Sri Lanka

[starwild]

Indian sandalwood and cedar, and the dry incense smoke of olibanum, gum mastic, patchouli and myrrh.

Bottle: Dark rich wood and a tiny bit of cinnamon. Really GOOD patchouli.

Wet: A little scary because the patchouli is very overwhelming at this stage, bitter and strong.

Drydown: Ooooh. HEAVENLY. Once it dries, Sri Lanka is warm sweetness over a thick layer of patchouli. The earlier bitterness fades completely on me, and I do get a bit of cedar and, strangely, a hint of cinnamon.

This is a wonderful, slightly spicy scent for fall. Edited October 11, 2007 by Shollin

[daiconharuko]

Earthy and green. It's not as strong as I want it to be. Maybe my nose is mad at me for sniffing a bunch of other stuff. It's a very pleasant incencey scent. It's not too strong, but it's really pretty. I totally love this!

[hkhm]

imp: cedar incense. i think i can catch the faintest whiff of patchouli.

 

wet: oh WOW! smoky patchouli and cedar with a nice hit of sandalwood! i may have to slip this into my husband's stash and see if he likes it!

 

dry: very rich and cedary. this is not for me but i think there may be a bottle for my husband in the future.

[Apple]

When I first tried this one, I was testing a bunch of other fragrances. The oil in the imp is quite thick, and I ended up applying a giant, viscous drop that just sat there on my skin for quite awhile, finally dispersing into a large, semi-circular oily patch on my arm. In spite of this generous application, I could barely smell Sri Lanka. It was so faint, I thought perhaps I was experiencing a scent "blind spot" for the first time. I tried it again on its own the next day, and I was pleased to discover that not only could I smell it, but that it smelled very good indeed! It is a very light fragrance, and at a certain point in the dry-down it threatens to turn into powder, but thankfully it never does. Sri Lanka sticks very close to the skin and smells like wonderful sandalwood incense with just a hint of a nice, clean citrus floating around in the background. Yum.

[sadtomato]

woodsy and patchouli in the imp.

once it's on and dry it's a wonderful, non-overpowering patchouli blended nicely with warm spices.

this one smelled great on me and lasted pretty long as well.

one of my favorites so far!

[jaeyne]

Very woody, reminds me of some cedar oil I used to have without the liquid smoke touch that really put me of it. As it dries and after about an hour, it smells a little more sandalwoody. I really like this.

No much else to say that other haven't said better, but I would buy a bottle.

[Honeygirl]

Bottle: Patchouli and herbs

 

Wet: I already knew this was not a good scent for me. Even though patchouli is low on the ingredient list, it's practically all I can smell. A bit of cedar and myrrh, no sandalwood.

 

Drydown: The cedar comes out much better here, but again, not my scent.

2.5 outta 5

[lmaunu]

In the bottle: Cedar and patchouli.

 

On drydown, this one doesn't morph much on my skin or reveal any nuances. The original cedar and patchouli scents remain strong. It smells nice, but just isn't for me.

[greenranger]

From a frimp included in the first ever order arriving from BPAL. Wow....they really want to feed the addiction. I have a bunch to try! Sri Lanka was the first one that I opened, partly because the Wanderlust series looks so interesting. I have imps of Bengal and Old Morrocco on the way in a different order.

 

In the imp, I can't really discern anything beyond sweet and green. It could be my uneducated nose, though.

 

Wet, on me, still green(if a color can be a scent), but I can almost smell some kind of floral, but nothing I recognise.

 

As it dries, the incense becomes more apparent. I am liking it better dry than wet, though it still may not be for me. I think that is the patchouli that I am smelling more of now. Though it smells nice enough, I can't really get excited over just patchouli.

 

Several hours later, all I smell is a nice incense. It's subtle...or some might call it faint.

Edited April 11, 2008 by Aerinha

[azhriaz]

Sandalwood and cedar. That's about it. Doesn't morph at all throughout the day. I like sandalwood but I already have a bottle of Anne Bonny, which I prefer to this. Sri Lanka is a very neutral scent to me.

[cranberry]

When this was first released I thought for sure this would be my holy grail. I immediately bought a 10 ml. And didn’t wear it much. It eventually got swapped away. Now after trying it again a couple years later, I realize that I really do like this scent.

 

 

On the skin, the first thing you smell is wood. Lots of wood. Cedar and a very dry sandalwood. Dry wood is the perfect description for this scent.

 

Underneath the wood, there’s a light smoky incense and that gains in prominence as it wears, becoming equal with the wood. There’s also a slight spice, but not overly so.

 

The more that I smell this I more I am loving this scent. It’s reminds me of an exotic incense and I think this out would be fabulous applied as a perfume spay, room scent, linen spray. I want to smell this all around me. It’s very atmospheric and very evocative.

 

While may not get another bottle I'll be sure to hang onto any imps that come my way.

[Tilby]

Mmm! Yummy manly woodsman scent. A manly woodsman who has been cutting down cedar and sandalwood trees all day long. I didn't think I'd like this one, but the spice and the patchouli didn't overwhelm me. I think I am going to secretly wipe this one on the boyfriend. It smells delicious!

[thelaurenator]

Oh my GOD, this is vile. I smelled it in the bottle and literally gagged. Straight up patchouli and something like rotting wood or moss. Literally, I almost lost my lunch. But, being the intrepid BPALer that I am, I tried it on, hoping it would morph. It didn't. It now smelled like moldy incense sticks and rotting wood, with some cigarette ashes thrown in there for good measure.

 

I would not recommend this to ANYONE. EVER. Male or female. This is one of the most repulsive smells I have EVER smelled. NO.

