Ivanushka

[metaldog32]

Soft, velvety fur and warm musk, brushed by forest woods and dusted by dry leaves.

Ivanushka…I think the reason why I took a chance on procuring a bottle was because I thought perhaps it might be something that would be akin to Coyote..another BPAL fragrance that many people love. I’ve never had the chance to try that so I figured why not role the dice with this furry little guy. Plus the story of little Ivanushka did something to heart strings..sap that I am.

Initial sniff from bottle: Soft musk..a bit on the powder slant..something in there keeps it from being cloyingly girly..maybe it’s the brush of the woods.

Applied wet on skin: Snuggly clean musk…it kind of does remind me of fur..like my cat Leo..clean downy white fur.

A couple of minutes on skin: Oakmoss hit the nail head on the head..this also reminds me a bit in feel with Blood Pearl but this doesn’t share the coconut. It’s a soft musk with almost a dry creamy feel to it.

40 minutes later: Definitely still going strong..all slightly sweet wood and that furry comforting musk.

Drydown: Snuggly sweetened musk ..really softened now..but very comforting.

I’ve worn this about 3-4 times now and I do have to agree with some reviewers..there is a bit of an resinous bite in the opening that did kind of run along the lines of something sour…but I also have to say that Magdalene also does that to me as well..perhaps they share a common note??? Not really sure but it’s fleeting nonetheless.

Bottom line: Ivanushka fits the bill for that comforting niche. It doesn’t have an overwhelming throw but it makes up for it with just it’s sheer snuggle factor. Not a home run but I like it enough so it stays put.

[MCS4096]

I recently bought a bottle of Ivanushka from Indig0 after reading the reviews.. and boy am I glad I did! This oil is AMAZING No, it's not really complex, it doesn't send me on a "scent trip".. but is it something I could easily smell like for the rest of my life. And that's why I'm buying several more bottles!

 

In the bottle: I always worry about the power of negative suggestion after reading reviews.. like some of the above which said this smelled like pickles! I can actually smell that if I'm thinking of it, but thankfully its not what comes to my mind naturally. It's a warm, and very slightly sour, musk. I guess that slight sourness is supposed to evoke the woods and leaves, but to me this is a super clean, soft musk.

 

Wet: The woodsiness comes up a little, it's not really mossy or dank, it's still very warm and comfy. A little spicy.

 

Dry: The most pleasant warm, soft, pure, powdery, comforting musk EVA! I slather this stuff on, yet the throw is pretty minimal.. although I could smell it all day, it's still close to the skin. It's a little sexy but also very homey. I was really drawn in by the reviews saying it smelled like cat fur.. I loooove burying my face in my kitties' bellies.. but this doesnt totally smell like that.

[samarablackcat]

I confess...I bought this when it was released because of the story. I like the notes, too, but it was the story that drew me to this. What can I say, I'm a sucker for Russian fairy tales, and a happy ending to boot.

 

So lovely when I first received this, but I was disappointed as the scent was so faint and close to the skin. I had been hoping for a little more throw. So soft, so snuggly. And then, a year of aging.

 

All I can say is wow. This has blossomed into what I was hoping for. Still soft and snuggly, but with a warmth that is perfect for a cold winter's day. I am transformed to a place in the forest, an Indian summer day, leaning against a tree, watching the leaves fall from the trees, their brilliant colors transforming the ground into a regal carpet for the Lord of the Forest. A place of respite for collecting one's thought and appreciating the wonders of the natural world.

 

 

[rayvn1]

This is exactly as the description says! Dry, soft musk. Almost powdery but not quite.There's a slight smoke tang like the outdoors to it as well. This has very good throw and I can almost see the fur from the story. Fantastic! So, so glad I took a chance on a whole bottle!

