Water of Notre Dame

[jj_j]

Brings peace to the spirit, a sense of calm and fulfillment, and attracts the aid of beneficial spirits.

This is the embodiment of the color green. It's a flowing sort of green, like tree leaves rustling in the wind or water barely moving in a lagoon, and it's a warm sort of green - herbal, but not really, and it's a solid sort of green, with the strength of a field where kids are running through a field chasing fireflies, breaking stalks as they go.

Go easy applying this one. It's soothing, but it's stout. It's really a (sorry, fellas) single drop in your cleavage kind of oil, and that lasted me for hours.

Definitely brought me peace and a sense of calm; I was facing three exams and a major project in the course of 18 hours, and I was able to stop, re-focus, and relax my shoulders to more than 2 inches below my ears, all within five minutes of putting this on.

[Donnababe]

Go easy applying this one. 

Heck yes! I put a couple of drops on, went to answer the door, (was Mum with my kids) and they said, "Ooooh what's that smell?" As I was opening the door!

 

 

I loved the smell of this one when I sniffed it from the vial. Wearing it was unfortunately a different story; I was overpowered.

 

WoND is a very aquatic smell to me. I get Ingenue on Viagra To me it's the same melon note but way more potent. When my Mum smelled it on me she got violets (or more specifically the British sweets Parma violets), and that is probably the other reason why I really don't get on with this . Shame.

[twistygirl]

OOOOOH, I love this one! It is indeed a very, very soft green, a very watery fragrance. VERY soothing. I was feeling rather wretched before I put this on, and my mood has definitely been calmed down by this scent.

 

This could be a "green" fragrance for people who don't like "greens." It's so gentle and calming. I close my eyes and think of lily pads on a beautiful immaculate pond.

[antimony]

Eh, this one faded on me within the first hour.

 

It's pretty enough, but kinda seaweedy-smelling. Dries down to a pretty herby powder, but it's really faint.

 

Edit: Ok, I was wrong. afrer an hour I couldn't smell it... but 10 hours after I put it on, my boyfriend still could.

Edited March 24, 2004 by antimony

[Cegirls]

uh, oh. i just slathered myself in this... lol

 

anyway, so far, it *is* very calming. my breathing has slowed, i'm feeling a warmth come over me, and i am ready to take on a very busy day... i want to say a warmth of green... ahhhh...

 

a 5ml, this will be...

[Shollin]

First sniff: Water of Notre Dame is clean. Pure. So light I almost can’t smell it, and very pale blue, the colour of Mary’s robes. Appropriate, of course, as she’s the Notre Dame in question.

 

Wearing: Very fresh and aquatic aura – if I sniff my wrist it smells a bit like soap. A lot like soap, actually… darn it. After a couple of hours the soap-smell fades and it goes very pale green and fluid, almost a grassy scent, which is much much nicer than the soap and worth waiting for.

[janelle_hell]

Simply gorgeous,and,yes,very calming and relaxing. Someone else said 'the color of Mary's robes'...that's the impression that i get as well. And it's long-lasting (on me,anyways);i applied some over 8 hours ago and it's still quite strong.

[bootso'rourk]

It is a very watery clean scent, like sitting near a fresh pond with waterlillies nearby.

 

It is strong. It also has a calming influence.

 

I have had a really rough week in the office and after I put WoND today, I found myself able to disassociate myself from crap that was going on--until later when it wore down pretty far. I took a personal attack badly but I stayed very calm. How unIrish of me!

 

Boots

Edited July 23, 2004 by bootso'rourk

[Summerpixy]

I love, love, love this. It is soo soft, and yet very long lasting, my boyfriend could smell it on me long hours after I applied it, and he said I smelled good

 

This is definetly going to be my next 5 ml bottle. Without question, both myself and my boyfriend love it.

 

Soft, clean, green but not green, very soothing. I highly recommend it!

Edited July 25, 2004 by Summerpixy

[Scylla]

CAUTION: Use VERY SPARINGLY!!! I put just a tiny dab of this on and it was overpoweringly, headache-inducingly strong. So far it has lasted 5 hours and is still wafting about. This definitely wins the "staying power" award of BPAL oils I have tried so far.

 

At first, this smelled very violet-y to me with some aquatic notes, then after a few hours it got soapy. Veil did the same thing to me, but I like Veil much better than WoND.

 

Edited to say: I could still smell this on my wrist the next day. Wow, that's staying power!

Edited August 13, 2004 by Scylla

[chai_girl]

I have a major deadline this week and my project isn't going well. I've decided hell or high water I'm taking off on Friday.

 

I put on WoND to help me get through the day and so far it is working. Two more things were added to my plate in the last two hours and I'm still amazingly calm.

