Whippoorwill

[lysithea]

A foreboding, tenebrific death rattle; the scent of a dying breath as it wafts into the marshland: Spanish moss, cedar, black pepper, oakmoss, juniper, bamboo reeds and cardamom.

Green, woodsy, cool and a bit masculine. This would smell fab on a guy.

The bamboo and juniper lead the charge to make way for the spicy cardamon and black pepper. There is just something about this combination that is incredibly sexy. It's cool and damp with forest mosses. It blankets the spice and lets it peek out as you wear it.

It's a mix of woods and aquatics that I find so intriguing.

As I try more of the SiA scents, I am mystified at how well Beth can capture such esoteric ideas and transform them into something we can all understand. Another outstanding winner!

[wolfie13]

Here is the main thing about this scent for me:

 

Exactly like Yagathai - I got an extreme allergic reaction to this scent! The worst one I've ever had. I put one swipe in the crook of my elbow and developed a 3 inch in diameter burning welt! It took awhile to go away even after using soap and water.

 

I have no idea what is in this that prompted such a reaction. Of the well over 100 bpal's I've tried I only got red welts from one other one - All Night Long - and that was only when I applied it right after getting out of the shower.

 

If anyone has any ideas on what it could be - PLEASE let me know!

 

In the amount of time I was wearing it - which wasn't much - I got a green/soapy sort of scent. I could smell the cardamom quite a bit at first, but it seemed to dissipate fairly quickly leaving a scent that was reminiscent of Silk Road, but with the green or grassy elements of that scent amplified. (I'm feeling like maybe they both have bamboo?)

 

It was okay on me, but nothing to write home about. (Luckily, since I couldn't wear it even if I wanted to.)

Edited June 24, 2005 by wolfie13

[Muppetk]

In the bottle: Oh yum! Slightly dry cinnamon (cardamom + pepper I guess) with green & faint floral

 

Wet on me: Where the heck did my spiciness go?? My skin usually eats fruit, not spice!! Alright, I need to go check the calendar. What time of the month is it?? (nope, that's not it. And besides, I forgot, strength was gorgeous on me earlier, just milder than I expected.)

 

Dry: okay, some of the spice has come back (yay!) but the other scents have turned somewhat aftershave-y. Oh... juniper. I think that's the juniper. Hmm. Or the oakmoss. It's a similar note to what didn't work on me in Oberon, only not as strong. Both this and Oberon have juniper & oakmoss. Maybe it's the combination?

 

Sigh. I was so expecting to like this one.

 

Edit: This would probably be really nice on a guy.

Edited June 27, 2005 by Muppetk

[Little Bird]

The second that I read the description for Whippoorwill, I had to have it. I was so excited to get it, as it sounds like the perfect spicy green scent. Then I started reading the reviews and got scared. Many people describe it as perfumey (which I can't stand), powdery (which I hate), and soapy (which I'm not at all fond of).

 

However, after wearing this all day, I am happy to report that this was not perfumey, powdery, or soapy on me.

 

This is very well blended. Whenever I smell it, I think of wet moss and long green grasses in a marsh. Yet there is something oddly edible about this. It reminds me of nights from my childhood where my father and I would stand outside on the porch after a rain and listen to the whippoorwills singing. Wet, earthy, cool, green, and slightly haunting.

 

It's wonderful. This is going to be my favorite scent this summer.

[Celogrl]

Another imp I received from my adoptive Mom! I think the scent of this is so unique and beautiful, but my skin, even when well moisturized, just eats it up. Sad... Before it fades though, I get a woodsy, old, lichen-y, mossy sensation. The pepper is extremely faint, but noticeable. It mellows to a dark and cool walk in the woods before fading. Sigh- I just wish it lingered before it left. Beautiful fragrance though!

[k00kaburra]

In bottle: Oakmoss and Spanish moss - hell, name a moss and it's probably here. This is the greenest, wettest, boggiest, marshiest marsh you can possibly imagine. Tangs of juniper and black pepper spike up in this super-green blend.

