Dana O'Shee

[fallow deer]

... Offerings of milk, honey and sweet grains were made to placate these creatures, and it is that the basis of the scent created in their name.

I was expecting to really like Dana, since I love sweet, foody smells. Almond, however, was the begining, middle and end of Dana O'Shee for me - perhaps a slightly sweetened almond but the honey, milk and grain notes were undetectable.

It really smelt just like almond essence used in cooking, or bakewell tarts. I do love bakewell tarts, but not on me, as it were!

-fallow deer

[Eris]

It smells like sweet cream, yet it's not a creamy fragrance--if that bizarre statement makes any sense at all. It's lighter, without some of the depth I associate with creamy scents. It also blends with my skin, which is wonderful, because I never want a perfume to just 'sit' there; I want it to work with me. This does exactly that, merging beautifully with my chemistry. The sweetness dims a little once it dries, but the smell is still lovely. It holds on me for about four hours, though during a lot of that time, you have to have your nose right up to my skin to smell it anymore. Personally, I could handle this stuff in a three-foot radius around me. Yum!

[Astra]

I love how this blend makes me feel like one big sugary almond confection!

 

It's really a delicious scent. Almonds swell initially and dominate the mix, but eventually honey and milk (I don't get so much grain) emerge to twine lusciously around the almond. It doesn't change that much on me, and I think it's one of the less complex scents at BPAL. This isn't bad, but it does come off as rather one-dimensional to me.

 

This scent is rather interesting with respect to its inspiration. It is definitely menacing in its mellifluous power of intoxication. I can totally imagine some hapless passer-by being seduced and lured by this scent, evoking the malevolent elves of the myth.

 

In addition, it doesn't last long at all on me; I practically have to bathe in the stuff to acquire the appropriate wafting strength.

[renaissancerouge]

Hmmmm....I'm going to have to go the "this is a gorgeous interpretation of a myth and a fabulously blended melange but it doesn't work for me" route.

 

I would use this as a room scent if it were more potent, but I think the delicacy is the point! The sweet, sugary scent is meant to be soft and mealy, which on my skin translates to Jordan almonds. Which are damn near scentless and in my opinion taste-less as well. My imp of Dana O'Shee got used up in one night, post-bath, pre-date, and the date didn't even comment on it, so I think my skin just ate it all up.

 

However, lovely oil nonetheless. I'm just more of a spicy/evil/incense or sweet-violet-springtime-rose girl.

[TygherRayn]

How did I miss reviewing this one! I've had it forever!

 

In the bottle: This is cherry-almond .. I can never tell which is which. I suppose that's a reason to eentually get the single notes, hmm? Very sweet ... but not sticky sweet.

 

Wet: Vanilla comes out in this now. Mmm. Warm vanilla. With a touch of something nutty. Almost like the sugard nuts my mom used to make at Christmas. Very tempting. Nibbleable.

 

Wearing: Yum. So definitely a keeper. I'm going to have to soon decide how to pick what I get bottles of, there's so many nice scents. This one stays swet, but not cloying like Hellcat and Eclipse tended to do on me. It's a warm sweet .. not quite like hot cocoa, as there's no chocolate in it .. but that sort of sweetness.

[Effluvia]

in the vial: Marzipan. Yum!

 

wet, on my skin: Hey, wait! Where the hell did you go?? Hellooo!!?? Oh, there you are...wait, that's not Dana O' Shee, that's fucking PLAY DOUGH! There's PLAY DOUGH on my skin!!! WTF??

 

And then the Play Dough disappears, too! What the hell was that!??

 

I think I smell the faintest trace of honey after a few seconds, like there was a glob of honey on my wrist, but someone licked it off. (tee hee) Then I get the teeniest suggestion of milk...no grains. This smells like it would be divine to eat, but it barely exists on my skin at all. I'm hoping it's a hormonal thing and I'll adore it next week...(like what happened with Masquerade and I).

 

I'd like to buy a bigger bottle of this so I can slather it on and see how it *REALLY* smells.

 

ETA: Aye, body chemistry is strange indeed. This smells like pure honey on me today, like a single note, with something that smells like sugar cookie dough. It's a lot stronger (but definitely not too strong) than it was when I first tried it, and it doesn't smell a thing like play dough anymore. I will be buying a 5ml of this in the future because I genuinely love it.

Edited August 10, 2004 by Effluvia

[PinkPig]

To me, this smelled of almonds and sweetness. It is a suger-covred glory. I think that this will be the perfect Winter scent.

