First Cry of the Warbler on the Plum

[puck_nc]

Wild plum, blackcurrant, honeyed green tea, wisteria, and a flutter of cherry blossoms.

Origin: Straight from the Lab

Initial Thoughts: I will always pay attention when wisteria is in the mix. I love that scent and there are not nearly enough perfumes out there that feature it. There were no deal-breaker notes involved, though tea sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. I'm hoping for yet another distinctive oriental floral like other Shungas I've fallen for in past years.

In the Bottle: Plum and blackcurrant are the strong notes here, with the other notes playing background. Almost juicy and fresh.

Wet: I think I'm getting the wisteria and some tea, but the blackcurrant will not be budged from its place. It's a little darker and sexier now than in was in the bottle.

Drydown: On the one hand, I'm getting more wisteria and cherry blossom as the fruits back down. On the other hand, something is smelling really musty all of a sudden and I can't figure out what.

Verdict: I think I'm going to sit on this one a few days. I am getting over the flu and maybe the meds I'm taking are monkeying with my skin chemistry. I think it's got the potential to be a lovely spring scent heavy on the fruit and I want to love it.

[Aviatrix]

Plum + cherry blossom on me!

There is a hint of the tea as well, but not a huge lot.

It has a very Japanese feeling to it, and if you love fruity scents, you might really love this!

[Haltija]

Primarily plum, wisteria and cherry blossom on me. The plum borderlines smelling artificial in the wet stage but that fades off to the most lovely cherry blossom that I can just vision in Japan right now, stunning. It's juicy, inviting and uplifting.

[hammy]

In the imp - Wow, that’s intense. And definitely very plummy.

 

Wet - It’s getting plummier. How is there this much plum? I can tell it’s tussling with the blackcurrant, but the plum is definitely winning. Yowza.

 

Drydown - Jeez. Plum refuses to back down from center stage, but there are finally some other characters in the background. I’m getting wisps of the florals now, and the blackcurrant is still hanging around. No tea, thankfully. That’s hit-or-miss on me.

 

Verdict - I wanted to love this but I just can't. If you like plum, OHMYGODBUYTHISNOW. If you’re not completely gung-ho on plum, look elsewhere.

Edited March 22, 2016 by hammy

[quintessentially]

I got pure green tea and wisteria from this one! The green tea note started giving me a headache, too, so I washed it off very quickly. I was hoping for a lot more blackcurrant!

[nolifeking]

Wet: Juicy plum at first with a drop of tea!

 

Dry: The cherry blossom are quite lovely, very japanese like Aviatrix said. The wisteria is getting stronger as well. Too strong in fact!

 

Alas, this is a little bit too musty at the end... @___@

 

First cry is nice but I don't think I'll wear it often....it will need an another test to be sure * was sick the first time* I don't regret the bottle though!

 

 

Edit 20/4/16: Well, this one isnt so bad after all, still a bit heady when wet but it became a delicate cherry blossom honeyed tea after a couple hours

Edited April 20, 2016 by nolifeking

[yakiguri]

Plum and blackcurrant are two of the very few fruits that work on my skin, and they're right at the forefront of this blend. Unfortunately something musty is lurking in the background, and as First Cry dries the mustiness becomes stronger and stronger. I don't get much of the other notes, but I'm hoping they'll come out more as the blend ages.

[Little Bird]

This reminds me a lot of blends like Holiday Moon (cool, refreshing green tea) and Dragon Moon 06 (sweet, breezy cherry blossom).
Warbler is definitely one of bpal's lovely, delicate, Asian inspired blends that's lightly sweet, fresh, clean, almost citrus-floral... the plum and black currant add a dark, sweet edge to this blend, though, especially as it dries down.
It's crisp tea and fluttering cherry blossoms on a cool breeze, with a background of rich, dark, sweet plum. Very beautiful. I'm glad that I took a chance and ordered a bottle of this, because it's a fruity-floral that I can actually wear. It's not doing anything sharp or strange on my skin, and I like the amount of sweetness that it has.

[Dark Alice]

At first, Gorgeous plum and tea. Dry...nasty, cherry blossom air freshner. Bleh.

[zankoku_zen]

Wisteria, green tea and cherry blossoms. This is a very Asian wisteria/cherry blossom floral blend with hints of plum and tea. Medium throw and wear length.

[Soupy Twist]

Wisteria in the bottle. Goes on as plum with a "blossom note," which resolves into cherry blossom. This takes an unhappy left turn into the Lab's jasmine/stamen sourness, but after a few minutes that passes and dries as a vaguely spicy floral plum. Not a bad overall floral, but not for me.

[CitrusFiend]

In the bottle, a fresh clean tea scent. Wet on skin, something sharp and sour joins the mix. Plum? Whew, this is really perfumey! I guess that's the wisteria. The florals are wiping out all the other notes. Dry, it's florals all the way. This is just too perfumey, when I was hoping for a light tea blend. Not a keeper.

[Coldfire]

Decant: heady dark fruit and floral
Wet on Me: sweet wisteria but sharp astringent almost RAID-like
Drying Down: the RAID-note has morphed to a very heady floral over wispy plum.
Dry: It has mellowed a bit now. The plum went into hiding and it's still head floral. Happy to have tried but putting on the trade pile.

[sunlitgarden]

Kind of embarrassing but I never got around to writing reviews for all of my decants from last year's Lupers, and I never remember what I thought of a scent without a review. I'm trying to rectify this now before a new batch of Lupers comes out, so I don't get completely overwhelmed.

 

In the decant: Fruity-floral. The plum and blackcurrant smell juicy and "purplish", and the wisteria and cherry blossoms smell sweet and light. Very springy and pretty. I think the green tea is adding to the overall light, refreshing feel of this scent.

On my skin: It's good to be able to narrow it down to the lily in Night Snow at Kambara that made it smell incredibly soapy, not the cherry blossom or wisteria, because the same thing isn't happening here. This is a really nice fruity-floral. It's somewhat "juicy" smelling while not being heavy, overripe or boozy like some fruit scents can be on me. It's sweet but not overly sweet. The tea keeps it smelling light and almost lemony. As it dries, it gets a little soft and powdery on me, but in a way I find pleasant. There's something a tiny bit smoky, which I've encountered sometimes from tea notes. In the fruity-floral category, I've had the most success with the Shungas and other "Asian inspired" scents like Weeping Branches Moon, and this is another winner for me

[Lucchesa]

Warbler is a lovely floral tea blend on my skin, with a hint of plum. Cherry blossom can smell artificial on me, but that doesn't happen here. Green tea is always a little citrusy on me, and the tea, fruit and florals all work together to create a bright springtime feeling. Sadly, like so many shungas and tea blends in general, this one does not last long on me at all.