Bakeneko

[Neely]

... Warm amber musk, Satsuma tangerine, black tea leaf, cardamom, cherry blossom and cinnamon.

I took a chance with this one, cherry blossom or cherry fruit and I don't get along as a scent. However, cinnamon, cardamom, and musk do. And I read the reviews that said it smelled like orange and spice, which I happen to love. Besides as a cat herder, I had to get it for the label. So here goes...

In the bottle: sweet cherry blossom. No tangerine, or cinnamon, or cardamom. Hmmm...

Wet: sweet cherry blossom. Light, soft, and lovely. But it is a single note, just cherry blossom.

Dry down: sweet cherry blossom.

30 minutes: cherry blossom, less sweet, with a sophisticated perfume quality. Cinnamon and cardamon apparently decided to ditch the party and go off and make out together somewhere else.

Conclusion: my stupid chemistry turned this into a single note cherry blossom perfume. So, I think I must find this a better home, even though I love the label and the cherry blossom reminds me of Japan where I was born (Air Force brat, hehe). This is lovely, but not me, I will never reach for it to wear.

Rating 1-5: on my skin this is a 2.5.

[funkmoppet]

Oh, it's cinnamon sweet cinnamon.

 

Wet it's so very similar to the delicious Bengal, but as this kitteh dries down that soft musk comes out to play and it's suddenly sensual.

 

The longer it's on, the more the cinnamon backs off and I'm getting just a whiff of the floral behind the musk. This blend is playing beautifully on my skin. Kitteh starts with her claws out, and then climbs into bed with you and just puuuuuurrrrrrs.

 

Divine.

 

And I adore the label.

 

Edit: Aaaaaand my idiot skin turns yet another wonderful blend into baby powder after an hour. It's going to have to join Minotaur in the "oil burner only" corner.

Edited June 24, 2007 by funkmoppet

[Miseraya]

In the imp: Sharp cinnamon and that funky "80's" scent that I have learned is musk. My mom must have worn a lot of musk when I was a kid or something.

 

On the wrist: Spicy citrus musk.

 

Drydown: Powdery, spicy, citrus musk.

 

Overall: It's time for me to stop attempting to wear things that contain musk, not only am I not a fan of the smell of musk but my skin chemistry hates musk and turns it into baby powder. Why do I persist in trying scents I know will not work? Ever the optimist.

[Rouge]

Amber, tea, cardamom and cinnamon. And kitties. Some of my favourite things in the world. If this blend doesn't work for me I shall cry.

 

In the vial - This blend is the type of cat that strikes terror into all small animals in a ten mile radius, and requires tranquiliser darts before being brushed or given medicine. At first introduction it's sharp, musky and forthright.

 

Wet on the skin - Dark, strong spiced orange tea with heavy musk. This is not a cat who'll curl up on your lap and consent to be stroked until it's good and ready - and even then it'll demand you give it most of the sofa, trample up and down over you for a while, sit on the book you're reading and demand your full attention while you're paying it its due and proper worship.

 

Dry down - Once the demon kitty has been fed, watered and adored to its satisfaction, it settles down for a good long snooze, at which point it consents to gift its human with the delicious warm spices of Silk Road, and the musk turns sensual and faintly drowsy. There's still a feral edge as the cinnamon makes its presence felt. Don't be fooled by the fact the cat looks so warm and fluffy as it drifts off to sleep - disturb it, and those claws are coming out again.

[khiseer]

Oh bakeneko you smell so lovley in your little bottle with the cat label.. A niec soft cinnamon with a sweet but not too sweet citrus and the tea <3!

 

But then i put you on and am reminded that amber is no friend of mine.. You have that same evil note in O that makes me not able to wear you

 

off to swaps

[squirrelmonkey]

In the bottle: tangerine

 

Wet: tangerine and cinnamon and sweet tea

 

Dry: amber comes out -- a wonderful warm amber, followed closely by tea. Tangerine and cinnamon linger but retreat to the background. I don't get any florals, but musk appears. After half an hour, I can't tell the notes -- everything blends into this warm comforting deliciousness. It is definitely a catlike smell -- reminds me of my Aja as she purrs in my lap and looks up wil those large golden eyes. Just beautiful.

[DifferentDances]

Bottle: Spicy tangerines.

Wet: Spicy tangerines blanketed by stale bread, followed closely by the driest hint of clove/cinnamon. (Reminds me of those clove-spiked oranges people use to decorate homes around Christmas time. )

Drydown: The musk has stronger throw than anything else in this blend...and I'm not so keen on it. At least it's not the dreaded sweaty mess that is red musk.

