The Unicorn

[KesHiro]

A misty, almost luminous perfume: wispy linden blossoms, white flowers, and a touch of sweet herbs.

I got this as a free imp in one of my orders.

Wet and dry, this is a very light, clean white floral with just the smallest hint of green herbs. I agree with others when they say that it has a light, elusive quality and it's just how you might imagine a unicorn smelling: clean, with the barest traces of meadow hanging in its furs. My grandmother loved unicorns and this makes me think about her, so it is foreseeable that a bottle may end up in a future order.

Edited to add description Edited November 8, 2009 by Kejiaron

[FathomBelow]

I had high hopes for this one, since I love the idea and the description.

 

In imp: sweet and white. I can smell the linden blossoms. Pretty, but not phenomenal.

On skin: On me, this turned into sickly sweet, cloying, waxy cherry candy! Or maybe cough medicine. Horrible. Anyways, it lasted for about three hours.

 

All in all, I was very disappointed with this scent, and will definitely not be getting more. Oh well.

[ami226]

This was actually one of my first favorite BPAL scents (in addition to Phantom Queen), but unlike Phantom Queen, I never purchased a bottle of the Unicorn.

 

On the skin: So light and clean! It still smells quite good as I remember, but my tastes have really changed since then (more than 2 years ago). It is pleasant, but I am not sure if it is bottle worthy anymore. It is so wispy and clean while I now lean towards more heavy incense spice and foody types.

 

It is a clean, just out of the shower scent that is quite nice, but I don't think I will need any more than the imp I have.

[cecukemon]

On my skin, this smells very soft and innocent, with a slight sweetish touch. It reminds me a little bit of Yggdrasil - if Ygg is a wild, deep forest with a wood elf slipping through nearly unseen, this is a sun-lit clearing with a young woman in a white dress and just a hint of trees in the background. It's a green, clean scent without the biting undertones I'm used to in green, fresh scents. Four hours later, it was pretty much gone but I didn't slather as I was very unsure whether I would like it or not. I think it might even be a nice perfume gift for a girl, as it's a very unobstusive but pretty scent.

[changeling]

I have tried this imp before--about three times since I purchased it some years ago. It stubbornly fails to work, every time. Before I finally pile it in the "de-stash" pile, I wanted to give it one last chance.

 

In the bottle: Clean green scent with a familiar high note

 

Wet: OMG is this what it is supposed to smell like? Blossoms and thick, close-growing herbs and a dash of sparkle. I am shocked. I am stunned. It works on my skin! It is a very light, wispy scent, a sweet thin green scent.

 

Dry: Chewably green and softly white

 

Conclusion: I am now wondering whether the aging oil melds better with me, or an aging me melds better with the oil. Either way, it works. As a note, try this mixed with Dragon's Eye. I have one on each wrist, and the combination hitting my nose is oddly well-rounded.

[moosue]

Imp: Mmm, very green, almost aquatic smelling. I'm not getting floral. I like it.

Wet: Green, and floral, but green is the top note. Very clean, smells like shower gel.

Drydown: Something sharp (floral) and sweetness (the herbs? it does smell vaguely candyish though, although I wouldn't call this foody whatsoever). Basically, it smells like soap and cherry lollipop or something.

 

This is VERY light (yet pretty strong at the same time, if that makes any sense), I can barely smell it after 15 minutes, and it's just that sharp floral/sweetness there. Maybe my skin eats something in this.

 

For the headache sensitive: this might trigger one if you smelled it for a couple hours, but it doesn't seem to last that long, so it should be okay.

 

I'm going to let this age awhile and see if that sharp drydown soap note backs off at all.

 

Verdict: It's okay, but probably not my kind of scent.

 

ETA: As my sniffer gets more atuned, I'm really liking this one. Not a bottle purchase for me, but I've found myself craving this one on occasion.

Edited March 1, 2010 by moosue

[Sawasdee]

This is a lovely crisp clean white floral. I really don't smell any herbs or greenery. I believe this is the first white floral that has not turned soapy on me, yay, so bonus points for that. At the end of a long day, if I apply this, it's a real pick-me-up. My favorite stage is after a few hours, when it really softens to a sweeter floral. I'll use up this frimp, but I'm not that big into clean scents, so will not be purchasing a bottle.

