Obatala

[greedygirl]

... Obatala’s ofrenda is soft, white and pure: milk, coconut meat, shea butter and cool, refreshing water.

In the imp coconut slightly sour
wet-more of the same, as it dries on my skin it goes thru abit of a stale stage not horribly wrong but a smell like the husks of the coconut after a couple of day's on a counter. At this stage I am ready to scrub .. After about 30 min. its a pleasant light coconut , I like this stage . Not a love but maybe good for summer.

[tharsei-thanate]

I've been looking for a perfect summer blend recently, so I was super glad to get an imp of this from a forumite. Coconut, however, is one of those notes that does not like my skin. While I haven't tried a lot of blends with coconut, in all the ones I did try the coconut turned into Play-Doh. I'm really hoping Obatala's coconut note is wearable!

 

In the imp: Beautiful, gorgeous, fantastic milk and shea butter and coconut. Oh, why are you so pretty? I'm so worried this will be ruined once it hits my skin.

 

Wet: It's milky, but rather dark and a bit thick overall, almost like there's a deep, dark honey in here, but not quite. The coconut isn't too strong, but it's sour. Not really Play-Doh, but still not delicious and creamy like it was in the imp. I feel like I'm trapped in a dark, dank cave filled with old, smashed coconuts.

 

Dry-down: The sourness is developing a plastic quality, and it's stronger than it was in the wet stage. There are only the faintest suggestions of milk and shea butter behind the sour plastic. This is almost making me queasy.

 

Dry: Much of the same. I feel like the coconut is trying not to smell so bad but my skin just won't allow it.

 

Eugh, I have to wash this off. It's too much. I'll save the imp for one last test (I always test at least twice before making a final decision), but I'm pretty sure this'll be heading to the swaps pile. Sigh.

[elinox]

First Sniff: Warm coconut, yummy!

 

Initial Wet Application: Soft and gentle. So far, this is light, fresh coconut. I hope this amps itself up to being stronger once it dries though!

 

Beginning Dry Down (first 15 minutes) & Dry: As this began to dry down, I think I catch a hint of condensed milk in this and it’s making this very light and creamy.

 

My Reaction: I was really looking forward to trying a scent with coconut in it, and this is pure, sweet, soft, fresh coconut. It’s very light on my skin, but when I sniff my wrist it reminds me of summer days spent on a tropical beach wearing sunscreen. This stayed pretty much the same from initial wet application on through the dry down phase. I think the shea butter and milk is making me think condensed milk. I like it, but it is really light on me.

 

Rating: 3

[RunnerInPink]

Mmmmm ocean in the summer

 

Wet: Coconut

 

Drydown: Beachy with a light salt.

 

Sadness, this doesn't last long on me.

[Erinofhere]

FINALLY a coconut that works on me! I'm so happy

This was a frimp

In the imp: Straight up fresh coconut meat

on my skin: More of the same but the Shea is coming out. I keep forgetting that Shea is one of my favorite smells. This is turning into a lovely scent on my skin and would be perfect for summer. It does remind me of suntan lotion. That’s okay with me because I LOVE suntan lotion. This feels like I should be on the beach. I'm not picking up on water, but I am getting the feeling like a faint aquatic is lurking around this scent sort of rounding it out, only I can't put my finger on it.

Dry: Has decent throw and the scent doesn't change much. It doesn't last all that long but I do think a big bottle is in my future. I think I have found my summer scent.

Seriously, ever other coconut blend I have tried from BPAL has left me sad. This one is so perfect. This is the scent you want to take with you to the islands. This is the best coconut blend so far. I am one happy girl right now.

[Shealynne]

I find Obatala to be a lovely everyday scent. The shea makes the coconut less tropical party than many scents that contain coconut.

It is one of my go-to daily perfumes for, and I only recalled that I didn't review it at all after a co-worker commented on it the other day.

On me it is rather soft and is one of the less recognizable of my favorite BPAL fragrances. Obatala is one of my more light, fluffy, feminine fragrances and I love it.

[ObliqueRed]

Oddly, on me this oil has a cool fresh/green coconut scent that reminds me a lot of Tarot: The Star. It's a really pleasant and mild smell.

[TurpentineChai]

Oh my, I was expecting to like this enough to use up the imp, but now I need to order a bottle.

 

It starts off very shea and coconut on my skin, and oddly enough, smells exact like a snake moisturizer spray I used to own (Zilla Tropical Mist, for the curious). I always kinda liked the smell but it really has some strong attachments now in my brain, not sure I want to smell like that.

