Nanshe

[shelldoo]

The Babylonian Goddess of Dreams, who bestows the power of Oneiromancy onto her priests. This blend opens up psychic sensitivity during sleep and aids in the understanding and correct interpretation of portents and symbols.

this is almost a singlenote lemon peel on me, no herbs, no lavender, just lemon.

[paperdoll]

Lavendar and lemongrass...

 

I wore this to bed the other night and found it distracting.

[quinkel]

lemon, lavender and herbs. I ordered a 5ml unsniffed

I really like the Somnium blends!I use them now every night and regarding the scent I think Nanshe I like the most. But like with the Voodoo blends i do not really judge these by their scent

Nanshe is my weekend scent, when I can sleep longer in the morning.

I have the feeling i dream more clearly but i am not ready into analyzing dreams. But when i feel like ready for that sort of things, these blends i will work with!

[etherealchild]

In the Bottle Holy mother of HERB

 

Wet Sharp lemongrass. And something else.... someone said witch hazel, and I'm inclined to agree. It's got a bite kiddies.

 

Drydown Quickly fades away into a dreamy lavender. It isn't powdery yet it somehow has a softness and simultaneous body to it. ahhhhhhhhhhh.

 

Next Morning My dreams were vivid. Damn vivid. I feel like I slept a million days. like I am aware of every moment of dreaming. And I have this lovely lingering scent on my wrists. YAY

 

Verdict These dream formulas are friggin' awesome.

Edited April 30, 2005 by etherealchild

[sarahmarie]

I get some lavendar in this, but mostly, I get the spicy lemony scent - it's not lemon though, it's lemongrass or lemon verbena. I'm thinking verbena, but I'm not sure. It's very familiar to me, though I don't know why. I tried a little bit of this last night and fell asleep very quickly, so I didn't have a lot of time to reflect on it - but I know it's good stuff! I remembered my dreams better than usual, though they weren't terribly important-seeming dreams (I was pretending to be a sort of statue that attached to shopping carts in the grocery store, and Xander from Buffy (who was Xander but also my spouse, Ryan) was carrying me home in the rain (because I was still pretending to be a statue)).

 

Anyway. I like Nanshe quite a bit and will probably be getting a bottle of it eventually. It's got similar qualities to the other sleep oils I've tried, but this one is definitely unique - it's green and spicy, and also sort of...quieter, I guess, than Baku or Somnus. I think I am going to like all of the sleep oils! Soon my ritual of applying oils before bed will be even longer, and I will run out of places to put all the different oils.

[byrdie]

Note ~ I don't think I've ever started writing a review just after having gone to bed.

 

Vial ~ The smell on my hands after I've brushed them over a neighbor's lavender plant: herbal, medicinal, a little green but definitely lavender in the end.

 

Wet ~ There's some weird citrus-like note in this ... it borders on the Pledge-like, and I think it's what builds up the medicinal factor of the initial sniff. Problem is, its hard to tell if it's a citrus, let alone what sort, so I was loathe to mention it initially.

 

Drying ~ I'm no really smelling pepper, am I? Lemon pepper? It's a clean, fresh citrus with a biting but pleasant undertone. Yep, I bet that's black pepper under there. The lavender has backed off almost completely.

 

Drydown ~ The green is coming back as lavender leaf freshly rubbed between the fingers. It's rather faint and the lemon pepper is all but gone from the first wrist I swiped.

 

Dry ~ Wow. Now its mainly pepper and green lavender. It's herby and strong. Mmmm. I'm feelin' kinda mellow ...

 

Fade ~ If I sniff really hard, there's a trace of something dark on the first wrist I tested. For now, though, nightie night.

 

Morning after ~ Both wrists are lightly powdered with vague baker spice. Wow. I wouldn't have expected that. Hmmm. Could be remnants of Pink Moon in there, too, I guess.

 

Dreams ~ None that I can remember.

