Numb

[minaloush]

I don’t know about the weather where you’re at, but here in L.A… it is brain-frying’ly, grr-stickity hot. This icy blend was something that we were saving for the upcoming [not soon enough!] winter months, but since Brian and I watched the thermometer slap 107 today, we decided that there’s no better time than the present to introduce a singularly chilly, delectably ice-rimmed perfume. Revel in the gelid polar frostiness that is Numb, and forget about the heat for a moment. This scent is extremely limited, and will be available until all the bottles are spoken for.

weirdly pleasant. i was disappointed when i heard it described as soapy, because i was expecting something more like chimera. but i still really like this in a way i don't fully understand.

it's spicy but in a soft almost lusty sort of way. it's very very clean smelling at the same time. this is the sort of thing that would make an excellent body spray or hair refresher.


or not. so, having gotten a chance to compare them, the imp i had is NOT fire eater, but instead a mislabelled numb.

ADDED Aug. 11:

I think that a number of people who've tried it have smelled a mislabelled imp - i smelled both fire eater and numb the other day and that imp that i'd previously smelled and passed on :< is definitely numb.

EDIT: Moved from the Fire Eater thread --Shollin

ADDED Aug. 11:
It's clean and soapy on me. i thought there was a slightest bit of spicy, but that's when i thought it was fire eater, so i think that was unconsciously trying to make it fit in my mind's image of the scent. Edited September 19, 2005 by Shollin

[wickedgoddess]

Wet - this is almost pure baby powder; so powdery I almost dismiss it.

 

Dry - ah yes, and then the drydown. Geesh, I haven't tried the traditional winter scents, Ice Queen, Skadi, etc, because I don't really consider myself a winter person. Give me an autumn scent and I am in heaven, but winter...meh. Because of that, I really don't have anything to compare this to, and I don't have a clue as to what the notes are in here. But once it dries down, this is gorgeous. It's both cool and cooling, and there's no mint in sight. It's actually one of those can't-stop-sniffing-my-wrists scents. After an hour or two, this fades back down to a powder, but that's okay, when I get a big bottle of this I will just keep slathering it on. Definitely a keeper!

 

On the wickedgoddess scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being best, this rates a 4.

[brownbear]

Like wickedgoddess I'm more of a fall than a wintery scent person. I was a little afraid of this at first because I've had a couple bad mint experiences and I was expecting mint, but to my surprise there is no trace of mint whatsoever. To me this seems more like a cold mountain spring kind of refreshing than a snow blizzard kind of refreshing.

 

It had a bit of soapiness when I smelled it directly or if I put my nose right up to my skin. I kept getting nice, pretty wafts of a lighter, possibly lemony? note, though I can't exactly place it. It's a very clean, cool scent.

[Lilithlefay]

I got an imp of this in my order today(hugs for the lab!!!!) in the imp it is very powdery and clean.....it smells like cold.

On the skin wet: still very powdery and floral.

Drydown: so pretty!!!! glad I ordered this. Still a little floral and the powder scent is not as overpowering as it was initially. There is definately some white floral underneath, and it smells cold and cool but not watery cold and cool if that makes sense. There may be a tad of ozone in here too. I don't smell any citrus or mint at all. Beth is amazing!!!

Edited July 27, 2005 by Lilithlefay

[yellowrose]

Numb is cool indeed and very much a scent that is reminiscent of places of shade and water on a summer's day. The scent notes are difficult to pin down. The florals are lovely and, gellid?! I don't particularly get that sensation. Just nice, lovely cool. The impression: not a winter scent, but something like biting into an ice cold pulpy something when it's hotter than blazes. A refreshing cold.

 

As frustrating as the notes are to pick out is the fact that, on me, the scent seems to vanish rather quickly. (Within an hour ... unless right up on the arm.) This is no doubt attributable to heat-induced sweatiness, which has also shortened the staying power of other scents. Although tried at least twice, will be testing in cooler surroundings and will note what occurs.

 

And for all those who posted speculations about Numb in BPAL Chatter Hate to say "I told you so" but I TOLD YOU SO! No mint. Not even a wee smidge.

 

Another inspired creation that ... well, Beth's scents -- the LEs in particular -- are getting increasingly difficult to describe and more and more amazingly delightful. It's a treat to be ringside to the evolution and an involved witness in the process.

 

 

June 13, 2006 Update: For some odd reason, I became obsessed with wearing Numb. I was wearing green. Maybe that was it. Not particularly hot, but the idea of cool, I think resonated with me and there was no other scent that would do but Numb. It does not have any more staying power after a year's time than described above, but there is a nice hint of scent that lasts for several hours. It's a great summer scent.

