Kingsport

[Lilithlefay]

Salty ocean breezes touched by a numinous, incandescent mist.

I think the above reviews captured this nicely. It smells like being at the beach...or right on the ocean. Just a bit of ozone, but a nice clean salty scent. I really like it, reminds me of when I used to go sailing with my Dad when I was younger. It has a touch of floral on the drydown with me but still that ocean saltiness stays.

[Celogrl]

An imp I received from a friend introduced me to this veritable ocean in a bottle. I am SO sad that I did not order a bottle when I had the chance. This conjures up images of a cool, windy day, maybe in the Scottish isles with the breeze in my face and occasionally getting a mist of water on me. It is just perfect salty ocean. I smell no florals in this, just the salt and a touch of ozone. This is perfect, just perfect.

[PennyPretty]

I hate to be the lone dissenter here but to me Kingsport smells nothing like the ocean. I grew up two blocks from the beach in Florida so I have a very strong association with the smell of the ocean. To me Kingsport smells like many of the other scents out there that claim to be the scent of an ocean breeze but in actuality smell nothing like the ocean. In fact I'm not sure it's a scent you could actually bottle, there is something in that salty damp air that is too ethereal to be caught in a bottle. That said Kingsport is beautiful fragrance, I pick up ozone and florals, but its not for me, it's actually giving me a bit of a headache.

[donsixgun]

Got it for my sweetie, but decided to try..

Salty, aquatic, and somewhat soapy...It doesnt remind me too much of the sea (not as much as Jolly Roger), as it does a clean, clear watery-ish scent. When I first tried it, it reminded me of a womans perfume from years ago, but not so much the second time (thank goodness). And it tends to fade kind of quick on me. In short though, I like.

[coulrophobe]

Kingsport is an odd one - on me, it starts out smelling like the bastard lovechild of Storm Moon and Ice Queen, and ends up smelling like Palmolive. There's a high, sweet-sour dishsoap note in there.

 

As someone who likes a bit of the clean/soapy/dryer sheet feeling once in a while, it's not bad - but I like the wet stage, with the Ice Queeny coolness, so much more than the drydown.

 

As a girl that grew up on the beach, this smells nothing like it - but saltwater/kelp is a scent that's much better when it's faint, wafting on a breeze, rather than on skin, in my humble opinion.

[sarahmarie]

To me, this doesn't smell like the ocean - but it does smell like water. It's funny, whenever I smell ozone/aquatic scents, I smell something floral. I don't know why, but that's always what happens, and that is what happens when I smell Kingsport. So I don't smell my beloved ocean - I smell water and floral perfume.

 

I can't decide whether I like it or not, honestly. I'm going to have to wear it a little more, I think, to see.

[Electra]

I hate to be the lone dissenter here but to me Kingsport smells nothing like the ocean.  I grew up two blocks from the beach in Florida so I have a very strong association with the smell of the ocean.  To me Kingsport smells like many of the other scents out there that claim to be the scent of an ocean breeze but in actuality smell nothing like the ocean.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Totally agree with this. Storm Moon is a much better approximation of the Atlantic Ocean (on me, anyway). I definitely do get "'numinous, incandescent" from this, though.

 

Wet: sweet citrus.

Drydown, initially: citrus over strong ozone. Actually too masculine for me, and I have no problem wearing traditionally masculine scents OR ozone.

Drydown, final: ethereal sweet citrus.

 

Nothing like the ocean, but nice all the same. I'm just not sure if I need to keep my bottle, since Storm Moon fills the ocean scent niche so well for me.

[aidenraine]

I really should know better. I have not yet been able to stand a perfume that represents air or water in any way. They all smell alike to me- Kingsport is alas, no exception. It doesn't smell like water for me, it smells like the canned "Ocean Breeze" scents that the drugstore sells. Oy. I spent a lot of time by the ocean growing up and when I close my eyes and sniff this lightly I get... chemicals. That's it. Nothing about the subtlety of the ocean and salt and sun, and a storm passing.

 

Ooof, my nose just doesn't like this genre. Sigh.

 

After time passes it smells like cheap men's cologne to me, and starts to cause a headache.

[spanishviolet]

I don't usually care for perfumes that claim to smell oceany, being a foody sort, but I was getting several imps from Blood_onmy_hands (thank you!), and decided to sample this too, since I'd liked the two SiA scents I'd already tried.