 

This is definitely a relaxing scent that will help you get through the stressful times. It is clean and fresh...but strong. Most scents like this don't last but this one is still going strong hours later. I brought the imp with me to refresh but I don't need it yet.

 

This is definitely a keeper and I might make a massage bar out of it.

[nevermore]

Aquatic and violet, and very calming. It’s a light, summery sort of scent, but you don’t need to put a whole lot on, because it wafts like crazy. I enjoy wearing it, and I may need a larger bottle once my imp is done.

[Lux667]

In the Bottle: A very definate amaretto smell. Not my favorite smell but I give it a try anyway.

 

Wet: Very green smelling- smells fresh like green grass with watery notes.

 

Dry: Unfortunately this also dries down to a dishsoap smell and it only lasts for about an hour before it fades off entirely.

 

I'll be swapping this one.

 

I think the green notes from BPAL aren't made for me. Oh well.

[UltraViolet]

This is a very aquatic scent. I agree with the writer above who says that it wafts and wafts. It is soft yet strong at the same time. It's almost too something.

It does seem to turn inro a dishsoap smell after awhile.

I think I like Hymn better. It's a similar scent but it's not as strong.

 

I won't be buying it and I probably won't finish my imp.

[summer]

Sometimes it's all about finding the right mood or need for a blend to meld into my skin and come alive. And I've found it for Water of Notre Dame. I've worn it before and have liked it, but never have been able to put my finger on exactly what it smells like or what feelings it evokes. Until today!

 

I'm going through a lot of upheaval right now -- a new home, a new job, and all the stress that goes along with that. In addition, I've just felt like I've been attracting negativity for the past few days -- aggression, misunderstandings, etc. To top it all off (or perhaps as a result), none of my oils have been smelling right on me. They just all smell a bit . . . confusing.

 

I had decided to take Fallow Deer's advice and give myself a break from fragrance altogether until I felt a little more adjusted. However, on an impulse, I put on Water of Notre Dame today.

 

A sense of normalcy and calm is exactly what I feel when smelling this on my wrists today. It smells like standing silently overlooking a still lake on an overcast, slightly crisp day. Or wind. It smells like wind. Slightly aquatic, but not like the sea -- like the scent that the wind brings as it blows across a lake. A little bit floral, but deep, with a slightly foggy edge -- like heather. I don't know what heather smells like, but this smells like the way heather looks. Muted. Purple-grey. A little bit like hugging someone older and wiser, and coming away with the lingering scent of their soap and perfume blended together.

 

It smells calm. Like it's okay to feel alone and a bit rattled -- it's all part of a cycle; all part of the human experience. It takes those negative feelings and puts them into context. It doesn't try to cover them up. It just makes it feel like they're okay to have.

[Eris]

The description says this one is soothing and calming, right? Well, I ignored that part the first time I tried this. I was excited to put some on and then sat down to keep going on a book I wanted to finish. Eek! I was almost out in 5 minutes. Today, after a rough day with 14 year old students, I knew I needed sleep and put Water of Notre Dame on for that purpose. Worked beautifully. I relaxed and slept quite nicely; I feel much better now upon waking.

 

Scent-wise, this is a blue and yellow/gold acquatic. I can't pick out a single element, as they all merge into one clear note that I really like. That note is thick and wet, maybe a tad bit incensey, and is about three steps from being soapy. Fortunatley, three steps is a perfect distance from soapy, and this works out beautifully. This isn't a scent I'd wear to be out and about or when I write, but it does its job in calming and chasing away darkness.

[LiberAmoris]

Yes, Water of Notre Dame is definitely a pale green and pale blue scent. I smell the melon and violet that other reviewers have mentioned, but I didn't recognize the violet until after I read the reviews, so I guess it wasn't hit-me-over the head violet, if you know what I mean.

 

It's very calm and placid, like the surface of water when it's at rest. I wore this all weekend as I worked overtime to finish writing something for work that was infuriatingly boring. Yet the WoND kept me serene and unruffled in spite of it all. It smells like stepping out of the freshest shower and being utterly clean, so even after 7 hours of sitting at my computer, I felt refreshed. Almost like wearing water itself. Pretty amazing stuff.

[nephthys_lvx]

This is the first BPAL oil I've felt the need to cut with a carrier oil. It is *strong*! But as others have said, it's green, aquatic and very soothing. The first time I wore it, I was asleep within a half hour. I'm trying it again, and as I type this I feel myself relaxing despite a rotten day. This one's definitely going to be a 5 ml.

[Tesseljoan]

At the moment I'm testing this one purely for scent.

