Baku

[saralaughs]

Our Nightmarebane. Named after the Baku, benevolent Japanese spirits that eat nightmares. In Japanese tradition, nightmares are gifts from malevolent spirits; when you wake up from one, you may call, "Baku, please eat my dreams!", and if you are virtuous and merciful in spirit, the Baku will devour the evil, transforming it into a blessing of good fortune.

Lavendar. The herbally, just picked fresh kind. Then EVILNESS of some sort of mint. I had to wash it off at that point as I was getting a headache! Edited November 4, 2009 by saralaughs

[fairestrocza]

Another test in my Quest for the Perfect Lavender...

 

In the Imp: Fresh lavender!

 

Wet on Skin: Herbal lavender, with a background of fennel or anise.

 

While Drying: Lavender & fennel.

 

After a Little While: The lavender tames a bit, and the licorice scent becomes slightly more prominent, finding a very nice balance point. Lavender is still the dominant note.

 

Later: Doesn't seem to last too long, but is great for putting on before bed (no longer there in the morning, but fantastic while falling asleep).

 

Final Thoughts: This is my favorite lavender blend so far. It does not strike me as a good out-on-the-town scent, but is fantastic for aromatherapy purposes. I find myself reaching for this imp quite a bit, so I think I will be needing a bottle.

Baku earns a 4.5/5!

 

Update: I got a bottle of Baku with my last order... The scent is significantly lighter in my fresh bottle - so light that I can barely smell it in the bottle or fresh on the skin. Lavender dominates, and the anise is hardly noticeable. The lavender is still the lovely, fresh scent that I fell in love with, just much more delicate. The fresh oil seems to have more lasting power than the aged imp I tried, for I can smell lavender on my skin 12 hours later. I like both the fresh and the aged varieties. I may need to decant out a bit for current use and let the rest of the bottle sit somewhere to age and develop the anise undercurrent a bit more.

Edited January 24, 2010 by Rocza

[boxinghelena]

I give my boyfriend all the frimps I get in the mail. Last night he decided to try Baku. It's very astringent with a side of herbal minty medicine. It's not a bad scent but it's one I can never wear on myself. I smelled wisps of the scent all night. I know it's supposed to help with nightmares but I don't think I could stand smelling it every night.

[Invidiana]

Argh, on me this is very, very menthol, which unfortunately would keep me more awake than asleep.

[starfish327]

frimped with recent purchase, came in yesterday.

 

*it's odd. i've noticed recently that all the frimps/gifted imps that i've gotten lately are either all the same thematically or things that i've been looking for. right now i'm looking for calming/meditative blends and this just came in the mail along with a couple of others of the same type, all randomly.

 

in the imp: lavendar

 

wet: single note lavendar

 

dry: more lavendar with something underneath- my boy's words. i'm guessing mint of some sort or the fennel others are talking about.

 

the boy likes it. that's all i really care about. if this works as a calming bend i may be getting more of it.

[milica]

Wet and dry, this is lavander single not, almost all of it. I get something fresh in the background, ozone-like (mint?).

 

I love lavander, so I'll keep the imp and maybe get a bottle of this, as I can see myself using it a lot, before bedtime and as a room scent.

[personaldna]

First impression (while wet): lavender. A calming, pleasant scent.

 

Second impression (30 mins. after application): Acrid sweat behind the lavender. I suddenly remember an ex-boyfriend--the one who didn't believe in anti-perspirant, and despite wearing deodorant stank all the time until I convinced him to switch brands and he found one that actually worked.

 

Final impression: There is still a scent behind the lavender, but it is so tame now I almost can't find it. Relaxing lavender again. I hope it will eat my nightmares... and memories of the ex.

Edited April 7, 2010 by dna

[FathomBelow]

On me, Baku smells like lavender and anise. Very strong and soothing for bedtime - more so than Somnus, IMO. Don't know about the voodoo properties, I've never really had a problem with nightmares (knock on wood!).

[pteron]

Baku on my skin is very astringent and strong, reminiscent of lemon-scented cleaning products. I can't even make out any of the lavender over whatever's causing the lemon scent, assuming lemon itself isn't an ingredient. Not a very calming smell to me. I didn't have any nightmares the night I tried this, but I don't usually; mostly, I was kept awake by the smell until it started to fade.