On me: Green like long, wild grasses. I must admit I was quite hesitant about ordering this blend, but Beth has worked her magic fingers on this one and it is fantastic. Green mosses hang from skeletal trees over slowly babbling water that has many water plants growing within.

[isyche]

On me, Whippoorwill is very fresh, green, a bit lemony at first, simple and unsweet; if it's a marsh, it's a pleasant daytime one with tall reeds waving in the sun and birds singing. I recognize the bamboo note from Neo-Tokyo, I think, and the moss reminds me of Cathode. I don't get any spice or wood, though.

 

It's very nice and certainly my kind of scent – I love the “cool, mossy, green, fresh” category -- but I'm not heartbroken that I don't have more.

[Spastik_Kitty]

 

This is now my favorite scent by a long shot.

 

In the bottle: Pepper, dry wood and creamy cardamon with a hint of bamboo.

 

First on: This scent is very creamy and second skin on me, it reminds me of drinking chai while sitting on the end of a cottage dock and watching the sun rise.

 

After a bit: Stays true to initial application.

 

A bit more: Becomes softer and creamier, it carries almost a milkiness to it. The throw isn't very strong, but that doesn't matter to me, I've taken up nuzzling my wrist quite frequently.

 

Conclusion: This scent is pure heaven. Creamy and spicy with a faint hint of green that keeps this a dry scent. Beth, I thank you! Now only if I had of bought more bottles.

[ipb]

 

i think i have to start off saying that i adore spicy scents (ha! as if you didn't pick that up from my love of pumpkin king or uranus or hamadryad or ...), so the fact that the cardamom and black pepper speak loudly is A Good Thing.

 

in the bottle, it's all fresh and spicy - basically, how it dries on me.

 

wet on my skin, the spices overwhelm the other notes - it's all cardamom and black pepper, with a hint of juniper. not a bad thing, because it reminds me of one of my grandmother's roasted venison recipes, and it's tasty and smells great while cooking.

 

dry, the bamboo and moss come out to balance the spices. the juniper and cedar hang back, so it's just really fresh, spicy, and slightly earthy and breezy.

 

i think it'd make a great office scent, and i'll be sad when my bottle is no more.

[voodoobaby]

In the bottle: Aye. Smells clean, green, and generic. Not unpleasant, but I keep thinking Irish Springs soap. In the bottle it's reminiscent of Yggdrasil, only less evergreen.

 

Wearing: Hmm. It deepens quite a bit. It's still clean, but not nearly as soapy. The more it sits on my skin, the better it gets. Soon after application the bamboo comes out, which I recognize from my addiction to Asian food, and it is dead on. I get a definite sense of clarity from this blend.

 

Later: Cardamom! So THAT'S what makes chai smell so delicious! This is the scent of drinking a nice chai latte outside at night in the country. It smells like night air, only stronger and greener and spicier.

 

Edit: Wearing this a second time, in its very last stages it gets very, very aquatic, but in a murky way, not in a clear, pristine way. Thankfully. Also, apparently the first time there was a stage where the Spanish moss made a huge appearance that lasted a couple of hours. A little powdery, but I can handle it since the rest of the time it smells wonderful.

 

Overall: Not at all what I was expecting, but wonderful. Nocturnal? Yes, very. Foreboding? Not at all. This would be a great summer scent, and I can see me wearing it a lot before the season is over. Decent staying power, too. Overall, a definite winner.

Edited July 21, 2005 by voodoobaby

[Penance]

Preconceived notions:

 

I've got high hopes for this one. There's not a single note in here that I'm not crazy about, so hopefully that translates into it being perfect for me.

 

First sniff:

 

A lot lighter than I'd envisioned. Somewhat like Loup Garou meets Neo-Tokyo meets Danse Macabre. It's lovely, but nowhere near as dark as I'd dreamed of it being. I smell bamboo very prominently here, followed by juniper, oakmoss and spanish moss and maybe a hint of spice. This is actually more wearable than I'd envisioned it being, now that I'm thinking about it.

