Kali

[emily2531]

... This perfume is a blend of the sacred blooms of cassia, hibiscus, musk rose, Himalayan wild tulip, lotus and osmanthus swirled with offertory dark chocolate, red wine, tobacco, balsam and honey.

I love/hate this perfume. what I love is the depth and complexity. At first, I get a blast of ultra sweet sharpness that makes me recoil. As it dries down, eventually that sharp note dies down and the flowers come out briefly, and then eventually all those wonderful wine, chocolate, spicy-slightly-woody notes come forth and linger for hours. I'm not sure where that super sweet sharp note comes from, but I suspect it's a combination of the honey and tobacco flower. It's so sweet and sharp that it almost burns in my nose. Horreur Sympathique has that same initial sharp/sweet blast, but it dies down much quicker. As much as I love the drydown of Kali, I don't love it enough to want to endure the initial assault.

[ImperatrixMundi]

Kali is quite complex, very floral underneath, in a sweet and tropical way, with all the heavy and rich notes on top. Chocolate/wine/tobacco is very dominant but does not drown out the floral base.

And now I finally know what it reminds me of. Black Magic massage bar from Lush It is a floral massge bar but the top layer is scented with chocolate.

 

Anyway, it is nice but not my kind of scent.

[donnatron]

Imp: Chocolate tinged with tobacco, florals and the weensiest hint of wine.

 

Wet: NEIN! NEIN! The honey goes haywire (as it did in Jezebel) and the whole thing goes sour. I get very frowny, as I was hinging so much potential on Kali.

 

Dry: Thankfully she pulls through. The tobacco deepens and runs through the whole scent, the chocolate provides a sort of dusty base and the florals intermingle. The honey and the wine settle down and the whole thing sweetens into this absolutely charming, provocative scent. Very sexy, very evening, and somewhere between just enough and too much.

 

Throw: Great.

 

Overall: Oh Kali, how could I doubt you? Yes, the initial drydown isn't the greatest, but the end result is so worth it that you could make me smell like dog vomit until the drydown and I'd still slather it on. This is a gorgeous, gorgeous scent--think Blood Kiss without the iffiness of vetiver.

[fairnymph]

In the bottle: Chocolate, cinnamon, honey with hints of citrusy hibiscus, osmanthus and rose.

 

Wet: Rose, chocolate, honey, red wine, osmanthus, fresh hibiscus,resiny balsam, and a spicy herbal note. Complex, tasty floral. Thankfully, no cinnamon.

 

Dry: The lush, sophisticated rose from Peacock Queen 07 - amped wonderfully on my skin - with delicious but not foody hints of honey and cocoa. Those others scents noted in the previous stage ares still present, but have blended into a homogenous base.

 

Summary: I adore this - I could bathe it. I can't stop sniffing my arm and I had no idea I'd love this so. The rose remains strong but so does the delicious golden honey and smooth dark chocolate. The wine amps up eventually too, a deep, ripe, sensual note, and woodsy musk emerges. While I find this a very nighttime, luxurious scent, evoking dark, soft purpley-red velvets, it's kept fresh and intriguing by the hibiscus and other floral notes, and the fainter herbal whiffs. Kali is one of my favourite goddesses, and this is Kali in her maiden form, to me - Kalika the seductress, of creation and energy. Of course, this has amazing throw and lasting power.

Edited April 24, 2008 by fairnymph

[voodoocatwoman]

In the imp: Sour, pungent rotting fruits. Ewwww.

 

Wet: Still very sour, but I think I detect a hint of sweet.

 

Dry: O. M. G. How startlingly beautiful!! Every bit of sourness is vanished. What I am left with is honeyed sweetness. A little whiff of cinnamon. A bit of chocolate. Kali is definitely one of my top ten favorites.

[ladyver]

i am finding kali really hard to review because she is really playing with my mind!

