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Showing results for tags 'Shungas 2013'.
Found 11 results
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Amber, bergamot, champaca flower, centifolia rose absolute, tolu balsam. I am not very good with the notes and I haven't really spent today trying to tease out the wet, dry, deep dry down that I do when I plan on reviewing but I cannot resist starting Gorgeous. I put it on and I felt that it was a bit sharp to begin. Honestly I was a wee bit underwhelmed. The bergamot was really strong I guess and there was something oddly plastic about it BUT THEN and isn't there almost always a But Then? I am sitting there minding my own business and my daughter says mom you smell really really good. To which I respond hmmm still trying to decide if I like it which causes an I'll take it. uhhhhh Shunga Then the Husband comments about how pretty and feminine it is and how much he likes it. So .. I bring my wrist up to huff and I get a very feminine slightly spicy scent but no clear rose, amber, champaca or bergamot. VERY well blended to present a delicate lushness~ does that sound contrary? Well it is gentle and sensual and warm and rich and creamy and all those other things I look for. I tend not to smell a lot of stuff after I wear them for a while cus they blend in with me but judging on comments it has decent throw. I think I need another bottle crossposting this to ravelry
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Bourbon vanilla, custard accord, white rose, cocoa absolute, oudh, lemon blossom, and skin musk. Head's up, everyone! Delight & Consternation is one of those BPAL oils with chocolate sludge, so be sure to mix and roll well! The sludge is not a huge percentage of the blend (like Boomslang), just a couple of millimeters at the bottom of the bottle. But it will smell different if you don't mix properly. So... I love this. Immediately. The chocolate note is dry bittersweet cocoa powder with a hint of aged woodiness, maybe from the oudh. The balmy lemon blossom (very subtle-- creamy and fresh, but not strongly citrusy) blends well with the custard to make a kind of faint, mellow lemon curd impression. It reminds me a little of the custard/orange/floral thing going on in Huesos de Santo, though more gentle. But this is all clean and distinct from the cocoa somehow: they don't clash at all. The white rose takes several minutes to make an appearance, and it's a soft, almost honeyed rose. The skin musk and vanilla are both very lacy and delicate and stay in the background. It's an unexpected combination of notes, but they are incredibly complementary. Delight & Consternation stays pretty close to the skin. It's not exactly foody or even overly sweet despite having several gourmand notes. The oudh and musk keep it grounded and give it a hint of sexiness. It's very unique, and I'm so glad I bought a bottle! ETA: Okay, I see the cocoa sludge is not universal! Mine is very noticeable. When I overturn the bottle, it cascades down the sides, leaving streaks and globules floating around like a lava lamp. When I roll the bottle for awhile to mix it, it gets cloudy enough that light doesn't shine through. It will be interesting to see how everyone's individual bottles vary.
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Hinoki wood, ho wood, white clove, and suminagashi maple leaf. in the bottle: whoa UBERGREEN! it's like someone sliced a tiny branch of a tree open with a pocket knife and let the watery sap drip out. freshly cut grass! dandelion stems! green green green! wet on my skin: more green! it is being grounded a tiny bit by what i assume are the woods and there is a TINY bit of spice from the clove...but boy, this is mostly just bright, fresh green to me. dry on my skin: the clove is coming forward a bit now and the greenness of the maple leaf has subsided enough for me to start getting whiffs of a nice, well-rounded spicy, green woodsy scent. unfortunately my skin seems to be having a bit of a reaction to this. it is absolutely lovely, but i'm not sure i will keep it around due to my skin being sensitive to it.
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Hemp, white honey, amber, black currant, beeswax, and wild honeysuckle. The hemp seems to leap out with a leafy green kick from the bottle and for the first few minutes after it's on my skin. As the oil begins to dry, I start to feel that A Mirror of Spring Pleasures on Kites could be a greener cousin to last year's Entangled, which is a favourite of mine. I don't really know where the similarity lies; maybe the honey? For the first five to ten minutes, the hemp makes me think of salad, but it's oddly not off-putting. That stage gives way to a creamier green scent as the honey, beeswax, honeysuckle, and just the faintest hint of amber emerge. Then the late arrival, black currant, slides in like a whisper after it's dry to mingle with the creamy notes. I probably need to let this rest, as it only came in the mail today. So far I do like it and can see myself wearing it when I need something subtle. ETA: I've worn it a few more times now and I really like it. Hemp is still the most prominent note on me, but it's already mellowed (I no longer think of salad while it's drying). The scent lasts all day and it's very much a springy fragrance that I think will appeal to people who like Entangled.
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Mandarin, lime, red currant, black tea, ginger. Pretty and fruity in the bottle. Bland and fruity on my skin...almost like shampoo. Rats! I'm sure this will be really nice on the right person.
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Three brown musks, galbnum, saffron, golden honey, myrrh, cumin, and patchouli. Funny mental association with this one. You know magazine ads where you can tell some hoity toity photographer wanted to do an "edgy" photoshoot, and so there are all these "muddy" supermodels in varying states of disarray despite their chic dresses and suits? Their perfectly coiffed hair is just so slightly out of place and they have "dirt" smeared on their faces? Yeah. This is like that. It's an eye roll and a, "There's no way these high class people were sweating or uncomfortable in the slightest." This is definitely heavy on the musk. I imagine a lot of people will think of cologne because of that. But, behind it, there's a zap of green from the galbanum, a full sweetness from the honey and bite of woods from the patch. The combo of honey and woodsiness almost makes me think of chocolate, in fact... and this comes out more and more as the musk calms down. This is in your face, but simultaneously "fancy." Like a spoiled rich boy trying to be intimidating but failing miserably because there's not a thread out of place on his tailored suit. You kind of just want to pinch his cheeks. I like it.
