Paramatman

[JuliskaMarie]

Orange blossom, East Indian sandalwood, and champaca.

 

In the imp: I'm mostly just getting the sandalwood. It's sweetened by some slight florals, but they're not really noticeable.

Wet on skin: Almost exactly the same as in the imp, only a little less sweet.

Dry on skin: Mostly sandalwood, with a little of what I guess must be the champaca & barely a hint of orange blossom. It smells very woodsy & spicy. This would probably be very subtle & sweet on someone else, but I'm starting to think it might be just a tiny bit too woodsy for me. It's nice though.

After a few hours: It's sweetened up now & faded quite a bit. I like it a lot more than I did before, but I still think this one is just too woodsy for me.

Verdict: The florals are very faint, so the sandalwood is the main note on me, rather than being a supporting-note (which is where I like it to be), so I'll be passing this one on to a woods-loving friend!

[Monster]

This is almost pure nag champa incense with a kiss of sweetness from the orange blossom. I'm only getting a little bit of sandalwood as the champaca overpowers it. I smell like I was just in a hippie/Indian gift shop!

[sammy]

Ahhhh!!! I cannot stop smelling my arm. This stuff is AMAZING! I've had an imp lying around for awhile and decided to give it a test run. I'm so thrilled that I finally did because it knocked my socks off and I've already ordered a big bottle.

 

It starts out slightly smoky and woodsy, all champaca and sandalwood. As it dries down the orange blossom comes into play and rounds the scent out, sweetening it up a bit. This will be a fabulous scent in the spring and summer when I want an incense-y, heady blend since it also has the exotic floral note which I feel lightens it up.

This is a sexy, feminine feeling fragrance. I'm in love.

[unxolve]

Wet: Sandalwood with a little bit of a creamy milkshake orange-banana?

 

Because of the creaminess, this sandalwood to me sort of smells like...suntan lotion? So, orange-banana suntan lotion.

 

Dry: More orange.

[Veronica]

In the bottle, sandalwood spiced with champaca, just a slight orange floral in the background. Dry, the orange blossom comes out, but this is still a primarily spiced scent. Spices with a hint of orange floral.

[lady_pandora]

Mmm, lovely headshop nag champa with a light haze of orange flower to lighten it up. This is pretty much exactly what it says on the tin, and it's a nice calming scent that I think could be worn for meditation. If I end up going through my decant of Visions of Autumn IV, this would be a good GC substitute.

[Roogna]

almost candylike initial sweetness (orange blossom?) then champaca mainly and sandalwood over the sweetness. Very strange.

[LexieBlom]

Paramatman Imp

 

Wet/Bottle - All sandalwood, with a touch of floral. Hard to identify if it's the orange blossom or champaca yet. It smells like walking into a headshop,

 

Wet/Skin (5 minutes) - Very creamy floral, rather than sharp floral which is nice. I tend to dislike florals, but if I do ever wear them, they have to be either creamy of powdery. The sandalwood is still center stage.

 

Dry/Skin (30 minutes) - Surprisingly, I really like this. It's still very creamy, but the orange blossom has taken hold and pushed the sandalwood out of the spotlight.

 

I am genuinely surprised that I like this as much as I do, seeing as I usually detest floral notes. Since we're coming up on winter now, I doubt I'll be using it much until next summer, so I'll retest after it's aged a little more next year.

[Musamea]

In the imp: pure headshoppy Nag champa

Wet: smoky Nag champa

Dry: yup, still all champaca all the time, and I'm guessing East Indian sandalwood is different from the Lab's usual sandalwood and is what is adding that incensy note. I was hoping for an orange blossom forward blend, but this is all headshop on me. A bit too hippie for my tastes, but if you're a fan of Nag champa, this is the scent for you!

[Teamama]

This is the BPAL blend that changes the most on me, day to day, that I have encountered so far. Depending on what my skin chemistry is up to,the orange blossom can smell almost ammoniac for a couple of minutes, when fist applied.

Paramatman was a gamble, because the orange blossom in Ravenous burned my cheap flimsy skin something fierce. The orange blossom in Paramatman, fortunately, does not burn.

In the bottle--sandalwood & STRONG orange blossom, like orange blossom water used for cooking.

Wet, the orange blossom dominates for a couple of minutes. The balance then shifts slightly in favor of delicious sandalwood.

After drying, a wee little bit of Nag Champa emerges as the orange blossom retreats.

Subtle, and full of my BFF Sandalwood. I like this a lot (some days more than others.) I'm glad I got a bottle.

[Kay Torres]

Headache inducing, and sickeningly sweet. I can smell the champaca/sandalwood faintly underneath. But it's mostly orange blossom, and orange blossom and I don't seem to get along well at all.

[joopjoop]

Mostly nag champa on me at first, with some orange blossom in there to sweeten it up and tone down the hippie vibe. Dries down to a soft incense and sandalwood scent, although a little orange blossom comes through in the throw. Although orange blossom can be tricky for me, particularly when paired with patchouli, I do like it in many blends and I think it works here.

 

I like it. It would be a good blend for meditation or meditative/ritual activities. I think the imp I received might be fairly aged, however. I'm interested to try a new imp of it and see how it varies.

