Mama-Ji

[GypsyRoseRed]

Shadow saw the old woman, her dark face pinched with age and disapproval, but behind her he saw something huge, a naked woman with skin as black as a new leather jacket, and lips and tongue the bright red of arterial blood. Around her neck were skulls, and her many hands held knives, and swords, and severed heads.

Spices, cardamom, nutmeg, and flowers.

To think I almost passed on this because I thought a spicy floral might be a little.. generic. Mama-ji is anything but. This is in the same family of blends as Voodoo Queen IMHO. Anyway, when it's wet, this blend is a little too floral on my skin but once it dries down it becomes a sweetly spiced bouquet that is strong enough to be noticed without being overpowering. I'm so glad I have a 5ml of this! Edited September 12, 2007 by quantum spice

[shelldoo]

in the bottle: dark swirling incense. almost sucking me in to the bottle they are so hypnotizing

 

wet: no florals here. just s deep dark incense blend. sexy is putting it mildly

 

as it dries i can detect a bit of the nutmeg, but only around the edge of the scent, not front and center. i also think i smell some sandalwood, but again it is so well blended it makes it hard to seperate out in to individual notes. the longer it is on the skin, the more i can detect teh flowers. but they are not overbearing. this is very much an incensy blend, with a slight touch of dark florals.

 

this quite possibly is one of my favorite bpal scents ever. it is sooooo deep, dark, and sexy!

[Tramp]

Ok - this is just sexy as hell. Spicy, warm, sensual, intimate. I smell really damn good right now. The floral is more of a background binder than an - in your face - sort of thing. Something about the floral almost makes me think carnation. It is really hard to tease out any one scent - it is so well blended.

[sarahmarie]

Wow!

 

Interestingly, I'd forgotten I ordered this one. I'm so glad I did!

 

Mama-ji is a floral, but oh what a floral! It's deeply sensual, very sophisticated, and smells to me like a sort of classic perfume. It's a sweet floral with spices and something deep-dark-and-sexy about it, and it radiates when worn. Apply lightly!

[Medici]

You know, to the circle of BPAL-lovers with whom I interact regularly, I always declare that I have a Holy Trinity of scents: Voodoo Queen, Mme. Moriarty and Snake Oil.

 

Regarding the venerable three, I am pleased to announce that the Holy Trinity is now the Fabulous Foursome.

 

Mama Ji is *exactly* what I'd hoped for: dark, sweet, and well-spiced. Really well-spiced. The florals are merely a hint in the background, with the spices taking the fore. On me, the cardamom is very prominent.

 

It's a shade lighter than Voodoo Queen, but definitely in the same vein.

 

Purchase again? I will. Definitely. This is the sort of thing I hoard compulsively.

 

5/5 on Medici's Scale o' Lurve

[sookster]

straight sniff from imp is nutmeg and dried flowers...

 

once applied lots of beautiful floral with a smokiness...the most

incredible richness abounds...the cardamom adds a depth to make

this the glory of the carousel...

[Electra]

I really, really wish that I got what everyone else gets from this.

 

This is the Gaiman scent that I was most looking forward to, but it doesn't work on me. It's not awful, it's just nondescript. I think there might be rose in it, because I get a distinct whiff of soap/dryer sheet (which is what all varieties of rose except white do on my skin). The spices are fine, but not memorable. They don't have enough punch to overcome the soap. It's just...meh. Not objectionable at all, but not something I'd ever choose to wear. I smell like fancy guest soap.

 

Nuts.

Edited March 5, 2007 by Electra

[juniperus]

Bottle: lovely spicy flowers, like my grandmother's nutmeg/cinnamon-smelling forsythia bush

Wet: the cardamom is blooming, wow

Dry: cardamom and the forsythia - really interesting, and really beautiful

Later: such complexity here, fascinating and gorgeous...wow. I just keep saying that over and over to myself: wow

[aine]

First on, this is floral like WHOA .

 

On drydown, this is floral like whooooaaaaa

 

 

Miracle of miracles, I've found another floral I love. The Holy Floral Trinity - Chickens, Batwoman and now Mama-Ji. This is making me crazy because it reminds me of something I can't quite place. Although I may just be using that as an excuse to keep sniffing it!