 

Sleep ~ Pretty solid. I was up a few hours later for a bathroom break, but went back to sleep almost immediately afterwards, which is nearly unheard of for me.

 

Final thoughts ~ I've tried this one a few times before, and found myself nodding off quickly and sleeping soundly. If I could get into the habit, I'd rely on this oil when stressed to get me through bouts of insomnia.

 

Layers ~ I'd be curious to see what Nanshe and Laudanum could do together ... perhaps as a last-ever review.

 

5ml * ~ For practical purposes, almost certainly. I couldn't picture wearing this as a regular perfume, but it's a great sleep aid.

 

* With a tip o' the nib to UltraViolet.

[Gin]

Lavender and herbs. It's soothing like the other Somnium blends, but it seemed darker somehow, and slightly medicinal. At first, the lemony edge seems a little "loud" to me. It makes me worry that this may be too stimulating for bedtime. As it dries, it becomes much smoother. I'll be using this before bed tonight.

[Aurelius]

This stays the same from the vial to my skin, and while it's strong for about an hour, after that it's completely absorbed into my skin and I can no longer smell it.

 

The scent? Citrus, but more of a heavy rind-y smell, and violet. It's a dark citrus, not a light scent at all to my nose.

 

I have trouble falling asleep. I have trouble quieting my mind, but Nanshe seems to quickly lull me into a dreamy state. I fell asleep fairly quickly last night, but I woke up several times, remembering bits and pieces of odd dreams. Something about deep cuts on my leg, something about a frog and a spider, something else about rotten vegetables. I can't make much sense of it. I will, however, try this blend again. I keep a dream journal, and I'm betting this will help me fill the pages at a quick pace.

[theshapeshifter]

As others have noted, Nanshe stayed very true from imp to skin. A bright, herbal lemon - lemongrass, or maybe bergamot, or some of both? - with a whisper of lavender in the background. It's a fabulously clean, energizing scent, so much so that I initially worried I'd have trouble dropping off to sleep with it on.

 

However, that fear proved unfounded. I slept wonderfully, and though I didn't have any particularly interesting dreams, I definitely had greater clarity during them, and in remembering them in the morning. I'm going to give Nanshe a couple more tries, and if the results are consistent, I'll definitely need a big bottle!

 

Edited (May 29) to add: Okay, Nanshe is DEFINITELY a must-have. It helped me remember a whackload of detail about a dream last night that was so funny, it literally woke me up laughing.

Edited May 29, 2005 by theshapeshifter

[lucy gray]

I'm terrible at identifying notes, but I guess I was right about the lavendar.

 

In the vial and wet, Nanshe was shockingly strong and sharp, almost astringent. But during the drying, it slowly began to calm down into a lovely sort of lightly-burnt citrus smell. It was still quite strong for a while, but not harsh. It's a gorgeous scent, really refreshing...and I did remember my dreams quite clearly the next morning, for whatever that's worth.

[helarctos]

Smells like lemongrass and ... hush puppies?

[wickedgoddess]

This is the fourth Dream Formula I have tried and it too shares the common notes of lavendar and something I can't name. This one is overwhelmingly lemongrass. This is quite nice and once again, I slept more soundly, and with very vivid dreams. So far I have loved all of the Somnium blends, but I am only going to buy one or two of them and this one won't make the cut. I will definitely hang on to the imp though.

 

On the wickedgoddess scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being best, this rates a 4.

[elphaba]

I have to admit, I was a bit nervous wearing Nanshe. The night before, I'd had an inexplicable stress dream (I couldn't think of anything in my life that I was stressed about) and I worried that Nanshe would bring on another one if that was truly where my subconscious wanted to be. I put it on anyway, figuring that the fact I got it as a frimp from the lab must be a sign from the universe.

 

Nanshe smells like a sharper version of the Badger Sleep Balm I have to calm down my hyper toddler, so I'm guessing they have some notes in common. I think the sharp lemony scent that predominates is bergamot, but I know others have guessed lemon or lemongrass as well. Suffice it to say, it's lemony. Very lemony. I could barely smell the lavender at all on my skin, although I could definitely smell it in the bottle.

