Ulalume

[Babylon]

Starry white lilies lend an eerie brightness to the deep black wooded scents of cypress and oak, layered with a touch of crushed dried leaves and the faintest aquatic note.

At first, this is pungent wet earth. It's so strong that I feel like I'm being buried alive. Every breath is dirt. Already I'm thinking I might have to scrub this off, the dirt smell is so strong compared to any others I've sniffed (Jazz Funeral, Graveyard Dirt, etc). I swiped the imp wand maybe twice across one wrist, and it's very overpowering.

5 minutes later: Yay! It morphed completely! Now it's a wonderful patch of moss that's growing on treebark, covered in dew and some wet dead leaves. It makes me think of bugs a bit, smells like someplace where bugs would be living.

Half an hour later: Whoa, where'd it go? It's entirely gone. Well if I sniff *real* hard, there's a faint leaf smell.

I have Hamadryad, the Caterpillar, and Luperci, and those all work well for a mossy scent for me, without having to get past the omgoverwhelming dirt phase. Off to the swaps with this one, unfortunately! Edited September 29, 2007 by Shollin

[sookster]

straight sniff from the imp this is zombi's younger sister

 

upon application this is all about sassafrass...or root beer

after 30 minutes or so this gets softly loamy and even a touch spicy....

fairly long lasting ...

 

i will be enjoying my imp thoroughly for sure

[tinyvulture]

Smells like fallen leaves with undertones of sweet berries, woodsy oak, and the gentlest aquatics. I don’t smell the lilies at all. This scent makes me nostalgic for autumn – there’s a nip in the air and a thunderstorm moving in, leaves to rake and jump in, and comforting potpourri simmering on the stove. A keeper.

[Clare-Dragonfly]

In the bottle: What a weird scent. Very strong, a little spicy. There’s a perfume-y note like everything else, but it’s hiding. Definitely smell dried leaves.

 

On me: Sharper and woodsier. Much, much woodsier. A very dark woods—it might be day, but the trees, evergreens and oaks, are too thick to tell. Yummy. As it dries the woods just get sharper. I think my mouth is watering. I’m not sure there are lilies or aquatics in this, but then I don’t really know what those smell like.

 

After fifteen minutes or so: Mmm, that must be the lilies coming out. It’s softer and sweeter now, but I still like it. Though it smells a little like soap. Expensive soap.

 

Yet later: It’s getting powdery now. Hrm. I don’t like this as much. I’ll give it a bit more time then I might wash it off.

 

Ten more minutes: Nowp. Not my thing. Just powdery ick now, and it seems to be making my eyes water. I’m really disappointed, it smelled fantastic at first. Maybe if I try it in my hair or as a room scent it’ll work out better. Going to go wash it off now.

[Ryvre]

This is an odd smell.

 

In the bottle it's deep and strange. Definitely dirty, and a little bit spicy. There's a sharp note that comes out very strongly that's also in Yggdrasil- maybe one of the woods.

 

On me, it's very heavy and aquatic. As it dries down it softens up a bit. Maybe it's the lilies coming out. After a while it gets a kind of powdery smell beneath the aquatic and notes.

 

I've tested this four times now, and I can't decide whether I like it or not.

[Caltha]

Ulalume

Now this is a weird one. Sharp, bitter, perfumey, plastic, moist earth and bitter almond with potpourri. And the secound time I tried it: pure, true compost. It's the most disgusting scent I've tried and I'm not mad because my girlfriend agreed that it smelled exactly like compost.

[Diva Urd]

In this one, the lily never makes an appearance on me. All I get is woods, slightly mouldy, and something sweet, almost candyish, in the background.

 

I think I might have to stay away from oils that have "aquatic" in the description - whenever I try them, I get the candy effect.

 

The candy fades upon complete drydown - sadly so does everything else. I can barely detect any fragrance anymore after only half an hour. Off to swaps with you, Ulalume!

[LiberAmoris]

Ulalume starts out like a candy-sweet mix of conversation hearts and bubble gum but dries down to a lovely incensy oaken lily. I love the ultimate end, but the path to that end is a little too sweet for my taste.

 

I'll pass my imp on to a friend with a sweet tooth.

[Meg]

In the bottle: Sweet wood and dry leaves, hmm. Crisp and aquatic at the same time.

 

Wet: A bittersweet leaf note comes out, slightly tingly and bittersweet, very aquatic. As it dries down, it smells like woods after the rain.

