Machu Picchu

[mylogicsaysburnsendmeaway]

Sweet tropical fruits burst through deep, wet rainforest boughs, enormous steamy blossoms, over thin mountaintop breezes, mingled with the soft, rich golden scent of Peruvian amber.

On me this was a pretty, well blended oil with rainforest greenery, flowers, and that bizarre breeze note, with indistinguishable fruit and amber. But tropical isn't really me. And after several hours of wearing, I get just a hint of bugspray. I'm pretty sure artificial breeze note + tropical greens+ hot house blooms are the culprits. Edited September 16, 2008 by Shollin
added BPAL tags

[tacey]

Machu Picchu -- if this scent is what the place is like, I need to visit! Short wearlength, but I didn't care, it was so nice. Orchids, amber, and ozone for a perfect vision of a cloud forest. Perfect.

[ouch!]

MMMMMM! This smells like "Jelly Tots" when it's wet. I'm not sure if everyone knows what they are but...they are these small blobs of chewy jelly covered in sugar. This smells like when you put half a packet in your mouth at once and chew..(Yes..I do that). That's the intial wet burst.

 

Then comes a slight aquatic/ozone tone...with lots of citrus. It's very fresh. Then there's a little bit more fruit...something a bit more tropical...

This is better than I remember when I first smelled it when I got my imp so so long ago.

 

Amber I'm not getting as of yet. It stays in this fruity/slighty aqautic stage for a while..

 

The tangy edge fades after about another 10 minutes..and it goes softer, this stage reminds me of Gucci Rush for women.

 

Then it just fades out....

[milo]

Hmm, I don't usually like fruity scents, and didn't know there was any in it when I tried out the imp. I really didn't get any fruit per se, just a fresh, slightly sweet/florally lush green scent. Now that I know there is fruits, I can smell it, the amber maybe tones it down. Very nice, I will enjoy the imp while it lasts! Probably a summer scent, for me.

[Veronica]

Wet, Machu Picchu smelled omg!amber on me, very sweet and heavy. I couldn't distinguish anything else, and it was giving me a headache. After about an hour, the amber calmed down and the other notes became to come out, it became a very creamy scent, with a little tropical fruitiness. After the initial amber burst, I was surprised at how much I liked this scent. The creamy fruitiness is really lovely! I don't get any clean, freshness or ozone from this, sadly. I'm not too sure about a bottle yet, but I'm keeping the imp for sure!

[kjirstiben]

What a great start! Machu Picchu goes on smelling citrusy-greeny... a rush of lush tropical greenery and some tart, juicy fruits.

 

As it dries down and for the first few hours, this oil remains tart, green, still a little citrusy in tone. Delightful--a fruity scent that isn't so sweet it makes my teeth ache!

 

Over time, the fruit and green scents fade. A few hours in I have a faint "clean fruity" scent a bit like an Herbal Essences shampoo... very nice, but without the brightness of the scent's initial stages.

 

The last stages of this scent are not as pleasant, however. There's a sense that the amber underneath is trying to break through the moist, green notes, and they don't want to give up gracefully--so the two competing fragrances battle eachother for a while, resulting in a sort of plasticky-powdery end stage.

 

So I'm not sure what I think of this scent overall. I really truly loved the initial stages of this oil's fragrance--perhaps as a night-out oil or if I reapplied it a couple times throughout the day, it would work for me!

[DeathBlooms]

This doesn't smell really fruity to me.It has a good balance of fruit,flowers,green, and woodsy/smokey.The fruit in it almost smells like cherry Sucrets in a good way but without the numbing agent lol.I'd say it kind of smells like passionfruit.The floral notes are light and are almost similar to those in Midnight.Then theres a wet, almost dewy scent like rain on leaves.You can also smell something similar to aloe but almost like green tea.When it dried down after 2 hrs, it smelled like green tea to me.After a couple hours,everything blended together and the wood notes tied in nicely.From start to finish it's like walking into a jungle and admiring the scenery in stages until finally winding down to the forest floor through the duration of wearing. It's a nice scent.

Edited December 27, 2008 by DeathBlooms

[Saya]

In the Imp

This is pretty light in the imp, I almost had a hard time smelling anything at all. What I am getting is very ‘green’.

