Insula Ventorum

[rawgirl75]

The Island of Winds: chilled white tea leaf, astringent white musk, and eucalyptus petals biting through ragged osmanthus blossoms, crystallized white amber, and ice-limned cedarwood.

I'd blindly bought Insula Ventorum based on multiple Willcall reviewers comparing it to Spirits of the Dead (which is a longtime favorite of mine), but was shocked to find it not what I expected at all. To tell you the truth, I can't shake the feeling that this reminds me a lot more like Okayaki. So I looked up the notes to both and compared them this way:

IV has Tea, Okayaki had Bergamot - both lemony like.
IV has Osmanthus blossoms, Okayaki had Olive blossoms.
Both IV and Okayaki share a similar Amber note.
Both IV and Okayaki share a similar Icy note.

I can also see a similarity to Spirits of the Dead, which shares Tea, Blossom and Wood notes. But it's that Icy Amber part of IV that pushes it to Okayaki territory for me. A love child of Okayaki and Spirits of the Dead perhaps?

I had let go of my bottle of Okayaki awhile back, when it aged into something I couldn't wear. I think I'll hang onto IV for awhile and see where it goes.

[Oct 30]: I found my decant of Okayaki, so I skintested all 3 - Okayaki and Spirits of the Dead on one arm and Insula Ventorum on the other. Reviews were correct that IV *is* more like SotD, but when I layered Okayaki over the SotD, it was so much closer to IV.

 

[Apr 22]: I'm glad I kept my bottle of IV - it's aging wonderfully and has become a favorite.

Edited April 22, 2015 by rawgirl75

[zankoku_zen]

Insula Ventorum smells like the Unsteady Governess stayed out too late one winter night. Tons of white tea fringed with minty eucalyptus on wet, dries down to tons of white tea, and hints of icy amber and cedar.

 

This is cool, cold, and like a blast of winter air. Think of Foreigner's "Cold as Ice" and you got this.

 

Easy, breezy, COLD.

[loubric]

Mmmmm in the bottle/imp it smells amazing. Cool, sharp, sweet, green and clean.

It still amazes me how may of Beth's scents evoke intense memories. This one smells like a happy moment of my childhood. I can't pinpoint it but I just know, you know?

 

On me it doesn't smell quiet the same but it still has a gorgeous cool, soapy smell to it. Spicy white and green tea with small hints of mint. Love.

[Jangzonrice]

in imp: sharp coolness that is refreshingly clean with a tiny bit of sweetness! I'm pretty sure I'm going to love this!

 

will update when I get to try it on!

[theseagrows]

at first i thought, "icy grapefruit!" but i realize it's the white tea and white musk. it's very icy, seems like it would be nice and cooling on a hot summer day. the eucalyptus comes out later and luckily, it isn't too medicinal. i was really excited for the osmanthus in this and i think it's adding a very subtle sweet floral which i enjoy, but mostly this is not a super floral or anything. this tickles my nose just a bit, so icy and refreshing.

[milo]

This is lovely, fresh and clean. I get the tea, and something akin to citrus and a touch of white musk. It doesn't last long, however, and just a whisp of tea is left. It is refreshing, but doesn't last long enough for me to consider any more.

[ShannonElisabethJones]

Cool, green, sharp. But there's a floral softness, too. Really fabulous.

[doomsday_disco]

In the decant: The chilled white tea leaf is the strongest note in the decant, though I'm also getting the white musk, eucalyptus, and a bit of the woods. It's a very bright scent.

 

Wet: White tea, white musk, eucalyptus. It's rather astringent at the moment. The eucalyptus note seems to be coming out more as this sits on my skin.

 

Dry: There is a floral aspect to this scent now. It must be the osmanthus note coming out. The white tea and musk notes still dominate the blend, but the wood notes are starting to peek out now. I get more of the white amber than the cedarwood, but neither of them are main players in this scent.

 

Verdict: This scent is too astringent for me. I'm going to pass my decant onto a friend that likes eucalyptus notes.

[Little Bird]

Sharp, citrusy white tea with cold menthol/eucalyptus and a powdery amber and white musk drydown.