Water of Notre Dame

[~AmusedMuse~]

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

MY IMPRESSION:

Pure,Clean, Aquatic & Green
This one is a keeper

[QueenFae]

Definitely a bright green scent. It's an herbal, but not a sharp one. It's soft, soothing and lovely, maybe with even a little bit of a soapy undertone. It's a very, very light scent that clings closely to my skin. Is there a hint of lemon or lime in there? Maybe. All in all, extremely calming and lovely.

[gravity_always_wins]

Imp: very green and aquatic

 

Wet: Parsley dipped in saltwater. Really. It reminds me of Passover. Funny, considering the Christian nature of the name.

 

Dry: Almost the same as the wet stage, with a teeny tiny bit of white florals

 

Generally, a very salty smell on me.

[ashtonrose]

Water of Notre Dame is very calming. Add this to a massage oil and I'd be in pure bliss. It's a very aquatic scent. I would have to compare it to one of the coastal waterways - where fresh meets salt water and they mix within the currents.

[Eros]

First, juicy tangerine. As it dries, I get a fresh aquatic with light, and *very slightly sweet herbal. Definitely calming. After a few minutes, I also get a hint of something like a spicy, light musk.

Overall, very nice! Works as intended, too!

[voodoobaby]

In the bottle: Very perfumey. Smells a little green, very floral, and reasonably citrus. It smells like grapefruit.

 

Wearing: Gah! Rose! Extremely rose, and not the nice little quiet rose--this is the overpowering rose note I remember from Pride. As it sits on the skin, it starts turning to soap. It's the kind of soap you get at a nice hotel with the paper wrappings, and when you sniff the paper it comes in it feels like little particles of the soap "powder" are going into your nose. Only it's a rose-scented hotel soap.

 

Later: After a while the aquatics finally come out. It's gotten greener, but still very soapy.

 

Overall: As a voodoo blend, I can't really tell a difference. I wore it to bed last night and did sleep very well (and today a conflict was resolved in my mind), but other than that, I haven't noticed any calming effects. It doesn't last too long on me, but then again, not many scents have been lately. I'm not really too fond of this scent. I'm sure it will make someone else very happy.

[sophia_helix]

In the bottle:

 

Blue-green and sweet. There's the salty aquatic BPAL smell I'm not so crazy about, as compared to the ozone-aquatic BPAL smell that I love.

 

Wet:

 

Much nicer, very green. Like a pond of still water in a hot place, maybe with some kind of mineral spring underneath. It's got that kind of tang. There's still the floral sweetness to it, though, which is undermining the smell I like.

 

Drydown:

 

And the waterlily comes SCREAMING out on me, just like it did with Venice. About ten minutes later it's all I smell, just that sickly-sweet scent I really hate. I think I totally OD'd on it with Venice, so now I've got a knee-jerk aversion to it, but I really don't like that scent. Too much like some kind of cheap, heavy store-bought perfume. It's wrecked the tangy water scent I was enjoying.

 

Well, at least it has a lot of throw and staying power? ::trying to be positive:: Of course, figgers that the one scent that really lingers on me is one I hate.

 

D'oh. Maybe one more trial, just to see, and then into the swap pile. But at least I know now that I hate waterlily, which I hadn't figured out before.

[Atalanta Pendragonne]

I seem to be an odd one out here. Some reviewers mentioned a lemony undertone... on me, that's what dominates, and when I say dominates, I mean if it were any more lemony it would be writing books about Count Olaf.

[Lycanthrope]

In the Bottle or Imp:

Smells pleasantly aquatic, with a hint of floral, probably rose (uh oh) and a green leafiness.

Wet, on Skin:

It's definitely a much more herbal aquatic than say, Kingsport, and it shares a similar feel to Sea of Glass. I can detect that the aquatic is retreating and the florals are amping up. Most likely this is because they are...

Drying Down:

... rooooose. It's rose! On me, rose eats the other scents and dominates. Sigh.

Dry on Skin:

Still very much rose. I'm going to give it some time.

Over Time/Longterm:

The rose has faded some, and it's a sort of dry woodsy, still floral, lightly and misty aquatic. Not bad! It reminds me of what a cathedral or small church would smell like more than Cathedral does... woodsiness, a touch of resins and airy light, and roses in vases throughout.

Final Verdict?

It's pleasant. I'll hold onto the imp... just have to get past the rose phase.

[LadyWilde]

My first thought after I swiped this on my wrist was that it smelled like this "love potion" I bought at an occult shop when I was about 13. This stuff was nasty--bright red and syrupy--but it smelled great and I wore it like perfume. It was light, watery, floral, herbal, a little soapy. . .just like Water of Notre Dame. WoND clings very close to the skin but lasts all day, and it does seem to have a calming effect on me. I like it. Not enough to buy a big bottle, but enough to keep the imp around for crazy days when I need something soothing and relaxing.

