Somnus

[rugiada]

Named after the Roman God of Sleep. This blend helps bring on deep, restful, natural sleep.

In the vial I detect lavender. Citrusy lavender, something erbal and camomile.
On my wirst it became less strong, and it's a mix of lavender, camomile and... rose? I think so.
Unless to say, it work, it's relaxing, soporific and Few minutes after I put it on my wirst, I was sleeping.

[JazzieCazzie]

Received this as a lovely lab gift with my Yule LE order ... how did the labbies know how bad my insomnia is, since I don't tend to post in the middle of the night, I just toss and turn ...

 

IN THE BOTTLE: Pure medicinal lavender.

 

I was up at 1:30 a.m. so I was liberal with it, wrists, crooks of arm and dabbed on inner arm as well ...

 

WET: Delicious. Lavender, which I love, and something else so familiar ... it could be the jasmine which a few other people suggested. Pure light, lovely, restful.

 

DRYDOWN: Who knows? I was asleep by then ...

 

This is the first scent on my MARCH big bottle order.

[ismene]

Ah, Somnus. I had such high hopes for you. Unfortunately, it didn't work out between us. Not only did you not help me to sleep, but you gave me a headache. It was very kind of the Lab to include you with my order, since I have such severe insomnia, but it wasn't meant to be.

 

Lavender is a scent I can tolerate only in small amounts - I'm usually ok with the flowers but often get a headache from the oil, particularly if it's a strong oil. Since this is more of a medicinal-lavender than a floral-lavender, the sharpness was even more pronounced. I can't tell if the floral notes are jasmine or rose or possibly both, but I have trouble with both of those oils, too. I'm glad everyone else had such good experiences with Somnus, but being mildly allergic to its main ingredients meant I had to wash it off after a couple of hours before the headache got worse.

[malati]

I haven't paid much attention to the dream oils as I don't generally have many sleep problems but this came as an extra so I thought I'd give it a go. I've now tried it three times with the same result each time.

 

The last thing I do before settling into bed is apply it to my neck rather than my wrists as I assume it will work better closer to my nose. It's a soapy lavender scent, cheap cologne was the first thought that came to mind.

 

I can't say I'm falling asleep any quicker but where I would normally wake up briefly during the night with this I sleep straight through. It seems to be a deeper, heavier sleep as I'm slightly groggy on waking and I struggle to recall any dreams.

 

I'm not sure if this is too strong for me or maybe I should just apply to my wrists in future. From time to time I suffer from anxiety and at those times I can barely sleep at all. I think I will put the oil away until the next attack and see if it helps at all.

[ashtonrose]

I have been waiting for this to come in. Sleep troubled I am. It has a lavender scent that doesn't come on too strong. I placed it on my pillow and slept like a baby. Three nights in a row now, I have awoke without the desire to go back to sleep.

[angelblue]

i had really high hopes for this one.

 

wet- yikes! i'm being attacked by a bottle of lemon fresh joy!

 

10minutes later- better. the lemon is definately still there and it's been joined by lavender. not my favorite smell but this isnt too bad.

 

4 hours later- it's gone. not a trace of the scent remains. on the upside, i don't remember the last four hours, so i must have been dead asleep.

[rhubarbbear]

i had toyed with ordering this for a while- i sleep fine, but wondered if it would help my son at any rate, i got an imp in a swap, and since baby is sleeping better these days, i tried it out on me. however, as i said, i don't have any problems sleeping, so when i say i dropped right off, i'm not sure if that means much!

 

i smell lavender in the bottle, but on my skin it turns to weird, old lady rose its not so offensive that i wouldn't use for its soporific properties, but as things stand i think its off to swaps.

[luxuria]

Herbal lavender in the imp. It's sort of..sharp, too. Not quite the soft, hazy scent I'd expect would carry me off into deep sleep, but hey it does soften somewhat on the skin but not too much. I can't really pick out any other notes, I'm sure they're there though.

 

Now..onto the important stuff!

 

This didn't make any difference with my sleep whatsoever I always have trouble staying asleep once I fall asleep (which is a chore enough) but this unfortunately didn't help. I even slathered myself with so much one night I made myself sneeze and I still didn't notice any difference. Well..DAMN! I'm going to try the other dream formulas to see if there are any that do anything at all for me.

[Finny]

Out of the imp, a sharp floral smell.

 

On, there is lavendar, maybe jasmine?

 

I have fallen asleep both times I have tried it, by morning I feel refreshed and can no longer smell this.

[requieminblack]

First sniff from the bottle- Lavender

 

After 10 minutes- Lavender is definitely the dominate note here but I also smell Chamomile.

