Tamora

[Bluestocking]

Amber, heliotrope, golden sandalwood, peach blossom and vanilla bean.

In the imp: Peach and sweetness, but it's definitely a floral peach blossom, rather than the fruit itself. Beneath that, there's a touch of the soft, creamy heliotrope, but it's mainly peach blossom at this point. Pretty and light, with just that hint of fruit.
On, wet: Very light. Still mainly peach blossom, but still with a faint whiff of heliotrope and now some dry sandalwood beneath. I think this may be one of the lightest BPALs I've ever tried, because it seems to just sink into my skin! Not that it doesn't smell good, but it isn't something that jumps out at you. I've never had a scent almost disappear like this before!
On, dry: Much better throw now! This woke up on my skin during the dry down, as the heliotrope and vanilla bean have really come forward, very sweet and creamy and lovely. It smells like delicious peaches and cream now, as the peach is much less floral and much more like ripe, juicy, tart fruit. The amber and sandalwood are very light for me, but there's just enough of them to add in some richness and woodiness.
Later: Warm, creamy vanilla and heliotrope with a touch of sandalwood, similar to the luscious dry down of Symmakhia. The sandalwood and vanilla bean are particularly nice together, a bit woody-sweet. Very, very faint again, though pretty.
Overall: I love this, but with reservations. When Tamora kicks in, she's a heavenly, summery peaches-and-cream type of floral fragrance, delicious without crossing the line into overtly foody, heavy territory. The problem is that she seems to wax and wane—now so light that she's practically nonexistent, now coming through loud and clear, now fading within a few hours of being applied, now lingering very faintly, but for a long time. So I'll definitely keep and appreciate the imp, but I think it needs further testing to figure out how to make it stick around and be more consistent. (Because seriously, this is good enough to be worth that effort.) Still: yum. Great fragrance for those looking for a non-foody peach, and the heliotrope is particularly stunning. Edited July 6, 2009 by Bluestocking

[caffinatedangel]

I got this as a frimp, so decided why not.

 

When first applied, this is a really weird dark scent that reminds me of snake oil (which was a huge flop on me). Which makes me pretty sure it's vanilla. but then maybe its the sandalwood. I need to explore more, as my understanding of notes is limited. I dont even have a clue what heliotrope smells like.

 

As it wears, a sweetness emerges that sits very lightly on the skin. A little powdery, which means it must be a sweetness from one of the florals, or the floral is merging with sweetness of vanilla? It does have an element that's getting thrown nicely, but its very soft, deep, and I'm going to say dark. But a girly dark.

 

Makes me think of some seductress in her off hours, lurking in the dark corner of a room, just waiting.

 

Not a winner for me overall. It ended up being a powdery girly snake oil on my skin. Something doesn't go right. *goes to slather on her sister to see what happens*

Edited July 8, 2009 by CaffinatedAngel

[GirlDetective]

I get a thick, sweet vanilla underneath peach-scented incense with Tamora. When I first tested it I wrote "Warm peach cobbler! And that peach incense from Syracuse" in my notes (uh, disregard the Syracuse part). I received an aged imp from another forumite two years ago, and I've come to find Tamora very warm and comforting, though it's a little too headshoppy on me to feel comfortable wearing out in public.

 

I realize this could just be my nose or my imp, as I've seen Tamora described as sparkly, fruity and light...I agree with CaffinatedAngel that this is kind of a Snake Oil type scent.

 

 

[splendidissima]

One of those heartbreaker-type scents. In the imp and on first application, nothing but lovely, juicy, sweet peach and vanilla--perfect for me in every way. About 20 minutes in, the juiciness goes away, and Tamora becomes a light, sweet musk, pleasant and powdery. I am greatly saddened by this change, but perhaps others would like the final stage more.

[tragedy]

This reminds me of, is it Imp I'm thinking of?

Very peachy, fruity. It almost has a bubble gum feel to it, but is a tad floral to be that sweet.

Nice, untill far drydown when it just gets this faint air freshner scent to it.

