Baku

[kopper]

Our Nightmarebane. Named after the Baku, benevolent Japanese spirits that eat nightmares. In Japanese tradition, nightmares are gifts from malevolent spirits; when you wake up from one, you may call, "Baku, please eat my dreams!", and if you are virtuous and merciful in spirit, the Baku will devour the evil, transforming it into a blessing of good fortune.

GET IT OFF ME!! that's the first thought that galloped through my brain when I dabbed this on my wrist. But I had to let it linger and drydown to report, of course. And even now, hours later, I still feel like I can't wait to wash it off. On me:

Wet: lavender and licorice. Astringent. Chemical.
On skin: again, astringent and just licorice.
Drydown: Somehow it smells faintly of old toilet paper. Is that a smell? And why do I know what that smells like?? Sorry, I can't think of anything else to describe the weird skin reaction that happens with Baku. Poor me! and Poor Baku!

So sad. I wanted to love it! Edited September 17, 2007 by Shollin

[grashopper8]

I opened this imp and my first impression was "Lavender." It is a nice lavender, though, so I slathered a bit on my wrists to see how I would sleep. As it dried down, I discovered the eucalyptus note that everyone seems to pick out. I feel like this blend is quite simple.

 

Well.....I don't know if it was just because I had a long day, but about 15 minutes after putting Baku on my wrists, I was Passed Out! This is big for me, since it usually takes me an about an hour to fall asleep.

 

Pleasant and effective. Mama like!

[maiea]

Baku doesn't smell all that pleasant to me, but not horridly offensive either. It is however, my most favourite sleep blend. I put it on, and it knocks me out. I find that when I have this on (I dab a bit under my nose), I sleep very well and wake up feeling rested. I love it!

[YoakeNoKami]

Strong, and a bit astringent at first--eucalyptus, too, and rather green

 

On: Still kind of bitter, but nothing overwhelming.

 

Drydown: The astringent quality comes back! The eucalyptus lingers, along with a weird, lemon/lavender smell.

 

Don't think I will be keeping this one. Not bad, but not awesome either.

[usamimi]

i'd have to agree with the last couple of reviews--way too strong. Too much eucalyptus for me. Shame, I really looked forward to trying this one. :/

[waternight]

In the imp: Lavender and another strong herbal note.

Wet/Drydown: As soon as I put this on, a very strong anise/fennel note blossomed on my skin. It didn't obliterate the lavender note, oh no. They were both strongly present. It doesn't smell bad, per se, but I'm not a fan of anise. However, with the addition of the lavender note, which I love, it doesn't offend me, so I left it on.

Dry: The intense anise softened, and instead of smelling like crazy licorice, Baku dry smells faintly of sasparilla. I never get the eucalyptus that so many people smell in this one. All in all, it's a very, very herbal blend. I'd definitely wear it to bed, but that's about it.

[Pottersville]

Mmmmm ... a frimp from the Lab that smelled all yummy delicious bergamot in the imp and wet on the wrist. A lavender note or two appeared, but bergamot predominated. Sadly, the bergamot disappeared very quickly, leaving me with an extremely light, vaguely herbal scent. Nice, but not impressive. Incidentally, I did not read the Lab's description, or reviews here, before I tried Baku (I do that with frimps!) and far from making me sleepy, it perked me right up this morning.

[aquazoo]

That's a cleaning product, talk about a nightmare! Some poor floral has really gone afoul on me. Kind of an unfortunate blend of lavender and licorice.

[Honeygirl]

Bottle: Medicinal herbally

 

Wet: Whoo! Not a scent I would wear if I didn't want my dreams eaten.

Completely green, eucalyptus and medicinal.

 

Drydown: The sharpness doesn't really get toned down for me.

I'm not sure if it'll eat my dreams or not, but we'll see. It's not an awful scent, it's not gross. It's just so sharp!

 

Edit after sleeping:Well that didn't eat my dreams at all! It made them odder, which I didn't need.

Edited October 8, 2007 by Honeygirl

[CrazyPretzel]

Imp: Strong, medicinal lavender.

 

Wet: Lavender with a strong green note - fennel? - and something rather unpleasant, like bathroom cleaner.

 

Dry: Now it becomes much nicer! The lavender softens abruptly and there's a cool, aquatic smell, almost like mint but not as strong.

 

This did help me stop having grim thoughts and get to sleep.

[hkhm]

imp: lavender. strong, soporific lavender.

 

wet: lavender. for me it's not so much the scent of lavender that makes me sleepy. i drink a lavender herbal infusion before bed that knocks me out. maybe i'll try them together tonight...

 

dry: lavender. are there any other notes here? all i'm getting is lavender.

[dirtytrip]

All righty. It's mixed, y'all. It smells nice - antiseptic lavender - which is fine, and it really mellows me out tout suite. I feel very sleepy and relaxed after inhaling this. HOWEVER, both times I've used it, I've had BAD dreams. Wha'ppen? Am I not virtuous enough?? I know the second time was probably cause I had too many covers on my bed, and I woke up hot. A bad trick every time. But still. I'll have to make sure I use this on a chilly night (cause I want some winter, dammit) and then see. I'm not ready to give up on it yet.

[Indefatigable]

Well, this was neat. I wasn't sure whether I was supposed to wear aromatherapy oil to bed like perfume, or just put it near me.

