The Apothecary

[porcelina]

Tea leaf with three mosses, green grass, a medley of herbal notes, and a drop of ginger and fig.

Bottle: Green grass is predominant, with a little tea and the barest hint of ginger. I don't feel like i'm in The Apothecary. This is a picnic in the grass!

Wet: I still get mostly grass, but there is more tea now and it is starting to remind me of The Dormouse.

Dry: Herbal tea, and, when I breathe in deep, it's rounded out by the fig. The fig, oddly, becomes very prominent later on as this dries more fully.

Overall: This makes me feel a little sneezy. It also reminds me too much of The Dormouse, which I greatly prefer.

[bunnymcfoo]

I smell just like a giant glass of sweet tea. No, no, let me repeat this so y'all can appreciate how awesome this is. A Giant Glass Of Sweet Tea.

 

 

I smell like summer!!! *glee*

 

 

Hee. so yes. I would say it's safe to say that my skin amps tea. A lot. (I'm also getting hints of fig and green from the grass and moss, but mostly tea, glorious tea!)

[eatingthesea]

this scent intrigued me into purchase mode due to its mixture of grass and moss, and it seemed somewhat similar to the sin & salvation scent envy (divine!). i get moss and grass eventually; the tea hits me immediately (as usual). sadly, no ginger or fig, but that was to be expected. fruit does not compute somehow the tea combined with something here reminds me of tea rose, but not sure what. either way, a lovely, greenish scent that does indeed feel "inventive" and even a bit profound. may need to be upped to 5ml.

[Extispex]

In the imp, this is light and herby. On my skin, lemon tea. Lemongrass goes crazy on my skin, so I'm pretty sure thats one of the herbs in here. I wish I got more of the mosses and fruit, but its mostly lemon tea on me. I like it, but I get the feeling my skin isn't doing this blend justice.

[readiness]

Oddly enough in the bottle and wet it smells exactly like Baothian Sith - the ginger probably but it smells orangey

 

Dry down - it's over six hours later and I can still really smell it. Now the orange is completely gone it's an herbal, mossy maybe even almost rosey smell. Very unisex

[Nimthiriel]

In the vial (initial impression):

An explosion of greens! Moss and ginger and everything but the kitchen sink, in a herbal sort of way.

 

Initially on (wet):

It's oddly soft, and very green. Like freshly cut grass, but mellowed out a bit. Mmm.

 

Wearing it (dry):

10-20 mins after application, the fig has come out and warmed up the green blend to an even softer and more harmonic one. Mmm, this is great! I'm all surprised here.

 

20-30 mins after application, the fig has nearly overpowered the whole scent, along with its partner-in-crime, ginger. It's a bit much, and I wish the mellow herbs would return.

 

An hour later, the ginger has gone very prominent, which is a bit sad - I liked the initial green mellowness.

Finally:

Lovely, but I wouldn't know when to use it. Goes in my swap pile!

[zankoku_zen]

In the imp: Herbal and floral

 

On Skin: Kinda piney-floral and still an edge of floral

 

Drydown: Herbally floral.

 

Verdict: I can't distinguish any particular note but the overall smell reminds me to Burt Bee's Soap Bark and Chamomile Deep Clean Cream Cleanser. Which is a nice smell, but not necessarily something I want to smell like all day.

[Naamah_Darling]

Hmm! Aquatic grassy notes are very green. Combine this with tea, and various dry herbs, and you get a very interesting scent.

 

It's very pretty on; aquatic and herbal, very green, with an overtone of just-cut grass. A fascinating scent. I was expecting this to be deeper, huskier, but it's a very light, bright scent.

 

As it dries, it becomes very much like a "green meadows" flavored shampoo I tried once. This isn't unpleasant, but it is unexpected. It's very green and grassy, and I'm getting no fig, no ginger from it at all.

