Silence

[LiberAmoris]

 

Silence, Lucien Lévy-Dhurmer.

White sandalwood, iris, blue musk, lotus root, moonflower, plum blossom, green tea, white mint and white peach.

 

Silence was a must-have because of the notes---white sandalwood, blue musk, moonflower, plum blossom? Sign me up. That, and I am obsessed with the mysteriousness of the painting, the gorgeous blues, the strange landscape in the background, and the arresting expression and accompanying hand gesture...perhaps we shouldn't discuss the hand gesture. I'm sure it can be traced back to the Egyptian god Horus and Harpocrates the Greek god of Silence and other traditional gestures meant to convey silence. It feels like a very secret and symbolist gesture, charged with the pressure of the moment. I'll leave it at that.

 

In the bottle, I can really smell the sandalwood and muted fruits. It smells...quiet. That perception changes when I apply it and a delightful chorus of fruits and tea plays out. The peach and plum blossom are on the top, then I smell the moonflower and green tea and iris, then the lotus and sandalwood, and lastly the mint, which on me is just barely detectable but gives a little glimmer or sparkle to the other notes. I have no idea what blue musk smells like, but feel like I can smell it edging the blend in its luminous glow.

 

Silence gets better the longer it wears---the sandalwood and musk give it good staying power on my skin even though it is a quiet blend. It's a fantastic fruity-floral with a lot of complexity. I find it very relaxing and peaceful.

 

As it dissipates from my skin, it smells like a hush has fallen over me. Like walking out from a room filled with many voices into a winter night. It's lovely.

[Nightgaunt]

Oddly enough, this doesn't smell like much at all in the bottle. It's only on my

skin that its character shows. Sandalwood. moonflower, tea leaf. and mint create a dry, chilly, austere, and rather melancholy scent. It really does evoke the atmosphere of the painting. Not my favorite, but it's interesting, and would be really good for those who like minimalist perfumes.

[filigree_shadow]

In the bottle it doesn't smell so great. It's kinda pungent. But on... wow.

 

This is a very soft haze of a perfume. It smells like a muted peach, with a little bit of a sweet woody scent lurking around the edges. The fruity part to it is beautiful; it's not overly juicy or acidic, just pretty and lingering. It doesn't smell anything like the strong peach I've smelled in other GC blends, and I don't know how to describe it. It's just... soft. Understated. Quiet. None of the notes are shouting in this blend, they're all lovely and whispery. It's not all fruit, either -- there's a slighty woody and floral complexity to it, and just a hint of a sparkle.

 

Even the oil itself is soft; when I put it on my inner arm, it made my skin feel smooth and soft. I don't usually notice that at all with perfume oils.

 

I think this is beautiful, and I'm so glad I have a bottle. I like this even better than Tamora, and I thought Tamora was my favorite peach blend ever.

[shelldoo]

in the bottle: plum blossom, and i almost think coconut?

wet: sweet, plum blossoms (i am assuming that is the light plummy smell i detect) a very light breath of peachiness

 

as it dries, just wow. is that light, sweet muskiness blue musk? i do not get any mint (yay)or tea (double yay) this is soft, sweet, lightly fruity, but not like a fake fruit rather, an almost afterthought of fruit. incredible. this is my favorite salon to date. not at all my usual fare as i like the heavy, incensy, musks. but this is ever so soft, like a feather brushing against a memory. a special memory, sweet and fuzzy, yet it brings forth the happiest feeling. that is silence. it is incredible, and i find myself going back to sniff my wrists over and over

[mountainwitch]

Why is it so hard to describe this one without using the word "quiet?" I'm not kidding . . . This blend is clean, fresh, and very delicate.

 

I was expecting a sharp edge of mint, or perhaps something with more of the green-tea note of Apothecary. That's not what I get here, however. The blend of mint, sandalwood and possibly iris/lotus root gives me a faint impression of juniper--but please don't let me scare you off with that! It's definitely not a cedar scent, but it triggers a memory for me: the clean, brisk mint over sandalwood reminds me of wild clouds of juniper under a white frosting of snow.

 

Silence is lovely and understated. It's a contemplative scent, if ever there were such a thing, made for quiet study on a dark January evening.

