Rocking-Horse-Fly

[hkhm]

ROCKING-HORSE-FLY
` -- then you don't like all insects?' the Gnat went on, as quietly as if nothing had happened.

`I like them when they can talk,' Alice said. `None of them ever talk, where I come from.'

`What sort of insects do you rejoice in, where YOU come from?' the Gnat inquired.

`I don't REJOICE in insects at all,' Alice explained, `because I'm rather afraid of them -- at least the large kinds. But I can tell you the names of some of them."

`Of course they answer to their names?' the Gnat remarked carelessly.

`I never knew them do it.'

`What's the use of their having names the Gnat said, `if they won't answer to them?'

`No use to THEM,' said Alice; `but it's useful to the people who name them, I suppose. If not, why do things have names at all?'

`I can't say,' the Gnat replied. `Further on, in the wood down there, they've got no names -- however, go on with your list of insects: you're wasting time.'

`Well, there's the Horse-fly,' Alice began, counting off the names on her fingers.

`All right,' said the Gnat: `half way up that bush, you'll see a Rocking-horse-fly, if you look. It's made entirely of wood, and gets about by swinging itself from branch to branch.'

`What does it live on?' Alice asked, with great curiosity.

`Sap and sawdust,' said the Gnat. `Go on with the list.'

Alice looked up at the Rocking-horse-fly with great interest, and made up her mind that it must have been just repainted, it looked so bright and sticky; and then she went on.

Shellacked wood, sap, sawdust, and privet.

imp: bright green woods.

wet: this is a very fresh-cut woodsy/shrubby scent. like when you snip back your hedges.

dry: dry aquatic with fresh wood.

[Iceblink]

Yep, this is very green and woody and smells like working in the yard--in a good way! But this much green overwhelms me.

[edenssixthday]

Rocking-Horse-Fly - This goes on very green and woody and very, very strong. As it dries, it becomes mostly a sawdust scent with a thick layer of sweet, spring sap.

[Dark Alice]

Fresh green wood and furniture polish. Clean green wood. Now that this is dry it is actually quite pleasant. It smells like fresh snapped branches and green sap. Not a fan of the wet stage but the dry stage is quite refreshing.

[fairnymph]

Lots of dry, dusty wood - like being in an unfinished wood store or a woodworker's workshop - lots of sawdust in particular. I'm guessing the dry & dusty sort of sandalwood, a bit of cedar and oude. I also get a bit of a sort of grassy wood-pulp note, almost certainly one of the balsams from Ü. There is a slight sharp solvent smell, a little like paint thinner, acetone and gasoline with a slight chemical sweetness - this must be the shellack - it reminds me a lot of that note in Erik, and actually the dustiness of this scent further likens it to that blend. It's definitely masculine. The privet ( a green shrub used as hedging that has white blossoms) note is clear, too, and familiar - as a real life scent, but not as something I recall smelling in any perfume before - it's like fresh cut greenery, a little bitter and grassy, but there's a slight soft white floral overtone and a delicate, fresh airiness to it - very complex and lovely!

 

Sweeter, softer, and more cohesive with a burst of sweet, fresh floral privet (I assume) emerging after a few seconds on my skin. Much less sawdust, though there's still a dry and woody based with significant warmth, but the amped privet has a cooling effect. I think the sandalwood is red, I'm pretty sure about the oude (which is smooth and green and more distinct now, and reminds me exactly of Holiday Moon's oude note). The sap - I'm less sure about this, it could be part of the enhanced sweetness - but I think it's the same 'moon tree sap' note from the Enchanted Wood Florist. It's definitely sweet, and a little dewy and fruity, and very slightly green - Springlike and fresh. I get more grassiness now, I think from both the privet and the balsam. Much more complex on my skin and unisex to feminine - quite a sudden and dramatic, yet surprisingly not too disjointed morphing.

