Sri Lanka

[Deiicide]

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

 

As of right now I'm in a Geography Class hightlighting many of the different Asian Countries. Sir Lanka reminded me of that so which a quick glance at the notes, I put this bad boy on to test him out.

 

After testing Hemlock and Sir Lanka almost side by side, it smells almost the same. While Hemlock is a bit heady spicy pine that turns sweet on me over time, Sir Lanka is the same spicness that the Hemlock kept but without the same span. It's nice, but it's not for me.

Edited October 11, 2006 by Deiicide

[aquazoo]

Wow, very dry smoky wow! It’s spicy, a little, but mostly woody & smoky. It is a scent I keep going back to. It would work as a masculine scent, but I like it too.

[supremegoddessofall]

The cedar and sandalwood are mingling in an interesting manner. It's pretty, but the end result is that it doesn't really smell like any of the main elements. I'm also getting a light aquatic feel. I think I might like this on Lee.

[aestien]

Bottle: cedar

Wet: sandalwood, cedar

Dry: sandalwood, cedar, a little patchouli, a little myrrh, hardly any incense

 

This is a straightforward cedar scent on me, very nice.

[arachne]

Sandalwood. All I get from this is Sandalwood. I have to be careful with sandalwood because it can dry down sickeningly sweet on me. Sri Lanka is lovely, but very one dimensional. I just don't think I love it enough to buy a bigger bottle.

 

We'll let the old man try it. Dear husband will be excited to find another imp ear waiting for him on his bureau when he wakes up.

[tempestteapot]

Smoky, incense and dry wood. This is a nice scent but too masculine for me.

[kwsix]

In the imp: smoky woods

 

Wet on my skin: Sri Lanka blossoms into warm woods, resins, and spice. I can pick out the sandalwood, cedar, patchouli, and myrrh. There's a hint of something citrus-y on my skin, which I'm guessing is the olibanum. I really like this one.

 

Drydown: It stays pretty much the same as the wet stage, except the patchouli comes on a little stronger as it dries. Fortunately I like patchouli.

 

Overall: Sri Lanka is warm, spicy, and mysterious. It's a very well-balanced blend, with no one note shouting for attention. I would classify it as more masculine than feminine, but still wearable for men and women. I like it on myself, but it would be very sexy on a man too. Something about it reminds me a little of Blood - probably the myrrh. I would definitely wear Sri Lanka again, and I plan on ordering a bottle whenever I can swing it.

[Mellowmallow]

I *love* this. So far, this is my favorite of them all. I love the green snap in the opening, and I love how the cedar and sandalwood mingle, and I adore the incense and smoke. Love, love, love.

 

I think this will be my first full bottle purchase.

[tinyvulture]

i finally got around to ordering an imp of this scent, which i’ve been wanting to try forever. i knew i would love it! it’s the perfect, dark, resinous incense blend. this is the darkest one yet! sweet, woodsy and smoky. the patchouli is biting and strong…almost bitter…but in a good way. i think it’s slightly similar to midnight mass, but without the odd “banana” note. i’m putting this on my big bottle list right away.

[hecate_jones]

Very nice, at least in small doses, which is strange. I generally hate patchouli, but I can tolerate it when it's with sandalwood.

The sandalwood and cedar are really strong in this, and the patchouli's more of a background note. Still, definitely not for me.

[Electra]

Ooh, I like this.

 

It's very woodsy without smelling like a tree. Am I actually wearing cedar without smelling like pencils? It's a miracle! It smells like incredibly high-quality incense that involves resins and cedar chips. Very eastern, very mysterious. I agree with the reviewer above me that the patchouli is very much in the background - I don't smell it at all.

 

It strikes me that this would be an amazing meditation or yoga scent. I don't know if I'd wear it as a daily perfume, but I do like it quite a lot.

[maribouquet]

GUH, Sri Lanka is amazing. The cedar is a warm complement to the sandalwood, the patchouli is mellow. Something in here gives the blend an almost sweet roundness - the gum mastic? Maybe the olibanum?

 

I adore this. Yes, it is more on the masculine side, but it is so warm and round that it has a very grounded, earth-mother aspect to it, too. Utterly sensual. Mmmmm.

 

*wants*

[bombus]

I don’t tend to like the blends with cedar in them, but this one is an exception. The sandalwood and the incense smoke seem to calm the cedar and the patchouli is there, but not over powering. It smells smoky and mysterious to me. I think it smells good on me but it would smell really good on my boyfriend.

[kopekane]

Surprisingly this is wearing very well. At first it seemed that it would be a little too light and sweet for me, but the sandlewood and cedar come though in the end. I am still looking for something darker and earthier, but this scent will be good for days when I am thinking of bright, exotic, and unwesternized places that I need to see someday.

[Trish]

In the imp: Cedar and incense.

 

Wet: Lots of cedar, but not overly sharp like it was in Cathedral. There's spice and incense too. Lots of incense!

 

Drydown: The spices warm and bloom, reminding me quite a bit of Silk Road. However due to the cedar it's seems to be more full bodied and rounded. Actually this smells a bit like a cross between Silk Road and a much softer Penitance, two oils that I really like a lot.

 

Dry: After an hour or so the spices start fading leaving soft cedar and incense, and just bit of myrrh. I'm quite astonished the cedar is so soft in this, it's quite often very strong and sharp on my skin.

