Zephyr

[styro]

A gentle white scent, breezes laced with the scent of springtime blooms and citrus. Lemon, lemon verbena, neroli, white musk, white florals, white sandalwood, China musk, bergamot and a drop of vanilla.

Zephyr sounds like my kind of scent from the description, but something here smells very off on my skin. I'm guessing it's the musk: something similar happens to me with Black Pearl and Morocco--though not with all light/white/warm musk scents--so perhaps there's some subset of that category that I just can't wear. Like Black Pearl, Zephyr starts off better than Morocco on me, but the "off" note in it persists longer.

I can't really describe this "off" note--it's not "sour milk" or "diapers" or anything I can put my finger on; it's just vaguely nauseating to me. I give Zephyr a 1 out of 6 (strong dislike).

Surprisingly, my extremely picky rose/patchouli/spice-loving friend--who doesn't like citrus or vanilla and is nauseated by BPAL scents far more often than I am--gave Zephyr a 3 out of 6 (which is quite high for her). Skin chemistry is a mysterious thing.

Edited to add scent description. Edited October 12, 2007 by styro

[KassiK]

I love the lemon + bergemot combo on this. I would have never thought to put the two together, but it works. The lemon balances out the calming effects of bergamot so that it's not putting me to sleep. It won't be a big bottle purchase, but I'm definitely keeping the imp.

[steelxrose]

In the bottle, I can definitely pick out the white musk and vanilla. I can't smell citrus from Zephyr at all, which is a bit of a disappointment for me.

 

Wet on skin, the florals pop out. It's quite a potent blend on my wrist.

 

Dry: I can still smell a lot of vanilla and still no citrus.

 

I think I'll pass on this.

[Honor]

I though, at first smelling this, my nose was perhaps very unrefined, since i had a hard time picking out notes and all this made me think of was "Dorian". I'm almost glad to see then, that I'm not the only one who gets that impression.

 

In Bottle: I get light florals and citrus, with a base of vanilla underneath. Somehow soft and sharp at the same time.

 

On Skin: Immediately all I can think is a "younger", less complicated Dorian. This lacks the sugared tea which smooths out dorian and gives it it's elegant feel. If one were to personify, this would be the younger, less experienced brother of Dorian... sharp around the edges and not nearly as refined.

 

Dry: The florals are all but gone and/or melded with other notes, not able to be picked out. The citrus prevails with bergamont v. evident (I like this) and again, the vanilla sits softly underneath it all...preventing the citrus from burning the nose, but not overwhelming.

 

Overall: Sharp and soft all at the same time, lacking the subtly of Dorian... but still a pretty blend of citrus and vanilla. I'm liking this more and more as the day goes on (and hoping my burgeoning headache has nothing to do with this). The throw is moderate, but lasting power, as most citrus' on me, is low.

[Lyrical]

Success!

 

In the vial: pale, sweet, musky and really beautiful!

 

Wet on skin: ethereal, nothing really stands out here - it's just a soft blend of fruit and flowers and woody tones and it's gorgeous!

 

Dry on skin: it's richer, darker and spicier. Sandalwood, musk and citrus are the dominating notes - although I'm not getting anything lemony. Warm, subtle and very nice indeed. It's not white, though - it's golden brown.

 

The second time I wore Zephyr it was just as lovely and lasted well. After about 5 hours it started to fade and after 6-7 hours it reappeared as pure powdery sandalwood that reminded me distinctly of my grandmother. Oh well, I guess I can always wash it off when it reaches that stage! I loved my grandmother, but I don't want to smell like her!

 

This one's a winner!

[SarahScent44]

In imp, Zephyr is very light - the lemon and verbena are predominant, with a little bit of neroli and bergamot

 

On, the citrus disappears almost immediately - I get sandalwood, a little vanilla, and the musks. It's an amazing change.

 

This really deepened and expanded once it dried - the sandalwood and musk are very warm and soft. There's the sweetness of vanilla, and just a hint of the brightness of the lemon. This is a really nice everyday scent - very subtle and sophisticated.

[kiio]

To me Zephyr smells exactly like Avon Skin So Soft. A little too babypowder and something sharp in the background that just didn't work for me.

[hkhm]

imp: citrusy musk with a touch of sandalwood.

 

wet: musk and sweet sandalwood, possibly the vanilla is making it sweet.

 

dry: no more citrus to speak of, simply and soft, sweet, musky sandalwood.

[PersephonesChild]

Vanilla, vanilla, vanilla, (sandalwood!), vanilla, vanilla.

 

That's how this smells on me. Lemon? Verbena? Neroli? Musk? Uh-uh. VANILLA.

 

In fact, it smells a lot like that perfume Vanilla Fields, which I was devoted to in middle school. I'd like to think I've come a long ways since then.

 

To be fair, I sniff a passing resemblance to Antique Lace and to my beloved Belle Epoque, but this is generally just too creamy and sweet for me.

[maribouquet]

I love china musk, so Zephyr is very nice to my nose, and for a light scent it has a *ton* of throw. Definitely in my top twenty.

[gchris]

In Vial: fruity floral with a hint of sugar cookie

 

Wet: sweet citrus cookies, foody, probably because of the vanilla. Reminds me a bit of baby powder.

 

Drydown: The lemon is coming out more, and less foody but still smells like baby powder. Another morph and there is no more lemon. I smell mostly vanilla, musk and a little floral.

 

Evoking Color: Light Yellow

[ImperatrixMundi]

I could swear I have reviewed this before cant find a post anywhere, so here I go.

