just couldn't get away from there.

[dementia_divine]

In the bottle: Lavender-y lemonade. The lemon is the most prominent, but the lavender is definitely there.

 

Wet: The lemon is the dominant note, but the lavender is definitely present.

 

Dry: The 'sugar' part of the lemon sugar becomes more noticeable with time. However, it is not as sugary as I had hoped it would be. The lavender does not take control at any point (much to my dismay). Like another reviewer, I had also hoped this would be predominantly lavender with heavily sugared lemons. However, it was true to the description.

 

I can see this being a great summer scent, and while it is not my favorite of the Tremulous Song scents (like I originally thought it would be), I'll definitely keep my bottle.

[littlebeky]

I thought this would be MY summer scent. I am glad I got a decant. I should know by now that due to the excessive use of lemon and lavender in cleaning products (same thing goes for that clean white musk scents used in laundry soap etc!) that no matter how much I like the scent I can't shake the association.

 

It definitely has a sugared lemon feel, like the Lemon Scented Sticky Bat rolled around in some fragrant lavender buds. It's a comforting scent and very fresh, it is summery. Unfortunately I have a BF who finds anything that smells soapy to be WAY too much so I know he will hate this.

 

Looks like ill just have to hang on to my decant for those really hot New England days this summer, and make lots of fresh lavender lemonade to have around!

[Blood onmy hands]

This does smell similar to the sweet lemon in Lemon-Scented Sticky Bat, but this has an addition of very soapy lavender added in. Lavender floral soap and sweet lemon. I don't really like soapy scents & probably won't wear this again, but this is okay. Like most of the scents in this series, though, it only lasts about an hour on my skin and doesn't have great throw.

[puck_nc]

Origin: decant circle by Absinthetics

 

Initial Thoughts: This was another "what the heck" try. I love lavender but I don't love lemon.

 

In the Vial: Very bright lemon with an undertone of the lavender.

 

Wet: Oh, darn. The first waves are going chemical on my skin and at the moment it's lemon furniture polish. Here's hoping that calms down.

 

Drydown: Well, thank goodness, the chemical-ness calms down. In its wake there is lemon and lavender. The one thing I'm not getting is the sugar. It's a very herbal, green scent on me.

 

Verdict: Not sure I'd use a bottle of this one, but I might keep the decant.

[Caper]

This was a straight bottle purchase for me and I'm undecided. I don't get any sugar at all and the lemon and lavender are tart and sharp.

 

I would have preferred more sugar, so I'm going to try layering with LSSB, which is my favorite lemon scent. So maybe a mixture of the two lemons with a hint of lavender will work?

[AmyO'Shields]

This was a straight bottle purchase for me and I'm undecided. I don't get any sugar at all and the lemon and lavender are tart and sharp.

 

I would have preferred more sugar, so I'm going to try layering with LSSB, which is my favorite lemon scent. So maybe a mixture of the two lemons with a hint of lavender will work?

 

Yes, this. Exactly!

[MCS4096]

Almost entirely lavender for me.. my nose searches for the lemon and gets a hint of it, but no sugar. As it dries down it does eventually sweeten a bit, but it's still pretty in your face. I love lavender however, so I'm ok with that.. I just wish it had more lemon-sugar like I was hoping for!

[zankoku_zen]

This is like Lemon Sticky Bats (minus the musk) went and had a super long affair with lavender. It really is LEMON SUGAR + lavender.

 

It's sweet, simple, comfy. Basic, but happy.

[girasol]

Alas, I really do get 'cleaning product' from this. Not just because lemon and lavender are common scents for cleaning products, but it also has that slightly acrid, throat-scratchy character I associate with cleaning chemicals. This one is not for me.

[milo]

This is all lavender at first. Not a herbal lavender, more of a garden variety type of lavender, which is good either way, as I love all types. Dry, the lemon comes out more, it's more lemony than lavender-y at this point. Ends up being a sweet lemon with a touch of lavender. Nice summery blend, I'll certainly use up my partial!

 

eta: I don't get cleaning product from this, but I"m not big on lemon scented cleaning products.

Edited May 31, 2013 by milo

[mymymai]

In the Bottle (ITB): It's bright lavender and dried and sugared lemon slices.

 

Wet: The lavender is a bit stronger on my skin and there seems to be a less sugary sweet quality to the lemon, but it is still refreshing and relaxing at the same time.

 

Dry: The lavender steps back to allow the lemon sugar to shine. It reminds me of Fresh's lemon sugar at time point.

[Alethia]

Thoughts before testing: This was an immediate bottle purchase for me. I love lemon, sugar, and lavender; I wanted to love Lemon Scented Sticky Bat, but it was too simplistic for me to completely enjoy. I'm hoping that Happy Baby will have the same lemon sugar as LSSB but with an extra kick from the lavender buds.

 

Wet: Delicious lemony sugar with just the barest hint of lavender. Divine!

 

Dry down: The lavender gets just a little more prominent, and the combination of the sweet lemon and soft lavender is just to die for.

 

Dry: Sweet lemon and soft lavender all the way through.

 

Final thoughts: It fades fairly fast (by hour three, I needed to reapply) but that beautiful sweet lemon and lavender is too fabulous for me to mind reapplying. This was exactly what I was hoping for, and Happy Baby is definitely a keeper!

 

Verdict: Keeping!

[bellumed]

Oh, it does smell happy! Happy lemons. Almost (not quite) harsh in the decant, but more sugary on my skin. Still, I’m pretty much exclusively getting lemons, the lavender is a pretty light touch. It reminds me of Gobo, which other people say reminds them of Lemon-Scented Sticky Bat, so that makes sense. This rides the line between sharp and gentle lemon very nicely!

[Ajila]

In the bottle - A clean and bright lavender with a zingy lemon backdrop

 

Wet on me - The lemon becomes stronger with the lavender now sitting in the background. The lemon is more like freshly squeezed lemon juice now

 

Dry on me - A super sharp fresh lemon scent

 

Overall - 8 years of wearing BPAL and now it turns out that I amp lemon to high heaven - and it lasts as well (16 hours and still going strong). For me it's just too sharp

[Zii]

Wet: A reviewer said lavender lemonade and that is so spot on for me. The lavender amps a little soapy on me however, which isn't great.

 

Drying: There's the lemon. This scent is just kinda gross now, amping the sharp aspects of both lavender and lemon in a not nice way. It's not bad, persay, but I would never want to smell like this.

 

Wet: A reviewer said lavender lemonade and that is so spot on for me. The lavender amps a little soapy on me however, which isn't great.

 

Drying: There's the lemon. This scent is just kinda gross now, amping the sharp aspects of both lavender and lemon in a not nice way. It's not bad, persay, but I would never want to smell like this.

[theredkilt]

Pretty much a less sweet version of Lemon Scented Sticky Bat with the addition of lavender. Lavender standout in the beginning, but after sometime it disappears completely leaving a mild sweet lemony scent.