Loosening of the Obi

[Cheri]

Rice wine, white sandalwood, vanilla bean, and white musk.

Loosening of the Obi is an herbal scent to my nose at least. I think it's the rice wine that's making me smell an herbal note. It's light and pretty, and reminds me of some of the amber scents, kind of like a lighter Jacob's Ladder. It seems to fade pretty fast, but age might help with that.

[cfrancesca]

I get soft rice wine and a little white sandalwood. I find it simple, but really pretty, it actually reminds me a lot of Hungry Ghost Moon.

[hlemonds]

A simple, soft, clean scent. I like this very much. Something in the combination of elements reminds me a bit of Thoos (the white musk I'm sure) and Okayaki (maybe the vanilla bean and musk are reminding me of the wonderful amber in Okayaki...). The rice wine note lends a soft fruity quality, somewhat akin to a pale grape crossed with a soft citrus? This is a very close-to-the-skin scent, not a lot of throw. I'm okay with that though, since that will make it a very nice alternative in warm weather when I can't tolerate some of my heavier blends.

[kikithepirate]

This year, this was the Lupercalia scent that I immediately threw into my cart -- now, often those are the ones I end up not liking, but I think that Obi is a winner.

 

First of all, it's just plain gorgeous. Complex, feminine without being girly, and strong -- all adjectives I'd use to describe myself, actually. The rice wine is definitely a large part of the scent, but the sandlewood grounds it and gives it a strong base to stand upon. The vanilla and musk simply give those scents a nice, creamy rounded edge. I think that this will be my Valentine's Day scent this year... it's incredibly sexy and I can't stop smelling my arm.

[HerbGirl]

OK. Third time IS the charm! I had tested this twice before today and was starting to get depressed...the first 2 tries I didn't smell anything but Rice Wine.

 

Wet - RICE WINE, with an itty bitty bit of vanilla and white musk. Quite a bit of throw...

Dry - What a nice skin scent. Not so much throw now, and the Vanilla and Musk are more prominent with the Sandalwood providing a subtle base. The Rice Wine is still present, but has softened.

 

This is very nice, and I'm sure it will age beautifully. 4/5 in theory, 2/5 on my skin

 

ETA: When my boyfriend came home from symphony rehearsal tonight, I asked him to smell this on my wrists. He told me that it smelled like my skin but better. Um, that's a win. So, after 4 hours: this is a perfect skin scent.

Edited March 1, 2011 by Herb Girl

[Venneh]

This is the scent I have the highest hopes for, honestly. In the bottle, rice wine, sandalwood, and an odd bit of musk. On my skin, primarily rice wine, and kind of going sour, like Hungry Ghost Moon did...

[Molls]

Very clean, very soft. A lot of throw at first, but it fades pretty quick. Will try again soon, I like it very much, for the time that it sticks around.

[angelicruin]

Mostly rice wine, white musk, and sandalwood for me. Sadly, no vanilla bean on my skin.

[calivianya]

I'm mostly getting white musk and sandalwood while wet.

 

As it starts to dry, I'm now picking up the rice wine as well. The overall effect of this just smells somewhat clean and soapy on my skin.

[MCS4096]

When I first applied this blend I immediately thought of Tiki Princess-- which I wore a LOT last summer. I have a feeling this could be my blend for this summer. It's light, definitely a low throw blend. I has a very crisp, white feel to it-- simple, soft and pretty. I can feel everything blended together very well.. no one note sticks out to me. I know the vanilla bean is only adding a bit of sweetness because this doesnt go plasticy on me like soooo many other vanilla blends do. So if you're worried about that, dont be. Overall I'd say it's a little dry, a little musky and a little sweet.

 

I generally prefer stronger/more throwy scents, but this one is pretty much fail proof for those days when I need an easy go to that wont be overpowering.

[countessmouse]

I had such high hopes for this scent, and I'm left vaguely disappointed. Rice wine and sandalwood at first with just a hint of vanilla - yummy! Then the musk just took over and that's all I can smell at this point.

 

Going to put this one aside and try it in two weeks, when my hormones aren't quite so in the forefront.

[Eemia]

Very minimal and soft. It's beautifully understated, but with a lift that keep the musk from being too sensual. I thought there'd be a strong vanilla note in here, along with a gourmand sweetness, but neither makes a presence. There's a faint tang or brightening effect from the rice wine that smells very clean and pure, but it fades fast. Then it's a blurry combination of extremely light and gauzy sandalwood and musk.

 

Sits on my skin like an Eau de Toilette spray, so I can slather and not offend anyone.

 

This is so pretty in an unassuming way. Love it. <3

[Little Bird]

This smells a lot like the BPTP's Castitas bath oil at first, but less sweet and with more of the pale, clean white musk. It also reminds me of cheap perfume, but not exactly in a bad way. It's very simple and perfumey, not complex at all, but a nice vanilla & white musk type of scent that you might find at Wal-Greens for pretty cheap. It gets less sweet over time and more clean, slightly powdery, and musky smelling.

 

I actually like this a lot less than I thought I would. I think it's a little too heavy on the white musk for me and gives me a bit of a headache after a while. But it's not bad or offensive in any way. Clean white musk.