Edited September 15, 2016 by joopjoop

[Casablanca]

At first, I pick up orange blossom primarily, then spicy-leaning golden champaca, and then sandalwood. I love the champaca and sandalwood, but neroli sometimes turns to orange lollipops on me, and in the earliest phase, that happens here. After a few minutes, the lollipops settle down into a calm orange bloom, and champaca comes to the fore.

The scent is gorgeous after that.

[Bassmastadroog]

Holy crap! This is one of my favorite scents of all time. Orange blossom and Nag Champa, more or less. I fell in love the second I opened the imp. On, it is a more incensed form of Vixen, and dare I say, I like this better than Vixen! It's super sexy, and lingers a long time.

[Miss Landau]

I got mostly warm sandalwood from this, and then the orange blossom faintly detectable under that. This lasted reasonably well on me, but very, very faintly.

[torikitty]

At first, I get a sharp incense note that I find really off-putting. Like cleanser and incense. Unfortunately, I don't know if that's the sandalwood or the champaca. I'm going to guess the champaca. After it sits on the skin, it calms down, and that sharp smell mellows. I think the sandalwood ends up smelling like the smell of fresh towels when you're drying off from the pool, mixed with sweet-smelling sunscreen and damp hair. This strangely becomes very nostalgic for me. Definitely a morpher that deserves a skin test if you're usually put-off by incense.

[Cali]

I'm getting very strong champaca in this from the imp. Once on my skin, the orange blossom rises up but stays very casually there, along with the still strong champaca and sandalwood in the background.
To me this is just very dusty and slightly bitter. In my head it's like what a ray of sunlight going through a dusty 70's attic it would smell like. ....Hm.

[Lucchesa]

So, I wasn't really sure what champaca smelled like. Now I know. This was beautiful in the imp and wet, but quickly a note took over that reminds me of the hard miniature bars of soap in a cheap motel. Evidently that's champaca. I put Cleric on my other wrist to test, and after about half an hour that note begins to dominate Cleric too, which may be why I didn't love it. About an hour after application if I sniffed my wrist, I could make out the orange blossom and sandalwood peeking their heads around the corner to see if it was safe to come out yet, but no, champaca continues to bully them into submission. I learned last night that this has been quietly discontinued, but for me it is no big loss. I will add champaca to my notes of no, thank you.

 

Edited to remove an extra a from champaca.

Edited July 19, 2017 by Lucchesa

[achildoftime]

It's an interesting scent. I get the orange blossom and champaca right out of the gate. It's not something that I usually enjoy. It's pretty, but it's not typical for me to reach for something where the primary scent is an incense. It isn't smoky so much as it's like the dry material waiting to be used. I think the orange blossom adds some nice sweetness overall, but on me it doesn't blend well with the champaca. They stay kind of separate so I'm not a big fan.

[RavenintheWind]

Just opening the imp was instant headache--no way would I be able to even test this one. Allergy fail....

[alyelle]

Imp: sandalwood heavy, with a bitter tang of neroli

 

Wet: a hint of sweetness from the champaca, which smells like amber on me, and very dominant sandalwood overtones. Incredibly, painfully, hippy.

 

Dry: As this dries, it turns into every Tree of Life store I have ever walked into. (Also, I really like champaca flower.)

 

Short-lived, barely 4 hours, with medium to strong throw. Keeping it because it's now discontinued, and my new age teenager heart secretly loved it.

 

Stars: ★★★½

[doomsday_disco]

Paramatman features a pretty potent orange blossom note (the Lab's smells like a bitter orange peel plus floral to me) that ends up being a main player throughout wear, with a fuzzy sandalwood that gains strength over time. Champaca is normally a heady floral, and while it is present, it is actually not as prominent as it usually is on me and just adds an incense-y feel along with the sandalwood.

 

The orange blossom is just too much for me, but it was nice to be able to try this in my effort to try the entire GC!

[monocainsheresy]

A fresh, hippie nag champa scent that's heavy on the orange. Very nice, but I have another nag champa perfume that I like a lot better.

[torischroeder9]

In the imp: Champaca and orange blossom, grounded by sandalwood in the background. 

 

On my skin: 

 

Wet, it's mostly orange blossom. As it dries, the orange blossom stays in the foreground, but I can start to detect some distinctive champaca behind that and some sandalwood behind that. Both of the secondary notes start to add a richness and depth to the scent. The champaca slowly develops and warms the blend so that its heart is rich and spiced. 

 

The sandalwood and champaca remind me a lot of Matthew 18:6 (a blend I love and wear regularly), with the orange blossom giving it a feel that's less sweet and more airy. Orange blossom also has a lot of throw on me, though it's not necessarily strong throw, if I'm describing that understandably. The scent quality has a lot of lightness and airiness, but the scent itself reaches far. 

 

I definitely like this scent a lot and will keep the imp around to at least try again. The only thing I'm not sure about is whether I already have scents that are sufficiently similar to this that it may not fill a unique perfume void.  

[AEris]

Paramatman - SKIN TEST REQUIRED! This dreamy perfume features a liberal dose of neroli, which smells like bitter orange rind in the bottle, but COMPLETELY morphs into delicate orange blossoms shimmering in a warm spring breeze within moments on the skin. The white floral aroma expands with complexity from velvety champaca petals, grounded by the warm glow of precious sandalwood.

Paramatman is one of my very favorite General Catalog perfumes and I implore you to try a sample on your skin, give this baby some love!