Earth Ox

[terrenity]

A new year's blessing! Peony, China's national flower, with bamboo for flexibility, plum blossom for perseverance, courage, and hope, tangerine for wealth, orange for happiness, lychee for household peace, pine resin for constancy, golden kumquat and quince for prosperity, narcissus and King mandarin for good fortune, peach blossom for longevity, oakmoss, plum, and tobacco for stability, and a splash of blazing red of dragon's blood... to help you scare away the rampaging Nian.

(Disclaimer: I've been sick this week, so my sense of smell isn't what it usually is.)

In the bottle: Very reminiscent of Earth Rat! It's the same fizzy-fruitness-with-floral-undertones. Actually, I would be hard-pressed to tell the two apart in the bottle.

Drydown: Ah, now I can see the differences. It's becoming less fizzy and the plum is definitely giving this a rounder, richer flavor than the melon in Earth Rat. That said, it's still pretty clear that they have similar notes.

Dry: The longer this sits on my skin, the more the florals come out. The peony in particular is actually dominating the scent, with the other notes providing a sweet, soft background. Plum is there only as a sort of aftersmell, lingering in the back of my throat. It's very feminine and pretty, and much more muted than Earth Rat. Where Earth Rat is the boisterous celebration of the New Year, Earth Ox is the soft rituals and prayers for good luck. This would be a great scent for special occasions; I think it would be particularly suited for weddings.

Overall: Although this isn't at all what I was expecting (a fizzy plum), it's still gorgeous and definitely in the same vein as Earth Rat. I'm very glad to have a bottle, though I don't think I need more than that.

[hkhm]

bottle: yep, very reminiscent of earth rat, not quite so heavy on the melon but that bubbly, fruity scent is still there.

 

wet: once applied, i'm getting the lychee and orange pretty strongly. it's kinda balanced with all the florals here and has a fizzy, candy-feel to it.

 

dry: this dries to soft florals (noe are terribly distinct on me) and tame, yet playful, fruits. so pretty, i'll be wearing this one quite a bit.

[Alchemy21599]

In the bottle: honeydew melon!

 

Wet on skin: honeydew melon, bamboo, and a hint of peony.

 

Dry: This is so different from what I was expecting that I'm having a hard time wrapping my brain around it. With pine resin, oakmoss, and dragon's blood listed as ingredients I was expecting a much "heavier" scent. This scent is a very pretty light fruity floral. I think I will tuck it away to wear during warmer weather.

[fairnymph]

In the bottle: Very bright and fruity, with a strong melon topnote. It reminds me greatly of a cantelope version of Earth Rat (which is honeydew, on me). Lychee is strong too, and then there's this earthiness I've not smelled in either of the former two years - the hint of oakmoss, and darker, slightly astringent tobacco.

 

Wet: Tarter/less-sweet, the citrus and that quince coming through strongly. Also, this is the first time I've been able to pick up pine resin in a NY's blend; much more piney than usual. The lychee is still strong, but melon much fainter. Florals distant, other than some sharp/fresh narcissus.

 

Dry: Florals, a little soapy and quite strong, start amping up very quickly as this dries equally rapidly. I'm not getting the blossoms distinctly, but the narcissus and peony are prominent. The citrus is fading fast, but that's revealing more of that melon note, and a little plum, which adds a dark feel to the blend.

 

Later: Definitely a bit soapy, but not unbearably. The oakmoss has majorly come out, but the tobaccco is still light. The florals have settled more, so everything's pretty much showing evenly. Pine has settled to resin. Bamboo has emerged.

 

Summary: Oakmoss, musk, dark tobacco and earthy pine resin dominate over the long haul. This is MUCH earthier/woodier than the previous two years. The plum is the only fruit I can still pick out of the general fruitiness, and the florals are a distant hazy bouquet. Very strong throw but fades a fair bit.

 

Very happy with my bottle but this is not in my top 10 like Earth Rat.

[Ravenclaw79]

In the bottle: Intriguing, watery, Asian, bamboo... reminiscent of Tanuki.

 

Wet: Very watery, in a really nice way that I haven't smelled from Beth before -- not soapy like most aquatics smell on me, not shower gel-y, not harsh or murky, just fresh, clear water. It's the closest thing to a nice aquatic I've found yet, but there's an Asian flower blossom in there, too, probably plum blossom. Very nice.

 

Dry: Much more flowery, with the water stage gone. It's a nice, light floral, though, with a hint of fruity sweetness.

