Visiting the Temple of Auspicious Fortune Alone on the Winter Solstice

[zankoku_zen]

Temple incense, rain, and dust.

I was caught off guard by the effervescence of this scent on wet - which did have ginger and grapefruit in it. But as it dries, it's more of the salty air and water droplets everyone talks about. Unfortunately, it also turns just a smidge soapy.

Damn, I really did like the ginger/grapefruit soda thing it had early on. Edited January 28, 2009 by Shollin
Abridged Lab description --Shollin

[filigree_shadow]

The "rain" part of the scent is most prominent on me, but it's not a clear watery rain scent, it's more hazy. A little fizzy? It's sweet, too.

 

I'm not an expert on rain scents or incense scents because they're not part of my usual perfume stash. I don't smell them very often except when I'm testing different perfumes, so I have a tendency to put them into only a couple of categories.

Rain: Cool and watery, or charged and ozoney.

Incense: Deep and dark, or sweet and churchy.

This one is of the cool and watery / sweet and churchy variety.

[unlaced]

In the bottle this is pretty much all incense-y with a bit of aquatic notes in the background.

 

On my skin, it's pretty much the same... maybe with a tiny bit of "dust" but mostly strong incense.

 

As it dries the incense changes and gets a little sweeter but overall, not much change.

 

It's pretty but I don't know how much I'll actually end up wearing this.

[voodoocatwoman]

In the imp, this is all incense. However, when it dries down, the rain and dust come forward. I wouldn't think that I would like it, but it is rather nice.

[jencallisto]

In the imp: A rich aquatic, a bit sharp.

Fresh on the skin: Softer, but still very distinctly aquatic. I'm not getting much besides that -- sweet and salty, a sort of delicate melancholy.

10 minutes later: Light... and almost foody, in a kind of herbal, salty, a tiny bit sweet, delicate way. God, this is pretty.

1 hour later: Shockingly, I really like this! This makes me really happy, as I adore the concept and name. Pretty and lightly sweet, and the ozone just gives it delicacy.

2 hours later: Fading, but still pretty.

4 hours later: Delicate, barely-there sweetness. So, so pretty!

5 hours later: Gone.

 

Verdict: I'm getting a bottle of this. It's all stuff I had no idea would work for me (aquatics are not usually my thing at all), but for some reason it really, really does. Somehow, it goes all aquatic on me, but it's the aquatic that's converted me to aquatics! It doesn't last too long, but it's gorgeous while it does last, so. Mine now!

 

One phrase: Sweet, delicate rain.

[savage_rose]

At first it's incense and a light rain. And then...something fizzy and alcoholic? What kind of temple is this? It ends up smelling like incense and champagne to me, and maybe a little wet rain mixed in. I really like this, but this has to be one of the weirdest, most surprising scents I've tried.

[Ceri]

In the vial: Soapy aquatic.

 

Wet: Wow, dusty aquatic.

 

Dry: Still a dusty aquatic.

 

Overall: Where is the incense that everyone was talking about? Not for me.

[TheOneTheyCallLuna]

Mmmm...fresh rain with sugared Midnight on the Midway-esque incense and a background of dustiness. My boyfriend says that it smells like when it rains after a long drought. I was born during just such a welcomed downpour after a very long Southern Cali drought, and since that day it always rains wherever I go (seriously!) so I feel very close to the rain. Plus, I live in the Northwest now, so I know my rain, and this smells just like fresh rain. Gorgeous. So glad that I finally tracked some of this down, but I already need more!

[djsiberia]

this is very much ozone.

 

[everanything]

Okay, I give. Whatever their rain note is never agrees with me.

 

Bottle: strong cologne, very aquatic.

 

Wet: Aquatic soap.

 

Dry: The soap goes powdery, and a bit dirty. I'm guessing the incense. The rain note just dominates on me. Woe.

[tragedy]

I always get a very soapy sharp thing from almost all aquatics.

I love the idea of them... smelling like rain .. ahhh....

