Selkie

[lunareclipse]

The chill waters of the Orkney coast, tea-leaved willow, honey-touched Grass-of-Parnassus, sea aster, and Scottish Primrose.

In the bottle: A honeyed floral, with a pleasant marine/grass/melon accord beneath it.

Wet: As soon as Selkie hits my skin, I get a flash of (ohno) bubblegum. Fortunately, this fades quickly into a gentler honey note, with those same seasidey floral & grassy notes. It's got amazing throw, too... I felt like I was enveloped in a cloud of scent, and when I offered Beloved a wrist to sniff, he said 'Don't bother - I can smell it from across the room.' Note to self: apply cautiously!

Drydown: The marine notes become much more subtle, leaving a pleasant sweet floral with just the faintest tang of salt spray.

Overall, exactly the lovely, ethereal and cool-smelling summer scent I was hoping it would be!

edited to add Lab's scent description; full text (with poetry) on pg 1 of thread. Edited December 10, 2007 by Shollin

[hypatia]

I wanted to order this one as soon as I saw the mention of the Orkneys in the description (I've never been there, but they're high on the list of Places I Want to See), and I'm so glad I did. This is one of the best green/aquatic Lab scents I've tried yet.

 

I got the same slightly fruity, sweet, green, juicy note everyone else did at first. Then, after a little while, the aquatic/ozone note came out. I was a bit worried, because it smelled like the ozone note in Lightning, which didn't work on me at all -- but then it receded into the background and I ended up with light greenery, faintly sweet, with a hint of seaweed and salt water underneath. It's a bit like Pool of Tears, only with green grasses instead of florals.

 

It somehow manages to be both warm and cool simultaneously. What a great blend for this time of year!

[bookofblues]

In the imp and on the skin, Selkie is a light watery floral which is slightly reminiscent of Blue Moon on me. There's something stronger in this one though, and whatever that is makes me sneeze. Repeatedly. I'm trying to get an unbiased strong sniff, but it's difficult. The stronger, sharp floral undertone is probably what's doing it. A nice scent to be sure, but I'm glad I didn't get 5mL of this one. For the swaps!

[mdargen]

Selkie is warm, beachy sea grass, rocky points, sand, sunshine, and honey. I swear to god it smells like Ireland.

 

It smells like Inis Mor. More specifically, the beach where the seals live and where some of The Secret of Roan Inish was filmed. It smelled SO good there.

 

I had my husband smell Selkie and before I could say anything he said "Wow, that smells like Inis Mor." LOL

[angharad]

Water. I smell water. When I first put it on, there's a little bit of sweetness to it. Then it's just...water. I think I can detect just a bit of the various florals, but they're so faint I can't tell what's what. This is so very pretty. It's just not at all my taste.

[DifferentDances]

In the bottle: Ooooh, this smells like I'm going to regret not getting more of this. Watery fruity leafy gorgeousness!

 

Wet on skin: Weird, this smells familiar...oh wait, it's honey! Aw crap....Oh wait, it's nowhere near as overpoweringly nauseating as Milk Moon 07. And there's soothing planty stuff in this that's making me happy.

 

Dry down: Down, honey note, down! I don't like you!

 

Dry: ...If I press my nose against my skin, I can smell the delicious leafy matter beneath the oozing honey. But the honey is blanketing everything. Fabulous. I now know honey is a note that's amped by my skin. Not devastatingly so or I'd be gagging, but enough to take over a scent. Although on my right hand it smells deliciously fruity green with less honey. I applied first to my left hand and gently brushed my right hand against the bead of oil, so maybe the abundance of honey is all on the left hand?

 

Final verdict: I definitely can conclude honey notes don't play nice with my skin. Bleah!

 

Rating: In the bottle, 5/5. On my skin, 2/5. Well, I guess that means it's sort of good I didn't get more of this. Damn. It smells so pretty in the bottle! Although it smells 4/5 on my left hand...maybe I need to 'burn off' some of the scent on one patch of skin before putting it on another? Maybe BPAL application is like making pancakes - you have to disregard the first test patch.

 

ETA: Changing my rating for on my skin. 4/5, baby! *drools*

Edited September 7, 2007 by DifferentDances

[eleventhousand]

For a light scent this is incredibly strong...like "taste it in the back of your throat strong".

It is sharp and a bit fruity-sweet and calms down into something else after a while.

The drydown is clean and snappy. I think if I don't end up swapping it I will make it into a linen spray.

 

I've yet to find an 'aquatic' fragrance by anyone that smells like the sea on me.

[jade_starlight]

Oh, this is nice. It's slightly fruity and juicy without being overpowering. It's green and wet and has just enough floral to be nice but not enough to overpower everything else. It smells like standing on the edge of a cliff in Ireland and looking down at the crashing waves. I absolutely love it.

