The Little Sparrow

[Delirium1009]

One day the old man was sitting in front of his cottage, as he was very fond of doing, when he saw flying towards him a little sparrow, followed by a big black raven. The poor little thing was very much frightened and cried out as it flew, and the great bird came behind it terribly fast, flapping its wings and craning its beak, for it was hungry and wanted some dinner. But as they drew near the old man, he jumped up, and beat back the raven, which mounted, with hoarse screams of disappointment, into the sky, and the little bird, freed from its enemy, nestled into the old man's hand, and he carried it into the house. He stroked its feathers, and told it not to be afraid, for it was quite safe; but as he still felt its heart beating, he put it into a cage, where it soon plucked up courage to twitter and hop about. The old man was fond of all creatures, and every morning he used to open the cage door, and the sparrow flew happily about until it caught sight of a cat or a rat or some other fierce beast, when it would instantly return to the cage, knowing that there no harm could come to it.

Seeds, sedge, brown amber, and sandalwood.

I wish my review could be more favorable, but here goes...

In bottle/imp: Herbal, nutty and cool with a dry musk feel to it.

Immediately on skin: This smells really powdery on me, but with some cooler herbal notes to it. The sandalwood is barely detectable, but it adds a touch of warm sweetness. The seed note is interesting… it’s like a mix between nutty and woody almost.

After a little while: The sandalwood has gotten a little stronger in this and I can smell it along with the woody/nutty seed note. Overall though, this is very powdery (some ambers turn a little powdery on me, but this is total baby powder) with the sandalwood and seeds in the background.

Overall Impressions: I had hight hopes for this scent… but they were dashed by the powder of doom. The seed note is interesting, and the sandalwood is nice, but they were very soft. Overall, this is a slightly warm, powdery scent, and has some interesting stuff going on… but it just doesn’t work on me.

[iiinterstate]

unfortunately my review is much the same as the first.

 

At first, this is a nice, dry, ambery blend, but in about 30 seconds flat it dries down into the Powder of Doom which I have never experienced before. Sigh. I'l hang on to the imp for awhile to see if it changes with settling time. I hope so! I love the concept.

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

sniffed from the imp: smells like a pile of new-fallen, freshly raked leaves. much more what i think "Fall" should smell like.

 

on skin: for about a minute it seemed like this was going to smell similar to TP'd Trees, but then the amber and sandalwood decided to gang up and show off their bad sides. Thankfully i'm not getting baby powder, but in less than half an hour this has become a very STRONG powdery sandalwood. not for me, though, and off to swaps it goes!

[olive]

For those who do better with comparisons than actual reviews, The Little Sparrow smells very much like Two Headed Goat mixed with Riding the Goat. As others said, this seems to turn to powder after a short while but I still think I'll hang on to the imp. It has a clean smell but not in a bright or astringent way.

Edited November 6, 2008 by olive

[sookster]

straight sniff from imp is amber and woody...

 

once applied the amber amps up and i love that is suits my chemistry perfectly....

this has a powdery and comforting feel to it...some musky herbal after a few minutes....

the throw is fair to moderate...quite pretty

[oakmoss]

I agree with the above reviews that this scent is very powdery, but I love that about it. I was afraid of the nutty aspect of the seeds, as I don't care for nut scents, but I couldn't detect any. Instead, the Sparrow is all softness, soft amber, soft sandalwood, softness like feathers, softness like a well-built nest in winter. Very comforting and quiet -- I didn't feel like there was any throw at all, this is a scent just for me, as if I were gathering my wings in close and burrowing down in that soft nest, safe and warm. I will definitely be getting a bottle of this lovely blend.

[Gwydion]

In bottle: Sweet and vaguely floral. The amber and what I’m guessing is sedge are dominant. Wet: Much as in the bottle, though less cloying. It definitely smells like incense plus outdoors. This is very intense. Dry: mostly sandlewood with a hint of what I’m guessing is seeds.