 

Wet on skin:

 

The moss and pepper really come out once Whippoorwill hits my skin and it's much less fresh smelling than it was in the bottle. It's darker now and more marshy, which isn't a bad thing at all, just unexpected since it was so airy smelling in the bottle.

 

Dry down:

 

Spicy moss and wood. This is defintely more like what I'd imagined - dark and intense and ever-so-slightly spicy. So far, this is the only SIA scent that I've tried that's turned out well on me, but it's not really a surprise since this was the one that sounded most likely to work for me.

[Janie]

The pepper comes to the fore early in this one - lovely sharp black pepper, tempered by an almost light airy scent.

 

As it dries down it develops in complexity and darkness - it's not spicy on me, but it has a sharp green medicinal note. I hardly notice the cardamom. Not a lot of throw and only light staying power, but very nice nonetheless.

[phoefromelsewhere]

Wow. This smells so good in the bottle I don't want to try it on in case my skin mangles it. Spicy and fresh, it's familiar but I couldn't tell you why.

 

Hrm, going a bit perfumey but still the same lovely spicy freshness. The pepper and cardamom are in the forefront, with whispy airy trees in the background. There's quite a lot of depth to it as well even tho at first sniff it's VERY airy.

 

Oof, this is going very high on me, no sense of depth anymore. I hope it calms down a bit, where's the creaminess others have mentioned? Ah, there it is. Well, kind of. This smells like chai. And freezing, ice covered trees.

 

Very lovely!

[SoapyRN]

Just two minutes before I checked the mail, I swipped Neo-Tokyo on, a frimp from the order I got on Saturday. I then checked the mail and Whippoorwill was waiting for me.

 

This is Silk Road and Neo-Tokyo's love child. Spicy and clean. Not a lot of musk but sweet, fragrant cardamom and spicy bamboo. I love it.

 

This is so close to being that perfect Chai blend for me. Later I will layer with Dormouse and see what I get.

 

Thanks Beth!

[darkling]

Whippoorwill is a fascinating green scent. It has a light cologne base reminiscent of Cthulhu and Yog-Sothoth. The cologne scent fades completely after a minute on my skin.

 

The notes in Whippoorwill are difficult for me to identify. Overall, the scent is a bit watery with something green and sweet. Perhaps the bamboo? It feels very cooling and gentle.

 

I can't see myself using the entire bottle but I definitely enjoy Whippoorwill.

[Tesseljoan]

Whippoorwill is a very special green scent. When I first put it on, it smells like a breath of lemon. An hour later it smells green, but sweet as well, but it really is light as a sigh. Beautiful scent.

[oatmealneko]

Whippoorwill starts off kinda ozoney & green, nothing really specific. As soon as I applied it to my skin, different story. It gets green. Green green. I'm talking about lots of juniper, moss, & bamboo. Green green, then the green turns mean. Sharp & biting, I think this is where the black pepper & cardamon kick in. Seriously, if you sniff this close to your nose, you'll sear some nosehairs off.

 

If you're not one for sharp biting green scents, maybe this is not for you. There is still some ozone, but it's sneaking along quietly in the background. Overall, this is quite lovely, I wish I had purchased more than one bottle, but I'll probably milk this one for sometime.

[Electra]

Oh, this one is FAB. This is a terrible description, but this is the sexy feminine version of Irish Spring soap.

 

It's clean, green and spicy. Even my mom, who hates perfume, said "Oh, that smells nice!"

 

Looooove it.

[coulrophobe]

In the bottle - um... grass and pickles?

 

Wet: Nutty cinnamon? Where'd that come from?

 

Dry: Faint, sweet warm spices - this reminds me of a quieter version of Silk Road. No hint of greenery whatsoever - but I prefer spice, so that's perfectly fine. But what a morpher.

 

You're weird, Whippoorwill, just plain weird. Nice, but weird.

[Splendid Molerat]

Whippoorwill is an idealized marshland. Very much still water and water weeds, wet woods and gentle decay.

 

It's in the neighbourhood of Bayou and Silk Road.

