Dove's Heart

[hkhm]

A gentle, healing love blend, often used to help mend a broken heart. Brings peace of mind, soothes the sting of loss, and aids in finding closure.

imp: very light florals, perhaps lily?

wet: i'm pretty sure there's some rose in this as it's turning soapy... but it does also smell a bit like jasmine and a bit like lily. not really my thing.

dry: the florals are just getting more cloying as this dries.

[angelicruin]

Inside the imp, it does smell like old lady perfume.

 

Wet on the skin, I am getting mostly heavy, overwhelming rose.

 

A few minutes after application I can smell lavender as well. I usually like lavender scents, but this one is giving me a headache. I think it's the combination of roses and lavender.

 

Just too floral for my tastes.

 

 

[crebbsgirl]

I'm getting lavender and jasmine here, and maybe some lilies as well. Overall, this is giving me a giant headache! Boo

[kohimame]

Well, I waited on reviewing this scent for a few weeks to see if it would grow on me. I got it as a frimp in a bunch of imps I ordered (thanks BPAL!). I took a whiff of the imp, and automatically liked it. It had a very lush, floral scent to it, tempered with something herbal.

 

Then I applied some on my arm, and it morphed into Chanel No. 5, which on me is a soapy lily. Not a good smell >.< It eventually calmed down and turned into a powdery lavender, reminiscent of a floral bath powder.

 

The throw on this was amazing. I hardly put any on my arm, and you could smell me from across the room. It lasted for about 3 hours, but I did exercise with it on, so the sweat probably lessened the staying power.

 

I'm rather on the fence about this one. In a way, I like it. It reminds me of both of my Grandmothers, one who wears Chanel No. 5, and the other who likes flowery bath powder.

But it's also something I wouldn't really wear. I could see myself swiping this on if I wanted to think of my Grandparents, but otherwise.. eh...

[reverendsquid]

I actually got Dove's Heart as a frimp a few months ago, tried it on and wasn't that impressed. I found it almost identical to Waters of Notre Dame, cool blue lilies and a little soapy. I liked it enough to keep it around, but haven't worn it since then.

Today, I've been thinking about my father, who died a few years ago. As I was a bit sad and tearful, I decided to try the oil again, to see if it would make me feel better.

So I go to my box of imps. I have quite a few, more than 40, in a box, all upright, so their labels can't be seen. I usually have a HUGE problem finding a specific oil and was expecting a good few minutes of rummaging around, getting stuff out, putting it back, etc..

First one out of the box. This never happens.

 

Anyway, I put it on and initially get the same strong lily smell and soapiness. But this time there's something golden and effervescent about it too. As it dries the soapiness first gets more pronounced, but then disappears altogether, and leaves a smell I can't really describe. It is floral, and sort of a very pale, watery golden yellow, with something deeper and a little musky underneath. It does sort of smell like an old fashioned perfume of some kind, with a slightly dusty edge to it. But it is comforting. As I'm typing this, I don't feel totally back to normal, but I'm much, much better. Someone in a previous post said this is like getting a hug from an older person, whose greater experience gives them greater perspective. I'd second that. I feel like I've been told not to worry, and I'm not.

It's also a bit spooky, but I won't be throwing this away.

[hlinspjalda]

In the vial: Pungent floral, maybe jasmine? Also some very incisive evergreen note.

 

Wet: Wisteria or lilac, or is it jasmine? Sweet floral, anyway. A little pungent, sharper than some.

 

Half an hour: Jasmine and something a little sappy, or stemmy. Still rather sharp, though.

 

One hour: Mostly floral at this point.

 

Three hours: This behaved reasonably well for a fleshy floral, but after a while it withered on me. I think if I use it again I'll reapply after every couple of hours.

 

[Venneh]

In the imp, I get LAVENDER, which, odds are, is going to kill this blend on me. On my skin, there's a faint floral smell for about five second total before it goes to nothingness on me. Yep, that's lavender, all right. Swaps/sales.

Edited November 16, 2009 by Venneh

[TNTknits]

I was gifted an imp of Dove's Heart by a generous forumite. Sadly, this oil is not for me. All I get is a very strong, soapy scent. It reminds me of lavender soap. I had to scrub it off immediately. Into the swap pile with this one.

[donnatron]

Imp: Lavender and some sort of cooler, cleaner floral. Maybe a mixture of magnolia and jasmine?

 

Wet: Lavender explosion! I like lavender so this isn't a big deal.

 

Dry: Soft, skin close musky lavender. Quite pretty and feminine. More importantly: Totally relaxing and calming. I feel better just sniffing it and I wasn't even really stressed or anything beforehand. Very pretty, VERY lavender-y. But it's working and that's all that matters.

 

Throw: Moderate.

 

Overall: I like it. I'd wear it as perfume even if it didn't work for intent. I'm not grievous or stressful right now and I'm grateful I don't have to test the magical properties of Dove's Heart but it's a lovely blend and it seems to clear the mind pretty well. Quite glad to have it.