 

After 30 minutes- This is very soft and relaxing. It smells just like baby bath.

 

Summery- I can see how this would be great for bedtime. It is indeed very relaxing.

[Lit Chick]

Sharp lavender - and there's something else in there that makes me think of diapers. Not soiled ones - but still baby diapers. Not my thing.

 

Except, I relaxed and slept so freaking well that it was a miracle. I've had terrible back pain for a few weeks now, and all I do in bed is toss and turn, trying to find a comfy position. That night, I slept like a log, straight through. Last night, again a restful sleep.

 

Thank goodnes for Somnus!!!

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

Ahhhhh. I took a nice hot Lush bath, layered on Somnus, and am drinking chamomile tea. Let's see if I stay awake long enough even to write this review.

 

Somnus is indeed pure sharp English lavender out of the vial, but it has something softening that soon comes out--verbena, maybe? It reminds me a little of Arcana; Brian said it reminded him of Water of Notre Dame. I think it's just that all these have a soothing quality in common. This would be fantastic for a linens scent *if* you don't have to get up early and can keep hitting snooze...zzzzz.

[surf-tormented]

Smells like watery tea laced with cedar. I didn't get any lavendar in this one at all and the scent was gone before I hit the bed, so I don't know if its mission was successful or not.

Edited April 5, 2005 by Madame Nyx

[kythryne]

Oh, I like this one a lot. I'm an insomniac with often severe chronic pain, and I don't sleep very well most of the time. I've put a bit on the past two nights before bed, and both nights I've slept deeply and well, and woken up feeling rested and clear headed. Well, clear headed once I showered -- it's strong and long-lasting, and until I washed it off I kept getting whiffs of it and would catch myself yawning and unable to wake up fully.

 

It smells like lavendar and jasmine to me, with a hint of gardenia and some sharp herbals. My partner says it smells like dirty hippie, but I disagree. And she seems to be sleeping better than usual too, so pfffffft.

 

I may get a bottle of this in one of my next orders, because I like being able to sleep soundly.

[Belladonnastrap]

Somnus smells like a more potent, deeper version of Oneiroi which makes sense. There's lavender and I think some mugwort but overall I'd say Somnus is a deeper, more heady Oneiroi. This isn't a scent I'd wear everyday as just a wiff of it makes me sleepy. I also find that if I put a dab of this on my wrists and behind my ears when I fall asleep it's very calm and peaceful, if I'm stressed out all the stress just melts away.

 

Eventually I will have to buy a bottle of this because my imp is going to run out. If you're torn between this and Oneiroi I'd say look to see how deeply you sleep. If you only need help falling asleep sometimes grab Oneiroi. However if your mind just constantly functions and you find yourself waking up frequently grab a bottle of Somnus, slather it on and head off to the stars with Winkin, Blinkin & Nod.

[danuv]

Honestly I really dislike the smell of this one. I assume it is lavender but it's very strong on me. The thing is... the oil works.

 

I decided a couple of weeks ago to stop taking Tylenol PM a nightly habit I've had for well over a year now and spent the first few nights not making it to sleep till the wee hours of the morning... until one night I decided to put on Somnus. I fell asleep immediately. I can say how unusual this is for me. I've had trouble getting to sleep ever since childhood. But it wasn't a fluke. Every night since I've used it and gotten to sleep so fast (for me!). I'm going to have to get my hands on a bottle of this before my imp runs out. Or maybe more imps till I can get a bottle ordered.

 

Thank you Beth.

[grrrlennyl]

at first: lots and lots of lavender. a very strong scent.

on: this is much stronger than i thought it would be. i think i mostly smell lavender and chamomile.

overall: this is great for knocking me out at night. it's especially useful when i need to sleep well before getting up early the next day. i might get a 10ml of this at some point.

[Northernminx]

I'm rarely an insomniac but this week, thanks to the house being unnervingly quiet and my mattress wearing out, I've been having a wretched time sleeping. The other Dream Formula's haven't done much for me but i've yet to get over the smell of some of them to try them properly so I can't blame the oils.

 

I dabbed Somnus on yesterday and was surprised at how herbal and strong it was. It dried down quickly though, leaving a lavender and herbal smell that I loved and was very soothing. This stayed on all night, but I wasn't awake to notice as once I fell asleep I was out like the proverbial light. Attribute this to whatever you like, but it works for me and since it's so clean and soothing a scent, on the big bottle list it goes.

[helarctos]

Somnus smelled not unlike a standard lavender soap on me. That was pretty much it: lavender, and a soapy smell.