 

The big florals settle into a beautifully crafted bouquet of loveliness. The spices, cardamom and nutmeg are so soft and smooth that spice almost seems like the wrong word.

 

I could almost faint with joy that this doesn't seem to be going away anytime soon, and that I can justify purchasing many bottles - because after all, it's for charity isn't it??

[Hayet]

I expected to sense the tall, black goddess with the necklace of skulls and many ebony arms, but this was the nondescript matronly woman in the red sari described in the book. Her scent was warm and sweet, though I didn't get any florals like others here have. A lot of cardamom, and in the drydown she smelled very similar to the saffron-sandalwood of Scherezade. Lovely, lovely scent.

[storme]

In the imp: soft warm spices and florals.

 

On me, wet: soft warm spices and florals - and this seems to be fairly sandalwood-ish, to me, that same dry warmth.

 

On me, dry: ah, nutmeg and cardamom, dry and spicy and with that dry sandalwood warmth.

 

Verdict: this is very nice, but ultimately I don't think it's a scent I will reach for often. But I'll keep the bottle for now, and see.

[kwelge]

I was really hoping for the dark, sweet, and spicy. The reviews had me so excited!

 

And then, I tried her on.

 

Imp: Hey, nice spice and florals!

 

Wet: Ok, florals, spice... OH NO NOT SOAP!

 

Dry: Floral-scented soap sprinkled with spices.

 

Throw: Strong when wet, Medium when dry.

 

Wear: Lasts a fairly long time (several hours).

 

Verdict: I curse my skin chemistry. Such high hopes, and yet, swap.

[euterpe414]

Intoxicating!! I am totally loving this scent!

 

I have never tried Voodoo Queen, so I can't say for the similarity between those two, but I feel like this is in the same deep, dark, and sexy vein as Mum Moon or Hades. (although this is much darker) I am getting spicy florals (mums, for sure, carnations maybe? can't say for sure) and nutmeg/cardamom/ possibly saffron. So goood. I am glad this is a GC scent, and I hope it never ever goes away! it's definitely going to go in my top 10. This lasts a long time and has great throw. I can't imagine a better spicy floral than this.

[maijasu]

To me, this doesn't resemble Voodoo Queen--it's much more floral. The spices blend seamlessly with the flowers and keep them from going soapy. The scent is deep and smooth and decidedly feminine. It's just gorgeous, and I think it's destined to become a classic.

[mmcfa2]

spicy and female without being too showy. This one is quite unique and a must order for me ( I tried it at a swapmeet)

[jessiesquash]

Sniffed in the bottle this is pretty; well blended but I'm detecting the spices.

 

On it's a little meh. Light throw. Nothing is standing out. Oh no, where's the gorgeousness that everyone else is getting?!

 

But all of a sudden it starts to warm up. It becomes richer, slightly spicier. It's becoming this gorgeous, womanly perfume that is absolutely radiating out from me. I even smell it in the air around me but it's not overpowering.

 

It took a little patience but Mama-ji in dry-down phase is amazing! Rich and deep, warm and soft......like sitting under a warm blanket by a fire.

 

It's what Mum Moon almost was except for the note that turned to cat pee on me.

[dronzeka]

I do get lovely spices from this, especially as it dries down - initially there's a slightly generic floral-ness, but that goes away as the spices warm up. It's beautifully blended and it's growing on me the longer I have it on - it's kind of weird, on the one hand I don't think I like it, but on the other, I keep sniffing my wrist! I think the waft hasn't quite caught up with the morphing on my skin, is what's going on. As I wait even longer, more of those lovely spices are rising. This really is an intriguing scent. I think I will have to try it in a more representative place (it's on the top of my wrist because that was what was convenient, but I never get the best sense of a scent from there). I'm not sure it's me - it's a little dry and a little deep, and I tend to like light, fresh and girlie stuff. But it's really amazingly done!

[inkmonkeys]

In short: this is Sherezade and Delphi having a drink together at the Chrysanthemum Moon tavern.

 

Incredible, and transporting. Yes, you need a bottle.

