The Dream of the Fisherman's Wife

[hipslike___cinderella]

Seaweed, honey, white mint, and ambergris.

 

First I have to say, this is the one Novel Ideas blend that I had to order right away, pre-sniff. So, so very excited. I adore aquatics, mint is good in anything, ambergris is not used often enough and I have a personal affinity for seaweed. How's that for expectations? So I let out a huge "aaaaaah!" when I opened the cap to discover a deep, deep blue wash of dirty sea love. This is full-bodied, and dark. The honey comes out once it's on my skin; now, I definitely am not thrilled about honey, so I hold my breath and pray that it doesn't go mucking up this good thing. And it doesn't. In fact, it makes this a sexual blend. Maybe not necessarily sexy, but sexual. Like the act itself. It's barely musty, and actually, kind of like a masculine companion to an aquatic like Thalassa. I know that "aquatic note" is not actually listed, and I think that's a good thing. The ambergris/seaweed combo is enough to paint the picture, so to say. If I had to say one tiny negative thing about this, just one, it's be: where's the mint?

Beautiful, evocative, spot-on. Plus this stuff lasts and is unwavering. I think I'm in love.

ETA: After a few more days consideration, to see if the honeymoon fades, and a full day spent wearing this... I love it more. Love. Love. LOVE IT. I can't get enough of this. This might be surpassing Snow Flakes as my favorite limited edition, ever. It is the perfect aquatic.

[edenssixthday]

The Dream of the Fisherman's Wife - I was on the fence about whether or not I was looking forward to this because I adore ambergris, seaweed, and aquatics in general, but honey and mint are two of my least favorite notes that rarely work on my skin. When I received the bottle, I remembered that it was an aquatic, but I forgot what notes were in it, so I didn't have any predisposed prejudices against it when I first tried it. It's GORGEOUS. This is by far my favorite of the NIFSA blends, and probably a top-10 all-time favorite BPAL. I can't get over how pretty it is and how good it smells on my skin. The ambergris is warm and sweet on my skin, the seaweed provides a strong ocean/aquatic feeling to the blend. What really blows me away is that rather than detracting from this blend (as honey usually does for me), it adds an incredibly sexy sticky-sweetness to this that blends amazingly well with the ambergris. The white mint is barely discernible and I don't really smell it as a distinct note, but as the "cool" aspect of this blend and kind of reminds me of the foam that tumbles into shore with the waves. This is very aquatic and lusty and sex-sticky-sweet, not to mention that a tiny bit goes a long way and it stays on my skin for hours, swathing me in a veil of scent. AQUATIC/SEA/OCEAN LOVERS, DO NOT MISS THIS ONE!!!

[dawndie]

Wet: minty aquatic

 

On skin: pungent seaweed, woo! Tingly with a pinch of mint

 

Half-hour later: sweetened up a bit, but the main note is the musky dark ambergris

 

In conclusion: this is a deep and sweet aquatic. The ambergris is the big player here, and it ends up a bit too masculine-cologney for my personal tastes. This one lasts freakin' forever too. What an experience!

[hkhm]

bottle: honeyed mint. this has a very herbal tea scent to my nose.

 

wet: seaweedy with a strong wash of herbal mint. very wet and green.

 

dry: this is a far drier aquatic than i'm accustomed to, the honey is a hint and the mint has gone cool and distant. very, very nice.

[alicia_stardust]

This is freaking amazing! I get a strong, pungent seaweed and a sweet ambergris. Something about the seaweed, while aquatic, comes across as a "dry" scent. It's very unique. The honey really adds a layer of sweetness and I can only barely detect the mint as a coolness but not as actual mint. It's very subtle.

 

This just smells so good! It's a must for anyone who loves aquatics and/or honey.

[zenvodunista]

This started off VERY aquatic - which I honestly dislike. I don't like aquatics - I was hoping for that salty sea note. Remember City in the Sea? That was the only aquatic I've really liked and it was for that salt note that was so gorgeous.

 

Well, I put this on and it was all water baby, and that bummed me out.

 

As time has passed though, the aquatic has died back pretty significantly and now it's a soft honey with ambergris. I love both honey (in moderate doses) and I ADORE ambergris, and the two together are definite sealove. And I mean that in the carnal sense

 

That's a seriously hot dream the fisherman's wife is having.

