Water of Notre Dame

[judas_kiss]

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

This was another freebie I received and I'm mourning it's loss as while I took a shower last night, my sweet DD decided to apply it liberally all over herself. There was barely enough for me to sample, but I managed to do it.

In the vial, I got something of a watery-salty note. Not what I would call green at all, more of an aquamarine. Underneath that, I found there was a bit of a rosey scent. Very faint, however.

On application, I got more of the salty-sweet rosey smell I got in the vial. Somehow, this was very comforting. For some reason, the entire time I wore this fragrance, I was brought back to an image of a statue of the Virgin Mary by the sea with a single rose in offering at her feet. (If memory serves, the statue of the virgin is also used to represent one of the Voodoo deities.)

This mellowed out into a lovely, clean, almost soapy smelly. However, I did get the somewhat salty smell throughout.

This is something I think I'd like to have around when I have very hectic, crazy days. It was very relaxing and centered me well. Not a big bottle purchase, but definitely an imp.

Edited to change a stupid spelling error...

[Lina]

Beautiful!

 

In the imp: Strong and the generic perfumey smell. I'm scared!

 

Wet: Go EASY on application of this one. It reminds me of flowers swirling in the water of a fountain.

 

Dry (6 hours): I smell GOOD! I am no good with plucking out the individual scents but this is so well blended I am not sure they haven't melded together already.

 

I am not sure about a big bottle but I will be finishing off this imp for sure!

[thespring]

Sooo wonderful

 

Centering and calming. I need a lot of calming things around me...

Soft and beautiful. I dont think this is what I would call a green scent either, more floral water. I'm not going to say aquatic because that makes me think of something like Danube for intance and this is not like that. This is more powdery on the drydown.

Adore!

[shelldoo]

this is odd i do not get aquatics really...i am getting a beautiful floral and a bunch of clover? very odd, i will update on how it makes me feel but the smell is defintly a beautiful summery day (i think there are violets in this)

[Spastik_Kitty]

In the bottle: Very wet pale fruits with notes of rain and light florals

 

First on: I'm getting the same rocket candy type notes I did in Eris, must be a similar fruit and floral combinaton, I'm also noting more water and grassy notes.

 

After a few minutes: The same as above but now I'm getting a slight dustiness and there is a touch of herb lurking there.

 

After 30 minutes: This is starting to turn sour on me, a really bitter herbal note is coming through that is over powering the notes I'm enjoying. I'll give it another 30 and see how it is.

 

After an hour: That bitter note is still there mixed with some very lovely notes. Oh well, guess it just wasn't meant to be.

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

I must have ordered this in a moment of water-sign clairvoyance (yay, Pisces!), since I had no way of knowing how badly I would need it when it arrived.

 

Mmm...this is similar to Veil, a little sharper due to the faint hint of lemon/citrus that gilds the edges. I could *feel* my nose perk up while sniffing it. None of the ick-aquatics here; this feels like floating between sunshine and shade on a lagoon amongst willow trees in summer...it's the warm softness of being embraced and comforted by the Lady herself. I feel a little choked up by this one.

 

I would call this the "All Else Failed" oil...when life is just a mess (hello, Saturn return...) it will reassure you and give you some hope and a

[quinkel]

Those who know me know I detest aquatics...

But this Water of Notre dame is not overly aquatic so i decided to give it a try.

 

Soooo good, peaceful, comforting and general pleasant smelling!!!

The best thing? It's longlasting and strong and in the evening it mellows to a soft powdery scent that even the BF likes

I will need a 5ml for spring/summer

 

ETA: Without going in details : it worked some miracles, especiallly on paperwork etc. Whatever/whoever spirit that helps me, i am so gratefull

Edited July 13, 2005 by quinkel

[isyche]

On me this is green, herbal, a little rose, slightly soapy but not in a bad way. Water of Notre Dame actually reminds me of La Belle Dame Sans Merci, except this is a bit sweeter and not so sharp/standoffish. It's nice, and I am finding it relaxing.

[mmcfa2]

I wish I had enjoyed this blend as it's purpose would have served me well. WoND out of the bottle just smelled wet, a slight floral scent hovered in the background, but mainly it smelled of sweet water. OIn I could smell what I think was violet, but then behind it came that same odd herbal decay kind of scent that I have gotten from many other of the voodoo blends. I could tolerate it, but it was NOT a plesant smell to me and thus it was not soothing or uplifting.