Edited June 14, 2006 by yellowrose

[oatmealneko]

I received an imp of this with my last order -

 

Numb is what it is. It smells like a milky white powder with no distinctiveness to it. There's no mint, florals, green, woods, ozone, nothing. It's milky & powdery, a very mellow scent. Due to its lack of distinctiveness, I'm not able to describe much more than that. It doesn't leave much of a lasting impression on me, but it does last awhile, I'll say that much.

Edited July 31, 2005 by oatmealneko

[blood*rose*flowers]

In the bottle: I got a almost immediate thought of I have smelled this before. I pulled out a bottle of a scent that I have loved for years and cannot replace called Champange and Roses and dang these are so close to each other. There is a floral scent that I can almost place like a white flower of some sort. Though no roses.

 

On wet: This is very similar on my skin it still smells floraly and light.

 

Drydown: A soft icy unusual floral blend. I love this scent!!!

[clover]

Numb

 

First impression: Hmmm, this smells strongly of violets to me. I love violets.

 

Upon application: Yep, on me it's mainly violets, with a hint of another "white" floral, maybe rose or lily. Something that's ever so slightly soapy.

 

After a few minutes: The soapiness goes away, and it turns into a powdery violet. Not musky powdery, but kind of dusty powdery. Not too sweet, but sweet enough. I think the sweetness is coming from the violet scent, though. The impression I get is those sugared violets that you can decorate cakes with.

 

Conclusion: Very soft and innocent and sweet! Pretty.

[Imbrium]

Numb! How wonderful to get to try this, since it's stupidly hot out here in the desert.

 

First sniff: This seems to have an almost citrussy quality to it, though very lightly. It smells gently powdery.

 

On, this smells immediately of soft white flowers, with a touch of the sort of powdery clean note I smelled in Yog-Sothoth. There's no mint, the citrus I thought I smelled isn't there - or at least, if it is, it's not prominent. In fact, there isn't really a single prominent note. Rather, this is a very cool, clean, and impossibly well blended floral, with a hint of something sugar, and perhaps a bit of ozone.

Very lovely! I'm extremely grateful for getting the chance to try this one out.

 

Edit 11/20: I've tested this out three or four times now, and each time it's given me a roaring headache. Weird.

Edited November 21, 2005 by Imbrium

[oakmoss]

Wow, this blend took me spinning wildly back to my childhood or early teenage years, and I'm not quite sure why. One of those sense-memory things where sensations that are so familiar aren't quite graspable, rather like the notes in this blend. Violet certainly seems part of it, and something aquatic and something like baby oil.... A summer day, back when it was okay to get tan, slathering on the baby oil, then lying by the pool in the sun.... after a swim, hair still wet, dabbing violet perfume on water-cooled skin... that's what this blend is like for me. Lovely and evocative...

[Scylla]

I don't get any ice-rimmed chilliness from Numb at all. It is a very strong violet and white floral blend on me. And, I'm sad to say, it gave me a sinus headache. I'm very bummed, as I was really anticipating this one!

[harlequin]

I wouldn't call this ice-rimmed either, really. To me, it smells more fresh and clean.. Oddly enough, it kind of has a Deoderant sort of feeling, to me.. fresh, clean, and very useful on those hot, sticky, sweaty, summer days. As long as it doesn't go into floral-headache mode, I kind of like it, even though it's absolutely not what I was expecting from the description.

[ephemera]

I snapped up Numb as soon as I saw the update without knowing exactly why... I'm not usually one for cool scents. I tend towards the hot scents - you know the ones.

 

This came in and in the bottle it smells quite a lot like baby powder. But I tried it on and it's lovely. Ordinarily I dislike violet, but in this blend I can pick out notes that are paired with other scents that really compliment it.

 

It dries down and fades quickly, but this is one bottle I'm going to hoard gleefully. *grin*

Edited August 26, 2005 by ephemera

[Aredhel]

Rating (on skin): 2/5

Summarised in a word or two: Baby powder deodorant.

 

In the imp/bottle: Baby powder. This is liquid baby powder to me in the bottle. It reminds me of a soft, clean baby powder deodorant.

 

On skin, wet: Still baby powder, although just slightly floral. Very fresh, and indeed, very chilly.

 

On skin, dry: I'm not sure if I'd really categorise Numb as "cold" per se (though it is a bit "chilly"), as it seems, on me, a bit more in the vein of fresh, clean, and slightly floral. Overall, though, it smells as if I've rubbed deodorant on my wrist.

 

Conclusion: Nice, but I'm not sure this is for me. I like baby powder in a deodorant well enough, but I'm not sure I'd like to wear it as a fragrance.

Edited December 18, 2005 by Aredhel

[blueoceanflower]

Received this a frimp from the lab Thank you!

 

First sniff: Estee Lauder's White Linen. We had a family friend who always wore White Linen and this reminded me of her right away

 

Beautiful, sharp, crisp floral. Soft with just a hint of egde.

Very classy scent...

 

will add more...