[sadtomato]

i had to get a bottle of this because of the widely varying notes involved.

i wasn't sure whether it would be sweet and foody or more woodsy and resinous.

this ends up having a strong note of fruit, smells like some kind of melon and maybe the plum.

the pine resin pokes through with some oakmoss making this a very natural and earthy scent.

not at all what i was expecting, but divine nontheless!

 

[naeelah]

Wet, this is a juicy, fruity floral that's very strong on candied melon. (Wait, there's no melon in this blend. It must be the lychee, but it smells like melon.) As it dries, the melon note gradually recedes.

 

Once dry, the melon note fortunately blends into the bouquet. The flowers are the most immediate notes, backed by mild lychee, juicy citrus, tart kumquat, and plum. The plum seems to get stronger little by little, as the other notes dry, and after about 10 minutes, it's the strongest note, but it doesn't overpower the other fruit.

 

At this point it's quite nice. I can't pick out the moss or tobacco yet, nor do I really get much sense of resin (pine or dragon's blood). It's just a nice, juicy, plummy floral.

 

From here, it morphs again, and the tobacco and moss begin to emerge. At first, it's just a richer, darker version of the same thing. It's a nice pipe tobacco, it doesn't go ashtray (on me). I like this phase a lot, but there are two problems: the throw seems to have dropped off drastically, and I amp oakmoss like nobody's business, so this nice stage is usually taken over by MOSS OF DOOM.

 

If a rich, plummy, tobacco fruity floral appeals to you, try this. There are so many notes that it's probably fairly different from skin to skin, I would imagine.

[jewelbug]

Bottle: Melon hits you straight out of the bottle, even if its not listed. Smells like a green honeydew to me.

 

Wet: a very cool green melon scent, with a citrus tone brushed lightly over it, and a redder fruit (berry?) that comes out almost immediately. The florals are more evident on my skin than in the bottle. Overall—lots of fruit (melon/berry/citrus), and a little bit of floral. I get an aquatic vibe from this due to the watery melon.

 

Drying: As others have mentioned, there are hints of a “fizziness”, but I actually think that might be the pine poking through in its fresh zingy little way. The blend isn’t as overtly aquatic/melon now, and I think the “berry” was getting before is actually plum. Its still a fruit-over-florals blend—light and sweet and pretty. I was expecting it to be more, well, earthy…

 

Dry: As this sits on my skin, it does get darker, deeper, more rounded—plummy fruits, and a darker more perfumey floral blend than the light, bright mix that this started out with. Lasts 6-7 hrs.

 

Overall: A very pleasant and pretty blend. I liked all the phases this went through, but particularly the late drydown when it was deeper and less bright fruity/floral. That said, this isn't really my usual fare, so I think I'll pass it along.

[Yoginispirit]

Oooh! How beautiful is this??? I am blown away by the beautiful, feminine cleanness of Earth Ox. I, like the others, expected a darker fragrance but this bull must have been walking through the garden of paradise (hopefully a metaphor that proves true for the New Year!).

 

In the bottle- yep that's the Lychee. I frequent Asian resteraunts and they will often have those small white eye-ball shaped fruits that smell (and taste) similar to melon in their salad bars but is in fact, Lychee.

 

Wet-This is just so FRESH. I'm in love with this juicy, juicy stage. I'm still getting the Lychee but it begins to slowly turn warmer, and spicier.

 

Dry- WHOA THERE PLUM YOU CAN BACK OFF NOW, K? THX. Plum jelly splatters all over poor Earth Ox's head as he's walking and something a little spicy (is that you tobacco?) pops out and says hi. I do tend to amp plum to the extreme but this is a nice plum, doesn't turn as sour as Prunella does on my skin thanks to the other notes. There is still something that is giving the clean and slightly floral throw- not too sure what that is. In the end it all turns to powder (stares hard at Peony). I suspect Peony because the same thing happens to me with Mouse's Long and Sad Tale. But then again it is that crappy time of the month so I will have to see what happens on a safer day. If not I will wear it happily in a locket (which I intend to buy soon!) and in my hair.

 

Overall- I still L-O-V-E this and I'm really surprised that there isn't more love for poor little ox. I'm an ox myself so it could just be the zodiac thing Anyway this is a really lovely, fresh yet sophisticated blend that I will wear often. And wow this is the longest review I've written so far That just goes to show you how special it is

 

 

 

[Koumori]

I found this one almost indistinguishable from Earth Rat in the bottle, but as soon as it was on, the differences became apparent. Earth Ox has earthier undertones; the pine came out immediately as a grounding influence, and the difference between the Rat melon and the Earth lychee became easier to detect. I was hoping to love this, since I'm an Ox and I'm very fond of Earth Rat, but it faded on me fairly quickly and left a dry, dusty afterscent, which often happens to me when I try to wear musks and some flowers-- I guess peony must be one of them. All things considered, I prefer the Rat, and this one will go up for swap.

