Amaterasu v3

[fairnymph]

Extremely similar to Amaterasu v2, but with a drier sandalwood note and a light leather note (reminiscent of the note in Clockwork Couture Female, so the De Sade/Spanked type leather note, but much softer and more subdued here than it is typically on my skin), a bit less sweet/vanilla, and less musk, but I also really amp leather so this may be more like A. v2 on another person with different skin chemistry.

[midnight_aeval]

This was the first blend at the trunk show that really popped out as "mmm - must have" from the bottle. Super classy, super sexy. Incredibly bright/golden which makes sense since Amaterasu is a sun goddess. I can't place my finger on what it is exactly, but on my skin I detect some amber. This amber is not like the one I got from Leo 2007, but more like the one in L'Estate. Maybe it's the Napalese or vanilla-infused amber (which, at times my nose tricks me and thinks Napalese Amber = leather, so maybe that's where the leather comes in on the first review). It just gets better on the dry down. I'm glad I sprung for a bottle!

 

ETA: This scent sticks around for a looong time. I squirt the remnants from a pipette into the crease of my arm and I could still smell it the next morning! It ended up as a vanilla musk scent and oh-so-good.

Edited June 13, 2010 by Midnight Aeval

[Venneh]

I agree with Midnight Aeval's comparisons to L'Estate; I'm definitely getting something similar in the bottle. On my skin, this is an absolutely beautiful golden amber vanilla musk. This is the one out of the three that I was most desperate to work, especially with me going to Japan in less than two months now. Perfect scent for the Sun Goddess, and definitely far superior to v2. Full skin test tomorrow will tell whether or not I need another bottle of this, but if I can only get one, I'll be more than happy with this.

[heathercaley]

Mmmmmmm!! This is Inez's brighter sister!! It's freaking GORGEOUS and I am in love.

 

Amber musk, vanilla, and a sexy incense note. There's not much else I can say other than HOLY SHIT I SMELL LIKE AMBER VANILLA SEX!

 

 

Verdict? ::climax::

 

 

edit to edit

Edited July 3, 2010 by Purrsnikety

[zankoku_zen]

I found this to be very faint on me. I would say it's golden amber, skin musk, vanilla incense. Smoky, female, radiant. I can see the comparison to L'Estate but in some ways, it also reminds me to Leo 2007. Perhaps a slight hint of leather?

 

Not my type of deal at all but if you like golden vanilla musky blends, give this a whirl. If you can find it.

 

ETA: Tried some Amaterasu v3 again, and this one was more of a golden vanilla blend, hint of sandalwood. The vanilla was definitely still musky and it made me think more of the vanilla you use for baking. Since I've become more of a vanilla and sandalwood fan, I found this to be very pretty. Very grown up, lady sophisticated actually.

Edited April 26, 2011 by zankoku_zen

[Little Bird]

I like this more than Amaterasu v2, but unfortunately this has even worse staying power and the drydown is slightly baby powdery. I get a warm, golden, powdery amber type of feel from this, and it smells a bit sweet (vanilla?) and slightly golden and incensey as well. I'd probably like this a lot if it were stronger on my skin.

[PurringPulsar]

Amaterasu v3

 

In the imp: OMG!!! This has Moroccan or Nepalese amber in it! It’s glorious.

Wet on skin: amber and a tinge of frankincense, cherry blossom and spicy sandalwood.

Dry on skin: absolutely stunning. This is like a pinker Okayaki, or what would happen if L’Estate turned Japanese. It’s predominantly the most amazing amber scent in the history of forever, and reminds me of that amazing Shadowy and Sublime amber, or the Lamia prototype, or L’Estate. It’s the amber which is glowing and resinous, but with hints of cardamom and vanilla. In here I also smell cherry blossom and spicy red sandalwood, maybe a hint of frankincense. It may also have the amber incense from Kaidan/Flowering Chrysanthemums. It’s solar and spring-like at once.

