Jump to content
Post-Update: Forum Issues Read more... ×
BPAL Madness!
Ina Garten Davita

No Coward Soul is Mine

Recommended Posts

I Undying Life: lavender, rockrose, and pale woods.

 

No coward soul is mine
No trembler in the world’s storm-troubled sphere
I see Heaven’s glories shine
And Faith shines equal arming me from Fear

O God within my breast
Almighty ever-present Deity
Life, that in me hast rest,
As I Undying Life, have power in Thee

Vain are the thousand creeds
That move men’s hearts, unutterably vain,
Worthless as withered weeds
Or idlest froth amid the boundless main

To waken doubt in one
Holding so fast by thy infinity,
So surely anchored on
The steadfast rock of Immortality.

With wide-embracing love
Thy spirit animates eternal years
Pervades and broods above,
Changes, sustains, dissolves, creates and rears

Though earth and moon were gone
And suns and universes ceased to be
And Thou wert left alone
Every Existence would exist in thee

There is not room for Death
Nor atom that his might could render void
Since thou art Being and Breath
And what thou art may never be destroyed.
– Emily Brontë

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Lavender-lovers, grab a bottle of this!

 

In the bottle and on first application, it's pure lavender, as if I smushed my face into a handful of fresh-blooming stalks from my mom's garden.

 

As it dries, the brightness of the lavender smooths out and blends seamlessly with the other notes. The pale woods come in first, and they are soft, light wood notes, no strong pine or oak, just a pleasant grounding base for the more herbal and floral notes. I don't know if my nose is good enough to recognize rockrose specifically, but there's definitely a warm golden floral that comes in and makes this into an incredibly lovely blend. I think this scent is neither "feminine" nor "masculine," but reads as gender-neutral.

 

No Coward Soul Is Mine is a soft, soothing scent that stays fairly close to the skin, but has great lasting power (my skin usually "eats" softer scents within an hour or two). I'm definitely glad I blind-bottled this one to add to my lavender-based scents!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Smash your face into some lavender, and with a whiff of herbal and wood notes, and the rock rose softens the saltiness and its just effing delightful.

This is the lavender aromatherapy I didn't know I needed.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

This is just incredibly beautiful. It starts off heavily lavender, but sadly my skin eats that pretty fast.  What's left behind however does not disappoint, it's a gorgeous blend of soft wood and soft herby floral, neither camp is overpowering, and it hangs around in this state for quite a while.

 

This really is a scent of gentle strength, it's not in your face, but comforting and fortifying. There's a little bit of something in the wood notes that reminds me of Lawful from the RPGs, as well.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Wow, I don't get lavender from this at all. Lavender is my favourite scent, and I was really hoping this would be heavy on it. Instead, there's a very sharp unpleasant note at first, and then something my husband said smelled "like pine needles, but not the good ones." I guess my skin's tendency to amp whatever woods/grass/leaves/any green stuff BPAL notes, plus whatever rockrose is, completely drowned it out! Oh well, at least I helped support a good cause and maybe the lavender will come out as this ages.  Sometimes ugh scents morph into beautiful keepers.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Resident lavender lover, reporting for duty.

No Coward Soul is Mine is a gorgeous lavender blend. It's like the lavender from Lilith's HG and Daybreak mixed with a dusty white sandalwood, which becomes stronger over time, and some rockrose, which emerges after a few hours of wear. It can be used as a daytime or nighttime lavender scent. It kind of makes me think of Aziraphale's woods in a field of lavender. I just wish the lavender were as strong throughout the day as it was initially.

I am so happy to have a bottle of this in my collection! :dance: 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Oh wow.. this is so soft. As soon as it dried, the lavender almost disappeared and what remains is mostly rockrose (aka cistus), some herbs, and pale woods. This is a light, gentle, safe for work type scent.

 

Although I'm struggling to recall which scent this reminds me of, it seems like it could easily fit into either of the Illyria or Mad Tea Party categories. Fans of Mouse's Long and Sad Tale, Seance, or aged Brisingamen might also love this.
 
I'm sorely tempted to buy a bottle, as it's gorgeous and I have nothing else like it.  I'm worried however that my personality might be too strong to pull off wearing it.

Edited by rawgirl75

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I bought this intending it to be a gift for my daughter who's nearly out of Daybreak, but of course I had to skin test it -- it might be the rare lavender I can wear.  It starts off, as most BPAL lavenders do on my skin, with a fierce blast of lavender, strong, a little sharp.  This never lasts, but with No Coward Soul Is Mine, my skin doesn't eat it up completely; instead the lavender chills down to share the floor with soft aromatic woods.  I wouldn't know a rockrose if it hit me over the head, but I'm sure it's adding its own loveliness to this blend as well.  OK, now I've been wearing it nearly an hour and the lavender is growing fainter and fainter.  I think this is really beautiful and if my skin chemistry didn't obliterate lavender I would keep it for myself; my daughter is going to love it. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Clear, clean lavender with pale woods.  This is a refreshing sleep blend if there is such a thing, like crawling into crisp high quality cotton sheets with the window open.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I am in love. I've been wearing it to sleep ever since I got it and am picking up a bottle or two ASAP.

 

It is indeed a beautiful lavender slap in the face (in a good way!!) as soon as you open the bottle and put it on. After about 10 minutes it fills out into this sweet, dreamy scent. I didn't know what rockrose was before I picked this up, and I couldn't figure out A. why it was so sweet and B. why I didn't smell rose! And then I learned about the connection between rockrose and labdanum and it all made sense: there is indeed a sweet amber that appears when this is dry that ties it all together into a beautiful, comforting scent. When I wake up the lavender has disappeared completely, and there's just the faintest sweet amber left.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

A classic BPAL lavender - really lovely, with some hint of spice which might be the rockrose? Either way it complements the lavender well and really reminds me of the TAL Peace blend.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Like others have said, the lavender slaps you in the face both from the bottle and wet on the skin. I'm not usually a fan of lavender but thought I would test this before gifting it to a friend. My partner swears they smell something lemony in the scent, and I can see where they are coming from. I'm not familiar with rock-rose, and it's surprisingly not very floral.

Imagine sunlight through the glass panes, natural linen everywhere, an antique dresser and a well-worn ceramic tea cup.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

In the bottle this is just super sharp lavender. When I put it on it remains as basically pure lavender, which makes my nose itch a bit.

 

As it starts to dry down, the lavender backs off and a very pleasant combo begins to emerge of  something mellow yet sweet, which I imagine must be the rockrose, a faint whiff of lavender, and those pale woods, which I'll admit was the actual note that drew me to this in the first place (I was a big fan of it in Lilac & Pale Woods). At this stage I definitely envision more of a sun-dappled woodland environment where there's something sweet, but unidentifiable in the distance.

 

So, for me, the dry down of this scent is where it really shines. I'm not a big fan of how overwhelmingly "lavender" it is in the bottle or when I first put it on, but that stage doesn't last too long and it ends up blending in quite nicely with the other two notes.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

×