Baobhan Sith

[Lyrical]

The ghostly White Women of the Scottish highlands. They seduce unwary travelers by night with their unearthly beauty and mesmerizing dancing. They engage their victims in a wild, hypnotic dance, and once they reach exhaustion, the demonesses exsanguinate their partners with their vampiric kiss. Talk about a quick courtship. Grapefruit, white tea, apple blossom and ginger.

In bottle: I get mostly grapefruit and ginger.

Wet on skin: lovely fresh grapefruit, softened by tea and apple, with a sliver of crystallised ginger. Very sharp and crisp - perfect for summer.

Dry on skin: apple amps up a little and engages in a hypnotic dance with grapefruit, while tea and ginger watch, enthralled. This is a very white scent, and very fresh. It's faint at first, despite the liberal amount I spilled slathered over my arms - then it amps up nicely, sweet, fresh and grapefruity. I may well buy a bottle of this for next summer! Definitely one of the pleasantest citrus scents I've tried. I'm itching a little, though. Short wear length. 3 hours after application there's just a faint, pale fruity-floral note.

[VioletChaos]

in the imp: lots of apple blossom, lots of white tea. it reminds me of scented "natural" products you get in the drug store.

 

wet on skin: same. like shampoo.

 

dry down: still shampoo-y. it reminds me slightly of the Body Shop's Dewberry scent. :shrug:

 

in all: this reminds me also very much of my experience with Hanami. that turned to a nice shampoo scent on me, too. maybe it's the blossom and the ginger. however, if you love Hanami, check this out.

[blktauna]

imp: citrus, tea and ginger YUM!

 

wet: the same

 

dry: a bit less citrus but yay! Like Kumiho only with citrus. It morphs a bit between lemon and grapefruit, both of which I love.

 

It needs replenishing often but that's a hardship I can deal with.

 

Big bottle on the way.

Edited December 19, 2008 by BlackTauna

[hlinspjalda]

In the vial: Oh, that's nice: the bitter citrus of grapefruit with fragrant sweetness as if of florally scented tea.

 

Wet: It warms up and sweetens right away, a floral sweet rather than a citrus one. But there's still a pleasant bitterness about it.

 

Half an hour: Much less pungent now, still bitter but blended better with the floral. There's a spicy quality to it too, but it's very mild. I rather like this. It doesn't have a lot of throw, but it smells reassuring, like a really pleasant herbal tea.

 

One hour: Very, very mild now. The delicious bitter grapefruit is still at the heart of it, but overall the scent has, I think, just failed the persistence test.

 

Two and a half hours: Barely there. Pity, I liked this one so much at first!

[rymorg2]

I'm sensitive so I dilute all my oils. Typically I dilute Baobhan Sith 1:1 with jojoba.

 

Baobhan Sith stays fairly constant as far as notes for me from the bottle to drydown. I am IN LOVE with this oil though.....it's my go-to daily one. I've not gotten to try many of my imps because I keep reaching for Baobhan Sith! I can wear this one without diluting it even, which is unusual. It's all fruit with just a touch of green to me.

[batsy]

In the vial: sparkly grapefruit. Dare I say it smells like a freshly-opened can of Squirt?

 

On the skin: Very bright, still sparkly. Very much grapefruit on me, with a back note of apple. The tang of tea comes out as it dries down. Quite a blend. I like it!

[jehrichardson]

Grapefruit heaven! So fresh and clear and delightful on a bright winter's day.

 

Given a moment, the tea and ginger poke their noses in - but they can only play a subtle role here. Grapefruit is apparently a diva. This is obviously, however, not JUST grapefruit. I think the apple blossom plays up the floral citrus tones a bit, but it's subtle.

 

After a few minutes, the citrus fades dramatically and what is left is a lovely clean and fresh scent.

 

I'm not convinced that I want a big bottle of this - but it would be wonderful as a winter pick me up, or a summer refresher. Hmmm...

 

ETA: UGH! Given another few minutes, and it's soap baby. A nice one, true, but soap nonetheless. Maybe I can use the imp as a room scent??