 

in bottle & wet on skin: I can distinguish a few notes like the chocolate and couple of the flowers, there is a lot happening here! bit later: as with the BPAL description, "swirled" is a good way to describe what the food and resin notes do to the florals. A few minutes later.. it seemed to have almost disappeared - but then it came back to something really nice (totally weird!) maybe its cause my skin warmed up after throwing on a jumper

an hour or so later, if i just catch a whiff or when i go to sniff after a break i get a really nice blend, but if i try to put nose to wrist to analyse it, i just get a bit of faint floral or balsam or lose it altogether - argh -

next time i will slather & hopefully do a more useful review!

[greenranger]

In the imp I could smell chocolate and flowers. MMmmmm.

 

Wet, on me, the chocolate came out first, and then vanished. Coming up close behind and covering chocolate's tracks came rose.

 

For a little while the rose dominated, but, I have gotten to the point where I sort of expect rose to do that in any blend I wear. It usually burns itself out after a bit and then the other notes can show up.

 

The rose hung around a long while, at least for rose on my skin. There were a few other scents hanging around in the background that I couldn't quite identify past the rose. When the rose finally faded I was left with a faint, creamy floral of very little interest. Apparently all the other interesting notes got tired of waiting and left for another party.

 

Several hours later there is the slightest whiff of incense on my skin.

 

I am thinking that this one doesn't work for me. The promise showed in the imp never materialized. I might try it in a locket before swapping, though.

[kelpsoda]

Wet: I'm getting a swirl of wine/chocolate/tobacco/flowers. neat!

 

dry: a sweet and beautiful floral. I can't pick out exactly what I'm smelling (lotus? osmanthus? rose?). very light, with low amount of throw.

 

unfortunately, my skin eats this up, and it disappears quickly.

[jizatt]

I was so sad about this one -- I wanted this complicated smell, and what I got was something very very VERY LIGHT, that seemed like it might be floral if I could smell it. I thought I smelled a hint of wine and sweetness, but I could barely smell it even with my nose pressed to my wrist. I waited a couple weeks and tried it again, but same thing. What I can smell seems like it would be gorgeous, although a great deal more floral than I had expected. I thought I was getting a dark, dangerous, complicated smell....

[Indigo78]

Kali in the imp is very sweet. The top note is hibiscus, followed by a honey to my nose. Wet on the skin it becomes more sticky for the first five minutes, and I too get a strong "dessert wine" feel at this stage.

 

The wine dries very quickly on me. As it dries down, dark, sweet chocolate becomes recognizable. After twenty minutes I can detect the sweer tobacco as well. Balsam is balancing the rose nicely on my skin - - those who shy from rose normally may want to try this one. I can't detect rose in this at all - just a barely woodsy foral.

 

I'll see how this imp ages. Kali is far different than any BPAL I have tried so far...Sweet, but in an ominous way.

Edited June 4, 2008 by Indig0

[VioletChaos]

in the imp: the only way to describe it, is to say, steamed artichokes. with a tiny plate of chocolate on the side.

 

wet on skin: wow. this is just so well blended. it's hard to pick out separate notes. the earthy artichoke scent persists, but is joined by some deep, lush scent that makes it both edible and sacred- this is clearly not for *you* but for a Goddess.

 

dry down: the incense aspect has become much more obvious. i'm also getting touches of tobacco. unfortunately, the deliciousness of the wet stages has mostly faded

 

in all: too bad it faded entirely after 3 minutes. i love Goddess Kali, and sadly, i don't feel this lives up to her name sake.

[Coldfire]

Imp from a fellow witch friend

 

 

 

Imp: Chocolate over tropical floral

Wet on me: Chocolate & tobaccow now

with the barest hints of floral peeing thru

Drying Down: Chocolate floral now,

deep & lush and heady.

Dry: Deep sniffs I smell chocolate floral

with traces of rich tobacco. This is dark and shadowy.

Throw/Stay: Very nice. Just enough.

This is to be used sparingly and with reverence, much like

calling on Kali Ma herself.

[taramarie]

In the imp, Kali is dark chocolate and something else, maybe wine. On my skin, however, it quickly changes to bubblegum -- the lotus morphs and amps to the point where that's all I can smell. Someone else can have this.