 

A lot of reviews have said that this is a light scent, but it's very heavy on me. It can be cloying if I put on more than a droplet. It makes me think of the richest chocolate... undescribely decadent, but far too rich to have more than one square of at a time.

 

I adore it.

[asa805]

This was soooo sweet and foody. It was missing a spicy element. If it was deeper or had some spice i would have liked this but this was very one dimensional on me. With out any other element to it it was just boring and overly sweet. I swapped this away to someone who will hopefully cherish it.

[Miggins]

This is my first review! :woot:

 

In the vial: Not at all as I expected! To my nose, I could smell almonds. To be precise, marzipan - a not-too-sweet, almondy almost to the point of bitterness smell. Reminded me of how Vidal Sassoon shampoo used to smell in the 80s. Lovely.

 

On the skin: The initial smell was again marzipan, but marzipan on Christmas cake - succulent and drenched with alcohol, yummy and mouth-watering.

 

The dry-down and beyond: This is when my skin disappointed me. The marzipan smell mellowed and mellowed and in the final stages, I had a brief hint of honey. More and more mellowing until poof! My skin completely drank it in and it disappeared. However, the following morning I washed my hands with Lush’s Honey I Washed the Kids and it rejuvenated it slightly.

 

I liked it, but I don’t think I’ll be buying anything larger than an Imp. However, in its defence, I think this (for me) is more of a winter scent. I’ll reserve judgement and try it again when the weather is cooler.

Edited August 12, 2004 by Miggins

[Falathwen]

My patroness is St. Bride/Brigid. I chose this scent because its elements (milk, honey, and grain) are also associated with her.

As others have said, this scent remained fairly constant both wet and dry. Light and sweet, it made me feel the same. On me it is almondy. It is a clean, comforting scent....very much like an almond and oatmeal soap I enjoy. It is also similar to a milk and honey fragrance that I am fond of. It lasts quite a while, which suprised me for such a light fragrance.

[riddel]

Dana O'Shee

 

Odd. I don't get almonds from this one. Well, not the kind of almonds present in, say, Hecate and Seraglio. To me, Dana O'Shee is creamy, sweet, and nibble-my-arm edible without screaming FOODY! It smells like I took an expensive milk bath then baked some oatmeal cookies. It's just a comforting, unobtrusive scent. Like somebody else said, this is how I wish my skin smelled naturally. I so have a 5ml of this on the way.

Edited November 5, 2004 by riddel

[AnnetteL]

Initially this is just almond over a sweet milky base. Gradually the almond retreats into a more oaty scent, and loses a little of the sweetness. It's still quite reminiscent of marzipan, though.

 

I won't buy a full bottle since I already own a flock of sweet almond scents, plus it faded much faster than any of the other oils I've tried.

[darestodream]

On me, Dana O'Shee is almost the perfect day scent. It's warm and gentle, without being too sweet. I love the hint of spice to it. The first time I wore it, I could not stop smelling my wrists all day.

 

Of course, with BPAL I've learned to try everything twice before deciding. The second time, all I could smell was the almond. In fact, I smelled a bit like an almond cookie. I'm not a big fan of foody scents, so that did not appeal to me, and the almond really took over the parts of the scent that I liked.

 

I think I'm going to try this as a room freshener and see if the scent balances a bit better when it does not have to respond to my body chemistry.

[ChupaChup]

This is such a lovely, soft and comforting scent to me. It smells like oatmeal cookie dough! None of the notes stand out separately, I don't detect the almond that others have mentioned but I can believe it's in there. It fades a little too fast to be a good daytime scent for me but I love wearing it late in the evening. It lasts until I go to sleep and gives me peaceful dreams.

[Lucretia]

This one is definitly very sweet and innocent. It smells very almondy in the bottle, and smells almost like modeling clay or playdough on me (both of which are smells I enjoy). Very sweet, but not in a foody way.

I could see myself liking this one better as a lotion or hair product than a perfume as it is a little too sweet for me.

[nevermore]

Mmmm … almonds and milk. Light enough for everyday wearing out and about, even in the summer. In the vial, it was all almond, but once on my skin it morphs into something slightly sweet, and not too almondy. After a while, the honey comes out slightly, and the almond dies down a little, but still quite lovely. I don’t know if I need a bigger bottle, but perhaps another imp when I’m done with this one.

[Electra]

Very light scent. Smells of almonds and Play-Dough. Not for me.

[tart]

I haven't reviewed this yet? Dana O'Shee immediately made it onto my list of favorite scents.

