The East

[fairnymph]

The scent of the winds beyond the wall: bluebonnet, passion flower, freesia, jasmine tea, mint, thyme, and redcurrant.

In the bottle: Honey coloured oil. Sweet, floral, lightly herbal, a touch foody. Smooth jasmine tea, sweet passion flower and redcurrant (not tangy), fresh mint, bright freesia, soft bluebonnet. Light, herbal time. Evokes late-afternoon sunlit fields of wildflowers and herbs.

Wet: A bit more herbal, and sweeter as well as tangier - redcurrant more apparent. The mint is STRONG, cool and woodsy, as is the tea, which has a smooth, earthy feel and the jasmine is very light, faintly floral, clean and a touch soapy. Freesia and other florals amped, thyme too but it's a background herbal note.

Dry: A bit more jasminey, and thus on me, soapier and headier, but still bearably. It feels oddly both warmer and cleaner. The mint is still quite strong and cool, but not quite as cool as before. The redcurrant is less sweet, and more tart, deliciously so - no foodiness here! Flowers a bit softer, less bright and distinct, more melded.

Later: Even softer, lighter; soothing, more golden. Less fresh,the mint is more like mint tea, not like just-crushed mint. Less tangy and fainter, the redcurrant has reached a balance between tart and sweet. The tea has sweetened, the jasmine is a touchy soapy. The flowers have faded. The thyme, herbal-woodsy, mixed with the smooth tea, are more distinct.

Summary: Soft mint and woodsy herbal thyme, with tart-sweet redcurrant and golden, hazy wildflowers. Kept clean by a touch of soapy jasmine, and grounded by the piney-smooth depth of a strong tea note. It's floral, herbal, and a touch woody and mildly sweet. It recalls Litha, Itaso, Fairy Market and Fairy Wine (I have bottles of the last 3!) , and is gentle and feminine. Low throw, good lasting power.

I will certainly be getting a bottle of this one.

So far, Stardust sure seems to be a wundercategory for me! Edited July 1, 2008 by Shollin
fixed BPAL tags --Shollin

[PurringPulsar]

The East

 

In the imp: a soft herbal-floral scent.

Wet on skin: mmm, this is nice. Not much mint, but I can smell thyme and currant and freesia.

Dry on skin: this is such a pretty scent! it smells just like fairy flowers and wild herbs, just like I’d imagine the winds from beyond the Wall to smell. I can smell a fresh thyme (not a dry one but a slightly dewy thyme) mingling with tart redcurrant, and also some of the flowers, the freesia and passion flower being most obvious. No jasmine tea yet. The scent is very light and airy.

After a while: now this reminds me of Glasgow, for some reason. There are no common notes in the two scents but there’s a similar floral-green-berry scent and a similar breezy clean feel to them both. Maybe there’s an ozone note to this as this along with the fruity notes reminds me of Shivering Boy, oddly enough. There’s something here reminiscent of the vineyard scent in there. Now this scent is a bit less fruity and a bit more floral-green, the currant still hangs around but isn’t as rich and round as the one in Fairy Wine or Anactoria. And the floral notes, though pretty, aren’t as lovely and multifaceted as before, they smell a bit plainer now, and are turning just a tad soapy. Though I do smell some Chinese tea here (not jasmine o’ doom!) which is nice, but I was hoping for more.

The scent seems to fade fast as well, leaving just a flat and slightly soapy floral behind.

Verdict: I had high hopes for this because I loved the description of the East in the book, so evocative. And the note list looked perfect for the concept. And whilst I like this, on my skin there seems to be something missing…it’s not as perfect as I hoped. However, it’s a very pleasant scent and one where the jasmine seems to work. I really like the first 30 minutes of wear, when it smells like breezes carrying the scents of wet herbs and currants and enchanted flowers, very airy and soft. The scent seems to gain a hint of ozone or something clean and smooth as it dries down, but then it loses the initial richness and many dimensions it had when just applied…something in here smells a little bit flat to me, and then it turns just a tad soapy. I was hoping for more from the redcurrant here. It’s nice but not a keeper…I think I’ll stick with Fairy Market and Fairy Wine for scents that evoke the world Beyond the Wall.