 

After 2-3 hours it fades a lot, leaving a very soft cedar and - finally! - sandalwood and just a tiny hint of spice and incense. I never picked up patchouli at all, which isn't a bad thing!

 

 

I've been searching for the perfect dry spicy scent, and this is as close to perfect as I've found so far. The only reason it's not perfect is because it fades away so quickly. It still may be a bottle though, I've got Bengal coming my way so I'll see which one I prefer.

Edited February 18, 2007 by Trishek

[filigree_shadow]

Based on the notes, I thought I'd like this, so I bought a bottle of it unsniffed a long time ago because it was on eBay for a really good price. I had the bottle for quite a while but I only wore it once, so I sold the bottle.

 

There's nothing at all wrong with this scent -- it's a lovely, deep scent that smells exactly like you'd think it would from looking at the notes. It's a little bit incensey, a bit exotic, and a bit woody. Nothing offensive about this scent in the least.

 

But for some reason, I didn't find myself reaching for it. I think that if I'm in the mood for an incensey scent, I'll go for Al-Azif, and if I want something exotic I'll put on Scherezade. So I think that although I like this one, I have others that are sort of like it that I like better.

[Nia]

in the imp: uh-oh. So this is what went wrong with Kathmandu: cedar. A bitter, medicinal, concentrated scent, which reminds slightly of Vicks Vaporub. This is not as bad as Kathmandu, though.

 

I hate Kathmandu with such a passion that the cedar note spoils everything else for me. This one is like sweet Kathmandu. It does smell masculine (cedar and sandalwood together, what would you expect?) and that would not be a problem if the different elements didn't clash in my nose.

[porcelina]

this was a frimp, as it would have to be, because i'd never voluntarily order anything that contained primarily sandalwood... especially when there's patchouli in it, too. ugh! i don't know what to say about this other than that after applying, i smelled like total b.o.

Edited July 9, 2007 by Shollin

[CrazyPretzel]

Got this as a frimp in a purchase from a very sweet forumite -- and I can no longer remember which one, having done a lot of shopping here lately ^^;

 

Sri Lanka was on my wishlist but when I opened it and sniffed I thought, 'Darn, this one probably won't work.' Sandalwood and other woods have a tendency to go all wonky on me and smell like musty old attics.

 

This one, however, doesn't. It's perfect dry, gentle incense and does not go all weird on the drydown. Makes me think of blue skies and temples high in the mountains -- very, very beautiful.

 

If woods generally don't work with your chemistry you might want to give this one a try, because it's the first sandalwood-y blend I've come across that I can wear (Belle Epoque, Velvet, Red Queen, and some others have all flopped on me.)

 

Really, really pleased to have this one!

[euterpe414]

Got this one as a frimp in my latest order and I am so happy I did, as I have seemed to overlook this in my quest to try the lab's earthy/resinous blends. I get mainly cedar and sandalwood with a hint of myrrh- where's the patchouli, I don't know...anyway, it smells glorious! It's not very overpowering- there is little throw and it seems to stay close to my skin, though it lasts for a long time. The cedar gives it a bit of a masculine edge, although I would definitely wear it with no qualms.

 

Sri Lanka has a very earthy, grounded and meditative feel to it. Like others have said, this seems like a fantastic yoga and meditation scent- or just great for when I want to feel centered and relaxed. I foresee a bottle of this one in my future

[LadyCrow]

In imp: Sharp, clear, sweet.

 

Wet: Astringent. Holy olibanum, Batman! A bit medicinal/herbal at this stage.

 

Drydown: The cedar is certainly there, but I think even the resin is stronger in the blend. Over the satisfyingly long wear time, the cedar/resin combo recedes, leaving a softer cedar-tinged sandalwood, and vague hints of myrrh. However, to quote a certain pirate captain: But why is all the patchouli gone? Seriously, what patchouli?

 

Verdict: I like it, but not as much as I'd expected to when I read the notes.

[ralenth]

At first sniff, it reminds me of a dusty tea room. It turns resiny and sweet after a few minutes. I have a hard time pinning this down. It's soft, warm and sweet with hints of myrrh, which I adore.

 

Definitely keeping this, if only to decipher it further.

[tartchef]

This starts off amazingly fresh & green, with the dry woods hovering in the background. Picture a rocky mountain path on a sunny day, winding through scrubby evergreens... there's a nice breeze coming up from the valley below.

 

As it dries, the myrrh surfaces, but thankfully it is a bit player, not overwhelming, just spicing things up a bit. It's still a very fresh, outdoor scent, like how your hair would smell at the end of the trek mentioned above...

 

This is beautiful, all I'd wished Kathmandu would be. So very very glad I gambled on a Big Bottle - this is an instant Top 10.

 

ETA: Hours later, OMFG. Sweet mother of woodsmoke & pepper.

Edited August 13, 2007 by tartchef

[Dark Sparkle]

A wonderful frimp from the Lab

 

Unfortunately, all I get from Sri Lanka is a cedar explosion on my skin and absolutely no other notes are able to pull through - I guess I have to be more vary of cedar in the future

[taramarie]

In the imp and wet on my skin, Sri Lanka is patchouli single note. Dry, cedar comes through as well, but I'm not getting the other notes. It's nice and I'll be sure to always have an imp around.