[LittleGreyKitten]

Just barely there on me. It's... interesting. Not quite sweet, very subtle. It has a rather herbal smell to me. I wish it had a bit more scent, honestly. I can't smell it at all without plastering my nose up against it, and then it's like "Is that where I put it? OK, I kind of smell something..." I guess it makes sense, with what it's embodying. Still, not a fave.

2.5 out of 5.

[porcelain72]

In the bottle: soft and melancholy, I get mostly sandalwood and floral, nothing resembling green tea or plum blossom (assuming plum blossom smells like plum, I really don't know).

 

Initial application: the sandalwood amps a bit, making it just a little stronger, but not much. This is a very mature scent, and the artwork on the bottle seems oddly appropriate. If cool, blue silence had a scent, this would be it.

 

Drydown: the peach is starting to come out, softening it considerably. It took some time to grow on me, but this is actually quite pretty. On the downside, it fades really quickly. Then again, it seems kind of appropriate.

 

Smiley rating:

[Little Bird]

For the most part, I can't pick out any of the mentioned notes except for a very clean, light, watery musk and the sweetly enchanting powdery floral smell of moonflower. I don't smell anything like mint, tea, peach, plum blossom, lotus, iris, or sandalwood.

 

When I wear this, it makes me think of a manmade pond, all cement and gray stones, tinged with frost and icy on the edges... with some pale flowers floating around in the glassy water. It's chilly and a tiny bit sweet. I don't mean to make this sound very floral or very aquatic though, because it's not that either. It's almost a clean, cold, powdery sort of scent. But not bad baby powder sort of powdery.

 

Silence is definitely a subtle scent. When I wear it, I don't notice it unless I have my nose pressed to wherever it is applied. And then it strikes me as smelling of clean skin, like when I first step out of the bath tub or shower and everything is cold and clean.

 

Very interesting.

Edited January 17, 2012 by Little Bird

[PurringPulsar]

Silence

 

In the imp: a greenish-floral scent with a hint of crushed leaves, a sharpness reminiscent of a crushed plant stem.

Wet on skin: the reedy, crushed stem scent gets stronger, and I smell something that reminds me of a perfume I've smelt elsewhere.

Dry on skin: this is a very intriguing fragrance, very complex and cool. I can now smell the sweetness of peach creeping into the scent. This smells of a medley of green notes all crushed together with lightly scented petals of iris and plum blossom, with a hint of sweet peach and ethereal blue musk. This scent does describe the name beautifully, it is serene yet cold and withdrawn, subtle and quiet. It brings to mind the starry night of the painting, cool and dewy/frosty.

After a while: the scent eventually becomes centred around the peach, which is gorgeous in here, with the clear scent of moonflower. There's a background of blue musk, almost ozone like and airy, and a greenish sandalwood note, and the soft powdery lotus root, as well as the light floral note. I was predicting that this would resemble Budding Moon but this actually reminds me more of Peony Moon with peach instead of peony, it has a similar aquatic-woody-green thing to it. It's soft, and beautiful. I definitely see a resemblance to Nuit with the blue musk, but without the florals from that scent.

It seems to fade fast, I'm getting something slightly sharp on the drydown that I'm not sure about, but it could just be my nose being distracted by the smell of cooking. There's now something crystalline to the scent as well.

Verdict: this is such a wonderful, evocative scent, truly fitting to the painting. A starry blue musk with crushed green tea and iris stems, soft lotus root, sandalwood and a fabulous juicy peach note-this is probably the freshest and coolest, the least sweet, of the peach scents. Beautifully constructed, very much a work of art. It doesn't have much throw, but that fits in with the scent's name and theme, I think, it smells light and cold, withdrawn, contemplative and meditative, a solitary, subtle, silent scent. One for those quiet, lonely, thoughtful moments, I think-and I have loads of these moments. I'll think about getting a bottle-it does fade quickly and might need frequent reapplication, I need to try it again. But the first couple of hours of this scent are magnificent.

Emoticon rating:

Is it a keeper? I'll try this again, I think I need a bottle.

