Pink Mood

[SeaLady]

Vanilla, star anise, cherry blossom, peony, violet leaf, and neroli.

This is interesting, but I think it goes weird on my skin.

It's like light anise and florals and something fruity, but maybe with toast. And maybe a little soap. Also, it smells like the Salted Licorice of fame and fortune, which I had a traumatic experience with as a child.

Alas, Pink Mood. I think not.

[wl552]

I do get the anise/licorice vibe from this, but it's not heavy handed in any way. Immediately, I thought it was brilliantly beautiful. Soft, sweet, lovely. Light vanilla, a breath of anise and a whisper of white florals.

 

But I had my husband sniff my wrist and he reeled back and said, "Ugh! Black licorice!"

 

Whatever.

 

I didn't get that smack your face licorice. But you know, I would still love it because even though I can't stand the taste of it, I love the smell. lol

 

Pink Mood is definitely a winner in my book!

[veronicafranco]

ok, in the vial and when first applied, i expected to add my "SN licorice" review to the many here. but lo, it's not!! so if you're worried about the anise taking over the whole show, i'd still try a decant. as this dries, the peony + cherry blossom and vanilla come out more and more until the scent is definitely the soft pink of the shunga image's, um, focal point. there's just a slight soapy edge (violet leaf or neroli? anyway it's pretty mild... she's a nice clean girl lookin' at that dirty picture) but it doesn't spoil the fragrance for me. i can't say it's the most me of perfumes, and i didn't really think it would be, but it will be required wearing with a cherry blossom scarf i have, and i think it is also calling the name of a particular pink lace dress that didn't turn out to "match" katrina van tassel in my book.

Edited March 6, 2010 by veronicafranco

[yellowbread]

I got a decant of this purely for the star anise; peony, violet and neroli are not my friends. While I can smell the anise, it's not overwhelming- I can clearly smell the florals, and I'm not really liking them. Once it's on my skin however, it turns to a lovely anise/vanilla mix, which fades to a soft vanilla. It's gorgeous.

[blu°]

The first reviews of Pink Mood had me expect the worst, but after testing, I have to say, it isn't. The anise is soft, not sharp, possibly due to the vanilla. While I can't clearly single out the vanilla, the cherry blossom is very noticeable and gives this the pink hue promised by the title.

 

It's soft and girly with an edge. I'm not usually into anise/licorice but thought this was worth a try, and I'm not disappointed. I'll have to see how often I'll reach for this, though, as it is not a typical choice for me.

[fairestrocza]

In the Bottle: vanilla and anise

 

Wet on Skin: Spicy vanilla and anise, and something that is making it feel flat. I don't notice any cherry blossom or neroli, so I'm guessing it must be the violet leaf that is damping things down.

 

While Drying: The anise could actually be stronger for my tastes. It is present, but muted. I was expecting something along the lines of the licorice in Baku, but this is a lot softer.

 

After a Little While: I think it must be the violet leaf that is killing this for me. (I'm getting a hint of the Wrongness that was Saturnalia). On the plus side, the vanilla reminds me a bit of TKO (mmmmmm). The anise is pretty mellow.

Later: This is just not doing it for me. *sigh.* I'll try it again a time or two before I give up hope.

Final Thoughts: I had high hopes for this one, but something in it is just not working with my chemistry.

Pink Mood earns a 2/5 on my skin.

[hkhm]

bottle: creamy pink floral frosting.

 

wet: this is almost entirely cherry blossoms on me. the star anise and vanilla are in the background and everything else is so faint i can barely detect them.

 

dry: as this dries, it gets sweeter and sweeter until i'm reminded of nothing so much as a large dollop of lightly spiced frosting covered in sakura petals.

[zankoku_zen]

This one is very odd to me. It's anise and pink white flowers. There's a hint of vanilla to it, which makes the overall blend seem like a kissing cousin to Humbug. I find this more wearable to Humbug, and for those of you out there that like Absinthe and anise, this is definitely one to try.

 

 

[pinkstardust420]

Goddamn it, star anise!

 

Why do you have to do this to me? I should have known better. If this blend didn't have star anise, I would probably buy stock in this perfume!

 

Nice blend, but I can't get past this damn star anise note. Glad I got this as a decant.

 

 

[doublehelix]

wet, this is HEAVY anise. On the drydown it fades slightly, making it a little more tolerable on me. I get a little bit of creamy florals, but the anise dominants this blend.

[windbourne]

As a fan of star anise, I'm a little sad that I didn't find this blend particularly anise-y. Foo.

 

Wet, it was quite promising, a little sweeter than Kyoto (its closest competitor in my current stash), with a lovely anise-y glow behind sakura pinkness and a bit of a floral-rrific fringe on top. As it dries, the peony and violet leaf crowd out -everything- else, leaving me with a bitterly floral experience that wafts all over the place, and not in what I consider to be a friendly way.

 

Good longevity and throw, but not one I'm likely to keep or want more of.

Edited April 14, 2012 by windbourne

[tajana]

Wet: Now, I usually hate anise, and I only ordered this because I thought it would be well balanced by the other notes. Wet, I get black licorice jelly bean anise, but it's just this naughty little nip of black sweet spiciness in a pool of creamy vanilla and delicate florals, mostly pink peony and a nuzzle of violet leaf.