[thekittenkat]

In the decant: mildly sweet and a touch of musk

Wet: a little like pickles at first, but quickly changes to musk and sometimes that smells like sweet-gum leaves in the fall

The dry-down: the musk and the sweet-gum leaves are combining in a lovely sort of way. Of course, this is nothing like standing in a forest of sweet-gum in the fall, not so heady and not that olfactory overload, but it's lovely nonetheless. There's some floral coming out as well.

Very lovely, and not at all overwhelming.

Edited November 6, 2016 by thekittenkat

[Seismogenic]

I first noticed Ivanushka because of the name. I took four years of Russian language class in high school, and while I've forgotten entirely too much of it, the very Russian name of this blend stood out. I then read the story, which I'd never heard of before, and found it to be a really interesting tale, twisted but sweet at the same time, like so many fairy tales are. That, combined with the notes, was certainly enough to make me want to try it, despite my general hesitation on testing past LEs. I therefore held off, but then my amazing Winter Switch Witch picked up on a one-liner post of mine on the forum and had a decant sent my way. Yay, Winter Switch Witch! Thank you!

 

In the imp: Soft, vague, leafy-dusty and sweet.

 

Wet on skin: Still soft, sweetly musky, and foresty - mixed with something that really does smell like fur. Sweeter than sticking my nose on my cat, sure, but it's a definite furry smell. Wow.

 

Drydown: Sweet musk, dry leaves, and fur. This is a critter that has been running around in the autumn or winter forest, for certain. At one hour later, the dry leaves have become more prevalent, though still as if scattered on top of soft musky fur.

 

Five hours later: Much the same as at the one hour mark, though fainter. For a scent depicting a therianthrope, it sure doesn't morph much on my skin! This is, though, very much a good thing.

 

End of the day: Still a little bit of soft musky fur.

 

Overall: Wonderful! I totally see why Ivanushka is often cited as a favorite. It is a sweet warm comforting smell, a gentle animal companion and protector who makes woods that might otherwise be dark and scary seem magical. I absolutely think it fits the fairy tale on which it's based, and that makes me like it all that much more. I'm definitely glad for this decant, though I will clearly have to use it sparingly.

[fairnymph]

Sniffed: Bright yellow oil. Dry, woody, and a little sweet - also a sour-tangy note I don't recognise. Definitely deciduous woods...not evergreens. Reminds me of Odin

 

Wet: More tangy-sour, sweeter, dryer. Extremely woody and warm, the latter evoking fur in combination with the thick/heavy feel of this blend. Not getting the musk.

 

Dry: Uhh...something nutty or maybe grainy - amaranth or sorghum maybe? A sort of 'wild' grain note, like eating wild rice. A little less sweet, and the sour note sticks very close to the skin.

 

Later: Hint of something spicy that makes me think cinnamon? I'm convinced frankincense is responsible for the sweetness. A bit of musky has emerged, but I honestly don't find this very musky.

 

Summary: Dry, almost dusty warm woods - some cedar and rosewood for sure - and I do get the dry leaves. A nutty grain, a dusting of cinnamon, lots of frankincense, some musk. Masculine. Great throw & longevity.

Edited April 21, 2009 by fairnymph

[TheOneTheyCallLuna]

This is a very gentle furry clean musk smell, and I can see where others are coming from in their reviews that find it to be snuggly and warm and cozy. It's a very sweet gentle comfy scent, though perhaps a bit more suited to winter weather. In any case, I like this one a lot and am glad I got to try it!

[LunaClaire]

Simply lovely. Animalistic - musk, maybe ambergris. Smokey, woodsy, I detect vanilla, and a bit of hay. A hint of fruit that's sweet - berry I would assume. Mmmm.

Edited May 16, 2009 by LunaClaire

[donnatron]

 

Imp: Thin and a bit astringent. Not a lot of really identifiable scent other than a general musk.

 

Wet: A cloying vinegar smell sort of comes wafting up from my skin and I am NERVOUS.

