Rosalind

[Shollin]

Rosalind, from Illyria:

Dew-covered berries and fresh green grasses with a faint breath of spring flowers.

 

First sniff: It’s not a very strong scent, but comes across as pale rather than soft… very pale flowers with a whisper of berry in the shadow of a tree by a stream.

 

Wearing: This isn’t nearly as quiet a scent as I first thought – I suspect my nose was just burned out from sniffing so many less-subtle ones. If a little girl ran down a sunny hill carrying a huge armful of flowers for her mother, and a few of them slipped free and floated down to rest on the grass behind her, that would be this scent. Very pretty and greenly floral. It seems to be fading already, and I've only had it on for about half an hour...

[sarabeegee]

Out of the bottle, Rosalind was green grass, which then morphed into grass, herbs and berries, then slowly the berries gave way to a very light floral, which I couldn't identify. It is really nice and fresh--green grass is one of my favorite smells.

 

The problem was that it didn't last very long at all.

[ipb]

from the bottle: warm and sunny day, running up a grassy hill to the top, where there's a garden starting to bloom

 

yummy.

 

i can't wait to get my sample

[shriekingviolet]

Initial Impression:

Smells like early summer mornings with their freshly mowed lawns and garden clippings. Very green and fresh.

 

After Wearing It:

For the first few hours I could smell nothing but bright, green grass. At about hour five, I'm finally smelling the berry notes starting to come through. The berries are slightly sweet, but more tart against the grass, making me think of the wild raspberries that grew by my grandparents' house when I was a kid. The floral notes are extremely subtle, but give an impression of wildflowers crushed underfoot.

 

This is a very green, youthful fragrance. It's all warm days and children racing around on grassy fields. It's innocence, laughter and unfailing optimism.

 

Final Thoughts:

Nice scent, but this is too fresh and green for me. Grass scents have never been my thing, though I think this would be great on someone else.

[eleventhousand]

This smells like babies to me.

Sweet and fresh and new, and SO not for me, but really beautiful.

[twistygirl]

This smells very fresh and clean to me. Not clean as in soapy-clean, but clean as in just-after-a-clear-spring-shower clean. The grassy notes are very predominant, they are not sharp grasses but soft, clean grasses. The floral notes are indeed a "faint breath" and add just a touch of sweetness, along with the berries, which I can ever-so-barely detect. This is an excellent spring or summer daytime fragrance, very innocent, very youthful, but there's also something very, very sophisticated about it. This reminds me of something that Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and the City would have worn out to lunch when she temporarily lived in Paris towards the end of the series. Somebody who carries a Birkin or a Kelly bag would probably love this because it's understated and reminds me of the epitome of "good taste."

[Ms. MSGirl]

In the vial, this was basically straight sweet grasses, very pastoral. I dabbed it on my wrists, and instantaneously -- lemon!!! Who knew? It just exploded into lemon verbena-ness on my skin, which was an amazing sensory experience and put a big smile on my face -- I've never been fond of the lemon verbena/lemon pledge smell, and it was truly a revelation to smell one that I loved so much, but before too long this teeters dangerously close to pledge territory for my tastes.

 

I will have to try it again on a day when I haven't smelled anything else, I think there could have been some traces of Empress underneath it on my skin that might have thrown it off (is this possible, that roses + sweet grasses could = lemon verbena, cause maybe that's an undetectable buried note in both of them?)

 

Beautiful, though, just the thing for wandering barefoot through the forest and causing trouble dressed as a guy! (I love Rosalind!)

[magpiedee]

Another one to add to the "keepers" list. It's funny-- I can never guess which BPAL scents will rev my engine, and i'm surprised by the ratio of "can't live without it" (over 20) to "meh, swap" (less than 10). That's a heckuva success rate!

 

But Rosalind. I love it, DH loves it, the cat loves it. I put it on and said, huh, grass. Then, after a few minutes wondering about the house, I felt like Maria on the hillside in the Sound of Music, and I wanted to wear a dirndl and twirl about while music crescendo'd. This is what grass *should* smell like, what it's supposed to smell like. As Veil is dream violets, Rosalind is dream grass. Then the dry down sets in, and it has soft bits of berry in it, just as someone else said. Reminds me of those tiny red strawberries that grow in Georgia, that aren't really strawberries or even edible, but they dot the spring grass like little dimples.

