Val Sans Retour

[Shollin]

First sniff: Pine. Very much pine. Cold and dark and snowy.

 

Wearing: This reminds me more of pine sap than pine needles, the way your hands smell when you’ve helped bring in the Christmas tree and your fingers are all sticky from the sap. There’s an interesting sweetness underneath – it’ll be fun to find out what’s in this. My guy, who grew up in Colorado and has happy pine-related scent-memories, absolutely loves Val San Retour, and it works a lot better on his skin than mine.

[violetblue]

I got a freebie imp of this today and sniffing it brought me back to my 1st college apartment, I don't know why. Smells citrusy and piney - I am not good at descriptions, but it's very pretty!

[EvilKitten]

In the vial: Very citrusy and fresh smelling

 

Wet on me: Lemon peel. That's all I can smell!

 

As it dries: Well, this is very interesting ... the drier it gets, the more piney and less lemony it smells. By the time it is completely dried, I get the smell that usually is on my hands after bringing a Christmas tree home from the lot...

 

I think this would make a great room scent but it is not for me as a perfume. Up for swaps!

[antimony]

I didn't get any pine at all... I got all citrus. Lemon zest, maybe a little lemon verbena. It was hard to tell, because it's *super* light. I couldn't put on enough to get a really strong impression, and it was completely gone within two hours. :-(

[MissAnthropy]

This came as a freebie with my last order.

 

Fresh. Clean. Water-floral. With a green hint... pine? Yes! I think I do smell pine! This seems like a very bright, yet complex scent. I like it! The only problem I have with it is that it doesn't last on my skin. Most of the more watery-floral scents don't.

 

 

-Leslie

[grrrlennyl]

val sans retour

 

at first: this was a freebie from the lab. mostly watery, but with something else, perhaps a wood.

on: wow. lots of different woods. i don't think this will work on me.

1 hour later: slightly warm and sweet, with a hint of wood.

2 hours later: a little sweet, with the woods far in the background, thankfully.

3 hours later: soft woods with something slightly sweet. it's much softer now.

overall: this just doesn't feel like me. i'll be getting rid of my imp.

[Lady_Ell]

This smells EXACTLY like fresh cut grass when you first put it on. Very green.

After a while it becomes a bit lemony with a bare hint of pine. But mostly it's that fresh green grass juice smell. It's lovely!

 

After an hour, though, it's pretty much gone. I have a hint of powdery something or other on my arms still, that smells like grass and bubble gum and powder and somehow reminds me of the smell of a baby's head. It's very comforting, but nothing like how it is in the first 20 minutes or so.

 

If this lasted longer on me, I'd buy a big bottle for sure!

[Elanya]

I got this as a swap. I really wanted to like it! And I do... however, it has absolutely no staying power on me. I put it on right as I was leaving the house this morning, and I never noticed it all day, and when I sniffed for it - nothing The amazing dissappearing perfume!

 

In the bottle I will second other people; it is like citrus and freshly cut grass...

[octopusgrrl]

In the bottle: very gentle grapefruit/lemon citrus

 

Wet: a pretty light citrus scent with hints of spring flowers - daffodils and freesias

 

Dry: disappeared in about half an hour

 

Verdict: this was really nice when I first applied it, but I wish it was a lot stronger, then it would be perfect.

[Gothabillywench]

I only get a feint lemon- I get carnation, green grass & very herby. Haven't tried it on yet, but out of the bottle, I like it.

[Ishtar]

On me, Val San Retour is so complex that it is almost impossible to describe with words. It is watery, foresty, misty and so much more than that. It is mysterious and beautiful.

 

This is exactly what Val San Retour smells like on me:

 

 

The picture was taken in the Foret de Broceliande. The castle in the background is Comper castle, which now houses a cultural center dedicated to Arthurian lore. The lake is the one associated with Lancelot.

