Harikata

[ifinena]

Osmanthus, honey, golden musk, vanilla flower, and ginger.

This is a very sweet floral on me. My initial sniff gave a very sweet note that reminded me strongly of Milk Moon 2007. It still smells like that, about an hour after application. I know that there is no milk note mentioned in this but to my nose it seems like it could be. The "milk" notes make me choke and I had this reaction with Harikata, too (thankfully milder though). All the honey blends I've tried, including SN, have not had any similar effects on me, thankfully. So I think it can't be the honey.
Understandably, it's not a blend for me. Although I can see how it could work beautifully with people with different chemistry. Especially the dry stage with that hint of glorious spiciness.

[PurringPulsar]

Harikata

 

In the imp: a light floral honey.

Wet on skin: still floral honey, now with a bare hint of ginger.

Dry: mmm, this is a very pretty cool dewy floral honey scent. the floral aspect of the scent has a cool, almost watery scent to it that makes me think of pure mountain stream water strewn with petals, this reminds me of Vaskakajja. But the floral here is different-it’s vanilla flower and osmanthus, and the osmanthus is gentler than usual. The ginger is very subtle, and the honey is a mix of sweet sticky honey and sharper ‘O’ honey. This scent is almost a twin to Itaso Kansei, although the honey in here is not as sweet, and the osmanthus is not as intense.

After a while: this is what I hoped I’d get in Itaso and Brides of Dracula. No overpowering osmanthus, but a very balanced mix of honey and sweet flowers. There’s something almost innocent to the floral notes, not blatantly sexy, this is more of a gently sexy scent. I am tempted to call this white floral scent ‘virginal’, but then look at the artwork again and cast that thought out of my mind! It still has the cool pure floral scent from before, I could see this as a great summer fragrance. Another word that comes to mind when I smell this is ‘silky’, it’s a very smooth floral scent tinged with honey. At times this reminds me of a much gentler, more coherent version of Mad Kate. (Sane Kate?)

The floral note, after a while, smells like what I want many jasmine scents to smell like on me. At this point the scent reminds me of Regan, a beautiful soft honeyed vanilla orchid. The more I smell this, the more I love it.

Verdict: this is one of the most beautiful honeyed vanilla florals out there! At first it has this amazingly cool, pure scent to it, a flowing floral scent with a clarity like crystal clear water. It also smells exotic and indulgent. Then the scent warms up a bit, sweetens, the flowers then tone down a little and the honey and vanilla really show up and makes this smell a bit like Regan-if Regan was from Japan, that is. It’s a vanilla orchid tinged with honey and musk with a very calm osmanthus which doesn’t amp to high heaven on me. It’s beautiful, sophisticated and very feminine scent, smooth as silk sheets and just as sensual.

Emoticon rating:

Is it a keeper? I have a bottle.

If you like this, try: Itaso Kansei, Vaskakajja, Regan, Mad Kate, Spirit of the Komachi Cherry Tree, Kindly Moon, Brides of Dracula, Al Araaf, To Helen

[enderfem]

Imp: Smells almost exactly like honeysuckle. Maybe some of the vanilla flower. Pretty, but not my thing.

 

Wet: Honeysuckle.

 

Drydown: Oh man, this was honeysuckle for awhile, and then at the end it smelled like....old pee. Ugh.

[GoldenRubee]

Honey, ginger, light floral and spices; what is there not to like?

 

This started out a little sour on me and I didn't know if I would be able to wear it or not. I wore it for an hour or so and kept smelling this lovely light, maybe powdery smell that I knew had to be Harikata. It is not over powering, and it is not just honey, or just ginger. It is a nice blending of ginger, honey and very light floral and a slight spicy note at the end. I purchased a bottle without trying it because of the ginger/honey note and am glad I did.

[smallvoice]

This smells exactly like Hony Mone on me. EXACTLY! So much so that if I didn't know better, I would have suspected a mislabel. And yeah, it has honey in it, but there's other stuff! It has that same richness... it's just the same. So, hooray for not needing a bottle. But so strange that it's the same scent!