 

N.

[empi girl]

I love aquatics, but unfortunately, on me this isn't aquatic at all! At all, folks. In the bottle, I get a scent that is decades old perfume combined with hairspray. Tickles my nose and goes right into my sinuses. But I thought, "hey, it might be better on", screwed up my courage and tried it.

 

Nope.

 

Still the ancient perfumy hairspray awfulness. No aquatic, no honey, no mint.

 

It stays like this for a while. A long while. Hours. And eventually I think I might smell some honey. But then again, it could be some lotion that I put on during the day, too.

 

How can this be? I'm almost hoping it's a mislabeled bottle, and am thinking about scaring up a decant of it, just in case. At the moment, though, it's a little sadness for me.

Edited February 14, 2008 by empi girl

[slave1]

THE DREAM OF THE FISHERMAN'S WIFE

 

In Bottle: Soap

 

On Skin: This scent starts very sharp on me and reminds me of soap… I’m shocked there is no rose listed in this scent, because I clearly smell that really sour note rose turns to on me. The seaweed creates a bright aquatic tone and the ambergris helps mellow it out a bit as it develops. The mint is light, not medicinal at all. The honey is very much in the background, just a touch of sweetness, so if you’re looking for honey, this is not one I’d actually call a “honey scent”. It’s very feminine, but a bit too sharp and soapy on me. It comes across as a white/light blue tone. If you like clean and fresh scents, especially aquatics try this one for sure. Fairly strong throw and average wearlength.

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Sharp and clean, like salt water, and powdery ambergris.

 

Immediately on skin: This is a very sharp scent. It’s very salty and definitely unisex right now. It’s a bit salty and very clean with an astringent feel and a cold grey amber undertone. I don’t really smell the mint, but I feel it… if that makes any sense. The grey amber is cold and slightly powdery.

 

After a little while: The ambergris seems to have taken center stage … now this is a powdery, dry, cool musky scent with just a small bit of saltiness and a drizzling of honey. The honey is not strong, and doesn’t really do more than add a powdered sweetness to this (which is how the lab’s honey smells to me in most blends). This is a musky blend though now… it started rather sharp, but it’s gotten a lot smoother.

 

Overall Impressions: I don’t particularly like grey amber, so I’m not a big fan of this blend. It definitely fits the picture though. It’s subtly sweet with a powdery, smooth, cold musk feel and a bit of an ocean breeze. The mint doesn’t really stand out in this one.

[miss_rynn]

I love what this smells like in the bottle - honey and seaweed, perfectly balanced, sweet and aquatic and sexy. Once it hits my skin, the seaweed amps a whole lot, which is a bit of a shame. As it mellows out over an hour or so, once the seaweed dies back, the ambergris and honey melt together and play very nicely indeed.This feels like a feminine version of Cthulhu, and while I like both scents a whole lot, the seaweed in both of them can become way overpowering. While I do very much enjoy my squiddy love, alas I can only take it in small doses.

Edited February 18, 2008 by Celrynnya

[AEris]

This started out smelling soapy, but on my skin, it changes to a musky honey amber scent. The freshness of the mint and seaweed is almost gone, leaving just a hint of coolness behind. I really like this at first sniff, I may add more here later once I've slathered it on for a day....Reminds me of Sed Non Satiata.

 

ETA: It's a very pretty light honey scent, with a bit of freshness/greenness that reminds me of green tea. It's almost like a cross between Sed Non Satiata and Gennivre, although it's got its own style. I like it....not overwhelmingly enchanted, but charmed.

 

4.4 out of 5

Edited February 20, 2008 by AEris

[ymmat]

This one made me sad. I really loved the seaweed and weed smell in the vial, but on my skin, all I get is seaweed. On the plus side, I kinda smell like a day at the beach, but minus all the fun stuff. Normally, I amp mint so it's a little surprising. Alas.

[sookster]

straight sniff from bottle is quite perfumey....hmmm

 

once applied ambergris and a touch of white mint; a little green...

something aquatic...i have a feeling this might age into something

really beautiful so off to the cool depths of the wooden box

she goes

[Xiabelle]

Empi Girl, you are not alone.