[dubh_ceol]

First Sniff: Soft. It reminds me of Georgian Bay-greens and blues.

 

Wearing: Violets. Unfortunately, after it dries, it goes to a soapy type smell. It's not bad, but not what I'm looking for. Actually, it reminds me of my great-grandma’s house. She always has tons of violets growing year round. I'll finish up my imp, but won't be getting more.

[Aredhel]

Rating (on skin): 3/5

Rating (efficacy): 0/5

Summarised in a word or two: Tingly!

 

In the imp/bottle: Very green, as others have said. Also, slightly aquatic (quite fitting!).

 

On skin, wet: Very herbal, and still aquatic. Slightly powdery. It's making my nose tingle.

 

On skin, dry: Very herbal, though I can't pick out any specific notes. It's like an... herbal water. An overly watery tea. But still, the tingle (which is getting faintly annoying).

 

Conclusion: I like this well enough, but the tingle is getting on my nerves. It started out as a very faint, barely-noticable tingle, then progressed to a "....This is uncomfortable" tingle, specifically on the left side (which is more sensitive than the right because of repeated surgery there). It's not very calming or relaxing, though I think that may be because of the tingle. Nice, but not something I'd want to sniff again (again, because of the tingle).

Edited January 12, 2006 by Aredhel

[pranashakti]

I ordered this strictly because I needed its listed benefits. I did not expect to enjoy it as a scent at all-aquatics and I don't see eye to eye.

 

That said, I was wrong. Very. This goes on very grass/clover for me, of the wild field full of blooms nature. Green and alive and sweet and a bit floral - and strong but gentle at the same time. I think I do get violets as it dries, and it lightens somewhat in intensity, but not in strength. I get that sense of aquatic in the lightening, and a shift from green to blue/green. I love this. It's light but strong, innocent but deep, morphs quite a bit but with sniffing I get a sense of stillness and calm. Clean. This is the smell of the place that one can lay one's burdens down and have them washed away.

 

I have recently been in an exceptionally deep funk, that despite all valiant efforts to resist, kicked my freakin' ass. Unlike me. It is no coincidence that this all began to turn around with the arrival of this bottle from the Lab. I cannot express how it has helped me clear my mind and heart, or my gratitude for the blissful silence in my shouting head. Effective? Sweet mercy, yes, yes, yes.

 

Thank you, Beth.

[Nachtwulf]

One last try for an aquatic I can wear.

 

....All I have to say is...wow. Just, oo wow.

 

In the bottle: It smells like water. Water in a spring, lightly ringed with reeds and soft green moss, with just a touch of rose. Pure, clean water. I'm brought to mind of those sacred grottos where the holy spring trickles over cool rocks and into a pool at the base.

 

Wet: Some percentage of the 'aquatic' notes fade (because my skin eats them) but it leaves behind a light, fresh, faintly sweet scent that I'm hard pressed to identify. Vaguely floral.

 

Dry: Very 'clean'. It goes a touch soapy on me, but not badly. It makes me think of something one would put on right after getting out of the shower.... because it's like /having/ a shower. The watery note has kind of resurfaced, mingling with some sort of sweet floral.

 

Final: Hm. I do like it. I'm not sure I'd wear it often; for the time being, I think the imp is fine. But the considerable amount of 'throw' it has is enough to keep you smelling spring-shower-fresh for /hours/. I also like that the rose-qualities of it are softer and less in your face than many of the other rose blends. It's kind of like a 'wetter', greener Moon Rose to me.

[The_Merf]

In the imp: Uh-oh, I smell soap--will this be a redux of #20 Love Oil?

 

Wet: It does not turn sharp soap on me like 20 did, but it also vanishes into my skin almost immediately. I get lemons--lots of lemons. I smell like lemon house cleaner, but just a little softer.

 

Drydown and wear: I did not leave this on for long, as I'm just not into the "fresh" scents. I could barely smell it when I went to scrub it off, but I've seen others say that the throw on this one lasts longer, so perhaps it was still working when I cleaned it off. As far as fresh scents go, there is a softness to this one that is appealing, but even though I have tried to "get into" the green and fresh scents (as an entire shelf of unused perfumes will indicate), I just can't do it.

[AlaskaSnows]

In the Bottle: Water, herbs, violet? and something SOOO familiar I can't put my finger on... and fresh lemon juice.

 

Drydown: This smells to me like being on the bottom of the shallows of a lake among all the green shoots, with the sun streaming in. There is freshly cut lemon all over this scent.

