Aizen-Myoo

[Yukaeshi]

Yuzu, kaki, and mikan with cherry blossom and black tea.

I completely love this. Being a first-timer to BPAL perfume oils, I bought a set of six imps, but I also bought this full sized (Partly because of its name and description that drew me), and I have absolutely no regrets about it.

Yuzu, kaki, mikan, cherry blossom and black tea.
Yuzu and mikan are variants of citrus fruits, whilst mikan is persimmon.

Initial Impression: Nothing overly citrusy, but sweet in a fruity way with hints of bitterness. There's definitely the strong persimmon notes here.
Wet: Fruity, bittersweet, persimmon. Slight hints of the citrusy yuzu and mikan are revealed slowly.
Dry: This is where I can definitely smell the cherry blossom and black tea, and it blends well with the rest of the scents. Not powdery, not too strong or overpowering or artificial. Just pure dark bittersweet fruity goodness.

When I first sniffed it "black" comes to mind when compared to my other favourites such as Embalming Fluid and Kumiho (Which to me, conjures "white"), and it's thankfully not an overly feminine scent (I'm not a fan of feminine scents), but a dark fruity one.

Lasts quite long on me without altering its scent. Definitely a keeper and a favourite of mine.

[Acedia]

I got this as a frimp today (yay!), and I love it. It's citrus-y, but not your typical citrus -- it's green but not lime (it's richer and lacks lime's high-pitched fizziness), and not sharp. I get shape impressions from scents, and this one is shaped like the inside of a bowl (rounded and hollowed out and kind of echo-y). Not at all powdery or cloying, but clear and fresh green, like a dark green glass bowl.

 

Wow, this is really bringing out my synesthesia!

 

I really like it, and I'm so glad I got it as a frimp, because the description and the notes wouldn't have grabbed me. I don't smell the tea (though, to be honest, the only one of the Lab's tea scents that I actually can smell the tea in is White Rabbit, which is like "All Tea All the Time," so maybe the tea in Aizen-Myoo is too subtle for my nose).

[diamondstars]

..I aren't sure what Yuzu, kaki or mikan are but this smells like raw celery to me(!)

 

How peculiar!

[CynicalPink]

I would *love* to find a cherry blossom scent that didn't make me smell like a 12 year old trying very hard to be a grown-up

 

Imp: Sweet and sour. I get quite a bit of Yuzu (I have yuzu scented body lotion, so I'm not pulling that out of thin air )

 

Wet: Sweetly floral with sour citrus. No tea, as yet. Smells like a summer evening

 

Drydown: Something has cut through the sour yuzu by now made the blend a much better balance of sweet and sour.

 

Overall: A complex citrus blend that doesn't go to cleaning solution on me! This is a big winner. Definitely a keeper of an imp, and I have a feeling it will do well on bottle auditions too.

[Sweetie666]

This is a bitter fruit scent...I don't smell any black tea on me. I love the scent when I first put it on...but it doesn't stay. I can't smell anything after about 1/2 an hour.

[catattack]

Imp: Yuzu

Wet: Sweet & tart citrus, with a slight bitterness

Drydown: Initially, this is a "dry" citrus. I like this. It's fresh and clean, a "wake-me-up" scent. After about 45 minutes, the cherry blossom comes out. Mmmm...very nice. Further, a couple of hours later, the tartness has faded and what's left on my skin is sweet persimmon and cherry blossom.

Overall: I was never much of a cherry blossom fan until BPAL. I really enjoy the lab's cherry blossom / cherry tree notes. This scent will be perfect for summer.

[Andrea912]

I dont know what yuzu, kaki, and mikan, but I don't like this; it's fruity and bright and loud

[unlaced]

All the way through (in the imp to wet to dry) this smells like grapefruit and flowers to me. Nice pink grapefruit and flowers. Nondescript flowers at first then they reveal themselves to be cherry blossoms. Quite a nice scent and I find myself to be craving it as the weather is getting warmer.

[caitilarkin]

In the imp: Very tart citrus

 

Wet on skin: Strong, bitter citrus--sadly, without a touch of sweetness or depth to cut the sharpness

 

Dry on skin: This stayed strong and bitter for several hours, then mercifully faded into nothingness.

 

I am a citrus FIEND, and normally love the Lab's grapefruit and yuzu notes especially. Sadly, this one was too much for me.

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Super citrus! Lots of less-sweet citrus like grapefruit, but with a little hint of something more syrupy.

 

Immediately on skin: This scent hits me with a big blast of grapefruit-like citrus, which is probably the yuzu. As I sniff though, the scent finishes with a smoother fruity scent that smells almost a bit rubbery. I get hints of the black tea and cherry blossom, but mostly this is CITRUS!

 

After a little while: The overwhelming citrus dies down a lot in this scent as I wear it. After it calms down, this turns into more of a black tea scent with sugary fruit, citrus, and a bit of feminine cherry blossom. The rubbery scent I got before is actually the black tea, but now it just smells very smooth and almost creamy.

 

Overall Impressions: This is definitely a wake-you-up kind of scent. The citrus is very strong at first, but dies down as the scent dries and settles into my skin. Then it becomes more of a black tea with citrus, fruit, and flowers scent. It’s very bright and happy with a feminine edge.

