Kunstkammer

[ipb]

A sensory jumble, a true cacophony of odors: black pepper, benzoin, blood orange and olibanum.

to continue my one-line reviews: fruity, very fruity. it reminds me of one of my favorite breakfast sides: blood orange with strawberry, though i didn't peg the berry right away.

[kmasden]

I have to agree with Quantum Spice. This is very fruity. Not fruity in the fresh and fruity way. If possible, the black pepper and benzoin probably ground it a bit, yet I don't get any black pepper, not obviously anyway. I would say that for the most part I get a very deep orange fragrance.

 

It does get deeper as it dries. It is not the lighter orange or type of orange in masquerade, etc. It is unique. Very melding with the skin.

 

Although I was really hoping for a big ol' shot of black pepper (Beth, please make me a black pepper scent LOL), one of the things i love about Kunstkammer is that hours later when you sniff your skin, your skin just smells pleasant, sweetish but not overly so.

 

Almost reminds me of my german mother and the way she smells when she's been playing in the apricots. Almost a part of you scent, yet totally strong and on its own at first. I would say, if anything, the pepper comes out much later, just deepening and spicing up the dark orange a tad.

[yellowrose]

Although I've tried Kunstkammer once, I just had to review it because I fear some won't give this scent the chance it deserves. Don't know why I think that or how I reached that conclusion, but ... there it is.

 

The second I smelled Kunstkammer I was gaga.

 

Both wet and dry, at least on me, the dominant notes are blood orange and benzoin. The result is a cheery orange-cherry scent that is remarkably not fruity. Kept waiting for more black pepper, but it was shy despite my slathering. The scent dries almost promptly to a skin scent. This could be a fluke precipitated by hot weather. It had staying power in the cleavage area to be sure. (More testing will result in amendments to this review. Promise.) Here it is almost eight hours later and it is still very much present at close range and LOVELY.

 

Yes. Me. Slather. I did. Could not stop sniffing and daubing as I was dressing. This is a seductive, juicy, syrupy blend I will wear a LOT.

 

I am sooooooooooooooooooooo very glad to have this scent and love this Carnival curiosity. It has a special place in my cabinet.

 

Ooooooh. I wonder how this would layer with Carnivale??! Hmmmm.

 

ETA: The SO has declared this as a favorite. Claims it is reminiscent of being in a bakery. Perhaps some hoarding is warranted, especially because it's too wonderful NOT to slather.

 

Updated -- March 27, 2006: In the interest of those who may be purchasing bottles during the next Lunacy, I have this observation about the Kunstkammer to contribute. My particular bottle has been kept in a lovely dark cabinet and applied thoughtfully since I've purchased it. A week or so ago, I got it out because it had been neglected (13 is a rascal!) as of late. I was surprised to find it much softer than I originally recall. It's orange-y, yes. But the only other note that seems to be there is a hint of black pepper. It's still smells wonderful, but it isn't as cherry or punchy as I recall, but still cheery.

Edited March 28, 2006 by yellowrose

[blood*rose*flowers]

I only got to do a small sample on this last night but have to say I really enjoyed it! Mind you I appreciate the sweet scents. I got a lovely smell of cherry Kool-aid powder before you add sugar. It was slightly sweet, red scent with a touch of tart.

[UltraViolet]

In the bottle

Okay this is the first one i've tried, unless you count the imp of Midway I won a month ago.

OMG. *sniff* I think I'm in love. Fruity in a different way. Ethereal. It's more citrus (okay I see above me it says blood orange) and thus right up my alley so far.

 

On

Oh my goodness. It's as I described above but better, almost buttery in a way, but light, more so than when just in the bottle. Heaven. Please let this stay this way...

 

30 minutes

Yeah, it's still like heaven on a stick but the scent sure is disappearing fast.

Too fast.

But I can buy bucket fulls to slather on once I get that fourth job.

 

Throw:

average

 

Scent category:

Fruity/Foody

 

Summary

It's blood orange and I know what that smells like (and love it) but this seems I don't know different, it's almost yummier, more like tangerines. Like tangerines if they came from the heavens.

 

*ahem*

 

Purchase again?

In great quantity on a continual basis.

 

1-5 rating (5 being best)

5 This is just as good as Midway (to me).

Edited August 4, 2005 by UltraViolet

[pekeana]

Kunstkammer is the ultimate fruity BPAL! *writhes in fruity ecstacy*

 

On me, I smell blood orange. And the barest hint of pepper. Strangely, you'd think that the two would equal a warm, almost spicy orange, but it's really not warm at all. It's bitingly icy to me -- no warmth at all. It's deep, dark, enticing, fruity, sexy -- there's a bit of resin in there that should warm it up, but it's still so damn cold and icy. Ice, ice baby... oh, wait, here it's just barely starting to warm up and deepen even more. GUUUUUUUUH.

