Greater Horseshoe Bat

[CiCi]

Rosewood, beeswax, labdanum absolute, blackened tea leaf, and dark fuzzy musk.

Greater Horseshoe Bat starts out very strong which I believe to be the rosewood. On me it smells like freshly cut wood almost like cedar, but not quite. This scent stays for quite some time before it changes and the incensy, resiny, muskiness scent appears. Just be patient and wait for it and it will come. Very nice scent!

[suki]

In The Bottle: Opening this bottle was like stepping into a magick shop. The kind where there's amber bottles with dusty hand-written labels and you might not be sure that you can actually comprehend the words scribed. I immediately get beeswax, a lemony hint of the rosewood, a hearty helping of the labdanum and some black tea. The only one missing from the party seems to be the musk. Perhaps an appearance a bit later?

 

Wet On Skin: This is HEADY. Strong and rich, already I can tell that the tiny drop I put on my wrist might be a wee too much. Yes, a little goes a VERY long way. That said, it also smells pretty delicious. I'm still getting the same 4 notes as before, but they're warming up on my skin now in a way that's really sensuous and sexy.

 

Dry Down: ...Did I say sexy? What I meant was SEX-AY. I have to fan myself because this oil just made me into some kinda trollop, I swear. GoldenRubee is right, you have to wait a bit for the real dry-down change to happen, but it's so, so very worth it. The beeswax and the labdanum have teamed up and turned into a sweet erotic beast with two backs and woe be the fool who things they can take them on! I don't get any of the musk, and the tea is there, but really as more of an afterthought. Not that I mind, because this scent is one to be reckoned with!

 

In All: Heavy throw, so tread lightly when applying. I can tell that with the rich nature of this scent that it's going to get better and better with age. I will likely wear it only a time or two over the next sweltering 4 months, but when the weather turns come Autumn, I anticipate wearing this on a very, very regular basis.

 

Hoard now, I predict this one will be hard to come by later!

[fetish911]

When i first applied this (w/o looking at the notes as i like to play "guess the note") I kept wanting to say cedar. But it wasnt cedar....i was getting the rosewood. It was followed by a warm spicy feel wich is how the musk usually goes on my skin. It was quite rich and resinous feeling. I quite liked it. Dark and sexy.

[hlinspjalda]

I wanted to try this one based on the beeswax and musk. Rosewood and labdanum are okay notes for me, not spectacular, so I don't know where this will go.

 

In the bottle: There's something intense and unsettling at the top of this one, something I haven't smelled in any other scent. I am not sure I will like this one.

 

Wet: Whatever that is, it's still there, although it's calming down now that it's on my skin. I really don't know whether this one is going to work out; it's really unsettling still.

 

Half an hour: Oh my, what a change! It's smoky-tannic, but that's just a top note. Beneath is sweet beeswax and musk with some wood in it. This is a little bit woodier than I'd like, but it keeps the beeswax and labdanum from running away with the scent.

 

Two and a half hours: Very much a beeswax-musk scent now, with some wood. This one's not bad at all, but it's a bit more honey-like than I expected. Labdanum doesn't like me as much as some other resins, and it contributes a sort of stickiness here.

 

Five hours: a sweet, almost foody beeswax scent with a bit of wood. I think it is this sweet because black musk goes so sweet on me. The musk hasn't gone to powder, though, which black musk often does on me. I like this phase; the labdanum and other off notes are gone now. But what a ride it was getting there!

 

I might re-home this, depending on how many people fall in love with it, or I might age it for a while to see what happens to that disconcerting initial note. It really bugs me that I cannot put my finger on what it is. But the musk and beeswax at the heart of this scent are very pleasant.

[Caper]

The initial wood is similar to diable en boîte and a bit sharp but it settles into a beeswax/powder blend for me, it has to be the musk since black musk has never not gone powdery on me. This is great because I didn't get a bottle of this but was tempted because of the tea leaves and labdanum.

 

I will pass my tester on to someone looking for one and consider black/dark musk a permanent "Do Not Buy" note. Which is great, really, because I need something to stop me fom buying all the sniffies!

[Monday]

I really like this! The first time I sniffed the decant I was like eww herbs but it changes a lot on my skin.

 

On my skin wet: Starts out rather herbal with a bit of menthol. Weird, I can't make out what herbs but if I didn't have a description I would say herbal lavender.

On my skin dry: Still a bit lavender-like, must be the rosewood? I can smell a bit of the beeswax but not too much, I'm thankful for that as I don't like smelling like a candle. It's a complex scent and hard to describe I get as far as: slightly woodsy resinous purple/brownish, it's a bit sweet and a bit spicy. That might or might not help you.

 

I like how it hints of lavender without actually being lavender. Might go for a bottle (if I can find one).

[Blood onmy hands]

I'm not picking up on the rosewood, tea, labdanum or dark musk that's supposed to be in this blend. Greater Horseshoe Bat smells like tons of sweet, creamy, warm beeswax and cool, sweet, creamy lavender to my nose. I'm not sure what's giving me the lavender impression.

Overall, Greater Horseshoe Bat smells like melty beeswax candles and creamy, sweet lavender. It makes me think of LUSH lavender bath products. Almost milky and edible smelling in its sweetness.