If you like this, try: Peony Moon, Fae, Aglaea, Budding Moon, Nuit

[Alchemy21599]

In the bottle: green tea and plum blossom.

 

Wet: I can't pick out individual notes, but the overall effect is stunning.

 

Dry: This is a really beautiful blend. I would describe this as a personal scent, it doesn't announce itself to the world, but it is gorgeous. This is my new favorite Salon scent

[strangestgirl]

Since there aren't many reviews, I thought I'd post the one from my livejournal.

 

Vial: Sandalwood, peach and a hint mint - which isn't as weird as it sounds.

 

Wet: Peach, plum, iris and a hint of sandalwood. I'm assuming the tea is the sharpening green note. Very nice.

 

Dry: This has leapt to the front as a favorite: cool, clean, and slightly sweet. Now I want to try Orpheus. Damn! In point of fact, I think I like this better than Aglaea, for a peach note. This is a bit more subtle and not a particularly strong scent. It stays muted and close to the skin. It was a good gamble ordering a bottle.

[Gale]

This is such a beautiful scent--like most of the Salons I've tried.

 

I'm not differentiating between wet and dry, because it doesn't change that much.

 

It's soft, warm, dry sandalwood with peach and something a little chilly but not harsh--Silence is so well-blended it's hard to pick out single notes.

 

Like others have said, this is quiet, close, and unobtrusive. It's also incredibly beautfiul (I need more adjectives!)--I'm so glad I have a bottle!

[maribouquet]

To me Silence is evocative of the quiet spells one finds in the midst of grief or depression - when you're all cried out and everything feels very still and calm and clear with a strange, mysterious sort of beauty.

 

Wet, this is coniferous, like a winter forest at night in the snow. I think I may be smelling the lotus root and white mint? Possibly green tea?

 

As it dries the sandalwood picks up and the peach comes out, plus I third note I do not recognize: something light and sweetish.

 

Overall, very soft and intriguing. Peach and sandalwood are my two favorite scents, which bolster me when I'm feeling rotten, and both of those come out beautifully in the drydown and blend with the other notes into something divine.

[PilotKitten]

Hmmm... gods I love that moonflower. It's so sweet and clear. The green tea and white peach lend this scent a wonderful lightness to it. And this scent *is* really a lot like Black Moon. Definitely another bottle of this. < nods >

[sofiaviolet]

Tea and sandalwood! This is great! I smell a few hints of fruitiness, too. Although this is lovely, it's not very special to me, so I'll be passing it on to my mother, who may like it more.

[Emma2403]

In the bottle: ripe peach, plus delicate moonflower and some plum. It's gorgeous so far. I don't get overexcited though because of all the disasters I've encountered with Salon scents.

 

On my skin: it gets lighter, white peach and moonflower, mostly. But there's more. It's hard to describe it. There's some tea, I think, and also something woody and maybe even some coconut (a hint). It's subtle and delicate. It really fits its name too.

 

After a couple of hours: light flowers and the faintest remains of tea. It's discreet, doesn't show off and I like it this way. I was expecting a light blue scent, but it's light peach with lots of white dots.

 

Verdict: the only Salon winner, but what a winner! It's really beautiful in a very subtle and tantalizing way. A bottle would be very welcome (also because of the lovely label).

[arabella]

First Impression: Calm and cool.

 

Dries down to: Very faint hints of florals settle over the cool base.

 

Additional Comments: This is very evocative of silence. It's barely there, calm and serene, lending a subtle perfume to everything. You don't realize it's there until it's gone; then, you miss something but aren't quite sure what. It's beautiful, ethereal and mysterious.

 

Lasted: About 3 hours.

 

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

[edenssixthday]

Silence - The first time I wore Silence, I couldn't smell anything. I mean, absolutely nothing. The second time I wore it, I could smell the slightest hint of musk and peach. However, upon drydown, it completely disappeared. This scent obviously just doesn't do it for me because it's so incredibly light and subtle.

[Voleuse]

On first sniff, this is cool and light and sweet. On second sniff, it is earthy and way perfumey. On third sniff, it is pale and fruity. Wow! This is a complicated scent, layers upon layers, strange and evening and calm. If I concentrate, the sandalwood, moonflower, and peach come out strongest on me, but overall this is balanced nicely. I love the coolness of it, but it's earthy as well.