[eloiseattheplaza]

I love the description for The Apothecary, but unlike some of the more fruity, foody, or bizarre blends, there's no way anyone would spontaneously associate this one with its name. I don't dislike it, but there are so many other BPAL blends that really are unique and wonderful that this one doesn't leap out at me.

 

Wet: light, acidic herbs, almost but not quite fake-smelling; nothing specifically presents itself, apart from maybe a green tea note.

 

Drydown: there's still something commercially-perfumey about this, which is not what I have come to expect. Though it is getting more wearable, I still wouldn't expect anyone to compliment it.

 

Dry: after a few hours, the acidic characteristic is gone and the scent is light, fresh but not brash, and more complex--quite lovely, in fact. I don't smell any fig, just green tea and grass.

 

I think I'll keep the imp and revisit it now and again, though ultimately I think I won't fall in love with this one. I didn't really enjoy the initial wearing and I doubt this would work in my locket--it needed the time on my skin to develop. It is lovely, though, and there may well be occasions when it's worth it to get to the final delicate herbal fragrance.

[funkmoppet]

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmoss-tastic!

 

If you love moss, this is a green, smooshy mossy festival!

 

*huffs wrist*

 

The lemony edge is luscious and right after it dries, the rich herbal quality of the wet stage eases back as the fig rounds the whole thing out with a breath of fruit.

 

It's not as unisex dry as it was wet, there's a slight floral finish. But moss doesn't quit on me, so it's still mossy love!

 

The Apothecary is goodly!

[DifferentDances]

Wet: Oooh...clean tea clearness.

Drydown: Ick. What's that weird sour coffee edge?

Dry: Confusing jumble of notes trying to top one another. Sweet-tea-grass-dirt --it's like a polite tea party that ended with a most unladylike tousle. It's pretty, but very faint.

 

My rating: Hm.....3/5. I'm going to keep this and see if it gets any better, because it definitely shows some promise.

[widdershins]

First impression: really really good tea with a hint of lemon and herbal sweetness.

 

This one didn't morph at all on me, and it was really light but had a STRONG throw! It's so bizarre because usually light scents disappear within a couple of hours, but this one stayed all day long. Even after I took a shower I swear I could smell a faint hint of it. I'm glad it wasn't a stinker

 

This is a very neutral scent and perfect for spring/summer.

[aquazoo]

Kind of a leather library smell. The scent of “official.” This is what I would wear if I had total control over all the information and ruled it with an iron hand.

[CrazyPretzel]

In the imp: sharp, clear green notes, and a little bit of Fig Newton.

 

Wet on me: The ginger and fig is a slightly strange combination to my nose, suggesting...biscuits? And then there are all these grassy green notes, which are so *not* food. I'll have to wait this one out and see what it becomes.

 

After a few minutes: Green tea, mossy greenness, cool and moist. Like the undergrowth of a forest after the rain. The ginger is mild but sharpens things up a little. It's become much less foody now and I'm starting to like it.

 

Drydown: Does it make sense to say it smells like menthol without the mint? That's how cool and green this is. It's as minty as you can get without any mint at all. It's moist, sharp, cool, green. The ginger and fig that weirded me out at first are just perfect now.

 

Delightful!

[Czarina]

In the imp: grassy, grassy, grassy. Reminds me of Herbal Essence shampoo from 1972.

 

Wet: Ten minutes after application I catch a distinct top note of silvery lemon. This is a lighter scent, suitable for the office (fortunately).

 

Drydown: More herbal, still lemony. I never could catch the ginger and fig.

 

Low throw, less-than-average staying power on me. But extremely pleasant.

[brit_brat100]

The Apothecary

 

Imp: Fresh and citrusy, but with something sweet in the background.

 

Wet: Reminds me of cleaning solution....

 

Dry: Actually, the fig in this really balances all teh herbalness. I didn't think I'd like it much, but this pretty nice. May be a keeper!