[Little Bird]

I like this more as a room scent than an actual perfume. It's clean (slightly soapy), sweetened by the honey, watery like melons & cucumbers, and has some fresh florals playing about. On me, the florals or something turn sharp and overwhelming (chemical-esque like cheap hairspray), but in the oil burner they seem to stay calm and just add a crispness to the blend. In the burner it reminds me of clean laundry just taken out of the washer and not yet dried. I like it well enough to use up my decant as a room scent, but I don't like it enough to try to find more of Selkie. I wish that I were getting the leafy greenery that others have mentioned.

[filigree_shadow]

At first Selkie smells a little bit like water and a little bit like fruit, which confuses me. I have no idea what any of the listed notes smell like, except water and honey, so I can't even tell you what I'm smelling. It's smells sort of like watery grass. When it's dry it's a little less water and a little more planty. I'm afraid that's about the best I can do.

 

It smells fine, but it's not really my kind of scent.

[euterpe414]

Yes, like everyone else, my first though was "this is a very watery scent". Selkie is very cool in a light blue/light green kind of way. Water with flower petals floating in it and pieces of stems and greenery lurking also. It seems to want to go in the direction of soapy on me, but for some reason it doesn't (phew!). I get a hint of fruitiness in the drydown as well. This doesn't really smell like the sea on me- more like a quiet running stream with slippery moss and fern around it. I really like this one b/c it has a calm and meditative feel to it, and while this is not an everyday wear for me (I prefer stronger scents), I will treasure it for quieter times and lazy summer days.

[theseagrows]

oh man, i had a feeling selkie might be too aquatic for my tastes, but i love all things scottish, so ordered it anyway. it is a very pretty scent-crystal clear water and roses with some other softly-sweet florals(?) added. i really like this scent a lot, but am not sure i would wear it much.

[Bain]

I love this scent! LOL!!

 

As I tried to describe it to my mother - it's a wet something.. kind of.. on my skin, but not a nasty wet something, like a dirty wet dog. It's like what I imagine a clean wet baby seal might smell like lol.

 

In the bottle, it's this wonderful light airy ozone scent, similar, but not near as sharp as Storm Moon. It's calmer, yes, that's a good description, but with a playfully fun undertone.

 

The drydown reminds me of skin, of a wetsuit maybe.. with a bit of floral, aquatics, and .. saltiness.

[hepkitten]

When I first put this on, it's almost all fruitiness, with a bit of aquatic in the background...kind of like eating a slice of melon at the seashore. On the drydown, the fruit almost fades, and I get a lighter, sweeter Thalassa. Not me at all, but lovely.

[theGreatMissJJ]

If I confess why I initially bought Selkie, you would all laugh at me, but I will share anyway.

 

I still sleep with my stuffed seal White-Harp. Selkie was bought for her. Literally. I was thinking of making a sachet with it and having her hold it in bed when I'm at work, so when I come home and snuggle with her at night, she smells all...selkie-ish. You know when your BPAL addiction may be burgeoning out of control when you buy limited editions...for your stuffed animal.

 

I bought a decant from raspberryswirlgirl (who is lovely and fantastic and oh-so-generous) and then went ahead and took up the fabulous GypsyRoseRed's offer of picking me up this month's limited editions at Will Call without having sniffed it first. Regardless, I do not regret buying a bottle at all!

 

In the vial: Grassy and floral. I can almost taste the lemony stems in my mouth. This is definitely a "cooler" blue/green scent my usual white/pink fruity-florals, but so beautiful.

 

Wet: Something sweeter comes forward. I think it's the honey, although usually honey is warmer on my skin. This is cooler, almost honeydew melony. The aquatic note is definitely making itself known here. The florals and grass are still swirling in the pool of sweet water.

 

Dry: Similar to wet, although the aquatic/honey notes are the most predominant now. Every once in a while I catch a whiff of lemony-grass and gentle white florals. This is a very "fresh" scent and very understated, but with a surprising amount of throw.

 

All in all, a gorgeous, gorgeous scent. I don't regret getting this decant AND the bottle. This is a scent for clean rainshowery late spring/early summer. White-Harp doesn't know how lucky she is...

 

Edited to add: A testament to how noses differ! Bear took a sniff of the now anointed White-Harp and thought she smelled salty like the ocean! I don't smell any marine aquatic at all.

Edited July 6, 2007 by theGreatMissJJ

[halcyon_flight]

Alright, nobody else has said it so I will. Ingenue? Is that you? This is very similar to ingenue, so similar that I have trouble describing it as anything but ingenue-ish. Not as melon-y, not as rose-y, but with the same complex perfume-y greenery. Layering it with some honeydew SN from another company may well be a step towards ressurecting the dead.

[funkmoppet]

When I saw Selkie in the Blue Moon update I promptly went nuts. A Scottish blend? Mine. Barely even glanced at the notes, and then just hoped like mad that it was going to work on me.