 

My mom, on the other hand, found Baku to be the weakest and most tolerable scent of my entire order. She's used Baku on several nights and, while she's not sure it helped her sleep better, prefers it greatly to Somnus.

[ami226]

Smells like an herbal lavender to me. There is something else here that lends to the bitter herbal smell, but I have no idea what it is.

 

I think I am going to keep going to TKO for my bed time needs!

[Schmoozy]

Herbal pungent lavender. Medicinal, strong, astringent and basically almost a single note. It is perhaps one of Beth's best lavender blends ever.

[snapesgirl34]

In the bottle – Man, that’s strong!

 

Wet – A very strong medicinal smell, sort of like Vic’s Vapor Rub. It certainly cleared my sinus! A very cool smell, like something you might wear if you had a fever. There’s lavender, which you would expect to be soft, but this is very strong. For some reason I get a ”minty” smell as well. This wakes me up more than puts me to sleep, but it’s probably something I would wear if I had a cold. I also smell some sort of herb.

 

Dry – This smells like toothpaste on my skin, WTF? Then it fades almost completely. For something that goes on so strong it certainly vanishes pretty quickly.

 

Overall – Although strong, it started out promising, I thought the smell would get better as it faded. But instead it turned into a toothpaste sort of smell and then it was gone almost instantly. It woke me up more than it put me to sleep. This one definitely doesn’t work for me.

[zagadka]

Every time I have worn this, I have gotten nightmares. Not just scary dreams, but the wake-up-in-a-pool-of-sweat nightmares.

 

Not sure how I feel about the scent, I just got it because I loved the folklore behind it and was very curious about what it would smell like.

 

Before reading the reviews I couldn't figure out what I was smelling and not picking up on, but DUH...of course, lavender! Blindly, I was getting eucalyptus and anise/licorice. But, it was the lavender that was rounding it out.

 

Not sure if I like this as a scent to wear, but it does smell lovely. Those days when I have a pending headache I like to smell this to kinda clear my head and stop the headache in its tracks.

[Celune]

I got an Baku imp as a freebie. At first sniff I was not impressed, because it was just plain lavender to me. It was until I tried it a couple more times to develop a appreciation.

 

Baku on wet smells like a really nice fresh soft lavender, there slight sweetness that comes up.

As it drys down, there are hints of anise (licorice candy) with lavender, the anise gets more prominent in the dry down. I would probably guess it's green anise, and not the asian cooking spice star anise. But I am not sure which kind it is.

 

It is a lovely scent, I love putting it on my pillow. The scent lasts for more than a day. I actually put a few drops on my new leather handbag, the blend of leather and fresh sweet lavender was really nice.

I wonder if there is a BPAL scent like that...

[KesHiro]

In the imp, it's medicinal, herbal lavender. On me, it turns a sharp herbal lavender. I don't know how this helps when it comes to dreams and sleep because I had to wash it off.

[Mamma Badger]

In the imp- and wet on my skin the lavender and eucalyptus mix into camphor. It was terrible. I waited it out a few minutes though and on dry down it faded into soft licorice. I don't know if it will help my dreams because other wise this baby goes in the swaps.

[cfrancesca]

I get lots of lavender (smells like essential oil) and some eucalyptus. It reminds me of spa aromatherapy.

[TheFrenchWaffle]

I received this as a frimp from a very enabling and generous forum member in a sale/swap. I rather enjoy this as a sleeping scent. It is very soothing and comforting, top marks.

In the imp: Lavender and eucalyptus, not necessarily my taste in everyday perfume but something I would use to get to sleep.

Wet: Lavender, eucalyptus and anise. A very nice herbal blend that works wonderfully with my skin.

Dry: The anise is the superhero in this scent with lavender as the sidekick. Together they defeat the nefarious evil mastermind, Dr. Insomnia! Armed with the power to sooth away stress and worry they effortlessly banish insomnia, giving me a restful night of uninterrupted sleep. About five minutes after I put this on I felt my mind stop running full speed ahead and my limbs felt heavy and I literally felt myself fall asleep. Amazing!

 

Final verdict: The downside of this imp is that was a little less than half full and I love it so much... Not something I would wear as a perfume, but perfect for falling asleep, defiantly bottle-worthy.