 

Dry: Really lovely. This dries down to a strange, sweet, almost floral musk. Very dark and skin close, almost feral but sort of reigned in and a little refined. Definitely one of those scents that almost smells more like I naturally smell this good rather than like perfume on my skin.

 

Overall: I like. I always forget I have Ivanushka on hand and it satsifies a very strange musk craving. Definitely a good one if you like sweet, animalistic musks but want a bit of a more refined take on it.

 

[gypsyjolie]

This reminds me a lot of Coyote - that same warm musky furry scent, only this was less herbal and "desert-y" than Coyote. I like it, but not enough to find a bottle.

[tragedy]

I knew I would love this before I even sniffed it, and looked forever for it, then in a weeks time.. TWO bottles came my way *hoards* mwahahaha!

I'm not upset that I bought these two without knowing the scent either.

It is fabulous and perfect. It does in fact smell like fur. My hubby who is a wolf lover to the nth, adores it (although he says it smells a lil too flowery on him?)

Its soft, with good throw, lasts well.

Not enough good I can say about this lovely!

[caffinatedangel]

I think the scent description will do this more justice than I ever could. It's just... warm, but cool. Like warmth hiding you from cold. Soft, most certianly. it's herbal but gritty, and.... there's a touch of sweet in there. it's threatening to turn a bit "baby butt" on me, no idea what note does this but it just gets a little /too/ sweet and my brain interrprets it oddly? Or it morphs badly. This scent is also a tad old now, who knows WHAT it's doing anymore.

 

It fits the description, but has some unsettling male musk and sweetness that makes me cock an eyebrow from time to time. Strange o_O

[Aldercy]

Well, I count the total lack of pickles a success!

 

Mm, this is a down-and-dirty forest scent-- I smell warm, dark soil, ancient trees with damp bark, and a whole... lot... of... musk. It's a really lithe, sinuous, stirring musk. Somewhat masculine, but so good. And my mental impression of the "fur" note is more of a shaggy brown fur-- like a bear-- as opposed to sleek silver wolf fur. Not sure why.

 

Ivanushka is a little like Coyote but I would say the strongest parallel I'm getting is with Hunter Moon 07-- the sweet, wholesome decomposition note of the fallen leaves is very similar. I would never have need of a 5ml of this, but I wish I had more than a half decant. I will definitely pick up another if it comes my way.

 

ETA: Highly persistent and resilient scent. It's almost 8 hours later, and Ivanushka shows no signs of stopping despite my having layered it with Death Cap about 4 hours in. The Death Cap is gone. The Ivanushka is still there.

Edited September 15, 2009 by Aldercy

[AEris]

A powdery, soft musk with a little amber and maybe a hint of patchouli. There's some kind of yummy woods, faint but distinctive.

 

Unique yet familiar. I like it.

 

I can see why so many have fallen in love with this one. It's lovely. Smells like loving hugs.

[Invidiana]

This is all warm woods when it's wet, but my skin turns it very overpoweringly powdery--like really strong baby powder . I appreciate the concept, but hopefully this will go to someone whose skin appreciates it as well.

Edited January 3, 2010 by Invidiana

[misscoldheart]

Ok Everyone, I have an important announcement to make...

 

IVANUSHKA MIGHT BE MY HOLY GRAIL.

 

From the description, I had a feeling this one might be for me. I'm still very new at this, but I am also ok with taking risks, so I was able to get a hold of a sizable amount from forum members (you know who you are! )

 

My husband also said it smelled like dill pickles. I will admit that upon first application I only let it sit a few minutes and then washed it off in favor of Ashlultum. But this morning I tried it again and...WOW. I don't know if I would say it smells like fur necessarily, but the smell is very sweet without being cloying and does definitely remind me of a sort of animalian scent in a way.

This one is full of surprises on me because, at first, after a few moments, it goes powdery. But after a while the powder disappears and comes to a soft, sweet, musky, almost faintly nutty smell that is extremely comforting and pleasant. I applied again in the afternoon since oils seem to fade on me quickly and this one is still going fairly well and it is more than 12 hours after I initially applied.