[Muppetk]

~~A review in many layers~~

 

I've tried this one numerous times & at numerous ages. The listing of notes sounds perfect, and I keep coming back to it again and again.

 

Fresh: It's very peachy. Peach syrup straight out of the can (which I assume = peach blossom + vanilla bean) with an undertone of those lovely amber/sandalwood notes that I love, but still pretty dominantly peach syrup. Not for me as I don't care for overly sweet and foody, & I didn't initially bother to write a public review before now. But I've heard it ages incredibly well, so... I held onto it. And the notes all sounded so good and I was so convinced that I should like it, that I'd pick up more whenever I was buying from someone's sale post and they happened to have a cheap imp. I have a lot of those now. Not to mention a bottle, but that's another story.**

 

Aged 3ish years: This weekend, I got into a discussion with someone on LJ about how it takes 3 years of aging to get *really* good, and I think "huh, I need to try that again." I have some imps of it with the old label, with the less elaborate phoenix, (and I believe the labels changed about 3 years ago) so I pulled it out for a sniff. That WAS nicer. The peach was MUCH tamer, the undernotes of amber/sandalwood were much more prominent (much more amber than sandalwood though). Very smooth. This one felt much more balanced, and got an "ooh, that smells nice" from my SO, whose taste, like mine, runs to incense/amber/snake oil/patchouli/etc. Conclusion: I totally agree on aging it for a couple of years! Still haven't decided how much I like it though. It's much nicer, I'm hesistant over the amount of peach. Maybe I personally just like a drier blend? Maybe I need to experiment with layering it. I certainly have enough of the stuff!

 

Aged 5+ years: And then tonight, for the first time in ages, I made an attempt to organize my massive piles of bpal, and I ran across a tarted imp of Tamora. I'm fairly sure that the lab stopped tarting imps in 2004, making this one an old fart of an imp! Aged this long, it has gotten DEEP. The peach is deep, like a bass profundo of a peach, but the other notes have deepened even more! The amber/sandalwood/vanilla have enricked and darkened to the point where this blend is like a very mellow, VERY mellow, peach flavored O. Plus an extra... furry*** quality for the first hour or so that reminds me of oakmoss. Like if someone took Oakmoss and transposed it several octaves lower. It's also got a slightly burnt quality that reminds me of my first sniff of (EDIT: Dia De La Muertos. (The original, I add, in case it's been reformulated.) I'm pretty sure I meant the burnt note in original Sugar Skull. One of them anyway!) This stuff is pretty wow for intensity & depth. I could also compare it to Khrysee on steroids. Serious steroids. And the killer part -- it's become amazingly rich the way I like scents, but I'm just not sure that it's me. I think I need to try it again in cooler weather before I'll know for sure. It's gorgeous, but it may just be that this rich a scent doesn't agree with OMG AUGUST IN NYC EEEEEEW!

 

** On a related note, tonight, I have officially come to the conclusion that I own entirely too much perfume.

 

***Yes, I'm quite aware that saying something smells furry makes No Sense At All.

Edited August 11, 2009 by Muppetk

[kunoichi]

In the vial it smells like a sweet amber, quite delicate yet sugared with vanilla. On my skin, the scent deepens and is still sweetly lovely with amber floating on a vanilla and peach background. After a few hours, it becomes slightly sweeter, and leave a very lovely note on my skin.

[HamletsKeeper]

Oh dear God No! This is the worst bubblegum smell ever that quickly becomes peach wine, then morphs into a peach danish complete with custard (enter the vanilla). Probably fabulous for a tween girl but I think I can safely avoid all heliotrope scents from this point on.

[Cereus]

In the bottle: a juicy smelling blend of heliotrope and peach blossom made richer by amber and bean vanilla.

 

Wet the amber and the sandalwood jump to the fore but the heliotrope is still quite distinct

 

As it dries the vanilla warms and becomes more prominent. The floral notes blend in the background but don't fight for attention.