 

Hands down, this is the best orange scent yet.

[sheepzeit]

I was a little hesitant in trying this because although I have been looking for a perfect spiced orange scent, it smells like cherry Twizzlers to me right out of the bottle!

 

As it dries, though, everyone is right. It's sweet but not too sweet. Fruity but not too fruity. I don't normally do fruit because it turns cloying and fake on me (like candy or artificial candles) but not this. Hooray! After a thorough drydown I just have the softest orange scent maybe with a hint of berry. I think the pepper in this keeps the fruit from going over the edge, but it's so lovely and cozy and warm.

 

I think I found my spiced orange scent, and I can't wait to snuggle in this scent when winter comes over a mug of hot orange spice tea.

[Ina Garten Davita]

First Impression: CANDY!!!

 

Second Impression: Oh, how wonderful! This scent is LUSH's Creamy Candy Bath and Rock Star Soap and all sorts of sweet and creamy pink-white-purple swirly-girly goodness.

 

Final Analysis: So craveable, delectable, lickable and delightful. Must have more!

[Northernminx]

Candy sweet and fruity, this one completely surprised me. Blood orange was a predominant note, sweet and sticky and a touch spicey as the pepper worked its way in. This smelled a lot like orange jam or marmalade at points, but in a scrumptious yummy way. Different, intriguing and a touch edgey, I'm still deciding if this will be a keeper but I"m having fun figuring it out.

[Chas]

In the bottle: All blood oranges.

 

On the skin: Baby aspirin. That sickly sweet powder and citrus smell. Ick.

 

30 minutes later: The baby aspirin is gone, and it's dried down to a general fruity smell. It's Bordello without the booze.

 

Overall, not a bad frangrance, but not something I'll wear. This will probably hit the swap pile.

[Penance]

Preconceived notions:

 

This sounds wonderful on paper, but I seem to remember it being referred to as strongly fruity, which doesn't bode well, unfortunately.

 

First sniff:

 

Well, that's definitely not what I was expecting. I was hoping for something spicy and resinous with a hint of fruit, but the blood orange is very prominent in this. I get the tiniest hint of pepper, but everything else is pure blood orange.

 

Wet on skin:

 

A little bit more peppery now, but still mainly blood orange. I love eating oranges, but when it comes to smelling like them, I'm not so interested. I'm just not a fruity kind of girl, so Kunstkammer's not doing it for me. It's warm and very rich and fruity and I'm sure someone with tastes that lean toward the fruity would love this, but it's not for me.

 

Dry down:

 

Peppery blood oranges. This scent is intense. The orange is rich and heady and sweet and the pepper gives it a nice depth, but, sadly, I'm just not the kind of girl who can really appreciate a scent like this.

 

The bottom line:

 

I'm sure someone inclined toward fruit scents and citrus would love this, so it's getting swapped.

[Sistinas]

a review of Kunstkammer

 

Wet ~ very fruity, blood orange is very strong in this scent

 

Drying ~ still not picking up any pepper, which is a bummer, because the

idea of pepper and blood orange sounds so very good

 

Dry ~ What I thought was tropical fruit smell was just my untrained nose.

I looked up what olibanum was out of curiousity and it seems to be another

citrus/orange scent although some sites confused it with frankincense.

 

Fade ~ Unfortunately, it has faded to not very much. My skin soaked up this

scent and left very little behind.

 

Final thoughts ~ Originally, when I first tried this scent, I was a big

overwhelmed by the sweetness and thought it was too much like tropical

punch. But upon second try, It was not so nauseous this time. Unfortunately

it did not last long on my skin. On a scale of 1 to 5 I would have to give

this one a 3.

Edited October 20, 2005 by Sistinas

[pkwench]

Orange creamsaver! I don't get any pepper. Just orange and fruit and sweet. My skin seems to eat it up in short order, but it leaves me smelling citrus fresh and lightly sweet. Lovely! I'm betting it's going to have some serious POW! after it ages for a few months too. WUHA.

[oatmealneko]

Bottle: Sweet orange candy.

Wet: Sweet orange candy - after a bit, it splits into two layers. Tart orange sherbet with some cherry sweetness underneath.

Dry: The sweetness disappears entirely. The orange becomes even more tart than it was earlier, but it still reminds me of an orange dessert. Orange sherbet is the closest I can think of. It fades quickly though (20 minutes total, approx.), but it's very fruity & I think I will probably order a bottle.