 

This is really lovely! It's becoming sweeter, more floral (though still in a delicate and Springlike fashion, no heady bullying florals like jasmine or gardenia, or even rose), almost honeyed. Could there perhaps be a touch of honeysuckle here? Or something that smells very much like true honeysuckle, sweet and fresh and dewy, but not at all like the lab's typical note which inevitably goes to slightly soapy powder on me. I also suspect linden and maybe a little plumeria - the florals a very clean and light, pale pinkish white in feel and remind me of Dirty - though the blend overall reminds me more of EWF with the greenery, though this scent is less green. I'm shocked by how much the wood has faded - it's still there, but much lighter and completely smooth, no rough edges, with barely any warmth or dryness left. The balsam has faded too, though the sort of papery wood-pulp aspect holds best, even if I have to hunt for it.

 

I don't think there is or was cedar, but I stand by sandalwood or some sort, most likely red as I mentioned above. I also still get the oude,. The sap actually smells sticky and I think is contributing to the significant increase in sweetness - it too has a honeyed aspect, and also a touch of resin - almost like white copal (not at all smoky at all, but very lightly piney, like white pine-ish).

 

The final drydown is very balanced, and in a way this comes full circle with the wood reasserting itself to balance the other notes. It's a sweet honeysuckle-like feminine floral with fresh greenery accented by some faintly grassy, paper balsam, balanced by a slightly piney and sticky-sweet sap note and a blend of smooth, slightly dry and warm woods that definitely include oude and a sandalwood. Similar to other blends, yet unique enough in its own right to be very much bottleworthy. I wish it were sweeter throughout rather than just in the brief period in the middle dry stage, but it's still lovely and the being less sweet, it's more unisex leaning to feminine. Good throw and excellent longevity.

 

Another winner amongst the new GCs!

 

Edited March 25, 2010 by fairnymph

[strahlend]

In the imp I am strongly repelled by the shellacked wood, it reminds me of paint thinner and lemon wood polish.

During the dry down I'm still getting wood polish, but it's not as aggressive as it was and for that I'm thankful.

Dry - this one just isn't sitting well with me. It's reminding me of unpleasant things like chemicals and soap and nothing is reminding me of green, wood, sap or sawdust. Glad I got to try it, but I don't think I'll need more than an imp.

[Little Bird]

In the imp and on my skin at first, this smells like green hedges, dry wood, and a zesty, soapy-clean, slightly citrussy smell. As this dries down, it's reminding me of Dirty. It's sweet, soapy, and sunny smelling, with just a tiny hint of greenery that's still making me think of dark green hedges and their waxy branches. I'm not getting any of the sawdust, which I was kinda looking forward to.

 

Rocking-Horse-Fly is clean and summery smelling to me. This actually makes me think of my mom, who would open up all the doors and windows in the house during the summer and scrub everything and trim the evergreen hedges surrounding our house. Everything would smell clean and well cared for, but also still natural and warm. So that's the feel that I'm getting from this scent.

 

I don't know if I could wear this (I'm not much for clean scents), but I'll definitely keep my imp and might need more of this for a room scent.

[angelicruin]

Very woody and green on my skin. As it dries, it goes very soapy on my skin. Unfortunately, this is not for me.

[crebbsgirl]

In the wet stages I definitely have some trouble with the shellacked wood. It's very paint-thinner-esque to my nose. As it dries, the chemical overtone goes away and it settles into a dry woods and greenery scent. This doesn't go soapy like some green scents tend to go for me, but rather the woods add a smoothness. Sweet and dry. I like it, but I don't know how often I would reach for it.

[zankoku_zen]

I find this a very 'grassy' and 'green' scent. After it being wet and in the first stages of the drydown, I do get a hit of sawdust. It amps up in sweetness as it dries, but it is a very cool green aquatic - very grassy, very fresh. I find the pivet adds just a touch of floral to it.

 

Very nice.

[mari4212]

In the imp: warm dusty wood, a hint of shellac.

