Ulalume

[Maladict]

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.

To me this is a really nostalgic smell, its exactly like standing in the forest in New Hampshire in late fall, when most of the leaves have turned brown and fallen right after a rainstorm. its wet and dead and beautiful. not one for everyday wear, but nice for when i'm feeling homesick

[brownbear]

This really is lovely. It's pretty floral with something dark. The darkness is probably the oak and leaves. I definitely get the aquatic note in this. The first time I tried it I mostly got the lillies, but this time I'm getting more of the other notes. It is so lovely and calm, but it isn't really my style. hmmm I'm undecided on this one.

[Colère]

Bottle: Urgh. Dirt. Stagnant, moldy, dirt (do I even want to put this ON?).

 

Skin: Nauseating dirt becomes bitter herbs once it hits skin. The dusty, organic 'greenness' suddenly becomes aquatic, but it's more 'algae' than water. Strike that - MILDEWY algae that gives the water note a sinister edge (Jenny Greenteeth, ahoy!). Fingers crossed that the stagnant odor will change because there's something lurking beneath the scent of decay...

 

Skin, Later: Jesus Christ, what a change! The sense of festering mold is gone and replaced with a sharp, natural sweetness (sour green apples?). There's even a hint of spice (possibly a reaction with Villainess's Pyromania smooch). Ooo, baby, it's gone all earthy musk (a wonderful, amazing blend of grubby velveteen moss with a refreshing, crisp 'green' edge)!

 

Verdict: Hated it, then loved it. Thank God I actually TRIED it before discarding it as swap fodder. It stayed on ALL day & ALL night, and by the time I woke up the complex scent had become delicate white flowers on virgin water. Gorgeous.

[erikasilverstein]

Ulalume is very herbal and aquatic (also, lightly floral, I think) on me.

 

Reminds me of The Apothecary and Tempest. And Rosalind....?

 

I was hoping for something more Samhain-y (more woodsy, leafy, etc.), but instead I'm getting something a little too 'perfumey' for my taste.

[slugbait]

An imp I recieved ina swap with the marvelous fallow dear. Thank you!

 

Straight out of the imp, this has a bit of sharp greeness, but not harsh or strong. Immediatly on my skin it is the remainder of crushed green plants, fallen leaves, distrurbed earth, all tainted by a cool night time breeze carrying the lightest touch of lillies across a secluded forest pool. I am utterly amazed that a perfume can capture this so perfectly.

 

I just wish it would last longer. After 10 minutes of applying, it fades I can barely notice it. I wonder if slathering can save this? I will try and post my findings. If I could find a way to make it last, I will be wearing this a lot this fall.

[Phaedra]

This was a frimp from the Lab in a recent order. Wet this is sweet and mossy earth like Zombi. When first applied it smells the same- wet, damp, mossy earth. Very quickly a floral note develops. It smells green like clover and there's a hint of warm spice- lilies? It's a bit soapy too. It reminds me of the aquatic notes in R'lyeh. This is really interesting but I think I'll swap it.

[wanderingredhead]

Ulalume completely surprised me, because I was not expecting to like it. However, the stark dichotomy between the light pale florals hovering over fresh dirt and leaf mold was just completely ... intriguing. It's a very quiet, still oil. Good for nursing a hangover- those days when I wish I was buried.

Overall: will keep the imp and use it up.

[midnightmuse]

The initial in-the-bottle notes were sweet lily with somehow a hint of fruit, which disappointed me because I like leafy/woodsy notes. But eventually those leaf notes came out when I wore it, oh yes they did.

 

After the dry-down, I smelled crumbling underfoot last-year's leaves, and dried grass in slanting afternoon sun, and just a (pleasant) touch of dirt. And faint flowers too. Fascinating. I'm in love with my wrist right now.

 

On repeated sniffs, the light has darkened and there is a witching wind with a taste of rain in the air. This is now the autumn scent for me. Definitely.

 

On a night shortly after the Equinox, it was windy here with spatters of rain, very gloomy and ghoul-haunted-woodland-of-Weir. Alone at the late hour, I felt the season beckoning -- opened the window and put my head out into the rushing darkness, breathing deeply. The air was pure autumn: wild and soft, smoky-sweet and damp-dead-leafy. I whispered in surprise, "It smells exactly like 'Ulalume' out here!"

