Baku

[NorthenLight36]

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.

 

Oh OW. I wish the lab included notes in the description of this. I'm highly allergic to skin contact with both Lavender and Eucalyptus and unfortunately the free lab imp splashed over my fingers when I opened it. Not at all for me, I fear.

And sometimes the lab really, really should include notes on what's in a blend. Off to the swap pile for this.

[tharsei-thanate]

Before I begin, I just wanna say that I don't really have nightmares, but I have stress and anxiety dreams occasionally. This weekend I had a series of stressful dreams that had me wake up in the morning feeling like I hadn't slept at all. Last night I tried out Baku, which I had received from a forumite last week, to see if it would help.

 

From what I remember, Baku was all lavender at first and then during the drydown it slowly warmed up and became more herbal. But it was a soft, subdued sort of herbal- I didn't catch any gross anise/fennel licorice. I also didn't catch any eucalyptus. It was just a very comforting herbal lavender. Actually, it was so comforting that I fell asleep before it even completely dried, haha. Then I had a lovely dream in which I visited a friend in Baltimore. I recall at one point we went joy riding around the city but it was completely stress-free, which is surprising considering I managed to have a stress dream about grocery shopping of all things a few nights ago. It was so nice to just have fun in a dream for once.

 

Best of all, I woke up feeling completely refreshed. (:

 

I'll do more tests and if I continue having pleasant, stress-free dreams then I'm definitely going to have to get a bottle!

[sarandipitee]

I'm an insomniac. Have been since I was a teenager. It comes and goes with the levels of stress in my life but it's always there. I take meds when I'm desperate but try to find alternatives whenever possible. TKO was too fluffy sweet for me (but the massage oil is great - try it if you haven't) and I went through a whole bottle of Nanshe and was pleased with the sleep I got.

 

Baku, completely beats everything. Hands down. I slept like a baby last night. Even with having a cup of coffee late in the afternoon which always screws me up. It immediately made me relaxed and within 20 min of crawling into bed my eyes were heavy. I slept a full 7 hrs (I average apx 4.5-5.5 hrs of sleep a night). Bonus - no dreams. I have very vivid and intense dreams and one of the things I hate about melatonin and my scrips are the unsettling and weird fucked up dreams I have. Baku really chases the nightmares away.

 

And it smells amazing. Sweet, earthy, herbal lavender and licorice. It helps that I've never met a BPAL lavender blend I didn't love (aside from the aforementioned TKO) and I find black licorice tasty and the smell reminds me of my grandma who adores licorice allsorts.

 

I'm so extremely happy I ordered this bottle blind. It's going to become a nightly ritual. Beth is a genius.

Edited April 18, 2013 by sarandipitee

[hexnut]

In Vitro This was a frimp, tested blind. A mild, possibly aquatic first sniff.

Wet Menthol or mint, and very weak.

Drying The faint scent of an anise pastille.


Baku is inoffensive on me, but that's about it.

[Erinofhere]

Frimp from the lab:

 

Lavender and Anise I think with something else there too. Maybe herbs, maybe some sort of kitchen spice?

 

It started smelling a bit like burned plastic after awhile and I had to wash it off . This one is not for me.

 

Off to the swap pile.

[HerbGirl]

Anise/Licorice for sure...maybe a hint of Lavender in there...yikes - I love Lavender, but Anise/Licorice is a NO NO.

[IambicDearie]

I like Baku as a scent (I'm actually okay with anise), but my main focus when purchasing it was 'will it make the nightmares stop'. And yes, it did. It did replace them with reeeeeeeally detailed, acid-trippy dreams, but that's better than what was going on before!

[theseagrows]

i've been having nightmares all week, so i decided to try this last night and it worked. this smells like mostly lavender but amped up lavender- with herbs in the back. i definitely got the anise that others have mentioned, and the slight sharpness that seemed sort of herbal-lemony to me. my bottle is pretty aged and while it was astringent, i found it also had a softness to it that was nice.

 

i did have a rather odd dream about someone i dislike in real life, but i confronted them in a diplomatic way in the dream, which was interesting! i also felt refreshed and energetic this morning.

