Opuhi

[filigree_shadow]

Ginger blossom and vanilla orchid.

I bought a bottle of this from a lovely forumite, and I kept my fingers crossed the whole time it was en route because I hadn't tried it yet. I was just hoping it would work on me.

It does! On my skin it smells like an almost musky warm vanilla with an extremely pleasant orchid overtone and just a wee bit of kick from the ginger. It's very pretty, and it's basically exactly what I was hoping for -- something similar to Vasakasajja (one of my top 5 BPAL perfumes) but softer and spicier.

I put it on both wrists and my neck about 45 minutes ago, and I really like it a lot. The only issue is that I need to re-apply it now because I can barely smell it anymore. But, no problem! I have a whole bottle! YAY! Edited July 15, 2008 by filigree_shadow

[RockstarGirl]

I had really high hopes for this one, but within just a few minutes of putting it on my wrists, I had an absolutely screaming headache. Some scents do that to me, and I don't know if it's the Vanilla Orchid or the Ginger Flower that's doing it. So I don't know what this one was like on drydown, because I had to scrub the stuff off within five minutes of putting it on.

 

Poo.

[porcelina]

sweet, barely tart... there is almost something effervescent about opuhi. i can't quite put my finger on what it is that i like so much about it... it's soft, creamy, sweet and fresh, very innocent.

[lunaticana]

OMG! TOTALLY OUT OF CONTROL.

this will be slathered allover :D

ultimate favorite from this moment (well, together with forbidden fruit hehehe)

this is the one scent I was looking for!

th softness, the vanilla, the tropics, the whole gingerblossom..

it's all here and I'm already loggin onto ebay to find myself som more of this

Edited August 5, 2008 by lunaticana

[gchris]

In Vial: Wonderful Vanilla

 

Wet: Now the ginger is coming on strong

[aquazoo]

This starts beautifully, really mild. Vanilla. There is an underlying floral. This is my favorite of the Atomic Luau scents! I keep smelling my wrist. Not your usual "vanilla" vanilla, a tad brighter.

[gingiemay]

Wet in imp - Ginger and a beautiful vanilla floral.

 

Wet on skin - Very similar to in the imp.

 

Dry on skin - Most vanilla floral with a tiny bit of ginger. This scent is light and effervescent. it is the teeniest bit powdery on me, so I think I will stick to my imp for now.

[themerrybaker]

Opuhi is a "your skin, but better" scent on me. It is subtle but lasts a very long time. Opuhi would make a good work scent, a good layering scent, or a relaxing anytime scent.

I see the comparison to Antique Lace, because I actually "see" lace when sniffing it. Maybe delicate Victorian woman tending exotic orchids in her hothouse?

Edited October 17, 2008 by themerrybaker

[voodoocatwoman]

Yummo! This scent goes on as vanilla but as it dries, the ginger comes out to play. It strikes the perfect balance and is simply beautiful.

[tajana]

I got Opuhi as a sniffie frimp. Soft vanilla with just the right amount of creaminess and sweetness. There's only a trace of floral feel to the "vanilla orchid" and to the "ginger blossom". The light vanilla is spiced up with equally soft and light bite of ginger. It's simple but bright, a little bit sweet and creamy. It's really very nice, a sunny-day-by-the-beach kind of smell. That is, it's nice until about an hour passes, at which point this starts smelling a touch fake and a bit like plastic. Another strike against Opuhi is the fact that it's very close to the skin; I slathered on the remains of the imp to try this, so there should have been more punch and throw.

[unlaced]

In the bottle: spicy vanilla, mmmm.

 

Wet on my skin: the same spicy vanilla with a touch of floral hiding behind it.

 

Dry: The spice reveals itself as defiantly ginger... it's not screaming ginger and the vanilla isn't too sweet or foody. And there's a floral note that seems white to me, not too overwhelming.

[Lyrical]

In vial: a soft, sweet, flowery vanilla, reminiscent of Antique Lace, with a gingery bite!

 

Wet on skin: so pretty! Tropical and sweet, almost edible yet not like food! Ginger and vanilla are definitely present but it's also flowery and summery. It smells warm and humid, but also clean and pure like soft, white blossoms!

 

Dry on skin: the same, but now also softly musky and just a little powdery. I LOVE THIS SCENT!

[Shollin]

First sniff: Beautiful strong vanilla. It’s a different sort of vanilla, too, more of a bright-sweet scent than a rich-warm one.

 

Wearing: A floral vanilla, not a bakery vanilla. Smelling vanilla usually makes me hungry, but this one is much closer to the plant than the cookie. I’ve never been around an actual vanilla plant, but man, if this is what they smell like, I want to live on a vanilla farm. And I think my husband agrees, because when I asked his opinion, he snuggled his nose into my wrist and wouldn’t give it back.

[asciident]

Wet: Vanilla and flowery.

 

First on: Same, but the vanilla is stronger.

 

Dry: Mmm, a beautiful light floral with a heavy vanilla layer. Yum!

[modillian]

I like vanilla. I love orchids. Ginger gives me pause

Bah Humbug! It's the freaking ginger, it smells like my grandmother's housecleaning fluid! I've tried a few ginger blends and ALL of them have flopped on me. I give up on ginger!

[ShadowsDance]

In the decant it's a slightly floral vanilla.

