Ninth Lash

[torischroeder9]

Clove, honey, and helichrysum.

 

Let this sit a full day from when it arrived. 

 

Expectations: Honey and clove seems like a scent that could be made for me. I think I've only tried one other blend with helichrysum/immortelle, but I liked it.** 

 

In the bottle: The Lab's honey with something deepening it. It's a little herbal and a little spicy, so the overall effect is less sweet than some of the other honey blends I've tried. 

 

On my skin:

 

Wet, the clove comes to prominence first. As it initially dries, the honey is also detectable, keeping the clove from being harsh or biting. 

 

Once it starts to settle, the honey increases to become the dominant note though the clove doesn't diminish. But in this phase, it's clovey honey rather than being clove with honey. I can't detect the helichrysum as a distinct note, though it may be what's keeping the honey from being cloying. There is sweetness to this scent, but it's much mellower than some (many?) of the other honey blends I've tried. 

 

After another half an hour, I'm drawing the conclusion that this isn't much of a morpher, which is good for me. This a surprisingly comfortable scent. It's sweet and spicy but not flowery or foody. In a perfect world, there would be a touch more clove, but that may well come out with aging. 

 

This does have the characteristic strong throw that BPAL honey has on me. In fact, I'm a person with several honey blends and several clove blends, and I feel safe saying those notes are behaving in very characteristic ways on me. So if the description sounds like it will work for you, I definitely think it's worth a try. 

 

I'm very glad I ordered my bottle and am now contemplating a second. I don't need to hoard this for all eternity, but it is a blend I can see myself using with some regularity. 

 

** Full disclosure: The other helichrysum/immortelle blend I've tried is Judith and Holofernes, which also has honey -- which may be a factor in why I can't really distinguish the note here. 

 

Edit: Not an hour after I posted (but about 2 hours after initial application), and this has become a "second skin" type scent on me. I mean, it has a lot of throw, so it's not a skin-close scent. But it is a scent that works very seamlessly with my skin chemistry. 

 

Update 12/25 -- I recently ordered a second bottle of Ninth Lash and another bottle of Bengal (the closest GC scent I can compare this to). Sniffing them both side by side, I think the helichrysum in Ninth Lash is adding a layer of subtle earthiness or herbalness. It's not sharp or pungent, but it deepens the BPAL honey note. 

Edited December 26, 2018 by torischroeder9

[starbrow]

I really wanted to love this Lash. Honey can go warm and cozy or screechy on my skin, depending on the blend. This one IS on the louder side, with a piquancy that I think is from the clove, a brightness from the helichrysum. (I smelled helichrysum by itself before and after, and that note is bright, cheerful, and grassy to my nose. There's definitely some of it peeking through in the blend!)

 

I tried this one on my wrist for a long car ride, along with several other scents. Ninth Lash kept wafting up to my nose, it has great staying power. There is a creaminess in it but also something in it that keeps me from loving it. Something a little off. I wish I knew if it was the darn honey. Still, I kept sniffing my wrist, intrigued. Even after a few hours, I still couldn't quite figure this scent out. It's quite complex!

 

I think honey lovers will be pretty pleased, but it's probably one of those ones you need to try to know if it's for you. I won't be getting it for myself, but I can see someone loving it.

[zankoku_zen]

Warm dusky clove, honey and a whiff of what smells like clover. Good clovey-honey. Low throw, good wear length.

[Casablanca]

On the wand, Ninth Lash gives off honey, warm clove, and something earthy and grassy that I'd guess is helichrysum. It's a curious mix.

 

Fresh on skin, oodles of honey and clove. Warm and dusky are good words for the clove. It's a dark-thirty clove, a scent that makes me think of a bit after dark and before dawn. The helichrysum is like a little grass in the dark, barely distinct now.

 

Dried, more helichrysum comes out.

 

This overall blend is interesting. Even though it doesn't resonate for me, I'm glad to try it.  

 

 

[Soupy Twist]

Sour green flower and faint honey in the bottle, but don’t run away. Goes on as clove, but still: don’t run away! As it dries, the honey comes in and smoothes out clove’s rough, sour edges, making this a soft, beautiful pure clove single note. An hour later, it’s more of the Lab’s gorgeous perfumy honey with the slightest edge of clove on top. Swoon.

Can I have too many bottles of the Lab’s perfumy honey note? No. No I cannot.

[annemathematics]

the lab's honey notes range from beautiful to awful on me. the note in this blend leans a little bit stale and funky, like something starting to spoil.  I get an herbal hint of helichrysum and the mildest suggestion of clove.  not a winner on my chemistry, but I still enjoyed the balance of the notes. 

[fairybites]

A nice honeyed clove with some herbalness that I guess is the helichrysum. It's a little musky once dry, but the honey is super prominent in this. It's sweet but not artificial to me, smells close to raw honey. Clove doesn't stick around too long. Won't be upgrading, but it's great if you adore honey.