Bulgarian Lavender

[jj_j]

Beth had two single notes in lavender, although one was never on the site; I was lucky enough to get an imp of both the French and Bulgarian lavenders long ago.

 

The French Lavender is what I think of as "standard" lavender; it's crisp and the more astringent of the two. The Bulgarian Lavender, though, is an entirely different story.

 

Beth's single notes are always amazing; they're so much better and more true than anything else on the market. The Bulgarian Lavender is no exception to that rule, and it's so sweet and lush that there's almost none of the "pungency factor" to it that turns so many people off when it comes to lavender.

 

My mother loves lavender almost as much as I do, and I slathered some of each lavender on her wrists. She sniffed the French Lavender, commenting on how nice and true it was. She got to the Bulgarian Lavender, though, and her mouth fell open. "It's so sweet - this is perfect! There's hardly any of that sharp, bitter smell to it! What did she do to this lavender to make it so good?!?!!"

 

I wish I'd stocked up on this when the Single Notes were still available. I'd use it bath goodies, lotions, linen spray, room spray, candles, and everything I could think of. I go through quite a bit of lavender essential oil each spring, because the pungency and herbal end-result seem perfect for spring cleaning and the beginning of a new time of year, but none of the essential oils I've come across over the years compare to Beth's Bulgarian Lavender.

[UltraViolet]

BPAl blends which use Bulgarian lavender (vs French lavender) as oen of it's ingredients:

Lurid, Melpomene.

In the bottle

Thanks to my friend Brumbjorn here on the forum for allowing me the opportunity to smell this.

In the bottle I smell a light lavender scent.

 

On

The original poster is right, it's a smoother lavender, not with as much bite in the beginning. It's just as fresh smelling as anything, very clear and sweet.

 

30 minutes

The dry down is always were lavender's leave me wanting, but this is good in that sense. It stays true and doesn't completely fade away like some lavender blends (bpal and otherwise) do. It stays long lasting on my skin and it is sweeter and lovely.

 

Throw:

average

 

Scent category:

Herby

 

Summary

This is a great, differnet, smoother lavender, it is sweeter as said above and really soothing.

 

Purchase again?

Yes.

 

1-5 rating (5 being best)

4

Edited December 1, 2005 by UltraViolet

[theshapeshifter]

I'm pretty much going to echo the other reviewers here - I was lucky enough to win imps of both French and Bulgarian Lavender in the forum raffle, so I was able to do a comparison test. The Bulgarian Lavender is much mellower, and not what one typically thinks of with lavender. It's rounder and smoother and not at all harsh. Very nice!

[edenssixthday]

Single Note: Bulgarian Lavender - This is one of Beth's unreleased single notes. It's really quite a stunning single note. I have tried the French Lavender in the past and the difference between these two lavenders is quite distinct. The French Lavender is very typical lavender -- it's the lavender I smell in scents like Dove's Heart and Psyche. The Bulgarian Lavender, however, is different. It smells like lavender, but is very strong and slightly medicinal, and I'm instantly aware that this is the lavender that's used in the Somnium blends. I use Somnus on a regular basis, and instantly recognized this single note as the lavender used in Somnus. The "very strong and slightly medicinal" aspect of Bulgarian Lavender SN dissipates upon dry-down and the scent becomes nothing more than an incredibly round, soft, and sweet herbal-floral. It has completely faded on me within about 30 minutes. This would also ring true to my use of Somnus, which is initially sharp, but fades to something soft and herbal-floral sweet, and then fades within 30 minutes.

[Little Bird]

I wish that I had held on to my imp of French Lavender so that I could compare it with this one. Bulgarian Lavender strikes me as being less herbal and medicinal then the French Lavender was on my skin. And, where French Lavender went a bit powdery on me in the drydown, this lavender becomes sweeter and more velvety. A cool, smooth, sweet lavender on me.

[zankoku_zen]

Bulgarian Lavender, I have to admit, has aged pretty well. This is a soft, sweet lavender. The sort of lavender that invokes dreams and such. It has a low throw and low wear length on me, but it smells like lavender that you would want to spray over your sheets.

 

Soft, sweet, dreamy.