 

This dries down to a warm blend of amber, peach blossom, and vanilla with the sandalwood and heliotrope in the background; very regal and rich. The way my skin breaks it down reminds me a bit of a very, very fancy version of Ply-Doh, but it is still a lovely, feminine scent.

[ElectraV]

Thought I should get round to trying some of my GC imps as I've been mostly wearing LEs lately, and they shouldn't get all the love.

 

In the imp: Sandalwood

Wet: Vanilla and amber

Dry: Lots of vanilla and something that smells like cherry. I have a feeling that could be the heliotrope as that's not a note I know and I wasn't expecting cherry from the blend. It reminds me a little of cherry pie and custard.

 

I'm thinking a bottle of this. Cherries and custard are definitely things I like to smell of

[fisharescary]

in the imp: it's a floral peach in a light boozy syrup

 

on skin, wet: the fruit lightens up a little, and it becomes more sugary

 

dry on skin: Take some fresh-baked puff pastry, still warm from the oven, and spread a thin layer or two of spiced peach butter in the middle. Dust liberally with powdered sugar. Drizzle heavily with wild honey, straight from the comb. Lean over and inhale. This is the smell of my wrist right now. So warm and yummy. I don't know where it comes from, but I really do get a hint of beeswax from this.

 

Over the next four hours or so it fades gradually to a less-complex, although still pleasant, light powdered sugar/vanilla/honey.

 

Another two hours and it's a just-there homemade playdough, in as pleasant a way as playdough can be, with a hint of almond and vanilla.

 

This is a very tasty, foody smell for me. I really enjoy huffing it as overcompensation for not being able to eat it, but it's not quite unique enough for me to chase down any more than the imp I've got right now. Average throw.

[Venneh]

This is an amazing scent on me. In the imp, this smells like a combination of the amber, heliotrope, and peach blossom; a very bright scent. On my skin, it's amazingly bright and fruity at first, and slowly fades down so that te vanilla comes out to play as well. Don't know if I'm getting the sandalwood so much. Either way, wonderful blend, definitely getting a bottle of this.

[Beckiemort]

Wet: Sugar with a hit of sharpness underneath it, perhaps this is the heliotrope. It's not a very pleasant scent to my nose.

 

Dry Down: Something about this blend just smells 'off' on me. I can't figure out where it goes wrong on my skin but some thing does, which is unfortunate because I like most of the notes, although I haven't tried heliotrope before.

[devilot]

Tamora

In the Vial: Just weird. Weird. A golden, slightly fruity, weirdness.

 

Wet: Ooh, now something I can recognize, just a hint of sandalwood. Wait no-- where are you going?! Come back sandalwood! Shift into powdery. Ugh.

 

Drydown: Powdery with a hint of the peach blossom.

 

Verdict: I love the notes, but it's not working on my skin. I'm not sure what's not happening. Sigh. Gonna hang onto an imp to see if things change.

[Schmoozy]

 

Love. There is nothing better than amber and sandalwood and mixed with vanilla bean aand peach blossom this is slightly sweeter and extremely golden. Tamora is sexy, but light. Not a dark mysterious sexy scent, but a fun, light-hearted gal next door type sexy.

[Gwydion]

In bottle: They are not kidding about the heliotrope. It too sweet for me really, what with the peach and vanilla supporting the heliotrope. Wet: The sandalwood is much stronger now and it smells exactly like playdoh with some added elements. Dry: More complex peach blossom playdoh.

[fairestrocza]

In the Imp: deep and sweet

 

Wet on Skin: warm, a bit spicy, a bit incensy, a bit sweet

 

While Drying: A brief slightly musky phase, but overall a warm, slightly gritty scent with an edge of sweetness. The scent sticks fairly close to the skin. All the listed notes seem to be present without any one being dominant.

 

After a Little While: This reminds me a bit of Ravenous/Rakshasa/Hunger type blends, though the peach blossom is much less candied than orange blossom can be. The vanilla and spiciness make me want to bury my nose against my wrists.