 

Drydown: Aquatics come out to play, but they're not overpowering. I mostly get slightly bitter mossy wood notes and leaves, with the barest touch of mushroom. It's earthy and it's delicious! Slowly the creamy white lily starts to emerge from the bitter green of the trees. Unfortunately after a while the blend is 100% lilies on me. Damn!

 

Overall: It starts out as a dark, wistful and beautiful blend. Extremely evocative of the Poe poem, a dark, mysterious aquatic with hints of earth and leaves. But unfortunately the lily really ruins it for me, making it too smooth and sweet and drowning out all the leaves and tree bark. Damn.

[Eunice]

At first sniff, this reminds me of smokey Necco Wafers. Those black Necco Wafers that nobody but me would eat when I was little. And now that that thought is running through my mind, I can't make out anything else. *sigh*

[ayelienne]

Ulalume is quite a morpher on me - started off nice enough, morphed into pencil shaving for a little while, then went into a light, watery floral scent with a touch of the woodsy. I'm feel melancholy today, for no reason, and I'm wondering if it's Ulalume that's contributing.

 

It's all right, but with so many other OMG! blends out there, Ulalume is going to head out into swapland. Perhaps another time.

[ajcj213499]

I think this is the very weirdest BPAL I have smelled. On my it smelled very strongly of eucalyptus and a compost pile. Very strange...

[Elrianra]

In the bottle, cypress and lilies with a soft watery note. On me wet, crushed leaves and oak, faintly cypress and aquatic notes tickle the back of my nose and the lilies have disappeared. Dried, this is dried woods and crushed leaves, very dusty; the florals are over sweet and musky while the aquatic note adds a damp sweet-rot overtone to this. As this warms, the florals are washed by the aquatic not and toned, but this still makes my nose itch. Another hour or two and it hsa faded to wet oakwood. Rather mossy in all reality.

[edenssixthday]

Ulalume - This is one of those scents that I half love and half hate. The aquatic/floral scent is beyond gorgeous. However, there’s a dirt scent (that after reading the description I believe to be dried leaves) that just stinks to high heaven on me and reminds me raking wet, musty leaves when I was a kid. It is a vile and nasty scent. But the other half of the scent is glorious. It makes me so sad that I can smell the beauty in this scent, but that it’s accompanied by something so dank and old-smelling.

[juniperus]

Bottle: oak and leaves, primarily.

Wet: the aquatic is more pronounced, the bottom notes still dominant.

Dry: the lily has made an appearance, and the edge of the aquatic has softened and, so far, is not calling a headache upon me. the bottom is less harsh and crackly - so far they are all playing nice with each other.

Later: very nice - the lily isn't amped and ugly, and it's a lovely counterbalance to the deeper, darker notes. and no headache! w00t!

[nerdcraft]

This was a generous freebie from a swap with rabid hauteur! Yay.

 

in the vial:

Hrm. A bright white floral, a teensy bit of almost-fruitiness, with a scent I can't exactly identify that smells almost like dirt or musty earth underneath. On top is a spearmint sort of note (?) that's pretty sharp.

wet:

Smells like spearmint gum and mustiness....unfortunately for a minute or so it smells sort of like an old person.

dry:

Okay, this is much nicer dry. The sharpness is fading away, and the main scent now is of a dark, earthy, very life-like scent - it smells like green plant life just starting to decay. I have no clue how one gets the exact scent of crushed dried leaves into a perfume oil, but here it is. It's a very alive smell. As time goes on, it gets mellower and prettier - more flowers and green leaves and less musty dirt.

 

season: fall and winter

office-friendly? possibly - I might not because it's a little too lifelike and sorrowful for everyday use

overall:

This is much different from what I was expecting, and isn't my usual style, but I actually really like it. It smells extremely realistic, exactly like the woods in fall when the leaves are on the ground.

[maijasu]

Wet on skin: OMG Wintergreen Altoids!

 

Dry: Has faded to a slightly sweet, pleasant herbal scent. I like it.

 

Unfortunately, it fades very quickly on my skin. I think I'll pass this one along to someone who might love it more.

[opaleyes]

What on EARTH?! I don't get any of the listed notes at all. I smell like a wintergreen altoid. How that happened I have no idea. (EDIT: LOL. I just now saw the person before me's post. Good to know I'm not the only one.)

 

After about 10 minutes, the lily is coming out a little, but the wintergreen is still right on top. I can literally feel that sharp minty flavor in the back of my throat. Bizarre.

 

15 mins- the woods are staring to come out and the mint is fading, though I can still feel it in my sinuses.

 

20 mins- mint is gone. I'm getting pretty lillies with a hint of woods, but now it's so light. I'll have to think this one over.

