BPAL Somnus and other medicinal scents

[devon]

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Lately I've been applying BPAL's Somnus before I go to bed. I sleep better, but is it a placebo effect or actual-fax relaxation promoted by the scent?

http://www.bpal.org/topic/8015-somnus/

reviews from experienced sniffers suggest that it has:
lavender, for sure
soft florals like lilies?
something green and herbal
white rose?
jasmine?

Many, but not all, of the reviewers said that it improved their sleep in some fashion, whether they liked the way it smelled or not.

Has anyone else experienced positive effects from perfume?

Comments

[vicki_rae]

I sleep like the dead so I'm not a fair test, but the notes sound interesting enough as a scent that I'll get an imp with my next order.

[devon]

A lot of people said they didn't like it very much as a daytime scent, either because the jasmine went rotten on them or the green herbs were too sharp. If you can wait for a frimp, I'd try that first. The scent is not one of my favorites, but I find it perfectly pleasant. Jasmine doesn't go wrong on me, and I don't mind green herbs.

[kore]

Jasmine doesn't do the dreaded cat-pee thing on me, either, but Somnus felt a little....busy? flowery? for sleepytime. TKO really works for me. Also, if you haven't tried it, the Erebos lavender spray from BPTP is great. I spray it on my pillows and sheets and it really does relax and soothe me.

[teaotter]

I use BPAL's TKO for sleeping and plane trips, and I do find it very relaxing. I have no idea how much of that is the placebo effect, but I don't care as long as it works.

[lunabee34]

I need to try that one! I haven't because I think you can only buy the full bottle rather than an imp to try. Somnus did not smell good to me and so was not relaxing.

[teaotter]

I wasn't fond of Somnus, either. I like Baku, which smells a lot like fennel to me, but I really like kitchen smells.

-- btw, THANK YOU for the holiday card! It made me smile.

[lunabee34]

I like the smell of anise or fennel, but everything I've tried so far has turned super over the top licorice on me. I do want to try that one, though.

You are welcome for the card! I have fun sending those out.

[synecdochic]

Lavender has been used for centuries as a sleep aid! So if it is a placebo effect, it's one that has been in place for, oh, two or three thousand years or so. :)

[lunabee34]

Which reminds me that I have used up all the lavender dosing the baby's crib at night and must order more! LOL

[kore]

I forgot to highlight that lavender is one of the FEW things that will help knock a migraine right down for me, and I just found out that apparently that's been going on for centuries too! I did not know. (All modern doctors have ever done for me is prescribe Imitrex, after harping about my "borderline pre-hypertensive" ((no srsly)) blood pressure, or EFFEXOR. OMGNOTHANKYOU.) I didn't try BPAL's headache panacea yet, mostly because TKO works so well for me.

[lunabee34]

Nanshe, which is also in the Somnium line, is supposed to be for dreaming. IDK if it is a placebo affect or not, but I rarely ever remember my dreams (I have gone whole years without remembering a single dream upon waking), and every time I wear it around bedtime, I remember dreaming. I hate dreaming, however, and have since stopped wearing it around bedtime. LOL Other times, yes, because it is lovely.

Re: Somnus, I tested an older vial I got in a swap and did not like the way it smelled at all. I just got a fresh frimp with my order which I intend to test to see if it differs from the older batch, but I don't expect to like it.

If I don't like it, you or Vicki_Rae or anyone else who's interested in it is welcome to the imp.

[kore]

I love lavender, and it always relaxes me, altho I'm not sure if it makes me sleepy -- probably relaxing makes it more likely I'll sleep. I think I tried Somnum, but what I swear by is TKO, which is lavender + vanilla? or something sweet, and it helps when I have migraines and insomnia (two reinforcing conditions, yay!). I just got a new bottle, which makes me a little nervous because it has a new label, two women boxing, not the old heart-with-daggers-in one. I hope she didn't jigger the formula.

[devon]

if you do a google search for "BPAL TKO (or the name of any scent) reviews" one of the top two results will be for bpal.org, to take you to the page of reviews by people who have tried it. They are in date order, with the oldest ones first and the newest ones at the end. Skip to the newest ones and see if people think that the formula has been changed.

[kore]

Oh, I love the BPAL forums! Been a member there since 2005. ;-)

[devon]

awesome! I'm there just since last year:
http://www.bpal.org/user/51014-crankydevon/
we're both Scorpios!

[kore]

AWW YEAH SCORPIO GALS UNITE //used to have a Scorpio icon, where did it go