Ronin

[LadyMedb]

White sandalwood, rice flower, honey, black pepper, and oakmoss.

This was kind of like incense-flavored mochi ice cream on me - largely a sweet, honey-rice affair with just a hint of earthiness. It is quite light, which is fine, but I was hoping for the oakmoss to be a little more prominent, or for the sandalwood to do more than just contribute to the overall sweetness of the blend. In short, I was hoping for a little more body to this blend, so I'll pass it to someone who can better appreciate its lighthearted nature (appropriate to the artwork I suppose)!

[KesHiro]

My skin reaction to this scent is the complete opposite of LadyMedb's; this was not sweet at all. In fact, this is what I had hoped Ded Moroz would be!

 

In the bottle, Ronin is a cool mossy sandalwood. Wet, it's the same but with the addition of a subtle pepper. It never escalates into pepper spray territory but instead hovers around the edges, giving the other two notes a little oomph. During the drydown, this becomes a cool forest and mossy kind of fragrance. For some reason, I thought I was picking up a faint mint, but I suspect it's the rice flower and honey blending and creating a cool creaminess. Once dry, it's the same with just a hint more sandalwood.

 

This is a dark, shadowy forest on the night of a full moon, with raindrops from a previous storm clinging to the leaves. I can totally picture a ninja hiding in the bushes or up in a tree, silently watching his surroundings. I really like this scent and will keep it on had for summer; it conjures up images of cool, both temperature wise and from all those ninja videogames I played (and sometimes still do).

 

This blend is unisexual, bordering on masculine. I'm so glad I have a bottle. Plus, the label is hilarious.

Edited February 12, 2010 by Kejiaron

[dronzeka]

This is sort of unisex - genuinely so; to me that usually means "smells like men's cologne" but this is nothing like men's cologne; it would just honestly work well on a woman OR a man. It starts out with a burst of black pepper which backs off quickly. There is a hint of honey, but mostly a mixture of the rice flower (reminds me of Tamamo-na-Mae), a little perfumey, with perhaps some sandalwood adding a dryness. I don't get much oakmoss, but I'm not a huge fan of it and not sure I could identify it on its own. It's long-lasting but quiet - not fancy, but with a sophisticated yet comforting edge. This one feels very Asian to me, like the simplicity and serenity of a ink-brush drawing on aged parchment. (Okay, not very consistent with the label! )

[fairnymph]

An interesting mix of contrasting notes - a little sweet, feminine, and sort of delicate from the rice flower and honey, with a rather dry, harsh and manly white sandalwood note and a hint of biting black pepper. I get the sort of musky depth that I get with oakmoss-containing scents, but I can't pick it out specifically.

 

Sweeter, much more honey and rice flower, and the rice flower stands out more - it's sort of creamy and vanillic, definitely Asiatic, and absolutely gorgeous! The sandalwood is still a bit harsh and too dry for my tastes, and oddly it's a bit sour on my skin - yeah, it's almost like cedar. It amazes me how much variation there is with white sandalwood. I do get a little oakmoss distinctly now, but it's the lightest note, softly earthy. The black pepper still prickles at me unpleasantly, and also makes me feel like sneezy. Boooo pepper.

 

Okay, this is becoming nicer; notes are harmonising. The sandalwood has softened a bit, but it's still too dry, or else there is cedar in here - I'm really leaning towards the latter, because it reminds me a lot of Bony Moon. The oakmoss has amped a little bit and it's responsible for much of the blending of the scent, I think - it's very sutble, but it adds this lovely earthy/mossy fullness. Also, there's a note here that reminds me of crumbly thick tree bark. This has lost most of its sweetness; the honey (which struck me as a white honey, i.e. very light to begin with) has faded greatly, and the rice flower a little too - it was never strong, but it's holding somewhat better than the honey, and it adds an almost nutty/grainy sort of creaminess that also serves to emulsify. The black pepper is finally substantially lighter, but STILL THERE.