 

Agh, of course this one has to be a LE. But, fortunately for me, there are many nice folks on this forum who aren't as happy with their bottle of Ivanushka as I have been. Amazing!

[Venneh]

Got this as a BPAL Easter Egg from Usagi; thanks so much! In the decant, I get the woods and the musky note. On my skin, I'm getting a powdery sort of woods smell. Hm. We'll see what happens. Ends up fading to a powdery musk, sadly, not quite for me.

Edited February 26, 2010 by Venneh

[gingiemay]

In the bottle this is a soft, powdery musk and it's much the same on my skin. Too powdery for most of the time; after an hour it fades to a beautiful, soft musk but it's so soft I can barely discern it. Swaps, I guess.

[DifferentDances]

Bottle: Creamy musk (a la Tamamo, IMO), with something vaguely astringent (the oft-mentioned pickle note, perhaps?).

Wet: Wow, this vanishes fast. Still creamy musk, and maybe some woodiness.

Drydown: Oh, this is such a pretty musk, but it's so damn FAINT.

Dry: There's an almost cookie-dough quality to this musk. How strange... The throw is very pretty, though.

 

My rating: 3/5

[Vega]

Sniffed: Warm, furry and "close". Quite brown, seems a bit foody.

 

On skin: What I initially perceived as "foody" must be the musk. Ivanushka is warm, brown, and cozy, a bit musk-spicy, with a slight touch of green moss and dry woods. A gentle, skin-hugging, comforting scent, completely rounded and without any sharp edges. Quite a simple scent, but it really feels like a deer's furry, soft, warm flank -- which is the imagery I get when wearing this, along with a dun/tan colour impression. Thank goodness this isn't dirty or sour! The brown musk in Whoso List to Hunt went nasty unwashed-body-sour on me, but Ivanushka is clean and mild and actually pleasant.

 

Verdict: Ivanushka is a cozy fur/skin scent. I'm really glad that it turned out pleasant on my skin, but I'm still uncertain since it was a little musk-sharp on an earlier skin test. A fascinating blend, I definitely will keep imp of this to sniff and wear occasionally.

Edited August 25, 2010 by Vega

[Ashenrook]

Got this as a sniffy recently and it had just a bit for a test!

 

In the Bottle

Leather and leaves! Oh boy. I love those.

 

On Skin: Wet

I will admit. When I gave this a good sniff, I couldn't help but say "Dawww..." in response. It really does evoke the imagery of a fluffy little deer. Just this lovely fluffy and leathery smell.

 

On Skin: Dry

...Crap! Something has taken a wrong turn on me and poor little Ivanushka has reached critical fluff. And by that, I mean turn to baby powder.

 

Afternotes

After I washed my hands off a bit, I peeled away some of the talc smell and it was nice and pretty again. ...Until it started turning back to talc.

 

 

Verdict

On an American scholastic grading scale, I'd give this a C.

 

This little roebuck did not like me at all, it seems, which is a shame because I really loved it at the beginning. Had it stayed somewhat constant, I'd happily hunt down an actual bottle of this. But, alas... I will have to let this little deer go free.

[dreamingjune]

My first impression is that Ivanushka is very much like The Raven minus the strong violet note. For me this is a very very good thing. I know I am supposed to be smelling musk and leaves, however this comes off like a comforting resinous floral. The floral that I am picking up on is more subtle like iris. I also swear I smell orris in there somewhere. Beneath it all is a subtle soft wood and an extremely subdued and comforting musk. Generally I am used to stronger musk notes like red or black, though.

 

On me it stays pretty much the same from application to drydown. After about 20 minutes a sandalwood note much like the one in Velvet starts peeking out a bit. Overall this is not much of a morpher, nor does it get too powdery. I also don't get the pickle note that others have mentioned. The only thing I could see doing that would be the subtle sandalwood.