Val sans Retour (San Retour if you prefer the medieval spelling) is a few kilometres north from there. I unfortunately did not get to see it since I was with my mother and she tires quickly. The whole Foret de Broceliande is a magical, enchanted place. I want to go back and explore every single path.

 

OK, end of hijack!

 

As others mentioned, Val San Retour is not the longest lasting oil. It faded after 4 hours. I would nevertheless highly recommend it to anyone who likes fresh, outdoorsy scents, any lover of all things Arthurian and anyone who, like me, loves forests but is not too keen on overly green scents

[LaLisa]

One of my favorites so far because of its light fresh scent

 

 

Citrus with delicate florals, not overwhelming, I would wear this in summer definitely, it's seems really wholesome (the citrus notes) but on me the florals come out and subtly seduce.

 

It's a keeper!

[any_old_actress]

FIRST SNIFF - green

 

 

WEARING IT - fresh, clean green stem scent. similar to dandelion and daisy stems and fresh cut grass. it's the thaw of spring turing into summer and slinky powerful herbs.

 

VERDICT - not my kind of scent.

[jj_j]

I got the lemon zest note others have mentioned, but only for the first thirty seconds or so. Maybe a drop of juniper to this, but then it's lovely crisp pine and a pale wildflower all the way.

 

I put Val San Retour on my wrist to write the review, and within three minutes I actually couldn't find it to finish the description. Citrus oils fade very quickly, and there must not be a lot of pine in this in order to avoid overpowering them, but since I tried this three different times and the same thing happened, I don't know that Val San Retour is a scent I'd purchase.

 

Even though it's as fresh as the great outdoors, Val San Retour doesn't stand up against the beautiful greenery and lasting power of the Yule LEs. I think I'll stick with Mistletoe or Skadi, or Dracul with its fir and balsam, instead.

[FireInCairo]

To me- this is a very masculine scent. It's very citrusy and woodsy. This would be incredibly sexy on a guy. There is a slight muskiness to the blend too...

[Penance]

Origin:

 

Lagniappe from the Lab.

 

Preconceived notions:

 

I love trying up-and-coming's and I've been pretty keen to try Val Sans Retour for a while since someone said it smelled like fresh-cut grass (a scent I love), so I'm hoping it's the grassy goodness I've been pining after.

 

First sniff:

 

This is very green smelling. It really does have that slightly bitter, green fresh-cut grass scent to it although I also smell what appears to be citrus of some sort under it. This reminds me of long afternoons spent lazing around in my neighbor's field growing up, chewing on grass blades and watching the clouds.

 

Wet on skin:

 

This is extremely light on me, but absolutely gorgeous! This smells the way dandelion stems taste...it's the only way I can think of to describe it and the resemblance is spot on. It's a slightly bitter, very green scent that puts me in mind of rolling meadows and making bracelets out of dandelion stems. This is a very happy scent for me...I love this so much more than I ever could have hoped for!

 

Dry down:

 

Green, green, green! I swear I'm smelling dandelion stems...just the stems. I suppose it's an aquired taste, but I just love the way they smell and they bring back so many happy memories. Just a moment ago, I put my nose to my wrist and had the clearest flash of a memory of my uncle who died 7 years ago. Somehow the smell of green grass and fresh air has always reminded me of him and, for once, I'm crying tears of happiness instead of grief and anger. It's still hard to think of him without feeling the pain of him not being in my life, but I'm starting to learn that I can remember the good times without feeling guilty and Val Sans Retour just triggered the strongest flash of that sort of feeling I've had since we lost him.

 

The bottom line:

 

I can't even begin to describe how happy this scent makes me or how healing it is for me. Thank you, Beth!

[surf-tormented]

I like this one. It is very herbal, forest like herbal. Refreshing. It smells like the color green. It isn't overpowering, just clean and beautiful, like a forest after a rain or a walk through an herbal garden in full bloom.