Edited December 18, 2008 by j4r

[awesomeoverlord]

I think my nose is broken. Or my imp is labeled wrong. Or something.

 

All I smell is lilacs. No grapefruit, or tea or ginger. Just lilacs. And really really nice lilacs, at that. Maybe it's the apple blossom playing tricks on me? I don't know. Very very strange

[Breezee]

My friends all got together and we did a secret sister BPAL thing. We pulled names out of a hat, and then ordered an imp that reminded us of the person we got.

Baobhan Sith is my first BPAL scent, and I was a little scared at first.

When I opened it, I could DEFINITELY smell the grapefruit. It was a little too strong. It smelled like citrus kitchen cleaner. Not something I'd wear as perfume.

But after I put it on, the ginger really came out, as did some kind of light floral smell.

As the day went by, the floral smell became even more pronounced, but the grapefruit was still underneath it.

I'm a sucker for floral scents, and I ended up really loving this. The ginger and grapefruit undertones made it a little more exciting, which was nice.

I do wish it hadn't faded so fast, though.

All in all, I'd say it was a good first scent! I'll definitely be buying a bigger one once my imp runs out.

[eatingthesea]

i've been wanting to try this one for awhile. don't usually care for citrus scents but it seemed intriguing. i was finally frimped it, but i was shocked to smell nothing but the scent of the baby shampoo my mother used to use on me. wtf? then i came to the reviews and saw that i am not alone. very odd. the only way i'd ever use baobhan sith is in my hair, like if i were out at a smoky stinky club all night and didn't have time to wash my hair afterward. just dab this on my strands and voila! that just-been-washed smell will permeate through my hair. but that's the only use i'll ever find for this oil.

[Dominique]

In the vial: Grapefruit and apple blossom, with a touch of white tea. It’s a clear, clean smell. In a perfect world, summer mornings would smell like this.

 

On me (dry): (Applied to inner wrists.) The scent is sharper now, the ginger giving the grapefruit more of an edge. The apple blossom is faint, but still there. I definitely like the smell, but I’ve always had a weakness for ginger and grapefruit.

 

After a while: The grapefruit and ginger have faded some, replaced by the white tea. The apple blossom is very faint, but still there.

 

Verdict: A pleasant scent. It’s citrusy, clear and almost sweet. A very good smell for a bright summer day. That said, I have a deep and unholy love for citrus scents, so if the smell of fresh grapefruit doesn’t make you happy, I wouldn’t recommend this one.

 

[AlarmAgent]

In Bottle - Super zesty citrus, smells a bit green in addition to the fruit.

 

Wet on Skin, First Applied - Kumquats, specifically. That sort of acidic, only a little sweet orange scent--but not at all cleaning supply style. Still green in the background, and this is odd, but I get a bit of gardenia as well.

 

Dry, on Skin - Very bright, the ginger makes a very slight appearance, but it remains more or less greenery and fresh kumquats (which smell similar to grapefruit, similar in the way all zesty fruits do, that is). Maybe the gardenia is white tea? I'm not terribly familiar with the scent of white tea--it doesn't smell much like green tea, so I didn't recognize it immediately as tea. Either way, a very fresh, citrus-and-green scent. Very much like actual fruits, not like syrup and very much not like candy. Lasts about four or five hours, and the throw is pretty subtle. Not bad at all!

[Gwydion]

In Bottle: This is light and sweet, exactly as one would imagine from the ingredients. The tea blends beautifully with the grapefruit and apple blossom. Wet: Very light and feminine. The grapefruit is stronger than the tea now, but the balance is still pleasing. It’s not me, but it’d be a good choice for a late teen girl in spring. Dry: mild floral.

[anna1850]

I really like the grapefruit and this is very fresh and bright but also very soapy on me. It actually quite reminds me of the Body Shop's ginger anti-dandruff shampoo that I used to use a few years ago.

 

2.5/5 It's not horrible but there's a definite soap note that's killing it for me.

[Banyangirl]

The grapefruit and apple blossom are most prominent on me, making it a very fresh, clean scent. It's slightly soapy, but somehow that works for it. It's also very sharp. Not sure if this requires me getting an imp of it, though.