[lishal]

White florals with the barest hint of green on me. Very clean and very girly. It has this touch of powder to it that doesn't take away from the scent but adds to it. Strange seeing as I'm the only one who gets powder from this. I think it's great though. It's a beautiful, floral scented powder that gives off a squeaky clean feel. This scent stays very close to my skin and does very little morphing. The only thing I notice is the disappearance of that powder-like quality a few hours into wearing this.

[doublehelix]

This smells like a mixture of shower gel and soap. There are some green notes and hint of floral... but overall all I get is dishsoap!

[raisin]

I like this one... I risked the bottle since "linden" turned up so few results, and I was fairly certain nothing in this would offend me.

 

It has been threatening to go soapy all day, but hasn't quite gone that way for me. I get more white florals than the green I would like to have, but I think I am getting some of the herbs underneath... there's definitely something there that's keeping it much more interesting than soap. It's very clean and light and I just seem to get some nice whiffs of it as the day goes on. It's very cool and fresh. I think it's a great candidate for everyday wear, so I can't really regret buying the bottle, even if I'm not totally head over heels in love with the contents.

 

ETA: I'm afraid the florals totally won out in the end. I love this one so much when it's wet, but I can't seem to get that scent to last. Ended up finding a better home for this bottle.

Edited March 17, 2010 by raisin

[loubric]

MMMMmmmm clean and oh so sweet smelling. Very warm and milky with hints of herby greeness. Soft and subtle a lovely clean scent, perfect for SPRING!

[ModderRhu]

The Unicorn

I picked this imp because a long time ago, I smelled a very expensive linden soap and I fell in love. Couldn't afford it, though. It was a sad day.

Then I came across The Unicorn and saw that it had linden listed as a note! YAY!!! Hadda buy it.

Unfortunately, this is a very nondescript perfume to me. It does smell familiar, maybe like that soap? Maybe not? It's barely detectable on my skin. What tiny whiffs I do get are very boring and blah.

I will say that it makes a better clean laundry scent than Dirty, if that one let you down in that area.

I'm so upset! I'm definitely gonna retest this one. It WILL work on me, dammit! I WILL love this! Grr...

2 out of 5

[angelicruin]

This is a very soft floral fragrance. Slightly sweet. It reminds me of dryer sheets though, which smell great with the laundry, but not so much what I want in a perfume.

[Kayah]

As others have said, this scent **sparkles** It is so light, so ethereal, so innocent. It does feel like captures the essence of a unicorn, but not those bumbly horses with horns stuck to the forehead that hollywood likes to portray but the medieval unicorn.. the last unicorn.. a creature so gentle, so graceful, so innocent that not even a horse (one of natures most beautiful and graceful creatures) can live up to the image. It is light florals, sweet linden, and herbs so well blended I can barely pick anything out distinctly. It smells SO INCREDIBLY GOOD I want to bathe in this.

Alas, on drydown it turns soapy, although I can still smell the floral essence and I brave through the soap, still loving this scent.

 

 

... and, like a true unicorn.. it is there, and then it is gone, 15-30 minutes into weartime, and my heart aches and wants MORE...

[fairestrocza]

In the Imp: juicy and green

 

Wet on Skin: delicate slightly sweet floral

 

While Drying: there is an edge to this that is almost spicy

 

After a Little While: This seems to bounce around a bit, periodically emphasizing the stem-like note, or the sweetness, or the freshness.

 

Later: After a while there is a slightly sour note underneath it all. After an hour, the scent is so faint I can barely notice it even with my nose pressed to my wrists. The boy says he can still smell it, and likes it more now that he did earlier. Hmm, I seem to be a bit stuffed up... maybe I am reacting to something in this? I'll need to test it again.

 

Final Thoughts: Fits in my mental grouping of Szepasszony, Area 51, & Baobhan Sith (similar feel/mood).