Edited August 16, 2005 by oatmealneko

[theshapeshifter]

In the bottle: I must be getting lots of the pepper, because it's very... spiky.

 

Initial application through drydown: It's INTENSELY blood orange, with the pepper making it more sharp/tangy than sweet. It smells concentrated, rather like sticking your nose into a packet of Tang powder and sniffing... if, of course, they ever invented blood-orange Tang. I'm honestly not sure what to expect of benzoin and olibanum, but there seems to be something vaguely vanilla-like lurking way at the bottom.

 

So far (it's been on about 45 minutes), I adore it. If there are any further interesting developments as I wear it longer, I shall update this review.

[lorajc]

I wanted to try this but I didn't think I would care for it. I'm not big on "orange" scents, but I was hopeful with this one because of someone's description of it smelling like Rockstar soap. I wish that's what it smelled like on me. On me it was blood orange and pepper. Not me at all. I am more of a berry girl.

[Splendid Molerat]

Kunstkammer:

 

Slice blood orange in a glass dish, drizzle with Limoncello and Drambuie, sprinkle with cracked black pepper. Flambé.

 

Serve with ice cream.

 

 

After a while it dried down to a mysterious, woodsy resin.

[shelldoo]

in the bottle: wow juicy sweet fruits

 

wet: is there lotus in this? i am getting a strong bubble gummy type note.

 

as it dries it becomes, smoother, creamier, almost like an orange julius, yes that is what it reminds me of. orange julius.

 

 

i couldn't see myself wearing this one when i was reading the description, yet now w/ it on i am being sucked it. it is sweet, creamy fun

[Krista]

This reminds me of Fruit Punch. At first it's sweet and citrussy, but when it dries it reminds me a lot of a creamy fruit punch. It's very pink and a lot of fun!

[Imbrium]

Kunstkammer is very fruity. It's bright orange, with a touch of what smells like raspberry to me. (But then, blood oranges always tasted a bit like raspberry to me, so that could be my mind playing tricks on me.)

 

As it dries, I start to smell something rather difficult to pin down, somewhat dark and almost metallic, which is interesting. It smells almost powdery, but not in a Johnson's baby powder sort of way. There's definately a touch of pepper in the background.

 

This is very intriguing, if hard to describe once it's not entirely fruity. I love it.

Plus, the name is fun to say. Kunstkammer! See?

Edited August 25, 2005 by Imbrium

[LiberAmoris]

Orange Pez and fruit punch! Kunstkammer is lighthearted, candy-sweet, sunshiney orange-sherberty goodness in a bottle!

 

This is one that I will be pulling out mid-January to help get me through the long dark winter days.

[Em-]

Kunstkammer is one of a handful of scents that I seriously debated getting a bottle of prior to getting my imps from the decant circle. I thought the description sounded luscious and fully expected to love ths blend.

 

It is a very sweet blend, much sweeter than I expected, almost like orange soda pop, and while the other notes waft through, it is the super sweet candy orange note that is predominant all day long.

 

This blend is a little to much for me, I think. I am glad I have an imp to play with, but I definitely don't need a bottle, alas.

[wickedgoddess]

Wet - wow, that's orange all right! This is the orangyiest orange ever.

 

Dry - Hmmm, just when I think I've got this all figured out it morphs on me. I think it's the benzoin that I am smelling now. The orange, while still present, is subdued, and this is becoming very interesting. No bottle for me, solely because I like Al-Shairan better as an orange blend, but it is nice.

 

On the wickedgoddess scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being best, this rates a 3.

[jessamynit]

in bottle: orange with a little, unplaceable something more... like something herbal, or spicy

 

wet: yummy, orange, very fruity and also kind of reminiscent of a fruit flavored gum (not a normal bubblegum, like hubba bubba or bubblicious or something). this started to worry me!

 

dry: still VERY orangey, pretty and nice. the bubblegum thing starts to go away pretty quickly but I'm still not quite sure about it. this may be one of those scents where I like smelling it, but don't necessarily want to wear it. hmm. I expected something very different, overall.

 

I do have to give kunstkammer props, though, for inspiring the librarian guy to ask me what scent I had on. he really liked it and said, "it's something fruity. you smell nice; much better than that last guy" (there are a lot of homeless types in the downtown library). so I was glad to be able to help... but it is pretty strange to have your librarian say to you "what are you wearing?". took me a second to figure out what he was asking!

[tempete]

Orange jello! With a bit of spice underneath! That's what I get from Kunstkammer when it's wet. It dries down to a slightly spicy, slightly sweet skin scent. A fun scent, but I don't think that I need a bottle.