After a while: amber, amber, amber. Damn I want more of this one. It’s just like the Shadowy and the Sublime, but without that troublesome wisteria, and instead it’s replaced with cherry blossom. I also smell a hint of spicy incense resins wafting up to greet the dawn. This is amazing. It’s a lot more resinous at drydown and I think I smell more sandalwood. This is nicer than v2.

Verdict: this is the scent of a Japanese sun goddess, for sure! Golden sunny amber and cherry blossoms, this evokes shades of gold and pink, the colours of a sunrise. Blushing dawn clouds and gentle first rays of morning. There’s a hint of spice too, like cardamom. Hints of frankincense and woods and vanilla add to the awesomeness, overall it’s like Bakeneko with less fuzzy musk and more glowing resin, what a combination. Such a shame it’s so painfully rare. I don’t think my tiny drop-in-an-imp will suffice!

Emoticon rating:

Is it a keeper? YES! I want mooooooore….

[cfrancesca]

I'm getting Nepalese amber (it reminds me of a Nepalese Amber SN I have, though this one is stronger), vanilla musk, soft leather and a bit of smokiness. I like this much better than Amaterasu v2 and it kind of reminds of Celeste and a bit like CC Female. The amber is just a bit too strong for my liking (especially if I'm feeling headachy), but for the days I can tolerate it, it's a lovely golden blend. I'm also surprised with how long lasting it is.

[Gold Dust Kitten]

Be still my heart, a leather that works on me! Amaterasu v3 is a perfectly clear amber with a soft and barely noticeable (that's a good thing) leather note, and white cherry blossoms. The dry down is a glorious golden powdery haze that stays very close to the skin. I'm in love.

[Dark Alice]

On me this is a much lighter version of L'estate. Warm golden amber with vanilla and something else in this makes it wonderful. I am keeping this for sure b/c I always found L'estate to be a little too heavy for my tastes.

[ami226]

Wow, this one smells familiar. Very lovely! I think I might need to do a death match between this one, Shadowy and Sublime (I think), and Saqqara v2.

 

A lovely lovely scent. Sweetish. I think there might be a bit of slightly powdery amber along with some sandalwood and... musk? Such a golden scent! I feel like there also has to be some sort of wood in here as well. Teak maybe? I am getting a bit of a Glowing Vulva vibe. Maybe a slight hint of blossoms?

 

Such a lovely, classy scent. Smelling this one, I could easily imagine myself in a gown at a fashionable party.

[bloody sore]

I agree with the comparison to Inez. This is Inez without the 'fire' or smoke or whatever it is that smells like something burning on me. This is lighter, sweeter, fairly floraly woody and I'm not sure that I really like it.

[Penance]

Origin:

 

5mL from the Lab.

 

Preconceived notions:

 

I passed over this scent for the longest time, even after reading reviews, mainly because of the mention of florals. I hate florals (with very few exceptions), even when they're blended with other notes, and they have the real potential to ruin a scent for me. But Amaterasu v3 gets so many rave reviews that I ended up caving. I figure if it doesn't work for me, I can get rid of it pretty easily. Plus amber and resins/incense are almost always winners and I like leather a lot of the time.

 

First sniff:

 

Sweet, sweet golden amber. Everything else is hiding behind the amber, but I'm thinking there's some vanilla and some resins of some sort here. Maybe a touch of some sort of golden wood, possibly even a very light touch of cedar.

 

Wet on skin:

 

This goes even sweeter on my skin and then suddenly gets very faint. I have to stick my nose up close to get a good sniff of it. Inez does the same thing, only nowhere near as much as Amaterasu. I think my skin eats amber to a certain degree, because I get a bit of fading with most amber-heavy scents.

 

Dry down:

 

As Amaterasu v3 dries, the scent strengthens a bit again, but it's not a strong scent by any means (on me, anyway).

 

I get sweet amber (so sweet and rich that it smells almost like vanilla, but not foody), a light touch of what seems to be some sort of ultra-soft, supple golden leather and some light musk (skin musk, probably, but maybe even honey musk). There could be some very faint, gentle florals here, but if they're here, they're so well-blended that they don't stand out to my nose (which is what usually happens with florals, no matter how subtle they are).