 

[Bluestocking]

In the imp: Fresh, fruity, but very clean and tart, not sweet. It's nice and bracing, actually, and very citrusy with a pleasant undertone of bitterness, like grapefruit rind. Zingy and invigorating. The yuzu (grapefruit-like) and kaki (persimmon) dominate in the imp, but I do get a hint of the tea, which blends nicely with the yuzu, and there's something here that softens this, which must be the cherry blossom. It reminds of Clinque Happy (the original), but better--more complex and sophisticated.

On, wet: Still bright, clean and briskly citrusy, but a little bit sweeter and juicier, as the cherry blossom blooms and softens things up a bit more. The yuzu and kaki are still strongest, but the pale, sweet cherry blossoms balance them really well, and the tea makes for a nice, sturdy base. The mikan (Satsuma or tangerine) tends to blend into the sharper citrus scents, but what I get of it is really, really nice. This is fantastic!

On, dry: For the first time, this is slightly more cherry blossom than citrus, but it's a lovely blend, and the cherry blossoms are sweet and feminine without being cloying or girly. (No artificial cherry scent, either!) Still a really nice fruity floral, very clean and sophisticated, but now it's tilting more towards the floral than the fruit. The tea is subdued, but it grounds everything well.

Later: Sweet cherry blossom and black tea, overlaid with a faint whiff of the citrus. Still nicely balanced and fresh, but graceful. I could swear there's some white musk in this, too, giving it a nice, clean, slightly shimmery quality. It actually reminds me quite a bit of Croquet at this stage, even though the notes are only vaguely similar. (This is a good thing.)

Overall: Clear, clean, bright, tart-sweet citrus/floral. Okay, I'm not sure how much this makes me think of Aizen-Myoo, but I really, really like this one, even more than I hoped. Like another one of my favorite citrus scents, Croquet, this is a perfect combination of tart, juicy citrus and fruits balanced by sweeter flowers. To my nose, Aizen-Myoo is the more sophisticated blend, because of the nicely astringent tea and the pleasantly sharp yuzu and persimmon notes—which, by the way, are awesome. It's soft and well blended, and the lightness and fresh citrus make it a wonderful summer scent. Now I'm going to have to have a sniff-off between Croquet and Aizen-Myoo, to determine which one is worth a big bottle! Anyway, this one is total love for me.

 

 

[iiinterstate]

I don't recognize most of these notes, but I do get something strong and citrus as soon as it hits my skin. From there, it quickly morphs into something much more soft and floral. The Tea is in there too. I rather like it, but I think I would like it a lot more if the sharp citrus held on a little more.

[Lamia]

My boycat really likes this.

 

Over the weekend I had the opportunity to drink a glass of yuzu wine, and it was AWFUL. Smelled like nail polish remover, tasted like paste, and burned the back of your throat as you drank it. BUT IT STILL SMELLED LIKE CITRUS AT THE SAME TIME!

 

Aizen-Myoo starts off with the sharp harsh citrus of yuzu, which makes one twitch after that glass of wine, but it's not as disagreeable as that. It calms down, and becomes sugary. Not grainy sugar, but smoooooth and silky, like the liquid sugar you get at Dunkin Donuts.

 

Bright and sweet and silky with a twang of foreign citrus.

 

During this stage, it is truly exquisite as a scent. Alas, it fades, and becomes a very mild citrus. Ah well, for a little while it was magnificent!

[tragedy]

I have no idea what yuzu smells like, in the imp this was very citrusey and complex, I couldnt wait to try it.

Wet: This smells like a blending of mandarin oranges and grapefruit, I catch a light whiff of a floral way in the background. This is a very energizing scent!

Drydown: The floral comes out a bit more but the citrus is still there loud and strong.

I would definately say this would be a good wake up scent or for a very hot summer day.

[sylvanusurban]

 

In bottle: Bright cherries!

 

On me, wet: The cherry smell gains more body and strength. There’s an undertone of… woodiness? No, not woodiness. Maybe it’s the black tea.

 

On me, drying: I can smell the yuzu – it has a wonderful, bright, citrusy zing, and the cherries now have a sweet creaminess that blends with the citrus beautifully. <looks up what “mikan” is> I guess maybe I’m smelling the mikan in that citrus note too, but I’ve never dealt firsthand with a mikan, so I can’t say for sure.

On me, dry: I do keep thinking that I’m smelling a faint woody note. Maybe there is one in there after all. I also occasionally get a whiff of scented erasers – the colourful kind I used to be thrilled to get at the beginning of the school year. It’s not a bad smell, but I wish I could bring back the fresh citrus and cherries.

 

This has finally dried down to a mellow, sweet fruit note (maybe guava, as someone else suggests) with a hint of scented eraser.

Verdict: This was really, really nice when it was wet. After it dried it was no great shakes. If I could make it keep its wet scent, it would certainly be a contender for a bottle purchase.

