The Zieba Tree

[angelamaria]

A massive tree that held, in its lowest boughs, a nest of bare-breasted men and women. The souls sprawled within the Zieba Tree's branches were trapped in reverie, lost for all eternity in their fantasies.

A dreamlike, listless scent, misty and hazed, with wisps of white sandalwood, eddying musks the colors of eventide, shimmering pale resins, davana, lemon blossom, orange blossom, and white peach.

In imp: green, with some florals.

Wet on skin: green and lightly citrusy--definitely getting the lemon blossom here. It's somewhat understated in feel, soft, and really, really pretty. I would say it's floral, citrusy, and clean, with a hint of complexity since, to me, it changes between a white/yellow/green scent at different whiffs.

Dry: soapy, but oh so nice. A soft, clean skin scent, I'd love to drop this into lotion or some such and slather it on myself. I actually forgot about this blend for a couple of months, and wrote it off eventually from my keeper list, but kept the bottle. After revisiting it recently--wow. With a bit of aging, it's not so much green now as soft and creamy and resinous--this one definitely does well aged. It's still green and citrusy and pretty white flowers, but the resins and sandalwood ground this very well and it's certainly become a dreamlike and shimmering scent.

Verdict: definitely back on the keeper list! What was I thinking? Edited December 7, 2011 by angelamaria

[boxinghelena]

The Zieba Tree:

 

Ick ick ick!

 

Lemon & orange blossom do not work on me ever. It smelled like cloying baby powder like woah. Yuck.

[sessile]

starts off: bright citrus, with a sweet fruitiness from the peach (and the davana?).

 

later: the musks and resins come out and blend together nicely, rounded by the sweet notes and faintly, faintly topped with the white sandalwood (which i'm glad of, as i'm sensitive to wood notes).

 

classy winter scent. emptiness of snow outside, warm and cozy inside. might be reminiscent of some old lady scent, but hey - it's a lady with style and grace.

[BoneBone24]

Wet: Lightly fruity sandalwood

 

Drydown: Warm and soapy. Clean, bright sandalwood with a touch of musk.

 

Dry: Clean, warm, and feminine. Mostly musk with a touch of sandalwood, resin, and what I think might be the davana.

[WidgetAlley]

Imp: Fresh, clean musk, snapped stems, and a hint of fruit.

 

Wet: Something very very similar to the smell of trimming the rose garden, a bit of soap, cologne-y white musk, and orange blossom. It smells like freshly showered skin.

 

Dry: Slightly bitter greenery, musk, and soap. Might make nice laundry, but certainly not a perfume for me.

[theredshoes]

Got this as a frimp from the lab -- which I highly appreciate! but man, I am reminded all over again why these sorts of light/high/white florals don't work on me. From the first brush of the applicator to the drydown hours later, this just smelled like soap -- soapy sandalwood, and not even like perfumed soap, but that just-got-out-of-the-shower soap or commercial shampoo smell. Which is a nice enough smell for about fifteen minutes after you shower, but not at all what I was expecting from the description of musks, lemon, peach, &c. It even has that sort of bitter tang that happens when you get soap in your mouth by accident. :-/ "Floral laundry detergent" or "scented dryer sheets" about sums it up for me too, sadly.

Edited December 31, 2012 by theredshoes

[mermaidsdream]

Soft aquatic, then becomes baby powder & perfumy It did dry down into something quite creamy & nice, but stays powdery for far too long for me to keep

[Mergekat]

Just tried a bit from the imp sample I've got. In the container, it was more concentrated toward the various fruit blossoms in it. Then I tried some on my wrists where it evened out over time giving more of the dry sandalwood tones match those of the florals. I definitely get the light girly vibe from it, but perhaps still too light. When applied it stayed extremely close to the skin (like no whiffs at all), and faded really fast. I wonder if it's my body chemistry here, but I seem to have better luck with "woodsy" scents rather than floral-based. While a lovely scent throughout the wearing time I wish it had lingered longer and had more scent throw to it. I have a feeling my little sister would love it though (fruity and floral scents seem bow to her).

