Sachs

[Imbrium]

A sensual scent, compelling and passionate, that stays close to the skin: Roman chamomile, bourbon vanilla, and smoky vanilla bean.

 

In the bottle, the Roman chamomile is very strong--it actually smells far more masculine than I had expected. Once on the skin, though, the vanilla comes out--I tend to amp vanilla, and for five or ten minutes after application that's all I smelled. On drydown, though, Sachs is a really well-blended scent: I still smell the vanilla at the front, but the sort of sweet herbal scent of the chamomile peeks out from behind it. This is not the vanilla in, say, Snake Oil, which is a bit strong on me; it is more reminiscent of the sort of soft vanilla in Antique Lace.
Sachs does not have a ton of throw, either--it really does stay close to the skin: warm, comforting, and sexy.

Plus, the label is gorgeous.

[papermaker]

It starts off all sweet chamomille with a smidge of vanilla, on my skin however, it is vanilla with a smidge of chamomille. It had good throw while drying, but dries close to the skin. I

 

[songtoisis]

I love vanilla and hoped this would be a rich and yummy vanilla scent.

 

In the bottle, the dusty bite of chamomile dominates everything. There is a sense of the vanilla in the background taming things a little, warming the blend up, but not much hope of it winning the battle.

 

On my skin, the chamomile goes through death throes, a big minty, medicinal mess with quite a bit of throw. It's unpleasant but mild enough to be bearable. Within an hour, things turn around and the vanilla notes take over. Then it has the warm, rich, sugary appeal of a fancy-foo drink from Starbucks. The chamomile, relegated to the backdrop, adds a hint of close-to-the-skin feminine complexity to what would otherwise by a crunchy sugar and creamy flavored syrup scent.

 

Yummy stuff. Subtle, sweet, and compellingly sniffable once the chamomile has time to die down.

[puck_nc]

Origin: Straight from the Lab

 

Initial Thoughts: There's lots of vanilla in there. I love vanilla.

 

In the Bottle: Rich and sensual vanilla with an herbal edge from the chamomile keeping it from being too foody-sweet.

 

Wet: The bourbon in the bourbon vanilla kicks in and the chamomile comes out stronger, almost minty. It's not as sweet as in the bottle at this stage.

 

Drydown: The chamomile settles down, letting the vanillas emerge again. The throw is indeed low, staying close to the skin and simmering quietly. It's sweet and a bit come-hither, but not lush.

 

Verdict: A beautiful, subtle scent.

[Gwydion]

chamomile for an herbal touch. Wet: A little too sweet, vanilla toffee with a touch of smoke and booze. Dry: A bit disappointing, in that my skin rather eats it. The bourbon burns off, leaving a pleasant enough vanilla and chamomile mix. I suspect this will age well, though, and I have hopes for it blossoming in a few months.

[angelicruin]

Inside the bottle, vanilla and chamomile.

 

Wet on the skin, bourbon vanilla immediately! Chamomile comes out shortly after application. Vanilla is very much the top note on my skin.

 

Dries down to a rich vanilla scent on my skin, but not foody. I adore this one and can't stop sniffing the spot I applied it on my arm.

 

Glad I have a bottle and still trying to convince myself that I don't need a second. This is a top-notch vanilla blend. One of my favorites!

[greenranger]

With two vanillas and chamomile, I had to try this!

 

Wet, it's a very sweet vanilla, with maybe a bit of chamomile tea scent hiding somewhere in it. It's almost sweet enough to be candy.

 

Drying, it gets much more subtle. Fresh from the lab, maybe it is too subtle. I may have to give it a day or two to settle.

[Dark Alice]

It's like the gentle chamomile and the two vanillas are dueling it out on my skin for dominance. Very light...and slightly sweet. But the notes are definitely trying to fight for dominance. I am going to age this as I KNOW it will become more beautiful and rich with a little time.

[TheMuses]

For me this is one of the few scents that isn't so blended but rather there are distinct phases across each base note. First is the bourbon vanilla, hello sweet booziness ...then there is a buttery phase that goes to - chamomile...and last is the smokey vanilla. The smokey vanilla phase reminds me of a diluted snake oil.

 

As per the description, this scent lingers very close to the skin. I forget what I've put on and get subtle wafting of scent throughout the day that remind me of a very light The Perilous Parlor sans the fruity edge.

 

I am not used to scents being this light, but I can see myself reaching for this often for a subtle vanilla fix. It would make a great work sent as you can keep the scent close to home and not abuse your co-workers. The blue velvet pouch is great and the art work is kick-ass!