[Brianne]

In the bottle:

powdery floral - rose maybe?

 

On me:

This reminds me of something - I just can't put my finger on it. Another BPAL scent, it has a powdery wierd thing going on for me when it first goes on. Is that myrrh?? It smells like myrrh to me, it's very incensey and a little powdery and that's what myrrh tends to do to me.

 

As it dries down a floral starts to emerge - it's hard to place it, because it's very perfumey and kind of generic smelling on me.

 

I really want to like this one. Really really really. But it smells like great grandma used to smell and I don't really like that. It's just too perfumey for me and that damned myrrh note just never really works well for me.

 

I will admit that it seems complex - it feels like something a mature and sophisticated woman would wear.

 

Final note:

I keep sniffing my arm hoping to like this, but nope. I just don't feel it. I almost feel like I'm not really smelling Mama-Ji, because I get no nutmeg, no cardamom and no spices. I get myrrh and florals.

[Browneyes]

Imp: I get powdery florals too...

Wet: Hey, where'd it go?

Dry: Ah, now I'm getting some scent again! I can definately relate to the comparison to Scherezade - even though there's no red musk is this - because the "spices" must be the same kind. The florals begin to bloom more on the drydown as well, and they are lovely, very realistic. It becomes a very intriguing, deep, spicy, womanly scent Possibly one of the best florals!

 

I'm undecided on the bottle status, but I'll probably cave in once I've used my implet.

ETA: The boy loved it so much that he gave me a bottle, which is on it's way now. I love it more and more myself too...

Edited April 7, 2007 by Browneyes

[Spring Snow]

Mmm... I am only getting spices from this, no flowers at all. And I like it that way, it reminds me a bit of Bengal without the cinnamon, and consequently without the huge red welts I get on my neck when I wear that one. This is soft and spicy and infinitely wearable, though I probably won't splurge on a bottle. I'll treasure my decant for as long as I have it!

[salamandrina]

There's an element to Mama-Ji that reminds me a bit of Kajurajo. Must be something about floral-tinged spices. Where Khajurajo is all sexy insence, sultry woman scent on me, though, Mama-ji is older, more sophistacated, almost glamourous.

 

It's positively delicious though, and I love catching little wafts throughout the day - sometimes roses, sometimes cardamom, always good...and it's a winner with the husband, too.

[lapetiteflower]

i sampled this at a meet n sniff and had to buy a bottle immediately

 

wet, a floral bouquet. as it dries down i get rosewater and creamy spices, a resiny incense similar to sri lanka. this is a nice, light blend.....it won't overpower during the hot months ahead, and it is lovely, warm and sexy. if you love scherezade or sri lanka do give this one a try!

[edenssixthday]

Mama-Ji - This is a soft, but gorgeous scent. I don't get the incense feel that other reviewers have noted. It's just a spicy floral on me. However, it's not a traditional "floral" as much as the flowers just give the spices in the blend a wispy, ethereal feel. These nameless flowers in this blend have a very smooth and honey-like scent to them. This is a beautiful blend and doesn't change much from beginning to end. It's mostly a skin scent, although I'll occasionally catch a waft of ethereal spices about me. On my skin, the staying power is about 3 hours before it absolutely must be re-applied. This is a really lovely scent.

[Little Bird]

Mama-Ji is an interesting scent. It reminds me very much of potpourri at first (and I actually kinda like this stage), and then is a headache-inducing floral in the drydown.

 

The spice is strong for the first 10 minutes or so. Spicy in a dry, room fragrance sort of way... but also somehow breezy and clean in the way that potpourri arrangements make a room smell.

 

The florals here are like a mix of dried flowers in a scented arrangement at first. The overall feel for me is of a dry potpourri arrangement where dried flower buds have been scented with sweet spices.

 

The spices fade away entirely over time and the drydown takes on the quality of a classic rose perfume that goes ever-so-slightly soapy on my skin. I dislike what Mama-Ji dries down to as the floral aspects give me a headache. I might actually use this as a room fragrance in an oil burner though, since I do like the opening potpourri-esque stage. I couldn't wear this as a personal fragrance though.