 

Luckily, as it dries, the milk comes out strong and a sweet scent. I don't get as much coconut as I hoped but I get this luscious, creamy scent. After a few days of repeat wearings, I realized it smells exactly like the original Burt's Bees Milk and Honey Lotion on me, not too surprising since it's made up of milk, shea and coconut oil.

 

I'm too sure on throw with this one, since I didn't get the usual comments from people at work as I normally get, but damn, it sure does last. I wore it to work behind the bar and a after a whole night of running around and washing glasses, i could still smell it coming off me. It really seems like a nice clean scent on me. Not like clean laundry or citrus, but a fresh from the shower covered in thick lotions clean. Unlike other people getting tropical from it, the shea and milk and coconut butter notes all remind me of the thick, thick, thick lotions people use in dry Maine winters after long hot baths. It smells like a snowstorm day-off to me!

 

I will certainly be getting 5ml of this.

[lucycat]

Obatala is sweet, creamy coconut. I can't pick out a separate milk note at all, but it's probably adding to the creaminess. I don't get water or any sort of aquatic at all.

 

This is rich and sweet but not at all cloying. I love coconut, but it's an easy scent to get wrong, and fake, plasticky coconut smells ghastly. The note in Obatala is that of true coconut and is not overpowering.

 

The shea complements the coconut perfectly and emerges more and more as I wear this. After hours and hours (twelve hours after I applied, I could still smell this, so yes, it does last) it became more of a shea with coconut scent than coconut with shea.

 

Obatala will be wonderful for summer. I think it will also be great for winter days when I want to remind myself of summer.

[cherrycherry]

I've had a bottle of this tucked away for a long time and though I tried it when I first bought it, I didn't wear it much. I've had a craving for coconut perfume today, brought this little baby out and decided to give it another whirl. Well, I'm floored. I actually feel annoyed with myself for not giving this a more serious wear the first time around. I get all the notes but mainly in this order - coconut, milk, shea, water. These notes belong together and are completely sweet, calming and delightful. On the drydown, the coconut turns super-sweet on me and I get more of the milk/shea too. The water is faint in the background but very welcome all the same. This is gorgeous - 10/10.

[hiddentwilight]

Summer in a bottle, that's for sure. In the bottle I can smell the water/aqua notes very strongly, and little else. On my skin the shea butter is dominant. As it's drying down I can catch a little bit of sweetness hidden somewhere - maybe the milk or the coconut meat? It very much reminds me of lotion on the skin after a long day at the beach. Not an unpleasant smell, but not one that I'm immediately in love with either.

 

Update: Now that it's dried down a bit more the dominating shea butter smell has faded into the background and the subtly sweet coconut meat has come forward. Now it's more of a creamy warm scent that I can appreciate more rather than the smell of coconut shea butter body lotion.

Edited February 17, 2014 by hiddentwilight

[Ajila]

In the bottle - Coconuts with a slight sense of suntan lotion and a slightly salty note

 

Wet on me - A soft calm coconut oil with a greenness beneath

 

Dry on me - It disappeared fairly quickly

 

Overall - Never really grabbed me

[Deliciousness]

In the imp: Slightly sweet, fresh coconut.

 

Wet on skin: Watery coconut. Not a lot of depth in this stage.

 

Dry down: This hasn't changed to much from the wet stage, except for maybe a feeling of warmth coming thru - perhaps from the milk? IDK. It's still mostly fresh and watery coconut.

 

I find this blend is okay. It's not something I would reach for too often as it doesn't have a lot of throw or complexity on my skin. It's mostly just a watered down coconut. It's not bad, but I'm still searching for my "coconut" blend.

[Teaker]

I like Obatala a lot- it's a warm, sweet, soft coconut. It smells like coconut body butter. Nothing exciting, but very pleasant.

 

It has very little throw on me, so I won't be getting a bottle. And I prefer Black Pearl for a coconut scent with a bit more depth to it. But I just adore the drydown on this, after a few hours my skin smells like sweet coconut milk and its fabulous. Very yummy and a must-try for coconut lovers!

[Amber Tears]

In the imp I get a slightly fruity yet fleshy coconut.

 

Once it hits my skin, it opens into a rancid butter smell. Uh oh, I seriously hope my chemistry isn't rejecting the milk note.

