Khajuraho

[valentina]

... This is a blissful, euphoric blend based on an ancient Indian love potion: honey, date palm, tuberose, davana blossom, amber, white sandalwood, vanilla bean, Damask rose, and champaca flower.

When I smelled Khujurajo in the imp, I was somewhat concerned that the florals were going to be a problem, because what I detected were heavy, sweet, exotic florals. But from intial application to drydown to several hours later, those who have already compared this blend to more floral Indian incense are spot on. Khujurajo smells a lot like floral Nag Champa on me. I think the vanilla, sandalwood and amber soften the floral kick, so I'm very able to wear it. It's a bit intense at first, but becomes just gorgeously soft and incensy on me after 15 minutes. Because I love Urd for its nag champa components, Khujuraho smells to me like a more delicate, sweet, floral Urd (without the wine) and I love it.

I bow and say "namaste" to Beth, because it's gorgeously evocative of the entire inspiration behind the scent.

valentina Edited February 7, 2006 by Shollin

[brownbear]

wow. This one is a very interesting blend. None of the notes really stands out to me more than the others. It doesn't remind me of any of the other bpal oils I've tried. It's a little sweet, a little spicy, a little woody, a little earthy, and a little floral. It's good.

[puck_nc]

Origin: A 5ml from the Lab

 

I was hoping that Khajurajo would be another Bearded Lady for me, a rich and complex scent that blended sweet notes, florals, and a bit of sandalwood/musk.

 

In the Bottle: very musky and smoky, with some sweet hints underneath.

 

Wet: MUSK!!!! I can get just a teasing tinge of floral, but my skin has seized the amber and run away with it.

 

Drydown: I eventually get some sandalwood and the sweet honey and vanilla, but it remains MUSK!!! on me.

 

Verdict: Alas, I am done in by my chemistry, which loves to ramp up amber and musk to their fullest. To eBay with the bottle!

[Heavenlyrabbit]

It's as if Patchouli was transmuted alchemically into a Floral Essence.

 

Dark & earthy which are adjectives I ususally associate with incense and not florals.

 

Deep and complex this is very sensual. One might imagine Parvati wearing this after her bath while awaiting Shiva or, to highlight the Androgynous quality, maybe a Djinn.

This exudes a mature sexuality.

 

There's something almost tobacco like here. On me, the sweetness tempers the earthiness but doesn't stand on it's own at all.

 

Patchouli is the one solitary essential oil used in pefumery that I can't abide and have difficulty appreciating. Thus, there is a gaping hole in my BPAL wardrobe. Khajarho is a scent that fills that void and I shall wear it in lieu of Patchouli blends.

 

While I initially thought of swapping this off, it seems prudent to allow myself time to fall in love with this. IMO, aging will bring out the florals and sweetness much more as it did with All Saints.

Edited February 7, 2006 by Heavenlyrabbit

[foxroses]

when i smell this in the bottle, it smells SO woody, just all sandalwood. once i put a bit on, though, it turns maddeningly into ROSES. nasty, yucky, smelly rose. it stays that way for about 15 minutes or so - i thought it was going to be a waste of a bottle. about 10 minutes or so after that, though, there is something sweeter coming out, and the florals are fading. the rosey grandma soap smell is fading, and i dont know if it's vanilla bean, or amber, or date palm, or what, i.e it doesn't smell particularly like any of those, but it's making it tolerable on me. there is quite a bit of throw and its all quite floral, but this might actually grow on me. my first response was that i'd be selling my bottle, but we'll see.

 

hour and a half later: WOW, this is turning REALLY nice. whatever weird rose floral i was getting, its pretty much completely gone, and it's a really delicious honey vanilla. this needs a full test day but i think this may have gone a complete 180 on me, and could be turning into something amazing.

Edited February 6, 2006 by mitsukai

[coulrophobe]

Preconceived notions: Most of the notes sound great, but roses? Gah! And honey? Iffy. We'll see.

 

In the bottle: Surprisingly woody. Dry woods are often quite nice on me, once my chemistry sweetens them up, so that's a promising sign.

 

On: Sandalwood! It's almost "commercial perfumey" to my nose - but that dissipates quickly. As it dries down, it grows almost fruity on me - I have no idea what that could be, looking at the notes. It settles down into a lovely blend - part fruity, part floral, part woody, part incensey - very unusual.

 

I really like this one, and I'm so relieved the rose stays in the background. Yum. My biggest surprise out of the Lupercalia collection.

[Imptress]

In the bottle, I also got mostly sandalwood. When my husband sniffed this in the bottle he didn't like it at all, stating that it burned his nose. When I wore this yesterday it went on almost totally sandalwood (which I like!), then after a few minutes I got whiffs of the sweeter honey and vanilla. Those are both notes that I tend to amp (and honey can be REALLY nasty on me). Fortunately, the sandalwood seemed to keep the sweeter notes at bay. Further along in the drydown, I also detected some fruitiness in this, but nothing that got out of hand. As previous reviewers have noted, this is a nice balance of sweet, "spice", woodiness and fruitiness. It *did* remind me of nag champa... really, really good, rich nag champa! I like this, but I'm not sure if I like it enough to hold onto the bottle (hubby didn't comment on it while I was wearing it, so I don't know what he thought). I'll wear it again and if I don't fall totally in love with it, I think I'll pass it on to someone who feels more passionately about it than I do.