 

On wet: Shellac comes out fast and strong, with just a hint of the raw cut wood underneath. It's starting off very harsh and chemical to me, the section of the hardware store I work in where painting and wood staining supplies are after someone has done a demo.

 

After about 5 minutes, the chemical aspect starts to fade, and what I'm assuming to be privet is coming more to the fore. It's bringing in a mild floral undertone and a bit of sweetness to the mix.

 

It's an odd scent, but not a bad one. I'm just not sure if I like it on me well enough.

[Gwydion]

In bottle: Sweet and woody. In reminds me of broken green wood barnches. It’s quite pleasant and light. Wet: I’m thinking the green wood note must be the privet and sap together. It’s more complex on the skin. I’m getting more sawdust and cured wood with shellac now. It really lovely, a sort of symphony of woods. Dry: It goes vaguely floral, but stays unusual, light, and woody.

[kikithepirate]

Unsurprisingly, this is a very manly scent, what with all of the trees and the wood and the sap and the trees and the... yeah. Anyway. It actually does have a bit of a je ne sais quoi perfume scent to it, but I think it smells like the perfect men's body wash -- or what a man SHOULD bathe in, were he not covering himself in other manly things he buys at Walgreens. I agree with other reviewers that this is a "green" scent, though I wouldn't really call it grassy. But something is reminding me a little bit of cilantro, oddly enough... maybe the privet? Who knows!

[papermaker]

This is really fresh. The wood and sap make it seem masculine at first. But there is an undercurrent of something that yells floral to my nose. Overall a nice fresh scent.

[Schmoozy]

 

Cool, green and woodsy. Kinda comes off as aquatic due to the sweetness. I love scents like Rocking-Horse-Fly, because they are so simple and perfect for spring and summer. This is fresh, crisp and cooling. At times a little dusty but that's perfectly ok.

[claudia6913]

This was a frimp from the lab. (From the notes alone, I would not have chosen this for myself.)

 

In the imp it is a very fresh wood scent. Like the saplings you break off and get that green-white inside. And it seems to be staying pretty true to that on the dry down as well. Just a fresh wood, green and maybe just a little juicy. Not bad overall, but not really something I like.

[ElizabethOSP]

The gracious Lab sent me this as a frimp, too. And as seems to be the case with anyone associated with BPAL, they're PSYCHIC! I've been wanting to try this.

 

Snoofing the imp, there was lovely wood... then unexpected sweetness! Oooh!

 

On my hand, wet, it was the same. Then it started developing. The wood turned into woodS, which was very intriguing, and then it started getting sweet!:thud:And that's a really GOOD swoon!

 

So now that it's dried down, I just NEEEEED a bottle. Really. Like, NOW. My nose won't leave my hand. I can't describe the mix of floral and woods, but it's utterly affectionate and fresh and wonderful!

[melrose]

As if I had just opened an attic window in a house where spices are stored deep in the woods. If only it had lasting power . . .

[Penance]

Origin:

 

5mL from the Lab.

 

Preconceived notions:

 

I love wood and sap scents (and the smell of sawdust) and I think the rocking-horse-fly is adorable, but I've put off trying this one because of the privet (sounds like it could be a very sharp green) and the shellac (can't say that I enjoy the smell of that). Curiosity got the better of me, though, and I ordered a bottle unsniffed. Hopefully it works!

 

First sniff:

 

Whoa, privet! That's exactly what I was hoping I wouldn't get so much of from this scent. It's not that it's a bad smell, it's just too intense and sharp and stabby for me. It makes me think of my childhood, but not in a good way, weirdly enough. I can't really tell what else is in here at this point. It's just overwhelming privet in the bottle.

 

Wet on skin:

 

Still mainly privet, but the wood and sawdust are starting to come out. I don't smell shellac specifically, but it doesn't smell (entirely, since there's some sawdust here) like raw, unfinished wood. If you took my childhood neighbor's woodshop and added one of the big bushes growing outside my best friend's house, you'd have something very much like Rocking-Horse-Fly. It's still too much privet for my liking, but it's better than in the bottle.