[ravenfeathers]

 

in the bottle amazing stuff, very heady, very sexy, very smoky vanilla! it's a more womanly hellhound

wet on skin funny, i'm not getting chamomile here although there's something almost herbal, like a soft dried tea, but without the bright apple smell of anthemis nobilis, even in its dried form

dry on skin the initial drydown is absolutely plagued by plasticplasticplastic and that lovely smoky vanilla turns into cheap, nasty candle on me. patience pays off a bit here, though it never reaches the potential of the smell in the bottle. i'm going to retest in a week or so. i wish i'd gotten violens for curiosity of layering now!

[pinkstardust420]

I love this, seeing as though vanilla is my favorite scent EVA!

 

Smoky sweet vanilla with a kick of chamomile - soft, sexy (not much throw) but beautiful!

[Katherynne]

Oh, man. This is strongly vanilla in the bottle, but on the skin I'm getting herbal chamomile and smoke with a thick vanilla undercurrent. I AM IN LOVE. Holy crap.

 

The drydown is sheer smoke and bright chamomile, and the vanilla stays darkly sweet underneath. Is that darkness because it's "bourbon" vanilla? Whatever it is, I really like it -- sometimes vanilla notes are way too, hmm. Sugary-bright for me? They tend to pop with a sort of cake-like sweetness that I'm not too fond of wearing. But this, this is more thick and creamy and golden smelling. I love it.

 

It smells awesome after a bath with a chamomile bubble bath, too, not to mention when worn with Lush's "Silky Underwear" powder -- and since I tend to use BOTH of those things really often, I'm willing to bet I'll be reaching for this a lot of the time! Now I have to decide if one bottle is enough!

Edited September 6, 2009 by Katherynne

[crebbsgirl]

Ok, wet the vanilla dominates this blend, but as the scent dries the chamomile totally overtakes it and obliterates the vanilla. I was a little disappointed, but I think this had potential. I'm going to cellar it for a bit and see if the vanilla will smooth out the chamomile. Overall it's a little sharp right now.

 

ETA: 9/7/10

 

I'm reviewing this again after I set the bottle aside for aging for about a year. I have to say, age has done WONDERFUL things here! The sharpness I described in the fresh bottle is now completely gone. This has turned into a soft chamomile vanilla, very snuggly. Also, the throw and longevity of this blend has improved immensely. I can smell this on me the next morning when I wear it to bed. This has gone from a 3/5 to a 4.8/5!

Edited September 7, 2010 by crebbsgirl

[claudia6913]

In the bottle is a very smoky vanilla scent with just a hint of booze. Very smooth.

 

Wet on skin it is much the same. The booze comes out just a bit more to the point I'm almost afraid I'll get drunk just huffing it! lol

 

I'm noticing as it dries they are right about this being close to the skin. I nearly have to put nose to skin to get a good sniff. But it's smoothing out now, the vanilla coming to the fore. A nice creamy sensual scent. Sweet but not overly so. Very nice, and I think it will only get better with age. To the dark place with ye! haha

 

The longer this stays on, the closer to the skin it gets. However, it gets smoother and sexier (assuming you can smell it). I like it a lot, very glad I got the bottle, but kind of wish there was more of a throw to it.

 

[femmefatale]

This is so beautiful. On me it's all sweet vanilla and chamomile, but sadly, after 15 minutes it almost disappears.

One piece of good news though is that vanilla has smoothed out and come out out more compared to when it was new when it was mostly chamomile. I am so grateful a kind person picked me up Sachs and Violens from the event (along with signed bags!), I just hope maybe it will become stronger with age. If not, it is an excellent locket/hair scent.

[Cheri]

Sachs is quite a pretty scent. It's subtle like the other reviewers have already said, and I think it would be perfect for work or for practically any time. I smell more chamomile than vanilla while its wet, then the vanilla comes out as its drying. It's not an in your face vanilla, but more soft and feminine. It's sexy and would be a good bedtime scent. I have to stick my nose to my wrist to smell it after a few hours, which is ok when you don't want a whole lot of throw. I like it.

 

Edited 9/15/09: Ok, this scent is starting to grow into love. It's still soft, but wow, it's so pretty after its dried for a while. For some reason it reminds me of Fee when its dry.

Edited September 15, 2009 by Cheri

[Brianne]

Sachs is definitely a very straightforward, simple scent. It starts off as a syrup sweet vanilla with a streak of strong and astringent smelling chamomile (I'd say medicinal even). The vanilla mellows out after 15 minutes or so and so does the chamomile. It's a nice enough scent, but not smoky to my nose and doesn't last very long either.