[Syzygy]

Cookies. Cookies???

 

No, wait...

 

It's...yes, that's Yankee Candle. Not a Yankee Candle, but a Yankee Candle store: that conglomeration of scent that hits you as soon as you walk in. And despite the name, it will not shut up. Rather than whisper and then vanish, Silence holds that YC note long and loud.

 

Weird. That is so not what I was expecting.

[supremegoddessofall]

Pretty and complex, but hard to pick out individual notes. Lightly musky, and mostly get a generic tea feel from it. Some sandalwood, too.

[maijasu]

This is indeed a quiet scent, and perfect for the painting it accompanies. I smell subtle florals, fruits, and tea. It's a very cool-smelling blend, which might work well for summer, although I see no problem with wearing it anytime at all. Another stunner!

[forspecial_plate]

Silence is a beautiful scent that becomes more than the sum of its parts. What I'm smelling is predominantly floral, with complexity behind it, supporting the scent as a whole. I think I can smell the lotus root, maybe a little peach, tea, and maybe the blue musk. But really....everything combines wonderfully. Definitely gives the feel of the painting. This is a surprise winner that I wasn't expecting to like as much as I do. It's one of the Salon blends that is making me re-think the way I feel about floral scents.

[zankoku_zen]

Much mad mad love to mariboquet for the opportunity to try this lovely scent out.

 

In the bottle: Distinctly floral but I can't pick any of the notes out.

 

On Skin: Floral with a peppery undertone which upon looking at the notes now it's quite possibly the sandalwood.

 

ETA: Yup, it's definitely the sandalwood. On my second try I noticed this alot more.

 

On Drydown: Still white florals. The peppery hint recedes.

 

ETA: I do want to add that it's unlike any other floral I've tried. Something very subdued and pretty, without bringing to mind floral explosion. It's not aggressive, it's more like there, wafting close to the skin. I don't get alot of the fruits from this... more I think of the moonflower.

 

It pretty much fades after about an hour and a half.

 

Impressions: It is a very quiet scent, without being overtly melancholic. More like a pensive kind of quiet. It's not what I would call soothing or comforting, but rather thoughtful.

 

ETA: Perhaps because it's a rainy day, I feel that this is an extremely evocative scent. Silence is not the uncomfortable silence... it's more of the stillness of silence. Or the sound of silence. I once, in a forest, did hear the sound of silence - there was no wind, no leaves rustling, no insects, no birds, only my very own soft breathing and it was a bit... disconcerting. It reminds me of that day.

 

Verdict: It's a wonderful thing that Beth and the Lab has been able to encapsulate a painting in a smell. I really enjoy it from an aesthetic aspect... but I'm not sure that scent-wise I'm utterly in love with it. I'll probably have to try it again.

 

ETA: Tried again. From an actual scent standpoint, this isn't something I would wear often. But I do want to stress that is a very lovely scent... just not for me (the sandalwood dominates a tad much at the beginning). On the other hand, I think this is a fabulous accomplishment by the lab.

 

On the other hand, it has made me want all the other Salon scents SO much more.

Edited December 22, 2006 by zankoku_zen

[sarada]

The day before this was announced as a new scent, I had been looking at a picture of the painting in my folder o' symbolist art and thinking what a great fragrance it would make. This is exactly what I imagined!

 

It's actually not the kind of thing I would wear, but it's definitely a blue scent. I imagined that blue musk would be similar to white or pale musks, with its thin sheen of succulent funereal sweetness, touched by aquatic, crisp floral notes. These are all of the most translucent, pale, ethereal white-blue notes, but they are not a loud, blasting floral trumpet.

 

I occasionally like a bit of pale white funeral flowers at my disposal for days around Easter, where it's still a bit cold and crocuses and hyacinths are blooming. I think I'd prefer something that was mostly sandalwood with a touch of mint, tea and peach, since I don't smell any of those enough...I mostly get the flowers. But they are dew-touched flowers glowing blue in the moonlight, the embodiment of silence.