Okayaki

[Wolfie79]

Olive blossom, cardamom pod, amber, morning star lily, bergamot, and a well-aimed snowball.

This is my favorite Shunga!

Olive blossom and neroli are what my nose picks up. After wearing it for a few minutes, I start to detect the 'snow', but the olive blossom is the star of this one.

[forspecial_plate]

Chilly florals and amber, but a non-pine chilly. Not sweet like Snow White, but more spicy and something weird like anise (maybe the cardamom). Lily is behaving and not turning to soap. This is somewhat elegant and perfumey. Does remind me of Absinthe because it threatens to turn rubbery? But I've never tried the prototype that others are comparing it to. The olive blossom echoes back to Haloa but this is totally different. I like it!

[countessmouse]

Very perfumy, but with an odd undertone that I think is the olive blossom and something sharp that makes it chilly. Also has a very strong throw on me. It's nice, but not a favorite.

[rayvn1]

I've tried this one again and again and I've finally wrapped my brain around the fact this really doesn't want to work on me Damn you amber!! You and your powdery face interrupting the nice ozone and cardamom!

[grrrlennyl]

Okayaki

 

On: Very, very faint. This smells white and powdery to me with a bit of sweetness. Pretty.

1 hour in: I can smell the warmness of the cardamom and the sweetness of the amber now, but it's still mostly powdery and sweet. Still pretty and not very strong.

3 hours in: This is mostly sweet and powdery. Still pretty.

6 hours in: Still sweet and powdery.

Overall: This is just OK on me. I wish it stayed more true to the original, very white scent it had at first.

[Saya]

This was one of those blends that didn't really sound too appealing at first. After giving it a few tries, I love this. It's soft, sweet, somehow creamy with just the perfect amount of olive blossom and amber. This bottle is a keeper.

[loubric]

Sweet, warm, soft, smoky sweet with lovely hints of lemon. Slight vanilla foodiness . Gorgeous mid-summer scent.

[mymymai]

ITI: I get cardamom, lilt, and olive blossom (although it smells similar to cherry blossom from Pink Mood).

 

Wet: Olive blossom, some bergamot, amber (although a little powdery), and a orangish sweetness, like orange blossom as well. It's rather pretty.

 

Dry: Olive blossom (very clear now), with hints of vanilla and a little bergamot.

[Balame]

Aah, Okayaki. My experience of you seems so different from everyone else's.

 

Sniffing from the bottle I get a sweet, slightly musky powder. Like the pink poof from a compact, it's a little perfume-y but not cloying, and has a voluptuousness to it. It's backed by a rather smoky but undeniable citrus from the bergamot, giving it energy and zest.

 

I know the "sweet powder" to be amber, but this is such a rare occurance for me. Normally amber is rich and luscious and luxuriously wet on me. But this is dry and powdery. Much closer to dusty ambergris than usual. Not bad, but different.

 

The cardamom is also not how I know it, often green and biting as in tea. I really don't smell it at all. There's a haziness and that's it. No intense floral from the lily.

 

I really don't get the snowball or cold reference that many do. Not sure if it's my mental associations or actual chemistry. But to me this is like a pampered courtesan sitting at her vanity, dabbing sweet puffs of powder across her silky skin while surrounded by gifts from her admirers. It's actually quite inviting and familiar, something you want to nuzzle against.

[tantamoq]

Okay I just got my bottle of this from a swap, and I had high hopes from the description (as it contains a few of my favourite notes), and wow, it did not disappoint.

 

In the bottle, it's a very strong citrus-y smell to me, with a sort of vanilla-like hint behind it, and maybe just a touch of some kind of unplaceable floral. Not too strong, but confident. Definitely up my alley.

 

Wet, it's all of that, but everything is stronger. The vanilla tone goes away, it becomes much more floral and oily citrus, starting out with a slight edge that goes away pretty fast. Honestly, though I still liked it, I wasn't sure when I first put it on, because it almost just smells like Citra-Solv, to me, which is alright, but if I wanted to smell like cleaning liquid, I'd go mop the bathroom. However, that didn't last too long.

 

On the dry-down, the scent evens out on me, some of the amber and lighter florals move foward, and it all gets very soft and sweet and that vanilla hint comes back swinging, leaving it all very fuzzy, but not hazy, and overall just very warm and spring-like. I'm wearing it right now and have been for a bit over an hour now, and it just keeps subtly shifting. We shall have to see how long it lasts, but so far, I'm thinking this one is a keeper for me.

[Shadowdawn]

Wow -- this is so unique. When I first got it in 2010, I thought it was nice enough but it didn't really grip and so I just put it away to age. Took it out yesterday and WOAH . Nice. Upon re-acquainting myself with the notes, I realize this is my first brush ever with olive blossom .... and it's beautiful. Perhaps one of my favorite florals. So soft, almost green, but oh-so-creamy. The cardamom adds a subdued, sweet (almost fresh?) spice which is so understated that it does not take over the perfume. Very well balanced.

To me, this blend is not cool at all... but I think the heat of the amber is controlled by the snow ball, which mellows gorgeously. I like how the lily and bergamot stay in the back ground.

[DiZZysTARdust]

I really want to love this because cardamom but it's hard. Not a bad scent just so light and faint and sheer on me. Not exactly soapy but kind of just smells like clean skin. 

[ShadowEtienne]

On my skin, this is based in a cool, resinous, creaminess, which I suspect is amber + snow. I don't get vanilla in that creaminess, for which I am grateful because I hate vanilla, but perhaps tonka or some other somewhat vanillic resinous note that fortunately doesn't read as vanilla to me.

 

Overlaying that is rich and sharply sweet cardamom, with a touch of citrus zest (guessing that's from the bergamot). It manages to stay balanced towards not too sweet for me though, even if there is some sweetness to the spice and bitter.

 

The florals have the most throw on me, predominately the lily, which like all lilies on my skin is rich and juicy and slightly spicy. It's an arier lily though, which is augmented by the more subtle olive blossom.

 

Lily and cardamom and creaminess is the final take away of this on my skin, which suits me. They're the notes of this that I was the most excited about. I really love this, and this is especially a beautiful cardamom note.