 

A creamy yellow coulour, in terms of synaesthesia. A very sweet citrus musk in terms of smell. All the notes are blended well into a very creamy citrus scent, only the musk is quite dominant. The china musk smells like a white musk variant. It still borders on beeing foody and reminds me of lemon baiser cake. It is strong and lasting and while it is lovely it is almost a bit cloying when being worn.

[ravenfeathers]

in the bottle lemon and soft musk

wet on skin lemon powder and then some. it smells cold and fresh in a powdery kind of way.

dry on skin more of the same with very short wearlength. pretty. the florals never really strike me, there's just a hint of them in the background. i'm tempted to keep this imp around for those hideously hot days in july.

[djsiberia]

i know this has lemon in it, however on me they never made an appearance and i only smelled baby powder after dry down. i beleive it would have been the white florals/musk/sandalwood combo.

[binaryfaerie]

When I first smelled Zephyr, it reminded me of Fae, which is one of my absolute favorite BPAL scents, so I knew I was going to like this one. It's quite lemony at first, but after it dries, it becomes more powdery, which helps keep the lemon scent faint. Very soft and springlike.

[iiinterstate]

What in the world? This smells nothing like the other reviews, and everything like men's shaving cream. It must be the musks+sandalwood combination...but that's odd. Both of those notes usually behave nicely on me!

Edited March 7, 2008 by iiinterstate

[LadyLuckDoubt]

In the Bottle

A faint woody smell, more like cedar than sandalwood, really, with a touch of almond.

 

On Me

Wow: this is so different to in the bottle, which didn't really impress me... on me, I'm getting a honeyed, vanilla-ed kind of sandalwood with lily, I suspect, coming through, and possibly some Oriental spices?-- it's pretty and feminine and it becomes a lot more noticable on skin. I like it. Lasts awhile, too.

 

That said, I'm still trying to adjust to the oddness with the bottle discrepency. You know when they do those experiments where someone eats something that looks like a strawberry and it tastes like lemons and it throws their senses out? That's what this one is like. No matter how nice I know this'll smell on me, I'll always sniff the bottle first and have second thoughts.

 

Seriously, it's gorgeous, but utterly bizarre.

[angharad]

LEMON PLEDGE. Why do I even bother trying to wear perfumes with lemon? I've been trying to wash this one off all afternoon with no success. It's incredibly strong, but luckily it stays close to the wrist. It's just when I bring it close to my nose for a sniff, hoping that it will have changed, and it's this incredibly strong lemon Pledge scent with a rotten, sour undertone, that I want to scrub it off.

[CrazyPretzel]

Wow, I'm surprised at how light the lemon in this is, given that lemon & lemon verbena are the first two notes listed! Makes me think of tiny white flowers drifting in the breeze and a little sprinkling of lemon sherbet. Sadly it lasts all of half an hour on me. I'll have to try it in a scent locket.

[lilacea]

I'm surprised I haven't reviewed this given that this was my very first BPAL love.

 

The lemon and verbena are very understated in this, they lend to the blend, but it isn't dominating lemon like Embalming Fluid or knock you in the face verbena. They add just a touch of lift to gorgeous buttery musk, the florals and the vanilla. The vanilla is very understated in this, just lending a touch of warmth to a coolish blend. The white florals are pretty, there's definitely jasmine here (and before you freak out and go "OMG jasmine" , I must add that it is subtle, almost like the jasmine in Theodosius, not dominant at all, just a nice group player).

 

This dries down to a soft, slightly powdery buttery yellow musk. It's a light scent, but aging this gives it a bit more omph as the florals, sandal and musk amp up. I have to apply this very sparingly to wear, otherwise it can be a bit overwhelming.

Edited July 28, 2008 by lilacea

[brsis]

Frimped to me by Tartchef!

 

Initial Thoughts: Sounds a bit heavy on the citrus and florals, really. Not massively enthusiastic. Worth a try, though.

 

In the imp: Soft bergamot, lemon, a hint of musk? Can't tell if it's the white musk or the China musk (Don't know if I could tell them apart if I knew the difference).

 

On the wrist, wet: I do get the musk and the florals, but I also get the citrus air freshener. Citrus does this on me, but it usually calms down quick.

 

Ten minutes later: Air freshener. Really pungent air freshener.

 

Verdict: Swap pile

 

Tl;Dr: Air freshener.

[savage_rose]

It's a light floral, the sandalwood powders out, and it fades quickly. It has no throw to speak of, but it smells a bit sweet and a bit tangy. I think it was nice, but I could barely smell it.

[sirsaber]

This is aptly named.... I do not really notice any one note in particular,but it reminds me of high winds. The lemon I suppose peeks through some but overall its just a clean air scent. Not bad really,just not my sort of scent.

[inurbanus]

I thought that Zephyr would be fresh and invigorating like Mag Mell, but looking over the notes again, I'm not sure where I got that impression.

 

Instead, this is soft, sweet, and powdery. It's a dry scent -- the different musks form a cushion for the vanilla, but they kind of take over the blend. This seems to me what a porcelain doll would smell like. It's a little cloying and seems more geared towards someone younger than I. I think I had a perfume that smells like this when I was a little girl, so that might be where I'm getting that vibe from. I'm afraid I just don't like this one. Strangely, the scent itself is very unassuming, but its affect on my skin is overwhelming.

 

There are a lot of scents similar to Zephyr in the BPAL general catalogue. Off the top of my head, I would recommend Endymion, Morocco, Black Opal, Alice, and Regan.

 

2/5

[AngelaTarantula]

on me this is just kind of a boring scent no morphing either. i wouldn't describe it as a girly scent though it is however very feminine just a bit more mature. like the the scent of a lady that passes you by in the grocery store who would go by completely unnoticed if it weren't for the barely audible "excuse me".