 

In the imp, it smelled pleasantly salty, with none of that annoying fake-water smell. Once on, it smelled salty & surprisingly warm, with an undefinable (to my nose anyway) floral quality - some sort of flower that grows by the beach. The floral sort of makes me think of the way Galveston (the only beach town I know with any familiarity) looks - lots of magnolia trees, crepe myrtles, & little marshy bays filled with fascinating shorebirds. It's fading pretty quickly though - lasted about an hour.

 

Overall, not one I'd need a big bottle of, but quite enjoyable for the summer heat. Also might be something my sister would love - I'll have to let her do a sniff-check when I visit in a couple weeks. Fun experiment!

Edited August 5, 2005 by spanishviolet

[kitkat]

I was so taken with Shub-Niggurath that I set Kingsport aside when my order came in at the beginning of last week.

 

In the bottle I couldn't place the scent - it was potent but I couldn't put a name to it, and I couldn't pick out individual notes as I'm still new to this. Now that I've read the reviews I have to agree with the person that said Kingsport in the bottle smells like 7-Up.

 

It was strong when I first applied it, perhaps a bit masculine. It reminds me of a men's cologne but I can't remember which one. However, it quickly faded to something subtler and less overtly masculine.

 

As it dried down the saltiness came through - I could taste the salt at the back of my throat as I took a whiff. Very nice and cool with a bit of a tang. The citrus undertone that made me think 7-Up is still present but only just barely.

 

My final impression - clean, crisp linen dried in a summer breeze. Hokey, I suppose, but that's the best way I can sum the scent up. I'm glad I found this now so I can wear it for the rest of the summer.

Edited August 7, 2005 by kitkat

[QueenFae]

This one smells clean and manly. There's an aquatic, breezy, fresh top note. It is very masculine, and it's sort of a clean - shaven, sexy guy type of masculine. It's a dark green scent for me. It conjours images of just - showered men running on the beach. While this one's not for me, I'd like to try it on my man.

[girlmadasbirds]

ozone...and melon? the ozone is a bit too much for me.

[fallow deer]

I have just come back from a holiday in Spain, and one afternoon we went for a boat trip around the port of Cartegena. It was a bright sunny day, the water was brisk but not choppy and there was a slight salty breeze which was wonderful to inhale.

 

If I don't engage my brain, the mix of notes in Kingsport smell just like that breeze, although if I start to analyse and categorise, I start thinking, 'grapefruit? mint?' and so on, as I usually do with aquatics and ozone scents.

 

Kingsport is much lighter and airer than many of a similar type I have tried, and I enjoy it much more.

[Court Analyst/Strategist]

Cool light atmospheric ozone. This is quite a bit different than my usual fare of the other end of the scent family spectrum(fallen, mars), but I actually like it! When first applied this is strong ozone on my arm but as it develops..touches of depth and salt! I recieved this in a cute 2.5 ml bottle off of ebay(looks like a miniaturized 5ml from the lab), and will definately keep this one all for myself!

I don't truly see an ocean in this one, through, but I enjoy the atmosphere it creates. I also find it develops a little of a soapy edge in settling down. For those of you who kind of picture colors with scents, I get the color light gray green with this one myself. A remarkable ozonic breeze, but definately not a nature-intended one! Oh, yes, quite gender neutral, too.

 

I almost but not quite thought I sensed cucumber in here at one point slightly after drydown-this ones a shifter on me! The ozones alittle heady, but kingsport is a very intriguing blend just the same. This is my favorite bpal aquatic/ozone scent so far Too bad its discontinued, I now regret not ordering a 5ml bottle when it was available!

 

My level of excitement:7.5/10(this is making me feel calmer whilst wearing, actually)

Favoritism scale:7/10

Throw:8/10(for the tiny dot I put on, this broadcasts rather impressively as well on my aquatic mellowing skin)

 

Court

Edited August 19, 2005 by Court Analyst/Strategist

[Nehushtan]

Dark, salty waves on a cold day, a touch of wind but mostly water, cold, dark water with something stirring beneath. Sunlight may or may not penetrate the depths of this, but you get the sense that even if it did, you'd be freezing anyway.  This is reminiscent of misty mornings with the damp of the shore just clinging to you.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

That sounds lovely! Too bad it's not what I got from Kingsport. I had high hopes of this being an incredibly true-to-life scent. I really don't think that any scent is too numinous for the lab to pin down, since I've been shocked speechless by both Graveyard Dirt and Dead Man's Hand, and I was expecting to actually smell the salty seaweed tang of the cold dark depths, chilled by a fog so thick it could condense on your eyelashes. You know, Moby Dick and clam chowder and albatrosses and sea burials, sort of thing.

