Ulalume

[steffanina]

Starry white lilies lend an eerie brightness to the deep black wooded scents of cypress and oak, layered with a touch of crushed dried leaves and the faintest aquatic note.

Ulalume-

In Bottle: Earth! Oh, a very strong wet earth smell.

Wet: Fresh-turned earth and a few dying flowers in the mix.

Dry: This changes, which pleases me. For some reason I wasn't enjoying this earth scent like I do in The Premature Burial and Zombi. But it becomes a nice pale floral scent; not anything that I love, but pretty enough.

Overall: Not bad. Edited September 29, 2007 by Shollin

[supremegoddessofall]

Strong aquatics that are drowning out nearly everything else. Lightly floral and herbal in the background.

[swilde]

Sweet grass that fades almost immediately. Another one for the burner...

[forspecial_plate]

I think I have a love it or hate it relationship with wood notes....

 

What I'm getting here from the beginning is a spearmint or winter-green type smell, pretty strong. It's an unpleasant association for me...from childhood I've always associated those smells with chewing tobacco (from growing up in Kentucky, I guess...). This fades a lot in the first few minutes, but doesn't go away completely. I guess the dried leaves are what I'm smelling. Then I can also smell the wood notes, and they are just not working for me. The aquatic notes are in there, struggling to come out, and I think with time they might become more apparent. I do wish that I got the beauty from Ulalume that others got from it!

 

This actually isn't terrible after a while...but I just can't see waiting through the first stages of it. I can see this being a good 'winter' blend for some.

[blackfelicula]

In the bottle: To me, this smells strongly of birch or wintergreen: sweet-spicy. This is likely from one or both of the trees included.

 

Wet: It warms up and brightens a touch when it is put on. It is making my tongue tingle just to smell it. It smells like sweetened and wetted wintergreen.

 

Drying down: This is sweetening up some more. I think that might be the lily's doing. The birch scent is losing some of its bite. The net result of this is somewhat soapy.

 

Dry: The mix is turning the birch scent into something that resembles dead leaves, with a touch of spice. The flowers are indeed out more now.

 

Later: This is an odd combination, yet an interesting one. The wintergreen cool still bites my nose, but it is much mellower overall. I think I'll be trying this imp again.

[klavierbarrette]

imp: cypress.

 

skin: lillies and aquatics. odd. i want the wood back! *waits for it....* a couple minutes later, it's in the background. not sure if i like this scent yet, so i' ll hold onto it.

 

ADDED March 18:

 

definitely smells like the poem.

 

depressing scent category anyone? the lilies are barely there for me, the wood takes over harshly. it's odd. smells like the lilies are trapped in a forest and cannot get out.

 

it's pretty but i think it's giving me a headache.

 

EDIT: LOL, i just realised i had reviewed this. the imp has been in my box for awhile and smells different...its ALL WOOD NOW! it's been a couple months, for those who want to know.

[Ah Xia]

On me the wintergreen is the most prominent note, reminding me of Vinland.

 

According to my husband: "Wah! It's like the evil bastard brother of candy!"

[PirateMaggie]

Wet: Ozone, wintergreen, and...wait, what?...Coppertone sport sunblock.

 

Dry: All gone. No lily, no woods, no ozone, no sunblock, just the slightest hint of wintergreen.

[GlowJob]

Florals are my enemy...I know this...but I thought the other notes in this blend might bring them down to earth enough for me to enjoy them.That was a wish that has remained ungranted.Way too much like a bouquet for me!

[filigree_shadow]

Ulalume is another surprise for me -- the only note in the description that I usually like is lily, and I normally avoid cypress and aquatics.

 

There's a dirt/earth/mossy note in this, which I know because those notes come out like gangbusters on my skin and I can always smell even the tiniest drop. Usually I don't get to enjoy that type of note because it's far too strong, but here it's quite pleasant. Must be a super small amount.

 

Anyway... on drydown I only get the slightest bit of that wintergreen scent that previous reviewers mentioned, and the aquatic note is strictly background. This is mainly a white lily with a little bit of soil for me. Some gentle woodiness is underneath it too, but it's not nearly as objectionable as cypress usually is. I think I've come to the conclusion that oak is one of my favorite wood notes -- it has a lovely soft woods feel to it.

 

I don't think Ulalume gets a lot of love, but I bet it would if it smelled like this on other people. It's a lot like Zombi with lilies instead of roses and without the overpowering earth scent. This is much more wearable for me than Zombi was.

 

My only problem with this scent is that it fades too quickly on my skin. So although I like this, I think Jazz Funeral is still my favorite earth/floral combination. I think I'm going to hang onto this imp of Ulalume, though.