 

*I stand corrected, apparently it is not anise but fennel

Edited September 12, 2011 by TheFrenchWaffle

[Flightless]

Wow... this one just reeks Anise... a very herbal Anise too, reminiscent of Absinthe on me. It's an aged imp, so that might have something to do with it.

 

I think this one gets destashed- not a fan.

Edited August 4, 2011 by Flightless

[snapesgirl34]

In the bottle – Dang, that’s strong!

 

Wet – A very strong medicinal smell, sort of like Vic’s Vapor Rub. It certainly cleared my sinuses! A very cool smell, like something you might wear if you had a fever. There’s lavender, which you would expect to be soft, but this is very strong. For some reason I get a ”minty” smell as well. This wakes me up more than puts me to sleep, but it’s probably something I would wear if I had a cold. I also smell some sort of herb.

 

Dry – This smells like toothpaste on my skin, WTF? Then it fades almost completely. For something that goes on so strong it certainly vanishes pretty quickly.

 

Overall – Although strong, it started out promising, I thought the smell would get better as it faded. But instead it turned into a toothpaste sort of smell and then it was gone almost instantly. This one definitely doesn’t work for me.

[Gateau]

This was a frimp from e Lab. It's a strong, sharp, herbal lavender, nearly one note on me into the dry down. Then a licorice note emerges and blends beautifully with the lavender. I thought this would be more of a wakeup blend than a sleep blend, given the sharpness and freshness (I tend to go to sleep to the sweet lavender creaminess of TKO) but damned if I didn't pass out on the sofa the night I tested this. If TKO is a sweet lavender tea with cream, this is the unsweetened herb tea version but they both work for me.

[BoneBone24]

Wet: Strongly herbal. Reminds me of a kit of herbal aromatherapy essential oils I had many moons ago.

 

Drydown: Lavender and what I think might be chamomile? There's something minty-cool in the background too, possibly eucalyptus or an herb from the mint family.

 

Dry: I didn't make it to this stage - I was asleep!

 

 

This stuff nearly put me out instantly. If not for my husband walking into the room and chatting my ear off it probably would have had me out cold within the first 5 minutes. I noticed that my thoughts became calmer, less layered, and my body became relaxed and less fidgety. I can't report on how it affected my dreams because I usually don't remember them anyway, but I can report that I felt incredibly well-rested the next morning (a rarity for me) and I think it may have helped my breathing too.

 

8 out of 10 bones

Edited July 11, 2013 by BoneBone24

[kawaiiferreto]

I'm not going to review so much for the scent, since I don't wear it for that. I will say that wet this smells crazy strongly herbal and not very pleasant, and dries down to something less HEEEELLOOOOOOOOO in about 15 to 20 minutes (herbal, but not WHOA.)

 

As for the use:

 

I was skeptic, but I've been having a lot of really emotionally upsetting dreams and I thought "hey, why not?!" I'd been wearing this to bed for the past week, and lo and behold, I stopped having the painful emotional dreams about my ex (which were a nightly occurrence.) I accidentally forgot to put this on before I went to bed one night, and that very night had another bad dream. I am not going to forget to wear this again -- it's nice to have something that feels like it gives me control over the one time I can't actively make myself stop ruminating.

[asciident]

Wet: ACK. Afraid to even try it on. What IS that? It’s definitely astringent, but there’s also something else putting me off…

 

First on: Eucalyptus? Whatever it is, it smells weird on my skin.

 

Dry: Just…I don’t even know how to describe it. It’s weird and unsettling.

 

 

[Dani87]

This smelled like pinesol the whole time on me. It also gave me really horrible nightmares instead of keeping them away. I usually don't have them, but I kept waking up all night after having several nightmares. Off to swaps.

edited b/c I forgot to say these were not normal scary dreams, they were hardcore nightmares. Very realistic, in my dreams people were going crazy, and killing things, someone spiked my puppy like a football, and another person killed my youngest daughter. It also had me in such a deep dream cycle that I was still dreaming when it woke me up, I was in my bed while it seemed like everything was going on, and I couldn't move, I couldn't breath, or scream. It was terrifying, I really hate this scent.

Edited May 9, 2012 by Dani87