 

Fresh on to me, it smelled like cheap, old perfume, the sort that has started to go bad with the alcohol drowning out everything. Very sharp and piercing... in fact it stabbed right in the middle of my head and would not stop. Instant headache.

 

I had to wash it off. It settled a bit into more aquatic, but I just couldn't sit through it. All I smelled was sharp aquatic and seaweed, no mint or honey.

 

So sad, by all rights I should have liked this.

[Dymphna]

In the imp: I got this all over my fingers when I opened the decant and I was thrilled because it smells almost exactly like one of my favorite scents in high school, Naturistics Sea Splash. It was a drugstore thing, but I looooved it. I used to douse myself in it--I had the spray, the perfume oil, the shower gel, the shampoo, and the conditioner. I loved it because it really did remind me of the ocean. I've been wishing for a similar BPAL blend for ages, but didn't have much hope because Beth's aquatics rarely cooperate are so iffy on me. This is very similar, though a bit (just a tiny bit) more perfumey, I think from the ambergris. I don't think I really like ambergris very much, but this isn't too bad. There's also with a slight powdery note that I think may be the honey.

 

Wet: Yes, this is very, very similar to Sea Splash, but till a bit powdery. This is working better on me so far than most aquatics. Salty aquatics tend to be the only ones that work on me, but they don't *always* work so I was trying not to get my hopes up for this one. But so far, so good! The honey is coming out more now, and it's the sort of pungent honey that I get from O before it mellows and ages. I don't hate it like this, but I prefer it once it's had a few months to settle down. I can't find any mint, although I think that's probably what's giving this a sort of fresh, sparkling top note, like sunlight shimmering on a clear turquoise wave.

 

Dry: Oh, yeah, this is Sea Splash plus sexy honey. I am definitely getting a bottle of this! My first Salon bottle and it's based on ancient tentacle porn.

[Heavenlyrabbit]

Salons blends are expensive and these special few won't be around that long. So my review will focus on two of the most important aspects: does it work on and is it unique?

 

This works really well on me and I'm amazed. BPAL's Vanilla Mints are welcome in my bottle stash but up until Fisherman's Wife, all other BPAL blends with a prominent Mint just didn't work.

 

Fisherman's Wife reminds me of O with a fortuitous touch of Mint. Not chalky, overbearing or foody Mint. Perfect Mint.

 

A nice refreshing, gentle Mint. A restrained Mint that miraculously wears as a skin scent.

 

And I don't go for Aquatics very much. They all seem too similar. I don't get Aquatic from this. A very slight, subtle salty tang, but that's it.

 

So this is very unique and IMO, a worthy investment.

Edited March 6, 2008 by Heavenlyrabbit

[fairnymph]

In the bottle: Whoa! Sharp, herbal. A little green and salty. Clean.

 

Wet: Sigh, as usual the ambergris turns instantly soapy, and bullies the hell out of this blend. The seaweed note is distinct (and nicely salty) but close to the skin. A sliver of mint. No honey at all.

 

Dry: If I strain, I can detect some honey, I think, but the ambergris still won't let go of the reins. My rosacea also hates BPAL's ambergris. Really not good!

 

Summary: So after like an hour the honey finally emerges fully, and with the mint and seaweed it's lovely, but the ambergris utterly dominates as sharp soap. I find this less 'complex' than the other Shunga blends. Very strong throw and wearlength.

Edited March 3, 2008 by fairnymph

[cranberry]

First sniff this is definitely an aquatic. Oh man! Once applied, it smells honeyed and sweet, with the aquatic in the background. The ambergris emerges as does a smidge of mint, not really there but adding something cool and crisp. This actually seems fairly familiar but I can’t place it. As it wears the aquatic note backs off mightily and the honey (I always amp honey so YMMV) and the ambergris are most prominent on my skin and to my nose. This almost smells like tobacco and if I sniff hard enough I can almost smell something burning. It’s interesting because now this scent is fairly dry and I wouldn’t have associated it with the sea at all. Maybe it’s Famine that this is reminding me of – I wish I could test them together but my imp of Famine is a long way from here. This is a pretty amazing scent just how it’s changed. I wasn’t too keen on the aquatic side of the scent but they drydown is gorgeous.

