California Leaf-Nosed Bat

[torischroeder9]

The California Leaf-Nosed Bat prefers the desert. Theyre homebodies and do not migrate, and theyre also definitely Type A bats, as they dont hibernate. Go go go!

Nightfall in the desert: Mojave yucca, creosote bush, saguaro, dusty clove, and sacred datura.

I've never been a first review before.

I will also note that I am emotional because I'm trying this the same day I'm trying Resistance, when we're a week away from an important election in the (not-California, but very close) desert that I love.

In the bottle: I smell the creosote first, though by the time I have a full inhalation, the dusty clove note is stronger. And "dusty clove" is a good way to explain it. It is dry but not overly biting.

On my skin:

Immediately, it's creosote and yucca. For people not from the desert, the closest parallel I can draw is that of sweet, live grasses. It's a little bit green and a little bit golden and a little bit woody and a little bit sun-kissed and just a touch smoky (which might be unique to the desert).

It is very much full of the spirit of live desert plants... creosote and yucca, yes, but also ocotillo and palo verde. It is not so sharp as a wood but not so delicate as a flower. It is earthy but not pungent, spicy but not biting.

It is hiking through the desert one week after a good rain.

It is earth and old plants and dormant plants promising .

It is gentle and lovely, and if I had to compare it to anything, it would be Fledgling Raptor Moon, though it is more for the soft woody feel than for any particular note (though yes, the general gentle spicy feel is the same on me for both).

If I have any sadness about this scent, it is that it is so close to the skin on me (as is Fledgling Raptor Moon). But I've never had such a grounded scent have much throw, so I suppose it's unreasonable to hope for this to be the exception.

[zankoku_zen]

Dusty clove, soft woodiness, and a whiff of dry floral vegetal matter. This smells like I imagine the southwest smells - sort of flowery, sort of dusty, sort of dry. Medium throw and wear length.

[Ghost of a Rose]

Bottle fresh from the lab.

 

I've always wished for a BPAL oil with a desert creosote note, which is the gorgeous and refreshing scent of the desert after a rain.  So I was thrilled to find this!  Of course I had to get a bottle!  I'm interested in the other notes as well.  Except for the clove, all are plants that grow in the Arizona desert where I lived all my life until six years ago.

 

In the bottle:. The first thing I notice is the sharp peppery note of clove, which gives this oil a bit of a men's-cologne vibe. Then a very sweet floral.  And almost as strong as the clove, an herbal greenness.  I can detect the desert creosote in the greenery if I work at it, but it is very subtle and delicate, as it is in real life. It is almost completely overwhelmed by the more assertive notes.  What the green note smells like mostly, and very convincingly, is freshly cut-open cactus and split yucca leaf.

 

On me, wet:   1:36 am.   All clove, loud and clear, for the first minute or two.  Then the herbal green notes tiptoe in, gaining strength by the minute.

 

At 5 minutes:  The green notes and the clove are vying for dominance.  At the moment, it's a draw.

 

At 10 minutes:  . . . And we have a winner:  the herbal green notes.  All of the listed notes are present and accounted for at this point.  (Something that doesn't happen very often, especially not all at the same time.) In this order: cactus and yucca, datura flower, clove, with a trace of creosote.

 

At 15 minutes:  The sharpness of clove has seized control again, but the other notes are still hanging in there. It is men's-cologne-like, to be sure, but a very unusual one.  Clove can sometimes makes my skin burn, but that isn't happening here.

 

At 30 minutes:  Sweet spiciness, now with a touch of smokiness.  Where did that come from?  I like it.  It balances and gentles the sharpness of the clove.  The herbal/green and floral notes are fading.

 

At 45 minutes:  The scent has completed transformed.  It's basically all sweet, slightly smoky, clove now.  There's a hint of other things to add some complexity, but no other specific notes are identifiable. No sense of greenness at all.  It's lovely in a different way, warm and comforting, dry and powdery.

 

At one hour:  Pretty much the same as above, but lighter.  And almost all of the peppery sharpness is gone - the clove is very gentle now, and less men's-cologne-ish.  But the smokiness and the subtle lingering nuances from the other notes keep it from being at all foody.

 

At 1 1/2 hours:  The distinctive clove scent has faded a great deal, leaving behind just a weak men's-cologne note, without its earlier sharpness.  As I move around, my clothes throw off a cloud of men's-cologne.

 

At 8 hours:  As light as it was at 1 1/2 hours, I'm surprised that the scent still remains.  It's men's-cologne, with a backdrop of clove.