 

A few minutes later: Ok, false alarm. The sour butter died out and a beautiful, creamy shea note took its place. The coconut is simply gorgeous. Reminds me of the freshly cut coconuts from an island I once went to. The creamy milk and shea notes do make this suntan lotion-esque. But that's not really a bad thing, either. Obatala is more genuine, if that makes any sense. This blend makes for a gentle yet persisting aura of coconutty deliciousness.

 

Basically a luxurious, milky shea pureed with coconut. I really don't get a distinct aquatic note from this blend. Perhaps it just makes Obatala refreshing.

 

Love, love, love! Obatala is perfect since summers around the corner

 

Edited to cut out unnecessary riff-raff

Edited May 2, 2014 by Amber Tears

[Heaven_Star]

In the bottle: Sweet coconut, it almost feels like there's vanilla in there it's quite a deep and well rounded coconut scent. It's probably the milk and shea butter in there.

 

Wet: Sweet, milky coconut. It gets sharper on my skin - something aquatic or ozone-y. It's reminding me of suntan lotion but I tend to get that association with some aquatic notes and the coconut here probably isn't helping. I doubt it actually smells like suntan lotion, really, it's an association problem I'm having and it's gone pretty quickly.

 

Dry: Sweet, milky coconut. This one doesn't morph much and it sticks close to my skin but it's really lovely. It's a great scent for summer when I don't want to wear anything too big or sweet, but can't stand the thought of not wearing perfume. It's quite 'neutral', too, so it gets a surprising amount of wear!

[inhumation]

I had an imp of this but had to swap it away because the coconut note (as almost always) turns to plastic after I applied it to my skin. Dry, though, it smelled like coconut-scented shea body butter, the all-natural kind you get at the drugstore.

[Jangzonrice]

Heavy on Shea with a bit of coconut... Light and sweet with a creaminess to it. Pretty, but I don't need a bottle of it. My favorite coconut scents are brown Jenkins and son of bigger critter still!

[ModderRhu]

love at first sniff. I love creamy, foody aquatics like this one and the sea foams milk. this one smells just as spa-like as TSFM, but creamier and beachier. very comforting.

[Minh Scent]

One of the few BPALs that smells amazing on me from the very beginning. Could have sworn I smelled a touch of osmanthus in the early stages,but not listed in notes. Creamy, coconut perfection; not at all sun tan lotion. So glad I bought a bottle,as it does not have the staying power of other BPALs and it is definitely in the slather genre.

[barilace]

I've been wearing this non stop since I got my imp like 4-5 months ago. IT'S AMAZING. Possibly my favorite bpal scent. It's going to be even more amazing come summer. It smells like a milky coconut coated with aquatic notes. SO GORGEOUS.

[petrichorandleather]

Clean, gentle coconut and Shea butter.

 

This is a really linear scent (and I love that about it). No unpleasant twists and turns, no death stages.

 

This is so nice for summer. I really do love it and see this being in heavy rotation this summer once I

am able to snag a bottle.

 

P.S. The throw is REALLY low. Definitely a skin scent. It might blossom in the summer heat though, which

is a very appealing thought.

Edited May 18, 2015 by petrichorandleather

[Ryan Hemphill]

I've been wanting to try this for a while and I received a generous wish list frimp from a recent forum buy- yay!

 

This one is interesting in that when I hold my wrists right up to my nose, I can barely catch it except for a warm, muted coconut. However, when I just go about my day--typing, drinking coffee, etc--I am getting almost constant wafts of this lovely clean, creamy, coconut. I love that!

 

I don't know if I would say that throw is strong--I wonder if others around me could smell it the same as I do. It is quite faint at times--but it's so good.

 

Sort of reminds me of summer and tanning lotion, in a good way. It's a clean, fresh scent that makes me smile This might be a big bottle buy.

[shibagast]

I love this so much that I wished I'd gotten a bottle instead of just the imp. ;n; Alas...

 

Straight coconut from the imp and lovely, creamy coconut on the skin. (It reminds me instantly of Thai curries, though, haha.) It's a very warm scent and it stays ages on my skin. It also has decent(?) throw as I could catch whiffs of it as I puttered around before bed despite wearing so little. I actually fell asleep with it on and I could still smell it on my wrist when I woke up 10-12 hours later. (I love sleeping!)

 

I layered this with Eden and found my signature scent. I really want to layer this with Lavanila next!

 

Edited for word.

Edited September 22, 2015 by shibagast

[d0gbones]

In the imp: Sweet coconut

Wet: Creamy, sweet coconut.

Dry: It's gone slightly aquatic, but mostly it's coconut. Really comforting and clean.