 

On My Skin

Once again, very light. This smells like grass after it rains there’s a tiny hint of a floral element, but I really have to have my wrist next to my nose in order to catch it.

 

After a Bit

Two and a half hours later and this is gone.

 

Rating 1-5 (5 being best)

Scent - 3.4 Throw - 1.5 Longevity - 1

Overall (not an average) - 2.2

 

Final Thoughts

I really liked this scent but it just disappeared. I’ve gotta try this in a scent locket.

[PersephonesChild]

Wow this smells NOTHING like I expected it to-- although I love the idea of a Machu Picchu scent, I've been convinced that the amber would dominate, making it a sickeningly sweet and syrupy blend, like when the diner down the street tries to make "tropical" pancakes by mixing pineapple and maple syrup.

 

Instead, this is light! And lush! And damp! I completely smell the wet branches, the mountain air. The fruits are quite faint on me, and there a s little bit of solid sweetness from the amber, but it in no way takes over the blend.

 

*Applying more*

Ok, with this layered on a bit thicker, the fruitiness is slightly more apparent (I find a lot of fruits need a critical mass of oil to show up...) and the blend becomes a prism, a kaleidoscope of scent. A few fruity notes that aren't quite distinguishing themselves, golden sunshine, and a few wet branches in the background.

 

Can you tell I'm really digging this scent?

 

Very nice surprise.

[hkhm]

imp: sweet tarts candy and light amber. odd but pleasing.

 

wet: this is greenery, amber and still that light sweet tart scent. very relaxing.

 

dry: this gets prettier as it dries. it has a much more wet, green scent, i think it may be bottle-worthy.

[rarepineapple]

In the bottle: There is so much going on! First sniff is very sweet, like a bunch of sun-ripened berries and citrus fruits on a market table somewhere, second sniff suddenly transports me way up high, with a high pitched scent that is forest-y, or at least evergreen plant like. Third sniff is a mixture, sweet and sour and almost salty?

 

Wet: I have no idea where to begin! Sweet, sweet citrus (lemon, orange? IDK, fabulous either way!) is the base, lush green plants are next, with a mixture of wet greenery and evergreens, and something spicy in the background that is elusive and oh god. Just. Yes.

 

Dry: Oh god, this scent just keeps getting better and better. The greenery has died down, but it is still there, adding a little push. Now, it is mostly sweet fruits and that spicy scent is middling out now, becoming more stable.

 

Verdict: Sweet sweet sweet! Oh god, I don't think I can articulate how much I love this scent. Citrus! Fruits! Greenery! Sweetness! This is so going in my keep pile, and I am so getting a bigger bottle of this! God yes!

[veronicafranco]

i agree with bagfish, upthread, that this is quite a lot like mag mell. that's a good thing - i love mag mell, but gave my imp to my sister, so thanks for the frimp, lab! on me, it's mag mell but girlier - the blissful amber/wind, aka rain, combo when it's first on seems to be the same. i think there are orchids in here, faintly, but they're not too much for me, as orchids sometimes are. and there is a bit of tropical fruit going on, but it just serves to make the blend nice and sweet, not cloying. i really like this!

 

as i mentioned in the magical frimps thread, i am a spanish professor, so i think i will definitely be wearing this during our units on peru!!

[milica]

ooooh it starts as beautifull rainforest scent, with some hints of fresh mountain air... and quickly turns to something grassy and sweet.

 

it's not that much sweet, but it's sweet in a strange way, it makes me sick.

 

I think I should stay away from grass and rainforest scents that are combined with florals and fruit, they become some strange sweet thing on me, not pleasent at all.

Edited March 16, 2009 by milica

[Coldfire]

Imp: Fruity, green and wet!
Wet on Me: now more green then fruity..and wet!
Getting some banana!
Drying down: this is fruit and flowers and green
and wet and oooooo lovely
Dry: Less green now, but still wet fruit and flowers.
Total summery scent.

Edited January 9, 2017 by Coldfire

[CynicalPink]

Imp: Fruit and pepper?

 

Wet: Ah. Not pepper. Just something bitey like pepper. Maybe the woody notes? Also orchid, which I'm a fan of.

