Baobhan Sith

[Shollin]

Baobhan Sith, from Diabolus:

The ghostly White Women of the Scottish highlands. They seduce unwary travelers by night with their unearthly beauty and mesmerizing dancing. They engage their victims in a wild, hypnotic dance, and once they reach exhaustion, the demonesses exsanguinate their partners with their vampiric kiss. Talk about a quick courtship. Grapefruit, white tea, apple blossom and ginger.

 

First sniff: Definite grapefruit, with a bite – it almost smells like grapefruit peel rather than the fruit inside. The inside of the grapefruit when you’re done eating it and all the sugar is gone.

 

Wearing: The feel of this reminds me very much of Phantasm – they both have a misty, wispy quality to the citrus, but Phantasm is much brighter, where this one is in shadow. The ginger is very restrained, not biting like Siren but a very faint note of spice under the fruit, so slight I wasn't sure I was really smelling it. I really enjoyed this one, even if it did fade a bit quickly.

[sigh]

Ok, I've been slathered in this all day and must say, I it. I don't get a sharp bite from the Grapefruit, more of a little rush at first and then it rounds out into a deep luscious very white scent.

[lorajc]

I ended up loving this fragrance. The initial fragrance is the top note of grapefurit and when that fades, the tea comes in and smells lovely. After wearing for a while you can detect a hint of ginger, but not strong. This wore on me beautfully. I slathered this on thinking it would be too light for me, but it actually stayed pretty well. I am looking into obtaining more tea scents after this one.

[Nadirah]

Yes this is a strong grapefruit that tones down to a citrus laced tea. Very light, but there, its a perfume for those days when you don't want to be too physically overpowering, more subtle in your takeover. I like it, the staying power is not there, but a very nice refreshing scent. I'll be taking this bottle with me for the rest of the day for touch ups.

[Sierona]

Took a chance on this one and ordered a 5ml instead of an imp with the gut feeling i would adore this one. Verdict= Gut is actually right for once wooohooo! I am a big fan of grapefruit scents, especially in the summer... At first this packed a very powerful Grapefruit punch really great when you need a lil extra help when u need to get moving in the mornings. As my day went on the tart grapefruit was still there but the tea/ginger definately came out more and softened this up very wonderfully. I like how this transforms but i do need to put more on at the end of the work day though... which isnt bad i usually wear a different scent at nite anyhoo... so glad i ordered a bottle of this!!!

[darklorelei]

Mm. Grapefruit! This is my fav of the scents I've tried thus far. I haven't really found any I love yet.

 

The grapefruit is amazing at first, but fades really fast. There's still a vague overtone later, however.

 

Like all the scents which purportedly have ginger in them, I can't smell it at all. I wish there was a bit more bit to this--true ginger.

 

The dominant scent in this quickly becomes white tea, balanced by the floral.

[jj_j]

Freshly applied, Baobhan Sith is a rush of grapefruit and apple blossom. At first, I pegged it as a muted lilac, but that didn't seem quite right - so I was relieved to see that my nose wasn't crazy for disagreeing with my brain when I checked the notes.

 

Snappy ginger isn't biting, and it gives the grapefruit note a definite crunch; a solid, strong supporting character that makes the citrus and apple blossom, which melded beautifully, crisp - like a flag snapping in the breeze; one you watch, fascinated, for an hour before you realize how long you were absorbed in it.

 

White tea is one of the last notes to come out on me, and it sweetens this back up just a bit. Not too much, though, as Baobhan Sith retains its absolute clarity of citrus strength and intensity to the end.

 

Perfect for spring, although it fades faster than many other BPAL scents - standard for any true citrus, unfortunately. Well worth the time and effort of lotion and/or body wash, as layering would be a good idea when it comes to this fantastic scent.

[Ms. MSGirl]

Hooray for the first day it's been beautiful and bright enough to wear this!!

 

In the vial, this was a sweet juicy pure grapefruit. When I first dabbed it on, I worried for 1 second that it was going to do what Rosalind did on me and turn all Pledge-y, but my worries immediately disappeared as a crisp, dry floral tinged with tea took over -- almost like the drydown of Queen Mab, only citrussy. I can't really smell any of the juiciness of the grapefruit any more, and I never got any of the apple blossom unfortunately. What remains, though, is a super-clean dry floral scent -- very complex, actually, for so light a scent. In the future I may wear this with honey, apple blossom, or grapefruit single note oils to sweeten and fruiten (fruiten?) it up. It's really ingenious on its own, though!