Edited May 29, 2013 by Mergekat

[OctoberGwen]

I've never had a desire to try this because of the peach, which is always awful on me. I got a frimp from a fellow forumite, though, and finally decided to give it a go.

 

The Zieba Tree is really, really lovely. It's not my usual sort of scent, but sometimes I am in the mood for just this type of fresh/pretty. The white blossoms are grounded by the dreamy musks and the sandalwood, and fortunately the peach is nowhere to be found, save for a hint at juiciness. It is a bit of a soapy scent, but as I said: sometimes that suits me. And I am always a fan of lemon and orange blossom.

 

This is definitely a pale and dreamy scent, and I very much like it. I probably won't get a bottle, but I will keep my imp.

[Ajila]

In the bottle - A soft, sweet slightly mushy peach with an over ripeness to it

 

Wet on me - A soft slightly overlush floral

 

Dry on me - It disappeared on my skin

 

Overall - The wet stages were pretty enough, but it just got eaten

[JuliskaMarie]

In the imp: Exactly as described! This is so lovely & fresh smelling (even the musk smells fresh)!

Wet on skin: More musky & woodsy now, but the peach & blossoms are still there in the background.

Dry on skin: Even more woodsy & musky! The resin note has come out more too now & there's something adding a subtle "leafy" feel to it (the davana?). The florals & peach are there if you're looking for them, but they mostly just seem to be here to sweeten up the "tree". As someone who can't usually wear anything too "woodsy" or "foresty", this is doing a really good job of smelling like a (magical) tree!

After a few hours: Sandalwood & musk, with a little resin & the faintest bit of sweetness from the blossoms & the peach. Just lovely!

Verdict: I love this! I've been looking for a woodsy scent that works on my skin without feeling too "heavy" & I've found one! Huzzah!

[DiesMali]

In the imp: Musky floral.

 

Wet on my skin: Ethereal, light musk and yellow/white flowers.

 

Dry: The lemon blossom and peach are the predominant notes on my skin, with an undertone of pale woody musk. After about half an hour, it starts going soapy in the manner of a very nice shampoo. This is a very clean scent. It is a little too light and feminine to be something I would wear on a regular basis, but I have a feeling it would be amazing in a sachet in my dresser drawers or something.

[Veronica]

This is lovely and pretty and pale in the imp. The lemon blossom comes out as clean and floral, but not overpoweringly lemony, there is a distinct floral quality to this scent. There's also a musk helping blend the notes, it's soft and delicate, like a skin must but slightly more aquatic. A pretty gentle floral but too white for me.

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: Lovely and green

 

Dry: Lovely, but very light. It's hard to pick out notes, but I can smell clean sweet floral and crisp fruit. Might need a bottle for spring if it has staying power.

[freyasfae]

What a lovely and complex scent: there's fruit, florals, citrus, woods - and none overpower the other - it's balanced, but still distinct. I shall be keeping the imp, not sure yet about a bottle.

[PrinceofcatS]

I really just get pale lemon, pale sandalwood.... and soap. Sandalwood doesn't generally go soapy on me, but in this one it definitely did. I wouldn't say it smelled like lemon floor cleaner, it was definitely recognizeably pefume smells, but with a strong, undeniable soapiness overtaking everything.

 

From what i recall from wearing it in the warmer weather, it didn't go soapy on me then, but it was also a paler smell. I got listless out of it then - it wasn't a scent for me, but I'm sure it is for somebody.

[sunlitgarden]

Source: Frimp from the Lab

In imp: To be honest, "pickled jalapeno peppers" was my first thought - an almost vinegary and spicy green note. There's something floral in there too.