 

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Predominant Notes: Clove, herbal/green notes

 

Character: Men's-cologne. Sweet.  A morpher: first herbal/green, then spicy. Unisex to masculine.

 

5 out of 6 stars.  I might like this even more without the clove, for a more authentic desert scent and no men's-cologne aspect.  But Beth and the labbies know what they are doing.  The green notes are pretty volatile, and the scent might be short-lived without the clove.  And it does provide a beautiful drydown.

 

Now I would love a Single-Note Desert Creosote oil!

Edited November 25, 2018 by Ghost of a Rose

[DiZZysTARdust]

OMG. i got a decant of california leaf nose and i think i need a whold bottle! i actually almost didn’t even pick it up. i saw “dusty” and “creosote” and was not attracted, but then i caved and i am SO GLAD i did. in the bottle it’s a little soapy but the florals really bloom on the skin, a la a desert nightfall presumably. the throw is pretty strong. i kind of feel like i’m being blasted in the face but in a good way. this is very reminiscent of the flower moons to me. sweet and green. there is no soapiness on the skin for me. i could believe there is honey in this. it must be the clove giving it that sweetness and depth. it’s like a slightly classier, more department store friendly flower moon.

[trinitysite]

I wanted to try this because it seemed different. And it is! It goes on very smoky and woody, almost like tobacco. Masculine, but not intensely so. Now it's more of a quiet, woody floral. I'm unfamiliar with most of these notes, so I can't pick them out individually. Minimal throw, and it seems to be fading quickly. I am glad that I tried this, but no need for me to get a full bottle.

[Vaporeon]

A little smoky and floral, a little dry, but also smells alive, like nature. I absolutely love this. I find it gives me true pleasure to wear, maybe even having a millon scents I was in a bit of a rut!

[doomsday_disco]

The only note I am familiar with from the note list is clove.

In the decant, it's greener and more floral than I anticipated, but with a dusty quality to it.

On my skin, it's dustier, and drier, and the greenery is indeed reminiscent of plants in the desert. It's slightly bitter and smoky, and the clove seems to be getting more prominent with wear, which adds to the dusty quality of the scent. It's not a particularly spicy clove, and it goes well with the desert-dwelling plants.

I was hoping this would be like a desert-after-rain smell with the creosote note. It doesn't smell like that, but it's a unique fragrance that's unlike other scents that I've tried before. It's not something I feel the need to obtain more of, but I am glad that I decided to try it!

[slo]

Wet: this goes on as a beautiful desert floral - dry, but a little sweet with some spice in there. hard to pick out individual notes, but maybe just because i'm not that familiar with them. anyway, it's totally unique and worth trying. however...

dry: within 5 minutes this goes straight to soap on my skin! boo hoo chemistry. hard to say which note is doing that? but if i had to guess i'd say maybe the sagauro? just read it can smell kind of like melons and while i don't necessarily get "melon" from this blend, it is a death note for me. on final drydown a little green and a little spice come back to at least make this a pleasant/expensive smelling soap, but still a little heartbreaking.

[roseus]

This is one of the most unique scents I have ever tried. The most true to life non-foresty outdoorsy scent I've encountered. Dry desert brush, a touch sweet, a touch green, a touch smoky. Sort of herbal.

[mishi-bear]

Very pretty desert blend. Sweet greenery with an almost herbal tinge, a hint of floral, and a lovely clove that makes the whole blend smell very dusty and lovely.

[Casablanca]

I love the bat and butterfly blends... 

 

This one is as desert-like as described in other reviews. It goes on like desert scrub, dusty clove, and a breath of small, dry flowers.

 

Over time I find something that reminds me of an actual spiny arm of an aloe broken open, as we used to do to rub on sunburns. An opened succulent smell, blending with the rest of the desert.

[katharina]

I have finally found this beauty, thank you swaps forum! I am a born and raised Arizonan, now living amongst the mossy redwoods. While the heat of the desert is unbearable, I long to be reunited with it's smells, as they have been imprinted on my soul. (Cheezeball Alert!) 

 

Bottle: Herbaceous, sandy and reminiscent of D'jed.

 

Wet: Wow. This is a sweeter, "perfumier"  version of D'jed. While not exactly the same, they must share many similar notes. Although funnily enough, no shared notes are listed.😕

 

Dry: Once fully dry the only thing that distinguishes from D'jed is that it's a much fainter scent. I know this because I tested one on each wrist. Very scientific! 👩‍🔬