The Unicorn earns a 3.5/5 on my skin.

[starfish327]

in the imp: pink florals, very very floral, something sweet behind it. very young, though also precociously young. innocent though not particularly naive either.

 

wet: pink florals. it's not as painful on my skin as florals normally are though. still very young and not really my style.

 

dry: the florals have gone white, and straight into soap. florals are normally hit or miss, with majority being miss, on my skin so i'm not entirely surprised either. if it weren't so young i may have been tempted to keep it to try layering it under some darker blends but it's too girlish (not girly) to me to want to keep it- it's just not a good match for my personality.

[KrahesPhoenix]

Origin: Fresh from the lab in an imp

 

In the bottle/First Thoughts: Ooo, this is fresh. It's a very sweet floral that isn't too strong to my nose. There's something softly green there and it smells like sunshine to me. I imagine a meadow with a little creek nearby--there's a gentle breeze and the scent of the flowers and the sun warming them tickle your nose. So fresh and innocent.

 

On the wrist/Wet: I still like this. It's still fresh and simple smelling to me. Very soft and light, which means that I'm sniffing my wrist a lot. No complaints thus far.

 

Dry: I think I love this. It's faint so I'd probably need to REALLY slather it on to get any kind of throw out of it, but I'm in love with the clean simplistic sweetness of it.

 

In conclusion, I think this might become a bottle in my future. Many reviews mention a soapiness and I kind of smell that, but...I like it. If it's soap, it's a very nice smelling soap and I don't mind smelling like a clean, nice-smelling girl. Haha. There's something there driving me crazy, though. I can't figure out what it is, but I really like this.

[plainjean]

This is the first BPAL I ever tried, so it holds a special place in my heart. I've used up my imp, but I do have a bottle on its way to me. I'm going to attempt to do this review from memory! I'll update it if I have a different opinion once I get my bottle, but I doubt I will.

 

In the imp: very medicinal, with a hint of white blossoms of some sort. Not sure exactly which white blossoms, but I know they are white, ha. I assume they could be the linden blossoms.

 

On the skin, wet: It's a very sweet herbal scent, but the herbs meld perfectly with the white flowers.

 

On the skin, dry: Pretty much the same. Very herbal, slightly medicinal, but soft. I absolutely love it.

 

Conclusion: Well, obviously I've already stated how I feel about this scent: it's worthy of a full bottle. It's such a beautiful scent that I feel is feminine, but cold and mysterious. I have a copy of Peter S. Beagle's The Last Unicorn sitting next to me, and this scent perfectly matches the Unicorn in this story. It's absolutely gorgeous.

[Ashenrook]

And this marks the last review of the frimps I was given at July's Brick and Mortar sale.

 

 

In the Bottle

Mmm... sweet herbs wreathed with delicate blossoms. It does have a bit of a medicinal oil vibe to it, but it's very pleasant.

 

On Skin: Wet

It's very fresh and lovely, but it's starting to remind me of a more "pure" and uplifting version of Leanan Sidhe. That being said, I thought "Man...this would make a fantastic soap". It's not soapy, per se, but it reminds me of soap.

 

Now, this is where my review starts to falter... I've never smelled a linden blossom note before so I have no idea if the flowers I'm smelling are indeed the linden or the white flowers.

 

On Skin: Dry

Still very sweet, but it's more about the flowers (which, at this point, I'm ASSUMING is the Linden). The sweet herbs are becoming increasingly distant by the minute.

 

Afternotes

...Odd. The sweet herbs are back. It's like it reversed with the flowers being in the background and the herbs at the forefront.

 

 

Verdict

On an American scholastic grading scale of A to F, A being best, I would give this a B-.

 

While it was given the same ranking at Leanan Sidhe, I'd have to say I like this a tiny bit better. But it's just not something I'd wear...

 

A soap of this, however...

[snapesgirl34]

In the Bottle – Sort of medicinal.

 

Wet – Very clean smelling with some floral. Like lilies, but without that edge that makes them overbearing. It reminds me of the smell of clean sheets.