[plunderparlour]

this is so lovely. all the notes come out at once on wet. the honey and wine being most dominant. dry it becomes softer. this fades on me quick, i just want to dump it on. meow.

[isisonearth]

In the imp: Honey dreanched chocolate. Sweet but decadent.

 

On my skin: The scent becomes more complex. The balsam is there and a mix of flowers. None of the floral notes really dominate. The tobacco is rich and dark. The honey sweetness is still present.

 

Drydown: Amazingly the wine, one of my notes of doom, never amps up. I love the deep, dark velvety richeness of this. The honey is swoon worthy against the backdrop of the othe notes.

 

A surprise hit! I was sure this wouldn't work on me but it does.

[Iceblink]

I get a light floralness from Kali. Where's the wine and chocolate? Lotus sometimes kills blends for me and I think that's what happening here. It's just so faint and with all those notes it really ought to be stronger. Disappointing.

[gingiemay]

Wet in imp - First whiff seems unpleasant, but now I get some of the cassia, hibiscus and musk rose.

 

Wet on skin - Mostly cassia, hibiscus and musk rose, something else I can't identify but it doesn't appeal to me.

 

Dry on skin - Fading to a kind of soapy rose musk. Just not for me, I think.

[Bamels]

I got this imp as a freebie, and wouldn't have chosen it myself but will give it a try anyway. Sniffing the bottle I grimace. Eww what is wrong with it?!! It smells like some sort of alcohol and that's all I can smell. I presume an alcohol that disagreed with me, as this smell is making me feel sick. A flavoured vodka of some sort.

 

Once on I can smell some fruits coming through, it's more pleasant but I'm still not convinced. There's something very sweet in the background and I can almost smell the chocolate.

 

When dry I can smell a warm and sweet scent, still a bit fruity, the wine maybe? It all seems to be merged together and it just isn't me I'm afraid, it's sweet and sickly so would suit people with a big sweet tooth!

[Kabooki]

There isn't much I can say about this one. It starts off wine and honey and over the next hour does nothing but fades I can still get light whiffs of it when I really put my wirst up to my nose, but this really isn't something that made me go "yippie"

[crebbsgirl]

Alright, all I'm getting on this one is indiscriminate sweet. I can't seem to detect any of the individual notes. It smells like everything and nothing, all at the same time. A little fruity, almost berry-like? Obviously not for me.

[mochi227]

one of the first imps I ordered. i feel an affinity towards kali: powerful protector, destroyer and creator, infinitely wise in the application of her blade of righteousness. i had to have this scent.

 

in the imp: floral and boozey. the red wine is really strong in the imp. it's also got that heady floral top note that seems to be a feature of lots of BPALs in the bottle. i'm learning that to really get to know a BPAL, you *have* to wear it at least once or twice and the heart of the scent won't reveal itself until it's been on your skin for at least 30-60 minutes.

 

wet: the wine obliterates all other scents at this stage. the chocolate is there in the background, fighting to come out from behind wine's wet veil. very sweet.

 

drying: the florals emerge, like blooms in a fountain of red, jammy wine. i can't really distinguish the individual blooms, although the musk rose does waft up now and then, louder than the others. the base notes of the honey/wine/chocolate/tobacco/balsam are a murky foundation to the play of the flowers.

 

dry: a very well blended scent, Kali is sexy yet feminine. the base notes are incredibly sexy and long lasting, but the florals elevate this scent out of that BPAL foody/sexy/sultry category into a more sultry femme category. can run a bit sweet in the first stages, but eventually settles down into something warm and round (I think that might be the honey keeping everything under control).

 

verdict: I like this but I'm not sure I will be needing a full bottle, but I may get one eventually as I very much like the dry down of this scent. medium throw and relatively long lasting. 3.5/5

Edited October 16, 2008 by Shollin
Removed Lab description --Shollin

[milo]

This is a very fresh and clean floral to me. I don't smell the rose at all, and my nose isn't good enough to detect the other scents. This isn't me, however, but for those of you who enjoy the notes, it would probably be a great summer scent.