[Iceblink]

Sandalwood and amber, yep--this is a very dry blend. Kind of incensey. The amber isn't turning powdery on me (yay!) but overall this isn't really me; I tend to prefer amber to be blended with something sweet.

[windbourne]

I don't know that I have a lot to add to this one. It's very dry, mellow, and fluffy, like an autumn field with the white seed pods flying about. The sandalwood is the most distinct note on me, which is terribly unsurprising, as I amp it like the dickens, but it's not as aggressive in this blend as it often can be, which is a pleasant surprise, as I don't often want to smell like an import shop.

 

I find it very comfortable to wear; it's one I think I might wear on a day when I don't want to smell like I'm wearing perfume at all, but want a soft aura of cozy to snuggle into. I don't know that I need a bottle of it, as I generally prefer more showy perfumes, but I'll be keeping my imp for harsh wintry days when I just want a snug and a warm room.

[odalisque]

This was a lot sweeter than I expected. In the vial it's reminiscent of hay, and on the skin it rapidly dries down to a scent I can only guess is the seeds -- is that caraway? (Don't quote me on that one, I don't really remember what caraway smells like, but it's a sweetish nutty-seedy smell). And a powdery-soft edge of amber with the very slightest whiff of sandalwood.

 

ETA: OK, either shipping really does discombobulate these guys, or it's just that my nose is not at its beat on the first sniff of a new scent. Because the day after I wrote this review I put Little Sparrow on again and it dried down from the nutty-sweet scent to strong dry sandalwood, not sweet at all.

 

It definitely is a smell I can associate with a little, feathery brown bird. I love the idea of it so much that I wish it were a scent I was more likely to wear, but I'll hang onto it and see how it ages.

 

ETA again: 6 months later, Little Sparrow's sandalwood has smoothed out a lot. The amber doesn't seem very apparent, which is OK by me as I don't play nicely with amber, but the sedge and seeds note has gotten really strong and it smells like a caraway loaf.

Edited June 3, 2009 by odalisque

[Aldercy]

Sadly, like nearly everyone else, I do have to report a lot of powder from The Little Sparrow (amber usually works wonderfully on me, so I'm really surprised). It's not, however, completely ruined. The powder could be interpretted as cottony/feathery, and is not totally unpleasant. And when I first put it on it had a really sharp, almost amusing, sweet peppery quality. It started out woody and dry and faintly sparkling. Very natural and innocent and powerful all at the same time.

 

Perhaps if I end up getting a scent locket soon, it'll work better in there. Or maybe it will change with some time. I don't want to give up on this one.

 

Incidentally, it also smells like my childhood best friend's house, so that's nice.

[Seismogenic]

I don't know what half of the notes in this smell like, but I'm still intrigued by it. I'd expect a small bird to smell dusty and brown, and that's what the suggestion already seems to suggest. There are other dusty and brown scents that I really like, so I'm hoping this is one I can add to that list.

 

In the imp: This manages to be dusty and soapy all at once. Odd!

 

Wet on skin: There's still something distinctly soapy about this, though it is kind of a soft brown soap, if that makes any sense.

 

Drydown: Freshly dry, I'm wheezing a little! No! I wonder if sandalwood is my allergy culprit, since it's in The Coiled Serpent as well. That said, it's still woody dusty liquid soap. At an hour in, it's less soapy and more powdery, but still woody, and it still makes me cough every time I sniff it. Not a dangerous reaction, but not pleasant.

 

Five hours later: Powder. The good thing is that it's not making me sneeze or wheeze anymore.

 

End of the day: Gone.

 

Overall: Well, that didn't work. I didn't know what to expect from seeds and sedge, and while dusty brown makes sense, soap and powder really don't, nor do I like the soapy or powdery edge. I also really really don't like my allergies! It's not fun to wheeze whenever you smell something, that's for sure. On a positive note, I think I've figured out that my mystery allergen is sandalwood, so I know what to look out for.