 

I actually slept quite well. I know I had a lot of dreams, but I don't remember any of them. It was nice, though, that even though I dreamed and I remember dreaming, they didn't seem to disturb my sleep at all, which is unusual. I was quite well-rested this morning. Guess I had no reason to worry.

 

That being said, I think I'll be trading Nanshe. The lemony/bergamot smell was actually a bit unpleasant for me (although it might be more true to the bottle on a pillowcase or sheet) and I already have a product that does the trick for good, restful sleep. I just didn't love it enough to keep it.

[Thorne]

I have never had such a strong reaction to an oil before. I put this on last night and thought, "Hey, this is nothing like I thought it would be! It's all lemony and bright and fres-zzzzzz." Seriously, it was like I took a hit of Nyquil or something. One minute I was wide awake and the next I was out.

 

I dreamed some weird dreams, too. Restless, oceany dreams of being washed out to sea in a storm, of raising baby seals (...I don't know), of watching huge waves come crashing down on the seashore.

 

I woke up 4 hours later, and smelled a scent from my childhood. My father's best friend is from India, and this was the scent of his apartment when I was 8 years old. Lemongrass clean and something exotic. Then it smelled like my grandmother's house - she was from Germany, and her house always smelled like clean herbs and spices. It was almost overwhelming how strongly this oil brought back the memories of my childhood.

 

I was left with a faint metallic taste in the back of my mouth, the barest whiff of lemongrass on my wrists, and a whole lot of memories and dreams crowding in my head.

 

Wow.

[melrose]

Wet - LEMON! Hello, lemon! This is fine with me, since I love citrus scents.

 

Near drydown - Where did my lemon go? This is herbs, no, sparkling herbs - very nice. Definitely gender-neutral.

 

Far drydown - Have to stick my nose into my skin to smell anything, but it's pleasant - herbs, with just a hint of lemon.

 

I'm not thrilled enough to re-purchase.

[LunaDragonGirl]

I got this as an imp in a swap.

 

In the imp: a bit of herby, medicinal scent, in the general lavender catagory, with a bit of citrus in the background...very pleasant. (I love certain lavendars and citrusy scents)

 

On me: IMMEDIATELY started running around my skin screaming LEMON PLEDGE!!! MUST DUST THE SKIN MOLECULES WITH LEMON PLEDGE!!! I couldn't stand it after an hour and had to scrub it off.

 

*sigh* I had high hopes for this one. I sent it off to hopefully a happier home with another forumite.

 

I have a pending order with imps of all the dream formulas...so I'm gonna give Nanshe another try when it shows up, but this time in my oil burner thingy. Maybe the lavender will make an appearance.

[yeahbutnobut]

Nanshe

 

In the imp: lemongrass, pepper and a bit of lavender.

Wet on skin: still lemongrass, pepper and lavender. This is a warm scent, the pepper adds a spicy sense of heat, the lemongrass is quite piercing, there's a bit of lavender too.

Dry on skin: whoa, this stuff is strong! Lemongrass (or is it verbena?) and pepper are not what I expect from an oil to aid sleep and dreaming! Yet the pepper adds warmth, and the lavender is there to smooth it out. However, I always thought lemongrass or verbena was used to aid wakefulness and concentration (it's also in the TAL blend of that name) so it's surprising to smell it here.

After a while: lemongrass tends to amp up on my skin for the first 15 minutes, before fading. It's doing that now. Now I can smell the pepper more. It's almost curry like! The lavender remains a strictly background note-it's there, lying under the lemony pepper.

Verdict: this is a nice blend-and very different to what I expect from a sleep or dream oil! There's lemongrass there, and also hot pepper, with an undertone of lavender. It's a warm, piercing, herbal blend. I really like it-I find it very clearing for the mind, zingy and bright. Not sure how it will help sleep though-as this scent smells more energising and awakening with it's spicy lemon herbal scent. I'll see what happens at bedtime. I'll update this review tomorrow morning.