 

The bottom line:

 

This is really pretty and beautifully feminine. It's a golden, almost glowing scent; soft, sweet and warm. It borders on being too sweet for me at some stages, but it settles into something really lovely as it dries.

[saralaughs]

There are many reasons people keep comparing this blend to Inez. They share, from what I can tell, at least three similiar components; vanilla musk, sandalwood, and carnation. Whereas v2 starts out with a cool blast of cherry blossom and the carnation comes in later; V3 is carnation at the start. Cherry blossom does add a bit of lightness to this floral element but it's carnation; pretty similiar to the one in Inez. Definitely amber and some sandalwood, this is golden and shimmery, almost. I do not detect any leather whatsoever though.

[Veronica]

In the bottle, this is vanilla!! and an amber background, a slight incense note and a note I can't quite place--someone above mentions leather and it is very reminiscent of leather, and slightly smoky in the same say (as someone who usually detests leather and smoky notes). Dry, this is all creamy vanilla with a warm, golden amber halo and the slightest musky-smoky tailwind. Not sure how I feel about this--the smoky/incense notes atypical for me, but something about this scent keeps drawing me back. I could almost see it becoming my signature scent (oh please no because I will never find more after this...).

Edited February 12, 2015 by delighted

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: Mmmm. Vanilla. Perfumey vanilla more than foodie vanilla. Like vanilla amber, maybe? Lovely! Rich, golden, sweet. A little bit creamy. Elegant. LOVE.

 

 

Dry: I really love this. It took me a really long time to start finding BPAL vanillas that worked on me. Most of those that work on me are a vanilla cream note This is not a gourmand vanilla at all, but it works on my beautifully, not a hint of plastic or weirdness, and it makes me so happy! To my nose, it smells like there's some amber in this, but it's not taking over the way it usually does. I can't really pick out any other notes. I don't really care what's in it, I just know it smells amazing and I am so glad to have a bottle! I would also love to try v2, just for comparison.

[celestia]

♔ Amaterasu v3

 

In the Bottle: Creamier, sweeter and more vanillic L’Estate.

 

Wet: Upon, I get a non-foody, creamy floral vanilla infused with what I can only describe as bright, sunlight-caught amber. Definitely similar to the Nepalese amber and vanilla-infused-amber in L’Estate, but sweeter and creamier- and after testing alongside some newer additions, it kind of reminds me of a cross between L’Estate and the whipped vanilla cream note in Volcano in Springtime . It therefore also makes sense that it brings to mind the vanilla and teak combination from Glowing Vulva at Ryogoku Bridge. Amaterasu v3 is very golden and perhaps a little incense-y – tinges of white sandalwood with hints of warm, dry spices…sort of like a glowing vanillic amber-centric musk. It’s so overwhelmingly beautiful, both regal and radiant, and reflective of the way your eyes might squint had you been in this Japanese sun goddess’s presence.

 

Drydown: Altogether, it smells like a classic perfumey creamy golden amber. It’s kind of bright and glowy, somewhat sweetened, beautifully creamy and vanillic. The scent dries down gracefully, and becomes a little powdery, but the kind that is extremely wearable. I also pick up a faint cherry blossom during the drydown stage, lending a very delicate, almost watery pink floral note to keep the almost powdery like profile of the amber from being too overwhelming, and I also get a light leather note that is faint and soft like that in Clockwork Couture: Female. It’s so so SO beautiful. I would liken this phase of the scent to the sun setting; the amber becomes more resinous while taking on thin fadey streaks of pink, bright creamy sunlight flashing behind transcalent setting clouds, glowing more furiously and deeply golden as it takes the sky down with it.

 

TL;DR: Regal, radiant, vanillic golden amber-centric musk…with creamy pale cherry blossom petals and faint traces of soft leather.

Edited April 23, 2017 by celestia