 

[mgrazulis]

Lot of citruses here~wet sparkly yuzu, a berry and a dried fruit of some kind. As it dries, a floral fruited tea scent tapers some the crispness, the yuzu still shining through. The sweetness becomes peachy with a touch of persimmon fruit. No cherry blossoms here...but the yuzu lingers for hours. Somewhat louder than I like to wear. Will pass it along for someone else to enjoy.

 

 

[Gin]

Aizen-Myoo is one of those scents that I really like but hardly wear. Whenever we cross paths, though, I always think: why don't I wear this more often? It's really lovely. Sparkly yuzu and tea and cherry blossom (which I sometimes mistake for plum blossom). It smells fresh and pretty. It's floral without being traditional-floral (rose, jasmine, etc.) and sweet without being foody.

[angelicruin]

Sniffing the imp, this is sharp citrus scent.

 

Wet on the skin, I immediately smell the cherry blossom and black tea notes. Very refreshing. As it dries, it goes a bit more green on me.

 

Dries down to mostly grapefruit and tea notes on my skin.

[lishal]

In Bottle: Sharp, green citrus. Definitely smell the yuzu and mikan right up front. It's a powerful hit on the nose but a pleasant and very clean one.

 

On Wet: The citrus notes are the first up and they are super sharp and green. This is a really good scent for a hot summer day or a crisp spring morning. Beneath the citrus is something more complex, probably the black tea that I'm smelling with just the barest touch of floral.

 

On Dry: The citrus fades though not completely, leaving a milder and more rounded yuzu and tea scent behind. This is still with the slight touch of floral from the cherry blossom.

[iletaitunefois]

This was one of the strangest transformations I've encountered, scent-wise. When I first opened up the bottle and took a whiff, it smelled just like really, really strong grapefruit to me, strong and a little bitter. A bit strong for my tastes, but as soon as I put it on it changed drastically. For the first few minutes that it was drying, it smelled like a lighter grapefruit, maybe like a candy. Shortly thereafter, though, it went a little powdery on my skin and for some weird reason started to smell exactly like the white mints my grandmother keeps on her person at all times. I'm not sure where the slight mintiness came from, but this does bring back a lot of memories...

[Diva Urd]

Vial: Tea and grapefruit.

On: Citrus with a slightly bitter bite (but not quite grapefruit) with something sweet (cherry blossom?) and something fresh (tea!) in the background. Surprisingly, I'm not appalled - I usually don't do citrus-heavy blends. Once dry, it softens into an exotic-smelling non-floral-but-not-quite-citrussy blend. I wish I hadn't been scared of this for so long!

Later: This is very faint persimmon after only two hours. Kinda sad... if this had more staying power, I might be interested in a bottle. I don't completely exclude the possibility yet - will have to see how it lasts on clothing before making the decision.

[superpopkid]

I love citrus and tea in non-perfume contexts, so I was quite excited to try this one. Usual disclaimer. I'm new at this and am also unfamiliar with the varieties of citrus in this blend such as yuzu and satsumi. First off, I definitely need to revise my preconception that I don't like the smell of oils in the bottle, because this smelled GREAT to me in the imp - a deep rich almost candied-gingery grapefruit. When I put it on, I realized what was making me think of candied ginger - it smells like these wonderful sweets made of dried grapefruit that they have at certain candy stores. It's tart, a bit sharp, bright, sweet and a wee touch spicy. I can't pick out the tea but that may be my inexperienced nose.

 

It stayed a strong and sweet grapefruit for a couple hours, (I slather, so that may have contributed to the 'strong,') then faded down to nothing. I wish it stuck around longer, but it's lovely while it lasts.

 

ETA I've worn this a few times since then and had to update this because now I TOTALLY smell the tea. It's a delicious black tea note. I don't know what my problem was the first time around! It also seemed to have fantastic longevity this time - I got a wonderful cloud of citrusy tea that lingered all day. There a Japanese tea shop here that has wonderful flavored iced tea with freshly-squeezed fruit juice in it, and this reminds me of their grapefruit tea. This scent is beautiful and a very effective mood brightener.

 

Edited November 16, 2009 by VitaminA

[muteddragon]

Imp: Wow! Fruit! Juicy, ripe.

Skin: The fruit market. Smells like I was in a fruit fight. I use kumiho to tone it down slightly, but this is absolutely gorgeous if you're looking for a juicy fruit scent. (Not to be mistaken for juicyfruit the gum.)

[Veronica]

This is absolutely gorgeous fruity goodness on me, but after a couple hours it starts to smell a little powder sugar-y, like those sweetheart candies on Valentines. ;_____; I'll try again, but I wish it wouldn't morph so!

 

EDIT: retest years later--still the same. starts off super clean fresh citrus-tea scent, dries down to (lovely) laundry soap.

Edited April 2, 2015 by delighted

[cinderfallen]

I absolutely love this scent as it smells exactly like Asian persimmons (kaki). It's the mild, almost buttery-sweet kind, firm but tender--not the liquid, thin-skinned, slurpy kind--with a little, smooth, crunch-jelly-like sac in the center of the fruit when you bite into it--and man, this smells exactly like the fruit. A little citrus edge, but I don't detect any overt floral. Just persimmon goodness. Love in a big way.

Edited October 17, 2009 by cinderfallen