Bewildered in a Dream

[suki]

A disorienting eddy of French lavender, black tea, orange blossom, sharp green tea leaf, pink flowering thorn, and a blot of inky resins.

Disclosure: Normally, I don't go for scents that have lavender in them, as I find the scent too medicinal for my tastes. But the other notes in this were all so compelling that I blind-bought a bottle. Let's see how that worked out, shall we?

In The Bottle: Wow. This takes off, right out of the gate. The lavender is there, and yes, it's a strong French one to be sure. But the black tea, green tea and orange blossom are all in the mix, too, making it, at this stage, what I'd been optimistically anticipating: the smell of drinking tea in an English garden (emphasis on the 'tea' part!)

Wet On Skin: I am generally not much for florals- they never seem heady enough for me, being a foodie-and-resins kinda girl. But this is just unfolding into something too beautiful to ignore. At this stage, it's *very* heavy on the tea notes with the lavender stepping a bit into the background and the orange blossom acting as a bit of a 'sweetener' for the tea- like orange blossom honey, without the honey

Dry Down: Staying true to the end, drinking tea on a glorious spring day in a verdant garden.

In All: Low to medium-low throw, this is mostly a top-note scent. Whilst I feel certain that I will wear this plenty come spring time, this scent also reminds me fondly of walking in the medicinal gardens of the Mutter Museum in the dead of winter. Make no mistake- this is a straight-up floral. But it's extremely complex and layered. I'd say it's a floral both for fans of the genre and also for this of us that usually don't care for them.

SO glad I got a bottle of this!

[AmyO'Shields]

This. This is just magnificent! Spring bottled!!!

The lavender is beautiful and not astringent or bitter and there is a lovely dance between it and the orange blossom and teas...gorgeous.

 

I just bought a bottle.

[barilace]

This is gorgeous. You can smell the lavender and the teas so well. And then a hint of the orange blossom. I must buy a bottle.

Edited December 19, 2014 by barilace

[loubric]

In the bottle it's sweet sweet lavender tea. On me it's all I hoped for and more. Hints of lavender, strong tea with hints of green. A gorgeous English garden filled with blooming flowers comes out. A very sophisticated and ladylike scent. Love love LOVE.

[LiberAmoris]

Bewildered in a Dream smells like an amazing herbal/green/black tea blend. I like lavender blends in general, but sometimes they're a bit too astringent for me. Here, the lavender is balanced with the tea notes and orange blossom so beautifully. I smell something pink and flowering at the top and something dusky at the bottom, but they're seamlessly blended. This definitely smells like tea in the springtime, and is very relaxing (perhaps due to the lavender?). This would actually make a great sleep scent, I think. It smells clean and fresh and calming. Lovely!

[TallGrrl78]

Herbal lavender tea with a suggestion of mint. There is a sharpness to it, either from the lavender or maybe that's the green tea. Very low throw on me - stays close to the skin. Pretty, but a bit too light for me I think.

[Haltija]

This is just beautiful. Feminine without screaming "super floral" and I like that and have been searching for that. It's a scent to wear all year round but most specifically in the Spring. It's soft, delicate and the lavender does have that medicinal quality at first but once it's on the skin it fades and turns a little sweet. The green tea leaf isn't unpleasant either and it just gives the scent a brightness. It's for sure the scent of sitting in a garden in the early hours of Spring. <3

 

The only downfall is that it has extremely low throw and at times it's hard to smell. So I agree with a previous reviewer that it may be a good sleep blend or just something to wear at the house when you want a little pick me up during the rainy/dreary days.

[zankoku_zen]

Dark lavender, green tea and inky resins. Its a dark sleep blend, the kind that makes you realize that nightmares are also dreams, making the saying "I hope all your dreams come true" become terrifying.

[Lethran]

In bottle: Lavender dominant. The tea notes work beautifully with the lavender, providing excellent support. The resin is soft background, the other florals are understated and go well with the lavender. Wet: Still lavender dominant, but the resin is a strong second now. The teas are better differentiated as it warms. The flowering thorn is really interesting and gentle. The orange blossom stays understated. Dry: Tea dominant with gentle lavender support and a hint of resin.

[Mountaingrrl00]

At first it's SN lavender, After the initial rush of lavender fades, this is a delicious tea scent with something faint and intriguing behind it. There's a fresh hay-like aspect and a smoky bite. It's refreshing, a scent that makes me thirsty for it. I have to put my wrist to my nose; there's little throw. After a night's sleep, I'm pleasantly surprised by the blot of inky resins drifting up to me.

[Magycmyste]

In the imp: Tea. Earl Gray. Hot. (which I had for breakfast this morning!) And Inky.

 

Wet on skin: Still inky earl gray.

 

Dried down: Earl gray.

 

Throw: I'm not getting much throw off of this.

 

Verdict: **** So, this is pure earl gray tea on me. I like it. The question is, do I like it enough to get a bottle? Will I reach for it often enough?