 

In the vial this smelled like lavender and licorice, almost medicinal, but comforting. When I put it on my wrists the lavender disappeared and I smelled like I'd spilled sambuca on myself. And then it wore off and I could hardly smell it within half an hour.

 

Then I put a little drop of it on my pillow and went to bed. The licorice didn't stand out too much, but just added a cooling note to the lavender. It was very soothing and relaxing, and I think I fell asleep a lot faster than I usually do. (I had dreams, but I don't remember if they were particularly good or bad.)

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

again with the lavender!

i understand that it is supposed to be relaxing and good-sleep-inducing... but isn't there something else that can be used instead... maybe?

 

a sniff of this is good enough for me... Lavender... doesn't need to be on my skin. (sorry Lab)

[megank4]

Hmm, interesting. A frimp from the lab that gave me a lavender impression in the imp, but when I put it on, I immediately thought “What made me think of lavender?” This smelled quite herbal to me, like a bunch of herbs you would use for cooking, like herbs de provence. Didn’t have any nightmares, but I am not nightmare-prone, so I can’t credit the scent. I much prefer the Lavender sleep blend from B&BW, I think they don’t carry it any more. Anyway, I hate it when the lab doesn’t specifically say what the scents are and everyone is left guessing.

[erraticprophet]

Initial Impression: sharp lavender

 

On Wet: sharp lavender and anise

 

On Dry: turns candy-like as the anise sweetens and takes over, smells a bit like honey too, the lavender softens and blends nicely

 

Final Impression: Yummy! Made me nice and drowsy after I was very wound up and wired. I had very unusual dreams (just like Nanshe).

 

Rating (on a scale from 1-5): 4.5

[arsenicsauce]

For some reason, when it was wet the scent reminded me of animals. Kind of a musk over a sharp maybe ceder-y scent that makes me think of litter? It went away in a little over a minute, though, and now all it smells like is anise. I can't smell the lavender at all; though it did start to smell a little sweeter after the first fifteen minutes it's not so much a floral sweet as a candy sweet that makes it smell even more like licorice. I washed it off after about half an hour, it was giving me a headache.

[ImperatrixMundi]

Starts out as sharp lavender, then anise takes over, with a sort of liquorice scent. The anise fades fast and a faintly sweet herbal smell remains. Overall it is not bad but very herbal. I would keep it if my boyfriend would not hate anise with a vengeance and not touch me for a week if he smells it on me. Duh.

[twilighteyes]

All I get from this is lavender lavender lavender. Maybe a slightly sweet finish.

 

I loved it. This was the first imp that I've used completely. I wore it every night to bed and sprinkled some on my pillows.

 

A bottle is in my future!!

 

(And I'm sooo happy I just got frimped with another Sonmium today -- Somnus -- since I ran out of Baku!)

[djsiberia]

i can really smell the lavendar in this.

 

i've been using baku for the last week and have noticed i've been dreaming a lot more.

 

they've just been really strange dreams and i've had to wake up to get out of them.

 

i might have to switch back to somnus for a bit to get some deeper sleep.

[savage_rose]

Wet: Lavender

 

Dry: Lavender

 

5 minutes later: Completely gone.

 

It's a nice, herbal lavender blend, but it disappears so quickly. Sigh.

[IronMollyBlack]

Baku, Lab Frimp (Thanks Labbies!)

 

Imp: Eucalyptus!

 

Wet: Whew! Eucalyptus!

 

Drydown: Eucalyptus starts to burn off a bit, and lavendar comes out, and is that a bit of anise?

 

As it dries down further, the anise comes out more, and the eucalyptus fades further into the background. Overall a quite pleasant scent.

 

Haven't tried it for nightmares yet.

[evanescence]

Baku was too harsh on me. It actually gave me a headache, so sleep inducing wasn't the result! All the reviews on sweet lavender make me tempted to try again, though.

[voodoocatwoman]

In the imp: Cleaning product smell.

 

Wet: Lavender... the cleaner is gone and lovely lavender remains.

 

Dry: Gone. Nothing. Vanished. Where'd it go? Will say that I took a nap and it was totally dreamless. YAY.

[fairnymph]

In the bottle: Colourless oil. Cool, intense, slightly harsh herbal lavender. A bit sharp/medicinal. A hint of sweet anise.

 

Wet: More complex, less overwhelmingly lavender. The anise is a bit more apparent, and I suspect other herbs. This is overall quite herbal, but now more like a garden, less like a therapeutic extract.

 

Dry: Dries quickly. This has a very mentholic feel overall and I suspect mint and eucalyptus, the latter has amped making this more medicinal again. The sweet, slightly woody anise (or fennel or licorice, they all register similarly) does provide a bit of depth.

 

Later: Ahh, another one of those herbs has become clear - sage. It could be the mint or in addition to the mint, as many sages have mentholic minty notes to my nose. The sage and eucalyptus are strongest, with mint and lavender (now bright and lovely as in Yvaine) next, then sweet anise.

 

Summary: Harsh, astringent, medicinal sage and eucalyptus, followed by cool mint and floral lavender, and sweetly woody, licoricey anise as a base. It's herbal-woody and very much a therapeutic-smelling, sinus-clearing blend. Decent throw, fades off rather quickly.

 

Too sharp and purely herbal for me, and I dislike both eucalyptus, and anise, as well as this particular sage. I don't think I could even use this therapeutically.