Hanami

[tehriaz]

A scent of peace, reflection, and renewal of the spirit: sakura, ume blossoms, and wisteria.

uh

where is it?

I timed it this time. I put it on my skin. it took a little over 30 seconds for the florals to completely disappear. all that's left is some weird bitter smell and it's really disgusting.

[cranberry]

Wet: sweet flowers, slightly watery, a touch of mint.

 

Dry: This is actually reminding me a bit of Kindly Moon, which is crazy, but I like Kindly Moon more. This is a soft, pretty, fluffy pink type of scent. It sticks close and doesn’t have a lot of throw.

 

Overall: this is a really pretty scent. I’m finding myself loving florals more and more, but this is not a scent I can feel strongly about.

Edited June 24, 2008 by cranberry

[filigree_shadow]

Sweet, pretty, soft, and vaguely reminiscent of dryer sheets. Mostly because it's a clean floral scent plus it smells soft. Not that I have dryer sheets that smell like this. I wish!! I think it's very pretty, and although I don't wear floral scents that often, this is exactly the type I'd wear. Soft, light, feminine, and not heady at all.

 

Very nice!

[marared]

Dryer sheets indeed, and I *wish* I had dryer sheets that smelled like this. The reviews are pretty spot-on: light floral, pink, feminine, very slightly aquatic. I knew this would be girly but was hoping it wouldn't be TOO girly, which I'm afraid it might be in the end. I like it, it's just not exactly me.

[smallvoice]

This really does smell like high-end hair products. It is creamy, slightly aquatic and utterly refreshing. It is also incredibly girly- "pink" indeed! It's really beautiful, and I can't think of a BPAL it reminds me of, but it does smell familiar; comforting, somehow. It's a light, vaguely sweet floral blend. Kinda what you see is what you get.

 

Once it hits my skin, there is a flood of soapiness. It's a sweet and almost minty soapiness. I'm not sold on it in the first few minutes, and the drydown still leaves me undecided. If I could get just a smidge more of that minty note, I would love this to bits. It's pretty, like I said, but may not be a scent that really suits me. Or one that will get a ton of wear, in other words. We'll see!

[n1k1ta]

Sharply floral and fresh. The pink sakura and juicy ume dominate completely. Hanami would be heavy if it weren't for the breezy quality of the flowers. The throw is of medium strength. I'd love for it to be stronger, though.

 

Hanami softens after three hours. The wisteria seems to round out the perfume. It's more richly floral, dark and surprisingly comforting.

 

Bottom line: I love Hanami. I don't know why I waited so long to try it. It's feminine, refined and refreshing--perfect for spring.

[obsidienne]

Well, all of the reviews that stated that this smells like a commerical perfume -- or like shampoo or soap -- are pretty spot on. It does smell commercial, and it does remind me of shampoo. It's also extremely floral, no mistake about it: palest pink and white florals.

 

I have no idea what any of the notes smell like individually, so I am truly useless as a reviewer for this one. But one odd thing; I got a frimp of Destroying Angel from the lab, which I didn't care for much and sent onwards; there's a weird, soft dusty note I noticed when smelling the D.A. imp, which showed up in Hanami after about an hour of wear. But it was so subtle and close to the skin (nose on wrist) that it's not even that important. I just thought it was really weird. Maybe they share a floral note.

 

So what's it like to wear? It makes me feel like I'm wearing a very light floral scent that smells like... mountain breezes and softly fluttering sakura no ame. It has pretty decent throw.

 

My boyfriend immediately liked this a lot, whereas most of the BPAL scents I am continually thrusting under his nose are fairly "whatever" in his opinion (especially ones I love, go figure.).

Edited November 9, 2008 by obsidienne

[SmileCat]

Almost excessively pretty. Very light and floral and spring-like (odd, but nice for a fall release blend). I really liked the prototype miles better than the public release, but it's still very nice and reflective.