[lainevierge]

This is a sweet blend, perhaps overly so. The floweryness (Osmanthus?) is so strong and sweet it becomes cloying. I can't help but wish that more of the musk or ginger would come out to temper it, but this blend is heavy and sweet and I feel like I've been smothered in a thick layer of honey on a hot, humid day.

[MaeKitty]

In the Bottle: Musk, Ginger, and a floral. Very sweet.

On Me: Musk, ginger and a tiny bit of floral. Pretty. I could see myself wearing this being a great summertime evening-out scent.

[naeelah]

This one morphs quite a bit as it dries. Fresh out of the bottle, it's a sweet, juicy floral with a lot of golden musk. (I think this musk is the same one that's in Lady Una.) Immediately, the musk recedes and the vanilla flower takes the fore. It definitely has 'white floral' quality -- all by its lonesome it's not piercing, but it's definitely cutting straight to the top of the notes.

 

Thankfully, the overall balance recovers quickly, and the osmanthus emerges to balance the vanilla flower. Where the vanilla flower is ethereal and dry, the osmanthus is viscuous and sweet. It has an almost fruity quality, like lychee or something. For a brief moment, the osmanthus overpowers the blend, but luckily, that goes away. I can also smell the honey, which pairs well with the osmanthus, and hints of vanilla and ginger in the background.

 

This seems to be the final stage of the dry down, and here, the predominant quality is definitely floral, but sweet and golden. It reminds me of a floral Lady Una, minus the blackberry (and also less blatantly sweet and vanilla-y). It's a really lovely blend, if you're a fan of vanilla or rice flower and sweet, golden scents. The ginger is a wonderful addition, providing body to the scent but without calling attention to itself. The musk seems to be one of the first things to fade on my skin, so the scent gets a little bit lighter and more floral as it wears.

 

Try it if you like: Lady Una, Haloes, Castitas [bath oil], Defututa...

[theseagrows]

this was the one i was most excited about in the secret amusments section. this is a warm, pretty floral. there is a slight sweetness which i think must be the vanilla flower, but the rest is warmth and honey. this is so so beautiful, i will have to track down a bottle!

[azhriaz]

Honey. With a hint of some plastic (vanilla?) and floral notes. The floral does not seem to be sweet at all, but of course the honey is. The musk and ginger sounded like the best parts and I can't pick them at all...

 

I used to think that the lab's honey notes were going wonky, then I got some good quality honey flavoured ice cream and thought.. yuck.. it tastes like BPAL honey smells. heh. So I guess the honey note smells fine, it's just that I hate honey flavoured anything. I didn't think I disliked real honey that much, but there must be a reason I haven't had it in years. Oh well.

[Pika]

I love BPAL's honey note, but in this scent, the sweetness is just too much. I would have guessed there were some other foody notes in this as sweet as it smells on me. Maybe it's the vanilla flower, I don't know. The ginger doesn't really step in to tone this down, nor does the musk, and it just plays as sweet, sweet, sweet plus <teeny floral>. I guess my habit of not buying bottles unsniffed is a good one sometimes, but I was really hoping to like this one.

[jwhxtna]

IN THE IMP: Sweet, fresh, light floral. The only thing I can pick out for certain at the moment is honey.

 

WET: Definitely white floral, which I thought I wasn't a fan of, but this is... nice. Soft and sweet.

 

DRY: This is... very pretty. Soft, golden, light floral, with sweetness from honey and just a hint of ginger. My favorite of all the "soft, pretty floral" type scents I've tried from BPAL so far, I think.

[widdershins]

Very light and flowery in the imp. I slathered it all over because it's very subtle. I can smell a very pollen-y flower, I'm assuming its the osmanthus, and it does smell very similar to honeysuckle. The honey lends a beeswax note to my skin chemistry. Overall, it's very subtle, a refreshingly floral summer scent.

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

Very grateful for a frimp of Harikata that came with a swap, as I doubt I'd have tried it otherwise. It's a curious combo of sweet and sour--I think "pollen" is a good descriptor, as it has a raw quality to it despite the nice honey/vanilla sweetness. It reminds me just a bit of Jessica McClintock perfume, which I used to wear in college, and which had a fresh honeysuckle quality. Harikata is funkier and sexier though. A good one for hot summer nights!