I like this one and find it really comforting.

[Andalei]

Thanks again to my wonderful fairy!

 

Sadly, this one broke my heart. In the bottle it's a lovely mix of creamy beeswax and rosewood with something herbal in the background. On my skin though, this was not good at all. It turned into a very strong, bitter herbal scent that actually made me feel nauseous. Not sure what note was responsible, but it was not a nice experience.

[milo]

This is just...odd. I'm getting herbs and beeswax, it's a bit biting, and something that smells like expensive furniture, which is the rosewood, I assume. Nothing mesh's here, it's a mishmash of notes that don't seem to belong. I'll wait a bit and update, but for now, it's just not that great on me.

 

eta: After a bit, it becomes more beeswax heavy and less odd strange woods. It's quite nice now, the first stage is off-putting. It's now more like honeyed musky cookies. I'll keep my decant.

Edited June 7, 2013 by milo

[zankoku_zen]

Rosewood, honey, and musk.

 

This one is rosey, very honey-like, and musky. With a touch of herbal background.

[gwynethr]

Something here is going powdery here on me. Of all the four scents I got from my fab fairy, this was the closest to actually working on me and not going weird with my out of control chemistry. But that powdery note bothers me. I'm not sure if it'll go away with aging the bottle, or aging me, and I probably should hang on to it, but it seems like someone else might want it more. It's a sexy, exotic scent. Rosewood is just such a fantastic note, I hope maybe there will be more scents in the future with it.

[cinnamonster]

I just got this, my first thought upon smelling in the bottle was that it was a mistake. However, the tiny dab in my inner elbow right now says otherwise. It's very warm, not the sharp herbal of the bottle, the beeswax makes it cosy and the rosewood sits behind it giving it a hint of something pretty. It's giving me the impression of feel more than smell images if that makes sense. This is bumblebee fur! I'm glad I didn't rashly offer it up for trade!

[porcelina]

so at first i open the greater horseshoe bat bottle and i think, "WHOA this is amazing, how have i not reviewed this yet?" and then it touches my skin and i immediately reconsider and think "i've made a terrible mistake." so then i let things settle down and hmm. first of all, apply sparingly because this stuff is POWERFUL. the labdanum and rosewood dominate at first but as it dries i smell more of that wonderful beeswax note. i'm not getting a lot of tea. it becomes very wearable once dry (but like i said, it's strong stuff so a little dab will really go a long way). i love cinnamonmel's description of "bumblebee fur" because it's such a cute image and it really does capture the warm, fuzzy sunny sweet scent i get from this bat.

[DevilsCandyCane]

This is such a crazy morpher! Freshly applied, it was so sharp and bitter and strong I nearly washed it off, but I'm glad I persevered. The wet stage, to me smells like extremely bitter bergamot, but actually on second application I'm coming to appreciate it - it's very bright and summery. The final drydown is where it really gets good though - I bought it for the beeswax, blackened tea and musk, and though it takes a good 5-10 minutes to get there, it eventually softens and warms, and the beeswax comes out with soft musk, and the smokiness of the blackened tea. That stage is amazing ...and actually the process of it getting there is fun too, when the beeswax starts to appear but the bergamot-y thing is still fading out, making it a little brighter and sunnier.

 

Definitely didn't expect a bat to be so summery, but this guy makes me think of summer sunsets, going from the bright sunshiney wet stage to the soft warm dusky drydown stage. Definite keeper!

[LizziesLuck]

Really excited to try this. It's out of my comfort zone, for sure, but for some reason I just had a feeling it could be great on me. Nervous to see if I was horribly wrong! It is fresh out of the mail too, but I just can't wait.

 

 

Wet: Brown? Fuzzy? I have no clue what I'm smelling. It's kind of chemically. It's not good right now, I can tell you that. But it's strong. Really strong. And super chemically. I wonder if that's the musk? Most musk is pretty good on me.

 

 

Dry: Eventually this dies down to the most beautiful beeswax scent, and I love it. It takes it a really long time though. Usually, I have a 25 minute rule. That's about the length of time between when I put on my perfume, and when I get to work. I want it to smell good by then. I will have to decide whether the initial 45 mins of yucky chemicals is worth this lovely beeswax drydown.

[Minh Scent]

Saw the notes on this and couldn't resist. Lizzie mentions this starts as chemical and I think I smell what she means. For me, it is that strong blast of wood oil, amost turpentine. But I love that and guess it to be the rosewood. It is a massive morpher and drydown is the most stunning beeswax musk, with a nod to the tea. It is that perfect BPAL wax (Lights of Men's Lives, Mini Mag, Loved to Death), but with a soft musk. Just gorgeous!!!

[sarandipitee]

This is GORGEOUS. There's never been a beeswax blend I didn't love, but musk can sometimes be wonky on me. Here, it's sweet and cuddly musk with a beautiful rosewood undertone. Something is a little powdery, but my nose interprets it as sorta herbal (almost like lavender) so it's lovely to me (I suspect it's the labdanum).

 

It's a very comforting scent and I'm looking at this for the rainy days or days when I feel a little blue. Also, great for wearing to bed - I don't find it sexy on my skin, but I can see it if you amped the labdanum you might.

Edited March 16, 2016 by sarandipitee