Edited July 31, 2014 by theseagrows

[tinyvulture]

Lavender and anise (or licorice.) Herbal and sweet, ahh. Seems like a perfect sleepytime scent. However it doesn't seem quite as effective as the other Somnium blends I've tried (Somnus, Oneiroi). Last night, instead of Baku eating my bad dreams, I dreamed my husband and I got in a huge fight! It also didn't really help me with falling asleep. Still, the smell is so nice, I'll hang onto it and try it some more.

[AgriaTheWild]

This one was a frimp from the lab. Overall, it wasn't my favorite because I'm not a huge fan of lavender as a main note, especially this kind of sharp, aggressive lavender. I can't speak for whether or not it helps with nightmares because I don't have them.

 

wet: just really sharp lavender

dry down: lavender is easing up and a bit of the eucalyptus is coming through.

dry: more anise than either lavender or eucalyptus, but all three are present.

[anaengel]

This is my go to sleep scent. I should add that I'm typing this while wearing it, again, and already getting drowsy. I've had this bottle for a while now and I really do like how it works.

This starts off with a very stiff lavender. Right behind it is the punch of anise. The two seem to want to fight on me, but soon settle down. The lavender gets softer as it lingers. There's a tingly scent in the background after it dries, which I'm still arguing with myself about what it could be.

This normally works well. I'll get most of the night's sleep out of this, only waking up once in the middle of the night if I drift into a dream state.

[Courtney North]

I got this as a sample in my latest purchase - I didn't know what the notes were in any of the imps I got (except for Cathedral and Gaueko, which I asked for specifically). I just know I liked all the samples I got this time, and had them laying on my desk. Got whisked away to do some chores with dad, and threw this on because it was the first thing that my hand grabbed from the table. Imps are great to travel with, too. Can put it on while on the move, pop it in your pocket when you're done and forget about it.

First putting it on, "bergamont" screamed at me. "Oh yeah," I thought to myself, "...this is definitely citrus based". Got a little lemon and some sort of flower (pretty sure it was jasmine or something). A little lavender in the background. It faded pretty fast - in about an hour and a half, I wasn't getting any sort of scent unless I brought it up close.

Later finding out that it was a "sleep blend", I had to agree with BPAL on that. Ever since I put it on, I have been very relaxed -even after it's main scent had faded, my stressful trip didn't seem as bad and I came home rather sleepy (or just so relaxed that I seemed sleepy).

[DiesMali]

In the imp: Something sharp and medicinal.

 

Wet on my skin: Absolutely vile. I'm not sure what it is, but oh god it's awful.

 

Dry: Still awful. It smells like a port-a-potty on me. OFF TO THE SINK.

[LizziesLuck]

Frimp from the Lab.

 

I am always looking for new bedtime BPAL, so was quite excited to try this before bed.

 

On me (and keeping in mind this is Lab fresh) this is pure, herbal lavender. Unsweetened by anything, and very true. I love it. I've worn it to bed several times this week. It's very soothing and relaxing, as I always find lavender to be. Doesn't help me sleep one bit, but nothing does. I either sleep or I don't, nothing I do seems to change that. Either way, I thoroughly enjoy wearing this to bed, and am contemplating getting a bottle.

[freyasfae]

I thought I was making it up, but since other reviews have mentioned licorice or anise, I am not the only one! Licorice-y scents are death notes for me so this is a definite no.

[Kmye Chan]

Baku is straight-up lavender on me, from beginning to end.

True fresh lavender, not sweet soapy one. No liquorice or anise that I can detect.

 

I wouldn't wear this as a perfume, but I'll definitely use it to help me sleep during stressful weeks.

[Coldfire]

Imp: Sniffin the imp I get the lavender and the eucalyptus
Wet On Me: oooooo mostly lavender when first applied. The Lab does such terrific lavenders
Drying Down: the eucalyptus is ramping up now. giving it a medicinal sharpness to the lavender
Dry: wow. once dry this gets very'quiet'on my skin really faint kinda sweet lavender. perhaps the licorice finally softened the sharpness

[roseus]

I get dry, astringent lavender and eucalyptus. But it's not a super strong eucalyptus, it's fairly soft and not so mentholated/Vick's like. I do not smell any anise/licorice but my guy does. This does seem to help me get in a very relaxed sleepy state!