Edited August 23, 2005 by blueoceanflower

[gingersnapp]

Johnson's Baby Powder. With a soft hint of a powdery flower... I agree that it could be violet.

 

Definitely not what I was expecting.

[Sistinas]

a review of Numb

 

Vial ~ soft floral, from what I have read from other reviews it is violet.

It is very soft and for me hard to detect, I find Numb to be very cool

and chilling.

 

Wet ~ it has not changed much, soft floral that invites ideas of wanting

to take an ice cube and stroke it across my neck to help cool me down.

NUmb is indeed the embodiment of its namesake.

 

Drying ~ As it dries the floral is taking a bit more control and there is

this tiny hint of citrus, but maybe is this my imagination

 

Dry ~ Still hints of violet, but the chilling scent seems so perfect for

the hot summer months. I cannot stop sniffing my wrists, I have a new

appreciation for it. Bravo Beth.

 

Fade ~ Okay this has been on my wrist for about 30 minutes and it is

starting to fade away, I think this would be nice to splash on and

think of some of the cool and numbing things I do to survive the heat.

 

Final thoughts ~ On first sniff of Numb, I was rather underwhelmed and kind

of meh about it. But now it is kind of grown on me.On a scale of 1 to 5,

I would give it a 4.

Edited August 30, 2005 by Sistinas

[The_Witching_Hour]

I got an frimp of this from the Lab (thank you!)

 

In the vial: fresh and distinct at the same time if you can imagine that.

 

After 5 minutes: I smell Neroli and something similar to Tuberose but the 2 are so well blended its hard to discern them. Although it still maintains its freshness, it passes for much more than just a 'fresh, clean, what soap are you wearing, dear?'

 

Drydown: A hint of gardenias tells the Neroli combination to 'move over', thus making this a real BEAUTY upon drydown. This is one CLASSIC scent to wear all year around. It doesn't follow the same rules that other fragrances do and allow itself to be categorized into a 'season'.

 

Final Note: I looked up these note combinations that I could pick up on and sure enough, one of them was 'White Shoulders'. This one is a true GEM.

[Serenity]

I also received this as a freebie from the lab.

 

To me, this is a floral soap. No cold, no ice, just lightly floral. It reminds me of hotel soap, in fact.

 

I'm sure it will work on other people.. hopefully some of those other people will provide homes for the 2 bottles I've got coming my way, ordered when I hoped it would be mint.

[Ina Garten Davita]

First Impression: Violets and more violets.

 

Second Impression: Violet can be wonderful and subtle as in Veil, Morgause, Flower Moon or violet can be strong, soapy and overpowering. This is one strong violet perfume.

 

Final Analysis: A bit too heavy on the violets for me.

[lorajc]

I would have to agree with Clover's remark about violets. I'm not sure I'd say sugared...as I don't think this is particularly sweet. It does pack quite a punch and this is one of those oils that is much better on the drydown on me. I tested this at night and the next morning it smelled amazing. Now, that's staying power. Absolutely no mint. I don't think of it as an icy scent, as my only comparisons of icy would be Ice Queen, Skadi and Frost Moon (all of which I love). This is a totally different direction and is basically a floral....possibly violets and who knows what else.

[allelujiah]

Numb is electric violets. It reminds me of violet cologne that my family puts on babies.

 

I love this scent. It is powdery, but not in the way that Ave Maria Gratia Plena is. Numb has a ton of throw and lasted quite a while on me. Granted, I doused myself in it once I saw I had a frimp of the goodness.

 

This scent is more feminine than any of the other violet scents I've tried from the lab. When I first started shopping for oils, I was looking for something just like this and didn't find it until now.

 

I begged the lab to bring Numb back as a Yule/winter scent.

[olympia301]

I can see the argument for violets, and the scent reminds me of violets but doesn't smell exactly like them. There is a soft and powdery quality to it and it reminds me so of something I smelled a long time ago, it was a product scent but I can't put my finger on what it was. Of course, that is bothering me painfully but...

 

Numb does give me the sensation of cold, it certainly isn't a warm scent at all. I think that Ultraviolet comes close to the same sensation but those violets really do warm things up because they remind you of something that was alive. These violets never lived, they are throughly artificial.

 

Think there is a lot of musk in this blend. I hangs on forever. Very pleasant overall but it won't become my special sweetheart, but I will pull it out and love it when the weather is sultry. Glad Beth can get this to us while there is still some hot weather about.

[sarahmarie]

For some reason, a lot of the ozone scents smell like soapy flowers to me. I'm not sure if that's why, but Numb smells like soapy flowers on me! It's pretty strong, too. I'm sure it will be beautiful on someone else, but it's not something I can pull off. The violet is just too much for me. Hopefully someone who likes violets will give this a happier home.

[bloodlotus1]

Numb is Yog's girlfriend. I like it very much.

Edited September 15, 2005 by bloodlotus1