 

Drydown: Wet, green orchids.

 

Overall: Very tropical. Orchids are fun, but I think I prefer Shadow Witch Orchid for my fancy tropical flower needs. Still a fun, lush scent though!

[rayvn1]

Sweet, golden floral. Pretty, but light and syrupy. Not really my cup of tea but I can imagine this being lovely on the right skin type

[caffinatedangel]

In vial : Fruity, sweet, light, airy. Reminds me of other fruity scents.

 

Wet: Fruity tones down, it's not very sweet but is a very natural sweet, with floral blooms.

 

Drydown: This thing grows incredible throw on me. The floral/amber combination gets really perfumy- but at first it's pleasant and girly. I'm not really a girly person, but I can tolerate it.

 

later : It just kept clouding up on me. The throw still a bit intense with my chemistry. It's no longer sweet, at all. It's more like potpourri, and the amber makes it rather dusty. (Amber by itself works well on me, with amazing throw, but amber + the florals in this = bad for me) You ever had that feeling when kitty litter gets kicked up, and then stays in your nasal passage too long, all dusty and RAWR worthy? This did that on my chemistry. My skin ate the fruit. Not a hint of it left.

 

Too bad. I loved how it smelled in the vial.

 

Lasted all day, with crazy throw. Something in this clung to me.

Edited April 14, 2009 by CaffinatedAngel

[sadtomato]

this is all very citrusy fruits and nothing else on me.

boo hoo.

[angelicruin]

Sniffing the imp, it has an aquatic fruit quality to it.

 

Wet on the skin, it's florals and fruit. I'm still getting an aquatic note from it as well. No amber.

 

As it dries, the aquatic quality disappears and I now smell amber. Fully dry, it's amber, fruit, and florals. This combination is giving me a bit of headache, so I must pass.

[Suu4LC]

Mmm, I like this in the imp-moreso than I thought. You can almost SMELL the humidity-I LOVE how Beth does that-it is amazing. Like biting into rich juicy fruit in the middle of wet steamy rainforest. I can feel the sweat on my brow!

 

Yes, on my skin, its about the same-the description of this blend is pretty spot on. Same with drydown-I liked this far more than I thought I would-I was a bit worried the rainforest boughs would be too green for my tastes, but it's just perfect here. Amazingly well blended. I lose the fresh juiciness of the fruit on full drydown and the amber makes his a bit powdery (my skin powders up amber to the max), but this is a great combo of earthy, floral, floral and fruity, with some jungle steam mixed in. I'm not sure I would need a bottle of this, but I think EVERYONE should try it just for the scent experience. Beth really captured a concept in a bottle!

 

[coraline]

The tropical fruit smells rather like pineapple, coupled with greenery (I can't detect the flowers or tropical dampness, though). What surprised me about Machu Picchu, however, was the amber. It is indeed rich, golden, and just plain beautiful. It makes me want to check out other amber scents offered by the Lab.

Edited June 14, 2009 by coraline

[sarajane]

Jungley! with delicious amber. I like it! Must get more....

 

This scent is absolutely beautiful! I also really like the aquatic-ness of it.

[splendidissima]

I was hoping for more of the tropical fruits, but on me, Machu Picchu turns into a big bloom of tropical flowers, shining with a bit of humidity to give it an aquatic edge. It's not a bad scent, but I'm not a huge floral fan, and for some reason they dominate here, along with that hint of wetness. Fans of rainforest-y, tropical, flowery scents will love this--I may pass mine on to my mom, who will appreciate it more.

[tragedy]

Green, with banana skin and aquatics. Very wet and lush.

 

Aquatics turn soapy on me. This is as well.

No sign of my beloved amber. Ah well...

[saralaughs]

This is beautiful. Unfortunately, it's not my type of scent.

 

It's very green with a strong citrus undertone. It smells wet, green, lush, and fruity. I lvoe it and I think Beth did a great job representing the place. I'm just not a huge fan of citrus and this has too much of that type of undertone for me.

 

If you're a green lover or a citrus lover, this is definitely for you. It screams coolness in a hot climate and would be perfect for summer days.