Baku

[yellowrose]

Our Nightmarebane. Named after the Baku, benevolent Japanese spirits that eat nightmares. In Japanese tradition, nightmares are gifts from malevolent spirits; when you wake up from one, you may call, "Baku, please eat my dreams!", and if you are virtuous and merciful in spirit, the Baku will devour the evil, transforming it into a blessing of good fortune.

Baku was a gifted imp. I tried it on a night when I was exceedingly anxious and hoped it would help me sleep. I wore Calliope as well. I was restless and had horrible dreams the entire night. I don't know if using it in tandem with Calliope (also a lavendar scent) somehow changed the efficacy of the sleep formula. The anise note was disconcerting, but ... I'm not sure if I've done it justice, but I am wary of trying it again. I need my sleep!

[kunoichi]

In the vial this has a really strong bite, kind of a nasty bite of something powerful and strong and astringent, perhaps eucalyptus and lavender; not my kind of scent for sleeping, though! On my skin this starts off with the bitingly strong scent, but soon a sweeter side starts to appear as the sharp top notes fade, leaving a sweeter floral scent, with an astringent edge to it that slowly fades to something softer. After a few hours on my skin, this smells like a very soft and somewhat floral-sweet scent – the exact opposite of smelling it from the vial!

 

The imp I got was empty apart from what was on the lid-wand, so I only had enough to test it out – no ability to test it when sleeping.

[supremegoddessofall]

Holy licorice, Batman! Much anise in this one. I hate anise like the plague. Something floral underneath, but the anise is killing everything else, really. Bye, bye imp.

[PilotKitten]

Heavy lavender. This isn't relaxing to me at all. I think it's astringent and bitter.

[Spastik_Kitty]

In the bottle: Lavender, loud and clear lavender, nasty granny panty lavender (can you tell I abhor lavender? I wish such a useful flower didn't have such a pungent scent).

 

First on: Urf, I want to weep, just lavender.

 

After a bit: Wai.. what's going on here, I'm smelling sweet anise in the mix, EW.. but I'm calm, stupid lavendar.

 

A bit more: Hey, this isn't so awful after all, a bit of spearamint is coming through, and it's softened. I wonder if this will work.

 

Well, if in a frangrance you want to smell like an elderly woman's underwear drawer, where she stashes her absinthe and scotch mints, this is for you. If not, we'll see if this works as a purely "working" oil.

 

EDITED TO ADD: Well, I slept like a rock, the fragrance dies down dramatically and is but a faint whipser..

Edited November 9, 2006 by Spastik_Kitty

[kinopela]

baku smells EXACTLY like a bath and body works fragrance i love: blue lavender palmarosa. the anise/bergamot scent is overpowering - i love it.

 

unfortunately, this isn't a nightmare bane for me. after using this for three nights, i continue to have vivid, restless dreams. and i also overslept twice! so, i don't think i'll be able to use this as a sleep aid. on to somnus!

[wikkidraven]

i bought a 10ml of this and was wary of it after sniffing from the bottle, it smells thick and overpowering. still, i'll try almost anything once, so after getting ready for bed i daubed on some baku...on my wrists, since i usually sleep with them near my face, and also a bit in my hair. admittedly, it had been a long day and i was on the tired side, but....

 

i slept the best sleep i've had in weeks. will have to give this another go to see if it was a fluke occurrence. wow.

[maribouquet]

I don't have nightmares often, so I can't vouch for Baku's use in that arena.

 

imp: lavendar

wet: lavendar

dry: anise

 

I like anise, so this is a nice, sweetly soothing scent for me. I agree with whomever compared this scent to those little iced seeds at Indian restaurants.

 

Not quite as soporific as some of the other BPAL sleep blends I've tried, but I don't mind - anyhow, this is for nightmares, not inducing sleep.

 

Not sure if I'll want a bottle, but I'm definitely hanging onto my imp.

[phedre]

I got this as a frimp in a trade.

 

In vial: Whoa. Hello there lavender! My favourite floral scent. And that's definitely anise peaking around the edges.

 

Wet on skin: Mint, lavender, and anise, three of my favourite things.

 

Dry: More anise. Kinda reminds me of Absinthe, but more floral and a bit sweeter. It's really more candy black licorice than pure unsweetened anise. The lavender has gone a bit soapy, but not overly.

 

Overall, I'm not sure how I feel about Baku. I'll have to try it a few more times and figure it out.

Edited December 11, 2006 by phedre

[zankoku_zen]

This one starts off with a strong lavender scent and then becomes very much like Oneiroi... except it's got a limey edge as opposed to a lemon scent. The lime is very cutting and sharp.

 

No nightmares or dreams with this scent!

[hepkitten]

Gorgeous, gorgeous billows of lavender with a sharp herbal spike underneath.

 

It's lovely, and has helped me post-nightmare. However, it's not the greatest blend to help you fall asleep, not that it's supposed to be.

[themerrybaker]

Initially a blast of very sharp eucalyptus/herbal, then dries to the anise scent mentioned above. I'm off to bed now and won't mind drifting off to licorice dreams...

[alliekat13]

Well, this is pretty much what everyone else said: lavender with a touch of eucalyptus. I put it on last night when I couldn't get to sleep, and it worked like a charm. I also dreamt more vividly and could remember my dreams, which usually doesn't happen until certain times of the month. I don't think I would buy a bottle of this though, because there are other BPAL blends that work better for me.