 

And another point-- my husband has no sense of smell, really. I have to stick both wrists up his nostril to get him to notice a scent, and then he usually just shrugs. Rosalind, however, struck him upside the face. He smells it better than I can, and even when I can't smell it anymore, he picks up whiffs from across the room. It is very lovely and fresh and clean in a springtime freedom sort of way. Like Diana before she caught Actaeon spying on her, bathing in her innocence and joy at springtime and being surrounded by green things.

 

A very springtime scent. I can't see myself wearing it in fall or winter. It matches the leaves outside. It has nothing sweet or powdery or cloying to it, which makes me love it all the more. If you're going to skip your classes/take a day off of work, buy some Rosalind and take a quilt into a grassy meadow and roll around a bit.

[quinkel]

Another to my favorite list!

 

For all the Bodyshop Dewberry lovers... this is the grown up, evil version of Dewberry.

 

Mouthwatering fresh and soft at the same time.

 

Good for spring and summer.

Also a light happy scent, good when you find lots of oils too overpowering. This stays very close to the skin.

 

 

I think I need to buy a 10 ml bottle because it fades very quick

[amberbella]

Crisp and Green! That's what immediately came to mind when I sniffed this stuff wet. I love love love the way this smells wet.

 

As it dried, it became much more subtle and lost some of the initial crispness...but kept the green...and the floral notes became more aparent.

 

As the others mentioned, it doesn't last long so I'll likely use this with my diffuser pendant since scents seem to last longer and retain their wet smell for me that way.

 

A keeper!

[with coffee spoons]

Initially, this smells like bright sunshine on a summery day--bright, tart berries, although on me these latter are very nondescript, the berriness of sweet tarts or the like. I might smell a bit of lemon, but not much, and not a true lemon. Perhaps this is why I get the sweet tart image--on me this has the brightness of citric acid, whie the berries are merely berry-ish, like the stuff featured in such candies. It's uplifting, bright, for twenty minutes, at which point the brightness recedes just a touch, as if thin, wispy clouds are now and again obscuring the sun. It's perfectly pleasant and it seems to last fairly well on me. Four good hours, although it's by no means strong for the duration. I get no real grassy notes, although i sometimes imagine a hint of grass, or perhaps just green at the very edges of the sunny tableau.

 

During my special time of month, this was more nondescript berryish-- still sunny, and I could swear that I could detect the fragrance switching back and forth from sunny to cloudly... I got a very strong scent memory, but I couldn't figure it out. It smells young, reminded me of something I had smelled during childhood. At one point I though candy, another I thought that it was the berry carpet deoderizing powder that I had once smelled once at a friend's home. My current hypothesis is Sweet Tarts, but this oil is, of course, far more lovely and complicated. All in all, it's too youthful, too bright for me, but it's lovely nonetheless. Into the swap pile it goes...

Edited April 30, 2004 by with coffee spoons

[TygherRayn]

In the bottle: This was very sweet, but a pale, haunting sweetness. Like tiny flowers, mingles with some kind of berry scent. I didn't detect a grassy note at all.

 

Wearing: Grass. Not the freshly mowed grass that always brings to mind softball fields to me, but more just soft, lush grasses in a field, dotted with buttercups and violets and all those little tiny flowers.

 

It's a very subtle fragrance on me .. defintiely feminine with my chemistry. I'm not entirely sure I like it on me, though it would be great in a candle or as a room scent, especially in the Spring/Summer.

[any_old_actress]

FIRST SNIFF: very light, fresh cut flower stems...

WHILE WEARING: i detect no grasses, there is a hint of pale sweetness, not so much flowery anymore, but a whisper of the faintest berry.

 

the dry down makes this scent a winner for me, it's too flowery straight out, but dries to be subtle, beautiful and spring-like. it's a scent to go picking wild strawberries in with braids in your hair...too bad it disappears so fast.