[zankoku_zen]

Part of me really enjoys this. I get a lot of the cherry blossom - it's young, spring like, festive. Cute. It's a bright and happy floral. Very simple. Delicate without being wilting.

 

Pretty. And I would think very appropriate for a young girl.

[lavenderangel]

In the bottle: I agree with whoever said this smelled like some kind of shampoo. I just wish it was a shampoo I owned. Very light, clean, flower-y scent.

 

On skin: Very light scent, but addicting all the same. Still caries that clean feeling. It smells more clean than flower-y though, which I wasn't expecting. Has very little throw, but is just so yummy. My brother seemed to think so, too - he grabbed my arm and smooshed his nose into it for a good 30 seconds.

 

Overall: Love. Lovelovelove. This really the only BPAL scent out of my first order I have absolutely loved, and I was disappointed to discover it was a LE.

[EdenIris]

Wet, this smelled exactly like the Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park in early spring: green and wet and woodsy, with a light breath of blossoms.

 

On drydown, it turned...perfumey, is the best way I can describe it. As others have said above, it has a commercial fragrance feel to it, a bit sharp and sneeze-inducing. Disappointing.

 

I may turn this imp into liquid soap unless I can find a lucky swapper in search of some.

[asciident]

Wet: Weak, cold, tropical flowers.

 

First on: Same, but lighter.

 

Dry: Fading to almost gone.

[Yoginispirit]

OH MY LORD-

 

This is sooo beautiful! Exactly what I wanted in an Asian blend- soft, sweet cherry blossoms!

My favorite thus far had been the Lantern Ghost of Oiwa but I've been noticing as it ages that the sake is becoming a little more pronounced which bothers me just a little. But THIS- this is perfect! It's very clean (yes soapish but I do NOT mind smelling of this type of soap) and sweet and the throw is phenominal for a Japanese inspired scent. Just gorgeous. My BF even walked in and picked up my Qtip (to apply his Casanova) and with widened eyes proclaimed how good it smelled. I swapped for half a bottle so we'll see how long that lasts me

[devilot]

In the bottle: Just fresh, clean, floral.

 

Wet: Yum! The cherry blossoms are here! And they're gorgeous. Or is it the ume blossom I'm smelling? Something that smells sweet, but not candy-sweet, a fresh, clean sweet. Lovely!

 

Drydown: Bummer, the cherry blossom much like the actual flowers, come 'n' go much too soon. They never linger as long as you'd like given how beautiful they are. Now, I'm left w/ a soapy smell on my skin, a generic "floral."

 

Verdict: Might be a scent-locket scent, but given how many gorgeous BPAL blends there are, I should probably just let this one go.

[stellans]

Soft, gentle but bright floral, perfect for a quiet contemplative day. Too bad today isn’t such a day for me, but it’s not this blend’s fault. However stressed out I may be, this blend is a nice way to calm down, to center myself, to remember “it is as it is” and “what will be, will be.” Yes. This blend is perfect for that, and now I’m going outside to sit in my garden.

Edited September 24, 2011 by stellans

[Gin]

Hanami

 

Somehow this smells minty on me. There's a bit of flowers, too, but it strikes me as mostly herbal. It's very peaceful, and quiet. Makes me think of a meditation garden and mist.

[Venneh]

In the decant, I get what I'm pretty sure is cherry blossom; a very bright, clear floral. It's the same on my skin; cherry blossom amps, and the other florals create a nice undertone. This is definitely more of a spring scent, but it's absolutely lovely to have. I won't need more than an imp of this, but it'll be wonderful to have in the winter, just to remind you of spring.

[kyoskatze]

so, first review ever of my first BPAL perfume ever, wow.

 

I wasn't quite sure about this, but I had to get it because I love Japan and cherry blossoms remind me of the sakura tree in my grandma's garden. unfortunaly, I'm pretty bad at distinguishing different notes, but this does smell like spring and flowers, so it's very much what I expected.