[persianmouse]

Harikata- If I ever came across a dildo (that's what Harikata means) that smelled like this, I would run far, far away. It's a very....strong scent. Like it won't ever go away. It smells like it would cause burning. Of course, I don't think Beth wanted to make it smell like an actual dildo, cause, well, ew. The ginger and the vanilla are locked in a struggle to the death for dominance. But no matter who wins, all will suffer.

[Ajila]

In the bottle – Very green honey

 

Wet on me – Again the honey is the main note; it is a quite sharp floral honey rather than a very sugary one

 

Dry on me – The honey remains strong all the way through remaining the only note that I can really pick out

 

Overall – I love honey scents so I like this, although it might have been nice to get one or two of the other notes. One of my work colleagues said that it was very masculine, but I don’t know what made her see it that way

[martiangurll]

Preconceptions: Honey and white florals with a ginger kick is what I am anticipating reading the notes. I should love it if I amp the honey and the florals aren't overwhelming.

 

In the imp: Sweet floral with a hint of honey. Aquatic base but no ginger...yet

 

Wet on skin: Muskalicious! The vanilla flower is ultrafeminine and sweet without being foody. Thank you LAB! (I have plenty of foody vanilla already, I love the vanilla flower, its more understated). The osmanthus amps a bit but see drydown below. The ginger is still not apparent for me, unless its adding a subtle warmth to the blend. And holding it all together is honey--I love honey! Maybe I'm related to Pooh?

 

Dry: This is sweet floral that is feminine and light, but has great throw. It has a lovely touch of vanilla, but since its the flower rather than the seedpod, it is subtle and not gormond/foody at all. The ginger adds a warmth and freshness without appreciative spice or dryness (at least for my skin chemistry that is.) I don't know what single note osmanthus is like, but I thought it was honeysuckle at first, it has a white-yellowish floral impression for me. I was afraid it would amp, when I smelled it wet, but it settles down nicely and I think this may be a beautiful balancing act orchestrated by the ginger. There is also a hint of fruit, like apricot or yuzu--I will have to check the notes again to see what it is. Some type of orange or yellow fruit--perhaps its melon or peach.

 

Overall Impression: This is a simply beautiful honey, musk, fruit and (behaved) floral blend with a barely there ginger note adding warmth and balance. If you love O, try this--I agree with the comments that say its a Japanese version of O. This Shunga line has been all Love for me. Harikata is feminine and chic, but not I don't see it working for a man. Well blended and gorgeous--I will be needing multiple bottles. This may be my favorite of the Shunga, but hey, I am a honey girl. I cannot stop huffing my wrists!

[TereFaerie]

In the imp I smell ginger and honey, mostly, with just a hint of warm vanilla flower. This and the osmanthus blossom once on my skin, muting down the honey. The ginger keeps to the background, but it is there if I sniff closely.

 

The scent of golden musk comes out after a few minutes, which I strongly associate with Fairy Market, one of my first bpal loves. Where that one has a bit too much of the green grass and is too sweet for me to wear every day, Harikata is perfect for New Orleans' hot spring weather (and I think it will do well through summer, if I can keep Red Lantern off of me long enough, that is, lol!) and isn't too cloying for the office.

 

I just bought a bottle and love the art on it. So does my husband, and Harikata is one of his new favorites on me, too. He thinks it smells like my natural smell, only better. Well, that's what I've been looking for in bpal, so thanks, Beth and the Lab!

 

edit-even months later this is still one of my favorites! It is the osmanthus fragrance I've always wanted and it is just so beautiful. I don't see much difference with aging so far, it is still predominantly osmanthus, which I just adore, with just a hint of honey and golden musk. I still want more when I see it up for swap, even just decants!

 

I just hope it doesn't lose that delicate quality that I love so much with age.

 

**It's now January 09, and I think it smells even better, so I went and bought TWO backup bottles. Can't wait to try the scents from the new Shunga series.

Edited January 19, 2009 by TereFaerie

[dorothy humbird]

Huh, I could've sworn I reviewed Harikata long ago.