 

Since then, I've been twice as impressed by this fragrance.

Edited October 28, 2005 by midnightmuse

[LushNatty]

In the bottle: young girl’s perfume (almost the scent of that peel-off nail polish—remember that stuff?!) spilled on grass.

Applied: There’s something really unusual about this that is so appealing. It smells very, very green, like the insides of green leaves. Also kind of like celery leaves, which I love. This is so much a spring smell—it literally smells like green things poking out of the ground. It’s quite sharp, but I kind of like it anyway.

15 minutes later: There’s a problem: as I live with this, I notice that the throw is only the sharpness, not the greenness. Almost smells sharp like pre-B.O. armpits. Or lack of personal hygiene in another bodily region.

Now that I have picked up on that, I am not going to be able to deal with this. It still smells green up close to the skin, but I can’t wear this and count on people not confusing it with funk.

On a scale of 1 to 5: 2.

[ABrokenAngel]

I'm so jealous of everyone that this scent loves. So very jealous

 

I'm not sure if it's the time of my cycle I'm testing these more "woody" scents in (since I'm told that can effect it) but sometimes.....the wood smells smile like a burning pencil in a dirty diaper on me.

 

Unfortunately...this was one of them. I'm so heart broken.

Edited November 17, 2005 by ABrokenAngel

[silverlilac]

Out of the bottle and first on my skin the overwhelming note is fresh, sweet greeness, like a fig. That gives way to the distinct scent of dead, damp leaves and earth... it's pleasant though, and so characteristic of Autumn. Unfortunately, this is one BPAL scent that my skin eats up in under an hour (although none have ever lasted 12+ hours on me like some people) and I am left with the faintest scent of lilies and the aquatic note. I'm not fond of aquatic notes at all, and if only the fig/leaves smell lasted longer, this would be one of my favourites.

 

I'm still glad I have a bottle though. Just have to reapply and slather like crazy!

[cupide430]

I was hoping for more lily from this as I am a lily-lover but all I'm getting is woods and aquatics. There's a slight hint of fruitiness that could be the lily but overall this is a sort of deep mossy wet wood on me.

[ebbtide]

I really, really wanted to like this one. In the imp it smelled like a forest, fresh and green.

 

Unfortunately, once I put it on, it morphed into hairspray. Cheap Rave hairspray that I used in the early 90s for my big bangs. Dunno what that's all about! This one's going into the swap pile...

[Fefferbella]

Another frimp from the lab:

 

This smells like standing in a swamp. Surrounded by wild lillies and irises. Warm, wet, slightly rotten wood... aquatic clean notes and slight florals...

 

Very pretty and fades quickly.

[grrrlennyl]

at first: sweet lilies and woods.

on: sweet and floral. fainty aquatic. very nice.

1 hours later: sweet, but more of a wood scent behind it. very pretty.

2 hours later: sweet and floral.

overall: this is just ok. i definitely have other lily-heavy BPALs that i like more.

[rhapsodomancy]

This is my first post

 

This was the first of (my first) six imps that I tried. I generally like aquatic notes and greens, so I was a little disappointed that my skin didn't take to this.

 

In the imp: my initial reaction was cedar, but after re-reading the description, it must have been the oak or cypress that I was detecting. I could also smell the vetivier.

 

When I first put it on: Eeep! Cinnamon soap? I get overwhelming woodsy/soapy scents with cinnamon for some reason. After a few minutes I can detect something sweeter underneath, trying to get out (the aquatic note, I assume).

 

Dry: the woodsy smell fades out and the lilies take over. I think I've discovered that I'm not a fan of lilies. A couple hours later, the smell has become more subdued, and is quite nice--the lilies aren't so overpowering anymore, and the scents feel more balanced out. Overall, the lillies are still the main scent on my skin--not really for me.

[jakey]

Ulalume

 

First Sniff:

Waaahhhh! Blecchh!

 

Ok, composure. Don’t know what’s causing that reaction, but I’m new to BPAL, so I’ll give it a chance…

 

Wet:

I don’t like this at all right now. I wish I could distinguish the notes because I want to know what I’m reacting so strongly to. Could it be the cypress?