[caitilarkin]

In the imp: Tropical flowers with chocolate in the background

 

Wet on skin: The rose is amping (as it always does on me) and the wine note is making an appearance. I think I can detect the other florals but I can't tell them apart.

 

Dry on skin: Fades within an hour. Completely. Down to nothing.

 

???

[obsidienne]

Kali was a generous Lab frimp; thank you!

 

Wet on skin, Kali smells quite complex due to all of the different notes, yet none of them are overpowering and the blend seems very balanced; I smell light florals, hints of sweetness and even fainter hints of wood, and something a little darker and sharp, perhaps the wine and chocolate notes, which are not entirely distinguishable as such. That said, Kali is for me a very faint and delicate blend, I have to try really hard to smell it!

 

From what I can smell, the florals dominate overall, with the other notes supporting them and making them more interesting. Honey usually amps quite strongly on me, and I often find lotus cloyingly sweet and overpowering, but not so here, so I think there is just a little bit of everything to make this perfume. Far drydown sees it turn a little bit powdery and a little bit sharp (red wine). I'm using a lot of modifiers like "hints of" and "a little bit" because it's just so frustratingly light on me.

 

In about 15 minutes, there's just a hint of perfume left.

 

Throw and lasting-power: light!

 

Overall, Kali is a beautiful, complex and womanly perfume, but I'd have to slather it on and repeatedly to get the full effect, which I wasn't willing to do just to sit around the house on a Sunday night. Maybe the lightness is why it doesn't stand out for me? That said, I'd definitely wear it again.... just lots more of it. I suspect I'll get maybe two wearings out of the imp before it's gone. Drrr.

[jencallisto]

In the imp: Red, red wine, with florals hovering across the top and a chocolatey center.

Fresh on the skin: A little sweet, a little bitter, very complex, florals in a strong dark musky base.

5 minutes later: Whoa, that's where the red wine went. It's all on the throw. Nice. I'm really liking this. It's fascinating and intense, heady but not at all threatening a headache.

10 minutes later: And, oh, this is interesting. In my hair I can really smell the rose, light and delicious and with just a touch of complexity. I knew my skin amped rose, but I didn't realize my hair does, too. Huh. Luckily, I like it. And the scent on my wrist is staying fully complex.

30 minutes later: This has moved into nose-tickling territory. It's now a rose-based floral with a red wine foundation, like fresh-cut flowers floating in a glass goblet of wine. Sweet but not too sweet, and an odd combination of delicate and strong. I like this very much, as long as the nose-tickling doesn't get worse.

2 hours later: This has gone a lovely soft mostly-rose, but the foody parts are starting to come through just a touch -- I can finally detect the honey and chocolate. I really adore this.

3 hours later: Oh, oh wow. This has gone a little fruity to go with the chocolate, honey, red wine, and rose. Perhaps it's the osmanthus, as the osmanthus tea I've had has this sweet, almost lychee-like delightful delicate fruitiness to it. Basically, it smells like what I always thought the ambrosia of the Greek gods would taste like. Only possibly better. It's appearance has pushed Kali up into the category of the truly divine, especially as the creamy honey just keeps coming out more to go with it. Wow. And the throw is still quite good, and utterly lovely. I am so in love with this creamy honey osmanthus rose wine thing that Kali has become.

4 hours later: Still that, soft and sweet and delectable.

5 hours later: And still; I think it's gone a little more rose again. So, so good.

6.5 hours later: Whoops. Abrupt shift to laundry, alas, and rapidly fading. But pretty nice laundry, anyway, with a hint of rose and wine.

 

Verdict: I seriously adore this. It's a morpher, but I loved all the stages (well, except for maybe the laundry, but even that's pretty nice), which is unusual -- often I tend to like the beginning or the end more, but this is just fantastic all the way through. Magnificent.

 

Two words: Complex, delectable.

Edited November 7, 2008 by jencallisto