 

Dry – I was wearing this in the subway, which, like most subway systems, smells pretty awful. However I noticed that the smell from Unicorn counteracted the stench of the subway. It’s a really sweet, clean smell.

 

Overall – Not sure how well this works on me as a perfume, but I could definitely see putting a drop of this on my pillow or an empty bottle in a linen drawer to keep the fabric smelling fresh. My friend tried this on the laundry she was packing before she drove home, and said the Unicorn made it smell wonderful. It’ different from other “clean” smells in that it smells sweeter without smelling like citrus or dryer sheets.

[galahad]

In The Bottle

Softly herby with some florals

 

On Application

Floral and herbal

 

Dry Down

This started off as quite heavily floral but softens to quite a lovely soft floral and hay-like scent. Nice but not particularly to my liking.

 

Rating (0-5)

3

[frecklestars]

In the bottle: wispy and a bit of herbs at the end. I wouldn't say they're sweet though, more dry and green, sort of like sage. this is a very dry scent, bordering on chilly. it's not particularly flowery either, which is nice for those who shy away from florals.

 

On my skin: wispy is indeed the word that comes to mind, softens to a pleasant blend of white flowers combined with herbs. again not particularly sweet, just wispy. indistinct. maybe a bit mysterious, but not in that "dark clubs and smoky rooms" kind of way. more like wandering through woods filled with a thick mist, picking flowers.

 

Last thoughts: it's a little lonely, mournful. not overly floral and a very faint scent - you'd have to reapply often I'd imagine. a little too shy for me.

[angelamaria]

In imp: this is a sweet and uplifting floral! Definitely white. Pretty, elegant. Very apt for unicorns

 

Wet on skin: oh wow. Sweet and ethereal white floral. Almost aquatic, but it's a bit more of a light luminous blue than a deep watery blue, if that makes sense. It's slightly powdery/dusty, but it seems to be just right for the scent, and hopefully it won't be overpowering and behave well on my skin? Very pretty, very elegant, I'm both excited and dreading the drydown AND what happens after that if it's good!

 

Dry: OMG. LOVE. Pretty, elegant, ethereal and ladylike. Very fitting (although I'm thinking more of The Last Unicorn unicorn than any other kind). White, with a touch of light blue aquatic, sometimes slightly creamy. A very pretty floral. I seem to keep saying that, huh? Well, it is! A bit later on there is a very slight plasticky tinge--I don't know where it comes from--but I will need to test a greater amount to be really sure...I hope it doesn't grow worse. That tinge right now is bearable, and I can only get at it if I breathe in deep, so yeah. And maybe, just maybe, it's also because I am testing a plasticky scent an inch from testing this?

 

Verdict: I love this. Fabulous, fabulous scent. Much, much, much love to marquis for this imp, I'd never have discovered this if it wasn't for her ♥

[Balame]

In the Imp: "Wispy" is definitely right for this. Like the scent of white petals floating on the breeze - and the "breeze" is actually what I'm smelling more of right now, very clean and refreshing.

 

Wet: So pretty! I feel like a very delicate lemon is in this, but I guess it's just the sweet herbs. A sort of lightly green scent, what you'd imagine a faerie circle surrounded by dainty little flowers to smell like. I feel like this is a tad too lighthearted for when I think of unicorns. Gentle and elegant, sure, but not cutesy as this is. At the moment I feel this is more like a playful little sprite.

 

Dry: Yep, hasn't really morphed much, so I stand by my original thoughts. This is definitely innocent, light, and delicately sweet. It's nice, but more cheery than what I'd imagine a more ethereal unicorn to be like. It smells vaguely of a craft store, and I do mean that in a pleasant way.

 

Overall: A nice simple scent. Florals that aren't overwhelming or cloying for once, mixed with a few delicate green notes.

[Invidiana]

Today's lesson: linden is not my friend. I was really hoping to like this, and it starts off promising enough wet; very sheer and ethereal. However, the more it dries down, the more it morphs into lemon Pledge. Apparently I amp linden like I do lemongrass and lemon verbena. I ended up having to scrub it off my arm. Gah.