 

Later: Fairly low throw, with the scent sticking closer and closer to the skin as time passes, but I wouldn't mind reapplying this one from time to time… it is sexylicious. Final long-term drydown is a slightly musky vanilla

 

Final Thoughts: I have a feeling that this imp will disappear fairly quickly, unless I can find the willpower to save a little so I can see how it ages.

Tamora earns a 4.5/5 on my skin.

 

ETA: This scent has grown on me and is now one of my main go-to scents. Just fantastic. Age has improved the throw and given this a lovely resonance.

Edited July 14, 2010 by Rocza

[vampirate]

It smells a little juicy in the imp, like standing in a peach orchard on a warm sunny day. Dried down on me I get a lot of warmth out of the amber and sandalwood. And there's a mild sweetness from the peach blossom and vanilla bean hanging out with them. It kind of makes me want some peaches and cream pie.

[doublehelix]

This is weird. it smelled a bit gross at first, like a combo of urine and puke :S I think there's just too much going on.

on the dry down the peach note comes out beautifully, and that's all i'm really left with.

[CitizenBree]

I'm a big peach and vanilla fan so I thought this showed some promise.

 

It smells a little weird in the imp. Maybe it's just a little too strong but that dies down once it's on. The peach and sandalwood mix nice together. Usually sandalwood turns to baby powder on me, but not in this blend. It's light and beachy. I think the throw could better and I don't recall it lasting that long.

 

This will have to go in a death match with my other peach scents before I decide which one is the best. It is definitely a contender, though.

[SophieCedar]

It's a little flip flopped on me..? I smell vanilla and peach blossom.. okaaayy. hmm and then amber and sandalwood. Very little heliotrope?

It's very peachy in imp and wet. Maybe my skin is just amping the lab's vanilla note. It tends not to do well with it. Oh well! Maybe try again later.

[MCS4096]

On my skin this smells more similar to the well loved LE The Girl than any other BPAL Ive tried. It's definitely a bit more fruity than the girl, but they have the same creamy musk base. I wore them on the same day to compare them and if you love The Girl, Tamora is probably a good bet for you too. Not as long lived/throwing as The Girl, but still delicious

[moosue]

Imp: Same peach note as Fae. Good news!

On, wet: Something is setting this apart from Fae slightly. There's a note, almost picking it up as cedar, but maybe its a combo of sandalwood and vanilla.

Dry: Whatever was smelling like cedar has sweetened into candy. The whole blend now smells like a Valentines Day candy from my childhood. Wait, no, it smells exactly like the scratch and sniff Valentine cards I once gave to my classmates. A bubblegummy scent almost, but not super sweet.

Overall: Fae's peach is gone and we're left with scratch and sniff bubblegum.

 

What a morpher! Since my chemistry sweetens everything to tooth-decaying levels it's very possible that this would be earthier (especially judging from the notes) on someone else.

I like it, but it won't be replacing Fae for my favourite peach blend.

Edited April 11, 2010 by moosue

[steelgossamer]

In the imp: Sweet, light, foodie.

 

Wet: Almond. It smells exactly like a sweet almond oil while wet.

 

Drydown: The vanilla and amber come through, warming this up a bit, but no peach.

 

Dry: After about 4 hours, the sweetness of the vanilla is still there with some warm spicy undertones, and it still has that almondy scent to it. No peach at any point for me.

 

This is an imp I tried a while back and forgot about. I think it aged very nicely because it was in my "to try again later" pile, which means I didn't like it much the first time. I do like it a lot now, but I think an imp is enough for me. I have plenty of sweet foodie scents to last me until Kingdom Come.

[Dharklady]

In bottle: Sweet, vanilla and amber and just a hint of a juicy fruit.

 

Wet: Hello, baby powder. Where did you come from?

 

Dry: Well a slightly fruity baby powder, is slightly better then straight baby powder right?

 

Notes: This sounded so promising! I’ve been loving the ambers in Beth’s mixes but my skin apparently decided to misbehave with one of the notes. Fortunately my friend likes it (and her skin does too) so my loss is her gain!