 

But I would like this oil to be smelled by others since it is not available yet. I feel like these imps need to roam free and get feedback on them. I hate to see this one go, but perhaps it will be a bottle purchase in the future!

Edited January 9, 2005 by Madame Nyx

[Theravada]

If Beth decides to release this one, I will be buying a bottle.

 

Val Sans reminds me of a pine tree on a bright, warm spring morning.

 

Soft, understated pine, similar to Skadi, and a faint hint of citrus. But neither the citrus nor the pine ever becomes overwhleming. This is just so gorgeously blended. I adore it!!

 

Beth, can we have this one, please?

[phaedrine]

Val I got as a freebie in an order long, long ago. Can you tell I'm catching up on my reviews?

 

In the vial, it was all fresh green, like the smell of the forests in the nearby Jemez mountains after a rainstorm.

 

Unfortunately, green scents do not work on me at all (nor am I terribly fond of them), so this went to a better home.

[rainbow]

When I first put this on it smelled like grass, which is a scent that I love, with a bit of lemon. I'm also getting some slight hints of sweet pine.

 

It's an extremely light and airy scent- so light and airy, in fact, that I could barely smell it after I put it on, and it disappeared in about twenty minutes. That said, this is a beautiful scent, and one that I'd consider for regular rotation if it lasted longer, but I just can't be reapplying every 20 minutes.

[Gin]

Val Sans Retour

 

Lemon and pine. The lemon is subtle and sweet, the pine is more like the sap from a fresh-cut tree. This is quite lovely, and not at all like a household cleanser smell (as some lemons and pines are). Sadly, it disappears *so* quickly!

[warmfuzzies]

well, i tried without reviewing first, as i tend to do with extras from swapping, and this smelled like lemons when wet-- very much like the prescriptives fragrance "calyx." and maybe something balsam-y (not sure if i'm using the right word there). after just a few minutes, it turned very piney/christmas wreath-y. i don't like it, but i am more a foody/gourmand girl.

[quinkel]

I haven't used this yet on it's own for a day(what I usually do with all scents) but only sniffed it from the vial and a bit on my hand.

 

I get only citrus, no pine, It's very soft after the drydown. I was hoping for pine as I adore Pine, so I hope that with the final realease there is a bit more

 

Will update as it has its proper change to proof itself in a days wear

ETA

Well, today is a great day for this scent, It's snowing like it hasn't been in 20 years, first i was planning Skadi but that's to Christmassy. I needed something snowy,yet springtime captured beneath. That's exactly what VSR is. The only thing is... IT"S SO LIGHT I put a complete imp all over me and i still can't catch a whif.

I am afraid this is not ment for me, I love the scent anyway

Edited March 2, 2005 by quinkel

[Rosabella]

Bottle: Clean tart lemon juice, tiny hints of something sweet, something green, something maybe cinnamony.

 

Skin: Whoa! PINE! Very pitchy-pine, almost turpentiney. VERY strong, I can't smell any lemon or anything else, on my skin or in the room. This stage could work as a Christmastime room scenter - especially if you've got a fake tree and want the smell of a real one. I wouldn't want to wear it though, it's sinus-clearing strong pine!

 

Drying: Lemon top note comes out over the pine quickly. Pine becomes less overpowering, but the combination is kind of like lemon and pine scented floor cleaners. My nose is still so knocked out from the pine in the wet stage I can't tell if any more subtle notes come out as this dries.

 

Final: This fades really fast, after 20-30 minutes all that's left is a whiff of Lemon Pledge furniture polish. This oil is not for me!

[paperdoll]

Initial Sniff: Citrus zest and juniper? pine? I'm not sure, but it is green.

Wearing: This is a beautiful green citrus... for about 15 minutes. Then it is gone.

Final Impressions: I liked this, but it went away far too soon! I actually tried this three times just to make sure I wasn't accidentally rubbing the oil away on something. I really has staying power of 15 minutes on me.