[Little Bird]

The Little Sparrow didn't sound at all like it would smell good to me, but my fiance always calls me his "Little Bird," so I had to buy this little bird perfume, lol.

 

In the bottle... this smells surprisingly like a soapy shaving cream or aftershave that my father had when I was younger. I was expecting Little Sparrow to smell brown and dusty, but this smells clean, soapy, light green and white.

 

On my skin, I have no idea what this smells like. It's sharp and sort of a tangy smell. It still smells soapy, but there's a strange something underneath the soapiness. A dry, slightly powdery something. Perhaps it smells like a small brown bird trapped in a box of laundry soap?

 

I expected this to be powdery with the amber, with a dry woods from the sandalwood and seeds... but it's not. In the drydown, it smells like bright, cheery soap. The hint of powdery something didn't even stick around. It reminds me of soap that tries to smell like green meadows with a clear, chilly spring running through them, but it doesn't smell like meadows or water at all (it smells like soap), if that makes any sense, lol. It's 'refreshing' soap.

 

So, The Little Sparrow is a very clean, bright soap scent on me. It doesn't smell anything like I thought it would. I really wanted to love this, but I'm not sure if I'll ever wear it again. I so rarely wear these clean, soapy-type scents.

[Lycanthrope]

Interesting.

 

This sparrow starts off very high pitched and sharp, there's mostly this strong cologne-y mishmash of initial non-seedy, floralness, that seems to settle towards a very bright, persistent amber with more powder than I usually prefer. As it dries down I'm getting more 'dryness' to the scent and can start to get a sense of the seedy, slightly grassy sedgy note, but there's still that very strong powdery amber that is over the entire aroma.

 

Whoa, strong. The powder does not recede. This again remains chirpy and high pitched like a tiny flitty bird, but a no-go on me. I'm sure it'd be a hit on folks whose skin does not mutate amber occasionally into this bizarre perfume.

[zankoku_zen]

Very high pitched floral amber powder. I get a teensy bit of sandalwood and something a little nutty. But I agree with lycanthrope, in that high pitched chirp. This is chirpy, uplifting blend.

 

With the powder of DOOM.

 

At least for me.

 

It's like sparrows in real life --- you either love them or hate them. I love sparrows. I think they are cute in their smallness. I don't like this blend though.

[Schmoozy]

Woah, this is a strong combination of herbs, woodsy and golden. This is definitely a very bright blend that starts off extremely herbal (must be the seeds and sedge) mixed with the woody vibe from sandalwood. The brown amber at first is lost, but once The Little Sparrow has time to settle and morph on my skin, it appears giving light, and a little sweetness. Once dry, it has become soft and muted and is all sandalwood and amber, just like one of my favorite handmade soaps.

This is stunning, incrediably comforting and I will need a bottle of this.

[blu°]

Initially in the imp and fresh on skin, this made me think violets, a bit along the lines of Ivanushka... definitely powdery, less musky, more brown in colour.

 

After drydown I still get powdery, but no violet. It actually smells a lot like some of those fine japanese incense sticks now. Bright, incensey and a bit dusty.

 

A light, dry, not overly sweet incense blend.

 

ETA: I bought a bottle of this, because I love its fine kodo incense scent. It feels shy and like hushed voices, and I love it.

Edited August 15, 2010 by blu°

[lookingglass]

This is way more fresh smelling than I expected. I was thinking it would be all creamy and fluffy with the amber and a little nutty with the seeds. But quite to the contrary I find this blend springlike in it's powderyness, like a fresh French after bath boutique powder. It's clean and a bit sweet and musky. Very nice for warmer weather for dark oriental girls like me. Big bottle worthy. Right up there with Antique Lace in the fresh/creamy dept.

[stefrand]

ITI: Very dry, dusty, and a bit soapy smelling.

 

Wet: Warm, dusty, and kind of richly nutty. It is dusty without smelling like BPAL's dust, which goes crazy on me. I am not sure whether this is soapy or not. It smells very unique, and not at all sweet.