Dry: Vaguely orange musk.

 

My rating: 3/5 overall. I'm trying to decide whether to send this to the swap pile, or if I should try to enable my little sister....Hmm....

[Ishtar]

What an unusual, surprising scent! Shapeshifter all right...

 

When I first put Bakeneko on, I was overwhelmed by how powerful and almost feral it was. To be honest, I did not know if I was going to be able to keep it on as its intensity was somewhat going to my head. Still, the combination of sensual musk, deep black tea leaf and less-common spices such as cardamom was so interesting that I was loathe to wash it off.

 

Well, patience paid off. After half an hour or so, the wild Bakeneko suddenly calmed down and turned into a very seductive scent of incredible depth. Layer upon layer, note after note, each component came dancing around my nose, wrapping me in a deliciously fragrant cloud.

Most unique blend I have tried in a long time. Love. Must get more!!!

[usamimi]

In the imp: Cinnamon, but also a sharp green smell...I'm assuming the black leaf tea.

 

Wet: Citrus-y cinnamon with a musky bite! I was a little worried this might be too strong for me, at first. Musk usually hates me.

 

Dry: Not bad at all! After the musk dies down a little, it's a great earthy-cinnamon-citrus complex scent. It's very intriguing. I'm definitely holding onto this imp.

[greymatter]

Sweet, spicy, orange-y tea. And a creamy note I can't quite place.

 

Basically, I love this scent. I have 3 bottles and I'm trying to talk myself out of a 4th.

[dnagirl]

On me, this is mostly cinnamon...but sweet cinnamon tamed by the orange and cherry blossom. I was surprised that this stayed true on my skin, as I usually turn things powdry.

[monsteralice]

First on, it had a sense of wintergreen, which must have been the spices and citrus in combination. Dry it is almost all cardamom and orange with a little cinnamon and musk. Very nice. Not that my cats smell bad, but it would be nice if they smelled like this and it suits their personalities.

[tartchef]

Mmm, Bakeneko is indeed a shape-shifter... Wet & in the bottle, I would swear blind that it's Herr Drosselmeyer. There's that same golden buttery spiciness that only I seem to get from Herr Dross... :SDER: Freaky body chemistry. Once Bakeneko starts to dry down, I get a lovely melange of orange-spice tea & a very faint but clean floral - hello, cherry blossom! Still, that warm, cozy undercurrent is there all the while, gently purring in the background. Hours later, the orange & cherry blossom are gone, and I'm left with yummy yummy musk - hallelujiah, the amber part of amber musk seems to be totally unrelated to my arch-nemesis, the Dread Pirate Amber.

 

Bakeneko is indeed yummy, though given the rabid devotion some forumites have to it, I can't help but feel like I'm missing something spectacular...

[ceiswyn]

In the imp: Ooh! A warm spring. Light florals, with a hint of cherry, orange peel and cinnamon.

 

On the wrist: Take the traditional Christmas smell of orange, cinnamon and other spices. Lighten it with flowers, sweeten it with a hint of cherry, soften it with a hint of musk, then add to it the mouth-puckering astringency of strong black tea. It is, in short, quite nice.

 

One hour later: Strong black tea and cherry blossom, with a hint of orange and spices in the background. The cherry is very slightly chalky, but otherwise this is really lovely. 8/10

[ifinena]

A lovely spicy- citrusy blend.

 

I mostly get the cinnamon out of it, both in first sniff in the bottle and wet on my skin. I agree with the previous poster who said that it smells like the oranges spiked with clove that we do around Xmas time, it's exactly that smell that I was trying to place.

 

Unfortunately it doesn't have any throw on me. I put it on, I slather (not normal for me) and in less than an hour it has gone.

[TheOneTheyCallLuna]

Oh yum! This is magnificent! Creamy, orange tea with spice and sweetness and little cherry blossoms floating around in it! Oh heavens! I am so glad that I got this one...Now I need MORE!!! This is such a shnuggly, warm, comfy scent! I'm in love!!!

 

This is going straight to my top ten list! CAN'T. STOP. SNIFFING!

 

This one must be brought back!!!

 

I might not ever wash my arm again...

[heartlilly]

Spicy citrus tea with a dash of musky sweetness. It is absolutely delicious. I can't describe it much better than this: Bakeneko =

[waternight]

In the imp: The spices (cinnamon and cardamom) are foremost, with gentle tangerine and soft amber musk backing them up.

