Sam

[brineydeep]

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Shadow opened his eyes, and, groggily, sat up. He was freezing, and the sky outside the car was the deep luminescent purple that divides the dusk from the night.

Tap. Tap. Someone said, "Hey, mister," and Shadow turned his head. The someone was standing beside the car, no more than a darker shape against the darkling sky. Shadow reached out a hand and cranked down the window a few inches. He made some waking-up noises, and then he said, "Hi."

"You all right? You sick? You been drinking?" The voice was high-a woman's or a boy's.

"I'm fine," said Shadow. "Hold on." He opened the door, and got out, stretching his aching limbs and neck as he did so. Then he rubbed his hands together, to get the blood circulating and to warm them up.

"Whoa. You're pretty big."

"That's what they tell me," said Shadow.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Sam," said the voice.

"Boy Sam or girl Sam?"

"Girl Sam. I used to be Sammi with an i, and I'd do a smiley face over the i, but then I got completely sick of it because like absolutely everybody was doing it, so I stopped."

"Okay, girl Sam. You go over there, and look out at the road."

"Why? Are you a crazed killer or something?"

"No," said Shadow, "I need to take a leak and I'd like just the smallest amount of privacy."

"Oh. Right. Okay. Got it. No problem. I am so with you. I can't even pee if there's someone in the next stall. Major shy bladder syndrome."

"Now, please."

Nag champa incense, patchouli, and freshly-soaped skin.

 

This starts as fresh soaped skin, emphasis on soap. Then the patch comes up behind. Dry, it's a balance between clean soap and patch/incense.

 

It's really interesting balance of clean and dirty with fairly good throw. I'm not sure this is the blend for me, but I think people who actually like patchouli might enjoy it.

[zankoku_zen]

LOADS of clean soap (it smells like Dial to me) and a hint of patchouli. Take patchouli, throw it in a container of Dial soap, and that's what you get. Great throw and wear length.

[fundercat55]

I love patch, I love nag champa, and I love clean skin scents, so this one seemed like a no brainer for me. I'm so glad I played it safe and waited for a decant. All I get from this is a giant, angry, screaming bar of cheap motel hand soap. Which totally fits for the character it's based on, but is definitely not what I was looking for in a perfume. The soapy scent isn't necessarily unpleasant, but it totally drowns out everything else.

Wet: SOOOOAAAAP

Dry down, 30 minutes in: soap

Dry down, 1 hour in: Gone

[roseus]

Starts off as a generic soap. As it dries this is mostly a soft patchouli and nag champa scent with a nice light soapyness lingering behind. Interesting but not quite bottle worthy for me.

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: Somehow this combo of notes ends up smelling like fresh cut grass and damp earth...huh? Incredibly pleasant, actually, but not at all what I expected. I like it! I guess the soap is reading as grass (some people say BPAL's grass note is soapy? I dunno) and the patchouli is of the really dry, earthy variety rather than gnarly or chewy. So ya, I'm getting grass and earth. It smells clean and springy. Very nice!

 

Dry: Still very clean. Really lovely. Perfumey and sweet at the same time, but so light. It's really quite gorgeous, though not at all what I expected. The patchouli adds depth but is totally not recognizable as patchouli, same with the champaca. Even the soap still smells sorta grassy to me. I like this! Might be on the bottle list for work appropriate scents, which is crazy when you consider the notes. A neat scent!

[whisperstilled]

As nag champa-y and soapy as you might want. Usually we use 'soapy' as an epithet with perfume, but this will definitely make you smell like clean soap bubble incense, if that's your thing!

[Little Bird]

I liked the idea of dirty patchouli mixed with clean soap, but somehow the patchouli and nag champa just don't show up to the party at all. This is like generic white bar soap, but harsh rather than creamy, and I don't get incense or earthiness at all. I wonder if there are batch variations, because my decant is nothing but soap, and I love patchouli. I like The Forgettable God more for a soap scent from this line, as it has a creamy, fluffy quality and watery tones, where this is more industrial handsoap...

[sarandipitee]

This is very pretty - fresh, clean soap with the barest hint of patch underneath. I really wish there was more nag or patchouli coming through. I think aging will really work on this one. I'll keep my decant and try it again in a couple months.

[cassiejaynebunk]

when beth said soap she wasn't kidding! this smells like ivory soap. annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd thats it..... maybe with just the tinest touch of nag champa like when it clings to your hair after you slept in a room where someone burned it the night before. i had such high hopes for this one as nag champa and patchouli is basically my heaven combo but it's just soap. this is another one i gave to my child since she could wear it because it was benign enough for school.