 

 

Dry: There is saltwater, and lots of fresh green aquatic shoots of plants. This smells SO much more like the true, real ocean than any "ocean" scent offered anywhere.

 

This is like standing on the beach with a glass of lemonade with not enough sugar in it. Now here comes a cucumber walking down my beach. I am loving the hell out of this, folks. It's like sitting on the beach in a jar. That says a lot from a native Los Angeleno who grew up at the beach. This smells like my unwashed boogie board, but not in a bad way. Every now and then a lady wearing a flower lei walks by that cucumber on my beach. As time goes by the lady starts inching closer to me. Go away lady! Going to have to see what happens after a few hours. This 5 ml is going nowhere until then.

Edited September 24, 2005 by AlaskaSnows

[carolinachiquita]

This didn't do anything for me unfortunately - it’s a musky aquatic on me so its one of the better aquatic scents (for me anyway!) but it didn't work for me fragrancewise or voodoowise!! I will try it again another day!

[Phaedra]

This was a freebie from the Lab. Wet this smells sweet and like a warm citrus- maybe grapefruit or tangerine. It goes on soft and soothing. This turns into a lovely powdery violet. This isn't a strong scent and only lasts a couple of hours but really does seem to help me feel calm. I will keep trying this to see how the voodoo effects work.

[Miyabi]

In the bottle, it's very citrusy, but then gives way to sweet herbal powder, all while remaining clean. I've put this on the past two nights, and in the end I sleep really well (though sometimes not enough). Definitely a keeper, this one.

[Abbie]

In the bottle: Aw god I love citrus. I really just ought to bathe in orange juice. This is soap and orange peel. There's a slight salty undersmell, but I'm wondering if there may be something on my hands where I hold the imp wand.

 

First on: The salty smell comes out. I really don't get much citrus any more I'm picking up some light herbal scents, like maybe faint sage, or parsley?

 

Dry: Yeah, I reek of bath salts now. I have never been so disappointed by a BPAL drydown. It was so lovely to begin with

 

Overall: GONG!

[youhavenoidea]

In the bottle: Sweet and wet, very fresh.

 

On my skin: At first it's wet roses. It's the only smell I can really equate to it. I can just picture a bunch of dewy pink rose buds dripping with this scent.

 

On my skin dry: And once it's dry it's overwhelmingly powerful wet roses. It's the only thing I get out of this scent on me. Sweet and floral, soaking wet.

 

Overall: Very pretty, but not a frequent wear. Terribly strong with staying power on my skin. If I had a top ten this would be near the bottom.

[LyndaM]

This came as a frimp from lab with my first order. Very appropriate for the things going on in my life right now; I wondered if was coincidental, or if a labbie had had a flash of intuition, or if someone had been reading my posts! Whatever the reason for this imp finding me, I was happy to get it.

 

In the imp and wet on my skin, it's a delicious clean aquatic, clear and cool. It shifted between light green and light blue in feel. As it dried, it went more green and herbal. I don't get any lemon or violet as others have mentioned, but my nose is still developing.

 

It did seem calming, and I really enjoyed sniffing it; I snorfled my wrist far more often than I normally do. It went a little powdery at the tail end of drydown, but I don't mind powdery. I don't usually go for aquatic or herbal scents, but I liked it more than I thought I would.

 

EDIT: On second try I got the violets, this is really a lovely blend.

 

I'll be ordering a bottle, I like the scent and I need the benefits. I plan to slather it on my next really stressful day, and give the blend a real test for its' intended purpose.

Edited October 26, 2005 by LyndaM

[angharad]

I could have sworn I'd posted my review, but apparently not...guess I just typed it in my spreadsheet.

 

Anyway, this smells absolutely beautiful on me. It's a soft, aquatic floral, so it surprised me when I realized I liked it (normally don't like florals). I did feel calmer after application. Unfortunately, about an hour after putting it on, the scent suddenly overwhelmed me. It didn't change, it just became so overpowering that I had to wash it off before I became sick. That broke my heart because until then, I was completely in love with Water of Notre Dame...but it just becomes too strong on me, no matter how tiny a drop I use.

[Little Bird]

This smells like I took a fresh orange and squeezed it over a bowl of warm water filled with lemony dish soap. I get an odd feeling of warmth from it.

 

Water of Notre Dame isn't unpleasant, but it's not something that I really want to smell like either. Clean soapy oranges. Definitely odd.

[brownbear]

This really is relaxing. It smells cool and airy and citrus to me. I really like it and will get more when I finish off this imp. On my skin it is very light and I forget that it's there. I usually use it in conjunction with another, stronger oil. mmmmm It is lovely.