 

I do get the "expensive hair product" thing a bit, but this smells so much nicer than anything I ever owned that was supposed to smell like sakura, so I think I like this. I just have to think about whether it's "me" or not, because normally I'm not a floral perfume person (I think).

[HamletsKeeper]

A very soft floral that goes on with surprisingly little power, yet it lasts and lasts on my skin. It's the kind of scent that creeps up on you rather than shouting at the top of it's lungs once it hits your skin. For me this is a perfect skin scent, the kind of thing I like to wear when I'm not really into wafting perfume everywhere but want to smell of something.

 

I'm glad I've got it because now I know how soft both cherry and plum blossom can be and also that wisteria plays nice on my skin. It is perfumey in that it lacks any green or water element that would make you think of fresh cut flowers. It's all petals. Not as beautiful and graceful as Spirit Of The Komachi Cherry Tree, it's a simpler blend and very casual. Convinces me that yet again Asian blends are made for me.

 

It's all pink and lavender in colour with the softness of a cashmere bunny. Perfectly pretty just like those Japanese sakura paintings.

 

Revisited Although this does indeed smell a little soapy in the bottle on my skin it morphs into a very dry and elegant floral scent and smells nothing like it does in the bottle. Evidently Japanese blossoms love my skin because they throw beautifully and always smell expensive and exotic. It's not a fresh flower smell, it's a perfume floral note smell which suits me fine because I don't always want to smell like I've rolled in a garden bed. This is still my cool-casual scent that says jeans, designer top & impractical shoes. I love it!

Edited December 13, 2009 by HamletsKeeper

[sprocket21]

I don't have much new to add - this is a clean, pink floral scent, very springy and happy. While it may be reminiscent of high end shampoo, it's so much better than that. In fact, the shampoo vibe allows me to wear Hanami where I may not be able to pull of "weird" scents such as foody smells. Whenever I want to smell good but have people smelling me chalk it up to my hair/bath stuff, I wear Hanami. It has a pretty strong throw and wearlength to boot.

[laslibres]

Yeah, this is kind of like a Bath and Body Works cherry blossom scent...except it's BETTER! It's very dewy and fresh, and I think I even smell hints of actual cherry underneath the blossom, but that could be my nose playing tricks on me. It really smells true to cherry blossoms, and it's exceptionally springy. Beautiful! I'm glad I finally have it, although also a bit disappointed that I couldn't get my hands on it until the fall...it's not terribly season-appropriate right now, although it'll be getting a lot more play on me once it's spring.

[Voleuse]

This is so pretty! I'm not very good at recognizing any of the individual notes, but overall this is a soft, rounded floral. It's sweet, but not overwhelmingly so. It's very close to the skin on me, soft and sophisticated, but the throw is pretty weak. It is quite nice, though!

[voodoocatwoman]

I smell like a freshly laundered just showered human being.

[DifferentDances]

Bottle: Soapy florals with a heaping helping of sakura.

Wet: Strangely salty sakura. Oh god this is like clean soap, but MY KIND of clean soap, like Japanese foaming facial cleansers, or like the Luxe body wash I grew up with as a kid in Taiwan.

Drydown: Less soapy, more sakura. The throw definitely still is a bit shampoo-y or soapy, though.

Dry: Almost plastic sakura with a clean feel.

 

My rating: 3/5

[whisperstilled]

In imp: Sweet, astringent floral. I can smell the cherry blossoms, which are a favorite floral of mine, mingled with the wisteria and a softer note that must be the ume blossoms.

 

Wet: The cherry blossoms continue to lend a sharp/sweet quality that's really nice, but this one is fading fast on my skin.

 

Dry: Unfortunately the cherry fades back on the drydown - a pity, too, I was really enjoying that. The throw is more of a fruity cherry, but up close all I get is wisteria and the ume. Nice, but a little too quiet and subtle for me. 3/5