[any_old_actress]

FIRST SNIFF: grapefruit peel

WHILE WEARING: can't smell the ginger. the white tea and apple blossom slowly creep in and subdue the grapefruit . perfect for spring and summer, it's almost got a 'comfort food' quality to it in that it makes me feel calm and loved and warm.

 

one of my absolute favourites thus far. a larger bottle will be in my next order.

[magpiedee]

When I was little, we had a little flower tree in the front yard-- the one with pussywillows that turn into big, waxy, pink-and-white, tulip-shaped flowers. I remember waiting each year for the first flower to appear so that I could break it open and smell it before it blossomed. Baobhan Sith reminds me so much of that broken flower's smell that it nearly sends me swooning.

 

To me, it is a crisp and clear scent, like a spring morning after a rainy night. I see pastures with dew on the grass and black horses grazing, with every leaf outlined by sunlight reflecting off waterdroplets. Definitely a spring/summer scent for me, but it's so lovely and comforting. Another masterpiece!

[Donnababe]

First Sniff

 

Grapefruit peel. Beautiful.

 

After Application

 

Still have the peel-y tang, it's sweetening off a little, like the pulp of the fruit. I'm getting a hint of tea but not much.

 

After Drydown

 

The tea is pushing forward a little more but it hasn't changed a great deal. No sign of the ginger or apple blossom.

 

After a While.

 

It's only been a hour and I can barely smell anything! During the course of the next hour or so I catch the occasional hint of scent but it's faded far too quickly on me.

 

Verdict

 

I love this but it doesn't last anywhere near long enough for me. I'm in rainy, dull England so I can't see it lasting very well in hotter weather. Shame, as it's a great scent for the summer.

Edited May 12, 2004 by Donnababe

[minilux]

I would say Baobhan Sith could be Embalming Fluid's little sister. It starts out with a nice grapefruit kick, but then dries down into a lovely soft floral. It is a perfect light fragrance for warm weather. Unfortunately, I was looking for something with a stronger grapefruit presence, so I will probably pass this on to someone else.

[isyche]

This is another one of my favorites so far. The grapefruit at first is refreshing, but not as sharp as the grapefruit in Tempest, for instance. It fades to a cool, light, white apple blossom/tea scent that's brightened by the remaining faint grapefruit. I can't really smell the ginger, and it isn't very long lasting, but I still love it.

[pekeana]

I really wanted to like this one, and out of the imp, it was a beautiful rush of grapefruit, ginger, and apple blossom.

 

But then it hit my skin and turned into instant baby powder. And after a while, it's gotten more strangely floral on top of the baby powder.

 

I'll put this one aside and try it again later -- this might just be one of those scents I can't pull off, though.

[darkling]

In the bottle and wet- The sharp tang of grapefruit.

 

Dry- The grapefruit has disappeared and is replaced with a soapy odor that reminds me of bath beads.

 

A few hours later- It morphed into a light, powdery scent of undefined fruit. The smell is so faint that I have to stick my nose on my wrist to catch it.

 

This will definitely be added to my swap pile.

[Mitzy]

I like the wet scent of this, very tangy and crisp, but on my skin it smells like Old Shanghai. just kind of a lemony tea.

 

on the other hand, when this touches my mother it turns into pure orchid blossom - she has over 100, just a little bit obsessed... - and even I recognized the orchid scent on her. needless to say she kept this one!

[AnnetteL]

A very light, fresh scent. I get a strong note of citrus peel - not the fruit itself, just the peel and pith. The other notes don't really come through separately on me, just a light floral blend, sometimes I can pick out the tea and sometimes not.

 

It didn't last that long on me, usually I can still smell my fragrance quite well when I get home from work but with this I had nothing left. I'm not excited about it at all but it wasn't unpleasant, just not for me.

 

(To be fair, I generally prefer warm perfumes in the sweet / spicy / woody / vanilla range, so this was out of character for my tastes. I would definitely try it if you like this sort of thing...)

[Chantarelle]

First smell: Grapefruit, tangy and kicky. Oh baby.

 

On wearing: The grapefruit fades quickly, leaving behind a nice apple smell, a little tart, and maybe a touch of the tea. I never did get any ginger, sadly.

 

Verdict: Although this didn't end up being what I thought it was going to be (I was drawn to the ginger and grapefruit, I got apple and tea), it's a lovely light scent, very happy and nice for summer. If I find the energy, I might try to add this to a body lotion to see if I can get it to stay around for longer.