 

Alas, twas not to be. Granted, my nose is not that sophisticated, but I've finally managed to pin down what Kingsport reminds me of: Softsoap Antibacterial. The clear one that tends to have little plastic fish cutouts floating inside the bottle to make it look like a fishtank.

 

Amazingly, as this perfume sits on your skin, the scent actually grows stronger. I've been wearing it for about half an hour, and after a shy beginning wherein I was strongly reminded of Bounce dryer sheets, this tiny droplet of oil has increased tenfold in its intensity.

 

As I was applying this, I expected to hate it. I was initially very disappointed. Now, though, I'm kind of coming to appreciate it for what it is; no, it doesn't smell like the ocean to me, but it smells CLEAN. Perhaps I'll keep the bottle for those days when I need to smell freshly-scrubbed--it certainly achieves that.

 

ETA: *coff coff* No one needs to smell that clean. I ended up having to scrub it off. Off with ye, Kingsport, and trouble me no more!

Edited September 8, 2005 by Nehushtan

[Em-]

Kingsport is definitely watery, oceany, salty, breezy...all of those things that I love in person and that are fabu in a perfume if they work on you.

 

Alas, as I've noted in other reviews, these particular notes tend to become cheap drugstore men's cologne on me and send me running to the sink in an attempt to beat the headache.

 

Ah well. It was nice to try, anyway.

[harmonyfb]

In the bottle: Ozone/aquatic.

 

Wet: Hmm. My daughter says it smells like a kind of Japanese candy (Ramune?). I don't care for the wet stage, myself.

 

Dry: Yeah, it does kind of smell like salt spray. Huh. I bet the husband will like this.

 

Dry, 20 minutes later: Huh. There's a hint of floral there, under the sea breeze. Weird.

[malanna]

This is an overcast sky by the ocean. The wind is strong, making big waves, which are lapping at the shore of the jagged cliff. There have been other body of water scents, but they all have some other element (sweetness, ozone, rotting wood). There really hasn't been a straight-up salty ocean scent. This makes me thing of the Modest Mouse song, "Ocean Breathes Salty." Not so much for the lyrics or actual song itself, but just because of the song title.

[AngellicMystique]

A lovely ozone smell. I used to live near the ocean, and this is the smell when the fog is so thick you can only hear the waves from the boardwalk. You know other people and things are out in the fog with you, you just can't see them.

 

It's a nice scent on me, but holds more sentimental value for me than use as a perfume.

 

I love it as a room scent, and my husband wears it for me every now and then.

[SeaMonkey]

This doesn't really smell like the ocean and it winds up going really really soapy on me. *sighs*

[Shollin]

First sniff: Oooh. It’s a men’s-cologne-aftershave ozoney sort of fragrance, but the really good kind. Very aqua-blue.

 

Wearing: Yup, it really is a salt-air scent. I smell like the ocean. Love it.

[Voleuse]

This is definitely a crisp ozone on first sniff, but this soon blooms to a sweet breeze with a pepper of salt. There's sun in this, and a strong aquatic. Sadly, this disappears quickly after application on me, but it's beautiful while it lasts.

[GemmaCat]

Kinsport is the archetypal aquatic scent: salty, fresh, and with just a hint of sweetness.

 

There's something really unusual about this one that I can't place; something fleeting, bringing to mind fish shimmering just under the surface of the water.

 

the dry down is the most amazingly realistic sea breeze! So beautiful and fresh!

[themerrybaker]

Kingsport is up there with Undine for me as a favorite aquatic. This is the most sea-evocative blend I've tried. All the elements work together - no ozone eruptions or aftershave action or Sneaky Sweetarts. I'll be wearing this a lot on sticky summer days.

[LittleGreyKitten]

Mmm. This is one of the best-balanced aquatics. It's not over ozoned, like Cthulu was on me. It has a hint of saltiness, and some cool floral in there too I think. Very nice. Need a bottle, I think!

 

For me, 4.5 out of 5.