 

As opposed to Black broom blends which ARE, I understand, blended to have magikal properties, are these voodoo oils imbued with the same if used with the proper intent?

 

Hopefully this one will find a new love in it's new home. On a positive note, Doves heart did NOT go odd on me, That is my next review

[byrdie]

Vial ~ Smells wet, a little citrus, a little floral.

 

Wet ~ This smells like the Zoo. Have you ever been to the Woodland Park Zoo in the Spring or Summer, when the plants are in the bloom and the Butterfly Garden is at full throttle? Or perhaps at the Conservatory in Volunteer Park? This is a slightly humid but very realistic floral.

 

Drying ~ Oh, lordy. It'd become a nasty, overpoweringly strong floral. I bet that my three main florals -- gardenia, rose and jasmine -- were dumped into this puppy. waah!

 

Drydown ~ Well, the jumble has died down into something coherent -- a single floral note has risen above the rest. Problem is, I don't know enough about flowers to do it justice. A narcissus? Lotus backed with a very light rose? It's okay for a floral, though I don't have a bead on it.

 

Dry ~ Now I'm beginning to understand the name: this is coming off as an aquatic floral, waters still enough to have flowers growing on top. Again, lotus? Seems a little strong for that ... oh, hey - I bet that this is narcissus. Oh, yum. This may have been worth putting up with the drying stage.

 

Fade ~ Narcissus and aquatics, all the way down. How I flippin' suffer.

 

Final thoughts ~ This is not going in my swaps pile, but I need to play with it at other times of the month before I can tell how plagued Ill be by the strong floral attack. Yummy payoff, though.

[Jessica]

In the bottle it is fresh and sweet, and I want to label it a "floral aquatic" because its not too much of either one.

 

On the skin, its very powerful and a little goes a long way. The overall smell doesn't change, and I find it very pleasant.

 

Overall, I love this blend. I'm definetly adding it to my 5ml wishlist. Very soothing, very calming.

[Mofo]

I've gone to reapply this only to find moments later the imp cap has broke and is now seeping over my desk. I've mopped it up and run it through my hair so I'm well smelly right now

 

Ok. In the bottle I'm getting fresh/floral/aquatic and yes calming.

 

reading the reviews when I read, violets, I said YES! especially the pale purple sweets we used to have as kids (parma violets) when I read clover I said YES! I get those notes to. As it settles I'm getting a hint of those and after a while freshly cut grass but don't take my word it could be the clover association throwing my nose.

 

Definately a big bottle oil for summer.

[caro]

I love this scent. It arrived with spookily perfect timing, on a day when I'd made plans that I was likely to start freaking out about and end up canceling (I get panic attacks). Wearing this really helped to keep me calm and the effects lasted all day.

 

I was doubtful about the effects of the Voodoo oils, but in this case at least I'm completely convinced.

 

I love the way it smells, too. I'm terrible at picking out notes, but when I first smelled this I imediately thought of grapefruits. I have no idea why, since it's been years since I've knowingly been within a hundred yards of a grapefruit. Whatever is actually in this I like it a lot.

[slave1]

In Bottle: Violet.

 

On Skin: Light floral, either violet or lavender. Also a light aquatic ozone note hiding in the background. Also something citrus, maybe lemon? Very feminine and relaxing. The aquatic notes turn a bit soapy as all aquatic and ozone scent do on me…

[Diviana]

Wow! This is strong! Definitely apply this one sparingly. I've only put on a tiny dab, and the fragrance is pretty intense.

 

In the vial: Violet, aquatics, and a hint of fruitiness (the melon that other reviewers have mentioned, perhaps?)

 

On me: No more melon, just violet and aquatics. A cool, floral scent. I bought this to use as a perfume, but it definitely lives up to its description. Very soothing, very calming.

 

Another big bottle for me. Hee!

[theshapeshifter]

Water of Notre Dame went on as a clean, kind of herbal-aquatic scent, and not as strong as others have mentioned. However, after about an hour, some kind of note comes out that I can't quite identify... it's not coconut, but it somehow seems related to it, in that it smells the same kind of 'bad' to me that coconut does.