[tragedy]

This scent definately fits the descript!

Its wispy, ghostly, it just seems .... white.

I get mostly grapefruit and tea, but to say grapefruit and tea doesn't do justice to it.. very unique.

Needs more!

[stellans]

Oh, yes! Lovely, lovely grapefruit: my 2nd-only-to-lime favorite citrus note, and this note doesn't sting your nose with the bitterness of the rind, oh no, just the tastiness of the tender fruit. The white tea (no tannin here!) and very light, sweet appleblossom are wonderful additional notes in this blend, each lending a particular smoothing sweetness. I don’t smell any ginger, but that’s my own personal skin chemistry: either it dominates or it disappears. This blend is light and refreshing; perfect for a warm spring or hot summer day, with moderate throw and stay; this rates a 4 of 5 stars to me.

Edited April 27, 2011 by stellans

[Leopard403]

This grapefruit is bright and fresh and fun. Add apple blossom as a floral anchor and you have a great springtime scent.

 

Wait, what?... Oy. Ginger. I forgot about you. MAN ginger is bad on my skin, and this is no different. Shame.

[buryheratsea]

I like this a lot. Fresh, definitely a very prominent grapefruit smell at first, but then softens and I just get the faintest hint of spice. Really nice.

[donnatron]

Imp: Grapefruit and apple blossom.

 

Wet: Grapefruit explosion!! And a wee bit o' ginger.

 

Dry: The grapefruit is still the dominant scent but it's neatly tempered by the apple blossom and a clear bit of tea. A slight hint of giner and greenery. This is very high and a little piercing. Definitely cold. I'm not feeling a lot of warmth or sultriness from this scent. It's definitely a bit standoffish.

 

Throw: Average.

 

Overall: This will be good on the hottest days of summer and possibly also when I want to send out "Do not eff with me" vibes without smelling overly resinous. Probably don't need more than an imp.

[Tess]

In the bottle - Mmm, grapefruity tea with a little kick of ginger. Yum, yum, yum!

 

Wet - Oh hey, there's the apple blossom. Kinda candy-ish.

 

Drying - O-oh hey, there's the apple blossom. Lots and lots of apple blossom. Soapy apple blossom. Okay, there's some tea left, but the grapefruit and the ginger have hit the trails. This smells exactly like soap to my nose.

 

Dry (2 hours) - This is just gone.

 

Overall - If only my skin hadn't taken the apple blossom and exploded it.

[milo]

Mmm, delicious white grapefruit with something a bit sweet to temper the sourness. I may get a bit of tea here, though nothing like the amount of tea that is in say, Embalming Fluid. This is what I wish Alien Invasion would have been like. A great refreshing summer scent. Win!

[Muppetk]

Oh! This is surprisingly nice! Starts as sugared grapefruit and dries down to a grapefruit-blossom blend. It doesn't last that long, but that's actually a bonus in one way -- I can put it on when I need a perfume hit before work without worrying about wafting a lot of scent about in front of patients. Most of my favorites are deep & heavy & I *can't* wear them while working. This is a nice one to have! Very different from my others.

 

And also, I totally want to try layering this over snake oil.

[kohimame]

I've always had a thing for citrus perfumes, so I jumped at the chance to try an imp of this.

 

In the bottle, it smells mostly like grapefruit and apple, very fruity and well-rounded. On my arm, though, it turns into grapefruit rind, with a smidge of ginger. It's still fruity, but more astringent and harsh, which makes sense since the Baobhan Sith start out all sweet and fuzzy, then get all vampire on you

 

It lasted a surprisingly long time on me, considering that light scents usually die on me after an hour or two. I've had it on 5 hours, and I keep getting whiffs of the scent now and then.

 

Overall, it's a lovely scent, very unusual and unlike any other citrus scent I've smelled.

[muteddragon]

Baobhan Sith reminded me of Herbal Essences Grapefruit shampoo. Obvious as to why. It smells different wet and dry. Wet, there is only the potential for something refreshing. Dry, it's a tease, not much throw, lying close to the skin. It's clean and fresh, citrusy without the sugar. One of my favorite scents.