On my skin, it's a nice vanilla.. but not really in a foody way. It's not really one of my favorite vanilla type blends, but it is interesting. Sadly, it fades out totally within about 20 minutes of applying.

[TheOneTheyCallLuna]

I have been having such a hard time wrapping my nose around this one...I've had it for a while now, and I still can't decide quite how I feel about it, though I'm leaning towards loving it, mostly. Erm, firstly, unlike the experiences of previous reviewers, this baby last forEVER on me, and has throw like whoa! I've put it on my wrist in the morning, and still been able to catch whiffs of it coming from my arm the next day. It's STRONG!

 

I also don't get any Love's Philosophy comparisons, aside from the fact that it's predominantly vanilla based...but the vanilla in Opuhi is radically different from the foody vanilla cream of LP. This is vanilla flower, not baking vanilla, so for those out there who have problems with regular ol' vanilla notes going plastic with their skin chemistry, this blend might be a holy grail. The ginger is also really different than I had anticipated. Again, like the non-foody vanilla orchid this is not a gourmand, spicy ginger root, but rather the ginger flower. I love HOT spicy ginger root, so I guess I felt a little bummed by that when I smelled this, but the ginger flower is such a gorgeous compliment to the softly floral vanilla that it's hard to hold a grudge.

 

Sometimes I feel as though this is a touch too sweet, and sometimes it seems just right...I often struggle to understand how this is tropical, and wonder if maybe I'm just dumb about this stuff because I grew up in a perpetual rain cloud. I will say that when I smell it I instantly think of simmering heat and blinding sunlight bouncing off of ocean waves. I've never been anywhere tropical in my life, though, so this could just be the power of suggestion at work!

 

Overall, I think I'm going to hang onto this...it seems totally wearable for lots of different occasions and my boyfriend LOVES it! I'm not a floral girl, yet this is totally wearable for me, probably due to the fact that it doesn't read strictly as flowers, and walks an ambiguous line between food and flowers, like a delectable, edible flower garnish. I like it a lot, even though it confuses the hell out of my nose!

[crebbsgirl]

This was another case of smelling beautiful in the vial, and then my skin did something funky to it. I don't know where I went wrong, but there was an undeniably plastic smell here the minute this touched my skin. I could still detect the orchid and ginger, which was wonderfully light and tropical, but there was an odd undercurrent to the smell. It just smelled off on me.

[donnatron]

Bottle: Vanilla flower and ginger blossom. If I hadn't read the description I probably wouldn't recognize it as such but... I did. So there.

 

Wet: This goes on mild with the vanilla orchid grounding the scent and then the giner blossom sort of fluttering overtop. I really love the drydown on this one--it adds a refreshing crispness to the scent.

 

Dry: The ginger blossom really settles down and this turns into just a warm, creamy, interesting vanilla orchid. I smell primarily the vanilla flower but the ginger blossom adds a faint hint of effervescence. It's really simple and uncomplicated and I like that. A lot of my blends tend towards the paragraph long ingredient list and this is simple and pretty and not really confusing to my nose but I can definitely see where it sort of fudges scent classification boundaries.

 

Throw: Very mild. A skin close sort of scent.

 

Overall: Me likey. It gives me sort of 1940s pin up girl sort of vibe and I dig it. It's elegant enough for evening but also light and fun enough that I don't think twice before slathering it on to go to work.

[Gin]

Opuhi

 

This is the one Flotsam I wanted the most. And it does not disappoint. The vanilla orchid is dominant (and gorgeous), and there's a little pinch of spice. I don't know if ginger blossoms are spicy or not, but there's something a little spicy in here, and it's just so amazingly beautiful.

[sylvanusurban]

In bottle: Sweet vanilla and kind of dusty ginger – like a container of ground dried ginger that’s been sitting at the back of the cupboard for a long time.

 

On me, wet: Cloying, syrupy.

 

On me, drying: Still cloying and syrupy. DO NOT WANT

 

Verdict: You know, I love the smell of vanilla, and yet it seems that more often than not, a vanilla perfume smells like badness on me. It’s a goddamned pity is what it is.

 

 

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

i remember being so excited to try this scent! and it smells delicious - but extremely faint - for about five minutes, and then it turns into the scent of the conditioner one of my college roommates used, Freeman's Awapuhi or something like that. which then reminds me that she'd drown herself in a cloud of Fendi before leaving the room, and i was left with clouds of clashing scents. and then i remember why i didn't wear perfume for a year.

[saralaughs]

This is truly vanilla orchid on me. A very tropical vanilla (that is in no way foody) with a bit of a heady floral. The vanilla orchid really dominates after drydown, with the ginger adding just a bit of tropical umph to the blend. It is in no way bitter but just sweet, a bit floral, and heady.

 

It starts out almost lemony on me though. Weird. Hardly any throw and average wearlength.

[rayvn1]

Wow! just...wow! This is a super sweet, sugary blend when wet. As it dried it became an airy, fresh, sweet scent. Very nice I would have thought seaweed or fresh air, but I'd have never guessed the listed notes!

[sunlitgarden]

Opuhi

 

Wet, the first thing I think of is fruit punch syrup. It gets more pleasant as it dries though. Tropical deliciousness -- the ginger blossom adds a nice bit of spice.