[QueenFae]

An interesting scent. Herbal, green, but a bit spicy as well. The cedar and juniper are the top notes, for the earthiness factor. The pepper gives it a little bit of a spicy kick for a lovely undertone. It's a really complex scent, rather hard for me to describe; it has so many different notes, I smell something new with every whiff. It's rather like running through an autumn forest of cedar trees, with the fresh undertones providing greenery. I really like this one, it's beautiful, and will also be great on my man.

[PurringPulsar]

Whippoorwill

 

In the imp: very green, with a hint of sweet spice-no doubt the cardamom. It's also a moist green scent.

Wet on skin: a moist, green scent. Very nice, very herbal, or like crushed leaves with spices. Cardamom and bamboo are the dominant notes here, I think, as well as moss.

Dry on skin: oh, the cardamom in this is wonderful! So pronounced, and mingling nicely with the scent of bamboo shoots, dewy moss, freshly cut cedar and juniper woods, crushed leaves, trees, spices and reeds, and a little hint of pepper. It's a scent of refreshing, vivid greenness, but there's a tiny hint of something darker behind it.

After a while: this stays pretty consistent. It's still a fresh, moist green scent with spicy warmth in the background.

Verdict: this is an amazing scent of intense and complex greenness…it's herbal, woody, leafy, mossy and spicy. It's got aspects of sweetness, moistness and a hint of warmth but with a refreshing, watery coolness. The cardamom note is delightful, enhancing the scent of bamboo leaves and shoots, cedar and juniper trees and moss. I was worried that the woody-mossy notes would make this rather masculine, but it's not at all, it's certainly a unisex scent. A fascinating blend of woodsy and marshy scents, it's a lovely scent and I'm glad I have an imp of it.

[Em-]

In the bottle, this is the scent of boggy summer fields in western Massachusetts. When I sniff this scent and close my eyes, I am transported back to 1997, the end of my first year of law school, visiting my then fiance in Amherst, driving back roads to Springfield to go out for dinner, with the windows rolled down and music blaring and the scent of the land seeping in...

Or, if you prefer, our honeymoon, wandering the streets of Salem in August after dark, mist starting to rise from the harbour, the slight eerieness that only the City of Witches can provide...

 

 

It is an olive green scent...dark, but not forboding. It has a definite herbal freshness to it, but not a soapy clean note, and I spent the entire day the first time I really wore it trying to identify the cardamom (which may remind me of my years in Massachusetts in part because that was the last time I was able to easily get good Indian food on demand. ;-)

 

I really really love this scent. Definitely one for my top ten...

[Lycanthrope]

Whippoorwill. Besides being hard to type and spell, it's a marvelous fragrance, and my first LE, ever. I stumbled across BPAL right as Springtime in Arkham was wrapping up, read the description of Whippoorwill, and tagged the foreboding birds onto Fenris Wolf. I'm glad I did!

 

In the bottle, this is a very spicy melange of green, woods, and definitely a potent spicy pepper or ginger. On my skin, it immediately does a Hamadryad-esque shift to cinnamon, but thankfully it sweetens almost right afterwards and it steers away from one-dimensional cinnamon. I definitely get a whiff of damp moss, but it's all lightened by the sparkling spicy notes whirling above. This is a tumultous, very spicy scent that actually irritates the skin around my neck. But on my arm, this is very tasty. Drying down, it adopts a mild ginger-cookie aroma which is surprisingly foody, but that passes as well and Whippoorwill settles on my skin a pleasantly spicy, ginger-cardamom mossy green.

 

Mmm.

[fallow deer]

I definately see the associtations with Silk Road here, and may I add Sri Lanka and The Apothecary to that as well?

 

Obviously it's the cedar giving me the Sri Lanka vibe, but the green of the bamboo seems remiscent of Sri Lanka, too, for some reason.

 

The Apothecary is one of my oldest and most favourite BPAL oils; I love it's complex rich greeny brown coolness.

 

Whipporwill is, for me, in this order: green, spicey, woody, aquatic and it's goooood!