Paper Kite

[Venneh]

PAPER KITE
Coconut, white sugar, angelica, and black pepper.

This was coconut and black pepper and white sugar in the bottle, and all coconut on me, sadly, because I amp coconut to high heaven, and it in turn turns into a plastic monstrosity on me. Again, this is skin-chemistry dependent, and I hate for this first review to be so negative, but if you can't do coconut, this is one you should stay clear of.

[cfrancesca]

In the bottle and for the first minute on my skin it was very mentholy, herbal and boozy (I believe from the Angelica), but most of that quickly went away (thankfully)and the coconut amped along with some black pepper... but it finally settled into mainly boozy coconut on me. I find it very beachy, like a boozy coconut drink.

[Antoinette]

Oh, Paper Kite...I love thee.

 

In the bottle: Coconut and pepper. Wasn't sure how these would work together, but I think it's such an interesting scent combo! Strong in the bottle.

 

Wet: Sweet Coconut and pepper.

 

Dry down: The white sugar comes out to play. This turns into all sugary coconut with a kick of pepper.

 

I don't really know what angelica smells like, so I don't know how it's playing with the other notes but everything smells well blended to me and I love it! Ordered a back-up bottle today. Feeling a hoarding tendency towards this one.

[alizarin]

In the bottle OMG coconut. Almost nauseatingly so.

 

Wet on, the coconut stays strong, almost sunblock-ish, but the sugar is immediately noticeable as well.

 

Thankfully, the coconut calms down and this mellows out into a very nice, soft scent on me. Sweet & warm. I can't discern the pepper, but it might be keeping the sugar from being overly sweet. The coconut is still there but in more of a fresh, slightly creamy undertone.

[mineralgirl]

In the bottle: coconut with pepper sprinkled on it!

 

On skin: This is kinda bizarre and totally me! It’s creamy coconut with an edge. I love it! The angelica gives it a coolness.

 

Impression: it’s creamy and lovely. It’s definitely a sweet coconut with a sort of sharp edge. If you sniff it hard, it’s all pepper!

 

[mrstkeller]

Out of all the Butterflies and Moths this was the one I was most excited about (I ADORE coconut!!). And I have to say that it has lived up to my expectation. In the wet stage, it's not my favorite. I smell what I think is the pepper and angelica first. . with the coconut in the background. But once it dries. . the coconut is YEAH BABY! with the angelica fading off and the pepper ever so slightly in the background rounding out the coconut. It's creamy. . sweet (but not overly so) and DELICIOUS! It last pretty well. . does go a little suntan-y, but I actually really dig it.

 

Now all I have to decide. . 2 bottles or 3? Major WIN!

[saralaughs]

Creamy coconut with a bit of a kick. Gina Neely would appreciate the kick. If you watch foodnetwork, you know what I'm speaking.

[Happicuppa]

This is a tricky little scent! I love it but unfortunately it doesn't love me and my skin burned like the dickens on application. Still, if I could wear it, I would. I love the coconut and pepper's interaction and it gives me a scent all unto itself. It reminds me of something I can't quite put my finger on. It's fun and sweet with a nice pepper bite. I'd give it a 3/5 but since it buuuuuuurns I'll give it a 2/5.

[Gwydion]

In bottle: Wow, I wasn’t sure what angelica smelled like, but now that I do, I’m not sure I like it. It is the dominant note with pepper and coconut tied for second. Angelica smells vaguely unhealthy in a way that I can’t quite put into words, however, it sure is interesting with the sweetened coconut. Wet: The angelica is still a little weird, but nicer on the skin as the sugar does it’s work. The effect is still a little cocoanut shoe polish, but it’s growing on me a bit. Dry: it’s much nicer now. The angelica has been tamed by the sugar and coconut, to make an interesting edge with the other elements. It will clearly need another test round, but I’m likely going to keep it.

[femmefatale]

Sweet coconut! I LOVE this!!! I get virtually no back pepper, which I am so relieved about.

Need a bottle. Now.

[Leopard403]

I was anxious to try Paper Kite, because early reviews kept saying "sweet coconut" or "creamy coconut." But on my skin, the creamy part turns salty (as cream notes tend to do), and the coconutty part was eclipsed by the unpleasantly sharp pepper. So I smelled like salt and pepper. Bummer.