Emoticon rating:

Is it a keeper? Not really.

If you like this, try: Glasgow, Fairy Wine, Shivering Boy

Edited June 29, 2008 by yeahbutnobut

[Little Bird]

I normally don't like florals, but I wanted to try The East because I always want to try currant blends, I tend to like tea, and I once had a bluebonnet soap that I adored.

 

In the bottle, this is almost sickeningly sweet and has a lurking soapiness that makes me uneasy.

 

On me at first, this is floral, but a fresh, sweet floral. However, after about five minutes, it has turned into sharp, crisp, floral dryer sheets. It's a bit too clean for me, and almost aggressively bright. Over time, the East sort of makes me feel like someone drenched me in floral scented laundry soap and pinned dryer sheets to my clothes.

 

Clean, sweet florals with an edge of soapiness. I love the label art, but the oil isn't really my thing.

[bryghtrose]

I was expecting so much more from this, but it turned into a middling floral bouquet.

[filigree_shadow]

I’m extremely picky about floral scents and I don’t usually like mint or thyme, but this is a very pretty floral. The flowers are soft and gentle and the scent isn’t “perfumey” at all. No heady or green flowers here, just soft like clouds. The red currant is giving the scent a sweetness that I enjoy a lot. I wouldn’t necessarily put this in the fruity-floral category, but I think it’s more of a bright floral.

 

I’m going to try wearing this one for a day and see how it goes. I definitely like this test enough to try it again and find out whether I like it enough to want a bottle.

[gchris]

In Vial: Sweet and fresh

 

Wet: This is now lightly floral. Familiar and innocent. Reminds me of a little girl with purple flowers in her hair.

 

Dry: Light floral.

[Czarina]

Totally bland floral. No mint or currant in evidence. Meh.

[ouch!]

This is very pretty.

 

It's a a very bright greeen/floral. I can defiantely detect the tea in it and the Thyme. But no mint and no berries to speak of yet.

I'll give it a few more minutes...

 

The more I smell this, the more this smells like a very expensive counter store perfume. For sure...*sniff sniff*.

This smells quite expensive and reminds me of say..a Chanel perfume..or..Estee Lauder.

 

That was quite an unexpected turn!!

[Iceblink]

JASMINE CONQUERS ALL. I get a bit of fruitiness from The East at first but soon the Jasmine of Doom takes over and...yeah. There is a slightly herbal-ness floating around, thanks to the thyme, but otherwise this is just jasminejasminejasmine. To its credit it's a nice jasmine and not horribly overpowering like that note can often be on me.

[rayvn1]

I was expecting a floral mishmash, but this is beautiful! Golden and rich, nothing dominates, but it's a really pleasant floral for someone who doesn't usually take to the florals

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

on skin: minty jasmine (two things i hate)

and it doesn't change - even after an hour it still smells like poo and toothpaste

Edited January 13, 2009 by TrailerTrashPrincess
Removed Lab description --Shollin

[msbcozad]

The East

 

Lovely soft florals with a dash of tea and the barest hint of mint. Unfortunately, it's very, VERY light and has almost completely faded after an hour. I'll give it another go in the spring with a good slathering and see if that improves its longevity.

[CynicalPink]

Imp: So soft and pretty. Like a countryside breeze with flowers on the wind

 

Wet: Minty clean and green. Something sweet, too.

 

Drydown: Give it a little time, and the redcurrent really leaves it's mark. It's not the dominant note, but does so much for the otherwise light and fluffy floral. This is great

 

Overall: VERY happy with this. Needs a full day re-test, but this is great. Bottle is looking very likely

 

After full day test: What full day? This stuff was gone after less than two hours and by the time it was settled in to the skin, it was nothing but currents. It's still a fine scent, I just don't need a bottle

Edited April 11, 2009 by CynicalPink

[anna1850]

This didn't really smell of much at all to me. I could smell the thyme and mint slightly to begin with and something else but it seemed rather weak and watery on my skin. But whatever smell there was faded after about 5 minutes.

 

2.5/5 Too faint and faded too fast.

