The City in the Sea

[Medici]

The scent of Death’s seaside throne: luminous aquatic notes threaded through by creeping ivies, white woods, waving kelp and bruised violets.

Joy! City in the Sea is the subdued, wintery younger sister to Undertow on me.

I detect something salty and fresh in the wet onset, and thankfully - unlike a few others, there are no violets here. As it dries there is a gradual but sharp mint that begins to manifest - a mint that is not a mint. In anycase, whatever it is, it lends a certain sharpness to it.

It's a great "cold water" scent overall, but on me it's definitely not placid. It's not at all subdued like I expected; I imagined a calm beach, but this is a tumult.

4/5

[hangingfire]

In the bottle: So that's what a salty aquatic smells like. It's also tinged with green, and ever so slightly soapy, possibly from the violets.

 

On, wet: the soapy quality is a little more noticeable, and more recognizably that of violets. Still very clean, green, and aquatic, though.

 

Drydown: Stays true to the initial wet impression, really. Lasts for quite a while, and keeps its character well.

 

This is a lovely, gender-neutral aquatic, very fresh and clean-smelling. I really like it a lot.

[Little Bird]

When I first put on The City in the Sea, it reminded me strongly of Numb (as I see others have also noticed). It had the same shaving cream sort of soapiness, only lighter. After a few minutes the salt water scent comes out more, and it is so salty that it actually makes my mouth water a bit. I like Numb a lot, but I'm sort of disappointed that this is starting out so similar.

 

An hour later... the violets have sweetened up on me and the salt water has intensified. It has lost that soapy edge, and I'm loving this. I'm also getting a hint of something darkly green in the background. It's a deep, cold aquatic on me, and it's unlike any aquatic that I've ever tried before.

 

5 hours later and this was still going strong. It has amazing staying power and I love that the soapiness fades away completely after a while. In the end it is almost a dry, salty woods sort of scent.

 

I really love the sort of salty tang that is in a few of the BPAL blends, and this is a very strong salt. I'm going to keep my bottle of this one and buy another one for my love interest, because I think this would be amazing on a man.

[Voleuse]

On first application, this is an amazing aquatic scent, evocative and slightly green. It's beautiful, but it also makes me want to sneeze.

 

I'm not quite skilled enough to pick out the individual notes for this scent, but it is very much like standing at the edge of the ocean, with stone at your feet and wind at your back. I do catch a hint of the wood, and the kelp as well, except it's deeper, prettier than they would smell in reality.

 

I don't think this is quite the blend for me, but it has decent throw, and lasts quite a while on me.

[Fefferbella]

Must order *more* City in the Sea.

 

It's like this BPAL was made for me...

 

Violets, grass and the Ocean! Sweet, gorgeous dewey fresh violets and crisp green grass! Standing on the edge of the beach with my feet burried in the golden sand, the warm salty sea breeze blowing...

 

This scent is so clean and feminine. I love it!

[SeaMonkey]

Something in this smells like beer on me........literally, like I rubbed beer on my wrists. Its a shame because it smells very green, aquatic, and dark in the imp. I LOVE it in the imp.........but as soon as it hit my skin, it turned into beer, and I really don't like beer

[walkingundine]

I must preface my review by saying that for a girl who used to work for a florist, I am crap at distinguishing floral notes.

 

On opening the bottle, I found City In The Sea to be incredibly INTENSE. It was a bit like turning the tap on a fire-hose and directing it into my nostrils.

 

This continued to be the case for the first twenty minutes of wear. It was blindingly, drowningly blue-green, so wet that I thought my skin would prune up, and the throw? Yeah, the throw was enormous.

 

After that magical 20-minute mark, though, CITS became something phenomenal. It softened, developed a slightly green planty note, and the violet became apparent. I literally could not stop sniffing my wrist; it made me smile every time I caught a whiff.

 

I am so, so glad I got this when I had the chance.

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

City in the Sea...what Pisces could resist that? Sounds like home to me.

 

Oh, this is so nice! There's that cool ivy note I love, blended with aquatics. Whereas supposedly gender-neutral scents like Sea of Glass seemed really pretty masculine to me, this one really is neutral. Fresh and tangy, for mermaids and mermen alike.

[sophia_helix]

In the bottle:

 

Some violet, but also a lovely fresh ocean note.

 

Wet:

 

Like everyone else, it's that overwhelming soapy Numb scent, although somewhat tempered by aquatics. Still, definitely too perfumy, and kind of headache-inducing.