[astarinel]

Very simple, a clean and soft vanilla musk.

 

Definitely less sweet and feminine than vanilla-heavy blends usually are for me. The wine and sandalwood are lightly present, but the musk is definitely the main player here. Low throw, definitely a skin-scent. This is nice, but I have a lot of vanilla and white musk scents with more going on, so I don't think I have room for one that reminds me of blends I already have, only less complex. It seems like it would definitely be nice to use in layering, however.

[pinkstardust420]

I just got a sample of this today and I am absolutely in love. It's so gorgeous and sophisticated...nice fresh white musk, sandalwood and just a bit of sweetness; probably the vanilla bean. This is a WINNER!

[Heavenlyrabbit]

I'll reiterate the words "simple, soft and clean".

 

Maybe just a wee bit of headiness from the Rice Wine.

 

It's a fabulous spin on BPAL's skin scents.

 

In a way it really portrays the subject matter as it's a scent that's been stripped down to a bear minimum for striking effect.

 

Just to clarify by saying clean- it's not ozone or citric or baby-powderish. It's just not fussy.

Edited March 3, 2011 by Heavenlyrabbit

[puck_nc]

Origin: decant circle

 

Initial Thoughts: "White" is the key: I can wear white musk and white sandalwood without them amping and taking over the scent. I love vanilla. I have had some success with rice/rice wine notes before. Worth a try.

 

In the vial: An initial rush of rice wine and then a soft, sweet and gentle musk creeps in. If nothing else, it'll be great in my scent locket.

 

Wet: Nice! I'm not getting an overpowering impression of any one note. It's sweet. It's mildly musky. It's got hints of the sandalwood and rice wine. But they're all playing together nicely in a beautifully understated skin scent.

 

Drydown: The rice wine comes to the forefront a little as it dries, but it's not taking over. There's still plenty of vanilla musk to go around. But this one definitely doesn't have much throw - it's staying quite close to the skin.

 

Verdict: It's quite lovely. I think I must do an inventory this weekend and see if I have room for another bottle.

[wolfie13]

I love this on initial sniff and application. I smell a bit of each of the notes and they blend together nicely. I was worried that the vanilla would be too heavy and sweet, as it often is for me, and that is not the case here.

 

This goes straight to white musk and sandalwood on me, though. It's just not me at all. I should know better - white musk is almost always an amper/no-no on me.

[zankoku_zen]

I have to say that the predominant note on my skin is the rice wine, which lends this a soft boozy but clean sparkle. Underneath, the vanilla warms both the rice wine and sandalwood, bringing a bit of sweetness to the blend. Definitely asian in vibe, and its a deliciously simple, comforting blend.

 

This blend to me speaks to me of the little pleasures in life. Clean towels, soft linens, nuzzling someone before going to bed. That is the vibe that it evokes to me. A very soft, skin scent.

[Deek]

Bottle: Mmm. Very soft, very light/warm, and very clean. I thin kit's the rice wine and sandalwood that I mostly get out of it.

 

Wet on Skin: Seems to be slightly more sweet smelling, which might be the vanilla. It reminds me of a shampoo, but I don't mean that in a bad way, as I actually really like the scent.

 

Dry Down: Oh yes, the vanilla is much more strong now, however this is still a light and fun scent. Really love it. Doesn't have a lot of throw, though.

 

Overall: 4/5. I'm contemplating a bottle of this, as I feel it'd very nice for a light spring day visiting a fair or something.

[pinkgyrl]

This is just gorgeous - a very delicate scent - I'm even having trouble finding words that aren't too sharp to describe it. The vanilla and sandalwood are the most prominent and then just a kiss of white musk. I can easily imagine wearing this as a bedtime scent or if one can't wear super strong perfume oils at work. It does go slightly baby powder-ish at one stage, but that seemed to have gone away once it settled into my skin fully. Simply gorgeous

Edited March 10, 2011 by GirlinDenial

[wl552]

Beautiful, beautiful scent. A light rice wine soaked sandalwood. Vanilla and musk take the backseat. I don't have anything bad to say about it except it disappears very quickly. It'd be perfect if it lasted longer, 'cause it's truly lovely.

[MadameGorgon]

The rice wine amped like crazy on me. I got a little Sandalwood, but no vanilla or musk. It just didn't work. I smelled like I spilled the Sake on myself at the Japanese Hibachi Restaurant.

 

I didn't give this a ton of time to settle on my skin, so I may retry it and see if I like the drydown better, but so far its much too "perfume-ey" for me. Sigh.

[theseagrows]

oooh i like this. it's very light and pretty. on my skin, it's reminiscent of ebisu making love as two octopuses look on. it smells almost identical!! maybe that's my skin chemistry though. i don't get any vanilla, but mostly rice wine and white musk. perfect for the coming spring!

[surlygurl]

Oh! This is nice! On me it's mostly rice wine (more sweet rice, less wine. It's *not* an alcohol scent.) White musk gives it a little shimmer, white sandalwood grounds it a tad. The vanilla is merely there to sweeten - and not by much. This is a very subtle skin scent. Too subtle for my tastes, unless I want to bathe in it (which may not be a bad idea!!)