Black Lotus

[neuilly]

Born in the shadows of a Temple to Set, this corrupted Egyptian scent evokes images of black pyramids, river demons, and bleak, deadly desert sands. Black lotus flower, amber, myrrh and sandalwood.

 

At first all I got was myrrh and sandalwood, but my chemistry tends to amp incense. Then comes in what must be the lotus. I don't get bubblegum, but I also am not quite sure how to describe it. It's light, a little airy, and even a bit powderish. Not what I was expecting - definitely intriguing.

[Foxdreams]

After trying both this and Blood Lotus I realize the "cough syrup note" is most likely the lotus. At least I figured that one out.

 

I can see the Bubblegum comments, too.

 

Wet it's excruciatingly cough syrup but darker than the blood lotus. After a while the floral-resin-dark-musk smell does come out and balance the lotus, but apparently the lotus is just so nauseatingly sweet to me I can't handle it. I just smell cough syrup under flowers. :/

 

Of course it has crazy throw on me too.

Edited March 8, 2013 by Foxdreams

[ObliqueRed]

This one just didn't work for me at all. It didn't smell bad, per se, but it smelled like incense, and I have never liked the smell of incense (is that the myrrh, I wonder, or the sandalwood?). Additionally, as time went on, one of the notes increasingly went powdery on me, so that I ended up smelling like a baby-changing table in a headshop. Not my cup of tea.

 

My husband likes the way this one smells. I wonder how it would do on him. I fear, however, that my hatred of incensey smells would still overcome any nice thing his body chemistry might do.

[Lunasariel]

In the imp: Yup, that's bubblegum-y lotus right there. There may be hints of amber and/or sandalwood down there somewhere, but the lotus tends to override everything. Lotus traditionally doesn't play well on my skin, but hopefully the presence of my beloved amber will change things for the better.

 

Wet: The lotus backs down, leaving the myrrh and sandalwood more prominent. Upon immediate application, I would call this a spicy-sweet scent, in that order. It enters an odd metallic phase for a little while, but luckily this doesn't last long.

 

Dry: A foody-fruity-sweet amber, with the amber and/or sandalwood making themselves more definitively known at the very end. i can tell it's aiming for dark and sultry, but the fruity sweetness of the lotus keeps it much younger and lighter.

[Jeni Mullen]

Imp: Sweet amber and sandalwood. It smells clean.

Wet on Wrist: This is avery sweet floral with a bit of interesting spice (and some mint) thrown in.

15 minutes later: It's a very dark floral, still pretty sweet but the sandalwood is punching out. I really do feel like I amp sandalwood however.

 

Verdict: I'm not a florals gal and while I don't actually find this unpleasant because it's so dark and heavy, I can't imagine wearing this at all. The sandalwood gives it a woodsy sort of scent and I'll say that I'm reminded of being out in an over grown, turning wild garden like you get at some historic state houses you can tour south of the Mason-Dixon Line. Bottom-line, this is a floral that does not remind me of a child's scent (like roses do) or an old woman's scent (like lavender and jasmine does). It's neatly complex just not for me.

Edited January 31, 2015 by Yojenitan

[petrichorandleather]

Dark. Earthy. Somehow sticky in a dark, resinous kind of way. A strange, unsettling sweetness underneath. It's not a winner for me,

but still a very interesting one to test. It's evocative and fun to sniff but I'd never wear it.

[Veronica]

Something strangely sweet, almost stickily so, over a mossy, musky base.

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: This opens with a blast of bblegummy lotus, with hints of greenery, and something going powdery under it all.

 

 

Dry: This dries down to a vague powdery sweetness. Not for my skin chemistry! In all fairness, I don't really care much for lotus, however I'm glad I had the opportunity to try this!

[Mokiefraggle]

Holy cats, I never quite believed the reviews that said lotus smelled like bubblegum until I received this particular frimp. I couldn't believe that the notes listed could possibly be in this sticky-sweet bubblegum scent, especially since the oil even had a pink tinge to it. I was even about to put it aside and not even consider it, but I like all the other notes, so I figured it was worth a shot.

 

It's nowhere near as sweet once it's on skin, which I was grateful for. I thought I was going to be stuck with something sweet and candy-scented in a terrible way, but it started settling down as soon as it went onto my skin. Within about a half-hour, I couldn't detect any of the bubblegum lotus note at all, and ended up with a delicious incense and amber scent that I probably have lots of things similar to, but I'm rather liking. I think I can put up with a brief period of mild bubblegum note to get to it, at least when I'm in the right mood. It's pretty, subtle, and thankfully didn't go powdery at all. I'll keep the imp, but I doubt I'd be ordering it specifically any time soon.

[Casablanca]

On the wand, I mostly get a dark, fruity-floral note. It smells like pink and somewhat bubblegummy lotus paired with black currants or some other dark berries. There’s a thin, grainy edge of sandalwood.