Edited July 5, 2006 by opaleyes

[mountainwitch]

At first Ulalume goes on sharp and medicinal. On me, this stage lasts about 10 minutes . . . And then it's like a veil has lifted, leaving behind a complex, woodsy scent. This fragrance is not at all like Black Forest, which has a straightforward pine scent that shouts, "Look, Ma--TREES!" This is a strange gray wood, full of promise and mystery, and the scent itself makes me want to create something.

[shadesong]

...this is pure Wintergreen Tic-Tacs. o_O

[masque]

I'm slightly confused about the minty smell that I'm getting off of Ulalume now, considering I got NOTHING of a hint of wintergreen from the imp that I had. The imp which compelled me to buy a bottle, and now the bottle smells nothing like the imp. This saddens me muchly.

 

I have from the imp on one hand and from the bottle on the other and it's just very confusing. The imp smells like the description, but I'm getting nothing of it from the bottle. Minty green toothpaste. I really hope the mint fades and the bottle becomes the same as the imp soon. Maybe I'll have to age it. *frown*

[furiana]

There is something in this that I hate. I have no idea what it is, nor do I want to know. Whatever it is, the wintergreen makes it even worse.

 

Not a scent for me.

[PurringPulsar]

Ulalume

 

In the imp: fruity sweet floral lilies glistening with dew and damp night air! So beautiful!

Wet on skin: oh, this is pretty, I get a lovely airy aquatic mingled with sweet lilies and damp woods and leaves.

Dry on skin: this is surprisingly beautiful. This really does smell like what the description says-sweet lilies (almost like flower nectar at times), dark woods which are there but don't take over, an aquatic note which brings to mind cool mist and dew, and wet autumn leaves. This is very mysterious and melancholy-and the aquatic note isn't turning to soap! I also smell soil and air in here, which just adds to the ambience. It reminds me of something I've smelt before-maybe CB's Winter of 1972? It has a similar 'misty starry night with a hint of soil' scent to it but with a stronger floral note.

After a while: eventually I get a darker, almost burnt wood note at the very back of the scent, ad the floral note is slightly sweeter but also lighter, more ethereal, mingling with the misty aquatic. Still no soap, which is a very good thing.

Eventually this fades to a sweet, crisp, light, ethereal floral note resting on a gentle woody base. So pretty. It reminds me very slightly of something else-Dunwich maybe? It's got that dry wood and watery lily scent to it. It develops a pleasantly papery, wispy feel at the end.

Verdict: this is such a lovely scent, and a great relief to see that it works with me when I've been having a run of aquatic failures. This is the scent of a chilly autumn night after the rain, the air is cool and clear and also misty/foggy, but there are lilies, white and sweet and bewitching, and fragile. The aquatic note in here works wonderfully-it brings to mind damp and cold night air, and the woody notes add a lovely dark background along with the autumn leaves, and the moist lilies are just gorgeous. A very evocative, atmospheric scent which smells true on my skin and doesn't turn to soap at all. It's not a favourite but definitely worth keeping the imp. (btw I get no wintergreen at all. I have an old imp-with the old logo. Maybe recent batches of Ulalume are suffering from Hamadryad-style wintergreenitis?)

Emoticon rating:

If you like this, try: Midnight, Nuit, Dunwich

Edited September 28, 2006 by yeahbutnobut

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

impsniff: wet pressure-treated wood

 

skinsniff, wet: wintergreen rubbing alcohol and toothpicks

 

skinsniff, dry: wintergreen rubbing alcohol, pinestraw and dirt.

 

ADDED 1/3/08:

 

i was so thrilled to get this frimped to me in a forum purchase!!

sniffed from the imp: rainstorm in the woods. (wet dirt, moist air, tree bark and the smell of rain)

it was hard to stop sniffing this long enough to put it on! so nice.

on skin: dirt and dry, fallen leaves & crisp, fresh from the spring, earth-chilled water. there's a faint creamy-white almost-sweet scent that might be lilies. this is so beautiful!

you wouldn't think it from my review, but this ends up being extremely wearable, i think, even for those who might not enjoy the idea of smelling like dirt and rain (which i do enjoy, very much)

i also think this would smell delicious on the right guy.

[theseagrows]

this is one of the strangest bpal's i've smelled as of yet. at first it smells carbonated and almost root beer-ish with a woody/leafy scent underneath and a sweet floral. it has a bubbliness to it. then once it fades, the sweet floral (lily, i guess), becomes really sweet and strong, almost fruity. too sweet for me in fact. this scent isn't for me, but it is a really intriguing one!