[elphaba]

I've had this in my collection without reviewing it for quite a while, so this is a well-aged imp. I think there are herbal scents I like better, so I won't be getting a bottles, but it really hit the spot today. I wore it to the end-of-summer ice cream celebration at my son's school and it was just right - friendly enough for a first grade classroom, and perfectly lush for the nature of the party.

 

When I first put it on, The Apothecary is nose-tinglingly, eye-wateringly tart. The herbs and moss are fresh-picked and wet, but it doesn't take long for the sweetness of the fig to kick in. This is a very subtle fig, but it's just enough to add something lovely and feminine underneath the herbs.

[batsy]

In the vial: Freshly mowed grass and fig. Very very green.

 

On the skin: Yargh, green grass! I'm highly alergic to freshly mowed grass and this smells exactly like that. I get a bit of herbs in the back and there's something sweet about it, I think that's the ginger. I'm sure this would smell fantastic on a guy but it's allegry heck for me.

Edited September 22, 2007 by bat

[daiconharuko]

Kinda smells to me like green tea with lemon. It's a very clean scent. I like it!

[pzb]

In the vial - Very green and herby and just a little sweet

 

Wet - The herbal notes are strong - and maybe a little of the mosses

 

Dry - Sweeting and softening - tea leaf? A bit of ginger and fig too… Light and lovely - I really do like it.

 

Later - Not much throw, but definitely nice and light. Totally hanging onto this one.

[prettybird]

This was one of the scents on my very first lab order. The Apothecary remains a favorite for daily wear. It's a neutral scent, very light and pleasing. I think one of the reasons I like it is that it doesn't really smell like "perfume". It smells more like really classy herbal shampoos tend to smell- fainly medicinal, but in a good way.

 

I think that, unfortunately, my imp is starting to turn.

[Torrain]

On my skin: tea leaf and maybe a hint of ginger. The moss starts coming out, as does something soapy... seriously, about a minute in, it's turned to liquid handsoap. Possibly Ivory.

 

5 min: The sweetness of the fig is coming out, and there's a faint hint of green in the background (couldn't tell you if it was grass or herbs). It's not a bad small, overall--very light. Evokes mental images of standing at the sink in a wooden shed and lathering your hands clean while looking out the window at a clear warm day.

 

20 min: Slightly more herby, not as sweet, still soapy. The pleasant summery impression continues through until about the two-hour mark...

 

2 hrs: The ginger (and possibly tea leaf) is coming out, and the soap has all but faded. Still a clean scent, but now warm and spicy rather than light and green.

 

Definitely like this: it's a clean scent without being either solitary green or pale and crisp (both of which I like, but it's nice to get a change of pace).

 

Love and coffee,

Frances

[tziporra]

Thanks to Shollin for enabling this sniff!

 

In the Imp: Not much jumps out of the bottle at me.

 

Wet: Nice herbally notes. This reminds me of watering herbs in our greenhouse as a kid on a nice warm day. Sweet basil and lemon verbena type smells. And FIG! There you are! This is the first blend with fig in that I've actually been able to smell the fig! It's usually doused by some scent my skin amps to the nth.

 

Drydown: This is very light on me, and clean. Like the smell of my skin after I wash with an herbal soap.

 

Dry: Gone. Sigh. This lasted not at all on me.

 

This is very nice and clean, but I want to smell obnoxiously perfumey.

 

Best,

 

Tzi

[Leopard403]

I wanted to love this, but it smells like herbal incense on my skin. Too musty and hippy-ish for my tastes, which makes me very sad.

[mazikeen]

This is has a particular quality that I've found in a few other BPAL scents. I'm trying to pinpoint what ingredient it is that goes all wrong on me... my guess is the tea, but I'm not sure. Whatever note that is, my skin totally amps it up. I've also encountered it in Vampire Tears. (It also showed up in another blend, but I can't remember which one right now.)

 

Whatever it is, it's very baby powdery, with whiffs of lemon and an undercurrent of popcorn. Definitely not for me.