 

Dry down:

 

Weirdly enough, once this dries, a sort of green aquatic note comes out of nowhere. It smells like Water of Notre Dame of all things and I've got no clue what the culprit is. I actually like the scent of Rocking-Horse-Fly now, although it's nothing like what I was envisioning. It's a calm, peaceful scent and vaguely sweet. There could be a touch of sawdust here, but it may just be the power of suggestion at work, since I doubt I'd pick up on that if I didn't know it was in here.

 

The bottom line:

 

Crazy skin chemistry strikes again? I never used to do bizarre things to scents and I've never had my skin go crazy over a scent I've worn and loved for years, just new scents that I've tried in the last year or so. Either I'm doing something to Rocking-Horse-Fly or my nose is broken, because in the end it smells nothing like shellacked wood, sawdust, privet or any combination of them. It smells sweet, clean and aquatic in a blue-green sort of way.

[persephonehazard]

In the imp - my, that is green. There's a lot of privet in here, isn't there? It smells just like a neatly-trimmed box hedge on a sweaty-hot day. There's something in there that's a darker and more unpleasant sort of a green, too, but I can't quite make it out.

 

On wet - more privet, and something else I don't recognise. Possibly some kind of clean floral? I don't think I've had a hint of anything woody at all, yet.

 

Initial drydown - I can't quite work out where this one is going. It smells...well, it smells of chemicals. It's got that 'perfume' scent to it. I'm still getting the privet, though, and if I close my eyes and concentrate I think I might be able to detect some kind of young, moist wood. Perhaps the perfumey smell is the shellac?

 

As time goes by it's definitely getting woodier, but also fainter - all of a sudden it has no throw at all and has vanished from everywhere I put it except the crooks of my arms, where it is simply quite faint. I like strong, long-lasting perfumes that you can smell all around yourself like a cloud, and this just isn't doing it for me. I love the idea of woody scents so I was really pleased to try this, but I suspect my wood is in another blend...

[milo]

This is strong woods with something like tobacco at first. It dries into soft, wet woods with a touch of greenery. Very pretty, kind of Ded Moroz-like. I like this, but I have Ded Moroz for my fresh woods blend. I'll definitely keep and use the imp though!

[BuxomM]

It starts off smelling like fresh cut wood and saw dust. As it dries all I smell is polish. A very interesting scent, but not a keeper for foodie me.

[catalyst]

Interestingly, the scent I tried earlier in the day was Herbert West, which is almost exactly like Embalming Fluid apparently, and Rocking-Horse-Fly is almost exactly like Herbert West, both of which are very similar to Sea of Glass but without the florals.

 

This one is different from the others in that it's almost a little sharp. I'd have to say the sap and privet are the top notes, I didn't really get much of the shellac or sawdust at all. I think some kind of wood note shows up at the very end and lasts the longest, maybe it's the sap. It's very fresh and green.

 

Keeper for me. I'll have to decide if I'd rather get a bottle of this or Herbert West, because they're too similar to justify getting one of each. Tough choice. Herbert West is a little woodier, this one is more green.

[ami226]

On the skin: Fresh green sap! This is an incredibly green/plant scent minus any dirt notes. This actually reminds me of playing in the backyard when I was little. Picking all the plants and making pretend food with them. It actually makes me think of this wall of ivy leaves we had.

 

A great green scent, but not for me.

[cherryberryice]

I really wish that I was getting what anyone else here was getting! I would love fresh cut wood, greeness, plants, garden hedges, or sap. I would even love sawdust (I have a lot of really good memories of shop class in high school, and it always smelled of sawdust). I assumed I was going to get some combination of the above, as I tend to amp most woods quite strongly.

 

Alas, after the first few minutes, what I get is high-pitched men's cologne, like a number of bottles from the department store were all sprayed at me at once in some sort of aromatic offensive. My unstable skin chemistry strikes again.