[Gin]

The East

 

Soft and sweet. Like a gentle breeze through a meadow at twilight. The currants add a little bit of red-tanginess.

[jwhxtna]

IN THE IMP: Ooh, a complex mix of a bunch of different notes. Somewhat sweet, with fresh florals, a hint of mint, and a touch of bitterness/savory-ness (?) from the tea and thyme.

 

WET: Honestly? It smells kind of magical. I don't really know how to explain it, but it does. Light mint tea and delicate, pretty florals.

 

DRY: Jasmine tea with a hint of mint with soft florals behind it, and a tiny hint of the redcurrant. The jasmine tea smelled so realistic that my mouth actually felt a little dry, as if I had been drinking tea. A while later, the jasmine mint tea is still prominent. The redcurrant comes out more, and is juicy and a little tangy, and the florals fade a little. This is one of the first scents where the tea scent came out very prominently on me (usually tea seems to be a supporting note in other blends on my skin), and I love it. So pretty!

[angelicruin]

Inside the imp, mint floral tea.

 

Wet on the skin, mint, thyme, and red currant with floral background.

 

Dries down to floral tea. Fades very quickly.

[voodoocatwoman]

This is lovely- in the bottle, I pick up tea, sweet tea. After it dries, I find the freesia and jasmine notes to be the most prominent. It is soft and clean and pretty.

[topazphoenix]

Florals and tea and redcurrant. This is so delicious without actually being foody. It's really balanced. The florals are lovely, the redcurrant is kind of fruity and the tea..God I can't described the perfectness of the tea in this blend, it just leads an overal earthiness to the scent...I mean the entire thing is very ethereal and magical and shimmery and the tea adds to that, but it also sort of tethers it down....rounds it out...so the sharp edges of the florals and the otherwise slightly wine-y sour fruitish redcurrant are toned down....it's like the best part of all the notes, without overdoing anything. This scent is SO well blended, and it's just NOM NOM NOM. I can't believe The East has so few reviews, it's beyond gorgeous. I am so glad I bought a bottle of this, and might need a backup too. *sqeee*

[thekittenkat]

In the imp: The mint and thyme and red currant are the top notes, but I detect the florals lurking underneath.

 

Wet: The tea and mint and thyme are still holding their own, but the red currant and the florals are starting to come out and bring a sweetness and softness to this scent.

 

The Dry-down: Another lovely and amazing well-blended and balanced scent. I think what is keeping everyone together is the jasmine tea. I love how the florals and the tea are sweetened by the red currant, but at the same time, the sweetness is held in check by the mint and the thyme. Do wish I knew which mint this is.

 

A very light and delicate scent, evocative of Faerie.

[ami226]

On the skin: Can't actually smell any mint..... Mostly getting red currant, possibly thyme, and some of the other florals. Pleasant, but not my kind of thing.

[Lorelai1945]

This blend is so lovely! It's so well blended that I don't really pick out individual notes- just soft, airy flowers with a hint of mintiness. This scent is very light blue to me, if that makes any sense. It doesn't seem to last very long on me, but it's very nice.

[Ruffian]

My sister got a bottle of this and it smells much nicer on her than on me. On her and in the bottle it smells like a veil of herby, green florals and dusty incense. It's just what I'd expect based on the description, but she wanted more jasmine and sweet florals, which she wasn't getting. On me the perfume smells like our bunny rabbit's litter box - not poopy, but dry, grassy, and astringent. Then we tried it on Mom and it smelled like straight incense on her.

[maika]

In the imp, pure floral...and an incredibly pretty one at that

 

Wet, the florals, tea and thyme come together, and I have a cologne-y feel. I wouldn't have expected this, but it's lovely...just perfect for the hot summer day I'm in the middle of right now. There's no trace of redcurrant though.

 

Dry, I'm left that's crisp, dry, and utterly elegant. It's got a low throw, but given that it's summer this is a good thing, if this behaves like other scents on me when I go outside and therefore get warmer this will probably amp up a notch, so I would hate for this to become overpowering.

 

Am going to need a bottle of this!

[sarajane]

Straight to soap on me. An expensive, gorgeous-smelling soap, but soap nonetheless.