 

Overall this one is a winner. If The Raven was too floral for you, or if Coyote was too masculine I would definitely recommend Ivanushka. Especially if you want a cuddly cold weather scent.

[Penance]

Origin:

 

Partial 5mL bought on LJ. I think, anyway, I seem to have lost my records on this one.

 

Preconceived notions:

 

Ivanushka is one of those scents that didn't jump out at me when I first read the description (which is kind of surprising), but that suddenly grabbed ahold of me later and insisted that I buy it. Musk is generally good on me (although white musk tends to turn powdery) and I love woods and leaves, so I've got relatively high hopes for this ninja scent (my loving pet-term for those scents that sneak up on my unexpectedly and shanghai me into buying them).

 

The only thing I'm not completely sure what the fur portion is going to smell like (I only know what my kitties smell like since I don't, and haven't ever, worn fur myself), though, so that could be an unexpected pitfall (or it could work out beautifully). We'll see!

 

First sniff:

 

Hmm...this isn't a total winner right out of the bottle. I don't get the pickles that other people are getting (thankfully; pickles truly are cucumbers soaked in evil). Instead, what I get is a rather powdery, dry musk that's pretty similar to the Lab's white musk blends. It's a bit like Oisin, sans herbs, but the similarities aren't that strong. Oisin is cleaner, whereas Ivanushka just smells powdery and dry.

 

Wet on skin:

 

Better! The powderiness goes away and I get a soft, clean musk scent that really does remind me of clean fur. I wouldn't say it smells like an animal, exactly, unless it's a furry creature after a nice bath and a lounge in front of the fireplace to dry off. It's soft, musky, clean and warm smelling, somehow. And it's oddly comforting. It's really hard to describe this one properly. It's very evocative in a way that evokes pictures rather than words. I like it!

 

Dry down:

 

I love the drydown on this one. It's soft, fluffy, musky and almost creamy in a way. It reminds me of a snuggly rabbit. In fact, I think that might be the mental image that's been circling my brain and refusing to land on my tongue. I had a lop-eared rabbit when I was growing up (her name was Kelly and she was black, soft as...well, a bunny, and really badly behaved, but I digress) and Ivanushka makes me think of what her fur must have smelled like (although it's been so long that I only remember the feel of her, warm and silky in my hands, and not the actual smell of her. It's soft and warm and musky and comforting. While the musk is the predominant note here, there's a very faint layer of warm wood (it's almost like sandalwood mixed with oak, but not quite) and dry leaves peeking out from underneath. Just enough to give it some depth and a little extra interest.

 

I'm actually getting a little misty-eyed smelling it because this evokes a really strong emotional response from me. I love animals and there's nothing more comforting than a soft little body pressed up against you, all warm and snuggly. That's what Ivanushka smells like to me, if you could translate that physical sensation into an olfactory one.

 

The bottom line:

 

I wasn't sure I loved Ivanushka the first couple of times I wore it (it needed to rest after its journey, I think, since it was initially very powdery from start to finish and has changed into a creamy, snuggly muskiness with a little time to recoup), but now I love it. It's not quite like any other musk scent I've tried from BPAL, although it could be considered a distant relative of Coyote (if you took out Coyote's leather and herbs and make it creamier).

[Gold Dust Kitten]

This was mostly an impulse purchase--I saw a bottle on LJ and looked at the reviews, and after I read the story and the notes I bought it. I love musks, but the "pickle" note in the reviews scared me.

 

When I opened the bottle to sniff, I got the pickle note that people were talking about. It wasn't like a jar of pickles though, but more like dried leaves mixed with musk that gave it that sourness. This disappears on my skin, leaving just musk and woods. It smells so familiar but I can't put my finger on it. It's a sparkling clean yet creamy musk and nothing like any BPAL I've tried yet. I'm in love with this!

 

The label on this bottle is absolutely beautiful. I have a soft spot for deer, they are such majestic and powerful creatures.