 

The scent of Water of Notre Dame alone is very calming and peaceful. When I read the reviewers above, who seemed to be in agreement of the greenness of the scent, I was expecting something far more pine-y or grassy or well, plant-like. This scent however is the embodiment of the colour green rather then the scent green. It has flowers as well, very gentle and delicate flowers, that, hurray, don't turn sharp or soapy on my skin. Gorgeous scent, why didn't I reach for this sooner?

Will comment on effectiveness later.

[VorpalBunny]

I decided to try Water of Notre Dame today to see if the calming powers would help.

 

Right away, I love this scent. On me, it is a very clean floral, like fresh cold spring air. I can't make out the specific notes, just the smell of spring wildflowers. And I do feel a sense of soothing when I put it on.

[darkling]

Interestingly, the Water of Notre Dame smelled like sweet rose water both in the vial and on my skin. In retrospect, there may be a hint of the melon that others have described and I will try to notice if it is more prominent when I look for it.

 

This scent fades in strength quickly to a sweet aquatic floral but is very long-lasting in that I can still smell it on my wrists at the end of a long day.

[luxuria]

It starts out aquatic and herb-y. Definitely green. Light and sharp. Not my kind of scent at all- actually, I would have never tried this on had I not spilled a ton of it on me because of a broken imp cap.

 

It stayed aquatic but got floral-y instead of herby, and slightly soapy. Still light, but still potent as well. This stuff will NOT come off!

 

Overall this is very light and clean but strong. It definitely gives a distinct impression, so if that "vibe" doesn't appeal to you, it's probably not a wise choice!

 

[edit] As I mentioned in this review originally, the cap on the imp broke. Because I didn't want to throw it out quite yet (even though I didn't care for it), I wrapped it in paper towels after trying to duct tape the imp cap back together. This kept the scent at bay for a bit, but not for long. This stuff is truly STRONG! It came through quite clear. However, as a 'room scent', it didn't actually smell like perfumed air. It just made the air smell very "clean" in a way you don't notice until you walk into another part of the house. It brings to mind pale walls and overall serenity. Seeing as that's not what I want in my room scents, either, I did end up throwing this out.

Edited December 5, 2004 by luxuria

[Penance]

Got a 5mL of this from lorajc.

 

First sniff:

 

This is very clean smelling and aquatic in a way that doesn't bother me the way most aquatic scents do. I'd liken it to a pond rather than the ocean. It's very green smelling and quite beautiful, even to me, hater of almost all aquatic scents. I recognize something in here, but I can't put my finger on it. It smells very green and reminds me of something I smelled in Bayou although I don't know what it is.

 

Wet on skin:

 

No change from in the bottle, it's a lovely, calm green aquatic scent that reminds me of a tranquil pond with willow boughs trailing across the surface. I already feel calmer wearing this. Placid would be a good word for my current emotional state. While I don't normally wear this kind of scent, I can easily see this being one of my favorites. I didn't get it for the way it smelled, but rather for its effects, but the smell is beautiful!

 

Dry down:

 

Slightly more herbal than when it was wet, but still mainly a green aquatic scent. I feel much calmer wearing this than I did when I got up this morning. I've been having a lot of panic attacks lately and was feeling very stressed out by the amount of schoolwork I have waiting to be finished and desperately needed a destressor and Water of Notre Dame seems to have been the perfect choice.

 

The bottom line:

 

Wonderful, absolutely wonderful. I feel calm and tranquil wearing this and I smell good to boot. A definite winner.

[etherealchild]

In The Bottle Wow. I can't believe how immediately I am reaxed and calm. The scent is soft, soapy and green.

 

Wet A bit lemony. Ever so slight. Still very green, and calming. Today was deffinetly the day to to try this one on. I have been so stressed.

 

Drydown It's powder soft. There is a slight touch of lavender, a bare floral, and a light aquatic note. This is so calming and centering. It's a nice one to wear during finals.

 

Two Hours Later Ohhh. I smell liek a baby's butt. In a good way. Still pretty much the same.

 

Verdict A keeper. Good for those days when you are on-the-verge-of-a-nervous-breakdown-days. lol.

[Ishtar]

Even though everyone seems to agree that Water of Notre Dame is a green scent, I actually got a fresh citrussy note during the wet stage. It reminded me of a more aquatic Phobos, with the same soft creamy lemon note. Lovely.

 

Now that it is dry, I get even more aquatic connotations and a hint of that herbal/slightly soapy note that features in many Voodoo blends.

 

This is indeed a very soft and calm scent. I cannot really comment on its effectiveness since I feel relaxed and serene tonight anyway; we will see if it helps me get a restful sleep. A definite keeper either way