 

I can't vouch for its soporific qualities either, but I don't hold Somnus to blame for that -- I have a case of insomnia that only prescription medication can touch.

 

I sent what was left of my imp to an LJer who was having anxiety-induced sleeping problems. If I get an update from her on how it worked, I'll edit this post to add it.

[gingersnapp]

I received this in a swap specifically because I wanted to test it's sleep-aid properties, not just for smell as I would with other BPAL oils.

 

I got a little bit on my fingers from the imp before I wanted to really try it, so I tried to wash it off. A little while later, I kept getting this soothing wafts of lavendar and spice and I couldn't figure out where it was coming from. I absent-mindedly raised my hand to scratch an itch and noticed it was the Somnus on my fingers.

 

Before going to bed, I put a dab on each temple as well as a tiny drop under my nose and rubbed some on my fingers into my hair. It smelled really lovely, like a sunshine-drenched field of lavender.

 

I did notice that I slept quite deeply, though not as deeply as my husband who woke me with torrential snoring. I got up and went into the guest room and was so tired and groggy that I forgot to set the alarm. I also noticed that since I didn't wash the oil off immediately upon waking this morning that I was really sleepy through my morning workout.

 

Not sure if this is all the oil's fault or if I'm just over-tired, but I do love the scent and plan on giving it another try tonight.

[Phaedra]

I had trouble picking out the notes in this one. It does smell very clean, herbal and "wispy". There is definately a similar note in this and Baku (the only other dream oil I've tried so far). I'm wondering if there's chamomile in this. The first night I tried this it was the night before the Flower Moon/Milk Moon update. I thought I had trouble sleeping because I was excited about the update (yes I am a dork like that ) I tried it a couple of other nights since then and it seems like it actually makes me jittery and restless I am going to try it again and see if it really is this oil that is keeping me up.

 

***updated October 2005: Well I'm am thrilled to say that whatever was making me jittery the first few times I tried Somnus must have been something else and not the oil. I have used Somnus many times since I first got it and it ROCKS!!! I'm not a chronic insomniac but I do have nights where I feel restless and like my mind won't "shut off" and it keeps me awake. Somnus calms me down and puts me into a deep, restful sleep. I would highly recommend this to anyone who has even occasional sleeping problems. I love this so much that I just ordered a 5ml with my Yule/Beaver Moon order. Here's hoping that Beth will come up with even more Dream Blends.

Edited October 27, 2005 by Phaedra

[paperdoll]

Initial Sniff: Woah! Sharp, strong, astringent lavender.

 

Wearing: Unpleasantly sharp.

 

Final Impressions: Well, I slept like a rock, so I'll keep my imp, but it isn't terribly pleasant. I prefer Temple of Dreams.

[dcmo]

I've been having trouble sleeping for the past few nights which isn't all that uncommon, I seem to go in stages that way. I had forgotten I had a 5 ml of Somnus but when it hit me I should try out that and see if it will help.

 

Definitely the lavender is the dominant note, but I do get the scents other posters have mentioned too, like lemon, rose, and jasmine. It is very sharp for the first few minutes but softens and is very calming and relaxing. I put it under my nose and on my wrists because I usually have my hands up somewhere near my face when I sleep.

 

I did feel calmer and more relaxed within a few minutes of deep breathing the scent. My legs started feeling heavier and I did fall asleep fairly quickly. I woked up a fwe hours later though and the scent was completely gone so I put on a quick touch up and went back to bed. Even after two applications the scent was completley gone when I woke up this morning, which is good so I could apply a new BPAL scent and off to work I go!

 

Overall, I think this worked really well, and I will definitely be trying this on a more regular basis.

[Glitzie]

In the bottle - lavender

 

Wet- Lavender with maybe rosemary and some other herbs. Not overly keen on the scent.

 

But this works a treat, our neighbours decided to have a very loud party and I still went to sleep almost straight away (most unlike me). I slept for 11 hours

 

I couldn't believe it: this is a godsend.

Beth you are a genius!

[pekeana]

Somnus smells like lavender, jasmine, and something else that's very heavy and dark. Not sure what, but it hits my skin and mixes with the jasmine into something that doesn't really smell very good.

 

HOWEVER...

 

I've been mega-stressed as of late and very angry about something that's completely beyond my control, and thus, not sleeping very well at all. So, I got this in a swap and decided to try it out, since Nanshe wasn't helping matters.

 

Somnus managed to calm me into sleeping... but when I woke up in the middle of the night, I had issues going back to sleep. However, fortunately, the deep sleep I'd had before was enough to get me relatively bright-eyed... and armed with more righteous indignation toward the bad situation. GREEEEAT.