 

Alas, I wasn't really able to tell if the blend would give its desired calming effect, since I found this mystery note strangely disturbing.

[Northernminx]

Cool, green and aquatic at first, this was very soothing, clear and fresh. One of the aquatic notes in this is one that gives me trouble though and this has turned into a dry, almost powdery floral scent. I miss the green and blue lightness of this from the beginning even though it's still pretty with the powdery smell.

[ChupaChup]

I never ordered Water of Notre Dame since it seemed like it would be an aquatic blend but I had always been curious about it and the lab kindly gifted me with an imp of it in my last order. Well, I don't get anything aquatic from this at all! It's a lovely rose blend and the herbal note common to many of the voodoo blends doesn't appear until quite late in the drydown. This oil is strong and quite long lasting, a plus in my book. If I hadn't just discovered Chuparosa, which is even better on me because of its nutmeg, I would have kept this imp but it's gone on to new pastures.

[pekeana]

Water of Notre Dame is a soft, florally, green, gentle aquatic scent. It's calming and centering, which is something I need today. However, it's not something I'll use very often because it's inducing a small headache.

[oakmoss]

I really really wanted to love this -- the name, the concept, everyone's reviews all made me excited to finally try it. In the bottle, deliciously fresh and aquatic, peaceful, a really beautiful scent. It stayed that way for a few seconds on my skin and then morphed into a very unpleasant sort of rotted floral smell, very much like when you leave stems in a vase too long! And of course, I had slathered myself with it in the first moments of infatuation.

 

I was on my way to bed, so I decided to let it continue to evolve and see if that rotting scent would morph again. Restless anxious dreams for a couple of hours, then wide awake at 2am, the scent having morphed into a very strong white floral -- tuberose? -- with that undercurrent of decay. I'm going to try it again on a locket or something, because chemically we are not a good mix! I almost didn't post this, but I was curious if anyone else got that bad-vase-water reaction.

[Brianne]

In the bottle:

Even though most people seem to agree that this is a "green" scent, my initial impression is aquatic floral. I'm smelling lily.

 

On me:

Crap. There has to be lily in this, because all I'm getting is handsoap. I so wish I were getting green or fresh, or anything else. Unfortunately, it's just soapy for me.

After about 5 minutes it does that thing that lily tends to do on me - which is turn into soap+fresh grass. Fresh definitely - in that soap kind of way, but I am sure this isn't how it normally smells. Lily just hates me.

 

Final Note:

If lilys don't get along with your chemistry, this might not work out for you. But, don't take my word for it, since we're all different, you never know!

[Lit Chick]

Sigh.

I think this might work.

 

I was very cranky this am - much futile errand running. So, when I got home I put this on.

Did not like it at first - there was a weird sharpness and a sort of random "ick" that I got.

Reading reviews, I realize that it's the violets. I hate that. BUT, I can wear this. It goes powdery and watery all at the same time, and it is incedibly soothing. I want to nap, I'm relaxed, I have been told I'm very helpful and nice today (over the phone).

 

It's a keeper - it makes me feel like I'm floating on a calm, cool pond.

 

Seriously, I could really nap right now. This might be a good oil for drifting off to sleep.

[sh1mm3r]

I decided to try this even though from the description I wasn't too interested in it. I ended up trying it twice, once alone and once on an arm where I was comparing the few aquatics that I have.

 

I would call this a yellow-green aquatic, rather than just a green one. Unfortunately, with my body chemistry, anything yellow-green ends up smelling of cleaning fluid. Compared to the other aquatics I was comparing (Tempest and Kingsport), this was lacking the ozone aspect, which made it a lighter scent as far as thickness goes, not necessarily strength or throw.

 

I'm not sure about the effects, since in general I am not a very high-stress person. I will happily swap this with someone who can use it more than I can.

[donsixgun]

I bought this for my sweetie but decided to give it a test. Very green and aquatic. Roses, lilies, and fountains in a garden but not the bad floral I’ve gotten from other oils. Its strong, and from a slight test from the cap my whole room smells good. As it dries, it gets a bit soapy, but certainly not in a bad way...just a nice clean scent. I can imagine that it would have a very calming effect on someone.

[girlmadasbirds]

aquatic w/a bit of a floral/green scent. very pretty and quite calming. it does dry a little 'soapy', but it's doing the job of calming me and that's why i wanted it