[Casablanca]

On the wand, eucalyptus, lavender, anise. Maybe a bit of rosemary, too — or this is a really herbal lavender.

 

Fresh on my skin, a bold, herbal lavender is strongest. This reminds me of the lavender in 2016 Pere Noel, but maybe that’s just because I wore that last night. And maybe because they both seem to have lavender and anise together. There’s an attractive anise-eucalyptus thing going on behind the lavender here, but the eucalyptus is much milder than it had been on the wand. Not so medicinal.

 

The anise grows stronger as this dries. This is a light and pretty combination.

 

I’m happy to stow this vial with the other lavenders at my bedside.

[ramblingrambler]

This is a fabulous addition to all my sleep aids from the lab. I'm notorious for insomnia---has been an issue since a child---and get very little sleep. When I do sleep, it's fitful, restless, and typically full of dark dreams. Using TKO, Somnus, Baku, etc. has definitely calmed me before bed, and I'm out like a light when I use them. I can't say I sleep soundly the whole night, but I am, indeed, led to the land of dreams, and they don't all terrify and agitate me, as advertised by the lab. Thank you, Beth and company, for these blends.

 

Lavender, eucalyptus, and other soft herbal notes float around in Baku.

[gloame]

Straight. Lavender. *sleepy sighhhhhh*

 

Where I'd wear this: To 'I need to sleep for 12 hours' cozy time

[achildoftime]

It's really potent lavender with some eucalyptus backing it up. It smells very medicinal and sharp to start. It's like the scents that people use to give the illusion that things are clean and antiseptic. Luckily as it dries that feeling goes away. Anise does come forward a little and the sharpness rounds out completely into a soft, dreamy scent. It's not like sniffing a bag of licorice. It's a pretty gentle and just adds a little robustness. I haven't tried it's intended purpose, but I could see it being pretty good sleep scent after that initial shock.

[doomsday_disco]

I bought imps of the Somnium scents years ago, and yet I neglected to review most of them. Time to change that!

 

In the imp: Lavender and black licorice.

 

Wet: The lavender is the dominant note, but the anise (or another licorice-y note like fennel) is right behind it, and I think I'm smelling some mint as well? The anise and mint are becoming stronger over time.

 

Dry: The anise, lavender, and mint are the main players for a really long time, but after a while, another herb rises to the front of the scent. It's dry and it makes the scent greener. It's really familiar, but I just can't seem to pinpoint the note at the moment (possibly sage), and there's a bit of bergamot behind that.

 

Verdict: Baku isn't a scent that I would reach for scent-wise (I'd reach for Anesthesia for lavender, mint, and bergamot), but I will continue to keep my imp on hand for its sleep purpose. I can't attest to whether or not it is effective against nightmares, but I can say that it is effective in making me feel drowsy.

Edited March 19, 2018 by dementia_divine

[donkehpoo]

Wet: Have you ever smelled "Angels on Bare Skin", the face cleanser by Lush? That's what this smells like to me. Lavender, and something a little astringent.

 

Dry: A much stronger version of the wet stage. The lavender is very, very strong... and it's no longer a "little" astringent. There's something I didn't smell during the wet stage though, that I can only describe as "clean".

 

Either way, this scent is not for me, and I think it's starting to give me a headache. I prefer TKO for a lavender scent.

Edited June 16, 2018 by donkehpoo

[DryFrogPills]

I've been trying out any of the Somnium blends I'm fairly sure don't have chamomile in them since I'm horribly insomnia prone. (... And horribly chamomile allergic, but so far, nothing has set that off!) Baku's probably been my favorite so far.

 

In the imp: Eucalyptus and something in the fennel/anise/black licorice family.

 

Fresh on skin: The fennel/anise is forward first and stays there for about five minutes, then the lavender comes forward and a tiny touch of eucalyptus. It's a more herbal lavender, although I find that at this stage, one of those notes lends an underlying sweetness to Baku.

 

An hour and more out: The longer I wear it, the more soft, but clearly herbal/astringent lavender comes to the front, with tiny breaths of eucalyptus and anise/fennel floating up now and then. It's not something I'd wear as a perfume, but I do find it soothing when trying to sleep, and especially after bad dreams.