The Unsteady Governess

[Akurarei]

White tea and violet leaf.

The Unsteady Governess

In the Bottle:
TEA!!! and something green.
in the bottle this smells quite similar to Holiday Moon

On my Skin, Wet:
a blast of white tea, then it smells just like Holiday Moon for about 30 seconds.
as it settles, there is a very potent green vegetation note. It smells like a very strong type of grass that used to be found in the stables when I was a kid.
alfalfa maybe?

after another minute or so the green-ness dissipates.
nothing about this seems to have any violet notes to it for me...not sure if that's a good thing or not at this point.

On my Skin, Dry:
A mixture of strong tea - which no longer seems white, but maybe a mixture of green & white.
definitely some green-ness still lingering but not as overwhelmingly strong.
still no violet tones emerging.

Verdict:
it's a great tea scent - the only other scent that comes close to the level of tea notes is Holiday Moon, but the overall vibe to The Unsteady Governess is more unsettling.
I'm a little dissappointed that the green note goes ballistic for a little while, but it's not really a detriment overall.
I'm on the fence about whether or not violet's absence bothers me or not.
The only scent that I really remember having a potent violet note was NUMB, and that one gave me a screeching, pounding headache instantly.


Overall, this scent is greater than the sum of it's parts.
it's a weird mixture of freshness, femininity, and menace.
despite the luke-warm breakdown above I do like this scent quite a bit.
it's the evil twin to Holiday Moon in some regards.
so it's nice to alternate between 'good' tea and 'bad' tea

Thanks Labbies!
8 of 10 Ranking!

[milo]

Just as described, a lovely tea with a touch of violet at first, then the violet it 'poof', gone. This is very much like the tea note in Embalming Fluid, and though lovely, I do have a bottle of EF, which I find to be very similar to this blend.

[Schmoozy]

Simple and stunning. White tea, with perhaps some lemon, and violet. Like milo, this is very much Embalming fluid with some violet.

I love how the lemon mingles with violet. It doesn't feel very autumnal though.

[ModderRhu]

This is awesome. I don't care for many "clean"-type scents, as I prefer to smell like a dirty hippie who rolled in sugar, but this really is AWESOME. It smells juicy to me. Juicy and refreshing! I would so love to drink a violet-flavored white tea, if it tasted as good as this smells

 

My only gripe? It's not really a gripe, because it's already awesome, but I wish this had creaminess in it. It would probably be my holy grail scent! Oh well. I'll continue my experiments with layering for now!

[Eemia]

This seemed almost like ozone at first. It's very high pitched and flashy, like a sharp metallic note. Makes my tongue curl behind my teeth.

 

I didn't get any impressions of tea until much later. There's a watery green note that's brightly astringent. Green notes usually feel warm, innocent, and calming to me, but something about this is very cold and cagey. I do get some glimpses of violet when its completely settled and starting to fade.

 

The entire wear length still reminds me of a white metal, like hammered silver leaf. It doesn't linger all day on my skin, and it's strength seems to disappear after a couple of hours.

 

When I wear this I don't feel very connected to it, so I've set it aside for now.

[filigree_shadow]

Delightful, simple, and bright. The tea note is strong, and the violet leaf is in the background. I'd swear there's some sort of citrus in there as well, but that could be because this tea scent is more crisp than other tea scents I've tried, so my befuddled brain thinks it's smelling citrus.

 

As others have mentioned, this is probably a great scent for spring.

[pandorasmuse]

In the decant: Light and girlish. Quite pretty.

 

Wet: Wow! This really is white tea! I drink quite a bit of it, and I’m very familiar with the smell. Fabulous—I like!

 

Drydown: …lemon? Really lemony lemon, not Lemonheads lemon.

 

Later: Fading already? In this case, "later" is less than half an hour… I don’t think this works for me, sadly.

[thekittenkat]

In the imp: Earthy, bitter, and strong violet leaf.

 

Wet: The tea is starting to come forward.

 

The dry-down: This is now mostly the white tea with the violet leaf giving it a touch of earthiness and depth, and no bitterness at all. If you like white tea scents, this is probably a must.

[grrrlennyl]

The Unsteady Governess

 

On: Tons of fresh white tea and a bit of violet leaf. Pretty.

