PurringPulsar Report post Posted February 1, 2009 (edited) Sheela Na Gig I can't see a topic for this, so I thought I'd start one...I was gifted with a tiny sample of this from a very, very generous and wonderful forumite! And as I am a nitpicky spreadsheeter, I actually have the notes list for this scent! A sensual hazelnut vanilla with ylang ylang, angelica, knotted clover, and pearly everlasting. In the imp: I can smell the hazelnut…and a floral note, maybe the everlasting? Wet on skin: now it goes really grainy, like a wheat note, or barley? Dry on skin: this is really nice! It’s a nutty, grainy sweet vanilla boosted by soft floral notes. There’s a grainy scent to it that reminds me of Dana O’Shee. The vanilla is really gorgeous, and the hazelnut doesn’t have that overly foody quality, it smells here like unroasted hazelnuts, or hazelnuts that have just been de-shelled. The ylang-ylang is a lot softer here than usual as well. I think I smell the clover here, making that grassy hay-like scent, not sure what pearly everlasting smells like. After a while: this mellows so nicely. At one point it smelt oddly like dry pasta, but that stage has gone now. It’s still dry and grainy but also has that wildflower and windswept grasses thing going on, all underscored by that sexy warm vanilla and hazelnut blend. It adds richness whilst the flowers and clover make this a bit outdoorsy. Over time the nutty vanilla becomes the dominant note and it has serious throw! It becomes a sensual vanilla with hazelnut and a hint of sweet grass. Verdict: this is a really gorgeous unique vanilla, and I feel so privileged to have tried it! it’s a lovely blend of warm decadent vanilla with a soft grainy-hay dryness and enchanting hints of wildflowers, boosted by the richness of hazelnut and the heady ylang. This actually has a similar feel to other Irish/Celtic scents like Singing Moon and Dana O’Shee, and Leanan Sidhe to a lesser extent. Something about the blend of floral and grassy notes here that reminds me of that. Except this is also very different because of that delightful vanilla-nut combo. It gets sweeter and warmer at drydown, and even though I only got a tiny amount to test, it doesn’t matter because even a small amount has tons of throw! It’s very different to other BPAL vanillas and is yet another excellent non-gourmand use of this note by Beth. I know that I’d love to see this scent, or something like it, become widely available to us all one day! I'd love to get more of this! Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? I think so! Though I also feel tempted to pass it on so I can share the love and spread this beautiful scent around the BPALverse! Edited February 1, 2009 by yeahbutnobut Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Little Bird Report post Posted March 30, 2009 In the bag, this smells like a sweet, smooth, dry, golden sort of vanilla. It makes me think of vanilla, amber, and dry, golden flowers. Beautiful. It conjures up thoughts of fields full of dry grain as well. On my skin, this is incredibly light, but very pretty. It strikes me as being mostly vanilla. At first, it's a bit like the buttery sort of vanilla that I get from Snowblind, but that's not exactly it. And when it dries down, it's nothing like the Snowblind vanilla. This is actually unlike any other vanilla scent that I've tried from bpal before. I can smell something that's almost a bit earthy underneath the vanilla. It smells a little like a very muted black patchouli on me at first, but I know there's nothing like black patchouli in this. That earthiness disappears in the drydown for me anyhow. As it dries down, this is gorgeous, dry, sensual vanilla with hints of perfumey ylang ylang & something like grain or dry, incensey flowers. I don't normally like ylang ylang, but it's nice here, smothered by the unique vanilla. It reminds me a bit of the way that LUSH's Shimmy Shimmy massage bar smells. I really wish that I had a bottle of this to slather, because it doesn't have much throw & it's very subtle on me (and my skin is normally good for amping up small amounts of perfume oil). Plus, it's just a gorgeous fragrance. It's rare that I wish that I could get more of an unreleased blend, but I want more of this one (and Cagliostro). Sigh. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zankoku_zen Report post Posted October 13, 2009 (edited) I got this little cotton swab sniffie --- it smells like hazelnut, vanilla and a touch of florals. The sniffie wasn't wet enough to test on skin, but I definitely got the vanilla with a whiff of florals and the hazelnut was pretty strong. Very pretty. I def. wish I had gotten to skin test it! Hazelnut tends to be a pretty strong component on me, but I'm intrigued enough that I would have chanced it! ETA: now that I have a testable sniffie. WOW. Yes to the hazelnut, vanilla and musk. This is foodie without being too foodie, very cozy and perfect for cold weather. Delicious. Edited December 7, 2010 by zankoku_zen Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