 

Drydown:

 

OK, the perfume note is fading a bit. The aquatics are stepping up and quite intriguingly salty. I'm really not sure how I feel about this one, though, because I've still got that lingering headache and memory of violet-soap. I wish there was a little more wood, or something else earthy. Will have to think about this one.

[merebrillante]

In the vial: Softly briny.

 

Wet: Ocean tang, sharp.

 

Drydown: Smells very "guy" to me, sharp aquatic notes on top of a powdery base. If there are flowers in here, I'm not smelling them. (Note: I looked at the description after noting my initial impressions. The violet must be the source of the powdery smell.)

 

Dry: Still way too "guy" for me. This one goes to the swap pile.

[malanna]

The City in the Sea starts out smelling like dark, murky sea, sort of in a similar way to Chthulhu. However, The City in the Sea is a sweeter smell than Cthulhu, and not actually bitter. I definitely do get a men's cologne/aftershave feel from this. It starts out smelling more like the waving kelp in the sea, and ends with light, slightly salty men's cologne.

[Meg]

In the bottle: Blue-green, masculine and sea-like... ozone, I think, and something salty... it's hard to describe. It does remind me of "oceanic" air fresheners, at this point.

 

Wet: It disappears?! No more ozone, nothing, except smoothness and wood notes slowly creeping out. It smells... creamy? Weird.

 

Drydown: It's so clean. The ozone has come back very subtly, and some salt... everything is extremely subtle, really, I can't pick out any notes clearly and it's not overpowering. It's... calm. Weirdly I can *taste* the violet rather than smell it (!?), and... yes there is this iodine sea scent, the one from fresh seaweed. But you really have to look for it carefully to find that it's there.

 

Overall: There's a really creamy component in this blend that makes me think of the silky texture of fine white sand when it's wet and you're walking in it. It does have a weird, sea-like scent, that I can't refrain from considering masculine - maybe because it's salty and resembles certain men's aftershaves to a certain point. But the blend is very subtle... weirdly it reminds me of suntan lotion. No specific brand, just applying suntan lotion on the beach. It's soft and creamy and still it smells of the seaside. And it has a lot of staying power, too!

[grrrlennyl]

at first: very heavy and aquatic, with a bit of sweet flowers.

on: soapy and sharp, but also very watery.

half an hour later: this smells like saltwater and some sort of leaves or other greenery. i don't really like this.

1.5 hours later: the woods are strongest now, but there's still a watery edge to this.

overall: not a scent for me.

[arabella]

First Impression: Aquatic, floral, seaweed.

 

Dries down to: The impression I get is tidal pools full of water lilies.

 

Additional Comments: It's actually violets, not water lilies in here. It must be the combination with ivy, kelp and wood that changed the way violet presents itself in this blend. I can usually recognize it. This is a young scent - April showers vs. bleak November rain - and a haunting one. I'm strangely drawn to it and keep returning to it. This is the scent I imagine the mermaids to be wearing in HP4: Goblet of Fire.

 

Lasted: 3 to 4 hours.

 

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

[cuervosueno]

Dear City in the Sea--

 

I'm sorry, but you're just not for me. I know, I know, you can point out that I rarely like acquatic scents, so why did I want to flirt with you in the first place. and you're right, but I had to at least try, because you are very fresh scented, not so much marine, but like a spring-fed creek, fresh, cold and slightly sweet.

 

But alas, it wasn't to be. We're just too different. You've hidden your violets away from me, except for a lingering sweetness, and you won't even let me get much of a whiff of wood either, or even kelp's tang. With me, you're a somewhat generic men's aftershave.

 

I'm sorry for being a tease, but we must part ways.

[The Perfumed Ferret]

In the bottle: Something aquatic, violet, white sandal wood, musk?

 

On: This is the smell of the beach at night. Soft violet, sharp light musk, a hint of violet, and ozone.

 

Dry Down: It mellows but , no new notes pop up.

 

 

What a beautiful blend.

[Neely]

In the bottle: salty aquatic, pickles? Hmmm, the briney deep. The pickle conotation is very slight.

 

Wet: salty aquatic, I can smell the ozone. Clean.

 

Dry down: very pleasant perfumey aquatic. This is still clean, but the powdery note is coming in to play. They violets have reared their pretty little heads.

 

30 minutes: soft perfumey powdery aquatic. Very oceanic. I am finding the BPAL aquatic scents seem to like me. I will have to try Undertow, and Sea of Glass. I like this, very much. It is a good Summer scent, not right for February. In fact it smells like Santorini perfume, which I adore as a Summer scent. This smells just like it.