1.5 hours in: A strong white tea scent with a lot of grassy-smelling violet leaf. Very pretty.

2.5 hours in: Still the same: grassy white tea.

6 hours in: Fresh, almost citrussy, now. Still tealike.

9 hours in: Still a little citrussy, but powdery, too.

Overall: I really like this, but like other tea scents I have more.

[calivianya]

I thought that violet didn't work for me at all, but I think I'm going to have to take that back. This is a beautiful white tea and violet blend. I do get lemon from this as well. It doesn't really morph on my skin, at least it hasn't so far. I love this.

[tajana]

This by far the strongest "white tea" note I have encountered in BPAL! I think I've tried most of the white-tea based, simple GC scents, but none of them are as potent or as enchanting as this one. This does smell like a white Earl Grey with violet. That clean, sort of floral crispness of white tea is amped up high with a juicy, sparkling dose of lemony bergamot, and rounded out and softened by the fuzzy, gentle violet leaf. I have an instant fondness for it because it's a dead ringer for the cheap-but-tasty white peony tea I always grab from Whole Foods when I need a quick white tea fix... but with the added sophistication of violet. Deliciously juicy (I think it's the citrusy touch that's giving this impression), invigorating, and just plain pretty. Stronger throw and much better lasting power than I was expecting, too!

[lunaticana]

mine became a bit sharp though, but still going fresh and airy, yeah

violet alone is just so so good!

[Greenwoodtree]

Pure violet - as in the old fashioned violet perfumes and the old tins of violet candies that my grandma might have had.

 

Violet is sweet and slightly sugary, but the tea keeps it from getting out of hand - the tea is a great balancer.

 

I know I will only be able to wear this in very very tiny amounts because these notes both want to amp and carry my head into painville.

 

So next time, a dab will do me! All in all an elegant, feminine scent, victorian, and clean. I have nothing like it so far, and Im glad to be able to wear something not so masculine!

[Alethia]

Thoughts before testing: I don't think I've ever smelled violet leaf before, but I do love the Lab's white tea note and I tend to do best with perfumes that only have a few notes. I'm cautiously optimistic!

 

Wet: Sharp tea and green; this is slightly spicy and surprisingly awesome. Very fresh and pretty.

 

Dry down: This is one of the prettiest white tea blends I've ever smelled, and the violet leaf is awesome. It's fresh and clean smelling without being soapy.

 

Dry: It turns slightly citrusy after a few hours, but still stays fresh and clean.

 

Final thoughts: This is beautiful and perfect for the hot sticky weather that's still hanging around.

 

Verdict: The imp is staying, but I probably don't need a bottle.

[Alaeidrel]

White tea and citrus? I don't get a lot of the violet, which is fine, but it's pretty and floral and a nice alternative to my other white tea scents.

[ObliqueRed]

When wet, this is a very strong, fresh tea with a citrus feel to it, very Earl Grey. As it dries and ages on the skin, a bit of soft floral emerges. Overall this is a lovely, delicate scent.

[nefta]

This didn't work for me ):

 

In the bottle, it smelled a lot like embalming fluid - lemony clean.

 

When dried on my skin, the violet becomes more apparent. No tea at all.

 

The violet-citrus duo amped and gave me a headache ):

 

A big-miss for me, sadly.

[inhumation]

I don't really get violet leaf, but straight-up crisp and astringent white tea.

[theseagrows]

this starts off all crisp white tea and then the violet leaf comes in, greening it up. it's quite nice and fresh for awhile. after about 15 minutes though i get this odd sort of sourness from it, that gets kind of mildew-y. wth! it was so nice at first and i like both notes, so it must be my skin chemistry again. oh well. still glad i got to try this one. i love trying new violet scents.

[spaghettysburg]

When I first put it on, I get a big blast of something green and vegetable that almost reminds me of green beans. Luckily this part settles quickly and I'm left with a lovely mix of white tea and violet. The first time I tried it, the white tea was much more prominent and the violet played second fiddle, which was nice but not terribly exciting. However the second time, the white tea faded pretty quickly and I was left with a really pretty, almost bubble-bath like, slightly candied violet with just a bit of a citrus zing in the background from the tea. I liked this version much better, and I hope it's the one I get with subsequent wears.