 

Dry: Not as dusty, but still quite dry. The sandalwood has started to come out to lovely effect. It's starting to smell like slightly dusty sandalwood, almost a sandalwood SN.

 

Drydown: Warm, dry, slightly soapy sandalwood. Like a wood shop of some kind. Not at all girly...masculine, or at least unisex. As time passed, it developed more warmth and a bit of sweetness. This would be a great room scent..it's very comforting. Eventually no dust, just warm sandalwood. It's really rather nice, but it wouldn't wear it as a perfume.

 

Final thoughts: Interesting and pleasant, but not for me seeing as I am looking for oils to wear.

[kjirstiben]

My first impressions of this scent were its dusty-seedy character. It smelled almost herbal or haylike.

 

Later on, and I don't know why this occurred to me, but all I could think was that it smells like lotion! As time went on, this continued: it remained a non-sweet, plant-like scent (herbal, I suppose), that still reminds me of the scent of lotion.

 

This wasn't exactly what I was expecting, and due to the fact that it had an almost "raw" feel about it, I think I'm going to let this one age for a while and see if it mellows out.

[thekittenkat]

In the imp: mild spiciness.

 

Wet: just more mild spiciness, with a hint of something sharp, but not bitter.

 

The dry-down: I'm smelling something that I would call seeds (like bird food seed), a hint of floral, and as I type, I'm getting a few whiffs. So far I would call this oil a light spicy scent with a touch of sweet floral, and they seem to be mixing well together.

 

I'll add more to this later. I like it so far.

 

Three hours later: The florals seem to have come forward more, and yet are still mixing well with the spicy bits, which could be the "bird seed" or the amber.

 

I think I'll try this on the bf, it might do better on him. (Not so floral, I hope.)

 

I'll keep the imp, I think, but I don't see a need for a bottle of this, not at this moment.

Edited January 20, 2009 by thekittenkat

[sqwook]

Wet: dust and oil, reminds me of a kind of thick/sludgy oil that is used in lapidary work (ETA: not that anyone cares but to clarify, I'm sure the oil doesn't start out sludgy, but since I work in shared shops, I've never seen it not be. )

 

Dry: Dusty sandalwood, dried grass, not at all sweet, a bit sour, soapy?, hm... I needed to retry this on a different day, which I'm doing now. There's a sourness that I really didn't expect, given the notes. I think I've let my expectations taint reality; this is so much higher / more sour than I was expecting that I can't reconcile to it. I want to like it but I just don't. I had the same feeling with Scarecrow, so I wonder if it's the lab's grass/sedge scent that disagrees with me.

Edited January 31, 2009 by sqwook

[Ajila]

In the bottle – The medicinal scent of sage (I know there’s none listed, but that’s what I smell)

 

Wet on me – An odd fruitiness, with what I assume is the amber and something earthy

 

Dry on me – A pleasant green and brown scent with a slightly musky edge that draws you in

 

Overall – Nice, but not something I would wear on a regular basis

 

[Miss Lynx]

This is an interesting scent -- dry, earthy and warm. It's a tiny bit reminiscent of Coyote, with the amber and grassy/earthy notes, but it doesn't have the musky component that that one does.

 

At first sniff it seemed to have a certain level of men's-scent feel to it, but that faded very quickly. Now it's mainly a soft, dry, slightly dusty amber-sandalwood, with grassy/herbal overtones that are slightly sweet but also slightly medicinal-smelling.

 

It's not a bad scent, though there's something in it that's a bit sweet and sharp and keeps it from entirely working on me. For the elements of the scent that I like, I think I'm probably better off sticking with Coyote.

 

Grade: B

[Yoginispirit]

This smelled nice when I first applied. It smelled sweet but dusty and light.

After a few seconds it began turning to S-O-A-P. Very strong, cologny soap.

It dried down to cologny sandlewood.

But the story and name sounded so cute!