 

A little bit of the sweetness comes back, but this doesn't morph much beyond initial drydown, though the oakmoss, which was never strong, peaks low and early and starts to fade back down to almost nothing.. It's predominantly warm, dry, dusty sandalwood and CEDAR with a bit of nutty-creamy, softly sweet rice flower, and little lick of white honey and kick of dusty black pepper. It's a simple-feeling blend, fairly unisex leaning a little towards masculine, and it does feel Asian...but it's far too dry/dusty/warm for me. Great throw and it fades a little but then holds pretty well.

 

Not what I expected, and another one that while not awful, really doesn't work for me.

Edited February 14, 2010 by fairnymph

[alioth]

I don't really get 'masculine' from Ronin at all. On me, it's light, sweet honey and gentle riceflower with an undercurrent of damp muskiness and a tinge of sandalwood sharpness. Out of all of bpal's honey blends I've tried, this one has struck me most as a 'summer' honey--there's something cooling and refreshing about it, not cloyingly sweet at all. I kind of amp honey, so it's the most prominent note in the blend, but it's not squeeze-bear clover honey or super sexy honey like O. The oakmoss, sandalwood and pepper keep it sophisticated and cool, and on me it never quite goes into sexpot territory.

 

In short I am kinda in love with Ronin, and it seems like it will only get better with age.

[cfrancesca]

Ronin is definitely my favorite of all the 2010 Shungas.

 

In the bottle it reminds of a little of Harikata (one of my top 5 scents), I love the sexy honey musk of these type of Shungas more than the floral, fruity or tea type ones.

 

Initially I get honey and then later more honey and then it finishes with honey..Well, I amp honey *shrugs innocently *

Ok, ok, I also get some sandalwood in the background, and it's such a beautiful, airy, slightly creamy type of sandalwood, it works amazingly well in this blend, the oakmoss is adding a slight masculinity and earthiness, the black pepper stays way in then back for me, and the lovey rice flower adds some pretty.

 

To me this is the sexiest of all the Shungas, but subtle and understated sexy, it has an ethereal type of feel to it too. I'm in love.

[meaganola]

In the bottle and as I was decanting, I had high hopes for this one. Woody, spicy honey. Perfect. This might be the one that gets upgraded to a bottle.

 

Flash forward to this morning. I needed to empty a bottle for a decant circle. I had meant to empty Penis Admiration, but it turned out I had grabbed Ronin. I didn't realize this until I had slathered myself with the last couple of drops left in the dropper. I had been expecting a sweet-ish vanilla-y floral, which is the sort of scent I can apply with a heavy hand like that. The problems with slathering Ronin: Black pepper, white sandalwood, and six hours in a small room. I amp black pepper like you wouldn't believe, sandalwood can trigger a headache (fortunately, not this time) and both of these notes make me cough. Plus I kept getting dizzy, although I'm not sure whether it was due to the perfume or other issues like my lack of lunch. On the up side, it *was* the last bit of a bottle (about a decant plus a tester, if I recall correctly), so I'm not stuck with a full bottle of an oil I can't wear.

[MamaMoth]

Going through my Luper decants, this is the first one to be granted a skin test. It smelled that intriguing in the vial.

 

I looooove this. Seriously. It is primarily honeyed sandalwood on me. BPAL sandalwood can sometimes be too dry-smelling on my skin, and honey can sometimes be to sticky-sweet. But here, they complement each other gorgeously. Not too cedary/woodsy, not too icky sticky sweet. I can't detect a floral note at all, but there is almost a creamy fullness to it, so perhaps that could be the rice flower? The pepper is fairly imperceptible. Since I know it's there, I can sense a gentle little pepper bite, almost like a slight note that leads it to the nose. Oakmoss can make an oil smell to masculine to me sometimes, but here it just meshes with the sandalwood to contribute to the soft woodsiness.