But I always end up smelling like overly perfumed heavy soap, and this is no exception.

*sigh*

 

[Lyrical]

 

In vial: wet, dusty and smoky.

 

Wet on skin: quite masculine, with a discreet warmth. It's no longer wet or dusty, but golden and beautifully blended.

 

Dry on skin: very masculine - a golden brown, smoothly blended scent.

[jtb2008]

This is my ABSOLUTE favorite of the 08 Yules. I should have gotten two bottles...

 

In the bottle, I get a mix of incense and dust, not a lot of rain.

After it dries, the incense and dust become so strong. I don't get a lot of rain, I wish I did. Literally just a *touch* of rain would be perfect. But despite that, it is a beautiful scent. Perfect for a cold and rainy day like today.

[starfish327]

aquatics and i rarely mix. this one works better than most but it's very middle of the road.

 

throughout- imp to dry- this reminds me of a good bath product, like an expensive bubble bath. it's obviously an aquatic but it's also warm (i'm guessing the incense lurking behind it). it's slightly sweet as well. something about the combination also reminds me of cooking though i'm not sure what i'm picking up on that reminds me of food.

 

it's nice, but i think it would like it better as a bath product.

[wolfensong]

So normally "rain" notes are smells I love but that don't love me back. I hang on to Thunder Moon purely out of spite (and a little endless hope) more than anything.

 

Strangely, though, I LOVE the rain note in this blend. There is hardly any fading or changing when I smell it wet to when I smell it dry, it just moves seamlessly from being fresh, cold, grey rain (outside the temple) to being that same fresh cold rain, only with incense and dust (inside the temple).

 

It's definitely not a "perfume" kind of scent: I wouldn't wear this to an office or a party or anything like that. It's very calming, though, very centering, and just last night I took a tiny dab under my nose to help me calm down and deal with some bitchy, self-centered people while working the night shift. Almost immediately I felt more clear-headed, grounded and able to handle whatever I had to handle. This would do well as a ritual oil.

 

It's also weird that I get precisely the notes listed. Normally things tend to morph strangely on me, and I smell some seriously weird stuff (let's be clear, sandalwood does NOT smell like daisies!) and I was expecting that here, given that all the reviews thus far have said that it smells sweet or boozy or whatever, but definitely NOT rain and incense and dust. Still, that's all I get: cold, grey rain - gentle, wafting temple incense - soft, ancient dust.

 

Worth a bottle, if only just to have this calming, centering effect on hand when I need it.

[Diva Urd]

In the bottle: A ton of ozone with a hint of lemon.

 

On: Ah, there's some incense. The ozone actually retreats a bit as it dries (thank goodness, I usually amp that!), although it makes me cough a little.

 

Later: After half an hour, only ozone is left... which I am not exactly fond of. Not a winner for me, I am afraid.

[Vega]

Sniffed: Odd! A bit ozonic, a bit stony, a bit dusty and burnt.

 

On skin: The Lab's stone note really defies description: it's heavy, dark and warm. And inorganic, but only because it doesn't smell like anything organic, not because I can link it any particular inorganic smell. In fact, I'm unable to make any olfactory links at all. (New leather car seats is the closest, but that's very tenuous.) Anyway, this note predominates in Visiting the Temple, heavy stone overlaid with humid, wet ozone, and a certain dusty grittiness that reminds me of vetiver in texture (but not in scent). This blend really does evoke warm, torrential rain pouring upon hot stone pavers. Perhaps there is a waft of dry, Eastern, monastic incense in the distance?

Colour impression is blue-black stone. I actually see a vision of a small stone pagoda nestled at the side of a lush hill, black smoke of incense rising faintly from its walls. A traveller is making his slow way towards it. This picture is obscured by heavy, hot monsoon rain.

 

Verdict: Visiting the Temple is a purely "concept scent". Fascinating and certainly evocative, but not a perfume that is fitting for wear. While I'm glad I got to smell such a unique blend, I don't think I'd ever wear it in order to smell like this.