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Coconut, balsam, lemongrass, anise, vanilla orchid, mimosa. In bottles: This is really different. The coconut and balsam combine worth the lemongrass to create an effect I’m having trouble describing. It’s sort of tart and warm and toasty at the same time. The orchids and mimosa form a second strong faction, which goes really well with the balsam, which ties the factions together. The anise is soft and fun with the lemongrass. Wet: Lemongrass is now strongest, as my skin amps it. It is too strong really, though the coconut, balsam, and anise, try hard to hold firm. The flowers fade into a soft fuzzy background. It’s not bad even still, but there’s just too much lemongrass with my chemistry. Dry: Very pretty on the dry down. The lemongrass stays strongest, but calms down. Balsam is a strong second, with a touch of coconut and a kiss of florals.
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Orris root, rice paper, red chypre, Siamese benzoin, Moroccan jasmine. Wet, Intercourse Through Folding Screen starts with a creamy vanilla from the Siamese benzoin (yum!), but this is short-lived as the dry chypre notes push through. Orris is non-existent, which is fine since it has dominated other blends I've tried (I'm looking at you, Roses Pearls and Diamonds). As it dries the rice paper wraps itself around the blend with a soft-and-subtle powdery dryness that I often find in asian scents, accentuated the whole time with jasmine. Eventually the chypre fades into the background and I'm left with soft vanilla-tinged jasmine powder. Overall it's a clean powdery scent, but not baby powdery in the least bit...more like some expensive body powder you'd pick up in Kyoto made of crushed pearls. Since I know a lot of forumites are jasmine-averse, I'd categorize the jasmine in this as the sharper, greener, "cleaner" type--I recognize this note from Salome. Unfortunately it's not my favorite type of jasmine, as I like my jasmine borderline poopy ( ). We'll see what the blend's like in a couple of months, but as of now it's a scent I'd rather dust on me as a powder than wear as a skin oil. EDIT: After a few more weeks of aging the powdery elements have softened and deepened significantly. There's still powder, as Intercourse Through Folding Screen has the dry elements coming from the chypre and rice paper, but it the benzoin is much more prominent now and gives the blend a creamier feel. It's definitely more like a high-end body powder that just melts against your body heat, and the crushed pearls description I gave before is much more apt. I get hints of jasmine here and there but all sharpness is GONE. It's so well blended with the rest of the elements now that it doesn't particularly stand out but you know it's there. The blend stays pretty true wet through (long now!) drydown, and I even got a "mmm, you smell nice" from Mr. Elf. I'll be keeping my bottle, and definitely recommend at least trying this even if you're jasmine-averse.
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Sandalwood, plum, white mint, and agarwood. oh god. it is SO GOOD. this is SO GOOD. in the bottle: nondescript sandalwood with...something behind it. the oudh? it didn't smell exciting in the bottle. wet on my skin: MINT! with a backdrop of sandalwood. spicy and woodsy. dry on my skin: just delicious. spicy and sophisticated with just a hint of sweetness. what an unexpected and beautiful mix of scents. i foresee several bottles of this in my future.
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Milk accord, tuberose, oakmoss, Asian pear, opoponax, and carrot seed. High pressure, not just because I'm the first to review but because this is such a complicated symphony of smells. From the bottle, this smells vegetal and medicinal. I wasn't sure what to expect from this and I'm not exactly feeling great about my purchase. On application, this is just shrieking, high, herbal weirdness (in fairness, it was literally delivered a half hour before wearing). I want it OFF. BUT THEN..... The pear comes into play. Not a juicy, sweet pear, more like the smell through the skin of the pear before you take the first bite. And the IDEA of milk. The opoponax then comes to the forefront as a sharp, myrrh-like incense. This smells expensive, like vintage Cartier. Everything quiets down and becomes smooth, sweet and resiny. It's gorgeous and I think it will age beautifully. So if you've ordered this don't freak out when you open the bottle and first put it on. Your patience will be richly rewarded. Lovely, unexpected, and I'm very happy to have added this to my bpal menagerie.
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Ambergris accord, kelp, pale oakmoss, sea buckthorn berry, mugwort, petitgrain, frankincense, and salt. In the bottle, it smells like salt and sea air, definitely less ozonic and 'breeze' and more of the sandy/salty ocean scent. I've got high hopes. I love aquatics! Especially when they are CRAB PEOPLE. On, wet, it really morphs, I still get the salty quality but there's definitely a strong petitgrain scent - I can pull that note, stems, leaves, twigs and all, to the forefront. The kelp then steps in to add a very slightly fishy quality (Kani? Kani??? I love yoooooo), and now, mysteriously, it smells a little like those imitation crab sticks. Or maybe that's my brain. I don't know. After a little bit the cologney ambergris accord sidles up the front going 'HI I'M A WHALE. WHO DIS CRAB.' And... over a little more time, the whale and crab accords kinda hit it off, so I'm left with a very watery, extremely oceanic, breezy citrus tree/plant scent. I think, like salty petitgrain made of oranges. In time, the resins (frank) and smokey scent (mugwort) make this a little stormy. This is not a replacement for my much missed Kingsport, but it's a good, roiling oceanic marine that doesn't depend upon florals or lily to make it fresh. Do not use if you don't like petitgrain, because yup, it's a strong dominant note! After a few hours, this dries down to a mysterious salty cologne. Not a sweet or heady perfume drydown, salt salt salt. Very nice, if you're a marine aquatics fan.