 

Throw leaves a little bit to be desired, this is definitely a skin scent. Four hours after application, I can only smell it if I press my nose to my wrist. But where it rubbed off my neck onto my shirt, it's still wafting about nicely. So this may be the blend that prompts me to invest in a scent locket.

 

ETA: After letting this settle for a few days, the pepper becomes more prominent. I'd describe this as a honeyed peppery sandalwood. SO freakin good.

Edited March 1, 2010 by MamaMoth

[Syzygy]

For my skin chemistry, if there's one BPAL note that's a rotten little tease, it's honey. I remain optimistic and try the honey blends, but it's always the same: honey comes on all sweet and promising, just long enough to get me excited, and then it goes to baby powder. I can almost hear it laughing. If BPAL honey had a theme song, it would be "I Know What Boys Like" by the Waitresses.

 

Ronin starts off so nice and sexy, with the sandalwood and pepper playing off each other over a sweet underlay of honey and oakmoss. And then - POOF - Baby Powder of Doom. O did me the same way, and aging didn't help it, so I doubt I'll ever be able to wear this. My heart is broken, because Ronin would be bottle-worthy if only the honey would behave. Dammit so much.

[Katherynne]

This is really, really nice.

 

The rice flower sweetness and honey are on top, spiced with my beloved pepper. Followed closely by sandalwood, with deep woody oakmoss on bottom. When I first put it on it smelled JUST like something else, and I was like, WHAT?! but the drydown changed all that. I think the oakmoss was hitting me first, but as the blend dries, the sweetness comes out on top.

 

Another Shunga I may have to score a bottle of.

[musichappens]

Initially all I could smell was the honey and black pepper; which actually wasn't half bad. However, after a little bit the sandalwood came out to help round everything out. While I find this to be a nice scent, I don't think I like it enough to warrant purchasing a bottle.

[forspecial_plate]

This is one of those scents where all I can smell is honey. Honestly, the honey was so strong and rich, I only got the barest hint of any other notes the one time I tried it. I tried!

 

It's okay though.....my decant moved on to a new home, with someone who likes honey in her perfumes a lot more than I do! : )

[jizatt]

love this. love. LOVE.

 

THe wet version was stronger, but even now what I get from Ronin is sweet dusty honey wood. By dusty I dont mean dirt... maybe dry? Its not sticky foody honey or floral honey to my nose, just sweet simple honey. I'm sure what I smell is the rice flower and honey together, and maybe the oakmoss is giving the whole thing a base to sit on. I really like this and am SO glad to own a bottle.

[Saya]

When first applied this is potent. It starts off as a strong combination of honey and black pepper in equal doses. I was afraid it was going to stay in that state, but after about 10 minutes it calms down considerably. After drying down the rice flower and oakmoss begin to come out and the black pepper fades into nothing. In the end I'm left with a honey, rice flower and oakmoss combination that sticks close to the skin. Not a lot of throw, but a decent amount of staying power. I like it enough to keep the imp, but I'll have to give it a few full wears before I go after a bottle.

[greenranger]

Spicy woody honey. There's enough pepper in this to give it some kick, and enough wood for structure. The honey and a sort of general background mixture of the other notes keep it from being just a spicy stick of wood, hitting you over the head.

 

This dries down to a honey and sandalwood scent. It lasted all night long on my skin. Mmmmm.

Edited February 28, 2010 by Aerinha

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Peppery cola.

 

Immediately on skin: Whew… this smells like cola, pepper, and honey. It’s a little… bitter, I guess, from the honey, but also syrupy sweet. Then the pepper adds this sharp spice and somehow I smell cola behind that (I think it’s the sandalwood plus pepper). Wow, this is bad on me.

 

After a little while: This is not nice on me at all. It’s a cloying, bitter, honey and pepper combo. So not nice.

 

Overall Impressions: This is just a blend that doesn’t work on me. My chemistry completely butchers it. It manages to be bitter and rubbery at the same time. Not good.