[orangepoppy]

I love the scent of grapefruit, its "sparkliness" and that's what Baobhan Sith delivers when wet. I've worn this scent off and on for about a week now and it's especially nice when just out of a cool bath on a hot day. Sometimes, it fades fairly quickly, other times it lasts a couple of hours. On those happy occasions when it lasts, it dries down to an aquatic gingery floral on me that is ever-so-slightly powdery. I like it. Fresh, clean, uplifting, I'm debating whether or not to get a bigger bottle of this lovely creation.

Edited August 24, 2004 by orangepoppy

[sarahmarie]

I *loved* this scent upon sniffing it in the imp. Oh! Grapefruity-goodness.

 

When I first put it on, I can distinctly smell each of the notes. It starts out very grapefruity, but that fades to somewhere in the middle pretty quickly. Meanwhile, I can definitely smell the apple blossom, and that comes forward, mingling with the tea and getting just a little bite from the ginger. It is light, but it has snap. I love it.

 

After it dries down though, things get a bit dicey. Unfortunately, it seems that my skin likes to take any floral scents (based on my very limited experience) and shove them forward right away, then sharpen and soapify them. The first time I wore this, that happened very strongly after about an hour (after going through a short phase of smelling like lily-of-the-valley, in a pleasant enough way). This morning though, I put it on again before leaving the house in the morning. I worked for 4 hours, running around in air-conditioning, and the scent faded a lot, but left a light, nicely mingled floral-grapfruit scent on my skin. *That* was nice. I'm giving it one more try right now, to see if it goes the pleasant light way or the soapy floral way. We'll see. Right now it seems stronger than before, which is kind of weird.

 

All in all, if this one bombs, it's my skin's fault. I think this is an awesome fragrance, and I hope my skin is kind to it.

[xoe]

Citrus Peel! At first I thought it was orange, but reading the description... I know I was wrong. Yeah. Grapefruit definitely. Delicious!

 

------------

eta: Today I've got Baobhan Sith layered over vanilla bean on one wrist. And it is SPECTACULAR! The vanilla adds a real depth to the Baobhan. WOW!

Edited September 10, 2004 by xoe

[shadow]

This is another one that smells completely different wafting around me than it does on my skin. When I first put it on it's a cheerful, bright sparkly scent. I can smell the grapefruit and a little ginger and some white floral. Shortly after it begins to morph and I wonder if I'm going to have to wash it off - it smells like perfume, something I've smelled before. White Linen? White something, it's a very dry sharp floral. Very very dry. It fades a bit so I don't feel the need to wash it off, and it's such a work acceptable scent that I stop noticing it.

 

During the last half of the work day I'm noticing that I am still catching whiffs of this when I'm not expecting to. It's still that dry floral, almost heading into one of those triple milled french soap smells, but when I hold my wrist to my nose I'm getting something completely different. It's soft and very sweet, the ginger and tea are in there, sweetened by some beautiful flower. It's odd how it's so different on my skin from the way it smells in the air. It's a little over 12 hours later and I'm now getting tea laced with ginger. I really love this stage.

 

Overall the perfume is clean, bright and cheery, yet startlingly sophisticated.

[rugiada]

Oh, this is my first review

 

First sniff: grapefruit (grapefruit peel, as someone told), and nothing else.

Then, tea adds a fresh note. Behind there's something decadent, like dried flowers; I think it's the bitter ginger taste.

After 3-4 hours, every single note blends with each others. it result a fresh, light citrusy-floral scent. I love it!

[Mistral]

In the bottle: Grapefruit peel with something behind it. I think it's the tea.

 

Wet: Exactly the same, which is the first time that's happened to me.

 

Drydown: Still grapefruity, but the ginger has poked its head out, and there's a hint of white floral - yum!

 

Later: All of the scents are still there, but they've blended into something wonderful that can't be truly described. This is definitely a "whole is greater than the sum of its parts" oil. It's so complex and lovely. I just wish it lasted a bit longer on me, but that seems to be a common problem for me - most of the oils I've tried so far just disappear into my skin.

[madame royale]

Make no mistake—I’m not a citrus or a white floral kind of gal. Then why do I like Baobhan Sith so much? Could it be because the grapefruit, while strong at first, fades quickly into the background? Could it be because the apple blossom isn’t so overwhelmingly creamy and flowery? Maybe it’s because the white tea is the dominant note. And maybe it’s because the ginger gives BS such a nice zing. Whatever the reason, I will be buying a bigger bottle next spring—oh yes, this is a warm weather scent to me (and I agree that it’s very reminiscent of White Linen)—but it may be a nice pick-me-up in the dead of winter. Although BS strikes me as being somewhat “mature,” it possesses a crispness that mitigates the old-lady feeling. BS is my light scent of choice: once bitten, now smitten.