[bianca]

I received this as a frimp and could not be more pleased

in the imp: sharp aquatic floral (lovely, i thought, but not for me)

 

wet: oh somethings happening hear... all the aquatic notes are gone and there's just a very nostalgic floral here. very soapy and clean with a little hint of sweet powder(which usually means, wash off NOW! for me), but I can't seem to bring myself too

 

dry: this scent LOVES my skin, and while it is not typical of scents i like, i can't seem to stop sniffing myself. the powder is all gone, and the scent is just this gentle, but firm wisp of a thing curling all around me. Whoever described it as a hug is spot on -- it feels a mix of a hug, and cool soft hands on your forehead when you feel feverish. I put this on, and promptly shelved my plans for the evening and had a "me" night, curled up in a cashmere sweater with my pup at my feet reading a big fat book with fig newtons and a glass of milk.

 

such a gentle and lovely scent! fantastic work BPAL team!!

[gingiemay]

Jasmine is definitely in this blend as I get the dreaded cat pee right out of the imp. I couldn't bring myself to skin test... jasmine, jasmine, jasmine.

[FathomBelow]

Dove's Heart smells exactly like Somnus on me, for some reason. Like mild, pretty lavender soap with a touch of sweeter florals behind it. The lavender definitely dominates though. A lot of scents seem to just turn into lavender on my skin, darn it.

[ThinkPink2683]

It does smell like an old lady in the imp, and I thought the jasmine would be overpowering. (my body chemistry makes jasmine smell like excrement for some reason.) I'm wearing this in a pendant around my neck (a few drops on a piece of chemical-free paper inside a pendant), but all I can smell is sunscreen lotion. In the absolute best way. Rose, lavender, a hint of jasmine...I can't pick these notes out on my own, but reading the reviews I seem to agree. This isn't a coconut scent or tropical, but it smells exactly like sunscreens that I put on when I go to the beach. (Ones that aren't coconut scented!) The description of the feelings this is supposed to inspire are accurate for me right now, but only because I have a soothed feeling like I've been relaxing at the beach.

[sarielswish]

I couldn't even put this one on... my eyes started watering upon opening the imp. I *think* it's jasmine and rose but in such concentration that it hurts.

[claudia6913]

This was a frimp from the lab.

 

In the imp I get a very sharp pine scent. Pine, or any coniferous tree, I seem to amp like crazy. On my skin it's turning to a soapy piney scent. Clean smelling, but like I just washed with a bar of soap ... I forget what brand this reminds me of - it's been forever since I've used bar soap, but it definately smells like a commercial brand bar of pine soap. Yay skin chemistry!

[Gold Dust Kitten]

I thought I reviewed this one, but here goes...I got this as a frimp from the Lab. I didn't even put it on because it smelled like dryer sheets or those BB&W "cotton" scents. I didn't have any use for it so I swapped it away.

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

This was a frimp from the Lab in my order that arrived today, and I'm taking that as a sign that it's the blend I need! My heart isn't broken, but I would indeed like some peace of mind and closure with regard to a love issue--specifically, a much-despised ex of my DH's popped up on my radar today, and it always leaves a terrible taste in my mouth on the rare occasions I think about her. Bleh. Time to let it go.

 

I don't care how Conjure Bag or TAL oils smell, since I use them ritually, but I'll review for both scent and efficacy. In the imp, I smell jasmine and lavender. On me, it's definitely sharp lavender while wet but dries into sweet jasmine. I wouldn't wear it for the scent, but it does have a soothing quality; for some reason it makes me think of New Orleans and a motherly Voodoo Queen giving me a hug...a beautiful mental image that says to me, "Child, don't waste your energy on the dead past. You have so much joy in your life today." I swear I can almost hear those words. I'm going to anoint a candle with this blend and do a little ritual now.

[AlexandraLohman]

First impression - whew! This is overpowering! And it didn't get any better. On me, it smelled like some old, forgotten laundry detergent my grandmother might have used, horribly floral and soapy. But i forged on! Maybe it would dry out nicely.

 

Nope. It was still a ghastly soapy floral. So I tried to wash it off.

 

It wouldn't wash off! After three soapings, I rubbed half a lemon over my wrists.

 

Lemon almost killed it.

 

5 hours later, I still have a faint wisp of grandma's old, terrible soap.

 

Oh, well! Of the 10 or so scents I've tried, this has been the only failure.

[angelamaria]

In imp: this is a bittersweet scent, a sad but beautiful floral. I'm not sure what flower I'm smelling, something along the lines of orchids or lavender. It's slightly salty/aquatic, like tears.

 

Wet on skin: mostly sweet now, the white notes floating up, and I feel surer of the lavender. It's melancholy and sad, but calm--after you've no more tears left and are just lying there feeling calm, with your mind blank and at rest.