[Vaniclion]

I recieved this imp as a lovely gift from one of my swaps recently, a little extra love to share. I'm always astounded at how generous everyone is!

 

This is a flower covered meadow in full bloom, all sweet flowers and rich green grass. It reminds me in particular of this one type of grass that used to grow in my grandparent's front yard. It was so soft, like velvet, and felt so good under bare feet.

 

My initial reaction is to call this a sweet scent, but it's not. I'd say more fresh than sweet. Like good fabric softner. I wish we had fabric softner that smelled like this! I do agree with my lovely Tygher above that this would make an incredible Spring/Summer room scent, especially if one is going about the business of cleaning away the Winter must and airing the house out. As a wearing scent, it just doesn't work on me, I'm afraid, going a bit 'old woman' after a short period, slightly brazen, aged and brown with a brassy hint like horns. If that makes any sense!

 

And I realize now I've already reviewed this scent.... but it was a pissy review so I'm just going to edit it now and add all this in.

Edited September 11, 2004 by Vaniclion

[fallow deer]

I wore Roslind today and while I enjoyed the berries, I found the green spikes a little too sharp for comfort. I hoped the fragrance would mellow out to a softer berry throughout the day, but it stayed true - and lasted well, I might add - with the green notes remaining.

 

Rosalind is pretty, but lacked warmth somehow and I felt like she didn't really like me very much - I was just carrying her for the day!

 

-fallow deer

[AmberBreathing]

Absolutely adored this sent but couldn’t classify it, very "green" and horribly intriguing! I don't detect any berry at all. Twistygirl introduced the notion that it smells shampoo and everything slipped into place, it’s a very lovely scent. Rosalind worked best in my hair as it would be odd to smell like that anywhere else. On the skin it doesn’t have a lot of lasting power, in my hair it seemed to last longer. I plan to use the rest of my imp in a linen spray it’s lovely waking up, smelling it on my sheets in the morning.

[Becky]

on me this baby is fresh! like a spring day when the grass is freshly cut and the flowers are blooming next to the berry patch. at first it was the fresh grass and flowers, and then the berries came out. very fresh and almost tart. but sweetened by the grass. I really like this one, espically now when spring is finally coming out.

[hypothermya]

One of the first scents from the Lab that I ever tried was Bewitched, and I've fallen in love with it. However, Bewitched seems like a very autumn sort of scent, smelling like baked berries, and musk, and forests... So I was looking for a spring or summer scent to compliment it. So I've been trying scents such as Rosalind, Venom, etc.

 

In the Bottle

 

Wow, that grassy scent is potent! Smells just like a freshly mowed lawn (and since I loathe mowing my lawn in summer time, this isn't a good thing). I can smell the flowers (they're awfully sweet and soft smelling -- nothing at all like the heavy fragrant jasmine scents I've been trying lately). The berries don't seem to be making their presence known yet.

 

Wearing It

 

This is odd. I haven't yet tried a scent from the Lab that didn't change on application, but this may be the first. When I applied it, it didn't seem to change at all. As it dried, the flower scent gained a bit of a backbone and seemed to match the grassy smell for power. But still no berries, or if there are any, they are so light that I don't smell them. (it is allergy season, after all...)

 

I'm not sure I like the grass in this at all. It reminds me very strongly of gardens and days in the park, of summer and lounging in the sun with glasses of iced tea; but I was hoping for more of a berry smell, instead of such a strong grass smell. I think that this is another one for the swap pile, especially since my nose is beginning to react to the grass. Damned allergies. Time to wash off the wrists.

[Tesseljoan]

For some reason there is a note in this that reminds me a lot of the ozone-scents: lightning, tempest. That'll be the grass then. The berry isn't very ponounced, but sweetens the ozone-note. I know I might attract some 'boo hiss' reactions for saying this, but the combination of sweet and ozone makes this one come closer to commercial perfumes than any other BPAL oil I've tried. That is not to say I don't like it: on a warm day it's lovely.

[malanna]

The first and second time I tried this, I really loved it. I thought it was going to be a favorite. Alas, this was not so.