[sprout]

Preconceived notions: Expected it to be hazy, resinous, medicinal, and herbal. All these notes are win for me so I don't see it being a "scrubber" (you know the one where you must scrub off right away or feel the urge to anyway)

 

In vitro (imp): Lavender, more herbal than medicinal or floral (lavender can be any of those on me). Dreamy but not hazy.

Wet: Lavender overpowers all the other notes initially, but if I huff close to the skin, I think I get the black tea note, and a sweetness which is likely the orange blossom (it is a sweet, non high pitched floral on my skin usually). Still herbal and almost completely dominated by the lavender.

Early dry: I can pick up more of the tea and a note that is almost like mint, perhaps the green tea note, mostly lavender becoming slightly less dominant and more tea. Orange blossom still contributing a hint of sweetness to the tea, almost like citrus rind, but it really isn't that strong. It is more floral hint and sweet than acidic or fruit.

Drydown: Same as the wet, with slightly less lavender dominance and more black tea. No more mint/green tea. Lavender is relaxing and dreamy, but not hazy or inducing light headedness.

Throw is very light and this did not last past 4 hours. Sad face, because I love the scent, wanted it to last.

 

Final thoughts: The "inky resins" are conspicuously absent for me, and my skin usually amps them. No musk notes, no patchouli, no resin of any kind. The herbal lavender with minimal floral note from the orange blossom and the astringency of the black and green tea blend very well and are indeed dreamy and soothing--I wanted to smell this all day and felt it could be used to help with sleep induction. I tried to extend the drydown by layering with unscented lotion, but no dice. I am getting a bottle anyway because this may be my favorite lavender blend to date and I love almost any blend with tea (Bakeneko, White Rabbit, Dorian). I want to figure out how to make it last longer, but I am not opposed to slathering every 3 hours or so if needed. Wondering if a scent locket would help. I wonder if I need more than one bottle? This will be a great comfort scent at night or mixed with lotion. I don't think it would be apparent to anyone else unless they are right next to the spot where the oil was applied, however, so that may be a consideration for some. I expected more bewilderment, befuddlement, or haze and disappointed with no resin, but maybe those will age later? If so, I will definitely multiple bottles! If that happens, this may become HG.

[dementia_divine]

In the imp: The lavender is the strongest note, with the orange blossom and the tea lingering in the background.

Wet: Lavender dominant, followed by the tea notes (more black tea than green). The tea notes are getting stronger the longer this sits on my wrist. I am also getting some orange blossom. I am not really getting any resins at this time, and I am not familiar with pink flowering thorn.

Dry: The lavender is still present, but it has calmed down a lot. I am getting a lot more of the orange blossom now. The tea notes are still rather prominent.

Verdict: I love lavender scents, so I was really hoping to love this one, but the orange blossom is stronger than I would like it to be during the drydown, and the scent is rather faint, so I think I can pass on a bottle. I will keep my half decant, though.

[EphemeralFey]

In the bottle: Lavender, tea and those inky resins are the first notes my nose registers. Smells a little strange, but in a good way. Like a cup of lavender tea next to a strongly scented bottle of open black ink.

 

On me: Lavender is center stage, with the tea notes taking a break in the back. I can kind of smell the orange blossom if I hold the scent in my nose. The inky resin notes seem to have disappeared.

 

After a while: Lavender calms down and blends with the tea notes to become a nice fragrant floral tea with hints of the resins in the background.

 

Thoughts: A very pretty scent that works as a year around blend. So happy that this worked on me since I don't have a lot of lavender scents in my stash.

[petrichorandleather]

In the imp: Potent french lavender, seriously beautiful and pure.

 

Wet on skin: french lavender and ink black resin, wow.

I can almost smell licorice if I breathe very deeply. This has serious throw!

 

Dry down: I was expecting the orange blossom and tea notes to

present themselves but they never did. All I get is a very strong lavender

fighting with a very strong, prominently inky resin. Ink screams on my chemistry

apparently. I'm torn on whether to keep my imp or not. It needs dilution!

[thekittenkat]

 

In the decant: Lavender tea with a hint of sweetness.

 

Wet: It's more like a black tea with lavender.

 

The dry-down: The lavender and the teas have combined to give a gentle and delicate scent that I would characterize as feminine. I'm not sure what pink flowering thorn smells like, but it may be what produces the sweetness, along with the orange blossom, and keeps the tea from being too medicinal. If the inky resins show up, I'll edit to add that later.

[IronMollyBlack]

If you are a fan of TKO, get your hands on a bottle of this! It's TKO's slightly darker twin. The tea is gorgeous. I was a bit scared of the florals, because they don't tend to work on me, but here they are quite light. I'm sure this is going to age wonderfully.

[milo]

Fresh tea and lavender as described. It smells more like said soap at first, but gradually turns into a soft, pleasant scent. This would be what I'd imagine a young girls room would smell like.

[freyasfae]

A more herbal lavender, I couldn't really pick out much more of the other notes. It's okay, but there are other BPAL lavenders that I prefer.