 

Dry: definitely calm, relaxing, and soft. It's sweet with a bit of spice--that slight bitterness. There's more of a sampaguita tinge here, or that's what my nose is telling me. It's slightly soapy later on, but it adds to the clean and calm feel of this scent. It makes me think of white floaty dresses and flowers and just staring out a white-curtained window.

 

Verdict: bottle-worthy for me. I'd usually go for more happy scents, but I can see myself wearing this when I'm needing calm and serenity, or when I'm feeling down and sad and need a bit of calm strength.

[fabgab]

I came here to read the reviews before testing the imp I had. I don't remember who sent me the imp, but I had never even removed the plumber's tape so I felt it was time to finally sniff! Most of the reviews (at least on the first page) had such lovely things to say that I got my hopes up.

 

That was a mistake. :/

 

I envy all the people who got soft florals and delicate nostalgic feelings of loved ones! In the imp for me this was lavender, but I've had quite a bit of experience with scents that smell like lavender in the bottle/imp and then change immediately (looking at you, Yvaine!) so I dabbed it on and waited. It passed through a phase of icky honey smell, that notorious bad-honey that ilicits lots of colourful descriptions. I skimmed a few more reviews for any tales of honey. None. So this funk was coming from something else.

 

Now, dry, it's definitely soap like a lot of people got, but for me it's not soap you want to bathe with. It's soap you've already bathed with, it's dirty, funky, acrid, and almost instigating queasiness (granted I am overdue for lunchtime so my tummy is maybe testier than usual).

 

It seems to be mellowing a tad, but it's still nothing like what any of the good reviews got!

 

(I don't know if it helps to use as reference, but for me, honeys are way iffy, sugar works only rarely, most of the roses are bad, and things that are great on me are things like musks, myrrh, amber, sandalwood, hazelnut, and plum.)

[imaginepageant]

In the Vial: Very green and floral. And wet. It makes me think of Bayou and Goneril. It's like being in an incredibly fragrant and steamy greenhouse.

 

Wet: That wetness is drying out, but it still has an aquatic feel to it. This smells very feminine and sophisticated. And it's getting more perfumey... but not necessarily in a bad way.

 

Dry: Ah, now the rose that so many others have mentioned is starting to come out, but not too vigorously. The other notes, whatever they may be, are getting a little sharp and sour, and just... weird and unpleasant. I may be crazy, but it's making me think of salsa. Is there lime in this?

 

An Hour Later: Um... yuck. There is definitely something funky in here. It's pretty sour. Funky, sour rose.

 

Overall: Yeah, so I'm going to be swapping this one.

[holborne]

In the imp:

A sort of undifferentiated sweetness; I can't pick out any individual notes.

 

Wet on my skin:

Uh-oh. Still just a sort of undifferentiated sweetness, although it's sort of sharper. It makes me think of ylang ylang; it has that same way of poking me in the nose, but in a more aggressive way than ylang ylang normally does.

Dry on my skin:

Dried down to sort of a yucky, sweet smelling thing that reminds me of the cheap perfume of my youth. There's nothing especially complex here -- just sort of a sickly sweet smell that doesn't do a thing for me except to maybe make me think of drugstore perfume. The only thing I can think to compare it to is jasmine oil gone bad.

 

Oh well. They can't all be winners, I guess.

[sparkleyturtle]

Wow - liking this one. Serious lavender with a smoothed out edge that sort of warms it to me. I could see getting a bottle in this - first must use up the imp.

[KittyHawk]

Imp: Lavender and light floral--cool and calming!

 

Wet: Smoother lavender; I think there are some lilies behind that?

 

Dry: Mostly lavender, and the floral has really mellowed out; after an hour it was all lavender on me.

 

A nice scent, but relatively forgettable thanks to my skin chemistry. The lavender helped calm me down after a fairly tumultuous day, but there wasn't anything about this one that wowed me. I'll probably save this one for cold weather/chicken noodle soup days or nights I want to take a break from my dream blends.

[ajansuz]

This was a frimp from the lab.

 

In the imp: Both sweet and medicinal, a greenish herbal on top of white florals.

 

Wet: Hello jasmine! And possibly lily, too. I get a hit of lavender, but it's not the nasty, musty lavender of Gaueko that makes me nauseated. It's the clean linens small of fresh lavender flower pouches in the drawer. There's also a hint of rose.

 

Dry down: The rose goes a little soapy, but not so soapy that it smells like I just washed my hands. This scent is reminding me tremendously of some solid perfume from India I bought several years ago. I loved that so much I used every last little speck. It's playing very nicely on my skin, a beautiful floral that's not overwhelming and just herbal enough to keep from being cloying.

 

I'm not a spiritual sort, so I couldn't begin to tell you whether the properties of the oil are as they say. As far as I can tell, it just smells lovely, and I enjoy it on that level just fine. Low throw, kind of a skin scent that only lasted about three hours.