 

Wet, it's a gorgeous waft of green, lush florals, a touch of honey, and a blast of an incredible water note.

 

On the skin, the honey dances about. It's absolutely green. I always worry about florals going too sweet and sickly on me (points at Cancer 2007), but the grasses keep it all beautifully balanced.

 

Now dry, it's really holding its own. Not much morphing. Still a wonderful, juicy green floral with a drift of the grass and honey underneath. There's something wistful to Selkie.

 

I'm very happy. This is a floral I'll wear, and will be wonderful when spring hits.

[ariosa]

I got Selkie because I'm heading up to the Orkneys in a few weeks on my UK trip, and thought that this was a MUST HAVE! It's starts off quite bright and floral (I'm guessing it's the primrose?), and it's almost a bit too much for me -- but thankfully that doesn't last long, and it mellows into something cool and aquatic tempered by some gentle florals in the breeze off the coast. The honey note sweetens it up some. It's nice, and aquatics don't seem to be horrible on me at any rate. I don't love it, love it, but I will happily finish off my imp.

[alicia_stardust]

I have had my bottle of Selkie sitting near my laptop for a couple of weeks now as a reminder to review it. Why has it been sitting there for so long? Because this is so beautiful that I can't quite figure out how to put it into words. I'll try, though.

 

My impression of this is a cool blue/green scent, with a touch of green stems and white flower petals floating on chill water. The scent has a very cooling effect to it. It brings to mind green grasses, layers of mist, and has a haunting loveliness to it.

 

I can pick out the touch of honey and it blends beautifully with the florals.

 

I will cherish this bottle. Selkie is just... it's breathtaking.

[Eemia]

This is the kind of scent that I read a description of and I just know it will be beautiful. The primrose in here is stunning and seems to be the perfect compliment to all the wet greens. Another aquatic that I can't keep my nose away from, especially since this one has the addition of rose, one of my favorite florals.

 

Honey can sometimes scare me away but this honey is light and not very sweet....almost smells closer to amber or musk than honey. So that's a plus. I think I like this even more so because it's such a green/floral/aquatic without the addition of any sweetness. It makes this seem timeless. And it really lasts a long time on me too.

 

I adore everything about this, including the lovely artwork.

[500ml]

In the bottle this smelt sweet, almost cloying. I presume that's due to the honey and I don't really like it much. Thankfully that cloyingness disappears once the oil hits my skin and it turns into a gorgeous watery, delicate fresh floral blend, with some herbs layered underneath. I get a faint amber and fruit at some point too, what a lovely scent!

[zankoku_zen]

Jewelbug was kind enough to let me try this from her bottle.

 

In the bottle: Cucumber and florals. It smells fresh and aquatic.

 

On Skin: Aquatic floral

 

On Drydown: Floral and something that has a vegetable like smell and a tiny hint of soapyness.

 

Verdict: BWHAH! This little aquatic creature does not like me at all. It started out to promising but ended up like a scratch and sniff that smells like synthetic pickles according to my husband. While I don't necessarily think it smells pickle-like, we both agree that it doesn't work on my skin. Ah, return to the sea my friend, for you are breaking my heart as you leave.

[Miseraya]

In the imp: Fresh, sweet and watery scent. Almost melony.

 

On the wrist: Something in here wants to go straight to dryer sheet on me.

 

Drydown: I'm having a hard time getting specific notes with this, but it's about half dryer sheet half something else right now. ...I think I'll have to pass it on.

[LittleGreyKitten]

I got Selkie, because I couldn't resist it, even though it looked basically floral and possibly aquatic, neither of which are favorites. Amazingly it is beauteous on skin. My husband loved it and I got about four compliments on it during the day. It is very light smelling but it must throw more than I would guess, since other people had no trouble noticing it. Two people said it smelled very refreshing. It must be that water note. I wonder if the non ozone based water note is similar to the one in Obatala? That's another one that has a detectable water note that isn't traditionally "aquatic", which is what I get out of Selkie. Plus the florals are not really... floral. They're more like backup to the main sort of honeyed water note. Altogether quite lovely. It doesn't last very long though, which is the only drawback really.

 

I'll go with 4.5 out of 5 on this one, and it will be fabulous on extra hot summer days undoubtedly. And, wow is the bottle art beautiful!

 

EDIT: I'm gonna say that scent lockets were made for Selkie. My biggest gripe was that it didn't last long, and I was using a lot of it to get not a huge scent return. But, when applied to a swatch of cloth in a scent locket, it really does last all day. (Tamamo-no-Mae also benefited immensely with locket-ing, as that was another like Selkie that went *poof* after a half hour or so.)

Edited August 21, 2007 by LittleGreyKitten

[supremegoddessofall]

In bottle: Smells like grape chewing gum.

 

On me: Sort of generic aquatics.