Mata Hari

[GemmaCat]

...Her scent is striking and bold with a delicate yet dark undertone: five roses with soft jasmine, warmed by vanilla, fig, tonka bean and mahogany, spiced with a drop of coffee bean.

I can't really write a detailed review of this scent as all the notes rush up my nose and swirl together in confusion, so that all I get is a headache. :"/

It smells very musky and deep on my skin, and is just too much for me. I washed it off after a minute, and into the swap pile it has gone. Edited September 29, 2007 by Shollin

[moon_lemming]

HA! I couldn't figure out why I wasn't enjoying Mata Hari, as I've discovered I love the Lab's rose notes. Then I noticed "jasmine" in the description.

 

Freaking jasmine. Sniff. The description of this scent, minus the jasmine, is that of my dream scent. But my skin amps jasmine so much that this is basically one tiny rose under a giant bushel of angry jasmine.

[Ayln]

In the bottle: Jasmine, in the form of floral dirty laundry.

 

On my skin: Same jasmine, with a little of the rose and no other notes.

 

I tried aging it for two days, and I managed to coax a little of the coffee out, but overall my skin just amped up the jasmine and smelled like a laundry basket full of potpourri.

 

Needless to say, I've gotten rid of my bottle. I'm sad about it, because I really thought I would like it from the description, and it was a present from one of my best friends, too.

[mexicat]

Mata Hari is a perfect name for this because it is a mysterious blend. It was a mix of florals on me,with a little rose and a bit of coffee. Pretty,but not for me.

[Honor]

I got this scent originally because it shared so many notes with a retail perfume that I am so very fond of (and am trying to find it's BPAL equivalent)...including jasmine...

 

In the past BPAL jasmine and I haven't gotten along very well, but we were agreeable.

 

Not this time though.

 

In the bottle: Strong, almost acrid Jasmine and COFFEE! on top, with the roses softly underneath. I almost expected that from the jasmine, but the coffee I wasn't digging and I LOVE the smell of coffee. The coffee in this was almost fake smelling...like coffee flavored products.

 

I could feel a headache starting, but from reading other reviews this seemed to be one of those scents which morphs completely on skin and dry down so I swiped some on my wrist.

 

Dry Down: The jasmine is fading (thankfully!) but still very much present, although the roses are coming through. The coffee is getting stronger though. I can't even detect the other notes at all.

 

 

Fully dry: Still sharp, although softer than initially, jasmine, w/ roses underneath. The coffee has faded some, but it's still present and not blending well with the others. It just doesn't fit in here.

 

Ultimately, I wound up washing my wrist and taking some aleve.

 

I think I can wear jasmine, but it's got to be tempered by something equally as strong. And in this case, it was the coffee and the two did NOT agree.

 

In the swap pile this goes, which is too bad. I had high hopes for this.

[jessiesquash]

Even though this has been reviewed to death, I wanted to add mine since this is my first BPAL scent ever and I'm excited about it.

 

On first sniff I didn't like it. It smelled like the finished product of a scent kit I had when I was little. The one I messed up by overusing the jasmine and completely obliterating the heliotrope and lily-of-the-valley. Holy jasmine, batman!

 

On: Still the jasmine overwhelmed but I continued to give it a chance and wore it to an interview. It mellowed to a lovely floral that, while still smelling heavily of jasmine, is divine. A keeper! And I got the job.

 

A warning! This is strong. Don't go overboard!!

[harmonyfb]

Damn. This was apparently mixed up with an imp of single-note Jasmine. At least, that's what it smelled like on me. Jasmine, jasmine, jasmine. Bleah.

[cal_steph]

I tried this out twice because I really wanted the coffee notes to work on me. Unfortunately, I couldn't smell any of the foodier notes--coffee, vanilla, fig--that I was looking forward to in either the bottle or on my skin, because the jasmine overpowered it completely in both places.

 

This is probably a great choice for someone lucky enough to have jasmine cooperate with their body chemistry. On me, it tends to smell like stale breath.

Edited February 9, 2006 by cal_steph

[Precis]

For me, Mata Hari isn't coffee-smelling at all. It's okay, but I was looking forward to the coffee, darn it!

 

Upon application, it's a very nice exotic scent. The dry-down is a warm floral that's less complicated, but it still feels like an oil that would be called "Mata Hari," if that makes any sense!

 

What happened to the Mata Hari that initially got a ton of reviews calling it overwhelmingly coffee-ish? Don't be fooled by the first pages of reviews, people. ;D

[locuraelegantia]

I wanted to love this, with vanilla, fig and coffee...mmmm

 

 

but like a lot of other people, all I get is jasmine. and a gross one at that...

[mermaiden]

Jasmine jasmine jasmine

 

Reminds me a lot of an oil I wore when I was in high school.

 

Jasmine doesn't smell bad on me, but it is very sweet. Luckily dry down is very fast on my skin (especially in the winter).

 

I can smell the rose lurking underneath, but none of the vanilla/coffee/tonka that I was hoping to find.