[Methos]

In the bottle, it's light and fruity. Melon is quite up front. Wet, it's all flowers and exotic fruit. So nice~. On the dry-down, it's dryer sheets. Good thing I do like dryer sheets. O^;

[megank4]

Yes, very Earth Rat-y in the bottle, can smell a slight difference on my skin, perhaps a bit more plum blossomy. But if I didn't know that they were different scents, I wouldn't notice it.

[femmefatale]

Wet it's all melons! Wow. As it dries though the melon scent starts to fade and out comes these beautiful, exotic, clean smelling flowers with a touch of fruit and green. I think I'm catching some of the tobacco which is helping to ground everything.

 

I'm having a hard time picking out most of the individual notes. It's actually less fruity than I expected, but that's ok. I love it!

 

 

Edited February 9, 2009 by Femme_Fatale

[GypsyRoseRed]

Last night at will call, my 5 year old tested a handful of bottles and actually offered to use her birthday money to buy a bottle of Earth Ox - it was love at first sniff, and my daughter is a smellies SNOB. She was oohing and aahing over it, and it was so damn cute I had to buy one for her. She dabbed it on immediately, and the friends we went to dinner with afterward commented on something smelling really good. I'm used to that being *my* perfume they're complimenting, but no, it was Grace. Earth Ox is a very joyous scent, with prominent notes of melon, and a squirt of juicy plum and tangerine. This is the perfect scent for these remaining days of winter and is a pretty outstanding fruit blend.

[zankoku_zen]

This one is very pretty - it's a nice, fruity floral. I get a lot of peony and plum blossom from this. I was hoping for more lychee, but I'm totally amping the florals on this one. *sigh*

 

Fire Pig is still my favorite, but Earth Ox is much nicer than Earth Rat in my opinion.

[ealasaid86]

In the bottle: Juicy kumquat

 

On the wrist: Wet, Ox is all juicy fruits. I had forgotten all the notes so when I first took a sniff I though guava? But after reviewing the notes I'm pretty sure its the kumquat and maybe the lychee that I'm getting. As it dries down, miracle of miracles the tobacco does not amp on me! Dry it stays true to in the bottle with some of the other fruits and some florals coming to say hi.

 

Verdict: If this is an Ox its an Ox that's been dressed up for the New Years Festival and covered in garlands of fruits and flowers! I almost bought a bottle unsniffed but decided to pass because tobacco always ended up amping and making me smell like a lifelong smoker. But for once that didn't happen and instead I got a fun, fizzy, floral-fruit. Now to search for a bottle.

[windbourne]

On me, Earth Ox smells -exactly- like cantaloupe Jelly Belly jellybeans. I hate cantaloupe Jelly Belly jellybeans. Ergo, no thank you.

 

I would love to be on the sniffing end of some of these subtleties, but it's just making me sad. Time to wash my hands.

[Prism]

Earth Ox - in the bottle mixed fruit. I dont remember it well enough typing up this (later), to remember any notes that stood out

 

Wet - Skittles! It's candy skittles! Like a whole bag stick your nose in throw sugar on top.

It morphs into more cherry-like while it dries.

 

Dry - a pleasantly mixed-fruit floral. The cherry settles down, and other notes come out like orange or lychee but none dominate. I dont pick up any earthy undertones here, but maybe I would in comparison to something else (still something of a new nose to BPAL).

 

Either way - I like it. I think I'll enjoy wearing it more come summer, right now it feels odd to wear in cold Feb!

[Christine Daae]

This is a gorgeous fruity-floral that my fiance adores...

 

...until the PEONY OF SOAPY DEATH strikes again and turns this into a very pretty shampoo fragrance. It's too bad, I'm an Ox and I was hoping that the peony would behave.

[jencallisto]

In the bottle: Sweet -- fruity and a bit alcoholic, almost.

Fresh on the skin: Musk and fruit -- it smells like cantaloupe! Wow!

5 minutes later: Dark and complex, with the florals coming out a little more, but sticky with soft round resin and fruits. Damn, this is gorgeous!

10 minutes later: I'm getting a little powder, the kind that reminds me of the light, floral, chalky bath cubes my mother used to have. This is not a bad thing.