[Magpie]

Abosolutely freaking beautiful! This is a lovely warm incensy cedar, like the inside of a cedar chest. So homely and comforting, and for some reason brought back a flood of nostalgia for me, despite the fact that I don't think I've ever owned any kind of cedar furniture. The patchouli is lovely and soft and blends with the wood gorgeously. Incredibly evocative. Sri-Lanka is weirdly green and fresh somehow, changing between sharp greenery and gorgeous wood.

 

The sandalwood unfortunately seems to be my enemy again, but luckily this blend seems to be bewitching enough to not let it turn into horrible flat yuckiness. The cedar keeps it beautifully spiced up.

Edited July 15, 2008 by Magpie

[AEris]

One of my favorite old perfume layering combinations is Body Shop's Woody Sandalwood layered with Body Shop's Patchouli. It's simple, sexy, intense, earthy....

 

Sri Lanka is a similar combination of sandalwood and patchouli, but it puts myrrh and a touch of cedar into the mix. If I had smelled this when the Body Shop combo was my signature scent, I would have flipped the f*$# out! This is awesome!!

 

I don't see myself getting the chance to wear this very often, because I work in an environment where people have specifically stated their hatred of patchouli and I wouldn't want to annoy anyone with my scent.

 

However, on weekends when I'm hanging out with old friends, I think this would be a lovely twist on an old favorite perfume. Therefore, I'll keep the imp but I won't dive in after a full bottle - I just can't wear it often enough to justify 5mL.

 

 

4.8 out of 5

[mgrazulis]

In the imp: Sandalwood and patchouli.

 

Wet: Much softer, sweeter. Earthy yet grounded by sweet incense and sandalwood.

 

Dry: Dry, heady, thick incense and patchouli.

 

I will have to try in when my scent locket arrives. Sadly, it is just too heavy on the incense and the patchouli is over the top on my skin.

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Resins, myrrh, and sandalwood.

 

Immediately on skin: Even though it was rather sweet and resinous in the imp, on my skin this is very herbal and earthy. It’s a mix of green herbal notes, patchouli, and myrrh.

 

After a little while: This has settled into a very earthy patchouli, incense, and light cedar scent. The blend is very warm overall, and has a woody, dirty feel to it. There’s a subtle bit of myrrh that sweetens up the blend.

 

Overall Impressions: I’m not a fan of patchouli, so I don’t personally like this blend, but it is a very nice warm, woody patchouli scent. It seems well balanced and very unisex. It’s a very earthy scent for sure.

[zankoku_zen]

Okay, so this at the beginning, smelled like a food market to me. It was a blend of exotic smells - both foreign and familiar. Then it settled into this woodsy jungle. And now it's a smooth, blended cedar.

 

Uh... what? Yeah, for me it was like finding a native guide in the food market, having him take me to the jungle and then me, felling a fragrant tree and making off with the goods.

 

Yeah, I said it. I felled a tree.

[tdgnika]

In the bottle and wet on the wrist: smelled very mellow and dry. I smelled mostly sandalwood, I think.

 

On drying: all that was left was the cedar smell, a very dry smell. This had excellent staying power on me, but I'm not sure that the solitary cedar is something I want to smell like on an ordinary day. I could see this being a good oil for a ritual setting or feeling like I need to 'cleanse' my emotions, since I think I smelled like a cedar chest.

 

Probably will wear only for certain occasions.

[Iceblink]

Sri Lanka smells *dry*! I get cedar and sandalwood layered over a rich patchouli. It's hot and arid and incensey. I'd love this as a room scent!

[crebbsgirl]

This smells very much like cedar incense to my nose. It's a spicy woodsy blend with a hint of a herbaceous element here. The cedar is definitely in the front seat throughout the wet stage, but as it dries, the myrrh and patchouli come out and the sandalwood sort of wafts through the blend. The cedar begins to blend nicely with the other notes, but it's still a standout. I usually prefer my cedar notes to remain in the background. It's a really beautiful supporting note on me, but I can't have it at the forefront. It's nice, but there are other woodsy scents I prefer.

[Electric Maenad]

Sweet and resiny and woody, which is all good, although it doesn't hold a candle to Inez for sheer hawtness. For some completely inexplicable reason, ze man said he thought it smelled like roses. Considering that almost every rose scent I've worn to date (except Abhisarika) turns to fancy bathroom soap, I am at a loss to understand where he's getting roses from. However, this is yet more proof that BPAL patchouli is a different animal from the typical cheap-ass goth/hippy incense I'd formerly associated with the name.

 

It also lasts a good long time - about 12 hours.

[Lyrical]

In vial: nose-tickling dry wood and incense.

 

Wet on skin: sharp, woody, and suddenly the smell of Vick's Vaporub overwhelms me!

 

Dry on skin: Vicks passes, although there is something sharp and headache inducing here if I inhale deeply. Very dry, musty wood, with incense, patchouli and myrrh.

[themerrybaker]

The cedar in Sri Lanka predominates on me. It turns me into a wooden chest full of spicy sweetness. I really like it for those headshop nostalgia days. It would also be fantastic in an oil burner.

[ouch!]

This si a whoel lotta wood, and Sandalwood. It starts out a bit more incensey....but after about 10 minutes goes much sweeter. It's a very sweet wood.

 

Not really something I usually would wear, but it's surprisingly nice.

 

I put it on at 7.45 this morning, it's now 9.15 and it's got an ok amount of throw and it does have an exotic kinda feel as it wafts around me.

The wood has died down a bit, the sweetness is still there, the Sandalwood has faded a bit more too and it's kind of hard to describe.

 

This is one that I really want to slather to get the full effect. I'm liking it more and more as it wafts, it's quite an unusal scent.