[het4377]

Oh man, I see a long and loving relationship with paper kite in my future. I'm a coconut lover, and does this scent scratch that itch in all the right ways! But, I digress, onto the review!

 

In the Bottle: Coconut with black pepper and something dark and not altogether pleasant

 

Wet: coconut, coconut, black pepper, coconut, angelica, coconut. Awesome! Really, this is just a sea of sweet coconut with an edge as another reviewer put it.

 

Dry: Lots of coconut! so much YUM! up close there's a floral-y note and the black pepper, but the throw is ALL COCONUT. and it's such a grogeous sweet coconut too. I couldn't be happier.

 

Later On: No morphing, still nothing but awesome coconut with a hint of the black pepper.

 

Overall: Lovely! Honestly, this is THE coconut blend that I've been waiting for. 5 out of 5.

 

If you like it, try: Skytyping with Chem Trails, Ashlultum, Upa Upa, Spooky, Spooky resurrected, White Chocolate Marshamllow and Coconut

Edited June 20, 2010 by haley

[fetish911]

YUM! Coconut.. luff the coconut. I always try anything with my beloved 'nut in it..... This smells go good !!! Its creamy coconut and not much else on me. I don't get any pepper. Not a morpher either. Its pure love. I am going to get a back up bottle for sure.

 

5/5

[sunlitgarden]

Paper Kite

 

Wet, Paper Kite is mainly coconut with a bit of a sharp green edge, which I'm guessing is the angelica (I'm not sure what it smells like on its own, though.) The greenness fades as it dries and Paper Kite becomes predominantly coconut with a dusty-spicy background. It's sweet, but the pepper adds spiciness and keeps the sweetness from being totally overwhelming. I do have to sniff my wrist itself to get the pepper though, I mainly just get whiffs of pure coconut. I love coconut, though, and I like that this blend is less tropical than many coconut blends - it adds an interesting variation to the note.

[Invidiana]

I'm a huge fan of coconut, so naturally I LOVE this! It's mostly coconut and white sugar on me with just a tad of edge from the black pepper and angelica. I don't get anything herbal from the angelica as I feared, nothing at all come to think of it, juts a tad of spice from the pepper. The coconut is a bit boozy like I like it; reminds me a bit of old-school suntan oil (the smell of which I adore) and also one of my favorite evils, Malibu Coconut rum. It pretty much stays the same from wet stage to drydown, which is fine by me because once I smelled the sweet and slightly boozy coconut in the bottle I was hoping it would remain that way. It's coconut-dominant with a kick and very sexy.

[edenssixthday]

Paper Kite - My tastes have changed a lot over the years, and I don't dig regular coconut the way I used to, so I didn't expect to be nuts about this, and I was right. It's an "okay" scent -- perfectly nice, but it doesn't stand out as something exceptional (as far as my particular scent preferences go, that is). I'm really happy that for once, the black pepper doesn't completely ruin a scent for me. It adds a bit of spicy depth, but is otherwise completely unoffensive to my pepper-sensitive nose. When I first apply the scent, the pepper is a lot stronger and there's an odd note that is slightly boozy, but that fades upon drydown. It fades quickly from my skin -- completely gone within 2.5 hours from time of application. Overall impressions are that this is a pretty scent for summer, particularly for people who like coconut. This is like a classic beachy coconut scent with a twist.

[strahlend]

Oh this one is fun! The initial blast out of my decant is COCONUT and BLACK PEPPER and they come charging out with enthusiasm. On my skin this is reminding me of coconut meat, not the sugared and shredded stuff or suntan lotion... this has a lightly green feel to it that makes it fresh. The pepper lays pretty low and manages to just give an interesting background spice instead of overwhelming the blend. I really like this one and hope to find a bottle some time.

[msbcozad]

Bottle: Maple Syrup.

 

Wet on skin: Maple Syrup.

 

Dry on skin: Maple Syrup.

 

Four hours after application: Barely there pepper and a whiff of coconut.

 

Tonight when I get home from work: Trade bag.

[Suu4LC]

Mmmmm, I loved this one on first sniff! Sniffing it from the bottle pure sweet white sugar crystals, sweet white coconut, and a snap of black pepper. zomglove. super sugar overload.