[zankoku_zen]

I don't get a strong dirt note... in fact, I don't get a dirt note from this scent at all. I thought it was lilies and some other floral, which made me think of wisteria but wisteria is not listed among the components or in the description.

 

It's a soft feminine perfume floral, with a drowning aquatic background. It's very feminine in a melancholic way.

 

Unfortunately there is something in this that turns into soap on my skin. Very clean soap but it remains a soapy-undertone throughout after the drydown.

 

But yes, I don't get the smell of dry leaves... unless it's some sort of pressed memory sort of feel, or dirt... or any real wood for the matter.

[lookingglass]

Oooh, I love this! It smells as if I have been working in the garden in the Spring (what I wish I could do here in the dead of January): there is dirt, a faint composting smell, with the freshness of flowers and the tang of a damp breeze. It is like Zombi but lighter and not as scary!

[The Perfumed Ferret]

In the imp: Dried autumn leaves, rain drops, and wet dirt. Very clean and pretty.

 

On: Dirt and dried leaves; not very attractive on me. No changes after 15 minutes, just stale dirt.

 

It invokes a sad feeling. I could imagine this being the smell of someone looking back as they left forever.

[sarada]

It's been ages since I last tried Ulalume, and I'm very pleased to be able to give it another shot. With cypress and oak notes, it's got to have something I like. I remember when I first tried it in 2004 thinking "mossy floral". That is still true but there's so much more to it.

 

The lilies have that wonderful, pale, succulent sweetness that I so love in lilies in certain blends. They are very light in the blend but hang over it like dolorous funeral blooms. The main stage is all dark green moss submerged in darkest, murky water with a faint whiff of damp wood and roots winding their way into the pond.

 

It is a really perfect scent for a rainy spring day, I think, and I will wear it when I go for one of my early spring walks in the wood after rainfall. It also reminds me quite a bit of The Premature Burial, but without the strong earthy notes, and with a slightly different scattering of flower petals.

Edited February 19, 2007 by sarada

[inurbanus]

This scent is lovely. It smells exactly as it's described: crushed leaves and a faint mist. I remember a day a few years ago when a couple of friends and I went on a photo taking expedition in the morning. The leaves were changing and the ground was covered in dew. Ulalume smells exactly like that. While it's strong in the bottle, it eventually dries into a beautiful aquatic with a little hint of lily. If you don't like heavy fragrances, I would definitely recommend checking this one out.

 

5/5

[Shitow_Haruka]

first sniff: cypress and earth, with a bit of sweetness from the lily.

 

wet: I am Ulalume. I clasp wilting lilies in my hand as I wait for my love. The earth of my grave clings to me.

 

dry: beautiful lilies with the faint smell of damp leaf mould under it.

 

This is the first scent I've found disturbing. (Although for some reason Burton's Corpse Bride comes to mind, too. ) The emotional response isn't negative, though. I'm definitely keeping this imp, and might consider a bottle when the imp is used up.

[jasmine]

Initially, this is a high-pitched scent that strikes me as resinous, which is a peculiar combination. As soon as it touches my skin, it settles into a smooth, clear, pale yellow blend that is surprisingly pretty. The aquatic note in this is the same one found in Danube; it doesn’t have the same startling beauty as Danube, but it has that same transparent quality that I appreciated so much there. (And it is a reasonably strong aquatic, though there’s nothing fishy about it.)

 

I find myself checking and rechecking my elbow. This isn’t a scent that says “me” to me, but it’s undeniably lovely. Despite the wood and leaf, the lilies and aquatics are dominant, and it doesn’t seem like an autumn scent to me. It’s a spring rain scent.

 

Over the course of its slow fade, this scent never really loses that quintessential loveliness. This is subtle and fresh and appealing, and I approve.

[xoe]

for me Ulalume is at first the same earth note as Zombi. as it dries it becomes a more pale sweet note with the earth backing it up. It is great!

[taramarie]

In the imp: leaves, woods, and lilies

 

Wet on my skin: Hooboy, this stuff is pure autumn leaves. It's strong and very earthy, reminding me of Destroying Angel.

 

Drying: Leaves and lilies.

 

Dry: Lilies with the barest hint of leaves. It's now a lot weaker -- I have to hold my wrist up to my nose to smell it at all.

 

I never smell woods on my skin, which is a little disappointing. I'm hoping the lilies will get stronger if I age this. Otherwise, I don't see myself buying a bottle of this.

[Emera]

This was a train-wreck on me from start to finish. Where are my mossy ponds and damp trees?? I'm glad I'm not the only one who got the weird mint thing, but mine went even further downhill after that.