 

Drying:

Yeccch, it’s giving me a serious headache.

 

After a Few Hours:

(Can’t do it, am washing it off as we speak.)

 

Overall Impressions:

No no no no NO! (Dear God, it’s even soap-resistant!!)

 

I got this imp from a lovely Lushie who had some stuff on my wishlist. Too bad this didn't work out.

 

Rating:

1/10

[maewitch]

Very odd....I get the same toothpaste-mint sort of smell from this that I initially got from Hamadryad. My nose is definately reading something woody in both of them as minty.

 

This dries through a somewhat camphorous stage into a wet wood sort of smell. Overall it is very very faint.

 

Odd, not unpleasant, rather unique but ultimately not to my taste.

[jazlyn]

Ulalume smelled medicinal and faintly reminded me of menthol and these patches my dad puts on his back for back pain. It's dark and kind of... I want to say ominous. Several minutes later, it's still a little bit dark, but it's a lot lighter and the notes are apparent now: an aquatic note, dark woods, lilies. Woods that are dark and foreboding, but then in the center of the wood there lies a lovely pool with flowers growing around it. This is much better now that it's dried completely, but I'm not sure if I'll be wearing it...

[sthenno]

Faint aquatic note? I feel like I'm drowning in a swamp. Ack! I don't get any lilies at all. Possibly some faint cypress. I'm really bad at picking notes out. I agree with the previous reviewer who said it's "deep mossy wet wood."

 

Ultimately, although it's not something I'd wear, I find the scent very interesting.

 

Edit: Whoa, this suddenly morphed into a sweet swamp on me (but still no florals). I actually prefer the deep mossy swamp.

Edited February 5, 2006 by sthenno

[Wench457]

Ulalume: sweet with a hint of spice, like mint gum - must be the lilies.

 

On: I have no idea where wintergreen came from, but there it is.

 

Dry: minty and floral. I know mint is not listed, but that's what I get from this. It's actually almost unsettling. It does mellow after 30 minutes to a fresh, clean summery smell. No cypress or oak on me whatsoever.

[sophia_helix]

In the bottle:

 

A fresh, aquatic scent with a hint of woods behind.

 

Wet:

 

Now the woodsy scent is stronger, although the freshness is still there.

 

Drydown:

 

Well, this is a first. Normally if there's any scent in a blend that could turn sweet on me, that's what comes to the fore. However, the lilies stayed totally in the background, barely noticeable.

 

Instead it was a powerfully woodsy scent, rather dusty and peppery, like wandering under big trees over a lake. The water was there too, fresh but a little stagnant. So maybe wandering around by a pond instead.

 

It reminded me strongly of Whipporwill, which I ended up swapping. I think I prefer more floral scents to more woody ones.

[sh1mm3r]

In the bottle, I just smell dark woods.

 

First on me is a sharp floral - something with a large blossom, probably a flowering tree like magnolia, but no lilies.

 

In almost an instant, the woods come out full force (as usual) and dominate everything completely.

 

This ends up creating a mental image of when my Mom and I used to hunt for moss in the woods (for flower baskets) - damp, musty, earthy, green, deep in the woods - a nice scent memory, but not something I'm eager to smell like. Off to the swap pile!

[Alchemy21599]

I received this as a frimp from the Lab

 

In the vial: hmmm, smells like pine based cleanser.

 

Wet: eeep! The dirt smell! Also, fir and other foresty scents.

 

Dry: The dirt smell lasts only a short while. The leafy, fir and other forest scents faded slowly leaving a soft floral in their place.

 

This scent really morphed on me. I don't think I will order a big bottle, but I will enjoy the imp since this is such an interesting scent.

[fiddlehead]

Ullalume

 

This starts out with a rush of soil and soft evergreen of some sort. Then the lillies come up and join in. The aquatic scent seems to come through later. Beautiful. I can still catch hints of the soil, which I love.

 

Something about this reminds me of Nocnitsa (a favorite) but it isn't as strong, and Zombi (another favorite) and Penny Dreadful (ditto). So, it's a winner for me.

 

I will say that the first time I smelled this a few months ago, I didn't like it. I think that my nose has become more educated and able to actually pick out the individual notes better. Thank goodness I tried it again!