[alicia_stardust]

In the bottle: woody and resinous, almost bitter sandalwood

 

On my skin: this dries out to a nice, beautiful incense scent. I smell the sandalwood the most, but as I continue to wear it I can detect the honey and date palm. I *think* I smell some vanilla too, but I don't really pick up the rose. The white florals scent is there, though.

 

This is a gorgeous blend but it's very heady and you don't need to use much!

 

I rated this 4 out of 5 stars. A keeper!

[mandragora]

In the vial: Woodsy, heavy florals with a slight bitter note. Amber?

 

Wet on me: Floral giving way to sweet vanilla. The woody, incensey note fighting for attention.

 

Drydown: This complex blend morphs from one scent to the next. The florals softens and is sweetened by vanilla and honey and amber rounds out the smell.

 

This is a gorgeous blend. I'm just sorry I didn't get a 5ml bottle.

Edited February 9, 2006 by mandragora

[Galena]

I love this. I absolutely love it.

 

Tuberose is one of my favourite florals, and it's there alright.

 

but you know what.

 

on my skin this is like a Lush Shop with incense burning.

 

if they made an incense scented like Lush, this would be it.

 

it's actually quite fruity on me, but I rather like that, because things which are meant to be fruity usually turn into cats pee on my skin. Florals and resins are however great with my skin chemistry, and this has them in abundance.

 

when I first put it on I had a momentary panic that there could be Cinnnamon Bark, which goes mental on my skin and overpowers everything and sometimes gives me a rash into the bargain.

 

after that momentary metallic moment which only lasted a minute it turned into that gorgeous, sweet, warm, resiny floral that it is now.

[sarada]

A heady, luscious floral. Thick, wet humid blooms touched with sweetness and light.

 

Alas, I was hoping for something with a bit more sandalwood, amber or champaca in it as those together could be quite amazing on me. I'm not sure exactly what tuberose, davana blossom or damask rose smell like on their own but they must be dominating in this because it's mostly floral, with little else. It's a good thing I didn't go for a whole bottle after all, as I don't like to wear strong florals.

 

After the first rush of warm, panting breathless flowers it becomes a little more powdery-sweet. A bit like the sugary dust of crushed candies, sprinkled over a sun-warmed garden.

 

As with most florals, since I can't tell them apart they sort of meld into a generic flowery smell that I don't particularly care for, but it's probably worth keeping my imp of this around for those odd times in the warmer months where I want to smell like the gardens that I'm walking through.

 

I can't distinguish the sandalwood, it's eclipsed by the growth of flowers, but it must be contributing the powdery base in this, and adds a bit to the staying power.

[wolfie13]

I can almost repeat Sarada's review verbatim.

 

This brings to mind lush tropical gardens. Yep - on me it's pretty dang floral.

These aren't floral notes that I know well enough to differentiate other than to say "hmmmm, smells like flowers". It's more complicated than that so both my description and skin chemistry are surely not doing it justice.

 

After about an hour or so, I get a bit of the sandalwood and honey, but not enough for me to like it any better, and it stays exactly the same for the rest of the drydown.

 

Just not my cup of tea.

[malabar]

in the bottle: oh ick!! really?? medicinal and sharp and just plain not pretty.

 

but i perservered, and put it on.

 

it softened right away, thankfully! the amber came out and i think i've finally realized that amber and i don't really get along. within five minutes, however, the amber had faded and the florals were out, along with some honey. when everything settled down, i had a lovely, creamy floral (mainly tuberose) over a base of incense.

 

very pretty and exotic...but i'm not sure it's very "me"- not a scent that really melds with my skin.

 

My experience was pretty much identical to yours - scary in the imp, better on me, but not really my friend.

[Stumbeline]

I should learn to avoid florals, but vanilla, honey and sandalwood called to me. I should avoid amber too. So I guess I deserved the sinus spanking I got from Khajuraho. I smell like a sweet diaper. But, I have to say that this is an interesting scent. It morphs a LOT. In the imp and on I could have sworn there was jasmine, but on me it sweetened a lot. I think thanks to the vanilla. I won't be keeping it, but it's a blend to be admired for it's complexity. Kudos, Beth!

[grrrlennyl]

at first: gorgeous, exotic flowers and a hint of honey.

on: very nutty and a bit fruity. there are some interesting flowers, too.

1 hour later: gorgeous. this sort of reminds me of the smell of a lush store. sweet, but with lots of other scents swirling around.

3 hours later: definitely a lush store. honey scents, fruity scents, florals, and some herbal stuff. lovely.

4 hours later: softer. mostly sweet.

overall: lovely stuff. i'm definitely keeping my bottle.

