Top Notes 
Neroli
Bergamot
Clary sage
Lemon
Mandarin orange
Peppermint
Thyme
Heart Notes 
Broom
Jasmine absolute
Violet
Blackcurrant absolute
Pear
Wool
Base Notes 
Haitian vetiver
Musk
Cedarwood
Sandalwood
Coumarin
DasCroe
91 Reviews
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DasCroe
Top Review
23
Meditation for the Nose
*gggoooong* Welcome to the oasis of tranquility, where stressed city dwellers can unwind and find their inner chi... *gooong* *blink* No, wait, stop! Quick reality check: I am still (again) sitting in my living room and not in a Balinese meditation center, with my nose hovering over my wrist. On today's menu is my now fourth Cloon Keen fragrance Báinín or rather "Bawneen" as I learned in Dublin, which translates to "little white." The name is based - it doesn't get more Irish than this - on the white wool from which the well-known and beautiful Aran-patterned sweaters are knitted. There are indeed plenty of sheep on the island.
Okay, I LOVE wool! I have been knitting for ages, and the smell of a new ball of wool is only topped by that of virgin book pages. Let’s just hope the journey doesn’t head towards wool wax/pharmacy ointment ;)
Back to the chi seminar... the scent starts fresh and green, like a herb garden in spring on a morning when the dew is still sparkling. Peppermint is clearly recognizable but in no way toothpaste/gum-like, rather more like freshly brewed tea from the same. Sage & thyme - and I would have guessed basil too, but it’s not listed - complement each other wonderfully harmoniously. The citrus and neroli are hardly noticeable, maybe a hint of lemon, but I don’t really miss them. At this point, my inner self is already ohm-buzzing half a meter beside me and is blissful: this combo is something I have been searching for a long time, and in 99% of cases, it’s too "masculine" in the sense of 'did you steal your husband's aftershave?' Cloon Keen masters the high art of creating very harmonious, generally more skin-close, finely woven fragrances.
After 10-15 minutes, we leave the herb garden and enter the sun-drenched, warm, wood-paneled meditation room. Somewhere in the adjacent room, an incense stick was lit yesterday, and you can still sense the last traces of scent, and I imagine I can smell a cigar box (that special combo of dry tobacco and wood), which could be due to the jasmine-violet combination. The fruit basket in the corner is empty, with no trace of pears or currants. The scent is aromatic, warm, completely unsweet! My ohm-buzzing self raises the buzzing frequency just before self-resonance. A dream! A quick side note to jasmine haters: no worries! That little flower doesn’t take center stage (at least not for me...).
The sun rises and warms the room, the wood notes take over, musk in a subtle dosage never hurts... and, pinch me, the panda, I smell a hint of coconut (!?!?!?). But more like the dry shell of a coconut, definitely not fruity or sweet. Well, there are palm trees in Ireland too, so why not. I’m still searching for the wool, but I can live with that since I like what’s offered so much.
To sum up: a discrepancy between the name (-> expectations), the fragrance pyramid
and the actual scent perception, but I’m thrilled by the plot twist. I’m curious to see how Báinín is perceived by others!
'The little white one' is, in my opinion, extremely wearable by both genders. I would categorize the scent (from a woman's perspective) as a bit tough - ideal for the office.
The bottle comes in the Cloon Keen standard look, and I like the design: very heavy, elegant. However, if you have three of them in your cabinet, you can’t avoid reading the labels; apart from the name, they are all identical. The sillage, as mentioned earlier, is rather moderate, close to the body (on clothing, as always, longer) but certainly perceptible for 4-5 hours.
Okay, I LOVE wool! I have been knitting for ages, and the smell of a new ball of wool is only topped by that of virgin book pages. Let’s just hope the journey doesn’t head towards wool wax/pharmacy ointment ;)
Back to the chi seminar... the scent starts fresh and green, like a herb garden in spring on a morning when the dew is still sparkling. Peppermint is clearly recognizable but in no way toothpaste/gum-like, rather more like freshly brewed tea from the same. Sage & thyme - and I would have guessed basil too, but it’s not listed - complement each other wonderfully harmoniously. The citrus and neroli are hardly noticeable, maybe a hint of lemon, but I don’t really miss them. At this point, my inner self is already ohm-buzzing half a meter beside me and is blissful: this combo is something I have been searching for a long time, and in 99% of cases, it’s too "masculine" in the sense of 'did you steal your husband's aftershave?' Cloon Keen masters the high art of creating very harmonious, generally more skin-close, finely woven fragrances.
After 10-15 minutes, we leave the herb garden and enter the sun-drenched, warm, wood-paneled meditation room. Somewhere in the adjacent room, an incense stick was lit yesterday, and you can still sense the last traces of scent, and I imagine I can smell a cigar box (that special combo of dry tobacco and wood), which could be due to the jasmine-violet combination. The fruit basket in the corner is empty, with no trace of pears or currants. The scent is aromatic, warm, completely unsweet! My ohm-buzzing self raises the buzzing frequency just before self-resonance. A dream! A quick side note to jasmine haters: no worries! That little flower doesn’t take center stage (at least not for me...).
The sun rises and warms the room, the wood notes take over, musk in a subtle dosage never hurts... and, pinch me, the panda, I smell a hint of coconut (!?!?!?). But more like the dry shell of a coconut, definitely not fruity or sweet. Well, there are palm trees in Ireland too, so why not. I’m still searching for the wool, but I can live with that since I like what’s offered so much.
To sum up: a discrepancy between the name (-> expectations), the fragrance pyramid
and the actual scent perception, but I’m thrilled by the plot twist. I’m curious to see how Báinín is perceived by others!
'The little white one' is, in my opinion, extremely wearable by both genders. I would categorize the scent (from a woman's perspective) as a bit tough - ideal for the office.
The bottle comes in the Cloon Keen standard look, and I like the design: very heavy, elegant. However, if you have three of them in your cabinet, you can’t avoid reading the labels; apart from the name, they are all identical. The sillage, as mentioned earlier, is rather moderate, close to the body (on clothing, as always, longer) but certainly perceptible for 4-5 hours.
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