 

Well! This is a pretty floral-honey scent on my skin, sharpened by the ginger enough to be almost citrusy. It's not smoothed out all that much by the musk. It reminds me of the way honey gets crystallized after a while - this is gingered bits of crystallized honey, with osmanthus petals dusted over it. Not much change on my skin over a period of hours, and it hangs on, though not with a really strong throw.

 

I like Harikata, but I won't be heartbroken when I use up my decant.

Edited June 3, 2008 by dorothy humbird

[Nightroad103]

In bottle: Wow, honey and ginger. I get a teeny bit of osmanthus, vanilla, and musk -- but not much.

 

Wet on, it was almost cloyingly sweet from the honey, and that overpowered most of the other notes.

 

As it dried, though, the ginger came out more, as did the floral -- not much of the musk, but on me I'm not particularly surprised. Sometimes it's strong on me, sometimes it's definitely the opposite. This was one of those opposite times, I guess.

 

Can't say much for its wear time, as I was a genius and decided to wear it the day I spent in the hospital's nursery and had to do a five-minute hand/arm scrub first thing when I got there. Will try it again in a few days, see if it's still so sweet.

[brsis]

Initial thoughts: Oh my. As I've previously stated, with the Salon scents I have a distinct tendancy to go with art first, then notes. In this case, however, I didn't even look at either when I decided I had to try it, since being a good Japanese student with access to the internet I KNOW what 'harikata' MEANS...

 

Notes wise, I'm tentative on the musk and I've not tried osmanthus yet, I don't think. I'm really hopeful on the honey, vanilla flower and ginger front - I'm quite keen that this be a slight twist on my favourite honey-vanilla-ginger combo.

 

In the bottle: I get the osmanthus quite strongly at first, but after a moment or two there's that lovely honey-ginger-vanilla flower combo. The vanilla flower isn't quite as bitter or potent as true vanilla can be.

 

On the wrist, wet: Hmm... again, the osmanthus is prominent and I... don't think I really like it that much. It's a bit of a potent, pollen-heavy floral, if that makes any sense - I can't really make out much else, a sweet musky undertone perhaps, but I'm going to see how this behaves on the dry-down.

 

Twenty minutes later: I'm not at all sure about the osmanthus, y'know. There's a sweet, creamy undertone - it's not exactly vanilla, but it's got some of it's smoothing qualities - with a touch of ginger, which I really rather like, but the floral top note can be quite strong. This is quite a skin hugger, which I normally associate with sexy scents, and sexy is what I'd expect from this, but... it's actually quite innocent. It's an evening rather than a day scent, I feel, but it's too sweet and mild to be sexy and too fresh to be sleepy - it's gentle and quite comfortable. The more I sniff, the more I actually rather like this, but I'm pushed to think when I would wear it.

 

Verdict: Tentative keeper, but if it turns out I don't ever wear it, I might think again.

 

Tl;Dr: Creamy honey and ginger, with a pollen-heavy osmanthus topnote. Sweet, mild and fresh.

[filigree_shadow]

At first, I had high hopes for this one. Sometimes honey in perfume oil smells like play-doh on me, but it doesn't in this one. For the first 15 minutes it was warm, musky, smooth, and slightly gingery. In short, it was gorgeous.

 

But when it's dry, the osmanthus completely took over. (I'm not totally sure what osmanthus smells like, but this is definitely floral and it's definitely not vanilla flower, so I deduced it must be osmanthus.) No more smooth luxuriousness, just a slightly musky floral. It's not a bad scent, but I liked the wet stage so much that the dry stage is kinda disappointing.

[tinyvulture]

I’m not really familiar with osmanthus, but it seems like a slightly tart and fruity floral. It combines nicely with the sweet honey and warm musk. I agree with reviewers who call this the Japanese O, or the floral O. I’m not noticing the ginger at all. Harikata is playful, but also sensual. Very feminine. I wish it was a bit heavier, but it’s nice when you just want something light and pretty.

[Emera]

Heady, tropical osmanthus, which reminds me a bit of plumeria, I think? Plus a touch of honeylike musk, which reminds me of Lady Una. Sweet, warm, golden, very feminine.

Edited August 28, 2008 by Emera

[gchris]

In Vial: Sweet and light

 

Wet: I can smell the ginger but the rest is sweet, light freshness.