[ladynoah74]

All I can say is...........JASMINE

Edited February 18, 2006 by LadyNoah

[mandragora]

In the imp: At first sniff, eww it smells like ... piss . I don't get stale coffee, I get piss (weird nose). Quite afraid to swipe this across my wrist.

 

Wet on me: Jasmine.

 

Drydown: Still jasmine. Headache-inducing jasmine.

 

Verdict: Migraine starting, I need to wash this off before it gets worst. Weird nose, weird body chemistry. Sorry Mata Hari, on to the swap bin for you.

[salamandrina]

Wow. jasmine. Eeww!

 

Jasmine always smells like a bathroom to me...not so much the scent of urine, but of cleanser. Instant migraine, and to top it off, a charming hive.

 

Off to swaps, to go to someone it agrees with.

 

I'm a little sad, because I was hoping it would be better on me - the description was lovely.

[Thacerine]

Too sharp, like men’s cologne; alcoholic and floral. The alcohol goes away on my skin, but as everyone else said…JASMINE. Overwhelmingly, unpleasantly jasmine. So much it makes my eyes water. I was really hoping I’d be able to get away without that, but I guess I’m not among the lucky few there. I mean, “vanilla, fig, tonka bean and mahogany, spiced with a drop of coffee bean”--*that’s* what I bought this for. *That* sounds delicious. This is just jasmine. Poop.

[ayelienne]

I'm saddened to report that when I finally succombed to Mata Hari's seductive siren call from my imp box, she made my eyes itch so badly that I thought perhaps she was trying to kill me with jasmine. I shan't wear her anymore and have threatened to ship her to France. Traitor!

[VenusFlyTrap]

Wow...I must one of the lucky few!

 

I love this scent!

 

It's quite unusual with the touch of coffee bean in it. So unlike any other scent in the world!

 

It's rosy floral/mahogany woody/vanilla spicy/fig fruity with the aforementioned coffee bean and somehow the combination is absolutely intoxicating.

 

I love, love, love this!

 

Absolutely yummy!

 

[Heretic]

In the vial: Coffee grounds?

 

On my wrist, wet: That coffee candy that comes in lozenge form and a subdued flower. As horrible as it sounds, it's actually lovely.

 

After 20 minutes: The coffee is very pronounced on me.There's a sophisticated floral being kept respectfully controlled by the coffee note. Very unusual and intriguing.

 

After an hour: Coffee gives over to the floral bouquet, which is rich and sweet, but not cloying. I'll definitely use up the imp and see how this grows on me. It's lovely.

[maewitch]

No coffee, vanilla, or tonka.

 

This is a faded jasmine and rose, a little powdery, weighted down by the wood.

 

Not unpleasant, but not exciting. Meh.

[angharad]

Straight out of the imp, this is pure coffee. I like the smell of coffee, so that's good. As soon as I put it on, however, the coffee disappears into a cloud of florals, mainly the roses. I can't find any vanilla, fig (which is probably for the best with my skin chemistry), or tonka bean., and the coffee never makes a comeback. Mata Hari has very strong throw at first, but within an hour it's faded down to where I can barely smell it on my wrist. I don't dislike it, but I'm not sure if it's really for me.

[nancybridget]

I want to say I get loads of fabulous vanilla and coffee and all of the other fabulous notes listed in Mata Hari, but all I get is jasmine - and maybe a dash of rose. Pretty, but ordinary.

[jidabug]

Firstly, the jasmine comes out swinging, but there's something bitter and unpleasant behind it. Then the rose conspires with the jasmine and backstabs her, taking everything for itself and turning all to bitter powder.

[melrose]

I've worn this on 3 different days, and, like the legend herself, her scent has many faces:

 

Day 1: It's a soft, creamy rose from start to finish. I actually get a picture in my mind of a bouquet of pale pink roses, shading ever so slightly toward lavender. The scent is pleasant, but nothing special.

 

Day 2: My name is JASMINE! Smell me! Smell only me! I'm the queen of the woooorld!

 

Day 3: First 4 hours on: Sharp woods and herbs, with the rose and jasmine trying to make an appearance, but getting swatted down. Far drydown: Smoke (the coffee bean?) and roses - who would have thought these things would smell amazing together? They do, though.

 

So, to recap:

 

Day 1: Pleasant, but unremarkable.

 

Day 2: World domination by jasmine.

 

Day 3: Sharp herbs in the morning, friggin' amazing in the afternoon.

 

So, bottleworthy or not? This is a puzzler.

[gingersnapp]

My skin loves roses, but it also loves jasmine (which I don't particularly care for). This is mostly jasmine with just the slightest touch of rose. I really wanted more of the vanilla, fig, tonka, etc. but jasmine took over and that's really all that I smell.

[sarahj]

Mata Hari

 

received in a swap

 

in vial: strong jasmine

 

wet: jasmine and vanilla

 

dry: jasmine soap

 

verdict: too much jasmine...and I'm disappointed that I can't smell the coffee...off to swaps