[Spastik_Kitty]

In the bottle: Shrimp Tom Yum soup anyone? It smells exactly like lemongrass and cayanne pepper.

 

First on: Lemongrass and pepper, but now I'm getting a slight curry note. This is making me hungry.

 

After a bit: The lemongrass has morphed into a bitter lemon drop candy with pepper and curry.

 

Conclusion: I'm not sure if this whoule help with dreams, but it's sure making me want some thai soup.

[gingersnapp]

I put some on my temples, my chest, and my hands before I went to bed last night. My husband asked me what "stinks". It was definitely kind of foody, in the way other people have mentioned.

 

As for the dream applications, it didn't really work for me. I can't really remember my dreams from last night at all, and I woke up with a very heavy head and a headache. Oh well.

[feline.by.design]

This was a freebie imp from the Lab, which was very nice as I would like to eventually try all of the Somnium blends.

 

Nanshe was a lovely scent of lemongrass on my skin. Since I was feeling sick, I really liked the smell of lemongrass coupled with a very faint hint of lavender. Lemongrass scents always remind me of a garden we had back in Okinawa that had a lemongrass plant. I used to break the leaves so I could smell the wonderful fragrance.

 

Although I wore Nanshe before I went to bed, it's hard to say whether my dreams were in regards to the oil or due to my feverish sickness I was experiencing. I did have dreams... about being sick. Lame. I think I'll try to wear Nanshe again prior to night-night time when I'm not experiencing cold or flu-like symptoms.

 

To me, Nanshe would make a great scent to wear during the day as well. I haven't found a lemongrass scent since the discontinued Azazel, which I'm kicking myself for not buying a bottle of before it went bye-bye, so it's nice to have an imp of something I can still order.

 

Yay, lemongrass!

 

-doreen

[emz83]

Very lemony with a kick, effective as a dream inducer, without keeping me awake.

[amberlox]

this smells like pumpkin spice to me.... it is heavenly.... a very incense-heavy scent that is thick and sweet. it does feel like it's opening your mind up to new things.... something psychic. something mystic. pumpkinypie-ish. totally a 5ml purchase for me! it didn't last long but i'm willing to slather.

 

Edit: I forgot to mention that there is something very 'herbal' about this and usually I dislike herbal but this is herbal in a good, yummy foody way... and well, sumptuous comes to mind as a descriptive term.

Edited July 20, 2005 by amberlox

[Blood onmy hands]

This reminds me of LUSH's Avobath. It's like a mix of lemongrass and bergmot - very lemony and slightly herbal. Unfortunately, I think this makes for a better bath scent than a perfume scent. It's too simple and slightly sour as a perfume.

Edited March 19, 2012 by Little Bird

[Tesseljoan]

The first thing I smell from Nanshe is Clary Sage. After a while, it develops into a lemon-esque scent, but more the herby kind (lemongrass, bergamot). Quite nice as a scent, will try this too to remember my dreams.

 

BTW, this is the 200th BPAL scent I've ever tried

 

 

Edited to add something: I know this blend is used to aid in understanding dreams, but when I started to write on my daily draw tarot card, I simply couldn't stop. Where I am nomally like: 'o it has pomegranates... uhm.. that gots to mean summin'...' I think I wrote 3 A4's about what I preceived to be the card's meaning. Interesting blend, this.

Edited August 4, 2005 by Tesseljoan

[sarahj]

Nanshe

 

freebie from the lab and the first Somnium blend I have tried

 

smells strongly of lemongrass and something else I can't quite name (it's not lavender)

 

I have tried this three times now. The first two nights I had very vivid dreams...so vivid that they woke me up several times throughout the night and made my sleep quite restless. Last night my dreams were not so disturbing, but still quite vivid.

 

I think I'll use this oil occasionally, but it probably wouldn't be wise to use it every night.