 

On my skin, it’s still lotus and dark berries or grapes, and also kind of syrupy. I can see how some have gotten a cough syrup impression: the dark fruity syrup thing is a little bit like Dimetapp. But the blend is nicer. I don’t mind the bit of bubblegum in it, and it’s short-lived.

 

After it dries, only a hint of the fruity lotus lingers, and I mostly get a mild amber-myrrh blend. It’s very soft.

 

Jinbari remains my favorite lotus blend.

[whisperstilled]

...sweet and sour lemonade?

 

I think I don't know what lotus smells like. It must be the bright, fruity floral, here. There really is a distinct grape soda quality to this I am not connecting with.

[doomsday_disco]

This is a old, aged imp.

 

In the imp: Soft, sweet black lotus with amber, sandalwood, and a bit of myrrh.

 

Wet: The black lotus note is the strongest note on my skin. It actually does have a sweet, bubblegum-y quality to it, but I think it's kept in check by the resins, of which I can smell the amber and sandalwood the most. After a few minutes, I start to get more of the myrrh.

 

Dry: The black lotus, sandalwood, and amber are the main players on my skin. The myrrh note, while more present than before, seems to be content with staying in the background. This is ultimately a sweet floral and resin scent, with the black lotus adding some sweetness to the scent (without veering into bubblegum territory).

 

Verdict: This one was a lot nicer than I thought it would be. I don't think I would reach for it, since florals plus resins generally aren't my cup of tea, but I like this more than a lot of other floral + resin scents that I've tried.

[Juliamon]

Bought an imp of this because lotus is a floral I'm okay with, all the other notes are ones I love, and I'm a MtG nerd who'll never be able to afford the piece of cardboard bearing the same name.

 

In the imp: single-note amoxicillin?

 

Wet: SINGLE-NOTE AMOXICILLIN. Bubblegum lotus with an edge of sandalwood.

 

Dry: It took 30 minutes, but the amber and myrrh are finally joining the party. It's still mostly bubblegum (and I don't even amp lotus) but less medicinal and more... meditative? Like, I want to use this for meditation rather than as perfume, it's putting me in that sort of headspace already.

 

Low-ish throw, decent wear length. Sweeter than I expected, probably would layer great with a darker, heavier resin blend.

[Lucchesa]

Wet, Black Lotus is all that bubblegummy sweetness of lotus on my skin. It takes about 30 minutes for the lotus to settle the hell down enough for the other notes, all favorites of mine, to start peering in around the edges. The late drydown is lovely, that teenybopper sweetness floating over velvety myrrh and fragrant amber and sandalwood, but there is no reason for me to suffer through the opening again when I can just wear Bastet, which I adore, in which the myrrh and amber are prominent and the lotus is the very last ingredient and knows its place.

[roseus]

I was hoping to see a different side to lotus here but it still smells like bubblegum in the imp to me. I was also wondering why I was thinking of medicine and saw the amoxicillan reference above. On my skin however the bubblegum does die down. Still sweet and sort of waxy, the myrrh and amber make it more sultry.

[biggnerd]

A white floral with an undernote of bubble yum that's been misted with diluted amber and myrrh.

[ittybitty]

It's sharp, fresh, and (very) sweet. The sweet bubblegum of the lotus is front and center, with the amber in the background. It's bright and pretty but really sweet. As it dries down, the sandalwood and amber come forward, but the  sweetness lingers in the background. After 30 minutes, I start to smell the myrrh and cinnamon through the bubblegum. I really love incense and spicy notes, so I'm really happy with this. After an hour, the sweetness starts to tone down and I'm left with a really nice amber. I wish it projected more, because I love it. 

[skyturtles]

Woah, this is not what I was expecting. First of all, not as floral as you'd think from a scent that has a flower in the name. Second, it is subtle and not in your face; I feel like I had to apply a lot to my wrists to fully appreciate the notes. It is acceptable for everyday, even office environment stuff. Not too dark, but definitely resinous. Dry and sandy, and as time goes by, a little smokey. This does invoke images of ancient Egypt for me. Impressive. Unfortunately I'm not a huge fan of sandalwood, but this is very well blended I believe.

[Cali]

Not as dark as i had anticipated. Rather the opposite. i get blackberry candies and a soft spice in the background, heh.

[patina]

I got a hint of pink marshmallow  under layers and layers of grainy burnt sugar grapey myrrh. Now, I absolutely love myrrh and amber. I love sweet scents. But this is ultimately just too much for me. Way too sweet with nothing to balance it out.

[Tungerine]

My first impression in the bottle is bright, overpowering bubblegum sweetness with a darkness in the background. On my skin it starts off very sweet bubblegum but quickly calms down to something more complex and subtle (although still very sweet), and the darker notes become more prominent. It's no longer candy, but an alien and beguiling flower. I usually can't stand very sweet scents, but I really like this one.