 

[Little Bird]

I thought that Ronin smelled like a lighter Golden Priapus with a good dose of sweet, golden honey. I guess that the sandalwood, pepper, and oakmoss mix together in a way that reminds me of pine forests. This is mostly honey on me, though, with the other nights hanging out in the background. Ronin doesn't have very good throw or staying power on me; it clings close to the skin and only lasts about an hour. It's an okay scent, but probably not something that I'd choose to wear again...

[fiddledragon]

When I first tested this, I was in YAYDECANTSARRIVED mode and had run out of patches of arm to test, so I put Ronin on my knee. And it was the most gorgeous clear sweet honey with a touch of black pepper and sandalwood.

 

I then went to give it a more thorough test the next day -- wrists, pulse points, cleavage. On my upper body it is a bit less sweet and more black-peppery, with slightly stronger sandalwood and some green from the oakmoss. It's a very nice next-to-skin scent that lasts almost all day.

 

I do kind of wish it stayed the way it smelled on my knees, though...

[Gwydion]

In bottle: Wood dominant with a strong oakmoss note and the pepper adding piquancy. It’s rather masculine. There’s a hint of honey and rice flower giving it something sweet underneath. It’s a lovely mix, rich and complex. Wet: The sweetness strengthens and the wood scent is wonderfully rich. There is a surprising green note among the darker elements, which I’m guessing is more rice flower. It grows more lovely and complex as it warms. I’m really happy with this. Dry: This tuned out really well and pleasantly androgynous. I’m really liking the honey in this and the way it floats the remains of the other elements.

[theseagrows]

something in here goes wonky on my skin-i think it's the white sandalwood. sandalwood is hit or miss, and it's missing here, unfortunately. this smells like a powdery yet sour honey on my skin and i get no oakmoss, which is one of my favorite notes off to swaps with this one.

 

 

 

[saban]

It smells like those gold and red incense my mom would light up to offer to our buddha statue. When I first applied it I got soft sandalwood with a powdery honey finish that had an earthy note from the oakmoss I suppose.

 

But after an hour I'm left with sandalwood with a powdery hint to it. No black pepper but I have had a few sneezing fits today, maybe coincidence? After 8 hours the sandalwood has calmed down a bit but I do get a bit dizzy when I sniff too closely. I can see why some would think it's masculine, but it's really gender neutral to my nose.

 

Great staying power and not too strong of a throw. I'll have to see how this one ages.

[megank4]

Nice; Kind-of a dry peppery scent.

[fairestrocza]

In the Bottle: very unusual... intriguing.

 

Wet on Skin: Spicy sandalwood lightly sweetened by honey

 

While Drying: OMG this is good. I can pick out the pepper (just a slight hint - blends beautifully), sandalwood, and honey (not super sweet, just enough). Oakmoss is behaving itself. Not sure what rice flower smells like.

 

After a Little While: Something is triggering the scent-memory of standing around the pool table in my grandparents basement. (a very positive association)

 

Later: Just the right amount of throw - I get the occasional waft of scent, but it isn't obtrusive. Late dry down seems to be mainly honey and a musky scent. Long lasting (24 hours, and could have gone longer if I didn't shower).

 

Final Thoughts: Easily wearable by any gender, though definitely not a girly scent. I like all stages of this one. It is definitely in strong contention to be a bottle purchase.

Ronin earns a 4.5/5 on my skin.

[hkhm]

bottle: honeyed, peppered sandalwood. i'm already thinking i will need another bottle of this!

 

wet: the oakmoss appears alongside the sandalwood in this peppered honey masterpiece. this is intensely beautiful and i can see it working equally well on a man or a woman.

 

dry: the honey and the pepper are dominant but so well balanced, the sandalwood and oakmoss are in the backgrouns but certainly present. i will need another bottle of this!

[zankoku_zen]

Powdery floral honey dries down to a honey/pepper sandalwood blend.

 

If the pepper hadn't shown up at the end, I think I would probably think more favorably of this blend.

 

Unfortunately.... I can't.