 

Wet: Quite almondy on me but I don't really mind it.

Dry: An amazing mix of everything I could hope to naturally smell like. Sweet like sugar but not sickeningly so, as a resin might be. Rather good staying power although it might be hard to detect since it is so light.

Overall: I need a bottle of this. I'd recommend it for everyone to try -- it's just one of those scents. Would be especially good for someone who likes Alice (especially if you've temporarily misplaced your imp ). Also a must try for Snake Oil fans who don't want such an intense scent for every day use.

[Witch Baby]

 

Wet: Hmm, very almondy. I'm not a huge almond fan, but this is nice in a very different way.

 

Drydown: Mmmm, Dana O'Shee really sweetens on me. I can smell the almonds still, but it's become secondary to this very sugary cake dough-y scent. It's very creamy and smooth, I'd really want my hair to smell like this.

 

Verdict: It's not my absolute favorite, but I still really really like it. I'd want shampoo that smells like this. I think I'm gonna go for a bigger bottle of this.

[Pookstrell]

In the vial: Incredibly almondine- a pleasant surprise.

Wet: Almonds- almost a single note.

Five minutes later… Yep, still almonds (can you spot the theme developing here!)

15 minutes later... softening up as it begins to shed its stronger, marzipan notes.

 

But… wait for it… Approx the 30 minute mark:

 

KAZZAM!

This explodes into the most beautiful warm, milky, delicate almond scent. Every time this happens I am surprised afresh.

 

About 45 minutes…

 

This scent is a very long, drawn-out happy sigh. I feel warm, snugly and comforted.

If I have not already put on fluffy socks and my mum’s old cosy cardi it is now the perfect time to do so

The almonds are perfectly balanced by a sweet, rich milkiness which just gets creamier and more inviting as it matures until-poof!-it softens to the point of being absent!

The first time I tried this oil, I was disappointed that it vanished without a trace after about 2 hours. I can only assume that my skin found it as delicious as I did and decided to devour it!

Prior to my next application, I prepared my wrists and neck with some of my almond body lotion. Happily, my skin was sated and managed to resist gobbling up Dana for about six hours. I suspect that Dana will never be more than a subtle whisper upon my skin when compared to some of the other Bpal oils I have tried. But it is perfect.

 

True aromatherapy.

 

I MUST purchase 10ml of this.

Edited August 24, 2004 by Pookstrell

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

The fae chose to make this nothing but 100% almond on me--there may be a tiny bit of milk and honey in there somewhere, but it's pretty much almond all the way. This, however, is a good thing! I smeared some on before meeting my family for tea at a tea-room here (we do this every Friday, family tradition). There were lots of desserts around, but I think I smelled better than anything there. And I blended beautifully with the smell of tea.

[TrayLynn]

In the bottle: sweet and milky

 

Wearing: The milky creamy scents smell divine on me. The almond accents the honey and turns Dana into a lovely creamy scent. It's my ultimate comfort scent usually the one I reach for after a long hot bath or before bedtime when I just want to snuggle and read for awhile.

[isyche]

Don't know why I haven't reviewed this yet...

If you asked me to pick one favorite BPAL (nooo!), it might be Dana O'Shee. I got it as an extra in my first order, and I love it so. It smells of almond extract at first, and then like milk and honey poured over oats - I think the oats help keep it from being too sweet. It's understated, warm, comforting, never cloying, and really acts as a second skin scent on me - like a cozy blanket, as others have said. The only downside is that it doesn't last as long as some others, so I have to put more on.

 

Also, I love the name and the concept - might have to try leaving some out for the faeries sometime .

[quinkel]

didn't I review this one?

 

well, truly a comfort scent, No honey to me (I have single note of honey cannot seem to detect it in Dana O shee)

 

It's very soft, not long lasting and I am almost done with the 5ml (sure will reorder this) I love to get Lush snowcake again and use them together.

 

Often this is my bedtime scent, it seems to bring pleasant dreams. Also it calms me down. But Never used it outdoors because it's so faint and delicat.

[LiberAmoris]

I know I'm in the far minority here, but Dana O'Shee didn't impress me that much. It smells just like the fragrance oil my friend uses to make her Oatmeal, Milk & Honey soaps (which aren't my favorite either).

 

On my skin, it has that definite play-doh smell, and something plastic-y, underneath the almonds. It wasn't something I wanted to run and wash off, but I wasn't impelled to finish off the imp, either. I gave it to a friend who absolutely adores it.