[topazphoenix]

There's something almost fruity about this at first, which might be the bourbon, but I'm not that familiar with whiskey so moving on. As it dries, the vanilla comes out beautifully. I suppose this has the potential to be "smoky", it makes me curious how it would smell with a little age. But right now it's pretty much sweet fruity bourbon and vanilla. I almost wish I was getting more herbal chamomile like others are mentioning. This tends to fall more on the astringent vanilla side, rather than any creamy impression. It makes my nose tickle.

[zankoku_zen]

The chamomile is very present for me at least in this blend. It makes the vanilla blend much more masculine. I don't find the vanilla to be too cloying, I am enjoying the smokiness. I would be interested to see how this ages... I bet this will age beautifully. Torn between being happy with a decant or searching for a partial bottle. Decisions, decisions.

[Lyrical]

 

In the vial: a creamy vanilla (similar to Detestable Putrescence) lightened considerably by fresh chamomile and a definite wisp of smoke. It comes in a cool blue velvet drawstring bag.

 

Wet on skin: a curious mixture of vanilla and chamomile, no longer smoky. Definitely wearable so far. Sensuous! The chamomile is more floral than herbal - perhaps chamomile flowers?

 

Dry on skin: close to the skin indeed! I like that, actually. This is a scent that is just for me, not for sharing! I can't quite place what it reminds me of, but it's definitely a smoky, herbal, very slightly boozy, sensual vanilla. I'm glad I went for a bottle unsniffed!

 

Very short wear length, but that might improve if I apply it more liberally.

[Beatrice33]

I just got this one yesterday, and it's shot to the top of my list. I love the smokey, slightly floral notes to the vanilla, keeping it from becoming cloying or too sweet. It smells very much like a commercial perfume I love--Vanilia from L'Artisan. I think this one will be in heavy rotation this season, and a full bottle is on my list as soon as I can afford it.

[jizatt]

I knew I was going to buy this as soon as I read the notes. I was hoping for a really dark, creamy vanilla, with the chamomile hint. It's about flipped from that but I still like it:

 

Bottle: exactly what I bought it for!

 

Wet: Very pretty vanilla, herby sweet chamomile

 

Dry: Soft very slightly smoky vanilla'd chamomile =)

 

Part of my misunderstanding was Bourban vanilla - I thought it was a darker variety - its apparently a more floral variety of vanilla, which makes sense now that I've smelled it. The smoky vanilla bean is what I'm banking on aging well! Probably moving into my top 10. Also to note: I had smelled Dorian earlier in the day, and was really struck by the similairites. Sachs is much lighter and less musky/dark - but same family to my nose. I also kept smelling something similar to Lyonesse in there too. So a light sister scent between Dorian and Lyonesse with chamomile = Sachs.

 

eta: the second time I wore this, it was all herby sharp almost medicinal - which Im hoping was just a weird skin thing =(

Edited October 5, 2009 by CaudaPavonis

[Molls]

I loved this in the vial, and wet on the skin - but it faded so fast for me that I couldn't possibly see buying a bottle. I would have to reapply every 30 minutes

[revinn]

So excited that I got my bottle of this! Let's see if it works!

 

In the Bottle: Hmm, sweet vanilla with a slight herbal edge. It reminds me of something I've tried before..not sure what.

 

Wet: Bluh. Drink Me. That's it. Oh dear.. It's too herbal, no smoke, no bourbon vanilla..ARGH. The throw smells like a pleasant generic vanilla though.

 

Dry: I smell no vanilla. I am SO sad right now. The chamomile beat the vanilla over the head and stuffed it in a sack. I'll try aging this for a few months to see if the vanilla becomes more prominent.

 

Out of 10: 2, for breaking my heart!

[Little Bird]

In the bottle, this smells weird and oddly fruity to me. It's sort of like smoky vanilla and banana candies with singed herbs :/. It smells earthy and burnt.

 

On my skin, this is awful . I love vanilla and I was hoping for a soft chamomile tea smell, but this is smoky and herbal and something sickeningly soapy. It's not sweet at all on my skin, and I really need some sweetness to cut through the bitter herbs here.

 

After fifteen minutes, this is bitter herbs that have been burnt on the edges and a hint of the chalky, powdery vanilla smell that I get from Love's Philosophy. I also still catch a hint of really harsh soap underneath everything, but it smells dirty, like a bucket full of dirty mop water. Blech.

 

I had high hopes for this (I bought two bottles unsniffed, even), but I hate it. The smell of it actually makes me sick to my stomach...