On my skin: I'm still getting that "pickled pepper" smell primarily, with a bit of sweet flowers. Most of it fades quickly, leaving a faint smell that's about equal part floral + spicy green. This is one where I am reading other people's reviews and wondering if I even have the same scent here! Maybe it's a batch variation or aging issue.

[Ashinros]

Purchased from the Lab:

 

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo. Holy butts.

 

So this is like, all the things I like. Ask my fiance, my best friend, my family. Everyone knows that this has the notes I like. I like citrus and florals and smelling like a bottle of Pine-Sol (Embalming Fluid ALL the way!)

 

But something sinister happened with this scent. I opened it fresh from the lab and gave a good wiff a few times like I normally do and WHA-BAM! Instant headache, I was honestly thinking it was going to induce a migraine. I figured it was off to the swaps with it. But my story does not end there folks, oh no.

 

I ended up giving it to my best friend who thinks it smells lovely which is great, quite honestly because to me the scent shoots up my nostrils like double-drills trying to mine for liquid gold which is my brain. She was insistent that if I -tried- it on my skin, I may like it more. So I tried, and it was only slightly less assaulting, but still trying to liquefy my dome-piece.

 

Thankfully she enjoys it because I sadly cannot. All the notes I like try to murder me in this perfume.

[Ishtar]

A very light green scent on me - the first comparison that comes to mind is high-end shampoo. Not unpleasant, but this is not my favourite fragrance family and I already have a couple of scents that fit the bill nicely on the rare occasion when I feel like wearing something green. Still, I am keeping the imp to scent some lotion or hand cream, as it really has that spotless modern spa vibe to it.

[Casablanca]

Bottle: Oranges, peaches, and misty grasses and greenery.

Wet: Orange and lemon flowers, cold stone, grasses and greenery.

Dry: Musks and dry sandalwood come out, and a more tart citrus. Sadly, after an hour, it's mostly gone. A faint powdery floral lingers (meh).

This was a free sample and I didn’t know what to expect. While it's fresh it’s lovely. Delicate and light, a misty orchard just a little brightened by the muted scents and colors of citrus. Unfortunately these light, green scents often take off from me like little birds released back into the wild. This just doesn't stick around.

[Cali]

Fruity, soapy, kinda like an expensive soap from the imp (it's a good thing).
On my skin, the soapiness goes away as it dries down, and goes a bit more musky. Dark green, floral bushes. Quite lovely even if it kinda reminds me of clean laundry as much as greenery.

Edited April 4, 2016 by Cali

[theredkilt]

Wet on my skin it smells like pickle juice. Then gradually it turns into something clean and soapy. This falls in the category of expensive floral soap scents.

Edited May 6, 2016 by theredkilt

[joopjoop]

It's very dreamlike and ethereal to me. I like it a lot.

 

Delicate, pretty, with a nice balance of gentle floral, citrus and woods. On me it lasts for about 5 hours and has a decent throw.

 

This is the third time I've tested The Zieba Tree. The first time I loved it. The second time I enjoyed it as well, but there was this odd moment about 3 hours in when the sandalwood and 'shimmering' resins came to the foreground and I felt this sense of what I can only describe as foreboding - of deep but unfocused dread of some kind - I don't know if it was connected to the scent itself or the power of suggestion from the description or something else mysterious happening deep in my mixed-up mind. In any case it was extremely unsettling and I've been reluctant to test it again since then.

 

But I'm glad I did. So far, I've been wearing it for 4+ hours and the experience hasn't repeated itself, so this is back on the rotation and possible future bottle list. It really is a beautiful fragrance!

Edited June 3, 2016 by joopjoop

[achildoftime]

Ethereal is a good word for this one, as is listless. There's a bit of fruitiness, but it's kind of nebulous fruit. It's not clearly defined and I can't really tell what kind of fruit is is. Same with the soft floral aspect. It's undefined and kind of hazy, as if the whole scent woke up and can't quite get going. That's not to say that it has low throw or isn't an effective perfume, it just doesn't have definition to my nose.