 

IN THE IMP: First five seconds or so gives me a noseful of this sour, fruity, rotting smell. I think this is the first occasion that I have had to call anything “putrid,” but that’s really the only thing I can think to call it. Then it clears to a shockingly “white” smell, very powdery-astringent, heading into a sharp, sharp mint. I get one whiff of something tantalizingly spicy and woody underneath, but whatever the white thing is, it’s blocking it.

 

ON THE SKIN: All I’m getting is a blindingly sharp mint – reminds me of crushed Breath Savers, which is now roaming into airplane bathroom disinfectant land. What? I’m keeping this on longer in the hopes that it will do something nice, but it’s dangerously close to nauseating at this point.

 

LATER: I kept on the airplane disinfectant thing for about half an hour before I just had to wash it off. (and as jakey reported, it’s even soap-resistant. Lovely.) The whole thing was so consummately bad that I can’t even begin to figure out which note went so wrong. I wonder if it’s the aquatics or one of the woods?

 

I have a feeling this experience is going to haunt me.

[Musamea]

in imp: whew, very strong lilies, with the dryness of oak lingering in the background

 

wet: the lilies and oak fight it out… the lily note reminds me a lot of Endymion… that brilliant Easter lily scent, while the woods and leaves are very leaf-meal-trampled-into-dirt autumnal. It makes quite a striking combination… the sedate, ladylike lilies mixed with the utterly wild feeling of the wood notes. The mental picture it conjures up for me is rain pelting down on a torn white dress lying on a forest floor.

 

drydown: Wafting, it's all lilies, but up close, the leaves and woods mix dominates, with a hint of aquatic sweetness peaking out behind them. The aquatic note smells a lot to me like the one used in La Bella Donna Mia Mente.

 

dry: when I get really, really up close, I can smell a salty note that I also got from Cordelia. I'd thought it was the musk in Cordelia, but now I'm wondering if this is what my skin does to wood notes? The rest of the scent dries down really prettily… the leafy notes start to disappear and what's left is all soft floral goodness.

 

overall: Ulalume is a really nice scent, except for the saltiness on me. I tend to go for warmer, sexier blends, but if you want to wear something that absolutely no one else will have on, something that will make people sit up and take notice, this is the oil for you!

[DifferentDances]

In the imp: Whew! Something wicked sharp yet somehow sweet lies in these waters! Almost too strong -I gagged and almost didn't even test this on my skin.

 

Wet: Lilies of doom. Ack ack ack.

 

Dry down: Oh, okay, this is better. The lilies have toned down, and there's something aquatic but dirty...like the wet patches beneath a rotting log after a rainfall.

 

Dry: Subdued lilies, compost, and a sharp spike of something that reminds me of starfruit for whatever reason.

 

It's almost pretty, if confused and jumbled, but not really worth waiting 45 minutes for. Plus, I'm not a big fan of lilies in general, and this one just doesn't cut it. To the swaps pile it goes!

 

My rating: 2/5

Edited June 16, 2007 by DifferentDances

[porcelina]

i think i am weird because when this stuff first touches my skin it smells just like rose red. that crisp, wet, slightly sour super fresh heavy blossom dripping with dew rose scent. ulalume morphs on me like crazy- the rosey scent dissipates and leaves behind a pleasant aquatic scent. after that it becomes a light floral with a dark, woody background and as it dries its all wood and leaves overlaid with a gentle, sweet floral. i'm not a fan of florals but this i think i can do.

Edited June 19, 2007 by porcelina

[simplethings]

Ulalume in the bottle: I get earth and plant life. It may be the leaves. I'm assuming the sweetness is the lillies. It's difficult to smell through them.

 

Wet: Something about this is very familiar to another scent I recently smelled. Either Eve or Succubus.The aquatic is definitely coming through now. I'm getting a bit of cleaning fluid as well. Maybe the pineyness of the cypress?

 

Dry: The cleaning fluid scent is gone. Very pleasant now. The aquatic as well as the lily seems to be the predominant notes now.

 

After a few hours: Lilies are still strong. The scent has diminished much.

 

Overall: Nice, but not WOW. 3.5/5

[djuna]

the reviews for this seem all over the place, and I'm not sure what to think, other than I'm quite glad I don't get any wintergreen at all out of it!

It starts out very strongly earthy, wet dirt and leaves. This should be unpleasant, but somehow isn't. Then the aquatic shows up, and normally I hate aquatics, but this doesn't have that dryer-sheet/soap feel that most aquatics do for me. It's leveled out to a smell of clean, wet earth, leaves, and cold water, and the throw has a tiny bit of sweetness that must be the lily. If I take a deep whiff of it close to my wrist, I think I get just a touch of floral. Definitely intriguing, and I think it would be very refreshing in hot weather--I'll give it the full test tomorrow.