 

Conclusion: one friend wrinkled up her nose and said too powdery, but she hates any powdery scent, and therefore "none shall pass" as the Black Knight said. My other friend ooohed over it. I like it, very much.

 

Rating on my skin, this is a 4.5.

[slave1]

In Bottle: Tart aquatic.

 

On Skin: Extreme soapy aquatic. It smells like washing your hands with a strong perfumey soap. At first I thought it was quite masculine, that cologne soapy note that make me think “man”, but as it develops it becomes a little more perfumey and feminine, but just slightly. So it is quite gender neutral… The violet and ivy give it an almost magical feel, like an enchanted sea that has you’re not sure what quite lies beneathe the surface. Nothing bad though, this scent is innocent and pretty, not dark or menacing at all like the description would have me believe. It’s also comforting, like clean scents usually seem to be to me. A beautiful crisp aquatic scent that wakes you up but hugs you at the same time.

[harmonyfb]

In the imp, this was a strong aquatic blend, with a slap of ozone. On my skin, the ozone slowly cleared, leaving the tang of salt air and a gentle hint of violets. It's light and very subtle, and I imagine it would be good for summertime wear.

[Spring Snow]

This one puts me in mind of a huge bunch of violets floating on the waves. It's lovely... the scent of soft violets and crisp air with an undertone of seawater and deeper ozone. What a great scent to wear in the warm weather, for both boys and girls.

Incidentally, I put it on over some B&BW peppermint and eucalyptus lotion, and it's a match made in heaven!

[Caltha]

The City in the Sea

It's funny, when I tried The City in the Sea on my wrist the other day I could make it out clearly even after an hour, but now when I try on a little more on my chest too it seems to have vanished... I don't really smell it, but I might sort of feel it in the back of my throat. When newly applied, I could smell it faintly and it reminded me of mint scented toothpicks, perhaps because of the combo of fresh/cool and wood. Then I only got a sort of throat-clearing quality out of it, like eucalyptus. Now it's just gone, I can't even smell it on my skin, and it's only been like 15 minutes or so.

According to my notes from the first time I tried it on it first had an interesting mix of foody/sweet and soapy/fresh/cool, and when dried was more of a generic fake "ocean" scent: faint, salty, fresh, a little soapy. I just don't do aquatics.

[Melantha]

Alas.

 

I truly wanted to like this one. The description was so evocative.... the name is beautiful (who wouldn't want, when asked "What is that perfume you're wearing?" to say "The City in the Sea"?).

 

However, when I put it on, the sharpness of the ozone was overpowering, and lasted until drydown, at which point the scent faded into the violet and green area, but only faintly. I can barely smell it at all.

 

I'll stick with Haunted Palace for now....

[emz83]

So the first time I saw this on the site I eye'd the description and really reaaaally wanted to get it despite the fact that it's a limited edition because it's *aquatic violets*, and ever since Le Serpent Qui Danse I've been hunting down the BPAL that contained it's notes, and just *wishing* for an aquatic with violets and vanilla.

 

I am now KICKING myself for not just giving in and buying a bottle or three because this scent is so damn near what I was thinking of. It is murky and bright all at once, the green of kelp and the purple of violets mixing with the deep blue of shadows and the bright blue of the underside of where water hits the air. This is beautiful, it's the bracing salt air and it's somewhat flowery when it hits my skin and it's ever so slightly sweet with my skin chemistry, just enough for a slight 'roundness'.

 

And dammit, it's a Limited Edition. :D

[Shollin]

First sniff: Aquatic. And… that’s all I got.

 

Wearing: Fresh air, ozone and seaspray. It’s subtle (no in-your-face ozone here) and really nice.

[mirutai]

This is the first aquatic I've ever tried that didn't immediately make me wrinkle my nose in distaste - aquatics for me normally give the impression of sniffing a men's deodourant stick.

 

The City in the Sea, however, really does smell like the ocean (and I live near the sea, so I should know!). Watery, salty, tangy. This is a calm, blue-green scent, though not _placid_ - I get the impression of vast lightless depths underneath that quiet surface...

 

Too well blended for me to pick out individual notes, though I suspect it's the violets giving it that slightly powdery, sweet edge which softens the darker aquatics. Not much throw on me, and quite subtle; I suspect it will fade fast.

 

Not sure if it's _me_, but it's certainly lovely.