Wet: Sweet cinnamon tangerines! Yummy! I want to eat it. Soft cardamom. The amber musk is delicious and gentle and adds just the teensiest amount of resin. There's a current of smooth tea underneath everything. This is very sexy, and much gentler than I was expecting.

Dry: This scent is very much a skin scent, stays close to the skin and warm. It's very soft and gentle, which I was not expecting, considering the cinnamon. Dry, it's warm and vaguely citrusy, vaguely spicy.

[hkhm]

imp: orange, cinnamon and cardamom.

 

wet: this really smells like a orange spice tea. very soft and pretty.

 

dry: a very light orange spice tea. must hunt down a bottle...

[agnusdei]

Spicy cat tea, yay! Bakeneko at first is a mix of amber musk, spices, and tea with a squirt of tangerine. The amber musk has that definitively ‘feline’ essence that I get from things like The Lion & Leo, which is affectionately known as ‘cat amber’ over here. It’s toasty and golden with a cozy fur-like quality, which together with the tangerine gives this blend a distinctly ‘orange’ feel. The tea leaf is lacking any sweetness and as such reads as slightly sharp, though it becomes much gentler as it warms up on my skin and gets a chance to mingle with the other notes. At this point Bakeneko becomes an absolute dream, freshly brewed tea and crisp tangerine sweetened by a touch of cherry blossom and rounded out with a kick of tasty spices. This kitty has a soft and inviting underbelly of subtle sweetness but is also just musky and spicy enough to remind you that, like all cats, it is more than a little evil and is probably going to bite you if you get too friendly with its delicious tea belly. Bakeneko is the perfect scent for lazing around, it's snug and comforting and will not hesitate to use its lazy cat powers to will you into passing out in a patch of sun.

[n3m3sis42]

This was overwhelmingly cardamom and cinnamon for the first 45 minutes or so after I applied it. After that, it calmed down a lot. It's mostly amber musk on me after drydown, with a slight fruity note. I think I like it.

[VioletChaos]

in the bottle: sweet holiday spice, like mulled cider or mulled wine, without the liquid components.

 

wet on skin: the sweet spiciness is going up a notch. there's also a vague nuttiness, a touch of hazelnut that seems to be coming through. it's yummy for sure.

 

dry down: pretty consistent. it reminds me also of mincemeat, that holiday pie filling of goodness. nom nom nom

 

in all: this is so indicative of holiday time, i don't think i could wear it now, in the late spring. but i will certainly break it out the first chilly day we have this fall!

 

 

[fairnymph]

Sniffed in imp: Cinnamon, cardamom, and tangerine. Sweet, warm, and spicy. A very golden, coral scent.

[brsis]

Initial thoughts: It's a malevolent Japanese kitty cat! How could I not love it? That aside, that's a pretty yummy list of notes - I'm tentative on the tangerine and the cherry blossom, but amber musk, tea, cardamom and cinnamon makes for one potent combination I'm sure I'd love.

 

In the imp: Mulled wine!?

 

It's not mulled wine - it's the particular combination of orange juice and spices you'd get off really good mulled wine. Just without the wine. That's spine-tinglingly good.

 

On the wrist, wet: Instantly, strong wafts of spicy Christmas goodness. Mwah mwah mwah mwah MWAH cinnamon and cardamom - I really wish I'd eaten before putting this on, it's making my motuh - and my eyes - water. Up a bit closer I just get the sweetness of the orange and a hint of tea, but it's got an awesomely potent throw. Oooh, I'm loving this!

 

Fifteen minutes later: MWAH. Nary a hint of sickly orange, this is sweet, spicy, cinnamon yum-yum. I can just detect the tea and the amber underneath, giving it a bit of body and stopping the orange from going wild (I can barely detect the orange except as a touch of sweetness). Even after a generous helping of banoffee pie, I am still tempted to lick my wrist. Decent throw.

 

Verdict: I needs to find me a bottle of this baby!

 

Tl;Dr: Christmas spices with a slightly sweet, tannin undertone. Virtually edible.

[Pika]

Oh, this is gorgeous!! I made kind of an impulse selection for this decant in a swap.

 

It's a delicious mix of light citrus, amber, sweet, refined florals, and scrumptious spices. I feel like I can smell almost every note wet, and the drydown is still complex and lovely. The citrus stays juicy and sparkly sweet on me, rather than morphing to lemon pledge. And the cherry blossom is subtle, not smack in the face candy sweet. It does take on a bit of a muskier character as it dries, which I don't love as much as when it's wet, but it's still wonderful.

 

That's the danger of swapping for LEs, because now how am I going to get more of this??