30 minutes later: Oh, hey. It's that slightly icky woodsy smell from Earth Rat, but luckily it's quite faint. It just adds a little soapiness to the scent that I could do without, but it's not toooo bad. I already can tell that this is going to powder down to laundry, though.

40 minutes later: The sillage is all lychee-plum with a hint of floral. Nice!

4.5 hours later: Sweet, fruity laundry, fuzzy and rather nice.

11 hours later: Just the smallest hint of sweet laundry.

 

Verdict: I like this! More than I expected to, even, given that I found Earth Rat nice enough, but underwhelming. Definitely keeping my impulse-bought bottle.

 

One phrase: dark fruit.

 

 

[msbcozad]

Earth Ox

 

Melon. But not the screaming MELON of Earth Rat. There's a lot more going on in the background and the other notes get to bubble to the surface occassionally to say "hi". A little plum, a little tangerine, some flowers. Very pretty.

[PurringPulsar]

Earth Ox

 

In the bottle: I smell melon, even though it’s not listed, as well as plum and other fruits.

Wet on skin: melon, bamboo, some citrus, and lovely lychee, and plum.

Dry on skin: if the plum blossom ruins this I will cry, because for now this is a gorgeous fruity scent, bright and lively and sweet, juicy and joyful. I smell plum fruit, a light plum like the one in Prunella, as well as the quince and lychee. I smell these fruits more than the citrus, though I do catch a hint of sharp tangerine every now and then. There is something floral, which makes this scent very springy. I think I also smell the moss and even a hint of smoky tobacco which seems to make this scent more grounded than the previous two Chinese year scents.

After a while: ok, so it seems that the plum blossom is behaving! I hope it stays that way because it’s a PB note that could potentially do the doom-blossom thing on me but for now it’s stable. I smell a lot of lychee in here actually! Even more than in Moon of the Terrible. This is a sweeter lychee, it’s got an almost fruit-salad feel to it, like lychees soaking in fruit syrup made from plum and orange juice. I also smell more of the moss too.

The scent doesn’t seem to go completely bad on me even after a few hours. Either my skin tolerates plum blossom more or it works well in this combination of notes. But even though I prefer the wet stage, it’s actually a really pretty floral scent at the end with sugar plums and powdery moss.

Verdict: I think this is my favourite of the Chinese New Year scents, and I’m not surprised, as I am an Ox. It’s growing on me a lot and smells like a springy, joyful floral-fruity grounded by moss. The plum is very pretty, a sugary pale plum as opposed to a deep black plum, and it merges nicely with the plum blossom-which, in here, is actually really nice! My skin doesn’t mutate it into bananas as usual. The scent starts off with that bright fruity citrus, with melon-y plum here and that wonderful lychee note, and then turns into a springtime floral with moss and tobacco to ground it. It’s not spectacular…but I have a feeling I will appreciate this a lot more once the weather warms up and the trees burst into bloom-it’s so springy, after all, incredibly pretty and cheerful. I’m keeping my bottle.

Emoticon rating:

Is it a keeper? yes.

If you like this, try: Earth Rat, Fire Pig, Moon of the Terrible, Prunella, Kitsune Tsuki

[dreadpiraterustypants2]

expectations-

rich juicy punch, not too sweet please let the tobacco step in for a round!

imp-

aha! here is that honeydew melon that folks have been talkin' about~

wet-

pine comes out of the melon, a little citrus too(wee kumquat, i recognize you from the tweedledee)

getting softer now, more floral. A lovely festive blend, cheerful and colorful. So into the melon/kumquat/narcissus~

drydown-

strong stuff!

verdict-

just what I wanted, and more~

Love this juicy combo, really reminds me of tweedledee-

the imp is super potent so it might last me, but the I'd swap for a bottle!

[Little Bird]

In the bottle, this smells like sweet melons and fruit - cantaloupe, honeydew, and maybe a bit of citrus. It also has a clean, breezy feel to it that makes me feel desperate for summer.

 

I was so sure that this was going to be a new favorite when I smelled it in the bottle. On my skin, though, this turns into a dry, soapy scent. Dryer sheets. I think that this is mostly bamboo on me (which often turns to sharp soapiness on my skin). After a half hour, the melons start to poke out from underneath the sharpness, but it's too little too late.

 

Earth Ox gives me an awful headache. It's so wonderful in the bottle, and just turns too sharp and soapy when it's on.

[angelicruin]

This was the melon note of death for me. Despite all of the other lovely notes in this blend, the only one I could smell on my skin was melon. And though I like eating Cantaloupe, I don't want to smell like it.