[GoldenRubee]

I received this as an imp and decided to give it a try since I suffer from bad dreams and don't sleep well at all. I purchased a 5ml. for my daughter for the same reason and she said it helped her and she encouraged me to try it. When I first smelled it I was actually repulsed by the smell. It really was so vial that I couldn't smell it long enough to tell you what the scents were. I was desperate enough to try it anyway. I rubbed it on my temples and on the backs on my hands. I actually fell asleep pretty quickly, had no bad dreams that I know of, and felt very rested this morning. I will purchase this in my next order and have my husband try it too!

[filigree_shadow]

Baku smells like lavender and licorice to me. I'd be surprised if there weren't any anise in here.

 

I have a couple of sleepytime oils (TAL Nocturne & Sleepy Moon) that I like to use, and I don't think I could get used to the scent of this. It smells far too sharp and piercing to me. But since I don't have a problem with nightmares I probably don't need to try this one before sleeping.

[Trish]

I really dislike lavender. So when I opened up the frimp I nearly passed out from the overwhelming lavender and very nearly didn't try it at all. But I have sworn that I will test every Bpal that comes my way.

 

In the imp: Lavender.

 

Wet: Lavender

 

Drydown: Lavender

 

Dry: Lavender. With something softer making it somewhat more bearable.

 

And at that stage I fell asleep and it was completely gone the next morning. Probably just as well if any anise was going to emerge. I may really dislike lavender, but I hate anise.

 

Admittedly I did sleep rather well, but I think I'll stick to other scents when I want help sleeping (like sandalwood).

[taramarie]

Got Baku as a frimp a few days ago and finally decided to try it last night. On me, it smells like eucalyptus, lavender, and mint. Very relaxing. I can happily report that I had no nightmares last night.

 

Baku just might become part of my nightly routine, if only because I feel so decadent putting on scented oil at bedtime.

[RemAkimichi]

In the Bottle: Medical soap!! Like hospitals gowns and steel sinks.

 

On me (wet): Lavender and eucalyptus, both extremely strong. I love both scents, but worried at first that it was too much and would give me a headache. Gladly, though, since both are "clean" scents that don't tend to make my brainbox throb, I had no problems.

 

On me (dry): Going....going....gone. Where did it go?? Fads to a light lavender and then just completely disappears. Maybe the 19 years of living with a smoker had destroyed some nasal tissues, but this one is unscentable almost as soon as it dries.

 

Overall: Overwhelming at first, but good. Beautiful scent when it's midway between wet and dry, but dies off too soon to help me sleep. Maybe I'll apply a little more again before I fall asleep and see if it helps me with my disquiet dreams, if it sticks around long enough.

[Eemia]

This is one of my favorite oils ever. It'll always be in my top few. I bought this with the intention of using it solely as a sleep aid since I do have disturbing dreams from time to time. I do use it in that capacity, but it also has become my all around comfort fragrance.

 

The second I smelt the anise in this I associated it with my dad. My dad hates all kinds of sweets but has always eaten loads of licorice all the time since I can remember. Anytime I smell licorice I automatically think of my dad. We are very close and he has always taken care of me growing up when I had bad dreams or just needed some reassurance and comfort. So I use Baku anytime I feel the need for comfort, like when I'm having a bad day or when I'm nervous or when I can't sleep. I just dab some of this on and I feel so much more calm and in a better state of mind. It's like my dad is there taking care of me like when I was little, giving me hugs and singing me back to sleep.

 

Needless to say I love the sharp anise note as well as the eucalyptus. It's very soothing. This is very special to me and I will always have a bottle of this around.

[batsy]

In the vial: Wet eucalyptus.

 

On the skin: Still eucalyptus and lavender now. Something sweet, sugar-y popped there. Honestly, this is like Sleepy Moon for me; I'm sure I'll use this when I have insomnia and anxiety. It's very calming and soothing. Yay for a good find!

[storme]

In the imp: sweet lavender, and maybe a hint of eucalyptus.

 

On me, wet: lavender and mint and a vaguely anise-y feel to it all. My sinuses feel nice and clear now.

 

On me, dry: lavender and mint and... fennel, I think, not anise. Meh. I'm not fond of that licorice-ish subcategory of notes.

 

Verdict: As a scent, nope, not loving it. And I don't think I need it for nightmares, so swap pile time.

[wolfwynd]

This is very lavendery and very lemony, comforting and calming in turns.

 

I'm pretty sure though that it gave me nightmares instead of taking them away lol.

 

My mum also tried this before she went to bed as she suffers from nightmares so I'll talk to her and add her review later.

 

I might try this again tonight though as I really like the scent of it.

[jmchau]

I smelled menthol when wet, but it had an odd aftersmell that resolved when dry to swimming pool. After the menthol faded all I was left with was the chlorine smell of an indoor pool. blech.

[DifferentDances]

Imp: Sharp cleaning supplies.

Wet: Lavender.

Drydown: Sharp lavender with a hint of something herby that reminds me of kitchen spice racks.

Dry: Faint lavender with edges of that herb.

 

My rating: 1/5. Not my thing; I think I'm not a fan of lavender.

[Alannah]

I pulled this out of my imp pile to wear today, as I couldn't remember having tried it before. If I had read the description ahead of time, I definitely wouldn't have tried this as a regular day scent.

 

Wet, Baku is YEGADS ALL ANISE. I have to say that started me off on the wrong foot since I despise anything that smells or tastes like licorice or anise. This overpowering note lasts for about 15 minutes and I just feel like I STINK of it and then wham, nothing.

 

Dry, there is the faintest hint of lavender (another note I despise, unfortunately), but really it all but disappears on me after the anise phase. I've already applied it twice after only a couple of hours on. I can see how people who find lavender comforting would like this, or how it would be a good nighttime scent. For me, however, it's getting sent away. I can't see ever using this one again.