 

ugh so good on my skin too-the sugar note is a bit like velvet nudie-sweet sugar cane-y but more white and crystalline. it goes SO well with the coconut. that hint of black pepper keeps this from being straight up sugary death, but ugh...this one is just too damn good. if the scent description intrigues you, do yourself a favor and at least get a decant. this is very true to the description imho.

 

if it wasn't already obvious i absolutely love this scent-it's the perfect sweet summer coconut scent!

Edited March 23, 2011 by Shollin
Removed Lab description

[ivyandpeony]

I'm finding this to be one of the more unusual note combos Beth's put together for the Metamorphosis series, but I really like it! Although it's creamy and sugary, on me this coconut has a toasted edge which I think could be from the black pepper. And the angelica is super-subtle but it's giving me the faintest reminder of licorice instead of the usual stronger herbal-with-a-hint-of-licorice or fennel smell I associate with it. Overall, it's kind of like I have a summer version of Humbug - a sweet creamy foodie base iced with a little licorice. (I will mention that I get just a little licorice and lots of vanilla from Humbug, so don't go nuts if you're a licorice/anise/etc. freak and want a strong scent. I'd almost call it an "afterscent" as in "aftertaste," if that makes sense.)

 

Like other reviewers have mentioned, you really need to try this one because the list of notes alone just can't describe what it does - and honestly, a sniff of the bottle alone is NOTHING like this scent on the skin. This is the sleeper hit of the butterflies IMO.

[hlemonds]

This is NOM. If you like coconut, please do try it! This is a foody coconut, that is to say, it is not the type of coconut that makes me think of suntan oil really. It feels tropical, sweet, and a little fiesty (probably the smidgeon of black pepper and angelica). I never knew how much I could love coconut until I tried Pduan Killer Swarm. I've tried other blends containing coconut before, but the coconut in those was never really a major part of the scent I suppose. Oh, and I don't get much coconut from Snow White, so I don't count that as part of my coconut stash. Anywho, My love of Paduan Killer Swarm with it's warm, sweet, musky coconut, lead me to try Paper Kite. I am SO glad I did. This is perfect for summer. I actually like smelling like a delicious coconut drink, who knew??

[kaye]

After reading the reviews, I'm left wondering if it's my bottle or my skin that is taking this in a completely different direction than the creamy, Malibu-y scent everyone else is turning up with.

 

On me, Paper Kite is fresh coconut husk, sharp black pepper, and a lightly sugared, herbal angelica that almost smells like green tea. Far from bags of sugared coconut shreds, suntan lotion, or rum, I get a delicate, dry coconut that reminds me of fresh shells, emptied of their milk and meat, perhaps while still ever-so-slightly green. The sugar and angelica notes are rather stubbornly intertwined - I can't isolate either one, and instead get just enough sweetness tame the herb, and just enough green to keep everything well away from cloying. Black pepper isn't nearly as domineering as I was expecting; it's a light dusting, keeping things interesting and a bit spicy.

 

Overall, the blend is light, airy, and fragile - evocative of something easily torn. It's coconut without the usual foodiness or tropical clichés. I'll be wearing this all summer.

[angelicruin]

This is fairly astringent on my skin. Like alcohol and coconut while wet on my skin. It does soften as it dries and the astringent quality dissipates somewhat. It dries down to just coconut on my skin.

[reynardine]

Really getting the coconut on the first application. The pepper starts to come out as it starts to dry, giving the scent a bit of a kick. Something is going plastic on me, though. Is it the sugar? Okay, that calms down after awhile, and then I’m just getting a light, pleasant coconut with a hint of pepper. Very nice! Will test again to be sure, but a bottle of this might be in the future!

[brilliantcat]

I adore coconut and had very high hopes for this one so I guess I was begging for disappointment. I got a bit of the plastic-y smell at first but thankfully that mellowed. I got pretty much straight-up sunblock coconut from this though on the late drydown I finally got the nice creamy coconut I'd been hoping for. I got very little, if any, of the other notes. I think I'm going to get a bottle and let it age to see if some of the rough edges smooth out a bit because I still love my coconut no matter what

Edited July 1, 2010 by brilliantcat