 

This really didn't change much for me from the bottle to application. I get a slight hint of berries, but it's very faint. It's not so much freshly mowed grass, because that isn't quite so meadow-y and sweet as this, but grass outside of a Shakespearian forest with glistening morning dew. To me, it just seems to be like a single note. Not that I know what the sweet grass single note smells like, but it's like the scent is just concentrated and singleminded in this one area (it's not a complex scent). I really liked this at first, but then, once the novelty of sweet grass faded away, I paid more attention to this sort of artificial overtone I get. It's not like it smells like something artificial I have in mind, like air freshener or whatnot, but that it's different, yet it seems artificial to me (hard to explain...).

[pekeana]

In the vial: green, green grass. This smells kind of like the "wild prairie grasses" that horticultural gardens here in the Midwest cultivate for the tourists. No berries, no floral.

 

On me: A blast of grass and floral (possibly verbena?). Again, no berries in the slightest.

 

It's not bad, but smelling like I rolled around in the middle of nowhere, USA, isn't my thing. Alas...

[Witch's Dagger]

Rosalind

 

I got this as an extra in my order. Thanks! (Note - I didn't review the description or the reviews to find out what the notes are)

 

Preconceived notions:

Upon seeing the bottle, I couldn't remember what it was, or why it wasn't on my list. Now, seeing the reviews, I see why. I absolutely *hate* the way babies smell. I know, it's awful, but there's something about that smell I don't like. Luckily, this doesn't smell like babies to me.

 

In the vial: citrusy and green. The green is spiky. I didn't think I liked citrus smells, but this is nice!

 

Testing:

First impressions: It's softening a bit, but it's still nice. I can smell some florally powder, which I desperately hope doesn't take over. So far, the citrus is keeping it bright and alive.

 

After one hour: Still a powdery citrus. The powder hasn't gotten any stronger, but the citrus has gotten a lot weaker. I like the initial smell better.

 

Final impressions: I'm not sure. Yesterday, when I was at someone's house for a meeting, someone was drinking orange juice, and I thought it smelled delightful. I think I wouldn't mind a citrusy perfume, especially if it had the spiky green note this one had in the vial. However, that doesn't last very long on me, and I'm really not too fond of the powdery citrus. So, I'm going with a 'so-so' for me. The powder thing has happened with almost all the oils I tried, so it's definitely a body chemistry issue. This is a really nice scent.

[Mistral]

I was really looking forward to this one, and I loved it in the bottle and when I first put it on. Sweet grasses and wildflowers, with a kick of berries. But it faded really quickly...like my skin was just drinking it up. I still love the scent, but reapplying every hour on the hour just isn't practical.

[pkwench]

Rosalind

 

Vial: Green and floral. It reminds me of a perfume my mother used to wear. Which one I know not.

 

Wet: Green and so soothing. It smells like a bamboo candle mixed with light florals and a touch of something sweet.

 

After ten: A bit fruity now amongst all of the greenery and quite nice!

 

After an hour: It's faded down to a very light, barely there scent, but I think if I put it on a little heavier that it'd stick longer. It's a light, dewy and green floral-very nice and not too strong in the floral tones. I'm going to put this on my 5ml list.

[patashoqua]

Rosalind is all innocence and sweetness on me. That's not the sort of thing I generally go in for, but it can be useful at times. Fresh and crisp and fruity without being cloyingly sweet.

 

In the bottle: it is a very sweet, somewhat concentrated berry smell. When I first smelled it in the imp, I didn't expect to like it much, and didn't try it on until some time later.

 

Wet: the grass comes through more strongly, and balances out the sweetness. It's a balanced scent; in describing it, the words crisp and clean keep coming to mind, but there's a depth and warmth to it from the berries.

 

Dry-down: this stays pretty much the same on me until it disappears; it fades gradually but doesn't change noticeably. Does anyone remember a scent the Body Shop used to carry (maybe still does) called Dewberry? I wore it in Jr. High (the last time I wore any kind of scent regularly). This is like the adult version of it- less sweet, more complicated and subtle, but strongly reminiscent.

 

I like this one very much. If I order only one bottle, it'll still be Jolly Roger, but if I order two, Rosalind will definitely be the other.

Edited September 15, 2004 by patashoqua