[dronzeka]

This is lovely! Initially, it smells like soap - but a very posh and luxurious soap. It dries down into a slightly-soapy (and I mean that in a good way) aquatic with a hint of sweetness from the honey. There's a kind of powdery depth to it from the ambergris. On me for my test it's quite light and refreshing, though I can see how it would be possible to apply it with an overly heavy hand. I will have to think about a bottle for this one!

[LauraB]

I know it sounds stupid, but my first thought about this one is "perfumy"! I have no idea which perfume but it's like something my mum would wear when I was growing up (in fact, she'd probably wear it now and I might pass this on to her!). It's quite heavy, which I really wasn't expecting, and I can't detect the mint, which I also wasn't expecting.

 

The honey sits at the base and then this perfumy smell sits over it - it really doesn't call other Bpal aquatics to mind. It isn't unpleasant (in fact, it smells seriously expensive) but it isn't really my thing. If you like high end conventional department store perfume then give it a whirl.

[ImperatrixMundi]

This must be one of the strangest BPALs I have tried so far and I had absolutely no idea what it would smell like, I kinda expected something sweet and salt with a little minty coldness.

 

Now I was surprised to smell no mint but air freshener at first. But wait, that stage fades and now it really smells more like I expected, sweet with a salty overlay and a somewhat powdery depth. And I am having some sort of visceral reaction to this. It is sexy, in a musky way. Since I never smelled ambergris before I am unsure about what it does in here. But it is weirdly clean and salty too.

 

I am considering a bottle of this. It has a very unusual feel and is aquatic without citrus, yay for that.

[bloody sore]

I'm not usually one to like BPAL aquatics, or at least what people call aquatics. They usually end up smelling like Aqua Velva to me. Anyways, I had to get this one, mainly because I find tentacle porno all too amusing, and I love the stench of seaweed. I was a little worried about the mint and honey, two things that I really don't like.

In the bottle this is strongly mint and seaweed. But the second it touches my skin, the ambergris comes out, making it such a lovely scent. On my skin, it's mostly seaweed and ambergris, with a touch of mint cooling the whole thing off a bit. There isn't any honey that I can detect, which suits me just fine.

This is also one of the longest lasting blends on me. And not just that you can smell some semblance of it for hours to come, no, this stuff stays just as when I put it on for 7+ hours. Yay!

[lilirose]

I was looking forward to this scent, as I am very fond of Hokusai’s work in general, and felt sure that Beth would, as usual, capture the essence of the painting perfectly. And as usual, I am not disappointed in the least.

 

In the bottle, this smells almost exactly like Lightning to me.

 

On skin, wet- It smells like the sea with musk. Like sex on a beach…not the drink, but the actual act.

 

On skin, dry: This blossoms into the most complex and intriguing aquatic I’ve tried so far (and I’m a huge fan of aquatics). The “ocean and musk” smell hangs on, but is joined by a deep, mellow note that I assume is ambergris? I’m not getting mint from this at all.

 

Long after drydown (6+ hours later): It’s still there, though now it’s honey and ambergris. Still very nice.

 

Many BPALs evoke colours in my mind, but this one definitely evokes a sound- if you’ve ever heard a recording of whale songs, this blend is just like the very, very low bass note that you almost feel in your heart rather than hearing with your ears.

 

Somehow, despite the aquatic depth, this still manages to be quite feminine. I like this very much and would love to have a second 5ml before it disappears forever.

Edited March 6, 2008 by lilirose

[steelxrose]

The Dream of the Fisherman's Wife

 

The art that inspired this one creeps me out and amuses me at the same time, plus the mint note and I was sure I had to try it. In the vial, I get an overbearing wash of aquatic notes with a hint of sweetness. Upon applying to skin, not much had changed between the two.

 

Hours later: once the initial aquatic fades away, all I'm left with is a honey note on my skin. Still no mint to speak of.

 

While it's a lovely scent, I think I'll just stick with my decant.

[impadua@aol.com]

I am no good at picking out separate notes usually, and this one is no exception.

That said, I am so pleased with this scent!

I had no such luck with any of the other Secret Amusements.

But this, THIS has hit my all time top ten list of BPAL.

It lasts so long on my skin, just lingering close, not screaming, kind of like a dream (!).

I have never really had any luck with aquatics before either.

This is remarkable.

Excellent concoction!