[Victory]

No florals, no honey, no date palm... on me, Khajuraho is purely sandalwood. I keep forgetting about the passionate love affair that my skin is having with sandalwood. If there's even a drop of sandalwood in a perfume, my skin amps it up to the point that I can't smell anything else for days. Unfortunately, my nose doesn't much care for sandalwood. That said, this is a nice sandalwood on me. But still single note sandalwood.

[Chrysantza]

In the bottle this is a fruity, sweet floral.

 

On me: A very complex blend. Definitely amber and sandalwood, but still the sweet, fruity floral. Unfortunately, every so often a weird nail-polish type note keeps wafting in and out. I'm not sure what that is - could be the honey, as honey is decidedly iffy with my skin chemistry.

 

On edit: It's been an hour and the nail-polish smell is gone for good. It's settled down into a sweet, woody floral. I think I like this one!

Edited February 12, 2006 by Chrysantza

[cuervosueno]

Honey is an odd scent for me. I generally like it, but it has a stage, esp. in the bottle, when I just go ick! So when I got my lupercalia order, I sniffed this, didn't much like it, but knew better than to dismiss it.

 

In the bottle this is thick musky honey (and I don't mean honey with musk, I mean honey that has an animalistic scent, not like the perfume). There is also something sweet that smells like a white flower--tuberose? Basically, honey and flowers.

 

On, it is a bit like O for me--a very sexy thick honey blend. It smells like sex--more so than O does, because for me O is very clearly vanilla, and though this has vanilla in it, I am not able to discern it as an individual note. This is very rich and sexy, and its making me wonder if I need to keep my bottle of O--I like this better!

 

After awhile, the heavy white floral scent fades a bit, and I get a nice powdery incense note, though it is still a floral incense. I never get the sandalwood, nor mercifully, the rose, which is usually something my skin amps like crazy.

 

I like this blend quite a bit, and so far, its the sexiest of the lupercalia scents on me. But that may change--I've only had them one day and am still experimenting.

 

Still, its definately a keeper, and I'm glad I took a chance on it.

[AlaskaSnows]

Light honey, subtle sweet blossoms, soft retiring musk.

 

Utterly gorgeous. Well blended, nothing slams you in the face but sheer sexy beauty.

[locuraelegantia]

in the bottle it's very floral and right after it goes on my skin it gets incense-y, which is nice, but not exactly what I was hoping to get out of this scent. I imagined it a a floral O. It's staying sharp and kind of reminds me of The Cracked Bell, but sweeter.

 

As it dries down it keeps the same quality. I think if I don't swap it away after another try or two, I might layer it with something really buttery like Jack or Gluttony. They're both too much food on their own, but might work with this one.

[Thaleia]

Khajuraho, in the bottle, is a very incensey floral, not in the way All Saints is, but more complex. On me, the incense and sandalwood are prominent for about fifteen seconds before giving way to a lush floral that has a distinctive gardenia/jasmine note above the others, plus a green/fruity sweetness. This is really beautiful and evocative of a romantic spring garden that I'd love to walk through. 8.5/10.

[QueenFae]

Glorious! The honey, date and vanilla bean combine to form a wonderfully smooth base for the florals. The rose is definitely dominant, and it's a gorgeous rose note, it becomes more apparent the longer I wear it. Very smooth, sexy and surprisingly long lasting. I slathered some on before bed last night and I could still smell the rose in the morning. I really love this one, this may be my favorite Valentine LE so far. Wonderful, fabulous, Beth is a genius!

[mermaiden]

In the bottle it smells like honeyed nag champa to me.

 

I put a bit into my hairline on the back of my neck so I would smell it during the day, and it was quite lovely.

 

For the most part it smelled like good nag champa, it reminded me a lot of an old friend whose college apartment smelled heavily of nag champa, old books, and coffee (oddly enough - since there's no coffee in this one).

 

However, towards the end of the day I noticed the rose lurking in the background. I was hoping it would be more floral, but rose tends to mellow on me.

 

Never got to the sandalwood, and the vanilla was invisible on me (which is good).

 

I have really strange body chemistry. Some florals smell ghastly on me, and others (like certain types of rose) smell incredible. Honey works well for me, but vanilla does not unless it's mellowed by a woodsy scent.

 

Overall.. I like it quite a bit. I may blend some of this into some body butter and wear it that way just to see if it morphs differently.

[nancybridget]

I begin by saying that I'm biased. I adore tuberose and own tons of different tuberose scents.

 

Ok, so now that we've cleared the air...

 

In the bottle all I could smell was a dominant sandalwood. And then I tried it on and the sexiness ensued. Tuberose and palm, honey and date, all types of sensual swirls of scents. I was holding out on trying this one until V-Day and even though my man is not the brightest bulb when it comes to fragrance, even he was a fan. Previous to his compliment, I couldn't stop the wrist sniffing. This one is a stunner!

[girlmadasbirds]

what a beautiful, complex blend! the florals are drowned out (this is a good thing for me) by the sandalwood, vanilla, amber, and honey...and what i'm guessing is the date palm.

i'm going to need more!