 

Dry: Cherry blossom really comes out after a while, adding a powdery-silky soft finish to the anise-bitten vanilla. The other floral notes are all discernible, but given time to dry and settle down, this primarily goes to a candy-like scent, and really intense at that. The throw is pretty strong, and it's so potent on my skin that I imagine the lasting power would be pretty great if I let it stay that long... but I won't. I'm drowning in roiling oceans of creamy, cloying vanilla while being strangled by ropes of black licorice.

 

Overall: Not a good match for me. The vanilla amps out of control, which would be nauseating by itself, but the anise just pushes it over the edge for me. The florals are even softer than I expected.

[darab]

I was hesitant to order this at first, not sure about smelling like black licorice. At first the smell is overwhelmingly like black jelly beans with a hint of vanilla (makes me think of getting them in my Easter basket as a child, ah memories). Then the anise softens and I can smell the cherry blossoms and peony. After a long time, I think I might also get a hint of the neroli.

It blends pretty well considering how it started out and I actually quite like it because it smells so different and unexpected.

[surlygurl]

When I first put this on, it was all black licorice & vanilla LIKE WHOAH. Licorice is a fave of mine, so it was enjoyable. But soon after it developed in an unexpected way - the violet came forward. Oh my..... this is really pretty. I get no cherry blossom and am not sure what peony smells like. I do like this; it's not in-you-face licorice like I'd imagined. It's not something I'd wear too often so no bottle is needed, but the decant will definitely stay.

[patina]

I had some problems with this one. Not because of the anise, although it did smell a bit weird in this blend. It does eventually move aside to let some flowers through. It's just that I think the vanilla plus soapy violet-leaf and neroli give it a somewhat cloying, dryer-sheet like smell. Which is heartbreaking, because I love cherry blossoms.

 

I really can't decide whether I love this or not.

Edited March 12, 2010 by patina

[crebbsgirl]

Wet on me this is straight up LICORICE in your face. I was a little worried at first, but after about a half hour, the licorice calmed down and the vanilla and cherry blossom came out. This is really, REALLY pretty. And it's an interesting scent all in all, not something I've really smelled before. It's unique smelling, is what I mean to say. The neroli is really faint on my skin, I can only smell it when I'm looking for it. There does seem to be a bit of a "clean" vibe to this, but I'm not getting anything soapy or dryer-sheet like, it's more of a crisp freshness.

[Gale]

Beautiful, beautiful beautiful!

 

Wet or dry, regardless of time, Pink Mood is cherry blossoms, vanilla, and anise. Thankfully, the anise does not get too pushy with me, but it adds a kick and keeps the whole from becoming too sweet.

 

This is a bottle purchase for me (the Shungas get me every time!)

[Invidiana]

Well, finally. After a little too much perseverence in my book, I get a winner among the Shungas, where the listed notes don't only appear as if they'll work well on my skin, they actually do. Despite the anise this doesn't go very licorice on me at all--the anise adds a bit of naughtiness along with the neroli, very fitting for the label art of the girl clearly enjoying, um, what she's doing but still not able to look in that direction. I just get a lovely creamy vanilla with candylike florals; cherry blossom does that on me, and apparently peony does to. I don't really sense any violet leaf, it probably gives a hint of darkness if anything, but when anything remotely green has vanilla and candy florals to compete with on my skin, it gets the message to sit back and behave. Congratulations, Pink Mood, you will be turning into a bottle.

Edited March 12, 2010 by Invidiana

[ellebelle]

This starts out so beautifully … and then the licorice. I love vanilla, I love cherry blossoms, and this has kind of a thick and creamy pink scent on the initial application. The dry down becomes ALL licorice on me.

[Ondine]

At first I was super-excited about this one. I love anise and licorice and hoped this would be similar to Humbug. I think the florals screwed this one up for me, though. I put it on and the licorice was prominent--yay!--than all of the sudden, the florals amped up, drowned out the licorice, and it was floral doom

[anomie]

Imp: Anise. But very soft and sweet. As someone who likes the black jelly beans and drinks anise liqueur with her uncle: yum.

 

Wet: Chewy licorice. And vanilla.

 

Dry: Sweet licorice. That's really about it. Unfortunate, I had higher hopes for this.

Edited March 22, 2010 by Nomie

[ami226]

On the skin: Whoa! I am getting a large blast of licorice! A very sweet licorice. After a bit, I get some of the florals.

 

It is nice and interesting, but I am afraid that I can't stand licorice... Just the smell of it... Eeep.

[CitizenBree]

all anise in the imp and going on. tones down a little when dry but still pretty strong. takes on a more candy scent. Its definitely a creamy anise, from the vanilla note. But there are no florals here to be found...until about an hour later. By then, it's just a light anise note. even still, a light anise note, while interesting, is not really that attractive of a note for a perfume (in my opinion).

[LunaLovegood]

Pink Mood is absolutetly stunning!

When I first got the bottle and opened it to sniff, I almost passed out from the sharpness of the star anise, which made it very licorice-y. I almost posted it immediatetly up for swap. Luckily I decided not to be so impolsive and give it some rest from its extensive travel.

 

OMG! Was I rewarded! The very next day I tried it, and wow, it just blew me away. It was soft, sweet with a bit of an edge privided by Ms Anise.

Pink Mood rocks! The only downside is that the throw is not very powerful. But I'll take PM and love it regardless

[Molls]

I love anise, and thought that in this blend, with the light florals, it would be so pretty, and wonderful for spring/summer. But something in this blend made me very itchy when I applied it - and I've never had that reaction to a BPAL oil before... so I'm afraid I wasn't able to test this one very long.